{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_48860/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_48860","id":"gutenberg_48860","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/48860","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Children & Young Adult Reading","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy","Courtship -- Juvenile fiction","Fairy tales","Fantasy fiction","Fathers and daughters -- Juvenile fiction","Kings and rulers -- Juvenile fiction","Magic -- Juvenile fiction","Magicians -- Juvenile fiction","Owls -- Juvenile fiction","Princesses -- Juvenile fiction"],"text":"THE CHILDREN\u2019S LIBRARY\n\n[Illustration]\n\n_VOLUME ONE_\n\n\nTHE BROWN OWL\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n_THE CHILDREN\u2019S LIBRARY._\n\n\n    THE BROWN OWL.\n    THE CHINA CUP, AND OTHER STORIES.\n    STORIES FROM FAIRYLAND.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nTHE\n\nBROWN OWL\n\nA Fairy Story\n\n    BY\n    FORD H. MADOX HUEFFER\n\n\n    _TWO ILLUSTRATIONS BY\n    F. MADOX BROWN_\n\n    NEW YORK\n    CASSELL PUBLISHING COMPANY\n    104 & 106 FOURTH AVENUE\n    1892\n\n    THIRD EDITION\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nTHE BROWN OWL\n\n\nONCE upon a time, a long while ago\u2014in fact long before Egypt had risen\nto power and before Rome or Greece had ever been heard of\u2014and that was\nsome time before you were born, you know\u2014there was a king who reigned\nover a very large and powerful kingdom.\n\nNow this king was rather old, he had founded his kingdom himself, and\nhe had reigned over it nine hundred and ninety-nine and a half years\nalready. As I have said before, it was a very large kingdom, for it\ncontained, among other things, the whole of the western half of the\nworld. The rest of the world was divided into smaller kingdoms, and\neach kingdom was ruled over by separate princes, who, however, were\nnone of them so old as Intafernes, as he was called.\n\nNow King Intafernes was an exceedingly powerful magician\u2014that was\nwhy he had remained so long on the throne; for you must know that in\nthis country the people were divided into two classes\u2014those who were\nmagicians, and those who weren\u2019t. The magicians called themselves\nAristocrats, and the others called themselves what they liked; also in\nthis country, as in all other countries, the rich magicians had the\nupper hand over the rest, but still the others did not grumble, for\nthey were not badly treated on the whole. Now of all the magicians in\nthe country the King was the greatest, and no one approached him in\nmagic power but the Chancellor, who was called Merrymineral, and he\neven was no match for the King.\n\nAmong other things King Intafernes had a daughter, who was exceedingly\nbeautiful\u2014as indeed all princesses are or ought to be. She had a very\nfair face, and a wealth of golden hair that fell over her shoulders,\nlike a shining waterfall falling in ripples to her waist.\n\nNow in the thousandth year of her father\u2019s reign the Princess was\neighteen, and in that country she was already of age. Three days before\nher nineteenth birthday, however, her father fell sick and gradually\nweakened, until at last he had only strength left to lie in his royal\nbed. Still, however, he retained his faculties, and on the Princess\u2019s\nbirthday he made all the magicians file before his bed and swear to be\nfaithful for ever to the Princess. Last of all came the Chancellor, the\npious Merrymineral, and as he took the oath the King looked at him with\na loving glance and said:\n\n\u2018Ah! my dear Merrymineral, in truth there was no need for thee to have\ntaken the oath, for it is thy nature to be faithful; and it being thy\nnature, thou couldst not but be faithful.\u2019\n\nTo which the pious Merrymineral answered:\n\n\u2018To such a master and to such a mistress how could I but be faithful?\u2019\nand to this noble sentiment the three hundred and forty-seven magicians\ncould not help according unanimous applause.\n\nWhen they were quiet again the King said:\n\n\u2018So be it, good Merrymineral, do thou always act up to thy words. But\nnow leave, good men all, for I am near my end, and would fain spend my\nlast moments with my daughter here.\u2019\n\nSorrowfully, one by one, the courtiers left, wishing him their last\nadieux. He had been a good king to all, all through his long reign, and\nthey were sorry that he had to leave them at last.\n\nSoon they were all gone except the good Merrymineral, and at last he\ntoo went, his whole frame shaking with suppressed sobs; his body seemed\npowerless with grief, and his limbs seemed to refuse their functions.\nThe King looked after him, carefully noticing whether the door was\nshut. Then he spoke:\n\n\u2018My dear daughter,\u2019 he said, \u2018when I am gone be kind to every one, and,\nabove all, cherish the Owl\u2014do cherish the Owl\u2014promise me to cherish the\nOwl.\u2019\n\n\u2018But how can I cherish the Owl?\u2019 cried the poor Princess; \u2018how can I,\nunless I know who he is?\u2019\n\nBut the King only answered:\n\n\u2018Dear Ismara, do promise to cherish the Owl!\u2019\n\nAnd he said nothing else for a long time, until at last the Princess\nsaw that the only way to let him rest in peace was to promise, and she\nsaid:\n\n\u2018I promise, dear father, but still I do wish I knew who or what the\nOwl is that I am to cherish.\u2019\n\n\u2018You will see that in good time,\u2019 answered the King. \u2018Now, my dear\nIsmara, I shall die happy, and you will be safe. If you had not\npromised\u2014however, we will let that rest unsaid. Now wheel the bed to\nwhere I can see out of the window.\u2019\n\nThe Princess did as she was told. Now from this you must not imagine\nthat she was a very strong princess\u2014for she was no stronger than most\nprincesses of her age; but the old King, who was a very powerful\nmagician, as I have told you already, made the bed easy for her to\nmove. He might have made it move of its own accord, but he knew that it\nwould please his daughter to be of service to him, and so he let her\nmove it.\n\nThe view from the window was very fine. A dark wood grew in the\nforeground, and far away over the tree-tops were the blue hills, behind\nwhich the sun was just preparing to retire. And it seemed angry, the\nsun, for its face was dark and clouded, and its beams smote fiercely\non everything, and gilded the tops of the autumn trees with a purer\ngold than their natural tint. But overhead the clouds spread darkly,\nand they reached in a black pall to the verge of the horizon, forming\na black frame to the red-gold sunset; for only the extreme west was\nbright with the waning light.\n\nThe Princess sat on the bed beside the King, and the dying sun lit them\nboth and fell with a ruddy glare on the King\u2019s hard countenance, as if\nit knew that his work on earth for the day, and for ever, was done.\n\n\u2018Is it not grand?\u2019 cried the old King, as if the glorious sight warmed\nhis blood again and made him once more young. \u2018And is it not grand\nto think of the power that thou hast, my daughter? If thou but raise\nthy little finger armies will move from world\u2019s end to world\u2019s end.\nFleets come daily from every land for thee alone; all that thou seest\nis thine, and utterly within thy power. Think of the power, the grand\npower, of swaying the world.\u2019\n\nBut long before he had got thus far, the Princess was weeping\nbitterly\u2014partly at the overwhelming prospect, and partly from her great\ngrief. She seized her father\u2019s hand and kissed it passionately.\n\n\u2018My father, my father,\u2019 she cried, \u2018say not so; they are all thine, not\nmine, for thou livest still, and all is yet well.\u2019\n\nBut the old King cut her short:\n\n\u2018Dost thou see the sun? Look, its lower rim is already cut by the\nmountains. When its disc is hidden I too shall have joined the\nmajority, and my soul will have left my body, and the power will be\nthine. But above all cherish the Owl. Never go out of its sight, for if\nthou do, some harm will happen.\u2019\n\nAs he stopped speaking a flash of lightning lit up the sky, and the\nsullen roar of distant thunder followed.\n\nFrom every church in the land the passing bell tolled forth and the\nsolemn sounds came swelling on the breeze. Again came the flash of\nlightning, and again the thunder, and now the splash of falling rain\naccompanied and almost drowned the thunder. The sun\u2019s rim was now\nalmost down.\n\nFor the last time the old King kissed his daughter, as she hung weeping\non his neck. Again the lightning came, but this time the thunder was\ndrowned in a more fearful sound. Never before had the sound been heard,\nexcept at the death of the Princess\u2019s mother. It was the passing bell\nof the cathedral of the town. And as its sound went forth throughout\nthe whole land men shook their heads in sorrow, for they knew that the\nsoul of the good King had left his body. Through the whole land the\nnews was known\u2014to every one except to the Princess.\n\nFor she lay on the bed passionately kissing the dead face\u2014not yet cold\nin death\u2014and calling on his name in vain; for the ears of the dead are\nclosed \u2018to the voice of the charmer, charm he never so wisely.\u2019\n\nGradually the voice of the Princess died away into low sobs and her\nbreathing came more regularly, and in spite of the tolling of the\ndeath-bell she slept, worn out by her grief. No one came near her, for\nat the Court no one was allowed to enter the royal presence without\na command, whatever happened. So for a time the Princess slept on,\nclasping the still face to her warm cheek. But at last the death-cold\nof the face wakened her once more to the death-cold of the world. For\na time her wakening dreams refused to let her believe the worst, but\nthe stern reality forced itself on her. She raised herself on her two\narms and gazed through the darkness at the white face that made her\nshudder when her longing eyes at last traced out its lines as a flash\nof lightning lit it up. She sprang off the bed with a wild impulse of\ncalling for help.\n\nBut no sooner had she got to the door and had given the call than she\nonce more fainted and seemed for a time lifeless.\n\nWhen she came to herself again she was in bed in her own room. It was\nstill night, and at the side of her bed a night-light was burning in a\nglass shade. She could not understand what it all meant; but her head\ndid ache so, and she could not tell why they were making such a noise\nat the far end of the room. For you see she was lying on her back low\ndown in the pillows, and so she could not see beyond the foot of the\nbed. However, she raised herself on her elbow and looked. For a short\ntime she could see nothing, for the room was somewhat dark, as the\nnight-light gave but little light But at the other end of the room a\nlarge fire was burning, and by its light the Princess saw a strange\nscene.\n\nFor in the middle of the floor she could make out a group of three\nladies-in-waiting, who were struggling with a large black object\u2014what\nit was the Princess could not see, but it seemed to be attempting\nto attack the Court doctor, who was huddled up in a corner with his\numbrella spread out before him, and he was gradually sinking down\nbehind it, giving vent to the most horrible groans and shrieks for\nmercy, and calling to the ladies to keep it off. However, in spite of\ntheir efforts, the \u2018thing\u2019 was gradually drawing them nearer and nearer\nto the poor doctor.\n\nBut the strangest thing of all was that the doctor\u2019s face was lit up by\ntwo distinct rounds of light. It was just as if some one had turned the\nlight of a bull\u2019s-eye lantern on him, and this the Princess could not\nunderstand at all. However, she lay still and watched.\n\nThe doctor got farther and farther behind the umbrella until only his\nhead appeared over the top of it. At last he shrieked:\n\n\u2018Send for a regiment of Lifeguards\u2014let them shoot the Owl\u2014it is\nnecessary for the health of the Princess. Owls are very bad things\nto have in bedrooms\u2014they bring scarlatina, and they always carry the\ninfluenza epidemic. Lifeguards, I tell you, send for them.\u2019 But still\nthe \u2018thing\u2019 came nearer, and with an agonised shriek of \u2018The Owl!\u2019 he\nsank altogether under the rim.\n\nThis loud cry of \u2018The Owl\u2019 roused the Princess, and she remembered her\npromise to cherish the Owl. So she called to the ladies-in-waiting, and\nthey, astonished, let go the thing, and the Owl immediately flew at\nthe umbrella, underneath which the doctor was coiled up, and perched\non the top. The Princess, however, thought it was rather rash to have\npromised to cherish the Owl if it was going to eat up her physicians\nin that reckless manner. However, the Owl did not seem aggressive, and\nonly seemed as if it were waiting for further orders. The Princess\ndetermined to see if it would come when it was called, like a dog. So\nshe called in a sweet, persuasive voice:\n\n\u2018Come here, good Owl.\u2019\n\nImmediately the dark shape of the Owl flitted noiselessly to her side\nas she sat on the bed. The wind of its flight blew out the flickering\nnight-light in spite of the glass shade. But the glittering eyes of the\nOwl lit up the whole room, so that there was no need of light. As it\nalighted on the bed it turned its eyes on the Princess as much as to\nsay, \u2018What shall I do now?\u2019\n\nBut the fierce light of the eyes was softened as it turned to her, as\nif the Owl feared to hurt her with the blinding rays.\n\n\u2018Cherished Owl,\u2019 said the Princess, \u2018why didst thou hurt the physician?\u2019\n\nThe Owl shook his head; but the Princess could not understand whether\nhe meant that he did not know why he had hurt him, or if he meant he\nhad not hurt him. So the Princess told one of the ladies-in-waiting to\nremove the umbrella from over the doctor. But this was not so easy as\nit sounded, for the doctor held firmly on to the handle, and in spite\nof the united efforts of the three ladies-in-waiting he managed to hold\non. At last the Princess lost patience.\n\n\u2018Go and help them, good Owl,\u2019 she said; and the Owl, overjoyed, flew\nto the doctor, and seizing the top of the umbrella flew with it up to\nthe ceiling, and as the doctor still held on, he flew round and round,\nuntil the doctor, hitting the top of a cupboard, let go, and fell in\na heap in the middle of the floor, where he lay half unconscious,\nrepeating as he sat:\n\n\u2018Orange juice for influenza; try a seidlitz powder and a blue pill, and\nkeep the owls out of the room and take a warm bath, and\u2014send for the\nLifeguards.\u2019\n\nBut the Princess did not seem inclined to send for them; and in truth\nit would have been rather awkward for the horses to get in, as the room\nwas on the second floor.\n\nSo the Princess told the ladies-in-waiting to drag him out of the room,\nand they obeyed; but as he went he said: \u2018Sleeping in unaired sheets\ncauses rheumatism, sciatica, pleurisy, pneumonia and\u2014owls;\u2019 and as the\ndoor closed they heard him say, \u2018Gregory powder and Epsom salts.\u2019\n\nThe poor Princess, however, began to weep again, and the Owl sat\nperched on the bed-post at her feet, watching her with his bright eyes.\n\nHowever, after she had cried thus for a long time, she thought it\nwould be better to stop her tears, for they were all in vain, as she\nknew but too well.\n\nSo she rose from her bed; for you must know she had only been laid on\nher bed when she had fainted, and so she still had all her clothes on.\n\nThrough the window-blinds the light of dawn was already beginning to\nshow itself. So the Princess went to the window and drew back the\ncurtains, and let the bright sunlight shine into the room. A beautiful\nday was dawning after the last night\u2019s rain, and the sun was rising\nbrightly over the edge of the blue sea. For a moment, as she looked\nout, everything was quiet except the shrill chirp of a solitary sparrow\nthat seemed to have awakened too early. From the chimneys of the\nred-roofed town below her no smoke was rising, for all in the town were\nasleep still.\n\nSuddenly, with a rush, the morning breeze came from over the land\nbehind her, and with the rustle of the wind everything seemed to wake\nand come to life once more. The solitary chirp of the sparrow was\ndrowned in the flood of song that poured forth from the trees in the\npalace garden, and with the birds the rest of the living animals awoke,\nand from far inland the lowing of the cows was borne on the breeze,\nand now and again came the joyful bark of the shepherd\u2019s dog as it\nrecognised its master\u2019s whistle as he called it to work again among the\nsheep, whose plaintive bleating came softly, as if from a distance, to\nthe Princess\u2019s ear.\n\nEverything seemed joyful at the sight of the beautiful morning except\nthe Princess, and she felt oh so lonely, for it seemed as if her only\nfriend had gone from her for ever. And at the thought her tears began\nto flow afresh, for she felt very lonely, while everything else seemed\nto rejoice. But as she leant thus against the window-sill, with a\ngreat lump in her throat and the hot tears in her eyes, she suddenly\nfelt a weight on her shoulder and a rushing wind waved her hair, and\nas she turned her head to see what it was, her face was covered in the\nsoft brown feathers of the Owl, who had perched on her shoulder.\n\nThe touch of the Owl seemed to have driven away her grief, and she felt\nquite light and joyful in the beautiful sunshine. For it seemed as if\nthe Owl had become a companion to her that would take the place of her\nfather; so she leaned her head against the Owl, and her golden hair\nmixed with the dusky brown feathers, till each streak of golden hair\nshone again in the bright sunlight. And the Owl too seemed very happy.\nSo for a time the Princess stood looking over the deep-blue sea.\n\nSuddenly, however, a footstep sounded in the courtyard below, and the\nPrincess drew back from the window, for a thought suddenly came into\nher head:\n\n\u2018Oh dear,\u2019 she said, \u2018I have been crying such a lot that my eyes must\nbe quite red, and my hair is all ruffled. This will never do.\u2019 And as\nshe looked in the glass she said, \u2018Ah, just as I thought. Come, my\ncherished Owl, sit there on the crown on the top of the looking-glass\nframe and wait while I wash my hands and face and make myself tidy.