"Ain't it yours, too, father?"
"Well, to be honest, it is a goblin-weakness. Why they come so soft, I
declare I haven't an idea."
"Specially when your head's so hard, you know, father."
"Yes, my boy. The goblin's glory is his head. To think how the fellows
up above there have to put on helmets and things when they go
fighting.
Ha! ha!"
"But why don't we wear shoes like them, father? I should like
it--specially when I've got a chest like that on my head."
"Well, you see, it's not the fashion. The king never wears shoes."
"The queen does."
"Yes; but that's for distinction. The first queen, you see--I mean the
king's first wife--wore shoes of course, because she came from upstairs;
and so, when she died, the next queen would not be inferior to her as
she called it, and would wear shoes too. It was all pride. She is the
Madhuri Noah
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