p prick in his little
finger, like a pin prick.

"What nonsense!" said the prince to himself. "Am I not king of the whole
land? May I not kick my own dog, if I choose? What evil is there in
that?"

A silver voice spoke in his ear: "The king of the land has a right to do
good, but not evil; you have been guilty of bad temper and of cruelty
to-day; see that you do better to-morrow."

The prince turned sharply, but no one was to be seen; yet he recognised
the voice as that of Fairy Candide.

He followed her advice for a little, but presently he forgot, and the
ring pricked him so sharply that his finger had a drop of blood on it.
This happened again and again, for the prince grew more self-willed and
headstrong every day; he had some bad friends, too, who urged him on, in
the hope that he would ruin himself and give them a chance to seize the
throne. He treated his people carelessly and his servants cruelly, and
everything he wanted he felt that he must have.

The ring annoyed him terribly; it was embarrassing for a king to have a
drop of blood on his finger all the time! At last he took the ring off
and put it out of sight. Then he thought he should be perfectly happy,
having his own way; but instead, he grew more unhappy as he grew less
good. Whenever he was crossed, or could not have his own way instantly,
he flew into a passion.

Finally, he wanted something that he really could not have. This time it
was a most beautiful young girl, named Zelia; the prince saw her, and
loved her so much that he wanted at once to make her his queen. To his
great astonishment, she refused.

"Am I not pleasing to you?" asked the prince in surprise.

"You are very handsome, very charming, prince," said Zelia; "but you are
not like the good king, your father; I fear you would make me very
miserable if I were your queen."

In a great rage, Prince Cherry ordered the young girl to be put in
prison; and the key of her dungeon he kept. He told one of his friends,
a wicked man who flattered him for his own purposes, about the thing,
and asked his advice.

"Are you not king?" said the bad friend. "May you not do as you will?
Keep the girl in a dungeon till she does as you command, and if she will
not, sell her as a slave."

"But would it not be a disgrace for me to harm an innocent creature?"
said the prince.

"It would be a disgrace to you to have it said that one of your subjects
dared disobey you!" said the courtier.

He had