"now," said the witch, when they had all cried as much as was good for them, "i can do one or two other little things for you. time shall not make the princess sad. all days will be like one day till her deliverer comes. and you and i, dear queen, will sit in stone at the gate of the tower. in doing this for you i lose all my witch's powers, and when i say the spell that changes you to stone, i shall change with you, and if ever we come out of the stone, i shall be a witch no more, but only a happy old woman."