Then she seized the cord and clambered up to the window . The next day the second sister had a fancy for bananas and begged so hard , that , though Maria had declared she would never do such a thing again , at last she consented , and went down the rope into the king 's garden . This time she met the king , who said to her , ` Ah , here you are again , cunning one ! Now you shall pay for your misdeeds . ' And he began to cross-question her about what she had done . Maria denied nothing , and when she had finished , the king said again , ` Follow me to the house , and there you shall pay the penalty . ' As he spoke , he started for the house , looking back from time to time to make sure that Maria had not run away . All of a sudden , when he glanced round , he found she had vanished completely , without leaving a trace of where she had gone . Search was made all through the town , and there was not a hole or corner which was not ransacked , but there was no sign of her anywhere . This so enraged the king that he became quite ill , and for many months his life was despaired of . Meanwhile the two elder sisters had married the two friends of the king , and were the mothers of little daughters . Now one day Maria stole secretly to the house where her elder sister lived , and snatching up the children put them into a beautiful basket she had with her , covered with flowers inside and out , so that no one would ever guess it held two babies . Then she dressed herself as a boy , and placing the basket on her head , she walked slowly past the palace , crying as she went : ` Who will carry these flowers to the king , who lies sick of love ? ' And the king in his bed heard what she said , and ordered one of his attendants to go out and buy the basket . It was brought to his bedside , and as he raised the lid cries were heard , and peeping in he saw two little children . He was furious at this new trick which he felt had been played on him by Maria , and was still looking at them , wondering how he should pay her out , when he was told that the merchant , Maria 's father , had finished the business on which he had been sent and returned home . Then the king remembered how Maria had refused to receive his visit , and how she had stolen his fruit , and he determined to be revenged on her . So he sent a message by one of his pages that the merchant was to come to see him the next day , and bring with him a coat made of stone , or else he would be punished . Now the poor man had been very sad since he got home the evening before , for though his daughters had promised that nothing should happen while he was away , he had found the two elder ones married without asking his leave . And now there was this fresh misfortune , for how was he to make a coat of stone ?
He wrung his hands and declared that the king would be the ruin XXXXX him , when Maria suddenly entered .
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