esent--and to-morrow is
my birthday--there IS one thing that I wish for very much.'

'And what is that? Of course you shall have it directly!' he asked
eagerly.

'It is that bright stone which fell out of the folds of your turban a
few days ago,' she answered, playing with his finger; 'the little
stone with all those funny marks upon it. I never saw any stone like it
before.'

The young man did not answer at first; then he said, slowly:

'I have promised, and therefore I must perform. But will you swear never
to part from it, and to keep it safely about you always? More I cannot
tell you, but I beg you earnestly to take heed to this.'

The princess was a little startled by his manner, and began to be sorry
that she had every listened to the ogre. But she did not like to draw
back, and pretended to be immensely delighted at her new toy, and kissed
and thanked her husband for it.

'After all I needn't give it to the ogre,' thought she as she dropped
off to sleep.

Unluckily the next morning the young man went hunting again, and the
ogre, who was watching, knew this, and did not come till much later
than before. At the moment that he knocked at the door of the palace the
princess had tired of all her employments, and her attendants were at
their wits' end how to amuse her, when a tall negro dressed in scarlet
came to announce that the ogre was below, and desired to know if the
princess would speak to him.

'Bring him hither at once!' cried she, springing up from her cushions,
and forgetting all her resolves of the previous night. In another moment
she was bending with rapture over the glittering gems.

'Have you got it?' asked the ogre in a whisper, for the princess's
ladies were standing as near as they dared to catch a glimpse of the
beautiful jewels.

'Yes, here,' she answered, slipping the stone from her sash and placing
it among the rest. Then she raised her voice, and began to talk quickly
of the prices of the chains and necklaces, and after some bargaining, to
deceive the attendants, she declared that she liked one string of pearls
better than all the rest, and that the ogre might take away the other
things, which were not half as valuable as he supposed.

'As you please, madam,' said he, bowing himself out of the palace.

Soon after he had gone a curious thing happened. The princess carelessly
touched the wall of her room, which was wont to reflect the warm red
light of the fire on the hearth, and fo