\u2019\n\nThe Owl did as he was told, and the Princess began to wash in cold\nwater\u2014a thing she had never done before\u2014but she did not like to call to\nher ladies-in-waiting, lest they should see how red her eyes were. So\nshe had to put up with the cold water, and very pleasant she found it,\nfor it cleared the tear-mist out of her eyes and made her feel quite\nhappy and cheerful again: \u2018And I have heard,\u2019 she thought to herself,\n\u2018that washing in cold water is matchless for the complexion.\u2019\n\nWhen she had finished washing she went and combed her hair before the\nglass. For she was a very artistic Princess, and liked looking at\nbeautiful things, and so she liked sometimes to look at herself in the\nglass. Not that she was in the least conceited.\n\nSo she combed her hair with a gold comb, and when she had finished\ncombing it, she put on her gold circlet as a sign of her rank, and\nthen she said to the Owl, who had been sitting patiently on the\nlooking-glass blinking at her as if he quite enjoyed himself:\n\n\u2018Now, cherished Owl, you may sit on my shoulder again.\u2019\n\nWhen the Owl was again in his place he blinked in the glass at his own\nreflection as if the light were too strong for him, and he shut his\neyes and drew in his neck and lifted up one foot into his feathers, as\nif he felt quite happy and comfortable, and the Princess smiled at his\nhappy look, for she seemed quite to have forgotten her sorrow in the\ncompany of the Owl.\n\nSo she, with the Owl on her shoulder, went to the window. Here in the\ncourtyard already a large crowd had collected to catch a glimpse of the\nPrincess if possible, so that it fell about that when they saw her they\nraised a mighty shout of joy and pity:\n\n\u2018The King is dead,\u2019 they cried. \u2018Long live the Queen!\u2019 And throughout\nthe city far and wide echoed and re-echoed the cry:\n\n\u2018Long live the Queen\u2019; and it seemed as if the waves of the sea\nmurmured the sound.\n\nThe Princess, however, held out her little hand to still the tumult,\nand as if by magic the cries stopped.\n\n\u2018Good people all,\u2019 she said in clear ringing tones, \u2018I thank you for\nyour good wishes, and I will try always to be worthy of them as my\nfather was. For to-day, however, rejoice not; remember that the great\nKing Intafernes, the founder of the kingdom to which we all belong, has\nbut just left the earth\u2014sorrow for him but a short time; joy will come\nsoon enough for all.\u2019\n\nSo the crowd, silent and pensive for a time, dispersed in groups.\nMore than one of them asked what had been perched on the Princess\u2019s\nshoulder, and those who had been near enough, said that it was an\nowl\u2014though what it meant they knew not.\n\n\u2018To me it seemed as if the head of the old King were looking over\nhis daughter\u2019s shoulder,\u2019 said one of the listeners who stood on the\noutskirts of the crowd.\n\nBut she was only a little hunchback, and the rich citizens laughed\nat her, saying: \u2018Tush, child\u2014thy fancy is not sound! Or else before\nlooking at the Princess thou didst look at the fierce sun, and the\nsun-spots in thy eyes caused thee to see it thus. It was but an owl.\u2019\nBut the little hunchback held to her own opinion.\n\nBut while the Princess stood watching them depart, a tapping came at\nthe door, and the Princess cried \u2018Come in.\u2019 A page entered and said\nthat the Chancellor, Merrymineral, was below and requested audience of\nthe Princess.\n\n\u2018Let him be shown into the audience chamber to await me there.\u2019\n\nThe page bowed and departed on his errand, and the Princess went to\nanother door in the room and down the staircase that led from it to the\naudience chamber, and the Owl remained seated on her shoulder until\nthey reached the room. When they got there the Chancellor had not yet\nentered, for the staircase from the Princess\u2019s bedroom to the audience\nchamber was much shorter than that from the entrance hall, and then you\nsee the Princess was much more nimble than Merrymineral, who was an\nold man, and she ran quickly downstairs whilst he walked slowly up.\nHowever at last he entered. As he came in the Princess said:\n\n\u2018Good morning, dear Merrymineral. How is it you are so late? I shall\nhave to fine you if you keep me waiting like this again. And now what\ndo you want with me?\u2019\n\nThe good Chancellor received her laughing reproach with his head bowed\ndown. He heaved a deep sigh, and drew his pocket-handkerchief from his\npocket and applied it to his eyes. As he drew it away the tears could\nbe seen flowing fast down his withered cheeks.\n\n\u2018I came,\u2019 he moaned, \u2018to console you for your great loss. I too,\u2019 he\ncontinued in a voice choked with sobs, \u2018I too am an orphan.\u2019\n\nIt seemed funny to the Princess to see him weeping thus, and she could\nhardly help laughing at him, but her grief soon came back.\n\n\u2018Poor Merrymineral,\u2019 she sighed, \u2018to you also it must be a sad blow,\nfor you were always faithful and attached. But it was fated to happen\nthus, and you must really try and be comforted, for crying will not\nmend matters.\u2019\n\nThe Chancellor began again:\n\n\u2018The beloved King your father\u2019; but his sobs choked him, and he hid his\nface.\n\n\u2018The beloved King your father,\u2019 echoed a loud voice, exactly mimicking\nthe tones of the Chancellor, but where the voice came from no one could\ntell. The Chancellor started.\n\n\u2018Did you say that?\u2019 said the Princess.\n\n\u2018Not the second time,\u2019 answered Merrymineral.\n\n\u2018Who could it be?\u2019 said the Princess; \u2018for there is no one in the room\nexcept the cherished Owl; and you can\u2019t speak, can you, Owl dear?\u2019\n\nThe Owl shook his head dismally. But the change that came over\nMerrymineral was most astonishing as his eye suddenly lit upon the\nOwl\u2014for since his entrance he had not raised his eyes from the floor.\nHe jumped backwards over three rows of seats, for you see the seats\nin the audience chamber were arranged in rows, and he alighted in a\nsitting posture on the other side. As he sat on the floor he looked up\nat the Owl in a terrified manner, then threw up his arms and fainted.\nThe poor Princess did not know what to do, so she rang a bell that\nstood on the table in front of the throne. Several pages at once came\nin.\n\n\u2018Just bring that man to,\u2019 said the Princess.\n\nThe pages bowed low, and went and shook the Chancellor violently.\nHe showed no signs of recovering, so one of the pages turned to the\nPrincess and said:\n\n\u2018May it please your Majesty, but the Chancellor refuses to come to, and\nwe can\u2019t bring him.\u2019\n\n\u2018So he refuses to obey my orders,\u2019 said the Princess. \u2018He must be\npunished for this. However, now go and get a bucketful of water and\npour it on him. Perhaps that will bring him to.\u2019\n\nNow when she said he was to be punished, she was only joking, but she\nsaid it very gravely, so that many people might have thought it was\nquite in earnest. Meanwhile the pages departed to fetch the water. They\nsoon came back and brought a large pailful.\n\n\u2018You had better not throw it all over him,\u2019 said the Princess; \u2018just\nlet it trickle over his face gently.\u2019\n\nSo one of the pages began to do as he was told, but somehow\u2014either he\nhad a sudden push, or, as he said afterwards, the Owl looked at him,\nand startled him\u2014he let the pail go, and all the water and the pail too\nfell over the unlucky Chancellor. This really did bring him very much\nto\u2014much too much to, in fact\u2014for he sprang up in such a rage that the\nPrincess really wished herself out of the room.\n\n\u2018You jackanapes,\u2019 he screamed at the unfortunate page; \u2018you ape, you\nboar, you cow, you clumsy monkey, I\u2019ll be revenged on you.\u2019\n\nBut the Princess, who had gained courage while he was screaming, said:\n\n\u2018You will not be revenged on him.\u2019\n\n\u2018But I shall,\u2019 he said.\n\n\u2018Indeed you will not,\u2019 said the Princess, \u2018for he did it by my orders.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh! he did it by your orders,\u2019 said the Chancellor; \u2018then I\u2019ll be\nrevenged on you too,\u2019 and he began to move uncomfortably near to the\nPrincess. But the three pages threw themselves on him and tried to drag\nhim back, but he turned suddenly on them.\n\n\u2018What,\u2019 he said scornfully, \u2018you try to stop me\u2014ye frogs! Ah! a\ngood idea\u2014by virtue of my magic power I command you to turn into\nwater-rats; then perhaps the Owl there will eat you up.\u2019\n\nNo sooner said than done, and the three pages instantly became\nwater-rats, squattering in the water that was still in a pool on the\nfloor.\n\nSomehow the Princess did not seem to be at all frightened at this; she\nwas only very angry.\n\n\u2018I thought I told you not to hurt those pages.\u2019\n\n\u2018Who cares what you say?\u2019\n\n\u2018Dear me,\u2019 thought the Princess, \u2018he is getting excessively insolent\u2014I\nshall have to be severe with him in a moment.\u2019 So she said:\n\n\u2018Turn those pages back again.\u2019\n\n\u2018I shall not.\u2019\n\n\u2018Then leave the room.\u2019\n\n\u2018I shall not.\u2019\n\nThe Princess did not know what to do; he was really very rude, and he\nwas walking towards her evidently intending to attack her. When he was\nwithin ten feet of her he stopped, and though he tried to get nearer\nhe could not.\n\n\u2018Ha! ha!\u2019 he cried; \u2018you think to keep me off by magic, but it is not\nso easy, I can tell you. By virtue of my magic power I command you to\nturn into a mouse.\u2019\n\nBut the Princess, leaning her head against the soft feathers of the\nOwl, only smiled, and did not turn into a mouse at all.\n\nThe Chancellor seemed perplexed.\n\n\u2018Is that not enough for you?\u2019 he said; \u2018I thought I told you to turn\ninto a mouse.\u2019\n\nBut the Princess smiled calmly and said:\n\n\u2018Do you suppose I am going to do anything of the sort\u2014you have\nforgotten your manners to speak to your Queen thus. I believe there is\na fine of five shillings for any one who speaks to the King or Queen\nwithout saying \u201cYour Majesty.\u201d You had better pay it, Sir Chancellor,\nand turn those pages back again, or I shall have you turned out of the\nkingdom.\u2019\n\nBut the Chancellor laughed. \u2018You can\u2019t send me out if you wanted to.\nMeanwhile I shall not turn those rats back, for if I am not much\nmistaken your Owl there will carry them off.\u2019\n\nIt really seemed as if the Owl were going to obey him, for greatly\nto the Princess\u2019s surprise it sprang off her shoulder and seized the\nthree rats, one in each claw, and one in its beak\u2014but it returned at\nonce to her and laid them squeaking on the table in front of her\u2014but no\nsooner did they touch the table than they turned into men again just as\nquickly as they had become rats. When Merrymineral saw this he became\nperfectly frantic, and tried in vain to get at the Princess\u2014he even\nwent back a little and tried to run at her\u2014but it was no use, for no\nsooner did he reach a certain spot than he was suddenly stopped, just\nas if he had run against a wall. At last he became so frantic that the\nPrincess could stand it no longer. So she said:\n\n\u2018Will you be quiet, you naughty old man?\u2014leave the room or I will send\nfor the police.\u2019\n\nBut Merrymineral answered:\n\n\u2018Oh, send for the police and the soldiers and sailors and\ncandlestick-makers.\u2019\n\nSo the Princess rang the bell that stood on the table: a page at once\nappeared at the door.\n\n\u2018Send for a policeman and ask him to step this way.\u2019\n\nThe page looked astonished, but he saluted and left the room. Almost\nimmediately a policeman came in\u2014for you see there was one always on the\npalace steps. He entered the room with a low bow.\n\n\u2018Take the Chancellor out of the room,\u2019 said the Princess, \u2018and put him\nin prison for three days.\u2019\n\nBut the policeman shook his head.\n\n\u2018Excuse me, mum\u2014I mean your most gracious Majesty\u2014but it is against the\nlaw to imprison a member of Parliament, much less a chancellor.\u2019\n\nThe Chancellor laughed sarcastically.\n\n\u2018Oh, is it?\u2019 said the Princess; \u2018never mind, take him into custody; I\ndepose him\u2014he is no longer Chancellor.\u2019\n\nMerrymineral looked astonished, but the policeman cleared his throat\nand said:\n\n\u2018Come, I say, young fellow; will you go quietly, or shall I make you?\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, make me, by all means,\u2019 answered Merrymineral.\n\nSo the policeman advanced and held out his hand to take him by the\ncollar, but had no sooner touched Merrymineral than he fell to the\nground as if he had been thunderstruck.\n\nThe Chancellor smiled. \u2018I told you so,\u2019 he said.\n\nThe Princess was now thoroughly nonplussed. However, she rang the bell\nagain. Again the page appeared.\n\n\u2018Summon the Lords of the Council; let them come here at once.\u2019\n\nAlmost immediately afterwards the lords appeared. As they came in each\none bowed profoundly to the Princess. But in spite of their grave\nappearance they could not help looking astonished at the policeman, who\nwas lying on the floor, and at the three pages who were still sitting\non the table\u2014for as they had not yet been told to go they could not\ndepart.\n\nBut each one took his seat without questioning. Last of all came the\nCourt doctor, who looked in an alarmed manner at the Owl\u2014nevertheless\nhe took his seat.\n\nWhen all was quiet the Princess began to speak.\n\n\u2018My lords,\u2019 she said, \u2018I have been obliged to assemble you on the first\nday of my reign; but the matter is a very grave one. I have found it\nnecessary to dismiss the Chancellor, for these reasons: first, he\nattacked these three pages who were executing my bidding; next, he\nattacked me; and lastly, he attacked the law, in the person of the\npoliceman there, whom he knocked down. Now I ask your advice as to how\nI am to get rid of him, for he refuses to leave the room at my command.\u2019\n\nSo spoke the Princess, but before any one could answer Merrymineral\nspoke:\n\n\u2018My lords,\u2019 he said, \u2018are we, we, the lords of the kingdom, to be\ngoverned by this schoolgirl, who is not even a magician as we are? What\ngood has she ever done us? What power is to keep us from deposing her\nand electing as a ruler one of ourselves?\u2019\u2014\u2014but before he could finish\na perfect uproar of shouts of rage interrupted him.\n\nThe Princess put her fingers in her ears to keep out the sound, and\nwhen the lords saw that the noise was annoying her they stopped at\nonce. When they were quiet the Princess spoke again:\n\n\u2018What he has just said is right,\u2019 she said; \u2018I have no right to reign\nover you, for I am but a girl. Do ye therefore elect a ruler.\u2019\n\nFor a moment all was silence in the Council, but all eyes were turned\non a lord who stood next to Merrymineral in rank. He was a portly man,\nand a great magician too, though his power was not quite so great as\nMerrymineral\u2019s. When therefore he saw that all eyes were turned on him,\nLord Licec, for so he was called, rose.\n\n\u2018Your most gracious Majesty,\u2019 he began, \u2018although you had no need\nto command us to elect a ruler, we are of course bound to obey your\ncommands, whatever they are. I therefore speak, giving my vote, and I\nbelieve the vote of all the rest of the assembly, that you shall be our\nruler according to the oath which we sware to your father.\u2019\n\nAnd then turning to the rest of the assembly he said:\n\n\u2018Am I not right, my lords?\u2019 and with one voice they answered:\n\n\u2018We will die for our Queen Ismara.\u2019\n\nOnly one voice objected, but as that was Merrymineral, no one noticed\nhim.\n\nSo the Princess rose and thanked them for their confidence in her,\nthough, to tell the truth, she had known all along what they would say.\nThat done she said:\n\n\u2018And now what are we to do about turning this man out? for he refuses\nto go of his own accord.\u2019\n\nNo one could suggest anything better than to send for the Lifeguards\nand let them carry him off. But before this was done they decided to\ntry to persuade him to go. But it was of no use, for he stood on the\nspot where he had stopped, with his arms folded and his hat on, looking\ndown at the ground in a brown study, and he took no notice of anything\nthey could do, even though they rang the bell close to his ear. Now\nhe did no particular harm as he stood there, but you see no one could\ntell whom he might attack next. So they determined to send for the\nLifeguards as a last resource.\n\nSo they were sent for, and in a short time they came, although they\nleft their horses outside in the courtyard. Fifty of them were then\nmarched into the hall and they were ordered to move the man out. So\nthey divided into two parties of twenty-five each, and they put a rope\nround him, and each body of twenty-five took an end of the rope and\npulled, but it was no good, for he took no more notice of the pulling\nthan if he had been Samson or any other strong man. So the fifty gave\nup the attempt in despair; the only thing to do seemed to be to cut him\nto pieces. So they drew their swords and hacked at him, but it was\nno use: the swords bent or broke just as if they had been bulrushes\nor paper, and still Merrymineral took no notice in particular. So\nthey gave up the attempt in despair when they had broken up all their\nswords. However, they did not give in, for they called in the best\nhorseman in the regiment and told him to charge on horseback with\nhis lance in rest. So the soldier rode in on his horse; this was not\nso difficult as it may seem, for the council chamber was on a level\nwith the ground, and a lane was opened in between the chairs to where\nMerrymineral still stood with his arms folded.\n\nAt the word of command the soldier rode at full speed towards\nMerrymineral, aiming his lance at the centre of his face\u2014that is his\nnose. His aim was true, and the lance hit fair, but it might just as\nwell have been made of macaroni, for it crumbled just as a stick of\nthat delightful eatable would do if you ran it against a wall. The\nhorse, however, swerved just in time, although it pushed against him in\ngoing by; but even this made no difference to Merrymineral. As a last\nresource they suggested putting a lighted match under his nose. Whether\nthis would have succeeded or not I can\u2019t say. But just at this moment\nMerrymineral seemed to wake up again.