him--you needn't fear. The bee is the only
creature that came out of paradise without being spoiled."

The queen manifested her pleasure at the manner in which Walpurga's
thoughts were, interwoven with tradition.

Walpurga observed that the queen had but little worldly wisdom and gave
her the benefit of hers whenever opportunity presented itself.

"Do you know what that is?" she once asked, while they sat in the
shrubbery.

"A tree."

"Yes, but do you know it's a sacred tree and that lightning doesn't
strike where it grows?"

"No, I never knew that."

"And then of course, you don't know why. Now my mother told me all
about it. The Virgin was once crossing a mountain and was caught in a
fearful storm. So she stood under a great large hazel-tree and remained
safe, and, because it had protected her she blessed it for all time.
You can make magic wands from hazel twigs. The serpent-king dwells
under the hazel-tree and, sometimes, under the weeping willow. Do you
know why the weeping willow drops its branches so sadly?"

"No, I don't know that either. You're full of wisdom," said the queen,
smiling.

"I'm not, but my mother is. I don't know half as much as she. She's
very clever, and told me about the weeping willow. The rods with which
they scourged our Saviour were made from the weeping willow, and ever
since that time she droops her branches with shame."

Walpurga was quite happy to think that she could teach the queen
something. She felt that she was quite a different being from all in
the palace and that the queen was the only one who understood her. She
was always happy and cheerful when with her and opened her whole heart
to the queen. "You're quite a stranger in the world; you've never, in
all your life, seen how the burghers and farmers sit in their rooms of
an evening, what they eat, what they talk of, what they wish for, and
what makes them happy or gives them pain. I once heard my father tell a
story. It was about a prince and a princess who grew up as shepherds,
and didn't know who they were until they were grown up, when they said
to him: 'you're a prince,' and to her: 'you're a princess,' and they
became right good and honest people. Of course they'd been out in the
world, and had learned how people live and what they need. I only wish
that we could send our prince out the same way. I think it would be
good for him and the whole country, too. If servants are running after
you all day long, it's j