LIFE'S FAIRY TALES.

Jo

ON was a young man of surpassing beauty who went into the world to seek his fortune. The third day of his journey brought him to the Village of Brotherly Love, an enormous settlement covering many square miles, where he met an acquaintance; and he tarried in that colony. It soon came to pass that he was invited to a large party in a patrician mansion. He forthwith attired himself in broadcloth and fine linen and danced with the maidens and properly disported himself. But while so doing he noticed a plain and somewhat elderly maiden sitting disconsolately against the wall, receiving no attention either from the hostess or the guests. He spoke of this to the son of the house, who answered:

"O she's of no special importance."

"But she is a guest," replied Jon, “and having invited her to your house you can not snub her!"

and other indigestible devices that are never eaten at home. he engaged her in pleasant converse.

She seemed grateful for these attentions, and when Jon finally bade her good-night, she handed him a poppy, saying: "Please accept this flower; it possesses some unusual qualities, among others that of putting people to sleep, by simply waving it in their direction. To wake them you must kiss the sleeper. Good-night," and away she went leaving Jon standing alone with the flower. Down among the petals there seemed to be an enormous dew drop, but when he shook it off it fell on the marble pavement like a hard substance and bounced up again retaining its shape. Upon picking it up, he found he had between his fingers a diamond of exceeding beauty! Moreover, in its place within the poppy another had appeared, also of great price and astounding brilliancy. And when that in turn was shaken off, yet another took its place.

Jon hurried home and in feverish haste experimented with this desirable flower. The first ten minutes resulted in a pint of diamonds. He danced for joy.

66

THE WICKED WIZARD'S SPELL.

"I am rich!" he cried, "rich without limit!" The next morning he distributed the stones among his various pockets and betook him to a jeweller.

"How much is this worth?" he asked giving one of them for inspection. The jeweller, after consulting with his partner, said: We will give you two hundred dollars for it." When Jon readily accepted this price for a five thousand dollar stone the jewellers became suspicious, but they paid him the money and he went away. His reappearance, a few davs after with other stones yet more precious, and for which he considered any sum a fair price, confirmed the jewellers in their worst surmises, and Jon was marched before a judge. Several pockets crammed with priceless jewels did not allay suspicion, and he soon found himself in jail.

They had allowed him to keep the poppy, as no one examined it, and no one consequently suspected its value.

On the second day of his imprisonment he remembered the other qualities of the poppy and straightway tried an experiment.

When the jailer came with his noonday meal, he waived the magic flower toward him, and to his delight the burly warden closed his eyes and sank gently to the stone floor of the cell in a peaceful sleep.

Jon lost no time in reaching the court yard of the jail, but an officer had already seen him and given the alarm. As several jailers rushed toward him he again waived the poppy, this time in every direction, and lo! the various guardians forgot their haste and fell napping to the earth. Seeing how

beautifully it worked, and noticing the custodians about the gate were becoming alarmed, he held the poppy high in his hand and turning completely around, he cried :

"Whole city go to sleep!" And the whole city obeyed. Then he stepped leisurely out into the street where all was quiet and reposeful. Not a being was awake. A policeman stood leaning against a wall, but he was dozing calmly. The driver and conductor of a passing street car, and all the passengers within, were sound asleep, while the horses, from force of habit, moved gently as they slumbered.

Jon's first thought was to quit the city in the shortest time, and he sped rapidly along. Turning a corner he almost ran into a stylish equipage, the footmen, with closed eyelids, upon the box, the horses lying flat upon the pavement. He started, as he recognized the lady in the carriage, for there, dreaming peacefully in the noonday sun, reclined the spinster who had given him the poppy. For the mere pleasure of kissing, he would have preferred a younger maiden, but Jon knew his duty. Standing on the step of the carriage he reached over and planted a kiss upon her cheek. She awoke, and to his surprise, her mature face grew younger and more beautiful as he gazed upon it. In amazement, he looked enraptured upon this transformation, for she was now a fresh and blooming damsel of scarcely twenty summers. Blushing, as her eyes met his, she explained that a malicious wizard, disguised as a cupid, had entered her chamber one evening just as she was going to a party, and because she had refused to marry his son, changed her into a withered spinster, so to remain until some young man should voluntarily kiss her. It is perhaps unnecessary to add-this being a fairy talethat they at once fell deeply in love with each other. Jon kissed the horses, and, although it came hard, he also kissed the driver and footman. Then he and his charming bride were driven rapidly from the drowsy city and lived happily together ever afterward, revelling in the endless riches derived from the unfailing poppy.

The City of Brotherly Love is dozing still.

effects of the voyage and have become accustomed to the foreign slang, glance hurriedly over the latest successful plays in London, Berlin and Paris. Purchase two or three of the best and have a good time. Cable to the New York papers a few unimportant despatches about yourself and the state of your health when you saw it last.

2nd. Return to New York and hire a couple of newspaper men... who are temporarily out of a job to rewrite the play for you, mixing up the scenes, incidents and acts as much as possible, and putting in as many jokes from LIFE as you can remember, read or buy.

3rd. Hire a variety actor to write in some variety lines. (The newspaper men will correct his grammar and spelling as he goes along). 4th. Get a good stage carpenter (not morally good, necessarily, just good) to work in a mechanical effect or defect, as you may choose to call it.

5th. Get acquainted with a soubrette and find out what her best song and dance is. Work that in. Get well acquainted with her if she is not too shy.

6th. Put your name to the play as its author.

7th. Go to any manager in New York and he will fall on your neck with unaffected joy. Your fame and fortune are now made, but8th. Don't forget to have the newspaper men write out your speech for the opening night and give them a seat apiece in the back of the gallery. It may seem like money thrown away, but they know where the applause should come in and they may be able to start it. Tom Hall.