Well, the young lord was so grieved that he took to his bed and was very
ill indeed. The doctor tried to cure him, but he would not take any
medicine unless from the hands of Catskin. At last the doctor went to
the mother, and said that her son would die if she did not consent to
his marriage with Catskin; so she had to give way. Then she summoned
Catskin to her, and Catskin put on her coat of beaten gold before she
went to see the lady; and she, of course, was overcome at once, and was
only too glad to wed her son to so beautiful a maid.
So they were married, and after a time a little son was born to them,
and grew up a fine little lad. Now one day, when he was about four years
old, a beggar woman came to the door, and Lady Catskin gave some money
to the little lord and told him to go and give it to the beggar woman.
So he went and gave it, putting it into the hand of the woman's baby
child; and the child leant forward and kissed the little lord.
Now the wicked old cook (who had never been sent away, because Catskin
was too kind-hearted) was looking on, and she said, "See how beggars'
brats take to one another!"
This insult hurt Catskin dreadfully: and she went to her husband, the
young lord, and told him all about her father, and begged he would go
and find out what had become of her parents. So they set out in the
lord's grand coach, and travelled through the forest till they came to
the house of Catskin's father. Then they put up at an inn near, and
Catskin stopped there, while her husband went to see if her father would
own she was his daughter.
Now her father had never had any other child, and his wife had died; so
he was all alone in the world, and sate moping and miserable. When the
young lord came in he hardly looked up, he was so miserable. Then
Catskin's husband drew a chair close up to him, and asked him, "Pray,
sir, had you not once a young daughter whom you would never see or
own?"
And the miserable man said with tears, "It is true; I am a hardened
sinner. But I would give all my worldly goods if I could but see her
once before I die."
Then the young lord told him what had happened to Catskin, and took him
to the inn, and afterwards brought his father-in-law to his own castle,
where they lived happy ever afterwards.
THE THREE LITTLE PIGS
Once upon a time there was an old sow who had three little pigs, and as
she had not enough for them to eat, she said they had better go out into
the world and seek their fortunes.
Now the eldest pig went first, and as he trotted along the road he met a
man carrying a bundle of straw. So he said very politely:
"If you please, sir, could you give me that straw to build me a house?"
And the man, seeing what good manners the little pig had, gave him the
straw, and the little pig set to work and built a beautiful house with
it.
Now, when it was finished, a wolf happened to pass that way; and he saw
the house, and _he smelt the pig inside_.
So he knocked at the door and said:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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