The Slender Poe Anthology Read Online Free PDF Page B

it difficult to get throughtheir days (days are rather longer at court than elsewhere) without botha jester to laugh with , and a dwarf to laugh at . But, as I have alreadyobserved, your jesters, in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, are fat,round, and unwieldy — so that it was no small source of self-gratulationwith our king that, in Hop-Frog (this was the fool’s name), he possesseda triplicate treasure in one person.
    I believe the name ‘Hop-Frog’ was not that given to the dwarf by hissponsors at baptism, but it was conferred upon him, by general consentof the several ministers, on account of his inability to walk asother men do. In fact, Hop-Frog could only get along by a sort ofinterjectional gait — something between a leap and a wriggle — a movementthat afforded illimitable amusement, and of course consolation, tothe king, for (notwithstanding the protuberance of his stomach and aconstitutional swelling of the head) the king, by his whole court, wasaccounted a capital figure.
    But although Hop-Frog, through the distortion of his legs, couldmove only with great pain and difficulty along a road or floor, theprodigious muscular power which nature seemed to have bestowed upon hisarms, by way of compensation for deficiency in the lower limbs, enabledhim to perform many feats of wonderful dexterity, where trees or ropeswere in question, or any thing else to climb. At such exercises hecertainly much more resembled a squirrel, or a small monkey, than afrog.
    I am not able to say, with precision, from what country Hop-Frogoriginally came. It was from some barbarous region, however, thatno person ever heard of — a vast distance from the court of our king.Hop-Frog, and a young girl very little less dwarfish than himself(although of exquisite proportions, and a marvellous dancer), had beenforcibly carried off from their respective homes in adjoining provinces,and sent as presents to the king, by one of his ever-victoriousgenerals.
    Under these circumstances, it is not to be wondered at that a closeintimacy arose between the two little captives. Indeed, they soon becamesworn friends. Hop-Frog, who, although he made a great deal of sport,was by no means popular, had it not in his power to render Trippettamany services; but she, on account of her grace and exquisite beauty(although a dwarf), was universally admired and petted; so she possessedmuch influence; and never failed to use it, whenever she could, for thebenefit of Hop-Frog.
    On some grand state occasion — I forgot what — the king determined tohave a masquerade, and whenever a masquerade or any thing of that kind,occurred at our court, then the talents, both of Hop-Frog and Trippettawere sure to be called into play. Hop-Frog, in especial, was soinventive in the way of getting up pageants, suggesting novelcharacters, and arranging costumes, for masked balls, that nothing couldbe done, it seems, without his assistance.
    The night appointed for the f ê te had arrived. A gorgeous hall had beenfitted up, under Trippetta’s eye, with every kind of device which couldpossibly give é cl â t to a masquerade. The whole court was in a fever ofexpectation. As for costumes and characters, it might well be supposedthat everybody had come to a decision on such points. Many had madeup their minds (as to what roles they should assume) a week, or even amonth, in advance; and, in fact, there was not a particle of indecisionanywhere — except in the case of the king and his seven minsters. Why they hesitated I never could tell, unless they did it by way of a joke.More probably, they found it difficult, on account of being so fat, tomake up their minds. At all events, time flew; and, as a last resortthey sent for Trippetta and Hop-Frog.
    When the two little friends obeyed the summons of the king they foundhim sitting at his wine with the seven members of his cabinet council;but the monarch appeared to be in a very ill humor. He knew