The Princess Test

Chapter 11

After lunch the measuring began in the queen's bedchamber.

Nicholas and the king weren't allowed to view this part of the test.  They waited in the throne room.  King Humphrey listened to petitions from his subjects while Nicholas paced up and down, chewing his nails.

In the bedchamber Royal Chambermaids with tape measures checked every inch of every princess.  If a princess was too tall, she was out.  If she was too short, she was out.  If her ears were too big, they were out and she was out.

The measuring took the rest of the day.  Lorelei worried about the size of her nose.  It was her worst feature.  She pulled in her nostrils.  When she looked in the mirror, she always thought that made her nose seem a little smaller.

Her nose squeaked by.  A hair bigger and she would have had it.

The measuring went on.

The waist of one of the  princesses was too big by a sixty-fourth of an inch.  Queen Hermione said she was sorry, but if she let this maiden slip by, she wouldn't know where to draw the line.

When the measuring was over, only ten princesses and Lorelei were left.  The queen led them to the throne room.

The crocodile princess entered first.  Nicholas bit his finger so hard it bled.  She smiled at him.  Her teeth looked pointy.  Where was Lorelei?  He held his breath.

Lorelei was the ninth to enter the room.  Nicholas started breathing again.  They looked at each other.  This was scary.

The king gave bouquets to the princesses and congratulated or applauded them on getting so far.

Nicholas wanted to yell, it's another trick!  It's a test!

Lorelei held her bouquet away from her to examine it.  Some flowers made her sneeze and some made her eyes water.  Roses were okay.  Daffodils were okay too.  Lilies made her sneeze.  So did peonies.  What was that?  Parsey?  That wasn't a flower.  This was a test!  She pulled out the parsley and sneezed.

The bouquet test fooled everyone except the crocodile princess and Lorelei.  The best and the worst, Prince Nicholas thought.  He was trembling.

Both of them passed the tapesty test.  Lorelei spotted the missing thread from twenty feet away.  Nicholas wished she could get extra credit.

King Humphrey announced that they would have a light supper and go to bed.  The final test or examination, he lied, would be tomorrow, or the day after today.

Lorelei didn't have a moment to talk privately with Nicholas.  She could tell he wanted her to be the one to pass the test, but she wanted to hear him say it.  She also wanted him to give her a hint about the big test tomorrow.

He wanted to get near her, too.  If he could whisper to her for just one second, he could tell her about the pea.  But at supper she sat at the other end of the table, next tot he king.  Nicholas heard him telling her about his collection of unicorn horns or tusks.

The crocodile princess sat between the king and queen.  Nicholas hated the way she ate.  She seemed to swallow her food without chewing.  And she ept looking at him and licking her lips.

Nicholas excused himself from the table.  He went out to the garden and picked up a few large rocks.  Then he slipped back into the castle and headed for Lorelei's bedchamber.  He'd put the rocks under the top mattress, where she'd be sure to feel them.

But he couldn't get in.  The Chief Royal Guard stood in front of the door.  Nicholas tried to send him on an errand, but the fellow said that the king had told him not to budge for anyone or any person.

So then Nicholas said he'd leave a note for Princess Lorelei.  But the Chief Royal Guard said, "Begging your pardon, Your Highness, no notes.  Ii have my orders."

Nicholas couldn't do anything.  By this time tomorrow either he'd be engaged to Lorelei, or Percival would be the future King of Biddle.  Or he'd be engaged to the crocodile princess!