{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_57604/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_57604","id":"gutenberg_57604","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/57604","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Children & Young Adult Reading","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Category: Novels","Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy","Fairy tales"],"text":"Produced by Mary Glenn Krause, Chuck Greif, amsibert and\nthe Online Distributed Proofreading Team at\nhttp://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images\ngenerously made available by The Internet Archive/American\nLibraries.)\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n                              THE FOREST\n                                BEYOND\n                             THE WOODLANDS\n\n\n\n\n_BORZOI BOOKS FOR CHILDREN_\n\n\n                  A LITTLE BOY LOST      _by W. H. Hudson_\n\n     \u201cIn its sense of reality and in the unity of childhood with wild\n     nature, I know of no book with which to compare it.... I believe\n     that its appeal will be to children of different ages and to every\n     grown person who has any love of beauty or remembrance of\n     childhood. It is a wonderful book to read aloud to\n     children.\u201d--Annie Carroll Moore in _The Bookman_.\n\n     \u201cMiss Lathrop\u2019s illustrations for \u2018A Little Boy Lost\u2019 and for \u2018The\n     Three Mulla-Mulgars\u2019 have placed her, at a bound, in the first rank\n     of American imaginative illustrators.\u201d--_Chicago Evening Post._\n\n_Beautifully illustrated in full color and black and white by Dorothy P.\nLathrop._\n\n\n             THE THREE MULLA-MULGARS      _by Walter de la Mare_\n\n     \u201cThe story concerns the adventures of three monkeys of royal blood\n     who have left their hut in the African jungle to seek the wonderful\n     kingdom of their Uncle.... A tale of strange creatures and strange\n     landscapes, of adventures and misadventures in faery forests. One\n     of those rare books that everyone will love.\u201d--_Chicago Evening\n     Post._\n\n_Illustrated in full color and black and white by Dorothy P. Lathrop._\n\n\n          THE FOREST BEYOND THE WOODLANDS      _by Mildred Kennedy_\n\n     \u201cA fairy story made up of the ideally right and reliable magic--the\n     bird-song guiding like a silver thread, through a quest that\n     carries us through all manner of portents and crouching perils to\n     rare delights beyond far horizons.... Made doubly delightful by the\n     inclusion of fifteen really extraordinary silhouettes done for the\n     book by Miss Vianna Knowlton.\u201d--_Helen Thomas Follett._\n\n         THE WONDER WORLD WE LIVE IN _by Adam Gowans Whyte_\n\n     A book that makes the foundations of real science more thrilling,\n     more romantic, and more simply comprehensible than the usual\n     pseudo-scientific books for children, and that will delight any\n     child whose eyes are opening to the wonders of the\n     world.--_Profusely illustrated._\n\n\n        PRINCE MELODY IN MUSIC LAND      _by Elizabeth Simpson_\n\n     \u201cA very delightful book for children. The author has translated\n     much of the dry technique of music lore into a series of connected\n     fairy stories. Children will enjoy while learning.\u201d--_Philadelphia\n     Ledger._\n\n             _Illustrations by Mary Virginia Martin._\n\n                            [Illustration:\n\n                              THE FOREST\n                                BEYOND\n                             THE WOODLANDS\n\n                            A Fairy Tale By\n                            Mildred Kennedy\n\n                          With silhouettes by\n                            Vianna Knowlton\n\n                     New York ALFRED\u00b7A\u00b7KNOPF 1921\n                                   ]\n\n                          COPYRIGHT, 1921, BY\n                         ALFRED A. KNOPF, INC.\n\n\n                PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA\n\n\n                                  TO\n\n                          FLORENCE A. BROWNE\n\n                             THE MOTHER OF\n\n                             KEN AND DICK\n\n                    FOR WHOM THIS TALE WAS WRITTEN\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\nCHAPTER                                                             PAGE\n\n   I DAVID                                                            13\n\n  II THE BLUE BIRD\u2019S TRAIL                                            25\n\n III THE LITTLE DOOR IN THE TREE TRUNK                                33\n\n  IV AT THE COBBLER\u2019S COTTAGE                                         41\n\n   V THE MANSION OF HAPPINESS                                         57\n\n  VI THE PALACE OF THE BRONZE KING                                    71\n\n VII IN THE PALACE                                                    81\n\nVIII A MESSAGE FROM RUTH                                              87\n\n  IX THE HUT IN THE FOREST                                           101\n\n   X THE WINGED HORSE                                                111\n\n  XI THE DAY BEFORE THE WEDDING                                      118\n\n XII THE RESCUE                                                      129\n\nXIII THE BURNING MOUNTAIN                                            138\n\n XIV THE GARDEN                                                      145\n\n\n\n\nLIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS\n\n\n                                                                  FACING\n                                                                    PAGE\n\n\u201cHERE,\u201d SAID DAVID, \u201cTAKE THIS BIRCH CUP--\u201d                           22\n\nDAVID RAN TO THE FOOT OF THE TREE, FASTENED THE\nHEAD OF HIS AX IN THE HOLE                                            30\n\n\u201cFOLLOW YOUR NOSE TILL YOU GET THERE,\u201d DAVID\nLOOKED UP AT HIM IN SURPRISE                                          38\n\nTHE MONTHS PASSED BY AND DAVID AND RUTH WORKED\nAND WORKED FOR THE COBBLER                                            46\n\nTHE NEXT NIGHT THE MOON SHONE BRIGHTLY. DAVID\nHAD JUST CRAWLED INTO BED                                             70\n\nSHE ROSE TO HER FEET, STRETCHED HER HANDS TOWARD\nTHE GREAT BRIGHT SUN AND PRAYED                                       74\n\nTHE LARGE ROSE-GARDEN ENCLOSED BY THE HIGH BRICK\nWALL WAS THE ONLY SPOT OUTSIDE THE PALACE\nITSELF, WHERE RUTH WAS PERMITTED TO WANDER                            82\n\nFAR AWAY IN THE DISTANCE HE SAW THE PALACE OF\nTHE GREAT BRONZE KING                                                 88\n\nKNEELING BESIDE A LOW OAK CHEST HE TOOK A RUSTY\nKEY AND FITTED THIS INTO THE WORN KEYHOLE                            106\n\n\u201cYOU MUST TAKE ME TO THE BRONZE KING\u2019S DOMAIN\u201d                       116\n\nSO SHE SANG ONE AFTER ANOTHER THE SONGS THAT SHE\nAND DAVID HAD LOVED                                                  122\n\n\u201cTHIS WAY, RUTH, THIS WAY,\u201d WHISPERED DAVID                          128\n\nTHEY TOLD ONE ANOTHER OF ALL THAT HAD TAKEN\nPLACE                                                                138\n\n\u201cWELCOME, CHILDREN,\u201d SHE SAID, \u201cWELCOME TO YOUR\nCOTTAGE\u201d                                                             150\n\n\n\n\nTHE FOREST\nBEYOND\nTHE WOODLANDS\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I\n\nDAVID\n\n\nDavid was the son of an honest wood-cutter. He lived with his father in\na little cottage on the border of the woodlands. Away, away as far as\nthe eye could see stretched great tree-covered hills and mountains. This\nvast area was called, by the people of the country, the Dark Forest.\n\nSome feared the mysteries of this unknown and unexplored region, for\nthere were many stories and superstitions concerning giants, gnomes, and\nelves who dwelt within its shaded wilderness. But David, ever since he\ncould remember, had always had a friendly feeling for the rough, hard\nbark of a pine or oak tree; and the fringed softness of the paper birch\nhad been a delight to him ever since the day he first noticed its ragged\nbeauty--a late summer afternoon on which, as he returned to his father\u2019s\ncottage, the setting sun touched the whiteness of the tree-trunk beneath\nthe cool green of its shining leaves.\n\n\u201cSome day I shall go far into the Forest,\u201d he would say to himself. \u201cWho\nknows what treasures I may find?\u201d\n\nDavid grew fast and was strong, for his life in the woodlands was one to\nmake any boy well and happy. He learned his father\u2019s trade, and in a\nshort time, although he was not nearly full grown, he could wield an axe\nas well as many a grown man; in fact, he could put some men to shame,\nfor his skill was far greater than that of the average boy of his age.\n\nOne day, while walking along a narrow path used by the wood-cutters, he\nmet an old, old woman. Her dress was brown and made of a coarse\nhomespun. A large basket strapped to her back was filled with pieces of\nfirewood which she had been gathering. When she saw David she called to\nhim. And as he approached her he noticed how beautiful she was; for,\nalthough her clothes were ragged, that mattered little--her face seemed\nmore kind and beautiful than any he had ever seen. Her hair--one lock\nhad fallen from beneath the brown cap that she wore--was white as driven\nsnow. Her eyes were the soft colour of oak leaves in winter, and so\nfilled with gentleness that David could only stand and look at her.\n\n\u201cCan you tell me,\u201d she asked in a voice that sounded like a breath of\nwind stirring through the pine needles, \u201ccan you tell me where I can\nfind a bit of water? I have been all day in the woods and have found no\nspring or brook; and I am thirsty, so thirsty! for a drink of pure, cool\nmountain water.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes!\u201d cried David. \u201cThere is a beautiful spring not far from here. I\nwill get some of the water for you. Rest here in the shade till I\nreturn: it will take me but a few moments.\u201d\n\nAs he spoke he lifted her basket, that she might the more easily slip\nher arms through the leathern straps that served to hold it in place\nupon her back. She swung her clumsy burden to the ground and thanked\nhim; and as soon as he saw her comfortably seated on a bed of moss\nbeneath a sheltering tree, he hastened on his way towards the spring.\n\nAs he walked along he took out his hunting knife. For first he must find\na birch tree: he wanted some of its white bark to make a cup in which\nto carry the water. Soon he came to a beautiful great tree. Cutting a\nclean wide strip of bark, he shaped it into a bowl-like receptacle. Next\nhe pinned the edges together with twigs, so whittled to a point that\nthey would pierce the bark and hold it in place. Then, hastening to the\nspring, he filled the birchen cup to overflowing with the clear, cool\ncrystal water. In a few moments he stood before the old woman again and\nhanded her the dripping cup. She took it, drank deeply, and was\nrefreshed.\n\nDavid gazed upon her. There was something about her that he could not\nexplain; nor could he explain to himself his strange longing to talk to\nher. She looked up at him and smiled; then she motioned to him to sit\ndown on the moss beside her. David did so.\n\n\u201cDo you live in these woods?\u201d he asked timidly. \u201cI do not remember ever\nhaving seen you before.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d answered the old woman. \u201cMy house is a long, long way from\nhere--yet not so very far away, either, if only one is wise enough to\nfollow the trail and not seek any short cuts.\u201d\n\n\u201cDoes the trail we are on lead to your home?\u201d asked David, pointing to\nthe woodpath that stretched away before them, seeming to lose itself far\nin the distance.\n\n\u201cYes and no,\u201d answered the old woman. \u201cIt leads you there if you know\nhow to follow it--but there are many turnings, and some of them will\nlead you right and some of them will lead you wrong. It is not always\neasy to know which one to take, and if you choose the wrong one it will\nlead you far astray.\u201d\n\n\u201cDear me!\u201d said David, \u201cit is too bad the way is not more clearly\nmarked.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt never is,\u201d said the old woman, \u201cand it never can be, for each year\nthe new leaves grow up to cover the old trail, and each year a new trail\nhas to be found. In fact, each one has to make his own trail, even when\nhe seems to be following another\u2019s and deceives himself into thinking\nthat he is doing so. It is the law of the Forest, for any trail other\nthan the one we make ourselves may lead us where we do not desire to go,\nand all at once we find ourselves deep in the woods, the path lost and\nwe ourselves lost. No: we have to know where we are going and why we are\ngoing there. Then, when we know thus much for sure, there is always some\nsign to follow that will prevent us from losing the way. So you see,\nalthough I may start out on this path, that does not mean I shall\nfollow it all the way; it depends upon the way the bird flies.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat bird?\u201d asked David.\n\n\u201cThe Blue Bird,\u201d answered the old Woman.\n\n\u201cThere are no blue birds in these woodlands,\u201d said David. \u201cI have lived\nhere all my life and have never seen one. There are yellow birds and red\nbirds, brown birds and green birds, white birds and black birds; but I\nhave never seen a _blue_ bird--I did not know there was one of that\ncolour.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the old Woman, \u201cperhaps some day you will see a Blue Bird.\nWhen you do--let me give you just this word of advice--follow it, no\nmatter where you are walking, no matter how smooth and beautiful your\npath may be, no matter through what regions the Bird may lead you.\nFollow it, follow it, little boy, for it will guide you there.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhere?\u201d asked David.\n\n\u201cTo the Tree,\u201d answered the old Woman.\n\n\u201cWhat tree?\u201d asked David.\n\n\u201cTo the Tree in the midst of the Garden.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat Garden?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe Garden in the depths of the Forest.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat Forest?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe Forest beyond the Woodlands.\u201d\n\n\u201cIs your home there?\u201d asked David.\n\n\u201cNot a very great way from it,\u201d said the old Woman. \u201cYou will see a Blue\nBird some day, little boy; I am sure of that. I am glad that I met you.\nThank you for bringing me the cool, refreshing water. Now I must go on\nmy way, since I have told you about the Blue Bird. Remember, David: seek\nfor it and follow it. You will know what it really means only when you\nhave reached the end of the trail.