In the following week, Prince Micah spent much time thinking up his song to recite to Princess Roxanne. He studied with his parents' Royal Poet to make sure the verses worked well and the words were in harmony with each other. When he was finally satisfied with what he had written he plucked up his courage and returned to the Jewel Kingdom and went to the Red Mountains where the ruby palace was.

He stepped up to the door and knocked on it while going over his song through his mind rapidly. The door was soon opened by Roxanne's servant Nutmeg the Gnome.

"Greetings Prince Micah," said Nutmeg. "What brings you here?"

"I... have something for Princess Roxanne," said Micah a touch uneasily.

"I'm afraid she is not here at the moment," said Nutmeg.

"Well, where is she?" asked Micah.

"She said she was going to visit her friends Applesap and Marigold who live in the mountains," replied Nutmeg. "Though she has been gone since this morning and still hasn't returned. I am beginning to feel very worried for her."

"Well, perhaps I could go look for her," said Micah.

"That is very gallant of you," said Nutmeg. "Especially since Hapgood is away in the Land of the Dragons visiting with his parents and so you will have to go over the mountains on foot."

Micah suddenly felt very weak in his knees as the thought of climbing up a mountain all by himself settled in his mind. He had never climbed anything before let alone something as tall as a mountain and the thought of it made him shiver inwardly and his throat feel hollow. Yet at the same time he felt deep inside that he must take this risk of mountain climbing for the sake of the safety of Princess Roxanne. He wasn't sure why, but he just had a feeling that she needed him somehow.

"Where was she headed when she left here?" he asked.

"She was headed North East," replied Nutmeg.

So Micah went in the North East direction and found a series of fair sized mountains before him. He hesitated for a moment and then he remembered Roxanne and her smile as she danced with him on the night they had met and then he proceeded to climb up the mountain.

He climbed higher and higher and he wisely never looked down as he knew it would only slow his progress down. A few times he felt himself almost start to slip downward but he caught himself each time and then resumed his climbing with more determination.

He was about halfway up the mountain when he spotted a long cliff ahead of him and he reached for it. When he got onto the cliff's ledge he spotted a hole in the side of the mountain and realized it was a cave which something could be living inside of.

Before he had time to worry about what might be inside it he heard a low growling coming from within it. He felt a shiver run down his spine as the growling continued and grew louder by the moment which meant the thing inside the cave was coming further out of it. He stood frozen stiff as he watched as the shape of something enormous began to appear in the cave's interior. Then out of it emerged the biggest and blackest and hairiest bear he had ever seen.

He trembled everywhere and he felt like running away. But then he remembered about Roxanne and wondered if perhaps this bear knew something about her. So he drew a small sword from his belt which his father had just recently given to him and pointed it at the bear as he demanded in the strongest voice he could muster,

"Where is the Princess Roxanne?"

The bear looked at Micah and began to growl again. "Why do you want to know where she is?" he demanded.

"Because I am Prince Micah and I am her friend and have heard she went missing this morning," said Micah still trying to use a strong voice.

The bear's demeanor changed quite suddenly then. "Oh, well that makes a difference. I believe I saw her climbing up the mountain and then she disappeared halfway around it."

"Do you have any idea of what might have happened to her?" asked Micah.

"I fear she might have been kidnapped by those wicked goblins who dwell underneath the deepest crevices of these mountains," said the bear.

"Well, if the goblins do have her they won't stand in my way," said Micah stoutly.

"If you would like, I could carry you up to the mountain," offered the bear.

"Thank you, but no," said Micah. "I feel I must do this on my own."

Then Micah resumed his climb up the steep mountain with more vigor and determination than before so that his steps weren't as awkward as before. As he neared the top he thought he heard the sound of chattering and then he heard Roxanne's voice saying something in a fearful manner.

Now he was certain she was in trouble and he climbed briskly up the rest of the mountain and bounded up to it's top. There he saw unto his horror, a band of green skinny goblins with pointed ears and noses and claws on their fingers and toes. All were standing around a huge cauldron that was boiling under a burning fire. And he saw Roxanne as she was trapped inside a wooden cage that was sitting on top of a rock and looking like she had been crying.

Micah bounded forward and startled the goblins as he exclaimed, "What is the meaning of this? Why have you got the Princess Roxanne in a cage?"

The goblins looked at him and sneered. "Not that it's any of your business," said one with annoyance. "We just intend to have her for our supper, after all can't you see the cauldron brewing?"

"Why do you want to eat her?" demanded Micah.

"We haven't eaten anything in years, and we long for the taste of human flesh," explained the goblin. "And don't you dare mess with us," said the goblin warningly. "Or we will eat you along with her."

Micah thought hard for a moment and then an idea came to him. "I will not mess with you," he said. "In fact I will help you out. I know of the best ingredients to cook a princess with."

The goblin looked at him suspiciously. "You do? And what, may I ask, is that?"

"It's the tails of giant lizards," Micah went on. "And there are a whole bunch of giant lizards with very long tails just down the mountain. You can go get them and I'll keep an eye on Roxanne for you."

The goblin seemed to be deep in thought. Then he went to his fellows and they huddled together whispering amongst themselves for a few moments. Then they turned toward him again and one said,

"We do also enjoy eating lizards, and if there are giant lizards living down the mountain we will go get them."

Then Micah watched as the goblins began making their way down the side of the mountain. Then when they were about halfway down it he went over to their cauldron and heaved it with as much strength as he could muster and pushed it to the edge of the mountaintop and then knocked it over on its side so that the boiling water in it spilled down the mountainside and soon caught up to the goblins and they were washed down the mountain screaming as the water scorched them.

Micah then hurried over to Roxanne in the cage and drew his sword and cut off the wooden bars in the front of it so that she could be set free. Roxanne stepped out of the cage and Micah took her hand and helped her to step off of the rock she was on.

"Micah, thank you for rescuing me," she said as she threw her arms around him. "You were so clever in dealing with the goblins. How did you think to trick them like that?"

"I don't really know," Micah admitted. "The idea just came to me."

"How did you also get all the way up here?" Roxanne asked.

"I just climbed," he said. "I heard from your servant you had gone missing this morning and I was worried about you so I just climbed up here and then a bear told me about the goblins."

"And you said you didn't consider yourself brave. You are truly as brave as any prince is," Roxanne told him. She then kissed him.

Micah felt his blood rush at the touch of her kiss and his heart seemed to beat quicker as well.

"Well, now I guess we better get back to the palace before someone else comes to look for me," Roxanne said.

So then they climbed down the mountain together.