Year: 1873

The flea lived with the Princess, sat
white neck. She had taken hair from
her head and made the Professor tie it
to the hea's leg, and so she kept him
tied to the great red coral drop which
she wore in her car-tip. What n delight
full time the Princess had, and the flea
too, she thought, but the Professor was
not very comfortable. He was travel
er he liked to drive from town to town,
and read about his perseverance and
cleverness in teaching flea to do what
men do. But he got out Of and into his
hammock. lounged about and had good
feeding, fresh birds eggs, elephants eyes
and roast giraffe. People that eat men
do not live entirely on cooked men-no,
that is great delicacy.


"Shonlder of children with sharp
sauce" said the Princess's mother, sis
the most delicate"


The Professor was tired of it all and
would rather go away from the wild
land, but he must have his flea with
him, for that was his prodigy, and his
bread and butter How was he to get
hold of him? That was no easy matter.
he StrilHeu III HIS WIS unt 'Hch Ho
said:


"Now I have it."


"Princesss Father grant me n
favor. May I summon your subjects
to present themselves before your
Ru1kl Highness? That is what is called
Ceremony in the high and mighty
countries of the world" "


"Can /, too, learn to do that ?" asked
the Princess's father.


THAT is not quite proper, replied
the Professor "but | shall teach your
wild Partnership to fire a cannon off.
1t goes off with bang. One sits high
up aloft, and then off it goes or down
he comes.


"Let me crack it Off" said the Prin-
cess's father. But in all the land there
was no cannon except the one the flea
had brought, and that was so very
small.


81 will cast bigger one" said the
Professor. "Only give me the means.
must have fine silk stuff, needle and
thread, rope and cord, together with
cordial drops for the balloon, they blow
one up SO easily and give one the
heaves they are what makes the report
IN the cannon inside.


"By all means said the Princess's
father, and gave him what he called
for. All the court and the entire pofu
lation came together to see the great
cannon cast. The Professor did not
summon them before he had the bal
loon entirely ready to be filed and go
up. The flea sat on the Princess's hand
and looked on. The balloon was filed,
it bulged ont and could scarcely he held
down, so violent did it become.


81 must have it up in the mir before
ii can he cooled of, " said the Professor,
and took his seat in the car which hung
bel wv. But / cannot manage and
steer it alone. | must have skillful
companion along to help me. There is
no one here that can do that except the
flea.


Il am not very willing to let him, "
said the Princess, but still she reached
out and handed the flea to the Profess
sor, who placed him on his hand.


Let go the cords and ropes he
shouted. "Now the balloons going"
They thought he said Z" the cannon,
and so the balloon went higher and
higher, up above the clouds, far away
from the wild land.


The little Princess, all the family and
the people sat and wited-they W are
waiting still and il you do not believe
it, just take journey to the wild land
every child there talks about the Pro-
fessor and the flea, and believes that
they are coming back when the cannon
is cooled off but they will not come,
they are at home with us, they are in
their native country, they travel on the
railway, first-class, not fourth they
have good success, great balloon.
Nobody asks how they got their balloon
or where it came from; they are rich
folks now, quite respectable folks, in
deed-the flea and the Professor
.Scribner's MOnthV