ils, without a house at all; and they are vulgar, though they think
so much of themselves. But we can employ the black ants, who run about
so much--hurrying to and fro as if they had all the business of the
world on their hands. They will certainly be able to find a wife for our
young gentleman."

"I know the fairest of the fair," said one of the ants; "but I'm afraid
it would not do, for she's a queen."

"She's none the worse for that," said both the old snails. "Has she a
house?"

"She has a palace," answered the ants; "the most splendid ant castle,
with seven hundred galleries."

"Thank you!" said the Mother Snail. "Our boy shall not go to live in an
ant hill. If you know of nothing better, we will employ the white gnats,
who fly both in rain and sunshine and know all the ins and outs of the
whole burdock forest."

"We have found a wife for him," said the gnats. "A hundred paces from
here there sits, on a gooseberry bush, a little snail with a house. She
is all alone and is old enough to marry. It is only a hundred human
steps from here."

"Then let her come to him," said the old couple. "He has a whole forest
of burdock, while she has only a bush."

So they went and brought the little maiden snail. It took eight days to
perform the journey, but that only showed her high breeding, and that
she was of good family.

And then the wedding took place. Six glow-worms gave all the light they
could, but in all other respects it was a very quiet affair. The old
people could not bear the fatigue of frolic or festivity. The Mother
Snail made a very touching little speech. The father was too much
overcome to trust himself to say anything.

They gave the young couple the entire burdock forest, saying what they
had always said, namely, that it was the finest inheritance in the
world, and that if they led an upright and honorable life, and if their
family should increase, without doubt both themselves and their children
would one day be taken to the manor castle and be boiled black and
served as a fricassee in a silver dish.

And after this the old couple crept into their houses and never came out
again, but fell asleep. The young pair now ruled in the forest and had a
numerous family. But when, as time went on, none of them were ever
cooked or served on a silver dish, they concluded that the castle had
fallen to ruin and that the world of human beings had died out; and as
no one contradicted them, they must have been