Seeing her father 's eyes fixed on the stream , Diamantina looked hastily in that direction . There , dancing on the current , was the point of something white , which became more and more distant the longer they watched it . The king could bear the sight no more , and , besides , now that the healing ointment in the shoe had been removed the pain in his foot was as bad as ever ; he gave a sudden cry , staggered , and fell over the bulwarks into the water . In an instant the river was covered with bobbing heads all swimming their fastest towards the king , who had been carried far down by the swift current . At length one swimmer , stronger than the rest , seized hold of his tunic , and drew him to the bank , where a thousand eager hands were ready to haul him out . He was carried , unconscious , to the side of his daughter , who had fainted with terror on seeing her father disappear below the surface , and together they were place in a coach and driven to the palace , where the best doctors in the city were awaiting their arrival . In a few hours the princess was as well as ever ; but the pain , the wetting , and the shock of the accident , all told severely on the king , and for three days he lay in a high fever . Meanwhile , his daughter , herself nearly mad with grief , gave orders that the white slipper should be sought for far and wide ; and so it was , but even the cleverest divers could find no trace of it at the bottom of the river . When it became clear that the slipper must have been carried out to sea by the current , Diamantina turned her thoughts elsewhere , and sent messengers in search of the doctor who had brought relief to her father , begging him to make another slipper as fast as possible , to supply the place of the one which was lost . But the messengers returned with the sad news that the doctor had died some weeks before , and , what was worse , his secret had died with him . In his weakness this intelligence had such an effect on the king that the physicians feared he would become as ill as before . He could hardly be persuaded to touch food , and all night long he lay moaning , partly with pain , and partly over his own folly in not having begged the doctor to make him several dozens of white slippers , so that in case of accidents he might always have one to put on . However , by-and-by he saw that it was no use weeping and wailing , and commanded that they should search for his lost treasure more diligently than ever . What a sight the river banks presented in those days ! It seemed as if all the people in the country were gathered on them . But this second search was no more fortunate than the first , and at last the king issued a proclamation that whoever found the missing slipper should be made heir to the crown , and should marry the princess . Now many daughters would have rebelled at being disposed of in the manner ; and it must be admitted that Diamantina 's heart sank when she heard what the king had done . Still , she loved her father so much that she desired his comfort more than anything else in the world , so she said nothing , and only bowed her head . Of course the result of the proclamation was that the river banks became more crowded than before ; for all the princess 's suitors from distant lands flocked to the spot , each hoping that he might be the lucky finder . Many times a shining stone at the bottom of the stream was taken for the slipper itself , and every evening saw a band of dripping downcast men returning homewards .
But one youth always lingered longer than the rest , and night would still see him engaged XXXXX the search , though his clothes stuck to his skin and his teeth chattered .
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