"All withered and wasted away."

"What hast thou done with thy _Golden Arm_?"

"THOU HAST IT!"



THE HISTORY OF TOM THUMB

In the days of the great Prince Arthur, there lived a mighty magician,
called Merlin, the most learned and skilful enchanter the world has
ever seen.

This famous magician, who could take any form he pleased, was
travelling about as a poor beggar, and being very tired, he stopped at
the cottage of a ploughman to rest himself, and asked for some food.

The countryman bade him welcome, and his wife, who was a very good-
hearted woman, soon brought him some milk in a wooden bowl, and some
coarse brown bread on a platter.

Merlin was much pleased with the kindness of the ploughman and his
wife; but he could not help noticing that though everything was neat
and comfortable in the cottage, they seemed both to be very unhappy.
He therefore asked them why they were so melancholy, and learned that
they were miserable because they had no children.

The poor woman said, with tears in her eyes: "I should be the happiest
creature in the world if I had a son; although he was no bigger than