King Picrochole must have been a very mean man. You will begin to think so when you know how he treated Ulrich Gallet, who was sent by good old Father Grandgousier to make peace. Ulrich left the palace with five cart-loads of splendid buns, four of these carts being for the Bunmakers, and the fifth and last cart being filled to the brim with buns good enough to make any one's mouth water, being made of the purest butter, the most delicious honey, the freshest eggs, and the richest saffron and other spices ever known. As Ulrich went along the high-road, people would curl up their noses in delight, take two or three long sniffs, and then cry out: "Ah! that last cart is the best of all."
"Yes," Ulrich would answer; "the buns in that cart are sent by King Grandgousier to Marquet himself."
"Who is Marquet?"
"Why, don't you know that he is the man who struck our friend Forgier across the shins and got beaten by our Shepherds? His Majesty has given me seven hundred thousand and three gold crowns for him to pay the surgeon who nursed his wounds."
"Oh! how good a King we have!"
"Yes, and, what is more, His Majesty offers to give Marquet and his heirs an apple-orchard forever, so dearly does he love peace."
"Was there ever such a King as ours!" cried the people on the road, sending Ulrich on with another cart-load of blessings for each mile, so that by the time he reached King Picrochole's Court there must have been quite a train of carts.
GRANDGOUSIER'S EMBASSY.