Queen Honey Dew. 



165 



grassy leaves, and wondered for a moment 

 if it were not enough to be merely beauti- 

 ful without always thinking of work, but 

 she quickly dismissed this thought as un- 

 worthy the Queen of Beedom, and went on 

 her way, sure that her own people were the 

 wisest and most industrious on the face of 

 the earth. And as the young queen grew 

 older she became confirmed in this opinion, 

 for she found that it took great caution and 

 vigilance on the part of her subjects to 

 keep their wealth secure from the bands of 

 lazy marauders that were constantly on the 

 alert to rob their thrifty neighbors. And 

 she found that even Beedom was not free 

 from jealousies and strife, for the in- 

 habitants spend so much time in work that 

 they grow a little impatient and uncertain 

 in temper, and fly into the greatest rage, 

 sometimes without waiting to see if there 

 is any reason for it or not. Honey Dew 

 grieved over the bad dispositions of some 

 of her subjects, and went so far as to ac- 

 knowledge to herself that perhaps a little 

 play now and then among the flowers or by 

 the side of a brook might sweeten their 

 natures, and make them pleasanter to live 

 with; but she did not dare speak of this, 

 for she knew it was against the laws of the 

 land, and that she was as powerless to 

 change these as the humblest of her sub- 

 jects. 



But although Honey Dew worried over 

 these troubles she could do nothing to help 

 them, except to place the most vigilant 

 guards around the castle to warn off daily 

 and nightly enemies from abroad, and to 

 try, by extra sweetness and amiability on 

 her own part, to keep her subjects from 

 domestic quarrels. 



And it seemed after awhile that her 

 efforts were crowned with success, for there 

 was a long season of peace and happiness, 

 and Honey Dew almost forgot that there 

 was anything in the world but sunshine 

 and flowers. 



But one day one of the guards in front 



of the palace noticed a stranger lurking 

 around the entrance, and at once presented 

 arms and asked what he wanted. 



The stranger replied that he was the 

 subject of a neighboring kingdom, also 

 within the limits of Beedom, and that he 

 was merely on a visit of curiosity, having 

 heard such attractive accounts of Honey 

 Dew and her people that he was desirous 

 of seeing them himself. 



The guard made no reply to this, and 

 evidently thought that the traveler might 

 better have stayed at home and gone about 

 his work than wander around simply to 

 gratify an idle curiosity, and the stranger, 

 seeing that his politeness met with no re- 

 sponse, very soon took his departure, and 

 the guard hoped he had seen the last of 

 him. 



But he had not, for before long the 

 stranger was back again, bringing with him 

 a companion, and in spite of the protesta- 

 tions of the guard they persisted in loung- 

 ing around the palace gates, and at last 

 even tried to effect an entrance. 



The guard promptly called a brother 

 officer, and drove the intruders away; but 

 now it was very evident that mischief was 

 intended, and the officer of the guard was 

 informed of the stranger's visit. 



He at once put a double guard around 

 the castle, and made preparations for in- 

 stantly despatching the offenders in case of 

 a return, but for a time it seemed that the 

 caution was needless, for everything re- 

 mained quiet, and the guards searched the 

 horizon in vain for the appearance of an 

 enemy. 



But one beautiful day, when the sky was 

 so unusually bright, and the flowers so un- 

 usually lovely that a large number of in- 

 habitants had been tempted out in the 

 fields, the watchman at the gate saw what 

 seemed to him a large black cloud dim- 

 ming the distant horizon, and sweeping 

 rapidly toward the palace; he thought at 

 first that there was a shower coming up. 



