E. Louise Smythe

“ Loki felt very proud, for he thought his things were the best.
All the gods felt very sorry for little Brok. They thought Loki's things were fine. They were afraid Brok's would not be so nice.
They said, "Now, Brok, show your things."
Brok took out the gold ring. He said, "Each night this ring will throw off a ring just like it. He gave the ring to Odin."
Then Brok took out the golden pig. He said, "This pig can go anywhere, on the ground or in the air. It can go faster than any horse. If the night is dark, the shining pig will make it light."
Then Brok showed the hammer. ”

“ JASON AND THE DRAGON.
The next day Jason went to the king and said, "Now, give me the golden fleece."
The king did not give it to him, but said, "Come again."
Then Medea said, "If you want the golden fleece, you must help yourself. My father will not give it to you. A dragon is by the tree where the golden fleece is, and he never sleeps. He is always hungry and eats people if they go near him. I can not kill him but I can make him sleep. He is very fond of cake. I will make some cake and put in something to make the dragon sleep." ”

“ Night came and the little tree went to sleep. A fairy came by and gave it gold leaves.
When the little tree woke it had leaves of gold.
It said, "Oh, I am so pretty! No other tree has gold leaves." ”

“ HOW THOR GOT THE HAMMER
THE HAMMER LOST AND FOUND
THE STORY OF THE SHEEP
THE GOOD SHIP ARGO
JASON AND THE HARPIES
THE BRASS BULLS
JASON AND THE DRAGON
THE UGLY DUCKLING.
A duck made her nest under some leaves.
She sat on the eggs to keep them warm.
At last the eggs broke, one after the other. Little ducks came out.
Only one egg was left. It was a very large one.
At last it broke, and out came a big, ugly duckling.
"What a big duckling!" said the old duck. "He does not look like us. Can he be a turkey?--We will see. If he does not like the water, he is not a duck." ”

“ Again, in the story of Red Riding-Hood we preferred to use the German ending, as it leaves a far happier impression on the minds of the children than the accepted English version. The incongruity of the wolf's swallowing whole the grandmother and child does not destroy the child's enjoyment of the story, while the happy release of both grandmother and little girl forms a suitable close. ”

“ Then Thor was very angry. He said, "I know it was Loki. He is always getting into mischief. Just wait until I get him!"
And Thor went out to find Loki. Pretty soon he found him.
Thor said, "Did you cut off Sif's hair?" Loki said, "Yes, I did."
"Then you must pay for cutting off my wife's hair," said Thor.
"All right," said Loki, "I will get you something better than the hair."
Loki went down, down into the ground to the home of the dwarfs. It was very dark down there. The only light came from the dwarfs' fires.
The dwarfs were ugly little black men. ”

“ Loki put on the falcon suit and flew away. He looked like a big bird flying.
When Loki came to the giant's home, he was glad the giant was not there. He changed Idun into a nut and then flew away with the nut.
When the giant came home, Idun was gone. The golden apples were gone, too.
Then the giant put on his eagle suit and flew after Loki.
Loki heard the eagle coming. Loki flew faster.
Poor Loki was all out of breath. The eagle flew faster and faster.
Then the gods got on the walls to look for Loki. They saw him coming and the eagle after him. ”

“ The brass bulls looked like real bulls, but they were larger and stronger.
They blew out fire and smoke from their noses and mouths.
The bulls had a stall made of iron and stone. They had to be tied with strong iron chains.
When the dragon's teeth were planted, iron men grew up.
They always killed the one who had planted them.
The king wanted the bulls to kill Jason.
He said, "If the bulls do not kill him the iron men will."
The king had a daughter named Medea. She saw Jason was a brave young man and did not want him killed. ”

“ She looked so pretty in it that the children all called her "Red Riding-Hood."
One day her mama said, "I want you to take this cake and some butter to grandma."
Red Riding-Hood was very glad to go. She always had a good time at grandma's.
She put the things into her little basket and ran off.
When Red Riding-Hood came to the wood, she met a big wolf.
"Where are you going?" said the wolf.
Red Riding-Hood said, "I am going to see my grandma. Mama has made her a cake and some butter."
"Does she live far?" said the wolf. ”

“ Then the cruel wolf jumped up and ate poor little Red Riding-Hood.
Just then a hunter came by. He heard Red Riding-Hood scream. The hunter ran into the house and killed the old wolf.
When he cut the wolf open, out jumped Little Red Riding-Hood and her grandma.
THE APPLES OF IDUN.
Once upon a time three of the gods went on a journey.
One was Thor and one was Loki. Loki was ugly and mean.
The gods liked to walk over the hills and rocks. They could go very fast for they were so big.
The gods walked on and on.
At last they got very hungry. Then they came to a field with cattle. ”