THIRTY-TWO
While the princess slept, he spun. When she awoke, sometimes he would sleep, and at others, he would ask her again. Her answer never changed – she would not give him her child.
Until finally, after several days of being unable to leave her bed as the sickness laid her lower than usual, she said the words he was waiting for: "Yes. If you can spin every bit of flax in this place into gold before the king executes me, then the child is yours."
He wanted to cheer and dance, but Abraham knew he could not stop working. For while there was work to be done, he could not stop. Because the pain in his chest was increasing, and his days were numbered. If he did not finish his task before the curse claimed him, then this would all be for naught.
Abraham spun until his fingers ached, a
