{"collection":"folklore-oral-tradition","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_71700/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_71700","id":"gutenberg_71700","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/71700","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Adventure","Category: Children & Young Adult Reading","Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy","Fairy tales"],"text":"[Illustration]\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n THE CHRONICLES OF FAIRY LAND\n\n\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n _HOLIDAY EDITIONS OF\n JUVENILE CLASSICS_\n\nBy GEORGE MACDONALD\n\n THE PRINCESS AND THE\n GOBLIN\n\n THE PRINCESS AND CURDIE\n\n AT THE BACK OF THE\n NORTH WIND\n\n _Illustrated in color by Maria L. Kirk. Decorated\n chapter-headings and lining papers. Octavo.\n Ornamental cloth, gilt top, $1.50 per volume._\n\n ----------------------------------------------------------------\n\nOUIDA\u2019S CLASSIC JUVENILES\n\n A DOG OF FLANDERS\n\n Containing also her most famous stories, \u201cThe\n N\u00fcrnberg Stove,\u201d \u201cThe Little Earl,\u201d and\n \u201cIn the Apple Country.\u201d\n\n\n BIMBI: STORIES FOR\n CHILDREN\n\n _Each illustrated in color by Maria L. Kirk. Decorated\n lining papers. Octavo. Ornamental cloth,\n gilt top, $1.50 per volume._\n\n ----------------------------------------------------------------\n\nEdited by G. E. MITTON\n\n THE SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON\n\n _Twelve full-page illustrations in color by Harry\n Rountree. Octavo. Ornamental cloth, $1.50._\n\n ----------------------------------------------------------------\n\nBy JEAN INGELOW\n\n MOPSA, THE FAIRY\n\n _Illustrated in color by Maria L. Kirk. Decorated\n lining papers. Octavo. Ornamental cloth, $1.50._\n\n ----------------------------------------------------------------\n\nBy JOHN KENDRICK BANGS\n\n MOLLIE AND\n THE UNWISEMAN ABROAD\n\n _Ten full-page illustrations in color by Grace G.\n Weiderseim. Octavo. Cloth, pictorial cover, $1.50._\n\n ----------------------------------------------------------------\n\nBy FERGUS HUME\n\n CHRONICLES OF FAIRYLAND\n\n _Illustrated in color by Maria L. Kirk. Decorated\n lining papers. Octavo. Ornamental cloth, $1.50._\n\n ----------------------------------------------------------------\n\n HANS ANDERSEN\u2019S\n FAIRY TALES\n\n _Profusely illustrated in color by Maria L. Kirk.\n Decorated lining papers. Octavo. Cloth, $1.50._\n\n ----------------------------------------------------------------\n\n J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY\n\n Publishers Philadelphia\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n[Illustration: A THRONE OF GREAT WHITE LILIES, UPON WHICH SAT THE KING\nAND QUEEN OF FAERYLAND\u2014_PAGE 104_]\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n[Illustration]\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n CHRONICLES OF\n FAIRY LAND\n\n\n\n\n BY\n FERGUS HUME\n\n\n\n\n _WITH ILLUSTRATIONS IN COLOR BY_\n MARIA L. KIRK\n\n _AND IN THE TEXT BY_\n M. DUNLOP\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n PHILADELPHIA & LONDON\n J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY\n 1911\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n COPYRIGHT, 1911, BY J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY\n\n\n PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER, 1911\n\n\n PRINTED BY J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY\n AT THE WASHINGTON SQUARE PRESS\n PHILADELPHIA, U.S.A.\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n TO THOSE EARNEST STUDENTS OF FAERY LORE\n JOAN AND JACK BURNETT\n\n THESE STORIES\n ARE DEDICATED BY THEIR FRIEND\n FERGUS HUME\n\n\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n CONTENTS\n\n\n PAGE\n KING OBERON\u2019S LIBRARY 11\n THE RED ELF 25\n SHADOWLAND 47\n THE WATER-WITCH 63\n MOON FANCIES 95\n THE ROSE-PRINCESS 109\n SORROW-SINGING 139\n THE GOLDEN GOBLIN 157\n\n THE ENCHANTED FOREST 183\n\n\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n ILLUSTRATIONS\n\n\n PAGE\n\n A Throne of Great White Lilies, upon which Sat the King\n and Queen of Faeryland _Frontispiece_\n\n \u201cYes, It Is Faeryland,\u201d Piped a Shrill Voice 14\n\n The Rude Giant Laughed Heartily at the Poor Elf\u2019s Plight 32\n\n As Tom Picked It Up He Felt that It was Filled with\n Money 49\n\n He Saw the Form of the Water-faery Glimmering Ghostly\n Under the Thin White Veil 71\n\n On Seeing Ardram She Bounded Toward Him and Put Her Arms\n Round His Neck 134\n\n One Bright Summer\u2019s Night a Number of Faeries Flew Into\n the Room 139\n\n \u201cI Am the Golden Goblin,\u201d He Cried in a Harsh Voice 165\n\n\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n A BALLAD OF FAERY TALES\n\n\n I.\n\n O\u2019ER weary earth the twilight falls\n The sunset fades from western skies,\n Dark shadows dance upon the walls,\n As from the hearth red flames arise.\n This hour is full of strange surprise,\n Of mystic stories sweet and grand;\n And children hear with shining eyes\n These Chronicles of Faeryland.\n\n\n II.\n\n So, children, gather round my knee,\n And list to tales of old romance;\n With stories of the land and sea\n I\u2019ll make your eyes with pleasure dance.\n And if the fays are kind, perchance\n You\u2019ll see in dreams the elfish band,\n Whene\u2019er you hear with wond\u2019ring glance\n These Chronicles of Faeryland.\n\n\n III.\n\n The rugged caves where giants dwell;\n The dragons guarding gems and gold;\n Fair ladies who by magic spell\n Are held enchained in castles old;\n The handsome princes, brave and bold,\n Who cross the moat by drawbridge spanned:\n Such tales and more will now unfold\n These Chronicles of Faeryland.\n\n\n _Envoi._\n\n Then, children, leave your books and toys,\n And come to this enchanted strand;\n I tell for happy girls and boys\n These Chronicles of Faeryland.\n\n\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n KING OBERON\u2019S LIBRARY.\n\n\n ---------------------\n\nIT was after dinner, I think, as I was seated in my arm-chair before the\nfire, tired out with hard work, and therefore half asleep. All day long\nit had been snowing hard, and even now, at seven o\u2019clock in the evening,\nit was still coming down in great white flakes, making the earth look\nlike a beautiful birthday cake. There was no light in the room, except\nthe red glimmer of the fire that flickered and flared on the wide\nhearth, roaring up the great chimney, as if it was grumbling to itself\nat having to go out into the cold, cold night.\n\nNow, I am very fond of the firelight in a dark room at such an hour, for\nit casts strange shadows, which put strange fancies into my head, and I\ntell these strange fancies to good children, which pleases them very\nmuch. For the children I tell them to are very wise, and believe in\nthese strange fancies, calling them faery tales, as indeed they are.\nGrown-up people do not believe in faery tales, which is a great pity,\nbecause there are many good and beautiful stories told of the faeries,\nwhich make people who really understand them better and wiser. But all\nchildren understand them because all children know that Faeryland\nexists, and, therefore, the strange fancies called faery tales must\nnecessarily be true.\n\nWell, as I said before, I was seated half-asleep in my arm-chair in the\ndark, watching the fire burning merrily on the hearth, and sending out\ngreat shafts of red light to explore dark corners, where goblins are\nfond of lurking. On the roof and on the wall danced the firelight\nshadows in the most amusing manner; but they are foolish folk these same\nshadows, belonging to the strange Kingdom of Shadowland, which lies near\nthe realm of Faery; yet not mingling with it in any way, for in\nFaeryland, as wise children know, there are no shadows at all.\n\nI grew tired watching the shadow-dance, so, letting my chin sink on my\nbreast, I stared into the red hollows and burning caverns made by the\nflames among the logs of wood. There I saw all kinds of curious\nthings,\u2014turreted castles, which held enchanted princesses, broad red\nplains, across which journeyed brave knights in armour, to deliver those\nsame princesses, and huge rocky caverns wherein dwelt cruel magicians,\nwho try to stop the brave knights from reaching the enchanted castles. I\nsaw all these things in the fire, and you can see them also, if you look\nsteadily into the flames at night-time, because then everything is under\nthe spell of faery power. But you must believe very hard indeed, as you\nlook, for the faeries will not let their country be seen by children who\ndoubt that the beautiful land exists.\n\nThere were some twigs on the logs still bearing a few withered leaves,\nbut, being out of reach of the fire, they were not burnt up;\nnevertheless the flames made them quiver with their hot breath, just as\nif they were still being shaken by the cool breeze of the forest.\n\nNow, while I was looking at the shaking of the withered leaves, a\ncricket began to chirp, and, whether it was the magic of the darkness,\nor the influence of the faeries, I do not know, but I understood every\nword of the song the cricket sang. Oh, it was really a famous singer,\nthat merry cricket, and the song it sang went something after this\nfashion.\n\n\n THE CRICKET\u2019S SONG.\n\n You can only hear my voice;\n But you cannot see me.\n Oh, would not your heart rejoice,\n If you could but be me!\n\n Thro\u2019 the sultry summer hours\n My shrill voice was ringing;\n Now, when cold has killed the flowers,\n By the fire I\u2019m singing.\n\n You don\u2019t understand my song,\n Tho\u2019 so bright and airy;\n For to mortals you belong,\n You are not a faery.\n\n Living now the earth upon,\n Oft my life\u2019s imperilled;\n But at court of Oberon,\n I\u2019m the faeries\u2019 herald.\n\n If you caught me you would say,\n \u201cIn the fire stick it;\n In the house it shall not stay,\n Noisy, noisy cricket.\u201d\n\n Therefore by the Faery King,\n I to hide am bidden,\n And you only hear me sing\n When I\u2019m closely hidden\n\nFirst of all, it sounded as if only one cricket was singing, then a\nsecond seemed to join in, afterwards a third and fourth, until the whole\nforest appeared to be full of crickets.\n\nForest?\u2014yes!\u2014I was now in an old, old forest, for, as I listened to the\ncricket\u2019s song, the twigs on the logs became fresh and green, then\nseemed to grow larger and larger, until they hid the red light of the\nfire, and branched out with great leafy boughs into the room. I looked\nup in surprise, and saw the green branches, high above my head, waving\nin the soft wind, and I could hear the singing of unseen birds sound\nthrough the chirping of the crickets. Under my feet, instead of a\ncarpet, there was now fresh green turf covered with daisies, and my\narm-chair was a chair no longer, but the mossy trunk of a fallen tree.\nThe red light glimmered behind the leaves, as though the fire was still\nthere, but I knew in some strange way that it was not the fire, but the\ncrimson glare of the sunset. A great wave of phantasy seemed to roll\nthrough the forest, and I started to my feet, as the crickets finished\nsinging, with a curious sense of wonderful knowledge and vague longings.\n\n\u201cDear me!\u201d I said to myself; \u201cthis must be Faeryland.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, it is Faeryland,\u201d piped a shrill voice, which seemed to come from\nthe ground. \u201cThis is the Forest of Enchantment.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: \u201cYES, IT IS FAERYLAND,\u201d PIPED A SHRILL VOICE]\n\nI looked down without astonishment, for in Faeryland no one is\nastonished at the strange things which take place, and saw an old, old\nlittle man, with a long white beard, sitting astride the stem of a\nflower, which kept swaying up and down like a rocking-horse. He was\ndressed in bright green, with the inverted purple cup of a Canterbury\nbell on his head, and if he had not spoken I would not have known he was\nthere, so much did his clothes and cap resemble the surrounding green\ngrass and coloured flowers.\n\n\u201cGoblin?\u201d I asked quickly; for, you see, he looked so old and ugly that\nI thought he must be one of the underground faeries.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m not a goblin,\u201d he replied in an angry, shrill voice, like the wind\nwhistling through a keyhole. \u201cIt is very rude of you to call me a\ngoblin\u2014a nasty thing who lives under the earth, and only cares for gold\nand silver. I\u2019m a faery\u2014a very celebrated faery indeed.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut you wear a beard,\u201d I said doubtfully; \u201cfaeries don\u2019t wear beards.\u201d\n\n\u201cNot all faeries,\u201d he answered, with dignity, jumping down from his\nswaying flower stem; \u201cbut I do, because I am the librarian of King\nOberon.\u201d\n\n\u201cDear me! I did not know he had a library. Do let me see it!\u201d\n\n\u201cYou see it now,\u201d said the librarian, waving his hand; \u201clook at all the\nbooks.\u201d\n\nI looked round, but saw nothing except a circle of trees, whose great\nboughs, meeting overhead, made a kind of leafy roof, through which could\nbe seen the faint, rosy flush of the sunset sky. The ground, as I said\nbefore, was covered with daisy-sprinkled turf, and there was a still\npool of shining water in the centre, upon the bosom of which floated\nlarge white lilies.\n\n\u201cI must say I don\u2019t see anything except leaves,\u201d I said, after a pause.\n\n\u201cWell\u2014those are the books.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, are they! Well, I know books have leaves, but I didn\u2019t know leaves\nwere books.\u201d\n\nThe faery looked puzzled.\n\n\u201cYou must have some faery blood in you,\u201d he said at length, \u201cor you\nwould never have found your way into this forest; but you don\u2019t seem to\nhave enough of the elfin nature to see all the wonders of Faeryland.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, do let me see the wonders of Faeryland!\u201d I asked eagerly; \u201cnow that\nI am here, I want to see everything.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo doubt you do,\u201d retorted the faery, with a provoking smile; \u201cbut I\ndon\u2019t know if the King will let you\u2014however, I\u2019ll ask him when he\nwakes.