{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_63437/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_63437","id":"gutenberg_63437","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/63437","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Children & Young Adult Reading","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Category: Short Stories","Children's stories","Fairy tales"],"text":"[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n                      THE SEVEN PLAITS OF NETTLES,\n                           AND OTHER STORIES.\n\n\n                                   BY\n                           EDRIC VREDENBURG.\n\n                             ILLUSTRATED BY\n                     T. NOYES LEWIS, HILDA COWHAM,\n                              _&c._, _&c._\n\n[Illustration]\n\n                       =Raphael Tuck & Sons L^{td}.\n                        London \u00b7 Paris \u00b7 New York=\n\n =Publishers to Their Majesties the King & Queen & to T.R.M., the Prince\n                           & Princess of Wales=\n\n\n\n\n                               CONTENTS.\n\n\n                      THE SEVEN PLAITS OF NETTLES.\n\n                      WHEN OUR SHIP COMES HOME.\n\n                      THE GOLDEN WISH.\n\n                      THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG.\n\n                      THE THREE SNOWFLAKES.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n                      THE SEVEN PLAITS OF NETTLES.\n\n\nOnce upon a time there was a very bad King who ruled over a very good\ncountry.\n\nIt was a good country because the land was rich, and things grew well,\nand because the people worked hard and were thrifty and intelligent. The\nKing was bad because he was terribly extravagant, because he spent\nfortunes upon fortunes on pleasure, because he gambled all the money in\nhis mint away, and, with all this fearful spending, he never thought of\ngiving anything to the poor. He was a very bad King indeed, just the\nmeanest, poorest thing in kings that ever sat upon a throne!\n\nWhen the King\u2019s pockets were empty, and the treasury chest and mint were\nalso empty, the only thing His Majesty could do was to increase the\ntaxes. This he did on an average about every other fortnight, and the\nconsequence was that his thrifty, hard-working people had to give all\ntheir money to pay the King\u2019s debts. This the people did not in the\nleast like doing, and the King was very unpopular indeed; in fact,\nmatters went to such a pitch that his subjects would not bow to him when\nthey met him in the streets of his capital.\n\nBut the King did not seem to mind this one bit; he continued his\nextravagances and his wicked gambling, he cleared out the treasury chest\nmore often than ever, and he taxed the people harder and harder every\nday.\n\nBut everything must come to an end sooner or later, you know, and it\nreally seemed as if the end of that country had almost arrived, for the\npeople began to starve, and such things as fires were only known in the\nhouses of the richest. But the King borrowed money on his crown,\nsceptre, and family jewels, and went on anyhow, as usual.\n\nNow it so happened that there lived in a suburb of the King\u2019s city a\nvery beautiful girl, whose name was Ellaleen. She lived in a nice house\nwith her father and mother and brothers and sisters, and it was\naltogether a very nice family. Not only was it a good-looking,\nwell-behaved family, but it was also a very healthy one, and had a very\nhealthy appetite, which is perhaps a drawback when there is next to\nnothing to eat.\n\nWell, Ellaleen took matters very much to heart. She objected to growing\nthinner every day, and it made her more miserable than she could express\nto see her father and her mother and her brothers and sisters all\ngrowing thinner, while each one pretended that he or she was not a bit\nhungry, so that others could have more. It made her wretched to see her\nsuffering neighbours, and the poor peasants who soon became too sickly\nto work; and, indeed, what was the use of working when all the profits\nwere taken away? Ellaleen felt as if she would have given her life to\nsave her country!\n\nNow this beautiful and tenderhearted girl had a dream one night, a\nstrange dream, because it was so wonderfully vivid.\n\nShe dreamt that a funny old woman, all dressed in red, came to her\nbedside, and said in a clear voice:\n\n\u201cEllaleen, if thou wilt journey alone to the willow copse, on the south\nside of the Blue Mountain that lies to the south of the city, thou shalt\nthere find the means to save thy country.\u201d\n\n[Illustration]\n\nThis sentence the little old woman repeated three times, and Ellaleen,\nwhen she woke in the morning, felt like a second Joan of Arc, for, of\ncourse, you know that Joan of Arc was told in a dream that she was to\nsave her country.\n\nEllaleen did not wait for breakfast\u2014not that it would have made the\nleast difference if she had, for there was no breakfast to wait for (the\nKing\u2019s-taxes had called the day before)\u2014but having obtained permission\nfrom her father and mother, whom she had told about her dream, she\nstarted off for the willow copse on the south side of the Blue Mountain.\n\nIt was late by the time she arrived there\u2014quite dusk, in fact\u2014and it was\nvery much further than she expected. As she entered the copse her heart\nbeat high with excitement, for there, on a fallen tree, sat the old\nwoman of her dream. As soon as the old woman saw her she rose and came\nquickly forward.\n\n[Illustration: \u201cON A FALLEN TREE SAT THE OLD WOMAN OF HER DREAM.\u201d]\n\n\u201cEllaleen, I am glad thou hast come,\u201d she said in a kindly voice, and\ntaking the girl by her hands; \u201cand art thou prepared to suffer much to\nsave the people from their fearful affliction?\u201d\n\n\u201cIndeed, indeed I am,\u201d replied Ellaleen with all her heart.\n\n\u201cThen come with me,\u201d said the little old woman, and she led the way to\nthe edge of the copse.\n\n\u201cSee, there is the Yellow Mountain,\u201d she continued, pointing south.\n\nThey could not help seeing the Yellow Mountain, for the setting sun\nreflected its glory upon it and made it shine like red and liquid gold.