<SPAN name="startofbook"></SPAN>
<div class="tnote">
<p class="tn">Transcriber’s notes</p>
<p>The width of this document has been set to a maximum,
to keep the illustrations in place. An effort has been made to keep the
pictures as crooked as they were in the original.</p>
<p>A few punctuation errors have been corrected, and on page 142
“is” was changed to “as” (make it as hard as
you can). Otherwise the original has been preserved, including
inconsistent hyphenation.</p>
</div>
<div class="figcenter"> <ANTIMG src="images/i001.jpg" width-obs="414" height-obs="600" alt="Cover" title="" /></div>
<hr class="l2" />
<div class="figcenter"> <ANTIMG src="images/i002.png" width-obs="399" height-obs="254" alt="Presented to ... By ..." title="" /></div>
<hr class="l2" />
<h1>THE BROWNIES<br/> AND PRINCE FLORIMEL<br/> <span class="f6">OR</span><br/> <span class="f8">Brownieland, Fairyland, and Demonland</span></h1>
<p class="tp1"><span class="f7">BY</span><br/>
PALMER COX</p>
<p class="tp2">Author of The Brownies: Their Book; Another Brownie Book;<br/>
The Brownies Around the World; The Brownies at Home;<br/>
The Brownies Through the Union; The Brownies<br/>
Abroad; The Brownies in the Philippines;<br/>
The Brownies’ Latest Adventures; The<br/>
Brownies’ Many More Nights; The<br/>
Brownie Clown in Brownie<br/>
Town; The Brownie Primer,<br/>
etc., etc., etc.</p>
<p> </p>
<div class="figcenter"> <ANTIMG src="images/i003.png" width-obs="75" height-obs="74" alt="Logo" title="" /></div>
<p class="tp1">NEW YORK<br/>
THE CENTURY CO.</p>
<hr class="l2" />
<p class="tp2">Copyright, 1918, by<br/>
<span class="smcap">The Century Co.</span></p>
<hr class="l3" />
<p class="tp2"><i>Published, September, 1918</i></p>
<p class="tp2"> </p>
<p class="tp2">PRINTED IN THE U. S. A.</p>
<hr class="l2" />
<p class="center f12">TABLE OF CONTENTS</p>
<div class="center">
<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="Table of Contents">
<tr>
<td> </td>
<td> </td>
<td class="col2" colspan="2"><span class="f8">PAGE</span></td>
</tr><tr>
<td class="col3" rowspan="3">
<ANTIMG src="images/i004a.png" width-obs="135" height-obs="107" alt="Parrot" title="“Polly has a Quotation!”" />
</td>
<td class="col1" colspan="2">The Flight of Prince Florimel</td>
<td class="col2"><SPAN href="#Page_3">3</SPAN></td>
</tr><tr>
<td> </td>
<td class="col2" rowspan="3">
<ANTIMG src="images/i004b.png" width-obs="151" height-obs="115" alt="Mermaid" title="“Well, you are a queer fish.”" />
</td>
<td> </td>
</tr><tr>
<td> </td>
<td> </td>
</tr><tr>
<td class="col1" colspan="2">Titania Comes to Reign Over the Fairies</td>
<td class="col2"><SPAN href="#Page_14">14</SPAN></td>
</tr><tr>
<td class="col3" rowspan="3">
<ANTIMG src="images/i004c.png" width-obs="105" height-obs="108" alt="Singing bird" title="" />
</td>
<td class="col1" colspan="2">Florimel Reaches the
<br/>Enchanted Country</td>
<td class="col2"><SPAN href="#Page_25">25</SPAN></td>
</tr><tr>
<td> </td>
<td class="col2" rowspan="3">
