After having done this, the princes went on to the king's demesnes, and
one can well imagine how glad the king was to once more see his three
daughters.

Meanwhile the poor lad lay in the forest as if he were dead. He was not,
however, forsaken, for the three dogs lay down by him, kept him warm,
and licked his wounds. They attended to him till he got his breath
again, and came once more to life. When he had regained life and
strength, he began his journey, and came, after having endured many
hardships, to the king's demesnes, where the princesses lived.

When he went into the palace, he marked that the whole place was filled
with mirth and joy, and in the royal hall he heard dancing and the sound
of harps. The lad was much astonished, and asked what it all meant.

"You have surely come from a distance," said the servant, "not to know
that the king has got back his daughters from the mountain giants. The
two elder princesses are married to-day."

The lad asked about the youngest princess, whether she was to be
married. The servant said she would have no one, but wept continually,
and no one could find out the reason for her sorrow. Then the lad was
glad, for he well knew that his love was faithful and true to him.

He went up into the guard-room, and sent a message to the king that a
guest had come who prayed that he might add to the wedding mirth by
exhibiting his dogs. The king was pleased, and ordered that the stranger
should be well received. When the lad came into the hall, the wedding
guests much admired his smartness and his manly form, and they all
thought they had never before seen so brave a young man. When the three
princesses saw him they knew him at once, rose from the table, and ran
into his arms. Then the princes thought they had better not stay there,
for the princesses told how the lad had saved them, and how all had
befallen. As a proof of the truth of what they said, they showed their
rings in the lad's hair.

When the king knew how the two foreign princes had acted so
treacherously and basely he was much enraged, and ordered that they
should be driven off his demesnes with disgrace.

The brave youth was welcomed with great honour, as, indeed, he deserved,
and he was, the same day, married to the youngest princess. When the
king died, the youth was chosen ruler over the land, and made a brave
king. There he yet lives with his beautiful queen, and there he governs
prosperously to this day.

I