And the louder the elder called him,
'Brother, little brother, come to me,' the swifter he fled after
his brothers the wolves, and the heavier grew his skin, till,
with a long howl, he vanished into the depths of the forest.
So, with shame and anguish in his soul, the elder brother went
back to his village, and, with his sister, mourned the little boy
and the broken promise till the end of his life.
THE GLASS AXE[19]
[19] From the Hungarian. Kletke.
There was once upon a time a King and Queen who had everything
they could possibly wish for in this world except a child. At
last, after twelve years, the Queen gave birth to a son; but she
did not live long to enjoy her happiness, for on the following
day she died. But before her death she called her husband to her
and said, 'Never let the child put his feet on the ground, for as
soon as he does so he will fall into the power of a wicked Fairy,
who will do him much harm.' And these were the last words the
poor Queen spoke.
The boy throve and grew big, and when he was too heavy for his
nurse to carry, a chair was made for him on little wheels, in
which he could wander through the palace gardens without help; at
other times he was carried about on a litter, and he was always
carefully watched and guarded for fear he should at any time put
his feet to the ground.
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