THE FAIRY TALE AND TRUE STORY 9 



then the fire that burns the broom, then the water 

 that puts out the fire, then the ox that quenches his 

 thirst with the water, then the fly that stings the ox, 

 then the swallow that snaps up the fly, then the snare 

 that catches the swallow, then 



"And does it go on very long like that?" asked 

 Emile. 



"As long as you please, " replied Mother Ambrois- 

 ine, "for however strong one may be, there are al- 

 ways others stronger still. " 



"Really, Mother Ambroisine," said Emile, "that 

 story tires me." 



"Then listen to this one : Once upon a time there 

 lived a woodchopper and his wife, and they were 

 very poor. They had seven children, the youngest 

 so very, very small that a wooden shoe answered for 

 its bed." 



"I know that story," again interposed Emile. 

 "The seven children are going to get lost in the 

 woods. Little Hop-o'-my-Thumb marks the way at 

 first with white pebbles, then with bread crumbs. 

 Birds eat the crumbs. The children get lost, llop- 

 o'-my-Thumb, from the top of a tree, sees a light in 

 the distance. They run to it : rat-tat-tat ! It is the 

 dwelling of an ogre!" 



"There is no truth in that," declared Jules, "nor 

 in I Miss -in-Boots, nor Cinderella, nor Bluebeard. 

 They are fairy tales, not true stories. For my part, 

 I want stories that are really and truly so." 



At the words, true stories, Uncle Paul raised his 

 head and closed his big book. A line opportunity 

 Offered for turning the conversation to more useful 



