Stammering with rage , he ordered the youth to be brought before him , and vowed that unless this miracle was accomplished he would have the prince dragged at a horse 's tail until he was dead . In spite of what the soldiers had said , the boy knew no more magic than the king did , and his task seemed more hopeless than before . He lay weeping in the chamber which he was forbidden to leave , when suddenly he heard a sharp tapping at the window , and , looking up , he beheld a stork . ` What makes you so sad , prince ? ' asked he . ` Someone has told the king that I have prophesied that a child shall be born this night in the palace , who can speak all the languages in the world and play every musical instrument . I am no magician to bring these things to pass , but he says that if it does not happen he will have me dragged through the city at a horse 's tail till I die . ' ` Do not trouble yourself , ' answered the stork . ' I will manage to find such a child , for I am the king of the storks whose life you spared , and now I can repay you for it . ' The stork flew away and soon returned carrying in his beak a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes , and laid it down near a lute . In an instant the baby stretched out its little hands and began to play a tune so beautiful that even the prince forgot his sorrows as he listened . Then he was given a flute and a zither , but he was just as well able to draw music from them ; and the prince , whose courage was gradually rising , spoke to him in all the languages he knew . The baby answered him in all , and no one could have told which was his native tongue ! The next morning the king went straight to the prince 's room , and saw with his own eyes the wonders that baby could do . ` If your magic can produce such a baby , ' he said , ` you must be greater than any wizard that ever lived , and shall have my daughter in marriage . ' And , being a king , and therefore accustomed to have everything the moment he wanted it , he commanded the ceremony to be performed without delay , and a splendid feast to be made for the bride and bridegroom . When it was over , he said to the prince : ` Now that you are really my son , tell me by what arts you were able to fulfil the tasks I set you ? ' ` My noble father-in-law , ' answered the prince , ' I am ignorant of all spells and arts . But somehow I have always managed to escape the death which has threatened me . ' And he told the king how he had been forced to run away from his stepfather , and how he had spared the three birds , and had joined the two soldiers , who had from envy done their utmost to ruin him .
The king was rejoiced in his heart that his daughter had married a prince , and not a common man , and he chased the two soldiers away with whips , and XXXXX them that if they ever dared to show their faces across the borders of his kingdom , they should die the same death he had prepared for the prince .
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