<ANTIMG src="images/i004d.png" width-obs="183" height-obs="129" alt="Working sprites" title="" />
</td>
<td> </td>
</tr><tr>
<td> </td>
<td> </td>
</tr><tr>
<td class="col1" colspan="2">The Human Octopus Starts
<br/>on a Mission</td>
<td class="col2"><SPAN href="#Page_37">37</SPAN></td>
</tr><tr>
<td class="col3" rowspan="3">
<ANTIMG src="images/i004e.png" width-obs="153" height-obs="100" alt="Wild animal" title="" />
</td>
<td class="col1" colspan="2">Florimel Meets the
<br/>Brownies</td>
<td class="col2"><SPAN href="#Page_49">49</SPAN></td>
</tr><tr>
<td> </td>
<td class="col2" rowspan="3">
<ANTIMG src="images/i004f.png" width-obs="156" height-obs="128" alt="Hidden demon" title="" />
</td>
<td> </td>
</tr><tr>
<td> </td>
<td> </td>
</tr><tr>
<td class="col1" colspan="2">The Human Octopus Snoops
<br/>Around</td>
<td class="col2"><SPAN href="#Page_58">58</SPAN></td>
</tr><tr>
<td class="col3" rowspan="3">
<ANTIMG src="images/i005a.png" width-obs="166" height-obs="103" alt="Watermelon" title="" />
</td>
<td class="col1" colspan="2">Florimel Is Adopted by
<br/>King Stanislaus</td>
<td class="col2"><SPAN href="#Page_68">68</SPAN></td>
</tr><tr>
<td> </td>
<td class="col2" rowspan="3">
<ANTIMG src="images/i005b.png" width-obs="166" height-obs="89" alt="Brownies" title="" />
</td>
<td> </td>
</tr><tr>
<td> </td>
<td> </td>
</tr><tr>
<td class="col1" colspan="2">Queen Titania’s Great Peril</td>
<td class="col2"><SPAN href="#Page_80">80</SPAN></td>
</tr><tr>
<td class="col3" rowspan="3">
<ANTIMG src="images/i005c.png" width-obs="86" height-obs="113" alt="Vulcan" title="VULCAN, GOD OF FIRE, ALWAYS BUSY" />
</td>
<td class="col1" colspan="2">The Compact with Vulcan</td>
<td class="col2"><SPAN href="#Page_92">92</SPAN></td>
</tr><tr>
<td> </td>
<td class="col2" rowspan="3">
<ANTIMG src="images/i005d.png" width-obs="134" height-obs="107" alt="Wedding guests" title="HASTE TO THE WEDDING" />
</td>
<td> </td>
</tr><tr>
<td> </td>
<td> </td>
</tr><tr>
<td class="col1" colspan="2">The Strange Wedding-Guests</td>
<td class="col2"><SPAN href="#Page_103">103</SPAN></td>
</tr><tr>
<td class="col3" rowspan="3">
<ANTIMG src="images/i005e.png" width-obs="129" height-obs="104" alt="Lumber yard" title="LUMBER YARD" />
</td>
<td class="col1" colspan="2">The Brownies Build a Raft</td>
<td class="col2"><SPAN href="#Page_119">119</SPAN></td>
</tr><tr>
<td> </td>
<td class="col2" rowspan="3">
<ANTIMG src="images/i005f.png" width-obs="146" height-obs="94" alt="Kidnapping" title="" />
</td>
<td> </td>
</tr><tr>
<td> </td>
<td> </td>
</tr><tr>
<td class="col1" colspan="2">What Happened in the Throne-Room</td>
<td class="col2"><SPAN href="#Page_133">133</SPAN></td>
</tr><tr>
<td class="col3" rowspan="3">
<ANTIMG src="images/i005g.png" width-obs="174" height-obs="74" alt="Fighting birds" title="LIFE PRESERVER" />
</td>
<td class="col1" colspan="2">Neptune Stills the Waves</td>
<td class="col2"><SPAN href="#Page_145">145</SPAN></td>
</tr><tr>
