," said a strong old man,
with large black wings, and a scythe in his hand, whose name was
Death. "He shall be laid in his coffin, but not yet. I will allow
him to wander about the world for a while, to atone for his sin, and
to give him time to become better. But I shall return when he least
expects me. I shall lay him in a black coffin, place it on my head,
and fly away with it beyond the stars. There also blooms a garden of
paradise, and if he is good and pious he will be admitted; but if
his thoughts are bad, and his heart is full of sin, he will sink
with his coffin deeper than the garden of paradise has sunk. Once in
every thousand years I shall go and fetch him, when he will either
be condemned to sink still deeper, or be raised to a happier life in
the world beyond the stars."

THE PEA BLOSSOM

There were once five peas in one shell, they were green, the shell
was green, and so they believed that the whole world must be green
also, which was a very natural conclusion. The shell grew, and the
peas grew, they accommodated themselves to their position, and sat all
in a row. The sun shone without and warmed the shell, and the rain
made it clear and transparent; it was mild and agreeable in broad
daylight, and dark at night, as it generally is; and the peas as
they sat there grew bigger and bigger, and more thoughtful as they
mused, for they felt there must be something else for them to do.

"Are we to sit here forever?" asked one; "shall we not become hard
by sitting so long? It seems to me there must be something outside,
and I feel sure of it."

And as weeks passed by, the peas became yellow, and the shell
became yellow.

"All the world is turning yellow, I suppose," said they,--and
perhaps they were right.

Suddenly they felt a pull at the shell; it was torn off, and
held in human hands, then slipped into the pocket of a jacket in
company with other full pods.

"Now we shall soon be opened," said one,--just what they all
wanted.

"I should like to know which of us will travel furthest," said the
smallest of the five; "we shall soon see now."

"What is to happen will happen," said the largest pea.

"Crack" went the shell as it burst, and the five peas rolled out
into the bright sunshine. There they lay in a child's hand. A little
boy was holding them tightly, and said they were fine peas for his
pea-shooter. And immediately he put one in and shot it out.

"Now I am flying out into the wide wo