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"Very well," said the dragon, sighing; "I suppose I must. What name?" "King Grumbelo," answered the King, proudly. He fully expected that the dragon would fall flat on the ground at the mention of such an important name as his; but the dragon did nothing of the kind. "It is not a bit of use expecting to come in here with a name like that," he complained.
"Do you think any one else would have been so much trouble to catch? And now that you have caught me, what can I do for you?" "I want you to remove the spell from the Lady Whimsical, so that she may be able to speak to me," said King Grumbelo. The witch woman laughed outright. "There is no spell over the Lady Whimsical," she said. "She can talk as much as she pleases."
"Dear me!" thought King Grumbelo, "something charming must be hidden behind so pretty a hedge as this!"
"Does anybody live inside the house?" he asked. "Of course," answered the dragon. "Do they build houses in your country to be looked at? I suppose you can't help it, but I have never been asked so many senseless questions before." "Answer me one more and I will go away," said King Grumbelo. "Does a beautiful Princess, the most beautiful you have ever seen, live inside the house over there?"
"Then, who are you?" asked King Grumbelo in bewilderment. The Lady Whimsical laughed, as she had laughed every day for a month when she banged the door in the King's face. "Can't you guess?" she exclaimed. "Why, I am just the daughter of the Professor of Practical Jokes!" And the King only wondered that he had not guessed it long ago.
"Time's up," said the dragon, and King Grumbelo went away puzzled. He came back again, however, at the same time on the following morning; and there sat Lady Whimsical on the doorstep of her rose-leaf dwelling, just as though she were expecting him. "I have thought only of you since yesterday morning," sighed King Grumbelo. The Lady Whimsical smiled as before.
We 've nothing of that kind here." "Then I 'll bid you good-day," said King Grumbelo, for he did not mean to waste any more time. Just as he was going to ride away, however, the door of the little house opened, and out of it stepped the sweetest-looking little lady the world has ever contained.
"As soon as the Princess heard that your Majesty wished to make her a Queen she fled from the country, and we have not been able to discover where she has hidden herself!" "No matter," said King Grumbelo, actually omitting to scold them for their stupidity; "it is never difficult to find the most beautiful Princess in the world!
Two hours after sunrise on the following morning, the Lady Whimsical was once more seated on her doorstep, and King Grumbelo was once more standing in front of her. "You are so beautiful that I shall never tire of looking at you," said the King. Again, the Lady Whimsical only smiled. "You are so silent that you will always allow me to talk enough for both of us," continued the King.
After that, the people could not think of grumbling; they gave themselves up to general rejoicing, and pretended, day after day, that the King was being married, until they almost forgot that there was not even a king in the country. Meanwhile, King Grumbelo was riding by night and by day in search of his beautiful, silent Princess.
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