“Where have you been all this time, my lord?” she cried. “It is but dull work sitting alone thinking of you as the stars wane and you do not come. Alas! what a hard fate it is to have a cold-hearted lover!” Then the Prince, who was so much relieved in his mind that he could almost have cried, rushed into the arbour and embraced the lady, vowing that he would never leave her again for so much as an hour. The Pelican looked on from his canna-flowers by the lake. Wise as he was, he did not understand what was happening, for the subtlety of woman was a thing too great even for him. And the young man in yellow took the girl home and married her next day; and when he grew rich, which he soon did, he built a house by the Nile and raised a fine garden of oranges and pomegranates. In it the Pelican lived to a ripe old age, sustaining the household by his wisdom, and standing sponsor to the children. THE CHERRY TREES There were once two little boys who played in the great gardens of a palace; one was the son of the King to whom the palace belonged, and one was the son of the King’s head gardener. The palace lay at the mouth of a valley, and the garden had a stone balustrade surrounding it on which the two would sit when they were tired of their play. They were both of the same age, and, as the Prince had neither brothers nor sisters, the gardener’s son was allowed to come every day and keep him company. They learned the same lessons and amused themselves with the same games; and, at nightfall, the gardener’s boy would go back to his father’s cottage to return early next morning. The gardener was a wise man, and brought him up very well, but the King was foolish and spoilt the Prince most dreadfully, which was all the worse, as he was selfish and rude by nature, and sometimes very unkind to his friend. But his friend loved him dearly in spite of that. [Illustration: THE DAFFODIL PRINCESS] The King lived all the year in this palace, although he had another fine house in his capital city; for he hated business, and liked the idle life he led with his Queen and all the beautiful ladies and gentlemen who formed his court. He never troubled himself about anything; he did not even hunt, nor fish, but sat the whole day listening to the gossip of his fools and jesters, and writing very silly poetry. Then he would read it aloud to all the beautiful ladies and gentlemen, who threw up their hands and said: “How clever!” But behind his back they laughed at him. One day, when the little boys were playing, the head gardener came by and gave each of them a fine branch of ripe cherries, so they stopped their games and sat on the balustrade to eat the fruit. Suddenly a poor old beggar man passed by outside the garden and looked up at them; he was tattered and torn and he had no shoes on his feet; his face was lined with fatigue and misery.