The queen did not wish to stay in the underworld, and who could blame her? It was a dismal place inhabited mostly by dragons, reptiles, and ravens. A fairy in the shape of a lion kept her imprisoned there. She asked me how she might escape, and I didn’t know, so...
During the day I took my rest under a tree in the forest and listened to the lark sing. No one in the world was dearer to me than the lark. Then one day, a man and his servant came along. They saw the lark sitting at the top of the tree, and the man told his servant...
I never met such a happy man! He came boldly into the forest, whistling, and oh, he had the merriest, lightest gait. “Good day,” I said, and I asked for something to eat. After he gave me the contents of his pockets, I gave him the contents of my own—that...
I was sitting with my flocks one night when I heard the sound of crying. I got up and followed the sound, and what did I find but a giant who had hurt his foot trying to uproot an oak. He wanted me to bind his foot, and I did, and now he has rewarded me in the most...
My daughters asked me if I would bring them gifts when I returned from my tour of the country. I was only too happy to oblige, of course. My youngest daughter asked for a wreath of wildflowers, which seemed simple enough to find. However, neither the markets nor the...
Everyone is asking if the legendary nightingale in the book actually exists. They think the singer is the writer’s invention, but I know better. I hear the nightingale singing in the woods every day, He is there when I am taking meals home to my sick mother, and...
