{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_38847/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_38847","id":"gutenberg_38847","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/38847","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Children & Young Adult Reading","Category: French Literature","Category: Historical Novels","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Fairy tales","Folklore -- France","Princesses -- Juvenile fiction"],"text":"Produced by David Edwards, David E. Brown and the Online\nDistributed Proofreading Team at https://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\n  PRINCESS\n  BELLE-ETOILE\n\n  WALTER\n  CRANE'S\n  PICTURE\n  BOOKS\n\n  LONDON\n  NEW YORK\n  JOHN LANE\n  THE BODLEY\n  HEAD\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nPRINCESS BELLE-ETOILE.\n\n\nOnce upon a time there were three Princesses, named Roussette, Brunette,\nand Blondine, who lived in retirement with their mother, a Princess who\nhad lost all her former grandeur. One day an old woman called and asked\nfor a dinner, as this Princess was an excellent cook. After the meal was\nover, the old woman, who was a fairy, promised that their kindness\nshould be rewarded, and immediately disappeared.\n\nShortly after, the King came that way, with his brother and the Lord\nAdmiral. They were all so struck with the beauty of the three\nPrincesses, that the King married the youngest, Blondine, his brother\nmarried Brunette, and the Lord Admiral married Roussette.\n\nThe good Fairy, who had brought all this about, also caused the young\nQueen Blondine to have three lovely children, two boys and a girl, out\nof whose hair fell fine jewels. Each had a brilliant star on the\nforehead, and a rich chain of gold around the neck. At the same time\nBrunette, her sister, gave birth to a handsome boy. Now the young Queen\nand Brunette were much attached to each other, but Roussette was jealous\nof both, and the old Queen, the King's mother, hated them. Brunette died\nsoon after the birth of her son, and the King was absent on a warlike\nexpedition, so Roussette joined the wicked old Queen in forming plans to\ninjure Blondine. They ordered Feintise, the old Queen's waiting-woman,\nto strangle the Queen's three children and the son of Princess Brunette,\nand bury them secretly. But as she was about to execute this wicked\norder, she was so struck by their beauty, and the appearance of the\nsparkling stars on their foreheads, that she shrank from the deed.\n\nSo she had a boat brought round to the beach, and put the four babes,\nwith some strings of jewels, into a cradle, which she placed in the\nboat, and then set it adrift. The boat was soon far out at sea. The\nwaves rose, the rain poured in torrents, and the thunder roared.\nFeintise could not doubt that the boat would be swamped, and felt\nrelieved by the thought that the poor little innocents would perish, for\nshe would otherwise always be haunted by the fear that something\nwould occur to betray the share she had had in their preservation.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nBut the good Fairy protected them, and after floating at sea for seven\ndays they were picked up by a Corsair. He was so struck by their beauty\nthat he altered his course, and took them home to his wife, who had no\nchildren. She was transported with joy when he placed them in her hands.\nThey admired together the wonderful stars, the chains of gold that could\nnot be taken off their necks, and their long ringlets. Much greater was\nthe woman's astonishment when she combed them, for at every instant\nthere rolled out of their hair pearls, rubies, diamonds, and emeralds.\nShe told her husband of it, who was not less surprised than herself.\n\n\"I am very tired,\" said he, \"of a Corsair's life, and if the locks of\nthose little children continue to supply us with such treasures, I will\ngive up roaming the seas.\" The Corsair's wife, whose name was Corsine,\nwas enchanted at this, and loved the four infants so much the more for\nit. She named the Princess, Belle-Etoile, her eldest brother,\nPetit-Soleil, the second, Heureux, and the son of Brunette, Cheri.\n\nAs they grew older, the Corsair applied himself seriously to their\neducation, as he felt convinced there was some great mystery attached to\ntheir birth.\n\nThe Corsair and his wife had never told the story of the four children,\nwho passed for their own. They were exceedingly united, but Prince Cheri\nentertained for Princess Belle-Etoile a greater affection than the other\ntwo. The moment she expressed a wish for anything, he would attempt even\nimpossibilities to gratify her.\n\nOne day Belle-Etoile overheard the Corsair and his wife talking. \"When I\nfell in with them,\" said the Corsair, \"I saw nothing that could give me\nany idea of their birth.\" \"I suspect,\" said Corsine, \"that Cheri is not\ntheir brother, he has neither star nor neck-chain.\" Belle-Etoile\nimmediately ran and told this to the three Princes, who resolved to\nspeak to the Corsair and his wife, and ask them to let them set out to\ndiscover the secret of their birth. After some remonstrance they gained\ntheir consent. A beautiful vessel was prepared, and the young Princess\nand the three Princes set out. They determined to sail to the very spot\nwhere the Corsair had found them, and made preparations for a grand\nsacrifice to the fairies, for their protection and guidance. They were\nabout to immolate a turtle-dove, but the Princess saved its life, and\nlet it fly. At this moment a syren issued from the water, and said,\n\"Cease your anxiety, let your vessel go where it will; land where it\nstops.