oyage. None hesitated
to do so, for they thought it was all a gay pastime, and a merry prelude
to the marriage festivities. But no sooner had they embarked than boats,
fountains, and lake vanished, and the frogs were frogs once more.

'Sire,' said the Frog, when the king asked what had become of the
princess, 'your wife alone is your queen. Were my affection for her less
than it is, I should not interfere; but she deserves so well, and your
daughter Moufette is so charming, that you ought not to lose one moment
in setting out to their rescue.'

'I do assure you, Madam Frog,' replied the king, 'that if I could
believe my wife to be alive, I would shrink from nothing in the world
for sight of her again.'

'Surely,' said the Frog, 'after the marvels I have shown you, there
ought not to be doubt in your mind of the truth of what I say. Leave
your realm in the hands of those whom you can trust, and set forth
without delay. Take this ring--it will provide you with the means of
seeing the queen, and of speaking with the Lion-Witch, notwithstanding
that she is the most formidable creature in the world.'

The king refused to let any one accompany him, and after bestowing
handsome gifts upon the Frog, he set forth. 'Do not lose heart,' she
said to him; 'you will encounter terrible difficulties, but I am
convinced that your desires will meet with success.' He plucked up
courage at these words, and started upon the quest of his dear wife,
though he had only the ring to guide him.

Now Moufette's beauty became more and more perfect as she grew older,
and all the monsters of the lake of quicksilver were enamoured of her.
Hideous and terrifying to behold, they came and lay at her feet.
Although Moufette had seen them ever since she was born, her lovely eyes
could never grow accustomed to them, and she would run away and hide in
her mother's arms. 'Shall we remain here long?' she would ask; 'are we
never to escape from misery?'

The queen would answer hopefully, so as to keep up the spirits of the
child, but in her heart hope had died. The absence of the Frog and the
lack of any news from her, together with the long time that had passed
since she had heard anything of the king, filled her with grief and
despair.

By now it had become a regular thing for them to go hunting with the
Lion-Witch. The latter liked good things, and enjoyed the game which
they killed for her. The head or the feet of the quarry was all the
share they