The golden apples fell out of it, and rolled to the monarch's feet.
What was the astonishment of the whole court! The princesses recognised their names, and could not express their delight at finding their apples. The king pressed the youth in the most gracious terms to explain how he had come by them.
Pista replied, with the utmost frankness, that he was the winner of the three apples, and therefore thought he had a full right to one of the princesses for his bride.
Now, as the king, mindful of the unexampled splendour, as also the extraordinary good fortune by which the stranger had distinguished himself in the lists, anticipated some still greater advantage behind the darkness of this mysterious occurrence, he admitted the herdsman's claim with very little hesitation.
The youngest of the princesses felt herself suddenly cheered, and so powerfully attracted to the metamorphosed swineherd, that in spite of his peasant's dress she threw her arms around his neck. The king immediately decided that he should become her husband, and the following morning the wedding was celebrated with the utmost magnificence, in presence of the whole court, at the Golden Palace in the forest, which Pista immediately selected for his residence.
When the banquet was over, the bridegroom commanded his faithful dragon, who had already the day before provided a numerous establishment of domestics of his own winged race, immediately to bring hither his eleven brothers, whose respective names he had furnished him with, and had described their persons as accurately as he could.
Before the sun went down the eleven brothers were seen coming at full gallop to the Golden Palace. By the care of the ever active dragon they were all splendidly dressed, and they rejoiced and wondered not a little at the unexpected change in their destiny.
Two of them married the sisters of their royal sister-in-law, and the rest married the nine daughters of the other king. They soon conquered for themselves as many kingdoms, and lived happily together till their dying day.