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diff --git a/old/50658-0.txt b/old/50658-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index cac00e4..0000000 --- a/old/50658-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,4696 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Feather, by Ford H. Madox Hueffer - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: The Feather - -Author: Ford H. Madox Hueffer - -Illustrator: F. Madox Brown - -Release Date: December 10, 2015 [EBook #50658] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FEATHER *** - - - - -Produced by Emmy and the Online Distributed Proofreading -Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from -images generously made available by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - - - -[Illustration] - -THE CHILDREN’S LIBRARY - -THE FEATHER - - - - -_THE CHILDREN’S LIBRARY._ - - - THE BROWN OWL. - A CHINA CUP, AND OTHER STORIES. - STORIES FROM FAIRYLAND. - TALES FROM THE MABINOGION. - THE STORY OF A PUPPET. - THE LITTLE PRINCESS. - IRISH FAIRY TALES. - AN ENCHANTED GARDEN. - LA BELLE NIVERNAISE. - THE FEATHER. - - (_Others in the Press._) - -[Illustration: “BUT THE EAGLE HAD THE BEST OF IT AFTER ALL.”] - - - - -THE FEATHER - - BY - FORD H. MADOX HUEFFER - AUTHOR OF ‘THE BROWN OWL’ - - - _WITH FRONTISPIECE BY - F. MADOX BROWN_ - - - LONDON - T. FISHER UNWIN - 1892 - -[Illustration] - - - - -_TO JULIET_ - - - ‘_True, I talk of dreams, - Which are the children of an idle brain, - Begot of nothing but vain fantasy, - Which is as thin of substance as the air._’ - - - - -THE FEATHER - - -ONCE upon a time there was a King who reigned over a country as yet, -for a reason you may learn later on, undiscovered—a most lovely -country, full of green dales and groves of oak, a land of dappled -meadows and sweet rivers, a green cup in a circlet of mountains, in -whose shadow the grass was greenest; and the only road to enter the -country lay up steep, boiling waterfalls, and thereafter through rugged -passes, the channels that the rivers had cut for themselves. Therefore, -as you may imagine, the dwellers in the land were little troubled by -inroads of hostile nations; and they lived peaceful lives, managing -their own affairs, and troubling little about the rest of the world. - -Now this King, like many kings before and after him, had a daughter -who, while very young, had, I am sorry to say, been very self-willed; -and the King, on the death of his wife, finding himself utterly unable -to manage the Princess, handed her over to the care of an aged nurse, -who, however, was not much more successful—but that is neither here nor -there. - -For years everything went on smoothly, and it seemed as if everything -intended to go on smoothly until doomsday, in which case this history -would probably never have been written. But one evening in summer -the Princess and her nurse, who had by this time become less able -than ever to manage her charge, sat on a terrace facing the west. The -Princess had been amusing herself by pelting the swans swimming in the -river with rose-leaves, which the indignant swans snapped up as they -fluttered down on the air or floated by on the river. - -But after a time she began to tire of this pastime, and sitting down, -looked at the sun that was just setting, a blinding glare of orange -flame behind the black hills. Suddenly she turned to the nurse and said: - -‘What’s on the other side of the hills?’ - -‘Lawk-a-mussy-me, miss!’ answered the nurse, ‘I’m sure I don’t know. -What a question to ask!’ - -‘Then why don’t you ask some one who has been there?’ - -‘Because no one ever has, miss.’ - -‘But why not?’ - -‘Because there’s a fiery serpent that eats every one who comes near -the hills; and if you’re not eaten up, you’re bound to tumble down a -precipice that’s nearly three miles deep, before you can get over the -hills.’ - -‘Oh, what fun! Let’s go,’ said the Princess, by no means awed. But the -nurse shook her head. - -‘No, miss, I won’t go; and I’m sure your pa won’t let you go.’ - -‘Oh yes, he will; let’s go and ask him.’ - -But at that moment a black shadow came across the sun, and the swans, -with a terrified ‘honk, honk,’ darted across the water to hide -themselves in the reeds on the other side of the river, churning dark -tracks in the purple of the sunlit water’s glassy calmness. - -‘Oh dear! oh dear! it’s a boggles, and it’s coming this way,’ cried the -nurse. - -‘But what is a boggles, nurse?’ - -‘Oh dear, it’s coming! Come into the house and I’ll tell you—come.’ - -‘Not until you tell me what a boggles is.’ - -The nurse perforce gave in. - -‘A boggles is a thing with a hooked beak and a squeaky voice, with hair -like snakes in corkscrews; and it haunts houses and carries off things; -and when it once gets in it never leaves again—oh dear, it’s on us! -Oh-h-h!’ - -Her cries only made the thing see them sooner. It was only an eagle, -not a boggles; but it was on the look-out for food, and the sun shining -on the Princess’s hair had caught its eyes, and in spite of the cries -of the nurse it swooped down, and, seizing the Princess in its claws, -began to carry her off. The nurse, however, held on to her valiantly, -screaming all the while for help; but the eagle had the best of it -after all, for it carried up, not only the Princess, but the nurse also. - -The nurse held on to her charge for some seconds, but finding the -attempt useless she let go her hold; and since it happened that at the -moment they were over the river, she fell into it with a great splash, -and was drifted on shore by the current. - -Thus the Princess was carried off; and although the land far and wide -was searched, no traces of her were discoverable. You may imagine for -yourself what sorrow and rage the King indulged in. He turned the nurse -off without warning, and even, in a paroxysm of rage, kicked one of his -pages downstairs; nevertheless that did not bring back the Princess. - -As a last resource he consulted a wise woman (ill-natured people called -her a witch) who lived near the palace. But the witch could only say -that the Princess would return some day, but she couldn’t or wouldn’t -say when, even though the King threatened to burn her. So it was all -of no use, and the King was, and remained, in despair. But, since his -Majesty is not the important personage in the story, we may as well -leave him and return to the Princess. - -She, as you can think, was not particularly happy or comfortable, -for the claws of the eagle pinched her, and besides, she was very -frightened; for, you see, she didn’t know that it wasn’t a boggles, as -the nurse had called it, and a boggles is a great deal worse than the -worst eagle ever invented. - -Meanwhile the eagle continued flying straight towards the sun, which -was getting lower and lower, so that by the time they reached the -mountains it was dark altogether. But the eagle didn’t seem at all -afraid of the darkness, and just went on flying as if nothing had -happened, until suddenly it let the Princess down on a rock—at least, -that was what it seemed to her to be. Not knowing what else to do, she -sat where the eagle had let her fall, for she remembered something -about the precipice three miles deep, and she did not at all wish to -tumble down that. - -She expected that the eagle would set to and make a meal off her at -once. But somehow or other, either it had had enough to eat during the -day, or else did not like to begin to have supper so late for fear of -nightmare; at any rate, it abstained, and that was the most interesting -matter to her. Everything was so quiet around that at last, in spite -of herself, she fell asleep. She slept quite easily until daylight, -although the hardness of the rock was certainly somewhat unpleasant. -When she opened her eyes it was already light, and the sun at her back -was darting black shadows of the jagged mountains on to the shimmering -gray sea of mist that veiled the land below. Her first thought was -naturally of the eagle, and she did not need to look very far for him, -since he was washing himself in a little pool close by, keeping an eye -on her the while. - -As soon as he saw her move he gave himself a final shake, so that -the water flew all around, sparkling in the sunlight; after which he -came towards her by hops until he was quite close—rather too close, -she thought. Nevertheless she did not move, having heard somewhere -that, under the circumstances, that is the worst thing to do; she also -remembered animals cannot stand being looked at steadily by the human -eye, therefore she looked very steadfastly at the eyes of the eagle. -But the remedy did not seem to work well in this case, for the glassy -yellow eyes of the bird looked bad-tempered, and it winked angrily, -seeming to say, ‘Whom are you staring at?’ And then it began to stretch -out its bill towards her until it was within a few inches of her face. -This was more than she could stand, and she said sharply, ‘Take your -head away.’ - -The eagle, however, took no notice whatever of this; and seeing nothing -better to do, she lifted up her hand and gave it a smart box on the -ear, or rather on the place where its ear should have been. The eagle -drew back its beak in a hurry and scratched its head with one claw as -if it were puzzled. After a moment’s reflection it put out its head -again, and once more the Princess lifted up her hand; but when the -eagle saw that it jumped backwards in a hurry, as if it did not care to -receive a second box on the ear, and began to stride sulkily away as if -it thought it better to wait a while. When it reached the edge of the -rock—for I have forgotten to tell you that they were on a flat rock at -the top of a mountain—it sat preening its feathers in a sulky manner, -as if it imagined itself a very ill-used bird; moreover, although it -seemed inclined to remain there a long time, I need not tell you -that the Princess had no objections. However, after a time even the -waiting began to grow unpleasant; but suddenly a peculiar sound, as of -something shooting through the air, came from below, and the eagle gave -a leap and fell down a mass of tumbled feathers with an arrow quivering -in their centre, and, with hardly a shudder, it was dead. - -The Princess, as you may imagine, was a good deal startled by this -sudden occurrence, but I cannot say she was very sorry for the eagle; -on the contrary, she was rather glad to be rid of him, and it suddenly -came into her head that the man who had shot the arrow might possibly -be somewhere below, and in that case might come up and save her if she -called to him. So she tried to get up, but she was so stiff that she -could hardly move, and when she did stand up she had pins and needles -in one of her feet, and had to stamp hard on the ground before it would -go away. So that it was some time before she got to the edge and looked -over. Now it happened that, just as she bent carefully forward to look -down the side, the head of a man appeared over the edge, and his hands -were so near her that he almost caught hold of her foot as he put them -up to help himself. As she drew back a little to let him have room, he -suddenly noticed her, and almost let go his hold in astonishment. - -‘Hullo, little girl,’ he said; ‘how did you come here? It’s rather -early in the morning for you to be up. But who are you when you’re at -home?’ - -‘I’m the daughter of King Caret.’ - -‘King how much?’ - -‘King Caret, I said; and I should be glad if you would help me down -from this height, and show me the way back.’ - -‘How on earth can I show you the way back when I don’t know who King -Caret is?’ - -‘But surely you must know who he is?’ - -‘Never heard of him. What’s he like, and what’s he king of?’ - -‘He’s the King of Aoland.’ - -‘And where’s Aoland?’ - -‘I don’t know—it’s somewhere over those mountains—the eagle brought me -here, you know.’ - -‘Ah! the eagle brought you here, did he? It’s a little habit he’s -got; he’s carried off no end of my kids and young sheep, so I suppose -he thought he’d try a change and carry off one of King Turnip—I mean -Caret’s. But if he brought you from over the mountains you won’t get -back in a hurry, I can tell you; you’d have to jump up a precipice -three miles high, and then you’d be eaten by old Kinchof the dragon.’ - -‘Oh dear! then I shall never get back!’ - -‘No, I’m afraid you won’t. But don’t begin to cry now—there, there—and -I’ll take you to King Mumkie; he’s the king of this country, you know.’ - -‘What an awful name—Mumkie!’ - -‘Yes, it is rather unpleasant, isn’t it? And then, he’s a usurper—he -drove the last king out and made himself king instead. He used to be -a cat’s-meat man, but he got up an army and drove the other off the -throne, and now _he’s_ turned into a gardener—his name’s Abbonamento.’ - -‘Oh, never mind what his name is, only get me down—I’m awfully hungry; -for you see I’ve been up here all night.’ - -‘Oh! all right. But I say, how are you going to get down—you can’t -climb, can you?’ - -‘I don’t know,’ she answered; ‘I’ve never tried.’ - -‘Then you can be sure you can’t. The only thing seems to be for me to -carry you down.’ - -But the Princess did not seem to relish the idea at all. - -‘You might let me drop, you know; it’s rather steep.’ And it was pretty -steep, too—about as steep as the wall of a house, and a good deal -higher than a very high house. However, it seemed to be the only thing -to do, so she let herself be carried down. The man took her on one -arm, and yet seemed to climb down about as easily as if he were going -downstairs. However, the Princess did not notice that, since she kept -her eyes shut hard, for, to tell the truth, she was rather nervous. - -But at last they were at the bottom, and he let her down on to the -ground. - -‘Now, what are you going to do?’ he said. - -‘I don’t know at all. What can I do?’ - -‘You’d better go and see King Mumkie and ask him what to do.’ - -‘But he has got such a dreadful name; it sounds as if he was awfully -ugly,’ she said. - -‘But he’s not at all; he’s just like me, and I’m sure I’m handsome -enough for any one.’ - -The Princess looked at him now for the first time; for you see, she -had not noticed him very much while she was on the mountain. But now -she could hardly repress a shudder; for he was awfully ugly. To begin -with, he was big enough for any giant, and then his hair was of a -purple hue, and his eyes of a delicate sea-green that flashed in the -shade like a cat’s; and then his nose was awfully red, and shaped like -a mangel-wurzel; and his teeth, which were long and bright green, shone -in the sun like danger-signals. Altogether he was not prepossessing; -and the Princess could hardly help smiling when he said that the King -was as handsome as himself. However, he went on: - -‘My name’s Wopole; I’m King Mumkie’s falconer, and so I can tell you -all about him. Come, let’s go towards the town.’ - -And as there seemed nothing else to do, she set out with him; but he -walked so fast that she could hardly keep up. - -‘How slowly you do walk!’ he grumbled in a bad-tempered manner; ‘can’t -you keep up? Come along, I can’t wait all day.’ And he went on faster -than ever, so that she had to run to keep up with him. Suddenly he -stopped as if he had been shot. - -‘Confound it, I’ve forgotten to bring the eagle, and I shall have to -go all the way back and get it. Oh—ouch!’ And he began to howl in such -a dreadful manner that the Princess felt quite relieved when he turned -and ran towards the hill at the top of his speed, howling all the way. - -‘What on earth shall I do now?’ thought the Princess. ‘If I wait for -this dreadful giant, goodness knows what may happen, and then his king -has such an unpleasant name; at any rate, I should like some breakfast, -for I’m awfully hungry. I think I’ll go on towards the town, and see if -I can’t find some one who’ll show me the way home.’ - -So she went on down the lane for some way, until, coming to a place -where a stream went across the path, she knelt down and scooped up a -little water in the palm of her hand and drank it; for, you see, the -sun was very hot now, and the heat made her throat feel quite dry and -parched. When she had finished she went and lay down in the long grass -that bordered the road, for she was rather tired. She intended to wait -till some one came along, only she was quite resolved not to go with -the giant at any rate. So she lay quietly in the shade listening to -the loud humming of the bees and the chirp of a linnet that was pluming -itself, swinging on a bough above her head. - -She had not been waiting long before she heard a dreadful noise behind -her coming down the road, and in a few minutes she recognised the voice -of the giant, who seemed to be in a terrible temper. Gradually the -sound of his voice and his footsteps came nearer. The Princess did not -know what to do, for if she tried to run away he would only catch her -up; so she lay perfectly still, hoping he would pass her without seeing -her. And that is just what did happen; for, in a few moments, he came -rushing round the corner shouting out, ‘Stop! stop! will you?’ And as -his eyes were fixed on the road far in advance, of course he did not -notice her, and was soon round another bend in the road. The Princess -noticed that he had the eagle hanging with its claws round his neck, -and the jolting, as he went by, had shaken one of its large tail -feathers out, and as soon as she had got over her fright, she went and -picked it up out of the dusty road. - -Just as she picked it up, the clatter of feet running along the road -came to her ears, and for a moment she feared that the giant had -returned; but soon a cow trotted round the bend and stopped at the -stream to drink, presently another, and then a third. Each of them took -a long look at the Princess, and then bent down its head to take a -draught out of the stream. Just then an old man came round the corner, -and when he saw the cows had stopped he called out: - -‘Gee on, Lightfoot; now, Daisy; come up, Cherry,’ and the cows gave -their heads a toss, and walked slowly through the stream. - -The Princess hurried to one side of the road, for, like many people, -she had an instinctive dread of anything like a cow or a bull. - -The old man noticed it and smiled. - -‘Oh, you needn’t be afraid, miss, they won’t hurt you,’ he said; but -all the same, she didn’t care to go too near them. ‘They’ve just been -frightened by Wopole, King Mumkie’s falconer,’ he went on. ‘Wopole came -running round the corner suddenly, and almost knocked Lightfoot—that’s -the dun cow—over. He was roaring out “Where is she?” awfully loud. I -pity her when he gets her, whoever she is.’ - -‘But who is _she_?’ asked the Princess. - -‘I don’t know—how should I?’ - -‘Oh, I only thought you might know. But what will he do with her when -he gets her?’ - -‘I don’t know; fry her in lard or something—that’s what they generally -do to strangers in the town now.’ - -‘Oh dear!’ said the Princess; ‘how am I to get away from him?’ - -The old man looked at her curiously. - -‘Oh! you’re her,’ he said. - -‘I rather think I am. But how am I to get away?’ she answered. - -‘If you’ll come with me I’ll take you to my cottage over there, and -they’ll never think of looking for you there.’ - -But the Princess did not exactly like the idea. - -‘Aren’t you one of these people?’ she asked; ‘because I don’t relish -being fried in lard, or oil, or anything else.’ - -But the old man shook his head. - -‘Good gracious me, no!’ he said. ‘I wouldn’t let them roast the last -stranger that came to the town, and so they turned me out.’ - -‘Oh,’ said the Princess, ‘then you must be King Abominable.’ - -‘I am Abbonamento.’ - -‘Then I suppose I shall be safe with you?’ - -‘Quite safe, if you like to come; only just help me to drive the cows.’ -And the old man called to his animals who were browsing in the grass -at the wayside, and they trudged quietly on till they came to a gate -in the hedge. This they waited for the old man to open for them, and -then went through the meadow until they came to a little farmhouse half -hidden by trees. - -‘This is my house,’ the King said. ‘Just wait a moment till I have put -the cows in the byre, and then I’ll come back and let you in; for you -see my wife’s away at the market, and there’s no one else at home.’ - -So the Princess stopped where she was, and the old man went whistling -round to the back of the house driving his cows before him. - -It was a very small house, with the thatched roof coming so low down -that you could touch it almost with your hand, and the windows were -quite overshadowed by it. Over a little arbour of trellis-work before -the door ran a rose-tree of deep red flowers, and the roses were full -of bees that came from the hives arranged on benches under the eaves, -and a few chickens were asleep on one leg under the porch. - -In two or three minutes the door opened, and the old man appeared, and -the chickens walked lazily away. - -‘I entered by a back door,’ he explained. ‘Come in and make yourself at -home.’ - -The inside of the house was just as small and homely as the outside, -and the rooms were refreshingly shady and cool after the hot sunlight -without. - -‘Sit down,’ said the old man, pointing to an arm-chair; and the -Princess did as she was told. - -‘Now,’ said he, ‘if you will tell me where you come from, I will try to -find out how to take you back.’ - -So she told him all her story, and he listened very attentively. When -she had finished he said: - -‘It’s lucky for you that Wopole forgot the eagle, or goodness knows -what would have happened to you; but how you’re to get back I don’t -know. It’s my opinion you never will, for no one was ever known to pass -those mountains safely yet.’ - -I don’t know what else he would have gone on to say, but by this time -the Princess had begun to cry bitterly. - -‘Oh dear me!’ said the old man, ‘what a fool I was to go and tell -her all that. Now goodness knows what’ll happen. Oh dear, oh dear, -Princess, don’t go on weeping like that, or you’ll melt altogether; do -leave off.’ - -But the Princess did not seem at all inclined to leave off, and she -might have melted altogether, only just then the door opened, and an -old woman with a market-basket on her arm and a big umbrella in her -hand came into the room, but stood transfixed with her eyes and mouth -wide open when she saw the Princess. - -‘My! Abbonamento, what’s the little girl crying for? and where does she -come from? and what does it all mean?’ - -And she picked up her umbrella, which she had dropped, and leaned it -against the table, and put her market-basket on a chair. This she did -very slowly, and all the while the old king was telling her what had -happened, so that by the time she had finished her preparations she -knew nearly as much about it as he did. When he had finished she shook -her head. - -‘Poor girl! poor girl! So you come from the land on the other side of -the mountains. I know it.’ - -The Princess had by this time left off crying, and when she heard the -old lady say ‘I know it’ she said: - - ‘“Kennst du das Land - Wo die Citronen blühen?”’ - -But the old lady shook her head. - -‘That’s Greek, and I never could understand Greek. If it had been -German or French now—but just translate it for me, will you?’ - -So the Princess translated it for her. - - ‘“Knowest thou the land where blooms the lemon-flower?”’ - -But the old lady shook her head. - -‘I don’t know so much about the lemon-flower; but my grand-aunt -Thompson had a sister whose daughter had a servant who’d seen the -dragon eat up the last man that ever tried to cross the mountains.’ - -‘But I don’t see how that is to help me to get back—do you?’ - -‘No, I don’t exactly; but perhaps something will turn up to help you. -Won’t it, Abbonamento?’ - -Abbonamento nodded. - -‘But what shall I do in the meanwhile?’ said the Princess; ‘for, you -see, I don’t want to be fried in lard, as you say the townsmen are in -the habit of doing.’ - -‘You’d better stop with us,’ said Abbonamento. ‘Eh, wife, what do you -say?’ - -And his wife said: - -‘Oh yes, certainly; it’s the only thing to do. Do stop.’ - -‘Well, I suppose I must,’ said the Princess. ‘Only, shan’t I be rather -in the way?’ - -But the King answered: - -‘Oh, not at all, quite the other way. You’ll be very useful. You can -milk the cows, and pluck the fowls, and feed the pigs, and all sorts of -things.’ - -‘But what will the people of the town say if they see me?’ asked the -Princess. - -‘The people of the town—oh, they never come near me, although they are -glad to buy butter and milk and eggs of me in the market. They think -it seems grand to say they buy their things of a king; but they never -trouble about me at all except for that.’ - -Just at this moment the old lady, thinking it her turn to say -something, said: - -‘By the bye, you have not told us your name yet.’ - -‘Would you like it in full, or only what I’m generally called?’ asked -the Princess. - -‘Oh, say it in full, unless you’ve any objection.’ - -‘Well, you see, it’s rather long; it generally takes about a quarter of -an hour to say, only if you want it particularly I’ll tell you.’ - -But the Queen answered: - -‘Ah! well, perhaps we’ll wait for a time, until we’ve got leisure to -listen to it. Meanwhile you might tell us what the short of it is.’ - -‘They generally call me the Princess Ernalie. Now you might tell me -your name, if you don’t mind.’ - -‘They generally call me Queen Araminta. If you like, and are not too -tired, I’ll show you the farm, and then we’ll have dinner.’ - -So the Princess went through the yard to the cows’ byre, and from the -stalls to the pig-sties, and from the sties to the poultry-run, and -thence to the orchard, and from the orchard to the flower-garden, and -after that home again. - -So it was arranged that the Princess Ernalie was to stop with the King -and Queen until something should turn up. But nothing ever did turn up, -and the days lengthened into months, and the months into years, and -still she stayed with the old couple; and as time went on she seemed -to do almost all the work of the farm, for the old King and Queen were -beginning to get too old and weak for hard work. And gradually she -began to forget about her native land, and it seemed as if the farm -were to be her home for ever. And every year she grew taller and more -beautiful; but that’s a habit that princesses have pretty often. So -five years passed quietly away, and nothing seemed likely to disturb -the peace of the household. - -Every morning regularly she got up at five o’clock to drive the cows -to the pasture, and then she fed the poultry, and, if it happened to -be a Thursday or Saturday, she went with the Queen to take the butter -and eggs to market; besides which she had to milk the cows and cook the -dinner, and all sorts of things, so that she was gradually turning into -a simple country maid. - -During all the five years no one from the town ever came near the -house, and so you may imagine how surprised she was one morning when -she got up and opened her bedroom window to see a man coming across the -clover-field towards the house. She watched him come right up to the -door, and then, when she heard him knock, ran down to tell the King and -Queen that a man was knocking at the door. - -‘Who on earth can it be?’ asked Abbonamento. - -‘It’s not the tax-collector, is it?’ asked Araminta. - -‘Oh no, it’s not him; he’s an old man, and this one is quite young,’ -answered the Princess. - -‘Nor the water-man?’ - -‘No, it’s not him either. There he is knocking again.’ - -Indeed, the knocking was becoming quite furious. - -‘He’s a very impatient young man, whoever he is,’ said Abbonamento. -‘You’d better go and tell him not to make such a noise. Let him in—be -quick, or he’ll knock the door down!’ - -And it seemed so likely, that Ernalie ran down as fast as she could and -opened the door. - -‘Why can’t you open the door faster?’ said an angry voice; and then -Ernalie saw a young man looking at her in a state of great surprise. -‘Why, who are you?’ he asked. ‘Is this not the house of their Majesties -King Abbonamento and Queen Araminta?’ - -‘They used to be King and Queen at one time,’ answered Ernalie. - -‘They ought to be now,’ said the young man with a frown. - -‘That’s quite another thing,’ retorted Ernalie. - -‘Oh, is it?’ said he, with a smile this time. ‘But who on earth are -you, if I may ask?’ - -‘I am Her Royal Highness Princess Ernalie of Aoland; and who on earth -are you, if I may ask?’ - -‘I am Prince Treblo of this country,’ answered he. - -‘I suppose you are the son of King Mumkie, then?’ said she. - -‘Good gracious, no!’ said the Prince. - -The Princess was just about to say, ‘Then whose son are you?’ when the -old King burst into the room. He had evidently got up in a hurry, and -he was only attired in his flowered dressing-gown. - -‘My long-lost chee-yld!’ he exclaimed, as he threw himself into the -stranger’s arms. ‘Araminta! Araminta! come along, it’s Treblo.’ - -And the Queen came rushing down in haste, as you may imagine. Over the -rest of this affecting scene we will draw a curtain—that’s what they -generally do with affecting scenes—in books, at least. - -The Princess Ernalie easily perceived that she was a little—as the -French say—_de trop_; that is, finding that ‘three was company and four -none.’ So she left the room and went upstairs to comb her hair and wash -her face and hands, and make herself look smart generally; for she -thought that would be only right on the day on which the eldest son of -the house came home—especially as he was very handsome. - -Now it happened that as she was bending down to pick up her best shoes -from under her toilet-table, one of them had gone a little far back, -and as she drew it out she noticed that something lay behind the -shoe, and she drew that out too. You may perhaps remember that she -had picked up out of the road an eagle’s feather which Wopole had let -fall as he hurried by with the eagle on his back. Well, then, it was -this feather that she now drew out from under the toilet-table. It had -lain there since she had first entered the room five years ago. Now -this doesn’t say much for the cleanliness of the floors, but in those -unsophisticated days they never thought of sweeping any hidden spot in -the floor. This habit, curiously enough, survives even now among some -people. However, to return to the Princess Ernalie. - -When she picked up the feather she stood upright again and examined it -carefully. - -‘Why, how nice,’ she said. ‘It’s the old eagle’s feather. Now that’ll -come in handy; my hat rather wanted a new feather, and it’ll just suit -the colour of my hair and eyes.’ - -So she went to the looking-glass and held the feather close against her -hair. But to her astonishment nothing was to be seen in the glass—not a -vestige of herself; it seemed as if she had vanished altogether. - -‘Why, what’s the matter with the glass?’ she said. ‘Something seems to -have gone wrong with it.’ So she put the feather on the table and went -to rub the glass, but when she looked at it she was there all right -again. - -‘That’s queer,’ she thought; ‘I can’t have been right in front of the -glass.’ So she took up the feather and went in front of the glass. -This time she saw herself very well, but as soon as the feather touched -her hair she vanished just as before. - -‘Good gracious!’ she said; ‘what is the matter with the glass?’ So she -tried again, and the result was always the same—whenever the feather -touched her hair she vanished. ‘It must be something the matter with -the feather.’ So she examined it quite closely, and she found rolled -round the quill end of it a small piece of paper on which was written: - -‘Guard well the feather, for whoso toucheth his hair therewith—though -he be but feather-brained—shall be invisible, yet shall he see all.’ - -Ernalie read it over once or twice from beginning to end. - -‘The writing says “his” hair; but it seems to act just as well with -“her” hair—that is, my hair. What fun I shall have now. I think I’ll -try it on at once on the King. But then, it might frighten him. No, -I’ll wait, and try it on Treblo; and that reminds me I think that -they’ve had enough of it all to themselves now. I’ll go and see if I -can do anything for them.’ So she locked the feather up in one of the -drawers, and then, putting on her shoes, went downstairs. - -Now it happened that just as she had almost reached the bottom step her -heel came out of her shoe, and as she stopped to put it firmly on again -she heard the voice of the stranger saying: - -‘By the bye, mother, who was that girl who opened the door to me?’ - -‘Oh! that’s Ernalie,’ answered the Queen’s voice. - -(It seemed as if the shoe took some time to get on again.) - -‘So she told me; but who is Ernalie?’ he asked again. - -‘Oh! you’d better get her to tell you that too when she comes down. -Well, what do you think of her?’ - -‘Oh, she’s—she’s just lovely,’ answered he. - -(‘Listeners never hear any good of themselves,’ thought the Princess. -However, the shoe had come on just at that moment, and she entered the -room.) - -‘Speak of the—ahem!’ the King was just saying, when the Prince -interrupted him. - -‘“Speak of angels, and you hear the rustling of their wings,” you -mean,’ he said. - -‘Thank you for the compliment, if it was meant for me,’ said the -Princess. - -‘Oh! don’t mention it—it’s nothing when you’re used to it,’ said -Treblo, who, to tell the truth, seemed rather confused. - -‘And are you used to calling young ladies angels?’ said his father -sharply. ‘I suppose it’s some of the foreign manners you’ve learnt.’ - -‘Suppose we change the subject,’ retorted his son, and the subject was -changed. - -Ernalie retired again. She wanted to look after the dinner, so that -it might not be late, and so nothing else in particular happened, for -Treblo went round the farm with his father, and Araminta went into the -kitchen to help Ernalie with the dinner. When the goose was turning on -the spit, and the apple-tart had been put into the oven, the Princess -had time to ask some questions about Treblo, and the Queen told her -that he had been sent out of the way by Mumkie, in order that he might -not attempt to put his father on the throne again; but after seven -years he had come back safe, having had all sorts of adventures, and he -now felt quite confident that he would be able to restore his father, -for he was very popular with the army that had just returned from the -war, and as to the people of the town, they cared very little who was -king—in fact, they rather preferred Abbonamento to Mumkie. So Araminta -was quite cheerful over it, for she much preferred living in a palace -to living in a cottage. - -Things went merrily through the day, and at dinner-time they drank the -health of the King and Queen of the country, and altogether they seemed -very happy. After dinner the King composed himself for his afternoon -nap, and the Queen took down a volume of sermons and began to read. -Ernalie went out to milk the cows and take the eggs from the hens’ -nests. As to the Prince, he said he was going out to take a walk. - -Before going out the Princess slipped up to her room, and took the -eagle’s feather from the drawer where she had locked it up. She -intended to try if she were invisible to the cows and poultry. So she -put it in her sunbonnet and went out. It really seemed as if it was -quite correct about the feather, for as soon as she got out of the door -a bee ran right against her, and then a sparrow that was chirping on -a rail allowed her to catch hold of it before it took any notice of -her approach. However, she let it go, and it flew away, looking very -astonished indeed, as you may imagine. - -She reached the pasture, and opened the gate, calling to the cows: - -‘Daisy, Daisy; come, Lightfoot; Cherry, come!’ - -The cows looked up from the ground, and came towards the gate, looking -very astonished indeed; but when they got quite close and saw no one -they stopped, and however much she called them they refused to move. - -‘This will never do,’ she said; ‘I must really let them see me, or they -won’t come.’ - -So she took the feather from her bonnet, and called again. This time -the cows seemed quite ready to come, and they trotted along to the gate -and crowded round her to be stroked. So she shut the gate again and -told the cows to go on—for they understood her quite well—and then -she went on after them. When they got to the dairy she milked them one -after the other as they came in their regular order to the stool. She -was milking the last one—Cherry, the best of them all—and she leaned -her face against its side, and listened to the ‘thud, thud,’ of the -milk as it streamed into the pail with a foam like the sea in a rage. -She was in fact almost lulled to sleep by it, when she was startled -by a voice behind her. It was so sudden that she almost upset the -milk-pail in her fright. - -‘It seems to be easy work milking,’ said the voice, and she looked -round and saw it was the Prince, who had come quietly up behind, and -was leaning over the fence at her back, looking on lazily at her. - -‘Oh! how you startled me, Prince,’ she said. - -‘Did I?’ he answered. ‘I am very sorry for that; but you needn’t call -me Prince yet. I’m not a Prince, you see, and then you’re the adopted -daughter of my parents, so you ought to call me your brother.’ - -‘Oh, really!’ said she. ‘However, you soon will be a Prince, and then I -shan’t be able to call you brother, shall I?’ - -‘Why not?’ - -‘Because you will be a Prince, and I am only a dairymaid.’ - -‘But you’re a Princess, aren’t you?’ he asked. - -‘I was a Princess once,’ she said, with a sigh; ‘but——’ - -‘You shall be again,’ he said. - -‘But how do you know?’ she asked. - -‘I know—oh, well, let’s change the subject. As I said before, it seems -to be easy work milking. You might let me try?’ - -But she said: - -‘It wouldn’t be any good. Cherry wouldn’t let any one but me touch -her. Besides, I’ve just done, and I’m going to carry the pails to the -house.’ - -‘Let me carry them for you?’ he said quickly. - -‘Oh, thanks; if you’ll take two, I’ll take the other two, and thus we -shall do it all in one journey,’ she answered. - -So he did as he was told, and the pails were put safely in the house. - -‘Now I must go and get the eggs,’ she said. - -‘Can I be of any use?’ asked the Prince. - -But she answered: - -‘Oh no, there’s nothing for you to do, thanks.’ - -But he went with her all the same. I suppose he thought he might be of -some use. So she let him hold the basket for her, and the eggs were -also put safely in the house. Just, however, as he had put them down, -a shrill whistle sounded twice from behind the garden hedge, and the -Prince said: - -‘Oh, that’s a friend of mine. You must excuse me for a few moments,’ -and he went towards the hedge. - -‘I wonder who his friend is,’ she said to herself. ‘I think I’ll put -the feather on again and go after them. It would be a good way of -trying my feather on men.’ - -So she took the feather out of her pocket again, and put it in her -bonnet, and then ran after him. He had got over the fence some time -before she reached it, but he was still in sight on the other side, and -with him his friend was walking. He seemed to be a soldier, so far as -she knew. They were talking very earnestly; but, from where she was, -she was not able to hear what they said. So she too got over the fence, -and went towards them; but she reached them rather too late to hear -anything much that they did say. What she did hear was this, from the -soldier: - -‘Then you will come to-night at half-past twelve?’ - -‘Yes,’ answered the Prince. - -‘We’ll have everything ready, and it will be easily done. If I were you -I wouldn’t tell the King or Queen, it would only make them nervous, and -we’re sure to succeed.’ - -‘Very well,’ said Treblo; ‘at half-past twelve.’ - -(‘Half-past twelve,’ thought the Princess; ‘what on earth is he going -to do at that time of night? It sounds funny. I think I’ll go with him -to look after him.’ For, you see, Ernalie was rather inquisitive, as -you may have found out by this time.) - -So the soldier went one way, and Treblo went back to the house -whistling ‘When the king shall enjoy his own again.’ - -But the Princess ran on in front of him and reached the house first, -so that by the time he was there she had taken the feather out of her -bonnet and was quite visible again. - -He came in quite naturally, as if nothing had happened, and the rest of -the day went off quietly enough. - -They went very early to bed at the farm, and the house was quiet by -half-past eight. - -Just before they went to bed Ernalie asked the Prince: - -‘Do you like walking at night much?’ - -‘It depends upon the night very much,’ he answered. - -‘Such a night as this, for instance,’ said she. - -‘Oh yes—“a moonlight night for a ramble,” don’t you know?’ he said, -laughing. - -‘About half-past twelve, I suppose.’ - -The Prince looked astonished and shocked. - -‘Half-past twelve!’ he said, with his eyes wide open; ‘why, I’m never -out after eight. My mother says the night air’s not good for me.’ - -‘Oh, is that it?’ said the Princess. ‘However, I’m tired; good-night.’ -And she went to her room and lay down on her bed with all her clothes -on. It was rather hard work keeping awake for such a time, but at last -she heard the kitchen clock strike twelve, and she knew it was twenty -past. So she got up as quietly as possible and put on the feather, for, -you see, she didn’t want any one to see her. It seemed very ghostly -getting up so late at night, and although she stepped very lightly, -the stairs creaked loudly. She went into the sitting-room and sat on -a chair waiting for the Prince to come down. She had to wait close on -half an hour; for, you see, the Prince had heard the clock strike too, -but didn’t know it was twenty minutes slow. However, at last he came -downstairs holding the candle in his hand. He hadn’t put his boots on -for fear of waking any one, and so he, too, sat down on a chair to put -them on. This was rather unpleasant for the Princess, for of course she -had to keep as quiet as a mouse for fear of making him suspicious; for, -you see, it was so quiet that the least breath she took could be heard. -At last the putting on of his boots was finished, and he stood up, -saying to himself out loud, ‘Now, where’s my hat?’ and then he looked -straight at the Princess and said, ‘Ah, there it is,’ and he began to -walk towards her. - -‘What can he want?’ thought the Princess; and then she looked down at -the chair—for, you see, she could see right through herself—and she -discovered she was sitting on his hat. By this time he was quite close -to her and bending down to pick his hat up, so she jumped sideways off -the chair as fast as she could; but even then, as he put his hand out, -he caught hold of hers, which had not time to get out of the way. As -soon as his hand closed on it, however, he let go as if it had stung -him. - -‘Good gracious! what is that?’ he said in astonishment. And he did look -so funny that she had hard work to keep from laughing at him. However, -he calmed down in a minute, and again tried to take up his hat. This -time you may be sure that the Princess’s hand was no longer there, for -she had taken herself and it over to the other side of the table. So he -took up the hat and looked at it. - -‘Looks as if it had been sat on,’ he muttered. ‘Just like ’em; people -always do sit on my hat if they can.’ However, he pushed it out -straight again and looked at his boots to see if the laces were quite -tight; and then he blew the light out, seeming, by the noise he was -making, to be trying to get out of the door. When she heard him in the -passage she thought it was about time to follow him. So she tried to -do it, making as little noise as possible; but although she did try -very hard she did not succeed very well, for she fell right over a -chair and made noise enough to be heard all over the house. - -‘What on earth’s that?’ she heard the Prince ask, and then he lit a -match to look. But he didn’t see anything, and the light allowed the -Princess to get quite close to him without upsetting anything more, and -he opened the door, letting the moonlight shine in clear and white. -While he was standing at the door she managed to slip past him into the -open air, and there she waited for him. He wasn’t very long coming, and -then she followed him down the garden, keeping to the grassy edge, and -not walking on the path for fear of the noise that her feet would make -on the gravel. They reached the field and then the road, and the Prince -was joined by the other man whom the Princess had seen before. This -man—whom, by the bye, the Prince called Ablot—was dressed in complete -armour, and he carried another suit, which the Prince proceeded to put -on. - -(‘This begins to look exciting,’ thought Ernalie. ‘Perhaps he’s a -highwayman, or a footpad—anyhow, I mean to keep up with them.’) - -So she walked on faster, for she had fallen a little behind. When she -got up with them she heard the Prince say: - -‘Well, we’ll surround the Palace, take Mumkie prisoner, and turn him -into the market-gardener; and then we’ll proclaim it to the rest of the -citizens that my father and mother are King and Queen once more, and if -they won’t give in—so much the worse for them. The soldiers are all on -my side.’ - -The other answered: - -‘Oh, but they’ll give in without the soldiers. They’re not at all fond -of Mumkie. He has made himself very unpopular of late. You see, he put -a farthing on the income tax, and he’s raised the price of everything -that begins with “S,” like “sausages” and “sealing-wax” and “soap” and -“sewing-machines.” Now your father only raised the price of things that -begin with “Z,” and there aren’t many “Z’s,” you know; there’s “zebras” -and “zeal,” and you can’t make much out of selling zeal.’ - -(‘Ah, that’s what you’re up to!’ thought the Princess. ‘We ought to -have some fun then.’) - -However, they were walking too fast for her to think much. All she -could do was to keep up, and that she did to the best of her power, -until at last they reached the middle of the town, where the King’s -Palace stood. Here they halted to take counsel. - -‘You wait here while I go and fetch the men,’ said Ablot, and as -the Prince made no objection, he went and left him standing in the -moonlit square. As Ablot seemed gone rather a long time, the Princess -thought she would have a little fun, and going close to the Prince she -whispered in his ear: - -‘Does your mother know you’re out?’ - -The Prince turned round once or twice, as if to assure himself that -there was no one hiding behind his back; but as he could see no one, he -simply said: - -‘I beg your pardon.’ - -‘That’s very good of you; but I thought you were never allowed out -after half-past eight o’clock. I heard you tell Ernalie so this -evening. I’m afraid you told a fib.’ - -The Prince looked very astonished. - -‘Who or what are you?’ he asked. - -‘Never you mind. I’ve a good mind not to let you succeed this evening, -because you deceive not only your old mother who is asleep at home, -but you have also told a fib to that innocent girl, of whom I’m very -fond.’ (‘That’s quite true,’ thought the Princess. ‘I’m very fond of -myself.’ And so she was.) - -The Prince looked astonished. - -‘How on earth could you know that?’ he said. - -‘I heard it, I tell you.’ - -‘But there was no one in the room except the Princess and myself.’ - -‘All the same, I heard every word you said, and, what’s more, I shall -hear every word you ever say to her,’ answered the Princess. - -‘Well, then, you’ll be a great nuisance,’ said the Prince angrily. - -‘Very well, I’ll tell the Princess all that you say, and I’ve a good -mind not to let you succeed, as I’ve said before.’ - -‘Then you’ll do the Princess a great deal of harm if you do.’ - -‘Why?’ - -‘Because she’s—she’s——’ he began. - -‘She’s what?’ asked the voice. - -‘Oh, well, never mind.’ - -‘But I do mind,’ said the voice. - -‘“She’s all that fancy painted!” if you want to know so much,’ said the -Prince. - -‘But I don’t see how that’ll make any difference to her in case you -should succeed,’ said the voice. - -‘You’re uncommonly dull if you don’t see it,’ said the Prince, who was -beginning to feel bad-tempered over being cross-questioned thus. - -‘Don’t be rude, or you shan’t succeed,’ said the voice. - -‘If I don’t succeed the Princess will never become Queen of the -kingdom.’ - -‘How can she become Queen of the _king_dom?—it would have to be a -_queen_dom. And I don’t see, if you do succeed, how she is to become -Queen!’ - -‘As I’ve said before,’ said the Prince, ‘you’re excessively dull if you -don’t see.’ - -‘I shall tell her what you said.’ - -‘Oh, do anything you like, only leave me alone, do,’ said the Prince, -who by this time was quite in a temper. - -So she let him alone, and made no answer when he wanted her to talk -again. However, in a few minutes Ablot came into the square, followed -by a large number of men, whom she heard him command to surround the -Palace, which they accordingly did; and then, choosing five men, he and -the Prince entered the Palace, Ernalie following them, for she didn’t -know exactly what else to do. The first of the Palace guards they came -to was fast asleep, and they did not molest him; but the second one was -awake, and so was the third one. These two made some resistance, but -they were soon knocked down and bound; but that was not much good, for -they made such a noise that they would soon have brought the household -about their ears, only it happened to be Saturday and all the servants -were having a half holiday, and the only effect of the shouting was to -bring King Mumkie out on to the landing. He had been sitting up to let -the servants in when they came home, and he was in rather a bad temper. - -‘What the deuce are you making such a noise for?’ he shouted to the -guards. - -But as the guards had been gagged by this time, they could only gurgle -hopelessly. - -‘Why don’t you answer?’ roared the King. But the guards made no reply, -and the King came running down to see what was the matter. He was -holding a candlestick above his head, and the light that fell on his -face showed that he was in a very great rage indeed. When he saw the -Prince in the hall he stopped, and said: - -‘What do you want making this unearthly row at this time of night? -Every one’s in bed, and I shall catch my death of cold coming down in -my dressing-gown into this cold hall. Now, just go off—do, and leave me -alone.’ - -‘I shall not,’ answered the Prince. - -‘Why not? What do you want at this time of night?’ - -‘I want the throne!’ - -‘Then you can’t have it; it’s a reserved seat, and I’ve taken it -already.’ - -‘But what right have you to it?’ - -‘I’m the sovereign,’ said Mumkie. - -‘You’re a false coin then—you’re not _half_ a sovereign!’ - -‘I’m quite as good as the last sovereign. He’s lost the crown, so he’s -only worth fifteen shillings.’ - -‘Well, fifteen shillings is three crowns, and you haven’t got one.’ - -‘Yes, I have.’ - -‘Well, then, you won’t have it long.’ - -‘I shall have it to the end of my life.’ - -‘Not if I can help it,’ retorted the Prince. - -‘But you can’t help it.’ - -‘Why not, pray?’ - -‘Well, you can’t, unless you scalp me,—it’s the crown of my head I -mean.’ - -‘Well, then, I’ll have your head cut off.’ - -‘I shall die then, so I shall keep the crown until I die. Besides, I -shall have your head cut off instead, for I’ll call out the soldiers.’ - -‘That’s no good. They’re all on my side,’ answered the Prince. - -‘Then it’s all up with me. As Julius Cæsar says—let’s see, what did he -say, now?—ah yes!’ and he began to roar ‘A horse! a horse! my kingdom -for a horse!’ - -‘You’ll make _yourself_ hoarse if you go on roaring like that. Besides, -your share of the kingdom isn’t worth a horse—it’s not even worth a -horse-chestnut.’ - -‘That’s rather old,’ said the King. ‘However, what are you going to do -with me?’ - -‘I’m going to turn you into what you wanted to turn my father into. You -shall have his cottage and all the live-stock and implements thereto -appertaining.’ - -‘What does that mean?’ asked the astonished Mumkie. - -‘Oh, find out,’ said the Prince. And he found out eventually. - -The Prince now gave orders that he should be taken to the coal-cellar -and locked in there for fear of escape. And so the poor old man was led -off, muttering to himself, ‘Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.’ - -But the Prince answered: - -‘Well, you needn’t talk; your head doesn’t wear a crown.’ And from that -time forth it didn’t. - -While this was being done, the Princess had noticed that a man had been -stealing round the corner. He was standing close beside her now, and -he seemed quite unconscious of her presence. The Princess looked at him. - -‘He must be one of the five they brought in with them,’ she said to -herself. So she counted; but to her astonishment she found there were -six of them—with him. - -‘He must be some one belonging to the Palace,’ she thought, ‘and he may -be up to some mischief.’ So she watched him closely. It was evident -that the rest thought he was one of themselves, for they took no notice -of him in particular. - -The man, however, seemed quite innocent; but the Princess noticed that -he was fingering a pistol that he had in his belt in a most suspicious -way. So she kept quite close to him while they descended the stairs to -the cellars. And she was right; for, in the twinkling of a bed-post, he -drew the pistol from his belt and aimed straight towards the Prince. -But before he could draw the trigger, she lifted up her hand and gave -him such a box on the ear that, in his astonishment and pain, he -dropped the pistol altogether, and it exploded harmlessly. As for the -man, he was so astonished that he sat down on the floor with his mouth -and eyes wide open, looking like an expiring frog. - -At the report of his pistol every one turned, and Ablot noticed him for -the first time. - -‘Why, who are you?’ he said. - -But the man only gasped. - -‘Who is he?’ asked the Prince of the men. - -‘We thought he was one of us,’ they all answered in astonishment. - -‘Who are you?’ asked the Prince. - -But he only gasped on in silence. - -‘Stick a pin into him, and see if that will bring him to.’ And a man -was just going to do it when he said, in a gruff voice: - -‘Don’t; I’m Wopole.’ - -‘Oh, you’re Wopole. And who’s he?’ asked the Prince. - -‘I used to be the falconer of the late tyrant, now sojourning in the -coal-hole there.’ - -‘Oh! and so you tried to shoot me?’ - -‘Not at all, your Majesty. I was only firing a royal salute to show my -joy at your ascent to the throne.’ - -‘That’s not true,’ said the voice of the Princess, so suddenly that -every one started and the falconer collapsed again. - -‘I’ve a good mind to have your head cut off,’ said the Prince, who by -this time had grown used to the voice. ‘However, I’ll just put you in -the coal-hole along with your late master.’ - -Wopole having been accordingly put into the hole, everything seemed -quiet; and as it was getting late, the Princess thought she would leave -them. She therefore returned as fast as she could, and getting into -bed slept soundly till morning. - -She did not awake until long after her usual hour, for you see she was -not used to being out so late, and she was only roused in the morning -by the Queen knocking at the door. - -‘Ernalie! Ernalie!’ she called; ‘get up. It’s half-past seven. You -ought to have been up this two hours.’ - -She got up as fast as she could; and when she had laid the table, the -King and Queen came down. - -‘I wish you’d knock at Treblo’s door and tell him we’re waiting -breakfast for him,’ the Queen said to Ernalie, and she accordingly -went; but she couldn’t get any answer, and she went downstairs once -more and told them he seemed to be out. - -‘Where can he be?’ asked the King. - -‘I rather think he’s gone out for a walk,’ suggested the Princess. - -‘It’s funny; he usedn’t to be fond of getting up so early. Just go to -the door and see if he is coming across the fields.’ - -Ernalie obediently went to the door, and shading her eyes from the -glare of the sun, looked over the fields towards the road. - -She came back quickly. - -‘I can’t see him,’ she said; ‘but there’s a whole lot of people coming -across the field.’ - -The King looked vexedly astonished. - -‘What on earth do they want?’ he said. ‘It must be some fresh trick of -Mumkie for bothering me.’ - -However, by this time the people had reached the garden gate, and they -could hear a man’s step on the gravel-walk. It stopped at the door, and -a knock was heard. - -‘Come in,’ cried the King; and the man entered, bowing profoundly. - -When the King saw who it was he looked surprised, and said: - -‘Why, Lord Corax, what do you want with me?’ - -‘I have come to receive your Majesty’s orders,’ said the man in a -singularly hoarse voice. - -The King looked still more astonished. - -‘My orders! What _do_ you mean?’ - -‘I mean your Majesty’s orders for the management of affairs,’ said the -man, with a still deeper obeisance. - -A light broke on the King’s face. - -‘Oh! that’s what you mean, is it?’ he said. - -‘It is, your Majesty,’ answered the courtier, bowing once more. - -‘It strikes me you’re rather late in the day coming here, aren’t you?’ -asked his Majesty. - -The courtier pulled out a large watch. - -‘It is, I believe, at the present moment thirty-five and a half -minutes after eight A.M., your Majesty. At eight precisely I received -orders from your Majesty’s son to come hither, bringing with me your -Majesty’s coach and guard of honour. Likewise a person, by name Mumkie, -who is for the future to inhabit this cottage, and to enjoy the -privilege of using for his own purposes all the live stock—sheep, oxen, -kine, sows, pigs, cocks, hens——’ - -Here the King interrupted him. - -‘That is enough. Tell them to get the carriage ready for three, and -send Mumkie to me.’ - -‘Just so, your Majesty,’ said the courtier, and departed on his errand. - -When he had gone the King said to the Queen and Ernalie: - -‘Now, my dears, run up and put on your best things, and, Araminta, just -see if our crowns are _very_ tarnished. We ought to make our triumphal -entry in state, for we are reinstated. And, by the bye, see if you’ve -got an old coronet of Treblo’s that will fit Ernalie.’ - -‘What for, your Majesty?’ asked Ernalie in surprise. - -‘For you to wear, of course,’ said the King. - -‘But what do I want with a crown? I have to stop here with Mumkie—I’m -part of the live stock.’ - -‘Good gracious! what do you mean?’ said the King and Queen together. - -‘Well, you see, the agreement between your son and Mumkie was that -Mumkie should have _all_ the live stock of the farm, and as I’m alive I -suppose I’m part of the live stock.’ - -‘I suppose you are,’ said the King. - -Just at that moment a voice was heard outside, saying: - -‘May I come in?’ - -‘Oh yes, come in,’ said the King. - -And Mumkie entered, looking very dirty and black with coal-dust, for, -you see, he had spent the night in the coal-cellar. They were all very -much surprised, and naturally too, and the King remarked: - -‘Good-morning! _Have_ you washed?’ - -Mumkie shook his head. - -‘I’ve been watched—only it’s not quite the same thing, your Majesty.’ - -‘Well, never mind. So there’s been a revolt, has there?’ - -‘A revolution, sire,’ answered Mumkie. - -‘Ah, well, it’s all the same. They manage these things quickly here. By -the bye, what was the arrangement that my son made about this house?’ - -‘He said I was to have the house and all the live stock.’ - -‘_All_ the live stock?’ said the King. - -‘All, your Majesty.’ - -‘Then I’m afraid it’s all up with you, Ernalie!’ - -‘I’m afraid it is, your Majesty, unless your Majesty would buy me from -this gentleman.’ - -‘Good idea! What’ll you take for her, Mumkie?’ - -Mumkie looked at her critically. - -‘What’s your weight?’ he said to her suddenly. - -‘I don’t exactly see what that has to do with it.’ - -‘Well, I suppose you’re good, aren’t you?’ - -‘Oh, very good,’ said the Princess. - -‘She’s as good as gold,’ said the Queen. - -‘Just so,’ said Mumkie. ‘That’s why I wanted to know her weight. You -see, I’ll sell her to you for her weight in gold.’ - -The King put his hand in his pocket, and drew out his purse and looked -into it. - -‘Will you take threepence-farthing on account?’ he said. - -But Mumkie shook his head. - -‘We only take ready money here, or pay on delivery.’ - -‘Then I suppose the only thing to do is to go to the Palace and fetch -the money. Good-bye till then, Ernalie.’ - -So Ernalie kissed the King and Queen, and watched them go down the -garden walk to the carriage, and saw them get in. The guard of honour -fired a royal salute, and they drove off at a gallop. But Ernalie -turned back into the house where Mumkie was awaiting her. - -‘I’ve got a friend coming here to-day, shortly, and I don’t want to -have our conversation overheard, so when he comes you cut your stick. -Go and perform some wholesome menial function—clean the plates. -Understand? And don’t you listen at the door, miss.’ - -‘I am not in the habit of listening at doors, and you’d better call me -“your Royal Highness,” if you please.’ - -‘And why, your Royal Highness?’ - -‘Because I’m a Princess.’ - -‘Oh, you are! Then, I suppose, you’re a foreigner? And they have a -custom here with foreigners of boiling them alive. How would you like -that, your Royal Highness?’ - -‘You daren’t do it,’ said the Princess; but all the same she felt -rather frightened. Just then a knock came at the door. - -‘That’s Wopole,’ said Mumkie, ‘so your Royal Highness may take yourself -off, and if I catch you listening at the door I’ll skin you alive.’ - -‘I never listen at doors,’ said the Princess. But she thought to -herself: ‘I listen inside the room sometimes, though.’ And she ran -upstairs to fetch her feather. She got it very quickly, and ran -downstairs as lightly as possible. They had shut the door of the room, -but she opened it boldly, and stepped in as quietly as she could. -Mumkie looked up, as if he expected to see some one come in; but of -course he did not. - -‘It’s the wind, I suppose,’ said Wopole. ‘Anyhow, you’d better shut it. -Some one might be listening.’ - -So Mumkie got up and shut it, and then went back to his seat again. - -‘You say you can’t try to murder this Prince again?’ he said. - -Wopole shook his head. - -‘It’s no good. I tried last night, and I got such a box on my ear that -I was half killed.’ - -‘But who gave it to you?’ - -‘How on earth should I know? I could see nobody. Just as I was raising -the pistol to shoot—bang! it came. I wouldn’t try it again for -anything.’ - -‘What a nuisance it is that you let that feather fall out of the -eagle’s tail. You could have done it easily then. As it is, I don’t -know what to do. You won’t try again, and I’m too old, and no one else -in the country would hurt him for love or money. There’s only one other -thing to do, and it’s not an easy task, anyway.’ - -‘Oh, never mind the ease or difficulty. If it’s possible to be done, -I’ll do it.’ - -‘Then I’ll tell you. You’ll have to cut his thread of life.’ - -‘Really, and what with?’ - -‘Oh, anything you like. The trouble is to get to the place where -they’re kept.’ - -‘Oh! and where is that?’ - -‘They’re kept by three old women who live in the moon. They’re called -the Fates.’ - -‘And how am I to get to the moon?’ - -‘That’s just it. You’ll have to take a boat one evening at six, and if -you sail straight towards the moon while she is visible, and anchor -when she is out of sight, in three weeks and two days you will reach -the end of the sea, where the moon touches at night, and then you can -get out of the boat; and take care to haul it up out of reach of the -sea, or else it’ll be carried off, and you won’t be able to get back -to the earth again.’ - -‘And when I’ve got to the moon what am I to do?’ - -‘The moon’s not a very large place, although it’s certainly larger -than it looks from the earth. There are five people who live in the -moon. One is the man in the moon, the rest are all women; these are -three Fates, who sit twisting the threads of life into one large rope, -and besides that there’s Diana; but she keeps to herself, and never -troubles about the other four. When you touch the shore you’ll see -the man in the moon. He’s a wrinkled old man, who carries a bundle of -sticks and a lanthorn. When you meet him, give him a loaf of bread to -pacify him, for the moon being made of green cheese they have nothing -else to eat, and so they’re very fond of bread to eat with it. Ask him -the way to the Miss Parkers—those are the three Fates. He’ll show you -in reward for the bread, and then you’ll see the house. Knock at the -door, and when it’s opened, slip in. The Fates are blind, and won’t see -you. When you get in you’ll see a lot of reels of silver threads. Among -them you’ll see his thread. You’ll know it by the label on the reel. -Cut that and those of the King and Queen, and then come back again as -soon as you like.’ - -‘Very well, then; when shall I start?’ asked Wopole. - -‘When you will.’ - -‘Will to-morrow evening do?’ - -‘Yes, quite well.’ - -‘Very well, I’ll start to-morrow evening about eight. In the meantime, -I must see about getting food, as I’m not a fasting man.’ - -‘Very well, do.’ - -Just then came a knock at the door, and Wopole said: - -‘Well, I suppose it’s settled. I shall open the door and see who’s -knocking.’ - -‘Yes, do. I suppose it’s some one come to buy this Princess.’ - -‘Oh, is it?’ and Wopole went to open the door. - -The Princess meanwhile quietly slipped upstairs and took the feather -out. In a few moments she heard a voice calling her, and she went down. -She found the Prince with the other two in the little parlour. - -‘Good-morning, Ernalie,’ he said; and she answered, ‘Good-morning.’ - -‘This absurd man,’ the Prince went on, ‘insists that you shall be -weighed, although I offered him two thousand ounces of gold; and I’m -sure you don’t weigh that. However, he will have you weighed, and it -can’t be helped.’ - -‘I suppose it can’t,’ said the Princess. - -So she was weighed. It doesn’t matter what she did weigh, but it was -less than two thousand ounces. The Prince ordered the two men whom -he had brought with him as bearers of the gold, to stop and see it -properly weighed out, and then he set out with the Princess for the -town. - -‘I thought you wouldn’t mind there not being an escort,’ he said -apologetically; ‘but all the people about the Palace are busy preparing -for a festival.’ - -The Princess said she didn’t mind at all. - -She had not had much time to think about what she had heard Wopole and -Mumkie say, nevertheless she determined to tell the Prince all she had -heard. - -When he had listened to it all, he laughed. - -‘Ah, well, if that’s all I’ve got to fear I’m quite safe. He’s sure -to get drowned if he tries,’ was all he said; and he refused to say -anything more on the subject. - -So they went quietly on till they came to a slight hill down which -the road went, and from the top they could see the city shining in the -morning sun. - -‘It’s a very beautiful place, isn’t it?’ said the Prince. - -‘Very beautiful; only my own country is far more beautiful.’ - -‘It must be very beautiful indeed, then. However, I suppose this is -good enough for you while you are away from your own country.’ - -‘It’ll have to be, at any rate,’ said the Princess dismally, as they -went down the hill. - -They soon reached the city, and went, through crowds of bowing citizens -and citizenesses, to the Palace, where they found the King and Queen -anxiously awaiting them. - -‘So you’ve come at last,’ the King said; ‘I was afraid that you would -come to some harm with that Mumkie.’ - -But the Princess laughed. - -‘Oh no,’ she said; ‘I’m quite able to take care of myself and of other -people too; and while I was in the house I heard something of great -importance.’ And she proceeded to tell them what she had heard. - -But when she had finished, the King laughed even more than his son had -done. - -‘Why, my dear little girl,’ he said, ‘do you believe all that -rigmarole? They were having a joke at your expense. They must have -heard you outside the door and wanted to frighten you. Don’t you think -of such rubbish. Why, if they tried it on alone they’d get swallowed up -in a storm; and I’m sure none of my people would ever help them.’ - -But the Princess did not feel at all convinced, all the same. - -‘You might just as well have them put in prison, and then they couldn’t -do anything.’ - -But the King shook his head. - -‘That’s just it, you see; I’ve only just let them go, and I can’t put -them into prison unless they’ve committed some fresh crime.’ - -‘But isn’t it treason to compass the death of the King or his eldest -son?’ - -‘It is; but then it’s such a foolish scheme that no one would believe -any one capable of inventing it. So we’d better leave it alone.’ - -But still the Princess was not at all convinced. - -‘If you won’t stop him going, I shall go with him,’ she said. - -‘But he won’t take you,’ said the King. - -‘He won’t be able to help it,’ said she. - -‘Oh, well, have your own way, my dear,’ said the King good-naturedly; -for he thought she would change her mind. But she was quite in earnest. - -However, she didn’t say anything more about it, and the rest of the day -went on quietly. - -The old King and his son attended the council just as if nothing -unusual had ever intervened between it and the last council they had -held before they had been turned out. As for the Queen and Princess, -they occupied themselves with choosing dresses for a grand ball that -was to be given on the day after the morrow. So that the time was -pretty well filled up until the evening; and as the Princess said she -felt rather tired, she went out to take a walk on the sands by the sea. -To tell the truth, she intended to see whether Wopole were not making -preparations. - -Now it so happened that the Prince, too, was going out to take an -evening stroll, and so they went together; and as the town was -rather full, they walked along the beach to get out of the way of -the enthusiastic populace, who insisted on congratulating him on his -good fortune. This is a habit of populaces, they are all fond of -congratulating any one who is successful—but they never assist any one -to success if they can help it. So they walked on for some time, and as -the evening was approaching, turned back towards the harbour. - -Now it happened that as they came round a bend of the shore they -noticed a crowd assembled round one of the boats. - -‘I wonder what the excitement is?’ said the Princess. - -‘I don’t know, really, unless it’s some gigantic dog-fish, or perhaps -they’ve found a scale of the sea-serpent. Shall we go and look at it?’ - -‘Yes, let us,’ said the Princess eagerly. - -And so they went towards the crowd, who made way at their approach. - -‘Why, it’s Wopole!’ said the Princess suddenly; and so it was. - -‘What is he up to?’ asked the Prince of one of the bystanders. - -‘I don’t know, your Majesty, only we saw him coming along bringing -packages of things to his boat here, and we thought we’d come and see -that he wasn’t up to mischief.’ - -The Prince then spoke to Wopole, who was looking angrily at him. - -‘Well, Wopole,’ he said, ‘what are you up to now?’ - -‘I’m going to leave the country,’ said he angrily. - -‘A good thing for the country,’ said several of the crowd. But the -Prince said: - -‘I’m sorry you’re going to leave us. However, I shall be glad to make -you a small present before you go.’ And he felt in his coat, and after -a moment’s search he drew out a minute pair of nail-scissors. ‘Perhaps -these might be of some use to you. They’re very good for cutting -threads of any kind. Good-day.’ - -And pretending not to notice his look of astonishment, he drew the -Princess’s arm through his, and they walked off. - -‘Why did you do that?’ asked the Princess, after they had got out of -hearing. - -The Prince laughed. - -‘I thought it might surprise him a little,’ he said. ‘And they wouldn’t -cut butter if they were heated, so he won’t do much harm with them.’ - -‘So you don’t mean to stop him?’ - -The Prince laughed. - -‘No, no!’ he said; ‘why should I? He’ll never get to the moon.’ - -‘Then if you don’t stop him I shall go with him.’ - -‘I think he’ll take care that you don’t,’ retorted the Prince. - -‘But he won’t be able to help himself.’ - -‘And why not?’ - -Because he won’t be able to see me.’ - -‘Nonsense!’ - -‘You may call it nonsense if you like. But do you remember some one -who spoke to you last night in the square? You couldn’t see me then, -and why should he stop me if he can’t see me?’ - -‘Good gracious! Was that you last night? How stupid of me not to -recognise your voice! But you won’t go with him, will you?’ - -‘I shall, unless you stop him.’ - -‘But I promised not to stop him, and I can’t break my promise.’ - -‘Then I must go, that’s all. I can’t allow you and your father and -mother to be killed because you’ve promised not to stop him.’ - -‘But, Ernalie, can’t I go instead?’ - -‘He wouldn’t take you, and you can’t make yourself invisible, you see.’ - -‘But all the same, you must not go; it’s absurd.’ - -‘Why?’ - -‘You may be drowned, or anything.’ - -‘If I’m drowned or anything Wopole will have to be drowned or -anythinged too, so that you’ll be safe in any case.’ - -‘But I don’t want to be safe if you are drowned.’ - -‘What difference will it make to you if I’m drowned or not?’ - -‘Oh, Ernalie, you are too bad,’ he said earnestly. ‘Can’t you see I -love you more than all the world?’ - -The Princess looked at him in utter astonishment. - -‘You love me!’ she said, with her lips parted and the colour coming and -going in her cheeks. ‘Why, whatever made you?’ - -And the Prince answered naturally: - -‘Why, you did, of course.’ - -‘But you’ve not known me for more than two days.’ - -‘If I had known you only for two hours it would have been more than -enough. You are the most beautiful girl I ever saw.’ - -‘Perhaps you’ve not seen many,’ said the Princess. - -He took no notice of her flippant remark—he was very much in earnest. - -‘I love you as much as the whole world, and a great deal besides. And -don’t you love me a little in return?’ - -‘Well, to tell the truth, I never thought of it at all before; but now -I come to think of it I do love you, and a very great deal too—if you -don’t tease.’ - -So they prolonged the stroll indefinitely, thinking nothing about the -unpleasant walking that the heavy shingle afforded, or even that it -was getting very dark, and that the air was chilly with the night and -the sea-foam that the wind blew against them, so that it was after -supper-time by a great deal when they arrived at the Palace once more. -But all that he could say would not persuade her not to go with Wopole, -although she was very sorry that she could not stop. But, as she said, -it was no use stopping if her love died, and if any one was to die she -would be the one. Wopole was sure to die with her, so the Prince would -be safe at any rate. And although the King and Queen both tried to -dissuade her it made no difference. She refused to promise not to go. - -So on the next day they watched her carefully, though without hindering -her going about. - -The day went past just as the day before had done, and about the same -time in the evening she asked the Prince to go down to the beach with -her, and they went just as before. But all the while the Prince kept -fast hold of her hand. - -So they walked along the beach as the wind freshened, and they talked -of all sorts of things,—it is not necessary to say what. - -But the Princess noticed that the boat which Wopole had loaded with -provisions was almost in the water, and Wopole and Mumkie were both -standing talking by it. - -So she drew the feather quietly out of her pocket, for you may be sure -she had not forgotten to bring it. Suddenly she said: - -‘Oh dear! my shoe’s full of sand. I must take it off and shake it out.’ - -‘Will you let me do it for you?’ said the Prince, who stepped easily -into the trap. - -‘Yes, you might, if it’s not too much trouble,’ she said. - -So he knelt down, and unlaced her shoe, took it off, and shook out the -sand, and then put it on again for her. He was just getting up again -when the Princess gave him a little push, so that he lost his balance -altogether, and before he could recover himself she put the feather to -her hair, and ran along the sands to the boat which Wopole and Mumkie -were just about to launch. - -She stepped over the back just before they reached it, and then she -went at once to the front of the boat in order not to be in the way of -Wopole when he got on board. In a moment the boat was dancing on the -water, and Wopole sprang in over the stern. The boat shipped a good -deal over the bows, and the Princess got rather wet. However, she was -too excited to care much about a little water. - -In a few moments Wopole had hauled up the sail, and the boat began to -move through the dancing waters. Just at this moment Treblo reached the -edge of the sea, and saw the boat well out of his power. - -‘Come back!’ he cried to Wopole. - -‘Don’t you!’ said Mumkie. - -‘You needn’t be afraid!’ Wopole called as loud as he could. ‘I shan’t -come back!’ - -‘But you’ve got the Princess on board!’ - -‘You bet!’ remarked Wopole with familiar vulgarity now he was out of -the Prince’s reach. - -The Princess thought it was her turn to say something, so she called: - -‘Good-bye, Treblo, my love, good-bye!’ - -Wopole was naturally somewhat surprised at this voice that appeared to -come from nowhere in particular. - -‘I suppose she’s hanging in the water,’ he said to himself out loud. -‘I shan’t trouble to help her on board if she is. I shall just let her -drown.’ - -‘How very good of you,’ remarked Ernalie sweetly. - -Wopole looked surprised. - -‘Sounds as if she was on board. However, she isn’t.’ - -And as the Princess thought it best to be quiet, he remained of the -same opinion. - -All the while the boat had been getting rapidly out of the bay, and -the Princess thought they were quite safe from pursuit. But suddenly -Wopole rose from his seat in the stern and let down the sail. - -‘What on earth is he going to do?’ thought the Princess. ‘He can’t be -going to stop.’ - -However, it was soon pretty clear what he was going to do, for she -noticed he was steering towards a large vessel that lay near them. - -The way that the sail had left on the boat was sufficient to carry them -to the vessel, which the boat soon bumped against. Wopole now seemed -to be coming forward; and as there was not room in the boat for her to -slip past him, she jumped from the bow and managed to scramble on board -the ship, although it was rather difficult, and boats have a habit of -slipping away under any one who tries jumping off them. - -However, she luckily managed it, and was soon safe on board. - -She was followed almost immediately by Wopole, who didn’t find much -difficulty in getting on board; in fact, he came so quickly that he -almost fell on top of the Princess. However, she just managed to slip -out of his way, and he did not notice her, as he was occupied in tying -the boat-rope to a cleat. - -He then went through various nautical exercises—such as boxing the -compass, and shivering his timbers, and danging his lee-deadlights, and -other things which it takes a sailor, or a nautical novel-writer, to -understand. The effect of these operations was to make the sails run -up, and then the vessel bent to the freshening gale and began to walk -the waters like a thing of life—at least, as like a thing of life as a -wet sheet and a flowing sea and a wind to follow after, but no legs, -could make it walk. - -Wopole had taken the helm by this time, and he was steering a course -east by west, so that they stood—that is, they walked—straight out -from the shore. Thus they sailed on for an hour or two till the moon -began to show itself, and then Wopole altered the course so that they -sailed straight towards her. It might be as well to explain that in -those days a ship was only provided with two sails, and so one man -could manage a pretty large ship; and as Wopole was a very strong man, -it stands to reason that he could manage a rather large ship. So, you -see, it was not altogether so impossible as it looks to sail for three -weeks alone on the sea, although I own it would be somewhat difficult -nowadays. - -When the moon rose, as I have mentioned before, Wopole steered straight -for it, and he continued steering straight towards it all night—at -least all the time that the moon could be seen. - -Towards sunrise, however, the moon set; and as soon as he could see it -no more, he let down the sail, threw his anchor overboard, and in a few -moments the ship was at rest. - -When this had been done he walked to a hatch, which he opened, and took -out some beef, captain’s biscuits, and pickled pork. From these he cut -slices and placed the slices on plates, after which he took the joints -back to the hatchway and put them in the meat-safes again. Then he -filled a glass with water from a little cistern that stood on deck. - -After these preparations, he sat down and made a comfortable meal, and -then he went downstairs—that is, down the hatchway—and into his cabin. - -He seemed to have departed for good, so the Princess followed his -example—at least, so far as the eating was concerned; only, she washed -the knives, forks, and plates before she used them. - -‘I wonder if he’ll see any difference in the size of the joints?’ she -thought to herself. ‘If he does, he won’t know how it is, so that’s all -right.’ - -So she made a hearty meal, and then replaced the things just as he had -put them. - -The question now was—how to pass away the time?—and it was a very -difficult one to answer. There were no books to read—at least, she -was not able to find any on deck. So she tried playing cat’s-cradle -by herself; but that was not a very great success, because there was -no one to take it up. She next attempted going to sleep, but that -was not a success either. Then she tried counting how many times the -ship rolled in the course of an hour; but she always forgot how many -hundreds she had counted. At last she went and sat on one of the -bulwarks and watched the porpoises as they played about the ship’s -bows. So the day passed away and evening came, and just as the sun set -Wopole came on deck yawning and stretching himself. - -He looked at the vane, which was blown out nearly straight in the -evening wind. - -‘A nice breeze,’ the Princess heard him say to himself. ‘If the wind -holds good like this it won’t take more than a fortnight.’ - -‘Thank goodness,’ the Princess said to herself; for she was beginning -already to grow rather tired of the adventure. ‘I think I’ll go down -and see what the vessel is like below-stairs.’ - -So she descended the dark hatchway as well as she could, though it was -no easy matter, for the boat was beginning to roll in a most unpleasant -manner; for, you see, the wind was freshening a good deal, and Wopole -had not yet hoisted the sails. However, she managed to get to the -bottom without tumbling down more than four steps at a time. - -It was not quite dark in the cabin below, for an open port-hole let in -the last rays of daylight. - -The cabin was a very small one, though it did not seem very cosy; -however, the Princess was delighted to see one thing, and that was that -there were some books on a table in the centre of the cabin. - -She went and looked at their titles, but it was too dark to read them, -and she didn’t know where to find the matches. Through the porthole -she could see that the sea was getting rougher, and the waves were -beginning to dash loudly against the side of the boat. - -‘It’ll be getting wet on deck,’ she thought to herself; ‘I think I -shall stop where I am, for I hate being damp, and I’m quite comfortable -here.’ Just at this moment she heard heavy steps coming down the -hatchway. ‘Good gracious! here’s Wopole coming down. What does he want, -I wonder?’ - -Wopole opened the door and looked in, but he didn’t seem to notice her. -He just put his arm round the door and unhooked a tarpaulin coat that -was hanging there. Then he took a sou’-wester from another peg and put -it on his head and shut the door again, and she heard him tramp up on -to the deck. - -‘I suppose he’s gone for good,’ she said to herself. ‘Anyhow, I’ll lock -the door, and then he won’t be able to get in.’ So she locked the door -with the key that was in the lock. ‘Now I wonder where the bed is?’ she -thought. ‘That place like a shelf can’t be it; but it’s got bed-clothes -on it. However, I can’t get into it. I shall just lie on this sofa for -the night.’ - -So she lay down and slept all night in spite of the noise that the wind -and waves made. - -She awoke next morning on hearing a most tremendous rumble and -splashing. - -‘What is that?’ she said to herself. ‘He must be letting out the -anchor.’ - -And so he was; for in a moment she heard him coming downstairs. - -‘I wonder what he’ll do when he finds the door locked?’ she thought. - -Just then he reached the door and turned the handle, but the door -refused to move; and although he kicked and banged, it was all no use. - -‘I’ll go and fetch a hatchet and prise it open,’ he grunted, out of -breath with his exertions; and he thumped up the stairs again. - -But meanwhile the Princess unlocked the door, and seizing a couple of -books at random off the bookshelf she ran up on deck; but she kept -possession of the door-key. - -Now it so happened that Wopole had dropped his hatchet in front of the -hatchway, and he was bending down to pick it up just as she came out -of it, so that the result was a collision; and as Wopole was bending -down he got considerably the worst of it, although the books that the -Princess was carrying were thrown right out of her hands. - -Wopole got up from the sitting posture which the sudden shock had made -him assume. - -‘Well, this is extraordinary! Shiver my old lee-scuppers if it isn’t! -Here first I can’t get into my cabin, and then I’m knocked over by my -own books that come flying at my head. I think it’s those books that -are the cause of the mischief, and I’ll just throw them overboard,’ and -he was just bending over to pick them up. But this was too much for -the Princess, who had no wish to be left for the whole of another day -without books. So she snatched the books from just under his hand—at -least, the book he was going to pick up—and as soon as she touched it, -it became invisible. - -Wopole shook his head dismally as if he had quite expected it, and then -he tried to pick up the other one; but just the same thing happened. -Now the Princess had just been bending down to pick the book up as -he bent down, and the wind blew her hair right across his eyes. He, -feeling the tickling, put his hand up to his face and caught the hair -before she could draw it away. - -‘What is this now?’ he said, as he examined his hand. ‘Feels like -hair,’ he mused. But in his fit of musing he let his fingers relax -their grasp, and she drew her hair away very quickly. - -‘I thought so,’ Wopole said. ‘It was only the hair—the wind, I mean. I -wonder what’s the matter with the books, though? It must be the cabin -that’s bewitched them. I won’t sleep in that cabin to-day. I’ll change -my apartments at once.’ - -And he did. So, for the rest of the time, the Princess had the cabin -all to herself, and she was quite contented; for Wopole was so sure -that it was bewitched, that he moved his clothes and things out of it, -and never came near it again. - -And the Princess had decidedly the best of it; for Wopole slept all day -and watched all night, and she kept awake all day and slept all night -just as usual. So the time passed away, and every night the moon got -larger and larger as they got nearer and nearer, until it was quite -close. - -They had been a fortnight and three days out before they came to the -edge of the sea, but it was eight o’clock in the evening, and the moon -had just left the water, as it flew into the air like a large—a very -large—white bird. - -‘What a confounded nuisance!’ Ernalie heard Wopole say. ‘Now I shall -have to wait the whole of another day for it to rise above the sea; and -then it’s so jolly dangerous.’ - -The Princess couldn’t help wondering why it was so jolly dangerous; -and how, if it were dangerous, it could be jolly. So she asked—quite -without thinking that she was invisible: - -‘Why?’ - -‘Why, you dunderhead!’ retorted Wopole; ‘because we’re quite near the -edge of the world, and if a strong wind should rise we should be blown -right over it, and then we should fall right into the sun. See, stupid?’ - -The Princess replied meekly: - -‘I thank you.’ - -‘I should think you ought to thank me,’ Wopole retorted angrily. ‘It’s -bad enough to have spirits on board a temperance ship without having to -talk to them.’ - -‘But I’m not a spirit,’ said Ernalie. - -‘Then who are you?’ - -‘I’m——’ But she thought it best not to tell him more. - -‘Oh, you are, are you?’ he replied. ‘Thanks for the information. I’m -sure it wasn’t necessary for you to tell me so much, and I don’t want -to know any more about you. Only, look here, I don’t know whether you -want to be roasted?’ - -‘Of course not,’ answered the Princess. - -‘Well, then, if a storm comes up it will blow us right over the world’s -end into the sun; so look out. If the anchor holds, we are safe.’ - -‘What does the anchor hold?’ asked Ernalie. - -‘The ground, of course. If it doesn’t, we shall have to hoist the sails -and try to beat against the wind.’ - -‘I suppose you beat against the wind to make it run away?’ said Ernalie. - -But Wopole replied gruffly: - -‘No puns allowed on board. Now, if we have to beat against the wind, I -shall have to manage the sails, so you must go to the helm.’ - -‘What is the helm?’ she asked. - -‘That’s it,’ said Wopole, pointing to it. - -‘Oh, that’s the helm; and what am I to do with it?’ - -‘Do what I tell you.’ - -‘Very well.’ - -‘That’s all.’ - -So the Princess, not seeing anything better to do, went down below to -bed. - -The night passed safely, and nearly the whole of the next day; but -towards evening the wind began to get up. Wopole was on deck, and as -he did not seem to wish to talk she let him alone. About seven the -moon was to rise, and at about half-past five Ernalie went down to her -cabin to get a book. She selected a small one that she had not noticed -before. It was called ‘The Life and Surprising Adventures of Robinson -Crusoe of Hull, Mariner, who——’ But before she had half finished the -title-page—which, by the bye, is rather long—a sudden reeling of the -vessel threw her right over to one corner of the room, and at the same -time from above there sounded a shrieking as of ten thousand demons. - -‘What on earth is that?’ she thought as well as she could, for she was -lying in one corner of the room among chairs and various other articles -of furniture. However, she got out of it as quickly as she could, and -ran on deck, or at least she tried to run, for the vessel was rolling -and pitching, and the shrieking continued to resound from above. At -last she did reach the deck; but she rather wished she had stopped -below, for the wind was so biting it nearly bit her hair off, and -this same wind behaved so badly to the ropes of the vessel that they -shrieked in their pain as the blast cut past them, causing the strange -sounds that the Princess had heard below. - -It was nearly as difficult to stand on deck as it had been in the -cabin, and the spray that came dashing over the boat made it very -difficult to see, for it got into her eyes and half blinded her. - -However, she managed to steady herself by holding on to a rope, and in -a few minutes she was able to see Wopole standing in the bow of the -boat, and looking over the side. So she went towards him as well as she -could, for the wind and spray came from over the bows. Nevertheless, -she reached him somehow. He was leaning quietly against the bulwarks -over the hawser-hole watching the straining cable, just as calm as if -there were nothing in particular depending on whether the anchor held -or not. - -As soon as she could find her breath she touched him on the shoulder -and shouted in his ear as loud as she could: - -‘Will the rope break?’ But it was no use trying to out-roar the -tempest—at least for her. - -When Wopole felt something touch him on the shoulder he looked round. - -‘Oh, it’s you, is it?’ she heard him cry. But the wind was still too -high for her to answer. She only nodded; but she might have spared -herself the trouble. - -Presently, after she had waited some minutes in silence, the wind fell, -almost as suddenly as it had risen. - -‘Thank goodness! It’s over now,’ she said, and it was so quiet that -Wopole overheard her easily. - -‘Don’t hulloa till you’re out of the wood,’ he said. ‘Look there!’ - -The Princess did look, and she saw that the horizon was hidden by -masses of white foam that rose and fell as if the sea were one great -cauldron full of boiling water. - -‘That’s the storm coming down again,’ Wopole went on. ‘Hurry to the -helm and put it hard down when I hoist the sail, for the cable will -snap like thread before it. Quick—quick!’ - -The Princess ran like lightning along the deck, for the sea was quite -quiet, and the vessel hardly pitched at all, and she reached the helm -in a very few minutes. - -When she got there she stood still and listened. Everything was quiet -and still; the vessel only rolled slightly, and the cordage creaked -uneasily, as if it feared the coming strain that it would have to -stand. From where the sea boiled a noise came—so low and grumbling that -it might have been the faint growl of an angry cat before it makes a -spring. - -Just then Wopole looked towards the helm: - -‘Mind and put it hard down!’ he shouted. - -‘I wonder why he wants me to put it down,’ she thought. - -But before she could ask the storm was upon them again. Swifter than -the arrow leaps from the bow it came, and the churned sea fled from -the attack of the wind like a mighty white horse. The flying scud and -rain beat mercilessly against her face; but she held bravely to the -tiller, and stemmed the storm as well as she could, with her eyes shut -and her teeth set. - -The noise the storm made would have frightened Neptune himself; but -high over it she heard Wopole shout: - -‘The cable’s parted! Hard down!’ - -And she pressed on the tiller as hard as she could; but the stubborn -bar refused to go down, and though she leant her whole weight on it, it -only fell away to one side, and she had only strength to lie against -it in vain hope of putting it down. Just then the sail began to raise -itself, and the vessel seemed to feel its influence, for it was turning -slowly round. Suddenly she saw Wopole appear in the mist of rain. - -‘Let me have the tiller!’ he shouted; and she let go. Instantly he -seized it and pushed it the other way with all his might. - -But at this critical moment a disaster happened, that made it look as -if everything had conspired against them. The tiller broke in half -under the strong hands of Wopole, and before they could wink the vessel -had turned its back to the wind, and they were carried at racing speed -towards the end of the world. They had but a mile or so to go, and a -mile is soon covered. - -The last part of the journey was through a thick mist; but it didn’t -much matter to Ernalie. - -‘Anyhow, Wopole won’t be able to cut the strings,’ she thought. - -Just then the fog began to get lighter, as if some great fire were just -outside it, and in a few seconds they burst through the veil of mist -into a light so blinding that the Princess could not keep her eyes open. - -‘This must be the sun we’ve fallen into,’ she thought. ‘But it doesn’t -seem very hot.’ Then there was a bump, as if the boat had run into a -lump of mud, and then a greasy slide, and then Ernalie fainted. - - * * * * * - -When she came to herself, she heard voices close to her. One sounded -like the voice of an old man, and the other, she was quite sure, was -that of Wopole; but she had never heard him so polite before. They had -evidently only just met, for Wopole was saying: - -‘I am very happy to make your acquaintance, sir. May I trouble you to -tell me your name?’ - -‘It’s a great deal of trouble,’ grumbled the other; ‘but I’ll tell you. -I’m the Man.’ - -‘How strange—I too happen to be a man.’ - -‘You’re only _a_ man. I’m _the_ Man.’ - -‘The Man in the Moon, I should think?’ said Wopole. - -‘Exactly,’ answered the voice. - -‘Why, we must be in the moon,’ thought the Princess; and it was the -case, for the ship had run right over the edge of the world on to the -moon, which had been hidden behind the clouds. - -‘I’ll just go and look at him,’ she said to herself, and so she sat up -to look where the voices came from. ‘They seem to be behind the sail,’ -she went on. So she walked to the sail, and peeped round the corner, -and there sure enough he was. - -I daresay you’ve often seen the Man in the Moon—at all events, you -ought to have. Perhaps you mayn’t have; if so, this is what the -Princess saw. - -He was a very old man, and looked very much as if he was in his second -childhood, and he carried an enormous lanthorn, which made him even -more bent than he might have been if he had not carried it so often. On -his shoulders he carried a bundle of thorns, which appeared to prick -him and cause him a good deal of uneasiness generally; and besides this -he had an ugly little dog by his side, which made continual attacks -on Wopole’s shins, and it made such a noise with its barking that the -old man in a temper aimed a vicious kick at it; but he missed his mark, -and the weight of the lanthorn overbalancing him he sat down rather -suddenly, and during the rest of the evening he remained there. - -But the conversation proceeded just as if nothing in particular had -happened. - -‘Being the Man in the Moon, perhaps you would be so kind as to direct -me to the place where the Misses Parker reside?’ Wopole said. - -‘That I won’t,’ said the Man. ‘Why should I?’ - -‘I thought that you might be so good as to direct me, and I had -intended presenting you with a loaf of bread. However, that does not -matter. Good-day. I daresay I shall find the house by myself,’ and -Wopole made preparations for getting over the side of the vessel. - -But the Man no sooner heard the word ‘bread’ than he became very eager -to help him on the way. - -‘Oh, wait a minute,’ he said; and Wopole accordingly waited. - -‘If you’ll give me two loaves I’ll show you,’ he went on. - -‘I’ll give you one now, and the other when I have paid my visit and am -safely back on the ship.’ - -‘Well, that’ll do. Give me the one, and I’ll show you at once.’ - -So Wopole went to the hatch which covered the pantry and took out a -large loaf, which he handed to the old Man. - -‘Now trot,’ he said; and the Man hurried to the side of the vessel and -scrambled down as well as he could, followed by Wopole and the Princess. - -It was curious how bright it was when they got over the side; for -although it was past nine o’clock P.M. by the Princess’s watch, the -ground itself seemed to shoot out light, and what was still more -funny, they threw no shadows, although that was easily explained; for -as the moon itself provided the light, it would be rather difficult to -throw a shadow on the moon. - -They plodded on for some time in silence; but although the old Man -hobbled very much he managed to get along very fast, almost too fast -for the Princess, for the walking was very heavy. - -Presently Wopole said: - -‘How soft the ground is; is it all the same about here?’ - -‘Of course it is. It’s all cheese; and you don’t want hard cheese.’ - -‘I don’t want cheese at all,’ said Wopole. - -‘You’d want it if you were me,’ remarked the old Man. - -‘Why?’ asked Wopole. - -‘Because it’s all there is to eat in the moon, and if it were hard I -shouldn’t be able to eat it.’ - -‘Oh, I see; but why don’t you come to the earth? You’d make your -fortune in a show.’ - -The Man shook his head sadly. - -‘I did try once; but I got my mouth burnt, and I shan’t try again.’ - -‘Why, how was that?’ asked Wopole. - -‘Don’t you know the song?’ said the old Man in astonishment. - -‘Not I.’ - -‘Then I’ll sing it.’ - -And forthwith he began to sing: - - ‘The Man in the Moon - Came down too soon - And asked his way to Norwich, O; - He got sent to the south - And burnt his mouth - With eating cold plum-porridge, O.’ - -The Man’s voice itself was about as melodious as that of a peacock; -but in the final ‘O’ of the song he was joined by his dog and Wopole, -who both sang—or rather bawled—a wrong note; and as each was proud of -his voice the ‘O’ was prolonged indefinitely, and it might have been -kept up till doomsday, only, just at that moment, they happened to turn -the corner of a heap of cheese and came in sight of a cottage at some -distance off. - -‘That’s the cottage where they live,’ said the old Man. - -And no sooner did the Princess hear his words than she started off at a -run towards it. - -‘I must get there before him,’ she said; and so she went as fast as she -could over the soft cheese. She really needn’t have hurried so much, -for Wopole and the old man had stopped, and it might have saved her a -world of trouble if she had listened to what they said; but she didn’t. - -When she reached the cottage she stopped a moment to gain breath; but -that was soon done, and she went to the door and tapped. No answer -came; so she lifted the latch gently and walked in as quietly as she -could. - -‘There goes that door,’ she heard an ill-tempered voice say. - -‘I shouldn’t take the trouble to close it again if I were you. It’s the -fifth time it’s blown open to-day.’ This was in another voice. - -It was impossible for the Princess to see where the voice came from, -for the cottage was so dark after the light outside that for some -moments it was quite as black as night. However, gradually her eyes -became accustomed to the twilight, for the open door did let in a good -deal of light. - -What she did see, however, did not please her eyes much, for the three -sisters, to whom Wopole gave the name of Parker—they are called the -Parcae generally—were about as ugly as they make them; and as they were -twins—that is, triplets—there was not much to choose between them. - -The room in the cottage was very large, and at the wall at one end a -large number of frames stood on which were nailed reels, and from every -reel came a silver thread, and over every reel a small placard was -placed on which was written a name—the name of the owner of the thread. - -Behind the frames stood one of the Fates, who took off used-up reels -and placed new ones in their stead; though how she did it the Princess -could not tell, for the Fates, as well as Love, are blind. Yet she did -it. - -Between the reels and the last of the three sisters sat one clothed in -black, who held in her hand scissors wherewith she severed certain of -the threads—threads of those that die on earth. Last of the three sat -one who twisted all the threads into one great rope that ran from her -hands down a fathomless pit to the earth. - -And so they all sat silently working busily, with no other sound than -the clipping of the scissors as their owner cut remorselessly here and -there, surely and safely—she needed no eyes. - -But the Princess heeded little of this, for she was seeking out two -names. The names were arranged in townships, so she had but little -difficulty in finding them; and she changed the names that stood over -the strings. Over Wopole’s she put the name of Treblo, and over Treblo -she put Wopole’s name. - -‘It is the only way to stop him killing Treblo. As for the others, -Abbonamento and Araminta, if Wopole cuts his own string and dies, he -will not be able to cut theirs; but if he die not instantly and cut the -other strings, I will knot them together again quickly. And I will also -knot together Wopole’s own thread, for he has done me no harm, and -once he saved my life; only, he must not kill Treblo.’ - -When she had got thus far, the light that came through the door was -interrupted for a moment, and Wopole entered. - -He stopped for a few minutes to accustom his eyes to the faint light. -Then the Princess heard him mutter: - -‘Lucky for me the old ladies are blind and deaf. Here are his own -scissors to cut his own thread. That is to fight him with his own -tools—and I shall win.’ - -And then he walked towards the sets of threads. - -In a few moments he had found the thread marked ‘Treblo,’ and reaching -out the scissors he cut it through. But he dropped the scissors almost -instantly. - -‘What a pain I have in my side,’ he said. ‘I won’t cut any more threads -if it’s to hurt me like this each time. Old Abbonamento and Araminta -won’t last long after their son; and as for the lovely Princess, Mumkie -promised her to me, so I won’t cut your string, Ernalie.’ - -‘Thank you,’ said Ernalie herself, so quietly that Wopole did not -notice it, and he left the house in somewhat of a hurry. - -‘I’ll just join his thread, and then I’ll join him again; and so -there’s not much harm done.’ - -But it was not quite so easy to join the threads as it looked, for part -of the thread that went towards the earth moved on, while that which -came from the reel stood still. However, she pulled the thread rapidly -from the reel, and she managed to tie the two parts together before -they reached the lady with the scissors, and so the thread passed on -its way without notice. - -‘That’s all right,’ said she thankfully, and she left the house to -follow Wopole. - -He, however, had already passed the turning and was out of sight, so -she followed; but when she too had turned the corner he was nowhere to -be seen. However, she was quite sure of the road, so she went leisurely -on; but each hillock was so like the other, and there was no mark to -guide her, for no trees grew on the cheese. And so little by little -she began to feel convinced that she had lost her way, and though she -wandered on for hours and hours she came to no trace of anything that -would guide her to the vessel. - -But at last she came to some footsteps in the cheese, and she was now -quite sure of being in the right track. So she ran on as fast as she -could, and she really was on the right path, and soon she came in sight -of the sea, and then she saw the vessel, but it was sailing away from -her as fast as it could, and although she shouted and cried to Wopole -to come back and fetch her, he took no notice. - -‘Wopole! Wopole!’ she shrieked; but the wind carried her voice away, -and did not bring back Wopole. - -Again she called: - -‘Wopole!’ - -‘What _is_ the use of making all that noise?’ said a voice that came -from close to her side, and when she looked round she saw the Man, -sitting on his bundle of sticks, eating the bread ravenously, and -scooping up pieces of the moon-cheese from his side. - -‘What is the use of making all that noise?’ he said again, -bad-temperedly. - -‘I want Wopole to come back and fetch me,’ said the Princess. - -‘I daresay he’d feel flattered if he knew; but he doesn’t. It’s no -use howling. By the bye, I forgot to tell you—“This lanthorn doth the -horned moon present.”’ - -‘But what _has_ that got to do with my getting home?’ said the -Princess. - -‘I don’t know; but it’s my home. Look, the sea’s rising.’ - -The Princess looked round in alarm, for she was afraid of getting her -feet wet; but though the sea was rising, it did not hurt the moon at -all, for, you see, the water belonged to the earth, and so, while the -moon sank lower and lower, the water remained like a solid wall above -them, but did not close over them. The light of the moon attracted the -fishes and strange monsters of the deep, and the Princess saw them as -calmly as if they had been part of a large aquarium. She looked at them -for some time; but a strange sound behind her made her turn round: - -‘I am about to sing a serenade,’ said the Man. - -‘Please don’t,’ said the Princess. - -‘I’m sure you’d like to hear it. “I’ll sing you songs of Araby,”’ he -said. - -‘But I don’t care about Araby.’ - -‘You really must listen. Come, now, do hear.’ - -And he began waving his arms to and fro, roaring: - - ‘When moonlight o’er the azure seas - In soft effulgence swells!’ - -But he sang it to the tune of the moonlight sonata. - -The Princess did not wait to hear. She put her fingers in her ears, and -ran off as fast as she could; but still she heard the burden: - - ‘Ah, Angeline! ah, lady mine!’ - -And he seemed to keep it up for a long while. However, after she had -gone some miles the sound died away in the distance, and all was quiet. - -The Princess now sat down to rest, and to look at the earth, for the -moon had dipped underneath it by this time, and she could see Australia -and New Zealand and various of the other lands of the Antipodes. - -Her attention was drawn away from the earth to the moon by a sound that -seemed like the rolling of wheels. It was still distant, but approached -rapidly, and in a few moments a chariot, drawn by two milk-white stags -with golden horns, dashed past close to her, and rolled over a hill -near by, as easily as if they had been bubbles blown by the wind. - -But the Princess did not look much at the stags or the chariot; the -thing that took her attention was the driver. A woman you could hardly -have called her; for, though she was clad in the garb of a huntress, it -was easy to see who she was, for who but Diana carried a silver bow? - -‘Dear me!’ said Ernalie, ‘this must be the Goddess of the moon. I’ll -go to her and tell her everything, and ask her to take me back to the -earth when she goes. For she must go to the earth sometimes since -she’s the Goddess of the chase; there’s nothing to hunt here except -cheese-mites, and they’re not great sport for such a mighty huntress.’ - -So she followed as fast as she was able to the top of the hill over -which the chariot had disappeared; but it had gone so fast that it -had passed out of sight over another range of hills. However, the -hoof and wheel marks were plainly shown on the white surface of the -cheese. So she went on and on, following the tracks, until, just as -she was beginning to despair, she came to the brow of a hill, and in a -valley beneath she saw a large building, in appearance something like a -Grecian temple, except that instead of stone it was made of cheese. - -In front of the building was a large heap of skins of various animals, -piled up so high that they made a sort of couch on which the Goddess -was lying up to dinner; for it was the fashion among the gods to lie up -or rather down, instead of sitting up to table. - -The two white stags which had been harnessed to the chariot were -playfully butting at each other with their golden horns, and the -chariot itself was tilted on its back, just as you would see an -ordinary two-wheeled cart nowadays. - -But the Princess was not particularly interested in this—to tell the -truth, she was feeling remarkably hungry and thirsty, for she had been -already for some hours without tasting anything at all. - -‘I wonder if I’m invisible to the gods as well as to man,’ she thought. -‘I’ll just try if I am, at all events.’ - -So she went towards the Goddess, who was eating the food that lay on -the table in front of the couch; but Diana did not appear to notice -her, and she advanced more boldly until she was quite close to the -table. - -‘She doesn’t seem to have much variety,’ thought the Princess, at -least she meant to think. - -‘Do you think so?’ said Diana, looking up in some astonishment to where -the voice came from. ‘And who asked you to say so? and who are you, and -where are you, and why can’t I see you? Tell me, or I’ll shoot you.’ - -‘I don’t exactly see how you can,’ said the Princess. - -The Goddess seized her bow and looked for her quiver; but even as she -reached out her hand to take it, it vanished, for Ernalie was too fast -for her. - -Diana looked more and more astonished and annoyed. - -‘Who are you?’ she said. ‘Are you a mortal?’ - -‘Certainly I am,’ said Ernalie. - -‘Then how is it I can’t see you?’ asked the Goddess. - -‘Because of the feather, I suppose,’ said the Princess. - -‘You don’t mean to say you’ve got the feather? Tell me how you got it?’ - -The Princess did as she was told, for she saw no use in making the -Goddess angry. - -When she had finished, Diana said: - -‘You have been lucky, whoever you are. The feather belonged to one of -Jupiter’s eagles, and this eagle got angry and flew at Jove because -he gave its brother eagle more than its share of food. So he banished -the eagle to the earth, and it got shot. I would give anything for the -feather.’ - -‘But I wouldn’t part with it for any price,’ said Ernalie. - -‘I’ll give you anything you like for it, you know,’ said the Goddess. - -‘But I won’t part with it,’ said Ernalie. ‘Besides, I’ve got your -arrows, and I won’t give them back to you for nothing.’ - -‘What a plague you are! What do you want for the arrows?’ - -‘First, you must promise not to steal the feather from me.’ - -‘Well, I’ll promise that,’ said the Goddess. - -‘Then promise not to do me any harm.’ - -‘Very well.’ - -‘And lastly, take me safely back to the earth.’ - -‘I should be only too glad if you had never come near me,’ said the -Goddess. ‘However, I promise them all. Now give me the arrows.’ - -The Princess gave the arrows back, for the word of Diana was not to be -doubted. - -‘I wish you would show yourself to me,’ the Goddess went on; ‘I should -like to see you very much. I wonder what sort of a person you are? Do -show yourself.’ - -So the Princess took off the cap in which she wore the feather, but as -soon as it was off Diana vanished; for, you see, it was the feather -touching her head that gave Ernalie the power of seeing without being -seen, and a goddess is naturally invisible. But the Princess did not -think of that. - -‘It must be some trick,’ she thought. So she put the feather back in a -hurry, but the Goddess had not moved. She was smiling quietly. - -‘Can’t you trust me, child?’ she said; ‘for you aren’t much more than a -child, you know.’ - -‘I’m grown up, at any rate,’ said the Princess indignantly. ‘I’m -nineteen years old, so I’m not so very young.’ - -‘And I’m nineteen thousand years old,’ said the Goddess, ‘and I don’t -look so very old, do I?’ - -‘You certainly don’t. But then, you see, you’re a goddess and I’m a -mortal, and it makes a difference.’ - -‘It does,’ said Diana. ‘But do show yourself to me again.’ - -‘But if I make myself visible, you disappear,’ said Ernalie. - -‘Oh, I had forgotten that. However, I’ll make myself visible too.’ - -So when Ernalie took the feather away this time Diana was easily -visible. - -‘And you want to go back to the earth, do you?’ asked Diana. - -‘I do, very much,’ answered the Princess. - -‘And why?’ - -‘Because the moon has got so little to eat on it.’ - -‘Really!’ said the Goddess. ‘There’s plenty of cheese, isn’t there?’ - -‘But I don’t like cheese, and especially green cheese. I hate it.’ - -‘Do you, really? What a pity it is you’re not a mouse,’ said the -Goddess. - -‘But I’m not,’ said Ernalie, ‘and that settles it.’ - -‘She might offer me some of her food,’ she thought to herself. - -‘You wouldn’t be able to eat it if you had it,’ said the Goddess, who -seemed to hear what she thought just as well as what she said. - -‘Why shouldn’t I?’ asked Ernalie. - -‘Because it’s ambrosia; and if you once ate any of it you’d never be -able to eat any other kind of food, which would be rather awkward for -you.’ - -‘Why?’ asked the Princess. - -‘You’re always asking “Y.” Why don’t you use some other letter—“Z” for -instance; it gets so monotonous. Now tell me who you are, and all about -yourself.’ - -So the Princess did as she was told. - -‘It would never do to offend her if she’s going to take me back to the -earth,’ she thought, and the Goddess remarked: - -‘Quite right.’ - -When she had finished, the Goddess said: - -‘You shouldn’t have interfered with the Fates. Even Jupiter daren’t do -that, and I’d as soon go near them as I would pat Cerberus.’ - -‘But what could I do? I didn’t want Wopole to kill himself.’ - -‘I don’t see why not,’ said the Goddess. ‘Why did you come at all? -If Wopole and the other chose to fall out I don’t see why you should -meddle to save him.’ - -‘But I couldn’t let Wopole kill Treblo.’ - -‘Why not?’ asked the Goddess. - -‘Because he was my foster-brother, and he was going to marry me, and -I’m sure I didn’t want my husband to be liable to drop down dead at any -moment.’ - -The Goddess looked angry at this. - -‘Why shouldn’t he? He’s only a man, and I hate men—nasty, vulgar -things! And you were going to marry him? If I’d known that I’d never -have spoken a word to you. Don’t you know I’m the Goddess of Chastity, -and I’ve sworn never to marry? The sooner you go the better.’ - -‘But I can’t go. I’ve got nowhere to go to; and besides, you promised -to take me back to the earth,’ said Ernalie. - -‘I suppose I did,’ said the Goddess. ‘Besides, I don’t want to have you -always here. Well, the moon will begin to rise in half an hour, and -then I’ll take you in my chariot, that’s the only thing to do; so you -can help me to harness the stags.’ - -This was soon done, and the Goddess went into the house to put away -the remains of the food on which she had been dining. When she came -out again Ernalie noticed that she had made a considerable change in -her costume. What the change was I don’t exactly know, but she said to -Ernalie: - -‘You see I have to dress lightly to follow the chase easily. However, -if you’re ready, I am.’ - -So saying, she slung her quiver full of arrows over her back, and -taking the silver bow in her hand, got into the chariot. - -‘Get up,’ she said to Ernalie, for the stags were already pawing the -ground in their eagerness to be off. Ernalie jumped in quickly, and the -stags darted off at an immense pace. They went so smoothly, however, -that the Princess was not at all shaken or jolted. On over hills and -through valleys, until it almost made her head swim at the way in which -the scenery shot past. However, in a few minutes the roar of the waves -sounded in her ears, and they came over the hill-top to the sea-beach. -Just then the Goddess drew the reins in, and the stags stopped short. - -‘What on earth is that?’ she said. - -Now that the chariot had stopped, the Princess too could hear the sound -that came faintly borne on the breeze: - - ‘When moonlight o’er the azure seas.’ - -‘Why, it’s the Man,’ she said. - -‘So it is,’ said Diana angrily. ‘I recognise his voice. He calls it -“mezzo-soprano.” It’s dreadful. I told him never to sing unless he had -somebody to sing to. Of course I thought no one would ever come to the -moon. I wonder whom he’s singing to?’ - -‘I rather imagine he thinks he’s singing to me,’ said the Princess -hesitatingly. ‘I begged him not to sing; but he insisted. So I ran -away, and I suppose he thinks I’m still there, for, you see, he can’t -see me.’ - -‘Oh, he thinks you’re still there, does he?’ said Diana. ‘Just make -yourself invisible, and I’ll do the same, and we’ll go a little closer.’ - -The Princess did as she was told, and Diana urged the stags in the -direction of the voice. - -The rattling of the wheels was quite drowned in the noise of the Man’s -voice, as he sang: - - ‘And you’ll remember me . . e . . e, - And you’ll remember me.’ - -‘You’ve improved a good deal in that last line,’ said the Goddess. ‘I -wish you’d sing it over again.’ - -‘You _are_ there then?’ said the Man. ‘I thought you had gone away. I -couldn’t get you to answer when I spoke to you.’ - -‘Ah! that was because I was too enchanted for words to express. Now, -_do_ sing the last line again. Only the last line; it _is_ so fine,’ -said Diana. - -The Man drew in a long breath: - - ‘And you’ll remember, re . member me . e . e.’ - -At the sound of his voice the Princess put her hands to her ears, and -Diana had the greatest difficulty in keeping the stags from turning -tail and bolting right away. However, she managed to quieten them, and -took a good grip of her whip handle, and the consequence was that the -last line came out: - - ‘And you’ll remember me . . e . . ow—ow!’ - -for the whip stung a good deal. - -‘I hope you’ll remember me—ow—ow,’ said the Goddess calmly, as she -suddenly appeared to him, turning the chariot towards the sea. - -‘You don’t mind getting a little wet?’ she continued, turning to the -Princess. ‘We’re going over the water.’ - -And she gave the reins to the stags, who sprang wildly down the steep -slope into the sea. For a moment the Princess thought that there might -be rather too much of a good thing, even if that good thing were riding -in a chariot along with a goddess; for the chariot plunged deep into a -high wave, and it seemed to the Princess as if it never did intend to -come to the surface again. However, it did come up, and that was some -comfort, although the Princess was dripping all over with the sea-water. - -But the stags were once more darting onwards, for the chariot ran as -lightly over the waves as over the land, and they went at such a rate -that although the great breakers chased them, and even curled right -over them, they were never so much as touched by the spray that the -wind blew from off the crests of the waves. - -So they dashed on through the blue water that coiled up over the front -of the chariot but fell back when it saw the Goddess. On and on they -went, and as they got farther out the waves became steeper and steeper, -until it seemed as if they were going over very mountainous land -indeed, for they rose over every wave. - -Suddenly the Goddess said: - -‘This is a little too much,’ and drew the stags in. - -The great waves rolled on like angry hounds hungering for their prey; -but the Goddess motioned with her hand: - -‘Down, down!’ she cried. ‘Know ye me?’ - -And the waves sank, like hounds to whom their master shows his whip, -and instantly it fell a deep calm over the whole sea. Then the Goddess -lashed on the deer again, and once more they sped on over the sea, and -the chariot wheels cut two deep white furrows in the deep blue, and in -the moonlight Ernalie could see the two straight white lines glistening -right away to the horizon—for they went so quickly that there was no -time for the foam to die away, before it was out of sight. So they kept -on for a long while, and gradually the moon rose in the sky, and then -fell lower and lower, and still they journeyed on. Then the moon set, -the stars gradually faded from sight, and the hot rays of the morning -sun began to turn the eastern sky yellow. - -Suddenly the Goddess pulled up the stags. - -‘There’s the land,’ she said, pointing to a low blue line on the -horizon. ‘We must rise into the air now, for we are getting near the -place where ships ply to and fro on the sea, and if the sailors saw -the two white trails of the chariot wheels they would say it was the -sea-serpent, and I don’t want to be called a snake—it’s most insulting. -So if you’re inclined to be giddy you’d better sit in the bottom of the -car.’ - -But the Princess said: - -‘Oh no. I’m never giddy, however great the height may be.’ - -So Diana gave the word to the stags, and they began to rise from the -water in a spiral line upwards as an eagle soars in chase of a swan. - -When they had reached a sufficiently great height, the Goddess once -more let loose the reins, and the deer bounded forward again like an -arrow released from a bow. - -Swiftly they neared the land; but from where they were nothing could be -seen of the things on it. Everything was blurred into one mass, as if -it had been a map spread out below them. - -So they sped on again for a time, and the fresh morning air blew cool -on Ernalie’s face, and almost made her shiver, though by this time her -garments were dry again, and blew out like a cloud behind her, as if -they had been of thin gauze, though they were really of far thicker and -heavier material. - -Suddenly a thought struck Ernalie. - -‘Where are you going to take me?’ she asked as well as she could, for -the wind blew her words down her throat. - -The Goddess smiled somewhat maliciously, Ernalie thought, and checked -the course of the stags that she might speak with greater ease. - -‘You shall see,’ she said. - -‘But I should like to know beforehand.’ - -‘I only promised to take you back to the earth,’ said Diana. - -‘But you promised to do me no harm,’ said Ernalie dismally, ‘and if you -leave me in the middle of a desert you’ll do me a lot of harm.’ - -‘But I’m not going to put you down into the middle of a desert,’ said -Diana. ‘Look, we are descending. Now, see if you recognise the country -you pass over.’ - -The Princess looked over the edge of the chariot, and she saw that -the stags were descending in great spiral curves, and at each curve -the earth flew up nearer and nearer to meet them. As they got lower -down Ernalie could see what was below more clearly, as if she had been -looking through an opera glass, and was only just commencing to get the -right focus. When they were quite close the Goddess stopped the descent -of the chariot. - -‘Now, do you recognise where you are?’ she asked. - -But Ernalie shook her head. - -‘I only see that we are over the tops of a range of mountains that -have snow on their peaks,’ she said. ‘But I was never here before—that -I am quite certain of.’ - -The Goddess shook the reins, and again the stags flew forward; but this -time not so fast as they had gone before. - -‘You have been here before,’ she said. ‘And at just this height, and at -just this speed, only you were going in the opposite direction.’ - -‘Why,’ said Ernalie, ‘I must be in my own country. Oh, how cruel of you -to take me away from my Prince, and you promised to do me no harm.’ - -‘I am doing you no harm,’ said the Goddess. ‘To prevent you marrying is -not harm—it is good.’ - -But the Princess said: - -‘No! no! it is harm. I would give anything to be back with him.’ - -‘Would you give your feather?’ said the Goddess eagerly. - -‘No, not that,’ said the Princess. - -‘I will give you anything you like for it,’ said the Goddess. -‘Anything——’ - -But the Princess said scornfully: - -‘Not so, Goddess. I will get back to my love in spite of you. If I can -do nothing better I will pray to Venus and offer her the feather.’ - -The Goddess looked angrily at her, and it almost seemed as if her eyes -shot fire. - -‘If it were not for my promise,’ she said, ‘I would hurl you from the -car; but as it is, I will put you safely down.’ - -But the Princess smiled in spite of herself. - -‘Do you, then, hate Venus so much, great Goddess?’ she asked. ‘Well, -you have really done me much good, and therefore I promise never to -give the feather to any other goddess save you alone.’ - -Diana looked very much relieved; for, to tell the truth, the goddesses -in those days were very jealous of one another, and Diana could not -bear the thought that any one else should have the feather if she could -not get it. - -So for a few minutes she was silent; and then suddenly she drew in the -stags. - -‘I am going to set you down here,’ she said, and they plunged into -the darkness below. For you must know that though they were high up, -and the rays of the sun, still below the horizon, fell on them, yet, -beneath them, everything was dark in the shadow of the mountains. - -The chariot sank slowly until it rested on the ground, but it was still -so dark that the Princess could see nothing. - -‘Get out,’ said Diana; ‘you are quite safe here.’ And the Princess -obeyed. ‘Now remember,’ the Goddess went on, ‘I have kept my promises. -Remember to keep yours. Give the feather to no one except to me, -unless I send Iris for it. To her alone give it, for she is the -messenger of the goddesses.’ - -The Princess once more promised, and Diana shook the reins, and the -chariot once more darted up through the air and out of the lower -darkness into the sunlight, until it was so high that it vanished -altogether from her sight. - -So the Princess looked wearily down again, and the earth around her -seemed doubly dark by contrast. - -‘I wonder where on earth I am,’ she said, and then she took two or -three steps forward, but she came against a stone parapet or wall, or -something. ‘I wonder what this is,’ she said to herself. ‘I think I -shall stop where I am till daylight; it won’t be very long now, and I’m -safe here at any rate.’ - -So she leant on the wall and waited; but even though the dawn was near -it seemed long in coming. - -But presently over the mountains in the east a yellow light stole, -changing the silence of darkness for the clamorous speech of light, -and the river flowing placidly in front was turned to liquid gold with -the yellow of the dawn, and a sense of yellow-fringed gray mist was on -everything, and forms erstwhile veiled discovered themselves. - -‘Why, wherever am I?’ said Ernalie, rubbing her eyes in astonishment. -‘I seem to have been here before! Yes, there’s the fountain and the -rose-bushes, and—why, this must be the terrace of my father’s Palace! -Just where I was when the eagle carried me off. I wonder if the swans -are still here,’ and she walked to the other side of the terrace and -looked over the marble parapet into the water. - -‘Yes, there they are.’ And on the marble steps that led down to the -water the swans were asleep, each on one leg, with its neck coiled up -on its back, and head under its wing. On hearing the footsteps of the -Princess one of them looked lazily up as if it had been waked too soon, -and then it shook its head, yawned, put down its other leg and waddled -slowly to the water, into which it jumped with a splash that woke the -others up; and they followed dreamily, being unused to the chill of the -water so early. - -A cock crowed, and his challenge was answered from far and near, and -woke up the sparrows, who came down to the fountain for a shower-bath -in the sparkling spray. They were followed by the pigeons, who, after -cooing a little, stretched their wings and circled away on their -morning flight. So, by degrees, the world awoke as the day took a -firmer grasp on the land and the light grew stronger. - -‘I wish they’d open the doors and let me get in,’ the Princess said. -But as yet there seemed no sign of any one waking up. - -‘Ah, well,’ she said resignedly, ‘I’ve waited six years to come home—I -suppose I can wait a few more hours.’ - -So she quietly walked to the rose-bushes and plucked one or two of the -great red damask roses, and chafing the petals off between her hands, -threw the handfuls of them at the swans, who hissed and snapped as the -mass of red leaves fell over them. It was some time since they had been -subjected to such treatment; however, they seemed to get used to it -again pretty easily. - -Thus the Princess managed to while away about half an hour, and then -she noticed smoke coming out of one of the chimneys. - -‘They must be up in the kitchen,’ she thought. ‘I’ll just go and knock -at the door and get let in.’ - -Accordingly she went and knocked softly at the door, and an angry -voice shouted out: - -‘Come in, do! and don’t stand knocking there. I’ve got the King’s boots -to black, and his eggs and bacon to cook, and I’ve only got three hours -to do it in. I haven’t got time.’ - -So the Princess lifted the latch and walked in. - -‘Is the King up, cook?’ she asked. - -‘No, he’s not! lazy old man as he is,’ said the cook, looking up -angrily. ‘But where are you? Come out from behind that door.’ - -‘Oh! I had forgotten,’ said the Princess. - -She meant, of course, she had forgotten about the feather, but the cook -didn’t know that. - -‘You’d forgotten, had you?’ she exclaimed. ‘I’ll teach you to forget if -I catch you!’ - -‘But you won’t, my dear cook,’ said the Princess sweetly. - -‘You’ll catch it if you don’t look out!’ howled the cook, as she rose -from the floor where she had been cleaning the boots, and in doing so -she knocked over an enormous pot of liquid blacking. - -‘That’s your doing!’ she cried, as she made a dash at the door. - -But the Princess evaded her easily, and she ran outside fully expecting -to find the invisible questioner there. But the Princess meanwhile -walked through the kitchen and up the back-stairs to her own room. - -The room was just as she had left it when she went away, except that -the bed seemed to have grown rather small for her, or rather she had -grown too large for the bed. - -However, she went in, and locking the door, laid herself down on the -bed, and soon dropped off to sleep; for, as you may imagine, she was -rather tired, for she had not slept for nearly two days—that is, ever -since she had first reached the moon. - -It did not seem that she had slept three minutes before she was -awakened by a tremendous noise below-stairs. - -‘I wonder what that is,’ she said. ‘I think I’ll get up and see.’ - -And she went to the wash-hand stand to wash the sea-water off her face, -but the soap, from long want of use, had cracked in all directions, and -she had to content herself with the water that was in the jug. Then she -brushed her hair, which was full of salt, and after that tried to brush -the salt off her dress; for the sea-water had dried on it, and had -left it shining all over with the salt. Before she had quite finished, -however, the noise that had waked her sounded again. It seemed as if -some one were running downstairs very hard. - -So the Princess took her hat off, not wishing to be invisible any more, -for a time at least, and then, opening the door, she walked quietly -downstairs. - -There seemed to be no one about, and except that a terrible hurly-burly -proceeded from the whereabouts of the kitchen, one would never have -told that any one in the whole house was awake. - -However, just then the clock in the hall struck eight, and a page came -rushing downstairs. - -‘Breakfast! breakfast!’ he shouted, quite without noticing the -Princess, and he almost passed her before he saw her; but she stopped -him. - -‘Where is the King?’ she said. - -‘The King is in his counting—that is, I mean the breakfast-room. But -you can’t see him.’ - -‘But I must,’ said the Princess. - -‘Well, of course, if you must——’ - -The Princess interrupted him. - -‘Don’t you know who I am?’ she said. - -‘No, I don’t; and I don’t want to,’ said the page. ‘Perhaps you’re the -person who brings home the washing, or the kitchen-maid. If you are, I -wouldn’t like to be in your shoes. The King is so jolly wild about his -eggs and bacon being late that——’ - -But the Princess didn’t wait to hear any more; she walked straight -towards the door of the breakfast-room. At the door two guards were -stationed; but as they were old and crusted—that is, trusted—they -remembered the Princess, and only saluted with their swords, wishing -her ‘good-morning’—for they were far too well bred to express surprise -or joy at sight of her. One of them opened the door for her, and said -in a loud voice: - -‘The Princess, your Majesty.’ - -The King was seated in a chair with his back to the door, and did not -seem to hear what the man said. He only nodded, and did not look up -from the papers he was reading. - -So the Princess stole quietly up behind him, and put her fingers over -his eyes—she always was rather irreverent. - -‘Guess who I am,’ she said to the struggling monarch. - -‘I won’t,’ he spluttered, for he was rather enraged. - -‘Think a minute, papa,’ she said encouragingly. - -‘I never should have thought of being assaulted in such a way,’ said -the King, who had given up struggling, finding it no use. - -So the Princess drew her hands away, and kissed him on the top of his -bald head. - -The King darted away out of the chair as soon as he was released, and -that so violently that he fell right on to the floor in a sitting -posture. - -‘Why, who the——’ he was beginning; but his eye happening to fall on -Ernalie, he ejaculated: - -‘Good gracious! How did you come here?’ - -‘I walked downstairs from my room to bid you good-morning, papa, and -you recoiled when I touched you as if I were a snake, instead of your -loving daughter. But wouldn’t you like me to help you up? It must be -rather uncomfortable sitting there.’ - -‘Yes, I think it would be as well,’ the King said, after reflecting -a moment. ‘I shouldn’t like any one to see me in such a posture—it’s -rather undignified for a king.’ - -So the Princess bent over and began to help him up; but it was a labour -of some time, for the King was rather stiff, and just as she had got -him half up a page entered and announced the breakfast. It was the same -page that had met the Princess on the staircase, and when he saw the -Princess assisting the King to rise, he rushed forward, shouting: - -‘Help! help! She’s murdering the King.’ - -And catching the Princess by the arm, he pulled her away so roughly -that she had to let go of the King, who recoiled at the shock, and -rolled under the table on his back. - -Alarmed at the page’s cries for help, a large number of people had -rushed in, and he turned to them expecting to be commended for his -bravery; but he saw that every one either looked as if he had put his -foot in it, or else was trying hard not to laugh. The Princess herself -could hardly help laughing at his perplexed face. - -‘I think, sir, you were a little too vigorous in your help,’ she said -coldly. ‘You may leave us now.’ - -‘And you can all go,’ said the King from under the table. - -The whole lot trooped out, shutting the door, and as soon as they were -outside shouts of laughter filled the air for some minutes. - -The King meanwhile scrambled out from under the table and got up, this -time declining his daughter’s help. - -‘It’s always the way,’ he said, as soon as the laughter had died away. -‘Whenever I do anything ridiculous and undignified there’s always a -lot of people to see it. Why, only last Thursday—no, last Tuesday, -I think—anyhow, it was the day of the last state banquet, my crown -tumbled into the soup-tureen, and then I was so nervous that, when I -was raising my wine-glass to propose a toast, my hand shook so much -that I dropped the wine down the Duchess of Carabas’s neck; and then -she fainted, and I helped to carry her out of the room, and as soon -as I got outside they all laughed so loud that the chandelier fell -into the middle of them. It broke right on a duke’s head, and he never -apologised for breaking it. However, I shall get over it now you’ve -come back. We really must get into more regular habits. I’ve actually -never had more than ten pages to serve my breakfast since you’ve been -away, and, by the bye, we’ve not _had_ breakfast; and I’ve forgotten -altogether to have the bells rung in your honour. Just knock that gong -there on the table—it’s cracked, but I can’t afford a new one, and it’s -quite good enough for the guards outside to hear.’ - -So the Princess knocked the gong, and it certainly _was_ cracked; it -sounded a good deal more like knocking an old pot than a respectable -royal gong. - -At the sound one of the guards outside entered and saluted. - -‘Let the breakfast be brought,’ the King said. - -The guard withdrew, and presently the door opened, and a page appeared -with the royal coffee-pot on a cushion of cloth of gold. Next came -another page with the cream-jug on a similar cushion, and then another -with the slop-basin, and another with the sugar, and another with the -tongs, until the table was completely furnished. Last of all came, -with a loud fanfare of trumpets, four men, staggering under the weight -of an enormous silver dish with an equally enormous silver cover. When -this was placed on the table, amid another flourish of trumpets, the -royal butler entered, and said: - -‘Breakfast is served, your Majesty,’ although the King could see it -very well himself. But that was the custom. - -‘You may remove the cover,’ the King said. - -And the butler did so, discovering the breakfast. I say discovering, -for the breakfast was so small that it seemed almost lost in the centre -of the great dish. The twelve pages had ranged themselves in lines of -six on each side of the table, and although they were very well bred, -on the whole they could not help smiling, whereupon all simultaneously -drew out their handkerchiefs and began to cough, and then they looked -at the windows, as if to see where the draught came from. - -But the King did not take any notice, and as soon as he could make -himself heard, he said: - -‘Ah! and what is this?’ - -‘It is the breakfast, your Majesty,’ said the butler. - -‘Yes, I can see that,’ said the King. ‘But what is the dish called?’ - -‘Oh, the dish, your Majesty,’ said the butler apologetically. ‘It’s the -ordinary silver dish that your Majesty has with the breakfast. I think -it’s the fiddle pattern—no, that’s for spoons; but——’ - -‘You’re an ass,’ said the King, interrupting him angrily. - -‘Thank you, your Majesty. Anything else?’ - -‘Send for the cook.’ - -‘Yes, your Majesty. Anything else?’ - -‘Yes; go away, and don’t come back.’ - -‘Yes, your Majesty. You’re quite sure there’s nothing——’ - -‘If you don’t go,’ said the King threateningly. But he had gone. - -In a few minutes heavy footsteps were heard outside, and the door burst -open violently, and a very fat person entered. She seemed a perfect -mass of blacking and dust. - -‘Who are you?’ said the King in astonishment. - -‘I am the lady that does the cooking for you,’ said the cook solemnly. - -‘Oh, you are,’ said the King; ‘and will your ladyship allow me to ask -what that is?’ and he pointed to the breakfast. - -The cook went forward and, taking a fork from the table, tried to pick -the breakfast up, but it slid off the fork; so, without more ado, she -took it up in her fingers and examined it carefully, as if to see that -it had not changed since she sent it up. When she had done, she looked -up and said: - -‘Why, it’s as nice an egg as can be bought for money, only it’s a bit -addled; and I dropped it in the blacking, but I wiped it on my own -apron—look there.’ - -And she lifted up her apron to look at; and it certainly looked as if a -good many eggs had been wiped on it. - -However, the King did not notice that. - -‘Oh, it’s an egg, is it?’ he said; ‘I didn’t know. I thought it was a -piece of coal, and——’ - -But at this point the cook broke in. - -‘Call my eggs a coal! It’s a crying shame! You ought to be ashamed of -yourself, an old man like you, too. Here have I been working for three -hours this very morning at that egg, and he calls it a coal; and me -that plagued too with demons! Why, only this morning one of ’em came -and banged at the door so hard that it broke, and then it came in. It -was a blue one, with red eyes and a long green tail with a fork at -the end; and it stuck the fork in the egg, and then put the egg in the -blacking and threw it all over the kitchen; and then it kicked the -blacking pot over and flew out at the door before I could say “Gemini”; -and I saw it with my own eyes, and it was as ugly a little——’ - -But this was more than the Princess could stand. - -‘Oh, what a—an untruth that is! Look at me. Am I a blue demon with red -eyes and a tail?’ - -But the cook was off again. - -‘Oh, it was you, was it? And you ought to be ashamed of _your_self, -a-frightening a poor lone-lorn woman. Call yourself a Princess? I call -you a——’ - -This was too much for the King. - -‘That is enough,’ he said. ‘Take a month’s warning.’ - -To which the cook replied contemptuously: - -‘You give _me_ a month’s warning? Not a bit of it. I give you a -minute’s warning! it’s quite enough for the likes of you.’ - -‘Oh, very well,’ said the King. ‘Of course, if you go off without -warning, I don’t pay your month’s wages.’ - -‘Call yourself a King?’ roared the cook. ‘Why, you’re meaner than——’ - -‘I don’t know what I call myself,’ said the King mildly, ‘but if you -don’t go I’ll call a policeman and have your head cut off instead of -your wages.’ - -But the cook was not to be daunted. - -‘That’s what the likes of you does with your old and faithful servants. -Here have I been, day in, day out, work, work, work, like a nigger -slave-driver, and this is my reward!’ - -The King did not listen to the rest. He beckoned to one of the pages -and said: - -‘Just run and bring a sack and throw it over her head. Be quick!’ - -The page left the room. - -‘There you go,’ said the irrepressible cook. ‘That’s it, send for the -police, ye oppressors of the poor. Ugh!’ - -And she began a fresh volley of abuse. She seemed as if she would -never lose her breath. But after a few minutes—it seemed ages to the -unfortunate King—the page returned; and although he did not enter very -quietly, yet the cook was making such a noise that she did not hear -him, and the page, who seemed to enter entirely into the spirit of the -thing, dropped the sack quietly over her head, and stopped her flow of -language. - -‘Now, take her outside and put her out at the back door, and mind and -shut the door securely after her,’ remarked the King, with a sigh of -relief. - -Six of the pages immediately caught hold of her and dragged her out, -and the other six were about to follow to see the sport when the King -stopped them. - -‘Can any one of you cook at all?’ he said. - -One of the pages stood out and professed to be able to do a little in -that way. - -‘Well, then,’ said the King decidedly, ‘all six of you go to the -kitchen and see what you can find there; and mind you, if I don’t have -a breakfast in five minutes, I’ll—well, _I’ll_ see about it.’ - -When the pages had gone, he turned to the Princess and said: - -‘That’s what I always have to put up with. Only the other day the man -who cleans the library windows flung his towel in my face and refused -to work any more for me, and all because I told him that his coat -wasn’t in the fashion.’ - -‘But wasn’t that rather an unwise proceeding, papa?’ asked Ernalie, -dubiously. - -‘Do you think so?’ asked the King. ‘If I said that the cut of your -dress was rather outlandish—and it is, by the bye—you wouldn’t fling -something at me, would you?’ - -‘No; but then I’m your dutiful daughter, you see.’ - -‘Well, but he ought to be my dutiful son, for I’m the father of my -country.’ - -‘Well, but then, you see, sons are not always dutiful—daughters always -are.’ - -‘Or they ought to be,’ said his Majesty. - -‘It’s the same thing, isn’t it?’ - -‘Do you think so?’ said the King, in a tone that showed he doubted it. - -Just at this moment the pages entered, bringing the breakfast; and they -sat down to it. - -I needn’t say it was much better than the first one, although I don’t -remember exactly what it consisted of; however, they did good justice -to it, for Ernalie was rather hungry. - -Just as they had finished, the King threw down his knife and fork and -looked as if he had just remembered something dreadful. - -‘What is the matter, papa?’ asked the Princess in alarm. - -And the King burst out: - -‘There, now! I knew I’d forgotten something!’ he said. ‘Run out, all -six of you,’ he went on, addressing the pages, ‘and set the joy-bells -pealing, and send messengers throughout the land. Quick!’ - -But when they had gone, he calmed down and said: - -‘Now, Ernalie, tell me where you’ve been.’ - -So she began and told it all through, and the King listened quietly -till she had finished. Then he said: - -‘Ah! You’ve had some wonderful adventures, and you’ve come back safe -out of them—only, I should very much like to see this wonderful -feather.’ - -So the Princess showed him the feather in her hat, which she had laid -on a chair; the King looked at it very carefully, and then he said: - -‘H’m. Looks a very ordinary feather. How does it work? I should like to -see.’ - -‘You won’t see much,’ said the Princess with a smile, as she put it on -and vanished. - -The King looked astonished. - -‘Why, where are you?’ he said. - -‘I’m just where I was before, papa,’ answered the Princess. - -‘But I don’t believe it,’ the King said, and he looked under the table. -‘You’ve hidden yourself behind something—or some other trick.’ - -He was rather too startled to think of what his words meant exactly. - -‘You are a sceptical old papa for any one to have to do with; but I’ll -soon prove it to you.’ - -And she walked quietly behind his chair, and blew in his ear, which -was a rather rude thing to do, on the whole. - -‘Perhaps that will blow the disbelief out of your head,’ she said, -laughing to see how her unfortunate father shook his head in surprise. - -‘Oh yes,’ he replied, ‘I’m quite convinced, and I don’t need any more; -and I’d much rather see what you’re up to, so just take the feather -off, there’s a good girl.’ - -And the Princess did as she was told, and the King said: - -‘Ah! there you are. Don’t put it on again; I’ve had quite enough of -it. Now I can understand how it was that you did it all. But I can’t -understand why you didn’t let the young man save himself. You might -just as well have lent him the feather, and let him go and get drowned.’ - -‘But I didn’t want him to get drowned,’ said the Princess. - -‘Why not?’ said the King. - -‘Because his father and mother took me in, and saved me from Wopole, -and it wouldn’t have been a great return for their kindness to let -their only son be killed, and besides I——’ But her Royal Highness -stopped. - -‘You what?’ said her father. - -‘I mean he——’ and she stopped again. - -‘Oh, it’s him this time, is it? What’s the matter with you?’ he said -in astonishment. ‘You don’t mean to say that you’re in love with one -another? Now I call that too bad. Here have I promised you to three -dukes, and you’ve gone and fallen in love with a Prince. Now I shall -have no end of a nuisance with them.’ - -‘I won’t marry them, at any rate,’ said Ernalie energetically. - -‘I don’t want you to marry _them_—one’s quite enough at a time.’ - -‘But I won’t marry one of them, and I’m the principal person concerned. - -And the Princess began to cry, and that of course softened the heart -of her father. - -‘There, there,’ he said, as if he were soothing a baby. ‘Don’t cry; you -shall marry the Prince, if you can get him—only it’s rather awkward for -me. I can’t tell the dukes that you’re engaged to a Prince that can’t -be got at. I’m afraid the only thing to do will be to have all their -heads cut off. That’ll keep them quiet, at any rate. If I were you I’d -send this young man a letter to tell him where you are.’ - -‘But I’m afraid it wouldn’t reach him,’ said the Princess. - -‘Then I don’t see what’s to be done,’ said the King perplexedly. -‘However, I shall give a grand ball to-morrow, and if I were you I -should go and have a dress made at once. Send for the Court dressmaker, -and tell her that if the dress isn’t ready by then you’ll turn her out -of her place; and then when you’ve done that go into the library, and -take a book and read. I’ve got a whole lot of work to do this morning; -but I shall have finished by one, and then I shall have the day to -myself.’ - -‘But can’t I stay with you while you work? I will be very quiet.’ - -But the King shook his head. - -‘No—there’s a good girl. I’ve got a whole lot of people to give -audience to, and they’ll take up such a lot of time congratulating you -that I shall not get a stroke of work done.’ - -So the Princess went and was measured for her ball-dress, and then into -the library, and looked about for a book. - -Most of them looked very dry and uninteresting, so the Princess took -one at a venture. - -It was called _The Canterbury Tales_, by Geoffrey Chaucer. - -‘Chaucer,’ said the Princess to herself, ‘I’ve heard of him. I’ll just -take it on to the terrace and read it in the arbour. It’s better than -sitting in this stuffy old library.’ - -So she opened one of the windows that led on to the steps of the -terrace, and taking the book with her, stepped out of the room. - -On the terrace a peacock was airing itself with some pea-hens, and when -it saw the Princess it raised its great fan-like tail to display itself -to greater advantage, then it quivered all over until the feathers of -its tail rattled one against the other, and the hens looked admiringly -at him, and then sideways at one another, nodding their heads and -clucking, as if to say: - -‘Ha! what a fine fellow our master is, and what a splendid tail he’s -got. Much better than that poor human being’s yellow stuff, which only -moves when the wind blows it.’ And then they looked contemptuously -at the Princess’s golden hair, and clucked to each other again, and -followed the peacock, which was strutting away to another part of the -terrace. - -So the Princess went and looked for the swans; but they were busily -engaged right over at the other side of the lake, turning bottom -upwards in a very undignified manner, and they refused to come for any -amount of calling. - -As there was nothing else to do, she went and sat down in a shady nook -in the white marble wall, and began to look at her book. - -‘I shall skip the “Introduction” and the “Prologue”—that’s always dry. -Yes, let’s see, this will do—“The Knightes Tale.” It hasn’t got any -apostrophe to “Knightes.” That’s bad grammar, I’m sure. However, I’ll -go on.’ - -So she settled herself in a comfortable position with the book on her -lap, and began again: - - ‘Whilom as olde stories tellen us - A certeyn duk highte Theseus.’ - -Here she stopped. - -‘This man may be a good poet, but he spells awfully badly. Fancy -“certain” spelt with an “e-y-n,” and “duke” without an “e.” It sounds -like “duck.” And then, what was the “height of Theseus”? I can’t -understand it at all.’ - -However, she read on, skipping pages here and there, for it was almost -impossible for her to understand it. Now it happened that as she turned -the pages over listlessly—for she was thinking of something else—her -eye happened to fall on the name of ‘Dian.’ - -‘Why, that must be Diana! only they’ve forgotten the “a.” I’ll look a -little farther and see what it says about her.’ - -So she ran her eye down the page, and sure enough she came upon the -name. - -‘Why, it’s spelt with a “y” now,’ she said. ‘Chaucer evidently doesn’t -know his own mind in the matter of spelling. I’ll write to him, and -ask him about it. Now, let’s see what it says. Why, it appears to be a -prayer, or an invocation, or something.’ - -So she read: - - ‘O chaste goddes of the woodes greene - To whence bothe heven and erthe are seene - Queen of the regne of Pluto dark and lowe - Goddes of maydens that myn hert has knowe - Ful many a yeer ye woot what I desire - As keep me fro the vengeans of thilk yre - That Actæon aboughte trewely . . .’ - -Just at this point she heard the rattling of chariot wheels, and Diana -appeared to her. - -‘Well, what do you want now?’ she said. - -‘I don’t want anything in particular,’ said Ernalie in astonishment. - -‘Then why did you go on praying to me like that?’ - -‘I wasn’t praying, I was reading.’ - -‘It doesn’t matter to me. It was a very funny prayer. Whoever was it -by? He must have been a stupid man.’ - -‘He was the father of English poetry,’ the Princess said reproachfully. - -‘I should have thought he was a great-great-grandfather when he wrote -that.’ - -‘Why?’ said the Princess in astonishment. - -‘It seems uncommonly like the writing of a man in his second childhood. -However, that does not matter. About the feather now. What can I do in -exchange for it? I will give you anything you want.’ - -The Princess looked at the Goddess. - -‘Why do you want the feather so much?’ she asked. ‘Are you not -invisible enough already?’ - -The Goddess looked at her sneeringly: - -‘I _am_ invisible to dull mortals; but we gods can see each other well -enough, invisible or not. If I had this feather, though, it would be -different, and I should be able to laugh at Venus and that set.’ - -‘Then I’m sure I won’t give it you, for as Venus is the Goddess of -Beauty she might make me ugly, and that would not be nice for me.’ - -Diana laughed. - -‘You evidently don’t consider yourself bad-looking,’ she said; and she -was just going on to say something else when an enormous wolf, without -a muzzle too, appeared coming round the side of the Palace. - -‘There’s Mars,’ said Diana. - -‘I don’t see him. I only see a horrible wolf, and——’ - -But the Goddess interrupted her. - -‘Why, you stupid, that’s Mars’s wolf, and where it is Mars is sure to -be, or he isn’t far off.’ - -‘But what does he want here?’ asked Ernalie. - -‘He’s going to escort me to Jupiter’s ball, and he’ll be awfully -impatient. However, he can wait. Now think, is there nothing?’ - -The Princess reflected a moment. - -‘If I give it to you,’ she said, ‘you must do several things for it, -and those quickly.’ - -The Goddess nodded. - -‘First, you must make a road across the mountains into the country -beyond.’ - -‘That is easy enough,’ said the Goddess. - -‘Then you must kill the dragon.’ - -‘He died last week of sheer starvation. So that’s done. Next.’ - -‘You must bring Treblo here.’ - -‘Do you mean that he’s to marry you? That’s too bad, considering that -you know I detest marriages. However, it can’t be helped. Is that all? -Because if there’s much more you had better write it down.’ - -‘There’s nothing more, except that it must all be done by half-past -six to-morrow evening.’ - -‘Oh! is that all? You shall have it all done before then,’ said the -Goddess, very much relieved that the tasks that were to be done had -been set. - -‘Then, if you’re here to-morrow evening I’ll give it to you.’ - -Just then Mars appeared round the corner, looking very bad-tempered. - -‘If you _are_ coming at all, you’d better come at once.’ - -So Diana said: - -‘Very well, to-morrow evening I shall be here.’ - -And she drove her chariot towards the God of War, and when he had got -in they turned the corner of the house and disappeared. - -Just then the King came into the garden from the library window. - -‘What have you been doing?’ he asked her. ‘I’ve been watching you for -some minutes from the window, and you’ve been going on in the most -extraordinary manner, talking and laughing, just as if you had been -speaking to some one.’ - -The Princess brushed back her hair from her face. - -‘Oh! I didn’t know you could see me,’ she said. ‘It’s nothing—only a -little surprise I’ve been preparing for you.’ - -‘Indeed, you surprise me,’ the King said. - -‘Ah, well! if I do that so easily perhaps I shall do it often,’ she -said. - -‘What have you been doing all the morning?’ the King asked. - -‘All the morning?’ said the Princess in astonishment. ‘It’s not late, -is it?’ - -The King pulled out his watch and looked at it. - -‘It’s half-past five by my watch; but I don’t think that’s quite -right—in fact it stopped three days ago. Ah! I thought so—there’s the -dinner-gong. You needn’t wash your hands, or you’ll be late.’ - -So they went in together, and the rest of the day passed off quietly, -except that every now and then one of the enthusiastic nobles insisted -on coming in and welcoming the Princess, although the King had given -strict orders that no one should be admitted, as he wanted to be alone -for the day. In spite of this, every now and then an elderly duchess -_would_ rush into the royal presence, and offer her congratulations. - -At last, just as they hoped that the last of them had come and gone, -the door opened, and an elderly man—he would have been offended at -being called old—rushed in and clasped the Princess in his arms. - -‘My adored Duchess——’ he was just beginning. - -But the Princess boxed his ears suddenly, and he let go. - -‘What on earth does this mean?’ she said, turning to the King. ‘First -I am inundated with duchesses until I’m quite tired of the name, and -then this old fright rushes in and calls me _his_ duchess, when I’m not -a duchess at all. What does he mean, papa?’ - -The King looked rather embarrassed. - -‘It’s one of them,’ he said meaningly. - -‘Oh! it’s one of them, is it?’ she said. ‘Well, sir’—turning to the -Duke—‘what do _you_ mean by forcing your way here against the royal -orders?’ - -‘I thought,’ said the Duke, looking rather foolish, ‘that as you are -going to——’ - -‘But I’m not,’ said Ernalie suddenly, ‘after such rudeness. You may go, -and don’t come back again.’ - -And the Duke went. - -‘That’s got rid of one of them, at any rate,’ the King said, with a -sigh of relief. - -‘I’ll do my best to get rid of them all,’ said the Princess. - -‘How?’ the King began. Then he stopped. ‘Wait a moment. I have an -idea,’ he went on. - -‘Indeed, you surprise me,’ said the Princess. - -But the King did not notice her impertinent remark. He went to a -drawer, and took out a large piece of paper, and wrote on it as large -as he could: - - ‘NOTICE. - - ‘During the next twenty-four hours, any one found - kissing, embracing, congratulating, or suing for the - hand of the Princess—or King—will be submerged three - times in the Palace draw-well. - - ‘(Signed) CARET, etc. etc.’ - -‘That ought to do it,’ said the King, surveying his handiwork -approvingly. - -Just then the door opened, and two more old gentlemen—each wearing a -ducal coronet—tottered in as fast as they could. - -‘My dear Princess,’ ‘My darling wife,’ they duetted in feeble tones, -showing as much joy as their faces were capable of, which made them -look about as pleasant as a pair of Japanese masks. - -‘Allow me to congratulate you,’ ‘Allow me to offer my congratulations,’ -they went on. - -‘Now you’ve done it,’ said the King. ‘Look here!’ And he showed them -the notice. - -The two Dukes turned each a different shade of yellow. - -‘But, your Majesty,’ one of them began. - -‘But, your Majesty,’ said the other suddenly; ‘as I’m——’ - -‘As I’m——’ the other put in. - -Each of them stopped and looked angrily at the other. - -‘As the son-in-law elect of the King,’ the first one began. - -‘As the affianced husband of the Princess,’ said the other. - -‘I think I have the right to speak first,’ they both said angrily. - -But the King said, coolly: - -‘My lords, the case is very clear. You have each of you offended -against the law by congratulating the Princess, and as one of you, -if not both, intends to marry my daughter and become King, it is as -well to teach you from the beginning that the law must be abided by. -Therefore, you will be ducked—“submerged,” the notice says—until one -of you expires; the other will then marry Ernalie, and in course of -time—if he does not die of the effects in the meantime—he will ascend -the throne, having learnt a useful lesson.’ - -As the Dukes got greener and greener at this, the King went on: - -‘The sentence had better be executed at once, so come along to the -courtyard.’ - -‘But, your Majesty,’ said one of them, ‘I am subject to rheumatism, -and I should not be fit to reign if this immersion in cold water should -make it so bad that I was unable to move.’ - -‘That’s just the case with me,’ said the other. - -‘Ah, well, if that is so,’ said the King, ‘perhaps you would like -to give up your pretensions to my daughter’s hand. In that case, I -should let you off, because there would be no need to give you such a -practical exemplification of the majesty of the law.’ - -The Dukes looked perplexedly at one another. - -‘I think,’ said one of them, ‘that, under the circumstances, I will -give up my pretensions to the Princess’s hand.’ - -Here he looked regretfully at her right hand. - -‘And I too,’ said the other sadly, looking at her left hand. - -‘How _very_ gallant of you,’ the Princess said ironically. ‘And now, -as you’ve got rid of me so easily, perhaps you will be so kind as to -leave us for a time. Good-day.’ - -‘Good-day,’ duetted the Dukes. - -And they huddled out as well as they could, each trying to get behind -the other. - -‘I think that’s got rid of all the suitors for to-day,’ the King said -when the door closed behind them. ‘I’ll just go and have the notice -hung on the door, and I’ll be back in a minute.’ - -And he went, too. - -Now really, he thought he had let the Dukes off too easily, and he -intended to catch them up and fine them, but they had made off so -uncommonly fast that they had disappeared before he got to the street -door. - -Meanwhile the Princess waited quietly for him; but hearing a noise of -wheels outside the window, she went to see what was the cause of it. - -‘Why, it’s him!’ she said delightedly, and with utter disregard of -English grammar. - -Opening the window she called out, ‘Treblo! Treblo!’ and, running down -the steps towards him, threw herself into his arms. - -For a moment she was too much out of breath to say anything at all, and -Treblo too surprised to do anything but just hold her in his arms; and -the King, who had just returned from the search after the Dukes, was -far too taken aback to do anything but stand with his mouth and eyes -wide open. - -‘I call this too bad,’ he said in a low voice; and then raising it, he -called out: - -‘Young man, I say, have you seen the notice?’ - -Treblo looked annoyed. - -‘What is the notice to me, you old fool?’ he said. - -The King looked more and more astonished. - -‘This is too much,’ he said. ‘Ernalie, when you’ve done kissing that -young man perhaps you’ll tell me who he is. You see, it’s no use my -putting up notices about other people embracing you if you go and -perform on some one immediately afterwards. Now just tell me who it is.’ - -‘Why, it’s him, papa,’ said Ernalie, who had by this time disengaged -herself. - -‘Oh, it’s a _him_, is it?’ the King said. ‘That’s what the three others -said they were, but they wouldn’t suit you.’ - -‘But they were so very old; besides, this is _the_ him, papa.’ - -‘Ah, I see,’ said the papa, laughing. ‘It’s a case of “Ancient and -Modern Hymns,” and you prefer the modern. But what about the notice?’ - -‘What _is_ the notice?’ asked Treblo, rather puzzled; ‘and what has it -got to do with me?’ - -‘More than you think,’ said the King. ‘It’s worth reading, I can tell -you, especially during the next twenty-four hours. I should advise you -to learn it by heart—that is, if you intend. However, I’ll go and fetch -it, and you will be able to see for yourself.’ - -And the King went off to look for his notice. - -When he had gone, the Princess said: - -‘But how did you get here? I thought the mountains could not be -crossed.’ - -‘I don’t know anything about the mountains, or how I came here either, -for that matter. All I know is that I was suddenly caught up in a thick -mist which hid me from every one, and every one from me too, and before -I knew anything I was whirled off here in about a minute and a half, -and then you came running down the steps—and that’s all I know. Now -perhaps you’ll tell me where I am, for I haven’t the faintest idea?’ - -‘Why, you’re in the middle of the kingdom of Aoland, and that was my -father, and this is my home—and it’s all right.’ - -‘Yes, it’s all right now, but you wouldn’t have said it was all right -if you had been carried like me.’ - -‘But you should feel yourself highly honoured and not injured. Why, you -stupid fellow, it was a goddess who was carrying you like the heroes of -Homer.’ - -‘A goddess!’ said the Prince, laughing. ‘Why, you must have been the -goddess, Ernalie, and you’re quite——’ - -But the Princess stopped him. - -‘What’s the use of saying that if you won’t believe me? It really was a -goddess; and if you would like to know her name, it was Diana.’ - -‘Diana!’ said the Prince. ‘Why did she carry me off like this?’ - -‘Because I told her to, of course.’ - -The Prince shook his head. - -‘Come, I say, Ernalie,’ he said, ‘this is too much, you know. I suppose -you want me to believe that?’ - -‘Of course I do. Why should I have told you if I hadn’t wanted you to?’ - -‘Yes, that’s all very well,’ said the unbelieving Prince; ‘but how do -you do it?’ - -‘I just make myself invisible, and then I make people do everything I -like; they have to do it, or else I tease them till they do. But let’s -come into the house and I’ll tell you all about it. But why are you -holding me so tightly?’ - -‘I am afraid that you will suddenly vanish as you did once before, and -I don’t want that—you’ve been away from me long enough.’ - -‘Oh, but I won’t leave you again, Treblo,’ she said, ‘I promise -that—that is, if you don’t want me to.’ - -‘Then you won’t leave me, dear?’ he said; ‘for I shall never want to -lose sight of you again.’ - -So they went in, and the Princess told him what you know already—if you -haven’t skipped it. But all the same he did not leave go of her, and I -don’t think it was from mistrust. - -Ernalie finished relating her story, and the Prince was beginning: - -‘My dearest Ernalie, how can I——’ when the door opened, and the King -came in. - -‘I’ve had such a job,’ he said, wiping his forehead. ‘There were about -three thousand people assembled reading the notice, and they jeered and -hooted so much that I had to make them a speech before they’d go away. -However, here’s the notice.’ - -The Prince read it through carefully, and when he had finished he -looked at the King and said: - -‘Well?’ - -‘That’s just it,’ said the King; ‘the Palace draw-_well_.’ - -‘But as I’m the affianced bride of—I mean, as Ernalie’s my future -husband——’ - -‘That’s just what the other two said—at least they said, and more -correctly, that they were my sons-in-law elect; only that didn’t help -them.’ - -By this time the Prince was looking more puzzled than ever. - -‘Who are these other two?’ he said, turning to the Princess. - -(‘Beware of the green-eyed monster,’ the King said parenthetically.) - -‘Oh, they’re only three dukes that papa had promised my hand to—only I -wouldn’t have them.’ - -‘You mean they wouldn’t have you,’ said the King, correcting her. - -‘I don’t mean anything of the sort,’ said the Princess. - -‘Oh, very well, my dear,’ said the King. ‘Of course, if you say so, -it’s all right. But how about the notice?’ - -‘I think we’ll tear that up,’ said Ernalie. ‘It’s done its duty, and it -will be rather in the way now.’ - -‘Indeed, you surprise me,’ remarked the King. - -‘Ernalie is quite right,’ said the Prince. - -‘Oh! is she?’ said the King. ‘Then I suppose I’d better tear it up.’ -And he did. - -When he had finished, and had thrown the fragments into the waste-paper -basket, he said: - -‘Now I suppose you want me to consent to your marrying each other, and -I suppose I’d better, or else I shall have Ernalie pitching into me -like anything—only, I really don’t know who you are, young man, except -that Ernalie says you are “him” (she ought to say he), and so I suppose -you are Treblo, the Prince of the neighbouring kingdom?’ - -‘I am,’ said the Prince. ‘And I suppose you are the King of this -country?’ - -The King was just about to say ‘I am,’ when another voice sounded -through the room so clear and commanding that each of them looked -towards the window from which it came; but nothing was to be seen there. - -‘The road is made,’ it said, ‘and now perhaps you’ll give me the -feather.’ - -‘Certainly,’ said the Princess. ‘Here it is,’ and she held it out in -the direction of the Goddess. ‘Only, you might let us see you before -you go for ever.’ - -‘Oh, certainly,’ said the Goddess, for, to tell the truth, Diana—like -others besides goddesses—was very fond of being admired; and -immediately she appeared in the middle of the room with her silver bow -and quiver slung over her back, and the star that she always wore -shining on her forehead. - -She took the feather and, smiling, put it to her hair, and on the -moment passed away; so that, where she had seemed to be, they saw the -thin circlet of the moon hanging silvery and pale over the flush of the -sun’s departure. - - * * * * * - -‘It really was Diana,’ Treblo said. - -‘Yes, of course it was, you sceptical boy,’ Ernalie answered; and then, -with a little sigh, ‘I wish I had the feather still, it makes me feel -just like any other girl being without it.’ - -‘But you’re not—not a bit—there’s no one like you in the world!’ Treblo -said hotly. - -‘Why, I believe you’re right—upon my word I do,’ the King said -suddenly, looking up from a book in which he had seemed immersed, ‘_I_ -never knew any one like her—for obstinacy.’ - -‘Let’s go into the garden, Treblo,’ the Princess said. - -‘You’ll catch your deaths of cold,’ the King remarked. - -But somehow, although they quietly ignored his prudent observation, -which was really wrong of them, they never caught cold. And that is -all the stranger, because the evening was falling very rapidly, with a -feeling of cool dew after the heat of the day, with a faint scent of -roses and honeysuckle, and no sound on the air but the splash of a fish -as it jumped for a moment out of the smooth river, or the short, shrill -shriek of a bat that was circling in the air above them. They sat in a -marble niche in the wall that had roses running up it and hanging down -like a net in front of them—sat and talked till it grew so dark that -he could no longer see the golden threads in her brown hair; until he -could no longer see that her eyes were hazel-gray and long-lashed, or -even that her face was a long, sweet, serious oval. So, you see, it -must have been _quite_ a long time that they sat and talked thus. - -But from this you are not to imagine that their example is to be -emulated—not by any means; because I am perfectly certain that if -any one were foolish enough to do it nowadays, they’d have perfectly -miserable colds-in-the-head at the very least, not to mention rheumatic -pains, so I should really advise you not to try any such tricks; very -likely the Prince and Princess had something especial to keep them -warm, or perhaps they sat rather close together—it’s just possible. - -However, next morning the Prince and Princess set out together for the -court of King Abbonamento. - -They arrived safely at the Palace, and were received with joy by every -one—except Mumkie, who was already making preparations to make himself -King again, for he was quite sure that the Prince had been carried off -for good. So, when he saw the Prince returning, safe and sound, he -was seized with such a fit of rage that he jumped into the sea, and -swam right out of sight. Wopole having, moreover, committed the fatal -mistake of setting sail from the moon when it set, had unfortunately -chosen the wrong side of the earth. And from that day to this neither -he nor Mumkie has ever been heard more of. - -But in a very short time the Prince and Princess were married, and it -is needless to say—because, since we live in the nineteenth century, -no one will believe it, but still, if you’ll take my word for it—they -lived happily ever afterwards. - - - THE END - - - _Printed by_ R. & R. CLARK, _Edinburgh_ - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Feather, by Ford H. 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