I'll see that your work is done all right.' So
Helena lay down, and when she awoke all the feathers were sorted into
little bundles; but when she turned to thank the good Fairy she had
vanished.

In the evening her stepmother returned and was much amazed to find
Helena sitting quietly with her work all finished before her.

[Illustration]

She praised her diligence, but at the same time racked her brain as to
what harder task she could set her to do.

The next day she told Helena to empty a pond near the house with a spoon
which was full of holes. Helena set to work at once, but she very soon
found that what her stepmother had told her to do was an impossibility.
Full of despair and misery, she was in the act of throwing the spoon
away, when suddenly the kind Fairy stood before her again, and asked her
why she was so unhappy?

When Helena told her of her stepmother's new demand she said, 'Trust to
me and I will do your task for you. Lie down and have a sleep in the
meantime.'

Helena was comforted and lay down, and before you would have believed it
possible the Fairy roused her gently and told her the pond was empty.
Full of joy and gratitude, Helena hurried to her stepmother, hoping that
now at last her heart would be softened towards her. But the wicked
woman was furious at the frustration of her own evil designs, and only
thought of what harder thing she could set the girl to do.

Next morning she ordered her to build before evening a beautiful castle,
and to furnish it all from garret to basement. Helena sat down on the
rocks which had been pointed out to her as the site of the castle,
feeling very depressed, but at the same time with the lurking hope that
the kind Fairy would come once more to her aid.

And so it turned out. The Fairy appeared, promised to build the castle,
and told Helena to lie down and go to sleep in the meantime. At the word
of the Fairy the rocks and stones rose and built themselves into a
beautiful castle, and before sunset it was all furnished inside, and
left nothing to be desired. You may think how grateful Helena was when
she awoke and found her task all finished.

But her stepmother was anything but pleased, and went through the whole
castle from top to bottom, to see if she couldn't find some fault for
which she could punish Helena. At last she went down into one of the
cellars, but it was so dark that she fell down the steep stairs and was
killed on the spot.

So Helena w