‘Good morning, Prince; are you come to marry me?’
‘I’m no prince; and I’m not come to marry you most certainly!’ replied the youth.
But all the servants standing round made all sorts of gesticulations that he should say ‘yes.’
‘It’s no use mouthing at me,’ said the lad; ‘I shall never say “yes” to that!’
But they went on making signs all round that he should say ‘yes,’ till at last they bewildered him so, that, almost without knowing what he did, he said ‘yes.’
Directly he had said ‘yes,’ there were thunder and lightning, and thunderbolts, and meteors, and howling of wind, and storm of hail. The youth felt in great fear; but the servants said:
‘It is all right. She you thought an old hag is indeed a beautiful princess of eighteen, but she was under a spell; by consenting to marry her you have ended that spell, if you can only stand through the fear of this storm for three days and three nights, no harm can come to you, and we also shall all be set free.’
The whole apartment now seemed on fire, and when that ceased for a time, it seemed to rain fire all around.
For two days he managed to endure, but on the third day he got so frightened that he ran away. He had not much bettered his condition, however; for, if he had got away from the magic storms of the under world, he had come into real storms in the actual world, and there he was alone in the Campagna, starving and destitute again.
At last an old man appeared, who said to him: