Page:Tales of old Lusitania.djvu/19

Rh felt very unhappy, was continually shedding tears for her son, and sought him everywhere with loud cries.

When the king cast the chest which contained his son into the running waters of the great river, it was carried down by the current till it touched the wheel of a mill and there it stopped. The miller and his wife, who lived in a cottage close to the mill, heard the crying of a child, and as they searched about to ascertain where the cries came from to their great surprise they discovered the chest in the stream. They drew it out, and on opening it they were delighted to find in it the loveliest little boy they had ever seen. The worthy couple had been married many years, but had never had any children, which was a subject of great sorrow to them; and they said one to another: "Since God has not favoured us with a son, let us adopt this little foundling and bring him up the best we can as our own."

The miller's wife nursed him with the greatest care and kindness, and when he was old enough to learn a trade, they asked him what he would like to be, and on his replying that he would like to be a tailor, they put him to learn the business. Before long he became the best master tailor in the neighbourhood, and his reputation for good and clever work even reached the palace. The queen, unknown