should a certain quite adorable princess be walking in her garden at such a time and toss her golden ball up like a bubble and drop it into the well? It was ordained. Just as the fates deal out the plague with a tarot card. Just as the Supreme Being drills holes in our skulls to let the Boston Symphony through. But I digress. A loss has taken place. The ball has sunk like a cast-iron pot into the bottom of the well. Lost, she said, my moon, my butter calf, my yellow moth, my Hindu hare. Obviously it was more than a ball. Balls such as these are not for sale in Au Bon Marche. I took the moon, she said, between my teeth and now it is gone and I am lost forever. A thief had robbed by day. Suddenly the well grew thick and boiling and a frog appeared. His eyes bulged like two peas and his body was trussed into place. Do not be afraid, Princess, he said, I am not a vagabond, a cattle farmer, a shepherd, a doorkeeper, a postman or a laborer. I come to you as a tradesman. I have something to