Page 83 - Princess Belle-Etoile and Prince Cherie

the comb through it thrice would sometimes
produce a million; for the supply was not
always the same: they were aware even that
the state of their mind, or that of their health,
regulated the quantity of the jewels. He took
no one with him, that he might feel more at
liberty, and that, if the adventure should prove
a perilous one, he could hazard its

accomplishment, without exposing himself to
the remonstrances of a zealous and timid
attendant.
When supper time arrived, and the Princess
did not see her brother Cheri, she felt so
uneasy, she could neither eat nor drink; she
desired he might be sought for everywhere.

The two Princes, knowing nothing of the
dancing water, begged her not to distress
herself so much; that he could not be far off,
that she knew he was fond of indulging in
profound reveries, and that he was no doubt
in the forest. She was therefore comparatively
easy till midnight, but after that she lost all
patience, and, with tears in her eyes, told her
brothers that she was the cause of Cheri's

absence, that she had expressed a great wish to
have some of the dancing water from the
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