All night long he tossed about , and awoke the next morning in a high fever . The queen , who had no other child , and lived in a state of perpetual anxiety about this one , at once gave him up for lost , and indeed his sudden illness puzzled the greatest doctors , who tried the usual remedies in vain . At last they told the queen that some secret sorrow must be at the bottom of all this , and she threw herself on her knees beside her son 's bed , and implored him to confide his trouble to her . If it was ambition to be king , his father would gladly resign the cares of the crown , and suffer him to reign in his stead ; or , if it was love , everything should be sacrificed to get for him the wife he desired , even if she were daughter of a king with whom the country was at war at present ! ` Madam , ' replied the prince , whose weakness would hardly allow him to speak , ` do not think me so unnatural as to wish to deprive my father of his crown . As long as he lives I shall remain the most faithful of his subjects ! And as to the princesses you speak of , I have seen none that I should care for as a wife , though I would always obey your wishes , whatever it might cost me . ' ` Ah ! my son , ' cried she , ` we will do anything in the world to save your life -- and ours too , for if you die , we shall die also . ' ` Well , then , ' replied the prince , ' I will tell you the only thing that will cure me -- a cake made by the hand of `` Donkey Skin . '' ' ` Donkey Skin ? ' exclaimed the queen , who thought her son had gone mad ; ` and who or what is that ? ' ` Madam , ' answered one of the attendants present , who had been with the prince at the farm , ' `` Donkey Skin '' is , next to the wolf , the most disgusting creature on the face of the earth . She is a girl who wears a black , greasy skin , and lives at your farmer 's as hen-wife . ' ` Never mind , ' said the queen ; ` my son seems to have eaten some of her pastry . It is the whim of a sick man , no doubt ; but send at once and let her bake a cake . ' The attendant bowed and ordered a page to ride with the message . Now it is by no means certain that ` Donkey Skin ' had not caught a glimpse of the prince , either when his eyes looked through the keyhole , or else from her little window , which was over the road . But whether she had actually seen him or only heard him spoken of , directly she received the queen 's command , she flung off the dirty skin , washed herself from head to foot , and put on a skirt and bodice of shining silver . Then , locking herself into her room , she took the richest cream , the finest flour , and the freshest eggs on the farm , and set about making her cake .
As she was stirring the mixture XXXXX the saucepan a ring that she sometimes wore in secret slipped from her finger and fell into the dough .
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