Part Three

The sorceress sat in a golden room on a golden chair. She was the most beautiful woman in the world. At once, the prince fell in love with her.

"Marry me," he said.

The sorceress looked at him. He was handsome, and good, and wise. She liked him.

"I want to marry you," she said, "but first you must break my evil magic. Hide yourself. Come back after four days. If I cannot find you, I will marry you. But if I find you, you must die."

The prince agreed.

"You will not find me," he said. 

The next morning, very early, the prince left the golden house and went down to the sea. He stood at the edge of the water and called to the King of the Seas. At once, the whale came.

"The sorceress wants to kill me," said the prince. "Hide me, or I will die."

The whale opened his great mouth, and the prince jumped into it. The whale swallowed him, and the prince went down into the whale's stomach.

For three days and nights, the sorceress hunted for the prince. She ran through the mountains. She searched the valleys. At last, on the fourth day, she picked up her magic telescope.

"I'll find him now," she thought. She looked and looked, and at last she saw him.

"There he is," she said. "He is hiding in the whale's stomach."

At the end of the day, the whale swam back to the edge of the sea. He opened his mouth, and the prince walked out of it, on to the land. Then he returned to the golden house.

"Here I am," he said to the sorceress. "You did not find me, and now you must marry me."

"But I did find you," said the sorceress. "I hunted for three days and three nights, in the mountains and the valleys. You were not there. Then I looked through my magic telescope, and I saw you, in the whale's stomach."

The prince was very sad.

"So I will die," he said.

"Not yet," said the sorceress. "You hid yourself well, and I will give you another chance. Go and hide again."

At once the prince ran back along the road.

"Antelope!" he called out. "Where are you? Come to me! I need you now."

The antelope heard him. He ran quickly to the prince.

"Please hide me," the prince said to him, "or the sorceress will kill me."

The antelope took the prince into the high mountains, and he hid him in a cave.

"She will never find me here," thought the prince.

For three days and nights, the sorceress hunted for the prince. She ran through the deserts. She searched the forests. At last, on the fourth day, she picked up her magic telescope.

"There he is," she said. "In the antelope's cave."

At the end of the day, the prince came out of the cave and returned to the golden house.

"Here I am," he said to the sorceress. "Where was I? Did you find me? If not, you must marry me."

"Yes, I did find you," said the sorceress. "I hunted for three days and three nights, in the deserts and the forests. You were not there. Then I looked through my magic telescope and I saw you, in the antelope's cave."

The prince was very sad.

"You must kill me now," he said.

The sorceress looked at the prince. He was very handsome.

"I will not kill you yet," she said. "Your hiding place was a good one. You nearly won. I will give you one more chance. Go and hide again."

The prince hurried away from the golden house.

"Mouse!" he called out. "Where are you? Come and help me!"

The mouse heard him. She ran quickly to the prince.

"You must hide me," said the prince, "or the sorceress will kill me."

So the mouse took the prince to a great hole in the ground. The prince followed her for a long way, down into the earth. At last, they came to the palace of the King of the Jinns.

"Hide here, under the king's throne," said the mouse.

So the prince hid under the throne of the King of the Jinns. He stayed there for three days and three nights.

The sorceress hunted for the prince through the whole world, in the seas, and the islands, the forests, the deserts, the mountains and the valleys. She looked through her magic telescope again and again but she couldn't find him anywhere.

At the end of the fourth day, the mouse came back to the prince. She took him out of the palace of the jinns. The prince followed her up through the earth and out into the world. Then he returned to the golden house.

The sorceress was waiting for him.

"I hunted everywhere for you," she said, "in the forests and deserts, the mountains, the valleys, the sea and the islands, and I could not find you. Now my evil magic is broken, and I will marry you."

So the prince married the sorceress. She never used her evil magic again, and they lived happily in the golden house for many, many years.

Exercises for The Good Prince Part 3

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