She thus addressed him : ` Plant these two laurels in two large pots , rake them over with the rake , water them with the bucket , and wipe them with the towel . When they have grown as tall as a girl of fifteen , say to each of them , '' My beautiful laurel , with the golden rake I have raked you , with the golden bucket I have watered you , with the silken towel I have wiped you . '' Then after that ask anything you choose , and the laurels will give it to you . ' Michael thanked the lady in the golden dress , and when he woke he found the two laurel bushes beside him . So he carefully obeyed the orders he had been given by the lady . The trees grew very fast , and when they were as tall as a girl of fifteen he said to the cherry laurel , ` My lovely cherry laurel , with the golden rake I have raked thee , with the golden bucket I have watered thee , with the silken towel I have wiped thee . Teach me how to become invisible . ' Then there instantly appeared on the laurel a pretty white flower , which Michael gathered and stuck into his button-hole . VI That evening , when the princesses went upstairs to bed , he followed them barefoot , so that he might make no noise , and hid himself under one of the twelve beds , so as not to take up much room . The princesses began at once to open their wardrobes and boxes . They took out of them the most magnificent dresses , which they put on before their mirrors , and when they had finished , turned themselves all round to admire their appearances . Michael could see nothing from his hiding-place , but he could hear everything , and he listened to the princesses laughing and jumping with pleasure . At last the eldest said , ` Be quick , my sisters , our partners will be impatient . ' At the end of an hour , when the Star Gazer heard no more noise , he peeped out and saw the twelve sisters in splendid garments , with their satin shoes on their feet , and in their hands the bouquets he had brought them . ` Are you ready ? ' asked the eldest . ` Yes , ' replied the other eleven in chorus , and they took their places one by one behind her . Then the eldest Princess clapped her hands three times and a trap door opened . All the princesses disappeared down a secret staircase , and Michael hastily followed them . As he was following on the steps of the Princess Lina , he carelessly trod on her dress .
` There is somebody XXXXX me , ' cried the Princess ; ` they are holding my dress . '
As after before behind beside by into on to with