rother to his grave!"

"Oh, excuse me," said the prince, "I am certain he has merely gone off on
his travels. He'll come back when he's tired: there _are_ no Firedrakes;
a French writer says they are 'purement fabuleux,' purely fabulous, you
know."

{"My name, sir, is Lady Molinda, she said.": p29.jpg}

"Prince Alphonso has gone on his travels, and will come back when he is
tired! And was he then--tired--of _me_?" cried poor Molinda, bursting
into tears, and forgetting her dignity.

"Oh! I beg your pardon, I never noticed; I'm sure I am very sorry,"
cried the prince, who, never having been in love himself, never thought
of other people. And he tried to take Molinda's hand, but she snatched
it from him and ran away through the garden to the palace, leaving Prince
Prigio to feel foolish, for once, and ashamed.

As for Lady Kathleena, she swept past him like a queen, without a word.
So the prince, for all his cleverness, was not happy.

After several days had gone by, the king returned from the solitary place
where he had been speaking his mind. He now felt calmer and better; and
so at last he came back to the palace. But on seeing Prince Prigio, who
was lolling in a hammock, translating Egyptian hieroglyphs into French
poetry for his mother, the king broke out afresh, and made use of the
most cruel and impolite expressions.

At last, he gave orders that all the Court should pack up and move to a
distant city; and that Prince Prigio should be left alone in the palace
by himself. For he was quite unendurable, the king said, and he could
not trust his own temper when he thought of him. And he grew so fierce,
that even the queen was afraid of him now.

The poor queen cried a good deal; Prigio being her favourite son, on
account of his acknowledged ability and talent. But the rest of the
courtiers were delighted at leaving Prince Prigio behind. For his part,
he, very good-naturedly, showed them the best and shortest road to
Falkenstein, the city where they were going; and easily proved that
neither the chief secretary for geography, nor the general of the army,
knew anything about the matter--which, indeed, they did not.

The ungrateful courtiers left Prigio with hoots and yells, for they
disliked him so much that they forgot he would be king one day. He
therefore reminded them of this little fact in future history, which made
them feel uncomfortable enough, and then lay down in his hammock and went
to sle