“I see,” said the miller’s wife, nodding her head; “and I am very sorry I cannot give you the piece to complete your cloak. But the fact is, I considered it too pretty for my crazy-quilt, so I gave it to my son for a necktie.”
“‘AND WHERE IS YOUR SON?’ DEMANDED ZIXI.”
“And where is your son?” demanded Zixi.
“Oh, he is gone to sea, for he is a sailor. By this time he is far away upon the ocean.”
Bud, Fluff, and the witch-queen looked at one another in despair. This seemed, indeed, to destroy all their hopes; for the one portion of the cloak that they needed was far beyond their reach.
Nothing remained but for them to return to Zixi’s palace and await the time when the miller’s son should return from his voyage. But before they went the queen said to the woman:
“When he returns you may tell your son that if he will bring to me the necktie you gave him, I will give him in return fifty gold pieces.”
“And I will give him fifty more,” said Bud, promptly.
“And I will give him enough ribbon to make fifty neckties,” added Fluff.