cing at the
palace. The whole court jumped about as they had seen the king do
the day before, but the princess lay on the sofa, and would not say
a single word. All now depended upon John. If he only guessed
rightly the third time, he would marry the princess, and reign over
the kingdom after the death of the old king: but if he failed, he
would lose his life, and the magician would have his beautiful blue
eyes. That evening John said his prayers and went to bed very early,
and soon fell asleep calmly. But his companion tied on his wings to
his shoulders, took three rods, and, with his sword at his side,
flew to the palace. It was a very dark night, and so stormy that the
tiles flew from the roofs of the houses, and the trees in the garden
upon which the skeletons hung bent themselves like reeds before the
wind. The lightning flashed, and the thunder rolled in one
long-continued peal all night. The window of the castle opened, and
the princess flew out. She was pale as death, but she laughed at the
storm as if it were not bad enough. Her white mantle fluttered in
the wind like a large sail, and the traveller flogged her with the
three rods till the blood trickled down, and at last she could
scarcely fly; she contrived, however, to reach the mountain. "What a
hail-storm!" she said, as she entered; "I have never been out in
such weather as this."

"Yes, there may be too much of a good thing sometimes," said the
magician.

Then the princess told him that John had guessed rightly the
second time, and if he succeeded the next morning, he would win, and
she could never come to the mountain again, or practice magic as she
had done, and therefore she was quite unhappy. "I will find out
something for you to think of which he will never guess, unless he
is a greater conjuror than myself. But now let us be merry."

Then he took the princess by both hands, and they danced with
all the little goblins and Jack-o'-lanterns in the room. The red
spiders sprang here and there on the walls quite as merrily, and the
flowers of fire appeared as if they were throwing out sparks. The
owl beat the drum, the crickets whistled and the grasshoppers played
the mouth-organ. It was a very ridiculous ball. After they had
danced enough, the princess was obliged to go home, for fear she
should be missed at the palace. The magician offered to go with her,
that they might be company to each other on the way. Then they flew
away through the bad weath