THE LAND OF THE MID-DAY MOON. 179

“Tf it is really true that I am so near them
as that, I may as well go on, for I can never
go back without the prince,” said Wassa, and
she set to work vigorously at this new task.

The brambles, too, Wassa discovered were
fairy brambles, for the instant she made up
her mind to undertake the task, not a thorn
pricked her, and in a short time the ground
was clear.

As Wassa rose to her feet after her labor
was over, a fine ripe peach hung before her
very mouth, and she could not resist the
temptation of reaching out her hand for it.
She expected to see the branch spring out of
reach, but to her surprise the peach fell into
her hand, and she put her lips to the juicy fruit.

Never in her whole life had Wassa tasted
anything so delicious, and as she went on her
way she gathered many more. When she
emerged from the grove, she found herself on
the shore of the beautiful green sea she had
seen in the distance, and above it stood the
full, round mid-day moon. A murmur of rip-
pling water fell on her ears, and riding on the
white-capped waves were the mermaids and
the fairy prince.