ss
of time; and the old woman, pretending that she wanted to cut a piece
of cloth, said to her niece, "Violet, if you love me, go down and fetch
me the yard-measure." So Violet went, as her aunt bade her, but when
she came to the room she perceived the ambush, and, taking the
yard-measure, she slipped out of the room as nimbly as a cat, leaving
the Prince with his nose made long out of pure shame and bursting with
vexation.

When the old woman saw Violet come running so fast, she suspected that
the trick had not succeeded; so presently after, she said to the girl,
"Go downstairs, niece, and fetch me the ball of thread that is on the
top shelf in the cupboard." So Violet ran, and taking the thread
slipped like an eel out of the hands of the Prince. But after a little
while the old woman said again, "Violet, my dear, if you do not go
downstairs and fetch me the scissors, I cannot get on at all." Then
Violet went down again, but she sprang as vigorously as a dog out of
the trap, and when she came upstairs she took the scissors and cut off
one of her aunt's ears, saying, "Take that, madam, as a reward for your
pains--every deed deserves its need. If I don't cut off your nose, it
is only that you may smell the bad odour of your reputation." So
saying, she went her way home with a hop, skip, and jump, leaving her
aunt eased of one ear and the Prince full of Let-me-alone.

Not long afterwards, the Prince again passed by the house of Violet's
father; and, seeing her at the window where she used to stand, he began
his old tune, "Good-day, good-day, Violet!" Whereupon she answered as
quickly as a good parish-clerk, "Good-day, King's son! I know more than
you." But Violet's sisters could no longer bear this behaviour, and
they plotted together how to get rid of her. Now, one of the windows
looked into the garden of an ogre, so they proposed to drive the poor
girl away through this; and letting fall from it a skein of thread with
which they were working a door-curtain for the queen, they cried,
"Alas! alas! we are ruined and shall not be able to finish the work in
time, if Violet, who is the smallest and lightest of us, does not let
herself down by a cord and pick up the thread that has fallen."

Violet could not endure to see her sisters grieving thus, and instantly
offered to go down; so, tying a cord to her, they lowered her into the
garden. But no sooner did she reach the ground than they let go the
rope. It happened that ju