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+Project Gutenberg Etext of The Little Lame Prince by Miss Mulock
+[Pseudonym of Maria Dinah Craik]
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+The Little Lame Prince
+
+by Miss Mulock
+[Pseudonym of Maria Dinah Craik]
+
+April, 1996  [Etext #496]
+
+
+Project Gutenberg Etext of The Little Lame Prince by Miss Mulock
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+
+The Little Lame Prince
+
+By MISS MULOCK
+[Pseudonym of Maria Dinah Craik]
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+THE LITTLE LAME PRINCE
+THE INVISIBLE PRINCE
+PRINCE CHERRY
+THE PRINCE WITH THE NOSE
+THE FROG-PRINCE
+CLEVER ALICE
+
+
+
+THE
+LITTLE LAME PRINCE
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+Yes, he was the most beautiful Prince
+that ever was born.
+
+Of course, being a prince, people
+said this; but it was true besides.
+When he looked at the candle, his eyes had an
+expression of earnest inquiry quite startling in
+a new born baby. His nose--there was not much
+of it certainly, but what there was seemed an
+aquiline shape; his complexion was a charming,
+healthy purple; he was round and fat, straight-
+limbed and long--in fact, a splendid baby, and
+everybody was exceedingly proud of him,
+especially his father and mother, the King and Queen
+of Nomansland, who had waited for him during
+their happy reign of ten years--now made happier
+than ever, to themselves and their subjects,
+by the appearance of a son and heir.
+
+The only person who was not quite happy was
+the King's brother, the heir presumptive, who
+would have been king one day had the baby not
+been born. But as his majesty was very kind to
+him, and even rather sorry for him--insomuch
+that at the Queen's request he gave him a dukedom
+almost as big as a county--the Crown-
+Prince, as he was called, tried to seem pleased
+also; and let us hope he succeeded.
+
+The Prince's christening was to be a grand
+affair. According to the custom of the country,
+there were chosen for him four-and-twenty god-
+fathers and godmothers, who each had to give
+him a name, and promise to do their utmost for
+him. When he came of age, he himself had to
+choose the name--and the godfather or god-
+mother--that he liked the best, for the rest of his
+days.
+
+Meantime all was rejoicing. Subscriptions
+were made among the rich to give pleasure to the
+poor; dinners in town-halls for the workingmen;
+tea-parties in the streets for their wives; and
+milk-and-bun feasts for the children in the
+schoolrooms. For Nomansland, though I cannot
+point it out in any map, or read of it in any
+history, was, I believe, much like our own or many
+another country.
+
+As for the palace--which was no different
+from other palaces--it was clean "turned out of
+the windows," as people say, with the preparations
+going on. The only quiet place in it was the
+room which, though the Prince was six weeks
+old, his mother the Queen had never quitted.
+Nobody said she was ill, however--it would have
+been so inconvenient; and as she said nothing
+about it herself, but lay pale and placid, giving
+no trouble to anybody, nobody thought much
+about her. All the world was absorbed in
+admiring the baby.
+
+The christening-day came at last, and it was
+as lovely as the Prince himself. All the people
+in the palace were lovely too--or thought themselves
+so--in the elegant new clothes which the
+Queen, who thought of everybody, had taken
+care to give them, from the ladies-in-waiting
+down to the poor little kitchen-maid, who looked
+at herself in her pink cotton gown, and thought,
+doubtless, that there never was such a pretty
+girl as she.
+
+By six in the morning all the royal household
+had dressed itself in its very best; and then the
+little Prince was dressed in his best--his
+magnificent christening robe; which proceeding his
+Royal Highness did not like at all, but kicked
+and screamed like any common baby. When he
+had a little calmed down, they carried him to be
+looked at by the Queen his mother, who, though
+her royal robes had been brought and laid upon
+the bed, was, as everybody well knew, quite
+unable to rise and put them on.
+
+She admired her baby very much; kissed and
+blessed him, and lay looking at him, as she did for
+hours sometimes, when he was placed beside her
+fast asleep; then she gave him up with a gentle
+smile, and, saying she hoped he would be very
+good, that it would be a very nice christening,
+and all the guests would enjoy themselves,
+turned peacefully over on her bed, saying nothing
+more to anybody. She was a very uncomplaining
+person, the Queen--and her name was
+Dolorez.
+
+Everything went on exactly as if she had been
+present. All, even the king himself, had grown
+used to her absence; for she was not strong, and
+for years had not joined in any gayeties. She
+always did her royal duties, but as to pleasures,
+they could go on quite well without her, or it
+seemed so. The company arrived: great and
+notable persons in this and neighboring countries;
+also the four-and-twenty godfathers and
+godmothers, who had been chosen with care, as
+the people who would be most useful to his royal
+highness should he ever want friends, which did
+not seem likely. What such want could possibly
+happen to the heir of the powerful monarch of
+Nomansland?
+
+They came, walking two and two, with their
+coronets on their heads--being dukes and duchesses,
+princes and princesses, or the like; they
+all kissed the child and pronounced the name
+each had given him. Then the four-and-twenty
+names were shouted out with great energy by six
+heralds, one after the other, and afterward written
+down, to be preserved in the state records,
+in readiness for the next time they were wanted,
+which would be either on his Royal Highness'
+coronation or his funeral.
+
+Soon the ceremony was over, and everybody
+satisfied; except, perhaps, the little Prince
+himself, who moaned faintly under his christening
+robes, which nearly smothered him.
+
+In truth, though very few knew, the Prince in
+coming to the chapel had met with a slight
+disaster. His nurse,--not his ordinary one, but the
+state nurse-maid,--an elegant and fashionable
+young lady of rank, whose duty it was to carry
+him to and from the chapel, had been so occupied
+in arranging her train with one hand, while she
+held the baby with the other, that she stumbled
+and let him fall, just at the foot of the marble
+staircase.
+
+To be sure, she contrived to pick him up again
+the next minute; and the accident was so slight
+it seemed hardly worth speaking of. Consequently
+nobody did speak of it. The baby had
+turned deadly pale, but did not cry, so no person
+a step or two behind could discover anything
+wrong; afterward, even if he had moaned, the
+silver trumpets were loud enough to drown his
+voice. It would have been a pity to let anything
+trouble such a day of felicity.
+
+So, after a minute's pause, the procession had
+moved on. Such a procession t Heralds in blue
+and silver; pages in crimson and gold; and a
+troop of little girls in dazzling white, carrying
+baskets of flowers, which they strewed all the
+way before the nurse and child--finally the four-
+and-twenty godfathers and godmothers, as
+proud as possible, and so splendid to look at
+that they would have quite extinguished their
+small godson--merely a heap of lace and muslin
+with a baby face inside--had it not been for a
+canopy of white satin and ostrich feathers which
+was held over him wherever he was carried.
+
+Thus, with the sun shining on them through
+the painted windows, they stood; the king and
+his train on one side, the Prince and his attendants
+on the other, as pretty a sight as ever was
+seen out of fairyland.
+
+"It's just like fairyland," whispered the
+eldest little girl to the next eldest, as she shook
+the last rose out of her basket; "and I think the
+only thing the Prince wants now is a fairy god-
+mother."
+
+"Does he?" said a shrill but soft and not
+unpleasant voice behind; and there was seen among
+the group of children somebody,--not a child,
+yet no bigger than a child,--somebody whom nobody
+had seen before, and who certainly had not
+been invited, for she had no christening clothes
+on.
+
+She was a little old woman dressed all in gray:
+gray gown; gray hooded cloak, of a material
+excessively fine, and a tint that seemed perpetually
+changing, like the gray of an evening sky. Her
+hair was gray, and her eyes also--even her
+complexion had a soft gray shadow over it. But
+there was nothing unpleasantly old about her,
+and her smile was as sweet and childlike as the
+Prince's own, which stole over his pale little
+face the instant she came near enough to touch
+him.
+
+"Take care! Don't let the baby fall again."
+
+The grand young lady nurse started, flushing
+angrily.
+
+"Who spoke to me? How did anybody know?
+--I mean, what business has anybody----"
+Then frightened, but still speaking in a much
+sharper tone than I hope young ladies of rank
+are in the habit of speaking--"Old woman, you
+will be kind enough not to say `the baby,' but
+`the Prince.' Keep away; his Royal Highness
+is just going to sleep."
+
+"Nevertheless I must kiss him. I am his god-
+mother."
+
+"You!" cried the elegant lady nurse.
+
+"You!" repeated all the gentlemen and
+ladies-in-waiting.
+
+"You!" echoed the heralds and pages--and
+they began to blow the silver trumpets in order
+to stop all further conversation.
+
+The Prince's procession formed itself for
+returning,--the King and his train having already
+moved off toward the palace,--but on the top-
+most step of the marble stairs stood, right in
+front of all, the little old woman clothed in gray.
+
+She stretched herself on tiptoe by the help of
+her stick, and gave the little Prince three kisses.
+
+"This is intolerable!" cried the young lady
+nurse, wiping the kisses off rapidly with her
+lace handkerchief. "Such an insult to his Royal
+Highness! Take yourself out of the way, old
+woman, or the King shall be informed immediately."
+
+"The King knows nothing of me, more's the
+pity," replied the old woman, with an indifferent
+air, as if she thought the loss was more on his
+Majesty's side than hers. "My friend in the
+palace is the King's wife."
+
+"King's have not wives, but queens," said the
+lady nurse, with a contemptuous air.
+
+"You are right," replied the old woman.
+"Nevertheless I know her Majesty well, and I
+love her and her child. And--since you dropped
+him on the marble stairs (this she said in a
+mysterious whisper, which made the young lady
+tremble in spite of her anger)--I choose to take
+him for my own, and be his godmother, ready to
+help him whenever he wants me."
+
+"You help him!" cried all the group breaking
+into shouts of laughter, to which the little old
+woman paid not the slightest attention. Her soft
+gray eyes were fixed on the Prince, who seemed
+to answer to the look, smiling again and again
+in the causeless, aimless fashion that babies do
+smile.
+
+"His Majesty must hear of this," said a
+gentleman-in-waiting.
+
+"His Majesty will hear quite enough news in
+a minute or two," said the old woman sadly.
+And again stretching up to the little Prince, she
+kissed him on the forehead solemnly.
+
+"Be called by a new name which nobody has
+ever thought of. Be Prince Dolor, in memory
+of your mother Dolorez."
+
+"In memory of!" Everybody started at the
+ominous phrase, and also at a most terrible
+breach of etiquette which the old woman had
+committed. In Nomansland, neither the king
+nor the queen was supposed to have any Christian
+name at all. They dropped it on their coronation
+day, and it never was mentioned again till
+it was engraved on their coffins when they died.
+
+"Old woman, you are exceedingly ill-bred,"
+cried the eldest lady-in-waiting, much horrified.
+"How you could know the fact passes my
+comprehension. But even if you did know it, how
+dared you presume to hint that her most gracious
+Majesty is called Dolorez?"
+
+"WAS called Dolorez," said the old woman,
+with a tender solemnity.
+
+The first gentleman, called the Gold-stick-in-
+waiting, raised it to strike her, and all the rest
+stretched out their hands to seize her; but the
+gray mantle melted from between their fingers
+like air; and, before anybody had time to do
+anything more, there came a heavy, muffled,
+startling sound.
+
+The great bell of the palace the bell which
+was only heard on the death of some one of the
+royal family, and for as many times as he or she
+was years old--began to toll. They listened,
+mute and horror-stricken. Some one counted:
+one--two--three--four--up to nine-and-twenty
+--just the Queen's age.
+
+It was, indeed, the Queen. Her Majesty was
+dead! In the midst of the festivities she had
+slipped away out of her new happiness and her
+old sufferings, not few nor small. Sending away
+all her women to see the grand sight,--at least
+they said afterward, in excuse, that she had done
+so, and it was very like her to do it,--she had
+turned with her face to the window, whence one
+could just see the tops of the distant mountains
+--the Beautiful Mountains, as they were called
+--where she was born. So gazing, she had
+quietly died.
+
+When the little Prince was carried back to
+his mother's room, there was no mother to kiss
+him. And, though he did not know it, there
+would be for him no mother's kiss any more.
+As for his godmother,--the little old woman
+in gray who called herself so,--whether she
+melted into air, like her gown when they touched
+it, or whether she flew out of the chapel window,
+or slipped through the doorway among the
+bewildered crowd, nobody knew--nobody ever
+thought about her.
+
+Only the nurse, the ordinary homely one,
+coming out of the Prince's nursery in the middle
+of the night in search of a cordial to quiet his
+continual moans, saw, sitting in the doorway,
+something which she would have thought a mere
+shadow, had she not seen shining out of it two
+eyes, gray and soft and sweet. She put her
+hand before her own, screaming loudly. When
+she took them away the old woman was gone.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+Everybody was very kind to the poor
+little prince. I think people generally
+are kind to motherless children,
+whether princes or peasants. He had a
+magnificent nursery and a regular suite of
+attendants, and was treated with the greatest
+respect and state. Nobody was allowed to talk to
+him in silly baby language, or dandle him, or,
+above all to kiss him, though perhaps some
+people did it surreptitiously, for he was such a
+sweet baby that it was difficult to help it.
+
+It could not be said that the Prince missed
+his mother--children of his age cannot do that;
+but somehow after she died everything seemed to
+go wrong with him. From a beautiful baby he
+became sickly and pale, seeming to have almost
+ceased growing, especially in his legs, which had
+been so fat and strong.
+
+But after the day of his christening they
+withered and shrank; he no longer kicked them out
+either in passion or play, and when, as he got to
+be nearly a year old, his nurse tried to make him
+stand upon them, he only tumbled down.
+
+This happened so many times that at last
+people began to talk about it. A prince, and not
+able to stand on his own legs! What a dreadful
+thing! What a misfortune for the country!
+
+Rather a misfortune to him also, poor little
+boy! but nobody seemed to think of that. And
+when, after a while, his health revived, and the
+old bright look came back to his sweet little face,
+and his body grew larger and stronger, though
+still his legs remained the same, people continued
+to speak of him in whispers, and with grave
+shakes of the head. Everybody knew, though
+nobody said it, that something, it was impossible
+to guess what, was not quite right with the poor
+little Prince.
+
+Of course, nobody hinted this to the King his
+father: it does not do to tell great people
+anything unpleasant. And besides, his Majesty
+took very little notice of his son, or of his other
+affairs, beyond the necessary duties of his kingdom.
+
+People had said he would not miss the Queen
+at all, she having been so long an invalid, but he
+did. After her death he never was quite the
+same. He established himself in her empty
+rooms, the only rooms in the palace whence one
+could see the Beautiful Mountains, and was
+often observed looking at them as if he thought
+she had flown away thither, and that his longing
+could bring her back again. And by a curious
+coincidence, which nobody dared inquire into,
+he desired that the Prince might be called, not
+by any of the four-and-twenty grand names
+given him by his godfathers and godmothers, but
+by the identical name mentioned by the little old
+woman in gray--Dolor, after his mother Dolorez.
+
+Once a week, according to established state
+custom, the Prince, dressed in his very best, was
+brought to the King his father for half an hour,
+but his Majesty was generally too ill and too
+melancholy to pay much heed to the child.
+
+Only once, when he and the Crown-Prince,
+who was exceedingly attentive to his royal
+brother, were sitting together, with Prince
+Dolor playing in a corner of the room, dragging
+himself about with his arms rather than his legs,
+and sometimes trying feebly to crawl from one
+chair to another, it seemed to strike the father
+that all was not right with his son.
+
+"How old is his Royal Highness?" said he
+suddenly to the nurse.
+
+"Two years, three months, and five days,
+please your Majesty."
+
+"It does not please me," said the King, with
+a sigh. "He ought to be far more forward than
+he is now ought he not, brother? You, who
+have so many children, must know. Is there not
+something wrong about him?"
+
+"Oh, no," said the Crown-Prince, exchanging
+meaning looks with the nurse, who did not
+understand at all, but stood frightened and
+trembling with the tears in her eyes. "Nothing to
+make your Majesty at all uneasy. No doubt his
+Royal Highness will outgrow it in time."
+
+"Outgrow--what?"
+
+"A slight delicacy--ahem!--in the spine;
+something inherited, perhaps, from his dear
+mother."
+
+"Ah, she was always delicate; but she was the
+sweetest woman that ever lived. Come here, my
+little son."
+
+And as the Prince turned round upon his
+father a small, sweet, grave face,--so like his
+mother's,--his Majesty the King smiled and
+held out his arms. But when the boy came to
+him, not running like a boy, but wriggling
+awkwardly along the floor, the royal countenance
+clouded over.
+
+"I ought to have been told of this. It is
+terrible--terrible! And for a prince too. Send for
+all the doctors in my kingdom immediately."
+
+They came, and each gave a different opinion
+and ordered a different mode of treatment. The
+only thing they agreed in was what had been
+pretty well known before, that the Prince must
+have been hurt when he was an infant--let fall,
+perhaps, so as to injure his spine and lower
+limbs. Did nobody remember?
+
+No, nobody. Indignantly, all the nurses
+denied that any such accident had happened, was
+possible to have happened, until the faithful
+country nurse recollected that it really had
+happened on the day of the christening. For which
+unluckily good memory all the others scolded her
+so severely that she had no peace of her life, and
+soon after, by the influence of the young lady
+nurse who had carried the baby that fatal day,
+and who was a sort of connection of the Crown-
+Prince--being his wife's second cousin once
+removed--the poor woman was pensioned off
+and sent to the Beautiful Mountains from
+whence she came, with orders to remain there
+for the rest of her days.
+
+But of all this the King knew nothing, for,
+indeed, after the first shock of finding out that
+his son could not walk, and seemed never likely
+to he interfered very little concerning him. 
+The whole thing was too painful, and his Majesty
+never liked painful things. Sometimes he
+inquired after Prince Dolor, and they told him his
+Royal Highness was going on as well as could be
+expected, which really was the case. For, after
+worrying the poor child and perplexing themselves
+with one remedy after another, the Crown-
+Prince, not wishing to offend any of the
+differing doctors, had proposed leaving him to
+Nature; and Nature, the safest doctor of all, had
+come to his help and done her best.
+
+He could not walk, it is true; his limbs were
+mere useless appendages to his body; but the
+body itself was strong and sound. And his face
+was the same as ever--just his mother's face,
+one of the sweetest in the world.
+
+Even the King, indifferent as he was,
+sometimes looked at the little fellow with sad
+tenderness, noticing how cleverly he learned to crawl
+and swing himself about by his arms, so that in
+his own awkward way he was as active in motion
+as most children of his age.
+
+"Poor little man! he does his best, and he is
+not unhappy--not half so unhappy as I,
+brother," addressing the Crown-Prince, who
+was more constant than ever in his attendance
+upon the sick monarch. "If anything should
+befall me, I have appointed you Regent. In case
+of my death, you will take care of my poor little
+boy?"
+
+"Certainly, certainly; but do not let us
+imagine any such misfortune. I assure your Majesty
+--everybody will assure you--that it is not in the
+least likely."
+
+He knew, however, and everybody knew, that
+it was likely, and soon after it actually did
+happen. The King died as suddenly and quietly as
+the Queen had done--indeed, in her very room
+and bed; and Prince Dolor was left without
+either father or mother--as sad a thing as could
+happen, even to a prince.
+
+He was more than that now, though. He was
+a king. In Nomansland, as in other countries,
+the people were struck with grief one day and
+revived the next. "The king is dead--long live
+the king!" was the cry that rang through the
+nation, and almost before his late Majesty had
+been laid beside the Queen in their splendid
+mausoleum, crowds came thronging from all parts
+to the royal palace, eager to see the new monarch.
+
+They did see him,--the Prince Regent took
+care they should,--sitting on the floor of the
+council chamber, sucking his thumb! And when
+one of the gentlemen-in-waiting lifted him up
+and carried him--fancy carrying a king!--to the
+chair of state, and put the crown on his head, he
+shook it off again, it was so heavy and
+uncomfortable. Sliding down to the foot of the throne
+he began playing with the golden lions that
+supported it, stroking their paws and putting his
+tiny fingers into their eyes, and laughing--
+laughing as if he had at last found something to amuse
+him.
+
+"There's a fine king for you!" said the first
+lord-in-waiting, a friend of the Prince Regent's
+(the Crown-Prince that used to be, who, in the
+deepest mourning, stood silently beside the
+throne of his young nephew. He was a handsome
+man, very grand and clever-looking).
+"What a king! who can never stand to receive
+his subjects, never walk in processions, who to
+the last day of his life will have to be carried
+about like a baby. Very unfortunate!"
+
+"Exceedingly unfortunate," repeated the
+second lord. "It is always bad for a nation when
+its king is a child; but such a child--a permanent
+cripple, if not worse."
+
+"Let us hope not worse," said the first lord
+in a very hopeless tone, and looking toward the
+Regent, who stood erect and pretended to hear
+nothing. "I have heard that these sort of children
+with very large heads, and great broad fore-
+heads and staring eyes, are--well, well, let us
+hope for the best and be prepared for the worst.
+In the meantime----"
+
+"I swear," said the Crown-Prince, coming
+forward and kissing the hilt of his sword--"I
+swear to perform my duties as Regent, to take
+all care of his Royal Highness--his Majesty, I
+mean," with a grand bow to the little child, who
+laughed innocently back again. "And I will do
+my humble best to govern the country. Still, if
+the country has the slightest objection----"
+
+But the Crown-Prince being generalissimo,
+having the whole army at his beck and call, so
+that he could have begun a civil war in no time,
+the country had, of course, not the slightest objection.
+
+So the King and Queen slept together in peace,
+and Prince Dolor reigned over the land--that is,
+his uncle did; and everybody said what a
+fortunate thing it was for the poor little Prince to
+have such a clever uncle to take care of him.
+
+All things went on as usual; indeed, after the
+Regent had brought his wife and her seven sons,
+and established them in the palace, rather better
+than usual. For they gave such splendid
+entertainments and made the capital so lively that
+trade revived, and the country was said to be
+more flourishing than it had been for a century.
+Whenever the Regent and his sons appeared,
+they were received with shouts: "Long live the
+Crown-Prince!" "Long live the royal family!"
+And, in truth, they were very fine children, the
+whole seven of them, and made a great show
+when they rode out together on seven beautiful
+horses, one height above another, down to the
+youngest, on his tiny black pony, no bigger than
+a large dog.
+
+As for the other child, his Royal Highness
+Prince Dolor,--for somehow people soon ceased
+to call him his Majesty, which seemed such a
+ridiculous title for a poor little fellow, a helpless
+cripple,--with only head and trunk, and no
+legs to speak of,--he was seen very seldom by
+anybody.
+
+Sometimes people daring enough to peer over
+the high wall of the palace garden noticed there,
+carried in a footman's arms, or drawn in a chair,
+or left to play on the grass, often with nobody to
+mind him, a pretty little boy, with a bright,
+intelligent face and large, melancholy eyes--no,
+not exactly melancholy, for they were his
+mother's, and she was by no means sad-minded,
+but thoughtful and dreamy. They rather
+perplexed people, those childish eyes; they were so
+exceedingly innocent and yet so penetrating.
+If anybody did a wrong thing--told a lie, for
+instance they would turn round with such a
+grave, silent surprise the child never talked
+much--that every naughty person in the palace
+was rather afraid of Prince Dolor.
+
+He could not help it, and perhaps he did not
+even know it, being no better a child than many
+other children, but there was something about
+him which made bad people sorry, and grumbling
+people ashamed of themselves, and ill-
+natured people gentle and kind.
+
+I suppose because they were touched to see a
+poor little fellow who did not in the least know
+what had befallen him or what lay before him,
+living his baby life as happy as the day is long.
+Thus, whether or not he was good himself, the
+sight of him and his affliction made other people
+good, and, above all, made everybody love him
+--so much so, that his uncle the Regent began
+to feel a little uncomfortable.
+
+Now, I have nothing to say against uncles in
+general. They are usually very excellent
+people, and very convenient to little boys and
+girls. Even the "cruel uncle" of the "Babes in
+the Wood" I believe to be quite an exceptional
+character. And this "cruel uncle" of whom I
+am telling was, I hope, an exception, too.
+
+He did not mean to be cruel. If anybody had
+called him so, he would have resented it
+extremely: he would have said that what he did
+was done entirely for the good of the country.
+But he was a man who had always been
+accustomed to consider himself first and foremost,
+believing that whatever he wanted was sure to
+be right, and therefore he ought to have it. So
+he tried to get it, and got it too, as people like
+him very often do. Whether they enjoy it when
+they have it is another question.
+
+Therefore he went one day to the council
+chamber, determined on making a speech, and
+informing the ministers and the country at
+large that the young King was in failing health,
+and that it would be advisable to send him for a
+time to the Beautiful Mountains. Whether he
+really meant to do this, or whether it occurred
+to him afterward that there would be an easier
+way of attaining his great desire, the crown of
+Nomansland, is a point which I cannot decide.
+
+But soon after, when he had obtained an
+order in council to send the King away, which
+was done in great state, with a guard of honor
+composed of two whole regiments of soldiers,--
+the nation learned, without much surprise, that
+the poor little Prince--nobody ever called him
+king now--had gone a much longer journey
+than to the Beautiful Mountains.
+
+He had fallen ill on the road and died within
+a few hours; at least so declared the physician
+in attendance and the nurse who had been sent
+to take care of him. They brought his coffin
+back in great state, and buried it in the
+mausoleum with his parents.
+
+So Prince Dolor was seen no more. The
+country went into deep mourning for him, and
+then forgot him, and his uncle reigned in his
+stead. That illustrious personage accepted his
+crown with great decorum, and wore it with
+great dignity to the last. But whether he
+enjoyed it or not there is no evidence to show.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+And what of the little lame Prince,
+whom everybody seemed so easily to
+have forgotten?
+
+Not everybody. There were a few
+kind souls, mothers of families, who had heard
+his sad story, and some servants about the palace,
+who had been familiar with his sweet ways--
+these many a time sighed and said, "Poor
+Prince Dolor!" Or, looking at the Beautiful
+Mountains, which were visible all over Nomansland,
+though few people ever visited them,
+"Well, perhaps his Royal Highness is better
+where he is than even there."
+
+They did not know--indeed, hardly anybody
+did know--that beyond the mountains, between
+them and the sea, lay a tract of country, barren,
+level, bare, except for short, stunted grass, and
+here and there a patch of tiny flowers. Not a
+bush--not a tree not a resting place for bird
+or beast was in that dreary plain. In summer
+the sunshine fell upon it hour after hour with a
+blinding glare; in winter the winds and rains
+swept over it unhindered, and the snow came
+down steadily, noiselessly, covering it from end
+to end in one great white sheet, which lay for
+days and weeks unmarked by a single footprint.
+
+Not a pleasant place to live in--and nobody
+did live there, apparently. The only sign that
+human creatures had ever been near the spot
+was one large round tower which rose up in the
+center of the plain, and might be seen all over
+it--if there had been anybody to see, which there
+never was. Rose right up out of the ground, as
+if it had grown of itself, like a mushroom. But
+it was not at all mushroom-like; on the contrary,
+it was very solidly built. In form it resembled
+the Irish round towers, which have puzzled
+people for so long, nobody being able to find out
+when, or by whom, or for what purpose they
+were made; seemingly for no use at all, like this
+tower. It was circular, of very firm brickwork,
+with neither doors nor windows, until near the
+top, when you could perceive some slits in the
+wall through which one might possibly creep in
+or look out. Its height was nearly a hundred
+feet, and it had a battlemented parapet showing
+sharp against the sky.
+
+As the plain was quite desolate--almost like
+a desert, only without sand, and led to nowhere
+except the still more desolate seacoast--nobody
+ever crossed it. Whatever mystery there was
+about the tower, it and the sky and the plain
+kept their secret to themselves.
+
+It was a very great secret indeed,--a state
+secret,--which none but so clever a man as the
+present King of Nomansland would ever have
+thought of. How he carried it out, undiscovered,
+I cannot tell. People said, long afterward,
+that it was by means of a gang of
+condemned criminals, who were set to work, and
+executed immediately after they had done, so
+that nobody knew anything, or in the least
+suspected the real fact.
