{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_37995/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_37995","id":"gutenberg_37995","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/37995","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Children & Young Adult Reading","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Category: Short Stories","Fairy tales"],"text":"Produced by David Edwards, Eleni Christofaki and the Online\nDistributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This\nfile was produced from images generously made available\nby The Internet Archive)\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTranscriber's notes:\n\nSome illustrations of this work have been moved from the original\nsequence to enable the contents to continue without interruption.\nObvious punctuation errors have been silently repaired and hyphenation\nwas normalised. A list of the corrections made can be found at the end\nof the book. Italics indicated with _underscores_, bold typeface with\n=equal signs=.\n\n\n\n\n  THE DIAMOND FAIRY BOOK.\n\n\n\n\n  _UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME_\n\n\n  Each in square 8vo, richly bound in cloth gilt and gilt edges, =3s. 6d.=\n\n  THE RUBY FAIRY BOOK\n\n    With 8 beautiful coloured plates by Frank Pape and 77 drawings by H.\n    R. Millar.\n\n  THE GOLDEN FAIRY BOOK\n\n    With 8 beautiful coloured plates by Frank Pape and 110 drawings by H.\n    R. Millar.\n\n  THE SILVER FAIRY BOOK\n\n    With 8 beautiful coloured plates by Norman Little and 83 illustrations\n    by H. R. Millar.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: \"Upon the back of his noble steed the Prince gallantly\nlifted his beautiful charge.\"\n\nFRONTISPIECE. _page 273_]\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: THE DIAMOND FAIRY BOOK\n\nCOMPRISING STORIES BY\n\n  ISABEL BELLERBY\n\n  Z. TOPELIUS.\n\n  MRS. EGERTON EASTWICK.\n\n  CLEMENS BRENTANO.\n\n  XAVIER MARMIER.\n\n  J. JARRY.\n\n  W. HAUFF.\n\n  RICHARD LEANDER.\n\n  K. E. SUTTER.\n\n  SAINT-JUIRS.\n\n  A. GODIN.\n\n  PAULINE SCHANZ.]\n\n\nWith 8 Coloured Plates by FRANK PAPE and 82 Drawings by H. R. MILLAR\n\n\n  LONDON\n  HUTCHINSON & CO.\n  PATERNOSTER ROW\n\n\n\n\n  PRINTED BY HAZELL, WATSON AND VINEY, LD., LONDON AND AYLESBURY.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS.\n\n\n                                                                    PAGE\n\n  PRINCESS CRYSTAL, OR THE HIDDEN TREASURE.                            1\n      _By Isabel Bellerby._\n\n  THE STORY OF THE INVISIBLE KINGDOM.                                 15\n      _From the German of Richard Leander._\n\n  HOW SAMPO LAPPELILL SAW THE MOUNTAIN KING.                          35\n      _From the Swedish of Z. Topelius._\n\n  THE WITCH-DANCER'S DOOM.                                            51\n      _A Breton Legend._\n\n  THE THREE VALLEYS.                                                  61\n      _From the German._\n\n  THE SPRING-TIDE OF LOVE.                                            77\n      _By Pleydell North (Mrs. Egerton Eastwick)._\n\n  RINGFALLA BRIDGE.                                                   97\n      _By K. E. Sutter._\n\n  THE CHILDREN'S FAIRY.                                              113\n      _From the French of Saint-Juirs._\n\n  WITTYSPLINTER.                                                     127\n      _From the German of Clemens Brentano._\n\n  THE MID-DAY ROCK.                                                  143\n      _From the French of J. Jarry._\n\n  LILLEKORT.                                                         157\n      _From the French of Xavier Marmier._\n\n  THE TEN LITTLE FAIRIES.                                            169\n      _From the French of Georges Mitchell._\n\n  THE MAGICIAN AND HIS PUPIL.                                        185\n      _From the German of A. Godin._\n\n  THE STRAWBERRY THIEF.                                              201\n      _From the German of Pauline Schanz._\n\n  THE ADVENTURES OF SAID.                                            217\n      _From the German of W. Hauff._\n\n  LITTLE BLUE FLOWER.                                                241\n      _From the German of Miss F. E. Hynam._\n\n  \"THE PRINCESS WHO DESPISED ALL MEN.\"                               257\n      _By Charles Smith Cheltnam._\n\n  THE NECKLACE OF TEARS.                                             277\n      _By Mrs. Egerton Eastwick._\n\n  THE PRINCE AND THE LIONS.                                          297\n      _From the Persian._\n\n\n\n\nPrincess Crystal, or the Hidden Treasure.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nPRINCESS CRYSTAL OR THE HIDDEN TREASURE.\n\nA Story by Isabel Bellerby.\n\n\nTHERE were the four Kings: the King of the North, the region of\nperpetual snow; the King of the South, where the sun shines all the year\nround; the King of the East, from whence the cold winds blow; and the\nKing of the West, where the gentle zephyrs breathe upon the flowers, and\ncoax them to open their petals while the rest of the world is still\nsleeping.\n\nAnd there was the great Dragon, who lived on top of a high mountain in\nthe centre of the universe. He could see everything that happened\neverywhere by means of his magic spectacles, which enabled him to look\nall ways at once, and to see through solid substances; but he could only\nsee, not hear, for he was as deaf as a post.\n\nNow the King of the North had a beautiful daughter called Crystal. Her\neyes were bright like the stars; her hair was black like the sky at\nnight; and her skin was as white as the snow which covered the ground\noutside the palace where she lived, which was built entirely of crystals\nclear as the clearest glass.\n\nAnd the King of the South had a son who had been named Sunshine on\naccount of his brightness and warmth of heart.\n\nThe King of the East had a son who, because he was always up early and\nwas very industrious, had been given the name of Sunrise.\n\nThe King of the West also had a son, perhaps the handsomest of the\nthree, and always magnificently dressed; but as it took him all day to\nmake his toilette, so that he was never seen before evening, he received\nthe name of Sunset.\n\nAll three Princes were in love with the Princess Crystal, each hoping to\nwin her for his bride. When they had the chance they would go and peep\nat her as she wandered up and down in her glass palace. But she liked\nPrince Sunshine best, because he stayed longer than the others, and was\nalways such excellent company. Prince Sunrise was too busy to be able to\nspare her more than half an hour or so; and Prince Sunset never came\nuntil she was getting too tired and sleepy to care to see him.\n\nIt was of no use, however, for her to hope that Sunshine would be her\nhusband just because she happened to prefer him to the others. Her\nfather--the stern, blusterous old King, with a beard made of icicles so\nlong that it reached to his waist and kept his heart cold--declared\nthat he had no patience for such nonsense as likes and dislikes; and one\nday he announced, far and wide, in a voice that was heard by the other\nthree Kings, and which made the earth shake so that the great green\nDragon immediately looked through his spectacles to see what was\nhappening:\n\n\"He who would win my daughter must first bring me the casket containing\nthe Hidden Treasure, which is concealed no man knows where!\"\n\nOf course the Dragon was none the wiser for looking through his\nspectacles, because the words--loud though they were--could not be heard\nby his deaf ears.\n\nBut the other Kings listened diligently; as did the young Princes. And\npoor Princess Crystal trembled in her beautiful palace lest Sunrise, who\nwas always up so early, should find the treasure before Sunshine had a\nchance: she was not much afraid of the indolent Sunset, except that it\nmight occur to him to look in some spot forgotten by his rivals.\n\nVery early indeed on the following morning did Prince Sunrise set to\nwork; he glided along the surface of the earth, keeping close to the\nground in his anxiety not to miss a single square inch. He knew he was\nnot first in the field; for the Northern King's proclamation had been\nmade towards evening on the previous day, and Prince Sunset had\nbestirred himself for once, and had lingered about rather later than\nusual, being desirous of finding the treasure and winning the charming\nPrincess.\n\nBut the early morning was passing, and very soon the cheery,\nindefatigable Sunshine had possession of the entire land, and flooded\nCrystal's palace with a look from his loving eyes which bade her not\ndespair.\n\nThen he talked to the trees and the green fields and the flowers,\nbegging them to give up the secret in return for the warmth and gladness\nhe shed so freely on them. But they were silent, except that the trees\nsighed their sorrow at not being able to help him, and the long grasses\nrustled a whispered regret, and the flowers bowed their heads in grief.\n\nNot discouraged, however, Prince Sunshine went to the brooks and rivers,\nand asked their assistance. But they, too, were helpless. The brooks\ngurgled out great tears of woe, which rushed down to the rivers, and so\novercame them--sorry as they were on account of their own inability to\nhelp--that they nearly overflowed their banks, and went tumbling into\nthe sea, who, of course, wanted to know what was the matter; but, when\ntold, all the sea could do was to thunder a loud and continuous \"No!\" on\nall its beaches. So Prince Sunshine had to pass on and seek help\nelsewhere.\n\nHe tried to make the great Dragon understand; but it could not hear him.\nOther animals could, though, and he went from one to another, as\ncheerful as ever, in spite of all the \"Noes\" he had met with; until, at\nlast, he knew by the twittering of the birds that he was going to be\nsuccessful.\n\n[Illustration: \"'MY ROBE IS OF SNOW,' SHE FALTERED\" (_p._ 8).]\n\n\"We go everywhere and learn most things,\" said the swallows, flying up\nand down in the air, full of excitement and joy at being able to reward\ntheir beloved Sunshine for all his kindness to them. \"And we know this\nmuch, at any rate: the Hidden Treasure can only be found by him who\nlooks at its hiding-place through the Dragon's magic spectacles.\"\n\nPrince Sunshine exclaimed that he would go at once and borrow these\nwonderful spectacles; but a solemn-looking old owl spoke up:\n\n\"Be not in such a hurry, most noble Prince! The Dragon will slay any\none--even so exalted a personage as yourself--who attempts to remove\nthose spectacles while he is awake; and, as is well known, he never\nallows himself to sleep, for fear of losing some important sight.\"\n\n\"Then what is to be done?\" asked the Prince, beginning to grow impatient\nat last, for the afternoon was now well advanced, and Prince Sunset\nwould soon be on the war-path again.\n\nA majestic eagle came swooping down from the clouds.\n\n\"There is only one thing in all the world,\" said he, \"which can send the\nDragon to sleep, and that is a caress from the hand of the Princess\nCrystal.\"\n\nSunshine waited to hear no more. Smiling his thanks, he hastened away to\nput his dear Crystal's love to the test. She had never yet ventured\noutside the covered gardens of her palace. Would she go with him now,\nand approach the great Dragon, and soothe its savage watchfulness into\nthe necessary repose?\n\nAs he made the request, there stole into the Princess's cheeks the first\nfaint tinge of colour that had ever been seen there.\n\n[Illustration: \"HE LEARNED THE SECRET AT ONCE\" (_p._ 11).]\n\n\"My robe is of snow,\" she faltered; \"if I go outside these crystal\nwalls into your radiant presence it will surely melt.\"\n\n\"You look as if you yourself would melt at my first caress, you\nbeautiful, living snowflake,\" replied the Prince; \"but have no fear:\nsee, I have my own mantle ready to enfold you. Come, Princess, and trust\nyourself to me.\"\n\nThen, for the first time in her life, Princess Crystal stole out of her\npalace, and was immediately wrapped in Prince Sunshine's warm mantle,\nwhich caused her to glow all over; her face grew quite rosy, and she\nlooked more than usually lovely, so that the Prince longed to kiss her;\nbut she was not won yet, and she might have been offended at his taking\nsuch a liberty.\n\nTherefore, he had to be content to have her beside him in his golden\nchariot with the fiery horses, which flew through space so quickly that\nthey soon stood on the high mountain, where the Dragon sat watching them\nthrough his spectacles, wondering what the Princess was doing so far\nfrom home, and what her father would think if he discovered her absence.\n\nIt was no use explaining matters to the Dragon, even had they wished to\ndo so; but of course nothing was further from their intention.\n\nHolding Prince Sunshine's hand to give her courage, the Princess\napproached the huge beast and timidly laid her fingers on his head.\n\n\"This is very nice and soothing,\" thought the Dragon, licking his lips;\n\"very kind of her to come, I'm sure; but--dear me!--this won't do! I'm\nactually--going--to--sleep!\"\n\nHe tried to rise, but the gentle hand prevented that. A sensation of\ndrowsiness stole through all his veins, which would have been delightful\nbut for his determination never to sleep. As it was, he opened his mouth\nto give a hiss that would surely have frightened the poor Princess out\nof her wits; but he fell asleep before he could so much as begin it; his\nmouth remained wide open; but his eyes closed, and his great head began\nto nod in a very funny manner.\n\nDirectly they were satisfied that he really slept, Prince Sunshine\nhelped himself to the Dragon's spectacles, requesting the Princess not\nto remove her hand, lest the slumber should not last long enough for\ntheir purpose.\n\nThen he put on the spectacles, and Princess Crystal exclaimed with fear\nand horror when--as though in result of his doing so--she saw her\nbeloved Prince plunge his right hand into the Dragon's mouth.\n\nPrince Sunshine had stood facing the huge beast as he transferred the\nspectacles to his own nose, and, naturally enough, the first thing he\nsaw through them was the interior of the Dragon's mouth, with the tongue\nraised and shot forward in readiness for the hiss which sleep had\nintercepted; and under the tongue was the golden casket containing the\nHidden Treasure!\n\nThe spectacles enabled the Prince to see through the cover; so he\nlearned the secret at once, and knew why the King of the North was so\nanxious to possess himself of it, the great treasure being a pair of\nspectacles exactly like those hitherto always worn by the Dragon, and by\nhim alone--which would keep the King informed of all that was going on\nin every corner of his kingdom, so that he could always punish or reward\nthe right people and never make mistakes; also he could learn a great\ndeal of his neighbours' affairs, which is pleasant even to a King.\n\nThe Princess was overjoyed when she knew the casket was already found;\nshe very nearly removed her hand in her eagerness to inspect it; but,\nfortunately, she remembered just in time, and kept quite still until\nPrince Sunshine had drawn his chariot so close that they could both get\ninto it without moving out of reach of the Dragon's head.\n\nThen, placing the spectacles, not in their accustomed place, but on the\nground just beneath, and laying the golden casket on the Princess's lap,\nthe Prince said, as he gathered up the reins:\n\n\"Now, my dearly beloved Crystal--really mine at last--take away your\nhand, and let us fly, without an instant's delay, to the Court of the\nKing, your royal father.\"\n\nIt is well they had prepared for immediate departure. Directly the\nPrincess's hand was raised from the Dragon's head his senses returned to\nhim, and, finding his mouth open ready for hissing, he hissed with all\nhis angry might, and looked about for his spectacles that he might\npursue and slay those who had robbed him; for, of course, he missed the\ncasket at once.\n\nBut he was a prisoner on that mountain and unable to leave it, though he\nflapped his great wings in terrible wrath when he saw the Prince and\nPrincess, instead of driving down the miles and miles of mountain side\nas he had hoped, being carried by the fiery horses right through the\nair, where he could not reach them.\n\nThey only laughed when they heard the hiss and the noise made by the\nuseless flapping of wings. Prince Sunshine urged on his willing steeds,\nand they arrived at the Court just as the King, Crystal's father, was\ngoing to dinner; and he was so delighted at having the treasure he had\nso long coveted, that he ordered the marriage to take place at once.\n\nPrince Sunset called just in time to be best man, looking exceedingly\ngorgeous and handsome, though very disappointed to have lost the\nPrincess; and the festivities were kept up all night, so that Prince\nSunrise was able to offer his good wishes when he came early in the\nmorning, flushed with the haste he had made to assure Prince Sunshine\nthat he bore him no ill-will for having carried off the prize.\n\nPrincess Crystal never returned to her palace, except to peep at it\noccasionally. She liked going everywhere with her husband, who, she\nfound, lived by no means an idle life, but went about doing\ngood--grumbled at sometimes, of course, for some people will grumble\neven at their best friend--but more generally loved and blessed by all\nwho knew him.\n\n\n\n\nThe Story of the Invisible Kingdom.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nThe Story of the Invisible Kingdom.\n\nFrom the German of Richard Leander.\n\n\nIN a little house half-way up the mountain-side, and about a mile from\nthe other houses of the village, there lived with his old father a young\nman called George. There was just enough land belonging to the house to\nenable the father and son to live free from care.\n\nImmediately behind the house the wood began, the oak trees and beech\ntrees in which were so old that the grandchildren of the people who had\nplanted them had been dead for more than a hundred years, but in front\nof the house there lay a broken old mill-stone--who knows how it got\nthere? Any one sitting on the stone would have a wonderful view of the\nvalley down below, with the river flowing through it, and of the\nmountains rising on the other side of the river. In the evening, when he\nhad finished his work in the fields, George often sat here for hours at\na time dreaming, with his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands;\nand because he cared little for the villagers, but generally went about\nsilent and absorbed like one who is thinking of all sorts of things, the\npeople nicknamed him \"George the Dreamer.\" But he did not mind it at\nall.\n\nThe older he grew, the more silent he became, and when at last his old\nfather died, and he had buried him under a great old oak tree, he became\nquite silent. Then, when he sat on the broken mill-stone, as he did more\noften than before, and looked down into the lovely valley, and saw how\nthe evening mists came into the valley at one end and slowly climbed the\nmountains, and how it then became darker and darker, until at last the\nmoon and the stars appeared in the sky in their full glory, a wonderful\nfeeling came into his heart. The waves of the river began to sing, quite\nsoftly at first, but gradually louder, until they could be heard quite\nplainly; and they sang of the mountains, down from which they had come,\nand of the sea, to which they wished to go, and of the nixies who lived\nfar down at the bottom of the river. Then the forest began to rustle,\nquite differently from an ordinary forest, and it used to relate the\nmost wonderful tales. The old oak tree especially, which stood at his\nfather's grave, knew far more than all the other trees. The stars, high\nup in the sky, wanted so much to tumble down into the green forest and\nthe blue water, that they twinkled and sparkled as if they could not\nbear it any longer. But the angels who stand behind the stars held them\nfirmly in their places, and said: \"Stars, stars, don't be foolish! You\nare much too old to do silly things--many thousand years old, and more.\nStay quietly in your places.\"\n\n[Illustration: \"IN THE SWING SAT A CHARMING PRINCESS\" (_p._ 20).]\n\nIt was truly a wonderful valley! But it was only George the Dreamer who\nheard and saw all that. The people who lived in the valley had not a\nsuspicion of it, for they were quite ordinary people. Now and then they\nhewed down a huge old tree, cut it up into firewood, and made a high\nstack, and then they said: \"Now we shall be able to make our coffee\nagain for some time.\" In the river they washed their clothes; it was\nvery convenient. And even when the stars sparkled most beautifully, they\nonly said, \"It will be very cold to-night: let us hope our potatoes\nwon't freeze.\" Once George the Dreamer tried to bring them to see\ndifferently, but they only laughed at him. They were just quite ordinary\npeople.\n\nNow, one day as he was sitting on the mill-stone and thinking that he\nwas quite alone in the world, he fell asleep. Then he dreamt that he\nsaw, hanging down from the sky, a golden swing, which was fastened to\ntwo stars by silver ropes. In the swing sat a charming Princess, who was\nswinging so high that each time she touched the sky, then the earth, and\nthen the sky again. Each time the swing came near the earth, the\nPrincess clapped her hands with joy and threw George the Dreamer a rose.\nBut suddenly the ropes broke, and the swing, with the Princess, flew far\ninto the sky, farther and farther, until at last he could see it no\nlonger.\n\nThen he woke up, and when he looked round, he saw a great bunch of\nroses lying beside him on the mill-stone.\n\nThe next day he went to sleep again, and dreamt the same thing, and when\nhe woke up the roses were lying on the stone by his side.\n\nThis happened every day for a whole week. Then George said to himself\nthat some part of the dream must be true, because he always dreamt\nexactly the same thing. So he shut up his house, and set out to seek the\nPrincess.\n\nAfter he had travelled for many days, he saw in the distance a country\nwhere the clouds touched the earth. He hastened towards it, but came, on\nhis way, to a large forest. Here he suddenly heard fearful groans and\ncries, and on approaching the place from which they seemed to come, he\nsaw a venerable old man with a silver-grey beard lying on the ground.\nTwo horribly ugly, naked fellows were kneeling on him, trying to\nstrangle him. Then George the Dreamer looked round to see whether he\ncould find some sort of weapon with which to run the two fellows through\nthe body; but he could find nothing, so, in mortal terror, he tore down\na huge tree-trunk. He had scarcely seized it when it changed in his\nhands into a mighty halberd. Then he rushed at the two monsters, and ran\nthem through the body, and they let go the old man and ran away howling.\n\nThen George lifted the old man up and comforted him, and asked him why\nthe two fellows had wanted to choke him. The old man said that he was\nthe King of Dreams, and had come by mistake into the kingdom of his\ngreatest enemy, the King of Realities. The latter, as soon as he noticed\nthis, had sent two of his servants to lie in wait for him and kill him.\n\n\"Have you then done the King of Realities any harm?\" asked George the\nDreamer.\n\n\"God forbid!\" the old man assured him. \"He is always very easily\nprovoked, that is his character. And me he hates like poison.\"\n\n\"But the fellows he sent to strangle you were quite naked!\"\n\n\"Yes, indeed,\" said the King, \"stark naked. That is fashion in the land\nof Realities; all the people, even the King, go about naked, and are not\nat all ashamed. They are an abominable nation. But now, since you have\nsaved my life, I will prove my gratitude to you by showing you my\ncountry. It is the most glorious country in the whole world, and Dreams\nare my subjects.\"\n\nThen the Dream-King went on in front and George followed him. When they\ncame to the place where the clouds touched the earth, the King showed\nhim a trap-door that was so well hidden in the thicket that not even a\nperson who knew it was there would have been able to find it. He lifted\nit up and led his companion down five hundred steps into a brightly\nlighted grotto that stretched for miles in undiminished splendour. It\nwas unspeakably beautiful. There were castles on islands in the midst of\nlarge lakes, and the islands floated about like ships. If you wished to\ngo into one of them, all you had to do was to stand on the bank and call\nout:--\n\n    Little castle, swim to me,\n    That I may get into thee.\n\n[Illustration: \"GEORGE COULD DO NOTHING BUT WONDER AND ADMIRE\" (_p._\n24).]\n\nThen it came to the shore by itself. Farther on were other castles, on\nclouds, floating slowly in the air. But if you said:--\n\n    Float down, little castle in the air,\n    Take me up to see thy beauties rare,\n\nthey slowly floated down. Besides these, there were gardens with flowers\nwhich gave out a sweet smell by day, and a bright light by night;\nbeautifully tinted birds, which told stories; and a host of other\nwonderful things. George could do nothing but wonder and admire.\n\n\"Now I will show you my subjects, the Dreams,\" said the King. \"I have\nthree kinds--good Dreams for good people, bad Dreams for bad people, and\nalso Dream-goblins. With the last I amuse myself now and then, for a\nKing must sometimes have a joke.\"\n\nSo he took George into one of the castles, which was so queerly built\nthat it looked irresistibly comical.\n\n\"Here the Dream-goblins live: they are a tiny, high-spirited, roguish\nlot--never do any harm, but love to tease.\" Then he called to one of the\ngoblins: \"Come here, little man, and be serious a moment for once in\nyour life. Do you know,\" he continued, addressing George, \"what this\nrogue does if I, once in a way, allow him to go down to the earth? He\nruns to the next house, drags the first man he comes across, who is\nsound asleep, out of bed, carries him to the church tower, and throws\nhim down, head over heels. Then he rushes down the stairs so as to reach\nthe bottom first, catches the man, carries him home, and flings him so\nroughly into bed that the bedstead creaks horribly. Then the man wakes\nup, rubs the sleep out of his eyes, and says: 'Dear me! I thought I was\nfalling from the church tower. What a good thing it was only a dream.'\"\n\n\"Is that the one?\" cried George. \"Look here, he has been to me before;\nbut if he comes again, and I catch him, it will be the worse for him.\"\nHe had scarcely finished speaking when another goblin sprang out from\nunder the table. He looked like a little dog, for he had a very ragged\nwaistcoat on, and he let his tongue hang out of his mouth.\n\n\"He is not much better,\" said the King. \"He barks like a dog, and is as\nstrong as a giant. When people in their dreams are frightened at\nsomething, he holds their hands and feet so that they cannot move.\"\n\n\"I know him, too,\" interrupted George. \"When you want to run away, you\nfeel as stiff and stark as a piece of wood. If you want to move your\narms or your legs, you can't do it. But often it is not a dog, but a\nbear, or a robber, or some other horrid thing.\"\n\n\"I will never allow them to come to you again, George the Dreamer,\" the\nKing assured him. \"Now come and see the bad Dreams. But don't be afraid,\nthey won't do you any harm--they are only for bad people.\"\n\nThen they passed through a great iron door into a vast space, inclosed\nby a high wall. Here the most terrible shapes and most horrible monsters\nwere crowded together; some looked like men, others like animals, others\nwere half men and half animals. George was terrified, and made his way\nback to the iron door. But the King spoke kindly to him, and persuaded\nhim to see more closely what wicked people have to dream. Beckoning to a\nDream that stood near--a hideous giant, with a mill-wheel under each\narm--he commanded him to tell them what he was going to do that night.\n\nThen the monster raised his shoulders, wriggled about with joy, grinned\nuntil his mouth met his ears, and said: \"I am going to the rich man, who\nhas let his father starve. One day, when the old man was sitting on the\nstone steps before his son's house, begging for bread, the son came and\nsaid to the servants: 'Drive away that fellow.' So I go to him at night\nand pass him through my mill-wheels, until all his bones are broken into\ntiny pieces. When he is properly soft and quivering, I take him by the\ncollar and shake him and say, 'See how you tremble now, you fellow!'\nThen he wakes up with his teeth chattering, and calls to his wife to\nbring him another blanket, for he is freezing. And when he has fallen\nasleep once more, I begin it all again.\"\n\nWhen George the Dreamer heard this, he rushed out through the door,\ndragging the King after him, and crying out that he would not stay a\nmoment longer with the bad Dreams. They were too horrible!\n\nThe King next led him into a lovely garden where the paths were of\nsilver, the beds of gold, and the flowers, beautifully cut precious\nstones. Here the good Dreams were walking up and down. The first he saw\nwas a pale young woman, with a Noah's Ark under one arm, and a box of\nbricks under the other.\n\n\"Who is that?\" asked the Dreamer.\n\n[Illustration: \"GEORGE CRIED OUT THAT HE WOULD NOT STAY A MOMENT LONGER\"\n(_p._ 26).]\n\n\"She goes every evening to a little sick boy, whose mother is dead. He\nis quite alone all day, and no one troubles about him, but towards\nevening she goes to him, plays with him, and stays the whole night. She\ngoes early, because he goes to sleep early. The other Dreams go much\nlater. Let us proceed; if you want to see everything, we must make\nhaste.\"\n\nThen they went farther into the garden, into the midst of the good\nDreams. There were men, women, old men, and children, all with dear,\ngood faces, and most beautifully dressed. Many of them were carrying all\nsorts of things: everything that the heart can possibly wish for.\nSuddenly George stood still and cried out so loudly that all the Dreams\nturned round to look.\n\n\"What is the matter?\" said the King.\n\n\"There is my Princess--she who has so often appeared to me, and who gave\nme the roses,\" George the Dreamer answered, in an ecstasy.\n\n\"Certainly, certainly, it is she,\" said the King. \"Have I not sent you a\nvery pretty Dream? It is almost the prettiest I have.\"\n\nThen George ran up to the Princess, who was sitting swinging in her\nlittle golden swing. As soon as she saw him coming she sprang down into\nhis arms. But he took her by the hand and led her to a golden bench, on\nwhich they both sat down, telling one another how sweet it was to meet\nagain! And when they had finished saying so, they began again. The King\nof Dreams meanwhile walked up and down the broad path which goes\nstraight through the garden, with his hands behind his back. Now and\nthen he took out his watch, to see how the time was getting on; for\nGeorge the Dreamer and the Princess never came to an end of what they\nhad to say to one another. At length he went to them, and said:\n\n\"That's enough, children. You, Dreamer, are far from your home, and I\ncannot keep you here over-night, for I have no beds. You see, the Dreams\nnever sleep, but have to go up every night to men on the earth. And you,\nPrincess, must make yourself ready; dress yourself all in pink, and then\ncome to me, so that I may tell you to whom you must appear to-night, and\nwhat you must say.\"\n\nWhen George the Dreamer heard this, he felt more courageous than ever\nbefore in his life. Standing up, he said firmly: \"My lord the King, I\nwill never more leave my Princess. You must either keep me here below or\nlet her go up with me to the earth: I love her much too much to live\nwithout her.\" Then a tear big as a hazel-nut came into each of his eyes.\n\n\"But George, George,\" answered the King, \"it is the prettiest dream I\nhave. Still, you saved my life; so have your own way; take your Princess\nup with you. But as soon as you have got on to the earth take off her\nsilver veil, and throw it down to me through the trap-door. Then she\nwill be of flesh and blood like every other child of man; now she is\nonly a Dream.\"\n\nGeorge the Dreamer thanked the King most heartily, and then said: \"Dear\nKing, because you are so very good I should like to ask for one thing\nmore. I have a Princess now--but no kingdom. A Princess without a\nkingdom is impossible. Cannot you get me one, if it is only a small\none?\"\n\nThen the King answered: \"I have no visible kingdoms to give away,\nDreamer, only invisible ones; one of the latter you shall have, one of\nthe biggest and best that I possess.\"\n\nThen George asked what invisible kingdoms were like. The King told him\nhe would find that out, and would be amazed at their beauty and\nmagnificence.\n\n\"You see,\" he said, \"it is often very unpleasant to have anything to do\nwith ordinary, visible kingdoms. For example: suppose you are an\nordinary King, and early one morning your Minister comes to your bedside\nand says: 'Your Majesty, I want a hundred pounds for the kingdom.' Then\nyou open your treasury and find not even a farthing in it! What are you\nto do? Or again, you wage war and lose, and the King who has conquered\nyou marries your Princess, and shuts you up in a tower. Such things\ncannot happen in invisible kingdoms.\"\n\n\"But if we cannot see it, of what use would our kingdom be to us?\" asked\nGeorge, still somewhat puzzled.\n\n\"You strange man,\" said the King, and pointing to his forehead, he\ncontinued: \"You and your Princess see it well enough. You see the\ncastles and gardens, the meadows and forests which belong to your\nkingdom. You live in it, walk in it, do what you like with it. It is\nonly other people who do not see it.\"\n\n[Illustration: \"THEY LIFTED UP THE CLOTH AND BEGAN TO SPREAD IT OUT\"\n(_p._ 32).]\n\nThen the Dreamer was highly delighted, for he was beginning to be afraid\nlest the village people should look enviously at him if he came home\nwith his Princess and was King. He took a very touching leave of the\nKing of Dreams, climbed the five hundred steps with his Princess, took\nthe silver veil off her head and threw it down. Then he wanted to shut\nthe trap-door, but it was so heavy that he could not hold it. So he let\nit fall, and the noise it made was as great as the noise of many cannons\nshot off at the same time, and for a moment he became unconscious. When\nhe came to himself again he was sitting in front of his cottage with the\nPrincess sitting on the mill-stone at his side, and she was of flesh and\nblood like any other person. She was holding his hand, stroking it, and\nsaying: \"You dear, good, stupid man, you have not dared tell me how much\nyou love me for such a long time. Have you been very much afraid of me?\"\n\nAnd the moon rose and illumined the river, the waves beat against the\nbanks, and the forest rustled, but they still sat there and talked.\nSuddenly it seemed as if a small black cloud was passing over the moon,\nand all at once something like a large folded shawl fell at their feet;\nthen the moon stood out again in her full glory. They lifted up the\ncloth and began to spread it out. But they took a long time over this,\nfor it was very fine and folded many hundred times. When it was quite\nspread out, it looked like a large map; in the middle was a river, and\non both sides were towns, forests, and lakes. Then they noticed that it\nwas a kingdom, and knew that the good Dream-King must have sent it down\nto them from the sky. And when they looked at their little cottage it\nhad become a beautiful castle, with glass stairs, marble walls, velvet\ncarpets, and pointed blue-tiled towers. Then they took hands and went\ninto the castle, where their subjects were already assembled. The\nservants bowed low, drums and trumpets sounded, and little pages went\nbefore them strewing flowers. They were King and Queen.\n\nThe next morning the news that George the Dreamer had come back, and had\nbrought a wife with him, ran like wildfire through the village. \"She is\nprobably very clever,\" the people said. \"I saw her early this morning,\nwhen I went into the forest,\" said a peasant; \"she was standing at the\ndoor with him. She is nothing special, quite an ordinary person, small\nand delicate-looking, and rather shabbily dressed. What did he see in\nher? He has nothing, and she probably has nothing!\"\n\nSo the stupid people chattered, for they could not see that she was a\nPrincess; and in their stupidity they did not see that the house had\nchanged into a great, wonderful castle--for the kingdom that had come\ndown from the sky for George the Dreamer was an invisible one. So he did\nnot trouble about the stupid people, but lived happily and contentedly\nin his kingdom with his Princess, who presented him with six children,\neach one more beautiful than the other, and they were all six Princes\nand Princesses. But no one in the village knew it, for they were quite\nordinary people, and much too silly to notice it.\n\n\n\n\nHow Sampo Lappelill saw the Mountain King.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nHOW SAMPO LAPPELILL SAW THE MOUNTAIN KING.\n\nFrom the Swedish of Z. Topelius.\n\n\nFAR away in Lapland, at a place called Aimio, near the River Jana, there\nlived, in a little hut, a Laplander and his wife, with their small son,\nSampo.\n\nSampo Lappelill was now between seven and eight years of age. He had\nblack hair, brown eyes, a snub nose, and a wide mouth, which last is\nconsidered a mark of beauty in curious Lapland. Sampo was a strong child\nfor his age; he delighted to dance down the hills in his little\nsnow-shoes, and to drive his own reindeer in his own little sledge. The\nsnow whirled about him as he passed through the deep drifts, until\nnothing of him could be seen except the tuft of his black forelock.\n\n\"I shall never feel comfortable while he is from home!\" said the mother.\n\"He may meet Hisue's reindeer with the golden antlers.\"\n\nSampo overheard these words, and wondered what reindeer it could be that\nhad golden antlers. \"It must be a splendid animal!\" said he; \"how much I\nshould like to drive to Rastekais with it!\" Rastekais is a high, dreary\nmountain, and can be seen from Aimio, from which it is five or six miles\ndistant.\n\n\"You audacious boy!\" exclaimed the mother; \"how dare you talk so?\nRastekais is the home of the trolls, and Hisue dwells there also.\"\n\n\"Who is Hisue?\" inquired Sampo.\n\n\"What ears that boy has!\" thought the Lapp-wife. \"But I ought not to\nhave spoken of such things in his presence; the best thing I can do now\nis to frighten him well.\" Then she said aloud: \"Take care, Lappelill,\nthat you never go near Rastekais, for there lives Hisue, the Mountain\nKing, who can eat a whole reindeer at one mouthful, and who swallows\nlittle boys like flies.\"\n\nUpon hearing these words, Sampo could not help thinking what good fun it\nwould be to have a peep at such a wonderful being--from a safe distance,\nof course!\n\nThree or four weeks had elapsed since Christmas, and darkness brooded\nstill over Lapland. There was no morning, noon, or evening; it was\nalways night. Sampo was feeling dull. It was so long since he had seen\nthe sun that he had nearly forgotten what it was like. Yet he did not\ndesire the return of summer, for the only thing he remembered about that\nseason was that it was a time when the gnats stung very severely. His\none wish was that it might soon become light enough for him to use his\nsnow-shoes.\n\nOne day, at noon (although it was dark), Sampo's father said: \"Come\nhere! I have something to show you.\"\n\nSampo came out of the hut. His father pointed towards the south.\n\n\"Do you know what that is?\" asked he.\n\n\"A southern light,\" replied the boy.\n\n\"No,\" said his father, \"it is the herald of the sun. To-morrow, maybe,\nor the day after that, we shall see the sun himself. Look, Sampo, how\nweirdly the red light glows on the top of Rastekais!