d poured water on his
face, and presently he recovered, and said to her, "Princess, I should
like to sleep for a little while, for I have travelled for six months,
and am very tired. After I have slept we will go together to my
father's palace." So he went to sleep, and the princess sat by him.

Presently a woman came to the well for water, and she said to herself,
"See, here is the King's youngest son. What a lovely princess that is
sitting by him! What fine clothes and jewels she has on!" And the
wicked woman determined to kill the princess and to take her place.
Then she came up to the beautiful girl, and sat down beside her, and
talked to her. "Listen to me, princess," she said at last. "Let us
change clothes with each other. Give me yours, and I will give you
mine." The princess, thinking no harm, did as the woman suggested.
"And now," said the woman, "let me put on your beautiful jewels." The
princess gave them to her, and then the wicked, wicked woman, said to
her, "Let us walk about this pretty garden, and look at the flowers,
and amuse ourselves." By and by she said, "Princess, let us go and
look at ourselves in the well, and see what we look like, you in my
clothes, and I in yours." The young girl consented, and they went to
the well. As they bent over the side to look in, the wicked woman gave
the princess a push, and pushed her straight over the edge into the
water.

Then she went and sat down by the sleeping prince, just as the
princess had done. When he awoke and saw this ugly, wicked woman,
instead of his Bel-Princess, he was very much surprised, and said to
himself, "A little while ago I had a beautiful girl by me, and now
there is such an ugly woman. It is true she has on the clothes and
jewels my Bel-Princess wore; but she is so ugly, and there is
something wrong with one of her eyes. What has happened to her?" Then
he said to this wicked woman, whom he took for his Bel-Princess,
"What is the matter with you? Has anything happened to you? Why have
you become so ugly?" She answered, "Till now I have always lived in a
bel-fruit. It is the bad air of your country that has made me ugly,
and hurt one of my eyes."

The prince was ashamed of her, and very, very sorry. "How shall I take
her to my father's palace now?" he thought. "My mother and all my
brothers' wives will see her, and what will they say? However, never
mind; I must take her to my house, and marry her. I cannot think what
can have happened