Page:Fairytales00auln.djvu/437

Rh she, "it appears to me that you ought to be convinced of what I tell you. Leave your kingdom in good hands, and do not delay your departure. Here is a ring which will enable you to see the Queen, and to speak to the Fairy Lioness, although she is the most terrible creature in the world."

The King, no longer caring for the Princess who had been selected for him, felt that as his passion for her diminished, his former love for the Queen became stronger than ever.

He set out, without permitting any one to accompany him, and made some very valuable presents to the Frog. "Do not be discouraged," said she to him; "you will have some tremendous difficulties to surmount, but I hope you will succeed in accomplishing your object." The King, fortified by these promises, departed in search of his dear Queen, with no other guide but his ring.

As Moufette became older, her beauty so greatly increased, that all the monsters of the quicksilver lake became in love with her. Dragons of the most hideous form were seen to come and crawl at her feet. Although she had beheld them from infancy, her beautiful eyes could not get accustomed to them; she would fly and hide herself in her mother's arms. "Shall we be a long time here?" she asked her. "Will our miseries never be ended?" The Queen would give her hopes, to console her, but at heart she had none herself. The absence of the Frog, her profound silence, so long a time having elapsed without any news of the King,—all this, I say, afflicted her severely.

The Fairy Lioness by degrees accustomed herself to take them out with her when she went hunting. She was fond of good eating; she liked the game they killed for her, and though all she gave them in reward for their trouble was the feet or the head, still it was a great thing for them to be permitted again to behold the light of day. The Fairy took the form of a Lioness, the Queen and her daughter rode upon her, and thus hunted through the forest.

The King, conducted by his ring, having stopped to rest in a forest, he saw them pass like an arrow from a bow. They did not see him. He endeavoured to follow them, but lost sight of them completely.

Notwithstanding the Queen's incessant troubles, her beauty was not at all diminished. She appeared more lovely than ever. All his affection for her was rekindled; and feeling sure