old him, but her son comforted her, and said,
"Do not weep, dear mother. We will take care of ourselves, and go far
away."

Then she took courage, and said, "Yes, go away with your eleven
brothers, and remain in the forest; and let one climb a tree, from
whence he will be able to see the tower of the castle; If I should have
a son, a white flag shall be hoisted, and then you may return home; but
if you see a red flag, you will know it is a girl, and then hasten away
as fast as you can, and may Heaven protect you! Every night I will pray
for you, that you may not suffer from the cold in winter or the heat in
summer."

Then she blessed all her sons, and they went away into the forest, while
each in turn mounted a high tree daily, to watch for the flag on the
tower.

Eleven days passed, and it was Benjamin's turn to watch. He saw the flag
hoisted, and it was red--the signal that they must die. The brothers
were angry, and said, "Shall we suffer death on account of a maiden?
When we find one we will kill her, to avenge ourselves."

They went still farther into the forest, and came upon a most pleasant
little cottage, which was uninhabited. "We will make this our home,"
they said; "and Benjamin, as you are the youngest and weakest, you shall
stay at home and keep house, while we go out and procure food."

So they wandered about the forest, shooting hares, wild rabbits, pigeons
and other birds, which they brought to Benjamin to prepare for food. In
this cottage they lived for ten years happily together, so that the time
passed quickly.

Their little sister was growing a great girl. She had a sweet
disposition, and was very beautiful to look upon. She wore rich clothes,
and a golden star on her forehead.

One day, when she was about ten years old, she discovered in her
mother's wardrobe twelve shirts. "Mother," she exclaimed, "whose shirts
are these? They are much too small for my father."

The queen sighed as she replied, "Dear child, these shirts belong to
your twelve brothers."

"Twelve brothers!" cried the little maiden. "Where are they? I have not
even heard of them."

"Heaven knows where they are," was the reply; "but they are wandering
about the world somewhere." Then the queen took her little daughter to
the private room in the castle, and showed her the twelve coffins which
had been prepared for her brothers, and related to her, with many tears,
why they had left home.

"Dear mother," said the child, "d