eep as of death held her in its
spell, and no noise seemed able to waken the sleeper.

Then the little man turned to the wondering youth and said: 'See, here
is the sleeping child! She is a mighty Princess. This splendid castle
and this enchanted land are hers, but for hundreds of years she has
slept this magic sleep, and during all that time no human being has been
able to find their way here. I alone have kept guard over her, and
have gone daily to my own castle to get food and to beat the greedy
gold-seekers who forced their way into my dwelling. I have watched over
the Princess carefully all these years and saw that no stranger came
near her, but all my magic power lay in my beard, and now that you
have taken it away I am helpless, and can no longer hold the beautiful
Princess in her enchanted sleep, but am forced to reveal my treasured
secret to you. So set to work and do as I tell you. Take the bird which
hangs over the Princess's head, and which by its song sang her into this
enchanted sleep--a song which it has had to continue ever since; take it
and kill it, and cut its little heart out and burn it to a powder, and
then put it into the Princess's mouth; then she will instantly awaken,
and will bestow on you her heart and hand, her kingdom and castle, and
all her treasures.

The little dwarf paused, quite worn out, and the youth did not wait long
to do his bidding. He did all he was told carefully and promptly, and
having cut the little bird's heart out he proceeded to make it into
a powder. No sooner had he placed it in the Princess's mouth than she
opened her lovely eyes, and, looking up into the happy youth's face, she
kissed him tenderly, thanked him for freeing her from her magic sleep,
and promised to be his wife. At the same moment a sound as of thunder
was heard all over the castle, and on all the staircases and in every
room sounds were to be heard. Then a troop of servants, male and female,
flocked into the apartment where the happy couple sat, and after wishing
the Princess and her bridegroom joy, they dispersed all over the castle
to their different occupations.

But the little grey dwarf began now to demand his beard again from the
youth, for in his wicked heart he was determined to make an end of all
their happiness; he knew that if only his beard were once more on his
chin, he would be able to do what he liked with them all. But the clever
flute-player was quite a match for the little man in cun