"Prisoner," said the Dwarf-King, reading the card which the parrot had
finally chosen, "the Lord Chief Justice condemns you for the rest of
your natural life to be Master Beater of the Palace Carpets."
Great applause followed this sage judgment.
So the three rogues were led away, and unless you have heard to the
contrary, they are still making up for their wicked lives by enforced
diligence at their tasks. The palace has five hundred and ninety-six
chimneys, eight thousand, seven hundred and fifty-three windows, and
eleven hundred and ninety-nine large dust-gathering carpets, and the
chimneys, windows, and carpets have to be swept, washed, and beaten at
least once a week.
Now when the King, the Chancellor, and the Chamberlain failed to return,
the people took the hunter out of his prison and made him king, because
he was the richest and most powerful of them all.
As for the treasure of the treasure castle, it is still there, packed in
the linen sacks, lying just inside the great door.
Perhaps some day you may find it.
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