--Help me lift the basket to my back\nagain.--Thank you.--Now I must be off.\u201d\n\n\u201cHere,\u201d said David, \u201ctake this birch cup: you may grow thirsty again\nbefore you reach home, and if you come to a brook or spring, you will be\nglad to have this with you.\u201d\n\n\u201cThank you, boy.--I am sure you will see the Blue Bird some day, for you\nhave the seeing light in your eye. But don\u2019t forget to _look_ for it!\u201d\n\nShe turned and walked slowly down the wooded path.\n\nDavid returned to his father\u2019s home. For many, many days the memory of\nthe old woman remained with him. Indeed, he never really forgot her,\nthough a very long time passed and strange things happened,\n\n[Illustration: \u201cHERE,\u201d SAID DAVID, \u201cTAKE THIS BIRCH CUP--\u201d]\n\nbefore he saw her again, that sometimes made his memory grow dim.\n\nOne day--it must have been several months after this meeting in the\nwoods--David had been felling trees and gathering faggots of wood; for\nthis was his daily task. Suddenly a bird\u2019s clear, glad song broke upon\nthe calm of the noontime air. It was unusual to hear any bird\u2019s song at\nthat hour; but to this fact David gave no thought, for the clear, rich\nsweetness of the notes held him spellbound. He paused, resting his axe\nupon the ground, his head thrown back, listening. He closed his eyes,\nfor the beauty of the music was such that he desired to think only of it\nand to shut out all other thoughts from his mind.\n\nA deep silence fell upon the woodlands. Then, suddenly, but as gently as\na breeze stirring the petals of a rose, the song came again--clear,\nsweet notes that thrilled through David\u2019s heart. All at once, as the\nmusic faded again, a bird darted from the topmost branch of a\nneighbouring birch tree. The sunlight played upon its wings and breast,\nand the heavenly beauty of the little creature dazzled David\u2019s eyes, as\nhe caught a glimpse of it before it was lost in the deep shadows of the\npine-clad hillside. But in that fleeting moment, he saw the colour of\nthe bird.\n\nIt was blue--the deep celestial blue of the cloudless sky.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II\n\nTHE BLUE BIRD\u2019S TRAIL\n\n\nIn an instant there appeared to David, as if in a vision, the\nmoss-covered seat and the beautiful little old woman of so many months\nago. Again he seemed to hear the words, \u201cWhen you see the Bird, little\nboy, follow it.\u201d\n\nQuick as thought David said to himself, \u201cThat is the Blue Bird--I _will_\nfollow it!\u201d\n\nHe stooped, picked up his woodsman\u2019s axe and the sharp hunting knife in\nits leathern case, strapped the belt around his waist, swung the axe\nover his shoulder, and started off in the direction in which the bird\nhad flown. He ran to the dark cedar grove toward which the Blue Bird had\ndisappeared. There he hurried from tree to tree, seeking, in the thick\nfoliage, the brightly iridescent gleam of the beautiful little\ncreature\u2019s feathers. But no sign of it could David find. After searching\nand searching, he sat down quite discouraged.\n\nSuddenly he heard again the clear liquid notes of the song. Springing to\nhis feet, he looked in the direction of the bird\u2019s music. And, sure\nenough, there was the exquisite creature, resting on a twig just above\nhis head.\n\nThis time he had a fine chance to study it carefully, to note the\nmarkings on its wings, head, and breast; and after this he never forgot\nhow the Blue Bird looked--no, he remembered every detail through all the\nlong years to come.\n\nIts back and wings were of the colour that we sometimes see reflected in\nthe surface of the ocean or of a lake or river--the wonderful deep blue\nof a serene sky. Its breast was like the shade of the sky on a soft\nsummer day when great white clouds are floating about and a faint haze\nrests over all the earth. Its head was of the same rich, deep tone as\nthe wings and back, and its throat was of that softer blue of the\nbreast. When the Bird flew, it seemed as if a line of gold encircled it,\nfor the wings and tail were tipped and outlined with a golden yellow\nband. When one saw it darting through the sunlight, one could not but\nthink of a bit of the sky itself, outlined by a golden sunbeam. Its song\nwas like the music of a rushing mountain brook in early springtime.\nHaving once seen and heard this little songster, David had no other\ndesire than to follow it wherever its flight might lead.\n\nThe Bird flew and David followed. It took no long flights, but went\nfrom tree to tree. It was as if it understood that David wished to\nfollow, for always, before flying further, it waited till the boy had\ncome to the foot of the tree on which it rested. Such a journey as he\nmade! for in a short time the Bird had left the woodland trail and was\nflying cross-country, where there was no path to make David\u2019s progress\nless difficult. Soon he was climbing a steep mountainside; then he\ndescended a deep valley over steep and slippery cliffs; once he became\nso entangled in briers that he was almost on the point of crying. But he\npushed bravely on; and in a little while he stood free from the vexing\nbriers, in an open meadow by the edge of a sparkling lake upon the\nsurface of which bloomed white water lilies. Behind him rose the\nmountain over which he had journeyed and the steep, high ridges down\nwhich he had slipped and fallen; their sheer damp walls shone now, as\nthe sunlight played upon them. It was no easy path that he had walked,\nand as he looked back upon it he half wondered how he had been able to\naccomplish it all in safety.\n\nNow his way was very different. He found himself on a well-marked trail,\nfollowing the edge of the lake through a beautiful pine forest. The\ntrees had scattered their brown leaves upon the ground, and it was very\nsoft under his sore and tired feet. The Bird flew before him, leading\nhim on step by step till at last he came out of the pine forest at the\nhead of the lake. He paused for a moment to look across the smooth\nsurface of the water that stretched away before him. There, beyond its\nfurthest boundary, rose the mountain; and beyond that, he knew, lay his\nhome.\n\nSuddenly the Bird sang. David listened. Again there filled his heart\nthat same mysterious desire to follow wherever the Bird might lead him.\nNothing else in the world seemed to him to matter half so much. The Bird\nflew on. Now they were in a region of white birch trees and low-growing\nbushes, and the ground all about was covered with a carpet of tiny\npurple flowers with bright yellow centres.\n\nIn the distance David saw a large tree. It was greater than any other\ntree which grew thereabout, and its broad-spreading branches cast a cool\nshade. Its huge trunk, roughened and scarred by time, looked as old as\nthe mountain itself. The Bird flew toward it, David still following; and\nall at once it darted into a hole in the tree-trunk, more than a tall\nman\u2019s height from the ground, and disappeared from sight. David ran to\nthe\n\n[Illustration:\n\nDAVID RAN TO THE FOOT OF THE\nTREE, FASTENED THE HEAD OF HIS\nAX IN THE HOLE]\n\nfoot of the tree and fastened the head of his axe in the hole, which he\ncould just reach by standing on tiptoe. Then, using the handle of his\naxe to help him, he pulled himself up till he was able to look in.\n\nSuch a sight as met his eyes! Instead of being dark and black, as were\nmost holes of its kind into which David had ever looked, this opening\nseemed filled with light. It gave him the same feeling of wonder that\ncomes over one when first one looks at the moon through a telescope. He\nsaw a blaze of golden light; and within the light lay a world that\nseemed to him like Fairyland itself. He gazed and gazed, clinging to the\naxe handle, digging his toes into the rough bark, lest he fall to the\nground and so see no more.\n\nAt last, unable to hold on any longer, he was obliged to let go and drop\nto the ground. Somehow his axe became dislodged from the hole, and try\nas he might, he could not fasten it in again. He sat down at the foot of\nthe tree, for he was very tired; and in a few moments he had fallen fast\nasleep.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III\n\nTHE LITTLE DOOR IN THE TREE TRUNK\n\n\nHe had no idea how long he had slept or what awakened him; but when he\nfinally opened his eyes, the sun was low in the western sky. His first\nthought was of the Blue Bird: what had happened to it? Had it flown away\nand left David there? Had he really lost the Bird after all this long\nadventure of following it faithfully? Perhaps it was waiting for him\nsomewhere near; perhaps if he listened he should hear the song again. He\nwaited. The sun sank lower and lower. But no bird\u2019s song came to his\nlistening ear. At last the sun almost touched the horizon.\n\n\u201cI must look for the Bird!\u201d cried David. \u201cPerhaps it is waiting for me\nto find it.\u201d He jumped up and searched all about in the branches of the\ngreat tree, but no trace could he find of his little wing\u00e8d guide.\n\nSuddenly he noticed what he had never seen before: the bark on one side\nof the tree was rolled back, baring the smooth wood underneath. However\nthis had happened, it must have happened a long, long time ago, for the\nsurface was weathered and stained the colour of the rough bark itself.\nIn the middle of this smooth gray surface he noticed a curious little\nknob, not unlike the handle on a door. Looking more closely, he then\ndiscovered a tiny crack running around the smooth portion of the wood,\nabout two inches from the edge of the bark. To his astonishment, he\ndiscovered that this _was_ a little door, just large enough for him to\ncrawl through. He opened it, got down on his hands and knees, and\ncrawled in. The door closed behind him with a sharp _click-clack_, and\nhe found himself standing in a flood of light and at the edge of the\nsame country upon which he had gazed a few moments before, when he had\npeered into the hole through which the Blue Bird had flown.\n\nHe looked about him and rubbed his eyes, for he could not believe that\nhe was really there. The first thing that he noticed was that the sun,\ninstead of being in the western sky as it had been on the other side of\nthe tree, appeared in the east, so that it was now morning in this land,\ninstead of evening. He gazed about him. Everything was marvellously\nbright and fresh and beautiful. Then he noticed how clearly he could\nsee. All things were more distinct, more clearly outlined, than he had\never known them to be before. \u201cWhere am I?\u201d he thought to himself.\n\nThen a voice within him seemed to ask: \u201cWhy did you come through the\ndoor? Let us go back.\u201d\n\n\u201cGo back!\u201d cried David. \u201cWell, I guess not! This is the most beautiful\nplace I have ever seen: I\u2019m going on.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo!\u201d said the Voice. \u201cCome back; I want to go back.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy do you want to go back?\u201d asked David.\n\n\u201cBecause I\u2019m afraid,\u201d answered the Voice.\n\n\u201cAfraid! afraid of what?\u201d said David.\n\n\u201cI do not know of what,\u201d answered the Voice. \u201cI\u2019m just afraid--afraid of\neverything here. The light, for instance--I\u2019m afraid of that. It is too\nbright, and it hurts.\u201d\n\nDavid knew that this Voice which he had heard was nothing but the voice\nof the coward within himself, although he talked aloud to it just as if\nit were a real person.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said David, \u201cwalk behind me, then; I will shield you from the\nlight as much as I can. But, for my part, that is the very thing that I\nmost love. Only think how the Blue Bird will look in this light, when we\nsee him again! It is worth staying here just for that alone.\u201d\n\nSome one must have heard the sound of his voice, for when he looked up\nhe saw a young man approaching.\n\n\u201cHow did you get in?\u201d asked the stranger.\n\n\u201cThrough the little door in the Tree,\u201d answered David.\n\n\u201cHow did you find the door?\u201d\n\n\u201cI was seeking for the Blue Bird that I have followed a long, long way,\nand he flew into a hole in the tree, and I lost him. After I had\nawakened from a sleep--for I was very tired and so fell fast asleep--I\ntried to find the Bird again, and in my searching I found the little\ndoor.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh!\u201d said the stranger, \u201cyou followed the Blue Bird here, did you? Then\nyou are welcome; you may stay here as long as you wish.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is very nice,\u201d said David. \u201cBut do you mind telling me where I\nam?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said the stranger, smiling. \u201cYou are on the edge of the Forest.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat Forest?\u201d asked David.\n\n\u201cThe Forest beyond the Woodlands,\u201d answered the stranger.\n\n\u201cOh!\u201d said David. \u201cThank you. I have heard of that Forest before. There\nis a beautiful Garden in it, is there not? I think I should like to find\nthe Garden: can you tell me how to get to it?\u201d\n\n[Illustration:\n\n\u201cFOLLOW YOUR NOSE TILL YOU GET\nTHERE.\u201d DAVID LOOKED UP AT\nHIM IN SURPRISE]\n\n\u201cThere is but one way,\u201d said the stranger. \u201cFollow your nose till you\nget there.\u201d\n\nDavid looked up at him in surprise, for he could not quite tell whether\nthe stranger were making fun of him or not.\n\n\u201cI mean it!\u201d said the young man earnestly. \u201cThe fragrance from the\nGarden is so wonderfully sweet that it fills all the air round about. If\nyou take a deep breath now, you will notice what I mean.\u201d He sniffed at\nthe air as he spoke. David did the same; and as he did so he noticed a\nquality of sweetness that he had never imagined could be in any\natmosphere save where hosts of flowers were shedding their gentle\nfragrance.\n\n\u201cI do see what you mean,\u201d said David.\n\n\u201cGood!\u201d cried the stranger. \u201cI thought you would understand me. It truly\nis the only way to find the Garden: just to follow your nose till you\nget there. It sounds queer, doesn\u2019t it? But there is lots of sense in\nthat advice, and it is good to follow. I am sure you will get there.\nGood luck to you. I must go on my way now.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV\n\nAT THE COBBLER\u2019S COTTAGE\n\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t like it here!\u201d wailed the voice of the coward within him.\n\u201cThere are too many things that I don\u2019t understand. I\u2019d like to run away\nfrom it all.