THE CHARMED FAWN, 687

“TJ will wait till we come to the next; but of that I must
drink, say what you will, for my thirst is too great.” As they
came to the third brook, the sister heard again the brook say,
‘Who drinks of me will become a fawn—who drinks of me
will become a fawn!” And she said to her brother, “ Do not
drink, or you will become a fawn, and run away from me.”
But he had alresdy knelt, and stooping over, drank of the
water, and as the first drops passed his lips he was changed
into a little fawn.

Now the little sister began to weep over her poor charmed
brother, and the little fawn wept too, and sat sadly by her
until at last the maiden said, “ Be quiet, dear fawn—I will
never forsake you.” Then she unbound her golden garter,
and put it round the neck of the fawn, and gathering some
rushes, she wove a white cord out of them, and with it leading
the animal, she walked deeper and deeper into the wood.
After they had gone some distance, they came to a little hut,
and when the maiden looked in and saw it was empty, she
thought, “ We may stop and live here.” Then she gathered
moss and leaves for a soft bed for the fawn, and every morning
went out and collected roots, berries, and nuts, and brought
tender grass, which it ate out of her hand, and played con-
tentedly around her. In the evening, when the little sister
had said her prayers, and felt tired, she laid her head upon the
back of the fawn which served for a pillow, on which she
slept soundly. And if the little brother had only had his
natural form, they would have.spent a very happy life.

‘Thus a long time passed while they continued in this wil-
derness ; but it happened at one time that the king held a
great hunt in the forest. Then there resounded through the
trees the blowing of the horns, the barking of the dogs, and
the merry cries of the huntsmen; and the little fawn heard