d had ridden on fast and furious
till they came near where the palace of the King, Edgar's father,
could be seen in the far distance. And Edgar said:

"Let me go on first and tell my father and mother all that you have
done for me, and they will welcome you as their daughter."

The Master-Maid shook her head sadly and said:

"Do as you will, but beware lest any one kiss you before you see me
again."

"I want no kisses from any one but you," said Prince Edgar, and
leaving her in a hut by the roadside he went on to greet the King and
Queen.

When he got to the palace gate everybody was astonished to see him, as
they had all thought he had been destroyed by the giant. And when they
took him to the Queen, his mother, she rushed to him and kissed him
before he could say nay.

No sooner had his mother kissed him than all memory of the Master-Maid
disappeared from his mind. And when he told his mother and his father
what he had done in the giant's castle and how he had escaped, he said
nothing of the help given him by the Master-Maid.

Soon afterwards the King and the Queen arranged for the marriage of
Prince Edgar with a great Princess from a neighbouring country. And
she was brought home with great pomp and ceremony to the King's
palace. And one day after her marriage, when she was out, she passed
by the hut in which the Master-Maid was dwelling.

Now the Master-Maid had put on that day a beautiful dress of rich
silk, and when the Prince's wife saw it she went to the Master-Maid
and said:

"I should like that dress. Will you not sell it to me?"

"Yes," said the Master-Maid, "but at a price you are not likely to
give."

"What do you want for it?" said the Princess.

"I want to spend one night in the room of your bridegroom, Prince
Edgar."

At first the Princess would not think of such a thing; but after
thinking the matter over she thought of a plan, and said:

"Well, you shall have your wish," and took away with her the silken
dress.

But at night, when the Master-Maid came to the palace and claimed her
promise, the Princess put a sleep-giving drug in Edgar's cup.

When the Master-Maid came into Edgar's room she bent over his bed and
cried:

"I cleaned the byre for thee,
I swung the axe for thee,
And now thou'lt not speak to me."

But still Edgar slept on, and in the morning the Master-Maid had to
leave without speaking to him.

Next day, when the Princess went out to see what the Mast