ed well and faithfully the whole day?' said the King to
Cinderlad.

'I have done my best,' replied Cinderlad.

'Then thou canst tell me what my seven foals eat and drink?' asked the
King.

So Cinderlad pulled out the consecrated bread and the flask of wine, and
showed them to the King. 'Here may you behold their meat, and here their
drink,' said he.

'Yes, diligently and faithfully hast thou watched,' said the King, 'and
thou shalt have the Princess and half the kingdom.'

So all was made ready for the wedding, and the King said that it was
to be so stately and magnificent that everyone should hear of it, and
everyone inquire about it.

But when they sat down to the marriage-feast, the bridegroom arose and
went down to the stable, for he said that he had forgotten something
which he must go and look to. When he got there, he did what the foals
had bidden him, and cut off the heads of all the seven. First the
eldest, and then the second, and so on according to their age, and he
was extremely careful to lay each head at the tail of the foal to which
it had belonged, and when that was done, all the foals became princes
again. When he returned to the marriage-feast with the seven princes,
the King was so joyful that he both kissed Cinderlad and clapped him on
the back, and his bride was still more delighted with him than she had
been before.

'Half my kingdom is thine already,' said the King, 'and the other
half shall be thine after my death, for my sons can get countries and
kingdoms for themselves now that they have become princes again.'

Therefore, as all may well believe, there was joy and merriment at that
wedding.(31)

(31) From J. Moe.

THE MARVELLOUS MUSICIAN

THERE was once upon a time a marvellous musician. One day he was
wandering through a wood all by himself, thinking now of one thing, now
of another, till there was nothing else left to think about. Then he
said to himself:

'Time hangs very heavily on my hands when I'm all alone in the wood. I
must try and find a pleasant companion.'

So he took his fiddle out, and fiddled till he woke the echoes round.
After a time a wolf came through the thicket and trotted up to the
musician.

'Oh! it's a Wolf, is it?' said he. 'I've not the smallest wish for his
society.'

But the Wolf approached him and said:

'Oh, my dear musician, how beautifully you play! I wish you'd teach me
how it's done.'

'That's easily learned,' answered the fiddle