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 154 this matter, I pray you, grant me my desire.' Then seeing he was really in earnest about the matter, and that nothing they could say would alter his mind, they listened to his urgent entreaties, not, however, without much grief and vexation; and sent out the guards, who fetched the old woman (who was really the Princess in disguise) to the palace, where she was married to the Prince as privately, and with as little ceremony, as possible, for the family were ashamed of the match.

As soon as the wedding was over, the Prince said to his wife, 'Gentle wife, tell me how much longer you intend to wear that old skin? You had better take it off; do be so kind.' The Princess wondered how he knew of her disguise, or whether it was only a guess of his: and she thought, 'If I take this ugly skin off, my husband will think me pretty, and shut me up in the palace and never let me go away, so that I shall not be able to find my sister again. No, I had better not take it off.' So she answered, 'I don't know what you mean. I am as all these years have made me; nobody can change their skin.' Then the Prince pretended to be very angry, and said, 'Take off that hideous disguise this instant, or I'll kill you.' But she only bowed her head, saying, 'Kill me, then, but nobody can change their skin.' And all this she mumbled as if she were a very old woman indeed, and had lost all her teeth and could not speak plain. At this the Prince laughed very much to himself, and thought, 'I'll wait and see how long this freak lasts.' But the Princess continued to keep on the old woman's skin; only every morning, at about three o'clock, before it was light, she would get up and wash it and put it on again. Then some time afterwards the Prince, having found this out, got up softly one morning early, and followed her to the next room, where she had washed the skin and placed it on the floor to dry, and stealing it, he ran away with it, and threw it on the fire. So the Princess, having no old woman's skin to put on, was obliged to appear in her own likeness. As she walked forth, very sad at missing her disguise, her husband ran to meet her, smiling and saying, 'How do you do, my dear? Where is your skin now? Can't you take it off, dear?' Soon the whole palace had heard the joyful news of the beautiful young wife that the Prince had won; and all the people, when they saw her, cried, 'Why, she is exactly like the beautiful Princess our young Rajah married, the jungle lady.' The old Rajah and Ranee were prouder than all of their daughter-in-law, and took her to introduce her to their eldest son's