Once upon a time there lived a king who was deeply in love with a princess , but she could not marry anyone , because she was under an enchantment . So the King set out to seek a fairy , and asked what he could do to win the Princess 's love . The Fairy said to him : You may imagine that it was not long before he went to see the Princess , and puss , as usual , marched in before him , arching his back . The King took a long step , and quite thought he had the tail under his foot , but the cat turned round so sharply that he only trod on air . And so it went on for eight days , till the King began to think that this fatal tail must be full of quicksilver - it was never still for a moment . But , as the enchanter had vanished , he did not waste any more time in thinking , but went to seek the Princess , who very soon consented to marry him . But after all , they had not been married very long when the King died , and the Queen had nothing left to care for but her little son , who was called Hyacinth . The little Prince had large blue eyes , the prettiest eyes in the world , and a sweet little mouth , but , alas ! his nose was so enormous that it covered half his face . The Queen was inconsolable when she saw this great nose , but her ladies assured her that it was not really as large as it looked ; that it was a Roman nose , and you had only to open any history to see that every hero has a large nose . The Queen , who was devoted to her baby , was pleased with what they told her , and when she looked at Hyacinth again , his nose certainly did not seem to her _ quite _ so large . The Prince was brought up with great care ; and , as soon as he could speak , they told him all sorts of dreadful stories about people who had short noses . No one was allowed to come near him whose nose did not more or less resemble his own , and the courtiers , to get into favor with the Queen , took to pulling their babies ' noses several times every day to make them grow long . But , do what they would , they were nothing by comparison with the Prince 's . " With all my heart , " said the Fairy . " Though your nose is so ridiculous you are , nevertheless , the son of my best friend . I loved your father as if he had been my brother . Now _ he _ had a very handsome nose ! " " Oh ! it doesn 't _ lack _ anything , " replied the Fairy . " On the contrary quite , there is only too much of it . But never mind , one may be a very worthy man though his nose is too long . I was telling you that I was your father 's friend ; he often came to see me in the old times , and you must know that I was very pretty in those days ; at least , he used to say so . I should like to tell you of a conversation we had the last time I ever saw him . " " The poor boy is right , " said the Fairy ; " I was forgetting . Come in , then , and I will give you some supper , and while you are eating I can tell you my story in a very few words - for I don 't like endless tales myself . Too long a tongue is worse than too long a nose , and I remember when I was young that I was so much admired for not being a great chatterer . They used to tell the Queen , my mother , that it was so . For though you see what I am now , I was the daughter of a great king . My father - - " " Plague take the old lady ! How she does go on about my nose ! " said the Prince to himself . " One would almost think that mine had taken all the extra length that hers lacks ! If I were not so hungry I would soon have done with this chatterpie who thinks she talks very little ! How stupid people are not to see their own faults ! That comes of being a princess : she has been spoiled by flatterers , who have made her believe that she is quite a moderate talker ! " " Well ! " he thought , as he ate his supper , " I 'm very glad I came here . This just shows me how sensible I have been in never listening to flatterers . People of that sort praise us to our faces without shame , and hide our faults or change them into virtues . For my part I never will be taken in by them . I know my own defects , I hope . " " My dear Prince , might I beg you to move a little more that way , for your nose casts such a shadow that I really cannot see what I have on my plate . Ah ! thanks . Now let us speak of your father . When I went to his Court he was only a little boy , but that is forty years ago , and I have been in this desolate place ever since . Tell me what goes on nowadays ; are the ladies as fond of amusement as ever ? In my time one saw them at parties , theatres , balls , and promenades every day . Dear me ! _ what _ a long nose you have ! I cannot get used to it ! " " Really , madam , " said the Prince , " I wish you would leave off mentioning my nose . It cannot matter to you what it is like . I am quite satisfied with it , and have no wish to have it shorter . One must take what is given one . " " Now you are angry with me , my poor Hyacinth , " said the Fairy , " and I assure you that I didn 't mean to vex you ; on the contrary , I wished to do you