"But the Emperor's daughter, whom the Lord God had given to me, remained alive, for God said, 'She shall be the reward of him who frees you.' Meantime, however, she was turned to stone until the moment when you entered the city. Then she awoke, cried, 'The Liberator is come!' and brought the news to me. You yourself have seen her." So spoke the old dame, and, full of joy, the young man asked her what he was to do in order to loose the city from the spell. She answered: "I can give you no counsel, but you will soon find that out above. And now, as you have no more need of me, farewell, in God's name! But first I will tell you who I am. I am a Vila. If ever you should fall into any trouble, you have only to call, 'Vila, stand by me!' and you shall be helped." She spoke, and was already gone. The young man and the maiden were now in doubt as to what they ought to do. They would gladly have wedded each other, but where find a priest, or even any one else? So they went into a church to pray to God; and the maid said to the youth, "From this hour you are my husband and I am your wife till death. But go at least and set the bells a-ringing, that our nuptials may be celebrated in some way." Hardly had the first note pealed forth from the bells when everything breathed and lived--the men, the beasts, everything, in short, which had been turned to stone. Then all the people broke out into the cry, "God save our Liberator, now and evermore!" The first thing was to celebrate a magnificent wedding, when the pop united the pair forever in the presence of the whole assembled people. Every one rejoiced, eating and drinking as if they never meant to leave off. The young couple lived for several years in joy and happiness, until at last the King was overcome with an ardent longing to see his dear mother. He confided this wish to his wife, whereupon she led him into the royal stables and presented him with four horses, saying: "Here, I give you these four horses. You must know that they are Vilas, and they will take you to your home, for you have no idea how far away it is. But if any one there asks you where you have been and what you have been doing all this time, beware of telling them the truth, for if you relate your adventures the Vilas will vanish, and you will never be able to come back to me again." He promised her everything that she asked and set out for home. When he arrived he found his dear mother no longer living. His heart was wrung with sorrow, for there he stood alone in the world, brotherless, sisterless, without a single relative. The people questioned him incessantly, until at last in a moment of weakness he yielded to their importunities and told them his story. But the words had hardly passed his lips when the horses vanished. He was inconsolable for their loss, for he loved his wife more than his own soul.