Text Appearing Before Image: ter cried: Oh, there aresuch delicious lemons a little farther on. You mightbring me one or two. Maria turned round to pluckthem, and found herself face to face with the gardener,who caught hold of her, exclaiming, What are you doinghere, you little thief ? Dont call me names, she said, or you will get the worst of it, giving him as she spokesuch a violent push that he fell panting into the lemonbushes. Then she seized the cord and clambered upto the window. The next day the second sister had a fancy forbananas and begged so hard, that, though Maria haddeclared she would never do such a thing again, at lastshe consented, and went down the rope into the kingsgarden. This time she met the king, who said to her,* Ah, here you are again, cunning one ! Now you shallpay for your misdeeds. And he began to cross-question her about what shehad done. Maria denied nothing, and when she hadfinished, the king said again, * Follow me to the house,and there you shall pay the penalty. As he spoke, he Text Appearing After Image: CLEVER MARIA 363 started for the house, looking back from time to time tomake sure that Maria had not run away. All of a sudden,when he glanced round, he found she had vanished com-pletely, without leaving a trace of where she had gone.Search was made all through the town, and there was nota hole or corner which was not ransacked, but there w^asno sign of her anywhere. This so enraged the king thathe became quite ill, and for many months his life wasdespaired of. Meanwhile the two elder sisters had married the twofriends of the king, and were the mothers of littledaughters. Now one day Maria stole secretly to thehouse w^here her elder sister lived, and snatching up thechildren put them into a beautiful basket she had withher, covered with flowers inside and out, so that no onewould ever guess it held two babies. Then she dressedherself as a boy, and placing the basket on her head, shewalked slowly past the palace, crying as she went : Who will carry these flowers to the king, w^ho lie
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