Did Patty now forget her early home and her old friend, the pitcher? No, she did not, for the pitcher went with her; but her parents wished to end their days in the peaceful village where they were born. In the splendid state in which she now lived, the pitcher was as useful to her as before, though in a different way. When the poor came to the palace gate, he gave them bread and nourishing soup for their families, for which they daily blessed the kind princess who relieved their wants. So you see the pitcher, although now not called upon to work, still continued, in the name of his mistress, to do good to all around.
Patty in Trouble
But, alas! the best of us cannot escape from envious hearts and wicked tongues, and so it befell with Patty. Her dream of happiness was short. Many of the wicked courtiers envied her the love of the people, to whom Patty was endeared by her gentle kindness; and they whispered slanders into the ears of the prince, her husband, who at last, I am sorry to say, was weak enough to listen to them; for they aroused his fears by telling him that she was trying to bribe the people by her charities to rebel against him.
They also said that she was served by evil spirits, and pointed to the good and innocent pitcher as a proof of their wicked tales. Alas for human weakness! The prince at last became convinced of her guilt; and although his heart ached, he had her put into one of the dungeons of the palace; and there poor Patty was left to mourn over the too easy belief of her husband in her guilt.
She did not, however, mourn long, for as night came on, the prison door gently opened, and there, to her great delight, she saw the faithful pitcher, with a bunch of keys in his hand.
“Come,” said he, “let us return to your peaceful home, and show your husband that it is his heart and not his riches that you covet. He will come back to reason and repentance when he finds he has lost you.”
Poor Patty followed him in deep grief; but they had not gone far in their flight, when she perceived with alarm, that they were followed by a band of soldiers. She screamed with fright.
“Be not Alarmed, Dear Mistress,” said the Pitcher