woman, her father married the woman
Juana. Maria continued to live with her father and step-mother. But
Juana and her two daughters treated Maria as a servant. She had to do
all the work in the house,--cook the food, wash the clothes, clean the
floors. The only clothes she herself had to wear were ragged and dirty.

One day Prince Malecadel wanted to get married: so he gave a ball, to
which he invited all the ladies in his kingdom. He said that the most
beautiful of all was to be his wife. When Damiana and Rosa knew that
all the ladies were invited, they began to discuss what clothes they
would wear to the ball; but poor Maria was in the river, washing the
clothes. Maria was very sad and was weeping, for she had no clothes
at all in which she could appear at the prince's fete. While she
was washing, a crab approached her, and said, "Why are you crying,
Maria? Tell me the reason, for I am your mother."

Then Maria said to the crab, "I am treated by my aunt (sic!) and
sisters as a servant; and there will be a ball to-night, but I have
no clothes to wear." While she was talking to the crab, Juana came
up. The step-mother was very angry with Maria, and ordered her to
catch the crab and cook it for their dinner. Maria seized the crab
and carried it to the house. At first she did not want to cook it,
for she knew that it was her mother; but Juana whipped her so hard,
that at last she was forced to obey. Before it was put in the earthen
pot to be cooked, the crab said to Maria, "Maria, don't eat my flesh,
but collect all my shell after I am eaten, and bury the pieces in
the garden near the house. They will grow into a tree, and you can
have what you want if you will only ask the tree for it." After her
parents had eaten the flesh of the crab, Maria collected all its shell
and buried it in the garden. At twilight she saw a tree standing on
the very spot where she had buried the shell.

When night came, Rosa and Damiana went to the ball, and Juana retired
for the night as soon as her daughters were gone. When Maria saw that
her aunt was sleeping, she went into the garden and asked the tree
for what she wanted. The tree changed her clothes into very beautiful
ones, and furnished her with a fine coach drawn by four fine horses,
and a pair of golden slippers. Before she left, the tree said to her,
"You must be in your house before twelve o'clock. If you are not,
your clothes will be changed into ragged, dirty ones again, and you