Miss Tripp's sweet, drawling voice trembled slightly as she went on with her little fable. "The princess felt so badly that she shed bitter tears when she saw the glitter of those three silver hairs, because she knew that she could never, never catch up with youth any more." "What youth--the fairy prince?" Doris wanted to know. And Richard smiled seraphically as he trilled, "Oh, dood! It was 'e pwince!" "No, darlings; there isn't any prince at all in this story. There was one--once--away back in the beginning of it; but he--went away--to a far country, and he--never came back." "Did the princess cry?" "Did her cwy?" "Yes; she cried till all the brightness went out of her pretty eyes. Then she stopped crying and laughed instead, because--Oh; because crying didn't help a bit." "You've been crying, Aunty Evelyn!" said Doris suddenly. "Why-e! your eyes are all teary now!" "I've got a cold; I'm afraid," prevaricated Miss Tripp. "I don't like that story," objected Doris. "Unless----" and her eyes brightened, "the prince came back. Let him come back, Aunty Evelyn; please let him; it'll spoil the story if he doesn't." Miss Tripp drew a deep breath. "I--wish he might come back," she said; "but I--I'm afraid he never will, dear; and the poor little princess will have to go on alone till----" "Till what?" demanded Doris indignantly. "I c'n tell a better story 'an that," she added. "Tell it, dear." "Well; the princess went out in her horrid ol' black clo'es an' travelled an' travelled, _an' travelled_ till she was mos' tired out, an' everywhere she went she asked 'where is my prince?' An' at first all the people said, 'We don't know where any prince is.' But the princess jus' made up her mind she _would_ find him; an'--an' bimeby she did--jus' as easy! He was right there all the time; only he was enchanted by an awful bad fairy so she couldn't see him, an' so----" Doris paused to draw breath, and Richard gravely took up the tale, nodding the while like a gay little china mandarin. "He was 'chanted an' she was 'chanted, an' they bof was 'chanted, an'----" "Be quiet, Buddy, an' let me tell," interrupted Doris. "She did find him! Course she found him, an'--an' her horrid ol' clo'es was changed to a lovely wedding dress, an'--an'--that's the end of it!" Miss Tripp laughed. She felt unreasonably cheered by this optimistic finale to her sad little story--which had no ending. "That would be the beginning of a very cheerful story," she said. "Now Aunty Evelyn must get some breakfast and start out into the cold world." "Oh! we want you to stay!" "I'm coming back, dears; yes, indeed; I'll be back this very evening, and then I'll tell you the loveliest story in the world, all about a little goose-girl." It was a very cold world indeed into which Miss Tripp fared forth that winter morning. But Elizabeth's friendly protests were vain.