\u201d\n\n\u201cMy Grandmother used to tell me never to run away from what I can\u2019t\nunderstand,\u201d said David. \u201cTry to understand it--face it, anyway--and if\nyou can\u2019t overcome it, go round it. But always keep your face toward it,\nbecause if you run from it, it may run after you, and then there is no\ntelling what may happen. I\u2019m going to face everything in this land! I\nfeel so strong and so happy that you can\u2019t make me afraid--no, not even\nyou, you Doubting Voice--for I\u2019m off to find the Garden, and I want you\njust to keep still.\u201d\n\nHe had walked only a little way when he came to a small cottage. An\nelderly man was seated on the step, mending a pair of shoes. He called\nto David as the boy approached.\n\n\u201cWhat is your name?\u201d asked the man.\n\n\u201cDavid,\u201d the boy answered.\n\n\u201cWell, well, David,\u201d said the Cobbler, \u201cyou are just the little boy I\nhave been looking for. I want you to come into my cottage, and I will\nshow you something.\u201d\n\nNow, the Cobbler was really a witch, and all he wanted to do was to get\nDavid into his cottage. Once he had the lad within its doors, he would\ncast a spell over him that would prevent him from wishing to leave. Then\nthe old Cobbler could do with him as he pleased. But David knew nothing\nof all this. He entered the cottage; and as he entered, the witch\u2019s\nspell began to take effect. He forgot the Garden for which he was\nseeking; he forgot the old woman to whom he had given the cup, and what\nshe had told him; and, saddest of all, he forgot the Blue Bird. This\nmeant that he could neither see nor hear it again till he thought of it\nhimself and sought it of his own free will.\n\nOn the table was a tempting supper of cereal and milk, and a large slice\nof mocha pie stood enticingly before him. The Cobbler motioned to him to\nbe seated and told him that the supper was spread there for him. David\nwas really very hungry, and he sat down and ate a good meal.\n\nJust as he finished the last mouthful of the pie, a little girl entered\nthe room. David, looking at her, thought that he had never in his life\nseen so beautiful a child. She was about eight years of age. Her hair\nwas golden brown, fine as spun gold, and she wore it pushed back from\nher face and held in place by a narrow shell band. Her forehead was high\nand well rounded. And her eyes were so kind and beautiful that David\njust stood and looked into them, as she in turn was looking into his. It\nseemed to them both as if they had known one another long, long ago; no,\nit was as if they had _always_ known one another--as if their meeting\nnow were the most natural thing in the world.\n\nThe little girl held out her hand to David.\n\n\u201cWhat is your name?\u201d he asked her as he took it.\n\n\u201cRuth,\u201d said the child. \u201cAnd yours?\u201d\n\n\u201cDavid,\u201d he answered.\n\nThey became friends at once and for ever and ever and ever.\n\nThe months passed by, and David and Ruth worked and worked for the\nCobbler--for both he and his wife knew how to keep the children busy.\nBut as time went on, the two children grew older and wiser, till at last\nthey grew so wise that they saw right through the old Cobbler and his\nwife. They knew that the pair pretended a great deal that was not true,\nsimply in order to keep the children in ignorance so that they would\nfear their elders. For there is nothing that keeps one so filled with\nfear as ignorance. Many persons who want power just for themselves alone\nknow this, and therefore try to keep others bound in the heavy chains of\nignorance.\n\nMany months passed, then. Yet to Ruth and David they seemed but weeks;\nfor the two were held under a certain spell which kept them always in\nthe same state of blindness to past and future. Therefore time, as we\nknow it, had hardly any existence for them; for, in the land where they\nnow dwelt, this was the Law.\n\nSo the children grew and grew. And as they grew physically, they also\ngrew mentally. Soon they were approaching the very borderland of\nwomanhood and manhood. The old Cobbler and his wife were really kind\nenough to them: the only thing that one could find fault with was their\nextreme selfishness--for selfish they certainly were. Their selfishness\nshowed in their wish that David and Ruth should never hear or know\nanything that might make the boy and girl restless or desire something\nother than what the old couple saw fit to give them; for they\n\n[Illustration:\n\nTHE MONTHS PASSED BY AND DAVID\nAND RUTH WORKED AND WORKED\nFOR THE COBBLER]\n\nwanted the children to remain with them always, and in their old age to\ncare for them and make them comfortable. But this state of things was\nnot to last for ever.\n\nDavid and Ruth both had their daily tasks and duties to perform. They\nwere kept busy most of the time, and for that reason were sound and\nstrong in body. In their leisure hours they would play and sing\ntogether. As Ruth grew older, David found that she had a sweet, clear\nvoice. Together the two would sing songs of their own making, many of\nthem very beautiful.\n\nOne day they wandered through the meadow hand in hand, singing,\nlaughing, and playing, for they were both very happy. Presently they\ncame to a clear brook-side. Growing on either bank, hidden in the soft\ngrass, they found the tiny blue flowers called forget-me-nots. They\ngathered a quantity of these; then, seeking a cool spot on a dry knoll\nbeneath the shade of a pine tree, they wove the flowers into chains,\nmaking a fairy-like crown with which David decked Ruth. The sunlight\ndanced about them as the shadows of the pine branches waved to and fro.\nRuth\u2019s soft hair fell about her face in a shower of golden beauty, her\ncheeks were flushed with the joy and zest of youth, and her eyes were\nsoft and as deep as the cloudless sky at noonday. As David gazed upon\nher it seemed to him that he had never seen anything so filled with\nbeauty and joy in all his life.\n\n\u201cRuth!\u201d he cried, \u201chow beautiful you are! You remind me of\nsomething--something that I have half forgotten--something of long, long\nago.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat is it?\u201d asked the girl.\n\n\u201cI do not know,\u201d answered David. \u201cBut you are so beautiful, you fill my\nheart with longing--a longing to _do_ and to _be_.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d asked Ruth. \u201cI cannot understand you.\u201d\n\n\u201cI do not know how to tell you,\u201d said the boy, laughing, \u201cbut--you are\nso beautiful, Ruth, I would like to do something to prove to you,\nyourself, how beautiful you are! I am some day going to prove it to you,\nRuth; for you truly seem to grow more beautiful every day.\u201d\n\nA tiny olive-green bird hopped about from twig to twig near them. The\ntwo watched it in silence.\n\n\u201cYes, Ruth, I will prove it to you some day. Something has stirred in my\nheart that has never wakened before. It is like a great, deep\nlonging--not for anything that I can really put into words, but--it\nseems as if sometime, somewhere, I must have seen something, and my\nlonging is to see and to find it again, whatever it was, so that I may\nshow it to you.\u201d\n\nThe little olive-green bird chirped upon the pine twig. There was one\nnote in his song that seemed to stir David\u2019s memory.\n\n\u201cListen, Ruth!\u201d he cried; \u201ccatch that bird\u2019s note. Listen!\u201d\n\nThey both waited, and the bird sang again.\n\nDavid\u2019s eyes shone. \u201cOh, Ruth,\u201d he cried, \u201cthere is one note in that\nsong that seems almost divine!\u201d Ruth sang the bird\u2019s song, in a voice\nsweet and clear, but very soft.\n\n\u201cGood!\u201d cried David. \u201cNow hold that note.\u201d\n\nRuth held the note that had especially caught the boy\u2019s ear. David\nlooked at her as she sang. Then, all at once, a wave of memory swept\nover him.\n\n\u201cI have it, Ruth! It is the note in the Blue Bird\u2019s song. Oh, how could\nI forget it all this time?\u201d\n\nThen, as if in answer to his cry, far up in the topmost branches of the\npine tree came the song of the Blue Bird, clear, sweet, unmistakable.\nDavid sprang to his feet.\n\n\u201cMy Bird! My beautiful Bird!\u201d he cried, \u201cwhere are you?\u201d He sought\neagerly among the branches above him. The song came almost\nuninterruptedly, and David followed each note. At last his eye caught\nthe sunlight on the iridescent wings; he fell on his knees, eager face\nupturned to the tiny woodland creature.\n\nYes, it was the Blue Bird, the same wondrous and exquisite being that he\nhad known and followed so faithfully, and then forgotten. A vision\ndrifted before his eyes ... the little cottage in which he had been\nborn ... the woodlands ... the beautiful little old lady to whom he had\nbrought the water, and then ... the Blue Bird. Yes, there it was again.\nHe lifted his hands and stretched them upwards, up toward the clear blue\nsky and the great sun above.\n\n\u201cI must follow the Bird!\u201d he cried. \u201cNow I know and understand the\nlonging in my heart.\u201d\n\nHe rose from his knees and returned to Ruth. He found her sitting upon\nthe ground, the chain of forget-me-nots looped round her, the crown\nwhich they had made still lending its beauty to her golden hair. Her\nhead rested against the rough bark of the pine tree. Her hands lay\nfolded in her lap; her eyes were closed, and tears had left their trail\nunheeded upon her cheeks.\n\n\u201cRuth!\u201d he whispered, \u201cyou have been weeping.\u201d\n\nShe opened her eyes at the sound of his voice. The lashes, he saw, were\nstill heavy with tears.\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d she answered simply. \u201cThe song is so beautiful--! I never knew\nbefore that one _could_ weep because a thing is beautiful, but the tears\nseem to come from deep down--deeper down than any tears that I have ever\nknown. I have no wish to sob as one does in sorrow, but I could not help\nweeping. It is the strangest experience I have ever had.\u201d\n\n\u201cCome,\u201d said David, taking her hand. \u201cI want to show you the Blue Bird.\u201d\n\nTogether they sought the Bird. When they had found it they gazed and\ngazed. David told her of the old woman, of her beauty and sweetness, of\nthe long, long trail that he had followed before reaching the Cobbler\u2019s\nCottage.\n\nShe listened to his story. \u201cYes, David,\u201d she said--and she tried not to\nlet a shadow of sadness enter her voice--\u201cyou must follow the Blue Bird.\nI will help you in any way I can.\u201d\n\n\u201cStay here, then, Ruth, just for a moment, while I run to the cottage\nand get my axe and hunting knife. Watch the Bird till my return, so that\nI may not lose it again; I will come back in a minute.\u201d And David\nstarted off in the direction of the cottage.\n\n\u201cHow I should love to go with him,\u201d thought Ruth, \u201cto aid and cheer him!\nBut I must say nothing about it unless he asks me, for I might only be\nin his way.\u201d\n\nIn a few minutes David returned, his hunting knife strapped about his\nwaist and his axe swung over his shoulder. \u201cRuth,\u201d he said, \u201cI will\nfollow the Blue Bird; and when I get to the end of the trail, I will\ncome back again for you. I would take you with me now, but I fear the\nway will be too rough and hard for you. It will be better for me to\nreturn for you, and that I will surely do.\u201d\n\nRuth longed to accompany him, and David longed to have her; but because\neach wished to consider the other and to be unselfish in regard to that\nwhich they both most desired, they remained apart--as very often happens\nin other lives, too.\n\nA flash of brilliant colour streaked the woods: the Blue Bird had flown.\nDavid waved his hand, called \u201cGoodbye!\u201d and was off once more upon the\nunknown trail.\n\nRuth watched him cross the meadow and enter the woods on the further\nside. Just at this point he turned to wave once more to her; and as he\ndid so he took the spray of forget-me-nots that she had tucked into his\ncap and put it into the little pocket in the side of the leathern case\nthat held his hunting knife.\n\nRuth returned to the cottage alone. As the day drew to a close and David\ndid not return, the old Cobbler and his wife asked her where he was.\n\n\u201cI do not know,\u201d answered Ruth simply. \u201cHe followed the Blue Bird, and I\nsaw him disappear in the woods. He did not come back to me after that.\u201d\n\n\u201cFollowed the Blue Bird!\u201d cried the old couple in one voice. \u201cWe never\ndreamed that he could see _that_!\u201d\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V\n\nTHE MANSION OF HAPPINESS\n\n\nDavid had not gone far on his way when the Voice spoke to him again. He\nhad quite forgotten it during the time he worked at the Cobbler\u2019s\ncottage, for the old couple had kept him so busy that he had had no time\nto think of anything but his work.\n\n\u201cWhat is up now?\u201d asked the Voice. \u201cWhere are we going?\u201d\n\n\u201c_There_,\u201d answered David, \u201cafter the Blue Bird. Did I not tell you the\ncolour on its wings would be more beautiful in this light than ever\nbefore? Is it not so? Were they ever more brilliant or more iridescent?\u201d\n\nWith David\u2019s renewed ability to see the Blue Bird, all the memory of\nthe past returned to him so clearly that it seemed but yesterday that he\nhad entered the little door in the tree trunk.\n\n\u201cWhy leave the cobbler and his wife and Ruth?\u201d asked the Voice. \u201cI liked\nit there and found myself very comfortable and well cared for, even if\nthey did work us rather hard at times. I should have liked to remain\nthere all the days of my life.--I don\u2019t care for this business of\nchasing the Blue Bird,\u201d he added sulkily.\n\n\u201cThat is because you do not understand,\u201d said David. \u201cYour duty is to\nobey and do as I tell you, not to grumble and find fault with every\nlittle hardship! There is a goal that I am aiming for, and the Blue Bird\nis leading me there; so I must and will follow it.\u201d\n\nThe Voice grumbled a bit more, but David paid no attention to it, for\nhis mind was filled with more interesting thoughts. He had rested under\na tree as night approached, and the Blue Bird had sought shelter in the\nthick foliage of the same tree. The Voice had taken this opportunity to\nspeak to him again.\n\nDavid was now in the Forest Beyond the Woodlands, you perceive, for he\nhad stepped into this country when he passed through the little door\nthat led from the other side of the great tree. In this land things\nhappen otherwise than in our land; or, if they do not actually happen\notherwise, it _seems_ so to those who live there, for everyone there is\nable to understand the inside of a thing as well as the outside. If you\nare able to understand only the outside of a thing, you will, more times\nthan a few, entirely misunderstand the whole thing; but if you can\nunderstand the inside, it is not in the least necessary to bother much\nabout the outside, for that will take care of itself. Everything that\nhas an outside has been made for the sake of the inside that it\ncontains; and as everything has two sides, of course, you understand\nthat there must be an _in_side as well as an _out_side. It is a very\ngood thing to be able to see the inside of a thing and to look for it\nmore carefully than you look for the outside; and if you learn really to\nsee it, you will have more than a few surprises in your life, through\nfinding that you are able to see both sides at once.