ll be our King, and
the beautiful Princess shall be our Queen!"

And while they led the soldier to the royal carriage the great big
dogs bounded along in front.

Little boys whistled gaily, and the guards presented arms.

Then the Princess was sent for, and made Queen, which she liked much
better than living shut up in a copper palace. And the wedding feast
lasted for eight whole days, and the three monster wizard dogs sat at
the table, staring around them with all their eyes.

* * * * *

BOOTS AND HIS BROTHERS

BY GEORGE WEBBE DASENT

Once on a time there was a man who had three sons, Peter, Paul, and
John. John was Boots, of course, because he was the youngest. I can't
say the man had anything more than these three sons, for he had n't
one penny to rub against another; and so he told his sons over and
over again they must go out into the world and try to earn their
bread, for there at home there was nothing to be looked for but
starving to death.

Now, near the man's cottage was the King's palace, and, you must know,
just against the King's windows a great oak had sprung up, which
was so stout and big that it took away all the light from the King's
palace. The King had said he would give many, many dollars to the man
who could fell the oak, but no one was man enough for that, for as
soon as ever one chip of the oak's trunk flew off, two grew in its
stead. A well, too, the King would have dug, which was to hold water
for the whole year; for all his neighbors had wells, but he hadn't
any, and that he thought a shame. So the King said he would give to
any one who could dig him such a well as would hold water for a whole
year round, both money and goods; but no one could do it, for the
King's palace lay high, high up on a hill, and they had dug only a few
inches before they came upon the living rock.

But as the King had set his heart on having these two things done,
he had it given out far and wide, in all the churches of his kingdom,
that he who could fell the big oak in the King's courtyard, and get
him a well that would hold water the whole year round, should have
the Princess and half the kingdom. Well, you may easily know there
was many a man who came to try his luck; but for all their hacking and
hewing, and all their digging and delving, it was no good. The oak got
bigger and stouter at every stroke, and the rock didn't get softer,
either. So one day those three