to do this, and
said, "Do your best to walk with a firm tread."

Next morning the King ordered the twelve huntsmen to be called, and as
they walked across the royal chamber, it was with so firm a tread that
not a single pea moved.

After they had left, the King turned to the lion and said, "You have
spoken falsely. They walked as other men."

But the lion said: "They must have been warned, or they would have
tripped and slidden as maidens. I will yet prove to you that I speak the
truth. To-morrow, summon the twelve to the royal chamber. Let twelve
spinning-wheels be placed there. Then, as the huntsmen advance toward
you, you will see each cast longing looks at the spinning-wheels, which,
if they were men, you must grant they would not do."

The King was pleased that the huntsmen should again be put to the test,
for the lion was a wise beast and had never before been proved wrong.

But again the kind servant warned the disguised maidens, and they
resolved not even to glance in the direction of the spinning-wheels.

Next morning the King ordered the twelve huntsmen to be called, and as
they walked across the royal chamber there was not one of them but
looked straight into the eyes of the King. It seemed as though they had
not known that the spinning-wheels were there.

After they had gone the King turned to the lion, and again he said, "You
have spoken falsely." Then he told the royal beast that the twelve
huntsmen had not even glanced in the direction of the spinning-wheels.

"They must have been warned," repeated the lion, but the King believed
him no longer.

So the huntsmen stayed with the King and went out a-hunting with him,
and the more he saw of them the more he liked them.

One day, while they were in the forest, news was brought that the
princess whom the King was to marry was on her way to meet the
hunting-party.

When the true bride heard it, she grew white as a lily, and, staggering,
fell backward. Fortunately, the trunk of a tree supported her until the
King, wondering what had happened to his dear huntsman, ran to the spot
and pulled off her glove.

Looking at the white hand, what was his surprise to see upon the middle
finger the ring he had given to the maiden he loved. Then he looked into
her face and recognized her, and in a flash he understood that she had
come to court as a huntsman, only to be near him. The King was so
touched that he kissed her white cheeks till they grew rosy, and he