y seemed bewitched, and no one knows what might have happened
if Wildrose, who had been all the time peeping out of her nest, had not
lost patience at the old woman's stupidity, and cried out: 'The tripod
won't stand on that hill, you must move it!'

'But where am I to move it to, my child?' asked the old woman, looking
up to the nest, and at the same moment trying to steady the kettle with
one hand and the tripod with the other.

'Didn't I tell you that it was no good doing that,' said Wildrose, more
impatiently than before. 'Make a fire near a tree and hang the kettle
from one of the branches.'

The old woman took the kettle and hung it on a little twig, which broke
at once, and the kettle fell to the ground.

'If you would only show me how to do it, perhaps I should understand,'
said she.

Quick as thought, the maiden slid down the smooth trunk of the tree, and
stood beside the stupid old woman, to teach her how things ought to be
done. But in an instant the old woman had caught up the girl and swung
her over her shoulders, and was running as fast as she could go to the
edge of the forest, where she had left the prince. When he saw them
coming he rushed eagerly to meet them, and he took the maiden in his
arms and kissed her tenderly before them all. Then a golden dress was
put on her, and pearls were twined in her hair, and she took her seat in
the emperor's carriage which was drawn by six of the whitest horses in
the world, and they carried her, without stopping to draw breath, to the
gates of the palace. And in three days the wedding was celebrated, and
the wedding feast was held, and everyone who saw the bride declared that
if anybody wanted a perfect wife they must go to seek her on top of a
tree.

[ Adapted from file Roumanian.]

Tiidu The Piper

Once upon a time there lived a poor man who had more children than
bread to feed them with. However, they were strong and willing, and soon
learned to make themselves of use to their father and mother, and when
they were old enough they went out to service, and everyone was very
glad to get them for servants, for they worked hard and were always
cheerful. Out of all the ten or eleven, there was only one who gave his
parents any trouble, and this was a big lazy boy whose name was Tiidu.
Neither scoldings nor beatings nor kind words had any effect on him, and
the older he grew the idler he got. He spent his winters crouching close
to a warm stove, and his