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Show THE RRGUS. 12 SHORT STORIES By Popular Authors. A BIKE FAIRY TALE. Once upon a time there was a queen Who was so advanced that tlio king was quite out of it. She set an example of female independence to her subjects by going long journeys on her bicycle, unincumbered by any court train. She became so enthusiastic about female wheeling that she built three bicycle tracks. On the first there was a hedge 100 yards thick, on the second a pond 100 yards wide, and on the third a ladder 100 yards high, and she decreed that no girl should marry the crown prince unless she rode her bike through the hedge, across the pond and up and down the ladder. Many girls tried, but all failed; the crown prince remained single, and at last the tracks were overgrown with weeds for want of use. One day the queen went but on her bicycle alone, as usual, and lost her way. Night came on, and she was glad to find shelter in a lonely cottage where dwelt a woman and her daughter. The daughter was very beautiful a wise woman had foretold that she would ride over the three tracks and marry the crown prince, but she had once met a handsome young huntsman in the forest and vowed she would never marry any one but him, so she refused to learn to bike at all. The mother was a clever and ambitious woman. She knew the queen at once by her profile, which was on all the penny pieces, and besides she wore the great seal on her finger to prevent the king from misusing it in her absence. But the mother kept her own counsel and treated the queen as a stranger, setting before her the best food there was in the house for supper. When the queen had finished her meal, she noticed how lovely the girl was and said to the mother, Is your daughter fit for anything?" The woman replied, "She is the champion lady biOh, incyclist of the whole world. deed, said the queen, and, pray, why does she not ride over the three tracks and win the hand of the crown prince? Because, answered the mother, she is too independent to run after any man. I never thought of that, observed the queen, and pulling a cigarette out of her case she fell When the girl went out to wash up the supper things, the queen asked, Cant you persuade your daughter to ride over the three tracks just to show how superior we women are? Yes, replied the mother, but she must have three things. Name She must have them, said thequeen. a pavilion ' built, opening on to the tracks, from which she must start and tr which she must return after each round, without anyone being allowed to speak to her. ' . asked thequeen. Because every man that speaks to her wants her to speak to him, and she despises such a waste of time, replied the mother. Oh! said the queen. Next she must have three riding suits, one for each track, and each suit must have a veil to match, for her to wear when she rides. Because Why? asked tho queen. every man who looks at her and secs how beautiful Ehe is tries to make her look at him, replied the mother. Hum! said tho queen. Lastty, I must go with her, and so must her three Why? uncles. Becauso asked tho queen. she will have to ride so hard that she will wear out a bicycle on each track, and she must have always a fresh one ready, with an undo to oil it and to have it in good working order. Why? Do you Ha! said tho queen. I am that know, my good woman, I never your rightful sovereign? thought of that, replied tho mother. But it is so, said the queen, and I command you to bring your daughter to my three' tracks this day week, when everything you ask for shall be granted. It shall be as your majesty commands, replied the woman. So on a day the mother and daughter started for tho tracks, and the girl walked first, singing as she went for the very joy of life. Presently they met a man riding on a "Good bicycle with his eyes shut cried uncle! the the But morning, girl. woman asked, Why do you ride with And the man anyour eyes shut? swered, Because I am so keen of sight that I cannot help seeing my way through the tiniest crack on the ground, and if I keep my eyes open I should go down to the very center of the earth. That is good, said the mother. Will you help my daughter to win the crown That will I, prince for a husband? said the man, for no girl ever called 4 4 tie uncle before. Soon they met another man riding a bicycle with his feet on the forks. Good morning, uncle! cried the girl. But the mother asked, Why do you ride with your feet on the forks? And the man answered, Because I pedal so fast that I skim over the ground, and no one could get out of my way if I put That is betWill ter, said the mother. you help crown to win the prince my daughter That will I, said for a husband? the man, for no girl ever called me my feet on the treadles. uncle before. Before long they met a third man riding a bicycle, with his hands in his Good morning, uncle, cried pockets. the girl. But the mother asked, Why do you ride with your hands in your And the man answered, Bepockets? cause my grip is so strong that I should lift my bike over the trees and up and down the telegraph posts if I used my hands. That is best, said the moth er. "Will you help my daughter to win the crown prince for a husband? That will I. Faid the man. for no girl ever calkilme uncle before, Now I have enough uncles, said the girl. The next stranger I meet But they met no shall be my cousin. one else, for all the world had gone to the tracks. Only when they reached the pavilion they saw a smart young soldier Good morning, pacing up and down. Good morncousin, cried ,the girl. smart the ing, cousin, young replied soldier, and he gave her a hearty kiss. ,4How dare you? cried the mother in Cousins always kiss, replied a rage. the smart yonng soldier. The uncles looked at each other and said, We never thought of that. But the girl blushed and said nothing, for the smart young soldier was the same handsome young huntsman whom she had vowed And now I should be her husband. must leave you, said tho smart young soldier, and he marched off, whistling The Girl I Left Behind Mo. Then they prepared for the first rido and dressed the first undo in a crimson suit and put on him a veil of gold embroidery that glittered like the sun. The signal sounded, and they opened the pavilion door, and the first uncle sped out like the wind and kept his eyes shut till ho camo to tho hedgo that was 100 yards thick, and there ho opened them and saw his way through in a trice, and so, shutting iiis eyes again, he sped ion ml the track to the other door of the pavilion. Now they dressed the second uncle in a suit of dark blue and put on him a suit of