o the kind woman and said: "I am so sorry
that I cut the tongue of your Sparrow. Please tell me the way to his
home so that I may go to him and tell him I am sorry."

The kind woman told her the way and she set out. She went across the
bridge, over the mountain, and through the woods. At last she came to
the home of the little Sparrow.

He was not so glad to see this old woman, yet he was very kind to her
and did everything to make her feel welcome. They made a feast for her,
and when she started home the Sparrow brought out two baskets as before.
Of course the woman chose the large basket, for she thought that would
have even more wealth than the other one.

It was very heavy, and caught on the trees as she was going through the
wood. She could hardly pull it up the mountain with her, and she was all
out of breath when she reached the top. She did not get to the bridge
until it was dark. Then she was so afraid of dropping the basket into
the river that she scarcely dared to step.

When at last she reached home she was so tired that she was half dead,
but she pulled the screens close shut, so that no one could look in, and
opened her treasure.

Treasure indeed! A whole swarm of horrible creatures burst from the
basket the moment she opened it. They stung her and bit her, they pushed
her and pulled her, they scratched her and laughed at her screams.

At last she crawled to the edge of the room and slid aside the screen to
get away from the pests. The moment the door was opened they swooped
down upon her, picked her up, and flew away with her. Since then nothing
has ever been heard of the old woman.

186

The tale of "The Straw Ox" as given in _Cossack
Fairy Tales_, by R. Nesbit Bain, is one of the
masterpieces among folk stories. It is of the
accumulative type, winding up rapidly to the
point where the old couple have secured,
through the straw ox, all the raw material
needed for comfortable clothing. Then comes the
surprising release of the captured animals
under promise to make contributions, each in
his own way, to the welfare of the
poverty-stricken couple. And then, the greatest
surprise of all, the quick unwinding of the
plot with the return of the grateful animals
according to promise. "And the old man was
glad, and the old woman was glad," and we are
glad for their sake,