he saw upon the ground a potsherd shining in the sunlight,
he took care to pick it up, in the belief that he could change it into
a diamond of the first water; if he saw in the distance the cupola of
a Mosque sparkling like fire, or the sea glittering like a mirror, he
would hasten up, fully persuaded that he had arrived at fairy-land.
But ah! these phantoms vanished as he approached, and too soon
fatigue, and his stomach gnawed by hunger, convinced him that he was
still in the land of mortals. In this way he travelled two days, in
hunger and grief, and despaired of finding his fortune; the produce of
the field was his only support, the hard earth his bed. On the
morning of the third day, he espied a large city upon an eminence.
Brightly shone the crescent upon her pinnacles, variegated flags waved
over the roofs, and seemed to be beckoning Little Muck to themselves.
In surprise he stood still, contemplating the city and the surrounding
country.

"There at length will Klein-Muck find his fortune," said he to
himself, and in spite of his fatigue bounded in the air; "there or
nowhere!" He collected all his strength, and walked towards the city.
But although the latter seemed quite near, he could not reach it until
mid-day, for his little limbs almost entirely refused him their
assistance, and he was obliged to sit down to rest in the shade of a
palm-tree. At last he reached the gate; he fixed the mantle jauntily,
wound the turban still more tastily around his head, made the girdle
broader, and arranged the dagger so as to fall still more obliquely:
then, wiping the dust from his shoes, and seizing his cane, he marched
bravely through the gate.

He had already wandered through a few streets, but nowhere did any
door open to him, nowhere did any one exclaim, as he had anticipated:
"Little Muck, come in and eat and drink, and rest thy little feet."

He was looking very wistfully straight at a large fine house, when a
window opened, and an old woman, putting out her head, exclaimed in a
singing tone--

"Hither, come hither!
The porridge is here;
The table I've spread,
Come taste of my cheer.
Hither, come hither!
The porridge is hot;
Your neighbors bring with you,
To dip in the pot!"

The door opened, and Muck saw many dogs and cats walking in. For a
moment he stood in doubt whether he should accept the invitation; at
last, however, he took heart and entered the mansion. Befor