Shall have half my kingdom,
And the princess fair!”
Then every one of the lords wished to play the fiddle, you may be sure, and Amaryllis could hardly keep his hands still.
The proud brothers tried to play, but they could not make a sound.
Many of the lords tried to play, but the fiddle would only squeak for them. Sometimes it would fly right out of their hands.
All this time Amaryllis was longing to play the fiddle, and his arm went to and fro as though he had hold of the bow.
Some one noticed him and cried, “See! we have the fiddler here.”
Amaryllis remembered the words of the fairy just in time, and so he would not play the fiddle. He went out of the room and ran home as fast as his legs could carry him.
When the brothers got home they told great tales about the ball.