AS YOU LIKE IT. 79

he liked the pretty shepherd youth, because he fancied a likeness in him
to her he loved. i

‘‘There is a foolish lover,” said Rosalind, “who haunts these woods
and hangs sonnets on the trees. If I could find him, I would soon cure
him of his folly.”

Orlando confessed that he was this foolish lover, and Rosalind said—
“Tf you will come and see me every day, I will pretend to be Rosalind,
and you shall come and court me, as you would if I were really your
lady ; and I will take her part, and be wayward and contrary, as is the
way of women, till I make you ashamed of your folly in loving her.”

And go every day he went to her house, and took a pleasure in
saying to her all the pretty things he would have said to Rosalind ; and
she had the fine and secret joy of knowing that all his love-words came
to the right ears. Thus many days passed pleasantly away.

Rosalind met the Duke one day, and the Duke asked her what
family “he came from.” And Rosalind, forgetting that she was dressed
as a peasant boy, answered that she came of as good parentage as the
Duke did, which made him smile.

One morning, as Orlando was going to visit Ganymede, he saw a
man asleep on the ground, and a large serpent had wound itself round
his neck. Orlando came nearer, and the serpent glided away. Then he
saw that there was a lioness crouching near, waiting for the man who was
asleep, to wake: for they say that lions will not prey on anything that is
dead or sleeping. Then Orlando looked at the man, and saw that it was
his wicked brother, Oliver, who had tried to take his life. At first he
thought to leave him to his fate, but the faith and honour of a gentleman
withheld him from this wickedness. He fought with the lioness and
killed her, and saved his brother’s life.

While Orlando was fighting the lioness, Oliver woke to see his
brother, whom he had treated so badly, saving him from a wild beast at
the risk of his own life. This made him repent of his wickedness, and he
begged Orlando's pardon with many tears, and from thenceforth they
were dear brothers. The lioness had wounded Orlando’s arm so much,
that he could not go on to see the shepherd, so he sent his brother to ask
Ganymede (“ whom I do call my Rosalind,” he added) to come to him.

Oliver went and told the whole story to Ganymede and Aliena, and

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