"This drove the King wild, and he commanded all the rose-bushes in the kingdom to be cut down, which was instantly done.
"The next morrow at day-break a great noise was heard, and when the Princess arose and peeped from her window every bird in the garden was singing, 'I love you, I love you, I love you.'
"This time the King ordered the Princess to be shut up in the Palace. Then the birds were driven away and a great silken net hung over the garden so that the voice of the birds might no more be heard singing this sweet treason among the flowers.
"Very soon, however, the Princess became so weary of her Palace that she fell ill, and no one dared to tell the King that all night long in dreams she whispered, 'I love you, I love you.'
"Far and near the King sought counsel of all manner of wise men and doctors, but no one would venture to order medicine for the Princess without seeing her, and as to a man doing that, it was out of the question.
"About this time the mermaid, who I need not say was the merrymaker of all this mischief, met the Prince on the beach one evening and thus addressed him.
"'The Princess whom you love is ill, because she has not found out who it is that is ever saying through the shells and the birds and the flowers, "I love you." Take therefore this mirror, write on it a letter with your finger tip, and I will see that it reaches the Princess.'
"The Prince gladly followed these directions, for though when he had traced words on the glass he could see nothing of them, he felt sure of the mermaid's power to help him.
"When he had ended she took the mirror, and carrying it all the way above the waves hastened to the main-land. When she came to the shore she put on a long petticoat to hide her scaly fish tail, and drawing her fins through the sleeves of a gown, mounted up on a pair of crutches and hobbled with great labour to the Palace of King Omar. Here she told the guard to let the King know that a lame doctoress who had come from a far country was waiting to cure the Princess.
"So soon as ever the King heard this he ordered her to be admitted. When he set eyes upon her odd figure he cried out,