Boy lost no time, but prepared to journey
home. The princess kissed the Poor Boy and his ear and his chin
instantly healed, so that he looked even handsomer than before. Then
the two comrades went to the dragon's stables, which were hidden under
the foundations of the fallen palace. Each took an enchanted horse,
mounted, lifted his betrothed bride upon it, and hurried homeward.

If the Red Emperor had been only an ordinary mortal he would have
rejoiced, but he was a sovereign to boot! He divided his empire
between his son and his daughter's husband; the Poor Boy went to his
poor mother's house to bring her to court and, when she had arrived, a
wedding was celebrated, dear me! a wedding that will be talked about
as long as the world stands.

Into the saddle then I sprung,
This tale to tell to old and young.

Mother's Darling Jack

Once upon a time something happened. If it had not happened it would
not be told.

There was once a man who had a child. This child was the youngest of
seven which the Lord had given him, so it was destined from its birth
to be lucky. It was christened John, because all dunces and upstarts
are named John. The father loved little Jack like the very apple of
his eye. It could not have been otherwise, since the boy was the
youngest of seven children and the smallest, chubbiest, and fattest of
them all. But the father doesn't count for every thing. He comes and
goes, appears and vanishes, the house is only a sleeping-place for
him. The mother is the real soul of the household; she bathes one,
feeds another, and scrubs for a third. Jack was his mother's boy, his
mother's pet, his mother's darling, his mother's handsomest and
brightest child.

They say it is not well for one person to be every thing, the lowest
to be highest, and the child to govern the house. Jack grew larger
every day, and the larger he grew the more quarrelsome, obstinate,
and consequently self-willed he became. So there was often, nay, to
tell the whole truth, _very_ often, anger in the house on the boy's
account. Jack daily heard some harsh word; but as it proved that words
made no impression, punishment frequently followed. Ah! but Jack was
the youngest of seven. The one who punished suffered, not the one who
was chastised. If the father whipped Jack, the mother wiped away his
tears; if the mother slapped him, she took care not to let her husband
know it. It is a bad example, when a child breaks a pot, f