\"\n\nSampo perceived that the snow upon the gloomy summit, which had been so\nlong shrouded in darkness, was coloured red. Again the idea flashed into\nhis mind what a grand sight the terrible Mountain King would be--from a\ndistance. The boy brooded on this for the remainder of the day, and\nthroughout half the night, when he should have been asleep.\n\nHe thought, and thought, until at length he crept silently out of the\nreindeer skins which formed his bed, and then through the door-hole. The\ncold was intense. Far above him the stars were shining, the snow\nscrunched beneath his feet. Sampo Lappelill was a brave boy, who did not\nfear the cold. He was, moreover, well wrapped up in fur. He stood gazing\nat the stars, considering what to do next.\n\nThen he heard a suggestive sound. His little reindeer pawed the ground\nwith its feet. \"Why should I not take a drive?\" thought Sampo, and\nproceeded straightway to put his thought into action. He harnessed the\nreindeer to the sledge, and drove forth into the wilderness of snow.\n\n\"I will drive only a little way towards Rastekais,\" said Sampo to\nhimself, and off he went, crossing the frozen River Jana to the opposite\nshore, which--although the child was unaware of this fact--belonged to\nthe kingdom of Norway.\n\nAs Sampo drove, he sang a bright little song. The wolves were running\nround his sledge like grey dogs, but he did not mind them. He knew well\nthat no wolf could keep pace with his dear, swift little reindeer. Up\nhill and down dale he drove on, with the wind whistling in his ears. The\nmoon seemed to be racing with him, and the rocks to be running\nbackwards. It was thoroughly delightful!\n\nAlas! at a sudden turning upon the downward slope of a hill the sledge\noverturned, and Sampo was pitched into a snow-drift. The reindeer did\nnot observe this, and, in the belief that its master was still sitting\nbehind it, it ran on. Sampo could not cry \"Stop!\" for his mouth was\nstuffed with snow.\n\nHe lay there in the darkness, in the midst of the vast snowy wilderness,\nin which was no human habitation for miles around.\n\nAt first, he naturally felt somewhat bewildered. He scrambled unhurt out\nof the big snow-drift. Then, by the wan moonlight, he saw that he was\nsurrounded on all sides by snow-drifts and huge mountains. One mountain\ntowered above the others, and this he knew must be Rastekais, the home\nof the fierce Mountain King, who swallowed little boys like flies!\n\n[Illustration: \"THEY WENT OFF AT A GALLOP\" (_p._ 42).]\n\nSampo Lappelill was frightened now, and heartily wished himself safe at\nhome. But how was he to get there?\n\nThere sat the poor child, alone in the darkness, amongst the desolate,\nsnow-covered rocks, with the big, black shadow of Rastekais frowning\ndown upon him. As he wept his tears froze immediately, and rolled down\nover his jacket in little round lumps like peas; so Sampo thought that\nhe had better leave off crying, and run about in order to keep himself\nwarm.\n\n\"Rather than freeze to death here,\" he said to himself, \"I would go\nstraight to the Mountain King. If he has a mind to swallow me, he must\ndo so, I suppose; but I shall advise him to eat instead some of the\nwolves in this neighbourhood. They are much fatter than I, and their fur\nwould not be so difficult to swallow.\"\n\nSampo began to ascend the mountain. Before he had gone far, he heard the\ntrotting of some creature behind him, and a moment after a large wolf\novertook him. Although inwardly trembling, Sampo would not betray his\nfear. He shouted:\n\n\"Keep out of my way! I am the bearer of a message to the King, and you\nhinder me at your peril!\"\n\n\"Dear me!\" said the wolf (on Rastekais all the animals can speak). \"And,\npray, what little shrimp are you, wriggling through the snow?\"\n\n\"My name is Sampo Lappelill,\" replied the boy. \"Who are you?\"\n\n\"I,\" answered the wolf, \"am first gentleman-usher to the Mountain King.\nI have just been all over the kingdom to call together his subjects for\nthe great sun festival. As you are going my way, you may, if you please,\nget upon my back, and so ride up the mountain.\"\n\nSampo instantly accepted the invitation. He climbed upon the shaggy back\nof the wolf, and they went off at a gallop.\n\n\"What do you mean by the sun festival?\" inquired Sampo.\n\n\"Don't you know _that_?\" said the wolf. \"We celebrate the sun's feast\nthe day he first appears on the horizon after the long night of winter.\nAll trolls, goblins, and animals in the north then assemble on\nRastekais, and on that day they are not permitted to hurt each other.\nLucky it was for you, my boy, that you came here to-day. On any other\nday, I should have devoured you long ago.\"\n\n\"Is the King bound by the same law?\" asked Sampo anxiously.\n\n\"Of course he is,\" answered the wolf. \"From one hour before sunrise\nuntil one hour after sunset he will not dare to harm you. If, however,\nyou are on the mountain when the time expires, you will be in great\ndanger. For the King will then seize whoever comes first, and a thousand\nbears and a hundred thousand wolves will also be ready to rush upon you.\nThere will soon be an end of Sampo Lappelill!\"\n\n\"But perhaps, sir,\" said Sampo timidly, \"you would be so kind as to help\nme back again before the danger begins?\"\n\nThe wolf laughed. \"Don't count on any such thing, my dear Sampo; on the\ncontrary, I mean to seize you first myself. You are such a very nice,\nplump little boy! I see that you have been fattened on reindeer milk and\ncheese. You will be splendid for breakfast to-morrow morning!\"\n\nSampo began to think that his best course might be to jump off the\nwolf's back at once. But it was too late. They had now arrived at the\ntop of Rastekais. Many curious and marvellous things were there to be\nseen. There sat the terrible Mountain King on his throne of cloudy\nrocks, gazing out over the snow-fields. He wore on his head a cap of\nwhite snow-clouds; his eyes were like a full moon; his nose resembled a\nmountain-ridge. His mouth was an abyss; his beard was like tufts of\nimmense icicles; his arms were as thick and strong as fir trees; his\ncoat was like an enormous snow-mountain. Sampo Lappelill had a good view\nof the King and his subjects, for a bow of dazzling northern lights\nshone in the sky and illuminated the scene.\n\nAll around the King stood millions of goblins, trolls, and brownies;\ntiny, grey creatures, who had come from remotest parts of the world to\nworship the sun. This they did from fear, not from love; for trolls and\ngoblins hate the sun, and always hope that he will never return when\nthey see him disappear at the end of summer.\n\nFarther off stood all the animals of Lapland, thousands and thousands of\nthem of all sizes; from the bear, the wolf, and the glutton, to the\nlittle mountain-rat, and the brisk, tiny reindeer-flea. No gnats\nappeared, however; _they_ had all been frozen.\n\nSampo was greatly astonished at what he saw. Unobserved, he slipped from\nthe wolf's back, and hid behind a ponderous stone, to watch the\nproceedings.\n\n[Illustration: \"THE TERRIBLE MOUNTAIN KING\" (_p._ 44).]\n\nThe Mountain King shook his head, and the snow whirled about him. The\nnorthern lights shone around his head like a crown of glory, sending\nlong, red streamers across the deep blue sky; they whizzed and sparkled,\nexpanded and drew together, fading sometimes, then again darting out\nlike lightning over the snow-clad mountains. This performance amused the\nKing. He clapped with his icy hands until the sound echoed like thunder,\ncausing the trolls to scream with joy, and the animals to howl with\nfear. At this the King was still more delighted, and he shouted across\nthe desert:\n\n\"This is to my mind! Eternal darkness! Eternal night! May they never\nend!\"\n\n\"May they never end!\" repeated all the trolls at the top of their\nvoices. Then arose a dispute amongst the animals. All the beasts of prey\nagreed with the trolls, but the reindeer and other gentle creatures felt\nthat they should like to have summer back again, although they disliked\nthe gnats that would certainly return with it. One creature alone was\nready to welcome summer quite unreservedly. This was the reindeer-flea.\nShe piped out as loudly as she could:\n\n\"If you please, your Majesty, have we not come here to worship the sun,\nand to watch for his coming?\"\n\n\"Nonsense!\" growled a polar bear. \"Our meeting here springs from a\nstupid old custom. The sooner it ends the better! In my opinion, the sun\nhas set for ever; he is dead!\"\n\nAt these words the animals shuddered, but the trolls and goblins were\nmuch pleased with them, and reiterated them gaily, shaking with laughter\nto such an extent that their tiny caps fell off their heads. Then the\nKing roared, in a voice of thunder:\n\n\"Yea! Dead is the sun! Now must the whole world worship me, the King of\nEternal Night and Eternal Winter!\"\n\nSampo, sitting behind the stone, was so greatly enraged by this speech\nthat he came forth from his hiding-place, exclaiming:\n\n\"That, O King, is a lie as big as yourself! The sun is _not_ dead, for\nonly yesterday I saw his forerunner. He will be here very shortly,\nbringing sweet summer with him, and thawing the icicles in your funny,\nfrozen beard!\"\n\n[Illustration: \"'That, O King, is a lie as big as yourself!' exclaimed\nSampo.\" _page 46_]\n\nThe King's brow grew black as a thunder-cloud. Forgetful of the law, he\nlifted his tremendous arm to strike Sampo; but at that moment the\nnorthern light faded. A red streak shot suddenly across the sky, shining\nwith such brilliancy into the King's face that it entirely dazzled him.\nHis arm fell useless at his side. Then the golden sun rose in slow\nstateliness on the horizon, and that flood of glorious light caused even\nthose who had rejoiced in his supposed death to welcome his\nre-appearance.\n\nBut the goblins were considerably astonished. From under their red caps\nthey stared at the sun with their little grey eyes, and grew so excited\nthat they stood on their heads in the snow. The beard of the\nMountain King began to melt and drip, until it was flowing down his\njacket like a running stream.\n\nBy-and-by, Sampo heard a reindeer say to her little one:\n\n\"Come, my child, we must be going, or we shall be eaten by the wolves.\"\n\n\"Such will be _my_ fate also if I linger longer,\" thought Sampo. So he\nsprang upon the back of a beautiful reindeer with golden antlers, which\nstarted off with him at once, darting down the rocks with lightning\nspeed.\n\n\"What is that rustling sound that I hear behind us?\" asked the boy\npresently.\n\n\"It is made by the thousand bears; they are pursuing us in order to eat\nus up,\" replied the reindeer. \"You need not fear, however, for I am the\nKing's own enchanted reindeer, and no bear has ever been able as yet to\nnibble my heels!\"\n\nThey went on in silence for a time, then Sampo put another question.\n\n\"What,\" asked he, \"is that strange panting I hear behind us?\"\n\n\"That,\" returned the reindeer, \"is made by the hundred thousand wolves;\nthey are at full gallop behind us, and wish to tear us in pieces. But\nfear nothing from them! No wolf has ever beaten me in a race yet!\"\n\nAgain Sampo spoke:\n\n\"Is it not thundering over there amongst the rocky mountains?\"\n\n\"No,\" answered the now trembling reindeer; \"that noise is made by the\nKing, who is chasing us. Now, indeed, all hope has fled, for no one can\nescape _him_!\"\n\n\"Can we do nothing?\" asked Sampo.\n\n\"There is no safety to be found here,\" said the reindeer, \"but there is\njust one chance for us. We must try to reach the priest's house over\nyonder by Lake Enare. Once there, we shall be safe, for the King has no\npower over Christians.\"\n\n\"Oh, make haste! make haste! dear reindeer!\" cried Sampo, \"and you shall\nfeed on golden oats, and out of a silver manger.\"\n\nOn sped the reindeer. As they entered the priest's house, the Mountain\nKing crossed the courtyard, and knocked at the door with such violence\nthat it is a wonder he did not knock the house down.\n\n\"Who is there?\" called the priest from within.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\"It is I!\" answered a thundering voice; \"it is the mighty Mountain\nKing! Open the door! You have there a child, whom I claim as my prey.\"\n\n\"Wait a moment!\" cried the priest. \"Permit me to robe myself, in order\nthat I may give your Majesty a worthier reception.\"\n\n\"All right!\" roared the King; \"but be quick about it, or I may break\ndown your walls!\" A moment later he raised his enormous foot for a kick,\nyelling: \"Are you not ready yet?\"\n\nThen the priest opened the door, and said solemnly, \"Begone, King of\nNight and Winter! Sampo Lappelill is under my protection, and he shall\nnever be yours!\"\n\nUpon this, the King flew into such a violent passion that he exploded in\na great storm of snow and wind. The flakes fell and fell, until the snow\nreached the roof of the priest's house, so that every one inside it\nexpected to be buried alive. But as soon as the sun rose, the snow began\nto melt, and all was well. The Mountain King had completely vanished,\nand no one knows exactly what became of him, although some think that he\nis still reigning on Rastekais.\n\nSampo thanked the priest heartily for his kindness, and begged, as an\nadditional favour, the loan of a sledge. To this sledge the boy\nharnessed the golden-antlered reindeer, and drove home to his parents,\nwho were exceedingly glad to see him.\n\nHow Sampo became a great man, who fed his reindeer with golden oats out\nof a silver manger, is too lengthy a story to tell now.\n\n\n\n\nThe Witch-Dancer's Doom.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nTHE WITCH-DANCER'S DOOM.\n\nA BRETON LEGEND.\n\n\nI.\n\nLONG, long ago, in the days of good King Arthur, Count Morriss dwelt in\nthe old chateau of La Roche Morice, near Landerneau, in Brittany. With\nhim lived his beautiful niece, Katel. Although charming in face and\nfigure, this maiden had a somewhat uncanny reputation. For it was\nsaid--and with reason--that she was a witch.\n\nThe Count had often urged Katel to marry, but in vain. The lady had no\nmind to lose her freedom. Dancing was the one passion of her life.\n\"When,\" said she, \"I can find a knight who shall be able to dance\ncontinuously with me for twelve hours, with no break, to him I promise\nto give my hand!\"\n\nThis scornful challenge was proclaimed by heralds in every neighbouring\ntown and hamlet. In response came many wooers to attempt the impossible\ntask. Those whom Katel favoured she made her partners at the rustic\nfetes and open-air dances which were then in vogue. In the soft-swarded\nmeadows, by sunlight or starlight, the dancers would meet, and, to the\ndreamy music of the pipes, eager couples would whirl until the hills\naround began to blush in the light of the early dawn. The wildest,\ngiddiest, yet most graceful of the throng was Katel, who danced madly on\nuntil one by one her partners sank fainting upon the ground, and death\nreleased them from the heartless sorceress who had lured them into her\ntoils.\n\nThus perished many suitors, until the cruel maiden became an object of\ngeneral hatred and horror. When her doings came to the ears of the\nCount, he sternly forbade her to attend any more of the dances. In order\nto enforce her obedience, he shut her up in a tower, where, said he, she\nwas to remain until she should choose a husband from among such suitors\nas still persisted in offering her marriage.\n\nNow, Katel had a wizened little page, no bigger than a leveret, and as\nblack as a raven's wing. This creature she summoned to her one morning\nbefore dawn, and, with her finger at her lips, she said to him: \"Be\nswift and silent! My uncle still slumbers. Get thee gone by the ladder,\nand his thee to the castle of Salauen, who is waiting for a message from\nher he loves. The guards will allow thee to pass; take horse, ride like\nthe wind, and tell Salauen that Katel calls him to deliver her from this\ntower before the day dawns.\"\n\n[Illustration: \"KATEL TURNED COLDLY AWAY\" (_p._ 57).]\n\nThe infatuated young knight obeyed the summons immediately. In an\nhour's time he was assisting the lady to mount his horse, after having\ngot her in safety down the rope-ladder. As, from the window of the\ndonjon, the dwarf watched them ride away, he chuckled to himself:\n\n\"Ha! ha! And so they are off to the great ball held to-day in the\nMartyrs' Meadow! Ah, my dear Salauen! before another sun shall rise your\ndeath-knell will be tolled!\"\n\n\nII.\n\nWhen Katel and her gallant cavalier arrived at the Martyrs' Meadow, they\nexcited general surprise and admiration. Some, however, shook their\nheads forebodingly, as they heard that Salauen, now Katel's affianced\nlover, was to be her partner, for they knew that the brave young knight\nmust needs fall a victim to her spell.\n\nThe ball began. Some of the most skilful pipers in the land had been\nengaged for the occasion, and they played gavottes, rondes, courantes,\nand many other dances, without intermission. But Katel waited until\nnight came and the torches were lit. Then she took Salauen's hand and\nthey began to dance together.\n\n\"Round again! Once more! Ha! ha!\" laughed the witch-maiden, as they spun\nalong. \"What! are you tired already? Do you give in so soon as this?\"\n\n\"Never--while I am with _you_!\" was the fervent reply. The fatal spell\nhad begun to work.\n\nThus on they whirled, yet more swiftly than before, so that the other\ndancers stood aside to watch them. After a time, however, Katel observed\nthat her partner was gradually becoming weaker, and that he would soon\nbe unable to keep pace with her.\n\n\"Courage!\" exclaimed she, in a bantering tone. \"We cannot stop yet; it\nwants but a very short time to midnight, and then I shall be yours!\"\n\nSalauen, although almost exhausted, strained every nerve and muscle in a\nfrantic, final effort to continue the dance. Round the field they flew,\nat lightning speed; but it was for the last time. The knight's knees\nshook--his breath came more quickly--then with difficulty he gasped out\nthe words:\n\n\"Oh, Katel! have mercy! I can do no more! Katel, my love, have I not won\nyou yet?\"\n\nBut as he sank lifeless upon the grass Katel turned coldly away. His\nfate was nothing to her. At that moment the clock in a neighbouring\ntower struck twelve. All the lights flickered and expired; darkness\nreigned supreme. And through the darkness, shrilling high above every\nother sound, rang the mocking laugh of the impish dwarf.\n\n\nIII.\n\n\"What!\" exclaimed Katel derisively, glancing angrily at the worn-out\npipers, who had at last paused in their wild music, \"exhausted already\nby such slight exertions? I wish the Evil One would send me some\nmusicians and dancers worthy of me! Of what use are these miserable,\npuny creatures?\"\n\nAs she uttered the words, stamping her foot in her fury, a weird, red\nlight gleamed in the sky; there was a terrible peal of thunder, and a\nstrange stir in the trees. Then suddenly, in the centre of the field,\nappeared two phantom forms, at the sight of whom the panic-stricken\nby-standers would fain have fled. To their horror, however, they found\nflight impossible; they were rooted to the spot!\n\nOne of the phantoms was attired in a red garment, covered with a black\ncloak. Beneath his arm he held a large double pipe, coiled around which\nwere five hissing, writhing serpents. The other stranger, who was\nexceedingly tall, was dressed in a tightly fitting black suit, and\nheavy, red mantle, while upon his head waved an imposing tuft of\nvultures' plumes.\n\nThe ghostly piper began at once to play an unearthly dance-tune, so wild\nand maddening that it made all the hearers tremble. His tall, grim\ncompanion seized Katel by the waist, and the couple whirled round to the\nmad measure, which grew ever faster and more furious. In an instant the\ntorches were relit. A few others joined in the dance; not for long,\nhowever. Katel and her phantom were soon the only dancers. Shriller\nstill shrieked the pipes, faster yet grew the music, more and more\nswiftly spun the feet. Ere long the witch-maiden felt that her strength\nwas deserting her; the torches swam before her eyes, and, in the last\nextremity of terror, she struggled to release herself from the iron grip\nwhich held her so relentlessly.\n\n\"What! so soon tired?\" cried the spectre, jeering at her. \"Do you give\nin so soon as this? Come! round once more! Ha! ha!\"\n\n[Illustration: \"THE COUPLE WHIRLED ROUND TO THE MAD MEASURE\" (_p._ 58).]\n\nThus was Katel treated as she had treated others. She had no breath\nleft wherewith to answer; her last hour had come. She made one more\nwild, despairing bound, then fell to the ground in the throes of death.\nAt the same moment, the phantoms vanished. There was a vivid\nlightning-blaze, a terrific crash of thunder; then fell black darkness\nhiding everything. A tempestuous wind arose, and rain fell in torrents.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nWhen the storm had cleared, and the morning sun shone out, those who\nfound courage to visit the spot beheld the forms of Katel and her lover\nSalauen lying dead upon the shrivelled turf.\n\nEver since that time, the spot has been shunned by all, and still, by\ntheir firesides on the winter nights, the peasants tell the tale of\nKatel, the witch-dancer, and her fearful fate.\n\n\n\n\nThe Three Valleys.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nTHE THREE VALLEYS.\n\nFrom the German.\n\n\nIN olden days there lived a Count, who had many castles and estates, and\na most beautiful daughter, but no one would associate with him, for it\nwas rumoured he was in league with the Evil One; indeed, from time to\ntime one or other of his servants most mysteriously disappeared.\n\nThe last who disappeared was the shepherd. One evening he did not return\nto the castle. Search was made for him throughout the village, but in\nvain; no trace of him could be found. After this no one would enter the\nCount's service as shepherd; but at last, a bold, handsome youth\npresented himself; he had travelled far as a soldier, and cared nothing\nfor evil spirits. The Count immediately engaged him, and said he could\ntake the sheep to feed wherever he liked, only he must never go into the\nthree valleys to the east of the castle. For a time all went well; the\nyoung man drove the sheep into the rich meadows around the castle as\nhis master had ordered, and led a very comfortable life. But he was\nalways thinking of the three valleys, and being a brave youth who did\nnot fear evil spirits, he one day took the cross-bow and bolts he had\nused when soldiering, put a new string to his bow, and said, as he\nstruck his rusty spear against the ground:\n\n\"I will see who will venture to harm me in the three valleys; it will\nfare badly with him, I think.\"\n\nGoing towards the east, he soon arrived with his sheep in the first\nvalley, where he found beautiful meadows in which he could safely leave\nhis flock. He looked carefully around, but, except the butterflies\nfluttering to and fro, and the humming of the bees, there was neither\nsound nor movement. Then he sat down beneath an oak and began to play on\nhis pipe; suddenly, in the wood near, arose a crashing and cracking as\nif some mighty animal were breaking through the bushes, and, before our\nshepherd could fix a bolt in his cross-bow, a powerful giant stood\nbefore him and cried:\n\n\"What are you doing here with your grass-eaters, destroying my meadows,\nyou insolent fellow? You shall answer for this.\"\n\n[Illustration: \"A WELL-DIRECTED THRUST SOON QUIETED HIM\" (_p._ 67).]\n\nHe did not wait for an answer, but threw his spear with fearful force at\nthe shepherd, who saved himself by springing behind the oak, into which\nthe spear sank so deep that the point stuck out on the other side. Then,\nfixing a bolt into his cross-bow, the shepherd took aim, and struck the\ngiant so skilfully in the centre of the forehead that he fell with a\ndeep groan to the earth. Before he had time to rise, the shepherd\nbounded forward and ran his spear through his adversary's neck, nailing\nhim to the ground, and his spirit soon fled. The shepherd took the\ngiant's sword and armour, and was about to return home, when in an\nopening of the forest he saw a stately castle. The doors were wide open;\nhe entered. In the spacious hall stood a stone table on which was a cup\ncovered with a silver plate bearing these words:--\n\n    Who drinks of this cup\n    Shall overcome the Evil One.\n\nThe young man had no confidence in the words or the drink, and left the\ncup untouched. He laid the dead giant's armour in the hall; then, taking\nthe key of the door with him, he returned home with his flock, and went\nto rest without mentioning his adventure to any one. The next day he\ntended his sheep on the mountain slopes surrounding the castle, but the\nsecond day he could not rest; so, girding on the sword he had taken from\nthe dead giant, he started with his flock for the second valley, in\nhopes of fresh adventure. Here also were beautiful pastures, if possible\nricher and more luxuriant than in the first valley; the flowers breathed\nforth their fragrance, the birds sang sweetly, and through the meadows\nmeandered a stream clear as crystal, by whose bank the shepherd lay down\nto rest. He was just thinking that all adventure and danger were past\nwhen an enormous block of rock fell on the ground near him, and a voice\nrough and wild, like that of a bear, said: \"What are you doing here with\nyour grass-eaters, you insolent fellow?\" And from behind a wall of rock\nstepped a mighty giant, brandishing a ponderous stone club. He aimed a\nblow at the shepherd, who ducked behind the rock which the giant had\nthrown as his first greeting, and the club descending on the stone, it\nbroke in pieces from the force of the blow.\n\nQuick as lightning the youth drew his sword, and with one stroke cut\nthrough the sinews in the bend of the giant's knee, who fell to the\nearth with a loud roar. He struck out wildly with his fists, but a\nwell-directed thrust through the heart soon quieted him. The shepherd\nleft him lying there, and turned towards the wall of rock; here he found\na massive door concealed amongst the thicket. Through this he passed,\nand entered a hall-like cavern, in which, at a stone manger, stood a\nsnow-white horse ready saddled, and over the manger was engraved this\nsaying:--\n\n    Who springs on this white horse\n    Shall overcome the Evil One.\n\nNow, the shepherd thought: \"I am strong enough to take care of myself,\nand I do not want to overcome the Evil One, he has always left me in\npeace; but I will remember that here stands a fine horse on which I can\nride forth into the wide world.\" He threw fresh oats into the manger,\nshut the door, and returned home. The next few days he remained very\nquiet, lest his movements might have been observed; then, as no one\nquestioned him, he one fine morning drove his sheep into the third\nvalley. Beautiful meadows glittered in the sunshine; from a hill of rock\na waterfall plashed down, forming a small sea in which sported\ninnumerable fish. The shepherd looked carefully around, searched under\nevery bush, but found nothing. No sound was heard save the continued\nplash, plash, of the cool water. The day was very sultry, and the\nshepherd was just preparing for a bathe in the fresh, clear water, when\nfrom out a ravine near the sea appeared a horrible human head, with one\neye, as large as a plate, in the centre of the forehead, and a voice\nloud as the roll of thunder shouted: \"What do you want here, you\ninsolent earth-worm?\"\n\nThe head rose higher and higher, until a giant as high as a tower stood\nbefore the shepherd, who with a sure aim sent his lance into the eye of\nhis adversary. The monster, thus blinded, groped wildly about with his\nhands, in hopes to strangle his enemy, but he only seized an oak, which\nhe tore up by the roots and threw it high into the air. Now the victory\nwas easy, for though the giant could no longer be hurt by cuts and\nthrusts, which slipped off from his body as from a mossy stone, the\nshepherd soon found other means. He mocked and insulted the blind giant,\nand by the sound of his voice drew him ever nearer and nearer to the\nsea, at the side where the cliff overhung the water. At last he sprang\nfor a moment on the edge of the precipice, and gave a loud, mocking cry,\nthen silently concealed himself behind a tree. The giant, deceived by\nthe shout, pursued him eagerly, lost his footing, and fell heavily into\nthe sea.\n\nThen the shepherd went down into the ravine from which the monster had\nappeared. Here lay a meadow full of beautiful flowers, in the midst of\nwhich rose a spacious mansion, built of the trunks of trees. The\nshepherd entered the hall and saw a mighty spear, on whose shaft these\nwords were cut:--\n\n    Who throws this lance\n    Shall overcome the Evil One.\n\nHe seized the spear, but his arms were too weak to raise it, and he\nwearily laid the mighty weapon back in the corner; at the same time he\nthought, since he had conquered three giants, he could surely overcome\nthe Evil One without this lance. As the day drew to a close he gathered\nhis sheep together and returned to the castle. Arrived there, he was\nimmediately summoned before the Count, who asked him angrily where he\nhad been. The shepherd then truthfully related all that had happened in\nthe three valleys, and how he had that day slain the giant as tall as a\ntower.\n\n[Illustration: \"'WHAT DO YOU WANT HERE?'\" (_p._ 68).]\n\n\"Woe to you and to me,\" replied the Count, with pale lips. \"I heard the\ngiants' cries of rage, and hoped you were paying for your disobedience\nwith your life. But it has happened otherwise, and now I and my daughter\nmust suffer because you, you insolent fellow, disobeyed my commands and\nentered the giants' territories; for it has been made known to me that\nto-morrow the mighty lord of the giants, the Prince of the Infernal\nRegions, will appear, and demand my daughter or me as a sacrifice; but\nbefore that you, you miserable fellow, shall suffer all the agonies of\ntorture, as a punishment for bringing me into this trouble.\n\n\"Seize him!\" he cried to the servants who were standing in the\nentrance-hall. His command was at once obeyed, when the Count's\ndaughter, who had listened with glowing cheeks to the shepherd's story,\nthrew herself on her knees and implored for delay.\n\n\"Dearest father,\" she cried, \"should you not rather endeavour to make\nuse of this brave youth for our deliverance than put him to the torture?\nHe has overcome three giants; surely he will be able to vanquish the\nPrince of the Infernal Regions.\"\n\n[Illustration: \"SHE IMPLORED FOR DELAY\" (_p._ 70).]\n\nThe Count remained for a few moments in deep thought, and then\nacknowledged that his daughter's suggestion was both good and clever. He\nasked the shepherd if he were willing to expiate his crime by a combat\nwith the Evil One, and the young man, with a grateful look at his\ndeliverer, at once agreed. With the first dawn of morning he rose from\nhis couch, for he now recalled the words about overcoming the Evil\nOne, and hastened to the first valley, where in the castle stood the\ncup with the inscription:--\n\n    Who drinks of this cup\n    Shall overcome the Evil One.\n\nHe seized the cup and emptied it at one draught, and--wonderful--the\nmagic draught flowed through his veins like fire, and he felt courage\nand strength enough to combat a whole army. With sparkling eyes he\nhastened to the second valley, mounted the white horse, who greeted him\nwith a joyful neigh, and then galloped as if in flight to the third\nvalley, in which stood the mighty lance. Yesterday he could scarcely\nmove it; to-day, with one hand, he swung it high over his head, as if it\nhad been a small arrow.\n\nBy sunrise he was again at the Count's castle, waiting eagerly for what\nwould happen, but the day passed and no one appeared. The sun had sunk\nto rest, and the moon had just risen in all her splendour, when in the\nnorth of the heavens was seen what appeared to be a dark storm-cloud.\nWith the speed of lightning it approached the castle, and a voice, as of\na bassoon, sounded from out the cloud: \"Where are my propitiatory\nsacrifices?\" At the same time a gigantic eagle, with greenish-grey\nwings, like the storm-cloud, hovered high over the castle, ready to\nswoop down on his prey. Then the young man set spurs into his white\nhorse, and shaking his lance high above his head, cried with a loud\nvoice: \"There are no sacrifices here for you, you robber! Begone\ninstantly, or you shall feel my arrows!\" On hearing these words, the\neagle swooped down with a wild cry, before the shepherd could take his\ncross-bow, and the young man would certainly have perished had it not\nbeen for his presence of mind and the strength and activity of his\nsteed. A touch with the spur, and it flew swift as the wind under a very\nold and thickly leaved linden tree, whose branches hung down almost to\nthe ground, so that the eagle could only break in through the side.\n\n[Illustration: \"The eagle swooped down with a wild cry.\" _page 72_]\n\nThis the bird at once attempted, and it caused his death, for his\noutspread wings became entangled in the branches, and the brave rider,\nwith one powerful blow of his sword, severed the head from the body.\nBut, oh, horror! instead of blood there came forth from the headless\nbody of the eagle a huge serpent, who, with wide-open jaws, approached\nthe shepherd and tried to enfold him in the rings of its flexible body.\nBy a skilful movement, it encircled the horse and rider, and crushed\nthem until the young man thought he should be forced into the body of\nhis steed; but the horse pressed himself so close against the tree that\nthe head of the serpent came round on the other side of the trunk, and\nthus it was hindered from harming the shepherd with its poisonous bite\nor breath. One stroke of the shepherd's sharp dagger, and the body of\nthe serpent fell in two pieces to the ground; the horse immediately\ntrampled on the head. But the hinder part of the serpent swelled and\nswelled, the cut became a frightful mouth, which spurted out smoke and\nflames, while from the rings of the serpent's body grew forth claws and\nwings, and at last a horrible monster in the form of a dragon threw\nitself on the shepherd, whose strength had already begun to fail\nthrough the dreadful pressing of the serpent. But in his greatest need a\nsaving thought occurred to him--he turned his horse round: it broke\nthrough the branches of the linden tree into the open field, and sped\nwith its rider to the nearest stream, in whose waters they both cooled\nthemselves. The dragon snorted after them, spitting forth fire and\nsmoke. But as the head of the serpent, from whose body the dragon had\ngrown, had been destroyed, there was no deadly poison in its breath, and\nthe rider was safe from the flames through bathing in the stream. So he\nrode boldly towards the approaching dragon with lance in rest, and tried\nto approach it from the side; but all his blows glanced off from its\nscaly body as from a coat of mail. Suddenly it occurred to him to thrust\nhis lance down the monster's throat. He turned his horse and spurred him\nstraight towards the dragon, and thrusting his lance through the smoke\nand flame, stuck it right into the creature's throat. He was obliged to\nleave his lance, for his horse, singed by the fiery breath of the\ndragon, bounded far to one side; but the monster did not attempt to\nfollow them, the lance had stuck deep into its body. It struck wildly\nwith its tail on the ground, until the earth burst, then it shivered and\nfell over, first on its side, then on its back, a stream of fire poured\nforth from its wide-open jaws, and with the flames its life passed away.\n\nThus was the combat ended and the Evil One subdued. Joyfully the\nshepherd rode back to the Count and his daughter, and told them all that\nhad happened. The Count, embracing him, said: \"You are our deliverer,\nto you I owe my life and all that I possess: take the half of whatever\nis mine, or choose from it whatever pleases you.\"\n\n[Illustration: \"WITH THE FLAMES ITS LIFE PASSED AWAY\" (_p._ 74).]\n\nThe shepherd gazed earnestly into the eyes of the Count's lovely\ndaughter, and replied:\n\n\"I know of nothing, Sir Count, in the whole world which is dearer to me\nthan your daughter. Give her to me for my wife, if she be willing.\"\n\nThe Count smiled. \"Are you willing, my child?\"\n\n\"I love him more than words can express,\" said the maiden, and sank on\nthe breast of the shepherd.\n\nThe next day the marriage was celebrated with great splendour, and when\nHeaven had blessed their union with children, and these were grown up,\nthe hero of this story, a shepherd no longer, used to say to his sons\nwhen telling them of his adventures: \"There are three things by which\none can subdue giants and evil spirits, and become great: courage,\nperseverance, and presence of mind.\"\n\n\n\n\nThe Spring-tide of Love.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nTHE SPRING-TIDE OF LOVE.\n\nBy Pleydell North (Mrs. Egerton Eastwick).\n\n\nTHE mists of the early twilight were falling, and Elsa, the little girl\nwho lived at the woodman's cottage, was still far from home. She had\nwandered out in the spring sunshine in search of the bluebells and wild\nanemones with which the wood abounded, for the child loved the company\nof the birds and flowers better than the rough play of the boys who were\ncalled her brothers.\n\nThe woodman and his wife said she was strange and dreamy, full of\ncurious fancies which they found it hard to understand; but, then, they\nwere not Elsa's real parents, which might account for their difficulty.\nThey were kind to her, however, in their fashion, and Elsa always tried\nto remember to obey them; but sometimes she forgot. She had forgotten\nto-day--for although the good wife had told her to remain near the\ncottage, the eagerness of her search for the flowers she loved had led\nher farther into the wood than she had ever been before.\n\nThe sunlight disappeared, and the darkness seemed to come quite suddenly\nunder the thick branches of the trees; the birds had chanted their last\nevening song and gone to their nests--only a solitary thrush sang loudly\njust overhead; Elsa thought it was warning her to hurry homewards. She\nturned quickly, taking as she thought the direction of the cottage; but\nas she was barely seven years old, and felt a little frightened, it is\nnot surprising that she only plunged deeper into the wood.\n\nNow she found herself in the midst of a great silence; the beautiful\ntracery of young green leaves through which she had hitherto caught\nglimpses of the sky had disappeared, and over her head stretched only\nbare brown branches, between which she saw the shining stars, clear as\non a frosty winter's night. The stars looked friendly, and she was glad\nto see them, but it was growing dreadfully cold. The plucked flowers\nwithered and fell from her poor little numbed hands, and she shivered in\nher thin cotton frock.\n\nAh! what would she not have given for a sight of the open door and the\nfire in the woodman's cottage, and a basin of warm bread and milk, even\nthough it was given with a scolding from the woodman's wife! She\nstruggled on, with her poor little tired feet, for it seemed to her that\nthe wood was growing thinner--perhaps there might be a house hereabouts.\n\nBut, oh! how terribly cold. Now there was frost upon the ground at her\nfeet, frost upon dead leaves and blades of grass, frost upon the bare\ntree branches. The moon had risen, and she could see that all the world\naround her was white and chill and dead. Surely she had wandered back\ninto the cruel bitter winter, frost-bound and hard.\n\nIt was strange that she had strength to go on, but she looked up at the\nstars, and thought that they were guiding her. At length she came to the\nborder of the wood, and there stretched before her a wide, open space,\nwith only a few trees scattered here and there, and through an opening\nof the trees the cold moon shone down upon a white, silent house.