aves of the sea.

Then the princess took a great silver basin, covered with strange black
signs and figures raised in the silver. She poured water into the basin,
and as she poured it she sang the magic spell from the Latin book. It
was something like this, in English:

"Oh Lady Moon, on the waters riding,
On shining waters, in silver sheen,
Show me the secret the heart is hiding,
Show me the truth of the thought, oh Queen!

"Oh waters white, where the moon is riding,
That knows what shall be and what has been,
Tell me the secret the heart is hiding,
Wash me the truth of it, clear and clean!"

As she sang the water in the silver basin foamed and bubbled, and then
fell still again; and the princess knelt in the middle of the room, and
the moon and the white light from the mirror of the moon fell in the
water.

Then the princess raised the basin, and stooped her mouth to it and drank
the water, spilling a few drops, and so she _drank the moon_ and the
knowledge of the moon. Then the moon was darkened without a cloud, and
there was darkness in the sky for a time, and all the dogs in the world
began to howl. When the moon shone again, the princess rose and put out
the two white lights, and drew the curtains; and presently she went to
bed.

{The Princess drinks the Moon: p41.jpg}

"Now I know all about it," she said. "It is clever; everything the king
does is clever, and he is so kind that I daresay he does not mean any
harm. But it seems a cruel trick to play on poor Ricardo. However,
Jaqueline is on the watch, and I'll show them a girl can do more than
people think,"--as, indeed, she could.

After meditating in this way, the princess fell sleep, and did not waken
till her maid came to call her.

"Oh! your Royal Highness, what's this on the floor?" said the faithful
Rosina, as she was arranging the princess's things for her to get up.

"Why, what is it?" asked the princess.

"Ever so many--four, five, six, seven--little shining drops of silver
lying on the carpet, as if they had melted and fallen there!"

"They have not hurt the carpet?" said the princess. "Oh dear! the queen
won't be pleased at all. It was a little chemical experiment I was
trying last night."

But she knew very well that she must have dropped seven drops of the
enchanted water.

"No, your Royal Highness, the carpet is not harmed," said Rosina; "only
your Royal Highness should do these things