{"collection":"folklore-oral-tradition","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_58042/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_58042","id":"gutenberg_58042","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/58042","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Adventure","Category: Children & Young Adult Reading","Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy","Fairy tales"],"text":"Produced by Mary Glenn Krause, amsibert, David E. Brown,\nand the 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\nTRANSCRIBER\u2019S NOTES:\n\n\n  Italicized text is surrounded by underscores: _italics_.\n\n  Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.\n\n  Page number errors in the Table of Contents have been corrected.\n\n  Illustrations have been moved to the nearest paragraph breaks, thus\n    the page numbers in the List of Illustrations have been adjusted to\n    reflect these moves.\n\n\n\n\n\nPRINCESS WHITE FLAME\n\n\n\n\n    PRINCESS\n    WHITE FLAME\n\n    BY\n    GERTRUDE\u00b7CROWNFIELD\n\n    [Illustration]\n\n    ILLUSTRATIONS\u00b7BY\u00b7\n    ANNE\u00b7MERRIMAN\u00b7PECK\u00b7\n\n    E\u00b7P\u00b7DUTTON\u00b7&\u00b7COMPANY\n    NEW YORK\n\n\n\n\n    Copyright, 1920,\n    By E. P. DUTTON & COMPANY\n\n    _All Rights Reserved_\n\n    [Illustration]\n\n    _Printed in the United States of America_\n\n\n\n\n    TO\n    MY DEAR SISTER\n    KATHARINE\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\n                   PAGE\n\n    PROLOGUE          1\n\n    CHAPTER\n\n         I.           5\n\n        II.          19\n\n       III.          37\n\n        IV.          53\n\n         V.          56\n\n        VI.          77\n\n       VII.          96\n\n      VIII.         106\n\n        IX.         119\n\n         X.         136\n\n        XI.         152\n\n       XII.         170\n\n      XIII.         187\n\n       XIV.         204\n\n        XV.         222\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nLIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS\n\n\n                                                                    PAGE\n\n    \u201cHere am I, Prince Radiance, come to serve you.\u201d                  65\n\n    Suddenly the Giant hurled his Cloak violently forward            129\n\n    The Sword of Flames leapt from its scabbard and was raised\n      on high                                                        162\n\n    Prince Radiance fell on his knees before her                     217\n\n\n\n\nPRINCESS WHITE FLAME\n\n\n\n\nPRINCESS WHITE FLAME\n\n\n\n\nPROLOGUE\n\n\nOf all the fairy countries in the world none is more wonderful or\nbeautiful than the country where the Fire Fairies live. Into that land\nno fairies of the earth, or air, or water dare venture. They would be\nseared, or changed to ash or vapor.\n\nMany are the doors that open into the Fire Kingdom--thousands, and\nhundreds of thousands in number. Wherever you see the firelight\nflicker, wherever you see flames leaping and dancing, wherever you hear\nthe snap of the burning logs, there you may be sure is an open door.\nThen if you choose to creep close to it, and peer in, you may perhaps\nsee wonderful things; fairy forms that flit and vanish, and reappear,\nand vanish again among the leaping flames, and smoldering embers.\nPerhaps, also, you may see the shining domes and glittering turrets of\nthe fairy palaces.\n\nBut when the fire burns down, and the hearth grows dark the door is\nclosed--there is no more to be seen of that wonderland.\n\nIn the very heart of the Fire Country stands the palace of King Red\nFlame, the gleaming flame-colored palace, the Palace of Burning Coals.\nRound it lies a wonderful garden, where paths wind away among great\nfields of fire lilies, and flame roses lift their heads, and the tall\nshining trees rustle in the wind with a sound like the whispering of\nthe fire on the hearth. Here in this glowing country the good and happy\nfairies work and play, and serve their king as all good fairies should.\n\nBut not all fairies in this land are good and happy. Beyond the glow\nof the roses and the lilies, beyond all sight of the glimmering trees,\nthere lies another part of the country where live the evil fairies of\nthat land. Here are great Plains of Ash, and huge Caverns of Soot,\nand stretches of gloom where comes and goes the Shadow Witch. Here\nImps of Darkness lurk, here Dragons crouch, and Wizards dwell. Perhaps\nsometimes when you have looked into the Fireplace you have seen those\ndismal plains and darksome valleys. They lie away from the heart of the\nFire, at the side of the Hearth, and between the flames and the heaps\nof ashes.\n\nAnd now listen, and I will tell you of Prince Radiance, and Princess\nWhite Flame who lived in the Fire Country and of many strange and\nwonderful adventures through which they journeyed on to reach at last a\nnever-ending happiness.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nCHAPTER I\n\n\nOnce upon a time a wicked Earth Fairy went forth to see what mischief\nshe could do. She flitted on and on until she came to a House Door. She\nhad come to one of the homes where the good and useful House Fairies\ndwell. The Door was open, and she crept up to it slyly, and peered in.\nThere she saw a great room, in perfect order, for the House Fairies had\nput everything to rights before they went away to their tasks upstairs.\nThe floor was swept, the pictures hung trim and straight upon the\nwalls, the chairs were dusted and set about invitingly, and on the\nHearth the Fire burned warm and clear.\n\n\u201cHhm!\u201d muttered the Earth Fairy. \u201cHere is the very chance I\u2019ve been\nlooking for!\u201d\n\nShe slipped inside the Door and set to work at once. She sprinkled\nashes on the clean-swept floor, and set the chairs askew. She pulled\nthe pictures crooked, and turned their faces to the wall. Into every\ncorner of the room she went, making mischief, and leaving disorder\nbehind her. No one came to interrupt her, so that she kept on and on\nwith her malicious task until the room was in complete confusion.\nWearied with the mischief she had done, she paused and looked about her\nfor a place to rest. On the Hearth lay a great bank of warm ashes, soft\nas a feather-bed. She went to it at once, and threw herself down upon\nit, thinking to rest only a moment before she journeyed on. Now this\nwas a very dangerous thing for an Earth Fairy to do, because none but\nFire Fairies can safely rest so close to Fire and Flame. But this the\nEarth Fairy did not know, so she sank down, meaning to rest but for a\nshort time, but she was so weary that before she knew it she had fallen\noff into a deep sleep, and while she slept the Fire stole from her all\nher Earth magic, and her Earth powers.\n\nSince the Fire was burning, that Door to the Fire Country was of course\nwide open, so that King Red Flame riding out that morning on his\nflame-colored horse caught a glimpse of the Earth Fairy\u2019s yellow hair\nas she lay in the ashes. He drew near to see who was slumbering there.\nAt the first glance he knew that she was not a Fire Fairy. It was\nplain, too, that she was not a House Fairy. Whoever she was, he knew\nthat she was in great danger, and that she must be rescued at once.\n\nHe called to her, but she neither answered nor stirred. He alighted\nfrom his horse, and bending over her shook her gently, but she gave no\nsign of life. He shook her more roughly, and called louder, but quite\nin vain.\n\n\u201cI shall have to take her to the palace,\u201d murmured King Red Flame to\nhimself. \u201cHere I can do nothing. Queen Glow and I must consult together\nover the matter.\u201d\n\nHe lifted the Earth Fairy in his arms, and laid her across his horse.\nThen mounting again, he rode away with her in the direction of the\nPalace of Burning Coals, satisfied that there, in counsel with his\nqueen, he could bring succor to the stranger in her great need.\n\nQueen Glow was a very beautiful fairy, and as wise and good as she was\nbeautiful. Always her thought was how she could help and comfort those\nwho were in trouble or distress. As soon as King Red Flame arrived at\nthe palace, Queen Glow had the insensible Earth Fairy carried to her\nown room, and laid upon her royal bed. Here she bent over her, chafing\nher hands, and trying in every way to revive her.\n\nThere was deep silence in the room, except for the suppressed\nwhispering of a little group of Fire Fairies gathered about the door.\nOne by one other fairies that belonged to the palace came to join them,\nand among the rest came Grey Smoke, old and wise, she who had nursed\nQueen Glow as a child.\n\nAs soon as Grey Smoke saw the Earth Fairy, she said, \u201cShe has rested\ntoo long on the Hearth. She has rested too long in the heat. Never\nagain can she return to her own life. There is only one thing left for\nus to do. We must change her into a Fire Fairy. In this way only can\nshe again be wakened into life. Then she can live happily among us, and\nfill her uses in the Fire Kingdom.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow is so great a change as that to be wrought?\u201d asked King Red Flame.\n\u201cHave you knowledge of such a spell as will accomplish this?\u201d\n\nDame Grey Smoke shook her head. \u201cNo, Your Majesty, not I,\u201d she said.\n\u201cBut there is in the palace, greater knowledge than I possess. It was\nwritten long ago in the Book of Spells, that lies locked away in your\ntreasury.\u201d\n\n\u201cTrue,\u201d cried the King. \u201cWhy had I not thought of that? Let the book\nbe brought!\u201d\n\nThe King and Queen waited in silence while a trusted messenger was\ndispatched to fetch it from the treasure chamber where it lay. When it\nwas brought the King drew from his bosom a tiny key, which hung about\nhis neck from a golden thread. As the King unlocked the book, a thin\nmist of magic floated out from its pages, and circled about his head\nfor a moment before it disappeared. A thrill of awe passed through the\nwatching fairies.\n\nSlowly the King turned page after page, until at last he paused. \u201cIt is\nhere,\u201d said he. He and the Queen stooped above the book, reading the\nstrange and crabbed letters written so many ages ago by the masters\nof fairy magic. When they had read the charm through to the end, the\nKing lifted his head: \u201cNone but those who work this charm may see it\nwrought,\u201d commanded he. Then one by one the fairies passed from the\nroyal bedchamber, leaving the King and Queen alone.\n\nAll was silent in the room. The charm had been spoken--the spell had\nbeen wrought. The King and Queen stood watching the still motionless\nform of the Earth Fairy.\n\nAt last through her passed a thrill of wakening life. She turned upon\nher side. Her eyelids fluttered, then opened wide, and her eyes rested\nin bewilderment upon the two bending over her. From them her eyes\nwandered to the room about her. She raised herself upon her elbow.\n\u201cWhere am I?\u201d she demanded in a trembling voice.\n\n\u201cYou are in the Kingdom of the Fire Fairies,\u201d answered Queen Glow\ngently. \u201cBut do not be afraid. You are safe here, for we have changed\nyou into a Fire Fairy, and there is now no more danger for you here\nfrom heat or flame than there is for our own royal selves.\u201d\n\nThe Earth Fairy\u2019s face grew black with anger. \u201cA Fire Fairy!\u201d she\ncried. \u201cI, a Fire Fairy! That must never be. I am of the Earth. How\ndared you meddle with an Earth Fairy? Let me go instantly. I am going\nback to my own country--to my own kind.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat cannot be,\u201d answered the King. \u201cThere is no spell to transform\nyou to what you were, and it was only by changing you into a Fire Fairy\nthat we were able to awaken you from sleep. If we had not done this,\nyou would have slept and slept yourself away into a film of ashes.\u201d\n\nCarefully then he explained to her where he had found her, and how\nevery means had been tried to rouse her, but in vain, and only by the\npower of the Book of Spells had it been possible to save her. But\nnothing that the King or Queen could say--no words, however kind or\nwise, made the slightest difference to the Earth Fairy. She sprang from\nthe bed, and stamped her foot. She wept, she stormed.\n\nBy and by, however, she became sulky, and sank into silence, and would\nnot even answer what the King and Queen said to her. They were obliged\nto leave her alone, and though she ate the food that was presently sent\nto her, she would neither speak, nor look at the attendants who brought\nit.\n\nBut as time passed the Earth Fairy grew less sullen, and even seemed\nto be in some measure content with her new home, and her life in the\npalace, but Queen Glow felt sorry for her, and kept her near as her own\npersonal attendant. If any difference was made by the Queen between\nher and the Fire Fairies, it was that she treated her with especial\nkindness and affection. But the new lady in waiting never forgot her\nold life, and although she was now a Fire Fairy, she always insisted\nupon being called Earth Fairy, and that was the name by which everyone\nknew her.\n\nAt last there came a time when she really seemed to respond to\nkindness, and to feel a certain love for the Queen. She sought to\nplease her, and was always cheerful and complacent, and on their part\nthe King and Queen trusted her more and more. There was nothing in the\npalace that they would not have given her, nor anything that they\nwould not have granted to her, if she had asked; that is, nothing that\nwas at all possible.\n\nBut as a matter of fact, all this affection and pleasantness was only\nseeming. The Earth Fairy hated both the King and Queen, and longed to\nbe revenged upon them for the change they had wrought in her, even\nthough it had been done to save her. Constantly her anger burned\nagainst them, and she only awaited a chance to wreak vengeance upon\nthem. The Earth Fairy was crafty, and had the patience of craft. She\nwas willing to wait and watch a long while if necessary, if only her\nchance would come in the end.\n\nWhile waiting she watched and listened, learning such spells as she\ncould from the fairies around her, and practicing them in secret. There\nwas not a book of magic in the Palace of Burning Coals that she did\nnot seek out and pore over; not a wand that she did not try. Only the\nKing\u2019s own Book of Spells was locked away from her, and one precious\nwand that had belonged to the mother of King Red Flame, and had been\nleft by her in charge of the Fairy Grey Smoke, oldest and wisest of\nany save one in the Kingdom of the Fire Fairies. No one else, not even\nthe King himself knew of this wand, for his mother had made Grey Smoke\npromise that she would never tell him of it, nor bring it from its\nsecret hiding-place until some great need arose that called for a spell\nthat nothing could possibly break.\n\nIf the Earth Fairy had known of this wand she would have spared no\npains to get hold of it; but Grey Smoke was wise and faithful, and kept\nthe trust that the King\u2019s mother had reposed in her.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nCHAPTER II\n\n\nIt was a shining morning in Spring. King Red Flame put on his scarlet\ncloak and cap, kissed Queen Glow good-by, mounted his flame-colored\nhorse, and rode away in the direction of the Dying Embers where he had\nbeen called upon important business.\n\nThe Earth Fairy, peeping from an upper window of the Palace of Burning\nCoals, watched him out of sight. Then she clapped her hands gleefully.\n\u201cWhen you come back, King Red Flame--ah, yes--when you come back, I\nthink perhaps you will find a surprise awaiting you.\u201d For at last the\nEarth Fairy saw a chance for the revenge for which she had long been\nwatching, and if things but fell out as she hoped, there was no wand\nnor spell that could restore to the King the priceless treasure that\nshe purposed to destroy.\n\nThat night all was still and tranquil in the Palace of Burning Coals,\nbut the next morning a sudden stir arose. Sooner than the Queen had\nbeen led to expect it a very wonderful thing had happened in the\npalace, for very early, with the dawning, a tiny baby Princess came to\nbe the daughter of King Red Flame, and Queen Glow.\n\nAll was tumult and rejoicing. The Queen lay proud and happy on the\nsatin pillows of her great golden bed, and looked and looked at the\nbeautiful little Princess in the golden cradle at her side. Everyone\nwas delighted at the coming of this Princess, but none seemed more so\nthan the Earth Fairy herself. She stayed close by the Queen\u2019s side,\nready to anticipate her every want, and joined with the rest in her\nadmiration of the baby Princess.\n\nAs soon as the child arrived, a messenger was sent in haste to recall\nKing Red Flame to the palace, but before the man rode forth the Earth\nFairy hastened down, and even as he was placing his foot in the\nstirrup, she told him that Queen Glow had decided not to send word to\nthe King, as his business was too important to be interrupted. Instead\nthe messenger was to ride off in exactly the opposite direction, and\nfetch back a golden cup which Queen Glow had ordered to be ready when\nshe should send for it.\n\nThis was a false errand, but the Earth Fairy did not wish anyone to\nknow that she had countermanded the Queen\u2019s order, and if he were seen\nto set out on a journey, all would suppose that he had gone in search\nof the King.\n\nSoon after the messenger had departed, the Queen said to the Earth\nFairy, who was sitting beside her, \u201cSend everybody away except\nyourself. I wish to rest. You yourself are so quiet, dear Earth Fairy,\nyou will not disturb me, and you can watch over my little daughter, and\nsee that no harm comes to her while I sleep.\u201d\n\n\u201cI shall be only too happy, Your Highness, to do anything that pleases\nyou,\u201d answered the Earth Fairy sweetly.\n\nSo it was that the Queen, and the Earth Fairy, and the baby Princess\nwere presently left alone together, and as Queen Glow turned on her\nside and closed her eyes, the Earth Fairy seated herself beside the\ncradle with a piece of embroidery.\n\nBefore Queen Glow fell asleep, she murmured softly, \u201cTo-morrow, Earth\nFairy, King Red Flame will be here. Only think how happy he will be to\nsee his little daughter!\u201d\n\n\u201cAh, Your Highness; what happiness!\u201d purred the Earth Fairy from her\nchair beside the cradle.\n\nNow the room grew very still, and Queen Glow fell into a profound\nslumber. Then the Earth Fairy laid down her embroidery, and rose\nsoftly from her chair. She tiptoed to the bed, bent over the Queen,\nand listened intently to her breathing, till she was certain that her\nmistress slept. Then she crept from the room, and was gone for some\nlittle time. When she returned, she brought, concealed in the folds\nof her dress, a bundle of the most powerful wands that the palace\ncontained. She stood a moment and listened. The Queen and the Princess\nslept as before.\n\nThe Earth Fairy locked the door quickly, and made haste to open\nthe bundle of wands. She took out the one that she knew to be the\nmost potent, and carried it to the bedside of the Queen. It was\nserpent-shaped and slender, and as the Earth Fairy waved it above the\nQueen long green tongues of flame darted from its tip.\n\n\u201cSleep,\u201d whispered the Earth Fairy. \u201cSleep till I bid you waken.\u201d At\nthese words the Queen sank into an even deeper slumber than before.\n\nThen the Earth Fairy turned to the defenseless Princess. With one sweep\nof the glimmering wand, she bound the cradle within a magic circle, so\nthat she might weave a spell that no power could break.\n\nBut at the very moment that the first word of her charm fell from\nher lips there came a sudden knock at the door. The Earth Fairy was\nstartled. She thrust the wand behind her, stole swiftly to the door,\nand laid her ear to the keyhole.\n\n\u201cWho is there?\u201d she demanded in a low voice.\n\n\u201cIt is I--Grey Smoke,\u201d was the answer. \u201cI bear a message to the Queen.\u201d\n\n\u201cQueen Glow has given orders that she is not to be disturbed,\u201d returned\nthe Earth Fairy. \u201cShe sleeps, and I can awaken her for no one.\u201d\n\nSatisfied with the answer that she had received, Grey Smoke took her\ndeparture, and the wicked Earth Fairy returned to the cradle of the\nPrincess. She had no more than drawn a second time her circle of\nenchantment, had but once waved her wand above the little Princess,\nthan there came another, and a louder knock.\n\nFurious that her spell should again be interrupted, the Earth Fairy\nthrew down her wand, and hurried to the door. \u201cWho is it now who comes\nto disturb the Queen?