"
Then he held up an orange so that all the children could see.
"You know that we all live in the king-dom of Prussia," he said; "but
tell me, to what king-dom does this orange belong?"
[Illustration]
The children were puz-zled. They looked at one another, and sat very
still for a little while. Then a brave, bright boy spoke up and
said,--
"It belongs to the veg-e-ta-ble kingdom, sir."
"Why so, my lad?" asked the king.
"It is the fruit of a plant, and all plants belong to that kingdom,"
said the boy.
The king was pleased. "You are quite right," he said; "and you shall
have the orange for your prize."
He tossed it gayly to the boy. "Catch it if you can!" he said.
Then he took a yellow gold piece from his pocket, and held it up so
that it glit-tered in the sunlight.
"Now to what kingdom does this belong?" he asked.
Another bright boy answered quick-ly, "To the min-er-al kingdom, sir!
All metals belong to that kingdom."
"That is a good answer," said the king. "The gold piece is your
prize."
The children were de-light-ed. With eager faces they waited to hear
what the stranger would say next.
"I will ask you only one more question," said the king, "and it is an
easy one." Then he stood up, and said, "Tell me, my little folks, to
what kingdom do I belong?"
The bright boys were puz-zled now.
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