to the Prince who is successful in reaching her
heart. Her beauty alone is sufficient to engage all the Princes of the
world in the quest.'

This was accordingly done, and Prince Mannikin heard that already five
hundred Princes had perished in the snow and ice, not to mention their
squires and pages, and that more continued to arrive daily, eager to try
their fortune. After some consideration he determined to present himself
at Court; but his arrival made no stir, as his retinue was as
inconsiderable as his stature, and the splendour of his rivals was great
enough to throw even Farda-Kinbras himself into the shade. However, he
paid his respects to the King very gracefully, and asked permission to
kiss the hand of the Princess in the usual manner; but when he said he
was called 'Mannikin,' the King could hardly repress a smile, and the
Princes who stood by openly shouted with laughter.

[Illustration]

Turning to the King, Prince Mannikin said with great dignity:

'Pray laugh if it pleases your Majesty, I am glad that it is in my power
to afford you any amusement; but I am not a plaything for these
gentlemen, and I must beg them to dismiss any ideas of that kind from
their minds at once,' and with that he turned upon the one who had
laughed the loudest and proudly challenged him to a single combat. This
Prince, who was called Fadasse, accepted the challenge very scornfully,
mocking at Mannikin, whom he felt sure had no chance against himself;
but the meeting was arranged for the next day. When Prince Mannikin
quitted the King's presence he was conducted to the audience hall of the
Princess Sabella. The sight of so much beauty and magnificence almost
took his breath away for an instant, but, recovering himself with an
effort, he said:

'Lovely Princess, irresistibly drawn by the beauty of your portrait, I
come from the other end of the world to offer my services to you. My
devotion knows no bounds, but my absurd name has already involved me in
a quarrel with one of your courtiers. To-morrow I am to fight this ugly,
overgrown Prince, and I beg you to honour the combat with your presence,
and prove to the world that there is nothing in a name, and that you
deign to accept Mannikin as your knight.'

When it came to this the Princess could not help being amused, for,
though she had no heart, she was not without humour. However, she
answered graciously that she accepted with pleasure, which encouraged
the Prince to ent