` Have you got it ? ' asked the ogre in a whisper , for the princess 's ladies were standing as near as they dared to catch a glimpse of the beautiful jewels . ` Yes , here , ' she answered , slipping the stone from her sash and placing it among the rest . Then she raised her voice , and began to talk quickly of the prices of the chains and necklaces , and after some bargaining , to deceive the attendants , she declared that she liked one string of pearls better than all the rest , and that the ogre might take away the other things , which were not half as valuable as he supposed . ` As you please , madam , ' said he , bowing himself out of the palace . Soon after he had gone a curious thing happened . The princess carelessly touched the wall of her room , which was wont to reflect the warm red light of the fire on the hearth , and found her hand quite wet . She turned round , and -- was it her fancy ? or did the fire burn more dimly than before ? Hurriedly she passed into the picture gallery , where pools of water showed here and there on the floor , and a cold chill ran through her whole body . At that instant her frightened ladies came running down the stairs , crying : ` Madam ! madam ! what has happened ? The palace is disappearing under our eyes ! ' ` My husband will be home very soon , ' answered the princess -- who , though nearly as much frightened as her ladies , felt that she must set them a good example . ` Wait till then , and he will tell us what to do . ' So they waited , seated on the highest chairs they could find , wrapped in their warmest garments , and with piles of cushions under their feet , while the poor birds flew with numbed wings hither and thither , till they were so lucky as to discover an open window in some forgotten corner . Through this they vanished , and were seen no more . At last , when the princess and her ladies had been forced to leave the upper rooms , where the walls and floors had melted away , and to take refuge in the hall , the young man came home . He had ridden back along a winding road from which he did not see the palace till he was close upon it , and stood horrified at the spectacle before him .
He knew in an instant that his wife must have betrayed his trust , but he would not reproach her , XXXXX she must be suffering enough already .
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