THE QUEEN OF THE MISSISSIPPI
'Pardon?'
'Come, travel with me, my pippy.'
'Oh! Whither? Madras or Bombay?'
'But no; to the far Mississippi,
Which flows from the gates of the day;
Where a Queen all in purple array
Waits for me——'
'I am yours! And the bounty?'
' Wouldn't go in a twenty-ton dray!'
Then the young man took his muffin, and, breaking off a little bit, handed it to the man who was eating up the earth.
'Keep it,' said he; 'it's a pledge of good faith.'
They were still a long way from their destination when they came to a beautiful castle of burnished gold, surrounded by a very deep moat over which was a drawbridge; and on the bridge was a golden portcullis. As soon as they arrived, their leader rang the bell. When the door was opened, the travellers entered, and the hero asked to see the King.
'What do you want with the King?' replied an attendant, richly attired.
'I have come to ask for the hand of his daughter, the Queen of the Mississippi,' said the hero.
'That is all very well; but consider well before you start on such an undertaking; for many have come as you have come and have lost their lives.'
'That is nothing,' they all replied. 'We are not afraid!'
Then they were led before the Queen, and all were completely dazzled by her beauty. It was a long time before they realised that she was speaking to them. At last they understood her to say:
'Here is my servant. See if you can eat more than he does.'
And the servant sat down in front of a table covered with dishes crowded with large joints of meat. And behold, he ate the whole lot up.
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