When the old hag had departed, the daughter of the Emperor took care to carefully conceal the piece of rope, but in the middle of the night she softly arose so that he shouldn't hear her, and holding her very breath, tied the string round her husband's left leg, but when she tied the knot—r-rch!—the string broke, for it was rotten, and instantly her husband started up.
"Unhappy woman!" cried he, "what hast thou done? But three days more and I should have been free of this vile spell, but now who knows how long I may have to carry this vile bestial skin! And know, moreover, that thy hand can never touch me again till thou hast worn out three pairs of iron sandals, and worn down three staves of steel, seeking me all over the wide world, for now I must depart."
And with these words he disappeared.
The poor daughter of the Emperor, when she found herself all alone, began to cry and sob as if her heart would break. She cursed the vile witch with fire and sword, but all in vain, and when at last she saw that all her cursing and moaning did no good, she got up and went whithersoever the mercy of God and the desire of her husband might lead her.
At the first city she arrived at she bade them make her three pairs of iron sandals and three staves of
