The Travelling Musicians.

 One day an old donkey overheard his master saying that he was too old for work. The time had come for him to be killed off for they could not keep an animal who was no longer useful.

 "Killed indeed!" snorted the donkey. "I may be too old to carry heavy loads but I am not too old to make a fine noise when I bray. I shall go to the neighbouring town of Bremen and earn my keep there as a musician".

 He unlatched the stable door with his teeth, a trick he had learned long ago, and when no one was looking he slipped out and trotted down the road towards Bremen.

 He had not gone far when he saw an old dog lying by the side of the road looking rather sorry for himself.

 "Why so sad, Dog?" he asked.

 "You would feel just as sad if you had overheard your master say he was going to knock you on the head because you were too old".

 "Come with me, friend", said the donkey. "I am also too old for my master, so I am off to Bremen to earn my living as a musician. You can use your voice, can't you? Together we will sing a fine duet".

 The dog agreed to travel to Bremen with the donkey, and they trotted down the road together. Before long, they saw a cat hunched up and miserable sitting on a gate.

 "Its a fine day, Cat", they said, "far too fine for you to look so sad".

 "It's a bad sad day for me", said the cat. "My owners say I no longer catch as many rats and mice as I did when I was young, so they are replacing me with a kitten. They cannot feed us both, so I am going to be put in a sack and drowned in the river".

 "Don't wait for that to happen", said the donkey and the dog. "We are also too old for our masters, but we have not waited to be finished off. We are on our way to Bremen to earn our living as musicians. You still have your voice. Come with us".

 The cat uttered a fine "Miaow!" in agreement.

 So the three animals journeyed on to Bremen together. At the next farm they met a cock strutting up and down. All his feathers were ruffled out in indignation.

 "What's the trouble, Cock?" they asked. "You look upset".

 "How would you feel", replied the cock, "if you overheard your mistress planning to wring your neck so she could cook you for dinner on Sunday when they have visitors coming?"

 "Come with us to Brernen", said the donkey, the dog and the cat. "We are going to earn our living there as musicians. We're sure you have a fine singing voice".

 "Indeed I do", said the cock, and to show them he uttered a loud "Cock-a-doodle-doo!"

 It was too far for them to reach Bremen that day, so when evening came they found a sheltered place in a wood to rest for the night. The dog and the donkey settled themselves comfortably at the bottom of a tree, the cat climbed into the branches, and the cock roosted high up at the top. They were all tired, but none of them slept for they were all so hungry.

 When it was quite dark the animals saw a light shining from a house they had not noticed before. It made them think of food, and the cat said, "Friends, let's go and investigate. Where there is a house, there may be something to eat".

 Together they crept up to one of the windows where a light was shining. The donkey being the tallest looked through first.

 "Well, friend, what do you see?" asked the cock.

 "I see a table laden with food and drink, and a group of mean- looking men counting piles of money", said the donkey.

 The cat, the dog and the cockerel jumped up onto the donkey's back and peered through the window too. They did not realize it but they had discovered a robber's hideout.

 "Let us try out our music", said one of the animals. "If we sing a fine song for them they may give us some of their supper".

 Together they all sang. The donkey brayed, the dog barked, the cat yowled and the cock crowed. The noise was tremendous.

 The effect was not at all what they expected, for the robbers, hearing this noise, thought they were about to be arrested. They ran helter-skelter as fast as they could into the woods, leaving the doors wide open.

 "That was nice of them", said the four animals, when the robbers did not reappear. "They have gone away and left us their home to enjoy".

 The donkey found some good hay in the barn and the cock some grain, while the cat and the dog ate all they wanted from the robbers' table. Then they all slept soundly. In time the candles burnt down and went out and the house lay in darkness.

 Some hours later, the robbers returned. They had been arguing among themselves, for some thought they had given in too easily, by running away without a fight, while the others thought it was foolish to go back to the house, for they would surely be caught and put in prison. Now they drew nearer, and seeing no sign of life they decided it would be safe for one of them to return and take some of the gold they had left behind.

 Quiet the robber crept up to the house, and tried to light a candle. As he did so the cat awoke, and the robber saw his green eyes glowing in the dark. Mistaking them for the embers of the fire, he held a splinter of wood to them.

