nt the poor Princess heard their dreadful howls
coming nearer and nearer.

"What shall I do?" she cried. "Must all my happy days come to an end
like this?"

The malicious Dwarf looked at her and began to laugh spitefully. "At
least," said he, "you have the satisfaction of dying unmarried. A lovely
Princess like you must surely prefer to die rather than be the wife of a
poor little dwarf like myself."

"Oh, don't be angry with me," cried the Princess, clasping her hands.
"I'd rather marry all the dwarfs in the world than die in this horrible
way."

"Look at me well, Princess, before you give me your word," said he. "I
don't want you to promise me in a hurry."

"Oh!" cried she, "the lions are coming. I have looked at you enough. I
am so frightened. Save me this minute, or I shall die of terror."

Indeed, as she spoke she fell down insensible, and when she recovered
she found herself in her own little bed at home; how she got there
she could not tell, but she was dressed in the most beautiful lace and
ribbons, and on her finger was a little ring, made of a single red hair,
which fitted so tightly that, try as she might, she could not get it
off.

When the Princess saw all these things, and remembered what had
happened, she, too, fell into the deepest sadness, which surprised and
alarmed the whole Court, and the Queen more than anyone else. A hundred
times she asked Bellissima if anything was the matter with her; but she
always said that there was nothing.

At last the chief men of the kingdom, anxious to see their Princess
married, sent to the Queen to beg her to choose a husband for her as
soon as possible. She replied that nothing would please her better, but
that her daughter seemed so unwilling to marry, and she recommended them
to go and talk to the Princess about it themselves so this they at once
did. Now Bellissima was much less proud since her adventure with the
Yellow Dwarf, and she could not think of a better way of getting rid
of the little monster than to marry some powerful king, therefore she
replied to their request much more favorably than they had hoped, saying
that, though she was very happy as she was, still, to please them, she
would consent to marry the King of the Gold Mines. Now he was a very
handsome and powerful Prince, who had been in love with the Princess for
years, but had not thought that she would ever care about him at all.
You can easily imagine how delighted he was when he heard