English essays -- 20th century; Short stories, English
"A striking notion," said the King. "Indeed it was just about to occur to
me. I will proclaim to-morrow a public holiday, and give orders that it
be celebrated in the baths. Then in the evening, when they are all
clean--I should say 'cured'--we will present their Prince to them."
So it happened even as Hi-You had said, and in the evening the Prince, a
model now of manly beauty, was presented to them, and they acclaimed
him with cheers. And all noticed how lovingly the Princess regarded him,
and how he smiled upon her.
But the King gazed upon the Prince as one fascinated. Seven times he
cleared his throat and seven times he failed to speak. And the eighth
time he said, "Your face is strangely familiar to me."
"Perchance we met in Milvania," said the Prince pleasantly.
Now the King had never been in Milvania. Wherefore he still gazed at the
Prince, and at length he said, "What has happened to that Hi-You fellow?"
"You will never hear of him again," said the Prince pleasantly.
"Oh!" said the King. And after that they feasted.
And some say that they feasted upon roast pig, but I say not. And some
say that Hi-You had planned it all from the beginning, but I say not.
And some say that it was the Princess Amaril who planned it, from the day
when first she saw Hi-You, and with them I agree. For indeed I am very
sure that when Hi-You was a swineherd upon the hills he believed truly
that the little black pig with the curly tail was a Prince. And, though
events in the end were too much for him, I like to think that Hi-You
remained loyal to his friend, and that in his plush-lined sty in a quiet
corner of the Palace grounds Frederick passed a gentle old age, cheered
from time to time by the visits of Amaril's children.
End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Sunny Side, by A. A. Milne
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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