l into the plain by the sea. When the courtiers had regained their
senses, both the wolf and boy were out of sight.

Oh! what weeping and wailing burst forth from the king and queen when
they understood that their little son was gone from them for ever, only,
as they supposed, to die a cruel death! For of course they did not know
that one far worse had awaited him at home.

After the first shock, William did not very much mind what was happening
to him. The wolf jerked him on to his back, and told him to hold fast by
his ears, and the boy sat comfortably among the thick hair, and did not
even get his feet wet as they swam across the Straits of Messina. On the
other side, not far from Rome, was a forest of tall trees, and as by
this time it was getting dark, the wolf placed William on a bed of soft
fern, and broke off a branch of delicious fruits, which he gave him for
supper. Then he scooped out a deep pit with his paws, and lined it
with moss and feathery grasses, and there they both lay down and slept
till morning; in spite of missing his mother, in all his life William
had never been so happy.

[Illustration: The Wer-Wolf carries Prince William away]

For eight days they stayed in the forest, and it seemed to the boy as if
he had never dwelt anywhere else. There was so much to see and to do,
and when he was tired of playing the wolf told him stories.

But one morning, before he was properly awake, he felt himself gently
shaken by a paw, and he sat up, and looked about him. 'Listen to me,'
said the wolf. 'I have to go right over to the other side of the wood,
on some business of a friend's, and I shall not be back till sunset. Be
careful not to stray out of sight of this pit, for you may easily lose
yourself. You will find plenty of fruit and nuts piled up under that
cherry tree.'

So the wolf went away, and the child curled himself up for another
sleep, and when the sun was high and its beams awakened him, he got up
and had his breakfast. While he was eating, birds with blue and green
feathers came and hopped on his shoulder and pecked at the fruit he was
putting into his mouth, and William made friends with them all, and they
suffered him to stroke their heads.

* * * * *

Now there dwelt in the forest an old cowherd, who happened that morning
to have work to do not far from the pit where William lived with the
wolf. He took with him a big dog, which helped him to collect the c