beauty of your portrait,
I come from the other end of the world to offer my services to you. My
devotion knows no bounds, but my absurd name has already involved me in
a quarrel with one of your courtiers. Tomorrow I am to fight this ugly,
overgrown Prince, and I beg you to honour the combat with your presence,
and prove to the world that there is nothing in a name, and that you
deign to accept Mannikin as your knight.'

When it came to this the Princess could not help being amused, for,
though she had no heart, she was not without humour. However, she
answered graciously that she accepted with pleasure, which encouraged
the Prince to entreat further that she would not show any favour to his
adversary.

'Alas!' said she, 'I favour none of these foolish people, who weary me
with their sentiment and their folly. I do very well as I am, and yet
from one year's end to another they talk of nothing but delivering me
from some imaginary affliction. Not a word do I understand of all their
pratings about love, and who knows what dull things besides, which, I
declare to you, I cannot even remember.'

Mannikin was quick enough to gather from this speech that to amuse and
interest the Princess would be a far surer way of gaining her favour
than to add himself to the list of those who continually teased her
about that mysterious thing called 'love' which she was so incapable of
comprehending. So he began to talk of his rivals, and found in each
of them something to make merry over, in which diversion the Princess
joined him heartily, and so well did he succeed in his attempt to amuse
her that before very long she declared that of all the people at Court
he was the one to whom she preferred to talk.

The following day, at the time appointed for the combat, when the King,
the Queen, and the Princess had taken their places, and the whole Court
and the whole town were assembled to see the show, Prince Fadasse
rode into the lists magnificently armed and accoutred, followed by
twenty-four squires and a hundred men-at-arms, each one leading, a
splendid horse, while Prince Mannikin entered from the other side armed
only with his spear and followed by the faithful Mousta. The contrast
between the two champions was so great that there was a shout of
laughter from the whole assembly; but when at the sounding of a trumpet
the combatants rushed upon each other, and Mannikin, eluding the blow
aimed at him, succeeded in thrusting Prince Fadass