第53章 THE POMEGRANATE SEEDS(11)

But there was no choice of such things in King Pluto's palace.

This was the first fruit she had seen there, and the last she was ever likely to see; and unless she ate it up immediately, it would grow drier than it already was, and be wholly unfit to eat.

"At least, I may smell it," thought Proserpina.

So she took up the pomegranate, and applied it to her nose;and, somehow or other, being in such close neighborhood to her mouth, the fruit found its way into that little red cave.Dear me! what an everlasting pity! Before Proserpina knew what she was about, her teeth had actually bitten it, of their own accord.Just as this fatal deed was done, the door of the apartment opened, and in came King Pluto, followed by Quicksilver, who had been urging him to let his little prisoner go.At the first noise of their entrance, Proserpina withdrew the pomegranate from her mouth.But Quicksilver (whose eyes were very keen, and his wits the sharpest that ever anybody had) perceived that the child was a little confused; and seeing the empty salver, he suspected that she had been taking a sly nibble of something or other.As for honest Pluto, he never guessed at the secret.

"My little Proserpina," said the king, sitting down, and affectionately drawing her between his knees, "here is Quicksilver, who tells me that a great many misfortunes have befallen innocent people on account of my detaining you in my dominions.To confess the truth, I myself had already reflected that it was an unjustifiable act to take you away from your good mother.But, then, you must consider, my dear child, that this vast palace is apt to be gloomy (although the precious stones certainly shine very bright), and that I am not of the most cheerful disposition, and that therefore it was a natural thing enough to seek for the society of some merrier creature than myself.I hoped you would take my crown for a plaything, and me--ah, you laugh, naughty Proserpina--me, grim as I am, for a playmate.It was a silly expectation.""Not so extremely silly," whispered Proserpina."You have really amused me very much, sometimes.""Thank you," said King Pluto, rather dryly."But I can see plainly enough, that you think my palace a dusky prison, and me the iron-hearted keeper of it.And an iron heart I should surely have, if I could detain you here any longer, my poor child, when it is now six months since you tasted food.I give you your liberty.Go with Quicksilver.Hasten home to your dear mother."Now, although you may not have supposed it, Proserpina found it impossible to take leave of poor King Pluto without some regrets, and a good deal of compunction for not telling him about the pomegranate.She even shed a tear or two, thinking how lonely and cheerless the great palace would seem to him, with all its ugly glare of artificial light, after she herself--his one little ray of natural sunshine, whom he had stolen, to be sure, but only because he valued her so much--after she should have departed.I know not how many kind things she might have said to the disconsolate king of the mines, had not Quicksilver hurried her way.