eyes of the boy, and
the fat King was so accustomed to his surly companion that nothing could
have induced him to part with him. Finally Bilbil fell sprawling into
the bottom of the boat, and Inga helped him to get to the front end,
where there was enough space for him to lie down.

Rinkitink now took his seat in the silver-lined craft and the boy came
last, pushing off the boat as he sprang aboard, so that it floated
freely upon the water.

"Well, here we go for Gilgad!" exclaimed the King, picking up the oars
and placing them in the row-locks. Then he began to row as hard as he
could, singing at the same time an odd sort of a song that ran like
this:

"The way to Gilgad isn't bad
For a stout old King and a brave young lad,
For a cross old goat with a dripping coat,
And a silver boat in which to float.
So our hearts are merry, light and glad
As we speed away to fair Gilgad!"

"Don't, Rinkitink; please don't! It makes me seasick," growled Bilbil.

Rinkitink stopped rowing, for by this time he was all out of breath and
his round face was covered with big drops of perspiration. And when he
looked over his shoulder he found to his dismay that the boat had
scarcely moved a foot from its former position.

Inga said nothing and appeared not to notice the King's failure. So now
Rinkitink, with a serious look on his fat, red face, took off his purple
robe and rolled up the sleeves of his tunic and tried again.

However, he succeeded no better than before and when he heard Bilbil
give a gruff laugh and saw a smile upon the boy Prince's face, Rinkitink
suddenly dropped the oars and began shouting with laughter at his own
defeat. As he wiped his brow with a yellow silk handkerchief he sang in
a merry voice:

"A sailor bold am I, I hold,
But boldness will not row a boat.
So I confess I'm in distress
And just as useless as the goat."

"Please leave me out of your verses," said Bilbil with a snort of anger.

"When I make a fool of myself, Bilbil, I'm a goat," replied Rinkitink.

"Not so," insisted Bilbil. "Nothing could make you a member of my
superior race."

"Superior? Why, Bilbil, a goat is but a beast, while I am a King!"

"I claim that superiority lies in intelligence," said the goat.

Rinkitink paid no attention to this remark, but turning to Inga he said:

"We may as well get back to the shore, for the boat is too heavy to row
to Gilgad or anywhere else. Indeed, it will be hard for us to reach