silver filigree work that glistened like moonbeams. And he flew out of the door like a bird and kept his feet on the forks till lie came to the pond that was 100 yards across, but then he put his feet on the treadles and skimmed over the water without even splashing it, and so, coming to the other side, he put his feet on the forks again and flew around the track to the other door of the pavilion. The third uncle had a suit of black velvet, but as there were no pockets for him to put his hands into they were forced to cut a slit on either side instead. His veil was of black lace, spangled with diamonds .which sparkled like tho stars on a frosty night, and when the doer of the pavilion opened he shot forth like lightning, with his hands in the slits of his suit, hut as scon as he came to the ladder that was 100 yards high betook hold of the handles and darted up and down the ladder in a twinkling, and so, putting hi bands in the slits again, he whirled round tlie track to the other door of the pavilion. You may he sure there was a great shouting and a mighty rush of people toward the pavilion of the champion lady bicyclist of the world, but a line of soldiers barred the way, and only fell back to let the crown prince and his retinue gallop past. And when he got to the door, ever so much before his followers, he found the mother standing and watching. She saw at a glance that he was the smart young soldier who had met them in the morning, hat she pretended not to know him. Little he cared as, leaping from his horse, he rushed into the room, where he found the girl dressed in her ordinary clothes and looking more beautiful than ever. The retinue crowded in and stood by the door, hut the prince ran up to her and, opening his arms, cried: Dearest, I have loved you ever since we met in the forest. Will you be my bride? The girl lmng her head, for she was frightened when she saw all this grandeur and knew that her lover was a prince. But her mother said, Kings I never thought of always caress. the that, said girl, and fell into the princes embrace. So they were married, and of course tho three uncles were asked to the feast, and then for the first time the prince looked away from his bride and saw how odd looking they were, and he asked the first uncle, How did you get such projecting eyes and that hard, fixed gaze? And the first uncle answered, By skimming, by skimming, Then the prince asked by skimming. the second uncle, How did you get that monstrous flat foot? And the second uncle replied, By scorching, by Then the scorching, by scorching. asked the third uncle, How did prince you get that hideous, huge band? And the third undo answered, By shopping, by shopping, by shopping. Skimming, scorching, shopping! said the prince. I dont know what you mean. Then the mother explained: May it plcaso your royal highness, my eldest brother has the cycle eye, that comes from always looking miles ahead, which ia called skimming; my second brother has the cycle foot, which comes from always pedaling us hard as he can, which is called scorching, and my youngest brother has the cycle hand, which comes of always steadying the machine over ups and downs, which, as it is something between skipping and hopping, is ride a bicycle again. And they lived happy ever after. James Budget. St. FORGIVEN. Dusk was beginning to fall, and as I looked round over the long level of marsh land that surrounded us and saw no sign of any of our party I felt the first thrill of a not unpleasant uneasiness. I glanced at my companion. She wa3 walking quite contentedly by my side, apparently secure in the assumption that I knew my way. As a matter of fact, I had the gravest doubt about it aud there Eeemed no possibility of making sure. For miles on either hand the marshes stretched to the low horizon. The dry tracks were few and ill defined and already a light white mist was rising over the numerous straight waterways. I looked at Miss Poscoe again, and my uneasiness gave place to a kind of expectant pleasure. Even supposing we were lost, there was no actual danger, and the great sense of solitude that hung about ns gave me a feeling of possession that was keenly delightful. Miss Pascoe, unconscious of my doubtful cogitations, still walked on as though her feet were upon a familiar road, and indeed, as far as I could judge, we were making in tbo right direction. To have stopped would have been like a confession of incompetence on my part, and this to an nnavowed lover was out of the question, at any rate until circumstances unquestionably had me at a disadvantage. So we went on, and the twilight deepened, and the mist trailed in denser wisps across the shivering reed beds. Suddenly she turned to me. What a queer place this would be to get lost iu, she said. I think the serious possibility of such a thing had not occurred to her at all. She threw out the remark merely as a contribution to a flagging conversation. lTes, I said. But youre not afraid, arc you? Oh, no; not at all! Of course yon know the way, and that makes all the rJ ' difference. Of course it does, I answered, with a glimmering sense of shame. How far are we from home now? she asked after a pause, in which the darkness had perceptibly increased. Three miles, I daresay, I said at a blind hazard. Thats nothing, she said. I we four. must be thought quite Are you sure youre not tired? I asked. Wouldnt you like to rest? But she persisted in walking on at that swinging pace of hers. Even if I wanted to rest theres nothing to rest on, she said. Im sure I could find a fence somewhere, I said. I dont believe yon could, she said, hut Im not goiDg to let you try. Id much rather get home. Wo walked on silently for another five minutes, aud then Miss Pascoe stopped and listened, leaning forward slightly, with her hair blowing about her face. 4 4 Is that tho sea? slie asked. It was tho sea unmistakably, the slow roll mingled with the rustle of the wiud over the rushes. Aud then it became quite obvious to me that I had woefully gone astray, for the sea was before us instead of almost atom backs. It must be the sea, I said, after a show' of hard listeuing. But it shouldnt bo there, Bhe said. Why not? I answered rather feebly It always has tailed shopping, gome people who bi- in order to gain time. been I there, suppose. cycle a very great deal have all these be foolish, she said. 44Yon Dont I never thought Df that, said the prince, and, turning know what I mean. We must bavo got to his bride and hieing how beautiful on tho wrong path. Mr. Thirlmere, she was, he trial, You shall never she cried, how could you have been so threo-peculiariti- es. cureless? |