Tales of Giants from Brazil

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The boy gave the dog away to a neighbour and sold the land and the orange trees. Every bit of money he obtained from the sale he invested in a violin. He had longed for a violin all his life and now he wanted one mo

ght with him and hid himself in the deep forest. There he made sweet music with the violin. The shepherds who were near by guarding the king's sheep heard the sweet strains, but they could not find out w

ould find no trace of them. Sometimes it would seem that they were quite near to the place from which the music came, but when they hurried in that direction th

he sad sweet sound it had been when he was lonely. It became gayer and gayer. After a while it bec

ediately. They made such a chattering that they almost drowned the music. The boy threatened to st

feet and fourtoed front feet began to dance. He just couldn't keep them from

terribly frightened, but they kept dancing on just the same. The tiger and wild cat were so happy dancing that they never noticed them at all. The big snakes curled their huge bodies about the tree trunks and wished that they, too, had feet

ed so hard that he almost fell off the wall. He took them to the king at once. The king laughed so hard that he almost fell off his throne. His laugh shook the earth. The ea

had they brought even a tiny little smile to her lovely face. "If my daughter can keep from laughing when she sees this funny sight I'll give up in despair and eat my hat," said the king of the land of giants, as he saw the jolly little figure playing upon the violin and the assembly

The happy smile which the king of the land of giants had always wanted to see played about her beautiful lips. A gay laugh was heard for the first time in all her life. The king of the land of giants

g his authority, for the biggest giants would at once obey his slightest request if he played on his violin to them. The beasts stayed in the lan