would come himself.

Several days went by, and the king and queen hardly ceased from
entreating the aid of the giant, who by this time was getting weary of
waiting.

'There is only one way of helping you,' he said at last, 'and that is to
marry the princess to my nephew, who, besides being young and handsome,
has been trained in magic, and will know how to keep her safe from the
dragon.'

'Oh, thank you, thank you!' cried the parents, clasping his great hands
to their breasts. 'You have indeed lifted a load from us. She shall have
half the kingdom for her dowry.' But Muffette stood up and thrust them
aside.

'I will not buy my life with faithlessness,' she said proudly; 'and
I will go with you this moment to the dragon's abode.' And all her
father's and mother's tears and prayers availed nothing to move her.

The next morning Muffette was put into a litter, and, guarded by the
giant and followed by the king and queen and the weeping maids of
honour, they started for the foot of the mountain where the dragon had
his castle. The way, though rough and stony, seemed all too short, and
when they reached the spot appointed by the dragon the giant ordered the
men who bore the litter to stand still.

'It is time for you to bid farewell to your daughter,' said he; 'for I
see the dragon coming to us.'

It was true; a cloud appeared to pass over the sun, for between them and
it they could all discern dimly a huge body half a mile long approaching
nearer and nearer. At first the king could not believe that this was
the small beast who had seemed so friendly on the shore of the lake of
quicksilver but then he knew very little of necromancy, and had never
studied the art of expanding and contracting his body. But it was the
dragon and nothing else, whose six wings were carrying him forward as
fast as might be, considering his great weight and the length of his
tail, which had fifty twists and a half.

He came quickly, yes; but the frog, mounted on a greyhound, and wearing
her cap on her head, went quicker still. Entering a room where the
prince was sitting gazing at the portrait of his betrothed, she cried to
him:

'What are you doing lingering here, when the life of the princess is
nearing its last moment? In the courtyard you will find a green horse
with three heads and twelve feet, and by its side a sword eighteen yards
long. Hasten, lest you should be too late!'

The fight lasted all day, and the prince's strength w