they all three announced themselves to the princess, and said she was to propound her riddle to them, and that the right persons were now come, who had understandings so fine that they could be threaded in a needle. then said the princess, "i have two kinds of hair on my head, of what color is it?" "if that be all," said the first, "it must be black and white, like the cloth which is called pepper and salt." the princess said, "wrongly guessed; let the second answer." then said the second, "if it be not black and white, then it is brown and red, like my father’s company coat." "wrongly guessed," said the princess, "let the third give the answer, for i see very well he knows it for certain." then the little tailor stepped boldly forth and said, "the princess has a silver and a golden hair on her head, and those are the two different colors." when the princess heard that, she turned pale and nearly fell down with terror, for the little tailor had guessed her riddle, and she had firmly believed that no man on earth could discover it. when her courage returned she said, "thou hast not won me yet by that; there is still something else that thou must do. below, in the stable is a bear with which thou shalt pass the night, and when i get up in the morning if thou art still alive, thou shalt marry me." she expected, however, she should thus get rid of the tailor, for the bear had never yet left any one alive who had fallen into his clutches. the little tailor did not let himself be frightened away, but was quite delighted, and said, "boldly ventured is half won."