\u201d she demanded sharply. \u201cHas not everyone been\ntold that her Majesty wishes to sleep?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is I--Spark--the page,\u201d was the reply. \u201cMy business is important.\nA golden necklace has just arrived for Her Highness the Princess, with\norders to deliver it to the Queen at once.\u201d\n\n\u201cHer Majesty is not to be disturbed for any purpose,\u201d retorted the\nEarth Fairy. \u201cGo away at once, and put it in a place of safety till she\nawakens.\u201d\n\nThe page was not satisfied. \u201cSince the Queen cannot be disturbed,\u201d\nreplied he, \u201cyou must yourself take it, and keep it until she awakens.\nOpen the door, and I will give it to you.\u201d\n\nObliged to control her anger, lest Spark should become suspicious that\nmischief was on foot, the Earth Fairy opened the door the merest crack,\nand received a marvelous golden box from his hands. At any other time\nshe certainly would have turned it over curiously, and if no one had\nbeen by she would have peeped within, but now she was only anxious to\nguard the entrance to the room as well as she could, and to shut the\ndoor quickly, before the sharp eyes of Spark should see too much.\n\nCareful as she was, however, she did not succeed in preventing him\nfrom catching a glimpse of the bundle of wands lying upon the Queen\u2019s\nbed. The sight of them in this unexpected place excited his suspicions\nat once, but he was far too clever to say anything concerning them to\nthe Earth Fairy. She would give him no satisfaction, he was sure. But\nhe lost no time in going to Grey Smoke, who was his grandmother, and\ntelling her what he had seen.\n\nGrey Smoke looked very grave. She had never trusted Earth Fairy, and\nnow a strange fear took possession of her. \u201cI will go to the Queen at\nonce,\u201d declared she. \u201cI--her old nurse, must see to it that no harm\ncomes to her in the King\u2019s absence.\u201d\n\nBut swiftly as Grey Smoke hastened to the side of her mistress, she\nwas too late, for as soon as the page had departed, the Earth Fairy\nsnatched up her wand and rushed to the cradle of the Princess. Quickly\nshe drew once more her magic circle. Quickly she waved the flaming\nwand three times above the sleeping child. \u201cBecome invisible!\u201d she\nhissed--\u201cBecome invisible!\u201d\n\nInstantly the little Princess vanished from before her eyes, leaving\nonly the golden cradle standing empty beside the Queen\u2019s bed.\n\nThe Earth Fairy was filled with delight when she saw that she had\naccomplished what she had set out to do.\n\n\u201cNow I will awaken Queen Glow,\u201d said she triumphantly. \u201cShe shall see\nthat she is not the only one who can work spells.\u201d\n\nThough the form of the Princess had indeed vanished from the cradle,\nthe Earth Fairy did not notice that a tender white flame was hovering\nabove the place where the child had lain, for there was one thing that\nthe wicked fairy, with all her knowledge of magic did not know: that\nis, that no Fire Fairy can ever be made entirely invisible. Though its\nform may vanish, its spirit is always seen as a fine flame.\n\nThe Earth Fairy, in her impatience to show the hapless Queen how she\nhad revenged herself, had turned her back upon the cradle as soon as\nher spell was fully wrought, and was not aware of the presence of the\ntiny flame. She took up the wand with which to arouse the Queen. She\nleaned over her, and touched her with it.\n\n\u201cAwake!\u201d she cried.\n\nImmediately, as if she had only waited for the word, the Queen opened\nher eyes, and saw with astonishment and amaze the evil triumph written\nupon the face of the Earth Fairy. Instantly she started from her\npillows, and glanced in the direction of the cradle. She saw that it\nwas empty, and saw the tiny white flame flickering where the little\nPrincess had been. Then her eyes fell upon the bundle of wands, and she\nknew what had been done to her helpless child.\n\nShe gave a great cry that rang through the room. Grey Smoke, hurrying\ndown the palace hall, heard it and hastened still faster. Without\nwaiting to knock, without even trying the door, she wound herself like\na thin gray thread through the keyhole, was on the other side of the\ndoor in a moment, and stood beside her mistress in her own shape.\n\nThe Queen lay back among her satin pillows, quite without life. Grief\nat that what had happened to her beloved child had broken her heart.\n\nThe Earth Fairy and her wands were nowhere to be seen, for as soon as\nthe Queen had cried out, she had made haste to escape by another door\nthat led to a distant part of the palace.\n\nGrey Smoke was filled with horror at what she saw. At first she was\nunable to move, or even to think. But she recovered herself quickly.\nSomething must be done. She rushed to the door, tore it open, and\ncalled aloud for help.\n\nSpark, who was lingering in the hall, came at once, eager to learn\nwhat she had discovered, but his grandmother\u2019s face showed him that it\nwas no time for questions.\n\n\u201cGo quickly, Spark,\u201d commanded she. \u201cBring every fairy in the palace.\nSomething terrible has happened. Bring everyone, but especially the\nEarth Fairy; on no account must she be allowed to escape.\u201d\n\nAway flashed Spark in hot haste, and did his errand so well, that\npresently the bedroom of the Queen was filled with anxious fairies.\nUnder the direction of old Grey Smoke, everything known to fairy lore\nwas done to revive Queen Glow, but nothing was of the least avail.\nKnowing but too well, by the flame hovering above the cradle, what had\nhappened to the Princess, a band of the most trustworthy and faithful\nfairies set themselves as a guard about her, lest the one who had done\nthis wicked deed might seek to approach and do further harm, if that\nwere possible.\n\nIt was not until all the other fairies were gathered in the room that\nthe Earth Fairy appeared, with Spark close at her side, guarding her\nlest she should try to escape. But the Earth Fairy made no attempt to\ndo this. When she entered the room she seemed to be overwhelmed by\nsurprise at what she saw, and to be the most grief-stricken of them all.\n\nGrey Smoke pointed an accusing finger at her. \u201cWicked one,\u201d she cried,\n\u201cIt is you who have done this to our Queen, and to our little Princess.\nIt is you who must pay the penalty when King Red Flame returns, and\nfinds what you have done.\u201d\n\nThe Earth Fairy interrupted her indignantly, and declared with a storm\nof sobs and tears that she was absolutely innocent, and that when she\nhad left the room to put away the wands the Queen had asked her to\nbring, that all had been well; the Queen had been sleeping quietly in\nher bed, and the child had been in the cradle by her side.\n\n\u201cSay no more,\u201d commanded Grey Smoke. \u201cNo one believes you for a moment.\nNo one else would have wrought evil upon our dear Queen.\u201d\n\nIn spite of everything that the Earth Fairy said to try to prove her\ninnocence, she was taken away under a close guard of Fire Fairies, to\nbe given over to the keepers of the prison.\n\nAround the cradle of the baby Princess a ceaseless watch was kept. The\nFire Fairies who were appointed to guard it kept their eyes fixed upon\nthe white and flickering flame, awaiting the return of King Red Flame.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nCHAPTER III\n\n\nNow all this time King Red Flame knew nothing of the happiness and\nthe misfortune that had come to his queen. He finished the business\nthat had taken him forth as quickly as he could, and then, in haste,\nhe turned his horse toward home. But it was by another road that he\nreturned to the palace, and it was for this reason that he missed the\nmessengers that Grey Smoke had sent to seek him.\n\nThree days had passed since he had bade farewell to the Queen, and now\nhe was soon to see her again. Light-heartedly he rode along, singing\na snatch of a song that the Queen loved, and more than once he took\nfrom his pouch a beautiful flashing necklace that he was bringing as a\npresent to his wife. As he held it up in the glowing light it shone and\nflashed as only magic can. He smiled with delight as he thought of the\npleasure it would give her.\n\nSo full of joy was he that when he reached the palace gate he failed\nto notice the sad faces and tear-stained eyes of the fairies that came\nout to meet him, and take his horse. Only as he hurried up the palace\nstairs did he realize that the place seemed quieter than usual.\n\nBut presently, drawing still nearer to the chamber of Queen Glow, the\nsound of the wailing of many voices smote on his ears, and the nearer\nhe drew to her chamber, the louder it became. Fear suddenly awoke in\nhis heart, and drove his feet swiftly forward. He rushed to the Queen\u2019s\ndoor, flung it wide open, and stood for a moment looking in. Then he\nhurried to her bedside, the fairies shrinking away before him to right\nand left.\n\nThere upon the bed lay the Queen, as fair and white as some beautiful\nfigure carved in ivory.\n\nWith a loud cry King Red Flame fell on his knees beside the bed, and\nclasping the lifeless hand of the Queen in his, he called to her,\nbeseeching her to look at him, to wake, to speak. It seemed indeed as\nthough he were unable to believe that she could no longer hear him.\n\nAt last, laying down her hand, he raised himself slowly to his feet.\n\u201cTell me,\u201d he cried, \u201chow has this happened, and what has brought this\nterrible misfortune upon our land?\u201d\n\nFor a moment all were still. Then Grey Smoke stepped forth from among\nthe rest. \u201cYour Majesty,\u201d said she, \u201cit is the work of the Earth Fairy.\nIt is she who has revenged herself thus.\u201d Then briefly she told him all\nthat had happened since he had ridden away.\n\nSilently the King listened, too stunned for word or thought. There was\na pause, and then Grey Smoke laid a gentle hand upon his sleeve, and\nspoke again: \u201cYour Highness,\u201d said she respectfully, \u201cdo not forget\nthat the baby Princess needs you, and that she who has wrought all this\nevil is still free and unpunished.\u201d\n\nAt that King Red Flame turned his head, and looked at the golden\ncradle. There above it hovered the tiny white flame, the only visible\nform of the fairy Princess.\n\n\u201cAlas! Alas!\u201d mourned Grey Smoke at his ear, \u201cthat this should be\nall that is left of the loveliest princess that the Land of the Fire\nFairies has ever seen!\u201d\n\nThe King aroused himself. \u201cIt is too late,\u201d he cried, \u201cto bring my dear\nQueen back to life, but at least as far as the Princess is concerned\nthe guilty one shall repair her mischief. Bring the Earth Fairy to\nme, and after she has restored my daughter, she shall receive the\npunishment she has deserved.\u201d\n\nAt once several fairies hastened away to seek for the Earth Fairy, and\nsoon returned guarding her in their midst. She was weeping bitterly.\nAs soon as her captors released her, she threw herself at the King\u2019s\nfeet. \u201cAlas! Alas!\u201d she wailed, \u201cthe Queen is dead, and they accuse me\nof being the cause. Though why, I cannot understand.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou know why they accuse you,\u201d answered the King sternly. \u201cI am but\ntoo well assured that it is you who have brought this grief upon us\nall. Now it is for you to break the spell you have laid upon the\nPrincess, and after that we will consider what punishment is fitting\nfor such a one as you.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe Princess!\u201d cried the Earth Fairy, \u201cI left her here in the cradle,\nbut it appears that harm overtook her also.\u201d\n\n\u201cEnough!\u201d cried the King. \u201cYours is the spell that has changed the\nPrincess to a flame. Yours must be the spell to restore her to her\nshape.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut I know nothing of spells,\u201d exclaimed the Earth Fairy desperately.\n\nGrey Smoke started forward vehemently. \u201cWhat then were you doing with\nthe wands that Spark saw when you opened the door?\u201d she demanded\nsharply.\n\nThe Earth Fairy flushed deeply, but answered without hesitation.\n\u201cBefore my mistress fell asleep, she bade me bring her a certain bundle\nof wands that she wished to look at. I brought them, as she bade me,\nand she looked at them, taking some in her hands, and putting others\naside. After that she gave them back to me, and bade me return them.\nWhile I was still busy putting them away, these Fire Fairies came and\nseized me roughly, crying that the Queen was dead, and that I was to\nblame. But listen--who was it that accused me? It was Grey Smoke who\nforced her way into the chamber of the Queen in my absence--it is\nGrey Smoke who says these things about me. How do you know that it is\nnot Grey Smoke herself who has done this deed? What more likely than,\nhaving done it, she should try to throw the blame upon another?\u201d\n\n\u201cDo not dare to accuse my good Grey Smoke. There is none whom I trust\nmore than I do her,\u201d retorted the King angrily. \u201cHad we but chosen\nher as the Queen\u2019s attendant, this grief would not have come upon us.\nNothing that you can say will ever make me believe that you are not\nguilty. But we are wasting time. You have been brought to break the\nspell.\u201d\n\nStubbornly, again and again, the Earth Fairy repeated that she knew\nnothing of spells, either to make them or break them.\n\n\u201cTake her away,\u201d commanded the King at last. \u201cLet her be kept in a\ndungeon, away from everyone, until she consents to restore the Princess\nto her true form.\u201d In spite of the Earth Fairy\u2019s cries and struggles\nshe was dragged away, to be kept securely under lock and key, until she\nwas ready to obey the King\u2019s command.\n\nThis done, King Red Flame had a golden box brought that contained the\nvery finest wands that he possessed, and tried with all the skill he\nknew to break the spell cast over his daughter; but it was quite in\nvain--the white flame still fluttered above the cradle, and the baby\nPrincess still remained invisible. The King was filled with despair,\nfor he knew of nothing more that he could do to break the Earth\nFairy\u2019s spell. Overcome with grief he turned to leave the room.\n\nAnd now a strange thing happened. The tiny white flame, leaving the\ncradle, followed after him very timidly, but very steadily, as if the\nfairy Princess knew him, and longed to be close by him, in the shelter\nof his love and protection.\n\n\u201cLook, look, Your Majesty,\u201d cried Grey Smoke, \u201cthe little Princess\nfollows you!\u201d\n\nThe King was touched to the heart. He commanded that the Princess\u2019s\ncradle should be brought to his own chamber, and there sitting beside\nit, he rested his head sadly upon his hand, and pondered deeply, while\nstill the white flame hovered quivering and flashing softly above the\ncradle.\n\nSuddenly there came a low knock at the door, and Grey Smoke\u2019s voice\nwas heard, asking if she might enter.\n\n\u201cCome in, Grey Smoke,\u201d replied the King, and as the door opened, and\nthe old nurse came in, he added, \u201cLet us see whether you cannot suggest\nsome way to help my poor little daughter. For me--I have no thought\nleft.\u201d He sighed heavily as he spoke, and from the white flame above\nthe cradle there seemed to float a faint answering sigh.\n\n\u201cYour Majesty, do not despair,\u201d counseled Grey Smoke. \u201cIt is true\nthat the spell cast upon the Princess is a powerful one, but I am sure\nthat in time everything will turn out well. I have been to see the\nWise One, and he has told me that only the Veil of Disenchantment that\nlies hidden in his magic chest can break the spell that rests upon the\nPrincess.\u201d\n\nThe King sprang to his feet eagerly. \u201cThere is, then, some magic thing\nthat can break this enchantment?\u201d he cried. \u201cLet us go at once and\nfetch it.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is impossible,\u201d replied Grey Smoke. \u201cOnly the prince who will one\nday come--he who is fated to win the Princess as his bride, can see\nthis Veil. Only in his hands is it potent to restore her.\u201d\n\nKing Red Flame shook his head in doubt. \u201cMy good nurse,\u201d he groaned,\n\u201cwhat hope can there be that such a prince would ever love my poor\ndaughter, who is nothing but a quivering flame?\u201d\n\n\u201cIs there no charm that you can bestow upon her, so that even though\nshe remains a flame it will win his heart, and make him long to set her\nfree?\u201d inquired Grey Smoke.\n\nAgain the King sank into deep thought, and as he sat there silently the\nsoft cry of the flame again sounded in his ears.\n\n\u201cHer voice!\u201d cried the King. \u201cThough her form has been taken from her,\nher voice still remains! Could I but make it the most beautiful voice\nin the world, it might draw all hearts to her, even though she should\nindeed remain forever invisible. Had I but a wand that had not already\nfailed--but, as you know, I have already tried with every wand in the\npalace to restore the Princess to her true form, and as you also know,\nno wand that has once failed can be used the second time.\u201d\n\n\u201cYour Majesty, the time has now come for me to tell you something that\nup to now has been known to no living soul except myself. When your\nmother died, she left in my care a wand more powerful than any other\nin the palace. This wand I was to keep until such desperate need arose\nas could be met by no other magic known to any of us. It is called the\nWand of Good Enchantment. The time for you to use it has now come.\u201d So\nsaying Dame Grey Smoke drew from under her long cloak a faded silken\ncase, and laid it in his hands.\n\nEagerly the King opened the case, and drew from it a slender wand,\ndecked with snow-white feathers. The moment he touched it, the thrill\nthat passed through his fingers told him that it was full of magic. His\neyes gleamed with joy.\n\n\u201cAh, Grey Smoke,\u201d he cried, \u201cmight it not be possible that this wand\nhas the power that none of the others possessed to break the spell, and\ngive me back my daughter? Shall we not try to restore her at once?\u201d\n\n\u201cNay, nay, Your Majesty! Do not venture!\u201d begged Grey Smoke anxiously.\n\u201cTrust to what the Wise One has told me. As yet no power can restore\nthe Princess. Do not destroy the magic of this wand in a useless\nattempt. Rather use it to bestow the gift that will win the heart of\nthe prince who is to save her.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are right,\u201d agreed the King sadly. \u201cThe risk is too great. It\nshall be as you say.\u201d\n\nTaking the Wand of Good Enchantment, he rose, and stood looking down\ninto the cradle of the little Princess. Waving it to and fro above the\ntiny flame, he said tenderly, \u201cMy daughter, by the magic of this wand,\nI bestow upon you a voice of such marvelous sweetness that all who hear\nit shall be drawn to you, and it shall in the end win for you the love\nof that prince who alone can save you.\u201d\n\nThe words were no sooner uttered than forth from the flame came a\ngentle sound of exquisite music, stirring the heart.\n\nHearing it, tears of joy rose to the eyes of King Red Flame. His\nmother\u2019s wand, left to him for his hour of need, had not failed him.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nCHAPTER IV\n\n\nDay followed day, weeks and years slipped by, and the tiny dancing\nflame that was the spirit of the baby Princess grew larger and more\nbrilliant year by year. The Fire Fairies called her Princess White\nFlame, and regarded her with the greatest respect and love, but pity\nand sympathy were always mingled with that respect.\n\nThe story of the magic Veil was known, and many princes had heard the\nvoice of the Princess, and had seen her passing as a fine white flame.\nMany would gladly have won her as a bride; many had sought the Wise\nOne--many had peered into his ancient chest, but none had been able to\ngrasp, or even to see the wondrous Veil that alone could restore the\nPrincess to her fairy form.\n\nKing Red Flame loved his daughter dearly, and was never so happy as\nwhen she fluttered gently from place to place with him, or hovered in\nthe air by his side when he sat at rest; yet always he longed to see\nher face--to have her visible presence.\n\nOne evening as they were moving together in the garden, watching the\nred and yellow light that came and went among the fire-lilies that\nbordered the winding paths, the King asked her tenderly, \u201cMy child,\nhave you not yet seen a prince whom you can love?