would be scarcely possible to imagine a more complete vengeance." "Oh, my lord!" exclaimed Brilliante, "change me into a mouse; I deserve it no less than these poor princesses." "How! my little shepherdess," said the Magician, "wilt thou not then love me?" "I have resolved never to love," said she. "Oh, how silly thou art!" continued the Magician. "I will cherish thee marvellously; I will tell thee stories; I will give thee the most beautiful dresses in the world. Thou shalt never move but in a coach or a litter; thou wilt be called 'Madam!'" "I have resolved never to love," repeated the Princess." "Take care what thou sayest!" cried the Enchanter, angrily; "thou wilt repent it for many a long day!" "No matter," replied Brilliante; "I have resolved never to love." "Aha, thou too indifferent creature!" said he, touching her; "since thou wouldst be of a particular species, thou shalt for the future be neither flesh nor fish; thou shalt have neither blood nor bones. Thou shalt be green, because thou art still in thy greenest youth; thou shalt be agile and sprightly; thou shalt live in the fields, as thou hast done; and they shall call thee Grasshopper." At the same moment Princess Brilliante became the most beautiful grasshopper in the world, and availing herself of her liberty, skipped quickly into the garden. As soon as she was able to reflect on her situation, she exclaimed mournfully, "Oh, my bowl! my dear bowl! what has become of you?—Behold the result of your promises, Trasimene! This, then, is the fate which has been reserved for me so carefully these two hundred years!—a beauty as fleeting as that of the flowers of spring; and as a conclusion, a dress of green crape, a singular little form, which is neither flesh nor fish, and without blood or bones. I am very unfortunate!—Alas! a crown would have covered all my defects; I should have found a husband worthy of me; and if I had remained a shepherdess, the charming Sans-pair wished but for the possession of my heart! He is but too amply revenged for my unjust disdain. Here am I, a grasshopper! doomed to chirrup day and night, whilst my heart, full of bitterness, invites me to weep!" Thus soliloquized the grasshopper, hidden amongst the tender grass that fringed the borders of a rivulet.
But what was Prince Sans-pair doing, bereft of his adorable
