"Who says I'm not a King at all?" shouted the Wymp King, angrily.
"If you make any more of your bad jokes, I won't try to help you at all," said the Wymp. "Why don't you say what you want at once?"
So Lady Daffany set to work and told the whole of her story, and begged the Wymp King to take back his fatal gift so that the Prince should no longer tell people what he thought about them until they all came to dislike him.
When she had finished, the King gave a great yawn and took off his crown.
"Doesn't he tell them the truth then?" he asked, sleepily.
"Yes, I—I suppose so," she answered, doubtfully.
"Then why should they mind?" said the Wymp King.
Lady Daffany shook her head. "They do mind," she said.
"Then it's very stupid of them," said the Wymp King, very drowsily. "However, if that's all, the gift can be passed on to you instead. Now go away; I am going to sleep again."
He was already sound asleep, and not another word could be got out of him. Lady Daffany tried not to cry, and turned away.