\n\nDavid now found himself able to understand the song of the Blue Bird as\nhe had never understood it before; for he could now perceive the inside\nof things as well as the outside. He was much surprised when he realized\nthat, instead of its being just a bird\u2019s song as he had always\nsupposed, each note meant certain definite ideas and thoughts which the\nBlue Bird was expressing. For this reason the song was never twice\nexactly alike. David had never noticed this before: the song had always\nseemed to him just the same clear, sweet musical ripple, repeating\nitself over and over. Now he began to detect the several notes and how\nvaried they were in accent and arrangement; and he learned that it was\nwithin this variety of accent and arrangement that the sense of the song\nwas to be found. Then, little by little, David caught the inner meanings\nof the different symbols of sound; so that, from now on, every time the\nBlue Bird sang, its song conveyed a special message to David\u2019s heart and\nmind.\n\nHe had followed the Bird for some time--just how long, he did not\nknow--when presently he came upon a tiny green rose-covered cottage.\nThe Bird flew to the vine over the doorway and began to sing as if its\ntiny throat would burst.\n\n    \u201cKnock on the door, knock on the door!\n     Here lives the good woman you once met before.\u201d\n\nDavid walked up to the door and knocked fearlessly. In a moment it\nopened; and there before him stood the dear little white-haired old\nwoman whom he had met in the woods.\n\n\u201cDavid!\u201d she cried in delight. \u201cDavid! why, is it really you? Have you\ncome at last? I have been looking for you this long time. So you did see\nthe Blue Bird after all, and you did follow it. I know that you followed\nit; else you never could have found your way here. One never reaches\nthis house in any other way, for this, you know, is the Mansion of\nHappiness. Come in,\u201d she added. \u201cYou are welcome!\u201d\n\n\u201cIs this really the Mansion of Happiness?\u201d asked David. \u201cI have heard of\nit before: we used to play a game called \u2018The Mansion of Happiness.\u2019 But\nI never knew there was a real place of that name.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, there is a real place of that name, David, and this is it.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said David, \u201cthen I should like to spend the rest of my life\nright here.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, you wouldn\u2019t, either,\u201d said the old woman. She spoke so abruptly\nthat she almost startled David.\n\n\u201cWhy not?\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cBecause you would tire of it.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy?\u201d\n\n\u201cBecause you are a living Soul,\u201d said the old woman, \u201cand a living Soul\nalways tires of a thing in time.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy?\u201d asked David.\n\n\u201cBecause if it didn\u2019t, and were perfectly satisfied, it would know no\nprogress. It is dissatisfaction caused by growing tired of a thing, or\nthe growing tired of a thing causing dissatisfaction, that makes one\ndesire and seek something else. It is this desire and seeking that is\nthe root of all progress.\u201d David found it hard to understand her very\nwell; her words seemed strange to him. So he just said, \u201cWhy?\u201d\n\n\u201cBecause you are a living Soul, David; never forget that. It is worth\nremembering, and it will help you to understand many strange things.\u201d\n\nDavid looked at her in silent wonder. It seemed to him as if there were\na beautiful golden light about her, and he felt a gentle peace that\nreminded him of his own Mother.\n\n\u201cI should like to stay here with you,\u201d he said.\n\n\u201cYou may,\u201d she answered, \u201cuntil you are tired of it.\u201d\n\nSo David remained.\n\nIf we tried to measure in days and nights as we count them, it would\ntake very many before we had enough to cover the time that David\nremained there; but he was in such a happy state of mind that there\nseemed to him to be no time at all. This is the way it is with us all\nwhen we are truly very happy.\n\nOne day David began to grow restless. He had strapped about his waist\nthe case that contained his hunting-knife, and had taken out the knife\nand was feeling of the blade. He stooped over to sharpen it on the sole\nof his shoe. As he did so, the little leathern pocket of the case flew\nopen. Something fell from it. He leaned down and picked it up--a spray\nof tiny forget-me-nots, dried and almost colourless.\n\n\u201cRuth!\u201d he cried, almost as if he expected her really to hear him.\n\u201cRuth, where are you? I have been away from you so long! How have you\nbeen all this long time? Where are you? Are you still at the Cobbler\u2019s\ncottage?\u201d\n\nThere was no answer save the song of a distant bird, which broke on the\npeaceful air unheeded, for David was deep in thought. From this time on,\nhe grew more and more restless. The old Woman noticed it and smiled\nquietly to herself, but she said nothing, for she wished David to speak\nfirst.\n\n\u201cMother,\u201d he said one day--for he had learned to call her that--\u201cMother,\nI can\u2019t stay here any longer: I must go on! I want to find the Tree in\nthe midst of the Garden. That is what I started out to find. I thought\nthe Blue Bird would have taken me there, but he has not, after all.\u201d\n\n\u201cDid you follow him?\u201d asked the old Woman gently.\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said David.\n\n\u201cHow long did you follow him?\u201d she asked.\n\n\u201cTill he led me here.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen what happened?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy, then--I--forgot--about him,\u201d said David thoughtfully.\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said the old Woman, \u201cit is just so. But you should never forget\nabout him, David; else how can he guide you?\u201d\n\n\u201cTrue,\u201d said David. \u201cI am truly sorry!\u201d\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t be sorry, since you have remembered him again. David, many older\nmen than you have forgotten to follow the Blue Bird; many have never\neven followed him long enough to see as much as the outside of my\ndwelling house, let alone ever daring to knock on the door.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat has happened to them?\u201d asked David.\n\n\u201cSome of them are wandering about in the Forest, lost; some have\nreturned to their own homes and forgotten the Tree, the Garden, and the\nBlue Bird. Others have fallen into a deep sleep and are merely existing,\nnot really _living_ at all. These last will only waken when Sister\nExperience comes upon them and gives them a good shaking to wake them\nup; she is always looking for those who are asleep and need to be\nwakened. Why do you wish to find the Tree?\u201d she added questioningly.\n\n\u201cBecause I know that it must be very beautiful and its fruit very\ndelicious,\u201d said David. \u201cI want to find the way so that I can guide Ruth\nthere; I want her to see it and to have some of its fruit. For I want\nher to have the very best that there is.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the old Woman, \u201cyou are on the right path, and as long as\nyou remember Ruth and seek for her sake, you need not fear\nforgetfulness. But you must remember to follow the Blue Bird on past the\nRed Castle where the Bronze King dwells and the brown Lions guard the\nway. Then you must go on over the Burning Mountain, for it is on the\nother side of it that the Garden lies. If you can capture the\nPale-Coloured Wing\u00e8d Horse, he will help you--but it is almost\nimpossible to capture _him_.\u201d\n\nDavid\u2019s eyes shone with a new light as the old Woman spoke.\n\n\u201cI will go!\u201d he cried earnestly. \u201cThe next time I hear the Blue Bird\nsing, I will find and follow him!\u201d\n\nThe next night the moon shone brightly. David had just crawled into bed.\nHe was tired, and the clean white sheets looked and felt very good to\nhim. But just as he was about to close his eyes he heard the Blue Bird\u2019s\nsong. He sprang up, dressed hurriedly, strapped on his hunting-knife,\nand swung his axe over his shoulder.\n\nBefore he left the room, though, he wrote a few words on a bit of paper.\nThis he pinned on his pillow. In the morning the old Woman found this\nmessage:\n\n\u201cThe Blue Bird has called me; I am off to follow its trail. I can never\nforget your kindness or your home. Thank you always.\n\n                                                               \u201cDavid.\u201d\n\n[Illustration:\n\nTHE NEXT NIGHT THE MOON SHONE\nBRIGHTLY. DAVID HAD JUST\nCRAWLED INTO BED]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI\n\nTHE PALACE OF THE BRONZE KING\n\n\nAnd what, during all this time, was happening to Ruth? We have left her\na long time, and our thoughts naturally wander back to her, for we can\nno more forget her than David can.\n\nThe old Cobbler and his wife treated her very harshly after David left.\nThey made her work twice as hard, for in a way they held her responsible\nfor his disappearance. She grew very, very unhappy; for she was very\nlonely, and she longed to know what had become of her dear friend and\nplaymate. One day--it must have been at least a year from the time David\nleft her, and it may have been several years; it seemed so to her,\nanyway--she knew that the same _season_ had come round again, for the\nforget-me-nots in the meadow were in bloom, and the air was filled with\nthe soft light and gentle fragrance that she had always remembered as\nbelonging to that last sad, beautiful day that they had spent together.\nShe had left her work unfinished and had wandered through the fields and\nmeadows to the hillside where they had rested and David had shown her\nthe Blue Bird.\n\nShe sat down on the soft grass. A bunch of forget-me-nots that she had\ngathered in the meadow drooped and faded in the heat of her hand. But\neven as they faded and their frail breath went from them, their odour\nfilled the air; and as Ruth closed her eyes in thought, it seemed to her\nthat David must be near.\n\nThis happened, as it chanced, at the very moment when David found the\nfaded forget-me-nots in his hunting-case, and their thoughts really were\ntogether, though at the time neither realized or knew it to be so.\n\nAll at once a great, deep, pure desire came over Ruth. She opened her\neyes and listened. There was no Blue Bird singing for her. She lifted\nthe drooping flowers to her lips. \u201cDear Flowers,\u201d she whispered, \u201ccan\nyou not help me? I will leave this spot where all is sadness; I will go\nin the direction David went; perhaps I can find and help him. Anyway, I\nwill seek and strive.\u201d\n\nShe rose, stretched her hands toward the great bright sun, and prayed\nthat her footsteps might be guided aright. She stooped to lift the tiny\nblossoms that lay beside her and, searching among them for the largest\nflowers, tucked a spray into her dress. Then she started down the\nhillside in the direction David had taken so long ago. She followed his\ntrail faithfully as far as she could recall it. But when she reached the\npoint where he had disappeared, her mind became confused and bewildered.\n\nHer trail was to be a hard one indeed, for she was following only a\nvague memory, whereas David had followed an ideal so clear and vivid\nthat it had expressed itself in living song. She pushed bravely on,\nthough, for she was not one to turn back after starting out. She longed\nto find David, or at least to know of his welfare; and she had no desire\nto return to the Cobbler\u2019s cottage again.\n\nThe sun set, and it grew dark save for the stars overhead, which gave\nlittle light in the depth of the forest. At last, exhausted, she\n\n[Illustration:\n\nSHE ROSE TO HER FEET, STRETCHED\nHER HANDS TOWARD THE GREAT\nBRIGHT SUN AND PRAYED]\n\nsat down under a large tree and fell fast asleep. She slept all night\nlong and far into the morning. The night was warm and dry, with no chill\nin the air, and she awakened much refreshed. The sun was almost in the\nzenith when finally she rose and started on her way. Soon, coming to a\nsparkling mountain brook, she stopped to drink of its cool waters.\n\nShe had just risen from a large rock by the water\u2019s edge and stood\nshaking the clear drops from her finger-tips, when the sound of voices\nstartled her. She turned; and there through the trees behind her rode on\nprancing horses a party of huntsmen, their spears and knives glittering\nin the sunlight.\n\nShe attempted to hide in a neighbouring thicket. But it was too late:\none of the party had spied her.\n\n\u201cYeho!\u201d he called gaily to his comrades. \u201cWhat have we here?\u201d And he\npointed to where poor Ruth stood. In a moment he had ridden up beside\nher.\n\n\u201cWhat do you here?\u201d he asked in a harsh, gruff voice. \u201cDrinking from the\nKing\u2019s own stream and eating berries and other fruits in the King\u2019s own\nwoods! Who gave you permission to wander here?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo one gave me permission,\u201d answered the frightened girl. \u201cI did not\nknow that I was in any King\u2019s land. I am a poor Seeker, seeking for the\nBlue Bird and David. Have you seen either? Surely, if you have met them,\nyou will tell me in which direction they were going? I did not know that\nI was taking that which belongs to another, and I am sorry with all my\nheart. Ask the King to pardon me. I will go on my way and will eat no\nmore fruit nor drink more water till I am sure that I am beyond the\ngreat King\u2019s border lands.\u201d\n\n\u201cAsk the King to pardon you, yourself,\u201d answered the huntsman roughly.\n\u201cFor here he comes.\u201d\n\nAs he spoke he pointed toward an open meadow, across the smooth surface\nof which a man came riding on a great black horse. As he drew near, Ruth\nsaw what a strange looking person he was. His face was round and full,\nand its colour was that of burnished bronze. His hair was of the colour\nof flame, and it grew in shaggy locks that hung about his neck like\ntongues of fire hanging upside down. His eyes were like burning live\ncoals under thick, bushy eyebrows of a dull gray, like ashes after the\nfire has gone out of them. His voice when he spoke sounded like the roar\nof a blacksmith\u2019s bellows.\n\n\u201cWho is this girl?\u201d he asked.\n\nPoor Ruth was frightened, but, summoning all her courage, she answered\nby telling him for whom she sought.