very fortunate in coming upon a
vein of sand which filled a winding fissure in the rock on which the
house was built. By scooping this away they came out in the king's
wine cellar.

No sooner did they find where they were, than they scurried back again,
like rats into their holes, and running at full speed to the goblin
palace, announced their success to the king and queen with shouts of
triumph.

In a moment the goblin royal family and the whole goblin people were on
their way in hot haste to the king's house, each eager to have a share
in the glory of carrying off that same night the Princess Irene.

The queen went stumping along in one shoe of stone and one of skin.

This could not have been pleasant, and my readers may wonder that, with
such skilful workmen about her, she had not yet replaced the shoe
carried off by Curdie. As the king, however, had more than one ground
of objection to her stone shoes, he no doubt took advantage of the
discovery of her toes, and threatened to expose her deformity if she
had another made. I presume he insisted on her being content with skin
shoes, and allowed her to wear the remaining granite one on the present
occasion only because she was going out to war.

They soon arrived in the king's wine cellar, and regardless of its huge
vessels, of which they did not know the use, proceeded at once, but as
quietly as they could, to force the door that led upwards.

CHAPTER 27

The Goblins in the King's House

When Curdie fell asleep he began at once to dream. He thought he was
ascending the Mountainside from the mouth of the mine, whistling and
singing 'Ring, dod, bang!' when he came upon a woman and child who had
lost their way; and from that point he went on dreaming everything that
had happened to him since he thus met the princess and Lootie; how he
had watched the goblins, how he had been taken by them, how he had been
rescued by the princess; everything, indeed, until he was wounded,
captured, and imprisoned by the men-at-arms. And now he thought he was
lying wide awake where they had laid him, when suddenly he heard a
great thundering sound.

'The cobs are coming!' he said. 'They didn't believe a word I told
them! The cobs'll be carrying off the princess from under their stupid
noses! But they shan't! that they shan't!'

He jumped up, as he thought, and began to dress, but, to his dismay,
found that he was still lying in bed.

'Now then, I will!' he said. '