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"Hail, young shepherd!" she said.

"See what beautiful apples grow in our garden; here is one for you, so that you may know how nicely they taste." And she handed him a beautiful red apple. But Yanechek knew that if he were to take that apple and eat it, he would fall asleep, and then the girl would tear out his eyes; he therefore said,—

"Thank you, beautiful maiden; my master has in his garden an apple tree which bears much finer apples. I have eaten enough of them.”

"Well, if you do not like it, I shall not press you," answered the girl, and then went away.

In a short time there came another girl, handsomer than the first; she held in her hand a beautiful red rose and said,

"Hail, young shepherd! See what a beautiful rose I have plucked from yonder ridge between those fields; it smells deliciously,-smell'it"

"Thank you, beautiful maiden," answered Yanechek. "My master has in his garden much finer roses; I have smelt them enough."

"Very well," answered the girl angrily; "if you do not want to smell it, you need not do it."

She then turned round and went away. After a little while there came a third girl, the youngest and handsomest of them all.

"Hail, young shepherd!" she said.

"Thank you, pretty maiden," answered Yanechek.

"You are a fine looking lad," continued the girl; “but you would look handsomer if you had your hair nicely combed; come, I will comb it for you."

Yanechek did not answer her a word; but when the girl had approached him in order to comb his hair, he took off his hat, pulled out of it one of the briers, and with it struck the girl on the hand. The girl screamed,

"Oh, help! help!" and then burst out crying as she could not move away from the spot where she was standing. Yanechek did not pay any attention to her cries, but tied up her arms with the piece of brier. Then the two other jezinky appeared, and seeing their sister thus caught, they begged Yanechek that he would untie her arms and let her go.

"Do it yourselves," answered Yanechek.

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"We cannot," said the girls; we have delicate hands and we should prick ourselves."

When, however, they saw that Yanechek would not do it, they approached their sister in order to untie the brier. Suddenly Yanechek rushed upon the girls and struck each of them with the brier, and then tied up their arms.

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See, I have caught you now, you wicked jezinky," cried Yanechek,-"you that have torn out my master's eyes."

Then he rushed home to his master and said,

"Come, master, I have found somebody that will return you your eyes."

When Yanechek and his old master had come to the hill, Yanechek said to the eldest girl,—

"Now, tell me, where are my master's eyes? If you will not, I shall throw you into the water."

The girl protested that she did not know where the eyes were, and Yanechek was about to throw her into the rivulet that was flowing near the hill.

"Do not drown me, Yanechek; do not drown me,' cried the girl," and I will give you your master's eyes."

Then she led him to a cave where there was a large heap of eyes, great and small, black, red, blue, and green, and selected two out of that heap. But when Yanechek had put them into his master's head, the poor old man began to complain bitterly: "Oh, woe, woe is me! These are not my eyes; I can only see owls." Yanechek became very angry, and having caught hold of the girl he threw her into the water. Then he said to the second girl,—

"Will you tell me where my master's

eyes are?"

The girl excused herself, saying that she did not know anything about them, but when Yanechek had threatened that he would also throw her into the water, the girl led him to the same cave and selected two other

eyes. The old man, however, again complained: "Oh, woe is me! These are not my eyes; I can only see wolves." The same thing was done to the second jezinky as to the first; the water only bubbled over her.

"Will you tell me where my master's eyes are?" asked Yanechek of the third and youngest of the jezinky.

This one also led him to the cave, and selected two eyes out of the heap. But when they were put into the old man's head he again complained that they were not his eyes, saying, "I can only see pikes."

Yanechek seeing that the girl had cheated him, wanted to drown her also, but the jezinky burst out crying, and said,

"Do not drown me, Yanechek; do not drown me, and I will give you your master's real eyes." And she selected them from the very bottom of the heap of eyes.

When Yanechek had put them into his master's head, the old man cried joyfully,

"These are my eyes! Thank heaven! now I can see well."

Henceforth Yanechek and his old master lived together happily. Yanechek attended to the goats, and the old man made cheese from their milk, of which they both partook. From that day the youngest jezinky has never shown herself on the hill.

THE WONDERFUL BIRD.

(FROM THE SERVIAN.)

THERE once lived a poor man. One morning he left his home in search of bread for his children and wife. As he was walking along the road he saw a beautiful little bird clapping its wings and looking at him; he caught it and returned home with it. He put the little bird under a sieve, so that it might not escape, and then went out again in search of bread, but not being able to get any anywhere, he returned home dispirited and sorrowful.

As soon as the man had come in, his hungry children rushed up to him and told him that the bird had laid two little eggs; one of them asked him to take the eggs to market, sell them and buy some bread with the produce. The man smiled at this proposal, and said, sighing,

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