rrow
through his shoulder, from the bow of his cousin the mad archduke, who
was drawing another from his quiver, destined for me, when I fled into
the forest!'

'My father so near!' cried the prince. 'We must return and seek him,
and also look for my sister.'

* * * * *

They found her in the grotto, with her father's head in her lap,
trying vainly to staunch his wounds. Between them they contrived to
carry him to the boat, which sailed swiftly towards the island. On the
way the prince gently broke to his sister the sad state of the white
fox.

'Take me to him!' she said, as soon as the boat touched the island;
and in silence the queen went down the path to the palace.

The white fox was lying on a soft mattress in front of a fire, his
eyes closed, and a look on his face which told that death was not far
distant. But he knew, somehow, that the princess was near him, and
opened his eyes and wagged his tail feebly. The princess burst into
sobs and tears, till a hand on her shoulder checked her.

'Why do you waste the few moments that are left you in this manner?'
asked the governor of the island sternly. 'Place the collar you wear
round his neck, and he will be cured at once. But you must act
quickly.'

The princess seemed turned to stone as she listened. 'The collar!'
she gasped. 'But I have not got it, I lost it in the forest!' And the
thousand sheaths with which the walls were hung took up the cry:

'The collar is lost! The collar is lost!'

[Illustration: THE PRINCESS SAVES THE WHITE FOX]

'What collar are you talking about?' asked the king, who was lying on
another bed, with the physicians bending over him. 'Here is one that I
picked up among some cinders, before that madman shot me--perhaps it
may be the one you want, or, at all events, it may do as well.' And he
signed to an attendant to take the collar from the pocket of his
velvet jerkin.

The princess leapt forward with joy at the sight of the precious
thing, and snatching it from the hand of the man she placed it round
the neck of the fox. All present held their breath as they watched
what was happening; and what _did_ happen was that his legs grew
longer and longer, and his nose grew shorter and shorter. The fox was
gone, and in his stead there lay Perarthrites, in a coat of thick
white fur.

But though the prince of Lombardy was rejoiced to see his friend and
cousin again, his heart still bled for the beautifu