ly of Lithuanian origin, and means any malefic power.

[2] A folk-tale; Russ. _skazka_, Ger. _Maerchen_.

[Illustration: ALL MANNER OF EVIL POWERS WALKED ABROAD]

Once upon a time, long long ago, beyond the times that we can call to
mind, ere yet our great-grandfathers or their grandfathers had been
born into the world, there lived a poor man and his wife, and they had
one only son, who was not as an only son ought to be to his old father
and mother. So idle and lazy was that only son that Heaven help him!
He would do nothing, he would not even fetch water from the well, but
lay on the stove all day long and rolled among the warm cinders. If
they gave him anything to eat, he ate it; and if they didn't give him
anything to eat, he did without. His father and mother fretted sorely
because of him, and said, "What are we to do with thee, O son? for
thou art good for nothing. Other people's children are a stay and a
support to their parents, but thou art but a fool and dost consume our
bread for naught." But it was of no use at all. He would do nothing
but sit on the stove and play with the cinders. So his father and
mother grieved over him for many a long day, and at last his mother
said to his father, "What is to be done with our son? Thou dost see
that he has grown up and yet is of no use to us, and he is so foolish
that we can do nothing with him. Look now, if we can send him away,
let us send him away; if we can hire him out, let us hire him out;
perchance other folk may be able to do more with him than we can." So
his father and mother laid their heads together, and sent him to a
tailor's to learn tailoring. There he remained three days, but then he
ran away home, climbed up on the stove, and again began playing with
the cinders. His father then gave him a sound drubbing and sent him to
a cobbler's to learn cobbling, but again he ran away home. His father
gave him another drubbing and sent him to a blacksmith to learn
smith's work. But there too he did not remain long, but ran away home
again, so what was that poor father to do? "I'll tell thee what I'll
do with thee, thou son of a dog!" said he. "I'll take thee, thou lazy
lout, into another kingdom. There, perchance, they will be able to
teach thee better than they can here, and it will be too far for thee
to run home." So he took him and set out on his journey.

They went on and on, they went a short way and they went a long way,
and at last they came to a fore