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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/19207-h.zip b/19207-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..f7a664f --- /dev/null +++ b/19207-h.zip diff --git a/19207-h/19207-h.htm b/19207-h/19207-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d3d1eaa --- /dev/null +++ b/19207-h/19207-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,5118 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> +<html> +<head> + <meta content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1" + http-equiv="content-type"> + <title>The Firelight Fairy Book</title> +</head> +<body> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Firelight Fairy Book, by Henry Beston + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Firelight Fairy Book + +Author: Henry Beston + +Release Date: September 8, 2006 [EBook #19207] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FIRELIGHT FAIRY BOOK *** + + + + +Produced by Don Kostuch + + + + + +</pre> + +<big>[Transcriber's Notes]<br> +<br> +The spelling of "didn't" as "did n't", "center" as "centre" and +other such usages, has been maintained.<br> +<br> +Here are the definitions of some unfamiliar (to me) words.<br> +<br> +cataplasm (poultice) <br> +Soft moist adhesive mass of meal or clay, usually heated, spread on +cloth, and applied to warm, moisten, or stimulate an aching +or inflamed part of the body.<br> +<br> +doggerel <br> +Irregularly fashioned verse of a humorous nature.<br> +<br> +halberdiers <br> +Guard armed with a halberd, a weapon having an ax-like blade and a +steel spike mounted on the end of a long shaft.<br> +<br> +importuning <br> +Beg for something persistently.<br> +<br> +sedges <br> +Grasslike plants of the family Cyperaceae, having solid stems and three +vertical rows of leaves.<br> +<br> +seneschal <br> +Official in a medieval noble household in charge of domestic +arrangements and the administration of servants.<br> +<br> +[End Transcriber's Notes]<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +The FIRELIGHT FAIRY BOOK<br> +<br> +By HENRY BESTON<br> +<br> +<img alt="" src="images/image1.jpg" style="width: 255px; height: 264px;"><br> +ILLUSTRATIONS BY MAURICE E. DAY<br> +<br> +LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY BOSTON<br> +<br> +COPYRIGHT, 1919, BY THE ATLANTIC MONTHLY PRESS, Inc.<br> +<br> +All rights reserved, including that of translation into foreign +languages, including the Scandinavian.<br> +<br> +THE ATLANTIC MONTHLY PRESS PUBLICATIONS ARE PUBLISHED BY LITTLE, BROWN, +AND COMPANY IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE ATLANTIC MONTHLY COMPANY<br> +<br> +PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA<br> +<br> + FOREWORD<br> +<br> +THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF THE NAVY WASHINGTON, September 7. 1922<br> +<br> +DEAR HENRY:--<br> +<br> +"Grown-ups" arrogate entirely too much to themselves. I know this is +so. I discovered it for a fact when I was not more than "knee-high to a +grasshopper" myself. I knew, for example, that a certain amount of dirt +on my face and hands in no way interfered with my enjoyment of my +supper. The fact that my finger nails were not all they should have +been had no bearing whatsoever upon the efficiency of those same +fingers. Washing not only took time from other important pursuits, but +also was mildly unpleasant. Nevertheless, my mother was not even open +to reasonable argument on the matter. Arbitrarily, with the despotism +of an early Roman Emperor, she rendered a dictum to the effect that I +must wash, and soapy and submissive I had to be before I could come to +the table. Again, any reasonable child can tell you that pleasure is +the main object of eating; therefore, in all logic, one should eat if +one feels like it at ten o'clock in the morning, or at three o'clock in +the afternoon, a jar of Guava jelly, a pound of chocolates, a paper of +ginger cookies, or whatever may appeal to one's aesthetic taste. This +method of procedure, naturally, might necessitate recourse to the +brown-wood family medicine closet. Certain discomfort might ensue. But +was not the pleasure worth it? Again my mother arbitrarily took the +matter into her own hands, disagreeing with me on fundamentals. She +maintained that eating was not for pleasure simply, but for +nourishment. Sundry unfortunate remarks were made containing references +to gluttony. The pantry was locked, and regular meals at regular +periods were prescribed. Indeed, poems with dreadful morals for those +who ate between meals were recited to me, endeavor being made thereby +to substitute terror for inclination.<br> +<br> +Any reasonable child will find many such parallel instances of the +assumed omnipotence of "grownups." With this awful indictment before +me, you ask me, a "grown-up," to write an introduction for the +"Firelight Fairy Book," and thereby to assume the responsibility for +passing judgment upon it. There is but one circumstance that makes me +willing to do so. I believe that where any nice "grown-up" is +concerned, if you crack the hard outside shell with which circumstances +have surrounded him, beneath it you will find a child. Banking on this, +I venture to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the "Firelight Fairy Book." +I liked particularly the story of the poor little prince, whose +sneezing had such a disastrous effect; and the lost half hour is +unquestionably an accurate historical account, because no one could +have described so accurately, simply from imagination, what a lost +temper looked like. What makes me even more willing to advance my +opinion is that I do not stand alone. My conclusions are supported by a +jury of my peers, for I have given the book as a Christmas gift, not +only to my own children, but to other people's children, and to one of +the prominent Senators of the United States. They have universally +acclaimed it, and who can question the judgment of such a jury?<br> +<br> +Good luck to the "Firelight Fairy Book." May it, like Scrooge's laugh +in the "Christmas Carol," "be the father of a long, long line of +brilliant" books of a like nature for the enjoyment of all true +children, whether they be still at day school, or sitting in the high +places of the world.<br> +<br> +Believe me, Yours very truly, THEODORE ROOSEVELT<br> +<br> +HENRY BESTON, ESQ. Topsfield, Mass.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +HOW THE NEW FAIRY TALES CAME TO BE WRITTEN<br> +<br> +Some twenty years ago, in a pleasant old town by the sea, lived a lad +who was very, very fond of fairy tales. When he had read all the +fairy-books which his parents and his uncles and his cousins and his +sisters and his aunts had been kind enough to give him, he turned to +the town library and read every single fairy tale he could find +mentioned in the catalogue. But there was an end even to this treasure; +and, finally, a day came when the fairy-tale lover could find no new +tales to read. Every Christmas he would peek at the new books in the +bookshops, only to find the same old stories printed, with new +pictures, meant to please grown-ups. What could be the matter? Had the +fairies all gone away, or locked the doors of Fairyland? Where, where, +where were the new stories, and why, why, why did n't people write them?<br> +<br> +Some years passed. One pleasant summer day, as the fairy-tale lover sat +reading a book beneath the low spreading branches of an oak tree, he +heard a hum of wings, and looking up startled from his book, he +discovered the Fairy Goldenwand standing close by.<br> +<br> +"Are you still seeking new fairy tales?" said the Fairy Goldenwand.<br> +<br> +"Yes," said the reader.<br> +<br> +"Will you write them down if I tell you some really new ones?" said the +Fairy.<br> +<br> +"Oh yes, indeed," said the reader. "And I'll put them into a book; and +next Saturday Mr. Day, the artist, will come down; we shall have tea +here under the oak tree,--do you like hot buttered toast?--and you must +tell him all about the fashions in Fairyland."<br> +<br> +"Oh, that will be fine!" said the Fairy Goldenwand. "I knew you would +n't mind my appearing so suddenly. Ever so many things have happened in +Fairyland since the last books were written, and we all think it's a +dreadful shame that children have n't heard about them. Just imagine +boys and girls not knowing about the adventures of the Prince in +Lantern Land! Shall I tell you the story?"<br> +<br> +And that's the way the author heard about the Shepherd of Clouds, +Florian, Marianna, Giles, Bobo, and all the other new friends. That you +may long enjoy their adventures is the wish of<br> +<br> +HENRY BESTON <br> +MAURICE E. DAY <br> +THE FAIRY GOLDENWAND<br> +<br> +The Parson Capen Home <br> +Topsfield, Massachusetts<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +CONTENTS<br> +<br> +THE QUEEN OF LANTERN LAND <br> +THE ADVENTURES OF FLORIAN <br> +THE SELLER OF DREAMS <br> +THE TREASURE CASTLE <br> +PRINCE SNEEZE <br> +MARIANNA <br> +THE LOST HALF-HOUR <br> +THE ENCHANTED ELM <br> +THE BIRD-BOY <br> +THE MASTER MARINER <br> +THE MARVELOUS DOG AND THE WONDERFUL CAT <br> +THE SHEPHERD OF CLOUDS <br> +THE CITY UNDER THE SEA<br> +<br> +<br> + ILLUSTRATIONS<br> +<br> + THE QUEEN OF LANTERN LAND <br> +The Prince begins his journey through the caverns<br> +<br> +THE ADVENTURES OF FLORIAN <br> +Over hill, over dale, Florian followed the magic ball<br> +<br> +THE SELLER OF DREAMS <br> +"How much does a dream cost?" asked Peter <br> +"A golden florin," answered the Seller of Dreams<br> +<br> +THE TREASURE CASTLE <br> +The three rogues were locked in the flying room<br> +<br> +PRINCE SNEEZE <br> +The chest of secrets was made of black stone<br> +<br> +MARIANNA <br> +Into the world went Marianna and the yellow bird<br> +<br> +THE LOST HALF-HOUR <br> +Just as the dragon's mouth was at its widest<br> +<br> +THE ENCHANTED ELM <br> +The maiden watched the woodcutters coming through the wood<br> +<br> +THE BIRD-BOY <br> +Every year, on the Bird-Boy's birthday, a great gray bird was seen<br> +<br> +THE MASTER MARINER <br> +Splash! and the Master Mariner fell into the sea<br> +<br> +THE MARVELOUS DOG AND THE WONDERFUL CAT <br> +The Dog and the Cat studying their lessons<br> +<br> +THE SHEPHERD OF CLOUDS <br> + It was Giles's task to open the door of the cloud-bowl<br> +<br> +THE CITY UNDER THE SEA <br> +For three days the Merchant pursued the ship with the fiery sails<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> + <big>THE QUEEN OF LANTERN LAND</big><br> +<br> +Once upon a time the youngest son of a king became filled with the +desire to go abroad and see the world. He got his father's permission +to depart, kissed his parents good-bye, mounted his black horse, and +galloped away down the high road. Soon the gray towers of the old +castle in which he was born hid themselves behind him.<br> +<br> +The Prince journeyed on, spending the days in traveling, and the nights +in little wayside inns, till one day he found himself in the heart of +the Adamant Mountains. The great, red granite crags of the surrounding +peaks rose out of the gleaming snow like ugly fingers, and the slopes +of giant glaciers sparkled in the sun like torrents of diamonds. The +Prince sat down by some stunted trees whose tops had long before been +broken off by an avalanche, and began to eat the bit of bread and +cheese which he had stored in his pocket. His black horse, meanwhile, +ate the grass which grew here and there along the mountain path. And as +the Prince sat there in the bright sun and the silence of the +mountains, he became aware of a low, continuous roaring.<br> +<br> +"There must be a waterfall near-by," said the Prince to himself. "I'll +go and see it."<br> +<br> +So, casting another look at his steed, who was contentedly browsing, +the Prince climbed up the mountainside in the direction of the sound.<br> +<br> +The Prince climbed and climbed, he went in this direction and in that, +yet the sound never grew any louder or fainter. Suddenly he realized +that he was hopelessly lost. The little path up which he had ridden had +vanished completely, and he had not the slightest idea in which +direction it lay. He called aloud, but only the mountain echoes +answered mockingly.<br> +<br> +Night came, and the Prince took shelter behind a great rock. All the +next day he labored to find the path, but in vain. He grew very hungry +and cold. Every once in a while he would hear the roaring of the +waterfall, which seemed to have grown louder.<br> +<br> +Another day dawned, and another day again. The Prince was getting very +weak. He knew that he was approaching the mysterious cataract, for the +noise of the water was now tremendous, and heaven and earth were full +of its roar. The third night came, and the full moon rose solemnly over +the snow-clad summits of the lonely and mysterious mountains. Suddenly +the Prince, walking blindly on, staggered through a narrow passage-way +between two splintered crags, and found himself face to face with the +mystery.<br> +<br> +He stood on the snowy floor of a vast amphitheatre whose walls were the +steep sides of the giant mountains. Farthest away from him, and +opposite the moon, the wall of the bowl appeared as a giant black +precipice, whose top seemed to reach almost to the moon-dimmed stars; +and over this precipice a broad river was endlessly pouring, shining in +the night like the overflow of an ocean of molten silver. Though now +very weak from lack of food, and dizzy with the roaring of the +cataract, the Prince made his way to the shore of the foaming and +eddying lake into which the water was falling. Great was his surprise +to discover that the overflow of this lake disappeared into the earth +through a long, low opening in the cliff behind the fall. Greater still +was his surprise to see a strange many-colored light burning within the +cave.<br> +<br> +The Prince made his way toward the light, along a narrow beach of white +sand lying between the wall of the cavern and the racing waters of the +mysterious river, and found that the glow came from a magnificent +lantern studded with emeralds, topazes, amethysts, and rubies, which +hung by a chain from the roof of the grotto. Directly under this +lantern, drawn up on the sand, lay a little boat with a lantern +fastened to the bow. The Prince pushed the boat into the river, and got +into it, and the swift current seized him and hurried him away.<br> +<br> +At first the cavern grew higher and wider; then it shrank again, and +the boat, borne along with incredible speed, shot down a rocky +passageway into the very heart of the earth. The passageway broadened +once more, and the boat rode gently through monstrous caves whose roofs +were upheld by twisted columns taller than the tallest tree. There were +times when all was so still that the Prince could easily have imagined +himself back in the solitude of the mountains; there were times when +the foaming and roaring of the underground river grew so deafening that +the Prince feared lest he might be approaching the brink of a +subterranean cataract.<br> +<br> +Many hours passed. The Prince did not know whether it was night or day. +At length, while the boat was gliding through a vast hall, he fell +asleep. When he awoke, he found that the boat was floating on the +black, glassy surface of an immense underground ocean. All signs of the +cavern had disappeared. Far away, over the edge of this ocean, a +strange, beautiful glow mounted into the starless sky of the +underworld. And while the Prince was gazing at the glow, the boat swung +into a new current, and was borne swiftly toward the light. In a short +time the light grew so wide and bright that one would have believed +that a strange, golden sun had risen. The boat passed between two giant +marble pillars supporting enormous crystal globes filled with a golden +fire, and the Prince found himself in the harbor of Lantern Land.<br> +<br> +A city lay before him, a strange golden city edging the shore of a +vast, semi-circular bay. Because in the centre of the earth there is +neither sun nor moon, the people have to be continually burning lights; +and so many and so great were the lanterns of Lantern Land that the +town was as bright as day. The edge of the harbor was marked with a row +of golden lanterns; there were immense lanterns at every six paces +along the streets; a lantern hung from every house; and the +church-towers, instead of having bells in them, had great golden lamps +which illumined everything for some distance about. Moreover, every +inhabitant of Lantern Land carried a lantern with him wherever he went, +the rich carrying golden lanterns set with transparent precious stones, +the poor carrying lights of ordinary glass.<br> +<br> +Soon the Prince saw a magnificent ship coming out to meet him. The prow +was carved in the shape of a dragon's head, and a beautiful lantern +hung from its jaws. Overcome by hunger and fatigue, the poor Prince +fell insensible to the floor of his little boat. When he came to his +senses again, he was lying between sheets of the whitest, most delicate +linen in a great four-poster bed, in a room in the royal palace.<br> +<br> +Thanks to his kind hosts, the Prince soon recovered his strength. When +he was completely himself again, he was summoned to an audience with +the Queen of Lantern Land.<br> +<br> +The Queen, a very beautiful young woman, wearing a wonderful lantern +crown, sat on an ebony throne. On each side of the throne stood a tall +soldier, clad in scarlet and holding a long ebony staff surmounted by a +round lantern lit by a golden flame.<br> +<br> +The Prince dropped on his knee, and thanked the Queen for her kindness +and hospitality.<br> +<br> +"You are the first stranger to come to Lantern Land for a thousand +years," said the young Queen. "If it is not asking too much from a +guest, pray how did you happen to find the river of the underworld?"<br> +<br> +So the Prince told her that he was a king's son, and described his +adventures in the mountains. You may be sure the Queen was glad to hear +of his royal birth, for she had fallen in love with him at first sight.<br> +<br> +A month passed. The Prince remained a guest in the palace. All kinds of +festivities were given in his honor; there were wonderful dances, +masquerades, picnics, and theatricals going on all the time. One day +the Prince and the Queen, accompanied by a little group of courtiers, +rode to the frontier of Lantern Land. The lovers galloped ahead of the +party and reached a little hill beyond which there were no more +lanterns. Ahead of them the rolling land, sweeping farther and farther +away from the light, grew darker and darker, till it finally plunged +into the eternal night of the underworld.<br> +<br> +The Prince looked at the Queen, and saw that she was weeping.<br> +<br> +"Dear love, why do you weep?" asked the Prince, who felt sad to see +tears in his lady's lovely eyes.<br> +<br> +"I weep to think that in spite of our love we must soon part forever," +said the Queen.<br> +<br> +"Part forever? Dear lady, what can you mean?" said the anxious Prince.<br> +<br> +"A cruel fate hangs over us," replied the lady. "Know, dear Prince, +that I am promised in marriage to the Enchanter Dragondel, and that in +exactly eight days, he will come here to claim my hand."<br> +<br> +"The Enchanter Dragondel--who is he?" said the Prince.<br> +<br> +"Alas," said the Queen, "the Enchanter Dragondel is the most powerful +magician of all the underworld. He is about eight feet tall, has cruel +sunken eyes that burn like dull fires, and dresses entirely in black. +We met at a ball given by the King of the Goblins. Dragondel pursued me +with compliments. A few days afterwards, an iron boat arrived in the +port of Lantern Land, having on board a giant blue dog who is +Dragondel's younger brother. This terrible animal, from whose sight the +people of Lantern Land fled screaming, made his way to the palace, and +dropped at my feet a jeweled casket, which he carried between his jaws. +The casket contained Dragondel's request for my hand, and added that, +were I to refuse him, he would let loose a legion of ghosts and other +winged spirits against the lanterns of Lantern Land. I had a vision of +Lantern Land in darkness; of my poor subjects dying of fear and +starvation. Rather than let this vision come true, I accepted the +Enchanter. Soon I shall never see you again, for Dragondel will come +and take me to his awful castle which lies on an island in the dark +ocean. Nor will you ever be able to save me, for Dragondel has so +bewitched the waves that a terrible whirlpool forms on the sea when a +boat approaches the enchanted castle, and engulfs it."<br> +<br> +"But I can fight Dragondel," said the Prince, like the brave youth that +he was.<br> +<br> +"That would be of little use," replied the Queen, "for you would be +changed into a stone the instant you crossed swords with him. Tomorrow, +the blue dog arrives to remind me of my obligation, and to carry back +to the island some of the palace servants who are to make Dragondel's +castle ready for my coming."<br> +<br> +The other members of the party now rode up, and the Queen dabbed her +eyes with her handkerchief, and pretended not to have been crying. The +Prince and the Queen felt very unhappy as they rode home.<br> +<br> +On the next day, sure enough, the iron boat arrived, and the blue dog, +who was as large as a lion, went to the Queen's palace, and bade her +make ready for the coming wedding. A dozen of the Queen's servants were +then ordered to go with the blue dog to Dragondel's castle. Among these +servants, disguised as a kitchen lad, was the Prince; for he had +determined to see if there was not some way in which the young Queen +could be rescued from the wicked magician.<br> +<br> +The boat neared the island, but no terrible whirlpool formed in the +enchanted sea. At last the boat reached Dragondel's castle. It stood on +the top of a high lonely rock against whose steep sides the waves of +the underground ocean were forever foaming and breaking, and it was +half in ruins and was very poorly lighted.<br> +<br> +The Prince took his place in the kitchen, and sought for an opportunity +to prevent the marriage of Dragondel and the Queen.<br> +<br> +For four days of the precious week, however, the poor Prince was kept +so busy baking and making pastries for the coming of the bride that he +did not have an instant to ask questions or do anything else.<br> +<br> +In the morning hours of the fifth day there was a terrible moaning and +roaring outside, and the cooks rushed to the kitchen windows. An +unhappy fishing boat had been swept by the wind too near Dragondel's +castle, the enchanted whirlpool had formed, and caught the boat in its +awful circle. Now it went slowly round the outer edge, now, going +faster and faster, it slid down the side of the awful funnel, and +finally it vanished. An instant later, the whirlpool had disappeared, +leaving the sea roaring and foaming.<br> +<br> +The Prince shuddered.<br> +<br> +"Well you may shudder," said the chief cook, "for such would have been +your fate if our master's brother had not carried with him the talisman +which rules the whirlpool."<br> +<br> +"Talisman? What talisman?" said the Prince affecting stupidity.<br> +<br> +"Why the little golden hand, you fool," said the chief cook.<br> +<br> +"My! it must be a great big hand to be able to quiet that whirlpool," +said the Prince.<br> +<br> +"Big indeed, you ninny!" growled the cook. "Why, the magic hand is only +as big as a baby's hand. I've seen it many times. The master carries it +in his pocket, and puts it under his pillow while he sleeps."<br> +<br> +So, later on, when his work was done, and everybody had gone to bed, +the Prince, in the hope of stealing the talisman, tried to make his way +to Dragondel's bedchamber. But when he reached the foot of the stairs +which led to the Enchanter's room, he found it guarded by two black +panthers which stared at him with insolent yellow eyes and switched +their long tails. The Prince went outdoors, to see if there was any +hope of climbing to the room along the outer wall, and found that the +windows of Dragondel's chamber overlooked a cliff falling thousands of +feet sheer to the dark sea. Far, far away, the Prince saw the glow of +Lantern Land. Only a short time remained to him in which to save his +beloved lady of the lanterns.<br> +<br> +As he wandered about, very sick at heart, he saw a little black cat +running madly back and forth along the edge of a steep cliff from one +of whose crevices came a persistent, unhappy mewing. The poor cat was a +mother-cat, and was trying to rescue a kitten of hers that had fallen +down between the rocks. At great risk of being dashed to pieces +himself, the brave Prince climbed down the precipice, rescued the +kitten, and gave it back to its anxious mother.<br> +<br> +"Thank you, brave youth," said the old cat.<br> +<br> +"May it some day be within my power to help you as you have helped me."<br> +<br> +"You can help me this very moment," said the Prince. And he told the +cat who he was, why he had come to the castle, and of his desire to get +possession of the talisman.<br> +<br> +"I will help you get the talisman," said the cat. "The panthers will +let me pass, for they are cousins of mine. But you must make another +little golden hand to take the place of the one I shall steal; for if +Dragondel misses the golden hand, he will summon his demons to find it, +and we shall both lose our lives. Go now to the kitchen, carve a small +hand with the fingers close together and the thumb lying close to the +fingers, gild it over with the gold dust you have had given you for the +pastry icings, and bring it to me tomorrow night at this very hour."<br> +<br> +So the Prince worked the rest of the night carving and gilding the +little golden hand, and on the next night he gave it to the cat. The +cat took it in her mouth as she would have a mouse, walked coolly by +the panthers, and entered Dragondel's room. She had just succeeded in +getting the true hand out from under the magician's pillow when +Dragondel woke up. The cat was clever enough to pretend to be engaged +in a mouse-hunt, so the Enchanter paid no attention to her and fell +asleep once more. When the cat, however, got under Dragondel's couch +again, the two hands lay side by side and she could not remember just +which one was the talisman and which one the false hand. So because she +had to act quickly, she put one of the hands under the pillow, brought +the other to the Prince and told him her story. But so well matched +were the little hands, that even the Prince was far from certain that +he had not got his own hand back again.<br> +<br> +And now came the seventh day, the day on which Dragondel, the blue dog, +and all the wicked Enchanter's friends were to sail to Lantern Land for +the marriage ceremony. The iron ship, made gay with a thousand small +scarlet lanterns, stood ready to carry them over. The Enchanter and his +company got in, and the vessel left the island.<br> +<br> +The Prince stood watching the ship from the top of the cliffs. What +anxiety was in his heart! If Dragondel still possessed the true +talisman, he would cross the whirlpool safely, and marry the beautiful +Queen of Lantern Land.<br> +<br> +The vessel sped on. It was now at some distance from the island.<br> +<br> +"All is lost," thought the Prince with a sinking heart; "Dragondel has +the true talisman." And in his bitterness he was about to throw the +little golden hand which lay in his pocket down into the sea.<br> +<br> +Suddenly the air became filled with a terrible moaning; the sea became +troubled; the whirlpool awoke. And the Prince saw the red lights of the +Enchanter's ship whirled round and round, faster and faster, till they +disappeared forever in the waters of the sunless sea.<br> +<br> +As for the Prince, he soon found another boat, and taking with him the +talisman, his fellow servants, and the black cat and her kittens, he +returned to Lantern Land, married the Queen, and lived happily ever +after.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> + <big>THE ADVENTURES OF FLORIAN</big><br> +<br> +<img alt="" src="images/image2.jpg" style="width: 649px; height: 548px;"><br> +<br> +<br> + Once upon a time there lived in an old and ruinous house by the +shore of the wild sea, a widowed nobleman and his only child, a +daughter named Isabella. They were very poor in spite of their high +birth, so poor that one by one the fields and woods of their little +domain had been sold in order to buy the bare necessities of life. +Knowing that his death would leave Isabella quite alone in the world +and practically penniless, her father brought her up more like a boy +than a girl; she could ride a horse as gracefully as an Amazon, she +could swim like a born mermaid, and even outdo her father in his +favorite sport of fencing. Yet so sweet was the gentle nature which the +girl had inherited from her mother, that this strange upbringing never +spoiled her in the least.<br> +<br> +Late one October evening, when the fierce gusts of wind from the sea +shook the old house to its very foundation and set the ragged +tapestries swaying on the walls, Isabella's father died, leaving her +only the ruinous house, a handful of copper pence, and a single golden +florin. The sum of money was enough to keep body and soul together for +a few weeks, but what was Isabella to do when the little pittance was +gone? Her father had once counseled her to go to the King and ask for +his protection; but the King's castle was hundreds of miles distant, +and Isabella shrank from begging or the highway.<br> +<br> +At last the brave girl resolved to make her own way in the world. +Taking the golden florin with her, she went to a neighboring town, and +purchased a suit of clothes such as pages and squires wear who are in +the service of noblemen. She then caused her black hair to be cut +short, boy-fashion, put on the boy's clothes she had purchased, and +went into the market-place to see if she could not find a situation in +the service of some great family.<br> +<br> +Now, it was the custom in those days for masters and servants to meet +by a fountain in the market-place, the masters who were in need of +servants standing on one side of the fountain, the servants who were in +search of masters on the other.<br> +<br> +When Isabella came into the market-place, there was no one standing on +the masters' side of the fountain, but on the other side, ready for the +first master who should appear, was a little group of noisy and +impudent squires and pages. Isabella, or, as she now called herself, +Florian, strode boldly over and joined this group, her heart beating +high with the thrill of the great adventure.<br> +<br> +Suddenly a black knight, mounted on a black horse and leading another +horse by the bridle, clattered over the cobble-stones of the square, +and taking his place by the fountain, called on the pages to come to +him. In spite of the horseman's summons, however, the pages paid no +attention to him at all. Curious to know the reason of this disdain, +Florian questioned a fellow page, and was told that the knight was no +other than the Enchanter of the Black Rock, and that no page or squire +would take service with him because his castle was haunted by goblins, +ghosts, and all manner of terrifying spirits.<br> +<br> +Now, Florian was no coward, and, as the saying is, beggars cannot be +choosers. So, much to the astonishment of the pages, Florian walked +over to the Enchanter, who sat fuming with anger and impatience, and +offered to go with him. The Knight bade Florian mount the horse which +he was holding; and amid the cat-calls and hooting of the pages, master +and boy galloped away.<br> +<br> +All day long they rode, and when it was near the end of the afternoon +Florian found himself at the edge of a wild and desolate moor. Within +the great circle of the horizon, under the pale sky, not a tree, not a +house, not a shepherd's hut even was to be seen--nothing but the great +barren waste rolling, rising and falling to the very edge of the world. +Lower and lower sank the sun; it grew cold, and a blue mist fell. +Twilight came, a green, mysterious twilight.<br> +<br> +Suddenly, from a hillock of the moor, Florian beheld afar the enchanted +dwelling. A great sunken marsh lay before him, beginning at the foot of +the little hill and stretching away, league after league, till its +farther shore was hidden in the gathering darkness. The autumn wind +stirred the dead sedges at its brim, and though the dying twilight was +still gleaming in the sky, the great bog had caught little of its glow, +and lay full of coiling blue mists, pale quagmires, and islands of +mysterious darkness. A dreadful moaning cry, uttered by some demon of +the moor, sounded through the mist, chilling the blood in Florian's +veins; and as if in answer to the cry, thousands upon thousands of +will-o'-the-wisps appeared, darting and dancing. In the very heart of +this terrible marsh a great black rock uprose, and on this rock, its +turrets and battlements outlined against the burning face of the moon, +stood the castle. Ghostly lights, now green, now blue, flickered in its +windows.<br> +<br> +The Enchanter reined up his horse at the brink of the mire, and cried,--<br> +<br> + "List! List! Will-o'-the-Wisp, Lend me +your light."<br> +<br> +Scarcely had the last word fallen from the Enchanter's mouth, when the +dancing witch-fires hurried toward him from all sides of the marsh. +Soon a pale road leading across the bog to the castle stood revealed, +an enchanted road which melted away behind the riders as smoke melts +into the winter air. To the very gates of his castle did the +ghost-fires accompany the Enchanter; then, rising swiftly high into the +air, they fled like startled birds, in every direction.<br> +<br> +Doors opened of their own will, strange goblins and ghostly creatures +passed, and bright, whirling globes of fire fled hissing across the +castle courtyard. Just as they were about to enter the castle itself, +the Enchanter turned, and fastened his burning eyes on Florian.<br> +<br> +"Boy," said he, "let nothing that you hear or see make you afraid. Be +assured that no power or spirit can harm you. There is only one demon +in the world whose power is greater than mine, and that is Fear +himself. Be brave, keep the doors of your heart locked against Fear; be +faithful, and you shall never have cause to regret your coming."<br> +<br> +So Florian, who was by nature brave, felt ashamed of having allowed the +demon Fear to knock at the door of his heart, and resolved never to let +his courage fail, no matter what might happen. And true to this resolve +the lad remained during the years he spent in the service of the +Enchanter. At first, to be sure, he had to struggle to conquer his fear +of some of the goblins; but as time passed and no ghost or goblin ever +ventured to annoy him, he grew accustomed to their presences and ended +by paying no more attention to them than he paid to the great ravens +who flew croaking over the mire. So faithful and courageous was the +little page that, when his year was up, the Enchanter begged him to +remain yet another year, promising him rich rewards if he stayed. When +this second year was up, however, Florian felt a longing to see the +world again, and told the Enchanter that he must be going.<br> +<br> +"Very well," said the Enchanter, who respected the courage of the brave +page, "thou shalt do as thou desirest. Thou art a brave and faithful +lad. Here is a purse of gold for thy wages, and here are three gifts to +reward thy courage and good-will." He opened a copper casket and took +forth a little golden bird with outstretched wings hanging from a fine +golden chain, a golden key, and a scarlet sphere marked with a band of +white. "This little bird," continued the Enchanter, "will protect you +from the spells of any sorcerer whose power is less than mine, and will +sing when you fare into hidden danger; this key will open every door in +the world; and should you ever lose your way, you have but to put this +sphere on the ground, and it will roll home of its own accord. +Moreover, if you are ever yourself in deadly peril, call upon me, and I +will come and help you."<br> +<br> +So Florian thanked the Enchanter, and taking his gifts, went back into +the world again. But so gentle and kind was he that he soon gave away +to the unfortunate all the gold he had earned, and was forced to go in +search of another situation. At length he entered the service of the +King and Queen of the Twelve Towers.<br> +<br> +This royal couple, who were renowned in Fairyland as much for their +goodness and generosity as for their wealth and magnificence, had but +one son, Prince Florizel. No braver or more gallant prince ever drew +breath. He had driven the dragon of the blue cavern out of his father's +kingdom; he had fought three wicked ogres one after the other, and +finished each one; he had delivered the diamond castle of a terrible +spell which lay upon it.<br> +<br> +When Florian entered the service of the King and Queen, these excellent +parents were sending their son on a visit to his uncle, the Emperor of +the Plain, and Florian was ordered to join the gay company of lords and +ladies, knights and soldiers, who were to make the journey. According +to the gossip of the company, Prince Florizel was being sent to his +uncle's in the hope that he would fall in love with his uncle's ward, +the beautiful Princess Rosamond.<br> +<br> +Now in some way or other, after the company had been a few days on the +road, Prince Florizel, who watched over the company as carefully as a +good captain does over his soldiers, became aware of the bravery, +trustworthiness, and modest bearing of Florian, the little page, and +promoted him to be his own personal squire. Alas! no sooner had he been +advanced, than Florian the little page, though remaining outwardly a +page, became at heart the runaway girl, Isabella. Though she fought as +hard as she could against her own heart, it was of little use, and she +knew herself to be deeply in love with the gallant Florizel. Yet she +suffered no word or sign of her affection to escape her, for Prince +Florizel thought her only a little page, and to speak would be to +betray the secret she had so long and successfully guarded.<br> +<br> +One morning, as the cavalcade was riding through a charming country, +Florian, for so we must still continue to call Isabella, was following +close behind his master, when the Prince caught sight of a wonderful +scarlet flower, something like a scarlet lily, blooming by the +roadside. At the same moment, the little golden bird that Florian wore +round his neck sang a few clear notes as if it were alive.<br> +<br> +"What a pretty flower!" said the Prince. "I must have it."<br> +<br> +And he was about to dismount and pick the flower, when Florian spurred +on ahead of him, grasped the enchanted flower, and tossed it into a +ditch.<br> +<br> +"Fie, what a naughty page!" cried the lords and ladies.<br> +<br> +The company rode on a few miles more, and suddenly the Prince caught +sight of a beautiful jeweled dagger lying in the highway. At the same +moment the little golden bird sang a few clear notes of warning.<br> +<br> +"What a fine dagger!" cried the Prince, "I must have it."<br> +<br> +And he was about to dismount and pick up the dagger, when Florian +spurred on ahead of him, seized the dagger, and tossed it into a ditch.<br> +<br> +"Fie, what a naughty page!" cried the lords and ladies.<br> +<br> +The company now rode on for a few miles more, and the Prince saw by the +roadside a beautiful enchanted garden. Birds of many colors sang in the +branches of the trees, fountains sparkled and danced in the sunlight, +and the sweetest of music was heard. At the same moment the golden bird +sang louder and longer than ever.<br> +<br> +"What a beautiful garden!" cried the Prince. "Let us ride in and look +about."<br> +<br> +So Florian hurried to the Prince's side, and implored him not to enter, +saying that the garden was enchanted and that some harm would certainly +befall him.<br> +<br> +At this, all the lords and ladies, who were a little jealous, perhaps, +that a page should know more than they, laughed at poor Florian, and +even Florizel smiled at him and said, "All that is only fancy, little +Florian," and dashed in through the garden gate. For a minute or so +nothing happened, and the first to enter mocked at Florian again; but +when the whole company had entered the garden, there was a clap of +thunder, and everybody except the Prince and Florian, who was protected +by the Enchanter's charm, was turned into stone. The echoes of the +thunder had hardly ceased rolling when two frightful demons with lions' +heads rushed towards them through the garden, seized the Prince, and +hurried him away. Florian was left alone in the garden. Night was fast +approaching.<br> +<br> +Now, the owner of the enchanted garden was a witch, who had a daughter +so frightfully ugly that even her mother's powerful magic could not +make her beautiful. In spite of her ugliness, however, the witch's +daughter considered herself quite beautiful, and was always importuning +her mother to invite to the castle princes whom she considered worthy +of her hand. So the old witch gave wonderful dances and parties, to +which all the eligible young kings and princes of the neighborhood were +invited; but just as soon as the witch's daughter appeared with a +horrid smirk on her ugly face, the young men were sure to make their +excuses and ride away.<br> +<br> +At length the old witch, who had just had a severe tongue-lashing from +her daughter for not punishing the Prince of Zagabondiga after that +prince had failed to ask her for a dance, could endure her daughter's +scolding no longer, and resolved to catch the first prince who came +past her garden, and force him, willy nilly, to accept her ugly +daughter. Into her trap poor Florizel had walked, and the witch, hoping +to bend him to her will by terrifying him, had thrown him into a deep +dungeon. The ugly daughter had immediately peeked through the key-hole +of the prison, and fallen in love with Florizel at first sight.<br> +<br> +The witch was just considering what to do next, when her lion-headed +servitors informed her that one of the company had resisted her +enchantment, and was wandering about the garden. So the witch put on +her cloak of invisibility, and going down to the garden, found poor +Florian wandering disconsolately under the trees. She saw at once that +it was the little golden bird which had protected him from her magic; +and being afraid of the charm and yet unable to work the poor lad any +harm while the bird was in his possession, she decided to rid herself +of Florian by transporting her castle, gardens and all, over to the +other side of the world. So she uttered a spell, and everything +disappeared.<br> +<br> +When Florian woke the next morning, and found that the castle was gone, +his heart sank. Nevertheless, he did not despair, but taking from his +pocket the little scarlet ball which his master the Enchanter had given +him, he put it on the ground, and bade it guide him back to the +Enchanted Garden.<br> +<br> +The little ball immediately began rolling ahead at Florian's own pace; +at night it glowed with a scarlet fire. Day after day, month after +month, the scarlet ball rolled on; it led Florian over hill and down +dale, through the land of the men who have only one eye, through the +country of the dwarfs, and the valley of the talking trees, never +stopping till it reached the gate of the witch's garden.<br> +<br> +A year, meanwhile, had gone by, and during that year the witch had done +everything she could to induce Prince Florizel to accept her ugly +daughter. First she had tried frightening him, then she had tried to +win him by giving splendid fetes, then she had tried terrifying him +again; but as the Prince was neither to be terrified nor cajoled, she +came to her wits' end. Finally she told the Prince that, if he +were not willing to accept her daughter in marriage on the very next +day, she would turn him into a hare and set her dogs upon him. The +Prince made no answer to her terrible threat, and the witch went ahead +and made preparation for the grandest of weddings. On that night, +Florian arrived at the garden.<br> +<br> +When it was very late, and the moon, which was a quarter full, had +disappeared behind a bank of clouds, Florian crept unobserved to the +door of Florizel's prison; for the witch had locked him up so securely +that she had not taken the trouble to find a watchman. Alas! the poor +Prince lay at the top of a high tower, and twenty different doors, each +one opened by a different key, stood between him and the ground.<br> +<br> +But Florian was not to be daunted, and drawing from his bosom the key +which the Enchanter had given him, he opened one door after the other +till he arrived in the cell occupied by the Prince.<br> +<br> +The poor Prince lay chained on a bed of straw, trying to read a book by +the light of a single candle. He was very unhappy, for he had resolved +to let himself be torn in pieces rather than marry the ugly witch +maiden. You may be sure he was glad to see Florian.<br> +<br> +"Dear Florian," said the unhappy Prince, "if I had only obeyed your +counsel, all would have been well." And he begged Florian to tell him +where he had been all the long year.<br> +<br> +So Florian told the Prince of his adventures.<br> +<br> +Now, the chains which the Prince wore were riveted cruelly upon him, +and since there was no lock to them, the magic key was of no avail. At +length, however, Florizel managed to work them off; but in doing so, he +injured his foot, and found to his dismay that he could only limp along.<br> +<br> +Little by little the freshened air and the stir of leaves began to +foretell the coming of the dawn. Finally, just as the dawn-star began +to pale, Florizel and Florian hurried out of the prison through the +twenty doors, and fled to the highroad.<br> +<br> +But they had traveled only a few miles, when the wicked witch +discovered Florizel's flight, and, dreadfully enraged, commanded that +her dragon car be got ready in order that she might go in pursuit of +him. So the car was brought forth, and into it the witch leaped, and +mounted into the sky. Hearing the hissing and roaring of the dragons in +the air, Florian and Florizel tried to hide under some trees; but the +witch instantly saw them, and pronounced a spell to turn them into +hares. But though the hate of the witch was quick, the woman's heart of +Isabella was quicker, and sacrificing herself for the man she loved, +she threw the chain and the golden bird over the Prince's head. An +instant later she had turned into a little gray hare crouching at +Florizel's feet. At the same moment, the cruel witch, who had arrived +at her castle, let loose her pack of fierce hunting dogs, who soon took +up the trail of the hare and came bounding toward her in full cry.<br> +<br> +The poor Prince picked up the hare and hobbled forward as fast as he +could go, forgetting the dreadful pain it caused him; but the dogs were +running a hundred times faster than he. Nearer and nearer came the +pack, their red tongues lolling from their black throats. By good +fortune, just as the leader of the pack was not more than fifty feet +away, Isabella had wit enough to remember the promise which the +Enchanter had made her, and called upon him. Immediately a strong glass +wall, as high as a castle tower, shot up from the ground behind +Isabella and the Prince; and the pack, hurrying forward, found +themselves baulked of their prey. Snarling and yelling, they threw +themselves against the magic wall; but in vain.<br> +<br> +In another instant, the Enchanter himself stood before them, and +touching the hare with his wand, restored Isabella to her human form. +She still wore the garments of Florian, however, and the Prince still +thought her a boy.<br> +<br> +Suddenly a shadow fell on the ground near them, and looking up, all +beheld the wicked witch and her ugly daughter, who had ridden out in +the dragon car to enjoy Florizel's cruel death. The Enchanter +immediately caused the dragon car to vanish, and the witch and her +daughter fell tumbling through the air into a pond, and were changed +into ugly little fishes. Then the Enchanter carried Florizel and +Florian back to the witch's castle, where they found the tables spread +and the dinner being prepared which was to celebrate the wedding of +Florizel and the witch's daughter. Last of all, he released Florizel's +company from the witch's spell.<br> +<br> +Now, one of the ladies, when she heard how the witch had tried to match +Florizel with her daughter, and saw the preparations for the wedding, +told the Prince that it was a pity that the Princess Rosamond were not +at hand, so that there might be a wedding after all.<br> +<br> +"A wedding? No," said Florizel, "not till I have found a wife who shall +have proved herself as faithful and true as little Florian."<br> +<br> +"She is already here," said the Enchanter. And he touched Florian with +his wand.<br> +<br> +Immediately there was a flash of flame, and out of it, Florian no +longer, but her own self, appeared Isabella. Her hair had grown long +again, and the Enchanter had clad her in the most magnificent of gowns. +Never was there a lovelier girl to be seen on earth. You may be sure +that the Prince stepped forward, took her by the hand, and claimed her +for his bride.<br> +<br> +Soon the parents of Florizel, who had been summoned by the Enchanter, +arrived, and there was a wedding after all. When the merrymaking was +over, the Enchanter went back to his castle on the Black Rock, while +Florizel and Isabella returned to their own country, and lived there +happily to a good old age.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> + <big> THE SELLER OF DREAMS</big><br> +<br> +Once upon a time a mother called her only son into the kitchen, gave +him a basket of fine, fresh eggs, and bade him carry them to his Aunt +Jane, who lived a few miles down the valley. The son, a lively lad +about twelve years of age, obeyed his mother with joy, and clapping his +little green hat on his head, stepped forth into the road. It was a +beautiful clear morning in the spring, and the earth, released from the +icy chains of winter, was rejoicing in her freedom and the return of +the sun. A few birds, just back from the southland, rocked on twigs +swollen with bursting buds, a thousand rills flowing from everywhere +and in every direction sparkled and sang, and the air was sweet with +the odor of ploughed fields.<br> +<br> +The boy, whose name was Peter, walked along whistling. Suddenly he saw +a spot on the road shining as dazzlingly as if a bit of the sun itself +had fallen to the earth. "A bit of glass," thought Peter. But it was +not a bit of glass after all, but a fine golden florin which must have +dropped from somebody's purse.<br> +<br> +Peter stooped, picked up the gold piece, put it in his pocket, and +walked off whistling louder than ever. In a little while he came to a +place where the road wound down a little hill, and Peter saw, trudging +up this hill, a very strange looking old man. He was a very old man; +his face was puckered up into a thousand wrinkles like the skin of a +shrunken apple, and he had long, snow-white hair and a white beard +which reached almost to his waist. Moreover, he was strangely dressed +in a robe of cherry scarlet, and wore golden shoes. From a kind of belt +hung two horns on silver chains, one an ordinary cow's horn, the other +a beautiful horn carved of the whitest ivory, and decorated with little +figures of men and animals.<br> +<br> +"Dreams to sell! Dreams to sell!" called out the old man as soon as he +caught sight of Peter. "Don't you want to buy a dream, young man?"<br> +<br> +"What kind of dreams have you?" asked Peter.<br> +<br> +"Good, bad, true, false--all kinds," replied the seller of dreams. "I +have even a few thrilling nightmares. Dreams to sell! Dreams to sell!"<br> +<br> +"How much does a dream cost?" asked Peter.<br> +<br> +"A golden florin," answered the merchant.<br> +<br> +"I'll have one, please," said Peter; and he handed over the florin he +had found.<br> +<br> +The old man took a kind of wonderful sugarplum out of the ivory horn, +and gave it to Peter to eat.<br> +<br> +"You will have the dream next time you sleep," said he, and trudged on.<br> +<br> +So Peter continued his journey, stopping every once in a while to look +back at the strange old man, who was slowly climbing the hill. At +length Peter came to a little quiet grove of pines, and there he sat +down on a big stone and ate the luncheon which his mother had prepared +for him. The sun was high in the heavens; it was close on to high noon. +Now, as Peter was contentedly munching his bread and cheese, he heard, +at first far away, then quite near at hand, the clear notes of a +coachman's horn. The notes of the second call died away in a great +pattering of hoofs and tinkling of little bells, and suddenly, arriving +in a great swirl of yellow dust, came a magnificent coach drawn by +twelve white horses. A lady, very richly dressed and wearing many +sparkling diamonds, sat within the coach. To Peter's astonishment, the +lady was his Aunt Jane.<br> +<br> +The coach stopped with a great jingling of the twelve harnesses, and +Aunt Jane leaned out of the window, and said to Peter, "What are you +doing here, child?"<br> +<br> +"I was on my way to your cottage with a basket of fine fresh eggs," +answered Peter.<br> +<br> +"Well, it's fortunate I found you," said Aunt Jane, "for I have given +up living in the cottage, and have now got a castle of my own. Jump in, +Peter, and don't forget your basket."<br> +<br> +So Peter climbed into the coach, closed the door behind him, and was +driven away. The coach went over hill and down dale; it went through +strange forests from whose branches green parrots whooped and shrieked; +it rolled through valleys in strange shining mountains. Peter stole a +look at Aunt Jane and saw that she was wearing a crown.<br> +<br> +"Are you a queen, Aunt Jane?" he asked.<br> +<br> +"Indeed, I am," replied his aunt. "You see, Peter, two days ago, while +I was looking for my white cow who had strayed away, I came upon the +magnificent castle to which we are now going. It has four beautiful +towers, and a door set with diamonds.<br> +<br> +"'Whose castle is this?' I said to the lodge-keeper.<br> +<br> +"'It's nobody's, marm,' said he.<br> +<br> +"'What,' said I; 'do you mean to say that nobody owns this fine castle?'<br> +<br> +"'That's just what I mean to say, marm,' answered he; 'the castle +belongs to anyone who wants it.'<br> +<br> +"So into the castle I walked, and I did n't go out, you may be sure, +till I had been into every room that I could find. Then I put on these +clothes and these diamonds, which I found in a cupboard, and went down +and told the servants I intended to be queen. You see, Peter dear, +there's nothing that a woman of determination and energy can't +accomplish."<br> +<br> +The coach rolled on, and soon Peter caught sight of Aunt Jane's castle. +It was rather large, and had an enormous round tower at each corner--a +thing which brought to Peter's mind the picture of an elephant lying on +its back. Peter and Aunt Jane, accompanied by a train of servants +dressed in blue-and-buff livery, walked into the castle through the +diamond-studded door.<br> +<br> +"Do you think you could eat a little more of something?" said Aunt +Jane, taking off her white-kid gloves; "because if you can I'll have a +place set for you at the luncheon table."<br> +<br> +And Peter, who like all boys, could eat a little more anywhere and at +any time, readily answered, "Yes."<br> +<br> +So Peter and Aunt Jane sat down to a wonderful little table covered +with a snow-white cloth.<br> +<br> +"Draw your chair nearer, Peter dear," said Aunt Jane.<br> +<br> +"I can't" said Peter, "it's stuck to the floor."<br> +<br> +And so it was; the chair was stuck to the floor, and no amount of +pushing or pulling could budge it.<br> +<br> +"That's odd," said Aunt Jane; "but never mind, I'll push the table over +to the chair."<br> +<br> +But like the chair, the table refused to budge. Peter then tried to +slide his plate of soup closer to him, but the plate, which the servant +had placed on the cloth but an instant before, had evidently frozen to +the table in some extraordinary manner and could not be moved an inch. +The soup in the plate, however, was not fastened to the dish, nor were +the wonderful strawberry-cakes and the delicious ices with which the +dinner closed.<br> +<br> +"You don't suppose this castle is enchanted, do you, Aunt Jane?" asked +Peter.<br> +<br> +"Not a bit of it," replied Aunt Jane. "And even if it were," she +continued recklessly, "I should n't mind, for there's nothing that a +woman of determination and energy can't accomplish." There was a pause, +and then Aunt Jane added, "I am going to have some guests to dinner +this evening, so run round and amuse yourself as well as you can. +There's ever so much to see in the castle, and in the garden there's a +pond with swans in it."<br> +<br> +Attended by her servants, Aunt Jane majestically walked away. Peter +spent the afternoon exploring the castle. He went through room after +room; he scurried through the attics like a mouse, and was even lost +for a while in the cellars. And everywhere he went, he found everything +immovable. The beds, tables, and chairs could neither be moved about +nor lifted up, and even the clocks and vases were mysteriously fastened +to their places on the shelves.<br> +<br> +The night came on. Coach after coach rolled up to the diamond door, +which sparkled in the moonlight. When the guests had all arrived, a +silver trumpet sounded, and Aunt Jane, dressed in a wonderful gown of +flowering brocade edged with pearls, came solemnly down the great +stairway of the castle hall. Two little black boys, dressed in oriental +costume and wearing turbans, held up her gorgeous train, and she looked +very grand indeed. Peter, to his great surprise, found himself dressed +in a wonderful suit of plum-colored velvet.<br> +<br> +"Welcome, my friends," said Queen Jane, who had opened a wonderful +ostrich-feather fan. "Are we not fortunate in having so beautiful a +night for our dinner?"<br> +<br> +And the Queen, giving her arm to a splendid personage in the uniform of +an officer of the King's dragoons, led the way to the banquet-hall.<br> +<br> +The wonderful party, all silks and satins, and gleaming with jewels, +swept like a peacock's tail behind her. Soon dinner was over, and the +guests began to stray by twos and threes to the ballroom. Aunt Jane and +the soldier led off the grand march; then came wonderful, stately +minuets, quadrilles, and sweet old-fashioned waltzes. The merriment was +at its height when somebody ran heavily up the great stairs leading to +the ballroom, and the guests, turning round to see whence came the +clatter, saw standing in the doorway a strange old man dressed in a +robe of cherry scarlet and wearing golden shoes. It was the seller of +dreams. His white hair was disheveled, his robe was awry, and there was +dust on his golden shoes.<br> +<br> +"Foolish people!" screamed the old seller of dreams, his voice rising +to a shriek, "Run your lives! This castle lies under a terrible +enchantment; in a few minutes it will turn upside-down. Have you not +seen that everything is fastened to the floor? Run for your lives!"<br> +<br> +Immediately there was a great babble of voices, some shrieks, and more +confusion, and the guests ran pell-mell down the great stairs and out +the castle door. To Peter's dismay, Aunt Jane was not among them. So +into the castle he rushed again, calling at the top of his voice, "Aunt +Jane! Aunt Jane!" He ran through the brilliantly lit and deserted +ballroom; he saw himself running in the great mirrors of the gallery. +"Aunt Jane!" he cried; but no Aunt Jane replied.<br> +<br> +Peter rushed up the stairs leading to the castle tower, and emerged +upon the balcony. He saw the black shadow of the castle thrown upon the +grass far below by the full moon; he saw the great forest, so bright +above and so dark and mysterious below, and the long snow-clad range of +the Adamant Mountains. Suddenly a voice, louder than the voice of any +human being, a voice deep, ringing, and solemn as the sound of a great +bell, cried,--<br> +<br> +"'T is time!"<br> +<br> +Immediately everything became as black as ink, people shrieked, the +enchanted castle rolled like a ship at sea, and leaning far to one +side, began to turn upside-down. Peter felt the floor of the balcony +tip beneath him; he tried to catch hold of something, but could find +nothing; suddenly, with a scream, he fell. He was falling, falling, +falling, falling, falling.