"This is not he of whom I am in search!" adding: "It is of no use trying to deceive me. I must see the young Prince who came to Ungdomland; otherwise, I vow that of this royal capital I will not leave one stone standing upon another."
At those words the two impostors were dumfounded, and the King, pale and trembling, remembered the dreadful sentence he had pronounced.
What was to be done? Doubtless, the young Prince had long before been devoured by the wild beasts. They went, however, to the edge of the pit into which he had been cast, and found him seated calmly in the midst of the lions.
A cry of joy announced this miracle, and was repeated on all sides. The King flew to his son, threw himself on his knees before him, and begged pardon for his iniquity. Carl tenderly raised him, held him to his heart, and returned with him to the city, where he had been so much beloved and regretted. The crowd pressed upon his steps, and filled the air with enthusiastic shouts.
"THAT IS HE!"
On reaching the palace, he arrayed himself in his festival clothes, shook the magic bridle, and, mounted on a superb horse, advanced towards the foreign flotilla.
Hardly had the Princess cast her eyes upon him ere she cried:—
"That is he! I recognise him. It is he who came to Ungdomland!"
They approached each other. She held out her hands to him; he was the spouse designed to her by the mysterious voice.