Page 30 sur 626

At last he could go no farther, for the stone tired him sadly:

and he dragged himself to the side of a river, that he might take

a drink of water, and rest a while. So he laid the stone

carefully by his side on the bank: but, as he stooped down to

drink, he forgot it, pushed it a little, and down it rolled,

plump into the stream.

For a while he watched it sinking in the deep clear water; then

sprang up and danced for joy, and again fell upon his knees and

thanked Heaven, with tears in his eyes, for its kindness in

taking away his only plague, the ugly heavy stone.

'How happy am I!' cried he; 'nobody was ever so lucky as I.' Then

up he got with a light heart, free from all his troubles, and

walked on till he reached his mother's house, and told her how

very easy the road to good luck was.

JORINDA AND JORINDEL