Part 18 (1/2)

To his a over a pot on the fire At last the old fellow turned round to get a spoon hich to stir his pot, and then the cock, waking up, looked in and saw that theoyster-soup, for he had found soive the mixture a colour he had put in a few halfpence in the pot

The miser chanced to turn quickly round, while the cock was peering into the saucepan, and, chuckling to himself, he said: ”I shall have chicken broth after all”

He tripped up the cock into the pot and shut the lid on The bird, feeling warm, said: ”Water, water, don't boil!” But the water only said: ”You drank upbrothers once: don't ask a favour of _me_”

Then he called out to the Fire: ”Oh! kind Fire, don't boil the water”

But the fire replied: ”You once letsisters die: you cannot expect any mercy from me” So he flared up and boiled the water all the faster

At last, when the cock got unpleasantly warht of the wind, and called out: ”Oh, Wind, come to my help!” and the Wind said: ”Why, there is that noble domestic bird in trouble I will help him” So he came down the chimney, blew out the fire, blew the lid off the pot, and blew the cock far away into the air, and at last settled him on a steeple, where the cock remained ever since And people say that the halfpence which were in the pot when it was boiling have given him the queer brown colour he still wears

From the Spanish

SNEGOURKA

There lived once, in Russia, a peasant and his ould have been as happy as the day is long, if only God had given the the children playing in the snow, the o out and help the children :

”Nay, husband, but since God has given us no little child, let us go and fashi+on one fro blue cloak, and he put on his long brown coat, and they went out onto the crisp snow, and began to fashi+on the little child

First, they s and the little body, and then they took a ball of snow for the head And at thatcloak, with his hat well drawn over his face, passed that way, and said: ”Heaven help your undertaking!”

And the peasants crossed themselves and said:

”It is well to ask help fro the little child And they made two holes for the eyes and formed the nose and the mouth And then-- wonder of wonders--the little child came alive, and breath came from its nostrils and parted lips

And the man was feared, and said to his wife: ”What have we done?”

And the wife said: ”This is the little girl child God has sent us”

And she gathered it into her arms, and the loose snow fell away froolden and her eyes were as blue as forget-me-nots--but there was no colour in her cheeks, because there was no blood in her veins

In a few days she was like a child of three or four, and in a feeeks she seeaily and prattled with the other children, who loved her so dearly, though she was so different from them

Only, happy as she was, and dearly as her parents loved her, there was one terror in her life, and that was the sun And during the day she would run and hide herself in cool, damp places away from the sunshi+ne, and this the other children could not understand

As the Spring advanced and the days grew longer and warourka (for this was the narew paler and thinner, and her ?” and Snegourka would say: ”Nothing, Mother but I wish the sun were not so bright”

One day, on St John's Day, the children of the village caathered flowers for her and did all they to reat red sun went down that Snegourka drew a deep breath of relief and spread her little hands out to the cool evening air And the boys, glad at her gladness, said: ”Let us do soourka not knohat a bonfire was, she clapped her hands and was as ather the sticks, and then they all stood round the pile and the boys set fire to the wood