The evening after their wedding, the bride told her husband they should
take Sharp-Ears along with them on their honeymoon.
The king wouldn't let them take the boat that went both on land and on water, and anyway, the lad had spotted two or three very black looks shot their way. There was a plot brewing, as far as he could tell, and trouble was coming. But he was full of love for the king's daughter, and since she'd sworn to love him too, nothing bad could happen to them.
After all, the girl had finally looked at him when she came home to the
castle on her white horse. She'd wanted to see what he was like, this boy
who'd so cleverly overcome all the impossible obstacles willfully put between
her and him by the king. She'd seen a village lad whose eyes after all spoke
her own language, a lad who'd won out after all these tests, yet who wasn't
strutting or boasting. Hat in hand, straight as a poplar tree, cheerful and
smiling, he told very simply how the fairy had done everything for him and
how she'd appeared to him on Three Beech Trees Hill.
The princess was clever. Since she knew the ways of the court, the evening after her wedding she had Sharp-Ears listen to what people there were saying.
"Madam," said Sharp-Ears, "they've told your father so many awful things that he's furious about your marriage. He's just ordered three thousand men to pursue you. They're to get rid of your husband and bring you back to the castle!"
"Well then!" she cried. "It's just as well to keep informed! But we certainly are in trouble now!"
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Folktales