rince unfastened the cross which was his mother's gift,
and the princess hastily changed herself into a church, the prince into
a priest, and the horse into a belfry.

It was hardly done when Kostiei came up.

'Greeting, monk. Have you seen some travellers on horseback pass this
way?'

'Yes, the prince and Kostiei's daughter have just gone by. They have
entered the church, and told me to give you their greetings if I met
you.'

Then Kostiei knew that he had been hopelessly beaten, and the prince and
princess continued their journey without any more adventures.

[_Contes Populaires Slaves_. Traduits par Louis Leger. Paris: Leroux,
editeur.]

_THE SIMPLETON_

There lived, once upon a time, a man who was as rich as he could be; but
as no happiness in this world is ever quite complete, he had an only son
who was such a simpleton that he could barely add two and two together.
At last his father determined to put up with his stupidity no longer,
and giving him a purse full of gold, he sent him off to seek his fortune
in foreign lands, mindful of the adage:

How much a fool that's sent to roam
Excels a fool that stays at home.

Moscione, for this was the youth's name, mounted a horse, and set out
for Venice, hoping to find a ship there that would take him to Cairo.
After he had ridden for some time he saw a man standing at the foot of a
poplar tree, and said to him: 'What's your name, my friend; where do you
come from, and what can you do?'

The man replied, 'My name is Quick-as-Thought, I come from Fleet-town,
and I can run like lightning.'

'I should like to see you,' returned Moscione.

'Just wait a minute, then,' said Quick-as-Thought, 'and I will soon show
you that I am speaking the truth.'

The words were hardly out of his mouth when a young doe ran right across
the field they were standing in.

Quick-as-Thought let her run on a short distance, in order to give her a
start, and then pursued her so quickly and so lightly that you could not
have tracked his footsteps if the field had been strewn with flour. In a
very few springs he had overtaken the doe, and had so impressed Moscione
with his fleetness of foot that he begged Quick-as-Thought to go with
him, promising at the same time to reward him handsomely.

Quick-as-Thought agreed to his proposal, and they continued on their
journey together. They had hardly gone a mile when they met a young man,
and Moscione stopped and asked him: