e of ever finding it.

After journeying through three different kingdoms he reached a wood one
night, and lying down under a tree prepared to go to sleep there.
Suddenly he heard a sound in the boughs, and a golden apple fell right
into his hand. At the same moment three ravens flew down to him,
perched on his knee and said, 'We are the three young ravens whom you
saved from starvation. When we grew up and heard you were searching for
the golden apple, we flew far away over the seas to the end of the
world, where the tree of life grows, and fetched the golden apple for
you.'

[Illustration]

Full of joy the young man started on his way back and brought the golden
apple to the lovely Princess, whose objections were now entirely
silenced. They divided the apple of life and ate it together, and her
heart grew full of love for him, so they lived together to a great age
in undisturbed happiness.

Grimm.

_THE STORY OF A CLEVER TAILOR_

Once upon a time there lived an exceedingly proud Princess. If any
suitor for her hand ventured to present himself, she would give him some
riddle or conundrum to guess, and if he failed to do so, he was hunted
out of the town with scorn and derision. She gave out publicly that all
comers were welcome to try their skill, and that whoever could solve her
riddle should be her husband.

Now it happened that three tailors had met together, and the two elder
thought, that after having successfully put in so many fine and strong
stitches with never a wrong one amongst them, they were certain to do
the right thing here too. The third tailor was a lazy young scamp who
did not even know his own trade properly, but who thought that surely
luck would stand by him now, just for once, for, if not, what _was_ to
become of him?

The two others said to him, 'You just stay at home, you'll never get on
much with your small allowance of brains.' But the little tailor was not
to be daunted, and said he had set his mind on it and meant to shift for
himself, so off he started as though the whole world belonged to him.

The three tailors arrived at Court, where they had themselves duly
presented to the Princess, and begged she would propound her riddles,
'for,' said they, 'here were the right men at last, with wits so sharp
and so fine you might almost thread a needle with them.'

Then said the Princess, 'I have on my head two different kinds of hair.
Of what colours are they?'

'If that's