 The cat, thinking he was being attacked, flew at the robber, spitting and scratching for all he was worth. The robber, fearing some great wild beast was attacking him, dropped the wood and ran for his life. In the doorway he tripped over the dog who howled and bit the robber's ankle. The robber limped across the yard where the donkey lashed out at him with his heels. Then the cock, hearing all the commotion and fearing his friends were being killed, flew at the robber with his claws.

 The robber fled back to his companions. "It is surely a monster and a devil rolled into one that has taken over our house", he said. "First I was scratched, then bitten, then kicked, and finally attacked from above by fierce talons and whirling feathers. The noise of screeching and howling was enough to wake the dead. We must never go back there again".

 So it was that the robbers set off for another part of the country and left their hideout in the woods to the animals. In the morning the four musicians discussed the odd disturbances in the middle of the night. Since the stranger had disappeared they decided to stay where they were for a time.

 "We will go to Bremen another day", they said.

 But they never did go to Bremen. Instead they lived happily in the house for many years and never tried singing together again.

 Puss In - Hoots.

 A miller once died, leaving his three sons all that he possessed his mill, his donkey and his cat. They quickly arranged between them that the eldest son should keep the mill, the middle son the donkey, while the youngest should take the cat.

 "It is very hard on me", grumbled the youngest son. "My brothers can earn their living with the mill and the donkey, but once I have eaten the cat, I will have nothing".

 "Don't talk like that, master", said the cat. "Give me some boots and a sack with a string to tie at the top and you shall see that it was a lucky day for you when you became my master".

 The cat quickly went to catch some mice and rats to prove how useful he was, and the miller's son found him the boots and a sack which tied at the top. The cat pulled on the boots and strutted around proudly. Then, taking the sack, he filled it with bran and tempting green leaves and set out for a nearby field where he knew there were rabbits. There he lay down with the sack open beside him and pretended to sleep.

 Before long some curious rabbits came to investigate the sleeping cat and the sack, and when they smelt the delicious food they hopped into the sack. In a flash Puss-in-Boots jumped up, pulled the string tight, and caught the rabbits.

 Now he strode off to the king's palace and demanded to see the king. "I have a gift for him from my master, the Marquis of Carabas", he announced. This was a name he had made up for the miller's son to impress the king.

 "Thank your master for me", said the king, "and tell him I am pleased with his gift."

 Some time later Puss-in-Boots set out again with his sack. This time he put a handful of corn in the sack and caught some partridge, and once more he took them to the king's palace. and presented them to the king from the Marquis of Carabas.

 Not long afterwards Puss-in-Boots heard that the king was going to drive with his daughter by the river, and he told the miller's son to follow him and do whatever he said. By now the lad realized that Puss was no ordinary cat, and he promised to do everything he was told.

 Puss then asked the miller's son to take off his clothes and swim in the river. When the king's carriage came past he called out, "Help! My master, the Marquis of Carabas, is drowning!"

 The king, hearing the name of the Marquis, stopped his carriage, and ordered his guards to save the young man. While they were dragging him out, the cat told the king that robbers had run off with his master's clothes. The truth was that Puss had hidden the clothes under a stone. Quickly the king sent one of his servants to fetch some fine clothes, for he remembered the gifts of game Puss had brought to the palace.

 When the miller's son put on the new clothes he looked very handsome indeed. The king's daughter immediately fell in love with him, and the king invited him to drive with them.

 Puss ran on ahead and found some men working in a field. "The king is about to drive past", he told them. "If he asks you who owns this field, you must answer The Marquis of Carabas. If you don't", he added, "you shall be chopped into little pieces".

 A few moments later the king's carriage came along and the king asked the men who owned the land. They remembered the fierce threats from Puss-in-Boots and answered:

 "The Marquis of Carabas, Sire."

 The king was impressed. Again the cat ran ahead and found some harvesters cutting corn. He told them to say all the fields they were working in belonged to the Marquis of Carabas. If they did not, he said he would make sure they were killed. When the king heard that the Marquis of Carabas owned this land too he was even more impressed.

 Meanwhile Puss hurried on to a big castle where a wicked magician lived. The magician was the real owner of the land through which the king and his companions were driving.

 The cat knocked at the door and asked to see the magician, and when he met him he bowed very low. "Is it true that you can change yourself into any animal - a lion, a tiger, even an elephant?" he asked with great respect.

