"I am the Spirit you heard by the hedge one moonlight night," spoke the voice again. "Do you remember?"
"I remember well," replied Yvonne, "and oh, Spirit, had the cruel Ironheart kept his promise, Godfrey would even now be free of his dungeon; but alas! The wicked king hath set me still another task."
"It is to help you with that task that I have come," said the Spirit. "Each night when the stars begin to shine in the heavens, expect me, until your task be done; and now to begin as the king commanded, I must have the blue from your eyes to make the rivers and lakes."
"The blue from my eyes!" cried the princess in dismay. "Truly the cruel Ironheart hath said it rightly. I shall be the ugliest woman alive! But it is to free my beloved Godfrey, so take it, Spirit!" She felt a movement of the air close beside her and an invisible hand was drawn across her eyelids. At the same moment she heard the singing of a brook near by and in the distance the roaring of a waterfall.
Remembering the wise woman's advice, Yvonne dipped the acorns and pine cones in the brook and planted them in the desert sand before she slept. In the morning she awoke in a wilderness of forest, and the plain, no longer barren and desolate, was alive with birds that sang, and wild deer that ran among the trees. The princess sought the heart of this forest, and there when night had come she awaited the Spirit. When the stars began to shine, it came as it had promised.
"The outer walls of the palace must be of whitest marble," said the Spirit, "and for that I must have the whiteness of your neck and throat." Though the princess shuddered, she consented, and the invisible hand was passed over her neck and throat. No sooner had it done so than in the open space among the trees she could see the outlines of a great building whose walls gleamed in the moonlight.
"And now," continued the Spirit, "if you have no wish to wander through this forest of oak and pine, but long instead to have done with your task, give me at once the gold of your hair and the red from your lips, that I may finish the inner walls of the palace and cause thousands of red roses to climb to the towers."
"The sooner I finish my task, the sooner will King Ironheart free Godfrey from his dungeon," replied the princess. "While he lies in chains, the red of my lips and the gold of my hair bring me no pleasure; so take them quickly, Spirit." The same hand was passed over her hair and her lips and the Spirit spoke again.
"Now look at the palace to see that it is all King Ironheart desired," it said. "Then when you are satisfied we shall start at once to tell him that your task is done. I shall remain with you to cheer you until you go again to the mill in the forest."
Yvonne did as the Spirit bid. She found the palace of great splendor, and myriads of red roses blossomed over its white marble walls. Within all was bright as day; the golden walls glittered like a thousand suns.