\n\n\u2018Ah,\u2019 he said, \u2018I see you have not yet managed to get me out of the\nroom. However, as your soldiers have been practising on me for some\ntime past, I think it only right that I should try my hand on them a\nlittle. I used to be thought rather strong in the arms at one time, and\nI have cut down a good many trees in my time. Just see how you like\nthat,\u2019 he said to the man on the horse as he swung his umbrella round\nhis head and brought it down with a tremendous thwack on the horse\u2019s\nside. In fact he hit so hard that the horse and man were knocked right\nthrough the window into the courtyard below. With three more blows he\nknocked twenty more of the men through the same window, and the rest\nmade their escape as fast as they could by the door.\n\n\u2018I see I have not quite forgotten how to clear a room yet,\u2019 he said,\nas he once more folded his arms in the same attitude and relapsed into\nsilence.\n\n\u2018What _am_ I to do?\u2019 said the poor Princess, wringing her hands and\nalmost crying with vexation.\n\nA voice came from the far end of the room, and every one turned to see\nwho it might be. And all saw it was the Court physician who spoke. \u2018If\nI might be allowed to make a suggestion,\u2019 he said, \u2018I would say that\nthe best thing your Majesty could do would be to request that gentleman\nwho is sitting on your shoulder to turn him out. From my own experience\nI should say he was very competent to perform such a task. And if I\nmight be allowed to add yet another suggestion it would be, \u201cto be well\nshaken before taken,\u201d as they say in prescriptions.\u2019\n\nAs he said this an extraordinary change came over Merrymineral. He\npressed his hat on his head, put his umbrella under his arm, and began\nto put on his gloves in such a hurry that he mistook the left for the\nright hand. As he did so he said:\n\n\u2018Do you know, I can\u2019t stop any longer; so sorry, but I have an\nengagement and I am rather in a hurry. Good-day.\u2019 And he began to walk\nquickly towards the door. But the Princess had already whispered to the\nOwl, \u2018Catch him, dear Owl.\u2019\n\nAnd however fast he went the Owl caught him up, and taking him by the\nmiddle of his coat-tails\u2014and I am bound to say some of his skin too\u2014he\nshook him violently, and flew round and round the room banging him\nviolently against any high piece of furniture that was convenient.\n\n\u2018O-o-o-h,\u2019 shrieked the wretched man, \u2018I say, do you know you\u2019re\ntearing my best coat, and your beak is awfully sharp? O-o-ouch,\u2019 and he\nfilled the room with his shrieks. After they had continued like that\nfor some minutes the Princess said:\n\n\u2018I think he has been punished enough now, cherished Owl, so let him\ndown.\u2019\n\nThe Owl did as he was told, not, however, without giving him a sly\ntweak with his bill that must have hurt him a good deal.\n\n\u2018I\u2019ll be revenged on you,\u2019 roared Merrymineral; \u2018you\u2019ve spoilt my\nSunday coat, and I shan\u2019t be able to afford another for I don\u2019t\nknow how long. I\u2019ll be revenged on you.\u2019 And he took out a red\npocket-handkerchief and began to suage the blood that was coming\nfrom the bite, all the while abusing the Owl and the Princess and\nthreatening to be revenged.\n\n\u2018You had better be quiet and go,\u2019 she said.\n\n\u2018I shall not.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, very well,\u2019 she answered, perhaps you would like to try the Owl\nagain.\u2019\n\nAt the same time the Owl gave him such a look from its gleaming eyes\nthat he turned first red and then white with fright. He made a dash for\nthe window, and he was in such a hurry that he left his umbrella and\none of his gloves behind him.\n\nHe jumped right through the window high into the air, and as soon as he\ngot outside, strange to say, he began to burn furiously, and he went\ngradually up into the sky like a fire-balloon\u2014just as when a piece of\ntissue paper is put on the fire, if you are not careful, it will fly\nblazing up the chimney.\n\nThey watched him out of sight, and then the Princess said with a little\nsigh of relief:\n\n\u2018That\u2019s an end of him at last.\u2019\n\nBut the Owl shook his head\u2014he knew better.\n\nWhen he was thus at last got rid off the Princess said to the physician:\n\n\u2018How can we ever thank thee enough, good doctor, for thy timely\nsuggestion!\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, your Majesty,\u2019 said the blushing doctor, \u2018experience does it; and\nI had plenty of that this morning. Do you know, I think I shall never\nbe free again from pain\u2014although I have bathed in opodeldoc and arnica,\nand I am clothed from head to foot in Court plaster.\u2019\n\nThe Princess smiled and said:\n\n\u2018I am afraid the Owl is a little over-vigorous in such matters;\nhowever, I will give orders to the Court apothecary to supply you with\nremedies at my expense until you shall be cured.\u2019 She then said to the\nthree pages who still sat on the table:\n\n\u2018I must ask you to depart now as Parliament cannot carry on business\nwith strangers in the house. However, ye are, I believe, pages; I will\nturn over a new leaf and will advance you each a step in rank. Now,\nhowever, go.\u2019\n\nThanking her profusely they went. When they had gone the Princess\nturned to the Councillors and said:\n\n\u2018As there seems no further need to keep you, I will detain you no\nlonger.\u2019\n\nHaving her permission the Councillors left the hall. Last of all was\nLord Licec, and he remained as if hesitating whether to go, or to stay\nand speak to the Princess. She, noticing his hesitation, said:\n\n\u2018Ah, Lord Licec, hast thou something to ask me?\u2019\n\nThe old lord made answer:\n\n\u2018I would ask your Majesty\u2019s permission to enter the room of the late\nKing, your Majesty\u2019s father, for, as you are aware, it is against the\nlaw to enter the royal presence without the royal permission.\u2019\n\n\u2018You have my permission of course; but ought not some preparations to\nbe made for the funeral?\u2019\n\nLord Licec answered:\n\n\u2018They are already made. For as the late King had announced his\nintention of dying yesterday at half-past six P.M., there was ample\ntime.\u2019\n\n\u2018Let us then go together to the room, my lord,\u2019 said the Princess.\n\nSo they went together, the Princess leaning on Licec\u2019s arm, and the Owl\nsitting on her shoulder.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nThe guards of the room saluted as they passed in, but what was their\nastonishment on entering to find that the King had disappeared. When\nthey asked the guards who had come into the room during the day, they\nreplied that no one had been near the room during their watch, and the\nguards of the watch before said exactly the same thing. All over the\npalace inquiries were made, but to no purpose, and the rumour gradually\nspread to the town, and throngs of anxious citizens flocked about\nthe palace gates to ask, but neither they nor any one else ever heard\nwhat had become of him, and it is my opinion that the King himself is\nthe only person who knew anything about it. It came out in the course\nof inquiries that when the attendants had rushed in on hearing the\nPrincess\u2019s call for assistance the night before, they had not seen the\nKing on the bed, but in his place had sat an enormous owl, and this owl\nhad insisted on accompanying the Princess wherever she went.\n\nThis was the first time that the Princess had heard of how the Owl had\ncome to her, but still she had known all along that the Owl was the one\nher father had made her promise to cherish. But there were ill-natured\npeople who said that it was not so very unlikely that the Owl had eaten\nthe King up, but the Princess only laughed and said:\n\n\u2018How could the Owl eat a king up when the poor thing has so little\nappetite that it only eats very small pieces of meat off my golden fork\nat dinner?\u2019\n\nAnd so the Owl remained with the Princess: during the day it always sat\non her shoulder, or took short flights round her head, and at night it\nslept on the foot of her bed.\n\nSo six weeks glided peacefully away, and everything prospered; but one\nday a terrified messenger rode into the city at full speed, and the\nmessage that he brought was this.\n\nMerrymineral, who, as the Owl had said, was by no means done with,\nhad been inciting the people of far-off lands such as Mesopotamia and\nPadan-Aram and Ireland to rebel, and he was now marching against the\nPrincess at the head of an immense army, laying waste the country for\nmiles around. At the rate he was coming, however, it would take him\na fortnight to get near the country round. So you see there was no\nimmediate danger; still an enemy\u2019s army could not be allowed to remain\nin the country unopposed. So the Princess gave Lord Licec the order to\nassemble the army, and, as you may imagine, it was an immense one when\nit did assemble. I can\u2019t say how large it was, but if you could have\nstood on a hill in the centre of the town you would have seen nothing\nfor miles around but shining silk banners and glistening helmets and\nlances. Never before had the world held such an army, and it never will\nagain. Yet this army even was hardly as large as that of the enemy. The\ncommand of the army was given to Lord Licec, for he was well known to\nbe the most prudent man in the kingdom.\n\nThree days passed till the last of the army had started, and all the\nwhile the Princess stood at the window and watched them march along the\nwinding street below, and the knights and men-at-arms were inspired\nwith fresh courage at the sight of such a princess as they had to\ndefend, and they cheered so loud and long that it seemed like the\ncontinual roar of the sea beating on a rocky shore, sometimes rising,\nsometimes falling, but always sounding.\n\nThe Princess indeed felt quite lonely when they had all gone, even\nthough their shouts did make her head ache. However, she consoled\nherself by riding all day towards the army, and returning at night to\nthe lonely town. So she occupied three days; and the Owl always flew\nover her head, protecting her from the sun when it was too hot, or else\nsitting on her shoulder, or on the horse\u2019s head, although the horse did\nnot like it at all.\n\nFor three days no news came, but on the fourth as the Princess was\nriding out with her ladies-in-waiting she saw at a great distance in\nfront of her along the straight white road a cloud of dust that was\ncoming swiftly towards her. As it came nearer she could see the glint\nof armour, and soon she could plainly see the form of an armed knight\ngalloping at full speed towards them. He came so fast that they had\nto rein their horses to one side that they might not be run down. At\nfirst he did not seem to know who the Princess was, or perhaps he was\ngoing so furiously that he could not see; at any rate he had almost got\npast them before he recognised her. As soon as he did, however, he drew\nup, but so sudden was the action that the horse first sank back on his\nhaunches, and then bounded so high into the air that the marks that\nhis hoofs made when he alighted on the ground again, were a foot deep\nin the hard road. As soon as the plunging of the horse stopped and the\nPrincess could make herself heard she said:\n\n\u2018What news, Sir Knight, from the front, that thou ridest in such haste?\u2019\n\n\u2018But bad news, I fear,\u2019 answered the knight.\n\n\u2018What say you?\u2019 said the Princess; \u2018bad news, and with such an army as\nye had? has some fresh rebellion broken out among the men?\u2019\n\n\u2018No rebellion, but plain fighting has beaten us\u2014but what can we do\nagainst such foes? This Merrymineral, alone, rides on a green dragon,\nand with one stroke of his sword he kills a hundred men. Myself I\ncharged him with my lance, but as it struck his shield it broke in\npieces as if it had been made of glass; and it was fortunate for me\nthat my horse carried me past him before he could strike me, for I\nsaw him myself cut the Knight of Pendred in half, as you would cut a\nradish. And if we slay a thousand men during the day he restores them\nin the night. So we have gradually been driven back, till after three\ndays\u2019 fighting the army remains at Arecarp. Thence I started at eight\nthis morning to hurry the reinforcements from Britain and Gaul.\u2019\n\n\u2018Alas! they are still at three days\u2019 march from here, though they\nare marching night and day. But thou saidst the army was at Arecarp,\nand that thou didst start to-day at eight in the morning. That is\nimpossible. Arecarp is twenty-four hours\u2019 journey for a fast horse,\nand it is now but twelve o\u2019clock. Not even the horse that I ride could\ngo faster than that, though he is said to be the fastest horse in the\nworld, except Selim, the horse of the Prince of India. However, no time\nis to be lost. Sir Knight, will you escort these ladies back to the\ntown, and rest for a while?\u2019\n\n\u2018But what will you do, your Majesty?\u2019\n\n\u2018I must ride forward to Arecarp.\u2019\n\n\u2018To Arecarp! Your Majesty, what will you do there? The battlefield is\nno place for a girl.\u2019\n\n\u2018Nevertheless I must go, for my place is with the army.\u2019\n\n\u2018But if you are killed what will happen to your people without their\nQueen?\u2019\n\n\u2018What do they do now without their Queen? Besides once before the\ncherished Owl has defeated this man and he may do it again. If he does\nnot, no power on earth could save me from death, for the army is being\ngradually defeated.\u2019\n\n\u2018But your Majesty could send the Owl in a cage against the enemy.\u2019\n\n\u2018I promised my father never to go out of its sight\u2014no, I must go.\u2019\n\n\u2018I beseech you then, your Majesty, to allow me to accompany you, for\nthe road to the camp is full of danger.\u2019\n\n\u2018But your horse is tired, and even if he were not he could never keep\nup with me.\u2019\n\n\u2018But if you will excuse the contradiction, I think I shall.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well then, have your own way, but mark me, if you lag behind I shall\nnot stop. However, we are losing time. Let us go.\u2019\n\nAnd they set off\u2014the Princess ignoring the entreaties of the ladies\nthat she should not go.\n\nThe Princess immediately started at the full speed of her horse,\nexpecting that the knight would soon fall behind; but no, he galloped\nat her side as if the speed were not more than usual, and his great\nblack charger seemed to enjoy the exercise as though he had not already\ngalloped over a hundred miles that morning.\n\nThe Princess could not understand how it was, but she thought he would\nsoon get tired and fall behind, but an hour passed and he showed no\nsigns of being fatigued. So she leant over her horse and whispered\nsoftly in his ear. Instantly the horse bounded forward more swiftly\nthan ever\u2014so fast, indeed, that she could hardly keep her eyes open\nagainst the wind, and her golden crown was suddenly whisked away, and\nher beautiful golden hair streamed far out behind. Still the knight\nkept up, and seemed not the least distressed at the speed. The Owl\nmeanwhile was flying far overhead, but she was not at all surprised at\nhis keeping up, for nothing seemed impossible to him. After they had\nbeen riding thus for nearly two hours they came to a place where the\npath was crossed by a river, and here the Princess thought it advisable\nto stop and rest a moment and to let the horses drink. So she called\nto the knight to stop, as she was going to get off for a moment, and\nhe at once sprang off his horse, and coming to her saddle-bow held her\nstirrup for her to dismount. When she was off she leaned against a tree\nlooking at the horses as they drank eagerly from the river, and then\ncame out to browse for a moment on the bank. Then she went to where the\nknight\u2019s horse stood, and patted him on the neck, for you see he was\nnot a very fierce-looking animal, and she was not at all afraid of him.\n\n\u2018He\u2019s a wonderfully swift horse, Sir Knight,\u2019 she said suddenly, \u2018and\nI believe there is no other horse in the world as swift\u2014not even\nSelim\u2014the horse I spoke about\u2014that belongs to the Prince of India.\u2019\n\nThe knight nodded.\n\n\u2018He is a good horse, but he is no better than Selim, your Majesty, for\nI know Selim very well.\u2019\n\nAll this while he had kept his vizor down, and the Princess had been\ntoo polite to ask him to raise it, even though it was rather rude of\nhim to keep it down. So she could not tell who he was. She knew all the\nknights of her own kingdom by sight, as well as most of her allies, for\nyou must know that a great many foreign princes had sent her troops to\nassist her against the rebel. She looked at the device on his shield;\nit was a crowned tiger, but that did not help her, for she did not know\nwhose crest it was. So at last when she could bear her curiosity no\nlonger, she determined to ask him. So she said:\n\n\u2018Sir Knight, should you think me very rude if I were to ask you whether\nyou are under a vow of hiding your face?\u2019\n\n\u2018I am bound by no such vow; but why do you ask, your Majesty?\u2019\n\n\u2018Because ever since I have seen you you have kept your vizor down, and\nI thought perhaps it was on account of some such vow.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, I beg your pardon a thousand times, your Majesty,\u2019 said the\nknight. \u2018But I did not remember that I had let it down, for you see I\nlook through its bars without noticing the difference. But I hope your\nMajesty will pardon the absent-mindedness,\u2019 and he raised the vizor, at\nthe same time bowing low to her. But it was now the Princess\u2019s turn to\nbe confused, for she saw before her Sir Alured the Emperor of India, a\nprince nearly as powerful as herself. She blushed with shame and then\nsaid:\n\n\u2018Oh, Sir Knight, I mean your Royal Highness, it is I who should crave\nyour pardon, for all the while I have addressed you as \u201cSir Knight,\u201d\ninstead of as \u201cyour Majesty.\u201d But I am very sorry.\u2019\n\nBut Sir Alured said:\n\n\u2018Nay, your Majesty, you have the right to call me what you will, for I\nam always your humble vassal.\u2019\n\n\u2018My ally, you should say, your Majesty.\u2019\n\n\u2018I am always your servant, not your ally, your Majesty.\u2019\n\n\u2018Then I fear you will soon be the vassal of a queen without a kingdom;\nand if this Merrymineral prevail over me, I fear he will punish you for\nhaving aided me.\u2019\n\nBut the Prince said:\n\n\u2018All is not yet lost, your Majesty, and whatever happens your Majesty\nwill always have a protector while I am alive.\u2019\n\nThe Princess smiled.\n\n\u2018Ah! you mean the cherished Owl. You will always protect me, won\u2019t\nyou, Owl?