"Well, did you kill her as I asked you to?" were the first words with which Belinda greeted him.

Ned shook his head.  "No way I could have pulled it off!  She was wise to me, and she captured me before I even knew she was there.  She could have killed me, but I managed to talk her into sparing me and leaving you in peace.  You're safe from her now, Belinda.  That is what you wanted, isn't it?  So, now that I've proved myself worthy of you, once more I ask you: will you marry me?"

Belinda's face turned red as she screamed furiously, "I didn't ask you to get her to make nice to me, I asked you to get rid of her!  A creature that ugly has no right to exist, let alone be more powerful than I am!  If you ever want to see me again, let alone marry me, you'll bring me her head on a pole!"

"I wouldn't have such a spiteful, deceitful maiden as you for all your beauty!" he shot back impulsively.  Belinda gasped, but before she could speak he continued, "but I have something far more important to tell you, and you'd better pay attention.  The witch is listening to everything we are saying, and now that she knows you still want her dead even though she agreed to leave you in peace, she'll make more than your clothes disappear, believe me.  There's only one way you can save yourself.  You're going to go out right now and tell all the townspeople that you lied to them.  When she can come into this town and go about her business like everybody else, then you'll be safe, and not until."

Belinda turned white.  "I'm sorry, Hazel, or whatever your name is!" she blubbered in a terrified voice.  "I'll make it up to you!  Please don't kill me!"  And then she rushed outside to begin making amends.

Ned returned to his job as street musician, satisfied that he had arranged for justice to be done to Winnie, but resentful of the injustice that had been done to him.  The only maiden who had ever shown any interest in him had turned out to be unspeakably cruel and had probably just been using him anyway.  How unfair of all these beautiful maidens to pass him up despite his musical talent and his gentle disposition just because he was small and weak and poor!  And how foolish of them too: his sister-in-law had married a big, strong, prosperous farmer and was now his cowering slave!