Miss Malin(Part 3)

The prince asked her, "What are you saying to yourself?" The girl replied, "It's nothing. I was thinking about Miss Malin." The prince was surprised that she knew Miss Malin but said nothing. When they reached the churchyard, the girl said, “O little path, may God protect you. Know that I am not the fiancée who has been promised.”

The prince asked again, "What are you saying to yourself?" The girl answered, "It's nothing. I was thinking about Miss Malin." The prince inquired, "Do you know Miss Malin?" The girl replied, "No, I don’t know her. How could I know her? But I have heard things about her." As soon as they arrived at the church, the girl said once more, “O little path, may God protect you. Know that I am not the fiancée who has been promised.”

The prince asked again, "What are you saying to yourself?" The girl sighed and said, "I was thinking about Miss Malin." The prince then took out a valuable necklace, placed it around the girl’s neck, and fastened the clasp. Then they entered the church, and the priest joined their hands together at the altar and proclaimed them husband and wife. The groom took her back to the palace, but said nothing on the way. When they reached the palace, the girl rushed to the fiancée's room, removed the royal clothes and jewels, put on her gray cloak, and kept nothing but the necklace that the groom had given her.

When night came and it was time to take the bride to the groom’s chamber, she covered her face with a thin veil so that the groom would not discover her trick. Once everyone had left, the groom asked, "What did you say to the nettle bush on the way to the church?" The bride replied, "What nettle bush? I do not talk to nettle bushes." The prince responded, "If you did not speak to the nettle bush, then you are not the true bride." 

After regaining her composure, the bride said, "I will now ask my maid, for it is she who keeps my thoughts." Then she went out of the room and scolded Miss Malin, "You filthy dishwasher, what did you say to the nettle bush?" Miss Malin answered, “I just said, ‘O little nettle bush, what are you doing here? Do you remember the day when I ate your leaves, uncooked and unsalted?’”