“Ah,” she exclaimed, “then I cannot help you. My name is Autumn, and I am far too busy gathering fruit to have time to spare for such things as love and marriage. My sister Summer is full of dreams, and she may find you what you want.”
So saying, she shut the door, and as there was nothing else for him to do, the Prince resumed his journey.
He noticed ere long that the grass by the roadside was very tall, and that the fields were heavy with corn ready for harvest. The air was so warm that it touched his cheek caressingly, and the sun shone down so hotly that he was fain to unloose his coat. He was very glad when at last he saw a small yellow house shaded by a group of trees. As he knocked at the door, he heard the sound of a distant waterfall, and the hope of quenching his thirst was more in his mind just then than the fairest wife in Summer’s kingdom. His summons was answered by a stately woman crowned with auburn tresses.
“I am sorry I cannot help you,” she said, when he had told her the object of his journey, “for I too am very busy. Hasten you to my sister Spring; she is the friend of lovers, and will surely aid you.”
So the Prince went on till he saw a little green house in a bower of lilac. Hyacinths and violets, jonquils, narcissi, and fragrant lilies-of-the-valley bloomed beneath the windows, and when he knocked at the door, a little lady with flaxen hair, and eyes of soft deep violet, appeared on the threshold.
“Won’t you take pity on me?” he asked her eagerly. “Your sisters sent me on to you. I seek a wife, who must be fair as the morning, white as the snow, and pure as an angel from Heaven.”
“You ask a great deal,” Spring told him, smilingly, “but I will do my best for you. Come in and rest—you must be tired and hungry.” And to his great delight she ushered him into a long, low room, filled with the scent of flowers.
When he had feasted on bread and honey, and quenched his thirst with sweet new milk, she brought him three fine lemons on a crystal tray. Beside them was a handsome silver knife, and a quaint gold cup of rare design.
“These are magic gifts,” she said, “so guard them carefully. Return at once to your own home, and make your way to the great fountains in the palace gardens. Having made quite sure that you are alone, take your silver knife and cut open the first lemon. As you do so, a lovely princess will instantly appear, and will ask you to give her water. If you at once offer her some in this golden cup, she will stay with you and be your wife, but should you hesitate, even for the space of a second, she will vanish into thin air, and you will never see her again.”
“I am not likely to be so foolish,” said the Prince, “but if I do, shall I have no wife at all?”