Prince Lazybones and Other Stories

he Lazybones family; and were I so disposed I might recount their virtues and trace their talents from a long-forgotten period. But inte

yet so easily was he satisfied that his greatest happiness was to lie all day basking in the sun or dawdling through his father's park with his

n was almost tropical, was the estate of Leo's father, Prince Morpheus Lazybones. It had been in the family for ages, and was so rich in timber and mineral resources that none of its own

plied with all manner of delicacies, for the servants

tisfaction, such a patient tranquillity, that his smile was as the sudden sunshine on a placid lake. It was the smile of the family, an inherited feature, like the blue hood of a Spanish Don. And then it was give

t have been bestowed. It had a peculiarity of its own which thes

any more than he did the burs which clung to his garments as he rambled through the woods. P

valid, shut up in his room most of the time, venturing from it only in the sunniest weather, and then with great caution. He had no particular malady except that he was a poet, but surely that was burden enough. To have to endure

oney not being forthcoming for repairs, they had been each in turn left for another in better condition, unti

and mould, but made the chimneys roar with blazing logs, and held many a merry carousal where the old monks had prayed and fasted. The more devout ones rebu

ut the Lazybones were never without ingenuity. Morpheus so arranged matters that Leo could study without damage to his father's poems. The books were marked for a month's study, and Leo's recita

pine and fir and nut tree as a familiar friend. He knew every rivulet, every ravine, every rabbit-burrow. The streams seemed to him as melodious as the song-birds, and the winds had voices. He knew where to find the first blossom of spring and the latest of autumn, the ripest fruit and most abundant vines. He could tell just where the nests were and the number of eggs, whether of the robin or the

gh; he was seldom hungry, and these were his friends. He liked to look them in the eyes; he liked to win them to him, soothe their fears if they had any, and then watch their pretty joy w

already winter was approaching. Discontent was brewing on the estate. Taxes were unpaid; t

illness, or the appearance of it, was sure to follow. He would then take to his bed, refuse all but a little spiced wine, allowing no coarse food to pass his lips, and strive to rem