Now the card of invitation which the bronze-wing pigeon had let fall was picked up by a passing Desert Fairy. He immediately took it to the head of the tribe, who forthwith called his followers about him to consider the news. Having gained such an important piece of information as the invitation disclosed, they were put upon their metal to discover everything else about the marriage that it was possible to learn. By dint of much spying and listening they at last got to know the whole of the details. They thereupon decided to waylay the Princess on her journey to the Fairy City, and by all the means at their command, beat down whatever escort was provided, and carry her away. In some respects they were luckier than they could have expected to be. Their great difficulty was how to bring the flying-carriage to the ground; for if they could not stop it, they could not capture the Princess. After a good deal of hard thinking, they finally decided to station a certain number of their members at different points along the route, somewhere near the places at which it was believed the birds that drew the carriages would have to stop and rest. As it chanced, at the third stopping place, the carriage that contained the Princess and her father King Acacia, had somehow become separated from the others which were carrying Queen Cootamundra and her daughters. This was an opportunity not to be missed, and in order to prevent the carriage from again rising into the air, they tried to blind the driver with little gusts of gritty sand. Had they succeeded in doing this, it was their intention to rush in, seize the Princess Wattle Blossom, and compel her to go with them. But the driver was happily able to defeat them in their object by using a fine silk handkerchief to protect his eyes and face. Finding themselves foiled in this endeavour, they then sought to overset the carriage by bringing up a blustery wind to rush against it from the side. Again they failed. Hastily changing their tactics, just as the carriage was rising into the air, they sent the wind beneath it in a wild attempt to tip it over on its face; but as before, their efforts proved resultless. Very much disheartened, there was nothing left for them to do but to sulkily stand and watch the flying carriage speeding on its way.