ghter is called Laufer'; and then she
inquired the name of the minister, and of the king his master. After
this they talked of many things, and the lady showed herself learned
in all that a woman should know, and even in much that men only were
commonly taught. 'What a wife she would make for the king,' thought the
minister to himself, and before long he had begged the honour of her
hand for his master. She declared at first that she was too unworthy to
accept the position offered her, and that the minister would soon repent
his choice; but this only made him the more eager, and in the end he
gained her consent, and prevailed on her to return with him at once to
his own country.

The minister then conducted the mother and daughter back to the ship;
the anchor was raised, the sails spread, and a fair wind was behind
them.

Now that the fog had lifted they could see as they looked back that,
except just along the shore, the island was bare and deserted and not
fit for men to live in; but about that nobody cared. They had a quick
voyage, and in six days they reached the land, and at once set out for
the capital, a messenger being sent on first by the minister to inform
the king of what had happened.

When his Majesty's eyes fell on the two beautiful women, clad in dresses
of gold and silver, he forgot his sorrows and ordered preparations for
the wedding to be made without delay. In his joy he never remembered to
inquire in what kind of country the future queen had been found. In fact
his head was so turned by the beauty of the two ladies that when the
invitations were sent by his orders to all the great people in the
kingdom, he did not even recollect his two children, who remained shut
up in their own house!

After the marriage the king ceased to have any will of his own and
did nothing without consulting his wife. She was present at all his
councils, and her opinion was asked before making peace or war. But when
a few months had passed the king began to have doubts as to whether the
minister's choice had really been a wise one, and he noticed that his
children lived more and more in their palace and never came near their
stepmother.

It always happens that if a person's eyes are once opened they see a
great deal more than they ever expected; and soon it struck the king
that the members of his court had a way of disappearing one after the
other without any reason. At first he had not paid much attention to the
fact