pened
both eyes, staring frantically.... Then he sprang to the edge of the
pool and looked himself in the face.... He stood gazing so long that
the minnow, who had been watching him, thought he was ill, and leaped
out of the water to attract his attention. At last the frog pulled
himself together and flopped back into the pool anyhow....

"And, after many days, during all of which the minnow was a great
comfort, he came to realize that frogs should know better than to lift
up their eyes, and should busy themselves with fly-earning, and be
thankful for the air and the sun and the mud at the bottom of pools,
and, last of all, look forward to that sun-bathed marsh where the flies
are fat and plenteous, and there is no winter, and whither, at the end
of their lives, all good frogs go."

There was a long silence. Then--

"Poor frog," said Valerie, standing upright and turning.

"It's very nice of you to say so," said Anthony, falling into step.
"But he richly deserved it."

"And what happened to the Princess?"

"Oh, she went the way Princesses go, and enriched the memories of all
who saw her, and in due season she married a Prince."

"Didn't she ever think any more of the frog?"

"No," said Anthony.

"Then why did she kiss him?"

They had come to the garden door by now, and, as she spoke, Valerie set
a hand on the latch.

"Out of pity," said Anthony. "She had a sweet, kind heart, and she was
sorry for him because he was a frog."

"I don't believe it was out of pity at all," said Valerie. "I'm--I'm
sure it wasn't."

"It must have been," said Anthony. "Why on earth else should a
Princess----"

"Because it pleased her to kiss him," said Valerie, with the air of a
queen.

Anthony looked at her with undisguised admiration.

"You're a real Princess," he said, "any way."

Valerie let go the door-handle and laid her hand on his shoulder.

"Why did she kiss him?" she demanded.

"Out of--because it pleased her."

The hand touched his cheek, and Anthony caught it and put it to his
lips. As he let it go, the slight fingers caught his and, before he
could stop her, Valerie had stooped and kissed them.

The next instant the door was open, and she was inside.

* * * * *

Mr. Albert Morgan was working feverishly.

Time was getting on, and the plate-chest had proved unexpectedly
stubborn. To know where it was had been a great help, of course, but
during his service at The Sh