Page:Researches respecting the Book of Sindibad and Portuguese Folk-Tales.djvu/141

The princess had already been sometime undergoing her punishment when she heard it said that the prince was starting for the fair which was to take place at some distance where he would have to pass her father's house, so she entreated him to bring her from the fair a knife, and, as he had to pass by her father's palace, to go in and ask his majesty to allow her to have the three blue stones she had left in the drawer of the table she had in the garden, and to bring them to her. She begged him not to forget to do this as it was the last thing she would ask him to do for her. The prince went to the fair and complied with her request. He arrived at the palace and asked to see the king, and he began by making up a story saying that he had heard a voice on the way, and that voice had told him to come to the palace and take away with him three blue stones that were in a drawer of a table in the garden. The king on hearing this recollected that it could only be his daughter that knew of their existence, and the king, being very pleased to come across any one who knew of her, asked him how she was, and told him that since the bird had carried the princess in his beak the garden had been converted into a wilderness, full of serpents and wild beasts, and was dangerous for any one to attempt to enter it. A servant then came up and offered to go into it and look for the blue stones, provided the king allowed him to have a large pair of boots, a sword, and a weeding-hook. And having had permission given to him the servant went in, cutting down and felling trees and weeding the brambles in his path; and as he proceeded serpents came in his way which he killed with his sword; and he was thus able to reach the table, and brought away the three little blue stones, which were the three boys the princess had given birth to. The king then gave up the stones to the prince, and told him that if in a month's time he did not bring back his daughter he would put him to death. The king wanted to accompany the prince, for he had