a service . However , though I really cannot help your nose being a shock to me , I will try not to say anything about it . I will even try to think that you have an ordinary nose . To tell the truth , it would make three reasonable ones . " The old Fairy , who wished to make him happy , at last hit upon a plan . She shut the Dear Little Princess up in a palace of crystal , and put this palace down where the Prince would not fail to find it . His joy at seeing the Princess again was extreme , and he set to work with all his might to try to break her prison ; but in spite of all his efforts he failed utterly . In despair he thought at least that he would try to get near enough to speak to the Dear Little Princess , who , on her part , stretched out her hand that he might kiss it ; but turn which way he might , he never could raise it to his lips , for his long nose always prevented it . For the first time he realized how long it really was , and exclaimed : " Now , say if you are not very much obliged to me . Much good it was for me to talk to you about your nose ! You would never have found out how extraordinary it was if it hadn 't hindered you from doing what you wanted to . You see how self - love keeps us from knowing our own defects of mind and body . Our reason tries in vain to show them to us ; we refuse to see them till we find them in the way of our interests . " Now one day a thief broke into the house of a merchant to steal as many goods as he could find inside . He climbed over the wall and was prying open a window , when the window broke loose . Before he could steady himself , the thief tumbled right through that window and fell , head over heels , onto the hard floor below . Then the thief painfully hobbled before the judge . " I believe it is I who have a case , your honor , " he said . " I was only trying to climb into his house , but the merchant 's window broke , and so I fell inside . I am the injured one ! " The merchant was aghast , but he was also afraid , for Karakoush was known to make peculiar judgments . " He is the thief , " the merchant argued . " If he hadn 't tried to break into my house , he wouldn 't have broken his leg . " The merchant trembled with indignation , but he knew - just as everyone knew - that there was no use arguing with Karakoush . The man had his own brand of logic . The merchant was quiet a moment , but then he had an idea . " Sir , " he said , " that broken window is not my fault . I paid a great deal of money to the carpenter who built my house . He should have made a window that would not break . He is obviously the criminal . " The carpenter also feared the judgment of Karakoush , and so he too began to tremble , but then he had an idea . " I cannot be responsible , " he said , " for as I was hammering the frame into that window , a woman in an exquisite dress walked past . She looked so beautiful I couldn 't help but be distracted by her . Surely she is to blame . " This gave the woman an idea . " Ah , that dress , yes it is indeed a marvel . The tailor made that dress . He must be to blame . " The guards hastily led the tailor to the prison door , but the door to the cell was too low , the tailor too tall . Even when he bent his knees , he could not fit inside the prison cell . So the guards rushed back to Karakoush . " Your honor , " they said , " we apologize , but the tailor doesn 't fit inside our prison . " " Then find a tailor who does ! " Karakoush bellowed , and the guards rushed to the village . Just as the judge had demanded , they found a small tailor , and though he protested , and was of course innocent , they locked him inside the prison . There was once a poor Widow who lived alone in her hut with her two children , who were called Snow - White and Rose - Red , because they were like the flowers which bloomed on two rosebushes which grew before the cottage . But they were two as pious , good , industrious , and amiable children as any that were in the world , only Snow - White was more quiet and gentle than Rose - Red . For Rose - Red would run and jump about the meadows , seeking flowers and catching butterflies , while Snow - White sat at home helping her Mother to The two children loved one another dearly , and always walked hand in hand when they went out together ; and ever when they talked of it they agreed that they would never separate from each other , and that whatever one had the other should share . Often they ran deep into the forest and gathered wild berries ; but no beast ever harmed them . For the hare would eat cauliflowers out of their hands , the fawn would graze at their side , the goats would frisk about them in play , and the birds remained perched on the boughs singing as if nobody were near . No accident ever befell them ; and if they stayed late in the forest , and night came upon them , they used to lie down on the moss and sleep till morning ; and because their Mother knew they would do so , she felt no concern about them . One time when they had thus