gave orders for a retreat to be sounded, and got his men back into
their boats in great confusion.

Fanfaronade,being once more left with the Princess,
began to think that if he could get rid of her, and possess
himself of the carbuncle and the dagger, he would be
able to make his escape. So as they walked back over
the cliffs he gave the Princess a great push, hoping she
would fall into the sea; but she stepped aside so quickly that
he only succeeded in overbalancing himself, and over
he went, and sank to the bottom of the sea like a lump of
lead, and was never heard of any more. While the Princess
was still looking after him in horror, her attention was attracted
by a rushing noise over her head, and looking up she saw two chariots
approaching rapidly from opposite directions. One was bright and
glittering, and drawn by swans and peacocks, while the Fairy who sat
in it was beautiful as a sunbeam; but the other was drawn by bats and
ravens, and contained a frightful little Dwarf, who was dressed in a
snake's skin, and wore a great toad upon her head for a hood. The
chariots met with a frightful crash in mid-air, and the Princess
looked on in breathless anxiety while a furious battle took place
between the lovely Fairy with her golden lance, and the hideous little
Dwarf and her rusty pike. But very soon it was evident that the
Beauty had the best of it, and the Dwarf turned her bats' heads and
flickered away in great confusion, while the Fairy came down to
where the Princess stood, and said, smiling, `You see Princess, I have
completely routed that malicious old Carabosse. Will you believe it!
she actually wanted to claim authority over you for ever, because
you came out of the tower four days before the twenty years were
ended. However, I think I have settled her pretensions, and I