The King sprang to his feet eagerly. “There is, then, some magic thing that can break this enchantment?” he cried. “Let us go at once and fetch it.”
“That is impossible,” replied Grey Smoke. “Only the prince who will one day come--he who is fated to win the Princess as his bride, can see this Veil. Only in his hands is it potent to restore her.”
King Red Flame shook his head in doubt. “My good nurse,” he groaned, “what hope can there be that such a prince would ever love my poor daughter, who is nothing but a quivering flame?”
“Is there no charm that you can bestow upon her, so that even though she remains a flame it will win his heart, and make him long to set her free?” inquired Grey Smoke.
Again the King sank into deep thought, and as he sat there silently the soft cry of the flame again sounded in his ears.
“Her voice!” cried the King. “Though her form has been taken from her, her voice still remains! Could I but make it the most beautiful voice in the world, it might draw all hearts to her, even though she should indeed remain forever invisible. Had I but a wand that had not already failed--but, as you know, I have already tried with every wand in the palace to restore the Princess to her true form, and as you also know, no wand that has once failed can be used the second time.”
“Your Majesty, the time has now come for me to tell you something that up to now has been known to no living soul except myself. When your mother died, she left in my care a wand more powerful than any other in the palace. This wand I was to keep until such desperate need arose as could be met by no other magic known to any of us. It is called the Wand of Good Enchantment. The time for you to use it has now come.” So saying Dame Grey Smoke drew from under her long cloak a faded silken case, and laid it in his hands.
Eagerly the King opened the case, and drew from it a slender wand, decked with snow-white feathers. The moment he touched it, the thrill that passed through his fingers told him that it was full of magic. His eyes gleamed with joy.
“Ah, Grey Smoke,” he cried, “might it not be possible that this wand has the power that none of the others possessed to break the spell, and give me back my daughter? Shall we not try to restore her at once?”