\n\n\u201cThou must travel there through the night,\u201d went on the little old\nwoman. \u201cAfter the sun has set, the moon will rise and shine upon the\nmountain, and it will be no longer yellow, but like molten silver; and\nwhen thou hast arrived at the mountain, which will be about dawn, thou\nwilt climb its steeps and descend the other side to fields upon fields\nof nettles. And when thou hast come to the fields of nettles, thou must\ntake off thy shoes and stockings, and bare thine arms, and then thou\nmust pluck the longest nettles at the root, and with them make seven\nplaits, each plait two yards long. And all the time thou workest thou\nmust not grumble, but sing cheerily, although thou art ready to cry out\nwith pain and fatigue. Thinkest thou, Ellaleen, that thou canst do all\nthis?\u201d\n\n\u201cI will try,\u201d answered the girl. \u201cAnd when I have made the seven plaits,\nwhat am I to do with them?\u201d\n\n\u201cThou art to return the way thou wentest, bare-footed and bare-armed,\nbringing with thee the seven plaits of nettles. And when thou art come\nto the lake on the top of the mountain, the lake that supplies the\ncountry, thou art to throw the plaits one by one into the water; and\nhaving done so, thou art to return home.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd then?\u201d asked Ellaleen.\n\n\u201cAnd then thou must wait and see what will happen,\u201d replied the little\nold woman. \u201cAnd now, Ellaleen, thou must set out on thy hard task, and\nthou hast indeed my blessing.\u201d\n\nWith that the old woman left the girl, with the shadow of evening\nfalling on her.\n\nEllaleen did as she had been told. She journeyed to the Yellow Mountain,\nwhich shone in the moonlight like a pillar of burnished silver, and she\narrived at its summit as the day dawned. Then she descended the other\nside, and soon came to the fields of nettles.\n\n[Illustration: \u201cNOBODY HAD EVER KNOWN SUCH NETTLES BEFORE.\u201d]\n\nSuch nettles! such fearful nettles! with prickles as large as needles.\nBut Ellaleen did not hesitate, she took off her shoes and stockings, and\nbared her white arms, and singing, stepped into the mass of horrid\nweeds.\n\nHow loudly she sang! If she had not done so she must have cried out in\nagony, for the cruel nettles tore her poor arms and legs and feet. She\nhad never known such nettles as these; nobody had ever known such\nnettles as these! She thought that she must really give up in despair,\nbut she did not. She sang on, and she worked on, and she gathered those\nnettles near the roots, and wove them, with her poor hands, into seven\nplaits. Then wearily and slowly, but indeed happily, she went back the\nway she came, and to the Blue Mountain, and to the lake on its summit.\n\nEllaleen threw the plaits of nettles one by one into the lake, and as\neach one touched the water great waves arose, and there were sounds like\npeals of terrific thunder. As the last rumble died away, Ellaleen turned\nher back upon the lake, and dragged her poor body home and waited to see\nwhat was going to happen next.\n\n                  *       *       *       *       *\n\n\u201cDear me, isn\u2019t it wonderful? isn\u2019t it delicious?\u201d everybody exclaimed.\nThen everybody had some more.\n\nIt was the water they were talking about. It had suddenly acquired the\nmost exquisite flavour. Everybody, including the King, drank it, and\nnothing else. Even at the village inn, water was asked for, and only\nwater. It was really more than marvellous.\n\nThen something still more marvellous happened.\n\nEverybody began to feel very drowsy, and before twenty-four hours had\npassed everybody fell fast asleep, not only every living soul in the\ncountry, but every animal, just as in the Sleeping Beauty story.\n\nAnd they slept on and on and on, during the spring, the summer, autumn,\nand the winter, through another spring and through another summer. And\nwhile they slept there appeared to everyone in Dreamland a little old\nwoman dressed in red, who told them what Ellaleen had done, and how she\nsuffered for her country\u2019s good.\n\nThen everybody woke up suddenly, and rubbing their eyes, stared at each\nother and the country. The country was worth staring at. Never before\nhad been seen such harvest fields with their rich golden corn; never\nbefore had the fruit trees borne such splendid fruit. The vineyards were\nheavy with grapes; and every garden, palace garden and cottage garden,\nwas filled with magnificent vegetables and beautiful flowers. The\ncountry was as rich as it possibly could be.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nAnd the King? Well, the King had his sleep and his dream as well as the\nothers, and when he woke up and rubbed his eyes he was not a bit like\nthe same King.\n\nHe called his courtiers and his people together, and in their presence\nhe journeyed to the Blue Mountain and thence to the Yellow Mountain, and\nhe climbed its steeps and descended to the other side. And when he came\nto the fields of nettles he took off his shoes and stockings and bared\nhis hands, and then he stepped into the cruel weeds, singing all the\ntime.\n\nAnd he made not seven plaits but seventy, and he could make no more\nbecause he was exhausted.\n\n\u201cThus,\u201d he said to his people, \u201cdo I try to punish myself.\u201d\n\nFrom that day forth he turned into a good king, and taxed his people\nonly justly. And by degrees he paid off his debts and got back his crown\nand sceptre and family jewels, and so was respectable and presentable\nonce more.\n\nAnd the water in the lake? Well, it turned again into ordinary water.\nAnd Ellaleen? I suppose you think she married the King and lived happily\never after; but she did nothing of the sort.\n\n[Illustration: \u201cHE STEPPED INTO THE CRUEL WEEDS.\u201d]\n\nShe stayed at home, and looked after her father and mother and brothers\nand sisters. And she went out, too, and looked after the poor who were\nin trouble and the rich who were in trouble; and she was loved and\nadored by one and all.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n                       WHEN OUR SHIP COMES HOME.\n\n\n\u201cDear, dear me, how very silly of me to fall asleep. Whatever shall I\ndo? there is no knowing what may happen, it is really too terrible to\nthink about.