Page:Select Popular Tales from the German of Musaeus.djvu/154

140 suspicion of the enraged lady that he had enviously caused the ragoût to disappear, he neither concealed the adventure in the Pyrenees, nor the gifts of Mother Druid. Through this true tale the Princess suddenly arrived at the long-desired knowledge of her three favourites, and immediately resolved to possess herself of their magic secrets.

As soon as the unguarded prattler ceased, and according to his idea had justified himself she spoke, and said, with a contemptuous mien. “Miserable fool! dost thou hope to save thyself, and to deceive me with such a lame falsehood? Let me see the wonder of thy table-napkin, or fear my revenge!” Amarin was as willing as constrained to obey this command. He drew forth his table-napkin, spread it out, and asked what he should serve up. She desired a ripe nutmeg, in the husk. Amarin commanded the obedient spirit of the napkin; the vase appeared; and the ripe nutmeg in its husk appeared on a green twig, which Amarin, to Urraca’s astonishment, offered respectfully to her, on his knees. But, instead of accepting it, she seized upon the magic table-napkin, and threw it into an open box, which she immediately locked. Fainting, the betrayed major domo sank to the earth, when he saw before his eyes the loss of all his temporary happiness; the cunning robber, however, gave a loud scream; and when her domestics entered, she said. “This man is afflicted with epilepsy; take care of him; but let him never again approach me, that he may not cause me a second fright.” Stupidly enough, the clever Sarron, with all his cunning, had this time kept a bad look out, in thinking to piny his companion a roguish trick. In the pleasure of mischief, he greedily gobbled up the pilfered dainty; and, thus occupied, he did not think, on this occasion, of accompanying the Queen into her chamber. She had, however, on the previous day, invited him to an entertainment in the evening, where he did not delay to present himself. The Queen was in an unusually good humour, and as tender and caressing as a Grace; so that friend Damogorgon was in a complete paroxysm of joy. In this rapture, the cunning deceiver offered him a goblet of nectar, which she first sipped, and the flavour of which soon wafted to him sweet slumbers; for a powerful opiate lay concealed therein. As soon as he began to snore aloud, the most crafty of thieves possessed herself of the thumbstall of invisibility, and caused the monarch of air to be carried forth by her servants, and laid in the open street, in a corner of the town, where he snored out the narcotic draught on the pavement. No sleep came to the eyes of the false Princess, for joy; her thoughts and invention were now only directed to obtaining also the third magic treasure.

Scarcely did the first morning-beam gild the roofs of the King’s palace at Astorga, when the restless lady rang for her Abigails and said, “Send a messenger to Childeric, that he may accompany