\u201d\n\nWhite Flame laughed softly. \u201cNo, there is no one. Why do you ask, dear\nfather?\u201d\n\nKing Red Flame sighed. \u201cBecause it is only a prince who loves you, and\nwhom you can love in return, who can free you from the spell.\u201d\n\nWhite Flame stole closer to her father\u2019s side, and whispered in his\near, \u201cI have not yet seen anyone, dear father, for whom I would wish to\nbe more than the glancing flame that they see me now.\u201d\n\nAgain the King sighed. \u201cAh, well, my daughter, the time may come. But\nremember that until it does, your face is hidden from me also.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nCHAPTER V\n\n\nNot far from the Land of the Fire Fairies there is another wonderland.\nIt is called the Kingdom of Light. Here, though the people are fairies,\ntheir magic is different from the magic of the fairies of fire and\nflame. But it is not less marvelous and beautiful.\n\nThe ruler of this country had a son whose name was Prince Radiance. The\nPrince was tall and strong and handsome. His soft red suit of velvet,\nhis scarlet cap with long red feather that tossed and floated above his\nyellow hair became him well. So very bright with hope and courage were\nhis eyes, so very friendly was his smile, that wherever he appeared the\nfairies cried to one another, \u201cAh, here comes Prince Radiance, bringing\nhappiness and cheer!\u201d\n\nThe young Prince was now of an age to seek a bride, but the King was\ntoo fond of his son to wish him to marry anyone whom he did not love\nwith all his heart. Many princesses and beautiful ladies would have\nbeen glad to be chosen by him, but the young Prince cared for none of\nthem. And although the wise men of the country came often to their King\nto urge the Prince to take a wife, the old King always replied, \u201cNot\nyet, not yet. My son must make his own choice, and in his own way.\u201d\n\nSo time passed, until one day Prince Radiance asked his father\u2019s\npermission to visit the Land of the Fire Fairies. He had heard of their\nstrange magic, and wished to behold it with his own eyes.\n\nThe King gave him leave, and bidding his father farewell, the Prince\nset out, quite alone, as was his wish.\n\nBy traveling swiftly, he soon reached the boundary of his father\u2019s\nkingdom, and crossed into the Land of the Fire Fairies. Now the Fire\nFairies have always been friendly to the Fairies of Light, so the\nPrince was made welcome wherever he went.\n\nThe magic of the Fire Fairies charmed and delighted him. He stood and\nwatched them rear their shining palaces, saw them deck the walls with\nglittering jewels, or wreathe them with flaming vines by the mere wave\nof a wand. He wandered from place to place, learning many new and\nwonderful things.\n\nAnd all the time he drew nearer and nearer to the Palace of Burning\nCoals, but as yet he had heard nothing, had seen nothing of the\nPrincess White Flame.\n\nAt last he came to a garden, whose open gate showed him bright trees\nrustling in the breeze and bushes thick-set with flame-colored\nblossoms, showed him paths that wound away into stretches of still\ngreater loveliness and bloom. He had come to the garden of the Princess.\n\nHe entered, and stood a moment, to see if any would come to stop his\nprogress; but all was still in the garden, and not a living creature\nwas anywhere in sight. He chose the path of greatest beauty, but had\nnot gone far upon it when he became aware of a voice singing in the\ndistance, a voice that drew nearer and more near, until the air around\nhim was filled with its exquisite music. Entranced, rooted to the spot,\nPrince Radiance listened. Never had he heard so wondrous a voice. It\nwas as though it drew his very heart from his breast to follow it.\n\nSo spellbound was he, that at first he thought only of the voice, but\npresently he was filled with an ardent desire to know from whom it\ncame. But even as he looked eagerly about him for the singer, the voice\nbegan to recede from him, and to fade away among the tree-tops. Then\nit was, that glancing upward, he saw a pure and pearl-white flame, and\nfrom the flame came the magic voice that had so stirred his heart.\n\nAwaking from his trance of wonder and delight, the Prince sought to\nfollow it; even as he did so the flame was lost to sight. He pursued it\nin the direction in which he had seen it pass, but in vain.\n\nStill the Prince went on in haste, seeking someone who could tell him\nwhere it might be found. The faint cracking of boughs struck on his\near, and going to the place from whence it came, he saw a Fire Fairy,\npruning a glittering shrub.\n\n\u201cTell me,\u201d he cried, \u201cwhere shall I find the flame that was singing\nyonder, the flame with the wonderful voice?\u201d\n\nThe fairy paused in his work, and regarded the Prince curiously. \u201cCan\nit be,\u201d inquired he slowly, \u201cthat you have not heard of the Princess\nWhite Flame?\u201d\n\n\u201cI saw no Princess,\u201d answered Radiance, \u201cbut I heard a voice of\nmagical beauty that seemed to come from a pure white flame.\u201d\n\n\u201cAh,\u201d replied the Fire Fairy, \u201cthat is indeed our dear Princess. A\nflame she is, and a flame she must remain, until that prince comes at\nlast who alone can set her free.\u201d Then he told Prince Radiance the\nstory of the spell that had been cast upon her in her cradle; told him\nof the wondrous Veil that lay hidden in the Wise One\u2019s ancient chest;\ntold him also of the many princes who had vainly sought to see it, that\nthey might deliver the Princess.\n\n\u201cI, too, must go,\u201d exclaimed Prince Radiance. \u201cWho knows but I may be\nmore fortunate than they. Tell me at once where this Wise One is to be\nfound.\u201d\n\nFilled with the hope that this at last might be the true prince, the\nfairy told him exactly how to find the Wise One\u2019s hut, and the Prince\nhurried away.\n\nHe had not gone far, however, when what was his joy to hear once more,\nsoft and faint at first, but clearer and stronger as he proceeded, that\nvoice that had so charmed him a little while before.\n\nEagerly, scarce daring to breathe, lest he should startle the Princess,\nand drive her from him, the Prince hastened toward her.\n\nShe was poised at the foot of a great fire-oak, her flame seeming to\nwax or wane as the music rose or fell.\n\nSo silently the Prince advanced that he stood beside her before she was\naware.\n\n\u201cPrincess! Princess White Flame!\u201d he cried low, \u201cHere am I, Prince\nRadiance, come to serve you. Say that you are willing that it should be\nso.\u201d\n\nAt the sound of his voice, the singing of the Princess ceased suddenly.\nFlashing and trembling at the unexpected appearance of this stranger,\nshe seemed about to take flight.\n\n\u201cNay, do not leave me,\u201d he besought her. \u201cTell me, rather, that I too\nmay seek to deliver you from the cruel spell that binds you thus.\u201d\n\nSo did his face glow with the love that her voice had awakened in his\nheart, so did his own voice thrill with tenderness, that a soft and\nroseate flush passed over the whiteness of the flame, as if in answer.\nYet she spoke no word.\n\n\u201cI know what I must do,\u201d pursued the Prince. \u201cA fairy has told me.\nEven now I was on my way to seek the Wise One, and happily to bring\nforth the mystic Veil. Do you bid me go?\u201d He paused, and waited for the\nPrincess to speak.\n\n[Illustration: \u201cHere am I, Prince Radiance, come to serve you.\u201d]\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d she whispered softly, \u201cgo. But ah--if you should not see this\nVeil--what then?\u201d\n\n\u201cThen--ah then,\u201d he answered quickly, \u201cI will return to you, and gaze\nupon your pure and beauteous flame, and listen to your magic voice,\ntill love shall make keen the eyes that were too dull before. Say that\nyou will await me here!\u201d\n\nAgain a rosy flush overspread the whiteness of the Princess. \u201cI promise\nyou,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen you return, you will find me waiting.\u201d\n\nOverjoyed at so gracious an answer, Prince Radiance drew still nearer\nto the glowing flame. \u201cAh, my beloved Princess,\u201d he cried, \u201csomething\ntells me that I shall not fail. I shall return indeed, and in my hand\nshall be the Veil that will set you free. Farewell, then, till I come\nagain.\u201d\n\nThen he left her, a gleaming whiteness at the foot of the great\nfire-oak, and went his way as the fairy had directed him.\n\nIt was not long until he arrived at the house of the Wise One. A queer\nlittle scarlet hut, it was, set in the midst of a thicket of flaming\nbushes, with a bright red path that led straight to the door. The path\nwas worn and hollowed out by many feet. From the pointed chimney, and\nthe quaintly peaked roof, down all the walls to the very ground, the\nhut was covered with magic signs that no one but the Wise One himself\nunderstood.\n\nBoldly the Prince approached the door, and knocked. A voice bade him\nenter. The Prince obeyed, and found himself in the presence of an old,\nold fairy, who was sitting before a table, poring over a great Book of\nWisdom.\n\nIt was the Wise One. He wore a long white beard, that swept down his\nscarlet robe almost to his feet. A curious border of fairy letters ran\nabout the hem of his robe, and as he rose slowly to greet his guest,\nthey flashed and moved as if with life. A wave of magic flowed from\nthem toward the Prince.\n\n\u201cWelcome, Prince Radiance,\u201d said the Wise One, \u201cI know your errand.\nCome, let us see if you will be able to succeed where others have\nfailed.\u201d\n\n\u201cAh, that it may be so!\u201d exclaimed the Prince, following the Wise\nOne, who led him to a chest that stood in a corner of the hut. A very\nancient chest it was, carved deeply with magic inscriptions that age\nhad had no power to dim. Huge hinges held it firm; a huge lock fastened\nit.\n\nThe Prince looked down upon it with eager hope. He trembled a little\nas the Wise One drew from his breast a key, and fitted it in the lock.\nSlowly the key turned. Slowly the lid rose of itself.\n\n\u201cLook within,\u201d commanded the Wise One, \u201cand tell me what you see.\u201d\n\nIn breathless suspense, Prince Radiance bent over the chest,\nhoping--fearing--so much hung upon his power to behold what lay\ntherein. The light was dim, and the chest deep. For a moment he saw no\nmore than what looked like a film of ash upon the bottom of the chest,\nand through his heart went a stab of pain and disappointment.\n\nThen, suddenly, his sight seemed to clear. \u201cThe Veil! The mystic Veil!\u201d\nhe cried. \u201cThere! There it lies! I see it! Oh, I see!\u201d\n\n\u201cLook again,\u201d said the Wise One. \u201cDo you see nothing more?\u201d\n\nAgain Prince Radiance bent above the chest; again he peered earnestly\ninto its depths. Dimly discerned beside the Veil lay a sword in its\nscabbard, and close beside it a soft grey pouch.\n\n\u201cA sword is there, and a curious pouch,\u201d he answered.\n\n\u201cYou have seen what none have seen before,\u201d replied the Wise One. \u201cThe\nVeil is for the Princess, the Sword and the Pouch for you. Take them,\nfor the time will come, before your task is done, when you will need\nthem all. Take out the Veil.\u201d\n\nGently the Prince lifted the magic Veil from out the chest. As it\nrose, it floated out and out, and seemed to fill the hut, like a mist\nfor fineness, like a web for strength.\n\nThe Wise One went to a cabinet, and drew from it a tiny golden casket.\nHe returned to the Prince, and said, \u201cPlace the Veil inside.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow is that possible?\u201d inquired Prince Radiance.\n\n\u201cYou have but to press the corner of the Veil, and it will become small\nenough to fit into the tiniest box. You have but to lift it from the\nbox, and shake it out, and it will become as you behold it now. Do as I\nhave said, and you will see.\u201d\n\nThe Prince obeyed, and presently the Veil lay in the golden casket. The\nWise One handed him a golden key. \u201cLock it, and fasten it securely\nwithin your robe where none can rob you of it,\u201d he told him. \u201cOn its\nsafety all your hopes depend.\u201d\n\nGravely Prince Radiance did as the ancient fairy bade him.\n\n\u201cLift out the Sword,\u201d directed the Wise One, \u201cand draw it from its\nscabbard.\u201d\n\nAgain the Prince obeyed. As he laid his hand upon the hilt it was as\nif the Sword answered to his touch, and leapt from its scabbard, a\nflashing flame of blue, that shed a dazzling light on all around it.\n\n\u201cIt is the Sword of Flames,\u201d the Wise One told him, \u201ca powerful\nweapon--potent in your hands alone. It will serve you well. See that\nyou do not lose it. See that you do not use it until its day comes.\u201d\n\nPrince Radiance looked at him in wonder. \u201cHow shall I know the day?\u201d\nasked he.\n\n\u201cWhen the day comes you will need none to tell you,\u201d was the answer.\n\u201cAnd now take the Pouch--the third and last gift.\u201d\n\nThe Prince replaced the Sword of Flames in its sheath, and bound it on.\nThen stooping he took out the Pouch.\n\n\u201cOpen it,\u201d said the Wise One.\n\nPrince Radiance did so, and saw that it was divided within into two\ncompartments.\n\n\u201cThis is a magic pouch,\u201d the Wise One instructed him. \u201cWhatever you\nplace in it will never fail of its supply. It will help you out of many\na danger, out of many a difficulty.\u201d\n\nThe Prince thought deeply. \u201cWhat shall I place within it that will have\nsuch power?\u201d he asked at last.\n\nThe Wise One smiled. \u201cThat is easy enough to choose,\u201d he answered. \u201cIn\nthe one side place a burning coal; put in the other a handful of ash.\nNothing else could possibly be so unfailingly useful wherever you may\ngo.\u201d\n\nSurprised at such an answer, Prince Radiance gazed at him without\nobeying.\n\n\u201cIt is as I have told you,\u201d the ancient one assured him. \u201cYou will find\nit so.\u201d\n\nThen the Prince stooped to the fire that was burning on the hearth, and\nfilled the Pouch as he had been directed, and fastened it to his side,\nthe Wise One watching him meanwhile with a kindly smile.\n\nWhen Prince Radiance would have thanked him for the fairy gifts, he\ndismissed him with a wave of the hand. \u201cGo,\u201d he said, \u201cand all good\nfortune attend you. If you but do your part, the magic of the Veil will\nbe potent to break the Earth Fairy\u2019s spell, and restore the Princess\nWhite Flame to her fairy form.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nCHAPTER VI\n\n\nFar from the kingdom of King Red Flame, in the dismal country that lies\nalong the Chimney Back are many dark and mischievous fairies, and the\nmost mischievous of them all was Flying Soot.\n\nHe was a great traveler, and employed himself in flitting from place to\nplace collecting news, and telling it again wherever he thought that\nit would do the most harm. Most of his time was spent in the Land of\nEvil Fairies where he had many friends who gave him welcome for the\nsake of what he had to tell. But now and again he crossed secretly into\nKing Red Flame\u2019s dominions, in the hope that he might pick up some\ninformation that he could use. He always took great care, however, not\nto allow himself to be seen by any of the Fire Fairies.\n\nUpon one of these excursions he overheard some Fire Fairies repeating\nthe story of the enchantment of Princess White Flame, and learned at\nthe same time about the Earth Fairy\u2019s imprisonment. After that he could\nnot rest until he had found the way to the place where she was confined.\n\nDuring all the years that the Earth Fairy had been locked in her\nprison, she had known nothing of what went on outside of it. She\nneither knew of the wondrous Veil in the Wise One\u2019s ancient chest, nor\nthat it was expected that a Prince would some day come who would set\nthe Princess free.\n\nBecause of her long imprisonment her hatred of King Red Flame burned\nall the more intensely, but deprived as she now was of every means of\nworking magic, she could neither escape, nor wreak further vengeance\nupon her master.\n\nOne day, as she sat in a corner of her cell nursing her anger, she\nheard her fairy keeper come to her door and try it carefully to see\nthat it was still securely fastened. Then his footsteps retreated, and\nshe knew that he had gone away with his companions for a short rest\nunder the trees as was his daily custom.\n\nHardly had the sound of his footsteps faded away when a faint rustle\noutside the door caught her ear, and a voice that was unknown to her\nsoftly called her name.\n\nMaking no noise she crept to the keyhole and peered through. A figure\nstood near it, wrapped in a long black mantle, with a black velvet\ncap pulled low over his forehead. From his face she knew that he was\nan evil fairy, but he was a stranger, and fearing that he might be an\nenemy she made no answer.\n\nHer visitor was not discouraged. He called to her again, and told her\nthat he was Flying Soot. Finding that she still made no reply, he\nassured her that he was a friend, and began at once to give her what\nnews he could of King Red Flame and the Princess. At that the Earth\nFairy answered him willingly, and harkened with eagerness to what he\nhad to say. They talked for some time, but as soon as the keeper was\nheard returning, Flying Soot scurried off. After that he came from\ntime to time to see her and bring the news, and the knowledge that the\nPrincess was still but a flame, always filled the Earth Fairy with\nwicked satisfaction.\n\nOn the day that Prince Radiance found and talked with Princess White\nFlame in the palace garden, Flying Soot passed near them on his way to\nthe Earth Fairy\u2019s prison.\n\nHearing their voices he drew near stealthily, and listened to them. As\nsoon as Prince Radiance departed, away rushed the mischief-maker to the\nEarth Fairy. It was the hour when the keeper was absent, so that he\nflew straight to the door without pause.\n\n\u201cEarth Fairy! Earth Fairy!\u201d he called, placing his lips to the\nkeyhole. \u201cCome close and listen; I have great news!\u201d\n\nThe Earth Fairy sprang to the door at once. \u201cWhat is it?\u201d demanded she,\n\u201cTell me quickly.\u201d\n\n\u201cA Prince has come,\u201d he told her. \u201cA Prince who swears to break the\npower of your spell.\u201d\n\nFrom the Earth Fairy\u2019s lips burst a laugh of scorn. \u201cLet him try as he\nmay,\u201d she declared, \u201che will never succeed.\u201d\n\n\u201cBe not too sure of that,\u201d warned Flying Soot. \u201cThis Prince spoke with\nthe Princess of a magic Veil, which he has but to cast over her to\nrestore her at once to her true form.\u201d\n\nFor a moment the Earth Fairy was quite speechless with astonishment and\ndismay; then she cried aloud, \u201cA Veil! A magic Veil that will set the\nPrincess free!\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d replied her companion, \u201cAlready the Prince has gone to fetch it\nfrom where it lies hidden in the chest of the Wise One. Soon he will\nreturn to where the Princess awaits him in the garden, and presently,\nmy dear Earth Fairy, the spell that you wrought with such care will be\na thing of naught.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, no!\u201d screamed the Earth Fairy, \u201cNever, never shall this be! I must\nescape. You must help me to escape at once, and prevent it!\u201d\n\nFlying Soot shook his head doubtfully.\n\n\u201cHow can I enable you to escape from a prison so strong, and so\nsecurely locked?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt takes but a key to open the strongest lock,\u201d insisted the Earth\nFairy. \u201cYou must overpower the keeper. You must obtain the key--and let\nme out.\u201d\n\nIn the beginning Flying Soot was unwilling to try, but when the Earth\nFairy presently spoke of rewarding him for his services, he agreed to\ndo as she wished.\n\n\u201cFirst you must release me,\u201d commanded she. \u201cThen you must hasten to\nthe Palace of Burning Coals, and bring forth my bundle of wands from a\nhiding place that I will tell you of. When you have brought them to me,\nI will bestow one of them upon you as your reward.\u201d\n\nNow Flying Soot knew well that a Soot Fairy can work no magic with the\nwand of a Fire Fairy unless he is taught its secret. \u201cPromise that you\nwill surely show me how to use it,\u201d said he, \u201cand I will do as you ask.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, yes, of course,\u201d agreed the Earth Fairy impatiently. \u201cOnly be\nswift about your task, and the secret shall be yours.