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20 strangled her, if a fairy could have been strangled. Gracieuse presented her with the governor's letter and the box. She threw both into the fire, without deigning to open either, and if she was to be believed herself, she would have willingly flung the princess into it also; but she did not long postpone her punishment. She had a great hole dug in the garden as deep as a well; over it they placed a large stone. She then went to walk in the garden, and said to Gracieuse and those who accompanied her, "Here is a stone under which I am informed there is a treasure, come, let us lift it quickly." Each lent a helping hand; Gracieuse amongst the rest. This was exactly what Grognon wanted. As soon as the princess was on the brink of the pit, Grognon pushed her violently into it, and the others let the stone fall again on the top of it. This time the case was indeed a hopeless one. How was Percinet to find her in the bowels of the earth? She perfectly comprehended the difficulty of her position, and repented having so long delayed marrying him. "How terrible is my fate!" She cried; "I am buried alive!—the most dreadful of all deaths! You are revenged for my hesitation, Percinet; but I feared you were of the same inconstant nature as other men, who change as soon as they are sure they are beloved. I wished to be convinced of your constancy; my prudent suspicions are the cause of my present condition. If I could still hope you would regret my loss, my fate would be less painful." She was thus giving vent to her anguish when she saw a little door open, which had escaped her attention in the darkness, and through it perceived the light of day, and gardens filled with flowers, fruits, fountains, grottos, statues, bowers, and summer-houses. She did not hesitate to enter it. She advanced up a grand avenue, wondering what would be the end of this adventure. Almost at the same moment she perceived the fairy palace. She had not much difficulty in recognising it, independently of the facts that one rarely finds a building entirely of rock crystal, and that she perceived all her recent adventures were engraved in it. Percinet appeared with the queen his mother, and his sisters. "Refuse no longer, lovely princess," said the queen to Gracieuse; "it is time to make my son happy, and to relieve you from the deplorable life you lead under the tyranny of Grognon." The grateful princess fell on her knees before her, and told her she