He was very sorry when he heard this , and could not understand why the sleep should have fallen upon him just when she was coming . He decided , however , to go early to bed that night , in order to rise in time nest morning , and so he did . When it was getting near nine o'clock he went out to the garden to wait till she came , and the fair-haired lad along with him ; but as soon as the lad got the chance he stuck the pin into his master 's coat again and he fell asleep as before . Precisely at nine o'clock came the Princess in the carriage with four horses , and asked the lad if his master had got up yet ; but he said ` No , he was asleep , just as he was the day before . ' ` Dear ! dear ! ' said the Princess , ' I am sorry for him . Was the sleep he had last night not enough for him ? Tell him that he will never see me here again ; and here is a sword that you will give him in my name , and my blessing along with it . ' With this she went off , and as soon as she had gone the lad took the pin out of his master 's coat . He awoke instantly , and the first word he said was , ` Have you seen her ? ' The lad said that he had , and there was the sword she had left for him . The Irishman was ready to kill the lad out of sheer vexation , but when he gave a glance over his shoulder not a trace of the fair-haired lad was left . Being thus left all alone , he thought of going into the room where all the men were lying asleep , and there among the rest he found his two comrades who had deserted along with him . Then he remembered what the Princess had told him -- that he had only to touch them with the rod she had given him and they would all awake ; and the first he touched were his own comrades . They started to their feet at once , and he gave them as much silver and gold as they could carry when they went away . There was plenty to do before he got all the others wakened , for the two doors of the castle were crowded with them all the day long . The loss of the Princess , however , kept rankling in his mind day and night , till finally he thought he would go about the world to see if he could find anyone to give him news of her . So he took the best horse in the stable and set out . Three years he spent travelling through forests and wildernesses , but could find no one able to tell him anything of the Princess .
At last he fell into so great despair that he thought he would put an end to his own life , and for this purpose laid hold of the sword that she had given him by the hands of the fair-haired lad ; but on drawing it from its sheath he noticed XXXXX there was some writing on one side of the blade .
about before if near of that through till upon with