\u201d\n\nSatisfied with her reply, Flying Soot went his way. In the darkness of\nher cell the Earth Fairy waited, scarcely able to breathe, so fearful\nwas she that the Prince might return from the Wise One and disenchant\nthe Princess before she had time to interfere.\n\nIt was but a little while, however, before she heard the stealthy\nfootsteps of Flying Soot returning. It was but a moment more till she\nheard the great key turn in the lock, and saw the door flung wide open.\n\n\u201cCome out quickly,\u201d whispered her deliverer. \u201cYour keepers, blinded\nwith soot, grope hither and thither utterly bewildered. Together we\nmust contrive to shove them into your prison, and lock them up in your\nplace. After that you will be able to go on your way in safety.\u201d\n\nInstantly, the Earth Fairy sprang to his help, and so skillfully did\nthe two evil fairies jostle the keepers against one another and guide\nthem to the prison door, that soon they were lodged in the Earth\nFairy\u2019s cell. Then the key was turned upon them, and they were left to\ngrope clumsily about in the darkness, while the Earth Fairy and her\ncompanion hurried to the safe shelter of a thicket. There the Earth\nFairy told Flying Soot where she had hidden her wands, and bade him\nhaste to bring them to her. When he had departed upon his errand the\nEarth Fairy huddled low among the bushes to await his coming with what\npatience she might.\n\nIn spite of the years that had passed since the Earth Fairy had hidden\nher wands, none had discovered the place where they lay. So crafty a\nmessenger was Flying Soot that he obtained them unseen, and without\ndifficulty, and soon returned to where the Earth Fairy was concealed.\nHe laid the bundle in her outstretched hand.\n\nTrembling with anxiety, the Earth Fairy opened the case, and ran her\nfingers over the wands to test their power. The Green Wand shot forth\nemerald fire from its tip as she took it from among the rest. It was as\nfull of magic as on that far-off day when with it she had so cruelly\nenchanted the baby Princess.\n\nWith covetous eyes Flying Soot looked upon it. \u201cAh!\u201d cried he, \u201cthat\nis the wand of my desire. That shall be my well-earned reward.\u201d He\nstretched his hand to take it from her, but the Earth Fairy waved him\nback with an imperious gesture.\n\n\u201cTouch not the Green Wand,\u201d she commanded. \u201cTo do so is to destroy\nyourself.\u201d She laid it back in its place and took out in it its stead\na small dark wand. This she extended to him saying, \u201cHere is the one\nwhich is for you.\u201d With indignant words he would have spurned it, but\nshe checked his complaints abruptly. \u201cIt will serve you well, if you\nbut know its secret,\u201d she told him, \u201cSee--in this its magic dwells.\u201d\nWith a last envious look at the Green Wand, Flying Soot cast aside his\nanger, and watched her narrowly while she showed him how to use her\ngift. Still a little ungraciously he received it, and hid it in his\nmantle.\n\nThe Earth Fairy stopping for no farewell, gathered up her bundle of\nwands, and hurried to the spot where Flying Soot had told her the\nPrincess awaited the coming of Prince Radiance. There at the foot of\nthe great fire oak she saw her, flushing and paling with glorious\nlight. She was thinking of the wonderful happiness that had come to\nher, but suddenly she became aware that a stranger was approaching.\nLooking up she beheld the Earth Fairy.\n\nQuickly the Earth Fairy advanced till she stood before the Princess,\nand without waiting to be addressed, announced her errand.\n\n\u201cYour Highness,\u201d she said, \u201cI am a messenger from Prince Radiance. He\ncannot return to you as he had expected; but he has sent me to ask you\nto let me guide you to where he waits for you.\u201d\n\nPrincess White Flame regarded her doubtfully. \u201cYou are a stranger to\nme,\u201d she replied. \u201cHow may I know that you are in truth a messenger\nfrom the Prince?\u201d\n\n\u201cAh,\u201d cried the Earth Fairy, \u201cwill you not trust me? Alas! If you do\nnot, the Prince can never disenchant you, for the Wise One has assured\nhim that unless you come to where Prince Radiance now awaits you, the\nVeil will have no power over you.\u201d\n\nFor a moment the Princess regarded the face of the wicked one closely.\nIt bore a kind and innocent look. Still she felt undecided.\n\n\u201cHasten, Your Highness!\u201d entreated the Earth Fairy. \u201cHasten, I beg of\nyou, lest its magic be lost to you both.\u201d\n\nThe Princess White Flame hesitated no longer. \u201cLead on,\u201d she said, \u201cand\nI will follow.\u201d\n\nRejoiced that she had been able to persuade the Princess so easily, the\nEarth Fairy passed at once out of the Garden, and away from the Palace\nof Burning Coals, and close beside her fluttered the white flame of the\nPrincess.\n\nSilently they traveled, and after a time the country through which they\nwere passing began to look strange to the Princess. Yet, though they\nwent on and on, she still saw no sign of Prince Radiance. At last she\nbegan to question the Earth Fairy, who always replied that they had but\na short distance farther to go.\n\nThe lovely flame-colored and yellow trees of the Land of the Fire\nFairies had been left far behind; the little birds that make a music in\nthe Fire Kingdom like none elsewhere, were heard no more: the beautiful\npalaces, the shining gardens, where happy fairies worked and played,\nhad vanished. On all sides rose dull red caves, huge heaps of ash, or\nhigh black walls of soot, ugly and forbidding.\n\nHideous creatures crept away into darkness as they drew near, or peered\nout upon them from hiding-places as they passed.\n\nPrincess White Flame shuddered, and her light grew pale and dim.\n\u201cWhither are you leading me?\u201d she cried faintly, \u201cAnswer truly, for I\nwill go no further.\u201d\n\nThe Earth Fairy laughed mockingly. \u201cWell may you ask,\u201d she replied.\n\u201cEvil for you was the hour when you left your garden to follow me.\nBehold in me the Earth Fairy--your parents\u2019 enemy and yours.\u201d\n\nA great trembling seized the unfortunate Princess. In this terrible\nland, helpless in the power of this wicked fairy, how could she hope\never again to see the Prince who had won her heart? How could she hope\never again to return to her father in the Palace of Burning Coals?\n\nColdly and cruelly the voice of the Earth Fairy came to her in her\ndespair.\n\n\u201cMany years was I a prisoner by King Red Flame\u2019s command, and dark and\ndreary was my cell. Now my turn for vengeance has come, and you may\nbe well assured that in the place that I have chosen for you, neither\nthe beauty of your voice, nor your flashing brightness shall avail you\naught.\u201d\n\nBefore them yawned a black and narrow cave, its walls hung thick with\nsoot. From under her cloak the Earth Fairy drew her Green Wand. She\nextended it over the Princess, and pointed to the cave. \u201cBy the power\nof my Green Wand I command you to enter,\u201d she cried.\n\nFrom the wand streamed a magic so potent that the poor Princess had no\npower to resist it. With a low cry of anguish, she bowed herself, and\ndisappeared into the darkness of the cave.\n\nCalling all her evil magic to her aid, the Earth Fairy drew down the\nwalls of the cave and sealed them. She listened to make sure that\nno sound could make its way from within. Then she returned her wand\nto its place, and flitted away over the desolate plain. As she went\nshe murmured gleefully, \u201cAh! that was well done. Now I know for a\ncertainty that nothing good can ever come to Princess White Flame.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nCHAPTER VII\n\n\nHardly had Princess White Flame departed with the Earth Fairy when\nPrince Radiance returned to the garden.\n\nGreat was his astonishment to find the Princess no longer there.\nBelieving, however, that she had gone but for a moment he sat down\nbeneath the flame-red tree to wait for her return.\n\nMany moments passed, and she did not come, and at last the Prince rose\nto seek her through the garden, calling softly as he went, \u201cPrincess,\ndear Princess White Flame, where are you?\u201d\n\nBut none answered him through the stillness, and again he cried, \u201cWhite\nFlame, dear White Flame--it is I, Prince Radiance. Answer--ah answer\nme!\u201d Yet up and down the blooming spaces of the garden he sought her,\nand called to her in vain. Presently he came to a wide avenue, and\nentering it found himself erelong before a great and shining palace. It\nwas the Palace of Burning Coals, and through its open doors and windows\nhe could see the Fire Fairies going to and fro about their appointed\ntasks. Hoping that here he might learn where to find the Princess, he\nascended the steps to the bright door, and told his errand to the fairy\nwho guarded it.\n\n\u201cIn this palace dwells the Princess,\u201d answered the Fire Fairy. \u201cShe is\nKing Red Flame\u2019s daughter.\u201d\n\n\u201cTake me to His Majesty then,\u201d commanded Prince Radiance, \u201cfor I would\nhave speech with him.\u201d\n\nSo he was brought before King Red Flame without delay. In the great\nhall of the Palace sat the King. It was that time of evening when the\nPrincess was wont to bear him company, but she had not yet come, and he\nwas beginning to wonder why she tarried.\n\nWhen Prince Radiance, guided by the Fire Fairy, was shown into the\nroyal presence the King gave him hearty welcome. With transports of\njoy he learned how the Prince had heard and loved Princess White Flame\nin her garden, how he had gone to obtain the mystic Veil from the Wise\nOne, and had been successful where countless who had come there before\nhim had failed. Great was the King\u2019s surprise, however, when he learned\nthat Prince Radiance had returned to the garden, only to find the\nPrincess gone.\n\n\u201cIt is not like my daughter to break a promise,\u201d he said, \u201cespecially\none of such great moment. Why she has done so, I cannot even guess, but\nI will send for her at once, and she shall speak for herself.\u201d\n\nA messenger was dispatched immediately to summon the Princess. He was\ngone for some time, but at length returned to say that nowhere in the\npalace had he been able to find her.\n\nThen the King sent for Grey Smoke, for none knew so well as she where\nher young mistress was most likely to be found. Yet though Grey Smoke\nmade a most thorough search in every nook and corner of the palace,\nthough she went to the top of its highest tower, and looked anxiously\nwithout in every direction, no where could she catch a glimpse of that\npure white flame that was the spirit of the Princess, nor hear the\nmusic of her well-loved voice.\n\nWhen she returned to her master to say that her quest also had been\nfruitless, the King became very much alarmed.\n\n\u201cLet the palace grounds be searched, once more,\u201d he commanded. \u201cLet no\nspot be overlooked. Let none rest until my daughter has been found.\u201d\n\nAnxiously the Fire Fairies one and all set forth to seek her. Yet more\nanxiously King Red Flame and Prince Radiance awaited their return.\n\nSuddenly a tumult arose outside the palace walls, and immediately\nafter the Earth Fairy\u2019s head-keeper, his eyes still half-blinded with\nsoot, stumbled into the King\u2019s presence. Close behind him came a\ncrowd of excited Fire Fairies. The head-keeper threw himself at King\nRed Flame\u2019s feet. \u201cYour Majesty! Oh, Your Majesty!\u201d he moaned. \u201cIn\nsome strange manner the wicked Earth Fairy has escaped, while we, her\nkeepers, blinded with soot have been imprisoned in her stead. Forgive\nus, oh forgive us we beg, that this should ever have come to pass.\u201d\n\n\u201cEscaped! The Earth Fairy escaped!\u201d thundered King Red Flame, aghast at\nsuch evil tidings.\n\n\u201cEscaped. The Earth Fairy escaped!\u201d shrieked all the fairies who were\nclustered in the palace hall. \u201cOh! Oh! That this should be!\u201d\n\nOld Grey Smoke bowed her head between her shoulders. \u201cIf this be true,\u201d\nmourned she, \u201cthen the Princess is indeed lost.\u201d\n\nFilled with consternation the King looked down upon the head-keeper\nstill crouched at his feet. \u201cSpeak,\u201d he commanded, \u201cand tell me how\nthis has come to pass.\u201d\n\n\u201cSurely Sire, it must have been the work of a spell,\u201d began the\nhead-keeper, \u201cNothing else could have brought such calamity upon us.\u201d\nThen he went on to tell what had happened. As his tale proceeded the\nKing listened intently, and all the Fire Fairies drew closer that they\nmight not miss a word.\n\n\u201cAnd by what means have you now escaped?\u201d demanded the King, as the\nhead-keeper paused for breath.\n\n\u201cBut a moment since, Your Majesty, one of our number contrived to\nwrench away the lock of the cell-door, and immediately I hastened here\nto warn you that the Earth Fairy is abroad, and that the Princess may\nbe in danger.\u201d\n\n\u201cAlas!\u201d groaned King Red Flame, \u201cThe Earth Fairy is doubtless already\nat work, for the Princess is nowhere to be found.\u201d\n\nHearing this, the head-keeper began to beat himself upon the breast.\n\u201cThe Princess lost! The Princess White Flame lost, and we the cause!\u201d\n\n\u201cAy!\u201d replied his master sternly, \u201cyou, the Earth Fairy\u2019s careless\nkeepers, were the cause. Had you not deserted your post, this great\nmisfortune could never have fallen upon us.\u201d He turned to a trusted\nservant. \u201cTake away this faithless keeper,\u201d he commanded, \u201cand place\nhim and his companions under strict guard, there to remain until my\ndaughter, Princess White Flame, is restored to me.\u201d\n\nSo the keeper was taken away, still beating his breast, and crying\naloud in vain remorse.\n\nAll about the palace hall stood the Fire Fairies weeping and lamenting,\nfor the Princess was dearly loved.\n\nThen the King turned to the old nurse. \u201cCome, my good Grey Smoke,\u201d said\nhe, \u201cgive me of your wise counsel. How shall I best seek my beloved\ndaughter?\u201d\n\nBut before Grey Smoke could answer, Prince Radiance sprang to the\nKing\u2019s side, and laid his hand upon the monarch\u2019s arm.\n\n\u201cYour Majesty,\u201d he implored, \u201cremember that I, also, love the\nPrincess. I claim the right to seek her, for have I not the magic gifts\nof the Wise One, and shall not my love guide me to her rescue? Fear\nnot. By the aid of these I will surely bring her back to the Palace of\nBurning Coals, not as you saw her last, indeed--but in her true form,\nfreed forever from the Earth Fairy\u2019s spell.\u201d\n\nLooking upon the ardent and hopeful face of the young Prince, hearing\nhis earnest words, the heart of King Red Flame was deeply stirred, and\nstrangely comforted. He stretched forth his arms, and drew him to his\nbreast.\n\n\u201cGo, my son,\u201d he said, tenderly. \u201cGo, and all good fortune follow you.\nBring back my beloved daughter to her home once more. So shall you\ngladden her father\u2019s heart, and win happiness for yourself and her.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nCHAPTER VIII\n\n\nBack across the dismal land through which she had led the Princess,\nflitted the Earth Fairy. Freed though she now was from her long\nimprisonment, she yet hoped for even greater liberty. When Flying Soot\nhad told her that the Veil had power to disenchant the Princess, she\nfelt sure that it would have a like magic influence over herself; that\nif she could but obtain it, and cast it about her that she should once\nmore become a true Earth Fairy. Should this come to pass, she would\nflee forever from the Land of Fire which she so hated, to her own\npeople and her own home.\n\nTherefore she determined to go in search of the Prince, and by means of\nher wands wrest from him the coveted Veil. She knew that it would soon\nbe discovered that Princess White Flame was no longer in her father\u2019s\nkingdom, and she believed that Prince Radiance would then come to seek\nthe Princess in the Land of the Evil Fairies. She herself would be in\nwait for him near the boundary and would endeavor to overpower him\nthere.\n\nSo rapidly did she journey that she soon reached the borders of the\nLand of the Fire Fairies, and began to watch for the coming of the\nPrince.\n\nSome time had passed before she beheld a scarlet cloaked figure\napproaching, looking eagerly on all sides, as if in search of someone.\nFrom what Flying Soot had told her she knew that it was Prince\nRadiance. She crept to meet him, concealing herself cleverly from sight\nas she went.\n\nWhen she was but a short distance from him she stopped and opened her\nbundle of wands. She had taken out the Green Wand, and was about to\nuse it, when she paused. Well did she know that she had none other so\npowerful, none other that could so fully work her will. By this she\nheld the Princess completely under her sway. Upon the Prince she was\nunwilling to risk it unless all else failed. She laid it back among\nthe rest and took up another that she had always trusted. Waving it\ntoward the Prince she murmured the words of a spell so potent that she\nexpected to see him fall instantly to the ground unable to speak or to\nmove. But it was as though the spell had never been uttered. The Prince\ncontinued on his way as before, and the Earth Fairy knew by this that\nall power had departed from her wand. She cast it away, and selecting\nanother without hesitation, she followed close after him, repeating\nthe words of her spell. This time also, the spell was of no avail; the\nsecond wand became as useless as the first, and was discarded in its\nturn.\n\n\u201cTruly there must be magic in this that will overpower him,\u201d she\nmuttered, taking out the third. \u201cNever before has this one failed me.\u201d\nYet the third wand had no more power than the rest. One by one, she\ntried them all, until there was none left but the Green Wand. She\nlooked at it longingly, but dared not risk it. Should it too be useless\nbefore this mysterious influence that protected the Prince she would\nhave nothing at all by which to work her will.\n\nShe ceased to follow Prince Radiance, and sat down to think of what she\nshould do in order to carry out her purpose.\n\nPondering deeply, she did not know that someone had approached her\nfrom behind, and was standing close beside her. It was Flying Soot.\nHe waited a few moments but finding that the Earth Fairy was too much\nengaged to be aware of his presence, he tapped her upon the arm. \u201cWell,\nmy good friend,\u201d he began, \u201chow have your affairs prospered since you\nleft me so abruptly in the palace gardens?\u201d\n\nThe Earth Fairy looked up with a start. No one had been further from\nher thoughts than Flying Soot.\n\n\u201cDo not disturb me,\u201d she answered impatiently, \u201cI am thinking over an\nimportant matter in which you can be of no use to me.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo not be too certain of that,\u201d the Soot Fairy replied. \u201cRemember that\nyou are now in a land where I have many and powerful friends.\u201d\n\nThe Earth Fairy had not realized that. At his words, she suddenly began\nto wonder if some of these wicked fairies of which he spoke, might be\nable to help her to obtain what she so desired. Instantly she changed\nher tone.\n\n\u201cHark you,\u201d she said, \u201cI believe you told me of a magic Veil that the\nPrince was to obtain from the Wise One. I have decided that I want\nthis Veil for myself. I have tried all my wands upon the Prince in an\neffort to take it from him, but they have failed. One alone I have not\ntried. It is the Green Wand which rules the Princess White Flame. This\nI am unwilling to risk--for the present at least. Have you, perhaps,\namong your friends, any who is sufficiently powerful to overcome Prince\nRadiance, so that I can take from him this Veil?\u201d\n\nFlying Soot threw back his black mantle from his shoulder with a\nconfident gesture. \u201cTo be sure I have,\u201d he assured her, \u201cand if the\nfirst should not succeed there are many others who would be willing to\ntry.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere is one difficulty,\u201d the Earth Fairy warned him, \u201cI can offer no\nreward.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo not let that trouble you,\u201d was the reply. \u201cThe friends whom I\nshall ask to assist you are too proud to receive rewards. They are\nsufficiently pleased when they have succeeded in accomplishing the\nmischief they set out to perform.\u201d\n\nThis was good news to the Earth Fairy. Her face shone with satisfaction.\n\n\u201cThere is one thing that you must do, however,\u201d continued Flying Soot.