They danced into the ball-room at exactly quarter of twelve.
“Now,” whispered the fairy, “whatever happens, when the clock strikes twelve, you must play the fiddle.”
Then the fairy opened her bag and a little mouse jumped from it and ran behind a chair.
The king rose from his throne and began to talk, and just then the little mouse ran across the floor, and the lovely princess fell in a faint.
All the noblemen wished to help the princess, and all the ladies wished to fan her.
Amaryllis wished to go to the princess, too, but just at that minute the clock struck twelve.
He remembered the fairy’s words and reached out for the king’s fiddle and began to play a very merry tune.
He played such a merry tune that the princess revived. Everybody began to waltz, and the princess danced so hard that she danced right into Amaryllis’s arms!