+
+And what was the fact? Why, that this
+tower, which seemed a mere mass of masonry,
+utterly forsaken and uninhabited, was not so at
+all. Within twenty feet of the top some
+ingenious architect had planned a perfect little
+house, divided into four rooms--as by drawing
+a cross within a circle you will see might easily
+be done. By making skylights, and a few slits
+in the walls for windows, and raising a peaked
+roof which was hidden by the parapet, here was
+a dwelling complete, eighty feet from the
+ground, and as inaccessible as a rook's nest on
+the top of a tree.
+
+A charming place to live in! if you once got
+up there,--and never wanted to come down
+again.
+
+Inside--though nobody could have looked
+inside except a bird, and hardly even a bird flew
+past that lonely tower--inside it was furnished
+with all the comfort and elegance imaginable;
+with lots of books and toys, and everything that
+the heart of a child could desire. For its only
+inhabitant, except a nurse of course, was a poor
+solitary child.
+
+One winter night, when all the plain was
+white with moonlight, there was seen crossing
+it a great tall black horse, ridden by a man also
+big and equally black, carrying before him on
+the saddle a woman and a child. The woman--
+she had a sad, fierce look, and no wonder, for
+she was a criminal under sentence of death, but
+her sentence had been changed to almost as
+severe a punishment. She was to inhabit the
+lonely tower with the child, and was allowed to
+live as long as the child lived--no longer. This
+in order that she might take the utmost care of
+him; for those who put him there were equally
+afraid of his dying and of his living.
+
+Yet he was only a little gentle boy, with a
+sweet, sleepy smile--he had been very tired with
+his long journey--and clinging arms, which
+held tight to the man's neck, for he was rather
+frightened, and the face, black as it was, looked
+kindly at him. And he was very helpless, with
+his poor, small shriveled legs, which could
+neither stand nor run away--for the little
+forlorn boy was Prince Dolor.
+
+He had not been dead at all--or buried either.
+His grand funeral had been a mere pretense: a
+wax figure having been put in his place, while
+he himself was spirited away under charge of
+these two, the condemned woman and the black
+man. The latter was deaf and dumb, so could
+neither tell nor repeat anything.
+
+When they reached the foot of the tower,
+there was light enough to see a huge chain
+dangling from the parapet, but dangling only
+halfway. The deaf-mute took from his saddle-
+wallet a sort of ladder, arranged in pieces like
+a puzzle, fitted it together, and lifted it up to
+meet the chain. Then he mounted to the top of
+the tower, and slung from it a sort of chair, in
+which the woman and the child placed themselves
+and were drawn up, never to come down
+again as long as they lived. Leaving them there,
+the man descended the ladder, took it to pieces
+again and packed it in his pack, mounted the
+horse and disappeared across the plain.
+
+Every month they used to watch for him,
+appearing like a speck in the distance. He
+fastened his horse to the foot of the tower, and
+climbed it, as before, laden with provisions and
+many other things. He always saw the Prince,
+so as to make sure that the child was alive and
+well, and then went away until the following
+month.
+
+While his first childhood lasted Prince Dolor
+was happy enough. He had every luxury that
+even a prince could need, and the one thing
+wanting,--love,--never having known, he did
+not miss. His nurse was very kind to him
+though she was a wicked woman. But either
+she had not been quite so wicked as people said,
+or she grew better through being shut up
+continually with a little innocent child who was
+dependent upon her for every comfort and
+pleasure of his life.
+
+It was not an unhappy life. There was nobody
+to tease or ill-use him, and he was never ill.
+He played about from room to room--there
+were four rooms, parlor, kitchen, his nurse's
+bedroom, and his own; learned to crawl like a
+fly, and to jump like a frog, and to run about on
+all-fours almost as fast as a puppy. In fact, he
+was very much like a puppy or a kitten, as
+thoughtless and as merry--scarcely ever cross,
+though sometimes a little weary.
+
+As he grew older, he occasionally liked to be
+quiet for a while, and then he would sit at the
+slits of windows--which were, however, much
+bigger than they looked from the bottom of the
+tower--and watch the sky above and the ground
+below, with the storms sweeping over and the
+sunshine coming and going, and the shadows of
+the clouds running races across the blank plain.
+
+By and by he began to learn lessons--not that
+his nurse had been ordered to teach him, but she
+did it partly to amuse herself. She was not a
+stupid woman, and Prince Dolor was by no
+means a stupid boy; so they got on very well,
+and his continual entreaty, "What can I do?
+what can you find me to do?" was stopped, at
+least for an hour or two in the day.
+
+It was a dull life, but he had never known any
+other; anyhow, he remembered no other, and he
+did not pity himself at all. Not for a long time,
+till he grew quite a big little boy, and could read
+quite easily. Then he suddenly took to books,
+which the deaf-mute brought him from time to
+time--books which, not being acquainted with
+the literature of Nomansland, I cannot describe,
+but no doubt they were very interesting; and
+they informed him of everything in the outside
+world, and filled him with an intense longing to
+see it.
+
+From this time a change came over the boy.
+He began to look sad and thin, and to shut himself
+up for hours without speaking. For his
+nurse hardly spoke, and whatever questions he
+asked beyond their ordinary daily life she never
+answered. She had, indeed, been forbidden, on
+pain of death, to tell him anything about himself,
+who he was, or what he might have been.
+
+He knew he was Prince Dolor, because she
+always addressed him as "My Prince" and
+"Your Royal Highness," but what a prince was
+he had not the least idea. He had no idea of
+anything in the world, except what he found in
+his books.
+
+He sat one day surrounded by them, having
+built them up round him like a little castle wall.
+He had been reading them half the day, but
+feeling all the while that to read about things
+which you never can see is like hearing about a
+beautiful dinner while you are starving. For
+almost the first time in his life he grew
+melancholy; his hands fell on his lap; he sat gazing
+out of the window-slit upon the view outside--
+the view he had looked at every day of his life,
+and might look at for endless days more.
+
+Not a very cheerful view,--just the plain and
+the sky,--but he liked it. He used to think, if
+he could only fly out of that window, up to the
+sky or down to the plain, how nice it would be!
+Perhaps when he died--his nurse had told him
+once in anger that he would never leave the
+tower till he died--he might be able to do this.
+Not that he understood much what dying meant,
+but it must be a change, and any change seemed
+to him a blessing.
+
+"And I wish I had somebody to tell me all
+about it--about that and many other things;
+somebody that would be fond of me, like my
+poor white kitten."
+
+Here the tears came into his eyes, for the
+boy's one friend, the one interest of his life, had
+been a little white kitten, which the deaf-mute,
+kindly smiling, once took out of his pocket and
+gave him--the only living creature Prince
+Dolor had ever seen.
+
+For four weeks it was his constant plaything
+and companion, till one moonlight night it took
+a fancy for wandering, climbed on to the parapet
+of the tower, dropped over and disap-
+peared. It was not killed, he hoped, for cats
+have nine lives; indeed, he almost fancied he
+saw it pick itself up and scamper away; but he
+never caught sight of it more.
+
+"Yes, I wish I had something better than a
+kitten--a person, a real live person, who would
+be fond of me and kind to me. Oh, I want somebody--
+dreadfully, dreadfully!"
+
+As he spoke, there sounded behind him a
+slight tap-tap-tap, as of a stick or a cane, and
+twisting himself round, he saw--what do you
+think he saw?
+
+Nothing either frightening or ugly, but still
+exceedingly curious. A little woman, no bigger
+than he might himself have been had his legs
+grown like those of other children; but she was
+not a child--she was an old woman. Her hair
+was gray, and her dress was gray, and there
+was a gray shadow over her wherever she
+moved. But she had the sweetest smile, the
+prettiest hands, and when she spoke it was in
+the softest voice imaginable.
+
+"My dear little boy,"--and dropping her
+cane, the only bright and rich thing about her,
+she laid those two tiny hands on his shoulders,
+--"my own little boy, I could not come to you
+until you had said you wanted me; but now you
+do want me, here I am."
+
+"And you are very welcome, madam," replied
+the Prince, trying to speak politely, as princes
+always did in books; "and I am exceedingly
+obliged to you. May I ask who you are? Perhaps
+my mother?" For he knew that little boys
+usually had a mother, and had occasionally wondered
+what had become of his own.
+
+"No," said the visitor, with a tender, half-
+sad smile, putting back the hair from his forehead,
+and looking right into his eyes--"no, I am
+not your mother, though she was a dear friend
+of mine; and you are as like her as ever you can
+be."
+
+"Will you tell her to come and see me, then?"
+
+"She cannot; but I dare say she knows all
+about you. And she loves you very much--and
+so do I; and I want to help you all I can,
+my poor little boy."
+
+"Why do you call me poor?" asked Prince
+Dolor, in surprise.
+
+The little old woman glanced down on his legs
+and feet, which he did not know were different
+from those of other children, and then at his
+sweet, bright face, which, though he knew not
+that either, was exceedingly different from
+many children's faces, which are often so fretful,
+cross, sullen. Looking at him, instead of
+sighing, she smiled. "I beg your pardon, my
+Prince," said she.
+
+"Yes, I am a prince, and my name is Dolor;
+will you tell me yours, madam?"
+
+The little old woman laughed like a chime of
+silver bells.
+
+"I have not got a name--or, rather, I have so
+many names that I don't know which to choose.
+However, it was I who gave you yours, and you
+will belong to me all your days. I am your godmother."
+
+"Hurrah!" cried the little Prince; "I am
+glad I belong to you, for I like you very much.
+Will you come and play with me?"
+
+So they sat down together and played. By
+and by they began to talk.
+
+"Are you very dull here?" asked the little old
+woman.
+
+"Not particularly, thank you, godmother. I
+have plenty to eat and drink, and my lessons to
+do, and my books to read--lots of books."
+
+"And you want nothing?"
+
+"Nothing. Yes--perhaps---- If you please,
+godmother, could you bring me just one more
+thing?"
+
+"What sort of thing!"
+
+"A little boy to play with."
+
+The old woman looked very sad. "Just the
+thing, alas I which I cannot give you. My child,
+I cannot alter your lot in any way, but I can help
+you to bear it."
+
+"Thank you. But why do you talk of bearing
+it? I have nothing to bear."
+
+"My poor little man!" said the old woman in
+the very tenderest tone of her tender voice.
+"Kiss me!"
+
+"What is kissing?" asked the wondering
+child.
+
+His godmother took him in her arms and
+embraced him many times. By and by he kissed
+her back again--at first awkwardly and shyly,
+then with all the strength of his warm little
+heart.
+
+"You are better to cuddle than even my white
+kitten, I think. Promise me that you will never
+go away,"
+
+"I must; but I will leave a present behind
+me,--something as good as myself to amuse you,
+--something that will take you wherever you
+want to go, and show you all that you wish to
+see."
+
+"What is it?"
+
+"A traveling-cloak."
+
+The Prince's countenance fell. "I don't want
+a cloak, for I never go out. Sometimes nurse
+hoists me on to the roof, and carries me round
+by the parapet; but that is all. I can't walk,
+you know, as she does."
+
+"The more reason why you should ride; and
+besides, this traveling-cloak----"
+
+"Hush!--she's coming."
+
+There sounded outside the room door a heavy
+step and a grumpy voice, and a rattle of plates
+and dishes.
+
+"It's my nurse, and she is bringing my
+dinner; but I don't want dinner at all--I only want
+you. Will her coming drive you away, godmother?"
+
+"Perhaps; but only for a little while. Never
+mind; all the bolts and bars in the world couldn't
+keep me out. I'd fly in at the window, or down
+through the chimney. Only wish for me, and I
+come."
+
+"Thank you," said Prince Dolor, but almost
+in a whisper, for he was very uneasy at what
+might happen next. His nurse and his godmother--
+what would they say to one another?
+how would they look at one another?--two such
+different faces: one harsh-lined, sullen, cross,
+and sad; the other sweet and bright and calm
+as a summer evening before the dark begins.
+
+When the door was flung open, Prince Dolor
+shut his eyes, trembling all over; opening them
+again, he saw he need fear nothing--his lovely
+old godmother had melted away just like the
+rainbow out of the sky, as he had watched it
+many a time. Nobody but his nurse was in the
+room.
+
+"What a muddle your Royal Highness is sitting
+in," said she sharply. "Such a heap of untidy
+books; and what's this rubbish?" knocking
+a little bundle that lay beside them.
+
+"Oh, nothing, nothing--give it me!" cried
+the Prince, and, darting after it, he hid it under
+his pinafore, and then pushed it quickly into his
+pocket. Rubbish as it was, it was left in the
+place where she sat, and might be something
+belonging to her--his dear, kind godmother,
+whom already he loved with all his lonely,
+tender, passionate heart.
+
+It was, though he did not know this, his
+wonderful traveling-cloak.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+And what of the traveling-cloak?
+What sort of cloak was it, and what
+A good did it do the Prince?
+
+Stay, and I'll tell you all about it.
+Outside it was the commonest-looking bundle
+imaginable--shabby and small; and the instant
+Prince Dolor touched it, it grew smaller still,
+dwindling down till he could put it in his trousers
+pocket, like a handkerchief rolled up into
+a ball. He did this at once, for fear his nurse
+should see it, and kept it there all day--all
+night, too. Till after his next morning's lessons
+he had no opportunity of examining his treasure.
+
+When he did, it seemed no treasure at all; but
+a mere piece of cloth--circular in form, dark
+green in color--that is, if it had any color at all,
+being so worn and shabby, though not dirty. It
+had a split cut to the center, forming a round
+hole for the neck--and that was all its shape; the
+shape, in fact, of those cloaks which in South
+America are called ponchos--very simple, but
+most graceful and convenient.
+
+Prince Dolor had never seen anything like it.
+In spite of his disappointment, he examined it
+curiously; spread it out on the door, then
+arranged it on his shoulders. It felt very warm
+and comfortable; but it was so exceedingly
+shabby--the only shabby thing that the Prince
+had ever seen in his life.
+
+"And what use will it be to me?" said he
+sadly. "I have no need of outdoor clothes, as I
+never go out. Why was this given me, I wonder?
+and what in the world am I to do with it? She
+must be a rather funny person, this dear godmother
+of mine."
+
+Nevertheless, because she was his godmother,
+and had given him the cloak, he folded it carefully
+and put it away, poor and shabby as it was,
+hiding it in a safe corner of his top cupboard,
+which his nurse never meddled with. He did
+not want her to find it, or to laugh at it or at his
+godmother--as he felt sure she would, if she
+knew all.
+
+There it lay, and by and by he forgot all about
+it; nay, I am sorry to say that, being but a child,
+and not seeing her again, he almost forgot his
+sweet old godmother, or thought of her only as
+he did of the angels or fairies that he read of in
+his books, and of her visit as if it had been a
+mere dream of the night.
+
+There were times, certainly, when he recalled
+her: of early mornings, like that morning when
+she appeared beside him, and late evenings,
+when the gray twilight reminded him of the
+color of her hair and her pretty soft garments;
+above all, when, waking in the middle of the
+night, with the stars peering in at his window,
+or the moonlight shining across his little bed,
+he would not have been surprised to see her
+standing beside it, looking at him with those
+beautiful tender eyes, which seemed to have a
+pleasantness and comfort in them different
+from anything he had ever known.
+
+But she never came, and gradually she slipped
+out of his memory--only a boy's memory, after
+all; until something happened which made him
+remember her, and want her as he had never
+wanted anything before.
+
+Prince Dolor fell ill. He caught--his nurse
+could not tell how--a complaint common to the
+people of Nomansland, called the doldrums, as
+unpleasant as measles or any other of our
+complaints; and it made him restless, cross, and
+disagreeable. Even when a little better, he was
+too weak to enjoy anything, but lay all day long
+on his sofa, fidgeting his nurse extremely--
+while, in her intense terror lest he might die, she
+fidgeted him still more. At last, seeing he really
+was getting well, she left him to himself--which
+he was most glad of, in spite of his dullness and
+dreariness. There he lay, alone, quite alone.
+
+Now and then an irritable fit came over him,
+in which he longed to get up and do something,
+or to go somewhere--would have liked to imitate
+his white kitten--jump down from the tower
+and run away, taking the chance of whatever
+might happen.
+
+Only one thing, alas! was likely to happen;
+for the kitten, he remembered, had four active
+legs, while he----
+
+"I wonder what my godmother meant when
+she looked at my legs and sighed so bitterly? I
+wonder why I can't walk straight and steady
+like my nurse only I wouldn't like to have her
+great, noisy, clumping shoes. Still it would be
+very nice to move about quickly--perhaps to
+fly, like a bird, like that string of birds I saw
+the other day skimming across the sky, one after
+the other."
+
+These were the passage-birds--the only living
+creatures that ever crossed the lonely plain; and
+he had been much interested in them, wonder-
+ing whence they came and whither they were
+going.
+
+"How nice it must be to be a bird! If legs are
+no good, why cannot one have wings? People
+have wings when they die--perhaps; I wish I
+were dead, that I do. I am so tired, so tired;
+and nobody cares for me. Nobody ever did care
+for me, except perhaps my godmother. Godmother,
+dear, have you quite forsaken me?"
+
+He stretched himself wearily, gathered
+himself up, and dropped his head upon his hands;
+as he did so, he felt somebody kiss him at the
+back of his neck, and, turning, found that he
+was resting, not on the sofa pillows, but on a
+warm shoulder--that of the little old woman
+clothed in gray.
+
+How glad he was to see her! How he looked
+into her kind eyes and felt her hands, to see if
+she were all real and alive! then put both his
+arms round her neck, and kissed her as if he
+would never have done kissing.
+
+"Stop, stop!" cried she, pretending to be
+smothered. "I see you have not forgotten my
+teachings. Kissing is a good thing--in moderation.
+Only just let me have breath to speak one
+word."
+
+"A dozen!" he said.
+
+"Well, then, tell me all that has happened to
+you since I saw you--or, rather, since you saw
+me, which is quite a different thing."
+
+"Nothing has happened--nothing ever does
+happen to me," answered the Prince dolefully.
+
+"And are you very dull, my boy?"
+
+"So dull that I was just thinking whether I
+could not jump down to the bottom of the tower,
+like my white kitten."
+
+"Don't do that, not being a white kitten."
+
+"I wish I were--I wish I were anything but
+what I am."
+
+"And you can't make yourself any different,
+nor can I do it either. You must be content to
+stay just what you are."
+
+The little old woman said this--very firmly,
+but gently, too--with her arms round his neck
+and her lips on his forehead. It was the first
+time the boy had ever heard any one talk like
+this, and he looked up in surprise--but not in
+pain, for her sweet manner softened the hardness
+of her words.
+
+"Now, my Prince,--for you are a prince,
+and must behave as such,--let us see what we
+can do; how much I can do for you, or show you
+how to do for yourself. Where is your
+traveling-cloak?"
+
+Prince Dolor blushed extremely. "I--I put
+it away in the cupboard; I suppose it is there
+still."
+
+"You have never used it; you dislike it?"
+
+He hesitated, no; wishing to be impolite.
+"Don't you think it's--just a little old and
+shabby for a prince?"
+
+The old woman laughed--long and loud,
+though very sweetly.
+
+"Prince, indeed! Why, if all the princes in
+the world craved for it, they couldn't get it,
+unless I gave it them. Old and shabby! It's the
+most valuable thing imaginable! Very few ever
+have it; but I thought I would give it to you,
+because--because you are different from other
+people."
+
+"Am I?" said the Prince, and looked first
+with curiosity, then with a sort of anxiety, into
+his godmother's face, which was sad and grave,
+with slow tears beginning to steal down.
+
+She touched his poor little legs. "These are
+not like those of other little boys."
+
+"Indeed!--my nurse never told me that."
+
+"Very likely not. But it is time you were
+told; and I tell you, because I love you."
+
+"Tell me what, dear godmother?"
+
+"That you will never be able to walk or run
+or jump or play--that your life will be quite
+different from most people's lives; but it may
+be a very happy life for all that. Do not be
+afraid."
+
+"I am not afraid," said the boy; but he
+turned very pale, and his lips began to quiver,
+though he did not actually cry--he was too old
+for that, and, perhaps, too proud.
+
+Though not wholly comprehending, he began
+dimly to guess what his godmother meant. He
+had never seen any real live boys, but he had
+seen pictures of them running and jumping;
+which he had admired and tried hard to imitate
+but always failed. Now he began to understand
+why he failed, and that he always should fail--
+that, in fact, he was not like other little boys;
+and it was of no use his wishing to do as they
+did, and play as they played, even if he had had
+them to play with. His was a separate life, in
+which he must find out new work and new pleasures
+for himself.
+
+The sense of THE INEVITABLE, as grown-up
+people call it--that we cannot have things as we
+want them to be, but as they are, and that we
+must learn to bear them and make the best of
+them--this lesson, which everybody has to learn
+soon or late--came, alas! sadly soon, to the poor
+boy. He fought against it for a while, and then,
+quite overcome, turned and sobbed bitterly in
+his godmother's arms.
+
+She comforted him--I do not know how,
+except that love always comforts; and then she
+whispered to him, in her sweet, strong, cheerful
+voice: "Never mind!"
+
+"No, I don't think I do mind--that is, I WON'T
+mind," replied he, catching the courage of her
+tone and speaking like a man, though he was
+still such a mere boy.
+
+"That is right, my Prince!--that is being like
+a prince. Now we know exactly where we are;
+let us put our shoulders to the wheel and----"
+
+"We are in Hopeless Tower" (this was its
+name, if it had a name), "and there is no wheel
+to put our shoulders to," said the child sadly.
+
+"You little matter-of-fact goose! Well for
+you that you have a godmother called----"
+
+"What?" he eagerly asked.
+
+"Stuff-and-nonsense."
+
+"Stuff-and-nonsense! What a funny name!"
+
+"Some people give it me, but they are not my
+most intimate friends. These call me--never
+mind what," added the old woman, with a soft
+twinkle in her eyes. "So as you know me, and
+know me well, you may give me any name you
+please; it doesn't matter. But I am your
+godmother, child. I have few godchildren; those I
+have love me dearly, and find me the greatest
+blessing in all the world."
+
+"I can well believe it," cried the little lame
+Prince, and forgot his troubles in looking at
+her--as her figure dilated, her eyes grew lustrous
+as stars, her very raiment brightened, and
+the whole room seemed filled with her beautiful
+and beneficent presence like light.
+
+He could have looked at her forever--half in
+love, half in awe; but she suddenly dwindled
+down into the little old woman all in gray, and,
+with a malicious twinkle in her eyes, asked for
+the traveling-cloak.
+
+"Bring it out of the rubbish cupboard, and
+shake the dust off it, quick!" said she to Prince
+Dolor, who hung his head, rather ashamed.
+"Spread it out on the floor, and wait till the
+split closes and the edges turn up like a rim all
+round. Then go and open the skylight,--mind,
+I say OPEN THE SKYLIGHT,--set yourself down in
+the middle of it, like a frog on a water-lily leaf;
+say `Abracadabra, dum dum dum,' and--see
+what will happen!"
+
+The Prince burst into a fit of laughing. It
+all seemed so exceedingly silly; he wondered
+that a wise old woman like his godmother should
+talk such nonsense.
+
+"Stuff-and-nonsense, you mean," said she,
+answering, to his great alarm, his unspoken
+thoughts. "Did I not tell you some people
+called me by that name? Never mind; it
+doesn't harm me."
+
+And she laughed--her merry laugh--as child-
+like as if she were the Prince's age instead of
+her own, whatever that might be. She
+certainly was a most extraordinary old woman.
+
+"Believe me or not, it doesn't matter," said
+she. "Here is the cloak: when you want to go
+traveling on it, say `Abracadabra, dum, dum,
+dum'; when you want to come back again, say
+`Abracadabra, tum tum ti.' That's all; good-by."
+
+A puff of most pleasant air passing by him.
+and making him feel for the moment quite
+strong and well, was all the Prince was conscious
+of. His most extraordinary godmother
+was gone.
+
+"Really now, how rosy your Royal Highness'
+cheeks have grown! You seem to have got well
+already," said the nurse, entering the room.
+
+"I think I have," replied the Prince very
+gently--he felt gently and kindly even to his
+grim nurse. "And now let me have my dinner,
+and go you to your sewing as usual."
+
+The instant she was gone, however, taking
+with her the plates and dishes, which for the first
+time since his illness he had satisfactorily
+cleared, Prince Dolor sprang down from his
+sofa, and with one or two of his frog-like jumps
+reached the cupboard where he kept his toys,
+and looked everywhere for his traveling-cloak.
+
+Alas! it was not there.
+
+While he was ill of the doldrums, his nurse,
+thinking it a good opportunity for putting
+things to rights, had made a grand clearance of
+all his "rubbish"--as she considered it: his
+beloved headless horses, broken carts, sheep
+without feet, and birds without wings--all the
+treasures of his baby days, which he could not
+bear to part with. Though he seldom played
+with them now, he liked just to feel they were
+there.
+
+They were all gone and with them the
+traveling-cloak. He sat down on the floor, looking
+at the empty shelves, so beautifully clean
+and tidy, then burst out sobbing as if his heart
+would break.
+
+But quietly--always quietly. He never let
+his nurse hear him cry. She only laughed at
+him, as he felt she would laugh now.
+
+"And it is all my own fault!" he cried. "I
+ought to have taken better care of my godmother's
+gift. Oh, godmother, forgive me! I'll
+never be so careless again. I don't know what
+the cloak is exactly, but I am sure it is something
+precious. Help me to find it again. Oh,
+don't let it be stolen from me--don't, please!"
+
+"Ha, ha, ha!" laughed a silvery voice. "Why,
+that traveling-cloak is the one thing in the world
+which nobody can steal. It is of no use to
+anybody except the owner. Open your eyes, my
+Prince, and see what you shall see."
+
+His dear old godmother, he thought, and
+turned eagerly round. But no; he only beheld,
+lying in a corner of the room, all dust and
+cobwebs, his precious traveling-cloak.
+
+Prince Dolor darted toward it, tumbling
+several times on the way, as he often did tumble,
+poor boy! and pick himself up again, never
+complaining. Snatching it to his breast, he
+hugged and kissed it, cobwebs and all, as if it
+had been something alive. Then he began
+unrolling it, wondering each minute what would
+happen. What did happen was so curious that
+I must leave it for another chapter.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+If any reader, big or little, should wonder
+whether there is a meaning in this story
+deeper than that of an ordinary fairy tale,
+I will own that there is. But I have hidden
+it so carefully that the smaller people, and
+many larger folk, will never find it out, and
+meantime the book may be read straight on, like
+"Cinderella," or "Blue-Beard," or "Hop-o'-
+my-Thumb," for what interest it has, or what
+amusement it may bring.
+
+Having said this, I return to Prince Dolor,
+that little lame boy whom many may think so
+exceedingly to be pitied. But if you had seen
+him as he sat patiently untying his wonderful
+cloak, which was done up in a very tight and
+perplexing parcel, using skillfully his deft little
+hands, and knitting his brows with firm
+determination, while his eyes glistened with pleasure
+and energy and eager anticipation--if you had
+beheld him thus, you might have changed your
+opinion.
+
+When we see people suffering or unfortunate,
+we feel very sorry for them; but when we see
+them bravely bearing their sufferings and making
+the best of their misfortunes, it is quite a
+different feeling. We respect, we admire them.
+One can respect and admire even a little child.
+
+When Prince Dolor had patiently untied all
+the knots, a remarkable thing happened. The
+cloak began to undo itself. Slowly unfolding,
+it laid itself down on the carpet, as flat as if it
+had been ironed; the split joined with a little
+sharp crick-crack, and the rim turned up all
+round till it was breast-high; for meantime the
+cloak had grown and grown, and become quite
+large enough for one person to sit in it as
+comfortable as if in a boat.
+
+The Prince watched it rather anxiously; it
+was such an extraordinary, not to say a frightening,
+thing. However, he was no coward, but
+a thorough boy, who, if he had been like other
+boys, would doubtless have grown up daring and
+adventurous--a soldier, a sailor, or the like. As
+it was, he could only show his courage morally,
+not physically, by being afraid of nothing, and
+by doing boldly all that it was in his narrow
+powers to do. And I am not sure but that in
+this way he showed more real valor than if he
+had had six pairs of proper legs.
