Then the old woman went to a barber , and spoke to him , saying , ' I will give you all you ask if you will only cut off my head , so that I may become young and lovely . ' ` But , my good woman , if I do that you will die ! ' But the old woman would listen to nothing ; and at last the barber took out his knife and struck the first blow at her neck . ` Ah ! ' she shrieked as she felt the pain . ` Il faut souffrir pour etre belle , ' said the barber , who had been in France . And at the second blow her head rolled off , and the old woman was dead for good and all . Catherine and Her Destiny Sicilianische Mahrchen von Laura Gonzenbach . Leipzig , Engelmann , 1870 . Long ago there lived a rich merchant who , besides possessing more treasures than any king in the world , had in his great hall three chairs , one of silver , one of gold , and one of diamonds . But his greatest treasure of all was his only daughter , who was called Catherine . One day Catherine was sitting in her own room when suddenly the door flew open , and in came a tall and beautiful woman holding in her hands a little wheel . ` Catherine , ' she said , going up to the girl , ` which would you rather have-a happy youth or a happy old age ? ' Catherine was so taken by surprise that she did not know what to answer , and the lady repeated again , ` Which would you rather have-a happy youth or a happy old age ? ' Then Catherine thought to herself , ` If I say a happy youth , then I shall have to suffer all the rest of my life . No , I would bear trouble now , and have something better to look forward to . ' So she looked up and replied , ` Give me a happy old age . ' ` So be it , ' said the lady , and turned her wheel as she spoke , vanishing the next moment as suddenly as she had come . Now this beautiful lady was the Destiny of poor Catherine . Only a few days after this the merchant heard the news that all his finest ships , laden with the richest merchandise , had been sunk in a storm , and he was left a beggar .
The shock was too much XXXXX him .
So after ago as besides for of than that with