Niels knew the princess again as soon as she entered the room , and was greatly alarmed , for he immediately supposed that all this was a device to discover the person who had run away with the sword , the slipper and the half of the handkerchief , and that it would fare badly with him if he were discovered . So he told his story much the same as the others did -LRB- Niels was not very particular -RRB- , and thought he had escaped all further trouble , when Rasmus put in his word . ` You 've forgotten something , Niels , ' he said ; ` you remember you found a sword near here that night I shot the stag . ' ` Where is the sword ? ' said the princess . ' I know , ' said the steward , ' I saw where he laid it down when they came in ; ' and off he went to fetch it , while Niels wondered whether he could make his escape in the meantime . Before he had made up his mind , however , the steward was back with the sword , which the princess recognised at once . ` Where did you get this ? ' she said to Niels . Niels was silent , and wondered what the usual penalty was for a poor sheep-farmer 's son who was so unfortunate as to deliver a princess and carry off things from her bed-room . ` See what else he has about him , ' said the princess to the steward , and Niels had to submit to be searched : out of one pocket came a gold-embroidered slipper , and out of another the half of a gold-hemmed handkerchief . ` That is enough , ' said the princess ; ` now we need n't ask any more questions . Send for my father the king at once . ' ` Please let me go , ' said Niels ; ' I did you as much good as harm , at any rate . ' ` Why , who said anything about doing harm ? ' said the princess . ` You must stay here till my father comes . ' The way in which the princess smiled when she said this gave Niels some hope that things might not be bad for him after all , and he was yet more encouraged when he thought of the words engraver on the horn , though the last line still seemed too good to be true . However , the arrival of the king soon settled the matter : the princess was willing and so was Niels , and in a few days the wedding bells were ringing . Niels was made an earl by that time , and looked as handsome as any of them when dressed in all his robes .
Before long the old king died , and Niels reigned after him ; but whether his father and mother stayed with him , or went back XXXXX the moor in Jutland , or were sent to Rome in a carriage and four , is something that all the historians of his reign have forgotten to mention .
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