Part 2 (2/2)

He was not put in a better temper by the way in which people hustled him in the street. They ran against him exactly as if they did not see him, and then staggered back in the greatest surprise, looking in every direction for the person they had jostled. In one of these encounters, the prince pushed so hard against a poor old beggar woman that she fell down. As he was usually most kind and polite, he pulled off his cap to beg her pardon, when, behold, the beggar woman gave one dreadful scream, and fainted! A crowd was collecting, and the prince, forgetting that he had thrown down all his money in the tavern, pulled out his purse. Then he remembered what he had done, and expected to find it empty; but, lo, there were three pieces of gold in it! Overcome with surprise, he thrust the money into the woman's hand, and put on his cap again. In a moment the crowd, which had been staring at him, rushed away in every direction, with cries of terror, declaring that there was a magician in the town, and a fellow who could appear and disappear at pleasure!

[Ill.u.s.tration: Page 35]

By this time, you or I, or anyone who was not so extremely clever as Prince Prigio, would have understood what was the matter. He had put on, without knowing it, not only the seven-league boots, but the cap of darkness, and had taken Fortunatus's purse, which could never be empty, however often you took all the money out. All those and many other delightful wares the fairies had given him at his christening, and the prince had found them in the dark garret. But the prince was so extremely wise, and learned, and scientific, that he did not believe in fairies, nor in fairy gifts.

”It is indigestion,” he said to himself: ”those sausages were not of the best; and that Burgundy was extremely strong. Things are not as they appear.”

Here, as he was arguing with himself, he was nearly run over by a splendid carriage and six, the driver of which never took the slightest notice of him. Annoyed at this, the prince leaped up behind, threw down the two footmen, who made no resistance, and so was carried to the door of a magnificent palace. He was determined to challenge the gentleman who was in the carriage; but, noticing that he had a very beautiful young lady with him, whom he had never seen before, he followed them into the house, not wis.h.i.+ng to alarm the girl, and meaning to speak to the gentleman when he found him alone.

A great ball was going on; but, as usual, n.o.body took any notice of the prince. He walked among the guests, being careful not to jostle them, and listening to their conversation.

It was all about himself! Everyone had heard of his disgrace, and almost everyone cried ”Serve him right!” They said that the airs he gave himself were quite unendurable--that nothing was more rude than to be always in the right--that cleverness might be carried far too far--that it was better even to be born stupid (”Like the rest of you,” thought the prince); and, in fact, n.o.body had a good word for him.

Yes, one had! It was the pretty lady of the carriage. I never could tell you how pretty she was. She was tall, with cheeks like white roses blus.h.i.+ng: she had dark hair, and very large dark-grey eyes, and her face was the kindest in the world! The prince first thought how nice and good she looked, even before he thought how pretty she looked. _She_ stood up for Prince Prigio when her partner would speak ill of him. She had never seen the prince, for she was but newly come to Pantouflia; but she declared that it was his _misfortune_, not his fault, to be so clever.

”And, then, think how hard they made him work at school! Besides,” said this kind young lady, ”I hear he is extremely handsome, and very brave; and he has a good heart, for he was kind, I have heard, to a poor boy, and did all his examination papers for him, so that the boy pa.s.sed first in _everything_. And now he is Minister for Education, though he can't do a line of Greek prose!”

The prince blushed at this, for he knew his conduct had not been honourable. But he at once fell over head and ears in love with the young lady, a thing he had never done in his life before, because--he said--”women were so stupid!” You see he was so clever!

Now, at this very moment--when the prince, all of a sudden, was as deep in love as if he had been the stupidest officer in the room--an extraordinary thing happened! Something seemed to give a whirr! in his brain, and in one instant _he knew all about it!_ He believed in fairies and fairy gifts, and understood that his cap was the cap of darkness, and his shoes the seven-league boots, and his purse the purse of Fortunatus! He had read about those things in historical books: but now he believed in them.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Chapter Seven]

CHAPTER VII.--_The Prince Falls in Love_

HE understood all this, and burst out laughing, which nearly frightened an old lady near him out of her wits. Ah! how he wished he was only in evening dress, that he might dance with the charming young lady. But there he was, dressed just as if he were going out to hunt, if anyone could have seen him. So, even if he took off his cap of darkness, and became visible, he was no figure for a ball. Once he would not have cared, but now he cared very much indeed.

But the prince was not clever for nothing. He thought for a moment, then went out of the room, and, in three steps of the seven-league boots, was at his empty, dark, cold palace again. He struck a light with a flint and steel, lit a torch, and ran upstairs to the garret. The flaring light of the torch fell on the pile of ”rubbish,” as the queen would have called it, which he turned over with eager hands. Was there--yes, there _was_ another cap! There it lay, a handsome green one with a red feather.

The prince pulled off the cap of darkness, put on the other, and said:

”_I wish I were dressed in my best suit of white and gold, with the royal Pantouflia diamonds!_”

In one moment there he was in white and gold, the greatest and most magnificent dandy in the whole world, and the handsomest man!

”How about my boots, I wonder,” said the prince; for his seven-league boots were stout riding-boots, not good to dance in, whereas _now_ he was in elegant shoes of silk and gold.

He threw down the wis.h.i.+ng cap, put on the other--the cap of darkness--and made three strides in the direction of Gluckstein. But he was only three steps nearer it than he had been, and the seven-league boots were standing beside him on the floor!

”No,” said the prince; ”no man can be in two different pairs of boots at one and the same time! That's mathematics!”

He then hunted about in the lumber-room again till he found a small, shabby, old Persian carpet, the size of a hearthrug. He went to his own room, took a portmanteau in his hand, sat down on the carpet, and said:

”I wish I were in Gluckstein.”

<script>