 "It is true", replied the magician and turned into a great lion. Puss-in-Boots was terrified and only just managed to scramble to safety on a roof - not easy for a cat wearing big boots. There he huddled until the lion changed back into the magician.

 "That was truly remarkable", he said to the magician most politely. "But I don't suppose you can also turn yourself into a tiny animal like a mouse or a rat?"

 "That's even easier", said the magician, and in a flash he became a tiny mouse, scampering on the floor. With a leap Puss pounced on him and that was the end of the magician.

 Just then Puss-in-Boots heard the king's carriage arriving at the castle. He ran outside and said to the king, "Welcome to the house of my master, the Marquis of Carabas".

 The king entered with his daughter and the miller's son and looked round the fine castle. Realizing that his daughter already loved the young man, he said, "Tell me, Marquis, what would you say to marrying my daughter?"

 The miller's son, who had fallen deeply in love with the princess, bowed very low and accepted. That very same day he married the princess, and you may he sure Puss-in-Boots was always well fed and well looked after for the rest of his life.

 Henny Penny.

 One day Henny Penny was scratching in the farmyard looking for something good to eat when, suddenly, something hit her on the head. "My goodness me!" she said. "The sky must be falling down. I must go and tell the king."

 She had not gone far when she met her friend Cocky Locky, and he called out. "Where are you going in such a hurry?"

 "I am going to tell the king that the sky is falling down", said Henny Penny.

 "I will come with you", said Cocky Locky.

 So Henny Penny and Cocky Locky hurried along together towards the king's palace. On the way they saw Ducky Lucky swimming on the pond.

 "Where are you going?" he called out.

 "We are going to tell the king the sky is falling down", replied Henny Penny. "We must go quickly, as there is no time to lose".

 "I will come with you", said Ducky Lucky.

 So Henny Penny, Cocky Locky and Ducky Lucky hurried on together towards the king's palace. On the way they met Goosey Loosey, who called out, "Where are you all going in such a hurry?"

 "We are on our way to tell the king the sky is falling down", said Heriny Penny.

 "I will come with you", said Goosey Loosey.

 So Henny Penny, Cocky Locky, Ducky Lucky and Goosey Loosey hurried on together towards the king's palace.

 Round the next corner they met Turkey Lurkey. "Where are you all going on this fine day?" she called out to them.

 "It won't he a fine day for long", replied Henny Penny. "The sky is falling down, and we are hurrying to tell the king".

 "I will come with you", said Turkey Lurkey.

 So Henny Penny, Cocky Locky, Ducky Lucky, Goosey Loosey and Turkey Lurkey went on together towards the king's palace.

 Now on their way they met Foxy Loxy who asked, "Where are you going in such a hurry?"

 "We are going to the king's Palace to tell him the sky is falling down", replied Henny Penny.

 "That is a very important message", said Foxy Loxy. "I will come with you. In fact if you follow me I can show you a short cut to the king's palace, so we will get there sooner".

 So Henny Penny, Cocky Locky Ducky Lucky, Goosey Loosey and Turkey Lurkey all followed Foxy Loxy. He led them to the wood, and up to a dark hole, which was the door to his home. Inside his wife and five hurry children were waiting for him to bring home some dinner.

 That, I am sorry to say, was the end of Cocky Locky, Ducky Lucky, Goose Loosey Loosey and Turkey Lurkey, for one by one they all followed Foxy Loxy into his home, and they were all eaten up by the hungry fox family.

 Henny Penny was the last to enter the Fox's hole and she heard Cocky Locks' crowing in alarm in front of her. Squawking with fright and scattering feathers, she turned and ran as fast as she could for the safety of her own farmyard. There she stayed and she never did tell the king that the sky was falling down.

 The Great Flood.

 Long, long ago in a far off land there was a great flood. For days and weeks and months it rained and rained and rained. Puddles turned into lakes and tiny streams into great rivers and in time the whole earth was covered with water. This is the story of how it happened.

 At that time wicked people lived on the earth. They lived violent, evil lives. God saw this and was deeply hurt.

 "I am sorry that I ever made the human race", God said. "I will end the whole dreadful business. I will destroy the people, the animals, the reptiles, the wild birds - everything".

 But there was one family who made God pause for a moment. "Noah and his family", thought God. "No! I cannot destroy them. They are good people and love me. I know what I shall do."

