And after Catherine had gone her way her lady 's Destiny went to find her sister , and said to her , ` Dear sister , has not Catherine suffered enough ? It is surely time for her good days to begin ? ' And the sister answered , ` To-morrow you shall bring her to me , and I will give her something that may help her out of her need . ' The next morning Catherine set out earlier than usual for the mountain , and her lady 's Destiny took the girl by the hand and led her to her sister , who lay under the seven coverlids . And her Destiny held out to Catherine a ball of silk , saying , ` Keep this -- it may be useful some day ; ' then pulled the coverings over her head again . But Catherine walked sadly down the hill , and went straight to her lady and showed her the silken ball , which was the end of all her high hopes . ` What shall I do with it ? ' she asked . ` It is not worth sixpence , and it is no good to me ! ' ` Take care of it , ' replied her mistress . ` Who can tell how useful it may be ? ' A little while after this grand preparations were made for the king 's marriage , and all the tailors in the town were busy embroidering fine clothes . The wedding garment was so beautiful nothing like it had ever been seen before , but when it was almost finished the tailor found that he had no more silk . The colour was very rare , and none could be found like it , and the king made a proclamation that if anyone happened to possess any they should bring it to the court , and he would give them a large sum . ` Catherine ! ' exclaimed the lady , who had been to the tailors and seen the wedding garment , ` your ball of silk is exactly the right colour . Bring it to the king , and you can ask what you like for it . ' Then Catherine put on her best clothes and went to the court , and looked more beautiful than any woman there . ` May it please your majesty , ' she said , ' I have brought you a ball of silk of the colour you asked for , as no one else has any in the town . ' ` Your majesty , ' asked one of the courtiers , ` shall I give the maiden its weight in gold ? '
The king agreed , and a pair of scales were XXXXX ; and a handful of gold was placed in one scale and the silken ball in the other .
Bring asked begin brought embroidering held lay please put saying