\n\n\u201cA Blue Bird, indeed!\u201d said the King. \u201cIf my huntsmen come across any\nsuch, you may be very sure they will make quick work of it! It would\nmake a dainty dish to set before their King. As for that young David, he\nhad best keep off my land. All who are found trespassing upon my kingdom\nare put to death at once. It is only because you are a girl, and a very\nfair one at that, that your life has been spared; these men of mine\nwould have killed you long before I came upon them, had you been that\nyoung David of whom you speak, instead of the pretty lass that you are!\nAs it is,\u201d he added with a rough, coarse laugh, looking toward his\nhuntsmen, \u201cwe will spare her and take her to the Palace. She will make a\nmerry plaything for us all; and, if the fancy takes me, she shall\nbecome my wife and the Queen of my vast kingdom.\u201d\n\nRuth shuddered at these words, and looked hurriedly about her to see if\nthere were not some way by which she could escape. The man who had first\nspoken took her roughly by the arm and led her up beside the King\u2019s\ngreat black horse.\n\n\u201cYou shall ride behind me on my black charger,\u201d said the King. As he\nspoke he drew off his gauntlet and offered her his hand to help her as\nshe sprang from the ground to the great broad back of the powerful\nbeast. She noticed that his hand was bronze-coloured like his face; and\nas she put her own cool, soft little hand into it, its fierce and almost\nburning heat made her feel faint. But she knew that she must not lose\nconsciousness, for then she could not know what was happening to her or\nwhither she was being taken. Once more she mustered all her courage; and\nas this strange procession journeyed through the forest toward the\nPalace, her lips moved in prayer.\n\nWithin a few minutes she found herself a prisoner within the Red Palace\nof the great Bronze King.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII\n\nIN THE PALACE\n\n\nRuth awoke the next morning to find herself in very comfortable\nquarters; for the Bronze King had taken quite a fancy to the pretty\ngolden-haired little girl. He had told the women of the Palace that,\nafter she had been properly instructed and educated in all the customs\nand laws of the land which it was necessary for her to know, he intended\nto marry her and make her the Queen of his Kingdom. She was not treated\ncruelly in any way, for she had all the luxuries that any little girl\ncould wish--a warm comfortable bed in a pretty sunny room, dainty\nclothes to wear, and all the delicious food that she could possibly eat.\nThe women in attendance at the Palace took care of her, and they were\nall kind and thoughtful. But they never permitted her to go outside the\nPalace grounds, for they feared that she might try to escape, and that,\nif she did, the King would lose his bride-to-be. He was utterly selfish\nand unjust, and sometimes he was terribly cruel; so that everyone feared\nto disobey his orders. The large rose-garden, enclosed by a high brick\nwall, was the only spot outside the Palace in which Ruth was permitted\nto wander.\n\nDay after day she had her stupid lessons; day after day they made her\nrepeat the dull, senseless rules of the Kingdom\u2019s Constitution. These\nshe could neither understand nor remember, and for this reason she made\nvery little progress. Her teachers, who found themselves growing fond of\nthe gentle blue-eyed child, felt sorry for her, and wished\n\n[Illustration:\n\nTHE LARGE ROSE-GARDEN ENCLOSED\nBY THE HIGH BRICK WALL WAS THE\nONLY SPOT OUTSIDE THE PALACE\nITSELF, WHERE RUTH WAS PERMITTED\nTO WANDER]\n\nthat she might escape her hard tasks. Often and often Ruth herself\nthought of the Cobbler\u2019s cottage, and felt that her life would have been\nfar happier had she remained there. Then she thought of David. And when\nher thoughts turned in this direction, her poor heart beat so fast and\nached so sorely that it seemed like a wild bird held within a cruel wire\ncage from which there was no escape. What could she do? How could she\never hope to find David now, since she had lost the trail, lost the Blue\nBird, and was held a captive within the high walls of the Bronze King\u2019s\nPalace?\n\nRuth\u2019s voice was clearer and sweeter than ever, and the King found one\nof his chief delights in hearing her sing. Often he would call for\nmusic, bidding her bring her harp that she might play. Then she would\nsing, while all within the royal Palace listened. The girl loved her\nmusic above all things else. Often she composed songs that filled her\nown heart with delight, for they captured and contained memories of her\nold life of the days when David had worked and played with her--those\ndays that seemed now so long, long ago.\n\nHer voice had an almost magical effect upon those who listened. Sleep\nwould creep over them one by one till many had closed their eyes and\nwere wrapped in deep and peaceful slumbers, while her song still filled\nthe room with music. One after another would drop off to sleep in this\nway. Sometimes the first to be affected would be one, sometimes another.\nSometimes the King himself would be the first to sleep; then again he\nwould remain awake during all the music, according to how weary he might\nfeel when the song began. So it was with all who listened to her clear\ngirlish voice.\n\nOnce the King said to her: \u201cYou will put us all to sleep some day; yes,\nevery one in the Palace, if you but sing long enough.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat a funny sight that would be!\u201d cried Ruth, laughing. \u201cSome day\nperhaps I will try it.\u201d\n\nThere was one song that she loved particularly. She had written it\nherself, and it meant a great deal to her. The words were:\n\n    \u201cThe forget-me-nots in the meadow\n     Reflect the sky\u2019s own blue.\n     As they lift their tiny blossoms\n     To catch the falling dew.\n\n     The Blue Bird flies o\u2019er the meadow;\n     Through the calm his note is heard.\n     Lo, the throbbing heart of Nature\n     Is in tune with the song of a bird.\u201d\n\nDay by day she longed to escape. But that was impossible: she was\nwatched and guarded. A prisoner! She knew it all too well. The thought\nof ever marrying the Bronze King grew more and more terrible to her. \u201cI\ncan\u2019t do it! I can\u2019t do it!\u201d she would say to herself. \u201cWhat shall I do?\nOh, David, what shall I do?\u201d\n\nAt such times she took up the little forget-me-nots, the poor faded,\ndried, dead little things, only the shell of the lovely and fragrant\nblue blossoms that she had gathered in the meadow that ill-fated day\nwhen she left the Cobbler\u2019s cottage. She loved them--even these dry\nlittle shells--and she always kept them near her, for they seemed to\ncontain the memory of all that was most precious to her.\n\n\u201cDavid!\u201d she cried, \u201cI _won\u2019t_--_I won\u2019t do it_! I WILL NOT MARRY THE\nBRONZE KING! _NEVER!_\u201d\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII\n\nA MESSAGE FROM RUTH\n\n\nThe moon was shining clear and bright as David stepped out of the door\nof the Mansion of Happiness. The clear song of the Bird broke again upon\nthe peaceful evening air. David ran to the foot of the tree whence the\nnotes came. Seeking eagerly among the branches, he caught a shimmer of\niridescent blue in the soft moonlight.\n\n\u201cMy Bird, my Bird!\u201d he cried, \u201cI have found you again at last. Lead\non--guide me there--guide me! Do not let me lose sight of you again! My\nBird, I need you, I need to follow you, for _her_ dear sake. For I must\nguide Ruth to the Tree when I have found the way.\u201d\n\nThe Bird flew before him, and all night he trudged on and on through the\ndeep, dark forest, over rough unmarked trails filled with briers and\ntreacherous pitfalls where his steps were all too apt to falter.\n\n\u201cRuth--where can Ruth be?\u201d he said to himself.\n\n    \u201cIn a palace dark and deep\n     Ruth is lying fast asleep,\u201d\n\nsang the Blue Bird.\n\n\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d cried David. \u201cGuide me there, my Blue Bird; guide me\nthere where she is. I must find her!\u201d\n\n    \u201cIn the Bronze Kings\u2019s dark domain,\n     There the poor girl must remain,\u201d\n\nsang the Bird.\n\n\u201cWhere?\u201d asked David. \u201cWhy?\u201d\n\n    \u201cShe is a maiden sorely tried--\n     The King will have her for his bride,\u201d\n\ncame the song in reply.\n\n[Illustration:\n\nFAR AWAY IN THE DISTANCE HE SAW\nTHE PALACE OF THE GREAT BRONZE\nKING]\n\n\u201cWhat!\u201d David cried in a wild frenzy of fear and anger. \u201cNEVER! Blue\nBird, Blue Bird, lead me to her! I must save my Ruth! She must be saved\nfrom this terrible and cruel fate!\u201d\n\n    \u201cI can guide you to the door,\n     But I, alas! can do no more.\u201d\n\n\u201cGuide me there, then--that is all I ask!\u201d cried David.\n\nSo, after following the Blue Bird over another long, long trail, he saw\nat last, far away in the distance, the Palace of the great Bronze King.\nIts tower and parapets rose in a huge mass of ugly red above the green\nfoliage and gray rocks of the hillside.\n\nIn a few minutes he stood without the massive walls. It was very early\nin the morning, and all within seemed as still and quiet as though it\nwere midnight.\n\n\u201cIs Ruth really there?\u201d he thought to himself. \u201cHow can I be sure of\nthis? and, being sure, how can I ever free her?\u201d\n\n    \u201cWait in patience, doubt no more;\n     And never try to force the door,\u201d\n\ncame the song again.\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s all right,\u201d said David, \u201cbut how can a man be patient for ever?\nI must and will rescue Ruth!\u201d\n\nAs he spoke there appeared, in the window above him, the Bronze King\nhimself. David hid in the leaves of a neighbouring thicket so that the\nKing could not see him, though he himself could gaze with safety upon\nthe unearthly and monstrous visage of the King. The thought of Ruth\u2019s\nbeing a captive in that monster\u2019s Palace was almost more than he could\nendure.\n\nThe sun shone through the window right into the King\u2019s face. It was a\ncurious fact, and one which had been noticed by Ruth as well as by\nothers in the Palace, that in the bright sunlight the King\u2019s face always\nseemed to grow a still darker bronze. The more light shone upon him, the\ndarker he seemed to grow. Now, in this brilliant morning light, his face\nwas darker than the moon when, in eclipse, it takes on a strange and\nterrifying cast which no one can look at without a shudder.\n\nA surge of repulsion swept over David as he gazed; he thought he had\nnever seen any being so thoroughly ugly and so altogether awful. Then\nthe thought of sweet, gentle Ruth filled his heart, and in a moment he\ngrew strong and fearless. He resolved to rescue her, no matter what the\ncost might be.\n\n\u201cI must wait in patience,\u201d thought David to himself. \u201cWait and watch. I\nwill learn something of the manners and customs of this strange\nmonarch.\u201d\n\nSo he hid himself in the thicket to watch and see what might develop in\nand around the Palace. He could hear the servants moving about, and now\nand then he caught a glimpse of someone inside the Castle. Soon he\njudged that breakfast was being served. Not long after this, great\npreparations were made for something--some kind of expedition. David\nwatched and waited in curiosity to know what was going to happen. Soon\nthe King, with a number of his followers, appeared at the great gateway.\nAll of them were armed with spears and hunting-knives. The grooms\nbrought horses from the royal stables, which the great men mounted; and\nsoon they rode away into the distant forest that covered the hillsides\non either hand.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d thought David, \u201cif the King and his followers have left the\nPalace, it is time for me to try to prove in some way whether or not\nRuth really is here.\u201d\n\nJust as the thought passed through his mind, someone moved at one of the\nupper windows. He looked more closely. The next instant, to his wonder\nand delight, he recognized his dearly loved Ruth! She opened the\ncasement window and leaned far out, gazing up into the clear sky above.\nThe bright sunlight touched her hair so that it seemed like a crown of\ngold upon her head. Her eyes, upturned, held the wondrous beauty of the\nsky in their depths.\n\n\u201cRuth!\u201d he called. She heeded not. He dared not call louder, lest others\nwithin the Palace might hear. He watched her, spellbound. Suddenly she\nmoved and turned as if to leave the window. Without even giving a\nthought to what he was doing, David shaped his lips to give a low,\nclear, sweet whistle--the call they had used together at the Cobbler\u2019s\ncottage.\n\nThe girl turned toward the window, her face very white and her breath\ncoming in short, quick gasps. He knew that she had heard, for her eyes\nsearched the garden below, her delicate hand resting on her throat, her\nwhole expression one of fear and wonder.\n\n    \u201cHere wings to serve you true--\n     Try what written words will do.\u201d\n\nYes, it was the song of the ever faithful Blue Bird. David saw the\nlittle creature hopping on a twig close by.\n\n\u201cGood!\u201d cried the boy. Then, searching in his pocket, he found a pencil\nand a bit of paper and wrote hastily:\n\n\u201cRuth, it is I, David, come to rescue you. We must flee together. Come\nto me!\u201d\n\nHe folded the bit of paper carefully, and the Bird took it in its beak\nand flew over the casement window, dropping it on the sill just in front\nof Ruth. She opened it, read the message. Tears of joy filled her eyes.\nThen, eagerly, she wrote this answer:\n\n     \u201cI am watched and guarded constantly. I cannot possibly come to\n     you, David. You must capture the Pale-Coloured Wing\u00e8d Horse. He\n     only can save my life. Capture him, come to the Palace some dark\n     starless night riding upon his back, and fly to the garden at the\n     eastern side of the Palace. There I can meet you, but I cannot go\n     outside the garden wall. Help me, David dear--no one else can ever\n     save me.\n\n                                                                \u201cRuth.\u201d\n\n\n\nShe had just time to finish the message, fold it, and drop it from the\ncasement window, when one of the women of the Palace came to her. It\nwas time to begin her daily tasks and lessons. But the faithful Blue\nBird was still keeping watch, and the bit of white paper had no sooner\ntouched the ground than he flew to it, seized it in his beak, and bore\nit safely to David.\n\n\u201cThe Pale-Coloured Wing\u00e8d Horse?\u201d said David. \u201cWhere can I find him? He\nmust be the same of which _she_ spoke in the Mansion of Happiness. _She_\ntold me I must go on past the Bronze King\u2019s Palace, where the Lions are!