them, thanks to my dog," he said.
"I'd like to buy that dog of yours," said his friend. "What will you
take for him?"
The father named an enormous price, and to his great surprise his
friend accepted it. The money was passed over at once, and the hunting
dog went home with his new master.
The next day they went on a hunting expedition into the deep forest.
Suddenly the dog disappeared. His master called and whistled to him in
vain. Finally he was obliged to return home without him. He had lost
both the dog and the money he had paid for him.
"Have you seen my hunting dog?" were his words for many weeks to every
one he met.
His hunting dog had fled into a deep forest and once more resumed his
original form. He returned home and told his two brothers that in a
single day he had earned for his father more than their combined
efforts for many weeks. Indeed it was quite true.
The next day the young man said to his father: "Will you buy a saddle
and bridle for me if I turn myself into a horse?"
His father made the purchase, and then the young man changed into a
handsome black horse. His father rode him up and down the streets very
proudly. The Great Magician noticed the beautiful beast.
He called the man to him and said: "That is a very good horse you are
riding. What will you sell him for?"
The father named an enormous price, but he at once paid it cheerfully.
He ordered the horse placed in his stables.
Now this Great Magician had a beautiful daughter who was very fond of
horses. She went out to inspect his new purchase as soon as it was
brought home. She noticed that the horse ate nothing.
"What a beauty!" she cried as she stroked his glossy black coat. "You
are the handsomest horse in the stable. Why don't you eat? I believe
your bridle is hurting you. I'm going to take it off."
As soon as the bridle was removed it was changed into a bird and flew
out the window. The Great Magician at that moment changed himself into
a hawk and killed the bird, never dreaming that it was the bridle of
the new horse he had purchased.
The next morning when the Great Magician went to mount his beautiful
black steed there was no new horse to be found in the stable. The
horse had changed into a kernel of corn.
[Illustration: The horse had changed into a kernel of corn]
The Great Magician transformed himself into a hen to eat up the corn,
but the youth was too quick for him. He changed into a dog and seized
the hen between his teeth and gave it a good shaking. Then he returned
to his own form and explained the whole affair to the Great Magician.
"You are surely a master of magic," was the comment of the magician.
When the Great Magician had forgiven him for the shaking he had
received when he was in the form of a hen, he gladly gave his consent
to his daughter's marriage to the master of magic.
ST. ANTHONY'S GODCHILD
_The Story of Antonia who became a King's Page_
Long ago there lived a man who had so many children that he could
scarcely find godfathers for them all. He had requested so many of his
friends to serve, that when his last baby was born, a little dark-eyed
daughter, he vowed that he'd ask the first man he met upon the street.
As luck would have it, he happened to meet the good St. Anthony.
"Will you be godfather to my baby daughter?" he asked.
Kind St. Anthony gladly consented. He named the baby Antonia, and said
to the father:
"Train up this child in the way she should go. Teach her all you can.
When she is thirteen years old I'll come to get her and I'll give her a
good start in life."
The years flew by and soon little Antonia was thirteen years old. The
father was afraid that St. Anthony had forgotten his promise, but one
day the saint appeared.
"Is this my godchild?" he asked as he looked at Antonia. "Surely she
has grown prettier each year of her life."
Antonia blushed shyly and looked even more attractive than before.
"Dress yourself in your brother's garments," he said to her. "I am
going to take you to the king's court and you are entirely too pretty
to go there in your own dresses."
Accordingly, Antonia put on her brother's clothes and went to serve as
a page to the king. She was now called Anthony instead of Antonia.
Now the king had a sister who grew very fond of the little page. She
became angry that the page did not love her in return and plotted
against him.
One day she went to the king and said:
"Your little page says that he can separate all the chaff from the
wheat in a single night."
"Let him try," responded the king.
When Anthony heard what the king required he was decidedly worried.
Then he remembered that he was the godchild of St. Anthony and that the
saint was always ready to aid those in need. He called upon St.
Anthony to help him fulfill the king's command. In the morning the
king's wheat was entirely free from chaff.
The king loved his little page more and more, and the king's sister was
angrier than before that she could not win the affection of the youth.
She made a new plot against him.
