They took them both in their arms , and asked him to tell about his sorrowful lot during the twenty years he had lived in the forest as a hideous lindorm . This he did , and then his parents had it proclaimed over the whole country that he was their eldest son , and along with his spouse should inherit the country and kingdom after them . Prince Lindorm and his beautiful wife now lived in joy and prosperity for a time in the palace ; and when his father was laid in the grave , not long after this , he obtained the whole kingdom . Soon afterwards his mother also departed from this world . Now it happened that an enemy declared war against the young king ; and , as he foresaw that it would be three years at the least before he could return to his country and his queen , he ordered all his servants who remained at home to guard her most carefully . That they might be able to write to each other in confidence , he had two seal rings made , one for himself and one for his young queen , and issued an order that no one , under pain of death , was to open any letter that was sealed with one of these . Then he took farewell of his queen , and marched out to war . The queen 's wicked stepmother had heard with great grief that her beautiful stepdaughter had prospered so well that she had not only preserved her life , but had even become queen of the country . She now plotted continually how she might destroy her good fortune . While King Lindorm was away at the war the wicked woman came to the queen , and spoke fair to her , saying that she had always foreseen that her stepdaughter was destined to be something great in the world , and that she had on this account secured that she should be the enchanted prince 's bride . The queen , who did not imagine that any person could be so deceitful , bade her stepmother welcome , and kept her beside her . Soon after this the queen had two children , the prettiest boys that anyone could see . When she had written a letter to the king to tell him of this her stepmother asked leave to comb her hair for her , as her own mother used to do . The queen gave her permission , and the stepmother combed her hair until she fell asleep . Then she took the seal ring off her neck , and exchanged the letter for another , in which she had written that the queen had given birth to two whelps . When the king received . this letter he was greatly distressed , but he remembered how he himself had lived for twenty years as a lindorm , and had been freed from the spell by his young queen . He therefore wrote back to his most trusted retainer that the queen and her two whelps should be taken care of while he was away . The stepmother , however , took this letter as well , and wrote a new one , in which the king ordered that the queen and the two little princes should be burnt at the stake . This she also sealed with the queen 's seal , which was in all respects like the king 's .
The retainer was greatly shocked and grieved at the king 's orders , for which he could discover no reason ; but , XXXXX he had not the heart to destroy three innocent beings , he had a great fire kindled , and in this he burned a sheep and two lambs , so as to make people believe that he had carried out the king 's commands .
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