The queen was deeply mortified, and a moment or two later her chagrin
became greater still, for the second daughter proved to be extremely
ugly. 'Do not be distressed, Madam,' said the fairy; 'your daughter shall be
recompensed in another way. She shall have so much good sense that her
lack of beauty will scarcely be noticed.' 'May Heaven grant it!' said the queen; 'but is there no means by which
the elder, who is so beautiful, can be endowed with some intelligence?' 'In the matter of brains I can do nothing for her, Madam,' said the
fairy, 'but as regards beauty I can do a great deal. As there is nothing
I would not do to please you, I will bestow upon her the power of making
beautiful any person who shall greatly please her.' As the two princesses grew up their perfections increased, and
everywhere the beauty of the elder and the wit of the younger were the
subject of common talk. It is equally true that their defects also increased as they became
older. The younger grew uglier every minute, and the elder daily became
more stupid. Either she answered nothing at all when spoken to, or
replied with some idiotic remark. At the same time she was so awkward
that she could not set four china vases on the mantelpiece without
breaking one of them, nor drink a glass of water without spilling half
of it over her clothes. [Illustration: '_She could not set four china vases on the mantelpiece
without breaking one of them_']

Now although the elder girl possessed the great advantage which beauty
always confers upon youth, she was nevertheless outshone in almost all
company by her younger sister. At first every one gathered round the
beauty to see and admire her, but very soon they were all attracted by
the graceful and easy conversation of the clever one. In a very short
time the elder girl would be left entirely alone, while everybody
clustered round her sister. [Illustration: '_Graceful and easy conversation_']

The elder princess was not so stupid that she was not aware of this, and
she would willingly have surrendered all her beauty for half her
sister's cleverness. Sometimes she was ready to die of grief, for the
queen, though a sensible woman, could not refrain from occasionally
reproaching her with her stupidity. The princess had retired one day to a wood to bemoan her misfortune,
when she saw approaching her an ugly little man, of very disagreeable
appearance, but clad in magnificent attire. This was the young prince Ricky of the Tuft. He had fallen in love with
her portrait, which was everywhere to be seen, and had left his father's
kingdom in order to have the pleasure of seeing and talking to her. Delighted to meet her thus alone, he approached with every mark of
respect and politeness. But while he paid her the usual compliments he
noticed that she was plunged in melancholy. 'I cannot understand, madam,' he said, 'how any one with your beauty can
be so sad as you appear. I can boast of having seen many fair ladies,
and I declare that none of them could compare in beauty with you.' 'It is very kind of you to say so, sir,' answered the princess; and
stopped there, at a loss what to say further. 'Beauty,' said Ricky, 'is of such great advantage that everything else
can be disregarded; and I do not see that the possessor of it can have
anything much to grieve about.' To this the princess replied:

'I would rather be as plain as you are and have some sense, than be as
beautiful as I am and at the same time stupid.' 'Nothing more clearly displays good sense, madam, than a belief that one
is not possessed of it. It follows, therefore, that the more one has,
the more one fears it to be wanting.' 'I am not sure about that,' said the princess; 'but I know only too well
that I am very stupid, and this is the reason of the misery which is
nearly killing me.' 'If that is all that troubles you, madam, I can easily put an end to
your suffering.' 'How will you manage that?' said the princess. 'I am able, madam,' said Ricky of the Tuft, 'to bestow as much good
sense as it is possible to possess on the person whom I love the most. You are that person, and it therefore rests with you to decide whether
you will acquire so much intelligence. The only condition is that you
shall consent to marry me.' The princess was dumbfounded, and remained silent. 'I can see,' pursued Ricky, 'that this suggestion perplexes you, and I
am not surprised. But I will give you a whole year to make up your mind
to it.' The princess had so little sense, and at the same time desired it so
ardently, that she persuaded herself the end of this year would never
come. So she accepted the offer which had been made to her. No sooner
had she given her word to Ricky that she would marry him within one year
from that very day, than she felt a complete change come over her. She
found herself able to say all that she wished with the greatest ease,
and to say it in an elegant, finished, and natural manner. She at once
engaged Ricky in a brilliant and lengthy conversation, holding her own
so well that Ricky feared he had given her a larger share of sense than
he had retained for himself. On her return to the palace amazement reigned throughout the Court at
such a sudden and extraordinary change. Whereas formerly they had been
accustomed to hear her give vent to silly, pert remarks, they now heard
her express herself sensibly and very wittily. The entire Court was overjoyed. The only person not too pleased was the
younger sister, for now that she had no longer the advantage over the
elder in wit, she seemed nothing but a little fright in comparison. The king himself often took her advice, and several times held his
councils in her apartment. The news of this change spread abroad, and the princes of the
neighbouring kingdoms made many attempts to captivate her. Almost all
asked her in marriage. But she found none with enough sense, and so she
listened to all without promising herself to any. At last came one who was so powerful, so rich, so witty, and so
handsome, that she could not help being somewhat attracted by him. Her
father noticed this, and told her she could make her own choice of a
husband: she had only to declare herself. Now the more sense one has, the more difficult it is to make up one's
mind in an affair of this kind. After thanking her father, therefore,
she asked for a little time to think it over. In order to ponder quietly what she had better do she went to walk in a
wood--the very one, as it happened, where she encountered Ricky of the
Tuft. While she walked, deep in thought, she heard beneath her feet a thudding
sound, as though many people were running busily to and fro. Listening
more attentively she heard voices. 'Bring me that boiler,' said one;
then another--'Put some wood on that fire!' At that moment the ground opened, and she saw below what appeared to be
a large kitchen full of cooks and scullions, and all the train of
attendants which the preparation of a great banquet involves.