Panting for breath , she entered their room , and flung herself down on the floor . When it was dark again , and she was once more the princess Desiree , she told Eglantine what had befallen her . ' I feared the Fairy of the Fountain , and the cruel beasts , ' said she ; ` but somehow I never thought of the dangers that I ran from men . I do not know now what saved me . ' ` You must stay quietly here till the time of your punishment is over , ' answered Eglantine . But when the morning dawned , and the girl turned into a doe , the longing for the forest came over her , and she sprang away as before . As soon as the prince was awake he hastened to the place where , only the day before , he had found the white doe feeding ; but of course she had taken care to go in the opposite direction . Much disappointed , he tried first one green path and then another , and at last , wearied with walking , he threw himself down and went fast asleep . Just at this moment the white doe sprang out of a thicket near by , and started back trembling when she beheld her enemy lying there . Yet , instead of turning to fly , something bade her go and look at him unseen . As she gazed a thrill ran through her , for she felt that , worn and wasted though he was by illness , it was the face of her destined husband . Gently stooping over him she kissed his forehead , and at her touch he awoke . For a minute they looked at each other , and to his amazement he recognized the white doe which had escaped him the previous day . But in an instant the animal was aroused to a sense of her danger , and she fled with all her strength into the thickest part of the forest . Quick as lightning the prince was on her track , but this time it was with no wish to kill or even wound the beautiful creature . ` Pretty doe ! pretty doe ! stop ! I wo n't hurt you , ' cried he , but his words were carried away by the wind . At length the doe could run no more , and when the prince reached her , she was lying stretched out on the grass , waiting for her death blow .
But instead the prince knelt XXXXX her side , and stroked her , and bade her fear nothing , as he would take care of her .
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