st
say: "So let the forest fall," and in an instant all the trees will be
on the ground. But pick up three chips of the tree you have felled,
and put them in your pocket.'

And the young man did exactly as he was bid, and soon returned with
the three chips safe in his coat.

The following morning the princess declared that she had been thinking
about the matter, and that, as she was not a subject of the king, she
saw no reason why she should be bound by his laws; and she meant to be
married that very day. But the bridegroom's father told her that it
was all very well for her to talk like that, but it was quite
different for his son, who would pay with his head for any
disobedience to the king's commands. However, in consideration of what
the youth had done the day before, he hoped his majesty's heart might
be softened, especially as he had sent a message that they might
expect him at once. With this the bridal pair had to be content, and
be as patient as they could till the king's arrival.

He did not keep them long, but they saw by his face that nothing good
awaited them.

'The marriage cannot take place,' he said shortly, 'till the youth has
joined to their roots all the trees he cut down yesterday.'

This sounded much more difficult than what he had done before, and he
turned in despair to the Sister of the Sun.

'It is all right,' she whispered encouragingly. 'Take this water and
sprinkle it on one of the fallen trees, and say to it: "So let all the
trees of the forest stand upright," and in a moment they will be erect
again.'

And the young man did what he was told, and left the forest looking
exactly as it had done before.

Now, surely, thought the princess, there was no longer any need to put
off the wedding; and she gave orders that all should be ready for the
following day. But again the old man interfered, and declared that
without the king's permission no marriage could take place. For the
third time his majesty was sent for, and for the third time he
proclaimed that he could not give his consent until the bridegroom
should have slain a serpent which dwelt in a broad river that flowed
at the back of the castle. Everyone knew stories of this terrible
serpent, though no one had actually seen it; but from time to time a
child strayed from home and never came back, and then mothers would
forbid the other children to go near the river, which had juicy fruits
and lovely flowers growing along its banks.