"Perhaps not," was the cool retort; "but if I told it would be doing something, and I never do anything." The Prince started on his way without another word. He did not even stop to put a peach into the lazy man's open mouth, as he at first had some thought of doing. He kept along beside the river for some time, and had nearly forgotten the words of the lazy man about his cousin, when suddenly he came upon what to his horror he at first supposed to be the body of some thief hanging from a tree. As he got closer, however, he found that the man was alive and suspended by a belt which went under his arms. The man did not seem in the least to mind being hung, but looked quite calm and peaceful. A second man stood upon an overturned bucket and blew into the mouth of the first with a pair of bellows. [Illustration] "What are you doing?" asked Vance curiously, as he stopped beside them. "Why," replied the man with the bellows, "this fellow is too lazy to stand, so we have to hang him up; and he is too lazy to breathe for himself, so he pays me a groat a day to do it for him with the bellows." "I saw a man up the river who was too lazy to eat," observed Vance. "I thought he was bad enough, but this is surely the laziest man alive." "If you think that," the blower answered, "you should see his cousin Gobbo, who lives a mile farther down the river as the crow flies." At this Vance was reminded that nightfall was not very far off, and once more he started on his way. The man with the bellows jumped down from his bucket and ran eagerly after him. He was a simple-looking man, with a large and frog-like mouth. "It creeps in the family," he whispered hoarsely to the Prince. "What does?" "Laziness. If it were anything else, you know, you'd say it _ran_ in the family. But wait till you see Gobbo!" Just then he noticed that Loto was growing quite limp and purple in the face for want of breath; so he hastily scrambled back to his bucket, and once more began to blow for dear life and a groat a day. "By the way," asked Vance, halting, "do you know where the Crushed Strawberry Wizard lives?" "He knows," replied the blower, "but you can't get it out of him. He's too lazy to speak; so it's no manner of use fretting about it." With a sigh of weariness and disgust the royal wayfarer turned away and went on his journey. Just at dusk he reached a small village, or rather a group of poor little houses; and as he was about to knock at the door of one to ask for shelter, he saw a procession coming over the fields. There were a number of men with flaring torches, one or two with picks and spades, while in the midst was carried a bier upon which lay a man with his eyes wide open, staring straight ahead. [Illustration] "What's all this?" the Prince asked of one who seemed of some authority in the company. "We are going to bury Gobbo," replied the man. "But he isn't dead yet," exclaimed Vance, quite horrified.