chunk: Having sneaked in to spy on what is going on and eavesdrop on the palace servants, Curdie realises that the King's "doctor" is actually slowly poisoning him. The palace servants and courtiers have all become morally corrupt and enemies of the king. No one can be trusted and both the Princess and the King are in mortal danger, so Curdie realises why the Old Princess has sent him: he must save the king (Irene's father) from a plot to poison him and steal his kingdom by forcibly marrying his daughter Princess Irene to an evil pretender. With the aid of the old Princess, who has been disguised as a housemaid, the king, his daughter, and the kingdom are saved. Curdie and Princess Irene are later married and rule the kingdom after the king dies. However, they have no children, and after they both die, the kingdom deteriorates until one day it collapses and has never been spoken of again.