as glad to devour a couple of apples which had fallen from the cart
of a peasant bound for market. Still Vance cheered himself with the
thought that his troubles were about to end. He was now near the home of
the Crushed Strawberry Wizard; so he pressed on till mid-afternoon, only
stopping once when he came upon some pears growing upon a stunted tree
by the roadside. They were small, crabbed, and stony; but the hungry
Prince was glad enough to gather a number and eat them seated in the
pear-tree's scanty shade. As to the Court, it was quite a relief to
Vance to remember that the peasants at the fair had provided the
baby-house with cakes and bonbons enough to last for many days.

"After all," the Prince said to himself, as he once more trudged
along,--"after all, they have a far easier time of it than I. I don't
think I should much mind being little myself if I could have as good a
time as they do."

Toward the middle of the afternoon the Prince reached a dark wood into
which his road seemed to lead him. He had not walked far before he heard
a sound as of somebody sobbing, and also a curious clashing noise as of
cymbals striking together. These sounds became more and more distinct as
the Prince kept on; and at last he came to a small monkey who was seated
in a low juniper-tree, weeping most bitterly and now and then smiting
its hands together in sorrow. The hands of the monkey, being of metal
(as indeed was the creature's entire body), produced, as they beat
together, the cymbal-like sounds which the Prince had heard.

"What is the matter?" asked the Prince, as the monkey continued to weep
without paying any attention whatever to him.

[Illustration]

The monkey, looking up, wiped its eyes upon a small lace handkerchief
which was already quite damp enough.

"I am so miserable," it sighed. "Did you never hear folk say it was cold
enough to freeze the tail off a brass monkey? I am the brass monkey.
They mean me; they mean my tail."

"But it never has been cold enough to freeze your tail off," said the
Prince, consolingly.

"No," replied the monkey, wretchedly; "but then I'm always afraid it
will be, and that's just as bad. Oh, what a world this is!"

The monkey upon this fell to weeping more bitterly than before, and the
Prince sneezed violently three times.

"There!" exclaimed the monkey, dismally; "now you're taking cold because
I'm so damp with crying."

"Oh, never mind that!" replied the Prince, politely.