s.

Many elephants came hurrying up, and the children descending the trees
like monkeys, in a moment every elephant had three or four of them on
his back, and thus loaded, began to walk over the giants, who lay and
roared. Losing patience at length with their noise, the elephants gave
them a few blows of their trunks, and left them.

Until night the bad giants remained where they had fallen, silent and
motionless. The next morning they had disappeared every one, and the
children saw no more of them. They removed to the other end of the
orchard valley, and never after ventured into the forest.

CHAPTER XXXIV. PREPARATION

Victory thus gained, the woman of Bulika began to speak about the city,
and talked much of its defenceless condition, of the wickedness of
its princess, of the cowardice of its inhabitants. In a few days the
children chattered of nothing but Bulika, although indeed they had not
the least notion of what a city was. Then first I became aware of the
design of the woman, although not yet of its motive.

The idea of taking possession of the place, recommended itself greatly
to Lona--and to me also. The children were now so rapidly developing
faculty, that I could see no serious obstacle to the success of the
enterprise. For the terrible Lilith--woman or leopardess, I knew her one
vulnerable point, her doom through her daughter, and the influence
the ancient prophecy had upon the citizens: surely whatever in the
enterprise could be called risk, was worth taking! Successful,--and who
could doubt their success?--must not the Little Ones, from a crowd
of children, speedily become a youthful people, whose government and
influence would be all for righteousness? Ruling the wicked with a rod
of iron, would they not be the redemption of the nation?

At the same time, I have to confess that I was not without views of
personal advantage, not without ambition in the undertaking. It was
just, it seemed to me, that Lona should take her seat on the throne
that had been her mother's, and natural that she should make of me her
consort and minister. For me, I would spend my life in her service; and
between us, what might we not do, with such a core to it as the Little
Ones, for the development of a noble state?

I confess also to an altogether foolish dream of opening a commerce in
gems between the two worlds--happily impossible, for it could have done
nothing but harm to both.

Calling to mind the appeal of A