surprised by their father's sudden fancy
for a little dog, but as it gave the two younger ones a chance they
would not otherwise have had of being king, and as the eldest was
too polite to make any objection, they accepted the commission with
pleasure. They bade farewell to the King, who gave them presents of
silver and precious stones, and appointed to meet them at the same hour,
in the same place, after a year had passed, to see the little dogs they
had brought for him.

Then they went together to a castle which was about a league from the
city, accompanied by all their particular friends, to whom they gave a
grand banquet, and the three brothers promised to be friends always,
to share whatever good fortune befell them, and not to be parted by
any envy or jealousy; and so they set out, agreeing to meet at the same
castle at the appointed time, to present themselves before the King
together. Each one took a different road, and the two eldest met with
many adventures; but it is about the youngest that you are going to
hear. He was young, and gay, and handsome, and knew everything that a
prince ought to know; and as for his courage, there was simply no end to
it.

Hardly a day passed without his buying several dogs--big and little,
greyhounds, mastiffs, spaniels, and lapdogs. As soon as he had bought a
pretty one he was sure to see a still prettier, and then he had to get
rid of all the others and buy that one, as, being alone, he found it
impossible to take thirty or forty thousand dogs about with him. He
journeyed from day to day, not knowing where he was going, until at
last, just at nightfall, he reached a great, gloomy forest. He did not
know his way, and, to make matters worse, it began to thunder, and
the rain poured down. He took the first path he could find, and after
walking for a long time he fancied he saw a faint light, and began to
hope that he was coming to some cottage where he might find shelter for
the night. At length, guided by the light, he reached the door of the
most splendid castle he could have imagined. This door was of gold
covered with carbuncles, and it was the pure red light which shone from
them that had shown him the way through the forest. The walls were of
the finest porcelain in all the most delicate colors, and the Prince saw
that all the stories he had ever read were pictured upon them; but as he
was terribly wet, and the rain still fell in torrents, he could not stay
to look about