<br> +<br> + When Peter came to himself, instead of its being night, it was +still noonday, and he was sitting on the same stone in the same quiet +roadside grove from which he had caught sight of his Aunt Jane in her +wonderful coach. A blue jay screamed at him from overhead. For Aunt +Jane, the coach, and the enchanted castle had been only a dream. Peter, +you see, had fallen asleep under the pines, and while he slept, he had +dreamed the dream he purchased from the seller of dreams.<br> +<br> +Very glad to be still alive, Peter rubbed his eyes, took up his basket +of eggs, and went down the road whistling.<br> +<br> +<img alt="" src="images/image3.jpg" style="width: 461px; height: 590px;"><br> +"How much does a dream cost?" asked Peter. <br> +"A golden florin," answered the Seller of Dreams<br> +<br> +<br> +<big><br> + THE TREASURE CASTLE</big><br> +<br> +<img alt="" src="images/image4.jpg" style="width: 380px; height: 323px;"><br> +<br> + Once upon a time a hunter was roaming through the wildwood when +he heard a voice crying piteously for aid. Following the sound, the +hunter plunged ahead, and discovered a dwarf caught in a pit which had +been dug to trap wild animals.<br> +<br> +After the hunter had rescued the dwarf from his prison, the little man +said to him: "Go ten leagues to the north till you arrive at a gigantic +pine; then turn to the east, and go ten leagues more till you come to a +black castle. Enter the castle without fear, and you will discover a +round room in which stands a round ebony table laden with gold and +jewels. Help yourself to the treasure, and return home at once. And do +not--now mark me well--go up into the turret of the castle; for if you +do, evil will come of it."<br> +<br> +So the hunter thanked the dwarf, and after making sure that he had +plenty of bread and cheese in his knapsack, hurried northwards as fast +as his legs could carry him. Through bramble and brier, through valley +and wooded dale went he, and at dusk he came to a gigantic pine +standing solitary in a rocky field. Wearied with his long journey, the +hunter lay down beneath the pine and slept.<br> +<br> +When it was dawn he woke refreshed, and turning his eyes toward the +level rays of the rising sun, began his journey to the east. Presently +he reached a height in the forest, and from this height, he saw, not +very far away, a black turret rising over the ocean of bright leaves. +At high noon he arrived at the castle. It was ruinous and quite +deserted; grass grew in the courtyard and between the bricks of the +terrace, and the oaken door was as soft and rotten as a log that has +long been buried in mire.<br> +<br> +Entering the castle, the hunter soon discovered the round room. A table +laden with wonderful treasures stood in the centre of the chamber, +directly under a shower of sunlight pouring through a half-ruined +window in the mildewed wall. How the diamonds and precious stones +sparkled and gleamed!<br> +<br> +Now, while the hunter was filling his pockets, the flash of a jewel +lying on the floor happened to catch his eye, and looking down, he saw +that a kind of trail of jewels lay along the floor leading out of the +room. Following the scattered gems,--which had the appearance of having +been spilled from some treasure-casket heaped too high,--the hunter +came to a low door, and opening this door, he discovered a flight of +stone steps leading to the turret. The steps were strewn carelessly +with the finest emeralds, topazes, beryls, moonstones, rubies, and +crystal diamonds.<br> +<br> +Remembering the counsel of his friend the dwarf, however, the hunter +did not go up the stairs, but hurried home with his treasure.<br> +<br> +When the hunter returned to his country, the wonderful treasures which +he had taken from the castle in the wood made him a very rich man, and +in a short time the news of his prosperity came to the ears of the +King. This King was the wickedest of rogues, and his two best friends, +the Chamberlain and the Chancellor, were every bit as unscrupulous as +he. They oppressed the people with taxes, they stole from the poor, +they robbed the churches; indeed there was no injustice which they were +not ready to commit. So, when the Chamberlain heard of the hunter's +wealth, he--being a direct, straightforward rascal--declared that the +simplest thing to do would be to kill the hunter and take his money.<br> +<br> +The Chancellor, who was somewhat more cunning and worldly, declared +that it would be better to throw the hunter into a foul, dark dungeon +till he was ready to buy his freedom with all his wealth.<br> +<br> +The King, who was the wickedest and wisest of the precious three, +declared that the best thing to do was to find out whence the hunter +had got his treasure, so that, if there happened to be any left, they +could go and get it. Then of course, they could kill the hunter and +take his treasure too.<br> +<br> +Thus it came to pass that by a royal order the hunter was thrown into a +horrible prison, and told that his only hope of release lay in +revealing the origin of his riches. So, after he had been slowly +starved and cruelly beaten, he told of the treasure castle in the wood.<br> +<br> +On the following morning, the King, the Chamberlain, and the +Chancellor, taking with them some strong linen bags and some pack +mules, rode forth in quest of the treasure. Great was their joy when +they found the treasure castle and the treasure room just as the hunter +had described. The Chancellor poured the shining gems through his +claw-like fingers, and the King and the Chamberlain threw their arms +around each others' shoulders and danced a jig as well as their age and +dignity would permit. The first fine careless rapture over, they began +pouring the treasure into the linen sacks they had brought with them, +and these, filled to the brim, they carried to the castle door.<br> +<br> +Soon not the tiniest gem was left on the table. Suddenly the +Chamberlain happened to catch sight of the gems strewn along the floor.<br> +<br> +"See, see!" he cried, his voice shrill and greedy. "There is yet more +to be had!"<br> +<br> +So the three rogues got down on their hands and knees and began +stuffing the stray jewels into their bulging pockets. The trail of +jewels led them across the hall to the little door opening on the +stairway, and up this stairway they scrambled as fast as they could go.<br> +<br> +At the top of the stair, in the turret, they found another round room +lit by three narrow, barred windows, and in the centre of this turret +chamber, likewise laden with gold and jewels, they found another ebony +table. With shrieks of delight, the King and the Chancellor and the +Chamberlain ran to this second treasure, and plunged their hands in the +glittering golden mass.<br> +<br> +Suddenly, a great bell rang in the castle, a great brazen bell whose +deep clang beat about them in throbbing, singing waves.<br> +<br> +"What's that?" said the three rogues in one breath, and rushed together +to the door.<br> +<br> +It was locked! An instant later there was a heavy explosion which threw +them all to the floor, tossing the treasure over them; and then, wonder +of wonders, the castle turret, with the three rogues imprisoned in it, +detached itself from the rest of the castle, and flew off into the air. +From the barred windows, the King, the Chamberlain, and the Chancellor +saw league upon league of the forest rushing by beneath them. Suddenly +the flying room began to descend swiftly, and landed lightly as a bird +in the middle of a castle courtyard. Strange-looking fellows with human +bodies and heads of horses came rushing toward the enchanted turret, +and seized its prisoners. In a few moments they were brought before the +King to whom the treasure belonged.<br> +<br> +Now this King was a brother of the dwarf whom the hunter had rescued +from the pit. He had a little gold crown on his head, and sat on a +little golden throne with cushions of crimson velvet.<br> +<br> +"With what are these three charged?" said the Dwarf-King.<br> +<br> +"With having tried to rob the treasure castle, Your Majesty," replied +one of the horse-headed servitors in a firm, stable tone.<br> +<br> +"Then send for the Lord Chief Justice at once," said the Dwarf-King.<br> +<br> +The three culprits were left standing uneasily in a kind of cage. They +would have tried to speak, but every time they opened their mouths, one +of the guards gave them a dig in the ribs.<br> +<br> +For a space of five minutes there was quiet in the crowded throne-room, +a quiet broken now and then by a veiled cough or the noise of shuffling +feet. Presently, from far away, came the clear, sweet call of silver +trumpets.<br> +<br> +"He's coming! He's coming!" murmured many voices. A buzz of excitement +filled the room. Several people had to be revived with smelling salts.<br> +<br> +The trumpets sounded a second time. The excitement increased.<br> +<br> +The trumpets sounded a third time, near at hand. A man's voice +announced in solemn tones, "The Lord Chief Justice approaches."<br> +<br> +The audience grew very still. Hardly a rustle or a flutter was heard. +Suddenly the great tapestry curtains which overhung the door parted, +and there appeared, first of all, an usher, clad in red velvet and +carrying a golden wand; then came two golden-haired pages, also clad in +red velvet and carrying a flat black-lacquer box on a velvet cushion. +Last of all came an elderly man dressed in black, and carrying a golden +perch on which sat a fine green parrot. On reaching the centre of the +hall, the parrot flapped its wings, arranged an upstart feather or two, +and then resumed that solemn dignity for which birds and animals are so +justly famous.<br> +<br> +With great ceremony the gentleman in black placed the Lord Chief +Justice on a lacquer stand close by the throne of the Dwarf-King.<br> +<br> +Trumpets sounded. Two servitors hurried forward with the captive King.<br> +<br> +"Your Venerability," spoke the Dwarf-King to the parrot, who watched +him intently out of its round yellow eye, and nodded its head, "this +rascal has been taken in the act of robbing the treasure castle. What +punishment do you suggest?"<br> +<br> +At these words, the two golden-haired pages, advancing with immense +solemnity, lifted the lacquer box to within reach of the parrot's beak. +The box was full of cards. Over them, swaying from one leg to the other +as he did so, the parrot swept his head.<br> +<br> +An icy silence fell over the throng. The King, the Chancellor, and the +Chamberlain quaked in their shoes. Presently the parrot picked out a +card, and the gentleman in black handed it to the Dwarf-King.<br> +<br> +"Prisoner," said the Dwarf-King to the other King, "the Lord Chief +Justice condemns you to be for the rest of your natural life Master +Sweeper of the Palace Chimneys."<br> +<br> +Discreet applause was heard. The Chancellor was then hurried forward, +and the bird picked out a second card.<br> +<br> +"Prisoner," said the Dwarf-King, "the Lord Chief Justice condemns you +to be for the rest of your natural life Master Washer of the Palace +Windows."<br> +<br> +More discreet applause was heard. And now the Chamberlain was brought +to the bar. The parrot gave him quite a wicked eye, and hesitated for +some time before drawing a card.<br> +<br> +"Prisoner," said the Dwarf-King, reading the card which the parrot had +finally chosen, "the Lord Chief Justice condemns you for the rest of +your natural life to be Master Beater of the Palace Carpets."<br> +<br> +Great applause followed this sage judgment.<br> +<br> +So the three rogues were led away, and unless you have heard to the +contrary, they are still making up for their wicked lives by enforced +diligence at their tasks. The palace has five hundred and ninety-six +chimneys, eight thousand, seven hundred and fifty-three windows, and +eleven hundred and ninety-nine large dust-gathering carpets, and the +chimneys, windows, and carpets have to be swept, washed, and beaten at +least once a week.<br> +<br> +Now when the King, the Chancellor, and the Chamberlain failed to +return, the people took the hunter out of his prison and made him king, +because he was the richest and most powerful of them all.<br> +<br> +As for the treasure of the treasure castle, it is still there, packed +in the linen sacks, lying just inside the great door.<br> +<br> +Perhaps some day you may find it. If you do, don't be greedy, and don't +go up to the turret chamber.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> + <big> PRINCE SNEEZE</big><br> +<br> +<img alt="" src="images/image5.jpg" style="width: 444px; height: 328px;"><br> +<br> + Once upon a time a king and a queen gave a magnificent party in +honor of the christening of their new-born son, Prince Rolandor. To +this party the royal parents took good care to invite every single +fairy in Fairyland, for they knew very well the unhappy consequences of +forgetting to invite fairies to christenings. When all the invitations +had been sent out, the Queen went down to the kitchen to superintend +the cooking of the master-dainty of the feast, a huge strawberry-tart.<br> +<br> +The morning on which the grand ceremony was to take place arrived. At +half-past ten the Court Astrologer, who was master of ceremonies, gave +the order to form in line; and at ten minutes to eleven the splendid +procession started for the church. The road was lined with the King's +vassals shouting, "Hurrah, hurrah!" Countless little elves with gauzy +wings watched from the branches of the trees; and the great cathedral +bells went clang, bang, clang, as merrily as could be.<br> +<br> +Just behind the royal body-guard came the King's gold-and-diamond coach +shining in the sunlight of June, with the King and the Queen in it on +one side and the Court Astrologer and the fairy Titania, prospective +godparents of the little Prince, on the other. The Prince himself, +swathed in a wonderful silk mantle edged with pearls and turquoises, +slept in the Astrologer's arms.<br> +<br> +The procession entered the church, where the venerable Lord Archbishop, +surrounded by a magnificent choir, was awaiting its coming. A hush went +over the great assembly as the parents and the godparents advanced to +the flower-decked font, and the silence lasted until His Eminence had +sprinkled the Prince and given him the name of Rolandor. Then the bells +rang again, the organ roared so that the windows shook in their +casements, and the choristers sang like birds on a summer afternoon.<br> +<br> +The christening over, the procession went back to the castle, past the +waiting rows of bystanders, not one of whom had changed his place or +gone away, so superb had been the spectacle.<br> +<br> +The christening banquet was laid in the great hall of the castle, and, +thanks to the Court Astrologer, things went off beautifully. It was the +only large banquet ever known in the history of the world where courses +were served all at one time, and while one person was finishing an ice, +another was not beginning with the soup. Nor was the menu mixed, which +happens so frequently to-day that you are apt to have soup, ice, cake, +roast, soup, and a roast again. No, from soup to ice the banquet was a +huge success; but, alas, disaster came with the strawberry-tart.<br> +<br> +As the Queen was chatting with the Lord Chancellor of the Enchanted +Islands, she happened to notice--for like a good hostess she had been +keeping an eye to the comfort of her guests--that nobody on the +right-hand side of the hall had been served with strawberry-tart. +Almost at the same moment, the chief cook, looking rather pale and +worried, bustled through the throng and whispered in her ear, "Your +Majesty, the strawberry-tart has given out!"<br> +<br> +The Queen turned pale. At length she managed to ask in a weak voice, +"Have you plenty of other pastries?"<br> +<br> +"Yes, Your Majesty," replied the cook.<br> +<br> +"Then let them be served at once."<br> +<br> +The cook withdrew, and the Queen, though somewhat shaken, took up the +conversation again. Ten minutes passed, and she was beginning to forget +her start, when a voice, rising clear and rasping over the hubbub of +the hall, said suddenly, "Where's my piece of strawberry-tart?"<br> +<br> +Everybody turned toward the speaker, an elderly fairy from the Kingdom +of the Black Mountains, named Malvolia. She stood up in her place, her +arms akimbo, glowering at her plate, on which an attendant had just +deposited a small chocolate eclair.<br> +<br> +"Where's my piece of strawberry-tart?" she repeated.<br> +<br> +The Queen rose. "I am very sorry, Madam Malvolia," said she in her +sweetest voice, "but the strawberry-tart has given out."<br> +<br> +"Hoity-toity," answered Malvolia rudely; "you mean that you only baked +enough for your own personal friends."<br> +<br> +At this several guests cried, "Sh! Sh!" and the King began to look +worried.<br> +<br> +"We will send for some at once," announced His Majesty.<br> +<br> +"Oh yes,--strawberry-tart baked by the Queen's own hands for her own +dear friends," said Malvolia sneeringly; "but for me, a fairy of age +and distinction, an ordinary, low baker's eclair. The Kingdom of the +Black Mountains has been deliberately insulted in my person!"<br> +<br> +"No, no, no, no!" cried the King and the Queen. "We assure you, madam, +that it was a simple mischance."<br> +<br> +"Pish and tush!" replied Malvolia, who, like a great many people, +secretly enjoyed feeling herself aggrieved. "I consider the affair an +affront, a deliberate affront. And you shall pay dear for this +humiliation," she screamed, quickly losing control of her temper. +"Every time the Prince sneezes something shall change until--"<br> +<br> +At this very moment, alas, a northeast wind blew gustily through the +open windows of the hall, shaking the tapestries from the walls, and +carrying away the last of Malvolia's sentence. The angry fairy turned +herself into a great black raven and flew, cawing hoarsely, over the +heads of the banqueters and out of the window with the wind.<br> +<br> +A baby's cry was heard, and the King and the Queen rushed +panic-stricken to where their little son lay in his cradle on a raised +platform at the head of the hall. The little Prince's fat, pink face +was twisted into dreadful lines; he opened his mouth wide several times +and half closed it again; then, opening it wider than ever, he sneezed +a terrible sneeze.<br> +<br> +There came a loud clap of thunder. When the confusion was over, the +Court Astrologer was found to have turned into an eight-day clock, with +a sun, moon, and stars arrangement, a planetary indicator, and a +calendar calculated for two thousand years. The banquet ended rather +gloomily, although the gifts of the other fairies, such as health, +wealth, and beauty, managed to make everyone a little more cheerful.<br> +<br> +When the guests were gone, the King and Queen sent for Doctor Pill, the +court physician, to consult him in regard to the measures which ought +to be taken to prevent the Prince's sneezing. As for the poor Court +Astrologer, he was hung up in the sacristy of the cathedral, and every +eight days his wife wound him up, with tears.<br> +<br> +"What shall we do, doctor?" asked the King rather mournfully.<br> +<br> +"The Prince must be preserved from the things which cause sneezing," +said the doctor sagely.<br> +<br> +"Such as draughts?" suggested the King.<br> +<br> +"Draughts, head-colds, snuff, and pepper," answered the leech. "Let his +little highness be put into a special suite of rooms; admit no person +to them until he has been examined for head-cold, and has put on +germ-proof garments; and as his little highness grows older, forbid the +use of pepper in his food. Better still, if Your Majesty has a castle +in the mountains, let the Prince be taken there for the sake of the +purer air."<br> +<br> +"There is the tower on the Golden Mountain," said the King.<br> +<br> +At this the Queen began to weep again, for she, quite naturally, did +not wish to part with her child.<br> +<br> +"But, my dear, we can't have him sneezing, and things changing all the +time," said the King.<br> +<br> +"I beg Your Majesty to consider the danger of a head-cold," put in the +doctor.<br> +<br> +"Yes, think of the danger of a head-cold," echoed the King, who saw +clearer than the Queen the chaos that might result if the Prince was +attacked by a prolonged fit of sneezing. "People with head-colds may +sneeze ten or fifteen times a day."<br> +<br> +"Or fifty," said the doctor.<br> +<br> +"Or fifty," echoed the King again, shaking his head, for he was torn +between paternal love and kingly duty. "Imagine fifty enchantments in a +day! By eventide the whole kingdom would be upset, undone, and the +people plotting a revolution."<br> +<br> +"The tower on the Golden Mountain is in a fine healthful locality," +said the doctor, "and the Prince could be brought up as happily there +as in the palace."<br> +<br> +So at length the Queen consented. In a few days the little Prince, who +had not sneezed a second time, was removed to the tower on the Golden +Mountain. His room, designed by Doctor Pill, was completely protected +from draughts, and every breath of air that entered it was +tri-bi-sterilized. Mrs. Pill, who had been a hospital nurse, took care +of him. Three times a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, his +royal parents rode out to the tower, and after putting on germ-proof +garments, were admitted to the nursery of their infant son.<br> +<br> +And so the years went by. Nobody was found able to break Malvolia's +spell, and the clue to its undoing had been carried away by the wind. +Malvolia herself had disappeared.<br> +<br> +The Prince became a handsome little boy. Accomplished teachers taught +him history, music, drawing, dancing, and all the other things that a +prince ought to know. But of real life he knew almost nothing at all.<br> +<br> +His most faithful friend during these lonely years was a French poodle, +who spoke both French and English exceedingly well. Of course, he had a +marked canine accent, rather growling his g's and howling the aw's and +the ow's, but his words were well chosen and his vocabulary extensive. +Never was seen a more friendly, wise, and devoted animal.<br> +<br> +When the King decided to have him sent away for a while, for he feared +that his son was getting a touch of Poldo's barky manner of speaking, +from too close an association, the little Prince became really ill from +grief, and the King was forced to alter his decision.<br> +<br> +During his imprisonment in the tower, in spite of all precautions, the +Prince sneezed three times. At the first sneeze, all the dogs in the +kingdom except Poldo changed into cats, and all the cats into dogs. +Though this was not a serious trouble, the change was certainly +inconvenient. All the dog-cats came out meowing at people as the dogs +used to bark at them, and they chased people down the street; the +cat-dogs, on the other hand, stayed in the kitchen under the stove, and +watched for mice in the pantry. Great St. Bernards might be seen +licking their paws and rubbing them over their foreheads, and fat, old +cat-lap-dogs used to try to purr.<br> +<br> +At the second sneeze, all the elderly gentlemen over seventy changed +into elm trees, a proceeding that caused a terrible lot of trouble.<br> +<br> +At the third sneeze, all the people in the pictures at the Art Museum +became alive, and for a week the soldiers of the royal guard spent most +of their time rescuing poor, bewildered fauns, satyrs, nymphs, Roman +senators, and long dead celebrities and historical personages from the +worst destitution. The King finally had to build a special castle for +them.<br> +<br> +As the Prince's twenty-first birthday drew near, he began to feel very +sad at the idea of having to stay shut up in the tower all his life. +Though he was a very brave and very manly young man, he lay down on his +couch and wept in sorrow.<br> +<br> +Suddenly, standing with his forepaws on the coverlet, "Why do you weep, +dear master?" said the little dog.<br> +<br> +"At my fate," replied the poor Prince. "I cannot bear to think that I +may have to spend all my days in this tower, and never see the great +wide world."<br> +<br> +The poodle was silent for a few minutes. At length he said, "Dear +Prince Rolandor, do not give up hope. Have you ever thought of +consulting my old master, the Giant of the North Pole? He has a large +chest in his palace full of secrets which the winds have overheard, and +perhaps the key to Malvolia's spell is among them. If you will have a +warm fur coat and four fur boots made for me, I will go to the Giant +and ask him."<br> +<br> +The Prince gave his consent, and on the next day the royal tailor made +the poodle a magnificent sealskin coat and four splendid fur-lined +boots. Then the King wished him good speed, the Queen cried over him, +and the Prince, who could see from his high tower every corner of the +kingdom, watched him till he disappeared over the hills and far away.<br> +<br> +Straight north the poodle ran. Soon he had left the fertile plains +behind him, and entered great, black pine forests where never a road +was to be seen. The cold wind howled through the trees, and at night +the brilliant stars sparkled over the dark and waving branches. Hungry +wolves and savage bears often pursued him, but somehow he always +managed to escape them all. At the end of the forest he found the +frozen ocean lit by the shuddering light of the aurora, flashing in a +great fan from east to west. Past white-tusked walruses and sleepy +penguins he flew, till on the eleventh day he saw the green, icy +pinnacles of the Giant's palace against the waving curtain of the Polar +lights. On the evening of the twelfth day he entered the castle.<br> +<br> +The Giant of the North Pole was a tall, strong, yellow-haired fellow +wearing a crown of ice and a great sweeping mantle made from the white +fur of the polar bear. His servants were the Gusts,--strange, supple, +shadowy creatures moving quickly to and fro,--and his courtiers +were the whirlwinds and the storms. The Giant's wife sat by his side; +she had dark hair and eyes of icy, burning blue.<br> +<br> +"Welcome, little Poldo," said the Giant; and his voice sounded like the +wind in the treetops; "what seek you here?"<br> +<br> +"I seek some words of the Fairy Malvolia which were carried away by the +northeast wind at Prince Rolandor's christening," replied the poodle.<br> +<br> +"Whew, oo-oo," whistled the Giant of the North Pole. "If I have them, +the words are yours."<br> +<br> +He summoned two Gusts to bring forth the chest of secrets. It was made +of black stone; and edged with diamonds of ice. In it were stored all +the mysteries which the wind had ever overheard; there were secrets, +confessions, vows, merry laughs, and simple words. And sure enough, in +the corner of the chest lay the rest of Malvolia's spell--a row of +little, old-fashioned, dusty words; the words: "Until he finds someone +brave enough to marry him."<br> +<br> +So the good poodle learned the words by heart, thanked the Giant, and +hurried home with the message. When he came to the King's palace, he +ran, barking with joy, right into the King's own room. There he saw the +unhappy parents.<br> +<br> +"Have you found the last of the sentence?" cried the Queen.<br> +<br> +"Yes," said Poldo. "The spell will end when the prince marries."<br> +<br> +That very evening the King and the Queen sent forth ambassadors to ask +for the hand of the loveliest princess of all Fairyland, Princess +Adatha of the Adamant Mountains. But so afraid was Adatha of being +turned into something else, that she refused the offer.<br> +<br> +The King and the Queen then made a request for the hand of Princess +Alicia of the Crystal Lakes. But Alicia also was afraid of being turned +into something else, and she too refused the alliance. So did the +Princess of the Golden Coasts, the Princess of the Seven Cities, and +many others. Finally the only princess left in all Fairyland was a +princess who herself lay under an enchantment. A jealous witch had +turned her golden hair bright blue, and given her a nose a foot long. +This unhappy maiden was the only princess willing to accept poor +Rolandor.<br> +<br> +The wedding day arrived. The Prince, though perhaps a little pale from +his confined life, looked very handsome, and led his ugly bride to the +altar like a man. Just exactly as the marriage ceremony was half over, +a spasm contorted the muscles of the Prince's face; the poor young man +felt strongly inclined to sneeze. Though he could be seen making heroic +efforts to control the impulse, the audience got very nervous and +panicky.<br> +<br> +All was in vain! The Prince sneezed, "Ker choo!" A terrific clap of +thunder rent the air, and everybody looked about to see what had +happened.<br> +<br> +The effect of the sneeze was an odd one. As it had occurred exactly at +the moment when the Prince was half-married, the spell had reacted upon +itself. "Just like a kick from a gun," Dr. Pill said next day.<br> +<br> +The cats became dogs again, and the dogs became cats; the elm trees +became cross, elderly gentlemen looking for their families; the poor, +excited Roman senators, fauns, nymphs, satyrs, celebrities and +historical personages, went back to their pictures; and to cap the +climax, the ugly bride became once more her sweet and lovely self.<br> +<br> +While everybody was cheering, who should walk out of the sacristy but +the Court Astrologer! An instant later, he had fallen into the +affectionate arms of the faithful wife who had wound him up for +twenty-one years.<br> +<br> +After the wedding reception, the Prince and his bride went on a +honeymoon to the Enchanted Islands. As for Poldo the poodle, he was +created Prime Minister and lived to a fine old age.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> + <big> MARIANNA</big><br> +<br> +<img alt="" src="images/image6.jpg" style="width: 460px; height: 352px;"><br> +<br> + Once upon a time a wicked nobleman rose in rebellion against his +rightful king, and taking the royal forces by surprise, defeated them +and seized the kingdom. The dethroned King, who had been severely +wounded in battle, was cast in prison, where he soon died; but his +widow, the Queen, managed to escape from the palace before the usurper +could lay hands upon her.<br> +<br> +Into the dark forest which lay behind the palace ran the Queen, holding +her baby daughter in her arms. It was winter time, and a heavy snow had +hidden the foot-paths and the roads. Presently the Queen realized that +she was lost. All afternoon, however, she trudged bravely on through +the silence and the cold, her heart sinking as mile after mile revealed +no sign of a house or a shelter.<br> +<br> +But late in the afternoon, when the red shield of the sun could +scarcely be seen through the tangle of the wild wood-branches, she +perceived a light coming from a little grove of cedars by the shore of +a frozen lake. The Queen made her way toward this light, and discovered +a little thatched hut in the silent wood; it was the house of one of +the dwarfs of the forest. The dwarf took pity on the Queen, but his +efforts were vain, for the poor woman was so weak and exhausted that +she died without telling the dwarf anything about herself or the child +she carried.<br> +<br> +So the little dwarf, who was a good, kind old fellow, brought the +little girl up as if she were his own child. His brother, the dwarf of +the mountain, made her the prettiest red-leather shoes, and his +cousins, the dwarfs of the pines, made the little girl dresses from +cloth woven on fairy looms.<br> +<br> +Now, on the night her mother brought her to the hut, the little girl +was wearing a golden heart-shaped locket, with a crown and the letter M +upon it in diamonds. So the dwarf called the little girl Marianna.<br> +<br> +Seventeen years passed, and Marianna grew to be quite the loveliest +lass in all the world. Her hair was as black as the raven's wing, her +eyes were as blue as the midsummer sea, and her skin was fair as the +petal of a rose. One spring morning a little yellow bird flew into the +cedar grove, and gave the dwarf a letter which it held in its beak.<br> +<br> +The dwarf read the letter, and said to Marianna, "Little Marianna, the +Emperor of the Elves has bidden me come to the great assembly of the +dwarfs which is to be held next year on the Golden Mountain. Alas, what +are we to do? I can not take you with me, dear child, for it is +forbidden on pain of death to bring mortals to the assembly, nor can I +leave you here in this lonely wood."<br> +<br> +To this Marianna replied, "Do not fear, dear father. Give me but yon +crystal flask of the water of healing, and I shall go forth into the +world until it is time for you to return again. Perhaps I shall +discover somebody who can tell me the meaning of this locket, or the +history of my dear mother."<br> +<br> +So the dwarf took his knotted staff, and went away over hill, over dale +to the Golden Mountain.<br> +<br> +Then Marianna took the crystal flask of the water of healing, and +walked boldly out of the wood into the wide, wide world. It was the +middle of the spring, the ice and snow had all disappeared; the trees +were putting forth their leaves, and there were clusters of primroses +by the roadside. In the swaying, rustling heart of a great elm tree, a +little thrush was singing. Through cities and towns went lovely +Marianna, bringing good cheer to the helpless and the sick, and curing +all who came to her, rich and poor, with the wonderful water of +healing. But never did she find anybody who could tell her about the +gold heart with the diamond crown.<br> +<br> +Now it came to pass that, as Marianna was one day walking through a +village in the heart of the Adamant Mountains, a ragged old woman +besought her with tears to come to a hamlet which stood at the head of +a high and dangerous path. Touched by the old woman's supplication, +Marianna followed her to the hamlet, and found in a wretched hut, lying +on a wretched bed, a beautiful young peasant girl dying of a fever. So +Marianna touched the girl with the water of healing, and in an instant +she became well and strong.<br> +<br> +"Dear lady," said the peasant girl, pressing Marianna's hand to her +lips, "how sweet and kind thou art! Great is the debt I owe thee."<br> +<br> +And as the girl poured out her thanks, Marianna heard a faint "chirp, +chirp," and looking down, beheld a little yellow bird crouching on the +hearthstone. Every now and then he hid his head under his wings and +cried unhappily. It was the yellow bird which had brought the message +from the Emperor of the Elves.<br> +<br> +"Poor little bird," said Marianna, bending down and taking him up in +her hands, "why criest thou so mournfully? Who hath done thee harm?"<br> +<br> +But the bird uttered only a forlorn little cry, and hid his head again +under his wings.<br> +<br> +"I found him on the rocks at the mountaintop yesterday," said the +mother. "Someone has wounded him. His wing is broken."<br> +<br> +And she put the bird on the floor of the house and bade Marianna watch +how he fluttered trailing a wing in the dust. Again Marianna stooped, +and picking up the bird, touched the wounded wing with the water of +healing. Scarcely had she done so, when the yellow bird burst into a +joyous and golden song, and flying to the window, beat madly against +the panes. Then the peasant girl threw open the casement, and the +yellow bird flew out into the streaming sun.<br> +<br> +"He is gone forever," said the peasant girl.<br> +<br> +"Nay, he returns," said Marianna, gently, as the yellow bird flew back +and perched in the sheltering bower of Marianna's arms. Then, +accompanied by the peasant girl and the yellow bird, who flew singing +before her, Marianna went down the dangerous path to the high road in +the valley. When they reached the foot of the path, the peasant girl +cried:--<br> +<br> +"Farewell, dear Marianna; may it some day be mine to repay thee!"<br> +<br> +Into the world again went Marianna, and with her went the yellow bird. +Presently she came to the fairest land which she had ever seen, a land +of rolling fields, little hills, and rivers bordered with pale willow +trees. This pleasant land, unknown to Marianna, was part of her +father's kingdom, and she was really its queen because her father had +been the last rightful king.<br> +<br> +Now while Marianna had been in the forest, the wicked nobleman who had +stolen the kingdom from Marianna's father had died, leaving his brother +Garabin in charge of the kingdom and of the interests of his little +son, Prince Desire. This Garabin, however, taking advantage of the +youth and helplessness of his nephew, had himself assumed the state and +airs of king. For some time he had enjoyed undisturbed the possession +of his stolen throne; but as Desire grew taller and stronger every +year, Garabin began to fear the day when he would be compelled to +resign in favor of his nephew.<br> +<br> +When the Prince reached his twentieth year, Garabin would certainly +have killed him openly had he dared; but, fearing the people, he +resolved to use secret methods, and bribed a cruel magician to afflict +poor Desire with a deadly and mysterious malady. Of this malady, Desire +was slowly dying, for no medicine could cure him or even give him any +relief from his constant pain. Every morning the cruel Garabin, in the +hope of finding his nephew dead, would go to the sick room; and you may +be sure that his wicked heart rejoiced when he found the Prince weaker +and more feverish.<br> +<br> +Garabin had just returned from a visit to the Prince, who was rapidly +failing, when the Captain of the Castle Guard came to him with the news +that the wonderful Marianna had arrived in the kingdom. The King gave +orders that she be brought before him. So Marianna, walking between two +halberdiers and followed across the courtyard by crowds of curious +people, was led before the King. The little yellow bird sat on +Marianna's shoulder, and never did maiden appear lovelier or more +gentle.<br> +<br> +Scarcely had Garabin set eyes on Marianna, when he caught sight of the +golden locket which she wore about her neck. Had he not been very old +and crafty, he would have started from his golden throne, for he knew +that the little golden heart set with diamonds had been one of the +crown jewels, and that therefore Marianna must be the missing Princess, +and rightful queen of the kingdom.<br> +<br> +What was he to do? If he refused to let Marianna help the Prince, the +people might begin to suspect him, and start a revolution which would +thrust him from his throne; if he allowed Marianna to cure the Prince, +the Prince would certainly demand the kingdom on his twenty-first +birthday. What was he to do with Marianna, whose right to the throne +was superior even to his nephew's? Perplexed, and with fear in his +heart, the King sought the cruel magician who had cast the spell on +Desire.<br> +<br> +The magician lived in a gloomy tower, and had an enchanted black dog +that he fed with flaming coals. He listened to Garabin's story, +stirring a great cauldron all the while, and said, "Do not fear. I will +destroy both claimants to the throne at once."<br> +<br> +Garabin rubbed his hands together with glee.<br> +<br> +"To-night I shall cast a spell of sleep on Marianna, steal the crystal +flask, empty it of the water of healing, and refill it with a liquid +which will cause death within a night and a day. I shall then replace +the flask before Marianna wakes. You will allow Marianna to visit the +Prince; she will touch him with the deadly water, and the Prince will +die. You can then try Marianna for having killed the Prince, and +condemn her to be thrown from the precipice."<br> +<br> +So pleased was Garabin with this horrid plot, that he could have danced +for joy. That very night, the magician filled Marianna's flask with the +poisonous water, and departed, thinking that nobody had noticed him. +The yellow bird, however, had seen everything, and followed the +magician to note where he hid the real water of healing.<br> +<br> +The next morning Marianna was once more led before the King.<br> +<br> +"Welcome, thrice welcome, lovely maiden," said Garabin with the most +dreadful hypocrisy. "I have long hoped that you would turn your +footsteps hither, for my poor dear nephew, Prince Desire, only son of +the late King, has been ill for some months of a malady no physician +can cure. Perhaps you can cure him with the water of healing."<br> +<br> +Marianna replied that she would do her best to help the Prince; so the +Court Chamberlain gave her his arm, and escorted her to the Prince's +sick room. The King and many courtiers followed after him.<br> +<br> +Desire lay in a great old-fashioned bed, his face flushed with fever. +So weak was the poor Prince, that he could scarcely lift his head to +look at his visitors. A great pity swept over Marianna's heart the +instant she saw him; as for Desire, he fell madly in love with Marianna +at first sight.<br> +<br> +Now just as Marianna bent over the Prince to touch his forehead with +the water of healing, the yellow bird screamed and cried as madly as if +he were caught in a net. Marianna looked at the crystal flask. Nothing +seemed changed; the water within seemed as pure and diamond-like as +ever. She touched the Prince with the liquid. Alas, in a moment, so +terrible was the magician's poison that the Prince turned white as the +driven snow, and fell back on the pillows insensible. The lookers-on, +who had expected to see him spring up entirely cured, began to murmur, +and Marianna herself, terrified at what had happened, let fall the +flask, which broke into a thousand sparkling pieces.<br> +<br> +Suddenly, Garabin cried at the top of his voice, "Seize the witch; she +has killed the Prince!"<br> +<br> +Presently there was a great confusion, rough hands seized Marianna, and +somebody caught the yellow bird. The Prince remained insensible on the +bed. At high noon, a trial was held, and since the doctors declared +that the Prince was dying, Marianna was condemned to be thrown from the +precipice. When somebody asked about the yellow bird, Garabin laughed, +and gave orders that the cook should wring its neck, and toss it to the +cat.<br> +<br> +So Marianna was hurried to a dark prison-room and loaded with chains, +and the yellow bird was taken to the castle kitchen, and given to the +cook.<br> +<br> +"Here, you wring its neck," said the cook to one of her helpers, "while +I go call the cat."<br> +<br> +By great good fortune, the cook's helper was no other than the peasant +girl whom Marianna had saved. This girl recognized the yellow bird, and +instead of wringing its neck, let it fly out of the window. The yellow +bird flew to the window of the magician's room. The magician was in the +chamber, stirring the giant cauldron. The bird flew to the window of +Prince Desire's room, and saw that he was still insensible.<br> +<br> +An hour later the castle-bell began to toll, and a dismal procession +was seen walking from the castle toward the frightful cliff from which +condemned witches and sorcerers were thrown. First came a troop of +soldiers, then Marianna, weighted down with chains, and last of all, a +little group in which were Garabin, the magician, and some of Garabin's +favorites.<br> +<br> +The bell kept on sadly tolling and tolling. It roused the Prince from +his swoon, and with his last measure of strength, poor Desire dragged +himself to the window. The procession was then passing directly +underneath the window, and Desire's eyes met the eyes of Marianna.<br> +<br> +"Stop! Stop!" cried the poor Prince, wildly; "I forbid--"<br> +<br> +An instant later he sank fainting to the floor. The procession went on.<br> +<br> +Meanwhile the yellow bird had returned to the magician's chamber. It +was empty. With a joyous cry, the bird fluttered through the +window-bars, and discovered the phial into which the magician had +poured the water of healing. Clutching it in his claws, the bird flew +once more to the Prince's room. Desire still lay in a heap by the +window, and over him the yellow bird poured the contents of the phial.<br> +<br> +The Prince sprang up, strong as a lion, seized his sword, and rushed +down to save Marianna. He arrived at the cliff just as the poor maiden +was about to be pushed off into space, and standing by her side, dared +anyone to lay hands upon her.<br> +<br> +Garabin, seeing his precious plot miscarry, grew mad with rage.<br> +<br> +"Seize them," cried he, "and toss them both over the precipice!"<br> +<br> +So the soldiers rushed at Marianna and the Prince, intending to carry +out their wicked master's orders. But even as they did so, there came a +flash of flame and the little dwarf, Marianna's foster-father, took his +place beside the lovers.<br> +<br> +"Cruel King!" cried the dwarf sternly, "and thou, wicked and perfidious +magician, the hour of thy punishment is at hand."<br> +<br> +Immediately the sky grew black, the lightning crashed, and there arose +a terrible, howling wind. Three giant gusts drove fiercely by, the +first one blowing the King and the magician head-over-heels over the +precipice, the second carrying away the soldiers, and the third the +rascally favorites. When the sky cleared, only the dwarf, Marianna, and +Desire were left of the company.<br> +<br> +"Marianna," said the little dwarf, "the Emperor of the Elves has told +me all your history, and it is thanks to him that I have returned in +time, with the storm at my heels. You, Marianna, are the rightful Queen +of this country."<br> +<br> +"Dear Queen," said the honest and gallant Desire, "let me be the first +of your subjects to salute you." And he knelt before her, and humbly +kissed her hand.<br> +<br> +"Nay, Prince," said the young Queen, answering the adoring look in her +lover's eyes, "your father took the kingdom; if I were you, I should +take the Queen."<br> +<br> +Which was a bit forward, of course, but nobody minded that very much in +those fairy times.<br> +<br> +So Desire and Marianna were married, and lived happily ever after. The +yellow bird went to the wedding, and when the ceremony was over rose +singing into the air, and flew joyously home to the land of the Elves.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> + <big> THE LOST HALF-HOUR</big><br> +<br> +Once upon a time there was an old widow woman who had three sons: the +first two were clever enough, but the third, Bobo by name, was little +better than a silly simpleton. All his mother's scoldings and +beatings--and she smacked the poor lad soundly a dozen times a day--did +him no good whatever.<br> +<br> +Now it came to pass that one morning Princess Zenza, the ruler of the +land, happened to pass by the cottage and heard Bobo being given a +terrible tongue-lashing. Curious as to the cause of all the noise, the +Princess drew rein, and summoned Bobo's mother to come near. On hearing +her story, it occurred to the Princess that so silly a lad might amuse +her; so she gave the mother a golden florin, and took poor silly Bobo +with her to be her page.<br> +<br> +<img alt="" src="images/image7.jpg" style="width: 540px; height: 718px;"><br> +Just as the dragon's mouth was at, its widest ....<br> +<br> +<br> + You may be sure that it did not take the wise folk at the castle +long to discover how great a simpleton had arrived. Courtiers, footmen, +lackeys, turnspits even, were forever sending him off on ridiculous +errands. Now he would be sent to find a white craw's feather or a spray +of yellow bluebells; now he was ordered to look for a square wheel or a +glass of dry water. Everybody laughed at him and made fun of him--that +is, everybody except little Tilda, the kitchen-maid. When poor Bobo +used to return from some wild-goose chase, tired out, mud-stained, and +often enough wet to the skin, instead of laughing, little Tilda would +find him a glass of warm milk, hang his coat by the fire to dry, and +tell him not to be such a simpleton again. Thus, after a while, Bobo +learned to ask Tilda's advice before going away on a wild-goose chase, +and was in this way saved from many a jest.<br> +<br> +Tilda, the kitchen-maid, was as sweet and pretty as she was kind and +good. She was said to be the daughter of an old crane who had come to +the castle one day, asking for help.<br> +<br> +One pleasant mid-summer morning, when Bobo had been nearly a year at +the castle, Princess Zenza overslept half an hour and did not come down +to breakfast at the usual time. When she did get up, she found her +court waiting for her in the castle gardens. As she came down the steps +of the garden terrace, the Princess looked up at the castle clock to +see how late she was, and said to her lady in waiting,--<br> +<br> +"Dear me--why, I've lost half an hour this morning!"<br> +<br> +At these words, Bobo, who was in attendance, pricked up his ears and +said,--<br> +<br> +"Please, Your Highness, perhaps I can find it."<br> +<br> +At this idea of finding a lost half-hour, the Princess laughed, and +found herself echoed by the company.<br> +<br> +"Shall we send Bobo in search of the lost half-hour?" said the Princess +to the courtiers.<br> +<br> +"Yes! Yes!" cried the courtiers. "Bobo shall look for the lost +half-hour."<br> +<br> +"I'll give him a horse," said one. "I'll give him my old hat," said +another. "He can have an old sword I broke last week," said still +another.<br> +<br> +And so, in less time than it takes to tell about it, poor simpleton +Bobo was made ready for his journey.<br> +<br> +Before he left the castle, Bobo went down to the kitchen to say +good-bye to Tilda.<br> +<br> +"What, off again?" said the little kitchen-maid. "Where are you going +now?"<br> +<br> +"The Princess has lost a half-hour and I am going in search of it," +said Bobo, proudly. And he told how the Princess herself had commanded +him to seek the half-hour through the world, and promised to bring +Tilda a splendid present when he returned.<br> +<br> +The good kitchen-maid said little, for she feared lest some +misadventure overtake the poor simpleton; but when the chief cook was +not looking, she tucked a fresh currant-bun into Bobo's pocket, and +wished him the best of good fortune.<br> +<br> +So Bobo went to the castle gate, and mounted his horse, which stumbled +and was blind in one eye.<br> +<br> +"Good-bye, Bobo," cried the assembled courtiers, who were almost beside +themselves with laughter at the simpleton and his errand. "Don't fail +to bring back the lost half-hour!"<br> +<br> +So Bobo rode over the hills and far away. Every now and then he would +stop a passer-by and ask him if he had seen a lost half-hour.<br> +<br> +The first person whom he thus questioned was an old man who was +wandering down the high road that leads from the Kingdom of the East to +the Kingdom of the West.<br> +<br> +"A lost half-hour?" said the old man. "I've lost something much more +serious, I've lost my reputation. You have n't seen a lost reputation +lying about here, have you? It was very dignified and wore +tortoise-shell glasses."<br> +<br> +But Bobo had to answer "No," and the old man wandered on again.<br> +<br> +Another day the simpleton encountered a tall, dark, fierce kind of +fellow, who answered his polite question with a scream of rage.<br> +<br> +"A half-hour," he roared. "No, I have n't seen your half-hour; I would +n't tell you if I had; what's more, I don't want to see it. I'm looking +for something I've lost myself. I've lost my temper. I lost it two +years ago at home, and have n't been able to find it anywhere since. +Answer me, you silly, have you seen a lost temper anywhere? It's about +the size of a large melon and has sharp little points."<br> +<br> +On Bobo's answering "No," this dreadful person uttered so perfectly +awful a screech of rage, that Bobo's horse took fright and ran away +with him, and it was all that Bobo could do to rein him in three miles +farther down the road.<br> +<br> +Still farther along, Bobo came to Zizz, the capital city of the Kingdom +of the Seven Brooks, and was taken before the King himself.<br> +<br> +"A lost half-hour?" said the King. "No, I am quite sure it has not been +seen in my dominions. Would you mind asking, as you go through the +world, for news of my little daughter?" (Here the poor old King took +out a great green handkerchief and wiped his eyes.) "She was stolen by +the fairies on midsummer eve fifteen years ago. Find her, worthy Bobo, +and an immense reward will be yours."<br> +<br> +So Bobo left the proud city of Zizz, and once again rode over the hills +and far away. But never a sign of the lost half-hour did he find, +although he asked thousands of people. His faithful white horse died, +and he continued his way on foot.<br> +<br> +Three long years passed, and Bobo grew into a handsome lad, but +remained a simpleton still. Finally, after he had wandered all about +Fairyland, he came to the edge of the sea. Finding a ship moored in a +little harbor, Bobo asked the sailors if they had seen a lost half-hour.<br> +<br> +"No," said the sailors, "but we are going to the Isles of Iron; suppose +you go with us. The lost half-hour may be there."<br> +<br> +So Bobo went aboard the ship, and sailed out upon the dark sea.<br> +<br> +For two days the weather was warm and clear, but on the third day, +there came a dreadful storm, and on the third night the vessel was +driven far off her course into the unknown ocean, and was wrecked upon +a mysterious island of rocks that shone in the night like wet matches. +A great wave swept the decks, and Bobo was borne away from his +companions and carried toward the shining land. Though pounded and +battered by the foaming waves, the simpleton at length managed to reach +the beach, and took refuge in a crevice of the cliff during the stormy +night.<br> +<br> +When the dawn broke, all sign of the ship had disappeared. Looking +about, Bobo found himself on a lovely island whose heart was a high +mountain mass hidden in the fog still sweeping in from the sea. There +was not a house, a road, or a path to be seen. Suddenly Bobo noticed a +strange little door in the bark of a great lonely tree, and, opening +this door, he discovered a little cupboard in which were a pair of +wooden shoes. Above the shoes was a card, saying simply,--<br> +<br> + PUT US ON.<br> +<br> +So Bobo sat down on a stone by the foot of the tree, and put on the +wooden shoes, which fitted him very nicely. Now these shoes were magic +shoes, and Bobo had hardly stepped into them before they turned his +feet inland. So Bobo obediently let the shoes guide him. At corners the +shoes always turned in the right direction, and if Bobo forgot and +blundered on the wrong way, the shoes swiftly began to pinch his toes.<br> +<br> +For two days Bobo walked inland toward the great mountain. A warm wind +blew the clouds and rain away, the sun shone sweet and clear. On the +morning of the third day, the simpleton entered a wood of tall silent +trees, and as that day was drawing to a close, turrets of a magnificent +castle rose far away over the leaves of the forest.<br> +<br> +Bobo arrived at twilight.<br> +<br> +He found himself in a beautiful garden, lying between the castle walls +and the rising slopes of a great mountain. Strange to say, not a living +creature was to be seen, and though there were lights in the castle, +there was not even a warder at the gate. Suddenly a great booming bell +struck seven o'clock; Bobo began to hear voices and sounds; and then, +before the humming of the bell had died away, a youth mounted on a +splendid black horse dashed at lightning speed out of the castle and +disappeared in the wood. An old man with a white beard, accompanied by +eleven young men, whom Bobo judged, from their expressions, to be +brothers,--stood by the gate to see the horseman ride away.<br> +<br> +Plucking up courage, Bobo came forward, fell on his knee before the old +man, and told his story.<br> +<br> +"Truly, you should thank the storm fairies," said the old man; "for had +you not been wrecked upon this island, never would you have discovered +the lost half-hour. I am Father Time himself, and these are my twelve +sons, the Hours. Every day, one after the other, they ride for an hour +round the whole wide world. Seven O'clock has just ridden forth. Yes, +you shall have the lost half-hour, but you must look after my sons' +horses for the space of a whole year."<br> +<br> +To this Bobo willingly agreed. So Twelve O'Clock, who was the youngest +of the Hours, took him to the stables and showed him the little room in +the turret that he was to have. And thus for a year Bobo served Father +Time and his sons. He took such good care of the great black horses of +the Hours of the Night, and the white horses of the Hours of the Day, +that they were never more proud and strong, nor their coats smoother +and more gleaming.<br> +<br> +When the year was up, Bobo again sought out Father Time.<br> +<br> +"You have served faithfully and well," said Father Time. "Here is your +reward." And, with these words, he placed in Bobo's hands a small +square casket made of ebony. "The half-hour lies inside. Don't try to +peek at it or open the box until the right time has come. If you do, +the half-hour will flyaway and disappear forever."<br> +<br> +"Farewell, Bobo," said kind young Twelve O'Clock, who had been the +simpleton's good friend. "I, too, have a gift for thee. Drink this cup +of water to the last drop." And the youth handed the simpleton a silver +cup full to the brim of clear shining water.<br> +<br> +Now this water was the water of wisdom, and when Bobo had drunk it, he +was no longer a simpleton. And being no longer a simpleton, he +remembered the man who had lost his reputation, the man who had lost +his temper, and the king whose daughter had been stolen by the fairies. +So Bobo made so bold as to ask Father Time about them, for Father Time +knows everything that has happened in the whole wide world.<br> +<br> +"Tell the first," said Father Time, "that his reputation has been +broken into a thousand pieces which have been picked up by his +neighbors and carried home. If he can persuade his neighbors to give +them up, he should be able to piece together a pretty good reputation +again. As for the man who lost his temper, tell him that it is to be +found in the grass by the roadside close by the spot where you first +met him. As for the missing daughter, she is the kitchen-maid in +Princess Zenza's palace, who is known as Tilda."<br> +<br> +So Bobo thanked Father Time, and at noon, Twelve O'Clock placed him +behind him on the white charger, and hurried away. So fast they flew +that Bobo, who was holding the ebony casket close against his heart, +was in great danger of falling off. When they got to the seashore, the +white horse hesitated not an instant, but set foot upon the water, +which bore him up as if it had been, not water, but earth itself. Once +arrived at the shore of Fairyland, Twelve O'Clock stopped, wished Bobo +good-speed, and, rising in the air, disappeared into the glare of the +sun. Bobo, with the precious ebony casket in his hand, continued on in +the direction of Princess Zenza's palace.<br> +<br> +On the second morning of his journey, he happened to see far ahead of +him on the highway the unfortunate aged man who had lost his +reputation. To him, therefore, Bobo repeated the counsel of Father +Time, and sent him hurrying home to his neighbors' houses. Of the man +who had lost his temper, Bobo found no sign. In the grass by the +roadside, however, he did find the lost temper--a queer sort of affair +like a melon of fiery red glass all stuck over with uneven spines and +brittle thorns. Bobo, with great goodness of heart, took along this +extraordinary object, in the hope of finding its angry possessor.<br> +<br> +Farther on, the lad encountered Tilda's father, the unhappy King, and +delivered his message. The joy of the monarch knew no bounds, and Bobo, +the one-time simpleton, became on the spot Lord Bobo of the Sapphire +Hills, Marquis of the Mountains of the Moon, Prince of the Valley of +Golden Apples, and Lord Seneschal of the proud City of Zizz--in a word, +the greatest nobleman in all Fairyland. Then, having got together a +magnificent cohort of dukes, earls, and counts, all in splendid silks, +and soldiers in shining armor, the delighted King rode off to claim his +missing daughter from Princess Zenza.<br> +<br> +So on they rode, the harnesses jingling, the bridle-bells ringing, and +the breastplates of the armed men shining in the sun. After a week of +almost constant progress (for the King was so anxious to see his +beloved daughter that he would hardly give the cavalcade time to rest), +they came to the frontiers of Princess Zenza's kingdom.