“There has been a mistake,” the dragon breathed, and its words came out in smoke. “You were one hundred years old this morning, and as you have never in all your life had to run from a dog, you should have been given the chance to become a beautiful woman if you wished.” “Give me the chance now,” panted the fox. “There is nothing I want so much as to be a woman, even an ugly one will do.” When the Prince, who could not keep up with the chase, appeared on the scene, he found the leopards with their tails tucked between their legs and their heads hanging down. There was no fox anywhere, but the most beautiful girl he had ever seen stood before him. For a time Nio Kuro could only look at her, for he was dumb with astonishment. She blushed and drew her long black hair over her face until he could barely see the tip of her nose and her little red mouth. Then she knelt before him. His attendants now came running up, for he had outstripped them all, and they too stopped speechless with their mouths open. The Prince did not heed them. He bent down over the mysterious maiden and so far forgot his manners that he took both her small hands in his and raised her to her feet, for he wanted to see her face again, and the more he looked at her the lovelier she seemed to him. “Who are you, O fairest one?” he asked rapturously. “Who is your illustrious father and what is your honored name?” But she gazed about her in a puzzled way and shook her head. “I do not know,” she answered. The Prince frowned at her strange reply, for he could scarcely believe his ears, and he even pinched himself under his silken tunic to be sure he was not dreaming. But she was so pretty he could not be angry with her, and as he looked into her soft brown eyes his frown changed into a smile, and he said in a very gentle voice: “Are you lost? Are there other hunters here who have brought you with them and now you wait for them to return?” “I am all alone,” she told him. He was so surprised he did not know what to say. At last he stammered: “Perhaps you are only teasing me--or it may be that you are afraid of me because I am a stranger. But no harm shall come to you through me--that I promise you. I am Nio Kuro, a Prince of Hi-no-moto, the Land Where the Day Begins. Forgive my rudeness in speaking to you, but will you not let me guard you and take you back to your friends?” “I have no friends and nowhere to go,” she sighed. “But whence do you come, O sweetest creature in all the kingdom?” cried the bewildered Prince. Again she shook her head. “I belong to the forest,” she said simply.