palace, and here Princess Bija would be swung like the
Seventy Maidens, until Prince Akbar wearied of swinging her; and knowing
that nothing would induce his elder sister to tumble down like the
princesses in the story, would say quite plaintively:

"Please, Bija, get down; I'm tired of being Rasalu," when the little
maid would descend gracefully and they would play at something else.

But one day, just after the New Year, Prince Yakoob came to spend the
day with his cousins, and the children fell to acting the adventures of
Rajah Rasalu; Yakoob, as the guest, playing the hero's part.

They got through several of them quite successfully, Princess Bija
making a spirited carpenter's lad and killing his dragon with great
vigour, while the Heir-to-Empire, disguising his deep baby voice in a
high squeak, doubled the parts of the seventy-nine maidens and the
cricket. So all went merry as a marriage bell until Rasalu had to order
the giggling crew out of the swing.

Then, of course, Bija refused; whereupon Yakoob, a spoiled boy, cast
aside the tinsel-covered wooden sword, and whipped out from his belt a
toy dagger his father had given him that morning. It was not very sharp,
but very little cuts a taut rope, and one furious slash severed some of
the strands, the weight of the two children did the rest, and there they
were both on the marble floor!

And unfortunately the "pearl of pearls," Rajah Rasalu's bride, did _not_
fall on top. She fell underneath the Heir-to-Empire, and the
Heir-to-Empire was heavy! So there was her poor little lip all cut and
her pretty little nose all bleeding. Then _two_ Head-nurses rushed in,
and _two_ Foster-mothers, and ever so many pairs of nursery attendants,
each taking the part of their respective nurslings, and there was a
terrible to-do, for, of course, one Head-nurse said it was the fault of
the other Head-nurse, and so on. In fact peace did not return until the
party separated and the offender, Prince Yakoob, was being joggetted
back to his mother by his excited attendants, while Princess Bija was
having her swollen nose soothed by cold water. She did not cry much, but
she was terribly indignant with every one, including her brother.

He couldn't have prevented his cousin from cutting the rope, of course,
but he might have made his cousin's nose bleed also! If she hadn't been
otherwise occupied she could have done it herself; she was quite sure
she could; or at any rate have done somet