The Queen laughed. ‘So I did! I only asked for one.’ Suddenly she gazed at the melidrop skins on the plate in front of her. After a moment she sighed. ‘Well,’ she murmured, speaking to no one in particular, ‘I suppose it wouldn’t have mattered if there were a few more. Eventually they would have gone as well.’
A faint, thoughtful smile came across the Queen’s lips. ‘Perhaps, after all, it is not such a good idea to ask for things like melidrops. I suspect that as soon as you have had the last one, you will always want another.’