endings

Here drawing his sword, Durendal, which signifies a hard blow, a sword of exquisite workmanship,
fine temper, and resplendent brightness, which he would sooner have lost his arm than parted with,
as he held it in his hand, regarding it earnestly, addressed it in these words:
"O sword of unparalleled brightness, excellent dimensions, admirable temper,
and hilt of the whitest ivory, decorated with a splendid cross of gold,
topped by a berylline apple, engraved with the sacred name of God,
endued with keenness and every other virtue, who now shall wield thee in battle?
who shall call thee master? He that possessed thee was never conquered,
never daunted at the foe; phantoms never appalled him. Aided by Omnipotence,
with thee did he destroy the Saracen, exalt the faith of Christ, and acquire consummate glory.
Oft hast thou vindicated the blood of Jesus, against Pagans, Jews, and heretics;
oft hewed off the hand and foot of the robber, fulfilling divine justice.
O happy sword, keenest of the keen; never was one like thee!
He that made thee, made not thy fellow! Not one escaped with life from thy stroke!
If the slothful timid soldier should now possess thee, or the base Saracen,
my grief would be unspeakable! Thus, then, do I prevent thy falling into their hands."--
He then struck the block of marble thrice, which cleft it in the midst,
and broke the sword in twain.

It seemed a harmless game, and we did not suspect that in a more serious form
its fascinations were insidiously rooting themselves in our own lives.

'As you may suppose, this was not easy, as my ugliness was such that no one
would look at me a second time. My nurse and I were almost in despair,
as my fifteenth birthday was drawing near, and I had never so much as spoken to a man.
At last we received a visit from the wizard, who told us what had happened at court,
and your story, bidding me to put myself in your way when you had lost all hope,
and offer to save you if you would consent to marry me.
'That is my history, and now you must beg the king to send messengers at once to Granada,
to inform my father of our marriage, and I _think_,' she added with a smile,
'that he will not refuse us his blessing.'

The boy agreed, and the Squirrel took him back to his own wigwam,
where he filled the little fellow's bag with nuts from his pile.
"These," said he, "are all lucky nuts, and if you put one of them in your pouch
when you go out to hunt, you will surely kill a Bear!"
This the boy did, and to the great joy of the poor old folks he became a famous hunter,
so that from that time on they never wanted meat in their lodge.
Do not harm your weaker brothers, for even a little Squirrel may be the bearer
of good fortune!

Too weary and faint, too sick at heart and exhausted in body to observe
the unaccustomed signs of human presence around her dwelling,
the poor woman dragged herself to the door, and opened it.
The gun she still held in her hand fell rattling to the floor, and,
with eyes wildly opened, she gazed bewildered at the spectacle.
The blazing fire, the set table, the food on the hearthstone, the smiling children,
the two men! She passed her hands across her eyes as one waking from sleep.
Was she dreaming? Was this cabin the miserable hut she had left at daybreak?
Was that the same fireplace in front of whose cold and cheerless recess
she had crouched the night before? And were those two strangers there men,
or were they angels? Was what she saw real, or was it only a fevered vision born of her weakness?

Third, _the romantic, the unique, and the impossible are interesting.
_A new discovery, a new invention, a people of which little is known,--anything new is interesting.
The stories of Rider Haggard and Jules Verne have been popular because they deal with things
which eye hath not seen. This peculiar trait of man allows him to relish a good fish story,
or the latest news from the sea-serpent. Just for the same reason, children love to hear
of Little Red Riding Hood and Cinderella. Children and their parents are equally interested
in those things which are entirely outside of their own experience.