Once upon a time there lived a king who had a daughter just fifteen years old . And what a daughter ! Even the mothers who had daughters of their own could not help allowing that the princess was much more beautiful and graceful than any of them ; and , as for the fathers , if one of them ever beheld her by accident he could talk of nothing else for a whole day afterwards . Of course the king , whose name was Balancin , was the complete slave of his little girl from the moment he lifted her from the arms of her dead mother ; indeed , he did not seem to know that there was anyone else in the world to love . Now Diamantina , for that was her name , did not reach her fifteenth birthday without proposals for marriage from every country under heaven ; but be the suitor who he might , the king always said him nay . Behind the palace a large garden stretched away to the foot of some hills , and more than one river flowed through . Hither the princess would come each evening towards sunset , attended by her ladies , and gather herself the flowers that were to adorn her rooms . She also brought with her a pair of scissors to cut off the dead blooms , and a basket to put them in , so that when the sun rose next morning he might see nothing unsightly . When she had finished this task she would take a walk through the town , so that the poor people might have a chance of speaking with her , and telling her of their troubles ; and then she would seek out her father , and together they would consult over the best means of giving help to those who needed it . But what has all this to do with the White Slipper ? my readers will ask . Have patience , and you will see . Next to his daughter , Balancin loved hunting , and it was his custom to spend several mornings every week chasing the boars which abounded in the mountains a few miles from the city . One day , rushing downhill as fast as he could go , he put his foot into a hole and fell , rolling into a rocky pit of brambles . The king 's wounds were not very severe , but his face and hands were cut and torn , while his feet were in a worse plight still , for , instead of proper hunting boots , he only wore sandals , to enable him to run more swiftly . In a few days the king was as well as ever , and the signs of the scratches were almost gone ; but one foot still remained very sore , where a thorn had pierced deeply and had festered . The best doctors in the kingdom treated it with all their skill ; they bathed , and poulticed , and bandaged , but it was in vain . The foot only grew worse and worse , and became daily more swollen and painful . After everyone had tried his own particular cure , and found it fail , there came news of a wonderful doctor in some distant land who had healed the most astonishing diseases . On inquiring , it was found that he never left the walls of his own city , and expected his patients to come to see him ; but , by dint of offering a large sum of money , the king persuaded the famous physician to undertake the journey to his own court .
On his arrival the doctor was led at once XXXXX the king 's presence , and made a careful examination of his foot .
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