But the King gazed upon the Prince as one fascinated.  Seven times he cleared his throat and seven times he failed to speak.  And the eighth time he said, “Your face is strangely familiar to me.”

“Perchance we met in Milvania,” said the Prince pleasantly.

Now the King had never been in Milvania.  Wherefore he still gazed at the Prince, and at length he said, “What has happened to that Hi-You fellow?”

“You will never hear of him again,” said the Prince pleasantly.

“Oh!” said the King.  And after that they feasted.

And some say that they feasted upon roast pig, but I say not.  And some say that Hi-You had planned it all from the beginning, but I say not.  And some say that it was the Princess Amaril who planned it, from the day when first she saw Hi-You, and with them I agree.  For indeed I am very sure that when Hi-You was a swineherd upon the hills he believed truly that the little black pig with the curly tail was a Prince.  And, though events in the end were too much for him, I like to think that Hi-You remained loyal to his friend, and that in his plush-lined sty in a quiet corner of the Palace grounds Frederick passed a gentle old age, cheered from time to time by the visits of Amaril’s children.