\nI wonder where the Lions are, and why I have not seen them? I will go\non, for I must capture the horse: I know that is the only way to rescue\nRuth.--Blue Bird, guide me!\u201d he cried aloud.\n\nA flash of azure darted before his eyes and disappeared round the corner\nof the Palace wall. He followed, almost running in his eagerness not to\nlose sight of his trusted guide.\n\nTurning the corner of the great brick wall, he came suddenly into the\nvery midst of the Lions. There were a dozen or more of them, some\nstanding, some lying down dozing in the warm, bright sunshine. David was\nthoroughly frightened when he realized where he was, and he hesitated,\nnot knowing what was best to do; for he had come upon them so suddenly\nthat he had run right into their midst before realizing where he was. He\ndrew his hunting-knife from its sheath, for he was not one to turn back.\nHe had learned long ago that more is gained by keeping bravely on than\nby wasting time trying to retrace one\u2019s footsteps.\n\nSoon he noticed that each Lion was chained and that the beasts, great,\nfierce, and powerful as they were, could only move as far as their\nchains would allow. Beyond this point they were as powerless and\nharmless as tethered watch dogs. But as David advanced, the Lions walked\ntoward him, closing in on either side, and the boy\u2019s heart sank within\nhim lest, after all, one of the terrible creatures reach him. He noticed\na narrow pathway running through the grass, and this he followed slowly,\ndeliberately, and carefully, for he felt that it must have been worn by\nthose who knew the safe and sure way through the domain of these fierce\ncreatures. He proved his wisdom thereby; for although, as he advanced,\neach Lion pulled its chain taut, none could quite reach him. Yet several\ntimes he felt their hot, burning breath upon his cheek as he passed them\nby.\n\nAt last he reached a point beyond and away from them. \u201cThere!\u201d he said\nto himself, \u201cthat is over. How truly terrible it seemed while I was\ndoing it! If I had run blindly forward when I wakened to a realization\nof where I was, I should probably have run right into the jaws of the\nfirst Lion; but I went slowly and picked my way, and here I am, safe.\nNow I can look back over the trail and see how the path winds in and\nout. Yes, indeed, it does pay to be careful and keep one\u2019s eyes open,\nafter all!\u201d\n\nAs he thought about it he began to wonder why the Lions had made no\nnoise. Not one of them had roared or even growled. The reason was really\nthis, though David did not know it: the Lions were all trained to guard\nthat little path over which David had walked so wisely and cautiously.\nThey had been taught that one who walked on the path was not to be\ndisturbed; for only those who had self-possession and wisdom could see\nto choose the way of safety. But any who, coming that way, diverged from\nthe pathway, were not wise; and these could and should suffer for their\nfolly. Many a one had already become food for the ravenous beasts, who\nwere at all times half starved. Had David taken one misstep, had he left\nthe little narrow winding path by so much as a hair\u2019s breadth, the Lions\nwould have roared furiously, alarmed all within the Palace, and\nfrightened poor David so terribly that he would have run blindly on, and\nso have been caught and devoured. He little realized how narrow an\nescape he had had.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX\n\nTHE HUT IN THE FOREST\n\n\nNow that he was safe and away from the Lions, David looked about for the\nBlue Bird. He looked and looked in vain.\n\n\u201cMust I lose you again?\u201d he said to himself. \u201cWell, I will not forget\nyou again, my Blue Bird! I will keep you in my memory. And sometime,\nsomewhere, I know that I shall hear your song again. But I cannot delay\nlonger now: I must push on, for I am bound to find and capture the\nPale-Coloured Wing\u00e8d Horse.\u201d\n\nHe had gone some distance through the forest when he met an old, old\nwood-cutter carrying a bundle of wood upon his back.\n\n\u201cWhat do you here, my son?\u201d questioned the old man the minute he caught\nsight of David. \u201cWhat are you seeking, pray?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy think that I am seeking anything, Father?\u201d asked David, smiling.\n\n\u201cYou must be,\u201d replied the old man, \u201cor else you could not be here. This\nis the Land of the Seeker, you know, and all who are here have some\ndefinite purpose. What is yours? I should like to know, for you are an\nearnest, interesting looking lad, and your quest must be well worth\nwhile.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am seeking the Pale-Coloured Wing\u00e8d Horse,\u201d said David.\n\n\u201cIndeed!\u201d answered the old man. There was a note of real surprise in his\nvoice. \u201c_Indeed!_ And do you know where to find it?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d David answered earnestly, \u201cbut I mean to find it. I am going to\nseek and inquire and question till I get some clew to the creature\u2019s\nwhereabouts; for it is that, and that alone, which I seek. Can you tell\nme something about the wonderful Horse? Perhaps you have seen it, or\nperhaps you can tell me where it is apt to roam?\u201d\n\n\u201cYou have come to just the right person,\u201d said the old man, resting his\nweight upon the great bundle of sticks, which he had lowered to the\nground beside him. \u201cI can tell you much about the Pale-Coloured Horse,\nfor I know the crystal spring where he comes to drink every third night,\nand the great green meadow where he comes to feed when the spring nights\ngrow warm and the tender grass begins to send forth its delicate\nstalks.\u201d\n\n\u201cTell me, tell me!\u201d cried David eagerly. \u201cDirect me to the path that\nleads to the spring and to the meadow.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy are you so anxious to capture the Wing\u00e8d Horse?\u201d\n\n\u201cBecause I must save Ruth! She is held a prisoner in the Bronze King\u2019s\nPalace. There is no telling what may happen to her! I am no powerful\nprince with an army of foot-soldiers and horsemen, else I would invade\nthe Bronze King\u2019s country with a mighty host. I am a poor wood-cutter\u2019s\nson. If I can capture this wonderful Horse, I can save Ruth. It is the\nonly means I have, so you see I _must_ capture him!\u201d\n\n\u201cHow will the Wing\u00e8d Horse help you?\u201d\n\n\u201cHow?\u201d repeated David. \u201cI can sit upon its back, tame and subdue it, so\nthat it will know me for its master; then ride upon it to the Palace and\nfly down into the Garden where Ruth is permitted to walk--the royal\nGarden surrounded by the high red wall with the iron pickets on the top.\nThere Ruth can spring upon the Horse beside me, and the splendid\ncreature can carry us up into the air, up, away, safe from the Bronze\nKing, his terrible Palace, and his great chained Lions.\u201d\n\n\u201cHas he Lions, too?\u201d asked the wood-cutter.\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said David, \u201ca dozen of them, chained outside the Palace.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow do you know that?\u201d\n\n\u201cBecause I have seen them and walked through their midst.\u201d\n\n\u201cWalked through their midst! What do you mean?\u201d\n\nSo David told him of his adventure with the Lions; of how he had\nfollowed the little winding path and had seen that the fierce creatures\nwere chained and unable to reach him, so long as he walked wisely and\nfearlessly.\n\n\u201cWell, well, well!\u201d said the old man. \u201cYou certainly are a brave lad,\nDavid! You deserve help, indeed, and I stand ready to help you. Come\nwith me.\u201d\n\nDavid followed wherever the old man led till they came to a tiny log\ncabin. Here his guide pushed open the door and stepped back, waiting for\nDavid to enter first. The interior of the cottage was modestly\nfurnished, but it seemed very homelike and comfortable.\n\n\u201cWe will have supper together, and you shall spend the night here with\nme; in the meantime I can tell you how best to capture the Wing\u00e8d\nHorse.\u201d\n\nSo David remained with the kind old man and listened eagerly to all he\nhad to say.\n\n\u201cHow did you happen to come here, anyway, David? It must be a long way\nfrom your home?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said David thoughtfully, \u201cit is. But, you see, I had to follow\nthe Blue Bird,\n\n[Illustration:\n\nKNEELING BESIDE A LOW OAK CHEST\nHE TOOK A RUSTY KEY AND FITTED\nTHIS INTO THE WORN KEYHOLE]\n\nand he led me here. First to the tree with the little door; then to the\nCobbler\u2019s cottage where I met Ruth; then through the forest to the\nMansion of Happiness (I stayed too long a time there--I seemed to\nforget); then on till I came to the Bronze King\u2019s Palace and saw Ruth\nagain.\u201d Here he related to his new-found friend how he had seen Ruth,\nsent a message to her, and received a message from her; then how he had\nstarted on his way again. \u201cBut tell me more about the Wing\u00e8d Horse,\u201d he\nadded hastily.\n\nThe old wood-cutter rose from his chair and crossed the room. Kneeling\nbeside a low oak chest mounted with silver trimmings, he took a rusty\nkey that hung on a chain about his neck and fitted it into the worn\nkeyhole. David could hear the old lock scrape as the key turned. Then\nthe old man lifted the heavy lid. David sprang forward to help him, for\nthe solid wood and silver made it very heavy. After seeking among its\ncontents for a few minutes the old man nodded his head with\nsatisfaction. What he lifted out was a beautiful silver bridle, set with\nblue and amber-coloured stones. The bit was a bar of pure yellow\ngold--the only gold about it--and the reins were of silken thread\ninterwoven with silver.\n\n\u201cDavid,\u201d said the old man, \u201cI will lend you this. It contains a\nwonderful power. It is the only bridle with which the Pale-Coloured\nHorse can be captured. The moment one slips the golden bit between his\nteeth, that moment the beautiful great powerful Horse is tamed, and he\nwho fits the bit to his mouth becomes his master. Take the bridle,\nDavid, and wait patiently at the spring, to which the Horse will surely\ncome to drink. Seize him fearlessly by the forelock and slip this over\nhis head and the bit into his mouth. He will obey you then, and carry\nyou wheresoever you may wish. When the creature has served your need,\ntell him to return to my cottage and to me. I will take the bridle from\nhim, and then the Pale-Coloured Horse will be free once more.\u201d\n\n\u201cWho are you?\u201d asked David. \u201cTo whom shall I tell the Horse to return?\nWhat is your name?\u201d\n\n\u201cMen call me Wisdom\u2019s Brother,\u201d answered the old man. \u201cTell the Wing\u00e8d\nHorse to return to me; he will understand and obey you. I will direct\nyou to the spring--for the Blue Bird cannot lead you now. I will start\nyou on the trail at sunrise to-morrow.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy can the Blue Bird not guide me?\u201d asked David.\n\n\u201cDo you know for what the Blue Bird stands?\u201d\n\nDavid thought for a moment. Then the word \u201chappiness\u201d came into his\nmind. He spoke it softly.\n\n\u201cExactly!\u201d said the old man. \u201cHappiness born of Truth; that is, the\nHappiness contained in the Love of Truth. For a Bird is but a symbol of\nthought; and Happiness is an expression of thought; the colour\nrepresents its quality. You have left the region of the Blue Bird for a\nwhile, for it cannot journey a great way from the Mansion of Happiness.\nYou are about to enter another country. At the end of your journey you\nwill find the Blue Bird again--yes, you will hear it singing.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER X\n\nTHE WINGED HORSE\n\n\nThe next morning at sunrise David started on his journey. The kind\nwood-cutter, true to his word, pointed out the trail and even walked\nsome little distance along it with the boy, instructing him in many\nthings that would be of value to him later. David held the precious\nbridle in his hand. His axe he had wished to leave with the wood-cutter\nthat he might in some way express his gratitude for all that the old man\nhad done to help and encourage him.\n\nAbout mid-morning, after giving him his blessing and wishing him\nGod-speed, his good friend parted from him. So the lad journeyed on\nalone, and it was nightfall before he reached the edge of the clear\ncrystal pool. But when he saw the spot, there could be no doubt in his\nmind that he had found the object of his quest, for the beauty of it\nseemed to surpass anything that he had imagined.\n\nA clear, transparent pool lay before him, about one hundred feet wide,\nalmost circular in shape. White pebbles made a narrow beach on the side\nfrom which he approached. On either hand grew large paper birch trees,\nbeautiful, soaring, and gentle in their stateliness. On the further\nshore the bank rose abruptly to a height of five or six feet, and there\nthe dark hemlock trees lent colour, depth, and coolness to the water\nbelow. The sand in the bed of the spring looked like grains of silver.\nAs the rays of the setting sun touched the tree tops and caught the\nshadow of the sky\u2019s deep blue upon the surface of the water, it seemed\nto David that he had never seen so beautiful a spot. He wished with all\nhis heart that Ruth were there to share it with him.\n\nSeating himself upon a great moss-covered boulder, he watched the sand\nstirred by the water that bubbled up from the very heart of the spring.\nThe sun set. One by one, tiny stars appeared; and he sought their image\non the surface of the now darkened pool by which he watched and waited.\nOne after another the stars sank below the western horizon, as still\nothers rose out of the east to lend their beauty to the night.\n\nA dark shadow fell across a portion of the sky. David thought he heard\nthe rustle of great wings; but it was too dark for him to see, and the\nthing, whatever it may have been, went away, not to return again that\nnight. At last the dawn came. He watched its glory spread over the\nmountain tops--for far, far in the east rose huge snow-covered peaks,\nand the air stirred cool with the coming of morn.\n\nSo the first night passed beside the crystal spring, and David had not\nyet had a glimpse of the great and wonderful creature which he longed so\nmuch to see. Through the day he waited, and the next night, and the next\nday, and the next night, with no glimpse of the Wing\u00e8d Horse.\n\nOn the third day, just as the coolness of the coming dawn stirred the\nair, he was startled by a whinny very near at hand. He knelt cautiously\nand looked all about him, but could see nothing. There he rested,\nsitting back upon his heels, the precious bridle over his arm and his\nhands folded. Then, slowly, fearlessly, and calmly, from the depths of\nthe birchen woodlands before David came the most exquisite creature one\ncould ever wish to see--a beautiful Pale-Coloured Horse, slender in\nbuild, its neck curved in an arch of spirited pride, its head beautiful\nin every detail of proportion and alight with intelligence. Two great\nfeathered wings lay folded against its sides. Its tail was long and\nflowing. David, holding his breath, gazed and gazed.