\u201d\n\nThe speaker was a fish. In the ordinary way fishes don\u2019t talk much, but\nthis happened to be a fairy fish, and fairy fishes can do most things.\nMost things, but not all things, otherwise this particular little fairy\nfish would not have been in such trouble.\n\nThe facts are simply these. The little fish had fallen asleep, and the\ntide having gone out, had left it in a very tiny pool of water on the\nseashore. The pool of water was so small that it ran the risk of being\ndried up by the sun, and that would be truly awful for the little fish,\nfor if the water dried up it would die.\n\nNow what made matters even worse was that this little fairy fish was in\nreality a beautiful mermaid\u2014a beautiful mermaid with hair like the\ngolden sands, eyes as blue as the sea, and lips as red as coral. But\nthis was in her own country, some miles away in the rolling ocean. In\nher own country, too, she had the wonderful power of being able to\nchange her shape. The pretty mermaid could become a sole, or a lobster,\nor an oyster, but unfortunately she had not this power out of her own\ncountry.\n\nNow the mermaid had changed herself into a little Red Mullet, and, as we\nhave just said, had fallen asleep and had been caught in a tiny pool of\nwater on the seashore. Poor little thing, it could not change back\nagain, and so was a prisoner.\n\nBut worse was to happen.\n\n\u201cOh, Etty, here is a dear little fish; let us take it home and cook it\nfor mother\u2019s supper,\u201d said a little voice.\n\nThe little voice belonged to a little girl who was talking to another\nlittle girl.\n\nThe Red Mullet trembled and grew pale. Enough to make it! Fancy hearing\nsome one talking about eating one for supper.\n\n\u201cOh, yes, do let\u2019s,\u201d said the other little girl, as they both peered\ninto the pool. \u201cMother will be pleased; but how shall we carry it?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, anyhow, pick it up in your fingers, Etty,\u201d replied the first little\ngirl.\n\nThe Red Mullet shivered, and quivered its tail, and turned even paler;\nit was losing its colour altogether, and that\u2019s a serious matter for a\nRed Mullet!\n\n\u201cWell, I don\u2019t know,\u201d said Etty, thoughtfully, \u201cpoor little thing,\nperhaps it has a father and mother, and brothers and sisters in the sea,\nit seems a pity to eat it.\u201d\n\nThe Red Mullet buried its nose in the sand, and blew little bubbles to\nthe surface of the water. It was very much excited indeed!\n\n\u201cBut it will die here I should think,\u201d said the other little girl; \u201clet\nus throw it into the sea so that it can go back to its father and\nmother, and brothers and sisters, if it likes. Pick it up, Etty, and\nthrow it into the sea.\u201d\n\nEtty did not quite like touching the cold little fish, nevertheless she\ndid, and threw it into the sea that came rippling up in tiny waves to\nher feet.\n\n[Illustration: \u201cPOOR LITTLE THING, PERHAPS IT HAS A FATHER AND MOTHER.\u201d]\n\nThe Red Mullet remained quite quiet for a second or two, the shock had\nbeen so great, and then it darted away to its home in the ocean.\n\nEtty and her sister went home too.\n\n                  *       *       *       *       *\n\nSorrow was in the land; great sorrow, for there were poverty and\nsickness in nearly every house. Everything had gone wrong in that\ncountry for some time, and somehow things could not get right again; it\nwas such a pity!\n\nEtty and her sister walked hand in hand and bare-footed on the seashore,\nand it was nearly a year since they had let the Red Mullet free. The two\nlittle girls were looking out for _that_ ship which never would come.\nMother had told them that everything would come right when their ship\ncame home, but it was such a long time coming. They began to fear that\nit had gone down to the bottom of the sea, and that things would never\ncome right.\n\nAnd what was to happen to them all? It was so hard to live, so very\nhard; food was so scarce and the hospitals were full to overflowing.\n\n\u201cI wonder,\u201d said Etty suddenly, looking up into her sister\u2019s face, \u201cI\nwonder where that little pink fish is, that we found last year.\u201d Wonder,\nindeed they would have wondered, if they could have seen the little pink\nfish at that moment. The Red Mullet, no longer a Red Mullet, but a\nbeautiful mermaid, was under the waves only a few yards from the two\nchildren. In her hands she carried a strange-looking casket, which she\nbrought nearer and nearer to the shore; then she gave it in charge of a\nfriendly wave that washed it almost to the children\u2019s naked feet.\n\n\u201cWhat can it be?\u201d they said, and that is exactly what you would have\nsaid under the same circumstances. Then they pulled it to land and tried\nto open it. It was not very difficult and they soon succeeded.\n\n\u201cOh, Etty, what lovely beads!\u201d said one little girl.\n\n\u201cLovely beads!\u201d repeated Etty; \u201clet\u2019s take some home to mother.\u201d\n\nThey took a handful each of the contents of the casket, and, burying the\ncasket in the sand, went home.\n\nAs they started off they both turned and listened for a moment. \u201cI\nthought I heard a lovely laugh,\u201d said Etty.\n\nShe had; it was the laughter of the mermaid, the happy, merry laughter\nof the sea fairy, who was pleased to see her present had been received.\nThey gave the beads to mother, who started when she saw them. They\nshowed them to their father, who gave a great cry and sprang to his\nfeet.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\u201cWhy do you do that?\u201d said Etty, in much surprise. And her sister\nwondered also; what did it mean?\n\n\u201cMean, my dears,\u201d answered their father in a choking voice, \u201cit means\nthat our ship has at last come home. These are not beads but pearls.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe have plenty more of them,\u201d said the children.\n\nTheir father put on his hat and went out. They came back shortly with\nthe casket and all the pearls, and they were _such_ lovely pearls;\nindeed, that was not very wonderful, for the Red Mullet had taken a\nworld of trouble to find the most beautiful pearls in the ocean and had\nbeen quite successful.