Beauty could not help shuddering when she saw the horrible face of the frightful creature, but she made a brave effort to overcome her fear.
‘Beauty, did you come here willingly to die in place of your father?’ ‘Willingly,’ she answered.
‘This small key belongs to one small room on the ground‑floor, and this you must not open, or you will repent it sore.’
The new wife brought two daughters home with her, and they were beautiful and fair in appearance, but at heart were black and ugly.
Her father was a very respectable farmer but misfortunes and persecutions ruined this worthy man, and was the source of all poor Margery’s troubles.
The old woman, although her behavior was so kind, was a wicked witch, who lay in wait for children, and had built the little house on purpose to entice them.
The Moon was sad. So one evening he went to see the beautiful maiden Tseh-N’io. And when he saw her he loved her at once.
He went up boldly, and knocked loudly at the gate; when, to his great terror and surprise, there came forth a monstrous giant with two heads.
He was not ill; he was merely lazy. No one knew where he came from nor who his parents were, nor did he.
The wolf thought to himself, ‘That tender young thing would be a delicious morsel, and would taste better than the old one.’
Miss Tabitha, who had a very fine ear, gave them a little French song which had a chorus of Tant Mieux, and they all joined in, Captain Black and Mr. Velvet Purr singing the bass.
The witch said, ‘You may have as much rampion as you like, on one condition—the child that will come into the world must be given to me.’
‘What will you give me if I spin all this straw into gold for you?’ ‘My necklace,’ said the girl.
The bear came every evening at the same time, laid himself down by the hearth, and let the children amuse themselves with him as much as they liked.
‘Now I’m going on a journey!’ said the Darning Needle. ‘I do hope that I’ll not get lost!’ But she really was lost already.
The young pigs and the old ones talked together and the old ones said, ‘Maybe they will have some good things for us to eat at the party. I think we should go.’
The Hoopoes decided the other birds were jealous and, rather flattered, gathered round the pools so that they could admire themselves in the water.
‘I will tell you what,’ said the ass, ‘I am going to Bremen to become town musician. You may as well go with me, and take up music too. I can play the lute, and you can beat the drum.’