THE INVISIBLE PRINCE

Once upon a time there lived a Fairy who had power over the
earth, the sea, fire, and the air; and this Fairy had four sons.
The eldest, who was quick and lively, with a vivid imagination,
she made Lord of Fire, which was in her opinion the noblest of
all the elements. To the second son, whose wisdom and prudence
made amends for his being rather dull, she gave the government of
the earth. The third was wild and savage, and of monstrous
stature; and the Fairy, his mother, who was ashamed of his
defects, hoped to hide them by creating him King of the Seas.
The youngest, who was the slave of his passions and of a very
uncertain temper, became Prince of the Air.

Being the youngest, he was naturally his mother's favourite; but
this did not blind her to his weaknesses, and she foresaw that
some day he would suffer much pain through falling in love. So
she thought the best thing she could do was to bring him up with
a horror of women; and, to her great delight, she saw this
dislike only increased as he grew older. From his earliest
childhood he heard nothing but stories of princes who had fallen
into all sorts of troubles through love; and she drew such
terrible pictures of poor little Cupid that the young man had no
difficulty in believing that he was the root of all evil.

All the time that this wise mother could spare from filling her
son with hatred for all womenkind she passed in giving him a love
of the pleasures of the chase, which henceforth became his chief
joy. For his amusement she had made a new forest, planted with