r apparent attachment to the old bee-keeper and
his wife so pleased the prince, that he said, "You are a good child.
Anielka, and to-morrow I will send you to visit them. You shall take
them some presents."

Anielka, overpowered with gratitude, threw herself at the feet of the
prince. She dreamed all night of the happiness that was in store for
her, and the joy of the poor, forsaken, old people; and when the next
morning she set off, she could scarcely restrain her impatience. At
last they approached the cabin; she saw the forest, with its tall
trees, and the meadows covered with flowers. She leaped from the
carriage, that she might be nearer these trees and flowers, every
one of which she seemed to recognize. The weather was beautiful. She
breathed with avidity the pure air which, in imagination, brought to
her the kisses and caresses of her poor father! Her foster-father was,
doubtless, occupied with his bees; but his wife?

Anielka opened the door of the cabin; all was silent and deserted. The
arm-chair on which the poor old woman used to sit, was overturned in a
corner. Anielka was chilled by a fearful presentiment. She went with a
slow step toward the bee-hives; there she saw a little boy tending the
bees, whilst the old man was stretched on the ground beside him. The
rays of the sun, falling on his pale and sickly face, showed that he
was very ill. Anielka stooped down over him, and said, "It is I, it is
Anielka, your own Anielka, who always loves you."

The old man raised his head, gazed upon her with a ghastly smile, and
took off his cap.

"And my good old mother, where is she?" Anielka asked.

"She is dead!" answered the old man, and falling back he began
laughing idiotically. Anielka wept. She gazed earnestly on the worn
frame, the pale and wrinkled cheeks, it which scarcely a sign of
life could be perceived; it seemed to her that he had suddenly fallen
asleep, and not wishing to disturb him, she went to the carriage for
the presents. When she returned, she took his hand. It was cold. The
poor old bee-keeper had breathed his last!

Anielka was carried almost senseless back to the carriage, which
quickly returned with her to the castle. There she revived a little;
but the recollection that she was now quite alone in the world, almost
drove her to despair.

Her master's wedding and the journey to Florence were a dream to
her. Though the strange sights of a strange city slowly restored her
perceptions, t