The fame of the princess 's beauty had spread far and wide , and there was no lack of princes who wished to try their fortune . Very funny the palace must have looked each morning , with the dabs of different colour on the white marble as the princes were climbing up the walls . But though some managed to get further than others , nobody was anywhere near the top . They had already been spending several days in this manner when the young prince arrived , and as he was pleasant to look upon , and civil to talk to , they welcomed him to the house , which had been given to them , and saw that his bath was properly perfumed after his long journey . ` Where do you come from ? ' they said at last . ` And whose son are you ? ' But the young prince had reasons for keeping his own secret , and he answered : ` My father was master of the horse to the king of my country , and after my mother died he married another wife . At first all went well , but as soon as she had babies of her own she hated me , and I fled , lest she should do me harm . ' The hearts of the other young men were touched as soon as they heard this story , and they did everything they could think of to make him forget his past sorrows . ` What are you doing here ? ' said the youth , one day . ` We spend our whole time climbing up the walls of the palace , trying to reach the windows of the princess , ' answered the young men ; ` but , as yet , no one has reached within ten feet of them . ' ` Oh , let me try too , ' cried the prince ; ` but to-morrow I will wait and see what you do before I begin . So the next day he stood where he could watch the young men go up , and he noted the places on the wall that seemed most difficult , and made up his mind that when his turn came he would go up some other way . Day after day he was to be seen watching the wooers , till , one morning , he felt that he knew the plan of the walls by heart , and took his place by the side of the others . Thanks to what he had learned from the failure of the rest , he managed to grasp one little rough projection after another , till at last , to the envy of his friends , he stood on the sill of the princess 's window . Looking up from below , they saw a white hand stretched forth to draw him in . Then one of the young men ran straight to the king 's palace , and said : ` The wall has been climbed , and the prize is won ! ' ` By whom ? '
cried the king , starting up from his throne ; ` which XXXXX the princes may I claim as my son-in-law ? '
At So by in near of that though till to