The Little Lame Prince

its rose. They always did when he got the new books which, just to relieve his conscience, the King of N

rocking-horse which had come, somehow or other,-I can't be expected to explain things very exactly,-packed

how grand it must be to get upon its back-this grand

to himself; "then I should be obli

not unlike the Barmecide's feast which you read of in the "Arabian Nights," which consisted of very elegant but empty dishes, or that supper of

boy-life had been taken away from, or rat

he reins in a carriage, and tearing across the country, or jumping a ditch, or running a race, such as I read of or see in p

is day the knots that tied up his traveling-cloak were more than usually troublesome, and he was a full h

the dreary building, after all, was home-he remembered no other; but now he felt si

slight, slow motion, as if waiting his orders. "Anywhere any

new idea, bounded forward and went skimming through

Dolor in great excitement. "Thi

o be patted-and tossed his head back to meet the fresh breeze, and pulled his coat collar up and

" said he. "I'm a boy, and bo

s dinner, and he grew frightfully hungry. And to add to everything, the sunshiny day changed into rain, an

meditated he. "Suppos

gave an obedient lurch, as if it were

shelter me from the rain, or the driest morsel of bread and cheese, just to keep me from starving! Still, I do

sely as if he had been the cub of the kind old mother-bear that once owned it. Then feeling in his pocket, which suddenly stuck out in a marvelous way, he found, not exactly bread and cheese, nor even sandwiches, but a packet of the most

water, if it didn't trouble you

from a deep artesian well-there were such things known in Nomansland-which had been made at the foot of it. But around, for miles upon mil

leaving behind, in a large glass vessel which he had never noticed before, enough water to quench the thirst of two or three boys at least. And it was so fresh, so pure-as

out and dried him in no time. After that he curled himself up under the bear-skin rug, and though he determined to be the most wide-awake boy imaginable

oating over a country quite unlike

France, or any other land you choose to name. It had no particular features-nothing in it grand or lovely-was simply pretty, nothing

lf in deep, still pools. Afterward it went steadily on for a while, like a good grown-up person, till it came to another big rock, where it misbehaved itself extremely. It turned into

and leaping, till, after a few windings and vagaries, it settled into a respectable stream. After that it went along,

d spectacles. He saw also as in a picture, beautiful but silent, many

know his own birthday) and never to have seen trees! As he floated over these oak

ely the obedient cloak ducked down; Prince Dolor made a snatch at the to

hing. Yet how wonderful they are-every one of them a little different. I don't suppose you could ever find two leaves exactly alike in form, color, and si

take an additional walk over his finger, which it did with the greatest dignity and decorum, as if it, Mr. Caterpillar, were the most important i

res in the world besides caterpillars

Nomansland I do not know. It was made up of cornfields, pasturefields, lanes, hedges, brooks, and ponds. Also, in it were what the prince desired to see-a quantity of living creatures, wild and tame. Cows and horses, lambs

as I said, it was a silent picture; he was too high up to catch anyth

he thought. "I wonder if my godmother

y paper. And it contained-what do you think? Actually a pair of silver ears, which, when he tried them on,

waters flowing, trees stirring, insects whirring (dear me! I am quite unconsciously writing rhyme), with the various cries of birds and beas

ut Prince Dolor, who had lived all his days in the dead silence of Hopel

n of the animals delighted him: cows walking, horses galloping, little lambs and calves running races across the meadows, were such a treat for

d I fear, of many big people too,-he began to want

ak to her with full confidence that she would hear him-"Godmother, all these creatures I like exceedin

he was half afraid his godmother had forgotten him, or was offended with him for asking too much. Suddenly a shrill whistle

were long, straight, and strong. And it had a lithe, active body, and a curly head of black hair se

sheep. He was rather a nice-looking lad; and seemed so bright and healthy and good-tempered-"jolly" would be the word, only I a

e ground to him, or fetch him up to me here. Oh, how nic

her either could not or would not give. The cloak hung stationary, high in air, never attempting to descend. The sheph

al and only way of expressing his feelings. He could not make the thing out exactly-it was

s shoulders with his arms to wake and warm himself; while his dog, a rough collie, wh

y; though with such a rough, hard voice and queer pronunciation that it wa

: first across the level common, greatly disturbing the quiet sheep; and then tearing away across country, scrambling through hedges and leaping ditches, an

ss so to the boy. How he skimmed along over the ground-his cheeks glow

t almost equal to that of the runner himself-for a while. Then the sweet, p

aid softly, thinking that never-no, never in

im his traveling-cloak, and why he had heard that sigh-he was

wing himself back into the center of his cloak, and resuming his favorite post

will be any good to me. I wonder why I had you at all. I wonder why I

ered it, as we have to answer many as difficult things, by simply saying, "I don't know." There is much that we do not know and cannot understand-we big folks no more than you little ones. We have to accep

houghts came and went through his poor young mind-thoughts of great bitterness, w

speak, but loved him and comforted him without need of words; not by deceiving him with false encouragement or hope, but by making him see the pla

but the sky, and had taken off his silver ears as well as his gold spectacles-what was the use of

and I think so still. It was just the song of a skylark, mounting higher and higher from the ground, till it came so clo

e; "I should dearly like to take you in and

afraid. Nevertheless, it also made him happy; and he watched and listened-so absorbed t

he should do when it was gone, when it suddenly closed its wings, as larks do when they mean to drop

was a wild bird of the air. What a pride, what a delight! To have something that nobody else had-something all his own. As the traveling-cloak traveled on, he little heeded where, and the lark

of Hopeless Tower a pai

will become of you? I am used to this, but you are not. You will be so miserable; and suppose my nurse should find you-she who can

ly broke into the loudest carol, as if saying derisively that he defied anybody to ea

lp it; I would rather do without you altogether. Yes, I'll try. F

lark go. It lingered a minute, perching on the rim of the cloak, and looking at him with eye

off lark pie now-and gone quietly to bed, the old familiar little bed, where he was accustomed to sleep, or lie awake contentedly thi

for, unlike ordinary larks, it kept hovering about the tower in the silence and darkness of the nigh

leep as happ