nowing she had been there.

Then, indeed, the girl's heart was like to break, and over and over and
over again like to break, so she cracked the last nut--the hazel
nut--and out of it came the most wonderful wee, wee, wee-est woman
reeling away at yarn as fast as she could reel.

And this marvel so delighted the witch-bride that once again she
consented to put off her wedding for a day, and allow the girl to watch
in the Duke's chamber the night through, in order to possess it.

Now it so happened that when the Duke was dressing that morning he heard
his pages talking amongst themselves of the strange sighing and singing
they had heard in the night; and he said to his faithful old valet,
"What do the pages mean?"

And the old valet, who hated the witch-bride, said:

"If the master will take no sleeping-draught to-night, mayhap he may
also hear what for two nights has kept me awake."

At this the Duke marvelled greatly, and when the witch-bride brought
him his evening posset, he made excuse it was not sweet enough, and
while she went away to get honey to sweeten it withal, he poured away
the posset and made believe he had swallowed it.

So that night when dark had come, and the girl stole in to his chamber
with a heavy heart thinking it would be the very last time she would
ever see him, the Duke was really broad awake. And when she sate down by
his bedside and began to sing:

"Far have I sought for thee,"

he knew her voice at once, and clasped her in his arms.

Then he told her how he had been in the power of the witch-woman and had
forgotten everything, but that now he remembered all and that the spell
was broken for ever and aye.

So the wedding feast served for their marriage, since the witch-bride,
seeing her power was gone, quickly fled the country and was never heard
of again.

CATSKIN

Once upon a time there lived a gentleman who owned fine lands and
houses, and he very much wanted to have a son to be heir to them. So
when his wife brought him a daughter, though she was bonny as bonny
could be, he cared nought for her, and said:

"Let me never see her face."

So she grew up to be a beautiful maiden, though her father never set
eyes on her till she was fifteen years old and was ready to be married.

Then her father said roughly, "She shall marry the first that comes for
her." Now when this became known, who should come along and be first but
a nasty, horrid old man! So