\u201d\n\n\u201cIs he asleep?\u201d I said in astonishment; \u201cwhy, it\u2019s day-time.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s day-time with you, not with us,\u201d answered the librarian; \u201cthe\nnight is the day of the faeries\u2014and see, there\u2019s the sun rising.\u201d\n\nLooking up through the fretwork of boughs and leaves, I saw the great\nsilver shield of the moon trembling in the dark blue sky, from whence\nall the sunset colours had died away.\n\n\u201cBut that\u2019s the moon,\u201d I cried, laughing.\n\n\u201cThe moon is our sun, stupid,\u201d he said tartly. \u201cI think the King will be\nawake now, so I\u2019ll ask him if you can see the books.\u201d\n\nHe vanished,\u2014I don\u2019t know how; for, though I did not take my eyes off\nhim, he seemed to fade away, and in his place I saw the green leaves and\nslender stem of a flower, with the Canterbury bell nodding on the top.\n\nThe only thing I could do was to wait, so I sat down again on the fallen\ntree, and amused myself with looking round to see what kind of creatures\nlived in Faeryland.\n\nThe night was very still,\u2014no sound of cricket or bird, not even the\nwhisper of the wind, or the splash of water,\u2014all was silent, and the\nmoon, looking down through the leaves, flooded the glade with a cold,\npale light, turning the still waters of the pool to a silver mirror,\nupon which slept the great white lilies.\n\nSuddenly, a bat, whirring through the glade, disappeared in the soft\ndusk of the trees, then I heard the distant \u201cTu whit, tu whoo\u201d of an\nowl, which seemed to break the spell of the night, and awaken the\nsleeping faeries; for all at once, on every side, I heard a confused\nmurmur, the glow-worms lighted their glimmering lamps on the soft mossy\nbanks, and brilliant fireflies flashed like sparkling stars through the\nperfumed air.\n\nThen a nightingale began to sing; I could not see the bird, but only\nheard the lovely music gushing from amid the dim gloom of the leaves,\nfilling the whole forest with exquisite strains. I understood the\nnightingale\u2019s song just as well as I did that of the cricket, but what\nit sang was much more beautiful.\n\n\n THE NIGHTINGALE\u2019S SONG.\n\n The Day has furled\n Her banners red,\n And all the world\n Lies cold and dead;\n All light and gladness fled.\n\n Asleep!\u2014asleep,\n In slumber deep,\n Are maid and boy;\n And grief and joy,\n And pleasures\u2014pains\n Are bound\u2014fast bound in slumber\u2019s chains.\n Ah, slumbers keep\n The maid who sighs,\n The boy who cries,\n The bee that flies,\n In charm\u00e8d sleep.\n\n See how the moon shines in the sky\n Her light so pale,\n O\u2019er hill and dale;\n O\u2019er dale and hill,\n So calm and still,\n In splendour flinging;\n And Mother Earth,\n At her bright birth,\n Hears me the night-bird singing.\n\n \u2019Tis I!\n Who in the darkness cry;\n The nightingale who sings, who sings on high.\n I call the elves\n To show themselves;\n They creep from tree, from grass, from flower;\n In forest-bower\n At midnight hour,\n They dance\u2014they dance,\n All night so bright\u2014so light;\n While I the woods with song entrance.\n\n Singing\u2014Singing,\n My voice is ringing\n Thro\u2019 the still leaves,\n Till all the dark night heaves\n With pain\u2014with pain\n Again\u2014oh, sing again;\n Bring joy\u2014bring tears,\n Till o\u2019er the lawn\n The red, red dawn\n Appears\u2014appears\u2014appears.\n\nWhile the nightingale was thus singing in such a capricious manner,\npaying no attention to metre or rhyme, the whole glade changed, but I\nwas so entranced with the bird music, that I did not notice the\ntransformation until I found myself in a splendid hall with a lofty\nceiling, seated on a couch of green velvet. The trees around were now\ntall slender pillars of white marble, and between them hung long\ncurtains of emerald velvet. The pool was still in the centre, with its\nbroad white water-lilies asleep on its breast, but it was now encircled\nby a rim of white marble, and reflected, not the blue sky, but an azure\nceiling, upon which fantastic patterns in gold reminded me somewhat of\nthe intricate traceries of the trees. High up in the oval ceiling, in\nplace of the moon, there hung a large opaque globe, from whence a soft,\ncool light radiated through the apartment.\n\nAs I was looking at all these beautiful things, I heard a soft laugh,\nand, on turning round, saw a man of my own height, dressed in robes of\npale green, with a sweeping white beard, a purple cap on his head, and a\nlong slender staff in his hands.\n\n\u201cYou don\u2019t know me?\u201d he said in a musical voice. \u201cMy name is Phancie,\nand I am the librarian of the King.\u201d\n\n\u201cWere you the faery?\u201d I asked, looking at him.\n\n\u201cI am always a faery,\u201d he replied, smiling. \u201cYou saw me as I generally\nappear to mortals; but, as the King has given you permission to learn\nsome of the secrets of Faeryland, I now appear to you in my real form.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo this is the King\u2019s library?\u201d I said, looking round; \u201cbut how did I\ncome here?\u2014or rather, how did the glade change to the library?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe glade has not changed at all,\u201d said Phancie quietly; \u201cit is still\naround you, but your eyes have been unsealed, and you now see beneath\nthe surface.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut I don\u2019t understand,\u201d I observed, feeling perplexed.\n\n\u201cIt is difficult,\u201d assented Phancie gravely, \u201cbut I can show you what I\nmean by an illustration. When you see a grub, it only looks to your eyes\nan ugly brown thing; but my eyes can see below the outside skin, to\nwhere a beautiful butterfly is lying with folded wings of red and gold.\nThe glade you saw was, so to speak, the skin of the library. Now, your\nsight has been made keen by the command of the King. You see this\nsplendid room\u2014it is still the glade, and still the room; only it depends\nupon your sight being lightened or darkened.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt doesn\u2019t look a bit like the glade.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou don\u2019t think so, of course,\u201d said Phancie kindly; \u201cbut I will\nexplain. The white pillars are the trunks of the trees; the green\ncurtains between are the green leaves; the ceiling is the blue sky; the\nwhite globe that gives light is the moon; and the golden fretwork on the\nceiling is the leaves and boughs of the trees shining against the clear\nsky.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd the books?\u201d I asked quickly.\n\n\u201cHere are the books,\u201d he replied, drawing one of the green curtains a\nlittle on one side, and there I saw rows of volumes in brown covers,\nwhich reminded me somewhat of the tint of the withered leaves.\n\n\u201cYou can stay here as long as you like,\u201d said Phancie, dropping the\ncurtain, \u201cand read all the books.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, I can\u2019t stay long enough for that,\u201d I said regretfully. \u201cI would be\nmissed from my house.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, you would not,\u201d he replied. \u201cTime in Faeryland is different from\ntime on earth\u2014five minutes with you means five years with us\u2014so if you\nstay here thirty years, you will only have been away from earth half an\nhour.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut I\u2019m afraid\u201d\u2014\n\n\u201cStill unconvinced!\u201d interrupted Phancie, a little sadly, leading me\nforward to the pool of water. \u201cYou mortals never believe anything but\nwhat you see with your own eyes\u2014look!\u201d\n\nHe waved his white wand, and the still surface of the water quivered as\nif a breeze had rippled across it; then it became still again, and I saw\nmy own room, and myself seated asleep in the arm-chair in front of a\ndull red fire. I closed my eyes for a moment, and when I looked again\nthe vision had vanished.\n\n\u201cHow is it my body is there and I am here?\u201d I asked, turning to Phancie.\n\n\u201cWhat you saw is your earthly body,\u201d he said quietly, \u201cbut the form you\nnow wear is your real body\u2014like the butterfly and the grub of which I\ntold you. Now, you can look at the books. You will not remember all you\nread, because there are some thoughts you may not carry back to earth;\nbut the King will let you remember seven stories which you can tell to\nthe children of your world. They will believe them, but you\u2014ah! you will\nsay they are dreams.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh no, I won\u2019t,\u201d I said eagerly, \u201cbecause it would not be true. This is\nnot a dream.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, it is not a dream,\u201d he said sadly; \u201cbut you will think it to be\nso.\u201d\n\n\u201cNever!\u201d\n\n\u201cOh yes, you will. Mortals never believe.\u201d\n\nI turned angrily away at this remark, but when I looked again to reply,\nPhancie had vanished\u2014faded away like a wreath of snow in the sunshine,\nand I was alone in the beautiful room.\n\nOh, it was truly a famous library, containing the most wonderful books\nin the world, but none of which I had seen before, except the faery\ntales. In one recess I found the lost six books of Spenser\u2019s _Faerie\nQueene_, the last tales told by Chaucer\u2019s Canterbury Pilgrims, the end\nof Coleridge\u2019s _Christabel_, some forgotten plays of Shakespeare, and\nmany other books which had been lost on earth, or which the authors had\nfailed to complete. I learned afterwards that they finished their\nearthly works in Faeryland, and that none of the books they had written\nduring their lives were in the library, but only those they had not\nwritten.\n\nYou will not know the names of the books I have mentioned, because you\nare not old enough to understand them but when you grow up, you will, no\ndoubt, read them all\u2014not the faery books, of course, but all the others\nwhich the men I mention have written.\n\nIn another recess I found nothing but faery tales\u2014_Jack and the\nBeanstalk_, _The White Cat_, _The Yellow Dwarf_, and many others, which\nwere all marked _The Chronicles of Faeryland_.\n\nI do not know how long I was in the library, because there was no day or\nnight, but only the soft glow of the moon-lamp shining through the room.\nI read many, many of the books, and they were full of the most beautiful\nstories, which all children would love to hear; but, as Phancie said, I\nonly remember seven, and these seven I will now relate.\n\nI hope you will like them very much, for they are all true stories in\nwhich the faeries took part, and there is more wisdom in them than you\nwould think.\n\nThe faeries understand them, and so do I, because I have faery blood in\nmy veins; but many grown-up people who read them will laugh, and say\nthey are only amusing fables. The wise children, however, who read\ncarefully and slowly will find out the secrets they contain, and these\nsecrets are the most beautiful things in the world.\n\nSo now I have told you how I was permitted to enter Faeryland, I will\nrelate the stories I remember which I read in the faery palace, and the\nclever child who finds out the real meanings of these stories will\nperhaps some day receive an invitation from King Oberon to go to\nFaeryland and see all the wonders of his beautiful library.\n\n\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n THE RED ELF\n\n\n I.\n\n HOW THE RED ELF RAN AWAY FROM FAERYLAND.\n\nFAERYLAND lies between the Kingdom of the Shadows and the Country of the\nGiants. If you want to reach it you must sail across the Sea of\nDarkness, which rolls everlastingly round these three strange places,\nand separates them from our world. Then you journey first through the\nGiants\u2019 Country, the inhabitants of which are very like ourselves, only\nlarger and fiercer, with very little spiritual nature in their enormous\nbodies; afterwards you pass into Faeryland, where the elves are bright,\ngraceful creatures, who possess forms like ours, and not a little of our\nnature. Beyond lies the strange Kingdom of Shadows, where dwell things\nwhich have very little in common with our earth; they are the shadows of\nthe past and the future, of what has been, and what yet shall be.\nMortals have strayed by chance into the Giants\u2019 Country, and in old\nstories we are told they have lived in Faeryland, but no living man or\nwoman has ever seen the Kingdom of Shadows, nor will they ever see it\nduring life.\n\nNow, the Faeries, being afraid of the Shadows, never enter their\nkingdom, but they also never enter the Country of the Giants, because\nthey despise them very much as being lower than themselves, much the\nsame as we look down upon the uncivilised savages of Africa. Oberon,\nwho, as you know, is the King of Faery, made a law that no elf should\never go into the Giants\u2019 Country, being afraid lest the faeries should\nlearn things there which would bring evil on his own land. So when the\nfaeries want to visit our earth, they do not cross the Giants\u2019 Country,\nbut come in another way which is known only to themselves. Having thus\nexplained how these three countries lie, I will now tell you of a\nnaughty elf who, disobeying the King\u2019s command, lost himself in the\nGiants\u2019 Country, and of the difficulty he had in getting back to\nFaeryland.\n\nThe elf\u2019s name was Gillydrop, a beautiful little creature all dressed in\nclothes of a pale green tint, which is the favourite colour of the\nfaeries, as every one knows who has seen them dance in the moonlight.\nNow Gillydrop was full of curiosity, which is a very bad thing, as it\nleads people into a great deal of trouble, and although he had never\nbothered his head about the Giants\u2019 Country before, as soon as he heard\nthe proclamation of Oberon he immediately determined to see for himself\nwhat the giants were like. Do you not think this was a very naughty\nthing for him to do? it certainly was, but he was punished for his\ndisobedience, as all naughty people are sooner or later.\n\nHe spoke to two or three faeries in order to get them to join him, but\nthey would not disobey the King\u2019s command, and advised him to give up\nhis foolish idea.