Prince Wish, almost beside himself with grief, declared that nothing should induce him to return to his throne and kingdom till he had found Darling. He would suffer none of his courtiers or attendants to follow him; but bidding them all adieu, mounted a good horse, laid the reins on the animal's neck, and let him take him wherever he would.
The horse entered a wide-extended plain, and trotted on steadily the whole day without finding a single house. Master and beast began almost to faint with hunger; and Prince Wish might have wished himself at home again, had he not discovered, just at dusk, a cavern, where there sat, beside a bright lantern, a little woman who might have been more than a hundred years old.
She put on her spectacles the better to look at the stranger, and he noticed that her nose was so small that the spectacles would hardly stay on; then the prince and the fairy--for she was a fairy--burst into laughter.
"What a funny nose!" cried the one.
"Not so funny as yours, madam," returned the other. "But pray let us leave our noses alone, and be good enough to give me something to eat, for I am dying with hunger, and so is my poor horse.""With all my heart," answered the fairy.
"Although your nose is ridiculously long, you are no less the son of one of my best friends. Iloved your father like a brother; he had a very handsome nose.""What is wanting to my nose?" asked Wish rather savagely.
"Oh! nothing at all. On the contrary, there is a great deal too much of it; but never mind, one may be a very honest man, and yet have too big a nose. As I said, I was a great friend of your father's; he came often to see me. I was very pretty then, and oftentimes he used to say to me, `My sister----' ""I will hear the rest, madam, with pleasure, when I have supped; but will you condescend to remember that I have tasted nothing all day?""Poor boy," said the fairy, "I will give you some supper directly; and while you eat it I will tell you my history in six words, for I hate much talking. A long tongue is as insupportable as a long nose; and I remember when I was young how much I used to be admired because Iwas not a talker; indeed, some one said to the queen my mother--for poor as you see me now, I am the daughter of a great king, who always----""Ate when he was hungry, I hope," interrupted the prince, whose patience was fast departing.
"You are right," said the imperturbable old fairy; "and I will bring you your supper directly, only I wish first just to say that the king my father----""Hang the king your father!" Prince Wish was about to exclaim, but he stopped himself, and only observed that however the pleasure of her conversation might make him forget his hunger, it could not have the same effect upon his horse, who was really starving.
