ng legal so that the law will agree with the habits and customs of
the majority."

When the king had done that also Gud said: "You are more popular than
ever, so start a secret society to be called 'The Ancient Order of
Honest Thieves.' Write the constitution and by-laws yourself and make
every citizen of your democracy eligible to membership, providing he can
show proof that he has stolen something; but make it a first principle
of honor that a thief shall not steal from a fellow thief."

The king was delighted, and straightway did all which Gud demanded.

The society was so popular that not only the thieves joined, but the
honest men became thieves and joined also. Everything went well until
all the citizens of the democracy but one had become members of the
"Ancient Order of Honest Thieves." Everything that this man had
possessed had been stolen, and he was naked and hungry, so finally he
decided to join the society. There being no one else left to steal from,
the last honest man stole the jeweled slippers that the king had given
unto Gud.

At this Gud became so angry that he declared himself emperor, and hanged
the king on a rainy day.

Chapter XXIII

When Gud came upon the stupid girl she was sitting under an apple tree
and weeping bitterly.

"Why do you weep?" asked Gud.

"I weep," replied the girl, "because I am in disgrace."

"Oh, I see, you are a fallen woman. Why don't you commit suicide?"

"But I am too young to die," moaned the girl, "and besides I haven't
fallen yet. I am weeping because they tell me I am immodest."

"But why do they say you are immodest?" asked Gud, as he picked up a
green apple and tasted it to see if it were ripe.

"Because," explained the girl, "I made me a bathing pettitcoat and went
bathing in the pool. Someone had told me how to make it and how to sew
lead sinkers in the hem of it. But I could only remember that it was
something about fishing tackle, and I sewed corks in the hem instead of
sinkers, and so when I went bathing, the skirt floated on the top of the
water."

Gud stroked his beard thoughtfully. "I can put out the eyes of the
fishes," he suggested.

"But they would still remember."

"I can kill the fishes," offered Gud.

"But the fishes might have souls, and besides, it wasn't so much what
the fishes saw or even what the people thought the fishes saw."

"What was it?" asked Gud.

"The trouble was that my bathing suit was not in style."

"Oh,