\n\n\u201cThe King is very wise,\u201d they said, \u201cand no doubt he has a good reason\nfor not letting us visit the Giants\u2019 Country, so you ought to do as he\ntells you.\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t care,\u201d replied naughty Gillydrop; \u201cI\u2019m sure there is something\nin the Giants\u2019 Country the King does not want us to know, and I am\ndetermined to find out what it is.\u201d\n\nSo, in spite of all warnings, he spread his beautiful wings, which were\nspotted silver and blue, like a white-clouded sky, and flew away through\nthe woods. It was night-time, for, of course, that is the faeries\u2019 day,\nbut the way to Giants\u2019 Country was so long that by the time he reached\nthe end of the forest, and came to the boundary of Faeryland, the red\ndawn was breaking, so he crept into the bosom of a rose, and, after\ngetting a honey supper from a friendly bumble-bee, curled himself up to\nsleep.\n\nAll through the long day, while the sun was high in the blue sky, he\nslept, lulled by the swaying of the flower, which rocked like a cradle,\nand soothed by the whisper of the wind and the buzzing of the bees as\nthey hummed round his rose-house.\n\nAt last the weary, hot day came to an end, the silver moon arose in the\ndark blue sky, the wind sighing through the forest made the delicate\nleaves tremble with its cool breath, and the elf awoke. He left the kind\nrose, which had sheltered him in her golden heart from the heat of the\nday, and flew towards the rippling stream which lies on the confines of\nFaeryland. Away in the distance, he could hear the murmuring laughter of\nthe faeries, as they danced to the sound of elfin music, but he was too\nanxious to get into the Giants\u2019 Country to trouble himself about his old\nfriends.\n\nJust as he was about to cross the boundary, the leaves of the Faery\nforest sighed out the word \u201cBeware!\u201d but, not heeding the warning, he\nflew across the stream, and found himself at last in the terrible\ncountry where dwelt the foolish giants and the evil ogres. As he\nalighted upon an enormous daisy, which was as large as a mushroom, a\nvoice rang out from Faeryland, full and clear, like the sound of a\nbeautiful bell:\n\n \u201cNever more come back you need,\n Till you\u2019ve done some kindly deed.\u201d\n\nAnd so when Gillydrop looked back, he saw no green banks, no tall trees,\nno beautiful flowers, but only a wide grey ocean sleeping in sullen\nstillness under the cold light of the moon.\n\nHe was now flying over a dreary waste plain, with great circles of\nupright stones standing here and there, and a bitter cold wind blowing\nshrilly across the flat country towards the sullen grey sea. Had he not\nbeen able to fly, he would never have crossed the plain, because the\ngrass stood up like mighty spears, and the furze bushes were like great\ntrees. On every side he saw immense mountains, blue in the distance,\nlifting their snowy summits to the clouds, with great trees at their\nfoot looking like enormous hills of leaves. There were no birds flying\nin the cold air, and no animals crawling on the bleak earth; everything\nseemed dead and silent, except the wind, which moaned through the mighty\ntrees like the roaring of oceans.\n\nThere are no towns in Giantland, because the giants are not very fond of\none another, and prefer to live by themselves in lonely castles among\nthe mountains. Gillydrop knew this, but, although he looked on every\nside, he could see no sign of any castle, until at last he suddenly came\non one which was quite in ruins, and so tumbled down that no one could\npossibly dwell in it. He flew on, feeling rather afraid, and came to\nanother castle, also in ruins, with a huge white skeleton lying at the\nfoot of a high tower, which was no doubt the skeleton of the giant who\nhad lived there.\n\nThen he found a third, a fourth, a fifth castle, all deserted and in\nruins. It seemed as though all the giants were dead, and Gillydrop, in\ndespair at the sight of such desolation, was about to fly back to\nFaeryland, when he suddenly thought of the voice which had said:\n\n \u201cNever more come back you need,\n Till you\u2019ve done some kindly deed.\u201d\n\nPoor Gillydrop was now in a dreadful plight, and, folding his weary\nwings, he dropped to the ground, where he sat in the hollow of a\nbuttercup, which was like a large golden basin, and wept bitterly. He\ncould never return to Faeryland until he had done some kindly deed, but,\nas there was no one to whom he could do a good deed, he did not see how\nhe could perform any, so cried dreadfully at the thought of living for\nevermore in the desolate Giants\u2019 Country. So you see what his\ndisobedience had brought him to, for, instead of dancing merrily with\nhis friends in the Forest of Faeryland, he was seated, a poor, lonely\nlittle elf, in a dreary, dreary land, with no one to comfort him.\n\nWhile he was thus weeping, he heard a sound like distant thunder; but,\nas there were no clouds in the sky, he knew it could not be thunder.\n\n\u201cIt must be a giant roaring,\u201d said Gillydrop, drying his eyes with a\ncobweb. \u201cI\u2019ll go and ask him where all his friends have gone.\u201d\n\nSo he flew away in the direction from whence came the sound, and\nspeedily arrived at a great grey castle, with many towers and\nbattlements, perched on the top of a very high hill. At its foot rolled\nthe Sea of Darkness, and round the tall towers the white mists were\nwreathed like floating clouds. There was a wide road winding up the\nsteep sides of the rock to the castle door, which was as high as a\nchurch; but Gillydrop, having wings, did not use the road, so flew right\ninto the castle through an open window.\n\nThe giant, whose name was Dunderhead, sat at one end of a large hall,\ncutting slices of bread from an enormous loaf which lay on the table in\nfront of him. He looked thin,\u2014very, very thin,\u2014as though he had not had\na good dinner for a long time; and he thumped the table with the handle\nof his knife as he sang this song, taking a large bit of bread between\nevery verse:\n\n\n THE GIANT\u2019S SONG.\n\n Oh, if my life grows harder,\n I\u2019ll wish that I were dead!\n There\u2019s nothing in the larder\n Except this crust of bread.\n\n With hunger I am starving,\n And it would give me joy\n If just now I was carving\n A little girl or boy.\n\n I\u2019ve drunk up all the coffee,\n I\u2019ve eaten all the lamb,\n I\u2019ve swallowed all the toffee\n And finished all the jam.\n\n I want to get some plum-cake\u2014\n I only wish I could;\n For if I can\u2019t get some cake\n I\u2019ll die for want of food.\n\nHere Dunderhead stopped singing with a roar of pain, for while cutting\nhimself some more bread, the knife slipped and gashed his hand in a most\nterrible manner. A great spout of blood gushed out like a torrent and\nsettled into a dark red pool on the table, while the giant, roaring with\nanger, wrapped up his wounded hand in his handkerchief, which was as\nlarge as a tablecloth.\n\n\u201cWhat are you crying about, giant?\u201d asked Gillydrop, who had perched\nhimself on the table, where he sat, looking like a green beetle.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ve cut my finger,\u201d said the giant in a sulky tone; \u201cyou\u2019d cry, too,\nif you cut your finger. Don\u2019t call me a giant\u2014my name is Mr. Dunderhead.\nWhat is your name?\u201d\n\n\u201cGillydrop. I\u2019m a faery.\u201d\n\n\u201cI thought you were a beetle,\u201d said Dunderhead crossly. \u201cWhat do you\nwant here?\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019ve come to see the giants, Mr. Dunderhead,\u201d replied Gillydrop.\n\n\u201cYou won\u2019t see any, then,\u201d said Dunderhead, making a face. \u201cThey\u2019re all\ndead except me. I\u2019m the last of the giants. You see, we ate up every boy\nand girl that lived near us, and all the sheep, and all the cattle,\nuntil there was nothing left to eat; and as none of us could cross the\nSea of Darkness, every one died except me, and I won\u2019t live long\u2014this\nloaf is all I\u2019ve got to eat.\u201d\n\n\u201cPerhaps if I do a kindly deed to Dunderhead by getting him a meal, I\u2019ll\nbe able to go back to Faeryland,\u201d thought Gillydrop, as he listened to\nthe giant\u2019s story.\n\n\u201cWell, what are you thinking about?\u201d growled Dunderhead, cutting himself\nanother slice of bread.\n\n\u201cI was thinking how I could get you some food,\u201d replied Gillydrop.\n\n\u201cWhat! you?\u201d roared the giant; \u201ca little thing like you get me food! Ha,\nha, ha!\u201d and he thumped the table with his great fist.\n\nNow, as he did this, everything on the table jumped up with the shock,\nand so did Gillydrop, who had no time to spread his wings and prevent\nhimself falling; so when he fell he came down splash into the pool of\nblood. He gave a cry of terror when he fell in, and after crawling out\nwith some difficulty, he found his beautiful green clothes were all red,\njust as if he had been dipped in red ink.\n\nThe rude giant laughed heartily at the poor elf\u2019s plight, but to\nGillydrop it was no laughing matter, for there is nothing the faeries\ndislike so much as the colour red.\n\n\u201cOh dear, dear, dear!\u201d sighed Gillydrop, while the tears ran down his\nface; \u201cnow I\u2019ll never go back to Faeryland.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: THE RUDE GIANT LAUGHED HEARTILY AT THE POOR ELF\u2019S PLIGHT]\n\n\u201cWhy not?\u201d asked Dunderhead, who was still eating.\n\n\u201cBecause my clothes are red,\u201d replied the elf ruefully; \u201cno one who\nwears red clothes is allowed to live in Faeryland. Cannot I clean my\nclothes?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d answered the giant, taking a bit out of the loaf. \u201cYou are dyed\nred with my blood, and the only way to get your clothes green again is\nto wash them in my tears.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, let me do it at once!\u201d cried Gillydrop, jumping up and down with\ndelight. \u201cDo cry, Mr. Giant, please do.\u201d\n\n\u201cI can\u2019t cry when I\u2019m told to,\u201d growled Dunderhead; \u201cbut if you go to\nearth and bring me two nice fat children for supper, I\u2019ll weep tears of\njoy, and then you can wash in my tears and become a green beetle again.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut how am I to bring the children here?\u201d asked Gillydrop, who never\nthought of the poor children being eaten, but only how he could get his\nemerald suit once more.\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s your business,\u201d growled Dunderhead crossly, for you see he had\neaten all the loaf, and was still hungry. \u201cI\u2019m going to sleep, so if you\nwant to clean your clothes, bring me the children, and you can wash in\nthe tears of joy I shed.\u201d\n\nSo saying, the giant leaned back in his chair and fell fast asleep,\nsnoring so loudly that the whole room shook.\n\nPoor Gillydrop, in his red clothes, spread his red wings, and, alighting\non the beach of the Sea of Darkness, he wondered how he was to cross it,\nfor he knew he was too feeble to fly all the way.\n\n\u201cOh, I wish I hadn\u2019t been naughty!\u201d he said to himself. \u201cI\u2019ll never see\nmy dear Faeryland again.\u201d\n\nAnd he cried red tears, which is a most wonderful thing, even for a\nfaery to do. It was no use crying, however, for crying helps no one; so\nhe looked about for a boat to carry him across the Sea of Darkness, but\nno boat could he see.\n\nGillydrop was almost in despair, when suddenly the sun arose in the\neast, and a broad shaft of yellow light shot across the Sea of Darkness\nlike a golden bridge.\n\nOn seeing this, the Red Elf clapped his hands with glee, for, being a\nfaery, he could easily run along a sunbeam; so, without waiting a\nmoment, he jumped on to the broad golden path, and ran rapidly across\nthe Sea of Darkness, which heaved in black billows below.\n\n\n II.\n\n HOW THE ELF BROUGHT THE GIANT\u2019S SUPPER.\n\nAS the sun grew stronger, the beam shot farther and farther across the\nSea of Darkness, until it quite bridged it over, and you may be sure\nGillydrop ran as hard as ever he could, so as to reach earth quickly. It\nwas lucky he did make haste, for, just as he alighted on a green lawn\nnear a village, the sun hid himself behind a cloud, and of course the\nbeam vanished.\n\nHaving thus arrived, Gillydrop began to look about for two naughty\nchildren to take to the Giants\u2019 Country for Dunderhead\u2019s supper. He was\nvery tired, both with his journey across the Sea of Darkness, and with\nbeing up all day, which was just the same to him as staying up all night\nwould be to us. As he was anxious to get back to Faeryland, there was no\ntime to be lost, so, instead of going to sleep, he searched all through\nthe village for two naughty children.\n\nNow, in one of the pretty cottages there lived a poor widow, who had two\nchildren called Teddy and Tilly, of whom she was very fond, as they were\nall she had in the world to love. I am sorry to say, however, that Teddy\nand Tilly were not worthy of their mother\u2019s love, for they were very\nnaughty indeed, and never so happy as when engaged in some mischief.\nDame Alice, for that was the name of the poor widow, tried very hard to\nimprove them, but it was really a waste of time, for the harder she\ntried the worse they became. They tore their nice clean clothes, worried\nthe cat, destroyed the flowers, ate up everything they could lay their\nhands on, and altogether were a great trouble to their poor mother, who\noften wondered why her children were so much worse than any one else\u2019s.\nDame Alice, however, had still some hope that they would improve, for,\nhaving a few friends among the faeries, she had learned that some day\nboth Teddy and Tilly would receive a severe lesson, which would make\nthem the best and most obedient children in the world.\n\nThere was a wood, not far from the village, which was said to be\nenchanted, and Teddy and Tilly were told never to enter it, but this\ncommand only made them the more anxious to disobey, and they constantly\nwandered about the wood, never thinking of the faeries, nor of anything\nelse, except their own pleasure. On the day Gillydrop arrived, they had\nbeen in the wood all day, gathering nuts and chasing the squirrels. Now,\nas it was sundown, they were coming home to their supper, quarrelling\ndreadfully all the way, which was very naughty of them after spending a\npleasant day.