Page:Russian Fairy Book (N. H. Dole).djvu/157

 "There! there!" exclaimed the king, "this is only your fortune!"

Prince Ivan was very sad, and he shed many tears, but you see there is no resisting one's fate.

So the young princes were provided with wives. The oldest had the noble's daughter; the second had the merchant's daughter; while the youngest had to take for his wife the little Frog, and he kept her in a dish after they were married. And so they lived for some time.

But one day the king summoned his sons and give them this order: "Let your wives bake for my breakfast to-morrow some fresh white bread."

Prince Ivan went home to his palace in no happy frame of mind, and his proud head hung down below his shoulders.

"Kwa! kwa! Prince Ivan, why so troubled?" asked his Frog. "Did you hear a disagreeable word from your father?"

"How can I help being troubled? The sovereign, my father, has commanded that you furnish him with some fresh white bread for to-morrow."

"Do not be distressed, Prince Ivan; do not disturb yourself for nothing, but go to bed. Morning is cleverer than Evening."

She got the prince off to sleep, and then she laid