threw himself, and slept till dawn.

* * * * *

'There is to be a horse-race in the town to-day,' remarked the weaver,
'and the winner is to have the king's daughter to wife.' The young man
trembled with excitement at the news, and his voice shook as he
answered:

'That will be a prize indeed, I should like to see the race.'

'Oh, that is quite easy--anyone can go,' replied the weaver. 'I would
take you myself, but I have promised to weave this cloth for the king.'

'That is a pity,' returned the young man politely, but in his heart he
rejoiced, for he wished to be alone.

Leaving the house, he entered a grove of trees which stood behind, and
took the box from his pocket. He raised the lid, and out flew the three
little birds.

'Good master, what shall we do for thee?' asked they, and he answered,
'Bring me the finest horse that ever was seen, and the grandest dress,
and glass shoes.'

'They are here, master,' said the birds, and so they were, and never had
the young man seen anything so splendid.

Mounting the horse he rode into the ground where the horses were
assembling for the great race, and took his place among them. Many good
beasts were there which had won many races, but the horse of the
fisher's son left them all behind, and he was first at the winning post.
The king's daughter waited for him in vain to claim his prize, for he
went back to the wood, and got off his horse, and put on his old
clothes, and bade the box place some gold in his pockets. After that he
went back to the weaver's house, and told him that the gold had been
given him by the man who had won the race, and that the weaver might
have it for his kindness to him.

Now as nobody had appeared to demand the hand of the princess, the king
ordered another race to be run, and the fisher's son rode into the
field, still more splendidly dressed than he was before, and easily
distanced everybody else. But again he left the prize unclaimed, and so
it happened on the third day, when it seemed as if all the people in the
kingdom were gathered to see the race, for they were filled with
curiosity to know who the winner could be.

'If he will not come of his own free will, he must be brought,' said the
king, and messengers who had seen the face of the victor were sent to
seek him in every street of the town. This took many days, and when at
last they found the young man in the weaver's cottage, he was so dirty
and