TWILIGHT LAND

him. The king saw him as soon as he appeared, and
when he caught sight of him he burst out laughing.

“ Aye,” said he, “I was looking for thee to-day, and
wondering how soon thou wouldst come. Come hither
till I whisper something in thine ear.”

Then all the lords and nobles and courtiers and ministers
drew back, and Beppo went up to the king.

The king laughed and laughed. He laid his arm over
Beppo’s shoulder, and again he whispered in his ear:
“A word, a word, only a few words; if they be spoken
ill, they are ill; if they be spoken well, they are more
precious than gold and jewels.”

Then he released Beppo, and Beppo withdrew.

So it continued for three months. Every three days
Beppo went to the palace, and the king whispered the
words in his ear. Beppo said nothing to any one, and
always went away as soon as the king had whispered to
him.

Then at last the princess said to him: “Now the time
is ripe for doing. Listen! To-day when you go to the
palace fix your eyes, when the king speaks to you, upon
the prime-minister, and shake your head. The prime-
minister will ask you what the king said. Say nothing
to him but this : ‘Alas, my poor friend !’”

It was all just as the princess had said.

The king was walking in the garden, with his courtiers
and ministers about him, Beppo came to him, and the
king, as he always did, laid his hand upon Beppo’s shoulder
and whispered in his ear: “A word, a word, only a few
words ; if they be spoken ill, they are ill ; ifthey be spoken
well, they are more precious than gold and jewels.”

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