The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1878-08-15
FOR THE YOUNG PEOPLE.
Two BanIshed Words.


The King of Macaroons was dressing
himself, with the help Of his chamber.
lain. one morning, when to his dismay
he found that there was hole in his
stocking.
"Dear me |" seid The king, "look
here l really must get q wife,"
Just what should have said," re-
turned the chamberlain. "only knew
your majesty was going to make the
same remark"
"Good," said the king; "but do you
think 1 could easily And wife to suit
meS You know I am very difficult to
please. My queen must be clever and
beautiful, and besides which she must
be able to make gingerbread. nuts, for
you know how fond am bf them; and
there is not person in my kingdom
who knows how to make them properly
-peither too hard nor too SOFT
The chamberlain was astonished to
hear this, and felt rather inclined to
laugh, but he answered very properly,
"a great king like your majesty must
surely be able to find princess who
knows how to make gingerbread-nuts."
That very day the king and his minis
ter set off to look for wife for the king,
paying visits to all the neighbors who
had princesses to dispose of.
They could only hear of three at all
likely to suit, and of these three not one
could make gingerbread-nuts.
The first princess said she could make
delicious almond. cakes, if they would
do.
But the king said, No-no-noth-
ing but gingerbread-nut will do"
The second princess turned away very
angrily when she was asked the ques-
ton.
But the third, quite the cleverest and
prettiest of the three, before the king
had time to speak, put question of her
own. "Could the king" she asked.
"play on the harpp If not, she was
sorry, really sorry, as she liked the look
of him--but she could not be his wife.
She had resolved never to marry any
man who could not play the harp"
So the king had to come home without
a queen: but as the holes in his stock
ings grew larger, he felt that he really
must make another effort TO find wife.
"Go to the first princess and ask
her." said he TO his chamberlain. 81
must give up the gingerbread-nuts, l
suppose, and be contented with almond
cakes"
The chamberlain went, and came back
with the news that this princess had Just
married somebody else. Then the king
sent him to the second princess; but she
had unfortunately just died. And so
there was only the harp princess left.
In despair, he sent to her; and, to his
great Joy, she consented to do without
the harp, and to be his wife.
So they were married with very great
rejoicings, and lived in the greatest hap
piness for whole year. The king had
forgotten all about the gingerbread
nuts, and the queen all about the harp.
One morning, however, the king got
out of bed with his left foot first, which
made everything go wrong all through
the day; and SO the king and queen had
a quarrel. What it was about they
really did not know; but they were both
snappish and cross, and determined to
have the last word.
YOU'D better hold Your tongue, and
not keep on finding fault with every
thing and every body" said the queen
at last. "Why, you can't even play the
harp"
"At any rate" returned the king,
"you can't make egingerbread-nuts."
For the first time the queen had
nothing to say. And, indeed, the mo-
ment the word harp had passed her lips
she was sorry she had said it, and she
ran away at once into her own apart
ments, and, throwing herself on the
cushions of her sofa, had good cry.
The king, on the other hand, paced up
and down the room, rubbing his hands
in great glee.
"What good thing for me my wife
can't make gingerbread-nuts, otherwise
l should not have had a word to answer
about the harp" he said.
Presently, however, he looked at the
portrait of the queen, which was hang
ing on the wall. "My poor little wife |
[ dare say, after all, she is sorry to have
teased me, he said; 81 think I'll go
.and sec what she is about. Perhaps she
may be crying her pretty eyes out"
AS it happened, the king and queen
each thinking of the other, ran INTO each
others arms in the great corridor, on
which their rooms opened; and there
they kissed, and made up tneir quarrel,
and vowed never to have another.
81 tell you what we will do" said the
king; eve will Danish two words from
our kingdom, under pain of death, and
those are harp and"
Gingerbread nuts" interrupted the
qneen, laughing low, while she wiped 9
tear from her cheek.