"True! But for her sake he attacked Lichtenstein, in order to tear from his head the feathers, and he would not have risked his life for de Lorche. As for the reward, I said before that they both deserve one, and I will think about it in Ciechanow."
"Nothing will please Zbyszko more than to receive the knightly girdle and the golden spurs."
The prince smiled benevolently and answered:
"Let the girl carry them to him; and when the illness leaves him, then we will see that everything is accomplished according to the custom. Let her carry them to him immediately, because quick joy is the best!"
The princess having heard that, hugged her lord in the presence of the courtiers, and kissed his hands; he smiled continually and said:
"You see--A good idea! I see that the Holy Ghost has granted the woman some sense also! Now call the girl."
And in a moment in the side door Danusia appeared; her eyes were red on account of sleepless nights; and she held a pot of steaming gruel, which the _ksiondz_ Wyszoniek had ordered to be put on Zbyszko's fractured bones.
"Come to me, my dear girl!" said Prince Janusz. "Put aside the pot and come."
When she approached with some timidity, because "the lord" always excited some fear in her, he embraced her kindly and began to caress her face, saying:
"Well, the poor child is unhappy--_hein_?"
And having sadness in her heart, she began to cry but very quietly, in order not to hurt the prince; he asked again:
"Because Zbyszko is ill," answered she, putting her little hands to her eyes.
"Do not be afraid, there is no danger for him. Is that not true, Father Wyszoniek?"
"Hej! by God's will, he is nearer to the wedding than to the coffin," answered the good-hearted _ksiondz_ Wyszoniek.
"Wait! In the meanwhile, I will give you a medicine for him, and I trust it will relieve him or cure him entirely."
"Have the Krzyzaks sent the balm?" asked Danusia quickly, taking her little hands from her eyes.
"With that balm which the Krzyzaks will send, you had better smear a dog than a knight whom you love. I will give you something else."
Then he turned to the courtiers and said:
"Hurry and bring the spurs and the girdle."
After a while, when they had brought them to him, he said to Danusia: