"Two little sisters," said Faith, and her voice was eager. She loved to speak of her sisters. "They're just the dearest little mites," she urged. "They're twins, just turned six."
The man nodded. "In fact, when you're at home, you're happy, eh?" he asked.
"Oh, yes," said Faith again, earnestly. "If only we'd got a little more money, we'd all be quite, quite happy," she added wistfully.
The man said: "Then it's you who are to be envied, not me!"
She coloured a little. "I don't understand," she said in a whisper.
He laughed. "Do you know the story of King Cophetua and the Beggar Maid?" he asked.
She shook her head. "No, I don't think so."
"Well, anybody will tell you—I'm no good at explaining things. Ask your mother when you get home, and then remember that I said that you were Queen Cophetua, and I the Beggar Man."
She echoed his last word incredulously. "Beggar Man! How can you be, with all—this?"