\n\u201cYou must contrive to lure the Prince to my friends, for they are far\ntoo haughty to seek him, even to do him harm. Is there any plan by\nwhich you can do this?\u201d\n\nFor a time the Earth Fairy sat plunged in thought. Then she sprang up\nclapping her hands in delight. \u201cAy,\u201d cried she, \u201cthat I can. I will\ncompel the Princess herself to lure him on. Well has my Green Wand\nproved its power over her, and she it is who shall lead him to his\ndestruction.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow shall this be done?\u201d inquired her companion.\n\n\u201cThat is simple enough,\u201d replied the Earth Fairy. \u201cYou have but to tell\nme whither I must bring the Prince. Then while you have gone to enlist\nthe services of this friend whom you have chosen, I will release the\nPrincess, will seek out the Prince, and bring him by her influence to\nthe appointed place.\u201d\n\nHe gave her most careful instructions as to where she would find him.\n\u201cAnd now,\u201d said he, when he had made everything clear, \u201cI go to engage\nmy friend the Giant of the Wide Grey Plain to assist you. You need have\nno fear. He will agree to do so. As soon as you arrive with your Prince\nyou will find him ready.\u201d He rose from his seat, shook out his black\nmantle, and quickly vanished in the distance.\n\nThe Earth Fairy on her part, hastened to the cave where the Princess\nWhite Flame was imprisoned. Carefully she unwove the spell which sealed\nits walls, and in a loud voice she commanded the Princess to come\nforth. Out of the yawning entrance glimmered the flame, pale and faint,\nbut still of a pure and beautiful whiteness.\n\nThe Earth Fairy drew out her Green Wand, and held it aloft. \u201cGo where I\nbid you,\u201d she cried, \u201cand delay not.\u201d\n\nUnable to resist the spell of the Green Wand, the Princess without word\nor sound, flitted rapidly away with her enchantress to seek the Prince.\n\nMeanwhile Prince Radiance, knowing nothing of the attempt that the\nEarth Fairy had already made to destroy him, proceeded on his quest.\nAll across the Wide Grey Plain where he now was, are scattered hills\nand mounds of ash in great number, and so much alike in size and shape\nare they, that the traveler often becomes confused and knows not which\nway to direct his steps. Thus it was with Prince Radiance, and at last\nquite bewildered he stood still, and looked about him, seeking for\nsomething to guide him. It was while he did so, that suddenly he saw\ngleaming in the distance a flame so pure and lovely that he could not\ndoubt that it was the spirit of his Princess. In an ecstasy of joy he\nthrew out his arms to it. \u201cWhite Flame! Ah my beloved White Flame,\u201d he\ncried, \u201ccan it be that I have in truth found you so much sooner than I\nhad dared to hope?\u201d\n\nQuickly he hastened toward her, drawing nearer and yet nearer until he\nwas sure that she could hear his voice.\n\n\u201cPrincess,\u201d he called to her. \u201cWait, ah, wait until I reach you. See,\nit is I, Prince Radiance, who follow. I bring with me the Veil that is\nto set you free.\u201d He expected her to pause; but it was not so. Slowly,\nyet steadily she retreated from him, and as she went her well-loved\nvoice floated back to him, not singing sweetly, as when he had heard it\nin her garden, but weeping, and in anguish.\n\n\u201cAh me, ah me, dear Radiance!\u201d she sobbed, \u201cthe Earth Fairy has cast a\nsecond and more cruel spell upon me, that causes me to flee as you draw\nnear.\u201d\n\nSo overwhelmed with grief was the Prince by the news of this fresh\nmisfortune that at first he was stricken dumb, but presently hope and\ncourage sprang afresh within his breast.\n\nAcross the distance that widened between them his answer rang tender\nand undismayed.\n\n\u201cGo where you must, my Princess, I will surely follow. No power,\nhowever strong, no spell, however potent, can suffice to daunt my love.\nBelieve always that I will surely overtake and save you in the end.\u201d\n\nPrincess White Flame heard him, and took comfort. The Earth Fairy\nheard him, and rejoiced, for now she knew that without doubt she could\nlead him where she would. Keeping herself out of sight, she drove the\nPrincess away and away in the direction that Flying Soot had gone, and\nunswervingly Prince Radiance pursued the ever brightening flame.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nCHAPTER IX\n\n\nAway went Flying Soot at full speed until he came to the Seven Hills\nof Ash. There in a great hollow between them crouched the Giant of the\nWide Grey Plain. He was grumbling and grumbling to himself, for no one\nhad invited him to join them in any evil magic for a long while. So he\nwas having a terribly stupid time of it, and wished with all his heart\nthat something would happen that would give him a chance to show his\npower.\n\nFlying Soot stole up to him unseen, and softly touched his elbow.\n\nThe Giant turned with so tremendous a start that masses of ash were\nshaken loose from the Seven Hills, and fell in clouds into the hollow.\n\u201cSo it is you, Flying Soot!\u201d he cried joyfully. \u201cThat means there is\ngood prospect of mischief afoot.\u201d\n\n\u201cAy,\u201d replied Flying Soot, \u201cthat there is.\u201d He found a seat on a\nsoft bank close to the Giant, who at once prepared himself to hear\ninteresting news.\n\nFlying Soot began forthwith to tell him about the Earth Fairy, who he\nsaid had sent him to ask the Giant\u2019s aid against a young Prince who\nwould soon be traveling that way. \u201cHe will be preceded by a flame,\nwho is the enchanted Princess whom he loves,\u201d said he. \u201cShe it is,\nwho, under the Earth Fairy\u2019s spell, leads him on to danger. We wish\nyou to destroy the Prince if you can. At any rate you must completely\noverpower him, in order that the Earth Fairy may take from him a Veil\nwhich he carries, and which she greatly covets.\u201d\n\n\u201cSurely this Veil must be endowed with marvelous power,\u201d exclaimed the\nGiant, \u201cif the Earth Fairy is so anxious to secure it.\u201d\n\n\u201cTrue,\u201d Flying Soot made haste to answer; \u201cbut it possesses this power\nonly in the hands of the Prince, or of the Earth Fairy. To you or to\nothers it would be of no use whatever.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, well,\u201d growled the Giant, \u201cshe may have it and welcome for all I\ncare. Why should I wish for a wretched Veil so long as I have my Cloak\nwith which to work my will.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy should you, indeed?\u201d agreed the Soot Fairy. \u201cWhat is a trifle\nlike a Veil, compared to a Cloak so wonderful as yours?\u201d\n\nFlattered by the words of Flying Soot, the Giant was now ready to exert\nhimself to the utmost, and could hardly wait for the arrival of the\nPrince.\n\n\u201cBe sure that you do no harm to the Princess,\u201d Flying Soot warned him.\n\u201cThe Earth Fairy herself will see to her. It is the Prince alone upon\nwhom you are to exercise your power.\u201d\n\n\u201cI shall remember,\u201d replied the Giant. \u201cSay no more, but come and watch\nfor them with me. Through this opening between the Seven Hills we can\nsurely see them as they approach.\u201d Flying Soot did as the Giant bade\nhim and together they watched and waited for some time.\n\nAt last, in the distance, they beheld a flashing brightness coming\nsteadily toward the place where they lay in wait, and close behind it\nfollowed a figure well known to Flying Soot.\n\n\u201cSee!\u201d he whispered, gripping the Giant\u2019s arm. \u201cThe Princess comes, and\nthe Prince hastens after. There also is my friend the Earth Fairy.\u201d\n\n\u201cAy,\u201d answered the Giant with a malicious chuckle. \u201cThey are coming\nfast. Go farther from me, Flying Soot, that I may have room to use my\nCloak.\u201d Flying Soot obeyed, and the Giant began to make ready.\n\nHe loosed his huge grey Cloak from his neck, dragged it from his\nshoulders, and gathered its collar firmly in his hand. Then he crouched\ndown once more behind the hill nearest to the approaching travelers.\nSo like to the ashes in color was the Giant\u2019s great body that he was\nalmost indistinguishable, as with eyes glued to the opening in the\nside of the hill, he awaited the moment when the Prince should arrive.\n\nPrince Radiance gave heed only to the Princess. With his gaze fixed\nupon her flashing light, he followed its guidance across the Wide Grey\nPlain. As he sped on and on, he kept ever before him the hope that by\nsome means he might be able to bridge the distance between them. So,\nbefore he realized it, he had reached the Seven Hills of Ash, and the\ndanger that lurked behind them.\n\nThe Giant\u2019s time had come. Silently, swiftly he rose, and towered above\nthe hills that had sheltered him. With a sweep of his mighty arm he\nflung out his cloak and cast it like a grey wall between the Prince and\nthe Princess. Deftly he caught Prince Radiance in its folds, and before\nthe Prince could make the least effort to free himself, the Giant\nraised his Cloak high in air, and set it spinning about his head like\nan enormous revolving cloud. Larger it grew, flying faster and faster\nthe while, and at every turn its stifling folds settled closer about\nthe captive Prince.\n\nThe hoarse laughter of the Giant roared in his ears like thunder. Half\nchoked, the Prince beat back the Cloak from his face, and struggled\nviolently to escape. But round and round spun the Cloak as the Giant\nwhirled his powerful arm, and Prince Radiance only exhausted himself\nagainst its tightening clasp, in vain.\n\nThe Giant\u2019s dull eyes began to glitter for he knew that none could\nresist his evil Cloak for very long. Safe hidden within the hollow\nbetween the Hills of Ash, Flying Soot peered out upon them, and near\nhim hovered the cruel Earth Fairy, ready to dart out and seize the\ntreasure that she coveted as soon as the Giant\u2019s victory was gained.\nPrincess White Flame, stricken with grief and dismay at the sudden\ndisappearance of the Prince, quivered alone and helpless where the\nEarth Fairy held her in thrall.\n\nGladly the Prince would have drawn his sword to slash his way through\nthe Giant\u2019s great Cloak, but he could not free his arms sufficiently\nto do so. Thus he seemed entirely without a weapon that he could use\nin his own defense, and he was about to give himself up for lost, when\nsuddenly he remembered the Grey Pouch at his side. He remembered also\nthe words of the giver, \u201cIt will help you out of many a danger--out of\nmany a difficulty.\u201d\n\n\u201cMay it not be that it will help me now?\u201d murmured the Prince faintly,\n\u201cAh, if it does not, then all hope of escape is gone.\u201d\n\nBy a great effort he slipped his hand down to his side. With shaking\nfingers he undid the clasp of his Pouch and reached for the glowing\ncoal that lay within. He drew it forth, and felt, as he did so that\nit was on fire with magic. He pressed it against the Giant\u2019s Cloak.\nImmediately a hole appeared in its folds, which widened rapidly. The\nair rushed in, reviving the Prince with its freshness and giving\nhim zeal and new courage. So well did he use his weapon then, that\npresently he had before him a great opening in the thick folds through\nwhich he could pass with ease.\n\nThe Cloak in the Giant\u2019s hands was still whirling at tremendous speed.\nPrince Radiance, looking out through the opening saw the Seven Hills\nof Ash and the Wide Grey Plain spinning dizzily round and round far\nbeneath him. Yet he was not afraid. He prepared himself to leap from\nthe opening that he had made, when suddenly the Giant hurled his Cloak\nviolently forward. Instantly the Prince was thrown through the air with\nsuch force that he was driven far out of reach or sight of his enemies.\nHis scarlet mantle spread itself about him like great wings that bore\nhim swiftly on and on, until at last it settled slowly and allowed him\nto alight in a place of safety.\n\nThe Giant, unaware that Prince Radiance was no longer in his power,\ngave his huge Cloak an abrupt twist. Immediately it shrunk to its\nformer size, and he threw it down into the hollow between the Seven\nHills. Then he turned to the Earth Fairy triumphantly.\n\n[Illustration: Suddenly the Giant hurled his Cloak violently forward]\n\n\u201cCome now, and take what you desire,\u201d he roared, \u201cfor this miserable\nPrince is without doubt completely destroyed.\u201d\n\nForth rushed the wicked Earth Fairy in a tremor of delight, sure that\nshe was about to possess the Veil. With greedy hands she flung aside\nthe folds of the Giant\u2019s Cloak; with greedy hands she searched within\nits folds; but search as she would, she could find nothing. Unable to\nbelieve in such ill-fortune she tore the Cloak to right and left, but\nat last she knew for a certainty that the Prince was not there.\n\nIn a rage she turned upon the Giant. \u201cMiserable creature, see what you\nhave done!\u201d she screamed. \u201cWith the Prince completely in your grasp as\nhe was, you have been so stupid as to allow him to escape.\u201d\n\nThe Giant could not believe it possible. He stooped over the Cloak,\nand himself examined each one of its great folds, but at last he was\nconvinced that the Earth Fairy was right. The Prince was indeed gone,\nand the great hole burned in the Cloak showed plainly the manner of his\nescape. Vexed as he was, his vexation changed quickly to anger as the\nEarth Fairy continued to pour contempt upon him for his failure, and to\nupbraid Flying Soot for having brought her to so worthless an ally.\n\nSpringing up in uncontrollable fury at her insolence, the Giant shouted\nthreats at her at the top of his lungs.\n\nFlying Soot saw that he must interfere at once. He bent down and\nwhispered quickly to the Earth Fairy, \u201cDo not tarry here an instant\nlonger. You have made an enemy of the Giant. In another moment he will\ndestroy us all. Come, let us go in quest of the Prince, for I have\nother friends who may serve you better than the Giant.\u201d\n\nThe crafty Earth Fairy perceived that he was right, and yielded herself\nat once to his advice. Away she fled with Flying Soot across the Wide\nGrey Plain, taking with her the sorrowing Princess, and soon the Giant\nand his rage, and the Seven Hills of Ash lay far behind them.\n\nAt last Flying Soot checked the Earth Fairy\u2019s flight. \u201cLet us stop here\nwhile I tell you what I mean to do,\u201d he said.\n\nThe Earth Fairy was willing. She rested her Green Wand, and Princess\nWhite Flame ceased to go forward, but her captor made sure that the\nPrincess was not near enough to herself and Flying Soot to overhear\nanything that might be said.\n\n\u201cThe Prince as you know, has escaped by the work of a magic coal,\u201d\nbegan Flying Soot. \u201cAgainst such a fairy weapon the Giant\u2019s wondrous\nCloak is powerless. But come--I will take you to one who will be proof\nagainst this--one whose weapons are such that the Prince cannot even\napproach him to injure him. This powerful friend of whom I speak is the\nGreat Black Dragon, and his haunt is yonder in the Gloomy Vale. From\nhere, as you see, it is not far distant. I will go at once to bespeak\nhis aid. Go you, on your part, and find the Prince, and when you have\nbrought him to the Dragon, you may be sure that you will find him ready\nto serve you. Then shall you discover also that I have not boasted of\nthe Dragon\u2019s power in vain.\u201d\n\nGlad was the Earth Fairy to consent to what promised so well for her\npurpose, and presently they parted, each to go upon the errand set.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nCHAPTER X\n\n\nIn the Gloomy Vale the Great Black Dragon lay asleep with his head\nbetween his paws. Around him, on all sides, stretched the black\nhillsides, with apparently no living creature but the Dragon to be seen.\n\nYet as Flying Soot entered the valley on his mission for the Earth\nFairy, dull-hued toads hopped away from his feet, and strange animals\nof hideous shapes left the nooks where they had lain sleeping to creep\naway and drowse again in a more distant spot. Occasionally he saw\nfierce eyes glare out upon him from a dim thicket, or beheld the sharp\nclaw or lashing tail of some evil creature whisking itself away from\nhis view.\n\nFlying Soot knew them all, and feared them not. He passed unmolested on\nhis way, and stopped within a yard of the Dragon, but so profound was\nthe monster\u2019s sleep that he did not stir.\n\n\u201cAwake, Sir Dragon!\u201d cried Flying Soot, drawing nearer, \u201cAwake!\u201d\n\nThe Dragon moved one claw a little in his slumber, but gave no other\nheed.\n\nFlying Soot drew nearer still. \u201cAwake, Sir Dragon! Awake!\u201d he shouted\nin his very ear.\n\nThen the Dragon gave a great yawn, and his eyelids slowly rose.\n\n\u201cAh, it is you, Flying Soot,\u201d he grunted. \u201cWhat is it that brings you\nhere to disturb my rest?\u201d\n\n\u201cI come on an errand of importance,\u201d answered the Soot Fairy. \u201cOne in\nwhich none can give such valuable aid as the Great Black Dragon of the\nGloomy Vale.\u201d\n\nHis words pleased the Dragon. He moistened his lips and cheeks with\nhis great tongue, and sat erect upon his haunches. \u201cLet me hear your\nerrand,\u201d commanded he.\n\nSo Flying Soot made haste to explain why he had come, and the Dragon\nimmediately agreed to help the Earth Fairy.\n\n\u201cHo, ho!\u201d he cried. \u201cI shall vanquish this Prince quickly, you shall\nsee, for when I choose to use them I have weapons of such power that\nnone can stand out against them. Have no fear, Flying Soot. Trust all\nto me, and I assure you that you and your friend the Earth Fairy, shall\nnot be disappointed.\u201d\n\nLooking upon the monster\u2019s huge form, his terrible claws, his fiercely\nlashing tail, Flying Soot knew that the Great Black Dragon had good\ncause to boast.\n\n\u201cI leave the matter entirely to you,\u201d said he. \u201cThere is one thing\nmore, however, that you must promise me. You must on no account harm,\nor even touch the fairy Veil of which I have told you. Least of all\nmust you attempt to take it for yourself. I assure you that it is of no\nvalue to any but the Prince or the Earth Fairy. For others it will work\nno charm.\u201d\n\nThe Dragon laughed loud and scornfully. \u201cThat matters naught to me,\u201d\nhe cried. \u201cBy the weapons that I carry always with me I am able to\naccomplish what things I please. Why then should I wish for a trifle\nlike this Veil?\u201d\n\nHis mind entirely at rest upon that score, Flying Soot now sat himself\ndown upon a black hillock close to the Dragon, and sought to entertain\nhim as they waited by giving him such bits of news as he had collected\nin his travels. The Dragon well pleased to have him do so, listened\nhungrily to every word.\n\nMeanwhile Prince Radiance, alone in a strange land, and still weary\nfrom his struggle with the Giant, sunk down upon a heap of ash and\nbowed his head. He wished to ponder well his course, before he again\nset out. Behind him lay that part of the Wide Grey Plain where the\nGiant dwelt who had so lately tried to destroy him. Before him, and at\nhis left stretched a plain of ash. To his right a black country opened\nwith low lying hills and valleys wherein might lurk unseen dangers for\nthem both.\n\nAs he sat there in indecision, the Earth Fairy coming in search of him,\nespied him from afar.\n\nPrincess White Flame saw him also, and uttered a cry of joy. She needed\nnot the spur of the Earth Fairy\u2019s wand to drive her to him. Swiftly\nacross the desolate waste she flitted until he was within sound of her\nvoice.\n\n\u201cRadiance, dear Radiance!\u201d she called to him, \u201cWhat happiness is mine\nthat I have found you once more!\u201d\n\nHearing that well-loved voice the Prince raised his head quickly and\nsaw the Princess, not fleeing from him, but advancing toward him.\nInstantly he leaped to his feet, with arms outstretched, crying\nin rapture, \u201cNay my Princess, what happiness is mine that you have\nreturned to me once more!\u201d\n\nHe ran to her at full-speed and had well-nigh reached her, when\nsuddenly Princess White Flame was again made sensible of the\nrestraining wand of the Earth Fairy. Cruelly, inexorably, it drew her\nsteadily away from the Prince into the black country at his right.\n\nSeeing the distance widening between them the Prince cried aloud with\ngrief and disappointment. Sore as was his own heart, Prince Radiance\nnevertheless called to her tenderly, hoping to support and comfort her.\n\u201cFear not, dearest White Flame,\u201d he exclaimed. \u201cWhither you go, there\nwill I go also, and in the end my love shall conquer every spell.