First, she took a basket made of bulrushes and daubed it all over with pitch so that it was water-tight, and then she laid the baby in it; then she carried it to the edge of the river and laid it in the flags by the river’s brink.  It did not show at all, unless one were quite near it.  Then she kissed her little son and left him there.  But his sister stood far off, not seeming to watch, but really watching carefully to see what would happen to the baby.

Soon there was the sound of talk and laughter, and a train of beautiful women came down to the water’s edge.  It was the king’s daughter, come down to bathe in the river, with her maidens.  The maidens walked along by the river’s side.

As the king’s daughter came near to the water, she saw the strange little basket lying in the flags, and she sent her maid to bring it to her.  And when she had opened it, she saw the child; the poor baby was crying.  When she saw him, so helpless and so beautiful, crying for his mother, the king’s daughter pitied him and loved him.  She knew the cruel order of her father, and she said at once, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.”

At that moment the baby’s sister came to the princess and said, “Shall I go and find thee a nurse from the Hebrew women, so that she may nurse the child for thee?” Not a word did she say about whose child it was, but perhaps the princess guessed; I don’t know.  At all events, she told the little girl to go.

So the maiden went, and brought her mother!

Then the king’s daughter said to the baby’s mother, “Take this child away and nurse it for me, and I will give thee wages.”

Was not that a strange thing?  And can you think how happy the baby’s mother was?  For now the baby would be known only as the princess’s adopted child, and would be safe.

And it was so.  The mother kept him until he was old enough to be taken to the princess’s palace.  Then he was brought and given to the king’s daughter, and he became her son.  And she named him Moses.

But the strangest part of the whole story is, that when Moses grew to be a man he became so strong and wise that it was he who at last saved his people from the king and conquered the Egyptians.  The one child saved by the king’s own daughter was the very one the king would most have wanted to kill, if he had known.

THE TEN FAIRIES[1]

[1] Adapted from the facts given in the German of Die Zehn {Feeen?}, by H. A. Guerber.

Once upon a time there was a dear little girl, whose name was Elsa.  Elsa’s father and mother worked very hard and became rich.  But they loved Elsa so much that they did not like to have her do any work; very foolishly, they let her play all the time.  So when Elsa grew up, she did not know how to do anything; she could not make bread, she could not sweep a room, she could not sew a seam; she could only laugh and sing.  But she was so sweet and merry that everybody loved her.  And by and by, she married one of the people who loved her, and had a house of her own to take care of.