\n\nThe house looked as dead and winter-bound as everything else; but still\nit _was_ a house, and Elsa said to herself that surely some one must\nlive in it. So she thanked the friendly stars for leading her aright,\nand with what remaining strength she had, dragged her poor little numbed\nfeet up the broad path or road between the trees. At the end of the road\nan iron gate hung open upon its hinges, and Elsa found herself in what\nonce had been a garden. Now the lawns and flower-beds were all alike one\nblinding sheet of ice and frozen snow.\n\nBut, oh, joy! there was the great white house, and from one window shone\na light, surely the light of a fire. All the rest was dark. Up a flight\nof stone steps the child dragged her weary feet, across a terrace that\nhad surely once been gay with flowers, until she stood before a huge\ndoor, brown and black, except where the frost gleamed, closed and\nbarred with iron bars. The great knocker hung high above her reach; but\nwith her poor little hands she beat against the woodwork. Surely, if\nsome one did not let her in soon, she must fall down there and sleep and\ndie upon the step. But at the sound of her faint knocking there came\nfrom within the deep baying of a hound, and Elsa was terrified anew, but\ncould not run away; then in a few moments a heavy bar seemed to be\nwithdrawn and the great door opened slowly.\n\nA tall man stood within--a man in the dress of a hunter, pale-faced in\nthe moonlight, but strong and powerful, and wearing a long, dark beard\nthat reached almost to his waist. His was a figure to fill any child\nwith fear, but Elsa saw only the scene behind him. A great blazing wood\nfire upon an open hearth, with rugs in front of it upon which were\nstretched two large hounds; a third, shaking himself slowly, had\nfollowed his master to the door. Elsa stretched out her little hands to\nthe blazing warmth, with the cry of a perishing child.\n\n\"Take me in--oh! take me in!\" she pleaded. \"Please let me come in!\"\n\nShe ran forward. Then with a strange hoarse sound, that she did not\nunderstand, the man stooped and lifted her in his arms, and carried her\nforward and laid her gently down upon the rugs in the grateful warmth,\nand the hounds sniffed round her and seemed well pleased, and ready to\nwelcome her--and--for a little while she remembered no more.\n\nWhen Elsa came to herself (she thought she must have been asleep, but\nthe waking was a little strange and difficult) she found that she was\npropped up among soft cushions still upon the rugs; the dogs now lay at\na respectful distance, each with his forepaws stretched out and his nose\nheld between them, while with gleaming eyes he watched with keenest\ninterest all that going was on.\n\n[Illustration: \"HER NEW FRIEND WAS OBLIGED TO FEED HER\" (_p._ 84).]\n\nThe rough-looking man with the long, dark beard and the pale face knelt\nbeside her, holding a basin of warm, steaming broth. Then Elsa sat up\nand tried to drink, but she was so weak with fatigue and cold that her\nnew friend was obliged to feed her with a spoon, which he did rather\nawkwardly. After she had swallowed the broth, the warm blood flowed once\nmore freely through her veins, and she sank into a deep, sweet sleep,\nher little head falling serenely against the stranger's breast and her\nhair spreading out in golden waves over the arm that held her.\n\nWhen Elsa once more opened her eyes, the cold grey light of morning fell\nthrough the uncurtained windows into the hall. She found herself lying\non a couch covered with rugs of warm fur, at the side of the hearth,\nwhere logs of pine wood, newly kindled, leapt and blazed, filling the\nair with sweet, pungent odours.\n\nFor a while she was bewildered, wondering how she came to be there,\ninstead of in her little room at the woodman's cottage. Then she saw her\nfriend of the night before kneeling in front of the fire, evidently\npreparing food, while the dogs, grouped around, sat on their haunches\nwith ears erect, keen and observant, watching his movements. Then Elsa\nremembered; and she clapped her hands with a merry laugh, the laugh of a\nhappy, waking child. The man kneeling by the fire started at the sound,\nand then turned his grave face towards her with a wistful expression\nstrange to see.\n\n\"I want to get up,\" said Elsa promptly. \"If you please, I can wash and\ndress myself; I've been taught how.\"\n\n\"Wait a few minutes, little lady, then you shall have all you want.\"\n\nThe voice sounded strangely, and the man seemed listening to its tones\nas though surprised to hear himself speak. But the rough, halting\naccents seemed less out of keeping with the old house than Elsa's laugh.\nThe dogs came and licked her hands, and she played with them until the\nman rose from his place before the fire, and lifting her up bade her\ncome with him.\n\nHe led her to a small room off the hall, which was indeed curious in its\narrangements. A toilet-table stood there with most costly fittings;\nbrushes with silver and ivory handles were lying upon the faded silk; a\nlittle pair of satin shoes had been thrown carelessly upon the floor; a\ncloak of crimson satin was flung over a chair. All these things looked\nas though a hand had cast them aside but yesterday--yet all were faded\nand soiled, and the dust lay thick as though that yesterday had been\nmany years ago.\n\nAnd among these relics of an unknown past the child made her simple\ntoilet. She had never seen such magnificence, or felt, she thought, so\nsad. But when she returned to the hall ten minutes later, the sadness\nwas forgotten.\n\nShe looked a quaint little figure, indeed, clad in a silken wrapper\nprovided by her host, which trailed far behind on the ground, greatly to\nher delight; her little feet were cased in dainty slippers which, small\nas they were, yet were many sizes too large. In spite of misfits,\nhowever, she contrived to walk with a stately grandeur quite amazing to\nbehold, until the dogs jumped and fawned upon her, when she forgot her\nfinery in a game of play and lost her slippers in the rug.\n\nOn the table, a breakfast was rudely spread: cold meats for the master\nof the house, who fed his dogs from his own plate, while for Elsa was\nprovided a bowl of goat's milk and some crisp cakes, which she thought\ndelicious.\n\nWhen the meal was over, Elsa pleaded to be allowed to do for her new\nfriend the household duties she had been taught to fulfil by the\nwoodman's wife; and soon, with the wrapper deftly pinned about her\nwaist, and the silken sleeves tucked up from bare and dimpled arms, she\nstood before a bowl of steaming water, washing plates and dishes. Only\nthe table was rather high, and she was forced to stand upon a stool.\n\nFrom that day a strange new life began for little Elsa.\n\nThe rough-looking man who had given her shelter seemed to be living\nquite alone with his dogs. Every morning he went out with them and his\ngun, apparently to hunt and shoot in the forest, for he usually returned\nladen with game, which served to keep the larder stocked.\n\nOf other kinds of provisions there seemed to be a plentiful supply on\nthe premises; the granaries were well stocked with corn, which the\nmaster ground himself, while some goats tethered in the outhouses gave a\nsufficient quantity of milk for the daily needs of the little household.\n\nOf Elsa's return to the woodman's cottage there seemed to be no\nquestion. She was terrified at the thought of being again lost in the\nwood, and pleaded hard to remain with her new friend, who, on his side,\nwas equally loth to part with her.\n\n[Illustration: \"SHE LOOKED A QUAINT LITTLE FIGURE\" (_p._ 85).]\n\nSoon, having learned many useful ways from the woodman's wife, she\nbecame a clever little housekeeper, and could make a good stew, while\nUlric, as the master of the house bade her call him, was out with his\ndogs in the forest, though now only two of the hounds accompanied him in\nhis expeditions; one was always left as Elsa's companion and guardian.\nThen, too, she could milk and feed the goats, and keep the house-place\nclean and tidy. But all the day was not given to such work as this.\n\nWhen Ulric had returned, and they had dined together, he would bring the\ngreat carved wooden chair with the huge back up to the fire, and Elsa\nwould fetch a stool to his side and busy herself with needle and thread,\nwhile he told her strange stories; or sometimes he would fetch a\nponderous volume from a library the house contained and read, either to\nhimself or aloud to her, such things as she could understand.\n\nNow, if you wonder where Elsa found the needle and thread which I have\nmentioned, I must tell you that Ulric had given her a little work-basket\nneatly fitted, but the silk lining of which was much faded, and some of\nthe needles were rusty. There was in it also a golden thimble, which\nElsa found a little too large.\n\nAnd as for the clothes she worked at, one day he brought her a quantity\nof beautiful garments, some of silk and satin, and some of fine cloth,\nand in these, having nothing of her own but her one poor little cotton\nfrock, the child managed to dress herself, till she looked like a quaint\nlittle fairy princess. Her stitches were awkward and badly done at\nfirst, but as time went on, instinct helped her small knowledge, and she\ngrew handy with her needle.\n\nWhen she was cooking and feeding the goats, she wore a woollen\npetticoat and an apron, a costume more suited to the occasion.\n\n[Illustration: \"HE WOULD READ ALOUD TO HER\" (_p._ 88).]\n\nIn the evenings Ulric taught her many things: to read and to write, and\neven to speak in strange languages, so that her education was by no\nmeans neglected. He let her wander over the great mansion where she\nwould, and showed her many of the rooms himself. All bore signs of\nhaving been used quite recently, and yet a long time ago. Dust was thick\neverywhere, and soon Elsa grew to understand that the dust must remain\nand accumulate; no hand was to be allowed to touch anything in that\nstrange, silent house beyond the hall and the little room which Ulric\nhad arranged for her sleeping apartment. One part of the mansion,\nhowever, she never penetrated. At the end of a long passage hung a heavy\nvelvet curtain, and behind this was a door, always securely locked. Only\nUlric passed beyond it, at stated times, and when he returned from these\nvisits he was more than usually sad for many hours.\n\nThe weeks slipped into months, and Elsa dwelt on in this strange home.\nEvery day at first she looked eagerly for the breaking of the frost--for\nthe promise of the sunshine and flowers she had left behind her in the\nwood. But the spring never came. The bitter cold and the frost\ncontinued, and in time the child's heart must have frozen too, but for\nthe strong, warm love which had sprung up within it for Ulric.\n\nOld and thoughtful she grew, beyond her years, but never unhappy. Ulric\nneeded her, was glad of her presence; she could minister to his wants\nand brighten his sad life.\n\nSo Ulric's love grew more to her than the flowers and sunshine of the\nouter world; to think of leaving him now would break her heart, but she\nwondered often over the mystery that shadowed his life and hers. And\nthe months grew to years, and Elsa was twelve years old.\n\nThen one evening Ulric came in from one of his visits to the closed\nchamber, more sad and thoughtful even than usual, and taking Elsa's hand\nin his, bade her sit beside him for a little while and put aside her\nwork. She came obediently, looking anxiously into his face.\n\n\"Little Elsa,\" he said, \"I have counted the time, and it is now five\nyears since you came to me. You told me then you were seven years old,\nnow you are therefore twelve, and will soon be growing into a maiden.\nThe time has come----\"\n\nInstinctively the child clasped his hand closer.\n\n\"Not to part us, father?\" (for so she had learned to call him.)\n\n\"That, my child, must rest with you.\"\n\n\"Then it is soon settled,\" said Elsa, trying to laugh, \"for I will never\nleave you.\"\n\nSomething like the light of hope shone in the man's clouded eyes--eyes\nin which Elsa had never seen a smile, although his lips had smiled at\nher often.\n\n\"Listen,\" he said; \"before you speak rash words, I must tell you all.\nThen you shall decide.\n\n\"It is a little more than eleven years since the curse fell upon me. I\nwas a hard man then, Elsa--hard and cruel and strong--it was my boast\nthat I never forgave a debt, or pardoned an enemy.\n\n\"I had married a young and beautiful wife, and her I loved passionately,\nbut in my own hard and selfish fashion. Often I refused to heed even\nher gentle pleadings for the suffering, the sinful, and the poor. And we\nhad one child--a girl--then only a few months old.\n\n\"It was a New Year's Eve that I decided upon giving a great\nentertainment to all the country round. I did it for my own\nglorification. Among the rich I was disliked, but tolerated on account\nof my position; by the poor far and wide I was feared and hated.\n\n\"Every one invited came to my ball. My wife looked exquisitely lovely,\nmore lovely I thought than on our bridal day--everything ministered to\nmy pride and satisfaction.\n\n\"We had mustered here, here in this hall, to drink the health of the\ndying year and welcome the incoming of the new, when above the sounds of\nlaughter and good cheer was heard from without a pitiful, feeble\nwail--the wail of a child in pain. That feeble cry rang then above every\nother sound--it rings in my heart still.\n\n\"Before I could interfere, my wife, with her own hands, had flung wide\nthe great barred door, and I saw a sight which I alone could explain.\n\n\"Upon the step was huddled a woman, with a child in her arms. A man,\ngaunt and hunger-stricken, towered behind her in the darkness; two other\nchildren clung to her, shivering and weeping. We were in the midst of\nthe cruel, bitter winter; the earth was frost-bound, hard and cold, even\nas now. That day I had given orders that these people, poor and starving\nas they were, should be turned from their home. The man I had suspected\nof being a poacher, and he was doing no work--a good-for-nothing--but\n_she_, my wife, had pleaded for them that I would wait, at least, until\nthe summer. Now she bent down to that poor creature on the step, who was\nstriving to nurse and warm her babe in her chill arms, and whispered\nsomething--I guessed it was a promise of shelter.\n\n[Illustration: \"'MOTHER, AWAKE!' SHE SAID\" (_p._ 95).]\n\n\"In my fierce pride and anger I laid my hand upon her arm, and with a\nstrong grip drew her back--then without a word I closed the door and\nbarred it. But within there was no more laughter. A voice rose upon the\nstill night air--the sound of a bitter curse--a curse that should rest\nupon me and mine, the chill of winter and of death, of pitiless\ndesolation and remorse, until human love should win me back to human\npity and God's forgiveness.\n\n\"One by one, with cold good-nights, my guests departed. My wife stole\naway to her own apartments without a word; upon her arm I saw the mark\nof my cruel hand.\n\n\"In the morning the curse had fallen. The woman I had turned away had\nbeen found at my gates, dead, her child still clasped to her breast.\n\n\"The servants fled and left me alone, taking with them our child; my\nwife--that night--she, too--died--to me.\"\n\nThe man's head drooped upon his hands. For a moment there was silence in\nthe hall.\n\nElsa stood--her child's heart grieved at the terrible story, her whole\nnature sorrowing, pitiful, shocked.\n\nPresently Ulric recovered himself and continued: \"Now, Elsa, you know\nall. My child, if you will return to the world and leave me to work out\nmy fate, you shall not go penniless. I have wealth. For your sake I will\nventure once more among the haunts of men and see you placed in a safe\nhome, then--I will try to forget. It is right that you should shrink.\"\n\n\"Father, dear father, I love you--you are sorry--I will not leave\nyou--do not send me away.\"\n\nA look almost of rapture changed the worn and tear-stained face of the\nman who had owned his sin--and the child's arms closed once more around\nhis neck, and her golden head nestled to his breast. A few minutes later\nhe led her to the closed chamber. Together they passed beyond it, and\nElsa found herself standing in a richly furnished room.\n\nNear a window was a couch covered with dark velvet, and upon the couch a\nfigure lay stretched as if in quiet, death-like sleep, or carved in\nmarble. The figure was that of a young and very fair woman. Her dress of\nwhite satin had yellowed with time; her hands were clasped upon her\nbreast as though in prayer; her golden hair lay unbound upon the pillow.\n\n\"It is fitting now,\" said Ulric, \"that you should come here.\"\n\nSoftly Elsa advanced. She stood beside the couch, gazing down upon the\nstill, white face, so sweet in its settled grief, but which in this long\nsilence seemed to have lost its first youth. Elsa bent lower, lower.\nWhat new instinct filled her warm, young heart, and made her speak?\n\n\"Mother, awake!\" she said. \"Mother!\" and kissed the cold, quiet lips.\n\nWas it a ray of sunlight that stole through the open window and trembled\nupon the mouth, curving it into a smile? Slowly the dark eyes opened and\nrested with a look of ineffable love upon Elsa's face.\n\nAnd so the curse and the shadows of eternal winter passed away from the\nhouse of Ulric, and his young bride came back from her long slumber. In\ndue time the garden, too, awoke to the touch of spring, and the flowers\nbloomed, and the birds mated once more and sang in budding trees, and\nthe sun shone. And Elsa's love bound closely together the hearts of her\nfather and mother; for perhaps you have been clever enough to find out\nthat the woodman's wife was the nurse who had carried away with her in\nher flight Ulric's little daughter on the night of the New Year's ball.\n\n\n\n\nRingfalla Bridge.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nRINGFALLA BRIDGE.\n\nBy K. E. Sutter.\n\n\nONCE upon a time there lived a King who had two kingdoms to govern--his\nown always the perfection of law and order, while the other was given\nover to confusion and rebellion, which, strive as he would, got ever\nworse instead of better.\n\nIt had been the worry of his life ever since he began to reign--and as\nhe had no son to help him, he was obliged to find a ruler for it among\nhis Ministers, but not one of them, however clever, could manage to\ncontrol its unruly inhabitants.\n\nSometimes, at long intervals, he even went to live there himself, on\nwhich occasions his troubles in regard to it multiplied so exceedingly\nthat he swore they were half demons, as the name of their kingdom,\nNokkeland, proved, and for his part he wished they could find an evil\nspirit like themselves to govern them in his stead, as no mere mortal\ncould. And then, as he could think of nothing else, he called a council\nof his most trusted chiefs, and conferred with them; but as they had all\ngiven their best consideration to the subject many times before, none of\nthem could come to any more brilliant conclusion than formerly.\n\nTherefore King Kaftan said he would hunt on the morrow to distract his\nmind, so a great party set forth at daybreak, and scoured the woods far\nand near, but no sport could they get; no fourfooted beast could they\nfind excepting rabbits, and they were everywhere.\n\nUnwilling to return empty-handed, and hoping for better luck on the\nmorrow, the King gave the order to camp in the wood. Some of the men\nwere catching rabbits for supper, whilst others were making fires to\ncook them, when just as the last rim of the sinking sun disappeared\nbelow the horizon, a beautiful hart as white as snow with antlers and\nhoofs of gold, suddenly appeared, and walked leisurely down the glade\ntowards the sunset.\n\nInstantly, with one accord, King, courtiers, huntsmen, and servants\nrushed off in hot pursuit, helter-skelter over each other, on foot, on\nhorseback, armed or unarmed, just as they found themselves when it first\nappeared. The King, who had not dismounted, was ahead of the others, and\nurged his steed with whip and spur; but poor Rolf was very weary, and do\nas he would, his master could get no nearer to his quarry.\n\nNight was rapidly closing in when the King found himself far ahead of\nhis attendants, and alone with a spent horse in a part of the forest\nwhere he had never been before, and miles from any human habitation.\n\nMore and more faltering grew Rolf's jaded pace, and in proportion as it\nslackened, slower went the hart. The King's pulses quivered with\nexcitement. He leapt from the saddle, drew his dagger, and prepared to\nfollow on foot; but, to his astonishment, the beast had turned and was\ncoming slowly towards him, the moonlight turning his antlers to silver,\nand gleaming on his milk-white coat.\n\nHalf instinctively, the King had raised his dagger, when the hart\nstopped and spoke in courteous, but authoritative tones.\n\n\"Stay thy hand and know that I also am a King in my own country. I have\nmuch to say to thee, therefore follow me and fear nothing.\"\n\nSo King Kaftan followed, wondering, until the hart stopped before a\ngreat rock, overhung with a tangle of eglantine and honeysuckle--and\npushing aside the fragrant curtain dexterously with his horns, disclosed\nwhat appeared to be the mouth of a cave. Entering this, closely followed\nby the King, they proceeded for some way in almost total darkness.\nGradually it grew lighter and the path wider, when the King perceived,\nto his amazement, that the illumination proceeded from countless numbers\nof bats, ridden by small imps carrying lighted glow-worms.\n\nPresently they came to a spacious garden, where all the trees were\nlighted by coloured lamps hanging among the branches, and the air was\nfilled with music and perfume.\n\nWithin the garden was a great pavilion of purple silk, most gorgeously\nemblazoned with scarlet and gold, and having a Royal banner floating\nfrom the roof.\n\nWithin was a table, covered with every variety of food and wine,\nlavishly decorated with flowers and gold plate, and laid for two. Here\nthe hart entertained his Royal guest to supper, and after he was\ncompletely refreshed and rested, handed him an enamelled box, which, on\nbeing opened, disclosed a clay pipe, blackened with much use, a tinder,\nand a flint.\n\n\"Smoke, O King!\" said the host; \"unfortunately I cannot join you; and\nnow to explain why I have lured you from your own people to my enchanted\nland.\n\n\"I know your difficulties in Nokkeland, because for one reason we are\nvery near neighbours, though probably you are unaware of it. The people\nwho inhabit that kingdom are descended from a water fiend, and the\nturbulent instincts inherited from him can never be quelled until the\npower of the Neck, who rules the river between your kingdom and theirs,\nis broken. Now, the Neck is my enemy as well as yours, and if you will\nally yourself with me and follow my counsels, you will have peace,\nhonour, and happiness for the rest of your life in all probability.\"\n\n\"I am ready,\" said the King, \"only tell me what to do; the Klavs are the\nplague of my life, but from what you say success even then is by no\nmeans a certainty.\"\n\n\"Much depends on luck,\" said the hart, \"and to neither your Majesty nor\nmyself is it given to do much. You have three daughters, Solveig, Ulva,\nand little Kirsten; one of them must go over Ringfalla Bridge without\nstumbling and without speaking one word. This done, your troubles and my\nown are at an end.\"\n\n[Illustration: \"AN ENAMELLED BOX\" (_p._ 102).]\n\nNow, Ringfalla Bridge it was that spanned the river between King\nKaftan's own territory and that of the Klavs, and what between the Klavs\nthemselves and the Neck who inhabited the river, it had a very evil\nreputation indeed.\n\nThe King looked grave, and then he laughed rather grimly. \"There won't\nbe much difficulty about that,\" he said. \"To cross it has been the\ndesire of their hearts ever since they were babies; it is only my strict\norders that keep them from it.\"\n\n\"She who undertakes it must go of her own free will, and if she\naccomplishes it without stumbling and without speaking, the kingdom is\nsaved.\" Those were the last words of the hart ere bidding the King\ngood-night, and they were ringing in his ears when he awoke in the\nmorning. But he was no longer lying on the silken cushions on which he\nhad rested the night before. Pavilion, garden, and hart had vanished,\nthe sun was high in the heavens, he was lying on a heap of moss and\nferns in the wood, with Rolf standing over him and thrusting his soft\nnozzle into his face.\n\nThe King was greatly perplexed as to whether all the events of the\npreceding night had actually happened, or if he had only dreamt them,\nand was rather inclined to the latter belief. Mounting Rolf, and leaving\nthat good steed to find his own way back to the camp, he pondered deeply\nover all the hart had told him, and resolved at least to try what he had\nsuggested.\n\nWhen at last he came to the camp it was nearly deserted, as most of the\nparty had gone to hunt for the King, but after much blowing of horns the\ncompany was collected, and, abandoning all further idea of sport, rode\nback to the capital.\n\nThere they found everything silent, except that the bells were\nmournfully tolling, and the flag over the palace hanging half-mast high.\n\"What is this? Who is dead?\" asked the King, but no one seemed inclined\nto explain.\n\nAt last the captain of the guard, who could not run away, was forced to\nsalute and answer the King.\n\n\"Sire,\" he said, \"your Majesty's daughter, the Princess Solveig, was\ndrowned yesterday in trying to cross Ringfalla Bridge.\"\n\nGreatly to the captain's surprise, however, the King inquired no further\non the subject, but went straight up to the tower where the apartments\nof the three Princesses were situated.\n\nThere he found the two youngest overwhelmed with grief for their\nsister's loss, but overjoyed to see him and give an account of the\ncatastrophe.\n\nOn the previous day, after seeing the King start at the head of a great\ncavalcade on his hunting expedition, the three Princesses cast about in\ntheir minds how they might amuse themselves, and finally agreed to go\ndown and picnic by the river. Now, although the river itself was not\nabsolutely forbidden, they were quite aware that the King disapproved of\ntheir going there, but they pacified their consciences by taking a\nstrong escort, their old nurse, and a very large variety of hampers\ncontaining lunch.\n\nPoor old Nurse Gerda was as much averse to the expedition as King Kaftan\nhimself could have been, and told gruesome tales of the evil water\nspirit and his doings; but the Princesses only laughed, and enjoyed\npreparing their own lunch, and eating it afterwards, extremely. Then\nthey wandered along the banks, gathering primroses and long grasses, all\nthe while drawing near to the forbidden bridge; but it looked so\ninviting with its stone parapet and curious wooden pavement, and the\nwater flowed so peacefully beneath the arches, that they there and then\nmade up their minds to cross it, and drew lots to decide which should\nventure first. The lot fell to Solveig, the eldest, and she set out\nboldly with six archers to guard her--three before and three behind,\nwalking abreast--a last precaution insisted upon by Gerda, the nurse,\nwho watched the proceeding in terror.\n\nAll went well till they had almost reached the middle, then she tripped,\nand in falling touched the parapet, which instantly gave way, and the\nPrincess fell into the river. As she touched the water a great pair of\nhairy arms caught and drew her under, so that she was seen no more.\n\"And,\" continued Ulva, who up till now had done most of the talking,\n\"the wall closed up again, with no sign of a break, directly she\ndisappeared, and though two of the guard jumped in after her, the Neck\ntook no notice of them, and they swam ashore in the end quite safely.\"\n\n\"The bridge is enchanted,\" said the King gloomily; and then he told them\nhis adventure with the white hart.\n\n\"Then,\" said Ulva, with great decision, \"I will go: it is very simple.\nSolveig talked to Ulf, the archer, all the time, and was looking at the\nriver when she stumbled. Now, I know what is required of me: I will look\nat my feet and say nothing, not a word. Do, father, let me go.\" And she\ngave the King no peace till he consented; but she fared no better than\nher sister.\n\n[Illustration: \"A GREAT PAIR OF HAIRY ARMS CAUGHT AND DREW HER UNDER\"\n(_p._ 106).]\n\nBoldly and silently she marched in the very centre of the fatal bridge,\ntill suddenly she saw in front of her an enormous serpent with fiery\neyes and forked tongue, with head up ready to spring. Poor Ulva's chief\nfear in life was a snake. She recoiled in terror, calling to warn the\narchers, who had seen nothing. And then the flooring gave way beneath\nher, and she too sank into the flood, a great pair of hairy hands\nclutching her as she fell.\n\nThen there was great mourning throughout the land. The people clothed\nthemselves in black, and the King reviled the hart and his own folly in\nacting on his advice, and refused to be comforted.\n\nThen little Kirsten, the youngest sister, and the fairest maiden in the\nland, put her white arms about his neck and told him to be of good\ncheer; \"for I will ride across,\" she said, \"and if Freyja my mare\nstumble, it will be her fault, not mine, and I will neither speak nor\nscream, for they will tie a scarf over my lips so that I cannot. So,\nfather, let me go, for it is I who will save the kingdom.\"\n\nBut the King swore a great oath, and vowed she should not, and for three\ndays nothing could move him. Then, the Princess prevailed, and the whole\ncity came out to see her ride over Ringfalla Bridge.\n\nThis time neither guards nor soldiers attempted to cross--a dozen\ncourtiers, richly apparelled and mounted, accompanied the youngest\nPrincess, who, dressed in white and all her pet jewels, with diamond\nfireflies glistening in the golden hair that floated to her little\nshoes, and her small, red mouth bound fast with a silken scarf, rode\ngaily upon Freyja till she had crossed the middle of the bridge, when,\nonce again, appeared a wonder on the verge of the forest--a great white\nhart, with horns and hoofs of burnished gold. And straightway all the\ncourtiers were tearing after it helter-skelter in hot haste, entirely\nforgetful of the poor little Princess and everything else.\n\n[Illustration: \"THE YOUNGEST PRINCESS RODE GAILY UPON FREYJA\" (_p._\n108).]\n\nAnd Freyja that morning was very frisky; she minced along sideways on\nher golden shoes, coquetting with her own shadow, and making little\nplayful snaps at her bridle. So she, too, stumbled at last on the\ntreacherous planks, throwing her mistress over the parapet into the\nswiftly running stream; but this time no demon hands were stretched out\nto receive their prey--only a flash of white and gold ere the water\nclosed over her head, and then all was still.\n\nMeantime the white hart was giving the truant courtiers a lively time of\nit; he bounded, trotted, and doubled, keeping all the time close to the\nbridge, but eluding all their efforts to come near him. When, however,\nthe maiden fell, a marvellous thing chanced--the beautiful beast\nvanished, and in his place stood the handsomest knight that had ever\nbeen seen in that or any other land. His armour was of gold, curiously\ninlaid with silver; on his helmet was a crown of emeralds, and his long\npurple mantle was lined with ermine, so there could be no doubt about\nhis being a King.\n\nThen all the courtiers doffed their plumed caps, and did obeisance to\nhim; but the stranger, after acknowledging their homage, called aloud\nfor \"Asaph,\" and out of the wood, running as fast as he could, came a\nbeautiful little page, clothed in green, and carrying a golden harp.\n\nThen the strange knight crossed the bridge and saluted King Kaftan, who\nwas standing on the bank looking at the river like one dazed.\n\n\"Be of good cheer, Sir King,\" he cried; \"the Princess Kirsten has broken\nthe charm, and I am no longer the white hart, but the rightful King of\nyour troublesome Klavs--me they obey and no other; and now, thanks for\nyour courtesy.\" So saying, he took the harp from his little foot-page,\nand, seating himself on the bank, began to play.\n\n[Illustration: \"And then little Kirsten came smiling out of the water.\"\n_page 111_]\n\nVery softly at first, but so wondrous were the magic notes that all the\nassembled people listened silent and motionless, for never before had\nthey heard the like. First the sound was like the distant echo of silver\ntrumpets when they welcomed the host back from battle; and then coming,\nas it were, nearer, like the ripple of waves on a pebbly beach, and all\nthe fishes swam up to listen, while out of the wood flocked bird and\nbeast also. So wondrous was the strain.\n\nAnd then little Kirsten came smiling out of the water and sat upon the\nharper's knee, and one arm he put about her to hold her fast, but still\nhe kept on playing. And now the music waxed fierce and terrible, like\nthe roll of thunder among the mountains, or the crash of armies when\nthey meet in battle. And the waves grew black and angry and lashed\nthemselves into foam, for the Neck, the evil water spirit, was furious,\nbut he could not fight against his master, and so at the last he also\ncame forth, black and hideous, but subdued, leading the two Princesses\nSolveig and Ulva, who looked more beautiful than ever, and none the\nworse for their sojourn below the river.\n\nSo there were great rejoicings in both kingdoms, for the youngest\nPrincess had broken the spell laid on Sir Sigurd by the Neck, who caught\nhim in the forest alone without his harp, and condemned him to wander as\na white hart until a Royal Princess should of her own free will cross\nRingfalla Bridge without stumbling and without talking.\n\nThis little Kirsten did, and she had her reward, for she married Sigurd\nand reigned over the Klavs, who were turbulent no more, because their\nKing and Queen had been born for the special purpose of ruling over\nthem.\n\n\n\n\nThe Children's Fairy.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nTHE CHILDREN'S FAIRY.\n\nFROM THE FRENCH of SAINT-JUIRS.\n\n\nIT was a dull, heavy afternoon, and the long, dusty road looked quite\ndeserted, not a horse or even a foot-passenger in sight. The birds were\ntaking their afternoon siesta, and the leaves were hanging down\nlanguidly from the poor trees, which were dying with thirst. There were\nthree solitary-looking, tumble-down cottages on one side of the road,\nand presently the door of one of them opened, and a woman's voice called\nout:\n\n\"Come, Yvette, come, go out and play.\"\n\nIn answer to this summons a little girl of some three or four years old\nsoon appeared, and with great difficulty on all fours began to descend\nthe steep steps from the house to the footpath. It was quite a piece of\nwork, that perilous descent, and it was accomplished slowly, carefully,\nand very awkwardly by what looked like nothing but a bundle of clothes.\n\nThe child had on a little bonnet made of two pieces of figured muslin\nsewn together, and from which a few tresses of fair hair which had\nescaped fell over her forehead and down the back of her neck. Her little\nfrock had been lengthened many times, and, consequently, the waist was\nnow up under the arms, like one sees in the Empire dresses. As to shoes\nand stockings--well, it was not very cold, and so they were put away for\na future occasion.\n\nWhen once she had reached the bottom of the steps, the child stood\nupright and looked round for a minute or two, evidently deep in thought,\nwith her little finger pressed against her face. Play! Yes, it was all\nvery well, but what should she play at?\n\nAt the very time when the poor little mite was turning this question\nover in her mind, hundreds of other children, accompanied by their\nmother or by their nurse, would be all out in the gardens or parks, and\nthey would have with them all kinds of games and toys, from the\nfavourite spade and bucket to a real little steam-boat, which would sail\nalong on the ponds. They would have cannons, skipping-ropes, reins (all\ncovered with little bells), hoops, battledores and shuttlecocks, bowls,\nmarbles, balls, balloons, dolls of every description, pistols, guns,\nswords, and, in fact, everything that the heart of a child can desire.\n\nThen, too, those other children nearly always had little playmates, so\nthat it was easy enough to organise a game.\n\nBut, Yvette--on that deserted road, what could she do? Her father, a\npoor road-mender, earned only just enough to make a bare living for his\nwife and child, and certainly not a halfpenny could be spared for toys.\n\n[Illustration: \"DEEP IN THOUGHT\" (_p._ 116).]\n\nYvette sat down just near a great heap of stones, which her father had\nto break into small pieces in order to fill in the ruts. When she was\ncomfortably installed, she began to fumble in her pocket, and there she\ncertainly found all kinds of wonderful things: two cherry-stones, a\npiece of string, a small carrot, a shoe-button, a small penny knife, a\nlittle bit of blue braid and some crumbs of bread. Now, these were all\nvery nice in their way, and were indeed very valuable articles, but\nsomehow they did not appeal to Yvette at all just then. She put them\nall very carefully back one by one in her pocket.\n\nThen there was a profound silence. Yvette was not happy. The little face\npuckered itself up into a significant grimace--the little nose was all\nscrewed up, and the mouth was just opening--tears were surely on the\nway! Just at that moment, fortunately, the Children's Fairy was passing\nby.\n\nNow you, perhaps, do not know about this Fairy, for no one ever sees\nher, but it is the very one which makes children smile in their dreams,\nand gives them all kinds of pretty thoughts. There is no limit to the\npower of this Fairy, for, with a stroke of her magic wand, she can\ntransform things just as she wishes. She is very good and kind-hearted,\nand the proof is that she bestows her favours more generally on the poor\nand unfortunate than on others.\n\nWell, this good Fairy saw that Yvette was just going to cry. She\nstretched her golden wand out over the heap of stones and then flew away\nagain, laughing, for she was just as light and as gay as a ray of\nsunshine.\n\nNow, directly the Fairy had gone, it seemed to the road-mender's little\ndaughter that one of the big stones near her had a face, and that it was\ndressed just like a little baby. Oh, it was really just like a little\nbaby! Yvette stretched out her hand, took the stone up, and immediately\nbegan to feel for it all the love which a mother feels for her child.\n\n[Illustration: \"SHE STRETCHED HER GOLDEN WAND OVER THE HEAP OF STONES\"\n(_p._ 118).]\n\n\"Ah!\" she said to it, cuddling it up in her arms; \"do you want to be my\nlittle girl? You don't speak--oh! but that is because you are too\nyoung--but I see you would like to. Very well, then; I will be your\nmother, and I shall love you and never whip you. You must be good,\nthough, and then I shall never scold you. Oh! but if you are not\ngood--you know, I've got a birch rod. Now, come, I'm going to dress you\nbetter: you look dreadful in that frock.\" Hereupon Yvette rolled her\nchild up in her pinafore, so that there was nothing to be seen of the\nstone but what was supposed to be the baby's head.\n\n\"Oh! how pretty she is, dear little thing. There, now, she shall have\nsomething to eat. Ah! you are crying--but you must not cry, my pretty\none--there, there.\" And the hard stone was rocked gently in the soft\nlittle arms of its fond mother.\n\n\"Bye-bye, baby--bye-bye-bye.