Then suddenly a terrible wind arose between him and the carriage , and he could not overtake it . When he reached his home he said to his mother , ' I do not know what is to become of me ; I think I shall go mad , I am so much in love with that girl , and I have no means of finding out who she is . I danced with her and I gave her a ring , and yet I do not know her name , nor where I am to find her . ' Then the bear laughed beneath the table and muttered to itself . And the prince continued : ' I am tired to death . Order some soup to be made for me , but I do n't want that bear to meddle with it . Every time I speak of my love the brute mutters and laughs , and seems to mock at me . I hate the sight of the creature ! ' When the soup was ready , the bear brought it to the prince ; but before handing it to him , she dropped into the plate the ring the prince had given her the night before at the ball . The prince began to eat his soup very slowly and languidly , for he was sad at heart , and all his thoughts were busy , wondering how and where he could see the lovely stranger again . Suddenly he noticed the ring at the bottom of the plate . In a moment he recognised it , and was dumb with surprise . Then he saw the bear standing beside him , looking at him with gentle , beseeching eyes , and something in the eyes of the bear made him say : ` Take off that skin , some mystery is hidden beneath it . ' And the bear 's skin dropped off , and the beautiful girl stood before him , in the dress woven out of the starlight , and he saw that she was the stranger with whom he had fallen so deeply in love . And now she appeared to him a thousand times more beautiful than ever , and he led her to his mother . And the princess told them her story , and how she had been kept shut up by her father in his palace , and how she had wearied of her imprisonment . And the prince 's mother loved her , and rejoiced that her son should have so good and beautiful a wife . So they were married , and lived happily for many years , and reigned wisely over their kingdom . THE SUNCHILD Once there was a woman who had no children , and this made her very unhappy . So she spoke one day to the Sunball , saying : ` Dear Sunball , send me only a little girl now , and when she is twelve years old you may take her back again . '
So soon after this the Sunball sent her a little girl , whom the woman called Letiko , and watched over XXXXX great care till she was twelve years old .
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