JUST then, and not one moment too soon, there was a noise of hurrying and scurrying, and along came Tom the cat through the forest, with Princess Hilda holding on to his tail. As soon as they were within the circle, Tom dug a little hole in the ground with his two fore-paws, throwing up the dirt behind, and then said: “Give me the Golden Ivy-seed, Princess Hilda; but make haste; for Frank is burning for Henry’s sake!”

So she made haste to give him the Seed; and he planted it quickly in the little hole, and covered the earth over it, and then said: “Give me the Diamond Water-drop; but make haste; for Frank is burning for Henry’s sake!”

So she made haste to give him the Drop; and he poured half of it on the fire, and the other half on the place where the Seed was planted. And immediately the fire was put out, and there lay Prince Frank all alive and well; but the mark of Rumpty-Dudget’s mud on his nose was burned away, and his hair and eyes, which before had been brown and hazel, were now quite black. So up he jumped, and he and Princess Hilda and Tom all kissed each other heartily; and then Prince Frank said:

“Why, Hilda! the black spot that you had on your forehead has gone away, too.”

“Yes,” said the cat, “that happened when the King of the Gnomes kissed her. But now make yourselves ready, children for we are going to take a ride to Rumpty-Dudget’s tower!”

The two children were very much surprised when they heard this, and looked about to see what they were to ride on. But behold! the Golden Ivy-seed, watered with the Diamond Water-drop, was already growing and sprouting, and a strong stem with bright golden leaves had pushed itself out of the earth, and was creeping along the ground in the direction of Rumpty-Dudget’s tower. The cat put Princess Hilda and Prince Frank on the two largest leaves, and got on the stem himself, and so away they went merrily, and in a very short time the Ivy had carried them to the tower gates.

“Now jump down,” said the cat.

Down they all jumped accordingly; but the Golden Ivy kept on, and climbed over the gate, and crept up the stairs, and along the narrow passageway, until, in less time than it takes to write it, the Ivy had reached the room, with the thousand and one corners, in the midst of which Rumpty-Dudget was standing; and all around were the poor little children whom he had caught, standing with their faces to the wall and their hands behind their backs. When Rumpty-Dudget saw the Golden Ivy-seed creeping toward him, he was very much frightened, as well he might be, and he tried to run away; but the Ivy caught him, and twined around him, and squeezed him tighter and tighter and tighter, until all the mischief was squeezed out of him; but since Rumpty-Dudget was made of mischief, of course when all the mischief was squeezed out of him, there was no Rumpty-Dudget left. He was gone forever.

Instantly, all the children that he had kept in the thousand and one corners were free, and came racing and shouting out of the gray tower, with Prince Henry. And when he saw his brother and sister, and they saw him, they all three hugged and kissed one another as if they were crazy. At last Princess Hilda said: “Why, Henry, the spot that was on your chin has gone away, too! And your hair and eyes are brown and hazel instead of being black.”

“Yes,” said a voice, which Hilda fancied she had heard before; “while he stood in the corner his chin rubbed against the wall, until the spot was gone; so now he no longer wishes to do what he is told not to do, or not to do what he is told to do; and when he is spoken to, he answers sweetly and obediently, as a violin answers to the bow when it touches the strings.”

Then the children looked around, and there stood a beautiful lady, with a golden crown on her head, and a loving smile in her eyes. It was their fairy aunt, whom they had never seen before except in their dreams.

“Oh,” said Princess Hilda, “you look like our mamma, who went away to a distant country, and left us behind. And your voice is like the voice of the Queen of the Air-Spirits; and of—”

“Yes, my darlings,” said the beautiful lady, taking the three children in her arms; “I am the Queen, your mother, though, by Rumpty-Dudget’s enchantments, I was obliged to leave you, and only be seen by you at night in your dreams. And I was the Queen of the Air-Spirits, Hilda, whose voice you had heard before, and I was the King of the Gnomes, though I seemed so harsh and stern at first. But my love has been with you always, and has followed you everywhere. And now you shall come with me to our home in Fairy Land. Are you all ready?”

“Oh, but where is Tom the cat?” cried all the three children together. “We cannot go and be happy in Fairy Land without him!”

Then the Queen laughed, and kissed them, and said: “I am Tom the cat, too!”

When the children heard this, they were perfectly contented; and they clung about her neck, and she folded her arms around them, and flew with them over the tops of the forest trees to their beautiful home in Fairy Land; and there they are all living happily to this very day. But Princess Hilda’s eyes are blue, and her hair is golden, still.