+
+He said to himself: "What a goose I am ! As
+if my dear godmother would ever have given me
+anything to hurt me. Here goes!"
+
+So, with one of his active leaps, he sprang
+right into the middle of the cloak, where he
+squatted down, wrapping his arms tight round
+his knees, for they shook a little and his heart
+beat fast. But there he sat, steady and silent,
+waiting for what might happen next.
+
+Nothing did happen, and he began to think
+nothing would, and to feel rather disappointed,
+when he recollected the words he had been told
+to repeat--"Abracadabra, dum dum dum!"
+
+He repeated them, laughing all the while, they
+seemed such nonsense. And then--and
+then----
+
+Now I don't expect anybody to believe what
+I am going to relate, though a good many wise
+people have believed a good many sillier things.
+And as seeing's believing, and I never saw it, I
+cannot be expected implicitly to believe it
+myself, except in a sort of a way; and yet there is
+truth in it--for some people.
+
+The cloak rose, slowly and steadily, at first
+only a few inches, then gradually higher and
+higher, till it nearly touched the skylight.
+Prince Dolor's head actually bumped against
+the glass, or would have done so had he not
+crouched down, crying "Oh, please don't hurt
+me!" in a most melancholy voice.
+
+Then he suddenly remembered his godmother's
+express command--"Open the skylight!"
+
+Regaining his courage at once, without a
+moment's delay he lifted up his head and began
+searching for the bolt--the cloak meanwhile
+remaining perfectly still, balanced in the air.
+But the minute the window was opened, out it
+sailed--right out into the clear, fresh air, with
+nothing between it and the cloudless blue.
+
+Prince Dolor had never felt any such
+delicious sensation before. I can understand it.
+Cannot you? Did you never think, in watching
+the rooks going home singly or in pairs, soaring
+their way across the calm evening sky till they
+vanish like black dots in the misty gray, how
+pleasant it must feel to be up there, quite out of
+the noise and din of the world, able to hear and
+see everything down below, yet troubled by
+nothing and teased by no one--all alone, but
+perfectly content?
+
+Something like this was the happiness of the
+little lame Prince when he got out of Hopeless
+Tower, and found himself for the first time in
+the pure open air, with the sky above him and
+the earth below.
+
+True, there was nothing but earth and sky; no
+houses, no trees, no rivers, mountains, seas--
+not a beast on the ground, or a bird in the air.
+But to him even the level plain looked beautiful;
+and then there was the glorious arch of the sky,
+with a little young moon sitting in the west like
+a baby queen. And the evening breeze was so
+sweet and fresh--it kissed him like his
+godmother's kisses; and by and by a few stars came
+out--first two or three, and then quantities--
+quantities! so that when he began to count them
+he was utterly bewildered.
+
+By this time, however, the cool breeze had
+become cold; the mist gathered; and as he had, as
+he said, no outdoor clothes, poor Prince Dolor
+was not very comfortable. The dews fell damp
+on his curls--he began to shiver.
+
+"Perhaps I had better go home," thought he.
+
+But how? For in his excitement the other
+words which his godmother had told him to use
+had slipped his memory. They were only a little
+different from the first, but in that slight
+difference all the importance lay. As he repeated
+his "Abracadabra," trying ever so many other
+syllables after it, the cloak only went faster
+and faster, skimming on through the dusky,
+empty air.
+
+The poor little Prince began to feel
+frightened. What if his wonderful traveling-cloak
+should keep on thus traveling, perhaps to the
+world's end, carrying with it a poor, tired,
+hungry boy, who, after all, was beginning to
+think there was something very pleasant in
+supper and bed!
+
+"Dear godmother," he cried pitifully, "do
+help me! Tell me just this once and I'll never
+forget again."
+
+Instantly the words came rushing into his
+head--"Abracadabra, tum tum ti!" Was that
+it? Ah! yes--for the cloak began to turn slowly.
+He repeated the charm again, more distinctly
+and firmly, when it gave a gentle dip, like a nod
+of satisfaction, and immediately started back,
+as fast as ever, in the direction of the tower.
+
+He reached the skylight, which he found
+exactly as he had left it, and slipped in, cloak and
+all, as easily as he had got out. He had scarcely
+reached the floor, and was still sitting in the
+middle of his traveling-cloak,--like a frog on a
+water-lily leaf, as his godmother had expressed
+it,--when he heard his nurse's voice outside.
+
+"Bless us! what has become of your Royal
+Highness all this time? To sit stupidly here at
+the window till it is quite dark, and leave the
+skylight open, too. Prince! what can you be
+thinking of? You are the silliest boy I ever
+knew."
+
+"Am I?" said he absently, and never heeding
+her crossness; for his only anxiety was lest she
+might find out anything.
+
+She would have been a very clever person to
+have done so. The instant Prince Dolor got off
+it, the cloak folded itself up into the tiniest
+possible parcel, tied all its own knots, and rolled
+itself of its own accord into the farthest and
+darkest corner of the room. If the nurse had
+seen it, which she didn't, she would have taken
+it for a mere bundle of rubbish not worth noticing.
+
+Shutting the skylight with an angry bang, she
+brought in the supper and lit the candles with
+her usual unhappy expression of countenance.
+But Prince Dolor hardly saw it; he only saw,
+hid in the corner where nobody else would see it,
+his wonderful traveling-cloak. And though his
+supper was not particularly nice, he ate it
+heartily, scarcely hearing a word of his nurse's
+grumbling, which to-night seemed to have taken
+the place of her sullen silence.
+
+"Poor woman!" he thought, when he paused
+a minute to listen and look at her with those
+quiet, happy eyes, so like his mother's. "Poor
+woman! she hasn't got a traveling-cloak!"
+
+And when he was left alone at last, and crept
+into his little bed, where he lay awake a good
+while, watching what he called his "sky-
+garden," all planted with stars, like flowers, his
+chief thought was--"I must be up very early
+to-morrow morning, and get my lessons done,
+and then I'll go traveling all over the world on
+my beautiful cloak."
+
+So next day he opened his eyes with the sun,
+and went with a good heart to his lessons. They
+had hitherto been the chief amusement of his
+dull life; now, I am afraid, he found them also
+a little dull. But he tried to be good,--I don't
+say Prince Dolor always was good, but he
+generally tried to be,--and when his mind went
+wandering after the dark, dusty corner where
+lay his precious treasure, he resolutely called it
+back again.
+
+"For," he said, "how ashamed my godmother
+would be of me if I grew up a stupid
+boy!"
+
+But the instant lessons were done, and he was
+alone in the empty room, he crept across the
+floor, undid the shabby little bundle, his fingers
+trembling with eagerness, climbed on the chair,
+and thence to the table, so as to unbar the
+skylight,--he forgot nothing now,--said his magic
+charm, and was away out of the window, as children
+say, "in a few minutes less than no time."
+
+Nobody missed him. He was accustomed to
+sit so quietly always that his nurse, though only
+in the next room, perceived no difference. And
+besides, she might have gone in and out a dozen
+times, and it would have been just the same;
+she never could have found out his absence.
+
+For what do you think the clever godmother
+did? She took a quantity of moonshine, or some
+equally convenient material, and made an image,
+which she set on the window-sill reading, or
+by the table drawing, where it looked so like
+Prince Dolor that any common observer would
+never have guessed the deception; and even the
+boy would have been puzzled to know which was
+the image and which was himself.
+
+And all this while the happy little fellow was
+away, floating in the air on his magic cloak, and
+seeing all sorts of wonderful things--or they
+seemed wonderful to him, who had hitherto seen
+nothing at all.
+
+First, there were the flowers that grew on the
+plain, which, whenever the cloak came near
+enough, he strained his eyes to look at; they
+were very tiny, but very beautiful--white
+saxifrage, and yellow lotus, and ground-thistles,
+purple and bright, with many others the names
+of which I do not know. No more did Prince
+Dolor, though he tried to find them out by
+recalling any pictures he had seen of them. But
+he was too far off; and though it was pleasant
+enough to admire them as brilliant patches of
+color, still he would have liked to examine them
+all. He was, as a little girl I know once said of
+a playfellow, "a very examining boy."
+
+"I wonder," he thought, "whether I could see
+better through a pair of glasses like those my
+nurse reads with, and takes such care of. How
+I would take care of them, too, if I only had
+a pair!"
+
+Immediately he felt something queer and
+hard fixing itself to the bridge of his nose. It
+was a pair of the prettiest gold spectacles ever
+seen; and looking downward, he found that,
+though ever so high above the ground, he could
+see every minute blade of grass, every tiny bud
+and flower--nay, even the insects that walked
+over them.
+
+"Thank you, thank you!" he cried, in a gush
+of gratitude--to anybody or everybody, but
+especially to his dear godmother, who he felt
+sure had given him this new present. He
+amused himself with it for ever so long, with
+his chin pressed on the rim of the cloak, gazing
+down upon the grass, every square foot of which
+was a mine of wonders.
+
+Then, just to rest his eyes, he turned them up
+to the sky--the blue, bright, empty sky, which
+he had looked at so often and seen nothing.
+
+Now surely there was something. A long,
+black, wavy line, moving on in the distance, not
+by chance, as the clouds move apparently, but
+deliberately, as if it were alive. He might have
+seen it before--he almost thought he had; but
+then he could not tell what it was. Looking at
+it through his spectacles, he discovered that
+it really was alive; being a long string of birds,
+flying one after the other, their wings moving
+steadily and their heads pointed in one direction,
+as steadily as if each were a little ship,
+guided invisibly by an unerring helm.
+
+"They must be the passage-birds flying
+seaward!" cried the boy, who had read a little
+about them, and had a great talent for putting
+two and two together and finding out all he
+could. "Oh, how I should like to see them quite
+close, and to know where they come from and
+whither they are going! How I wish I knew
+everything in all the world!"
+
+A silly speech for even an "examining" little
+boy to make; because, as we grow older, the
+more we know the more we find out there is to
+know. And Prince Dolor blushed when he had
+said it, and hoped nobody had heard him.
+
+Apparently somebody had, however; for the
+cloak gave a sudden bound forward, and presently
+he found himself high in the air, in the
+very middle of that band of aerial travelers, who
+had mo magic cloak to travel on--nothing except
+their wings. Yet there they were, making their
+fearless way through the sky.
+
+Prince Dolor looked at them as one after the
+other they glided past him; and they looked at
+him--those pretty swallows, with their changing
+necks and bright eyes--as if wondering to meet
+in mid-air such an extraordinary sort of bird.
+
+"Oh, I wish I were going with you, you lovely
+creatures! I'm getting so tired of this dull
+plain, and the dreary and lonely tower. I do
+so want to see the world! Pretty swallows,
+dear swallows! tell me what it looks like--the
+beautiful, wonderful world!"
+
+But the swallows flew past him--steadily,
+slowly pursuing their course as if inside each
+little head had been a mariner's compass, to
+guide them safe over land and sea, direct to the
+place where they wished to go.
+
+The boy looked after them with envy. For a
+long time he followed with his eyes the faint,
+wavy black line as it floated away, sometimes
+changing its curves a little, but never deviating
+from its settled course, till it vanished entirely
+out of sight.
+
+Then he settled himself down in the center of
+the cloak, feeling quite sad and lonely.
+
+"I think I'll go home," said he, and repeated
+his "Abracadabra, tum tum ti!" with a rather
+heavy heart. The more he had, the more he
+wanted; and it is not always one can have everything
+one wants--at least, at the exact minute
+one craves for it; not even though one is a
+prince, and has a powerful and beneficent godmother.
+
+He did not like to vex her by calling for her
+and telling her how unhappy he was, in spite of
+all her goodness; so he just kept his trouble to
+himself, went back to his lonely tower, and
+spent three days in silent melancholy, without
+even attempting another journey on his
+traveling-cloak.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+The fourth day it happened that the
+deaf-mute paid his accustomed visit,
+after which Prince Dolor's spirits
+rose. They always did when he got
+the new books which, just to relieve his
+conscience, the King of Nomansland regularly sent
+to his nephew; with many new toys also, though
+the latter were disregarded now.
+
+"Toys, indeed! when I'm a big boy," said
+the Prince, with disdain, and would scarcely
+condescend to mount a rocking-horse which had
+come, somehow or other,--I can't be expected
+to explain things very exactly,--packed on the
+back of the other, the great black horse, which
+stood and fed contentedly at the bottom of the
+tower.
+
+Prince Dolor leaned over and looked at it, and
+thought how grand it must be to get upon its
+back--this grand live steed--and ride away,
+like the pictures of knights.
+
+"Suppose I was a knight," he said to himself;
+"then I should be obliged to ride out and see the
+world."
+
+But he kept all these thoughts to himself, and
+just sat still, devouring his new books till he
+had come to the end of them all. It was a repast
+not unlike the Barmecide's feast which you
+read of in the "Arabian Nights," which
+consisted of very elegant but empty dishes, or that
+supper of Sancho Panza in "Don Quixote,"
+where, the minute the smoking dishes came on
+the table, the physician waved his hand and they
+were all taken away.
+
+Thus almost all the ordinary delights of boy-
+life had been taken away from, or rather never
+given to this poor little prince.
+
+"I wonder," he would sometimes think--"I
+wonder what it feels like to be on the back of a
+horse, galloping away, or holding the reins in a
+carriage, and tearing across the country, or
+jumping a ditch, or running a race, such as I
+read of or see in pictures. What a lot of things
+there are that I should like to do! But first I
+should like to go and see the world. I'll try."
+
+Apparently it was his godmother's plan
+always to let him try, and try hard, before he
+gained anything. This day the knots that tied
+up his traveling-cloak were more than usually
+troublesome, and he was a full half-hour before
+he got out into the open air, and found himself
+floating merrily over the top of the tower.
+
+Hitherto, in all his journeys, he had never
+let himself go out of sight of home, for the
+dreary building, after all, was home--he remembered
+no other; but now he felt sick of the very
+look of his tower, with its round smooth walls
+and level battlements.
+
+"Off we go!" cried he, when the cloak stirred
+itself with a slight, slow motion, as if waiting his
+orders. "Anywhere anywhere, so that I am
+away from here, and out into the world."
+
+As he spoke, the cloak, as if seized suddenly
+with a new idea, bounded forward and went
+skimming through the air, faster than the very
+fastest railway train.
+
+"Gee-up! gee-up!" cried Prince Dolor in
+great excitement. "This is as good as riding a
+race."
+
+And he patted the cloak as if it had been a
+horse--that is, in the way he supposed horses
+ought to be patted--and tossed his head back
+to meet the fresh breeze, and pulled his coat
+collar up and his hat down as he felt the wind
+grow keener and colder--colder than anything he
+had ever known.
+
+"What does it matter, though?" said he.
+"I'm a boy, and boys ought not to mind anything."
+
+Still, for all his good-will, by and by, he began
+to shiver exceedingly; also, he had come away
+without his dinner, and he grew frightfully
+hungry. And to add to everything, the sunshiny
+day changed into rain, and being high
+up, in the very midst of the clouds, he got soaked
+through and through in a very few minutes.
+
+"Shall I turn back?" meditated he.
+"Suppose I say `Abracadabra?' "
+
+Here he stopped, for already the cloak gave
+an obedient lurch, as if it were expecting to be
+sent home immediately.
+
+"No--I can't--I can't go back! I must go
+forward and see the world. But oh! if I had
+but the shabbiest old rug to shelter me from the
+rain, or the driest morsel of bread and cheese,
+just to keep me from starving! Still, I don't
+much mind; I'm a prince, and ought to be able
+to stand anything. Hold on, cloak, we'll make
+the best of it."
+
+It was a most curious circumstance, but no
+sooner had he said this than he felt stealing over
+his knees something warm and soft; in fact, a
+most beautiful bearskin, which folded itself
+round him quite naturally, and cuddled him up
+as closely as if he had been the cub of the kind
+old mother-bear that once owned it. Then feeling
+in his pocket, which suddenly stuck out in
+a marvelous way, he found, not exactly bread
+and cheese, nor even sandwiches, but a packet
+of the most delicious food he had ever tasted.
+It was not meat, nor pudding, but a combination
+of both, and it served him excellently for
+both. He ate his dinner with the greatest
+gusto imaginable, till he grew so thirsty he did
+not know what to do.
+
+"Couldn't I have just one drop of water, if
+it didn't trouble you too much, kindest of godmothers?"
+
+For he really thought this want was beyond
+her power to supply. All the water which supplied
+Hopeless Tower was pumped up with difficulty
+from a deep artesian well--there were
+such things known in Nomansland--which had
+been made at the foot of it. But around, for
+miles upon miles, the desolate plain was perfectly
+dry. And above it, high in the air, how
+could he expect to find a well, or to get even
+a drop of water?
+
+He forgot one thing--the rain. While he
+spoke, it came on in another wild burst, as if
+the clouds had poured themselves out in a
+passion of crying, wetting him certainly, but
+leaving behind, in a large glass vessel which he
+had never noticed before, enough water to
+quench the thirst of two or three boys at least.
+And it was so fresh, so pure--as water from the
+clouds always is when it does not catch the soot
+from city chimneys and other defilements--that
+he drank it, every drop, with the greatest
+delight and content.
+
+Also, as soon as it was empty the rain filled it
+again, so that he was able to wash his face and
+hands and refresh himself exceedingly. Then
+the sun came out and dried him in no time.
+After that he curled himself up under the bear-
+skin rug, and though he determined to be the
+most wide-awake boy imaginable, being so
+exceedingly snug and warm and comfortable,
+Prince Dolor condescended to shut his eyes just
+for one minute. The next minute he was sound
+asleep.
+
+When he awoke, he found himself floating
+over a country quite unlike anything he had
+ever seen before.
+
+Yet it was nothing but what most of you
+children see every day and never notice it--a pretty
+country landscape, like England, Scotland,
+France, or any other land you choose to name.
+It had no particular features--nothing in it
+grand or lovely--was simply pretty, nothing
+more; yet to Prince Dolor, who had never gone
+beyond his lonely tower and level plain, it
+appeared the most charming sight imaginable.
+
+First, there was a river. It came tumbling
+down the hillside, frothing and foaming, playing
+at hide-and-seek among the rocks, then
+bursting out in noisy fun like a child, to bury
+itself in deep, still pools. Afterward it went
+steadily on for a while, like a good grown-up
+person, till it came to another big rock, where it
+misbehaved itself extremely. It turned into a
+cataract, and went tumbling over and over,
+after a fashion that made the prince--who had
+never seen water before, except in his bath or
+his drinking-cup--clap his hands with delight.
+
+"It is so active, so alive! I like things active
+and alive!" cried he, and watched it shimmering
+and dancing, whirling and leaping, till, after
+a few windings and vagaries, it settled into a
+respectable stream. After that it went along,
+deep and quiet, but flowing steadily on, till it
+reached a large lake, into which it slipped and
+so ended its course.
+
+All this the boy saw, either with his own
+naked eye or through his gold spectacles. He
+saw also as in a picture, beautiful but silent,
+many other things which struck him with
+wonder, especially a grove of trees.
+
+Only think, to have lived to his age (which
+he himself did not know, as he did not know his
+own birthday) and never to have seen trees!
+As he floated over these oaks, they seemed to
+him--trunk, branches, and leaves--the most
+curious sight imaginable.
+
+"If I could only get nearer, so as to touch
+them," said he, and immediately the obedient
+cloak ducked down; Prince Dolor made a
+snatch at the topmost twig of the tallest tree,
+and caught a bunch of leaves in his hand.
+
+Just a bunch of green leaves--such as we see
+in myriads; watching them bud, grow, fall, and
+then kicking them along on the ground as if
+they were worth nothing. Yet how wonderful
+they are--every one of them a little different.
+I don't suppose you could ever find two leaves
+exactly alike in form, color, and size--no more
+than you could find two faces alike, or two
+characters exactly the same. The plan of this world
+is infinite similarity and yet infinite variety.
+
+Prince Dolor examined his leaves with the
+greatest curiosity--and also a little caterpillar
+that he found walking over one of them. He
+coaxed it to take an additional walk over his
+finger, which it did with the greatest dignity
+and decorum, as if it, Mr. Caterpillar, were the
+most important individual in existence. It
+amused him for a long time; and when a sudden
+gust of wind blew it overboard, leaves and all,
+he felt quite disconsolate.
+
+"Still there must be many live creatures in
+the world besides caterpillars. I should like to
+see a few of them."
+
+The cloak gave a little dip down, as if to say
+"All right, my Prince," and bore him across the
+oak forest to a long fertile valley--called in
+Scotland a strath and in England a weald, but
+what they call it in the tongue of Nomansland
+I do not know. It was made up of cornfields,
+pasturefields, lanes, hedges, brooks, and ponds.
+Also, in it were what the prince desired to see
+--a quantity of living creatures, wild and tame.
+Cows and horses, lambs and sheep, fed in the
+meadows; pigs and fowls walked about the
+farm-yards; and in lonelier places hares
+scudded, rabbits burrowed, and pheasants and
+partridges, with many other smaller birds,
+inhabited the fields and woods.
+
+Through his wonderful spectacles the Prince
+could see everything; but, as I said, it was a
+silent picture; he was too high up to catch
+anything except a faint murmur, which only
+aroused his anxiety to hear more.
+
+"I have as good as two pairs of eyes," he
+thought. "I wonder if my godmother would
+give me a second pair of ears."
+
+Scarcely had he spoken than he found lying
+on his lap the most curious little parcel, all done
+up in silvery paper. And it contained--what
+do you think? Actually a pair of silver ears,
+which, when he tried them on, fitted so exactly
+over his own that he hardly felt them, except
+for the difference they made in his hearing.
+
+There is something which we listen to daily
+and never notice. I mean the sounds of the
+visible world, animate and inanimate. Winds
+blowing, waters flowing, trees stirring, insects
+whirring (dear me! I am quite unconsciously
+writing rhyme), with the various cries of birds
+and beasts,--lowing cattle, bleating sheep,
+grunting pigs, and cackling hens,--all the
+infinite discords that somehow or other make a
+beautiful harmony.
+
+We hear this, and are so accustomed to it that
+we think nothing of it; but Prince Dolor, who
+had lived all his days in the dead silence of
+Hopeless Tower, heard it for the first time.
+And oh! if you had seen his face.
+
+He listened, listened, as if he could never have
+done listening. And he looked and looked, as if
+he could not gaze enough. Above all, the motion
+of the animals delighted him: cows walking,
+horses galloping, little lambs and calves
+running races across the meadows, were such a
+treat for him to watch--he that was always so
+quiet. But, these creatures having four legs,
+and he only two, the difference did not strike
+him painfully.
+
+Still, by and by, after the fashion of children,
+--and I fear, of many big people too,--he began
+to want something more than he had, something
+fresh and new.
+
+"Godmother," he said, having now begun to
+believe that, whether he saw her or not, he could
+always speak to her with full confidence that
+she would hear him--"Godmother, all these
+creatures I like exceedingly; but I should like
+better to see a creature like myself. Couldn't
+you show me just one little boy?"
+
+There was a sigh behind him,--it might have
+been only the wind,--and the cloak remained
+so long balanced motionless in air that he was
+half afraid his godmother had forgotten him,
+or was offended with him for asking too much.
+Suddenly a shrill whistle startled him, even
+through his silver ears, and looking downward,
+he saw start up from behind a bush on a common,
+something----
+
+Neither a sheep nor a horse nor a cow--nothing
+upon four legs. This creature had only
+two; but they were long, straight, and strong.
+And it had a lithe, active body, and a curly head
+of black hair set upon its shoulders. It was a
+boy, a shepherd-boy, about the Prince's own
+age--but, oh! so different.
+
+Not that he was an ugly boy--though his face
+was almost as red as his hands, and his shaggy
+hair matted like the backs of his own sheep.
+He was rather a nice-looking lad; and seemed
+so bright and healthy and good-tempered--
+"jolly" would be the word, only I am not sure
+if they have such a one in the elegant language
+of Nomansland--that the little Prince watched
+him with great admiration.
+
+"Might he come and play with me? I would
+drop down to the ground to him, or fetch him up
+to me here. Oh, how nice it would be if I only
+had a little boy to play with me."
+
+But the cloak, usually so obedient to his
+wishes, disobeyed him now. There were evi-
+dently some things which his godmother either
+could not or would not give. The cloak hung
+stationary, high in air, never attempting to
+descend. The shepherd-lad evidently took it for
+a large bird, and, shading his eyes, looked up at
+it, making the Prince's heart beat fast.
+
+However, nothing ensued. The boy turned
+round, with a long, loud whistle--seemingly his
+usual and only way of expressing his feelings.
+He could not make the thing out exactly--it was
+a rather mysterious affair, but it did not trouble
+him much--he was not an "examining" boy.
+
+Then, stretching himself, for he had been
+evidently half asleep, he began flopping his
+shoulders with his arms to wake and warm himself;
+while his dog, a rough collie, who had been
+guarding the sheep meanwhile, began to jump
+upon him, barking with delight.
+
+"Down, Snap, down: Stop that, or I'll thrash
+you," the Prince heard him say; though with
+such a rough, hard voice and queer pronunciation
+that it was difficult to make the words out.
+"Hollo! Let's warm ourselves by a race."
+
+They started off together, boy and dog--barking
+and shouting, till it was doubtful which
+made the more noise or ran the faster. A
+regular steeplechase it was: first across the level
+common, greatly disturbing the quiet sheep; and
+then tearing away across country, scrambling
+through hedges and leaping ditches, and tumbling
+up and down over plowed fields. They did
+not seem to have anything to run for--but as if
+they did it, both of them, for the mere pleasure
+of motion.
+
+And what a pleasure that seemed! To the
+dog of course, but scarcely less so to the boy.
+How he skimmed along over the ground--his
+cheeks glowing, and his hair flying, and his legs
+--oh, what a pair of legs he had!
+
+Prince Dolor watched him with great intentness,
+and in a state of excitement almost equal
+to that of the runner himself--for a while.
+Then the sweet, pale face grew a trifle paler, the
+lips began to quiver, and the eyes to fill.
+
+"How nice it must be to run like that!" he
+said softly, thinking that never--no, never in
+this world--would he be able to do the same.
+
+Now he understood what his godmother had
+meant when she gave him his traveling-cloak,
+and why he had heard that sigh--he was sure it
+was hers--when he had asked to see "just one
+little boy."
+
+"I think I had rather not look at him again,"
+said the poor little Prince, drawing himself
+back into the center of his cloak, and resuming
+his favorite posture, sitting like a Turk, with
+his arms wrapped round his feeble, useless legs.
+
+"You're no good to me," he said, patting
+them mournfully. "You never will be any good
+to me. I wonder why I had you at all. I
+wonder why I was born at all, since I was not
+to grow up like other boys. Why not?"
+
+A question so strange, so sad, yet so often
+occurring in some form or other in this world
+--as you will find, my children, when you are
+older--that even if he had put it to his mother
+she could only have answered it, as we have to
+answer many as difficult things, by simply saying,
+"I don't know." There is much that we do
+not know and cannot understand--we big folks
+no more than you little ones. We have to accept
+it all just as you have to accept anything which
+your parents may tell you, even though you
+don't as yet see the reason of it. You may sometime,
+if you do exactly as they tell you, and are
+content to wait.
+
+Prince Dolor sat a good while thus, or it
+appeared to him a good while, so many thoughts
+came and went through his poor young mind--
+thoughts of great bitterness, which, little though
+he was, seemed to make him grow years older
+in a few minutes.
+
+Then he fancied the cloak began to rock
+gently to and fro, with a soothing kind of motion,
+as if he were in somebody's arms: somebody
+who did not speak, but loved him and comforted
+him without need of words; not by deceiving
+him with false encouragement or hope,
+but by making him see the plain, hard truth in
+all its hardness, and thus letting him quietly
+face it, till it grew softened down, and did not
+seem nearly so dreadful after all.
+
+Through the dreary silence and blankness,
+for he had placed himself so that he could see
+nothing but the sky, and had taken off his silver
+ears as well as his gold spectacles--what was the
+use of either when he had no legs with which to
+walk or run?--up from below there rose a
+delicious sound.
