He had hardly spoken these words when the lid of the box fell back on the floor with a terrible noise , and to their horror out sprang the Yellow Dwarf , mounted upon a great Spanish cat . `` Rash youth ! '' he cried , rushing between the Fairy of the Desert and the King . `` Dare to lay a finger upon this illustrious Fairy ! Your quarrel is with me only . I am your enemy and your rival . That faithless Princess who would have married you is promised to me . See if she has not upon her finger a ring made of one of my hairs . Just try to take it off , and you will soon find out that I am more powerful than you are ! '' `` Wretched little monster ! '' said the King ; `` do you dare to call yourself the Princess 's lover , and to lay claim to such a treasure ? Do you know that you are a dwarf -- that you are so ugly that one can not bear to look at you -- and that I should have killed you myself long before this if you had been worthy of such a glorious death ? '' The Yellow Dwarf , deeply enraged at these words , set spurs to his cat , which yelled horribly , and leaped hither and thither -- terrifying everybody except the brave King , who pursued the Dwarf closely , till he , drawing a great knife with which he was armed , challenged the King to meet him in single combat , and rushed down into the courtyard of the palace with a terrible clatter . The King , quite provoked , followed him hastily , but they had hardly taken their places facing one another , and the whole Court had only just had time to rush out upon the balconies to watch what was going on , when suddenly the sun became as red as blood , and it was so dark that they could scarcely see at all . The thunder crashed , and the lightning seemed as if it must burn up everything ; the two basilisks appeared , one on each side of the bad Dwarf , like giants , mountains high , and fire flew from their mouths and ears , until they looked like flaming furnaces . None of these things could terrify the noble young King , and the boldness of his looks and actions reassured those who were looking on , and perhaps even embarrassed the Yellow Dwarf himself ; but even his courage gave way when he saw what was happening to his beloved Princess . For the Fairy of the Desert , looking more terrible than before , mounted upon a winged griffin , and with long snakes coiled round her neck , had given her such a blow with the lance she carried that Bellissima fell into the Queen 's arms bleeding and senseless . Her fond mother , feeling as much hurt by the blow as the Princess herself , uttered such piercing cries and lamentations that the King , hearing them , entirely lost his courage and presence of mind . Giving up the combat , he flew toward the Princess , to rescue or to die with her ; but the Yellow Dwarf was too quick for him . Leaping with his Spanish cat upon the balcony , he snatched Bellissima from the Queen 's arms , and before any of the ladies of the Court could stop him he had sprung upon the roof of the palace and disappeared with his prize .
The King , motionless with horror , looked on despairingly at this dreadful occurrence , which he was quite powerless XXXXX prevent , and to make matters worse his sight failed him , everything became dark , and he felt himself carried along through the air by a strong hand .
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