s daughter in
that certain kingdom had been so serious that the king had offered her
to any one who would make her laugh; and when she saw Dumbling with the
goose under his arm and the maids and the parson and all the rest
following after, she laughed outright. She didn't mean to, but she
couldn't help it. And now Dumbling is a prince, and is living happily
ever afterward. I wonder if that makes any difference in his feelings,
or if he likes to be called Dumbling."

The spider said that it all depended on his wife. With such a serious
person as she had been one must be careful about etiquette. Because she
had laughed once was no sign that she would do it again.

"Shall you invite any plain boys and girls who live in the Every Day
Country?" asked the spider.

This was a hard question, for the Muffets were an old family who had
come across with Mother Goose, and at this moment Every Day Country
seemed a long way off and just a bit uninteresting. But then Miss Muffet
remembered how many kind friends she had found there, and answered,--

"Oh, certainly, we must send invitations to the Every Day Country, for
some of the folks there are just as good as the Dreamland people, only
of course they haven't had the same advantages."

[Illustration: _Every town crier in England_]

So letters were sent to Prudy and Dotty Dimple and the Bodley Family,
and to the Little Men and Little Women and Lord Fauntleroy and the rest.
A special letter was written to the little Ruggleses, and to Tiny Tim
and all the Cratchetts, for Miss Muffet knew that they were always ready
to have a good time on Christmas. A message was sent to every town crier
in England, asking him to make immediate proclamation in the streets
that if any small boy who was a Prince and a Pauper would make himself
known, he would hear something greatly to his advantage, for he was
invited to Miss Muffet's Party.

The longest letter was that sent to Agamemnon Peterkin. Miss Muffet
wrote it very carefully, underscoring all the important parts, and
adding a map showing the way from the Peterkins' house to the palace.
She asked him to bring all the family, including the little boys.

"I don't see how he can make a mistake," she said, "but he probably
will. They are all so ingenious. They find out how to make mistakes that
other folks would never think of."

"What about Mr. Henty's boys?" said the spider; "there are so many of
them."

"There seem to be a great many of t