\u201d\n\nAt his words the courage of the Princess rose again, and with it came\nhope, even though she shivered as they presently entered that dark\nvalley where the Dragon dwelt. At first it appeared to them quite\ndeserted, for so close the monster lay to the black ground that he\nlooked to be but a part of the vale itself. Thus White Flame passed\nover him and beyond him without suspecting his presence, and Prince\nRadiance in his turn had advanced almost to the Dragon\u2019s feet before he\nsaw what lay in wait to bar his way.\n\nAghast at the sudden appearance of this new foe, Prince Radiance fell\nback a pace to place himself on guard, scarce knowing how to defend\nhimself against an enemy so ferocious.\n\nThen up rose the Dragon, black and terrible, a creature to strike\nterror to one less valiant than the Prince. \u201cYield you, Sir Prince,\u201d\nhe bellowed hoarsely, raising his bared claw in menace, \u201cYield to the\nMaster of the Gloomy Vale.\u201d\n\n\u201cI yield to none,\u201d retorted Prince Radiance, fearlessly, \u201cfor I follow\nthe Princess White Flame, and to her I must pass.\u201d\n\n\u201cNone passes where the Great Black Dragon bars the way,\u201d roared his\nenemy, \u201cand none defies him but learns to rue his folly.\u201d He crouched\nto spring; his hard and glittering eyes were fixed angrily upon the\nPrince, his tail lashed furiously from side to side.\n\nThe Prince knew that he must defend himself without delay if he would\nescape destruction. Quickly he slipped his hand beneath his mantle to\nhis good Grey Pouch, opened it, and drew forth a brimming handful of\nthe fairy ash that lay within. Thus was he armed against his foe.\n\nIt was none too soon, for with a roar that shook the black hillsides\nthe Dragon sprang toward him with outstretched claws. The magic ash\nof the Wise One flew from the hand of Prince Radiance, and met him\nhalf-way. It fell full upon the bulging eye-balls of the Great Dragon,\nand smote him with instant blindness. A howl of astonishment and rage\nburst from him, but he was undismayed. Although he could no longer see\nto direct his weapons, he struck out boldly with his claw. Again the\nashes met him and at their touch the Dragon\u2019s terrible claw withered\nand fell powerless at his side. One by one his remaining claws met\nwith the same fate. And now no weapon remained to him but his powerful\ntail--that great tail with which he had thought to beat the Prince to\nfinest dust.\n\nBut blinded as he was, he could strike only at random--could only lash\nit aimlessly from side to side. Thus, the Dragon\u2019s last weapon was soon\nrendered powerless also. Before the magic of the fairy ash it shriveled\nat the very root, and presently it trailed limp and useless along the\nground.\n\nThe Earth Fairy, watching the battle, saw that the Dragon had also\nfailed, and anger rose hot within her. Flying Soot was quick to\nperceive this, and hastened to conciliate her. He tapped her gently,\nupon the arm saying: \u201cMy good Earth Fairy, to my great surprise I find\nthat the Great Black Dragon is no match for the Prince after all. But\ndo not let that discourage you. I have yet another friend to whom I\nwill take you, who is much more powerful than he.\u201d\n\nThe Earth Fairy cut him short in wrath. \u201cWere you not certain that the\nGiant could help me?\u201d said she. \u201cWere you not equally certain that this\nwonderful Dragon was invincible? Speak not to me of this third friend\nof yours, I have no faith in him.\u201d\n\n\u201cAh,\u201d answered Flying Soot, \u201cbut how should I know that the Prince\npossessed the fairy ash of the Wise One? This alone it is that has\nenabled him to overcome the Black Dragon. Neither this, nor the magic\ncoal with which he burned the Giant\u2019s cloak will avail him however\nagainst the great magician, Curling Smoke, to whom I now propose to\ntake you.\u201d\n\n\u201cNevertheless,\u201d replied the Earth Fairy, \u201che wears a sword. Do you not\nsee it? Who knows what fairy virtue may dwell therein?\u201d\n\nFlying Soot laughed her to scorn. \u201cThink you that if it possessed such\nfairy virtue that he would not long since have drawn this sword to\ncleave the Giant\u2019s cloak, or to attack the Great Dragon? Nay, fear it\nnot. \u2019Tis but a useless toy that he well knows will serve him not at\nall away from his father\u2019s kingdom.\u201d\n\nThe Earth Fairy glanced to where the flame of the Princess trembled\nbetween hope and fear for the Prince. She looked to where the Dragon\ngroaning dismally lay close along the ground, his head buried\nbetween his paws. She knew that here all chance of help for herself\nwas completely gone. She had no plan of her own that promised more\nthan this of Flying Soot. She had almost decided to consent to his\nproposal, when he caught at her sleeve. \u201cLook quickly!\u201d he cried, under\nhis breath. \u201cDo you not behold him there in the distance, my friend,\nCurling Smoke. See--there he rises in the plain beyond that dark hill.\nHe is a marvelous magician. I am certain that he will not fail you. Do\nnot be foolish, Earth Fairy. Permit me to go to him in your behalf. I\nassure you, you will not regret it.\u201d\n\nUrged thus, the Earth Fairy gave her consent, and Flying Soot flew off\nin a twinkling upon his errand of evil.\n\nWith the Dragon now fully vanquished Prince Radiance saw that he could\nat last pass on his way in safety. Leaving his enemy behind him he\nstepped boldly into the country beyond. There he discerned the flame\nof his Princess flickering pure and pale against a gloomy hillside.\nSwiftly he hastened toward her, and presently he found himself so near\nthat he believed he could cast the Veil upon her from where he now\nstood. Trembling with eagerness he felt for the golden box in which the\nwondrous Veil lay hid--found it, and pressed upon the clasp.\n\nAlas for his hopes! The keen eyes of the Earth Fairy saw what he was\nabout to do. Before he could draw out the Veil or even undo the clasp,\nthe Green Wand was lifted, and by its dread power the Princess was\nonce more compelled to take her flight from him who would fain have\ndelivered her.\n\nWith a sinking heart Prince Radiance beheld her receding down the dark\nvalley, but with fresh rallying of his courage he called to her,\n\u201cPrincess, dear Princess, go if you must, but remember always that I\nfollow--follow to the end.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nCHAPTER XI\n\n\nWhere the Gloomy Vale borders the plain beyond, rises the low-walled\ndwelling of the Ash Goblin.\n\nSo low it lies that only those familiar with that land know of its\npresence. Only those with eyes accustomed to the grey stretches can see\nthe Ash Goblin himself. Very small he is, and grey of face and eyes\nand hair. Grey, too, are his garments, soft and grey as the ashes that\nsurround him.\n\nSo he moves about, concealed from the view of all but his friends. Not\nless eager than the rest of the Evil Fairies is he to join in any\nmischief, but because he is so small and weak, his help is less often\nsought than is that of the more powerful fairies of the land.\n\nFlying Soot had no intention of asking him to join in the affairs\nof the Earth Fairy. He had not even thought of him. On many former\noccasions as he had passed through the Land of the Evil Fairies he\nhad stopped to chat with the Ash Goblin, and give him the news, but\nto-day he had not time for so much as a glance at the grey walls of his\ndwelling.\n\nThe Ash Goblin seated beside his door saw him as he approached, and\nsaw too that he intended to pass without speaking. Astonished and\ndispleased he determined not to permit it. He sprang to his feet in\nhaste, and caught at the fluttering mantle of the Soot Fairy to drag\nhim back.\n\n\u201cHo there,\u201d he cried. \u201cOn what errand of mischief are you bound, that\nyou do not even give me good-day?\u201d\n\n\u201cPray let me go at once,\u201d answered Flying Soot impatiently, with a jerk\nof his mantle, \u201cI have business of importance that must not be delayed.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut it is of this important business that I wish to hear,\u201d insisted\nthe Ash Goblin, clutching his raiment only the more firmly.\n\nFlying Soot knew well that one so insignificant as the Ash Goblin could\ndo little to further the wishes of the Earth Fairy. So he put him off.\n\u201cIt is an adventure,\u201d said he, \u201cin which you cannot be of the smallest\nuse to me. Let me go then to where I can get the help that I need.\u201d\n\nAt this the Ash Goblin became exceedingly affronted, and was at no\npains to conceal it. \u201cIf it is a matter in which you require assistance\nyou do ill to despise mine,\u201d he declared, drawing himself up haughtily.\n\nBut Flying Soot did not tarry to argue the matter. He wrenched free his\nmantle, and hurried away to seek Curling Smoke, leaving the Ash Goblin\nto nurse his wrath at his leisure.\n\nWavering and swaying in the plain beyond the dark hill where Flying\nSoot had first beheld him, hung Curling Smoke, the grey magician. In\nall the Land of the Evil Fairies there were few who possessed such\npower as he, or were so ready to wield it.\n\nEven at this moment he was watching craftily for a chance to work ill\nupon whoever might come his way, now crouching low to peer between the\nhills, now rising to the full spire of his height to overlook the black\nvalleys, and ashy plains.\n\nThus he caught sight of Flying Soot from afar, and waited for him, for\nwell he knew that mischief was afoot wherever that black mantle flew.\n\nFlying Soot came fast, calling to him as he drew near. \u201cCurling Smoke,\nCurling Smoke, do not depart! I have urgent business with you.\u201d Nothing\nthat he could have said would have been more pleasing to Curling Smoke,\nand when the Soot Fairy reached him he waved him to a seat, settled\nhimself down beside him and gave him an attentive ear.\n\nGlad to find his wicked friend so ready to listen, Flying Soot began.\n\u201cA Prince is traveling through this land--a stranger. He pursues a\nflame, who is an enchanted Princess whom he hopes to win as a bride by\ndelivering her from the spell that binds her. This he expects to do by\nmeans of a magic Veil which he carries. My friend the Earth Fairy, who\nis not far distant, purposes to prevent this, for she has good cause to\ndesire vengeance upon the Princess because of injuries that she herself\nhas suffered from the parents of this Princess. Moreover, the Earth\nFairy wishes the Veil for herself. It is for you, greatest magician in\nall this land, to vanquish this presumptuous Prince so that the Earth\nFairy may take from him this Veil. You must give your word, however,\nthat no matter what means you may employ to conquer him, that you will\nneither injure the Veil itself, nor seek to deprive the Earth Fairy of\nit. Indeed, in case you should attempt it, you would find that it would\nhave no virtue in your hands.\u201d\n\nIn proud disdain Curling Smoke made answer: \u201cBring hither your Prince,\nand when I have conquered him the Earth Fairy may take from him his\nVeil and go where she wishes. What care I for such a miserable trifle\nas this Prince carries? Have I not my Veil that Blinds? Have I not also\nmy Veil that Chokes? With these two I am able to work what magic I\nwill.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat I can well believe,\u201d spoke Flying Soot in flattering tones.\n\u201cAs to the Prince--I need not go to fetch him. The Princess herself,\ndriven by the Earth Fairy\u2019s spell, leads him on. See you--even now they\napproach us. A moment more, and they will be here.\u201d\n\nIt was as he said. Straight toward them came the beautiful flame of\nthe Princess, and behind her sped Prince Radiance still cherishing\nthe hope that the fortunate moment would soon arrive when he should be\nable to overtake her. Hidden from the eyes of the Prince, but clearly\nvisible to Curling Smoke and Flying Soot came the wicked Earth Fairy,\neager to test the power of her new ally. Within the shelter of a black\ncrag Curling Smoke sank down and lay concealed until the Princess had\nflitted by, but when Prince Radiance would have done likewise, the\ntall grey form of the magician stole from his hiding-place and filled\nthe path. Twisted about his arm and trailing from it were the smoke\nveils in which his power dwelt. Delaying not he unloosed the Veil that\nBlinds. \u201cYield you to Curling Smoke, to Curling Smoke, Magician of\nVeils,\u201d he cried.\n\nTall and powerful as was the unexpected enemy who now beset him, Prince\nRadiance did not quail. Quickly he laid his hand upon his scabbard and\nhis voice rang clear, \u201cMagician though you be, I fear you not. Neither\ndo I obey. Stand back then from my path, for I follow the Princess\nWhite Flame, and yield to none.\u201d\n\nCurling Smoke gave no word in answer but flung his veil of smoke\ninstead full in the Prince\u2019s face. He thought to see it sting his eyes\nto instant blindness, but it was not so. Before it could come near him\nto do him harm the Sword of Flames answering its master\u2019s hand had\nleapt from its scabbard, and was raised on high. Back from its splendor\nthe Veil that Blinds drifted--drifted--till it settled limp across the\nmagician\u2019s arm. By the mere lifting of that fairy sword its power\nhad been scattered, and its magic spent. Curling Smoke beheld it with\nastonishment and anger. Yet he did not hesitate. Grimly he snatched\nfrom his arm the Veil that Chokes, and flung it in its turn toward the\nPrince. He looked to have it take from Prince Radiance his very breath,\nso great was its pungent stifling power. But this also failed for the\nSword of Flames met and clove it, and striking to right and left rent\nit in pieces. It fell in a thousand fragments about the magician\u2019s feet.\n\n[Illustration: The Sword of Flames leapt from its scabbard and was\nraised on high.]\n\nThen Curling Smoke in a frenzy of wrath sprang upon the Prince to\nclutch him with his arms and bear him down.\n\nSwiftly did Prince Radiance meet his onset, and right valiantly did\nhe wield his Sword of Flames. Though Curling Smoke put forth all his\ncraft, though he writhed now here, now there, seeking to ensnare the\nPrince, though he towered above him at one instant or in the next\ncurled about his knees to drag him to the earth, yet everywhere the\nshining Sword sharp and invincible met him. Everywhere its violet\nsplendor flashed; around him and through him, until at last the\nmagician\u2019s very form was scattered and driven away in floating wisps of\nsmoke.\n\nPrince Radiance sheathed his Sword of Flames. Before him lay the open\npath, and not far away hovered the Princess. Across the space between\nthem came her exquisite voice, calling tremulously her joy at his new\ndeliverance from peril, and the fear for him that had been hers.\n\n\u201cNay, then, my White Flame,\u201d he answered, \u201cfear not for me ever. But\none grief have I--that I have not yet overtaken you; but one fear is\nmine--that I may lose you in my journeyings. Over both of these, hope,\nlike a star, shines always. Happiness awaits us in the end. Doubt it\nnot.\u201d\n\nThe Earth Fairy berating Flying Soot over the utter failure of Curling\nSmoke, was arrested by the words of the Prince.\n\nThey but made her the more determined to achieve her end. Already\nthe Prince was advancing toward the Princess. Should he overtake her\nall was lost to herself. Quickly she lifted her Green Wand and drove\nPrincess White Flame onward. Quickly she turned to Flying Soot who had\nbeen making a new offer. \u201cGo then,\u201d she cried, \u201cand seek this Wizard\nof the Cave of Darkness, of whom you have spoken. Obtain his assistance\nfor me. We shall not be far behind you, so lose no time. Let us hope\nthat this last plan of yours will be of more value to me than the\nothers that you have suggested.\u201d\n\nFlying Soot needed no second bidding, but took himself off in the\ndirection of the Wizard\u2019s Cave. More slowly the Earth Fairy proceeded\nalong the same way, keeping the Prince and the Princess ever before her.\n\nThey had scarcely left the spot where Curling Smoke had been\nvanquished, when a small grey figure stole out from a crevice in a\nrock near by and looked cautiously after them. It was the Ash Goblin.\nHe shook his fist at them in menace, muttering, \u201cWe shall see, Flying\nSoot, we shall see, Earth Fairy, whether you can afford to scorn the\nhelp of one so small even as an Ash Goblin.\u201d He sat down upon a low\nrock to watch the floating remnants that had once been Curling Smoke.\nPatiently he waited, for knowing this crafty magician, he knew also\nwhat would come to pass. Slowly, slowly these remnants came closer and\ncloser. Slowly they gathered themselves bit by bit into one mass, and\nat length before the Ash Goblin\u2019s eyes Curling Smoke appeared once\nmore in his own shape. He who had so lately boasted himself to be\ninvincible, held himself haughtily, for anger burned within him at his\nhumiliation and he was determined to be revenged. It pleased the Ash\nGoblin to see him thus, for it fell in with his own purposes. Fearful\nlest Curling Smoke should be about to depart he made haste to address\nhim.\n\n\u201cMaster Magician,\u201d he called from his lowly seat, \u201cdo you know what\nFlying Soot has said of you?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is not Flying Soot who concerns me,\u201d answered Curling Smoke, not\ndeigning to look down at the speaker. \u201cIt is this Prince whom I mean to\npunish for what he has lately done.\u201d\n\n\u201cAy, but it was Flying Soot whom I heard telling the Earth Fairy that\nhe might have guessed that you were no magician after all, but a mere\nboaster. He declared also that he had other friends who would help her,\nwho were really more powerful, and whose word could be trusted. Many\nother things he said, that put shame and contempt upon you. It would\ntake too long to repeat them all. Does not Flying Soot concern you, now\nthat you know this, Master Magician?\u201d\n\n\u201cSo much does he concern me that I shall punish him as well,\u201d replied\nCurling Smoke, in mounting rage. \u201cAy, and the Earth Fairy, also. Before\ntheir journey is done--in a moment when they look not for me, they\nshall one and all find that the power of Curling Smoke is not to be\ndespised.\u201d\n\nThe Ash Goblin clapped his hands in a burst of wicked glee. \u201cAh,\nMaster Magician, that I can well believe--and I--the Ash Goblin--shall\nmake it my business to be there to see it.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nCHAPTER XII\n\n\nStrange though the lands had been across which Prince Radiance had\njourneyed since he left his father\u2019s kingdom, the one through which\nthe flame now led him was the strangest of all. At one time he thought\nhimself to be approaching a great palace, not brilliant and glittering\nlike the Palace of Burning Coals, but looming dark and forbidding\nbefore his eyes. He wondered what manner of danger might await him\nthere; yet when at last he stood before it, it dissolved from before\nhis sight as though it had never been. And beyond him, hastening toward\na gloomy forest the flame of his Princess still seemed to lead on.\n\nHe reached the forest, and it, too, vanished into thin air, while\nbefore him the pale flame steadily pursued its way.\n\nA great black cave became visible in the distance. Soon the flame\nreached it and disappeared into its mouth, yet when the Prince arrived,\nno cave was there, and flitting on in silence went the unresting flame.\nThus he was deceived again and again, for whatever he saw was found to\nbe naught as soon as he reached it.\n\n\u201cSaw I never so curious a land!\u201d murmured the Prince. \u201cSurely but a\nmoment since I seemed to see a strange grey woman close by my side; yet\nnow she is gone.\u201d He turned to assure himself of it, and as he did so,\na faint laugh echoed through the air.\n\n\u201cAh! I was not mistaken after all,\u201d he whispered. \u201cSomeone laughed!\u201d\n\nAgain, yet farther off, he heard the same echoing laugh, but though\nhe looked sharply in the direction from whence it came, he still saw\nnothing. Paying no further heed to it Prince Radiance traveled onward\nwith greater speed. Now at last he found that he was truly overtaking\nthe flame. At times it stood still, then went slowly on, but finally,\nas if it meant to go no further it burned steadily in one spot.\n\n\u201cShe waits!\u201d exclaimed Radiance. \u201cMy Princess waits!