Now, it happened that the poor old woman who lived in this tower had never heard the King's command, for she was so deaf that if you shouted until you were hoarse she would never have been able to understand you.
"What pretty work you are doing there, Goody? And why does that wheel go whirr, whirr, whirr?" said the Princess. [page 155] The old woman neither answered nor looked up, for, of course, she did not hear.
So the Princess stepped into the room and laid her hand upon the old woman's shoulder.
Goody started then, looked up, and rubbed her eyes.
"Deary, deary me!" cried she, in a high, cracked voice. "And who may you be, my pretty darling?"
"I'm the Princess Miranda," screamed the maiden in her ear, but the old woman only shook her head—she could hear nothing.
Then the Princess pointed to the spindle, and made the old woman understand that she wanted to try if she could work it.
So Goody nodded, and laughed, and got up from her seat, and the Princess sat down and took the spindle in her hand. But no sooner did she touch it than she pricked the palm of her hand with the point, and sank down in a swoon.
Immediately a deep silence fell on all around. The little bird that only a moment before had been singing so sweetly upon the window-sill hushed his song. The distant hum of voices from the courtyard beneath ceased; even Goody stopped short in the directions she was giving the Princess, and neither moved hand nor foot towards the poor little maid, and all because she had fallen fast asleep as she stood.
Below in the castle it was just the same. The King and Queen, who had that moment returned from their journey and were enquiring for their daughter, fell asleep before the lady-in-waiting could answer them, and as to the lady herself she had begun to snore—in a ladylike manner, of course—before you could have winked your eye.