with this
rope he will soon hang himself.'

Having said this, she disappeared, and went straight to the Palace,
where she showed herself to Bramintho under the disguise of an old woman
covered with rags. She at once addressed him in these words:

'I have taken this ring from the hands of your brother, to whom I had
lent it, and by its help he covered himself with glory. I now give it to
you, and be careful what you do with it.'

Bramintho replied with a laugh:

'I shall certainly not imitate my brother, who was foolish enough to
bring back the Prince instead of reigning in his place,' and he was
as good as his word. The only use he made of the ring was to find out
family secrets and betray them, to commit murders and every sort of
wickedness, and to gain wealth for himself unlawfully. All these crimes,
which could be traced to nobody, filled the people with astonishment.
The King, seeing so many affairs, public and private, exposed, was at
first as puzzled as anyone, till Bramintho's wonderful prosperity and
amazing insolence made him suspect that the enchanted ring had become
his property. In order to find out the truth he bribed a stranger just
arrived at Court, one of a nation with whom the King was always at war,
and arranged that he was to steal in the night to Bramintho and to offer
him untold honours and rewards if he would betray the State secrets.

Bramintho promised everything, and accepted at once the first payment of
his crime, boasting that he had a ring which rendered him invisible, and
that by means of it he could penetrate into the most private places. But
his triumph was short. Next day he was seized by order of the King,
and his ring was taken from him. He was searched, and on him were found
papers which proved his crimes; and, though Rosimond himself came back
to the Court to entreat his pardon, it was refused. So Bramintho was put
to death, and the ring had been even more fatal to him than it had been
useful in the hands of his brother.

To console Rosimond for the fate of Bramintho, the King gave him back
the enchanted ring, as a pearl without price. The unhappy Rosimond did
not look upon it in the same light, and the first thing he did on his
return home was to seek the Fairy in the woods.

'Here,' he said, 'is your ring. My brother's experience has made me
understand many things that I did not know before. Keep it, it has only
led to his destruction. Ah! without it he would be alive now, an