The sloping roof joined the floor, so that on one side a man could not have stood upright, and through
the holes the cold air of dawn was coming, while icicles hung from the roof. The only furniture besides the chair was an empty bread basket hanging up, and in a corner a bed of straw and rags, on which little Giles and his mother were lying fast asleep.
Perez the Mouse drew nearer, taking the King by the paw, and they could see how little Giles was huddled up in the rags, and how he was cuddled up against his mother for warmth, and it made the King so unhappy that he began to cry.
The Guards silently formed up ready to fire
Why had he never known that people were so poor? How was it that he had never been told that
children were hungry and had to sleep on horrid beds? He did not want any blankets on his cot till every child in his kingdom had plenty of bed-clothes to keep them warm.