"What do you suppose that page is saying now?" she asked her brother.
"He boasts that he can go to the palace of the king of the Moors and
steal the purse of gold pieces from beneath his pillow."
The king sent Anthony to the palace of the king of the Moors. With St.
Anthony's help he climbed up the high wall of the palace and crept in
through a window. The king of the Moors was so sound asleep that
Anthony had no difficulty whatever in slipping his hand under the
pillow and stealing the purse. Then he crept out again without
awakening the king.
[Illustration: He climbed up the high wall of the palace]
"That young page, Anthony, has grown so very boastful," remarked the
king's sister a few days after his return, "that he now claims that he
can carry away the king of the Moors himself."
Then she added, "I'll marry him if he fulfills this boast."
"Bring home the king of the Moors as your captive," were the king's
orders to Anthony.
The page was very much worried for he thought that it would be more
difficult to capture the king of the Moors than it had been to capture
his purse.
"Not at all, dear godchild," said the kind St. Anthony when he had
heard about the king's new command.
Anthony climbed quietly up the wall as before and crept in through the
window. Then he rolled the king of the Moors up in the bedclothes and
tossed him out of the window. By the time the king was really awakened
from his sleep he was in the boat ready to sail away.
When Anthony returned to the palace with his captive, the king said:
"My best and bravest page, you are worthy indeed of any honor. You
shall wed my sister."
"I can't marry her," said Anthony. "My name is Antonia."
"In that case," said the king, "I'll marry you myself."
TROUBLE WHEN ONE'S YOUNG
_The Story of a Maid's Choice_
Long ago there lived a beautiful maiden whose name was Clarinha. She
had been betrothed to a prince whom she had never seen. When at last
he should be old enough to receive the rule of the kingdom he was
coming to claim her as his bride.
Clarinha lived in a magnificent palace surrounded by a beautiful
garden. Every day she spent many hours among the lovely flowers and
trees.
One day an eagle alighted on the tallest tree in the garden.
"Good morning, fair Clarinha," he said to her.
"Good morning," she replied in surprise. Never before had an eagle
spoken to her.
"Which do you prefer, trouble when you are young or when you are old?"
asked the eagle.
Clarinha did not know what to say. That night she asked her mother
which would be better to choose.
"Choose trouble when you're young, dear child," advised her mother.
"When you are young it is easy to bear anything, but when you are old
you can endure nothing."
She remembered her mother's words. Next day when the eagle again
addressed the same question to her, she answered: "Trouble when I'm
young."
Clarinha had hardly said these words when the eagle lifted her up by
the pink skirt she was wearing and carried her away. On he flew over
seas and mountains. Clarinha was frightened nearly to death.
At last the eagle set her down in a strange land. She was hungry, and,
accordingly, hired out in a bakeshop to earn her living. She would
have been happier if the eagle had flown away, but he remained in a
nearby tree-top.
The baker went out, leaving Clarinha to bake the dough which he had
left ready to put into the oven. The little maid carefully closed the
door and all the windows so that the eagle would not be able to get
inside. As soon as the baker was out of sight, however, he flew down
the chimney. He tore about the bakeshop, spilling all the dough on the
floor and breaking the dishes. Then he went back up the chimney when
he had completed all the damage there was to be done.
When the baker returned he flew into a terrible rage. He gave poor
Clarinha a beating and turned her out into the street.
She walked about the city and at last found work as shopkeeper in a
little shop on a corner. The owner of the business went away next day,
leaving her in charge of everything. As soon as he was gone she shut
the door and all the windows, but the eagle flew down the chimney and
broke the cups and glasses and plates which were set out for sale in
neat rows upon the shelf.
"What have you been doing in my shop?" cried the owner in anger when he
returned and saw the destruction which the eagle had left behind.
He didn't give the poor girl a chance to reply, but seized her roughly
and threw her out into the street.
Clarinha walked and walked seeking work, and at last she arrived at the
door of the royal palace.
"Do you happen to need a servant?" she asked the queen.
"I have all the servants I need," replied the queen.
The prince was standing nearby.
"Hire her, mother," he advised. "She'll do to take care of the ducks."
