urer does. Only of course he was a real Magician.

'Lor!' said she, 'it's like magic.'

'It _is_ magic,' said he. 'That's my trade. It's quite a pleasure to
have an audience again. I've lived here alone for twenty years. It's
very lonely, especially of an evening.'

'Can't you get out?' said the nurse.

'No. King's orders must be respected, but it's a dog's life.' He
sniffed, made himself a magic handkerchief out of empty air, and wiped
his eyes.

'Take an apprentice, my dear,' said the nurse.

'And teach him my magic? Not me.'

'Suppose you got one so stupid he _couldn't_ learn?'

'That would be all right--but it's no use advertising for a stupid
person--you'd get no answers.'

'You needn't advertise,' said the nurse; and she went out and brought in
James, who was really the Prince of the Fortunate Islands, and also the
baker's boy she had brought with her to hold the horse's head.

'Now, James,' she said, 'you'd like to be apprenticed, wouldn't you?'

'Yes,' said the poor stupid boy.

'Then give the gentleman your money, James.'

James did.

'My last doubts vanish,' said the Magician, 'he _is_ stupid. Nurse, let
us celebrate the occasion with a little drop of something. Not before
the boy because of setting an example. James, wash up. Not here, silly;
in the back kitchen.'

So James washed up, and as he was very clumsy he happened to break a
little bottle of essence of dreams that was on the shelf, and instantly
there floated up from the washing-up water the vision of a princess more
beautiful than the day--so beautiful that even James could not help
seeing how beautiful she was, and holding out his arms to her as she
came floating through the air above the kitchen sink. But when he held
out his arms she vanished. He sighed and washed up harder than ever.

'I wish I wasn't so stupid,' he said, and then there was a knock at the
door. James wiped his hands and opened. Some one stood there in very
picturesque rags and tatters. 'Please,' said some one, who was of course
the Princess, 'is Professor Taykin at home?'

'Walk in, please,' said James.

'My snakes alive!' said Taykin, 'what a day we're having. Three
visitors in one morning. How kind of you to call. Won't you take a
chair?'

'I hoped,' said the veiled Princess, 'that you'd give me something else
to take.'

'A glass of wine,' said Taykin. 'You'll take a glass of wine?'

'No, thank you,' said the beggar maid who was the Princess.

'Then