` May it please your majesty , ' she said , ' I have brought you a ball of silk of the colour you asked for , as no one else has any in the town . ' ` Your majesty , ' asked one of the courtiers , ` shall I give the maiden its weight in gold ? ' The king agreed , and a pair of scales were brought ; and a handful of gold was placed in one scale and the silken ball in the other . But lo ! let the king lay in the scales as many gold pieces as he would , the silk was always heavier still . Then the king took some larger scales , and heaped up all his treasures on one side , but the silk on the other outweighed them all . At last there was only one thing left that had not been put in , and that was his golden crown . And he took it from his head and set it on top of all , and at last the scale moved and the ball had founds its balance . ` Where got you this silk ? ' asked the king . ` It was given me , royal majesty , by my mistress , ' replied Catherine . ` That is not true , ' said the king , ` and if you do not tell me the truth I will have your head cut off this instant . ' So Catherine told him the whole story , and how she had once been as rich as he . Now there lived at the court a wise woman , and she said to Catherine , ` You have suffered much , my poor girl , but at length your luck has turned , and I know by the weighing of the scales through the crown that you will die a queen . ' ` So she shall , ' cried the king , who overheard these words ; ` she shall die my queen , for she is more beautiful than all the ladies of the court , and I will marry no one else . ' And so it fell out . The king sent back the bride he had promised to wed to her own country , and the same Catherine was queen at the marriage feast instead , and lived happy and contented to the end of her life . How the Hermit Helped to Win the King 's Daughter Sicilianische Mahrchen Long ago there lived a very rich man who had three sons . When he felt himself to be dying he divided his property between them , making them share alike , both in money and lands . Soon after he died the king set forth a proclamation through the whole country that whoever could build a ship that should float both on land and sea should have his daughter to wife .
The eldest brother , when he heard it , said XXXXX the other , ' I think I will spend some of my money in trying to build that ship , as I should like to have the king for my father-in-law . '
So after ago as at for if that through to