was when I left your service," said the lad, "so now you may go." But first the bailiff had to pay the wager he had lost, that the boy couldn't hit the magpie.

When the lad came to town he went into an inn, and began playing, and all who came there had to dance. And he lived on merrily and well, for he had no cares, since no one could say "No" to him when he asked for anything.

But just as they were in the middle of the fun the watchman came to take the lad up before the magistrate, for the bailiff had complained about him and charged him with having waylaid and robbed him and nearly taken his life; and now the lad was going to be hanged there was no help for it.

But Little Fred had the means of getting out of all trouble, and that was the fiddle. He began to play on it, and then you should have seen how the watchmen danced away, till they fell down and gasped for breath.

So they sent soldiers and the guard, but it fared no better with them than the watchman. When Little Fred took out his fiddle, they had to dance as long as he was able to play on it, but they were done for long before he was tired. At last they came unawares upon him and took him while he was asleep at night, and when he was brought up he was sentenced to be hanged at once, and away they all went to the gallows. There was such a crowd of people to see this wonderful lad, and the bailiff was there too; he was so pleased, because he was to get amends both for his money and his skin, and see the lad hanged into the bargain; but it took a long time before they came to the gallows, because Little Fred was always weak on his legs, and

now he made himself still worse. He had brought with him his fiddle and his gun, as they could not get him to part with them, and when he came to the gallows and was going to mount the ladder, he halted and rested himself on each step. When he got to the top of the ladder he sat down and asked if they would not grant him one thing; he had such a wish to play a tunejust a little bit of a tune-on his fiddle before he was hanged. "Well," they said, "it were both sin and shame to deny him that;" for you see they could not say "No" to what he asked for. But the bailiff asked

in heaven's name that they would not let him touch a string, or else there would not be much left of any of them. If the lad was to play the bailiff wanted to be tied up to a birch tree that stood there. But Little Fred was not long about getting out his fiddle and playing

on it, and then all that were there began dancing, both those that went on two legs and those that went on four, both the deacon and the parson, the judge and the

sheriff, men and women, dogs and swine; they danced and screamed the one louder than the other. Some danced till they dropped down dead, some danced till they fell down in fits. All had a terrible time of it, but worst of all the poor bailiff who was tied up to the birch tree, and was dancing away till he scraped great

bits of skin off his back. There was no one who thought of doing anything to Little Fred after that, and they let him go with his gun and his fiddle where he liked. He lived happy all his days, for there was no one who could say "No" to the first thing he asked for.

THE COCK AND THE FOX

BY P. C. ASBJORNSEN.

HERE was once a cock who stood on a dunghill, crowing and flapping his wings.

A fox just then came strolling by. "Good-day," said the fox; "that's a very fine crow, but can you stand on one leg and crow with your eyes shut, as your father

did?"

"I can easily do that," said the cock, and stood on one leg and crowed. But he only shut one eye, and then he strutted about flapping his wings as if he had done something grand.

"That was very nice," said the fox; "almost as nice as when the parson chants in church; but can you stand on one leg and crow with both your eyes shut at the same time? I scarcely think you can," said Reynard. "No; that father of yours, he was really wonderful."

"Oh, I can do that as well," said the cock, and began to crow standing on one leg and closing both his eyes, when all of a sudden the fox made a dash at him, caught him by the neck, and slung him across his back, and before he had finished his crow Reynard

had set off with him for the forest as quickly as he could.

When they got under an old pine tree Reynard threw the cock down, put his paw on his breast, and was going to help himself to a tasty bit.

"You are not so pious as your father, Reynard," said the cock; "he always crossed himself and said grace before his meals."

Reynard thought he ought to show a little piety, so he let go his hold and was just going to say grace when up flew the cock and settled in the tree above. "I'll get even with you yet," said the fox to himself, and went off. He soon returned with a couple of chippings which the woodcutters had left behind.

The cock kept peeping and peering to see what it could be.

"What have you got there?" he said.

"Oh, some letters I have got from the Pope in Rome," said the fox. "Won't you help me to read them, for I am getting rather shortsighted myself?"

"I would with pleasure, but I dare not just now," said the cock; "there is a man coming along with a gun; I see him from behind the tree- I see him!"

When the fox heard the cock prating about a man with a gun he took to his heels as fast as he could.

That time it was the cock who outwitted Reynard.