," said the
lady, and rushed from the room. Well, the young lord was so grieved at
that, that he took to his bed and was very ill. The doctor tried to cure
him, but he would not take any medicine unless from the hands of
Catskin. So the doctor went to the lady of the castle, and told her her
son would die if she did not consent to his marriage with Catskin. So
she had to give way, and summoned Catskin to her. But she put on her
coat of beaten gold, and went to the lady, who soon was glad to wed her
son to so beautiful a maid.

Well, so they were married, and after a time a dear little son came to
them, and grew up a bonny lad; and one day, when he was four years old,
a beggar woman came to the door, so Lady Catskin gave some money to the
little lord and told him to go and give it to the beggar woman. So he
went and gave it, but put it into the hand of the woman's child, who
leant forward and kissed the little lord. Now the wicked old cook--why
hadn't she been sent away?--was looking on, so she said, "Only see how
beggars' brats take to one another." This insult went to Catskin's
heart, so she went to her husband, the young lord, and told him all
about her father, and begged he would go and find out what had become of
her parents. So they set out in the lord's grand coach, and travelled
through the forest till they came to Catskin's father's house, and put
up at an inn near, where Catskin stopped, while her husband went to see
if her father would own her.

Now her father had never had any other child, and his wife had died; so
he was all alone in the world and sate moping and miserable. When the
young lord came in he hardly looked up, till he saw a chair close up to
him, and asked him: "Pray, sir, had you not once a young daughter whom
you would never see or own?"

The old gentleman said: "It is true; I am a hardened sinner. But I
would give all my worldly goods if I could but see her once before I
die." Then the young lord told him what had happened to Catskin, and
took him to the inn, and brought his father-in-law to his own castle,
where they lived happy ever afterwards.

Stupid's Cries

There was once a little boy, and his mother sent him to buy a sheep's
head and pluck; afraid he should forget it, the lad kept saying all the
way along:

"Sheep's head and pluck!
Sheep's head and pluck!"

Trudging along, he came to a stile; but in getting over he fell and hurt
himself, and beginning to blu