eir swords and all three set
upon each other. The struggle was so violent and the noise so loud that
the old witch heard it, and said at once 'Of course Parsley is at the
bottom of all this.'

And when she had convinced herself that this was so, she stepped
forward, and, full of wrath over the quarrels and feuds Parsley's beauty
gave rise to, she cursed the girl and said, 'I wish you were an ugly
toad, sitting under a bridge at the other end of the world.'

Hardly were the words out of her mouth than Parsley was changed into a
toad and vanished from their sight. The Princes, now that the cause
of their dispute was removed, put up their swords, kissed each other
affectionately, and returned to their father.

The King was growing old and feeble, and wished to yield his sceptre
and crown in favour of one of his sons, but he couldn't make up his mind
which of the three he should appoint as his successor. He determined
that fate should decide for him. So he called his three children to him
and said, 'My dear sons, I am growing old, and am weary of reigning, but
I can't make up my mind to which of you three I should yield my crown,
for I love you all equally. At the same time I would like the best and
cleverest of you to rule over my people. I have, therefore, determined
to set you three tasks to do, and the one that performs them best shall
be my heir. The first thing I shall ask you to do is to bring me a piece
of linen a hundred yards long, so fine that it will go through a gold
ring.' The sons bowed low, and, promising to do their best, they started
on their journey without further delay.

The two elder brothers took many servants and carriages with them, but
the youngest set out quite alone. In a short time they came to three
cross roads; two of them were gay and crowded, but the third was dark
and lonely.

The two elder brothers chose the more frequented ways, but the youngest,
bidding them farewell, set out on the dreary road.

Wherever linen was to be bought, there the two elder brothers hastened.
They loaded their carriages with bales of the finest linen they could
find and then returned home.

The youngest brother, on the other hand, went on his weary way for many
days, and nowhere did he come across any linen that would have done. So
he journeyed on, and his spirits sank with every step. At last he came
to a bridge which stretched over a deep river flowing through a flat and
marshy land. Before crossing the