Page:Fairy tales and stories (Andersen, Tegner).djvu/66

34 slippers came to meet him; he had the crown on his head and carried the scepter in one hand, and the golden apple in the other. "Wait a bit," he said, and put the apple under his arm, so that he could hold out his hand to Johannes. But as soon as he heard he was a suitor for his daughter's hand he began to cry so violently that both the scepter and the apple fell on the floor, and he had to dry his tears on his dressing-gown — poor old king! "Don't think of it," he said, "you'll fare as badly as all the others. Now just come and see!" and so he led Johannes out into the princess's pleasure garden. There a terrible sight met his eyes. In every tree hung three or four princes, who had wooed the princess, but had not been able to guess what she had been thinking of. Every gust of wind made the skeletons rattle, so that the little birds were frightened away and never dared to come into the garden; all the flowers were fastened up to human bones, and in the flower-pots were placed grinning skulls. That was certainly a strange garden for a princess.

"Here you can see!" said the old king, "it will fare with you as with all the others you see here. Let it therefore be! You really make me unhappy, for I take it so much to heart!" Johannes kissed the hand of the good old king and said that things Would come all right, for he was very much in love with the lovely princess.

At this moment the princess herself came riding into the palace yard with all her ladies; they therefore went out to meet her and say "Good morning" to her. She was really very beautiful; she held out her hand to Johannes, who now could not help loving her more than ever; she could not be the cruel, wicked witch that all the people said she was. They all went into the hall, where little pages offered them sweetmeats and ginger-nuts, but the old king was so distressed that he could not touch anything at all; besides, the ginger-nuts were too hard for him.

It was then arranged that Johannes should come up to the palace again next morning; the judges and the whole council would then be assembled and hear how clever he was at guessing. If he got on well the first time, he was to come twice more, but as yet no one had ever succeeded in guessing right the first time, and so they lost their lives.

Johannes was not at all anxious as to how he would fare; he was quite pleased and only thought of the beautiful princess, and believed firmly that God would help him, but how, he did not know, nor did he want to think of it either. He went dancing along the high road on his way back to the inn, where his companion was waiting for him.

Johannes never tired of telling him how nice the princess had been to him and how beautiful she was; he was already longing greatly for the next day, when he was to go to the palace and try his luck at guessing.

But his companion shook his head and was greatly troubled. "I am