“Tut, mother!” says the princess, “how you talk! do you not see that there is nobody with me?” For the drummer had taken care that the wind should not blow the cap of darkness off of his head, I can tell you. By and by they sat down to supper, the princess and the witch, but it was little the princess ate, for as fast as anything was put on her plate the drummer helped himself to it, so that it was all gone before she could get a bite. “Look, mother!” she said, “I eat nothing, and yet it all goes from my plate; why is that so?” But that the old witch could not tell her, for she could see nothing of the drummer. “There was a lad came to-day to answer the question I shall put to him,” said the princess. “Now what shall I ask him by way of a question?” “I have a tooth in the back part of my head,” said the witch, “and it has been grumbling a bit; ask him what it is you are thinking about, and let it be that.” Yes; that was a good question for sure and certain, and the princess would give it to the drummer to-morrow, to see what he had to say for himself. As for the drummer, you can guess how he grinned, for he heard every word that they said. After a while the princess flew away home again, for it was nearly the break of day, and she must be back before the sun rose. And the drummer flew close behind her, but she knew nothing of that. The next morning up he marched to the king’s castle and knocked at the door, and they let him in. There sat the king and the princess, and lots of folks besides. Well, had he come to answer her question? That was what the princess wanted to know. Yes; that was the very business he had come about. Very well, this was the question, and he might have three guesses at it; what was she thinking of at that minute? [Illustration: The Drummer helps himself to the good things, though no one can see him.] Oh, it could be no hard thing to answer such a question as that, for lasses’ heads all ran upon the same things more or less; was it a fine silk dress with glass buttons down the front that she was thinking of now? No, it was not that. Then, was it of a good stout lad like himself for a sweetheart, that she was thinking of? No, it was not that. No? Then it was the bad tooth that had been grumbling in the head of the one-eyed witch for a day or two past, perhaps. Dear, dear! but you should have seen the princess’s face when she heard this! Up she got and off she packed without a single word, and the king saw without the help of his spectacles that the drummer had guessed right. He was so glad that he jumped up and down and snapped his fingers for joy. Besides that he gave out that bonfires should be lighted all over the town, and that was a fine thing for the little boys. The next night the princess flew away to the house of the one-eyed witch again, but there was the drummer close behind her just as he had been before.