ry you.'

'Oh no!' cried Rosette, 'he must be wicked, since he tried to drown me.
Don't let us tell him, but if you have a little basket give it to me.'

The old man gave her a basket, and tying it round Frisk's neck she said
to him: 'Go and find out the best cooking-pot in the town and bring the
contents to me.'

Away went Frisk, and as there was no better dinner cooking in all the
town than the King's, he adroitly took the cover off the pot and brought
all it contained to the Princess, who said:

'Now go back to the pantry, and bring the best of everything you find
there.'

So Frisk went back and filled his basket with white bread, and red wine,
and every kind of sweetmeat, until it was almost too heavy for him to
carry.

When the King of the Peacocks wanted his dinner there was nothing in the
pot and nothing in the pantry. All the courtiers looked at one another
in dismay, and the King was terribly cross.

'Oh well! 'he said, 'if there is no dinner I cannot dine, but take care
that plenty of things are roasted for supper.'

When evening came the Princess said to Frisk:

'Go into the town and find out the best kitchen, and bring me all the
nicest morsels that are being roasted upon the spit.'

Frisk did as he was told, and as he knew of no better kitchen than the
King's, he went in softly, and when the cook's back was turned took
everything that was upon the spit, As it happened it was all done to
a turn, and looked so good that it made him hungry only to see it. He
carried his basket to the Princess, who at once sent him back to the
pantry to bring all the tarts and sugar plums that had been prepared for
the King's supper.

The King, as he had had no dinner, was very hungry and wanted his supper
early, but when he asked for it, lo and behold it was all gone, and he
had to go to bed half-starved and in a terrible temper. The next day the
same thing happened, and the next, so that for three days the King got
nothing at all to eat, because just when the dinner or the supper
was ready to be served it mysteriously disappeared. At last the Prime
Minister began to be afraid that the King would be starved to death,
so he resolved to hide himself in some dark corner of the kitchen, and
never take his eyes off the cooking-pot. His surprise was great when
he presently saw a little green dog with one ear slip softly into the
kitchen, uncover the pot, transfer all its contents to his basket,
and run off. The Prime M