Accordingly, the queen hired Clarinha to care for the ducks. The next
morning all the ducks in the royal duckyard were dead. The eagle had
killed them all.
"Hire her for a seamstress, mother," said the prince. "The poor little
thing is crying as if her heart would break. I'm sorry for her."
The queen hired Clarinha to be a seamstress in the royal palace.
That very day the prince left home to visit his betrothed. He was
going to marry a beautiful maiden in a neighboring land, whom he had
never seen. As he left the palace he asked each one of the servants
what gifts he should bring at his return.
When he came to Clarinha, her reply was, "Bring me a stone from the
palace wall of your betrothed."
The prince thought it a strange request, but he promised to fulfill it.
As soon as the prince arrived in the land where his betrothed lived, he
found out that the palace was in mourning because of her mysterious
disappearance one day from the garden.
He was so sad that he could not linger in that land. He stayed only
long enough to buy the gifts which he had promised to bring to the
servants. Along with the other gifts he carried a stone from the
palace garden of his betrothed.
When Clarinha received her gift she heard the story of the mysterious
disappearance of the prince's bride. As soon as she held the stone in
her hand she knew that it came from the wall of her own loved garden.
Joy shone in her beautiful eyes.
For the first time the prince noticed how very lovely Clarinha was. He
had always liked the little maid even when her face was sad, but now
that she was happy he saw that she was the most beautiful girl he had
ever seen.
"What does that pretty little maid intend to do with that stone?" he
asked the queen.
"I cannot guess," replied the queen. "She seemed happy enough to
receive it. I never saw her look happy before. Trouble seems to
follow whatever she undertakes. I was on the point of discharging her.
She's caused me nothing but endless annoyance. I hired her only to
please you."
The prince followed Clarinha and listened at her door. Inside her room
she was talking to the stone.
"Oh, stone from my garden wall," she was saying. "How are the flowers
of my garden?"
[Illustration: "Oh, stone from my garden wall," she was saying]
The prince could hardly believe his ears. Suddenly he guessed what the
truth might be. He burst into the room.
"Are you my betrothed who has disappeared from her own land?" he asked
Clarinha.
She smiled into his eyes.
"Trouble when one's young is hard enough to bear," she said when she
had told all her story. "I've had quite enough to last me all my life."
"Your woes are ended now and a happy life lies before you," said the
prince. "Our wedding shall be celebrated at once."
THE LITTLE MAID WHO WAS WISE
_The Story of a Robber Who was Outwitted_
Long ago there lived a merchant who had three daughters. Every year at
a certain day of a certain month he went away to a distant city to
collect money on an account. His wife and daughters remained at home,
and all went well until one sad day the wife died. That year the
merchant looked forward to his journey with dread for he would have to
leave his daughters alone.
"I cannot bear to go away," he said to them. "My heart is filled with
fear lest some evil may befall you during my absence."
He worried about the matter night and day. The business was most
important and there was no one whom he could send to transact it for
him.
However, the question of leaving three such pretty girls unprotected
was a thing not to be regarded lightly.
"Do not be afraid to leave us, dear father," said his daughters.
"Nothing will harm us while you are away."
"How do you know?" asked their father. "I am older and wiser than you
are and I know that there are many evils which might come upon you.
There are many bold thieves in this city, for instance, who would be
only too ready to take advantage of my absence and rob my home of all I
possess."
"We can lock ourselves securely in the house and not let any one
enter," said the three daughters.
"Be sure that you admit no one," commanded the merchant.
They gave him their promise and he started on his journey.
Nevertheless, he went with an anxious heart.
Now, outside this city there was a band of bold robbers. The captain
of the band had watched the merchant's departure, and when he was
safely away the thief dressed himself in the disguise of an old beggar.
When it was evening he led his band into a nearby street and in his
disguise approached the merchant's house. He knocked at the door.
"Have pity upon a poor unfortunate one!" he called out. "It is raining
outside, and no one with mercy in his heart could turn away one who
begs shelter from the storm. Let me enter, I pray you, to pass the
night under your roof."
"It's surely a terrible storm outside," said the merchant's eldest
daughter, as the wind rattled the tiles of the roof and the rain beat
in torrents against the doors and windows. "I think we ought to take
pity on a poor beggar a night like this."
