THE QUEEN BEE

Two princes from a king went to seek their fortune. They lived in a bad, wasteful way. They could not go home. Then their little brother, a dwarf, went to find them. When he found them, they laughed at him. They thought he was young and simple. They believed he could not travel. They were wiser but they could not get on. But they all began the journey together. They came to an ant-hill. The two elder brothers wanted to pull it down. They wanted to see the ants run and carry eggs. The dwarf said he would not let them trouble the ants.

They went on and came to a lake. Many ducks swam there. The two brothers wanted to catch two ducks. They wanted to roast them. The dwarf said they must not kill the ducks. He asked them to leave the ducks alone.

Next they came to a bees 'nest in a hollow tree. There was so much honey. It ran down the trunk. The two brothers wanted to light a fire and burn the bees to get the honey. The dwarf held them back. He said the bees should not be harmed. He would not let them burn them.

At length the three brothers came to a castle. They passed the stables and saw fine horses. The horses were marble and no man was near. They went through all the rooms to a door with three locks. In the middle of the door was a wicket. They could look into the next room. They saw a little grey old man sitting at a table. They called to him. He did not hear at first. They called again. He rose and came out to them.

He said nothing. He took them to a table with many good things. After they ate and drank, he showed each of them to a bed-chamber.

The next morning he came to the eldest. He led him to a marble table. There were three tablets. These tablets told how to break the spell on the castle.

First tablet: In the wood, under the moss, lie the thousand pearls belonging to the king's daughter. They must all be found. If one is missing by sunset, the seeker will be turned into marble.

The eldest began to search. He looked for the pearls all day. By evening he had not found the first hundred. He was turned into stone, as the tablet said.

Next day the second brother tried. He did not do better. He could only find the second hundred of the pearls. He was turned into stone too.

At last came the dwarf's turn. He looked in the moss. It was hard to find the pearls. He was tired and cried. The king of the ants, whose life he had saved, came to help him with five thousand ants. They found all the pearls and put them in a heap.

The second tablet said: The key of the princess's bed-chamber must be fished up from the lake. When the dwarf came to the water, he saw the two ducks he had saved. They swam and dived. They brought the key from the bottom.

The third task: It was to choose the youngest and best of the king's three daughters. All were beautiful and alike. The king told him that the eldest had eaten a piece of sugar, the next some syrup, and the youngest a spoonful of honey. He must guess which girl ate the honey.

Then the queen of the bees, saved by the dwarf from the fire, tested the lips of all three. She sat on the lips of the one who had eaten the honey. The dwarf knew the youngest girl.

Thus the spell was broken. All who were turned into stones woke up. They took back their proper forms. The dwarf married the youngest and best princess. He became king after his father's death. His two brothers married the other two sisters.