Hard by the Inn was the very same tiny hut in which Claribel had lived; and over the fireplace still showed dimly the carved coat of arms and the motto, Noblesse oblige.
When Red Rex saw this, he stood and stared at it a long time, saying nothing. "I used to think that meant 'A King can do no wrong,'" said he at last in a low voice to King Victor. "Now I believe it means, 'A King must do no wrong.'"
"So I too believe," agreed King Victor. "But I would make the motto say still more. Every one can be noble, and a noble must do no wrong."
"It shall be the motto of my people!" declared Red Rex. And so it became.
But there were other tales of this neighborhood which Red Rex remembered. "May we not go hunting in the Ancient Wood, of which I have heard?" asked Red Rex while they tarried in Derrydown. "I understand that it is not far, and that there is great game to be had in those still coverts."
"Nay; in these days we do not hunt in my Kingdom," replied King Victor. "Since hearing the tale of the Bear's Daughter it has been no pleasure for any of us to kill or hurt any dumb creature."
"Ah!" cried Red Rex. "I had forgot that story! Hans wounded a poor friendly bear who had done him no harm. That was cowardly, indeed! True, Cousin. Neither do I wish to hunt any more. It was that tale which you punctuated by your noisy arrival in Kisington, do you remember? I picked out that story for myself; and it has done a service to the wild creatures of my Kingdom, who will henceforth be safe from me and mine. But, indeed, though we do not hunt, I would fain see this Ancient Wood, where the Old Gnome lived in his hollow tree."
"We will go this very day," answered King Victor. And go they did. Sure enough, in a clearing they found the house which David had built for his little wife, snug and clean and empty. Close by in the thick woods the three boys discovered a giant tree-stump, papered with moss and hung with cobweb hammocks, which they felt sure had been the house of the Hermit Gnome in the days before he became a Fairy.
"I must bring my little daughter Hope to see this place," declared the Red King. "She would love it best of all. What good times she would have with me here in the forest! I would tell her the story of David, and learn myself to be a woodsman."
"It is more amusing than war," declared King Victor. "With books in the city and woodcraft in the wild, who would be a soldier? Look, now! I will give to your little Princess Hope as a gift this tiny cottage, where David and his wife and little daughter lived so happily. When she comes to visit our Kingdom,--often, as I hope,--you can play at being a woodsman; which is a good game. But you must promise to let me be your guest for at least one night of each visit. For I, too, love these woods and this little house which has been my secret retreat for many years. Will you accept my gift for your little daughter, Cousin?"