rew louder and louder, till one might have thought the
world was going to ruin. Good gracious! There came one wasp after
another, one swarm behind another, whole ranks, great clouds of wasps
of all sizes, all ready to circle the earth and obey the Poor Boy's
commands.

"Have no anxiety," said the Wasp Queen; "if the drove still remains on
the earth, we'll bring the horses back to you ere sunrise."

Then every thing became quiet, because the wasps flew off to every
quarter of the globe and scattered all over the world. Ere long a
cloud of dust appeared in the distance, swept with mad haste over the
wide plain in the midst of the moor, and the drove of horses, urged by
the wasps' stings, dashed up so swiftly that the earth fairly groaned
under their hoofs. The Poor Boy thanked the wasps for their help, and
then went to the hut as if nothing had happened.

The old woman looked askance at him, said he had done well, and then
beat the mares again, ordering them to hide carefully at night. That
evening the lad would eat nothing, because he thought the witch's food
had caused his terrible thirst the night before; but when he went with
the drove to the pasture, a burning, consuming thirst seized upon him
as soon as he saw the clear water, and wherever he went springs
bubbled from under his feet. At last he could no longer control
himself, and relying upon the aid of the wasps, lay down beside a
spring and had scarcely drunk when he instantly fell asleep. This time
he woke later than on the night before, because he had gone to sleep
later, so he was later in shaking the hair he had pulled out from
under the wasp's wing, and the swarms of wasps were later in coming to
seek and drive the horses home.

But what did the youth see? Ere long one swarm after another returned,
each bringing news that the drove could not be found on the surface of
the earth and must have hidden somewhere in the sea.

The sun was about to rise. The Poor Boy took the fish-scale, rubbed
it, and suddenly there appeared in the springs at his feet a school of
tiny fish, that filled every channel, and asked what were his wishes
and commands. He told them what he desired and instantly all the
waters on the earth, rivers, lakes, and seas, began to swell and dash,
while the wasps flew off to be ready to pounce upon the drove as soon
as the fish forced the horses to appear.

The Poor Boy had scarcely time to collect his horses and take them
home when the sun