d noble sire and lord, the prince my bridegroom
knows of the vow I made when carried off by the hurricane, that I
would only give my hand to him who could answer aright my six enigmas:
it would be impossible for the Princess with the Golden Hair to break
her word."

The king was silent, but the prince said, "Speak, sweet princess, I am
listening."

"This is my first riddle: 'Two of my extremities form a sharp point,
the two others a ring, in my centre is a screw.'"

"A pair of scissors," answered he.

"Well guessed. This is the second: 'I make the round of the table on
only one foot, but if I am wounded the evil is beyond repair.'"

"A glass of wine."

"Right. This is the third: 'I have no tongue, and yet I answer
faithfully; I am not seen, yet every one hears me.'"

"An echo."

"True. This is the fourth: 'Fire cannot light me; brush cannot sweep
me; no painter can paint me; no hiding-place secure me.'"

"Sunshine."

"The very thing. This is the fifth: 'I existed before the creation of
Adam. I am always changing in succession the two colours of my dress.
Thousands of years have gone by, but I have remained unaltered both in
colour and form.'"

"It must be time, including day and night."

"You have succeeded in guessing the five most difficult, the last is
the easiest of all. 'By day a ring, by night a serpent; he who guesses
this shall be my bridegroom.'"

"It is a girdle."

"Now they are all guessed," said she, and gave her hand to the young
prince.

They knelt before the king and queen to receive their blessing. The
three weddings were celebrated that same evening, and a messenger
mounted the winged horse to carry the good news to the parents of the
young princes and to bring them back as guests. Meanwhile a
magnificent feast was prepared, and invitations were sent to all their
friends and acquaintances. And from that evening until the next
morning they ceased not to feast and drink and dance. I too was a
guest, and feasted with the rest; but though I ate and drank, the wine
only ran down my beard, and my throat remained dry.

IMPERISHABLE

[Illustration: Imperishable.]

Once upon a time, ever so many years ago, there lived a little old man
and a little old woman. Very old indeed were they, for they had lived
nearly a hundred years. But they took neither joy nor pleasure in
anything, and this because they had no children. They were now about
to keep the seventy-fifth anniversary