—­GRIMM.

[Illustration:  A child dancing]

THE WORLD’S MUSIC

  The world’s a very happy place,
    Where every child should dance and sing,
  And always have a smiling face,
    And never sulk for anything.

  I waken when the morning’s come,
    And feel the air and light alive
  With strange sweet music like the hum
    Of bees about their busy hive.

  The linnets play among the leaves
    At hide-and-seek, and chirp and sing;
  While, flashing to and from the eaves,
    The swallows twitter on the wing.

  From dawn to dark the old mill-wheel
    Makes music, going round and round;
  And dusty-white with flour and meal,
    The miller whistles to its sound.

  The brook that flows beside the mill,
    As happy as a brook can be,
  Goes singing its old song until
    It learns the singing of the sea.

  For every wave upon the sands
    Sings songs you never tire to hear,
  Of laden ships from sunny lands
    Where it is summer all the year.

  The world is such a happy place
    That children, whether big or small,
  Should always have a smiling face
    And never, never sulk at all.

—­GABRIEL SETOUN.

THE SLEEPING BEAUTY

I

Once upon a time there lived a king and queen who were very unhappy because they had no children.  But at last a little daughter was born, and their sorrow was turned to joy.  All the bells in the land were rung to tell the glad tidings.

The king gave a christening feast so grand that the like of it had never been known.  He invited all the fairies he could find in the kingdom—­there were seven of them—­to come to the christening as godmothers.  He hoped that each would give the princess a good gift.

When the christening was over, the feast came.  Before each of the fairies was placed a plate with a spoon, a knife, and a fork—­all pure gold.  But alas! as the fairies were about to seat themselves at the table, there came into the hall a very old fairy who had not been invited.  She had left the kingdom fifty years before and had not been seen or heard of until this day.

The king at once ordered that a plate should be brought for her, but he could not furnish a gold one such as the others had.  This made the old fairy angry, and she sat there muttering to herself.

Her angry threats were overheard by a young fairy who sat near.  This good godmother, fearing the old fairy might give the child an unlucky gift, hid herself behind a curtain.  She did this because she wished to speak last and perhaps be able to change the old fairy’s gift.

At the end of the feast, the youngest fairy stepped forward and said, “The princess shall be the most beautiful woman in the world.”