[FN#10] Thirty-birds.

[FN#11] Pomp and Pride.

[FN#12] Of happy omen.




Ball-carrier and the Bad One



Far, far in the forest there were two little huts, and in each of
them lived a man who was a famous hunter, his wife, and three or
four children. Now the children were forbidden to play more than
a short distance from the door, as it was known that, away on the
other side of the wood near the great river, there dwelt a witch
who had a magic ball that she used as a means of stealing
children.

Her plan was a very simple one, and had never yet failed. When
she wanted a child she just flung her ball in the direction of
the child's home, and however far off it might be, the ball was
sure to reach it. Then, as soon as the child saw it, the ball
would begin rolling slowly back to the witch, just keeping a
little ahead of the child, so that he always thought that he
could catch it the next minute. But he never did, and, what was
more, his parents never saw him again.