Read Online The Fairy's Return and Other Princess Tales by Gail Carson Levine - Free Book Online

here?
    Lorelei watched them come down the stairs. They weren’t ogres and trolls. One of them even looked familiar. It was that nice Prince Nicholas. Lorelei’s heart lurched a little.
    She curtsied deeply. She sneezed and wobbled and almost fell over.
    They have kind faces, Lorelei thought, but they look annoyed. Except the prince. He looks glad to see me. She sent him a special smile. And then she sneezed.
    â€œWho are you?” King Humphrey boomed. “Which one are you?”
    â€œI am—achoo!—Lorelei. You see—achoo!—I got—”
    â€œAnother princess,” Nicholas interrupted loudly. “There’s always room for one more.” He winked at Lorelei, hoping she’d see and go along. Hoping his parents wouldn’t see. “Who knows?” he added. “She might be the one to pass the princess tests.”
    Lorelei saw the wink. He wanted her to pretend to be a princess? She could, if he wanted her to. But why?
    She curtsied again. “I am Princess Lorelei. Achoo!”

Ten
    â€œH ow did you get here?” Queen Hermione asked. “Where’s your carriage?”
    â€œUm . . . achoo! Um, I don’t have a carriage. Um . . .” What could she say? “Um . . . I . . . I was bewitched.” That was it! “Achoo! A fairy put a spell on our whole court. My father was turned into a blacksmith. I became a blacksmith’s daughter. I was—achoo!—a baby when it happened.”
    Quick thinking, Nicholas thought. She was clever, too.
    â€œAbsurd! Ridiculous!” King Humphrey roared. “There hasn’t been a case or example of a fairy spell in a hundred years. Not since Queen Rosella and King Harold’s reign.”
    â€œAchoo!”
    The lass is crazy, the queen thought.
    â€œSuppose she is a true princess?” Prince Nicholas said. “She might be the only one of the eighty maidens here who is.” He hoped Lorelei was paying attention. “If you don’t give her the tests, you’ll never know. You won’t be able to abdicate, Father. I’ll never marry. You’ll never have grand—”
    â€œSon or heir, you’re right.” The king put an arm around Nicholas’ shoulder. “The boy is correct or accurate.”
    Lorelei listened between sneezes. Tests? Had they said that if she passed some tests, she could marry Nicholas? Really?
    Queen Hermione shrugged. It couldn’t do any harm. A true blacksmith’s daughter would certainly fail the tests. She rang her bell for the Chief Royal Chambermaid.
    â€œAchoo! Excuse me. My Lady-in-Waiting was with me when we got lost. Achoo! She’s still under the spell. She thinks she keeps house for a blacksmith.” Lorelei told them about Trudy.
    She’s so kind! Nicholas thought.
    â€œAnd our black stallion got lost too. He looks like a mule.”
    The king called for a groom to ride to the village of Snettering-on-Snoakes to see if Trudy and Leonard had gotten home safely.
    Lorelei went upstairs with the Chief Royal Chambermaid. Nicholas followed them. She’ll pass one test anyway, he thought, looking at her muddy footprints. She has small feet. But what about the rest?
    The tests began first thing in the morning.
    Lorelei had slept well. Her sheets were satin. The blankets were velvet. The mattress was stuffed with swans’ feathers. Just like home. When she woke up, she wasn’t even sneezing anymore.
    Someone had laid a gown out for her, and a Royal Chambermaid was there to dress her. The gown was pretty, with diamonds sewn into the skirt and pearls sewn into the bodice. But it wasn’t embroidered, which was a shame. And look at that! “That’s funny,” she said out loud.
    The Royal Chambermaid curtsied. “What’s funny, your ladyship?”
    â€œWell . . .” You’d think they’d get it right for a princess. “The skirt on the gown—I