Many years passed, but the princess did not return to her lands nor to
her castle.
Her great army and her illustrious captains were so disloyal that they
all immediately went over to her enemies. And so the enemy conquered the
lands of the good and noble princess, and settled down in her castle.
No one knew or could discover what had become of the princess and the
little prince. Most probably her escape on that dark night had ended by
her falling into the sea, or over a precipice, or perishing in some
other way with her baby.
But Miloika the shepherdess faithfully kept the Golden Girdle of the
princess and the prince’s little Gold Cross.
The smartest and wealthiest swains of the village came to ask Miloika to
marry them, because the Golden Girdle and the little Gold Cross on the
red ribbon were worth as much as ten villages. But Miloika would have
none of them for her husband, saying: “You come because of the Golden
Girdle and the little Cross; but they are not mine, and I must take
better care of them than of my sheep or my cabin.”
So said Miloika, and chose a penniless and gentle youth to be her
husband, who cared nothing about the Girdle and Cross of Gold.
They lived in great poverty, and at times there was neither bread nor
meal in the house, but they never thought of selling either Girdle or
Cross.
Within a few years Miloika’s husband fell ill and died; and not long
afterwards a sore sickness came upon Miloika, and she knew that she too
must die. So she called her two children, her little daughter Lavender
and her still smaller son Primrose, and gave them each a keepsake. Round
Lavender’s waist she bound the Golden Girdle, and round Primrose’s neck
she hung the Gold Cross on the red ribbon. And Miloika said:
“Farewell, my children! You will be left alone in this world, and I have
taught you but little craft or skill; but with God’s help, what I have
taught you will just suffice for your childish needs. Cleave to one
another, and guard as a sacred trust what your mother gave into your
keeping, and then I shall always remain with you.” Thus spoke the
mother, and died.
Lavender and Primrose were so little that they did not know how their
mother had come by the Girdle and Cross, and still less did they
understand the meaning of their mother’s words. But they just sat side
by side by their dead mother like two poor little orphans and waited to
see what would become of them.
Presently the good folk of the village came along and said that Miloika
would have to be buried next day.