<td> </td>
<td class="col2" rowspan="3">
<ANTIMG src="images/i005h.png" width-obs="152" height-obs="119" alt="Musical instruments" title="" />
</td>
<td> </td>
</tr><tr>
<td> </td>
<td> </td>
</tr><tr>
<td class="col1" colspan="2">What the Policeman Discovered</td>
<td class="col2"><SPAN href="#Page_157">157</SPAN></td>
</tr><tr>
<td class="col3" rowspan="3">
<ANTIMG src="images/i006a.png" width-obs="96" height-obs="140" alt="German Band" title="" />
</td>
<td class="col1" colspan="2">The German Band</td>
<td class="col2"><SPAN href="#Page_166">166</SPAN></td>
</tr><tr>
<td> </td>
<td class="col2" rowspan="3">
<ANTIMG src="images/i006b.png" width-obs="143" height-obs="102" alt="Earthquake" title="" />
</td>
<td> </td>
</tr><tr>
<td> </td>
<td> </td>
</tr><tr>
<td class="col1" colspan="2">The Earthquake and Volcano</td>
<td class="col2"><SPAN href="#Page_177">177</SPAN></td>
</tr><tr>
<td class="col3" rowspan="3">
<ANTIMG src="images/i006c.png" width-obs="144" height-obs="99" alt="Fire fighters" title="" />
</td>
<td> </td>
<td> </td>
<td> </td>
</tr><tr>
<td class="col1" colspan="2">The Brownies Fight the Flames</td>
<td class="col2"><SPAN href="#Page_189">189</SPAN></td>
</tr><tr>
<td> </td>
<td class="col2" rowspan="3">
<ANTIMG src="images/i006d.png" width-obs="170" height-obs="95" alt="Flight" title="" />
</td>
<td> </td>
</tr><tr>
<td class="col1" colspan="2">The Flight to the Mines</td>
<td class="col2"><SPAN href="#Page_201">201</SPAN></td>
</tr><tr>
<td class="col3" rowspan="3">
<ANTIMG src="images/i006e.png" width-obs="124" height-obs="80" alt="Surprised" title="" />
</td>
<td> </td>
<td> </td>
</tr><tr>
<td class="col1" colspan="2">The Mission of the Dove</td>
<td class="col2"><SPAN href="#Page_212">212</SPAN></td>
</tr><tr>
<td> </td>
<td class="col2" rowspan="4">
<ANTIMG src="images/i006f.png" width-obs="116" height-obs="106" alt="Rescue" title="" />
</td>
<td> </td>
</tr><tr>
<td class="col1" colspan="2">Disaster to Dragonfel</td>
<td class="col2"><SPAN href="#Page_223">223</SPAN></td>
</tr><tr>
<td class="col3" rowspan="3">
<ANTIMG src="images/i006g.png" width-obs="161" height-obs="101" alt="Celebration" title="" />
</td>
<td> </td>
<td> </td>
</tr><tr>
<td> </td>
<td> </td>
</tr><tr>
<td class="col1" colspan="2">And They Lived Happily Ever After</td>
<td class="col2"><SPAN href="#Page_233">233</SPAN></td>
</tr>
</table></div>
<hr class="l2" />
<h2><br/> </h2>
<div class="centered"><div class="bbox">
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="BOOKS BY PALMER COX">
<tr>
<td class="col8"> </td>
<td class="col8">
</td>
<td class="col8"> </td>
</tr><tr>
<td class="col3" rowspan="4">
<ANTIMG src="images/i007a.png" width-obs="73" height-obs="70" alt="Holding book" title="THE BROWNIES" />
</td>
<td class="col6" colspan="2">BOOKS BY PALMER COX:</td>
</tr><tr>
<td class="col4" colspan="2">PUBLISHED BY THE CENTURY CO.</td>
</tr><tr>
<td class="col5" colspan="2">THE BROWNIES: THEIR BOOK</td>
</tr><tr>
