, my dear Graceful; life has nothing more to teach you. You have
passed in four days through the desert where I languished eighty
years, and henceforth nothing can separate us."

The door closed, and from that time nothing was heard of Graceful or
his grandmother. It was in vain that search was made for the palace
and enchanted fountain; they were never more discovered on earth. But
if we understood the language of the stars, if we felt what their
gentle rays tell us every evening, we should long ago have learned
from them where to look for the Castle of Life and the Fountain of
Immortality.

Destiny

_A Dalmatian Tale_

[Illustration:]

Once upon a time there were two brothers, who lived together in one
family. One did everything, while the other was an idle fellow who
troubled himself about nothing but eating and drinking. The harvests
were always magnificent; they had cows, horses, sheep, pigs, bees, and
everything else in plenty.

The elder brother, who did everything, said to himself, one day, "Why
should I work for this idler? It is better for us to separate; I will
work for myself alone, and he can do as he likes." He said to his
brother, therefore:

"Brother, it is not just for me to do everything, while you trouble
yourself about nothing but eating and drinking; we must separate."

His brother tried to dissuade him from his plan, saying:

"Brother, don't do this, we are so well off as we are. You have
everything in your own hands; what is mine is yours; and you know that
I am always satisfied with what you do or order done."

The elder, however, persisted in his resolution till the younger was
forced to yield. "Since it must be so," said he, "I am not angry.
Divide the property as you like."

The division made, each took his share. The idler hired a drover for
his cattle, a groom for his horses, a shepherd for his sheep, a
goatherd for his goats, a swineherd for his hogs, and a keeper for his
bees, and said to them all, "I intrust my property to you. May God
have you in His keeping." And he continued to stay at home, with no
more care than before.

The elder, on the contrary, labored for himself as he had done for the
common good: he kept his own flocks and had an eye to everything; yet,
in spite of all this, he found bad luck and misfortune everywhere;
everything went wrong with him, until at last he was so poor that he
had not even a pair of shoes, but was forced to go barefoot. He sai