\u2019 she said, looking up at the Owl who was seated again on her\nshoulder. And the Owl nodded his head.\n\nShe looked at her watch just then. \u2018Why,\u2019 she said, \u2018we have been here\njust ten minutes, and it is time to start again, if you are rested\nsufficiently.\u2019\n\nSo he helped her to mount, and they crossed the river. It was not very\ndeep, but still she got the skirts of her dress quite wet, for the\nwater was high enough for that.\n\nHowever, the gallop in the hot sun on the other side soon dried them.\n\nIn an hour and a half they were on the top of a hill from which they\ncould see the town of Arecarp in the valley beneath.\n\nThe sun was shining brightly on the tents of the army as it lay round\nthe town, and at some distance the camp of the enemy appeared. But\nstill all looked peaceful.\n\nThe Prince gazed carefully at the armies. After a moment he said:\n\n\u2018There has been no fighting since I left the city this morning, nor has\nthe position altered at all. I fancy Merrymineral has sent ambassadors\nto demand surrender from Lord Licec.\u2019\n\nThe Princess smiled.\n\n\u2018He will never surrender,\u2019 she said.\n\n\u2018Nor will any of us, your Majesty,\u2019 added the Prince. \u2018However, let us\ndescend the hill.\u2019\n\nDown the hill the road lay through a deep gorge, so deep that the sun\ndid not penetrate it, and it lay in delicious shade. The sides of\nthe valley were lined with the silver-barked birch, below which grew\nnodding foxgloves, and as they went slowly down the steep path, ever\nand anon a rabbit would scuttle out of the grassy track to a safe\ndistance in front of them, where it sat on its haunches with its little\nears pricked up, smelling at them anxiously as they came near again,\nand then it would scutter along into the thick rank grass to its home.\n\nSo they went slowly down the path until they came once more to the\nlevel ground, and they were again able to gallop on.\n\nSoon they reached the town, and clattered through the cobbled streets\nto the market-place, where Lord Licec had his head-quarters. But the\nmarket-place was crowded with soldiers and knights who were bargaining\nfor food, so that it was by no means easy to get through the crowd.\nHowever, as soon as they got near the place, the soldiers recognised\nthe Princess and began to cheer, and immediately an avenue was formed\nup to the door of the council-house, and the Princess rode smiling\nthrough the throng, followed by the Prince.\n\nThe news of her arrival ran through the whole camp, and immediately\nsuch a shout went up from the men that the enemy thought they were\npreparing for battle, and they made ready to resist the attack. At the\ndoor of the council-hall Lord Licec was waiting with the rest of the\ncaptains of renown, and they followed the Princess upstairs to the\ncouncil-chamber.\n\nAs soon as they were seated the Princess asked for the latest news. She\nwas told all that had happened, and when she had heard it she dismissed\nthe Lords of the Council, all except Lord Licec and the Prince of\nIndia, who were to stay and dine with her, and she gave orders that the\ndinner should be brought as soon as possible, for to tell the truth she\nfelt rather hungry, as she had had nothing to eat since breakfast-time.\n\nNow when the Princess had finished giving her orders about the dinner,\nLicec could not refrain from asking her why she had come.\n\n\u2018Was it not rather foolish,\u2019 he said, \u2018to hazard your life for nothing?\nfor of a truth you are\u2014\u2014\u2019\n\nBut the Princess put her finger on his mouth.\n\n\u2018I will not be bullied by you, my lord, even though you are old enough\nto be my father. I know what you were going to say\u2014that the battlefield\nis no place for girls. Now I won\u2019t be called a girl, for I\u2019m nineteen,\nyou know. His Majesty the Emperor of India there insulted me by calling\nme a girl, and I have not forgiven him yet. Besides you\u2019ll spoil my\nappetite for dinner if you lecture me. It always does; so do be quiet\nnow, at any rate till after dinner.\u2019\n\nSo Licec had to be quiet, and they talked about something else till\ndinner-time.\n\nJust as they had finished, a frightful shouting outside made them drop\ntheir dessert knives and run to the window, but as the window did not\nface on to the street they could not tell what was the matter. So the\nPrincess rang the bell, and when the servant appeared she asked him\nwhat was the cause of the shouting.\n\n\u2018May it please your Majesty, ambassadors have arrived from the enemy\nand would speak to you.\u2019\n\n\u2018Show them this way and send at the same time for the Lords of the\nCouncil.\u2019\n\nSo the servant went, and in a short time a heavy stumping was heard on\nthe stairs. Suddenly the door burst open and the ambassadors entered.\nThey were a rather remarkable pair of ambassadors, although they could\nhardly be said to pair well. For the one was an enormous giant with a\nlong beard, dressed in leaves mostly, and so tall that he could not\nstand upright in the room; in his hand he carried an enormous pole,\nfrom the end of which a spiked ball dangled. The other, however, was\nvery nearly his opposite in everything. For he was very small, a dwarf\nin fact, and he was dressed in very tight yellow armour, and from the\ntop of his helmet a crest of red roses hung down to his saddle\u2014for you\nmust know he had insisted on not getting off his horse, or rather pony,\nfor that too was very small\u2014in fact it just fitted the dwarf.\n\nAs soon as the Princess had recovered from her astonishment, she rose\nfrom her seat and said:\n\n\u2018Are you the ambassadors from the rebel Merrymineral?\u2019\n\nThe dwarf replied:\n\n\u2018I don\u2019t know anything about the rebel part of the business, but we\nare the ambassadors from Merrymineral, whom we are bound to serve for\na certain time. But who are you, I should like to know, and what right\nhave you to speak to me in this insulting manner? D\u2019you think I\u2019m here\nto be insulted by you? If you think so, I\u2019ll tell you point-blank I\u2019m\nnot\u2014so there.\u2019 And in the rage he had worked himself into he began to\nspur his steed till it jumped off the floor so high that it knocked his\nhead against the ceiling.\n\nThe Princess was not used to being treated like that. However she was\nnot at all angry at it\u2014she only laughed at his misfortune, which made\nhim all the more outrageous.\n\n\u2018How dare you laugh at me?\u2019 he screamed; \u2018who are you, you minx, you\nminx, you lynx\u2014you\u2014\u2014\u2019\n\nBut the Princess did not listen to him. She turned to the giant, who at\nany rate was quiet, and said:\n\n\u2018Will you not take a chair until the Lords of the Council arrive?\u2019\n\nThe giant looked at her in stupid astonishment.\n\n\u2018What shall I do with the chair when I\u2019ve taken it?\u2019 he mumbled.\n\n\u2018I mean you to sit down on it, of course,\u2019 said the Princess.\n\nThe giant growled out in reply:\n\n\u2018Well, I never sat on a chair before, but to please you I will.\u2019\n\nSo he sat down, but as he was not used to sitting on chairs he sat down\non its back; but it was only a small cane-bottomed chair, and as he was\nvery big, and the chair was very small, the result is easily foreseen,\nfor the chair collapsed under him as if he had sat on a top-hat, and he\nreclined comfortably on the floor, where he remained for the rest of\nthe time.\n\n\u2018I think I\u2019ll stop where I am,\u2019 he said, when they offered him a wooden\nstool to sit on, \u2018for you see I\u2019m not used to chairs.\u2019 So they let him\nstop where he was.\n\nOne by one the Lords of the Council began to arrive; they looked\ncuriously at the ambassadors but said nothing. When they were all\narrived the Princess said to the dwarf:\n\n\u2018Now if you will state your message we will listen.\u2019\n\nSo the dwarf snarled in a bad-tempered voice:\n\n\u2018I shan\u2019t tell you\u2014you aren\u2019t the commander-in-chief of the army, are\nyou?\u2019\n\n\u2018No, but I am the Queen of the Western World.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh! you\u2019re the Queen of the Western World, are you? Well, you won\u2019t be\nQueen of the Western World long, if you don\u2019t mind your P\u2019s and Q\u2019s.\nThe king Merrymineral sent me to say that if you don\u2019t marry him and\nmake him king, he\u2019ll kill the lot of you and make himself king in spite\nof you\u2014so there; and I\u2019m to wait for an answer.\u2019\n\nAfter consulting the Council for a moment the Princess said:\n\n\u2018Of course I shan\u2019t marry him\u2014how could he be so ridiculous as to think\nso?\u2019\n\nThe dwarf laughed.\n\n\u2018That\u2019s your answer, is it?\u2019 he said. \u2018I thought so. I say, Gog, have\nyou written it down?\u2019\n\nBut Gog had gone to sleep. So the dwarf pricked him with the end of his\nlance.\n\n\u2018I say, Gog,\u2019 he said, \u2018she\u2019s given her answer and you haven\u2019t written\nit down, and I\u2019ve forgotten it already. Just say it over again, Queen,\nwill you? and not too fast, or Gog here will never get it down.\u2019\n\nThe giant now drew from his pocket a very soiled and crumpled\nhalf-sheet of a copy-book and began to write from the Princess\u2019s\ndictation.\n\n\u2018Of course I should not do anything so\u2014\u2014\u2019 Here he stopped.\n\n\u2018How do you spell \u201cridiculous\u201d?\u2019 he said.\n\n\u2018With two \u201ck\u2019s,\u201d of course,\u2019 said the dwarf; \u2018even I know that, though\nI can\u2019t write.\u2019\n\nWhen he had finished he handed it to the Princess:\n\n\u2018Just sign your name, will you?\u2019\n\nThe Princess signed her name, but she could not help seeing that the\nwriting was very bad and the spelling was awful.\n\n\u2018Why didn\u2019t they send some one who could write better? Why! that \u201cr\u201d is\nmore like a \u201ck\u201d than an \u201cr\u201d.\u2019\n\nBut the giant shook his head mournfully.\n\n\u2018They hadn\u2019t got any one else in the army who could write except\nMerrymineral, and he was afraid to come.\u2019\n\n\u2018But weren\u2019t you afraid to come?\u2019 she said.\n\nThe giant shook his mace round so violently that it grazed the helmet\nof the dwarf, and cut his crest of roses off.\n\n\u2018Whom am I to be afraid of?\u2019 he growled. \u2018I could kill your whole army\nsingle-handed\u2019; and he laughed loud and long.\n\nBut just at this moment the Owl, that had been sitting on the floor\nbehind the Princess\u2019s chair, flew up on to her shoulder, and no sooner\ndid the giant see the Owl than he jumped up from the floor, where you\nremember he was sitting, and he was in such a hurry that he knocked a\nhole in the plaster of the ceiling with his head.\n\n\u2018Come, I say, you know,\u2019 he said, \u2018I can fight anything in reason\u2014but\nI\u2019m not going to tackle that, you know; besides, we\u2019re ambassadors,\nand you can\u2019t hurt us. I\u2019m going\u2019; and he rushed out of the room as\nfast as he could, and the dwarf followed him as fast as he could make\nhis horse gallop, and they never stopped till they reached the camp of\nMerrymineral. For they were very frightened, you see.\n\nAfter they had gone the Princess again dismissed the Councillors, and\nwhen they had gone, she said to Lord Licec and the Prince, who by the\nbye still remained:\n\n\u2018Now let us finish our dessert\u2019\u2014for the ambassadors had come in right\nin the middle of it.\n\nAfter a moment the Princess said:\n\n\u2018How absurd of him to think I would marry him\u2014why, he\u2019s old enough to\nbe my great-grandfather.\u2019\n\nBut suddenly she became grave:\n\n\u2018But perhaps I ought to have thought before I gave the answer. Would\nit not have been better for my people if I had consented? for then he\nwould kill no more of them.\u2019\n\nBut the Prince became quite angry at such an idea. \u2018It\u2019s absurd,\u2019 he\nsaid. \u2018Why, as soon as he had married you and become king he would\nmurder you and then kill just as many of your people as he will now;\nbesides, who knows that we may not still conquer him?\u2019\n\nThe Princess turned to Lord Licec:\n\n\u2018What do you say, my lord?\u2019 she said.\n\n\u2018I think just as the Prince of India\u2014for even if he did not murder you\nhe would oppress the people without mercy, and besides, your people\nwould never allow you to marry him, so that is out of the question.\u2019\n\nThe Princess gave a sigh of relief.\n\n\u2018Since you say so, Lord Licec, it must be right; besides, I don\u2019t think\nI could ever marry him\u2014he is such a very unpleasant sort of man.\u2019\n\nAnd the Prince answered:\n\n\u2018You are quite right there\u2019; and he seemed quite happy again.\n\nSoon after it became evening, and Lord Licec had to go out to look\nafter his army, and the Prince too went to see that his men were all\nprepared for any night attack\u2014for his men were right in the very front\nof all, and so they were quite close to the enemy, who might at any\ntime begin an attack.\n\nSo the Princess was left all alone with the Owl, but she did not feel\nlonely with him, for he was very sociable, and would do anything that\nhe was told to do. So they played hide-and-seek till it was too dark\nto see any more, and then she went to bed and slept soundly till the\nrays of the sun falling on her face the next morning woke her up. She\nwas soon dressed, and when she had finished she went into the next\nroom, where she found Lord Licec already awaiting her.\n\n\u2018What does your Majesty intend to do this morning? for I shall not be\nwith you, as I am going to order the army to advance to the attack, and\nso your Majesty had better stay within the town for the rest of the\nday.\u2019\n\n\u2018Indeed, I shall do nothing of the sort,\u2019 she answered. \u2018I am going to\nlead the army to-day to see if we cannot regain some ground, for I had\nrather die fighting than be driven back like this, so please don\u2019t say\nI mustn\u2019t go; besides, the Owl will protect me; he promised to; didn\u2019t\nyou, Owl?\u2019 and the Owl nodded.\n\n\u2018But they may shoot the Owl with their arrows, and then\u2014\u2014\u2019\n\n\u2018But the Owl before now has conquered Merrymineral himself, and he may\nstill do it. Oh, please don\u2019t tell me not to go. If you\u2019ll only let me\ngo I\u2019ll promise to keep near the Prince of India, and he\u2019ll protect me,\neven if the Owl can\u2019t.\u2019\n\n\u2018But the Prince of India is always in the thickest of the fight, and\nyou will be in much greater danger if you keep near him.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, never mind the danger; do let me go.\u2019\n\nAnd she begged so hard that Lord Licec had to give in. She put on a\nbreastplate and a sword, but she would not put on a helmet, for she\nsaid that it made her head ache, and that no one would know who she\nwas if she covered her face up. So she only wore a gold circlet on her\nhead, as she usually did, and besides this she carried a silver shield\nwith the royal crest on it, and a small lance just like a knight\u2019s\nspear, only not so heavy, and thus mounted on her white horse she rode\nto the very front of the line of battle, and there she found the Prince\nof India at the head of his men.\n\nThey had already furled their tents and were quite ready to begin the\nbattle as soon as the others were ready.\n\nThe Prince was very much astonished when he saw her, for it was the\nlast place in the world he had expected to see her in.\n\n\u2018Do you really mean to say,\u2019 he exclaimed, \u2018that Lord Licec allowed you\nto come out to the field of battle? Why, he must be mad.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh no, he\u2019s not,\u2019 answered the Princess; \u2018but you see if I only beg\nhard enough he\u2019ll let me do whatever I like, and then I promised to\nkeep near you, for I thought you would protect me. However, you don\u2019t\nseem very glad to see me\u2014perhaps you think I shall hinder you\u2014so I\u2019ll\ngo and ask some one else to take care of me, as you don\u2019t seem to\nrelish the task. Good-morning\u2019; and she began to move off; but she\nknew very well that he would not let her go like that, and to tell the\ntruth she rather hoped he wouldn\u2019t, for she thought she would like him\nto take care of her better than any one else in the army. Of course he\ndid stop her and said:\n\n\u2018If you really insist on stopping on the field no one is more fit to\ntake care of you than I. So _do_ stop.\u2019\n\nAnd she allowed herself to be persuaded to stop with him.\n\nJust as they had managed to arrange it so, a trumpet blew in the\ndirection of the town, and immediately troops of knights and\nmen-at-arms began to pour out of the gates, and to form the line of\nbattle, and as each band of men came along they cheered long and loud\nat the sight of the Princess, and the Princess felt very happy, for she\nliked to know that her people loved her. Gradually the immense army\ncame into one long line of glistening steel, and again the trumpets\nsounded, and the line began to move forward like a wave of the sea as\nit runs up the smooth sand sweeping all before it. The smooth plain\nwhich was to form the battlefield was dotted here and there with troops\nof cattle which had come down in the night from the hills to feed on\nthe long sweet grass, and they raised their heads in astonishment at\nthe line of knights and bowmen that marched slowly down on them; so\nthey shook their heads and galloped off straight in front of the line,\nwith their tails high in the air, and they were in such blind haste\nthat they charged right through the lines of the enemy who were now\napproaching, and not only through them they went, but also through\ntheir camp, tossing the tents into the air with their horns as they\nwent by. However, at last they reached the hills, and did not disturb\nthe combatants any more.\n\nMeanwhile the armies had got quite close together\u2014so close indeed that\nthey could see each other\u2019s faces quite plainly\u2014but they did not seem\nparticularly eager to fight. So when they had got thus far they halted,\nand looked at one another.\n\nAs yet Merrymineral had not arrived, for to tell the truth he was never\na very early riser, and he did not see why he should hurry himself\u2014for\nyou see he was quite sure of winning the battle without much trouble.\n\nJust opposite the Princess was the flower of the enemy, and she\nrecognised many of the great men of the countries that had rebelled\nwith Merrymineral. They did not seem particularly happy where they\nwere, and especially when the Princess looked at them they looked very\nred and uncomfortable, as if they did not like it at all.