If you do so , the poor infant must suffer for his mother 's folly . '' Then she kissed the child , and it seemed to do him good ; for he smiled and nestled closely into her bosom . So Mother Ceres set her torch in a corner -LRB- where it kept burning all the while -RRB- , and took up her abode in the palace of King Cereus , as nurse to the little Prince Demophoon . She treated him as if he were her own child , and allowed neither the king nor the queen to say whether he should be bathed in warm or cold water , or what he should eat , or how often he should take the air , or when he should be put to bed . You would hardly believe me , if I were to tell how quickly the baby prince got rid of his ailments , and grew fat , and rosy , and strong , and how he had two rows of ivory teeth in less time than any other little fellow , before or since . Instead of the palest , and wretchedest , and puniest imp in the world -LRB- as his own mother confessed him to be , when Ceres first took him in charge -RRB- , he was now a strapping baby , crowing , laughing , kicking up his heels , and rolling from one end of the room to the other . All the good women of the neighborhood crowded to the palace , and held up their hands , in unutterable amazement , at the beauty and wholesomeness of this darling little prince . Their wonder was the greater , because he was never seen to taste any food ; not even so much as a cup of milk . `` Pray , nurse , '' the queen kept saying , `` how is it that you make the child thrive so ? '' `` I was a mother once , '' Ceres always replied ; `` and having nursed my own child , I know what other children need . '' But Queen Metanira , as was very natural , had a great curiosity to know precisely what the nurse did to her child . One night , therefore , she hid herself in the chamber where Ceres and the little prince were accustomed to sleep . There was a fire in the chimney , and it had now crumbled into great coals and embers , which lay glowing on the hearth , with a blaze flickering up now and then , and flinging a warm and ruddy light upon the walls . Ceres sat before the hearth with the child in her lap , and the firelight making her shadow dance upon the ceiling overhead . She undressed the little prince , and bathed him all over with some fragrant liquid out of a vase . The next thing she did was to rake back the red embers , and make a hollow place among them , just where the backlog had been . At last , while the baby was crowing , and clapping its fat little hands , and laughing in the nurse 's face -LRB- just as you may have seen your little brother or sister do before going into its warm bath -RRB- , Ceres suddenly laid him , all naked as he was , in the hollow among the red-hot embers . She then raked the ashes over him , and turned quietly away . You may imagine , if you can , how Queen Metanira shrieked , thinking nothing less than that her dear child would be burned to a cinder . She burst forth from her hiding-place , and running to the hearth , raked open the fire , and snatched up poor little Prince Demophoon out of his bed of live coals , one of which he was gripping in each of his fists .
He immediately set up a grievous cry , as babies are apt XXXXX do , when rudely startled out of a sound sleep .
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