+
+You have heard it hundreds of times, my
+children, and so have I. When I was a child I
+thought there was nothing so sweet; and I think
+so still. It was just the song of a skylark,
+mounting higher and higher from the ground,
+till it came so close that Prince Dolor could
+distinguish his quivering wings and tiny body,
+almost too tiny to contain such a gush of music.
+
+"Oh, you beautiful, beautiful bird!" cried he;
+"I should dearly like to take you in and cuddle
+you. That is, if I could--if I dared."
+
+But he hesitated. The little brown creature
+with its loud heavenly voice almost made him
+afraid. Nevertheless, it also made him happy;
+and he watched and listened--so absorbed that
+he forgot all regret and pain, forgot everything
+in the world except the little lark.
+
+It soared and soared, and he was just
+wondering if it would soar out of sight, and what in
+the world he should do when it was gone, when
+it suddenly closed its wings, as larks do when
+they mean to drop to the ground. But, instead
+of dropping to the ground, it dropped right into
+the little boy's breast.
+
+What felicity! If it would only stay! A
+tiny, soft thing to fondle and kiss, to sing to
+him all day long, and be his playfellow and
+companion, tame and tender, while to the rest of the
+world it was a wild bird of the air. What a
+pride, what a delight! To have something that
+nobody else had--something all his own. As the
+traveling-cloak traveled on, he little heeded
+where, and the lark still stayed, nestled down
+in his bosom, hopped from his hand to his
+shoulder, and kissed him with its dainty beak,
+as if it loved him, Prince Dolor forgot all his
+grief, and was entirely happy.
+
+But when he got in sight of Hopeless Tower
+a painful thought struck him.
+
+"My pretty bird, what am I to do with you?
+If I take you into my room and shut you up
+there, you, a wild skylark of the air, what will
+become of you? I am used to this, but you are
+not. You will be so miserable; and suppose
+my nurse should find you--she who can't bear
+the sound of singing? Besides, I remember her
+once telling me that the nicest thing she ever
+ate in her life was lark pie!"
+
+The little boy shivered all over at the thought.
+And, though the merry lark immediately broke
+into the loudest carol, as if saying derisively
+that he defied anybody to eat him, still, Prince
+Dolor was very uneasy. In another minute he
+had made up his mind.
+
+"No, my bird, nothing so dreadful shall
+happen to you if I can help it; I would rather
+do without you altogether. Yes, I'll try. Fly
+away, my darling, my beautiful! Good-by, my
+merry, merry bird."
+
+Opening his two caressing hands, in which,
+as if for protection, he had folded it, he let the
+lark go. It lingered a minute, perching on the
+rim of the cloak, and looking at him with eyes
+of almost human tenderness; then away it flew,
+far up into the blue sky. It was only a bird.
+
+But some time after, when Prince Dolor had
+eaten his supper--somewhat drearily, except
+for the thought that he could not possibly sup
+off lark pie now--and gone quietly to bed, the
+old familiar little bed, where he was accustomed
+to sleep, or lie awake contentedly thinking--
+suddenly he heard outside the window a little
+faint carol--faint but cheerful--cheerful even
+though it was the middle of the night.
+
+The dear little lark! it had not flown away,
+after all. And it was truly the most extraordinary
+bird, for, unlike ordinary larks, it
+kept hovering about the tower in the silence and
+darkness of the night, outside the window or
+over the roof. Whenever he listened for a
+moment, he heard it singing still.
+
+He went to sleep as happy as a king.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+Happy as a king." How far kings
+are happy I cannot say, no more
+than could Prince Dolor, though he
+had once been a king himself. But
+he remembered nothing about it, and there was
+nobody to tell him, except his nurse, who had
+been forbidden upon pain of death to let him
+know anything about his dead parents, or the
+king his uncle, or indeed any part of his own
+history.
+
+Sometimes he speculated about himself,
+whether he had had a father and mother as other
+little boys had what they had been like, and
+why he had never seen them. But, knowing
+nothing about them, he did not miss them--only
+once or twice, reading pretty stories about little
+children and their mothers, who helped them
+when they were in difficulty and comforted
+them when they were sick, he feeling ill and dull
+and lonely, wondered what had become of his
+mother and why she never came to see him.
+
+Then, in his history lessons, of course he read
+about kings and princes, and the governments
+of different countries, and the events that
+happened there. And though he but faintly took in
+all this, still he did take it in a little, and worried
+his young brain about it, and perplexed his
+nurse with questions, to which she returned
+sharp and mysterious answers, which only set
+him thinking the more.
+
+He had plenty of time for thinking. After
+his last journey in the traveling-cloak, the
+journey which had given him so much pain, his
+desire to see the world somehow faded away.
+He contented himself with reading his books,
+and looking out of the tower windows, and
+listening to his beloved little lark, which had come
+home with him that day, and never left him
+again.
+
+True, it kept out of the way; and though his
+nurse sometimes dimly heard it, and said
+"What is that horrid noise outside?" she never
+got the faintest chance of making it into a lark
+pie. Prince Dolor had his pet all to himself,
+and though he seldom saw it, he knew it was near
+him, and he caught continually, at odd hours of
+the day, and even in the night, fragments of its
+delicious song.
+
+All during the winter--so far as there ever
+was any difference between summer and winter
+in Hopeless Tower--the little bird cheered and
+amused him. He scarcely needed anything
+more--not even his traveling-cloak, which lay
+bundled up unnoticed in a corner, tied up in its
+innumerable knots.
+
+Nor did his godmother come near him. It
+seemed as if she had given these treasures and
+left him alone--to use them or lose them, apply
+them or misapply them, according to his own
+choice. That is all we can do with children
+when they grow into big children old enough to
+distinguish between right and wrong, and too
+old to be forced to do either.
+
+Prince Dolor was now quite a big boy. Not
+tall--alas! he never could be that, with his poor
+little shrunken legs, which were of no use, only
+an encumbrance. But he was stout and strong,
+with great sturdy shoulders, and muscular
+arms, upon which he could swing himself about
+almost like a monkey. As if in compensation
+for his useless lower limbs, Nature had given
+to these extra strength and activity. His face,
+too, was very handsome; thinner, firmer, more
+manly; but still the sweet face of his childhood
+--his mother's own face.
+
+How his mother would have liked to look at
+him! Perhaps she did--who knows?
+
+The boy was not a stupid boy either. He
+could learn almost anything he chose--and he
+did choose, which was more than half the battle.
+He never gave up his lessons till he had learned
+them all--never thought it a punishment that
+he had to work at them, and that they cost him a
+deal of trouble sometimes.
+
+"But," thought he, "men work, and it must
+be so grand to be a man--a prince too; and I
+fancy princes work harder than anybody--
+except kings. The princes I read about generally
+turn into kings. I wonder"--the boy was always
+wondering--"Nurse,"--and one day he
+startled her with a sudden question,--"tell me--
+shall I ever be a king?"
+
+The woman stood, perplexed beyond expression.
+So long a time had passed by since her
+crime--if it were a crime--and her sentence,
+that she now seldom thought of either. Even
+her punishment--to be shut up for life in Hopeless
+Tower--she had gradually got used to.
+Used also to the little lame Prince, her charge
+--whom at first she had hated, though she carefully
+did everything to keep him alive, since
+upon him her own life hung.
+
+But latterly she had ceased to hate him, and,
+in a sort of way, almost loved him--at least,
+enough to be sorry for him--an innocent child,
+imprisoned here till he grew into an old man,
+and became a dull, worn-out creature like
+herself. Sometimes, watching him, she felt more
+sorry for him than even for herself; and then,
+seeing she looked a less miserable and ugly
+woman, he did not shrink from her as usual.
+
+He did not now. "Nurse--dear nurse," said
+he, "I don't mean to vex you, but tell me what
+is a king? shall I ever be one?"
+
+When she began to think less of herself and
+more of the child, the woman's courage
+increased. The idea came to her--what harm
+would it be, even if he did know his own history?
+Perhaps he ought to know it--for there had
+been various ups and downs, usurpations,
+revolutions, and restorations in Nomansland, as in
+most other countries. Something might happen
+--who could tell? Changes might occur. Possibly
+a crown would even yet be set upon those
+pretty, fair curls--which she began to think
+prettier than ever when she saw the imaginary
+coronet upon them.
+
+She sat down, considering whether her oath,
+never to "say a word" to Prince Dolor about
+himself, would be broken if she were to take a
+pencil and write what was to be told. A mere
+quibble--a mean, miserable quibble. But then
+she was a miserable woman, more to be pitied
+than scorned.
+
+After long doubt, and with great trepidation,
+she put her fingers to her lips, and taking the
+Prince's slate--with the sponge tied to it, ready
+to rub out the writing in a minute--she wrote:
+
+"You are a king."
+
+Prince Dolor started. His face grew pale,
+and then flushed all over; he held himself erect.
+Lame as he was, anybody could see he was born
+to be a king.
+
+"Hush!" said the nurse, as he was beginning
+to speak. And then, terribly frightened all the
+while,--people who have done wrong always
+are frightened,--she wrote down in a few
+hurried sentences his history. How his parents
+had died--his uncle had usurped his throne, and
+sent him to end his days in this lonely tower.
+
+"I, too," added she, bursting into tears.
+"Unless, indeed, you could get out into the world,
+and fight for your rights like a man. And
+fight for me also, my Prince, that I may not die
+in this desolate place."
+
+"Poor old nurse!" said the boy compassion-
+ately. For somehow, boy as he was, when he
+heard he was born to be a king, he felt like a man
+--like a king--who could afford to be tender
+because he was strong.
+
+He scarcely slept that night, and even though
+he heard his little lark singing in the sunrise,
+he barely listened to it. Things more serious
+and important had taken possession of his mind.
+
+"Suppose," thought he, "I were to do as she
+says, and go out in the world, no matter how it
+hurts me--the world of people, active people, as
+that boy I saw. They might only laugh at me--
+poor helpless creature that I am; but still I
+might show them I could do something. At any
+rate, I might go and see if there were anything
+for me to do. Godmother, help me!"
+
+It was so long since he had asked her help
+that he was hardly surprised when he got no
+answer--only the little lark outside the window
+sang louder and louder, and the sun rose,
+flooding the room with light.
+
+Prince Dolor sprang out of bed, and began
+dressing himself, which was hard work, for he
+was not used to it--he had always been accustomed
+to depend upon his nurse for everything.
+
+"But I must now learn to be independent,"
+thought he. "Fancy a king being dressed like a
+baby!"
+
+So he did the best he could,--awkwardly but
+cheerily,--and then he leaped to the corner
+where lay his traveling-cloak, untied it as
+before, and watched it unrolling itself--which
+it did rapidly, with a hearty good-will, as if
+quite tired of idleness. So was Prince Dolor--or
+felt as if he were. He jumped into the middle
+of it, said his charm, and was out through the
+skylight immediately.
+
+"Good-by, pretty lark!" he shouted, as he
+passed it on the wing, still warbling its carol
+to the newly risen sun. "You have been my
+pleasure, my delight; now I must go and work.
+Sing to old nurse till I come back again. Perhaps
+she'll hear you--perhaps she won't--but
+it will do her good all the same. Good-by!"
+
+But, as the cloak hung irresolute in air, he
+suddenly remembered that he had not determined
+where to go--indeed, he did not know,
+and there was nobody to tell him.
+
+"Godmother," he cried, in much perplexity,
+"you know what I want,--at least, I hope you
+do, for I hardly do myself--take me where I
+ought to go; show me whatever I ought to see--
+never mind what I like to see," as a sudden idea
+came into his mind that he might see many painful
+and disagreeable things. But this journey
+was not for pleasure as before. He was not
+a baby now, to do nothing but play--big boys
+do not always play. Nor men neither--they
+work. Thus much Prince Dolor knew--though
+very little more.
+
+As the cloak started off, traveling faster than
+he had ever known it to do,--through sky-land
+and cloud land, over freezing mountain-tops,
+and desolate stretches of forest, and smiling
+cultivated plains, and great lakes that seemed
+to him almost as shoreless as the sea,--he was
+often rather frightened. But he crouched down,
+silent and quiet; what was the use of making a
+fuss? and, wrapping himself up in his bear-skin,
+waited for what was to happen.
+
+After some time he heard a murmur in the
+distance, increasing more and more till it grew
+like the hum of a gigantic hive of bees. And,
+stretching his chin over the rim of his cloak,
+Prince Dolor saw--far, far below him, yet, with
+his gold spectacles and silver ears on, he could
+distinctly hear and see--what?
+
+Most of us have some time or other visited a
+great metropolis--have wandered through its
+network of streets--lost ourselves in its crowds
+of people--looked up at its tall rows of houses,
+its grand public buildings, churches, and
+squares. Also, perhaps, we have peeped into its
+miserable little back alleys, where dirty
+children play in gutters all day and half the night--
+even young boys go about picking pockets, with
+nobody to tell them it is wrong except the policeman,
+and he simply takes them off to prison.
+And all this wretchedness is close behind the
+grandeur--like the two sides of the leaf of a
+book.
+
+An awful sight is a large city, seen any how
+from any where. But, suppose you were to see
+it from the upper air, where, with your eyes
+and ears open, you could take in everything at
+once? What would it look like? How would
+you feel about it? I hardly know myself. Do
+you?
+
+Prince Dolor had need to be a king--that is,
+a boy with a kingly nature--to be able to stand
+such a sight without being utterly overcome.
+But he was very much bewildered--as bewildered
+as a blind person who is suddenly made to
+see.
+
+He gazed down on the city below him, and
+then put his hand over his eyes.
+
+"I can't bear to look at it, it is so beautiful--
+so dreadful. And I don't understand it--not
+one bit. There is nobody to tell me about it.
+I wish I had somebody to speak to."
+
+"Do you? Then pray speak to me. I was
+always considered good at conversation."
+
+The voice that squeaked out this reply was an
+excellent imitation of the human one, though it
+came only from a bird. No lark this time, however,
+but a great black and white creature that
+flew into the cloak, and began walking round
+and round on the edge of it with a dignified
+stride, one foot before the other, like any
+unfeathered biped you could name.
+
+"I haven't the honor of your acquaintance,
+sir," said the boy politely.
+
+"Ma'am, if you please. I am a mother bird,
+and my name is Mag, and I shall be happy to
+tell you everything you want to know. For I
+know a great deal; and I enjoy talking. My
+family is of great antiquity; we have built in
+this palace for hundreds--that is to say, dozens
+of years. I am intimately acquainted with the
+king, the queen, and the little princes and
+princesses--also the maids of honor, and all the
+inhabitants of the city. I talk a good deal, but I
+always talk sense, and I daresay I should be ex-
+ceedingly useful to a poor little ignorant boy
+like you."
+
+"I am a prince," said the other gently.
+
+"All right. And I am a magpie. You will
+find me a most respectable bird."
+
+"I have no doubt of it," was the polite answer
+--though he thought in his own mind that Mag
+must have a very good opinion of herself. But
+she was a lady and a stranger, so of course
+he was civil to her.
+
+She settled herself at his elbow, and began
+to chatter away, pointing out with one skinny
+claw, while she balanced herself on the other,
+every object of interest, evidently believing, as
+no doubt all its inhabitants did, that there was
+no capital in the world like the great metropolis
+of Nomansland.
+
+I have not seen it, and therefore cannot
+describe it, so we will just take it upon trust, and
+suppose it to be, like every other fine city, the
+finest city that ever was built. Mag said so--
+and of course she knew.
+
+Nevertheless, there were a few things in it
+which surprised Prince Dolor--and, as he had
+said, he could not understand them at all. One
+half the people seemed so happy and busy--
+hurrying up and down the full streets, or driv-
+ing lazily along the parks in their grand
+carriages, while the other half were so wretched
+and miserable.
+
+"Can't the world be made a little more level?
+I would try to do it if I were a king."
+
+"But you're not the king: only a little goose
+of a boy," returned the magpie loftily. "And
+I'm here not to explain things, only to show
+them. Shall I show you the royal palace?"
+
+It was a very magnificent palace. It had
+terraces and gardens, battlements and towers. It
+extended over acres of ground, and had in it
+rooms enough to accommodate half the city. Its
+windows looked in all directions, but none of
+them had any particular view--except a small
+one, high up toward the roof, which looked out
+on the Beautiful Mountains. But since the
+queen died there it had been closed, boarded up,
+indeed, the magpie said. It was so little and
+inconvenient that nobody cared to live in it.
+Besides, the lower apartments, which had no view,
+were magnificent--worthy of being inhabited
+by the king.
+
+"I should like to see the king," said Prince
+Dolor.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+What, I wonder, would be
+people's idea of a king? What was
+Prince Dolor's?
+
+Perhaps a very splendid personage,
+with a crown on his head and a scepter in
+his hand, sitting on a throne and judging the
+people. Always doing right, and never wrong
+--"The king can do no wrong" was a law laid
+down in olden times. Never cross, or tired, or
+sick, or suffering; perfectly handsome and well
+dressed, calm and good-tempered, ready to see
+and hear everybody, and discourteous to nobody;
+all things always going well with him, and
+nothing unpleasant ever happening.
+
+This, probably, was what Prince Dolor
+expected to see. And what did he see? But I
+must tell you how he saw it.
+
+"Ah," said the magpie, "no levee to-day.
+The King is ill, though his Majesty does not
+wish it to be generally known--it would be so
+very inconvenient. He can't see you, but perhaps
+you might like to go and take a look at him
+in a way I often do? It is so very amusing."
+
+Amusing, indeed!
+
+The prince was just now too much excited to
+talk much. Was he not going to see the king his
+uncle, who had succeeded his father and
+dethroned himself; had stepped into all the pleasant
+things that he, Prince Dolor, ought to have
+had, and shut him up in a desolate tower? What
+was he like, this great, bad, clever man? Had
+he got all the things he wanted, which another
+ought to have had? And did he enjoy them?
+
+"Nobody knows," answered the magpie, just
+as if she had been sitting inside the prince's
+heart, instead of on the top of his shoulder. "He
+is a king, and that's enough. For the rest nobody
+knows."
+
+As she spoke, Mag flew down on to the palace
+roof, where the cloak had rested, settling down
+between the great stacks of chimneys as
+comfortably as if on the ground. She pecked at the
+tiles with her beak--truly she was a wonderful
+bird--and immediately a little hole opened, a
+sort of door, through which could be seen
+distinctly the chamber below.
+
+"Now look in, my Prince. Make haste, for I
+must soon shut it up again."
+
+But the boy hesitated. "Isn't it rude?--
+won't they think us intruding?"
+
+"Oh, dear no! there's a hole like this in every
+palace; dozens of holes, indeed. Everybody
+knows it, but nobody speaks of it. Intrusion!
+Why, though the royal family are supposed to
+live shut up behind stone walls ever so thick, all
+the world knows that they live in a glass house
+where everybody can see them and throw a stone
+at them. Now pop down on your knees, and
+take a peep at his Majesty
+
+His Majesty!
+
+The Prince gazed eagerly down into a large
+room, the largest room he had ever beheld, with
+furniture and hangings grander than anything
+he could have ever imagined. A stray sunbeam,
+coming through a crevice of the darkened windows,
+struck across the carpet, and it was the
+loveliest carpet ever woven--just like a bed of
+flowers to walk over; only nobody walked over
+it, the room being perfectly empty and silent.
+
+"Where is the King?" asked the puzzled boy.
+
+"There," said Mag, pointing with one wrinkled
+claw to a magnificent bed, large enough to
+contain six people. In the center of it, just
+visible under the silken counterpane,--quite
+straight and still,--with its head on the lace
+pillow, lay a small figure, something like wax-
+work, fast asleep--very fast asleep! There was
+a number of sparkling rings on the tiny yellow
+hands, that were curled a little, helplessly, like
+a baby's, outside the coverlet; the eyes were
+shut, the nose looked sharp and thin, and the
+long gray beard hid the mouth and lay over the
+breast. A sight not ugly nor frightening, only
+solemn and quiet. And so very silent--two little
+flies buzzing about the curtains of the bed being
+the only audible sound.
+
+"Is that the King?" whispered Prince Dolor.
+
+"Yes," replied the bird.
+
+He had been angry--furiously angry--
+ever since he knew how his uncle had taken the
+crown, and sent him, a poor little helpless child,
+to be shut up for life, just as if he had been dead.
+Many times the boy had felt as if, king as he
+was, he should like to strike him, this great,
+strong, wicked man.
+
+Why, you might as well have struck a baby!
+How helpless he lay, with his eyes shut, and his
+idle hands folded: they had no more work to do,
+bad or good.
+
+"What is the matter with him?" asked the
+Prince.
+
+"He is dead," said the Magpie, with a croak.
+
+No, there was not the least use in being angry
+with him now. On the contrary, the Prince felt
+almost sorry for him, except that he looked so
+peaceful with all his cares at rest. And this was
+being dead? So even kings died?
+
+"Well, well, he hadn't an easy life, folk say,
+for all his grandeur. Perhaps he is glad it is
+over. Good-by, your Majesty."
+
+With another cheerful tap of her beak, Mistress
+Mag shut down the little door in the tiles,
+and Prince Dolor's first and last sight of his
+uncle was ended.
+
+He sat in the center of his traveling-cloak,
+silent and thoughtful.
+
+"What shall we do now?" said the magpie.
+"There's nothing much more to be done with
+his majesty, except a fine funeral, which I shall
+certainly go and see. All the world will. He
+interested the world exceedingly when he was
+alive, and he ought to do it now he's dead--just
+once more. And since he can't hear me, I may
+as well say that, on the whole, his majesty is
+much better dead than alive--if we can only get
+somebody in his place. There'll be such a row
+in the city presently. Suppose we float up again
+and see it all--at a safe distance, though. It
+will be such fun!"
+
+"What will be fun?"
+
+"A revolution."
+
+Whether anybody except a magpie would have
+called it "fun" I don't know, but it certainly
+was a remarkable scene.
+
+As soon as the cathedral bell began to toll and
+the minute-guns to fire, announcing to the kingdom
+that it was without a king, the people
+gathered in crowds, stopping at street corners
+to talk together. The murmur now and then
+rose into a shout, and the shout into a roar.
+When Prince Dolor, quietly floating in upper air,
+caught the sound of their different and opposite
+cries, it seemed to him as if the whole city had
+gone mad together.
+
+"Long live the king!" "The king is dead--
+down with the king!" "Down with the crown,
+and the king too!" "Hurrah for the republic!"
+"Hurrah for no government at all!"
+
+Such were the shouts which traveled up to the
+traveling-cloak. And then began--oh, what a
+scene!
+
+When you children are grown men and women
+--or before--you will hear and read in books
+about what are called revolutions--earnestly I
+trust that neither I nor you may ever see one.
+But they have happened, and may happen again,
+in other countries besides Nomansland, when
+wicked kings have helped to make their people
+wicked too, or out of an unrighteous nation have
+sprung rulers equally bad; or, without either of
+these causes, when a restless country has fancied
+any change better than no change at all.
+
+For me, I don't like changes, unless pretty
+sure that they are for good. And how good can
+come out of absolute evil--the horrible evil that
+went on this night under Prince Dolor's very
+eyes--soldiers shooting down people by hundreds
+in the streets, scaffolds erected, and heads
+dropping off--houses burned, and women and
+children murdered--this is more than I can
+understand.
+
+But all these things you will find in history,
+my children, and must by and by judge for yourselves
+the right and wrong of them, as far as
+anybody ever can judge.
+
+Prince Dolor saw it all. Things happened
+so fast one after another that they quite
+confused his faculties.
+
+"Oh, let me go home," he cried at last,
+stopping his ears and shutting his eyes; "only let me
+go home!" for even his lonely tower seemed
+home, and its dreariness and silence absolute
+paradise after all this.
+
+"Good-by, then," said the magpie, flapping
+her wings. She had been chatting incessantly
+all day and all night, for it was actually thus
+long that Prince Dolor had been hovering over
+the city, neither eating nor sleeping, with all
+these terrible things happening under his very
+eyes. "You've had enough, I suppose, of seeing
+the world?"
+
+"Oh, I have--I have!" cried the prince, with
+a shudder.
+
+"That is, till next time. All right, your royal
+highness. You don't know me, but I know you.
+We may meet again some time."
+
+She looked at him with her clear, piercing
+eyes, sharp enough to see through everything,
+and it seemed as if they changed from bird's
+eyes to human eyes--the very eyes of his godmother,
+whom he had not seen for ever so long.
+But the minute afterward she became only a
+bird, and with a screech and a chatter, spread
+her wings and flew away.
+
+Prince Dolor fell into a kind of swoon of
+utter misery, bewilderment, and exhaustion, and
+when he awoke he found himself in his own room
+--alone and quiet--with the dawn just breaking,
+and the long rim of yellow light in the horizon
+glimmering through the window-panes.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+When Prince Dolor sat up in bed,
+trying to remember where he was,
+whither he had been, and what he
+had seen the day before, he
+perceived that his room was empty.
+
+Generally his nurse rather worried him by
+breaking his slumbers, coming in and "setting
+things to rights," as she called it. Now the dust
+lay thick upon chairs and tables; there was no
+harsh voice heard to scold him for not getting
+up immediately, which, I am sorry to say, this
+boy did not always do. For he so enjoyed lying
+still, and thinking lazily about everything or
+nothing, that, if he had not tried hard against it,
+he would certainly have become like those celebrated
+
+                    "Two little men
+     Who lay in their bed till the clock struck ten."
+
+It was striking ten now, and still no nurse was
+to be seen. He was rather relieved at first, for
+he felt so tired; and besides, when he stretched
+out his arm, he found to his dismay that he had
+gone to bed in his clothes.
+
+Very uncomfortable he felt, of course; and
+just a little frightened. Especially when he
+began to call and call again, but nobody
+answered. Often he used to think how nice it
+would be to get rid of his nurse and live in this
+tower all by himself--like a sort of monarch
+able to do everything he liked, and leave undone
+all that he did not want to do; but now that this
+seemed really to have happened, he did not like
+it at all.
+
+"Nurse,--dear nurse,--please come back!" he
+called out. "Come back, and I will be the best
+boy in all the land."
+
+And when she did not come back, and nothing
+but silence answered his lamentable call, he very
+nearly began to cry.
+
+"This won't do," he said at last, dashing the
+tears from his eyes. "It's just like a baby, and
+I'm a big boy--shall be a man some day. What
+has happened, I wonder? I'll go and see."
+
+He sprang out of bed,--not to his feet, alas!
+but to his poor little weak knees, and crawled on
+them from room to room. All the four chambers
+were deserted--not forlorn or untidy, for everything
+seemed to have been done for his comfort
+--the breakfast and dinner things were laid, the
+food spread in order. He might live "like a
+prince," as the proverb is, for several days.
+But the place was entirely forsaken--there was
+evidently not a creature but himself in the
+solitary tower.
+
+A great fear came upon the poor boy. Lonely
+as his life had been, he had never known what it
+was to be absolutely alone. A kind of despair
+seized him--no violent anger or terror, but a
+sort of patient desolation.
+
+"What in the world am I to do?" thought he,
+and sat down in the middle of the floor, half
+inclined to believe that it would be better to give
+up entirely, lay himself down, and die.
+
+This feeling, however, did not last long, for
+he was young and strong, and, I said before, by
+nature a very courageous boy. There came into
+his head, somehow or other, a proverb that his
+nurse had taught him--the people of Nomansland
+were very fond of proverbs:
+
+     "For every evil under the sun
+     There is a remedy, or there's none;
+     If there is one, try to find it--
+     If there isn't, never mind it."
+
+
+"I wonder is there a remedy now, and could I
+find it?" cried the Prince, jumping up and
+looking out of the window.
+
+No help there. He only saw the broad, bleak,
+sunshiny plain--that is, at first. But by and by,
+in the circle of mud that surrounded the base
+of the tower, he perceived distinctly the marks
+of a horse's feet, and just in the spot where the
+deaf-mute was accustomed to tie up his great
+black charger, while he himself ascended, there
+lay the remains of a bundle of hay and a feed of
+corn.
+
+"Yes, that's it. He has come and gone, taking
+nurse away with him. Poor nurse! how glad
+she would be to go!"
+
+That was Prince Dolor's first thought. His
+second--wasn't it natural?--was a passionate
+indignation at her cruelty--at the cruelty of all
+the world toward him, a poor little helpless boy.
