“I will,” said the King.
Then Iris-Wing took the freshest and ripest of nuts, and the most luscious of fruits, and brought these to the King. And he ate and enjoyed them.
When the King had partaken of nuts and berries and nectar, he said to the Captain.
“Captain Featherweight, I long have wanted to visit you and your Company, but duties of state have prevented. I am delighted with Mount Fern!
“Your home is a bower; your furnishings dainty and elegant; and your fare is delicious.
“Tomorrow we’ll visit the gardens. This evening we’ll spend in quiet conversing, in puzzles and riddles, conundrums and puns. I love a good joke when I’m tired of affairs of the kingdom.”
Captain Featherweight, bowing low, replied: “Your Majesty’s wish is our pleasure.”
Then the King, looking up at the ceiling, was struck by the soft glow of the filigree lanterns, and asked the Captain what lighting he used.
Bowing low, the Captain replied: “The light of the glowworm.”