passed the night in the forest , and the dawn of morning awoke them , they saw a beautiful Child dressed in shining white sitting near their couch . She got up and looked at them kindly , but without saying anything went into the forest ; and when the children looked round they saw that where they had slept was close to the edge of a pit , into which they would have certainly fallen had they walked a couple of steps further in the dark . Their Mother told them the figure they had seen was doubtless the good angel who watches over children . Snow - White and Rose - Red kept their Mother 's cottage so clean that it was a pleasure to enter it . Every morning in the summer time Rose - Red would first put the house in order , and then gather a nosegay for her Mother , in which she always placed a bud from each rose tree . Every winter 's morning Snow - White would light the fire and put the kettle on to boil , and although the kettle was made of copper it yet shone like gold , because it was scoured so well . In the evenings , when the flakes of snow were falling , the Mother would say : " Go , Snow - White , and bolt the door ; " and then they used to sit down on the hearth , and the Mother would put on her spectacles and read out of a great book while her children sat spinning . By their side , too , laid a little lamb , and on a perch behind them a little white dove reposed with her head under her wing . One evening , when they were thus sitting comfortably together , there came a knock at the door as if somebody wished to come in . " Make haste , Rose - Red , " cried her Mother ; " make haste and open the door ; perhaps there is some traveler outside who needs shelter . " So Rose - Red went and drew the bolt and opened the door , expecting to see some poor man outside , but instead , a great fat Bear poked his black head in . Rose - Red shrieked out and ran back , the little lamb bleated , the dove fluttered on her perch , and Snow - White hid herself behind her Mother 's bed . The Bear , however , began to speak , and said : " Be not afraid , I will do you no harm ; but I am half frozen , and wish to come in and warm myself . " " You children ! " said the Bear , before he entered , " come and knock the snow off my coat . " And they fetched their brooms and swept him clean . Then he stretched himself before the fire and grumbled out his satisfaction ; and in a little while the children became familiar enough to play tricks with the unwieldy animal . They pulled his long , shaggy skin , set their feet upon his back and rolled him to and fro , and even ventured to beat him with a hazel stick , laughing when he grumbled . The Bear bore all their tricks good temperedly , and if they hit him too hard he cried out : But as soon as spring returned , and everything out of doors was green again , the Bear one morning told Snow - White that he must leave her , and could not return during the whole summer . " Where are you going , then , dear Bear ? " asked Snow - White , " I am obliged to go into the forest and guard my treasures from the evil Dwarfs ; for in winter , when the ground is hard , they are obliged to keep in their holes , and cannot work through ; but now , since the sun has thawed the earth and warmed it , the Dwarf 's pierce through , and steal all they can find ; and what has once passed into their hands , and gets concealed by them in their caves , is not easily brought to light . " Snow - White , however , was very sad at the departure of the Bear , and opened the door so hesitatingly that when he pressed through it he left behind on the sneck a piece of his hairy coat ; and through the hole which was made in his coat Snow - White fancied she saw the glittering of gold ; but she was not quite certain of it . The Bear , however , ran hastily away , and was soon hidden behind the trees . Some time afterward the Mother sent the children into the wood to gather sticks ; and while doing so , they came to a tree which was lying across the path , on the trunk of which something kept bobbing up and down from the grass , and they could not imagine what it was . When they came nearer they saw a Dwarf , with an old wrinkled face and a snow - white beard a yard long . The end of this beard was fixed in a split of the tree , and the little man kept jumping about like a dog tied by a chain , for he did not know how to free himself . He glared at the Maidens with his red fiery eyes , and exclaimed , " Why do you stand there ? are you going to pass without offering me any assistance ? " " What have you done , little man ? " asked Rose - Red . " You stupid , gaping goose ! " exclaimed he . " I wanted to have split the tree , in order to get a little wood for my kitchen , for the little wood which we use is soon burned up with great fagots , not like what you rough , greedy people devour ! I had driven the wedge in properly , and everything was going on well , when the smooth wood flew upward , and the tree closed so suddenly together that I could not draw my beautiful