h left the room and soon found an empty bird-cage, then he put
Fantosina into it, and she sat down on its floor with all her feathers
ruffled, and feeling extremely miserable as you may imagine. When
luncheon ended and still there was no sign of Fantosina, the king became
even more alarmed than the queen; he sent men in all directions to
search for her, but night came and no Fantosina. The king and queen did
not go to bed all night, and a light was kept burning in every window of
the palace. They were both very tired at breakfast the next morning, and
when Fantosina sat on a perch in her cage and sang her loudest in her
effort to make them know who she really was, the queen said the song
made her head ache, and ordered that the cage should be covered over.

How miserable Fantosina felt in the darkened cage! How she longed to be
able to fly from tree to tree again even if she could not return to her
proper shape! But all the longing in the world was of no use. Day after
day passed, the king's hair grew gray from grief, and the queen became
pale and thin, while Abdullah took no pleasure in anything but the bird.
Everybody in the palace went into the deepest mourning because they
thought Fantosina must be dead, and once she heard her father and mother
talking about the prince who was coming to marry their daughter.

'I wish we could prevent him from coming,' said the king; 'and if I knew
which direction he had taken, I would send messengers to meet him.'

'It will be a great disappointment to him,' answered the queen; 'but
when he sees we are in sorrow, he will not stay long.'

One day Fantosina heard that he had arrived, and she saw him through the
bars of her cage that evening at dinner. He was very tall and handsome,
just the kind of prince she had hoped he might be, but all she could do
was to sing her best in his honour.

'What a charming song!' exclaimed the prince, 'and what beautiful
plumage! I have never seen a bird like that before.'

'Abdullah caught it the day poor Fantosina disappeared,' said the queen,
and she became so deeply distressed that she apologised to the prince
and left the table.

'It was a pity to catch the bird,' answered the prince; 'its plumage
will fade in the cage and its song will die away.'

'I caught it to please my sister,' said Abdullah, 'for I knew she would
be delighted with it.' Fantosina's wings felt redder than ever, for she
blushed to remember that it was quite true she had