I got into the secret chamber of the princess by hiding in a lion made out of gold. The king brought the lion to his daughter, and when she and her friends were sleeping, I whispered to her, “Oh, lovely princess, if you only knew what I have gone through to find you.”

She sprang from the bed screaming, “The lion! The lion!”

Her friends took no heed. They thought it was just a nightmare.

I continued to whisper to her until she understood who I am.

The Lion Suitor in The Golden Lion, Pink Fairy Book. Painting by Britain Riviere.