<br> +<br> +Strange to say, black mourning banners hung from the trees, and every +door in the first village which the travelers saw was likewise hung +with black streamers. On the steps of one of the cottages sat an old +woman, all alone and weeping with all her might.<br> +<br> +"What is the matter, my good woman?" said the King.<br> +<br> +"O sir," said the peasant woman, "evil days have fallen upon our +unhappy kingdom. Three days ago a terrible dragon alighted in the +gardens of the palace and sent word to Princess Zenza that if within +three days she did not provide him with someone brave enough to go home +with him and cook his meals and keep his cavern tidy, he would burn our +fields with his fiery breath. Yet who, I ask you, would be housekeeper +for a dragon? Suppose he did n't like the puddings you made for +him--why, he might eat you up! All would have been lost had not a brave +little kitchen-maid named Tilda volunteered to go. It is for her that +we are mourning. At two o'clock she is to be carried off by the dragon. +It is almost two now. Alas! Alas!"<br> +<br> +Hardly were the words out of her mouth, when the town bell struck +twice, solemnly and sadly.<br> +<br> +"Quick! quick!" cried the King and Bobo in the same breath, "Let us +hurry to the castle. We may save her yet."<br> +<br> +But they knew in their hearts that they were too late, and that poor +Tilda had given herself to the dragon. And so it proved. In spite of +his mad dash, Bobo, who had spurred on ahead, arrived exactly half an +hour late. The monstrous dragon with Tilda in his claws was just a +little smoky speck far down the southern sky. Princess Zenza and her +court stood by wringing their jeweled hands.<br> +<br> +Suddenly Bobo thought of the half-hour. He had arrived half an hour +late, but he could have that half-hour back again! Things should be +exactly as they were half an hour before.<br> +<br> +He opened the cover of the ebony box. Something like a winged white +flame escaped from it, and flew hissing through the air to the sun. As +for the sun itself, turning round like a cartwheel and hissing like ten +thousand rockets, it rolled back along the sky to the east. The hands +of the clocks, which marked half-past two, whirred back to two o'clock +in a twinkling. And, sure enough, there was brave little Tilda standing +alone in a great field waiting for the dragon to come and take her +away. Lumbering heavily along like a monstrous turtle, and snorting +blue smoke, the dragon was advancing toward her.<br> +<br> +Bobo ran down into the field and stood beside Tilda, ready to defend +her to the end.<br> +<br> +The dragon came nearer and nearer. Suddenly, angered by the sight of +Bobo and his drawn sword, he roared angrily, but continued to approach. +Bobo struck at him with his sword. The blade broke upon his steely +scales. The dragon roared again. Now just as the dragon's mouth was its +widest, Bobo who had been searching his pockets desperately, hurled +into it the lost temper.<br> +<br> +There was a perfectly terrific bang! as if a million balloons had blown +up all at once. For the dragon had blown up. The lost temper had +finished him. Only one fragment of him, a tiny bit of a claw, was ever +found.<br> +<br> +Everybody, you may be sure, began to cry "Hurrah" and "Hooray," and +soon they were firing off cannon and ringing all the bells. Then +Tilda's father took her in his arms, and told her that she was a real +princess. The Grand Cross of the Order of the Black Cat was conferred +upon Bobo by Princess Zenza, who also asked his pardon for having +treated him so shabbily. This Bobo gave readily. A wonderful fete was +held. When the rejoicings were over, Bobo and Tilda were married, and +lived happily together all their days.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> + <big> THE ENCHANTED ELM</big><br> +<br> +<img alt="" src="images/image8.jpg" style="width: 435px; height: 338px;"><br> +<br> +<br> + Once upon a time, while riding, a brave, young prince dashed +merrily ahead of his friends, and after galloping across a ploughed +field, turned his horse's head down a grassy road leading to a wood. +For some time he cantered easily along, expecting any moment to hear +the shouts and halloos of his friends following after; but they by +mistake took quite another road, and no sound except the pounding of +his courser's hoofs reached the Prince's ear. Suddenly an ugly snarl +and a short bark broke the stillness of the pleasant forest, and +looking down, the Prince saw a gray wolf snapping at his horse's heels.<br> +<br> +Though the horse, wild with fear, threatened to run away any instant, +the Prince leaned over and struck the wolf with his whip.<br> +<br> +Hardly had he done so, when an angry voice cried, "How dare you strike +my pet?"<br> +<br> +A little distance ahead, a wicked old witch stood at one side of the +road. With its tail between its legs, the wolf cowered close to her +skirts, and showed its long yellow fangs.<br> +<br> +"Pet, indeed!" cried the Prince. "Keep him away from my horse or I will +strike him again."<br> +<br> +"At your peril, Prince," answered the witch. And then, as the Prince +turned his horse's head and galloped back, she called out, "You shall +rue this day! You shall rue this day!"<br> +<br> +Now by the time the Prince had arrived at the ploughed field and the +great road again, his friends had galloped on so far that they were +lost to sight. Thinking that he might overtake them by following a +shorter road, he turned down a byway skirting the wood in which he had +encountered the enchantress. Presently he began to feel very thirsty. +Chancing to see an old peasant woman in the fields, the Prince called +to her and asked where he could find a roadside spring.<br> +<br> +Now this old peasant woman was the wicked witch under another form. +Overjoyed at having the Prince fall so easily into her power, she +curtsied; and replied that within the wood was to be found the finest +spring in the country. Anxious not to lose time, the Prince begged her +to lead him to the water. Little did he know that the witch was leading +him back into the wood, and that she had just bewitched the water!<br> +<br> +When they arrived at the pool, the Prince dismounted, and kneeling by +the brim, made a cup of his hands and drank till his thirst was +satisfied. He was just about to seize his horse again by the bridle and +put his foot into the stirrup, when a terrible pang shot through his +body, darkness swam before his eyes, his arms lengthened and became +branches, his fingers, twigs; his feet shot into the ground, and he +found himself turned into a giant elm.<br> +<br> +A giant elm he was; a giant elm he remained. Unable to find him after a +long search, his friends gave him up for lost, and a new Prince ruled +over the land. Though the elm tried many times to tell passers-by of +his plight, none ever seemed to understand his words. Again and again, +when simple wood-cutters ventured into the great dark wood, he would +tell them his story and cry out, "I am the Prince! I am the Prince!" +But the wood-cutters heard only the wind stirring in the branches. Ah, +how cold it was in winter when the skies were steely black and the +giant stars sparkled icily! And how pleasant it was when spring +returned, and the gossipy birds came back again!<br> +<br> +The first year a pair of wood-pigeons took to housekeeping in his +topmost branches. The Prince was glad to welcome them, for though +denied human speech, he understood the language of trees and birds. On +Midsummer Eve, the pigeons said to him, "To-night the King of the Trees +comes through the wood. Do you not hear the stir in the forest? All the +real trees are preparing for the King's coming; they are shedding dead +leaves and shaking out their branches."<br> +<br> +"Tell me of the King," said the Prince.<br> +<br> +"He is tall and dark and strong," said the doves. "He dwells in a great +pine in the North. On Midsummer Eve, he goes through the world to see +if all is well with the tree people."<br> +<br> +"Do you think he can help me?" asked the Prince.<br> +<br> +"You might ask him," replied the doves.<br> +<br> +The long, long twilight of Midsummer Eve came to a close; night folded +the world beneath its starry curtains. At twelve o'clock, though not a +breath of air was stirring, the trees were shaken as if by a mighty +wind, the rustling of the leaves blending into strange and lovely +music, and presently the King of the Trees entered the haunted wood. +Even as the wood-doves had said, he was tall and dark and stately.<br> +<br> +"Is all well with you, O my people?" said the King, in a voice as sweet +and solemn as the wind in the branches on a summer's day.<br> +<br> +"Yes, all is well," answered the trees softly. Though some replied, "I +have lost a branch"; and a little tree called out unhappily, "My +neighbors are shutting out all my sunlight."<br> +<br> +"Then fare ye well, my people, till next Midsummer Eve," said the +stately King. And he was about to stride onward through the dark wood +when the enchanted Prince called aloud to him!<br> +<br> +"Stay, O King of the Trees," cried the poor Prince. "Hear me even +though I am not of your people. I am a mortal, a prince, and a wicked +witch has turned me into a tree. Can you not help me?"<br> +<br> +"Alas, poor friend, I can do nothing," replied the King. "However, do +not despair. In my travels through the world, I shall surely find +someone who can help you. Look for me on next Midsummer Eve."<br> +<br> +So the great elm swayed his branches sadly, and the King went on his +way.<br> +<br> +The winter came again, silent and dark and cold. At the return of +spring, a maiden who dwelt with a family of wood-cutters came often to +rest in the shade of the great tree. Her father had once been a rich +merchant, but evil times had overtaken him, and at his death the only +relatives who could be found to take care of the little girl were a +family of rough wood-cutters in the royal service. These grudging folk +kept the poor maiden always hard at work and gave her the most +difficult household tasks. The Prince, who knew the whole story, pitied +her very much, and ended by falling quite in love with her. As for the +unhappy maiden, it seemed to her that beneath the sheltering shade of +the great elm she enjoyed a peace and happiness to be found nowhere +else.<br> +<br> +Now it was the custom of the wood-men to cut down, during the summer, +such trees as would be needed for the coming winter, and one day the +wood-cutter in whose family the maiden dwelt announced his intention of +cutting down the great elm.<br> +<br> +"Not the great elm which towers above all the forest?" cried the maiden.<br> +<br> +"Yes, that very tree," answered the woodcutter gruffly. "To-morrow +morning we shall fell it to the ground, and to-morrow night we shall +build the midsummer fire with its smaller branches. What are you crying +about, you silly girl?"<br> +<br> +"Oh, please don't cut the great elm!" begged the good maiden.<br> +<br> +"Nonsense!" said the wood-cutter. "I wager you have been wasting your +time under its branches. I shall certainly cut the tree down in the +morning."<br> +<br> +All night long, you may be sure, the maiden pondered on the best way to +save the great tree; and since she was as clever as she was good, she +at length hit upon a plan. Rising early on Midsummer Morn, she ran to +the forest, climbed the great elm, and concealed herself in its topmost +branches. She saw the rest of the wood beneath her, and the distant +peaks of the Adamant Mountains; and she rejoiced in the dawn songs of +the birds.<br> +<br> +An hour after the sun had risen, she heard the voices of the +wood-cutter and his men as they came through the wood. Soon the band +arrived at the foot of the tree. Imagine the feelings of the poor +Prince when he saw the sharp axes at hand to cut him down!<br> +<br> +"I shall strike the first blow," said the chief wood-cutter, and he +lifted his axe in the air.<br> +<br> +Suddenly from the tree-top a warning voice sang,--<br> +<br> + "Throw the axe down, harm not me. <br> + I am an enchanted tree. <br> + He who strikes shall breathe his last, <br> + Before Midsummer Eve hath passed."<br> +<br> +"There is a spirit in the tree," cried the woodcutters, thoroughly +frightened. "Let us hurry away from here before it does us a mischief." +And in spite of all the chief wood-cutter's remonstrances, they ran +away as fast as their legs could carry them.<br> +<br> +The chief wood-cutter, however, was bolder-hearted, and lifted the axe +again. As the blade shone uplifted in the sun, the maiden sang once +more,--<br> +<br> + "Throw the axe down, harm not me. <br> + I am an enchanted tree. <br> + He who strikes shall breathe his last <br> + Before Midsummer Eve hath passed."<br> +<br> +Hearing the voice again, the chief began to feel just the littlest bit +alarmed; nevertheless, he stood his ground and lifted the axe a third +time. Once more the girl sang,--<br> +<br> + "Throw the axe down, harm not me.<br> + I am an enchanted tree.<br> + He who strikes shall breathe his last<br> + Before Midsummer Eve hath passed."<br> +<br> +At the same moment, the elm managed to throw down a great branch which +struck the rogue a sound thump on the shoulders. Now thoroughly +terrified, the chief wood-cutter himself fled from the spot.<br> +<br> +All day long, for fear lest he return, the maiden remained hidden in +the tree. At twilight, overcome by weariness, she fell into a deep +sleep. Just before midnight, alas, she was awakened from her slumber by +hearing an angry voice cry,--<br> +<br> +"Come down from the tree, wicked, deceitful girl, or I shall cut it +down at once!"<br> +<br> +Very much alarmed, the poor maiden looked down through the branches, +and discovered the wood-cutter standing at the foot of the elm. A +lantern swung from his left hand, and his sharpest axe rested on his +right shoulder. He had returned home, and not finding the maiden there, +had suspected that it was her voice which had frightened his men away.<br> +<br> +"Come down," roared the rascal. "I'll teach you, you minx, to play +tricks with me. One--two--three." And lifting the axe in the air, he +was about to send it crashing into the trunk of the elm, when the +mysterious murmur which heralded the coming of the King of the Trees +sounded through the wood. Perplexed and frightened again, the chief +wood-cutter let fall his axe. Presently he perceived two beings coming +toward him through the solemn forest. Uttering a howl of fear, the +rogue would have fled, but, lifting his wand, the elder of the +newcomers transfixed him to the spot. The two personages were the King +of the Trees and his friend, the mighty enchanter, Gorbodoc.<br> +<br> +"Descend and fear not, maiden," said the King of the Trees. "You have +done bravely and well. Your misfortunes are over, and a happier day is +at hand."<br> +<br> +So the brave girl hurried down the tree, and stood before the enchanter +and the King. Very pretty she was, too, in her rustic dress and ribbons.<br> +<br> + Lifting his wand with great solemnity, Gorbodoc touched the trunk +of the elm. There was a blinding flash of rosy fire; the great tree +appeared to shrink and dissolve, and presently the Prince stood before +them.<br> +<br> +"Welcome, Prince," said the enchanter.<br> +<br> +"Your enemy, the witch, will trouble you no more. I have turned her +into an owl and given her to the Queen of Lantern Land. As for you," +and here the enchanter turned fiercely upon the wood-cutter, "you shall +be a green monkey, until you have planted and brought to full growth as +many trees as you have cut down."<br> +<br> +An instant later, a green monkey swung off into the tree-tops.<br> +<br> +Then the grateful Prince thanked the King of the Trees, the mighty +Gorbodoc, and the brave maiden, with all his heart. I am glad to say +that he got his castle back again and married the maiden who had saved +his life, and they lived happily ever after.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> + <big>THE BIRD BOY</big><br> +<br> +Late one autumn night a young queen stood by her window, gazing upon +the silent and deserted meadows gleaming in the moonlight. Suddenly, +far, far up in the sky, she heard the weird cry of birds flying +southward, and lifting her eyes, the Queen beheld bird after bird fly +across the golden shield of the moon.<br> +<br> +"Oh, lovely, happy birds," said she; "would that I might have a son +with wings!"<br> +<br> +Now it came to pass that before the harvest moon rose again over the +land, the Queen became the mother of a little boy who was born with +wings on his shoulders. But instead of being pleased with so strange +and wonderful a little son, the King (who was very superstitious and +under the domination of wicked chamberlain named Malefico) took it into +his head that his wife was a sorceress, and gave orders that she should +be imprisoned in a lonely tower and the child destroyed. So the Queen +and her baby were taken to an old and gloomy tower on a great rock +overlooking the northern sea; and after they had been there a day or +two, the chief jailer came to the Queen's room to take the child and +kill him.<br> +<br> +<br> +<img alt="" src="images/image9.jpg" style="width: 270px; height: 355px;"><br> +Every year, on the Bird-Boy's birthday, a great gray bird was seen.<br> +<br> +<br> + The Queen, when she heard this terrible order, uttered a gasping +scream, and seizing her little son from out his cradle, pressed him +close to her breast. But although she fought for her baby with all her +might, the rude strength of the jailers prevailed, and the child was +torn from its mother's arms. Then, before anyone could prevent her, the +poor Queen beat open the rotted fastening of an old casement window, +sprang upon the ledge, and giving one last look of love and tenderness +to her unhappy child, leaped down into the sea surging and pounding +over the rocks hundreds of feet below. She certainly would have been +dashed to pieces, had not a good spirit of the ocean taken pity on her, +and changed her into a great gray bird. Crying mournfully, the bird +circled the old tower thrice, and disappeared over the white-capped +waters.<br> +<br> +In spite of his roughness, however, the jailer was neither a brutal nor +a wicked man, and he did not relish the cruel task which the King had +given him. So, instead of killing the bird-boy, he carried him many +leagues back into the dark forest which bordered the sea, and gave him +to a family of charcoal-burners. With these rough, good people the +bird-boy lived till he was five years old. And every year, on the boy's +birthday, a great gray bird came flying over the forest from the +distant ocean, circled thrice the charcoal-burners' hut, and +disappeared again, crying mournfully.<br> +<br> +One midsummer day, with a great deal of merry hallooing and blowing of +sweet-voiced horns, the King of the country, accompanied by his young +wife, came hunting through the wood. There was a pretty spring near the +door of the hut, and the party came to a halt at its edge. Out ran the +winged boy and his two little foster-brothers, to see the wonderful +sight. And a wonderful sight it was, indeed, to see the horses tossing +their jeweled bridles, the hooded falcons riding on the saddlebow, +clutching the leather with their curving claws, the merry young pages +in their dark suits, and all the gay company in rich attire.<br> +<br> +"Why, see," said the young Queen to her husband, "yon little boy hath +wings. Really, dear, I must have him for my page. Would n't it be +wonderful to have a winged page? Besides, he will be a playmate for +Rosabella."<br> +<br> +So the King gave the charcoal-burner and his wife fifty pieces of +bright gold, which pleased them very much, and the charcoal-burner +himself lifted the bird-boy up in his arms, and placed him on the +King's saddle. Then the bird-boy waved good-bye to his two little +ragged foster-brothers, who were howling as if their hearts would +break, and rode away with the King. In a few hours the company came to +a splendid castle of shining white stone, standing in beautiful green +gardens running down to the sea. Once at home, the Queen commanded that +the little winged boy be washed and tidied, and his charcoal-burner's +rags replaced with a pretty black velvet suit. You may be sure that, +when the bird-boy was washed and dressed, there was no handsomer, more +winning little boy in all the world.<br> +<br> +So the bird-boy became the best beloved playmate of the Queen's only +child, her darling Rosabella. Now, if the bird-boy was the prettiest +little boy in all the world, Rosabella was the prettiest little girl. +Moreover, she had a sweet disposition, which is a gift even more +precious than the gift of beauty. It was a lovely picture to see the +children building toy castles on the floor of the nursery in the castle +tower, the sun streaming on the black-brown hair and silver white wings +of the little boy, and on the golden curls of Rosabella.<br> +<br> +Twelve years passed. The bird-boy grew into a handsome lad; Rosabella +into the loveliest of princesses. Twice had the bird-boy saved +Rosabella's life. He had saved her the first time by swooping down and +catching her in his wings just as she was about to tread on a wicked +yellow viper; he had saved her in the same way when she had fallen over +a cliff at the edge of the sea.<br> +<br> +Every year, on the bird-boy's birthday, a great gray bird would fly in +from over the sea, circle the castle thrice, and disappear, crying +mournfully.<br> +<br> +Now when the bird-boy and Rosabella were in their seventeenth year, it +came to pass that the King was summoned to war. His enemy was no other +than the wicked chamberlain Malefico, who had succeeded to the kingdom +of the bird-boy's father, when that Prince had died some years before. +So the good King, who had been a real father to the bird-boy, put on +his shining armor, kissed his dear wife and child good-bye, and rode +off to the battlefield. The bird-boy begged and pleaded to be taken +with him as his squire, but the King would not hear of it, and insisted +that he remain in the castle to take care of the Queen and Rosabella. +There was little cheer in the castle that unhappy evening. And all +night long, the bird-boy thought he could hear the wings of a great +bird beating fiercely against the window-panes.<br> +<br> +A month passed, an unhappy month in which there were no tidings from +the King. Then, one rainy morning, a messenger who had ridden so hard +that his poor horse could scarcely stagger, rode to the castle gate +bearing very evil news. A great battle had been fought, the army of +Rosabella's father had been completely defeated, and the troops of the +wicked Malefico were hurrying toward the castle as fast as they could +come.<br> +<br> +And so it was; for before the Queen had had time to summon the people +and gather together a few belongings, the troops of the enemy burst in +at the gate, and a dozen fierce soldiers surrounded the Queen, +Rosabella, and the bird-boy, and dragged them to Malefico.<br> +<br> +When Malefico saw the bird-boy, a look of surprise appeared on his +face, for he had believed that the wonderful child was dead. Then he +fell to thinking, and as he thought, wicked purposes swept over his +cruel face just as the shadows of dark clouds sweep over a gloomy pool.<br> +<br> +"If it were known that the winged child is alive," he thought, "the +people would thrust me from my place, and restore him to his father's +throne. Now that the bird-boy is in my hands, I will destroy him, and +be sure of my power."<br> +<br> +So he smiled, and began to think of some manner in which he could bring +the bird-boy to a shameful end. At last he hit upon a plan. He would +declare that the bird-boy was not a human lad at all, but a +witch-child; he would then accuse the good King of having protected a +witch-child, and condemn them both to be stoned. So he threw the King +and the Queen, Rosabella and the bird-boy, into an old dungeon-tower, +and went through the mockery of having a trial. When it was over, he +sent a soldier to tell the King and the bird-boy that they were to be +punished the following day.<br> +<br> +And now dawned the unhappy day. The bird-boy took Rosabella's hand in +his, and together they went to the barred window of the prison and +looked out upon the world. The morning was fresh and fair; a pleasant +southwest wind was blowing. The King and the bird-boy were to be led +forth at noon. The clock marked a quarter to twelve.<br> +<br> +"Dear Rosabella," said the bird-boy sadly, "we have forgotten that +to-day is the day on which the great gray bird comes from the ocean and +circles the castle towers. If thou shouldst see the bird when I am +gone, greet it in my name, as we did when we were happy children."<br> +<br> +"The bird may come," said Rosabella amid her sobs.<br> +<br> +"No, Rosabella," said the bird-boy, "I shall never see the gray bird +again. And even if it were to come, what could it do to save us from +these cruel people?"<br> +<br> +When the clock stood at five minutes to twelve, there was a confused +noise below, and Malefico and the judges who shared with him the guilt +of the unrighteous punishment took their places on a kind of platform +which overlooked the place of execution.<br> +<br> +"They will soon be coming to get us," said the King to the bird-boy.<br> +<br> +And sure enough, they heard the jangle of the jailer's keys at the foot +of the stair.<br> +<br> +Suddenly the sunlight in the room faded swiftly into a strange gray +gloom, and the bird-boy rushed to the window to see if a storm was at +hand. A great shadowy cloud, advancing with inconceivable rapidity, +already filled half the sky, and as the boy gazed into this cloud, he +saw to his astonishment that it was not a cloud at all, but hundreds +and hundreds of thousands of great gray birds, flapping their long +wings. The shadow of the birds fell over the platform on which the +cruel Malefico sat waiting for the King and the bird-boy to be brought +forth, and then ceased moving even as a ship that has come into harbor.<br> +<br> +Far ahead of the vast swarm flew one lonely bird, and suddenly this +bird uttered a shrill and piercing cry. Immediately every bird let fall +a great beach-stone which he held in his claws, and for a long minute, +the sky rained stones, round, polished stones that fell like bolts of +thunder. When the storm was over, and the cloud had begun to break into +rifts and speckles of light and flapping gray wings, the wicked +Malefico and his cruel nobles lay buried forever beneath mound upon +mound of stones. The doom which Malefico had intended for another had +overtaken him.<br> +<br> +The King and the Queen, Rosabella and the bird-boy, rushed down the +stairs and out into the sunlight. As they did so, the gray bird who had +led the cloud, sank through the air and alighted at their feet. But +scarcely had the bird's claws touched the ground, when there was a +flash of flame, and the bird-boy's mother stood before them. She took +her son in her arms, and told them all his history and her misfortunes, +and how she had watched over him year after year and gathered the birds +to save him.<br> +<br> +Thus it came to pass that, when the troops of Malefico saw their former +Queen and heard her story, they acclaimed the bird-boy as their +rightful king, and carried him back in triumph into his own country. So +the bird-boy became a king, married Rosabella, and lived happily ever +after.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> + <big>THE MASTER MARINER</big><br> +<br> +Once upon a time a fine young fisherman rose early in the morning, and +sailed alone to the fishing-grounds. There was very little wind, and +beneath the speckled clouds and the cold, pearly light of the late +dawn, the broad, low billows went slowly and unrippled to the land.<br> +<br> +The fisherman cast anchor, and threw overboard his lines. Suddenly his +boat moved uneasily, and close to its side the oily surface of the pale +sea broke into a tumbling mass of foam. In the heart of the troubled +waters, the fisherman beheld, to his great astonishment, a man clad in +a strange garment of gleaming black scales, struggling with an enormous +scarlet fish. A battle of life and death they fought, the man of the +sea trying to stab the fish with a short dagger of shining steel, the +fish trying, wolf-like, to tear at the body of its enemy. Now, with a +swift lash of its bright scarlet body, the fish would rush at the man; +now, with a long sure stroke of his powerful arms, the man would escape +the attack. Suddenly, the fish hurled itself clear out of the water, +and falling against the man, struck him a terrible blow with its tail. +Then the ocean man, who was stunned for a moment, would have perished, +had not the young fisherman swiftly seized his spear and plunged deep +into the body of the fish. Mortally wounded, the scarlet creature sank +through the sunless waters, the dark blood flowing from its side.<br> +<br> +The man of the sea clutched the rail of the boat with his webbed hands, +and said to the fisherman, "I am the King of the Caves of the Sea. I +owe you my life, and you shall have a reward. Take this little silver +fish. It will bring you good fortune; and should you ever be in deadly +peril, you have but to cast it into the sea, and it will come and find +me."<br> +<br> +The fisherman thanked the King of the Caves, and took the silver fish. +It was about the length of your little finger, and had pale moon-stones +for eyes. The fisherman hung the talisman on a chain and wore it round +his neck.<br> +<br> +From that morning on, everything prospered with the youth. His boat +never leaked, he was never caught in a storm, and the fish came to his +lines and nets the instant he threw them overboard. Within a year or +two he had grown so rich that he was able to buy the finest merchant +ship in the world, and became a master mariner. Surely no more splendid +fellow than this gallant, young captain was ever found on the Seven +Seas. He sailed to cold and foggy Flannel Land, where the inhabitants +all have incurable head colds, and have no other cloth but red flannel; +he traded in the ports of gorgeous Velvet Land, whose inhabitants dress +in velvet, and cover their walls with velvet hangings and their floors +with velvet rugs.<br> +<br> +One pleasant morning, running before a fine westerly breeze, he came to +the Eastern Islands. Down the street of the bazaar walked the Master +Mariner, followed by those who had articles to sell. Some showed him +bright-colored birds which they had caught in the forests; others waved +squares of figured cloth and called upon him to buy them; others still +offered strange flasks and bottles of brass and gleaming copper. At the +end of the street, the Master Mariner discovered a little quiet counter +on which lay some dozens of puffy and distended brown-leather bags.<br> +<br> +"What are these?" said the Master Mariner to a tall, lean man with +beady, brown eyes who was in charge of the shop.<br> +<br> +"These are breezes, Master Captain," replied the shopman. "If you are +going south, here is a bag of a very reliable northwest wind" (he +picked up one of the brown bags); "if you are going east, here are some +of the best-assorted westerly gusts. I am selling them at a very low +price to-day, in fact at less than they cost me. What will you have?"<br> +<br> +"I'll have a smart easterly," replied the Master Mariner.<br> +<br> +He put down fifty gold pieces on the counter, took the bag which the +shopman gave him, and walked away.<br> +<br> +Now all these leather bags looked very much alike, and instead of +selling the Master Mariner a brisk easterly breeze, the shopman had +made an error, and sold him a frightful storm.<br> +<br> +Again the Master Mariner went to sea; but luckily for him, he put the +imprisoned storm away in a locker, intending to use it on some other +voyage. Presently he came to Silk Land, loveliest of all the Cloth +Islands. There the inhabitants dress only in the finest of silks; the +roofs and walls are covered with layers of silk; the sun always shines, +and pretty birds with silken plumage chatter in the fern-like trees.<br> +<br> +<img alt="" src="images/image10.jpg" + style="width: 460px; height: 594px;"><br> + Splash! And the Master Mariner fell into the sea.<br> +<br> +<br> + Now the island of Silk Land was at this time ruled by the +prettiest of princesses. She was about eighteen years old; she was tall +for her age, and her eyes were quite the loveliest shade of brown. When +the Master Mariner's fine ship came into the harbor of Silk Land, +cleaving the turquoise water, and with the bright sun shining on her +silvery-white sails, the Princess happened to be resting under a silken +awning on the roof of her palace. Catching sight of the ship, the +Princess cried to her companions:--<br> +<br> +"See what a fine ship is coming into port! She must be laden with many +wonderful things. Send word to the Captain that I intend to visit her +to-morrow morning."<br> +<br> +The next morning, sure enough, the Princess paid a visit to the ship, +which lay at a wharf below the palace. In honor of the Princess's +coming, everything had been swept, scrubbed, and brightened, and +gorgeous carpets from the Eastern Islands covered the decks. In shaded +nooks, under costly tapestries, lay the treasures of the +cargo--wonderful cloths and spices from the Eastern Islands, vessels of +gold and silver from the Adamant Mountains, and jewels from the Desert +of the Moon.<br> +<br> +Now scarcely had the Master Mariner set eyes on the Princess, than he +began to think her quite the most wonderful person he ever had beheld; +as for the Princess, scarcely had the Master Mariner directed two or +three respectful and somewhat tender glances in her direction, than she +began to believe him quite the most gallant youth she had ever seen. +She gave orders that several of the marvels be brought to her palace, +and was looking about for something else, when her eyes chanced to fall +upon the silver fish the Master Mariner was wearing.<br> +<br> +"Pray, what is that little silver fish?" asked the Princess.<br> +<br> +"A mere trifle which a friend once gave me," replied the Master +Mariner, reading in the Princess's eyes and demeanor that she desired +the talisman. "If Your Majesty will only deign to accept it, it is +yours."<br> +<br> +And blinded by the Princess's eyes, he gallantly, but somewhat +incautiously, took the silver fish from its chain and gave it to the +Princess, who laughed prettily, and accepted the gift.<br> +<br> +Silver trumpets sounded, the servitors gathered up the treasures which +the Princess had chosen, and the royal party returned to the palace +with a good deal of chattering and laughter.<br> +<br> +In a few days, the Master Mariner disposed of his cargo, and went again +to sea. But wherever he went, the image of the beautiful Princess of +Silk Land went with him.<br> +<br> +Under the silken awning, on the wind-swept balcony, sat the Princess, +and the image of the young Captain was often in her mind.<br> +<br> +After three months had passed, the Princess took it into her head that +it was time for the Master Mariner to return to Silk Land, and gave +orders that a sharp watch be kept from the tower of the palace for his +returning vessel. One morning, just as the Princess was having +breakfast in her wonderful silken bed, news was brought to her that a +large ship was headed for the harbor.<br> +<br> +"Is it the Master Mariner's ship?" asked the Princess.<br> +<br> +"I do not know, Your Majesty," replied the messenger. "The vessel is +still many miles out to sea."<br> +<br> +So the Princess jumped out of bed, and without waiting for the ladies +of the bedchamber to dress her, ran upstairs to her balcony. A great +ship was coming in under a favoring breeze. Nearer and nearer it came, +till the Princess could even distinguish the men aboard. Suddenly she +uttered a little scream, and ran down stairs pell-mell. At the same +moment the bells of Silk Land all began to ring wildly, and the beating +of drums sounded through the town.<br> +<br> +The approaching ship was a pirate ship! From the topmast flew the +terrible black flag of the pirates of the Northern Isles!<br> +<br> +Great confusion followed.<br> +<br> +Warned by the uproar of the bells and drums, the people came scurrying +through the streets to the palace; some carrying children in their +arms; others the best beloved of their household furnishings. The +palace was hastily made ready for a siege.<br> +<br> +Soon, cursing and swearing, the black-bearded pirates arrived, and +began to sack the town. Into every house they went, pulling out all the +bureau drawers, reading private letters, upsetting the clocks, and +leaving the water running in the kitchen sinks. They filled their +pockets with cuff-links and watches.<br> +<br> +Now, if the pirates had taken only the cufflinks, stick-pins, cameo +brooches, silver candlesticks, souvenir spoons, and sugar-tongs, and +then gone away, the raid would not have been too terrible; but the +rogues, bribed by the horrid old King of the Oyster Mountains, a +rejected suitor, were bent on getting possession of the Princess. On +discovering that she had locked herself up in the strong palace, their +rage knew no bounds. They made a dozen different attempts to break open +the palace door, but all in vain. Finally, they decided to besiege the +fortress.<br> +<br> +For four days all went well enough with the Princess and her imprisoned +people; but by the sixth day most of the food had been eaten; and by +the end of the eighth day, the Princess knew she would have to +surrender the following morning. With a sinking heart she went to a +turret and looked out over the ocean in the hope of catching sight of a +passing sail. But she saw only the deserted town and the pirate ship +riding at anchor in the bay. An hour later she went to the turret +again, and again she saw no sign of anything at sea. A terrible despair +seized upon her, but nevertheless once more to the turret she climbed.<br> +<br> +Far out at sea, headed toward land, was the brave ship of the Master +Mariner!<br> +<br> +So great was the joy of the poor Princess at the sight of the gallant +vessel that she almost swooned; but recovering herself, like the +Princess that she was, she ran down into the courtyard and told the +news to her people. Immediately those who were weak or fretful from +hunger began to take heart, and all who could crowded to the barred +windows.<br> +<br> +The Master Mariner's vessel came riding into the port; the watchers saw +her drop anchor, saw the boats being lowered, and the sailors coming +ashore. Soon the pirates and the sailors were at it hammer and tongs; a +ceaseless clack clack of steel beating upon steel rose to the turrets +of the palace; there were dreadful duels in the alleyways and battles +in the public squares. Alas! just as the sailors were carrying the day, +the Master Mariner received a blow on the head which knocked him +insensible, and the mariners, disorganized by the loss of their chief, +were soon surrounded and taken prisoners. Then, taking heart, the +pirates rushed the palace, and burst open the doors.<br> +<br> +When the rogues had taken everything on which they could lay their +hands, they brought the prisoners and the plunder to the marketplace.<br> +<br> +"Shall we bind all these people and take them aboard?" asked a pirate.<br> +<br> +"No!" roared the one-eyed pirate chief. "Take only the Princess and +that rogue of a Master Mariner."<br> +<br> +The people now began to cry, "Oh, don't take the Princess, our dear +Princess!" But all their prayers were useless.<br> +<br> +Now, because the Master Mariner's ship was far more swift and beautiful +than the pirate ship, the pirates, after setting fire to their own +vessel, abandoned her, and put their plunder on board the Master +Mariner's vessel. The following morning, leaving the people of Silk +Land robbed and mourning, the pirates sailed away.<br> +<br> +Within a few hours, all signs of land had disappeared. The sea was as +black as ink. Against the horizon's edge, the great waves were leaping +and breaking into foam.<br> +<br> +"Bring me the list of booty!" cried the pirate captain, roaring the +last word.<br> +<br> +So the pirate treasurer came on deck, and read a long list beginning,--<br> +<br> +"Fifty-three scarf-pins."<br> +<br> +"Hooray!" shouted the pirate crew.<br> +<br> +"A hundred and eighty-five sterling silver berry-spoons," next +announced the treasurer.<br> +<br> +"Hooray!" cried the crew again.<br> +<br> +"One thousand clocks!" cried the treasurer.<br> +<br> +"How many with alarms?" asked an old pirate anxiously.<br> +<br> +There was a strained silence. The treasurer consulted his list.<br> +<br> +"Seven hundred and forty-nine," he answered.<br> +<br> +"Hooray!" yelled the pirate crew.<br> +<br> +When the list had been read (it took very nearly half an hour to do it) +the one-eyed captain cried, "Bring forth the Master Mariner!"<br> +<br> +So the Master Mariner was brought forth, and thrown brutally against a +mast. The pirate chief put his arms akimbo, cleared his throat +savagely, and roared, "So you thought you were going to punish me, did +you! Well, I'll show you what happens to people who upset my plans. +Here, Hawk Eye, and you, Toby, throw this fellow overboard."<br> +<br> +Hearing this awful order, the Princess screamed and would have run to +the Master Mariner, had not rude hands restrained her.<br> +<br> +Splash! the Mariner fell into the inky sea. Swift as a bird, his own +ship went by him; he saw the mocking face of the pirate chief leering +at him from over the rail; in a few minutes he was alone, all, all +alone in the wide, wide sea. For some time he swam about, and by great +good luck discovered a log of wood strong enough to bear his weight, +floating near at hand. Upon this he climbed, and there we shall leave +him for the present.<br> +<br> +When the Captain had disappeared from sight miles behind, the pirate +chief walked over to the Princess, and looking at her, said sneeringly, +"Well, my beauty, are you going to make up your mind to be the wife of +the King of the Oyster Mountains? I'm taking you to him, and mind now, +no fooling!"<br> +<br> +The Princess shrank from him with horror, and as she fell back, the sun +gleamed on the silver fish she was wearing at her throat. The chief +made a rude snatch at it; the Princess, however, was quicker than he, +and hit him a good box on the ear.<br> +<br> +"Ow!" cried the chief, dancing up and down with rage. "I'll fix you, +you ill-tempered minx. Here, somebody, tie this girl to the mast for +the rest of the day, and give her nothing but bread and water."<br> +<br> +In obedience to his order, the Princess, with her arms tied by the +wrists behind her back, was lashed to the mast. When she had been +securely bound, the chief, whose ear was still tingling, took the +silver fish. He was looking at it when he saw something which made him +drop the fish on the deck.<br> +<br> +Out of the forecastle door thick clouds of black mist were rolling, +exactly as if the hold of the ship were on fire. For a meddlesome +pirate had found the leather bag of storm-wind and had opened it, +mistaking it for a bag of wine.<br> +<br> +The strange clouds, swirling round the deck, grew instant by instant +darker and denser. Soon the tops of the masts could no longer be +distinguished. The sun took on a horrible copper hue, and the sea +became a mottled black and green. A howling wind arose.<br> +<br> +A moment later, with the violence of an explosion, the storm burst. +Mountain-high rose the glassy white-capped waves. The lightning fell in +violet cataracts, and thunder roared and tumbled through the caverns of +the sky. An ocean of hissing rain fell into the waters.<br> +<br> +Suddenly the pirate chief, as he staggered down the stairs, shouted, +"We are lost!"<br> +<br> +Just astern, an enormous, glassy wave, higher than the masts of the +ship, was about to break. The pirates yelled, but little good their +yelling did them. An instant later the wave broke upon the deck, and +crashing tons of green water swept every single pirate into the sea. +Slowly, and with the tense struggle of a wounded animal, the good ship +lifted itself from the waves.<br> +<br> +The Princess was the only human being left on board. Only the cords +which bound her to the mast had saved her from being swept away.<br> +<br> +Now, when the water swept the deck, the silver fish which lay at the +Princess's feet became alive and darted over the rail into the sea.<br> +<br> +The storm continued. The helpless Princess expected every minute to +sink with the ship into the roaring waters. Suddenly, to her horror, a +high rocky island appeared a few miles ahead. Toward this island, over +whose cruel reefs the ocean was foaming and breaking, the ship was +drifting fast. Tied to the mast, the Princess listened to the terrible +cry of the breakers, and, spell-bound, watched the jagged rocks of the +island ever drawing nearer.<br> +<br> +Now while the Princess was in this terrible situation, the Master +Mariner, who had been blown before the storm like a feather, also came +in sight of the rocky island. The instant he caught sight of the shore, +and heard the roaring of the breakers, he knew that he could not hope +to reach the land. He was on the edge of the reefs when the King of the +Caves of the Sea, who had been summoned by the silver fish, rose out of +the water beside him, and taking him in his webbed hands, swam with him +to a place of safety. Just as they reached the shallows, the mists of +the tempest parted, and driving through the darkness and the storm, +headed for the reefs, came the Master Mariner's ship with the Princess +tied to the mast.<br> +<br> +"Oh, save her! Save the Princess!" cried the Master Mariner.<br> +<br> +The King of the Caves of the Sea stretched out his hands over the +island and uttered a strange and mysterious word. So awful was its +power that the rocky cliffs split open, forming a safe and sheltered +harbor. Into this port came the ship, safe at last as a bird in its +nest.<br> +<br> +So the Master Mariner, the Princess, and the ship were all wonderfully +preserved, and when the storm was over, the King of the Caves saw them +home to Silk Land. There the Master Mariner found his crew waiting for +him, and in a few days they had rigged new sails for the ship which +were even whiter than the old. The inhabitants got back the fifty-three +scarf pins, the hundred and eighty-five sterling silver berry-spoons, +the thousand clocks, and the rest of the booty which the pirates had +stowed away in the Master Mariner's ship.<br> +<br> +Great was the rejoicing.<br> +<br> +Greater still was the joy, however, when the Master Mariner married the +Princess.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<big>THE MARVELOUS DOG AND THE WONDERFUL CAT</big><br> +<br> +<img alt="" src="images/image11.jpg" + style="width: 466px; height: 361px;"><br> +<br> +<br> + Once upon a time there was an old enchanter who taught magic and +enchantment to the younger fairies. Year after year, and morning after +morning, he was to be found at his school-room in the Fairies' College, +standing between his desk and a blackboard, now writing down the spell +for turning noses into turnips, now changing sunflower seeds into +pearls before the very eyes of his pupils.<br> +<br> +The old enchanter liked this life of quiet and study, and doubtless +would have been teaching in Fairyland to this very day, had he not been +so unfortunate as to quarrel with the terrible sorcerer Zidoc, who was +then Lord High Chancellor of the Fairies' College. I have forgotten +exactly what the quarrel was about, but I think that it had to do with +the best spell for causing castles to fall to pieces in an instant. At +any rate, Zidoc, who considered himself quite the most wonderful +enchanter in Fairyland, was furious at being opposed, and told the old +enchanter, very angrily, that he was not to have his classes any more +and must leave the college at once. So the poor old gentleman packed up +his magic books, put his enchanter's wand into its silver case, and +went to the country one pleasant day in search of a house.<br> +<br> +Thanks to the advice of a friendly chimney swift, it did not take him +long to find one. The dwelling was the property of the Fairy Jocapa. It +stood just off the high road, close by a lane of great oaks whose +shiny, fringed leaves glistened in the hot noon-day sun; it had a high +roof with sides steep as mountain slopes, and one great chimney; and +its second story thrust itself out over the first in the old-fashioned +way. Green fields, little hills, and pleasant meadows in which red and +white cows were grazing lay behind the dwelling.<br> +<br> +Seeing the front door wide open, the enchanter walked in. It was very +quiet. Only the far away klingle-klangle of a cow-bell could be heard.<br> +<br> +"Here shall I live," said the enchanter. And he brought his possessions +to the house.<br> +<br> +Now, one autumnal morning, when a blue haze hung over the lonely fields +from which the reapers had departed, and the golden leaves were wet +underfoot, the old enchanter went for a walk down the lane, and finding +the day agreeable, kept on until he found himself in the woods. +Arriving at the crest of a little hill in the woodland, he saw below +him, almost at the foot of the slope, a countryman with a white puppy +and a black kitten following at his heels. The little dog barked +merrily out of pure high spirits, whilst the kitten leaped and struck +with its tiny paws at the passing white butterflies.<br> +<br> +As the old enchanter approached the countryman, he happened to hear him +say to the animals,--<br> +<br> +"Alas, my poor innocents, what a pity that I should have to abandon +you!"<br> +<br> +"What's that?" said the enchanter, halting the countryman. "You intend +to abandon these helpless creatures?"<br> +<br> +"Alas, I must," replied the countryman, pulling a large blue bandanna +handkerchief from his pocket and applying it to the corners of his +eyes. "We are too poor to be able to feed them, and my children love +them so well that I cannot find it in my heart to do them harm. I am +taking them into these woods to abandon them, in the hope that, like +the wild animals, they will soon learn to shift for themselves."<br> +<br> +"Give them to me," said the old enchanter, "I will bring them up." The +countryman nodded his head. "As for you, here is a golden florin. May +it bring you better fortune."<br> +<br> +Thus did the white puppy and black kitten change hands.<br> +<br> +Once he had led the animals safely home, the enchanter resolved to make +them the most wonderful animals that had ever been seen in the whole +wide world, whether in Fairyland or out of it. Being an enchanter, he +could, of course, do this more easily than other people. So he taught +the cat and the dog all the known languages, then history, arithmetic, +dancing, social deportment, and a variety of the best magic and spells. +The cat, as was to be expected, was particularly good on anything that +had 'cat' in it; he once catalogued all the principal catastrophes; +while the dog, although a good student, had a fancy for writing +doggerel. Many and many a time, when the enchanter and his wonderful +animals were seated in their armchairs round a blazing fire, talking +exactly as any three good friends might talk, a nose would flatten +itself against the panes, and the three companions would see looking in +at them some stranger whose curiosity had got the better of his manners.<br> +<br> +The dog, I may say, had grown up to be a fine fellow of the +short-haired, white bull terrier family; the cat had grown to be as +aristocratic as a panther. When their education was complete, the +animals came to their teacher and begged him to let them go away and +see the world. For a long time the enchanter, who loved his charges +very much indeed, resisted their request; but as they continued to +press him, he came at length to yield. Calling them before him, he said +to them:--<br> +<br> +"Well, dear pupils, if you must go, you must go. I owe the Fairy Jocapa +twelve months rent for this house. She is now living with her nephew, +the King of the Land of the Runaway Rivers. You shall take twelve +golden florins to her. Your route will take you over all the kingdoms +of the whole wide world."<br> +<br> +So the white dog, who was the stronger of the two, took the purse with +the twelve golden coins, and put it in a large wallet which he wore at +his side, and then both the wonderful animals said good-bye. At the +corner of the lane they turned again to look for the last time at their +dwelling, and saw their old master still waving at them from the little +window over the door. Then they fared over the hills and far away.<br> +<br> +So wise, so well-bred and good-tempered were these wonderful animals, +that their journey across the world was a great success from the +beginning. Their fame spread from kingdom to kingdom like wild-fire. +The universities, colleges, and other learned societies fought with +each other for the privilege of entertaining these distinguished +students. To this very day, the address which the cat made on catapults +and cataplasms, before the professors of the University of Sagessa, is +remembered as one of the great events of the time; while the dog's +address on dogma before the assembled scholars of the Royal Academy of +Fairyland was printed in a special book bound in gold leaf and walpus +leather. Both the cat and the dog were awarded countless honorary +decorations.<br> +<br> +And so, little by little, they came to a hilly land in which all the +streams raced pell-mell to the sea, and there they knew themselves to +be in the Kingdom of the Runaway Rivers. A three days' journey brought +them to the royal castle. Arriving in the twilight, they were somewhat +surprised to find a number of torchbearers waiting for them in the +castle courtyard. With great respect, these attendants conducted the +cat and the dog into a little ante-room, and then retired, leaving them +alone. A few minutes later, a very old woman, who, the animals noticed, +was stone-blind, came to take them before the king.<br> +<br> +"How strange!" whispered the cat in its rather meouw-y voice.<br> +<br> +"Very," whispered back the dog in his deeper tone.<br> +<br> +Having opened, one after the other, three great doors with three +different iron keys, the old woman, guiding herself by touching the +wall with her hand, led the animals into a long dark corridor. The cat, +who could see quite well in the dark, did not mind this, but the dog +was not particularly pleased. The echoes of the old woman's boots went +rolling along in the hollow darkness; the dog could hear his heart +beat, and saw his black companion's eyes glowing like pools of flame. +Then, to their mutual relief, the animals saw a point of light +appearing far down the passage, and on reaching this, they discovered a +second blind old woman holding a torch. The first old woman beckoned +them to follow this new guide, and disappeared again into the dark +corridors by which they had arrived.<br> +<br> +The second old woman, lifting high the torch, first led her charges +through three more great doors, all of which she carefully locked +behind her. Soon the animals found themselves at the top of a winding +stair whose end was lost in darkness. Down this stair they went, +turning, ever turning, down and round, down and round, till both cat +and dog felt dizzily that they must have reached the heart of the +earth. Then, little by little, a pin-point of light began to glow +brighter and brighter, and the animals found themselves at the foot of +the stairs and opposite a little door. And there, by this door, stood +another blind old woman, who held a torch and beckoned to the animals +to follow.<br> +<br> +Three more doors they passed, the last one opening on a very narrow, +winding passage. In and out they turned, walking one behind the other, +for a time that seemed very, very long. Suddenly a narrow door appeared +in the winding wall, which opened inward as they drew near, revealing a +beautiful round chamber richly furnished and hung with the finest +tapestries. Beside the fireplace, in which a wood-fire was cheerily +burning, sat a gray-haired lady, who was no other than the Fairy +Jocapa, and in the centre of the room, reading a great book by the +light of many candles, sat a young man, the King.<br> +<br> +In spite of the enchanter's careful training in manners, the cat and +the dog, I am sorry to say, almost stared for an instant at the King. +Small wonder that they did so, for the unfortunate young man lay under +a horrid spell, and his face and hands were not pink or white or +sun-brown, like yours or mine, but bright green, like a parrot's wing!<br> +<br> +"Welcome, O wonderful animals," said the enchanted King. "Your fame has +gone before you into every land, and it is said that there is no +question you cannot answer. Listen, then, to my story and help me if +you can.<br> +<br> +"You see me before you, hideously changed. Until you entered here, an +instant past, no eyes but those of my aunt had beheld my horrible +countenance. It was she who caused this enchanted chamber to appear in +the heart of the foundations of my castle; and in this chamber I have +hidden since that terrible hour when the spell was put upon me. My +subjects only know that I am still alive. The Lord Chancellor rules the +kingdom in my stead. But hearken to my story.<br> +<br> +"Ten months ago, as I was driving my chariot down a narrow road built +along a river-bank close to the stream, I encountered a chariot being +driven furiously in the opposite direction. The driver of the chariot +was a tall, elderly man, wearing a wizard's cap; his face was red as +with anger, an evil light gleamed in his small malicious eyes. In order +to let him pass, I turned to one side, as near to the river-brink as I +dared; but the space was too narrow, our chariots locked wheels, and +his was overthrown. Turning upon me a face aflame with hatred, he cried +out, 'I will teach you what it is to offend the Enchanter Zidoc'; and +an instant later the wizard himself, the struggling horses, and the +overturned chariot disappeared in a rumble of thunder and a great flash +of flame. I turned homeward, never noticing that anything had happened +to me. As I chanced to pass a roadside cottage, a little child playing +about saw me and ran, screaming for fear, to the door. A little farther +on, I stopped to drink of a spring. Judge of my horror when I leaned +over the clear pool of water and saw that my face had turned a bright +green! I waited till nightfall, stole into the castle unobserved, and +sought the aid of my aunt, the fairy. You know the rest. Speak, O +wonderful dog and wonderful cat, and bid me hope a little!"<br> +<br> +And the poor King hid his bright green face in his hands.<br> +<br> +"The Enchanter Zidoc is an old enemy of our dear master," said the +white dog, "and his power as a sorcerer is the greatest in Fairyland!'<br> +<br> +"I have tried all my powers against him in vain," said the Fairy +Jocapa, sadly.<br> +<br> +"But let us not despair," broke in the cat. "Zidoc is now to be found +in these dominions. His castle lies on the border of the Silver Hills. +The dog and I will go there, and see if we can help the King."<br> +<br> +So the Fairy and the unhappy King thanked the wise animals, and sent +for the blind old women to lead them back to the upper world. Early +next morning, the famous pair began the journey to the Enchanter's den. +The dog's plan was to pretend to be but an everyday stray dog, and to +this end, he rolled several times in a mud-puddle; the cat, too, was to +appear as a stray cat, and neglected his fine black coat in order to +look the part.<br> +<br> +Unfortunately for their plan, Zidoc had in his chamber a little +enchanted bell which rang shrilly when danger threatened him. Hearing +the bell ring late at night, Zidoc rose from his bed, and hurrying to +the turret window, saw, by the light of the waning moon, the dog and +the cat making their way to the castle through the wood. Rubbing his +hands with glee, he determined to let the two animals walk headlong +into his power, and then inflict upon them some terrible revenge.<br> +<br> +The first day the dog went indoors, and concealed himself under a sofa, +while the cat remained outside. When twilight came, the dog ran out and +met the cat in the castle garden.<br> +<br> +"Did you discover anything?" asked the cat.<br> +<br> +"Nothing whatever," replied the dog.<br> +<br> +"I will try to-morrow," said the cat.