,
who reigns over all this kingdom of raspberry bushes, and I have lived
here for more than a thousand years. But the great spirit who rules over
the woods, and the sea, and the sky, did not want me to become proud of
my royal power and my long life. Therefore he decreed that one day in
every hundred years I should change into a little raspberry worm, and
live in that weak and helpless form from sunrise to sunset. During that
time my life is dependent on the little worm's life, so that a bird can
eat me, a child can pick me with the berries and trample under foot my
thousand years of life. Now yesterday was just my transformation day,
and I was taken with the raspberry and would have been trampled to death
if you had not saved my life. Until sunset I lay helpless in the grass,
and when I was swept away from your table I twisted one of my feet, and
my mouth became crooked with terror; but when evening came and I could
take my own form again, I looked for you to thank you and reward you.
Then I found you both here in my kingdom, and tried to meet you both as
well as I could without frightening you. Now I will send a bird from my
wood to show you the way home. Good-bye, little children, thank you
for your kind hearts; the raspberry king can show that he is not
ungrateful.' The children shook hands with the old man and thanked him,
feeling very glad that they had saved the little raspberry worm. They
were just going when the old man turned round, smiled mischievously with
his crooked mouth, and said: 'Greetings to Otto from me, and tell him
when I meet him again I shall do him the honour of eating him up.'

'Oh, please don't do that,' cried both the girls, very frightened.

'Well, for your sake I will forgive him,' said the old man, 'I am not
revengeful. Greetings to Otto and tell him that he may expect a gift
from me, too. Good-bye.'

The two girls, light of heart, now took their berries and ran off
through the wood after the bird; and soon it began to get lighter in the
wood and they wondered how they could have lost their way yesterday, it
seemed so easy and plain now.

One can imagine what joy there was when the two reached home. Everyone
had been looking for them, and the big sister had not been able to
sleep, for she thought the wolves had eaten them up.

Otto met them; he had a basket in his hand and said: 'Look, here is
something that an old man has just left for you.'

When the girls looked into the basket th