\n\nNow, the children\u2019s parents were by no means greedy people, they shared\nthe fairy\u2019s gifts with their neighbours, with the happy consequence that\nwhere sorrow and sickness had been, happiness and health were in their\nstead.\n\nAnd that is just as it should be, isn\u2019t it? And what is the moral of\nthis little tale? Be kind to all living creatures, even down to a tiny\nRed Mullet, and there is no knowing what may happen; perhaps _your_ ship\nwill come home, sooner than you expect, if you earn a mermaid\u2019s\ngratitude.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n                            THE GOLDEN WISH.\n\n\nLady Elizabeth was really a very nice girl. She was affectionate, and\ngenerous and distinctly clever. Lady Elizabeth was also pretty, and of\ncourse that goes a very long way; but for all that Lady Elizabeth was\nnot happy, for the very simple reason that she was not contented.\n\nThe fact was that her father, the Earl, had lost a lot of money, and as\nearls go, he was poor, and the consequence was that Lady Elizabeth had\nto put up with a great deal that she did not like, and do a great many\nthings that she did not care to do. She grumbled at having to perform\nthe household duties, she grumbled at the servants, and grumbled because\nshe had to go out and do the shopping and marketing herself.\n\nFrom morning till evening she sighed for riches, and even if she woke up\nin the middle of the night, her thoughts turned to gold; and when\nthoughts continually turn to gold it is very bad for them, and is sure\nto make the thinker discontented and wretched.\n\nNow it was through always having the same longing, morning, noon, and\nnight, that a very strange and terrible thing happened to Lady\nElizabeth; one of the most wonderful and awkward, things that could\nhappen to anybody.\n\n[Illustration: \u201cSHE HAD TO PERFORM MANY HOUSEHOLD DUTIES.\u201d]\n\nTo begin with, I must tell you that there is in the sea a shoal of magic\nfishes. Some people say that there were originally in the shoal ten\nthousand fish, other people put the number down at only seven thousand\nfive hundred, but that really doesn\u2019t matter much; but what does matter\nto the story is this, that Lady Elizabeth bought one of these magic\nfishes in the market, and eat it that same night for her supper.\n\nNot that she knew that the fish she had eaten was anything out of the\nway. In fact, nobody knew this, neither the cook, nor the fishmonger\nfrom whom it was purchased, nor anybody else; but eat it Lady Elizabeth\ndid and had to take the consequences.\n\n\u201cDear me!\u201d she exclaimed, after supper, trying to keep her heavy eyes\nopen, \u201cI feel ever so sleepy.\u201d\n\n\u201cBetter go to bed,\u201d said the Earl.\n\n\u201cI think I will,\u201d replied Lady Elizabeth, with a little yawn, and giving\nher father a kiss, she went upstairs to her bedroom.\n\n\u201cOh, dear,\u201d she exclaimed, as she proceeded to undress herself, \u201cwhat an\nunfortunate girl I am. Fancy an earl\u2019s daughter having no maid to help\nher to bed when she is sleepy. Bah!\u201d and here she stamped her little\nfoot, \u201cI wish everything were gold, that I could sell it.\u201d\n\nHaving made this foolish remark, she was naughty enough to break the\nstrings of her petticoat, for they had become knotted. Then she jumped\ninto bed, and before her pretty head had touched the white pillow she\nwas fast asleep, beyond even the land of dreams.\n\nShe slept soundly all the night through, not waking up till the sun was\nshining in at her window, in all his golden glory; indeed it was a\nglorious day, golden, bright, and beautiful!\n\nLady Elizabeth jumped from her bed with a song on her lips, and her eyes\nbright with health and beauty. But of a sudden the song ceased, as she\ncried out in wonder and alarm, and her eyes became fixed with\nextraordinary astonishment. She had poured the water from the jug into\nthe basin, and as soon as she touched it with her pink fingers it had\nfrozen hard. Frozen quite solid, not into ice, but into pure gold. Pure\ngold, worth hundreds of pounds!\n\nIt was the same in the bath, a bath both deep and wide. As soon as her\nlittle pink toe touched the water it froze into a large block of yellow\ngold, worth thousands upon thousands of pounds.\n\n[Illustration: LADY ELIZABETH BUYS THE MAGIC FISH.]\n\nShe was so bewildered, so excited, so delighted that she could hardly\ndress herself, but she managed to do so somehow, and then ran downstairs\nto tell her father the good news. He was a rich man now, and could have\nservants, and horses and carriages and everything else that he desired!\n\nLady Elizabeth and the Earl gloated over the gold, and the household\ncame and stared at it in mute wonder. More water was poured into the\nbath and the same thing happened as before; when touched by Lady\nElizabeth\u2019s fair fingers it turned into the precious metal. But wonder\nmust give way to other feelings. The Earl\u2019s daughter began to feel\nhungry, very hungry in fact, for she had a good appetite and it was long\npast breakfast-time; she had had nothing to eat since her supper of\nMagic Fish the night before.\n\nIt was a nice breakfast, coffee and rolls, fresh butter and eggs, and\njams and other nice things. Lady Elizabeth said her grace, sat down,\npoured herself out a cup of coffee and raised it to her rosy lips.\n\nLady Elizabeth let the cup fall with a crash, breaking it to atoms, as\nshe sprang to her feet with a scream, while the Earl fell off his chair\nin amazement. He was an elderly earl, and rather nervous, and sudden\nshocks upset him.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nBut really it was enough to upset anybody, for as soon as his daughter\u2019s\nlips touched the coffee it had turned into solid gold. No wonder she\ndropped the cup, it was so heavy.\n\nShe tried a second cup with the same result; then, with trembling\nfingers, she touched the loaf of bread, when it turned to gold\nimmediately; eggs, jam, butter, even the very crumbs turned into golden\nnuggets, and as Lady Elizabeth found it impossible to eat gold, she went\nwithout any breakfast whatsoever.