if ever he got back to earth,
and was always obliged to tell the truth, whether it were convenient or
not.

"A bonnie gift, forsooth!" he said scornfully. "My tongue is my own, and
I would prefer that no one meddled with it. If I am obliged always to
tell the truth, how shall I fare when I once more go back to the wicked
world? When I take a cow to market, have I always to point out the horn
it hath lost, or the piece of skin that is torn? And when I talk to my
betters, and would crave a boon of them, must I always tell them my real
thoughts, instead of giving them the flattery which, let me tell you,
Madam, goes a long way in obtaining a favour?"

"Now hold thy peace," said the lady sharply, "and think thyself favoured
to see food at all. Many miles of our journey lie yet before us, and
already thou criest out for hunger. Certs, if thou wilt not eat when
thou canst, thou shalt have no more opportunity."

Poor Thomas was so hungry, and the apple looked so tempting, that at
last he took it and ate it, and the Grace of Truth settled down on his
lips for ever: that is why men called him "True Thomas," when in after
years he returned to earth.

Then the lady shook her bridle rein, and the palfrey darted forward so
quickly that it appeared to be almost flying. On and on they flew, until
they came to the World's End, and a great desert stretched before them.
Here the lady bade Thomas dismount and lean his head against her knee.
"I have three wonders to show thee, Thomas," she said, "and it is thus
that thou canst see them best."

Thomas did as he was bid, and when he laid his head against the Fairy
Queen's knee, he saw three roads stretching away before him through the
sand.

One of them was a rough and narrow road, with thick hedges of thorn on
either side, and branches of tangled briar hanging down from them, and
lying across the path. Any traveller who travelled by that road would
find it beset with many difficulties.

The next road was smooth and broad, and it ran straight and level across
the plain. It looked so easy a way that Thomas wondered that anyone ever
wanted to go along the narrow path at all.

The third road wound along a hillside, and the banks above it and below
it were covered with beautiful brackens, and their delicate fronds rose
high on either side, so high, indeed, that they would shelter the
wayfarer from the burning heat of the noonday sun.

"That is the best road of all," thought Thomas to