“But just as I was going to put my feet into the water I oked down and saw that they were all hard and rough and rinkled and scaly just as they had been before. Oh， that‘s l right， said I， it only means I had another smaller suit on nderneath the first one， and I’ll have to get out of it too. o I scratched and tore again and this underskin peeled off eautifully and out I stepped and left it lying beside the ther one and went down to the well for my bathe.
“Well， exactly the same thing happened again. And I hought to myself， oh dear， how ever many skins have I ot to take off ？ For I was longing to bathe my leg. So I cratched away for the third time and got off a third skin， st like the two others， and stepped out of it. But as soon s I looked at myself in the water I knew it had been no ood.
“Then the lion said.but I don‘t know if it spoke. “You will have to let me undress you.” I was afraid of his claws， I can tell you， but I was pretty nearly desperate now. So I just lay flat down on my back to let him do it.