f upon the trees. He wandered away and away, wondering where he
should hide.

The queen, when her villains came and told her the king's son was not
to be found, went and looked in her magic crystal to find trace of
him. As soon as it grew light, for in the darkness the crystal could
show her nothing, she saw many miles away the king's son running to
hide himself in the forest. So she sent out her villains to search
until they should find him.

As they went the sun grew hot in the sky, and birds began singing. 'It
is spring!' cried the messengers. 'How suddenly it has come!' They
rode on till they came to the forest.

The king's son, stumbling along through the forest under the bare
boughs, thought, 'Even here where shall I hide? Nowhere is there a
leaf to cover me.' But when the sun grew warm he looked up; and there
were all the trees breaking into bud and leaf, making a green heaven
above his head. So when he was too weary to go farther, he climbed
into the largest tree he could find; and the leaves covered him.

The queen's messengers searched through all the forest but could not
find him; so they went back to her empty handed, not having either the
king's crown or his heart to show. 'Fools!' she cried, looking in her
magic crystal, 'he was in the big sycamore under which you stopped to
give your horses provender!'

The sycamore said to the king's son, 'The queen's eye is on you; get
down and run for your life till you get to the hollow tarn-stones
among the hills! But if you stay here, when you wake to-morrow you
will be dead.'

When the queen's messengers came once more to the forest they found
it all wintry again, and without leaf; only the sycamore was in full
green, clapping its hands for joy in the keen and bitter air.

The messengers searched, and beat down the leaves, but the king's son
was not there. They went back to the queen. She looked long in her
magic crystal, but little could she see; for the king's son had hidden
himself in a small cave beside the tarn-stones, and into the darkness
the crystal could not pry.

Presently she saw a flight of birds crossing the blue, and every bird
carried a few crumbs of bread in its beak. Then she ran and called to
her villains, 'Follow the birds, and they will take you to where the
little wizard is; for they are carrying bread to feed him, and they
are all heading for the tarn-stones up on the hills.'

The birds said to the king's son, 'Now you are rested; w