Prince Asmund dearly loved all outdoor sports and an open-air life , and from his earliest childhood he had longed to live entirely in the forest close by . After many arguments and entreaties he succeeded in persuading the king to give him two great oak trees for his very own . ` Now , ' said he to his sister , ' I will have the trees hollowed out , and then I will make rooms in them and furnish them so that I shall be able to live out in the forest . ' ` Oh , Asmund ! ' exclaimed Signy , ` what a delightful idea ! Do let me come too , and live in one of your trees . I will bring all my pretty things and ornaments , and the trees are so near home we shall be quite safe in them . ' Asmund , who was extremely fond of his sister , readily consented , and they had a very happy time together , carrying over all their pet treasures , and Signy 's jewels and other ornaments , and arranging them in the pretty little rooms inside the trees . Unfortunately sadder days were to come . A war with another country broke out , and the king had to lead his army against their enemy . During his absence the queen fell ill , and after lingering for some time she died , to the great grief of her children . They made up their minds to live altogether for a time in their trees , and for this purpose they had provisions enough stored up inside to last them a year . Now , I must tell you , in another country a long way off , there reigned a king who had an only son named Ring . Prince Ring had heard so much about the beauty and goodness of Princess Signy that he determined to marry her if possible . So he begged his father to let him have a ship for the voyage , set sail with a favourable wind , and after a time landed in the country where Signy lived . The prince lost no time in setting out for the royal palace , and on his way there he met such a wonderfully lovely woman that he felt he had never seen such beauty in all his life . He stopped her and at once asked who she was . ' I am Signy , the king 's daughter , ' was the reply . Then the prince inquired why she was wandering about all by herself , and she told him that since her mother 's death she was so sad that whilst her father was away she preferred being alone . Ring was quite deceived by her , and never guessed that she was not Princess Signy at all , but a strong , gigantic , wicked witch bent on deceiving him under a beautiful shape .
He confided to her that he had travelled all the way XXXXX his own country for her sake , having fallen in love with the accounts he had heard of her beauty , and he then and there asked her to be his wife .
After about for from inside of over that to under