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Page 43
When she realized this, Zella was no longer afraid
but continued to ladle out the honey until she had
secured all that was in the tree. Then she returned to
the cabin, where her mother was weeping and bemoaning
the fate of her darling child, and the good woman was
greatly astonished to find Zella had escaped injury.
Again they went to the woods to search for honey, and
although the mother always ran away whenever the bees
came near them, Zella paid no attention to the
creatures but kept at her work, so that before supper
time came the pails were again filled to overflowing
with delicious honey.
"With such good fortune as we have had this day,"
said her mother, "we shall soon gather enough honey for
you to carry to Queen Cor." For it seems the wicked
Queen was very fond of honey and it had been Zella's
custom to go, once every year, to the City of Coregos,
to carry the Queen a supply of sweet honey for her
table. Usually she had but one pail.
"But now," said Zella, "I shall be able to carry two
pailsful to the Queen, who will, I am sure, give me a
good price for it."
"True," answered her mother, "and, as the boy Prince
may take it into his head to conquer Coregos, as well
as Regos, I think it best for you to start on your
journey to Queen Cor tomorrow morning. Do you not agree
with me, Nikobob?" she added, turning to her husband,
the charcoal-burner, who was eating his supper.
"I agree with you," he replied. "If Zella must go to
the City of Coregos, she may as well start to-morrow
morning."
Chapter Ten
The Cunning of Queen Cor
You may be sure the Queen of Coregos was not well
pleased to have King Gos and all his warriors living in
her city after they had fled from their own. They were
savage natured and quarrelsome men at all times, and
their tempers had not improved since their conquest by
the Prince of Pingaree. Moreover, they were eating up
Queen Cor's provisions and crowding the houses of her
own people, who grumbled and complained until their
Queen was heartily tired.
"Shame on you!" she said to her husband, King Gos,
"to be driven out of your city by a boy, a roly-poly
King and a billy goat! Why do you not go back and fight
them?"
"No human can fight against the powers of magic,"
returned the King in a surly voice. "That boy is either
a fairy or under the protection of fairies. We escaped
with our lives only because we were quick to run away;
but, should we return to Regos, the same terrible power
that burst open the city gates would crush us all to
atoms."
"Bah! you are a coward," cried the Queen, tauntingly.
"I am not a coward," said the big King. "I have
killed in battle scores of my enemies; by the might of
my sword and my good right arm I have conquered many
nations; all my life people have feared me. But no one
would dare face the tremendous power of the Prince of
Pingaree, boy though he is. It would not be courage, it
would be folly, to attempt it."
"Then meet his power with cunning," suggested the
Queen. "Take my advice, and steal over to Regos at
night, when it is dark, and capture or destroy the boy
while he sleeps."
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