Leander, infinitely pleased, settled his affairs, mounted the finest
horse in the stable, called Gris-de-line, and attended by some of his
servants in livery, made his return to court. Now you must know Furibon
had given out that had it not been for his courage Leander would have
murdered him when they were a-hunting; so the king, being importuned by
the queen, gave orders that Leander should be apprehended. But when he
came, he showed so much courage and resolution that Furibon ran to the
queen's chamber and prayed her to order him to be seized. The queen,
who was extremely diligent in everything that her son desired, went
immediately to the king. Furibon, being impatient to know what would be
resolved, followed her; but stopped at the door and laid his ear to the
keyhole, putting his hair aside that he might the better hear what was
said. At the same time, Leander entered the court-hall of the palace
with his red cap upon his head, and perceiving Furibon listening at the
door of the king's chamber, he took a nail and a hammer and nailed his
ear to the door. Furibon began to roar, so that the queen, hearing her
son's voice, ran and opened the door, and, pulling it hastily, tore her
son's ear from his head. Half out of her wits, she set him in her lap,
took up his ear, kissed it, and clapped it again upon its place; but
the invisible Leander, seizing upon a handful of twigs, with which they
corrected the king's little dogs, gave the queen several lashes upon her
hands, and her son as many on the nose: upon which the queen cried out,
"Murder! murder!" and the king looked about, and the people came running
in; but nothing was to be seen. Some cried that the queen was mad, and
that her madness proceeded from her grief to see that her son had lost
one ear; and the king was as ready as any to believe it, so that when
she came near him he avoided her, which made a very ridiculous scene.
Leander, then leaving the chamber, went into the garden, and there,
assuming his own shape, he boldly began to pluck the queen's cherries,
apricots, strawberries, and flowers, though he knew she set such a high