the princess, meantime, had run to the other side of the pillar and was peeping around it to see what was going on. a crowd had followed the cab out of the town; now they reached the scene of the "state function" and they all cried out: "fair play play fair! we can't go back on our word like this. give a thing and take a thing? why, it's never done. let the poor exiled stranger dragon have his birthday present." and they tried to get at tom but the guinea pig stood in the way.