"What is that?" said one of them. "Is it white bread? Please
give it to us, or sell it to us."
"We will give you gold and silver for it," said another.
"No," said the poor man. "I don't want gold or silver. Give
me that old mill that stands behind the door, and I will give you
the loaf of bread."
At first they did not want to give him the mill for the bread,
so he turned away.
But some of the fairies began to cry, "Let him have the old
mill. We never use it now. And only good people can make it work."
Then they gave him the mill. He put it under his arm and went
out of fairy-land. He found the old man waiting for him.
"That is it," the old man said. "This is how to use it. Only
good people can use it. You must never let any other person use
it."
It was quite late when the poor man reached home.
"Where have you been?" said his wife. "There is no fire and
no food in the house. The children are cold and crying for food.
What is that you are carrying. It looks like an old mill."
"It is a mill," he said. "Now watch. Say what you want, and
you will I have it."
He put the mill on the table and began to turn it. Out of the
little mill came wood for the fire oil for lighting and cooking,
clothes, corn, and many other good things.
"It is a magic mill," said his wife. "Now we are rich."
.Yes, but no-one must know about it. We must hide it and use
it only when no-one is watching."
The poor man soon became as rich as his brother. He did not
keep all the good things for his own family. He gave many things
to poor friends.
When his brother heard about this, he said to himself, "I do
not know why my brother has become rich. I must find the reason
for his riches."
For a long time he tried to find the reason, but he could not.
But one day he gave a servant some money and ordered him to watch
the house of his brother at night. That night, the servant looked
throught the window and saw the family standing round the mill,
which was working. He went back and told what he had seen.
The next day the brother got in his boat and sailed across the
water. He said to his brother, "I see that you are now quite rich,
and I know the reason. You have a little magic mill. Sell it to
me. How much money do you want for it?"
"I cannot sell it," said the poor man. "It must never leave
my hands. The old man said, "There will be great danger if you sell
it or give it to any other person." That is what he said."
Then the rich brother sailed away home. But later, one dark
night, he came back, went very quietly into the house, and stole
the mill. He quickly carried it to the sea, where his boat was
waiting. Then he sailed away to his island.
But the bad brother wanted very much to make the mill work.
He did not wait until he reached home. While he was sailing in the
boat, he tried to make it work.
" Salt," he said. " Salt is what I sell, and salt is what I
want." Then he began to turn the mill.
Then salt began to come out of the mill. He laughed and began
to sing. Masses of salt came out and began to fill the boat. The
boat became low in the water. He tried to throw some of the salt
into the sea. But more came in, masses of it. He stopped laughing
and singing. Then he began to be afraid.
More salt came out of the mill, and soon the boat was full of
it. Then water came in and filled the boat. The boat went down,
down to the bottom of the sea, carrying with it the thief and the
magic mill.
There, at the bottom of the sea, the mill is still turning,
making more and more salt.
That is the reason (some people say) why the water of the sea
is salty.
The Man Born to be King
Ⅰ
There was once a king who had great power and was very rich.
One day a little old man came to his court. This old man had clear
blue eyes. People said that he had the power to read the lives of
men in the stars.
The King said to him: "Tell me something about myself."
The old man said: "When you die no one from your own family
will be king after you. The man who will follow you is not yet born."
The King was not pleased to hear this; he ordered the old man
to leave his court and not come back.
The King often thought about what he had heard. After a time
he married a beautiful lady and forgot the old man. Everyone was
happy when the King married. They all hoped that he would have a
son who would be a good king.
One day the King rode into the forest with some friends to shoot
animals. They saw a fine large animal, and they all rode after it.
The King had the best horse; so he rode faster than the others.
He soon left the others behind him. When night came, the King found
himself alone in the forest. He had not shot the animal. He did
not know where he was or how to find a way out of the forest. He
said to himself, "I am quite lost. I do not know where to go. It
is now quite dark. I must sleep here in the forest. Tomorrow, when
the sun rises, I shall find my way out of the for est."
The King began to make a bed of grass and leaves. But before
lying down to sleep, he looked this way and that way. Then he saw
a little light: it was the light of a lamp in a window. He mounted
his horse and rode to the light. When he came near he found that
the light was in a poor man's hut. He shouted. A big man, in poor
clothes, opened the door.
You cannot come in here," said the man. "My wife is very ill.
I fear that she may die. Look, there is another hut. Go there to
sleep. I will bring you something to eat and to drink."
During the night a loud cry awoke the King. He went out of the
hut and looked around, but could see nothing. Then he went back
and slept again. In his sleep he saw the old man with the clear
blue eyes standing in front of him.
The old man said to the King, "Remember the poor man's child.
He will become king in your place."
The King awoke when morning came. He went out to the poor man's
hut. Inside the hut he found the man weeping. He was looking at
the dead body of his wife who had died. At her side there was a
little child that had been born in the night. The child was alive.
The King looked at the poor man and he looked at the little child.
While the King was looking at this sad sight, he heard noises
outisde the hut. He heard-the voices of his friends. He went outside.
The men were very pleased to see that their king was safe. They
came riding up to the door of the hut.
The King said to them, " This poor man has helped me, so we
must help him. His wife has died. We must give him some gold and
we must take the little child with us. Our ladies will take care
of the child. He shall live with us."
Then the poor man knew that this was the King.
"O King," he said. "Do as you wish. I myself cannot take care
of my son, because his mother is dead."
The King said to one of his servants named William, "William,
give the man this gold and bring the child with you."
William gave the man the gold pieces. Then he found a small
box and put some dried grass in it. He put the child in the box
and put some more dried grass over him; this was the only covering
which the child had.
