The fairy was so touched by the sight of her misery that when she kissed her hand she whispered : ` Courage , madam ! I think I see a way to help you . ' The Queen , a little comforted by these words , received her graciously , and begged her to take pity upon the poor little Princess , who had met with such a sudden reverse of fortune . But the King got very cross when he saw them whispering together , and cried harshly : ` Make an end of these fine speeches , madam . I brought you here to tell me if the child will grow up pretty and fortunate . ' Then the Fairy answered that the Princess would be as pretty , and clever , and well brought up as it was possible to be , and the old King growled to the Queen that it was lucky for her that it was so , as they would certainly have been hanged if it were otherwise . Then he stamped off , taking the Fairy with him , and leaving the poor Queen in tears . ` How can I wish my little daughter to grow up pretty if she is to be married to that horrid little dwarf , the King 's son , ' she said to herself , ` and yet , if she is ugly we shall both be killed . If I could only hide her away somewhere , so that the cruel King could never find her . ' As the days went on , the Queen and the little Princess grew thinner and thinner , for their hard-hearted gaoler gave them every day only three boiled peas and a tiny morsel of black bread , so they were always terribly hungry . At last , one evening , as the Queen sat at her spinning-wheel -- for the King was so avaricious that she was made to work day and night -- she saw a tiny , pretty little mouse creep out of a hole , and said to it : ` Alas , little creature ! what are you coming to look for here ? I only have three peas for my day 's provision , so unless you wish to fast you must go elsewhere . ' But the mouse ran hither and thither , and danced and capered so prettily , that at last the Queen gave it her last pea , which she was keeping for her supper , saying : ` Here , little one , eat it up ; I have nothing better to offer you , but I give this willingly in return for the amusement I have had from you . ' She had hardly spoken when she saw upon the table a delicious little roast partridge , and two dishes of preserved fruit . ` Truly , ' said she , ' a kind action never goes unrewarded ; ` and she and the little Princess ate their supper with great satisfaction , and then the Queen gave what was left to the little mouse , who danced better than ever afterwards . The next morning came the gaoler with the Queen 's allowance of three peas , which he brought in upon a large dish to make them look smaller ; but as soon as he set it down the little mouse came and ate up all three , so that when the Queen wanted her dinner there was nothing left for her . Then she was quite provoked , and said : ` What a bad little beast that mouse must be ! If it goes on like this I shall be starved . ' But when she glanced at the dish again it was covered with all sorts of nice things to eat , and the Queen made a very good dinner , and was gayer than usual over it .
But afterwards as she sat at her spinning-wheel she began to consider what would happen if the little XXXXX did not grow up pretty enough to please the King , and she said to herself : ` Oh !
King Princess Queen days evening gaoler gayer left partridge spinning-wheel