So she told her father the story, and the King said she need not worry, for he would find a way out of the difficulty. She was to leave the door open that night, and while the tailor was sleeping, the King's servants should steal into the room, bind the tailor, and take him away to be killed.
The Princess promised to see that everything was in readiness, and she tripped about all day with a very light heart.
She little knew that one of the tailor's servants had overheard [page 286] their cruel plot, and carried the news straight to his master.
That night, when the Princess thought her husband was sleeping fast, she crept to the door and opened it.
To her great terror, the tailor began to speak.
"Boy, take the Lord Mayor's coat home, or I'll box your ears. Haven't I killed seven at one blow? Haven't I slain two giants, a unicorn, and a wild boar? What do I care for the men who are standing outside my door at this moment?"
At these words off flew the men as though they had been shot from a gun, and no more attempts were ever made on his life. So the Princess had to make the best of a bad job.
He lived on and when the old King died he ascended the throne in his stead. So the brave little tailor became ruler over the whole kingdom; and his motto throughout his whole life was, "Seven at one blow."