The King mounted his horse. He said to William, "Ride near me
and hear what I am going to say.
As they were riding away from the hut, the King told William
what he had seen and heard in his sleep. He said, "The old man said
that this child will be- come king after me. I do not want him to
become king. I want you to throw the child in the river."
William said, "If God wishes the child to become king, he will
be saved even if we try to kill him."
"Do not be foolish," said the King. "Throw the box upside down
into the river. Stay behind and do what I say."
The King rode away, leaving William behind. William threw the
box into the river. The King heard the box fall into the water.
He looked behind. He saw the box on the top of the water. But it
was not upside down. The child was crying. The water was carrying
the box quickly away.
When the King reached his home, a servant met him with a happy
face. He told the King what had happened while he was away in the
forest. A child, a girl, had been born to the queen. The King was
very glad. He gave the servant money and did not think about the
poor man's child.
Fourteen years passed. One morning the King went alone into
the forest to shoot animals. There he saw a man and a boy cutting
wood. The boy was fair and had blue eyes. The man was dark and had
dark eyes.
"Who is that boy?" asked the King.
"O King, he is me son."
"He is not like you at all," said the King. "Go and bring your
wife here. I want to see whether he is like her."
"I will bring my wife, 0 King, if you wish. But he is not like
her. We call him our son because he has always lived with us. But
he is not really our son. We found him fourteen years ago. We saved
his life. We do not know whether his father and mother are alive."
The King looked carefully at the young man. Fear filled his
heart. The man went away. When he came back his wife was with him.
She was carrying a small box in her arms.
The man turned to his wife. "Speak, wife," he said, "and tell
the King your story."
"My story is quite short. One day, fourteen years ago, I was
riding on my donkey along the bank of the river. I heard a cry.
It was like the cry of a very young child. I looked down into the
long grass growing by the bank. There, in the long grass, I saw
a box. And in that box there was a little child crying. I got off
my donkey, took up the box and carried him home. We were very glad,
because we had no children. We gave him the name of Robert. This
is the box in which I found him. We love him and he loves us."
When the King saw the box, he knew that he had seen it before.
It was the box which William had thrown into the river. And he also
knew that the boy was the child whom he had tried to kill.
The King gave the man and his wife some money. Then he rode
away with fear in his heart. When he reached home, he called for
William, who was still one of his servants. He talked quietly to
William for a long time. He sent William with a letter to the poor
man. William mounted his horse and rode into the forest.
In the forest William found a boy who was trying to catch fish
in the river. The boy looked up when he heard William coming.
William said to himself, "I am sure this is the boy who is born
to be king." Then to the boy he said, "Where is the man whom the
King met yesterday?"
"He is my father. Follow me, and I will lead you to him."
When they came to the house, Robert called his father. His
father looked at William and knew by his fine clothes that he had
come from the King.
"Read this letter," said William. "It is from the King."
"I cannot read, but Robert can," answered the man.
Robert read the letter. The letter ordered Robert to come to
the King. The King wished to take care of him and send him to a
good school.
"We must do as the King orders," said the man sadly. "But Robert
is happy enough here."
"I am very happy here," said Robert. "No one ever had such a
kind father and mother. I do not want to go."
William said, "You must come. Here you have the life of a poor
man. Do you not want to become learned and a great man? Come with
me."
The poor man said, "Yes, you must go with him. But I know that
you will always remember us. Perhaps you will come and visit us
sometimes."
"Yes," said his wife; 'try to visit us when you can." She threw
her arms around him and kissed him.
" You must come now," said William. He led Robert to his horse,
mounted it and told Robert to get up on the horse behind him. Then
they rode away.
Robert was very sad to leave the kind people who had been like
a father and mother to him all his life. For a time he felt very
unhappy. But he was young, the sun was warm, and the birds were
singing in the trees. He soon began to feel happy again.
After a time, William said to him, "Get off the horse. It is
too tired to carry both of us."
So Robert got off the horse and walked beside it. They went
through the forest for a long time, and Robert became very tired.
He wanted to rest.
William stopped the horse and got off. They both sat down under
a tree. After a time Robert lay down and fell asleep. Then William
took a large stone and hit him with it on the head. Then he heard
a noise: some travellers were coming. Filled with fear, he stood
up, jumped on the horse, and rode away, thinking that he had killed
Robert.
When he reached the King, he said, "The boy is dead. He will
never become king."
Ⅱ
Six years passed. The King hoped that a son would be born to
the Queen. But no more children were born. His daughter grew into
a beautiful young woman. She was as kind as she was beautiful, and
all the people loved her.
When the Princess was eighteen years old, her mother, the Queen,
died. The King and his daughter were very sad at this. The Princess
was so sad that she became ill.
Her father said to her, "Dora, my daughter, you seem to be ill.
I am going to send you to 'The House of the Rose' in the country,
where the good air and the quiet life will make you better."
The King said, " Stay in ' The House of the Rose' until I come.
Perhaps I shall bring a prince for you to marry."
Princess Dora went away to 'The House of the Rose' in the
country with her servant Mary. She was happy to go, but she did
not want to marry a man whom she had never seen. But she knew that
she must do as her father wished. She hoped that her father would
bring someone who would be young, kind, and good-looking. The king
travelled to another country to look for someone to marry his
daughter. The ruler of that country had a fine army. One of the
officers of that army was a fine-looking young man with fair hair
and blue eyes. When the King saw him, he thought that he knew him.
"Who are you, and where do you come from?" he asked the young
man. "I think that I know your face."
.My name is Robert," said the young man. "And that is all I
know about myself. Six years ago I was brought to this country.