 Now Noah was a very old man and he and his wife had three Sons called Shem, Ham and Japheth, all of whom were married. One day Noah was working in the fields when God appeared to him.

 "Build a ship on dry land", God commanded him. "Build it high and broad and long. Make windows in it and a strong door in the side and build it with three decks, each divided into many compartments. Seal it, too, inside and out with pitch and keep it watertight."

 "When the time comes, take into this great ark pairs of every animal- reptiles and birds as well- and enough food to feed them all. For I am going to send a flood of water over the whole land. I will destroy everything that lives except you and your family and the creatures with you in the ark."

 Noah and his sons began to build the ark as God commanded them. For months they sawed down trees, cut them into planks and hammered them into place. The people who lived around them stared in amazement as the huge ship began to take shape, and laughed at them for working so hard. "Where are you going to sail that?" they jeered. "It's wider than the river".

 But Noah and his sons worked on and at last the ship was ready. It had windows all around and a huge door on one side. Inside were three decks, each divided into different rooms. Some of these were filled with food of all kinds - flour and dried fruit, vegetables, grain and stacks of hay. Whatever Noah and his family could find, they stored in the ark.

 Now the time came when God told Noah to call the animals and to tell his family to enter the great ship. And now two by two the animals came. There were great cats and tiny mice and the smallest of insects. There were antelope and horses, camels and rhinoceroses, lizards, snakes and tortoises.

 It took seven days for them all to arrive and soon the ark was very full indeed. On the seventh day as heavy spots of rain splashed down God told Noah to enter and close the doors.

 The clouds grew darker and the rain began to fall more and more heavily. Never before had such rain been seen. It poured like a waterfall from the sky and the seas began to rise. Huge tidal waves flowed over the land, drowning everything in their path. Day after day it rained until all that could be seen was the ark floating on a vast grey sea.

 At last the rain fell more gently and slowly the flood began to go down. The animals and Noah's family lived together for five months without sight of anything but water. Now they felt their ship settle on solid ground. They had come to rest on the top of a mountain called Ararat.

 Noah peered anxiously out of a window. He and his family and all the animals longed to be on land once more but only the mountain tops could be seen. Everywhere else was still covered with water and Noah did not dare to open the door.

 After waiting a while he let a raven out to see if it could find somewhere to settle. It never came back and after a week Noah sent out a dove. The dove flew around but could find nowhere to rest or find food so it came back to the ark. When Noah saw it fluttering outside, he knew the earth must still be covered with water and he let the bird inside.

 Another week he waited with all the animals. Then Noah sent out the dove again and this time it returned in the evening with an olive branch in its beak. Now Noah knew the waters were really going down. He waited one more week and again sent out the dove. When it did not return Noah knew it was time to leave the ark. He opened the door a crack and in every direction he saw green grass and trees and flowers.

 Noah called his family together and all the animals grew quiet to listen to him.

 "The time has come", he told them. "Now we can leave the ark". Then he and his sons pushed open the great door.

 Out poured the animals, squawking and barking, neighing and roaring. Out scampered the mice; out ran the rabbits and hares; out leapt the zebras, the sheep and the horses; out stalked the bears too and the stately lions while the birds sang and fluttered overhead. All the animals were glad to be out in the open once more with room to leap or fly or dance or just to curl up in the warm sunshine.

 God saw the destruction he had caused and said to Noah:

 "I will never again send such a flood. Never again will I destroy all living creatures or curse the land. And as a sign that I shall keep this promise. I give you the rainbow".

 Just then a brilliant rainbow arched over the ark and over Noah and his family and all the animals. Ever since that day, whenever the sun comes out in the rain, you will see a rainbow in the sky. It reminds us of God's promise that there will never again he a great flood over the whole earth.

 Jack And The Beanstalk.

 There was once a boy called Jack. His mother thought he was lazy, and she was right. Jack did not like work, but he was brave and quick-witted, as you will see from this story. He lived with his mother in a small cottage and their most valuable possession was their cow, Milky-White. But the day came when Milky-White gave them no milk and Jack's mother said she must be sold.

 "Take her to market", she told Jack, "and mind you get a good price for her".

 So Jack set out to market leading Milky-White by her halter. After a while he sat down to rest by the side of the road. An old man came by and Jack told him where he was going.