beard out , and here it sticks and I cannot get away . There , don 't laugh , you milk - faced things ! are you dumfounded ? " " Don 't be impatient , " replied Snow - White ; " I have thought of something ; " and pulling her scissors out of her pocket she cut off the end of the beard . As soon as the Dwarf found himself at liberty , he snatched up his sack , which lay between the roots of the tree , filled with gold , and throwing it over his shoulder marched off , grumbling and groaning and crying : " Stupid people ! to cut off a piece of my beautiful beard . Plague take you ! " and away he went without once looking at the children . Some time afterward Snow - White and Rose - Red went a - fishing , and as they neared the pond they saw something like a great locust hopping about on the bank , as if going to jump into the water . They ran up and recognized the Dwarf . " What are you after ? " asked Rose - Red ; " you will fall into the water . " " I am not quite such a simpleton as that , " replied the Dwarf : " but do you not see this fish will pull me in ? " The little man had been sitting there angling , and unfortunately the wind had entangled his beard with the fishing line ; and so , when a great fish bit at the bait , the strength of the weak little fellow was not able to draw it out , and the fish had the best of the struggle . The Dwarf held on by the reeds and rushes which grew near ; but to no purpose , for the fish pulled him where it liked , and he must soon have been drawn into the pond . Luckily just then the two Maidens arrived , and tried to release the beard of the Dwarf from the fishing line ; but both were too closely entangled for it to be done . So the Maiden pulled out her scissors again and cut off another piece of the beard . When the Dwarf saw this done he was in a great rage , and exclaimed : " You donkey ! that is the way to disfigure my face . Was it not enough to cut it once , but you must now take away the best part of my fine beard ? I dare not show myself again now to my own people . I wish you had run the soles off your boots before you had come here ! " So saying , he took up a bag of pearls which lay among the rushes , and without speaking another word , slipped off and disappeared behind a stone . Not many days after this adventure , it chanced that the Mother sent the two Maidens to the next town to buy thread , needles and pins , laces and ribbons . Their road passed over a common , on which here and there great pieces of rock were lying about . Just over their heads they saw a great bird flying round and round , and every now and then , dropping lower and lower , till at last it flew down behind a rock . Immediately afterward they heard a piercing shriek , and running up they saw with affright that the eagle had caught their old acquaintance . the Dwarf , and was trying to carry him off . The compassionate children thereupon laid hold of the little man , and held him fast till the bird gave up the struggle and flew off . As soon then as the Dwarf had recovered from his fright , he exclaimed in his squeaking voice : " Could you not hold me more gently ? You have seized my fine brown coat in such a manner that it is all torn and full of holes , meddling and interfering rubbish that you are ! " With these words he shouldered a bag filled with precious stones , and slipped away to his cave among the rocks . The maidens were now accustomed to his ingratitude , and so they walked on to the town and transacted their business there . Coming home , they returned over the same common , and unawares walked up to a certain clean spot on which the Dwarf had shaken out his bag of precious stones , thinking nobody was near . The sun was shining , and the bright stones glittered in its beams and displayed such a variety of colors that the two Maidens stopped to admire them . " What are you standing there gaping for ? " asked the Dwarf , while his face grew as red as copper with rage ; he was continuing to abuse the poor Maidens , when a loud roaring noise was heard , and presently a great black Bear came rolling out of the forest . The Dwarf jumped up terrified , but he could not gain his retreat before the Bear overtook him . Thereupon , he cried out : " Spare me , my dear Lord Bear ! I will give you all my treasures . See these beautiful precious stones which lie here ; only give me my life ; for what have you to fear from a little weak fellow like me ? you could not touch me with your big teeth . There are two wicked girls , take them ; they would make nice morsels , as fat as young quails ; eat them for heaven 's sake . " The Maidens were then going to run away , but the Bear called after them : " Snow - White and Rose - Red , fear not ! wait a bit and I will accompany you . " They recognized his voice and stopped ; and when the Bear came , his rough coat suddenly fell off , and he stood up a tall man , dressed entirely in gold . " I am a king 's son , " he said , " and was condemned by the wicked Dwarf , who stole all