And for the first time in his life, the old King pulled his son into his arms and gave him a hearty kiss.
Once the first surge of emotions had died down, and he had dried his eyes and blown his nose, the King returned to the table and called his son to him.
“Come, my boy,” he said. “In the future, you shall rule with me. It is you who will help me pay back the insult.”
His gaze fell upon the donkey’s head.
“Take it outside! Remove it from here!” he cried, covering his eyes.
The High Chancellor charged forward to take it. But the Prince stretched out his arm and stopped him.
“No!” he said. “My father and my king, change your command, and allow me, on the contrary, to put it where all of us may see it every day, every hour, until we have redeemed ourselves of our shame.”
“My child, what are you saying?!” groaned the King.
“The donkey’s head irks you, father, because we are not worthy right now to return the gift to its sender. Yet if we destroy it, we shall forget it. And we must not forget it. Let it remain here.”
And he took the donkey’s head, and hung it from a tarnished gilded hook above a gold-leaf cabinet with one missing leg, the most ostentatious piece of furniture in the entire room.
“And now, Master Cunningson,” said the Prince, turning to the High Chancellor, “we have some business to settle between us.”
The High Chancellor turned pale.
“My lord,” he said uneasily, bowing to the ground before the King. “Do you not think that affairs of state are better dealt with by us alone, without the assistance of His Highness the Prince? He is still so very young, your royal son, he has learnt nothing yet.”
The King hesitated and glanced at his boy.
“My King and father,” said the Prince. “If this request has your approval, I shall leave. But before I go, ask this man what he did with the golden chain that you entrusted to him, as a mark of his rank and office.”
“He sold it,” replied the King, “to provide us with things to eat.”
“He did not sell it, father, and if you were to go to the house of Faintheart the Judge, who is his accomplice, you would find it there…”
He had no time to finish his sentence.
With a great leap, the High Chancellor was out of the window, vanishing in the darkness of the night.
After him leapt the Prince, pursuing him in the dark, amidst the rocks and stones.
Stumbling and rolling, Cunningson flapped down the mountain towards the capital, but he was unaccustomed to running, and the Prince gained fast upon him.
He was reaching out to seize hold of him at last, when all of a sudden the High Chancellor lost his wits completely; in a mad attempt to escape he turned towards the crevasse, tripped and plummeted over the precipice, smashing his bones in the course of his fall against the protruding rocks.
When he returned to the palace once again, the Prince was greeted by the King and Little Irene; they stood with the two equerries by the entry gate of the donjon tower, calling out to him anxiously.
“Let us go to bed, my child,” the King said to him. “It is late, and my head aches…”
“You go to bed, father, for I cannot,” replied the Prince breathlessly. “Only give me your two equerries. Cunningson fell over the precipice, and I must go to Faintheart’s house at once, on the off-chance that I might find the golden chain still there. It was very foolish of me not to take it then and there, when I was at his house, and had a hold on him! We now have great need of florins, many florins, and we have none.”
“What do you need florins for, my son?” said the King indifferently. “Can’t you see how tired we all are?…”
“Do not forget the gift of the King our Royal Uncle, father,” said the Prince gravely.
At that, the King lowered his head, and raised no more objections.
The Prince took the two equerries and hurried to Master Faintheart’s house in the capital.
None of the windows had any light.
They knocked at the door, yet no one answered from inside. They knocked a second time, and still there was no answer.
“Break down the door,” ordered the Prince.
At that, the three men put all their strength together, and succeeded, after great effort, in breaking down the door.
The house was pitch dark. Only in the back kitchen was there a feeble glimmer of light, where some logs were burning away in a brazier, and a few mackerels were turning into charcoal amongst the cinders.
The Prince lit a torch and with his companions searched throughout the house. But he found no one.
On the table, next to a bottle of sweet mastic wine, he saw a folded sheet of paper. He unfolded it, yet he did not know how to read it; so he folded it back again and put it in his pocket.
He searched everywhere, yet all the drawers were empty; he found nothing. He then went out with the two equerries, and returned to the palace.
Everyone was asleep. Only Little Irene was still up, waiting for him.
“Why aren’t you in bed, too?” her brother asked fondly.
Little Irene smiled.
“I have been waiting for you, my brother, and guess what I have been doing? I have mended father’s mantle, and his tattered robes, patched up the torn skirt of Spitefulnia and the ripped scarf of Jealousia, which gave rise to today’s quarrel.”
The Prince kissed her.
“I see you have begun to put into good practice the advice of Knowledge,” he said. “But tell me, have you had anything to eat?”
Little Irene took a chunk of bread out of her pocket and gave it to him bleakly.
“I could find nothing more! My dinner too was a piece like this one. I saved half for you.”
“And the eggs — those famous, celebrated eggs — of the King our Royal Cousin? Did they not give you any?”
Little Irene shook her head.
“There were only a few eggs,” she replied, “and our sisters have a fine appetite… And then father too was hungry…”
“I see,” said the Prince. “Everyone ate, except for you.”
The siblings embraced one another, and went to their respective rooms. They fell asleep instantly, and in the sweetness of their slumber forgot for a few hours life’s adversities and its bitter twists and turns.
VI. Army and Navy Present and Correct!
AT DAYBREAK the Prince woke up Little Irene.
“Come with me,” he said. “I shall go and fetch the day’s food before the others wake up.”
“Where are we going?” asked his sister.
“To the woods. Take a small basket with you; we shall gather anything that we find along the way.”
With a light step, the siblings descended the mountain; all of a sudden, a strange noise drew their attention.
Brother and sister paused to listen. “What is that sound?” asked Little Irene.
“It appears to be the clinking of a small goat bell,” replied the Prince.
“A goat bell in these parts? How could that be so? There are no goats anywhere nearby!”
They advanced a little farther; and yet again they heard the jingle of a small bell.
Little Irene looked about her — she could see nothing, however, so she approached the ridge of the precipice. Yet when she leant forward to see, she let out a scream and pulled herself back.
“What is the matter?” asked the Prince, peering out beside her.
Down below, at the foot of the mountain, lay the corpse of the High Chancellor, just as it had fallen in the chasm; and, in a circle around it, there pranced about like a monkey a little man, half-black, half-yellow, now pulling himself straight, then again squatting low beside the body.