 "Don't bother to go to the market", the old man said. "Sell your cow to me. I will pay you well. Look at these beans. Only plant them, and overnight you will find you have the finest bean plants in all the world. You'll be better off with these beans than with an old cow or money. Now, how many is five, Jack?"

 "Two in each hand and one in your mouth", replied Jack, as sharp as a needle.

 "Right you are, here are five beans", said the old man and he handed the beans to Jack and took Milky-White's halter.

 "When he reached home", his mother said, "Back so soon, Jack? Did you get a good price for Milky-White?"

 Jack told her how he had exchanged the cow for five beans and before he could finish his account, his mother started to shout and box his ears.

 "You lazy good-for-nothing boy", she screamed, "how could you hand over our cow for five old beans? What will we live on now? We shall starve to death, you stupid boy".

 She flung the beans through the open window and sent Jack to bed without his supper.

 When Jack woke the next morning there was a strange green light in his room. All he could see from the window was green leaves. A huge beanstalk had shot up overnight. It grew higher than he could see. Quickly Jack got dressed and stepped out of the window right onto the beans talk and started to climb.

 "The old man said the beans would grow overnight", he thought. "They must indeed be very special beans".

 Higher and higher Jack climbed until at last he reached the top and found himself on a strange road. Jack followed it until he came to a great castle where he could smell the most delicious breakfast. Jack was hungry. It had been a long climb and he had had nothing to eat since midday the day before. Just as he reached the door of the castle he nearly tripped over the feet of an enormous woman.

 "Here, boy", she called. "What are you doing? Don't you know my husband likes to eat boys for breakfast? It's lucky I have already fried up some bacon and mushrooms for him today, or I'd pop you in the frying pan. He can eat you tomorrow, though".

 "Oh, please don't let him eat me", pleaded Jack. "I only came to ask you for a bite to eat. It smells so delicious".

 Now the giant's wife had a kind heart and did not really enjoy cooking boys for breakfast, so she gave Jack a bacon sandwich. He was still eating it when the ground began to shake with heavy footsteps, and a loud voice boomed: "Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum".

 "Quick, hide!" cried the giant's wife and she pushed Jack into the oven. "After breakfast, he'll fall asleep", she whispered. That is when you must creep away".

 She left the oven door open a crack so that Jack could see into the room. Again the terrible rumbling voice came:

 "Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman. Be he alive or be he dead, I'll grind his bones to make my bread".

 A huge giant came into the room. "Boys, boys, I smell boys", he shouted.

 "Wife, have I got a boy for breakfast today?"

 "No, dear", she said soothingly. "You have got bacon and mushrooms. You must still be smelling the boy you ate last week".

 The giant sniffed the air suspiciously but at last sat down. He wolfed his breakfast of bacon and mushrooms, drank a great bucketful of steaming tea and crunched up a massive slice of toast. Then he fetched a couple of bags of gold from a cupboard and started counting gold coins. Before long he dropped off to sleep.

 Quietly Jack crept out of the oven. Carefully he picked up two gold coins and ran as fast as he could to the top of the beanstalk. He threw the gold down to his mother's garden and climbed after it. At the bottom he found his mother looking in amazement at the gold coins and the beanstalk. Jack told her of his adventures in the giant's castle and when she examined the gold she realized he must be speaking the truth.

 Jack and his mother used the gold to buy food. But the day came when the money ran out, and Jack decided to climb the beanstalk again.

 It was all the same as before, the long climb, the road to the castle, the smell of breakfast and the giant's wife. But she was not so friendly this time.

 "Aren't you the boy who was here before", she asked, "on the day that some gold was stolen from under my husbands nose?"

 But Jack convinced her she was wrong and in time her heart softened again and she gave him some breakfast. Once more as Jack was eating the ground shuddered and the great voice boomed:

 "Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum". Quickly, Jack jumped into the oven.

 As he entered, the giant bellowed:

 "Fee, Fi, Fo, Furn,

 I smell the blood of an Englishman.

 Be he alive or be he dead,

 I'll grind his bones to make my bread".

 The giant's wife put a plate of sizzling sausages before him, telling him he must be mistaken. After breakfast the giant fetched a hen from a back room. Every time he said "Lay!" the hen laid an egg of solid gold.

 "I must steal that hen, if I can", thought Jack, and he waited until the giant fell asleep. Then he slipped out of the oven, snatched up the hen and ran for the top of the beanstalk. Keeping the hen under one arm, he scrambled down as fast as he could.

