have mercy!' she cried, 'I could not help it. I was so
frightened.'

The prince had mercy. He ordered the wicked king to be stripped of his
fine clothes, and to be driven into the forest, where the wild beasts
tore him to pieces. The queen he sent to her own country. Then he set
off for the cave where the princess was sitting chained as before, and
with the help of the magic sword he rescued her again without any
difficulty. They soon reached the port and set sail for Arabia, where
they were married; and till they died, a long while after, they
reigned happily over both countries.

(From _Eventyr fra Gylbauck samlede og optegnede af Evald Tang
Kristensen_. Translated from the Danish by Mrs. Skovgaard-Pedersen.)

_THE CLEVER WEAVER_

Once upon a time the king of a far country was sitting on his throne,
listening to the complaints of his people, and judging between them.
That morning there had been fewer cases than usual to deal with, and
the king was about to rise and go into his gardens, when a sudden stir
was heard outside, and the lord high chamberlain entered, and inquired
if his majesty would be graciously pleased to receive the ambassador
of a powerful emperor who lived in the east, and was greatly feared by
the neighbouring sovereigns. The king, who stood as much in dread of
him as the rest, gave orders that the envoy should be admitted at
once, and that a banquet should be prepared in his honour. Then he
settled himself again on his throne, wondering what the envoy had to
say.

The envoy said nothing. He advanced to the throne where the king was
awaiting him, and stooping down, traced on the floor with a rod which
he held in his hand a black circle all round it. Then he sat down on a
seat that was near, and took no further notice of anyone.

The king and his courtiers were equally mystified and enraged at this
strange behaviour, but the envoy sat as calm and still as an image,
and it soon became plain that they would get no explanation from
_him_. The ministers were hastily summoned to a council, but not one
of them could throw any light upon the subject. This made the king
more angry than ever, and he told them that unless before sunset they
could find someone capable of solving the mystery he would hang them
all.

The king was, as the ministers knew, a man of his word; and they
quickly mapped out the city into districts, so that they might visit
house by house, and question the occupants as to