For the matter was this: The cruel Queen, full of joy at the thought that she was to be rid, once for all, of her step-daughter, had been making love to the wicked Sorcerer all the morning in the old King"s absence.
"He shall be killed at once," cried the Monarch. "Such behaviour cannot be overlooked."
"Thou wilt have much ado to find him, your Majesty," said the girl, "for "tis more than an hour since he and the Queen fled together on the fleetest horses that they could find in the stables."
"But I can find him," cried a.s.sipattle; and he went off like the wind on his good horse Go-Swift.
It was not long before he came within sight of the fugitives, and he drew his sword and shouted to them to stop.
They heard the shout, and turned round, and they both laughed aloud in derision when they saw that it was only the boy who grovelled in the ashes who pursued them.
"The insolent brat! I will cut off his head for him! I will teach him a lesson!" cried the Sorcerer; and he rode boldly back to meet a.s.sipattle.
For although he was no fighter, he knew that no ordinary weapon could harm his enchanted body; therefore he was not afraid.
But he did not count on a.s.sipattle having the Sword of the great G.o.d Odin, with which he had slain all his enemies; and before this magic weapon he was powerless. And, at one thrust, the young lad ran it through his body as easily as if he had been any ordinary man, and he fell from his horse, dead.
Then the Courtiers of the King, who had also set off in pursuit, but whose steeds were less fleet of foot than Go-Swift, came up, and seized the bridle of the Queen"s horse, and led it and its rider back to the Palace.
She was brought before the Council, and judged, and condemned to be shut up in a high tower for the remainder of her life. Which thing surely came to pa.s.s.
As for a.s.sipattle, when the proper time came he was married to the Princess Gemdelovely, with great feasting and rejoicing. And when the old King died they ruled the Kingdom for many a long year.
[Ill.u.s.tration]
THE FOX AND THE WOLF
There was once a Fox and a Wolf, who set up house together in a cave near the sea-sh.o.r.e. Although you may not think so, they got on very well for a time, for they went out hunting all day, and when they came back at night they were generally too tired to do anything but to eat their supper and go to bed.
They might have lived together always had it not been for the slyness and greediness of the Fox, who tried to over-reach his companion, who was not nearly so clever as he was.
And this was how it came about.
It chanced, one dark December night, that there was a dreadful storm at sea, and in the morning the beach was all strewn with wreckage. So as soon as it was daylight the two friends went down to the sh.o.r.e to see if they could find anything to eat.
They had the good fortune to light on a great Keg of b.u.t.ter, which had been washed overboard from some ship on its way home from Ireland, where, as all the world knows, folk are famous for their b.u.t.ter.
The simple Wolf danced with joy when he saw it. "Marrowbones and trotters! but we will have a good supper this night," cried he, licking his lips. "Let us set to work at once and roll it up to the cave."
But the wily Fox was fond of b.u.t.ter, and he made up his mind that he would have it all to himself. So he put on his wisest look, and shook his head gravely.
"Thou hast no prudence, my friend," he said reproachfully, "else wouldst thou not talk of breaking up a Keg of b.u.t.ter at this time of year, when the stackyards are full of good grain, which can be had for the eating, and the farmyards are stocked with nice fat ducks and poultry. No, no.
It behoveth us to have foresight, and to lay up in store for the spring, when the grain is all threshed, and the stackyards are bare, and the poultry have gone to market. So we will e"en bury the Keg, and dig it up when we have need of it."
Very reluctantly, for he was thinner and hungrier than the Fox, the Wolf agreed to this proposal. So a hole was dug, and the Keg was buried, and the two animals went off hunting as usual.
About a week pa.s.sed by: then one day the Fox came into the cave, and flung himself down on the ground as if he were very much exhausted. But if anyone had looked at him closely they would have seen a sly twinkle in his eye.
"Oh, dear, oh, dear!" he sighed. "Life is a heavy burden."
"What hath befallen thee?" asked the Wolf, who was ever kind and soft-hearted.
"Some friends of mine, who live over the hills yonder, are wanting me to go to a christening to-night. Just think of the distance that I must travel."
"But needst thou go?" asked the Wolf. "Canst thou not send an excuse?"
[Ill.u.s.tration]
"I doubt that no excuse would be accepted," answered the Fox, "for they asked me to stand G.o.d-father. Therefore it behoveth me to do my duty, and pay no heed to my own feelings."
So that evening the Fox was absent, and the Wolf was alone in the cave.
But it was not to a christening that the sly Fox went; it was to the Keg of b.u.t.ter that was buried in the sand. About midnight he returned, looking fat and sleek, and well pleased with himself.
The Wolf had been dozing, but he looked up drowsily as his companion entered. "Well, how did they name the bairn?" he asked.
"They gave it a queer name," answered the Fox. "One of the queerest names that I ever heard."
"And what was that?" questioned the Wolf.
"Nothing less than "Blaisean" (Let-me-taste)," replied the Fox, throwing himself down in his corner. And if the Wolf could have seen him in the darkness he would have noticed that he was laughing to himself.
Some days afterwards the same thing happened. The Fox was asked to another christening; this time at a place some twenty-five miles along the sh.o.r.e. And as he had grumbled before, so he grumbled again; but he declared that it was his duty to go, and he went.
At midnight he came back, smiling to himself and with no appet.i.te for his supper. And when the Wolf asked him the name of the child, he answered that it was a more extraordinary name than the other--"Be na Inheadnon" (Be in its middle).
The very next week, much to the Wolf"s wonder, the Fox was asked to yet another christening. And this time the name of the child was "Sgriot an Clar" (Sc.r.a.pe the staves). After that the invitations ceased.
Time went on, and the hungry spring came, and the Fox and the Wolf had their larder bare, for food was scarce, and the weather was bleak and cold.
"Let us go and dig up the Keg of b.u.t.ter," said the Wolf. "Methinks that now is the time we need it."
The Fox agreed--having made up his mind how he would act--and the two set out to the place where the Keg had been hidden. They sc.r.a.ped away the sand, and uncovered it; but, needless to say, they found it empty.
"This is thy work," said the Fox angrily, turning to the poor, innocent Wolf. "Thou hast crept along here while I was at the christenings, and eaten it up by stealth."
"Not I," replied the Wolf. "I have never been near the spot since the day that we buried it together."
"But I tell thee it must have been thou," insisted the Fox, "for no other creature knew it was there except ourselves. And, besides, I can see by the sleekness of thy fur that thou hast fared well of late."
Which last sentence was both unjust and untrue, for the poor Wolf looked as lean and badly nourished as he could possibly be.
So back they both went to the cave, arguing all the way. The Fox declaring that the Wolf _must_ have been the thief, and the Wolf protesting his innocence.
"Art thou ready to swear to it?" said the Fox at last; though why he asked such a question, dear only knows.