\u201d He ran to her,\nhis heart filled with dread lest she should again take flight. He\nreached her, and opened his box in haste. He took the magic Veil from\nits shelter, and shook its transparent folds over the waiting flame.\nInstantly the flame vanished, and Radiance watched with eager eyes for\nthe appearance of his Princess in her true form.\n\nBut moment followed moment, the Veil drooped limp from his hand, and\nthough the flame was gone, the Princess did not become visible.\n\nPerceiving that he had been deceived once more, Prince Radiance cried\naloud in his grief, \u201cAlas! This also is nothing! I have followed a\nfalse flame!\u201d\n\nOvercome with pain and discouragement, he dropped the Veil unheeded to\nthe ground, and buried his face in his hands.\n\nA long grey shadow crept toward him from the gloom, and once more a\nfaint laugh broke the stillness. It was so near that it startled the\nPrince, plunged though he was in distress. He took his hands quickly\nfrom his eyes, and saw the creeping shadow, saw that with long arms\noutstretched it sought to reach and steal the mystic Veil that lay\nunprotected at his feet. Swiftly he bent, and snatched the Veil to\nhimself. He restored it to the golden box, and fastened the box safely\nbeneath his cloak.\n\n\u201cAh!\u201d breathed a voice from the shadow, \u201cyou were too quick for me.\nI so much longed to see closely this wonderful Veil that Flying Soot\ntells of.\u201d\n\nPrince Radiance, looking, saw the creeping shadow rise up and up until\nit became a tall woman, young and beautiful, dressed in long grey robes\nthat swept in trailing webs from her arms and shoulders to her feet.\nHer black hair fell straight to her knees; her eyes were very dark,\nand looked as though they never smiled, although even now, the Prince\nheard that strange laughter floating from her lips that had echoed in\nhis ears as he had pursued the flame that he had believed to be his\nPrincess.\n\nHe turned indignant eyes upon her. \u201cWho are you that mock me thus?\u201d he\ndemanded, wondering as he spoke whether this could be the Earth Fairy\nin disguise.\n\nThe woman did not answer, but looked at him intently.\n\n\u201cSpeak,\u201d commanded the Prince. \u201cAre you the wicked Earth Fairy, that\nyou laugh so heartlessly?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo Earth Fairy am I,\u201d replied the grey woman. \u201cI am the Shadow Witch,\nand with me are all my servants.\u201d She waved her arms, and out of the\ngloom, as she herself had done, sprang a host of pale grey figures who\nstood behind her murmuring, \u201cYes, we are her servants--her servants\nthe Shadows, who come and go at her behest.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd you it is, then, who have so cruelly deceived me, and lured me by\nyour false flame from following my Princess,\u201d cried Prince Radiance to\nthe Shadow Witch.\n\n\u201cTrue enough,\u201d she declared, \u201cand why should I not?\u201d She tossed her\nblack hair from her face, and continued. \u201cI grow so weary in this Land\nof Shadows, with none but my creeping servants about me, naught but my\nown grey magic to fill my hours. Seldom does a stranger cross through\nmy land; more seldom have I a chance to look upon the magic of others.\nAll the tricks of my brother, the Wizard of the Cave, I know by heart.\nI am tired of watching him play them day after day. Why should I not\nlure you from your path if it gives me an hour of pleasure?\u201d\n\n\u201cSurely you are the friend of the Earth Fairy,\u201d exclaimed the Prince,\n\u201cand you have led me here to steal my fairy Veil if you can, but be\nassured you will never obtain it in spite of all your craft.\u201d\n\nThe Shadow Witch, who had bent her eyes upon the ground, raised them\nnow, and turned upon the Prince an earnest gaze as though she rejoiced\nto look upon him. \u201cI am no friend of the Earth Fairy,\u201d she answered\nquietly. \u201cShe is nothing to me. I will tell you fully if you wish\nto know, why it is that I have brought you here. Of late as I sat\nunobserved in a corner of the Wizard\u2019s Cave, where my brother dwells,\nI saw Flying Soot come in, and heard him say that he had work for my\nbrother to do, if he was willing. What could that mean but mischief? I\ncrept close, yet taking care lest I should be seen, and listened keenly\nthat I might lose nothing. Thus I learned all that Flying Soot had to\ntell him concerning yourself and Princess White Flame, and about the\nVeil that the Earth Fairy claims that you have stolen from her.\u201d\n\n\u201cNay,\u201d interrupted the Prince indignantly. \u201cIf she says that she tells\na wicked falsehood. The magic Veil is a gift to me from the Wise One.\nThe Earth Fairy has never even beheld it.\u201d\n\n\u201cHowever that may be,\u201d answered the Shadow Witch, shaking out her\ngrey sleeves, \u201cshe means to wrest it from you, and my brother has\npromised to help her. You may take my word for it that his help is not\nto be despised. I heard Flying Soot suggest also that he should get me\nto assist in the matter, but the Wizard replied, \u2018Nay, you need not\ntrouble yourself to ask her. She can do nothing that is really worth\nwhile.\u2019 When he said that, I determined to cheat them both, and as you\nsee, I have done so.\u201d\n\n\u201cAlas, that you should have succeeded,\u201d cried Prince Radiance. \u201cIt may\nbe that even now my Princess is in the hands of your wicked brother.\u201d\n\n\u201cIs then this Princess so dear to you?\u201d asked the Shadow Witch softly.\n\n\u201cAh, yes. So dear that no witchcraft of yours shall be able to keep me\nfrom her,\u201d exclaimed the Prince.\n\n\u201cYet she is no more than a flame, and a voice,\u201d murmured the Shadow\nWitch.\n\n\u201cBut such a voice as none have ever heard before, and such a flame, so\npure, so white, that I wonder how I could have been deceived by the\nfalse flame of your contriving that has lured me here.\u201d\n\nThe lips of the Shadow Witch curled in a smile. \u201cI have much skill with\nmagic,\u201d she said. \u201cBeautiful may be the flame of your Princess, of\nwondrous sweetness may be her voice, yet if you would consent to remain\nin my land, I think I should be able to make you forget them both.\u201d\n\n\u201cNay,\u201d replied Prince Radiance firmly, \u201cthat would never be.\u201d Turning\nfrom her, he sought to depart, but the Shadow Witch would not have\nit so. She waved her long arms to her servants, and instantly they\nsurrounded him in so dense a barrier that he could not pass.\n\n\u201cYou must hear me yet further,\u201d cried the Shadow Witch. \u201cI am not so\ncruel, perhaps, as you think. It was not alone that I desired to cheat\nmy brother and Flying Soot, for when I saw your face so full of hope\nand courage it cheered me as none had ever done before. Because of this\nI would have saved you from his evil power. Well did I know that he\nhad promised not to harm the Princess, but I feared that you might not\nescape in safety, and therefore I led you here. And then--besides--I\nam so lonely in my kingdom.\u201d She drew nearer, and held out her hands\nbeseechingly. Her pleading voice spoke on. \u201cOh if you would but stay\nwith me. I long for brightness, for light, for cheer. These you can\ngive me. Stay, ah stay with me, Prince Radiance. In my land you shall\nbe prince and ruler. Stay, and teach me to forget my witch\u2019s tricks;\nstay, and help me to learn nobler ways.\u201d\n\nPrince Radiance looked into the face of the Shadow Witch, and saw that\nher eyes overflowed with tears. Gently he took her hand, gently he\nanswered her. \u201cThough you have drawn me away from my beloved Princess,\nI bear you no malice. Yet I cannot stay with you, for my heart follows\nthe Princess White Flame. I have sworn to deliver her, and to my vow I\ngive my life. You tell me that you are not cruel. Prove it then. Lead\nme back to my Princess quickly; show me where to find this Cave where\nyour brother dwells.\u201d\n\nThe Shadow Witch sighed bitterly and drew her hand away. \u201cIf I let\nyou go, you will never come again.\u201d Silent she stood, wavering in\nindecision, but at length she spoke quickly, \u201cYes--yes--I will let\nyou go. I will even do as you ask, and take you to the Cave myself,\nfor in this Land of Shadows you would wander long, and never find your\nway.\u201d Turning to her band of servants, she waved them back. \u201cGo,\u201d she\nexclaimed. \u201cGo, till I summon you again.\u201d\n\nWith a flutter of grey garments they dissolved like mist at her\ncommand. Then the Shadow Witch stretched her hand to Prince Radiance.\n\u201cCome,\u201d she said. \u201cFollow where I lead you, and you shall learn that I\nspoke truly when I said that in this land there is one at least who is\nnot altogether unkind.\u201d\n\nGratefully the Prince obeyed her, and before he could have believed it\npossible, they stood together at the spot where he had begun to pursue\nthe false flame. A high black cliff rose before them. The Shadow Witch\npointed to it and said, \u201cMy brother\u2019s Cave lies yonder. Enter that\nwide opening in the cliff-side. Pursue the narrow way that leads from\nit, and erelong you will reach the Cave Hall where he sits. Gladly\nwould I give you some weapon to use against him, but there is only one\nthat he fears, and alas, I do not possess it.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat weapon may that be?\u201d inquired the Prince.\n\n\u201cIt is the Sword of Flames,\u201d she answered. \u201cHe has never seen it, but\nits fame has reached him, and he knows well that before it his power\nwould be shattered.\u201d\n\nPrince Radiance smiled, and laid his hand upon his scabbard. \u201cThen am\nI well assured of victory,\u201d he told her, \u201cfor the Sword of Flames is\nhere.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe Sword of Flames? You have the Sword of Flames?\u201d exclaimed she.\n\u201cAh, now you may meet him safely. And yet----\u201d she warned him, \u201che is\nclever, very clever. Beware lest he steal your strength from you and\noverpower you before you are aware.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will be watchful,\u201d he promised.\n\n\u201cFarewell then,\u201d she murmured, \u201cand forget not the Shadow Witch.\u201d\n\n\u201cAlways will I remember you and be grateful,\u201d replied the Prince. With\na wave of his hand he left her. Rapidly he mounted the cliff, and found\nhimself at the entrance to the Wizard\u2019s Cave.\n\nThe Shadow Witch, who had remained below, watched him sadly until she\nsaw him disappear in the Cave\u2019s mouth. Then she turned away to go back\nto the Land of Shadows. But suddenly she changed her mind. Silently\nshe, too, climbed the cliff wall, trailing her long grey robes behind\nher, and entered the Cave.\n\n\u201cMy brother is so clever,\u201d she muttered to herself, \u201cand none know\nhis tricks so well as I. He shall not harm this Prince, no--nor the\nPrincess that he loves. I will go to make sure of it.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nCHAPTER XIII\n\n\nWhile Prince Radiance, deceived by the Shadow Witch had gone away into\nthe Land of Shadows, the Earth Fairy on her part had proceeded straight\nto the Cave of Darkness where the Wizard dwelt.\n\nA figure that she believed to be the Prince followed the Princess\nsteadily, so that she suspected nothing wrong.\n\nThe Cave was black and forbidding; its walls of charcoal were full of\ngaping crevices; and a very little way from the entrance it became\npitch dark. Because of this great darkness it was the duty of many\nImps, the servants of the Wizard, to run back and forth with glimmering\nlanterns, to light the way of those who came to see their master.\n\nFlying Soot, who had arrived some time before, had told his story to\nthe Wizard and had easily gained his consent to assist the Earth Fairy.\nSo when the Earth Fairy with her companions reached the entrance to the\nCave she found the Imps waiting there to conduct her to the Wizard. The\nPrincess was first to enter, and so brilliant was the light of her pure\nflame that the lanterns of the Imps were quite dimmed by it. The Imps\nthemselves stared at her in the utmost astonishment. Never before had\nthey seen a light so gloriously beautiful. Scurrying in front to lead\nthe way, they turned back every few moments to behold her. Behind the\nPrincess came the supposed prince, and after him came the Earth Fairy,\nholding her cloak closely about her as she went, lest she should become\nblackened by the walls of the Cave.\n\nFar down in a wider portion of the Cave called the Cave Hall, sat the\nWizard in a great black armchair pushed close against the wall. He\nwas very ancient and grim. His long dingy white hair and beard fell\ndown over a loose black robe and mantle thickly powdered with finest\ncharcoal. At his least movement little clouds of black dust flew from\nhis garments and floated round about the Cave. His jet black eyes\nsparkled so sharply in his head that one saw immediately that he was\nnot a person with whom one could trifle. Flying Soot, perched at a\nrespectful distance on a lump of charcoal, waited for the coming of\nthe Earth Fairy. He was quite sure that this time he had obtained for\nher the help of one who could not fail. He kept his eyes fixed on the\ndark passage before them, and at last he cried softly, \u201cThey come, Sir\nWizard, they come, for I behold the flame of the Princess!\u201d\n\nInstantly the Wizard beckoned to one of the many Imps who clustered\nabout. \u201cBring hither the Urn of Vapors,\u201d commanded he, \u201cand make no\ndelay.\u201d\n\nAway rushed the Imp accompanied by a dozen or more of his companions\nto do the Wizard\u2019s bidding, and presently a low rumbling was heard.\nIt was the Imps returning, all pushing and shoving a huge black urn.\nA ponderous cover sealed it tightly, and when the Imps had succeeded\nin placing it beside their master, Flying Soot saw that it was so\ntall that it reached almost to the Wizard\u2019s shoulders. Its sides were\ncovered with inscriptions of evil magic. The Wizard scrutinized it\nclosely, and satisfied himself that it was the one that he desired.\nThen he waved back his servants and turned to Flying Soot. \u201cWhen I lift\nthis cover,\u201d he said, \u201cthe Earth Fairy has but to rush forward and\ntake what she desires, for in the instant that the Prince is met by my\nmagic vapor he will fall to the Earth unable to offer her the slightest\nresistance.\u201d\n\nFlying Soot had no time to answer, for at that moment Princess White\nFlame, driven by the Earth Fairy, fluttered terror-stricken into the\nCave Hall, and came to rest in a corner at some distance from the\nWizard. Soon after he whom the Earth Fairy believed to be Prince\nRadiance appeared also, but before he could advance into the Cave Hall\nthe Wizard stretched forth his hand quickly to the urn. Uttering mystic\nwords he lifted the cover and forthwith a stream of vapor rushed from\nit directly toward the Prince.\n\nIt had no sooner reached him than the Wizard\u2019s prophecy was fulfilled;\nhe fell to the ground in a heap, apparently without life.\n\nThe Princess seeing this uttered a piercing cry, but held by the spell\nof her enchantress she could not stir from her place.\n\nThe Wizard replaced the lid of the urn, and the Earth Fairy rushed\nforward to pounce upon the helpless Prince. Her eyes glittered with joy\nto see him in her power at last.\n\nShe tore back his cloak, sure that the Veil of Disenchantment was\nhidden beneath it, but as soon as her fingers touched the prostrate\nform it vanished. Where it had been, she saw only the charcoal floor\nof the Cave. Puzzled and astonished she struggled to her feet, and\nstood dazed, peering down at the spot where the figure had lain as\nthough she could scarcely believe her senses. When at last she could\nno longer doubt that the Prince had indeed disappeared, she rushed to\nthe Wizard, shrieking in fury, \u201cWhat evil magic is this that you have\nwrought upon me, wicked one that you are? You have ruined everything by\nyour miserable enchantments. You have destroyed the Veil as well as the\nPrince.\u201d\n\nThe Wizard interrupted her angrily. \u201cHow dare you speak to me in this\nmanner,\u201d he thundered, bringing his fist down upon the top of the urn.\n\u201cYou, who have deceived me by pretending to bring a Prince before me?\nBut I will show you that you cannot trifle with the Wizard of the Cave.\u201d\n\nHe waved to his Imps. They understood him without a word, and bounded\nforward with ropes of darkness in their hands to bind the Earth Fairy.\nIt would have gone hard with her then if it had not been for Flying\nSoot. He jumped down with all speed from his lump of charcoal, and ran\nto cast himself at the Wizard\u2019s feet. He threw his arms about them, and\ntried to soothe him. \u201cSir Wizard, Sir Wizard,\u201d he pleaded, \u201clisten but\na moment. There has certainly been some strange mistake. I assure you\nthat we are not to blame. This creature that has so suddenly vanished\ncould never have been the Prince. Someone--I know not who, has tricked\nus all. I pray you, do nothing rash to the Earth Fairy. She is not to\nblame.\u201d\n\nThe Imps who surrounded the Earth Fairy, hearing this, stood swinging\nthe ropes of darkness in their hands, waiting to see what their master\nwould say, before they ventured to bind her fast. White Flame, weeping\nand trembling in her corner, checked her sobs and listened breathlessly\nfor the Wizard\u2019s reply.\n\nThe Wizard thought for a time in silence. Then at last he spoke.\n\u201cSince you yourselves have played no tricks upon me, there is but one\nway in which to explain this matter. My sister, the Shadow Witch, has\nbeen at work. She it is who has caused us to see a prince where no\nprince was. The real prince she has without doubt lured away into the\nLand of Shadows.\u201d\n\nAt these words Flying Soot rose to his feet and turned to the Earth\nFairy. \u201cThen we must go to seek him there,\u201d he declared.\n\nThe Earth Fairy was but too anxious to set forth. At a signal from\ntheir master, the Imps drew back, leaving her free to go as she would,\nbut as she was about to depart from the Wizard\u2019s presence with her\ncompanions, an Imp came rushing down the long dark corridor from the\nCave entrance, and into the Cave Hall. \u201cSir Wizard--Sir Wizard!\u201d he\npanted. \u201cA second prince approaches! Even now he is within the entrance\nto the Cave.\u201d\n\nCertain that this could be no other than Prince Radiance himself, the\nEarth Fairy and Flying Soot paused instantly.\n\nThe Wizard, seeing this, was not unwilling to prove his skill upon the\ntrue prince. He spoke in a friendly manner to the Earth Fairy, and\nprepared himself once more to lift the cover of his Urn of Vapors. The\nImps, flinging their ropes of darkness into a corner, retreated so\nclose against the Cave Wall that they could scarcely be seen. In her\ncorner quivered Princess White Flame, her longing to see her beloved\nRadiance once more overborne by her fear of what might befall him at\nthe hands of his foes.\n\nEach in his own place peered eagerly down the dusky corridor, awaiting\nin silence the coming of the Prince.\n\nBut one accompanied the Prince whom they did not expect. It was the\nShadow Witch. Although by her grey magic she had sent a shadow prince\nto deceive her brother, she had never for a moment lost sight of\nPrince Radiance, and now that he was drawing near to the Wizard, she\nknew that the time for her further good offices had arrived. If she\ncould prevent him from being seen by her brother until the Prince was\nnear enough to use his Sword of Flames, she knew that all would be well.\n\nPrince Radiance was so near to the Cave Hall that one short turn would\nbring him into the Wizard\u2019s view. The Shadow Witch knew that her time\nto help him had come. She waved her long arms and instantly a thick\ncurtain of shadow fell directly in front of the Prince. He could not\nsee a yard before him, and stood still at once, fearing that some trap\nhad been laid for him.\n\n\u201cDo not be afraid,\u201d whispered a voice at his ear. \u201cGo forward. It is\nI, the Shadow Witch, who have come to help you.\u201d\n\nPrince Radiance knew her voice, yet he hesitated.\n\n\u201cFear nothing,\u201d insisted the Shadow Witch. \u201cGo forward, and no harm\nshall come to you.\u201d\n\nTrusting her then, the Prince trod boldly on, and before him went the\ncurtain of the Shadow Witch like a covering shield. Beyond it the\nWizard and his companions watched and waited, but saw only the corridor\nof the Cave stretching before them darker than ever, and filled with\nshadows so deep that their eyes could not penetrate them.