id not like being laughed
at, though of course they did not dare to do it before his face. And
the end of it was that very soon he started on his travels again,
only allowing one equerry to accompany him, and even this attendant he
managed to lose the moment he had left his own kingdom behind him.

Now it was the custom in those days for princes and princesses to be
brought up by fairies, who loved them as their own children, and did not
mind what inconvenience they put other people to for their sakes, for
all the world as if they had been real mothers. The fairy Aveline, who
lived in a country that touched at one point the kingdom of King Souci,
had under her care the lovely Princess Minon-Minette, and had made up
her mind to marry her to the young king, who, in spite of his awkward
manners, which could be improved, was really very much nicer than most
of the young men she was likely to meet.

So Aveline made her preparations accordingly, and began by arranging
that the equerry should lose himself in the forest, after which she took
away the king's sword and his horse while he lay asleep under a tree.
Her reason for this was that she felt persuaded that, finding himself
suddenly alone and robbed of everything, the king would hide his real
birth, and would have to fall back on his powers of pleasing, like other
men, which would be much better for him.

When the king awoke and found that the tree to which he had tied his
horse had its lowest branch broken, and that nothing living was in
sight, he was much dismayed, and sought high and low for his lost
treasure, but all in vain. After a time he began to get hungry, so he
decided that he had better try to find his way out of the forest, and
perhaps he might have a chance of getting something to eat. He had only
gone a few steps when he met Aveline, who had taken the shape of an old
woman with a heavy bundle of faggots on her back. She staggered along
the path and almost fell at his feet, and Souci, afraid that she might
have hurt herself, picked her up and set her on her feet again before
passing on his way. But he was not to be let off so easy.

'What about my bundle?' cried the old woman. 'Where is your politeness?
Really, you seem to have been very nicely brought up! What have they
taught you?'

'Taught me? Nothing,' replied he.

'I can well believe it!' she said. 'You don't know even how to pick up
a bundle. Oh, you can come near; I am cleverer than you, and know