n his
shining armor, kissed his dear wife and child good-bye, and rode off to
the battlefield. The bird-boy begged and pleaded to be taken with him as
his squire, but the King would not hear of it, and insisted that he
remain in the castle to take care of the Queen and Rosabella. There was
little cheer in the castle that unhappy evening. And all night long, the
bird-boy thought he could hear the wings of a great bird beating
fiercely against the window-panes.

A month passed, an unhappy month in which there were no tidings from the
King. Then, one rainy morning, a messenger who had ridden so hard that
his poor horse could scarcely stagger, rode to the castle gate bearing
very evil news. A great battle had been fought, the army of Rosabella's
father had been completely defeated, and the troops of the wicked
Malefico were hurrying toward the castle as fast as they could come.

And so it was; for before the Queen had had time to summon the people
and gather together a few belongings, the troops of the enemy burst in
at the gate, and a dozen fierce soldiers surrounded the Queen,
Rosabella, and the bird-boy, and dragged them to Malefico.

When Malefico saw the bird-boy, a look of surprise appeared on his face,
for he had believed that the wonderful child was dead. Then he fell to
thinking, and as he thought, wicked purposes swept over his cruel face
just as the shadows of dark clouds sweep over a gloomy pool.

"If it were known that the winged child is alive," he thought, "the
people would thrust me from my place, and restore him to his father's
throne. Now that the bird-boy is in my hands, I will destroy him, and be
sure of my power."

So he smiled, and began to think of some manner in which he could bring
the bird-boy to a shameful end. At last he hit upon a plan. He would
declare that the bird-boy was not a human lad at all, but a witch-child;
he would then accuse the good King of having protected a witch-child,
and condemn them both to be stoned. So he threw the King and the Queen,
Rosabella and the bird-boy, into an old dungeon-tower, and went through
the mockery of having a trial. When it was over, he sent a soldier to
tell the King and the bird-boy that they were to be punished the
following day.

And now dawned the unhappy day. The bird-boy took Rosabella's hand in
his, and together they went to the barred window of the prison and
looked out upon the world. The morning was fresh and fair; a pleasant
southwest