And the daughter listened , and said softly to her mother : ` Are you speaking the truth now ? ' ` Remember your promise , ' answered the mother angrily , giving her a pinch which was unseen by the minister . ` What is your name , madam ? ' asked he , much touched by this sad story . ` Blauvor , ' she replied ` and my daughter is called Laufer ' ; and then she inquired the name of the minister , and of the king his master . After this they talked of many things , and the lady showed herself learned in all that a woman should know , and even in much that men only were commonly taught . ` What a wife she would make for the king , ' thought the minister to himself , and before long he had begged the honour of her hand for his master . She declared at first that she was too unworthy to accept the position offered her , and that the minister would soon repent his choice ; but this only made him the more eager , and in the end he gained her consent , and prevailed on her to return with him at once to his own country . The minister then conducted the mother and daughter back to the ship ; the anchor was raised , the sails spread , and a fair wind was behind them . Now that the fog had lifted they could see as they looked back that , except just along the shore , the island was bare and deserted and not fit for men to live in ; but about that nobody cared . They had a quick voyage , and in six days they reached the land , and at once set out for the capital , a messenger being sent on first by the minister to inform the king of what had happened . When his Majesty 's eyes fell on the two beautiful women , clad in dresses of gold and silver , he forgot his sorrows and ordered preparations for the wedding to be made without delay . In his joy he never remembered to inquire in what kind of country the future queen had been found . In fact his head was so turned by the beauty of the two ladies that when the invitations were sent by his orders to all the great people in the kingdom , he did not even recollect his two children , who remained shut up in their own house ! After the marriage the king ceased to have any will of his own and did nothing without consulting his wife . She was present at all his councils , and her opinion was asked before making peace or war . But when a few months had passed the king began to have doubts as to whether the minister 's choice had really been a wise one , and he noticed that his children lived more and more in their palace and never came near their stepmother . It always happens that if a person 's eyes are once opened they see a great deal more than they ever expected ; and soon it struck the king that the members of his court had a way of disappearing one after the other without any reason . At first he had not paid much attention to the fact , but merely appointed some fresh person to the vacant place . As , however , man after man vanished without leaving any trace , he began to grow uncomfortable and to wonder if the queen could have anything to do with it .
Things were in this state when , one day , his wife said to him that it was time XXXXX him to make a progress through his kingdom and see that his governors were not cheating him of the money that was his due .
As At In along behind except for of on to