After a year 's time a son was born , worthy in every way of such distinguished parents , and much admired by the whole Court . As soon as the Queen thought him strong enough for a journey she set out with him secretly to visit her Fairy godmother . I said secretly , because the Fairy had warned the Queen that the King was a magician ; and as from time immemorial there had been a standing feud between the Fairies and the Wizards , he might not have approved of his wife 's visit . The Fairy godmother , who took the deepest interest in all the Queen 's concerns , and who was much pleased with the little Prince , endowed him with the power of pleasing everybody from his cradle , as well as with a wonderful ease in learning everything which could help to make him a perfectly accomplished Prince . Accordingly , to the delight of his teachers , he made the most rapid progress in his education , constantly surpassing everyone 's expectations . Before he was many years old , however , he had the great sorrow of losing his mother , whose last words were to advise him never to undertake anything of importance without consulting the Fairy under whose protection she had placed him . The Prince 's grief at the death of his mother was great , but it was nothing compared to that of the King , his father , who was quite inconsolable for the loss of his dear wife . Neither time nor reason seemed to lighten his sorrow , and the sight of all the familiar faces and things about him only served to remind him of his loss . He therefore resolved to travel for change , and by means of his magic art was able to visit every country he came to see under different shapes , returning every few weeks to the place where he had left a few followers . Having travelled from land to land in this fashion without finding anything to rivet his attention , it occurred to him to take the form of an eagle , and in this shape he flew across many countries and arrived at length in a new and lovely spot , where the air seemed filled with the scent of jessamine and orange flowers with which the ground was thickly planted . Attracted by the sweet perfume he flew lower , and perceived some large and beautiful gardens filled with the rarest flowers , and with fountains throwing up their clear waters into the air in a hundred different shapes . A wide stream flowed through the garden , and on it floated richly ornamented barges and gondolas filled with people dressed in the most elegant manner and covered with jewels . In one of these barges sat the Queen of that country with her only daughter , a maiden more beautiful than the Day Star , and attended by the ladies of the Court . No more exquisitely lovely mortal was ever seen than this Princess , and it needed all an eagle 's strength of sight to prevent the King being hopelessly dazzled . He perched on the top of a large orange tree , whence he was able to survey the scene and to gaze at pleasure on the Princess 's charms . Now , an eagle with a King 's heart in his breast is apt to be bold , and accordingly he instantly made up his mind to carry off the lovely damsel , feeling sure that having once seen her he could not live without her . He waited till he saw her in the act of stepping ashore , when , suddenly swooping down , he carried her off before her equerry in attendance had advanced to offer her his hand . The Princess , on finding herself in an eagle 's talons , uttered the most heart-breaking shrieks and cries ; but her captor , though touched by her distress , would not abandon his lovely prey , and continued to fly through the air too fast to allow of his saying anything to comfort her . At length , when he thought they had reached a safe distance , he began to lower his flight , and gradually descending to earth , deposited his burden in a flowery meadow . He then entreated her pardon for his violence , and told her that he was about to carry her to a great kingdom over which he ruled , and where he desired she should rule with him , adding many tender and consoling expressions .
For some time the Princess remained speechless ; but recovering herself a little , she burst into a flood XXXXX tears .
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