ere terrible indeed to look upon. Their bodies were covered with
glittering scales; their curly tails extended far over the land; flames
darted from their mouths and noses, and their eyes would have made the
bravest shudder; but as the Prince was invisible and they did not see
him, he slipped past them into the wood. He found himself at once in a
labyrinth, and wandered about for a long time without meeting anyone; in
fact, the only sight he saw was a circle of human hands, sticking out
of the ground above the wrist, each with a bracelet of gold, on which
a name was written. The farther he advanced in the labyrinth the more
curious he became, till he was stopped by two corpses lying in the
midst of a cypress alley, each with a scarlet cord round his neck and a
bracelet on his arm on which were engraved their own names, and those of
two Princesses.
The invisible Prince recognised these dead men as Kings of two large
islands near his own home, but the names of the Princesses were unknown
to him. He grieved for their unhappy fate, and at once proceeded to bury
them; but no sooner had he laid them in their graves, than their hands
started up through the earth and remained sticking up like those of
their fellows.
The Prince went on his way, thinking about this strange adventure, when
suddenly at the turn of the walk he perceived a tall man whose face was
the picture of misery, holding in his hands a silken cord of the exact
colour of those round the necks of the dead men. A few steps further
this man came up with another as miserable to the full as he himself;
they silently embraced, and then without a word passed the cords round
their throats, and fell dead side by side. In vain the Prince rushed to
their assistance and strove to undo the cord. He could not loosen it; so
he buried them like the others and continued his path.
He felt, however, that great prudence was necessary, or he himself might
become the victim of some enchantment; and he was thankful to slip past
the dragons, and enter a beautiful park, with clear streams and sweet
flowers, and a crowd of men and maidens. But he could not forget
the terrible things he had seen, and hoped eagerly for a clue to the
mystery. Noticing two young people talking together, he drew near
thinking that he might get some explanation of what puzzled him. And so
he did.
'You swear,' said the Prince, 'that you will love me till you die, but I
fear your faithless heart, and I f
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