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V . The Ball at the Town Hall The whole of Paris had been talking about the ball for days , and the most important people in France had been invited to the town hall . The King arrived first , and soon afterwards the Queen , and people noticed that they both looked tired and unhappy . Then a curtain moved in a small gallery above the hall , and the pale face of the Cardinal appeared . He looked down at the Queen and smiled , because she was not wearing the diamond studs . A few minutes later , the King went straight to the Queen , pale with anger . “ Madame , ” he said in a low voice , “ why are you not wearing your studs , when you knew that I wished to see them ? ” “ Sire , ” she answered , “ I was afraid that something might happen to them in such a crowd . ” “ You were wrong , Madame . Send for them at once , because the ballet begins in an hour . ” The Queen bowed and went to her room to change her dress , and the King went to his own room and came back dressed as a hunter . Then the Cardinal came up to him and gave him a small box , and when the King opened it , he saw two diamond studs . “ What does this mean ? ” asked the King . “ Nothing , Sire , ” said the Cardinal . “ But if the Queen has her studs , which I doubt , please count them , and if you find only ten , ask Her Majesty who could have stolen these two . ” The King looked at him strangely , but he did not have time to ask anything more , because at that moment there was a cry of admiration from the crowd . The Queen had come back . She looked more beautiful than ever . She was dressed as a huntress , in a hat with blue feathers and a jacket of pearl - grey velvet , and on her left shoulder , held by a blue ribbon , there were the diamond studs , which shone in the light of the candles like stars . The King trembled with joy , and the Cardinal trembled with anger , but from where they stood , neither of them could count the studs . Then the ballet began . The King danced opposite the Queen , and every time he passed her , he looked at the jewels on her shoulder , but he could not count them while she moved . When the music ended , he went straight to her . “ Thank you , Madame , ” he said , “ for doing what I asked . But I think that two of your studs are missing , and I have brought them back to you . ” He held out the two studs that the Cardinal had given him . “ What , Sire ? ” said the Queen with a look of surprise . “ You are giving me two more , so now I shall have fourteen ! ” The King counted , and there were twelve studs on the Queen’s shoulder . He turned to the Cardinal and asked him , in a hard voice , what this meant . The Cardinal was a clever man , and he answered calmly . “ It means , Sire , that I wished to give Her Majesty these two studs as a present , and because I did not dare to offer them myself , I chose this way . ” “ Then I am very grateful to Your Eminence , ” said the Queen , with a smile that showed she understood everything , “ because I am sure that these two studs have cost you as much as all the others cost the King . ”
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