"But why do you not bury your father's bones?" asked the astonished King.
"Alas! there is a spell upon me," said the greyhound, "and I may not bury the bones until some girl will, of her own free will, marry me as I am. Look at me and tell me if that is likely to happen!"
"Well," said the King, "I have three daughters who are all beautiful. When I go back to my kingdom I will try to convince one of them to come here and break the spell by marrying you. Shall I go and fetch one of them now?"
"No, no!" said the greyhound. "We might never set eyes on you again! I'll tell you what—I shall keep you here as a hostage and send a message to your daughters to come and free you. My sister will put on her shoes that run by themselves where they are bidden, and she will soon bring them to you!"
So the green girl put on the shoes that run by themselves and, covering her face with a veil, she set out for the far-away kingdom. And, in response to the King's urgent message, his three daughters returned with the green girl.
When he told them why he had sent for them the two eldest were very indignant. "Really, father! You must be in your dotage to imagine that one of us would consent to marry a greyhound!" they said. "In any case, you have only his word that marriage would restore him to human form—and besides which he is nothing to us."
But the youngest daughter, who loved her father dearly, said she would remain at the Castle as a hostage until the end of the year, when surely one of her sisters would be willing to take her place. So she stayed on, and she and the green girl slept in the same room, guarded every night by the greyhound.
When the King returned at the end of the year he was alone, and the youngest daughter said: "Why have you not brought one of my sisters to take my place?" |
