“Never mind that,” said the wonderful apprentice; “just tell the princess that the fiddler had the other, and she will be satisfied.”
As for the princess, she sent off post-haste for the lad who had made her gloves. But she was behindhand this time too, for, when those whom she sent came to the glover’s house, they found nobody there but the cat and the kettle, and the master glover, for the fiddler was gone.
And now the tinker and the shoemaker began again; the princess had her gloves, and she must and should choose one or the other of them.
But no. First of all the princess must have a fine dress all of white silk with both sleeves looped up with pearls as big as marbles.
But there was nobody to make such a dress as that in all of the town, till the fiddler went to the master tailor and offered himself as a journeyman workman. Then the dress came quickly enough, and with only the tune of a fiddle. But the loop of pearls on one sleeve was missing.
“And that will never do in the wide world,” says the tailor.
“Oh,” says the fiddler, “that is nothing; just tell the princess that the fiddler has the other, and she will be satisfied.”
Well, the tailor did as he said, and when the princess heard who had the pearl loop, she was satisfied, just as the fiddler had said she would be.
By and by the tinker and the shoemaker began again; the princess must choose one or the other of them. And now there was nothing left for her to do but to say “Yes.” She felt sure that the fiddler would be on hand at the right time, and so a day was fixed for choosing whom she would marry.
It was not long before the fiddler heard of that, for news flies fast. Off he went by himself and played a turn or two on his fiddle.