At this moment they suddenly came upon the Wymp King, who was sitting asleep on his throne all by himself. He was just like the other Wymps, except that he looked too lazy to turn somersaults, and he had no laughter wrinkles at all.
"Is that the King? He doesn't look much like a King," whispered Lady Daffany.
"He hasn't got to look like a King," said the Wymp. "We choose our Kings because they are harmless, and don't want to make jokes, and will keep out of the way. We once had a King who looked like a King—we used to live in the sun then—but he did so much mischief that the sun people turned us out, and we have had to live at the back of the sun ever since."
Lady Daffany felt glad that the kind of King she was accustomed to did look like a King, but she had no time to say so, for just then the Wymp jumped on the throne and woke up the King by shouting in his ear.
"Does any one want anything?" asked the Wymp King, waking up with a jerk, and putting on his crown and his spectacles.
Lady Daffany dropped on her knees in front of the throne and tried not to feel frightened.
"Please, your Majesty—" she began, timidly.
"Who is she talking to?" cried the Wymp King. He had a very gruff voice, through living in a yellow fog all his life; and he spoke so loudly that he completely drowned the rest of her speech.
"Say what you want, and don't give him any titles; he's not used to them," whispered the Wymp.
"Why, I don't believe he is a King at all," said Lady Daffany, standing up again.