On arriving at this palace the King had resumed his own form , and though no longer young , he might well have pleased any other than this Princess , who had been so prejudiced against him by his violence that she could only regard him with feelings of hatred , which she was at no pains to conceal . The King hoped , however , that time might not only soften her anger , but accustom her to his sight . He took the precaution of surrounding the palace with a dense cloud , and then hastened to his Court , where his prolonged absence was causing much anxiety . The Prince and all the courtiers were delighted to see their beloved King again , but they had to submit themselves to more frequent absences than ever on his part . He made business a pretext for shutting himself up in his study , but it was really in order to spend the time with the Princess , who remained inflexible . Not being able to imagine what could be the cause of so much obstinacy the King began to fear , lest , in spite of all his precautions , she might have heard of the charms of the Prince his son , whose goodness , youth and beauty , made him adored at Court . This idea made him horribly uneasy , and he resolved to remove the cause of his fears by sending the Prince on his travels escorted by a magnificent retinue . The Prince , after visiting several Courts , arrived at the one where the lost Princess was still deeply mourned . The King and Queen received him most graciously , and some festivities were revived to do him honour . One day when the Prince was visiting the Queen in her own apartments he was much struck by a most beautiful portrait . He eagerly inquired whose it was , and the Queen , with many tears , told him it was all that was left her of her beloved daughter , who had suddenly been carried off , she knew neither where nor how . The Prince was deeply moved , and vowed that he would search the world for the Princess , and take no rest till he had found and restored her to her mother 's arms . The Queen assured him of her eternal gratitude , and promised , should he succeed , to give him her daughter in marriage , together with all the estates she herself owned . The Prince , far more attracted by the thoughts of possessing the Princess than her promised dower , set forth in his quest after taking leave of the King and Queen , the latter giving him a miniature of her daughter which she was in the habit of wearing . His first act was to seek the Fairy under whose protection he had been placed , and he implored her to give him all the assistance of her art and counsel in this important matter . After listening attentively to the whole adventure , the Fairy asked for time to consult her books . After due consideration she informed the Prince that the object of his search was not far distant , but that it was too difficult for him to attempt to enter the enchanted palace where she was , as the King his father had surrounded it with a thick cloud , and that the only expedient she could think of would be to gain possession of the Princess 's parrot . This , she added , did not appear impossible , as it often flew about to some distance in the neighbourhood . Having told the Prince all this , the Fairy went out in hopes of seeing the parrot , and soon returned with the bird in her hand . She promptly shut it up in a cage , and , touching the Prince with her wand , transformed him into an exactly similar parrot ; after which , she instructed him how to reach the Princess .
The Prince reached the palace XXXXX safety , but was so dazzled at first by the Princess 's beauty , which far surpassed his expectations , that he was quite dumb for a time .
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