"Great God," cried the Prince, "I thought they were all painted images.
But I am wrong. They are women after all."
Then the young Prince called to his side his two Companions, and said in
a meditative voice; "My comrades ! There is a charm about these ladies
that I never noticed before. When I saw that glance of the Queen's
dark, luminous eyes, brightening with new emotion, it seemed to me like
the first faint streak of dawn in a newly created world."
The two Companions smiled a knowing smile, and said: "Is that really so,
Prince?"
And the poor Queen of Hearts from that day went from bad to worse. She
began to forget all rules in a truly scandalous manner. If, for
instance, her place in the row was beside the Knave, she suddenly found
herself quite accidentally standing beside the Prince instead. At this,
the Knave, with motionless face and solemn voice, would say: "Queen, you
have made a mistake."
And the poor Queen of Hearts' red cheeks would get redder than ever.
But the Prince would come gallantly to her rescue and say: "No! There
is no mistake.
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