298 SLAV TALES

the garden to gather flowers, under pretence of their being for
the altar. When she had picked a few, she raised her eyes
and saw the three young men sitting on a low seat, while near
them stood the little old man with white hair, begging for
alms. She pretended to be shy before the young men, but
at the beggar’s request drew from her pocket a gold piece, and
gave it him, evidently much against her will, He put it in
his pocket, and turning to his companions, said: “ This girl
is the spoilt child of her mother; she is bad-tempered and
naughty, while her heart is hardened against the poor. It is
easy to understand why, for the first time in her life, she has
been so generous to-day. Tell me what gifts you would wish
me to bestow upon her.”

The first said, “ May her tears be changed into lizards.”

“And her smile produce hideous toads,” added the second.

“And when her hands touch the water may it be filled
with serpents,” said the third.

**So let it be,” cried the old man. And they all vanished.

The poor girl was terrified, and went back to tell her
mother what had happened. And it was even so; for if she
smiled hideous toads fell from her mouth, her tears were
changed into lizards, and the water in which she dipped but
the tips of her fingers was filled with serpents.

The stepmother was in despair, but she only loved her
child the more, and hated the orphans with a yet more bitter
hatred. Indeed, she worried them to such an extent that the
boy determined to put up with it no longer, but to seek his
fortune elsewhere. So he tied up his belongings in a hand-
kerchief, took a loving farewell of his sister, commending her
to God’s care, and left his home. The great world lay before