After many years of prosperity a sudden blow fell upon the king in the death of his wife , whom he loved dearly . But before she died , the queen , who had always thought first of his happiness , gathered all her strength , and said to him : ` Promise me one thing : you must marry again , I know , for the good of your people , as well as of yourself . But do not set about it in a hurry . Wait until you have found a woman more beautiful and better formed than myself . ' ` Oh , do not speak to me of marrying , ' sobbed the king ; ` rather let me die with you ! ' But the queen only smiled faintly , and turned over on her pillow and died . For some months the king 's grief was great ; then gradually he began to forget a little , and , besides , his counsellors were always urging him to seek another wife . At first he refused to listen to them , but by-and-by he allowed himself to be persuaded to think of it , only stipulating that the bride should be more beautiful and attractive than the late queen , according to the promise he had made her . Overjoyed at having obtained what they wanted , the counsellors sent envoys far and wide to get portraits of all the most famous beauties of every country . The artists were very busy and did their best , but , alas ! nobody could even pretend that any of the ladies could compare for a moment with the late queen . At length , one day , when he had turned away discouraged from a fresh collection of pictures , the king 's eyes fell on his adopted daughter , who had lived in the palace since she was a baby , and he saw that , if a woman existed on the whole earth more lovely than the queen , this was she ! He at once made known what his wishes were , but the young girl , who was not at all ambitious , and had not the faintest desire to marry him , was filled with dismay , and begged for time to think about it . That night , when everyone was asleep , she started in a little car drawn by a big sheep , and went to consult her fairy godmother . ' I know what you have come to tell me , ' said the fairy , when the maiden stepped out of the car ; ` and if you do n't wish to marry him , I will show you how to avoid it . Ask him to give you a dress that exactly matches the sky . It will be impossible for him to get one , so you will be quite safe . ' The girl thanked the fairy and returned home again . -LSB- Illustration : The King 's Pet Donkey -RSB- The next morning , when her father -LRB- as she had always called him -RRB- came to see her , she told him that she could give him no answer until he had presented her with a dress the colour of the sky . The king , overjoyed at this answer , sent for all the choicest weavers and dressmakers in the kingdom , and commanded them to make a robe the colour of the sky without an instant 's delay , or he would cut off their heads at once .
Dreadfully frightened at this threat , they all began to dye and cut and sew , and XXXXX two days they brought back the dress , which looked as if it had been cut straight out of the heavens !
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