the look of them. She looked
up the long room and she saw Billy, and she came straight up to him and
said:

'Please I want a situation as Queen. It says in the window previous
experience not required.'

She was a very shabby little girl, with a clean, round, rosy face, and
she looked as little like a Queen with previous experience as anybody
could possibly have done.

'I'm not the registry office, my good kid,' said Billy.

And the pig said, 'Try the next desk.'

Behind the next desk sat a lizard, but it was so large it was more like
an alligator, only with a less unpleasant expression about the mouth.

'Speak to him,' said the pig, as the lizard leaned forward on his front
paws like a draper's assistant when he says, 'What's the next article?'

'I don't like to,' said the little girl.

'Nonsense, you little duffer!' said Billy kindly; 'he won't eat you.'

'Are you sure?' said the little girl very earnestly.

Then Billy said, 'Look here, I'm a King, and so I've got a situation.
Are you a Queen?'

'My name's Eliza Macqueen,' said the little girl. 'I suppose that's near
enough.'

'Well, then,' said Billy to the lizard, 'will she do?'

'Perfectly, I should say,' replied the lizard, with a smile that did not
become him very well. 'Here is the address.' He gave it to her; it read:

'Kingdom of Allexanassa. Queen, not been out before; willing, obliging,
and anxious to learn.'

'Your kingdoms,' he added, 'are next door to each other.'

'So we shall see each other often,' said Billy. 'Cheer up! We might
travel together, perhaps.'

'No,' said the pig; 'Queens go by railway. A Queen has to begin to get
used to her train as soon as she can. Now, run along, do. My friend here
will see her off.'

'You're sure they won't eat me?' said Eliza--and Billy was certain they
wouldn't, though he didn't know why. So he said, 'Good-bye. I hope
you'll get on in your new place,' and off he went to buy a penny luggage
label at the expensive stationer's three doors down the street on the
right-hand side. And when he had addressed the label and tied it round
his neck, he posted himself honourably at the General Post-Office. The
rest of the letters in the box made a fairly comfortable bed, and Billy
fell asleep. When he awoke he was being delivered by the early morning
postman at the Houses of Parliament in the capital of Plurimiregia, and
the Houses of Parliament were just being opened for the day. The air of
Plurimiregia wa