The princess was glad to find some one again with whom to play cards and whom she might overcome. She had him brought in without delay. The game began. The man lost; but he didn’t mind that, for whenever he lost he shook the purse and had ten ducats again. So he kept losing and shaking the purse till the princess was astonished, and thought to herself: “Where dost thou get all these ducats, good man? Thou hast not a treasury at thy side, and still thou hast plenty of money. How dost thou get it?”
She watched him and saw that he shook the purse on his knee, from which he took the ducats. She had already won a great bag of ducats, but still was not able to win all he had. She kept thinking how to get that magic purse. “Now let us rest a little,” said she, and went to the next room, from which she brought two goblets of wine. One she gave him and drank the other herself, for they were tired and needed refreshment. Her wine was pure, but in his she put a sleeping-powder. She drank to his health, and he emptied his goblet at a draught. After a while he was so very drowsy that he slipped from the seat, dropped under the table, and fell soundly asleep. That was his misfortune. The princess took the magic purse and gave him one like it containing ten ducats.
When he woke up the princess said to him: “Now let us play again.” They played while he had ducats. When the ducats were gone he shook and shook the purse, but in vain. The princess said: “Well, my dear man, since thou hast no money, go. But that disgrace which I have put on others I will not put on thee. I will not have thee flogged out of the castle because I have won much money from thee; go in peace.”
He went to his friends in great trouble. They greeted him from afar, and called out: “Well, how didst thou prosper?”
“Oh, badly, very badly, brothers; I no longer have the purse; I lost that.”
“Oh, comrade, that is bad; how shall we live now? We are in debt for food and drink, and have nothing to pay with.”
The one who had the magic mantle said: “Do ye know what, brothers? I’ll take a good vengeance on that wicked woman!”
“But how?” was the question.
He answered, “This is how I’ll do it. Let me have thy cap so that no one may see me, and I’ll take my mantle. When the princess is going to church I’ll seize her, fly with her through the air to desert regions, so far away that she will never be able to come home again.”
“Yes, that will be a just punishment for her,” said the two others. The third one immediately took the cap, wrapped the mantle around him, and waited for the princess. As she was going along the street he seized her, flew far away with her to wild mountains, and let her down there on the ground near a pear-tree. On that tree were beautiful pears.