\n\n\u2018I do believe they\u2019re ashamed of themselves,\u2019 she said to the Prince;\nand he answered:\n\n\u2018They certainly look like it.\u2019\n\n\u2018Do you think,\u2019 she asked, \u2018if I were to go over to them and offer to\npardon them that they would leave Merrymineral and come on my side?\u2019\n\nThe Prince thought a moment.\n\n\u2018I believe they would,\u2019 he said; \u2018only if I were you I would not go, I\nshould send an ambassador or a herald.\u2019\n\nBut the Princess shook her head.\n\n\u2018That would never do,\u2019 she said. \u2018I\u2019m sure they\u2019d be offended at that.\nWhy, it would look as if I thought they were not to be trusted, and\nbesides they would not hurt me. No, I\u2019ll go to them quite alone.\u2019\n\nBut the Prince said:\n\n\u2018You had better let me go with you, for if they did attack you it would\nbe awkward; besides, you know you promised to keep near me all the\nmorning, and if you go without me you will not be keeping your promise,\ndon\u2019t you see?\u2019\n\nSo the Princess said:\n\n\u2018Well, I suppose you\u2019re right, only you must come alone.\u2019\n\nAnd as he agreed to this they went forward. Her own army evidently\ndid not understand what she meant to do, nor, for the matter of that,\ndid the enemy, but as they had neither of them received the order to\ncommence fighting they neither of them advanced.\n\nSo the Prince and Princess advanced at a gentle trot until they were\nquite close to the others, and the Owl sat on her shoulder.\n\nWhen they were quite close the knights tried to get one behind the\nother just as if they had done something they ought not to have done,\nand were each afraid of being punished first.\n\nIn particular the Princess noted the giant and dwarf, the ambassadors\nof the evening before; they tried to hide themselves behind the others\naltogether. For the dwarf this was easy enough, but for the poor giant,\nhe could not manage it at all, he was so very big.\n\nHowever, she did not look at all angry, and she only said:\n\n\u2018Good-morning, my lords.\u2019\n\nAnd they replied in chorus:\n\n\u2018Good-morning, your Majesty.\u2019\n\nSo she went on:\n\n\u2018I have come to ask you why you have assisted my rebellious subject,\nand what grievance you have? If there is any I will try to redress it.\u2019\n\nOne of the nobles replied:\n\n\u2018We have no grievances.\u2019\n\n\u2018Then why have you fought against me?\u2019\n\n\u2018Because we could not help it, your Majesty.\u2019\n\n\u2018But I should have thought you could have helped fighting.\u2019\n\n\u2018I mean, your Majesty, that Merrymineral threatened to kill us all if\nwe did not fight.\u2019\n\n\u2018Then you were not very brave. But that has nothing to do with it.\nWhat I wish to know is, whether you will now submit to me again?\u2019\n\n\u2018We would most willingly; only perhaps your Majesty might inflict some\npunishment on us for our misdeeds.\u2019\n\nBut the Princess shook her head.\n\n\u2018No; I will give you all a free pardon if you return to your\nallegiance.\u2019\n\nSo the nobles gave a shout of joy, and they seemed quite happy again.\nAnd the Princess too was overjoyed; however, she ordered them to go\neach knight to his own men and to tell them what had happened, and to\nconduct them to her own army.\n\nSo they all went and did as they were told, and soon the whole army of\nMerrymineral melted away, with the exception of a very few, and these\nwere mostly the servants of Merrymineral himself, and of the giant and\nthe dwarf, who still remained faithful to him. However they seemed\nquite unhappy about it.\n\nSo the Princess turned to them and said:\n\n\u2018And you, sirs, will you not also join me?\u2019\n\nBut the giant shook his head, and the dwarf said snappishly:\n\n\u2018Don\u2019t you know we can\u2019t?\u2019\n\nBut the Princess answered:\n\n\u2018No; I do not know why you can\u2019t.\u2019\n\nSo the dwarf snarled:\n\n\u2018We\u2019re bound to serve him for a certain time, whether we like it or\nnot. I\u2019m the King of the Underground Gnomes\u2014we live in tunnels under\nthe earth, and never come up unless we\u2019re obliged to.\u2019\n\nAnd the giant said:\n\n\u2018I\u2019m the Spirit of the Woods\u2014that\u2019s why I\u2019m dressed in leaves like\nthis; and I\u2019m the King of the Foresters, and we live in trees.\u2019\n\nBut just at this moment a frightful roar came from the camp:\n\n\u2018Why don\u2019t you begin?\u2019 it came.\n\nIt was so sudden that it quite startled the Princess, but the giant\nshook his head mournfully:\n\n\u2018He always roars like that when he\u2019s in a temper. He\u2019ll be coming out\nin a moment, and won\u2019t there be a row?\u2019\n\nJust then the voice came again.\n\n\u2018Bring Popfelwuski to the door.\u2019\n\n\u2018Popfelwuski\u2019s his dragon that he rides on,\u2019 said the giant.\n\nAnd then some servants led the dragon to the door of one of the tents.\n\nIt was a most marvellous-looking creature, for it had eyes as large as\ntea-trays, and they twinkled awfully; and it was golden-coloured all\nover, and it shone so brightly in the sun that it made the Princess\u2019s\neyes quite ache to look at it. And it was growling and prancing and\nkicking up the dust, and making more fuss than fifty horses could\nhave done. Just then the tent opened and Merrymineral came out. He\nlooked just as usual, and had not any armour or weapons except a huge\nbattle-axe, which must have weighed nearly a ton, but he carried it\nwith the greatest ease, although he was an old man\u2014for he was over\neight hundred years old. He vaulted on to his dragon\u2019s back with very\ngreat ease, and putting his spurs to its golden sides made it gallop\nat a great rate. As yet he had not seen what had happened to his army,\nfor he was rather short-sighted, but when he had got within a few yards\nof where it ought to have been, he suddenly stopped as if he were\nbewildered, but then his eye fell on the Princess and he roared out:\n\n\u2018Oh, it\u2019s you, is it? I\u2019ll soon do for you,\u2019 and he made his dragon\nfly towards the Princess at a very great rate. But precisely the same\nthing happened now as had happened once before, for the dragon came to\na sudden stop as if it had hit against a wall. The Prince of India did\nnot understand it at all.\n\n\u2018Had we not better retreat and join the rest of the army?\u2019 he said.\n\nBut the Princess answered:\n\n\u2018Oh no, we\u2019re quite safe here. He won\u2019t be able to get at us. Only\nyou\u2019d better come a little closer to me, because he might be able to\nhit you.\u2019\n\nSo the Prince came a good deal closer, and they sat watching the\nfrantic efforts of Merrymineral to get at them, but it was no use.\nSuddenly, however, he changed his mode of attack. He made his dragon\nfly high into the air\u2014so high indeed that it would have been invisible\nif its golden coat had not shone brightly in the sun. It was quite\nunpleasant to look at him, for he was so high up that it made them feel\ndizzy as it shone out against the sky, miles high. Suddenly, however,\njust as it was directly over them, it seemed to be growing larger.\n\n\u2018I do believe he\u2019s going to drop on us from above\u2019; and so he was. The\nPrince put up his lance that the dragon might be spiked on it as it\nfell. But he might have saved himself the trouble, for suddenly, when\nthe thing had fallen to within a few feet of their heads, it stopped\nas if it had fallen on to the roof of a house, and then it bounced off\nagain like a ball.\n\nBut the Princess had shut her eyes, so she did not see this; but when\nshe opened them she saw the dragon and Merrymineral lying on the grass\nin a heap where they had fallen.\n\nBut he was soon on his feet again, and again he tried to charge at the\nPrincess; but it was no use, and he only tired himself. At last the\nPrincess began to get tired too, so she turned to the Prince and said:\n\n\u2018I think we\u2019ve had enough of this\u2014don\u2019t you?\u2019\n\nAnd he replied:\n\n\u2018Oh, plenty; but I don\u2019t see how we\u2019re to get rid of him, unless I go\nout and fight him.\u2019\n\nBut the Princess answered:\n\n\u2018Oh, I don\u2019t think you need do that, although it\u2019s very good of you to\noffer\u2014but you\u2019ve forgotten all about the Owl.\u2019 So she took the Owl off\nher shoulder, and putting it on the horse\u2019s head with its face to her\nshe asked it:\n\n\u2018You can drive him away, can\u2019t you, dear Owl?\u2019\n\nAnd the Owl nodded gravely. So the Princess said:\n\n\u2018Then I wish you would\u2014only don\u2019t hurt him; only drive him away.\u2019\n\nAs she said this a wonderful change came over the Owl. It began to grow\nbigger and bigger, until it quite covered them over as it spread its\nwings to fly. Merrymineral seemed to know what was coming, for he drew\nhis steed\u2019s reins up tight and examined his stirrups and saddle. And\nthen, as the Owl flew towards him, he tried to spur the golden dragon\nagainst him; but the dragon refused to move, and at last it turned and\nbolted with its tail between its legs, like a whipped dog.\n\nMerrymineral tried hard to stop it, but he might as well have tried to\nstop a mad bull. As he could not stop, and the Owl was catching him up,\nhe turned in his saddle and hurled his heavy battle-axe at the Owl;\nbut the Owl caught it as it flew, and flung it back with such good aim\nand force that it hit the dragon on the back and cut it clean in half,\nso that it fell from under Merrymineral and left him standing on the\nground.\n\nBut when he saw that the Owl was quite close to him, a wonder\nhappened\u2014for he suddenly caught fire at his feet and shot up into the\nair just as you may have seen a rocket do, and he shot right away,\nso that the last they saw of him was just as he disappeared over the\nmountains. But the Owl flew back to its mistress quite small again,\nand it perched once more on her shoulder as affectionately as ever.\nAs to the golden dragon, it had disappeared altogether\u2014and the funny\npart was that nothing was heard of it ever after, and no one knew how\nit had gone\u2014so that the only thing that remained was the battle-axe,\nand that took seven men to lift it. However, the main thing was that\nMerrymineral had departed, and there seemed no likelihood of his\nreturning.\n\nSo you may imagine how great the Princess\u2019s joy was.\n\nAs soon as he had quite disappeared, she said:\n\n\u2018That really does seem to be the last of him.\u2019\n\nBut the Prince shook his head:\n\n\u2018You never know when that sort of man will turn up again; and in the\nmeantime what are we to do with the giant and the dwarf? I suppose we\nhad better attack them at once and get rid of them.\u2019\n\n\u2018But why?\u2019 asked the Princess. \u2018They don\u2019t seem to want to fight much,\nand why should we attack them? Let us go and ask them to go away\nquietly, and I should think they will.\u2019\n\nSo they went up to where the giant and the dwarf and their forces were\nstanding.\n\n\u2018What are you going to do now?\u2019 she asked of them.\n\n\u2018I don\u2019t know,\u2019 answered the dwarf, and the giant too shook his head.\nSo the Princess said:\n\n\u2018Will you come and join our rejoicings?\u2019\n\nBut the dwarf said:\n\n\u2018No; I must be going back to my kingdom, or I don\u2019t know what won\u2019t\nhappen.\u2019\n\nAnd the giant said:\n\n\u2018And I\u2019ll go too, or they might rebel there just as your subjects have\ndone.\u2019\n\nSo he said good-day, and in three minutes he had disappeared. The\ndwarf too said good-day quite politely for him, and then he struck the\nground with the point of his lance, and immediately the earth opened\nbefore him and he marched into the opening at the head of his troops,\nand with their trumpets blowing and banners waving they disappeared,\nand the Princess never saw them nor their master again\u2014and to tell the\ntruth she was not very sorry. But the Prince and Princess marched back\nto the town at the head of the army, and there Lord Licec met them and\ncongratulated the Princess on her success, and the people shouted for\njoy, and the bells pealed gladly.\n\nSo they marched through the town to the principal city, from which you\nmay remember she had set out on the day before. And there they were\nreceived with even greater joy, and for six days there was feasting and\nrejoicing throughout the whole land, but on the seventh day, after the\nPrincess had rewarded the knights who had fought the best, the army\ndispersed, and the town quieted down, and everything went on just as\nusual.\n\nOnly the Prince of India remained of all the knights who had fought. He\nsaid he was not well, and wanted a rest before he set out for India,\nwhich was a long way off. So he stopped and rested, and the winter\nchanged to summer, and the summer to autumn, and he was still there,\nand he did not seem as if he were likely to go either. The time slipped\naway quietly enough, and no more was heard of Merrymineral\u2014not even a\nword. One day when the Lords of the Council had finished sitting for\nthe day, and were departing, Lord Licec remained, as he always did when\nhe had anything private to say to the Princess. So she said:\n\n\u2018Well, my lord, what is it that you wish to tell to me to-day?\u2019\n\n\u2018I had come, your Majesty, to make a suggestion to you that it would be\ngreatly to the good of the nation if your Majesty would condescend to\nthink about marrying some one.\u2019\n\nThe Princess was so startled that she quite jumped:\n\n\u2018Marry any one! good gracious me, whom am I to marry? I don\u2019t know any\none that I like at all.\u2019\n\nLord Licec stroked his chin:\n\n\u2018That is rather a drawback,\u2019 he said; \u2018but I had thought that perhaps\nthe Prince of India might\u2014\u2014\u2019\n\nBut the Princess interrupted him:\n\n\u2018Oh, he would never do; besides he would have to ask me, and he won\u2019t\ndo that.\u2019\n\nBut it might have been noticed that she blushed just a little as she\nsaid it, so that perhaps she was not quite sincere in what she said.\nLord Licec did not notice that, so he said:\n\n\u2018Well, if he won\u2019t suit, the only thing to do is to have a tournament,\nand then you must marry the winner.\u2019\n\nBut she did not seem to like the idea at all.\n\n\u2018Suppose the winner should turn out a hunchback, or a cripple, or a\nvery hideous man,\u2019 she said.\n\n\u2018Your Majesty might arrange it so that the candidates should only be\nallowed to tilt if they were sufficiently handsome.\u2019\n\nShe agreed to the suggestion.\n\n\u2018I suppose it is the only thing to do,\u2019 she said; and it was arranged\nthat in four weeks\u2019 time a grand tournament was to take place for the\nhand of the Princess Ismara, and that all the handsome knights in the\nworld could come if they liked.\n\nAs to the Owl, when he was asked if he liked the arrangement, he\ngravely nodded his head; so the Princess felt quite safe in her choice,\nand the Prince of India felt contented also, for he knew he had a very\ngood chance of winning, unless some knight of whom he had never heard\nshould suddenly turn up. He spent the time in between in practising for\nthe tournament, and he ordered a new set of armour to be sent to him\nfrom India in time.\n\nSo every one seemed pleased with the arrangement, except, perhaps, the\nugly knights, but they kept quiet about it.\n\nThe month went away quietly, except that the town was gradually filling\nwith knights, who were coming to take part in the contest. The lists\nwere erected on a plain just outside the town-walls, and on the day\nbefore the tournament the free seats were already filled with people,\nwho had come there determined to get places even if they had to wait\nall day long and had to sleep there all night. As you may imagine, the\nPrincess did not get much sleep that night, for she was naturally in\na great fever of excitement thinking about who the knight would be.\nOne thing she was sure about, and that was, that if she did not like\nhim she would not have anything to do with him, even if she had to\nforfeit her kingdom. However that might be, she did not sleep that\nnight, and on the morrow she felt quite tired. She dressed herself in\nher most splendid robes, and drove to the lists in a little basket-work\npony carriage drawn by eight little mouse-coloured ponies. It was a\nbeautiful day, and the road to the lists was covered with people who\nwere going to look on, or to take part in the tournament, and as she\nwent by they drew up their horses to bow to her, for she had specially\nforbidden them to cheer\u2014she said it made her head ache. So she drove\ndown the hard, white road bowing and smiling to the people, and they\nsmiled and looked glad too, for they were very fond of their Princess.\n\nAfter she had gone along thus for about five minutes she overtook the\nPrince of India, who was going the same way on his famous horse. The\nPrince did not seem to see her\u2014in fact he was engaged in looking very\nhard at his spur on the other side.\n\nBut the Princess did not mean to pass him like that, so she said\ncheerfully:\n\n\u2018Good morning, Prince.\u2019\n\nHe looked up quite astonished:\n\n\u2018Good morning, your Majesty!\u2019 he said, and he took off his cap and\nbowed low in his saddle, for you see he had not got his armour on\u2014he\nhad sent it on with his page.\n\nThe Princess did not know exactly what to say next, so for a moment\nthey were silent, and the Prince trotted quietly by her side. At last\nshe said:\n\n\u2018Are you, too, going to look on at the tournament?\u2019\n\nThe Prince answered:\n\n\u2018I had purposed taking part in it\u2014that, ahem!\u2014is if your Majesty thinks\nI am sufficiently handsome, and if you have no other objection.\u2019\n\nThe Princess answered quickly:\n\n\u2018Oh, no objection at all. I should like it very much\u2014that is, if you\nare content to run the risk of your life for such a small prize.\u2019\n\nBut the Prince only answered:\n\n\u2018Oh, your Majesty!\u2019 and her Majesty flushed a little at his reply.\n\nSo they went on again in silence, and the road began to get fuller and\nfuller of people, and the Princess had her time so taken up by managing\nher ponies\u2014for she was driving herself, you know\u2014that she could not say\nmuch.\n\nHowever, just as they reached the entry she said:\n\n\u2018By the bye, what seat have you got?\u2019\n\n\u2018I believe they\u2019ve given me a seat over on the south side,\u2019 he answered.\n\n\u2018Dear me, how careless of them. Why, you\u2019ll have the sun in your face\nall the time you\u2019re not tilting, and it will give you such a headache.\nYou\u2019d better come into the Royal Box\u2014they\u2019ve got an awning over that,\nand you\u2019ll be able to see much better. Do come.