your choice, either to be the loveliest woman in the world, and
not to be able to speak, or to keep your speech, and to be the ugliest
of all women; but away from me you must go."

And the _Lassie_ said, "I would sooner be lovely." So she became all
at once wondrous fair; but from that day forth she was dumb.

So, when she went away from her _Foster-mother_, she walked and
wandered through a great, great wood; but the farther she went, the
farther off the end seemed to be. So, when the evening came on, she
clomb up into a tall tree, which grew over a spring, and there she
made herself up to sleep that night. Close by lay a castle, and from
that castle came early every morning a maid to draw water to make the
Prince's tea, from the spring over which the _Lassie_ was sitting. So
the maid looked down into the spring, saw the lovely face in the
water, and thought it was her own; then she flung away the pitcher,
and ran home; and, when she got there, she tossed up her head and
said, "If I'm so pretty, I'm far too good to go and fetch water."

So another maid had to go for the water, but the same thing happened
to her; she went back and said she was far too pretty and too good to
fetch water from the spring for the Prince. Then the Prince went
himself, for he had a mind to see what all this could mean. So, when
he reached the spring, he too saw the image in the water; but he
looked up at once, and became aware of the lovely _Lassie_ who sate
there up in the tree. Then he coaxed her down and took her home; and
at last made up his mind to have her for his queen, because she was so
lovely; but his mother, who was still alive, was against it.

[Illustration: Then he coaxed her down and took her home.]

"She can't speak," she said, "and maybe she's a wicked witch."

But the Prince could not be content till he got her. So after they had
lived together a while, the _Lassie_ was to have a child, and when the
child came to be born, the Prince set a strong watch about her; but at
the birth one and all fell into a deep sleep, and her _Foster-mother_
came, cut the babe on its little finger, and smeared the queen's mouth
with the blood; and said:

"Now you shall be as grieved as I was when you let out the star;" and
with these words she carried off the babe.

But when those who were on the watch woke, they thought the queen had
eaten her own child, and the old queen was all for burning her alive,
but the Prince was so fond of her