ONCE there was a young prince who went to a wizard and asked what kind of a wife he was going to have. "As you came from the palace to my hut, whom did you see by the way?" asked the wizard. "No one," replied the young man.

"Nay," said the wizard, "you saw a poor servant girl of your father's cutting grass in a field. She is  to be your wife."

Distressed that so lowly a maiden should become his wife, the young man, in order to prevent such a happening, fled from the country; but it came to pass that the poor girl attracted the attention of the king. He saw that she was kind and wise and beautiful, and he took her into his palace and treated her like a daughter.

Years passed and she became more kind and wise and beautiful than ever. At last the prince returned, and when he saw the beautiful maiden in his father's palace he loved her and asked her to be his wife. So they were married, and then he learned that she was the servant girl whom he had formerly despised. The old feeling returned. He was angry because his wife had been a servant girl, and he begged the king to let him depart on a long journey.

The king gave his consent, though he was much displeased with his son's pride, and the young man had a boat made ready and sailed away down a great river which flowed through the royal city. On and on he went, and at last he came to another kingdom and to another royal city where he stopped to look about. While he was absent from his boat the king of the country happened to learn that a prince had arrived from the neighboring kingdom up the river, and as he was not on the best of terms with that kingdom he determined to get the prince into his power. So he ordered his servants to secrete a little golden image in the bottom of the stranger's boat, and then to watch for the owner's return.

The prince presently appeared, and the servants a few minutes later pretended to cone in great haste from the palace to inquire what was in the boat.

"I have nothing but my own possessions," replied the prince.

"Not so," said the servants; "you have an image of gold which belongs to our king. If we find it in the boat what will you do?"

"I will be your master's slave," the prince responded.

All the goods were removed from the boat, and the image was found. Then the prince went to the palace and the king sent him far away into a wild forest to labor as a woodman.

Time passed along, and one day the wife of the young prince went to the king his father and begged permission to go down the river to find her husband.

"Go, my child," said the king, and he had a boat made ready for her use, and sent with her several trusty servants.

They sailed down the river to the country where the young man was working in the forest, and they stopped at the royal city, hoping to learn something of him. News of the arrival of the princess was soon brought to the palace, and the king determined to serve her as he had the prince. So he sent a servant secretly to hide a golden image in the princess's boat, while she and her servants were in the city looking about.

But she had sharp eyes, and when she returned she detected signs that someone had been disturbing things during her absence. By diligent searching she found the golden image. "This is here for no good," said she, and she carried it to the shore and buried it in the sand.

The following day the king himself came to ask why the princess had stolen his image.

"I am no thief," she replied indignantly, "and I have not stolen any image!"

"If it is found in your boat, what will you promise?" asked the king.

"I and my servants will be slaves to you if the image is found in my boat," she answered; "but should the image not be found there, what will you promise?"

 

"You shall have all my goods and my entire kingdom for your own," responded the king.

A most careful search failed to discover the image, and true to the agreement, the ruler gave his riches and his kingdom to the princess. To celebrate this acquisition of wealth and power she had a great feast prepared to which she invited all the people. In the midst of the feasting a man in soiled garments carrying an ax on his shoulder entered the town.

Immediately the princess recognized him as her husband and ran to welcome him. He forgot his pride, and dropping his ax received her with open arms. He had no desire to leave her after that, and they lived happily together as rulers of her kingdom ever after.