Then the lad told how they had flown through the gardens. “It is all a wicked lie,” moaned the Princess, but the lad drew forth the twigs he had broken from the trees and showed them to the King as proof of his truth.
After that the lad told of how they had entered the castle, and how the King Demon had tried to kiss the Princess, and of the shattered goblet and the uneaten feast, and he had the splinter of crystal and the spoon and fork to show, so the King knew it was all true, and the Princess looked as though she wished she were dead.
Last of all he told how the Princess had returned on the Demon’s buckler, and how he had remained behind and cut off the King Demon’s head, and how the castle had fallen and the gardens had withered, and all had become darkness and confusion.
When the Princess heard this she gave a shriek of joy. “Then you have saved me!” she cried. “Never again need I fly forth at night at the will of the Demon nor be his slave!”
Then it was her turn to tell her story. She told how one time the King Demon had seen her walking in the palace gardens and had fallen in love with her, and how he had used his magic to gain power over her. She told how she hated him and feared him, but how against her will he had forced her to come to visit him every night in his castle and had sent the demon Lala to fetch her. But now that the King Demon was dead, she was free, and it was the lad who had saved her.
When the King, her father, heard this, he marveled greatly. Glad was he that such a brave lad was to be his son-in-law, for that was his promise. The lad and the Princess were betrothed then and there, and the King gave orders that a grand wedding feast should be prepared, for they were to be married as soon as possible. All the good folks far and near were invited to come to the feast.
The lad’s elder brother was invited with the rest, but he never dreamed that the brave lad who was to marry the Princess was his own younger brother.
He came to the palace on the feast day and took his place at the table with the other guests, and then he looked up at the three thrones where the King and the Princess and the lad were sitting, and there it was his own younger brother who sat there.
When the man saw that he was afraid, for he remembered how he had deserted the lad on the seashore to live or die as fate willed, and he feared he might be punished for it.
But the younger brother bore him no grudge, but was grateful to him for what he had done. As soon as he saw the elder one there among the guests, he sent a servant for him and placed him in the seat of honor and called him brother.