ancestors, had secured me the possession of the finest kingdom in the universe. My subjects loved me. I was feared and envied by my neighbours, and generally respected, with some justice. It was said that no king had ever been more worthy of such homage. My personal appearance was not without its attractions to those who saw me. I was exceedingly fond of hunting, and the eager pursuit of a stag having separated me from my attendants, I suddenly saw him plunge into a pond. I spurred my horse in after him, as imprudently as boldly, but instead of the coldness of the water I felt an extraordinary heat. The pond dried up, and through an opening, out of which issued terrible flames, I fell to the bottom of a precipice, where nothing was to be seen but fire.
"I thought myself lost, when I heard a voice which said to me, 'No less fire could warm thy heart, ungrateful one!' 'Hah! who is it that complains of my coldness?' said I. 'An unfortunate who adores thee without hope,' replied the voice. At the same moment the flames were extinguished, and I perceived a Fairy whom I had known from my earliest infancy, and whose age and ugliness had always horrified me. She was leaning on a young slave of incomparable beauty; the golden chains she wore sufficiently betokened her condition. 'What prodigy is this, Ragotte,' said I to her, (so is the Fairy named;) can this really be by your orders?' 'By whose orders should it be?' replied the Fairy. 'Is it but now thou hast learned the state of my heart? Must I undergo the shame of explaining myself? Have my eyes, once so certain of their power, lost all their influence? Consider how low I stoop! 'Tis I who make this confession of my weakness to thee, who, great king as thou mayest be, art less than an ant compared to a Fairy like me.' 'I am whatever you please,' said I to her, impatiently, 'but what is it you demand of me? is it my crown, my cities, my treasures?' 'Ah, wretch!' she replied, disdainfully, 'my scullions, if I chose it, could be more powerful than thou. I demand thy heart. My eyes have asked thee for it a thousand and a thousand times. Thou hast not understood them, or rather, thou wouldst not understand them. Hadst thou been desperately in love with another,' continued she, 'I would not have interrupted the progress of thy passion; but I had too great an interest in thee not to discover the indifference that reigned in thy heart.
