he exclaimed as he set out once more for the palace.
He was admitted into the presence of the princess, who expressed great surprise at the fate which had overtaken him.
"Ah," he said, "it was hard to be so severely punished for one kiss of those charming fingers."
"Well," she replied, "I approve of you so well that to compensate you for your misfortune I will give you leave to kiss both my hands and my feet as often as you please, but you must not presume any further than that."
That evening he was allowed to stay beside her couch, because when she suggested sending him away he reminded her of her promise. How could he kiss her hands and her feet if he was forced to leave her side? This concession made Malec believe that she had more affection for him than she was willing to show. "I asked her only for the opportunity of admiring her at a distance and she has given me a place close beside her," he thought.
Hour after hour he kissed her hands and feet, and all the time he aspired to her lips. There she lay slumbering, beautiful as a goddess, and as he bent over her to approach his lips to hers, she awoke and reminded him of his promise, saying, "Be cautious, or you will have to take your departure."
At this rebuke he retired ignominiously from her side, but his love for her increased by leaps and bounds, and she fostered it by walking with him in the lovely palace gardens and by taking him with her in her gorgeous carriage when she followed the hounds. In the evening they feasted, and, after quaffing wine, Malec, driven to madness by her beauty, forgot himself as she lay slumbering and, bending forward, pressed his lips to hers.
At that moment she awoke, crying, "Cursed ass! what have you done?"
Even as she uttered the words, Malec gave a spring and galloped away in the form of an ass.