The black mistress lifted her up kindly， and told her to prepare， for that very night， a table with dainty dishes and the choicest wines， and to see that the table was put in the room which she would show her， and the girl was then to hide herself under the bed to see the luck of the black woman。She did as she was told， and hid herself under the bed。At midnight the door opened and a handsome young man came in， beautiful and delicate as if pulled through a ring。He sat down， ate a little of the meal prepared， sipped a little of the wine， and went away the way he had come。All this she saw from her hiding-place under the bed， and she wondered at such beautiful luck。
The next morning the black mistress called her and asked her whether she had seen her handsome luck， and whether she was pleased with it。Then she said：“Get ready three ovenfulls of bread， cook food all day long， carry in three casks of wine all into the same room， for your ill-luck will come。He is not a dainty fellow who just nibbles and sips， but he stuffs away whatever he can lay his hand upon。He knows no moderation。You go in and wait for him， for he will also come on the stroke of midnight。”At the same time she also advised her to take from his knapsack， while he was asleep， a ball of red silk thread， for he was sure to fall asleep after having drunk so much。In the evening， after the girl had done all that the mistress had told her， she went and hid herself under the bed。On the stroke of twelve the door opened and there came in a man， fat and burly， in rags and tatters dragging them behind him， unwashed and uncombed， and extremely dirty。The very image of ill-luck， which if it comes upon a man eats him up and destroys him。
When he saw the food and the drink he ran to it like a ravenous dog and glutton， and he fell to it， eating and drinking until he had finished almost everything which had been prepared， and with the glass in his hand he fell asleep。He had not only finished all the food， but had drunk two of the casks of wine， and of the third he had left only so little as would be enough for a woman to drink。
When the girl saw him lying on the floor asleep， she came out quietly from under the bed， stole the silken ball from his knapsack， and ran away as fast as her legs could carry her。Tipsy though he was， he felt that the girl had stolen the ball， so， rising on his feet， he shouted after her：
“Daughter mine， give me back that ball。I will give you all the riches。I will give you all the good things of this world。”
But the girl did not turn her head to look back， for the black mistress had warned her not to do so。Overcome by fury， the illluck burst and fell down dead on that very spot where he had been eating and drinking。
Not long afterwards a crier was heard proclaiming through the town that whosoever had silken thread of a special red colour should come to Court to match it， for the Prince was going to marry， and the red silken thread used for sewing the bride’s dress had given out， and whoever would bring a similar silk thread to finish the dress would get a handsome reward。
The black mistress said to the girl：“Take your ball of silk and go to the Court and see whether the colour matches。Should this be the case， then ask for payment only as much as the weight of the ball。”
The girl went， and， wonderful to tell， the colour matched exactly as if it had belonged to the same reel。
“How much do you ask for it？”asked the young Prince， who happened to be present and who had seen how beautifully the thread matched。
“Well， your Majesty， what shall I ask？ Only as much as the weight of this ball，”she replied， as the black mistress had taught her。
The Prince then said：“All right， take it and put it on the scale and let us see how heavy it is，”and he laughed to himself at the stupidity of the girl。But what happened？ Wonder of wonders！ they put a large quantity of money into the other scale， all the money he had with him， and yet the scale of the ball of silk weighed heavier。“Oh， this is witchcraft，”they said， wondering and crossing themselves， and they put on more money， and went on adding more and more。At last they put the King’s carriage and horses also into the scale， and still the ball of silk weighed heavier。
A jester who stood by said in fun to the Prince，“Let your Majesty get into the scale， and let us see what will happen。”At first the Prince refused， and then he jumped on to the scale。He had scarcely sat down when the scale with the silk rose and the two scales were equally balanced。They were all greatly astounded at this happening。The jester said，“It looks as if she has won you and all your property。”
“That is quite right，”replied the Prince；“it is so。But who made me get into the scale？ Well， never mind， what is right is right。I now belong to that girl。”But he said it because he saw how beautiful she was， for hers was a rare beauty； she was much more comely than his own bride。
When the girl heard it she jumped into his arms and embraced him， and told him who she was and what had happened to her， and there and then the marriage of the Prince with the black woman’s maid was decided upon。
