As soon as Proserpina saw the pomegranate on the golden salver, she told the servant he had better take it away again.

“I shall not touch it, I assure you,” said she.  “If I were ever so hungry, I should never think of eating such a miserable, dry pomegranate as that.”

“It is the only one in the world,” said the servant.  He set down the golden salver, with the wizened pomegranate upon it, and left the room.  When he was gone, Proserpina could not help coming close to the table, and looking at this poor specimen of dried fruit with a great deal of eagerness; for, to say the truth, on seeing something that suited her taste, she felt all the six months’ appetite taking possession of her at once.  To be sure, it was a very wretched looking pomegranate, and seemed to have no more juice in it than an oyster shell.  But there was no choice of such things in King Pluto’s palace.  This was the first fruit she had seen there, and the last she was ever likely to see; and unless she ate it up immediately, it would grow drier than it already was, and be wholly unfit to eat.

“At least, I may smell it,” thought Proserpina.

So she took up the pomegranate, and applied it to her nose; and, somehow or other, being in such close neighbourhood to her mouth, the fruit found its way into that little red cave.  Dear me! what an everlasting pity!  Before Proserpina knew what she was about, her teeth had actually bitten it, of their own accord.  Just as this fatal deed was done, the door of the apartment opened, and in came King Pluto, followed by Quicksilver, who had been urging him to let his little prisoner go.  At the first noise of their entrance, Proserpina withdrew the pomegranate from her mouth.  But Quicksilver (whose eyes were very keen, and his wits the sharpest that ever anybody had) perceived that the child was a little confused; and seeing the empty salver, he suspected that she had been taking a sly nibble of something or other.  As for honest Pluto, he never guessed at the secret.

“My little Proserpina,” said the king, sitting down, and affectionately drawing her between his knees, “here is Quicksilver, who tells me that a great many misfortunes have befallen innocent people on account of my detaining you in my dominions.  To confess the truth, I myself had already reflected that it was an unjustifiable act to take you away from your good mother.  But, then, you must consider, my dear child, that this vast palace is apt to be gloomy (although the precious stones certainly shine very bright), and that I am not of the most cheerful disposition, and that therefore it was a natural thing enough to seek for the society of some merrier creature than myself.  I hoped you would take my crown for a plaything, and me—­ah, you laugh, naughty Proserpina—­me, grim as I am, for a playmate.  It was a silly expectation.”

“Not so extremely silly,” whispered Proserpina.  “You have really amused me very much, sometimes.”