Now the result of this was, that when, some months afterwards, the six
elder Queens each bore a son, the youngest Queen had only
half-a-son--and that was what they called him at once,--just
half-a-son, nothing more: he had one eye, one ear, one arm, one leg;
in fact, looked at sideways, he was as handsome a young prince as you
would wish to see, but frontways it was as plain as a pikestaff that
he was only half-a-prince. Still he throve and grew strong, so that
when his brothers went out shooting he begged to be allowed to go out
also.
'How can _you_ go a-shooting?' wept his mother, who did nothing
but fret because her son was but half-a-son; 'you are only half-a-boy;
how can you hold your crossbow?'
'Then let me go and play at shooting,' replied
the prince, nothing daunted. 'Only give me some sweets to take with
me, dear mother, as the other boys have, and I shall get on well
enough.'
[Illustration: The youngest queen and her half-a-son]
'How can I make sweets for half-a-son?' wept his mother; 'go and ask
the other Queens to give you some,'
So he asked the other Queens, and they, to make fun of the poor lad,
who was the butt of the palace, gave him sweets full of ashes.
Then the six whole princes, and little Half-a-son, set off a-shooting,
and when they grew tired and hungry, they sat down to eat the sweets
they had brought with them.
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