PRINCE PRIGIO. 39

 

‘The prince pulled off the cap of darkness, put
-on the other, and said:

“TIT wish I were dressed in my best suit of white
and gold, with the royal Pantouflia diamonds!”

In one moment there he was in white and
gold, the greatest and most magnificent dandy
in the whole world, and the handsomest
man !

“How about my boots, I wonder,” said
the prince; for his seven-league boots were
stout riding-boots, not good to dance in,
whereas mow he was in elegant shoes of silk
and gold.

He threw down the wishing cap, put on the
other—the cap of darkness—and made three
strides in the direction of Gluckstein. But he
was only three steps nearer it than he had been,
and the seven-league boots were standing be-
side him on the floor!

** No,” said the prince; ‘‘no man can be in
two different pairs of boots at one and the same
time! That’s mathematics!”

He then hunted about in the lumber-room
again till he found a small, shabby, old Persian
carpet, the size of a hearthrug. He went to
his own room, took a portmanteau in his hand,
sat down on the carpet, and said: -
’ “T wish I were in Gluckstein.”

In a moment there he found himself; for
this was that famous carpet which Prince
Hussein bought long ago, in the market at