Part 14 (1/2)

”My young friend,” he said, ”I see but one way out of the difficulty, and that is for you to walk about on two of your legs until they are worn out. Then, you perceive, you will have, unless my calculations have misled me, exactly two left,--the proper number to enable you legally to marry the Flamingo Princess. You may find this fatiguing,”

he continued, seeing the Prince's look of dismay; ”but really I can see nothing else for you to do; and when you reflect that everything is more or less fatiguing, and that I have worn out five complete sets of teeth on this very cheese, you may become reconciled to your lot.

Good-by. I wish you well.” And without more ado, he plunged into the cheese once more.

The unhappy Prince uttered one wild howl, and turning away, fled into the savage wilds of the Pongolian forest.

Here Bruin paused, shook his head, and sighed deeply.

”Oh! go on, Bruin,” cried Toto eagerly. ”How _can_ you stop there? Go on immediately, and tell us the rest!”

Alas! there is little more to tell; for from that moment the Prince of the Poles has never been seen or heard of.

The Flamingo Princess waited long and anxiously for his return; but he never came. I believe she finally married an ostrich, who led her a terrible life.

The Princ.i.p.al Whale called at the coast of Africa on his way back from the Southern seas, and hearing the sad intelligence of the Prince's disappearance, departed in great sadness for his Northern home, to break the news to the Solar-Polarity of the Hypopeppercorns. When that potentate heard of the disappearance of his son, he fell off the North Pole, and broke his neck; and the whole nation a.s.sumed the mourning costume of the polar bears, which consists in tying a sailor's knot in the left ear, and a granny's knot in the right.

And thus ends, in sadness and despair, the story of ”The Lost Prince of the Poles.”

CHAPTER XI.

One afternoon (it was not a ”story” afternoon, for the grandmother was very busy, dyeing some of her homespun yarn) Toto went off to the forest early, intending to have a game of scamper with c.o.o.n and Cracker. As he sauntered along with his hands in his pockets, he met the woodchuck. Master Chucky looked very spruce and neat, and was trotting along with an air of great self-satisfaction.

”Hallo! you Chucky,” exclaimed Toto, ”where are you going?”

The woodchuck stopped, and glanced around with his sharp little eyes.

”Is any one with you, Toto?” he asked,--”c.o.o.n, or Cracker, or any of those fellows?”

”No,” answered Toto in some surprise. ”I was just going to find them.

Do you want them?”

”No, indeed!” exclaimed the woodchuck. ”You see,” and he lowered his voice confidentially, ”I am going to a rinktum, and I don't want those fellows to know about it.”

”What is a rinktum?” asked Toto. ”And why don't you want them to know about it?”

”Why, a rinktum is a rabbit's ball, of course. What else should it be?” answered Chucky. ”The rabbits have invited me; but at the last one c.o.o.n ate up all the supper, and bit the rabbits if they tried to get any; so they determined not to invite him again, and asked me not to say anything about it.”

”Oh, Chucky,” exclaimed Toto, ”I wish you would take me! I have never been to a rabbit's ball, and I should like to go _so_ much! and I wouldn't eat anything at all!” he added, seeing that the woodchuck looked doubtful.

Chucky brightened up at the last remark, and said, ”Well, after all, I don't see why I shouldn't take you. They are always glad to see people, if they will only behave themselves. So come along, Toto;”

and the fat little creature hurried along, with Toto following him.

”You may have some difficulty,” he said as they went along, ”in getting into the ball-room, but I think you will be able to squeeze through. It is in the Big Burrow, which is certainly large enough for any reasonable creature. Here we are now at the mouth of the burrow.”

They were crossing a rough, uneven meadow, with trees and shrubs thickly scattered over it; and the woodchuck stopped at a large juniper-bush, in front of which sat a black rabbit.

”How do you do, Woodchuck?” inquired the rabbit. ”And who is this with you?”