the forest, and was mighty
glad to get back Johnnie and Grizzle again.

[Illustration: The Duck]

THE CLEVER LASS

Now there was once a farmer who had but one daughter of whom he was
very proud because she was so clever. So whenever he was in any
difficulty he would go to her and ask her what he should do. It
happened that he had a dispute with one of his neighbours, and the
matter came before the King, and he, after hearing from both of them,
did not know how to decide and said:

"You both seem to be right and you both seem to be wrong, and I do not
know how to decide; so I will leave it to yourselves in this way:
whichever of you can answer best the three questions I am about to ask
shall win this trial. What is the most beautiful thing? What is the
strongest thing? and, What is the richest thing? Now go home and think
over your answers and bring them to me to-morrow morning."

So the farmer went home and told his daughter what had happened, and
she told him what to answer next day.

So when the matter came up for trial before the King he asked first
the farmer's neighbour,

"What is the most beautiful thing?"

And he answered, "My wife."

Then he asked him, "What is the strongest thing?"

"My ox."

"And what is the richest?"

And he answered, "Myself."

Then he turned to the farmer and asked him,

"What is the most beautiful thing?"

And the farmer answered, "Spring."

Then he asked him, "What is the strongest?"

"The earth."

Then he asked, "What is the richest thing?"

He answered, "The harvest."

Then the King decided that the farmer had answered best, and gave
judgment in his favour. But he had noticed that the farmer had
hesitated in his answers and seemed to be trying to remember things.
So he called him up to him and said,

"I fancy those arrows did not come from your quiver. Who told you how
to answer so cleverly?"

Then the farmer said, "Please your Majesty, it was my daughter who is
the cleverest girl in all the world."

"Is that so?" said the King. "I should like to test that."

Shortly afterwards the King sent one of his servants to the farmer's
daughter with a round cake and thirty small biscuits and a roast
capon, and told him to ask her whether the moon was full, and what
day of the month it was, and whether the rooster had crowed in the
night. On the way the servant ate half the cake and half of the
biscuits and hid the capon away for his supper. And when he h