\n\nGillydrop heard them calling each other names, so he peeped out from\nbehind the leaf of a tree, where he was hidden, and, seeing their cross\nfaces, he immediately guessed that they were two children who would do\ncapitally for Dunderhead\u2019s supper, so at once made up his mind how to\nact.\n\nIt was now night, and, as the faeries say, night is caused by the\noverflowing of the Sea of Darkness, which rises and rises when the sun\ngoes down, until it rolls all over the earth, and any one abroad during\nthe night is in danger of being lost in its black waves. At dawn,\nhowever, the sea subsides, and vanishes altogether when the sun appears;\nbut when he sets in the west, it rises once more and spreads over the\nearth.\n\nGillydrop had brought with him a withered leaf from the Giants\u2019 Country,\nwhich, being enchanted, would expand into a boat, and sail across the\nSea of Darkness to the Giants\u2019 Country, for, having come from there, it\nwas bound to return to the tree upon which it had grown.\n\nThe Red Elf took this leaf out of his pocket, and immediately it spread\nout into a great brown carpet, which he placed under a tree in the\ndarkest part, and then went away to entice the children on to it.\n\nTeddy and Tilly came through the wood, quarrelling in a noisy manner,\nand calling each other ugly names; not a bit afraid of the dark,\nalthough they certainly ought to have been.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019re eating all the nuts,\u201d bellowed Teddy.\n\n\u201cWell, I gathered them,\u201d shrieked Tilly.\n\n\u201cNo, you didn\u2019t; I got most,\u201d whimpered her brother crossly.\n\n\u201cOh, you story! You didn\u2019t,\u201d retorted Tilly.\n\nAnd then they called each other more ugly names, and fought and\nscratched until the whole wood resounded with their noise, and the birds\ntrembled in their nests with fear.\n\nSuddenly, in front of them, they saw a small red ball, glowing like a\nscarlet coal, and it kept dancing up and down like a restless\nwill-o\u2019-the-wisp.\n\n\u201cOh, Teddy,\u201d cried Tilly, \u201clook at that pretty ball!\u201d\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s mine!\u201d roared greedy Teddy, rushing forward. \u201cI\u2019ll have it.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou shan\u2019t!\u201d cried Tilly, running after him. \u201cI\u2019ll get it.\u201d\n\nBut the red ball\u2014which was none other than Gillydrop\u2014rolled and rolled\nin front of the children through the dark wood, and led them deeper and\ndeeper into the forest, until it bounded right on to a brown carpet\nlying under a great tree, where it lay glowing like a red-hot coal.\nTeddy and Tilly jumped on to the brown carpet with a scream of delight,\nthinking they would now seize the ball, when suddenly the sides of the\nbrown leaf curled up, and it lengthened out into a long boat. The\ndarkness under it grew thicker and thicker, the foliage of the tree\nabove vanished, and the two naughty children found themselves in a boat,\nrolling and tossing on the black waves, with a gloomy, starless sky\nabove them. Away at the end of the boat sat Gillydrop, who had now\nunrolled himself, and was guiding the magic skiff across the Sea of\nDarkness towards the Country of the Giants.\n\n\u201cOh, I want to go home!\u201d cried Tilly, now very frightened.\n\n\u201cAnd so do I!\u201d roared Teddy, sitting close to her.\n\nAs they said this, they both heard a mocking ripple of laughter, and saw\nthe Red Elf dancing with glee at the end of the boat.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019ll never go home again,\u201d he cried mockingly, \u201cbecause you have been\nnaughty, and must be punished.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll never be naughty again,\u201d sobbed Tilly.\n\n\u201cNo more will I,\u201d echoed Teddy; and they both wept bitterly.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s too late now,\u201d said Gillydrop, shaking his head. \u201cNaughty children\nalways get punished.\u201d\n\nHe might have said the same thing about himself; but then he was a\nfaery, and felt ashamed to tell two human beings that he had been as\nnaughty as themselves.\n\nTeddy and Tilly cried dreadfully as they thought of their poor mother\nwaiting for them at home, and of the nice supper of bread and milk which\nshe had prepared for them; but their tears were all of no avail, for the\nmagic boat sailed on and on, though how it moved without sails or oars\nthey could not tell.\n\nAt last they saw a faint silver light away in the distance, and a cool\nbreeze blew steadily against them. The light grew larger and larger\nuntil it spread everywhere, and they saw the shores of the Giants\u2019\nCountry, with Dunderhead\u2019s great castle hovering above them. The boat\nran right up on to the beach, and then, suddenly turning into a leaf,\ncontracted to a small size and flew away to another beech, but this time\nthe beech was a tree.\n\nThe Red Elf vanished as soon as the leaf, and Teddy and Tilly, finding\nthemselves alone in this dreary land, began to cry loudly. It would have\nbeen better for them if they had held their tongues, for Dunderhead,\nhearing two children crying, knew at once that the elf had brought them\nfor his supper, and came down to seize them before they could get away.\n\n\u201cAh! this is the supper my friend the elf has brought me,\u201d he roared,\npicking up the children. \u201cI\u2019m so pleased! Now I\u2019ll boil them.\u201d\n\nYou may be sure that Teddy and Tilly were in a dreadful fright on\nhearing this, as they did not want to be boiled; but, in spite of all\ntheir cries, Dunderhead took them up to the great hall of his castle,\nand set them down on the table.\n\nThey were so fat and juicy that the Giant cried tears of joy at the\nprospect of having a good supper, and as his tears gushed out in a great\ntorrent, Gillydrop, who had been waiting for this, plunged into the\ntorrent to get his clothes cleaned again. Much to his dismay, however,\nthe more he washed in the hot tears, the redder grew his clothes, until\nhe was just the colour of the scarlet bean blossom.\n\n\u201cYou told me a story,\u201d said Gillydrop to the giant when he saw how red\nhe was getting.\n\n\u201cI know I did,\u201d said Dunderhead, drying his eyes, for he had now wept\nenough, and was growing hungry; \u201cbut if I hadn\u2019t told you a story, I\nwouldn\u2019t have got any supper. You\u2019ll never be green again, so don\u2019t\ntrouble your head. I\u2019m going to get some wood to cook these nice fat\nchildren.\u201d\n\nOn hearing this, Teddy and Tilly roared like bulls, and Gillydrop roared\ntoo, for he was afraid he would never be able to go back to Faeryland in\nhis red clothes; but the giant only laughed at them, and went out to\nlight a fire under his big kettle.\n\nGillydrop was naturally very cross with the giant for having deceived\nhim, and determined to punish him for having done so. Bringing the two\nchildren to Dunderhead for his supper could not be the kindly deed he\nhad to do, or else he would have turned green again; so Gillydrop made\nup his mind to take Teddy and Tilly back to earth, and thus leave\nDunderhead without his supper. While he was thus making up his mind,\nseated at one end of the table, the two children, seated at the other\nend, were crying bitterly at the plight in which they now found\nthemselves, for it certainly is not a nice thing to be boiled for an\nogre\u2019s supper.\n\n\u201cPoor mother!\u201d wailed Tilly, weeping; \u201cshe\u2019ll miss us so much.\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t know if she will,\u201d replied Teddy dolefully; \u201cwe\u2019ve always been\nso naughty, I daresay she\u2019ll be glad we\u2019ve gone.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh no, she won\u2019t,\u201d said Tilly, nodding her head; \u201cshe loves us too much\nfor that; but if we could get back I\u2019d be so good.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd so would I,\u201d cried Teddy; and then they both wept again, while\nGillydrop, seeing their tears, wept also out of sheer sympathy.\n\n\u201cPerhaps the giant will only eat one of us,\u201d said Tilly after a pause;\n\u201cso while one of us is boiling, the other must run away and go back to\ncomfort mother.\u201d\n\n\u201cWho will be boiled?\u201d asked Teddy sadly. \u201cWill you, Tilly?\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t like being boiled,\u201d answered Tilly, with a shudder. \u201cI\u2019m sure\nit isn\u2019t nice.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, I don\u2019t like being boiled either,\u201d observed Teddy. \u201cSuppose we\ndraw lots who is to run away.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, that would be fair,\u201d said Tilly, drying her eyes; \u201cand the one who\nwins must go back to cheer mother.\u201d\n\nGillydrop was quite sorry now that he had brought them for Dunderhead\u2019s\nsupper, when he heard how they regretted their mother; so he made up his\nmind to save them.\n\n\u201cYou shall neither of you be boiled,\u201d he said, walking up to them across\nthe table, which was like a large plain. \u201cI will take you back to your\nmother.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut how?\u201d asked Teddy and Tilly, both together. \u201cWe cannot go back\nacross the sea alone.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh yes, you can,\u201d replied the Red Elf. \u201cI brought you here, and can\nsend you back; that is, if I only had a leaf.\u201d\n\n\u201cHere is one,\u201d cried Tilly eagerly, pulling a faded leaf out of her\npocket. \u201cI picked it up in the wood to-day, it had such pretty red and\nyellow colours.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, that will do for a boat,\u201d said Gillydrop joyfully.\n\n\u201cBut it\u2019s so small,\u201d objected Teddy.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll make it large enough,\u201d said the elf. \u201cYou\u2019ll see.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut how can we go on without sails or oars?\u201d said Tilly timidly.\n\n\u201cYou don\u2019t need any,\u201d rejoined Gillydrop, laughing; \u201cyou know every tree\nhas power to draw back its own leaves. The boat we came in was a leaf,\nand, as soon as it was launched on the air, it went straight back to the\ntree in the Country of the Giants upon which it had grown; and as this\nleaf comes from a tree on earth, it will go straight back to its tree.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen we can get home,\u201d cried Tilly, clapping her hands, \u201cfor the tree\nisn\u2019t far from mother\u2019s cottage.\u201d\n\n\u201cMind, you are never to be naughty again,\u201d said Gillydrop solemnly.\n\n\u201cOh, no, no!\u201d cried both children.\n\n\u201cAnd be very, very good to your mother.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, yes! We\u2019ll be very good.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen go down to the beach by the path,\u201d said Gillydrop, spreading his\nwings. \u201cI\u2019ll fly down and get the boat ready; be quick, or the giant\nwill return.\u201d\n\nThen he flew away through the open window, and Teddy scrambled down the\nsteep path, followed by Tilly, both of them in a great fright lest the\ngiant should catch sight of them and pop them into his big kettle. When\nthey reached the beach, they found Gillydrop had launched the leaf,\nwhich had now been transformed into a beautiful red and yellow coloured\nboat.\n\n\u201cGood-bye,\u201d said Gillydrop, as soon as they were comfortably seated in\nthe boat. \u201cI\u2019m sorry I brought you here, but it will do you no harm, as\nit will teach you to be good. Mind you don\u2019t quarrel in the boat\u2014if you\ndo, the leaf will vanish, and you\u2019ll sink for ever in the black waves.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, we\u2019ll be very, very good,\u201d promised both the children eagerly, and\nthen Gillydrop gave the boat a push, so that it moved rapidly away from\nthe land, leaving him seated on the beach, a lonely little red figure.\n\nTeddy and Tilly were rather afraid at finding themselves alone in the\ndarkness, but they kissed one another, and fell asleep, while the\nleaf-boat sailed rapidly over the Sea of Darkness towards its parent\ntree. When the children awoke, they found themselves lying on the ground\nunder the tree, and there above them was their red and yellow boat,\nhanging, a red and yellow leaf, on a high bough.\n\n\u201cNow we\u2019ll go home,\u201d cried Tilly, jumping up; \u201cnow we\u2019ll go home to\nmother.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd be very good,\u201d said Teddy, also rising.\n\n\u201cYes; very, very good,\u201d replied Tilly. And then, taking one another\u2019s\nhands, they ran home to their cottage through the dark forest.\n\nDame Alice, who thought they had lost themselves in the wood, was very\nglad to see them, and, after she had kissed them, gave them a good\nsupper of bread and milk, which they enjoyed very much, for you see they\nwere very hungry with the long journey.\n\nThey told Dame Alice all their adventures, and she was very glad they\nhad gone to the Giants\u2019 Country, for she guessed, like the wise mother\nshe was, that this was the lesson the faeries had foretold.\n\nEver afterwards, Teddy and Tilly were good children; there never were\ntwo such good children, because they thought, if they were not good,\nthey would be taken back to the Giants\u2019 Country and boiled for an ogre\u2019s\nsupper. But after a time they liked to do good actions because they\nfound it pleasant, and Dame Alice was so pleased with their behaviour\nthat she made a rhyme about them, which soon passed into a proverb:\n\n \u201cThe magic power of a faery\n Cures a child when quite contrary.\u201d\n\n\n III.\n\n HOW THE RED ELF RETURNED TO FAERYLAND.\n\nWHEN Gillydrop saw the magic boat disappear into the darkness of the\nsea, he thought that, now he had done one kindly deed, his clothes would\nchange from red to green, and he would be able to return to his dear\nFaeryland. But nothing of the sort occurred, and the poor elf began to\ncry again, thinking he was lost for ever, but this time his tears were\nnot red, which was a good sign, although he did not know it.