my treasures , to wander about in this forest , in the form of a bear , till his death released me . Now he has received his well - deserved punishment . " ONCE upon a time , in a large Indian village on the border of a lake , there lived an old man who was a widower . He had three daughters . The eldest was jealous , cruel , and ugly ; the second was vain ; but the youngest of all was very gentle and lovely . When the father came home from hunting he would ask why she was so scarred , and the eldest would answer quickly : " She is a good - for - nothing ! She was forbidden to go near the fire , and she disobeyedand fell in . " Then the father would scold Little Burnt - Face and she would creep away crying to bed . By the lake , at the end of the village , there was a beautiful wigwam . And in that wigwam lived a Great Chief and his sister . The Great Chief was invisible ; no one had ever seen him but his sister . He brought her many deer and supplied her with good things to eat from the forest and lake , and with the finest blankets and garments . And when visitors came all they ever saw of the Chief were his moccasins ; for when he took them off they became visible , and his sister hung them up . Then they helped his sister to cook the supper , for they were very curious to see the Great Chief eat . When all was ready , the food disappeared , and the brother took off his moccasins , and his sister hung them up . But they never saw the Chief , though many of them stayed all night . As soon as they were gone , Little Burnt - Face made herself a dress of white birch - bark , and a cap and leggings of the same . She threw off her ragged garments , and dressed herself in her birch - bark clothes . She put her father 's moccasins on her bare feet ; and the moccasins were so big that they came up to her knees . Then she , too , started out to visit the beautiful wigwam at the end of the village . Poor Little Burnt - Face ! She was a sorry sight ! For her hair was singed off , and her little face was as full of burns and scars as a sieve is full of holes ; and she shuffled along in her birch - bark clothes and big moccasins . And as she passed through the village the boys and girls hissed , yelled , and hooted . She led the little girl to the wigwam , and bathed her with dew until the burns and scars all disappeared from her body and face . Her skin became soft and lovely again . Her hair grew long and dark like the Blackbird 's wing . Her eyes were like stars . Then his sister brought from her treasures a wedding - garment , and she dressed Little Burnt - Face in it . And she was most beautiful to behold . Narrator / Bee : There was a time when flowers and crops grew all year round . The Goddess Demeter looked after them from her temple on Mount Olympus , home of the Gods , from there she would fly out from over the land and visit her daughter Persephone . The flowers around Persephone were always the sweetest . ( light whisper ) Your mother 's coming , Persephone . Persephone : Everything 's so beautiful … so why am I unhappy ? What 's missing ? Where are you little God of love ? Why havn 't you ever aimed at me with your arrow ? Demeter : You don 't want that God of love to ain his arrows at you . You 're far too young and those arrows will fade . I love you that 's all you need . Narrator / Bee : Hades , the God of the Underworld , had taken Persephone . She didn 't know what to think everything was so different . He looked after her though … which was more than his little assistant did with me ! Persephone : Hades ! How dare you talk to me about my beauty and your love ! You live under the ground ! How can you be in love with me ? You never seen me until today ! Helios : Demeter , Demeter , Hades will make a good husband . He is a king . Persephone will be a queen . The dead are more than the living so his kingdom is greater than all other kingdoms . She will reign forever Zeus : You are acting as if I sent our daughter to a common mortal … I gave her a king . She is old enough , it was time to leave . She needs over arms to hold her and from what I hear she seems to quite like it ! Zeus : Mortals don 't know how lucky they are . When one of there wives get angry they break a plate or two ! But this crazy woman is destroying the earth ! Zeus : Roses ? Where would I find roses ? She has withered all the flowers , and the crops , and the trees ! There is nothing growing on earth , anymore ! Zeus : Nothing ! Soon they will die and we 'll be out of a job . Go to hades ! Tell him that I am ordering him to send Persephone back to her mother , and quickly ! Demeter : Persephone , I look at the face I love the most and can 't get enough of it . Why are your lips so red ? Did Hades give you anything to eat before you left ? They were sitting together on a winter 's evening , when a storm suddenly sprang up , and the wind blew the door open . The woman started and shivered , and glanced over her shoulder as if she half expected to see some horrible thing behind