The second daughter peeped out of the window at the beggar.
"He is old as well as poor," she said. "Our father has always taught
us to show mercy and kindness to the aged."
"Remember our promise to our father!" cried the youngest one. "We gave
him our word that we would admit no one. We can give this poor beggar
some alms and send him away with a blessing."
The eldest daughter frowned. "It is not for the youngest and most
childish one of us to make the plans," she said.
The second daughter added. "We two are older and wiser than you are.
It is for us to determine what shall be done. If we decide to show
mercy to this poor beggar it is not for you to oppose it."
"Bui we should not forget our promise to our father!" cried the
youngest daughter.
However, in spite of all she could say, the elder sisters opened the
door and admitted the beggar. They led him into the kitchen to dry his
clothes. Then they made ready a bed for him to sleep upon. They gave
him his supper in the kitchen and then they ate their own.
"It is a fearful night to send away a beggar," said the eldest sister
while they were eating.
"I am glad we have made him comfortable for the night," remarked the
middle sister.
"I am thinking that our dear father would be anxious if he knew that we
had broken our promise so easily," said the youngest sister.
"For shame!" cried the eldest.
"I don't think it was breaking our promise to show kindness to a poor
old beggar," said the middle one.
"A promise is a promise, nevertheless," said the youngest.
While they were talking, the beggar had taken the apples which the
girls were to eat for dessert and had sprinkled a sleeping powder over
them. The two eldest ate their apples, but the youngest could not eat
that night. She threw the apple away.
As soon as they had eaten, the girls went to their room, and the two
eldest were overcome with sleep almost before they had time to get into
bed. The youngest one was so frightened that she could not sleep a
single wink.
Soon she heard footsteps. The beggar entered the room. The youngest
one pretended that she, too, was asleep. The man went to the bed of
the eldest sister and stuck a pin into her foot to see if she were
completely unconscious. She did not stir and he knew that the sleeping
powder had thoroughly done its work. Then he went to the bed of the
second sister and did the same. She was as completely unconscious as
her sister. It hurt terribly when he stuck the pin into the foot of
the youngest, but she did not stir. The robber thought that she was as
completely overcome by the sleeping powder as the others.
The youngest sister peeped through her long heavy eyelashes and watched
the beggar. She saw to her surprise that he had laid aside the heavy
ragged old coat which he had kept wrapped about him even while he ate.
Underneath he was dressed like a robber with a sword, pistols and
dagger. She was so terribly frightened that it was all she could do to
keep her teeth from chattering.
She heard the robber go about the house picking out the valuables which
he wanted to steal. Then she heard him go down the stairway and unbolt
the heavy doors which led into the store. She quietly got up and crept
out of the room to hear him more distinctly.
On a chair in the dining room she saw the sword which he had taken off.
He had evidently thought that, with all three girls so sound asleep,
he'd not need to use his weapons.
Soon she heard the heavy outer doors of the store unbolted. The robber
had gone outside to call the rest of the band. The little girl flew
down the stairs and closed the doors of the store securely. They were
big and heavy, but her great fear gave her strength.
[Illustration: They were big and heavy, but her great fear gave her
strength]
"He'll find it difficult to get into our house again," she said to
herself as she waited to see if the robber returned.
Soon she heard footsteps outside. She knew that the thief had brought
back others with him.
There were frightful words said when they found that the door was shut.
"It was the youngest one who deceived me!" cried the robber chieftain.
"I knew all the time that she did not want to let me in. I was
suspicious of her from the first."
"Perhaps you can outwit her yet!" cried another. "She may not be so
wise as she appears. You never can tell."
The leader of the band of thieves went up close to the keyhole and
whispered: "Kind lady of the house, have pity on me."
The merchant's daughter at first did not answer; but, as he kept on
calling to her, she finally asked him what it was that he wanted.
"I have left my charm behind!" he cried. "Pray let me enter to get it.
I promise you I will do you no harm."
"I do not trust your promises," replied the little maid. "You shall
not come into my father's house."
"Pass the charm out to me, then," said the robber.
"It's in the fire," replied the girl.
