his garments had been magnificent, but he had torn them all to tatters.
The prince, moved with compassion, made toward him, and mildly accosted
him. "Sir," said he, "your condition appears so deplorable that I must
ask the cause of your sorrow, assuring you of every assistance in my
power."

"Oh, sir," answered the young man, "nothing can cure my grief; this day
my dear mistress is to be sacrificed to a rich old ruffian of a husband
who will make her miserable."

"Does she love you, then?" asked Leander.

"I flatter myself so," answered the young man.

"Where is she?" continued Leander.

"In the castle at the end of this forest," replied the lover.

"Very well," said Leander; "stay you here till I come again, and in a
little while I will bring you good news."

He then put on his little red cap and wished himself in the castle. He
had hardly got thither before he heard all sorts of music; he entered
into a great room, where the friends and kindred of the old man and the
young lady were assembled. No one could look more amiable than she;
but the paleness of her complexion, the melancholy that appeared in
her countenance, and the tears that now and then dropped, as it were by
stealth from her eyes, betrayed the trouble of her mind.

Leander now became invisible, and placed himself in a corner of the