rchen_.)

_THE STORY OF LITTLE KING LOC_

Two or three miles from the coast of France, anyone sailing in a ship
on a calm day can see deep, deep down, the trunks of great trees
standing up in the water. Many hundreds of years ago these trees
formed part of a large forest, full of all sorts of wild animals, and
beyond the forest was a fine city, guarded by a castle in which dwelt
the Dukes of Clarides. But little by little the sea drew nearer to the
town; the foundations of the houses became undermined and fell in, and
at length a shining sea flowed over the land. However, all this
happened a long time after the story I am going to tell you.

The Dukes of Clarides had always lived in the midst of their people,
and protected them both in war and peace.

At the period when this tale begins the Duke Robert was dead, leaving
a young and beautiful duchess who ruled in his stead. Of course
everyone expected her to marry again, but she refused all suitors who
sought her hand, saying that, having only one soul she could have only
one husband, and that her baby daughter was quite enough for her.

* * * * *

One day, she was sitting in the tower, which looked out over a rocky
heath, covered in summer with purple and yellow flowers, when she
beheld a troop of horsemen riding towards the castle. In the midst,
seated on a white horse with black and silver trappings, was a lady
whom the duchess at once knew to be her friend the Countess of
Blanchelande, a young widow like herself, mother of a little boy two
years older than Abeille des Clarides. The duchess hailed her arrival
with delight, but her joy was soon turned into weeping when the
countess sank down beside her on a pile of cushions, and told the
reason of her visit.

'As you know,' she said, taking her friend's hand and pressing it
between her own, 'whenever a Countess of Blanchelande is about to die
she finds a white rose lying on her pillow. Last night I went to bed
feeling unusually happy, but this morning when I woke the rose was
resting against my cheek. I have no one to help me in the world but
you, and I have come to ask if you will take Youri my son, and let him
be a brother to Abeille?'

Tears choked the voice of the duchess, but she flung herself on the
countess's neck, and pressed her close. Silently the two women took
leave of each other, and silently the doomed lady mounted her horse
and rode home again. Then, givin