Stranica 161 [161]
THE THREE CITRONS
He tried to calm himself, and cut the next citron with a
trembling hand, but the second fairy was even more beauti¬
ful and more fleeting than her sister. While Carlino ad¬
mired her, wonder-struck, in the twinkling of an eye she
took flight.
This time the prince burst into tears and wept so bitterly
that he seemed a part of the fountain. He sobbed, tore his
hair, and called down all the maledictions of Heaven on his
head.
" Fool that I am!" he cried; "twice I have let her escape
as though my hands were tied. Fool that I am, I deserve
my fate. When I should have run like a greyhound I stood
still like a post. <A fine piece of business! But all is not
lost; the third time conquers. I will try the magic knife
once more, and if it deceives me this time I will use it on
myself."
He cut the last citron. The third fairy darted forth and
said, like her companions, “Give me a drink!" But the
prince had learned a lesson. He instantly gave her the
water, when, lo! a beautiful, slender young girl, as white as
milk, with cheeks like roses, stood before him, looking like a
freshly opened rosebud. She was a marvel of beauty
such as the world had never seen, as fresh as a lily and as
graceful as a swan; her hair was of brighter gold than the
sun, her clear blue eyes revealed the depths of her heart,
her rosy lips seemed made only to comfort and charm;
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