The Floating Prince and Other Fairy Tales. Frank Richard Stockton

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СКАЧАТЬ we make?"

      The philosophers were not prepared to answer this question at that moment, but they said they would try to think of some good discovery to make.

      So the philosophers sat in a row behind the admiral, and thought and thought; and the admiral sat at the helm, with his blue-and-red stilts dangling in the water behind; and the cook prepared the meals, swept the deck, dusted the sail, and put things in order.

      After several hours, the admiral turned around to ask the philosophers if they had thought of any discovery yet, when, to his amazement, he saw that each one of them had put his bag upon his head.

      "What did you do that for?" cried the admiral, when each of the philosophers gave a little start; and then they explained that it was much easier to think with one's head in a bag. The outer ​world was thus shut out, and trains of thought were not so likely to be broken up.

      So, for day after day, the philosophers, with their heads in their bags, sat, and thought, and thought; and the admiral sat and steered, and the navy cooked and dusted and kept things clean.

      Sometimes, when she thought the sail did not catch the wind properly, she would move the admiral toward one side or the other, and thus change the course of the vessel.

      "If I knew," said the admiral one day, "the exact age of the youngest of those aristocrats, I should know just how long we should have to sail, before they would all be grown up, and when it would be time for us to go back after them, and take them to Nassimia."

      The cook remembered that the smallest boy had told her he was ten years old.

      "Then," said the admiral, "we must sail for eleven years."

      And they sailed for eleven years; the philosophers, with their heads in their bags, trying their best to think of some good thing to discover.

      The day after the aristocrats had been shut up in their luxurious apartment, the queen sent a messenger to them, to tell them that she thought the idea of putting people's heads in bags was one of the most amusing things she ever heard of, and that she would be much obliged if they would send her the pattern of the proper kind of bag, so that she could have some made for her slaves.

      The messenger brought scissors, and papers, and pins, and the boys cut a pattern of a very comfortable bag, with holes for the eyes, nose, mouth, and ears, which they sent with their respects to the queen. This royal lady had two bags made, which she put upon two of her servants, and their appearance amused her so ​much that she smiled a great deal, and yet scarcely felt tired at all.

      But, in the course of a day or two, the king happened to see these bag-headed slaves sitting in an ante-chamber. He was

      THE KING'S CONSTERNATION.

       struck with consternation, and instantly called a council of his chief ministers.

      "We are threatened with a terrible danger," he said to them, when all the doors were shut. "We have among us a body of Bagists! Little did we think, in our gratitude, that we were wound up merely that we might go through life with our heads ​bagged. Better far that we should stay stopped forever! How can we know but that the ship which brought them here may soon return, with a cargo of bag-stuffs, needles, thread, and thimbles, and that every head in our city may be bagged in a few days? Already, signs of this approaching evil have shown themselves. Notwithstanding the fact that these dangerous characters have been closely confined, no less than two of the inmates of my palace have already had their heads bagged!"

      At these words, a thrill of horror pervaded the ministers, and they discussed the matter for a long time. It was finally decided that a lookout should be constantly kept on the top of a high tower, to give notice of the approach of the ship, should she return; additional guards were posted at the door of the aristocrats' apartment, and it was ordered that the city be searched every day, to see if any new cases of bagism could be discovered.

      The aristocrats now began to be very discontented. Although they had everything they could possibly want to eat and drink, and were even furnished with toys and other sources of amusement, they did not like to be shut up.

      "I'll tell you what it is," said the Tail-boy. "I can't stand this any longer. Let's get away."

      "But where shall we get away to?" asked several of the others.

      "We'll see about that when we're outside," was the answer. "Anything's better than being shut up here."

      After some talk, everybody agreed that they ought to try to escape, and they set about to devise some plan for doing so. The windows were not very high from the ground, but they were too high for a jump, and not a thing could be found in the room which was strong enough to make a rope. Every piece of silk or muslin in the curtains or bed-clothes was fine, and ​delicate, and flimsy. At last, the Smart-boy hit upon a plan. The apartment was a very long one, and was floored with narrow boards, of costly wood, which ran from one end to the other of it. He proposed that they should take up one of these boards,

      THE PRISONERS ESCAPE.

       and, putting it out of the window, should rest one end on the ground, and the other on the window-sill. Then they could slide down.

      Instantly, every aristocrat set to work, with knife, or piece of tin, or small coin, to take out the silver screws which held down one of the boards.

      "It is very narrow," said the Head-boy. "I am afraid we shall slip off"."

      "Oh, there is no danger of that," replied the Smart-boy. ​"If we only go fast enough, we cannot slip off. We will grease the board, and then we shall go fast enough."

      So the board was taken up, and, after having been well greased with oil from the lamps, was put out of the window.

      Then the boys, one at a time, got on the board and slid, with the speed of lightning, to the ground. Most of them came down with such rapidity and force that they shot over the smooth grass to a considerable distance. As soon as they were all down, the Smart-boy took the end of the board and moved it to one side, so that it rested on the edge of a deep tank.

      "Now, then," said he, "if any of the guards slide down after us, they will go into the tank."

      It was now nearly dark, and the boys set about finding some place where they could spend the night. They soon came to a large building, the doors of which were shut, but, as they were not locked, they had no trouble in entering. This building was a public library, which was closed very early every afternoon, and opened very late every morning. Here the aristocrats found very comfortable quarters, and having lighted a candle which one of them had in his pocket, they held a meeting, to determine what they should do next.

      "Of course the ship will come back, some day," said the Smart-boy, "for that admiral would be afraid to go home without us. The giant would smash him and his old ship if he did that. So we shall have to wait here until the ship returns."

      "But how are we going to live?" asked several of his companions.

      "We can sleep here," he answered. "It's a nice, big place, and nobody will ever disturb us, for a notice on the door says it's closed two hours before sunset And as to victuals, we shall have to work at something."

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