\n\nHer father was much concerned. Magicians were sent for from all over the\ncountry, but they could do nothing but stare with wonder and help\nthemselves to the golden eggs to pay for their travelling expenses.\n\n[Illustration: THE POODLE TURNS INTO A GOLDEN DOG.]\n\nThe same thing happened at luncheon, at dinner, tea and supper. Lady\nElizabeth was starving. In the evening another remarkable event took\nplace. She happened to touch the pet poodle, when it immediately became\na golden dog. The Earl, at this, became more nervous than ever, and\nshrieked whenever his daughter came near him. The servants shunned her,\ntoo, fearful of the consequences of touching her. Poor Elizabeth; a more\nunhappy girl did not go to bed that night! But she had eaten the Magic\nFish and wished for gold, and her wish had been fulfilled.\n\nThe same happened the next day. Crowds of people came from far and near\nto see the wonder of the age, and while they wondered, Lady Elizabeth\nwas slowly starving to death.\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d she cried, \u201cif only I could be like an ordinary girl again. I vow\nI would never be discontented any more. I would do my best to be\ncheerful and never, never grumble again.\u201d\n\nAs she made this vow there came a peal of thunder, and of a sudden the\ngolden water, the golden bread, jam, butter, and even the eggs the\nMagicians had taken for their travelling expenses, turned back into\ntheir natural state. And to the joy of Lady Elizabeth, her father, and\nthe people who loved her, she once more could work, eat, and drink\nagain.\n\nFrom that day to this she was never discontented, and never once longed\nfor the gold which was hers for so short a while.\n\nBy the way, I was nearly forgetting to say that the pet poodle did not\nturn into a live dog again. He remained a golden one, and made an\nexceedingly handsome ornament for the fireplace.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n                       THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG.\n\n\nThere was once a Frog.\n\nHe lay in a pool near the horse-pond in the farmyard, behind the King\u2019s\nCastle. To look at, he was not by any means a remarkable frog. He was\nneither bigger nor smaller than other frogs of his kind; neither was he\ngreener, browner, nor more yellow. He certainly was a perfect swimmer,\nand his croak was perhaps just a little more musical than the croak of\nthe other frogs, but in other respects he was exactly like them. He\nspent his days catching worms and flies, and dodging ducks who were\nalways on the lookout to catch him. His was the usual frog\u2019s life\u2014and\nyet, and yet he was no ordinary frog.\n\n                  *       *       *       *       *\n\nThere was once a Princess.\n\nShe lived in the Castle beyond the pool, on the other side of the\nhorse-pond. She was no ordinary Princess. Princesses, of course, are\nalways beautiful; but this one was more beautiful than any. Her hair was\nmore golden than real gold; her eyes as blue as an eastern sky; her\nteeth as white as the whitest of pearls, while her smile was as sweet as\nan angel\u2019s. She was as good as she was beautiful.\n\nIndeed, she was no ordinary Princess. She loved the world and everybody\nin it. She loved her dear old father, the King (she had no mother and\nbrothers and sisters to love, poor Princess); she loved all the King\u2019s\nsubjects, from the oldest old man to the youngest new baby, and she\nloved all animals\u2014yes, all animals, from the noble horses to\u2014well, even\nto the frogs in the pool beyond the horse-pond, in the farmyard at the\nback of the Castle.\n\nNow, the King was very rich, and so his daughter had everything she\ndesired, and what she desired most was the means to do good to others,\nand to be able to care for all the maimed and injured animals in her\nfather\u2019s kingdom. She had comfortable stables built for the poor old\nhorses, kennels for the poor old dogs, almshouses for the poor old men\nand women, and happy homes for homeless babies. The Princess was the\nministering angel of the country.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nIn the Castle itself she had aviaries filled with beautiful birds, and\naquariums full of fish and all sorts of queer animals, including even a\nfrog with an injured foot, that the Princess herself had found in the\npool in the farmyard behind her father\u2019s Castle. This was the Frog that\nwas no ordinary frog, except in appearance. He lived in the Castle, and\nwas happy; and his foot got quite well, except when he hopped he had a\nslight limp.\n\nNow, everything went happily until the lovely Princess was eighteen\nyears old, and then something fearful happened. A terrible and cruel war\nbroke out between the King, her father, and a neighbouring Emperor, and\nalas! the King got the worst of it. He lost every battle from the very\nbeginning; town after town fell into the hands of the enemy; the happy\nvillages were burnt down; the crops and the cattle were seized, and the\nKing and his daughter sat in the Castle with only a few soldiers to\nguard them, expecting every moment the arrival of the Emperor\u2019s\nvictorious army.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nThey had no money\u2014all their treasures had been sold to pay for the\nhorrid war. The old men and women were miserable in the almshouses; the\nbabies cried in their homes; the horses and birds and fishes had been\nset free, for there was no money with which to buy them food, and there\nwas misery over all the land. The poor Princess had no pets except one\nthat had been left behind in the aquarium\u2014the Frog that was no ordinary\nfrog, and that had a limp when he hopped, and whose croak was rather\nmore musical than the croak of other frogs. Well, it came at last, the\nEmperor\u2019s conquering army, and it swept all before it; the Castle was\ntaken, and the King and the Princess had only just time to escape by the\nback door, and through the farmyard by the pool, near the horse-pond,\nand so on to the woods, where they hid themselves from their enemies.