She was indeed a wicked princess. She possessed beauty enough—nobody could be moreelegant or prettier than she was; but what of that? for she was a wicked witch; and inconsequence of her conduct many noble young princes had lost their lives. Any one was atliberty to make her an offer; were he a prince or a beggar， it mattered not to her. She wouldask him to guess three things which she had just thought of， and if he succeed， he was tomarry her， and be king over all the land when her father died; but if he could not guess thesethree things， then she ordered him to be hanged or to have his head cut off. The old king，her father， was very much grieved at her conduct， but he could not prevent her from beingso wicked， because he once said he would have nothing more to do with her lovers; shemight do as she pleased. Each prince who came and tried the three guesses， so that he mightmarry the princess， had been unable to find them out， and had been hanged or beheaded.They had all been warned in time， and might have left her alone， if they would. The old kingbecame at last so distressed at all these dreadful circumstances， that for a whole day everyyear he and his soldiers knelt and prayed that the princess might become good; but shecontinued as wicked as ever. The old women who drank brandy would color it quite blackbefore they drank it， to show how they mourned; and what more could they do?
“What a horrible princess!” said John; “she ought to be well flogged. If I were the oldking， I would have her punished in some way.”
Just then they heard the people outside shouting， “Hurrah!” and， looking out， theysaw the princess passing by; and she was really so beautiful that everybody forgot herwickedness， and shouted “Hurrah!” Twelve lovely maidens in white silk dresses， holdinggolden tulips in their hands， rode by her side on coal-black horses. The princess herself had asnow-white steed， decked with diamonds and rubies. Her dress was of cloth of gold， and thewhip she held in her hand looked like a sunbeam. The golden crown on her head glittered likethe stars of heaven， and her mantle was formed of thousands of butterflies' wings sewntogether. Yet she herself was more beautiful than all.
When John saw her， his face became as red as a drop of blood， and he could scarcelyutter a word. the princess looked exactly like the beautiful lady with the golden crown， ofwhom he had dreamed on the night his father died. She appeared to him so lovely that he couldnot help loving her.
“It could not be true，” he thought， “that she was really a wicked witch， who orderedpeople to be hanged or beheaded， if they could not guess her thoughts. Every one haspermission to go and ask her hand， even the poorest beggar. I shall pay a visit to thepalace，” he said; “I must go， for I cannot help myself.”
then they all advised him not to attempt it; for he would be sure to share the same fate asthe rest. His fellow-traveller also tried to persuade him against it; but John seemed quite sureof success. He brushed his shoes and his coat， washed his face and his hands， combed hissoft flaxen hair， and then went out alone into the town， and walked to the palace.
“Come in，” said the king， as John knocked at the door. John opened it， and the oldking， in a dressing gown and embroidered slippers， came towards him. He had the crown onhis head， carried his sceptre in one hand， and the orb in the other. “Wait a bit，” said he，and he placed the orb under his arm， so that he could offer the other hand to John; butwhen he found that John was another suitor， he began to weep so violently， that both thesceptre and the orb fell to the floor， and he was obliged to wipe his eyes with his dressinggown. Poor old king! “Let her alone，” he said; “you will fare as badly as all the others.Come， I will show you.” Then he led him out into the princess's pleasure gardens， and therehe saw a frightful sight. On every tree hung three or four king's sons who had wooed theprincess， but had not been able to guess the riddles she gave them. Their skeletons rattled inevery breeze， so that the terrified birds never dared to venture into the garden. All theflowers were supported by human bones instead of sticks， and human skulls in the flower-pots grinned horribly. It was really a doleful garden for a princess. “Do you see all this?” saidthe old king; “your fate will be the same as those who are here， therefore do not attempt it.You really make me very unhappy，—I take these things to heart so very much.”
John kissed the good old king's hand， and said he was sure it would be all right， for hewas quite enchanted with the beautiful princess. Then the princess herself came riding into thepalace yard with all her ladies， and he wished her “Good morning.” She looked wonderfully fairand lovely when she offered her hand to John， and he loved her more than ever. How couldshe be a wicked witch， as all the people asserted? He accompanied her into the hall， and thelittle pages offered them gingerbread nuts and sweetmeats， but the old king was so unhappyhe could eat nothing， and besides， gingerbread nuts were too hard for him. It was decidedthat John should come to the palace the next day， when the judges and the whole of thecounsellors would be present， to try if he could guess the first riddle. If he succeeded， hewould have to come a second time; but if not， he would lose his life，—and no one had everbeen able to guess even one. However， John was not at all anxious about the result of histrial; on the contrary， he was very merry. He thought only of the beautiful princess， andbelieved that in some way he should have help， but how he knew not， and did not like tothink about it; so he danced along the high-road as he went back to the inn， where he hadleft his fellow-traveller waiting for him. John could not refrain from telling him how gracious theprincess had been， and how beautiful she looked. He longed for the next day so much， thathe might go to the palace and try his luck at guessing the riddles. But his comrade shook hishead， and looked very mournful. “I do so wish you to do well，” said he; “we might havecontinued together much longer， and now I am likely to lose you; you poor dear John! Icould shed tears， but I will not make you unhappy on the last night we may be together. Wewill be merry， really merry this evening; to-morrow， after you are gone， shall be able toweep undisturbed.”