Atondido Stories
In the morning, at noon, and at supper-time the prince and
his companions found a rich feast prepared for them. Unseen
hands served them food and poured them wine.
Then after supper, as on the preceding night, the doors burst
open and the magician led in the princess, whom he handed
over to the prince to guard for the second night.
Of course the prince and his men determined to fight off
drowsiness this time with all their strength. But in spite of this
determination again they fell asleep. At dawn the prince awoke
and saw that the princess was gone.
He jumped up and shook Keen by the shoulder.
“Wake up, Keen, wake up! Where is the princess?”
Keen rubbed his eyes, took one look out of the window, and
said:
“There, I see her. Two hundred miles from here is a moun-
tain, in the mountain is a rock, in the rock a precious stone. That
stone is the princess. If Longshanks will carry me over there
we’ll get her.”
Longshanks put Keen on his shoulder, stretched himself out
until he was able to go twenty miles at a stride, and off he went.
Keen fixed his glowing eyes on the mountain and the mountain
crumbled. Then the rock that was inside the mountain broke into
a thousand pieces and there was the precious stone glittering
among the pieces.
They picked it up and carried it back to the prince. As soon
as he dropped it on the floor the princess reappeared.
When the magician came in and found her there, his eyes
sparkled with anger, and bang! the second of his iron bands
cracked and burst asunder. Rumbling and growling he led the
princess away.
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