\u2019\n\nSo the Prince gave his horse to his page and went with the Princess and\nthe Owl\u2014for you must remember that the Owl was always perched on her\nshoulder.\n\nThe lists were very gay with horses, and knights, and heralds, and\nmany and great were the knights that intended to tilt. They had come\nfrom the uttermost parts of the world\u2014from Kensington, from Nubia,\nfrom\u2014well, from everywhere, for you see they did not get the chance of\nfighting for a princess every day. So you may imagine how many suitors\nthere were. Nearly a thousand came, but a good many of them were not\nconsidered handsome enough, so they either went away in a tiff or else\nthey stayed to look on. Still it would take a good three days before\nthe last man had tilted.\n\nThe entrance of the Princess was the signal for the music to begin, and\nthe procession of knights filed past, each one bowing to the Princess\nand making his horse perform feats of skill. And then the tournament\nbegan and the knights charged each other, each in their turn. The way\nthey managed it was for each knight to throw lots for the order of\ntheir fighting, and then they were to be divided into two bodies\u2014the\nchallengers and those to be challenged; and as it came to the turn of\neach challenger, he rode out and touched the shield of the knight on\nthe other side with whom he wished to fight, and then the victors were\nto fight it out among themselves until they were all finished except\none.\n\nThe Prince of India happened to be one of the challengers, and his turn\ndid not come until the afternoon. So during the morning he sat in the\nRoyal Box talking to the Princess or to the lords and maids in waiting.\n\nBut the Princess did not seem to enjoy the gentle and joyous passages\nof arms at all, for you see she was very soft-hearted, and did not\nlike to see the knights knocked off their horses so very roughly. So,\non the whole, she was not nearly so gay as the Prince, and indeed, she\nseemed very unhappy when he went to put on his panoply as his turn came\nnear.\n\nHowever, he soon afterwards came into the lists dressed in his full\narmour, and you may be sure he looked very splendid, mounted on his\nblack horse\u2014for his armour was entirely of silver, and his shield shone\nso brightly that it hurt one\u2019s eyes to look at it, and his long plumes\nfloated in the wind a great many yards behind him.\n\nThe spectators cheered him very much as he caracoled from one end of\nthe lists to the other, and the Princess quite brightened up as she saw\nhim.\n\n\u2018I wonder whose shield he\u2019s going to touch?\u2019 she said to herself; and\nwhen she saw who it was she said:\n\n\u2018Good gracious me! he\u2019s challenged the Knight of Sarragos; why, he\u2019s\nthe greatest knight in the world. Oh dear, I\u2019m sure the Prince will be\nbeaten.\u2019\n\nHowever, the knights were now going each to his own station at\ndifferent ends of the lists. The horses seemed quite as excited as\nthe knights, and they champed their bits and foamed and pawed up the\nground, while the heralds read the challenge from the Prince of India\nto the Knight of Sarragos.\n\nIt seemed as if the Princess was right about the strength of the\nKnight, for he was of enormous size, and he looked a veritable pillar\nof steel as he sat on his horse listening to the challenge. However,\nthe trumpets for the charge sounded, and away went the knights straight\ntowards each other like arrows, each one looking along his spear to see\nthat it was aimed truly for his adversary\u2014covering himself well with\nhis shield. They went so fast that they could hardly be seen, and the\ncrash when they met was louder than the loudest peal of thunder you\never heard.\n\nThe Princess shut her eyes at the sound. But she could not keep them\nshut, for the people were cheering very loudly. So she opened them\nreluctantly, and she seemed quite glad to see that the Knight of\nSarragos had been thrown from his horse by the shock and was rolling\nin the dust. It was rather odd that she should be pleased at this,\nbecause as a rule she was sorry for the conquered knight; for myself\nI rather think she had wanted the Prince to win all along. Anyhow she\ncongratulated him warmly on his success when he came back to his seat,\nand for the rest of the day she did not seem much interested in the\ntilting although some of it was very good, too.\n\nSo the first two days passed away and nothing particular happened.\nThe Prince of India took his turn with the rest, till at last the\nthird day came and there were only ten knights left. These, too, the\nPrince overcame, and it seemed as if all was over and he had gained the\nprize; but while the heralds were still calling for any one to come\nand defeat the Prince, and while every one was holding their breath\nin expectation, a loud blast from a trumpet sounded through the air,\nand at the other end of the lists a knight appeared. He was a very\ntall and splendid-looking knight\u2014for his armour was of gold, and the\ncrest on his helmet-top was a dragon carved out of a rose-red ruby of\nenormous size; and the point of his lance was made of one diamond,\nthat sparkled in the sun a great deal more brightly than any dewdrop\non a spring morning. And as to handsome, why he was a perfect blaze\nof handsomeness, so that there could be no objection to him. The only\nthing was, no one knew who he was, or where he came from.\n\nSo the Princess beckoned him to her, and he came and bowed low in his\nsaddle.\n\n\u2018Who are you, Sir Knight?\u2019 she asked; \u2018and where do you come from?\u2019\n\n\u2018I am the Knight of London, your Majesty.\u2019\n\n\u2018London, London; where\u2019s that?\u2014I\u2019ve never heard of it.\u2019\n\n\u2018London is the capital city of England.\u2019\n\n\u2018But where _is_ England?\u2019 she asked.\n\n\u2018I had thought that every one had heard of England,\u2019 he said. \u2018However,\nas no report of England has ever reached your ears, I will tell your\nMajesty. The British Islands, of which England is one, are a set of\nsmall islands off the west coast of Europe. They are composed of\nEngland, Scot\u2014\u2014\u2019\n\nBut here the Princess interrupted him.\n\n\u2018I thank you, Sir Knight, for your information, but just now the\ntournament is waiting for you, and I am not very fond of geography\nlessons.\u2019\n\nThe Knight bowed again, and retired to take up his place in the lists.\n\n\u2018How very handsome he is!\u2019 said the Princess to one of her maids in\nwaiting.\n\nAnd the lady answered:\n\n\u2018Oh, quite too handsome!\u2019\n\nHowever, by this time both the knights were in their places, and the\nPrincess nodded to the heralds to give the signal.\n\n\u2018_Laissez aller_,\u2019 they cried, which is the French for \u2018Go.\u2019\n\nAnd they did go with a vengeance\u2014they went so fast that they looked\nall blurred together like streaks of lightning. And when they met, it\nwas louder than thunder, louder than the shock of avalanches, louder\nthan\u2014well, louder than everything you ever heard, except perhaps when\nsome one lets the tea-tray fall down the kitchen stairs.\n\nAnd when the dust cleared up, the poor Knight of India was rolling\non the ground in a heap, composed of himself and his horse. But the\nPrincess did not seem very sorry for him\u2014so wags the world.\n\nThe Knight of London, however, was seated in his saddle as firmly as\nif he were part of it; and as there seemed nothing else to do, he\ncommanded his heralds to challenge any one who should wish to dispute\nhis right to the victory. But no one came out, for either there was\nno one else left, or else the knights were afraid to enter the lists\nagainst one who had overthrown so easily so doughty a knight as the\nPrince of India. However that might be, no one turned up, so the Knight\nof London was declared the victor. The shout that was raised at this\ndeclaration was not very tremendous, for most of the people liked the\nPrince of India, whereas they did not care much for the new-comer. But\nhe did not seem to mind it much, and he went smilingly to the Princess.\nAs he came before the royal presence he made his horse kneel, and\nadvance kneeling, till he was quite close.\n\nThen he said:\n\n\u2018As no one appears to dispute my right I believe I am the victor, and\nin virtue of that right I claim your Majesty\u2019s hand.\u2019\n\nBut the Princess laughed.\n\n\u2018Oh, we\u2019ll see about that to-morrow; there\u2019ll be plenty of time then.\nMeanwhile, this evening we are going to give a ball at the palace, to\nwhich all who have taken part in the tournament are invited. Of course\nyou\u2019ll come, won\u2019t you?\u2019\n\n\u2018Of course I will, at your invitation, your Majesty, but\u2014\u2014\u2019\n\nWhat he was going to say was drowned in an immoderate fit of laughter,\nwhich came from the Prince of India.\n\n\u2018Ha! ha! ha!\u2019 he laughed. \u2018Can\u2019t you see who it is you\u2019re talking to?\u2019\nhe continued, talking to the Princess.\n\nThe Princess drew herself up.\n\n\u2018I believe I am talking to the Knight of London,\u2019 she said severely.\n\n\u2018The Knight of London! why he\u2019s no more the Knight of London than I am.\nWhy, your Majesty must be blind or mad, or both, not to see who he is.\nBlind\u2019s not enough to express it. You\u2014\u2014\u2019\n\nBut he got no farther, for the Princess called for the police to arrest\nhim, but before they could get at him he had fainted; for the spear of\nthe Knight of London had gone right through his side. So the Princess\ntold the police to lift him up gently and to carry him to his house in\nthe town.\n\nBut the Knight of London frowned:\n\n\u2018If I were you, your Majesty, I should order them to cut his head off\non the first opportunity. To call you mad and blind\u2014why I\u2019ve never\nheard of such a thing.\u2019\n\nBut the Princess said:\n\n\u2018That would never do. Why, he is an independent prince, and if I hurt\nhim it would bring on a war with India, and goodness knows what else.\nHowever, I\u2019ll have him turned out of the kingdom as soon as he is well\nenough to go. However, I am going back now. Mind and be in time this\nevening.\u2019\n\nSo he went to doff his armour, and she drove home once more\u2014this time\nwithout the poor Prince, who was being carried behind in an ambulance\nwaggon. The rest of the day passed off somehow, and the night came at\nlast, as nights are in the habit of doing, and with the night came\nknights\u2014no longer dressed in steel armour, but gorgeous in velvet and\nsilk and evening dress. But, however gorgeous and fine they might be,\nthe Knight of London outstripped them all, in dress, manners, looks,\nand everything else, and the Princess said he had the best step of any\none she had ever known\u2014and she ought to know, for she danced with him\na great many times. In fact, by the end of the ball she had forgotten\nall about the poor Prince, for the Knight of London was a most\nenchanting person\u2014although one thing did seem strange, and that was,\nthat the Knight seemed positively afraid of the Owl; and at supper-time\nhe actually refused to sit on the right hand of the Princess because\nthe Owl was sitting on her right shoulder.\n\nBut the Owl took no notice of him at all, and never even looked at him,\nso she thought it was only a rather foolish prejudice on his part.\nHowever, the ball came to an end at last, and the Princess went to bed\nand dreamt pleasantly of some one, but it was not the Prince this time.\n\nAnd the Prince lay tossing on his bed only half dreaming, and not\npleasantly, of some one, and it _was_ the Princess. As for the Knight\nof London, nobody knows what he dreamt about; and, to tell the truth,\nnobody cared. But the Owl sat at the head of the Princess\u2019s bed,\nand slept calmly,\u2014he did not dream; owls are not in the habit of\ndreaming\u2014they are a good deal wiser.\n\nWhen the next morning came, the Knight of London came with it, and he\nwanted to know when the Princess would marry him; but the Princess put\nhim off\u2014for somehow, although she liked him very much, she did not\naltogether relish the idea of marrying so soon. So she told him that he\nmust wait until the Lords of the Council had given their consent, and\nthey were not going to meet till the next day, so he would have to wait\ntill then. But the Knight did not like this at all.\n\n\u2018At all events, my dear Princess,\u2019 he said, \u2018you might promise to marry\nme, for, after all, I did win the tournament, you see, and so\u2014\u2014\u2019\n\nBut the Princess put her hand to her chin and rubbed it softly as if\nshe were thinking very deeply\u2014and no doubt she was\u2014and shook her head\nemphatically.\n\n\u2018No; I can\u2019t promise until the Council have given their consent, for\nyou see that would be unconstitutional, and I can\u2019t be that even for\nyou.\u2019\n\nThe Knight seemed quite angry.\n\n\u2018Bother the unconstitutionality,\u2019 he said; \u2018what does the stupid old\nCouncil want to blunder into such matters?\u2019\n\nBut the Princess stopped him:\n\n\u2018Oh, you mustn\u2019t say that\u2014please don\u2019t say that,\u2019 she said; \u2018it\u2019s not a\nstupid old Council, it\u2019s a very nice old Council, and it\u2019s much nicer\nthan you are. When you get angry like that you\u2019re not at all nice\u2014so\njust be quiet; now do.\u2019\n\nAnd he had to be quiet, for he was afraid of making her really angry.\n\nShe too was afraid she had hurt his feelings by telling him to be\nquiet. So she asked him to join the hunt that was preparing outside,\nand he of course accepted her invitation, for you see he was only\ntoo glad to make it up. They rode out of the town, and soon a deer\nwas started, and the chase swept through the tall trees after it\nover the thick carpet of fallen leaves and between the trunks of the\nbeech-trees. As a rule the Princess\u2019s horse was swifter than any of\nthe deer they started, but this one seemed an exception to the rule,\nfor it went on at just the rate she did, keeping always at the same\nspeed whether she pulled her horse in or let it go at the top of its\nspeed. The Princess was quite annoyed at this. Gradually she passed all\nthe knights and huntsmen who were labouring forward at full gallop,\nand then she came up with the hoarse-tongued hounds, who were running\nsteadily along with their noses close to the ground. And then she\npassed them too, and their deep mouthing sounded behind, and gradually\nthe shouts of the huntsmen and the cries of the dogs and all the\nsounds of the chase died away behind, and still the deer kept steadily\nforward. Just at this time she noticed the heavy gallop of a horse\nbehind her, and looking round she saw the Knight of London cantering\neasily behind. So she slackened her speed a little to let him come up,\nand then she stopped to let the rest of the chase come up with her; and\nwhen she stopped the deer stopped too, and nibbled quietly at a flower\nthat was growing at the foot of a tree.\n\nBy this time the Knight had come up with her, and she said:\n\n\u2018So here you are. What an annoying thing that deer is\u2014I can\u2019t catch it\nup, do whatever I may, and my horse used to be thought the fastest in\nthe world, except one,\u2019 she added, after a moment.\n\n\u2018That is strange,\u2019 said the Knight. \u2018I used always to think mine the\nfastest in the world, and indeed, your Majesty, I think it is quite as\nfast as yours.\u2019\n\n\u2018I do believe it is,\u2019 she said. \u2018It\u2019s most annoying; every second\nperson I see now has a horse as fast as mine. However, we\u2019ll try a race\nas soon as the rest have caught us up.\u2019\n\nJust at that moment a hound\u2019s bay came from close behind them, and the\ndeer started off again.\n\n\u2018There it goes,\u2019 said the Princess; and again she started off, and\nthe Knight kept close beside her. They went faster than ever, and she\ncould hardly breathe because of the wind, but the Knight kept steadily\nby her side, and would not be out-distanced. Just at this moment she\nhappened to look upwards, and there was the Owl sailing quietly along\njust over her head, flapping his wings lazily as if there were no need\nfor exertion, although they were going at such a rate that the Princess\ncould hardly keep her eyes open\u2014just as when you put your head out of\nthe window of a railway train that is going pretty fast\u2014a thing, by the\nbye, that it is to be hoped you never do, or you might get your nose\nchopped off against a post. When she looked down from the Owl, to her\nsurprise the deer had vanished altogether, and although she rubbed her\neyes she could not see it anywhere; and although they galloped still\nfarther on, no deer made its appearance, and the forest had become dark\nand thick and she had never been there before. So she drew her horse in\nso suddenly that its hoofs threw up the copper-coloured beech-leaves\nin showers, and the Knight shot some distance in advance. However, he\nturned and came back. So the Princess said:\n\n\u2018What are we to do now?\u2019\n\n\u2018Go back, I suppose,\u2019 he answered.\n\n\u2018But I don\u2019t know the way,\u2019 she said, \u2018and we are near the country of\nthe Magi, and they\u2019re the most frightful creatures, who would tear us\nup and eat us if they knew where to find us.\u2019\n\nThe Knight smiled:\n\n\u2018I could save you from them,\u2019 he said.\n\nBut the Princess said reflectively:\n\n\u2018I don\u2019t know so much about that, for you see they\u2019re very strong\u2014and\nhow dark it\u2019s getting; it must be past five, and it will soon be night.\u2019\n\nI daresay if she had been alone she would have had a good cry, but that\nwouldn\u2019t do before strangers.\n\nIt was still getting darker and she began to feel very uncomfortable,\nfor the howl of a wolf came down on the breeze, and a squirrel that had\nbeen searching for nuts darted home to its hole, scuttling along as\nfast as it could.\n\nSo she said:\n\n\u2018Come, let us be quick and get away.\u2019\n\n\u2018Promise to marry me first.\u2019\n\nBut she only said:\n\n\u2018Oh, I\u2019ll see about that when we\u2019re safe\u2014so do come.\u2019\n\nWhat the Knight would have answered was never known, for just then the\nOwl, who was seated on her shoulder, gave a mournful \u2018Tu-whoo,\u2019 at\nwhich the horse of the Knight jumped back nearly ten feet and almost\nthrew him with the unexpected shock. But before she could do anything a\nhunter burst from the bushes near at hand and said:\n\n\u2018Hurry, Princess, hurry; the Magi have heard of your whereabouts, and\nthey are coming at full speed here. Come, be quick.