It was the little cow-boy driving his herd back to the byre . The farmer began to scold him furiously , but he answered quietly , ' I am going away , ' made his clothes into a bundle , said good-bye to all his friends , and boldly set out to seek his fortunes . There was great excitement through all the village , and on the top of the hill the people stood holding their sides with laughing , as they watched the Star Gazer trudging bravely along the valley with his bundle at the end of his stick . It was enough to make anyone laugh , certainly . III It was well known for full twenty miles round that there lived in the castle of Beloeil twelve princesses of wonderful beauty , and as proud as they were beautiful , and who were besides so very sensitive and of such truly royal blood , that they would have felt at once the presence of a pea in their beds , even if the mattresses had been laid over it . It was whispered about that they led exactly the lives that princesses ought to lead , sleeping far into the morning , and never getting up till mid-day . They had twelve beds all in the same room , but what was very extraordinary was the fact that though they were locked in by triple bolts , every morning their satin shoes were found worn into holes . When they were asked what they had been doing all night , they always answered that they had been asleep ; and , indeed , no noise was ever heard in the room , yet the shoes could not wear themselves out alone ! At last the Duke of Beloeil ordered the trumpet to be sounded , and a proclamation to be made that whoever could discover how his daughters wore out their shoes should choose one of them for his wife . On hearing the proclamation a number of princes arrived at the castle to try their luck . They watched all night behind the open door of the princesses , but when the morning came they had all disappeared , and no one could tell what had become of them . IV When he reached the castle , Michael went straight to the gardener and offered his services . Now it happened that the garden boy had just been sent away , and though the Star Gazer did not look very sturdy , the gardener agreed to take him , as he thought that his pretty face and golden curls would please the princesses . The first thing he was told was that when the princesses got up he was to present each one with a bouquet , and Michael thought that if he had nothing more unpleasant to do than that he should get on very well . Accordingly he placed himself behind the door of the princesses ' room , with the twelve bouquets in a basket . He gave one to each of the sisters , and they took them without even deigning to look at the lad , except Lina the youngest , who fixed her large black eyes as soft as velvet on him , and exclaimed , ` Oh , how pretty he is -- our new flower boy ! ' The rest all burst out laughing , and the eldest pointed out that a princess ought never to lower herself by looking at a garden boy . Now Michael knew quite well what had happened to all the princes , but notwithstanding , the beautiful eyes of the Princess Lina inspired him with a violent longing to try his fate . Unhappily he did not dare to come forward , being afraid that he should only be jeered at , or even turned away from the castle on account of his impudence . V Nevertheless , the Star Gazer had another dream .
The lady in the golden dress appeared XXXXX him once more , holding in one hand two young laurel trees , a cherry laurel and a rose laurel , and in the other hand a little golden rake , a little golden bucket , and a silken towel .
On as besides for from in of through to without