THE THREE LEJONS,

made to look as well as she could, he set forth with her to mect the King and Queen, who were to mect the young couple a few miles from their home.

\When his father and mother perceived the folly their son had committed, and how that he who had travelled so far in scarch of a white dove had only rceturnced with a black crow, they could hardly restrain their dis- gust and disappointment. But, secing the thing was done, and that there was no help for 1t, they abandoned their throne to the young couple, and a gold crown was placed on the slave’s woolly head. The wedding was held with much pomp and cerciony, and everyone far and wide was mvited to the feast.

Now it happenced that while the King's cook was preparing all the dainty dishes for the wodding banqucet a beautiful dove

YA BLACK crow.” ‘!1“"‘,

flew in at the kitchen window, and said —

“Tell ez cook, oh ! tell mea true,

What do the King and his black bride do : "

At first the cook paid noattention 1o the words of the bird ; but when the dove had repeated them a second and o third time, he ran into the banqucting hall, and told the assembled company what the bird had satd. the dove's song, she ordered the bird to be caught on the spot and roasted. The cook did as he was told, seized the bird, and

When the bride heard the words of

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wrung its neck, and, when he had plucked its feathers; he threw them out of the kitchen window. A few days afterwards, on the spot where the feathers had been thrown, a beautiful lemon trec sprang up, which grew and blossomed as vou looked at 1t,

Now it happencd one day that the King was looking out of his window, and saw the tree, which he never remembered to have noticed before. He immediately called the cook before him, and asked him when and by whom the tree had been planted. When he had heard the whole story from the chicl cook, hc gave orders that no one, under pain ol death, should touch the tree, and that it should be tended and watcred carciully cvery day.

In @ very short time three lemons ap- pearcd on the tree exactly the same as those the old woman had given the Prince, and he had them plucked at once and brought to his room. lIlere he shut himself up with

a tumbler full of water, and with the same Knife that he had used betore, and which he alwavs wore at his side, he began to cut the lemons in half, As betore, the first and sccond fairy cscaped him 3 but when he had cut the third lemon open, and onven the fairy some water to drink,‘zt.\: shz re- quested, she changed into the beautify] airl whom he had left behind in the hellow of the tree, and from her e learnt the whole histery of the black slave's 1111S- deceds.