Next morning they dressed her in royal garments and gave her money， and the King ordered one of the women of the Court to accompany her on her journey， and the Princess went away， crying all the time。
The Princess started on her journey， and walked and walked a summer day’s march until at last she reached the frontier of the Kingdom。Here she dismissed her companion， the woman from the Court， and sent her back， and went on her way quite alone。
On the road the Princess met a peasant woman。When she saw her she called her and asked her to exchange the peasant’s clothes for her royal garments， and she promised also to give her money in addition。Who could have rejoiced more at this exchange than the peasant woman？ She hastily undressed， gave her clothes to the Princess， dressed herself up in the royal garments， and strutted away， very proud of herself， to show her finery to the women of the village。All this she did in the twinkling of an eye。
The Princess continued her own journey。After walking along time she came to a big and beautiful town。You can scarcely imagine the vastness of it， she could not get to the end of it， and its beauty frightened her， so beautiful were the palaces and houses。The houses were very lofty， ten or twelve times the height of a man， and looked as if they had been built for giants。She had only a little money left， and this could not last long。Money is not like misfortune。You can get rid of it much more easily。So she considered what she was to do； she would not wait until she had nothing to eat。No doubt， if she asked， people would not refuse to give her something to eat， for in those days the people were more kind-hearted and charitable than they are now， when they often drive you away like a dog if you venture to ask for help or food。But she could not think of doing that； after all， she had the blood of a King in her veins。So she went to a house and asked whether there was a place for a servant。Not that she was very happy at taking such a place， but that would be money earned by the sweat of her brow。Now that her money was running low there was not much time left for choosing。
Unfortunately， there was no place vacant in the first house into which she went asking for work， but the master of the house directed her to another close by， and there a servant told her that they wanted a housemaid， and he took her into the house。But what a house it was！ The beauty of it blinded you。There were gold and silver and jewels all about in such profusion， and so many riches of all kinds， that the Princess was frightened to walk upon the floor， so beautifully laid out was it。She had seen wealth and riches in her own father’s palace， but it was nothing compared to this。At last they reached the door of the room where the mistress of the house was sitting。And what did she see？ A black woman， like a nigger， with thick lips， with her mouth reaching from one ear to the other， and ugly-why， ugly is not the word for it： hideously ugly， a real fright。The Princess gasped as she set her eyes on her。To meet such a being in a dream is enough to give you the nightmare， but， for all that， one could see the kindness in her eyes and all over her face， and she was soft of speech。She called the girl and spoke to her with a kindly voice， but the girl was so overcome that she almost forgot herself。The mistress， however， noticing her confusion and stupefaction， paid no attention to it， and， as if nothing had happened， arranged terms with her。
Then she said to her：“My daughter， true I am very ugly， but know that my luck is very beautiful； and you， though you are very beautiful， your luck is too horrible for words。I will show them both to you， my good luck and your bad luck。”
The girl wondered at her kindness， and， falling on her knees， she begged pardon for her rudeness and asked her to forgive her； and she told her all her story-that she was the daughter of a King， that she was the thirteenth child， and that she had been driven away by the advice of the old physician， and so on， the whole history as we know it。