"and you

"Come with me, then," said the sparrow, shall soon have that too." So she took him to a baker's shop, and pecked at two rolls that lay in the window till they fell down.

When those were eaten, the sparrow asked Spitz whether he had had enough now. "Yes," said he; "and now let us take a walk a little way out of the town." So they both went out upon the high road; but as the weather was warm, they had not gone far before the dog said, "I am very much tired,—I should like to take a nap." "Very well," said the sparrow, "do so, and in the meantime I will perch upon that bush." So Spitz lay down in the road, and fell fast asleep.

Whilst he slept, there came by a carter with a cart drawn by three horses, and loaded with two casks of wine. The sparrow, seeing that the carter did not turn out of the way, but would go on in the track in which Spitz lay, so as to drive over him,-called out, "Stop! stop! Mr. Carter, or it shall be the worse for you." But the carter grumbled to himself, "You make it the worse for me, indeed! what can you do?" and cracked his whip, and drove his cart over the poor dog, so that the wheels crushed him to death. "There," cried the sparrow," thou cruel villain, thou hast killed my friend Spitz! Now mind what I say. This deed of thine shall cost thee all thou art worth."

and welcome," said the brute.

"Do your worst,

But the sparrow crept under the tilt of the cart and pecked at the bung of one of the casks till she loosened it; and then all the wine ran out without the carter

"What

"Not wretch

seeing it. At last he looked round, and saw that the cart was dripping, and the cask quite empty. an unlucky wretch I am!" cried he. enough yet!" said the sparrow, as she alighted upon the head of one of the horses, and pecked at him till he reared up and kicked. When the carter saw this he drew out his hatchet, and aimed a blow at the sparrow, meaning to kill her; but she flew away, and the blow fell upon the poor horse's head with such force that he fell down dead. "Unlucky wretch that I am!" cried "Not wretch enough yet!" said the sparrow. And as the carter went on with the other two horses, she again crept under the tilt of the cart, and pecked out the bung of the second cask, so that all the wine

ne.

ran out.

When the carter saw this, he again cried out, "Miserable wretch that I am!" But the sparrow answered, "Not wretch enough yet!" and perched on the head of the second horse, and pecked at him too. The carter ran up and struck at her again with his hatchet; but away she flew, and the blow fell upon the second horse, and killed him on the spot. "Unlucky wretch that I am!" said he. "Not wretch enough yet!" said the sparrow; and perching upon the third horse, she began to peck him too. The carter was mad with fury; and without looking about him, or caring what he was about, struck again at the sparrow, but killed his third horse. "Alas! miserable wretch that I am!" cried he. "Not wretch enough yet!" answered the sparrow, as she flew away; plague and punish thee at thy own house."

now will I

The carter

was forced at last to leave his cart behind nim, and to go home overflowing with rage and sorrow.

Alas," said he to his wife, "what ill luck has befallen me! My wine is all spilt, and my horses are all three dead." "Alas, husband!" replied she, " and a wicked bird has come into the house and has brought with her all the birds in the world, I am sure; and they have fallen upon our corn in the loft, and are eating it up at such a rate!" Away ran the husband up stairs, and saw thousands of birds sitting upon the floor eating up his corn, with the sparrow in the midst. "Unlucky wretch that I am!" cried the carter; for he saw that his corn was almost all gone. "Not wretch enough yet!" said the sparrow; "thy cruelty shall cost thee thy life yet!" And away she flew.

The carter, seeing that he had thus lost all that he had, went down into his kitchen, and was still not sorry for what he had done, but sat himself angrily and sulkily in the chimney-corner. But the sparrow sat on the outside of the window, and cried, "Carter! thy cruelty shall cost thee thy life!" With that he jumped up in a rage, seized his hatchet, and threw it at the sparrow; but it missed her, and only broke the window. The sparrow now hopped in, perched upon the windowseat, and cried, "Carter! it will cost thee thy life!” Then he became mad and blind with rage, and struck the window-seat with such force that he cleft it in two : and as the sparrow flew from place to place, the carter and his wife were so furious that they broke all their goods, glasses, chairs, benches, the table, and at last the walls, without touching the bird at all. In the end,

however, they caught her; and the wife said, " Shall I kill her at once?" "No," cried he, "that is letting her off too easily; she shall die a much more cruel death. I will eat her." But the sparrow began to flutter about, and stretched out her neck and cried, "Carter! it will cost thee thy life yet!" With that he could wait no longer; so he gave his wife the hatchet, and cried, "Wife, strike at her and kill her in my hand!" And the wife struck; but she missed her aim and hit her husband on the head, so that he fell down dead, when the sparrow flew quietly home to her

nest.

HANSEL AND GRETHEL.*

THERE was once a poor man, who was a woodman, and went every day to cut wood in the forest. One day as he went along, he heard a cry like a little child's:

* A portion of "Bruderchen und Schwesterchen; the remainder we omitted, as branching into a new series of distinct adventures. The story is very common in Germany, and is also known in Sweden. Prætorius, vol. ii. p. 255, will give the curious the whole art, mystery, and history, of transformation of men into animals.

We must apologise to the reader of the original for the way in which three stories, viz. "Fundevogel," "Der Liebste Roland," and Hansel and Grethel," have been here combined in one. Several of the incidents will be familiar to the English reader; indeed, they are

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