<td class="col4" colspan="2">Quarto, 150 pages. Price, in boards, $1.50</td>
</tr><tr>
<td class="col7" colspan="2">ANOTHER BROWNIE BOOK</td>
<td class="col2" rowspan="2">
<ANTIMG src="images/i007b.png" width-obs="88" height-obs="53" alt="Reading book" title="" />
</td>
</tr><tr>
<td class="col4" colspan="2">Quarto, 150 pages. Price, in boards, $1.50</td>
</tr><tr>
<td class="col3" rowspan="2">
<ANTIMG src="images/i007c.png" width-obs="81" height-obs="64" alt="In the White House" title="WHITE HOUSE" />
</td>
<td class="col7" colspan="2">THE BROWNIES AT HOME</td>
</tr><tr>
<td class="col4" colspan="2">Quarto, 150 pages. Price, in boards, $1.50</td>
</tr><tr>
<td class="col7" colspan="2">THE BROWNIES AROUND THE WORLD</td>
<td class="col2" rowspan="2">
<ANTIMG src="images/i007d.png" width-obs="66" height-obs="62" alt="Around the World" title="" />
</td>
</tr><tr>
<td class="col4" colspan="2">Quarto, 150 pages. Price, in boards, $1.50</td>
</tr><tr>
<td class="col3" rowspan="2">
<ANTIMG src="images/i007e.png" width-obs="72" height-obs="73" alt="Sight seeing" title="NIAGARA FALLS DON’T GO TOO NEAR" />
</td>
<td class="col7" colspan="2">THE BROWNIES THROUGH THE UNION</td>
</tr><tr>
<td class="col4" colspan="2">Quarto, 150 pages. Price, in boards, $1.50</td>
</tr><tr>
<td class="col7" colspan="2">THE BROWNIES ABROAD</td>
<td class="col2" rowspan="2">
<ANTIMG src="images/i007f.png" width-obs="92" height-obs="67" alt="Abroad" title="" />
</td>
</tr><tr>
<td class="col4" colspan="2">Quarto, 150 pages. Price, in boards, $1.50</td>
</tr><tr>
<td class="col3" rowspan="2">
<ANTIMG src="images/i007g.png" width-obs="99" height-obs="71" alt="Philippines" title="" />
</td>
<td class="col7" colspan="2">THE BROWNIES IN THE PHILIPPINES</td>
</tr><tr>
<td class="col4" colspan="2">Quarto, 150 pages. Price, in boards, $1.50</td>
</tr><tr>
<td class="col7" colspan="2">THE BROWNIES LATEST
ADVENTURES</td>
<td class="col2" rowspan="2">
<ANTIMG src="images/i007h.png" width-obs="104" height-obs="68" alt="Flying machine" title="" />
</td>
</tr><tr>
<td class="col4" colspan="2">Quarto, 150 pages. Price, in boards, $1.50</td>
</tr><tr>
<td class="col3" rowspan="2">
<ANTIMG src="images/i007i.png" width-obs="84" height-obs="52" alt="Lanterns" title="" />
</td>
<td class="col7" colspan="2">THE BROWNIES MANY MORE NIGHTS</td>
</tr><tr>
<td class="col4" colspan="2">Quarto, 150 pages. Price, in boards, $1.50</td>
</tr><tr>
<td class="col7" colspan="2">THE BROWNIE CLOWN OF BROWNIETOWN</td>
<td class="col2" rowspan="2">
<ANTIMG src="images/i007j.png" width-obs="66" height-obs="69" alt="Clown" title="" />
</td>
</tr><tr>
<td class="col4" colspan="2">Oblong, 103 pages. Price, in boards, $1.00</td>
</tr><tr>
<td class="col3" rowspan="2">
<ANTIMG src="images/i007k.png" width-obs="81" height-obs="67" alt="Wee Ones" title="FOR THE WEE ONES" />
</td>
<td class="col7" colspan="2">THE BROWNIE PRIMER</td>
</tr><tr>
<td class="col4" colspan="2">12 mo, 108 pages. Price, in cloth, $ .40 net.
