they might rest for a little at the roadside. Then
he turned to her and said: 'I wonder what your father would do if this
forest belonged to him?'

[Illustration: THE.WHITE.WOLF.ASKS.THE.PRINCESS.A.QUESTION.IN.THE.WOOD]

And the princess answered: 'My father would cut down the trees and turn
it into a beautiful park and gardens, and he and his courtiers would
come and wander among the glades in the summer time.'

'This is the real princess,' said the wolf to himself. But aloud he
said: 'Mount once more on my back, and I will bear you to my castle.'

And when she was seated on his back he set out through the woods, and he
ran, and ran, and ran, till at last he stopped in front of a stately
courtyard, with massive gates.

'This is a beautiful castle,' said the princess, as the gates swung back
and she stepped inside. 'If only I were not so far away from my father
and my mother!'

But the wolf answered: 'At the end of a year we will pay a visit to your
father and mother.'

And at these words the white furry skin slipped from his back, and the
princess saw that he was not a wolf at all, but a beautiful youth, tall
and stately; and he gave her his hand, and led her up the castle stairs.

One day, at the end of half a year, he came into her room and said: 'My
dear one, you must get ready for a wedding. Your eldest sister is going
to be married, and I will take you to your father's palace. When the
wedding is over, I shall come and fetch you home. I will whistle outside
the gate, and when you hear me, pay no heed to what your father or
mother say, leave your dancing and feasting, and come to me at once; for
if I have to leave without you, you will never find your way back alone
through the forests.'

When the princess was ready to start, she found that he had put on his
white fur skin, and was changed back into the wolf; and he swung her on
to his back, and set out with her to her father's palace, where he left
her, while he himself returned home alone. But, in the evening, he went
back to fetch her, and, standing outside the palace gate, he gave a
long, loud whistle. In the midst of her dancing the princess heard the
sound, and at once she went to him, and he swung her on his back and
bore her away to his castle.

Again, at the end of half a year, the prince came into her room, as the
white wolf, and said: 'Dear heart, you must prepare for the wedding of
your second sister. I will take you to your father's palace