girl had brought with her an earthen jar to hold the
water.

As she leaned over the stream to fill the jar she looked down into the
water and saw the face of the Princess reflected there, as she peered
out from the leaves above.

The servant wench, whose name was Lucy, thought it was the reflection
of her own face that she saw. She gazed upon it with wonder and joy.
"Ah! Ah!" she cried. "What a beauty I am; why did no one ever tell me
so? Not even the two Princesses are as beautiful as I." She knelt
there, staring and staring at the reflection. Then in a rage she
sprang to her feet.

"And they send me to draw water for them! Me, who ought to sit on a
throne above them all. But I'll no longer be their slave. I'll break
their water jar to pieces, and if they send me with others I'll break
them too!"

With that she threw down the jar with such violence that it was broken
into bits, and then she stamped about with rage.

The sight amused the Princess so that she laughed aloud. The servant
wench looked up and saw the lovely face peering out at her from among
the green leaves; it was the same beautiful face she had seen
reflected in the water.

"Who are you? What are you doing up there among the leaves?" she asked
in a thick voice.

"I am the promised bride of the Prince who has just gone up to the
castle," answered the beauty. "He has gone to fetch fine robes and
jewels that I may dress myself properly before I appear before his
father."

When she said this an evil thought came into the servant wench's head.

"Come down," said she, "and I will dress your hair for you; I have
often done this for the other Princesses, and I can arrange it so that
you will look even more beautiful when the Prince returns."

The Princess was nothing loath. She had no thought of evil. She
climbed down from the tree and sat herself upon a rock, while Lucy
looped and pinned her hair in place and wove a crown of flowers to
place upon it. "Come now, and see how beautiful you are," said the
servant.

She led the Princess to the place where the stream was deepest, and
then, when the beauty stooped to look at herself in the water, Lucy
pushed her in. After that she stripped herself to her shift, and hid
her clothes under a rock, and climbed up into the tree. There she sat
among the leaves, peering out just as the Princess had done.

Presently the Prince returned, bringing with him all sorts of
beautiful clothes and gifts for his Princes