ft him, he went out into the woods, and gathered berries and dug
up roots, and while the sun shone he was contented and had his fill.
But when the snows began and the wind howled, then his stomach felt
empty and his limbs cold, and he hid in trees all the night, and only
crept out to eat what the wolves had left behind. And by-and-by,
having no other friends, he sought their company, and sat by while
they devoured their prey, and they grew to know him, and gave him
food. And without them he would have died in the snow.

But at last the snows melted, and the ice upon the great lake, and as
the wolves went down to the shore, the boy went after them. And it
happened one day that his big brother was fishing in his canoe near
the shore, and he heard the voice of a child singing in the Indian
tone--

'My brother, my brother!
I am becoming a wolf,
I am becoming a wolf!'

And when he had so sung he howled as wolves howl. Then the heart of
the elder sunk, and he hastened towards him, crying, 'Brother, little
brother, come to me;' but he, being half a wolf, only continued his
song. And the louder the elder called him, 'Brother, little brother,
come to me,' the swifter he fled after his brothers the wolves, and
the heavier grew his skin, till, with a long howl, he vanished into
the depths of the forest.

So, with shame and anguish in his soul, the elder brother went back to
his village, and, with his sister, mourned the little boy and the
broken promise till the end of his life.

_THE GLASS AXE_[19]

There was once upon a time a King and Queen who had everything they
could possibly wish for in this world except a child. At last, after
twelve years, the Queen gave birth to a son; but she did not live long
to enjoy her happiness, for on the following day she died. But before
her death she called her husband to her and said, 'Never let the child
put his feet on the ground, for as soon as he does so he will fall
into the power of a wicked Fairy, who will do him much harm.' And
these were the last words the poor Queen spoke.

The boy throve and grew big, and when he was too heavy for his nurse
to carry, a chair was made for him on little wheels, in which he could
wander through the palace gardens without help; at other times he was
carried about on a litter, and he was always carefully watched and
guarded for fear he should at any time put his feet to the ground.

But as this sort of life was bad for