Page 570 of 626

At last they came to a small cottage. 'What a paltry place!' said

she; 'to whom does that little dirty hole belong?' Then the

fiddler said, 'That is your and my house, where we are to live.'

'Where are your servants?' cried she. 'What do we want with

servants?' said he; 'you must do for yourself whatever is to be

done. Now make the fire, and put on water and cook my supper, for

I am very tired.' But the princess knew nothing of making fires

and cooking, and the fiddler was forced to help her. When they

had eaten a very scanty meal they went to bed; but the fiddler

called her up very early in the morning to clean the house. Thus

they lived for two days: and when they had eaten up all there was

in the cottage, the man said, 'Wife, we can't go on thus,

spending money and earning nothing. You must learn to weave

baskets.' Then he went out and cut willows, and brought them

home, and she began to weave; but it made her fingers very sore.