r, who was a powerful Fairy. The way was long, and lay through a
thick wood, where the Princess heard strange voices calling to her from
every side, but she was in such a hurry that she stopped for nothing,
and at last she came to the courtyard of the Enchanter's castle.

The grass and briers were growing as high as if it were a hundred years
since anyone had set foot there, but the Princess got through at last,
though she gave herself a good many scratches by the way, and then she
went into a dark, gloomy hall, where there was but one tiny hole in the
wall through which the daylight could enter. The hangings were all of
bats' wings, and from the ceiling hung twelve cats, who filled the hall
with their ear piercing yells. Upon the long table twelve mice were
fastened by the tail, and just in front of each one's nose, but quite
beyond its reach, lay a tempting morsel of fat bacon. So the cats could
always see the mice, but could not touch them, and the hungry mice were
tormented by the sight and smell of the delicious morsels which they
could never seize.

The Princess was looking at the poor creatures in dismay, when the
Enchanter suddenly entered, wearing a long black robe and with a
crocodile upon his head. In his hand he carried a whip made of twenty
long snakes, all alive and writhing, and the Princess was so terrified
at the sight that she heartily wished she had never come. Without saying
a word she ran to the door, but it was covered with a thick spider's
web, and when she broke it she found another, and another, and another.
In fact, there was no end to them; the Princess's arms ached with
tearing them down, and yet she was no nearer to getting out, and the
wicked Enchanter behind her laughed maliciously. At last he said:

'You might spend the rest of your life over that without doing any good,
but as you are young, and quite the prettiest creature I have seen for a
long time, I will marry you if you like, and I will give you those
cats and mice that you see there for your own. They are princes and
princesses who have happened to offend me. They used to love one another
as much as they now hate one another. Aha! It's a pretty little revenge
to keep them like that.'

'Oh! If you would only change me into a mouse too,' cried the Princess.

'Oh! so you won't marry me?' said he. 'Little simpleton, you should have
everything heart can desire.'

'No, indeed; nothing should make me marry you; in fact, I don't thin