trying to find out his secret, or wished a gift. When a cat ran
over the floor, he thought a thief had slipped through the door.

At last, poor man, he could bear it no longer. He took the money,
hurried to the rich man, and cried, "Oh, give me back my songs and
my sweet sleep! Here is your money, every cent of it. I made a
poor trade."

The rich man looked at him and said, "I thought I had made you
happy. I have not missed your songs, for, strange as it may seem,
I have been sleeping soundly ever since I talked with you."





THE ICE KING


A tribe of Indians lived near a river. One winter the weather was
very cold, and many of them died.

But spring came at last. The snow melted from the tops of the
mountains and ran in torrents down their steep sides and into the
river.

The ice in the swollen river broke up into large cakes which
floated down the stream.

The weather grew warmer. All the ice melted except one big cake