Then the old goose-woman thought that it would be a fine thing to have her daughter in the Princess’s place, so that she might have the dress of real silver and gold, and marry the Prince.  So the goose-herd’s daughter held the Princess, and the old goose-herd stripped the ram’s hide off from her.

No sooner had they done this than the Princess was changed into a beautiful golden bird, and flew away over hill and over valley.  Then the goose-herd’s daughter clad herself in the ram’s hide, and sat down in the Princess’s place.

[Illustration:  The Gooseherd & her Daughter meet the Princess at the Roadside]

“Yes, my pretty little bird,” said the old goose-herd, “thou wilt make a fine Princess!” But, prut! she was no more like a Princess than I am, for she was squat, and round-shouldered, and had hair of the color of tow.

Then the old goose-herd drove her geese away, and the goose-girl waited for the coming of the Prince.

Sure enough, after a while the Prince came with a fine dress, all of real silver and gold; but when he saw the goose-girl he beat his head with his knuckles, for he thought that it was the Princess, and that she was enchanted again.

Why did he not look through the ring of his magic key?

Perhaps for this, perhaps for that—­one cannot be always wise.

[Illustration:  The Prince looks through the Magic Key.]

Then the Prince dressed the goose-girl in the fine dress of gold and silver, and took her home with him.  Hui! how everybody stared and laughed when they saw what kind of a Princess it was that the Prince brought home with him!  As for the poor old King, he rubbed his spectacles and looked and looked, for he thought that this was a strange sort of a wife for the Prince to make such a buzz about.  However, he said nothing, for he thought to himself that perhaps she would grow prettier by-and-by.

So orders were given for a grand wedding on Thursday, and the old King asked all of the neighbors to come, and even those who lived at a distance, for this was to be a very grand wedding indeed.

But the old goose-herd told her daughter to mix a sleeping powder with the Prince’s wine at supper, for, if the real Princess were to come at all, she would come that night.  So the goose-girl did as she was told, and the Prince drank the sleeping powder with his wine, and knew nothing of it.

That night the golden bird came flying, and sat in the linden tree just outside of the Prince’s chamber window.  Then she clapped her wings and sang: 

“I wept over you once,
 I wept over you twice,
 I wept over you three times. 
 In the ram’s skin I waited,
 And out of the ram’s skin I flew. 
   Why are you sleeping,
   Life of my life?”

But the Prince slept as sound as a dormouse, and when the dawn came and the cocks crew the golden bird was forced to fly away.

The next night the false Princess did as she had done before, and mixed a sleeping powder with the Prince’s cup of wine.