at the end of which, in the course of
nature, he died.

Then the prince called together all his
household. One man was sent to fetch a
richly-embroidered cushion to put under
the little dog; another was told to order a
costly marble slab, with an inscription
recording his many virtues; another was
sent for a man who could stuff animals so
that you could not tell whether they were
dead or alive. Many directions were given,
all equally honourable to the deceased; but
the little dog did not wake up any more.

       THE SEVEN BROTHERS.

ONCE upon a time, there was a poor
countrywoman who had seven sons. They
grew up, and tilled the land, and became
good and thrifty husbandmen. They left
the cottage at dawn and came home at
twilight. In the middle of the day their
mother took to each a large piece of bread,
wherever they were at work. When they
came home, they ate a hurried meal and
went to bed, and she saw very little of
them. She loved them dearly, but she
always wished she had a daughter to stay
by her side. The young men likewise
always wished for a sister. The day came
when the countrywomen expected another
child, so the young men said to the nurse:

"If our mother has a daughter, mind
you put a distaff out of the window; we
shall see it from the field where we are
working, and we shall come home to
welcome our little sister; but, if the child is a
boy, hang one of our guns out of the
window; we shall then go away, far away,
and be no more seen in this neighbourhood.
We are already too many men:
we will go and seek our fortunes
elsewhere."

So saying, the seven brothers, the
youngest of whom was almost a boy, went
forth into the field to plough.

Soon after, the woman had a child, and
it was a little girl. The nurse hastened to
place the signal in the window, but in the
confusion of her mind she displayed a gun
instead of a spindle, and the seven brothers
never came back.

The little girl grew every day stronger
and prettier, but she brought no consolation
to the poor cottage; on the contrary,
she was a cause of discord there. Her
mother treated her unkindly, and reproached
her constantly for the loss of her seven
sons. The poor girl could at last bear it
no longer, and, when she was sixteen years
old, she made seven bags, in each of which
she placed some different article of food,
and started off in quest of her brothers,
early one morning, without telling her
father or her mother anything of her
intentions. She went straight before her
into the thickest part of a wood, trusting
to Providence to direct her path; and she
walked many, many miles before she
met with any one. At last she met an old
woman, who carried a pedlar's pack on her
back. She thought it very likely this old
woman might have met with her brothers.

"Ay; ay!" answered the old woman to
the girl's many questions. "I have seen
seven young men, and they are all brothers;
but they live much further off, in the very
heart of the wild woods."

So saying, she pointed to a dark and
thickly-wooded forest that extended in
every direction, and seemed boundless.

The brave girl did not shrink from her
task, but walked on further and further,
until she met with an old man. He knew
exactly where her brothers lived, and he
described their cottage. It was, he said,
a good deal further on, in an open space
in the centre of the wood. There they had
built a little house, and had turned the
surrounding land into fields. She had only to
walk on in a straight direction, and she
could not mistake.

"But," added the old man, "it is a
chance if you find them at home. Some
of them go out cutting wood in the forest;
the others work in the fields; and the
cottage is closed."

The girl thanked the old man, and walked
on. At last she saw the cottage that had
been described to her. The door and the
windows were shut. No curling smoke
from the little chimney showed it to be
inhabited. She heard no sound of voices,
and a great fear seized her that perhaps her
brothers had left the place altogether. She
went near to the door and knocked, but in
vain. At last, looking down, she perceived
a little hole made in the lower part of the
door for the cat to go in and out at. She
stooped and put her little hand in, felt the
ground inside the door, and found the key.
She drew it out, put it in the lock, and,
sure enough, it was the right key. It was
generally left there, in case any one of the
brothers should come home before the
others. The younger one generally came
some little time before his brothers to
prepare their meals. The young girl
opened the door and went in. The
cottage was composed of two rooms; the
first was a kitchen, and the second was a