ss received this message, she went straight to the tower, and,
with her own hands, struck off the chains that bound Avenant, and
placing a crown of gold upon his head, and a royal mantle upon his
shoulders, said: "Come, dear Avenant, I will make you King, and take
you for my husband." Then there was a grand wedding, and Princess
Goldenhair and Avenant, with Cabriole, lived long, all of them happy
and contented.

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD

Many years ago there lived a dear little girl, who was beloved by
everyone who knew her; but her grandmother was so very fond of her
that she never felt that she could think and do enough for her.

On her grand-daughter's birthday she presented her with a red silk
hood; and as it suited her very well, she would never wear anything
else; and so she was called Little Red Riding Hood. One day her mother
said to her, "Come, Red Riding Hood, here is a nice piece of meat,
and a bottle of wine: take these to your grandmother; she is weak and
ailing, and they will do her good. Be there before she gets up; go
quietly and carefully; and do not run, or you may fall and break the
bottle, and then your grandmother will have nothing. When you go into
her room, do not forget to say 'Good-morning'; and do not pry into all
the corners." "I will do just as you say," answered Red Riding Hood,
bidding good-bye to her mother.

[Illustration: _Painted by Jennie Harbour_
LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD]

The grandmother lived far away in the wood, a long walk from the
village, and as Little Red Riding Hood came among the trees she met a
wolf; but she did not know what a wicked animal it was, and so she
was not at all frightened. "Good-morning, Little Red Riding Hood," he
said.

"Thank you, Mr. Wolf," she said.

"Where are you going so early, Little Red Riding Hood?"

"To my grandmother's," she answered.

"And what are you carrying under your apron?"

"Some wine and meat," she replied. "We baked the meat yesterday, so
that grandmother, who is very weak, might have a nice strengthening
meal."

"And where does your grandmother live?" asked the Wolf.

"Oh, quite twenty minutes' walk further in the forest. The cottage
stands under three great oak trees; and close by are some nut bushes,
by which you will at once know it."

The wolf was thinking to himself, "She is a nice tender thing, and
will taste better than the old woman; I must act cleverly, that I may
make a