ear laugh, musical as a brook. Then, as if tired, she
threw herself on the grass, and lay gazing at the moon. The prince was
almost afraid to breathe lest he should startle her, and she should
vanish from his sight. As to venturing near her, that never came into
his head.

She had lain for a long hour or longer, when the prince began again to
doubt concerning her. Perhaps she was but a vision of his own fancy. Or
was she a spirit of the wood, after all? If so, he too would haunt the
wood, glad to have lost kingdom and everything for the hope of being
near her. He would build him a hut in the forest, and there he would
live for the pure chance of seeing her again. Upon nights like this at
least she would come out and bask in the moonlight, and make his soul
blessed. But while he thus dreamed she sprang to her feet, turned her
face full to the moon, and began singing as she would draw her down from
the sky by the power of her entrancing voice. She looked more beautiful
than ever. Again she began dancing to her own music, and danced away
into the distance. Once more she returned in a similar manner; but
although he was watching as eagerly as before, what with fatigue and
what with gazing, he fell fast asleep before she came near him. When he
awoke it was broad daylight, and the princess was nowhere.

He could not leave the place. What if she should come the next night! He
would gladly endure a day's hunger to see her yet again: he would buckle
his belt quite tight. He walked round the glade to see if he could
discover any prints of her feet. But the grass was so short, and her
steps had been so light, that she had not left a single trace behind
her. He walked half-way round the wood without seeing anything to
account for her presence. Then he spied a lovely little house, with
thatched roof and low eaves, surrounded by an exquisite garden, with
doves and peacocks walking in it. Of course this must be where the
gracious lady who loved the moonlight lived. Forgetting his appearance,
he walked towards the door, determined to make inquiries, but as he
passed a little pond full of gold and silver fishes, he caught sight of
himself and turned to find the door to the kitchen. There he knocked,
and asked for a piece of bread. The good-natured cook brought him in,
and gave him an excellent breakfast, which the prince found nothing the
worse for being served in the kitchen. While he ate, he talked with
his entertainer, and learned t