d."
The old woman's curses took wing and flew up to Heaven in a trice; so
that, notwithstanding what a proverb says, "for a woman's curse you are
never the worse, and the coat of a horse that has been cursed always
shines," she rated the Prince so soundly that he well-nigh jumped out
of his skin.

Scarcely had two hours passed when the Prince, losing himself in the
wood and parted from his attendants, met a beautiful maiden, who was
going along picking up snails and saying with a laugh--

"Snail, snail, put out your horn,
Your mother is laughing you to scorn,
For she has a little son just born."

When the Prince saw this beautiful apparition he knew not what had
befallen him; and, as the beams from the eyes of that crystal face fell
upon the tinder of his heart, he was all in a flame, so that he became
a lime-kiln wherein the stones of designs were burnt to build the
houses of hopes.

Now Filadoro (for so the maiden was named) was no wiser than other
people; and the Prince, being a smart young fellow with handsome
moustachios, pierced her heart through and through, so that they stood
looking at one another for compassion with their eyes, which proclaimed
aloud the secret of their souls. After they had both remained thus for
a long time, unable to utter a single word, the Prince at last, finding
his voice, addressed Filadoro thus, "From what meadow has this flower
of beauty sprung? From what mine has this treasure of beauteous things
come to light? O happy woods, O fortunate groves, which this nobility
inhabits, which this illumination of the festivals of love irradiates."

"Kiss this hand, my lord," answered Filadoro, "not so much modesty; for
all the praise that you have bestowed on me belongs to your virtues,
not to my merits. Such as I am, handsome or ugly, fat or thin, a witch
or a fairy, I am wholly at your command; for your manly form has
captivated my heart, your princely mien has pierced me through from
side to side, and from this moment I give myself up to you for ever as
a chained slave."

At these words the Prince seized at once her hand, kissing the ivory
hook that had caught his heart. At this ceremony of the prince,
Filadoro's face grew as red as scarlet. But the more Nardo Aniello
wished to continue speaking, the more his tongue seemed tied; for in
this wretched life there is no wine of enjoyment without dregs of
vexation. And just at this moment Filadoro's mother suddenly appeared,