398 THE WHITE CAT.

short, dear prince,” continued the lady, “ my mother instantly
got out of bed, was dressed by her attendants, entered the palace,
and satisfied her longing. When the queen had eaten her fill,
she ordered four thousand mules to be procured, and loaded with
the fruit, which had the virtue of continuing all the year round
ina state of perfection. Thus provided, she returned to the
king, my father, who, with the whole court, received her with
rejoicings, as it was before imagined she would die of disappoint-
ment, All this time the queen said nothing to my father of the
promise she had made to give her daughter to the fairies ; so
that when the time was come that she expected my birth, she
grew very melancholy ; till at length being pressed by the king,
she declared to him the truth, Nothing could exceed his afftic-
tion, when he heard that his only child, when born, was to be
given to the fairies: he bore it, however, as well as he could,
for fear of adding to my mother’s grief; and also believing he
should find some means of keeping me in a place of safety,
which the fairies would not be able to approach. As soon, there-
fore, as I was born, he had me conveyed to a tower in the palace,
to which there were twenty flights of stairs, and a door to each,
of which my father kept the key ; so that none came near me
without his consent. When the fairies heard of what had been
done, they sent first to demand me ; and on my father’s refusal,
they let loose a monstrous dragon, which devoured men, women,
and children, and which, by the breath of its nostrils, destroyed
everything it came near, so that the trees and plants began to
die in great abundance. The grief of the king at seeing this
could scarcely be equalled ; and finding that his whole kingdom
would in a short time be reduced to famine, he consented to give
me into their hands. I was accordingly laid in a cradle of
mother-o'-pearl, ornamented with gold and jewels, and carried
to their palace ; when the dragon immediately disappeared.