with delight. Hoping all the time for such a summons, she had
dressed herself with great care, putting on the garment of
moonlight, whose skirt was scattered over with emeralds. But when
they began calling to her to come down, she hastily covered
herself with her donkey-skin and announced she was ready to
present herself before his Highness. She was taken straight into
the hall, where the prince was awaiting her, but at the sight of
the donkey-skin his heart sank. Had he been mistaken after all?

‘Are you the girl,' he said, turning his eyes away as he spoke,
‘are you the girl who has a room in the furthest corner of the
inner court of the farmhouse?'

‘Yes, my lord, I am,' answered she.

‘Hold out your hand then,' continued the prince, feeling that he
must keep his word, whatever the cost, and, to the astonishment
of every one present, a little hand, white and delicate, came
from beneath the black and dirty skin. The ring slipped on with
the utmost ease, and, as it did so, the skin fell to the ground,
disclosing a figure of such beauty that the prince, weak as he
was, fell on his knees before her, while the king and queen
joined their prayers to his. Indeed, their welcome was so warm,
and their caresses so bewildering, that the princess hardly knew
how to find words to reply, when the ceiling of the hall opened,
and the fairy godmother appeared, seated in a car made entirely
of white lilac. In a few words she explained the history of the
princess, and how she came to be there, and, without losing a
moment, preparations of the most magnificent kind were made for
the wedding.