her in a cottage with not even a door for the horrid wolves to howl
against.

But the old woman--as the princess called her, not knowing that her
real name was the Wise Woman--had told her that she must knock at
the door: how was she to do that when there was no door? But again
she bethought herself--that, if she could not do all she was told,
she could, at least, do a part of it: if she could not knock at the
door, she could at least knock--say on the wall, for there was
nothing else to knock upon--and perhaps the old woman would hear
her, and lift her in by some window. Thereupon, she rose at once to
her feet, and picking up a stone, began to knock on the wall with
it. A loud noise was the result, and she found she was knocking on
the very door itself. For a moment she feared the old woman would be
offended, but the next, there came a voice, saying,

"Who is there?"

The princess answered,

"Please, old woman, I did not mean to knock so loud."

To this there came no reply.

Then the princess knocked again, this time with her knuckles, and
the voice came again, saying,

"Who is there?"

And the princess answered,