The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1906-04-11
the sea, but the Princess had no idea

tue beH, DuC tue frluceSk udu 10 Iueh
| what they were being used for. In
the distance she could hear the men
shouting loudly, and, though she grew
very nervous, she never ceased her
combing; the more anxious she be-
came, the more vigorously she went
on with her task.
In the meantime the bat that had
| talked so long to Darella was flying
round the island arOusing hundreds Of
other bats. At the sound of his voice
they all gathered around him in a
dense gray cloud, and hastened down
to the waters edge just as the occu-
pants of the boats were prepared to
land. But the moment the men placed
their feet upon the beach the bats
| hurled themselves in their faces and
beat them back. Again and again the
men struggled forward, but they could
not advance at all. For not only had
they TO fight against these vicious lit
| tie creatures, but they could feel mt
the same time something twining
| round their legs and holding them
back. They did not know that 1t was
| the golden locks Of the Princess Da.
rella that impeded their progress SO
much, for when the wind rushed away
| with her silken tresses It had orders
to twist then about tht enemy and
| hinder them as much as possible. One
| by one the men We're beaten back TO
their boats until, worn out by strug.
Cling and completely defeated by the
palace and leave the Princess to her
fate.
When the bats saw they were vic
| toriOus, they fell into line behind their
leader, and in this order they sudden
ly appeared before the maiden. She
jumped to her feet with fear as she
saw that hundreds of these little crea-
lures surrounded her, but in min.
ute the voice she knew spoke to her
telling her not to be afraid.
The Princess advanced a few steps
and held out her hands gratefully.
Dear little bats, thank you" she
said kindly. 1T is very good of you to
have fought so bravely for me, and
l wish that l could show you some
return
"You can! You cam" they cried, be-
coming almost mad with excitement.
"Tell me how cried Darella eagerly.
II will do anything for YOU"
"Let us each kiss your hand" they
entrcated. "Then we shall be able to
resume our natural forms"
So, although the Princess did not
like it at all, she held out her hands
and allowed each bat to caress them.
The bats that kissed her right hand
instantly became men, while her left
hand was the means of restoring the
women to their original shapes. The
Princess was overjoyed at the changes
that she saw around her. but after
looking about her eagerly her face sud-
denly grew very sad.
Are there no more of youT she
asked. "Where is the bat that helped
me today"
Immediately she felt soft touch
upon her hair, but before she had time
to object, handsome figure, with
gray hair, stood before her. With a
little cry Of joy the Princess Darella
threw herself into his arms"
"My Dream Princew she said de-
lightedly. II always said we should
meet some day. How glad am that
l remained true to you, although !
saw you only in my dreamsr
So the Princess married the Dream
Prince, who proved to be the King
of the island, and very wealthy one,
too. He and his companions had been
turned into bats as punishment for
teasing some fairies. and the spell
could only be removed in the way
have just described.-Cassell's Little
Folks.