And with that the old woman departed, and they never saw her more.
So the three soldiers travelled on till they came to a city where there was a princess, who was so proud of her card playing that she had agreed to marry any one who could beat her at cards. Now the sergeant was also very proud of his card playing, and he thought he would try his luck with the princess. So when he went up to the palace he offered to play a game with her, but she said to him:
"What are your stakes? If I lose I have to marry you. But if you lose what do you lose?"
So the sergeant said: "I'll stake my purse."
"Why, what's a purse with nothing in it!" said the princess.
"There may be nothing in it now," said the sergeant, "but see here," and he turned the purse upside-down and put his hand under it, and it kept on dropping gold pieces into his hand as long as he held it upside-down.
So the princess agreed to play for the purse. But she had arranged a mirror at the back of his head in which she could see all his cards. And so she won easily, and he had to give up the purse.
But this princess was so charming that the sergeant had fallen in love with her, and when he went back to his comrades he asked the corporal to lend him his tablecloth. And he went back to the princess and said to her:
"Will you play me for this tablecloth?"
And she said: "It may be a very beautiful tablecloth but it isn't quite equal to me."