Sköll. Thou knowest, thou rogue! We are the jolliest of jolly good fellows ever found at a wedding.
Hans [to himself]. Has he the strength for this redeeming act, and would it break the bonds of the madness that holds him?
[Enter a Herald from the left, behind. Then the Queen, holding the young Prince by the hand, and followed by her women. After them, Anna Goldhair.]
Herald. Way there, the Queen approaches!
Sköll [standing attention]. We cannot speak when the Queen comes by.
Hans [looking towards Prince Witte]. His soul dreams. The distance holds him spellbound.
[The Queen and her attendants approach. She stops near Prince Witte, who is not conscious of her presence, and gazes at him long.]
The Young Prince [bustling up to him]. Here, thou strange man, dost thou not know the Queen? It is the rule that when she comes we all should rise. I am the Prince, and yet I must do it too.
Prince Witte [rising and bowing]. Then beg, friend, that the Queen grant me her forgiveness.
The Young Prince. That I will gladly. [He runs back to the Queen.]