Page:Grimm's Fairy Tales.djvu/403

Rh "Yes," she answered, "it must I suppose be true; but I will not consent to the marriage taking place until a year and a day have passed," for, she thought to herself, during that time I may hear something from my dear huntsman.

All this while the animals continued sleeping beside their dead master. A large humble-bee now came and settled on the nose of the hare, but she brushed it off with her paw and went to sleep again. The bee came a second time, but the hare again brushed it off and continued to sleep. Then the bee came a third time and stung her on the nose, and this awoke her. As soon as she was awake, she woke the fox, and he woke the wolf, and the wolf the bear, and the bear the lion. And when the lion awoke, and saw that the maiden was no longer there and that his master was dead, he gave a terrible roar, and cried, "Who has done this? Bear, why did you not wake me?" And the bear asked the wolf, "Why did you not wake me?" and the wolf the fox, "Why did you not wake me?" and the fox the hare, "Why did you not wake me?" The poor hare was the only one who could not give an answer, and so the blame rested with her, and the other animals were ready to fall upon her and kill her, but she begged and prayed, and said, "Do not kill me, I will bring our master to life again. I know of a mountain where grows a root, which cures every disease and heals every kind of wound if placed in the person's mouth; the mountain, however, is two hundred leagues from here."

"You must be there and back in four and twenty hours," said the lion, "and must bring the root with you." The hare set off racing, and in four and twenty hours she was back, bringing the root with her. The lion then fixed on his master's head again, and the hare put the root