one could expect a high-spirited boy to put up with such a
life as mine. With nothing to desire and no chance of doing anything
that would annoy my parents, my days were dreary indeed."

He paused to wipe the tears from his eyes, and the prince murmured,
sympathetically: "Poor boy! Poor boy!"

"Ah, you may well say that!" continued Nerle. "But one day a stranger
came to my father's castle with tales of many troubles he had met with.
He had been lost in a forest and nearly starved to death. He had been
robbed and beaten and left wounded and sore by the wayside. He had
begged from door to door and been refused food or assistance. In
short, his story was so delightful that it made me envy him, and I
yearned to suffer as he had done. When I could speak with him alone I
said: 'Pray tell me how I can manage to acquire the misfortunes you
have undergone. Here I have everything that I desire, and it makes me
very unhappy.'

"The stranger laughed at me, at first; and I found some pleasure in the
humiliation I then felt. But it did not last long, for presently he
grew sober and advised me to run away from home and seek adventure.

"'Once away from your father's castle,' said he, 'troubles will fall
upon you thick enough to satisfy even your longings.'

"'That is what I am afraid of!' I answered. 'I don't want to be
satisfied, even with troubles. What I seek is unsatisfied longings.'

"'Nevertheless,' said he, 'I advise you to travel. Everything will
probably go wrong with you, and then you will be happy.'

"I acted upon the stranger's advice and ran away from home the next
day. After journeying a long time I commenced to feel the pangs of
hunger, and was just beginning to enjoy myself when a knight rode by
and gave me a supply of food. At this rebuff I could not restrain my
tears, but while I wept my horse stumbled and threw me over his head.
I hoped at first I had broken my neck, and was just congratulating
myself upon the misfortune, when a witch-woman came along and rubbed
some ointment upon my bruises, in spite of my protests. To my great
grief the pain left me, and I was soon well again. But, as a slight
compensation for my disappointment, my horse had run away; so I began
my journey anew and on foot.

"That afternoon I stepped into a nest of wasps, but the thoughtless
creatures flew away without stinging me. Then I met a fierce tiger,
and my heart grew light and gay. 'Surely this will cause me
su