hall have hard work to bring it up
to my ideas of what is proper. I shall _begin_ by putting that old Mrs.
Fogleplug in her proper place."

"I should be careful, my dear," advised King Sidney. "After all, you
know, she's by way of being a Fairy."

"So she _says_! But, Fairy or no Fairy, she's much too familiar. And if
she cannot conform to my rules, she will have to go, that's all."

"Well, my dear, I daresay when you put it to her like that," began the
King, who had by this time succeeded in clambering into the immense bed,
and whose head was already buried in an enormous pillow. "As I was
saying," he continued hazily, "put it to her in--in that way,
and--and--no doubt ... very probably ... no reason to suppose ...
any...." But here his voice sank into an unintelligible murmur, until it
rose presently into his first, but not by any means last, snore in the
character of monarch.

CHAPTER VI

CARES OF STATE

Queen Selina was as good as her word. The first thing after breakfast
the next morning she retired to her Bower, and sent a summons to the
Court Godmother, desiring her immediate attendance. King Sidney was
engaged in interviewing the Lord Treasurer on the subject of the Royal
revenue. The Crown Prince and Princess Edna were strolling on the
terrace, and Daphne had discovered the board and pieces of a game
something between Chess and Halma, the rules of which she and Princess
Ruby were learning under the instruction of the Countess von
Haulemaennerschen. So that the Queen, having taken care not to disturb
any of her ladies-in-waiting, could count upon being able to deal
faithfully with the obnoxious old Fairy without fear of interruption.

"Well, my dear," began the latter, as soon as she appeared, "I hope you
passed a comfortable night?"

"I don't know when I passed a _more_ uncomfortable one, Mrs. Fogleplug.
That is _one_ of the things I wished to speak to you about. After being
accustomed as I have to a spring mattress, all those great feather beds
made it simply impossible to get a wink of sleep!"

"That," said the Fairy, "is one of the penalties of being of the blood
Royal. An ancestress of yours slept in that very bed, my dear, ages ago,
before even _I_ can remember--or I should rather say she _tried_ to
sleep, but could not, owing to a pea that had somehow got under the
lowest feather-bed of all. It was certainly very careless if the pea has
never been removed."

"It would also show, Mrs.