\nThe Frog was with them\u2014yes, in a safety-matchbox, in the Princess\u2019s\npocket. It was certainly not comfortable there, but he preferred it to\nbeing left behind in a castle filled with strangers. The next day found\nthe King and his daughter miles away from their old home, seated hand in\nhand upon a bank, hungry and miserable. No one would have taken them for\na King and a Princess, for he wore an ordinary felt hat, instead of a\ncrown, and she wore nothing on her head but her own beautiful golden\nhair, which was more beautiful and brilliant than the finest gold. Well,\nthey went all that day without anything to eat but berries, and at night\nthey slept in the woods again; and so they journeyed on, more miserable\nand hungry. The Frog, too, was not very happy, and having the cramp in\nhis lame foot, kicked somewhat vigorously in his matchbox, so that the\nPrincess heard him, and pitied him, and determined to let him go when\nthey came to some water.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nNow, they had not gone much farther before they came to a pond, and\nhere, I think, comes the wonderful part of the story. The Princess took\nthe Frog from the matchbox and held it for a moment in her hand, and as\nshe did so, she burst into tears, and her tears fell upon the little\ncreature.\n\n\u201cAlas!\u201d she cried, \u201cyou are the last of my poor pets I loved so dearly.\u201d\n\nThen there suddenly came a flash of light, and a noise like terrible\nthunder, and the King, in his fright, fell on his back, while the\nPrincess opened her dark blue eyes in wonder. There stood before her a\nhandsome Prince, who smiled and held out his hands to her.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\u201cThe spell of a wicked fairy is broken,\u201d he said. \u201cThe Frog you took\nfrom the pool was no ordinary frog\u2014in reality, he was an enchanted\nPrince; your love for, and the tears that fell on him, have restored him\nto his own form again.\u201d\n\n\u201cCome,\u201d he continued, \u201cwe three will go over those blue hills together,\nto my lovely country. And you shall be my Princess, and we will rule the\nland together.\u201d\n\nAnd so they went away, hand in hand, the Princess between her father and\nthe Prince, and they went over the blue hills to the most beautiful\ncountry you can imagine. And then, before long, the Princess built\nstables and kennels for the old horses and poor dogs, and almshouses for\nthe old men and old women, and houses for the homeless babies; and she\nwas never so happy as when doing good to others, and everybody loved\nher, for, truly, she was the ministering angel of the land.\n\n[Illustration: THE THREE SNOWFLAKES]\n\n\n\n\n                          THE THREE SNOWFLAKES\n\n\nOnce upon a time there were three snowflakes, and they were called\nFaith, Hope, and Charity. When I say three snowflakes, I don\u2019t quite\nmean that, but three little girls dressed in white, and looking like\nsnow Princesses as they trudged along across the white covered country.\n\nThey were the Earl\u2019s daughters, and, as I have just said, their names\nwere Faith, Hope, and Charity. I wonder what the Earl would have called\na fourth daughter, supposing he had had one.\n\nThe three snowflakes lived at the Castle, which was on a hillside,\nsurrounded by a beautiful park, and overlooking the valley.\n\nIn the summer it was a lovely valley, with a river running through it,\nand beautiful green woods coming down to the edges of the water.\n\nNow the winter had come it was all white, except the river, which looked\ngrey in the distance. In one corner of the valley lay the village, and\nin the last cottage of the village there lived a little girl called\nRuth.\n\nRuth was very poor, indeed, she was so poor that she possessed nothing.\nThe tiny cottage she stood in had been rented by her grandmother, and\nnow her grandmother was dead; the only relation she had left in the\nworld had been taken from her.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nThere was not a crumb of bread in the cupboard, not a stick with which\nto make a fire, not a penny in the girl\u2019s pocket, so no wonder she stood\nlooking out of the window with dismay in her face.\n\nThe window was a little open, and through the opening came three flakes\nof snow.\n\nThey fell upon the brick floor and melted slowly away.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nRuth shuddered; it was the first snow of the year, it might mean the\nbeginning of a long, hard, cruel winter.\n\nShe shuddered again, and then of a sudden knelt on the brick floor and\nclasped her hands in prayer, and this showed she had Faith in her heart.\n\nAnd as she prayed the sun broke through the snow clouds, and poured in\nthrough the window, and shone on the girl\u2019s brown hair. She rose with a\nsmile on her lips and a light dancing in her eyes, for there was Hope in\nher breast.\n\nRuth opened the window and took in the withered flowers on the sill.\n\n\u201cPoor flowers,\u201d she said, \u201cyou will be warmer inside.\u201d\n\nNow this was Charity, for kindness is Charity, and we can be kind even\nto flowers.\n\nThen, of a sudden, there came shouts of laughter from the lane without,\nand the sound of merry voices; the door of the cottage flew open, and in\nran the Earl\u2019s daughters, the three snowflakes.\n\n\u201cOh, Ruth,\u201d said Charity, \u201cwe have heard of your trouble, and our father\nhas sent us to help you.\u201d\n\n[Illustration]\n\nAnd Charity kissed Ruth on the cheek.\n\n\u201cAnd you are to come and live in the lodge by the gates,\u201d said Faith,\nputting her arms round the poor girl\u2019s waist, and leading her to the\ndoor of the cottage.\n\n\u201cAnd you are to be happy the whole year long,\u201d cried Hope, clapping her\nhands, and turning, she led the way, skipping and laughing, up the lane.\n\nAnd so it happened that Ruth went and lived in the lodge of the great\nlord\u2019s beautiful estate, and there she may be living, contented and\nhappy, to this day.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n[Illustration]\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                            A SELECTION FROM\n                          RAPHAEL TUCK & SONS\u2019\n                             PUBLICATIONS.\n\n\n                      The Children\u2019s Gem Library.\n\nA series of six cloth bound Story Books by the most popular Writers for\nChildren.\n\n 1. =Effie\u2019s Little Mother=, by Rosa Nouchette Carey.