margin of the lake, ready, with its pointed beak,
to hook up the tiny fishes, that glided in shoals at nightfall near the
surface of the water.

III.

CASPAR THE COBBLER, OF COBWEB CORNER.

In the centre of a certain old city in the Land of Langaffer stood a
king's castle, surrounded by a high turreted wall, with many little
gablets and long windows, and balconies adorned with flowers. A
courtyard full of soldiers was inside. Like the city, the castle was
picturesque, with its quaint architecture, its nooks and turns, its
solid masonry and stone-carving. The interior must have been beautiful
indeed; for the king, who had a very excellent taste, could scarcely be
induced to leave his royal home even for an hour, so much did he love
it. He was wont to inhale the fresh air every morning on the southern
parapet where the clematis trailed over the antique coping, and, in the
long summer twilight he would enjoy gazing at the east, where the
sinking sun had spread its golden hue over his dominions, from the tiny
top turret pointing to the woods and mountains that lay away beyond the
city.

Now, in close proximity to the castle were some of the darkest and
narrowest streets of the city. One of these was Cobweb Corner; and here,
in a small attic, dwelt a humpbacked, plain-visaged little man, who the
whole day long loved to think about the king. He was called "Caspar the
Cobbler, of Cobweb Corner."

The people all knew Caspar, but they did not know that Caspar's secret
ambition was to become some day cobbler to the king.

Caspar's father and mother had been poor folk, like himself; and when he
came into the world, a sickly, plain-featured babe, his mother sent for
the very last of the fairies in the land to be her child's godmother,
and to bequeath him some wonderful gift which might make up for his lack
of strength and beauty.

"What an ugly child," said the fairy; "yet somebody will love him, and
he may become beautiful--and, when all else forsake him, why, then the
most graceful of the birds shall be his friends."

Poor Caspar's mother considered that she had accomplished a great thing
in persuading the fairy to act as godmother; but his father thought he
could do better for his son in teaching him his own handicraft to the
best of his ability.

And therefore, with an extraordinary amount of care and patience, the
old man instructed his little lad how to manage his awl; and, ere he
died, had the satisfaction o