tiny a voice that
it was quite all the Prince could do to hear him. "Dear me! what is the
matter? I certainly feel very queer; I do, indeed."

"You look even queerer than you feel, I fancy," replied the naughty
Prince, chuckling with glee.

[Illustration]

He picked up the poor tutor, and putting him on the window-sill laughed
at him till his sides were fairly sore. Then he began to consider how he
could get the most fun and make the most mischief out of his bonbons,
for there were not a great many of them; and, being a shrewd young
rascal, he at last contrived the plan of putting them into the ice-cream
which was then being frozen for the royal dinner. Then everybody would
be sure to get a taste at least of the magic potion; and slipping down
into the kitchen, the wicked young Prince succeeded in carrying out this
evil and dangerous plan.

[Illustration]

III

Everybody looked at the Prince when at dinner he declined ice-cream. It
was unheard of. Nobody had ever known him to do such a thing before. The
twelve young Princesses, though much too well bred to remark upon it,
stared at their brother with their twenty-four beady blue eyes, and made
their twelve little mouths as round as penny pieces in their surprise.

Now the King, being fond of ice-cream, happened to eat quite steadily
for some moments without stopping; so that when he did look up he beheld
his Queen already shrunk to the size of a teaspoon, and every moment
growing smaller.

"My dear," said he, gravely, "really I don't think you ought,--before
the children too; just consider what a bad example you are setting
them."

[Illustration]

"I'm sure, Sire," replied the Queen, rather crossly, for the sudden
shrinking had given her quite a giddy feeling,--"I'm sure I cannot
imagine what you are talking about. Bad example, indeed! You had better
be looking to your own behavior. What the children will think of you for
growing so very small, I'm sure I cannot imagine."

At this moment the royal pair looked about on their daughters. They were
about the size of lucifer matches! They ran their eyes down the long
table; every person there was a pygmy.

Horror and fear filled every mind save that of Prince Vance. He nearly
went wild with joy over the great success of his trick. He had, it is
true, run out of the dining-hall at first, from his old habit of
starting off whenever he had performed any of his abominable jokes; but
he soon ventured to