ly saw
the dragon, which, with one jaw on the upper cornice of the door and
the other on the threshold beneath, told the young fellow it had come
to settle their account and he must now give up to be devoured the
bride sleeping beside him, whom he loved like the apple of his eye.

The old man's son, who had long since forgotten the settlement, did
not know what to do. He dared not rush upon the dragon and kill it,
because he knew that they had made this bargain; his father had often
told him that, when a man has given his word, he has also pledged his
soul. Yet his heart would not let him yield up his beloved wife for
the dragon to devour. While he was torturing himself in trying to
think what he could do to neither break his promise nor give up his
bride, the bread on the table began to jump about and said:

"Hi, dragon, I've been sowed, grew up, was mowed down and fastened
into a bundle, yet I bore it, do you now bear your trouble, too, and
go into the depths of the sea."

The dragon stood waiting. The bread went on:

"Then I was carried to the barn, horses trampled on me, I was winnowed
and taken to the mill. Bear your troubles as I've borne mine, and go,
that we may hear your name no more."

The dragon still waited, and its tongue darted about in its mouth like
lightning. The emperor's son-in-law and his bride remained perfectly
quiet. The bread spoke again:

"Then I was ground, taken home, sifted, kneaded with water, put into
the oven, and baked till my eyes almost started out of my head, yet I
bore it. Do you bear it too, you accursed dragon, and may you burst."

The noise that echoed through the air, as the dragon burst, was so
loud that every body in the palace awoke. Men came running to the
spot, what did they see? A monster of a dragon, burst and split open.
It was so huge that all shrank away in terror.

Afterward they took the carcass, carried it out of the palace, and
gave it to the ravens. Then the emperor's son-in-law related the whole
affair. When the people in the palace heard it, they all thanked God
for having worked such a miracle and permitted the emperor's children
to escape safe and sound. Then they lived in peace and happiness and
did good every where, and if they have not died, they may be alive
now.

Into the saddle then I sprung,
This tale to tell to old and young.

The Fairy Aurora.

Once upon a time something happened. If it hadn't happened, it
wouldn't be told