Prince Ricardo of Pantouflia | Page 5

the princess to the queen.
"It's better than Lina, my dear," said her Majesty, who in late life had
become fond of her little joke; "that always sounds as if someone else
was fatter,--and I hope there is not someone else."
The princess was silent, and fixed her eyes on her book.
Presently the king came in, and played a game with Lina at picquet.
When they were all going to bed, he said:
"Just come into the study, Lina. I want you to write a few letters for
me."
The princess followed him and took her seat at the writing table. The
letters were very short. One was to Herr Schnipp, tailor to the king and
royal family; another was to the royal swordmaker, another to the
bootmaker, another to the optician, another to the tradesman who

supplied the august family with carpets and rugs, another to his
Majesty's hatter. They were all summoned to be at the palace early next
morning. Then his Majesty yawned, apologised, and went to bed. The
princess also went to her room, or bower as it was then called, but not
to sleep.
She was unhappy that Dick did not satisfy his father, and that he was so
careless, and also about other things.
"And why does the king want all these tailors and hatters so suddenly,
telescope-makers and swordmakers and shoemakers, too?" she asked
herself, as she stood at the window watching the moon.
"I could find out. I could turn myself into a dog or a cat, and go into the
room where he is giving his orders. But that is awkward, for when the
servants see Rip" (that was the dog) "in two places at once, they begin
to think the palace is haunted, and it makes people talk. Besides, I
know it is wrong to listen to what one is not meant to hear. It is often
difficult to be a magician and a good girl. The temptations are so strong,
stronger than most people allow for." So she remained, with the moon
shining on her pretty yellow hair and her white dress, wondering what
the king intended to do, and whether it was something that Dick would
not like.
"How stupid of me," she said at length, "after all the lessons I have had.
Why, I can drink the moon!"
Now, this is a way of knowing what anyone else is thinking of and
intends to do, for the moon sees and knows everything. Whether it is
quite fair is another matter; but, at all events, it is not listening. And
anyone may see that, if you are a magician, like the Princess Jaqueline,
a great many difficult questions as to what is right and wrong at once
occur which do not trouble other people. King Prigio's secret, why he
sent for the tailor and the other people, was his own secret. The
princess decided that she would not find it out by turning herself into
Rip or the cat (whose name was Semiramis), and, so far, she was quite
right. But she was very young, and it never occurred to her that it was
just as wrong to find out what the king meant by drinking the moon as

by listening in disguise. As she grew older she learned to know better;
but this is just the danger of teaching young girls magic, and for that
very reason it has been given up in most countries.
However, the princess did not think about right and wrong, unluckily.
She went to the bookcase and took down her Cornelius Agrippa, in one
great tall black volume, with silver clasps which nobody else could
open; for, as the princess said, there are books which it would never do
to leave lying about where the servants or anybody could read them.
Nobody could undo the clasps, however strong or clever he might be;
but the princess just breathed on them and made a sign, and the book
flew open at the right place--Book IV., chapter vi., about the middle of
page 576.
The magic spell was in Latin, of course; but the princess knew Latin
very well, and soon she had the magic song by heart. Then she closed
the book and put it back on the shelf. Then she threw open the window
and drew back the curtains, and put out all the lights except two scented
candles that burned with a white fire under a round mirror with a silver
frame, opposite the window. And into that mirror the moon shone
white and full, filling all the space of it, so that the room was steeped in
a strange silver light. Now the whole room seemed to sway gently,
waving and trembling; and as it trembled it sounded and rang with