asked for was something to eat, and before long he was sitting at a
table heaped with all sorts of good things, plucked fresh from the
trees.

The people crowded around him, demanding the tale of his adventures,
and their surprise was only equaled by their horror when they learned
he had been captured by a band of monkeys, and shut up in a cage
because he was thought to be a dangerous wild beast.

Experience is said to be an excellent teacher, although a very cruel
one. Prince Zingle had now seen enough of foreign countries to remain
contented with his own beautiful Valley, and, although it was many
years before he again attempted to fly a kite, it was noticed that,
when he at last did indulge in that sport, the kite was of a very small
size.



_The Thirteenth Surprise_

THE STOLEN PLUM-PUDDING


The King's plum-pudding crop had for some time suffered from the
devastations of a secret enemy. Each day, as he examined the vines, he
found more and more of the plum-pudding missing, and finally the
monarch called his Wise Men together and asked them what he should do.

The Wise Men immediately shut their eyes and pondered so long over the
problem that they fell fast asleep. While they slept still more of the