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旅伴

　　“That is rather too high a price， said the old woman， nodding her head quite strangely. She did not seem at all inclined to part with the fern stems. However， it was not very aGREeable to lie there with a broken leg， so she gave them to him; and such was the power of the ointment， that no sooner had he rubbed her leg with it than the old mother rose up and walked even better than she had done before. But then this wonderful ointment could not be bought at a chemist's.

　　“What can you want with those three fern rods? asked John of his fellow-traveller.

　　“Oh， they will make capital brooms， said he; “and I like them because I have strange whims sometimes. Then they walked on together for a long distance.

　　“How dark the sky is becoming， said John; “and look at those thick， heavy clouds.

　　“Those are not clouds， replied his fellow-traveller; “they are mountains—large lofty mountains—on the tops of which we should be above the clouds， in the pure， free air. Believe me， it is delightful to ascend so high， tomorrow we shall be there. But the mountains were not so near as they appeared; they had to travel a whole day before they reached them， and pass through black forests and piles of rock as large as a town. The journey had been so fatiguing that John and his fellow-traveller stopped to rest at a roadside inn， so that they might gain strength for their journey on the morrow. In the large public room of the inn a GREat many persons were assembled to see a comedy performed by dolls. The showman had just erected his little theatre， and the people were sitting round the room to witness the performance. Right in front， in the very best place， sat a stout butcher， with a great bull-dog by his side who seemed very much inclined to bite. He sat staring with all his eyes， and so indeed did every one else in the room. And then the play began. It was a pretty piece， with a king and a queen in it， who sat on a beautiful throne， and had gold crowns on their heads. The trains to their dresses were very long， according to the fashion; while the prettiest of wooden dolls， with glass eyes and large mustaches， stood at the doors， and opened and shut them， that the fresh air might come into the room. It was a very pleasant play， not at all mournful; but just as the queen stood up and walked across the stage， the great bull-dog， who should have been held back by his master， made a spring forward， and caught the queen in the teeth by the slender wrist， so that it snapped in two. This was a very dreadful disaster. The poor man， who was exhibiting the dolls， was much annoyed， and quite sad about his queen; she was the prettiest doll he had， and the bull-dog had broken her head and shoulders off. But after all the people were gone away， the stranger， who came with John， said that he could soon set her to rights. And then he brought out his box and rubbed the doll with some of the salve with which he had cured the old woman when she broke her leg. As soon as this was done the doll's back became quite right again; her head and shoulders were fixed on， and she could even move her limbs herself： there was now no occasion to pull the wires， for the doll acted just like a living creature， excepting that she could not speak. The man to whom the show belonged was quite delighted at having a doll who could dance of herself without being pulled by the wires; none of the other dolls could do this.