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As soon as the time came when he was to declare the secret, he

was taken before the king with the three branches and the golden

cup; and the twelve princesses stood listening behind the door to

hear what he would say. And when the king asked him. 'Where do my

twelve daughters dance at night?' he answered, 'With twelve

princes in a castle under ground.' And then he told the king all

that had happened, and showed him the three branches and the

golden cup which he had brought with him. Then the king called

for the princesses, and asked them whether what the soldier said

was true: and when they saw that they were discovered, and that

it was of no use to deny what had happened, they confessed it

all. And the king asked the soldier which of them he would choose

for his wife; and he answered, 'I am not very young, so I will

have the eldest.'--And they were married that very day, and the

soldier was chosen to be the king's heir.

THE FISHERMAN AND HIS WIFE