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454 but without being bruised or dirtied; so that the Queen, impatient to satisfy her longing, threw herself upon it, and took the first that came to hand, devouring rather than eating it.

"After having partly satisfied her appetite, she begged the Fairies to let her proceed to the espaliers, that she might have the pleasure of choosing the fruit on the tree, and then gathering it. 'We give thee free permission,' said they, 'but remember the promise thou hast made us, thou wilt not be allowed to recall it!' 'I am convinced,' said she, 'that you live so well here, and this palace appears to me so handsome, that if I did not love the King my husband dearly, I should propose to remain here with you as well as my daughter; you need have no fear, therefore, of my retracting my word.'

"The Fairies, perfectly satisfied, opened all their gardens and enclosures to her; she remained in them three days and three nights without wishing to go out again; so delicious did she find them. She gathered fruit to take home with her, and as it would not spoil, she had four thousand mules laden with it. The Fairies, in addition to the fruit, gave her golden baskets of the most exquisite make to put it in, and many rarities of exceeding value. They promised her that I should be educated like a princess, that they would make me perfection, and choose a husband for me; that she should receive notice of the nuptials, and that they hoped for her presence at them.

"The King was enraptured at the return of the Queen. All the Court testified its delight to her. There were nothing but balls, masquerades, runnings at the ring, and banquets, at which the Queen's fruit was served as a delicious treat. The King ate of it in preference to anything that could be presented to him. He knew not of the bargain the Queen had made with the Fairies, and often asked her into what country she had travelled to find such good things.

"At one time she told him they were found on an almost inaccessible mountain; at another she said they grew in some valleys; and at others, again, in a garden or in a great forest. The King was surprised at so many contradictions. He questioned those who had accompanied her: but she had so strictly forbidden them to tell any one of her adventure, that they dared not speak of it. At length the Queen, becoming