IT was not long before she arrived at the cloud which had brought her to the kingdom of the Air-Spirits, and there she found Tom the cat awaiting her. He got up and stretched himself as she approached, and when he saw the little crystal bottle hanging round her neck by its coral chain, he said:

“So far, all has gone well; but we have still to find the Golden Ivy-seed. There is no time to be lost, so catch hold of my tail and let us be off.”

With that, he stretched out his tail as straight as the handle of a saucepan. Princess Hilda took hold if it; they sprang off the cloud and away! down they went till it seemed to her as if they never would be done falling. At last, however, they alighted softly on the top of a hay-mow, and in another moment were safe on the earth again.

Close beside the hay-mow was a field-mouse’s hole, and the cat began scratching at it with his two fore-paws, throwing up the dirt in a great heap behind, till in a few minutes a great passage was made through to the center of the earth.

“Keep hold of my tail,” said the cat, and into the passage they went.

It was quite dark inside, and if it had not been for the cat’s eyes, which shone like two yellow lamps, they might have missed their way. As it was, however, they got along famously, and pretty soon arrived at the center of the earth, where was the kingdom of the Gnomes.

“Now, Princess Hilda,” said the cat, “you must go the rest of the way alone. Ask the first Gnome you meet to show you the place where the King works; and when you have found him, ask him where the Golden Ivy-seed is. But be careful to do everything he bids you, no matter how little you may like it; for, if you do not, your brother Henry never can be saved.”

Though Princess Hilda did not much like the idea of going on alone, still, since it was for her brother’s sake, she consented; only she made up her mind to do everything the King bade her, whatever happened. Pretty soon she met a Gnome, who was running along on all-fours.

“Can you show me the place where the King works?” asked Princess Hilda.

“What do you want with him?” asked the Gnome.

“I want to ask him where the Golden Ivy-seed is,” answered Princess Hilda.

“He works in that great field over yonder,” said the Gnome; “but unless you can walk on all-fours better than you do, I don’t believe he will tell you anything.”

Princess Hilda had never walked on all-fours since the black spot came on her forehead; so she went onward just as she was, and all the Gnomes who met her said:

“See how upright she walks! She will never come to anything.”

But at last she arrived at the gate of the field, and walked in; and there was the King on all-fours in the midst of it. As soon as he saw Princess Hilda, he said:

“Get down on all-fours this instant! How dare you come into my kingdom walking upright?”

“Oh, your Majesty,” said Hilda, though she was a good deal frightened at the way the King spoke, “there is no time to be lost; where is the Golden Ivy-seed?”

“The Golden Ivy-seed is not given to people with stiff necks,” replied the King. “Get down on all-fours at once, or else go about your business!”

Then Princess Hilda remembered what the cat had told her, and got down on all-fours without a word.

“Now listen to me,” said the King. “I shall harness you to that plow in the place of my horse, and you must draw it up and down over this field until the whole is plowed, while I follow behind with the whip. Come! There is no time to lose.”

When Princess Hilda heard this, she felt tempted for a moment to refuse; but the next moment she remembered her poor little brother Henry standing in the thousand and first corner of Rumpty-Dudget’s tower, with his face to the wall and his hands behind his back; so she said:

“O King of the Gnomes! I am so sorry for my little brother that I will do as you bid me, and all I ask in return is that you will give me the Golden Ivy-seed, so that Henry may be saved from Rumpty-Dudget’s tower.”

The King said nothing, but harnessed Hilda to the plow, and she drew it up and down over the field until the whole was plowed, while he followed behind with the whip. Then he freed her from her trappings, and told her to go about her business.

“But where is the Golden Ivy-seed?” asked she, piteously.

“I have no Golden Ivy-seed,” answered the King; “ask yourself where it is!”

Then poor Princess Hilda’s heart was broken, and she sank down on the ground and sobbed out, quite in despair:

“Oh, what shall I do to save my little brother!”

But at that the King smiled upon her and said:

“Put your hand over your heart, Hilda, and see what you find there.”

Princess Hilda was so surprised that she could say nothing; but she put her hand over her heart, and felt something fall into the palm of her hand, and when she looked at it, behold! it was the Golden Ivy-seed.

“Yes,” said the King, kindly; “you might have searched through all the kingdoms of the earth and air, and yet never have found that precious seed, had you not loved your brother so much as to let yourself be driven like a horse in the plow for his sake. Keep the Golden Ivy-seed in this little pearl box; be humble, gentle and patient, and sooner or later your brother will be free.”

As he spoke, he fastened a little pearl box to her girdle with a jewelled clasp, and kissed her, and bade her farewell. And as Princess Hilda went away, she fancied she had somewhere heard a voice like this King’s before; but where or when she could not tell.

It was not long before she arrived at the mouth of the passage by which she had descended to the kingdom of the Gnomes, and there she found Tom the cat awaiting her. He got up and stretched himself as she approached, and when he saw the pearl box at her girdle, he said:

“So far, all goes well; but now we must see whether or not Prince Frank has kept the fire going: there is no time to be lost, so catch hold of my tail, and let us be off.”

With that, he stretched out his tail, as straight as the handle of a saucepan; Princess Hilda took hold of it, and away they went back through the passage again, and were out at the other end in the twinkling of an eye.

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