HUMPLESS 171

of thousands of cannon exploding at the
same time rent the air, and was followed by
a deathlike silence. For the moment Prince
Filderkin and his bride neither saw nor felt
anything, having been rendered perfectly
unconscious by the shock. When they re-
covered their senses, to the Prince’s extreme
surprise he found that they were both stand-
ing opposite his father’s own palace, and,
moreover, that the King and Queen, followed
by a host of courtiers, were just coming out
of the front door. The Prince did not
hesitate a moment. Taking his Amarylla
by the hand, he Jed the blushing beauty up
to his parents, and drawing himself up to his
full height, so that they might clearly
perceive the disappearance of his hump, he
proudly addressed them in the following
terms :

‘Here, my beloved parents, is the lady to
whom you owe the return of your son, and
his cure from the burden under which he had
so long pined. Let me present to you your
daughter !’

At these words the royal couple became
strangely excited. The King tossed his
crown three times in the air, cleverly catch-