“Stubbornest candles I ever saw!” blustered King Pompus. Then _he_ puffed out his cheeks and blew like a porpoise; so did Queen Pozy and the Prime Pumper; so did everybody. They blew until every dish upon the table skipped and they all sank back exhausted in their chairs, but the candles burned as merrily as ever. Then Kabumpo took a hand—or rather a trunk. He had been watching the proceedings with his twinkling little eyes. Now he took a tremendous breath, pointed his trunk straight at the cake and blew with all his strength. [Illustration: (unlabelled)] Every candle went out—but _stars_! As they did, the great pink cake exploded with such force that half the Courtiers were flung under the table and the rest knocked unconscious by flying fragments of icing, tumblers and plates. “_Treason!_” screamed Pompus, the first to recover from the shock. “Who dared put gunpowder in the cake?” Brushing the icing from his nose, he glared around angrily. The first person to catch his eye was Hashem, the cook, who stood trembling in the doorway. “_Dip him!_” shouted the King furiously. And the Chief Dipper, only too glad of an excuse to escape, seized poor Hashem. “_And him!_” ordered the King, as Eejabo tried to sidle out of the room. “_And them!_” as all the other footmen started to run. Forming his victims in a line the Chief Dipper marched them sternly from the banquet hall. “Oyez! Oyez Everybody shall be dipped!” mumbled the Prime Pumper, feebly raising his head. “Oh, no! Oh, no! Nothing of the sort!” snapped the King, fanning poor Queen Pozy Pink with a plate. She had fainted dead away. “What is the meaning of this outrage?” shouted Pompus, his anger rising again. “How should I know?” wheezed Kabumpo, dragging Prince Pompadore from beneath the table and pouring a jug of cream over his head. “Something hit me,” moaned the Prince, opening his eyes. “Of course it did!” said Kabumpo. “The cake hit you. Made a great hit with us all—that cake!” The Elegant Elephant looked ruefully at his silk robe of state, which was hopelessly smeared with icing; then put his trunk to his head, for something hard had struck him between the eyes. He felt about the floor and found a round shiny object which he was about to show the King when Pompus pounced upon a tall scroll sitting upright in his tumbler. In the confusion of the moment it had escaped his attention. “Perhaps this will explain,” spluttered the King, breaking the seal. Queen Pozy Pink opened her eyes with a sigh, and the Courtiers, crawling out from beneath the table, looked up anxiously, for everyone was still dazed from the tremendous explosion. Pompus read the scroll to himself with popping eyes and then began to dance up and down in a frenzy. “What is it? What is it?” cried the Queen, trying to read over his shoulder. Then she gave a well-bred scream and fainted away in the arms of General Quakes, who had come up behind her.