The Princess Hyacinth came in from her morning's ride in a very bad temper. She went straight up to her favourite seat on the castle walls and sent for Wiggs. "Wiggs," she said, "what's the matter with me?" Wiggs looked puzzled. She had been dusting the books in the library; and when you dust books you simply _must_ stop every now and then to take just one little peep inside, and then you look inside another one and another one, and by the time you have finished dusting, your head is so full of things you have seen that you have to be asked questions very slowly indeed. "I'm pretty, aren't I?" went on Hyacinth. That was an easy one. "Lovely!" said Wiggs, with a deep breath. "And I'm not unkind to anybody?" "Unkind!" said Wiggs indignantly. "Then why--oh, Wiggs, I know it's silly of me, but it _hurts_ me that my people are so much fonder of the Countess than of me." "Oh, I'm sure they're not, your Royal Highness." "Well, they cheer her much louder than they cheer me." Wiggs tried to think of a way of comforting her mistress, but her head was still full of the last book she had dusted. "Why should they be so fond of her?" demanded Hyacinth. "Perhaps because she's so funny," said Wiggs. "Funny! Is she funny?" said the Princess coldly. "She doesn't make _me_ laugh." "Well, it _was_ funny of her to make Woggs march round and round that tree like that, _wasn't_ it?" "Like what? You don't mean----" The Princess's eyes were wide open with astonishment. "Was that Woggs all the time?" "Yes, your Royal Highness. Wasn't it lovely and funny of her?" The Princess looked across to the forest and nodded to herself. "Yes. That's it. Wiggs, I don't believe there has ever been an Army at all. . . . And I pay them every week!" She added solemnly, "There are moments when I don't believe that woman is quite honest." "Do you mean she isn't good?" asked Wiggs in awe. Hyacinth nodded. "I'm _never_ good," said Wiggs firmly. "What do you mean, silly? You're the best little girl in Euralia." "I'm _not_. I do awful things sometimes. Do you know what I did yesterday?" "Something terrible!" smiled Hyacinth. "I tore my apron." "You baby! That isn't being bad," said Hyacinth absently. She was still thinking of that awful review. "The Countess says it is." "The Countess!" "Do you know why I want to be _very_ good?" said Wiggs, coming up close to the Princess. "Why, dear?" "Because then I could dance like a fairy." "Is that how it's done?" asked the Princess, rather amused. "The Countess must dance _very_ heavily." She suddenly remembered something and added: "Why, of course, child, you were going to tell me about a fairy you met, weren't you? That was weeks ago, though. Tell me now. It will help me to forget things which make me rather angry." It was a simple little story. There must have been many like it in the books which Wiggs had been dusting; but these were simple times, and the oldest story always seemed new.