\n\nVery soon he heard Dunderhead roaring for the loss of his supper, so,\ndrying his eyes, he flew back again to the hall of the castle, to see\nwhat the giant was doing. He found a great fire was lighted, over which\nwas suspended a great kettle filled with water, which was now boiling\nhot. Dunderhead was searching everywhere for the children, and when he\nsaw Gillydrop he shook his great fist at him.\n\n\u201cWhere\u2019s my supper, you red rag?\u201d he roared fiercely.\n\n\u201cYour supper has gone back to earth,\u201d replied Gillydrop angrily, for no\none likes to be called a red rag. \u201cYou told me a story, so I thought I\u2019d\npunish you.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, did you?\u201d bellowed Dunderhead, in a rage. \u201cThen I\u2019ll punish you\nalso for spoiling my supper.\u201d And before Gillydrop could fly away, he\ncaught him in his great hand and popped him into the boiling water.\n\nOh, it was terribly hot, and Gillydrop thought it was all over with him;\nbut, being a Faery, he could not be killed, as the foolish giant might\nhave known. He sank down, down, right to the bottom of the great kettle,\nand then arose once more to the top. As soon as he found his head above\nwater, he sprang out of the kettle and flew away high above the head of\nDunderhead, who could only shake his fist at him.\n\nTo his delight and surprise, Gillydrop found his clothes had all changed\nfrom red to green, and instead of being dressed in crimson, his suit was\nnow of a beautiful emerald colour. He was so delighted that he flew down\non to the floor of the hall, and began to dance and sing, while the\ngiant joined in as he tried to catch him; so that they had quite a duet.\n\n _Gillydrop._ Now I\u2019m gay instead of sad,\n For I\u2019m good instead of bad:\n Dreadful lessons I have had.\n _Giant._ I will catch and beat you!\n\n _Gillydrop._ Tho\u2019 a naughty elf I\u2019ve been,\n Now my clothes are nice and clean:\n I dance once more a faery green.\n _Giant._ I will catch and eat you!\n\nBut you see he could not do that, because Gillydrop was too quick for\nhim, and flew round the hall, laughing at Dunderhead, who roared with\nanger. Then the elf flew out on to the terrace which overlooked the Sea\nof Darkness, followed by the giant. Gillydrop flew down on to the beach\nto escape the ogre, and Dunderhead tried to follow; but, as he could not\nfly, he fell right into the Sea of Darkness. Dear me! what a terrible\nsplash he made! The waves arose as high as the castle walls, but then\nthey settled down again over Dunderhead, who was suffocated in the black\nbillows. He was the very last of the giants, and now his bones lie white\nand gleaming in the depths of the Sea of Darkness, where nobody will\never find them\u2014nor do I think any one would trouble to look for them.\n\nAs for Gillydrop, now that Dunderhead was dead, he flew away across the\ndreary plain towards Faeryland, and soon arrived at the borders of the\nsullen grey sea which still rolled under the pale light of the moon.\nGillydrop was not a bit afraid now, because his clothes were green once\nmore, and he had performed one kindly deed; so he sat down on the\nseashore and sang this song:\n\n \u201cWhen from Faeryland I fled,\n All my nice clothes turned to red;\n Now in emerald suit I stand\u2014\n Take me back to Faeryland.\u201d\n\nAnd as he sang the grey ocean faded away, and in its place he saw the\ngreen trees of the faery forest, waving their branches in the silver\nmoonlight. Only a bright sparkling stream now flowed between Gillydrop\nand Faeryland; so, spreading his silver and blue wings, he flew across\nthe water, singing gaily:\n\n \u201cThanks, dear Oberon. At last\n All my naughtiness is past;\n Home I come without a stain,\n And will never roam again.\u201d\n\nSo at last Gillydrop got back to Faeryland after all his trials, and\never afterwards was one of the most contented elves ever known. You may\nbe sure he never wanted to see the Country of the Giants again, and\nwhatever King Oberon said he did willingly, because he knew it must be\nright.\n\nHe was quite a hero among the faeries, and had the honour of telling all\nhis adventures to King Oberon himself, which he did so nicely that the\nKing gave him a title, and ever afterwards he was called \u201cSir Gillydrop\nthe Fearless.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n SHADOWLAND\n\n\nIT was Christmas Eve, and the snow, falling heavily over a great city,\nwas trying to hide with its beautiful white robe all the black, ugly\nhouses and the narrow, muddy streets. The gas lamps stood up proudly,\neach on its tall post, and cast their yellow light on the crowds of\npeople hurrying along with their arms filled with many lovely presents\nfor good children.\n\n\u201cThey are poor things,\u201d said the gas lamps scornfully. \u201cIf we did not\nshed our light upon them, they would be lost in the streets.\u201d\n\n\u201cAh, but the people you despise made you,\u201d cried the church bells, which\nwere calling the people to prayer. \u201cThey made you\u2014they made you, and\ngave you your beautiful yellow crowns.\u201d\n\nBut the street lamps said nothing, because they could not deny what the\nchurch bells said, and instead of acknowledging that they owed all their\nbeauty to the people they despised, remained obstinately silent.\n\nNear one of these lamp-posts, at the end of a street, stood a\nragged boy, who shivered dreadfully in his old clothes, and stamped\nabout to keep himself warm. The boy\u2019s name was Tom, and he was a\ncrossing-sweeper, as could be seen by his well-worn broom. He was very\ncold and very hungry, for he had not earned a copper all day, and the\ngaily-dressed army of people swept selfishly past him, thinking only of\ntheir Christmas dinners and warm homes.\n\nThe snowflakes fell from the leaden-coloured sky like great white\nangels, to tell the earth that Christ would be born again on that night,\nbut Tom did not have any such ideas, as he was quite ignorant of angels,\nand even of the birth of the child-Christ. He only looked upon the snow\nas a cold and cruel thing, which made him shiver with pain, and was a\ngreat trouble to brush away from his crossing.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nAnd overhead the mellow bells clashed out their glad tidings in the\nbitterly chill air, while below, in the warm, well-lighted churches, the\norgan rolled out its hymns of praise, and the worshippers said to one\nanother, \u201cChrist is born again.\u201d\n\nBut poor Tom!\n\nAh, how cold and hungry he was, standing in the bright glare of the\nlamp, with his rags drawn closely round him for protection against the\nfalling snow. The throng of people grew thinner and thinner, the\ngaily-decorated shops put up their shutters, the lights died out in the\npainted windows of the churches, the bells were silent, and only poor\nTom remained in the deserted, lonely streets, with the falling\nsnowflakes changing him to a white statue.\n\nHe was thinking about going to his garret, when a gentleman, wrapped in\nfurs, passed along quickly, and just as he came near Tom, dropped his\npurse, but, not perceiving his loss, walked on rapidly through the\ndriving snow. Tom\u2019s first idea was to pick the purse up and restore it\nto its owner, whom Tom knew very well by sight, for he was a poet, who\ndaily passed by Tom\u2019s crossing. Then Tom paused for a moment as he\nthought of all the beautiful things the money in that purse would buy;\nwhile he hesitated, the poet disappeared in the darkness of the night,\nso Tom was left alone with the purse at his feet.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nThere it lay, a black object on the pure white snow, and as Tom picked\nit up, he felt that it was filled with money. Oh, how many things of use\nto him could that money buy\u2014bread and meat and a cup of warm\ncoffee\u2014which would do him good. Tom slipped it into his pocket, and\nthought he would buy something to eat; but just at that moment he seemed\nto hear a whisper in the air,\u2014\n\n[Illustration: AS TOM PICKED IT UP HE FELT THAT IT WAS FILLED WITH\nMONEY]\n\n\u201cThou shalt not steal.\u201d\n\nWith a start of terror Tom looked around, thinking a policeman had\nspoken, and would take him off to prison for stealing the purse, but no\npoliceman was in sight. He saw nothing but the whirling flakes and his\nragged shadow cast blackly on the white snow by the light of the lamp.\nIt could not have been the shadow speaking, as Tom thought, for he knew\nthat shadows never speak; but, ah! he did not know the many wonderful\nthings there are in this wonderful world of ours.\n\nWhoever had made the remark touched Tom\u2019s heart, for he remembered how\nhis poor mother had blessed him when she died, and told him to be an\nhonest boy. It certainly would not be honest to steal money out of the\npurse, but Tom was so cold and hungry that he half thought he would do\nso. He took out the purse again and looked at its contents\u2014four shining\nsovereigns and some silver. Then he put it back in his pocket, and\ntrudged home with his broom under his arm.\n\nHome!\u2014ah, what a dreary, cheerless home it was!\u2014nothing but a garret on\nthe top of an old house\u2014a bare garret, with no table or chairs, but only\nthe sacks upon which Tom slept at night.\n\nHe closed the door, and then lighted a little bit of candle he had\npicked up in the streets with one of the matches from a box given him by\na ragged match-seller.\n\nTom placed the candle on the floor, and, kneeling down, opened the purse\nto look at the money once more. Oh, how tempted he was to take one of\nthose shillings and buy some food and wood\u2014it would be a merry Christmas\nfor him then! Other people were enjoying their Christmas, and why should\nhe not do the same? The great poet who had dropped the purse had plenty\nof money, and would never miss this small sum; so Tom, desperate with\nhunger, took a shilling, and, hiding the purse under his bed, was about\nto blow out the candle before creeping down-stairs to buy some food,\nwhen he heard a soft voice whisper,\u2014\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t go, Tom.\u201d\n\n[Illustration]\n\nHe turned round, and there was the shadow cast by the reflection of the\ncandle-light on the wall. It was a very black shadow, much blacker than\nTom had ever seen before, and as he looked it grew blacker and blacker\non the wall, then seemed to grow out of it until it left the wall\naltogether, and stood by itself in the centre of the floor, a waving,\nblack shadow of a ragged boy. Curiously enough, however, Tom could not\nsee its face, but only the outline of its whole figure, yet it stood\nthere shaking with every flicker of the candle, and Tom could feel that\nits eyes were looking right into him.\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t go, Tom,\u201d said the shadow, in a voice so like his own that he\nstarted. \u201cIf you go, you will be lost for ever.\u201d\n\n\u201cLost?\u201d said Tom, with a laugh; \u201cwhy, I couldn\u2019t lose myself. I know\nevery street in the city.\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t mean really lost,\u201d replied the shadow; \u201cbut it will be your\nfirst step on the downward path.\u201d\n\n\u201cWho are you?\u201d asked Tom, rather afraid of the shadow, but keeping a\nbold front.\n\n\u201cI am your shadow,\u201d it replied, sighing. \u201cI follow you wherever you go,\nbut only appear when there is light about you. If you had not lighted\nthat candle I would not have appeared, nor could I have spoken.\u201d\n\n\u201cWas it you who spoke at the lamp-post?\u201d said Tom doubtfully.\n\n\u201cYes, it was I,\u201d answered the shadow. \u201cI wanted to save you then, as I\ndo now, from committing a crime. Sit down, Tom, and let us talk.\u201d\n\nTom sat down, and the shadow sat down also. Then for the first time he\ncaught a passing glimpse of its face, just like his own, only the eyes\nwere sad\u2014oh, so sad and mournful!\n\n\u201cThou shalt not steal,\u201d said the shadow solemnly.\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t want to steal,\u201d replied Tom sulkily; \u201cbut I\u2019m cold and hungry.\nThis shilling would buy me fire and food. I don\u2019t call that stealing.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, but it is stealing,\u201d answered the shadow, wringing its hands; \u201cand\nyou know it is. If you steal you will be put in prison, and then I shall\nhave to go also. Think of that, Tom, think of that.\u201d\n\nTom did not say a word, but sat on the floor looking at the bright\nshilling in his hand which could procure him so many comforts. The\nshadow saw how eager he was to take the shilling, and, with a sigh,\nbegan to talk again.\n\n\u201cThink of your mother, Tom,\u201d it said softly. \u201cShe was the wife of a\ngentleman\u2014your father; but he lost all his money, and when he died she\ncould get no one to help her. Do you remember how she died herself in\nthis very place, and how she implored you with her last breath to be an\nhonest boy?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, I remember,\u201d said Tom huskily; \u201cbut she did not know how cold and\nhungry I would be.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes she did\u2014she did,\u201d urged the shadow. \u201cShe also had felt cold and\nhunger, but she never complained. She never stole, and now she has her\nreward, because she is a bright angel.\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t know what an angel is,\u201d said Tom crossly; \u201cbut if she\u2019s all\nright, why doesn\u2019t she help me?\u201d\n\n\u201cShe does help you, Tom,\u201d said the shadow; \u201cand it was because she saw\nyou were tempted to steal to-night that she asked me to help you. She\ncannot speak as I do, because she is not a shadow.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, help me if you\u2019re able,\u201d said Tom defiantly; \u201cbut I don\u2019t believe\nyou can.\u201d\n\nThe candle on the floor had burnt very low, and as Tom said the last\nwords his shadow bent nearer and nearer, until he again saw those\nmournful eyes, which sent a shiver through his whole body. It stretched\nout its arms, and Tom felt them close round him like soft, clinging\nmist; the candle flared up for a moment, and then went out, leaving Tom\nin darkness altogether. But he did not feel a bit afraid, for the soft\narms of the shadow were round him, and he felt that it was carrying him\nthrough the air.