ancing days were over, and had resigned
in their favour.

To make up for Ugolone the Twins had to dance again and again, and then
to their great surprise Carlotta made them sing! They had voices like
the whistle of song thrushes in the spring, but how in the world could
Carlotta have guessed that? They were too astonished to refuse, even if
they had dared, so they opened their mouths and quavered out a song
about the swallow, which they had learned in the nursery at home.

This was the song:--

"Pilgrim swallow, lightly winging,
Now upon the terrace sitting,
Ev'ry morn I hear thee singing,
In sad tones thy song repeating.
What may be the tale thou'rt telling,
Pilgrim swallow, near my dwelling?

"Thou art happier far than I am;
On free wing at least thou'rt flying
Over lake and breezy mountain.
Thou canst fill the air with crying
His dear name through cave and hollow.
Thou art free, thou pretty swallow."

It was so familiar a song that all the people joined with them in
singing it, and some of them danced to the music of the hand-organ when
it played, so that altogether the villagers had a gay time, and as a
result Carlotta found many more coins than usual in the tambourine when
the performance was over. She glanced triumphantly at her husband as
she counted the money. "We have caught two pigeons with one pea after
all," she said to him.

"As for that lazy Ugolone, he gets no supper! If he will not work, he
shall not eat!"

The children heard and shuddered. "She will treat us like that, too,"
sobbed Beppina, "and if she's truly a witch she may even turn us into
bears!"

Out through sunny vineyards and grey olive orchards beyond the town they
followed the winding road, and, as night came on, the weary children saw
that they were approaching a ruined castle set high on a spur of the
Apennines. The wind swept over the bare hill-top and whistled through
the windows of its ruined towers, where hundreds of years before lovely
ladies had watched their knights ride forth to battle.

It was a bleak and lonely spot, fit only to be inhabited by ghosts, and
Beppina shivered as the wheels of the van rattled over the ancient
draw-bridge, and stopped in the overgrown court-yard.

"I know it's enchanted," she whispered to Beppo, and Beppo, his own
teeth chattering, could only say, "Remember about the prince," to keep
up their failing courage.

There was no sign of human beings about the