was a philosopher, and knew all the ins and outs of the laws of
gravitation as well as the ins and outs of her boot-lace. And being
a witch as well, she could abrogate those laws in a moment; or at
least so clog their wheels and rust their bearings, that they would
not work at all. But we have more to do with what followed than
with how it was done.

The first awkwardness that resulted from this unhappy privation
was, that the moment the nurse began to float the baby up and down,
she flew from her arms towards the ceiling. Happily, the resistance
of the air brought her ascending career to a close within a foot of
it. There she remained, horizontal as when she left her nurse's
arms, kicking and laughing amazingly. The nurse in terror flew to
the bell, and begged the footman, who answered it, to bring up the
house-steps directly. Trembling in every limb, she climbed upon the
steps, and had to stand upon the very top, and reach up, before she
could catch the floating tail of the baby's long clothes.

When the strange fact came to be known, there was a terrible
commotion in the palace. The occasion of its discovery by the king
was naturally a repetition of the nurse's experience. Astonished
that he felt no weight when the child was laid in his arms, he
began to wave her up and not down, for she slowly ascended to the
ceiling as before, and there remained floating in perfect comfort
and satisfaction, as was testified by her peals of tiny laughter.
The king stood staring up in speechless amazement, and trembled so
that his beard shook like grass in the wind. At last, turning to
the queen, who was just as horror-struck as himself, he said,
gasping, staring, and stammering,--