Now the young king had a great dislike to long ceremonies , so he proposed that his second interview with the princess should take place in the garden . The princess made some difficulties , but , as the weather was lovely and very still , she at last consented to the king 's wishes . But no sooner had they finished their first bows and curtseys than a slight breeze sprung up , and began to sway the princess , whose equerries had retired out of respect . The king went forward to steady her , but the wind that he caused only drove her further away from him . He rushed after her exclaiming , ' O princess ! are you really running away from me ? ' ` Good gracious , no ! ' she replied . ` Run a little quicker and you will be able to stop me , and I shall be for ever grateful . That is what comes of talking in a garden , ' she added in disgust ; ` as if one was n't much better in a room that was tightly closed all round . ' The king ran as fast as he could , but the wind ran faster still , and in a moment the princess was whirled to the bottom of the garden , which was bounded by a ditch . She cleared it like a bird , and the king , who was obliged to stop short at the edge , saw the lovely Diaphana flying over the plain , sometimes driven to the right , sometimes to the left , till at last she vanished out of sight . By this time the whole court were running over the plain , some on foot and some on horseback , all hurrying to the help of their princess , who really was in some danger , for the wind was rising to the force of a gale . The king looked on for a little , and then returned with his attendants to the palace , reflecting all the while on the extreme lightness of his proposed bride and the absurdity of having a wife that rose in the air better than any kite . He thought on the whole that it would be wiser not to wait longer , but to depart at once , and he started on horseback at the very moment when the princess had been found by her followers , wet to the skin , and blown against a rick . Souci met the carriage which was bringing her home , and stopped to congratulate her on her escape , and to advise her to put on dry clothes . Then he continued his journey . It took a good while for the king to get home again , and he was rather cross at having had so much trouble for nothing . Besides which , his courtiers made fun at his adventure , and he did not like being laughed at , though of course they did not dare to do it before his face . And the end of it was that very soon he started on his travels again , only allowing one equerry to accompany him , and even this attendant he managed to lose the moment he had left his own kingdom behind him .
Now it was the custom XXXXX those days for princes and princesses to be brought up by fairies , who loved them as their own children , and did not mind what inconvenience they put other people to for their sakes , for all the world as if they had been real mothers .
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