She was surrounded by beautifully dressed ladies, but none so lovely as she; only Jack wished she did not look so very sad. The ladies all talked together, but the Princess never said a word.
“Your Royal Highness should not walk too fast,” said one.
“Had not your Royal Highness better sit down?” said another.
“Will your Royal Highness not return to the palace?” asked a third. But the Princess only shook her head in silence, and walked on as before.
Then Jack, seeing her so beautiful, and so unhappy, could contain himself no longer, but burst out—
“Oh, poor Princess! how sorry I am for you!”
At this the Princess raised her eyes for the first time. Such bright eyes they were, shining just like stars, Jack could not bear to look at them, but had to turn his own another way.
“Who spoke?” said the Princess, in a low, sad voice. “Which of you spoke?”
The ladies said nothing, but looked at each other in surprise.
“Someone said she was sorry for me, and I am sure you need not mind my knowing which of you it was,” continued the Princess, beginning to sob, only, instead of tears, sparks fell from her eyes.
Here all the ladies drew about her, and tried to soothe her. “You know,” said one, “that the doctors said that, whatever happened, your Royal Highness was not to excite yourself, or the consequences might be fatal.”
“Pray be calm, your Royal Highness,” said another. “You will really make yourself seriously ill if you go on in this way.”
“But who spoke?” asked the Princess again. “I think it very unkind of you all not to tell me. It’s the first time I have heard a kind voice since I left school.”
At this Jack could keep silence no longer, and, despite the red fireman, who did his best to hold him back, he strode in front of the Princess, and said—
“If you please, your Royal Highness, it was I.”
“You! And who are you?” asked the Princess, kindly.
“I’m a little boy, and my name is Jack.”
“How did you come here?”
“I came with him,” said Jack, pointing to the red fireman. “And you must not be angry with him, for I made him bring me.”
“I am not the least angry, either with him or you,” said the Princess, very graciously. “But I want to know why you said you pitied me.”
“Because you look so unhappy, and I think it’s very sad for you to be parted from your Prince,” said Jack.
Here all the ladies crowded round him, and tried to stop his speaking, but the Princess said—
“Silence! I insist upon it. It does no harm for me to hear him, and I will not allow you to stop him in this way. Thank you, little boy, for what you have said. And for you,” she added, turning to Jack’s first friend, “I am not the least angry with you, and I particularly desire that no one shall mention this to my father;” but just as she stopped speaking, a cloud of smoke was seen rolling over the hills, and the ladies cried—
“The King! the King!”
“Go! go!” cried the Princess to Jack, and the fireman without more ado seized him, and placing him on his shoulders flew through the air with him at a great rate, and was far from the palace before Jack could get breath to speak.
“A fine mess you have nearly got me into!” grumbled the little man. “It will be the last time I ever take you anywhere with me, you may be sure. What would have happened to me if the King had come up and heard you talking to the Princess of the very subject he had forbidden us all to mention?”
Jack dared not say a word, as his companion was so angry, and on they went flying through the air at a dreadful pace. At last they reached the long dark tunnel and flew up it, and when they again came towards the light, the little man took Jack from his shoulders and flung him away with all his force, and he remembered nothing more till he found himself lying on the hearthrug in his own room. It might all have been a dream, only he was so sure it wasn’t.
The fire had gone out, and the only light in the room came from the street lamps. Jack jumped up and searched everywhere for any trace of the little man, but could find none. He ran to the fireplace and called, but there was no answer, and at last he went shivering and cold to bed to dream of the Princess and the strange bright country underground, of which no one knows.
In the morning he was awoke by his mother placing a little parcel in his hand as she kissed him. Jack was delighted when he opened it and found some crackers and sugar cakes and a wooden soldier off a Christmas-tree. He amused himself all the morning playing with them, but he could not forget the fire-people and the pale pretty Princess. He dared not tell his mother, lest he might make the fireman angry, and prevent his showing himself again. Next evening he was alone again, and sat looking anxiously between the bars, but nothing could he see of the fire-people. Then he ran to the window and looked out, in search of the water Prince or the little wind-fairy, but neither could he see, though it rained hard, and the wind blew loudly. So night after night passed, his mother went out and he was left alone, and yet he saw no trace of him, and he began to fear he should never know more of the fire-people.
New Year’s-eve came, and Jack’s mother had to go out and leave him to watch the new year in alone. It was a miserable night. It rained in torrents, and the wind blew, in great melancholy gusts. Jack sat