<br> +<br> +And so, when the morning came, the dog remained outside while the cat +concealed himself behind a curtain. When the twilight came, the animals +met again.<br> +<br> +"Did you discover anything?" asked the dog.<br> +<br> +"Very little," replied the cat. "The Sorcerer Serponel is coming +to-morrow to pay Zidoc a visit. One of us must hide in the room in +which they will talk; for perhaps we may learn something which may help +us to lift the spell from the King."<br> +<br> +"To-morrow it is my turn," said the dog. And so the next morning he +stole into the house and hid again beneath the sofa.<br> +<br> +Now Zidoc knew very well where the dog had concealed himself. Moreover, +he had summoned the powerful Serponel to his aid in order that the dog +and the cat should have no opportunity to escape.<br> +<br> +When Serponel arrived, both the wicked enchanters went to the room in +which the dog lay concealed. First, Zidoc locked the only door with a +great key and then he said to Serponel,--<br> +<br> +"Brother, someone tells me that there is an enemy hidden under the +sofa."<br> +<br> +"Yes, brother," replied the dreadful Serponel.<br> +<br> +"And something tells me that it is time to let him feel your staff."<br> +<br> +Now Zidoc had an enchanted staff whose blows were mortal, and knowing +this, the poor dog, who was trapped between the wall and the two +sorcerers, grew cold with fear to the tip of his white tail. Just as he +was about to make a bolt into the open, Zidoc dragged the sofa swiftly +aside, and aimed a terrible blow at him, which by the greatest good +luck just missed its mark. He then ran out into the room, pursued by +the sorcerers, who little by little forced him toward a corner.<br> +<br> +And now, just as Zidoc, holding the staff uplifted, was about to strike +the poor dog with all his force, a black shape, with flaming eyes and +paws outstretched to scratch, leaped through the open window and landed +upon Zidoc's back. It was the brave cat, who had heard the fracas from +his hiding-place below and had clawed his way up the castle wall to +help his friend. Valiant Puss, forgetting in one instant, I must admit, +all its knowledge of languages, catastrophes, history, social +deportment, and agriculture, plunged instantly into the fray, and gave +Zidoc a frightful scratch, which so upset him that it caused him to +drop his staff, while the dog profiting by the confusion, and +forgetting all about geometry, mathematics, agriculture, and dogma, +managed to give Serponel a good bite just above the ankle.<br> +<br> +The wily Zidoc, however, was not to be so easily thwarted. Uttering a +magic word, he caused the room to be filled with darkness, and in the +cover of this darkness he transformed himself instantly into a black +cat exactly like the learned cat, while Serponel changed himself into a +white dog exactly like the learned dog. At the same moment he caused +the locked door to fly open.<br> +<br> +"Now," thought he, "I will cause the cat to follow the wrong white dog, +and the dog to follow the wrong cat; we shall thus separate the +animals, and when we have lured them far away from each other, Serponel +and I will resume our true forms, and destroy these meddlesome +creatures."<br> +<br> +When the darkness cleared, the hearts of the true animals fell for fear +lest the sorcerer's ruse be successful; but they met the challenge +readily, and instead of fleeing, stood their ground; the true dog +battling with the false dog, the real cat with the false cat. Never was +such a hullaballoo heard in Fairyland. Then, seeing that he was in +danger of being badly scratched, Zidoe brought on another darkness, the +floor of the castle shook, a noise as of thunder roared and rattled +through the room. When the darkness ended, both the enchanters had been +separated and the cats were confused, the real dog was chasing the real +cat, thinking that he was following Zidoc, while Serponel, who had been +the false white dog, was pursuing Zidoc, who had been the false black +cat! Down the stairs, over the terraces and the gardens ran the true +dog, pursuing the true cat, while indoors, up and down through the +rooms and over the furniture, raced the false animals.<br> +<br> +The poor cat, thinking he was being pursued by the wrong dog, grew +short of breath, and, hearing the snapping at his heels, ran up a +convenient tree. Hardly had he reached a point above the dog's jaws +when a voice said:--<br> +<br> +"Why, my pupils, my pupils! What a way to behave! Stop your quarreling +this instant!"<br> +<br> +The animals turned to look, and saw their master, the old enchanter. He +had been worried by their long absence and had gone forth to look for +them. Thus, at the same moment that the poor dog saw that he had been +pursuing his friend, the cat saw that he had been escaping from his +comrade.<br> +<br> +Suddenly a noise from the castle arrested their attention, and on +looking up, all saw through the windows the false dog pursuing the +false cat down the hall of state.<br> +<br> +Now, if you remember the first part of this story, you will recall that +Zidoc quarreled with the old enchanter over the right spell for +destroying castles. A triumphant smile shone on the lips of the old +teacher; he stretched forth his hand toward the castle and uttered a +magic word.<br> +<br> +There was a roar as of twenty thousand cataracts, and in the twinkling +of an eye, the castle collapsed in a cloud of dust, burying the two +wicked magicians in its ruins.<br> +<br> +"There, I told him so!" said the old enchanter.<br> +<br> +When the dog and the cat had recovered from the events of the day, the +three friends began their journey back to the palace of the enchanted +King. He came to the castle gate to meet them, for Zidoc's overthrow +had broken the spell which had so oddly disfigured him. Through the +open doors, a splendid banquet could be seen waiting, and the sound of +music was heard.<br> +<br> +So the old enchanter gave his arm to the Fairy Jocapa, the Prince gave +his to the white dog, and the cat followed all by himself. Then came +the host of rejoicing courtiers.<br> +<br> +When the festival was over, the enchanter and the wonderful animals +went back, loaded with royal gifts, to their own little house and lived +happily there to a good old age.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> + <big>THE SHEPHERD OF CLOUDS</big><br> +<br> +<img alt="" src="images/image12.jpg" + style="width: 459px; height: 354px;"><br> +<br> +<br> + Once upon a time a young husband and wife named Giles and +Phyllida lived in a cottage in the heart of a great plain. League upon +league, the rich land fell away to the west, there to end at a wall of +high mountains into whose fastnesses no one had ever ventured. Yet the +mountains were very beautiful. In the cold of a clear winter's day, the +snowy summits and rust-colored pinnacles shone bright and near at hand; +in the spring, fogs hid them, and lay like gray mantles upon the lower +slopes. Midway in the mountain wall, a wide chasm marked the entrance +to a deep, gloomy valley, out of which a roaring mountain torrent +hurried, to lose itself in the plain below. And because somewhere in +the heart of this dark valley storms were brewed, whose dark clouds, +laden with lightning and hail, poured from between the crags of the +valley out over the land, this valley was known as the Valley of +Thunder. According to an old legend, out of this valley a king should +one day come to rule over the people of the plain.<br> +<br> +Giles and Phyllida kept house by themselves. They had two cows, one red +and white, the other black and white, a flock of hens, some hives of +bees, a white horse, a dog, and a cat. All day long Phyllida +worked happily at the household tasks, baking the sweet white bread and +marking the fresh golden butter into square pats, while Giles went out +to work in the waving grain; and Phyllida, watching from a window, +would see the sun flash on the uplifted blade of her husband's scythe.<br> +<br> +One day Phyllida said to Giles:--<br> +<br> +"I have made a dress for the youngest child of our cousins, Jack and +Jill, and this morning I shall saddle the white horse and ride over to +their cottage. Perhaps I may stay with them for a few days. You will +find a fresh baking of bread and a meat-pie in the larder. Good-bye, +Giles; I'll soon be home again."<br> +<br> +So Giles answered, "Good-bye," and away rode Phyllida on the white +horse.<br> +<br> +A few days passed, and Giles, wandering here and there through the +quiet house, felt very lonely indeed. Finally he could stand it no +longer, and said to himself, "Phyllida must be on her way home now; I +shall walk down the highway and meet her."<br> +<br> +So he turned all the animals loose in the fields, and putting a few +slices of bread and cheese in his pockets, set forth upon the road. +Leagues ahead of him stood the mysterious mountains rising palely +through the haze of the midsummer afternoon. A pale violet light fell +on their distant precipices, and the snow in the rifts upon their sides +appeared of the purest and loveliest white. Gusts of wind hurrying from +the distant summits swept the great plain, and the fields of ripening +wheat bent before them and rustled harshly.<br> +<br> +Suddenly, down the throat of the Thunder Valley, Giles saw a river of +lightning fall, and from far away came a low murmur of thunder. Then, +faster and faster, a storm poured down the chasm like a flood, drowning +out the light of the sun, stilling the songs of the little birds, and +turning to the sky the pale underside of the leaves of the roadside +trees. A darkness as of night itself covered the land. Rain began to +fall in great spattering drops. Now, by the glare of the +lightning, Giles would see the endless fields, drenched and waving in +the rain; now the Thunder Valley itself, covered with a floor of +onrushing cloud unfolding, turning, and sinking in continuous and +multitudinous activity.<br> +<br> +Night came on amid the storm, and a flash of lightning revealed to +Giles that he had lost his way. Hoping to find a shelter or some +friendly cottage, however, he plunged on; but the road became worse and +worse, and he was again and again forced to wade brooks flooded by the +tempest. At length his steps led him into a pine wood, and there in the +thickest part he found a little shelter, and fell asleep.<br> +<br> +When he woke, numb, cramped, and cold, he found to his horror that in +the night and darkness he had blundered on into the Valley of Thunder, +into which no living soul had ever before advanced. Worst of all, he +could not find the way by which he had entered, for high crags rose on +every side and held him prisoner. Presently, to his amazement, he +beheld a narrow flight of steps cut in the solid rock of the +mountainside. Up these steps climbed Giles, and as he mounted higher, +the stairs began to twist and turn amid the crags and pinnacles. At the +end of an hour's ascent, he found himself at a turn from which the +Thunder Valley, the chasm through which it opened into the plain, and +the wide plain itself, could all be seen.<br> +<br> +Giles lingered there a while, trying to see his own cottage, or perhaps +Phyllida on her white horse; but he could see neither one nor the +other. So he began to climb again. All day long he climbed and climbed +and climbed. Twilight fell. The circle of the sun dropped below the +level horizon of the distant fields. One still golden star hung on the +fringe of the sun-glow. The stairs began to widen, and presently Giles +found himself at the summit of the mountain. Before his eyes lay a +little level field surrounded by strange crags and pinnacles, looming +tall and black against the fast-appearing stars, and as Giles rubbed +his eyes in wonder, lights shone here and there in the sides of the +towering rocks, even as lights shine in the windows of a village when +you see it from afar.<br> +<br> +Giles rubbed his eyes again. Lights? What could they mean? Presently a +great door, cut in the side of a towering mass of stone, opened with a +burst of light, and toward Giles there hurried the two strangest +creatures whom he had ever seen. These were two elves, alike as two +peas and each about three feet tall. Instead of having ears much like +other elves, however, the first one had ears like great curved +cornucopias, which projected almost a foot on each side of his enormous +round head, while the other, whose ears were quite natural, had but one +huge eye in the centre of his forehead.<br> +<br> +Without saying a single word, these strange elves seized Giles by the +hands, and after hurrying him across the open space, urged him through +the open doors into the house in the crags.<br> +<br> +Still keeping silence, the elves led Giles through hundreds of splendid +rooms and great halls, all lighted by hanging lamps as countless in +number as the leaves upon the trees. Suddenly, a great archway rose +before them, through which appeared a hall larger and brighter than all +the others seen before. At one end of it, under a canopy of rosy-gray, +stood a golden throne, and on the throne sat a being dressed in radiant +blue--in blue such as the sky wears after a rain, when the dark clouds +with bright edges break asunder and reveal the glory overhead. At the +same moment, the countless mountain elves gathered in the hall began to +sing:--<br> +<br> + "All Hail, All Hail to the Shepherd of +Clouds, Who, high in his mountain-top, rules +o'er the' weather; He sends the rich rain over mountain and +plain, And sprinkles the dew-drops afar o'er the +heather."<br> +<br> +The elves led Giles before the Shepherd.<br> +<br> +"How comest thou, mortal, to invade my mountain?" said the Shepherd.<br> +<br> +"I went forth to seek Phyllida," said Giles, "and lost my way in the +storm."<br> +<br> +"What sayest thou, Eye-o?" said the Shepherd to the elf with the single +great eye in his forehead.<br> +<br> +"The mortal speaks the truth," answered Eye-o in the queerest, +squealiest voice. "I saw him set out yesterday from his cottage on the +plain. He had not gone far when the storm which Your Mightiness +prepared in the morning and sent forth in the afternoon overtook him. +He lost his way, and chance led him to your dwelling, O Shepherd of +Clouds."<br> +<br> +"What sayest thou, Ear-o?" said the Shepherd to the elf with the great +ears.<br> +<br> +"I heard him say good-bye to his wife Wednesday last," replied the elf +in a voice exactly like that of his brother. "Phyllida said to him, +'You will find a fresh baking of bread and a meat-pie in the larder.'"<br> +<br> +The Shepherd of Clouds fixed his deep, solemn gaze upon Giles and +said:--<br> +<br> +"Mortal, I have hearkened to your story and to the words of my faithful +Eye-o, who sees all things that happen in the whole wide world; I have +paid heed to the words of Ear-o, who hears all things that are to be +heard under the sun. Chance has led you to discover the secret of the +weather. Nevermore must you revisit the lower world. Here shall you +stay till Death overtakes you. Obey me, and I will give you happiness +and honor; seek to escape, and my lightnings will find you wheresoever +you may hide."<br> +<br> +"Oh, no! no! no!" cried poor Giles, throwing himself down before the +throne. "Great Shepherd of Clouds, do not keep me here. Let me return +to my cottage on the plain, to Phyllida who waits for me, and knows not +whither I am gone or whether I am living or dead. Oh, let me go, let me +go!"<br> +<br> +But the Shepherd only shook his head austerely, and rising from his +throne, disappeared behind the rose-gray curtains. Again the mountain +elves sang, and as they sang, the great hall slowly grew darker than +the darkest night, and cold gusts of wind arose wailing in the +darkness. Presently Giles felt his body grow weak, strong hands seized +him and bore him up, and an instant later a deep sleep blotted out the +world.<br> +<br> +When he awoke, he found himself in a little room. Dawn was at hand, and +the sweet, cold mountain air was blowing through the eastern window. +Suddenly, the door swung open, and Eye-o and Ear-o entered.<br> +<br> +"The sun is rising, Giles," said Ear-o, "and your appointed task awaits +you. The Shepherd wishes the clouds released at once. Hurry, hurry, +hurry, Giles, and open their prison-door."<br> +<br> +So Giles went forth with the elves. Over the summit of the mountain +they ran, along a path which wandered here and there--now dodging +between huge boulders, now skirting terrible precipices. Presently +Giles saw a monstrous wall of rock rising before him, in which were +fixed two brazen doors taller and more stately than he had ever seen in +the world below. Beside these doors, a flight of steps began, which led +to the top of the wall.<br> +<br> +Curious to see what lay behind the wall and the closed doors, Giles +hurried to the top. He found himself standing at the brink of a great +bowl, many miles wide and many miles long, hollowed out of the very +rock of the mountaintop. Within this bowl, like a giant flock of sheep, +lay hundreds of clouds on whose misty tops the rising sun poured gold, +pale lavender, and rose. At first, Giles thought them motionless, but +as he gazed intently within the bowl, he saw that the clouds moved and +swayed much like anchored ships in a tide.<br> +<br> +This bowl was the weather-bowl. In it the Shepherd of Clouds prepared +the weather for the neighboring countries. One day he would keep the +fair-weather clouds at home and let the rain-clouds sail over the land; +on another day, he would keep all the clouds in and let the sun shine; +on other days he would mix together such frosts, mists, and +snow-flurries as the season required.<br> +<br> +Suddenly, ringing infinitely sweet over the mountain-top, rose the +clear music of a silver horn.<br> +<br> +"It is the Shepherd!" cried Eye-o and Ear-o.<br> +<br> +"The hour is at hand to send the clouds over the earth. Quick, Giles, +unbar the doors!"<br> +<br> +So Giles unbound the giant doors, which of their own volition opened +wide. A sound as of thunder heard from far away over the sea beat upon +Giles's ear as the portals turned upon their hinges. In answer to this +sound, the clouds rose and lifted their golden heads, and hastening to +the brazen doors, one by one escaped through them to the sunlit spaces +of the morning sky. There, they formed themselves into a fleet, and +sailed majestically away.<br> +<br> +Thus Giles became the servant of the Shepherd of Clouds. It was his +task to unbar the door when the Shepherd had prepared the weather; it +was his to lock the clouds in, once they had returned from the heavens +in answer to the Shepherd's summoning horn. In time he came to know the +rain-clouds from their fair-weather brothers; he learned how frosts +were sent forth; how fogs were made; and he was even allowed to prepare +a small storm. He saw the icy caverns in which the hail-stones lie +piled in monstrous bags, the lightning-bolts in their crystal jars, and +even the prisoned storm-winds. You may be sure that, when he could so +arrange it, Phyllida's garden had quite the finest variety of weather. +For Eye-o and Ear-o would tell him about her.<br> +<br> +"Tell me, what is Phyllida doing?" Giles would say again and again.<br> +<br> +And Eye-o would answer, "She is out in the garden gathering plums"; or, +"she is in the kitchen making gingerbread."<br> +<br> +And then Giles would say to Ear-o, "Tell me, what is Phyllida saying?"<br> +<br> +And Ear-o would answer, "'Oh, would that my lad were home!'"<br> +<br> +Two years passed, and Giles, who had found no opportunity of escape, +began to lose hope of doing so. Never again, he feared, would he see +Phyllida. One day, with Eye-o and Ear-o by his side, he sat on a great +boulder and gazed gloomily down on the plain. Spring was just ripening +into early summer, the plain was at its very greenest and loveliest, +and here and there a little blue wood-smoke hung over the tiny +villages. Giles thought of Phyllida far, far away, and a terrible +loneliness poured into his heart. Eye-o and Ear-o sitting beside him, +their long, strange arms clasped about their knees, looked on with +sympathy. Presently Ear-o's right ear turned itself about, and after a +moment's silence, the elf said:--<br> +<br> +"I hear voices telling of war. I hear the Robber King of the Black +Lakes summoning his terrible army. He is preparing a secret attack on +the people of the plain."<br> +<br> +"I see him! I see him!" cried Eye-o. "He is talking to the Grand +Chamberlain Scelerato."<br> +<br> +"Listen," said Ear-o; "he is saying, 'We will sweep the land at dawn, +steal the grain, and destroy every village to its foundation.'"<br> +<br> +"I see the robbers gathering," said Eye-o. "They are hiding in the dark +pine forests, lest they be seen by the people of the plain. The +sunlight pierces here and there through the thick branches and shines +on the breastplates of the armed men."<br> +<br> +At this terrible news, Giles was stricken to the heart with anxiety and +fear. What was to become of Phyllida and the people of the plain? If he +could only hurry down the mountain and warn them! If he could only +escape! And he looked round eagerly, as he had looked a thousand times +before, for any avenue of escape; but his gaze met only the great +precipices of the mountain and the guarded stairs.<br> +<br> +What could he do? His heart became like ice, and he feared to gaze upon +the plain lest he see the smoke of burning villages. All night long he +never closed his eyes. At dawn he rose and hurried to the top of the +gate which overlooked the cloud-bowl. For two whole weeks, not a cloud +had been allowed to roam the sky, and it seemed to Giles that the mists +were angry, and that a darkness brooded upon them. Turning toward the +plain, Giles saw, at the edge of the land, a little glow of fire. The +robbers had invaded the plain!<br> +<br> +Presently Eye-o came clambering up the steps.<br> +<br> +"I see a village in flames," said the elf. "The inhabitants are fleeing +down the roads. The news is spreading, and the people of the plain are +hurrying to seek refuge in the mountains."<br> +<br> +"Oh, where is Phyllida?" cried Giles.<br> +<br> +"She is on the highway with Jack and Jill and their children, hastening +toward the Valley of Thunder," answered the elf.<br> +<br> +Suddenly Giles stood up, and throwing his arms high over his head, +uttered a loud shout. "I can save them," he cried. "Let us send a storm +against the robbers. Hurry, let us prepare the worst tempest that ever +was seen."<br> +<br> +And away he ran to the hail-stone caverns, and carrying bag after bag +to the brim, emptied them all into the weather-bowl; he then tossed in +a dozen skinsful of the fiercest storm-winds, and ended by casting in +all the jars of thunderbolts that were to be found in the cavern. You +should have heard the crash of the crystal vases on the rocky floor of +the weather-bowl, and the hiss with which the lightning escaped and hid +in the rolling edges of the clouds. The great bowl roared and trembled, +the clouds massed together and grew dark; lightning played over the +black crests of the thunder-heads. From the top of the gate, Giles took +one satisfied look into the prisoned tempest, and then hurried down to +unbar the door.<br> +<br> +Through the gates, like wild herds, poured the clouds, and rising in +the air, were caught by the spreading storm-winds and whirled madly +over the sky. The thunder roared as no mortal had ever before heard it +or ever will hear it again, and the tempest sailed away to break in all +its anger over the heads of the robber army. So terrible was the noise +that the enchanted mountain trembled to its very foundations.<br> +<br> +Hearing the roar, the Shepherd of Clouds himself was roused and ran +down to the cloudbowl; but so dark was the mountain-top that he lost +his way, and narrowly missed falling down a precipice. The mountain +elves, terrified by the confusion, ran hither and thither like ants +whose nests had been opened. Crash went the thunder! Rumble, rumble, +rumble, room, rrrr-rang bang! bang!<br> +<br> +Once he had seen the storm break over the robber army, Giles, taking +advantage of the darkness, noise, and confusion, determined to make one +more effort to escape. Down the endless stairs he hurried, splashing +through the falling rain, down, and down, and down. Once at the bottom, +he was lucky enough to find the path out of the chasm, and hurried +along it to the mouth of the Valley of Thunder.<br> +<br> +He was free! The terrible storm had spent itself, and the sun was +beginning to shine on the thousand rain-drops caught in the matted +grass. A rainbow formed just as Giles approached the plain, and the +little birds came out to shake the rain from their feathers.<br> +<br> +Now, in the secure shelter of an overhanging cliff, were to be found +those people of the plain who had fled to the valley for refuge; and +when these poor worried folk saw Giles coming down the valley, they +recalled the prophecy that a king should come to them out of the +valley, and hailed Giles as their king. Best of all, Phyllida herself +ran out, and threw her arms about her husband. As for the robbers, the +storm had overwhelmed them and swept them all into the river. There, I +am glad to say, they turned into little fishes.<br> +<br> +When the Shepherd of Clouds found that Giles had escaped after making +all this disturbance, he was very angry, and rushed to his lightning +closet to hurl some thunderbolts at him. When he got to the closet, +however, he found that Giles had used every single bolt, and that the +cupboard was empty. Consequently, he had to wait till the end of summer +before he could get some new lightning, and by that time, he was so +busy arranging the autumn frosts that he quite forgot about Giles.<br> +<br> +So Giles and Phyllida became King and Queen of the people of the plain +and lived happily ever after.<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> + THE CITY UNDER THE SEA<br> +<br> +<img alt="" src="images/image13.jpg" + style="width: 463px; height: 360px;"><br> +<br> +<br> + Once upon a time, in a country of mountains which bordered upon +the sea, dwelt a rich merchant who had three sons. The eldest and the +second-born were his joy, for they were merchants too, and remained at +his side; but the youngest often caused him much anxiety. Not that this +youngest son was a wild or a bad lad; but love of the sea and desire +for adventure ran like fire in his veins, and he could not bring +himself to sit beside his father and his brothers in the counting-house.<br> +<br> +Weary at length of the constant reproaches of his kinsmen, he turned +away one night from his father's house and joined a ship as a common +sailor. Clad in sailor blue, wearing a little cap, a blouse open at the +throat, and trousers cut wide at the bottoms, the runaway lad sailed +over the sea to foreign lands and isles. And as the years passed, one +by one, and brought no tidings of him, his father and his brothers gave +him up for lost.<br> +<br> +Now the King of the country in which the rich merchant and his son +dwelt loved rare gems and precious stones more than anything else in +the world. Hidden secretly away in the deep foundations of his castle +lay his treasure-room: it was circular in shape and built of black +marble, and at equal distance one from the other, along the curving +wall, stood a hundred statues of armed men, holding ever-burning +lights. A hundred coffers of green stone lay on the floor, one at the +base of each statue, each coffer piled high with gems.<br> +<br> +Night after night, when all was still, the King would descend to the +secret chamber, and throwing open the covers of the jewel-chests, would +gaze long and silently into the gleaming mass within.<br> +<br> +One night the King led his neighbor, the Emperor of the Seven Isles, to +the jewel-room, and showed him his treasures.<br> +<br> +"Are there fairer jewels to be found in the whole wide world?" said the +King proudly.<br> +<br> +"They are indeed noble," replied the Emperor, nodding his gray head. +"But how happens it that the Emerald of the Sea is not among them? The +Emerald of the Sea is the most glorious jewel in the whole wide world. +Years ago a fisherman of the Land of the Dawn found it in a strangely +carved box which a storm had washed into his nets. I saw it when I was +but a young prince; it hung by a chain from the throat of the Princess +of the Dawn, and shone there as if the very secret of the sea were +hidden in its heart."<br> +<br> +"Where is this emerald to be found?" asked the King, who was consumed +with the desire to add the jewel to his possessions. "Tell me, that I +may at once send an expedition in search of it."<br> +<br> +"I have not heard of it for many a long year," replied the Emperor, +"but I think it is still in the Land of the Dawn."<br> +<br> +So great was the King's impatience to become the owner of the Emerald +of the Sea, that he could scarcely wait for the morning. All night long +he slept not a wink for thinking of it, and hardly had the red shield +of the morning sun risen above the thin mists lying at the edge of the +sea and sky, when he sent for the rich merchant to come to the palace +at once.<br> +<br> +Wondering much at the summons, the merchant made haste to the palace, +and was there taken instantly before the King. When the King saw him, +he said:--<br> +<br> +"You are the greatest and richest merchant in my dominions. Know, then, +that I have a task worthy of you. In the Land of the Dawn there is a +jewel called the Emerald of the Sea; it is your task to discover it and +purchase it for me. To possess it, I would give all the gold in my +realm. Take heed that you return with it, for if you fail me, my anger +shall strike you down."<br> +<br> +At these words the merchant bowed low, and replied that he would that +very day sail for the Land of the Dawn in his fastest ship. Then, +returning home, he gave orders that the best vessel in all his fleets +be immediately prepared for the journey; and so swiftly was this done, +that the merchant sailed for the Land of the Dawn on the morning tide.<br> +<br> +Many days and many leagues he sailed, over shining seas, till he +reached the harbor of the Land of the Dawn. Ships were entering and +ships were leaving the lovely mountain-circled bay. How the broad sails +tugged at their ropes as a steady wind filled their curving white +depths! How silver-clear shone the furrows of foam flowing back from +the onward-hurrying bows!<br> +<br> +Making her way out toward the great, still mirror of the summer sea, +was a strange black vessel, with sails as red as fire.<br> +<br> +The merchant anchored his ship in a quiet bay, and hastened ashore to +find the Lord Treasurer of the Kingdom. He found this nobleman at ease +on a balcony of his castle which overlooked the sea. Upon hearing the +merchant's story, the nobleman started with surprise, and said:--<br> +<br> +"You are just too late! At the command of my royal master, the Prince +of the Land of the Dawn, I sold the Emerald of the Sea only an hour ago +to the master of a strange vessel. See, there she is now." And the Lord +Treasurer pointed out over the sea to the black ship with the red +sails, which was just then disappearing over the horizon.<br> +<br> +Thankful that the other ship was still in sight, the merchant hurried +back to his own vessel and gave chase. Luckily for him, there was a +full moon that night, by which the shadowy hulk and the swaying masts +of the mysterious ship could be seen.<br> +<br> +All the next day they sailed, but never an inch nearer to the other +vessel did they come, though the merchant loaded his ship with all the +canvas she could bear. Another night and another day found them no +nearer. Finally, late in the afternoon of the third day, a great storm +came sailing over the edge of the sea; a blast of wind struck the +merchant's ship, then a torrent of rain, and night came on just as the +storm was at its height.<br> +<br> +When the daylight came again, the other ship had completely +disappeared; and though the worried merchant sailed here and sailed +there, never a sign of the stranger could he find. At last, with a +heavy heart, he gave up the quest and returned to his King with the +evil tidings.<br> +<br> +The King, I hardly need say, was beside himself with rage and +disappointment. Scowling so terribly that his eyebrows almost met, he +cried to the merchant:--<br> +<br> +"Wretch, through you I have lost the finest jewel in the world! If you +do not find it within a year, your life and your possessions shall be +forfeited to me."<br> +<br> +On hearing these terrible words, the merchant turned pale, for he had +no more idea where the Emerald of the Sea was to be found than had a +new-born child. His two sons, however, when they had heard his story, +bade him not to despair, and declared that they would that very night +go forth and seek the emerald through the world.<br> +<br> +Now, because the poor merchant could not bear to be left quite alone, +it was finally agreed that only the eldest son should go in search of +the jewel, while the second-born should remain at home. This, of +course, was much against the will of the second son; nevertheless, so +it was arranged.<br> +<br> +And so the eldest son sailed away. The days lengthened into weeks, the +weeks into months, the months into a year, yet the eldest son did not +return. A guard of soldiers led the unhappy merchant before the King.<br> +<br> +"Well, have you found the Emerald of the Sea?" said the King.<br> +<br> +"No," replied the merchant, hopelessly. And now all would certainly +have been over with the poor merchant, had not his second son begged +and pleaded with the King for a year of respite in which he, too, might +search for the emerald through the world. Though at first unwilling, +the King at length yielded to the plea, but exacted one half of the +merchant's possessions as a forfeit.<br> +<br> +And so the second son sailed away. Days lengthened into weeks, weeks +lengthened into months, the months into a year, yet the second son did +not return. Cruel storms wrecked so many of the merchant's ships that +he lost the other half of his possessions, and was forced to take +refuge in a miserable cottage by the marshes beyond the town.<br> +<br> +On the last night of the year granted to him by the King, the unhappy +man sat in his poor house by a crumbling driftwood fire, listening to +the surf breaking on the beach that edged the marsh. Far away, he heard +the bells of the royal city sound the midnight hour. Neither the eldest +son nor the second-born had returned. The second year of respite was at +an end; nothing now could stay the anger of the King.<br> +<br> +Suddenly there came a vigorous rat-tat-tat on the door.<br> +<br> +"I am lost," murmured the poor merchant to himself. "The King's +soldiers are already at the door." And advancing unsteadily across the +room, he threw the door open wide.<br> +<br> +A gust of wind from the sea blew in, which bent back the flame of the +taper in his hand, and then across the threshold stepped the youngest +son. He was still a sailor and clad in sailor blue, and there was a +cutlass in his belt. So shaken with joy was the merchant that for some +time he could not utter a word, but merely clung to the strong +shoulders of the young seaman.<br> +<br> +As for the sailor son, he managed to let his father know that he had +returned from distant lands only that very evening, and had just heard +of the disasters which had overtaken his family.<br> +<br> +As they talked, steps were heard outside; and then, without waiting to +knock, a sergeant of the King's guard forced open the door, and, +followed by a handful of soldiers, entered the wretched room and took +the merchant and his son prisoners. They spent the night on the straw +in the royal dungeons, and in the morning were led before the King.<br> +<br> +On seeing the merchant, the irate King scowled more angrily than +ever,--for the loss of the Emerald of the Sea had never ceased from +troubling him,--and said:--<br> +<br> +"Well, have you found the Emerald of the Sea?"<br> +<br> +"No," said the poor merchant.<br> +<br> +"Summon the executioner!" cried the King.<br> +<br> +And now the poor man would certainly have bade farewell to earth, had +not the youngest son, like his brothers, interceded with the King.<br> +<br> +At first the King would hear not a word of it, and called to his guard +to take the prisoners instantly away; but it being whispered that the +sailor, although not much more than a lad, had once fought bravely and +been sorely wounded in the royal service, he at length gave ear to the +youngest son's prayer and said:--<br> +<br> +"Yes, you shall have another year. But know that this year shall be the +last. If you do not return with the Emerald of the Sea within a +twelvemonth, nothing shall save you. I have spoken."<br> +<br> +And thus the sailor son went in search of the Emerald. What happened to +him upon his search, in what situation he discovered his brothers, and +how he visited the City under the Sea, you shall shortly hear.<br> +<br> + Now the youngest son had a little boat of his own. It was so +small that, when the wind no longer filled its sails, it could be rowed +along, and in this boat the sailor lad began his voyage. From harbor to +harbor, from nation to nation, he sailed, but never a soul he found who +could tell him aught of the strange black ship with the fiery sails or +the lost Emerald of the Sea. Even the people of the Land of the Dawn +could tell him only that the gem had been sold to an unknown prince.<br> +<br> +Presently the winter of the year overtook him, and in one of the sudden +storms that heralded the coming of the cold, his little boat went +ashore on a rocky coast, and was soon pounded to pieces by the +breakers. Thrown into the sea during the wreck, the sailor was himself +so tossed and trampled by the waves that he reached the shore far more +dead than alive. Indeed, had it not been for a poor fisherman and his +wife, there would have been no more story to tell. These good people, I +am glad to say, rescued the sailor from the fury of the waters and +nursed him back to health and strength again.<br> +<br> +When his strength was quite restored, the sailor told this good couple +the story of how he had gone forth to seek through the wide world the +Emerald of the Sea.<br> +<br> +"But my poor lad," said the kind fisherman, "the Emerald of the Sea has +vanished forever from mortal eyes."<br> +<br> +"What! You know of the emerald?" cried the sailor.<br> +<br> +"Alas, yes," replied the fisherman. "Two years ago the Prince of the +Unknown Isles sent the finest vessel in his fleet to the Land of the +Dawn to buy the jewel. A beautiful ship was she, with a hull as black +as night and sails as red as fire. My brother and I sailed in her crew. +The jewel was taken aboard. Our brave ship set sail for the Unknown +Isles. Hardly were we three days out of the sight of land, when a storm +overtook us and sank the vessel. I chanced to be tossed in the water +near a great fragment of the mast, and clung to this until a passing +vessel found me. Of all aboard, I alone survived. Forty fathoms deep +lies the Emerald of the Sea, never more to be seen but by the dumb +creatures of the waters."<br> +<br> +At these tidings the brave sailor's heart became like ice; +nevertheless, he cried:--<br> +<br> +"Alas, good friend, I know that what you say is true, yet shall I not +despair; for, come what will, I must save my father!"<br> +<br> +Hearing this, the fisherman's wife, a quiet, good body who had had +little to say, whispered that it would be well first to consult the +Witch of the Sands.<br> +<br> +"The Witch of the Sands? Who is she and where can I find her?" cried +the sailor.<br> +<br> +"The Witch of the Sands dwells a hundred leagues from here," replied +the fisherman's wife. "All the mysteries of the waters are in her +keeping and she has an answer for them all. You must go to her and ask +her to help you."<br> +<br> +So the sailor thanked the good fisherman and his wife, and set out to +walk the hundred leagues to the house of the Witch of the Sands. His +path lay along a desolate and lonely shore, on whose rocky beaches the +wooden bones of old wrecks lay rotting, half buried in stones and weed. +Just as the third day's sun was sinking in the shining waters, the +sailor arrived at the Witch's dwelling.<br> +<br> +The Witch made her home in a deserted old ship, which a storm of long +ago had cast far up the sands. As for the Witch herself, she was a +woman so old that the sailor thought she surely must have been living +when the moon and the stars were made. A fringe of sea-shells circled +the crown of her high hat, and round her wrists were bracelets of +pearly periwinkles.<br> +<br> +Just as the sailor approached the Witch's door, a young fur seal, who +had been basking in a little pool left along the beach by the tide, +hastened out of his puddle, and running swiftly toward him on his +flappers, nuzzled his hand with his sleek, wet head, just like a young +dog.<br> +<br> +"Down, Neptune, down!" cried the witch shrilly.<br> +<br> +"Good evening, madam," said the sailor in his politest manner.<br> +<br> +"You are the third person who has come here to ask me the question you +are going to ask," screamed the Witch of the Sands, whose magic powers +had revealed to her the reason of the sailor's coming. "I know you! You +are the youngest son. Your two brothers have been here to ask me the +way under the sea, and I told them; but bless me, they have n't come +back yet. Just like young men to forget an old woman's warning. I've a +good mind not to tell you the way to the under-waters; indeed, I would +n't if you were n't a sailor and a child of the sea. Yes, I can show +you the road to under the sea; but you must not ask me about the +emerald, because I don't know where it is myself. It was in the Land of +the Dawn, and that's the last I heard of it! When you do get to the +under-waters, don't forget that. You'll have to hurry back like the +wind, for the year which the King gave your father is almost gone. +Don't ask me questions! I know you are going to ask one, because I'm +not a man; and I know what you are going to ask, because I'm a witch."<br> +<br> +And the strange old lady laughed and, putting her hands on her waist, +swayed so violently from side to side that the sea-shells on her hat +rattled and clicked. Then, after a pause to gather breath, she +continued: "Before you can go down into the waters, I shall have to +give you an enchanted ring. Mind you bring it back, for there are only +three of them in the whole wide world, and your brothers have the other +two. Goodness me, but I don't know why I let them take my magic rings. +Now that I come to think of it, I don't know as I shall let you take my +ring. However, it has been on my mind for some time to tell the King of +the City under the Sea that he's been telling the tide to come +altogether too near my ship. You can take the ring if you will promise +to deliver my message. Promise!"<br> +<br> +There was a pause, and the sailor, who had listened to the Witch's +every word, solemnly promised to carry her message to the King under +the Sea. He was just about to ask a question or two, when the Witch of +the Sands, drawing another long, long breath, cried out again:--<br> +<br> +"Don't ask questions! I've told you once and I've told you twice, and +I'll tell you as many times as there are drops of water in the sea! The +path to the City under the Sea begins a hundred leagues to the north; +in the high cliffs there, when the tide is low, you'll find the mouth +of a great cave; walk down this cave, and down and down and down, till +you feel water rising round your feet. Then put on my ring and walk +boldly ahead. In a little while you will see the city shining in the +waters. Once there, seek out the King and tell him of your quest. But +on no account" (and here the Witch solemnly turned round three times) +"eat or drink anything offered to you while you are in the +under-waters. If you do, you will forget everything of your past life, +your father, your quest, and the Emerald of the Sea. Let one drop pass +your lips, and you will spend the rest of your life under the waves. +Here is the enchanted ring. Put it in your pocket."<br> +<br> +With these words, the Witch took from a little leather purse a simple +golden ring and handed it to the youngest son, who put the ring in his +pocket, thanked the Witch, and set off for the cavern, which led to the +City under the Sea. You may be sure it did not take him very long to +find it. After feeling carefully in his pocket to see if the ring was +still safe, the sailor plunged on into the winding cave. In a short +time, the roar of the breakers on the beach, which had been loud at the +mouth of the cavern, began to fade and grow faint, and the tunnel grew +dark and cold. Feeling for the wall of the passage with one hand, the +youngest son advanced into the blackness. Creatures of the sea, with +round shining eyes, stared at him from shallow pools, and now and then +his hand, running along the wall, would touch and shake from its place +a starfish or great snail.<br> +<br> +Down and down and down went the sailor. Presently he heard the lapping +of wavelets in the darkness, and a few minutes after, he felt himself +advancing into deepening water. Stopping for an instant, he put on the +golden ring. Then, walking on again, he felt the water rise from his +ankles to his waist, and from his waist to his throat. One step more, +and the water closed over his head.<br> +<br> +Once under the waves, the sailor hesitated, uncertain as to which way +to turn. Little by little, however, his eyes grew accustomed to the +touch of the water, and he saw, lying on the bottom a few feet ahead of +him, a small ball glowing with a pale phosphorescent light. Stooping to +touch this strange object, the sailor discovered it to be a small round +sea-plant which had anchored itself to a stone, and presently he +discovered that this light was but one of thousands which together +formed a long straight line across the level floor of the sea. Rightly +imagining these lights to be signs of a sea-world road, the sailor +advanced along them. A slow walk of ten long leagues brought him to the +gate of the City under the Sea.<br> +<br> +There was very little light there, save for that which came through the +waters from the world above, and this was but a faint, pale green glow, +which lay, more like a shadow than a light on the roofs and tower-tops +of the submerged town.<br> +<br> +The sailor walked unchallenged through the gate, and found himself in +the great street of the city. Along the broad avenue grew giant +sea-plants with brown leaves, set out in rows like trees; and through +the foliage which moved heavily in the currents, little fish darted +like birds. Many people walked slowly to and fro--strange people of the +sea, all dressed alike in tight-fitting garments of shining, fish-like +scales.<br> +<br> +The sailor looked into their faces and saw that a broad golden ring +encircled the pupils of their eyes. Suddenly two men of the sea, +distinguished from the others by swords of red stone, moved through the +water, and seizing the sailor in their webbed hands, hurried him before +the King of the Under-Waters.<br> +<br> +On a coral throne, in a great hall roofed with a high circular dome, +sat the King. The flowing waters within were bright, and a queer, pale +green light pierced through the hall from a kind of fountain of light +in the centre of the floor under the dome. Approaching this shining +fountain, the sailor discovered it to be a mass of glowing +sea-creatures, living flowers of the deep, which, even as he looked, +stirred their mysterious petals.<br> +<br> +"Welcome, Wearer of the Enchanted Ring," said the King, staring hard at +the sailor with his large golden eyes. "You come at a fortunate time. +This very evening we celebrate the wedding of the second of my three +daughters with the mortal wearer of the second ring. Stand you upon the +steps of the throne, for they are coming at once. Let the trumpets +sound!"<br> +<br> +At this command, two youths of the sea lifted huge conch-shells to +their mouths and sounded them.<br> +<br> +Great doors instantly opened wide, and a gorgeous procession entered. +First, appeared a dozen pages; then, in walked the Sea King's second +daughter, hand in hand with a merry young man, in whom the sailor +recognized his second oldest brother.<br> +<br> +Presently the conch-shells sounded again.<br> +<br> +"The Prince and the Princess!" cried a voice.<br> +<br> +The King leaned over from his throne and whispered in the sailor's +ear:--<br> +<br> +"My eldest daughter and her husband. They were married just a year ago. +The Prince is a youth of the world above, and wears the first of the +enchanted rings."<br> +<br> +Now entered the eldest Princess of the Sea, walking by the side of her +husband. And in the husband the young sailor beheld the elder of his +two brothers. And though the young sailor stretched out his arms to +them, neither of his brothers remembered him, for while faint and +hungry, they had forgotten the warning of the Witch of the Sands and +had eaten of the bread of the under-world. Thus had the memory of the +world above, the lost emerald, and their father's plight faded away.<br> +<br> +The conches sounded a third time.<br> +<br> +"Come to the wedding banquet," cried the King. "You shall sit beside my +youngest daughter."<br> +<br> +And now the sailor lad, willy nilly, was hurried into the banquet hall, +and seated at the royal table beside the King's youngest daughter. And +she was quite the most beautiful of all the three. Noticing that the +youngest son touched no food, she said to him:--<br> +<br> +"Why do you refuse to taste of the wedding banquet?"<br> +<br> +"Princess," replied the sailor, "I have come to the Under-Waters to +seek the Emerald of the Sea; for if I return to my own country without +it, my father's life will be forfeited. Would you have me forget?"<br> +<br> +"But you will never find the Emerald of the Sea!" cried the Princess.<br> +<br> +"Never find the Emerald of the Sea! What do you mean?" said the sailor +anxiously.<br> +<br> +"The Emerald of the Sea has disappeared," continued the little +Princess, fixing the sailor with her golden eyes. "Years ago it was +stolen from my father's treasury by a wicked Prince of the +Under-Waters. My father pursued him and overthrew him, but in the +struggle the emerald was lost, and rising to the surface, drifted to +the shores of the Land of the Dawn. There it remained till the Prince +of the Unknown Isles purchased it and took it away in his black ship. +This ship, overcome by a storm, sank; but where it lies we know not, +though we have searched far and wide through the waters. Whosoever +finds it shall be master of the land under the sea, for the emerald is +master of us all. My father will not lift a finger to help you find it; +indeed, if he knows that you are in search of it, he will force you to +eat of the bread of the under-waters. Say nothing, therefore, of your +quest."<br> +<br> +At these words, the brave sailor's heart sank very low. Mindful of the +Witch's warning, he dared touch no morsel of food, yet he knew that +hunger would soon bring weakness in its train. Either he must find the +emerald at once, or he must abandon all hope of finding it. He could +not live long if he touched no food, and if but one morsel touched his +lips he would forget the upper world.<br> +<br> + Far away, the poor merchant, whom the King had now cast in +prison, watched the days pass one by one, and the last year approach +its end. Every morning he would ask for tidings of his sailor son, and +ask in vain.<br> +<br> + Now, when the wedding banquet was over, and the ball which +followed was at its height, the eldest of the princesses called her +sister, the bride, aside and said to her:--<br> +<br> +"We must rid ourselves at once of this newcomer. Do you not see that he +is the younger brother of our husbands? I beheld him stretch out his +arms to them as they passed. Who can tell but that he may lead them +away from us? Let us tell our servants to lie in wait for him and +deliver us from such a danger."<br> +<br> +So said the eldest sister, of the golden eyes. Alas, I fear that the +people of the under-waters are sometimes quite as shocking as those of +the world above.<br> +<br> +Later that evening, just as the poor sailor was standing by one of the +great doors, a dozen or so stout rogues in the service of the eldest +sister fell upon him, bound him with cords, and dragged him through the +water to the royal stables.<br> +<br> +Now the people of the under-waters, having no horses,--for sea horses +are but tiny creatures,--had tamed great dolphins to carry them about. +A hundred of these monsters, each with a bronze ring in his nose, were +ranged along the sides of the stables, and on the fiercest and angriest +of them all, the Princess's servants tied the sailor. How the great +fish, fastened to a bar by a chain and his nose-ring, pulled, rolled, +swerved aside, and thrashed his tail! But all his twistings were of no +avail, for the poor sailor lad was soon fastened to his back with a +rope of seaweed. Then the creature was released from his chain, given a +blow on the side with a whip of shark-skin, and turned into the wilds +of the under-waters.<br> +<br> +For half an hour, the fish, frightened at his burden, fled at lightning +speed over the roofs of the city, and sped on into the lonely plain. +Then, ceasing his mad flight, he tried again to shake himself free of +the sailor. He turned, he leaped, he dived, but all in vain, for the +sailor was securely fastened to his back. Terrified anew, with a swift +motion of his great fins, he shot violently to one side and rushed on +and on into the dark. All that long night he fled. Toward the morning +of the next day, however, the sailor managed to work one arm free, and +draw the cutlass from his waist. With this he made short work of his +bonds and rolled off the fish's back. The great animal, delivered of +the weight which had lain upon it, rose on the tip of its tail and shot +madly toward the surface, and the sailor tumbled through the waters to +the bottom.<br> +<br> +Weak and hungry, the poor young seaman gazed about in the half-gloom, +and found himself on the lower slopes of a sunken mountain rising from +the ocean floor. In no direction could he find a sign of the City under +the Sea. Hoping, however, to see better from the mountain's top, he +decided to climb it. Strange plants and shells lay in the crevices of +the weedy rocks, schools of bright fish fled past him like living +arrows, and huge crabs scuttled away as he appeared. Suddenly, lying on +her side in a little ravine of the mountain, he saw a ship--the black +ship of the Emerald of the Sea! Weary and weak though he was, it took +the sailor but a moment to clamber aboard, and hurry past the broken +masts into the captain's cabin. A steady, green radiance shone in one +corner of the weedy room, and hastening toward it, the sailor found, at +last, the Emerald of the Sea. The box which had enclosed it had rotted +away and fallen apart.<br> +<br> +"Victory!" cried the sailor, "victory! The emerald is mine at last, and +I shall save my father."<br> +<br> +He took the great jewel from the broken box and rested it in the cup of +his two hands. How it glowed on the pale flesh! Then, thrusting it into +a pocket and holding onto it with one hand, he hurried out again to the +mountainside.<br> +<br> +In the world above, it was high noon, and the level rays of the sun +beat deep into the green waters. So bright had the slope become, that +the sailor lad felt sure that he could not be far from the surface of +the waves. Moreover, if the mountain-top rose above the waters, it +would form an island in the upper world. And so, indeed, it was. +Climbing on toward the top of the mountain, the sailor first scaled a +steep cliff, and at the top of this he found a gentle slope of sand. +The sun's rays now illumined the water so brightly that the air seemed +only a little distance away. Presently a beach-crab ran nimbly away +from beneath the sailor's feet. The water grew very much warmer. The +shore was at hand! A few steps more, and the youngest son emerged on +the beach of a beautiful isle.<br> +<br> +Half-blinded by the sun, he walked toward the dry land. There he found +some delicious fruits growing, and a rippling brook of crystal water. +He ate and drank, and his strength returned.<br> +<br> +Himself again, the sailor took the Emerald of the Sea in his hands, and +cried,--<br> +<br> +"By the power of the Emerald of the Sea, I summon here the two elder +princesses of the under-waters, and my two brothers, their husbands!"<br> +<br> +There was a sound of far thunder under the clear blue sky, and a moment +later, four heads rose out of the waters, and shaking the salt spray +from their eyes, the princesses and the brothers walked through the +shallows to where the sailor was standing. Now, the princesses were +very much frightened when they beheld the sailor holding the +all-powerful emerald, and falling on their knees before him, begged him +to forgive their misdeeds, and not to take away their loved ones. Tears +fell from their golden eyes, and mingled with the drops of the salt +ocean still coursing down their black scales. As for the brothers, they +would have hurled themselves upon the sailor, had not the magic force +of the emerald prevented their approach.<br> +<br> +"Be merciful and forgive," said the younger of the sisters. "After all, +had we not caused you to be spirited away, you never would have found +the emerald."<br> +<br> +"Yes, that is true," said the sailor. "My brothers shall decide for +themselves. Break, then, the spell which binds them to the +under-waters, restore to them their memory of the past, and if then +they choose to remain, I shall not try to lead them away. Reverse the +spell!"<br> +<br> +"That is easily done," said the elder sister. "Let them but touch +the food or drink of the upper world and their memory will return."<br> +<br> +And in less time than it takes to tell it, the sisters offered the +enchanted brothers water from the rivulet. When they had drunk of it, +both the brothers became pale as death, their eyes opened wide, and +they stared as strangely as men suddenly waked from sleep. Then, seeing +their younger brother, they ran to him and threw their arms about him, +and asked a thousand questions about their father and the quest of the +emerald.<br> +<br> +The golden-eyed brides watched them with sad faces, and finally broke +into quiet tears. Imagine their joy, when their husbands returned to +them and bade them be of good cheer.<br> +<br> +Thus was true love found to be mightier than the mightiest spell.<br> +<br> +Now, when the princesses of the sea had dried their tears, the sailor +and his brothers took counsel as to how the Emerald of the Sea might be +brought to the King in time to save their father's life. You may judge +of the sailor's horror when he discovered that because of a bad error +in the calendars and clocks of Sixes and Sevens (a city he had visited +in his search for the emerald), the life of his father had been +forfeited to the King three days before!<br> +<br> + But now we must return to the poor merchant himself.<br> +<br> +All the third year the poor man had lain in a small cell in the royal +dungeons, waiting anxiously, oh, so anxiously, to hear the quick step +of the sailor son on the winding stairs just outside his prison door. +But the year came to an end, as you know, without his return. For the +third and last time, the castle guards led the poor man before the +King. Now the King had never forgiven the merchant for the loss of the +jewel; his chagrin, indeed, had increased with the years, and he was +very glad that he could at last take his revenge.<br> +<br> +"Have you found the Emerald of the Sea?" said the King, harshly. He +stood erect on the steps of his judgment-seat, arms folded, eyes fixed +in a fierce, black frown.<br> +<br> +"No," said the merchant quietly.<br> +<br> +"Then you shall seek for it yourself," cried the King. And he gave +orders that the merchant be tied hand and foot, and tossed into a +little boat without food or drink, and then sent adrift to die +helplessly in the lonely seas. And so this awful sentence was carried +out.<br> +<br> +Bound hand and foot, scarce able to roll from side to side, the +merchant lay motionless in his little craft and stared up at the blue +sky. Presently a merciful sleep overcame him, and while he slept, a +wind arose which swept the little boat along with it.