like a sieve that keeps back the bran. Then the princes get away to
follow their fortunes. In this way they have the advantage of the
princesses, who are forced to marry before they have had a bit of
fun. I wish our princesses got lost in a forest sometimes.

One lovely evening, after wandering about for many days, he found
that he was approaching the outskirts of this forest; for the trees
had got so thin that he could see the sunset through them; and he
soon came upon a kind of heath. Next he came upon signs of human
neighbourhood; but by this time it was getting late, and there was
nobody in the fields to direct him.

After travelling for another hour, his horse, quite worn out with
long labour and lack of food, fell, and was unable to rise again.
So he continued his journey on foot. At length he entered another
wood--not a wild forest, but a civilized wood, through which a
footpath led him to the side of a lake. Along this path the prince
pursued his way through the gathering darkness. Suddenly he paused,
and listened. Strange sounds came across the water. It was, in
fact, the princess laughing. Now there was something odd in her
laugh, as I have already hinted; for the hatching of a real hearty
laugh requires the incubation of gravity; and perhaps this was how
the prince mistook the laughter for screaming. Looking over the
lake, he saw something white in the water; and, in an instant, he
had torn off his tunic, kicked off his sandals, and plunged in. He
soon reached the white object, and found that it was a woman. There
was not light enough to show that she was a princess, but quite
enough to show that she was a lady, for it does not want much light
to see that.