' she said sadly. 'Percinet, if you can still care
for such an imprudent Princess, do come and help me once more.'

Immediately Percinet stood before her.

'Ah, Princess!' he said, 'but for the wicked Queen I fear you would
never think of me at all.'

'Indeed I should,' said Graciosa; 'I am not so ungrateful as you think.
Only wait a little and I believe I shall love you quite dearly.'

Percinet was pleased at this, and with one stroke of his wand compelled
all the wilful little people to come back to their places in the box,
and then rendering the Princess invisible he took her with him in his
chariot to the castle.

When the Princess presented herself at the door, and said that the Queen
had ordered her to place the box in her own room, the governor laughed
heartily at the idea.

'No, no, my little shepherdess,' said he, 'that is not the place for
you. No wooden shoes have ever been over that floor yet.'

Then Graciosa begged him to give her a written message telling the Queen
that he had refused to admit her. This he did, and she went back to
Percinet, who was waiting for her, and they set out together for the
palace. You may imagine that they did not go the shortest way, but
the Princess did not find it too long, and before they parted she had
promised that if the Queen was still cruel to her, and tried again to
play her any spiteful trick, she would leave her and come to Percinet
for ever.

When the Queen saw her returning she fell upon the Fairy, whom she had
kept with her, and pulled her hair, and scratched her face, and would
really have killed her if a Fairy could be killed. And when the Princess
presented the letter and the box she threw them both upon the fire
without opening them, and looked very much as if she would like to throw
the Princess after them. However, what she really did do was to have
a great hole as deep as a well dug in her garden, and the top of it
covered with a flat stone. Then she went and walked near it, and said to
Graciosa and all her ladies who were with her:

'I am told that a great treasure lies under that stone; let us see if we
can lift it.'

So they all began to push and pull at it, and Graciosa among the others,
which was just what the Queen wanted; for as soon as the stone was
lifted high enough, she gave the Princess a push which sent her down to
the bottom of the well, and then the stone was let fall again, and there
she was a prisoner. Graciosa felt that now inde