When they came to a large forest she asked, "To whom does that beautiful forest belong?"
"It belongs to King Thrushbeard; if you had taken him, it would have been yours."
"Ah, unhappy girl that I am, if I had but taken King Thrushbeard!"

Afterwards they came to a meadow, and she asked again,
"To whom does this beautiful green meadow belong?"
"It belongs to King Thrushbeard; if you had taken him, it would have been yours."
"Ah, unhappy girl that I am, if I had but taken King Thrushbeard!"

Then they came to a large town, and she asked again, 
"To whom does this fine large town belong?"
"It belongs to King Thrushbeard; if you had taken him, it would have been yours."
"Ah, unhappy girl that I am, if I had but taken King Thrushbeard!"

"It does not please me," said the fiddler,
"to hear you always wishing for another husband; am I not good enough for you?" 

At last they came to a very little hut, and she said, 
"Oh goodness! what a small house; to whom does this miserable, mean hovel belong?"
The fiddler answered, "That is my house and yours, where we shall live together."

She had to stoop in order to go in at the low door.

"Where are the servants?" said the king's daughter.

"What servants?" answered the beggar-man;
"you must yourself do what you wish to have done.
Just make a fire at once, and set on water to cook my supper, I am quite tired."

But the king's daughter knew nothing about lighting fires or cooking,
and the beggar-man had to lend a hand himself to get anything fairly done. 

When they had finished their scanty meal they went to bed;
but he forced her to get up quite early in the morning,
in order to look after the house.

For a few days they lived in this way as well as might be,
and came to the end of all their provisions. Then the man said,
"Wife, we cannot go on any longer eating and drinking here and earning nothing. You weave baskets."

He went out, cut some willows, and brought them home.
Then she began to weave, but the tough willows wounded her delicate hands.

"I see that this will not do," said the man; "you had better spin, perhaps you can do that better."

She sat down and tried to spin, but the hard thread soon cut her soft fingers so that the blood ran down.

"See," said the man, "you are fit for no sort of work;
I have made a bad bargain with you.
Now I will try to make a business with pots and earthenware;
you must sit in the market-place and sell the ware."

"Alas," thought she,
"if any of the people from my father's kingdom come to the market
and see me sitting there, selling, how they will mock me?"
But it was of no use, she had to yield unless she chose to die of hunger.

For the first time she succeeded well, for the people were glad to buy the woman's wares,
because she was good-looking, and they paid her what she asked;
many even gave her the money and left the pots with her as well.

So they lived on what she had earned as long as it lasted.

Part 3 >>