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thought struck him, if she was delivered of a daughter he could marry her to his son, and to ascertain whether it was a daughter that she should have, he sent for a fairy who lived on the frontiers of his dominions. When she arrived, he entertained her with much more hospitality than he showed to his most intimate friends, and then led her to a tower, in the highest room of which the poor queen was confined. Nothing could equal the misery of the poor queen, and the unpleasantness of her appartment. The broken casements admitted both the wind and the rain, the flooring was broken in several places, and the damps that ran down the walls were dangerous, especially to a person of so weak a constitution as the queen; the bed was composed of nothing but an old mattress, worse than is found in the habitations ⟨of⟩ the poorest class of people. In this miserable condition, the queen passed both ⟨day⟩ and night, weeping bitterly at ⟨the⟩ thoughts of her own situation, and for the death of the king her husband.
The fairy's heart was touched with pity at so deplorable a sight; she embraced the queen, and, at the same time, she whispered in her ear the following words: "Take courage, madam, your misfortunes will soon be at an end; I hope soon to contribute to your happiness." The queen was a little
