one! He knew
not who to accuse, for he had kept the key in his pocket the whole
time. At last, the foster-brother suggested that the escape of Zelia
might have been contrived by an old man, Suliman by name, the prince's
former tutor, who was the only one who now ventured to blame him for
anything that he did. Cherry sent immediately, and ordered his old
friend to be brought to him, loaded heavily with irons. Then, full of
fury, he went and shut himself up in his own chamber, where he went
raging to and fro, till startled by a noise like a clap of thunder.
The Fairy Candide stood before him.

"Prince," said she, in a severe voice, "I promised your father to give
you good counsels, and to punish you if you refused to follow them. My
counsels were forgotten, my punishments despised. Under the figure of
a man, you have been no better than the beasts you chase: like a lion
in fury a wolf in gluttony, a serpent in revenge, and a bull in
brutality. Take, therefore, in your new form the likeness of all these
animals."

Scarcely had Prince Cherry heard these words, than to his horror he
found himself transformed into what the fairy had named. He was a
creature with the head of a lion, the horns of a bull the feet of a
wolf, and the tail of a serpent. At the same time he felt himself
transported to a distant forest, where, standing on the bank of a
stream, he saw reflected in the water his own frightful shape, and
heard a voice saying:

"Look at thyself, and know thy soul has become a thousand times uglier
even than thy body."

Cherry recognised the voice of Candide, and in his rage would have
sprung upon her and devoured her; but he saw nothing, and the same
voice said behind him:

"Cease thy feeble fury, and learn to conquer thy pride by being in
submission to thine own subjects."

Hearing no more, he soon quitted the stream, hoping at least to get
rid of the sight of himself; but he had scarcely gone twenty paces
when he tumbled into a pitfall that was laid to catch bears; the
bear-hunters, descending from some trees hard by, caught him, chained
him, and, only too delighted to get hold of such a curious-looking
animal, led him along with them to the capital of his own kingdom.

There great rejoicings were taking place, and the bear-hunters, asking
what it was all about, were told that it was because Prince Cherry,
the torment of his subjects, had just been struck dead by a
thunderbolt--just punishment of all his crim