This you must be careful to keep in a warm place for three months , when it will turn into a doll . Lay the doll in a basket lined with soft wool , and leave it alone , for it will not need any food , and by-and-by you will find it has grown to be the size of a baby . Then you will have a baby of your own , and you must put it by the side of the other child , and bring your husband to see his son and daughter . The boy you will bring up yourself , but you must entrust the little girl to a nurse . When the time comes to have them christened you will invite me to be godmother to the princess , and this is how you must send the invitation . Hidden in the cradle , you will find a goose 's wing : throw this out of the window , and I will be with you directly ; but be sure you tell no one of all the things that have befallen you . ' The queen was about to reply , but the old woman was already limping away , and before she had gone two steps she had turned into a young girl , who moved so quickly that she seemed rather to fly than to walk . The queen , watching this transformation , could hardly believe her eyes , and would have taken it all for a dream , had it not been for the basket which she held in her hand . Feeling a different being from the poor sad woman who had wandered into the garden so short a time before , she hastened to her room , and felt carefully in the basket for the egg . There it was , a tiny thing of soft blue with little green spots , and she took it out and kept it in her bosom , which was the warmest place she could think of . A fortnight after the old woman had paid her visit , the king came home , having conquered his enemies . At this proof that the old woman had spoken truth , the queen 's heart bounded , for she now had fresh hopes that the rest of the prophecy might be fulfilled . She cherished the basket and the egg as her chiefest treasures , and had a golden case made for the basket , so that when the time came to lay the egg in it , it might not risk any harm . Three months passed , and , as the old woman had bidden her , the queen took the egg from her bosom , and laid it snugly amidst the warm woollen folds . The next morning she went to look at it , and the first thing she saw was the broken eggshell , and a little doll lying among the pieces . Then she felt happy at last , and leaving the doll in peace to grow , waited , as she had been told , for a baby of her own to lay beside it . In course of time , this came also , and the queen took the little girl out of the basket , and placed it with her son in a golden cradle which glittered with precious stones . Next she sent for the king , who nearly went mad with joy at the sight of the children . Soon there came a day when the whole court was ordered to be present at the christening of the royal babies , and when all was ready the queen softly opened the window a little , and let the goose wing fly out . The guests were coming thick and fast , when suddenly there drove up a splendid coach drawn by six cream-coloured horses , and out of it stepped a young lady dressed in garments that shone like the sun .
Her face could not be seen , XXXXX a veil covered her head , but as she came up to the place where the queen was standing with the babies she drew the veil aside , and everyone was dazzled with her beauty .
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