想结婚的男人

《 想结婚的男人》

 Once upon a time, in a very far-off country, there lived a mer-chant who had been so fortunate in all his undertakings that hewas enormously rich. As he had, however, six sons and sixdaughters, he found that his money was not too much to let themall have everything they fancied, as they were accustomed to do.

So the merchant set out and reached the town as quickly aspossible, but only to find that his former companions, believinghim to be dead, had divided between them the goods which theship had brought; and after six months of trouble and expensehe found himself as poor as when he started, having been ableto recover only just enough to pay the cost of his journey. Tomake matters worse, he was obliged to leave the town in themost terrible weather, so that by the time he was within a fewleagues of his home he was almost exhausted with cold andfatigue. Though he knew it would take some hours to get throughthe forest, he was so anxious to be at his journey's end that heresolved to go on; but night overtook him, and the deep snowand bitter frost made it impossible for his horse to carry him anyfurther. Not a house was to be seen; the only shelter he could getwas the hollow trunk of a great tree, and there he crouched all thenight, which seemed to him the longest he had ever known. Insp

"You are very ready with excuses and flattery," he cried; "butthat will not save you from the death you deserve."