+Then he determined, forsaken as he was, to try
+and hold on to the last, and not to die as long as
+he could possibly help it.
+
+Anyhow, it would be easier to die here than
+out in the world, among the terrible doings
+which he had just beheld--from the midst of
+which, it suddenly struck him, the deaf-mute
+had come, contriving somehow to make the nurse
+understand that the king was dead, and she need
+have no fear in going back to the capital, where
+there was a grand revolution, and everything
+turned upside down. So, of course, she had gone.
+"I hope she'll enjoy it, miserable woman--if
+they don't cut off her head too."
+
+And then a kind of remorse smote him for
+feeling so bitterly toward her, after all the
+years she had taken care of him--grudgingly,
+perhaps, and coldly; still she had taken care
+of him, and that even to the last: for, as I have
+said, all his four rooms were as tidy as possible,
+and his meals laid out, that he might have no
+more trouble than could be helped.
+
+"Possibly she did not mean to be cruel. I
+won't judge her," said he. And afterward he
+was very glad that he had so determined.
+
+For the second time he tried to dress himself,
+and then to do everything he could for himself--
+even to sweeping up the hearth and putting on
+more coals. "It's a funny thing for a prince
+to have to do," said he, laughing. "But my
+godmother once said princes need never mind
+doing anything."
+
+And then he thought a little of his godmother.
+Not of summoning her, or asking her to help
+him,--she had evidently left him to help himself,
+and he was determined to try his best to
+do it, being a very proud and independent boy,
+--but he remembered her tenderly and regret-
+fully, as if even she had been a little hard upon
+him--poor, forlorn boy that he was. But he
+seemed to have seen and learned so much within
+the last few days that he scarcely felt like
+a boy, but a man--until he went to bed at night.
+
+When I was a child, I used often to think
+how nice it would be to live in a little house
+all by my own self--a house built high up in
+a tree, or far away in a forest, or halfway up
+a hillside so deliciously alone and independent.
+Not a lesson to learn--but no! I always
+liked learning my lessons. Anyhow, to choose
+the lessons I liked best, to have as many books
+to read and dolls to play with as ever I wanted:
+above all, to be free and at rest, with nobody to
+tease or trouble or scold me, would be charming.
+For I was a lonely little thing, who liked
+quietness--as many children do; which other
+children, and sometimes grown-up people even,
+cannot understand. And so I can understand
+Prince Dolor.
+
+After his first despair, he was not merely
+comfortable, but actually happy in his solitude,
+doing everything for himself, and enjoying
+everything by himself--until bedtime. Then
+he did not like it at all. No more, I suppose,
+than other children would have liked my im-
+aginary house in a tree when they had had
+sufficient of their own company.
+
+But the Prince had to bear it--and he did
+bear it, like a prince--for fully five days. All
+that time he got up in the morning and went to
+bed at night without having spoken to a
+creature, or, indeed, heard a single sound.
+For even his little lark was silent; and as for
+his traveling-cloak, either he never thought
+about it, or else it had been spirited away--
+for he made no use of it, nor attempted to do so.
+
+A very strange existence it was, those five
+lonely days. He never entirely forgot it. It
+threw him back upon himself, and into himself
+--in a way that all of us have to learn when we
+grow up, and are the better for it; but it is
+somewhat hard learning.
+
+On the sixth day Prince Dolor had a strange
+composure in his look, but he was very grave
+and thin and white. He had nearly come to the
+end of his provisions--and what was to happen
+next? Get out of the tower he could not: the
+ladder the deaf-mute used was always carried
+away again; and if it had not been, how could
+the poor boy have used it? And even if he
+slung or flung himself down, and by miraculous
+chance came alive to the foot of the tower, how
+could he run away?
+
+Fate had been very hard to him, or so it
+seemed.
+
+He made up his mind to die. Not that he
+wished to die; on the contrary, there was a
+great deal that he wished to live to do; but if
+he must die, he must. Dying did not seem so
+very dreadful; not even to lie quiet like his
+uncle, whom he had entirely forgiven now, and
+neither be miserable nor naughty any more, and
+escape all those horrible things that he had seen
+going on outside the palace, in that awful place
+which was called "the world."
+
+"It's a great deal nicer here," said the poor
+little Prince, and collected all his pretty things
+round him: his favorite pictures, which he
+thought he should like to have near him when
+he died; his books and toys--no, he had ceased
+to care for toys now; he only liked them because
+he had done so as a child. And there he sat
+very calm and patient, like a king in his castle,
+waiting for the end.
+
+"Still, I wish I had done something first--
+something worth doing, that somebody might
+remember me by," thought he. "Suppose I
+had grown a man, and had had work to do, and
+people to care for, and was so useful and busy
+that they liked me, and perhaps even forgot I
+was lame? Then it would have been nice to
+live, I think."
+
+A tear came into the little fellow's eyes, and
+he listened intently through the dead silence
+for some hopeful sound.
+
+Was there one?--was it his little lark, whom
+he had almost forgotten? No, nothing half so
+sweet. But it really was something--something
+which came nearer and nearer, so that there
+was no mistaking it. It was the sound of a
+trumpet, one of the great silver trumpets so
+admired in Nomansland. Not pleasant music,
+but very bold, grand, and inspiring.
+
+As he listened to it the boy seemed to recall
+many things which had slipped his memory for
+years, and to nerve himself for whatever might
+be going to happen.
+
+What had happened was this.
+
+The poor condemned woman had not been
+such a wicked woman after all. Perhaps her
+courage was not wholly disinterested, but she
+had done a very heroic thing. As soon as she
+heard of the death and burial of the King and
+of the changes that were taking place in the
+country, a daring idea came into her head--to
+set upon the throne of Nomansland its rightful
+heir. Thereupon she persuaded the deaf-mute
+to take her away with him, and they galloped
+like the wind from city to city, spreading
+everywhere the news that Prince Dolor's death and
+burial had been an invention concocted by his
+wicked uncle that he was alive and well, and
+the noblest young prince that ever was born.
+
+It was a bold stroke, but it succeeded. The
+country, weary perhaps of the late King's
+harsh rule, and yet glad to save itself from the
+horrors of the last few days, and the still
+further horrors of no rule at all, and having no
+particular interest in the other young princes,
+jumped at the idea of this Prince, who was the
+son of their late good King and the beloved
+Queen Dolorez.
+
+"Hurrah for Prince Dolor! Let Prince
+Dolor be our sovereign!" rang from end to end
+of the kingdom. Everybody tried to remember
+what a dear baby he once was--how like his
+mother, who had been so sweet and kind, and
+his father, the finest-looking king that ever
+reigned. Nobody remembered his lameness--
+or, if they did, they passed it over as a matter
+of no consequence. They were determined to
+have him reign over them, boy as he was--
+perhaps just because he was a boy, since in that
+case the great nobles thought they should be
+able to do as they liked with the country.
+
+Accordingly, with a fickleness not confined to
+the people of Nomansland, no sooner was the
+late King laid in his grave than they
+pronounced him to have been a usurper; turned
+all his family out of the palace, and left it
+empty for the reception of the new sovereign,
+whom they went to fetch with great rejoicing,
+a select body of lords, gentlemen, and soldiers
+traveling night and day in solemn procession
+through the country until they reached Hopeless
+Tower.
+
+There they found the Prince, sitting calmly
+on the floor--deadly pale, indeed, for he
+expected a quite different end from this, and
+was resolved, if he had to die, to die courageously,
+like a Prince and a King.
+
+But when they hailed him as Prince and
+King, and explained to him how matters stood,
+and went down on their knees before him,
+offering the crown (on a velvet cushion, with
+four golden tassels, each nearly as big as his
+head),--small though he was and lame, which
+lameness the courtiers pretended not to notice,
+--there came such a glow into his face, such a
+dignity into his demeanor, that he became
+beautiful, king-like.
+
+"Yes," he said, "if you desire it, I will be
+your king. And I will do my best to make my
+people happy."
+
+Then there arose, from inside and outside
+the tower, such a shout as never yet was heard
+across the lonely plain.
+
+Prince Dolor shrank a little from the deafening
+sound. "How shall I be able to rule all this
+great people? You forget, my lords, that I am
+only a little boy still."
+
+"Not so very little," was the respectful
+answer. "We have searched in the records,
+and found that your Royal Highness--your
+Majesty, I mean--is fifteen years old."
+
+"Am I?" said Prince Dolor; and his first
+thought was a thoroughly childish pleasure
+that he should now have a birthday, with a
+whole nation to keep it. Then he remembered
+that his childish days were done. He was a
+monarch now. Even his nurse, to whom, the
+moment he saw her, he had held out his hand,
+kissed it reverently, and called him ceremoniously
+"his Majesty the King."
+
+"A king must be always a king, I suppose,"
+said he half-sadly, when, the ceremonies over,
+he had been left to himself for just ten minutes,
+to put off his boy's clothes and be reattired in
+magnificent robes, before he was conveyed away
+from his tower to the royal palace.
+
+He could take nothing with him; indeed, he
+soon saw that, however politely they spoke, they
+would not allow him to take anything. If he
+was to be their king, he must give up his old life
+forever. So he looked with tender farewell on
+his old books, old toys, the furniture he knew so
+well, and the familiar plain in all its levelness--
+ugly yet pleasant, simply because it was
+familiar.
+
+"It will be a new life in a new world," said he
+to himself; "but I'll remember the old things
+still. And, oh! if before I go I could but once
+see my dear old godmother."
+
+While he spoke he had laid himself down on
+the bed for a minute or two, rather tired with
+his grandeur, and confused by the noise of the
+trumpets which kept playing incessantly down
+below. He gazed, half sadly, up to the skylight,
+whence there came pouring a stream of sunrays,
+with innumerable motes floating there, like a
+bridge thrown between heaven and earth. Sliding
+down it, as if she had been made of air, came
+the little old woman in gray.
+
+So beautiful looked she--old as she was--that
+Prince Dolor was at first quite startled by the
+apparition. Then he held out his arms in eager
+delight.
+
+"Oh, godmother, you have not forsaken me!"
+
+"Not at all, my son. You may not have seen
+me, but I have seen you many a time."
+
+"How?"
+
+"Oh, never mind. I can turn into anything
+I please, you know. And I have been a bearskin
+rug, and a crystal goblet--and sometimes I have
+changed from inanimate to animate nature, put
+on feathers, and made myself very comfortable
+as a bird."
+
+"Ha!" laughed the prince, a new light breaking
+in upon him as he caught the infection{sic} of
+her tone, lively and mischievous. "Ha! ha! a
+lark, for instance?"
+
+"Or a magpie," answered she, with a capital
+imitation of Mistress Mag's croaky voice. "Do
+you suppose I am always sentimental, and never
+funny? If anything makes you happy, gay, or
+grave, don't you think it is more than likely to
+come through your old godmother?"
+
+"I believe that," said the boy tenderly, holding
+out his arms. They clasped one another in
+a close embrace.
+
+Suddenly Prince Dolor looked very anxious.
+"You will not leave me now that I am a king?
+Otherwise I had rather not be a king at all.
+Promise never to forsake me!"
+
+The little old woman laughed gayly. "Forsake
+you? that is impossible. But it is just
+possible you may forsake me. Not probable
+though. Your mother never did, and she was
+a queen. The sweetest queen in all the world
+was the Lady Dolorez."
+
+"Tell me about her," said the boy eagerly.
+"As I get older I think I can understand more.
+Do tell me."
+
+"Not now. You couldn't hear me for the
+trumpets and the shouting. But when you are
+come to the palace, ask for a long-closed upper
+room, which looks out upon the Beautiful
+Mountains; open it and take it for your own.
+Whenever you go there you will always find me,
+and we will talk together about all sorts of
+things."
+
+"And about my mother?"
+
+The little old woman nodded--and kept
+nodding and smiling to herself many times, as
+the boy repeated over and over again the sweet
+words he had never known or understood--"my
+mother--my mother."
+
+"Now I must go," said she, as the trumpets
+blared louder and louder, and the shouts of the
+people showed that they would not endure any
+delay. "Good-by, good-by! Open the window
+and out I fly."
+
+Prince Dolor repeated gayly the musical
+rhyme--but all the while tried to hold his
+godmother fast.
+
+Vain, vain! for the moment that a knocking
+was heard at his door the sun went behind a
+cloud, the bright stream of dancing motes
+vanished, and the little old woman with them--
+he knew not where.
+
+So Prince Dolor quitted his tower--which he
+had entered so mournfully and ignominiously as
+a little helpless baby carried in the deaf-mute's
+arms--quitted it as the great King of Nomansland.
+
+The only thing he took away with him was
+something so insignificant that none of the lords,
+gentlemen, and soldiers who escorted him with
+such triumphant splendor could possibly notice
+it--a tiny bundle, which he had found lying on
+the floor just where the bridge of sunbeams had
+rested. At once he had pounced upon it, and
+thrust it secretly into his bosom, where it dwin- 
+dled into such small proportions that it might
+have been taken for a mere chest-comforter, a
+bit of flannel, or an old pocket-handkerchief.
+It was his traveling-cloak!
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+Did Prince Dolar become a great king?
+Was he, though little more than a
+boy, "the father of his people," as all
+kings ought to be? Did his reign
+last long--long and happy? and what were the
+principal events of it, as chronicled in the
+history of Nomansland?
+
+Why, if I were to answer all these questions
+I should have to write another book. And I'm
+tired, children, tired--as grown-up people
+sometimes are, though not always with play.
+(Besides, I have a small person belonging to me,
+who, though she likes extremely to listen to the
+word-of-mouth story of this book, grumbles
+much at the writing of it, and has run about the
+house clapping her hands with joy when mamma
+told her that it was nearly finished. But that
+is neither here nor there.)
+
+I have related as well as I could the history of
+Prince Dolor, but with the history of Nomansland
+I am as yet unacquainted. If anybody
+knows it, perhaps he or she will kindly write it
+all down in another book. But mine is done.
+
+However, of this I am sure, that Prince Dolor
+made an excellent king. Nobody ever does anything
+less well, not even the commonest duty of
+common daily life, for having such a godmother
+as the little old woman clothed in gray, whose
+name is--well, I leave you to guess. Nor, I
+think, is anybody less good, less capable of both
+work and enjoyment in after-life, for having
+been a little unhappy in his youth, as the prince
+had been.
+
+I cannot take upon myself to say that he was
+always happy now--who is?--or that he had no
+cares; just show me the person who is quite free
+from them! But whenever people worried and
+bothered him--as they did sometimes, with state
+etiquette, state squabbles, and the like, setting
+up themselves and pulling down their neighbors--
+he would take refuge in that upper room
+which looked out on the Beautiful Mountains,
+and, laying his head on his godmother's shoulder,
+become calmed and at rest.
+
+Also, she helped him out of any difficulty
+which now and then occurred--for there never
+was such a wise old woman. When the people
+of Nomansland raised the alarm--as sometimes
+they did--for what people can exist without a
+little fault-finding?--and began to cry out, "Un-
+happy is the nation whose king is a child," she
+would say to him gently, "You are a child.
+Accept the fact. Be humble--be teachable.
+Lean upon the wisdom of others till you have
+gained your own."
+
+He did so. He learned how to take advice
+before attempting to give it, to obey before he
+could righteously command. He assembled
+round him all the good and wise of his kingdom
+--laid all its affairs before them, and was guided
+by their opinions until he had maturely formed
+his own.
+
+This he did sooner than anybody would have
+imagined who did not know of his godmother
+and his traveling-cloak--two secret blessings,
+which, though many guessed at, nobody quite
+understood. Nor did they understand why he
+loved so the little upper room, except that it had
+been his mother's room, from the window of
+which, as people remembered now, she had used
+to sit for hours watching the Beautiful Mountains.
+
+Out of that window he used to fly--not very
+often; as he grew older, the labors of state
+prevented the frequent use of his traveling-cloak;
+still he did use it sometimes. Only now it was
+less for his own pleasure and amusement than
+to see something or investigate something for
+the good of the country. But he prized his
+godmother's gift as dearly as ever. It was a
+comfort to him in all his vexations, an enhancement
+of all his joys. It made him almost forget
+his lameness--which was never cured.
+
+However, the cruel things which had been once
+foreboded of him did not happen. His misfortune
+was not such a heavy one, after all. It
+proved to be of much less inconvenience, even to
+himself, than had been feared. A council of
+eminent surgeons and mechanicians invented
+for him a wonderful pair of crutches, with the
+help of which, though he never walked easily or
+gracefully, he did manage to walk so as to be
+quite independent. And such was the love his
+people bore him that they never heard the sound
+of his crutches on the marble palace floors without
+a leap of the heart, for they knew that good
+was coming to them whenever he approached.
+
+Thus, though he never walked in processions,
+never reviewed his troops mounted on a magnificent
+charger, nor did any of the things which
+make a show monarch so much appreciated, he
+was able for all the duties and a great many of
+the pleasures of his rank. When he held his
+levees, not standing, but seated on a throne in-
+geniously contrived to hide his infirmity, the
+people thronged to greet him; when he drove out
+through the city streets, shouts followed him
+wherever he went--every countenance brightened
+as he passed, and his own, perhaps, was the
+brightest of all.
+
+First, because, accepting his affliction as
+inevitable, he took it patiently; second, because,
+being a brave man, he bore it bravely, trying to
+forget himself, and live out of himself, and in
+and for other people. Therefore other people
+grew to love him so well that I think hundreds
+of his subjects might have been found who were
+almost ready to die for their poor lame king.
+
+He never gave them a queen. When they
+implored him to choose one, he replied that his
+country was his bride, and he desired no other.
+But perhaps the real reason was that he shrank
+from any change; and that no wife in all the
+world would have been found so perfect, so
+lovable, so tender to him in all his weaknesses as
+his beautiful old godmother.
+
+His twenty-four other godfathers and
+godmothers, or as many of them as were still alive,
+crowded round him as soon as he ascended the
+throne. He was very civil to them all, but
+adopted none of the names they had given him,
+keeping to the one by which he had been always
+known, though it had now almost lost its meaning;
+for King Dolor was one of the happiest and
+cheerfulest men alive.
+
+He did a good many things, however, unlike
+most men and most kings, which a little
+astonished his subjects. First, he pardoned the
+condemned woman who had been his nurse, and
+ordained that from henceforth there should be
+no such thing as the punishment of death in
+Nomansland. All capital criminals were to be
+sent to perpetual imprisonment in Hopeless
+Tower and the plain round about it, where they
+could do no harm to anybody, and might in time
+do a little good, as the woman had done.
+
+Another surprise he shortly afterward gave
+the nation. He recalled his uncle's family, who
+had fled away in terror to another country, and
+restored them to all their honors in their own.
+By and by he chose the eldest son of his eldest
+cousin (who had been dead a year), and had him
+educated in the royal palace, as the heir to the
+throne. This little prince was a quiet,
+unobtrusive boy, so that everybody wondered at
+the King's choosing him when there were so
+many more; but as he grew into a fine young
+fellow, good and brave, they agreed that the
+King judged more wisely than they.
+
+"Not a lame prince, either," his Majesty
+observed one day, watching him affectionately; for
+he was the best runner, the highest leaper, the
+keenest and most active sportsman in the
+country. "One cannot make one's self, but one
+can sometimes help a little in the making of
+somebody else. It is well."
+
+This was said, not to any of his great lords
+and ladies, but to a good old woman--his first
+homely nurse whom he had sought for far and
+wide, and at last found in her cottage among
+the Beautiful Mountains. He sent for her to
+visit him once a year, and treated her with great
+honor until she died. He was equally kind,
+though somewhat less tender, to his other nurse,
+who, after receiving her pardon, returned to
+her native town and grew into a great lady, and
+I hope a good one. But as she was so grand a
+personage now, any little faults she had did not
+show.
+
+Thus King Dolor's reign passed year after
+year, long and prosperous. Whether he were
+happy--"as happy as a king"--is a question no
+human being can decide. But I think he was,
+because he had the power of making everybody
+about him happy, and did it too; also because he
+was his godmother's godson, and could shut himself
+up with her whenever he liked, in that quiet
+little room in view of the Beautiful Mountains,
+which nobody else ever saw or cared to see. They
+were too far off, and the city lay so low. But
+there they were, all the time. No change ever
+came to them; and I think, at any day throughout
+his long reign, the King would sooner have
+lost his crown than have lost sight of the
+Beautiful Mountains.
+
+In course of time, when the little Prince, his
+cousin, was grown into a tall young man, capable
+of all the duties of a man, his Majesty did one of
+the most extraordinary acts ever known in a
+sovereign beloved by his people and prosperous
+in his reign. He announced that he wished to
+invest his heir with the royal purple--at any
+rate, for a time--while he himself went away on
+a distant journey, whither he had long desired
+to go.
+
+Everybody marveled, but nobody opposed
+him. Who could oppose the good King, who
+was not a young king now? And besides, the
+nation had a great admiration for the young
+regent--and possibly a lurking pleasure in
+change.
+
+So there was a fixed day when all the people
+whom it would hold assembled in the great
+square of the capital, to see the young prince
+installed solemnly in his new duties, and undertaking
+his new vows. He was a very fine young
+fellow; tall and straight as a poplar tree, with a
+frank, handsome face--a great deal handsomer
+than the king, some people said, but others
+thought differently. However, as his Majesty
+sat on his throne, with his gray hair falling from
+underneath his crown, and a few wrinkles showing
+in spite of his smile, there was something
+about his countenance which made his people,
+even while they shouted, regard him with a
+tenderness mixed with awe.
+
+He lifted up his thin, slender hand, and there
+came a silence over the vast crowd immediately.
+Then he spoke, in his own accustomed way, using
+no grand words, but saying what he had to say in
+the simplest fashion, though with a clearness
+that struck their ears like the first song of a bird
+in the dusk of the morning.
+
+"My people, I am tired: I want to rest. I
+have had a long reign, and done much work--at
+least, as much as I was able to do. Many might
+have done it better than I--but none with a
+better will. Now I leave it to others; I am tired,
+very tired. Let me go home."
+
+There arose a murmur--of content or
+discontent none could well tell; then it died down
+again, and the assembly listened silently once
+more.
+
+"I am not anxious about you, my people--my
+children," continued the King. "You are
+prosperous and at peace. I leave you in good
+hands. The Prince Regent will be a fitter king
+for you than I."
+
+"No, no, no!" rose the universal shout--and
+those who had sometimes found fault with him
+shouted louder than anybody. But he seemed
+as if he heard them not.
+
+"Yes, yes," said he, as soon as the tumult had
+a little subsided: and his voice sounded firm and
+clear; and some very old people, who boasted of
+having seen him as a child, declared that his face
+took a sudden change, and grew as young and
+sweet as that of the little Prince Dolor. "Yes,
+I must go. It is time for me to go. Remember
+me sometimes, my people, for I have loved you
+well. And I am going a long way, and I do not
+think I shall come back any more."
+
+He drew a little bundle out of his breast
+pocket--a bundle that nobody had ever seen
+before. It was small and shabby-looking, and
+tied up with many knots, which untied themselves
+in an instant. With a joyful countenance,
+he muttered over it a few half-intelligible words.
+Then, so suddenly that even those nearest to his
+Majesty could not tell how it came about, the
+King was away--away--floating right up in the
+air--upon something, they knew not what,
+except that it appeared to be as safe and pleasant
+as the wings of a bird.
+
+And after him sprang a bird--a dear little
+lark, rising from whence no one could say, since
+larks do not usually build their nests in the
+pavement of city squares. But there it was, a
+real lark, singing far over their heads, louder
+and clearer and more joyful as it vanished
+further into the blue sky.
+
+Shading their eyes, and straining their ears,
+the astonished people stood until the whole
+vision disappeared like a speck in the clouds--
+the rosy clouds that overhung the Beautiful
+Mountains.
+
+King Dolor was never again beheld or heard
+of in his own country. But the good he had done
+there lasted for years and years; he was long
+missed and deeply mourned--at least, so far as
+anybody could mourn one who was gone on such
+a happy journey.
+
+Whither he went, or who went with him, it is
+impossible to say. But I myself believe that his
+godmother took him on his traveling-cloak to the
+Beautiful Mountains. What he did there, or
+where he is now, who can tell? I cannot. But
+one thing I am quite sure of, that, wherever he
+is, he is perfectly happy.
+
+And so, when I think of him, am I.
+
+
+
+THE INVISIBLE PRINCE
+
+THERE were a king and queen who were
+dotingly fond of their only son,
+notwithstanding that he was equally deformed
+in mind and person. The king was quite
+sensible of the evil disposition of his son, but the
+queen in her excessive fondness saw no fault
+whatever in her dear Furibon, as he was named.
+The surest way to win her favor was to praise
+Furibon for charms he did not possess. When he
+came of age to have a governor, the king made
+choice of a prince who had an ancient right to the
+crown, but was not able to support it. This
+prince had a son, named Leander, handsome,
+accomplished, amiable--in every respect the opposite
+of Prince Furibon. The two were frequently
+together, which only made the deformed prince
+more repulsive.
+
+One day, certain ambassadors having arrived
+from a far country, the prince stood in a gallery
+to see them; when, taking Leander for the king's
+son, they made their obeisance to him, treating
+Furibon as a mere dwarf, at which the latter
+was so offended that he drew his sword, and
+would have done them a mischief had not the
+king just then appeared. As it was, the affair
+produced a quarrel, which ended in Leander's
+being sent to a far-away castle belonging to his
+father.
+
+There, however, he was quite happy, for he
+was a great lover of hunting, fishing, and walking:
+he understood painting, read much, and
+played upon several instruments, so that he was
+glad to be freed from the fantastic humors of
+Furibon. One day as he was walking in the
+garden, finding the heat increase, he retired
+into a shady grove and began to play upon the
+flute to amuse himself. As he played, he felt
+something wind about his leg, and looking down
+saw a great adder: he took his handkerchief,
+and catching it by the head was going to kill it.
+But the adder, looking steadfastly in his face,
+seemed to beg his pardon. At this instant one
+of the gardeners happened to come to the place
+where Leander was, and spying the snake, cried
+out to his master: "Hold him fast, sir; it is but
+an hour since we ran after him to kill him: it is
+the most mischievous creature in the world."
+
+Leander, casting his eyes a second time upon
+the snake, which was speckled with a thousand
+extraordinary colors, perceived the poor creature
+still looked upon him with an aspect that
+seemed to implore compassion, and never tried
+in the least to defend itself.
+
+"Though thou hast such a mind to kill it,"
+said he to the gardener, "yet, as it came to me
+for refuge, I forbid thee to do it any harm; for
+I will keep it, and when it has cast its beautiful
+skin I will let it go." He then returned home,
+and carrying the snake with him, put it into a
+large chamber, the key of which he kept himself,
+and ordered bran, milk, and flowers to be given
+to it, for its delight and sustenance; so that
+never was snake so happy. Leander went sometimes
+to see it, and when it perceived him it
+made haste to meet him, showing him all the
+little marks of love and gratitude of which a
+poor snake was capable, which did not a little
+surprise him, though he took no further notice
+of it.
+
+In the meantime all the court ladies were
+extremely troubled at his absence, and he was the
+subject of all their discourse. "Alas!" cried
+they, "there is no pleasure at court since
+Leander is gone, of whose absence the wicked
+Furibon is the cause!" Furibon also had his
+parasites, for his power over the queen made
+him feared; they told him what the ladies said,
+which enraged him to such a degree that in his
+passion he flew to the queen's chamber, and
+vowed he would kill himself before her face if
+she did not find means to destroy Leander. The
+queen, who also hated Leander, because he was
+handsomer than her son, replied that she had
+long looked upon him as a traitor, and therefore
+would willingly consent to his death. To which
+purpose she advised Furibon to go a-hunting
+with some of his confidants, and contrive it so
+that Leander should make one of the party.
+
+"Then," said she, "you may find some way to
+punish him for pleasing everybody."
+
+Furibon understood her, and accordingly
+went a-hunting; and Leander, when he heard the
+horns and the hounds, mounted his horse and
+rode to see who it was. But he was surprised to
+meet the prince so unexpectedly; he alighted
+immediately and saluted him with respect; and
+Furibon received him more graciously than
+usual and bade follow him. All of a sudden
+he turned his horse and rode another way,
+making a sign to the ruffians to take the
+first opportunity to kill him; but before he had
+got quite out of sight, a lion of prodigious size,
+coming out of his den, leaped upon Furibon; all
+his followers fled, and only Leander remained;
+who, attacking the animal sword in hand, by his
+valor and agility saved the life of his most cruel
+enemy, who had fallen in a swoon from fear.
