XII
THE LEOPARD-MAN
A HANDSOME stranger once came into a certain village and strolled about among the people in mysterious silence. All the maidens admired him and wished that he would choose one of them for his bride. But he said nothing, and at last walked away into the forest and disappeared from sight.
A month later the stranger came again, and this time one of the maidens fell so much in love with him that she resolved to follow him into the forest, as she could not bear to be separated from him.
When the stranger looked back and saw her coming behind him, he stopped, and begged her to return home; but she would not, and exclaimed: “I will never leave you, and wherever you go, I will follow.”
“Beautiful maiden, you will regret it,” replied the stranger sadly, as he hurried on.
After a while he stopped again, and once
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