\" Yvette sang with all her might, tapping\nher little daughter's back energetically, but evidently all to no\npurpose, for the stone refused to go to sleep. \"Ah! naughty girl; you\nwon't go to sleep? Oh no, I won't tell you any more stories. I have told\nyou Tom Thumb, and that's quite enough for to-night. Go to\nsleep--quick--quick, I say. Oh, dear, dear, naughty child--I've got a\nknife--what! you are crying again! If you only knew how ugly you are\nwhen you cry! There! now I'm going to slap you--take that, and that, and\nthat, to make you quiet. Oh dear, how dreadful it is to have such a\nchild. I believe I'll change you, and have a boy. Now, just say you are\nsorry for being so naughty----What! you won't? I'll give you another\nchance. Now--one--two--three. Oh, very well. I know what I shall do. I\nshall just go and take you back. I shall say: 'If you please, I've got a\ndreadful little girl, and I want to change her for a nice little boy,\nnamed Eugene.' And then they'll say: 'Yes, ma'am; will you have him with\nlight hair or dark?' 'Oh,' I shall say, 'I don't mind, as long as he is\ngood.' 'He'll be very dear, though, ma'am,' they'll say; 'good little\nboys are very rare, and they cost a great deal.' 'How much?' I shall\nask. 'Why, one penny, ma'am.' And then I shall think about it----Now,\nthen, are you going to be good, and say you are sorry? No? Oh! very\nwell--it's too late now--I've changed you. I have no little girl now,\nbut a very pretty little boy, named Zizi.\"\n\n[Illustration: \"OH! HOW PRETTY SHE IS\" (_p._ 120).]\n\nThe stone immediately underwent a complete transformation. Just now,\nwhen it was a little girl, it had been very quiet and gentle, and had\nkept quite still on Yvette's lap. Now that it was a boy there was no\nmore peace: it would jump about, and it would try to get away, for boys\nare always so restless.\n\n\"Zizi, will you be still, and will you stay on my lap instead of\ntumbling about in the road? There, let me lift you up! Oh, dear! how\nheavy boys are. There, now, don't you stir, but just eat your bread and\nmilk. It will make you grow, and then when you are big you'll have\nbeautiful grey whiskers, like father. You shall have a sword, too, and\nperhaps you shall be a policeman. It's very nice to be a policeman, you\nknow, because they are never put in prison--they take other people there\nif the people make a noise in the street. Oh, Zizi, do keep still. If\nyou don't, I'll call the wolf--you know, the big wolf that runs off with\nlittle children and takes them into the woods to eat them up. Wolf,\nwolf, where are you?\"\n\nJust at that moment a dog appeared--a large, well-fed, happy-looking\ndog, impudent too, and full of fun. He belonged to a carrier who was\nalways moving about from place to place, and the dog, accustomed as he\nwas to these constant journeys, had got rather familiar, like certain\ncommercial travellers, who, no matter where they are, always make\nthemselves quite at home.\n\nNow, the dog had got tired of following his master's cart, and when he\nsaw something in the distance which was moving about, he bounded off to\ndiscover what it was. This something was Yvette and her little boy.\n\n\"Look, look!\" exclaimed the small mother, and there was a tremor in her\nvoice. \"You see, he is coming--the big wolf!\"\n\nHe _was_ coming, there was no doubt about that, for he was tearing\nalong, and his tongue was hanging out and his ears were pricked up.\n\nThe little stone boy was not at all frightened, but Yvette began to\nregret having called the dreadful animal. Oh! if she could only get away\nnow; but, alas! she did not dare to move or even to speak.\n\n[Illustration: \"THE IMPERTINENT DOG CAME STRAIGHT TO THEM\" (_p._ 123).]\n\nThe impertinent dog came straight to them. Poor Yvette, half frightened\nto death, threw away the precious stone baby she had been fondling, and,\npicking herself up, began to run, calling out: \"Mother! Mother!\"\n\nThe dog was quite near her, jumping up at her, and then suddenly he\nturned to go and sniff at the little stone boy. He probably thought it\nwas a bone or a piece of bread, but he was soon undeceived, and then he\nrushed to the hedge to bark and wake up all the birds.\n\nAs to Yvette, she was hurrying along as fast as her little legs could\ncarry her, for she was in despair, as she thought the wolf was just\nbehind her, and she imagined that she still felt his hot breath on her\nlittle hand. She stopped when she got to the steps of her home, for she\nwas out of breath and all trembling with terror, and she felt sure that\nif she tried to scramble up the steps the wolf would bite her legs.\nSuddenly the inspiration, which the ostrich once had, came to her, and\nshe rushed into the corner which was formed by the front of the house\nand the stone steps, and holding her face close to the wall, so that she\ncould not see the dreadful animal, she was convinced that she too was\nout of his sight.\n\nShe stayed there some minutes in perfect anguish, thinking: \"Oh! if I\nmove, he'll eat me up!\" She was quite surprised even that he did not\nfind her, and that his great teeth did not bite her, for she always\nthought wolves were so quick to eat up little girls. Whatever could he\nbe doing? And then, not hearing any sound of him, she thought she would\nrisk one peep round. Very slowly she turned her head, and then, as\nnothing dreadful happened, she grew bolder and bolder.\n\nThe wolf was not in sight, and instead of the barking which had\nterrified her, she now heard a lot of little bells tinkling, and in the\ndistance she saw a waggon with four horses coming along.\n\nThe sound of the bells was so fascinating that Yvette forgot her duty as\na mother, and stood there watching the waggon as it approached.\n\nThe horses were all grey, and they were coming so fast. Suddenly the\nchild uttered an awe-struck cry.\n\nHer child, her little son, was under the heavy wheels! Crunch! crunch!\nand it had gone by, the horrible waggon. Yvette went on to the\nhorse-road, and her little heart was very full; for there, where poor\nZizi had been lying, there was only some yellowish crunched stone. Zizi\nhad been ground into powder by the huge wheels. The poor child was in\ndespair, and, with tears in her eyes, she shook her little fists at the\ncarrier, who was whipping up his horses.\n\n[Illustration: \"HER CHILD, HER LITTLE SON, WAS UNDER THE HEAVY WHEELS!\"]\n\n\"Cruel, wicked man!\" she cried, and then her eyes happening to fall on\nthe heap of stones which had supplied her with a family, she saw another\nstone smiling at her now. She ran quickly to it, picked it up and kissed\nit affectionately, and then, happy in her new treasure, she cried out\ndefiantly to the carrier, whom she could still see in the distance: \"Ah!\nI don't care! I've got another--there, then! and it's a girl this time.\nI won't have any more dreadful boys to be afraid of wolves, and to go\nand get themselves killed just to make their poor mother unhappy.\"\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nOh! kind, good Fairy, you who watch over the children, and who give them\ntheir happiness and console them in sorrow when they are playing at\nlife--oh, good Fairy, do not forget your big children.\n\nOlder men tell me that I am young, but the younger ones do not think so;\nand I, myself, saw, only this morning, a silver thread in my hairs. Oh,\nkind Fairy, Fairy of the children, help me, too, to believe that the\nmoon is made of green cheese; for, after all, our happiness here below\nconsists in our faith and in our illusions.\n\n\n\n\n\"Wittysplinter.\"\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\"WITTYSPLINTER.\"\n\nFrom the German of Clemens Brentano.\n\n\nONCE upon a time there was a King of Roundabout who had, among many\nother servants, a page-boy who was called Wittysplinter, and he\npreferred him above all the others, and showered upon him honours and\npresents, because of his uncommon skill and cleverness, and because\neverything the King gave him to do he always accomplished successfully.\nNow, because of the great favour which the King showed to Wittysplinter,\nall the other page-boys and servants were jealous of him; for, if his\ncleverness were rewarded with money, they generally received nothing but\nscoldings for their stupidity; if Wittysplinter received praise from the\nKing, they generally received a blowing-up; when Wittysplinter got a new\ncoat to his back, they got instead the application of a stick to theirs;\nand if Wittysplinter were permitted to kiss the King's hand, they were\nonly allowed to touch it when they got a smack from it.\n\nOn account of all these things, therefore, they got very angry with\nWittysplinter, and went about murmuring and whispering the whole day\nlong, and putting their heads together and plotting how best they could\ndeprive Wittysplinter of the love of the King. One of them scattered a\nlot of peas on the steps up to the throne, so that Wittysplinter might\nstumble and break the glass sceptre which he always had to present to\nthe King; another nailed pieces of melon skin to his shoes, so that he\nmight slide along and make a dreadful mess of the King's gown when he\nwas handing him the soup; a third put all sorts of horrid flies in a\nstraw, and blew them into the King's wig when Wittysplinter was dressing\nit; a fourth played some other nasty trick, and every one sought to do\nsomething to deprive Wittysplinter of the King's favour. Wittysplinter\nwas so cautious, however, and so clever and watchful, that everything\nthey did was in vain, and he brought all the commands of the King to a\nsuccessful issue.\n\nWell, when they found that all these manoeuvres were quite useless, they\ndetermined to try something else. Now, the King had an enemy, whom he\ncould never get the better of, and who was always doing him some\nmischief. This was a giant who was called Sleepyhead, and who lived in a\nlarge mountain, where he had a splendid palace surrounded by a thick,\ngloomy wood; and with the exception of his wife, Thickasmud, no human\nbeing lived with him; but a lion who was called Hendread, and a bear\ncalled Honeybeard, and a wolf called Lambsnapper, and a dog called\nHarescare, acted as his servants. He had also in the stables a horse\ncalled Flyinglegs.\n\nNow, there dwelt in the neighbourhood of Roundabout a very beautiful\nQueen, Madam Flosk, who had a daughter, Miss Flink, and the King of\nRoundabout, who wanted to possess all the land adjoining his own, was\nvery anxious to marry Madam Flosk. But she was proud, and let him know\nthat many other Kings were also anxious to marry her, and that she would\naccept in marriage that King only who was most expeditious, and that he\nwho was first by her side when she went into church next Monday morning\nat half-past ten should have her as his wife, and all her possessions\ninto the bargain.\n\nThereupon the King summoned all his household, and put the question to\nthem: \"How am I to manage to be first in the church on Monday morning\nnext, and so gain Queen Flosk for my wife?\"\n\nThen his servants answered him, and said: \"You must gain possession of\nthe horse Flyinglegs, belonging to the giant Sleepyhead; if you once get\nastride of it, no one can possibly get there before you; and to get this\nhorse for you no one is more suited than Wittysplinter, who is so\nsuccessful in all he undertakes.\"\n\nThus spoke the wicked servants, in the hope that the Giant Sleepyhead\nwould kill Wittysplinter. The King, accordingly, commanded Wittysplinter\nto bring the horse Flyinglegs to him.\n\nWittysplinter got a hand-barrow, and placed a bees hive on it, then a\nsack into which he thrust a cock, a hare, and a lamb, and laid it on the\nbarrow; he took with him, also, a long piece of rope, and a large box\nfull of snuff; slung round him a riding whip, fastened a pair of good\nspurs to his boots, and quietly set off, pushing his barrow in front of\nhim.\n\nTowards evening he had reached the summit of the high mountain, and when\nhe had traversed the wood he saw before him the castle of the giant\nSleepyhead. Night drew on, and very soon he heard the giant Sleepyhead\nand his wife, Thickasmud, and his lion, Hendread, and his bear,\nHoneybeard, and his wolf, Lambsnapper, and his dog, Harescare, all\nsnoring loudly; only the horse, Flyinglegs, was still awake, and\nstamping the floor of the stable with its hoofs.\n\nThen Wittysplinter took the long piece of rope very quietly from the\nsack, and stretched it across in front of the door of the castle from\none tree to another, and placed the box of snuff in the middle; next he\ntook the beehive and placed it in a tree by the side of the path, and\nthen went into the stable and undid the fastenings of Flyinglegs. He\nplaced the sack with the lamb, the hare, and the cock on its back, and\njumping up himself and using his spurs, he rode out of the stable.\n\nBut the horse Flyinglegs could speak, and screamed out quite loudly:--\n\n    \"Thickasmud and Sleepyhead!\n    Honeybeard and Hendread!\n    Lambsnapper and Harescare!\n    I'm being stolen, so pray beware!\"\n\nand then it galloped off as hard as it could, because, with\nWittysplinter on its back, it couldn't help itself. Then Thickasmud and\nSleepyhead woke up and heard the cry of the horse Flyinglegs. Quickly\nthey awakened the bear Honeybeard, the lion Hendread, the wolf\nLambsnapper, and the dog Harescare, and all together they rushed\npell-mell out of the house, to try and catch Wittysplinter with the\nhorse Flyinglegs.\n\n[Illustration: \"THEY RUSHED PELL-MELL OUT OF THE HOUSE.\"]\n\nBut in the darkness the giant Sleepyhead and his wife Thickasmud\nstumbled over the rope which Wittysplinter had tied in front of the\ncastle door, and, splosh!--they fell with their eyes and noses right\ninto the box of snuff which he had placed there. They rubbed their eyes\nand sneezed one time after another, and Sleepyhead said: \"Your good\nhealth,[1] Thickasmud.\" \"I thank you,\" answered Thickasmud, and then\nsaid: \"Good health to you, Sleepyhead.\" \"I thank you,\" answered he; and\nso on, until they had wept the snuff out of their eyes and sneezed it\nout of their noses, and by the time this had happened Wittysplinter was\nclear of the wood.\n\nThe bear Honeybeard was the first after him, but when he came to the\nbees' hive the smell of the honey enticed him, and he wanted to eat it;\nthen the bees came buzzing out, and stung him all over the face to such\nan extent that he ran back half blind to the castle. Wittysplinter had\nalready got some distance out of the wood when he heard the lion\nHendread coming bounding after him, so he quickly took the cock out of\nhis sack, and when it flew up into a tree and began to crow, the lion\ngot so dreadfully frightened that it ran back again.\n\nNow Wittysplinter heard the wolf Lambsnapper behind him. He quickly let\nloose the lamb out of his sack, and the wolf galloped after it, and let\nhim ride off in safety. He was by this time quite near the town when he\nheard a bark behind him, and looking round, saw the dog Harescare\ncoming tearing after him. Quickly he let loose the hare out of the sack,\nand the dog ran after it, and he arrived safely in the town.\n\nThe King thanked Wittysplinter very much for the horse, but the wicked\nservants of the Court were very much annoyed that he had come off with a\nwhole skin. On the following Monday the King mounted upon his horse\nFlyinglegs and rode off to Queen Flosk, and the horse galloped so\nquickly that he was there long before any of the other Kings, and had\nalready danced several of his wedding dances when they arrived. Just\nwhen he was about to start off home with his Queen, his servants said to\nhim: \"Your Majesty has indeed the giant Sleepyhead's horse, but how much\nmore splendid it would be if you had his clothes as well, which are said\nto surpass anything that man has ever seen. The clever Wittysplinter\nwould, no doubt, very soon bring them to you if you commanded him to do\nso.\"\n\nThe King was at once possessed with a great desire for Sleepyhead's\nclothes, and again gave the commission to Wittysplinter. When the latter\nhad started off upon the road the wicked servants rejoiced, and thought\nthat this time he would surely not escape the clutches of the giant\nSleepyhead.\n\nOn this occasion Wittysplinter took nothing with him but a few good\nstrong sacks. On arriving at the giant's castle he climbed up into a\ntree, and lay hid until every one was in bed. When everything had become\nquiet he climbed down again. Just then he heard Madam Thickasmud calling\nout: \"Sleepyhead, my pillow is very low; fetch me a bundle of straw\nfrom outside.\" Thereupon Wittysplinter quickly slipped into a bundle of\nstraw, and Sleepyhead carried him, along with the straw, into his room,\nshoved him under the pillow, and then lay down in bed again.\n\nAs soon as they had fallen asleep Wittysplinter packed all Sleepyhead's\nand Thickasmud's clothes into his sack, and very quietly and very\ncarefully tied it to the tail of the lion Hendread; then he tied the\nwolf Lambsnapper, and the bear Honeybeard, and the dog Harescare, who\nwere lying about asleep, fast to the giant's bed, and opened the door\nvery wide. So far he had managed everything just as he would have\nwished, but he wanted to take away the giant's beautiful bed-cover as\nwell. So he gave the corner of it a slight tug, then another, and\nanother, and so on, until it fell on the floor. He immediately wrapped\nhimself up in it, and seated himself on the sack containing the giant's\nclothes, which he had tied to the lion's tail. Soon the cool night wind\nbegan to blow through the open door and over Thickasmud's legs, and\nwaking up, she cried, \"Sleepyhead, you've pulled all the bed-clothes off\nme. I've nothing at all over me.\" \"Thickasmud, _you've_ pulled all the\nclothes off _me_,\" and thereupon they began to belabour each other, so\nthat Wittysplinter began to laugh loudly at them. As soon as they heard\nthis they called out \"Thieves, thieves! Up, Hendread! Up, Lambsnapper!\nUp, Honeybeard and Harescare! Thieves, thieves!\" At this all the animals\nwoke up, and the lion sprang forth out of the door. Now Wittysplinter,\nwrapped up in the bed-cover, was sitting on the bundle of clothes tied\nto the lion's tail; and as soon as the lion began to run, he was driven\nalong just as if he was in a carriage. He began to cry out several times\n\"kikriki-ki-kri-ki,' just like a cock, and the lion got such a fright at\nthis that he ran in mad terror right up to the gates of the city. When\nquite near to the gates, Wittysplinter took out his knife and cut the\nstring, and the lion, who was going at such a rate that he couldn't stop\nhimself, ran his head full bang against the gates and fell down dead.\n\n[Illustration: \"HE COULDN'T STOP HIMSELF\" (_p._ 138).]\n\nThe other animals, who had been bound to the bedstead of Sleepyhead and\nThickasmud, could not get it out of the door because it was too wide,\nand they dragged it and pulled it about the room so much that both\nSleepyhead and Thickasmud fell out, and became so angry that they beat\nthe wolf, the bear, and the dog to death, although the poor animals\nreally couldn't help it.\n\nWhen the watch in the city heard the noise of the great blow which the\nlion had given to the gates, they opened them, and Wittysplinter carried\nthe clothes of Sleepyhead and Thickasmud in triumph to the King, who\nnearly jumped out of his skin with joy, for such clothes had never\nbefore been seen. There was, among other things, a hunting-coat, made of\nthe skins of all the fourfooted animals, and so beautifully sewn\ntogether that one could see the whole story of Reynard the Fox depicted\non it. Also a bird-catcher's coat, made of feathers from all the birds\nin the world, an eagle in front and an owl behind; and in the pockets\nthere were a musical box and a peal of bells, which made music just like\nall kinds of birds singing together. Further, there was a bathing-dress\nand a fisher's-dress, made from the skins of all the fish in the world,\nsewn together so that one saw a whale-hunt and a great catch of herrings\non it. Then a garden-dress of Madam Thickasmud's, on which all sorts of\nflowers and fruits, salads and vegetables, were embroidered. But what\nsurpassed everything else was the bed-cover; it was made entirely of the\nskins of bats, and all the stars of heaven were represented on it by\nmeans of diamonds.\n\nThe Royal family were quite dumb with astonishment and wonder.\nWittysplinter was kissed and embraced, and his enemies nearly exploded\nwith rage to see that he had again escaped without hurt from the hands\nof Sleepyhead.\n\nEven yet they did not despair, and put the idea into the King's head\nthat nothing was now wanting to his dignity but that he should possess\nthe castle of Sleepyhead itself, and the King, who was a very child in\nthese matters and always wanted to have whatever took his fancy, said\nimmediately to Wittysplinter that he wanted Sleepyhead's castle, and\nthat as soon as he got it for him he would be rewarded.\n\nWittysplinter did not take much time to think about it, and for the\nthird time ran off to the abode of Sleepyhead. When he arrived there,\nthe giant was not at home, and he heard something in the room crying\nlike a calf. Then he looked through the window, and saw Dame Thickasmud\nchopping wood, and at the same time nursing a little giant on her arm,\nwho was showing his teeth and bleating like a calf.\n\nWittysplinter went in, and said: \"Good-day, my great and beautiful,\nbroad and portly dame! How is it that you have got to do so much work\nand have to nurse your child at the same time? Have you no maids or\ngrooms? Where is your husband, then?\"\n\n\"Ach,\" said Madam Thickasmud, \"my husband has gone out to invite all\nhis relations to a feast we are going to hold. And I have to cook\neverything for myself now, for my husband killed the bear, and the wolf,\nand the dog, that used to help us; and the lion has run off, too.\"\n\n\"That is certainly very hard lines on you,\" said Wittysplinter. \"If I\ncould do anything to help you, I should be only too glad.\"\n\nThen Thickasmud asked him to chop up four logs of wood into small pieces\nfor her; and Wittysplinter took the axe and said to the giantess: \"You\nmight hold the wood for me a moment, please,\" and the giantess bent down\nand caught hold of the wood. Wittysplinter raised the axe in the air,\nand swish! down it came, and cut Thickasmud's head off and Mollakopp's\nat the same time, and there they lay.\n\nThe next thing he proceeded to do was to dig a large, deep hole right in\nfront of the castle door, into which he threw Thickasmud and Mollakopp,\nand then covered over the opening with a thin layer of branches and\nleaves. Then he proceeded to light up all the rooms of the castle with\ncandles and torches, and took a large copper kettle, and beat upon it\nwith soup ladles. Then he got a tin funnel, and blew a blast on it just\nlike a trumpet, and between each performance he shouted, \"Hurrah! Long\nlive His Majesty the King of Roundabout.\"\n\nWhen Sleepyhead was returning home towards evening, and saw all the\nlights in the windows and heard the shouting, he was mad with rage, and\nran with such fury against the door that he fell through the hole\ncovered with branches and lay there a prisoner, shouting and making a\ngreat noise. Wittysplinter immediately ran down and threw large stones\non him, until he had filled up the hole.\n\n[Illustration: \"WITTYSPLINTER THREW LARGE STONES ON HIM.\"]\n\nAnd now Wittysplinter took the key of the castle and ran with it to King\nRoundabout, who immediately betook himself to the castle, along with his\nwife Flosk and her daughter Flink and Wittysplinter, and inspected all\nthere was to be seen there. After they had spent fourteen whole days in\nlooking at an immense number of rooms, chambers, cellars, look-out\ntowers, bakeries, furnaces, kitchens, wood-stove houses, dining-rooms,\nsmoking-rooms, wash-houses, etc., the King asked Wittysplinter what he\nwould like as a reward for his faithful services. And Wittysplinter\nreplied that he would like to marry the Princess Flink, if it were\nagreeable to her. The Princess very readily consented, and they were\nmarried and lived in the giant's castle, where they are to be found to\nthis day.\n\nFOOTNOTE:\n\n[1] The custom of wishing one \"Good Health\" after a sneeze, prevalent\nin Germany and other European countries, is supposed to have origin in\nthe fact that the crisis, or turning-point for better or worse of a\ncertain fever, is indicated by a sneeze from the patient, and hence the\nnatural expression of a hope for a favourable recovery.\n\n\n\n\nThe Mid-day Rock.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nTHE MID-DAY ROCK.\n\nFROM THE FRENCH of J. JARRY.\n\n\nONCE upon a time there was a poor man, who lived somewhere in the middle\nof the woods near a place called Gatines de Treigny. Everybody called\nhim Father Rameau. Not that he had any children--he had not even ever\nbeen married; nor that he was very old, for he was barely fifty; but he\nhad always had such a hard time of it that his hair had grown grey very\nearly, and his back had been bent and bowed long before its time.\n\nHe was generally to be seen toiling along under a big bundle of brooms,\nwhich he made with the greatest skill from young birch branches, selling\nthem on market days to the housewives of Saint-Amand or Saint-Sauveur.\n\nFather Rameau was not ambitious, far from it; if he had been alone in\nthe world, without relations depending on him, he would have been quite\ncontent to live on black bread every day of the week, with an occasional\nglass of wine from the charitable folk of the neighbourhood. But Father\nRameau had a younger sister married to a vine-dresser of Perreuse, and\nhe was god-father to their daughter; she was just growing up into a\nwoman, and was so pretty and modest and intelligent, that every one had\na good word for her, and now she was engaged to be married to a young\nman called George, a capital worker, but without a penny in the world.\nThe wedding was to take place as soon as she was twenty; and they had\ngiven each other engagement rings--common leaden rings, bought from one\nof the pedlars who visit the hamlets of the district.\n\nHumble as he was where he himself only was concerned, Father Rameau was\nproud indeed in matters connected with his niece.\n\n\"A leaden ring,\" he murmured, \"when so many other girls, not half as\ngood as my god-daughter, have a gold one! How I wish Madeleine could\nchoose the one she liked best from the jeweller's shop in Saint-Sauveur!\nAh, it's not much use wishing. If I put by every penny I could spare for\nyears and years I could never afford it. Madeleine's poor, George is\npoor, I am poor, and always shall be. Well, we're honest, that's one\ncomfort, and we needn't be jealous, at any rate.\"\n\nAs the old broomseller was thinking all this, he met George, who was\ndriving a pair of oxen, their nostrils steaming in the first rays of the\nmorning sun. \"Good-day, lad,\" said he.\n\n\"Good-day, Father Rameau.\"\n\n\"Off to work already?\"\n\n\"Yes, father. I'm just going over the master's fields for the last time\nbefore seed sowing; we shall begin next week. We're rather behind hand\nyou know.\"\n\n\"So you are; October's nearly over.\"\n\n\"Can you guess what I was thinking of as I came along?\"\n\n\"_What_ you were thinking of? You mean _who_,\" said Father Rameau,\nrather crossly.\n\n\"Well, yes, you're right. Madeleine is never out of my mind,\" answered\nGeorge thoughtfully. \"I was saying to myself that, if there are plenty\nof weeds over there\" (and he pointed to the uncultivated moor with his\ngoad), \"there is good soil as well, and that any one who had time to\nclear even a corner of it might buy the girl he was engaged to----\"\n\n\"A gold ring!\"\n\n\"How _did_ you guess what I meant? You don't come from Cheneau, where\nall the wizards live,\" laughed George.\n\n\"No witchcraft in that, nephew. The other day I saw how unhappy you were\nthat you could only give Madeleine a leaden ring, and I was just as\nsorry myself that I couldn't buy her a better one ... and ever since\nI've been trying to think of a way....\"\n\n\"And have you found one, father?\"\n\n\"_You've_ found it for me, lad. I shall make a clearing of a bit of the\nmoor.\"\n\nEven at the risk of offending his future uncle, the young labourer could\nnot help smiling.\n\n\"That's a task for stronger arms than yours, father,\" he said. \"No one\ncan beat you at cutting birch branches and making them into brooms. But\nthat doesn't need so much muscle as digging up soil like this, pulling\nup the great roots out of it, or smashing and carrying away huge\nboulders of rock. Ah, if only I had not given my word to stay with my\nmaster till I am married!\"\n\n\"You may laugh at me, lad, but I won't bear malice,\" said the old man.\n\"If the old are not so strong as the young, they are more persevering. I\nshall clear a bit of the moor, and with the money from my first harvest\nwe will go and buy the ring. Good-bye, lad.\"\n\n\"Good-bye, father; we shall see you doing wonders before long, I know.\"\n\n\"I shall be working for Madeleine,\" he said, \"and your patron saint\n(George means cultivator of the soil) will help me.\"\n\nAt twelve precisely, Father Rameau came back to the moor with a heavy\npick on his shoulder; he meant to set to work without delay.\n\nBang went the first stroke of the pick, accompanied with the significant\ngrunt diggers, woodmen, and such folk give over their work. But just as\nhe was raising his arm for another try, he stood suddenly stock-still,\nwith eyes staring wide in a white, terrified face.\n\nFrom the midst of the boulders scattered about, which were trembling\nlike Celtic monuments, had arisen an apparition, which the old man knew\nwas supernatural and divine, though its form was human.\n\nImagine a tiny little lady, ethereal rather than thin, youthfully lovely\nand dainty, a kind of dream beauty, attired in a silvery tunic\nembroidered with gorse blossoms. On her head a wreath of heather; in her\nhand a wand of the broom plant in blossom; all around the holly, ferns,\nand junipers, all the wild plants and shrubs, were bowing down as if in\nhomage to a Sovereign. A ray of sunlight was playing round her head like\nan aureole. She was the Fairy of the Moor.\n\n\"You are a bold man,\" she said to the old workman, \"to dare thus to\nencroach on my domains.\" There was a thrill of anger in her clear voice,\nand her blue eyes sparkled.\n\n[Illustration: \"HE STOOD SUDDENLY STOCK-STILL\" (_p._ 148).]\n\n\"Lady Fairy,\" stammered the old man, \"be merciful to a wretched labourer\nwho never meant to wrong you. Your domains are so vast, I hoped there\nwould be no harm if I took the liberty of borrowing just a little corner\nfrom you.\"\n\n\"What do you want it for?\"\n\n\"To cultivate it,\" answered old Rameau, who was beginning to feel less\nfrightened.\n\n\"To cultivate it!\" cried the fairy. \"You mean to dig it up, turn it\nover, and upset it all round! Do you not see how lovely it is now, and\nare you so presumptuous as to think you can do better for it than Nature\nhas done already?\" Her voice grew softer as she went on: \"What could you\nfind anywhere that is as beautiful as this spot in spring-time, when,\nunder a sky of the tenderest blue, the little leaves are beginning to\nbud on the branches, the tufts of narcissus are opening among the\nmarshes, and everywhere in the woods around the blackbirds are beginning\nto whistle their first notes, the doves keep up a gentle cooing, and the\njays are chattering like parrots?\"\n\n\"A couple of partridges calling to each other,\" answered the old man, \"a\nquail uttering its three sonorous cries, or a lark soaring into the sky\nwith its breathless melody, make a pleasanter sound, to my way of\nthinking. But these are birds that like to build their nests among the\ncorn. They are not found near your kingdom.\"\n\n\"In summer,\" went on the fairy, \"when the moors are flooded with\nsunshine, and the heat brings out a delicious odour of resin from my\nfavourite shrubs, I love to look on the purple of the heather, and the\ngold of gorse and broom.\"\n\n\"I prefer the pink clover with the drowsy bees humming over it,\"\nanswered the old man, \"and the ripening harvest, yellow like your\nbeautiful hair, Lady Fairy.\"\n\nFairy as she was, the queen of the moors was not displeased at the\ncompliment. Father Rameau saw this from her face, and said to himself\nhis cause was half won.\n\n\"In autumn,\" she retorted, though, \"even here, there comes to me, out\nof the depths of the thickets near, the baying of the pack when the hunt\nis out, and often they traverse my domains to get from one part of the\nforest to another. The poor, hunted stag, whose tongue is hanging out of\nhis mouth with weariness, makes for this very heap of rocks sometimes;\nthen I help him to elude his cruel foes and to get away safely.\"\n\n\"Yes,\" said the old man, as if he liked this idea, \"the dogs get their\nnoses pricked on the thorn-bushes and lose trace of their prey. That is\nindeed a kind action. I, too, like to put the pack on a wrong scent. The\nstags are such dear things, with their soft brown eyes. Those in this\nneighbourhood know me, and when I sit down to make my brooms right in\nthe middle of a copse, as I do sometimes, they come quite close up to\nme. If only there were wheat growing on your moor, you would be able to\nprotect the hares, too, for they would then take refuge in the shelter\nof your park.\"\n\n\"But when you have pulled up my holly and junipers and broom-bushes, how\nshall I be able to make fires for the long winter evenings? I shall die,\npierced by the cruel breath of the keen north wind, and be buried under\na shroud of white snow.\"\n\n\"Oh, gracious fay, if you fear the cold, will there not always be the\nplace of honour kept for you by our chimney-corner, in the little home I\nmean to build on the moor? You will come and get warm whenever you like\nby our fireside. My god-daughter, Madeleine, will keep you company, and\nsome day, perhaps, I shall entreat you to be god-mother to her first\nbaby.\"\n\nThus Father Rameau had his answer ready for all her objections. These\nlast words of his touched the fairy, and the expression of her face\nbecame very soft and kind. \"I know Madeleine well,\" she said; \"I know\nhow fair she is to see, in her snowy white caps. I know how her goodness\nis spoken of far and wide; and I have even heard that she is to marry\nthat hard-working lad I saw talking with you this morning. They will be\na charming pair, and their home will be a delightful place. And you,\ndear old man, who have no ambition for yourself, but only care for your\ndear ones, you will have your reward for your cheerful faith in the\nfuture. Take up your pick and have courage over your digging. I grant\nyou this corner of my domain. The rest I am sure you will respect, for\nyou are not greedy; will the others who come after you spare it, too?\nAlas, when once the moor has been cleared all over and cultivated, I\nshall have to die! But we will only think of the happiness of your young\nfolk; and, silence! not a word of all this to any one!\"\n\nAnd with a finger on her lips, she vanished.\n\nBy the end of October Father Rameau had dug over, cleared, and prepared\ntwo acres of ground. All by himself? With his pickaxe and spade? Yes,\nquite by himself, and with his pickaxe and spade. He had worked as if by\nmagic, for the fairy, always present and always invisible, had endowed\nhim with some of her magic power. She helped him to split the hardest\nboulders, to haul up the most tenacious roots, to collect in bundles the\nold tree-stumps and weeds, and every kind of rubbish, and set fire to\nit, and so make the very first dressing the soil had ever had on it.\nWill you believe it? By seed-sowing time the ground was ready, and was\nsown with oats, which began to grow in no time, came well through all\nthe frosts, and by the following April was waving abroad in a luxuriant\nmass of green. A lark built its nest in it, and every morning nodded its\nlittle tufted head at Father Rameau, who was watching over its nest, as\nif out of gratitude for what he had done.\n\n[Illustration: FATHER RAMEAU CLEARS THE PATCH.]\n\nThe harvest was splendid, and fetched a high price.\n\nGeorge could no longer smile at Father Rameau's old arms, and had to\nconfess he had found his master: Father Rameau smiled slily when he\nsaid, \"After all, nephew, we shall have a gold ring for Madeleine.\" But\nwhen the time came for getting it, Madeleine would not allow it. \"No,\nfather,\" she said, \"you have toiled and moiled this year at your\ndigging; buy a plough: any one will lend you a plough-horse for a few\ndays, and it won't be nearly such hard work for you.\"\n\nSo when autumn came again, the old man cleared another two acres, and\nnext summer his harvest was twice as big--and so were his profits.\n\nMadeleine still refused the precious ring. \"Buy a pair of oxen,\" she\nsaid; \"you will be independent then of every one.\"\n\nNext year the old man's field was bigger than ever; and Madeleine\nadvised him to use the profit of his harvest for building a little\nhouse. Her modest, sensible advice was acted upon every time, and, in\nfact, when the wedding-day arrived, the gold ring had still not been\nbought and at the marriage ceremony, in the church at Treigny, it was\nover the old leaden rings of their betrothal that the cure pronounced\nhis blessing. \"We have given our hearts to each other,\" said the young\nwife; \"what do we want with gold rings after that? What do you think,\nGeorge?\"\n\n\"I mean to spend the money on a christening robe, then,\" said Father\nRameau gaily. \"Bless me, things'll have to be just so then, if ever they\nare! If you only knew what kind of a god-mother----\"\n\nBut he stopped short just in time, remembering the fairy's injunction\nabout silence; and Madeleine, whom he had made very inquisitive, could\nnot get another word out of him. She never found out what he meant till\nher first baby was born, when on the day of the christening there\nstepped into the cottage, surrounded by a circle of bright light, the\nmarvellous god-mother, the Fairy of the Moor.\n\n[Illustration: \"THE FAIRY OF THE MOOR.\"]\n\nMany tried to follow Father Rameau's example and cultivate a portion of\nthe moor; but very few succeeded, because the fairy could see into the\nvery bottom of their hearts, and would only help the true-hearted--rare\nfolk, alas! in this world. There is much left still to be cleared. And\nshe yet lives on, the little fairy of the silvery tunic embroidered with\ngorse blossoms, with her crown of heather bells, and her wand a verdant\nbroom branch. But if ever you want to see her, as old Father Rameau did,\nyou must arrive at the Mid-day Rock on the first stroke of twelve, and\nhave a conscience perfectly clear; two conditions which seem easy\nenough, and which are really very difficult of fulfilment.\n\n\n\n\nLillekort.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nLillekort.\n\nFrom the French of Xavier Marmier.\n\n\nTHERE was once a man and his wife who were very, very poor, and had a\ngreat many children. Each year added one to the number. One day the wife\ngave birth to a beautiful boy, who, on opening his eyes, cried:\n\n\"Dearest mother, give me some of my brother's old clothes, and food for\ntwo days, and I will go into the world and seek my fortune, for I see\nyou have enough children here without me.\"\n\n\"Heaven forbid, my child!\" exclaimed the mother. \"You are much too young\nto leave the house.\"\n\nBut the little one insisted; so at length his mother gave him some\nclothes and some food, and he departed, full of joy. Lillekort (for so\nhe named himself) travelled towards the east. Presently he met an old,\none-eyed woman, and took away her eye.\n\n\"Alas!\" she cried, \"I can no longer see. What will become of me?\"\n\n\"What will you give me for your eye?\" asked Lillekort.\n\n\"A sword that will slay a whole army, no matter how numerous.\"\n\n\"So be it.\"\n\nLillekort took the sword and continued his journey. A little farther on\nhe met another old, one-eyed woman, took away her eye, and asked what\nshe would give him for returning it.