Go without any fear of us, and God give thee victory over all thine enemies!"
So when he was quite ready to depart, the Emperor gave them the keys of all his chambers; but once more he put them in mind of his command, and then he bade them good-bye and departed.
The daughters of the Emperor kissed his hand with tears in their eyes, and wished him victory once more, and then the eldest of the three daughters received the keys from the hands of the Emperor.
When the daughters of the Emperor found themselves all alone they knew not what to do with themselves, the time hung so heavily. At last they agreed to work a part of the day, and to read another part of the day, and spend the rest of the day walking in the garden. This they did, and things went well with them.
But the Deceiver of mankind was vexed at the tranquillity of the maidens, so he must needs twist his tail in their affairs.
"My sisters," said the eldest of the three damsels one day, "why do we spend the live-long day in sewing and knitting and reading? I am sick and tired of it all. It is ever so many days now since we were left to ourselves, and there's not a corner of the garden that we have not walked in over and over again. We have also been through all the rooms of