 Jack's mother was waiting but she was not pleased when she saw the hen.

 "Another of your silly ideas, is it, bringing an old hen when you might have brought us some gold?"

 Then Jack set the hen down carefully, and commanded "Lay!" just as the giant had done. To his mothers surprise the hen laid an egg of solid gold.

 Jack and his mother now lived in great luxury. But in time Jack became a little bored and he made up his mind to climb the beanstalk once more.

 This time he did not risk talking to the giant's wife in case she recognized him. He slipped into the kitchen when she was not looking, and hid himself in the log basket. He watched the giant's wife prepare breakfast and then he heard the giant's roar:

 "Fee, Fi. Fo, Fum,

 I smell the blood of an Englishman,

 Be he alive or be he dead,

 I'll grind his bones to make my bread".

 "If it's that cheeky boy who stole your gold and our magic hen, then I'll help you catch him", said the giant's wife. "Why don't we look in the oven? It's my guess he'll be hiding there".

 You may be sure that Jack was glad he was not in the oven. The giant and his wife hunted high and low but never thought to look in the log basket. At last they gave up and the giant sat down to breakfast.

 After he had eaten, the giant fetched a harp. When he commanded "Play!" the harp played the most beautiful music. Soon the giant fell asleep, and Jack crept out of the log basket. Quickly he snatched up the harp and ran. But the harp called out loudly, "Master, save me! save me!" and the giant woke. With a roar of rage he chased after Jack.

 Jack raced down the road towards the beanstalk with the giant's footsteps thundering behind him. When he reached the top of the beanstalk he threw down the harp and started to slither down after it. The giant followed, and now the whole beanstalk shook and shuddered with his weight, and Jack feared for his life. At last he reached the ground, and seizing an axe he chopped at the beanstalk with all his might. Snap!

 "Look out, mother!" he called as the giant came tumbling down, head first. He lay dead at their feet with the beanstalk on the ground beside them. The harp was broken, but the hen continued to lay golden eggs for Jack and his mother and they lived happily for a long, long time.

 The Dragon And The Monkey.

 Far away in the China Seas lived a dragon and his wife. She was fretful and rather difficult, but he was a kind and loving dragon. As they swam in the warm seas together she was forever complaining and asking her husband to fetch her different foods. He always thought, "This time I will really make her happy, and then how easy and lovely life will be". Yet somehow, whatever delicacy he fetched her, she was never satisfied and always wanted something else.

 One day she twitched her tail more than usual, and told her husband that she was not feeling well and that she had heard a monkey's heart was the only thing to cure her.

 "You are certainly looking pale, my love", said the dragon, "and you know I would do anything for you, but how can I possibly find you a monkey's heart? Monkeys live up trees, and I could never catch one".

 "Now I know you don't love me", cried his wife. "If you did you would find a way to catch one. Now I shall surely die!"

 The dragon sighed and swam off across the seas to an island where he knew some monkeys lived. "Somehow", he thought desperately "I must trick a monkey into coming with me".

 When he reached the island, he saw a little monkey sitting in a tree. The dragon called out:

 "Hello monkey! Its good to see you! Come down and talk to me. That tree looks so unsafe, you might fall out!"

 At that the monkey roared with laughter. "Ha! Ha! Ha! You are funny, dragon. Whoever heard of a monkey falling out of a tree?"

 The dragon thought of his wife and tried again.

 "I'll show you a tree covered with delicious juicy fruit, monkey. It grows on the other side of the sea".

 Again the monkey laughed. "Ha! Ha! Ha! Whoever heard of a monkey swimming across the sea, dragon?"

 "I could take you on my back, little monkey", said the dragon.

 The monkey liked this idea and swung out of the tree onto the dragon's back. As he swam across the sea, the dragon thought there was no way the monkey could escape, so he said:

 "I am sorry, little monkey, I've tricked you. There are no trees with delicious fruit where we are going. I am taking you to my wife who wishes to eat your heart. She says it is the only thing that will cure her of her illness".

 The monkey looked at the water all around him and saw no way to escape, but he thought quickly, and said:

 "Your poor wife! I am sorry to hear she's not well. There is nothing I'd like more than to give her my heart. But what a pity you did not tell me before we left. You obviously do not know, dragon, that we monkeys never carry our hearts with us. I left it behind in the tree where you found me. If you would be kind enough to swim back there with me, I shall willingly fetch it".

