ad not been so when King Winwealth was young, and he and his
brother, Prince Wisewit, governed the land. Prince Wisewit knew the
whole art of governing, the tempers of men, and the powers of the
stars. Moreover, he was a very clever man, and it was said of him that
he could never die or grow old.

In his time there was neither discontent nor sickness in the city.
Strangers were kindly treated without price or questions. Then no one
went to law against his neighbour, and no one locked his door at night.
The fairies used to come there at May Day and Michaelmas, for they were
Prince Wisewit's friends--all but one, called Fortunetta, a
short-sighted but very cunning fairy, who hated everybody wiser than
herself, and above all the prince, because she could never cheat him.

There was peace and pleasure for many a year in King Winwealth's city,
till one day at midsummer Prince Wisewit went alone to the forest, in
search of a strange plant for his garden, but he never came back. Though
the King, with all his guards, looked for him far and near, no news was
ever heard of him. When his brother was gone, King Winwealth grew lonely
in his great palace, so he married a princess called Wantall, and
brought her home to be his queen.

This princess was neither handsome nor pleasant. People thought she must
have gained the King's love by the charms she worked, for her whole
dowry was a desert island, with a huge pit in it that could never be
filled, and she was so greedy that the more she got the greedier she
grew. In course of time the King and Queen had an only daughter, who was
to be the heiress of all the kingdom. Her name was the Princess
Greedalind, and the whole city were at that time preparing to keep her
birthday. Not that they cared much for the Princess, who was very like
her mother both in looks and temper; but being King Winwealth's only
daughter, people came from far and near to the feast, and among them
strangers and fairies who had not been there since the day of Prince
Wisewit.

There was great stir about the palace, a most noble building, so large
that it had a room for every day in the year. All the floors were of
beautiful dark wood, and all the roofs of silver; and there was such a
large number of golden dishes used by the household, that five hundred
men kept guard night and day lest any of them should be stolen.

When these guards saw Snowflower and her chair, they ran one after the
other to tell the King, f