some new sorcery,
but when they saw her hands they understood what she was doing in their
behalf. The youngest brother wept, and where his tears touched her the
pain ceased and the burning blisters vanished. Eliza kept to her work
all night, for she could not rest till she had released her brothers.
During the whole of the following day, while her brothers were absent,
she sat in solitude, but never before had the time flown so quickly.

One coat was already finished and she had begun the second, when she
heard a huntsman's horn and was struck with fear. As the sound came
nearer and nearer, she also heard dogs barking, and fled with terror
into the cave. She hastily bound together the nettles she had gathered,
and sat upon them. In a moment there came bounding toward her out of the
ravine a great dog, and then another and another; they ran back and
forth barking furiously, until in a few minutes all the huntsmen stood
before the cave. The handsomest of them was the king of the country,
who, when he saw the beautiful maiden, advanced toward her, saying, "How
did you come here, my sweet child?"

Eliza shook her head. She dared not speak, for it would cost her
brothers their deliverance and their lives. And she hid her hands under
her apron, so that the king might not see how she was suffering.

"Come with me," he said; "here you cannot remain. If you are as good as
you are beautiful, I will dress you in silk and velvet, I will place a
golden crown on your head, and you shall rule and make your home in my
richest castle." Then he lifted her onto his horse. She wept and wrung
her hands, but the king said: "I wish only your happiness. A time will
come when you will thank me for this."

He galloped away over the mountains, holding her before him on his
horse, and the hunters followed behind them. As the sun went down they
approached a fair, royal city, with churches and cupolas. On arriving at
the castle, the king led her into marble halls, where large fountains
played and where the walls and the ceilings were covered with rich
paintings. But she had no eyes for all these glorious sights; she could
only mourn and weep. Patiently she allowed the women to array her in
royal robes, to weave pearls in her hair, and to draw soft gloves over
her blistered fingers. As she stood arrayed in her rich dress, she
looked so dazzlingly beautiful that the court bowed low in her
presence.

Then the king declared his intention of making