as as handsome a Prince as you would see in a day's
journey, and really, for his age, not so very scatter-brained. His
parents were a King and Queen, whose story you will perhaps read some
day. They died almost at the same time, leaving their kingdom to the
eldest of their children, and commending their youngest son, Prince
Narcissus, to the care of the Fairy Melinette. In this they did very
well for him, for the Fairy was as kind as she was powerful, and she
spared no pains in teaching the little Prince everything it was good for
him to know, and even imparted to him some of her own Fairy lore. But as
soon as he was grown up she sent him out to see the world for himself,
though all the time she was secretly keeping watch over him, ready to
help in any time of need. Before he started she gave him a ring which
would render him invisible when he put it on his finger. These rings
seem to be quite common; you must often have heard of them, even if you
have never seen one. It was in the course of the Prince's wanderings,
in search of experience of men and things, that he came to the court
of Queen Frivola, where he was extremely well received. The Queen was
delighted with him, so were all her ladies; and the King was very polite
to him, though he did not quite see why the whole court was making such
a fuss over him.

Prince Narcissus enjoyed all that went on, and found the time pass
very pleasantly. Before long, of course, he heard the story about the
Princess Potentilla, and, as it had by that time been repeated many
times, and had been added to here and there, she was represented as such
a monster of ugliness that he was really quite curious to see her, and
resolved to avail himself of the magic power of his ring to accomplish
his design. So he made himself invisible, and passed the guard without
their so much as suspecting that anyone was near. Climbing the wall was
rather a difficulty, but when he at length found himself inside it he
was charmed with the peaceful beauty of the little domain it enclosed,
and still more delighted when he perceived a slender, lovely maiden
wandering among the flowers. It was not until he had sought vainly
for the imaginary monster that he realised that this was the Princess
herself, and by that time he was deeply in love with her, for indeed it
would have been hard to find anyone prettier than Potentilla, as she
sat by the brook, weaving a garland of blue forget-me-nots to crown her
waving