Page:Round the Yule Log.djvu/293

 HANS, WHO MADE THE PRINCESS LAUGH. Once upon a time there was a king, who had a daughter, and she was so lovely that the reports of her beauty went far and wide ; but she was so melancholy, that she never laughed, and besides she was so grand and proud that she said " No " to all who came to woo her — she would not have any of them, were they ever so fine, whether they were princes or noblemen. The king was tired of this whim of hers long ago, and thought she ought to get married like other people ; there was nothing she need wait for, — she was old enough and she would not be any richer either, for she was to have half the kingdom, which she inherited after her mother. So he made known every Sunday after the service, from the steps outside the church, that he that could make his daughter laugh should have both her and half the kingdom. But if there were any one who tried and could not make her laugh, he would have three red stripes cut out of his back and salt rubbed into them — and, sad to relate, there were many sore backs in that kingdom. Lovers from south and from north, from east and from west came to try their luck — they thought it was an easy thing to make a princess laugh. They were a queer lot altogether, but for all their cleverness and for all the tricks and pranks they played, the princess was just as serious and immovable as ever. But close to the palace lived a man who had three sons, and they had also heard that the king had made known that he who could make the princess laugh should have her and half the kingdom. The eldest of the brothers wanted to try first, and away he went ;