` My father , ' replied the prince , ` now and always , I ask nothing better than to do your bidding , but I know of no daughter-in-law that I could give you . ' On hearing these words the old king drew from his pocket a key of gold , and gave it to his son , saying : ` Go up the staircase , right up to the top of the tower . Look carefully round you , and then come and tell me which you like best of all that you see . ' So the young man went up . He had never before been in the tower , and had no idea what it might contain . The staircase wound round and round and round , till the prince was almost giddy , and every now and then he caught sight of a large room that opened out from the side . But he had been told to go to the top , and to the top he went . Then he found himself in a hall , which had an iron door at one end . This door he unlocked with his golden key , and he passed through into a vast chamber which had a roof of blue sprinkled with golden stars , and a carpet of green silk soft as turf . Twelve windows framed in gold let in the light of the sun , and on every window was painted the figure of a young girl , each more beautiful than the last . While the prince gazed at them in surprise , not knowing which he liked best , the girls began to lift their eyes and smile at him . He waited , expecting them to speak , but no sound came . Suddenly he noticed that one of the windows was covered by a curtain of white silk . He lifted it , and saw before him the image of a maiden beautiful as the day and sad as the tomb , clothed in a white robe , having a girdle of silver and a crown of pearls . The prince stood and gazed at her , as if he had been turned into stone , but as he looked the sadness which was on her face seemed to pass into his heart , and he cried out : ` This one shall be my wife . This one and no other . ' -LSB- Illustration : the sadness of her face seemed to pass into his heart . -RSB- As he said the words the young girl blushed and hung her head , and all the other figures vanished . The young prince went quickly back to his father , and told him all he had seen and which wife he had chosen . The old man listened to him full of sorrow , and then he spoke : ` You have done ill , my son , to search out that which was hidden , and you are running to meet a great danger .
This young girl has fallen into the power of a wicked sorcerer , who lives XXXXX an iron castle .
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