own on Frank's face, and made him rub his nose with his paw in
the most comical manner.

Then the prince set him down, and he ran round and round after his tail;
and, lastly, cocked his tail up, and marched proudly after the prince
into the castle.

"Oh, Frank!" said Prince Prigio, "no cat since the time of Puss in Boots
was ever so well taken care of as you shall be. For, if the fairy water
from the Fountain of Lions can bring _you_ back to life--why, there is a
chance for Alphonso and Enrico!"

Then Prigio bustled about, got ready some cold luncheon from the store-
room, took all his fairy things that he was likely to need, sat down with
them on the flying carpet, and wished himself at the mountain of the
Firedrake.

"I have the king now," he said; "for if I can't find the ashes of my
brothers, by Jove! I'll!--"

Do you know what he meant to do, if he could not find his brothers? Let
every child guess!

Off he flew; and there he was in a second, just beside poor Alphono's
garden-engine. Then Prigio, seeing a little heap of grey ashes beside
the engine, watered them with the fairy water; and up jumped Alphonso, as
jolly as ever, his sword in his hand.

"Hullo, Prigio!" cried he; "are you come after the monster too? I've
been asleep, and I had a kind of dream that he beat me. But the pair of
us will tackle him. How is Molinda?"

"Prettier than ever," said Prigio; "but anxious about you. However, the
Firedrake's dead and done for; so never mind him. But I left Enrico
somewhere about. Just you sit down and wait a minute, till I fetch him."

The prince said this, because he did not wish Alphonso to know that he
and Enrico had not had quite the best of it in the affair with the
monster.

"All right, old fellow," says Alphonso; "but have you any luncheon with
you? Never was so hungry in my life!"

Prince Prigio had thought of this, and he brought out some cold sausage
(to which Alphonso was partial) and some bread, with which the younger
prince expressed himself satisfied. Then Prigio went up the hill some
way, first warning Alphonso _not_ to sit on his carpet for fear of
_accidents_ like that which happened to Benson. In a hollow of the hill,
sure enough there was the sword of Enrico, the diamonds of the hilt
gleaming in the sun. And there was a little heap of grey ashes.

The prince poured a few drops of the water from the Fountain of Lions on
them, and up, of course, jumped Enrico, just as Alp