lived here at the palace, and they wanted me to come home with them,
and I did; and I have lived here ever since, and like it very much. They
are all very kind, and if I didn't sleep so much, I should be very
happy."

The Prince now proposed to the Princess, and she accepted him, and then
she sat down to a harp to give him a little music. The Prince's
presence, in some way (perhaps because he was half-brother to a gnome),
prevented the appearance of the Nimshee; and for the first time since
she had been in the palace, she played without hindrance, and her music
was perfectly charming; and with tears of joy in his eyes, the Prince
sat wishing she would play forever. After a while, however, she got
tired and stopped; and when they turned around, they saw the room was
filled by the people of the palace, who had come to hear this delicious
music. They were nearly all wiping their eyes with their
handkerchiefs,--they were so much affected--and they could not find
words good enough with which to praise the playing of the Princess. Such
music they had never heard before.

Directly she declared that she was going to bed; but she desired the
Grand Chamberlain to take that young Prince and give him a handsome room
until morning, when she would like to see him again, and make
arrangements for their wedding.

So she went away with her ladies, and the Chamberlain took the Prince
out into the alabaster hall again.

"Prince indeed!" said the Chamberlain to himself; "O yes! I'll take care
of him, certainly. A good room,--O yes, indeed!" and, taking the Prince
by the arm, he hurried him along, until he came to the aviary, where all
sorts of wonderful and costly birds were kept, and he pushed him in
there, and locked him up. The Prince was so taken by surprise at this
hasty treatment, that he had no time to get angry, or he would certainly
have drawn his sword, and made short work of the Grand Chamberlain. As
it was, he passed the night in the aviary as well as he could; but as he
had no place to lie but the floor, and as the ostriches walked about a
good deal, he was very much afraid they might tread upon him, and this
made him feel uneasy all night. The great owls, too, made it very
unpleasant for him, by forming a circle around him, and steadfastly
gazing at him with their great eyes, which looked like enormous
cat-eyes, stuck into the darkness. As to the night-hawks and the other
birds which fly in the dark, they swooped around