By this time the people of the house were all gathered at the gate, but
Irene stood alone in front of them. When the horseman pulled up, she
ran
to the side of the white horse, and held up her arms. The king stooped,
and took her hands. In an instant she was on the saddle, and clasped in
his great strong arms. I wish I could describe the king, so that you
could see him in your mind. He had gentle blue eyes, but a nose that
made him look like an eagle. A long dark beard, streaked with silvery
lines, flowed from his mouth almost to his waist, and as Irene sat on
the saddle and hid her glad face upon his bosom, it mingled with the
golden hair which her mother had given her, and the two together
were
like a cloud with streaks of the sun woven through it. After he had held
her to his heart for a minute, he spoke to his white horse, and the
great beautiful creature, which had been prancing so proudly a little
while before, walked as gently as a lady--for he knew he had a little
lady on his back--through the gate and up to the door of the house.
Then
the king set her on the ground, and, dismounting, took her hand and
walked with her into the great hall, which was hardly ever entered
except when he came to see his little princess. There he sat down with
two of his councillors who had accompanied him, to have some
Madhuri Noah
C:\Users\MNoah\Documents\The Princess and the Goblin1.docx
Page 100 of 634