nswered the king,
'the welfare of my kingdom depends on me. I accept your terms, so
take me to my palace.' Scarcely had he uttered the words than he found
himself at the edge of the wood, with the palace in the dim distance. He
made all the haste he could, and just as he reached the great gates out
came the nurse with the royal baby, who stretched out his arms to his
father. The king shrank back, and ordered the nurse to take the baby
away at once.

Then his great boarhound bounded up to him, but his caresses were only
answered by a violent push.

When the king's anger was spent, and he was able to think what was best
to be done, he exchanged his baby, a beautiful boy, for the daughter of
a peasant, and the prince lived roughly as the son of poor people, while
the little girl slept in a golden cradle, under silken sheets. At the
end of a year, the stranger arrived to claim his property, and took away
the little girl, believing her to be the true child of the king. The
king was so delighted with the success of his plan that he ordered a
great feast to be got ready, and gave splendid presents to the foster
parents of his son, so that he might lack nothing. But he did not dare
to bring back the baby, lest the trick should be found out. The peasants
were quite contented with this arrangement, which gave them food and
money in abundance.

By-and-by the boy grew big and tall, and seemed to lead a happy life in
the house of his foster parents. But a shadow hung over him which really
poisoned most of his pleasure, and that was the thought of the poor
innocent girl who had suffered in his stead, for his foster father
had told him in secret, that he was the king's son. And the prince
determined that when he grew old enough he would travel all over the
world, and never rest till he had set her free. To become king at the
cost of a maiden's life was too heavy a price to pay. So one day he put
on the dress of a farm servant, threw a sack of peas on his back, and
marched straight into the forest where eighteen years before his father
had lost himself. After he had walked some way he began to cry loudly:
'Oh, how unlucky I am! Where can I be? Is there no one to show me the
way out of the wood?'

Then appeared a strange man with a long grey beard, with a leather bag
hanging from his girdle. He nodded cheerfully to the prince, and said:
'I know this place well, and can lead you out of it, if you will promise
me a good reward.'

'