king that his grandeur lies, but in the things which these things
represent. We give a king the rarest and the most costly, because it
is fitting that the king should have the best,--that he is worthy of
the best; that only the best will serve one who is so great and
glorious. They mean nothing in themselves; they only describe his
greatness. The things that one sees are not of importance; it is the
things that they are put there to represent. Do you understand? I
don't believe you do. I 'll try to make it more clear to you, like a
true sunbeam. Look at one of your earth-kings, for instance. He is
nothing but a man just like the rest of you; but what makes him great
is that he is supposed to have more truth, more wisdom, more justice
and power. If he has not these things, then he would better never have
been a king; for that only places him where every one can see how
unworthy he is,--makes his lacks only more conspicuous. Your word
_king_ comes from another word, _könning_; which comes from still
another word, _canning_, that means _ableman_. If he is not really an
ableman, it were better he had never worn ermine. And there, too;
ermine is only a fur, you know. It is nothing in itself but fur; but
you have come to think of it as an emblem of royalty because kings use
it. So you see, Marjorie, a thing is not of any worth really except as
it represents something that is great and noble, something _true_."

Marjorie was very silent for a little; she was trying to understand
what the sunbeam meant, and found it rather difficult. After a while
she gave it up and said,--

"Will you tell me how you are carrying me, and where we are going, and
all about it?"

"Certainly," replied the beam, brightly. "You are in a sort of