‘Oh! that’s Ernalie,’ answered the Queen’s voice.
(It seemed as if the shoe took some time to get on again.)
‘So she told me; but who is Ernalie?’ he asked again.
‘Oh! you’d better get her to tell you that too when she comes down. Well, what do you think of her?’
‘Oh, she’s—she’s just lovely,’ answered he.
(‘Listeners never hear any good of themselves,’ thought the Princess. However, the shoe had come on just at that moment, and she entered the room.)
‘Speak of the—ahem!’ the King was just saying, when the Prince interrupted him.
‘“Speak of angels, and you hear the rustling of their wings,” you mean,’ he said.
‘Thank you for the compliment, if it was meant for me,’ said the Princess.