d mother he
should fall fast asleep, and none should be able to waken him so he
would be no use to anybody, and would not recognize his father and
mother.

Now the King and Queen had never ceased grieving for their lost son.
They were always very kind to wandering young men, and when they heard
that one was begging a night's lodging, they went down to the hall to
see him. And lo, the moment Nix Naught Nothing caught sight of his
father and mother, there he was on the floor fast asleep, and none could
waken him! He did not recognize his father and mother nor they did not
recognize him.

But Prince Nix Naught Nothing had grown into a very handsome young man,
so they pitied him very much, and when none, do what they would, could
waken him, the King said, "A maiden will likely take more trouble to
waken him than others, seeing how handsome he is. Send forth a
proclamation that if any maiden in my realm can waken this young man,
she shall have him in marriage, and a handsome dowry to boot."

So the proclamation was sent forth, and all the pretty maidens of the
realm came to try their luck, but they had no success.

Now the gardener whose boy had been killed by the giant had a daughter
who was very ugly indeed--so ugly that she thought it no use to try her
luck, and went about her work as usual. So she took her pitcher to the
pool to fill it. Now the Magician's daughter was still hiding in the
tree waiting for her lover to return. Thus it came to pass that the
gardener's ugly daughter, bending down to fill her pitcher in the pool,
saw a beautiful shadow in the water, and thought it was her own!

"If I am as pretty as that," she cried, "I'll draw water no longer!"

So she threw down her pitcher, and went straight to the castle to see if
she hadn't a chance of the handsome stranger and the handsome dowry. But
of course she hadn't; though at the sight of Nix Naught Nothing she fell
so much in love with him, that, knowing the hen-wife to be a witch, she
went straight to her, and offered all her savings for a charm by which
she could awaken the sleeper.

Now when the hen-wife witch heard her tale, she thought it would be a
rare revenge to marry the King and Queen's long-lost son to a gardener's
ugly daughter; so she straightway took the girl's savings and gave her a
charm by which she could unspell the Prince or spell him again at her
pleasure.

So away went the gardener's daughter to the castle, and sure enough, no
soon