r prison; but in spite of all his efforts he
failed utterly. In despair he thought at least that he would try to
get near enough to speak to the Dear Little Princess, who, on her part,
stretched out her hand that he might kiss it; but turn which way he
might, he never could raise it to his lips, for his long nose always
prevented it. For the first time he realized how long it really was, and
exclaimed:

"Well, it must be admitted that my nose _is_ too long!"

In an instant the crystal prison flew into a thousand splinters, and
the old Fairy, taking the Dear Little Princess by the hand, said to the
Prince:

"Now, say if you are not very much obliged to me. Much good it was for
me to talk to you about your nose! You would never have found out how
extraordinary it was if it hadn't hindered you from doing what you
wanted to. You see how self-love keeps us from knowing our own defects
of mind and body. Our reason tries in vain to show them to us; we refuse
to see them till we find them in the way of our interests."

Prince Hyacinth, whose nose was now just like anyone's else, did not
fail to profit by the lesson he had received. He married the Dear Little
Princess, and they lived happily ever after.(1)

(1) Le Prince Desir et la Princesse Mignonne. Par Madame Leprince de
Beaumont.

EAST OF THE SUN AND WEST OF THE MOON

Once upon a time there was a poor husbandman who had many children and
little to give them in the way either of food or clothing. They were all
pretty, but the prettiest of all was the youngest daughter, who was so
beautiful that there were no bounds to her beauty.

So once--it was late on a Thursday evening in autumn, and wild weather
outside, terribly dark, and raining so heavily and blowing so hard that
the walls of the cottage shook again--they were all sitting together by
the fireside, each of them busy with something or other, when suddenly
some one rapped three times against the window-pane. The man went out
to see what could be the matter, and when he got out there stood a great
big white bear.

"Good-evening to you," said the White Bear.

"Good-evening," said the man.

"Will you give me your youngest daughter?" said the White Bear; "if you
will, you shall be as rich as you are now poor."

Truly the man would have had no objection to be rich, but he thought to
himself: "I must first ask my daughter about this," so he went in and
told them that there was a great white bear outsi