spring two miles away, and he will be here in four minutes." She drew her skirts closely about her and with a sweet smile hastened into the castle. "Who thatched that roof?" shouted the giant as soon as he arrived. "My own strength did it," said the prince humbly, feeling that he had not told a falsehood, for Yellow Lily was even more than strength to him. The giant, instead of thanking him for his services, seized him again, and threw him headlong into the kitchen tank. Then he sat down by the fire. No sooner had his head begun to nod than Yellow Lily placed the slumber-pin over his nose to be sure that he could not wake up. Then she set the prince free, and they spent the evening as before, except that there was much more merriment. On the following morning the giant opened the tank and ordered the prince to climb out. "I have a task for you to do that even a prince cannot do," he said. "I am sure that I shall have your head before night. Near the castle is a tree nine hundred feet high. It has but one branch and that is near the top. This branch contains a crow's nest. In the nest is one egg. I want that egg for supper tonight. If you do not get it, you will be sorry." The giant took the prince to the tree, which rose like a great pillar of smooth glass, so slippery that not even an ant could crawl upon it without sliding off. When the giant had gone, the prince tried a dozen times to climb to the top, but each time he slipped back to the earth quicker and harder than before. He was glad indeed when Yellow Lily came. And now comes the blood-curdling part of the tale that I would rather omit; but I must tell it all to you just as the dear little Irish children heard it centuries ago, or I should feel that I had marred this ancient bit of fairy folklore. Yellow Lily, as usual, brought something to eat, and after they had eaten, she, for the first time, turned upon the prince a sorrowful face. "I am sorry father gave you this task to do; but we must submit to what cannot be helped," she said. "Alas! dear prince, you must kill me." "Kill you!" he cried in horror. "Never! I would rather lose my head a thousand times." "But, if you are careful, I shall come to life again," persisted the girl. "My fairy godmother will care for me. You will find it easy to strip off my flesh, for you have only to say, 'Yellow Lily of Loch Lein.' Say it again and my bones will all separate. You will find that my bones will stick to this tree like little steps. On the ladder of bones you can climb to the top of the tree. Get the egg and climb down carefully, each time pulling one of my bones from the tree until you have reached the earth. Then pile the bones in a heap upon my flesh and say, 'Come back, Yellow Lily of Loch Lein,' and lo! I will be myself again. But be 

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