e on a bench by the
stove. They now talked about everyday matters, the world, the
wickedness of mankind, and similar things, without any special reason
or purpose. It appeared from her talk that Holy Friday was very much
incensed against men; but Petru agreed with her in every thing--as is
proper for a person who is sitting at another's table.

Heavens, how old the aged dame looked! I don't know why young Petru
devoured her so with his eyes, that he might have given her the Evil
eye. Was he counting the wrinkles in her face? He would have needed to
be born seven times in succession, and each time live seven times as
long as an ordinary human life, to have leisure to number them all.
But Holy Friday's heart laughed with joy, when she saw Petru
completely absorbed in gazing at her.

"When the present state of things had no existence," Holy Friday
began, "before the world was made, I was born, and was so beautiful a
child that my parents created the earth, in order to have somebody to
admire my loveliness. By the time the world was made I had grown up
and, amid all the marveling at my beauty, the Evil eye fell upon me.
Since then every century a wrinkle has formed on my face. And now I am
old!" Holy Friday's grief and anger would allow her to say no more.

In the course of the conversation Holy Friday told Petru that her
father had once been a great and powerful emperor, and once, when a
quarrel broke out between him and the Fairy Aurora, who ruled the
adjoining country, he had been shamefully mocked at by his neighbor.
Then she began to say all sorts of things about the Fairy Aurora. What
was Petru to do? He listened in silence, now and then saying: "Yes,
yes, it is really too bad." What else could he do?

"But I will set you a task, if you are a brave champion and will
perform it," said Holy Friday, when both began to be sleepy. "At the
Fairy Aurora's is a spring--whoever drinks from it will bloom like the
rose and the violet. Bring me a jug of the water, and I shall know how
to show you my gratitude. It's a difficult task, heaven knows! The
Fairy Aurora's kingdom is guarded by all sorts of wild beasts and
terrible dragons. But I want to tell you something else, and give you
something too."

After Holy Friday had said this, she went to a chest bound with iron
on every corner and took out a tiny little flute.

"Look," she said to Petru, "an old man gave me this when I was young.
Whoever hears its notes falls asleep