and then went back under the
window of the Princess, but she was not visible. He called her again and
again, at the top of his voice, but she did not answer him nor make her
appearance. The night was fast coming on, and overcome with sorrow and
despair, and weak with hunger, the Prince fell upon the ground.

When he had lain thus for an hour or two, hearing nothing of the
Princess or his enemies, he began to reflect that if he intended to
serve his lady-love, he must do something, and that speedily. He
himself, he plainly saw, had no power against this sorceress, and
perhaps even now she was within the tower, preventing the Princess from
answering or appearing to him. He would go for assistance, and, come
what would, the Princess should be delivered from that horrid tower. He
therefore arose, and, without reflecting how he was to leave this abode
of wickedness, he prepared to return to his friend and adviser Trumkard.
When he reached the aperture by which he had entered the hollow mountain
(which he did without meeting any one), he found it closed by a gate of
brass. But he was not to be thus deterred. He ran around the sides of
the mountain, rousing in his course several herds of Yabouks and
dreadful cattle that gazed, half awake, at his rapid movements, and
examined, as well as he could by the dim light, the wall of this great
cavern. He soon became convinced, by the knowledge he had gained in a
few visits to his step-mother's dominions, that these walls were not
very thick. His resolution was quickly formed. Taking off his handsome
and richly embroidered clothes, which would only impede him in his
labors, he stood dressed only in his under-vest and trousers. Then,
springing upon a projecting rock and over another, he entered a great
crack, pushed through some loose earth, and made his way through the
various crevices of the ground, as he had seen the gnomes do. After
about an hour's work, he emerged into the open air very tired and very
dirty. After resting awhile, he arose, and, taking his way across a
great plain, found himself by daybreak, worn out and footsore, near the
gates of a great city. Entering, he inquired of one of the few people
who were up so early, what city this was, and was informed that it was
the city of the Queen Altabec, and a long distance from the city of the
mighty King.

The Prince thanked his informant, and proceeded to look for a tailor's
shop, where he might provide himself with clothes;