<br> +<br> +Meanwhile, on the beautiful island, the sailor and his companions, +stunned at their discovery, began preparations to return to the +under-waters. Just as the twilight fell, all walked together to the +margin of the darkening sea, and advanced into the waves.<br> +<br> +Suddenly, the sailor, whose eyes were the keenest, saw a little boat +rapidly drifting ashore. Now caught in a current of the shallow beach, +it drifted sideways; now propelled by the rising tide, it floated on, +bow pointed to the shore. The sailor hurried toward it and seized it. +Suddenly he uttered a ringing cry! The old merchant lay on the floor of +the boat. He still lived, for they could see him gently breathing. +Lifting him up tenderly, the three sons carried him to the shore, +unloosed his bonds, and brought him back to life.<br> +<br> +Now when the merchant was himself again, the sailor, through the power +of the emerald, caused the waves to carry a great ship to the island, +and on this ship the three sons, the two princesses, and the old +merchant returned to the merchant's country. All landed secretly, +however, for they knew that the angry King would seize them if he knew +of their return. And so it came to pass that, one night, shortly after +the homecoming, word was brought to the sailor that the King had heard +of the merchant's escape and was sending guards to arrest the merchant +and his companions.<br> +<br> +It was almost midnight when the sailor lad received the warning. Taking +the emerald with him, he advanced to a window by the ocean, and cried +out over the moonlit waters,--<br> +<br> +"Waters of the Sea, rise and overwhelm the palace of the King!"<br> +<br> +Now the King's palace stood apart by itself on a tongue of land running +far out into the tide, and soon the rising waters were flowing over the +marble floors and pouring in through the windows. One by one, the +lights in the thousand rooms, touched by the waves, hissed, sputtered, +and expired. The servants of the palace, one and all, ran away +pell-mell, and left the dark castle to its fate. Little by little the +advancing water crept from the walls to the balconies, from the +balconies to the towers, and from the foot of the towers to their very +tops. Finally, all the moon could see as it shone upon the flood was +the weather-vane of the highest turret of all. You should have seen the +little waves ripple and break about it! And finally, even the +weather-vane disappeared under the black waves.<br> +<br> +Locked in his secret treasure-room, opening the jewel coffers one after +the other, the King remained quite ignorant of the disaster. For some +time no sound reached him in his hidden retreat, because the door of +the treasure-room was very thick and strong. Suddenly he heard behind +him the sound of falling water, and turning toward the door, beheld +streams of water gushing through the passages between the door and its +frame. Horror-struck, he watched the door burst from its locks and +hinges; a roaring cascade of cold sea-water came pouring in the room, +and a moment later the whole castle crumbled and fell to pieces.<br> +<br> +Now, when the King had met his deserts, the people of the country, who +greatly respected the merchant, offered him the crown; but he refused +it and conferred it on his two elder sons. Thus it came to pass that +the country had two kings. Each brother in turn reigned for six months +of every year, and spent the other six under the sea with the +golden-eyed people of the waters.<br> +<br> +As for the sailor lad, he sailed the sea for many years, and finally +married a pretty niece of the Witch of the Sands. Then, like all +sailors, he went to the country to live. His house is built of gray +stone, ivy climbs over it, and apple orchards lie beneath its windows.<br> +<br> +And the all lived happily ever after.</big> + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Firelight Fairy Book, by Henry Beston + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FIRELIGHT FAIRY BOOK *** + +***** This file should be named 19207-h.htm or 19207-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/1/9/2/0/19207/ + +Produced by Don Kostuch + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Firelight Fairy Book + +Author: Henry Beston + +Release Date: September 8, 2006 [EBook #19207] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FIRELIGHT FAIRY BOOK *** + + + + +Produced by Don Kostuch + + + + + +[Transcriber's Notes] + +The spelling of "didn't" as "did n't", "center" as "centre" and other +such usages, has been maintained. + +Here are the definitions of some unfamiliar (to me) words. + +cataplasm (poultice) + Soft moist adhesive mass of meal or clay, usually heated, spread on + cloth, and applied to warm, moisten, or stimulate an aching or + inflamed part of the body. + +doggerel + Irregularly fashioned verse of a humorous nature. + +halberdiers + Guard armed with a halberd, a weapon having an ax-like blade and a + steel spike mounted on the end of a long shaft. + +importuning + Beg for something persistently. + +sedges + Grasslike plants of the family Cyperaceae, having solid stems and + three vertical rows of leaves. + +seneschal + Official in a medieval noble household in charge of domestic + arrangements and the administration of servants. + +[End Transcriber's Notes] + + + +The FIRELIGHT FAIRY BOOK + +By HENRY BESTON + + +ILLUSTRATIONS BY MAURICE E. DAY + +LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY BOSTON + +COPYRIGHT, 1919, BY THE ATLANTIC MONTHLY PRESS, Inc. + +All rights reserved, including that of translation +into foreign languages, including the Scandinavian. + +THE ATLANTIC MONTHLY PRESS PUBLICATIONS ARE PUBLISHED BY +LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY +IN ASSOCIATION WITH +THE ATLANTIC MONTHLY COMPANY + +PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA + + +FOREWORD + +THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF THE NAVY +WASHINGTON, September 7. 1922 + +DEAR HENRY:-- + +"Grown-ups" arrogate entirely too much to themselves. I know this is so. +I discovered it for a fact when I was not more than "knee-high to a +grasshopper" myself. I knew, for example, that a certain amount of dirt +on my face and hands in no way interfered with my enjoyment of my +supper. The fact that my finger nails were not all they should have been +had no bearing whatsoever upon the efficiency of those same fingers. +Washing not only took time from other important pursuits, but also was +mildly unpleasant. Nevertheless, my mother was not even open to +reasonable argument on the matter. Arbitrarily, with the despotism of an +early Roman Emperor, she rendered a dictum to the effect that I must +wash, and soapy and submissive I had to be before I could come to the +table. Again, any reasonable child can tell you that pleasure is the +main object of eating; therefore, in all logic, one should eat if one +feels like it at ten o'clock in the morning, or at three o'clock in the +afternoon, a jar of Guava jelly, a pound of chocolates, a paper of +ginger cookies, or whatever may appeal to one's aesthetic taste. This +method of procedure, naturally, might necessitate recourse to the +brown-wood family medicine closet. Certain discomfort might ensue. But +was not the pleasure worth it? Again my mother arbitrarily took the +matter into her own hands, disagreeing with me on fundamentals. She +maintained that eating was not for pleasure simply, but for nourishment. +Sundry unfortunate remarks were made containing references to gluttony. +The pantry was locked, and regular meals at regular periods were +prescribed. Indeed, poems with dreadful morals for those who ate between +meals were recited to me, endeavor being made thereby to substitute +terror for inclination. + +Any reasonable child will find many such parallel instances of the +assumed omnipotence of "grownups." With this awful indictment before me, +you ask me, a "grown-up," to write an introduction for the "Firelight +Fairy Book," and thereby to assume the responsibility for passing +judgment upon it. There is but one circumstance that makes me willing to +do so. I believe that where any nice "grown-up" is concerned, if you +crack the hard outside shell with which circumstances have surrounded +him, beneath it you will find a child. Banking on this, I venture to say +that I thoroughly enjoyed the "Firelight Fairy Book." I liked +particularly the story of the poor little prince, whose sneezing had +such a disastrous effect; and the lost half hour is unquestionably an +accurate historical account, because no one could have described so +accurately, simply from imagination, what a lost temper looked like. +What makes me even more willing to advance my opinion is that I do not +stand alone. My conclusions are supported by a jury of my peers, for I +have given the book as a Christmas gift, not only to my own children, +but to other people's children, and to one of the prominent Senators of +the United States. They have universally acclaimed it, and who can +question the judgment of such a jury? + +Good luck to the "Firelight Fairy Book." May it, like Scrooge's laugh in +the "Christmas Carol," "be the father of a long, long line of brilliant" +books of a like nature for the enjoyment of all true children, whether +they be still at day school, or sitting in the high places of the world. + +Believe me, +Yours very truly, +THEODORE ROOSEVELT + +HENRY BESTON, ESQ. +Topsfield, Mass. + + + +HOW THE NEW FAIRY TALES CAME TO BE WRITTEN + +Some twenty years ago, in a pleasant old town by the sea, lived a lad +who was very, very fond of fairy tales. When he had read all the +fairy-books which his parents and his uncles and his cousins and his +sisters and his aunts had been kind enough to give him, he turned to the +town library and read every single fairy tale he could find mentioned in +the catalogue. But there was an end even to this treasure; and, finally, +a day came when the fairy-tale lover could find no new tales to read. +Every Christmas he would peek at the new books in the bookshops, only to +find the same old stories printed, with new pictures, meant to please +grown-ups. What could be the matter? Had the fairies all gone away, or +locked the doors of Fairyland? Where, where, where were the new stories, +and why, why, why did n't people write them? + +Some years passed. One pleasant summer day, as the fairy-tale lover sat +reading a book beneath the low spreading branches of an oak tree, he +heard a hum of wings, and looking up startled from his book, he +discovered the Fairy Goldenwand standing close by. + +"Are you still seeking new fairy tales?" said the Fairy Goldenwand. + +"Yes," said the reader. + +"Will you write them down if I tell you some really new ones?" said the +Fairy. + +"Oh yes, indeed," said the reader. "And I'll put them into a book; and +next Saturday Mr. Day, the artist, will come down; we shall have tea +here under the oak tree,--do you like hot buttered toast?--and you must +tell him all about the fashions in Fairyland." + +"Oh, that will be fine!" said the Fairy Goldenwand. "I knew you would +n't mind my appearing so suddenly. Ever so many things have happened in +Fairyland since the last books were written, and we all think it's a +dreadful shame that children have n't heard about them. Just imagine +boys and girls not knowing about the adventures of the Prince in Lantern +Land! Shall I tell you the story?" + +And that's the way the author heard about the Shepherd of Clouds, +Florian, Marianna, Giles, Bobo, and all the other new friends. That you +may long enjoy their adventures is the wish of + +HENRY BESTON +MAURICE E. DAY +THE FAIRY GOLDENWAND + + +The Parson Capen Home +Topsfield, Massachusetts + + + +CONTENTS + + THE QUEEN OF LANTERN LAND + THE ADVENTURES OF FLORIAN + THE SELLER OF DREAMS + THE TREASURE CASTLE + PRINCE SNEEZE + MARIANNA + THE LOST HALF-HOUR + THE ENCHANTED ELM + THE BIRD-BOY + THE MASTER MARINER + THE MARVELOUS DOG AND THE WONDERFUL CAT + THE SHEPHERD OF CLOUDS + THE CITY UNDER THE SEA + + +ILLUSTRATIONS + + +THE QUEEN OF LANTERN LAND + The Prince begins his journey through the caverns + +THE ADVENTURES OF FLORIAN + Over hill, over dale, Florian followed the magic ball + +THE SELLER OF DREAMS + "How much does a dream cost?" asked Peter + "A golden florin," answered the Seller of Dreams + +THE TREASURE CASTLE + The three rogues were locked in the flying room + +PRINCE SNEEZE + The chest of secrets was made of black stone + +MARIANNA + Into the world went Marianna and the yellow bird + +THE LOST HALF-HOUR + Just as the dragon's mouth was at its widest + +THE ENCHANTED ELM + The maiden watched the woodcutters coming through the wood + +THE BIRD-BOY + Every year, on the Bird-Boy's birthday, a great gray bird was seen + +THE MASTER MARINER + Splash! and the Master Mariner fell into the sea + +THE MARVELOUS DOG AND THE WONDERFUL CAT + The Dog and the Cat studying their lessons + +THE SHEPHERD OF CLOUDS + It was Giles's task to open the door of the cloud-bowl + +THE CITY UNDER THE SEA + For three days the Merchant pursued the ship with the fiery sails + + + + THE QUEEN OF LANTERN LAND + +Once upon a time the youngest son of a king became filled with the +desire to go abroad and see the world. He got his father's permission to +depart, kissed his parents good-bye, mounted his black horse, and +galloped away down the high road. Soon the gray towers of the old castle +in which he was born hid themselves behind him. + +The Prince journeyed on, spending the days in traveling, and the nights +in little wayside inns, till one day he found himself in the heart of +the Adamant Mountains. The great, red granite crags of the surrounding +peaks rose out of the gleaming snow like ugly fingers, and the slopes of +giant glaciers sparkled in the sun like torrents of diamonds. The Prince +sat down by some stunted trees whose tops had long before been broken +off by an avalanche, and began to eat the bit of bread and cheese which +he had stored in his pocket. His black horse, meanwhile, ate the grass +which grew here and there along the mountain path. And as the Prince sat +there in the bright sun and the silence of the mountains, he became +aware of a low, continuous roaring. + +"There must be a waterfall near-by," said the Prince to himself. "I'll +go and see it." + +So, casting another look at his steed, who was contentedly browsing, the +Prince climbed up the mountainside in the direction of the sound. + +The Prince climbed and climbed, he went in this direction and in that, +yet the sound never grew any louder or fainter. Suddenly he realized +that he was hopelessly lost. The little path up which he had ridden had +vanished completely, and he had not the slightest idea in which +direction it lay. He called aloud, but only the mountain echoes answered +mockingly. + +Night came, and the Prince took shelter behind a great rock. All the +next day he labored to find the path, but in vain. He grew very hungry +and cold. Every once in a while he would hear the roaring of the +waterfall, which seemed to have grown louder. + +Another day dawned, and another day again. The Prince was getting very +weak. He knew that he was approaching the mysterious cataract, for the +noise of the water was now tremendous, and heaven and earth were full of +its roar. The third night came, and the full moon rose solemnly over the +snow-clad summits of the lonely and mysterious mountains. Suddenly the +Prince, walking blindly on, staggered through a narrow passage-way +between two splintered crags, and found himself face to face with the +mystery. + +He stood on the snowy floor of a vast amphitheatre whose walls were the +steep sides of the giant mountains. Farthest away from him, and opposite +the moon, the wall of the bowl appeared as a giant black precipice, +whose top seemed to reach almost to the moon-dimmed stars; and over this +precipice a broad river was endlessly pouring, shining in the night like +the overflow of an ocean of molten silver. Though now very weak from +lack of food, and dizzy with the roaring of the cataract, the Prince +made his way to the shore of the foaming and eddying lake into which the +water was falling. Great was his surprise to discover that the overflow +of this lake disappeared into the earth through a long, low opening in +the cliff behind the fall. Greater still was his surprise to see a +strange many-colored light burning within the cave. + +The Prince made his way toward the light, along a narrow beach of white +sand lying between the wall of the cavern and the racing waters of the +mysterious river, and found that the glow came from a magnificent +lantern studded with emeralds, topazes, amethysts, and rubies, which +hung by a chain from the roof of the grotto. Directly under this +lantern, drawn up on the sand, lay a little boat with a lantern fastened +to the bow. The Prince pushed the boat into the river, and got into it, +and the swift current seized him and hurried him away. + +At first the cavern grew higher and wider; then it shrank again, and the +boat, borne along with incredible speed, shot down a rocky passageway +into the very heart of the earth. The passageway broadened once more, +and the boat rode gently through monstrous caves whose roofs were upheld +by twisted columns taller than the tallest tree. There were times when +all was so still that the Prince could easily have imagined himself back +in the solitude of the mountains; there were times when the foaming and +roaring of the underground river grew so deafening that the Prince +feared lest he might be approaching the brink of a subterranean +cataract. + +Many hours passed. The Prince did not know whether it was night or day. +At length, while the boat was gliding through a vast hall, he fell +asleep. When he awoke, he found that the boat was floating on the black, +glassy surface of an immense underground ocean. All signs of the cavern +had disappeared. Far away, over the edge of this ocean, a strange, +beautiful glow mounted into the starless sky of the underworld. And +while the Prince was gazing at the glow, the boat swung into a new +current, and was borne swiftly toward the light. In a short time the +light grew so wide and bright that one would have believed that a +strange, golden sun had risen. The boat passed between two giant marble +pillars supporting enormous crystal globes filled with a golden fire, +and the Prince found himself in the harbor of Lantern Land. + +A city lay before him, a strange golden city edging the shore of a vast, +semi-circular bay. Because in the centre of the earth there is neither +sun nor moon, the people have to be continually burning lights; and so +many and so great were the lanterns of Lantern Land that the town was as +bright as day. The edge of the harbor was marked with a row of golden +lanterns; there were immense lanterns at every six paces along the +streets; a lantern hung from every house; and the church-towers, instead +of having bells in them, had great golden lamps which illumined +everything for some distance about. Moreover, every inhabitant of +Lantern Land carried a lantern with him wherever he went, the rich +carrying golden lanterns set with transparent precious stones, the poor +carrying lights of ordinary glass. + +Soon the Prince saw a magnificent ship coming out to meet him. The prow +was carved in the shape of a dragon's head, and a beautiful lantern hung +from its jaws. Overcome by hunger and fatigue, the poor Prince fell +insensible to the floor of his little boat. When he came to his senses +again, he was lying between sheets of the whitest, most delicate linen +in a great four-poster bed, in a room in the royal palace. + +Thanks to his kind hosts, the Prince soon recovered his strength. When +he was completely himself again, he was summoned to an audience with the +Queen of Lantern Land. + +The Queen, a very beautiful young woman, wearing a wonderful lantern +crown, sat on an ebony throne. On each side of the throne stood a tall +soldier, clad in scarlet and holding a long ebony staff surmounted by a +round lantern lit by a golden flame. + +The Prince dropped on his knee, and thanked the Queen for her kindness +and hospitality. + +"You are the first stranger to come to Lantern Land for a thousand +years," said the young Queen. "If it is not asking too much from a +guest, pray how did you happen to find the river of the underworld?" + +So the Prince told her that he was a king's son, and described his +adventures in the mountains. You may be sure the Queen was glad to hear +of his royal birth, for she had fallen in love with him at first sight. + +A month passed. The Prince remained a guest in the palace. All kinds of +festivities were given in his honor; there were wonderful dances, +masquerades, picnics, and theatricals going on all the time. One day the +Prince and the Queen, accompanied by a little group of courtiers, rode +to the frontier of Lantern Land. The lovers galloped ahead of the party +and reached a little hill beyond which there were no more lanterns. +Ahead of them the rolling land, sweeping farther and farther away from +the light, grew darker and darker, till it finally plunged into the +eternal night of the underworld. + +The Prince looked at the Queen, and saw that she was weeping. + +"Dear love, why do you weep?" asked the Prince, who felt sad to see +tears in his lady's lovely eyes. + +"I weep to think that in spite of our love we must soon part forever," +said the Queen. + +"Part forever? Dear lady, what can you mean?" said the anxious Prince. + +"A cruel fate hangs over us," replied the lady. "Know, dear Prince, that +I am promised in marriage to the Enchanter Dragondel, and that in +exactly eight days, he will come here to claim my hand." + +"The Enchanter Dragondel--who is he?" said the Prince. + +"Alas," said the Queen, "the Enchanter Dragondel is the most powerful +magician of all the underworld. He is about eight feet tall, has cruel +sunken eyes that burn like dull fires, and dresses entirely in black. We +met at a ball given by the King of the Goblins. Dragondel pursued me +with compliments. A few days afterwards, an iron boat arrived in the +port of Lantern Land, having on board a giant blue dog who is +Dragondel's younger brother. This terrible animal, from whose sight the +people of Lantern Land fled screaming, made his way to the palace, and +dropped at my feet a jeweled casket, which he carried between his jaws. +The casket contained Dragondel's request for my hand, and added that, +were I to refuse him, he would let loose a legion of ghosts and other +winged spirits against the lanterns of Lantern Land. I had a vision of +Lantern Land in darkness; of my poor subjects dying of fear and +starvation. Rather than let this vision come true, I accepted the +Enchanter. Soon I shall never see you again, for Dragondel will come and +take me to his awful castle which lies on an island in the dark ocean. +Nor will you ever be able to save me, for Dragondel has so bewitched the +waves that a terrible whirlpool forms on the sea when a boat approaches +the enchanted castle, and engulfs it." + +"But I can fight Dragondel," said the Prince, like the brave youth that +he was. + +"That would be of little use," replied the Queen, "for you would be +changed into a stone the instant you crossed swords with him. Tomorrow, +the blue dog arrives to remind me of my obligation, and to carry back to +the island some of the palace servants who are to make Dragondel's +castle ready for my coming." + +The other members of the party now rode up, and the Queen dabbed her +eyes with her handkerchief, and pretended not to have been crying. The +Prince and the Queen felt very unhappy as they rode home. + +On the next day, sure enough, the iron boat arrived, and the blue dog, +who was as large as a lion, went to the Queen's palace, and bade her +make ready for the coming wedding. A dozen of the Queen's servants were +then ordered to go with the blue dog to Dragondel's castle. Among these +servants, disguised as a kitchen lad, was the Prince; for he had +determined to see if there was not some way in which the young Queen +could be rescued from the wicked magician. + +The boat neared the island, but no terrible whirlpool formed in the +enchanted sea. At last the boat reached Dragondel's castle. It stood on +the top of a high lonely rock against whose steep sides the waves of the +underground ocean were forever foaming and breaking, and it was half in +ruins and was very poorly lighted. + +The Prince took his place in the kitchen, and sought for an opportunity +to prevent the marriage of Dragondel and the Queen. + +For four days of the precious week, however, the poor Prince was kept so +busy baking and making pastries for the coming of the bride that he did +not have an instant to ask questions or do anything else. + +In the morning hours of the fifth day there was a terrible moaning and +roaring outside, and the cooks rushed to the kitchen windows. An unhappy +fishing boat had been swept by the wind too near Dragondel's castle, the +enchanted whirlpool had formed, and caught the boat in its awful circle. +Now it went slowly round the outer edge, now, going faster and faster, +it slid down the side of the awful funnel, and finally it vanished. An +instant later, the whirlpool had disappeared, leaving the sea roaring +and foaming. + +The Prince shuddered. + +"Well you may shudder," said the chief cook, "for such would have been +your fate if our master's brother had not carried with him the talisman +which rules the whirlpool." + +"Talisman? What talisman?" said the Prince affecting stupidity. + +"Why the little golden hand, you fool," said the chief cook. + +"My! it must be a great big hand to be able to quiet that whirlpool," +said the Prince. + +"Big indeed, you ninny!" growled the cook. "Why, the magic hand is only +as big as a baby's hand. I've seen it many times. The master carries it +in his pocket, and puts it under his pillow while he sleeps." + +So, later on, when his work was done, and everybody had gone to bed, the +Prince, in the hope of stealing the talisman, tried to make his way to +Dragondel's bedchamber. But when he reached the foot of the stairs which +led to the Enchanter's room, he found it guarded by two black panthers +which stared at him with insolent yellow eyes and switched their long +tails. The Prince went outdoors, to see if there was any hope of +climbing to the room along the outer wall, and found that the windows of +Dragondel's chamber overlooked a cliff falling thousands of feet sheer +to the dark sea. Far, far away, the Prince saw the glow of Lantern Land. +Only a short time remained to him in which to save his beloved lady of +the lanterns. + +As he wandered about, very sick at heart, he saw a little black cat +running madly back and forth along the edge of a steep cliff from one of +whose crevices came a persistent, unhappy mewing. The poor cat was a +mother-cat, and was trying to rescue a kitten of hers that had fallen +down between the rocks. At great risk of being dashed to pieces himself, +the brave Prince climbed down the precipice, rescued the kitten, and +gave it back to its anxious mother. + +"Thank you, brave youth," said the old cat. + +"May it some day be within my power to help you as you have helped me." + +"You can help me this very moment," said the Prince. And he told the cat +who he was, why he had come to the castle, and of his desire to get +possession of the talisman. + +"I will help you get the talisman," said the cat. "The panthers will let +me pass, for they are cousins of mine. But you must make another little +golden hand to take the place of the one I shall steal; for if Dragondel +misses the golden hand, he will summon his demons to find it, and we +shall both lose our lives. Go now to the kitchen, carve a small hand +with the fingers close together and the thumb lying close to the +fingers, gild it over with the gold dust you have had given you for the +pastry icings, and bring it to me tomorrow night at this very hour." + +So the Prince worked the rest of the night carving and gilding the +little golden hand, and on the next night he gave it to the cat. The cat +took it in her mouth as she would have a mouse, walked coolly by the +panthers, and entered Dragondel's room. She had just succeeded in +getting the true hand out from under the magician's pillow when +Dragondel woke up. The cat was clever enough to pretend to be engaged in +a mouse-hunt, so the Enchanter paid no attention to her and fell asleep +once more. When the cat, however, got under Dragondel's couch again, the +two hands lay side by side and she could not remember just which one was +the talisman and which one the false hand. So because she had to act +quickly, she put one of the hands under the pillow, brought the other to +the Prince and told him her story. But so well matched were the little +hands, that even the Prince was far from certain that he had not got his +own hand back again. + +And now came the seventh day, the day on which Dragondel, the blue dog, +and all the wicked Enchanter's friends were to sail to Lantern Land for +the marriage ceremony. The iron ship, made gay with a thousand small +scarlet lanterns, stood ready to carry them over. The Enchanter and his +company got in, and the vessel left the island. + +The Prince stood watching the ship from the top of the cliffs. What +anxiety was in his heart! If Dragondel still possessed the true +talisman, he would cross the whirlpool safely, and marry the beautiful +Queen of Lantern Land. + +The vessel sped on. It was now at some distance from the island. + +"All is lost," thought the Prince with a sinking heart; "Dragondel has +the true talisman." And in his bitterness he was about to throw the +little golden hand which lay in his pocket down into the sea. + +Suddenly the air became filled with a terrible moaning; the sea became +troubled; the whirlpool awoke. And the Prince saw the red lights of the +Enchanter's ship whirled round and round, faster and faster, till they +disappeared forever in the waters of the sunless sea. + +As for the Prince, he soon found another boat, and taking with him the +talisman, his fellow servants, and the black cat and her kittens, he +returned to Lantern Land, married the Queen, and lived happily ever +after. + + + + THE ADVENTURES OF FLORIAN + +[Illustration: Boy walking through forest following a small ball.] + + +Once upon a time there lived in an old and ruinous house by the shore of +the wild sea, a widowed nobleman and his only child, a daughter named +Isabella. They were very poor in spite of their high birth, so poor that +one by one the fields and woods of their little domain had been sold in +order to buy the bare necessities of life. Knowing that his death would +leave Isabella quite alone in the world and practically penniless, her +father brought her up more like a boy than a girl; she could ride a +horse as gracefully as an Amazon, she could swim like a born mermaid, +and even outdo her father in his favorite sport of fencing. Yet so sweet +was the gentle nature which the girl had inherited from her mother, that +this strange upbringing never spoiled her in the least. + +Late one October evening, when the fierce gusts of wind from the sea +shook the old house to its very foundation and set the ragged tapestries +swaying on the walls, Isabella's father died, leaving her only the +ruinous house, a handful of copper pence, and a single golden florin. +The sum of money was enough to keep body and soul together for a few +weeks, but what was Isabella to do when the little pittance was gone? +Her father had once counseled her to go to the King and ask for his +protection; but the King's castle was hundreds of miles distant, and +Isabella shrank from begging or the highway. + +At last the brave girl resolved to make her own way in the world. Taking +the golden florin with her, she went to a neighboring town, and +purchased a suit of clothes such as pages and squires wear who are in +the service of noblemen. She then caused her black hair to be cut short, +boy-fashion, put on the boy's clothes she had purchased, and went into +the market-place to see if she could not find a situation in the service +of some great family. + +Now, it was the custom in those days for masters and servants to meet by +a fountain in the market-place, the masters who were in need of servants +standing on one side of the fountain, the servants who were in search of +masters on the other. + +When Isabella came into the market-place, there was no one standing on +the masters' side of the fountain, but on the other side, ready for the +first master who should appear, was a little group of noisy and impudent +squires and pages. Isabella, or, as she now called herself, Florian, +strode boldly over and joined this group, her heart beating high with +the thrill of the great adventure. + +Suddenly a black knight, mounted on a black horse and leading another +horse by the bridle, clattered over the cobble-stones of the square, and +taking his place by the fountain, called on the pages to come to him. In +spite of the horseman's summons, however, the pages paid no attention to +him at all. Curious to know the reason of this disdain, Florian +questioned a fellow page, and was told that the knight was no other than +the Enchanter of the Black Rock, and that no page or squire would take +service with him because his castle was haunted by goblins, ghosts, and +all manner of terrifying spirits. + +Now, Florian was no coward, and, as the saying is, beggars cannot be +choosers. So, much to the astonishment of the pages, Florian walked over +to the Enchanter, who sat fuming with anger and impatience, and offered +to go with him. The Knight bade Florian mount the horse which he was +holding; and amid the cat-calls and hooting of the pages, master and boy +galloped away. + +All day long they rode, and when it was near the end of the afternoon +Florian found himself at the edge of a wild and desolate moor. Within +the great circle of the horizon, under the pale sky, not a tree, not a +house, not a shepherd's hut even was to be seen--nothing but the great +barren waste rolling, rising and falling to the very edge of the world. +Lower and lower sank the sun; it grew cold, and a blue mist fell. +Twilight came, a green, mysterious twilight. + +Suddenly, from a hillock of the moor, Florian beheld afar the enchanted +dwelling. A great sunken marsh lay before him, beginning at the foot of +the little hill and stretching away, league after league, till its +farther shore was hidden in the gathering darkness. The autumn wind +stirred the dead sedges at its brim, and though the dying twilight was +still gleaming in the sky, the great bog had caught little of its glow, +and lay full of coiling blue mists, pale quagmires, and islands of +mysterious darkness. A dreadful moaning cry, uttered by some demon of +the moor, sounded through the mist, chilling the blood in Florian's +veins; and as if in answer to the cry, thousands upon thousands of +will-o'-the-wisps appeared, darting and dancing. In the very heart of this +terrible marsh a great black rock uprose, and on this rock, its turrets +and battlements outlined against the burning face of the moon, stood the +castle. Ghostly lights, now green, now blue, flickered in its windows. + +The Enchanter reined up his horse at the brink of the mire, and cried,-- + + "List! List! + Will-o'-the-Wisp, + Lend me your light." + +Scarcely had the last word fallen from the Enchanter's mouth, when the +dancing witch-fires hurried toward him from all sides of the marsh. Soon +a pale road leading across the bog to the castle stood revealed, an +enchanted road which melted away behind the riders as smoke melts into +the winter air. To the very gates of his castle did the ghost-fires +accompany the Enchanter; then, rising swiftly high into the air, they +fled like startled birds, in every direction. + +Doors opened of their own will, strange goblins and ghostly creatures +passed, and bright, whirling globes of fire fled hissing across the +castle courtyard. Just as they were about to enter the castle itself, +the Enchanter turned, and fastened his burning eyes on Florian. + +"Boy," said he, "let nothing that you hear or see make you afraid. Be +assured that no power or spirit can harm you. There is only one demon in +the world whose power is greater than mine, and that is Fear himself. Be +brave, keep the doors of your heart locked against Fear; be faithful, +and you shall never have cause to regret your coming." + +So Florian, who was by nature brave, felt ashamed of having allowed the +demon Fear to knock at the door of his heart, and resolved never to let +his courage fail, no matter what might happen. And true to this resolve +the lad remained during the years he spent in the service of the +Enchanter. At first, to be sure, he had to struggle to conquer his fear +of some of the goblins; but as time passed and no ghost or goblin ever +ventured to annoy him, he grew accustomed to their presences and ended +by paying no more attention to them than he paid to the great ravens who +flew croaking over the mire. So faithful and courageous was the little +page that, when his year was up, the Enchanter begged him to remain yet +another year, promising him rich rewards if he stayed. When this second +year was up, however, Florian felt a longing to see the world again, and +told the Enchanter that he must be going. + +"Very well," said the Enchanter, who respected the courage of the brave +page, "thou shalt do as thou desirest. Thou art a brave and faithful +lad. Here is a purse of gold for thy wages, and here are three gifts to +reward thy courage and good-will." He opened a copper casket and took +forth a little golden bird with outstretched wings hanging from a fine +golden chain, a golden key, and a scarlet sphere marked with a band of +white. "This little bird," continued the Enchanter, "will protect you +from the spells of any sorcerer whose power is less than mine, and will +sing when you fare into hidden danger; this key will open every door in +the world; and should you ever lose your way, you have but to put this +sphere on the ground, and it will roll home of its own accord. Moreover, +if you are ever yourself in deadly peril, call upon me, and I will come +and help you." + +So Florian thanked the Enchanter, and taking his gifts, went back into +the world again. But so gentle and kind was he that he soon gave away to +the unfortunate all the gold he had earned, and was forced to go in +search of another situation. At length he entered the service of the +King and Queen of the Twelve Towers. + +This royal couple, who were renowned in Fairyland as much for their +goodness and generosity as for their wealth and magnificence, had but +one son, Prince Florizel. No braver or more gallant prince ever drew +breath. He had driven the dragon of the blue cavern out of his father's +kingdom; he had fought three wicked ogres one after the other, and +finished each one; he had delivered the diamond castle of a terrible +spell which lay upon it. + +When Florian entered the service of the King and Queen, these excellent +parents were sending their son on a visit to his uncle, the Emperor of +the Plain, and Florian was ordered to join the gay company of lords and +ladies, knights and soldiers, who were to make the journey. According to +the gossip of the company, Prince Florizel was being sent to his uncle's +in the hope that he would fall in love with his uncle's ward, the +beautiful Princess Rosamond. + +Now in some way or other, after the company had been a few days on the +road, Prince Florizel, who watched over the company as carefully as a +good captain does over his soldiers, became aware of the bravery, +trustworthiness, and modest bearing of Florian, the little page, and +promoted him to be his own personal squire. Alas! no sooner had he been +advanced, than Florian the little page, though remaining outwardly a +page, became at heart the runaway girl, Isabella. Though she fought as +hard as she could against her own heart, it was of little use, and she +knew herself to be deeply in love with the gallant Florizel. Yet she +suffered no word or sign of her affection to escape her, for Prince +Florizel thought her only a little page, and to speak would be to betray +the secret she had so long and successfully guarded. + +One morning, as the cavalcade was riding through a charming country, +Florian, for so we must still continue to call Isabella, was following +close behind his master, when the Prince caught sight of a wonderful +scarlet flower, something like a scarlet lily, blooming by the roadside. +At the same moment, the little golden bird that Florian wore round his +neck sang a few clear notes as if it were alive. + +"What a pretty flower!" said the Prince. "I must have it." + +And he was about to dismount and pick the flower, when Florian spurred +on ahead of him, grasped the enchanted flower, and tossed it into a +ditch. + +"Fie, what a naughty page!" cried the lords and ladies. + +The company rode on a few miles more, and suddenly the Prince caught +sight of a beautiful jeweled dagger lying in the highway. At the same +moment the little golden bird sang a few clear notes of warning. + +"What a fine dagger!" cried the Prince, "I must have it." + +And he was about to dismount and pick up the dagger, when Florian +spurred on ahead of him, seized the dagger, and tossed it into a ditch. + +"Fie, what a naughty page!" cried the lords and ladies. + +The company now rode on for a few miles more, and the Prince saw by the +roadside a beautiful enchanted garden. Birds of many colors sang in the +branches of the trees, fountains sparkled and danced in the sunlight, +and the sweetest of music was heard. At the same moment the golden bird +sang louder and longer than ever. + +"What a beautiful garden!" cried the Prince. "Let us ride in and look +about." + +So Florian hurried to the Prince's side, and implored him not to enter, +saying that the garden was enchanted and that some harm would certainly +befall him. + +At this, all the lords and ladies, who were a little jealous, perhaps, +that a page should know more than they, laughed at poor Florian, and +even Florizel smiled at him and said, "All that is only fancy, little +Florian," and dashed in through the garden gate. For a minute or so +nothing happened, and the first to enter mocked at Florian again; but +when the whole company had entered the garden, there was a clap of +thunder, and everybody except the Prince and Florian, who was protected +by the Enchanter's charm, was turned into stone. The echoes of the +thunder had hardly ceased rolling when two frightful demons with lions' +heads rushed towards them through the garden, seized the Prince, and +hurried him away. Florian was left alone in the garden. Night was fast +approaching. + +Now, the owner of the enchanted garden was a witch, who had a daughter +so frightfully ugly that even her mother's powerful magic could not make +her beautiful. In spite of her ugliness, however, the witch's daughter +considered herself quite beautiful, and was always importuning her +mother to invite to the castle princes whom she considered worthy of her +hand. So the old witch gave wonderful dances and parties, to which all +the eligible young kings and princes of the neighborhood were invited; +but just as soon as the witch's daughter appeared with a horrid smirk on +her ugly face, the young men were sure to make their excuses and ride +away. + +At length the old witch, who had just had a severe tongue-lashing from +her daughter for not punishing the Prince of Zagabondiga after that +prince had failed to ask her for a dance, could endure her daughter's +scolding no longer, and resolved to catch the first prince who came past +her garden, and force him, willy nilly, to accept her ugly daughter. +Into her trap poor Florizel had walked, and the witch, hoping to bend +him to her will by terrifying him, had thrown him into a deep dungeon. +The ugly daughter had immediately peeked through the key-hole of the +prison, and fallen in love with Florizel at first sight. + +The witch was just considering what to do next, when her lion-headed +servitors informed her that one of the company had resisted her +enchantment, and was wandering about the garden. So the witch put on her +cloak of invisibility, and going down to the garden, found poor Florian +wandering disconsolately under the trees. She saw at once that it was +the little golden bird which had protected him from her magic; and being +afraid of the charm and yet unable to work the poor lad any harm while +the bird was in his possession, she decided to rid herself of Florian by +transporting her castle, gardens and all, over to the other side of the +world. So she uttered a spell, and everything disappeared. + +When Florian woke the next morning, and found that the castle was gone, +his heart sank. Nevertheless, he did not despair, but taking from his +pocket the little scarlet ball which his master the Enchanter had given +him, he put it on the ground, and bade it guide him back to the +Enchanted Garden. + +The little ball immediately began rolling ahead at Florian's own pace; +at night it glowed with a scarlet fire. Day after day, month after +month, the scarlet ball rolled on; it led Florian over hill and down +dale, through the land of the men who have only one eye, through the +country of the dwarfs, and the valley of the talking trees, never +stopping till it reached the gate of the witch's garden. + +A year, meanwhile, had gone by, and during that year the witch had done +everything she could to induce Prince Florizel to accept her ugly +daughter. First she had tried frightening him, then she had tried to win +him by giving splendid fetes, then she had tried terrifying him again; +but as the Prince was neither to be terrified nor cajoled, she came to +her wits' end. Finally she told the Prince that, if he were not willing +to accept her daughter in marriage on the very next day, she would turn +him into a hare and set her dogs upon him. The Prince made no answer to +her terrible threat, and the witch went ahead and made preparation for +the grandest of weddings. On that night, Florian arrived at the garden. + +When it was very late, and the moon, which was a quarter full, had +disappeared behind a bank of clouds, Florian crept unobserved to the +door of Florizel's prison; for the witch had locked him up so securely +that she had not taken the trouble to find a watchman. Alas! the poor +Prince lay at the top of a high tower, and twenty different doors, each +one opened by a different key, stood between him and the ground. + +But Florian was not to be daunted, and drawing from his bosom the key +which the Enchanter had given him, he opened one door after the other +till he arrived in the cell occupied by the Prince. + +The poor Prince lay chained on a bed of straw, trying to read a book by +the light of a single candle. He was very unhappy, for he had resolved +to let himself be torn in pieces rather than marry the ugly witch +maiden. You may be sure he was glad to see Florian. + +"Dear Florian," said the unhappy Prince, "if I had only obeyed your +counsel, all would have been well." And he begged Florian to tell him +where he had been all the long year. + +So Florian told the Prince of his adventures. + +Now, the chains which the Prince wore were riveted cruelly upon him, and +since there was no lock to them, the magic key was of no avail. At +length, however, Florizel managed to work them off; but in doing so, he +injured his foot, and found to his dismay that he could only limp along. + +Little by little the freshened air and the stir of leaves began to +foretell the coming of the dawn. Finally, just as the dawn-star began to +pale, Florizel and Florian hurried out of the prison through the twenty +doors, and fled to the highroad. + +But they had traveled only a few miles, when the wicked witch discovered +Florizel's flight, and, dreadfully enraged, commanded that her dragon +car be got ready in order that she might go in pursuit of him. So the +car was brought forth, and into it the witch leaped, and mounted into +the sky. Hearing the hissing and roaring of the dragons in the air, +Florian and Florizel tried to hide under some trees; but the witch +instantly saw them, and pronounced a spell to turn them into hares. But +though the hate of the witch was quick, the woman's heart of Isabella +was quicker, and sacrificing herself for the man she loved, she threw +the chain and the golden bird over the Prince's head. An instant later +she had turned into a little gray hare crouching at Florizel's feet. At +the same moment, the cruel witch, who had arrived at her castle, let +loose her pack of fierce hunting dogs, who soon took up the trail of the +hare and came bounding toward her in full cry. + +The poor Prince picked up the hare and hobbled forward as fast as he +could go, forgetting the dreadful pain it caused him; but the dogs were +running a hundred times faster than he. Nearer and nearer came the pack, +their red tongues lolling from their black throats. By good fortune, +just as the leader of the pack was not more than fifty feet away, +Isabella had wit enough to remember the promise which the Enchanter had +made her, and called upon him. Immediately a strong glass wall, as high +as a castle tower, shot up from the ground behind Isabella and the +Prince; and the pack, hurrying forward, found themselves baulked of +their prey. Snarling and yelling, they threw themselves against the +magic wall; but in vain. + +In another instant, the Enchanter himself stood before them, and +touching the hare with his wand, restored Isabella to her human form. +She still wore the garments of Florian, however, and the Prince still +thought her a boy. + +Suddenly a shadow fell on the ground near them, and looking up, all +beheld the wicked witch and her ugly daughter, who had ridden out in the +dragon car to enjoy Florizel's cruel death. The Enchanter immediately +caused the dragon car to vanish, and the witch and her daughter fell +tumbling through the air into a pond, and were changed into ugly little +fishes. Then the Enchanter carried Florizel and Florian back to the +witch's castle, where they found the tables spread and the dinner being +prepared which was to celebrate the wedding of Florizel and the witch's +daughter. Last of all, he released Florizel's company from the witch's +spell. + +Now, one of the ladies, when she heard how the witch had tried to match +Florizel with her daughter, and saw the preparations for the wedding, +told the Prince that it was a pity that the Princess Rosamond were not +at hand, so that there might be a wedding after all. + +"A wedding? No," said Florizel, "not till I have found a wife who shall +have proved herself as faithful and true as little Florian." + +"She is already here," said the Enchanter. And he touched Florian with +his wand. + +Immediately there was a flash of flame, and out of it, Florian no +longer, but her own self, appeared Isabella. Her hair had grown long +again, and the Enchanter had clad her in the most magnificent of gowns. +Never was there a lovelier girl to be seen on earth. You may be sure +that the Prince stepped forward, took her by the hand, and claimed her +for his bride. + +Soon the parents of Florizel, who had been summoned by the Enchanter, +arrived, and there was a wedding after all. When the merrymaking was +over, the Enchanter went back to his castle on the Black Rock, while +Florizel and Isabella returned to their own country, and lived there +happily to a good old age. + + + + THE SELLER OF DREAMS + +Once upon a time a mother called her only son into the kitchen, gave him +a basket of fine, fresh eggs, and bade him carry them to his Aunt Jane, +who lived a few miles down the valley. The son, a lively lad about +twelve years of age, obeyed his mother with joy, and clapping his little +green hat on his head, stepped forth into the road. It was a beautiful +clear morning in the spring, and the earth, released from the icy chains +of winter, was rejoicing in her freedom and the return of the sun. A few +birds, just back from the southland, rocked on twigs swollen with +bursting buds, a thousand rills flowing from everywhere and in every +direction sparkled and sang, and the air was sweet with the odor of +ploughed fields. + +The boy, whose name was Peter, walked along whistling. Suddenly he saw a +spot on the road shining as dazzlingly as if a bit of the sun itself had +fallen to the earth. "A bit of glass," thought Peter. But it was not a +bit of glass after all, but a fine golden florin which must have dropped +from somebody's purse. + +Peter stooped, picked up the gold piece, put it in his pocket, and +walked off whistling louder than ever. In a little while he came to a +place where the road wound down a little hill, and Peter saw, trudging +up this hill, a very strange looking old man. He was a very old man; his +face was puckered up into a thousand wrinkles like the skin of a +shrunken apple, and he had long, snow-white hair and a white beard which +reached almost to his waist. Moreover, he was strangely dressed in a +robe of cherry scarlet, and wore golden shoes. From a kind of belt hung +two horns on silver chains, one an ordinary cow's horn, the other a +beautiful horn carved of the whitest ivory, and decorated with little +figures of men and animals. + +"Dreams to sell! Dreams to sell!" called out the old man as soon as he +caught sight of Peter. "Don't you want to buy a dream, young man?" + +"What kind of dreams have you?" asked Peter. + +"Good, bad, true, false--all kinds," replied the seller of dreams. "I +have even a few thrilling nightmares. Dreams to sell! Dreams to sell!" + +"How much does a dream cost?" asked Peter. + +"A golden florin," answered the merchant. + +"I'll have one, please," said Peter; and he handed over the florin he +had found. + +The old man took a kind of wonderful sugarplum out of the ivory horn, +and gave it to Peter to eat. + +"You will have the dream next time you sleep," said he, and trudged on. + +So Peter continued his journey, stopping every once in a while to look +back at the strange old man, who was slowly climbing the hill. At length +Peter came to a little quiet grove of pines, and there he sat down on a +big stone and ate the luncheon which his mother had prepared for him. +The sun was high in the heavens; it was close on to high noon. Now, as +Peter was contentedly munching his bread and cheese, he heard, at first +far away, then quite near at hand, the clear notes of a coachman's horn. +The notes of the second call died away in a great pattering of hoofs and +tinkling of little bells, and suddenly, arriving in a great swirl of +yellow dust, came a magnificent coach drawn by twelve white horses. A +lady, very richly dressed and wearing many sparkling diamonds, sat +within the coach. To Peter's astonishment, the lady was his Aunt Jane. + +The coach stopped with a great jingling of the twelve harnesses, and +Aunt Jane leaned out of the window, and said to Peter, "What are you +doing here, child?" + +"I was on my way to your cottage with a basket of fine fresh eggs," +answered Peter. + +"Well, it's fortunate I found you," said Aunt Jane, "for I have given up +living in the cottage, and have now got a castle of my own. Jump in, +Peter, and don't forget your basket." + +So Peter climbed into the coach, closed the door behind him, and was +driven away. The coach went over hill and down dale; it went through +strange forests from whose branches green parrots whooped and shrieked; +it rolled through valleys in strange shining mountains. Peter stole a +look at Aunt Jane and saw that she was wearing a crown. + +"Are you a queen, Aunt Jane?" he asked. + +"Indeed, I am," replied his aunt. "You see, Peter, two days ago, while I +was looking for my white cow who had strayed away, I came upon the +magnificent castle to which we are now going. It has four beautiful +towers, and a door set with diamonds. + +"'Whose castle is this?' I said to the lodge-keeper. + +"'It's nobody's, marm,' said he. + +"'What,' said I; 'do you mean to say that nobody owns this fine castle?' + +"'That's just what I mean to say, marm,' answered he; 'the castle +belongs to anyone who wants it.' + +"So into the castle I walked, and I did n't go out, you may be sure, +till I had been into every room that I could find. Then I put on these +clothes and these diamonds, which I found in a cupboard, and went down +and told the servants I intended to be queen. You see, Peter dear, +there's nothing that a woman of determination and energy can't +accomplish." + +The coach rolled on, and soon Peter caught sight of Aunt Jane's castle. +It was rather large, and had an enormous round tower at each corner--a +thing which brought to Peter's mind the picture of an elephant lying on +its back. Peter and Aunt Jane, accompanied by a train of servants +dressed in blue-and-buff livery, walked into the castle through the +diamond-studded door. + +"Do you think you could eat a little more of something?" said Aunt Jane, +taking off her white-kid gloves; "because if you can I'll have a place +set for you at the luncheon table." + +And Peter, who like all boys, could eat a little more anywhere and at +any time, readily answered, "Yes." + +So Peter and Aunt Jane sat down to a wonderful little table covered with +a snow-white cloth. + +"Draw your chair nearer, Peter dear," said Aunt Jane. + +"I can't" said Peter, "it's stuck to the floor." + +And so it was; the chair was stuck to the floor, and no amount of +pushing or pulling could budge it. + +"That's odd," said Aunt Jane; "but never mind, I'll push the table over +to the chair." + +But like the chair, the table refused to budge. Peter then tried to +slide his plate of soup closer to him, but the plate, which the servant +had placed on the cloth but an instant before, had evidently frozen to +the table in some extraordinary manner and could not be moved an inch. +The soup in the plate, however, was not fastened to the dish, nor were +the wonderful strawberry-cakes and the delicious ices with which the +dinner closed. + +"You don't suppose this castle is enchanted, do you, Aunt Jane?" asked +Peter. + +"Not a bit of it," replied Aunt Jane. "And even if it were," she +continued recklessly, "I should n't mind, for there's nothing that a +woman of determination and energy can't accomplish." There was a pause, +and then Aunt Jane added, "I am going to have some guests to dinner this +evening, so run round and amuse yourself as well as you can. There's +ever so much to see in the castle, and in the garden there's a pond with +swans in it." + +Attended by her servants, Aunt Jane majestically walked away. Peter +spent the afternoon exploring the castle. He went through room after +room; he scurried through the attics like a mouse, and was even lost for +a while in the cellars. And everywhere he went, he found everything +immovable. The beds, tables, and chairs could neither be moved about nor +lifted up, and even the clocks and vases were mysteriously fastened to +their places on the shelves. + +The night came on. Coach after coach rolled up to the diamond door, +which sparkled in the moonlight. When the guests had all arrived, a +silver trumpet sounded, and Aunt Jane, dressed in a wonderful gown of +flowering brocade edged with pearls, came solemnly down the great +stairway of the castle hall. Two little black boys, dressed in oriental +costume and wearing turbans, held up her gorgeous train, and she looked +very grand indeed. Peter, to his great surprise, found himself dressed +in a wonderful suit of plum-colored velvet. + +"Welcome, my friends," said Queen Jane, who had opened a wonderful +ostrich-feather fan. "Are we not fortunate in having so beautiful a +night for our dinner?" + +And the Queen, giving her arm to a splendid personage in the uniform of +an officer of the King's dragoons, led the way to the banquet-hall. + +The wonderful party, all silks and satins, and gleaming with jewels, +swept like a peacock's tail behind her. Soon dinner was over, and the +guests began to stray by twos and threes to the ballroom. Aunt Jane and +the soldier led off the grand march; then came wonderful, stately +minuets, quadrilles, and sweet old-fashioned waltzes. The merriment was +at its height when somebody ran heavily up the great stairs leading to +the ballroom, and the guests, turning round to see whence came the +clatter, saw standing in the doorway a strange old man dressed in a robe +of cherry scarlet and wearing golden shoes. It was the seller of dreams. +His white hair was disheveled, his robe was awry, and there was dust on +his golden shoes. + +"Foolish people!" screamed the old seller of dreams, his voice rising to +a shriek, "Run your lives! This castle lies under a terrible +enchantment; in a few minutes it will turn upside-down. Have you not +seen that everything is fastened to the floor? Run for your