sure enough, whenever he held it up out came the gold
pieces. So he thanked her very much, and off she went.

Next night the corporal had to play sentry, and the old woman came up
to him and asked to sit by the side of the fire.

"Certainly, marm," said he, "and welcome you are. I have known what it
is to shiver in my bones."

So the old woman sat by the fire for a time, and when she was leaving
gave the corporal a tablecloth.

Said he, "Thank you, marm, kindly, but we soldiers rarely use
tablecloths when we are eating our vittles."

"Yes, but this gives you vittles to eat," said the old woman.
"Whenever you put this over a table or on the ground and call out 'Be
covered!' the finest dinner you could eat at once comes upon it."

"If that is so," said the corporal, "I'll take it and thank you
kindly." And with that the old woman departed, and the corporal woke
up his comrades and called out: "Tablecloth be covered!" And, sure
enough, the finest dinner you could imagine appeared upon the cloth.

Next night the private marched up and down doing sentry-go, when the
old woman appeared again and asked to sit by the fire.

"Surely," said the private, "you're as welcome as my own mother would
be."

And after she had sat some time by the fire she got up and said:

"Thank you kindly, sir; I hope this will pay you for your trouble."
And she gave him a whistle.

"And what's this for?" said the private. "I can't play on the
whistle."

"But you can blow it," said she, "and whenever you blow it out will
come a regiment of armed men that will do whatever you tell them."

And with that the old woman departed, and they never saw her more.

So the three soldiers travelled on till they came to a city where
there was a princess, who was so proud of her card playing that she
had agreed to marry any one who could beat her at cards. Now the
sergeant was also very proud of his card playing, and he thought he
would try his luck with the princess. So when he went up to the palace
he offered to play a game with her, but she said to him:

"What are your stakes? If I lose I have to marry you. But if you lose
what do you lose?"

So the sergeant said: "I'll stake my purse."

"Why, what's a purse with nothing in it!" said the princess.

"There may be nothing in it now," said the sergeant, "but see here,"
and he turned the purse upside-down and put his hand under it, and it
kept on dropping gold pieces into his hand as long as he h