WASSA CAPTURES THE FAIRY PRINCE. I99

nothing, but as soon as her eyes became accus-
tomed to the change, she was surprised to find
that she could see as well as if it were day-
light.

The passageway was narrow at first, and so
low that Wassa was obliged to crawl on her
hands and knees. As she proceeded, the odor
of savory food that she had perceived as she
stood outside, grew still more pleasant, and the
hunger that had been gradually increasing,
grew almost unbearable.

By degrees the passage widened, and she
found before long that she could stand erect,
so she rose to her feet and walked rapidly
forward. A dim light in the distance, and a
slender, dark object that constantly moved to
and fro in front of it, attracted the little maid’s
attention, and soon she came into a large
cavern, and discovered that the light came
from a fire, over which a kettle was hanging,
from which clouds of fragrant vapor issued.
The slender, dark object was the rattlesnake
she had seen before, and so dreaded to meet.

Wassa’s fears, however, were unfounded, for
the rattlesnake, in her capacity of cook, was
far too anxious in the cooking of the rabbit-