“‘Throw thee once, throw thee twice, throw thee thrice,’ roared the bull, each time shaking the henwife’s daughter roughly, at the end flinging her to the ground.  ’Shame on thee, thou henwife’s daughter, to call thyself a true Princess.’

“And with that off he rushed, furious, and from that day the ravages and the terrors began again, and Bruna found her way home, bruised and weeping, to tell her story.

“This was the tale now related to the Princess, and as she listened a strange look of determination and courage came over her face.

“‘There is but one thing to be done,’ she said.  ’It is childish to attempt to deceive a creature who is evidently not what he seems.  Let me go myself, my parents.  Trust me to do my best.  And, at worst, if I perish, it will be in a good cause.  Better it should be so than that our people should be driven from their homes, the whole country devastated, and all its happiness destroyed.’

“The king and queen had no answer to give but their tears.  But the Princess remained firm, and they found themselves obliged to do as she directed.  A messenger was sent to the monster to inform him, for the third time, that his terms were to be agreed to, and the rest of the day was spent in the palace in weeping and lamentation.

“Only, strange to say, the Princess shed no tears.  She seemed as cheerful as usual; she played with her golden balls, and endeavoured to comfort her sorrowful parents, and was so brave and hopeful that in spite of themselves the poor king and queen could not help feeling a little comforted.

“‘It is a good sign that she has never left off playing with her balls,’ they said to each other.  ’Who knows but what the fairy’s prediction may be true, and that in some way the balls may be the means of saving her?’

“‘They and my wits,’ said the Princess, laughing, for she had often been told of the fairy’s saying.

“And the king and queen and all the ladies and gentlemen of the court looked at her in astonishment, admiring her courage, but marvelling at her having the spirit to laugh at such a moment.

“The next morning, at the usual time, the terrible visitor made his appearance.  He came slowly up to the castle courtyard and stood at the great entrance, tossing his enormous head with impatience.  But he was not kept waiting long; the doors were flung open, and at the top of the flight of steps leading down from them appeared the young Princess, pale but resolute, her fair hair floating over her shoulders, her golden balls flashing as she slowly walked down the steps, tossing them as she went.  And, unlike the false princesses, she was dressed entirely in black, without a single jewel or ornament of any kind—­nothing but her balls, and her hair caught the sunlight as she passed.  There were no soldiers this time, no crowd of weeping friends; the grief of the king and queen was now too real to be shown, and the Princess had asked that there should be no one to see her go.