chariot, and took her on board the
Admiral's ship, where she bade her farewell, sending many messages of
friendship to the Queen, and bidding the Princess tell her that she
was the fifth Fairy who had attended the christening. Then salutes were
fired, the fleet weighed anchor, and very soon they reached the port.
Here the King and Queen were waiting, and they received the Princess
with such joy and kindness that she could not get a word in edgewise, to
say how sorry she was for having run away with such a very poor spirited
Ambassador. But, after all, it must have been all Carabosse's fault.
Just at this lucky moment who should arrive but King Merlin's son, who
had become uneasy at not receiving any news from his Ambassador, and so
had started himself with a magnificent escort of a thousand horsemen,
and thirty body-guards in gold and scarlet uniforms, to see what could
have happened. As he was a hundred times handsomer and braver than the
Ambassador, the Princess found she could like him very much. So the
wedding was held at once, with so much splendour and rejoicing that all
the previous misfortunes were quite forgotten.(1)

(1) La Princesse Printaniere. Par Mme. d'Aulnoy.

SORIA MORIA CASTLE

THERE was once upon a time a couple of folks who had a son called
Halvor. Ever since he had been a little boy he had been unwilling to
do any work, and had just sat raking about among the ashes. His parents
sent him away to learn several things, but Halvor stayed nowhere, for
when he had been gone two or three days he always ran away from his
master, hurried off home, and sat down in the chimney corner to grub
among the ashes again.

One day, however, a sea captain came and asked Halvor if he hadn't a
fancy to come with him and go to sea, and behold foreign lands. And
Halvor had a fancy for that, so he was not long in getting ready.

How long they sailed I have no idea, but after a long, long time there
was a terrible storm, and when it was over and all had become calm
again, they knew not where they were, for they had been driven away to a
strange coast of which none of them had any knowledge.

As there was no wind at all they lay there becalmed, and Halvor asked
the skipper to give him leave to go on shore to look about him, for he
would much rather do that than lie there and sleep.

'Dost thou think that thou art fit to go where people can see thee?'
said the skipper; 'thou hast no clothes but those rags thou