ap hands before the door one day when the giants were
away. She went to the door; and, though she was very much surprised to
see her step-mother, she invited her into the house. Her step-mother
gave her a loving embrace and kissed her upon both cheeks. "Dear
child, it is a long time since I have seen you," she said. "I have
brought you a little gift to show you that I have not forgotten you.
It is only a poor, mean little gift, but it is the best I could
bring."

Angelita was touched at her step-mother's gift and accepted it with
hearty thanks. As soon as her step-mother had gone she untied the red
ribbon around the package and opened it. Inside was a pair of leather
slippers. Angelita looked at the little slippers. They were like the
slippers which her dear father, the image-maker, had once brought home
to her. "How kind it was in my step-mother to bring these slippers to
me," she said as she put them on.

As soon as the slippers were on Angelita's feet, she fell dead just as
the wicked witch had promised the step-mother she would do. Her
step-mother was watching through the window, and when she saw Angelita
dead she hurried home in joy. "Now I, alone, am the peerless beauty,"
she said.

When the three giants came home to dinner they knew at once that there
was something wrong. There were dirty tracks on the floor and dirty
finger prints upon the door. "Who made these dirty marks?" said the
biggest giant.

"What has happened to our dear little sister that she has not cleaned
them away?" asked the middle-sized giant.

"I am afraid there is something wrong with little sister," said the
littlest giant who was not little at all.

They clapped their big hands before the door, but no smiling little
sister ran to meet them. They entered the big hall of the palace with
a bound. There in the middle of the floor lay Angelita, just as she
had fallen when she put on the poisoned slippers which her step-mother
had given her.

"What evil, has befallen our dear little sister?" said the biggest
giant.

"Who could have slain our little sister whom we loved so much?" said
the middle-sized giant.

"Who will keep house for us now that our dear little sister is dead?"
asked the littlest giant.

Then the biggest giant and the middle-sized giant and the littlest
giant all began to sob so loud that it shook the earth. "Our dear
little sister is dead! What shall we do! What shall we do!"

The giants could not go into the city t