life which I lead. To be a Fawn all
the day, to hear him speaking, and not to be able to tell him of my
sad fate."

One can guess the astonishment of Becafigue and of the Prince.
Guerrier would almost have died of pleasure had he not thought that
it must be some enchantment, for did he not know that Desiree and her
Lady in Waiting were shut up in the castle.

He went softly and knocked at the chamber door, which Giroflee opened,
thinking it was the old woman, for she required help for the wounded
arm.

The Prince entered, threw himself at Desiree's feet, and found she was
indeed his Princess.

Great was their joy thus at last meeting, and while they were talking
to each other the night passed, and the day dawned, and daylight came,
and the morning sun shone brightly before Desiree had time to notice
that she had not again taken the shape of a Fawn, but was her own
beautiful self.

Then it was found that it was the Fairy Tulip in disguise of the old
woman who had provided that sheltering cottage in the forest.

The joy of the King upon once more seeing his son can well be
imagined, and the marriage of the Prince and Desiree, and Becafigue
and Giroflee took place on the same day, the Fairies giving their
diamond palace as their wedding present to Princess Desiree, and Fairy
Tulip presenting four gold mines in the Indies to Giroflee.

[Illustration]

And, in accordance with the wish of Princess Desiree, Longue Epine and
her mother, the false Lady in Waiting, were set at liberty.

[Illustration]

HANSEL AND GRETHEL

Once upon a time there dwelt near a large wood a poor wood cutter,
with his wife, and two children by his former marriage, a little boy
called Hansel, and a girl named Grethel. He had little enough to break
or bite; and once, when there was a great famine in the land, he could
hardly procure even his daily bread; and as he lay thinking in his bed
one night, he sighed, and said to his wife, "What will become of us?
How can we feed our children, when we have no more than we can eat
ourselves?"

"Know then, my husband," answered she, "we will lead them away, quite
early in the morning, into the thickest part of the wood, and there
make them a fire, and give them each a little piece of bread, then we
will go to our work, and leave them alone, so they will not find the
way home again, and we shall be freed from them."

"No, wife," replied he, "that I can never do; how can you bring your
he