But she nearly fainted when she heard who it was that wished to dance with her, for she was not at all particularly clever; and the prince had such a bad character for snubbing girls, and asking them difficult questions.

However, it was impossible to refuse, and so she danced with the prince, and he danced very well.

Then they sat out in the conservatory, among the flowers, where nobody came near them; and then they danced again, and then the Prince took her down to supper.

And all the time he never once said, "Have you read _this_ ?" or "Have you read _that_ ?" or, "What! you never heard of Alexander the Great ?" or Julius Caesar, or Michael Angelo, or whoever it might be--horrid, difficult questions he used to ask.

That was the way he _used_ to go on: but now he only talked to the young lady about _herself_; and she quite left off being shy or frightened, and asked him all about his own country, and about the Firedrake-shooting, and said how fond she was of hunting herself.