the least lovely sister, who, however, was quite
handsome enough to cause a fray between the
two brothers, when they had drawn her up.
The similar ascent of the second and then of the
third sister varied the object of the fray, but
it still continued. As for the third brother,
who remained at the bottom, he felt so
doubtful as to the probable manner of his
reception, that when the rope was about to rise
for the fourth time, he fastened to it a heavy
stone, in lieu of his own sweet person. The
result proved that his caution had not been
superfluous, for when the stone had risen about
half way, the brothers let go the rope, and it
fell with a heavy sound, impressing them with
the pleasant but false belief that they had
committed fratricide.

Not knowing what to do next, the solitary
youth began to rub the jewel given to him by the
third lady, and it immediately asked him what
he required? His first wish, which was simply
to leave the well, was modest enough; but the
second, which he expressed after the first
had been granted, showed a somewhat covetous
disposition, inasmuch as it was to be the most
handsome, learned, valiant, and clever person
who had ever lived in the world. Raised to this
standard of excellence, the youth, travelling
anew, came to the kingdom governed by the
royal father of the three young ladies, but could
find no lodging in the principal city, so great was
the throng that had been gathered together by
reason of the approaching marriage of his
brothers with two of the king's daughters.
Fortunately, a hospitable cobbler allowed him to rest
in his shop, warning him at the same time that
he could give him no breakfast; whereupon the
youth, by a rub on the jewel, summoned a great
dog, whom he instructed to enter the palace,
and upset the breakfast table. His instructions
were punctually followed, the king being so
much incensed that—what?—he ordered the
guard not to allow the dog to pass on any
future occasion.

On the following day, however, the royal
breakfast-table was upset by another dog,
stronger than the first. This was traced by
the guard to the residence of the cobbler, who
would have been immediately dragged off to
prison had not the youth stepped forward and
declared that he himself was the owner of the
intrusive animals.

"To the gallows with him!" naturally exclaimed
the king, when the owner of the dogs
was brought to the palace; but when his first
outbreak was over, he was considerate enough
to grant the prisoner's modest request for
permission to speak a few words.

"Whose ring is this?" cried the youth,
availing himself of his opportunity.

"Mine!" shrieked the shortest of the
princesses.

"And who claims this ring?"

"I do!" shrieked the one of middling
stature.

"And who gave me this jewel?"

"I did," replied the third and tallest princess,
"because you freed me from the conjurer."

Thus truth came to light, and we have only
to record that the youngest brother married
the handsomest princess, and that his two
seniors were hanged.

The second tale is also about three brothers,
and, like the first, redounds to the credit of
the youngest. They were the sons of an
unfortunate man, who was so poor that they had
not enough to eat. The eldest, therefore,
laudably left home, to get his living, and he had not
gone far before he met a gentleman who was
willing to engage him as a servant on rather
singular conditions. He was to have one
hundred scudi a month, with his board, but a
special clause was added to the effect that the
first of the contracting parties who repented of
his bargain should give the other the right to flay
him alive. To these terms, which, if hard, at
any rate seemed equitable, the lad agreed; and
on the following day he was sent into the wood,
with four mules, to fetch some fagots, with a
small piece of bread for his refreshment. When
he came back, he asked for his breakfast,
whereupon his master, though evidently under the
impression that he had consumed enough food
already, gave him another bit of bread smaller
than the first. Like Oliver Twist, the lad dared
to ask for more.

"Then you repent of our bargain, do you?"
asked the master.

"Most decidedly," replied the youth. The
words were scarcely out of his mouth when his
master caught him, flayed him, and flung his
body behind the door.

The second brother, who followed the first, met
the same gentleman, and, by force of a similar
contract, came to a similar end. With the third
brother, who likewise set out in due course, the
preliminaries were the same as withthe other two;
but the result was different, for, although when
he returned from the forest with his mules his
demand for breakfast was answered by the
presentation of a piece of bread so thin that the
sun shone through it, and although a complaint
was on the tip of his tongue, he luckily observed
his skinless brothers behind the door,
and held his peace. The disappointed master
actually pressed him for words of discontent.

"You are not dissatisfied with our bargain?"
said he.

"Certainly not."

"You are quite sure?"

"Quite quite nothing could be more
satisfactory."

On the following day, the lad was again sent
into the wood, but he preferred taking the
mules into a neighbouring garden, where he cut
down trees and vines, and committed all sorts
of devastation, and then took the spoil home to
his master. He was soon followed by the
owner of the garden, who insisted that the
employer was liable for the misdeeds of the
employed, and compensation was accordingly
made. It was now the lad's turn to fish for