But he kept all these thoughts to himself, and just sat still, devouring his new books until he had come to end of them all. "I wonder," he would sometimes think,--"I wonder what it feels like to be on the back of a horse, galloping away, or holding the reins in a carriage, and tearing across the country, or jumping a ditch, or running a race, such as I read of or see in pictures. What a lot of things there are that I should like to do! But first, I should like to go and see the world. I'll try." Apparently it was his godmother's plan always to let him try, and try hard, before he gained anything. This day the knots that tied up his traveling-cloak were more than usually troublesome, and it was a full half hour before he got out into the open air, and found himself floating merrily over the top of the tower. Hitherto, in all his journeys he had never let himself go out of sight of home, but now he felt sick of the very look of his tower with its round smooth walls. "Off we go!" cried he, when the cloak stirred itself with a slight slow motion, as if waiting his orders. "Anywhere--anywhere, so that I am away from here, and out into the world." As he spoke, the cloak bounded forward and went skimming through the air, faster than the very fastest railway train. "Gee-up, gee-up!" cried Prince Dolor in great excitement. "This is as good as riding a horse," and tossed his head back to meet the fresh breeze, and pulled his coat-collar up and his hat down, as he felt the wind grow keener and colder, colder than anything he had ever known. "What does it matter, though?" said he. "I'm a boy, and boys ought not to mind anything." Still, by-and-by he began to shiver, and, as he had come away without his dinner, grew frightfully hungry. The sunshine changed to rain, and he got soaked through and through in a very few minutes. "Shall I turn back?" meditated he. "Suppose I say, 'Abracadabra?'" Here he stopped, for already the cloak gave a lurch as if it were expecting to be sent home. "No--I can't go back! I must go forward and see the world, but oh! if I had but the shabbiest old rug to shelter me from the rain, or the driest morsel of bread and cheese, just to keep me from starving! Still, I don't much mind, I'm a prince and ought to be able to stand anything. Hold on, cloak, we'll make the best of it." No sooner had he said this than he felt stealing over his knees something warm and soft; in fact, a most beautiful bearskin, which folded itself round him and cuddled him up as closely as if he had been the cub of the kind old mother-bear that once owned it. Then feeling in his pocket, which suddenly stuck out in a marvelous way, he found, not exactly bread and cheese, nor even sandwiches, but a packet of the most delicious food he had ever tasted. He ate his dinner until he grew so thirsty he did not know what to do. "Couldn't I have just one drop of water, if it wouldn't trouble you too much, kindest of godmothers?"