could recognise her, she lay down on the mat outside the white wolf's door. And when everyone in the palace was asleep she began to tell the whole of her story. She told how she had been one of three sisters, and that she had been the youngest and the fairest of the three, and that her father had betrothed her to a white wolf. And she told how she had gone first to the wedding of one sister, and then with her husband to the wedding of the other sister, and how her mother had ordered the servant to throw the white fur skin into the kitchen fire. And then she told of her wanderings through the forest; and of how she had sought the white wolf weeping; and how the wind and star and moon and sun had befriended her, and had helped her to reach his palace. And when the white wolf heard all the story, he knew that it was his first wife, who had sought him, and had found him, after such great dangers and difficulties.
But he said nothing, for he waited till the next day, when many guests-kings and princes from far countries-were coming to his wedding. Then, when all the guests were assembled in the banqueting hall, he spoke to them and said: 'Hearken to me, ye kings and princes, for I have something to tell you. I had lost the key of my treasure casket, so I ordered a new one to be made; but I have since found the old one. Now, which of these keys is the better?'
Then all the kings and royal guests answered: 'Certainly the old key is better than the new one.'
'Then,' said the wolf, 'if that is so, my former bride is better than my new one.'
And he sent for the new bride, and he gave her in marriage to one of the princes who was present, and then he turned to his guests, and said: 'And here is my former bride'-and the beautiful princess was led into the room and seated beside him on his throne. 'I thought she had forgotten me, and that she would never return. But she has sought me everywhere, and now we are together once more we shall never part again.'
Mohammed with the Magic Finger
Once upon a time, there lived a woman who had a son and a daughter. One morning she said to them: 'I have heard of a town where there is no such thing as death: let us go and dwell there.' So she broke up her house, and went away with her son and daughter.
When she reached the city, the first thing she did was to look about and see if there was any churchyard, and when she found none, she exclaimed, 'This is a delightful spot. We will stay here for ever.'
By-and-by, her son grew to be a man, and he took for a wife a girl who had been born in the town. But after a little while he grew restless, and went away on his travels, leaving his mother, his wife, and his sister behind him.
He had not been gone many weeks when one evening his mother said, 'I am not well, my head aches dreadfully.'
'What did you say?' inquired her daughter-in-law.
'My head feels ready to split,' replied the old woman.
The daughter-in-law asked no more questions, but left the house, and went in haste to some butchers in the next street.
'I have got a woman to sell; what will you give me for her?' said she.
The butchers answered that they must see the woman first, and they all returned together.
Then the butchers took the woman and told her they must kill her.
'But why?' she asked.
'Because,' they said, 'it is always our custom that when persons are ill and complain of their head they should be killed at once. It is a much better way than leaving them to die a natural death.'
'Very well,' replied the woman. 'But leave, I pray you, my lungs and my liver untouched, till my son comes back. Then give both to him.'
But the men took them out at once, and gave them to the daughter-in-law, saying: 'Put away these things till your husband returns.' And the daughter-in-law took them, and hid them in a secret place.
When the old woman's daughter, who had been in the woods, heard that her mother had been killed while she was out, she was filled with fright, and ran away as fast as she could. At last she reached a lonely spot far from the town, where she thought she was safe, and sat down on a stone, and wept bitterly. As she was sitting, sobbing, a man passed by.
'What is the matter, little girl? Answer me! I will be your friend.'
'Ah, sir, they have killed my mother; my brother is far away, and I have nobody.'
'Will you come with me?' asked the man.
'Thankfully,' said she, and he led her down, down, under the earth, till they reached a great city. Then he married her, and in course of time she had a son. And the baby was known throughout the city as 'Mohammed with the magic finger,' because, whenever he stuck out his little finger, he was able to see anything that was happening for as far as two days' distance.
By-and-by, as the boy was growing bigger, his uncle returned from his long journey, and went straight to his wife.
'Where are my mother and sister?' he asked; but his wife answered: 'Have something to eat first, and then I will tell you.'
But he replied: 'How can I eat till I know what has become of them?'
Then she fetched, from the upper chamber, a box full of money, which she laid before him, saying, 'That is the price of your mother. She sold well.'
'What do you mean?' he gasped.
'Oh, your mother complained one day that her head was aching, so I got in two butchers and they agreed to take her. However, I have got her lungs and liver hidden, till you came back, in a safe place.'
'And my sister?'
'Well, while the people were chopping up your mother she ran away, and I heard no more of her.'
'Give me my mother's liver and lungs,' said the young man. And she gave them to him. Then he put them in his pocket, and went away, saying: 'I can stay no longer in this horrible town. I go to seek my sister.'
Now, one day, the little boy stretched out his finger and said to his mother, 'My uncle is coming!'
'Where is he?' she asked.
'He is still two days' journey off: looking for us; but he will soon be here.' And in two days, as the boy had foretold, the uncle had found the hole in the earth, and arrived at the gate of the city. All his money was spent, and not knowing where his sister lived, he began to beg of all the people he saw.
'Here comes my uncle,' called out the little boy. 'Where?' asked his mother. 'Here at the house door;' and the woman ran out and embraced him, and wept over him. When they could both speak, he said: 'My sister, were you by when they killed my mother?'
'I was absent when they slew her,' replied she, 'and as I could do nothing, I ran away. But you, my brother, how did you get here?'
'By chance,' he said, 'after I had wandered far; but I did not know I should find you!' 'My little boy told me you were coming,' she explained, 'when you were yet two days distant; he alone of all men has that great gift.'
But she did not tell him that her husband could change himself into a serpent, a dog, or a monster, whenever he pleased. He was a very rich man, and possessed large herds of camels, goats, sheep, cattle, horses and asses; all the best of their kind. And the next morning, the sister said: 'Dear brother, go and watch our sheep, and when you are thirsty, drink their milk!'
'Very well,' answered he, and he went.
Soon after, she said again, 'Dear brother, go and watch our goats.'
'But why? I like tending sheep better!'
'Oh, it is much nicer to be a goatherd,' she said; so he took the goats out.
When he was gone, she said to her husband, 'You must kill my brother, for I cannot have him living here with me.'
'But, my dear, why should I? He has done me no harm.'
'I wish you to kill him,' she answered, 'or if not I will leave.'
