I want a palace of ice that can be warmed with fires and filled with the rarest singing-birds ! ' ` Shut your eyes , then , ' said the stone ; and he shut them , and when he opened them again there was the palace , more beautiful than anything he could have imagined , the fires throwing a soft pink glow over the ice . ` It is fit even for the princess , ' thought he to himself . As soon as the king awoke next morning he ran to the window , and there across the plain he beheld the palace . ` That young man must be a great wizard ; he may be useful to me . ' And when the mother came again to tell him that his orders had been fulfilled he received her with great honour , and bade her tell her son that the wedding was fixed for the following day . The princess was delighted with her new home , and with her husband also ; and several days slipped happily by , spent in turning over all the beautiful things that the palace contained . But at length the young man grew tired of always staying inside walls , and he told his wife that the next day he must leave her for a few hours , and go out hunting . ` You will not mind ? ' he asked . And she answered as became a good wife : ` Yes , of course I shall mind ; but I will spend the day in planning out some new dresses ; and then it will be so delightful when you come back , you know ! ' So the husband went off to hunt , with the falcon on his wrist , and the greyhound and the cat behind him -- for the palace was so warm that even the cat did not mind living in it . No sooner had he gone , than the ogre who had been watching his chance for many days , knocked at the door of the palace . ' I have just returned from a far country , ' he said , ` and I have some of the largest and most brilliant stones in the world with me . The princess is known to love beautiful things , perhaps she might like to buy some ? ' Now the princess had been wondering for many days what trimming she should put on her dresses , so that they should outshine the dresses of the other ladies at the court balls . Nothing that she thought of seemed good enough , so , when the message was brought that the ogre and his wares were below , she at once ordered that he should be brought to her chamber . Oh ! what beautiful stones he laid before her ; what lovely rubies , and what rare pearls ! No other lady would have jewels like those -- of that the princess was quite sure ; but she cast down her eyes so that the ogre might not see how much she longed for them . '
I fear they are too costly for me , ' she said carelessly ; ` and besides , I have hardly need XXXXX any more jewels just now . ' '
for from in inside of on over than that with