CHAPTER THREE
Late in the evening the traveling-companion made a great bowl of punch, and said to Quatre that they must be merry now and drink the Princess' health. But when Quatre had drunk two glasses he became so sleepy that he could not hold up his head, and he fell fast asleep. His traveling-companion lifted him quietly up from his chair, and laid him on his bed. As soon as it was dark he took the two big wings which he had cut off the swan, and tied them on to his own shoulders; then he put the biggest bunch of twigs he had got from the old woman who had broken her leg into his pocket, opened the window, and flew over the roofs of the houses right up to the Palace, where he sat down in a corner under the window Princess Dorothy's bedroom.
The whole town was quiet. As the clock struck the quarter before twelve the window was opened and the Princess flew out in a great white cloak and long black wings. She flew over the town to a great mountain, but the traveling companion made himself invisible and flew behind her, raining blows on her back with his birch rod, till the blood flowed. Oh, what a flight that was through the air; the wind caught her cloak, which spread out on every side like the sail of a ship, and the moon shone through it.
"How it hails, how it hails!" said the Princess at every blow, but she richly deserved it.
At last they reached the mountain and knocked; there was a rumble as of thunder, the side of the mountain opened, and the Princess went in, closely followed by the traveling-companion. No one saw him, as he was quite invisible. They went through a long passage which glittered curiously, owing to thousands of shining spiders which swarmed over the walls, shedding a fiery light. They next reached a great hall built of gold and silver, with red and blue flowers as big as sunflowers all over the walls. No one could pick these flowers, for the stems were poisonous snakes, and the flowers were flames coming out of their mouths. The ceiling was covered with shining glow-worms and pale blue bats which flapped their transparent wings. This had an extraordinary effect. In the middle of the flower was a throne supported on four horses' legs with harnesses of red fiery spiders. The throne itself was milky glass, and the cushions were made of little black mice holding on to each other by the tails. There was a canopy above it of rose-colored spider's web, dotted with the most exquisite little green flies which glittered like diamonds.
A hideous old ogre sat in the middle of the throne with a crown on his ugly head and a scepter in his hand. He kissed the Princess on her forehead, and made her sit down by him on the costly throne, then the music began! Great black grasshoppers played upon Jews' harps, and the owl beat upon his own stomach in place of a drum. It was a most absurd concert. Numbers of tiny little elves, each with a firefly on their little caps, danced round the hall. No one could see the traveling-companion, but he could see and hear everything from behind the throne, where he had placed himself. The courtiers who now made their appearances looked most grand and proper, but anyone who could really see perceived at once what they really were. They were merely broomsticks with cabbages for heads, into which the ogre had put life by his magic powers and dressed them up in embroidered clothes. But this did not matter a bit, for they were only used on grand occasions.
After the dancing had gone on for a time, the Princess told the ogre that she had another suitor, and asked him what she had better think of to put as a riddle the next day.
"Listen!" said the ogre; "I will tell you what, you must think of something very simple, and then he will never think of it. Let us say one of your own shoes; he will never guess that. Then have his head chopped off, but don't forget when you come here tomorrow night to bring me his eyes. I want to eat them."
Princess Dorothy curtsied low, and said that she would not forget the eyes. The ogre opened the mountain, and she flew home again; and, as before, the traveling-companion followed her closely and beat her so hard with the birch rod that she groaned at the terrible hailstorm and hurried back as fast as she could to her bedroom window. The traveling-companion flew back to the inn, where he found Quatre still fast asleep. He took off his own clothes and went to bed too, for he had good right to be tired.
Quatre awakened early in the morning, and the traveling-companion got up at the same time, and told him that he had had a wonderful dream about the Princess and her shoe; and he begged Quatre to ask Princess Dorothy if she had not thought of her shoe. This was of course what he had heard the ogre say in the mountain, but he did not want to tell Quatre anything about that, and so he merely told him it was a dream.
"I may just as well ask that as anything else!" said Quatre. "Perhaps your dream will come true, for I always think God will help me! All the same I will say goodbye, for if I guess wrong you will never see me again."
So they kissed one another on the cheek, and Quatre went to the town and up to the Palace. The hall was full of people; the judges were seated in their armchairs, and they had down pillows under their heads for they had so much to think about. The old King stood near wiping his eyes with a white pocket handkerchief. Then Princess Dorothy came in, greeting everyone very pleasantly, and she was even lovelier than yesterday. She shook hands with Quatre and said, "Good morning to you." Now Quatre had to guess what she had thought of. She looked at him most sweetly, but as soon as she heard him say the word shoe, she turned white as a sheet and trembled all over; but that was no good, for he had guessed aright.
Preserve us! How pleased the old King was, he turned head over heels without stopping, and everybody clapped their hands both on his account and on Quatre's, whose first guess had been right.
The traveling-companion beamed with delight when he heard how successful Quatre had been. But Quatre folded his hands and thanked God, who no doubt would also help him on the two following occasions. The next day was fixed for the second riddle.
The evening passed just as the previous one had done. When Quatre had gone to sleep the traveling-companion flew behind the Princess to the mountain, and he beat her harder than ever, for this time he had taken two birch rods with him. Nobody could see him, and he heard everything as before. The Princess was to think of her glove, and this he told Quatre just as if it had been a dream. Quatre of course could easily guess aright, and again there was great delight at the Palace. The whole court turned somersaults, as they had seen the King do the first time; but Princess Dorothy lay on the sofa and would not say a single word. Now all turned upon whether Quatre guessed the third riddle or not. If he did, he would win the Princess and inherit the whole kingdom when the old King died; but if he was wrong, he would lose his life, and the ogre would eat his beautiful blue eyes.
