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KING BIZARRE AND PRINCE CHARMING “That is the way with Nature,” replied the countess; "she always distributes her gifts with an impartial hand. Stupidity and beauty go hand in hand, and wit and ugliness are seldom separated. I have an example of this in my own family. A few days ago a great-grandniece was sent to me, a child under ten years old, that has no other relative. She is as tawny as a frog, as scraggy as a spider, yet, withal, as cunning as an ape, and as learned as a book. Judge for yourself, sire; here is my little monster coming to salute you." Bizarre turned his head and saw a child that answered in every respect to the countess’s description. With a high, round forehead, black, wild-looking eyes, rough hair turned back in the Chinese fashion, dull, brown skin, great white teeth, red hands, and long arms, she was anything but a beauty. But the chrysalis gives birth to the butterfly. Wait a few years, and you will see what pretty women come from these frightful little girls of ten. The little monster approached the king, and courtesied to him with so serious an air that Bizarre could not help laughing, though he felt little like it. “Who are you?” asked he, chucking the child under the chin. "Sire," she answered, gravely, “I am Donna Dolores Rosario Coral Concha Balthazara Melchiora Gaspara y 11 149