\n\nThe old woman said she would give him a ship that would sail over land\nand sea, over mountains and valleys, and on his agreeing, she gave him a\nlittle ship so small and light that he could carry it about in his\npocket.\n\nAs soon as he was quite alone Lillekort stopped to examine his little\nvessel. He drew it from his pocket and put one foot in it. Immediately\nit grew larger. He put in the second foot. It grew yet larger. He sat\ndown in it. It increased yet more. Then he said:\n\n\"Go over the waves of the ocean, over mountains and through valleys,\nuntil you reach the palace of the King.\"\n\nThe ship immediately sped through space with the rapidity of a bird, and\nstopped in front of a magnificent palace. From one of the windows of\nthis palace several persons beheld, with astonishment and interest, this\nboy who travelled in a manner so strange, and they hastened out to\nobtain a nearer view of the wonder. But Lillekort had already put his\nship in his pocket. They asked who he was and whence he came. To these\ndifferent questions he knew not how to reply; but in a firm voice said\nhe wished to enter the service of the King, no matter in what capacity;\nif need be, as a servant of the servants.\n\nHis humble request was granted. He was ordered to fetch wood and water\nfor the kitchen. Arriving at the palace he saw with surprise that all\nthe walls were hung with black, both without and within.\n\n\"Wherefore,\" he asked the cook, \"this appearance of mourning?\"\n\n\"Alas!\" she replied, \"the only daughter of our King has been promised to\nthree trolls, enormous ogres, and Thursday next the first comes to claim\nher. A knight, whose name is Rend, has undertaken to defend her. But how\nshould he succeed? In the meantime we are all plunged in anguish and\naffliction.\"\n\nThursday evening Rend led the Princess to the sea-shore. It was here he\nhad to defend her. But he was not very brave, so instead of waiting near\nher he climbed a tree and hid among the branches. In vain the Princess\nbegged him to assist her.\n\n\"No, no,\" said he; \"why two victims? One is sufficient.\"\n\nAt that moment Lillekort asked the cook's permission to go to the\nsea-shore.\n\n\"Go,\" said she, \"but be sure you return by the time I prepare supper,\nand do not forget to bring me a good load of wood.\"\n\nLillekort promised, and ran toward the beach. At the same time the\ntroll appeared, making a noise like thunder. His body was of enormous\ndimensions and he had five frightful heads.\n\n\"Madman!\" he cried, on seeing the little kitchen-boy.\n\n\"Madman!\" repeated Lillekort.\n\n\"Do you know how to fight?\"\n\n\"If I do not know I will learn.\"\n\nThe troll then threw a bar of iron at Lillekort, which, falling on the\nground, raised a pile of sand and dust.\n\n\"A beautiful tower of strength,\" cried Lillekort. \"Now, see mine.\"\n\nWith these words he drew his sword, and with one blow smote off the\nmonster's five heads.\n\nFinding herself delivered, the Princess began to dance and sing gaily,\nthen she said to the young boy: \"Rest, lay your head on my knees.\"\n\nWhilst he thus rested she placed on him a suit of golden armour.\n\nAll danger being over, Rend came down from the tree, took the tongues\nand lungs of the monster, and then told the Princess he would kill her\nunless she promised to acknowledge him publicly as her deliverer. She\nyielded to his threats, and he returned with her in triumph to the\npalace. The King loaded him with honours, and at supper seated him at\nhis right hand. Meanwhile, Lillekort entered the giant's ship, and\nbrought from thence a quantity of gold and silver trinkets.\n\n\"From whence all these riches?\" asked the cook anxiously, for she feared\nhe had stolen them.\n\n\"Reassure yourself,\" he replied. \"I went home for a moment; these\ntrinkets fell from an old piece of furniture, so I brought them back for\nyou.\"\n\n\"What beautiful things! A thousand thanks!\"\n\n[Illustration: \"WHILST HE THUS RESTED SHE PLACED ON HIM A SUIT OF GOLDEN\nARMOUR\" (_p._ 162).]\n\nThe Thursday following, fresh grief, fresh anguish. However, Rend said\nas he had vanquished the first troll, he reckoned he could conquer the\nsecond. But this time also he took refuge among the branches of a tree,\nsaying: \"Why two victims? One is surely sufficient.\"\n\nLillekort again obtained the cook's permission to go out, he said to\nplay with some children on the sea-shore; so he hastened forth, after\npromising to return by the time she prepared supper, and bring a good\nload of wood.\n\nAs he reached the shore he saw the troll approaching. He was twice as\ncolossal as the first, and had ten heads.\n\n\"Madman!\" exclaimed the troll, on seeing Lillekort.\n\n\"Madman!\" repeated the valiant boy, and on the troll asking if he could\nfight, replied, as on the former occasion, that he could learn.\n\nThe giant then threw a bar of iron at him, which, falling on the ground,\nraised a column of dust thirty feet high.\n\n\"A beautiful tower of strength,\" said the boy. \"Now, see mine.\" And\ndrawing his sword, he, with one blow, smote off the monster's ten heads.\n\nAgain the Princess desired him to rest his head on her knees, and this\ntime she placed on him a suit of silver armour.\n\nRend now came down from the tree, took the tongues and lungs of the\ntroll, and returned with the Princess in triumph to the palace, after\nhaving declared he would kill her if she did not acknowledge him\npublicly as her deliverer. The King received him with enthusiasm, and\nknew not how to show his gratitude.\n\nLillekort returned to the kitchen, carrying a quantity of gold and\nsilver he had taken from the troll's ship.\n\n[Illustration: \"HE HAD FIFTEEN HEADS\" (_p._ 166).]\n\nThe third Thursday, the palace was again hung with black, and the people\nwere plunged in grief. But Rend said he had already conquered two\nformidable monsters and would overcome the third. But, as on the\npreceding Thursdays, he hid in the tree, and when the Princess implored\nhim to remain with her, said one victim was sufficient.\n\nLillekort, who had again obtained the cook's permission to go out,\nreached the shore at the same time as the monster, who was much more\nterrible than either of the two former. He had fifteen heads, and the\nbar of iron he threw at his brave little adversary raised a column of\nearth forty feet high. Lillekort, however, with his magic sword, struck\noff the fifteen heads at one blow.\n\n\"Rest,\" said the Princess; \"rest your head on my knees.\"\n\nWhilst he thus rested, she put on him a suit of bronze armour, and said:\n\n\"How can we make it known that it is you who saved me?\"\n\n\"Listen,\" replied Lillekort, \"this is my idea. Rend will go without\nscruple to claim the reward promised to your deliverer: your hand and\nthe half of your father's kingdom. When the day for your marriage\narrives say you wish to be served at table by the boy who carries wood\nand water to the kitchen. I will let a few drops of wine fall on Rend's\nplate. He will strike me. A second and a third time I will do the same,\nand again he will strike me; then you shall say: 'For shame to strike\nhim whom I love--he who saved me--he whom I should wed!'\"\n\nSeeing the troll was dead, Rend came down from the tree and led the\nPrincess back to the palace, after having made her swear a third time\nto proclaim him as her deliverer.\n\n[Illustration: \"Lillekort with his magic sword struck off the fifteen\nheads at one blow.\" _page 166_]\n\nThe King announced that his daughter's deliverer should receive in the\nmost splendid manner the reward he had so well deserved. The cowardly\nknight was betrothed to the Princess, and half the kingdom was given\nhim. The day of the Princess's marriage she would be served by the boy\nwho carried wood and water to the kitchen.\n\n[Illustration: \"IN ARMOUR OF GLITTERING GOLD\" (_p._ 168).]\n\n\"What!\" exclaimed Rend, in disgust, \"you wish that dirty, hideous little\nvarlet to come near you?\"\n\n\"Yes, I wish it.\"\n\nLillekort was summoned, and, as he had said, he once, twice, thrice let\nsome drops of wine fall in Rend's plate.\n\nThe first time he was struck the coarse garments he wore fell off, and\nthe valiant boy appeared in a suit of bronze armour, the second time in\nsilver armour, and the third time in armour of glittering gold.\n\nThen the Princess cried: \"For shame to strike him whom I love--he who\nsaved me--he whom I should wed!\"\n\nRend swore loudly that it was he who had saved her.\n\n\"Let us see the proofs of the victors,\" said the King.\n\nThe knight immediately showed the tongues and lungs of the trolls.\n\nLillekort fetched the treasures he had taken from the monsters' ships.\nAt the sight of the gold, silver, and diamonds, no one had the slightest\ndoubt.\n\n\"The trolls alone have such treasures,\" said the King, \"and only he who\nkills them can obtain possession of their riches.\"\n\nRend, the coward and impostor, was thrown into a ditch full of serpents,\nand the Princess's hand was given to Lillekort, together with half of\nthe kingdom.\n\n\n\n\nThe Ten Little Fairies.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nTHE TEN LITTLE FAIRIES.\n\nFROM THE FRENCH of GEORGES MITCHELL.\n\n\nVAINLY I try to recall from my recollections of yesterday, still vividly\nremembered, and from those of the long past, grown tenderly dim in the\nmists of intervening time, from whom I learned the powerfully moral\nstory I am here going to repeat to children great and small, to men and\ntheir companions: I cannot determine from whom it was I learned it.\n\nDid I first read it in some old book laden with the dust of ages? Was it\ntold to me by my mother, by my nurse, one evening when I would not go to\nsleep--or one night when, sleeping soundly, a fairy came and sang it to\nme in my slumber? I cannot tell. I cannot remember. I have forgotten\nall the details, of which there only remains with me the subtle\nperfume--too fine and evanescent for me to seize it in its passage\nthrough my mind. But I retain--perfectly retain--the moral, which is the\ndaughter of all things healthy and strong.\n\nThe things which I am going to recount happened in a charming\ncountry--one of those bright lands which we see only in delightful\ndreams, where the men are all good and the women all as amiable as they\nare beautiful.\n\nIn that happy country there lived a great nobleman who, left a widower\nearly in life, had an only daughter whom he loved more than anything in\nthe whole world.\n\nRosebelle was seventeen years old--a pure marvel of grace and beauty;\ngay as a joyous heart, good as a happy one. For ten leagues round she\nwas known to be the most beautiful and best. She was simple and gentle,\nand her exquisite ingenuousness caused her everywhere--in the mansion\nand the cottage--to be beloved.\n\nHer father, fearful lest the least of the distresses of our poor\nexistence should overtake her, watched over her with jealous care, so\nthat no harm should come to her; while she passed her days in calmly\nthinking of the time before her, sure that it would not be other than\ndelightful.\n\nWhen she was eighteen, her father consented to her being betrothed to\nthe son of a Prince--to Greatheart, a handsome youth, who had been\ncarefully reared, and detested the false excitements and factitious\npleasures of cities loving enthusiastically the fresh charms of\nNature--of the common mother who claims us all, the Earth.\n\nRosebelle loved her _fiance_, married, and adored him.\n\nWith him she went to live in the admirable calm of the country, in the\nmidst of great trees that gave back the plaint of winds, by a river with\nits ever-flowing song, winding under willowy banks, and overshadowed by\ntall poplars.\n\nShe lived in a very old, old castle, where the sires of her husband had\nbeen born--a great castle reached by roads hewn out of the solid rock; a\ngreat castle, with immense, cold halls, where echo answered echo\nmysteriously; where the night-owl drearily replied to the early thrush's\nsong to the rising sun, and the other awakened birds singing and\nchirping on the borders of the deep woods, where the sun enters\ntimidly--almost with the hesitation of a trespasser.\n\nWhen the time for parting came, her father had said to her, through his\ntears:\n\n\"You are going from me--your happiness claims that I should let you go:\ngo, therefore, but take all care of yourself for love of me, who have\nonly you in the world to love.\"\n\nTo his son-in-law he said:\n\n\"Watch over her, I intrust her to you. Surround her with a thousand\nsafeguards; screen her from the least chance of harm or pain. Remember\nthat even in stooping to pluck a flower she may fall and wound herself,\nthat in gathering a fruit she may tear her hand. See that all is done\nfor her that can be done, keep her for me ever beautiful.\"\n\nAbsorbed in her love for her husband, Rosebelle realised the sweet\ndreams of her young girlhood. Then she dreamed--languorously--Heaven\nknows what! The delightful future which she had seen in the visions of\nthe past was still present with her, however.\n\nHer husband, tender and good, wished that she should do nothing but live\nand love. He had surrounded her with numerous servants, all ready to\nobey the least of her desires, the slightest of her fancies, to\ncomprehend the most trivial of her wants. She had nothing to do but to\nlet time glide slowly by her.\n\nAt length she wearied--languished mysteriously.\n\nHer father, to whom she communicated this strange experience, was\nastounded. He reminded her of all the sources of happiness which ought\nto have existed in her case. He took her in his arms and said all he\ncould think of in laudation of the husband who so greatly loved her;\ngave her innumerable reasons why her happiness ought to have been\nunparalleled; offered money--more money--wishful to give all the\nfelicities in the world.\n\nShe wished for nothing of all that; it only tired, enervated her.\n\nHe besought her to be happy; she replied:\n\n\"I wish I could be so, for your sake and for that of my husband, whom I\nlove so dearly.\"\n\nAnd she struggled against the strange evil which so weighed upon her,\nagainst the deadly _ennui_ that was sapping her young life. But the\nmysterious ill which tormented her soul grew and grew until it became\noverwhelming.\n\nGreatheart speedily detected her distress, and sought to discover its\ncause, but ineffectually; and from alarm he passed into despair.\n\n[Illustration: \"SHE VOWED FOR HIM A BOUNDLESS LOVE\" (_p._ 176).]\n\nNow, when he returned from the plain, the fields, or the camp, when he\nembraced her he pressed against his bosom a bosom cold and filled with\nsadness and tears--a bosom so cold that it might have been thought to\ncontain a block of ice in place of a heart--and he redoubled his\ntenderness towards her. Seeing how much he was suffering on her account,\nshe vowed for him a boundless love.\n\nCourageous, energetic even, she tried to shake off the languor which\npossessed her, endeavouring to intoxicate her soul and drown her\nself-consciousness in the love of her adored husband; but all her\nefforts were made in vain; she became more and more oppressed with\nweariness, and the crowd of servants about her, all eager to realise her\nwishes, were utterly unable to mitigate her condition by anything they\ncould do.\n\nAt last she fell into a state of the deepest melancholy. The rose-tints\nfaded from her cheeks, her beauty paled like that of a languishing\nflower; the light in her eyes grew each day more dim. She was very ill.\n\nThe most learned doctors in the healing art were called to her, brought,\nregardless of cost, from the most distant countries, only to confess\ntheir complete inability; excusing themselves by affirming that there\nwas no remedy for an indefinable ailment--an ailment impalpable,\nincomprehensible.\n\nThen, one day, an old, white-haired shepherd, with a long, snowy beard,\nwho had learned to understand men from having always lived alone with\nhis sheep and thinking, thinking, while he led them to their pasture--an\nold philosopher--came to Greatheart, of whom he was one of the vassals,\nand said to him:\n\n\"I know where there lives, close by here, an old grand-dame, with one\nfoot in the grave, she is so old People call her a sorceress; but never\nmind that; she, and she alone, can cure our lady, our mistress, whom you\nlove so well.\"\n\nKnowing not what to do in his suffering, Greatheart believed what the\nold shepherd told him.\n\nHe took Rosebelle far away from the castle along the bank of the river,\nto a spot where the path ran between high rocks, leading to a deep and\nprofoundly dark cavity, within which they found the old, old woman of\nwhom the shepherd had spoken, crouching by the side of a scanty fire of\npine-branches, warming herself in their fitful light, in the midst of\nowls and ravens, cats and rats with phosphorescent eyes, showing green\nin the obscurity when lit by the intermittent sparkle of the crackling\nbranches on the hearth.\n\n\"Ho, there! sorceress!\" cried the young Prince. \"Cure my wife, and I\nwill give you the half of all I possess!\"\n\nThe very old woman looked for a long time at Rosebelle out of her little\nbright eyes, meeting those of the young Princess, and holding her as if\nby a spell. For awhile longer she remained silent, as if in\ncontemplation; then, suddenly, she rose to her feet, raised her long\narms towards the herbs suspended from the rocky roof of her\ndwelling-place, spread out her fleshless fingers and cried:\n\n\"I see! I see! I understand it all! Yes, my lord, I will cure your wife,\nyour adored one; and presently in your arms, on your heart, shall sleep\na heart beating with great joy for love of you!\"\n\nAs they both sprang nearer to her, the better to hear her wonderful\nwords, the old woman retreated, saying:\n\n\"Yes, I will cure her; but to aid me in the task, I need the assistance\nof ten little fairies--ten friends who have ever been dear to me, ever\nfaithful to me, and who, by an unfortunate chance, have not visited me\nto-day. To-morrow I shall be sure to have them with me, my tiny\ncomrades; so come back to me to-morrow, my dear, when I will detain them\nuntil you arrive, and will take measures for enabling them to cure you.\"\n\nThe sun, next day, had hardly risen, hardly caressed the earth with its\nearliest beam, when Rosebelle re-entered the old sorceress's murky\ndwelling-place.\n\nOver the still crackling fire of pine-branches she extended her white\nhands by direction of the old woman, who raised her arms and uttered\nsome curious words, accompanied by some strange gestures.\n\nThen, from a small cavity in the rocky wall she appeared to draw forth\nan invisible something, which she carefully conveyed to the shelter of\nher bare bosom. And when she had repeated these actions ten times, she\ncried:\n\n\"I have them!--I have them all!--all warm in my bosom--my faithful\nlittle fairies! Oh!--do not attempt to see them, or they will at once\nfly away. They desire to serve you--to cure you. Here they are!\"\n\n[Illustration: THE SORCERESS.]\n\nAnd laughing, dancing, and singing, the old, old woman tapped with the\ncrooked thumb of her right hand the young Princess's ten extended\nfingers, while the quaint song she sang was gaily given back by the echo\nof the rocky vault above her. This was the song she sang, holding the\nPrincess's delicate fingers caressingly in her left hand:--\n\n    \"Ten good little fairies hie,\n    To these ten good fingers nigh:\n    Each of you reside in one\n    Until your kindly task is done,\n    Until by certain signs you're sure\n    That you have made a perfect cure.\n    Potent fairies, from this hour\n    Exercise your utmost pow'r;\n    Drive away the evil spell\n    Cast on one who'll love you well!\"\n\nThen, still laughing heartily, she pressed Rosebelle's fingers tightly,\nand went on:\n\n\"They are all here, the wonderful little doctors! Guard them preciously;\ndo not weary them; keep them by you and, to do all that, never give them\na moment's rest so long as the sun shines in the sky. Keep on moving\nthem--actively, rapidly--so long as you are awake. Now go, and come back\nto me when you are quite cured, returning me my trusty little fairies.\"\n\nWith her hands filled with this precious load, Rosebelle hurried home,\nand told Greatheart of her dear hope of a renewal of life.\n\nOf an evening, thenceforth, for a long time, she would even refrain from\neating, so as to leave herself more time to exercise her unresting\nfingers, in which the ten little fairies were tenderly housed. As soon\nas the sun had sunk beneath the earth she went to sleep, and as soon as\ndaylight returned, she at once rose and began once again to move her\nfairy-laden fingers.\n\nDuring many, many days she continued to move her fingers in every way\nshe could devise; but at length, growing tired of this useless play, she\nwent back to her old friend the sorceress.\n\n[Illustration: \"ROSEBELLE DREW HER HARP FORM ITS CASE AND PLAYED ON IT\"\n(_p._ 182).]\n\n\"Nobody ever taught you to use your fingers usefully?\" replied the old\nwoman. \"Go on moving them, still moving them, but in some employment\nthat interests you. Don't let my fairies go to sleep--that is all they\ndesire in their imprisonment.\"\n\nOn returning home, Rosebelle drew her long-neglected harp from its case\nand played on it. Then, to occupy her fingers more usefully, she had\nneedles brought to her and employed them in dainty sewing.\n\nBut, growing weary of the dull monotony of these labours, she sought\nmore varied employment for her fingers--gathered flowers in the garden\nand arranged them in charming bouquets; plucked fruit from the trees in\nthe orchard; attended to the sick and ailing; consoled the\npoor--exercising her fingers constantly by slipping gold pieces into\ntheir grateful hands.\n\nOne by one, she sent away her crowd of obsequious servants, who had now\nnothing left for them to do but to go to sleep at their posts.\n\nShe would not allow anybody to do anything for her which she could do\nfor herself, but threw her whole soul and being into the things God\nintended to be done by them.\n\nEvery day, and all the while the sun shone in the sky, she found active\nemployment for her beautiful fingers. And the roses came back to her\ncheeks and health to all her being, and songs and laughter to her lips;\nand she could, once again, give to her beloved one a heart filled with\nineffable tenderness.\n\nPerfectly cured, she went to the sorceress and gave her back her\nwonderful little fairy doctors.\n\n\"Ah, my child!\" said the old dame, \"they are very proud of having saved\nyou. Give them to me, for I have every day great need of them--can\nnever have too much of them. Indeed, if I had enough of them to serve\nall the idlers in the world, I should want as many as there are stars in\nthe heavens at night. But I will keep those I have for the service of\nthose who are pining from _ennui_--and there are enough of _them_,\ngoodness knows!\"\n\n\n\n\nThe Magician and his Pupil.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nTHE MAGICIAN AND HIS PUPIL\n\nFrom the German of A. Godin.\n\n\nTHERE was once a poor shoemaker renowned far and wide as a drunkard. He\nhad a good wife and many daughters, but only one son. As soon as this\nson was old enough his mother dressed him in his best clothes, combed\nhis hair until it shone, and then led him far, far away; for she wished\nto take him to the capital, and there apprentice him to a master who\nwould teach him a really good trade.\n\nWhen they had accomplished about half their journey they met a man in\nblack, who asked whither they were going and the object of their\njourney. On being told, he offered to take the boy as his apprentice,\nbut as he had not given the customary Christian greeting, and would not\nmention the name of his trade, also because the mother thought there\nwas a wicked gleam in his eyes, she declined to trust him with her son.\nAs he persisted in his offer they were rude, then he troubled them no\nfurther.\n\nShortly after leaving the old man they came to a wide stretch of land,\nsolitary and barren as a desert, over which they journeyed until hunger,\nthirst, and fatigue compelled them to rest. Exhausted, they sank on the\nsandy ground and wept bitterly. Suddenly, at a short distance from them\narose a large stone, on whose surface stood a dish of smoking roast\nbeef, a loaf of white bread, and a jug of foaming ale.\n\nEagerly the weary travellers hastened forward. Alas! the moment they\nmoved, meat and drink vanished, leaving the stone bare and barren; but\nas soon as they stepped back, the food again made its appearance. After\nthis had happened several times the shoemaker's son guessed what was at\nthe bottom of it. Pointing his stick of aspen wood--a wood, by the way,\nvery powerful against enchantment--he cautiously approached the stone,\nand thrust his stick into that place on the earth where the shadow of\nthe stone rested.\n\nImmediately the stone with everything on it disappeared, and in the\nplace where the shadow had lain stood the stranger in black who had met\nthem earlier in the day. He bowed politely to the youth and requested\nhim to remove his stick.\n\n\"No, that I will not do! This time the stone has met its match! You are\na magician, or at least a necromancer. You locked us in this desert and\namused yourself with our misery. Now you shall be treated as you\ndeserve. You shall stand here for a year and six weeks, until you are as\ndry as the stick with which I have nailed you to the earth.\"\n\n\"Loose me, I entreat you.\"\n\n\"Yes, on certain conditions! First, you must once more become a stone,\nand on the stone must appear everything we have already seen.\"\n\nThe magician immediately vanished, and in his stead appeared the stone\ncovered with a white cloth, and bearing the hot roast beef, white bread,\nand foaming ale, of which the travellers ate and drank to their hearts'\ncontent. When they had finished the stone became the man in black, who\nentreated piteously to be unnailed.\n\n\"I will unnail you directly,\" said the youth, \"but only on one\ncondition. You must take me as apprentice for three years, as you\nyourself formerly proposed, and give me a pledge that you will really\nteach me all your art.\"\n\nThe magician bowed himself to the earth, dug his fingers into the sand,\nand drew forth a handful of ducats, which he threw into the boy's cap.\n\n\"Thanks,\" replied the youth; \"this money will be very useful to my\nmother, but you must give me a better pledge than that. I must have a\npiece of your ear.\"\n\n\"Will nothing else serve?\"\n\n\"Nothing!\"\n\n\"Well, then,\" said the magician, \"take your knife.\"\n\n\"I have no knife with me,\" replied the youth; \"you must lend me yours.\"\n\nThe magician obediently lent his knife, and bent his right ear towards\nthe youth.\n\n\"No, no, I want the left ear; you offer the right far too willingly.\"\n\nThe magician then offered his left ear; and the youth cut off a slant\npiece, laid it in his wallet, and then drew his stick out of the ground.\nThe magician groaned, rubbed his mutilated ear, then, turning a\nsomersault, changed himself into a black cock, ordered the youth to take\nhis mother back, and return at midnight and await his arrival at the\ncross-road where they now stood, when he would take him home and teach\nhim for three years. The cock then flapped his wings, changed into a\nmagpie, and flew away.\n\nWhen the youth had accompanied his mother to the next village he kissed\nher hands and feet, shook the gold into her apron, and begged her to\ncall for him in three years at the place where he had made his agreement\nwith the magician. He then hastened back and reached the cross-road just\nat midnight.\n\nBeing very tired he leaned against the mile-stone to await the arrival\nof his master. He waited long, then as no one came, he drew the piece of\nthe magician's ear from his wallet and bit it hard. At this the\nmile-stone staggered, cracked, and roared. The youth sprang quickly\naside, looked at the inscription, and cried: \"Ho! ho! Is that you,\nmaster?\"\n\n\"Of course, it is! But why did you bite me?\" asked the magician.\n\n\"Take human form instantly!\" replied the youth.\n\n\"I have done so!\" With this the man in black stood on the cross-road.\n\"Now we will go home,\" said he. \"I take you as my pupil, but remember,\nfrom this moment you remain my pupil and servant, until, the three years\nended, your mother fetches you away.\"\n\n[Illustration: \"THE MILE-STONE STAGGERED, CRACKED, AND ROARED\" (_p._\n190).]\n\nThus the youth became the magician's pupil. You wish to know how he\ntaught him his art? Well, so be it. He stretched his hands and feet,\nturned him into a paper bag, and then left him to return to his proper\nshape as best he could. Or else, he thrust his hand and arm up to the\nshoulder down the youth's throat, turned him inside out, and left him to\nturn himself right.\n\nThe youth learnt so well, that at the end of the three years his skill\nin magic surpassed even that of his master. During this time many\nparents had come to fetch their children, for the magician had quite a\ncrowd of pupils; but the cunning old man always contrived that they went\naway without them. Three days before the time appointed for the\nshoemaker's wife to fetch her son, the youth met her on the road and\ntold her how to recognise him.\n\n\"Remember, dearest mother,\" said he, \"when the magician calls his horses\ntogether, a fly will buzz over my ear; when the doves fly down, I shall\nnot eat of the peas; and when the maidens stand around you, a brown mole\nwill make its appearance above my eyebrow! Be sure you remember this, or\nyou will destroy us both.\"\n\nWhen the shoemaker's wife demanded her son of the magician, he blew a\nbrazen trumpet towards all four corners of the world. Immediately a\ncrowd of coal-black horses rushed forward; they were not, however, real\nhorses, but enchanted scholars.\n\n\"Find your son--then you can take him with you!\" said the magician.\n\nThe mother went from horse to horse, trying hard to recognise her son;\nshe trembled at the mere thought that she might make a mistake, and thus\ndestroy both herself and her beloved child. At length she noted a fly\nbuzzing over the ear of one of the horses, and cried joyfully: \"That is\nmy son!\"\n\n\"Right,\" said the magician; \"now guess again.\" So saying he blew a\nsilver trumpet towards the corners of the earth, and threw on the ground\nhalf a bushel of peas. Then like some vast cloud down flew a flock of\ndoves, and began eagerly picking up the peas. The shoemaker's wife\nlooked at dove after dove, until she found one that only appeared to\neat. \"That is my son!\" said she.\n\n\"Right again! Now comes the third and last trial. Guess right, and your\nson goes with you; guess wrong, and he remains with me for ever.\" The\nmagician then blew his trumpet, and immediately beautiful songs\nresounded through the air. At the same time lovely maidens approached\nand surrounded the shoemaker's wife. They were all crowned with\ncornflowers, and wore white robes with rose-coloured girdles.\n\nThe shoemaker's wife examined each carefully, and saw a brown mole over\nthe right eye of the most beautiful. \"This is my son!\" she exclaimed.\n\nScarcely had she spoken than the maiden changed into her son, threw\nhimself into her arms, and thanked her for his deliverance. The other\nmaidens flew away, and the mother and son returned home.\n\nThe student of magic had not been long at home before he discovered that\nin his father's house Want was a constant guest. The money given by the\nmagician had long since come to an end, for the shoemaker had spent it\nall in drink.\n\n\"What have you learnt in foreign parts?\" he asked his son. \"What help am\nI to expect from you.\"\n\n\"I have learned magic, and will give you help enough. I can at your wish\nchange myself into all possible shapes, to-day into a falcon, to-morrow\ninto a greyhound, a nightingale, a sheep, or any other form. Lead me as\nan animal to market, and there sell me, but be sure always to bring\nback the rope with which you led me thither, and never desire me to\nbecome a horse: the money thus acquired would be useless to you, and you\nwould make me, and through me yourself, unhappy.\"\n\nThereupon the shoemaker demanded a falcon for sale; his son at once\ndisappeared, and a splendid falcon sat on the father's shoulder. The\nshoemaker took the bird to market, where he sold it to a hunter for a\ngood price, but on returning home, he found his son seated at the table\nenjoying a good dinner.\n\nWhen the money thus gained had been spent to the last farthing, the\nshoemaker required a greyhound, which he again sold to a hunter, and on\nhis return home found his son had arrived there before him.\n\nThus the father led his son to market again and again, as an ox, a cow,\na sheep, a goose, a turkey, and in many other animal forms. One day he\nthought: \"I should very much like to know why my son does not wish to\nbecome a horse! Surely he takes me for a fool, and grudges me the best\nprize!\" He was half drunk when he thought this, and then and there\ndesired his son to become a horse. Hardly had he spoken than his wish\nwas gratified: a splendid horse stood before the window; he dug his\nhoofs deep into the ground, whilst his eyes shot forth lightning, and\nflames issued from his nostrils.\n\nThe shoemaker mounted and rode into the town. Here a merchant stopped\nhim, admired the horse, and offered to give the animal's weight in gold\nif his master would only sell him. They went together to a pair of\nscales: the merchant shook gold from a sack on one of the wooden\nscales, whilst the shoemaker made his horse mount on the other. As he\nwas staring in amazement at the heap of gold in the scales, one of the\nchains broke, and the gold pieces rolled over the street. The shoemaker\nthrew himself on the ground to pick them up, and forgot both the horse\nand bridle.\n\n[Illustration: \"THE SHOEMAKER'S WIFE LOOKED AT DOVE AFTER DOVE\" (_p._\n193).]\n\nThe merchant meanwhile mounted the horse, and galloped out of the town,\ndigging his spurs into the poor animal's sides until the blood flowed,\nand beating him cruelly with a steel riding-whip; for this merchant was\nnone other than the magician, who thus revenged himself for the piece\ncut from his ear.\n\nThe poor horse was quite exhausted when the magician arrived with him at\nhis invisible dwelling; this house, it is true, stood in an open field,\nyet no one could see it. The horse was then led to the stable, whilst\nthe magician considered how he might best torture him.\n\nBut while the magician was considering, the horse, who knew what a\nterrible fate awaited him, succeeded in throwing the bridle over a nail,\non which it remained hanging, thus enabling him to draw his head out. He\nfled across the field, and changing into a gold ring, threw himself\nbefore the feet of a beauteous Princess just returning from bathing.\n\nThe Princess stooped, picked up the gold circle, slipped it on her\nfinger, and then looked around in wonder. In the meantime, the\nmagician--changed into a Grecian merchant--came up and courteously asked\nthe Princess to return the gold ring he had lost. Terrified at the sight\nof his black beard and gleaming eyes, the Princess screamed aloud, and\npressed the ring to her breast.\n\nAlarmed by her cries, her attendants and playmates, who were waiting\nnear, hastened up and formed a circle round their beloved Princess. But\nas soon as they understood the cause of her distress, they threw\nthemselves on the importunate stranger, and began tickling him in such a\nmanner that he laughed, cried, giggled, coughed, and at length danced\nover the ground like a maniac, forgetting through sheer distress that he\nwas still a magician.\n\nWhen, however, he did remember it, he changed himself into a hedgehog,\nand stuck his bristles into the maidens until their blood flowed, and\nthey were glad to leave him alone.\n\n[Illustration: \"HE DANCED OVER THE GROUND LIKE A MANIAC\" (_p._ 196).]\n\nMeanwhile the Princess hastened home and showed her father the ring,\nwhich pleased her so much that she wore it on her heart-finger night and\nday. Once when playing with it, the ring slipped from her hand, fell to\nthe ground and sprang in pieces, when, oh, wonder! before her stood a\nhandsome youth, the magician's pupil.\n\nAt first the Princess was very troubled, and did not venture to raise\nher eyes, but when the scholar had told her everything she was\nsatisfied, conversed with him a long while, and promised to ask her\nfather to have the magician driven away by the dogs should he ever come\nto demand the ring. When in the course of the day the magician came, the\nKing, in spite of all his daughter's entreaties, ordered the ring to be\ngiven up.\n\nWith tears in her eyes the Princess took the ring (the scholar had\nresumed this form immediately after relating his adventures) and threw\nit at the merchant's feet. It shivered into little pearls.\n\nTrembling with rage, the merchant threw himself on the ground in the\nshape of a hen, picked up the pearls, and when he saw no more, flew out\nof the window, flapped his wings, cried, \"Kikeriki! Scholar, are you\nhere?\" and then soared into the air.\n\nHaving been told by the scholar what to do should she be compelled to\nreturn the ring, the Princess had let her handkerchief fall at the same\nmoment she threw the ring on the ground, and two of the largest pearls\nhad rolled beneath it. She now took out these pearls, and they\nimmediately called, in mocking imitation of the hen's voice:\n\n\"Kikeriki! I am here!\"\n\nThey then changed into a hawk and chased after the hen. Seizing it with\nhis sharp talons, he bit its left wing with such force that all the\nfeathers cracked, and the hen fell like a stone into the water, where it\nwas drowned.\n\nThe hawk then returned to the Princess, perched on her shoulder, gazed\nfondly into her eyes, and then became once more the young and handsome\nscholar. The Princess had grown so fond of him that she chose him as\nher husband, and from that moment he gave up magic for ever. In his\nprosperity he did not forget his relations--his mother lived with him\nand the Princess in their magnificent palace, his sisters married\nwealthy merchants, and even his father was content.\n\nWhen the old King died the magician's pupil became King over the land,\nand lived so happily with his wife and children, and all his subjects,\nthat no pen can write, no song sing, and no story tell of half their\nhappiness.\n\n\n\n\nThe Strawberry Thief.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nTHE STRAWBERRY THIEF.\n\nFROM THE GERMAN BY PAULINE SCHANZ.\n\n\nTHE mid-day sun was shining brightly as two children ran merrily down\nthe steep grassy slope leading from the little village to the\nneighbouring forest. Their loose, scanty clothing left head, neck, and\nfeet bare. But this did not trouble them, for the sun's rays kissed\ntheir little round limbs, and the children liked to feel their warm\nkisses.\n\nThey were brother and sister; each carried a small jar to fill with\nstrawberries, which their mother would sell in the town on the morrow.\nThey were very poor, almost the poorest people in the village. Their\nmother, a widow, had to work hard to procure bread for herself and\nchildren.\n\nWhen strawberries or nuts were in season, or even the early violets, the\nchildren went into the forest to seek them, and by the fruit or flowers\nthey gathered helped to earn many a groschen. The happy children ran\njoyously along as though they were the rulers of the beautiful world\nthat stretched so seductively before them. The forest berries were\nstill scarce, and would fetch a high price in the town; this is why they\nstarted so early in the afternoon, whilst other people still rested in\ntheir cool rooms.\n\nDeep in the forest was many a spot, well known to the children, where\nlarge masses of strawberry plants flourished and bloomed, covering the\nground with a luxurious carpet. White star-like blossoms in profusion\nlooked roguishly out from the ample foliage; the little green and\nbright-red berries were there in crowds, but the ripe, dark-red fruit\nwas difficult to find.