She did not know , of course , where the boy had gone , but thought the King had slain him secretly . So now she was running for her very life , and the wicked King was following her with a sword in his hand . Then , behold ! she ran into her son 's very arms , but he had only time to kiss her and step in front of her , when the King struck at him with his sword . The boy caught the blow on his shield , and cried to the King : `` I swore to bring you the Terrible Head , and see how I keep my oath ! '' Then he drew forth the head from his wallet , and when the King 's eyes fell on it , instantly he was turned into stone , just as he stood there with his sword lifted ! Now all the people rejoiced , because the wicked King should rule them no longer . And they asked the boy to be their king , but he said no , he must take his mother home to her father 's house . So the people chose for king the man who had been kind to his mother when first she was cast on the island in the great chest . Presently the boy and his mother and his wife set sail for his mother 's own country , from which she had been driven so unkindly . But on the way they stayed at the court of a king , and it happened that he was holding games , and giving prizes to the best runners , boxers , and quoit-throwers . Then the boy would try his strength with the rest , but he threw the quoit so far that it went beyond what had ever been thrown before , and fell in the crowd , striking a man so that he died . Now this man was no other than the father of the boy 's mother , who had fled away from his own kingdom for fear his grandson should find him and kill him after all . Thus he was destroyed by his own cowardice and by chance , and thus the prophecy was fulfilled . But the boy and his wife and his mother went back to the kingdom that was theirs , and lived long and happily after all their troubles . THE STORY OF PRETTY GOLDILOCKS Once upon a time there was a princess who was the prettiest creature in the world . And because she was so beautiful , and because her hair was like the finest gold , and waved and rippled nearly to the ground , she was called Pretty Goldilocks . She always wore a crown of flowers , and her dresses were embroidered with diamonds and pearls , and everybody who saw her fell in love with her . Now one of her neighbors was a young king who was not married . He was very rich and handsome , and when he heard all that was said about Pretty Goldilocks , though he had never seen her , he fell so deeply in love with her that he could neither eat nor drink .
So he resolved to send an ambassador to ask her XXXXX marriage .
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