Evening star., 1927-11-09
WORLD FAMOUS STORIES
TOM TIT TOT
(ENGLISH FOLKLORE)

lin what might be called the childhood Of
| a literature, great many tales are told from
nights to entertain young and old. They
come to be part of national traditi9n-
they are what hat is known nc as fokl1re' ore sI Often m
formed person because OF the very fact that
they are so intimately hound up with the
household inheritance of the race. Just such
tale is this. Perhaps you've heard or
read it IT, beforsmost probably you h hayeont yen but
be reminded of it herel
Once upon a time there was
woman. and she baked five pies. And
when they came out of the oven they
We're so overbaked that the crusts were
too hard to eat. SO she said to her
daughter:
Daughter" said she, put those
pies up on the shelf. and leave them
there for a while, until they come
again" She meant that when they
"came again the crusts would get
soft.
But the girl said to herself "Well,
| Ii they'll come again, I'll eat EN- now
And she set to work and ate them all,
first and last.
Well, it came supper time, and the
woman said: go you. girl. and get one
o. them pies. 1 dare say they've come
again by now"
The lass went and looked, but there
was nothing on the shelf but the
empty dishes. SO back she went to
her mother, and said: mo, they
haven't come again."
mot one of them?" said the mother.
Not one O. EN-" replied the daugh-
ter.
well, come again or not come
again." said the woman, IN have one
of those pies for supper"
But you can't, if they haven't
come.' protested the girl.
But I cam said the mother. Go
you and bring the best o. Them
BEST or worst" said the girl I've
eaten 'em all. and you can't have one
till it comes again.
Well, the woman was completely
beaten by this, SO she took her spin
| ming to the door to spin, and as she
spun she sang: "My daughter has
eaten five, five pies today, my daugh-
ter has eaten five, five pies today"
AS it happened the king was COM
ing down the street, and he heard her
singing, but he couldn't quite hear
what she was singing, so he stopped
| and said:
What were you singing just now,
| mother?'
| The woman was ashamed to let him
hear what her daughter had done, SO
she sang, instead of that: MY daugh-
ter has spun five, five skeins today,
my daughter has spun five, five skeins
| today"
Goodness gracious"' exclaimed the
king, II never heard tell of any one
who could do that"
Then he said to the woman: "See
here, l want wife. and I'll marry
your daughter. But consider this"
he went on. eleven months out of the
year she shall have all the good things
she likes to eat, and all the gowns she
| likes to wear, and all the company she
likes to have; but the last month of the
year she'll have to spin five skeins
| every day, and If she don't shall kill
her"
''All right" said the woman; for she
! thought what a grand marriage it
would be. And as for the five skeins,
| when it came time for that, there'd be
plenty of ways of getting out of it and
probably he'd have forgotten about it
| anyway.
So they were married. and for II
months the kings wife had everything
he had promised. But as the twelfth
month drew near she began to think
of the five skeins day she must spin.
and to wonder if her husband had for
gotten. But the last day of the last
month he took her to a room which
| contained only spinning wheel and a
stool. Here she was to be shut all the
| morrow and at night he would come
for five skeins- and if she didn't have
them, Off would go her head.
The girl was so frightened that she
sat down and cried, when left all alone