At the garden gate he met the gardener , who asked him what he wanted . ' I want to take service with the king , ' replied the prince . ` Well , you may stay and work under me in the garden , ' said the man ; for as the prince was dressed like a poor man , he could not tell that he was a king 's son . ' I need someone to weed the ground and to sweep the dead leaves from the paths . You shall have a florin a day , a horse to help you to cart the leaves away , and food and drink . ' So the prince consented , and set about his work . But when his food was given to him he only ate half of it ; the rest he carried to the vaulted hall beside the brook , and gave to the black horse . And this he did every day , and the horse thanked him for his faithful friendship . One evening , as they were together , after his work in the garden was over , the horse said to him : ` To-morrow a large company of princes and great lords are coming to your king 's palace . They are coming from far and near , as wooers for the three princesses . They will all stand in a row in the courtyard of the palace , and the three princesses will come out , and each will carry a diamond apple in her hand , which she will throw into the air . At whose-soever feet the apple falls he will be the bridegroom of that princess . You must be close by in the garden at your work . The apple of the youngest princess , who is much the most beautiful of the sisters , will roll past the wooers and stop in front of you . Pick it up at once and put it in your pocket . ' The next day , when the wooers were all assembled in the courtyard of the castle , everything happened just as the horse had said . The princesses threw the apples into the air , and the diamond apple of the youngest princess rolled past all the wooers , out on to the garden , and stopped at the feet of the young gardener , who was busy sweeping the leaves away . In a moment he had stooped down , picked up the apple and put it in his pocket . As he stooped the scarf round his head slipped a little to one side , and the princess caught sight of his golden hair , and loved him from that moment . -LSB- Illustration : The Gardener gets the Apple -RSB- But the king was very sad , for his youngest daughter was the one he loved best .
But there was no help XXXXX it ; and the next day a threefold wedding was celebrated at the palace , and after the wedding the youngest princess returned with her husband to the small hut in the garden where he lived .
In about after beside for from into of past to