+When he recovered, Leander presented him his
+horse to remount. Now, any other than such a
+wretch would have been grateful, but Furibon
+did not even look upon him; nay, mounting the
+horse, he rode in quest of the ruffians, to whom
+he repeated his orders to kill him. They
+accordingly surrounded Leander, who, setting his
+back to a tree, behaved with so much bravery
+that he laid them all dead at his feet. Furibon,
+believing him by this time slain, rode eagerly up
+to the spot. When Leander saw him he
+advanced to meet him. "Sir," said he, "if it was
+by your order that these assassins came to kill
+me, I am sorry I made any defense."
+
+"You are an insolent villain!" replied
+Furibon, "and if ever you come into my presence
+again, you shall surely die."
+
+Leander made no answer, but retired sad and
+pensive to his own home, where he spent the
+night in pondering what was best for him to do;
+for there was no likelihood he should be able to
+defend himself against the power of the king's
+son; therefore he at length concluded he would
+travel abroad and see the world. Being ready
+to depart, he recollected his snake, and, calling
+for some milk and fruits, carried them to the
+poor creature for the last time; but on opening
+the door he perceived an extraordinary luster in
+one corner of the room, and casting his eye on
+the place he was surprised to see a lady, whose
+noble and majestic air made him immediately
+conclude she was a princess of royal birth. Her
+habit was of purple satin, embroidered with
+pearls and diamonds; she advanced toward him
+with a gracious smile.
+
+"Young prince," said she, "you find no longer
+your pet snake, but me, the fairy Gentilla, ready
+to requite your generosity. For know that we
+fairies live a hundred years in flourishing youth,
+without diseases, without trouble or pain; and
+this term being expired, we become snakes for
+eight days. During that time it is not in our
+power to prevent any misfortune that may befall
+us; and if we happen to be killed, we never
+revive again. But these eight days being expired,
+we resume our usual form and recover our
+beauty, our power, and our riches. Now you
+know how much I am obliged to your goodness,
+and it is but just that I should repay my debt
+of gratitude; think how I can serve you and
+depend on me."
+
+The young prince, who had never conversed
+with a fairy till now, was so surprised that it
+was a long time before he could speak. But
+at length, making a profound reverence,
+"Madam," said he, "since I have had the honor
+to serve you, I know not any other happiness
+that I can wish for."
+
+"I should be sorry," replied she, "not to be
+of service to you in something; consider, it is in
+my power to bestow on you long life, kingdoms,
+riches; to give you mines of diamonds and
+houses full of gold; I can make you an excellent
+orator, poet, musician, and painter; or, if you
+desire it, a spirit of the air, the water, or the
+earth."
+
+Here Leander interrupted her. "Permit me,
+madam," said he, "to ask you what benefit it
+would be to me to be a spirit?"
+
+"Much," replied the fairy, "you would be
+invisible when you pleased, and might in an
+instant traverse the whole earth; you would be
+able to fly without wings, to descend into the
+abyss of the earth without dying, and walk at
+the bottom of the sea without being drowned;
+nor doors, nor windows, though fast shut and
+locked, could hinder you from entering anywhere;
+and whenever you had a mind, you might
+resume your natural form."
+
+"Oh, madam!" cried Leander, "then let me
+be a spirit; I am going to travel, and should
+prefer it above all those other advantages you have
+so generously offered me."
+
+Gentilla thereupon stroking his face three
+times, "Be a spirit," said she; and then,
+embracing him, she gave him a little red cap with a
+plume of feathers. "When you put on this cap
+you shall be invisible; but when you take it off
+you shall again become visible."
+
+Leander, overjoyed, put his little red cap
+upon his head and wished himself in the forest,
+that he might gather some wild roses which he
+had observed there: his body immediately became
+as light as thought; he flew through the
+window like a bird; though, in flying over the
+river, he was not without fear lest he should fall
+into it, and the power of the fairy not be able to
+save him. But he arrived in safety at the rose-
+bushes, plucked the three roses, and returned
+immediately to his chamber; presented his roses
+to the fairy, overjoyed that his first experiments
+had succeeded so well. She bade him keep
+the roses, for that one of them would supply
+him with money whenever he wanted it; that
+if he put the other into his mistress' bosom,
+he would know whether she was faithful or not;
+and that the third would keep him always in
+good health. Then, without staying to receive
+his thanks, she wished him success in his travels
+and disappeared.
+
+Leander, infinitely pleased, settled his affairs,
+mounted the finest horse in the stable, called
+Gris-de-line, and attended by some of his servants
+in livery, made his return to court. Now
+you must know Furibon had given out that had
+it not been for his courage Leander would have
+murdered him when they were a-hunting; so the
+king, being importuned by the queen, gave orders
+that Leander should be apprehended. But when
+he came, he showed so much courage and resolution
+that Furibon ran to the queen's chamber
+and prayed her to order him to be seized. The
+queen, who was extremely diligent in everything
+that her son desired, went immediately to the
+king. Furibon, being impatient to know what
+would be resolved, followed her; but stopped at
+the door and laid his ear to the keyhole, putting
+his hair aside that he might the better hear what
+was said. At the same time, Leander entered the
+court-hall of the palace with his red cap upon
+his head, and perceiving Furibon listening at
+the door of the king's chamber, he took a nail and
+a hammer and nailed his ear to the door. Furibon
+began to roar, so that the queen, hearing
+her son's voice, ran and opened the door, and,
+pulling it hastily, tore her son's ear from his
+head. Half out of her wits, she set him in her
+lap, took up his ear, kissed it, and clapped it
+again upon its place; but the invisible Leander,
+seizing upon a handful of twigs, with which they
+corrected the king's little dogs, gave the queen
+several lashes upon her hands, and her son as
+many on the nose: upon which the queen cried
+out, "Murder! murder!" and the king looked
+about, and the people came running in; but
+nothing was to be seen. Some cried that the
+queen was mad, and that her madness proceeded
+from her grief to see that her son had lost one
+ear; and the king was as ready as any to believe
+it, so that when she came near him he avoided
+her, which made a very ridiculous scene. Leander,
+then leaving the chamber, went into the
+garden, and there, assuming his own shape, he
+boldly began to pluck the queen's cherries,
+apricots, strawberries, and flowers, though he knew
+she set such a high value on them that it was as
+much as a man's life was worth to touch one.
+The gardeners, all amazed, came and told their
+majesties that Prince Leander was making
+havoc of all the fruits and flowers in the queen's
+gardens
+
+"What insolence!" said the queen: then
+turning to Furibon, "my pretty child, forget the
+pain of thy ear but for a moment, and fetch that
+vile wretch hither; take our guards, both horse
+and foot, seize him, and punish him as he
+deserves."
+
+Furibon, encouraged by his mother, and
+attended by a great number of armed soldiers,
+entered the garden and saw Leander; who, taking
+refuge under a tree, pelted them all with
+oranges. But when they came running toward
+him, thinking to have seized him, he was not to
+be seen; he had slipped behind Furibon, who was
+in a bad condition already. But Leander played
+him one trick more; for he pushed him down
+upon the gravel walk, and frightened him so
+that the soldiers had to take him up, carry him
+away, and put him to bed.
+
+Satisfied with this revenge, he returned to
+his servants, who waited for him, and giving
+them money, sent them back to his castle, that
+none might know the secret of his red cap and
+roses. As yet he had not determined whither
+to go; however, he mounted his fine horse Gris-
+de-line, and, laying the reins upon his neck,
+let him take his own road: at length he arrived
+in a forest, where he stopped to shelter himself
+from the heat. He had not been above a minute
+there before he heard a lamentable noise of
+sighing and sobbing; and looking about him,
+beheld a man, who ran, stopped, then ran again,
+sometimes crying, sometimes silent, then tearing
+his hair, then thumping his breast like some
+unfortunate madman. Yet he seemed to be both
+handsome and young: his garments had been
+magnificent, but he had torn them all to tatters.
+The prince, moved with compassion, made toward
+him, and mildly accosted him. "Sir," said
+he, "your condition appears so deplorable that I
+must ask the cause of your sorrow, assuring you
+of every assistance in my power."
+
+"Oh, sir," answered the young man, "nothing
+can cure my grief; this day my dear mistress is
+to be sacrificed to a rich old ruffian of a husband
+who will make her miserable."
+
+"Does she love you, then?" asked Leander.
+
+"I flatter myself so," answered the young
+man.
+
+"Where is she?" continued Leander.
+
+"In the castle at the end of this forest,"
+replied the lover.
+
+"Very well," said Leander; "stay you here
+till I come again, and in a little while I will
+bring you good news."
+
+He then put on his little red cap and wished
+himself in the castle. He had hardly got thither
+before he heard all sorts of music; he entered
+into a great room, where the friends and kindred
+of the old man and the young lady were
+assembled. No one could look more amiable than
+she; but the paleness of her complexion, the
+melancholy that appeared in her countenance,
+and the tears that now and then dropped, as it
+were by stealth from her eyes, betrayed the
+trouble of her mind.
+
+Leander now became invisible, and placed
+himself in a corner of the room. He soon
+perceived the father and mother of the bride; and
+coming behind the mother's chair, whispered in
+her ear, "If you marry your daughter to that
+old dotard, before eight days are over you shall
+certainly die." The woman, frightened to hear
+such a terrible sentence pronounced upon her,
+and yet not know from whence it came, gave a
+loud shriek and dropped upon the floor. Her
+husband asked what ailed her: she cried that she
+was a dead woman if the marriage of her
+daughter went forward, and therefore she would
+not consent to it for all the world. Her husband
+laughed at her and called her a fool. But the
+invisible Leander accosting the man, threatened
+him in the same way, which frightened him so
+terribly that he also insisted on the marriage
+being broken off. When the lover complained,
+Leander trod hard upon his gouty toes and rang
+such an alarm in his ears that, not being able
+any longer to hear himself speak, away he
+limped, glad enough to go. The real lover soon
+appeared, and he and his fair mistress fell
+joyfully into one another's arms, the parents
+consenting to their union. Leander, assuming
+his own shape, appeared at the hall door, as if
+he were a stranger drawn thither by the report
+of this extraordinary wedding.
+
+From hence he traveled on, and came to a
+great city, where, upon his arrival, he understood
+there was a great and solemn procession,
+in order to shut up a young woman against her
+will among the vestal-nuns. The prince was
+touched with compassion; and thinking the best
+use he could make of his cap was to redress
+public wrongs and relieve the oppressed, he flew
+to the temple, where he saw the young woman,
+crowned with flowers, clad in white, and with her
+disheveled hair flowing about her shoulders.
+Two of her brothers led her by each hand, and
+her mother followed her with a great crowd of
+men and women. Leander, being invisible, cried
+out, "Stop, stop, wicked brethren: stop, rash
+and inconsiderate mother; if you proceed any
+further, you shall be squeezed to death like so
+many frogs." They looked about, but could
+not conceive from whence these terrible menaces
+came. The brothers said it was only their
+sister's lover, who had hid himself in some hole;
+at which Leander, in wrath, took a long cudgel,
+and they had no reason to say the blows were not
+well laid on. The multitude fled, the vestals
+ran away, and Leander was left alone with the
+victim; immediately he pulled off his red cap
+and asked her wherein he might serve her. She
+answered him that there was a certain gentleman
+whom she would be glad to marry, but that
+he wanted an estate. Leander then shook his
+rose so long that he supplied them with ten
+millions; after which they were married and
+lived happily together.
+
+But his last adventure was the most agreeable.
+Entering into a wide forest, he heard lamentable
+cries. Looking about him every way, at length
+he spied four men well armed, who were carrying
+away by force a young lady, thirteen or
+fourteen years of age; upon which, making up
+to them as fast as he could, "What harm has
+that girl done?" said he.
+
+"Ha! ha! my little master," cried he who
+seemed to be the ringleader of the rest, "who
+bade you inquire?"
+
+"Let her alone," said Leander, "and go
+about your business."
+
+"Oh, yes, to be sure," cried they, laughing;
+whereupon the prince, alighting, put on his red
+cap, not thinking it otherwise prudent to attack
+four who seemed strong enough to fight a
+dozen. One of them stayed to take care of the
+young lady, while the three others went after
+Gris-de-line, who gave them a great deal of
+unwelcome exercise.
+
+Meantime the young lady continued her cries
+and complaints. "Oh, my dear princess," said
+she, "how happy was I in your palace! Did you
+but know my sad misfortune, you would send
+your Amazons to rescue poor Abricotina."
+
+Leander, having listened to what she said,
+without delay seized the ruffian that held her,
+and bound him fast to a tree before he had time
+or strength to defend himself. He then went to
+the second, and taking him by both arms, bound
+him in the same manner to another tree. In the
+meantime Abricotina made the best of her good
+fortune and betook herself to her heels, not
+knowing which way she went. But Leander,
+missing her, called out to his horse Gris-de-line;
+who, by two kicks with his hoof, rid himself of
+the two ruffians who had pursued him: one of
+them had his head broken and the other three
+of his ribs. And now Leander only wanted to
+overtake Abricotina; for he thought her so handsome
+that he wished to see her again. He found
+her leaning against a tree. When she saw Gris-
+de-line coming toward her, "How lucky am I!"
+cried she; "this pretty little horse will carry me
+to the palace of pleasure." Leander heard her,
+though she saw him not: he rode up to her;
+Gris-de-line stopped, and when Abricotina
+mounted him, Leander clasped her in his arms
+and placed her gently before him. Oh, how
+great was Abricotina's fear to feel herself fast
+embraced, and yet see nobody! She durst not
+stir, and shut her eyes for fear of seeing a spirit.
+But Leander took off his little cap. "How comes
+it, fair Abricotina," said he, "that you are
+afraid of me, who delivered you out of the hands
+of the ruffians?"
+
+With that she opened her eyes, and knowing
+him again, "Oh, sir," said she, "I am infinitely
+obliged to you; but I was afraid, for I felt
+myself held fast and could see no one."
+
+"Surely," replied Leander, "the danger you
+have been in has disturbed you and cast a mist
+before your eyes."
+
+Abricotina would not seem to doubt him,
+though she was otherwise extremely sensible.
+And after they had talked for some time of
+indifferent things, Leander requested her to tell
+him her age, her country, and by what accident
+she fell into the hands of the ruffians.
+
+"Know then, sir," said she, "there was a
+certain very great fairy married to a prince who
+wearied of her: she therefore banished him from
+her presence, and established herself and daughter
+in the Island of Calm Delights. The princess,
+who is my mistress, being very fair, has many
+lovers--among others, one named Furibon,
+whom she detests; he it was whose ruffians
+seized me to-day when I was wandering in
+search of a stray parrot. Accept, noble prince,
+my best thanks for your valor, which I shall
+never forget."
+
+Leander said how happy he was to have
+served her, and asked if he could not obtain
+admission into the island. Abricotina assured
+him this was impossible, and therefore he had
+better forget all about it. While they were thus
+conversing, they came to the bank of a large
+river. Abricotina alighted with a nimble jump
+from the horse.
+
+"Farewell, sir," said she to the prince,
+making a profound reverence; "I wish you every
+happiness."
+
+"And I," said Leander, "wish that I may now
+and then have a small share in your remembrance."
+
+So saying, he galloped away and soon entered
+into the thickest part of the wood, near a river,
+where he unbridled and unsaddled Gris-de-line;
+then, putting on his little cap, wished himself
+in the Island of Calm Delights, and his wish
+was immediately accomplished.
+
+The palace was of pure gold, and stood upon
+pillars of crystal and precious stones, which
+represented the zodiac and all the wonders of
+nature; all the arts and sciences; the sea, with
+all the variety of fish therein contained; the
+earth, with all the various creatures which it
+produces; the chases of Diana and her nymphs;
+the noble exercises of the Amazons; the amusements
+of a country life; flocks of sheep with
+their shepherds and dogs; the toils of agriculture,
+harvesting, gardening. And among all
+this variety of representations there was neither
+man nor boy to be seen--not so much as a little
+winged Cupid; so highly had the princess been
+incensed against her inconstant husband as not
+to show the least favor to his fickle sex.
+
+"Abricotina did not deceive me," said
+Leander to himself; "they have banished from
+hence the very idea of men; now let us see what
+they have lost by it." With that he entered into
+the palaces and at every step he took he met with
+objects so wonderful that when he had once
+fixed his eyes upon them he had much ado to
+take them off again. He viewed a vast number
+of these apartments, some full of china, no less
+fine than curious; others lined with porcelain, so
+delicate that the walls were quite transparent.
+Coral, jasper, agates, and cornelians adorned the
+rooms of state, and the presence-chamber was
+one entire mirror. The throne was one great
+pearl, hollowed like a shell; the princess sat,
+surrounded by her maidens, none of whom could
+compare with herself. In her was all the innocent
+sweetness of youth, joined to the dignity of
+maturity; in truth, she was perfection; and so
+thought the invisible Leander.
+
+Not seeing Abricotina, she asked where she
+was. Upon that, Leander, being very desirous
+to speak, assumed the tone of a parrot, for there
+were many in the room, and addressed himself
+invisibly to the princess.
+
+"Most charming princess," said he, "Abricotina
+will return immediately. She was in great
+danger of being carried away from this place but
+for a young prince who rescued her."
+
+The princess was surprised at the parrot, his
+answer was so extremely pertinent.
+
+"You are very rude, little parrot," said the
+princess;" and Abricotina, when she comes,
+shall chastise you for it."
+
+"I shall not be chastised," answered Leander,
+still counterfeiting the parrot's voice; "moreover,
+she will let you know the great desire that
+stranger had to be admitted into this palace,
+that he might convince you of the falsehood of
+those ideas which you have conceived against
+his sex."
+
+"In truth, pretty parrot," cried the princess,
+"it is a pity you are not every day so diverting;
+I should love you dearly."
+
+"Ah! if prattling will please you, princess,"
+replied Leander, "I will prate from morning
+till night."
+
+"But," continued the princess, "how shall I
+be sure my parrot is not a sorcerer?"
+
+"He is more in love than any sorcerer can be,"
+replied the prince.
+
+At this moment Abricotina entered the room,
+and falling at her lovely mistress' feet, gave her
+a full account of what had befallen her, and
+described the prince in the most glowing colors.
+
+"I should have hated all men," added she,
+"had I not seen him! Oh, madam, how charming
+he is! His air and all his behavior have
+something in them so noble; and though whatever
+he spoke was infinitely pleasing, yet I think
+I did well in not bringing him hither."
+
+To this the princess said nothing, but she
+asked Abricotina a hundred other questions
+concerning the prince; whether she knew his name,
+his country, his birth, from whence he came, and
+whither he was going; and after this she fell
+into a profound thoughtfulness.
+
+Leander observed everything, and continued
+to chatter as he had begun.
+
+"Abricotina is ungrateful, madam," said he;
+"that poor stranger will die for grief if he sees
+you not."
+
+"Well, parrot, let him die," answered the
+princess with a sigh; "and since thou under-
+takest to reason like a person of wit, and not a
+little bird, I forbid thee to talk to me any more
+of this unknown person."
+
+Leander was overjoyed to find that Abricotina's
+and the parrot's discourse had made such
+an impression on the princess. He looked upon
+her with pleasure and delight. "Can it be,"
+said he to himself, "that the masterpiece of
+nature, that the wonder of our age, should be
+confined eternally in an island, and no mortal
+dare to approach her? But," continued he,
+"wherefore am I concerned that others are
+banished hence, since I have the happiness to be
+with her, to hear and to admire her; nay, more,
+to love her above all the women in the universe?"
+
+It was late, and the princess retired into a
+large room of marble and porphyry, where
+several bubbling fountains, refreshed the air
+with an agreeable coolness. As soon as she
+entered the music began, a sumptuous supper
+was served up, and the birds from several
+aviaries on each side of the room, of which
+Abricotina had the chief care, opened their little
+throats in the most agreeable manner.
+
+Leander had traveled a journey long enough
+to give him a good appetite, which made him
+draw near the table, where the very smell of such
+viands was agreeable and refreshing. The princess
+had a curious tabby-cat, for which she had
+a great kindness. This cat one of the maids of
+honor held in her arms, saying, "Madam, Bluet
+is hungry!" With that a chair was presently
+brought for the cat; for he was a cat of quality,
+and had a necklace of pearl about his neck. He
+was served on a golden plate with a laced napkin
+before him; and the plate being supplied with
+meat, Bluet sat with the solemn importance of
+an alderman.
+
+"Ho! ho!" cried Leander to himself; "an
+idle tabby malkin, that perhaps never caught a
+mouse in his life, and I dare say is not descended
+from a better family than myself, has the honor
+to sit at table with my mistress: I would fain
+know whether he loves her so well as I do."
+
+Saying this, he placed himself in the chair with
+the cat upon his knee, for nobody saw him, because
+he had his little red cap on; finding Bluet's
+plate well supplied with partridge, quails, and
+pheasants, he made so free with them that whatever
+was set before Master Puss disappeared in
+a trice. The whole court said no act{sic} ever ate with
+a better appetite. There were excellent ragouts,
+and the prince made use of the cat's paw to taste
+them; but he sometimes pulled his paw too
+roughly, and Bluet, not understanding raillery,
+began to mew and be quite out of patience. The
+princess observing it, "Bring that fricassee and
+that tart to poor Bluet," said she; "see how he
+cries to have them."
+
+Leander laughed to himself at the pleasantness
+of this adventure; but he was very thirsty,
+not being accustomed to make such large meals
+without drinking. By the help of the cat's paw
+he got a melon, with which he somewhat
+quenched his thirst; and when supper was quite
+over, he went to the buffet and took two bottles
+of delicious wine.
+
+The princess now retired into her boudoir,
+ordering Abricotina to follow her and make fast
+the door; but they could not keep out Leander,
+who was there as soon as they. However, the
+princess, believing herself alone with her confidante:
+
+"Abricotina," said she, "tell me truly, did
+you exaggerate in your description of the unknown
+prince, for methinks it is impossible he
+should be as amiable as you say?"
+
+"Madam," replied the damsel, "if I have
+failed in anything, it was ln coming short of
+what was due to him."
+
+The princess sighed and was silent for a time;
+then resuming her speech: "I am glad," said
+she, "thou didst not bring him with thee."
+
+"But, madam," answered Abricotina, who
+was a cunning girl, and already penetrated her
+mistress' thoughts, "suppose he had come to
+admire the wonders of these beautiful mansions,
+what harm could he have done us? Will you
+live eternally unknown in a corner of the world,
+concealed from the rest of human kind? Of
+what use is all your grandeur, pomp, magnificence,
+if nobody sees it?"
+
+"Hold thy peace, prattler," replied the
+princess, "and do not disturb that happy repose
+which I have enjoyed so long."
+
+Abricotina durst make no reply; and the
+princess, having waited her answer for some time,
+asked her whether she had anything to say.
+Abricotina then said she thought it was to very
+little purpose her mistress having sent her
+picture to the courts of several princes, where
+it only served to make those who saw it miserable;
+that every one would be desirous to marry
+her, and as she could not marry them all, indeed
+none of them, it would make them desperate.
+
+"Yet, for all that," said the princess, I could
+wish my picture were in the hands of this same
+stranger."
+
+"Oh, madam," answered Abricotina, "is not
+his desire to see you violent enough already?
+Would you augment it?"
+
+"Yes," cried the princess; "a certain impulse
+of vanity, which I was never sensible of till now,
+has bred this foolish fancy in me."
+
+Leander heard all this discourse, and lost not
+a tittle of what she said; some of her expressions
+gave him hope, others absolutely destroyed
+it. The princess presently asked Abricotina
+whether she had seen anything extraordinary
+during her short travels.
+
+"Madam," said she, "I passed through one
+forest where I saw certain creatures that
+resembled little children: they skip and dance
+upon the trees like squirrels; they are very ugly,
+but have wonderful agility and address."
+
+"I wish I had one of them," said the princess;
+"but if they are so nimble as you say they are,
+it is impossible to catch one."
+
+Leander, who passed through the same forest,
+knew what Abricotina meant, and presently
+wished himself in the place. He caught a dozen
+of little monkeys, some bigger, some less, and all
+of different colors, and with much ado put them
+into a large sack; then, wishing himself at Paris,
+where, he had heard, a man might have everything
+for money, he went and bought a little gold
+chariot. He taught six green monkeys to draw
+it; they were harnessed with fine traces of flame-
+colored morocco leather. He went to another
+place, where he met with two monkeys of merit,
+the most pleasant of which was called Briscambril,
+the other Pierceforest--both very spruce
+and well educated. He dressed Briscambril like
+a king and placed him in the coach; Pierceforest
+he made the coachman; the others were dressed
+like pages; all which he put into his sack, coach
+and all.
+
+The princess not being gone to bed, heard a
+rumbling of a little coach in the long gallery; at
+the same time, her ladies came to tell her that
+the king of the dwarfs was arrived, and the
+chariot immediately entered her chamber with
+all the monkey train. The country monkeys began
+to show a thousand tricks, which far
+surpassed those of Briscambril and Pierceforest.
+To say the truth, Leander conducted the
+whole machine. He drew the chariot where
+Briscambril sat arrayed as a king, and making
+him hold a box of diamonds in his hand, he
+presented it with a becoming grace to the princess.
+The princess' surprise may be easily imagined.
+Moreover, Briscambril made a sign for Pierceforest
+to come and dance with him. The most
+celebrated dancers were not to be compared with
+them in activity. But the princess, troubled
+that she could not guess from whence this
+curious present came, dismissed the dancers
+sooner than she would otherwise have done,
+though she was extremely pleased with them.
+
+Leander, satisfied with having seen the
+delight the princess had taken in beholding the
+monkeys, thought of nothing now but to get a
+little repose, which he greatly wanted. He
+stayed sometime in the great gallery; afterward,
+going down a pair of stairs, and finding a door
+open, he entered into an apartment the most
+delightful that ever was seen. There was in it a
+bed of cloth-of-gold, enriched with pearls,
+intermixed with rubies and emeralds: for by this
+time there appeared daylight sufficient for him
+to view and admire the magnificence of this
+sumptuous furniture. Having made fast the
+door, he composed himself to sleep. Next day
+he rose very early, and looking about on every
+side, he spied a painter's pallet, with colors ready
+prepared and pencils. Remembering what the
+princess had said to Abricotina touching her
+own portrait, he immediately (for he could paint
+as well as the most excellent masters) seated
+himself before a mirror and drew his own picture
+first; then, in an oval, that of the princess.
+He had all her features so strong in his
+imagination that he had no occasion for her sitting;
+and as his desire to please her had set him to
+work, never did portrait bear a stronger resemblance.
+He had painted himself upon one knee,
+holding the princess' picture in one hand, and
+in the other a label with this inscription, "She
+is better in my heart." When the princess went
+into her cabinet, she was amazed to see the
+portrait of a man; and she fixed her eyes upon it
+with so much the more surprise, because she also
+saw her own with it, and because the words
+which were written upon the label afforded her
+ample room for curiosity. She persuaded herself
+that it was Abricotina's doing; and all she
+desired to know was whether the portrait was
+real or imaginary. Rising in haste, she called
+Abricotina, while the invisible Leander, with
+his little red cap, slipped into the cabinet,
+impatient to know what passed. The princess bade
+Abricotina look upon the picture and tell her
+what she thought of it.
+
+After she had viewed it, "I protest!" said she,
+"'tis the picture of that generous stranger to
+whom I am indebted for my life. Yes, yes, I am
+sure it is he; his very features, shape, and hair."
+
+"Thou pretendest surprise," said the
+princess, "but I know it was thou thyself who put it
+there."
+
+"Who! I, madam?" replied Abricotina. "I
+protest I never saw the picture before in my life.
+Should I be so bold as to conceal from your
+knowledge a thing that so nearly concerns you?
+And by what miracle could I come by it? I
+never could paint, nor did any man ever enter
+this place; yet here he is painted with you?"
+
+"Some spirit, then, must have brought it
+hither," cried the princess.
