"You left the palace?" Gildong said.
He stared at the princess, looking worried.
"You had better go back," he said.
"When your servants learn that you are missing . . ."
"I know." The princess nodded.
"I must get back.
But I do not know the way."
"I do," said Gildong.
"Please follow me, Your Highness."
The children walked for awhile and soon they could see the palace walls.
"Wow!" Vinnie whispered.
The princess stopped and looked at her new friends.
"Would you like to come inside?" she asked.
"Yes!" cried Vinnie.
"But we are not royalty, Your Highness," Gildong reminded her.
"This is not allowed."
"You are my friends," said the princess firmly.
"So you are welcome here.
But there are guards everywhere," she added.
"We must be careful that you are not seen."
They followed the princess.
"You can enter there,"
she said, pointing to the gate.
"I will distract the guards."
The princess went over to the guards and began talking to them.
When the guards turned around, Mandy slipped through the gate.
Vinnie was next, followed by Gildong.
A moment later the princess joined them.
"Welcome to the palace!" she said happily.
"I will show you around."
They walked past a long wall.
Gildong stopped to look at a grand building with two roofs.
"That building must be very important," he said.
"Yes," the princess said.
"That's the throne hall.
My father met with noblemen there."
"Is your father the king of Korea?" asked Mandy.
"No, not anymore . . ."
The princess looked away as they walked on.
"He died not long ago, and now there is a new king."
"How sad . . . ," murmured Mandy.
"Yes," the princess said with a sigh.
"But my father, King Sejong, did many wonderful things for our people.
During his time there were lots of new inventions."
She stopped beside something on the ground.
"For example, this is a rain gauge.
It was invented by the famous scientist Jang Youngsil.
He worked for my father."
"What does it do?" asked Mandy.
"It measures how much rain falls.
People can tell if the harvest will be good or bad."
They continued walking.
Then Vinnie spotted something shaped like a bowl.
"What is that?"
"A sundial. Jang Youngsil invented that type of sundial too.
It works like a clock," the princess said.
Mandy studied the sundial.
"What time is it now?" she asked the princess.
"It is . . ." The princess bent closer.
"Oh no!" She gasped.
"It is time to go back to my room!"