“The water is still rushing in my ears,” answered he; “but wait a little, that will soon pass off.” And as he spoke he put his hand into his breast, and seizing the hair wished himself a bee, and flew straight into the pocket of the princess. The mermaid looked in vain for him, and coated all night upon the sea; but he never came back, and never more did he gladden her eyes. But the princess felt that something strange was about her, though she knew not what, and returned quickly to the palace, where the young man at once resumed his own shape. Oh, what joy filled her heart at the sight of him! But there was no time to be lost, and she led him right into the hall, where the king and his nobles were still sitting at the feast. “Here is a man who boasts that he can do wonderful tricks,” said she, “better even than the Red Knight’s! That cannot be true, of course, but it might be well to give this impostor a lesson. He pretends, for instance, that he can turn himself into a lion; but that I do not believe. I know that you have studied the art of magic,” she went on, turning to the Red Knight, “so suppose you just show him how it is done, and bring shame upon him.” Now the Red Knight had never opened a book of magic in his life; but he was accustomed to think that he could do everything better than other people without any teaching at all. So he turned and twisted himself about, and bellowed and made faces; but he did not become a lion for all that. “Well, perhaps it is very difficult to change into a lion. Make yourself a bear,” said the princess. But the Red Knight found it no easier to become a bear than a lion. “Try a bee,” suggested she. “I have always read that anyone who can do magic at all can do that.” And the old knight buzzed and hummed, but he remained a man and not a bee. “Now it is your turn,” said the princess to the youth. “Let us see if you can change yourself into a lion.” And in a moment such a fierce creature stood before them, that all the guests rushed out of the hall, treading each other underfoot in their fright. The lion sprang at the Red Knight, and would have torn him in pieces had not the princess held him back, and bidden him to change himself into a man again. And in a second a man took the place of the lion. “Now become a bear,” said she; and a bear advanced panting and stretching out his arms to the Red Knight, who shrank behind the princess. By this time some of the guests had regained their courage, and returned as far as the door, thinking that if it was safe for the princess perhaps it was safe for them. The king, who was braver than they, and felt it needful to set them a good example besides, had never left his seat, and when at a new command of the princess the bear once more turned into a man, he was silent from astonishment, and a suspicion of the truth began to dawn on him. “Was it he who fetched the sword?” asked the king.