+
+"How I tremble for fear, madam!" said
+Abricotina. "Was it not rather some lover?
+And therefore, if you will take my advice, let us
+burn it immediately."
+
+"'Twere a pity to burn it," cried the princess,
+sighing; "a finer piece, methinks, cannot adorn
+my cabinet." And saying these words, she cast
+her eyes upon it. But Abricotina continued
+obstinate in her opinion that it ought to be
+burned, as a thing that could not come there but
+by the power of magic.
+
+"And these words--`She is better in my
+heart,' " said the princess; "must we burn them
+too?"
+
+"No favor must be shown to anything," said
+Abricotina, "not even to your own portrait."
+
+Abricotina ran away immediately for some
+fire, while the princess went to look out at the
+window. Leander, unwilling to let his performance
+be burned, took this opportunity to convey
+it away without being perceived. He had hardly
+quitted the cabinet, when the princess turned
+about to look once more upon that enchanting
+picture, which had so delighted her. But how
+was she surprised to find it gone! She sought
+for it all the room over; and Abricotina,
+returning, was no less surprised than her mistress; so
+that this last adventure put them both in the
+most terrible fright.
+
+Leander took great delight in hearing and
+seeing his incomparable mistress; even though
+he had to eat every day at her table with the
+tabby-cat, who fared never the worse for that;
+but his satisfaction was far from being complete,
+seeing he durst neither speak nor show himself;
+and he knew it was not a common thing for
+ladies to fall in love with persons invisible.
+
+The princess had a universal taste for amusement.
+One day, she was saying to her attend-
+ants that it would give her great pleasure to
+know how the ladies were dressed in all the
+courts of the universe. There needed no more
+words to send Leander all over the world. He
+wished himself in China, where he bought the
+richest stuffs he could lay his hands on, and got
+patterns of all the court fashions. From thence
+he flew to Siam, where he did the same; in three
+days he traveled over all the four parts of the
+world, and from time to time brought what he
+bought to the Palace of Calm Delights, and hid
+it all in a chamber, which he kept always locked.
+When he had thus collected together all the
+rarities he could meet with--for he never wanted
+money, his rose always supplying him--he went
+and bought five or six dozen of dolls, which he
+caused to be dressed at Paris, the place in the
+world where most regard is paid to fashions.
+They were all dressed differently, and as
+magnificent as could be, and Leander placed them all
+in the princess' closet. When she entered it, she
+was agreeably surprised to see such company of
+little mutes, every one decked with watches
+bracelets, diamond buckles, or necklaces; and
+the most remarkable of them held a picture box
+in its hand, which the princess opening, found it
+contained Leander's portrait. She gave a loud
+shriek, and looking upon Abricotina, "There
+have appeared of late," said she, "so many
+wonders in this place, that I know not what to
+think of them: my birds are all grown witty; I
+cannot so much as wish, but presently I have
+my desires; twice have I now seen the portrait
+of him who rescued thee from the ruffians; and
+here are silks of all sorts, diamonds,
+embroideries, laces, and an infinite number of other
+rarities. What fairy is it that takes such care to
+pay me these agreeable civilities?"
+
+Leander was overjoyed to hear and see her so
+much interested about his picture, and calling to
+mind that there was in a grotto which she often
+frequented a certain pedestal, on which a Diana,
+not yet finished, was to be erected, on this pedestal
+he resolved to place himself, crowned with
+laurel, and holding a lyre in his hand, on which
+he played like another Apollo. He most
+anxiously waited the princess' retiring to the
+grotto, which she did every day since her
+thoughts had taken up with this unknown person;
+for what Abricotina had said, joined to the
+sight of the picture, had almost destroyed her
+repose: her lively humor changed into a pensive
+melancholy, and she grew a great lover of
+solitude. When she entered the grotto, she made a
+sign that nobody should follow her, so that her
+young damsels dispersed themselves into the
+neighboring walks. The princess threw herself
+upon a bank of green turf, sighed, wept, and
+even talked, but so softly that Leander could not
+hear what she said. He had put his red cap on,
+that she might not see him at first; but having
+taken it off, she beheld him standing on the
+pedestal. At first she took him for a real statue,
+for he observed exactly the attitude in which he
+had placed himself, without moving so much as
+a finger. She beheld with a kind of pleasure
+intermixed with fear, but pleasure soon dispelled
+her fear, and she continued to view the
+pleasing figure, which so exactly resembled life.
+The prince having tuned his lyre, began to
+play; at which the princess, greatly surprised,
+could not resist the fear that seized her; she
+grew pale and fell into a swoon. Leander
+leaped from the pedestal, and putting on his
+little red cap, that he might not be perceived,
+took the princess in his arms and gave her all the
+assistance that his zeal and tenderness could
+inspire. At length she opened her charming eyes
+and looked about in search of him, but she could
+perceive nobody; yet she felt somebody who held
+her hands, kissed them, and bedewed them with
+his tears. It was a long time before she durst
+speak, and her spirits were in a confused agitation
+between fear and hope. She was afraid of
+the spirit, but loved the figure of the unknown.
+At length she said: "Courtly invisible, why are
+you not the person I desire you should be?" At
+these words Leander was going to declare himself,
+but durst not do it yet. "For," thought he,
+"if I again affright the object I adore and make
+her fear me, she will not love me." This
+consideration caused him to keep silence.
+
+The princess, then, believing herself alone,
+called Abricotina and told her all the wonders
+of the animated statue; that it had played
+divinely, and that the invisible person had given
+her great assistance when she lay in a swoon.
+
+"What pity 'tis," said she, "that this person
+should be so frightful, for nothing can be more
+amiable or acceptable than his behavior!"
+
+"Who told you, madam," answered Abricotina,
+"that he is frightful? If he is the youth
+who saved me, he is beautiful as Cupid himself."
+
+"If Cupid and the unknown are the same,"
+replied the princess, blushing, "I could be
+content to love Cupid; but alas! how far am I from
+such a happiness! I love a mere shadow; and
+this fatal picture, joined to what thou hast told
+me, have inspired me with inclinations so contrary
+to the precepts which I received from my
+mother that I am daily afraid of being punished
+for them."
+
+"Oh! madam," said Abricotina, interrupting
+her, "have you not troubles enough already?
+Why should you anticipate afflictions which may
+never come to pass?"
+
+It is easy to imagine what pleasure Leander
+took in this conversation.
+
+In the meantime the little Furibon, still
+enamored of the princess whom he had never
+seen, expected with impatience the return of the
+four servants whom he had sent to the Island of
+Calm Delights. One of them at last came back,
+and after he had given the prince a particular
+account of what had passed, told him that the
+island was defended by Amazons, and that unless
+he sent a very powerful army, it would be
+impossible to get into it. The king his father
+was dead, and Furibon was now lord of all:
+disdaining, therefore, any repulse, he raised an
+army of four hundred thousand men, and put
+himself at the head of them, appearing like
+another Tom Thumb upon a war-horse. Now,
+when the Amazons perceived his mighty host,
+they gave the princess notice of its who
+immediately dispatched away her trusty
+Abricotina to the kingdom of the fairies, to beg her
+mother's instructions as to what she should do
+to drive the little Furibon from her territories.
+But Abricotina found the fairy in an angry
+humor.
+
+"Nothing that my daughter does," said she,
+"escapes my knowledge. The Prince Leander is
+now in her palace; he loves her, and she has a
+tenderness for him. All my cares and precepts
+have not been able to guard her from the
+tyranny of love, and she is now under its fatal
+dominion. But it is the decree of destiny, and I
+must submit; therefore, Abricotina, begone! nor
+let me hear a word more of a daughter whose
+behavior has so much displeased me."
+
+Abricotina returned with these ill tidings,
+whereat the princess was almost distracted; and
+this was soon perceived by Leander, who was
+near her, though she did not see him. He beheld
+her grief with the greatest pain. However, he
+durst not then open his lips; but recollecting
+that Furibon was exceedingly covetous, he
+thought that, by giving him a sum of money, he
+might perhaps prevail with him to retire. Thereupon,
+he dressed himself like an Amazon, and
+wished himself in the forest, to catch his horse.
+He had no sooner called him than Gris-de-line
+came leaping, prancing, and neighing for joy,
+for he was grown quite weary of being so long
+absent from his dear master; but when he beheld
+him dressed as a woman he hardly knew him.
+However, at the sound of his voice, he suffered
+the prince to mount, and they soon arrived in the
+camp at Furibon, where they gave notice that a
+lady was come to speak with him from the
+Princess of Calm Delights. Immediately the
+little fellow put on his royal robes, and having
+placed himself upon his throne, he looked like a
+great toad counterfeiting a king.
+
+Leander harangued him, and told him that the
+princess, preferring a quiet and peaceable life
+to the fatigues of war, had sent to offer his
+majesty as much money as he pleased to demand,
+provided he would suffer her to continue in
+peace; but if he refused her proposal, she would
+omit no means that might serve for her defense.
+Furibon replied that he took pity on her, and
+would grant her the honor of his protection; but
+that he demanded a hundred thousand millions
+of pounds, and without which he would not return
+to his kingdom. Leander answered that
+such a vast sum would be too long a-counting,
+and therefore, if he would say how many rooms
+full he desired to have, the princess was generous
+and rich enoug hto{sic} satisfy him. Furibon was
+astonished to hear that, instead of entreating,
+she would rather offer more; and it came into
+his wicked mind to take all the money he could
+get, and then seize the Amazon and kill her, that
+she might never return to her mistress. He told
+Leander, therefore, that he would have thirty
+chambers of gold, all full to the ceiling.
+Leander, being conducted into the chambers,
+took his rose and shook it, till every room was
+filled with all sorts of coin. Furibon was in an
+ecstasy, and the more gold he saw the greater
+was his desire to get hold of the Amazon; so that
+when all the rooms were full, he commanded his
+guards to seize her, alleging she had brought
+him counterfeit money. Immediately Leander
+put on his little red cap and disappeared. The
+guards, believing that the lady had escaped, ran
+out and left Furibon alone; when Leander,
+availing himself of the opportunity, took the
+tyrant by the hair, and twisted his head off with
+the same ease he would a pullet's; nor did the
+little wretch of a king see that hand that killed
+him.
+
+Leander having got his enemy's head, wished
+himself in the Palace of Calm Delights, where
+he found the princess walking, and with grief
+considering the message which her mother had
+sent her, and on the means to repel Furibon.
+
+Suddenly she beheld a head hanging in the
+air, with nobody to hold it. This prodigy
+astonished her so that she could not tell what to
+think of it; but her amazement was increased
+when she saw the head laid at her feet, and heard
+a voice utter these words:
+
+     "Charming Princess, cease your fear
+     Of Furibon; whose head see here."
+
+
+Abricotina, knowing Leander's voice, cried:
+
+"I protest, madam, the invisible person who
+speaks is the very stranger that rescued me."
+
+The princess seemed astonished, but yet
+pleased.
+
+"Oh," said she, "if it be true that the invisible
+and the stranger are the same person, I confess
+I shall be glad to make him my acknowledgments."
+
+Leander, still invisible, replied, "I will yet do
+more to deserve them;" and so saying he
+returned to Furibon's army, where the report of
+the king's death was already spread throughout
+the camp. As soon as Leander appeared there
+in his usual habit, everybody knew him; all the
+officers and soldiers surrounded him, uttering
+the loudest acclamations of joy. In short, they
+acknowledged him for their king, and that the
+crown of right belonged to him, for which he
+thanked them, and, as the first mark of his royal
+bounty, divided the thirty rooms of gold among
+the soldiers. This done he returned to his
+princess, ordering his army to march back into
+his kingdom.
+
+The princess was gone to bed. Leander,
+therefore, retired into his own apartment, for
+he was very sleepy--so sleepy that he forgot to
+bolt his door; and so it happened that the
+princess, rising early to taste the morning air,
+chanced to enter into this very chamber, and was
+astonished to find a young prince asleep upon
+the bed. She took a full view of him, and was
+convinced that he was the person whose picture
+she had in her diamond box. "It is impossible,"
+said she, "that this should be a spirit; for can
+spirits sleep? Is this a body composed of air
+and fire, without substance, as Abricotina told
+me?" She softly touched his hair, and heard
+him breathe, and looked at him as if she could
+have looked forever. While she was thus
+occupied, her mother, the fairy entered with such a
+noise that Leander started out of his sleep. But
+how deeply was he afflicted to behold his beloved
+princess in the most deplorable condition! Her
+mother dragged her by the hair and loaded her
+with a thousand bitter reproaches. In what
+grief and consternation were the two young
+lovers, who saw themselves now upon the point
+of being separated forever! The princess durst
+not open her lips, but cast her eyes upon
+Leander, as if to beg his assistance. He judged
+rightly that he ought not to deal rudely with a
+power superior to his own, and therefore he
+sought, by his eloquence and submission, to
+move the incensed fairy. He ran to her, threw
+himself at her feet, and besought her to have
+pity upon a young prince who would never
+change in his affection for her daughter.
+The princess, encouraged, also embraced her
+mother's knees, and declared that without
+Leander she should never be happy.
+
+"Happy!" cried the fairy; "you know not
+the miseries of love nor the treacheries of which
+lovers are capable. They bewitch us only to
+poison our lives; I have known it by experience;
+and will you suffer the same?"
+
+"Is there no exception, madam?" replied
+Leander, and his countenance showed him to be
+one.
+
+But neither tears nor entreaties could move
+the implacable fairy; and it is very probable
+that she would have never pardoned them, had
+not the lovely Gentilla appeared at that instant
+in the chamber, more brilliant than the sun.
+Embracing the old fairy:
+
+"Dear sister," said she, "I am persuaded you
+cannot have forgotten the good office I did you
+when, after your unhappy marriage, you
+besought a readmittance into Fairyland; since
+then I never desired any favor at your hands,
+but now the time is come. Pardon, then, this
+lovely princess; consent to her nuptials with
+this young prince. I will engage he shall be
+ever constant to her; the thread of their days
+shall be spun of gold and silk; they shall live to
+complete your happiness; and I will never forget
+the obligation you lay upon me."
+
+"Charming Gentilla," cried the fairy, "I
+consent to whatever you desire. Come, my dear
+children, and receive my love." So saying, she
+embraced them both.
+
+Abricotina, just then entering, cast her eyes
+upon Leander; she knew him again, and saw he
+was perfectly happy, at which she, too, was quite
+satisfied.
+
+"Prince," condescendingly said the fairy-
+mother, "I will remove the Island of Calm
+Delights into your own kingdom, live with you
+myself, and do you great services."
+
+Whether or not Prince Leander appreciated
+this offer, he bowed low, and assured his mother-
+in-law that no favor could be equal to the one he
+had that day received from her hands. This
+short compliment pleased the fairy exceedingly,
+for she belonged to those ancient days when
+people used to stand a whole day upon one leg
+complimenting one another. The nuptials were
+performed in a most splendid manner, and the
+young prince and princess lived together
+happily many years, beloved by all around them.
+
+
+
+PRINCE CHERRY
+
+
+
+PRINCE CHERRY
+
+LONG ago there lived a monarch, who
+was such a very, honest man that his
+subjects entitled him the Good King.
+One day, when he was out hunting, a
+little white rabbit, which had been half-killed
+by his hounds, leaped right into his majesty's
+arms. Said he, caressing it: "This poor creature
+has put itself under my protection, and I
+will allow no one to injure it." So he carried it
+to his palace, had prepared for it a neat little
+rabbit-hutch, with abundance of the daintiest
+food, such as rabbits love, and there he left it.
+
+The same night, when he was alone in his
+chamber, there appeared to him a beautiful lady.
+She was dressed neither in gold, nor silver, nor
+brocade; but her flowing robes were white as
+snow, and she wore a garland of white roses on
+her head. The Good King was greatly astonished
+at the sight; for his door was locked, and
+he wondered how so dazzling a lady could
+possibly enter; but she soon removed his doubts.
+
+"I am the fairy Candide," said she, with a
+smiling and gracious air. "Passing through the
+wood where you were hunting, I took a desire to
+know if you were as good as men say you are I
+therefore changed myself into a white rabbit
+and took refuge in your arms. You saved me
+and now I know that those who are merciful to
+dum beasts will be ten times more so to human
+beings. You merit the name your subjects give
+you: you are the Good King. I thank you for
+your protection, and shall be always one of your
+best friends. You have but to say what you
+most desire, and I promise you your wish shall
+be granted."
+
+"Madam," replied the king, "if you are a
+fairy, you must know, without my telling you,
+the wish of my heart. I have one well-beloved
+son, Prince Cherry: whatever kindly feeling
+you have toward me, extend it to him."
+
+"Willingly," said Candide. "I will make him
+the handsomest, richest, or most powerful prince
+in the world: choose whichever you desire for
+him."
+
+"None of the three," returned the father. "I
+only wish him to be good--the best prince in the
+whole world. Of what use would riches, power,
+or beauty be to him if he were a bad man?"
+
+"You are right," said the fairy; "but I can
+not make him good: he must do that himself. I
+can only change his external fortunes; for his
+personal character, the utmost I can promise is
+to give him good counsel, reprove him for his
+faults, and even punish him, if he will not
+punish himself. You mortals can do the same
+with your children."
+
+"Ah, yes!" said the king, sighing. Still, he
+felt that the kindness of a fairy was something
+gained for his son, and died not long after, content
+and at peace.
+
+Prince Cherry mourned deeply, for he dearly
+loved his father, and would have gladly given all
+his kingdoms and treasures to keep him in life a
+little longer. Two days after the Good King
+was no more, Prince Cherry was sleeping in his
+chamber, when he saw the same dazzling vision
+of the fairy Candide.
+
+"I promised your father," said she, "to be
+your best friend, and in pledge of this take what
+I now give you;" and she placed a small gold
+ring upon his finger. "Poor as it looks, it is
+more precious than diamonds; for whenever you
+do ill it will prick your finger. If, after that
+warning, you still continue in evil, you will lose
+my friendship, and I shall become your direst
+enemy."'
+
+So saying, she disappeared, leaving Cherry
+in such amazement that he would have believed
+it all a dream, save for the ring on his finger.
+
+He was for a long time so good that the ring
+never pricked him at all; and this made him so
+cheerful and pleasant in his humor that everybody
+called him "Happy Prince Cherry." But
+one unlucky day he was out hunting and found
+no sport, which vexed him so much that he
+showed his ill temper by his looks and ways. He
+fancied his ring felt very tight and uncomfortable,
+but as it did not prick him he took no heed
+of this: until, re-entering his palace, his little
+pet dog, Bibi, jumped up upon him and was
+sharply told to get away. The creature, accustomed
+to nothing but caresses, tried to attract
+his attention by pulling at his garments, when
+Prince Cherry turned and gave it a severe kick.
+At this moment he felt in his finger a prick like
+a pin.
+
+"What nonsense!" said he to himself. "The
+fairy must be making game of me. Why, what
+great evil have I done! I, the master of a great
+empire, cannot I kick my own dog?"
+
+A voice replied, or else Prince Cherry
+imagined it, "No, sire; the master of a great
+empire has a right to do good, but not evil. I--a
+fairy--am as much above you as you are above
+your dog. I might punish you, kill you, if
+I chose; but I prefer leaving you to amend your
+ways. You have been guilty of three faults
+today--bad temper, passion, cruelty: do better
+to-morrow."
+
+The prince promised, and kept his word a
+while; but he had been brought up by a foolish
+nurse, who indulged him in every way and was
+always telling him that he would be a king one
+day, when he might do as he liked in all things.
+He found out now that even a king cannot always
+do that; it vexed him and made him angry.
+His ring began to prick him so often that his
+little finger was continually bleeding. He
+disliked this, as was natural, and soon began to
+consider whether it would not be easier to throw
+the ring away altogether than to be constantly
+annoyed by it. It was such a queer thing for a
+king to have a spot of blood on his finger! At
+last, unable to put up with it any more, he took
+his ring off and hid it where he would never see
+it; and believed himself the happiest of men, for
+he could now do exactly what he liked. He did
+it, and became every day more and more miserable.
+
+One day he saw a young girl, so beautiful that,
+being always accustomed to have his own way,
+he immediately determined to espouse her. He
+never doubted that she would be only too glad to
+be made a queen, for she was very poor. But
+Zelia--that was her name--answered, to his
+great astonishment, that she would rather not
+marry him.
+
+"Do I displease you?" asked the prince, into
+whose mind it had never entered that he could
+displease anybody.
+
+"Not at all, my prince," said the honest
+peasant maiden. "You are very handsome, very
+charming; but you are not like your father the
+Good King. I will not be your queen, for you
+would make me miserable."
+
+At these words the prince's love seemed all to
+turn to hatred: he gave orders to his guards to
+convey Zelia to a prison near the palace, and
+then took counsel with his foster brother, the one
+of all his ill companions who most incited him to
+do wrong.
+
+"Sir," said this man, "if I were in your
+majesty's place, I would never vex myself about a
+poor silly girl. Feed her on bread and water till
+she comes to her senses; and if she still refuses
+you, let her die in torment, as a warning to your
+other subjects should they venture to dispute
+your will. You will be disgraced should you
+suffer yourself to be conquered by a simple
+girl."
+
+"But," said Prince Cherry, "shall I not be
+disgraced if I harm a creature so perfectly
+innocent?"
+
+"No one is innocent who disputes your
+majesty's authority," said the courtier, bowing;
+"and it is better to commit an injustice than
+allow it to be supposed you can ever be contradicted
+with impunity."
+
+This touched Cherry on his weak point--his
+good impulses faded; he resolved once more to
+ask Zelia if she would marry him, and if she
+again refused, to sell her as a slave. Arrived at
+the cell in which she was confined, what was his
+astonishment to find her gone! He knew not
+whom to accuse, for he had kept the key in his
+pocket the whole time. At last, the foster-
+brother suggested that the escape of Zelia might
+have been contrived by an old man, Suliman by
+name, the prince's former tutor, who was the
+only one who now ventured to blame him for
+anything that he did. Cherry sent immediately,
+and ordered his old friend to be brought to him,
+loaded heavily with irons. Then, full of fury,
+he went and shut himself up in his own chamber,
+where he went raging to and fro, till startled by
+a noise like a clap of thunder. The fairy Candide
+stood before him.
+
+"Prince," said she, in a severe voice, "I
+promised your father to give you good counsels
+and to punish you if you refused to follow them.
+My counsels were forgotten, my punishment
+despised. Under the figure of a man, you have
+been no better than the beasts you chase: like a
+lion in fury, a wolf in gluttony, a serpent in
+revenge, and a bull in brutality. Take, therefore,
+in your new form the likeness of all these
+animals."
+
+Scarcely had Prince Cherry heard these
+words than to his horror he found himself transformed
+into what the Fairy had named. He
+was a creature with the head of a lion, the horns
+of a bull, the feet of a wolf, and the tail of a
+serpent. At the same time he felt himself
+transported to a distant forest, where, standing
+on the bank of a stream, he saw reflected in the
+water his own frightful shape, and heard a
+voice saying:
+
+"Look at thyself, and know thy soul has
+become a thousand times uglier even than thy
+body."
+
+Cherry recognized the voice of Candide, and
+in his rage would have sprung upon her and
+devoured her; but he saw nothing and the same
+voice said behind him:
+
+"Cease thy feeble fury, and learn to conquer
+thy pride by being in submission to thine own
+subjects."
+
+Hearing no more, he soon quitted the stream,
+hoping at least to get rid of the sight of himself;
+but he had scarcely gone twenty paces when he
+tumbled into a pitfall that was laid to catch
+bears; the bear-hunters, descending from some
+trees hard by, caught him, chained him, and
+only too delighted to get hold of such a curious-
+looking animal, led him along with them to the
+capital of his own kingdom.
+
+There great rejoicings were taking place, and
+the bear-hunters, asking what it was all about,
+were told that it was because Prince Cherry, the
+torment of his subjects, had just been struck
+dead by a thunderbolt--just punishment of all
+his crimes. Four courtiers, his wicked companions,
+had wished to divide his throne between
+them; but the people had risen up against them
+and offered the crown to Suliman, the old tutor
+whom Cherry had ordered to be arrested.
+
+All this the poor monster heard. He even saw
+Suliman sitting upon his own throne and trying
+to calm the populace by representing to them
+that it was not certain Prince Cherry was dead;
+that he might return one day to reassume with
+honor the crown which Suliman only consented
+to wear as a sort of viceroy.
+
+"I know his heart," said the honest and
+faithful old man; "it is tainted, but not corrupt.
+If alive, he may reform yet, and be all his father
+over again to you, his people, whom he has caused
+to suffer so much."
+
+These words touched the poor beast so deeply
+that he ceased to beat himself against the iron
+bars of the cage in which the hunters carried him
+about, became gentle as a lamb, and suffered
+himself to be taken quietly to a menagerie,
+where were kept all sorts of strange and
+ferocious animals a place which he had himself
+often visited as a boy, but never thought he
+should be shut up there himself.
+
+However, he owned he had deserved it all, and
+began to make amends by showing himself very
+obedient to his keeper. This man was almost as
+great a brute as the animals he had charge of,
+and when he was in ill humor he used to beat
+them without rhyme or reason. One day, while
+he was sleeping, a tiger broke loose and leaped
+upon him, eager to devour him. Cherry at first
+felt a thrill of pleasure at the thought of being
+revenged; then, seeing how helpless the man was,
+he wished himself free, that he might defend
+him. Immediately the doors of his cage opened.
+The keeper, waking up, saw the strange beast
+leap out, and imagined, of course, that he was
+going to be slain at once. Instead, he saw the
+tiger lying dead, and the strange beast creeping
+up and laying itself at his feet to be caressed.
+But as he lifted up his hand to stroke it, a voice
+was heard saying, "Good actions never go
+unrewarded;" and instead of the frightful monster,
+there crouched on the ground nothing but a
+pretty little dog.
+
+Cherry, delighted to find himself thus
+metamorphosed, caressed the keeper in every possible
+way, till at last the man took him up into his
+arms and carried him to the king, to whom he
+related this wonderful story, from beginning to
+end. The queen wished to have the charming
+little dog; and Cherry would have been exceedingly
+happy could he have forgotten that he was
+originally a man and a king. He was lodged
+most elegantly, had the richest of collars to adorn
+his neck, and heard himself praised continually.
+But his beauty rather brought him into trouble,
+for the queen, afraid lest he might grow too
+large for a pet, took advice of dog-doctors, who
+ordered that he should be fed entirely upon
+bread, and that very sparingly; so poor Cherry
+was sometimes nearly starved.
+
+One day, when they gave him his crust for
+breakfast, a fancy seized him to go and eat it in
+the palace garden; so he took the bread in his
+mouth and trotted away toward a stream which
+he knew, and where he sometimes stopped to
+drink. But instead of the stream he saw a
+splendid palace, glittering with gold and
+precious stones. Entering the doors was a crowd of
+men and women, magnificently dressed; and
+within there was singing and dancing and good
+cheer of all sorts. Yet, however grandly and
+gayly the people went in, Cherry noticed that
+those who came out were pale, thin, ragged,
+half-naked, covered with wounds and sores.
+Some of them dropped dead at once; others
+dragged themselves on a little way and then lay
+down, dying of hunger, and vainly begged a
+morsel of bread from others who were entering
+in--who never took the least notice of them.
+
+Cherry perceived one woman, who was trying
+feebly to gather and eat some green herbs.
+"Poor thing!" said he to himself; "I know what
+it is to be hungry, and I want my breakfast
+badly enough; but still it will kill me to wait
+till dinner time, and my crust may save the life
+of this poor woman."
+
+So the little dog ran up to her and dropped
+his bread at her feet; she picked it up and ate it
+with avidity. Soon she looked quite recovered,
+and Cherry, delighted, was trotting back again
+to his kennel, when he heard loud cries, and saw
+a young girl dragged by four men to the door of
+the palace, which they were trying to compel
+her to enter. Oh, how he wished himself a monster
+again, as when he slew the tiger!--for the
+young girl was no other than his beloved Zelia.
+Alas! what could a poor little dog do to defend
+her? But he ran forward and barked at the
+men, and bit their heels, until at last they chased
+him away with heavy blows. And then he lay
+down outside the palace door, determined to
+watch and see what had become of Zelia.
