Page:The Pentamerone, or The Story of Stories.djvu/395

Rh steeds from their watery stable, and drove them to pasture on the fields sown by the Dawn, the ogress came with fresh eggs for the newly-married couple, that the young wife might be able to say, "Happy is she who marries and gets a mother-in-law!" But finding Parmetella in the arms of her son, and hearing what had passed, she ran to her sister, to concert some means of removing this thorn from her eyes without her son's being able to prevent it. But when she found that her sister, out of grief at the loss of her daughter, had crept into the oven herself and was burnt, her despair was so great, that from an ogress she became a ram, and butted her head against the wall until she broke her pate. Then Thunder-and-Lightning made peace between Parmetella and her sisters-in-law, and they all lived happy and content, finding the saying come true, that

"Patience conquers all."

The fate of the ogress, instead of exciting any compassion, was only the cause of pleasure, every one rejoicing that matters turned out with Parmetella much better than was expected. This story being ended, Popa, whose turn it now was to speak, and who had her foot already in the stirrup, began as follows.