his own would make him the most redoubtable monarch on the face of the globe. He conceived that this princess was a very suitable wife for the Prince Torticoli, as she could not have any right to reproach him with his deformity and ugliness, being at the least as ugly and deformed as himself. She always went about in a bowl, her legs being out of joint; and was called Trognon. She was the most amiable creature in the world. It appeared as if Heaven had been anxious to compensate her for the injuries of Nature.
King Brun having obtained the portrait of the Princess Trognon, which he had applied for, had it placed in a great hall, under a canopy, and sent for the Prince Torticoli, whom he commanded to look with affection upon that picture, as it was the likeness of Trognon, his intended bride. Torticoli cast his eyes upon it, and turned them away immediately with an air of disdain, which offended his father. "Are you not pleased?" said he, in a sharp and angry tone. "No, my liege," replied the Prince, "I shall never be pleased to marry a cripple." "It well becomes you," said the King, "to find faults in this princess, being yourself a little monster who frightens everybody that looks at you." "It is for that reason," added the Prince, "that I object to form an alliance with another monster. I can hardly bear the sight of myself: what would be my sufferings with such a companion?" "You fear to perpetuate the race of baboons," said the King insultingly; "but your fears are bootless: you shall marry her. It is enough for me to command to be obeyed." Torticoli made no reply. He bowed profoundly and withdrew.
King Brun was not accustomed to encounter the least opposition. His son's refusal put him into an awful passion. He locked him up in a tower which had been built expressly as a prison for rebellious princes; but there had been none such for two hundred years, consequently everything was sadly out of order in it—the apartments and the furniture appeared of surprising antiquity. The Prince loved reading; he asked for books, and he was permitted to make choice of any in the tower library. He thought, at first, that permission would be sufficient, but when he attempted to read some he found the language so obsolete that he could not understand a word of it. He laid them down, then took them
