words once uttered by Sadi, and made reply: "If thou hast wronged me,
thus I repay thee: Moslem, this is a Christian's revenge!"




THE WOODCUTTER'S CHILD.

Once upon a time, near a large wood, there lived a woodcutter and his
wife, who had only one child, a little girl three years old; but they
were so poor that they had scarcely food sufficient for every day in
the week, and often they were puzzled to know what they should get to
eat. One morning the woodcutter went into the wood to work, full of
care, and, as he chopped the trees, there stood before him a tall and
beautiful woman, having a crown of shining stars upon her head, who
thus addressed him:

"I am the Guardian Angel of every Christian child; thou art poor and
needy; bring me thy child, and I will take her with me. I will be her
mother, and henceforth she shall be under my care." The woodcutter
consented, and calling his child gave her to the Angel, who carried her
to the land of Happiness. There everything went happily; she ate sweet
bread and drank pure milk; her clothes were gold, and her playfellows
were beautiful children. When she became fourteen years old, the
Guardian Angel called her to her side and said, "My dear child, I have
a long journey for thee. Take these keys of the thirteen doors of the
land of Happiness; twelve of them thou mayest open, and behold the
glories therein; but the thirteenth, to which this little key belongs,
thou art forbidden to open. Beware! if thou dost disobey, harm will
befall thee."