mortals had dug so much treasure out of the
earth and kept it above ground, where all the
power of Ruggedo and his nomes was unable to
recover it. He hated not only the mortals but
also the fairies who live upon the earth or above
it, and instead of being content with the riches
he still possessed he was unhappy because he did
not own all the gold and jewels in the world.

Ruggedo had been nodding, half asleep, in
his chair when suddenly he sat upright, uttered
a roar of rage and began pounding upon a huge
gong that stood beside him.

The sound filled the vast cavern and penetrated
to many caverns beyond, where countless thousands
of nomes were working at their unending tasks,
hammering out gold and silver and other metals, or
melting ores in great furnaces, or polishing
glittering gems. The nomes trembled at the sound
of the King's gong and whispered fearfully to one
another that something unpleasant was sure to
happen; but none dared pause in his task,

The heavy curtains of cloth-of-gold were pushed
aside and Kaliko, the King's High Chamberlain,
entered the royal presence.

"What's up, Your Majesty?" he asked, with a wide
yawn, for he had just wakened.