ld woman had a gipsy for servant whom she used to send to
the lake for water. One day when this gipsy was filling her pitcher,
she saw in the lake a beautiful reflection. She supposed it was a
reflection of herself.

"Is it right," she cried out, "that so lovely a creature as I should
carry water for that old witch?"

In a fury she threw the pitcher on the ground and broke it into a
hundred pieces. Then she looked up and discovered that it wasn't her
own reflection she had seen in the water but that of the beautiful
queen.

Ashamed of herself, she picked up the broken pitcher and went home.
The old woman, who knew beforehand what had happened, went out to meet
her with a new pitcher.

"It's no matter about the pitcher," the old woman said. "Go back to
the lake and beg the lovely lady to let down the silken cord and pull
you up. Tell her you will comb her hair. When she pulls you up, comb
her hair until she falls asleep. Then stick this pin into her head.
After that you can dress yourself up in her clothes and sit there like
a queen."

It was easy enough to persuade the gipsy. She took the pitcher and the
pin and returned to the lake.

As she drew water she gazed at the lovely queen.

"Oh, how beautiful you are!" she whined, leering up at the queen with
an evil eye. "How beautiful you are! Aye, but you'd be a hundred times
more beautiful if you but let me comb out your lovely hair! Indeed, I
would so twine those golden tresses that your lord would be
delighted!"

With words like these she beguiled and coaxed the queen until she let
down the silken cord and drew the gipsy up. Once on the throne, the
wicked gipsy combed out the golden tresses and plaited them and
arranged them until the queen fell sound asleep. Then the gipsy took
the pin and stuck it into the queen's head. Instantly a beautiful
white dove flew off the golden throne and not a trace was left of the
lovely queen except her rich clothing. The gipsy dressed herself in
this, sat in the queen's place, and gazed down into the lake. But in
the lake no lovely reflection showed itself, for even in the queen's
clothes the gipsy remained a gipsy.

The young king waged a successful war against his enemies and made
peace. Scarcely had he got home when he hurried to the garden to see
whether anything had happened to his heart's delight. Who can express
in words his astonishment and horror when instead of his beautiful
wife he saw the evil gipsy!

"Ah, my d