said the queen. "If you are anxious
about him, why don't you look for him in the magic crystal?"

Now the magic crystal was a fairy present, a great ball of glass in
which, if you looked, you saw the person you wanted to see, and what he
was doing, however far away he might be, if he was on the earth at all.
{21}

"I'll just take a look at it," said the king; "it only wants
three-quarters of an hour to dinner-time."

His Majesty rose, and walked to the crystal globe, which was in a stand,
like other globes. He stared into it, he turned it round and round, and
Queen Rosalind saw him grow quite pale as he gazed.

"I don't see him anywhere," said the king, "and I have looked everywhere.
I do hope nothing has happened to the boy. He is so careless. If he
dropped his Cap of Darkness in a fight with a giant, why who knows what
might occur?"

"Oh, 'Gio, how you frighten me!" said the queen.

King Prigio was still turning the crystal globe.

"Stop!" he cried; "I see a beautiful princess, fastened by iron chains to
a rock beside the sea, in a lonely place. They must have fixed her up as
a sacrifice to a sea-monster, like what's-her-name."

This proves how anxious he was, or, being so clever and learned, he would
have remembered that her name was Andromeda.

"I bet Dick is not far off, where there is an adventure on hand. But
where on earth can he be? . . . My word!" suddenly exclaimed the
monarch, in obvious excitement.

"What is it, dear?" cried the queen, with all the anxiety of a mother.

"Why, the sea where the girl is, has turned all red as blood!" exclaimed
the king. "Now it is all being churned up by the tail of a tremendous
monster. He is a whopper! He's coming on shore; the girl is fainting.
He's out on shore! He is extremely poorly, blood rushing from his open
jaws. He's dying! And, hooray! here's Dick coming out of his enormous
mouth, all in armour set with sharp spikes, and a sword in his hand. He's
covered with blood, but he's well and hearty. He must have been
swallowed by the brute, and cut him up inside. Now he's cutting the
beast's head off. Now he's gone to the princess; a very neat bow he has
made her. Dick's manners are positively improving! Now he's cutting her
iron chains off with the Sword of Sharpness. And now he's made her
another bow, and he's actually taking leave of her. Poor thing! How
disappointed she is looking. And she's so pretty, too. I say, Rosalind,
shall