pPant Isore, Iscge^/, anel Tsijnc/*, 555 



-An old German cure for sleeplessness was to place beneath 



the pillow a " composing wisp," that is Straw which workwomen 

 put under the burdens on their backs ; but taken from people 



unknown to them. If a hen wants to sit, the German peasants 



make her nest of Straw out of the bed of the husband and 

 wife : if cock chickens are wished, from the man's side ; if hen 

 chickens, from the wife's side. A Swedish popular tale nar- 

 rates how a king's son, passing a cottage one day, saw a pretty 

 girl sitting on the roof spinning. Curious to know why she 

 chose so unusual a place, he enquired of the girl's mother, who 

 told him that she sat there to let the people see how clever she 

 was; adding, "She is so clever that she can spin gold from clay 

 and long Straw." The truth was, the girl, although good-looking, 

 was idle in the extreme, and had been set to spin on the roof of 

 the cot so that all the world might judge of her sloth. The king's son, 

 however, knew naught of this, and being captivated by the girl's 

 pretty face, he resolved, if she could really spin gold from long 

 Straw and clay, to take her to the palace, and make her his 

 consort. The mother having given her consent, the girl accom- 

 panied the prince to the royal residence, where she was given a 

 bundle of Straw, and a pailful of clay, in order to prove if she 

 were so skilful at spinning as her mother had said. The poor girl, 

 knowing her incompetence, soon began to weep when left by 

 herself in her chamber; whereupon suddenly a little ugly and de- 

 formed old man stood before her, and demanded to know the 

 cause of her grief. The girl told him ; and forthwith the old man 

 produced a pair of gloves, which he gave to the girl, saying, 

 "Fair maiden, weep not: here is a pair of gloves; when thou 

 hast them on, thou wilt be able to spin from long Straw and 

 clay. To-morrow night I will return, when, if thou hast not found 

 out my name, thou shalt accompany me home, and be my 

 bride." The brave girl shuddered, but agreed to the old man's 

 condition, and he went his way. Then she pulled on the gloves, 

 and, without difficulty, soon spun up all the Straw and cla}' into 

 the finest gold. There was great joy in the palace, and the king's 

 son was delighted that he had obtained so charming and so skilful 

 a wife ; but the young maiden did nothing but weep at the dread pro- 

 spe(5\ of being claimed by the ugly, undersized old man. Late in the 

 day, the king's son returned from the chase, and seeing his bride 

 so melancholy, began to tell her of an adventure he had just met 

 with in the forest. Said he: "I suddenly came upon a very little 

 ugly old man dancing round a Juniper-bush, singing a curious song, 

 at the end of which he loudly bawled, ' I am called Titteli Ture.' " 

 Then the pretty maid's face brightened up, for she knew that 

 she had learnt the name of her m)'sterious visitor. So she set to 

 work to spin more gold from Straw and clay alone in her chamber, 

 and kept repeating the old man's name, so that she might not forget 

 it. At midnight the door of her room noiselessly opened, and the 



