d to them. When he heard the wickedness of his daughter, he
said, 'I cannot believe that she has acted so wrongly, but the truth
will soon come to light.' He made them both go into a secret chamber,
and let no one see them.

Soon after this the large ship came in, and the wicked lady appeared
before her father with a very sad face. He said to her, 'Why have you
come back alone? Where is your husband?'

'Ah, dear father,' she replied, 'I have come home in great grief; my
husband fell ill on the voyage quite suddenly, and died, and if the good
captain had not given me help, I should have died too. He was at his
death-bed and can tell you everything.'

The King said, 'I will bring the dead to life again,' and he opened the
door of the room and called them both out. The lady was as if
thunderstruck when she caught sight of her husband; she fell on her
knees and begged for mercy. But the King said, 'You shall have no mercy.
He was ready to die with you, and restored you to life again; but you
killed him when he was sleeping, and shall receive your deserts.'

So she and her accomplice were put in a ship which was bored through
with holes, and were drawn out into the sea, where they soon perished in
the waves.

Grimm.

_THE RIDDLE_

A King's son once had a great desire to travel through the world, so he
started off, taking no one with him but one trusty servant. One day he
came to a great forest, and as evening drew on he could find no shelter,
and could not think where to spend the night. All of a sudden he saw a
girl going towards a little house, and as he drew nearer he remarked
that she was both young and pretty. He spoke to her, and said, 'Dear
child, could I and my servant spend the night in this house?'

'Oh yes,' said the girl in a sad tone, 'you can if you like, but I
should not advise you to do so. Better not go in.'

'Why not?' asked the King's son.

The girl sighed and answered, 'My stepmother deals in black arts, and
she is not very friendly to strangers.'

The Prince guessed easily that he had fallen on a witch's house, but as
by this time it was quite dark and he could go no further, and as
moreover he was not at all afraid, he stepped in.

An old woman sat in an arm-chair near the fire, and as the strangers
entered she turned her red eyes on them. 'Good evening,' she muttered,
and pretending to be quite friendly. 'Won't you sit down?'

She blew up the fire on which she was cooking so