said the Lady Emmelina. "I should not be fit to
be seen if I stayed much longer in this dusty old place!"

So they went home together, and of course that did not take them long,
for the way home is always the shortest way in the world. To begin
with, the balloon was waiting for them as they came out of the fort;
and it carried them all the way to the sea-shore before they had time
to notice that they were in a balloon at all. When they reached the
sea-shore they found that the steamboat was waiting for them, too; and
the steamboat landed them on the opposite side of the sea even before
they knew that they had stepped out of the balloon; and after that the
Prince never knew what did happen, for the next thing he noticed was
that he had grown to his proper size again, and was standing once more
in the royal nursery with the Lady Emmelina tucked under his arm.
There at the table in the middle of the room sat the little Princess
Pansy, and in front of her was a large bowl of bread and milk.

"Oh! Oh! You have come back at last!" cried the Princess, jumping
down from her chair. "I am so glad, I am so glad!"

"I thought you would be glad to see her again," said Prince Perfection,
and he handed her the doll from Fairyland.

"I didn't mean _that_!" exclaimed the little Princess. And then, sad
as it is to relate, they both forgot all about the Lady Emmelina; and
the next minute, she found herself lying face downwards on the floor,
while the Prince and Princess hugged each other. And it was of no use
for the royal nurses to talk about bread and milk, for not a thing
would the two children touch until they had talked as much as they
wanted.

"You will not cry any more, now that you have the Lady Emmelina to play
with, will you?" said Prince Perfection, who, strange to say, did not
feel in the least bit jealous of the Lady Emmelina as long as she lay
face downwards on the floor.

"I don't think I want to play with the Lady Emmelina much," answered
Princess Pansy. "I think I would rather play with you. It has been so
dull while you have been away." For, although the Prince did not know
it, he had been away for a whole month.

"I am delighted to hear it," cried the little Prince. "Let us play at
Royal Executioner, and _you_ shall be executioner."

"Oh, no," said the little Princess. "I would _much_ sooner be
executed."

As they disputed the point politely, the grasshopper suddenly jumped in
at the window and