lives!" + +Immediately there was a great babble of voices, some shrieks, and more +confusion, and the guests ran pell-mell down the great stairs and out +the castle door. To Peter's dismay, Aunt Jane was not among them. So +into the castle he rushed again, calling at the top of his voice, "Aunt +Jane! Aunt Jane!" He ran through the brilliantly lit and deserted +ballroom; he saw himself running in the great mirrors of the gallery. +"Aunt Jane!" he cried; but no Aunt Jane replied. + +Peter rushed up the stairs leading to the castle tower, and emerged upon +the balcony. He saw the black shadow of the castle thrown upon the grass +far below by the full moon; he saw the great forest, so bright above and +so dark and mysterious below, and the long snow-clad range of the +Adamant Mountains. Suddenly a voice, louder than the voice of any human +being, a voice deep, ringing, and solemn as the sound of a great bell, +cried,-- + +"'T is time!" + +Immediately everything became as black as ink, people shrieked, the +enchanted castle rolled like a ship at sea, and leaning far to one side, +began to turn upside-down. Peter felt the floor of the balcony tip +beneath him; he tried to catch hold of something, but could find +nothing; suddenly, with a scream, he fell. He was falling, falling, +falling, falling, falling. + + +When Peter came to himself, instead of its being night, it was still +noonday, and he was sitting on the same stone in the same quiet roadside +grove from which he had caught sight of his Aunt Jane in her wonderful +coach. A blue jay screamed at him from overhead. For Aunt Jane, the +coach, and the enchanted castle had been only a dream. Peter, you see, +had fallen asleep under the pines, and while he slept, he had dreamed +the dream he purchased from the seller of dreams. + +Very glad to be still alive, Peter rubbed his eyes, took up his basket +of eggs, and went down the road whistling. + + +[Illustration: Old man and boy in the forest.] + "How much does a dream cost?" asked Peter. + "A golden florin," answered the Seller of Dreams + + + + + THE TREASURE CASTLE + +[Illustration: Three men in a flying castle tower.] + + +Once upon a time a hunter was roaming through the wildwood when he heard +a voice crying piteously for aid. Following the sound, the hunter +plunged ahead, and discovered a dwarf caught in a pit which had been dug +to trap wild animals. + +After the hunter had rescued the dwarf from his prison, the little man +said to him: "Go ten leagues to the north till you arrive at a gigantic +pine; then turn to the east, and go ten leagues more till you come to a +black castle. Enter the castle without fear, and you will discover a +round room in which stands a round ebony table laden with gold and +jewels. Help yourself to the treasure, and return home at once. And do +not--now mark me well--go up into the turret of the castle; for if you +do, evil will come of it." + +So the hunter thanked the dwarf, and after making sure that he had +plenty of bread and cheese in his knapsack, hurried northwards as fast +as his legs could carry him. Through bramble and brier, through valley +and wooded dale went he, and at dusk he came to a gigantic pine standing +solitary in a rocky field. Wearied with his long journey, the hunter lay +down beneath the pine and slept. + +When it was dawn he woke refreshed, and turning his eyes toward the +level rays of the rising sun, began his journey to the east. Presently +he reached a height in the forest, and from this height, he saw, not +very far away, a black turret rising over the ocean of bright leaves. At +high noon he arrived at the castle. It was ruinous and quite deserted; +grass grew in the courtyard and between the bricks of the terrace, and +the oaken door was as soft and rotten as a log that has long been buried +in mire. + +Entering the castle, the hunter soon discovered the round room. A table +laden with wonderful treasures stood in the centre of the chamber, +directly under a shower of sunlight pouring through a half-ruined window +in the mildewed wall. How the diamonds and precious stones sparkled and +gleamed! + +Now, while the hunter was filling his pockets, the flash of a jewel +lying on the floor happened to catch his eye, and looking down, he saw +that a kind of trail of jewels lay along the floor leading out of the +room. Following the scattered gems,--which had the appearance of having +been spilled from some treasure-casket heaped too high,--the hunter came +to a low door, and opening this door, he discovered a flight of stone +steps leading to the turret. The steps were strewn carelessly with the +finest emeralds, topazes, beryls, moonstones, rubies, and crystal +diamonds. + +Remembering the counsel of his friend the dwarf, however, the hunter did +not go up the stairs, but hurried home with his treasure. + +When the hunter returned to his country, the wonderful treasures which +he had taken from the castle in the wood made him a very rich man, and +in a short time the news of his prosperity came to the ears of the King. +This King was the wickedest of rogues, and his two best friends, the +Chamberlain and the Chancellor, were every bit as unscrupulous as he. +They oppressed the people with taxes, they stole from the poor, they +robbed the churches; indeed there was no injustice which they were not +ready to commit. So, when the Chamberlain heard of the hunter's wealth, +he--being a direct, straightforward rascal--declared that the simplest +thing to do would be to kill the hunter and take his money. + +The Chancellor, who was somewhat more cunning and worldly, declared that +it would be better to throw the hunter into a foul, dark dungeon till he +was ready to buy his freedom with all his wealth. + +The King, who was the wickedest and wisest of the precious three, +declared that the best thing to do was to find out whence the hunter had +got his treasure, so that, if there happened to be any left, they could +go and get it. Then of course, they could kill the hunter and take his +treasure too. + +Thus it came to pass that by a royal order the hunter was thrown into a +horrible prison, and told that his only hope of release lay in revealing +the origin of his riches. So, after he had been slowly starved and +cruelly beaten, he told of the treasure castle in the wood. + +On the following morning, the King, the Chamberlain, and the Chancellor, +taking with them some strong linen bags and some pack mules, rode forth +in quest of the treasure. Great was their joy when they found the +treasure castle and the treasure room just as the hunter had described. +The Chancellor poured the shining gems through his claw-like fingers, +and the King and the Chamberlain threw their arms around each others' +shoulders and danced a jig as well as their age and dignity would +permit. The first fine careless rapture over, they began pouring the +treasure into the linen sacks they had brought with them, and these, +filled to the brim, they carried to the castle door. + +Soon not the tiniest gem was left on the table. Suddenly the Chamberlain +happened to catch sight of the gems strewn along the floor. + +"See, see!" he cried, his voice shrill and greedy. "There is yet more to +be had!" + +So the three rogues got down on their hands and knees and began stuffing +the stray jewels into their bulging pockets. The trail of jewels led +them across the hall to the little door opening on the stairway, and up +this stairway they scrambled as fast as they could go. + +At the top of the stair, in the turret, they found another round room +lit by three narrow, barred windows, and in the centre of this turret +chamber, likewise laden with gold and jewels, they found another ebony +table. With shrieks of delight, the King and the Chancellor and the +Chamberlain ran to this second treasure, and plunged their hands in the +glittering golden mass. + +Suddenly, a great bell rang in the castle, a great brazen bell whose +deep clang beat about them in throbbing, singing waves. + +"What's that?" said the three rogues in one breath, and rushed together +to the door. + +It was locked! An instant later there was a heavy explosion which threw +them all to the floor, tossing the treasure over them; and then, wonder +of wonders, the castle turret, with the three rogues imprisoned in it, +detached itself from the rest of the castle, and flew off into the air. +From the barred windows, the King, the Chamberlain, and the Chancellor +saw league upon league of the forest rushing by beneath them. Suddenly +the flying room began to descend swiftly, and landed lightly as a bird +in the middle of a castle courtyard. Strange-looking fellows with human +bodies and heads of horses came rushing toward the enchanted turret, and +seized its prisoners. In a few moments they were brought before the King +to whom the treasure belonged. + +Now this King was a brother of the dwarf whom the hunter had rescued +from the pit. He had a little gold crown on his head, and sat on a +little golden throne with cushions of crimson velvet. + +"With what are these three charged?" said the Dwarf-King. + +"With having tried to rob the treasure castle, Your Majesty," replied +one of the horse-headed servitors in a firm, stable tone. + +"Then send for the Lord Chief Justice at once," said the Dwarf-King. + +The three culprits were left standing uneasily in a kind of cage. They +would have tried to speak, but every time they opened their mouths, one +of the guards gave them a dig in the ribs. + +For a space of five minutes there was quiet in the crowded throne-room, +a quiet broken now and then by a veiled cough or the noise of shuffling +feet. Presently, from far away, came the clear, sweet call of silver +trumpets. + +"He's coming! He's coming!" murmured many voices. A buzz of excitement +filled the room. Several people had to be revived with smelling salts. + +The trumpets sounded a second time. The excitement increased. + +The trumpets sounded a third time, near at hand. A man's voice announced +in solemn tones, "The Lord Chief Justice approaches." + +The audience grew very still. Hardly a rustle or a flutter was heard. +Suddenly the great tapestry curtains which overhung the door parted, and +there appeared, first of all, an usher, clad in red velvet and carrying +a golden wand; then came two golden-haired pages, also clad in red +velvet and carrying a flat black-lacquer box on a velvet cushion. Last +of all came an elderly man dressed in black, and carrying a golden perch +on which sat a fine green parrot. On reaching the centre of the hall, +the parrot flapped its wings, arranged an upstart feather or two, and +then resumed that solemn dignity for which birds and animals are so +justly famous. + +With great ceremony the gentleman in black placed the Lord Chief Justice +on a lacquer stand close by the throne of the Dwarf-King. + +Trumpets sounded. Two servitors hurried forward with the captive King. + +"Your Venerability," spoke the Dwarf-King to the parrot, who watched him +intently out of its round yellow eye, and nodded its head, "this rascal +has been taken in the act of robbing the treasure castle. What +punishment do you suggest?" + +At these words, the two golden-haired pages, advancing with immense +solemnity, lifted the lacquer box to within reach of the parrot's beak. +The box was full of cards. Over them, swaying from one leg to the other +as he did so, the parrot swept his head. + +An icy silence fell over the throng. The King, the Chancellor, and the +Chamberlain quaked in their shoes. Presently the parrot picked out a +card, and the gentleman in black handed it to the Dwarf-King. + +"Prisoner," said the Dwarf-King to the other King, "the Lord Chief +Justice condemns you to be for the rest of your natural life Master +Sweeper of the Palace Chimneys." + +Discreet applause was heard. The Chancellor was then hurried forward, +and the bird picked out a second card. + +"Prisoner," said the Dwarf-King, "the Lord Chief Justice condemns you to +be for the rest of your natural life Master Washer of the Palace +Windows." + +More discreet applause was heard. And now the Chamberlain was brought to +the bar. The parrot gave him quite a wicked eye, and hesitated for some +time before drawing a card. + +"Prisoner," said the Dwarf-King, reading the card which the parrot had +finally chosen, "the Lord Chief Justice condemns you for the rest of +your natural life to be Master Beater of the Palace Carpets." + +Great applause followed this sage judgment. + +So the three rogues were led away, and unless you have heard to the +contrary, they are still making up for their wicked lives by enforced +diligence at their tasks. The palace has five hundred and ninety-six +chimneys, eight thousand, seven hundred and fifty-three windows, and +eleven hundred and ninety-nine large dust-gathering carpets, and the +chimneys, windows, and carpets have to be swept, washed, and beaten at +least once a week. + +Now when the King, the Chancellor, and the Chamberlain failed to return, +the people took the hunter out of his prison and made him king, because +he was the richest and most powerful of them all. + +As for the treasure of the treasure castle, it is still there, packed in +the linen sacks, lying just inside the great door. + +Perhaps some day you may find it. If you do, don't be greedy, and don't +go up to the turret chamber. + + + + PRINCE SNEEZE + +[Illustration: In a cave filled with icicles, a small dog and a giant +are looking into an open chest.] + + +Once upon a time a king and a queen gave a magnificent party in honor of +the christening of their new-born son, Prince Rolandor. To this party +the royal parents took good care to invite every single fairy in +Fairyland, for they knew very well the unhappy consequences of +forgetting to invite fairies to christenings. When all the invitations +had been sent out, the Queen went down to the kitchen to superintend the +cooking of the master-dainty of the feast, a huge strawberry-tart. + +The morning on which the grand ceremony was to take place arrived. At +half-past ten the Court Astrologer, who was master of ceremonies, gave +the order to form in line; and at ten minutes to eleven the splendid +procession started for the church. The road was lined with the King's +vassals shouting, "Hurrah, hurrah!" Countless little elves with gauzy +wings watched from the branches of the trees; and the great cathedral +bells went clang, bang, clang, as merrily as could be. + +Just behind the royal body-guard came the King's gold-and-diamond coach +shining in the sunlight of June, with the King and the Queen in it on +one side and the Court Astrologer and the fairy Titania, prospective +godparents of the little Prince, on the other. The Prince himself, +swathed in a wonderful silk mantle edged with pearls and turquoises, +slept in the Astrologer's arms. + +The procession entered the church, where the venerable Lord Archbishop, +surrounded by a magnificent choir, was awaiting its coming. A hush went +over the great assembly as the parents and the godparents advanced to +the flower-decked font, and the silence lasted until His Eminence had +sprinkled the Prince and given him the name of Rolandor. Then the bells +rang again, the organ roared so that the windows shook in their +casements, and the choristers sang like birds on a summer afternoon. + +The christening over, the procession went back to the castle, past the +waiting rows of bystanders, not one of whom had changed his place or +gone away, so superb had been the spectacle. + +The christening banquet was laid in the great hall of the castle, and, +thanks to the Court Astrologer, things went off beautifully. It was the +only large banquet ever known in the history of the world where courses +were served all at one time, and while one person was finishing an ice, +another was not beginning with the soup. Nor was the menu mixed, which +happens so frequently to-day that you are apt to have soup, ice, cake, +roast, soup, and a roast again. No, from soup to ice the banquet was a +huge success; but, alas, disaster came with the strawberry-tart. + +As the Queen was chatting with the Lord Chancellor of the Enchanted +Islands, she happened to notice--for like a good hostess she had been +keeping an eye to the comfort of her guests--that nobody on the +right-hand side of the hall had been served with strawberry-tart. Almost +at the same moment, the chief cook, looking rather pale and worried, +bustled through the throng and whispered in her ear, "Your Majesty, the +strawberry-tart has given out!" + +The Queen turned pale. At length she managed to ask in a weak voice, +"Have you plenty of other pastries?" + +"Yes, Your Majesty," replied the cook. + +"Then let them be served at once." + +The cook withdrew, and the Queen, though somewhat shaken, took up the +conversation again. Ten minutes passed, and she was beginning to forget +her start, when a voice, rising clear and rasping over the hubbub of the +hall, said suddenly, "Where's my piece of strawberry-tart?" + +Everybody turned toward the speaker, an elderly fairy from the Kingdom +of the Black Mountains, named Malvolia. She stood up in her place, her +arms akimbo, glowering at her plate, on which an attendant had just +deposited a small chocolate eclair. + +"Where's my piece of strawberry-tart?" she repeated. + +The Queen rose. "I am very sorry, Madam Malvolia," said she in her +sweetest voice, "but the strawberry-tart has given out." + +"Hoity-toity," answered Malvolia rudely; "you mean that you only baked +enough for your own personal friends." + +At this several guests cried, "Sh! Sh!" and the King began to look +worried. + +"We will send for some at once," announced His Majesty. + +"Oh yes,--strawberry-tart baked by the Queen's own hands for her own +dear friends," said Malvolia sneeringly; "but for me, a fairy of age and +distinction, an ordinary, low baker's eclair. The Kingdom of the Black +Mountains has been deliberately insulted in my person!" + +"No, no, no, no!" cried the King and the Queen. "We assure you, madam, +that it was a simple mischance." + +"Pish and tush!" replied Malvolia, who, like a great many people, +secretly enjoyed feeling herself aggrieved. "I consider the affair an +affront, a deliberate affront. And you shall pay dear for this +humiliation," she screamed, quickly losing control of her temper. "Every +time the Prince sneezes something shall change until--" + +At this very moment, alas, a northeast wind blew gustily through the +open windows of the hall, shaking the tapestries from the walls, and +carrying away the last of Malvolia's sentence. The angry fairy turned +herself into a great black raven and flew, cawing hoarsely, over the +heads of the banqueters and out of the window with the wind. + +A baby's cry was heard, and the King and the Queen rushed panic-stricken +to where their little son lay in his cradle on a raised platform at the +head of the hall. The little Prince's fat, pink face was twisted into +dreadful lines; he opened his mouth wide several times and half closed +it again; then, opening it wider than ever, he sneezed a terrible +sneeze. + +There came a loud clap of thunder. When the confusion was over, the +Court Astrologer was found to have turned into an eight-day clock, with +a sun, moon, and stars arrangement, a planetary indicator, and a +calendar calculated for two thousand years. The banquet ended rather +gloomily, although the gifts of the other fairies, such as health, +wealth, and beauty, managed to make everyone a little more cheerful. + +When the guests were gone, the King and Queen sent for Doctor Pill, the +court physician, to consult him in regard to the measures which ought to +be taken to prevent the Prince's sneezing. As for the poor Court +Astrologer, he was hung up in the sacristy of the cathedral, and every +eight days his wife wound him up, with tears. + +"What shall we do, doctor?" asked the King rather mournfully. + +"The Prince must be preserved from the things which cause sneezing," +said the doctor sagely. + +"Such as draughts?" suggested the King. + +"Draughts, head-colds, snuff, and pepper," answered the leech. "Let his +little highness be put into a special suite of rooms; admit no person to +them until he has been examined for head-cold, and has put on germ-proof +garments; and as his little highness grows older, forbid the use of +pepper in his food. Better still, if Your Majesty has a castle in the +mountains, let the Prince be taken there for the sake of the purer air." + +"There is the tower on the Golden Mountain," said the King. + +At this the Queen began to weep again, for she, quite naturally, did not +wish to part with her child. + +"But, my dear, we can't have him sneezing, and things changing all the +time," said the King. + +"I beg Your Majesty to consider the danger of a head-cold," put in the +doctor. + +"Yes, think of the danger of a head-cold," echoed the King, who saw +clearer than the Queen the chaos that might result if the Prince was +attacked by a prolonged fit of sneezing. "People with head-colds may +sneeze ten or fifteen times a day." + +"Or fifty," said the doctor. + +"Or fifty," echoed the King again, shaking his head, for he was torn +between paternal love and kingly duty. "Imagine fifty enchantments in a +day! By eventide the whole kingdom would be upset, undone, and the +people plotting a revolution." + +"The tower on the Golden Mountain is in a fine healthful locality," said +the doctor, "and the Prince could be brought up as happily there as in +the palace." + +So at length the Queen consented. In a few days the little Prince, who +had not sneezed a second time, was removed to the tower on the Golden +Mountain. His room, designed by Doctor Pill, was completely protected +from draughts, and every breath of air that entered it was +tri-bi-sterilized. Mrs. Pill, who had been a hospital nurse, took care +of him. Three times a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, his +royal parents rode out to the tower, and after putting on germ-proof +garments, were admitted to the nursery of their infant son. + +And so the years went by. Nobody was found able to break Malvolia's +spell, and the clue to its undoing had been carried away by the wind. +Malvolia herself had disappeared. + +The Prince became a handsome little boy. Accomplished teachers taught +him history, music, drawing, dancing, and all the other things that a +prince ought to know. But of real life he knew almost nothing at all. + +His most faithful friend during these lonely years was a French poodle, +who spoke both French and English exceedingly well. Of course, he had a +marked canine accent, rather growling his g's and howling the aw's and +the ow's, but his words were well chosen and his vocabulary extensive. +Never was seen a more friendly, wise, and devoted animal. + +When the King decided to have him sent away for a while, for he feared +that his son was getting a touch of Poldo's barky manner of speaking, +from too close an association, the little Prince became really ill from +grief, and the King was forced to alter his decision. + +During his imprisonment in the tower, in spite of all precautions, the +Prince sneezed three times. At the first sneeze, all the dogs in the +kingdom except Poldo changed into cats, and all the cats into dogs. +Though this was not a serious trouble, the change was certainly +inconvenient. All the dog-cats came out meowing at people as the dogs +used to bark at them, and they chased people down the street; the +cat-dogs, on the other hand, stayed in the kitchen under the stove, and +watched for mice in the pantry. Great St. Bernards might be seen licking +their paws and rubbing them over their foreheads, and fat, old +cat-lap-dogs used to try to purr. + +At the second sneeze, all the elderly gentlemen over seventy changed +into elm trees, a proceeding that caused a terrible lot of trouble. + +At the third sneeze, all the people in the pictures at the Art Museum +became alive, and for a week the soldiers of the royal guard spent most +of their time rescuing poor, bewildered fauns, satyrs, nymphs, Roman +senators, and long dead celebrities and historical personages from the +worst destitution. The King finally had to build a special castle for +them. + +As the Prince's twenty-first birthday drew near, he began to feel very +sad at the idea of having to stay shut up in the tower all his life. +Though he was a very brave and very manly young man, he lay down on his +couch and wept in sorrow. + +Suddenly, standing with his forepaws on the coverlet, "Why do you weep, +dear master?" said the little dog. + +"At my fate," replied the poor Prince. "I cannot bear to think that I +may have to spend all my days in this tower, and never see the great +wide world." + +The poodle was silent for a few minutes. At length he said, "Dear Prince +Rolandor, do not give up hope. Have you ever thought of consulting my +old master, the Giant of the North Pole? He has a large chest in his +palace full of secrets which the winds have overheard, and perhaps the +key to Malvolia's spell is among them. If you will have a warm fur coat +and four fur boots made for me, I will go to the Giant and ask him." + +The Prince gave his consent, and on the next day the royal tailor made +the poodle a magnificent sealskin coat and four splendid fur-lined +boots. Then the King wished him good speed, the Queen cried over him, +and the Prince, who could see from his high tower every corner of the +kingdom, watched him till he disappeared over the hills and far away. + +Straight north the poodle ran. Soon he had left the fertile plains +behind him, and entered great, black pine forests where never a road was +to be seen. The cold wind howled through the trees, and at night the +brilliant stars sparkled over the dark and waving branches. Hungry +wolves and savage bears often pursued him, but somehow he always managed +to escape them all. At the end of the forest he found the frozen ocean +lit by the shuddering light of the aurora, flashing in a great fan from +east to west. Past white-tusked walruses and sleepy penguins he flew, +till on the eleventh day he saw the green, icy pinnacles of the Giant's +palace against the waving curtain of the Polar lights. On the evening of +the twelfth day he entered the castle. + +The Giant of the North Pole was a tall, strong, yellow-haired fellow +wearing a crown of ice and a great sweeping mantle made from the white +fur of the polar bear. His servants were the Gusts,--strange, supple, +shadowy creatures moving quickly to and fro,--and his courtiers were +the whirlwinds and the storms. The Giant's wife sat by his side; she had +dark hair and eyes of icy, burning blue. + +"Welcome, little Poldo," said the Giant; and his voice sounded like the +wind in the treetops; "what seek you here?" + +"I seek some words of the Fairy Malvolia which were carried away by the +northeast wind at Prince Rolandor's christening," replied the poodle. + +"Whew, oo-oo," whistled the Giant of the North Pole. "If I have them, +the words are yours." + +He summoned two Gusts to bring forth the chest of secrets. It was made +of black stone; and edged with diamonds of ice. In it were stored all +the mysteries which the wind had ever overheard; there were secrets, +confessions, vows, merry laughs, and simple words. And sure enough, in +the corner of the chest lay the rest of Malvolia's spell--a row of +little, old-fashioned, dusty words; the words: "Until he finds someone +brave enough to marry him." + +So the good poodle learned the words by heart, thanked the Giant, and +hurried home with the message. When he came to the King's palace, he +ran, barking with joy, right into the King's own room. There he saw the +unhappy parents. + +"Have you found the last of the sentence?" cried the Queen. + +"Yes," said Poldo. "The spell will end when the prince marries." + +That very evening the King and the Queen sent forth ambassadors to ask +for the hand of the loveliest princess of all Fairyland, Princess Adatha +of the Adamant Mountains. But so afraid was Adatha of being turned into +something else, that she refused the offer. + +The King and the Queen then made a request for the hand of Princess +Alicia of the Crystal Lakes. But Alicia also was afraid of being turned +into something else, and she too refused the alliance. So did the +Princess of the Golden Coasts, the Princess of the Seven Cities, and +many others. Finally the only princess left in all Fairyland was a +princess who herself lay under an enchantment. A jealous witch had +turned her golden hair bright blue, and given her a nose a foot long. +This unhappy maiden was the only princess willing to accept poor +Rolandor. + +The wedding day arrived. The Prince, though perhaps a little pale from +his confined life, looked very handsome, and led his ugly bride to the +altar like a man. Just exactly as the marriage ceremony was half over, a +spasm contorted the muscles of the Prince's face; the poor young man +felt strongly inclined to sneeze. Though he could be seen making heroic +efforts to control the impulse, the audience got very nervous and +panicky. + +All was in vain! The Prince sneezed, "Ker choo!" A terrific clap of +thunder rent the air, and everybody looked about to see what had +happened. + +The effect of the sneeze was an odd one. As it had occurred exactly at +the moment when the Prince was half-married, the spell had reacted upon +itself. "Just like a kick from a gun," Dr. Pill said next day. + +The cats became dogs again, and the dogs became cats; the elm trees +became cross, elderly gentlemen looking for their families; the poor, +excited Roman senators, fauns, nymphs, satyrs, celebrities and +historical personages, went back to their pictures; and to cap the +climax, the ugly bride became once more her sweet and lovely self. + +While everybody was cheering, who should walk out of the sacristy but +the Court Astrologer! An instant later, he had fallen into the +affectionate arms of the faithful wife who had wound him up for +twenty-one years. + +After the wedding reception, the Prince and his bride went on a +honeymoon to the Enchanted Islands. As for Poldo the poodle, he was +created Prime Minister and lived to a fine old age. + + + + MARIANNA + +[Illustration: Young girl sitting on tree trunk; a small bird is perched +on her left hand; a small bottle is fastened to her belt.] + + +Once upon a time a wicked nobleman rose in rebellion against his +rightful king, and taking the royal forces by surprise, defeated them +and seized the kingdom. The dethroned King, who had been severely +wounded in battle, was cast in prison, where he soon died; but his +widow, the Queen, managed to escape from the palace before the usurper +could lay hands upon her. + +Into the dark forest which lay behind the palace ran the Queen, holding +her baby daughter in her arms. It was winter time, and a heavy snow had +hidden the foot-paths and the roads. Presently the Queen realized that +she was lost. All afternoon, however, she trudged bravely on through the +silence and the cold, her heart sinking as mile after mile revealed no +sign of a house or a shelter. + +But late in the afternoon, when the red shield of the sun could scarcely +be seen through the tangle of the wild wood-branches, she perceived a +light coming from a little grove of cedars by the shore of a frozen +lake. The Queen made her way toward this light, and discovered a little +thatched hut in the silent wood; it was the house of one of the dwarfs +of the forest. The dwarf took pity on the Queen, but his efforts were +vain, for the poor woman was so weak and exhausted that she died without +telling the dwarf anything about herself or the child she carried. + +So the little dwarf, who was a good, kind old fellow, brought the little +girl up as if she were his own child. His brother, the dwarf of the +mountain, made her the prettiest red-leather shoes, and his cousins, the +dwarfs of the pines, made the little girl dresses from cloth woven on +fairy looms. + +Now, on the night her mother brought her to the hut, the little girl was +wearing a golden heart-shaped locket, with a crown and the letter M upon +it in diamonds. So the dwarf called the little girl Marianna. + +Seventeen years passed, and Marianna grew to be quite the loveliest lass +in all the world. Her hair was as black as the raven's wing, her eyes +were as blue as the midsummer sea, and her skin was fair as the petal of +a rose. One spring morning a little yellow bird flew into the cedar +grove, and gave the dwarf a letter which it held in its beak. + +The dwarf read the letter, and said to Marianna, "Little Marianna, the +Emperor of the Elves has bidden me come to the great assembly of the +dwarfs which is to be held next year on the Golden Mountain. Alas, what +are we to do? I can not take you with me, dear child, for it is +forbidden on pain of death to bring mortals to the assembly, nor can I +leave you here in this lonely wood." + +To this Marianna replied, "Do not fear, dear father. Give me but yon +crystal flask of the water of healing, and I shall go forth into the +world until it is time for you to return again. Perhaps I shall discover +somebody who can tell me the meaning of this locket, or the history of +my dear mother." + +So the dwarf took his knotted staff, and went away over hill, over dale +to the Golden Mountain. + +Then Marianna took the crystal flask of the water of healing, and walked +boldly out of the wood into the wide, wide world. It was the middle of +the spring, the ice and snow had all disappeared; the trees were putting +forth their leaves, and there were clusters of primroses by the +roadside. In the swaying, rustling heart of a great elm tree, a little +thrush was singing. Through cities and towns went lovely Marianna, +bringing good cheer to the helpless and the sick, and curing all who +came to her, rich and poor, with the wonderful water of healing. But +never did she find anybody who could tell her about the gold heart with +the diamond crown. + +Now it came to pass that, as Marianna was one day walking through a +village in the heart of the Adamant Mountains, a ragged old woman +besought her with tears to come to a hamlet which stood at the head of a +high and dangerous path. Touched by the old woman's supplication, +Marianna followed her to the hamlet, and found in a wretched hut, lying +on a wretched bed, a beautiful young peasant girl dying of a fever. So +Marianna touched the girl with the water of healing, and in an instant +she became well and strong. + +"Dear lady," said the peasant girl, pressing Marianna's hand to her +lips, "how sweet and kind thou art! Great is the debt I owe thee." + +And as the girl poured out her thanks, Marianna heard a faint "chirp, +chirp," and looking down, beheld a little yellow bird crouching on the +hearthstone. Every now and then he hid his head under his wings and +cried unhappily. It was the yellow bird which had brought the message +from the Emperor of the Elves. + +"Poor little bird," said Marianna, bending down and taking him up in her +hands, "why criest thou so mournfully? Who hath done thee harm?" + +But the bird uttered only a forlorn little cry, and hid his head again +under his wings. + +"I found him on the rocks at the mountaintop yesterday," said the +mother. "Someone has wounded him. His wing is broken." + +And she put the bird on the floor of the house and bade Marianna watch +how he fluttered trailing a wing in the dust. Again Marianna stooped, +and picking up the bird, touched the wounded wing with the water of +healing. Scarcely had she done so, when the yellow bird burst into a +joyous and golden song, and flying to the window, beat madly against the +panes. Then the peasant girl threw open the casement, and the yellow +bird flew out into the streaming sun. + +"He is gone forever," said the peasant girl. + +"Nay, he returns," said Marianna, gently, as the yellow bird flew back +and perched in the sheltering bower of Marianna's arms. Then, +accompanied by the peasant girl and the yellow bird, who flew singing +before her, Marianna went down the dangerous path to the high road in +the valley. When they reached the foot of the path, the peasant girl +cried:-- + +"Farewell, dear Marianna; may it some day be mine to repay thee!" + +Into the world again went Marianna, and with her went the yellow bird. +Presently she came to the fairest land which she had ever seen, a land +of rolling fields, little hills, and rivers bordered with pale willow +trees. This pleasant land, unknown to Marianna, was part of her father's +kingdom, and she was really its queen because her father had been the +last rightful king. + +Now while Marianna had been in the forest, the wicked nobleman who had +stolen the kingdom from Marianna's father had died, leaving his brother +Garabin in charge of the kingdom and of the interests of his little son, +Prince Desire. This Garabin, however, taking advantage of the youth and +helplessness of his nephew, had himself assumed the state and airs of +king. For some time he had enjoyed undisturbed the possession of his +stolen throne; but as Desire grew taller and stronger every year, +Garabin began to fear the day when he would be compelled to resign in +favor of his nephew. + +When the Prince reached his twentieth year, Garabin would certainly have +killed him openly had he dared; but, fearing the people, he resolved to +use secret methods, and bribed a cruel magician to afflict poor Desire +with a deadly and mysterious malady. Of this malady, Desire was slowly +dying, for no medicine could cure him or even give him any relief from +his constant pain. Every morning the cruel Garabin, in the hope of +finding his nephew dead, would go to the sick room; and you may be sure +that his wicked heart rejoiced when he found the Prince weaker and more +feverish. + +Garabin had just returned from a visit to the Prince, who was rapidly +failing, when the Captain of the Castle Guard came to him with the news +that the wonderful Marianna had arrived in the kingdom. The King gave +orders that she be brought before him. So Marianna, walking between two +halberdiers and followed across the courtyard by crowds of curious +people, was led before the King. The little yellow bird sat on +Marianna's shoulder, and never did maiden appear lovelier or more +gentle. + +Scarcely had Garabin set eyes on Marianna, when he caught sight of the +golden locket which she wore about her neck. Had he not been very old +and crafty, he would have started from his golden throne, for he knew +that the little golden heart set with diamonds had been one of the crown +jewels, and that therefore Marianna must be the missing Princess, and +rightful queen of the kingdom. + +What was he to do? If he refused to let Marianna help the Prince, the +people might begin to suspect him, and start a revolution which would +thrust him from his throne; if he allowed Marianna to cure the Prince, +the Prince would certainly demand the kingdom on his twenty-first +birthday. What was he to do with Marianna, whose right to the throne was +superior even to his nephew's? Perplexed, and with fear in his heart, +the King sought the cruel magician who had cast the spell on Desire. + +The magician lived in a gloomy tower, and had an enchanted black dog +that he fed with flaming coals. He listened to Garabin's story, stirring +a great cauldron all the while, and said, "Do not fear. I will destroy +both claimants to the throne at once." + +Garabin rubbed his hands together with glee. + +"To-night I shall cast a spell of sleep on Marianna, steal the crystal +flask, empty it of the water of healing, and refill it with a liquid +which will cause death within a night and a day. I shall then replace +the flask before Marianna wakes. You will allow Marianna to visit the +Prince; she will touch him with the deadly water, and the Prince will +die. You can then try Marianna for having killed the Prince, and condemn +her to be thrown from the precipice." + +So pleased was Garabin with this horrid plot, that he could have danced +for joy. That very night, the magician filled Marianna's flask with the +poisonous water, and departed, thinking that nobody had noticed him. The +yellow bird, however, had seen everything, and followed the magician to +note where he hid the real water of healing. + +The next morning Marianna was once more led before the King. + +"Welcome, thrice welcome, lovely maiden," said Garabin with the most +dreadful hypocrisy. "I have long hoped that you would turn your +footsteps hither, for my poor dear nephew, Prince Desire, only son of +the late King, has been ill for some months of a malady no physician can +cure. Perhaps you can cure him with the water of healing." + +Marianna replied that she would do her best to help the Prince; so the +Court Chamberlain gave her his arm, and escorted her to the Prince's +sick room. The King and many courtiers followed after him. + +Desire lay in a great old-fashioned bed, his face flushed with fever. So +weak was the poor Prince, that he could scarcely lift his head to look +at his visitors. A great pity swept over Marianna's heart the instant +she saw him; as for Desire, he fell madly in love with Marianna at first +sight. + +Now just as Marianna bent over the Prince to touch his forehead with the +water of healing, the yellow bird screamed and cried as madly as if he +were caught in a net. Marianna looked at the crystal flask. Nothing +seemed changed; the water within seemed as pure and diamond-like as +ever. She touched the Prince with the liquid. Alas, in a moment, so +terrible was the magician's poison that the Prince turned white as the +driven snow, and fell back on the pillows insensible. The lookers-on, +who had expected to see him spring up entirely cured, began to murmur, +and Marianna herself, terrified at what had happened, let fall the +flask, which broke into a thousand sparkling pieces. + +Suddenly, Garabin cried at the top of his voice, "Seize the witch; she +has killed the Prince!" + +Presently there was a great confusion, rough hands seized Marianna, and +somebody caught the yellow bird. The Prince remained insensible on the +bed. At high noon, a trial was held, and since the doctors declared that +the Prince was dying, Marianna was condemned to be thrown from the +precipice. When somebody asked about the yellow bird, Garabin laughed, +and gave orders that the cook should wring its neck, and toss it to the +cat. + +So Marianna was hurried to a dark prison-room and loaded with chains, +and the yellow bird was taken to the castle kitchen, and given to the +cook. + +"Here, you wring its neck," said the cook to one of her helpers, "while +I go call the cat." + +By great good fortune, the cook's helper was no other than the peasant +girl whom Marianna had saved. This girl recognized the yellow bird, and +instead of wringing its neck, let it fly out of the window. The yellow +bird flew to the window of the magician's room. The magician was in the +chamber, stirring the giant cauldron. The bird flew to the window of +Prince Desire's room, and saw that he was still insensible. + +An hour later the castle-bell began to toll, and a dismal procession was +seen walking from the castle toward the frightful cliff from which +condemned witches and sorcerers were thrown. First came a troop of +soldiers, then Marianna, weighted down with chains, and last of all, a +little group in which were Garabin, the magician, and some of Garabin's +favorites. + +The bell kept on sadly tolling and tolling. It roused the Prince from +his swoon, and with his last measure of strength, poor Desire dragged +himself to the window. The procession was then passing directly +underneath the window, and Desire's eyes met the eyes of Marianna. + +"Stop! Stop!" cried the poor Prince, wildly; "I forbid--" + +An instant later he sank fainting to the floor. The procession went on. + +Meanwhile the yellow bird had returned to the magician's chamber. It was +empty. With a joyous cry, the bird fluttered through the window-bars, +and discovered the phial into which the magician had poured the water of +healing. Clutching it in his claws, the bird flew once more to the +Prince's room. Desire still lay in a heap by the window, and over him +the yellow bird poured the contents of the phial. + +The Prince sprang up, strong as a lion, seized his sword, and rushed +down to save Marianna. He arrived at the cliff just as the poor maiden +was about to be pushed off into space, and standing by her side, dared +anyone to lay hands upon her. + +Garabin, seeing his precious plot miscarry, grew mad with rage. + +"Seize them," cried he, "and toss them both over the precipice!" + +So the soldiers rushed at Marianna and the Prince, intending to carry +out their wicked master's orders. But even as they did so, there came a +flash of flame and the little dwarf, Marianna's foster-father, took his +place beside the lovers. + +"Cruel King!" cried the dwarf sternly, "and thou, wicked and perfidious +magician, the hour of thy punishment is at hand." + +Immediately the sky grew black, the lightning crashed, and there arose a +terrible, howling wind. Three giant gusts drove fiercely by, the first +one blowing the King and the magician head-over-heels over the +precipice, the second carrying away the soldiers, and the third the +rascally favorites. When the sky cleared, only the dwarf, Marianna, and +Desire were left of the company. + +"Marianna," said the little dwarf, "the Emperor of the Elves has told me +all your history, and it is thanks to him that I have returned in time, +with the storm at my heels. You, Marianna, are the rightful Queen of +this country." + +"Dear Queen," said the honest and gallant Desire, "let me be the first +of your subjects to salute you." And he knelt before her, and humbly +kissed her hand. + +"Nay, Prince," said the young Queen, answering the adoring look in her +lover's eyes, "your father took the kingdom; if I were you, I should +take the Queen." + +Which was a bit forward, of course, but nobody minded that very much in +those fairy times. + +So Desire and Marianna were married, and lived happily ever after. The +yellow bird went to the wedding, and when the ceremony was over rose +singing into the air, and flew joyously home to the land of the Elves. + + + + THE LOST HALF-HOUR + +Once upon a time there was an old widow woman who had three sons: the +first two were clever enough, but the third, Bobo by name, was little +better than a silly simpleton. All his mother's scoldings and +beatings--and she smacked the poor lad soundly a dozen times a day--did +him no good whatever. + +Now it came to pass that one morning Princess Zenza, the ruler of the +land, happened to pass by the cottage and heard Bobo being given a +terrible tongue-lashing. Curious as to the cause of all the noise, the +Princess drew rein, and summoned Bobo's mother to come near. On hearing +her story, it occurred to the Princess that so silly a lad might amuse +her; so she gave the mother a golden florin, and took poor silly Bobo +with her to be her page. + + +[Illustration: In the background, a castle; in the middle ground, a boy +throwing a spiny object into a dragon's mouth; in the foreground, a +frightened girl.] + + Just as the dragon's mouth was at, its widest .... + + +You may be sure that it did not take the wise folk at the castle long to +discover how great a simpleton had arrived. Courtiers, footmen, lackeys, +turnspits even, were forever sending him off on ridiculous errands. Now +he would be sent to find a white craw's feather or a spray of yellow +bluebells; now he was ordered to look for a square wheel or a glass of +dry water. Everybody laughed at him and made fun of him--that is, +everybody except little Tilda, the kitchen-maid. When poor Bobo used to +return from some wild-goose chase, tired out, mud-stained, and often +enough wet to the skin, instead of laughing, little Tilda would find him +a glass of warm milk, hang his coat by the fire to dry, and tell him not +to be such a simpleton again. Thus, after a while, Bobo learned to ask +Tilda's advice before going away on a wild-goose chase, and was in this +way saved from many a jest. + +Tilda, the kitchen-maid, was as sweet and pretty as she was kind and +good. She was said to be the daughter of an old crane who had come to +the castle one day, asking for help. + +One pleasant mid-summer morning, when Bobo had been nearly a year at the +castle, Princess Zenza overslept half an hour and did not come down to +breakfast at the usual time. When she did get up, she found her court +waiting for her in the castle gardens. As she came down the steps of the +garden terrace, the Princess looked up at the castle clock to see how +late she was, and said to her lady in waiting,-- + +"Dear me--why, I've lost half an hour this morning!" + +At these words, Bobo, who was in attendance, pricked up his ears and +said,-- + +"Please, Your Highness, perhaps I can find it." + +At this idea of finding a lost half-hour, the Princess laughed, and +found herself echoed by the company. + +"Shall we send Bobo in search of the lost half-hour?" said the Princess +to the courtiers. + +"Yes! Yes!" cried the courtiers. "Bobo shall look for the lost +half-hour." + +"I'll give him a horse," said one. "I'll give him my old hat," said +another. "He can have an old sword I broke last week," said still +another. + +And so, in less time than it takes to tell about it, poor simpleton Bobo +was made ready for his journey. + +Before he left the castle, Bobo went down to the kitchen to say good-bye +to Tilda. + +"What, off again?" said the little kitchen-maid. "Where are you going +now?" + +"The Princess has lost a half-hour and I am going in search of it," said +Bobo, proudly. And he told how the Princess herself had commanded him to +seek the half-hour through the world, and promised to bring Tilda a +splendid present when he returned. + +The good kitchen-maid said little, for she feared lest some misadventure +overtake the poor simpleton; but when the chief cook was not looking, +she tucked a fresh currant-bun into Bobo's pocket, and wished him the +best of good fortune. + +So Bobo went to the castle gate, and mounted his horse, which stumbled +and was blind in one eye. + +"Good-bye, Bobo," cried the assembled courtiers, who were almost beside +themselves with laughter at the simpleton and his errand. "Don't fail to +bring back the lost half-hour!" + +So Bobo rode over the hills and far away. Every now and then he would +stop a passer-by and ask him if he had seen a lost half-hour. + +The first person whom he thus questioned was an old man who was +wandering down the high road that leads from the Kingdom of the East to +the Kingdom of the West. + +"A lost half-hour?" said the old man. "I've lost something much more +serious, I've lost my reputation. You have n't seen a lost reputation +lying about here, have you? It was very dignified and wore +tortoise-shell glasses." + +But Bobo had to answer "No," and the old man wandered on again. + +Another day the simpleton encountered a tall, dark, fierce kind of +fellow, who answered his polite question with a scream of rage. + +"A half-hour," he roared. "No, I have n't seen your half-hour; I would +n't tell you if I had; what's more, I don't want to see it. I'm looking +for something I've lost myself. I've lost my temper. I lost it two years +ago at home, and have n't been able to find it anywhere since. Answer +me, you silly, have you seen a lost temper anywhere? It's about the size +of a large melon and has sharp little points." + +On Bobo's answering "No," this dreadful person uttered so perfectly +awful a screech of rage, that Bobo's horse took fright and ran away with +him, and it was all that Bobo could do to rein him in three miles +farther down the road. + +Still farther along, Bobo came to Zizz, the capital city of the Kingdom +of the Seven Brooks, and was taken before the King himself. + +"A lost half-hour?" said the King. "No, I am quite sure it has not been +seen in my dominions. Would you mind asking, as you go through the +world, for news of my little daughter?" (Here the poor old King took out +a great green handkerchief and wiped his eyes.) "She was stolen by the +fairies on midsummer eve fifteen years ago. Find her, worthy Bobo, and +an immense reward will be yours." + +So Bobo left the proud city of Zizz, and once again rode over the hills +and far away. But never a sign of the lost half-hour did he find, +although he asked thousands of people. His faithful white horse died, +and he continued his way on foot. + +Three long years passed, and Bobo grew into a handsome lad, but remained +a simpleton still. Finally, after he had wandered all about Fairyland, +he came to the edge of the sea. Finding a ship moored in a little +harbor, Bobo asked the sailors if they had seen a lost half-hour. + +"No," said the sailors, "but we are going to the Isles of Iron; +suppose you go with us. The lost half-hour may be there." + +So Bobo went aboard the ship, and sailed out upon the dark sea. + +For two days the weather was warm and clear, but on the third day, there +came a dreadful storm, and on the third night the vessel was driven far +off her course into the unknown ocean, and was wrecked upon a mysterious +island of rocks that shone in the night like wet matches. A great wave +swept the decks, and Bobo was borne away from his companions and carried +toward the shining land. Though pounded and battered by the foaming +waves, the simpleton at length managed to reach the beach, and took +refuge in a crevice of the cliff during the stormy night. + +When the dawn broke, all sign of the ship had disappeared. Looking +about, Bobo found himself on a lovely island whose heart was a high +mountain mass hidden in the fog still sweeping in from the sea. There +was not a house, a road, or a path to be seen. Suddenly Bobo noticed a +strange little door in the bark of a great lonely tree, and, opening +this door, he discovered a little cupboard in which were a pair of +wooden shoes. Above the shoes was a card, saying simply,-- + + PUT US ON. + +So Bobo sat down on a stone by the foot of the tree, and put on the +wooden shoes, which fitted him very nicely. Now these shoes were magic +shoes, and Bobo had hardly stepped into them before they turned his feet +inland. So Bobo obediently let the shoes guide him. At corners the shoes +always turned in the right direction, and if Bobo forgot and blundered +on the wrong way, the shoes swiftly began to pinch his toes. + +For two days Bobo walked inland toward the great mountain. A warm wind +blew the clouds and rain away, the sun shone sweet and clear. On the +morning of the third day, the simpleton entered a wood of tall silent +trees, and as that day was drawing to a close, turrets of a magnificent +castle rose far away over the leaves of the forest. + +Bobo arrived at twilight. + +He found himself in a beautiful garden, lying between the castle walls +and the rising slopes of a great mountain. Strange to say, not a living +creature was to be seen, and though there were lights in the castle, +there was not even a warder at the gate. Suddenly a great booming bell +struck seven o'clock; Bobo began to hear voices and sounds; and then, +before the humming of the bell had died away, a youth mounted on a +splendid black horse dashed at lightning speed out of the castle and +disappeared in the wood. An old man with a white beard, accompanied by +eleven young men, whom Bobo judged, from their expressions, to be +brothers,--stood by the gate to see the horseman ride away. + +Plucking up courage, Bobo came forward, fell on his knee before the old +man, and told his story. + +"Truly, you should thank the storm fairies," said the old man; "for had +you not been wrecked upon this island, never would you have discovered +the lost half-hour. I am Father Time himself, and these are my twelve +sons, the Hours. Every day, one after the other, they ride for an hour +round the whole wide world. Seven O'clock has just ridden forth. Yes, +you shall have the lost half-hour, but you must look after my sons' +horses for the space of a whole year." + +To this Bobo willingly agreed. So Twelve O'Clock, who was the youngest +of the Hours, took him to the stables and showed him the little room in +the turret that he was to have. And thus for a year Bobo served Father +Time and his sons. He took such good care of the great black horses of +the Hours of the Night, and the white horses of the Hours of the Day, +that they were never more proud and strong, nor their coats smoother and +more gleaming. + +When the year was up, Bobo again sought out Father Time. + +"You have served faithfully and well," said Father Time. "Here is your +reward." And, with these words, he placed in Bobo's hands a small square +casket made of ebony. "The half-hour lies inside. Don't try to peek at it +or open the box until the right time has come. If you do, the half-hour +will flyaway and disappear forever." + +"Farewell, Bobo," said kind young Twelve O'Clock, who had been the +simpleton's good friend. "I, too, have a gift for thee. Drink this cup +of water to the last drop." And the youth handed the simpleton a silver +cup full to the brim of clear shining water. + +Now this water was the water of wisdom, and when Bobo had drunk it, he +was no longer a simpleton. And being no longer a simpleton, he +remembered the man who had lost his reputation, the man who had lost his +temper, and the king whose daughter had been stolen by the fairies. So +Bobo made so bold as to ask Father Time about them, for Father Time +knows everything that has happened in the whole wide world. + +"Tell the first," said Father Time, "that his reputation has been broken +into a thousand pieces which have been picked up by his neighbors and +carried home. If he can persuade his neighbors to give them up, he +should be able to piece together a pretty good reputation again. As for +the man who lost his temper, tell him that it is to be found in the +grass by the roadside close by the spot where you first met him. As for +the missing daughter, she is the kitchen-maid in Princess Zenza's +palace, who is known as Tilda." + +So Bobo thanked Father Time, and at noon, Twelve O'Clock placed him +behind him on the white charger, and hurried away. So fast they flew +that Bobo, who was holding the ebony casket close against his heart, was +in great danger of falling off. When they got to the seashore, the white +horse hesitated not an instant, but set foot upon the water, which bore +him up as if it had been, not water, but earth itself. Once arrived at +the shore of Fairyland, Twelve O'Clock stopped, wished Bobo good-speed, +and, rising in the air, disappeared into the glare of the sun. Bobo, +with the precious ebony casket in his hand, continued on in the +direction of Princess Zenza's palace. + +On the second morning of his journey, he happened to see far ahead of +him on the highway the unfortunate aged man who had lost his reputation. +To him, therefore, Bobo repeated the counsel of Father Time, and sent +him hurrying home to his neighbors' houses. Of the man who had lost his +temper, Bobo found no sign. In the grass by the roadside, however, he +did find the lost temper--a queer sort of affair like a melon of fiery +red glass all stuck over with uneven spines and brittle thorns. Bobo, +with great goodness of heart, took along this extraordinary object, in +the hope of finding its angry possessor. + +Farther on, the lad encountered Tilda's father, the unhappy King, and +delivered his message. The joy of the monarch knew no bounds, and Bobo, +the one-time simpleton, became on the spot Lord Bobo of the Sapphire +Hills, Marquis of the Mountains of the Moon, Prince of the Valley of +Golden Apples, and Lord Seneschal of the proud City of Zizz--in a word, +the greatest nobleman in all Fairyland. Then, having got together a +magnificent cohort of dukes, earls, and counts, all in splendid silks, +and soldiers in shining armor, the delighted King rode off to claim his +missing daughter from Princess Zenza. + +So on they rode, the harnesses jingling, the bridle-bells ringing, and +the breastplates of the armed men shining in the sun. After a week of +almost constant progress (for the King was so anxious to see his beloved +daughter that he would hardly give the cavalcade time to rest), they +came to the frontiers of Princess Zenza's kingdom. + +Strange to say, black mourning banners hung from the trees, and every +door in the first village which the travelers saw was likewise hung with +black streamers. On the steps of one of the cottages sat an old woman, +all alone and weeping with all her might. + +"What is the matter, my good woman?" said the King. + +"O sir," said the peasant woman, "evil days have fallen upon our unhappy +kingdom. Three days ago a terrible dragon alighted in the gardens of the +palace and sent word to Princess Zenza that if within three days she did +not provide him with someone brave enough to go home with him and cook +his meals and keep