bad man? Make him the best prince in the
world, I beg you!"

"Alas, I cannot make him good," said the fairy; "he must do that for
himself. I can give him good advice, reprove him when he does wrong, and
punish him if he will not punish himself; I can and will be his best
friend, but I cannot make him good unless he wills it."

The king was sad to hear this, but he rejoiced in the friendship of the
fairy for his son. And when he died, soon after, he was happy to know
that he left Prince Cherry in her hands.

Prince Cherry grieved for his father, and often lay awake at night,
thinking of him. One night, when he was all alone in his room, a soft
and lovely light suddenly shone before him, and a beautiful vision stood
at his side. It was the good fairy. She was clad in robes of dazzling
white, and on her shining hair she wore a wreath of white roses.

"I am the Fairy Candide," she said to the prince. "I promised your
father that I would be your best friend, and as long as you live I shall
watch over your happiness. I have brought you a gift; it is not
wonderful to look at, but it has a wonderful power for your welfare;
wear it, and let it help you."

As she spoke, she placed a small gold ring on the prince's little
finger. "This ring," she said, "will help you to be good; when you do
evil, it will prick you, to remind you. If you do not heed its warnings
a worse thing will happen to you, for I shall become your enemy." Then
she vanished.

Prince Cherry wore his ring, and said nothing to anyone of the fairy's
gift. It did not prick him for a long time, because he was good and
merry and happy. But Prince Cherry had been rather spoiled by his nurse
when he was a child; she had always said to him that when he should
become king he could do exactly as he pleased. Now, after a while, he
began to find out that this was not true, and it made him angry.

The first time that he noticed that even a king could not always have
his own way was on a day when he went hunting. It happened that he got
no game. This put him in such a bad temper that he grumbled and scolded
all the way home. The little gold ring began to feel tight and
uncomfortable. When he reached the palace his pet dog ran to meet him.

"Go away!" said the prince, crossly.

But the little dog was so used to being petted that he only jumped up on
his master, and tried to kiss his hand. The prince turned and kicked the
little creature. At the instant, he felt a shar