` Give me your veil , ' he said hastily to the princess . And when she had unwound it from her head he covered the mirror with it . ` The moment the dragon comes near you , you must tear off the veil , ' cried he ; ` and be sure you hide behind the mirror . Have no fear ; I shall be at hand . ' He and his horse had scarcely found shelter amongst some rocks , when the flap of the dragon 's wings could be plainly heard . He tossed his head with delight at the sight of her , and approached slowly to the place where she stood , a little in front of the mirror . Then , still looking the monster steadily in the face , she passed one hand behind her back and snatched off the veil , stepping swiftly behind the tree as she did so . The princess had not known , when she obeyed the orders of the Knight of the Fish , what she expected to happen . Would the dragon with snaky locks be turned to stone , she wondered , like the dragon in an old story her nurse had told her ; or would some fiery spark dart from the heart of the mirror , and strike him dead ? Neither of these things occurred , but , instead , the dragon stopped short with surprise and rage when he saw a monster before him as big and strong as himself . He shook his mane with rage and fury ; the enemy in front did exactly the same . He lashed his tail , and rolled his red eyes , and the dragon opposite was no whit behind him . Opening his mouth to its very widest , he gave an awful roar ; but the other dragon only roared back . This was too much , and with another roar which made the princess shake in her shoes , he flung himself upon his foe . In an instant the mirror lay at his feet broken into a thousand pieces , but as every piece reflected part of himself , the dragon thought that he too had been smashed into atoms . It was the moment for which the Knight of the Fish had watched and waited , and before the dragon could find out that he was not hurt at all , the young man 's lance was down his throat , and he was rolling , dead , on the grass . Oh ! what shouts of joy rang through the great city , when the youth came riding back with the princess sitting behind him , and dragging the horrible monster by a cord . Everybody cried out that the king must give the victor the hand of the princess ; and so he did , and no one had ever seen such balls and feasts and sports before . And when they were all over the young couple went to the palace prepared for them , which was so large that it was three miles round .
The first wet day after their marriage the bridegroom begged the bride to show him all the rooms in the palace , and it was so big and took so long XXXXX the sun was shining brightly again before they stepped on to the roof to see the view .
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