how he wished he was only in evening dress , that he might dance with the charming young lady . But there he was , dressed just as if he were going out to hunt , if anyone could have seen him . So , even if he took off his cap of darkness , and became visible , he was no figure for a ball . Once he would not have cared , but now he cared very much indeed . But the prince was not clever for nothing . He thought for a moment , then went out of the room , and , in three steps of the seven-league boots , was at his empty , dark , cold palace again . He struck a light with a flint and steel , lit a torch , and ran upstairs to the garret . The flaring light of the torch fell on the pile of `` rubbish , '' as the queen would have called it , which he turned over with eager hands . Was there -- yes , there was another cap ! There it lay , a handsome green one with a red feather . The prince pulled off the cap of darkness , put on the other , and said : '' I wish I were dressed in my best suit of white and gold , with the royal Pantouflia diamonds ! '' In one moment there he was in white and gold , the greatest and most magnificent dandy in the whole world , and the handsomest man ! `` How about my boots , I wonder , '' said the prince ; for his seven-league boots were stout riding-boots , not good to dance in , whereas now he was in elegant shoes of silk and gold . He threw down the wishing cap , put on the other -- the cap of darkness -- and made three strides in the direction of Gluckstein . But he was only three steps nearer it than he had been , and the seven-league boots were standing beside him on the floor ! `` No , '' said the prince ; `` no man can be in two different pairs of boots at one and the same time ! That 's mathematics ! '' He then hunted about in the lumber-room again till he found a small , shabby , old Persian carpet , the size of a hearthrug . He went to his own room , took a portmanteau in his hand , sat down on the carpet , and said : `` I wish I were in Gluckstein . '' In a moment there he found himself ; for this was that famous carpet which Prince Hussein bought long ago , in the market at Bisnagar , and which the fairies had brought , with the other presents , to the christening of Prince Prigio .
-LSB- Illustration : Page 40 -RSB- When he arrived XXXXX the house where the ball was going on , he put the magical carpet in the portmanteau , and left it in the cloakroom , receiving a numbered ticket in exchange .
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