“Why, child,” said the old woman, “don’t you know that all the village maidens are assembled on the Green by order of the Prince. He is going to select a princess. I must hurry to see who is the lucky maid!”
Little Miss Helpful thought with a pang that she might have been with all the village maidens, if it had not been for the lost chicken.
“I will go home now to grandma,” said the little girl; “the black cat must have caught it.”
Just then she reached the village green and there were all the maidens standing in a row waiting for the Prince.
They looked very pretty, especially Nannie Worthless, who wore the blue silk bonnet.
In a few minutes the Prince drove up in his golden chariot and dear Little Miss Helpful saw that it was the very Prince that she had danced with in the golden castle. But alas! he never looked at her in her old gingham dress. He saw Nannie Worthless, and making a low courtesy before her, said, “Ah! I think I have seen this bonnet before.”
Nannie blushed and smiled at the Prince, who helped her into the golden chariot. Little Miss Helpful stood apart from the crowd and felt sad indeed when she realized that the blue bonnet had won the Prince’s heart. All at once a great gust of wind came along and blew the bonnet off Nannie’s head. The handsome Prince jumped out of the chariot and ran to catch it. Away went the bonnet with the Prince after it until all of a sudden it dropped right on the head of Little Miss Helpful and stayed there as nice as could be.
Now a strange thing happened. No sooner did the blue bonnet touch Little Miss Helpful, than her gingham dress changed to the blue silk frock and her feet were encased in the dear little blue satin slippers again. In fact there she stood just as she had appeared in the golden castle.
Everybody was very much surprised, and Nannie had to get out of the golden chariot before all the people.
The Prince bowed low before Little Miss Helpful, saying, “This is my true princess,” and he helped her into his golden chariot.