And then the child away I'll take;
For little deems my royal dame
That Rumpelstiltzkin is my name!"

You can imagine the Queen's delight at hearing the name, and when the
little man stepped in shortly afterward and asked: "Now, my lady Queen,
what's my name?" she asked first: "Is your name Conrad?" "No." "Is your
name Harry?" "No." "Is your name perhaps, Rumpelstiltzkin?" "Some demon
has told you that! some demon has told you that!" screamed the little
man, and in his rage drove his right foot so far into the ground that it
sank in up to his waist; then in a passion he seized the left foot with
both hands and tore himself in two.(1)

(1) Grimm.

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

Once upon a time, in a very far-off country, there lived a merchant who
had been so fortunate in all his undertakings that he was enormously
rich. As he had, however, six sons and six daughters, he found that his
money was not too much to let them all have everything they fancied, as
they were accustomed to do.

But one day a most unexpected misfortune befell them. Their house
caught fire and was speedily burnt to the ground, with all the splendid
furniture, the books, pictures, gold, silver, and precious goods it
contained; and this was only the beginning of their troubles. Their
father, who had until this moment prospered in all ways, suddenly lost
every ship he had upon the sea, either by dint of pirates, shipwreck,
or fire. Then he heard that his clerks in distant countries, whom he
trusted entirely, had proved unfaithful; and at last from great wealth
he fell into the direst poverty.

All that he had left was a little house in a desolate place at least a
hundred leagues from the town in which he had lived, and to this he was
forced to retreat with his children, who were in despair at the idea of
leading such a different life. Indeed, the daughters at first hoped
that their friends, who had been so numerous while they were rich, would
insist on their staying in their houses now they no longer possessed
one. But they soon found that they were left alone, and that their
former friends even attributed their misfortunes to their own
extravagance, and showed no intention of offering them any help. So
nothing was left for them but to take their departure to the cottage,
which stood in the midst of a dark forest, and seemed to be the most
dismal place upon the face of the earth. As they were too poor to have
any servants, the g