“At the pike’s good pleasure,
At God’s good measure—
let the barrel rest on a dry spot.”
So the barrel turned round and got on to a dry spot, and they went on, following their eyes. And they went on and on, on and on, and they had nothing to eat or drink. The Princess was utterly exhausted and had pined away to a shadow, and she could hardly stand on her legs.
“Now,” said the poor man, “do you know what hunger and thirst are?”
“Yes, I do,” said the Princess.
“Well, this is what the poor have to endure. Yet you would not give me alms on Easter Day.” Then the poor man said:
“At the pike’s good pleasure,
Of God’s good treasure—
let there be here a rich palace, the finest in all the world, with gardens and ponds and all sorts of pavilions.”