Then he left her, and the Princess
sat down beside the roadside to wait until he should come again.
Now as the Princess sat there, there came along the old goose-herd of
the palace, and with her came her daughter; for they were driving the
royal geese home again from where they had been eating grass. When they
saw the beautiful Princess, clad in her ram's hide, they stared as
though they would never shut their eyes again. Then they wanted to know
all about her--who she was, and where she came from, and what she sat
there for. So the Princess told them all that they wanted to know, and
that she waited there for the Prince to come with a dress all of silver
and gold, which would suit her better than the old ram's hide which she
wore.
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.
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