\u2019\n\nBut the Princess said:\n\n\u2018But what will you do, old man? for you have no horse.\u2019\n\nBut he smiled contemptuously.\n\n\u2018Horse! I don\u2019t want a horse\u2014why, I can run as well as any deer. Come,\ncome.\u2019\n\nAnd he caught the bridle of her horse and away they went, and for\nthe moment she forgot all about the Knight, for from behind came the\nsound of crashing branches, and she knew that the Magi were following\nthem. But the old hunter ran in front of the horse, tugging at the\nbridle-rein, and shouting to her to go faster, so she leant forward and\nwhispered in her horse\u2019s ear, and it stretched forward with such speed\nthat it outsped the wind. Gradually the sounds behind began to get less\nand less, and the wood began to get lighter, and at last they jumped\na little brook, and were at the end of the forest in a smooth meadow.\nHere the old man stopped.\n\n\u2018You are safe now,\u2019 he said. And she drew a sigh of relief.\n\n\u2018At last!\u2019 she said; \u2018but how can I reward you, my preserver? Would\nyou like a lock of my hair, or a purse full of gold, or a\u2014\u2014? well that\nwouldn\u2019t do\u2014you see I can\u2019t well offer to marry you, though that\u2019s\nwhat princesses generally do to their preservers. You\u2019d better choose\nsomething for yourself. I will grant it, whatever it is.\u2019\n\nBut the old man shook his head.\n\n\u2018I want no reward, your Majesty; I only did my duty. I couldn\u2019t have\ndone less. See, here come some of the hunters whom you left behind.\u2019\n\nAnd just then several of them came up, and when they saw her they\nshouted and blew their horns to let the others know that the Princess\nwas found. But the huntsman said:\n\n\u2018Good-day, your Majesty. I must go.\u2019\n\n\u2018But you haven\u2019t got your reward yet.\u2019\n\nBut he shook his head.\n\n\u2018I want no reward,\u2019 he said; and before the Princess could say any more\nhe stepped into the forest and was seen no more; so she turned her\nhorse towards the town.\n\nOn her way she met the head huntsman, so she drew rein and said:\n\n\u2018Why did you not follow on the scent of the deer?\u2019\n\n\u2018It lay so thinly, your Majesty, that the dogs could not follow, and\nthey soon gave in.\u2019\n\n\u2018But you should have followed me, at any rate.\u2019\n\n\u2018Ah, your Majesty, we might as well have tried to prove the moon was\nmade of green cheese. Besides, your Majesty had one cavalier; and\nsometimes two\u2019s company and three\u2019s none.\u2019\n\nJust at this moment the Princess remembered the Knight.\n\n\u2018Good gracious!\u2019 she said, \u2018what has become of the Knight\u2014have none of\nyou seen him?\u2019\n\nBut none of them had, and although the question went far and wide no\nnews came of him, nor could he be seen anywhere.\n\n\u2018He must have been caught by the Magi\u2014if so, he will have been devoured\nto a certainty! Poor Knight!\u2019\n\nThe chief huntsman seemed excited:\n\n\u2018Your Majesty has not been near the country of the Magi surely?\u2019 he\nsaid.\n\n\u2018I was almost too near, and the poor Knight has probably been torn to\npieces in trying to drive them back.\u2019\n\n\u2018Your Majesty should be thankful that knights are so faithful,\u2019 said\nthe chief huntsman; \u2018but perhaps, after all, he has escaped by a\ndifferent path.\u2019\n\nBut the Princess sighed:\n\n\u2018I am afraid not,\u2019 she said.\n\nHowever, she rode on to the town to consult Lord Licec as to what\nhad better be done. But when she got there she found that he was\nout of town and would not be back till next morning. So the poor\nPrincess had to go back home and wait\u2014but she looked so pale that her\nladies-in-waiting insisted on sending for the doctor. He came in a\nhurry, and asked her of course what was the matter, and when she told\nhim he shook his head.\n\n\u2018I\u2019m afraid he\u2019s got rather a poor chance, for these Magi haven\u2019t had a\ngood meal of one of your Majesty\u2019s subjects for nearly three weeks, and\nthey were uncommonly hungry. But if your Majesty will allow me to feel\nyour pulse, I\u2014\u2014\u2019\n\nSo she gave him her hand, and he took out his watch and began to count.\n\u2018One, two, three, four\u2019; but just then he looked up and saw the Owl\nsitting on the Princess\u2019s shoulder, and his hand trembled so much that\nhe dropped his watch, and it smashed to atoms on the floor.\n\n\u2018Oh dear, there goes ten and sixpence,\u2019 he groaned; \u2018and I shan\u2019t be\nable to get another for ever so long. D\u2019you know, your Majesty, I think\nyou are somewhat feverish; and you had better go to bed. And meanwhile,\nthe Owl is too exciting for you; if you could let it be put in a cellar\nand let it have nothing to eat for, say, three weeks, perhaps it might\nnot be so fiery after that.\u2019\n\nThe Princess smiled:\n\n\u2018Perhaps you would like to take him there yourself,\u2019 she said.\n\nBut the doctor said:\n\n\u2018Good gracious! no. I think he\u2019s perfectly capable of taking himself\nwithout any assistance. D\u2019you know, your Majesty, I\u2019ve got a very\npressing case outside; and if you will excuse me I will retire.\u2019\n\nAnd he retired so quickly that he left his umbrella behind him\u2014for you\nsee he was very frightened of the Owl.\n\nActing on his advice the Princess went to bed, and dismissed her\nladies-in-waiting and told them not to come to the room again until she\ncalled for them.\n\nAnd then she lay with her hand under her head thinking of nothing in\nparticular, and the Owl sat on the top of the canopy over her bed.\n\nSuddenly she heaved a deep sigh.\n\n\u2018I wish I knew what had become of him,\u2019 she thought to herself.\n\n\u2018You wouldn\u2019t like it if you did know,\u2019 said a strange cracked voice\nthat seemed to come from nowhere in particular. She started up and\nlooked all round the room, but there was no one to be seen; so she\nthought it was all imagination, and lay down again. And again she\nthought to herself, \u2018How I should like to be with him.\u2019\n\n\u2018No, you wouldn\u2019t,\u2019 said the voice.\n\nThis time she was sure it came from the Owl, so she asked quite softly,\n\u2018Did you say that, cherished Owl?\u2019\n\nAnd the Owl answered:\n\n\u2018I did.\u2019\n\n\u2018But I thought you could not speak, dear Owl.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, you see, I can sometimes\u2014when it\u2019s necessary.\u2019\n\n\u2018But how did you know what I was thinking?\u2014for I did not speak aloud.\u2019\n\n\u2018Ah! you see, Princess, I can\u2019t tell you that\u2014it\u2019s quite enough for you\nthat I can tell.\u2019\n\n\u2018But why do you say I should not like to see him?\u2019\n\n\u2018Because you wouldn\u2019t.\u2019\n\n\u2018Why? Is he all torn to pieces by the Magi?\u2019\n\n\u2018Torn to pieces!\u2014not he,\u2019 laughed the Owl.\n\n\u2018Oh! that is good news,\u2019 said she quite joyfully. \u2018Oh! do take me to\nhim, dear Owl.\u2019\n\n\u2018Very well, Princess. But I warn you, you won\u2019t be pleased with what\nyou see.\u2019 But the Princess was quite confident.\n\n\u2018Oh yes, I shall, dear Owl\u2014when shall we go?\u2019\n\n\u2018At once, if you like\u2014the sooner the better.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh! you dear Owl. I\u2019ll go and get dressed at once.\u2019\n\nSo she ran into her dressing-room and dressed herself in no time,\nwithout bothering to call up any of her ladies-in-waiting about it.\nThen she went back to the room where the Owl was waiting for her.\n\nHe was sitting on the floor near the fire, blinking quietly at the\ncoals, and he did not at first notice her entry, so she said:\n\n\u2018Well, good Owl, shall I send for the horse?\u2019\n\n\u2018What for?\u2019 asked the Owl.\n\n\u2018To ride on, I suppose!\u2019 she answered.\n\n\u2018Oh, that\u2019s it, is it? That would never do. Just get on my back, and\nI\u2019ll see if I can\u2019t carry you somewhat faster than a horse could.\u2019\n\nSo she got on his back, although she was rather afraid she would crush\nhim altogether. But somehow, when she sat down, she sank deep into his\nwarm feathers,\u2014either she had grown small, or the Owl had grown very\nbig all of a sudden. Without the least shock they passed through the\nwall, and out into the clear star-light.\n\n\u2018Good Owl,\u2019 said the Princess, \u2018you won\u2019t let me fall, will you?\u2019 for,\nto tell the truth, she felt rather afraid on the whole; but the Owl\nanswered:\n\n\u2018No, of course not; you\u2019re quite safe, only you\u2019d better keep close to\nme, for we shall go pretty fast, and the wind will be sharp enough to\ncut your hair off.\u2019\n\nSo she sat still, protected against the wind, and looking at the\ntwinkling stars\u2014for the Owl flew so high that he almost rubbed some of\nthem out of their places.\n\nThe wind whistled loud in the wings of the Owl, but his flight was so\nregular that she almost fell asleep, and was quite happy\u2014for you see\nshe felt quite safe. Presently the straight flight of the Owl changed,\nand he began to circle round and round, and then they dropped quickly\ntowards the earth, and the Owl stopped.\n\n\u2018You can get off now,\u2019 he said, and she stepped off his back.\n\n\u2018Take care,\u2019 he said next; and she rubbed her eyes in astonishment, for\nshe found herself on the top of a roof.\n\n\u2018I told you you wouldn\u2019t like it if you came,\u2019 he said. \u2018But you\u2019d\nbetter look down below if you want to see anything that\u2019s going on,\u2019\nand he gravely seated himself on her shoulder, for he seemed quite\nsmall again. So the Princess looked down, and she saw at some distance\nbelow a large fire that was blazing in a sort of courtyard, and then\nshe saw that it was the battlements of a castle on which they were\nstanding. Presently a horrible-looking old witch came within the glow\nof the fire\u2014she was an awful old creature too, and she almost made the\nPrincess cry out from fright. She seated herself near the fire, and\nbegan to beat the ground angrily with the handle of a broom that she\ncarried, and every now and then muttered as she did so:\n\n\u2018How awfully late he is. Why don\u2019t he come?\u2019 and various other\ncomplaints of his lateness.\n\n\u2018But who is he?\u2019 asked the Princess of the Owl in a whisper.\n\n\u2018Wait, and you\u2019ll see,\u2019 said the Owl.\n\nJust then something peculiar happened down below\u2014a couple of men\nappeared suddenly. They did not seem to come from anywhere in\nparticular, but they were there all the same. The Princess almost\nscreamed with astonishment, but she checked herself in time by stuffing\na pocket-handkerchief into her mouth, for one of the men whom she saw\nwas the Knight of London, and the other was Magog the King of the Magi;\nand the Knight of London did not seem to be on bad terms with the King\nof the Magi.\n\n\u2018You\u2019ve come at last,\u2019 growled the old woman, in a voice something\nbetween the squeaking of a slate-pencil on a slate and the growling of\na bear with a sore head.\n\n\u2018I couldn\u2019t come any sooner, mother,\u2019 said the Knight of London\nsoothingly; \u2018you see I had to wait for her to promise to marry me.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, has she promised?\u2019 said the witch.\n\n\u2018Not yet.\u2019\n\n\u2018Then why on earth not?\u2019\n\n\u2018She said she had to wait for the consent of the Council.\u2019\n\n\u2018Why didn\u2019t you eat her?\u2019 said Magog sleepily; and then, without\nwaiting for an answer, he curled himself up close to the fire and went\nto sleep.\n\nBut the old witch went on:\n\n\u2018Well, and what are your plans now?\u2019\n\n\u2018I\u2019m going back to-morrow morning, and I\u2019m going to take old Magog and\npretend that he\u2019s my prisoner of war, and then the stupid old Council\nwill say I\u2019ve done a service to the State, and they will give me the\nhand of the Princess for my pains.\u2019\n\n\u2018But supposing they don\u2019t?\u2019\n\n\u2018Then I shall cut them all to pieces, and kill the Princess, and make\nmyself king by force\u2014for you see nothing can cut through my armour,\nexcept one thing.\u2019\n\n\u2018And what\u2019s that?\u2019 asked the witch.\n\n\u2018Well, I don\u2019t mind telling you, mother, because you won\u2019t go and tell\nany one\u2014it\u2019s _Paper_!\u2019\n\n\u2018That\u2019s a funny sort of thing to cut through armour.\u2019\n\n\u2018It may be funny,\u2019 answered the Knight, \u2018but it\u2019s true all the same,\nand if the Prince of India had found it out I should not be where I am\nnow; only he didn\u2019t, you see.\u2019\n\n\u2018So much the worse for him,\u2019 said the witch; \u2018but is there nothing at\nall but paper that can cut through it?\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, there is one thing that can\u2014the beak of the Owl, to wit.\u2019\n\n\u2018Tu\u2014whoo!\u2019 suddenly cried the Owl.\n\nThe effect of this sudden cry was tremendous. The Knight clung to his\nmother, and cried out in a piteous voice:\n\n\u2018Oh, mother! mother! it\u2019s the Owl; save me!\u2019\n\n\u2018How on earth can I save you if you hang on me like this?\u2019 said his\nmother. \u2018Just throw some more wood on, so that we can see this Owl, and\nI\u2019ll fling my broom at it, and see if that won\u2019t bring it down.\u2019\n\nBut the Princess leant her head to the Owl, and said:\n\n\u2018Dear Owl, let\u2019s go. I\u2019ve seen quite enough.\u2019\n\nAnd the Owl seemed to think the same, for he said:\n\n\u2018All right. Just get on my back again, and we\u2019ll go.\u2019\n\nSo she did as she was told, and no sooner had she got on his back than\nshe fell asleep, and remembered no more until she found herself lying\non her bed with the early morning sun shining through the lattice.\n\nShe rubbed her eyes in astonishment, and it seemed as if it had been\nall a dream. But it all was so clear on her mind, and besides she had\non her riding-clothes just as she had put them on to go with the Owl.\n\nTo make herself feel more sure she said to the Owl:\n\n\u2018Good Owl, was it a dream?\u2019\n\nAnd the Owl shook his head, but although she asked him several times to\nspeak she could not get the least word out of him, although he always\nshook his head if she asked him if it was a dream.\n\nJust then a tremendous noise in the street made her run to the window,\nand there she saw the Knight of London coming up to the door, dragging\nthe King of the Magi behind him in chains, and the people of the town\nwere following him in an excited crowd, which caused all the noise, for\nthey were naturally very glad to see their old enemy in chains.\n\nThe Knight rode straight up to the palace door, and when he saw the\nPrincess at the window he smiled and said:\n\n\u2018Good morning, your Majesty\u2014you see I am returned.\u2019\n\nAnd the Princess said:\n\n\u2018Good morning,\u2019 as if she were very glad to see him, for she had not\nyet quite made up her mind about what she was going to do\u2014for of course\nshe could not marry him after what she had seen the night before. So\nshe drew back from the window to think about it\u2014for it would never do\nto try to get rid of him by force. At last she hit upon a plan\u2014she had\nto think of it herself\u2014for the Owl would tell her nothing.\n\nShe went to the door of her room, but there were no guards at the\ndoor\u2014they had run down to see what the shouting was about. But just\nthen the doctor came up the stairs:\n\n\u2018Good morning, your Majesty,\u2019 he said; \u2018have you had a good night?\u2019\n\n\u2018A very good night, thank you, doctor. But that doesn\u2019t matter just\nnow. I want the Prince of India.\u2019\n\n\u2018I beg your pardon,\u2019 said the doctor.\n\n\u2018I say I want the Prince of India.\u2019\n\n\u2018The _who_?\u2019 said the astonished doctor.\n\n\u2018The Prince of India.\u2019\n\n\u2018Then I am afraid he can\u2019t come. But if the Knight of London would do\u2014\u2014\u2019\n\n\u2018But he won\u2019t! I want the Prince of India at once.\u2019\n\n\u2018I fear your Majesty can\u2019t have him at once. You _wouldn\u2019t_ have him\nonce, you know.\u2019\n\n\u2018But why not?\u2019\n\n\u2018Because at the present moment he isn\u2019t well enough to move.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, good gracious!\u2014but why is that?\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, your Majesty, if you\u2019d been thrown from your horse with great\nviolence, and had half a foot of spear stuck into you, besides being\nmortified at your overthrow, perhaps you would be rather unwell.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, poor fellow, I didn\u2019t know he was so bad as that. I\u2019ll go and see\nhim at once.\u2019\n\n\u2018I think your Majesty had better not.\u2019\n\n\u2018Why not?\u2019\n\n\u2018Because it might excite him too much, and besides, what would the\nKnight of London\u2014\u2014\u2019\n\nBut the Princess drew herself up and said:\n\n\u2018I beg your pardon, but I must ask you not to mention that gentleman\u2019s\nname, if you please.\u2019\n\n\u2018Whe\u2014ew,\u2019 ejaculated the doctor; \u2018what\u2019s in the wind now?\u2019\n\n\u2018I beg your pardon?\u2019 said the Princess.\n\n\u2018I\u2014I only said\u2014it\u2019s an east wind now, your Majesty.\u2019\n\nJust then a page came running up, and said that the Knight of London\nwished to speak to the Princess.\n\n\u2018Tell him that I am not quite well enough to see him now, but I will\nsend a message to him, if he will stop a moment. And on your way just\nask Lord Licec to come to me, please.\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes, your Majesty,\u2019 said the page, and he disappeared.\n\nIn a moment Lord Licec came.\n\n\u2018You sent for me, your Majesty, I believe?\u2019\n\n\u2018I did, my lord. It was about this Knight of London. I have discovered\nthat he is not what he pretends to be at all, for he is in league with\nthe Magi; and this Magog whom he pretends is his prisoner is really\nnothing of the sort. He is one of his allies, and they are going to\nbreak out and kill me, and every one else, and make themselves masters\nof everything.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, my wig!\u2019 suddenly said the doctor, \u2018I hope your Majesty won\u2019t let\nthem; if you intend to I shall depart without delay, for I don\u2019t want\nto be eaten by this Magog.\u2019\n\n\u2018That\u2019s just what I wanted to prevent by begging the Prince of India to\nhelp us; only you said that I mayn\u2019t see him, doctor.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh! on the contrary, your Majesty, it would be the best thing in the\nworld\u2014we\u2019ll go at once.