“The king’s daughter lives there,” she replied; “it has been prophesied
that she will be very unhappy about a lover, and therefore no one is allowed
to visit her, unless the king and queen are present.”
“Thank you,” said the merchant’s son. So he went back to the wood,
seated himself in his trunk, flew up to the roof of the castle, and crept
through the window into the princess’s room. She lay on the sofa asleep,
and she was so beautiful that the merchant’s son could not help kissing her.
Then she awoke, and was very much frightened; but he told her he was a
Turkish angel, who had come down through the air to see her, which
pleased her very much. He sat down by her side and talked to her: he said
her eyes were like beautiful dark lakes, in which the thoughts swam about
like little mermaids, and he told her that her forehead was a snowy
mountain, which contained splendid halls full of pictures. And then he
related to her about the stork who brings the beautiful children from the
rivers. These were delightful stories; and when he asked the princess if she
would marry him, she consented immediately.
“But you must come on Saturday,” she said; “for then the king and queen
will take tea with me. They will be very proud when they find that I am
going to marry a Turkish angel; but you must think of some very pretty
stories to tell them, for my parents like to hear stories better than anything.
My mother prefers one that is deep and moral; but my father likes
something funny, to make him laugh.”
“Very well,” he replied; “I shall bring you no other marriage portion than
a story,” and so they parted. But the princess gave him a sword which was
