ake you
wherever you want to go in the twinkling of an eye!"

So Jack, overjoyed, rode away with the coat and cap, the sword and the
slippers, and soon overtook his master; and they rode on together until
they reached the castle where the beautiful lady lived whom the Prince
sought.

Now she was very beautiful, for all she was possessed of seven devils,
and when she heard the Prince sought her as a suitor, she smiled and
ordered a splendid banquet to be prepared for his reception. And she
sate on his right hand, and plied him with food and drink.

And when the repast was over she took out her own handkerchief and
wiped his lips gently, and said, with a smile:

"I have a task for you, my lord! You must show me that kerchief
to-morrow morning or lose your head."

And with that she put the handkerchief in her bosom and said,
"Good-night!"

The Prince was in despair, but Jack said nothing till his master was in
bed. Then he put on the old cap he had got from the giant, and lo! in a
minute he knew all that he wanted to know. So, in the dead of the night,
when the beautiful lady called on one of her familiar spirits to carry
her to Lucifer himself, Jack was beforehand with her, and putting on his
coat of darkness and his slippers of swiftness, was there as soon as she
was. And when she gave the handkerchief to the Devil, bidding him keep
it safe, and he put it away on a high shelf, Jack just up and nipped it
away in a trice!

So the next morning, when the beauteous enchanted lady looked to see the
Prince crestfallen, he just made a fine bow and presented her with the
handkerchief.

At first she was terribly disappointed, but, as the day drew on, she
ordered another and still more splendid repast to be got ready. And this
time, when the repast was over, she kissed the Prince full on the lips
and said:

"I have a task for you, my lover. Show me to-morrow morning the last
lips I kiss to-night or you lose your head."

Then the Prince, who by this time was head over ears in love, said
tenderly, "If you will kiss none but mine, I will." Now the beauteous
lady, for all she was possessed by seven devils, could not but see that
the Prince was a very handsome young man; so she blushed a little, and
said:

"That is neither here nor there: you must show me them, or death is your
portion."

So the Prince went to his bed, sorrowful as before; but Jack put on the
cap of knowledge and knew in a moment all he wanted to know.