te to persecute me no longer." Then the
Fate answered: "Ah, poor girl, your Fate is just now covered with seven
coverlets, so that she cannot hear you; but when you come to-morrow I
will take you to her." After Catherine had returned home, her mistress'
Fate went to the young girl's Fate and said: "Dear sister, why are you
never weary of making poor Catherine suffer? Permit her again to see
some happy days." The Fate answered: "Bring her to me to-morrow and I
will give her something that will help her out of all her trouble." When
Catherine brought the bread the next morning, her mistress' Fate
conducted her to her own Fate, who was covered with seven coverlets. Her
Fate gave her a small skein of silk, and said: "Preserve it carefully;
it will be of use to you." Then Catherine went home and said to her
mistress: "My Fate has given me a little skein of silk; what shall I do
with it? It is not worth three _grani_." "Well," said her mistress,
"preserve it; who knows of what use it may be?"

Now it happened, some time after this, that the young king was to marry,
and on that account had royal garments made for himself. As the tailor
was about to sew a beautiful dress, there was no silk of the same color
to be found. So the king proclaimed throughout the whole land that
whoever had such silk should bring it to the court and would be well
rewarded. "Catherine," said her mistress, "your skein is of that color;
take it to the king so that he may make you a handsome present." Then
Catherine put on her best clothes, and went to the Court; and when she
appeared before the king, she was so beautiful that he could not keep
his eyes from her. "Royal Majesty," said she, "I have brought you a
little skein of silk, of the color that could not be found." "I will
tell you what, royal Majesty," cried one of his ministers, "we will pay
the maiden for the silk with its weight in gold." The king was satisfied
and they brought a balance; in one scale the king laid the silk, in the
other, a gold coin. Now just imagine what happened: no matter how many
gold coins the king laid in the scale, the silk was always heavier. Then
the king had a larger balance brought, and threw all his treasures into
the scale, but the silk still weighed the more. Then the king at last
took his crown from his head and placed it with all the other
treasures, and behold! the scale with gold sank and weighed exactly as
much as the silk. "Where did you get this silk?" aske