" very well , " said she , " you shall have what you want if you can clean my stables to - morrow between the rise and the set of the sun . but i tell you plainly , if you fail in the doing , you shall be torn to pieces body and bones . " but the prince was not to be scared away with empty words . so the next morning the old witch came and took him to the stables where he was to do his task . there stood more than a hundred cattle , and the stable had not been cleaned for at least ten long years . " there is your work , " said the old witch , and then she left him . well , the king 's son set to work with fork and broom and might and main , but - prut!-he might as well have tried to bale out the great ocean with a bucket . at noontide who should come to the stable but the pretty swan maiden herself . " when one is tired , one should rest for a while , " said she ; " come and lay your head in my lap . " the prince was glad enough to do as she said , for nothing was to be gained by working at that task . so he laid his head in her lap , and she combed his hair with a golden comb till he fell fast asleep . when he awoke the swan maiden was gone , the sun was setting , and the stable was as clean as a plate . presently he heard the old witch coming , so up he jumped and began clearing away a straw here and a speck there , just as though he were finishing the work . " you never did this by yourself ! " said the old witch , and her brows grew as black as a thunder - storm . " that may be so , and that may not be so , " said the king 's son , " but you lent no hand to help ; so now may i have the one who builds the fire and draws the water ? " 
he was tired .
why did the prince lay his head in the swan maiden's lap ?
why did the prince lay his head in the swan maiden's lap ?