Yes, the crone would do that. She gave him a bite and a sup and a bit over, and while he was eating and drinking she sat and talked with him.
“What is the news here in the city?” asked the lad.
“Oh the same news as ever.”
“And what is that? For I am a stranger here and know no more of yesterday or the week before than of to-day.”
“Then I will tell you. Over yonder lies the castle, and the King lives there. He has only one daughter, and she is a beauty, you may believe. Every night the Princess disappears from the castle, and where she goes no one can tell but herself, and she will not. So the King has offered a reward to any one who will find out. The half of his kingdom he offers and the hand of the Princess as well, if only any one can tell him where she goes.”
“That is a good hearing,” said the lad. “I have a mind to try for that prize myself.”
“No, but wait a bit,” said the old woman. “There is another side to the story, for if you try and fail your head will be lifted from your shoulders with a sharp sword, and you are too fine a young man to lose your life in that way.”
But the lad was determined to try. In vain the old woman warned and entreated him. He thanked her for the meal he had eaten, and then off he set for the palace. There he told the errand that had brought him and after that it did not take long for him to get to see the King.
“So you think you can find out where the Princess goes at night,” said the King.
Yes, the lad thought he could.