g and queen examined the tiny ring very closely, and agreed, with
their son, that the wearer could be no mere farm girl. Then the king
went out and ordered heralds and trumpeters to go through the town,
summoning every maiden to the palace. And she whom the ring fitted would
some day be queen.

First came all the princesses, then all the duchesses' daughters, and so
on, in proper order. But not one of them could slip the ring over the
tip of her finger, to the great joy of the prince, whom excitement was
fast curing. At last, when the high-born damsels had failed, the
shopgirls and chambermaids took their turn; but with no better fortune.

'Call in the scullions and shepherdesses,' commanded the prince; but the
sight of their fat, red fingers satisfied everybody.

'There is not a woman left, your Highness,' said the chamberlain; but
the prince waved him aside.

'Have you sent for "Donkey Skin," who made me the cake?' asked he, and
the courtiers began to laugh, and replied that they would not have dared
to introduce so dirty a creature into the palace.

'Let some one go for her at once,' ordered the king. 'I commanded the
presence of every maiden, high or low, and I meant it.'

The princess had heard the trumpets and the proclamations, and knew
quite well that her ring was at the bottom of it all. She too, had
fallen in love with the prince in the brief glimpse she had had of him,
and trembled with fear lest someone else's finger might be as small as
her own. When, therefore, the messenger from the palace rode up to the
gate, she was nearly beside herself with delight. Hoping all the time
for such a summons, she had dressed herself with great care, putting on
the garment of moonlight, whose skirt was scattered over with emeralds.
But when they began calling to her to come down, she hastily covered
herself with her donkey-skin and announced she was ready to present
herself before his Highness. She was taken straight into the hall, where
the prince was awaiting her, but at the sight of the donkey-skin his
heart sank. Had he been mistaken after all?

'Are you the girl,' he said, turning his eyes away as he spoke, 'are you
the girl who has a room in the furthest corner of the inner court of the
farmhouse?'

'Yes, my lord, I am,' answered she.

'Hold out your hand then,' continued the prince, feeling that he must
keep his word, whatever the cost, and, to the astonishment of every one
present, a little hand, white an