ring at the iron bars of the cage in which he
was shut up, and became as gentle as a lamb.

The hunters who had caught him took him to a great menagerie, where he
was chained up among all the other wild beasts, and he determined to
show his sorrow for his past bad behavior by being gentle and obedient
to the man who had to take care of him. Unfortunately, this man was very
rough and unkind, and though the poor monster was quite quiet, he often
beat him without rhyme or reason when he happened to be in a bad temper.
One day when this keeper was asleep a tiger broke its chain, and flew at
him to eat him up. Prince Darling, who saw what was going on, at
first felt quite pleased to think that he should be delivered from his
persecutor, but soon thought better of it and wished that he were free.

"I would return good for evil," he said to himself, "and save the
unhappy man's life." He had hardly wished this when his iron cage flew
open, and he rushed to the side of the keeper, who was awake and was
defending himself against the tiger. When he saw the monster had got out
he gave himself up for lost, but his fear was soon changed into joy, for
the kind monster threw itself upon the tiger and very soon killed it,
and then came and crouched at the feet of the man it had saved.

Overcome with gratitude, the keeper stooped to caress the strange
creature which had done him such a great service; but suddenly a voice
said in his ear:

"A good action should never go unrewarded," and at the same instant the
monster disappeared, and he saw at his feet only a pretty little dog!

Prince Darling, delighted by the change, frisked about the keeper,
showing his joy in every way he could, and the man, taking him up in his
arms, carried him to the King, to whom he told the whole story.

The Queen said she would like to have this wonderful little dog, and
the Prince would have been very happy in his new home if he could have
forgotten that he was a man and a king. The Queen petted and took
care of him, but she was so afraid that he would get too fat that she
consulted the court physician, who said that he was to be fed only upon
bread, and was not to have much even of that. So poor Prince Darling was
terribly hungry all day long, but he was very patient about it.

One day, when they gave him his little loaf for breakfast, he thought
he would like to eat it out in the garden; so he took it up in his mouth
and trotted away toward a brook tha