s money. At last he had nothing left
but a pair of slippers, an old dressing gown, and four shillings. And
now all his companions deserted him. They would not walk with him in
the streets, but one of them, who was very good-natured, sent him an old
trunk with this message, "Pack up!"

"Yes," he said, "it is all very well to say 'pack up.'" But he had
nothing left to pack, therefore he seated himself in the trunk.

It was a very wonderful trunk, for no sooner did any one press on the
lock than the trunk could fly. He shut the lid and pressed the lock,
when away flew the trunk up the chimney, with him in it, right up into
the clouds. Whenever the bottom of the trunk cracked he was in a great
fright, for if the trunk had fallen to pieces, he would have turned a
tremendous somersault over the trees. However, he arrived safely in
Turkey. He hid the trunk in a wood under some dry leaves and then went
into the town. This he could do very well, for among the Turks people
always go about in dressing gowns and slippers, just as he was.

He happened to meet a nurse with a little child. "I say, you Turkish
nurse," cried he, "what castle is that near the town, with the windows
placed so high?"

"The Sultan's daughter lives there," she replied. "It has been
prophesied that she will be very unhappy about a lover, and therefore no
one is allowed to visit her unless the king and queen are present."

"Thank you," said the merchant's son. So he went back to the wood,
seated himself in his trunk, flew up to the roof of the castle, and
crept through the window into the room where the princess lay asleep on
the sofa. She awoke and was very much frightened, but he told her he was
a Turkish angel who had come down through the air to see her. This
pleased her very much. He sat down by her side and talked to her,
telling her that her eyes were like beautiful dark lakes, in which the
thoughts swam about like little mermaids; and that her forehead was a
snowy mountain which contained splendid halls full of pictures. He
related to her the story about the stork, who brings the beautiful
children from the rivers. These stories delighted the princess, and when
he asked her if she would marry him, she consented immediately.

[Illustration: "Will you tell us a story?" said the queen....]

"But you must come on Saturday," she said, "for then my parents will
take tea with me. They will be very proud when they find that I am
going to marry a Turkish