At once a clap of thunder sounded; the castle rocked, and the walls crumbled about him. The trees in the gardens were withered, and a thick darkness fell, while all about him sounded cries and groans.
But the lad seated himself upon the carpet and wished himself back at the door of the room in the tower, and there he was in a twinkling, long before Lala had flown in through the window with the Princess, even though he flew as swiftly as the wind.
The lad took off the Turban of Darkness, and rolled up the carpet, and lay down and closed his eyes as though he were asleep.
Presently the Princess opened the door and peered out. There lay the lad, snoring and with his eyes closed. The Princess drew a sharp needle and ran it into the lad’s heel, but he never flinched, so she felt sure he was asleep.
“Thou fool!” said she scornfully. “Sleep on, and to-morrow thou shalt pay the penalty.”
Then she went back into the room and closed the door.
The next day the Princess called the guards and bade them carry the lad away and cut the head from his shoulders.
“Wait a bit,” said the lad. “Do not be in such a hurry. First we must appear before thy father the King; he must decide in this case, and it may be I have something to tell him that will be worth the hearing.”
The Princess could not refuse this, so she and the lad were brought before the King, and the lad began to tell his story. When he came to the part where the great black Demon had come and flown away with the Princess she turned first as red as blood and then as pale as death.
“It is not true!” she cried, but the King bade her be silent.