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206 The prince was struck speechless with wonder; and the princess was equally astonished. The servants entered the room, and finding a prince-like youth seated by their master's daughter, hastened to the king with the intelligence. He hurried to the spot, and seeing the prince, asked him who he was. The prince told him; and the royal family, with all the other inmates of the palace, acclaimed him as their deliverer. They said that the touch of a silver stick had petrified them all, and that their revival was the result of his having touched the princess with the stick of gold. In recognition of the very great service he had rendered them, the prince was rewarded with the princess's hand; and great were the rejoicings on the joyous occasion.

Meanwhile in his own home his parents mourned for the prince as the years passed and he did not return. The queen had taken to her bed, and the king had become blind with weeping. They were disconsolate, and courted death as the only termination of their great grief The whole kingdom was overcast with sadness, which was, however, ultimately removed when one day the long-lost prince appeared with his bride. Joyous acclamations rent the air; and the royal couple, being informed of the return of their dear son, hastened out to the gate and embraced him and the princess. At the touch of the stick of gold the king regained his sight, and the queen her health, and they lived for years in the enjoyment of great happiness. At length, leaving the throne to his son, the king with the queen retired to spend a secluded and godly life in the depths of the forest.