Queen was at church, and the two children sat and played with their
father, he gazed again full of grief on the stone statue, and sighing,
wailed: "Oh, if I could only restore you to life, my most trusty John!"
Suddenly the stone began to speak, and said: "Yes, you can restore me
to life again if you are prepared to sacrifice what you hold most dear."
And the King cried out: "All I have in the world will I give up for your
sake." The stone continued: "If you cut off with your own hand the heads
of your two children, and smear me with their blood, I shall come back
to life." The King was aghast when he heard that he had himself to put
his children to death; but when he thought of Trusty John's fidelity,
and how he had even died for him, he drew his sword, and with his own
hand cut the heads off his children. And when he had smeared the stone
with their blood, life came back, and Trusty John stood once more safe
and sound before him. He spake to the King: "Your loyalty shall be
rewarded," and taking up the heads of the children, he placed them on
their bodies, smeared the wounds with their blood, and in a minute they
were all right again and jumping about as if nothing had happened.
Then the King was full of joy, and when he saw the Queen coming, he hid
Trusty John and the two children in a big cupboard. As she entered he
said to her: "Did you pray in church?" "Yes," she answered, "but my
thoughts dwelt constantly on Trusty John, and of what he has suffered
for us." Then he spake: "Dear wife, we can restore him to life, but the
price asked is our two little sons; we must sacrifice them." The Queen
grew white and her heart sank, but she replied: "We owe it to him on
account of his great fidelity." Then he rejoiced that she was of the
same mind as he had been, and going forward he opened the cupboard, and
fetched the two children and Trusty John out, saying: "God be praised!
Trusty John is free once more, and we have our two small sons again."
Then he related to her all that had passed, and they lived together
happily ever afterward.(1)

(1) Grimm.

THE BRAVE LITTLE TAILOR

One summer's day a little tailor sat on his table by the window in
the best of spirits, and sewed for dear life. As he was sitting thus a
peasant woman came down the street, calling out: "Good jam to sell,
good jam to sell." This sounded sweetly in the tailor's ears; he put
his frail little head out of the window, and shouted: "up here, my go