Prince Ricardo of Pantouflia | Page 3

a blow!"
"But you were very glad of them when you made the Ice-beast and the
Fire- beast fight and kill each other," said the queen.
"Yes, my dear; but it wanted some wit, if I may say so, to do that, and
Dick just goes at it hammer and tongs: anybody could do it. It's intellect
I miss in Ricardo. How am I to know whether he could make a good
fight for it without all these fairy things? I wonder what the young
rogue is about to-day? He'll be late for dinner, as usual, I daresay. I
can't stand want of punctuality at meals," remarked his Majesty, which
is a sign that he was growing old after all; for where is the fun of being
expected always to come home in time for dinner when, perhaps, you
are fishing, and the trout are rising splendidly?
"Young people will be young people," said the queen. "If you are
anxious about him, why don't you look for him in the magic crystal?"
Now the magic crystal was a fairy present, a great ball of glass in which,
if you looked, you saw the person you wanted to see, and what he was
doing, however far away he might be, if he was on the earth at all. {21}

"I'll just take a look at it," said the king; "it only wants three-quarters of
an hour to dinner-time."
His Majesty rose, and walked to the crystal globe, which was in a stand,
like other globes. He stared into it, he turned it round and round, and
Queen Rosalind saw him grow quite pale as he gazed.
"I don't see him anywhere," said the king, "and I have looked
everywhere. I do hope nothing has happened to the boy. He is so
careless. If he dropped his Cap of Darkness in a fight with a giant, why
who knows what might occur?"
"Oh, 'Gio, how you frighten me!" said the queen.
King Prigio was still turning the crystal globe.
"Stop!" he cried; "I see a beautiful princess, fastened by iron chains to a
rock beside the sea, in a lonely place. They must have fixed her up as a
sacrifice to a sea-monster, like what's-her-name."
This proves how anxious he was, or, being so clever and learned, he
would have remembered that her name was Andromeda.
"I bet Dick is not far off, where there is an adventure on hand. But
where on earth can he be? . . . My word!" suddenly exclaimed the
monarch, in obvious excitement.
"What is it, dear?" cried the queen, with all the anxiety of a mother.
"Why, the sea where the girl is, has turned all red as blood!" exclaimed
the king. "Now it is all being churned up by the tail of a tremendous
monster. He is a whopper! He's coming on shore; the girl is fainting.
He's out on shore! He is extremely poorly, blood rushing from his open
jaws. He's dying! And, hooray! here's Dick coming out of his enormous
mouth, all in armour set with sharp spikes, and a sword in his hand.
He's covered with blood, but he's well and hearty. He must have been
swallowed by the brute, and cut him up inside. Now he's cutting the
beast's head off. Now he's gone to the princess; a very neat bow he has

made her. Dick's manners are positively improving! Now he's cutting
her iron chains off with the Sword of Sharpness. And now he's made
her another bow, and he's actually taking leave of her. Poor thing! How
disappointed she is looking. And she's so pretty, too. I say, Rosalind,
shall I shout to him through the magic horn, and tell him to bring her
home here, on the magic carpet?"
"I think not, dear; the palace is quite full," said the queen. But the real
reason was that she wanted Ricardo to marry her favourite Princess
Jaqueline, and she did not wish the new princess to come in the way.
"As you like," said the king, who knew what was in her mind very well.
"Besides, I see her own people coming for her. I'm sorry for her, but it
can't be helped, and Dick is half-way home by now on the Shoes of
Swiftness. I daresay he will not keep dinner waiting after all. But what
a fright the boy has given me!"
At this moment a whirring in the air and a joyous shout were heard. It
was Prince Ricardo flying home on his Seven-league Boots.
"Hi, Ross!" he shouted, "just weigh this beast's head. I've had a
splendid day with a sea-monster. Get the head stuffed, will you? We'll
have it set up in the billiard-room."
"Yes, Master Dick--I mean your Royal Highness," said Ross, a
Highland