\n\nVery slowly the work proceeded, and as the gathered treasures in their\nsmall jars grew higher and higher the sun sank lower and lower. Busy\nwith their task, the children forgot laughter and chattering; they\ntasted none of the lovely berries, scarcely looked at the violets and\nanemones; the sun's rays peeping through the branches the cock-chafers\nand butterflies were alike unheeded.\n\n\"Lorchen,\" cried Fried, at length, throwing back his sunburnt, heated\nface; \"look, Lorchen, my jar is full!\"\n\nLorchen looked up, her face flushed with toil; her poor little jar was\nscarcely half-full. Oh, how she envied her brother his full jar! Fried\nwas a good boy--he loved his little sister dearly. He made her sit down\non the soft grass, placed his jar beside her, and did not cease his work\nuntil Lorchen's jar was likewise filled. Their day's work was now ended.\nBut it was so beautiful in the forest. The birds sang so joyfully among\nthe leaves, everything exhaled the fragrance of the dewy evening that\ncrept slowly between the trembling branches.\n\nAt a little distance a small stretch of meadow shimmered through the\ntrees. The bright sunshine still rested on the fresh, green grass, and\nthousands of daffodils, bluebells, pinks, and forget-me-nots unfolded\nthere their varied beauties. It was a delightful play-place for the\nchildren. They hastened thither, placed their jars carefully behind a\nlarge tree-trunk, and soon forgot their hard afternoon's work in a merry\ngame. Greyer grew the shadows, closer the dusk of evening veiled the\nlonely forest. Then the brother and sister thought of returning--the\nrest had strengthened their weary limbs, and their game in the flowery\nmeadow had made them cheerful and merry.\n\nNow the dew that wetted their bare feet, and hunger that began to make\nitself felt, urged them to return home. They ran to the tree behind\nwhich they had placed their jars, but oh, horror! the jars had vanished.\nAt first the children thought they had mistaken the place; they searched\nfarther, behind every trunk, behind every bush, but no trace of the jars\ncould they find.\n\nThey had vanished, together with the precious fruit. What would their\nmother say when they returned home, their task unfulfilled? With the\nprice of the berries she intended to buy meal to make bread. They had\nbeen almost without bread for several days, and now they had not even\nthe jars in which to gather other berries.\n\nLorchen began to sob loudly; Fried's face grew crimson with rage, and\nhis eyes sparkled, he did not weep. The darkness increased, the\ntree-trunks looked black and spectral, the wind rustled in the branches.\nWho could have stolen their berries? No one had come near the meadow.\nSquirrels and lizards could not carry away jars. The poor children stood\nhelpless beside the old tree-trunk. They could not return to their\nmother empty-handed; they feared she would reproach them for losing\nsight of their jars.\n\nThe little maiden shivered in her thin frock, and wept with fear,\nhunger, and fatigue. Fried took his little sister's hand, and said:\n\"Listen, Lorchen: you must run home, it is night now in the forest. Tell\nmother our jars have disappeared, eat your supper, and go to bed and to\nsleep. I will remain here and search behind every tree and everywhere,\nuntil I find the jars. I am neither hungry nor tired, and am not afraid\nto pass the night alone in the forest, in spite of all the stories our\ngrand-mother used to tell of wicked spirits in the forest, hobgoblins\nwho tease children, will-o'-the-wisps, and mountain-demons who store\ntheir treasures beneath the earth.\"\n\nLorchen shuddered and looked fearfully around--she was a timid, weakly\nchild. Wrapping her little arms in her apron, she wept bitterly.\n\n\"Come home with me, Fried,\" she pleaded. \"I am afraid to go through the\ngloomy forest alone!\"\n\nFried took her hand and went with her until they saw the lights of the\nvillage. Then he stopped and said: \"Now run along alone; see, there is\nthe light burning in our mother's window. I shall turn back, I cannot go\nhome empty-handed.\"\n\nHe turned quickly into the forest. Lorchen waited a moment, and cried,\n\"Fried, Fried!\" Then, receiving no answer, she fled swiftly up the\ngrassy slope she had descended so merrily a few hours previously.\n\nTheir mother, who had grown uneasy at their prolonged absence, was\nstanding at the door when Lorchen returned, weeping and breathless. Poor\nchild, she had scarcely strength enough left to tell that they had lost\nstrawberries and jars, and that Fried had remained behind.\n\n[Illustration: \"LORCHEN BEGAN TO SOB\" (_p._ 205).]\n\nThe mother grew sad as she listened--she had scarcely any bread left,\nand knew not whence to procure more; but Fried remaining in the forest\nwas worse than all, for she, like all the villagers, firmly believed in\nhobgoblins. Sadly she lay down to rest beside her little daughter.\n\nFried ran ever farther and farther into the forest, through whose thick\nfoliage the stars looked down timidly. He said his evening prayer, and\nno longer feared the rustling of the leaves, the cracking of the\nbranches, or the whisper of the night wind in the trees.\n\nSoon the moon arose, and it was light enough for Fried to seek his jars.\nIn vain his search--the hours passed and he found nothing. At length he\nsaw a small mountain overgrown with shrubs. Then the moon crept behind a\nthick cloud, and all was dark. Tired out, Fried sank down behind a tree\nand almost fell asleep. Suddenly he saw a bright light moving about\nclose to the mountain, He sprang up and hastened towards it.\n\nComing closer, he heard a peculiar noise, as of groans uttered by a man\nengaged in heavy toil. He crept softly forward, and beheld, to his\nastonishment, a little dwarf, who was trying to push some heavy object\ninto a hole, that apparently led into the mountain. The little man wore\na silver coat and a red cap with points, to which the wonderful light, a\nlarge, sparkling precious stone, was fastened.\n\nFried soon stood close behind the dwarf, who in his eagerness had not\nobserved the boy's approach, and saw with indignation that the object\nthe little man was striving so hard to push into the hole was his jar of\nstrawberries. In great wrath Fried seized a branch that lay near, and\ngave the little man a mighty blow. Thereupon the dwarf uttered a cry\nvery like the squeak of a small mouse, and tried to creep into the hole.\n\n[Illustration: \"But Fried held him fast.\" _page 209_]\n\nBut Fried held him fast by his silver coat, and angrily demanded where\nhe had put his other jar of strawberries. The dwarf replied he had no\nother jar, and strove to free himself from the grasp of the little\ngiant.\n\nFried again seized his branch, which so terrified the dwarf that he\ncried: \"The other jar is inside; I will fetch it for you.\"\n\n\"I should wait a long time,\" said Fried, \"if I once let you escape; no,\nI will go with you and fetch my own jar.\"\n\nThe dwarf stepped forward, the light in his cap shining brighter than\nthe brightest candle. Fried followed, his jar in one hand, and the\nbranch in the other. Thus they journeyed far into the mountain. The\ndwarf crept along like a lizard, but Fried, whose head almost touched\nthe roof, could scarcely get along.\n\nAt length strains of lovely music resounded through the vaulted\npassages: a little farther on their journey was stopped by a grey stone\nwall. Taking a silver hammer from his doublet, the little dwarf gave\nthree sounding knocks on the wall; it sprang asunder, and as it opened\nsuch a flood of light streamed forth that Fried was obliged to close his\neyes. Half-blinded, with hand shading his face, he followed the dwarf,\nthe stone door closed behind them, and Fried was in the secret dwellings\nof the gnomes.\n\nA murmur of soft voices, mingled with the sweet strains of the music,\nsounded in his ears. When at length he was able to remove his hand from\nhis eyes, he saw a wondrous sight. A beauteous, lofty hall, hewn out of\nthe rock, lay before him; on the walls sparkled thousands of precious\nstones such as his guide had worn in his cap. They served instead of\ncandles, and shed forth a radiance that almost blinded human eyes.\n\nBetween them hung wreaths and sprays of flowers such as Fried had never\nbefore seen. All around crowds of wonderful little dwarfs stood gazing\nat him full of curiosity.\n\nIn the centre of the hall stood a throne of green transparent stone,\nwith cushions of soft mushrooms. On this sat the gnome-King; around him\nwas thrown a golden mantle, and on his head was a crown cut from a\nflaming carbuncle. Before the throne the dwarf, Fried's guide, stood\nrelating his adventure.\n\nWhen the dwarf ceased speaking, the King rose, approached the boy, who\nstill stood by the door, surrounded by the gnomes, and said: \"You human\nchild, what has brought you to my secret dwelling?\"\n\n\"My Lord Dwarf,\" replied Fried politely, \"I desire my strawberries which\nyonder dwarf has stolen. I pray you order them to be restored to me, and\nthen suffer me to return to my mother.\"\n\nThe King thought for a few moments, then he said: \"Listen, to-day we\nhold a great feast, for which your strawberries are necessary. I will,\ntherefore, buy them. I will also allow you to remain with us a short\ntime, then my servants shall lead you back to the entrance of the\nmountain.\"\n\n\"Have you money to buy my strawberries?\" asked the boy.\n\n\"Foolish child, know you not that the gold, silver, and copper come out\nof the earth? Come with me and see my treasure-chambers.\"\n\n[Illustration: \"I WILL GO WITH YOU\" (_p._ 209).]\n\nSo saying, the King led him from the hall through long rooms, in which\nmountains of gold, silver, and copper were piled; in other rooms lay\nlike masses of precious stones. Presently they came to a grotto, in the\ncentre of which stood a large vase. From out this vase poured three\nsparkling streams, each of a different colour: they flowed out of the\ngrotto and discharged themselves into the veins of the rocks.\n\nBeside these streams knelt dwarfs, filling buckets with the flowing\ngold, silver, and copper, which other dwarfs carried away and stored in\nthe King's treasure-chambers. But the greatest quantity flowed into the\ncrevices of the mountain, from whence men dig it out with much toil.\n\nFried would have liked to fill his pockets with the precious metals, but\ndid not dare ask the gnome-King's permission. They soon returned to the\nhall where the feast was prepared. On a long white marble table stood\nrows of golden dishes filled with various dainties, prepared from\nFried's strawberries. In the background sat the musicians, bees and\ngrasshoppers, that the dwarfs had caught in the forest. The dwarfs ate\noff little gold plates, and Fried ate with them. But the pieces were so\ntiny, they melted on his tongue before he could taste them.\n\nAfter the feast came dancing. The gnome-men were old and shrivelled,\nwith faces like roots of trees; all wore silver coats and red caps. The\ngnome-maidens were tall and stately, and wore on their heads wreaths of\nflowers that sparkled as though wet with dew. Fried danced with them,\nbut because his clothes were so poor, his partner took a wreath of\nflowers from the wall and placed it on his head. Very pretty it looked\non his bright, brown hair--but he could not see this, for the dwarfs\nhave no looking-glasses. The bees buzzed and hummed like flutes and\ntrombones, the grasshoppers chirped like fiddles.\n\nThe dancing ended, Fried approached the King, who was resting on his\ngreen throne, and said: \"My Lord King, be so good as to pay for my\nberries, and have me guided out of the mountain, for it is time I\nreturned to my mother.\"\n\n[Illustration: \"IT IS TIME I RETURNED TO MY MOTHER.\"]\n\nThe King nodded his carbuncle crown, and wrapping his golden mantle\naround him, departed to fetch the money. How Fried rejoiced at the\nthought of taking that money home! Being very tired, he mounted the\nthrone, seated himself on the soft mushroom cushion from which the\ngnome-King had just risen, and, ere that monarch returned, Fried was\nsleeping sound as a dormouse.\n\nDay was dawning in the forest when he awoke. His limbs were stiff, and\nhis bare feet icy cold. He rubbed his eyes and stretched himself. He\nstill sat beneath the tree from whence, on the previous evening, he had\nseen the light moving. \"Where am I?\" he muttered; then he remembered\nfalling asleep on the gnome-King's mushroom cushion. He also remembered\nthe money he had been promised, and felt in his pockets--they were\nempty. Yes, he remembered it all. This was the morning his mother should\nhave gone to town, and he had neither berries nor money. Tears flowed\nfrom his eyes, and he reviled the dwarfs who had carried him sleeping\nfrom the mountain, and cheated him out of his money. Rising sorrowfully,\nhe went to the mountain, but though he searched long and carefully, no\nopening could he find.\n\nThere was nothing for it but to return home, and this he did with a\nheavy heart. No one was stirring when he reached the village. Gently he\nknocked on the shutter of the room where his mother slept. \"Wake up,\nmother,\" he cried. \"It is I, your Fried.\"\n\nQuickly the door of the little house opened.\n\n\"Thank Heaven you have returned,\" said his mother, embracing him. \"But\nhas nothing happened to you all night alone in the forest?\"\n\n\"Nothing, mother,\" he replied; \"I only had a foolish dream about the\ngnomes who dwell in the mountain.\"\n\nAnd whilst his mother lit the stove, Fried related his dream. She shook\nher head on hearing it, for she believed her boy had really seen and\nheard these wonderful things.\n\nThen Lorchen came in, and her mother told her to unfasten the shutters.\nThe child obeyed, but on re-entering the room, she cried aloud, and\nplaced her hands on her brother's head.\n\nSomething heavy and sparkling fell to the ground. They picked it up. It\nwas the wreath of many-coloured flowers Fried's partner had given him at\nthe dance. But the flowers were not like those that grow in the fields\nand meadows: they were cold, and sparkling, like those that adorned the\nwalls of the mountain hall, and which the gnome-maidens wore in their\nhair.\n\nIt was now clear that Fried had really spent the night with the dwarfs.\nThey all thought the flowers were only coloured glass; but as they\nsparkled so brilliantly, and filled the cottage with indescribable\nsplendour, the mother determined to ask advice about them. She therefore\nbroke a tiny branch from the wreath and took it to the town to a\ngoldsmith, who told her, to her great astonishment, that the branch was\ncomposed of the most costly gems, rubies, diamonds, and sapphires. In\nexchange for it, he gave her a sack of gold so heavy she could scarcely\ncarry it home.\n\nWant was now at an end for ever, for the wreath was a hundred times\nmore valuable than the tiny branch. Great excitement prevailed in the\nvillage when the widow's good fortune was made known, and all the\nvillagers ran into the forest to search for the wonderful hole. But\ntheir searching was vain--none ever found the entrance to the mountain.\nFrom henceforth the widow and her children lived very happily; they\nremained pious and industrious in spite of their wealth, did good to the\npoor, and were contented to the end of their lives.\n\n\n\n\nThe Adventures of Said.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nTHE ADVENTURES OF SAID.\n\nFrom the German of W. Hauff.\n\n\nIN the time of Haroun Al-Raschid, ruler of Bagdad, there lived in\nBalsora a man Benezar by name. His means enabled him to live quietly and\ncomfortably, without carrying on a business or trade; and when a son was\nborn to him he made no change in his manner of living, \"For,\" said he,\n\"what will feed two will feed three.\" Said, for so they called the boy,\nsoon made a name for himself among his playmates as a lusty fighter, and\nwas surpassed by none in riding or swimming.\n\nWhen he was eighteen, his father sent him on a pilgrimage to Mecca, and\nbefore he started gave him much good advice, and provided him with money\nfor his journey. Lastly he said:\n\n\"There is something more I must tell you, my boy. I am not the man to\nbelieve that fairies and enchanters, whatever they may be, have any\ninfluence over the fate of mankind; that sort of nonsense is only good\nfor whiling away the time; but your mother believed in them as firmly as\nin the Koran. She even told me, after making me swear never to reveal\nthe secret except to her child, that she herself was under the\nprotection of a fairy. I always laughed at her, but still I must confess\nthat some very strange events happened at your birth. It rained and\nthundered all day, and the heavens were black with clouds.\n\n\"When they told me that I had a little son, I hastened to see and bless\nmy first-born, but I found my wife's door shut, and all her attendants\nstanding outside. I knocked, but with no result. While I was waiting\nthere, the sky cleared just over Balsora, although the lightning still\nflashed and writhed round the blue expanse. As I was gazing in\nastonishment at this spectacle, your mother's door flew open and I went\nin alone. On entering the room, I perceived a delicious odour of roses,\ncarnations, and hyacinths. Your mother Zemira showed me a tiny silver\nwhistle, that was hanging round your neck by a gold chain as fine as\nsilk. 'This is the fairy's gift to our boy,' she said. 'Well,' I\nlaughed, 'I think she might have given him something better than that--a\npurse of gold, for instance, or a horse.'\n\n\"But Zemira begged me not to anger the good fairy, for fear she might\nturn her blessing to a curse; so, to please her, the matter was never\nmentioned again till she was dying. Then she gave me the whistle,\ntelling me never to part with you till you were twenty, when the whistle\nwas to be yours. But I see no objection to your going away now. You have\ncommon sense, and can defend yourself as well as any man of\nfour-and-twenty. Go in peace, my son. Think ever of your father in good\nfortune or in ill, and may Heaven defend you from that last.\"\n\nSaid took an affectionate farewell of his father, and placing the chain\nround his neck, sprang lightly into his saddle, and went off to join the\ncaravan for Mecca. At last they were all assembled, and Said rode gaily\nout of Balsora. Just at first the novelty of his position and\nsurroundings occupied his thoughts, but as they drew near to the desert\nhe began to consider his father's words. He drew out the whistle and put\nit to his lips, but wonder of wonders, no matter how hard he blew, not a\nsound came out! This was disappointing, and Said impatiently thrust the\nwhistle back into his girdle; still the marvellous had a strange\nattraction for him, and he spent the whole day in building his airy\ncastles.\n\nSaid was a fine-looking fellow, with a distinguished face, and a bearing\nwhich, young as he was, marked him out as one born to command. Every one\nwas attracted to him, and especially was this the case with an elderly\nman, who rode near him. They entered into conversation, and it was not\nlong before the mysterious power of fairies was mentioned.\n\n\"Do you believe in fairies?\" asked Said, at last.\n\n\"Well,\" replied the other, stroking his beard thoughtfully, \"I should\nnot like to say that there are no such beings, although I have never\nseen one.\" And then he began to relate such wonderful stories, that Said\nfelt that his mother's words must have been true, and when he went to\nsleep was transported to a veritable fairyland.\n\nThe next day the travellers were dismayed to see a band of robbers\nswooping down on them. All was confusion in an instant, and they had\nscarcely had time to place the women and children in the centre, when\nthe Arabs were upon them. Bravely as the men acquitted themselves, all\nwas in vain, for the robbers were more than four hundred strong. At this\ndreadful moment Said bethought him of his whistle; but, alas! it\nremained dumb as before, and poor Said, dropping it hastily, fired on a\nman, who seemed from his dress to be of some importance.\n\n\"What have you done?\" cried the old man, who was fighting at his side.\n\"There is no hope for us now.\"\n\nAnd so, indeed, it seemed--for the robbers, maddened by the death of the\nman, pressed so closely on the youth that they broke down even his\nsturdy resistance. The others were soon overcome or slain, and Said\nfound himself on horseback, bound and guarded by armed men. These\ntreated him with roughness, and the only drop of comfort in his cup was\nthat his old friend was riding near. You may be sure his thoughts were\nnot very pleasant--slavery or death was all he had to look forward to.\n\nAfter riding for some time, they saw in the far distance trees and\ntents, and in a short time they were met by bands of women and children,\nwho had no sooner heard the news than they began to throw sticks and\nclods of earth at Said, shrieking, \"That is the man who killed the\ngreat Almansor, bravest of men; he must die, and we will throw his body\nto the jackals.\"\n\n[Illustration: \"AFTER SEVERAL HOURS HE AWOKE\" (_p._ 225).]\n\nThey became so threatening that the bandits interfered and, bearing off\ntheir prisoner, led him bound into one of the tents. Here was seated an\nold man, evidently the leader of the band. His head was bent.\n\n\"The weeping of the women has told me all--Almansor is dead,\" said he.\n\n\"Almansor is dead,\" answered the robbers, \"O Mighty One of the Desert,\nbut here is his murderer. Only speak the word. Shall his doom be to be\nshot, or to be hanged from the nearest tree?\"\n\nBut the aged Selim questioned Said, and found that his son had been\nslain in fair fight. \"He has done, then, no more than we ourselves\nshould have done. Loose his bonds. The innocent shall not die,\" cried\nSelim, in his sternest tones, seeing his men's reluctance and\ndiscontent. As for Said, the very fulness of his heart closed his lips,\nand he could not find words in which to thank his deliverer. From this\ntime he lived in Selim's tent, almost taking the place of that son whose\ndeath he had caused.\n\nBut sedition was rife among the robbers. Their beloved Prince had been\nmurdered, and his murderer was shielded by the father! Many were the\nexecrations hurled at Said, as he walked in the camp; indeed, several\nattempts were made on his life. At length Selim perceived that soon even\nhis influence would not be sufficient to guard the young man, and so he\nsent him away with an escort, saying that his ransom had been paid. But\nbefore they started he bound the robbers by a dreadful oath that they\nwould not kill Said.\n\nIt was indeed a terrible ride! Said saw that his guides were performing\ntheir task with great reluctance, and soon they began to whisper\ntogether. He nerved himself to listen, and what he heard did not tend\nto reassure him.\n\n\"This is the very spot,\" said one. \"I shall never forget it.\"\n\n\"And to think that his murderer still lives!\"\n\n\"Ah! if his father had not made us take that oath!\"\n\n\"Stay,\" cried the most forbidding-looking of all, \"we have not sworn to\nbring this fellow to the end of his journey. We will leave him his life,\nbut the scorching sun and the sharp teeth of the jackal shall perform\nour vengeance. Let us bind him and leave him here.\"\n\nSaid, hearing this brutal suggestion, made a desperate effort for his\nlife. Spurring his horse, he rode off at full speed; but the bandits\nsoon recovered from their amazement, and, giving chase, had him at their\nmercy. Tears, prayers, even bribes were of no avail, and the wretched\nSaid was left to face death in its most painful form. Higher and higher\nmounted the sun, and Said tried to roll over to obtain some small\nrelief. In doing this the whistle attracted his notice, and he contrived\nto get it between his lips; but for the third time it refused its\noffice, and Said, overcome by the heat and the horror of his situation,\nfainted. After several hours he awoke to see, not the dreaded beast of\nprey but a human being.\n\nThis was a little man with small eyes and a long beard, who informed\nSaid, when the latter had somewhat recovered, that he was Kalum Bek, a\nmerchant, and that he was on a business expedition when he found him\nlying half dead in the sand. Said thanked the little man, and gratefully\naccepted a seat on his camel. As they were journeying the merchant\nrelated many stories in praise of the justice and acuteness of the\nFather of the Faithful.\n\n\"My cousin Messour,\" he said, \"is his Lord Chamberlain, and he has often\ntold me how the Caliph is wont to sally forth at night, attended by\nhimself alone, to see how his people are cared for. And so, when we go\nabout the streets at night, we have to be polite to every idiot we meet,\nfor it is as likely to be the Caliph as some dog of an Arab from the\ndesert.\"\n\nHearing such accounts as these, Said thought himself a lucky fellow to\nhave the chance of seeing Bagdad and the renowned Al-Raschid. When they\narrived in the city, Kalum invited Said to accompany him home. The next\nday the youth had just dressed himself in his most magnificent clothes,\nthinking of the sensation he would cause, when the merchant entered,\nand, looking at him scornfully, said: \"That is all very fine, my young\nsir, but it seems to me you are a great dreamer. Have you the money to\nkeep up that style?\"\n\n\"It is true, sir,\" said Said, blushing, \"that I have no money; but\nperhaps you will be kind enough to lend me sufficient to travel home\nwith, for my father is sure to repay you.\"\n\n\"Your father, boy,\" laughed the merchant. \"I really think the sun must\nhave affected your brain. You don't suppose, do you, that I believe the\nfable you made up for my benefit? I know all the rich men in Balsora,\nbut no Benezar. Besides, do you think the disappearance of a whole\ncaravan would pass unnoticed? And then, you bare-faced liar, that story\nabout Selim! Why, that man is noted for his cruelty; and do you mean to\ntell me that he allowed the murderer of his son to go free--and that,\ntoo, without ransom? Oh, you shameless liar!\"\n\n\"Indeed, I have spoken the truth,\" cried Said. \"I have no proof of my\nwords, and can only swear to you that I have spoken no falsehood. If you\nwill not help me then I must appeal to the Caliph.\"\n\n\"Really!\" scoffed the little man; \"you will beg, then, from no less\nexalted a person than our gracious ruler! Just consider that the Caliph\ncan only be approached through my cousin Messour, and that with a word I\ncould----But I pity your youth. You are not too old yet for reformation.\nYou shall serve in my shop for a year, and then, if you wish to leave\nme, I will pay you your wages, and let you go whither you will. I give\nyou till mid-day to think over it. If you refuse, I will seize your\nclothes and possessions to pay myself for your passage, and throw you on\nthe streets.\"\n\nSaid was indeed in difficulties; bad luck seemed to press upon him at\nevery turn. There was no escaping from the room, for the windows were\nbarred and the door locked. After cudgelling his brains for some time,\nhe saw that he must submit to the indignity imposed upon him by the\nvillainous little man, and so the next day he followed him to the shop\nin the bazaar. His duty was to stand (his gallant attire a thing of the\npast) in the doorway, a veil or a shawl in either hand, and cry his\nwares to the passers-by.\n\nSaid soon saw why Kalum had been so anxious to retain him as a servant.\nNo one wished to do business with the hateful old man, but when the\nsalesman was a handsome youth it was a different matter altogether. One\nespecially busy day all the porters were employed, when an elderly lady\nentered and made some purchases. After she had bought all she wanted she\ndemanded some one to carry her parcels home for her. In vain did the\nmerchant promise to send them in half an hour--she would have them then\nor never; and her eye falling on Said, she wanted to know why he should\nnot accompany her. After much remonstrance Kalum had to give in, and\nSaid found himself following in the wake of the lady, who stopped at\nlast before a magnificent house. She knocked and they were admitted, and\nafter mounting a wide marble staircase, Said found himself in a lofty\nhall, far grander than he had ever seen before. Here he was relieved of\nhis burden, and was just going out at the door, when--\n\n\"Said,\" cried a sweet voice behind him. He turned round quickly, and saw\nto his amazement a daintily beautiful lady surrounded by attendants,\ninstead of the old lady he had followed.\n\n\"Said, my dear boy,\" she said, \"it is a great misfortune that you left\nBalsora before you were twenty; but here in Bagdad there is some chance\nfor you. Have you still your little whistle?\"\n\n\"Indeed I have,\" he cried gladly; \"perhaps you are the kindly fairy who\nbefriended my mother?\"\n\n[Illustration: \"A DAINTILY BEAUTIFUL LADY\" (_p._ 228).]\n\n\"Yes, and as long as you are good I will help you. But, alas! I cannot\neven deliver you from that wretch, Kalum Bek, for he is protected by\nyour most powerful enemy.\"\n\n\"But can we do nothing? Can I not go to the Caliph? He is a just man and\nwill help me.\"\n\n\"Haroun is indeed just, but he is greatly influenced by Messour, who, a\nmodel of uprightness himself, has been already primed by Kalum with his\nversion of your story. But there are other ways of getting at the\nCaliph, and it is written in the stars that you will obtain his favour.\"\n\n\"I am to be pitied if I have to stay much longer with that rascal of a\nshopkeeper. But there is one favour I beg of you, most gracious of\nfairies. Jousts are held every week, but only for the freeborn. Couldn't\nyou manage to give me equipments, and make my face so that no one would\nknow me?\"\n\n\"That is a wish worthy of a brave man, and I will grant it. Come here\neach week, and you will find everything you want. And now, farewell. Be\ncautious and virtuous. In six months your whistle will sound, and Zulima\nwill answer its appeal.\"\n\nSaid took leave of his protectress, and, taking note of the position of\nthe house, made his way back to the shop. He arrived there in the very\nnick of time, for Kalum was surrounded by a crowd of jeering neighbours,\nand was literally dancing with rage. This was what had happened. Two men\nhad asked the merchant if he could direct them to the shop of the\nhandsome salesman.\n\n\"Well! well!\" said the old man, smiling, \"Heaven has guided you to the\nright place this time. What do you want, a shawl or a veil?\"\n\nThis to the men seemed nothing short of insolence, and they fell upon\nhim tooth and nail, the neighbours refusing to help the old skinflint.\nBut Said, seeing his master in such distress, strode to the rescue, and\none of the assailants soon found himself on the ground. Under the\ninfluence of his flashing eyes the crowd soon melted away, for violence\non the wrong side was not to their taste.\n\n\"Oh, you prince of shopmen, that is what I call interfering to some\npurpose! Didn't he lie on the ground as if he had never used his legs? I\nshould have lost my beard for ever if you had not come up. How shall I\nreward you?\"\n\nSaid had only acted upon the impulse of the moment; indeed, he now felt\nrather sorry that he had deprived the scoundrel of a well-deserved\nthrashing. He seized the opportunity, however, and asked for an evening\na week in which to take a walk. This was granted him, and the next\nWednesday he set out for the fairy's house. Here he found everything as\nZulima had promised. First the servants gave him a wash, which changed\nhim from a stripling to a black-bearded man, whose face was bronzed by\nexposure to the sun. Then he was led into a second room, where he saw a\ndress that would not have been put to shame by the State robes of the\nCaliph. He hastily donned this, and, magnificently equipped, descended\nthe stairs. As he reached the door, a servant handed him a silk\nhandkerchief with which to wipe his face when he wished to rid himself\nof his disguise. In the court were standing three horses; two were\nridden by squires, but the most magnificent was for his own use. When\nSaid arrived on the plain set apart for the jousts, all eyes turned on\nhim, and curiosity was rife as to who the unknown knight could be; that\nhe was distinguished and of high family none doubted.\n\nWhen Said entered the lists he gave his name as Almansor of Cairo, and\nsaid that he had come to Bagdad because of the fame of the youths of\nthat city. The sides were chosen, and the opposing parties charged.\nSaid's horse was as swift as an eagle, and his prowess with the sword\nwas so great that even the bravest shunned meeting him, and the Caliph's\nbrother, who had been on his side, challenged him to single combat. The\ntwo fought, but were so equal that the contest had to be postponed till\nthe next meeting. On the following day all Bagdad was ringing with the\npraises of the gallant young knight; and little did the people guess\nthat he was then serving in a shop in the bazaar.\n\nAt the next tournament Said carried all before him, and received from\nthe Caliph a golden medallion hanging from a gold chain. This aroused\nthe envy of the other youths. Was a stranger to come to Bagdad and rob\nthem of their honour? Said noticed the signs of discontent, and observed\nthat all viewed him askance, except the brother and son of the Caliph.\nBy a strange chance the one most bitter against him was the man he had\nknocked down before Kalum Bek's shop. Led by this man, the others made a\nsudden attack on Said, who must have fallen if the Royal combatants had\nnot rushed to his aid.\n\nFor more than four months he continued to fight in the lists, but one\nnight as he was going home he noticed four men who were walking slowly\nbefore him. To his astonishment, he found they were speaking in the\ndialect used by Selim's band. He suspected that they were after no good,\nand so he crept nearer to hear what they were saying.\n\n[Illustration: \"THE TWO FOUGHT\" (_p._ 232).]\n\n\"He will be in the street to the right of the bazaar to-night, attended\nby the Grand Vizier,\" said one.\n\n\"That is good,\" answered the other; \"there is no fear of the Grand\nVizier, but I am not so sure of the Caliph--there might be some of his\nguard near.\"\n\n\"No, there won't,\" broke in a third; \"he is always alone at night.\"\n\n\"I think it would be best to throw a lasso over his head,\" said the\nfirst.\n\n\"Very well, an hour after midnight;\" and with these words they\nseparated.\n\n\"Well, I have discovered a pretty plot,\" thought Said, and his first\nidea was to go at once to the Caliph; but he remembered how Kalum had\nmaligned him to Messour, and stopped. No, the only way was for him to\ndefend the Caliph in person. Accordingly, when night came on, he betook\nhimself to the appointed street, and waited to see what was going to\nhappen. Soon the men came and concealed themselves in different parts of\nthe street. All was quiet for half an hour, and at the end of that time\none of the robbers gave a sign, for the Caliph was in sight. With one\naccord the band rushed upon him, but Said rose from his hiding-place,\nand laid about him with such hearty goodwill that they were soon glad to\ntake to their heels with all speed.\n\n\"My rescue,\" said the Caliph, \"is no less wonderful than the attack made\nupon me. How did you know who I was? How did you get to know of the\nplot?\"\n\nSaid then told how he had followed the men, and, hearing their plans,\ndetermined to frustrate their villainous intention.\n\n\"Receive my thanks,\" said the Caliph, \"and accept this ring. Present it\nto-morrow at the palace, and we will see what can be done for you.\"\n\nThe Vizier, too, gave him a ring, together with a heavy purse.\n\nMad with joy, Said hurried home, but here Kalum was awaiting him,\nanxious lest he should have lost his handsome servant. The little man\nraved at Said, but the latter had seen that his purse was full of money,\nand told him flatly that he would stay there no longer. He strode out at\nthe door, leaving Kalum staring after him in open-mouthed astonishment.\nThe next morning the merchant set the police on his track, and they\nbrought him word that his quondam servant, dressed in a most magnificent\nfashion, was just setting out with a caravan.\n\n\"He has stolen money from me, the thief!\" Kalum shrieked, and ordered\nthe constable to arrest Said. As Kalum was known to be related to\nMessour, his commands were promptly attended to, and poor Said found\nhimself condemned, unheard, as having stolen the purse from his master.\nHe was sentenced to life-long banishment on a desert island, and all his\nprotestations of innocence were of no avail. The poor fellow was in\ndespair, and even the stony-hearted merchant put in a plea for him. He\nwas thrown into a filthy dungeon, together with nineteen others. He\ncomforted himself with the thought that his life would be more endurable\non board ship, but here he was mistaken. The atmosphere was foul, and\nthe men fought like wild beasts for the best places. Food and water were\nhanded out to them once a day, and at the same time the men who had died\nwere hauled out.\n\nA fortnight was passed in this misery, but one day they felt the ship\nwas tossing more than usual, and their discomfort was increased. At last\nthe survivors burst the hatches open, but to their despair they saw that\nthe ship had been deserted by all the crew. The storm raged even more\nwildly, the ship rocked and settled deeper into the water. At last it\nwent to pieces, and Said managed to cling to the mast. After he had\nfloated for about half an hour, he suddenly remembered his whistle. It\nstill hung round his neck, and holding on well with one hand to the\nmast, he put it to his mouth, and this time it did not fail him. At the\nsound of the clear, sweet note, the storm ceased as if by magic, and the\nsea became like glass, and, what was more wonderful still, the mast by\nwhich Said was supported was changed into a huge dolphin, to his no\nsmall terror. But he soon found there was no need for him to be afraid,\nfor the fish bore him as swiftly as an arrow through the water.\n\nAfter some time Said, remembering tales of enchanters, drew out his\nwhistle, and blowing a shrill blast, wished for a meal. At once a table\nrose from the depths of the sea, and Said enjoyed the much-needed\nrefreshment. The sun was just sinking, when he saw a large town in the\ndistance which reminded him of Bagdad. The thought of Bagdad was not so\nvery pleasant, but still he trusted that the fairy, who had guarded him\nso far, would not let him fall into the hands of Kalum Bek. As he drew\nnearer he noticed a large house on the bank of the river, the roof of\nwhich was crowded with men, who were all gazing in astonishment at\nhimself. No sooner had Said set foot on the land, than the fish\nvanished, and at the same time the servants appeared to lead him before\ntheir master. On the roof were standing three men, who questioned him in\na friendly way. Said at once began to relate his story, from the time\nwhen he left Balsora, and his listeners declared that they believed him;\nstill, they asked if he could produce the golden chain and the rings of\nwhich he had spoken.\n\n[Illustration: \"A TABLE ROSE FROM THE DEPTHS OF THE SEA\" (_p._ 236).]\n\n\"Here they are,\" said Said. \"I determined not to part with them while I\nhad life to defend them.\"\n\n\"By the beard of the Prophet, this is my ring, Grand Vizier--our\ndeliverer stands before us!\"\n\nSaid was overcome by finding in whose presence he was, and flung himself\nat the Caliph's feet. But Haroun raised him, and overwhelmed him with\npraise and thanks. Nothing would do but that Said must return with them\nto the palace, where they would conceive some plan to bring the merchant\nKalum to book. On the next day Kalum himself begged for admittance to\nthe presence of Haroun. A dispute had arisen between himself and a man\nof Balsora, and he asked for judgment.