er. 'Is there anything in the world that we have left untried?'

'Nothing except marriage,' answered the king. And he invited all the
handsomest young men he could think of to the palace, and bade the
princess choose a husband from among them.

It took her some time to decide which she admired the most, but at last
she fixed upon a young prince, whose eyes were like the pools in the
forest, and his hair of bright gold. The king and the queen were greatly
pleased, as the young man was the son of a neighbouring king, and they
gave orders that a splendid feast should be got ready.

When the marriage was over, Kisa suddenly stood before them, and
Ingibjorg rushed forward and clasped her in her arms.

'I have come to claim my reward,' said the cat. 'Let me sleep for this
night at the foot of your bed.'

'Is that ALL?' asked Ingibjorg, much disappointed.

'It is enough,' answered the cat. And when the morning dawned, it was no
cat that lay upon the bed, but a beautiful princess.

'My mother and I were both enchanted by a spiteful fairy,' said she,
'we could not free ourselves till we had done some kindly deed that had
never been wrought before. My mother died without ever finding a chance
of doing anything new, but I took advantage of the evil act of the giant
to make you as whole as ever.'

Then they were all more delighted than before, and the princess lived
in the court until she, too, married, and went away to govern one of her
own.

[Adapted from Neuislandischen Volksmarchen.]

The Lion and the Cat

Far away on the other side of the world there lived, long ago, a lion
and his younger brother, the wild cat, who were so fond of each other
that they shared the same hut. The lion was much the bigger and stronger
of the two--indeed, he was much bigger and stronger than any of the
beasts that dwelt in the forest; and, besides, he could jump father and
run faster than all the rest. If strength and swiftness could gain him a
dinner he was sure never to be without one, but when it came to cunning,
both the grizzly bear and the serpent could get the better of him, and
he was forced to call in the help of the wild cat.

Now the young wild cat had a lovely golden ball, so beautiful that you
could hardly look at it except through a piece of smoked glass, and he
kept it hidden in the thick fur muff that went round his neck. A very
large old animal, since dead, had given it to him when he was hardly
more than a