"I order you not," said the king; but the largest dog seized him, as well as the queen, and tossed them up like the others. The soldiers were then frightened, and the whole population cried out: "Good soldier, you shall be our king, and marry the beautiful princess."
They then placed the soldier in the king's carriage, and the three dogs ran before, crying: "Hurrah!" And the little boys played the fife on their fingers, and the soldiers presented arms. The princess left the copper castle, and became a queen, all of which she liked vastly. The wedding entertainment lasted eight days, and the dogs sat at table, and stared with all their might.
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The Goloshes of Happiness
I.—A BEGINNING
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N a house in Copenhagen, not far from the King's New Market, there was company. A great many persons had been invited, probably in the hope of receiving return invitations. Half of the company had already sat down to the card table, and the other
.png) "THESE GOLOSHES HAVE THE PROPERTY INSTANTLY TO TRANSPORT WHOMSOEVER SHALL PUT THEM ON TO THE PLACE AND TIME HE BEST LIKES."
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half was awaiting the result of the hostess's question: "Well, what shall we do?" They had got thus far, and the entertainment was beginning to go on smoothly enough. Amongst other things, the conversation happened to turn upon the Middle Ages which some few persons deemed far more interesting than our own times. The councillor of justice, Knap, maintained this opinion so warmly that the lady of the house immediately went over to his side, and both fell foul of the conclusions relative to old and modern times drawn by Oersted in his almanack, in which the preference, in all essential points, is given to our age. The councillor of justice looked upon the era of the Danish king Hans[1] as the noblest and most happy of all.
While this topic forms the ground-work of the conversation, which was only momentarily disturbed by the arrival of a newspaper containing nothing worth reading, we will go out into the ante-room, where the mantles, sticks, and goloshes were laid by. Here sat two maidens, a young one and an old one, just as if they had come to accompany their mistresses home; but, on a nearer inspection, one could have perceived that they were no common abigails. Their
- ↑ He died in 1513. He was married to Christine, daughter of the Electoral Prince Ernest of Saxony.
