Page:Tales and Legends from the Land of the Tzar.djvu/182

166 Prince Ignatius threw his arms round his friend's neck and embraced him. When his stay had come to an end, Prince Ignatius returned home. He set to work to make arrangements for the wedding.

When Princess Marie came home from her stay at the kingdom opposite the World's End, she was delighted to hear that the handsome Prince Ignatius, her brother's best friend, wished to marry her, and that she was, so to speak, engaged to a prince whom she had never seen!

Everything was got ready, and the beautiful young bride was soon sailing away in a handsome ship to the kingdom near the World's End, with her old nurse and her ugly daughter; while Prince Demitrius sailed in front with his men in another ship.

When the ship in which the princess was had left the shore on which it was built far behind, and was surrounded on all sides by the dark blue sea, the nurse came up to the princess, and said,—

"Fair princess, you look tired, go take off your costly garments and go to sleep, so as to look fresh and bright by the time we reach the kingdom of your future husband."

Princess Marie obeyed, and was soon fast asleep. Now the nurse was a very wicked old witch, and thought that if she could get rid of the princess somehow, she would be able to dress up her own daughter in the princess's garments, and give her to Prince Ignatius for a wife. As it happened to be getting towards night and the young bride was still asleep, the bad nurse went gently to the bedside, and touched the fair sleeper with a little stick, and changed her