ss touched the stem of the flower again, and her own
silver carriage came to her, drawn by two tiny white mice. And Boots
rode beside her, careful that his great horse should not crush the
little carriage.

The little mice traveled very fast, and it was not long before they
came to a stream. Now, the great horse could swim the stream without
difficulty; but when the mice plunged into it little Doll-in-the-Grass
and the silver carriage and all went under the water. Then Boots was
disconsolate, but as he stood, mourning, a beautiful maiden came up out
of the water, a maiden fairer than any in all the kingdom, and neither
smaller nor larger than any of them. And she smiled at Boots and said:
"You see how love can do great things."

And Boots caught her up on his horse before him and exclaimed: "Ah, love
can indeed do great things."

And so they rode home together. And of all the wives whom his brothers
won, none was so beautiful as Doll-in-the-Grass. And of all the shirts
that the wives spun, none was so fine or so soft as the one which
Doll-in-the-Grass gave to her father-in-law; and it had become a big
shirt--large enough for a man to wear--and was as soft as silk and as
fine as any cobweb could possibly be.

And the King loved her more than any of his other daughters-in-law, and
Boots more than any of his other sons; so he said they should live with
him in his palace, and by-and-by succeed him on the throne.

BOOTS AND HIS BROTHERS

Once upon a time there was a King who had seven sons. One day he said to
the six older ones: "You must go forth into the world, each one, and
seek a bride. But Boots is too young to go, so he shall stay at home.
And when you have found brides for yourselves, each one, you shall seek
the fairest Princess in all the seven kingdoms, and bring her home with
you, and she shall be a bride for Boots."

So the six sons set out, and each found a bride, all so lovely that it
was not possible to say which was the most beautiful. But the brothers
were so interested, each one, in his own bride, that all forgot they
were to seek a bride for Boots, and they started home again.

One night on the way they were forced by a storm to seek shelter in the
castle of a Giant, and the next morning while they were standing in the
front of the castle, with their retainers about them and their horses
saddled ready to mount and depart, the Giant suddenly turned them all
into stone where they stood--the