, my sister, sad am I,
That so great harm to you is nigh!
And far from you I love must be,
A-swimming in the deep, deep sea!"

And the Lamb replied:--

"Ah, my brother in the pond,
Sad must I leave you, though I'm fond;
The cook has come to take my life,
Swim off to sea,--Beware!"

Just then the Cook came back and hearing the Lamb speak became
frightened. Thinking it could not be a real lamb, he said, "Be still,
I will not harm you. Run, hide in the wood, and when it is evening,
come to the edge of the wood and I will help you!"

Then the Cook caught another lamb and dressed it for the guests. And
before evening he went to a wise woman who happened to be the old
Nurse who had taken care of Peterkin and Gretchen. She loved the
children and she soon saw what the wicked Queen had done. She told the
Cook what the Lamb and Fish must do to regain their natural forms.

As soon as it was dark the little Lamb came to the edge of the wood
and the Cook said, "Little Lamb, I will tell you what you must do to
be a maid again!" So the Cook whispered what the wise Woman had said.
The little Lamb thanked the Cook and promised to do as he said.

Next morning very early before the break of day, the little Lamb
hurried from the wood across the meadow. Not taking time to go near
the pond she hastily pushed against the castle gate which the kind
Cook had left unfastened for her. She ran up the path, and there under
the Queen's window stood the beautiful rose-tree with only two red
roses on it--just as the Cook had said. Not even glancing at the
Queen's window, the little Lamb began nibbling the lowest one. And
behold, there in the path stood Gretchen again! Then hastening to
seize the other rose before the sun's first ray might touch it, she
ran lightly down the path, away from castle ground, across the meadow
to the pond. Calling little Fish to the water's edge--for he had
lingered in the pond--she sprinkled over him the drops of dew in the
heart of the rose. And there stood little Peterkin beside Gretchen!

Then hand in hand, Gretchen and Peterkin hurried from the pond and
fled into the wood just as the sun began to show beyond the trees.
There they built themselves a cottage and lived in it happily ever
afterwards. The kind Cook and the wise Nurse found them and visited
them. But Gretchen and Peterkin never went near castle ground until
the Cook told them the Queen was no more.--_Laura F. Krea