` No , I will never consent to that . ' Thereupon the Fairy , in a rage , gave two strokes of her wand and filled the gallery with horrible goblins , against whom the Prince had to fight for his life . Though he had only his dagger , he defended himself so well that he escaped without any harm , and presently the old Fairy stopped the fray and asked the Prince if he was still of the same mind . When he answered firmly that he was , she called up the appearance of the Princess Sunbeam to the other end of the gallery , and said : ` You see your beloved there ? Take care what you are about , for if you again refuse to marry me she shall be torn in pieces by two tigers . ' The Prince was distracted , for he fancied he heard his dear shepherdess weeping and begging him to save her . In despair he cried : ` Oh , Fairy Douceline , have you abandoned me after so many promises of friendship ? Help , help us now ! ' Immediately a soft voice said in his ear : ` Be firm , happen what may , and seek the Golden Branch . ' Thus encouraged , the Prince persevered in his refusal , and at length the old Fairy in a fury cried : ` Get out of my sight , obstinate Prince . Become a Cricket ! ' And instantly the handsome Prince Peerless became a poor little black Cricket , whose only idea would have been to find himself a cosy cranny behind some blazing hearth , if he had not luckily remembered the Fairy Douceline 's injunction to seek the Golden Branch . So he hastened to depart from the fatal castle , and sought shelter in a hollow tree , where he found a forlorn looking little Grasshopper crouching in a corner , too miserable to sing . Without in the least expecting an answer , the Prince asked it : ` And where may you be going , Gammer Grasshopper ? ' ` Where are you going yourself , Gaffer Cricket ? ' replied the Grasshopper . ` What ! can you speak ? ' said he . ` Why should I not speak as well as you ?
Is n't a Grasshopper as good XXXXX a Cricket ? '
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