the rascal.”  The old king who had no children (or rather, who believed he had none) loved the two brothers and the sister very much and was highly delighted to see them back again.  He caused a grand feast to be prepared, to which he invited princes, dukes, marquises, barons, and generals.  Towards the end of the banquet the young girl placed on the table the Water, the Apple, and the Bird, and bade each do its duty, whereupon the Water began to dance, and the Apple began to sing, and the Bird began to hop about the table, and all present, in ecstasy, mouth and eyes wide open, looked and listened to these wonders.  Never before had they seen such a sight.  “To whom belong these marvels?” said the king when at length he was able to speak.  “To me, sire,” replied the young girl.  “Is that so?” said the King.  “And from whom did you get them?” “I myself procured them with much trouble,” answered she.  Then the two brothers knew that it was their sister who had delivered them.  As to the king, he nearly lost his head in his joy and admiration.  “My crown and my kingdom for your wonders, and you yourself, my young girl, shall be my queen,” he exclaimed.  “Patience for a little, sire,” said she, “until you have heard my bird speak—­ the Bird of Truth, for he has important things to reveal to you.  My little bird, now speak the truth.”  “I consent,” replied the bird; “but let no one go out of this room,” and all the doors were closed.  The old sorceress of a midwife and one of the king’s sisters- in-law were present, and became very uneasy at hearing these words.  “Come now, my bird,” then said the girl, “speak the truth,” and this is what the bird said:  “Twenty years ago, sire, your wife was shut up in a tower, abandoned by everybody, and you have long believed her to be dead.  She has been accused unjustly.”  The old midwife and the king’s sister-in-law now felt indisposed and wished to leave the room.  “Let no one depart hence,” said the king.  “Continue to speak the truth, my little bird.”  “You have had two sons and a daughter, sire,” the bird went on to say—­“all three born of your lady, and here they are!  Remove their bandages and you will see that each of them has a star on the forehead.”  They removed the bandages and saw a gold star on the brow of each of the boys and a silver star on the girl’s brow.  “The authors of all the evil,” continued the bird, “are your two sisters-in-law and this midwife—­this sorceress of the devil.  They have made you believe that your wife only gave birth to little dogs, and your poor children were exposed on the Seine as soon as they were born.  When the midwife—­that sorceress of hell—­learned that the children had been saved and afterwards brought to the palace, she sought again to destroy them.  Penetrating one day into the palace, disguised as a beggar, and affecting to be perishing from cold and hunger, she incited in the mind of the princess the desire to possess the Dancing-Water, the Singing Apple, and the Bird of Truth--myself.  Her two brothers