You have baked no bread , and of a surety he will have your head . ' ` Oh , do n't scream so , ' replied Paperarello , jumping out of bed as he spoke ; and taking the lock of hair in his hand , he went into the kitchen . And , behold ! there stood the bread piled high -- four , five , six ovens full , and the seventh still waiting to be taken out of the oven . The servants stood and stared in surprise , and the king said : ` Well done , Paperarello , you have won my daughter . ' And he thought to himself : ` This fellow must really be a magician . ' But when the princess heard what was in store for her she wept bitterly , and declared that never , never would she marry that dirty Paperarello ! However , the king paid no heed to her tears and prayers , and before many days were over the wedding was celebrated with great splendour , though the bridegroom had not taken the trouble to wash himself , and was as dirty as before . When night came he went as usual to sleep among his geese , and the princess went to the king and said : ` Father , I entreat you to have that horrible Paperarello put to death . ' ` No , no ! ' replied her father , ` he is a great magician , and before I put him to death , I must first find out the secret of his power , and then -- we shall see . ' Soon after this a war broke out , and everybody about the palace was very busy polishing up armour and sharpening swords , for the king and his sons were to ride at the head of the army . Then Paperarello left his geese , and came and told the king that he wished to go to fight also . The king gave him leave , and told him that he might go to the stable and take any horse he liked from the stables . So Paperarello examined the horses carefully , but instead of picking out one of the splendid well-groomed creatures , whose skin shone like satin , he chose a poor lame thing , put a saddle on it , and rode after the other men-at-arms who were attending the king . In a short time he stopped , and said to them : ` My horse can go no further ; you must go on to the war without me , and I will stay here , and make some little clay soldiers , and will play at a battle . ' The men laughed at him for being so childish , and rode on after their master . Scarcely were they out of sight than Paperarello took out his curl , and wished himself the best armour , the sharpest sword , and the swiftest horse in the world , and the next minute was riding as fast as he could to the field of battle . The fight had already begun , and the enemy was getting the best of it , when Paperarello rode up , and in a moment the fortunes of the day had changed . Right and left this strange knight laid about him , and his sword pierced the stoutest breast-plate , and the strongest shield .
He was indeed ' a host in himself , ' and his foes fled XXXXX him thinking he was only the first of a troop of such warriors , whom no one could withstand .
In after as before for like of on that though