cept her daughter in marriage on the very next day, she would turn
him into a hare and set her dogs upon him. The Prince made no answer to
her terrible threat, and the witch went ahead and made preparation for
the grandest of weddings. On that night, Florian arrived at the garden.

When it was very late, and the moon, which was a quarter full, had
disappeared behind a bank of clouds, Florian crept unobserved to the
door of Florizel's prison; for the witch had locked him up so securely
that she had not taken the trouble to find a watchman. Alas! the poor
Prince lay at the top of a high tower, and twenty different doors, each
one opened by a different key, stood between him and the ground.

But Florian was not to be daunted, and drawing from his bosom the key
which the Enchanter had given him, he opened one door after the other
till he arrived in the cell occupied by the Prince.

The poor Prince lay chained on a bed of straw, trying to read a book by
the light of a single candle. He was very unhappy, for he had resolved
to let himself be torn in pieces rather than marry the ugly witch
maiden. You may be sure he was glad to see Florian.

"Dear Florian," said the unhappy Prince, "if I had only obeyed your
counsel, all would have been well." And he begged Florian to tell him
where he had been all the long year.

So Florian told the Prince of his adventures.

Now, the chains which the Prince wore were riveted cruelly upon him, and
since there was no lock to them, the magic key was of no avail. At
length, however, Florizel managed to work them off; but in doing so, he
injured his foot, and found to his dismay that he could only limp along.

Little by little the freshened air and the stir of leaves began to
foretell the coming of the dawn. Finally, just as the dawn-star began to
pale, Florizel and Florian hurried out of the prison through the twenty
doors, and fled to the highroad.

But they had traveled only a few miles, when the wicked witch discovered
Florizel's flight, and, dreadfully enraged, commanded that her dragon
car be got ready in order that she might go in pursuit of him. So the
car was brought forth, and into it the witch leaped, and mounted into
the sky. Hearing the hissing and roaring of the dragons in the air,
Florian and Florizel tried to hide under some trees; but the witch
instantly saw them, and pronounced a spell to turn them into hares. But
though the hate of the witch was quick, the woman's heart