THE QUEEN BEE

Two kings 'sons once went into the world to seek their fortunes. They began to live wastefully and foolishly, and they could not return home. Then their brother, a small dwarf, went out to search for them. When he found them, they mocked him, thinking that he, who was young and simple, should travel the world while they, who were wiser, could not get on. Still, they all started the journey together and soon reached an ant-hill.

At the ant-hill the two elder brothers tried to pull it down to see how the ants would run and carry their eggs. But the little dwarf said,"Let the poor things enjoy themselves; I will not let you trouble them." Then they came to a lake with many ducks swimming. The two brothers wanted to catch two ducks and roast them. But the dwarf said,"Let the poor things enjoy themselves; you shall not kill them."

Next they found a bees 'nest inside a hollow tree, where honey ran down the trunk. The two brothers wanted to light a fire to burn the bees and take the honey. But the dwarf stopped them:"Let the pretty insects enjoy themselves; I cannot let you burn them."

At last the three brothers reached a castle. They passed the stables and saw fine horses standing there, all made of marble, and no man was visible. They walked through the rooms until they found a door with three locks. In the middle of the door was a small wicket, so they could look into the next room. They saw a little grey old man sitting at a table; they called to him a couple of times, but he did not hear. After a third call, he rose and came out to meet them.

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

The next morning he came to the eldest, took him to a marble table with three tablets that told how the castle could be freed from the enchantment. The first tablet said:"In the wood, under the moss, lie the thousand pearls belonging to the king's daughter; they must all be found, and if one misses by sunset, the seeker will be turned into marble." The eldest tried to find the pearls all day, but by evening he had not found even the first hundred, so he was turned into stone as the tablet warned.

On the next day, the second brother tried, but he did not do any better: he could only find the second hundred of the pearls, and he too was turned into stone.

Finally the little dwarf's turn came. He searched the moss, but the task was hard and tiring, and he sat down on a stone and cried. Then the king of the ants, who had owed his life to the dwarf, came with five thousand ants to help him. They found all the pearls and placed 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 edge of the water, he saw the two ducks he had saved swimming there; they dived and brought up the key from the bottom.

Now the third task was the hardest: to choose the youngest and best of the king's three daughters. They were all beautiful and alike, but he was told that the eldest had eaten sugar, the next syrup, and the youngest a spoonful of honey; he had to guess which one had eaten the honey.

Then the queen of the bees, who had been saved from the fire by the little dwarf, tested the lips of all three. At last she settled on the lips of the one who had eaten the honey, and the dwarf knew which was the youngest. The spell was broken, and all who had been turned into stone woke up and returned to their proper forms. The dwarf married the youngest and best princess and became king after his father's death; his two brothers married the other two sisters.