<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[3]</SPAN></span></td>
</tr>
</table></div>
</div>
<div class="picplace">
<hr class="l1" />
<h1>THE BROWNIES AND PRINCE<br/> FLORIMEL</h1>
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<h2 class="left">CHAPTER I</h2>
<p class="st">THE FLIGHT OF PRINCE FLORIMEL</p>
<p class="cap"><span class="upper">All</span> that is here set down happened in
a wonderful country where wonderful
things are always happening.</p>
<p>In a certain kingdom there was
a young prince named Florimel.</p>
<p>His father, the king, had lately
passed away, but, though Florimel
was his only son, and of age, he
had not succeeded to the throne
that by right of birth was his.</p>
<p>The reason was that his father
had a brother, a very cruel, crafty
duke, high in the councils of the state, who had designs upon
the throne himself. In a covetous frame of mind he had once
taken a photograph of the crown and ermine robe, and the intelligent
palace parrot had made a remark thereat:</p>
<p>“‘Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown,’” croaked the
bird.</p>
<p>It was a wise quotation, and yet it was not wise to make it,<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[4]</SPAN></span>
for right after that something happened to the unlucky parrot.</p>
<p>The duke with his evil influence swayed the opinions of the
royal cabinet which made the laws. In his wicked old heart
he wished Florimel out of the way.</p>
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<p>If Florimel had been like other princes one reads
about his people no doubt
would have
insisted upon
his occupying the throne. But the throne was of ordinary
size, so that he never could have occupied it. Like other
princes he was all that was fair and handsome, but he was very
small indeed. He was no larger than the average-sized boy
of twelve, and the people who should have proved his loyal
subjects were well-grown men and women. In their talks
among themselves they showed a shame that anyone so small
should rule them.<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</SPAN></span></p>
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<p>“Why, he’s no bigger than a Brownie!”
was a remark they very often made. “It
would look foolish to have such a mite for
a king.” For they were well informed
about the Brownies, and knew how
they perched on fences, or hid adroitly
whenever danger threatened.</p>
<p>But they were guided by
appearances, as too often
people wrongly are, and they
failed to realize that sometimes
the best goods are
done up in the smallest packages,
and that even a mite may be mighty.</p>
<p>The fact that Florimel was so small had been a great grief
to his late parents who had never been able to understand it.
He had been a fine, healthy baby who had won the hearty approval
of his doctors and nurses.</p>
<p>His mother always had an uneasy fear that the godmother
who assisted at his christening might have been concerned in
his diminutive size, but the king invariably poo-poohed at her
suspicions. This godmother was an ex-fairy, but advancing
age had interfered with her work of magic. Her joints had
become stiff and cramped, and she had contracted rheumatism
from sleeping in damp, dewy flowers. She did not get around
in the lively fashion she used to.</p>
<p>“Nonsense!” said the king. “Would she have bestowed on
him the gift of second sight and at the same time taken away
his size? Depend upon it, my dear, her intentions were perfectly
straightforward and honorable.”<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</SPAN></span></p>
</div>
<p>“But it may have been this second sight has interfered with
his growth,” said the queen. “His vision is simply wonderful.”</p>
<p>This was indeed so. Prince Florimel could see things no
one else could. Furthermore he could see them at night.
Some wise old soothsayer declared that he was gifted with supernatural
powers.</p>
<p>One other gift had his ex-fairy godmother presented to him,
a bow and quiver of arrows which she averred were priceless.</p>
<p>“I charge you,” she said most impressively to the king, “never
to let your dear son have the bow and arrows unless there comes
to him some moment of great danger. Then let him place one
of these arrows to
the bow, and shoot
it where he will.
