At that time a young King， who had just ascended the throne owing to his father’s death not very long before， was out hunting in the forest， and he saw that wonderful stag with the hammock swinging down his back。He at once gave chase， and ordered all the hunters to surround the animal， but not to hurt it。They did so and caught the stag alive。
When the King saw that he was carrying on his back a human being， he had her taken out of the hammock， and then his eyes fell on a girl as beautiful as the world had ever seen。He took her and the stag at once to his palace， and on the councillors and ministers beholding the beautiful maiden they almost lost their speech in wonder and astonishment； and when the King declared his intention of marrying her， there were great rejoicings throughout the land， for no one had ever seen such a beautiful maiden as the young Queen。
The stag they put into a big garden at the back of the palace， in the middle of which there was a fountain of sweet milk。Here he browsed among the fresh flowers and green grass and disported himself。Still， he was sad at heart that he had lost his human shape， though he was happy to know that his sister had become the wife of a King who loved her so much， and who tried to satisfy all her wishes and to make her as happy as a Queen ought to be。The King gathered around her numberless male and female attendants from every part of the world and from every nation。
Now， among the maidservants there was a gipsy girl who resembled the Queen so much that， except for the difference of dress， one could not distinguish the one from the other， and the gipsy girl was envious of the Queen and waited for an opportunity of taking her place。
One day the Queen went into the garden to see her brother the stag， and the gipsy girl went with her。After walking about for a while the Queen， feeling tired， laid herself down， and putting her head in the lap of the gipsy girl told her to stroke her hair gently so that perchance she might fall asleep。The gipsy did what her mistress said， and soon afterwards the Queen was sleeping soundly。
That was the moment the gipsy girl was waiting for。She took out a magic needle which she kept in her dress and stuck it in the hair of the Queen。This made her remain asleep as long as the needle was in her hair。Then she took off the Queen’s dress，and， having taken hers off also， she dressed herself in the Queen’s clothes。After that she took the Queen in her arms and threw her down the well of sweet milk。She then returned to the palace， and no one recognized the change。They all believed her to be the real Queen， and even the King did not know the difference， but took her to be the Queen。
The gipsy felt that one day or another the stag， which had seen what she had done， would somehow disclose her treachery to the King， and she was therefore thinking how best to get rid of the animal。
One day she came to the King and said to him：“I am afraid the poor stag is ill； it seems to get weaker and weaker every day。It would therefore be better to shorten its days and to kill it。”
The King， who did not know that the stag was the enchanted brother of his wife， readily consented， and he gave orders to have the stag killed and a meal prepared of it for the next dinner。The King’s servants went into the garden to catch the stag， but he knew that they had come with the intention of killing him， and， running between them and scattering them right and left， he sprang into the fountain of sweet milk。
The King was told that the stag had jumped into the well of sweet milk and that the men were preparing to drag it out， so he went to see them at work pulling it up from the bottom of the well。But when the stag sprang into the well and fell into the milk， the charm had been broken and he had resumed again his human shape。
