A V. THE-WISHING-RING. YOUNG farmer, whose farming did not prosper particularly well, was sitting resting on his plough for a moment as he wiped his brow, when an old witch crept up to him and said, "Why do you toil so hard, and all for nothing? Walk straight before you for two days, and you will come to a large fir-tree, which stands alone, towering over all the other trees of the forest. If you can but fell it, your fortune is made." The farmer did not wait to be told twice, but, taking his axe on his shoulder, started on his way. After walking two days, he came to the fir-tree, and immediately set to work to fell it. Soon it toppled and crashed to the earth, when from the top branches dropped a nest containing two eggs. The eggs rolled on the ground and broke; as they broke, forth came a young eaglet from one, and a small golden ring from the other. The eaglet grew visibly, till it reached half the height of a man, shook its wings, as if to try them, raised itself from the ground, and then cried, "You have released me! as token of my gratitude, take the ring the other egg con tained-it is a wishing-ring. Turn it on your finger, speak your wish aloud, and it will immediately be granted. But the ring has only one wish; when that is accomplished, it will lose all power and become no more than any other ring. Therefore reflect well on what you wish for, so that you may not have to repent afterwards.” Having so spoken, the eagle rose high into the air, swept, for some time, in wide circles over the farmer's head, and then, like an arrow from a bow, shot swiftly towards the east. The farmer took the ring, put it on his finger, and started homeward. Towards evening he reached a town. At the door of his shop a goldsmith stood who had many valuable rings for sale. The farmer showed him his ring, and asked him what was about the value of it. "Mere trumpery," answered the goldsmith. The farmer laughed heartily, telling the man it was a wishing-ring, and of more value than all the rings in his shop put together. Now the goldsmith was a false, designing man, so he invited the farmer to stay all night at his house, saying, “It must bring one good-luck to entertain a man who is the possessor of such a precious jewel, so pray remain with me." He accordingly entertained him well with plenty of wine and civil words, but when he went to sleep at night, he drew his ring stealthily from his finger, and put on it instead a com |