'Alas!' said the Huntsman, 'I am to shoot you dead; it is the King's
command.'
The Prince was horror-stricken, and said, 'Dear Huntsman, do not kill
me, give me my life. Let me have your dress, and you shall have my
royal robes.'
The Huntsman said, 'I will gladly do so; I could never have shot you.'
So they changed clothes, and the Huntsman went home, but the Prince
wandered away into the forest.
After a time three wagon loads of gold and precious stones came to the
King for his youngest son. They were sent by the Kings who had been
saved by the Prince's sword and his miraculous loaf, and who now
wished to show their gratitude.
Then the old King thought, 'What if my son really was innocent?' and
said to his people, 'If only he were still alive! How sorry I am that
I ordered him to be killed.'
'He is still alive,' said the Huntsman. 'I could not find it in my
heart to carry out your commands,' and he told the King what had taken
place.
A load fell from the King's heart on hearing the good news, and he
sent out a proclamation to all parts of his kingdom that his son was
to come home, where he would be received with great favour.
In the meantime, the Princess had caused a road to be made of pure
shining gold leading to her castle, and told her people that whoever
came riding straight along it would be the true bridegroom, and they
were to admit him. But any one who came either on one side of the road
or the other would not be the right one, and he was not to be let in.
When the year had almost passed, the eldest Prince thought that he
would hurry to the Princess, and by giving himself out as her
deliverer would gain a wife and a kingdom as well. So he rode away,
and when he saw the beautiful golden road he thought it would be a
thousand pities to ride upon it; so he turned aside, and rode to the
right of it. But when he reached the gate the people told him that he
was not the true bridegroom, and he had to go away.
Soon after the second Prince came, and when he saw the golden road he
thought it would be a thousand pities for his horse to tread upon it;
so he turned aside, and rode up on the left of it. But when he reached
the gate he was also told that he was not the true bridegroom, and,
like his brother, was turned away.
When the year had quite come to an end, the third Prince came out of
the wood to ride to his beloved, and through her to forget all his
past sorrows. So on he went, thinking only of her, and wishing to be
with her; and he never even saw the golden road. His horse cantered
right along the middle of it, and when he reached the gate it was
flung open and the Princess received him joyfully, and called him her
Deliverer, and the Lord of her Kingdom. Their marriage was celebrated
without delay, and with much rejoicing. When it was over, she told him
that his father had called him back and forgiven him. So he went to
him and told him everything; how his brothers had deceived him, and
how they had forced him to keep silence. The old King wanted to punish
them, but they had taken a ship and sailed away over the sea, and they
never came back as long as they lived.
[Illustration: {A dwarf.}]