If they both felt a shock at the appearance of the aged lady they did not show it , and the king , with a grave bow , took her band , and led her to the chapel , where a bishop was waiting to perform the marriage ceremony . For the next few weeks little was seen of the prince , who spent all his days in hunting , and trying to forget the old wife at home . As for the princess , no one troubled himself about her , and she passed the days alone in her apartments , for she had absolutely declined the services of the ladies-in-waiting whom the king had appointed for her . One night the prince returned after a longer chase than usual , and he was so tired that he went up straight to bed . Suddenly he was awakened by a strange noise in the room , and suspecting that a robber might have stolen in , he jumped out of bed , and seized his sword , which lay ready to his hand . Then he perceived that the noise proceeded from the next room , which belonged to the princess , and was lighted by a burning torch . Creeping softly to the door , he peeped through it , and beheld her lying quietly , with a crown of gold and pearls upon her head , her wrinkles all gone , and her face , which was whiter than the snow , as fresh as that of a girl of fourteen . Could that really be his wife -- that beautiful , beautiful creature ? The prince was still gazing in surprise when the lady opened her eyes and smiled at him . ` Yes , I really am your wife , ' she said , as if she had guessed his thoughts , ` and the enchantment is ended . Now I must tell you who I am , and what befell to cause me to take the shape of an old woman . ` The king of Granada is my father , and I was born in the palace which overlooks the plain of the Vega . I was only a few months old when a wicked fairy , who had a spite against my parents , cast a spell over me , bending my back and wrinkling my skin till I looked as if I was a hundred years old , and making me such an object of disgust to everyone , that at length the king ordered my nurse to take my away from the palace . She was the only person who cared about me , and we lived together in this city on a small pension allowed me by the king . ` When I was about three an old man arrived at our house , and begged my nurse to let him come in and rest , as he could walk no longer . She saw that he was very ill , so put him to bed and took such care of him that by and bye he was as strong as ever . In gratitude for her goodness to him , he told her that he was a wizard and could give her anything she chose to ask for , except life or death , so she answered that what she longed for most in the world was that my wrinkled skin should disappear , and that I should regain the beauty with which I was born . To this he replied that as my misfortune resulted from a spell , this was rather difficult , but he would do his best , and at any rate he could promise that before my fifteenth birthday I should be freed from the enchantment if I could get a man who would swear to marry me as I was . ` As you may suppose , this was not easy , as my ugliness was such that no one would look at me a second time . My nurse and I were almost in despair , as my fifteenth birthday was drawing near , and I had never so much as spoken to a man .
At last we received a visit from the wizard , who told us what had happened at court , and your story , bidding me to put myself XXXXX your way when you had lost all hope , and offer to save you if you would consent to marry me .
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