na
away from King Pluto.

As soon as Proserpina saw the pomegranate on the golden salver, she told
the servant he had better take it away again.

"I shall not touch it, I assure you," said she. "If I were ever so hungry,
I should never think of eating such a miserable, dry pomegranate as that."

"It is the only one in the world," said the servant.

He set down the golden salver, with the wizened pomegranate upon it, and
left the room. When he was gone, Proserpina could not help coming close to
the table, and looking at this poor specimen of dried fruit with a great
deal of eagerness; for, to say the truth, on seeing something that suited
her taste, she felt all the six months' appetite taking possession of her
at once. To be sure, it was a very wretched-looking pomegranate, and
seemed to have no more juice in it than an oyster-shell. But there was no
choice of such things in King Pluto's palace. This was the first fruit she
had seen there, and the last she was ever likely to see; and unless she
ate it up immediately, it would grow drier than it already was, and be
wholly unfit to eat.

"At least, I may smell it," thought Proserpina.

So she took up the pomegranate, and applied it to her nose; and, somehow
or other, being in such close neighborhood to her mouth, the fruit found
its way into that little red cave. Dear me! what an everlasting pity!
Before Proserpina knew what she was about, her teeth had actually bitten
it, of their own accord. Just as this fatal deed was done, the door of the
apartment opened, and in came King Pluto, followed by Quicksilver, who had
been urging him to let his little prisoner go. At the first noise of their
entrance, Proserpina withdrew the pomegranate from her mouth. But
Quicksilver (whose eyes were very keen, and his wits the sharpest that
ever anybody had) perceived that the child was a little confused; and
seeing the empty salver, he suspected that she had been taking a sly
nibble of something or other. As for honest Pluto, he never guessed at the
secret.

"My little Proserpina," said the king, sitting down, and affectionately
drawing her between his knees, "here is Quicksilver, who tells me that a
great many misfortunes have befallen innocent people on account of my
detaining you in my dominions. To confess the truth, I myself had already
reflected that it was an unjustifiable act to take you away from your good
mother. But, then, you must consider, my dear child, that this vas