Directly she was missed there was a great hue and cry , and every corner , possible and impossible , was searched . Then the king sent out parties along all the roads , but the fairy threw her invisible mantle over the girl when they approached , and none of them could see her . The princess walked on a long , long way , trying to find some one who would take her in , and let her work for them ; but though the cottagers , whose houses she passed , gave her food from charity , the ass 's skin was so dirty they would not allow her to enter their houses . For her flight had been so hurried she had had no time to clean it . Tired and disheartened at her ill-fortune , she was wandering , one day , past the gate of a farmyard , situated just outside the walls of a large town , when she heard a voice calling to her . She turned and saw the farmer 's wife standing among her turkeys , and making signs to her to come in . ' I want a girl to wash the dishes and feed the turkeys , and clean out the pig-sty , ' said the woman , ` and , to judge by your dirty clothes , you would not be too fine for the work . ' The girl accepted her offer with joy , and she was at once set to work in a corner of the kitchen , where all the farm servants came and made fun of her , and the ass 's skin in which she was wrapped . But by-and-by they got so used to the sight of it that it ceased to amuse them , and she worked so hard and so well , that her mistress grew quite fond of her . And she was so clever at keeping sheep and herding turkeys that you would have thought she had done nothing else during her whole life ! One day she was sitting on the banks of a stream bewailing her wretched lot , when she suddenly caught sight of herself in the water . Her hair and part of her face was quite concealed by the ass 's head , which was drawn right over like a hood , and the filthy matted skin covered her whole body . It was the first time she had seen herself as other people saw her , and she was filled with shame at the spectacle . Then she threw off her disguise and jumped into the water , plunging in again and again , till she shone like ivory . When it was time to go back to the farm , she was forced to put on the skin which disguised her , and now seemed more dirty than ever ; but , as she did so , she comforted herself with the thought that to-morrow was a holiday , and that she would be able for a few hours to forget that she was a farm girl , and be a princess once more . So , at break of day , she stamped on the ground , as the fairy had told her , and instantly the dress like the sky lay across her tiny bed . Her room was so small that there was no place for the train of her dress to spread itself out , but she pinned it up carefully when she combed her beautiful hair and piled it up on the top of her head , as she had always worn it . When she had done , she was so pleased with herself that she determined never to let a chance pass of putting on her splendid clothes , even if she had to wear them in the fields , with no one to admire her but the sheep and turkeys . Now the farm was a royal farm , and , one holiday , when ` Donkey Skin ' -LRB- as they had nicknamed the princess -RRB- had locked the door of her room and clothed herself in her dress of sunshine , the king 's son rode through the gate , and asked if he might come and rest himself a little after hunting . Some food and milk were set before him in the garden , and when he felt rested he got up , and began to explore the house , which was famous throughout the whole kingdom for its age and beauty .
He opened one door after the other , admiring the old rooms , when he came XXXXX a handle that would not turn .
For along from on over though through till to with