As they passed through it the lad stretched out his hand and broke off a twig. Then all the trees began to sigh and moan.
“Child of man! Child of man! Why do you break and torture us?” they cried.
“Oh, my dear Lala, what did I tell you?” asked the Princess. “I am afraid”; and she trembled all over her body.
The demon answered nothing, but he flew on even faster than ever.
Soon after they came to a magnificent palace, and the demon flew in through a window and alighted. Then the Princess and the lad leaped down from the buckler, and the demon was glad to have the weight off him. After that he vanished.
The Princess opened a door and went into another room, with the lad close behind her, and there was the King of all the demons, and he was so huge and black that the demon Lala was nothing to him.
“My dearest dear one, why are you so late to-night?” asked he of the Princess.
“I do not know what was the matter,” answered the fair one, “but something is terribly wrong”; and she told him all that had happened.
The Demon laughed at her. “You are nervous,” said he. “But come! You have not kissed me yet.”
He came close to the Princess to kiss her, but the lad stepped between them and gave the Demon such a push that he almost fell over; at the same time he himself gave the Princess a kiss upon the cheek.