h end of the island. There they began to plunder and
conquer, as was their custom, but the people of Pingaree, although
neither so big nor so strong as their foes, were able to defeat them and
drive them all back to the sea, where a great storm overtook the raiders
from Regos and Coregos and destroyed them and their boats, not a single
warrior returning to his own country.

This defeat of the enemy seemed the more wonderful because the
pearl-fishers of Pingaree were mild and peaceful in disposition and
seldom quarreled even among themselves. Their only weapons were their
oyster rakes; yet the fact remains that they drove their fierce enemies
from Regos and Coregos from their shores.

King Kitticut was only a boy when this remarkable battle was fought,
and now his hair was gray; but he remembered the day well and, during
the years that followed, his one constant fear was of another invasion
of his enemies. He feared they might send a more numerous army to his
island, both for conquest and revenge, in which case there could be
little hope of successfully opposing them.

This anxiety on the part of King Kitticut led him to keep a sharp
lookout for strange boats, one of his men patrolling the beach
constantly, but he was too wise to allow any fear to make him or his
subjects unhappy. He was a good King and lived very contentedly in his
fine palace, with his fair Queen Garee and their one child, Prince Inga.

The wealth of Pingaree increased year by year; and the happiness of the
people increased, too. Perhaps there was no place, outside the Land of
Oz, where contentment and peace were more manifest than on this pretty
island, hidden in the bosom of the Nonestic Ocean. Had these conditions
remained undisturbed, there would have been no need to speak of Pingaree
in this story.

Prince Inga, the heir to all the riches and the kingship of Pingaree,
grew up surrounded by every luxury; but he was a manly little fellow,
although somewhat too grave and thoughtful, and he could never bear to
be idle a single minute. He knew where the finest oysters lay hidden
along the coast and was as successful in finding pearls as any of the
men of the island, although he was so slight and small. He had a little
boat of his own and a rake for dragging up the oysters and he was very
proud indeed when he could carry a big white pearl to his father.

There was no school upon the island, as the people of Pingaree were far
removed from the state