"If you do get past," growled the sea-serpent, "you will fall into the Witch's hands."
"That is exactly where I want to fall!" cried Princess Gentianella; "only you must move your tail a little bit more than that, or else I am afraid I shall step on it."
It was such a novelty for the sea-serpent to find some one who was not frightened of him, that he had not the heart to tell her that he was just going to eat her up. So he moved his tail out of the way, and Princess Gentianella blew a kiss to him from the tips of her little pink fingers and ran on as before.
The next person she met was an old woman, who was picking thistles in a field.
"I wonder why you are doing that!" said the Princess, opening her big blue eyes.
"I am making an experiment, to see if I can find any one with so brave a heart that the thistles will not be able to hurt it," answered the old woman, mysteriously.
"But does it not scratch your fingers to gather those large prickly thistles?" asked the little Princess.
"Perhaps it does," the old woman said shortly; "but who do you suppose is going to gather them for me?"
She seemed rather cross, but the Princess supposed it was because she had pricked her fingers so much.
"Well, I am in a most tremendous hurry, but I think I can stop and help you," she answered; and down she dropped on her knees and began to pick thistles as fast as she could. And when the thistles saw what soft pink fingers were going to take hold of them, they at once bent back all their prickles and allowed the Princess to gather as many as she pleased without giving her so much as a scratch. When she had filled the old woman's apron for her, she began to run off at full speed, to make up for lost time. But the old woman called her back.