nd looks very cool and inviting. Would you not like to bathe
in it, fair Queen?'

'No, I think not,' answered the Queen; but the next moment she
regretted her words, and thought to herself: Why shouldn't I bathe in
that cool, fresh water? No harm could come of it. And, so saying, she
slipped off her robes and stepped into the water. But scarcely had her
tender feet touched the cool ripples when she felt a great shove on
her shoulders, and the wicked witch had pushed her into the deep
water, exclaiming:

'Swim henceforth, White Duck!'

And the witch herself assumed the form of the Queen, and decked
herself out in the royal robes, and sat among the Court ladies,
awaiting the King's return. And suddenly the tramp of horses' hoofs
was heard, and the barking of dogs, and the witch hastened forward to
meet the royal carriages, and, throwing her arms round the King's
neck, kissed him. And in his great joy the King did not know that the
woman he held in his arms was not his own dear wife, but a wicked
witch.

In the meantime, outside the palace walls, the poor White Duck swam up
and down the pond; and near it laid three eggs, out of which there
came one morning two little fluffy ducklings and a little ugly drake.
And the White Duck brought the little creatures up, and they paddled
after her in the pond, and caught gold-fish, and hopped upon the bank
and waddled about, ruffling their feathers and saying 'Quack, quack'
as they strutted about on the green banks of the pond. But their
mother used to warn them not to stray too far, telling them that a
wicked witch lived in the castle beyond the garden, adding, 'She has
ruined me, and she will do her best to ruin you.' But the young ones
did not listen to their mother, and, playing about the garden one day,
they strayed close up to the castle windows. The witch at once
recognised them by their smell, and ground her teeth with anger; but
she hid her feelings, and, pretending to be very kind, she called them
to her and joked with them, and led them into a beautiful room, where
she gave them food to eat, and showed them a soft cushion on which
they might sleep. Then she left them and went down into the palace
kitchens, where she told the servants to sharpen the knives, and to
make a great fire ready, and hang a large kettleful of water over it.

In the meantime the two little ducklings had fallen asleep, and the
little drake lay between them, covered up by their wings, to be kept