ed at her image in a
river, and was mightily pleased with herself. Now she became so vain
that nothing would do, but she must show herself to the King.

So she flew and flew, and away she flew, until she came to the King's
palace. Into the King's palace she flew, and into the great hall where
the King sat and the Queen and all the courtiers. There was a peg high
up on the wall, and the Thrush perched on this peg, and began to sing.

"Oh, look there!" cried the Queen, who was the first to see this
wonderful sight--"see, a Thrush in a jacket and skirt and a pretty hat!"

Everybody looked at the Thrush singing on her peg, and clapped their
hands.

"Come here, Birdie," said the King, "and show the Queen your pretty
clothes."

The Thrush felt highly flattered, and flew down upon the table, and took
off her jacket to show the Queen. Then she flew back to her peg, and
watched to see what would happen.

The Queen turned over the jacket in her hand, and laughed. Then she
folded it up, and put it in her pocket.

"Give me my jacket!" twittered the Thrush. "I shall catch cold, and
besides, it is not proper for a lady to be seen without a jacket."

Then they all laughed, and the King said, "Come here, Mistress Thrush,
and you shall have your jacket."

Down flew the Thrush upon the table again; but the King caught her, and
held her fast.

"Let me go!" squeaked the Thrush, struggling to get free.

But the King would not let her go. I am afraid that although he was a
King, he was not so honest as the Carder or the Spinner, and cared less
for his word than the Weaver and the Tailor.

"Greedy King," said the Thrush, "to covet my little jacket!"

"I covet more than your jacket," said the King; "I covet you, and I am
going to chop you up into little bits."

Then he began to chop her up into bits. As she was being chopped up, the
Thrush said, "The King snips and cuts like a Tailor, but he is not so
honest!"

When the King had finished chopping her up, he began to wash the pieces.
And each piece, as he washed it, called out, "The King scours and scrubs
like a washerwoman, but he is not so honest!"

Then the King put the pieces of the Thrush into a frying-pan with oil,
and began to fry them. But the pieces went on calling out, "The King is
like a cook, frying and sputtering, but he is not so honest!"

When she was fried, the King ate her up. From within the body of the
King still the Thrush kept calling out, "I am inside