"Wretch!" she cried. "You have made me a cripple for life! You are nothing but a careless boy after all."
"Oh, what have I neglected to do?" cried the prince, sick with fear.
"There is one of my little toes still hanging to the tree. Oh, what an awkward creature a prince is!"
The prince on his knees begged her pardon, and finally Yellow Lily broke into her old, sweet smile and said:
"I am thankful it is no worse. What a sight I would be if you had forgotten my backbone!"
So they became merry and talkative again until it was time for the giant to arrive. Then Yellow Lily went to her tower and the prince took his stand at the castle gate holding the crow's egg.
"You are certainly a magician!" gasped the giant when he saw the prince. "I cannot take your head, lest a worse fate befall me. Go home at once. Do not linger here a minute."
The prince wanted to bid farewell to Yellow Lily, but of course, that was impossible, so he hastened home as fast as he could.
When he reached the Palace of Erin, the king, the queen, old Glic, and all the court ran out to greet him. Never before had there been such rejoicing there. For days they feasted and danced to melodious music, and a tournament was held in which the best archers in the kingdom tested their skill.
A year later, old Glic, who was always making trouble, told the king that it was time for the prince to marry some noble lady of great wealth. The prince would have liked to marry Yellow Lily, but the king said that he must choose a princess whose rank was equal to his own. In despair the prince told Glic to select him a wife soon or he would go roaming again and never return.