The result will be
miraculous.”</p>
<div class="figleft"> <ANTIMG src="images/i011.png" width-obs="300" height-obs="217" alt="Gift" title="" /></div>
<p>After she had
gone back to the
old-ex-fairy-ladies’
home the
king was strongly
tempted to shoot
one of the arrows
from the bow just
to see what would happen. With great difficulty he repressed
his curiosity, and placed the bow and arrows in the family safe
whose combinations was known only to himself.</p>
<p>So time passed happily, and one year added its joys to those<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</SPAN></span>
of others, until there came the sad day when Florimel lost his
dear mother. There was much sorrow throughout the entire
kingdom, for the queen was a gentle, gracious one whose
kind words and good deeds had endeared her to the hearts of
all. So great was her loss to the king that he did not survive
her long. Ere he joined her he called his brother, the duke,
to his bed, and said to him:</p>
<p>“You are my only kin outside of Florimel, so to your keeping
I entrust him. He is such a little chap you must be very
careful of him. After I am gone he will be king, and I am
sure he will rule well and wisely. He is a true king at heart if
not of stature. Promise me to be his councilor and guide, and
to incline him ever to the side of mercy, charity, and goodness.”</p>
<p>The false duke promised with great earnestness, but all the
while he was thinking of many wicked things.</p>
<p>With Florimel removed he would ascend to the throne himself.
Yet so well did he hide his guilty feelings that his brother
had no suspicion of any perfidy or wrong-doing, and passed
away in the peace befitting the righteous king he was.</p>
<p>After the king’s death the duke through one pretext or another
delayed the coronation of the new. He incited his
nephew to feats and deeds of great danger and daring with
the evil hope that some terrible accident would befall him. But
in all the risks and hazards that he took, and none was too
great, it almost seemed that Prince Florimel bore a charmed
life.</p>
<p>Like other young people he had his dreams, and saw much
that was unreal, but with all these there had come lasting impressions.</p>
<p>When the duke failed to accomplish his evil designs, he determined<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</SPAN></span>
upon even more desperate methods in his game.</p>
<p>The people were beginning to chafe at the delay in the coronation,
and were clamoring for a new ruler. So the cabinet met
to decide this most important matter, and the duke presided
over the council.</p>
<p>“This is a most embarrassing situation,” he said. “Ordinarily
we would place the only son of our late king on the
throne without question and amid great rejoicing. But we
are confronted by a most perplexing question.
Prince Florimel is what might be termed a freak.
The point is,
could he represent
his kingdom
with the proper
dignity?”</p>
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<p>“Prince Florimel
may be a
freak as you
say,” remarked
a member of
the cabinet,
“but at the
same time I have
never seen a handsomer, manlier young fellow. His symmetry
is perfect, and he is all that is chivalrous and brave. He is the
stuff true kings are made of. The only thing against him is
his size.”<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</SPAN></span></p>
<p>“That I fear is an objection which cannot be overcome,”
said the wily duke. “Can we, a race of big men and women,
be governed by a pygmy king—a hop-o’-my-thumb? We would
be the laughing stock of other kingdoms. Think, when the
rulers of all these met, and ours came among them, of the
mortification we would feel that we did not have a full-grown
man to represent us. His insignificance would make this country
insignificant to others. Those who did not know us, and
judged us by him, would look upon us as a country of dwarfs.”</p>
<p>“But Florimel is the late king’s son, and heir to the throne,”
said another member of the cabinet. “Who else could reign
in his stead?”</p>
</div>
<p>“I am the next of kin,” said the duke.</p>
<p>“Yes, if it were not for Florimel you would be the logical
king.”</p>
<p>“Let us postpone our deliberations until tomorrow, by which
time I think I can find a way out of the difficulty,” said the
duke, with deadly meaning.</p>
<p>The members of the cabinet looked at each other, and the
meeting silently adjourned. It had been conducted with the
utmost secrecy, and no one else was present but an old factotum
named Gando who was there to lock the doors. And
Gando, who was passionately attached to Florimel, heard the
duke’s word, and was very uneasy in his mind.</p>
<p>“So that is why,” the old man said to himself, “the duke was
sharpening his knife on the grind-stone!”</p>
<p>When the duke had retired to his apartment Gando tiptoed
noiselessly after him, and placed his feeble, dim eye close to the
key-hole of the door.</p>
<p>What he saw froze the blood in his veins, and caused the few<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</SPAN></span>
white hairs on his head to stand stiffly up with his great fright.</p>
<p>The duke was seated at his window, and the moonlight played
and glittered on a long, slender knife that he held in his hand.</p>
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<p>Old Gando’s knees knocked together, and he fled the spot.
