Then the serpent made a rush at the youth with wide open jaws to swallow him at one gulp , but the young man leaped aside and drew his sword , and fought till he had cut off all the seven heads . And when the great serpent lay dead at his feet he loosed the bonds of the king 's daughter , and she flung herself into his arms and said , ` You have saved me from that monster , and now you shall be my husband , for my father has made a proclamation that whoever could slay the serpent should have his daughter to wife . ' But he answered , ' I can not become your husband yet , for I have still far to travel . But wait for me seven years and seven months . Then , if I do not return , you are free to marry whom you will . And in case you should have forgotten , I will take these seven tongues with me so that when I bring them forth you may know that I am really he who slew the serpent . ' So saying he cut out the seven tongues , and the princess gave him a thick cloth to wrap them in ; and he mounted his horse and rode away . Not long after he had gone there arrived at the river a slave who had been sent by the king to learn the fate of his beloved daughter . And when the slave saw the princess standing free and safe before him , with the body of the monster lying at her feet , a wicked plan came into his head , and he said , ` Unless you promise to tell your father it was I who slew the serpent , I will kill you and bury you in this place , and no one will ever know what befell . ' What could the poor girl do ? This time there was no knight to come to her aid . So she promised to do as the slave wished , and he took up the seven heads and brought the princess to her father . Oh , how enchanted the king was to see her again , and the whole town shared his joy ! And the slave was called upon to tell how he had slain the monster , and when he had ended the king declared that he should have the princess to wife . But she flung herself at her father 's feet , and prayed him to delay . ` You have passed your royal word , and can not go back from it Yet grant me this grace , and let seven years and seven months go by before you wed me . When they are over , then I will marry the slave . ' And the king listened to her , and seven years and seven months she looked for her bridegroom , and wept for him night and day . All this time the young man was riding through the world , and when the seven years and seven months were over he came back to the town where the princess lived -- only a few days before the wedding . And he stood before the king , and said to him : ` Give me your daughter , O king , for I slew the seven-headed serpent .
And as a sign that my words are true , look on these seven tongues , which I cut from his seven heads , and on this embroidered cloth , which was given me XXXXX your daughter . '
Unless after before by if into of over through with