his cavern tidy, he would burn our fields with his +fiery breath. Yet who, I ask you, would be housekeeper for a dragon? +Suppose he did n't like the puddings you made for him--why, he might eat +you up! All would have been lost had not a brave little kitchen-maid +named Tilda volunteered to go. It is for her that we are mourning. At +two o'clock she is to be carried off by the dragon. It is almost two +now. Alas! Alas!" + +Hardly were the words out of her mouth, when the town bell struck twice, +solemnly and sadly. + +"Quick! quick!" cried the King and Bobo in the same breath, "Let us +hurry to the castle. We may save her yet." + +But they knew in their hearts that they were too late, and that poor +Tilda had given herself to the dragon. And so it proved. In spite of his +mad dash, Bobo, who had spurred on ahead, arrived exactly half an hour +late. The monstrous dragon with Tilda in his claws was just a little +smoky speck far down the southern sky. Princess Zenza and her court +stood by wringing their jeweled hands. + +Suddenly Bobo thought of the half-hour. He had arrived half an hour +late, but he could have that half-hour back again! Things should be +exactly as they were half an hour before. + +He opened the cover of the ebony box. Something like a winged white +flame escaped from it, and flew hissing through the air to the sun. As +for the sun itself, turning round like a cartwheel and hissing like ten +thousand rockets, it rolled back along the sky to the east. The hands of +the clocks, which marked half-past two, whirred back to two o'clock in a +twinkling. And, sure enough, there was brave little Tilda standing alone +in a great field waiting for the dragon to come and take her away. +Lumbering heavily along like a monstrous turtle, and snorting blue +smoke, the dragon was advancing toward her. + +Bobo ran down into the field and stood beside Tilda, ready to defend her +to the end. + +The dragon came nearer and nearer. Suddenly, angered by the sight of +Bobo and his drawn sword, he roared angrily, but continued to approach. +Bobo struck at him with his sword. The blade broke upon his steely +scales. The dragon roared again. Now just as the dragon's mouth was its +widest, Bobo who had been searching his pockets desperately, hurled into +it the lost temper. + +There was a perfectly terrific bang! as if a million balloons had blown +up all at once. For the dragon had blown up. The lost temper had +finished him. Only one fragment of him, a tiny bit of a claw, was ever +found. + +Everybody, you may be sure, began to cry "Hurrah" and "Hooray," and soon +they were firing off cannon and ringing all the bells. Then Tilda's +father took her in his arms, and told her that she was a real princess. +The Grand Cross of the Order of the Black Cat was conferred upon Bobo by +Princess Zenza, who also asked his pardon for having treated him so +shabbily. This Bobo gave readily. A wonderful fete was held. When the +rejoicings were over, Bobo and Tilda were married, and lived happily +together all their days. + + + + THE ENCHANTED ELM + + +[Illustration: Young girl sitting in a tree.] + + +Once upon a time, while riding, a brave, young prince dashed merrily +ahead of his friends, and after galloping across a ploughed field, +turned his horse's head down a grassy road leading to a wood. For some +time he cantered easily along, expecting any moment to hear the shouts +and halloos of his friends following after; but they by mistake took +quite another road, and no sound except the pounding of his courser's +hoofs reached the Prince's ear. Suddenly an ugly snarl and a short bark +broke the stillness of the pleasant forest, and looking down, the Prince +saw a gray wolf snapping at his horse's heels. + +Though the horse, wild with fear, threatened to run away any instant, +the Prince leaned over and struck the wolf with his whip. + +Hardly had he done so, when an angry voice cried, "How dare you strike +my pet?" + +A little distance ahead, a wicked old witch stood at one side of the +road. With its tail between its legs, the wolf cowered close to her +skirts, and showed its long yellow fangs. + +"Pet, indeed!" cried the Prince. "Keep him away from my horse or I will +strike him again." + +"At your peril, Prince," answered the witch. And then, as the Prince +turned his horse's head and galloped back, she called out, "You shall +rue this day! You shall rue this day!" + +Now by the time the Prince had arrived at the ploughed field and the +great road again, his friends had galloped on so far that they were lost +to sight. Thinking that he might overtake them by following a shorter +road, he turned down a byway skirting the wood in which he had +encountered the enchantress. Presently he began to feel very thirsty. +Chancing to see an old peasant woman in the fields, the Prince called to +her and asked where he could find a roadside spring. + +Now this old peasant woman was the wicked witch under another form. +Overjoyed at having the Prince fall so easily into her power, she +curtsied; and replied that within the wood was to be found the finest +spring in the country. Anxious not to lose time, the Prince begged her +to lead him to the water. Little did he know that the witch was leading +him back into the wood, and that she had just bewitched the water! + +When they arrived at the pool, the Prince dismounted, and kneeling by +the brim, made a cup of his hands and drank till his thirst was +satisfied. He was just about to seize his horse again by the bridle and +put his foot into the stirrup, when a terrible pang shot through his +body, darkness swam before his eyes, his arms lengthened and became +branches, his fingers, twigs; his feet shot into the ground, and he +found himself turned into a giant elm. + +A giant elm he was; a giant elm he remained. Unable to find him after a +long search, his friends gave him up for lost, and a new Prince ruled +over the land. Though the elm tried many times to tell passers-by of his +plight, none ever seemed to understand his words. Again and again, when +simple wood-cutters ventured into the great dark wood, he would tell +them his story and cry out, "I am the Prince! I am the Prince!" But the +wood-cutters heard only the wind stirring in the branches. Ah, how cold +it was in winter when the skies were steely black and the giant stars +sparkled icily! And how pleasant it was when spring returned, and the +gossipy birds came back again! + +The first year a pair of wood-pigeons took to housekeeping in his +topmost branches. The Prince was glad to welcome them, for though denied +human speech, he understood the language of trees and birds. On +Midsummer Eve, the pigeons said to him, "To-night the King of the Trees +comes through the wood. Do you not hear the stir in the forest? All the +real trees are preparing for the King's coming; they are shedding dead +leaves and shaking out their branches." + +"Tell me of the King," said the Prince. + +"He is tall and dark and strong," said the doves. "He dwells in a great +pine in the North. On Midsummer Eve, he goes through the world to see if +all is well with the tree people." + +"Do you think he can help me?" asked the Prince. + +"You might ask him," replied the doves. + +The long, long twilight of Midsummer Eve came to a close; night folded +the world beneath its starry curtains. At twelve o'clock, though not a +breath of air was stirring, the trees were shaken as if by a mighty +wind, the rustling of the leaves blending into strange and lovely music, +and presently the King of the Trees entered the haunted wood. Even as +the wood-doves had said, he was tall and dark and stately. + +"Is all well with you, O my people?" said the King, in a voice as sweet +and solemn as the wind in the branches on a summer's day. + +"Yes, all is well," answered the trees softly. Though some replied, "I +have lost a branch"; and a little tree called out unhappily, "My +neighbors are shutting out all my sunlight." + +"Then fare ye well, my people, till next Midsummer Eve," said the +stately King. And he was about to stride onward through the dark wood +when the enchanted Prince called aloud to him! + +"Stay, O King of the Trees," cried the poor Prince. "Hear me even though +I am not of your people. I am a mortal, a prince, and a wicked witch has +turned me into a tree. Can you not help me?" + +"Alas, poor friend, I can do nothing," replied the King. "However, do +not despair. In my travels through the world, I shall surely find +someone who can help you. Look for me on next Midsummer Eve." + +So the great elm swayed his branches sadly, and the King went on his +way. + +The winter came again, silent and dark and cold. At the return of +spring, a maiden who dwelt with a family of wood-cutters came often to +rest in the shade of the great tree. Her father had once been a rich +merchant, but evil times had overtaken him, and at his death the only +relatives who could be found to take care of the little girl were a +family of rough wood-cutters in the royal service. These grudging folk +kept the poor maiden always hard at work and gave her the most difficult +household tasks. The Prince, who knew the whole story, pitied her very +much, and ended by falling quite in love with her. As for the unhappy +maiden, it seemed to her that beneath the sheltering shade of the great +elm she enjoyed a peace and happiness to be found nowhere else. + +Now it was the custom of the wood-men to cut down, during the summer, +such trees as would be needed for the coming winter, and one day the +wood-cutter in whose family the maiden dwelt announced his intention of +cutting down the great elm. + +"Not the great elm which towers above all the forest?" cried the maiden. + +"Yes, that very tree," answered the woodcutter gruffly. "To-morrow +morning we shall fell it to the ground, and to-morrow night we shall +build the midsummer fire with its smaller branches. What are you crying +about, you silly girl?" + +"Oh, please don't cut the great elm!" begged the good maiden. + +"Nonsense!" said the wood-cutter. "I wager you have been wasting your +time under its branches. I shall certainly cut the tree down in the +morning." + +All night long, you may be sure, the maiden pondered on the best way to +save the great tree; and since she was as clever as she was good, she at +length hit upon a plan. Rising early on Midsummer Morn, she ran to the +forest, climbed the great elm, and concealed herself in its topmost +branches. She saw the rest of the wood beneath her, and the distant +peaks of the Adamant Mountains; and she rejoiced in the dawn songs of +the birds. + +An hour after the sun had risen, she heard the voices of the wood-cutter +and his men as they came through the wood. Soon the band arrived at the +foot of the tree. Imagine the feelings of the poor Prince when he saw +the sharp axes at hand to cut him down! + +"I shall strike the first blow," said the chief wood-cutter, and he +lifted his axe in the air. + +Suddenly from the tree-top a warning voice sang,-- + + "Throw the axe down, harm not me. + I am an enchanted tree. + He who strikes shall breathe his last, + Before Midsummer Eve hath passed." + +"There is a spirit in the tree," cried the woodcutters, thoroughly +frightened. "Let us hurry away from here before it does us a mischief." +And in spite of all the chief wood-cutter's remonstrances, they ran +away as fast as their legs could carry them. + +The chief wood-cutter, however, was bolder-hearted, and lifted the axe +again. As the blade shone uplifted in the sun, the maiden sang once +more,-- + + "Throw the axe down, harm not me. + I am an enchanted tree. + He who strikes shall breathe his last + Before Midsummer Eve hath passed." + +Hearing the voice again, the chief began to feel just the littlest bit +alarmed; nevertheless, he stood his ground and lifted the axe a third +time. Once more the girl sang,-- + + "Throw the axe down, harm not me. + I am an enchanted tree. + He who strikes shall breathe his last + Before Midsummer Eve hath passed." + +At the same moment, the elm managed to throw down a great branch which +struck the rogue a sound thump on the shoulders. Now thoroughly +terrified, the chief wood-cutter himself fled from the spot. + +All day long, for fear lest he return, the maiden remained hidden in the +tree. At twilight, overcome by weariness, she fell into a deep sleep. +Just before midnight, alas, she was awakened from her slumber by hearing +an angry voice cry,-- + +"Come down from the tree, wicked, deceitful girl, or I shall cut it down +at once!" + +Very much alarmed, the poor maiden looked down through the branches, and +discovered the wood-cutter standing at the foot of the elm. A lantern +swung from his left hand, and his sharpest axe rested on his right +shoulder. He had returned home, and not finding the maiden there, had +suspected that it was her voice which had frightened his men away. + +"Come down," roared the rascal. "I'll teach you, you minx, to play +tricks with me. One--two--three." And lifting the axe in the air, he was +about to send it crashing into the trunk of the elm, when the mysterious +murmur which heralded the coming of the King of the Trees sounded +through the wood. Perplexed and frightened again, the chief wood-cutter +let fall his axe. Presently he perceived two beings coming toward him +through the solemn forest. Uttering a howl of fear, the rogue would have +fled, but, lifting his wand, the elder of the newcomers transfixed him +to the spot. The two personages were the King of the Trees and his +friend, the mighty enchanter, Gorbodoc. + +"Descend and fear not, maiden," said the King of the Trees. "You have +done bravely and well. Your misfortunes are over, and a happier day is +at hand." + +So the brave girl hurried down the tree, and stood before the enchanter +and the King. Very pretty she was, too, in her rustic dress and ribbons. + + +Lifting his wand with great solemnity, Gorbodoc touched the trunk of the +elm. There was a blinding flash of rosy fire; the great tree appeared to +shrink and dissolve, and presently the Prince stood before them. + +"Welcome, Prince," said the enchanter. + +"Your enemy, the witch, will trouble you no more. I have turned her into +an owl and given her to the Queen of Lantern Land. As for you," and here +the enchanter turned fiercely upon the wood-cutter, "you shall be a +green monkey, until you have planted and brought to full growth as many +trees as you have cut down." + +An instant later, a green monkey swung off into the tree-tops. + +Then the grateful Prince thanked the King of the Trees, the mighty +Gorbodoc, and the brave maiden, with all his heart. I am glad to say +that he got his castle back again and married the maiden who had saved +his life, and they lived happily ever after. + + + + THE BIRD BOY + +Late one autumn night a young queen stood by her window, gazing upon the +silent and deserted meadows gleaming in the moonlight. Suddenly, far, +far up in the sky, she heard the weird cry of birds flying southward, +and lifting her eyes, the Queen beheld bird after bird fly across the +golden shield of the moon. + +"Oh, lovely, happy birds," said she; "would that I might have a son with +wings!" + +Now it came to pass that before the harvest moon rose again over the +land, the Queen became the mother of a little boy who was born with +wings on his shoulders. But instead of being pleased with so strange and +wonderful a little son, the King (who was very superstitious and under +the domination of wicked chamberlain named Malefico) took it into his +head that his wife was a sorceress, and gave orders that she should be +imprisoned in a lonely tower and the child destroyed. So the Queen and +her baby were taken to an old and gloomy tower on a great rock +overlooking the northern sea; and after they had been there a day or +two, the chief jailer came to the Queen's room to take the child and +kill him. + + +[Illustration: Foreground, small winged boy seat on the ground, approached +by a large bird in flight; background, small cottage.] + + Every year, on the Bird-Boy's birthday, a great gray bird was seen. + + +The Queen, when she heard this terrible order, uttered a gasping scream, +and seizing her little son from out his cradle, pressed him close to her +breast. But although she fought for her baby with all her might, the +rude strength of the jailers prevailed, and the child was torn from its +mother's arms. Then, before anyone could prevent her, the poor Queen +beat open the rotted fastening of an old casement window, sprang upon +the ledge, and giving one last look of love and tenderness to her +unhappy child, leaped down into the sea surging and pounding over the +rocks hundreds of feet below. She certainly would have been dashed to +pieces, had not a good spirit of the ocean taken pity on her, and +changed her into a great gray bird. Crying mournfully, the bird circled +the old tower thrice, and disappeared over the white-capped waters. + +In spite of his roughness, however, the jailer was neither a brutal nor +a wicked man, and he did not relish the cruel task which the King had +given him. So, instead of killing the bird-boy, he carried him many +leagues back into the dark forest which bordered the sea, and gave him +to a family of charcoal-burners. With these rough, good people the +bird-boy lived till he was five years old. And every year, on the boy's +birthday, a great gray bird came flying over the forest from the distant +ocean, circled thrice the charcoal-burners' hut, and disappeared again, +crying mournfully. + +One midsummer day, with a great deal of merry hallooing and blowing of +sweet-voiced horns, the King of the country, accompanied by his young +wife, came hunting through the wood. There was a pretty spring near the +door of the hut, and the party came to a halt at its edge. Out ran the +winged boy and his two little foster-brothers, to see the wonderful +sight. And a wonderful sight it was, indeed, to see the horses tossing +their jeweled bridles, the hooded falcons riding on the saddlebow, +clutching the leather with their curving claws, the merry young pages in +their dark suits, and all the gay company in rich attire. + +"Why, see," said the young Queen to her husband, "yon little boy hath +wings. Really, dear, I must have him for my page. Would n't it be +wonderful to have a winged page? Besides, he will be a playmate for +Rosabella." + +So the King gave the charcoal-burner and his wife fifty pieces of bright +gold, which pleased them very much, and the charcoal-burner himself +lifted the bird-boy up in his arms, and placed him on the King's saddle. +Then the bird-boy waved good-bye to his two little ragged +foster-brothers, who were howling as if their hearts would break, and +rode away with the King. In a few hours the company came to a splendid +castle of shining white stone, standing in beautiful green gardens +running down to the sea. Once at home, the Queen commanded that the +little winged boy be washed and tidied, and his charcoal-burner's rags +replaced with a pretty black velvet suit. You may be sure that, when the +bird-boy was washed and dressed, there was no handsomer, more winning +little boy in all the world. + +So the bird-boy became the best beloved playmate of the Queen's only +child, her darling Rosabella. Now, if the bird-boy was the prettiest +little boy in all the world, Rosabella was the prettiest little girl. +Moreover, she had a sweet disposition, which is a gift even more +precious than the gift of beauty. It was a lovely picture to see the +children building toy castles on the floor of the nursery in the castle +tower, the sun streaming on the black-brown hair and silver white wings +of the little boy, and on the golden curls of Rosabella. + +Twelve years passed. The bird-boy grew into a handsome lad; Rosabella +into the loveliest of princesses. Twice had the bird-boy saved +Rosabella's life. He had saved her the first time by swooping down and +catching her in his wings just as she was about to tread on a wicked +yellow viper; he had saved her in the same way when she had fallen over +a cliff at the edge of the sea. + +Every year, on the bird-boy's birthday, a great gray bird would fly in +from over the sea, circle the castle thrice, and disappear, crying +mournfully. + +Now when the bird-boy and Rosabella were in their seventeenth year, it +came to pass that the King was summoned to war. His enemy was no other +than the wicked chamberlain Malefico, who had succeeded to the kingdom +of the bird-boy's father, when that Prince had died some years before. +So the good King, who had been a real father to the bird-boy, put on his +shining armor, kissed his dear wife and child good-bye, and rode off to +the battlefield. The bird-boy begged and pleaded to be taken with him as +his squire, but the King would not hear of it, and insisted that he +remain in the castle to take care of the Queen and Rosabella. There was +little cheer in the castle that unhappy evening. And all night long, the +bird-boy thought he could hear the wings of a great bird beating +fiercely against the window-panes. + +A month passed, an unhappy month in which there were no tidings from the +King. Then, one rainy morning, a messenger who had ridden so hard that +his poor horse could scarcely stagger, rode to the castle gate bearing +very evil news. A great battle had been fought, the army of Rosabella's +father had been completely defeated, and the troops of the wicked +Malefico were hurrying toward the castle as fast as they could come. + +And so it was; for before the Queen had had time to summon the people +and gather together a few belongings, the troops of the enemy burst in +at the gate, and a dozen fierce soldiers surrounded the Queen, +Rosabella, and the bird-boy, and dragged them to Malefico. + +When Malefico saw the bird-boy, a look of surprise appeared on his face, +for he had believed that the wonderful child was dead. Then he fell to +thinking, and as he thought, wicked purposes swept over his cruel face +just as the shadows of dark clouds sweep over a gloomy pool. + +"If it were known that the winged child is alive," he thought, "the +people would thrust me from my place, and restore him to his father's +throne. Now that the bird-boy is in my hands, I will destroy him, and be +sure of my power." + +So he smiled, and began to think of some manner in which he could bring +the bird-boy to a shameful end. At last he hit upon a plan. He would +declare that the bird-boy was not a human lad at all, but a witch-child; +he would then accuse the good King of having protected a witch-child, +and condemn them both to be stoned. So he threw the King and the Queen, +Rosabella and the bird-boy, into an old dungeon-tower, and went through +the mockery of having a trial. When it was over, he sent a soldier to +tell the King and the bird-boy that they were to be punished the +following day. + +And now dawned the unhappy day. The bird-boy took Rosabella's hand in +his, and together they went to the barred window of the prison and +looked out upon the world. The morning was fresh and fair; a pleasant +southwest wind was blowing. The King and the bird-boy were to be led +forth at noon. The clock marked a quarter to twelve. + +"Dear Rosabella," said the bird-boy sadly, "we have forgotten that +to-day is the day on which the great gray bird comes from the ocean and +circles the castle towers. If thou shouldst see the bird when I am gone, +greet it in my name, as we did when we were happy children." + +"The bird may come," said Rosabella amid her sobs. + +"No, Rosabella," said the bird-boy, "I shall never see the gray bird +again. And even if it were to come, what could it do to save us from +these cruel people?" + +When the clock stood at five minutes to twelve, there was a confused +noise below, and Malefico and the judges who shared with him the guilt +of the unrighteous punishment took their places on a kind of platform +which overlooked the place of execution. + +"They will soon be coming to get us," said the King to the bird-boy. + +And sure enough, they heard the jangle of the jailer's keys at the foot +of the stair. + +Suddenly the sunlight in the room faded swiftly into a strange gray +gloom, and the bird-boy rushed to the window to see if a storm was at +hand. A great shadowy cloud, advancing with inconceivable rapidity, +already filled half the sky, and as the boy gazed into this cloud, he +saw to his astonishment that it was not a cloud at all, but hundreds and +hundreds of thousands of great gray birds, flapping their long wings. +The shadow of the birds fell over the platform on which the cruel +Malefico sat waiting for the King and the bird-boy to be brought forth, +and then ceased moving even as a ship that has come into harbor. + +Far ahead of the vast swarm flew one lonely bird, and suddenly this bird +uttered a shrill and piercing cry. Immediately every bird let fall a +great beach-stone which he held in his claws, and for a long minute, the +sky rained stones, round, polished stones that fell like bolts of +thunder. When the storm was over, and the cloud had begun to break into +rifts and speckles of light and flapping gray wings, the wicked Malefico +and his cruel nobles lay buried forever beneath mound upon mound of +stones. The doom which Malefico had intended for another had overtaken +him. + +The King and the Queen, Rosabella and the bird-boy, rushed down the +stairs and out into the sunlight. As they did so, the gray bird who had +led the cloud, sank through the air and alighted at their feet. But +scarcely had the bird's claws touched the ground, when there was a flash +of flame, and the bird-boy's mother stood before them. She took her son +in her arms, and told them all his history and her misfortunes, and how +she had watched over him year after year and gathered the birds to save +him. + +Thus it came to pass that, when the troops of Malefico saw their former +Queen and heard her story, they acclaimed the bird-boy as their rightful +king, and carried him back in triumph into his own country. So the +bird-boy became a king, married Rosabella, and lived happily ever after. + + + + THE MASTER MARINER + +Once upon a time a fine young fisherman rose early in the morning, and +sailed alone to the fishing-grounds. There was very little wind, and +beneath the speckled clouds and the cold, pearly light of the late dawn, +the broad, low billows went slowly and unrippled to the land. + +The fisherman cast anchor, and threw overboard his lines. Suddenly his +boat moved uneasily, and close to its side the oily surface of the pale +sea broke into a tumbling mass of foam. In the heart of the troubled +waters, the fisherman beheld, to his great astonishment, a man clad in a +strange garment of gleaming black scales, struggling with an enormous +scarlet fish. A battle of life and death they fought, the man of the sea +trying to stab the fish with a short dagger of shining steel, the fish +trying, wolf-like, to tear at the body of its enemy. Now, with a swift +lash of its bright scarlet body, the fish would rush at the man; now, +with a long sure stroke of his powerful arms, the man would escape the +attack. Suddenly, the fish hurled itself clear out of the water, and +falling against the man, struck him a terrible blow with its tail. Then +the ocean man, who was stunned for a moment, would have perished, had +not the young fisherman swiftly seized his spear and plunged deep into +the body of the fish. Mortally wounded, the scarlet creature sank +through the sunless waters, the dark blood flowing from its side. + +The man of the sea clutched the rail of the boat with his webbed hands, +and said to the fisherman, "I am the King of the Caves of the Sea. I owe +you my life, and you shall have a reward. Take this little silver fish. +It will bring you good fortune; and should you ever be in deadly peril, +you have but to cast it into the sea, and it will come and find me." + +The fisherman thanked the King of the Caves, and took the silver fish. +It was about the length of your little finger, and had pale moon-stones +for eyes. The fisherman hung the talisman on a chain and wore it round +his neck. + +From that morning on, everything prospered with the youth. His boat +never leaked, he was never caught in a storm, and the fish came to his +lines and nets the instant he threw them overboard. Within a year or two +he had grown so rich that he was able to buy the finest merchant ship in +the world, and became a master mariner. Surely no more splendid fellow +than this gallant, young captain was ever found on the Seven Seas. He +sailed to cold and foggy Flannel Land, where the inhabitants all have +incurable head colds, and have no other cloth but red flannel; he traded +in the ports of gorgeous Velvet Land, whose inhabitants dress in velvet, +and cover their walls with velvet hangings and their floors with velvet +rugs. + +One pleasant morning, running before a fine westerly breeze, he came to +the Eastern Islands. Down the street of the bazaar walked the Master +Mariner, followed by those who had articles to sell. Some showed him +bright-colored birds which they had caught in the forests; others waved +squares of figured cloth and called upon him to buy them; others still +offered strange flasks and bottles of brass and gleaming copper. At the +end of the street, the Master Mariner discovered a little quiet counter +on which lay some dozens of puffy and distended brown-leather bags. + +"What are these?" said the Master Mariner to a tall, lean man with +beady, brown eyes who was in charge of the shop. + +"These are breezes, Master Captain," replied the shopman. "If you are +going south, here is a bag of a very reliable northwest wind" (he picked +up one of the brown bags); "if you are going east, here are some of the +best-assorted westerly gusts. I am selling them at a very low price +to-day, in fact at less than they cost me. What will you have?" + +"I'll have a smart easterly," replied the Master Mariner. + +He put down fifty gold pieces on the counter, took the bag which the +shopman gave him, and walked away. + +Now all these leather bags looked very much alike, and instead of +selling the Master Mariner a brisk easterly breeze, the shopman had made +an error, and sold him a frightful storm. + +Again the Master Mariner went to sea; but luckily for him, he put the +imprisoned storm away in a locker, intending to use it on some other +voyage. Presently he came to Silk Land, loveliest of all the Cloth +Islands. There the inhabitants dress only in the finest of silks; the +roofs and walls are covered with layers of silk; the sun always shines, +and pretty birds with silken plumage chatter in the fern-like trees. + + +[Illustration: Man falling into the ocean from a ship with a large white +sail.] + + Splash! And the Master Mariner fell into the sea. + + +Now the island of Silk Land was at this time ruled by the prettiest of +princesses. She was about eighteen years old; she was tall for her age, +and her eyes were quite the loveliest shade of brown. When the Master +Mariner's fine ship came into the harbor of Silk Land, cleaving the +turquoise water, and with the bright sun shining on her silvery-white +sails, the Princess happened to be resting under a silken awning on the +roof of her palace. Catching sight of the ship, the Princess cried to +her companions:-- + +"See what a fine ship is coming into port! She must be laden with many +wonderful things. Send word to the Captain that I intend to visit her +to-morrow morning." + +The next morning, sure enough, the Princess paid a visit to the ship, +which lay at a wharf below the palace. In honor of the Princess's +coming, everything had been swept, scrubbed, and brightened, and +gorgeous carpets from the Eastern Islands covered the decks. In shaded +nooks, under costly tapestries, lay the treasures of the +cargo--wonderful cloths and spices from the Eastern Islands, vessels of +gold and silver from the Adamant Mountains, and jewels from the Desert +of the Moon. + +Now scarcely had the Master Mariner set eyes on the Princess, than he +began to think her quite the most wonderful person he ever had beheld; +as for the Princess, scarcely had the Master Mariner directed two or +three respectful and somewhat tender glances in her direction, than she +began to believe him quite the most gallant youth she had ever seen. She +gave orders that several of the marvels be brought to her palace, and +was looking about for something else, when her eyes chanced to fall upon +the silver fish the Master Mariner was wearing. + +"Pray, what is that little silver fish?" asked the Princess. + +"A mere trifle which a friend once gave me," replied the Master Mariner, +reading in the Princess's eyes and demeanor that she desired the +talisman. "If Your Majesty will only deign to accept it, it is yours." + +And blinded by the Princess's eyes, he gallantly, but somewhat +incautiously, took the silver fish from its chain and gave it to the +Princess, who laughed prettily, and accepted the gift. + +Silver trumpets sounded, the servitors gathered up the treasures which +the Princess had chosen, and the royal party returned to the palace with +a good deal of chattering and laughter. + +In a few days, the Master Mariner disposed of his cargo, and went again +to sea. But wherever he went, the image of the beautiful Princess of +Silk Land went with him. + +Under the silken awning, on the wind-swept balcony, sat the Princess, +and the image of the young Captain was often in her mind. + +After three months had passed, the Princess took it into her head that +it was time for the Master Mariner to return to Silk Land, and gave +orders that a sharp watch be kept from the tower of the palace for his +returning vessel. One morning, just as the Princess was having breakfast +in her wonderful silken bed, news was brought to her that a large ship +was headed for the harbor. + +"Is it the Master Mariner's ship?" asked the Princess. + +"I do not know, Your Majesty," replied the messenger. "The vessel is +still many miles out to sea." + +So the Princess jumped out of bed, and without waiting for the ladies of +the bedchamber to dress her, ran upstairs to her balcony. A great ship +was coming in under a favoring breeze. Nearer and nearer it came, till +the Princess could even distinguish the men aboard. Suddenly she uttered +a little scream, and ran down stairs pell-mell. At the same moment the +bells of Silk Land all began to ring wildly, and the beating of drums +sounded through the town. + +The approaching ship was a pirate ship! From the topmast flew the +terrible black flag of the pirates of the Northern Isles! + +Great confusion followed. + +Warned by the uproar of the bells and drums, the people came scurrying +through the streets to the palace; some carrying children in their arms; +others the best beloved of their household furnishings. The palace was +hastily made ready for a siege. + +Soon, cursing and swearing, the black-bearded pirates arrived, and began +to sack the town. Into every house they went, pulling out all the bureau +drawers, reading private letters, upsetting the clocks, and leaving the +water running in the kitchen sinks. They filled their pockets with +cuff-links and watches. + +Now, if the pirates had taken only the cufflinks, stick-pins, cameo +brooches, silver candlesticks, souvenir spoons, and sugar-tongs, and +then gone away, the raid would not have been too terrible; but the +rogues, bribed by the horrid old King of the Oyster Mountains, a +rejected suitor, were bent on getting possession of the Princess. On +discovering that she had locked herself up in the strong palace, their +rage knew no bounds. They made a dozen different attempts to break open +the palace door, but all in vain. Finally, they decided to besiege the +fortress. + +For four days all went well enough with the Princess and her imprisoned +people; but by the sixth day most of the food had been eaten; and by the +end of the eighth day, the Princess knew she would have to surrender the +following morning. With a sinking heart she went to a turret and looked +out over the ocean in the hope of catching sight of a passing sail. But +she saw only the deserted town and the pirate ship riding at anchor in +the bay. An hour later she went to the turret again, and again she saw +no sign of anything at sea. A terrible despair seized upon her, but +nevertheless once more to the turret she climbed. + +Far out at sea, headed toward land, was the brave ship of the Master +Mariner! + +So great was the joy of the poor Princess at the sight of the gallant +vessel that she almost swooned; but recovering herself, like the +Princess that she was, she ran down into the courtyard and told the news +to her people. Immediately those who were weak or fretful from hunger +began to take heart, and all who could crowded to the barred windows. + +The Master Mariner's vessel came riding into the port; the watchers saw +her drop anchor, saw the boats being lowered, and the sailors coming +ashore. Soon the pirates and the sailors were at it hammer and tongs; a +ceaseless clack clack of steel beating upon steel rose to the turrets of +the palace; there were dreadful duels in the alleyways and battles in +the public squares. Alas! just as the sailors were carrying the day, the +Master Mariner received a blow on the head which knocked him insensible, +and the mariners, disorganized by the loss of their chief, were soon +surrounded and taken prisoners. Then, taking heart, the pirates rushed +the palace, and burst open the doors. + +When the rogues had taken everything on which they could lay their +hands, they brought the prisoners and the plunder to the marketplace. + +"Shall we bind all these people and take them aboard?" asked a pirate. + +"No!" roared the one-eyed pirate chief. "Take only the Princess and that +rogue of a Master Mariner." + +The people now began to cry, "Oh, don't take the Princess, our dear +Princess!" But all their prayers were useless. + +Now, because the Master Mariner's ship was far more swift and beautiful +than the pirate ship, the pirates, after setting fire to their own +vessel, abandoned her, and put their plunder on board the Master +Mariner's vessel. The following morning, leaving the people of Silk Land +robbed and mourning, the pirates sailed away. + +Within a few hours, all signs of land had disappeared. The sea was as +black as ink. Against the horizon's edge, the great waves were leaping +and breaking into foam. + +"Bring me the list of booty!" cried the pirate captain, roaring the last +word. + +So the pirate treasurer came on deck, and read a long list beginning,-- + +"Fifty-three scarf-pins." + +"Hooray!" shouted the pirate crew. + +"A hundred and eighty-five sterling silver berry-spoons," next announced +the treasurer. + +"Hooray!" cried the crew again. + +"One thousand clocks!" cried the treasurer. + +"How many with alarms?" asked an old pirate anxiously. + +There was a strained silence. The treasurer consulted his list. + +"Seven hundred and forty-nine," he answered. + +"Hooray!" yelled the pirate crew. + +When the list had been read (it took very nearly half an hour to do it) +the one-eyed captain cried, "Bring forth the Master Mariner!" + +So the Master Mariner was brought forth, and thrown brutally against a +mast. The pirate chief put his arms akimbo, cleared his throat savagely, +and roared, "So you thought you were going to punish me, did you! Well, +I'll show you what happens to people who upset my plans. Here, Hawk Eye, +and you, Toby, throw this fellow overboard." + +Hearing this awful order, the Princess screamed and would have run to +the Master Mariner, had not rude hands restrained her. + +Splash! the Mariner fell into the inky sea. Swift as a bird, his own +ship went by him; he saw the mocking face of the pirate chief leering at +him from over the rail; in a few minutes he was alone, all, all alone in +the wide, wide sea. For some time he swam about, and by great good luck +discovered a log of wood strong enough to bear his weight, floating near +at hand. Upon this he climbed, and there we shall leave him for the +present. + +When the Captain had disappeared from sight miles behind, the pirate +chief walked over to the Princess, and looking at her, said sneeringly, +"Well, my beauty, are you going to make up your mind to be the wife of +the King of the Oyster Mountains? I'm taking you to him, and mind now, +no fooling!" + +The Princess shrank from him with horror, and as she fell back, the sun +gleamed on the silver fish she was wearing at her throat. The chief made +a rude snatch at it; the Princess, however, was quicker than he, and hit +him a good box on the ear. + +"Ow!" cried the chief, dancing up and down with rage. "I'll fix you, you +ill-tempered minx. Here, somebody, tie this girl to the mast for the +rest of the day, and give her nothing but bread and water." + +In obedience to his order, the Princess, with her arms tied by the +wrists behind her back, was lashed to the mast. When she had been +securely bound, the chief, whose ear was still tingling, took the silver +fish. He was looking at it when he saw something which made him drop the +fish on the deck. + +Out of the forecastle door thick clouds of black mist were rolling, +exactly as if the hold of the ship were on fire. For a meddlesome pirate +had found the leather bag of storm-wind and had opened it, mistaking it +for a bag of wine. + +The strange clouds, swirling round the deck, grew instant by instant +darker and denser. Soon the tops of the masts could no longer be +distinguished. The sun took on a horrible copper hue, and the sea became +a mottled black and green. A howling wind arose. + +A moment later, with the violence of an explosion, the storm burst. +Mountain-high rose the glassy white-capped waves. The lightning fell in +violet cataracts, and thunder roared and tumbled through the caverns of +the sky. An ocean of hissing rain fell into the waters. + +Suddenly the pirate chief, as he staggered down the stairs, shouted, "We +are lost!" + +Just astern, an enormous, glassy wave, higher than the masts of the +ship, was about to break. The pirates yelled, but little good their +yelling did them. An instant later the wave broke upon the deck, and +crashing tons of green water swept every single pirate into the sea. +Slowly, and with the tense struggle of a wounded animal, the good ship +lifted itself from the waves. + +The Princess was the only human being left on board. Only the cords +which bound her to the mast had saved her from being swept away. + +Now, when the water swept the deck, the silver fish which lay at the +Princess's feet became alive and darted over the rail into the sea. + +The storm continued. The helpless Princess expected every minute to sink +with the ship into the roaring waters. Suddenly, to her horror, a high +rocky island appeared a few miles ahead. Toward this island, over whose +cruel reefs the ocean was foaming and breaking, the ship was drifting +fast. Tied to the mast, the Princess listened to the terrible cry of the +breakers, and, spell-bound, watched the jagged rocks of the island ever +drawing nearer. + +Now while the Princess was in this terrible situation, the Master +Mariner, who had been blown before the storm like a feather, also came +in sight of the rocky island. The instant he caught sight of the shore, +and heard the roaring of the breakers, he knew that he could not hope to +reach the land. He was on the edge of the reefs when the King of the +Caves of the Sea, who had been summoned by the silver fish, rose out of +the water beside him, and taking him in his webbed hands, swam with him +to a place of safety. Just as they reached the shallows, the mists of +the tempest parted, and driving through the darkness and the storm, +headed for the reefs, came the Master Mariner's ship with the Princess +tied to the mast. + +"Oh, save her! Save the Princess!" cried the Master Mariner. + +The King of the Caves of the Sea stretched out his hands over the island +and uttered a strange and mysterious word. So awful was its power that +the rocky cliffs split open, forming a safe and sheltered harbor. Into +this port came the ship, safe at last as a bird in its nest. + +So the Master Mariner, the Princess, and the ship were all wonderfully +preserved, and when the storm was over, the King of the Caves saw them +home to Silk Land. There the Master Mariner found his crew waiting for +him, and in a few days they had rigged new sails for the ship which were +even whiter than the old. The inhabitants got back the fifty-three scarf +pins, the hundred and eighty-five sterling silver berry-spoons, the +thousand clocks, and the rest of the booty which the pirates had stowed +away in the Master Mariner's ship. + +Great was the rejoicing. + +Greater still was the joy, however, when the Master Mariner married the +Princess. + + + + THE MARVELOUS DOG AND THE WONDERFUL CAT + +[Illustration: Background, books scattered on library shelves. +Foreground, a white dog with glasses and a black cat seated at a low +table, studying books and making notes.] + + +Once upon a time there was an old enchanter who taught magic and +enchantment to the younger fairies. Year after year, and morning after +morning, he was to be found at his school-room in the Fairies' College, +standing between his desk and a blackboard, now writing down the spell +for turning noses into turnips, now changing sunflower seeds into pearls +before the very eyes of his pupils. + +The old enchanter liked this life of quiet and study, and doubtless +would have been teaching in Fairyland to this very day, had he not been +so unfortunate as to quarrel with the terrible sorcerer Zidoc, who was +then Lord High Chancellor of the Fairies' College. I have forgotten +exactly what the quarrel was about, but I think that it had to do with +the best spell for causing castles to fall to pieces in an instant. At +any rate, Zidoc, who considered himself quite the most wonderful +enchanter in Fairyland, was furious at being opposed, and told the old +enchanter, very angrily, that he was not to have his classes any more +and must leave the college at once. So the poor old gentleman packed up +his magic books, put his enchanter's wand into its silver case, and went +to the country one pleasant day in search of a house. + +Thanks to the advice of a friendly chimney swift, it did not take him +long to find one. The dwelling was the property of the Fairy Jocapa. It +stood just off the high road, close by a lane of great oaks whose shiny, +fringed leaves glistened in the hot noon-day sun; it had a high roof +with sides steep as mountain slopes, and one great chimney; and its +second story thrust itself out over the first in the old-fashioned way. +Green fields, little hills, and pleasant meadows in which red and white +cows were grazing lay behind the dwelling. + +Seeing the front door wide open, the enchanter walked in. It was very +quiet. Only the far away klingle-klangle of a cow-bell could be heard. + +"Here shall I live," said the enchanter. And he brought his possessions +to the house. + +Now, one autumnal morning, when a blue haze hung over the lonely fields +from which the reapers had departed, and the golden leaves were wet +underfoot, the old enchanter went for a walk down the lane, and finding +the day agreeable, kept on until he found himself in the woods. Arriving +at the crest of a little hill in the woodland, he saw below him, almost +at the foot of the slope, a countryman with a white puppy and a black +kitten following at his heels. The little dog barked merrily out of pure +high spirits, whilst the kitten leaped and struck with its tiny paws at +the passing white butterflies. + +As the old enchanter approached the countryman, he happened to hear him +say to the animals,-- + +"Alas, my poor innocents, what a pity that I should have to abandon +you!" + +"What's that?" said the enchanter, halting the countryman. "You intend +to abandon these helpless creatures?" + +"Alas, I must," replied the countryman, pulling a large blue bandanna +handkerchief from his pocket and applying it to the corners of his eyes. +"We are too poor to be able to feed them, and my children love them so +well that I cannot find it in my heart to do them harm. I am taking them +into these woods to abandon them, in the hope that, like the wild +animals, they will soon learn to shift for themselves." + +"Give them to me," said the old enchanter, "I will bring them up." The +countryman nodded his head. "As for you, here is a golden florin. May it +bring you better fortune." + +Thus did the white puppy and black kitten change hands. + +Once he had led the animals safely home, the enchanter resolved to make +them the most wonderful animals that had ever been seen in the whole +wide world, whether in Fairyland or out of it. Being an enchanter, he +could, of course, do this more easily than other people. So he taught +the cat and the dog all the known languages, then history, arithmetic, +dancing, social deportment, and a variety of the best magic and spells. +The cat, as was to be expected, was particularly good on anything that +had 'cat' in it; he once catalogued all the principal catastrophes; +while the dog, although a good student, had a fancy for writing +doggerel. Many and many a time, when the enchanter and his wonderful +animals were seated in their armchairs round a blazing fire, talking +exactly as any three good friends might talk, a nose would flatten +itself against the panes, and the three companions would see looking in +at them some stranger whose curiosity had got the better of his manners. + +The dog, I may say, had grown up to be a fine fellow of the +short-haired, white bull terrier family; the cat had grown to be as +aristocratic as a panther. When their education was complete, the +animals came to their teacher and begged him to let them go away and see +the world. For a long time the enchanter, who loved his charges very +much indeed, resisted their request; but as they continued to press him, +he came at length to yield. Calling them before him, he said to them:-- + +"Well, dear pupils, if you must go, you must go. I owe the Fairy Jocapa +twelve months rent for this house. She is now living with her nephew, +the King of the Land of the Runaway Rivers. You shall take twelve golden +florins to her. Your route will take you over all the kingdoms of the +whole wide world." + +So the white dog, who was the stronger of the two, took the purse with +the twelve golden coins, and put it in a large wallet which he wore at +his side, and then both the wonderful animals said good-bye. At the +corner of the lane they turned again to look for the last time at their +dwelling, and saw their old master still waving at them from the little +window over the door. Then they fared over the hills and far away. + +So wise, so well-bred and good-tempered were these wonderful animals, +that their journey across the world was a great success from the +beginning. Their fame spread from kingdom to kingdom like wild-fire. The +universities, colleges, and other learned societies fought with each +other for the privilege of entertaining these distinguished students. To +this very day, the address which the cat made on catapults and +cataplasms, before the professors of the University of Sagessa, is +remembered as one of the great events of the time; while the dog's +address on dogma before the assembled scholars of the Royal Academy of +Fairyland was printed in a special book bound in gold leaf and walpus +leather. Both the cat and the dog were awarded countless honorary +decorations. + +And so, little by little, they came to a hilly land in which all the +streams raced pell-mell to the sea, and there they knew themselves to +be in the Kingdom of the Runaway Rivers. A three days' journey brought +them to the royal castle. Arriving in the twilight, they were somewhat +surprised to find a number of torchbearers waiting for them in the +castle courtyard. With great respect, these attendants conducted the cat +and the dog into a little ante-room, and then retired, leaving them +alone. A few minutes later, a very old woman, who, the animals noticed, +was stone-blind, came to take them before the king. + +"How strange!" whispered the cat in its rather meouw-y voice. + +"Very," whispered back the dog in his deeper tone. + +Having opened, one after the other, three great doors with three +different iron keys, the old woman, guiding herself by touching the wall +with her hand, led the animals into a long dark corridor. The cat, who +could see quite well in the dark, did not mind this, but the dog was not +particularly pleased. The echoes of the old woman's boots went rolling +along in the hollow darkness; the dog could hear his heart beat, and saw +his black companion's eyes glowing like pools of flame. Then, to their +mutual relief, the animals saw a point of light appearing far down the +passage, and on reaching this, they discovered a second blind old woman +holding a torch. The first old woman beckoned them to follow this new +guide, and disappeared again into the dark corridors by which they had +arrived. + +The second old woman, lifting high the torch, first led her charges +through three more great doors, all of which she carefully locked behind +her. Soon the animals found themselves at the top of a winding stair +whose end was lost in darkness. Down this stair they went, turning, ever +turning, down and round, down and round, till both cat and dog felt +dizzily that they must have reached the heart of the earth. Then, little +by little, a pin-point of light began to glow brighter and brighter, +and the animals found themselves at the foot of the stairs and opposite +a little door. And there, by this door, stood another blind old woman, +who held a torch and beckoned to the animals to follow. + +Three more doors they passed, the last one opening on a very narrow, +winding passage. In and out they turned, walking one behind the other, +for a time that seemed very, very long. Suddenly a narrow door appeared +in the winding wall, which opened inward as they drew near, revealing a +beautiful round chamber richly furnished and hung with the finest +tapestries. Beside the fireplace, in which a wood-fire was cheerily +burning, sat a gray-haired lady, who was no other than the Fairy Jocapa, +and in the centre of the room, reading a great book by the light of many +candles, sat a young man, the King. + +In spite of the enchanter's careful training in manners, the cat and the +dog, I am sorry to say, almost stared for an instant at the King. Small +wonder that they did so, for the unfortunate young man lay under a +horrid spell, and his face and hands were not pink or white or +sun-brown, like yours or mine, but bright green, like a parrot's wing! + +"Welcome, O wonderful animals," said the enchanted King. "Your fame has +gone before you into every land, and it is said that there is no +question you cannot answer. Listen, then, to my story and help me if you +can. + +"You see me before you, hideously changed. Until you entered here, an +instant past, no eyes but those of my aunt had beheld my horrible +countenance. It was she who caused this enchanted chamber to appear in +the heart of the foundations of my castle; and in this chamber I have +hidden since that terrible hour when the spell was put upon me. My +subjects only know that I am still alive. The Lord Chancellor rules the +kingdom in my stead. But hearken to my story. + +"Ten months ago, as I was driving my chariot down a narrow road built +along a river-bank close to the stream, I encountered a chariot being +driven furiously in the opposite direction. The driver of the chariot +was a tall, elderly man, wearing a wizard's cap; his face was red as +with anger, an evil light gleamed in his small malicious eyes. In order +to let him pass, I turned to one side, as near to the river-brink as I +dared; but the space was too narrow, our chariots locked wheels, and his +was overthrown. Turning upon me a face aflame with hatred, he cried out, +'I will teach you what it is to offend the Enchanter Zidoc'; and an +instant later the wizard himself, the struggling horses, and the +overturned chariot disappeared in a rumble of thunder and a great flash +of flame. I turned homeward, never noticing that anything had happened +to me. As I chanced to pass a roadside cottage, a little child playing +about saw me and ran, screaming for fear, to the door. A little farther +on, I stopped to drink of a spring. Judge of my horror when I leaned +over the clear pool of water and saw that my face had turned a bright +green! I waited till nightfall, stole into the castle unobserved, and +sought the aid of my aunt, the fairy. You know the rest. Speak, O +wonderful dog and wonderful cat, and bid me hope a little!" + +And the poor King hid his bright green face in his hands. + +"The Enchanter Zidoc is an old enemy of our dear master," said the white +dog, "and his power as a sorcerer is the greatest in Fairyland!' + +"I have tried all my powers against him in vain," said the Fairy Jocapa, +sadly. + +"But let us not despair," broke in the cat. "Zidoc is now to be found in +these dominions. His castle lies on the border of the Silver Hills. The +dog and I will go there, and see if we can help the King." + +So the Fairy and the unhappy King thanked the wise animals, and sent for +the blind old women to lead them back to the upper world. Early next +morning, the famous pair began the journey to the Enchanter's den. The +dog's plan was to pretend to be but an everyday stray dog, and to this +end, he rolled several times in a mud-puddle; the cat, too, was to +appear as a stray cat, and neglected his fine black coat in order to +look the part. + +Unfortunately for their plan, Zidoc had in his chamber a little +enchanted bell which rang shrilly when danger threatened him. Hearing +the bell ring late at night, Zidoc rose from his bed, and hurrying to +the turret window, saw, by the light of the waning moon, the dog and the +cat making their way to the castle through the wood. Rubbing his hands +with glee, he determined to let the two animals walk headlong into his +power, and then inflict upon them some terrible revenge. + +The first day the dog went indoors, and concealed himself under a sofa, +while the cat remained outside. When twilight came, the dog ran out and +met the cat in the castle garden. + +"Did you discover anything?" asked the cat. + +"Nothing whatever," replied the dog. + +"I will try to-morrow," said the cat. + +And so, when the morning came, the dog remained outside while the cat +concealed himself behind a curtain. When the twilight came, the animals +met again. + +"Did you discover anything?" asked the dog. + +"Very little," replied the cat. "The Sorcerer Serponel is coming +to-morrow to pay Zidoc a visit. One of us must hide in the room in which +they will talk; for perhaps we may learn something which may help us to +lift the spell from the King." + +"To-morrow it is my turn," said the dog. And so the next morning he +stole into the house and hid again beneath the sofa. + +Now Zidoc knew very well where the dog had concealed himself. Moreover, +he had summoned the powerful Serponel to his aid in order that the dog +and the cat should have no opportunity to escape. + +When Serponel arrived, both the wicked enchanters went to the room in +which the dog lay concealed. First, Zidoc locked the only door with a +great key and then he said to Serponel,-- + +"Brother, someone tells me that there is an enemy hidden under the +sofa." + +"Yes, brother," replied the dreadful Serponel. + +"And something tells me that it is time to let him feel your staff." + +Now Zidoc had an enchanted staff whose blows were mortal, and knowing +this, the poor dog, who was trapped between the wall and the two +sorcerers, grew cold with fear to the tip of his white tail. Just as he +was about to make a bolt into the open, Zidoc dragged the sofa swiftly +aside, and aimed a terrible blow at him, which by the greatest good luck +just missed its mark. He then ran out into the room, pursued by the +sorcerers, who little by little forced him toward a corner. + +And now, just as Zidoc, holding the staff uplifted, was about to strike +the poor dog with all his force, a black shape, with flaming eyes and +paws outstretched to scratch, leaped through the open window and landed +upon Zidoc's back. It was the brave cat, who had heard the fracas from +his hiding-place below and had clawed his way up the castle wall to help +his friend. Valiant Puss, forgetting in one instant, I must admit, all +its knowledge of languages, catastrophes, history, social deportment, +and agriculture, plunged instantly into the fray, and gave Zidoc a +frightful scratch, which so upset him that it caused him to drop his +staff, while the dog profiting by the confusion, and forgetting all +about geometry, mathematics, agriculture, and dogma, managed to give +Serponel a good bite just above the ankle. + +The wily