as well-nigh spent,
when the dragon, thinking that the victory was won, opened his jaws to
give a roar of triumph. The prince saw his chance, and before his
foe could shut his mouth again had plunged his sword far down his
adversary's throat. There was a desperate clutching of the claws to the
earth, a slow flagging of the great wings, then the monster rolled over
on his side and moved no more. Muffette was delivered.

After this they all went back to the palace. The marriage took place the
following day, and Muffette and her husband lived happy for ever after.

The Adventures of Covan the Brown-Haired

[From Les Contes des Fees, par Madame d'Aulnoy.]

On the shores of the west, where the great hills stand with their feet
in the sea, dwelt a goatherd and his wife, together with their three
sons and one daughter. All day long the young men fished and hunted,
while their sister took out the kids to pasture on the mountain, or
stayed at home helping her mother and mending the nets.

For several years they all lived happily together, when one day, as the
girl was out on the hill with the kids, the sun grew dark and an air
cold as a thick white mist came creeping, creeping up from the sea. She
rose with a shiver, and tried to call to her kids, but the voice died
away in her throat, and strong arms seemed to hold her.

Loud were the wails in the hut by the sea when the hours passed on
and the maiden came not. Many times the father and brothers jumped up,
thinking they heard her steps, but in the thick darkness they could
scarcely see their own hands, nor could they tell where the river lay,
nor where the mountain. One by one the kids came home, and at every
bleat someone hurried to open the door, but no sound broke the
stillness. Through the night no one slept, and when morning broke and
the mist rolled back, they sought the maiden by sea and by land, but
never a trace of her could be found anywhere.

Thus a year and a day slipped by, and at the end of it Gorla of the
Flocks and his wife seemed suddenly to have grown old. Their sons too
were sadder than before, for they loved their sister well, and had never
ceased to mourn for her. At length Ardan the eldest spoke and said:

'It is now a year and a day since our sister was taken from us, and we
have waited in grief and patience for her to return. Surely some evil
has befallen her, or she would have sent us a token to put our hearts at
rest; and I have vowed t