The third morning the youngest daughter took the _zappa_, and went into the field. At the very first stroke the whole cabbage came up, and a little man jumped out of the earth; a very tiny little man he was, but beautifully dressed. He took the maiden by the hand, and led her down a flight of stairs underground. There she found herself in a beautiful palace, such as she had never dreamt of, all golden and shining. The little man gave her a bunch of keys, and said:— “This palace is yours, you may do what you like, and go where you like in it. You are the mistress of it. The master of it, your husband, you will not see, he will only come to you at night. Be happy, and make no effort to look at him, or you will lose everything. If you want anything in the daytime call Monte Rochettino.” With that the little man vanished. The maiden wandered all over the new dwelling, and when it was dark she laid herself down and waited for her husband, the master of the palace. So time went on. She loved her husband, although she had never seen him, and felt that she would be very happy if only she could know something about her mother and sisters. At last she could bear the suspense no longer, and one morning she called “Monte Rochettino!” In an instant the little man stood before her. “Oh, Monte Rochettino,” said she, “let me go home and see my mother and sisters. Poor things, they must be so sad at losing me; they’ll think I am dead.” “You’ll betray me,” said Monte Rochettino. “No, no, I won’t: I promise you: only let me just go and see them.” “Well, go, but be sure you don’t betray me, and be back in three days.” So the girl went home, and her mother and sisters did all they could to prove their joy at seeing her, poor things. Then they asked her where she lived, and she told them she lived with her husband in a beautiful palace underground; but that her husband came to her at night, and she had never seen him. Then her mother said to her:— “I will give you these matches and this candle. When he is asleep, light the candle, and see what he has round his neck.” So the girl took the matches and the candle and went back to the palace. “Well, have you betrayed me?” said Monte Rochettino. “No,” said she. “The better for you,” answered the little man. That night while her husband was asleep, the girl got up softly, lighted the candle, and saw a box round her husband’s neck. The key was in the lock, she turned it, and went in.[1] She found herself in a room where was a woman weaving. “What are you doing?” she asked. “I am weaving swaddling clothes for the king’s son, who is about to be born.” Then she went into another room and found a woman sewing. “What are you doing?” she asked. “I am making robes for the king’s son, who is about to be born.” In the next room she found a shoemaker. “What are you doing?” she asked again. “Making shoes for the king’s son, who is about to be born.”