But in the morning the youth saw the slit , and he marked the sleeves of his two companions in the same way , and all three went down to breakfast with the Sultan . The old witch was standing in the window and pretended not to see them ; but all witches have eyes in the backs of their heads , and she knew at once that not one sleeve but three were cut , and they were all as alike as before . After breakfast , the Sultan , who was getting tired of the whole affair and wanted to be alone to invent some other plan , told them they might return home . So , bowing low with one accord , they went . The princess welcomed the boy back joyfully , but the poor youth was not allowed to rest long in peace , for one day a fresh letter arrived from the Sultan , saying that he had discovered that the young man was a very dangerous person , and that he must be sent to Turkey at once , and alone . The girl burst into tears when the boy told her what was in the letter which her father had bade her to carry to him . ` Do not weep , love of my heart , ' said the boy , ` all will be well . I will start at sunrise to-morrow . ' So next morning at sunrise the youth set forth , and in a few days he reached the Sultan 's palace . The old witch was waiting for him at the gate , and whispered as he passed : ` This is the last time you will ever enter it . ' But the sword clanked , and the lad did not even look at her . As he crossed the threshold fifteen armed Turks barred his way , with the Sultan at their head . Instantly the sword darted forth and cut off the heads of everyone but the Sultan , and then went quietly back to its scabbard . The witch , who was looking on , saw that as long as the youth had possession of the sword , all her schemes would be in vain , and tried to steal the sword in the night , but it only jumped out of its scabbard and sliced off her nose , which was of iron . And in the morning , when the Sultan brought a great army to capture the lad and deprive him of his sword , they were all cut to pieces , while he remained without a scratch . Meanwhile the princess was in despair because the days slipped by , and the young man did not return , and she never rested until her father let her lead some troops against the Sultan . She rode proudly before them , dressed in uniform ; but they had not left the town more than a mile behind them , when they met the lad and his little sword . When he told them what he had done they shouted for joy , and carried him back in triumph to the palace ; and the king declared that as the youth had shown himself worthy to become his son-in-law , he should marry the princess and succeed to the throne at once , as he himself was getting old , and the cares of government were too much for him . But the young man said he must first go and see his mother , and the king sent him in state , with a troop of soldiers as his bodyguard . The old woman was quite frightened at seeing such an array draw up before her little house , and still more surprised when a handsome young man , whom she did not know , dismounted and kissed her hand , saying : ` Now , dear mother , you shall hear my secret at last !
I dreamed XXXXX I should become King of Hungary , and my dream has come true .
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