49^ Miscellanea,
treated the loveliest of the three girls to be his wife ; but she said : " I will only wed you if you can find me three dresses, One with the fields and all their flowers, another with the sea and all its fish, and another with the heaven and its stars."
When the youngest prince reached his city he disguised himself and opened a shop. In his shop he hung up his three dresses. His elder brother, passing by, saw them, and hastened to tell the girl that she must now be his, as he had found what she asked for. Then she knew that her betrothed had come back, and claimed him as hers, and they were married.
II. The Ball of Silk.
A certain king had three daughters born to him. After the birth of the third his substance began to waste away. He told one of his friends about it and asked his advice. His friend ad- vised him thus : " Find out which of your daughters sleeps with her hands between her legs, and kill her ; for it is she who charms your fortune away." The king looked, and finding that the youngest child always had her hands between her legs, took her out one day and left her in a desert place for the beasts to eat. The child wandered on, until she saw a palace and went in and found an ogress. The ogress was glad to see her, for she had just lost her servant, and asked the little girl to take the place. She waited on the ogress so well, and with such gentle ways, that one day her mistress said to her : " My child, you come of no vulgar stock." And the girl told her how she was a king's daughter, and how her father had cast her out. The ogress knew why, and she told the girl and said : " Luckily your Fate is a friend of mine. Now you must go and ask her for her ball of silk. I will help you as well as I can ; but she will refuse to give it you at first, and you must beg very hard. If you can get the ball of silk, all will go well with your father." The ogress prepared all kinds of delicacies, and loading a tray with them gave it to the little girl and told her where to find her Fate. The Fate was very pleased with the gift, but it was only after a great deal of begging that she gave up the ball of silk.
It was as the ogress had said ; and all now went well with the king ; but he was sorrowful because he was sure that his daughter was dead. The ogress had a son, and she gave the little princess
