ached the Flower Queen's
dwelling. But the dragons had noticed their flight, and woke their
brother out of his year's sleep. He flew into a terrible rage when
he heard what had happened, and determined to lay siege to the Flower
Queen's palace; but the Queen caused a forest of flowers as high as the
sky to grow up round her dwelling, through which no one could force a
way.

When the Flower Queen heard that her daughter wanted to marry the
Prince, she said to him: 'I will give my consent to your marriage
gladly, but my daughter can only stay with you in summer. In winter,
when everything is dead and the ground covered with snow, she must come
and live with me in my palace underground.' The Prince consented to
this, and led his beautiful bride home, where the wedding was held with
great pomp and magnificence. The young couple lived happily together
till winter came, when the Flower Queen's daughter departed and went
home to her mother. In summer she returned to her husband, and their
life of joy and happiness began again, and lasted till the approach of
winter, when the Flower Queen's daughter went back again to her mother.
This coming and going continued all her life long, and in spite of it
they always lived happily together.

THE FLYING SHIP(24)

(24) From the Russian.

Once upon a time there lived an old couple who had three sons; the two
elder were clever, but the third was a regular dunce. The clever sons
were very fond of their mother, gave her good clothes, and always spoke
pleasantly to her; but the youngest was always getting in her way,
and she had no patience with him. Now, one day it was announced in the
village that the King had issued a decree, offering his daughter, the
Princess, in marriage to whoever should build a ship that could fly.
Immediately the two elder brothers determined to try their luck, and
asked their parents' blessing. So the old mother smartened up their
clothes, and gave them a store of provisions for their journey, not
forgetting to add a bottle of brandy. When they had gone the poor
Simpleton began to tease his mother to smarten him up and let him start
off.

'What would become of a dolt like you?' she answered. 'Why, you would be
eaten up by wolves.'

But the foolish youth kept repeating, 'I will go, I will go, I will go!'

Seeing that she could do nothing with him, the mother gave him a crust
of bread and a bottle of water, and took no further heed of him.

So the Si