In this chapter, we learn that the poison given to the king is not fatal, but a "nerve-killing" one. The antidote is difficult to make, and the king and queen plan to use the antidote to gain the king's sympathy. The narrator tells us that the antidote is in Prince Sive's hands. Sive is the "most handsome cover" on the cover, and he knows what the queen will write about him in her report. The next time Sive sees the king, Sive says, his face has changed. He tells Sive to hand the antidote over to the queen, and to tell her that he's the most handsome man in the world. Sived says, "right away, sir , and tell the person that I'm the prettiest and most handsome , right away . . right away" . He says he was always sleeping in a cave when it was cold, ate, and slept in the same place during the winter. He hates winter, he says, and wishes he could go back to the human kingdom.