nd
came out handsome young men. The Twelfth sat disconsolately on the
window sill and remained a pigeon. The eleven laughed at him and twitted
him with having had a bride that had betrayed him. Then the eleven went
away laughing arm in arm. Before the Twelfth could fly after them, the
Princess ran out from behind the door and cried:

"My dear one, I have found you at last!"

The Pigeon flew into her hands and she took him and kissed his coral
beak and smoothed his gleaming plumage with her lips. Then she put him
in the milk and the feather shirt opened and her own true love stepped
out.

She led him at once to her father and when the King found him well
trained in all the arts a prince should know he accepted him as his
future son-in-law and presented him to the people.

So after all the Princess's mother was able to give her daughter the
gorgeous wedding she had planned for years and years. Preparations were
begun at once but the Queen insisted on making such vast quantities of
little round cakes and candied fruits and sweetmeats of all kinds that
it was three whole months before the wedding actually took place. By
that time the roses were again blooming in the Princess's cheeks, her
eyes were brighter than before, and her long shining hair was more
golden than ever.

All the neighboring kings were invited to the wedding and when they saw
the bride they shook their heads sadly and said among themselves:

"Lost her looks indeed! What did people mean by saying such a thing?
Why, she's the most beautiful princess in the world! What a pity she
didn't marry one of our sons!"

But when they met the Prince of her choice, they saw at once why the
Princess had fallen in love with him.

"Any girl would!" they said.

It was a big wedding, as I told you before, and the only guest present
who was not a king or a queen or a royal personage of some sort was the
poor girl who saw the rooster with wooden shoes in the first place. The
Queen, of course, had wanted only royalty but the Princess declared that
the poor girl was her dear friend and would have to be invited. So the
Queen, when she saw that the Princess was set on having her own way, had
the poor girl come to the palace before the wedding and decked her out
in rich clothes until people were sure that she was some strange
princess whom the bride had met on her travels.

"My dear," whispered the Princess as they sat down beside each other at
the wedding feast, "how