\n\n 2. =Tic-tac-too=, by L. T. Meade.\n\n 3. =Betsy Brian\u2019s Needle=, by M. A. Hoyer.\n\n 4. =The Seven Plaits of Nettles=, by Edric Vredenburg.\n\n 5. =The Rainbow Queen=, by E. Nesbit.\n\n 6. =Mildred and her Mills=, by Nora Chesson.\n\nAll the above Illustrated in colour and black and white. 64 pages. 25c.\neach. Complete, in a neat case, $1.50.\n\n\n                     Humorous Books by Louis Wain.\n\n  =Big Dogs, Little Dogs, Cats and Kittens.= Thirty-six pages of\n    coloured and black and white pictures.\n\n                     Bound in Picture boards  1.50\n                     Bound in Cloth, bevelled 2.00\n\n  =Pa Cats, Ma Cats and their Kittens.= Thirty-six pages of coloured and\n    black and white pictures.\n\n                     Bound in Picture boards  1.50\n                     Bound in Cloth, bevelled 2.00\n\n  =With Louis Wain to Fairyland.= Described by Nora Chesson. Thirty-six\n    pages of coloured and black and white pictures.\n\n                     Bound in Picture boards  1.50\n                     Bound in Cloth, bevelled 2.00\n\n  =Louis Wain\u2019s Cats and Dogs.= Untearable linen leaves. Twenty-four\n    full-page coloured pictures, and four black and white.\n\n                      Bound in Picture boards 1.50\n\n  These books are in Louis Wain\u2019s inimitable style, and will amuse\n  both old and young alike.\n\n\n                         New and Amusing Books\n\nBy T. E. 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Taylor.\nThirty-six pages of coloured and black and white pictures.\n\n                     Bound in Picture boards  1.50\n                     Bound in Cloth, bevelled 2.00\n\n  =Wallypug Tales.= A novel and extremely humorous creation of G. E.\n    Farrow, illustrated with 36 full-paged pictures in colour, by Alan\n    Wright.\n\n                     Bound in Picture boards  1.50\n                     Bound in Cloth, bevelled 2.00\n\n  The Wallypug stories have brought the author into the front rank of\n  writers for children.\n\n  =Proverbs Old, Newly Told=, by Clifton Bingham. Thirty-six pages of\n    coloured and black and white pictures.\n\n                     Bound in Picture boards  1.50\n                     Bound in Cloth, bevelled 2.00\n\n  The well-known proverbs treated in a very original and humorous\n  fashion.\n\n\n            Books by the Rev. Canon Duckworth, D.D., C.V.O.,\n\n       Sub-Dean of Westminster; Chaplain-in-Ordinary to the King.\n\n  =The Holy Land.= Illustrated with forty-nine pictures in colour and\n    black and white, from original drawings, painted in Palestine, by W.\n    J. Webb. Coloured map. Thirty-six pages.\n\n                     Bound in Picture boards  1.50\n                     Bound in Cloth, bevelled 2.00\n\n  =Through the Holy Land.= Thirty-two pictures in colour and black and\n    white, by W. J. Webb.\n\n                           Paper        40c.\n                           Linen leaves 75c.\n\n                  By the late Rev. H. R. Haweis, M.A.,\n\nAuthor of \u201cMusic and Morals,\u201d \u201cArrows in the Air,\u201d \u201cChrist and\nChristianity,\u201d etc.\n\n  =The Child\u2019s Life of Jesus.= Illustrated with twenty full-paged\n    coloured and forty-three black and white pictures. One hundred\n    pages.\n\n                    Bound in Picture boards    1.50\n                    Bound in Cloth, gilt edges 2.00\n\n  Written in Mr. Haweis\u2019s charming and forcible language, which makes\n  the life of our Saviour readily understood by children.\n\n\n                       Books on Natural History.\n\n                      By Dr. W. G. Ridewood, etc.,\n\n                         D.Sc., F.L.S., F.Z.S.\n\n  (Associate of the Royal College of Science; Lecturer on Biology at the\n    Medical School of St. Mary\u2019s Hospital; Assistant to Professor Ray\n    Lankester, at the Natural History Museum, South Kensington.)\n\n  =Illustrated Natural History.= By Dr. W. G. Ridewood, D.Sc., F.L.S.,\n    F.Z.S. With 150 coloured illustrations, and 50 in black and white,\n    of Beasts, Birds, Fishes, Reptiles and Insects.\n\n                          Pictorial cover 2.00\n\n\n                          Books About Animals.\n\n  =My Animal Book.= Thirty large full-paged pictures in colour, and four\n    in black and white.\n\n                          Picture boards 1.50\n\n  =With Father Tuck to Animal Land.= Edited by Edric Vredenburg. One\n    hundred pages of pictures and stories. Twenty pages in full colour.\n\n                   Paper Edition, Picture boards 1.50\n                   Paper Edition, Cloth boards   2.00\n                   Linen leaves, Picture boards  2.50\n                   Linen leaves, Cloth boards    3.00\n\n\n                        Fairy and Nursery Tales.\n\n  =With Father Tuck to Fairyland.= Re-told by Edric Vredenburg and\n    others. One hundred pages of the old familiar Fairy Tales,\n    illustrated with twenty pages in colour, and numerous black and\n    white pictures.\n\n                   Paper Edition, Picture boards 1.50\n                   Paper Edition, Cloth boards   2.00\n                   Linen leaves, Picture boards  2.50\n                   Linen leaves, Cloth boards    3.00\n\n  =With Father Tuck to Nurseryland.= Edited by Edric Vredenburg. One\n    hundred pages of the old nursery favourites, illustrated with twenty\n    pages in colour, and eighty pages in black and white.\n\n                   Paper Edition, Picture boards 1.50\n                   Paper Edition, Cloth boards   2.00\n                   Linen leaves, Picture boards  2.50\n                   Linen leaves, Cloth boards    3.00\n\n  =Father Tuck\u2019s Annual.= Edited by Edric Vredenburg. 128 pages, with\n    160 illustrations in colour and black and white, and numberless\n    stories, verses, puzzles, etc.\n\n                    Bound in Picture boards    1.25\n                    Bound in Cloth, gilt edges 2.00\n\n  A most welcome gift to every child.\n\n  =The Crystal Fairy Book.= Sixty-four pages of Stories and Poems, by\n    Nora Chesson, M. A. Hoyer, Grace C. Floyd, etc. Edited by Edric\n    Vredenburg. Full of pictures in colour and black and white.\n\n                          Picture boards 1.00\n\n  =Guardian Angels.= Poems and Stories by Nora Chesson, Helen M.