In a trice the eagle flew down from behind the clouds with the prince. The King looked at him and said:

      "Well, shall I cut off your head now?"

      But the maiden stood up for the brave lad:

      "Your Majesty, the first failure must be forgiven."

      So the King forgave him.

      "Only remember, if my middle daughter sees you a second time, I'll cut off your head".

      The King went into the palace to bring his middle daughter, while the poor lad sat there not knowing what to do.

      While he was sitting and thinking how to find a way out of the trouble, he remembered of the King of the fishes. He only managed to think of him, and the sea was already washing at the walls of the palace, and the king of the fishes was leaping up from the water.

      "What trouble have you got into, my master?"

      "I am in a great danger."

      And he told him how the King had threatened to cut off his head.

      "If that's all it is, set your mind at rest. I know some hiding places at the bottom of the sea".

      The King of the fishes took the prince in his mouth like a grain of corn, and dived into the depths of the sea.

      The King came out with his middle daughter, unsheathed his sword and said:

      "Find out where the prince is hidden, otherwise you will lose your life."

      The King's daughter went and washed, plucked some marigolds, put them in her basket, and went to seek the prince. She looked for him all over the earth, but did not find him. Then she looked for him in the sky, behind the sun, and behind the moon, but he was not there. At last she looked at the bottom of the sea, and caught sight of him. The King called to him:

      "Come out, young fellow, my daughter has seen you."

      The King of the fishes brought him to the shore and when the King saw him, he said:

      "This time I must cut off your head."

      But the King's middle daughter jumped up and said:

      "Forgive him, father, for the second failure. But if he is found for the third time, then cut-off his head."

      "Very well", said the King.

      "I forgive you for the second time, but only for my daughter's sake. But if you are found for the third time, then you will tread no more on the green grass."

      Now the prince was really in trouble. He was so afraid, that his heart went pit-a-pat, pit-a-pat in his breast.

      "He'll cut off my head, and that's the end of me. What can I do so as not to be seen by the King's youngest daughter? Who can help me?"

      While he was moaning to himself, he remembered the fox, and that very moment the fox stood before him.

      "Why are you moaning, my master?"

      "Well, listen what has happened..."

      "Be calm! Don't moan and give way to sorrow for such a thing. There is no reason to become gloomy. If things have come to that, follow me. I know what to do!"

      The fox went ahead and the prince followed him, until they came to the flower garden. There the fox turned round, struck the prince with his tail, and he turned into a beautiful marigold.

      The King's youngest daughter washed, went into the flower garden, and plucked just that very marigold, because she liked it best, and put it in her basket.

      Then the King came out of the palace with his unsheathed sword, called his younger daughter, and ordered her to look for the prince and find him, otherwise he would cut off her head.

      The princess looked on the earth, but he wasn't there. She looked on the sea, but he wasn't there either. Then she looked into the sky, but she didn't see him there. She looked once more into the depths of the earth, the sea and the sky, among the stars and even further still, but he was nowhere to be seen. Then the King said:

      "Look better, you are hiding him!"

      The princess answered:

      "I have looked very thoroughly, but I can't find him anywhere. J can see his shadow, but not him."

      The King could do nothing, and cried:

      "Come out, my brave lad, from wherever you are, because my daughter hasn't found you."

      The prince jumped out from the maiden's basket and said:

      "Here I am, your Highness!"

      "Very well, my young lad. I see that you are courageous."

      The King called his musicians and told the boy to come into the court and to pick out his youngest daughter. If he chose the right one he could marry her at once, if not, his head would be cut off.

      Just when he thought that all his troubles were over, here came another, still greater than all the others put together. He began to cry, and wept until his eyes were red.

      "This is the end. The King will cut off my head this time for sure."

      But at that moment he remembered about the mosquito. The moment he thought of it, the mosquito flew up to him.

      "What trouble are you in, my master, that you are crying so loudly?"

      "What else can a poor fellow do? I thought I had got rid of all my troubles, but now the King is ready to cut my head off. How can I tell one of the King's daughters from another, when they are all so much alike?"

      "Don't worry, my master, don't think about it. I can tell them very well, and I can see which of them is the elder and which is the younger, since I grew up with them. When the King takes them out I shall settle on the nose of the youngest one, and then you can choose her".