golden pippins, took compassion on them, and gave them to his wife,
bidding her keep them concealed; then he killed and dressed two little
kids in a hundred different ways. When the King came, the Queen quickly
ordered the dishes served up; and the King fell to eating with great
delight, exclaiming, "How good this is! Oh, how excellent, by the soul
of my grandfather!" And the old Queen all the while kept saying, "Eat
away, for you know what you eat." At first the King paid no attention
to what she said; but at last, hearing the music continue, he replied,
"Ay, I know well enough what I eat, for YOU brought nothing to the
house." And at last, getting up in a rage, he went off to a villa at a
little distance to cool his anger.

Meanwhile the Queen, not satisfied with what she had done, called the
secretary again, and sent him to fetch Talia, pretending that the King
wished to see her. At this summons Talia went that very instant,
longing to see the light of her eyes, and not knowing that only the
smoke awaited her. But when she came before the Queen, the latter said
to her, with the face of a Nero, and full of poison as a viper,
"Welcome, Madam Sly-cheat! Are you indeed the pretty mischief-maker?
Are you the weed that has caught my son's eye and given me all this
trouble."

When Talia heard this she began to excuse herself; but the Queen would
not listen to a word; and having a large fire lighted in the courtyard,
she commanded that Talia should be thrown into the flames. Poor Talia,
seeing matters come to a bad pass, fell on her knees before the Queen,
and besought her at least to grant her time to take the clothes from
off her back. Whereupon the Queen, not so much out of pity for the
unhappy girl, as to get possession of her dress, which was embroidered
all over with gold and pearls, said to her, "Undress yourself--I allow
you." Then Talia began to undress, and as she took off each garment she
uttered an exclamation of grief; and when she had stripped off her
cloak, her gown, and her jacket, and was proceeding to take off her
petticoat, they seized her and were dragging her away. At that moment
the King came up, and seeing the spectacle he demanded to know the
whole truth; and when he asked also for the children, and heard that
his stepmother had ordered them to be killed, the unhappy King gave
himself up to despair.

He then ordered her to be thrown into the same fire which had been
lighted for Talia, and the secr