she trims for him.  The old man tells her that 60 leagues distant is an inn by the roadside; she may enter it, and having refreshed herself with food and drink leave her horse there, and promise to pay on her return After quitting the inn she will see a very high mountain, to climb which will require hands and feet, and she’ll have to encounter a furious storm of hail and snow, it will be bitterly cold:  take care and not lose courage, but mount on.  She’ll see on either side a number of stone pillars—­persons like herself who have been thus transformed because they lost heart.  On the summit is a plain, bordered with flowers, blooming as in May.  She will see a gold seat under an apple-tree and should sit down and make it appear as if asleep; presently the bird will descend from branch to branch and enter the cage; quickly close it on the bird, for it is the Bird of Truth.  Cut a branch of the tree, with an apple on it, for it is the Apple that sings.  Lastly, there is also the fountain of water which dances:  fill a flask from the fountain and in descending the hill sprinkle a few drops of the water on the stone pillars and the enchanted young princes and knights will come to life again.  Such were the instructions of the little old man, for which the princess thanked him and went on her way.  Arriving at the summit of the mountain, she discovered the cage and sitting down under the tree feigned to be asleep, when presently the merle entered and she at once rose up and closed it.  The merle, seeing that he was a prisoner, said, “You have captured me, daughter of the King of France.  Many others have tried to seize me, but none has been able till now, and you must have been counselled by some one.”  The princess then cut a branch of the tree with an apple on it, filled her flask with water from the fountain that danced, and as she went down the hill sprinkled a few drops on the stone pillars, which were instantly turned into princes, dukes, barons, and knights, and last of all her two brothers came to life, but they did not know her.  All pressed about the princess, some saying, “Give me the Water which dances,” others, “Give me the Apple which sings,” and others, “Give me the Bird of Truth.”  But she departed quickly, carrying with her the three treasures, and passing the inn where she had left her horse she paid her bill and returned home, where she arrived long before her brothers.  When at length they came home she embraced them, saying, “Ah, my poor brothers!  How much anxiety you have caused me!  How long your journey has lasted!  But God be praised that you are back here again.”  “Alas, my poor sister, we have indeed remained a long time away, and after all have not succeeded in our quest.  But we may consider ourselves fortunate in having been able to return.”  “How!” said the princess, “do you not bring me the Water which dances, the Apple which sings, and the Bird of Truth?” “Alas! my poor sister, a young knight who was a stranger to us carried them all away—­curse