Now, she was the most beautiful princess in all the world, and had a thousand suitors at her feet.
So the Bluebottle came and settled on her hand, and sang:
“Zum, zum, zoo,
I want to marry you!”
But the princess didn’t understand the song. She only saw a great bluebottle fly, and she tried to flick it off her hand. But the Bluebottle sat fast. Then the princess cried out:
“Here’s a great horrid fly on my hand, and it won’t move! Quick! some one take it away!”
At that, you may be sure, all the suitors came running up, and made grabs at the Bluebottle; and the cleverest of them caught him between his finger and thumb and nearly crushed the life out of him. But he managed to wriggle free, and in his flight he flew at the king himself and settled right on the tip of the royal nose.
Then the king gave a terrific snort and hit the Bluebottle such a blow that if it hadn’t just missed him he would certainly have been killed.
By this time, I can tell you, the Bluebottle was in such a state that he didn’t know whether he was on his head or his heels. So he buzzed round and round the room, and was chased from one courtier to the other, and dashed his wings against the window-panes, and at last the king threw his scepter at him, and the scepter hit the fattest duchess in the room, and bounded off and struck the Bluebottle on the head.
You may fancy how that confused the poor thing! And so he flew into the fireplace, and got his left wing scorched, and he only just managed to crawl up the chimney by the skin of his teeth.