"Ah! wife," replied the fisherman, "the fish cannot make an emperor; and I should not like to ask for such a thing."
"I am king," said Alice; "and you are my slave, so go directly."
So the fisherman was obliged to go, and he muttered as he went along—
"This will come to no good. It is too much to ask. The fish will be tired at last, and then we shall repent of what we have done."
He soon arrived at the sea, and the water was quite black and muddy, and a mighty whirlwind blew over it; but he went to the shore, and repeated the words he had used before.
"What would she have now?" inquired the fish.
"She wants to be emperor," replied the fisherman.
"Go home," said the fish, "she is emperor already."
So he went home again, and as he came near, he saw his wife sitting on a very lofty throne made of solid gold, with a crown on her head, full two yards high; and on each side of her stood her guards and attendants in a row, ranged according to height, from the tallest giant to a little dwarf, no bigger than one's finger. And before her stood princes, and dukes, and earls; and the fisherman went up to her, and said—
"Wife, are you emperor?"