epend your happiness,' ended
the writer. 'It is I who have all these years eaten the food you
placed under the rose-tree, and some day I shall reward you for it.
"Everything comes to him who knows how to wait," is the advice given
by,--The Fairy of the Fields.'

Then the queen rose up, and bathed her face, and combed her shining
hair; and as she turned away from her mirror she beheld a linnet
sitting on her bed. No one would have known that it was anything but a
common linnet, and yesterday the queen would have thought so too. But
this morning so many wonderful things had happened that she did not
doubt for a moment that the writer of the letter was before her.

'Pretty linnet,' said she, 'I will try to do all you wish. Only give
me, I pray you, now and then, news of my little Cadichon.'

And the linnet flapped her wings and sang, and flew away. So the queen
knew that she had guessed rightly, and thanked her in her heart.

By-and-by the king and his seneschal returned, hungry and tired with
their fruitless search. They were amazed and rather angry to find the
queen, whom they had left weeping, quite cheerful. Could she _really_
care for her children so little and have forgotten them so soon? What
_could_ have caused this sudden change? But to all their questions
Gillette would only answer: 'Everything comes to him who knows how to
wait.'

'That is true,' replied her father; 'and, after all, your majesty must
remember that the revenues of your kingdom would hardly bear the cost
of seven princes and princesses brought up according to their rank. Be
grateful, then, to those who have relieved you of the burden.'

'You are right! You are always right!' cried the king, whose face once
more beamed with smiles. And life at the palace went on as before,
till Petaldo received a piece of news which disturbed him greatly.

The queen, his mother, who had for some time been a widow, suddenly
made up her mind to marry again, and her choice had fallen on the
young king of the Green Isles, who was younger than her own son, and,
besides, handsome and fond of pleasure, which Petaldo was not. Now the
grandmother, foolish though she was in many respects, had the sense to
see that a woman as old and as plain as she was, could hardly expect a
young man to fall in love with her, and that, if this was to happen,
it would be needful to find some spell which would bring back her
youth and beauty. Of course, the fairy Gangana could have wro