But now , somehow , he did n't much like it . He went straight to the Duke of Stumpfelbahn , the Hereditary Master of the Ceremonies , and asked to be introduced to the beautiful young lady . She was the daughter of the new English Ambassador , and her name was Lady Rosalind . But she nearly fainted when she heard who it was that wished to dance with her , for she was not at all particularly clever ; and the prince had such a bad character for snubbing girls , and asking them difficult questions . However , it was impossible to refuse , and so she danced with the prince , and he danced very well . Then they sat out in the conservatory , among the flowers , where nobody came near them ; and then they danced again , and then the Prince took her down to supper . And all the time he never once said , `` Have you read this ? '' or `` Have you read that ? '' or , `` What ! you never heard of Alexander the Great ? '' or Julius Caesar , or Michael Angelo , or whoever it might be -- horrid , difficult questions he used to ask . That was the way he used to go on : but now he only talked to the young lady about herself ; and she quite left off being shy or frightened , and asked him all about his own country , and about the Firedrake shooting , and said how fond she was of hunting herself . And the prince said : `` Oh , if you wish it , you shall have the horns and tail of a Firedrake to hang up in your hall , to-morrow evening ! '' Then she asked if it was not very dangerous work , Firedrake hunting ; and he said it was nothing , when you knew the trick of it : and he asked her if she would but give him a rose out of her bouquet ; and , in short , he made himself so agreeable and unaffected , that she thought him very nice indeed . For , even a clever person can be nice when he likes -- above all , when he is not thinking about himself . And now the prince was thinking of nothing in the world but the daughter of the English Ambassador , and how to please her-He got introduced to her father too , and quite won his heart ; and , at last , he was invited to dine next day at the Embassy . In Pantouflia , it is the custom that a ball must not end while one of the royal family goes on dancing . This ball lasted till the light came in , and the birds were singing out of doors , and all the mothers present were sound asleep . -LSB- Illustration : Page 42 -RSB- Then nothing would satisfy the prince , but that they all should go home singing through the streets ; in fact , there never had been so merry a dance in all Pantouflia . The prince had made a point of dancing with almost every girl there : and he had suddenly become the most beloved of the royal family .
But everything must end at last ; and the prince , putting on the cap XXXXX darkness and sitting on the famous carpet , flew back to his lonely castle .
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