 So the dragon turned round and swam back to the place where he had found the monkey. With one leap the monkey was in the branches of the tree, safe out of the dragon's reach.

 "I'm sorry to disappoint you, dragon", he called out, "but I had my heart with me all the time. You won't trick me out of this tree again. Ha! Ha! Ha!"

 There was no way the dragon could reach him and whether or not he ever caught another monkey I do not know. Perhaps he is still looking while his wife swims alone in the China Seas.

 Anansi And Common Sense.

 You may already know that Anansi is a spider, an impudent spider, full of tricks and surprises, but did you know that Anansi is responsible for the fact that everyone - or almost everyone - has a little bit of common sense? This is how it happened.

 Anansi was feeling full of importance one day, and thought the cleverest thing he could do was to collect up all the common sense in the world and keep it safe in one place. So he scuttled here and scuttled there, gathering it up in a great calabash. He then plugged the calabash with a roll of dried leaves.

 "There", he said to himself, "is all the common sense in the world. Whenever I need it I shall be able to help myself, and my enemies will have none. I shall have fun for I shall always get the better of them". He really was pleased with himself.

 "Hey, wait a minute though", he thought, "where can I keep it safe? Everyone will want to steal it from me. I know, I'll put the calabash at the top of that great coconut tree. None of the other animals will ever find it".

 So Anansi got a long rope and tied it around the calabash, and then he looped the other end of the rope around his head. The calabash hung down in front of him, leaving all his legs free to climb the tree.

 Well, Anansi started to climb the tree, but it was not easy as the calabash kept bumping around between him and the trunk of the tree. Slowly he inched up on his eight legs until, suddenly, when he was about half way up, he heard laughter.

 Now there is nothing Anansi hates more than being laughed at. Looking down he saw a small boy and the small boy was laughing his head off.

 "Fancy climbing a tree with the calabash in front of you, Anansi!" he called out. "Surely you know that if you want to climb a tree with a calabash, it is more sensible to put the calabash on your back".

 Anansi quivered with annoyance. In fact he was furious, for what the small boy said was common sense, yet hadn't he, Anansi, collected all the common sense in the world and stuffed it into the calabash?

 In a rage he flung the calabash to the foot of the tree, where it shattered. The common sense inside was scattered into little pieces and blown all over the world, and everyone, or nearly everyone, got a little bit. So when you show you have some common sense, remember you have Anansi the Spider to thank for it.

 The Princess And The Pea.

 There was once a handsome prince who wanted to marry a princess. He travelled far and wide to find one and met a great many people, and quite a number of princesses, too. The trouble was that something was wrong with all the princesses, and after many months he returned home and told his parents, "I cannot find a princess to marry".

 One night, not long after his return, a terrible storm broke over the palace. Lightning flashed, thunder crashed and the rain poured down. The prince and his parents heard someone knocking on the great front door. "Who would be out in such a storm?" they asked each other.

 A girl stood shivering on the doorstep. Water streamed off her hair and down her face and her dress was soaked through.

 "Come in", cried the king. "Come in and tell us who you are".

 "I am a princess", she replied through her chattering teeth. "I was looking for the king's palace, and I was caught in a storm".

 She did not look in the least like a princess, but the queen said to herself, "I believe I can find out if she is a princess or not".

 While the girl was having a hot bath the queen went to prepare her bedroom. She sent two maids scurrying to collect mattresses and quilts from all over the palace. First she placed a dried pea underneath the bottom mattress and then more and more mattresses were piled onto the bed. In all twenty mattresses were placed on top of the pea. Then the queen told the maids to place twenty feather quilts on top of the mattresses. When the girl went to the bedroom she found her bed so high that she had to climb a ladder to get into it.

 The next morning both the king and queen asked if she had slept well. "I am sorry to say, I had a very bad night", she told them. "There was a little hard lump in my bed and I tossed and turned all night. Now I am black and blue with bruises".

 The queen was delighted. Only a real princess could have felt a pea through twenty mattresses and twenty quilts. She hurried off to tell the prince.

 The prince married the princess and they lived happily for many years. As for the pea, it was put on display in a glass case in the town museum. When they saw it, people would say, "That really is some story, the story of the princess and the pea".