\u2019\n\n\u2018Wait a moment,\u2019 said the Princess, and turning to Lord Licec she went\non:\n\n\u2018Now I want you to tell him that the Lords of the Council say that the\nlast tournament was unfair, because he came in fresh at the end. And\nthat if he wants to\u2014to claim his rights, he must submit to go through\nanother tournament. Of course he will\u2014because he\u2019s quite sure of\nwinning\u2014but he won\u2019t this time.\u2019\n\n\u2018Are you quite sure, your Majesty?\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh! quite. And as all the knights who tilted last time are still in\nthe town, let it take place to-morrow.\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes, your Majesty.\u2019\n\n\u2018And if you could keep him out of the way for a few hours\u2014so that he\nwon\u2019t know what I\u2019m going to do\u2014so much the better.\u2019\n\n\u2018I\u2019ll challenge him to a game of \u201cBeggar-my-Neighbour\u201d\u2014that generally\nlasts for a pretty good time.\u2019\n\n\u2018That will do; the longer the better. Now I\u2019m ready, doctor, if you\u2019ll\nconduct me to the Prince.\u2019\n\nSo they went out at a back door for fear the Knight of London should\nsee them, and they soon reached the house of the Prince.\n\nAt the door was a servant, and they asked him where the Prince was.\n\n\u2018In the garden, your Majesty. I will go and announce your arrival to\nhim.\u2019\n\nBut the Princess said:\n\n\u2018Oh no! never mind\u2014you needn\u2019t trouble.\u2019\n\nAnd they went through into the garden. On the way the Princess said to\nthe doctor:\n\n\u2018I thought you said he was not well enough to get up?\u2019\n\n\u2018I did, your Majesty, but he insisted that he must get up, and be off\nto India this afternoon, and he was excessively violent when I told him\nhe had better not get up\u2014in fact he\u2014he kicked me downstairs; and if\nyour Majesty has no present need of me I will retire, for to tell the\ntruth he threatened to have me ducked in a horsepond if I came near him\nagain\u2014and he meant it too.\u2019\n\nSo the Princess gave him leave to go\u2014in fact she was rather glad he\nhad gone; and she went on walking down the path. It was one of those\nold-fashioned manor-gardens, full of tall stiff hollyhocks, and damask\nroses, and beds of thyme and mint, over which the bees were humming so\nloudly that they could be heard over the whole garden. As the Princess\ncould not see him down one path, she turned into another alley of stiff\nholly bushes, but he was not to be seen down there either; however, she\nwalked fast to the end of it\u2014for you see she was rather impatient. Now\nit happened that just as she turned the corner, the Prince happened\nto be coming round too, and the result was that as they were going\nrather fast, and the Prince was the heavier of the two, the Princess\nwas thrown back with violence against the hedge, and she couldn\u2019t help\nexclaiming:\n\n\u2018Oh!\u2019\u2014for you see he had trodden on her toe. As for the Prince, he\ncould scarcely stand\u2014for the shock and the sight of the Princess\ntogether produced a tremendous effect, as you may imagine\u2014for she was\nthe last person he had expected to see.\n\n\u2018My goodness!\u2019 he said, as soon as he was able to speak. \u2018Your\nMajesty\u2014I hope I haven\u2019t hurt you\u2014I am really very sorry. I am very\nsorry\u2014will you allow me to help you to a seat?\u2014for I see I have trodden\non your foot.\u2019\n\nHer Majesty said:\n\n\u2018Oh no! not at all, thank you.\u2019\n\nBut all the same she let him give her his arm, and help her to a seat.\nIt was a rustic seat\u2014one of those queer seats made of branches of\ntrees, and it stood in an arbour formed of rose-bushes, and there was\nplenty of room for two; so she said:\n\n\u2018Won\u2019t you sit down, Prince?\u2019\n\nBut he answered:\n\n\u2018I really have not the time, your Majesty. I was just about to start\nfor India, and if your Majesty has no further need of me I will go, and\nsend an attendant.\u2019\n\nBut she did not seem to hear the last part of his sentence, for she\nanswered:\n\n\u2018You were going away without saying good-bye to me. Perhaps, however,\nyou intended to call as you passed the palace.\u2019\n\n\u2018I really had not intended to, your Majesty, for you seemed to have so\nmany affairs that I might have interrupted, that I thought it as well\nto go without troubling you.\u2019\n\n\u2018You shouldn\u2019t have thought that. You see I have had so many affairs of\nState occupying me that I could not possibly get round to call, and you\ndidn\u2019t choose to come and see me, which was rather, I think\u2014however,\nthat doesn\u2019t matter now. I have come to ask you to stop a little\nlonger\u2014till the day after to-morrow, if you won\u2019t stop after that.\u2019\n\nBut the Prince shook his head:\n\n\u2018I have to go immediately; affairs of State, you know, demand my\npresence in India, and I must go at once, your Majesty.\u2019\n\n\u2018Can\u2019t you really stop a little Prince?\u2019\n\n\u2018I really can\u2019t, your Majesty\u2014that is\u2014\u2014\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, please do; I\u2019ll tell you something, if you like. I\u2019ve found out\nwho the Knight of London is.\u2019\n\n\u2018And then, your Majesty?\u2019 inquired the Prince.\n\n\u2018I don\u2019t know what else. I\u2014I thought that would be enough for you.\u2019\n\n\u2018I don\u2019t understand you, your Majesty.\u2019\n\n\u2018I mean that when I didn\u2019t know he was a wizard I thought he was very\nenchanting; but when I found out he was an enchanter, I thought you\nwere enchanter\u2014I mean more enchanting.\u2019\n\nThe Prince was just saying:\n\n\u2018Oh, your Majesty,\u2019 when a peculiar noise from the back of the arbour\nmade them both start, and the Princess jumped up so violently that\nthe Owl, who had meanwhile gone to sleep, was nearly shaken off her\nshoulder.\n\n\u2018What was that?\u2019 she said.\n\n\u2018It sounded like somebody laughing, or trying to keep from laughing\nrather. Just wait a moment, I\u2019ll see who it was.\u2019\n\nAnd he went round behind the arbour. He soon returned bringing the\ndoctor with him, and the doctor did not seem at all happy either.\n\n\u2018Why,\u2019 said the Princess, \u2018I thought you were going to leave me. How is\nit that you came like this behind the arbour?\u2019\n\n\u2018I might just as well ask your Majesty why you came here.\u2019\n\n\u2018You might, but it would not be answering my question.\u2019\n\n\u2018I happened to come round there, your Majesty, to read a book in the\nshade, and I happened to drop off to sleep, and the noise you heard was\nmy snoring.\u2019\n\n\u2018But how did you know we heard a noise if you were asleep at the time?\u2019\n\n\u2018I\u2014eh\u2014I don\u2019t exactly know, your Majesty.\u2019\n\n\u2018It\u2019s quite clear you were listening. I\u2019ll excuse you this time, but if\nI catch you eavesdropping again I\u2019ll make the Owl take you up into the\nsky and drop you\u2014that may be a drop too much for you. You can go now,\nbut don\u2019t do so any more.\u2019\n\nBut the Prince had still hold of him.\n\n\u2018By the bye,\u2019 he said, \u2018there\u2019s a horsepond near here; I think I\u2019ll\njust take you there and throw you in, as I said I would if I caught you\nagain.\u2019\n\nBut the Princess said:\n\n\u2018Oh, let him go, Prince,\u2019 and the doctor hurried off at a great rate.\n\n\u2018I don\u2019t think he\u2019ll come back again in a hurry,\u2019 said the Prince;\n\u2018meanwhile, what about the Knight of London?\u2019\n\n\u2018I must get rid of him as soon as I can, and I want you to help me.\u2019\n\n\u2018I, your Majesty\u2014but how?\u2019\n\n\u2018The Council have decided that last tournament was not fair, because\nthe Knight came in fresh and you were already tired out, so they have\ndecided to have it over again, and you are requested to come and\nfight\u2014for me.\u2019\n\n\u2018But what is the use of that? he\u2019ll knock me over just as he did\nbefore.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh no! he won\u2019t, because I\u2019ve found out his secret.\u2019 And she told him\nabout the paper.\n\nAt the end the Prince said:\n\n\u2018Oh! that\u2019s all right then. I\u2019ll be there, your Majesty.\u2019\n\n\u2018But are you strong enough, do you think?\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh yes, your Majesty.\u2019\n\n\u2018And the affairs of State can be put off till the day after to-morrow.\nI promise to let you go as soon as you have got rid of the Knight for\nme.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh, for the matter of that, there is no such great hurry. I really\nneedn\u2019t go for some time.\u2019\n\n\u2018But you can go whenever you like, you know.\u2019\n\n\u2018Thank you, your Majesty.\u2019\n\n\u2018But\u2014a\u2014I don\u2019t want you to go, you know. In fact I should like you to\nstop, very much.\u2019\n\n\u2018Then I\u2019ll stop as long as you like, your Majesty\u2014for ever, if you\nlike, your Majesty.\u2019\n\n\u2018I should like it very much, Prince,\u2019 she answered.\n\nI don\u2019t exactly know what happened after that\u2014perhaps you can guess\u2014but\nthey do say that the Owl, who chanced to wake at that moment,\npositively blushed; but then people are fond of exaggerating, and the\nOwl did not seem to object, so I suppose it was all right; and when the\nPrincess went back to the palace, the Prince was quite good-tempered\nagain, whereas before her visit he had been so angry that all his\nservants had left in a body\u2014however, they came back when they found he\nwas quiet again.\n\nSo the Princess was quite happy once more, as you may imagine, only\nthere was one nasty thing she had to do, and that was to send a note to\nthe Knight of London thanking him for having taken prisoner the King\nof the Magi, and hoping that he would be successful at the tournament\non the next day\u2014for you see she was not well enough to see him, and he\nwas quite sure of winning, as he had done before, so he did not mind it\nvery much.\n\nThe next day came, and the Princess was at the lists as before, and the\ncrowd was just as great too, only there were very many less knights\nto fight, for the Knight of London was the challenger, and he\u2014well,\nthey had seen how he had treated the Prince of India, and they did not\ncare to be tumbled over in such a very unceremonious way. However, two\nor three of the bravest in the world came and answered his challenge,\nbut it was no use; they might just as well not have tried, for they\nwere thrown from their horses so violently that they were most of them\nseriously hurt. So it seemed as if he was going to have it all his\nown way, for the Prince had as yet not put in an appearance, and the\nspectators began to call for him\u2014for, as I said before, they liked\nthe Prince better than the Knight; although he was so very handsome,\nstill there was a something about him that they did not like at all.\nBut the Knight had overcome all who had chosen to come against him,\nand his trumpets were sounding the challenge for the last time, and\nthen their echoes died away and still no answering trumpet came, and\nthe Princess was beginning to feel afraid that he had gone off to\nIndia and left her. But just as the Knight was advancing to claim his\nrights, a trumpet blast rang out brazen and shrill on the still air,\nand the Prince of India rode into the lists. He was still pale from his\nillness, but the people cheered him loudly, and the Princess gave a\nsigh of relief, and quite flushed with joy and excitement.\n\n\u2018He\u2019ll win this time,\u2019 she said to Lord Licec, who was standing near\nher.\n\n\u2018I don\u2019t know so much about that,\u2019 he answered, \u2018for you see the Knight\nof London is in very good form to-day; and just look at the Prince\u2019s\nshield\u2014it\u2019s made of cardboard, I should think\u2014yes, it is. Ah\u2014I am\nafraid his last defeat has rather turned his head.\u2019\n\nThe Princess smiled and nodded. Lord Licec thought she was nodding to\nhim, but she wasn\u2019t; both the smile and the nod were meant for quite\nanother person.\n\nHowever, the combatants were already in their places, so she signed to\nthe heralds to give the signal.\n\n\u2018_Laissez aller_,\u2019 they cried, and once again the Knight and Prince\ncharged each other. This time they did not go so fast, and the\nspectators could see what took place. It was soon over. The spear of\neach of the combatants hit exactly the centre of the other\u2019s shield.\nBut the spear of the Knight broke as if it had been made of a bulrush.\nIt was not so with the Prince\u2014for his spear pierced through and through\nthe seven-fold shield of the Knight, and the Knight himself was thrown\nright off his horse on to the ground. He, however, was on his feet\nin an instant, and rushed at the Prince, who leapt off his horse and\nconfronted the Knight.\n\nThe Knight made a pass at the Prince with his rapier, but the Prince\ncaught the thrust on his shield, and the sword came to the same end as\nthe spear. The Knight had still his heavy battle-axe, and he lifted it\non high to swing it down on to the head of his opponent. The Prince\nmade no movement to defend himself, and the axe came full on his\ncrest\u2014through the crest it hit its way, and through the steel helmet,\nbut when it got past the steel it hit on a paper helm below, and the\naxe shivered at the touch as if it had been glass. Then the Prince\ncaught the Knight by the wrist:\n\n\u2018Keep still,\u2019 he said, \u2018or I run you to the heart with my paper dagger.\u2019\n\n\u2018You can\u2019t,\u2019 sneered the Knight.\n\n\u2018Why not?\u2019\n\n\u2018Because I\u2019m heartless; so you can\u2019t hurt my heart.\u2019\n\nThe Prince took no notice of what he said. He had turned to the\nPrincess, who was clapping her hands for joy\u2014which was rather an\nunprincess-like act; but she couldn\u2019t help it.\n\n\u2018What shall I do with him?\u2019 he said.\n\n\u2018Let him go, I suppose.\u2019\n\nAnd the Knight was beginning to walk off as fast as he could. But a\nloud and commanding voice came from behind the Princess, and she looked\nbehind her suddenly, and she almost fainted, for a marvellous change\nhad come over the Owl, and it was still changing. She rubbed her eyes\nin astonishment, and all the people who could see him did so too, and\nthen a great shout went up from all of \u2018God save the King!\u2019 for it was\nno longer the Owl they saw\u2014it was the old King.\n\n\u2018Stop!\u2019 he cried loudly to the Knight, who was slinking off\u2014\u2018you have\nnot received your reward yet. Just wait a moment, and to prevent\nmistakes just take your ordinary form.\u2019\n\nAnd again every one present rubbed their eyes in astonishment\u2014for the\nhandsome calm face of the Knight was shrivelling up, and his raven\nhair had become an ugly gray, and the people recognised him too as\nan old acquaintance, for he was\u2014who do you think now? Why, he was\nMerrymineral\u2014it seemed as if that day gave two instances of old friends\nwith new faces.\n\nAlthough he didn\u2019t at all seem to want to stay, he was obliged to stop\nat the King\u2019s voice. So he stood in the middle of the lists looking\nvery uncomfortable\u2014for every one was looking at him. The King began:\n\n\u2018Now let us see how many crimes you have committed. You have broken\nyour oath\u2014isn\u2019t that right?\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh! quite correct, your Majesty.\u2019\n\n\u2018And you have rebelled against my daughter?\u2019\n\n\u2018Quite correct, your Majesty.\u2019\n\n\u2018And you have intended to murder her?\u2019\n\n\u2018Just so, your Majesty.\u2019\n\n\u2018And you tried to marry her?\u2019\n\n\u2018I should have been only too pleased, your Majesty.\u2019\n\n\u2018And you don\u2019t repent, do you?\u2019\n\n\u2018Not at all, your Majesty.\u2019\n\n\u2018And the right punishment for each of your crimes is death?\u2019\n\n\u2018Just so, your Majesty.\u2019\n\n\u2018But I don\u2019t care to sentence you to death\u2014it\u2019s not hard enough. I\nsentence you to live underground for ten thousand years.\u2019\n\n\u2018Ten thousand years, your Majesty!\u2019\n\n\u2018You can go at once, and if I catch you above ground\u2014I shouldn\u2019t like\nto be you.\u2019\n\n\u2018No, your Majesty. Good-day.\u2019\n\nAnd he kissed his hand to the Princess, and bowed gallantly to the\nPrince of India, and then the ground gave way under him\u2014and he has\nnever been heard of since. But the King turned to the Prince of India\nand said:\n\n\u2018You may go now, Prince.\u2019\n\nThe Prince looked astonished.\n\n\u2018I do not quite understand, your Majesty,\u2019 he said.\n\nThe King looked at him and said:\n\n\u2018You seem to be uncommonly hard of understanding, cousin of India. I\nsaid, You can go.\u2019\n\n\u2018But I don\u2019t want to go, your Majesty,\u2019 the Prince answered, getting a\nlittle red.\n\n\u2018Oh, don\u2019t you?\u2019 said the King; \u2018from what I heard of a certain\npleasant conversation in a certain summer-house you seemed to have\nimportant affairs of State that demanded instant attention.\u2019\n\nHere the doctor suddenly remarked:\n\n\u2018If you will excuse me, your Majesty, I beg to differ from you when you\nrefer to that conversation as pleasant. I myself heard it, or rather\noverheard it, and all I can say is I thought it most unpleasant,\u2014most.\nThat is, if your Majesty will excuse my remark.\u2019\n\n\u2018But I won\u2019t,\u2019 said the King suddenly. \u2018I believe it was you that\nsuggested I should be confined to a dark cellar for three weeks without\nfood\u2014eh!\u2019\n\nBut the doctor suddenly remembered that he had an important case that\ndemanded instant attention.\n\nThe King turned to the Princess and said:\n\n\u2018Well\u2014I suppose you can settle it for yourselves, you two, because I\u2019m\ngoing now. I shall come and see you every seven years. Good-bye.\u2019\n\nAnd he suddenly turned into the Brown Owl, and flitted noiselessly off,\nbefore they could say \u2018Good-bye,\u2019 or anything else.\n\nThe Prince found that he could manage to postpone his affairs of State\nindefinitely, and in a few days the Prince and Princess were married\nand lived happily ever afterwards.\n\n\n    THE END\n\n\n    _Printed by_ R. & R. CLARK, _Edinburgh._\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nTranscriber\u2019s Notes:\n\nObvious punctuation errors repaired.\n\nPage 113, \u201ctoo\u201d changed to \u201cto\u201d (you\u2019re talking to)","title":"The Brown Owl: A Fairy Story","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":26088}