Have patience for a little , and then without fail you shall have your puppets to play with . ' Almost before the gnome had finished , the disappointed princess turned away , and marched off to her own apartments , without deigning to answer him . The gnome , however , set off above ground as speedily as possible , and disguising himself as a farmer , bought an ass in the nearest market-town , and brought it back loaded with sacks of turnip , carrot , and radish seed . With this he sowed a great field , and sent a vast army of his goblins to watch and tend it , and to bring up the fiery rivers from the heart of the earth near enough to warm and encourage the sprouting seeds . Thus fostered they grew and flourished marvellously , and promised a goodly crop . The princess wandered about the field day by day , no other plants or fruits in all her wonderful garden pleased her as much as these roots ; but still her eyes were full of discontent . And , best of all , she loved to while away the hours in a shady fir-wood , seated upon the bank of a little stream , into which she would cast the flowers she had gathered and watch them float away . The gnome tried hard by every means in his power to please the princess and win her love , but little did he guess the real reason of his lack of success . He imagined that she was too young and inexperienced to care for him ; but that was a mistake , for the truth was that another image already filled her heart . The young Prince Ratibor , whose lands joined her father 's , had won the heart of the princess ; and the lovers had been looking forward to the coming of their wedding-day when the bride 's mysterious disappearance took place . The sad news drove Ratibor distracted , and as the days went on , and nothing could be heard of the princess , he forsook his castle and the society of men , and spent his days in the wild forests , roaming about and crying her name aloud to the trees and rocks . Meanwhile , the maiden , in her gorgeous prison , sighed in secret over her grief , not wishing to arouse the gnome 's suspicions . In her own mind she was wondering if by any means she might escape from her captivity , and at last she hit upon a plan . By this time spring once more reigned in the valley , and the gnome sent the fires back to their places in the deeps of the earth , for the roots which they had kept warm through all the cruel winter hand now come to their full size . Day by day the princess pulled up some of them , and made experiments with them , conjuring up now this longed-for person , and now that , just for the pleasure of seeing them as they appeared ; but she really had another purpose in view . One day she changed a tiny turnip into a bee , and sent him off to bring her some news of her lover . ` Fly , dear little bee , towards the east , ' said she , ` to my beloved Ratibor , and softly hum into his ear that I love him only , but that I am a captive in the gnome 's palace under the mountains . Do not forget a single word of my greeting , and bring me back a message from my beloved . ' So the bee spread his shining wings and flew away to do as he was bidden ; but before he was out of sight a greedy swallow made a snatch at him , and to the great grief of the princess her messenger was eaten up then and there . After that , by the power of the wonderful wand she summoned a cricket , and taught him this greeting : ` Hop , little cricket , to Ratibor , and chirp in his ear that I love him only , but that I am held captive by the gnome in his palace under the mountains . '
XXXXX the cricket hopped off gaily , determined to do his best to deliver his message ; but , alas !
After In So With by from near of to under