Page 599 - Child's own book

After a little time had thus passed, one night the queen be­
gan to speak, and sang,

“ How ia my baby and how is my fawn ?
Twice more may I come, and then vanish at dawn.”

The nurse did not rnswer her, and as soon as she had disap­
peared, went to the king and told him all. The king said,
“ Oh, heaven, what is this ! 1 will watch the next night by the
child.” In the evening he went into the nursery, and about
midnight the queen appeared again, and said,

“ How is my baby, a,ud how is my fawn ?
Once more may I come, and then vanish ait dawn.”

And she nursed the child as usual before she disappeared.
The king did not trust himself to speak, but watched again the
next night, and she came and said,

u How ia my baby, and how is my fawn ?
Once more I have come, but I vanish at dawn.”

Then the king could not restrain himself, hut sprang up to
her, and said, “ You can be none else than my dear wife?"
Then she answered, “ Yes, I am thy dear wife/1 And at that
moment, by God’s grace, she received her life again, and was
quite well and cheerful. Then she told the king the trick
which the wicked witch and her daughter had played her, and
he had them both tried, and sentence was pronounced oa
them. The daughter was led into the wood, where the wild
beasts tore her in pieces; and the witch was put into the fire,
where she was burned in terrible anguish. And as soon as filw
was burnt to ashes, the fawn was unbewitched, and recei«il
again a man's form, and the brother and sister lived happily
to the end of their days.