The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1909-01-15
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Real Prince

To-
There was great joy in the kingdom
If No Mans Land, for the longed-for
heir had been born. The bells rang all
pight. Cannon boomerd, and the whole
country was wild with happiness.
There was a particular reason for this
COY. King Sensible the First had been
aoping for an heir for twelve years;
and the whole land had been troubled
Cor fear the kingdom would go to his
brother, who was a very bad man.
Some of the wise people of the land
aid not share in the joy, but shook
their heads gloomily.
He will grow up a spoiled boy"
they said. He is the only prince, and
OF course he will always have his own
way in everything, and every one will
how down to him and fatter him"
King Sensible the First heard of this
dismal prophecy, and, as he was very
wise king, he soon thought of rem
edy. He sent all over his kingdom to
find the boy babies that had been born
the same day as the little prince. There
were five of them in all. He had
them all brought to the royal nursery
and dressed exactly as the little prince
was.
"You must treat all the five babies
exactly alike" he said to the attend
ants. "You must never let them or
any one else know which is the real
prince. Then my son cannot be
Spoiled by his royalty"
After that you may be sure the
nursery of the palace was a lively
place. Five baby carriages stood in a
row at its door. Five pretty white and
gold beds stood in it, four at the cor
ners and one in the middle. Five baby
jumpers hung from the ceiling, and five
high chairs were arranged along the
wall. Five white-capped nurses fed
and bathed and cared for the five ba-
bies; and five bottles stood in pan
of hot water on the stove, until they
were heated to exactly the right tenn
perature.
But, If the nursery was lively when
the babies wore long clothes and slept
almost all the time, it was still more
lively when they began to get around.
What plays they had, the five together!
What fights they had, too, sometimes,
when they pulled each others hair,
and slapped, and even kicked and
punched each other. And then the
whole five were spanked and put to
bed.
You see King Sensible the First
meant that his son and heir should be
wholesomely brought up. His head
should not be turned with hattery and
adulation because he w4s the prince
Better that no one in all the kingdom
knows he is the prince" he said. He
forbade the nurses to show by look or
. word which of their charges was the
royal heir. Indeed, he tried to make
them forget it, and for that reason
often changed the babies in their
. beds, and changed about the nurses
who cared for them, till not one was
sure which was the royal child.
ut would be well if l should for
get which he is, too," the king said
heroically. You see, he was such a
good father that he would do any
thing for the good of his boy. He did
not think such thing could be posi-
BILE; but he did not know how much
alike five babies Of the same age,
dressed and cared for just alike, could
look. Before the first year was over,
not even the father knew which was
the true prince The mother would
have remembered, l think, but she
died shortly after the little prince was
born
Now, of course, the good King SEN
sible did not mean that this should
last forever. The true prince must GER
tainly be known when the time came
for him to mount the throne So he
secretly took the child to the court
magician, and this wizard put upon
the little arm strange mark, shaped
like crown, which should remain in
visible for seventeen years, and then
appear. So the good king felt perfect
ly happy and secure But he did not
know that his wicked brother had af-
terward bribed the magician to put,
the same kind of a mark on every
one of the babies.
When good King Sensible the First
died, no one knew which of the five
princes was the true prince; but the
king proclaimed in his will what the
court magician had done, and the peo-