\n\nThey journeyed for miles and miles, but Tom knew not which direction\nthey were taking until a soft light seemed to spread all around, and Tom\nfelt that he was in the midst of a large crowd, although he saw no one\nnear him. Then he felt his bare feet touch some soft, cloudy ground,\nthat felt like a sponge; the shadowy arms unclasped themselves, and he\nheard a voice, soft as the whispering of winds in summer, sigh,\u2014\n\n\u201cThis is the Kingdom of Shadows.\u201d\n\nThen Tom\u2019s eyes became accustomed to the subdued twilight, and he saw on\nevery side a number of shadows hurrying hither and thither. He seemed to\nbe in the centre of a wide plain, over which hung a pale white mist,\nthrough which glimmered the soft light. The shadows were all gliding\nabout this plain; some thin, some fat, some tall, others short; they all\nappeared to have business to do, and each appeared to be intent only on\nhis own concerns. Tom\u2019s own shadow kept close to him, and whispered\nconstantly in his ear of strange doings.\n\n\u201cThese are the shadows of the past and of the future,\u201d it sighed; \u201call\nthe shadows of human beings and their doings are here; see, there is a\nfuneral.\u201d\n\nAnd a funeral it was which came gliding over the smooth, white plain;\nthe great black hearse, the dark horses with nodding plumes, and then a\nlong train of mourners; all this came out of the mist at one end, glided\nslowly over the plain, and vanished in the veil of mist at the other.\nThen a bridal procession appeared; afterwards a great army, clashing\ncymbals and blowing trumpets from whence no sound of music proceeded;\nthen the coronation triumph of a king, and later on a confused multitude\nof men, women, and children, all hurrying onward with eager rapidity.\nBut they all came out of the mist and went into the mist, only appearing\non the white plain for a few minutes, like the shadows of a magic\nlantern.\n\n\u201cThe stage of the world,\u201d whispered Tom\u2019s shadow. \u201cBirth, death, and\nmarriage, triumphs and festivities, joys and sorrows, all pass from mist\nto mist, and none know whence they come or whither they go.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut what has this got to do with me?\u201d asked Tom, who was feeling rather\nbewildered.\n\n\u201cYou are a man,\u201d said his shadow reproachfully, \u201cand must take an\ninterest in all that men do; but come, and I will show you what will\nhappen if you steal the purse.\u201d\n\nThey glided over the plain towards the distant curtain of mist, but how\nthey travelled over the immense distance so rapidly Tom did not know,\nfor in a moment it seemed to him that he had come many miles, and found\nhimself suddenly before a grey, misty veil, with his own shadow beside\nhim, and many other shadows around.\n\nAs he stood there, a whisper like the murmur of the sea on a pebbly\nbeach sounded in his ears, and he seemed to guess, rather than hear,\nwhat the shadows said.\n\n\u201cNow he will see\u2014now he will see\u2014he must choose the good or the bad.\nWhich will he choose?\u2014which will he choose?\u201d\n\nThen the grey veil stirred, as if shaken by a gentle wind, and, blowing\naside, disclosed what seemed to Tom to be a great sheet of ice of\ndazzling whiteness set up on end. As he looked, however, shadows began\nto appear on the milky surface which acted a kind of play and then\nvanished, and in the play he was always the central figure.\n\nFirst he saw himself pick up the purse in the snowy street; then hide it\nin his bed. He saw his ragged shadow glide down-stairs from the garret\nto buy food; the shopman looking at him, then at the shilling; then a\npoliceman arresting him and finding the purse hidden in the bed.\nAfterwards he saw himself in prison; then released, and prowling about\nthe streets. Years seemed to pass as he looked, and his shadow became\ntaller and stouter, but always wearing a ragged dress. After many years\nhe seemed to see his shadow breaking into a house\u2014meet the owner of the\nhouse, and kill him. Afterwards the shadow of himself stood in the dock;\nthen crouched in prison; and, last of all, he appeared standing under a\nblack gallows with a rope round his neck. At length all the shadows\nvanished, and the surface of the ice mirror again became stainless,\nwhilst a voice whispered in his ear, \u201cAll this will happen if you steal\nthe purse.\u201d\n\nThen the shadows again came on to the mirror and acted another play; but\nthis time it was much more pleasant.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nTom saw his shadow representative take the purse back to the poet who\nhad lost it. Then he saw himself in a school, learning all kinds of\nwonderful things; and the years rolled by, as they had done in the other\nplay, unfolding the shadows of a beautiful life. He saw himself become a\ngreat and famous poet, who wrote beautiful books to make people wise and\ngood. Then he saw himself in church, with a woman\u2019s shadow by his\n\nside, and he knew, in some mysterious way, that it was the daughter of\nthe poet who had lost the purse. And as the happy years rolled on he saw\nhimself rich and honourable, and the end of all was a magnificent\nfuneral, taking his body to be buried in the great church wherein many\nfamous men were laid. Then the shadows vanished, and the mirror became\npure again, while over it the grey mists fell like a soft veil, and once\nmore the voice of his shadow said,\u2014\n\n\u201cAll this will happen if you remain honest.\u201d\n\nThen the crowd of shadows around Tom looked at him with their mournful\neyes, and a whispering question ran through the fantastic throng,\u2014\n\n\u201cWhich will he choose?\u2014which will he choose?\u201d\n\n\u201cI will choose the honest life,\u201d cried Tom loudly. \u201cYes, I will give\nback the purse to the poet.\u201d\n\nAt this the shadows around seemed to rejoice, and he could see beautiful\nfaces smiling at him from amid the crowd. The shadow multitude broke in\na wild dance of joy, keeping time to some aerial music which Tom could\nnot hear; and his own shadow, with happiness shining out of its mournful\neyes, threw its arms round him once more. A dark veil seemed to fall\nover him, and the great white plain, the glimmering mists, and the\nrestless shadows, vanished together.\n\nWhen Tom opened his eyes again, he found himself lying on the floor of\nhis garret, cold and hungry still, but with his heart filled with a\ngreat joy, for the shilling was still clutched in his hand, and he knew\nhe had not stolen the money. He took the purse from under the sacks,\nreplaced the shilling, and then went out, in the bright sunshine of the\nChristmas morning, to give back the lost purse to its owner.\n\nOverhead the bells rang out merrily, as if they were rejoicing at Tom\u2019s\nvictory over himself, and a beautiful lady, who was on her way to\nchurch, gave Tom some money to get food. He went and bought a loaf and a\ncup of coffee, then, thankful for his good fortune, he trudged off to\nthe poet\u2019s house.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nThe great poet received him very kindly, and, after thanking Tom for\nreturning his purse, asked him why he had done so instead of keeping it?\nWhereupon Tom told the poet all about the shadow, which interested the\npoet very much. He also had been to Shadowland and seen strange things,\nwhich he told to the world in wonderful verse.\n\n\u201cThis boy is a genius,\u201d he said to his wife, \u201cand I must help him.\u201d\n\nThen it all happened as the magic mirror had foretold, for Tom was put\nto school by the kind poet, and became a very clever man. He also wrote\npoems, which the world received with joy; and when he became a famous\nman, the kind poet gave him his own daughter in marriage, and the bells\nwhich had rang the birth of the child-Christ when Tom was a poor ragged\nboy, now rang out joyously in honour of his marriage.\n\n\u201cHe has conquered,\u201d they clashed out in the warm, balmy air; \u201che is the\nvictor, and now he will be happy.\u201d\n\nAnd he was happy, very very happy, and felt deeply thankful to the\nshadow who had shown him the way to be happy. His own shadow never left\nhim, but it never spoke to him again, though when Tom felt tempted to do\nwrong, he heard a whisper advising him to do right. Some people said\nthat this was the voice of conscience, but Tom knew it was the voice of\nhis dear shadow, who still watched over him.\n\nAnd one day he took his wife to the garret where he had lived when a\npoor boy, and told her how he had been to Shadowland, and learned that\nto be honest and noble was the only true way to happiness. His wife\nlaughed, and said Tom had been dreaming; but Tom shook his head, and\nsaid that it was no dream, but a great truth.\n\nNow, who do you think was right\u2014Tom or his wife?\n\n\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n THE WATER-WITCH\n\n\n I.\n\n FIRE AND WATER.\n\nONCE upon a time, long long years ago, there was a shepherd called\nDuldy, who dwelt in the forests which clothed the base of the great\nmountain of Kel. This mountain was in the centre of an immense plain,\nwatered by many rivers, and dotted over with many cities, for the\nkingdom of Metella was a very rich place indeed, so rich that the\ninhabitants looked upon gold in the same way as we look upon tin or\niron, as quite a common thing. The plain was very fertile by reason of\nthe great rivers which flowed through it like silver threads, and all\nthese rivers took their rise in the mountain of Kel, a mighty snow-clad\npeak which shot up, white and shining, to the blue sky from amidst the\nbright green of its encircling forests.\n\nThere were old stories handed down from father to son, which said that\nthe mountain was once a volcano, which, breathing nothing but fire, sent\ngreat streams of red-hot lava down to the fertile plain, to wither and\nblight all the beautiful gardens and rich corn-fields. But the fires in\nthe breast of the mountain had long since died out, and for many\ncenturies the black, rugged summit had been covered with snow, while\ncountless streams, caused by the melting of the glaciers, fell down its\nrocky sides, and, flowing through the cool, green pine forests, spread\nthemselves over the thirsty plain, so that it bloomed like a beautiful\ngarden.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nDuldy lived in these scented pine forests, and was supposed to be the\nson of an old couple called Dull and Day, from whence by joining both\nnames he got his own Duldy; but he was really a lost child whom old\nFather Dull had found, seventeen years before, on the banks of the Foam,\none of the bright sparkling streams which flowed from the snowy heights\nabove. Dull took the child home to his wife Day, who was overcome with\njoy, for she ardently desired to have a little boy of her own, but never\nhad the happiness to become a mother. This good couple took great care\nof Duldy, and he grew up to be a handsome youth, with golden hair, like\nthe tint of ripe corn, and blue eyes, the colour of the sky. Any one who\nsaw Duldy would have said he was a prince, so noble and handsome did he\nlook, but, alas! he was only a poor shepherd lad, for, in spite of all\ninquiries, Dull and Day never found out who were his parents.\n\nNow, at eighteen years of age, Duldy was the bravest youth in the\nforest, for, while protecting his flock of sheep, as they browsed on the\nthin grass of the high lands, he had killed many wolves who would have\ncarried off the lambs. All the forest maidens were in love with Duldy,\nfor he looked noble and grand in his simple suit of green cloth; and,\nmoreover, it was well known that Dull and Day would certainly leave\ntheir flock of sheep to their adopted son, so Duldy would one day be a\nrich man\u2014that is, rich in the eyes of the simple country people around.\nBut the handsome shepherd never troubled his head about the maidens who\nsighed so ardently at his feet, for the fact is, he had one day seen the\nbeautiful Princess Elsa when she was hunting in the forest, and had\nfallen deeply in love with her.\n\nShe was really charming, the Princess Elsa, tall and stately, with dark\nhair and dark eyes; it was no wonder that Duldy loved her, but how\nhopeless was that love! She was the daughter of King Arago, who ruled\nover the kingdom of Metella, and he was a poor unknown shepherd lad.\nStill all these things happened in the days of the fairies, and when\nfairies take a fancy to any mortal, that mortal can gain anything,\nhowever lowly he may be, from the hand of a princess to the throne of a\nkingdom.\n\nBut did a fairy love Duldy? Ah, that is a difficult question to answer!\nHe was not quite sure, and yet he was almost certain that he was loved\nby the Water-witch Foamina.\n\nShe was the fairy of the stream called Foam, whose sparkling waters fell\nfrom a great height in a white veil down to a deep pool surrounded by\ndelicate green ferns. From this pool the stream gushed out between two\ngreat stones, and babbled down the side of the mountain, glided round\ngreat moss-covered rocks rippled under the gnarled roots of ancient\ntrees, and swirled into sombre pools beneath the cool shadow of its\ngrass-fringed banks. After leaving the forest, it flowed broad and\nplacid between rich fields of yellow corn, through old-fashioned\nvillages, under the slender bridges which leaped from bank to bank, and\nat last mingled with the mighty river encircling the island upon which\nstood the city of Aurea, the capital of King Arago, wherein dwelt the\nbeautiful Princess Elsa.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nDull and Day had both told Duldy how he had been found on the banks of\nthe stream lying on a white bed of soft foam, and he was very fond of\nsitting by the brook, listening to its babbling talk, and thinking that\nit might tell him something about his unknown parents. One day, while he\nwas thus sitting dreaming about the lovely princess, and wondering if he\nwould ever see her again, he heard a light laugh, and thought he saw an\narch face peering out at him from behind the falling foam of the\nwaterfall. As he looked steadily, the face vanished, but he caught a\nglimpse of two white arms playing with the sparkling water, and again\nsaw the smiling face. Then the stream seemed to stop babbling and\nfretting among its stones, and form itself into words, which grew louder\nand clearer as he listened. It was not the murmur of the waterfall, nor\nthe sighing of the wind, nor the babbling of the stream, but a voice,\nmuch more beautiful than all three, which sounded from behind the veil\nof foam, and sang this song:\n\n \u201cI am the daughter\n Of earth and water,\n Born of the sun and the snow so white.