After they had left, the King turned to the lion and said, “You have spoken falsely. They walked as other men.”
But the lion said: “They must have been warned, or they would have tripped and slidden as maidens. I will yet prove to you that I speak the truth. To-morrow, summon the twelve to the royal chamber. Let twelve spinning-wheels be placed there. Then, as the huntsmen advance toward you, you will see each cast longing looks at the spinning-wheels, which, if they were men, you must grant they would not do.”
The King was pleased that the huntsmen should again be put to the test, for the lion was a wise beast and had never before been proved wrong.
But again the kind servant warned the disguised maidens, and they resolved not even to glance in the direction of the spinning-wheels.
Next morning the King ordered the twelve huntsmen to be called, and as they walked across the royal chamber there was not one of them but looked straight into the eyes of the King. It seemed as though they had not known that the spinning-wheels were there.
After they had gone the King turned to the lion, and again he said, “You have spoken falsely.” Then he told the royal beast that the twelve huntsmen had not even glanced in the direction of the spinning-wheels.
“They must have been warned,” repeated the lion, but the King believed him no longer.
So the huntsmen stayed with the King and went out a-hunting with him, and the more he saw of them the more he liked them.
One day, while they were in the forest, news was brought that the princess whom the King was to marry was on her way to meet the hunting-party.
When the true bride heard it, she grew white as a lily, and, staggering, fell backward. Fortunately, the trunk of a tree supported her until the King, wondering what had happened to his dear huntsman, ran to the spot and pulled off her glove.