\n\n\"I will hear him,\" said the Caliph. \"Said,\" turning to the youth as the\nservant left the room, \"this is no other than your father. Do you hide\nbehind that curtain, and you, Grand Vizier, fetch the magistrate who\ncondemned Said.\"\n\nIn a short time Kalum entered, accompanied by Benezar, and, after the\nCaliph had mounted his throne, began his complaint.\n\n\"I was standing at my door a few days ago, when this man Benezar came\ndown the street, offering a purse of gold for news of Said. I at once\nclaimed the money, and told him how his son, for so I found him to be,\nhad suffered the penalty for stealing a purse from me. Then the madman\ndemanded his money back, and wanted to make me responsible for his\nrascal of a son.\"\n\n\"Bring the magistrate who condemned the youth,\" commanded Haroun. He\nwas produced as if by magic. After much questioning, the justice\nconfessed that no witness had been brought forward except the purse.\n\n\"Why,\" shouted the Grand Vizier, \"that is my purse, you scoundrel; and I\ngave it to the gallant youth who saved me.\"\n\n\"Then,\" thundered the Caliph, \"you swore falsely, Kalum Bek. What was\ndone to Said?\"\n\n\"I sent him to a desert island,\" stammered the magistrate.\n\n\"Oh, Said, my son, my son!\" wept the unhappy father.\n\n\"Stand forth, Said,\" said the Caliph.\n\nConfronted by this apparition, Kalum and the justice flung themselves on\ntheir knees, crying, \"Mercy! mercy!\"\n\n\"Did you have mercy on the misfortunes of this unhappy boy? You, my best\nof judges, shall retire to a desert island, so that you may have an\nopportunity of studying justice. But, Kalum Bek, what am I to say to\nyou? You shall pay Said for all the time he has served you, and,\" as\nKalum was beginning to congratulate himself on coming so well out of the\nbusiness, \"for the perjury you shall receive a hundred strokes on the\nsoles of your feet. Take the men away and carry out their sentence.\"\n\nThe wretched beings were led away, and the Caliph took Said and his\nfather into another apartment. Here their conversation was interrupted\nby the yells of Kalum, who was undergoing punishment in the court\noutside. The Caliph invited Benezar to bring his goods and settle in\nBagdad. He gladly consented, and Said spent his life in the palace built\nfor him by the grateful Caliph--indeed, the proverb ran in Bagdad, \"May\nI be as good and fortunate as Said, the son of Benezar.\"\n\n\n\n\nLittle Blue Flower.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nLITTLE BLUE FLOWER.\n\nFROM THE GERMAN BY MISS F. E. HYNAM.\n\n\nA STORK swept high over the Bohemian forest. It was a most important\nduty that had brought him from his own marshes into this mountainous\nregion, where far and wide no croak of frog could be heard. In his beak\nhe carried two little children, a boy and a girl, both intended for the\nknight who dwelt in the gloomy fortress below. Smaller and smaller grew\nthe circles made by the stork in his flight. Lower and lower he sank\ntowards the earth, until at length he rested on the highest chimney of\nthe castle.\n\nBut before letting the children slip down the narrow black hole he\npaused and looked carefully around. While in the air, this old castle,\nwith its round turrets glittering in the rising sun, had appeared to him\na most stately edifice. But now, when quite close, the stork discovered\nmany things that did not please him. The walls were sadly out of repair,\nthere were holes in the roof, whilst the courtyard was overgrown with\nweeds.\n\n\"I do not like this,\" said the stork, looking thoughtfully down his\nlong, red beak. \"This place seems to have a very bad landlord. A knight\nwho cannot keep his castle in proper repair certainly does not deserve\ntwo children. I will take one away with me.\"\n\n\"Which should he have now, the boy or the girl?\" thought the stork. He\nlooked once more thoughtfully down his long beak, and on the two\nchildren smiling happily in their dreams. \"I think I will give him the\nboy,\" he said at length. \"He will push his way in this wretched place\nbetter than the girl.\" With these words he made a movement to throw the\nlittle boy down the chimney.\n\nThis, however, was not so easy as the stork had thought. In their sleep\nthe little ones had embraced each other, and would not let go. \"I have\nnever had two such obstinate little creatures in my beak before,\"\nexclaimed the stork angrily. Then he began to shake them, at first\ngently, then harder, and at last so roughly that the children half awoke\nfrom their dreams, and looked at each other with blinking eyes. After\nthis the boy would not let go his companion, and no wonder, for the\nlittle girl had shown him a pair of blue eyes of such wondrous beauty,\nthat there were not many like them in the world. But the stork, now\nthoroughly angry, gave the poor little fellow a kick that sent him head\nfirst down the castle chimney.\n\n\"Now, what shall I do with the other little thing?\" said the stork\nthoughtfully, scratching the back of his ear. \"Ah! I have it,\" he\ncried--the little girl had kept on blinking her eyes, and the stork had\nalso seen their beautiful blue--\"I have it!\" he repeated. \"Such eyes can\nonly belong to Norway.\"\n\nHigh overhead soared the stork. Powerfully his wings clove the air as\nhe sailed away towards the north.\n\nIn the midst of the blue Baltic Sea a little wooded island lay sparkling\nlike a green jewel. Here dwelt Bjorn, a grim old sea-king of Norwegian\nblood. Every year he and his men ploughed the sea with their swift\nships, and very rich was the spoil he brought home to his strong castle\nthat stood in the centre of the island, defended by wall and moat.\n\nTo this castle the stork bore the little maiden on his strong wings.\n\nBjorn and his men were sitting in the spacious hall, quaffing from\ngolden cups the sweet wine they had brought back in their ships from the\nsunny land of Greece. Very wild was their joy when the little maiden\ncame down the chimney, and throughout the whole night their boisterous\nsongs could be heard far across the wide sea.\n\nAnd the little, sparkling waves sang in reply a rushing murmuring song,\nto celebrate the arrival of the young child. \"To our sea-king a little\ndaughter has been born,\" they sang. \"A beauteous little maiden, with\neyes blue as the sea, locks fair as the sea foam, and lips rosy as the\nmorning red when it gilds the crests of the waves.\" Even the stupid\nfishes rejoiced, but as they could not sing they leapt into the air,\nhigh up out of the waves, and their scales glittered in the moonlight\nlike gold and silver.\n\nMany days and many nights Bjorn and his crew drank of the pearly wine.\nThen he could rest at home no longer, so ordered his ships and sailed\naway, leaving the child, to whom he had given the name of Swanhild, in\ncharge of a faithful nurse.\n\nOn this voyage Bjorn encountered more storms and enemies than he had\never done before. Often, whilst on the tossing billows, he thought with\nlonging of the little one at home. Yet many long years passed ere he\ncould at length return home laden with rich spoil.\n\nAs he set foot on the little island he was greeted by a beautiful\nmaiden, with deep blue eyes, rosy lips, and the fair hair of Norway.\nFull of joy, Bjorn clasped his lovely child to his heart. Then he sat\nwith his men in the castle hall, feasting and quaffing the costly\nGrecian wine.\n\nSwanhild had never before seen such noisy feasts. Often, on moonlight\nnights, she would leave the castle and wander alone on the sea-shore.\n\nBut one evening, as she thus wandered, clad in her white garments, and\nwith her fair head bent towards the waves, she was seen by a wicked\nmagician, who had flown thither through the air on a black goat. He came\nfrom the cliffs of Norway, where he had been sent to seize the soul of a\npoor Laplander who had stolen his neighbour's reindeer, and he was now\ntravelling to Blocksberg to take this soul to his master, a powerful\nevil spirit.\n\nWhen the magician saw Swanhild he was much delighted. He had never\nbefore beheld any one so lovely. But alas! while he was lost in\ncontemplation of her beauty the soul of the little Laplander escaped,\nand flew away. He let it go. Seeking a secluded spot, he at once\nsummoned a number of crabs and water-beetles, which he placed in three\nshining mussel-shells. One touch of his staff changed these shells\nfilled with crabs and water-beetles into magnificent vessels full of\nwell-armed men. His black goat became a skald, and played the harp. Then\ntransforming himself into a handsome young Viking, he ordered the sails\nto be hoisted, and rounding a wooded promontory, sailed into the bay\nwhere Bjorn's vessel lay.\n\n[Illustration: \"WHEN THE MAGICIAN SAW SWANHILD HE WAS MUCH DELIGHTED\"\n(_p._ 246).]\n\nLoudly the sentries on Bjorn's ship blew their horns. Louder yet rang\nout the answering blast from the castle. Wildly Bjorn and his men broke\nthrough the forest. Furious was their war-cry, shrilly clanged their\nweapons.\n\nThe strange Viking stepped forward boldly, and extending his hand to\nBjorn in token of friendship, besought hospitality for himself and his\nmen.\n\nBjorn let himself be persuaded. He led the strangers into his splendid\nhalls, and drank and feasted with them many days and many nights. Then\nthe strange hero ordered rich presents to be brought from his ships:\ngarments studded with gold, gold ornaments, and shining swords. This\ncompletely deceived Bjorn and his followers, and when the stranger asked\nfor Swanhild in marriage, the Viking readily gave his consent. That\nSwanhild turned pale no one heeded. Nor did they heed that she wept\nnightly in the solitude of her chamber.\n\nThe marriage day at length arrived. But when everything was ready, and\nSwanhild, in glittering array, was being led towards the stranger, she,\nwith a quick movement, turned her back on him and fled to her chamber.\n\nLoudly raged the father, his eyes glowing with fury. But wilder still\nrolled the eyes of the stranger. He broke into a laugh, and cried, with\nmocking voice, \"You shall all pay for this.\"\n\nOne look from those fierce eyes, and his men became a crowd of crabs\nand water-beetles. The skald threw away his harp, and stood there a\nblack goat with fiery eyes. The stranger shook off his armour, and was a\nhorrible old man.\n\nBjorn grew pale with terror, his followers began to tremble and shake.\nAnother look from the magician: they all shrank together, and a crawling\nmass of frogs covered the floor. Bjorn was the largest of them all. Then\nopening door and gate, the magician drove them out into the marshy moat.\nHere they dived.\n\nThe magician then locked the door and threw the key into the moat. At\nher chamber windows Swanhild sat weeping. He looked up at her furiously,\nbut she was so good and pure, his glance had no power over her. He shook\nhis fist threateningly.\n\n\"Now sit there all alone,\" he cried, \"since you will not marry me. You\ncannot escape, and no one can deliver you, for my goat keeps guard.\"\n\nHe flew away whistling. The black goat walked round and round the moat,\nhis eyes gleaming like living coals. The frogs croaked in the evening\nlight, and above, in her chamber, Swanhild wept solitary and forsaken.\n\nIn the meantime, the boy left by the stork at the gloomy castle in the\nBohemian forest had become a valiant knight, who knew well how to use\nhis sword. Yet so strange a knight as he had never before sat in\nWalnut-tree Castle. This was the name of his ancestral home.\n\nSince his father's death Wulf had lived quite alone in the ruined\ncastle, for none of the servants would stay after the old knight died.\nBut this did not trouble Wulf. He did not care to hunt the wild boar\nthrough the thicket, or kill the frightened stag. His chief pleasure was\nto stretch himself on the thick, soft moss, and gaze through the green\nbranches of the forest trees at the blue heavens that smiled here and\nthere in little flocks through the thick foliage. He also loved to seek\nfor forest flowers--the blue were his favourites. Whence this preference\nhe knew not, but he dreamt he had once looked into Swanhild's blue eyes.\nOr, when tired of these things, he would stand at one of the castle\nwindows, gazing thoughtfully out into the blue distance. \"Far away\nyonder,\" so ran his thoughts at these times, \"where the blue heaven\nbends down to touch the earth, should I not find happiness there? Were\nit not better to journey abroad in search of happiness than to remain\nalone in this solitary castle, through whose walls the wind whistles,\nwhilst owls and bats are now the only occupants of its once stately\nhalls?\"\n\nBut though longing to go out into the world, Wulf remained in the ruined\ncastle, in obedience to an old command of one of his ancestors.\n\nIn the middle of the castle court there grew in the cleft of a rock a\ngigantic walnut tree. From it the castle had received its name. The nut\nfrom which this tree had sprung had been planted in olden times by one\nof Wulf's ancestors, who at the same time had carved these words on the\nrock:--\n\n    Where flourishes this tree, there shall my house remain.\n    While it stands, forsake it not to search abroad for fame;\n    But should the ancient glory from these halls e'er disappear,\n    Life from this tree shall make it shine once more quite bright and\n     clear.\n\nTheir splendour had long since disappeared, and how the tree could\nrestore it Wulf could not imagine; still, he remained obedient to the\ncommand.\n\n[Illustration: \"A CRAWLING MASS OF FROGS COVERED THE FLOOR\" (_p._ 249).]\n\nOne evening a mighty storm arose. Black clouds obscured the sky. The\nlightning flashed; the thunder rolled. The storm raged through the\nforest. The mouldering stones of the old castle slipped from their\nplaces, and the wind whistled through the gaps, and raged through the\nold rooms and passages. Then a flash of lightning! a clap of thunder!\nThe castle was in ruins! Wulf escaped into the open air; before him lay\nthe walnut tree, shivered by the lightning.\n\nHe immediately saddled his horse. What need to remain here longer?\nHastily snatching a few ripe nuts that lay among the shattered branches,\nhe concealed them in his doublet as a remembrance, and then rode away\nthrough the gloomy forest.\n\nFar and wide, Wulf wandered over the green earth beneath the blue\nheavens, encountering many enemies. But in spite of all he kept\ncourageously on his way.\n\nOne day his path led through a thick forest of beech trees. He looked\naround thoughtfully as his horse scattered the fallen leaves at every\nstep. Suddenly he looked up. What was it that shimmered so blue through\nthe trees? Wulf urged his horse forward, but beneath a giant beech at\nthe edge of the forest he halted; the endless sea lay before him.\n\n\"Here is blue heaven above and beneath, surely I shall find happiness\nhere?\" thought Wulf, as he swung himself to earth. Without a thought he\nleft his horse, and hastened to the shore. On the soft waves a small\nbark was rocking. Wulf sprang in and loosed the chain. Lightly the waves\nbore the boat out into the blue distance.\n\nFor a long time Wulf lay contentedly in the bottom of the boat. He felt\nas though he were a little child folded into his mother's arms, safe\nfrom all want and danger. And he thought the waves wished to tell him\nsomething, but he could not understand their language. Yet he saw that\nthey bore his bark ever more swiftly forward, and he rejoiced at the\nincreasing speed.\n\nThere was a grating sound under the keel: Wulf had reached land at last.\nBefore him lay a wooded island. Above the tops of the trees rose the\nturrets of a stately castle. He hastened forward and arrived at the\ncastle moat. An unearthly stillness reigned over all around. Nothing\nmoved save a swarm of frogs. These swam round and round in the moat, or\nsat on the leaves of the water-lilies, and croaked in what seemed to\nWulf most sorrowful tones. But the largest amongst them behaved in a\nmost extraordinary manner. He was for ever trying to climb up the castle\nwall, but if after much trouble he managed to get up a little way, he\nalways fell back again. Then he would seat himself on a water-lily, look\nupwards, and wipe his eyes as though he were weeping.\n\nWulf also looked up.\n\n\"Happiness at last!\" he exclaimed. \"The blue eyes!\" But he got no\nfurther. A violent push from an angry goat sent him flying into the\nmiddle of the moat.\n\nWulf felt himself sinking fast. His feet got entangled among the twisted\nroots of the water-lilies. With great difficulty he managed to keep his\nhead above the water.\n\n\"And here I must die,\" said he in anguish.\n\nThen from out his doublet sounded soft little voices:--\n\n    \"The blessing of Urahn to you is near.\n    Do not despair, for help is present here.\"\n\nAnd behold! all around him now began a wonderful rustling and moving. He\ngroped about with his hands, and felt that tender little roots had\nforced their way through his doublet and were taking root in the slime.\nAnd all around him he saw little green walnut tree leaves rising out of\nthe water. Twigs followed the leaves, and these again became branches.\nWulf felt he was being forced upwards; soon he was safely out of the\nwater. Looking up, he saw Swanhild's blue eyes. He stretched out his\narms towards her and she smiled.\n\nHigher and higher Wulf was borne. Five strong walnut trees grew beneath\nhim, and bore him up on their branches. Now he could reach up and touch\nSwanhild's hands. Now he sat by her at the window, and gazed into her\nblue eyes.\n\n\"What is your name?\" he asked.\n\n\"Swanhild,\" she replied.\n\n\"It is a very beautiful name,\" said Wulf. \"But for my sake you must now\nbe called Little Blue Flower. When I was quite a child I saw your eyes\nin my dreams. They appeared to me like little blue flowers, and every\nday I searched for these flowers in the forest, but they were never\nsufficiently beautiful. Now you shall be my Little Blue Flower.\" And\nthen he gave her a kiss.\n\nBut now a fresh movement began in the moat below. The stout frog was\nable to scramble up the crooked, rough stems of the walnut tree, better\nthan up the smooth castle wall. Boldly he climbed, and the whole army of\nfrogs followed him. At length he reached the top. Swanhild gently laid\nher hand on his head, and instead of the frog old Bjorn sat on one of\nthe branches of the walnut tree, and embraced and kissed both his\ndaughter and Wulf. Then the other frogs came, and Swanhild laid her\nhand on them all. Soon all Bjorn's followers were sitting in crowds on\nthe branches, dangling their legs for joy. Full of anger, the black goat\nran round and round the castle moat, rolling his great fiery eyes.\n\n[Illustration: \"Now he could reach up and touch Swanhild's hands.\" _Page\n254_]\n\n[Illustration: \"SOON ALL BJORN'S FOLLOWERS WERE SITTING ON THE BRANCHES\"\n(_p._ 256).]\n\nJust as the last frog was changed, a mighty rushing noise was heard. The\nmagician flew raging through the air. With his magic staff he struck the\npoor goat a fierce blow, and then rode back on him to Blocksberg. Here\nit went very badly with him, because he came without the soul of the\nlittle Laplander, and he was severely punished.\n\nBjorn, with Wulf and all his men, joyfully entered the castle through\nSwanhild's window. A few days later Swanhild's marriage with Wulf was\ncelebrated with great splendour, and they lived together in peace and\nhappiness to the end of their days.\n\n\n\n\n\"The Princess Who Despised all Men.\"\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\"THE PRINCESS WHO DESPISED ALL MEN.\"\n\nBy Charles Smith Cheltnam.\n\n\nTHERE was once a King and Queen who, having everything a King and Queen\ncould reasonably desire, might have been as happy as the day was\nlong--if they had only taken the right means for making the best of\ntheir good fortune.\n\nThe King was a pattern of amiability, and, as to wisdom, could have held\nhis own in comparison with any crowned potentate on earth; but of the\nQueen not half as much could be said in praise. As a girl, her beauty\nhad been renowned, and had brought to her Princes by the score as\nwooers; but to their suits she had, as the phrase is, turned a deaf ear,\nregarding men as creatures made wholly of ill qualities, and marriage\nwith them a debasement of herself in every sense; and it was not until\nher father threatened to imprison her for the rest of her life in a town\nbuilt of steel and adamant, that she could be induced to accept a\nhusband.\n\nThe amiability of her spouse was often sorely tried by her constant\ndisparagement of men; but, being founded upon exceptional goodness of\ncharacter, he did not allow it to be overcome, and schooled himself to\nbear with her fantastic ideas, rewarding himself for his leniency by\nsometimes laughing in his sleeve at the more preposterous of her\npretensions.\n\nA great many years passed without their having any family until, one\nday, the Queen had a baby girl, and consoled herself by reflecting that\nthat, at least, was better than having a boy, \"to grow up into a horrid\nman,\" as she expressed herself.\n\nIt happened that, at the moment of the little Princess's birth, the\nfairy Gaieia was passing the palace, and, as she had no particularly\npressing business on hand, slipped in, and, after congratulating the\nQueen on the beauty of her offspring, constituted herself the infant's\ngod-mother--as was the fairy custom at that period--at the same time\nlaughingly predicting that she would prove to be \"the joy of her\nparents.\"\n\nIt hardly needs to be recorded that, with her very peculiar views as to\nwhat a woman's conduct in life ought to be, the Queen did not permit her\ndaughter to receive instruction of any kind from anybody but herself;\nthe King, consequently, rarely saw his child, and knew nothing of the\ncharacter which had been made for her by her mother, rather than allowed\nto come to her and develop itself in the natural order of things. In\nthis way the Princess Disdainana--so her mother had insisted on naming\nher--was brought up until she had reached her seventeenth year. If the\nyouthful beauty of her mother had been renowned, that of the Princess\nwas celebrated far and near as being nothing less than marvellous, and a\nhundred of the richest and handsomest Kings and Princes in the world\nvied with each other in their endeavours to obtain her hand; but to not\none of them would she deign to listen even for a moment, regarding all\nmen as a sort of natural excrescence, whose only fitting place in the\nworld was in companionship with the horses and dogs, or, at most, as\nugly and repulsive creatures necessary for the performance of the most\nunpleasant labours. It was on this account that she had become\nuniversally known as \"The Princess Who Despised All Men.\"\n\nThis state of things became, at last, a cause of extreme uneasiness to\nthe King. By the time she had arrived at a marriageable age, the fact\nthat he, too, was year by year growing older began to recur to his mind\nwith disquieting persistency; for, having no son to succeed him, he saw\nthat, if his daughter's disinclination to marry were maintained, his\ndynasty was in danger of coming to an end--and that is a prospect which\nno King can be expected to contemplate with equanimity.\n\nOne day, therefore, when the subject was worrying him very much, he sent\nfor his wife and daughter and explained to them the extreme discomforts\nof the situation which had been brought about by the obduracy of the\nPrincess.\n\n\"My daughter, I am happy to say, knows her duty to herself,\" replied\nthe Queen proudly.\n\nThe King was about to retort, \"But she does not appear to know anything\nwhatever about her duty to her father;\" but, as it was a rule of conduct\nwith him never to use that form of contradiction in any discussion he\nhad with his wife, he held his peace.\n\n\"Rather than become the wife of an ugly, coarse, bearded man, I would\ndie a hundred deaths!\" cried the Princess vehemently.\n\nAs the last syllable left her lips, a gay laugh rippled through the air\nof the room.\n\n\"May I ask what you find to laugh at in what my daughter has said?\"\ndemanded the Queen of her husband, indignantly.\n\n\"Nothing whatever, my dear--and, consequently, I did not laugh,\" replied\nthe King mildly.\n\n\"What! Perhaps you will say that it was _I_ who uttered that insolent\nsound?\" cried the Queen.\n\n\"Now I come to recall the fact, I don't think I ever heard you laugh, my\ndear; but I am sure the voice that laughed a moment ago was not in the\nleast like yours,\" said the King.\n\n\"It was more like my daughter's, perhaps you will say?\" remarked the\nQueen sarcastically.\n\n\"Not in the least--I should imagine, for I never had the advantage of\nhearing her laugh any more than yourself,\" replied the King.\n\nAgain the gay sound of a musical voice, laughing lightly, rang through\nthe room.\n\n\"Oh! This is too insulting!\" cried the Queen. \"Come with me, my\nlove--out of such an unendurable atmosphere of coarseness.\"\n\nAnd, without deigning to listen to a word of remonstrance from the King,\nshe hurried the Princess back to her own apartment--followed by another\nsilvery peal of laughter.\n\n[Illustration: \"SHE HURRIED THE PRINCESS BACK TO HER OWN APARTMENT.\"]\n\nThe King was equally puzzled and vexed by the abrupt termination of what\nhe had hoped would have been a conference resulting in relief to himself\nfrom pressing anxieties. Now--knowing his wife's absolute and unyielding\ntemper, and the complete control she exercised over her daughter--he\nsaw no way but one (that of using his extreme parental authority) to\nbring the Princess to obedience; but that measure he was too\nkind-hearted to resolve upon applying.\n\nIn the utmost perplexity of mind he had paced his study for several\nminutes, without noticing that he was grasping in his right hand a\nscroll of parchment. On becoming aware of this fact, he stopped suddenly\nand gazed on the document with bewildered astonishment. It was\nabsolutely certain that he had never seen it before, that it was not in\nhis hand when the Queen and Princess quitted his presence, and that\nnobody else had entered the room.\n\nWhile he was thinking of all this, the gay laugh, which had been heard\nthree times before, rang through the study again, only more gaily than\never--for a moment angering the King, though he was one of the most\nplacable of Sovereigns, and causing him to ferret in every possible\nhiding-place in his study in search of the daring jester. But not a\ntrace of an intruder was discoverable. When he had perfectly assured\nhimself of this, he unfolded the mysteriously conveyed parchment.\n\nThe opening words of the document caused him to turn pale, and the sight\nof the signature at the end of it sent a thrill of terror through his\nframe. It was nothing less than a formal demand for the hand of the\nPrincess Disdainana, on the part of Kloxoxskin the Ninety-ninth--one of\nthe ugliest and most belligerent monarchs in the world--the document\nbeing drawn in the form of an ultimatum, calling upon the King to give\nhis daughter to the said Kloxoxskin in marriage, within two hours of\nthe receipt of this demand, or, failing compliance therewith, to\nsurrender his throne to the said Kloxoxskin, who would, at the time\nspecified, come, supported by his invincible army of one million nine\nhundred and ninety-nine veteran warriors, to receive the said King's\nanswer.\n\nIn his moments of worst apprehension, the King had never thought of\nanything so terrible as this. He called his wife and daughter back to\nhim, and made them clearly understand the crisis that had come to him\nand them; but though the Queen was inclined to save her share of the\nthrone by submission, the Princess declared that no consideration would\ninduce her to give herself to any man--to such a human monster as\nKloxoxskin least of all.\n\nFrom that resolution her father tried to move her, but she was\ninflexible against all his arguments and prayers; and when the two\nhours' grace was spent, the King found himself in the presence of the\nredoubtable Kloxoxskin the Ninety-ninth, a prisoner in his palace, and\nwholly at the mercy of his all-powerful conqueror.\n\nRealising the peril in which she stood, the Queen did her best to\npersuade her daughter to submit to the inevitable; but the Princess\nquickly silenced her by giving her back the arguments that had all her\nlife been used in the cultivation of her detestation of all men.\n\nBut though she had no misgiving as to her moral strength, the Princess\ncould not but contemplate with alarm the danger of a personal encounter\nwith King Kloxoxskin, so she determined to seek safety in flight and,\nas soon as dusk came, contrived to slip unperceived from the palace into\na dense forest which grew at no great distance from the walls of her\nfather's capital.\n\nFor a long time she pressed farther and farther into the depths of the\nforest, growing every moment more and more relieved from the\napprehension that she might be pursued.\n\nPausing at length to rest, she noticed that night had thoroughly set in,\nand that it would be impossible for her to go any farther in the\ndarkness. At the same moment a terrible sound fell upon her ears--the\nroaring of wild beasts of some kind, coming rapidly nearer and nearer.\nFor an instant her heart stood still, but she was not wanting in courage\nor resource, and, observing that she was at the foot of a giant oak\ntree, she lost not a moment in climbing to the shelter of its spreading\nboughs.\n\nChoosing the securest position she could find, her alarm of the moment\nsubsided; but though she was greatly fatigued, the memory of the peril\nfrom which she was endeavouring to escape, coupled with anxiety as to\nthe trials which might be awaiting her all night, prevented her from\ngoing to sleep; and, when morning dawned, she prepared, tired and\nhungry, to descend to the ground and continue her undefined journey.\n\nBut she found that climbing was a far easier matter than descending from\nher place of refuge; for she now observed that the tree sent out, on\nnearly all sides of its gnarled trunk, the remains of huge jagged and\nlifeless branches, to avoid which would require a skill which she did\nnot possess. She had no choice, however, but to make an attempt to get\ndown, and had nearly succeeded in reaching the ground when, to her\nconsternation, the full skirt of her splendid dress caught upon an\nenormous splinter, and held her hanging helpless some feet in the air,\nall her efforts to free herself proving unavailing.\n\n[Illustration: \"AT THE MERCY OF HIS ALL-POWERFUL CONQUEROR\" (_p._ 265).]\n\nHours passed by. The sunlight pierced some of the neighbouring\ntree-tops; but the return of day brought her neither comfort nor the\nhope of release, and she was giving way to the horrible idea that she\nwould have to endure all the torments of a lingering death, when she\nheard the voice of a woodman, whistling on his way to his work, and\ncalled to him.\n\nThe man came towards her out of the underwood.\n\n\"Assist me down,\" said the Princess, in her habitual tone of disdain.\n\n\"Not I,\" replied the woodman. \"I recognise you: you are the Princess Who\nDespises All Men! Ho! ho!--_I'm_ a man, remember!\"\n\nThat said, he went on his way, whistling cheerfully, leaving the\nPrincess to think, for a moment, that her rooted antipathy to men was\namply justified by the brutal conduct of this coarse and ugly wretch.\n\nBut the distress of her position became every moment more and more\nacute, and, seeing that it was hopeless to anticipate the assistance of\nany chance passer, she made one more effort to free herself, and by\nexerting all her remaining strength, succeeded in tearing herself from\nthe offensive bough--at the cost of a great rent in her beautiful dress\nand a fall, which left her for a few minutes lying insensible on the\nground at the foot of the tree.\n\nAfter returning to consciousness, and sitting for a while to recover her\npresence of mind, she rose and continued her blind way through the\nforest, always hungry and many times faint with fatigue, all day long,\nuntil once again she found the shades of evening closing about her.\n\nJust before night had actually come, she reached a spot at which a party\nof charcoal-burners were seated about a cheerful fire in front of their\nhut, eating their supper of bread and potatoes, roasted in the embers\nat their feet. The appetising scents of these well-cooked roots provoked\nthe starving Princess's hunger in an almost unendurable degree.\n\n\"Give me one of your potatoes,\" she said, still unable to modify the\ndisdainful tone of her voice.\n\n\"Not we!\" replied the head charcoal-burner. \"I recognise you: you are\nthe Princess Who Despises All Men! Ho! ho! _We_ are men, remember!\"\n\nMore than ever disgusted with men, the Princess wandered all night\nthrough the forest, afraid to lie down, lest she might fall asleep and\nbecome a prey to some prowling wild beast.\n\nAs the dawn of another day was becoming visible, she found herself on\nthe border of a meadow, and saw a young farmer drawing water from a well\nfor some horses which were waiting near him.\n\n\"Give me some of that water--I'm thirsty!\" she said imperiously.\n\n\"Aha,\" said the young farmer, \"I recognise you: you are the Princess Who\nDespises All Men! If you want water, dig a well for yourself, as I have\nhad to do.\"\n\n\"Loathsome creatures, one and all!\" the Princess said to herself, as she\nturned away from the spot. \"My good mother was right in teaching me to\ndespise them.\"\n\nShe presently reached a more open part of the country, though she was\nstill near the forest through which she had passed, and, towards noon,\nwhen she was almost overcome by the sun's heat, she came upon a rising\nground, whence she beheld, afar off, a great stretch of water, and, on\nwhat seemed its most distant reach, an opalesque haze.\n\nThen there suddenly came to her mind a story she had heard of the\nexistence of an island-kingdom peopled by women who, like herself, held\nall men in disdain, and would never permit one of them to set foot where\nthey were. And she was overtaken by a burning desire to reach that\nisland, which she fancied must be hidden in the midst of the opalesque\nhaze on which she was gazing.\n\nSo she hurried on and on, sustained wholly by the intensity of her\ndesire, till she came upon the sea-shore--for the great water she had\nlooked upon was the wide ocean.\n\nAlongside his boat, and busy with his nets, she found a fisherman, and\nat once accosted him.\n\n\"Is yonder mist-enveloped island the kingdom of Diaphanosia?\" she asked\nhim.\n\n\"Yes,\" he answered.\n\n\"Then row me over to it in your boat,\" she said eagerly.\n\n\"Not I,\" he replied. \"I recognise you: you are the Princess Who Despises\nAll men, and _I_ am a man, you know. If you want a boat, make one for\nyourself, as I had to do. Over there, in the forest, you will find\nplenty of wood for your purpose, only you will have to cut it down.\"\n\nTo get out of the sun's burning rays, and to give herself time for\nreflection, the Princess retired into the forest and sat down at the\nfoot of a hollow tree, by the side of which a rusty axe was lying, as\nif it had been left there by some woodman and forgotten.\n\n[Illustration: \"THE DISTRESS OF HER POSITION BECAME EVERY MOMENT MORE\nACUTE\" (_p._ 268).]\n\nStrange! A merry laugh came out of the thicket near to her; but though\nshe searched with her eyes in every direction she could discover nobody\nwho could have given it utterance.\n\nStrange again! It flashed upon her mind that the mere expression of\ndisdain for men was wanting in force if it were not emphasised by the\ndemonstration of woman's power to do absolutely without them.\n\nUpon the strength of this reasoning, she at once seized the axe, and\nafter many days of hard work, succeeded in felling the hollow tree and\ngiving to it something of the shape of a boat, in which, by the aid of a\nroughly fashioned pair of oars, she rowed herself across to the\nisland-kingdom, where she hoped to find the realisation of all her\naspirations for a state of existence in which men were wholly ignored.\n\nNot once or twice, but over and over again, she succeeded in reaching\nthe border of the opalesque haze in which the kingdom of Diaphanosia was\nperpetually veiled; but she was as often beaten back by an irresistible\ncurrent which set towards the shore from which she had started.\n\nOn one of these fruitless voyages her strength utterly left her, and she\nsank down in the bottom of her boat insensible, the oars dropping from\nher nerveless hands and drifting away; so that, even if she had\nimmediately returned to consciousness, she would have found herself\nhelplessly at the mercy of the sea.\n\nWhen she _did_ recover from her state of insensibility, it was to\ndiscover herself lying upon a mossy bank on the skirt of the forest, a\nhandsome and superbly dressed young man tending her with delicately\neager solicitude.\n\nShe did not attempt to rise or to speak; she thought she was sleeping\nand dreaming--the only thing strange in her state of feeling being that\nthe near presence of a man provoked no sense of repugnance or\nresentment.\n\n\"Thank Heaven!\" said the young gentleman, in a tone of intense relief,\nas he saw her open her eyes. \"For awhile I have been terribly afraid\nthat my efforts to rescue you had been unavailing.\"\n\nStill held by the idea that she was dreaming, the Princess only\ncontinued to look into his face without replying to his words.\n\n\"Rest here for a short time, and sleep if you can, while I watch over\nyou,\" he continued. \"When you have become strong enough to travel, my\nhorse shall carry you to my father's palace, which stands not very far\nfrom this spot: once there, my mother will be delighted to tend upon you\nas if you were her own daughter.\"\n\n\"Take me to your kind mother,\" she said, rising, the soft tones of her\nown voice sounding in her ears as if they came from the lips of some\nother person than herself.\n\nThe handsome young Prince--for he was no less--blew a golden whistle\nsuspended to his neck by a jewelled chain, and in a few moments a\nsplendidly caparisoned horse came to him from out the forest.\n\nUpon the back of this noble steed the Prince gallantly lifted his\nbeautiful charge, and taking the bridle on his hand, led him through the\nforest openings, walking by the Princess's side and relating to her how,\nwhile hunting, it had been his blest fortune to see her helpless\ncondition in her boat, and, by swimming out to her, rescue her at the\nmoment when her rude vessel was on the point of sinking with her beneath\nthe waves.\n\nShe listened silently to all he said to her, filled with an inexplicable\nsense of wonder at herself in finding that ever the voice of a man could\nfall sympathetically on her ears! \"I _must_ be dreaming!\" she said to\nherself again and again.\n\nAt last, on reaching an eminence, the Prince pointed to a noble pile of\nbuildings on the outskirts of a great city, and said--something of\nsadness coming into the tone of his voice:\n\n\"Yonder is my father's palace; we shall reach it in a very little\ntime--and then the happy privilege of these delightful moments will\ncease to be mine, never to be renewed, perhaps.\"\n\nAll things about her seemed, at the sound of those words, to melt into a\nroseate mist, carrying with them all sense of herself. Apart from her\nwill, unconsciously, she held out her hand to her preserver, who pressed\nit to his lips with tender gratitude.\n\nClearly and with wonderful sweetness of intonation, the gay laugh which\nhad greeted her on so many eventful moments of her life once more rang\nin the Princess's ears.\n\n\"Ah! I recognise it now!\" she cried--\"the sweet voice of my fairy\ngod-mother! Oh, wise and kind Gaieia, still be my guardian, as you have\never been, and make me in the future all that I have failed to make\nmyself in the past!