LESSON XLII.
THE STOLEN WIFE.
(New Zealand.)
Rua was a chief who had occasion to leave his home for a few days, and make a short journey. He left his wife behind to take care of their home, and as his tribe was at peace with all its neighbours Rua took little thought of troubles which might arise in his absence; not a foreboding of any kind crossed his mind. Soon after Rua had left his village a Fairy from the hills came down to the village, and seeing Rua’s wife busily engaged at her domestic avocations, he was first attracted by her graceful movements, and on closer view by her pretty face. Calling his fellows about him, they all made a rush together, seized the startled woman, and carried her off to their fortress in the hills.
When Rua returned he could find no sign of his wife save the track of her foosteps moving away up to the forest-clad ridge above the settlement, and the tracks, from the way they seemed to be trampled deep in some places and with marks of dragging along at others, were evidently those of one reluctant to proceed. As there were no marks of any human footsteps except those of the woman, Rua felt convinced
