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180 ordered the young wife to gather up the skins when the prince had taken them off at night, and bring them to him. She waited till he was fast asleep, and then took the skins to the king, who instantly threw them into the blazing fire.

In the morning, the prince, not finding the skins, asked his wife what she had done with them, and she told him that the king had entered his chamber and carried them away to burn them. "No doubt," he rejoined, "it was you that gave them to him to burn, and I want to know who gave you leave to do so? Good-bye, I must leave you; but if ever you meet me again, mind you imprint a kiss on my lips."

The poor little wife remained in the palace, truly sad and disconsolate, not daring to follow her husband; but when the king and queen found that their son was gone, they turned her out of doors without food or anything but the clothes she had on, so you can imagine the wretched state she was in. She wandered from place to place, not knowing where to go; and to everyone she met, she put this question: "Have you seen a prince, who is my husband?" describing his appearance most minutely. A number of blind beggars passed her on the road, and she accosted them with these words: "Have you met with a very handsome princely-looking man?" The young men who were leading the blind men replied that they had seen a man on the river Jordan, who answered to her