Atondido Stories
the door for her, and he said to her, "Whenever you want me,
beat this kettle-drum. No matter how far away I may be, I shall
hear it, and will come at once to you."
Next morning when the King had gone out to hunt, his four
other Queens came to see the gardener's daughter. She told them
all about her kettle-drum. "Oh," they said, "do drum on it just to
see if the King really will come to you."
"No, I will not," she said; "for why should I call him from his
hunting when I do not want him?"
"Don't mind interrupting his hunting," they answered. "Do
try if he really will come to you when you beat your kettle-
drum." So at last, just to please them, she beat it, and the King
stood before her.
"Why have you called me?" he said. "See, I have left my hunt-
ing to come to you."
"I want nothing," she answered; "I only wished to know if
you really would come to me when I beat my drum."
"Very well," answered the King; "but do not call me again un-
less you really need me." Then he returned to his hunting.
The next day, when the King had gone out hunting as usual,
the four Queens again came to see the gardener's daughter. They
begged and begged her to beat her drum once more, "just to see
if the King will really come to see you this time." At first she re-
fused, but at last she consented. So she beat her drum, and the
King came to her. But when he found she was neither ill nor in
trouble, he was angry, and said to her, "Twice I have left my
hunting and lost my game to come to you when you did not
need me. Now you may call me as much as you like, but I will
not come to you," and then he went away in a rage.
The third day the gardener's daughter fell ill, and she beat
and beat her kettle-drum; but the King never came. He heard
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