\n I fall in foam\n From my mountain home,\n Downward flash in a torrent bright.\n My streamlet rushes\n And sparkling gushes,\n Cold as ice from the virgin snow;\n And see these swirls,\n My foamy curls\n Ringlets white in the pool below.\n Now see me dancing,\n Chattering, glancing;\n Over and under the grey stones grim\n I slide, I creep,\n I bound, I leap,\n On and on thro\u2019 the forest dim;\n Then, broadly flowing,\n Where corn is growing,\n Yellow fields \u2019neath the azure sky,\n Thro\u2019 cities old\n My waters cold\n By turret and tower go gliding by.\n I hear the laughing\n Of revellers quaffing\n Wine, red wine, in the splendid night;\n At morning grey\n I pass away,\n Golden now in the gold dawn\u2019s light.\n With ceaseless motion\n I flow to ocean,\n Encircle first the King\u2019s chief town.\n From dark to light,\n From dawn till night,\n Ocean calls, and I hurry down.\u201d\n\nA burst of gay laughter ended the song, a great veil of white spray was\nflung over Duldy as he sat on the bank, and the stream resumed its\ninarticulate babbling. Duldy went home dreaming of the lovely face he\nhad seen, but, feeling something cold clasping his wrist, he looked down\nand saw for a moment that it was encircled by a wreath of foam. The\nwhite bubbles vanished, but he still felt the cold clasp, and knew,\nthough he could not see it, that the water bracelet was still on his\nwrist. As he stood perplexed at this wonder, the murmur of the waterfall\nsounding like soft thunder through the green woods shaped itself once\nmore into words:\n\n \u201c\u2019Tis I whom thou hearest.\n I stole thee, my dearest.\n I loved thee and kissed when thou wast a child.\n I love thee for ever,\n No Fate can us sever:\n The foam-ring will bind thee to me undefiled.\u201d\n\nAnd that is how Duldy knew he was loved by the Water-witch.\n\nHe came again to the side of the stream and heard Foamina sing the same\nsong, and when he was going home, he once more heard her voice murmuring\nthrough the woods. This time he felt rather angry, because he did not\nwant to be bound to the water-faery, as he was in love with the Princess\nElsa. However, being a very polite youth, he said nothing, but went home\nlaughing.\n\nNext time he heard her singing, he could not help telling her the truth,\nand cried out,\u2014\n\n\u201cI do not love you, but the Princess Elsa.\u201d\n\nInstantly the still waters of the pool foamed furiously and arose up\nlike a great fountain, in the centre of which he saw the water-faery\nlooking angrily at him. Terrified at the sight, he hastened away, and\ndid not go to the stream again, but on his wrist he still felt the clasp\nof the foam-ring, which nothing, not even hot water, could wash away.\n\nShortly afterwards, a rumour crept through the kingdom that the Princess\nElsa had fallen into a deep sleep, out of which no one could rouse her,\nand the King made a proclamation that whosoever should succeed in waking\nher would receive her hand in marriage, and be king after him.\n\nWhen Duldy heard this, he was anxious to go to the city and try to wake\nthe beautiful Princess, but Dull and Day tried to make him give up the\nidea.\n\n\u201cYou don\u2019t know how to wake her,\u201d said Dull; \u201cit must be a magic sleep\ninto which the Princess has fallen.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd no one can wake a princess out of a magic sleep except a faery,\u201d\nobserved Day sagaciously.\n\n\u201cAt any rate I\u2019ll try,\u201d replied Duldy resolutely, \u201cI have heard that a\nprincess who slept for a hundred years was awakened by a kiss\u2014perhaps if\nI kiss the Princess Elsa, she also will awake.\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t think so,\u201d said Dull, shaking his head.\n\n\u201cAnd the King would never let a poor shepherd kiss the Princess, I\u2019m\ncertain,\u201d said Day wisely.\n\n\u201cPerhaps I\u2019m not a poor shepherd,\u201d cried Duldy cheerfully. \u201cI may be the\nson of a king for all you know; but I\u2019ll go to the city and try to waken\nthe Princess with a kiss: the King would not mind a kiss if I wakened\nher.\u201d\n\nDull and Day shook their heads, for they were simple people, who did not\nknow anything about courts, and were afraid Duldy, whom they loved\nfondly, would get into trouble.\n\nHowever, Duldy was determined to try, for one does not get a chance of\nbecoming a king every day, so, packing up a few things in a bundle, and,\ntaking his trusty oaken staff, he set out in the cool of the evening to\nwalk through the forest on his way to the city of Aurea.\n\nIt was a beautiful summer\u2019s night, with a gentle wind blowing, and the\nsilver moon shining down on the snowy peak of the mountain, cast strange\nshadows in the old forest. Duldy did not mind the dark,\u2014for it was\nrather dark,\u2014but marched bravely on, singing aloud to keep up his\nspirits. Very soon he found himself walking beside a brawling stream\nthat sometimes ran directly across his path, and as it was deep and\nturbulent, he was unable to cross it, but had to walk along the bank to\nsee if he could find a shallow place. He never came to any, however, for\nthe stream still appeared deep and dangerous, and wound in and out and\nround about in the most serpent-like manner, babbling all the time to\nitself in a laughing way, as if it was delighted at keeping Duldy from\npursuing his journey.\n\nDuldy grew very angry, and tried to leap across, but when he was\npreparing for a spring, the stream broadened out into a wide river, and\nseeing that, however far he jumped, he would never land on the opposite\nbank, he wisely abandoned the attempt.\n\nThen it suddenly struck him that the stream must be Foamina, who did not\nwant him to leave the forest, so he determined to find out if it was\nreally her, for he could not believe that it was only a common stream.\nIn order to invoke her to appear, he stood still, and, lifting up his\nvoice, sang these words:\n\n \u201c\u2019Tis I whom thou hearest;\n If thou art my dearest,\n And loved me and kissed me when I was a child,\n I\u2019ll leave thee for ever,\n Return to thee never,\n If thou wilt appear not, in woman shape mild.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: HE SAW THE FORM OF THE WATER-FAERY GLIMMERING GHOSTLY\nUNDER THE THIN WHITE VEIL]\n\nNo sooner had he sung these words than a great jet of foam spouted up\nfrom the stream, scattering him all over with cool spray, and in the\ncentre he saw the form of the water-faery glimmering ghostly under the\nthin white veil. She tossed her arms aloft, sending a shower of\nwater-drops to sparkle in the moon, shining like jewels, and sang in\nanswer:\n\n \u201cRiver king\u2019s daughter,\n Here thou hast brought her,\n From the cool water;\n She smiles on thee, dear.\n Throw but a kiss to me,\n It will be bliss to me,\n If you do this to me,\n A maid I\u2019ll appear.\u201d\n\nOn hearing this, Duldy kissed his hand towards the tall white column of\nfoam, whereupon it vanished, and in its place stood a slender, beautiful\nwoman in an azure robe girdled with white water-lilies, the same flowers\nalso being entwined in her golden hair, which fell in great waves down\nto the ground.\n\nOn seeing this beautiful faery with the profusion of golden tresses,\nDuldy could only stare, whereupon she came forward with a smile and took\nhis hand. Her touch was bitterly cold, and he shivered in the chilly\natmosphere which she seemed to spread around her.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\u201cAre you Foamina?\u201d asked Duldy cautiously.\n\n\u201cYes, I am the Spirit of the River,\u201d she replied, nodding her golden\nhead. \u201cWhy do you wish to see me?\u201d\n\n\u201cBecause I want to leave the forest,\u201d said Duldy quickly.\n\n\u201cI know you do,\u201d cried Foamina, with a laugh which sounded like the\nripple of water; \u201cbut you\u2019ll never do so; I\u2019ll foam round you like a\nbrook, and you\u2019ll never be able to jump across.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut why will you do so?\u201d asked the shepherd.\n\n\u201cBecause I love you\u2014I love you!\u201d she murmured, bending towards him; \u201cand\nI won\u2019t let you go to the Princess.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut I want to waken the Princess with a kiss.\u201d\n\n\u201cI know you do,\u201d said Foamina again; \u201cbut you\u2019ll never kiss her\u2014even if\nyou did it would be no good. I plunged her into that magic sleep by my\nenchantments, and she\u2019ll never awaken until you promise to marry me.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, I\u2019ll never do that!\u201d exclaimed Duldy.\n\n\u201cVery well; then she\u2019ll sleep on for ever,\u201d said the Water-witch,\nlaughing cruelly, while the air round her grew bitterly cold, and the\nyellow locks of her hair and the blue folds of her robe seemed to\nundulate over her lovely form like waves of water.\n\n\u201cThen, as you won\u2019t let me leave the forest, I suppose I must stay\nhere,\u201d said Duldy in despair.\n\n\u201cYes, unless you promise to marry me,\u201d replied Foamina tenderly.\n\n\u201cIn that case I\u2019ll remain here for ever,\u201d cried Duldy angrily; \u201cand as\nit\u2019s so cold, I\u2019ll light a fire.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, don\u2019t do that,\u201d said the Water-witch, shivering; \u201cI don\u2019t like\nfire,\u2014a cruel, hot thing which burns me up.\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t care,\u201d retorted Duldy, beginning to collect sticks for his\nfire; \u201cI\u2019m not going to perish with cold for your sake, especially when\nI don\u2019t love you.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll put your fire out,\u201d cried Foamina in a rage.\n\n\u201cOh no, you won\u2019t,\u201d replied Duldy coolly; \u201cI won\u2019t let you. Besides, I\ncan talk to you much more comfortably when I\u2019m warm.\u201d\n\nFoamina stood sulkily on one side as Duldy lighted his fire; for, in\nspite of her threat, she was so afraid of the flames that she dared not\napproach them. Very soon the shepherd had a large fire blazing away\nmerrily, and the red glare lighted up the sombre branches of the trees\nand the beautiful face of Foamina, who retired to some little distance\nwhen the fire began to burn, singing a strange, sweet song:\u2014\n\n \u201cFire red,\n Thee I dread;\n Water blue,\n I love you;\n Fire\u2014water\n Maketh hotter;\n Water\u2014fire\n Makes expire.\u201d\n\n[Illustration]\n\nNow, while she was singing, and Duldy was warming himself at the bright\nflames, a small brown lizard came creeping out of a bunch of ferns and\nran across the open space between Foamina and the shepherd.\n\nAs soon as the witch saw it, she flung herself on to it with a wild cry,\nand dissolved into a wide pool of seething foam, apparently trying to\ndrown the lizard. But Duldy, who was kind to all animals, put his hand\ninto the foam and picked up the lizard, which was nearly dead amid the\nangry water. He put it on the ground near the fire, but the white foam\nrolled forward right to the edge of the flames, so the poor lizard had\nno choice but to be drowned or burned, and Duldy put out his hand once\nmore to save it from the cruel witch. To his dismay, however, the\nlizard, finding itself hard pressed by the foaming waves of the pool,\nran into the fire and hid itself among the burning embers; upon which\nthe water retreated with an angry cry, and spouted up into a snow-white\ncolumn, out of which stepped Foamina in a fearful rage.\n\n\u201cWhy did you not let me kill him?\u201d she cried, throwing some cold spray\nover Duldy. \u201cI wanted to drown him.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe poor lizard was not hurting you,\u201d replied Duldy, laughing.\n\n\u201cIt was not a lizard!\u201d shrieked Foamina, stamping her foot. \u201cIt was my\ngreat enemy Salamander, and you saved him, stupid.\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t think so,\u201d said Duldy, pointing to the fire. \u201cSalamander ran in\nthere, so he must be burned to a cinder by this time.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, he isn\u2019t!\u201d cried the Water-witch, coming nearer; \u201cthat is where he\nlives! but I\u2019ll put the fire out\u2014I\u2019ll put the fire out and drown him!\u201d\n\nShe dissolved once more into a wave of foam, and, rolling forward, flung\na great sheet of water over the fire. Duldy expected to see the fire go\nblack out, but instead of that it shot up into a tall column of red\nflame, and he hastily arose, afraid of being burned by the fierce heat.\nThe wave of foam recoiled with an angry hiss, and, changing into a\nturbulent brook, flowed away through the forest with fretful murmurings,\nleaving not a trace behind on the smooth green lawn.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m glad she\u2019s gone,\u201d said Duldy, with a sigh of relief. \u201cNow, perhaps,\nI\u2019ll be able to go on to the Princess.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou shall,\u201d said a clear voice behind him; \u201cand I shall help you.\u201d\n\nDuldy turned, and saw the tall column of flame still glowing fiercely\nred. Afterwards it changed to a beautiful rose colour, and out of it\nthere stepped a handsome youth of his own height and age, dressed in a\nshort red tunic, with golden sandals, and a flashing band of jewels\nbound round his head. His face was as bright as the sun, and under his\nskin Duldy could see a rosy flushing, as though fire was burning inside\nhim, while under his feet were the dull red embers and flickering\nflames.\n\n\u201cI am Salamander,\u201d said the youth, with a smile. \u201cYou saved me as a\nlizard from my greatest enemy, the Fairy of Water, and now I am going to\nreward you.\u201d\n\n\u201cBy waking the Princess?\u201d asked Duldy eagerly.