At first he would tell her nothing ; but once , when he was in a yielding mood , she approached him with a winning smile on her lovely face , and , speaking flattering words to him , she gave him a potion to drink , with a sweet , strong taste . And when he had drunk it Martin 's lips were unsealed , and he told her that all his power lay in the magic ring that he wore on his finger , and he described to her how to use it , and , still speaking , he fell into a deep sleep . And when she saw that the potion had worked , and that he was sound asleep , the Princess took the magic ring from his finger , and , going into the courtyard , she threw it from the palm of one hand into the other . On the instant the twelve youths appeared , and asked her what she commanded them to do . Then she told them that by the next morning they were to do away with the castle , and the bridge , and the church , and put in their stead the humble hut in which Martin used to live with his mother , and that while he slept her husband was to be carried to his old lowly room ; and that they were to bear her away to the utmost ends of the earth , where an old King lived who would make her welcome in his palace , and surround her with the state that befitted a royal Princess . ` You shall be obeyed , ' answered the twelve youths at the same moment . And lo and behold ! the following morning , when the King awoke and looked out of his window he beheld to his amazement that the palace , bridge , church , and trees had all vanished , and there was nothing in their place but a bare , miserable-looking hut . Immediately the King sent for his son-in-law , and commanded him to explain what had happened . But Martin looked at his royal father-in-law , and answered never a word . Then the King was very angry , and , calling a council together , he charged Martin with having been guilty of witchcraft , and of having deceived the King , and having made away with the Princess ; and he was condemned to imprisonment in a high stone tower , with neither meat nor drink , till he should die of starvation . Then , in the hour of his dire necessity , his old friends Schurka -LRB- the dog -RRB- and Waska -LRB- the cat -RRB- remembered how Martin had once saved them from a cruel death ; and they took counsel together as to how they should help him . And Schurka growled , and was of opinion that he would like to tear everyone in pieces ; but Waska purred meditatively , and scratched the back of her ear with a velvet paw , and remained lost in thought . At the end of a few minutes she had made up her mind , and , turning to Schurka , said : ` Let us go together into the town , and the moment we meet a baker you must make a rush between his legs and upset the tray from off his head ; I will lay hold of the rolls , and will carry them off to our master . ' No sooner said than done . Together the two faithful creatures trotted off into the town , and very soon they met a baker bearing a tray on his head , and looking round on all sides , while he cried : ` Fresh rolls , sweet cake , Fancy bread of every kind . Come and buy , come and take , Sure you 'll find it to your mind , ' At that moment Schurka made a rush between his legs -- the baker stumbled , the tray was upset , the rolls fell to the ground , and , while the man angrily pursued Schurka , Waska managed to drag the rolls out of sight behind a bush . And when a moment later Schurka joined her , they set off at full tilt to the stone tower where Martin was a prisoner , taking the rolls with them . Waska , being very agile , climbed up by the outside to the grated window , and called in an anxious voice : ` Are you alive , master ? ' ` Scarcely alive -- almost starved to death , ' answered Martin in a weak voice . '
I little thought it would come XXXXX this , that I should die of hunger . '
At On between by for into of than to with