She did not live in a cave, as did the one in _Hans_, but held her court far above the clouds, which is more airy, and also more fitting for a queen.
She wore a necklace of stars, and a sun was set in her signet-ring.
When she went out, the nebulæ flew up like dust, and she scattered the firmaments with a stroke of her fan.
Her children played with planets for marbles, and complained that they were so hard to find when they rolled away among the furniture. This made Prince Upsilon—the queen’s little son—very cross, and he kept asking for some other kind of toys.
The queen had a box full of Sirii given him, but in a little while these too were lost. But that was Upsilon’s own fault. He ought to have taken better care of his playthings. People did what they could to content him. But whatever was given him, he kept calling for something else—something more and bigger. This was a fault in the little prince’s character.
His mother, who, as Queen of Spirits, was a very sensible woman, understood that it would be a good thing for the youngster to get accustomed to _doing without_ for a little. So she said that Upsilon was to be left without any playthings at all.
This was done. They took away everything from him,—even the comet with which he and his little sister Omicron were playing at battledore and shuttlecock.
Prince Upsilon was of a passionate temper, and so far forgot himself as to say something very disrespectful about his mother.
Princess Omicron, too, led astray by his example (for nothing is more ruinous than bad examples), angrily threw her battledore at the Universe. Which was not nice in a little girl.
Now in the kingdom of Spirits there was a law that whoever lost sight of the respect due to the Queen, or threw anything at the Universe, should be punished for the same by a temporary loss of all rank and dignity.
After having behaved well for a couple of thousand years, he received the joyful tidings that he was promoted to the rank of a tuft of moss.
In this capacity he kept his duty in mind, and did everything that a good moss tuft ought to do. And on a certain morning he awoke as a polype.
This happened about the time when human beings first began to prepare their food by means of fire.