It  came  down  heads,  and  so  he  gave  the  de-
cision for  Pan.  '  You  are  an  ass,'  cried  Apollo
in  a  rage,  '  and  the  son  of  an  ass,  and  your
ears  shall  be  the  cars  of  an  ass.'  The  king  put
up  his  hand  to  feel — and  so  they  were.  It  is
not  recorded  what  Pan  said  or  did,  but  pro-
bably he  only  laughed  in  an  unfeeling  way,
and  went  off  with  his  syrinx  to  frighten  the
shepherds  of  Arcadia.  Then  this  kinglet  got  a
tall  bonnet  made,  into  which  he  poked  both
his  long  ears,  and  hoped  that  nobody  would
find  out.     As  people  were   then,   as  now,  en-


ALL   LX  A    GARDEN  FAIR.  143

tirely  occupied  Avitli  their  own  iifTuirs,  nobody
did  lind  out  the  fact  for  a  long  time.  But  it
made  the  king  uneasy,  lie  was  afraid  to  take
liis  usual  allowance  at  night  for  fear  of  getting
tipsy  and  prattling  or  letting  his  long  caj)  I'all
oll^.  One  day,  however,  being  alone  in  the
garden,  he  could  not  refrain  from  removing  the
cap  as  he  sat  in  the  shade,  and  while  the  wind
l)layed  deliciously  about  those  long  and  hairy
ears,  it  happened  that  an  under-gardener,  a
varlet  at  six  shillings  a  wi.*uk  and  his  dinner,
who  was  pretending  to  be  at  work  in  the
bushes,  saw  this  remarkable  and  wonderful
tiling.  Could  it  be?  Was  it  possible?  Did
liis  eyes  deceive  him  ?  Was  witchery  about  ?
The  king  with  two  long,  very  long,  com[)letely
fmished,  perfect  donkey's  ears  !  While  he  gazed,
motionless,  his  majesty  replaced  the  bonnet  and
walked  away  with  as  much  dignity  as  if  his
royal  ears  were  human.
