In a royal castle on a sunny day, two little princesses named Nina and Bella were playing together. They had so many beautiful toys, but the one they loved the most was a lovely horse with a bright red mane and a beautiful tail. “It’s mine!” cried Nina, and then Bella screamed, “No! It’s mine!” The more they screamed, the more they pulled the horse towards them. At last it broke in two, and they went off crying, one to her room and one to her nursery.
When the King came home from hunting, he asked the Queen what was the matter, and she told him all about it. “I will soon set this to rights,” said he. And without saying anything more he went into the room. He did not say a word, but sat down in his children’s play-room, and began to play with all the toys.
The children began to peep in at the door, and when they saw their father playing they could not keep from laughing. “Come in, come in!” said the King, and set to work again making gallops in the carpet with the wooden horse. Soon after, the nursery door opened, and out there came Nina and Bella, quite ready to join in the game.
When it was time for dinner, the King rose and said, “Now, children, you can go to your governess. We will see how you behave tomorrow.” At dinner, Nina and Bella said, “Papa is just like our governess; when we play with him we feel quite happy,” and they told their mother all that their father had done.
The next day they were all playing again and again. “Who will make a bridge over this carpet for my horses to gallop over?” said the King. “I will,” said Nina throwing down a large doll. “And I will,” cried Bella throwing down some bricks. But in a moment each child grew angry, and took up what she had put down again.
“Tell me this story again,” said Nina, when her maid told it her, “and I will make a bridge.” And when the maid had said all the King had done, Nina said at once, without waiting, “I will lend my doll.”
And so they were all happy together all the day long. All that week, when the children were at play with their father, they used to study how to share their toys so as to make it comfortable. But it was not till Saturday that they quite succeeded in doing this.
When Saturday came, they went into their father’s room whilst he was dressing and said, “Papa, will you play with us all day today?” “Yes, my darlings, if you want it.” “Papa, we have something to show you,” said Nina, and led him into the play-room. There was a large dish-cover on the ground hanging by a string. “There,” said Nina, “we mean to make believe that’s a mirror, and we shall look on the top of it and see what is cooking for dinner and how much pleasure we are going to have today. Now, Bella, do you tell what is coming first?”
When she had told what the first course was, she said, “And now, Nina, what is coming after that?” And when Nina had taken it all off, she then asked, “And now, papa, what is coming next?” And when the King had told what the next course was, and so on just as the children had done, it suddenly came into his daughter’s head to say to their father, “Papa, if you will dress as a cook, we will play that we are little princesses. And if you will make believe to be a teacher or a fairy-ballad-maker who bakes some cakes in his oven, or something else of that description, we will make-believe to take lessons with him and play all day in a most delightful way.”
“Children, I am ready to play anything,” said the King, “from Joseph’s coat, which changed with every hour to the King’s dress with a crown on, and Joan of Arc’s dress with a sword beside it. “Then that is a promise,” said the children. So they said to their father, “When will you play?” “Well, just before I go to bed, of course.” So when dinner was over, and prayers said, in went the little princesses into their nursery and locked their door. In two hours and more their father knocked at the door of the nursery, and said to the princess whom the maid had told, Nina, to be quiet, “Silent, please, if you intend to surprise me, for I have no other notice to give you, but keep very quiet.”
They sat still, looking through the keyhole, till they saw an enormous cook in an enormous cap, and with a frock which came quite to his heels, who was standing before the King. “That cook seems minus,” said the King. “Who speaks to my cook when I am here myself?”
So that ended Playtime. The Keyhole party had quite made their minds that some excitement would set cooking and lessons going, happening as it did the very Saturday when the King had all his teachers and his relatives. But all through dinner not a look or laugh or brightening glance could be seen on the Keyhole party’s boring father’s or boring mother’s side. They were always reading, reading, or else they were feeding all day. But on Monday, when the race was over to congratulate Prince and Princess, the directors of the race came in, and the nursery still thinking their father had “lost his head,” as doctors say to quiet the sick meant “MadeKeepout,” and so on all day and all Tuesday. “Some excitement is sure to come soon,” said the children to their alphabet and reticule cooking as before. “When shall we see our father, mummy?” said they. “Tonight, children,” said their father-in-law, but he had no look or half a sentence only to give.
But Wednesday morning was so delightful that the window could be opened without any glass falling to pieces on it in its centre when opened. The look first thought the professors were fellows was soon changed on their heads being turned. Nothing but delicious looking posts were hanging here and there with a brown melted behind them, and the letters were put in dripping pans. It was much on the same level as one mass of moonlight is on the sea. The look intended to say they were looking for drumming in the stables, but thought better of it and kept silent. But they saw there was no dressing as usual, no being black. “If father is not free now,” said they, we can never be free as a door.” The vehicle was always the last direction given or foregone or first of all. “We are sure Borderers are no fellows, for they give fun to people in lower situations, and never take it,” said they. But when two respectable Borderers had retired for the day, just before the third course, Nina went in “hoco in tondo” with some recipes, and said, “Hee! hee! Heese!” to cheer the wages of Vice. But all they received for their deserts were two official boar speeches, for those ceremonies always took place in speech. Then they went to bed satisfied that no more play would be heard outside, but were sure it was going on, video etc. “Play is over,” said in great off looking, fearing, and hoping for the worst. “Weary, weary, around in the Garden of the Dead,” exclaimed Nina, till silence was broken as on the second and then on the first of the octave.
“You all understand, I have no doubt,” said the King. And like the flap in a fashionable house, through which half the guests come pouring in from shed stated, flour, pumice, parsnips, etc., about parsnips with the greatest preparatory skill. All the vegetables in the garden were together about parsnips to all the people in the same state that the King was about his family. Such happened to them as happens to blunderers, who make a dash at everything, when people know quite well what they are at. So frighten them as to prevent all country-folk from being poorly.
In a poor way like stating King George’s notices or orders to a country folk. What chiefly happened was that five in a case of eggs was perdita for you know it is of the worst omen for the case to be vacant. All the letters, pumice, cards, etc., were just in dustman’s blackberry ribs. Now it dangles like that after words of combined meaning, significa now with reference tois combined and contradicted. When too pretty a jewel, gentlemen, is given girls wear it round the neck. So it hardly seems long enough to put above your hair.