Like the Poor Boy’s sister, the princess did not want to be rescued, and the prince had no token with him by which she might have recognized him as her brother. In vain the Poor Boy told her that if she did not come willingly, he would carry her off by force; she kept her hand on the dangerous nail and it was impossible to coax her.
They knew it would go hard with them if they waited for the giant; for there were only two champions, and if one held up the palace by keeping the gates on their hinges and the other waited for the giant in the middle of the courtyard, there was no one who could protect them from the nail.
“Let me attend to it,” said the Poor Boy, who, had fallen madly in love with the princess. “Either his life or mine!”
