Goldenlocks at once left the room where the King’s body lay in state and went to the tower where Charming was confined. She opened his cell and set him free. She put a golden crown on his head, and removed the chains from his wrists and ankles.
“King Charming!” said the Queen, “now you and I shall be married, and—live happily ever after!”
PRINCE HYACINTH
AND THE DEAR LITTLE PRINCESS
BY MADAME LEPRINCE DE BEAUMONT
Once upon a time there lived a King who was deeply in love with a Princess, but she could not marry anyone, because she was under an enchantment. So the King set out to seek a fairy, and asked what he could do to win the Princess’s love. The Fairy said to him:
“You know that the Princess has a great cat which she is very fond of. Whoever is clever enough to tread on that cat’s tail is the man she is destined to marry.”
The King said to himself that this would not be very difficult; and he left the Fairy, determined to grind the cat’s tail to powder rather than not tread on it at all.
You may imagine that it was not long before he went to see the Princess; and puss, as usual, marched in before him, arching its back. The King took a long step, and quite thought he had the tail under his foot, but the cat turned round so sharply that he trod only on air. And so it went on for eight days, till the King began to think that this fatal tail must be full of quick-silver—it was never still for a moment.
At last, however, he was lucky enough to come upon puss fast asleep and with its tail conveniently spread out. So the King, without losing a moment, set his foot upon it heavily.