Atondido Stories
At last in his search the king came to the royal palace where
the princess Dionysia lived. The princess had dreams of her own
of a young and charming prince who would some day come to
wed her, so she was not pleased at all. The king was old and no
longer handsome, and when he tried the ring upon Dionysia's
finger she hoped with all her heart that it would not fit. It fitted
perfectly.
The princess Dionysia was frightened nearly to death. "Will I
really have to marry him?" she asked her royal father. Her father
told her what a very wealthy king he was with a great kingdom
and a wonderful royal palace ever so much more wonderful and
grand than the palace the princess Dionysia had always had for
her home. Her father had no patience at all with her for not be-
ing happy about it. "You ought to consider yourself the most for-
tunate princess in all the world," he said.
Dionysia spent her days and nights weeping. Her father was
afraid that she would grow so thin that the ring would no longer
fit her finger, so he hastened the plans for the wedding.
One day Dionysia walked up and down beside the sea, crying as
if her heart would break. All at once she stopped crying. "How
stupid I have been," she said. "My old playmate Labismena told
me that if ever I was in trouble she would come back and help
me. With all my silly crying I had forgotten about it."
Dionysia walked up close to the sea and called softly,
"Labismena, Labismena." Out of the sea came the sea serpent just
as she used to come. The princess told the sea serpent all about
the dreadful trouble which was threatening to spoil her life.
"Have no fear," said Labismena, "tell your father that you
will marry the king when the king presents you with a dress the
colour of the fields and all their flowers and that you will not
marry him until he gives it to you." Then the sea serpent
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