Page:The Floating Prince - Frank R Stockton.djvu/161

146 "Is the country pretty well ruled now?" asked Filamina, after considering the matter a moment. "Oh, yes," answered the high-born boy; "there are persons, appointed by my father, who govern everything all right It's only the name of the thing that makes some of the people discontented. All the principalities in our neighborhood have regular princes, and they want one, too."

"I'll tell you what I would do," said Filamina. "I would just keep on going to school, and being taught things, until I was grown up, and knew everything that a prince ought to know. Then you could just manage your principality in your own way. Look at me! Here am I with a great castle, and a whole lot of strange creatures for servants, and people coming to know things, and I can do hardly anything myself, and have to get a wizard and a witch to come and manage my business for me. I'm sure I wouldn't get into the same kind of a fix if I were you."

"I don't believe," said the high-born boy, "that I could have had any better advice than that from the very oldest magician in the world. I will do just what you have said."

Filamina now took her young visitor around the castle to show him the curious things, and when he heard of the people who were coming the next day, to know what had been done for them, he agreed to stay and see how matters would turn out. Filamina's accounts had made him very much interested in the various cases.

At the appointed time, all the persons who had applied for magical assistance and information assembled in the Dim-lit Vault. Filamina sat at the end of the table, the high-born boy had a seat at her right, while the witch and the wizard were at her left. The applicants stood at the other end of the table, while the giants, afrits, and the rest of the strange household grouped themselves around the room.