The King of the
Kobolds had been negotiating with our King for the purchase of some
immense tracts of iron ore, and in the course of conversation said he
had received news from Italy that there would soon be a volcanic
outbreak, that the giants there were quarrelling fiercely, and had not
hesitated to declare that unless matters were arranged to suit them they
would bid Vesuvius pour forth its death-dealing fires.
"Now on the side of that well-known mountain were living some friends of
our King--two children, a girl and a boy, Tessa and Tasso, daughter and
son of an Italian peasant.
"In their little vineyard one day our King's son, an infant, was
swinging in his leafy cradle; it looked like a bird's nest, and so I
suppose they thought it, but a rude playmate of theirs tried to tear it
down from its airy height, and would have succeeded had not both Tessa
and Tasso resolutely opposed him.
"First they sought to make him stop by appealing to his feelings, asking
him how he would like to have his cottage ruined, his home desolated;
but at this he only mocked and jeered. Then they urged that birds had
the same right to live and rear their young as had human beings; which
having no more effect, they openly forbade his attempt, saying that the
ground was theirs, the birds were their friends, and they should defend
them.
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