“But that is absurd!” cried Zixi, with impatience.
The owl had an ear out, and heard her. So it withdrew its head long enough to retort:
“I don’t think it’s any more absurd than the longings of some other folks.”
“Perhaps you are right,” said the queen, and hung her head as she walked on.
By and by she found a ferryman with a boat, and he agreed to row her across the river. In one end of the boat crouched a little girl, the ferryman’s daughter, and she sobbed continually, so that the sound of the child’s grief finally attracted Zixi’s attention.
“Why do you sob?” questioned the queen.
“Because I want to be a man,” replied the child, trying to stifle her sobs.
“Why do you want to be a man?” asked Zixi, curiously.
“Because I’m a little girl,” was the reply.
This made Zixi angry.