er forget you, and I will love you as much
as I love Flying Wind."

"And who is Flying Wind?"

"It is my milk-white steed, and he has rose-coloured reins and he eats
out of my hand. When he was very little Francoeur the squire used to
bring him to my room every morning and I kissed him. But now Francceur
is in Rome, and Flying Wind is too big to mount the stairs."

King Loc smiled.

"Will you love me more than Flying Wind?"

"Indeed I would," said Honey-Bee.

"Well said," cried the King.

"Indeed I would, but I cannot, I hate you, little King Loc, because you
will not let me see my mother and George again."

"Who is George?"

"George is George and I love him."

The friendship of King Loc for Honey-Bee had increased prodigiously in a
few minutes, and as he had already made up his mind to marry her as soon
as she was of age, and hoped through her to reconcile men and dwarfs, he
feared that later on George might become his rival and wreck his plans.
It was because of this that he turned away frowning, his head bowed as
if with care.

Honey-Bee seeing that she had offended him pulled him gently by his
mantle.

"Little King Loc," she said, in a voice both tender and sad, "why should
we make each other unhappy, you and I?"

"It is in the nature of things," replied King Loc. "I cannot take you
back to your mother, but I will send her a dream which will tell her
your fate, dear Honey-Bee, and that will comfort her."

"Little King Loc," and Honey-Bee smiled through her tears, "what a good
idea, but I will tell you just what you ought to do. You must send my
mother a dream every night in which she will see me, and every night you
must send me a dream in which I shall see her."

And King Loc promised, and so said, so done. Every night Honey-Bee
saw her mother, and every night the Duchess saw her daughter, and that
satisfied their love just a little.

XI

In which the marvels of the kingdom of the dwarfs are
accurately described as well as the dolls that were given to
Honey-Bee

The kingdom of the dwarfs was very deep and extended under the greater
part of the earth. Though one only caught a glimpse of the sky here
and there through the clefts in the rocks, the roads, the avenues, the
palaces and the galleries of this subterraneous region were not plunged
in absolute darkness. Only a few spaces and caverns were lost in
obscurity. The rest was illumined not by lamps or torches but by sta