+
+Conscience pricked him now. "What!"
+thought he, "I am furious against these wicked
+men, who are carrying her away; and did I not
+do the same myself? Did I not cast her into
+prison, and intend to sell her as a slave? Who
+knows how much more wickedness I might not
+have done to her and others, if Heaven's justice
+had not stopped me in time?"
+
+While he lay thinking and repenting, he heard
+a window open and saw Zelia throw out of it a
+bit of dainty meat. Cherry, who felt hungry
+enough by this time, was just about to eat it,
+when the woman to whom he had given his crust
+snatched him up in her arms
+
+"Poor little beast!" cried she, patting him,
+"every bit of food in that palace is poisoned:
+you shall not touch a morsel."
+
+And at the same time the voice in the air
+repeated again, "Good actions never go
+unrewarded;" and Cherry found himself changed
+into a beautiful little white pigeon. He
+remembered with joy that white was the color of the
+fairy Candide, and began to hope that she was
+taking him into favor again.
+
+So he stretched his wings, delighted that he
+might now have a chance of approaching his
+fair Zelia. He flew up to the palace windows,
+and, finding one of them open, entered and
+sought everywhere, but he could not find Zelia.
+Then, in despair, he flew out again, resolved to
+go over the world until he beheld her once more.
+
+He took flight at once and traversed many
+countries, swiftly as a bird can, but found no
+trace of his beloved. At length in a desert,
+sitting beside an old hermit in his cave and par-
+taking with him his frugal repast, Cherry saw
+a poor peasant girl and recognized Zelia. Transported
+with joy, he flew in, perched on her
+shoulder, and expressed his delight and affection
+by a thousand caresses.
+
+She, charmed with the pretty little pigeon,
+caressed it in her turn, and promised it that if it
+would stay with her she would love it always.
+
+"What have you done, Zelia?" said the
+hermit, smiling; and while he spoke the white pigeon
+vanished, and there stood Prince Cherry in his
+own natural form. "Your enchantment ended,
+prince, when Zelia promised to love you. Indeed,
+she has loved you always, but your many
+faults constrained her to hide her love. These
+are now amended, and you may both live happy
+if you will, because your union is founded upon
+mutual esteem."
+
+Cherry and Zelia threw themselves at the feet
+of the hermit, whose form also began to change.
+His soiled garments became of dazzling whiteness,
+and his long beard and withered face grew
+into the flowing hair and lovely countenance of
+the fairy Candide.
+
+"Rise up, my children," said she; "I must
+now transport you to your palace and restore to
+Prince Cherry his father's crown, of which he
+is now worthy."
+
+She had scarcely ceased speaking when they
+found themselves in the chamber of Suliman,
+who, delighted to find again his beloved pupil
+and master, willingly resigned the throne, and
+became the most faithful of his subjects.
+
+King Cherry and Queen Zelia reigned
+together for many years, and it is said that the
+former was so blameless and strict in all his
+duties that though he constantly wore the ring
+which Candide had restored to him, it never
+once pricked his finger enough to make it bleed.
+
+
+
+THE PRINCE WITH THE NOSE
+
+
+THE PRINCE WITH THE NOSE
+
+
+THERE was once a king who was
+passionately in love with a beautiful
+princess, but she could not be married
+because a magican{sic} had enchanted her.
+The king went to a good fairy to inquire what he
+should do. Said the fairy, after receiving him
+graciously: "Sir, I will tell you a great secret.
+The princess has a great cat whom she loves so
+well that she cares for nothing and nobody else;
+but she will be obliged to marry any person who
+is adroit enough to walk upon the cat's tail."
+
+"That will not be very difficult," thought the
+king to himself, and departed, resolving to
+trample the cat's tail to pieces rather than not
+succeed in walking upon it. He went immediately
+to the palace of his fair mistress and the
+cat; the animal came in front of him, arching its
+back in anger as it was wont to do. The king
+lifted up his foot, thinking nothing would be so
+easy as to tread on the tail, but he found
+himself mistaken. Minon--that was the creature's
+name--twisted itself round so sharply that the
+king only hurt his own foot by stamping on the
+floor. For eight days did he pursue the cat
+everywhere: up and down the palace he was
+after it from morning till night, but with no
+better success; the tail seemed made of quicksilver,
+so very lively was it. At last the king had the
+good fortune to catch Minon sleeping, when
+tramp! tramp! he trod on the tail with all his
+force.
+
+Minon woke up, mewed horribly, and immediately
+changed from a cat into a large, fierce-
+looking man, who regarded the king with flashing
+eyes.
+
+"You must marry the princess," cried he,
+"because you have broken the enchantment in
+which I held her; but I will be revenged on you.
+You shall have a son with a nose as long as--
+that;" he made in the air a curve of half a foot;
+"yet he shall believe it is just like all other noses,
+and shall be always unfortunate till he has found
+out it is not. And if you ever tell anybody of
+this threat of mine, you shall die on the spot."
+So saying the magician disappeared.
+
+The king, who was at first much terrified, soon
+began to laugh at this adventure. "My son
+might have a worse misfortune than too long a
+nose," thought he. "At least it will hinder him
+neither in seeing nor hearing. I will go and find
+the princess and marry her at once."
+
+He did so, but he only lived a few months
+after, and died before his little son was born, so
+that nobody knew anything about the secret of
+the nose.
+
+The little prince was so much wished for that
+when he came into the world they agreed to
+call him Prince Wish. He had beautiful blue
+eyes and a sweet little mouth, but his nose was
+so big that it covered half his face. The queen,
+his mother, was inconsolable; but her ladies
+tried to satisfy her by telling her that the nose
+was not nearly so large as it seemed, that it would
+grow smaller as the prince grew bigger, and that
+if it did not a large nose was indispensable to a
+hero. All great soldiers, they said, had great
+noses, as everybody knew. The queen was so
+very fond of her son that she listened eagerly to
+all this comfort. Shortly she grew so used to
+the princes's nose that it did not seem to her any
+larger than ordinary noses of the court; where,
+in process of time, everybody with a long nose
+was very much admired, and the unfortunate
+people who had only snubs were taken very little
+notice of.
+
+Great care was observed in the education of
+the prince; and as soon as he could speak they
+told him all sorts of amusing tales, in which all
+the bad people had short noses, and all the good
+people had long ones. No person was suffered to
+come near him who had not a nose of more than
+ordinary length; nay, to such an extent did the
+countries carry their fancy, that the noses of all
+the little babies were ordered to be pulled out as
+far as possible several times a day, in order to
+make them grow. But grow as they would, they
+never could grow as long as that of Prince Wish.
+When he was old enough his tutor taught him
+history; and whenever any great king or lovely
+princess was referred to, the tutor always took
+care to mention that he or she had a long nose.
+All the royal apartments were filled with pictures
+and portraits having this peculiarity, so
+that at last Prince Wish began to regard the
+length of his nose as his greatest perfection, and
+would not have had it an inch less even to save
+his crown.
+
+When he was twenty years old his mother and
+his people wished him to marry. They procured
+for him the likenesses of many princesses, but
+the one he preferred was Princess Darling,
+daughter of a powerful monarch and heiress to
+several kingdoms. Alas! with all her beauty,
+this princess had one great misfortune, a little
+turned-up nose, which, every one else said made
+her only the more bewitching. But here, in the
+kingdom of Prince Wish, the courtiers were
+thrown by it into the utmost perplexity. They
+were in the habit of laughing at all small noses;
+but how dared they make fun of the nose of
+Princess Darling? Two unfortunate gentlemen,
+whom Prince Wish had overheard doing so,
+were ignominiously banished from the court and
+capital.
+
+After this, the courtiers became alarmed, and
+tried to correct their habit of speech; but they
+would have found themselves in constant difficulties,
+had not one clever person struck out a
+bright idea. He said that though it was
+indispensably necessary for a man to have a great
+nose, women were very different; and that a
+learned man had discovered in a very old manuscript
+that the celebrated Cleopatra, Queen of
+Egypt, the beauty of the ancient world, had a
+turned-up nose. At this information Prince
+Wish was so delighted that he made the courtier
+a very handsome present, and immediately sent
+off ambassadors to demand Princess Darling in
+marriage.
+
+She accepted his offer at once, and returned
+with the ambassadors. He made all haste to
+meet and welcome her, but when she was only
+three leagues distant from his capital, before he
+had time even to kiss her hand, the magician
+who had once assumed the shape of his mother's
+cat, Minon, appeared in the air and carried her
+off before the lover's very eyes.
+
+Prince Wish, almost beside himself with grief,
+declared that nothing should induce him to return
+to his throne and kingdom till he had found
+Darling. He would suffer none of his courtiers
+or attendants to follow him; but bidding them
+all adieu, mounted a good horse, laid the reins on
+the animal's neck, and let him take him wherever
+he would.
+
+The horse entered a wide-extended plain, and
+trotted on steadily the whole day without finding
+a single house. Master and beast began almost
+to faint with hunger; and Prince Wish might
+have wished himself at home again, had he not
+discovered, just at dusk, a cavern, where there
+sat, beside a bright lantern, a little woman who
+might have been more than a hundred years old.
+
+She put on her spectacles the better to look
+at the stranger, and he noticed that her nose was
+so small that the spectacles would hardly stay
+on; then the prince and the fairy--for she was a
+fairy--burst into laughter.
+
+"What a funny nose!" cried the one.
+
+"Not so funny as yours, madam," returned
+the other. "But pray let us leave our noses
+alone, and be good enough to give me something
+to eat, for I am dying with hunger, and so is my
+poor horse."
+
+"With all my heart," answered the fairy.
+"Although your nose is ridiculously long, you
+are no less the son of one of my best friends. I
+loved your father like a brother; he had a very
+handsome nose."
+
+"What is wanting to my nose?" asked Wish
+rather savagely.
+
+"Oh! nothing at all. On the contrary, there is
+a great deal too much of it; but never mind, one
+may be a very honest man, and yet have too big
+a nose. As I said, I was a great friend of your
+father's; he came often to see me. I was very
+pretty then, and oftentimes he used to say to me,
+`My sister----' "
+
+"I will hear the rest, madam, with pleasure,
+when I have supped; but will you condescend to
+remember that I have tasted nothing all day?"
+
+"Poor boy," said the fairy, "I will give you
+some supper directly; and while you eat it I will
+tell you my history in six words, for I hate
+much talking. A long tongue is as insupportable
+as a long nose; and I remember when I was
+young how much I used to be admired because I
+was not a talker; indeed, some one said to the
+queen my mother--for poor as you see me now,
+I am the daughter of a great king, who
+always----"
+
+"Ate when he was hungry, I hope,"
+interrupted the prince, whose patience was fast
+departing.
+
+"You are right," said the imperturbable old
+fairy; "and I will bring you your supper
+directly, only I wish first just to say that the king
+my father----"
+
+"Hang the king your father!" Prince Wish
+was about to exclaim, but he stopped himself,
+and only observed that however the pleasure of
+her conversation might make him forget his
+hunger, it could not have the same effect upon
+his horse, who was really starving.
+
+The fairy, pleased at his civility, called her
+servants and bade them supply him at once with
+all he needed. "And," added she, "I must say
+you are very polite and very good-tempered, in
+spite of your nose."
+
+"What has the old woman to do with my
+nose?" thought the prince. "If I were not so
+very hungry, I would soon show her what she is
+--a regular old gossip and chatterbox. She to
+fancy she talks little, indeed! One must be very
+foolish not to know one's own defects. This
+comes of being born a princess. Flatterers have
+spoiled her and persuaded her that she talks
+little. Little, indeed! I never knew anybody
+chatter so much."
+
+While the prince thus meditated, the servants
+were laying the table, the fairy asking them a
+hundred unnecessary questions, simply for the
+pleasure of hearing herself talk. "Well,"
+thought Wish, "I am delighted that I came
+hither, if only to learn how wise I have been in
+never listening to flatterers, who hide from us
+our faults, or make us believe they are perfections.
+But they could never deceive me. I know
+all my own weak points, I trust." As truly he
+believed he did.
+
+So he went on eating contentedly, nor stopped
+till the old fairy began to address him.
+
+"Prince," said she, "will you be kind enough
+to turn a little? Your nose casts such a shadow
+that I cannot see what is on my plate. And, as
+I was saying, your father admired me and always
+made me welcome at court. What is the
+court etiquette there now? Do the ladies still
+go to assemblies, promenades, balls?--I beg your
+pardon for laughing, but how very long your
+nose is."
+
+"I wish you would cease to speak of my nose,"
+said the prince, becoming annoyed. "It is what
+it is, and I do not desire it any shorter."
+
+"Oh! I see that I have vexed you," returned
+the fairy. "Nevertheless, I am one of your best
+friends, and so I shall take the liberty of
+always----" She would doubtless have gone on
+talking till midnight; but the prince, unable to
+bear it any longer, here interrupted her, thanked
+her for her hospitality, bade her a hasty adieu,
+and rode away.
+
+He traveled for a long time, half over the
+world, but he heard no news of Princess Darling.
+However, in each place he went to, he
+heard one remarkable fact--the great length of
+his own nose. The little boys in the streets
+jeered at him, the peasants stared at him, and the
+more polite ladies and gentlemen whom he met
+in society used to try in vain to keep from
+laughing, and to get out of his way as soon as they
+could. So the poor prince became gradually
+quite forlorn and solitary; he thought all the
+world was mad, but still he never thought of
+there being anything queer about his own nose.
+At last the old fairy, who, though she was a
+chatterbox, was very good-natured; saw that he
+was almost breaking his heart. She felt sorry
+for him and wished to help him in spite of
+himself, for she knew the enchantment which hid
+from him the Princess Darling could never be
+broken till he had discovered his own defect.
+So she went in search of the princess, and being
+more powerful than the magician, since she was
+a good fairy and he was an evil magician, she got
+her away from him and shut her up in a palace
+of crystal, which she placed on the road which
+Prince Wish had to pass.
+
+He was riding along, very melancholy, when
+he saw the palace; and at its entrance was a
+room, made of the purest glass, in which sat his
+beloved princess, smiling and beautiful as ever.
+He leaped from his horse and ran toward her.
+She held out her hand for him to kiss, but he
+could not get at it for the glass. Transported
+with eagerness and delight, he dashed his sword
+through the crystal and succeeded in breaking a
+small opening, to which she put up her beautiful
+rosy mouth. But it was in vain; Prince Wish
+could not approach it. He twisted his neck
+about, and turned his head on all sides, till at
+length, putting up his hand to his face, he
+discovered the impediment.
+
+"It must be confessed,'t exclaimed he, "that
+my nose is too long."
+
+That moment the glass walls all split asunder,
+and the old fairy appeared, leading Princess
+Darling.
+
+"Avow, prince," said she, "that you are very
+much obliged to me, for now the enchantment is
+ended. You may marry the object of your
+choice. But," added she, smiling, "I fear I
+might have talked to you forever on the subject
+of your nose, and you would not have believed
+me in its length, till it became an obstacle to your
+own inclinations. Now behold it!" and she held
+up a crystal mirror. "Are you satisfied to be
+no different from other people?"
+
+"Perfectly," said Prince Wish, who found
+his nose had shrunk to an ordinary length. And
+taking the Princess Darling by the hand, he
+kissed her courteously, affectionately, and
+satisfactorily. Then they departed to their own
+country, and lived very happily all their days.
+
+
+
+THE FROG-PRINCE
+
+IN times of yore, when wishes were both
+heard and granted, lived a king whose
+daughters were all beautiful but the youngest
+was so lovely that the sun himself, who
+has seen so much, wondered at her beauty every
+time he looked in her face. Now, near the king's
+castle was a large dark forest; and in the forest,
+under an old linden tree, was a deep well. When
+the day was very hot, the king's daughter used
+to go to the wood and seat herself at the edge of
+the cool well; and when she became wearied, she
+would take a golden ball, throw it up in the air,
+and catch it again. This was her favorite amusement.
+Once it happened that her golden ball,
+instead of falling back into the little hand that
+she stretched out for it, dropped on the ground,
+and immediately rolled away into the water.
+The king's daughter followed it with her eyes,
+but the ball had vanished, and the well was so
+deep that no one could see down to the bottom.
+Then she began to weep, wept louder and louder
+every minute, and could not console herself at
+all.
+
+While she was thus lamenting some one called
+to her: "What is the matter with you, king's
+daughter? You weep so that you would touch
+the heart of a stone."
+
+She looked around to see whence the voice
+came, and saw a frog stretching his thick ugly
+head out of the water.
+
+"Ah! it is you, old water-paddler!" said she.
+"I am crying for my golden ball, which has
+fallen into the well."
+
+"Be content," answered the frog; "I dare say
+I can give you some good advice; but what will
+you give me if I bring back your plaything to
+you?"
+
+"Whatever you like, dear frog," said she,
+"my clothes, my pearls and jewels, even the
+golden crown I wear."
+
+The frog answered, "Your clothes, your
+pearls and jewels, even your golden crown, I do
+not care for; but if you will love me, and let me
+be your companion and play-fellow, sit near you
+at your little table, eat from your little golden
+plate, drink from your little cup, and sleep in
+your little bed--if you will promise me this,
+then I will bring you back your golden ball from
+the bottom of the well."
+
+"Oh, yes!" said she; "I promise you every-
+thing, if you will only bring me back my golden
+ball."
+
+She thought to herself, meanwhile: "What
+nonsense the silly frog talks! He sits in the
+water with the other frogs, and croaks, and cannot
+be anybody's playfellow!"
+
+But the frog, as soon as he had received the
+promise dipped his head under the water and
+sank down. In a little while up he came again
+with the ball in his mouth, and threw it on the
+grass. The king's daughter was overjoyed when
+she beheld her pretty plaything again, picked it
+up, and ran away with it.
+
+"Wait! wait!" cried the frog; "take me with
+you. I cannot run as fast as you."
+
+Alas! of what use was it that he croaked after
+her as loud as he could. She would not listen to
+him, but hastened home, and soon forgot the poor
+frog, who was obliged to plunge again to the
+bottom of his well.
+
+The next day, when she was sitting at dinner
+with the king and all the courtiers, eating from
+her little gold plate, there came a sound of
+something creeping up the marble staircase--splish,
+splash; and when it had reached the top, it
+knocked at the door and cried, "Youngest king's
+daughter, open to me."
+
+She ran, wishing to see who was outside; but
+when she opened the door and there sat the frog,
+she flung it hastily to again and sat down at
+table, feeling very, very uncomfortable. The
+king saw that her heart was beating violently,
+and said, "How, my child, why are you afraid?
+Is a giant standing outside the door to carry you
+off?"
+
+"Oh, no!" answered she, "it is no giant, but a
+nasty frog, who yesterday, when I was playing
+in the wood near the well, fetched my golden ball
+out of the water. For this I promised him he
+should be my companion, but I never thought he
+could come out of his well. Now he is at the door,
+and wants to come in."
+
+Again, the second time there was a knock, and
+a voice cried:
+
+     "Youngest king's daughter,
+          Open to me;
+     Know you what yesterday
+          You promised me,
+     By the cool water?
+          Youngest king's daughter,
+          Open to me."
+
+
+Then said the king, "What you promised you
+must perform. Go and open the door."
+
+She went and opened the door; the frog
+hopped in, always following and following her
+till he came up to her chair. There he sat and
+cried out, "Lift me up to you on the table."
+
+She refused, till the king, her father,
+commanded her to do it. When the frog was on the
+table, he said, "Now push your little golden plate
+nearer to me, that we may eat together." She
+did as he desired, but one could easily see that
+she did it unwillingly. The frog seemed to enjoy
+his dinner very much, but every morsel she ate
+stuck in the throat of the poor little princess.
+
+Then said the frog, "I have eaten enough, and
+am tired; carry me to your little room, and make
+your little silken bed smooth, and we will lay
+ourselves down to sleep together."
+
+At this the daughter of the king began to
+weep; for she was afraid of the cold frog, who
+wanted to sleep in her pretty clean bed.
+
+But the king looked angrily at her, and said
+again: "What you have promised you must perform.
+The frog is your companion."
+
+It was no use to complain; whether she liked
+it or not, she was obliged to take the frog with
+her up to her little bed. So she picked him up
+with two fingers, hating him bitterly the while,
+and carried him upstairs: but when she got into
+bed, instead of lifting him up to her, she threw
+him with all her strength against the wall, saying,
+"Now you nasty frog, there will be an end
+of you."
+
+But what fell down from the wall was not a
+dead frog, but a living young prince, with beautiful
+and loving eyes, who at once became, by her
+own promise and her father's will, her dear
+companion and husband. He told her how he
+had been cursed by a wicked sorceress, and that
+no one but the king's youngest daughter could
+release him from his enchantment and take him
+out of the well.
+
+The next day a carriage drove up to the palace
+gates with eight white horses, having white
+feathers on their heads and golden reins. Behind
+it stood the servant of the young prince,
+called the faithful Henry. This faithful Henry
+had been so grieved when his master was changed
+into a frog that he had been compelled to have
+three iron bands fastened round his heart, lest
+it should break. Now the carriage came to convey
+the prince to his kingdom, so the faithful
+Henry lifted in the bride and bridegroom and
+mounted behind, full of joy at his lord's release.
+But when they had gone a short distance, the
+prince heard behind him a noise as if something
+was breaking. He cried out, "Henry, the carriage
+is breaking!"
+
+But Henry replied: "No, sir, it is not the
+carriage but one of the bands from my heart, with
+which I was forced to bind it up, or it would have
+broken with grief while you sat as a frog at the
+bottom of the well."
+
+Twice again this happened, and the prince
+always thought the carriage was breaking; but it
+was only the bands breaking off from the heart
+of the faithful Henry, out of joy that his lord,
+the frog-prince, was a frog no more.
+
+
+
+CLEVER ALICE
+
+ONCE upon a time there was a man who
+had a daughter who was called
+"Clever Alice," and when she was
+grown up, her father said, "We must
+see about her marrying."
+
+"Yes," replied her mother, "whenever a
+young man shall appear who is worthy of her."
+
+At last a certain youth, by name Hans, came
+from a distance to make a proposal of marriage;
+but he required one condition, that the clever
+Alice should be very prudent.
+
+"Oh," said her father, "no fear of that! she
+has got a head full of brains;" and the mother
+added, "ah, she can see the wind blow up the
+street, and hear the flies cough!"
+
+"Very well," replied Hans; "but remember,
+if she is not very prudent, I will not take her."
+Soon afterward they sat down to dinner, and her
+mother said, "Alice, go down into the cellar and
+draw some beer."
+
+So Clever Alice took the jug down from the
+wall, and went into the cellar, jerking the lid
+up and down on her way, to pass away the time.
+As soon as she got downstairs she drew a stool
+and placed it before the cask, in order that she
+might not have to stoop, for she thought stooping
+might in some way injure her back and give it
+an undesirable bend. Then she placed the can
+before her and turned the tap, and while the beer
+was running, as she did not wish her eyes to be
+idle, she looked about upon the wall above and
+below. Presently she perceived, after much
+peeping into this corner and that corner, a
+hatchet, which the bricklayers had left behind?
+sticking out of the ceiling right above her head.
+At the sight of this Clever Alice began to cry,
+saying, "Oh! if I marry Hans, and we have a
+child, and he grows up, and we send him into the
+cellar to draw beer, the hatchet will fall upon his
+head and kill him," and so she sat there weeping
+with all her might over the impending misfortune.
+
+Meanwhile the good folks upstairs were waiting
+for the beer, but as Clever Alice did not
+come, her mother told the maid to go and see
+what she was stopping for. The maid went
+down into the cellar and found Alice sitting before
+the cask crying heartily, and she asked,
+"Alice, what are you weeping about?"
+
+"Ah," she replied, "have I not cause? If I
+marry Hans, and we have a child, and he grows
+up, and we send him here to draw beer, that
+hatchet will fall upon his head and kill him."
+
+"Oh," said the maid, "what a clever Alice we
+have!" And sitting down, she began to weep,
+too, for the misfortune that was to happen.
+
+After a while, when the servant did not
+return, the good folks above began to feel very
+thirsty; so the husband told the boy to go down
+into the cellar and see what had become of Alice
+and the maid. The boy went down, and there sat
+Clever Alice and the maid both crying, so he
+asked the reason; and Alice told him the same
+tale, of the hatchet that was to fall on her child,
+if she married Hans, and if they had a child.
+When she had finished, the boy exclaimed,
+"What a clever Alice we have!" and fell weeping
+and howling with the others.
+
+Upstairs they were still waiting, and the
+husband said, when the boy did not return, "Do you
+go down, wife, into the cellar and see why Alice
+stays so long." So she went down, and finding
+all three sitting there crying, asked the reason,
+and Alice told her about the hatchet which must
+inevitably fall upon the head of her son. Then
+the mother likewise exclaimed, "Oh, what a
+clever Alice we have!" and, sitting down, began
+to weep as much as any of the rest.
+
+Meanwhile the husband waited for his wife's
+return; but at last he felt so very thirsty that he
+said, "I must go myself down into the cellar and
+see what is keeping our Alice." As soon as he
+entered the cellar, there he found the four sitting
+and crying together, and when he heard the
+reason, he also exclaimed, "Oh, what a clever
+Alice we have!" and sat down to cry with the
+whole strength of his lungs.
+
+All this time the bridegroom above sat waiting,
+but when nobody returned, he thought they
+must be waiting for him, and so he went down to
+see what was the matter. When he entered,
+there sat the five crying and groaning, each one
+in a louder key than his neighbor.
+
+"What misfortune has happened?" he asked.
+
+"Ah, dear Hans!" cried Alice, "if you and I
+should marry one another, and have a child,
+and he grew up, and we, perhaps, send him down
+to this cellar to tap the beer, the hatchet which
+has been left sticking up there may fall on his
+head, and so kill him; and do you not think this
+is enough to weep about?"
+
+"Now," said Hans, "more prudence than this
+is not necessary for my housekeeping; because
+you are such a clever Alice, I will have you for
+my wife." And, taking her hand, he led her
+home, and celebrated the wedding directly.
+
+After they had been married a little while,
+Hans, said one morning, "Wife, I will go out to
+work and earn some money; do you go into the
+field and gather some corn wherewith to make
+bread."
+
+"Yes," she answered, "I will do so, dear
+Hans." And when he was gone, she cooked herself
+a nice mess of pottage to take with her. As
+she came to the field, she said to herself, "What
+shall I do? Shall I cut first, or eat first? Aye,
+I will eat first!" Then she ate up the contents of
+her pot, and when it was finished, she thought to
+herself, "Now, shall I reap first or sleep first?
+Well, I think I will have a nap!" and so she laid
+herself down among the corn, and went to sleep.
+
+Meanwhile Hans returned home, but Alice did
+not come, and so he said, "Oh, what a prudent
+Alice I have! She is so industrious that she does
+not even come home to eat anything." By and
+by, however, evening came on, and still she did
+not return; so Hans went out to see how much
+she had reaped; but, behold, nothing at all, and
+there lay Alice fast asleep among the corn! So
+home he ran very fast, and brought a net with
+little bells hanging on it, which he threw over
+her head while she still slept on. When he had
+done this, he went back again and shut to the
+house door, and, seating himself on his stool,
+began working very industriously.
+
+At last, when it was nearly dark, the clever
+Alice awoke, and as soon as she stood up, the net
+fell all over her hair, and the bells jingled at
+every step she took. This quite frightened her,
+and she began to doubt whether she were really
+Clever Alice, and said to herself, "Am I she, or
+am I not?" This was a question she could not
+answer, and she stood still a long while considering
+about it. At last she thought she would go
+home and ask whether she was really herself--
+supposing somebody would be able to tell her.
+
+When she came up to the house door it was
+shut; so she tapped at the window, and asked,
+"Hans, is Alice within?" "Yes," he replied,
+"she is." At which answer she became really
+terrified, and exclaiming, "Ah, heaven, then I
+am not Alice!" she ran up to another house,
+intending to ask the same question. But as soon as
+the folks within heard the jingling of the bells
+in her net, they refused to open their doors, and
+nobody would receive her. So she ran straight
+away from the village, and no one has ever seen
+her since.
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg Etext of The Little Lame Prince
+
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