ns quickly changed
himself into a ring again it was too late.

The king was terribly angry.

'So this is why you have refused to marry all the kings and princes who
have sought your hand?' he cried.

And, without waiting for her to speak, he commanded that his daughter
should be walled up in the summer-house and starved to death with her
lover.

That evening the poor princess, still wearing her ring, was put into the
summer-house with enough food to last for three days, and the door was
bricked up. But at the end of a week or two the king thought it was time
to give her a grand funeral, in spite of her bad behaviour, and he had
the summer-house opened. He could hardly believe his eyes when he found
that the princess was not there, nor Hans either. Instead, there lay at
his feet a large hole, big enough for two people to pass through.

Now what had happened was this.

When the princess and Hans had given up hope, and cast themselves down
on the ground to die, they fell down this hole, and right through the
earth as well, and at last they tumbled into a castle built of pure gold
at the other side of the world, and there they lived happily. But of
this, of course, the king knew nothing.

'Will anyone go down and see where the passage leads to?' he asked,
turning to his guards and courtiers. 'I will reward splendidly the man
who is brave enough to explore it.'

For a long time nobody answered. The hole was dark and deep, and if
it had a bottom no one could see it. At length a soldier, who was a
careless sort of fellow, offered himself for the service, and cautiously
lowered himself into the darkness. But in a moment he, too, fell down,
down, down. Was he going to fall for ever, he wondered! Oh, how thankful
he was in the end to reach the castle, and to meet the princess and
Hans, looking quite well and not at all as if they had been starved.
They began to talk, and the soldier told them that the king was very
sorry for the way he had treated his daughter, and wished day and night
that he could have her back again.

Then they all took ship and sailed home, and when they came to the
princess's country, Hans disguised himself as the sovereign of a
neighbouring kingdom, and went up to the palace alone. He was given a
hearty welcome by the king, who prided himself on his hospitality, and
a banquet was commanded in his honour. That evening, whilst they sat
drinking their wine, Hans said to the king:

'I have heard th