He tied his horse to a tree , and followed where the sound led him , and , to his surprise , he saw before him a beautiful girl chopping wood , with a wreath of pink rose-buds , out of which the singing came . Standing in the shelter of a tree , he watched her a long while , and then , hat in hand , he went up and spoke to her . ` Fair maiden , who are you , and who gave you that wreath of singing roses ? ' asked he , for the birds were so tiny that till you looked closely you never saw them . ' I live in a hut on the edge of the forest , ' she answered , blushing , for she had never spoken to a prince before . ` As to the wreath , I know not how it came there , unless it may be the gift of some doves whom I fed when they were starving ! The prince was delighted with this answer , which showed the goodness of the girl 's heart , and besides he had fallen in love with her beauty , and would not be content till she promised to return with him to the palace , and become his bride . The old king was naturally disappointed at his son 's choice of a wife , as he wished him to marry a neighbouring princess ; but as from his birth the prince had always done exactly as he like , nothing was said and a splendid wedding feast was got ready . The day after her marriage the bride sent a messenger , bearing handsome presents to her father , and telling him of the good fortune which had befallen her . As may be imagined , the stepmother and her daughter were so filled with envy that they grew quite ill , and had to take to their beds , and nobody would have been sorry it they had never got up again ; but that did not happen . At length , however , they began to feel better , for the mother invented a plan by which she could be revenged on the girl who had never done her any harm . Her plan was this . In the town where she had lived before she was married there was an old witch , who had more skill in magic that any other witch she knew . To this witch she would go and beg her to make her a mask with the face of her stepdaughter , and when she had the mask the rest would be easy . She told her daughter what she meant to do , and although the daughter could only say ` dirty creatures , ' in answer , she nodded and smiled and looked well pleased . Everything fell out exactly as the woman had hoped . By the aid of her magic mirror the witch beheld the new princess walking in her gardens in a dress of green silk , and in a few minutes had produced a mask so like her , that very few people could have told the difference . However , she counselled the woman that when her daughter first wore it -- for that , of course , was what she intended her to do -- she had better pretend that she had a toothache , and cover her head with a lace veil . The woman thanked her and paid her well , and returned to her hut , carrying the mask under her cloak . In a few days she heard that a great hunt was planned , and the prince would leave the palace very early in the morning , so that his wife would be alone all day .
This was a chance not to be missed , and taking her daughter with her she went up XXXXX the palace , where she had never been before .
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