very good to see. And on
the other side rode Honey-Bee, the tender and pure colour of her face
like a caress for the eyes; but most glorious of all her fair tresses,
flowing over her shoulders, held by a circlet of gold surmounted by
three gold flowers, seemed the shining mantle of her youth and beauty.
The good people said, on seeing her:

"What a lovely young damsel."

The master tailor, old Jean, took his grandson Peter in his arms to
point out |Honey-Bce to him, and Peter asked was she alive or was she an
image of wax, for he could not understand how any one could be so white
and so lovely, and yet belong to the same race as himself, little Peter
with his good big weather-beaten cheeks, and his little home-spun shirt
laced behind in country fashion.

While the Duchess accepted the people's homage with gracious kindness,
the two children showed how it gratified their pride, George by his
blushes, Honey-Bee by her smiles, and for this reason the Duchess said
to them:

"How kindly these good people greet us. For what reason, George? And
what is the reason, Honey-Bee?"

"So they should," said Honey-Bee.

"It's their duty," George added.

"But why should it be their duty?" asked the Duchess.

And as neither replied, she continued:

"I will tell you. For more than three hundred years the dukes of
Clarides, from father to son, have lance in hand protected these poor
people so that they could gather the harvests of the fields they had
sown. For more than three hundred years all the duchesses of Clarides
have spun the cloth for the poor, have visited the sick, and have held
the new-born at the baptismal font. That is the reason they greet you,
my children."

George was lost in deep thought: "We must protect those who toil on the
land," and Honcy-Bee said: "One should spin for the poor."

And thus chatting and meditating they went on their way through meadows
starred with flowers. A fringe of blue mountains lay against the distant
horizon. George pointed towards the east.

"Is that a great steel shield I see over there?"

"Oh no," said Honey-Bee, "it's a round silver clasp, as big as the
moon."

"It is neither a steel shield nor a silver clasp, my children," replied
the Duchess, "but a lake glittering in the sunshine. The surface of
this lake, which seen from here is as smooth as a mirror, is stirred by
innumerable ripples. Its borders which appear as distinct as it cut in
metal are really covered by reeds