# The Princess of Cozytown/The Bald-headed Kingdom/Chapter 4

Chapter IV.
ON THE evening of the twenty-fifth day, he came to a dim, dark forest, and sitting upon an old stump in a little patch of moonlight began to weep bitterly. You see, dears, he felt that death had already overtaken him, but all at once a sharp little voice cried, "What does this mean?" and up out of the ground popped a tiny brown dwarf. "What does this mean?" he shouted crossly. "I've not had a wink of sleep this night." Sambrun jumped up hastily and bowing in his most charming fashion, said how very sorry he was to have kept the little fellow from his sleep. Somewhat appeased, the dwarf raised his lantern and peered up curiously at Sambrun with his little red eyes. "Oh, ha—ha—ha," he roared, catching sight of Sambrun's bald head, "Oh, ho—ho—ho. This is worth a night's rest."
"Well, what's it all about, bald pate?" Sambrun knew enough about the fairy folk not to vex the dwarf; so with many sighs he told him of the wicked doings of his father, the bald-headed, bad-tempered King. The comical, crooked dwarf listened intently, his little red eyes snapping and ​sparkling. When the Prince had finished, he said never a word, but, leaning down, gravely untied his shoe. Then, drawing it off, he jumped up quickly and threw it with all his might at the Prince's head. Sambrun had not time to dodge, and the little shoe hit him squarely in the eye. Everything grew black. He felt himself falling.
Down, down, he plunged through inky darkness, and landed at last with a dull thump. When he opened his eyes and looked about dizzily, he was in a great gloomy hall. Hundreds of tiny dwarfs were running excitedly about swinging red lanterns. Their eyes gleamed red and scarily and the lanterns sent thin streaks of light into the shadowy corners. Then up hopped the little dwarf who had thrown
​the shoe and told the Prince to come with him. The Prince followed the little fellow to the end of the hall where a very ancient dwarf with a silvery beard at least a yard long sat upon a throne cut from a blazing ruby. Sambrun dropped to one knee and remained thus until the King of the dwarfs bade him rise. "Well," demanded the King in a faraway voice. "What is your wish? Here are stored the treasures of the world. Here are buried the secrets of all times, Past, Present and Future."
The Prince, now accustomed to the dim light, looked curiously about the giant hall. Heaps and heaps of silver and gold rose to the ceiling. Stacks of glittering emeralds and diamonds and all manner of precious stones glittered and sparkled from the shadowy corners; blue-veined marble, gold-shot bronze, magic-hued jade surrounded the walls of the mysterious cave. For a moment the Prince forgot the simply gorgeous Princess, forgot his weeping mother, and forgot his bald-headed, bad-tempered father. On the tip of his tongue trembled the wish to possess this great treasure, and then ashamed and mortified the next minute, he bit his tongue sharply and could say nothing at all. But the friendly little dwarf told his story for him, and as he finished said, "Give him, O wise King, the secret that will save his life, the secret sought since the beginning of time, the secret of growing hair."
The King looked at Sambrun gravely and asked, "Is this your wish?" "Yes," gasped the Prince, dropping to his knee and covering his eyes so that he could not see the hateful treasure. "You have wished well, O Prince," said the King.