The Lilac Fairy Book, part 11 · page 21 2101When they came into the palace yard, the king himself opened the carriage door, for respect to his new son-in-law.102As soon as he turned the handle, a shower of small stones fell on his powdered wig and his silk coat, and down he fell under them.103There was great fright and some laughter, and the king, after he wiped the blood from his forehead, looked very cross at the eldest prince.104‘My lord,’ says he, ‘I’m very sorry for this accident, but I’m not to blame.105I saw the young smith get into the carriage, and we never stopped a minute since.’106‘It’s uncivil you were to him.107Go,’ says he to the other prince, ‘and bring the young smith here, and be polite.’108‘Never fear,’ says he.109But there’s some people that couldn’t be good-natured if they tried, and not a bit civiller was the new messenger than the old, and when the king opened the carriage door a second time, it’s shower of mud that came down on him.110‘There’s no use,’ says he, ‘going on this way.111The fox never got a better messenger than himself.’112So he changed his clothes, and washed himself, and out he set to the prince’s forge and asked him to sit along with himself.113The prince begged to be allowed to sit in the other carriage, and when they were half-way he opened his snuff-box.114‘Master,’ says he, ‘I’d wish to be dressed now according to my rank.’115‘You shall be that,’ says Seven Inches.116‘And now I’ll bid you farewell.117Continue as good and kind as you always were; love your wife; and that’s all the advice I’ll give you.’118So Seven Inches vanished; and when the carriage door was opened in the yard, out walks the prince as fine as hands could make him, and the first thing he did was to run over to his bride and embrace her.1 2← previousThe Lilac Fairy Book, part 10next →The Lilac Fairy Book, part 12↑ back to The Lilac Fairy BookThis page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg3454/11/page/2/