THE NINE PEA-HENS
THE NINE PEA-HENS AND THE GOLDEN APPLES
Once upon a time there stood before the palace of an emperor a golden apple tree, which blossomed and bore fruit each night. But every morning the fruit was gone, and the boughs were bare of blossom, without anyone being able to discover who was the thief.
At last the emperor said to his eldest son, 'If only I could prevent those robbers from stealing my fruit, how happy I should be!'
And his son replied, 'I will sit up to-night and wat ...