"Go throw vinegar on the fire and put it out," said the captain of the
thieves. "Then you can pull my charm out in safety."
Now it happened that there was a little hole in the door just large
enough for a man's hand to enter. It is the hole through which beggars
often thrust outstretched hands, asking for alms.
"Put your hand through the hole in the door," replied the little maid.
"Then I'll give you your charm."
She quickly ran upstairs and got the robber's sword which he had left
on a chair in the dining room. When she returned, his hand was
sticking through the hole in the door. She struck it with all her
might with the great sword and cut it off.
The cries and curses of the robbers filled the air. They tried in vain
to break down the great doors. The doors were strong and held
securely. At last it was daylight and the band of thieves had to flee.
In the morning the effect of the sleeping powder wore off and the two
elder sisters awoke. When they heard their sister's story they were
filled with amazement.
"I don't believe a word of it!" cried the oldest. "You are making it
up."
"You had a bad dream," said the second. "I had such a nightmare myself
that I have a headache this morning."
It was not until their little sister had shown them the robber's hand
and the great sword that they were convinced that she had told them the
truth.
"Oh, why did we ever let the man into our house!" cried the eldest.
"Oh, why didn't we keep our promise to our father!" cried the middle
one.
When at last the merchant returned from the distant city where he had
been to collect money he was delighted to find his house and his three
daughters safe.
"I see that no harm befell you in my absence," he said as he embraced
them fondly. "All my worries about you were foolish."
The eldest daughter blushed and hung her head. "Great danger
threatened us while you were away," she said. "Thanks to our youngest
sister, we are safe."
"Our little sister was wiser than we were," said the middle daughter.
When the merchant had heard the whole story, he said: "After this we
must all give ear to the wisdom of this little maid. She is wise
beyond her years."
MANOEL LITTLEBEAN
_The Story of How He Helped His Father_
Long ago there lived a man and his wife who had no children.
"I wish I had a little boy," said the man.
"I'd like a son of my own even if he were not any larger than a little
bean," said the woman.
Time passed and a son was born to this worthy couple. He was no larger
than a little bean and as the years went by he never grew any bigger.
His name was Manoel Littlebean. He caused his mother endless trouble
by constantly getting lost. Sometimes she'd nearly step on him. Other
times he'd fall into the food and she would almost swallow him.
One day his mother couldn't find him.
"Manoel Littlebean! Manoel Littlebean!" she called.
There was no answer.
She went outside the house and called his name anxiously. There was no
reply. She asked all the neighbors if they had seen the child, but
there was nobody who had noticed him that day. His poor mother was
nearly wild with anxiety.
"I'm afraid I'll never see the dear child again," she mourned. "I'm
sure I have either stepped on him or swallowed him!"
"You never stepped on him or swallowed him yet," comforted her husband.
However, he added anxiously, "I can't see what has become of my Manoel."
The truth of the matter was that Manoel Littlebean had been swallowed
by the goat. He was a most active youngster in spite of his small size
and he caused the goat a terrible attack of indigestion.
The goat did not know what was the matter and he tore around so wildly
and caused so much destruction that his master decided to kill him.
"I simply can't be bothered with that goat any longer," he said. "I
have quite enough to worry about already with Manoel Littlebean lost
and my poor wife nearly sick with anxiety because of it."
He never dreamed that it was his son who was making the goat so wild
with misery. When the goat was dead he threw it out into the street.
That night a wolf came and ate the goat. He swallowed the goat's
stomach so greedily that Manoel Littlebean had no time to escape.
However he jumped about just as actively inside the wolf as he had done
when the goat had swallowed him. The wolf was just as uncomfortable as
the goat had been.
"What is the matter with me?" thought the wolf. "Never in my life have
I had such a stomachache. I believe I'm going to die."
He ran away into the forest and crept into a cave to await his end.
Inside the cave was a robbers' den. Three of the robbers were there
counting over the gold they had just brought back.
When they saw the wolf they were so frightened that they dropped their
bags of gold and ran away as fast as they could, leaving everything
behind them.
Manoel Littlebean guessed that he was making the wolf sick.
"If I can only make him so ill that he will spit me up!" said Manoel to
himself as he jumped about his liveliest.