He flung the apple away in a rage, and the next moment the old woman rushed out of her house. She screamed. Martha barked. Prince Denis howled. The whole town was aroused, and the six Princes were arrested, and taken under a strong guard to the Tower. Denis was let off, on the ground of his youth, and, besides, he had lost most of his teeth, which is a severe punishment, even for stealing apples. The King sat in his Hall of Justice next morning, and the old woman and the Princes came before him. When the story had been told, he said— “My dear fellows, I hope you’ll excuse me—the laws of hospitality are strict—but business is business after all. I should not like to have any constitutional unpleasantness over a little thing like this; you must all be hanged to-morrow morning.” The Princes were extremely vexed, but they did not make a fuss. They asked to see Denis, and told him what to do. So Denis went to the furnished house which had once been a Select Boarding Establishment for the Daughters of Respectable Monarchs. The door was locked, but Denis knew a way in, because his sister had told him all about it one holiday. He got up on the roof and walked down the schoolroom chimney. There, on the schoolroom floor, lay half a Professor of Magic, struggling feebly, and uttering sad, faint squeals. “What are we to do now?” said Denis. “Steal apples,” said the half-Professor in a weak whisper. “Do let my legs out. Slice up the Great Bear—or the Milky Way would be a good one for them to come out by.” But Denis knew better. “Not till we get the lost Princesses,” said he, “now, what’s to be done?” “Steal apples I tell you,” said the half-Professor, crossly; “seven apples—there—seven kisses. Cut them down. Oh go along with you, do. Leave me to die, you heartless boy. I’ve got pins and needles in my legs.” Then off ran Denis to the Seven Acre Orchard at the top of Clover Hill, and there were the six Princes hanging to the apple-tree, and the hangman had gone home to his dinner, and there was no one else about. And the Princes were not dead. Denis climbed up the tree and cut the Princes down with the penknife of the gardener’s boy. (You will often find this penknife mentioned in your German exercises; now you know why so much fuss is made about it.) The Princes fell to the ground, and when they recovered their wits Denis told them what he had done. “Oh why did you cut us down?” said the Princes, “we were having such happy dreams.” “Well,” said Denis, shutting up the penknife of the gardener’s boy, “of all the ungrateful chaps!” And he turned his back and marched off. But they ran quickly after him and thanked him and told him how they had been dreaming of walking arm in arm with the most dear and lovely Princesses in the world. “Well,” said Denis, “it’s no use dreaming about _them_. You’ve got your own registered Princesses to find, and the half-Professor says, ‘Steal apples.’”