ine among themselves.

As to the other King, he was really fond of his wife, Queen Constance,
but he often grieved her by his thoughtless ways, and in order to
punish him for his carelessness, the fairies caused her to die quite
suddenly. When she was gone the King felt how much he had loved her,
and his grief was so great (though he never neglected his duties) that
his subjects called him Peridor the Sorrowful. It seems hardly
possible that any man should live like Peridor for fifteen years
plunged in such depth of grief, and most likely he would have died too
if it had not been for the fairies.

[Footnote 8: Cabinet des Fees.]

The one comfort the poor King had was his son, Prince Saphir, who was
only three years old at the time of his mother's death, and great care
was given to his education. By the time he was fifteen Saphir had
learnt everything that a prince should know, and he was, besides,
charming and agreeable.

It was about this time that the fairies suddenly took fright lest his
love for his father should interfere with the plans they had made for
the young prince. So, to prevent this, they placed in a pretty little
room of which Saphir was very fond a little mirror in a black frame,
such as were often brought from Venice. The Prince did not notice for
some days that there was anything new in the room, but at last he
perceived it, and went up to look at it more closely. What was his
surprise to see reflected in the mirror, not his own face, but that of
a young girl as lovely as the morning! And, better still, every
movement of the girl, just growing out of childhood, was also
reflected in the wonderful glass.

[Illustration: The Prince Looks Into the Magic Mirror]

As might have been expected, the young Prince lost his heart
completely to the beautiful image, and it was impossible to get him
out of the room, so busy was he in watching the lovely unknown.
Certainly it was very delightful to be able to see her whom he loved
at any moment he chose, but his spirits sometimes sank when he
wondered what was to be the end of this adventure.

The magic mirror had been for about a year in the Prince's possession,
when one day a new subject of disquiet seized upon him. As usual, he
was engaged in looking at the girl, when suddenly he thought he saw a
second mirror reflected in the first, exactly like his own, and with
the same power. And in this he was perfectly right. The young girl had
only possessed it for