\n\nNearer and nearer came the Prince, and presently the voice of the\nShadow Witch was heard again at his ear. \u201cHave out your Sword of\nFlames,\u201d she whispered. \u201cThe time has come.\u201d\n\nRadiance laid his hand upon the hilt. At that moment the shadow\ncurtain dissolved, and he beheld the Wizard little more than a yard\naway. So suddenly had the Prince appeared that the Wizard started with\nastonishment, but he recovered himself immediately, and shot forth his\nhand to lift the cover of his urn.\n\n\u201cNow, now,\u201d urged the Shadow Witch, at the Prince\u2019s ear. \u201cNow, or it\nwill be too late!\u201d\n\nOut flashed the Sword of Flames. It filled the Cave with blinding\nlight. The cover of the urn settled back to its place with a harsh\nclang, as the Wizard leaped to his feet, shielding his eyes with his\nhands.\n\n\u201cThe Sword of Flames! The Sword of Flames!\u201d he shrieked. \u201cAway! Away!\u201d\n\nHe tried to flee, but fell prostrate across the Urn of Vapors instead.\nFrom every corner of the Cave sprang a crowd of Imps in answer to\ntheir master\u2019s cry. Seeing the dread weapon that flashed in the\nhand of Prince Radiance they turned their backs upon it in terror,\nand screaming wildly surrounded the urn in a huddled mass. Throwing\nthemselves upon it, they hurried it away into a dim passage, with their\nmaster still lying senseless across its top. As they disappeared into\nthe pitch dark opening, a heavy door of charcoal fell shut behind them,\nclosing the entrance to the place to which they fled.\n\nOverjoyed at his victory, Radiance lifted his eyes to where but a\nmoment since he had seen Princess White Flame trembling against the\nCave wall, but the Princess, the Earth Fairy, and Flying Soot were\nnowhere to be seen. Except for the Shadow Witch he was entirely alone\nin the Cave of Darkness.\n\nWith a gesture of despair the Prince let the Sword of Flames drop back\ninto its sheath. \u201cWhat has it availed me to overcome this miserable\nWizard,\u201d he groaned, \u201csince it has brought me no nearer to my dear\nWhite Flame? Again she has vanished, and I know not where to seek her;\nwhether in some dusky portion of this hateful Cave, or in the open\ncountry without.\u201d\n\nThe voice of the Shadow Witch answered him. \u201cHave courage, good Prince.\nAll is not lost. Leave the Cave of Darkness with me, and seek her in\nthe light.\u201d\n\nPrince Radiance hesitated, but the Shadow Witch insisted. \u201cShe is not\nhere,\u201d she told him. \u201cTrust yourself fully to my guidance, and I will\nlead you safely out.\u201d Then the Prince yielded, and together they left\nthe Wizard\u2019s Hall. Down the dark corridor they passed swiftly and\nsoon arrived at the Cave\u2019s mouth. There they parted, the Shadow Witch\nstealing away with drooped head to her Land of Shadows, the Prince\nstanding for a moment gazing with eager eyes across the plain, hoping\nthat not far away he might behold the flame of his Princess.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nCHAPTER XIV\n\n\nNo sooner had the Earth Fairy beheld the sudden downfall of the Wizard\nthan she immediately fled from the Cave of Darkness taking Princess\nWhite Flame with her.\n\nFlying Soot, much crestfallen over the way in which matters had turned\nout, kept a little way behind them, for he was not anxious to speak\nwith the Earth Fairy until her anger had had time to cool. When they\nwere well outside the Cave, however, he drew nearer, and began as usual\nto make excuses and suggest new plans.\n\nThe Earth Fairy listened to him most ungraciously. \u201cSpeak no more of\nthese friends of yours,\u201d she exclaimed, \u201cfor I have lost all faith in\nthem.\u201d\n\n\u201cAs you will,\u201d said Flying Soot, with a shrug of his black shoulders,\n\u201cbut you make a grave mistake if you do not try the Wind in the\nChimney.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have no reason to believe that he will do any better than those\nothers of whom you boasted so loudly,\u201d retorted the Earth Fairy.\n\nBut Flying Soot was not to be discouraged. He continued to sing the\nWind\u2019s praises, until finally the Earth Fairy consented to give him a\ntrial.\n\n\u201cYou have but to wait here in concealment near the mouth of the Cave\nuntil the Prince comes forth,\u201d directed Flying Soot, before he took\nhis leave of her. \u201cThen cause the Princess to lead him to the Chimney\nyonder, and you will soon see that the Wind is one whose magic is not\nto be despised.\u201d\n\nHe gathered his black mantle about him and departed, and the Earth\nFairy hid herself and Princess White Flame in a deep cleft close by,\nfrom whence she should be able to see Prince Radiance the moment that\nhe issued from the Cave.\n\nWith her keen eyes fixed steadily in that direction the Earth Fairy\ndid not let her gaze wander elsewhere, and hence she did not see a\ntall form creeping stealthily from dark cliff to dark cliff as though\nseeking someone; she did not see a small grey figure following closely\nat his heels. They were Curling Smoke and the Ash Goblin in quest of\nthe Prince and Flying Soot.\n\nAt last the Earth Fairy\u2019s watching was rewarded. She saw Prince\nRadiance come from the Cave\u2019s mouth in company with the Shadow Witch,\nsaw him bid her farewell, and saw the Shadow Witch steal away from him\nto her own land.\n\nThen quickly the Earth Fairy came forth and drove the Princess to where\nPrince Radiance could not fail to behold her when he should set out in\nquest of her.\n\nIt happened as the Earth Fairy expected; the Prince searching the plain\nwith his eyes instantly descried the Princess. He had not even had time\nto call to her, when suddenly the huge grey form of Curling Smoke wound\nupon him from behind, gathered the Prince, the Princess and the Earth\nFairy, one and all, into a dense cloud of smoke, in which none could\nsee the other, and hurried them away toward the Chimney.\n\nThe Ash Goblin beholding, danced for joy, for he had seen Flying Soot\nvanish into the Chimney not long since, and believed that now his time\nof punishment was come.\n\nFlying Soot had indeed reached the great Chimney where the Wind dwelt,\nand was even now awaiting the coming of the Earth Fairy and those that\nshe should bring with her. The Chimney was wide and dark, with great\nrough boundaries, and the Wind\u2019s voice was so strong and boisterous\nthat it could be heard from the Chimney Mouth to the Chimney Top. Over\nthe entire Chimney the Wind ruled, and none dared to intrude upon him\nthere without first asking his permission.\n\nIt was true that Curling Smoke had the right of way to the Chimney\nTop, but it was well understood that the Wind was at liberty to deny\nhim entrance to the Chimney at any time that he chose.\n\nWhen Flying Soot had arrived at the Chimney Mouth, the Wind had howled\na welcome to him, and bade him enter. This Flying Soot had made haste\nto do, and finding a seat beside the Wind had told his errand without\nloss of time.\n\n\u201cAh!\u201d whistled the Wind, \u201cwhat you say interests me greatly, and I\nam perfectly willing to do as you ask and help the Earth Fairy. You\nmay give yourself no anxiety about the Veil. I care nothing whatever\nfor it. Of one thing you must assure me, however, and that is that she\nhas had no dealings with Curling Smoke in this matter, for I am on bad\nterms with him at present, and refuse to take part in anything in which\nhe has at any time been concerned.\u201d\n\nFlying Soot rolled up his eyes and swore to the Wind in the Chimney\nthat neither he nor the Earth Fairy had had anything to do with Curling\nSmoke, nor would they think of approaching him. So the Wind was\nsatisfied and declared that he would exert all his powers in the Earth\nFairy\u2019s behalf.\n\nThe Soot Fairy was just about to thank him for the promise of his good\noffices, when suddenly the Wind leaned from his seat, and peered down\ntoward the Chimney Mouth. Flying Soot looked also. Up the Chimney rose\na dense cloud of smoke, and in it, so enveloped by it that they could\nnot see each other, though they were plainly visible to the eyes of\nthe Wind and Flying Soot, were the Earth Fairy, Princess White Flame,\nand Prince Radiance. Behind them loomed an immense grey shape. It was\nCurling Smoke on his way to the Chimney Top, driving his enemies before\nhim.\n\nThe Wind started from his seat in a towering rage. \u201cSo this is the way\nyou and your Earth Fairy have deceived me,\u201d he howled, turning upon\nFlying Soot. \u201cThis is the way in which she has had nothing to do with\nCurling Smoke. But you, her messenger, shall learn what happens when\nyou trifle with the Wind. Up, out of my Chimney, to the punishment that\nyou well deserve.\u201d\n\nWith one blast he drove the Soot Fairy up and away through the great\nblack spaces of the Chimney, and hurled him out into the Great World\nBeyond. Well did the Wind know that from thence he could not return.\n\nThen with so mighty a rush that nothing could stand before it he\npounced upon Curling Smoke and those whom he had in his power. \u201cHow\ndare you come into my presence unbidden?\u201d he shrieked. \u201cOut of my\nkingdom all of you! Out, out into the Borderland.\u201d\n\nAway they were driven by the fury of the Wind like leaves before a\nstorm, down through the black Chimney and out of its mouth, into the\nBorderland near to the Kingdom of Earth.\n\nThere the Wind scattered Curling Smoke far and wide in thin pale\nstreamers that slowly floated back at last to the great plain from\nwhence he had come.\n\nAs for the wicked Earth Fairy, the Wind in the Chimney drove her away\nand away into the Land of Desolate Places there to remain forever a\nprisoner.\n\nIn the Borderland he cast down Prince Radiance, and roughly tossed the\nflame of the Princess upon a pile of scattered ash, and blackened coals.\n\nThen with his anger satisfied, the Wind rushed back to his Chimney,\nshrieking and howling with glee at the punishment that he had dealt out\nto those who had offended him.\n\nPrincess White Flame, so pale that she could scarcely be discerned,\nquivered and flickered where the Wind had rudely thrown her. Too weak\nto cry out, she only sighed faintly, and sank still lower upon the\nashes.\n\nShe knew not that by her entrance into the Borderland the cruel spell\nhad been broken by which the Earth Fairy had so long compelled her to\nflee from Prince Radiance. She only knew that she felt helpless, and\nalmost without life. And indeed the Princess was now in great danger,\nfor away from the Fire, no Fire Fairy can live for long.\n\nOver Prince Radiance the Borderland possessed no evil power. He arose\nunharmed from the stones and looked anxiously about him for his\nPrincess. So almost extinguished was her fairy flame that at first\nhe did not see her, and his heart was rent by fear lest the Wind had\ncarried her away from him forever.\n\nBut presently he descried her lying there, as if unable to proceed\nfurther, and hope rose again in his breast. In haste he took forth the\nVeil of Disenchantment--in haste he ran to her holding it securely in\nhis hand. He reached her, he bent above her, and she did not stir.\n\n\u201cAt last my White Flame,\u201d he cried, in an outburst of joy, \u201cat last\nyou flee from me no more.\u201d\n\nHe cast the mystic Veil over the flame of the Princess. Like a web of\ngossamer it settled slowly upon her, and the Prince, scarce daring\nto breathe as he watched it, saw the Wise One\u2019s promise instantly\nfulfilled.\n\nAt his feet, visible in her true form, lay a creature so beautiful,\nso charming as none had ever seen the like before. The Veil of\nDisenchantment, in touching her, had changed to a marvelous robe, soft\nand silvery, that swept in shining folds from her head to her feet.\nOver her shoulders and down to her knees streamed the silken splendor\nof her hair; pale gold it was, and finer than the finest floss. Her\ndelicate red lips were closed, her eyes fast shut.\n\nPrince Radiance fell on his knees before her and touched her gently.\n\u201cWhite Flame,\u201d he whispered, \u201cdear White Flame, awake and speak.\u201d\n\nThe Princess lay there pale and still, giving no sign that she had\nheard. The Prince laid his hand on hers, but felt no glow of life.\n\nIn wild alarm he cried aloud, \u201cWhite Flame! White Flame! Awake--awake!\u201d\n\nStill the Princess made no answer, and though he tried by every means\nhe knew to revive her, his efforts were all in vain.\n\nAt length, choked with grief he bowed his head upon her breast. If he\nhad reached her, and freed her, only to lose her thus, he had no wish\nleft except to die by her side.\n\nA fierce tug at his arm aroused him. \u201cDo you not know that a Fire\nFairy cannot exist in the Borderland?\u201d demanded an indignant voice.\n\u201cTake her back to the Fire at once, and warm her back to life.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: Prince Radiance fell on his knees before her.]\n\nThe Prince raised his head, and saw at his elbow a fuzzy little\ncreature, who clutched and shook him with a pudgy hand. It was an Elf\nof the Borderland.\n\n\u201cCome, come,\u201d cried the Elf, \u201cbestir yourself, or it will be too late.\u201d\n\nQuickly the Prince bent over Princess White Flame to raise her in his\narms, but before he could do so the Elf had laid a fuzzy ear to the\nheart of the unconscious Princess.\n\n\u201cAh, me,\u201d he murmured, lifting his head, and regarding the Prince\nmournfully, \u201cI fear she can never live to reach there. She should have\nwarmth at this very moment.\u201d\n\nHardly had the Elf spoken, when Prince Radiance remembered his good\nGrey Pouch. He tore it open, took out a glowing coal quickly, and laid\nit over the heart of the Princess. What was his joy to see an exquisite\nroseate glow steal into her face, to feel her hand grow warm under its\nfairy touch. Then as it lay there warm against her heart, the eyes of\nthe Princess opened slowly to behold Prince Radiance bending above her;\nher ears awoke to his voice calling tenderly, \u201cWhite Flame, my own\nWhite Flame!\u201d\n\nFor a moment she gazed up at him lovingly, too overcome with joy to\nspeak; then fear crept into her face, and she clung to him whispering,\n\u201cThe Earth Fairy!--where is she?\u201d\n\n\u201cGone, gone forever,\u201d the Prince assured her, drawing her closer to\nhis breast. \u201cHer wicked spells are broken. Fear her no more.\u201d\n\nThe Princess, beholding her hands, her figure, her shining garments,\nknew that it was indeed true, and gave a low cry of rapture.\n\nPrince Radiance raised her gently to her feet. \u201cCome,\u201d said he, \u201clet me\nlead you home to your father, King Red Flame, as I have promised. He\nwaits and yearns for you in his Palace of Burning Coals.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, let us go to him quickly, dear Radiance,\u201d she answered. \u201cHad it\nnot been for you he must have waited always in vain.\u201d\n\nSo they set out, and the Elf of the Borderland went before them, and\nguided them to the boundary of the Land of Fire, by the nearest way.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nCHAPTER XV\n\n\nFar away in the Land of the Fire Fairies, King Red Flame mourned daily\nthe loss of his dear daughter. As day followed day and no news of her\nreached him he became more and more fearful that he should never again\nlook upon her exquisite flame, or hear her voice speaking to him in\ntenderness and love.\n\nThe old nurse, Grey Smoke, did all that she could to hearten him, and\nas for herself, she never lost the hope and belief that at no distant\nday her beloved mistress would come safely home.\n\nThe Fire Fairies spoke of her always in hushed voices, and when they\nrepeated her story to one another as they worked or played, they\nwould sigh, and whisper, \u201cAh, she was beautiful, our Princess White\nFlame--beautiful and good as none else.\u201d But they spoke of her always\nas one who would never come again.\n\nAt last one day King Red Flame could bear his anxious thoughts no\nlonger. He left the Palace of Burning Coals, and took his way to the\nhut of the Wise One. There he hoped to find encouragement and counsel.\nArrived at the low red door he knocked, and presently he heard the Wise\nOne\u2019s voice bidding him enter.\n\nThe King did so, and talked to him long and despondently, but the Wise\nOne enjoined upon him not to give up hope. \u201cThere will be difficulties\nto be met and conquered,\u201d he told him, \u201cand that takes time. But\nsomething assures me that the Princess is alive and well. As for Prince\nRadiance, you may trust him entirely. Take courage; at any time they\nmay return in triumph.\u201d\n\nWhile the Wise One spoke thus to the King, Grey Smoke stood in the high\ntower of the Palace of Burning Coals and gazed earnestly out across the\ncountry, as she did many times each day, in order that she might be the\nfirst to catch a glimpse of the Princess when she should return.\n\nGrey Smoke was old, but her eyes were still keen. On this day, as she\nlooked, she saw in the distance two travelers approaching hand in\nhand. One of these travelers appeared to her to be Prince Radiance. She\nwaited a few moments to make sure of it; but soon she could no longer\ndoubt. It was he in very truth. The other, her eyes told her for a\ncertainty, was her beloved young mistress. The heart of old Grey Smoke\nleaped for joy. As rapidly as her age would permit she descended the\nsteps of the tower, calling out with trembling voice, \u201cThe Princess\ncomes! The Princess White Flame comes!\u201d\n\nThe palace fairies at their tasks heard it. Knowing that Grey Smoke was\none who made no mistakes, they seized upon the glad news, and rushed\nfrom one end of the palace to the other shouting it: \u201cThe Princess\ncomes! The Princess comes!\u201d\n\nThe garden fairies were not slow to hear it, and they too took up the\nexcited cry, \u201cThe Princess White Flame comes! The Princess White Flame\ncomes!\u201d\n\nGrey Smoke, anxious to be the first to bring the glad tidings to her\nmaster, went in search of him, and after her the fairies one and all\ncame trooping, trooping from everywhere. In this manner they drew near\nto the little red hut in the shrubbery. King Red Flame heard the tumult\nand caught the words of their cry. He hurried forth, followed by the\nWise One. \u201cWhere is the Princess White Flame?\u201d exclaimed the King,\n\u201cTell me quickly.\u201d\n\nThere was no need of any answer, for in that instant he saw her coming\ndown the shining way--his dear lost daughter--lovelier by far than he\nhad ever dreamed she might be. He heard the music of her voice calling\nto him, sweeter even than he had so fondly remembered it.\n\nHand in hand with her came Prince Radiance leading her safely to her\njourney\u2019s end.\n\nKing Red Flame opened his arms to her crying in ecstasy, \u201cAh that I\nshould at last behold you, my White Flame, my own dear child!\u201d\n\nAnd Princess White Flame ran to him, and nestled at his breast, weeping\nand laughing all in a breath for pure happiness.\n\nFor a little he held her thus in silence; but presently, thirsting to\nhear of all that had transpired during her long absence from him, he\nbegged the Prince to relate the story of their wanderings.\n\nBriefly the tale was told, and as the King listened intently, the eager\nfairies clustered close about him meanwhile, that they also might lose\nno syllable concerning the perils that had been safely passed. The Wise\nOne, hearing, stroked his beard with satisfaction that all had turned\nout so triumphantly and well.\n\nWhen the last words had been spoken, King Red Flame led his beloved\nchild to Prince Radiance, and placed her hand in his. \u201cNoble Prince,\u201d\nhe exclaimed, with deep emotion, \u201ctake my daughter, with her father\u2019s\nlove and gratitude, for valiantly have you won your bride.\u201d\n\nThen King Red Flame turned to the thronging fairies, and raising his\nvoice so as to be heard by all, he cried, \u201cHasten, one and all, to\nthe Palace of Burning Coals. Prepare all things for the wedding. Let\nswift messengers speed to the Kingdom of Light, to bid its ruler to the\nmarriage of his son. And you, my good Grey Smoke, who know so well how\nto carry out my desires, see to it that never fairy wedding in the Land\nof Fire has equaled this of my beloved daughter Princess White Flame,\nand my dear son Prince Radiance.\u201d\n\nThus, amid tumults of rejoicing, did Princess White Flame and Prince\nRadiance enter upon their life of never-ending happiness.\n\n\n[Illustration: FINIS]","title":"Princess White Flame","tradition":"folklore-oral-tradition","translated_text":null,"word_count":28825}