her from the violence of that hideous dwarf." "Proceed then," said the King. "What more have I to tell you?" continued the Syren. "She was in the grove when you passed over it. She saw you with the Fairy of the Desert, who was so disguised that she appeared to the Princess to possess greater beauty than herself. Her despair is not to be conceived. She believes you love the Fairy." "She believes that I love the Fairy! Just Heavens!" cried the King, "into what a fatal error has she fallen, and what must I do to undeceive her?" "Consult your own heart," replied the Syren, with a gracious smile. "When we are deeply in love, we need no advice in such a matter." As she uttered these words, they arrived at the Steel Castle. The side that faced the sea was the only part of it that the Yellow Dwarf had not fortified with those formidable walls which burned everybody who approached them.
"I know well enough," said the Syren to the King, "that Toute-belle is beside the same fountain that you saw her seated near when you passed over the castle gardens; but as you will have some enemies to contend with before you can approach her, here is a sword, armed with which you may dare any encounter, and brave the greatest dangers; but beware that you never let it fall. Adieu; I go to repose beneath the rock you see yonder. If you need my assistance to convey you and your dear Princess any further, I will not fail you; for the Queen, her mother, is my best friend, and it was for her sake that I came to seek you." So saying, she presented the King with a sword, made of a single diamond. The rays of the sun were less brilliant. The King comprehended all its value, and unable to find terms in which to express his gratitude to the Syren, he implored her to supply his deficiency by imagining all that an honest heart was capable of feeling, under such great obligations.
We must now say a word about the Fairy of the Desert. When she found her amiable lover did not return, she hastened in search of him. She went down to the sea-shore with an hundred maidens in her train, all bearing magnificent presents for the King. Some carried large baskets filled with diamonds; others golden vases of marvellous workmanship; many bore ambergris, coral, and pearls; others carried on their heads bales of inconceivably rich stuffs; whilst
