"Nothing easier," said Peter, and off he went again.
When he had come to the chestnut woods, he uncorked his bottle and told
the two tall men what he wanted. No sooner said than done; for there was
a bird all of pure silver. And not only that, but the bird sat in a
little golden tree, and the leaves of the tree were emeralds, and rubies
hung like cherries from the branches.
Then Peter wrapped this up in his handkerchief and took it to the
palace. As for the King, he could not look at it or listen to it enough.
"Now," said Peter, "I should like to marry your daughter, if you
please."
But at this the King sang the same tune again. No, Peter could not marry
his daughter yet, for the King had determined that the man who was to
marry his daughter should first bring him a golden sword, so keen that
it could cut a feather floating in the air, yet so strong that it could
cut through an iron bar.
"Nothing easier," said Peter, and this time the men of the bottle
brought him such a sword as he asked for, and the hilt was studded all
over with precious stones, so that it was very handsome indeed. Then
Peter brought it to the King, and it did as the King would have it--it
cut through a feather floating in the air; as for the iron bar, it cut
through that as easily as you would bite through a radish.
[Illustration: Peter Eats With the King and Princess]
And now it seemed as though there was nothing else to be done but to let
Peter marry the Princess.
Pages:
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63