was dead than that she should marry the wicked King's son. The Fairy said to her, "Take courage; I am going to worry them so much, that you will be satisfied and avenged." When the wicked King went to bed, the Fairy transformed herself into a little mouse, and hid herself under the bolster of the bed. As soon as he wished to sleep, she bit his ear; he became very angry; he turned on the other side; she bit the other ear. He cried out, "Murder!" He called for some one to come to him; they came; they found his two ears bitten, and bleeding so much, that they could not stop the blood. While they were looking everywhere for the mouse, she went to the wicked King's son, and served him in like manner. He called up his people, and showed them his ears, which were all skinned, and they put plaisters on them. The little Mouse returned to the wicked King's room, who had become a little drowsy; she bit his nose, and continued to nibble at it; he put his hands up to it; she bit them and scratched them. He cried out, "Mercy! I am lost!" She got into his mouth, and nibbled his tongue, his cheeks, his lips, his eyes. They came to him; they saw him quite overpowered; he could scarcely speak, his tongue was so bad; he made signs that it was a mouse; they looked for it in the mattress, in the bolster, in every corner; she was no longer there. She ran and served the son still worse, and ate his good eye (for he was already blind with one). He rose like a mad-man, sword in hand; he was quite blind; he ran into his father's room, who had also taken his sword, storming and swearing that he would kill everybody if they did not catch the mouse. When he saw his son in such a fury, he scolded him; and the latter was so heated by passion that he did not recognise his father's voice, and fell upon him. The wicked King, much enraged, wounded his son with his sword; he received a wound in return; they both of them fell to the ground, bathed in blood. All their subjects, who hated them mortally, and who only obeyed them through terror, fearing them no longer, tied cords around their feet and dragged them into the river, saying, they were quite delighted to get rid of them. Thus died the wicked King and his son. The good Fairy, who knew what had occurred, sought the Queen, and they hastened to the black tower, where Joliette was shut up under more than forty locks. The Fairy struck the great door three times
