The princess' eyes were filled with tears from laughing and the whole court laughed with her; then the lady said to Zbyszko:
"Well, make your vow! Make your vow! What will you promise her?"
But Zbyszko, who preserved his seriousness undisturbed amidst the laughter, said with dignity, while still kneeling:
"I promise that as soon as I reach Krakow, I will hang my spear on the door of the inn, and on it I will put a card, which a student in writing will write for me. On the card I will proclaim that Panna Danuta Jurandowna is the prettiest and most virtuous girl among all living in this or any other kingdom. Anyone who wishes to contradict this declaration, I will fight until one of us dies or is taken into captivity."
"Very well! I see you know the knightly custom. And what more?"
"I have learned from Pan Mikolaj of Dlugolas that the death of Panna Jurandowna's mother was caused by the brutality of a German who wore the crest of a peacock. Therefore I vow to gird my naked sides with a hempen rope, and even though it eat me to the bone, I will wear it until I tear three such tufts of feathers from the heads of German warriors whom I kill."
Here the princess became serious.
"Don't make any joke of your vows!"
And Zbyszko added:
"So help me God and holy cross, this vow I will repeat in church before a priest."