This little pig went to market.

This Little pig staid at home.

“By Her Radiancy’s express command,” said the Governor, as he conducted the travelers, for the last time, from the Imperial presence, “I shall now have the ecstasy of escorting you as far as the outer gate of the Military Quarter, where the agony of parting — if indeed Nature can survive the shock — must be endured! From that gate grurmstipths start every quarter of an hour, both ways — ”

“Would you mind repeating that word?” said Norman. “Grurm —?”

“Grurmstipths,” the Governor repeated. “You call them omnibuses in England. They run both ways, and you can travel by one of them all the way down to the harbour. ”

The old man breathed a sigh of relief; four hours of courtly ceremony had wearied him, and he had been in constant terror lest something should call into use the ten thousand additional bamboos.

In another minute they were crossing a large quadrangle, paved with marble, and tastefully decorated with a pigsty in each corner. Soldiers marching in all directions: and in the middle stood a gigantic officer giving orders in a voice of thunder, which made itself heard above all the uproar of the pigs.

“It is the Commander-in-Chief!” the Governor hurriedly whispered to his companions, who at once followed his example in prostrating themselves before the great man. The Commander gravely bowed in return. He was Covered with gold lace from head to foot: his face wore an expression Of deep misery: and he had a little black pig under each arm. Still the gallant fellow did his best, in the midst of the orders he was every moment issuing to his men, to bid a courteous farewell to the departing guests.

“Farewell, O old one! — carry these three to the South corner — and farewell to thee, thou young one — put this fat one on the top of the others in the Western sty — may your shadows never be less — woe is me, it is wrongly done! Empty out all the sties, and begin again!” And the soldier leant upon his sword, and wiped away a tear.

“He is in distress,” the Governor explained as they left the court. “Her Radiancy has commanded him to place twenty-four pigs in those four sties, so that, as she goes round the court, she may always find the number in each sty nearer to ten than the number in the last.”

“Does she call ten nearer to ten than nine is?” said Norman.

“Surely,” said the Governor. “Her Radiancy would admit that ten is nearer to ten than nine is — and also nearer than eleven is.”

“Then I think it can be done,” said Norman.

The Governor shook his head. “The C............