old man; 'my master! But if he were my
master, and I wanted to get rid of him, I'd not get in your path, for
every berry in your basket is rank poison.'

"'Well, anyhow, they are red,' says the stupid Strawberry-Girl.

"'So they are,' says the little old man. 'But if you want to kill your
master carry them to him.'

"'Oh, I don't want to kill him,' says the Strawberry-Girl. 'He pays
too well.'

"'Once you belonged to me,' says the little old man. 'I tied you to a
blackberry-bush with a fine silver chain, and left you there until I
could attend to some business in the city. When I came back you were
gone. I hunted for you high and low only to hear that you had been
found by Granny Grim-Eye. What is the result? You have grown up
beautiful and stupid. After all these years you don't know a
strawberry from a dragon's-apple. If you had remained with me you
would have grown to be the most beautiful as well as the wittiest
woman in the world. You would have known everything that is hidden in
nature--everything that has been stored between the lids of all the
books. It is a great pity!'

"'Yes,' says the stupid Strawberry-Girl, 'I expect it is; but what
must I do with these berries? I haven't time to pick more.'

"'Well,' says the little old man, 'I'll make a bargain with you. I'll
fill your basket with the finest berries that were ever seen, and I'll
make you the wittiest woman in the world if at the end of one year you
will marry me.'

"The stupid Strawberry-Girl gave her promise, and then the little old
man touched her on the forehead with his left thumb, pointed at a
bright star with his right forefinger, and then went back to his
hollow tree, warning the girl not to forget her promise.

"When she looked in the basket the red dragon's-apples had
disappeared, and in their place she saw the finest strawberries that
had ever been grown. These she carried to the rich man, who was as
much surprised at the size and lusciousness of the berries as his
guests were at the extraordinary beauty of the young girl. They
praised her beauty to their host, who shook his head and said that
beauty ceased to be beautiful when it was tied to stupidity. The
guests, however, would not believe that so beautiful a creature could
be stupid, and to satisfy them the rich man sent for the girl and
engaged her in conversation. Her replies were so wise, so apt, and so
witty, as to astound all the company, while the rich man was
dumfounded with