\" The vessel now sailed more quickly. Suddenly they came in sight\nof a city so beautiful that they were anxious their vessel should enter\nthe port. Their wishes were accomplished; they landed, and the shore in\na moment was crowded with people, who had observed the magnificence of\ntheir ship. They ran and told the King the news, and as the grand\nterrace of the Palace looked out upon the sea-shore, he speedily\nrepaired thither. The Princes, hearing the people say, \"There is the\nKing,\" looked up, and made a profound obeisance. He looked earnestly at\nthem, and was as much charmed by the Princess's beauty, as by the\nhandsome mien of the young Princes. He ordered his equerry to offer them\nhis protection, and everything that they might require.\n\nThe King was so interested about these four children, that he went into\nthe chamber of the Queen, his mother, to tell her of the wonderful stars\nwhich shone upon their foreheads, and everything that he admired in\nthem. She was thunderstruck at it, and was terribly afraid that Feintise\nhad betrayed her, and sent her secretary to enquire about them. What he\ntold her of their ages confirmed her suspicions. She sent for Feintise,\nand threatened to kill her. Feintise, half dead with terror, confessed\nall; but promised, if she spared her, that she would still find means to\ndo away with them. The Queen was appeased; and, indeed, old Feintise did\nall she could for her own sake. Taking a guitar, she went and sat down\nopposite the Princess's window, and sang a song which Belle-Etoile\nthought so pretty that she invited her into her chamber. \"My fair\nchild,\" said Feintise, \"Heaven has made you very lovely, but you yet\nwant one thing--the dancing-water. If I had possessed it, you would not\nhave seen a white hair upon my head, nor a wrinkle on my face. Alas! I\nknew this secret too late; my charms had already faded.\" \"But where\nshall I find this dancing-water?\" asked Belle-Etoile. \"It is in the\nluminous forest,\" said Feintise. \"You have three brothers; does not any\none of them love you sufficiently to go and fetch some?\" \"My brothers\nall love me,\" said the Princess, \"but there is one of them who would not\nrefuse me anything.\" The perfidious old woman retired, delighted at\nhaving been so successful. The Princes, returning from the chase, found\nBelle-Etoile engrossed by the advice of Feintise. Her anxiety about it\nwas so apparent, that Cheri, who thought of nothing but pleasing her,\nsoon found out the cause of it, and, in spite of her entreaties, he\nmounted his white horse, and set out in search of the dancing-water.\nWhen supper-time arrived, and the Princess did not see her brother\nCheri, she could neither eat nor drink; and desired he might be sought\nfor everywhere, and sent messengers to find him and bring him back.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n[Illustration]\n\n[Illustration]\n\n[Illustration]\n\nThe wicked Feintise was very anxious to know the result of her advice;\nand when she heard that Cheri had already set out, she was delighted,\nand reported to the Queen-Mother all that had passed. \"I admit, Madam,\"\nsaid she, \"that I can no longer doubt that they are the same four\nchildren: but one of the Princes is already gone to seek the\ndancing-water, and will no doubt perish in the attempt, and I shall find\nsimilar means to do away with all of them.\"\n\nThe plan she had adopted with regard to Prince Cheri was one of the most\ncertain, for the dancing-water was not easily to be obtained; it was so\nnotorious from the misfortunes which occurred to all who sought it, that\nevery one knew the road to it. He was eight days without taking any\nrepose but in the woods. At the end of this period he began to suffer\nvery much from the heat; but it was not the heat of the sun, and he did\nnot know the cause of it, until from the top of a mountain he perceived\nthe luminous forest; all the trees were burning without being consumed,\nand casting out flames to such a distance that the country around was a\ndry desert.\n\nAt this terrible scene he descended, and more than once gave himself up\nfor lost. As he approached this great fire he was ready to die with\nthirst; and perceiving a spring falling into a marble basin, he alighted\nfrom his horse, approached it, and stooped to take up some water in the\nlittle golden vase which he had brought with him, when he saw a\nturtle-dove drowning in the fountain. Cheri took pity on it, and saved\nit. \"My Lord Cheri,\" she said, \"I am not ungrateful; I can guide you to\nthe dancing-water, which, without me, you could never obtain, as it\nrises in the middle of the forest, and can only be reached by going\nunderground.\" The Dove then flew away, and summoned a number of foxes,\nbadgers, moles, snails, ants, and all sorts of creatures that burrow in\nthe earth. Cheri got off his horse at the entrance of the subterranean\npassage they made for him, and groped his way after the kind Dove, which\nsafely conducted him to the fountain. The Prince filled his golden vase;\nand returned the same way he came.\n\nHe found Belle-Etoile sorrowfully seated under some trees, but when she\nsaw him she was so pleased that she scarcely knew how to welcome him.\n\nOld Feintise learned from her spies that Cheri had returned, and that\nthe Princess, having washed her face with the dancing-water, had become\nmore lovely than ever. Finding this, she lost no time in artfully making\nthe Princess sigh for the wonderful singing-apple. Prince Cheri again\nfound her unhappy, and again found out the cause, and once more set out\non his white horse, leaving a letter for Belle-Etoile.