The king was not only delighted to find that the creature was only
a calf, but delighted to have the calf's company; for he had been
feeling so lonesome and friendless that the company and comradeship of
even this humble animal was welcome. And he had been so buffeted, so
rudely entreated by his own kind, that it was a real comfort to him to
feel that he was at last in the society of a fellow-creature that
had at least a soft heart and a gentle spirit, whatever loftier
attributes might be lacking. So he resolved to waive rank and make
friends with the calf.
While stroking its sleek, warm back- for it lay near him and
within easy reach- it occurred to him that this calf might be utilized
in more ways than one. Whereupon he rearranged his bed, spreading it
down close to the calf; then he cuddled himself up to the calf's back,
drew the covers up over himself and his friend, and in a minute or two
was as warm and comfortable as he had ever been in the downy couches
of the regal palace of Westminster.
Pleasant thoughts came at once; life took on a cheerfuler seeming.
He was free of the bonds of servitude and crime, free of the
companionship of base and brutal outlaws; he was warm, he was
sheltered; in a word, he was happy. The night wind was rising; it
swept by in fitful gusts that made the old barn quake and rattle, then
its forces died down at intervals, and went moaning and wailing around
corners and projections- but it was all music to the king, now that he
was snug and comfortable; let it blow and rage, let it batter and
bang, let it moan and wail, he minded it not, he only enjoyed it.
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