Usborne Young Reading: The Runaway Princess Chapter 3

Chapter 3 Princess Donkeyskin No one took any notice of the shabby girl in the donkeyskin cloak. She walked on and on, far beyond the king's lands until she came to a farmhouse by a forest. The farmer's wife looked curiously at Anna. "What's your name?" she asked. Anna didn't answer. "I'll call you Donkeyskin," laughed the woman. "If you're looking for work, we need a girl to look after the geese." Donkeyskin worked hard. The farmer and his wife grew very fond of her. They never guessed their goose girl was a runaway princess. Sometimes, as she herded the geese, Anna heard hunting horns in the forest. One day, she spotted a handsome prince among the trees. She gazed shyly at the prince. Then she looked sadly at her tattered cloak. "If only I could be a princess again!" That evening, she hid in her room and took out the sky-blue dress...The prince was riding home when he spotted the farmhouse. "I'll stop and ask for a drink,"he decided. One of the windows glowed with a mysterious blue light. Inside, the prince saw a girl in a shimmering blue dress. "She's as beautiful as the sky," he thought, losing his heart to her. Suddenly, he felt too shy to knock. He rode slowly back to his castle, dreaming about the mysterious girl."Who was she?" The next day, the prince sent a messenger to the farm. But there was no sign of a girl in a sky-blue dress.