her . ' Go and shut the door , ' she said hastily to her son , ' I feel frightened . ' ' It must be very odd to feel like that , ' replied the boy . ' I will go through the world and seek fear till I find it . ' And the next morning , before his mother was out of bed , he had left the forest behind him . After walking for some hours he reached a mountain , which he began to climb . Near the top , in a wild and rocky spot , he came upon a band of fierce robbers , sitting round a fire . The boy , who was cold and tired , was delighted to see the bright flames , so he went up to them and said , ' Good greeting to you , sirs , ' and wriggled himself in between the men , till his feet almost touched the burning logs . ' But where ? ' asked the boy , looking round . ' I see nothing . ' ' Take this pot and some flour and butter and sugar over to the churchyard which lies down there , and bake us a cake for supper , ' replied the robber . And the boy , who was by this time quite warm , jumped up cheerfully , and slinging the pot over his arm , ran down the hill . When he got to the churchyard he collected some sticks and made a fire ; then he filled the pot with water from a little stream close by , and mixing the flour and butter and sugar together , he set the cake on to cook . It was not long before it grew crisp and brown , and then the boy lifted it from the pot and placed it on a stone , while he put out the fire . At that moment a hand was stretched from a grave , and a voice said : ' Do you think I am going to give to the dead the food of the living ? ' replied the boy , with a laugh . And giving the hand a tap with his spoon , and picking up the cake , he went up the mountain side , whistling merrily . ' No ; was it there ? ' answered the boy . ' I saw nothing but a hand which came from a grave , and belonged to someone who wanted my cake , but I just rapped the fingers with my spoon , and said it was not for him , and then the hand vanished . Oh , how nice the fire is ! ' And he flung himself on his knees before it , and so did not notice the glances of surprise cast by the robbers at each other . ' Willingly , ' replied the boy , and in an instant the girl had climbed to his shoulders . But instead of lifting the child from the swing , as she could easily have done , she pressed her feet so firmly on either side of the youth 's neck , that he felt that in another minute he would be choked , or else fall into the water beneath him . So gathering up all his strength , he gave a mighty heave , and threw the girl backwards . As she touched the ground a bracelet fell from her arm , and this the youth picked up . With the bracelet on his arm , the youth started for a little town which was situated in the plain on the further side of the mountain , and as , hungry and thirsty , he entered its principal street , a Jew stopped him . ' Where did you get that bracelet ? ' asked the Jew . ' It belongs to me . ' To this the Jew agreed , and the two went together to the great hall , in which the kadi was administering justice . He listened very carefully to what each had to say , and then pronounced his verdict . Neither of the two claimants had proved his right to the bracelet , therefore it must remain in the possession of the judge till its fellow was brought before him . ' Give me a rope , ' said the boy in reply , and he took it , and made it safe round his body at one end , and to the mast at the other , and sprang into the sea . Down he went , down , down , down , till at last his feet touched the bottom , and he stood up and looked about him . There , sure enough , a sea - maiden with a wicked face was tugging hard at a chain which she had fastened to the ship with a grappling iron , and was dragging it bit by bit beneath the waves . Seizing her arms in both his hands , he forced her to drop the chain , and the ship above remaining steady , the sailors were able gently to float her off the rock . Then taking a rusty knife from a heap of seaweed at his feet , he cut the rope round his waist and fastened the sea - maiden firmly to a stone , so that she could do no more mischief , and bidding her farewell , he swam back to the beach , where his clothes were still lying . The youth dressed himself quickly and walked on till he came to a beautiful shady garden filled with flowers , and with a clear little stream running through . The day was hot , and he was tired , so he entered the gate , and seated himself under a clump of bushes covered with sweet - smelling red blossoms , and it was not long before he fell asleep . Suddenly a rush of wings and a cool breeze awakened him , and raising his head cautiously , he saw three doves plunging into the stream . They splashed joyfully about , and shook themselves , and then dived to the bottom of a deep pool . When they appeared again they were no longer three doves , but three beautiful damsels , bearing between them a table made of mother of pearl . On this they placed drinking cups fashioned from pink and green shells , and one of the maidens filled a cup from a crystal goblet , and was raising it to her mouth , when her sister stopped her . ' Down in the sea I took hold of a ship and shook it and pulled it till it would soon have been lost , ' said she . And as she spoke she looked quite different from what she had done with the chain in her hands , seeking to work mischief . ' But a youth came , and freed the ship and bound me to a rock . To his health I drink , ' and they all three lifted their cups and drank silently . ' Here am I , the youth whose health you have drunk ; and now give me the bracelet that matches a jewelled band which of a surety fell from the arm of one of you . A Jew tried to take it from me , but I would not let him have it , and he dragged me before the kadi , who kept my bracelet till I could show him its fellow . And I have been wandering hither and thither in search of it , and that is how I have found myself in such strange places . ' ' I shall never forget you , ' answered the youth , ' but it may be long before we meet again , for I shall never rest till I have found fear . ' Then he went his way , and won the bracelet from the kadi . After this , he again set forth in his quest of fear . ' The ruler of this country is dead , ' was the reply , ' and as he had no children , it is needful to choose a successor . Therefore each morning one of the sacred pigeons is let loose from the tower yonder , and on whomsoever the bird shall perch , that man is our king . In a few minutes the pigeon will fly . Wait and see what happens . ' Every eye was fixed on the tall tower which stood in the centre of the chief square , and the moment that the sun was seen to stand straight over it , a door was opened and a beautiful pigeon , gleaming with pink and grey , blue and green , came rushing through the air . Onward it flew , onward , onward , till at length it rested on the head of the boy . Then a great shout arose : Long ago , there was a very poor but clever , diligent and honest boy who was orphaned at an early age . One day , he adopted an abandoned , old buffalo that proved to be very loyal to him and relieved the boy of hard labor in the fields . The two were inseparable and had a very good relationship . Villagers from near and far came to know the boy as the Cowherd . Meanwhile , the youngest of the seven celestial princesses , who had grown tired of the privileged and secluded life at the heavenly palace , longed for a life among the common people . Although her feelings were considered controversial , the girl was determined to pursue what she deemed was her own happiness . She sneaked out of the heaven and descended onto the earth to meet the Cowherd , with whom she had secretly fallen in love with in the heaven . The two were married and had a lovely boy and a girl . While the Cowherd worked in the fields with his farm cattle , the princess weaved at home to help support the family . The villagers all admired her excellent weaving skills and even learned from her . The girl was known as the Weaving Girl . But the buffalo , who was very old and near death , suddenly started to speak , much to the astonishment of his bereaved owner . He told the Cowherd to use his hide as a vehicle to catch up with his wife . Reluctantly , the Cowherd placed his young son and daughter in two baskets carried by a yolk and sailed off to heaven . The Chinese Qiwi Festival , that will be held on August 16 of this year . It is a day when Chinese girls traditionally show off their domestic arts and pray for a husband and married couples pray for a good life . One tradition is for single or newly married women to make an offering to the lovers of flowers , tea , fruit , and face powder , then the woman throws half the powder out of the window and divides the rest of the powder among the women of the household , in order to chare beauty with the weaving girl . In modern China the youth have started to prefer the Western imported Valentine 's day as a romantic holiday to this traditional festival . The Japanese Tanabata Festival was imported to Japan in 755 . The first festivities began on July 7th , but the dates vary throughout the Island nation . One populat tradition is tanzaku . Where wishes are written on a piece of paper and hanged from a bamboo , some regions place them on small bamboo pieaces of bamboo to float down the river . In 2008 , the G8 Summit was held in Tokyo and it fell on Tanabata and the Japanese Prime Minister asked the G8 members to write a wish on a tanazuk and then take necessary actions to change the world for better . The Korean Chilseok Festival is when the heat starts to fade and the monsson begans . It is tradational to eat wheat based dishes like because the cold winds after Chilseok ruin the smell of wheat . During the period around Chilseok foods like ; pumpkins , cucumbers , and melons start to flourish because of the rain . It was once traditional to offer pumpkin fry to the big dipper , but it is not practiced in modern times .