a whole day that he was quite enchanted; and when he sat next to her, and was already intoxicated with joy, she took, as if by accident, something that was near her,--a pomegranate, or an egg,--and said, softly, "Keep this in remembrance of me." As soon as the Prince took the thing in his hand, and perhaps was preparing to say the saving words, the thing burst asunder, and a frog, a hornet, or a bat, flew out towards his hair, so that he drew back frightened, and, in his fear, forgot the words; whereat he was shaven on the spot, and sent about his business. Thus years had passed, and in all the kingdoms roundabout, the princes wore wigs,--these have since become fashionable. Then it happened that the son of a foreign king, while traveling upon some business of his own, by accident saw the almond-queen. He thought her beautiful, and at the same he took note of the artifice that had ruined the hopes of her former suitors. Now a little grey dwarf in whose favor he stood, had given him an apple, at which he might smell once every year, and then a clever idea would occur to him. He had, therefore, become very famous amongst all kings on account of his clever ideas. Now the time of the apple had come; he smelt, and at once this bright thought came to him: "If you would win the game of giving and taking, you must under no conditions either give anything to her or take anything from her." And so he had his hands firmly bound in his girdle, went with his Marshal to court, and said he also would be glad to eat an almond. The Princess was much pleased with him, and had the almond handed to him. His Marshal took it and put it in his mouth. Then the Princess inquired what that meant, and why he always carried his hands in his girdle. He answered that his Court customs were even stricter than hers; and he must not take or give anything with his hands, but only with his feet or head. The Princess laughed, and said: "In this way we can never manage our game!" He shrugged his shoulders and answered: "Only in case you will condescend to take things from my boots." "That can never be," cried the Court in chorus. "Then why did you come here?" exclaimed the Princess, vexed, "if you have such stupid customs?" "Because you are so beautiful," returned the Prince; "and if I cannot win you I can yet look upon you." "I can say nothing against that," answered the Princess. So the Prince remained at Court, and came to please her more and more. But as she too was of a mischievous disposition, she endeavored in every way to mislead him and persuade him to draw his hand out of his girdle and take something from her. She conversed much with him, and made him presents of flowers, bonbons, and smelling-bottles, and at last even of her bracelet. Many times his hands twitched, but he felt the pressure of the belt and recollected himself, nodded to the Marshal who collected the things, and said: "We think of it."