\n\nThe Horse walked to the water\u2019s edge and drank. Then, lifting its head\nand facing the golden sunrise with ears forward, it raised and folded\nits great wings like a bird preparing to fly. Again the sound of its\nwhinny broke forth, and a wild woodland bird rose close at hand, sending\nits answering call as it, the lesser wing\u00e8d creature, sailed away. The\nHorse dropped its head to drink, closing its eyes as if more thoroughly\nto enjoy the cool, refreshing draught.\n\nQuick as thought David rose, sprang forward, grasped the forelock and\nmane of the startled creature, the bridle hanging over his arm ready to\nbe fitted when the right instant should come. The struggle was intense.\nThe Horse reared, plunged, reared again, but David held firmly to the\nforelock and mane. The Horse stirred its wings as if about to fly. At\nthe same instant it uttered again its whinnying call, which sounded,\nthis time, petulant, terrified, and wild. This was David\u2019s opportunity.\nThe impatient sound was checked as the golden bit slipped into the\ncreature\u2019s open mouth, David holding firmly to the forelock while with\nhis other hand he adjusted the bridle and fitted it to the trembling,\nquivering head.\n\n\u201cI have you! My beautiful Horse, I have you!\u201d he cried. \u201cRuth shall be\nsaved!\u201d\n\n[Illustration:\n\n\u201cYOU MUST TAKE ME TO THE BRONZE\nKING\u2019S DOMAIN\u201d]\n\nThe Horse turned and rubbed its soft velvet nose against David\u2019s cheek.\nYes, David was his master, to be recognized as such. The wonderful\nbridle had given them both the power to understand and trust each other.\n\n\u201cYou must take me to the Bronze King\u2019s domain, dear Wing\u00e8d Horse,\u201d said\nDavid. \u201cWe are to rescue Ruth, the sweetest and most beautiful little\ngirl in all the world. It is for this I have sought and captured you;\nfor the Bronze King is keeping her a prisoner in his great Palace. I\nfear what may happen to her. Come, we must go to the Palace and hide in\nthe woodlands and watch and wait. Perhaps this very night we can rescue\nRuth.\u201d\n\nThus David became the master of the Pale-Coloured Wing\u00e8d Horse, whose\nonly desire now was to obey and serve him.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XI\n\nTHE DAY BEFORE THE WEDDING\n\n\nWhen Ruth realized that it was David whom she had seen, that the little\nwritten message which she treasured so carefully and always carried\ntucked away in a safe place near her heart, was truly written by him,\nher joy and fear knew no bounds.\n\nYes, it was true: David knew where she was. And he would do all in his\npower to rescue her, to save her from the horrible fate that hung over\nher. For had not the Bronze King already set the date for their\nmarriage? Had she not seen the wedding invitations and been forced to\nfold and address many of the great heavy envelopes that contained the\nannouncement of the dreaded event?\n\nIt was to take place soon--all too soon, alas! There was little time to\nbe lost. Could David succeed in rescuing her? Could he, in so short a\ntime, devise any method of saving her from the terrible life that seemed\nso surely about to become hers? What if anything happened to David? What\nif he met any of the King\u2019s men in or about the woods that adjoined the\nPalace? She recalled what the King had said to her on that first day,\nthe day when she was captured; and she shuddered as she repeated the\nwords to herself--\u201cAs for that young David of whom you speak, he had\nbest keep off my land! All who are found trespassing upon my kingdom are\nput to death at once.\u201d \u201cDavid, oh, David! be careful!\u201d she cried.\n\nThen the thought of the terrible Lions filled her with dread. She was\nsure that he could know nothing of them. She had feared for him on that\nmemorable morning and had listened all that long, dreary day, dreading\nto hear the sound of their deafening roar, which would surely be the\nsignal that some poor wanderer had fallen their victim. But the Lions\nhad been quiet all day, so she knew he had escaped and had doubtless\nleft the Castle in another direction, knowing nothing of their\nwhereabouts or the dangers that they embodied. But might he not, if he\nknew nothing of the danger, come upon them in returning? He would return\nin the darkness, for she herself had counselled him to come on a dark,\nstarless night. \u201cOh, David, David, if I should be the cause of your\ndeath--!\u201d\n\nNearer and nearer drew the date set for the wedding. The Palace was to\nbe decked in gala fashion, and already preparations were under way; the\ndecorators and landscape gardeners were in full possession, and there\nwas everywhere an atmosphere of eagerness and proud competition.\n\nIt had pleased the fancy of the King to make the night preceding the\nwedding one of little merriment, \u201cFor,\u201d he said, \u201cI wish my bride to be\nfair and beautiful on my wedding day.\u201d\n\nPoor Ruth had grown pale and thin during her days of captivity. She\ncould neither eat nor sleep, and the women in attendance had been\nobliged to use all their arts to keep her looking even presentable, for\nthe King would permit no pale faces or dull, tear-stained eyes.\n\nSo the evening preceding the wedding was to be spent quietly. The\nhousehold was to assemble after the evening meal, and Ruth was to sing\nwhile the others drank and smoked.\n\nThe evening was clear and calm, and the lingering twilight revealed a\ntiny crescent moon that sank below the horizon as the last glow of\nsunset faded from the sky. Later the wind rose, and dark, threatening\nstorm-clouds obscured the light of the watching stars.\n\nRuth tuned her harp, but there was little music in her heart. The dark,\ncloud-swept night seemed a fitting emblem of her future life.\n\nShe sang. \u201cLet me forget,\u201d she thought to herself, \u201clet me forget the\npresent and the future; let me live in the past.\u201d So she sang one after\nanother the songs that she and David had loved and sung together. And as\nshe sang, there crept over the listeners that strange, deep drowsiness\nthat so often seemed to follow as a result of her sweet, pure music.\n\n[Illustration:\n\nSO SHE SANG ONE AFTER ANOTHER\nTHE SONGS THAT SHE AND DAVID\nHAD LOVED]\n\nOne by one the men and women yawned, their heads began to nod, the fires\nin the pipes smouldered and finally burned out, the glasses of wine on\nthe tables were left untasted. Eyes closed, heads drooped at all sorts\nof strange and uncomfortable-looking angles; and soon sounds of heavy\nbreathing, that rose to the volume of deep snores, filled the room.\nStill Ruth sang, for still not all were sleeping. The King would rouse\nhimself every now and then as if striving to shake off the stupor that\nsought to gain possession of him.\n\nA strange, strange sound floated in through the open window--a sound as\nof the rushing of mighty wings. Ruth paused a moment to listen--then she\nheard the clear, high note of David\u2019s whistle! As the last note rang its\nwelcome message through her throbbing heart, she sang the answering\nnotes which, she knew, would convey to David the message he longed to\nhear.\n\nA huge moth flew in through the open window, bumped about among the\ncandles for a while, then alighted upon the bald spot on the King\u2019s head\nand walked across the smooth surface, dragging its wings as it moved.\n\nRuth almost laughed aloud--but no, it was too serious a moment to yield\nto such an impulse.\n\nThe moth tickled the King. He awoke--opened his eyes--brushed his hand\nimpatiently across his forehead--rose from his chair.\n\nRuth\u2019s heart sank. Was failure to meet them after all, when victory had\nseemed so near?\n\n\u201cYou have sung well to-night, little Queen,\u201d the King said--\u201cand\nto-morrow is our wedding day.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have failed, Sire,\u201d she said, \u201cin that which I most wished to do.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat is that?\u201d he asked.\n\n\u201cI had thought to put you _all_ asleep to-night--all here in the Palace.\nI had almost succeeded, when a great moth flew through the open window\nand awakened your Majesty. Could I but have reached your side in time, I\nwould have driven the thing away: then you too would have slept, and\nthen I should have been happy indeed!\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, Child,\u201d said the King indulgently, \u201cif you desire that so much,\nsing on. It will take but a few moments to lull me into as deep a sleep\nas any here in the Hall!\u201d\n\nHe settled himself comfortably in a high armchair, stretched out, and\nrested his feet on a footstool made in such a shape as to fit the\nchair, making it almost like a couch. Ruth sang again, this time the\nsong she loved most dearly.--\n\n    \u201cThe forget-me-nots in the meadow\n     Reflect the sky\u2019s own blue,\n     As they lift their tiny blossoms\n     To catch the falling dew.\n\n     The Blue Bird flies o\u2019er the meadow;\n     Through the calm his note is heard.\n     Lo, the throbbing heart of Nature\n     Is in tune with the song of a bird.\u201d\n\nThe deep, heavy snores rose in a chorus around her as the song ceased,\nand this time the Bronze King slept even more soundly than Ruth had\ndared to hope possible.\n\nShe rose cautiously, tiptoed her way across the great hall, and slowly\npushed the heavy folding doors apart, then as silently closed them\nbehind her. Like the wind she sped along the narrow passageway that led\nto her own apartments, opened the door, and flew to the long casement\nwindow that gave access to the Palace Garden, where she knew David\nawaited her. She stepped out into the night.\n\nA gust of wind blew the window to behind her with a crash that shattered\nthe glass into a thousand fragments. Her heart sank. \u201cDavid, David!\u201d she\ncalled softly. There was no answer. It was dark--so dark that she could\nsee nothing--and she feared lest the sound of the crashing glass had\nawakened the sleepers.\n\nShe gave a low, clear whistle. In an instant, before there was time for\nan answer, David was at her side. \u201cCome!\u201d she said. \u201cThere is no time to\nbe lost: the sleepers are waking.\u201d As she spoke, they heard the sound\nof hurrying feet in the passageway. The door of the apartment was pushed\nopen, and her name was eagerly called.\n\n\u201cShe is not here, Sire,\u201d said a trembling voice. \u201cAnd the window is\nshattered. She must have tried to escape. Spread the alarm throughout\nthe Palace!\u201d\n\nDavid and Ruth fled hand in hand through the darkness, out into the\nPalace Garden, surrounded by its high, solid brick walls.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n\u201cTHIS WAY, RUTH, THIS WAY,\u201d\nWHISPERED DAVID]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XII\n\nTHE RESCUE\n\n\n\u201cThis way, Ruth, this way!\u201d whispered David. \u201cMy faithful Horse is\nwaiting for us.\u201d\n\nIt was so dark that Ruth could only stumble blindly on. Once she almost\nfell; had it not been for David\u2019s strong arm she surely would have\nfallen. He called in a low voice, hoping for response from the Wing\u00e8d\nHorse. But no sound could they hear, nor, in the black darkness that\nsurrounded them, could they tell in which direction they were going.\nThey groped onward, blindly but cautiously, feeling their way.\n\nA sound of much confusion rose within the Palace behind them. Every now\nand then the King\u2019s voice could be distinctly heard above the turmoil.\nWhen he spoke in authority his voice sounded like the angry roar of a\ngreat fire.\n\nSuddenly a streak of light fell across the path in front of them, as\nsomeone opened a heavy door giving access to the Garden from another\nquarter of the Palace than that through which Ruth had entered. The\nBronze King himself, alone and unattended, stepped out into the gravel\npath. He carried a large torch that flamed above his head. The lurid\nlight fell upon his hard bronze face, showing it distorted and drawn\nwith rage.\n\n\u201cShe shall never escape me,\u201d he muttered to himself, but loudly enough\nfor both David and Ruth to hear distinctly the words, \u201cI will kill her\nfirst.\u201d\n\nWhat followed happened far more quickly than it takes to tell it. As he\nspoke he lifted the torch high and rushed furiously forward. Before\nthere was a chance to retreat, he came face to face with Ruth! The King\nwas so thoroughly surprised at this unexpected meeting that he failed to\nnotice David. The full glare of the burning torch fell blindingly upon\nRuth\u2019s pale and frightened face.\n\n\u201cSo!\u201d cried the King, \u201chere you are, are you? I have found you myself,\nhave I? Well, come with me.\u201d\n\nHe caught Ruth\u2019s wrist in his great rough burning hand. They could both\nfeel his hot breath as he spoke, and it seemed to fill the air with\nfumes like those of sulphur.\n\n\u201cTake your hands off her!\u201d commanded David--and his voice was that of a\nman.\n\nThe Bronze King turned upon him in a fury of astonishment.\n\n\u201cWhat!\u201d he cried. \u201cWho are you, to be commanding the King within his own\nPalace? The girl is mine; to-morrow she is to be my bride. She shall do\nas I command her or die instantly.\u201d\n\n\u201c_You_ shall do as _I_ command you or die instantly,\u201d said David. \u201cTake\nyour hand from her wrist and let her go free, or you shall repent of\nyour folly.\u201d\n\nNever in all his royal existence had the Bronze King been addressed so.\nHe grew so angry that his face looked more coppery than ever in the\nflickering light of the torch; Ruth thought she had never looked upon\nany one more terrible in all her life. A sound came from him that seemed\nto start somewhere in the vicinity of his heart. It was like the roar of\na raging forest fire.\n\nHe turned the torch so that its light fell on David\u2019s face. And when he\nsaw the boy standing there before him, he laughed in scorn and turned,\ndragging Ruth toward the doorway.\n\nDavid drew his hunting-knife and rushed upon the King with such fury\nthat the torch fell to the ground, setting fire to the grass and bushes\nas it rolled over and over; for the force with which it had been hurled\nfrom his hand when David made his onset was great enough to send it some\ndistance.