account for the care with
which it was lodged; and they went away wondering, for they could not
know that every night, when it was asleep, bushels of gold pieces
tumbled out of its ears, which were picked up each morning by the
attendants.

After many years of prosperity a sudden blow fell upon the king in the
death of his wife, whom he loved dearly. But before she died, the queen,
who had always thought first of his happiness, gathered all her
strength, and said to him:

'Promise me one thing: you must marry again, I know, for the good of
your people, as well as of yourself. But do not set about it in a hurry.
Wait until you have found a woman more beautiful and better formed than
myself.'

'Oh, do not speak to me of marrying,' sobbed the king; 'rather let me
die with you!' But the queen only smiled faintly, and turned over on her
pillow and died.

For some months the king's grief was great; then gradually he began to
forget a little, and, besides, his counsellors were always urging him to
seek another wife. At first he refused to listen to them, but by-and-by
he allowed himself to be persuaded to think of it, only stipulating that
the bride should be more beautiful and attractive than the late queen,
according to the promise he had made her.

Overjoyed at having obtained what they wanted, the counsellors sent
envoys far and wide to get portraits of all the most famous beauties of
every country. The artists were very busy and did their best, but, alas!
nobody could even pretend that any of the ladies could compare for a
moment with the late queen.

At length, one day, when he had turned away discouraged from a fresh
collection of pictures, the king's eyes fell on his adopted daughter,
who had lived in the palace since she was a baby, and he saw that, if a
woman existed on the whole earth more lovely than the queen, this was
she! He at once made known what his wishes were, but the young girl, who
was not at all ambitious, and had not the faintest desire to marry him,
was filled with dismay, and begged for time to think about it. That
night, when everyone was asleep, she started in a little car drawn by a
big sheep, and went to consult her fairy godmother.

'I know what you have come to tell me,' said the fairy, when the maiden
stepped out of the car; 'and if you don't wish to marry him, I will show
you how to avoid it. Ask him to give you a dress that exactly matches
the sky. It will be impossible for him to ge