bed, where he slept all night long. As soon as it was light he jumped up, hopped down stairs, and went out of the house. "Now, then," thought the princess, gone, and I shall be troubled with him

66

at last he is

no more."

But she was mistaken; for when night came again she heard the same tapping at the door; and the frog came once more, and said,

But

And when the princess opened the door the frog came in, and slept upon her pillow as before, till the morning broke. And the third night he did the same. when the princess awoke on the following morning she was astonished to see, instead of the frog, a handsome prince, gazing on her with the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen, and standing at the head of her bed.

He told her that he had been enchanted by a spiteful fairy, who had changed him into a frog; and that he had been fated so to abide till some princess should take him out of the spring, and let him eat from her plate, and sleep upon her bed for three nights. "You,” said the prince, "have broken this cruel charm, and now I have nothing to wish for but that should go you with me into my father's kingdom, where I will marry you, and love you as long as you live."

The young princess, you may be sure, was not long in saying "Yes" to all this; and as they spoke a gay coach drove up, with eight beautiful horses, decked with

plumes of feathers and golden harness; and behind the coach rode the prince's servant, faithful Heinrich, who had bewailed the misfortunes of his dear master during his enchantment so long and so bitterly, that his heart had well-nigh burst.

They then took leave of the king, and got into the coach with eight horses, and all set out, full of joy and merriment, for the prince's kingdom, which they reached safely; and there they lived happily a great many years.

THE ELVES AND THE COBBLER-CHERRY THE FROG-BRIDE.-
THE DANCING SHOES.

THERE was once a cobbler, who worked very hard and was very honest: but still he could not earn enough to live upon; and at last all he had in the

*"Die Wichtelmänner-von einem Schuster, dem sie die Arbeit gemacht," of Grimm, a Hessian tale. We have no nomenclature sufficiently accurate for the classification of the goblin tribes of the North. The personages now before us are of the benevolent and working class: they partake of the general character given of such personages by Olaus Magnus, and of the particular qualities of the Housemen (Haus.

world was gone, save just leather enough to make one pair of shoes.

Then he cut his leather out, all ready to make up the next day, meaning to rise early in the morning te his work. His conscience was clear and his heart light amidst all his troubles; so he went peaceably to bed, left all his cares to Heaven, and soon fell asleep. In the morning after he had said his prayers, he sat himself down to his work; when, to his great wonder, there stood the shoes all ready made, upon the table. The good man knew not what to say or think at such an odd thing happening. He looked at the workmanship; there was not one false stitch in the whole job; all was so neat and true, that it was quite a masterpiece.

The same day a customer came in, and the shoes suited him so well that he willingly paid a price higher than usual for them; and the poor shoemaker, with the money, bought leather enough to make two pair more. In the evening he cut out the work, and went to bed early, that he might get up and begin betimes next day; but he was saved all the trouble, for when he got

männer), for whose history we must refer to Prætorius, cap. viii. These sprites were of a very domestic turn, attaching themselves to particular households; very pleasant inmates when favourably disposed, very troublesome when of a mischievous temperament, and generally expecting some share of the good things of the family, as a reward for services which they were not accustomed to give gratui tously. "The drudging goblin" works, but does so

"To earn his cream-bowl duly set,

When in one night, ere glimpse of morn,
His shadowy flail had threshed the corn,
Tnat ten day-labourers could not end."

MILTON, L'Allegro.

up the morning the work was done ready to his hard. Soon in came buyers, who paid him handSmely for his goods, so that he bought leather enough or four pair more. He cut out the work again overnight and found it done in the morning, as before; and so it went on for some time: what was got ready in the evening was always done by daybreak, and the good man soon became thriving and well off again.

my

One evening, about Christmas time, as he and his wife were sitting over the fire chatting together, he said to her, "I should like to sit up and watch to-night, that we may see who it is that comes and does work for me." The wife liked the thought; so they left a light burning, and hid themselves in a corner of the room, behind a curtain that was hung up there, and watched what should happen.

As soon as it was midnight, there came in two little naked dwarfs; and they sat themselves upon the shoemaker's bench, took up all the work that was cut out, and began to ply with their little fingers, stitching and rapping and tapping away at such a rate, that the shoemaker was all wonder, and could not take his eyes off them. And on they went, till the job was quite done, and the shoes stood ready for use upon the table. This was long before daybreak; and then they bustled away as quick as lightning.

The next day the wife said to the shoemaker, "These little wights have made us rich, and we ought to be thankful to them, and do them a good turn if we can. I am quite sorry to see them run about as they do; and indeed it is not very decent, for they have nothing upon