his commands.
He still did not know why every one was looking at him so excitedly, and
wondered if he had in some way done wrong.

"Speak, Sir Knight," said the commander, as soon as he could find his
voice after his surprise, "and tell us all that has happened to-day at
the castle. Have you been attacked? Have any giants come hither? Did you
fight them alone?"

"No, my Lord," said Sir Roland. "Only one giant has been here, and he
went away silently when he found he could not enter."

Then he told all that had happened through the day.

When he had finished, the knights all looked at one another, but no one
spoke a word. Then they looked again at Sir Roland's shield, to make
sure that their eyes had not deceived them, and there the golden star
was still shining.

After a little silence the lord of the castle spoke.

"Men make mistakes," he said, "but our silver shields are never
mistaken. Sir Roland has fought and won the hardest battle of all
to-day."

Then the others all rose and saluted Sir Roland, who was the youngest
knight that ever carried the golden star.

202

Jean Ingelow (1820-1897) was an English poet,
novelist, and writer of stories for children,
who lived in the fen district of Lincolnshire.
Her most noted poem deals with a terrible
catastrophe that happened there more than three
centuries ago. It is called "The High Tide on
the Coast of Lincolnshire." Many reading books
for the third or fourth grade contain her
dainty and melodious "Seven Times One," in
which a little girl expresses the joy and sense
of power felt on reaching a seventh birthday.
Of her children's books, the favorite is _Mopsa
the Fairy_, which some one has called a
"delightful succession of breezy
impossibilities." Her shorter stories for
children are collected under the title _Stories
Told to a Child_ (two series), from which "The
Prince's Dream" is taken. It is somewhat old
fashioned in method and style, reminding one of
the stories of the days of Addison and Steele.
Its seriousness is in striking contrast with
the more flippant note in much modern writing
for children, and it is sure to suggest some
questions on the dangers and advantages of
great possessions in their effects on labor,
liberty, and human happ