there arose a quarrel between them; and the star-gazer said, 'If I had
not found the princess out, all your skill would have been of no use;
therefore she ought to be mine.' 'Your seeing her would have been of
no use,' said the thief, 'if I had not taken her away from the dragon;
therefore she ought to be mine.' 'No, she is mine,' said the huntsman;
'for if I had not killed the dragon, he would, after all, have torn
you and the princess into pieces.' 'And if I had not sewn the boat
together again,' said the tailor, 'you would all have been drowned,
therefore she is mine.' Then the king put in a word, and said, 'Each
of you is right; and as all cannot have the young lady, the best way
is for neither of you to have her: for the truth is, there is somebody
she likes a great deal better. But to make up for your loss, I will
give each of you, as a reward for his skill, half a kingdom.' So the
brothers agreed that this plan would be much better than either
quarrelling or marrying a lady who had no mind to have them. And the
king then gave to each half a kingdom, as he had said; and they lived
very happily the rest of their days, and took good care of their
father; and somebody took better care of the young lady, than to let
either the dragon or one of the craftsmen have her again.



LILY AND THE LION

A merchant, who had three daughters, was once setting out upon a
journey; but before he went he asked each daughter what gift he should
bring back for her. The eldest wished for pearls; the second for
jewels; but the third, who was called Lily, said, 'Dear father, bring
me a rose.' Now it was no easy task to find a rose, for it was the
middle of winter; yet as she was his prettiest daughter, and was very
fond of flowers, her father said he would try what he could do. So he
kissed all three, and bid them goodbye.

And when the time came for him to go home, he had bought pearls and
jewels for the two eldest, but he had sought everywhere in vain for
the rose; and when he went into any garden and asked for such a thing,
the people laughed at him, and asked him whether he thought roses grew
in snow. This grieved him very much, for Lily was his dearest child;
and as he was journeying home, thinking what he should bring her, he
came to a fine castle; and around the castle was a garden, in one half
of which it seemed to be summer-time and in the other half winter. On
one side the finest flowers were in full bloom, and on the other
everything looked dreary and buried in the snow. 'A lucky hit!' said
he, as he called to his servant, and told him to go to a beautiful bed
of roses that was there, and bring him away one of the finest flowers.

This done, they were riding away well pleased, when up sprang a fierce
lion, and roared out, 'Whoever has stolen my roses shall be eaten up
alive!' Then the man said, 'I knew not that the garden belonged to
you; can nothing save my life?' 'No!' said the lion, 'nothing, unless
you undertake to give me whatever meets you on your return home; if
you agree to this, I will give you your life, and the rose too for
your daughter.' But the man was unwilling to do so and said, 'It may
be my youngest daughter, who loves me most, and always runs to meet me
when I go home.' Then the servant was greatly frightened, and said,
'It may perhaps be only a cat or a dog.' And at last the man yielded
with a heavy heart, and took the rose; and said he would give the lion
whatever should meet him first on his return.

And as he came near home, it was Lily, his youngest and dearest
daughter, that met him; she came running, and kissed him, and welcomed
him home; and when she saw that he had brought her the rose, she was
still more glad. But her father began to be very sorrowful, and to
weep, saying, 'Alas, my dearest child! I have bought this flower at a
high price, for I have said I would give you to a wild lion; and when
he has you, he will tear you in pieces, and eat you.' Then he told her
all that had happened, and said she should not go, let what would
happen.

But she comforted him, and said, 'Dear father, the word you have given
must be kept; I will go to the lion, and soothe him: perhaps he will
let me come safe home again.'

The next morning she asked the way she was to go, and took leave of
her father, and went forth with a bold heart into the wood. But the
lion was an enchanted prince. By day he and all his court were lions,
but in the evening they took their right forms again. And when Lily
came to the castle, he welcomed her so courteously that she agreed to
marry him. The wedding-feast was held, and they lived happily together
a long time. The prince was only to be seen as soon as evening came,
and then he held his court; but every morning he left his bride, and
went away by himself, she knew not whither, till the night came again.

After some time he said to her, 'Tomorrow there will be a great feast
in your father's house, for your eldest sister is to be married; and
if you wish to go and visit her my lions shall lead you thither.' Then
she rejoiced much at the thoughts of seeing her father once more, and
set out with the lions; and everyone was overjoyed to see her, for
they had thought her dead long since. But she told them how happy she
was, and stayed till the feast was over, and then went back to the
wood.

Her second sister was soon after married, and when Lily was asked to
go to the wedding, she said to the prince, 'I will not go alone this
time--you must go with me.' But he would not, and said that it would
be a very hazardous thing; for if the least ray of the torch-light
should fall upon him his enchantment would become still worse, for he
should be changed into a dove, and be forced to wander about the world
for seven long years. However, she gave him no rest, and said she
would take care no light should fall upon him. So at last they set out


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