These two
were about to fight with the king, whose terror was great, for he
was not yet eighteen years old, and they would have been able to
cleave him through like a tender lamb. So the king, in his
terror, escaped his fate as best he could, by swearing that he
would send hither each year, as required, thirty of his damsels,
and with this rent he freed himself. And when he swore, it was
agreed that this arrangement should remain in force as long as
the two devils lived. But upon the day when they should be
conquered and defeated in battle, he would be relieved from this
tribute, and we should be delivered who are now shamefully given
over to distress and misery. Never again shall we know what
pleasure is. But I spoke folly just now in referring to our
deliverance, for we shall never more leave this place. We shall
spend our days weaving cloths of silk, without ever being better
clad. We shall always be poor and naked, and shall always suffer
from hunger and thirst, for we shall never be able to earn enough
to procure for ourselves any better food. Our bread supply is
very scarce--a little in the morning and less at night, for
none of us can gain by her handiwork more than fourpence a day
for her daily bread. And with this we cannot provide ourselves
with sufficient food and clothes.
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