As she did so the drops of blood upon the handkerchief said to her:—
“If thy mother knew thy fate
Then her heart would surely break.”
The Princess made no answer, but having quenched her thirst she mounted her horse again and rode forward, and presently forgot her maid’s rudeness.
After awhile they reached another stream, and as the Princess was again thirsty, she said to the waiting-maid, “Light down, I pray you, and fill my cup with water, that I may drink.”
But the waiting-maid answered even more rudely than before, “No, I will not; get down and get the water for yourself, for I will serve you no more.”
The Princess slipped from her horse, sighing deeply, and as she bent over the stream the three drops of blood said to her:
“If thy mother knew thy fate,
Then her heart would surely break.”
The Princess made no answer, but as she stooped still lower to drink the handkerchief slipped from her bosom and floated away on the stream, but the Princess did not notice this because her eyes were full of tears. The waiting-maid noticed it, however, and her heart was filled with joy, because now the Princess had nothing to protect her, and the wicked servant could do with her as she chose.