n in such a dismal plight. They carried her back to the palace
and put her to bed, but as soon as she recovered enough to be able to
speak, she began to scold and rage, and declared that the whole affair
was Graciosa's fault, that she had contrived it on purpose to try and
get rid of her, and that if the King would not have her punished, she
would go back to her castle and enjoy her riches by herself.

At this the King was terribly frightened, for he did not at all want to
lose all those barrels of gold and jewels. So he hastened to appease the
Duchess, and told her she might punish Graciosa in any way she pleased.

Thereupon she sent for Graciosa, who turned pale and trembled at the
summons, for she guessed that it promised nothing agreeable for her. She
looked all about for Percinet, but he was nowhere to be seen; so she had
no choice but to go to the Duchess Grumbly's room. She had hardly got
inside the door when she was seized by four waiting women, who looked
so tall and strong and cruel that the Princess shuddered at the sight
of them, and still more when she saw them arming themselves with great
bundles of rods, and heard the Duchess call out to them from her bed
to beat the Princess without mercy. Poor Graciosa wished miserably that
Percinet could only know what was happening and come to rescue her.
But no sooner did they begin to beat her than she found, to her great
relief, that the rods had changed to bundles of peacock's feathers, and
though the Duchess's women went on till they were so tired that they
could no longer raise their arms from their sides, yet she was not hurt
in the least. However, the Duchess thought she must be black and blue
after such a beating; so Graciosa, when she was released, pretended to
feel very bad, and went away into her own room, where she told her
nurse all that had happened, and then the nurse left her, and when the
Princess turned round there stood Percinet beside her. She thanked him
gratefully for helping her so cleverly, and they laughed and were very
merry over the way they had taken in the Duchess and her waiting-maids;
but Percinet advised her still to pretend to be ill for a few days,
and after promising to come to her aid whenever she needed him, he
disappeared as suddenly as he had come.

The Duchess was so delighted at the idea that Graciosa was really
ill, that she herself recovered twice as fast as she would have done
otherwise, and the wedding was held with great