“I do not want to separate you from your child, if only you will do your duty by him.”
“I will do anything you desire, aunt!”
“Teach him not to be selfish, then!” replied the Lady Abracadabra. “If you really are in earnest, I will give you one more trial; but remember it is the last.”
The Queen grew more frightened than ever, for she felt as if she were a fly in a spider’s web; that the Lady Abracadabra was spreading toils for her, and that the little Eigenwillig was already as good as lost to her.
“But how can I teach him not to be selfish?” she asked at length.
“By making him consider others as much as himself; by teaching him to bear contradiction, and to yield up his own wishes and inclinations; and by letting him associate with his equals.”
“You forget he is a prince, Lady,” replied the Queen proudly.
“No, I do not,” answered the Fairy. “A prince may have his equals in age, I suppose, if not in rank.”
“Ah! Lady Abracadabra!” cried King Katzekopf. “I believe you have hit the right nail on the head. I’ve often wished the boy could have had somebody to play with,—somebody who would set him a good example, and would not flatter him, as these courtiers do.”
“Suppose I could find such a companion for him,” said the Fairy, “would you befriend him, and treat him as you do your own child?”