The marriage took place the following day , and Muffette and her husband lived happy for ever after . The Adventures of Covan the Brown-Haired -LSB- From Les Contes des Fees , par Madame d'Aulnoy . -RSB- On the shores of the west , where the great hills stand with their feet in the sea , dwelt a goatherd and his wife , together with their three sons and one daughter . All day long the young men fished and hunted , while their sister took out the kids to pasture on the mountain , or stayed at home helping her mother and mending the nets . For several years they all lived happily together , when one day , as the girl was out on the hill with the kids , the sun grew dark and an air cold as a thick white mist came creeping , creeping up from the sea . She rose with a shiver , and tried to call to her kids , but the voice died away in her throat , and strong arms seemed to hold her . Loud were the wails in the hut by the sea when the hours passed on and the maiden came not . Many times the father and brothers jumped up , thinking they heard her steps , but in the thick darkness they could scarcely see their own hands , nor could they tell where the river lay , nor where the mountain . One by one the kids came home , and at every bleat someone hurried to open the door , but no sound broke the stillness . Through the night no one slept , and when morning broke and the mist rolled back , they sought the maiden by sea and by land , but never a trace of her could be found anywhere . Thus a year and a day slipped by , and at the end of it Gorla of the Flocks and his wife seemed suddenly to have grown old . Their sons too were sadder than before , for they loved their sister well , and had never ceased to mourn for her . At length Ardan the eldest spoke and said : ` It is now a year and a day since our sister was taken from us , and we have waited in grief and patience for her to return . Surely some evil has befallen her , or she would have sent us a token to put our hearts at rest ; and I have vowed to myself that my eyes shall not know sleep till , living or dead , I have found her . ' ` If you have vowed , then must you keep your vow , ' answered Gorla . ` But better had it been if you had first asked your father 's leave before you made it . Yet , since it is so , your mother will bake you a cake for you to carry with you on your journey . Who can tell how long it may be ? ' So the mother arose and baked not one cake but two , a big one and a little one . ` Choose , my son , ' said she .
` Will you have the little cake with your mother 's blessing , or the big one without it , XXXXX that you have set aside your father and taken on yourself to make a vow ? ' '
On So Through after by from in than to with