` Never fear , little mother , ' answered Martin ; ` trust me , and you will see all will be well . You may go to sleep with a quiet mind . ' And , stepping to the front of the hut , Martin threw his ring from the palm of one hand into the other , upon which twelve youths instantly appeared , and demanded what he wanted them to do . Then he told them the King 's commands , and they answered that by next morning all should be accomplished exactly as the King had ordered . Next morning when the King awoke , and looked out of his window , to his amazement he beheld a magnificent castle , just opposite his own palace , and joined to it a bridge of pure crystal . At each side of the bridge trees were growing , from whose branches hung golden and silver apples , among which birds of Paradise perched . At the right , gleaming in the sun , were the five golden cupolas of a splendid church , whose bells rang out , as if they would summon people from all corners of the earth to come and behold the wonder . Now , though the King would much rather have seen his future son-in-law tarred , feathered , and burnt at the stake , he remembered his royal oath , and had to make the best of a bad business . So he took heart of grace , and made Martin a Duke , and gave his daughter a rich dowry , and prepared the grandest wedding-feast that had ever been seen , so that to this day the old people in the country still talk of it . After the wedding Martin and his royal bride went to dwell in the magnificent new palace , and here Martin lived in the greatest comfort and luxury , such luxury as he had never imagined . But though he was as happy as the day was long , and as merry as a grig , the King 's daughter fretted all day , thinking of the indignity that had been done her in making her marry Martin , the poor widow 's son , instead of a rich young Prince from a foreign country . So unhappy was she that she spent all her time wondering how she should get rid of her undesirable husband . And first she determined to learn the secret of his power , and , with flattering , caressing words , she tried to coax him to tell her how he was so clever that there was nothing in the world that he could not do . At first he would tell her nothing ; but once , when he was in a yielding mood , she approached him with a winning smile on her lovely face , and , speaking flattering words to him , she gave him a potion to drink , with a sweet , strong taste . And when he had drunk it Martin 's lips were unsealed , and he told her that all his power lay in the magic ring that he wore on his finger , and he described to her how to use it , and , still speaking , he fell into a deep sleep . And when she saw that the potion had worked , and that he was sound asleep , the Princess took the magic ring from his finger , and , going into the courtyard , she threw it from the palm of one hand into the other . On the instant the twelve youths appeared , and asked her what she commanded them to do . Then she told them that by the next morning they were to do away with the castle , and the bridge , and the church , and put in their stead the humble hut in which Martin used to live with his mother , and that while he slept her husband was to be carried to his old lowly room ; and that they were to bear her away to the utmost ends of the earth , where an old King lived who would make her welcome in his palace , and surround her with the state that befitted a royal Princess . ` You shall be obeyed , ' answered the twelve youths at the same moment . And lo and behold !
the following morning , when the King awoke and looked out of his XXXXX he beheld to his amazement that the palace , bridge , church , and trees had all vanished , and there was nothing in their place but a bare , miserable-looking hut .
earth husband instant lo palace son stead window wonder youths