Page:Hansel and Gretel and other stories.djvu/261

CATSKIN ate it, and it pleased him as well as before; so he sent for the cook, who was again forced to tell him that Catskin had cooked it. Catskin was brought again before the King; but she still told him that she was only fit to have the boots and shoes thrown at her head.

But when the King had ordered a feast to be got ready for the third time, it happened just the same as before. "You must be a witch, Catskin," said the cook; "for you always put something into the soup, so that it pleases the King better than mine." However, she let her go up as before. Then she put on the dress which sparkled like the stars, and went into the ballroom in it; and the King danced with her again, and thought she had never looked so beautiful as she did then: so whilst he was dancing with her, he put a gold ring on her finger without her seeing it, and ordered that the dance should be kept up a long time. When it was at an end, he would have held her fast by the hand; but she slipped away and sprang so quickly through the crowd that he lost sight of her; and she ran as fast as she could into her little cabin under the stairs. But this time she kept away too long, and stayed beyond the half hour; so she had not time to take off her fine dress, but threw her fur mantle over it, and in her haste did not soot herself all over, but left one finger white. 257