\n\nThe King was a terribly powerful and heavy man, but he had no weapon\nsave his own strength. David was slender and frail, but he held within\nhis grasp a power that made him fearless and wise to act. The King,\ninfuriated by David\u2019s boldness, relaxed his grasp on Ruth\u2019s arm; and\nshe, finding herself free, ran a few steps from him so that she might be\nbeyond his reach should he attempt to seize her again. In a moment\nDavid and the Bronze King were rolling over and over in an angry\nstruggle, that same strange sound belching from the King\u2019s huge body\nwith increasing volume. Ruth trembled, for she feared lest David be hurt\nif not killed outright. In the growing light of the fire that had\nstarted from the blazing torch these two struggled and struggled, while\npoor Ruth looked on helplessly, her heart throbbing with fear and\nanguish.\n\nThe whinny of a horse sounded not far away, and the light from the\nspreading fire illuminated a grove of dark cedar trees, within which\nRuth could distinguish the outline of the Pale-Coloured Horse as it\ngazed with clear, intelligent eyes upon its master.\n\nA quick and clever turn on David\u2019s part threw the Bronze King so that he\nfell violently to the ground. David stood over him; then, lifting his\nknife, he plunged it deep into his enemy\u2019s side below the heart, just\nas the defeated King was about to call for help. The mighty monarch\nroared with pain. As David drew forth the knife there gushed from the\nwound a fluid, the colour of molten copper, that burst into flame the\ninstant it came in contact with the air. In a moment the whole body of\nthe great Bronze King was enveloped in vivid flame.\n\nDavid caught Ruth by the hand, and together they fled toward the Wing\u00e8d\nHorse. In an instant they were on its back. David held the reins of the\nmagic bridle in one hand while with the other he supported Ruth, who sat\nbefore him on the wonderful steed which was now so miraculously to save\ntheir lives. Looking toward the Palace, they saw that armed men were\nrushing into the Garden from all directions. News that the King was\nslain had already spread, and his soldiers and men-at-arms had vowed\nvengeance upon the slayer.\n\n\u201cCome, my faithful Horse,\u201d cried David. \u201cSave us! the hour has come.\u201d\n\nSlowly the creature moved, walked forward a few steps; then, carrying\nits precious burden, it spread its great pale-coloured wings and rose up\ninto the air; up, over the tree tops, over the roof of the great Castle,\nover the capstone of the high, high wall that enclosed the garden; then\non over the iron pickets that made the place seem impregnable. Ruth\u2019s\nhair had fallen loose, and its silk-like strands blew across David\u2019s\nface and blinded his eyes as they moved forward through the vastness of\nthe night.\n\nBelow them raged the fire, which had spread with incredible fury and\nspeed. All at once there was a terrific noise, louder than the explosion\nof the largest bomb. David and Ruth looked below them toward the spot\nwhere the Bronze King\u2019s Palace had stood. They saw fiery broken\nfragments falling to the earth like rain; and where the mighty Palace\nhad once stood, there was nothing to be seen save burning desolation and\nwreckage. The Bronze King, his Palace, his chained Lions and prancing\nhorses had all been annihilated in one huge explosion. The terrific heat\nhad caused such pressure within the Bronze King\u2019s body, whose blood was\nbut fuel and whose flesh but gas, that at last it exploded with a\ntremendous detonation; and the spot where he had lived in such mighty\nglory knew him no more.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIII\n\nTHE BURNING MOUNTAIN\n\n\nOn, on through the night they rode, and one by one the stars appeared as\nthe great storm clouds drifted away, borne on the current of friendly\nwinds.\n\n\u201cWhere are we going?\u201d asked Ruth.\n\n\u201cWe will let the Horse take us where he will,\u201d said David. \u201cHe deserves\nto have his own way now, having served us so faithfully and so well.\u201d\n\nOn they flew; and as morning stole into the sky and the stars began to\ngrow pale, the great wing\u00e8d creature dropped down nearer to the earth,\nso that they just skimmed over the tree tops. In a few moments they came\nto the wonderful crystal pool where David\n\n[Illustration:\n\nTHEY TOLD ONE ANOTHER OF ALL\nTHAT HAD TAKEN PLACE]\n\nhad waited and watched so patiently a short time before.\n\n\u201cRuth,\u201d he cried in delight, \u201chere we are at the beautiful pool again!\nWe will linger here till noontime and refresh ourselves. It is the most\nbeautiful spot imaginable, and I longed to have you see it.\u201d\n\nThe Horse settled down on the soft sward, and David and Ruth sprang from\nits back, glad to feel once more the firm earth under them. They\nrefreshed themselves, drinking of the clear cool water; they rested in\nthe soft moss; they gathered fruit and berries in the woods near at\nhand. They told one another of all that had taken place; and there was\nmuch to relate, much to rejoice over, much to remember, and much to\nregret. They were so happy that time passed by unheeded, and the great\nsun touched the horizon before they noticed that the day was spent.\n\n\u201cDavid,\u201d cried Ruth, \u201cthe day is gone! and we have done nothing to bring\nus nearer to the Garden.\u201d\n\n\u201cNothing, save to free you from the Bronze King\u2019s Palace,\u201d answered\nDavid laughing. \u201cTo-day you were to be his bride.\u201d\n\nRuth shuddered. \u201cIt all seems so long ago--I forgot it happened but\nto-day,\u201d she said.\n\nThey called their faithful Horse to them and mounted upon his back.\n\n\u201cUp!\u201d said David, \u201cup into the sky above, till through the darkness from\nsome great height we can see the Burning Mountain.\u201d The Horse obeyed,\nand they rose into the night as the twilight deepened. Up, up, till the\nstars overhead seemed so near that they fancied they could almost touch\nthem. Far, far away in the distance they saw the Burning Mountain.\n\n\u201cThere!\u201d cried David. \u201cWe must go over _that_, for beyond that lies the\nGarden.\u201d\n\n\u201cLet us go round it,\u201d said Ruth. \u201cIt will not be so hard for us to do\nthat.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said David, \u201cwe must go _over_ it. Only so can we be sure of\nreaching our goal.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe air in the high regions is so hard to breathe,\u201d said Ruth.\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d answered David, \u201cbut I will do all that I can to help you endure\nit.\u201d\n\nSoon they came nearer and nearer to the Burning Mountain. The flames\nrose high, so high that they seemed almost to burn the stars, and the\nheat was terrific. It was necessary to fly far up, and the air was so\nthin that it was almost impossible for them to breathe. It was very,\nvery hard for the poor Horse. Sometimes he would drop down nearer the\nmountainside, hoping to be able to breathe more easily there; but the\nheat at that altitude was so fierce that it was impossible to endure it,\nand he rose upward again.\n\nRuth said nothing, but the blood ran from her ears and nose and mouth.\nTwice she fainted, losing all consciousness, so that David had to hold\nher poor limp body to keep her from falling. David himself fought the\nsupreme battle of his life. Nothing that he had ever attempted could\ncompare with this, as a test of courage and endurance.\n\nBut at last the great Burning Mountain lay behind them, and they could\nwith safety sink down to the plain, where the air was less thin and\nbreathing would be normal. They came out into a country where they could\nrest, for the great, terrible Mountain towered far in the distance.\nHere they wished to descend, to rest upon the ground and gain strength\nbefore pursuing their journey. In accord with David\u2019s wishes, the Horse\ndescended, and they found themselves in a country filled with little\ntrees and shrubs. They rested for some time, refreshing themselves with\nwater from a beautiful stream near which they had alighted. The country\nseemed to abound in berries and fruits.\n\nDavid knew that there would be no further need of the Horse; and even\nRuth was quite ready to let the creature go, for this last flight had\nbeen most perilous and fraught with fears. So David called the good\nHorse to him and said: \u201cMy faithful One, you shall have your liberty.\nOnly, first, you must fly to the little cabin in the woods. Return to\nWisdom\u2019s Brother, and he will take the bridle and the golden bit from\nyour mouth. Then you will be free once more.\u201d\n\nDavid stroked the silken coat as he spoke, and the Horse rubbed against\nhis master\u2019s sleeve and nibbled it in affectionate play. Then,\nstretching his great wings, he rose from the ground and was soon lost in\nthe vastness of the deep sky above.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIV\n\nTHE GARDEN\n\n\nDavid and Ruth journeyed onward hand in hand. The Burning Mountain was\nnow almost invisibly remote, and they knew that they must be near the\nGarden for which they sought. Soon they met a company of young people,\nwho immediately recognized the two as strangers.\n\nOne, who seemed to be the leader, spoke to them, saying: \u201cYou are\nwelcome, strangers. Will you not join us? for we are on our way to the\nTemple of Wisdom, and shall be glad to have you accompany us.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is indeed kind,\u201d said David, and they joined the little company\nand became one with them.\n\n\u201cHow came you here?\u201d asked their new-found friend.\n\n\u201cI will tell you gladly,\u201d said David, \u201cif you will tell me first where\nwe are.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhere?\u201d repeated the other. \u201cWhy, you are on the borders of the\nGarden.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe Garden in the midst of the Forest?\u201d said David questioningly.\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d replied the other.\n\n\u201cThere is a tree in its midst, is there not?\u201d asked David.\n\n\u201cA more beautiful Tree than the mind of man can imagine,\u201d answered their\nguide.\n\n\u201cSo we have understood,\u201d said David, \u201cand we wish to find it.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow came you here?\u201d repeated their companion. \u201cDid you come by\nyourselves, alone?\u201d\n\nDavid smiled. \u201cWe came alone,\u201d he answered, \u201cbut not by ourselves, for\nwe were guided and led here. Years ago I saw a Blue Bird and heard it\nsing. Once seeing and hearing it, I had to follow it. It led me to Ruth.\nThen, one day, it sang for us again. Its message was very clear, and\nagain I had to follow it. I left Ruth; it led me to her a second time,\nfor she was in trouble and needed me. We had thought that I could cut\nthe trail here to the Garden and then return for her. But it could not\nbe: we found that we must seek it together.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut the Blue Bird never comes to the borders of the Garden: he only\nremains within it,\u201d said the stranger. \u201cYou must have come to this point\nalone.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, no!\u201d said David and Ruth in one voice. \u201cThe Wing\u00e8d Horse brought us\nhere!\u201d\n\nAs they conversed, the country through which they journeyed grew more\nand more beautiful. Its wonders unfolded before their eyes as they\ntalked together.\n\n\u201cOne never does anything alone,\u201d said David. \u201cI mean, of one\u2019s own\npower. One is always guided, led, or helped. Only when one cannot\nclearly see or understand does one make the mistake of thinking of one\u2019s\npower as coming from one\u2019s self.\u201d\n\nAs he spoke they passed through a series of lovely groves--first, trees\nof heavy wood such as cedar, oak, pine, and chestnut; then fruit trees,\napple, orange, pear; then nut trees of varied kinds. As they walked on\nthey noticed that the series of groves grew in such a pattern as to form\na spiral of huge dimensions, toward the center of which they were now\njourneying. Soon they beheld such scenes as neither David nor Ruth had\never imagined or pictured. Here and there were charming and lovely\nlittle houses built in the midst of beautiful groves, each house\nsurrounded by a garden filled with sweet-scented flowers. The delicious\nfragrance reminded David of the odours he had caught that first day when\nhe had entered the Country that lay just the other side of the little\ndoor in the tree trunk, only now it was much stronger, sweeter, and\nnearer. Here were also olive trees, sweet-scented shrubs, and rose\ntrees.\n\n\u201cYou will find your house in time,\u201d said the stranger. \u201cFor it is in the\nGarden somewhere.\u201d\n\n\u201cOur house!\u201d said Ruth. \u201cHow beautiful that will be.\u201d\n\nThey journeyed on. The light grew more and more brilliant. It was not\nthe kind of light that dazzles the eye and pains: it gave an effect more\nlike that which one feels in watching the sun rise, when the first\nstreaks of dawn come in the sky and every moment brings more light,\nmakes all objects more distinct and vivid. It seemed as if each step\ntook them nearer and nearer to the serene splendour of noontime.\n\nAt last they came to a Temple surrounded by trees, flowers, and shrubs\nof every sort, built within this wonderful and beautiful Garden.\n\n\u201cThis is the Temple of Wisdom,\u201d said their guide.\n\n\u201cThe Tree--?\u201d questioned David.\n\n\u201cThe Tree stands within the courtyard of the Temple,\u201d answered the\nstranger, \u201cfor the Temple has been built around it.\u201d\n\n\u201cMay we enter?\u201d asked David.\n\n\u201cAll who desire to enter are welcome,\u201d said the stranger.\n\nA sound broke forth through the sweetness of the fragrant air. It was\nthe joyous song of the Blue Bird!\n\n[Illustration:\n\n\u201cWELCOME, CHILDREN,\u201d SHE SAID.\n\u201cWELCOME TO YOUR COTTAGE\u201d]\n\nDavid and Ruth looked into one another\u2019s eyes. The song re-echoed in\ntheir hearts. The stranger and his friends had left them, and they were\nquite alone.\n\nThey looked about. The Bird sang again. The music drew them forward in\nthe direction whence it came. Before them they saw a rose-covered\ncottage. The door opened, and the beautiful little old woman of the\nMansion of Happiness stood before them, smiling.\n\n\u201cWelcome, children,\u201d she said. \u201cWelcome to your cottage.\u201d\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nDavid and Ruth had reached the end of their long, long journey. Through\nit all they had been learning to love one another, so that they were\nworthy to become husband and wife.\n\nThey live in the little rose-covered cottage, within the shadow of the\nTemple of Wisdom. Many, many times they have entered the Temple and\nseen the wonderful Tree; and many, many times to come, they shall enter\nit again.\n\nSo we must think of them as living in their rose-covered home built\nwithin the Garden that lies in the midst of the Forest Beyond the\nWoodlands.\n\n[Illustration]","title":"The Forest Beyond the Woodlands: A Fairy Tale","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":20100}