o big
for us. I may help you some day in return.'

'I have no time to waste on other people's affairs,' said Peter; 'just
fight away as best you can;' and with that he walked off and left them.

A little further on the way he met an old woman.

'Good morning, young man,' said she; 'you are early astir. What have you
got in your basket?'

'Cinders,' said Peter promptly, and walked on, adding to himself, 'Take
that for being so inquisitive.'

'Very well, cinders be it,' the old woman called after him, but he
pretended not to hear her.

Very soon he reached the palace, and was at once brought before the
king. When he took the cover off the basket, the king and all his
courtiers said with one voice that these were the finest pearls they
had ever seen, and they could not take their eyes off them. But then
a strange thing happened: the pearls began to lose their whiteness and
grew quite dim in colour; then they grew blacker and blacker till at
last they were just like so many cinders. Peter was so amazed that he
could say nothing for himself, but the king said quite enough for both,
and Peter was glad to get away home again as fast as his legs would
carry him. To his father and brothers, however, he gave no account of
his attempt, except that it had been a failure.

Next day Paul set out to try his luck. He soon came upon the King of the
Ants and the King of the Beetles, who with their armies had encamped on
the field of battle all night, and were ready to begin the fight again.

'Come and help me,' said the King of the Ants; 'we got the worst of it
yesterday. I may help you some day in return.'

'I don't care though you get the worst of it to-day too,' said Paul.
'I have more important business on hand than mixing myself up in your
quarrels.'

So he walked on, and presently the same old woman met him. 'Good
morning,' said she; 'what have YOU got in your basket?'

'Cinders,' said Paul, who was quite as insolent as his brother, and
quite as anxious to teach other people good manners.

'Very well, cinders be it,' the old woman shouted after him, but Paul
neither looked back nor answered her. He thought more of what she said,
however, after his pearls also turned to cinders before the eyes of
king and court: then he lost no time in getting home again, and was very
sulky when asked how he had succeeded.

The third day came, and with it came Jesper's turn to try his fortune.
He got up and had his breakfast, while P