“Not at all,” cried the King, coming forward; “nothing is impossible to a royal princess. That rosebud is my daughter.” “Given to the King and Queen by me,” said Rosina sweetly. “They did not know how to rule, and as I knew this revolution would take place, I wanted to provide an heir to the throne.” “But the white rose cannot reign,” said Ardram, rather bewildered. “Not now, but wait till the sun rises,” cried the fairy. “Ah, here is the first yellow beam! Now look.” Every one looked at the white rosebud lying on the floor, and then a yellow beam which struck through a painted window, creeping nearer and nearer till it shone on the white bud. In an instant that vanished, and in its place stood the Rose-Princess, looking tall and beautiful. On seeing Ardram, she bounded towards him and put her arms round his neck. [Illustration: ON SEEING ARDRAM SHE BOUNDED TOWARD HIM AND PUT HER ARMS ROUND HIS NECK] “Good morning, my Prince,” she said sweetly. “But I am no prince,” cried Ardram, clasping her to his breast. “Yes, you are,” said the Rose-Princess merrily; “you are the great-grandson of the King who was deposed.” “Is this true, mother?” asked Ardram. “Perfectly true,” she replied, producing the crown. “Here is the royal crown; you are the real King, but I did not dare to tell you till the Faery Rosina gave me permission.” “And I waited till now because I wanted you to marry the Princess Rose,” said the faery, as Ardram placed the crown on his head. “The Princess is enchanted, and turns into a rose every night, so in order to break the spell she must marry you.” “When?” asked both lovers together. “Now,” said the faery, and, touching Ardram’s dress, it changed into beautiful royal robes all of gold, and at the same moment the Rose-Princess appeared dressed in wedding garments, with her crown of silver and diamonds on her head. The organ rolled out a bridal march, and the priests came forth in a long procession. In a few minutes the Princess Rose was married to Ardram, and then her silver crown rolled off. “You must not wear silver any more,” said the faery, “because the spell is now broken, and you will never change to a rosebud again.” So saying, she touched the Rose-Princess’s head with her wand, and immediately there appeared a beautiful golden crown, as gorgeous as that worn by Ardram. “Now you are King and Queen,” said Rosina graciously, “so you will go to the palace and govern wisely.” “Oh yes, we will,” cried the new King and Queen joyfully and then they kissed one another as they stood in their royal crowns and splendid garments before the great altar. “But what is to become of us?” said the old King and Queen. “You are not fit to govern,” said the faery severely, “and only care for pleasure, so you will go away to the other end of the kingdom, to a city of your own, where the people are as fond of pleasure as you are, and there you will be happy.” “Nonsense!” said the King. “Pooh!” replied the Queen.