The king was cordially ashamed of himself for having gotten all that fright

And misery out of so paltry a matter as a slumbering calf; but he need not

Have felt so about it, for it was not the calf that frightened him but a dreadful

Non-existent something which the calf stood for; and any other boy, in those

Old superstitious times, would have acted and suffered just as he had done.

The king was not only delighted to find that the creature was only a calf, but

delighted to have the calf's company; for he had been feeling so lonesome and

Friendless that the company and comradeship of even this humble animal was

Welcome. And he had been so buffeted, so rudely entreated by his own kind,

That it was a real comfort to him to feel that he was at last in the society of a

Fellow-creature that had at least a soft heart and a gentle spirit, whatever

Loftier attributes might be lacking. So he resolved to waive rank and make

Friends with the calf.

While stroking its sleek, warm back — for it lay near him and within easy

Reach — it occurred to him that this calf might be utilized in more ways than

One. Whereupon he rearranged his bed, spreading it down close to the calf;

then he cuddled himself up to the calf's back, drew the covers up over himself

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And his friend, and in a minute or two was as warm and comfortable as he