\n    Burnside, etc. Edited by Edric Vredenburg. Sixty-four pages,\n    profusely illustrated in colour and black and white.\n\n                          Picture boards 1.00\n\n  =Once Upon a Time.= Sixty-four pages of Stories and Poems, by Nora\n    Chesson, M. A. Hoyer, Grace C. Floyd, etc., profusely illustrated in\n    colour and black and white, by Maud Goodman, Arthur Dixon, and\n    others. Edited by Edric Vredenburg.\n\n                          Picture boards 1.00\n\n  =Playtime Stories.= Told by E. Nesbit, Nora Chesson, Grace C. Floyd,\n    and Edric Vredenburg. Sixty-four pages, illustrated in colour and\n    black and white, by Maud Goodman, M. Bowley, Hilda Cowham, etc.\n\n                          Picture boards 1.00\n\n  =The Emerald Fairy Book.= Ninety-six pages, with Stories and Poems by\n    Clifton Bingham, Grace C. Floyd, M. A. Hoyer, etc. Illustrated by\n    Frances Brundage, Dorothy Furniss, etc. Edited by Edric Vredenburg.\n    Illustrated throughout with pictures in colour and black and white.\n\n                          Picture boards 1.50\n\n  =Hans Andersen\u2019s Fairy Tales.= Illustrated with sixty-nine pictures in\n    colour and black and white, by E. J. Andrews and S. Jacobs. Edited\n    by Edric Vredenburg.\n\n                    Bound in Picture boards    2.00\n                    Bound in Cloth, gilt edges 2.50\n\n  =Grimm\u2019s Fairy Tales.= Illustrated with ninety-five pictures in colour\n    and black and white, by E. J. Andrews and S. Jacobs. Edited by Edric\n    Vredenburg.\n\n                Bound in Picture boards             2.00\n                Bound in Cloth, bevelled gilt edges 2.50\n\n  The Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen and the Brothers Grimm\n  need no recommendation to parents, the stories and the morals learnt\n  from them are likely to last as long as the English language.\n\n\n                         Standard Story Books.\n\n  =Children\u2019s Stories from Dickens.= Stories of the Child Characters of\n    the great Novelist, by his grand-daughter, Mary Dickens, and others.\n    Illustrated with twelve full-page coloured and eighty black and\n    white pictures, by Harold Copping, Frances Brundage, etc.; 104\n    pages.\n\n               Bound in Picture boards              1.50\n               Bound in Cloth, bevelled, gilt edges 2.00\n\n  =Tales from Tennyson=, told by Nora Chesson. Illustrated with\n    seventy-four pictures in colours and black and white, by Frances\n    Brundage and M. Bowley.\n\n                     Bound in Pictorial boards 1.50\n                     Bound in Cloth, gilt      2.00\n\n  Stories of the Round Table and other Poems retold in a delightful\n  manner, suitable for young readers.\n\n  =The Children\u2019s Shakespeare=, by E. Nesbit. Illustrated with twelve\n    full-page coloured and seventy black and white pictures, by Frances\n    Brundage, M. Bowley, etc. Edited by Edric Vredenburg.\n\n                    Bound in Pictorial boards  2.00\n                    Bound in Cloth, gilt edges 2.50\n\n  The principal tales of Shakespeare, written in a charming style,\n  easily understood by young people.\n\n  =Royal Children of English History=, by E. Nesbit. Illustrated with\n    ten full-page coloured and sixty-nine black and white pictures by\n    Frances Brundage and M. Bowley.\n\n                    Bound in Pictorial boards  2.00\n                    Bound in Cloth, gilt edges 2.50\n\n  Most interesting episodes in English History, from Alfred the Great\n  to Queen Victoria.\n\n  =LAMB\u2019S TALES FROM SHAKESPEARE.= The most sumptuous edition ever\n    published. Containing Introductions, copious Notes, and Six New\n    Tales by Dr. F. J. Furnivall, M.A. Illustrated by Harold Copping,\n    with 22 full-page highly artistic Photogravure Plates and 142 other\n    Illustrations. 2 vols., royal 8vo.\n\n                        Cloth, gilt top $5 net.\n\n\n                            Painting Books.\n\n                            _25 cents each._\n\n                       =All Sorts A.B.C.=\n                       =Sunnyside Farm.=\n                       =Land of Toys.=\n                       =Father Tuck\u2019s Bird.=\n                       =Father Tuck\u2019s Animal.=\n                       =Father Tuck\u2019s Flower.=\n                       =Father Tuck\u2019s Butterfly.=\n                       =Playtime Pictures.=\n                       =Pleasant Hours.=\n\n                            _40 cents each._\n\n                      =Farmyard Pictures.=\n                      =Father Tuck\u2019s Zoo.=\n                      =Father Tuck\u2019s Flowerland.=\n                      =Kindergarten.=\n                      =Dollyland.=\n                      =Father Tuck\u2019s Fruit.=\n                      =Flags of all Nations.=\n                      =Children of all Nations.=\n                      =Our Farm.=\n                      =God is Love.=\n\n\n\n\n                               COLLECT!!\n\n\n[Illustration:\n\n  R & S TUCK\u2019S\n  _Postcards_\n\n  _Look for\n  Name &\n  Trade Mark_\n\n  NONE GENUINE WITHOUT\n\n  ALWAYS THE MOST WELCOME, ARTISTIC & UP-TO-DATE!\n]\n\n  They are pronounced the best.\n\n  They are full of interest.\n\n  They are exquisitely reproduced in every known process.\n\n  They represent an enormous variety of subjects.\n\n  They are Refined, Artistic, Humorous, Instructive, and thoroughly\n    Up-to-Date.\n\n  There are upwards of 10,000 Designs.\n\n  They are sold by all leading Dealers throughout the World.\n\n  Complete Descriptive List FREE at all Dealers.\n\n\n    Every Card bears our Name and Trade Mark. None genuine without.\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                          TRANSCRIBER\u2019S NOTES\n\n\n 1. Silently corrected typographical errors and variations in spelling.\n 2. Archaic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings retained as printed.\n 3. Enclosed italics font in _underscores_.\n 4. Enclosed bold font in =equals=.\n 5. Superscripts are denoted by a caret before a single superscript\n      character or a series of superscripted characters enclosed in\n      curly braces, e.g. M^r. or M^{ister}.","title":"The Seven Plaits of Nettles, and other stories","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":7882}