him Constancia in the fatal tower, subjected to the importunities, the violences, and the fury, of a dreadful giant; he feared her courage would fail her, and that she would give her consent to the marriage. The next moment, his fear was, that she would brave him and lose her life from the rage of such a lover! It would be difficult to describe the condition the poor Prince was in.
The young person, who carried him in her little basket, having returned with her companion to the palace of the Fairy, whose servants they were, found their mistress walking in a shady avenue in her garden. They first knelt at her feet, and then said, "Great Queen, here is a pigeon we have found: it is gentle and tame, and if it had feathers would be very handsome; we have determined to bring it up in our own room; but if agreeable to you it shall be sent occasionally to yours, to amuse you." The Fairy took the basket in which the bird was confined, drew it out, and made some serious observations on worldly grandeur: for it was extraordinary to see such a prince as Constancio under the form of a pigeon ready to be stewed or roasted; and, although it was she herself, who had up to that time arranged the whole affair, and that nothing had happened but by her orders, she was addicted to moralizing on all that occurred, and this incident made a great impression upon her. She caressed the little pigeon, and he neglected nothing, on his part, to attract her attention in order to induce her to alleviate the misery he suffered from this sad adventure. He made her a low bow, after the fashion of a pigeon, drawing back one of his feet a little. He billed and cooed affectionately, and though but a novice, proved himself already as clever at it as the oldest ring-dove or wood-pigeon in the country.
The Sovereign Fairy carried him into her cabinet, shut the door, and said to him, "Prince, the sad condition in which I now see thee does not prevent my recognising and loving thee for the sake of my daughter Constancia, who fully returns thy affection. Blame no one but me for thy transformation. I caused thee to enter the furnace to try the truth of thy love; it is pure—it is ardent. I give thee full credit for an act that redounds to thine honour." The Pigeon bowed three times in token of his gratitude, and listened attentively to what the Fairy said to him.
