Pagina 368 di 626

The next morning he came to the eldest and took him to a marble

table, where there were three tablets, containing an account of

the means by which the castle might be disenchanted. The first

tablet said: 'In the wood, under the moss, lie the thousand

pearls belonging to the king's daughter; they must all be found:

and if one be missing by set of sun, he who seeks them will be

turned into marble.'

The eldest brother set out, and sought for the pearls the whole

day: but the evening came, and he had not found the first

hundred: so he was turned into stone as the tablet had foretold.

The next day the second brother undertook the task; but he

succeeded no better than the first; for he could only find the

second hundred of the pearls; and therefore he too was turned

into stone.