specially this last one, to which she had prompted the queen, and
ordered her to be taken out and executed, which was done, with great
good will, by the attendants. He then further commanded the ladies in
waiting to attend his sister to her apartments, and bathe her and
dress her in the queen's most splendid robes, as she had none of her
own; and the queen, though gnashing her teeth with anger, for once
dared not interfere. More quickly than could have been expected, the
princess returned, looking so beautiful that if anyone had doubted
before who would be able to unlock the collar they were instantly
convinced. The prince glanced at her, but said nothing, and, signing
to one of the ambassadors, he ordered him to make trial of the comb.
One by one each man present did his best to remove it from its case,
and one by one each was forced to own himself beaten. At length only
the prince remained, but as he was the judge he must wait till the
last.

After the men had finished, the ladies of the court had the collar
presented to them according to rank, but none could even turn the key.
Finally it was handed to the queen, who managed to open it a little
way. Her heart beat with triumph, but immediately it closed again with
a snap, and she sank back, fainting from disappointment.

By this time there were only left the prince and his sister; and no
sooner did he touch the case than it opened of itself, while the lock
of the collar yielded directly the princess took hold of the key.
Cries of delight rose from the courtiers and attendants; but these
were interrupted by a whirlwind accompanied by thick darkness, and
followed by an earthquake.

When all was calm again, and the sun shining, the prince and princess
had disappeared.

[Illustration: THE PRINCESS AND THE WOLVES IN THE FOREST]

Although the king's son and daughter were the only persons who had
vanished in the storm, unluckily they had been carried off in opposite
directions. The rapid motion through the air deprived the princess of
her senses, which she nearly lost a second time, from fright, when she
was set down alone in the middle of a thick forest. She ran wildly
about, calling to her brother to come to her aid; but her cries only
attracted the attention of some hungry wolves, who sprung towards her
with their jaws gaping and their red tongues hanging out. Falling on
her knees, she covered her face with one hand unconsciously grasping
the collar with the other