Zidoc, however, was not to be so easily thwarted. Uttering a +magic word, he caused the room to be filled with darkness, and in the +cover of this darkness he transformed himself instantly into a black cat +exactly like the learned cat, while Serponel changed himself into a +white dog exactly like the learned dog. At the same moment he caused the +locked door to fly open. + +"Now," thought he, "I will cause the cat to follow the wrong white dog, +and the dog to follow the wrong cat; we shall thus separate the animals, +and when we have lured them far away from each other, Serponel and I +will resume our true forms, and destroy these meddlesome creatures." + +When the darkness cleared, the hearts of the true animals fell for fear +lest the sorcerer's ruse be successful; but they met the challenge +readily, and instead of fleeing, stood their ground; the true dog +battling with the false dog, the real cat with the false cat. Never was +such a hullaballoo heard in Fairyland. Then, seeing that he was in +danger of being badly scratched, Zidoe brought on another darkness, the +floor of the castle shook, a noise as of thunder roared and rattled +through the room. When the darkness ended, both the enchanters had been +separated and the cats were confused, the real dog was chasing the real +cat, thinking that he was following Zidoc, while Serponel, who had been +the false white dog, was pursuing Zidoc, who had been the false black +cat! Down the stairs, over the terraces and the gardens ran the true +dog, pursuing the true cat, while indoors, up and down through the rooms +and over the furniture, raced the false animals. + +The poor cat, thinking he was being pursued by the wrong dog, grew short +of breath, and, hearing the snapping at his heels, ran up a convenient +tree. Hardly had he reached a point above the dog's jaws when a voice +said:-- + +"Why, my pupils, my pupils! What a way to behave! Stop your quarreling +this instant!" + +The animals turned to look, and saw their master, the old enchanter. He +had been worried by their long absence and had gone forth to look for +them. Thus, at the same moment that the poor dog saw that he had been +pursuing his friend, the cat saw that he had been escaping from his +comrade. + +Suddenly a noise from the castle arrested their attention, and on +looking up, all saw through the windows the false dog pursuing the false +cat down the hall of state. + +Now, if you remember the first part of this story, you will recall that +Zidoc quarreled with the old enchanter over the right spell for +destroying castles. A triumphant smile shone on the lips of the old +teacher; he stretched forth his hand toward the castle and uttered a +magic word. + +There was a roar as of twenty thousand cataracts, and in the twinkling +of an eye, the castle collapsed in a cloud of dust, burying the two +wicked magicians in its ruins. + +"There, I told him so!" said the old enchanter. + +When the dog and the cat had recovered from the events of the day, the +three friends began their journey back to the palace of the enchanted +King. He came to the castle gate to meet them, for Zidoc's overthrow had +broken the spell which had so oddly disfigured him. Through the open +doors, a splendid banquet could be seen waiting, and the sound of music +was heard. + +So the old enchanter gave his arm to the Fairy Jocapa, the Prince gave +his to the white dog, and the cat followed all by himself. Then came the +host of rejoicing courtiers. + +When the festival was over, the enchanter and the wonderful animals went +back, loaded with royal gifts, to their own little house and lived +happily there to a good old age. + + + + THE SHEPHERD OF CLOUDS + +[Illustration: A man and two elves watching clouds pour through a large +gate.] + + +Once upon a time a young husband and wife named Giles and Phyllida lived +in a cottage in the heart of a great plain. League upon league, the rich +land fell away to the west, there to end at a wall of high mountains +into whose fastnesses no one had ever ventured. Yet the mountains were +very beautiful. In the cold of a clear winter's day, the snowy summits +and rust-colored pinnacles shone bright and near at hand; in the spring, +fogs hid them, and lay like gray mantles upon the lower slopes. Midway +in the mountain wall, a wide chasm marked the entrance to a deep, gloomy +valley, out of which a roaring mountain torrent hurried, to lose itself +in the plain below. And because somewhere in the heart of this dark +valley storms were brewed, whose dark clouds, laden with lightning and +hail, poured from between the crags of the valley out over the land, +this valley was known as the Valley of Thunder. According to an old +legend, out of this valley a king should one day come to rule over the +people of the plain. + +Giles and Phyllida kept house by themselves. They had two cows, one red +and white, the other black and white, a flock of hens, some hives of +bees, a white horse, a dog, and a cat. All day long Phyllida worked +happily at the household tasks, baking the sweet white bread and marking +the fresh golden butter into square pats, while Giles went out to work +in the waving grain; and Phyllida, watching from a window, would see the +sun flash on the uplifted blade of her husband's scythe. + +One day Phyllida said to Giles:-- + +"I have made a dress for the youngest child of our cousins, Jack and +Jill, and this morning I shall saddle the white horse and ride over to +their cottage. Perhaps I may stay with them for a few days. You will +find a fresh baking of bread and a meat-pie in the larder. Good-bye, +Giles; I'll soon be home again." + +So Giles answered, "Good-bye," and away rode Phyllida on the white +horse. + +A few days passed, and Giles, wandering here and there through the quiet +house, felt very lonely indeed. Finally he could stand it no longer, and +said to himself, "Phyllida must be on her way home now; I shall walk +down the highway and meet her." + +So he turned all the animals loose in the fields, and putting a few +slices of bread and cheese in his pockets, set forth upon the road. +Leagues ahead of him stood the mysterious mountains rising palely +through the haze of the midsummer afternoon. A pale violet light fell on +their distant precipices, and the snow in the rifts upon their sides +appeared of the purest and loveliest white. Gusts of wind hurrying from +the distant summits swept the great plain, and the fields of ripening +wheat bent before them and rustled harshly. + +Suddenly, down the throat of the Thunder Valley, Giles saw a river of +lightning fall, and from far away came a low murmur of thunder. Then, +faster and faster, a storm poured down the chasm like a flood, drowning +out the light of the sun, stilling the songs of the little birds, and +turning to the sky the pale underside of the leaves of the roadside +trees. A darkness as of night itself covered the land. Rain began to +fall in great spattering drops. Now, by the glare of the lightning, +Giles would see the endless fields, drenched and waving in the rain; now +the Thunder Valley itself, covered with a floor of onrushing cloud +unfolding, turning, and sinking in continuous and multitudinous +activity. + +Night came on amid the storm, and a flash of lightning revealed to Giles +that he had lost his way. Hoping to find a shelter or some friendly +cottage, however, he plunged on; but the road became worse and worse, +and he was again and again forced to wade brooks flooded by the tempest. +At length his steps led him into a pine wood, and there in the thickest +part he found a little shelter, and fell asleep. + +When he woke, numb, cramped, and cold, he found to his horror that in +the night and darkness he had blundered on into the Valley of Thunder, +into which no living soul had ever before advanced. Worst of all, he +could not find the way by which he had entered, for high crags rose on +every side and held him prisoner. Presently, to his amazement, he beheld +a narrow flight of steps cut in the solid rock of the mountainside. Up +these steps climbed Giles, and as he mounted higher, the stairs began to +twist and turn amid the crags and pinnacles. At the end of an hour's +ascent, he found himself at a turn from which the Thunder Valley, the +chasm through which it opened into the plain, and the wide plain itself, +could all be seen. + +Giles lingered there a while, trying to see his own cottage, or perhaps +Phyllida on her white horse; but he could see neither one nor the other. +So he began to climb again. All day long he climbed and climbed and +climbed. Twilight fell. The circle of the sun dropped below the level +horizon of the distant fields. One still golden star hung on the fringe +of the sun-glow. The stairs began to widen, and presently Giles found +himself at the summit of the mountain. Before his eyes lay a little +level field surrounded by strange crags and pinnacles, looming tall and +black against the fast-appearing stars, and as Giles rubbed his eyes in +wonder, lights shone here and there in the sides of the towering rocks, +even as lights shine in the windows of a village when you see it from +afar. + +Giles rubbed his eyes again. Lights? What could they mean? Presently a +great door, cut in the side of a towering mass of stone, opened with a +burst of light, and toward Giles there hurried the two strangest +creatures whom he had ever seen. These were two elves, alike as two peas +and each about three feet tall. Instead of having ears much like other +elves, however, the first one had ears like great curved cornucopias, +which projected almost a foot on each side of his enormous round head, +while the other, whose ears were quite natural, had but one huge eye in +the centre of his forehead. + +Without saying a single word, these strange elves seized Giles by the +hands, and after hurrying him across the open space, urged him through +the open doors into the house in the crags. + +Still keeping silence, the elves led Giles through hundreds of splendid +rooms and great halls, all lighted by hanging lamps as countless in +number as the leaves upon the trees. Suddenly, a great archway rose +before them, through which appeared a hall larger and brighter than all +the others seen before. At one end of it, under a canopy of rosy-gray, +stood a golden throne, and on the throne sat a being dressed in radiant +blue--in blue such as the sky wears after a rain, when the dark clouds +with bright edges break asunder and reveal the glory overhead. At the +same moment, the countless mountain elves gathered in the hall began to +sing:-- + + "All Hail, All Hail to the Shepherd of Clouds, + Who, high in his mountain-top, rules o'er the' weather; + He sends the rich rain over mountain and plain, + And sprinkles the dew-drops afar o'er the heather." + +The elves led Giles before the Shepherd. + +"How comest thou, mortal, to invade my mountain?" said the Shepherd. + +"I went forth to seek Phyllida," said Giles, "and lost my way in the +storm." + +"What sayest thou, Eye-o?" said the Shepherd to the elf with the single +great eye in his forehead. + +"The mortal speaks the truth," answered Eye-o in the queerest, +squealiest voice. "I saw him set out yesterday from his cottage on the +plain. He had not gone far when the storm which Your Mightiness prepared +in the morning and sent forth in the afternoon overtook him. He lost his +way, and chance led him to your dwelling, O Shepherd of Clouds." + +"What sayest thou, Ear-o?" said the Shepherd to the elf with the great +ears. + +"I heard him say good-bye to his wife Wednesday last," replied the elf +in a voice exactly like that of his brother. "Phyllida said to him, 'You +will find a fresh baking of bread and a meat-pie in the larder.'" + +The Shepherd of Clouds fixed his deep, solemn gaze upon Giles and said:-- + +"Mortal, I have hearkened to your story and to the words of my faithful +Eye-o, who sees all things that happen in the whole wide world; I have +paid heed to the words of Ear-o, who hears all things that are to be +heard under the sun. Chance has led you to discover the secret of the +weather. Nevermore must you revisit the lower world. Here shall you stay +till Death overtakes you. Obey me, and I will give you happiness and +honor; seek to escape, and my lightnings will find you wheresoever you +may hide." + +"Oh, no! no! no!" cried poor Giles, throwing himself down before the +throne. "Great Shepherd of Clouds, do not keep me here. Let me return to +my cottage on the plain, to Phyllida who waits for me, and knows not +whither I am gone or whether I am living or dead. Oh, let me go, let me +go!" + +But the Shepherd only shook his head austerely, and rising from his +throne, disappeared behind the rose-gray curtains. Again the mountain +elves sang, and as they sang, the great hall slowly grew darker than the +darkest night, and cold gusts of wind arose wailing in the darkness. +Presently Giles felt his body grow weak, strong hands seized him and +bore him up, and an instant later a deep sleep blotted out the world. + +When he awoke, he found himself in a little room. Dawn was at hand, and +the sweet, cold mountain air was blowing through the eastern window. +Suddenly, the door swung open, and Eye-o and Ear-o entered. + +"The sun is rising, Giles," said Ear-o, "and your appointed task awaits +you. The Shepherd wishes the clouds released at once. Hurry, hurry, +hurry, Giles, and open their prison-door." + +So Giles went forth with the elves. Over the summit of the mountain they +ran, along a path which wandered here and there--now dodging between +huge boulders, now skirting terrible precipices. Presently Giles saw a +monstrous wall of rock rising before him, in which were fixed two brazen +doors taller and more stately than he had ever seen in the world below. +Beside these doors, a flight of steps began, which led to the top of the +wall. + +Curious to see what lay behind the wall and the closed doors, Giles +hurried to the top. He found himself standing at the brink of a great +bowl, many miles wide and many miles long, hollowed out of the very rock +of the mountaintop. Within this bowl, like a giant flock of sheep, lay +hundreds of clouds on whose misty tops the rising sun poured gold, pale +lavender, and rose. At first, Giles thought them motionless, but as he +gazed intently within the bowl, he saw that the clouds moved and swayed +much like anchored ships in a tide. + +This bowl was the weather-bowl. In it the Shepherd of Clouds prepared +the weather for the neighboring countries. One day he would keep the +fair-weather clouds at home and let the rain-clouds sail over the land; +on another day, he would keep all the clouds in and let the sun shine; +on other days he would mix together such frosts, mists, and +snow-flurries as the season required. + +Suddenly, ringing infinitely sweet over the mountain-top, rose the clear +music of a silver horn. + +"It is the Shepherd!" cried Eye-o and Ear-o. + +"The hour is at hand to send the clouds over the earth. Quick, Giles, +unbar the doors!" + +So Giles unbound the giant doors, which of their own volition opened +wide. A sound as of thunder heard from far away over the sea beat upon +Giles's ear as the portals turned upon their hinges. In answer to this +sound, the clouds rose and lifted their golden heads, and hastening to +the brazen doors, one by one escaped through them to the sunlit spaces +of the morning sky. There, they formed themselves into a fleet, and +sailed majestically away. + +Thus Giles became the servant of the Shepherd of Clouds. It was his task +to unbar the door when the Shepherd had prepared the weather; it was his +to lock the clouds in, once they had returned from the heavens in answer +to the Shepherd's summoning horn. In time he came to know the +rain-clouds from their fair-weather brothers; he learned how frosts were +sent forth; how fogs were made; and he was even allowed to prepare a +small storm. He saw the icy caverns in which the hail-stones lie piled +in monstrous bags, the lightning-bolts in their crystal jars, and even +the prisoned storm-winds. You may be sure that, when he could so arrange +it, Phyllida's garden had quite the finest variety of weather. For Eye-o +and Ear-o would tell him about her. + +"Tell me, what is Phyllida doing?" Giles would say again and again. + +And Eye-o would answer, "She is out in the garden gathering plums"; or, +"she is in the kitchen making gingerbread." + +And then Giles would say to Ear-o, "Tell me, what is Phyllida saying?" + +And Ear-o would answer, "'Oh, would that my lad were home!'" + +Two years passed, and Giles, who had found no opportunity of escape, +began to lose hope of doing so. Never again, he feared, would he see +Phyllida. One day, with Eye-o and Ear-o by his side, he sat on a great +boulder and gazed gloomily down on the plain. Spring was just ripening +into early summer, the plain was at its very greenest and loveliest, and +here and there a little blue wood-smoke hung over the tiny villages. +Giles thought of Phyllida far, far away, and a terrible loneliness +poured into his heart. Eye-o and Ear-o sitting beside him, their long, +strange arms clasped about their knees, looked on with sympathy. +Presently Ear-o's right ear turned itself about, and after a moment's +silence, the elf said:-- + +"I hear voices telling of war. I hear the Robber King of the Black Lakes +summoning his terrible army. He is preparing a secret attack on the +people of the plain." + +"I see him! I see him!" cried Eye-o. "He is talking to the Grand +Chamberlain Scelerato." + +"Listen," said Ear-o; "he is saying, 'We will sweep the land at dawn, +steal the grain, and destroy every village to its foundation.'" + +"I see the robbers gathering," said Eye-o. "They are hiding in the dark +pine forests, lest they be seen by the people of the plain. The sunlight +pierces here and there through the thick branches and shines on the +breastplates of the armed men." + +At this terrible news, Giles was stricken to the heart with anxiety and +fear. What was to become of Phyllida and the people of the plain? If he +could only hurry down the mountain and warn them! If he could only +escape! And he looked round eagerly, as he had looked a thousand times +before, for any avenue of escape; but his gaze met only the great +precipices of the mountain and the guarded stairs. + +What could he do? His heart became like ice, and he feared to gaze upon +the plain lest he see the smoke of burning villages. All night long he +never closed his eyes. At dawn he rose and hurried to the top of the +gate which overlooked the cloud-bowl. For two whole weeks, not a cloud +had been allowed to roam the sky, and it seemed to Giles that the mists +were angry, and that a darkness brooded upon them. Turning toward the +plain, Giles saw, at the edge of the land, a little glow of fire. The +robbers had invaded the plain! + +Presently Eye-o came clambering up the steps. + +"I see a village in flames," said the elf. "The inhabitants are fleeing +down the roads. The news is spreading, and the people of the plain are +hurrying to seek refuge in the mountains." + +"Oh, where is Phyllida?" cried Giles. + +"She is on the highway with Jack and Jill and their children, hastening +toward the Valley of Thunder," answered the elf. + +Suddenly Giles stood up, and throwing his arms high over his head, +uttered a loud shout. "I can save them," he cried. "Let us send a storm +against the robbers. Hurry, let us prepare the worst tempest that ever +was seen." + +And away he ran to the hail-stone caverns, and carrying bag after bag to +the brim, emptied them all into the weather-bowl; he then tossed in a +dozen skinsful of the fiercest storm-winds, and ended by casting in all +the jars of thunderbolts that were to be found in the cavern. You should +have heard the crash of the crystal vases on the rocky floor of the +weather-bowl, and the hiss with which the lightning escaped and hid in +the rolling edges of the clouds. The great bowl roared and trembled, the +clouds massed together and grew dark; lightning played over the black +crests of the thunder-heads. From the top of the gate, Giles took one +satisfied look into the prisoned tempest, and then hurried down to unbar +the door. + +Through the gates, like wild herds, poured the clouds, and rising in the +air, were caught by the spreading storm-winds and whirled madly over the +sky. The thunder roared as no mortal had ever before heard it or ever +will hear it again, and the tempest sailed away to break in all its +anger over the heads of the robber army. So terrible was the noise that +the enchanted mountain trembled to its very foundations. + +Hearing the roar, the Shepherd of Clouds himself was roused and ran down +to the cloudbowl; but so dark was the mountain-top that he lost his way, +and narrowly missed falling down a precipice. The mountain elves, +terrified by the confusion, ran hither and thither like ants whose nests +had been opened. Crash went the thunder! Rumble, rumble, rumble, room, +rrrr-rang bang! bang! + +Once he had seen the storm break over the robber army, Giles, taking +advantage of the darkness, noise, and confusion, determined to make one +more effort to escape. Down the endless stairs he hurried, splashing +through the falling rain, down, and down, and down. Once at the bottom, +he was lucky enough to find the path out of the chasm, and hurried along +it to the mouth of the Valley of Thunder. + +He was free! The terrible storm had spent itself, and the sun was +beginning to shine on the thousand rain-drops caught in the matted +grass. A rainbow formed just as Giles approached the plain, and the +little birds came out to shake the rain from their feathers. + +Now, in the secure shelter of an overhanging cliff, were to be found +those people of the plain who had fled to the valley for refuge; and +when these poor worried folk saw Giles coming down the valley, they +recalled the prophecy that a king should come to them out of the valley, +and hailed Giles as their king. Best of all, Phyllida herself ran out, +and threw her arms about her husband. As for the robbers, the storm had +overwhelmed them and swept them all into the river. There, I am glad to +say, they turned into little fishes. + +When the Shepherd of Clouds found that Giles had escaped after making +all this disturbance, he was very angry, and rushed to his lightning +closet to hurl some thunderbolts at him. When he got to the closet, +however, he found that Giles had used every single bolt, and that the +cupboard was empty. Consequently, he had to wait till the end of summer +before he could get some new lightning, and by that time, he was so busy +arranging the autumn frosts that he quite forgot about Giles. + +So Giles and Phyllida became King and Queen of the people of the plain +and lived happily ever after. + + + + THE CITY UNDER THE SEA + +[Illustration: A black ship in the background, persuded by another ship +in the foreground.] + + +Once upon a time, in a country of mountains which bordered upon the sea, +dwelt a rich merchant who had three sons. The eldest and the second-born +were his joy, for they were merchants too, and remained at his side; but +the youngest often caused him much anxiety. Not that this youngest son +was a wild or a bad lad; but love of the sea and desire for adventure +ran like fire in his veins, and he could not bring himself to sit beside +his father and his brothers in the counting-house. + +Weary at length of the constant reproaches of his kinsmen, he turned +away one night from his father's house and joined a ship as a common +sailor. Clad in sailor blue, wearing a little cap, a blouse open at the +throat, and trousers cut wide at the bottoms, the runaway lad sailed +over the sea to foreign lands and isles. And as the years passed, one by +one, and brought no tidings of him, his father and his brothers gave him +up for lost. + +Now the King of the country in which the rich merchant and his son dwelt +loved rare gems and precious stones more than anything else in the +world. Hidden secretly away in the deep foundations of his castle lay +his treasure-room: it was circular in shape and built of black marble, +and at equal distance one from the other, along the curving wall, stood +a hundred statues of armed men, holding ever-burning lights. A hundred +coffers of green stone lay on the floor, one at the base of each statue, +each coffer piled high with gems. + +Night after night, when all was still, the King would descend to the +secret chamber, and throwing open the covers of the jewel-chests, would +gaze long and silently into the gleaming mass within. + +One night the King led his neighbor, the Emperor of the Seven Isles, to +the jewel-room, and showed him his treasures. + +"Are there fairer jewels to be found in the whole wide world?" said the +King proudly. + +"They are indeed noble," replied the Emperor, nodding his gray head. +"But how happens it that the Emerald of the Sea is not among them? The +Emerald of the Sea is the most glorious jewel in the whole wide world. +Years ago a fisherman of the Land of the Dawn found it in a strangely +carved box which a storm had washed into his nets. I saw it when I was +but a young prince; it hung by a chain from the throat of the Princess +of the Dawn, and shone there as if the very secret of the sea were +hidden in its heart." + +"Where is this emerald to be found?" asked the King, who was consumed +with the desire to add the jewel to his possessions. "Tell me, that I +may at once send an expedition in search of it." + +"I have not heard of it for many a long year," replied the Emperor, "but +I think it is still in the Land of the Dawn." + +So great was the King's impatience to become the owner of the Emerald of +the Sea, that he could scarcely wait for the morning. All night long he +slept not a wink for thinking of it, and hardly had the red shield of +the morning sun risen above the thin mists lying at the edge of the sea +and sky, when he sent for the rich merchant to come to the palace at +once. + +Wondering much at the summons, the merchant made haste to the palace, +and was there taken instantly before the King. When the King saw him, he +said:-- + +"You are the greatest and richest merchant in my dominions. Know, then, +that I have a task worthy of you. In the Land of the Dawn there is a +jewel called the Emerald of the Sea; it is your task to discover it and +purchase it for me. To possess it, I would give all the gold in my +realm. Take heed that you return with it, for if you fail me, my anger +shall strike you down." + +At these words the merchant bowed low, and replied that he would that +very day sail for the Land of the Dawn in his fastest ship. Then, +returning home, he gave orders that the best vessel in all his fleets be +immediately prepared for the journey; and so swiftly was this done, that +the merchant sailed for the Land of the Dawn on the morning tide. + +Many days and many leagues he sailed, over shining seas, till he reached +the harbor of the Land of the Dawn. Ships were entering and ships were +leaving the lovely mountain-circled bay. How the broad sails tugged at +their ropes as a steady wind filled their curving white depths! How +silver-clear shone the furrows of foam flowing back from the +onward-hurrying bows! + +Making her way out toward the great, still mirror of the summer sea, was +a strange black vessel, with sails as red as fire. + +The merchant anchored his ship in a quiet bay, and hastened ashore to +find the Lord Treasurer of the Kingdom. He found this nobleman at ease +on a balcony of his castle which overlooked the sea. Upon hearing the +merchant's story, the nobleman started with surprise, and said:-- + +"You are just too late! At the command of my royal master, the Prince of +the Land of the Dawn, I sold the Emerald of the Sea only an hour ago to +the master of a strange vessel. See, there she is now." And the Lord +Treasurer pointed out over the sea to the black ship with the red sails, +which was just then disappearing over the horizon. + +Thankful that the other ship was still in sight, the merchant hurried +back to his own vessel and gave chase. Luckily for him, there was a full +moon that night, by which the shadowy hulk and the swaying masts of the +mysterious ship could be seen. + +All the next day they sailed, but never an inch nearer to the other +vessel did they come, though the merchant loaded his ship with all the +canvas she could bear. Another night and another day found them no +nearer. Finally, late in the afternoon of the third day, a great storm +came sailing over the edge of the sea; a blast of wind struck the +merchant's ship, then a torrent of rain, and night came on just as the +storm was at its height. + +When the daylight came again, the other ship had completely disappeared; +and though the worried merchant sailed here and sailed there, never a +sign of the stranger could he find. At last, with a heavy heart, he gave +up the quest and returned to his King with the evil tidings. + +The King, I hardly need say, was beside himself with rage and +disappointment. Scowling so terribly that his eyebrows almost met, he +cried to the merchant:-- + +"Wretch, through you I have lost the finest jewel in the world! If you +do not find it within a year, your life and your possessions shall be +forfeited to me." + +On hearing these terrible words, the merchant turned pale, for he had no +more idea where the Emerald of the Sea was to be found than had a +new-born child. His two sons, however, when they had heard his story, +bade him not to despair, and declared that they would that very night go +forth and seek the emerald through the world. + +Now, because the poor merchant could not bear to be left quite alone, it +was finally agreed that only the eldest son should go in search of the +jewel, while the second-born should remain at home. This, of course, was +much against the will of the second son; nevertheless, so it was +arranged. + +And so the eldest son sailed away. The days lengthened into weeks, the +weeks into months, the months into a year, yet the eldest son did not +return. A guard of soldiers led the unhappy merchant before the King. + +"Well, have you found the Emerald of the Sea?" said the King. + +"No," replied the merchant, hopelessly. And now all would certainly have +been over with the poor merchant, had not his second son begged and +pleaded with the King for a year of respite in which he, too, might +search for the emerald through the world. Though at first unwilling, the +King at length yielded to the plea, but exacted one half of the +merchant's possessions as a forfeit. + +And so the second son sailed away. Days lengthened into weeks, weeks +lengthened into months, the months into a year, yet the second son did +not return. Cruel storms wrecked so many of the merchant's ships that he +lost the other half of his possessions, and was forced to take refuge in +a miserable cottage by the marshes beyond the town. + +On the last night of the year granted to him by the King, the unhappy +man sat in his poor house by a crumbling driftwood fire, listening to +the surf breaking on the beach that edged the marsh. Far away, he heard +the bells of the royal city sound the midnight hour. Neither the eldest +son nor the second-born had returned. The second year of respite was at +an end; nothing now could stay the anger of the King. + +Suddenly there came a vigorous rat-tat-tat on the door. + +"I am lost," murmured the poor merchant to himself. "The King's soldiers +are already at the door." And advancing unsteadily across the room, he +threw the door open wide. + +A gust of wind from the sea blew in, which bent back the flame of the +taper in his hand, and then across the threshold stepped the youngest +son. He was still a sailor and clad in sailor blue, and there was a +cutlass in his belt. So shaken with joy was the merchant that for some +time he could not utter a word, but merely clung to the strong shoulders +of the young seaman. + +As for the sailor son, he managed to let his father know that he had +returned from distant lands only that very evening, and had just heard +of the disasters which had overtaken his family. + +As they talked, steps were heard outside; and then, without waiting to +knock, a sergeant of the King's guard forced open the door, and, +followed by a handful of soldiers, entered the wretched room and took +the merchant and his son prisoners. They spent the night on the straw in +the royal dungeons, and in the morning were led before the King. + +On seeing the merchant, the irate King scowled more angrily than +ever,--for the loss of the Emerald of the Sea had never ceased from +troubling him,--and said:-- + +"Well, have you found the Emerald of the Sea?" + +"No," said the poor merchant. + +"Summon the executioner!" cried the King. + +And now the poor man would certainly have bade farewell to earth, had +not the youngest son, like his brothers, interceded with the King. + +At first the King would hear not a word of it, and called to his guard +to take the prisoners instantly away; but it being whispered that the +sailor, although not much more than a lad, had once fought bravely and +been sorely wounded in the royal service, he at length gave ear to the +youngest son's prayer and said:-- + +"Yes, you shall have another year. But know that this year shall be the +last. If you do not return with the Emerald of the Sea within a +twelvemonth, nothing shall save you. I have spoken." + +And thus the sailor son went in search of the Emerald. What happened to +him upon his search, in what situation he discovered his brothers, and +how he visited the City under the Sea, you shall shortly hear. + + +Now the youngest son had a little boat of his own. It was so small that, +when the wind no longer filled its sails, it could be rowed along, and +in this boat the sailor lad began his voyage. From harbor to harbor, +from nation to nation, he sailed, but never a soul he found who could +tell him aught of the strange black ship with the fiery sails or the +lost Emerald of the Sea. Even the people of the Land of the Dawn could +tell him only that the gem had been sold to an unknown prince. + +Presently the winter of the year overtook him, and in one of the sudden +storms that heralded the coming of the cold, his little boat went ashore +on a rocky coast, and was soon pounded to pieces by the breakers. Thrown +into the sea during the wreck, the sailor was himself so tossed and +trampled by the waves that he reached the shore far more dead than +alive. Indeed, had it not been for a poor fisherman and his wife, there +would have been no more story to tell. These good people, I am glad to +say, rescued the sailor from the fury of the waters and nursed him back +to health and strength again. + +When his strength was quite restored, the sailor told this good couple +the story of how he had gone forth to seek through the wide world the +Emerald of the Sea. + +"But my poor lad," said the kind fisherman, "the Emerald of the Sea has +vanished forever from mortal eyes." + +"What! You know of the emerald?" cried the sailor. + +"Alas, yes," replied the fisherman. "Two years ago the Prince of the +Unknown Isles sent the finest vessel in his fleet to the Land of the +Dawn to buy the jewel. A beautiful ship was she, with a hull as black as +night and sails as red as fire. My brother and I sailed in her crew. The +jewel was taken aboard. Our brave ship set sail for the Unknown Isles. +Hardly were we three days out of the sight of land, when a storm +overtook us and sank the vessel. I chanced to be tossed in the water +near a great fragment of the mast, and clung to this until a passing +vessel found me. Of all aboard, I alone survived. Forty fathoms deep +lies the Emerald of the Sea, never more to be seen but by the dumb +creatures of the waters." + +At these tidings the brave sailor's heart became like ice; nevertheless, +he cried:-- + +"Alas, good friend, I know that what you say is true, yet shall I not +despair; for, come what will, I must save my father!" + +Hearing this, the fisherman's wife, a quiet, good body who had had +little to say, whispered that it would be well first to consult the +Witch of the Sands. + +"The Witch of the Sands? Who is she and where can I find her?" cried the +sailor. + +"The Witch of the Sands dwells a hundred leagues from here," replied the +fisherman's wife. "All the mysteries of the waters are in her keeping +and she has an answer for them all. You must go to her and ask her to +help you." + +So the sailor thanked the good fisherman and his wife, and set out to +walk the hundred leagues to the house of the Witch of the Sands. His +path lay along a desolate and lonely shore, on whose rocky beaches the +wooden bones of old wrecks lay rotting, half buried in stones and weed. +Just as the third day's sun was sinking in the shining waters, the +sailor arrived at the Witch's dwelling. + +The Witch made her home in a deserted old ship, which a storm of long +ago had cast far up the sands. As for the Witch herself, she was a woman +so old that the sailor thought she surely must have been living when the +moon and the stars were made. A fringe of sea-shells circled the crown +of her high hat, and round her wrists were bracelets of pearly +periwinkles. + +Just as the sailor approached the Witch's door, a young fur seal, who +had been basking in a little pool left along the beach by the tide, +hastened out of his puddle, and running swiftly toward him on his +flappers, nuzzled his hand with his sleek, wet head, just like a young +dog. + +"Down, Neptune, down!" cried the witch shrilly. + +"Good evening, madam," said the sailor in his politest manner. + +"You are the third person who has come here to ask me the question you +are going to ask," screamed the Witch of the Sands, whose magic powers +had revealed to her the reason of the sailor's coming. "I know you! You +are the youngest son. Your two brothers have been here to ask me the way +under the sea, and I told them; but bless me, they have n't come back +yet. Just like young men to forget an old woman's warning. I've a good +mind not to tell you the way to the under-waters; indeed, I would n't if +you were n't a sailor and a child of the sea. Yes, I can show you the +road to under the sea; but you must not ask me about the emerald, +because I don't know where it is myself. It was in the Land of the Dawn, +and that's the last I heard of it! When you do get to the under-waters, +don't forget that. You'll have to hurry back like the wind, for the year +which the King gave your father is almost gone. Don't ask me questions! +I know you are going to ask one, because I'm not a man; and I know what +you are going to ask, because I'm a witch." + +And the strange old lady laughed and, putting her hands on her waist, +swayed so violently from side to side that the sea-shells on her hat +rattled and clicked. Then, after a pause to gather breath, she +continued: "Before you can go down into the waters, I shall have to give +you an enchanted ring. Mind you bring it back, for there are only three +of them in the whole wide world, and your brothers have the other two. +Goodness me, but I don't know why I let them take my magic rings. Now +that I come to think of it, I don't know as I shall let you take my +ring. However, it has been on my mind for some time to tell the King of +the City under the Sea that he's been telling the tide to come +altogether too near my ship. You can take the ring if you will promise +to deliver my message. Promise!" + +There was a pause, and the sailor, who had listened to the Witch's every +word, solemnly promised to carry her message to the King under the Sea. +He was just about to ask a question or two, when the Witch of the Sands, +drawing another long, long breath, cried out again:-- + +"Don't ask questions! I've told you once and I've told you twice, and +I'll tell you as many times as there are drops of water in the sea! The +path to the City under the Sea begins a hundred leagues to the north; in +the high cliffs there, when the tide is low, you'll find the mouth of a +great cave; walk down this cave, and down and down and down, till you +feel water rising round your feet. Then put on my ring and walk boldly +ahead. In a little while you will see the city shining in the waters. +Once there, seek out the King and tell him of your quest. But on no +account" (and here the Witch solemnly turned round three times) "eat or +drink anything offered to you while you are in the under-waters. If you +do, you will forget everything of your past life, your father, your +quest, and the Emerald of the Sea. Let one drop pass your lips, and you +will spend the rest of your life under the waves. Here is the enchanted +ring. Put it in your pocket." + +With these words, the Witch took from a little leather purse a simple +golden ring and handed it to the youngest son, who put the ring in his +pocket, thanked the Witch, and set off for the cavern, which led to the +City under the Sea. You may be sure it did not take him very long to +find it. After feeling carefully in his pocket to see if the ring was +still safe, the sailor plunged on into the winding cave. In a short +time, the roar of the breakers on the beach, which had been loud at the +mouth of the cavern, began to fade and grow faint, and the tunnel grew +dark and cold. Feeling for the wall of the passage with one hand, the +youngest son advanced into the blackness. Creatures of the sea, with +round shining eyes, stared at him from shallow pools, and now and then +his hand, running along the wall, would touch and shake from its place a +starfish or great snail. + +Down and down and down went the sailor. Presently he heard the lapping +of wavelets in the darkness, and a few minutes after, he felt himself +advancing into deepening water. Stopping for an instant, he put on the +golden ring. Then, walking on again, he felt the water rise from his +ankles to his waist, and from his waist to his throat. One step more, +and the water closed over his head. + +Once under the waves, the sailor hesitated, uncertain as to which way to +turn. Little by little, however, his eyes grew accustomed to the touch +of the water, and he saw, lying on the bottom a few feet ahead of him, a +small ball glowing with a pale phosphorescent light. Stooping to touch +this strange object, the sailor discovered it to be a small round +sea-plant which had anchored itself to a stone, and presently he +discovered that this light was but one of thousands which together +formed a long straight line across the level floor of the sea. Rightly +imagining these lights to be signs of a sea-world road, the sailor +advanced along them. A slow walk of ten long leagues brought him to the +gate of the City under the Sea. + +There was very little light there, save for that which came through the +waters from the world above, and this was but a faint, pale green glow, +which lay, more like a shadow than a light on the roofs and tower-tops +of the submerged town. + +The sailor walked unchallenged through the gate, and found himself in +the great street of the city. Along the broad avenue grew giant +sea-plants with brown leaves, set out in rows like trees; and through +the foliage which moved heavily in the currents, little fish darted like +birds. Many people walked slowly to and fro--strange people of the sea, +all dressed alike in tight-fitting garments of shining, fish-like +scales. + +The sailor looked into their faces and saw that a broad golden ring +encircled the pupils of their eyes. Suddenly two men of the sea, +distinguished from the others by swords of red stone, moved through the +water, and seizing the sailor in their webbed hands, hurried him before +the King of the Under-Waters. + +On a coral throne, in a great hall roofed with a high circular dome, sat +the King. The flowing waters within were bright, and a queer, pale green +light pierced through the hall from a kind of fountain of light in the +centre of the floor under the dome. Approaching this shining fountain, +the sailor discovered it to be a mass of glowing sea-creatures, living +flowers of the deep, which, even as he looked, stirred their mysterious +petals. + +"Welcome, Wearer of the Enchanted Ring," said the King, staring hard at +the sailor with his large golden eyes. "You come at a fortunate time. +This very evening we celebrate the wedding of the second of my three +daughters with the mortal wearer of the second ring. Stand you upon the +steps of the throne, for they are coming at once. Let the trumpets +sound!" + +At this command, two youths of the sea lifted huge conch-shells to their +mouths and sounded them. + +Great doors instantly opened wide, and a gorgeous procession entered. +First, appeared a dozen pages; then, in walked the Sea King's second +daughter, hand in hand with a merry young man, in whom the sailor +recognized his second oldest brother. + +Presently the conch-shells sounded again. + +"The Prince and the Princess!" cried a voice. + +The King leaned over from his throne and whispered in the sailor's +ear:-- + +"My eldest daughter and her husband. They were married just a year ago. +The Prince is a youth of the world above, and wears the first of the +enchanted rings." + +Now entered the eldest Princess of the Sea, walking by the side of her +husband. And in the husband the young sailor beheld the elder of his two +brothers. And though the young sailor stretched out his arms to them, +neither of his brothers remembered him, for while faint and hungry, they +had forgotten the warning of the Witch of the Sands and had eaten of the +bread of the under-world. Thus had the memory of the world above, the +lost emerald, and their father's plight faded away. + +The conches sounded a third time. + +"Come to the wedding banquet," cried the King. "You shall sit beside my +youngest daughter." + +And now the sailor lad, willy nilly, was hurried into the banquet hall, +and seated at the royal table beside the King's youngest daughter. And +she was quite the most beautiful of all the three. Noticing that the +youngest son touched no food, she said to him:-- + +"Why do you refuse to taste of the wedding banquet?" + +"Princess," replied the sailor, "I have come to the Under-Waters to seek +the Emerald of the Sea; for if I return to my own country without it, my +father's life will be forfeited. Would you have me forget?" + +"But you will never find the Emerald of the Sea!" cried the Princess. + +"Never find the Emerald of the Sea! What do you mean?" said the sailor +anxiously. + +"The Emerald of the Sea has disappeared," continued the little Princess, +fixing the sailor with her golden eyes. "Years ago it was stolen from my +father's treasury by a wicked Prince of the Under-Waters. My father +pursued him and overthrew him, but in the struggle the emerald was lost, +and rising to the surface, drifted to the shores of the Land of the +Dawn. There it remained till the Prince of the Unknown Isles purchased +it and took it away in his black ship. This ship, overcome by a storm, +sank; but where it lies we know not, though we have searched far and +wide through the waters. Whosoever finds it shall be master of the land +under the sea, for the emerald is master of us all. My father will not +lift a finger to help you find it; indeed, if he knows that you are in +search of it, he will force you to eat of the bread of the under-waters. +Say nothing, therefore, of your quest." + +At these words, the brave sailor's heart sank very low. Mindful of the +Witch's warning, he dared touch no morsel of food, yet he knew that +hunger would soon bring weakness in its train. Either he must find the +emerald at once, or he must abandon all hope of finding it. He could not +live long if he touched no food, and if but one morsel touched his lips +he would forget the upper world. + + +Far away, the poor merchant, whom the King had now cast in prison, +watched the days pass one by one, and the last year approach its end. +Every morning he would ask for tidings of his sailor son, and ask in +vain. + + +Now, when the wedding banquet was over, and the ball which followed was +at its height, the eldest of the princesses called her sister, the +bride, aside and said to her:-- + +"We must rid ourselves at once of this newcomer. Do you not see that he +is the younger brother of our husbands? I beheld him stretch out his +arms to them as they passed. Who can tell but that he may lead them away +from us? Let us tell our servants to lie in wait for him and deliver us +from such a danger." + +So said the eldest sister, of the golden eyes. Alas, I fear that the +people of the under-waters are sometimes quite as shocking as those of +the world above. + +Later that evening, just as the poor sailor was standing by one of the +great doors, a dozen or so stout rogues in the service of the eldest +sister fell upon him, bound him with cords, and dragged him through the +water to the royal stables. + +Now the people of the under-waters, having no horses,--for sea horses +are but tiny creatures,--had tamed great dolphins to carry them about. A +hundred of these monsters, each with a bronze ring in his nose, were +ranged along the sides of the stables, and on the fiercest and angriest +of them all, the Princess's servants tied the sailor. How the great +fish, fastened to a bar by a chain and his nose-ring, pulled, rolled, +swerved aside, and thrashed his tail! But all his twistings were of no +avail, for the poor sailor lad was soon fastened to his back with a rope +of seaweed. Then the creature was released from his chain, given a blow +on the side with a whip of shark-skin, and turned into the wilds of the +under-waters. + +For half an hour, the fish, frightened at his burden, fled at lightning +speed over the roofs of the city, and sped on into the lonely plain. +Then, ceasing his mad flight, he tried again to shake himself free of +the sailor. He turned, he leaped, he dived, but all in vain, for the +sailor was securely fastened to his back. Terrified anew, with a swift +motion of his great fins, he shot violently to one side and rushed on +and on into the dark. All that long night he fled. Toward the morning of +the next day, however, the sailor managed to work one arm free, and draw +the cutlass from his waist. With this he made short work of his bonds +and rolled off the fish's back. The great animal, delivered of the +weight which had lain upon it, rose on the tip of its tail and shot +madly toward the surface, and the sailor tumbled through the waters to +the bottom. + +Weak and hungry, the poor young seaman gazed about in the half-gloom, +and found himself on the lower slopes of a sunken mountain rising from +the ocean floor. In no direction could he find a sign of the City under +the Sea. Hoping, however, to see better from the mountain's top, he +decided to climb it. Strange plants and shells lay in the crevices of +the weedy rocks, schools of bright fish fled past him like living +arrows, and huge crabs scuttled away as he appeared. Suddenly, lying on +her side in a little ravine of the mountain, he saw a ship--the black +ship of the Emerald of the Sea! Weary and weak though he was, it took +the sailor but a moment to clamber aboard, and hurry past the broken +masts into the captain's cabin. A steady, green radiance shone in one +corner of the weedy room, and hastening toward it, the sailor found, at +last, the Emerald of the Sea. The box which had enclosed it had rotted +away and fallen apart. + +"Victory!" cried the sailor, "victory! The emerald is mine at last, and +I shall save my father." + +He took the great jewel from the broken box and rested it in the cup of +his two hands. How it glowed on the pale flesh! Then, thrusting it into +a pocket and holding onto it with one hand, he hurried out again to the +mountainside. + +In the world above, it was high noon, and the level rays of the sun beat +deep into the green waters. So bright had the slope become, that the +sailor lad felt sure that he could not be far from the surface of the +waves. Moreover, if the mountain-top rose above the waters, it would +form an island in the upper world. And so, indeed, it was. Climbing on +toward the top of the mountain, the sailor first scaled a steep cliff, +and at the top of this he found a gentle slope of sand. The sun's rays +now illumined the water so brightly that the air seemed only a little +distance away. Presently a beach-crab ran nimbly away from beneath the +sailor's feet. The water grew very much warmer. The shore was at hand! A +few steps more, and the youngest son emerged on the beach of a beautiful +isle. + +Half-blinded by the sun, he walked toward the dry land. There he found +some delicious fruits growing, and a rippling brook of crystal water. He +ate and drank, and his strength returned. + +Himself again, the sailor took the Emerald of the Sea in his hands, and +cried,-- + +"By the power of the Emerald of the Sea, I summon here the two elder +princesses of the under-waters, and my two brothers, their husbands!" + +There was a sound of far thunder under the clear blue sky, and a moment +later, four heads rose out of the waters, and shaking the salt spray +from their eyes, the princesses and the brothers walked through the +shallows to where the sailor was standing. Now, the princesses were very +much frightened when they beheld the sailor holding the all-powerful +emerald, and falling on their knees before him, begged him to forgive +their misdeeds, and not to take away their loved ones. Tears fell from +their golden eyes, and mingled with the drops of the salt ocean still +coursing down their black scales. As for the brothers, they would have +hurled themselves upon the sailor, had not the magic force of the +emerald prevented their approach. + +"Be merciful and forgive," said the younger of the sisters. "After all, +had we not caused you to be spirited away, you never would have found +the emerald." + +"Yes, that is true," said the sailor. "My brothers shall decide for +themselves. Break, then, the spell which binds them to the under-waters, +restore to them their memory of the past, and if then they choose to +remain, I shall not try to lead them away. Reverse the spell!" + +"That is easily done," said the elder sister. "Let them but touch the +food or drink of the upper world and their memory will return." + +And in less time than it takes to tell it, the sisters offered the +enchanted brothers water from the rivulet. When they had drunk of it, +both the brothers became pale as death, their eyes opened wide, and they +stared as strangely as men suddenly waked from sleep. Then, seeing their +younger brother, they ran to him and threw their arms about him, and +asked a thousand questions about their father and the quest of the +emerald. + +The golden-eyed brides watched them with sad faces, and finally broke +into quiet tears. Imagine their joy, when their husbands returned to +them and bade them be of good cheer. + +Thus was true love found to be mightier than the mightiest spell. + +Now, when the princesses of the sea had dried their tears, the sailor +and his brothers took counsel as to how the Emerald of the Sea might be +brought to the King in time to save their father's life. You may judge +of the sailor's horror when he discovered that because of a bad error in +the calendars and clocks of Sixes and Sevens (a city he had visited in +his search for the emerald), the life of his father had been forfeited +to the King three days before! + + +But now we must return to the poor merchant himself. + +All the third year the poor man had lain in a small cell in the royal +dungeons, waiting anxiously, oh, so anxiously, to hear the quick step of +the sailor son on the winding stairs just outside his prison door. But +the year came to an end, as you know, without his return. For the third +and last time, the castle guards led the poor man before the King. Now +the King had never forgiven the merchant for the loss of the jewel; his +chagrin, indeed, had increased with the years, and he was very glad that +he could at last take his revenge. + +"Have you found the Emerald of the Sea?" said the King, harshly. He +stood erect on the steps of his judgment-seat, arms folded, eyes fixed +in a fierce, black frown. + +"No," said the merchant quietly. + +"Then you shall seek for it yourself," cried the King. And he gave +orders that the merchant be tied hand and foot, and tossed into a little +boat without food or drink, and then sent adrift to die helplessly in +the lonely seas. And so this awful sentence was carried out. + +Bound hand and foot, scarce able to roll from side to side, the merchant +lay motionless in his little craft and stared up at the blue sky. +Presently a merciful sleep overcame him, and while he slept, a wind +arose which swept the little boat along with it. + +Meanwhile, on the beautiful island, the sailor and his companions, +stunned at their discovery, began preparations to return to the +under-waters. Just as the twilight fell, all walked together to the +margin of the darkening sea, and advanced into the waves. + +Suddenly, the sailor, whose eyes were the keenest, saw a little boat +rapidly drifting ashore. Now caught in a current of the shallow beach, +it drifted sideways; now propelled by the rising tide, it floated on, +bow pointed to the shore. The sailor hurried toward it and seized it. +Suddenly he uttered a ringing cry! The old merchant lay on the floor of +the boat. He still lived, for they could see him gently breathing. +Lifting him up tenderly, the three sons carried him to the shore, +unloosed his bonds, and brought him back to life. + +Now when the merchant was himself again, the sailor, through the power +of the emerald, caused the waves to carry a great ship to the island, +and on this ship the three sons, the two princesses, and the old +merchant returned to the merchant's country. All landed secretly, +however, for they knew that the angry King would seize them if he knew +of their return. And so it came to pass that, one night, shortly after +the homecoming, word was brought to the sailor that the King had heard +of the merchant's escape and was sending guards to arrest the merchant +and his companions. + +It was almost midnight when the sailor lad received the warning. Taking +the emerald with him, he advanced to a window by the ocean, and cried +out over the moonlit waters,-- + +"Waters of the Sea, rise and overwhelm the palace of the King!" + +Now the King's palace stood apart by itself on a tongue of land running +far out into the tide, and soon the rising waters were flowing over the +marble floors and pouring in through the windows. One by one, the lights +in the thousand rooms, touched by the waves, hissed, sputtered, and +expired. The servants of the palace, one and all, ran away pell-mell, +and left the dark castle to its fate. Little by little the advancing +water crept from the walls to the balconies, from the balconies to the +towers, and from the foot of the towers to their very tops. Finally, all +the moon could see as it shone upon the flood was the weather-vane of +the highest turret of all. You should have seen the little waves ripple +and break about it! And finally, even the weather-vane disappeared under +the black waves. + +Locked in his secret treasure-room, opening the jewel coffers one after +the other, the King remained quite ignorant of the disaster. For some +time no sound reached him in his hidden retreat, because the door of the +treasure-room was very thick and strong. Suddenly he heard behind him +the sound of falling water, and turning toward the door, beheld streams +of water gushing through the passages between the door and its frame. +Horror-struck, he watched the door burst from its locks and hinges; a +roaring cascade of cold sea-water came pouring in the room, and a moment +later the whole castle crumbled and fell to pieces. + +Now, when the King had met his deserts, the people of the country, who +greatly respected the merchant, offered him the crown; but he refused it +and conferred it on his two elder sons. Thus it came to pass that the +country had two kings. Each brother in turn reigned for six months of +every year, and spent the other six under the sea with the golden-eyed +people of the waters. + +As for the sailor lad, he sailed the sea for many years, and finally +married a pretty niece of the Witch of the Sands. Then, like all +sailors, he went to the country to live. His house is built of gray +stone, ivy climbs over it, and apple orchards lie beneath its windows. + +And the all lived happily ever after. + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Firelight Fairy Book, by Henry Beston + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FIRELIGHT FAIRY BOOK *** + +***** This file should be named 19207.txt or 19207.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/1/9/2/0/19207/ + +Produced by Don Kostuch + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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