Of one thing he was very sure. Florimel without loss of time
should place himself far beyond the reach of his wicked uncle.
Each added moment increased the prince’s danger. Soon escape
might be too late. Before he
went to warn the sleeping prince
he secured the bow and
quiver of arrows that
had been intrusted
to his
care by the late
king. He hastily
provided
himself with
a smock, loose
cap, and long
trousers of
coarse cloth
such as children
of poor
peasants wear.</p>
<p>With these in his trembling arms, breathless from his exertions
and the great excitement under which he labored, he
entered Florimel’s bedchamber, and closed the door noiselessly
behind him. With his fair head resting on his curved arm,
Florimel slept. Gando gave a great sigh of relief when he
heard his gentle breathing. He flew to the bedside, and<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</SPAN></span>
straightway roused the slumbering prince from his dreams.</p>
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<div class="figcenter"> <ANTIMG src="images/i014.png" width-obs="442" height-obs="534" alt="In bed" title="" /></div>
<p>“Oh, master, my dear young master!” he cried with his voice
broken by sobs. “Rouse yourself, I beg of you, and go hence!<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</SPAN></span>
Do not delay, or you may be too late. Your cruel uncle this
very moment is plotting your death!”</p>
<p>Florimel sprang up in bed, and tried to rub the sleep from
his eyes.</p>
<p>“But where shall I go, good Gando?” he asked.</p>
<p>“That I know not,” said the old man. “The further you go
the better. You must leave behind you the boundaries of the
kingdom. See, I have brought these peasant’s clothes for you
to wear.”</p>
<p>“Nay, I still have my prince’s attire,” said Florimel.</p>
<p>“That will not serve,” said Gando. “If you donned it you
would be quickly recognized, and your uncle would gain knowledge
of you to your swift undoing.”</p>
<p>He assisted the bewildered Florimel to dress, swung across
his back the quiver of arrows, and handed him the bow.</p>
<p>“This was your godmother’s gift,” he said, “and it might aid
you.”</p>
<p>But, though Gando urged Florimel not to take the time, the
latter printed something on a card which he tacked upon the
outside of the door before they left the place.</p>
<p>As they fled toward a secret exit they heard down the corridor
the stealthy tread of feet.</p>
<p>The duke snarled like a wild beast as he read the lines:</p>
<p>“<span class="lower">FAREWELL, DEAR UNCLE! KEEP YOUR EDGED TOOL FOR
FATTED SWINE!</span>”</p>
<p>“Fly!” old Gando cried, as he thrust Florimel out into the
lonely, starlit night. “Oh, my dear young master, fly for your
life!”</p>
<p>It was a sad and sudden change indeed for the youth, from
the pleasant dreams of guardian Brownies surrounding his<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</SPAN></span>
bed, to the uncertainty of an unknown way before, and the
certainty of a cruel enemy behind. Snow-capped mountain
peaks in the distance had a forbidding look and, as though in
league with his old uncle, seemed to extend to him but a cool
welcome. The wakeful and observing beasts of the wood and
wild saw in him a new character never before met in the open
country, and were shaken with wonder and agitation while
they watched the hastening little traveller striding along the
lonely road, his only burden the bow and supply of arrows.</p>
<div class="figcenter"> <ANTIMG src="images/i015.png" width-obs="353" height-obs="269" alt="The wild beasts" title="" /></div>
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