ies about her. However, they might have spared
themselves the trouble, as he knew it was only idle talk. 'I have merely
to remain firm,' thought he, 'and they will have to give in.' It was
such a good match for the girl that it never occurred to anyone that she
would refuse the young man, but so it was. It would not be right, she
felt, to make a quarrel in the house, and though in secret she wept
bitterly, for a long while, nothing would make her change her mind. At
length one night her mother appeared to her in a dream, and bade her
marry the young man. So the next time he asked her--as he did nearly
every day--to his surprise and joy she consented. The parents then saw
they had better make the best of a bad business, and set about
making the grand preparations suitable to the occasion. Of course the
neighbours said a great many ill-natured things about the wooden helmet,
but the bridegroom was too happy to care, and only laughed at them.

When everything was ready for the feast, and the bride was dressed in
the most beautiful embroidered dress to be found in Japan, the maids
took hold of the helmet to lift it off her head, so that they might do
her hair in the latest fashion. But the helmet would not come, and
the harder they pulled, the faster it seemed to be, till the poor girl
yelled with pain. Hearing her cries the bridegroom ran in and soothed
her, and declared that she should be married in the helmet, as she could
not be married without. Then the ceremonies began, and the bridal pair
sat together, and the cup of wine was brought them, out of which they
had to drink. And when they had drunk it all, and the cup was empty, a
wonderful thing happened. The helmet suddenly burst with a loud noise,
and fell in pieces on the ground; and as they all turned to look they
found the floor covered with precious stones which had fallen out of it.
But the guests were less astonished at the brilliancy of the diamonds
than at the beauty of the bride, which was beyond anything they had ever
seen or heard of. The night was passed in singing and dancing, and then
the bride and bridegroom went to their own house, where they lived till
they died, and had many children, who were famous throughout Japan for
their goodness and beauty.

(Japanische Marchen.)

THE MONKEY AND THE JELLY-FISH

Children must often have wondered why jelly-fishes have no shells, like
so many of the creatures that are washed up every day on the beach. In