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136 with sorrow. Three days passed without their hearing a word. At the end of the three days, the King of the Peacocks came and insulted them, through a hole in the wall.

"You have assumed the titles of King and Prince," cried he to them, "in order to impose upon me and engage me to marry your sister; but you are nothing better than vagabonds, who are not worth the water you drink. I will find judges for you, who will quickly try and sentence you. The rope is already twisting which shall hang you both." "King of the Peacocks," replied the King in great wrath, "be less hasty in this matter, for you may have cause to repent. I am a king as surely as you are one; I have a fine kingdom, robes, crowns, and good money. Ha! ha! it's a fine joke truly for you to be talking of hanging us. Have we stolen anything from you, pray?"

When the king heard him speak so boldly, he knew not what to think, and he was tempted, at times, to let them go with their sister, and not put them to death: but his confidant, who was a downright courtier, encouraged him, saying, that if he did not take vengeance on them, everybody would laugh at him, and would think him a mean, petty sovereign, not worth a groat. He swore that he would not forgive them, and ordered their trial to take place. It did not last long. It was only necessary to exhibit the portrait of the real Princess Rosette by the side of the person who had presented herself under that title. Consequently they were condemned to lose their heads, as false traitors, who had promised to give the king a beautiful princess in marriage, and had only offered to him an ugly country wench. The Court went in full state to the prison to read the sentence to the prisoners, and they declared that they had not been guilty of falsehood, that their sister was a princess fairer than the day: that there was some mystery which they could not understand, and that they demanded seven days' respite of the execution of their sentence, as in that time their innocence would probably be acknowledged. The King of the Peacocks, who was greatly incensed, was very loth to grant them this favour: but eventually he consented.

Whilst all this is passing at Court, we must say a word about the poor Princess Rosette. When day broke, she was greatly astonished, and Fretillon also, to find themselves in