\n\nIn the meanwhile, the King did not forget the lovely children, and\nreproached them for never going to the Palace. They excused themselves\nby saying that their brother's absence prevented them.\n\nPrince Cheri at break of day perceived a handsome young man, from whom\nhe learned where the singing-apple was to be found: but after travelling\nsome time without seeing any sign of it, he saw a poor turtle-dove fall\nat his feet almost dead. He took pity on it, and restored it, when it\nsaid, \"Good-day, handsome Cheri, you are destined to save my life, and I\nto do you signal service. You are come to seek for the singing-apple: it\nis guarded by a terrible dragon.\" The Dove then led him to a place where\nhe found a suit of armour, all of glass: and by her advice he put it on,\nand boldly went to meet the dragon. The two-headed monster came bounding\nalong, fire issuing from his throat; but when he saw his alarming figure\nmultiplied in the Prince's mirrors he was frightened in his turn. He\nstopped, and looking fiercely at the Prince, apparently laden with\ndragons, he took flight and threw himself into a deep chasm. The Prince\nthen found the tree, which was surrounded with human bones, and breaking\noff an apple, prepared to return to the Princess. She had never slept\nduring his absence, and ran to meet him eagerly.\n\nWhen the wicked Feintise heard the sweet singing of the apple, her grief\nwas excessive, for instead of doing harm to these lovely children, she\nonly did them good by her perfidious counsels. She allowed some days to\npass by without showing herself; and then once more made the Princess\nunhappy by saying that the dancing-water and the singing-apple were\nuseless without the little green bird that tells everything.\n\nCheri again set out, and after some trouble learnt that this bird was to\nbe found on the top of a frightful rock, in a frozen climate. At length,\nat dawn of day, he perceived the rock, which was very high and very\nsteep, and upon the summit of it was the bird, speaking like an oracle,\ntelling wonderful things. He thought that with a little dexterity it\nwould be easy to catch it, for it seemed very tame. He got off his\nhorse, and climbed up very quietly. He was so close to the green bird\nthat he thought he could lay hands on it, when suddenly the rock opened\nand he fell into a spacious hall, and became as motionless as a statue;\nhe could neither stir, nor utter a complaint at his deplorable\nsituation. Three hundred knights, who had made the same attempt, were in\nthe same state. To look at each other was the only thing permitted them.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nThe time seemed so long to Belle-Etoile, and still no signs of her\nbeloved Cheri, that she fell dangerously ill; and in the hopes of\ncuring her, Petit-Soleil resolved to seek him.\n\nBut he too was swallowed up by the rock and fell into the great hall.\nThe first person he saw was Cheri, but he could not speak to him; and\nPrince Heureux, following soon after, met with the same fate as the\nother two.\n\nWhen Feintise was aware that the third Prince was gone, she was\nexceedingly delighted at the success of her plan; and when Belle-Etoile,\ninconsolable at finding not one of her brothers return, reproached\nherself for their loss, and resolved to follow them, she was quite\noverjoyed.\n\nThe Princess was disguised as a cavalier, but had no other armour than\nher helmet. She was dreadfully cold as she drew near the rock, but\nseeing a turtle-dove lying on the snow, she took it up, warmed it, and\nrestored it to life: and the dove reviving, gaily said, \"I know you, in\nspite of your disguise; follow my advice: when you arrive at the rock,\nremain at the bottom and begin to sing the sweetest song you know; the\ngreen bird will listen to you; you must then pretend to go to sleep;\nwhen it sees me, it will come down to peck me, and at that moment you\nwill be able to seize it.\"\n\nAll this fell out as the Dove foretold. The green bird begged for\nliberty. \"First,\" said Belle-Etoile, \"I wish that thou wouldst restore\nmy three brothers to me.\"\n\n\"Under my left wing there is a red feather,\" said the bird: \"pull it\nout, and touch the rock with it.\"\n\nThe Princess hastened to do as she was instructed; the rock split from\nthe top to the bottom: she entered with a victorious air the hall in\nwhich stood the three Princes with many others; she ran towards Cheri,\nwho did not know her in her helmet and male attire, and could neither\nspeak nor move. The green bird then told the Princess she must rub the\neyes and mouth of all those she wished to disenchant with the red\nfeather, which good office she did to all.\n\nThe three Princes and Belle-Etoile hastened to present themselves to the\nKing; and when Belle-Etoile showed her treasures, the little green bird\ntold him that the Princes Petit-Soleil and Heureux and the Princess\nBelle-Etoile were his children, and that Prince Cheri was his nephew.\nQueen Blondine, who had mourned for them all these years, embraced them,\nand the wicked Queen-Mother and old Feintise were justly punished. And\nthe King, who thought his nephew Cheri the handsomest man at Court,\nconsented to his marriage with Belle-Etoile. And lastly, to make\neveryone happy, the King sent for the Corsair and his wife, who gladly\ncame.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n  WALTER CRANE'S\n  PICTURE BOOKS\n\n  LARGE SERIES\n\n  ENGRAVED & PRINTED\n  BY\n  EDMUND EVANS, LTD.","title":"Princess Belle-Etoile","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":2827}