As soon as the hammer was in his lap, Thor tore off the vail. 

 He took the hammer and whirled it around. Fire flew from it. The fire burned the house and the Frost Giants ran away. 

 So Thor got his hammer back. 

 The following stories by Miss Smythe were originally published under the title of "The Golden Fleece." They have been carefully revised and illustrated for this book.    

 THE STORY OF THE SHEEP.

 Long, long ago there lived a king in Greece. He had two little children, a boy and a girl. 

 They were good children and loved each other very much. 

 One day they were playing in the garden. 

 "Oh, Helle, look!" said the boy. 

 There on the grass was a fine large sheep. This sheep had a fleece of gold and his horns were gold, too. 

  

 The children wanted to pat the sheep, but they could not catch him. When they went near, he ran away on the clouds. 

 Every day they played in the garden and every day the sheep came, too. 

 By and by he grew tame and let the children pat his golden fleece. 

 One day the boy said, "Helle, let us take a ride." 

 First he helped his sister on the sheep's back. 

 Then he got on and held to the horns. 

 "Hold tight to me, Helle," he said. 

 The sheep went up, up into the sky, and ran a long way on the clouds. But Helle got dizzy and fell down into the sea. 

 The boy felt very bad to lose his sister, but went right on. 

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