having invited them, and the bridegroom also appeared. When they
were all seated at table, each one had to tell a story. But the bride
sat still, and said nothing, till at last the bridegroom said to her,

"Now, sweetheart, do you know no story? Tell us something."

She answered,

"I will tell you my dream. I was going alone through a wood, and I came
at last to a house in which there was no living soul, but by the wall
was a bird in a cage, who cried,

'Turn back, turn back, thou pretty bride,
Within this house thou must not bide,
For evil things do here betide.'

"And then again it said it. Sweetheart, the dream is not ended. Then I
went through all the rooms, and they were all empty, and it was so
lonely and wretched. At last I went down into the cellar, and there sat
an old old woman, nodding her head. I asked her if my bridegroom lived
in that house, and she answered, 'Ah, poor child, you have come into a
place of cut-throats; your bridegroom does live here, but he will kill
you and cut you in pieces, and then cook and eat you.' Sweetheart, the
dream is not ended. But the old woman hid me behind a great cask, and no
sooner had she done so than the robbers came home, dragging with them a
young woman, and they gave her to drink wine thrice, white, red, and
yellow. Sweetheart, the dream is not yet ended. And then they killed
her, and cut her in pieces. Sweetheart, my dream is not yet ended. And
one of the robbers saw a gold ring on the finger of the young woman, and
as it was difficult to get off, he took an axe and chopped off the
finger, which jumped upwards, and then fell behind the great cask on my
lap. And here is the finger with the ring!"

At these words she drew it forth, and showed it to the company.

The robber, who during the story had grown deadly white, sprang up, and
would have escaped, but the folks held him fast, and delivered him up to
justice. And he and his whole gang were, for their evil deeds, condemned
and executed.

MR KORBES

A COCK and a hen once wanted to go a journey together. So the cock built
a beautiful carriage with four red wheels, and he harnessed four little
mice to it. And the cock and the hen got into it, and were driven off.
Very soon they met a cat, who asked where they were going. The cock
answered,

"On Mr. Korbes a call to pay,
And that is where we go to-day!"

"Take me with you," said the cat.

The cock answered,

"Very well, only