“Old?” he said and smiled. “No, they’re not old. The Lady Maria, who lives here with us, is the sister of the queen’s father. And you know from a remark at table last night how old she is.” He laughed. “Give me your arm; I want to look across my kingdom.”

Though he needed my help to rise, he walked unaided back out of the walled garden. I swung the gate back into place, and we stood looking down the hill toward the plowed fields and the variegated green of the woods beyond.

He stood without speaking for several minutes. Somewhere down there, I thought, was the old wizard. I was startled out of conjectures about him when the king said suddenly, “Can you transport me by magic?”

“Transport you?” I said with some alarm. This was worse than telephones.

“Lift me off the ground so I don’t have to walk. I’ve always wanted to try it.”

“I think so,” I said, and “I hope so,” I thought. “Lifting spells become more difficult the larger the object one is lifting,” I explained. I didn’t tell him that he was a lot larger than a wine glass. Inwardly I was wondering how, if I hadn’t been sure I could magically pick up a heavy box or an awkwardly-placed platter of meat, I was going to manage my liege lord. “We’ll take it slowly. I’ll just lift you a little way, and I’ll walk right next to you so you can take my arm if you’re feeling unsteady.” “Or,” I added silently, “if I start to drop you.”

The king, I decided as I started pulling the spells together in my mind, was actually not much heavier than a box of books. He stood looking at me with a faint smile as I concentrated, feeling my way into the magic, making sure each word of the Hidden Language was right. Slowly and gracefully, as though he were thistledown blown by the wind, he rose four inches, so that his toes just brushed the grass.