By and by they came to a huge castle of shining steel that stood on a mountain of glass. And it was a good thing for the drummer that he had on his cap of darkness, for all around outside of the castle stood fiery dragons and savage lions to keep anybody from going in without leave.
But not a thread of the drummer did they see; in he walked with the princess, and there was a great one-eyed witch with a beard on her chin, and a nose that hooked over her mouth like the beak of a parrot.
“Uff!” said she, “here is a smell of Christian blood in the house.”
“Tut, mother!” says the princess, “how you talk! do you not see that there is nobody with me?” For the drummer had taken care that the wind should not blow the cap of darkness off of his head, I can tell you. By and by they sat down to supper, the princess and the witch, but it was little the princess ate, for as fast as anything was put on her plate the drummer helped himself to it, so that it was all gone before she could get a bite.
“Look, mother!” she said, “I eat nothing, and yet it all goes from my plate; why is that so?” But that the old witch could not tell her, for she could see nothing of the drummer.
“There was a lad came to-day to answer the question I shall put to him,” said the princess. “Now what shall I ask him by way of a question?”
“I have a tooth in the back part of my head,” said the witch, “and it has been grumbling a bit; ask him what it is you are thinking about, and let it be that.”
Yes; that was a good question for sure and certain, and the princess would give it to the drummer to-morrow, to see what he had to say for himself. As for the drummer, you can guess how he grinned, for he heard every word that they said.
After a while the princess flew away home again, for it was nearly the break of day, and she must be back before the sun rose. And the drummer flew close behind her, but she knew nothing of that.
The next morning up he marched to the king’s castle and knocked at the door, and they let him in.