to hear of these
human heads, my mother would certainly be prosecuted."

"I must give you some reward now, as you are so good," muttered the old
woman; "have patience for a minute, and I will prepare you a soup which
you will remember all your life." Having said this, she whistled
again, and immediately there came first some guinea-pigs dressed like
human beings; they had tied round them kitchen aprons, fastened by a
belt, in which were stuck ladles and carving-knives; after them came
skipping in a number of squirrels, that wore large, wide Turkish
trousers, walked upright, and had small caps of green velvet on their
heads. These seemed to be the scullions, for they climbed very nimbly
up the walls and brought down pans and dishes, eggs and butter, herbs
and flour, and carried it to the hearth. The old woman slided
continually to and fro upon her cocoa-nut slippers, and little James
observed that she was very anxious to cook something good for him. Now
the fire crackled and blazed up higher, there was a smoking and
bubbling in the saucepan, and a pleasant odour spread over the room,
but the old woman kept running up and down, the squirrels and
guinea-pigs after her, and as often as she passed the hearth she poked
her long nose into the pot. At length it began to boil and hiss, the
steam rose from the pot, and the scum flowed down into the fire. She
then took off the saucepan, and pouring some into a silver basin, gave
it to James.

"Now, my dear little son, now," said she, "eat this soup and you will
have in your own person all that you admired so much in me. You shall
moreover become a clever cook, that you may be something at least, but
as for the herb, that you shall never find, because your mother did not
have it in her basket."

The little boy did not exactly understand what she was saying, but was
the more attentive to eating his soup, which he relished uncommonly.
His mother had cooked various savoury soups, but never any like this.
The flavour of the fine herbs and spice ascended from it, and it was at
the same time very sweet, and very sharp and strong. While he was
sipping the last drops of the delicious soup, the guinea-pigs lighted
some Arabian incense which floated through the room in blue clouds,
which became thicker and thicker, and then descended. The smell of the
incense had a stupifying effect upon the boy; in vain did he repeatedly
say to himself that he must return to his mother, for as