close behind his comrade. At last they saw seven little eagles in a
nest high in a tree. They were crying with hunger, and their mother was
nowhere to be seen. Truth was sorry for them, and killed his horse,
giving some of the meat to the young eagles, and spreading the rest
on the ground beneath the tree, so that the mother-bird might find it.

Falsehood hated his comrade for having killed the horse, because now
they were obliged to travel on foot. They went down the mountain,
and entering the city, presented themselves before the king, desiring
to be taken into his service, the one as secretary and the other as
cook. The king granted both requests.

When Falsehood saw that his former companion sat at the table with
the king and was always clean and dressed in good clothes, while he
himself was dirty and had to eat in the kitchen, he was very angry
and determined to do something to ruin the one whom now he hated
so bitterly.

One day the king and queen went to sail on the sea. As they were far
from land, the queen dropped her ring overboard. When Falsehood heard
of the accident, he went to the king and said: "My Lord, the King,
my friend--your secretary--has told me that he was endowed with magic
powers and is able to find the queen's ring. He says if he does not
find it he is willing for you to hang him."

The king immediately sent for Truth, and said to him: "Find the queen's
ring without delay, or I will have you hanged early to-morrow morning."

Truth went down to the shore, but seeing how impossible it would be
to find the ring, began to weep. A fish came near, and floating on