the king danced again with the beautiful maiden , and thought she had never looked so beautiful . and while he was dancing , he put a gold ring on her finger without her seeing it , and he commanded that the dance should last longer than usual . when it was finished he wanted to keep her hands in his , but she broke from him , and sprang so quickly away among the people that she vanished from his sight . she ran as fast as she could to her little room under the stairs , but because she had stayed too long beyond the half - hour , she could not stop to take off the beautiful dress , but only threw the fur cloak over it , and in her haste she did not make herself quite black with the soot , one finger remaining white .
what happened because the maiden stayed too long beyond the half-hour ?
she could not stop to take off the beautiful dress .
could not stop to take off the beautiful dress .