hey passed many happy days together till the time came for the great
feast at the court of Princess Maria's father. Don Juan told her that
she might go, but that she must on no account tell his name or rank,
otherwise when she came to their trysting-place by the seashore she
would not find him. He gave her a magic ring by means of which she
might obtain anything she wanted, and left her close to her own city.
When she arrived at home her sisters were greatly surprised to see
her looking well, happy, and much more finely dressed than when she
went away, but her father was very glad to see her. The elder sisters
often asked her the secret of her husband's identity, but her answer
was always the same, "Did you not both see that I married a snake? Who
else could it be." The wicked women then determined to make her tell,
whether she wished or not, and so they asked her to walk with them
in a secluded garden.
Then they took sticks and set upon her, beating her and telling her
that she must tell who her husband was. The poor little princess
defended herself a long time, saying that if she told she would never
see him again, but finally, when she was nearly dead from beating,
she told them that her husband was Don Juan de Austria. Then she was
beaten for not telling the truth, but her tormentors finally desisted
and she went to her father and told him all.
He did not wish her to return to the forest and begged her to remain
with him, but she insisted.
When she arrived at the trysting-place, Don Juan was not there, but
she set out bravely, asking of her ring whatever she needed for food,
drink, and clothing. Wherever she went she inquired of the beasts
and birds the whereabouts of her husband, Don Juan de Austria, and,
when they knew who she was, they worshipped her and did all that
was required.
After many days of wandering she came to a place where there was a
giant, who was about to eat her, but when he knew her for Don Juan's
wife he worshipped her and sent her on her way. Soon she was found by
a young giantess who, too, was about to eat her, but when she learned
that Maria was the wife of Don Juan she carried her to her own house
and hid her, saying that she must be cared for a while until her
parents should return, for they might eat her without asking who she
was. When the old giant and his wife came back, they told her that
she must stay with them for a while, until they could find out about
the whereabouts of
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