There was first of all a diamond necklace, just what she had been wishing for; then there were ear-rings and bracelets of lapis lazuli of a beautiful azure color; string after string of pearls; emeralds set in buckles for her shoes; amethysts; sapphires as blue as the sea; and last of all a large topaz, which shone with a brilliant yellow light, as if it had been sunshine which some one had caught and imprisoned for her.
The Princess Bébè forgot for a moment her hard bed and sleepless night, and ran to the king to thank him for his presents.
"I am glad to find that you are pleased with your new home," said the king, graciously. "Did the princess sleep well during the night?"
"Oh, not at all well," she answered, forgetting her errand. "And I was very cold, besides."
"Cold? cold?" said the king, sharply. "We must see to that."
Turning to one of his attendants, who held a crystal cup on which were engraved the arms of the royal family, he took from it a stone of a dark orange color, and said,
"This is a jacinth, my dear princess. Whenever you are cold, you have only to rub your hands against it, and you will feel a delicious sense of warmth stealing through your limbs."
The princess rubbed her hands against the smooth stone as the king suggested; but she almost immediately threw it away again, crying out with pain.
"Oh, I don't like it at all," she exclaimed. "It pricks and hurts."
"It is nothing but the electricity," answered the king. "You will soon get accustomed to it, and I have no doubt will be quite fond of your electrical stove."