As his servants left him, to carry out the wicked order, there was a clash, as of thunder, in the room, and then a blinding light.Fairy Candide stood before him.Her beautiful face was stern, and her silver voice rang like a trumpet, as she said, "Wicked and selfish prince, you have become baser than the beasts you hunt; you are furious as a lion, revengeful as a serpent, greedy as a wolf, and brutal as a bull; take, therefore, the shape of those beasts whom you resemble!"With horror, the prince felt himself being transformed into a monster.He tried to rush upon the fairy and kill her, but she had vanished with her words.As he stood, her voice came from the air, saying, sadly, "Learn to conquer your pride by being in submission to your own subjects." At the same moment, Prince Cherry felt himself being transported to a distant forest, where he was set down by a clear stream.In the water he saw his own terrible image; he had the head of a lion, with bull's horns, the feet of a wolf, and a tail like a serpent.And as he gazed in horror, the fairy's voice whispered, "Your soul has become more ugly than your shape is; you yourself have deformed it."The poor beast rushed away from the sound of her words, but in a moment he stumbled into a trap, set by bear-catchers.When the trappers found him they were delighted to have caught a curiosity, and they immediately dragged him to the palace courtyard.There he heard the whole court buzzing with gossip.Prince Cherry had been struck by lightning and killed, was the news, and the five favorite courtiers had struggled to make themselves rulers, but the people had refused them, and offered the crown to Suliman, the good old tutor.
Even as he heard this, the prince saw Suliman on the steps of the palace, speaking to the people."I will take the crown to keep in trust," he said."Perhaps the prince is not dead.""He was a bad king; we do not want him back," said the people.
"I know his heart," said Suliman, "it is not all bad; it is tainted, but not corrupt; perhaps he will repent and come back to us a good king."When the beast heard this, it touched him so much that he stopped tearing at his chains, and became gentle.He let his keepers lead him awayto the royal menagerie without hurting them.
Life was very terrible to the prince, now, but he began to see that he had brought all his sorrow on himself, and he tried to bear it patiently.The worst to bear was the cruelty of the keeper.At last, one night, this keeper was in great danger; a tiger got loose, and attacked him."Good enough! Let him die!" thought Prince Cherry.But when he saw how helpless the keeper was, he repented, and sprang to help.He killed the tiger and saved the keeper's life.
As he crouched at the keeper's feet, a voice said, "Good actions never go unrewarded!" And the terrible monster was changed into a pretty little white dog.
The keeper carried the beautiful little dog to the court and told the story, and from then on, Cherry was carefully treated, and had the best of everything.But in order to keep the little dog from growing, the queen ordered that he should be fed very little, and that was pretty hard for the poor prince.He was often half starved, although so much petted.