\"\n\nThe laugh that answered her entreaty was as gay and sweet as ever, but\ncame from afar; for, in fact, the good fairy had sped away, having a\ngreat deal still to do for her froward godchild, and that without delay:\namongst other things to make King Kloxoxskin immediately evacuate the\npalace and dominions of the Princess's father, under the idea that he\nwas escaping from a great peril which would certainly have overwhelmed\nhim if he had persisted in forcing the Princess Disdainana to marry him.\n\n[Illustration: \"HER RUDE VESSEL WAS ON THE POINT OF SINKING\" (_p._\n274).]\n\nMore than that--a task much more difficult to accomplish--the merry\nfairy had to overcome the prejudice of the Queen, whose obstinacy had\nreturned in full force as soon as she was once again able to exercise it\non the side of her anti-matrimonial fancies. But, as everybody knows,\nnothing can permanently withstand the power and strategy of a good\nfairy; so it came about--really as a matter of course--that, her\ndaughter having accepted for her husband the charming Prince who had\nsaved her life, the Queen consented to receive him as her son-in-law;\nand it is a well-attested matter of history, that nobody ever heard her\nutter a single word in dissent from her husband's freely-expressed\ndelight at the saving of his dynasty from what had, for awhile, seemed\nits inevitable extinction.\n\n\n\n\nThe Necklace of Tears.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nTHE NECKLACE _of_ TEARS.\n\nBy Mrs. Egerton Eastwick.\n\n\nONCE, many years ago, there lived in Ombrelande a most beautiful\nPrincess. Now, Ombrelande is a country which still exists, and in which\nmany strange things still happen, although it is not to be found in any\nmap of the world that I know of.\n\nThe Princess, at the time the story begins, was little more than a\nchild, and while her growing beauty was everywhere spoken of, she was\nunfortunately still more noted for her selfish and disagreeable nature.\nShe cared for nothing but her own amusement and pleasure, and gave no\nthought to the pain she sometimes inflicted on others in order to\ngratify her whims. It must be mentioned, however, as an excuse for her\nheartlessness, that, being an only child, she had been spoilt from her\nbabyhood, and always allowed to have her own way, while those who\nthwarted her were punished.\n\nOne day the Princess Olga, that was her name, escaped from her governess\nand attendants, and wandered into the wood which joined the gardens of\nthe palace. It was her fancy to be alone; she would not even allow her\nfaithful dachshund to bear her company.\n\nThe air was soft with the coming of spring; the sun was shining, the\nsongs of the birds were full of gratitude and joy; the most lovely\nflowers, in all imaginable hues, turned the earth into a jewelled nest\nof verdure.\n\nOlga threw herself down on a bank, bright with green moss and soft as a\ndowny pillow. The warmth and her wanderings had already wearied her. She\nhad neglected her morning studies, and left her singing-master waiting\nfor her in despair in the music-room of the palace, that she might\nwander into the wood, and already the pleasure was gone.\n\nShe threw herself down on the bank and wished she was at home. There was\none thing, however, of which she never tired, and that was her own\nbeauty; so now, having nothing to do, and finding the world and the\nmorning exceedingly tiresome and tame and dull, she unbound her long\ngolden hair, and spread it all around her like a carpet over the moss\nand the flowers, that she might admire its softness and luxuriance, by\nway of a change.\n\nShe held up the yellow meshes in her hands and drew them through her\nfingers, laughing to see the golden lights that played among the silky\nwaves in the sunlight; then she fell to admiring the small white hands\nwhich held the treasure, holding them up against the light to see their\nalmost transparent delicacy, and the pretty rose-pink lines where the\nfingers met. Certainly she made a charming picture, there in the\nsunshine among the flowers: the picture of a lovely innocent child, if\nshe had been less vain and self-conscious.\n\nPresently she heard a slight rustle of boughs behind her, and looking\nround she saw that she was no longer alone. Not many paces away, gazing\nat her with admiring wonder, stood a youth in the dress of a beggar, and\nover his shoulder looked the face of a young girl, which Olga was forced\nto acknowledge as lovely as her own. Now, the forest was the private\nproperty of the King, and the presence of these poor-looking people was\ncertainly an intrusion.\n\n\"What are you doing here?\" said Olga haughtily. \"Don't you know that you\nare trespassing? This wood belongs to the King, and is forbidden to\ntramps and beggars.\"\n\n\"We are no beggars, lady,\" said the youth. He spoke with great\ngentleness, but his voice was strong and sweet as a deep-toned bell. \"To\nus no land is forbidden--and we own allegiance to no one.\"\n\n\"My father will have you put in prison,\" said Olga angrily. \"What is\nyour name?\"\n\n\"My name is Kasih.\"\n\n\"And that girl behind you--she is hiding--why does she not come\nforward?\"\n\n\"It is Kasukah--my sister,\" he said, looking round with a smile; \"she is\nshy, and frightened, perhaps.\"\n\n\"What outlandish names! You must be gypsies,\" said Olga rudely, \"and\nperhaps thieves.\"\n\n\"Indeed, lady, you are mistaken; on the contrary, it is in our power to\nbestow upon you many priceless gifts. But we have travelled far to find\nyou, and are weary; only bid us welcome--let us go with you to the\ncastle to rest--Kasukah----\"\n\n\"How dare you speak so to me?\" interrupted Olga, in a fury. \"To the\ncastle, indeed--what are you thinking of? There is a poor-house\nsomewhere, I have heard the people say, maintained by my father's bounty\nout of the taxes, you can go there. Go at once--or----\"\n\nShe raised the little silver-handled dog-whip which hung at her girdle.\nTo do her justice, she was no coward. Kasukah had quite disappeared; the\nboy stood alone looking at Olga with sad, reproachful eyes. For a\nmoment, she thought what a pity he was so poor and shabby; he had the\nface and bearing of a king. But she was too proud to change her tone.\n\n\"Or what?\" he said.\n\n\"I will drive you away,\" she said defiantly. Still Kasih did not move,\nand the next moment she had struck him smartly across the cheek with the\nwhip.\n\nHe made no effort at self-defence or retaliation, only it seemed to her\nthat she herself felt the pain of the wound. For a few instants she saw\nhis sorrowful face grown white and stern, and the red, glowing scar\nwhich her whip had caused; then, like Kasukah, he seemed to vanish, and\ndisappeared among the trees, while where he had stood a sunbeam crossed\nthe grass.\n\nOlga felt rather scared. She had been certainly very audacious, and it\nwas odd that the boy should have shown no resentment. After all, she\nrather wished she had asked both him and his sister to stay, they might\nhave proved amusing.\n\n[Illustration: \"GO AT ONCE\" (_p._ 282).]\n\nHowever, it was too late now; she could not call them back; so she\nthought she would return to the castle; she was beginning to feel\nhungry. So she went leisurely home, and, for the remainder of the day,\nproved a little more tractable than usual. She did not forget Kasih and\nhis sister, and for a time wondered if they would ever seek her again;\nbut the months went by and she saw them no more.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nNow, as Olga grew older, of course the question arose of finding for her\na desirable husband. And one suitor came and another, but none pleased\nher; and, indeed, more than one highly eligible young Prince was\nfrightened away by her haughty manners and violent temper.\n\nThe truth was, that in secret she had not forgotten the face of Kasih,\nand she sometimes told herself that if she could find among her suitors\none who was at all like him, and was also rich and powerful enough to\ngive her all she desired in other ways, him she would choose. Kasih was\ncertainly very handsome, in spite of his beggar's clothes; and, suitably\ndressed, he would have been quite adorable. Also, it would be delightful\nto find a husband with such a gentle, yielding disposition, who never\nthought of resenting anything she said or did.\n\nAnd one day a suitor came to the palace who really made her heart beat a\nlittle faster than usual at first; he was so like the lost Kasih. But\nunfortunately he was only the younger son of a Royal Duke, and could\noffer her nothing better than a small, insignificant Principality and an\nincome hardly sufficient to pay her dressmaker's bills. So it was no use\nthinking about him, and he was dismissed with the others. Olga's father\nbegan to think his daughter would never find all she required in a\nhusband, but would remain for ever in the ancestral castle: as every\nyear she grew more disagreeable, the prospect did not afford him entire\nsatisfaction.\n\nAt length, however, appeared a very powerful Prince, who peremptorily\ndemanded her hand. He was a big, strong man, and carried on his wooing\nin such a masterful manner that even Olga was a little afraid of him. At\nthe same time he loaded her with jewels and beautiful presents of all\nkinds, brought from his own country. He was said to possess fabulous\nwealth; and, partly because she feared him, and partly because of her\npride and ambition, haughty Olga surrendered and promised to become his\nwife. Having once gained her consent, Hazil would brook no delay.\n\nThe date was immediately fixed, and the grandest possible preparations\nmade for the wedding. No expense was spared, innumerable guests were\ninvited, while those less favoured among the people came from far and\nnear to see the bride's wedding clothes and to bring her presents.\nIndeed, the King of Ombrelande was forced to add a new suite of rooms to\nthe castle to contain the wedding gifts and display them to the best\nadvantage.\n\nSuch a sight as the bridal train had never been seen before, for it was\nspangled all over with diamonds so closely that Olga when she moved\nlooked like a living jewel--and her veil was sprinkled with diamond\ndust, which sparkled like myriads of tiny stars.\n\nThe evening before the wedding day Olga sat alone in her chamber,\nthinking of the magnificence that awaited her, also a little of Hazil,\nthe bridegroom. She had that day seen Hazil, in a passion, punish, with\nhis own hands, a servant for disobedience, and the sight had displeased\nher. It had been an ugly and unpleasant exhibition, but worse than all,\nthe sight of the poor man's wounds had recalled that livid mark across\nthe fair cheek of Kasih which she herself had wrought. The boy's gentle\nface, which had become so stern when they parted, the laughing eyes of\nKasukah, quite haunted her to-night. She thought she would like to make\namends for her rudeness; if she knew where they were, she would ask\nbrother and sister to her wedding. And just as she was so thinking, a\nsoft tap sounded at the door, and before she could ask who was there\n(she thought it must surely be the Queen, her mother, come to bid her a\nlast good-night, and felt rather displeased at the interruption) the\ndoor opened, and a stranger entered the room.\n\nOlga saw a tall figure, draped from head to foot in a soft darkness that\nshrouded her like a cloud, obscuring even her face.\n\n\"Who are you?\" said Olga, \"and what do you want in my private\napartments? Who dared admit you without my leave?\"\n\n\"I asked admittance of no one, for none can refuse me or bar my way,\"\nanswered the stranger, in a voice like the sighing of soft winds at\nnight. \"My name is Kasuhama--I am the foster-sister of Kasukah and\nKasih, of whom you were just now thinking, and I come to bring you a\nwedding gift.\"\n\nShe withdrew her veil slightly as she spoke, and Olga saw a pale,\nserene face, sorrowful in expression, and framed with snow-white hair,\nbut yet bearing a likeness, that was like a memory, to Kasih and\nKasukah.\n\n[Illustration: \"I COME TO BRING YOU A WEDDING GIFT\" (_p._ 286).]\n\n\"I wish,\" said Olga petulantly, \"that Kasih had brought it to-morrow and\nbeen present at our feast. I would have seen that he was properly\nattired for the occasion. Your sad face is hardly suitable for a\nwedding feast. Shall I ever see him again?\"\n\n\"As to that, I cannot answer,\" said Kasuhama gravely; \"but your wedding\nis no place either for him or Kasukah. As for me--I go everywhere. I am\nolder in appearance than the others, you see, though, in reality, it is\nnot so. But that is because they have immortal souls and I have none.\nThe time will come when I must bid them farewell. We but journey\ntogether for a time.\"\n\nThe air of the room seemed to have become strangely chill and cold, and\nOlga shivered. \"I am tired,\" she said, \"and I wish to rest. Will you\nstate your business and leave me?\"\n\nExperience had made her less abruptly rude than when she dismissed Kasih\nin the wood; also this cold, pale, soulless woman struck her with\nsomething like awe.\n\n\"Yes,--I will say farewell to you now. In the future you will know me\nbetter and perhaps learn not to fear me--but I will leave with you the\npresent I came to bring.\"\n\nShe held out a necklace of pearls more wonderful than even Olga had ever\nseen. They were large and round, lustrous and fair; but as Olga took\nthem in her hands it seemed to her that, in their mysterious depths,\neach jewel held imprisoned a living soul.\n\n\"Wear them,\" said Kasuhama; \"by them you will remember me.\"\n\nAlmost involuntarily Olga raised her hands and fastened the necklace\naround her slender throat. The clasps just met, and the pearls glistened\nlike dewdrops on her bosom--or were they tears?\n\nBut in the centre of the necklace was a vacant space.\n\n\"There is one lost!\" she said.\n\n\"Not lost, but missing,\" answered Kasuhama softly. \"One day the place\nwill be filled, and the necklace will be complete.\" And with these words\nshe waved her hand to Olga, and, drawing her dusky veil around her,\nquitted the room as quietly as she had entered.\n\nThe ceremonies of the following day passed off without let or hindrance,\nand Olga, dazzled by her grandeur, would have thought little of her\nvisitor of the previous night--would indeed have believed the incident a\ndream, a trick of the imagination--but for the necklace. It still\nencircled her throat, for her utmost efforts proved unavailing to\nunfasten the clasps, and every one stared and marvelled at the wonderful\npearls which seemed endowed with a curious fascination.\n\nOnly Prince Hazil was displeased; for he could not bear his bride to\nwear jewels not his gift, and that outshone by their lustre any he could\nproduce; also, he was jealous of the unknown giver. When the wedding was\nover, and they were travelling away to the distant castle where the\nfirst weeks of Olga's new life were to be spent, he tried to take the\njewels from their resting-place. Olga smiled, for she knew that even his\ngreat strength would be unavailing, and so it proved; and although on\nreaching their destination Hazil sent for all the Court jewellers,\nneither then nor at any other time could the most experienced among them\nloosen Kasuhama's magic gift from its place.\n\nThe months rolled by, and Olga reigned a Queen in her husband's country,\nbut her life was a sad one. Hazil was often cruel, and it seemed as\nthough he were bent upon heaping upon her all the contumely and\nharshness she had shown to others. Still her proud spirit refused to\nyield. She met him with defiance in secret, and openly bore herself with\nso much cold haughtiness that no one dared to hint at her trouble, much\nless to offer her any sympathy.\n\nBut when alone in her chamber she saw again the faces of Kasih and\nKasukah; but more often that of Kasuhama. For the necklace was still\nthere to remind her; the pearls still shone with mysterious, undimmed\nlustre; indeed, they seemed to grow more numerous, and to be woven into\nmore delicate and intricate designs, as time went on. Still, however,\nthe place for the central jewel remained unfilled. Often Olga herself\ntried with passionate, almost agonising, effort to break their fatal\nchain, for every day their weight grew heavier, until she seemed to bear\nfetters of iron about her fair throat, and when the pearls touched her\nthey burned as though the iron were molten.\n\nStill, in public, they were universally admired, and gratified vanity\nenabled her to bear the pain and inconvenience without open complaint.\n\nBut one day was placed in her arms another treasure--a beautiful living\nchild, and she was so fair that they called her Pearl, but the Queen\nhated the name. The child, however, found a soft place in Hazil's rough\nnature; indeed, he idolised her; but Olga rarely saw her little\ndaughter, and left her altogether to the care of the nurses and\nattendants.\n\n[Illustration: \"HE TRIED TO TAKE THE JEWELS FROM THEIR RESTING-PLACE\"\n(_p._ 289).]\n\nSo little Pearl grew very fragile, and had a wistful look in her blue\neyes, as though waiting for something that never came; for in her\ngrand nurseries and among all her beautiful playthings she found no\nmother-love to perfect and nourish her life.\n\nAnd all this time Olga had seen no more of Kasih or Kasukah; had,\nindeed, almost forgotten what their faces were like. But one night, at\nthe close of a grand entertainment, she was summoned in haste to the\nnursery. The Court physician came to tell her that little Pearl was ill.\n\nOlga was very weary. Never had the necklace seemed so heavy a burden as\nthat night, or the Court functions so endless. She rose, however, and\nfollowed the physician at once. Hazil, the King, was far away, visiting\na distant part of his great territory; he would be terribly angry if\nanything went wrong with little Pearl during his absence.\n\nShe reached the room where the child lay on her lace-covered pillows,\nvery white and small, but with a happy smile on her tiny face, a happy\nlight in her blue eyes, which looked satisfied at last. But Olga knew\nthat the smile was not for her, that the child did not recognise her,\nwould never know her any more.\n\nSome one else stood beside the couch: a stranger with bent head and\nloving, out-stretched arms, and little Pearl prattled in baby language\nof playthings and flowers and sunlight and green fields. Olga drew near\nand watched, helpless and terrified, with a strange despair at her\nheart. And soon the little voice grew weaker--but the happy smile\ndeepened as the blue eyes closed.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nAnd there was a great silence in the nursery. The stranger lifted the\nlittle form in his arms, and as he raised his head Olga saw his face,\nand she knew that it was Kasih come at last, for across his cheek still\nglowed the red line of the wound which her hand had dealt many years\nbefore. His eyes met hers with the same stern sadness of reproach as\nwhen they had parted--then she remembered no more.\n\n[Illustration: \"THE STRANGER LIFTED THE LITTLE FORM IN HIS ARMS\" (_p._\n292).]\n\nWhen the Queen recovered from her swoon they told her that her little\ndaughter was dead; but she knew that Kasih had taken her. She said no\nword and showed few signs of grief, but remained outwardly proud and\ncold, though her heart was wrung with a pain and fear she could not\nunderstand. She was full of wrath against Kasih, who, she thought, had\ntaken this way of avenging the old insult she had offered him. Yet the\nsorrowful look in his eyes haunted her.\n\nThe pearls about her neck pressed upon her with a heavier weight, and in\nher sleep she saw them as in a vision, and in their depths she discerned\nstrange pictures: faces she had known years ago and long since\nforgotten, the faces of those whom her pride and harshness had caused to\nsuffer, who had appealed to her for love and pity and were denied.\n\nAnd then in her dream she understood that the pearls were in truth the\ntears of those she had made sorrowful, kept and guarded by Kasih in his\ntreasure-house, but given to her by Kasuhama to be her punishment.\n\nBefore many days had passed, the King Hazil returned, and when he\nlearned that his little daughter was dead, he summoned the Queen to his\npresence. Olga went haughtily, for she dared not altogether disobey.\nThen Hazil loaded her with reproaches, and in his anger he told her\nmany, many hard things, and the words sank deep into her heart. It\nseemed, presently, that she could bear no more, and hardly knowing what\nshe did, she cast herself at his feet and prayed for mercy.\n\nShe asked him to remember that the child had been hers also--that she\nhad loved it. But Hazil, in his bitterness, laughed in her face and told\nher she was a monster, that it was for lack of her love that the child\nhad died, that she had never loved anything--not even herself. He\nturned away to nurse his own grief, and Olga dragged herself up and went\naway to the silent room, and knelt by the little couch where she had\nseen Kasih take away her child.\n\nAnd there at length the blessed tears fell, for she was humbled at last,\nand sorry, and quite desolate and alone. And it seemed to her that\nthrough her tears she once more saw Kasih, and that he held towards her\nthe little Pearl, more beautiful than ever, and the child put its arms\nabout her neck, and she was comforted.\n\nWell, from that day the life of the Queen was changed. When next she\nlooked at the pearl necklace she found that a jewel, more beautiful than\nany of the others, had been added to it; and she knew that the tear of\nher humiliation had filled the vacant place.\n\nAnd henceforth she often saw the face of Kasih: near the bed of the\ndying, beside all who needed consolation, kindness, and love, there she\nmet him constantly. Near him sometimes she caught a glimpse of bright\nKasukah, but for a while, more often of Kasuhama.\n\nThe face of the white-haired sister, however, had grown very gentle and\nkind, and she whispered of a time when Kasukah should take her place for\never--for Love and Joy are eternal, but Sorrow has an end. And with\nevery act of unselfish kindness and love that the Queen Olga performed\nthe weight and burden of the necklace grew less, until the day that it\nfell from her of its own accord, and she was able to give it back to\nKasuhama. And Hazil, the King, seeing how greatly Olga was changed, in\ntime grew gentle towards her, and loved her; for Kasuhama softened his\nheart.\n\n\n\n\nThe Prince and the Lions.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nTHE PRINCE and THE LIONS.\n\nFrom the Persian.\n\n\nIN an Eastern city there once lived a young Prince named Azgid. He was\nvirtuous and accomplished, but had one fault--he was a bit of a coward!\n\nPrince Azgid's father had recently died, and he was looking forward to\nhis coronation. A few days before the day fixed for the ceremony, the\nold Vizier called upon the Prince and informed His Royal Highness that\nbefore he could ascend the throne he must in accordance with an ancient\ncustom, fight a certain huge red lion which was kept in a den within the\nprecincts of the palace.\n\nThe Prince, upon hearing this, was so frightened that he made up his\nmind to run away. He rose in the night, dressed himself hastily,\nmounted his horse, and left the city. Thus he journeyed for three days.\n\nIn the course of the third day, as he rode through a beautiful\nthickly-wooded country, he heard the sound of exquisite music, and\npresently overtook a handsome youth, who was leading a few sheep, and\nplaying upon a flute.\n\nThe young man having courteously saluted the stranger, Prince Azgid\nbegged him to go on playing, for never in his life before, said the\nPrince, had he listened to such enchanting strains.\n\nThe player then told Azgid that he was the slave of the wealthy shepherd\nnamed Oaxus, to whose abode, which was close at hand, he offered to\nconduct the traveller.\n\nThe Prince gladly accepted this invitation, and in a few moments was\nentering the house of Oaxus, who accorded him a hearty welcome, and\nplaced food and drink before him. When Azgid had finished his meal, he\nfelt it incumbent upon him to make some sort of explanation to his host.\n\n\"Doubtless,\" said he, \"you wonder who I am, and what is my errand in\ncoming hither? I can tell you this much--that I am a Prince whom trouble\nhas driven from home. Pardon me if I do not divulge my name; that is a\nsecret which must be securely locked within my own breast. If convenient\nto you, I would gladly remain in this delightsome spot. I have ample\nmeans, and can remunerate you for your kindness.\"\n\nOaxus assured his guest that nothing would give him greater pleasure\nthan to entertain him for as long a period as he cared to stay, and he\nbegged him not to think of offering any remuneration.\n\n\"And now, Isdril,\" added Oaxus, addressing his slave, \"show the Prince\nour fountains and waterfalls, our rocks and vales, for I perceive that\nhe is one who can appreciate Nature's beauties.\"\n\nThe youth took up his flute and went out with the Prince.\n\nAfter wandering awhile amidst romantic scenery, the two young men sat\ndown to rest upon a rock in a shady valley. The slave put his flute to\nhis lips, and began to play. The prince loved music passionately, and\nthe idea had already occurred to him that, if he ever left this fair\nretreat, he would like to purchase from Oaxus his accomplished slave.\n\nSuddenly Isdril broke the spell of the Prince's enjoyment by rising to\nhis feet, with the words: \"It is time for us to be going.\"\n\n\"Wherefore?\" queried the Prince. \"Why should we quit this delicious spot\nso soon?\"\n\n\"Because,\" replied the other, \"the neighbourhood is infested with lions.\nIt is well, therefore, to retire early within our abodes, and close the\ngates. Upon one occasion I lagged behind, and see the consequence!\"\n\nHe rolled up his sleeve and revealed a big scar upon his arm. Azgid\nturned pale, and upon reaching the house, informed his host that he had\nchanged his mind and found himself obliged to ride on farther. He\nthanked Oaxus, bade farewell to him and to Isdril, and galloped off.\n\nAgain he journeyed for three days, and came to a vast desert, in the\nmidst of which he beheld an Arab encampment.\n\nThankfully he rode up to the black tents, for both he and his horse were\nworn out with hunger and fatigue.\n\nHe was received by a dignified Sheik, to whom he made the same speech\nthat he had addressed to the kindly Oaxus.\n\nSheik Hajaar, like the shepherd, answered to the effect that he desired\nno other remuneration than the pleasure of the Prince's society, and\nthat he should be delighted to keep his guest for ever, if so it might\nbe. He introduced Azgid to a large number of his friends, and provided\nfor his use a magnificent steed.\n\nA week passed. Day by day the Prince accompanied the Sheik in his\nantelope-hunting expeditions, which he enjoyed exceedingly. He quite\nthought that he was now happily settled for life, when one night, after\nhe had retired to rest, Sheik Hajaar approached his couch, and said:\n\n\"My son, I have come to tell you how pleased my people are with you,\nmore especially with the spirit you have shown in the chase. But our\nlife is not wholly taken up in such easy recreations; we frequently\nengage in hard fighting with other tribes. All my men are seasoned\nwarriors, and before they can have perfect confidence in you it is\nnecessary that they should have some proof of your prowess. Two leagues\nto the south is a range of hills infested with lions. Go, then, early in\nthe morning, mounted upon your horse, and armed with sword and spear.\nSlay one of these fierce beasts and bring us his skin; so shall we know\nthat we may rely upon you in the day of battle.\"\n\n[Illustration: \"HE ROLLED UP HIS SLEEVE AND REVEALED A BIG SCAR\" (_p._\n301).]\n\nWhen the Sheik had left him, Azgid rose, dressed himself, slipped\nquietly out of his tent, and bade a sorrowful, affectionate farewell to\nthe horse which the Sheik had allowed him to use, now tethered with the\nothers. Then he mounted his own steed, and rode forth into the night.\n\nBy the middle of the next day, he was rejoiced to find that he was\nleaving the desert, and entering a fair region of hill and dale, meadows\nand streams. Soon he came to a splendid palace, built of porphyry, and\nstanding in the midst of a magnificent garden.\n\nThe owner of the palace, a rich Emir, was sitting in the porch, with his\ngolden-haired daughter, Perizide.\n\nHere, again, the Prince was most kindly received. The interior of the\nbuilding proved to be even more beautiful than the exterior. The rooms\nblazed with gold and precious stones; walls and ceilings were covered\nwith valuable paintings; the windows were of the costliest stained\nglass. The Emir set before his guest a collection of delicate viands.\n\nThe Prince made his accustomed speech, avowing his rank, but concealing\nhis name. He added also his customary request, that he might be allowed\nto remain for a time in the house of his present entertainer.\n\nThe Emir replied politely that the prince was heartily welcome to remain\nuntil the end of his life, if he chose to do so. Then he begged his\nguest to excuse him for a few minutes, as he was expecting some friends,\nand wished to make preparations for their reception.\n\nThus Azgid was left alone with Perizide, with whom he was already in\nlove. She took him into the garden, after exploring the beauties of\nwhich the pair returned to the house.\n\nThe palace, now illuminated from top to bottom, was full of company.\nThe evening passed merrily. Observing a lute which lay upon a couch, the\nmusic-loving young Prince begged Perizide to play to him. In the midst\nof his enjoyment, however, he was startled by a strange, loud sound, and\nasked his fair companion what it might be.\n\n\"Oh!\" replied she, with a laugh, \"that is only Boulak, our black porter,\nindulging in a yawn.\"\n\n\"Good gracious!\" exclaimed Azgid; \"what uncommonly good lungs he must\nhave!\"\n\nAfter the other guests had left, and Perizide had gone to bed, the Emir\nand the Prince chatted and smoked together for some time. By-and-by, the\nformer offered to conduct the latter to his sleeping apartment. When\nthey came to the foot of the grand staircase, which was of white marble,\nAzgid, looking up, was horrified to behold an enormous black lion\nstretched upon the topmost landing.\n\n\"What is that?\" faltered he.\n\n\"That,\" returned his host, \"is Boulak, our black porter. He is a tame\nlion, and will not harm you, if you are not afraid of him. He knows when\nany one fears him and then becomes ferocious.\"\n\n\"I fear him greatly!\" whispered the Prince.\n\nAs he could not be persuaded to mount the stairs, he had to return to\nthe saloon, and repose upon one of the divans.\n\nAfter the Emir had left him, Azgid carefully locked the door and\nfastened the windows. Then he lay down, but not to sleep. For he could\nhear the lion walking about, and once the beast actually came to the\ndoor, and uttering a terrific roar, sprang against it with his forepaws.\n\nThe poor Prince made sure that the door would burst open, and that he\nshould be devoured. Nothing of the kind happened, however. In a few\nmoments Boulak went upstairs, and came down no more that night.\n\nAzgid lay thinking. Evidently he had flown in the face of Providence\nwhen he had fled from the lion at home. Since then, lions had met him at\nevery turn. He resolved to submit to what was so clearly his destined\nduty--to return home and fulfil the condition required.\n\nIn the morning, therefore, he told the Emir the whole truth. The kind\nold man had been acquainted with Azgid's father, the King Almamoun. He\nhighly approved of the young man's resolution, and, with a parting\nblessing, sped him on his way. But the Prince had no opportunity of\nmaking his adieux to the fair Perizide.\n\nThen Azgid rode back to the Arab camp, and confessed all to the good\nSheik Hajaar. He also inquired after the beautiful horse.\n\n\"He is well,\" replied the other, \"and I should be gratified if you could\nstay with us and use him again But it would be wrong to hinder you from\nyour pious, undertaking. Return to your home, and do your duty like a\nman.\"\n\nAzgid next visited Oaxus, to whom, as to the others, he revealed his\nname and parentage, confessed his fault, and expressed his repentance.\n\n[Illustration: \"I FEAR HIM GREATLY!\" (_p._ 305).]\n\n\"Go, my friend!\" said the kindly shepherd, \"and may Heaven give you\nstrength to persevere in your laudable resolution!\"\n\n\"Farewell!\" answered Azgid; \"greet Isdril from me, and tell him that I\nhope some day to return and listen to his sweet music in spite of the\nlions.\"\n\nWithout further interruption, the Prince rode straight home, and\nannounced to the old Vizier his intention to fight the lion.\n\nThe old man wept tears of joy at his Prince's return, and it was\narranged that the combat should take place in a week's time.\n\nWhen the hour came, and the Prince entered the arena, the lion gave a\nloud roar, and approached his opponent slowly, with fierce looks. Azgid\ndid not quail. With steady gaze he advanced, spear in hand. Suddenly the\nlion bounded forward, and, with another roar, sprang clean over the\nPrince's head. Then he ran joyously up to him, and began licking his\nhands with every demonstration of affection.\n\nThe Vizier called out to the Prince that he had conquered, and bade him\nleave the arena. The lion followed like a dog.\n\n\"As you now see, Prince Azgid,\" said the old Minister, \"the lion is a\ntame one, and would injure no one. You, however, were ignorant of this\nfact, and have satisfactorily proved your courage and valour by your\nreadiness to fight him. Now all will know that you are worthy to ascend\nthe throne of your heroic ancestors.\"\n\nTwo men--one old, the other very young--came forward to congratulate the\nPrince. They were Oaxus and Isdril.\n\n[Illustration: \"With steady gaze he advanced, spear in hand.\" _page\n308_]\n\n\"Prince Azgid,\" said the old shepherd, \"as a memento of this happy day,\nallow me to make you a present.\" So saying, he pushed forward his slave,\nIsdril.\n\n[Illustration: \"THE LION SPRANG CLEAN OVER THE PRINCE'S HEAD\" (_p._\n308).]\n\n\"I heartily thank you, Oaxus!\" said the Prince, \"and you, Isdril, are no\nlonger a slave. From this moment you are free; but you shall be my\ncompanion, and delight me with your skill upon the flute.\"\n\nPresently another little group presented itself. It was composed of\nSheik Hajaar, some of his Arabs, and the horse which the Prince had\nlearned to love.\n\n\"Azgid!\" said the Sheik, \"I congratulate you heartily, and beg your\nacceptance of this steed.\"\n\nThe Prince thanked and embraced the Sheik, and kissed the beautiful\ncreature, who returned his caresses.\n\nThe Emir was the next person to appear upon the scene. He was surrounded\nby a brilliant retinue, with music and banners.\n\n\"I have come to congratulate you,\" said he to the Prince. \"I have\nbrought you no present, but I and all my belongings are yours.\"\n\n\"I am rejoiced to see you, noble Emir!\" replied Azgid. \"And how is your\nlovely daughter? As soon as I am crowned, I intend to set off at\nlightning speed to visit her!\"\n\n\"That will be needless,\" said the Emir; \"come with me.\" And he led the\nyoung man to a veiled lady, who sat upon a white horse. It was Perizide!\n\nThen, by order of the Vizier, the whole procession wended its way\ntowards the palace.\n\nMany thoughts and emotions stirred within the breast of the young\nPrince. \"When I fled from duty,\" reflected he, \"everything went against\nme; now that I have fulfilled it, fresh happiness meets me at every\nstep.\"\n\nThe coronation--and also a wedding--took place on the same day. Azgid\nand Perizide reigned long and happily. By the King's command, his\nadventures were recorded in the annals of the kingdom. And over the door\nof his palace were inscribed, in golden letters, these words: \"_Never\nrun from the lion._\"\n\n\n    Printed by Hazell, Watson, & Viney, Ld., London and Aylesbury.\n\n\n\n\nTHE FIFTY-TWO LIBRARY\n\nEdited by ALFRED H. MILES\n\n_In large crown 8vo, 400--500 pp., cloth, bevelled boards, richly gilt,\ngilt edges, well illustrated._\n\n=5s. each=\n\nThe \"Fifty-two Series\" forms an excellent library of fiction for young\npeople. The stories are by the best writers for boys and girls,\nincluding:\n\n  G. A. HENTY\n  W. CLARK RUSSELL\n  G. MANVILLE FENN\n  W. H. G. KINGSTON\n  R. M. BALLANTYNE\n  CAPTAIN MAYNE REID\n  GORDON STABLES, M.D., R.N.\n  ASCOTT HOPE\n  F. C. SELOUS\n  ROBERT CHAMBERS\n  R. E. FRANCILLON\n  DAVID KER\n  MRS. G. LINNAEUS BANKS\n  ROSA MULHOLLAND\n  ALICE CORKRAN\n  SARAH DOUDNEY\n\nand MANY OTHER WELL-KNOWN WRITERS.\n\n_The Guardian_ says: \"Such volumes are invaluable for young people, and\nall thanks are due to those who have brought them within easy reach of\nevery child in the three kingdoms.\"\n\nOver half a million volumes sold.\n\nThe following are the volumes:\n\n  1. Fifty-two Stories for Boys.\n\n  2. Fifty-two Stories for Girls.\n\n  3. Fifty-two more Stories for Boys.\n\n  4. Fifty-two more Stories for Girls.\n\n  5. Fifty-two further Stories for Boys.\n\n  6. Fifty-two further Stories for Girls.\n\n  7. Fifty-two other Stories for Boys.\n\n  8. Fifty-two other Stories for Girls.\n\n  9. Fifty-two Fairy Tales.\n\n  10. Fifty-two Stories for Boyhood and Youth.\n\n  11. Fifty-two Stories for Girlhood and Youth.\n\n  12. Fifty-two Stories for Children.\n\n  13. Fifty-two Stories of Boy Life.\n\n  14. Fifty-two Stories of Girl Life.\n\n  15. Fifty-two Stories of Life and Adventure for Boys.\n\n  16. Fifty-two Stories of Life and Adventure for Girls.\n\n  17. Fifty-two Stories of the Indian Mutiny and the Men who saved India.\n  Edited by A. H. MILES and A. J. PATTLE.\n\n  18. Fifty-two Stories of Pluck and Peril for Boys.\n\n  19. Fifty-two Stories of Pluck, Peril, and Romance for Girls.\n\n  20. Fifty-two Stories of the British Navy.\n\n  21. Fifty-two Stories of Duty and Daring for Boys.\n\n  22. Fifty-two Stories of Duty and Daring for Girls.\n\n  23. Fifty-two Stories of the British Army.\n\n  24. Fifty-two Holiday Stories for Boys.\n\n  25. Fifty-two Holiday Stories for Girls.\n\n  26. Fifty-two Sunday Stories for Boys and Girls.\n\n  27. Fifty-two Stories of Heroism in Life and Action for Boys.\n\n  28. Fifty-two Stories of Heroism in Life and Action for Girls.\n\n  29. Fifty-two Stories of the Wide, Wide World.\n\n  30. Fifty-two Stirring Stories for Boys.\n\n  31. Fifty-two Stirring Stories for Girls.\n\n  32. Fifty-two Stories of the British Empire.\n\n  33. Fifty-two Stories of Courage and Endeavour for Boys.\n\n  34. Fifty-two Stories of Courage and Endeavour for Girls.\n\n  35. Fifty-two Stories of Greater Britain.\n\n  36. Fifty-two Stories of the Brave and True for Boys.\n\n  37. Fifty-two Stories of the Brave and True for Girls.\n\n  38. Fifty-two Stories for the Little Ones.\n\n  39. Fifty-two Stories of School Life and After for Boys.\n\n  40. Fifty-two Stories of School Life and After for Girls.\n\n  41. Fifty-two Stories of Animal Life and Adventure.\n\n  42. Fifty-two Stories of Grit and Character for Boys.\n\n  43. Fifty-two Stories of Grit and Character for Girls.\n\n  44. Fifty-two Stories of Wild Life, East and West.\n\n  45. Fifty-two Stories of Head, Heart, and Hand for Boys.\n\n  46. Fifty-two Stories of Head, Heart, and Hand for Girls.\n\n  47. Fifty-two Thrilling Stories of Life at Home and Abroad.\n\n  48. Fifty-two New Stories for Boys.\n\n  49. Fifty-two New Stories for Girls.\n\n  50. Fifty-two Pioneer Stories all round the Compass.\n\n  51. Fifty-two Excelsior Stories for Boys.\n\n  52. Fifty-two Excelsior Stories for Girls.\n\n\n\n\nList of corrections:\n\n  p. 160: \"It inceased yet more\" was changed to \"It increased yet more.\"\n\n  p. 225: \"made a despeate effort\" was changed to \"made a desperate\n  effort.\"\n\n  p. 250: \"From it the the castle had received its name\" was changed to\n  \"From it the castle had received its name.\"\n\n\nErrata:\n\nSome chapter titles do not match exactly with the corresponding titles\nin the contents' page. The original wording has been retained.","title":"The Diamond Fairy Book","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":56711}