46 THE ADVENTURES OF PRINCE HEMPSEED.

ood and kind-hearted donkey—the moment he was freed
froin his burdens, he seemed to shake off every care also,
and regaled himself with the softest grass and the nicest
thistles in the world.

When young Prince Hempseed thought that his mena-
gerie had enjoyed their freedom quite long enough, he
gathered all his animals and birds around him, and taught
them a great number of tricks, such as he had seen practised
by the strolling actors, conjurors, and clowns who used to
stop at Orfano-Orfana castle.

He whistled a tune, and the monkey performed a waltz,
or other dance. But if Zug grew idle or turned sulky, a
kiss, something nice to eat,,or even a gentle tap at times,
would soon make him learn: and the lessons were continued.

You will remember that Coco was the chief butt of
Rol’s cruelties, and that the wicked man used to delight in
pinching Coco’s paws with the hot tongs, to make the poor
animal mew in different tones. To induce Coco to favour
him with the same kind of music, Prince Hempseed only
had to squeeze the cat’s paws ae
with his fingers. The poor a5
animal, remembering the pain ars
that Rol used to put its paws
to, immediately began to mew
in a humming manner, and §
with evident pleasure, as the
child thus pressed its feet,
now gently, then a little har-
der, but never to hurt them.
At last the cat was actually
able to mew a tune—not very
well, perhaps; still well
enough considering that it
was but a cat!

The canaries did not remain idle. Prince Hempseed cut
two little pieces of wood into the shapes of a sword and a