Never were so many beautiful princesses seen together at one time , but the one whom the cow-boy thought the most beautiful and the most fascinating was the little Princess with the velvet eyes . With what eagerness she danced ! leaning on her partner 's shoulder she swept by like a whirlwind . Her cheeks flushed , her eyes sparkled , and it was plain that she loved dancing better than anything else . The poor boy envied those handsome young men with whom she danced so gracefully , but he did not know how little reason he had to be jealous of them . The young men were really the princes who , to the number of fifty at least , had tried to steal the princesses ' secret . The princesses had made them drink something of a philtre , which froze the heart and left nothing but the love of dancing . IX They danced on till the shoes of the princesses were worn into holes . When the cock crowed the third time the fiddles stopped , and a delicious supper was served by negro boys , consisting of sugared orange flowers , crystallised rose leaves , powdered violets , cracknels , wafers , and other dishes , which are , as everyone knows , the favourite food of princesses . After supper , the dancers all went back to their boats , and this time the Star Gazer entered that of the eldest Princess . They crossed again the wood with the diamond-spangled leaves , the wood with gold-sprinkled leaves , and the wood whose leaves glittered with drops of silver , and as a proof of what he had seen , the boy broke a small branch from a tree in the last wood . Lina turned as she heard the noise made by the breaking of the branch . ` What was that noise ? ' she said . ` It was nothing , ' replied her eldest sister ; ` it was only the screech of the barn-owl that roosts in one of the turrets of the castle . ' While she was speaking Michael managed to slip in front , and running up the staircase , he reached the princesses ' room first . He flung open the window , and sliding down the vine which climbed up the wall , found himself in the garden just as the sun was beginning to rise , and it was time for him to set to his work . X That day , when he made up the bouquets , Michael hid the branch with the silver drops in the nosegay intended for the youngest Princess . When Lina discovered it she was much surprised . However , she said nothing to her sisters , but as she met the boy by accident while she was walking under the shade of the elms , she suddenly stopped as if to speak to him ; then , altering her mind , went on her way .
The same evening the twelve sisters went again to the ball , and the Star Gazer again followed them and crossed the lake XXXXX Lina 's boat .
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