\n\n\u201cNo; you must do that,\u201d said Salamander, laughing, \u201cbut it will take\nsomething more than a kiss to wake her. Listen. Foamina is in love with\nyou, and when you said you loved the Princess Elsa, she revenged herself\nby plunging her into a magic sleep. She did this by sending to King\nArago a golden fountain, and when it was set up in the palace, the water\nwhich spouted out of it sent the Princess Elsa to sleep by spreading the\nodour of poppies through the rooms. This odour affects no one but the\nPrincess, so, in order to release her from the spell, you must make a\nfire of pine cones and sprinkle on the flames some of this powder, then\nyou will see what happens.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, thank you!\u201d cried Duldy, taking a small gold box from Salamander.\n\u201cAnd will I be King?\u201d\n\n\u201cIf you wake the Princess, you certainly will be King after Arago dies,\u201d\nsaid Salamander; \u201cbut you have a stronger claim to the throne than by\nmarrying the Princess. Do what I tell you, and you\u2019ll find out the\nsecret of your birth.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll go at once,\u201d said Duly joyfully, picking up his bundle and stick.\n\n\u201cOne word,\u201d observed Salamander, as Duldy turned to go. \u201cOn your way to\nAurea, do not let any water of stream, river, pool, or brook touch you,\nor Foamina will get you into her power again.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019m afraid I am in her power now,\u201d said Duldy mournfully. \u201cI\u2019ve got the\nfoam-ring on my wrist; cannot you take it off?\u201d\n\n\u201cI cannot,\u201d said Salamander, shaking his head; \u201cbut the Princess will be\nable to do that. Foamina will be very angry when you marry the King\u2019s\ndaughter, and will try to do you mischief. If she does, call on me, and\nI\u2019ll help you.\u201d\n\nHe stepped into the rosy-coloured column again, which immediately\nchanged to a fiery red, and sank lower and lower until it vanished in\nthe ground, when Duldy saw to his surprise that his fire had also\nvanished, the grass being as smooth and green as if no fire had been\nlighted at all.\n\nDelighted at having things made so smooth for him, Duldy went on through\nthe forest on his way to Aurea, but, remembering Salamander\u2019s command,\nhe was careful to let no water touch him. Many streams lay across his\npath, but he either jumped over them or clambered over by the trunks of\ntrees, and when he got down to the plain he crossed all the rivers by\nthe bridges. Looking back, he saw the great white peak of the mountain\nflashing like a jewel in the blue sky, and the green forests encircling\nits base like emerald waves, but he espied nothing of Foamina, so\ntrudged merrily along on his way to release the Princess Elsa from her\nenchantment.\n\n\n II.\n\n THE FOUNTAIN OF JEWELS.\n\nAFTER travelling for some days, Duldy at last arrived, footsore and\nweary, at the gate of Aurea. It was the entrance to a long stone bridge\nwhich crossed the river, encircling the city, and at the farther end was\nanother gate which opened into the principal street. Duldy entered under\nthe wonderfully carved archway, and looked open-mouthed at the smart\nsoldiers on guard, whose red uniforms were all bedizened with gold lace,\nand who wore helmets of the same metal. To be sure, the good people of\nAurea did not think much of gold, as they had such quantities of it, but\nDuldy, having been brought up very simply in his forest home, was quite\namazed at the glare and glitter around him.\n\nAll the houses were built of white marble, with latticed windows of\nyellow gold, and in the centre of the principal square, which was at the\nend of the great street, a tall slender column of marble wreathed round\nwith bands of gold soared aloft in the clear air. The floor of the\nsquare was also of white marble, with four fountains, one at each\ncorner, which threw up jets of sparkling water in shining profusion.\nIndeed, there seemed to be a great deal of water about this marvellous\ncity; it ran down the sides of every street, it rushed out of the mouths\nof lions heads of white marble fastened to the walls, and in the centre\nof some of the squares were great still pools, encircled by marble\nrims, flashing like mirrors in the sunlight. Flowers! flowers\neverywhere!\u2014wreathed round the houses, growing by the fountains, and all\nthe people who passed by Duldy wore chaplets on their heads. White\npigeons were flashing through the still air, and the whole city was\nperfumed with the scent of myriad blossoms. Oh, really it was a\nwonderful city, and Duldy, looking shabby and dusty in his simple dress,\nseemed rather out of place among all this magnificence. His face and\nform, however, were so noble that an old white-haired man who was\npassing turned back to speak to him.\n\n\u201cFair youth,\u201d he said in a thin, piping voice, \u201cwhy do you look so tired\nand dusty? have you not yet tasted of the hospitality of our city?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d replied Duldy quietly; \u201cI have been too much astonished at the\nbeauties of this place to ask yet for hospitality. I have come to cure\nthe Princess.\u201d\n\nThe old man shook his head sadly.\n\n\u201cAh, many have come to cure the Princess, but none have yet succeeded;\nfor not doing so they lost their heads; so do not try, my son, or maybe\nyou will fail, and your comely golden head will be cut off.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, I\u2019m not afraid,\u201d said Duldy, laughing. \u201cI know all about this magic\nsleep, and will certainly succeed in awakening her, although the others\nhave failed. But tell me, why does the King promise his throne to the\nperson who cures Princess Elsa; has he no son?\u201d\n\n\u201cNone,\u201d answered the old man, whose name was Onaro. \u201cThe Princess Elsa\nis his only child. You are a stranger here, I take it, so perhaps do not\nknow how the King Arago came to the throne.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, I do not.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen I will tell you,\u201d said Onaro; \u201cit will show you how merit\nsometimes succeeds. The last King had the misfortune to be loved by the\nWater-witch Foamina, who dwells on the summit of the great mountain of\nKel. He refused her love, and in revenge she drowned his queen and only\nson when sailing in a boat. The King was so overcome with grief at the\nloss of his wife and child that he died, and as there was no one of the\nblood royal to succeed him, the citizens elected the prime minister,\nArago, to be king, and their choice was very wise; but as he is not of\nroyal blood, none of the neighbouring princes will marry his daughter,\nso King Arago has promised her hand and his throne to the lucky youth\nwho awakens her from this long sleep.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut are you sure the young prince was drowned?\u201d asked Duldy, who\nremembered how he had been found on the banks of the river Foam.\n\n\u201cSome say he was, others that he was not,\u201d said Onaro, shaking his head.\n\u201cI do not know; but it is fabled that the enchantress Foamina carried\nhim off with her to her mountain home, but I know not if this be true.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow long ago was the Prince lost?\u201d asked the shepherd breathlessly.\n\n\u201cJust seventeen years ago,\u201d replied Onaro; \u201cand he was a year old then,\nso if he had lived he would now be eighteen years of age.\u201d\n\n\u201cMy age,\u201d thought Duldy, with great exultation. \u201cPerhaps, after all, I\nam the Prince stolen by Foamina;\u201d but he was too wise to say this aloud,\nlest the King should hear of it, and hang him for high treason.\n\n\u201cAs you look tired, you had better come to my house,\u201d said Onaro in a\nkind voice.\n\n\u201cNo, thank you,\u201d replied Duldy, \u201cI\u2019m in too great a hurry; but please\ntell me how to reach the palace of the King.\u201d\n\n\u201cGo straight on, and you will find it at the end of the street,\u201d said\nOnaro; \u201cbut if you are wise you will not go.\u201d\n\nHe spoke these last words to the empty air, for Duldy, as soon as he\nheard where the palace was to be found, darted up the street like a\nswallow, so Onaro turned away sighing, thinking that Duldy would soon\nlose his head, like the rest who had come to cure the Princess.\n\nBut Duldy had no idea of losing his head, for it was a very wise head,\nand useful to him, seeing he could never get another; besides, feeling\nsure that Salamander would not deceive him, he determined to follow out\nhis instructions about the fire of pine cones and the magic powder.\n\nHe soon reached the palace, which was built of dazzling white marble on\nan elevation at the end of a square, and was approached by a splendid\nstaircase with statues of beautiful women on either side. Duldy looked\nat the glittering building, with its great towers and pinnacles of gold,\nits innumerable slender pillars, its golden lattices, and the great dome\nswelling against the blue sky like an enormous white soap bubble. All\nthis matchless building blazed in the hot sunshine with such splendour\nthat his foot faltered as he placed it on the lowest step, and thought\nwhat a poor unknown lad he was to dare such a quest. But the remembrance\nof the Princess, and the half belief he had in his own royal birth, gave\nhim courage, and he raced lightly up the steps, never halting until he\nstood at the top, looking down on the wonderful city of white marble and\ngold spread out before him.\n\nThen he turned and went into a large hall, through the mighty doors,\nwhich were of sandalwood, all curiously diapered with gold.\n\n\u201cWhat do you want?\u201d asked a soldier who was on guard at the door.\n\n\u201cTo see the King and cure the Princess,\u201d said Duldy boldly.\n\nThe soldier burst out laughing, and, calling to his comrade, whispered\nin his ear, whereupon they both looked pityingly at Duldy.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019ll never succeed,\u201d they said.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll try, anyhow,\u201d replied Duldy, taking off his cap to a\ngorgeously-dressed officer who approached. The soldiers told the officer\nwhat Duldy wanted, the officer told the groom of the chambers, the groom\nof the chambers told the prime minister, and the prime minister told the\nKing; whereupon Duldy was ordered before the monarch, who sat upon his\nthrone in the great Hall of Audience.\n\nA splendid hall it was, all of white marble, with a roof of fretted\ngold, and rich curtains of pale blue velvet hanging between the slender\npillars. The throne of solid gold flashed like a jewel, and Duldy\u2019s feet\nsank in the soft velvet carpets as he stood before the King, a\nroyal-looking man with a crown of silver, for in Aurea silver was\nthought to be much more precious than gold. But Duldy did not look upon\nthe King, as his attention was fixed upon a great golden fountain in the\ncentre of the hall, out of which spouted the most beautiful coloured\nwater, which first ascended and fell into the topmost basin like liquid\nsilver, then fell from the first to the second basin a sheet of gold,\nfrom the second to the third a beautiful crimson tint, from the third to\nthe fourth a bright blue, and from the fourth to the lowest and last a\npale green colour. All these different coloured waters glittered like\ngems in the sunlight which came through the wide windows of the hall, so\nthat the fountain was called the Fountain of Jewels, and Duldy guessed\nit to be the one which Foamina had sent to the King.\n\nMeanwhile Arago was rather angry at Duldy staring at the fountain\ninstead of himself, for no king likes to be neglected, so he called out\nto him in a loud voice,\u2014\n\n\u201cWell, my lad, what do you want?\u201d\n\n\u201cTo cure the Princess, sire,\u201d said Duldy, quickly turning to the throne.\n\n\u201cYou know the penalty if you fail?\u201d said Arago, looking at him steadily.\n\n\u201cYes, I lose my head.\u201d\n\n\u201cAre you not afraid?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, not a bit; but if I succeed, of course I marry the Princess Elsa,\nand succeed your Majesty on the throne of Metella,\u201d said Duldy frankly.\n\n\u201cWe have passed our royal word that such will be the case,\u201d replied the\nKing, smiling. \u201cNow, begin at once and awaken the Princess.\u201d\n\n\u201cFirst of all, I must have the Princess brought into this hall,\u201d\ndeclared the shepherd.\n\n\u201cImpossible!\u201d said Arago, frowning; \u201cmy daughter is asleep on a couch in\nher bedroom.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen she must be brought here, couch and all,\u201d said Duldy boldly,\ndetermined to have his own way; \u201cI can only break the spell here.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow so?\u201d asked the King.\n\n\u201cBecause the Princess Elsa\u2019s sleep is caused by that fountain,\u201d said\nDuldy.\n\n\u201cWhat! the Fountain of Jewels!\u201d cried the King. \u201cThat\u2019s nonsense; it was\nsent to me by the Queen of Faeryland, and she would not send me anything\nhurtful.\u201d\n\n\u201cI daresay _she_ would not,\u201d said Duldy, with emphasis; \u201cbut she did not\nsend that fountain. It came from Foamina.\u201d\n\n\u201cFrom Foamina!\u201d cried every one, with a start of terror, for the\nwater-faery was much dreaded in Aurea.\n\n\u201cThis is very serious,\u201d said the King gravely. \u201cYoung man, you must\nprove the truth of what you say, and if such is the case, I shall have\nthe fountain removed.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen bring in the Princess,\u201d said Duldy, and, kneeling down, he opened\nhis bundle, which was full of pine cones he had picked up in the forest.\n\u201cI must have your Majesty\u2019s permission to light a fire with these on the\nmarble floor.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said Arago, nodding his head; \u201conly take care you don\u2019t\nspoil the pavement.\u201d\n\nDuldy laughed, and while some of the courtiers went out to bring in the\nPrincess, he removed a portion of the carpet, then piling up the pine\ncones in a little heap, he set them on fire. While he was doing this,\nthe waters of the fountain kept changing to all sorts of colours, and at\nlast every tint faded into a bright yellow, which looked like liquid\ngold, and breathed a strong perfume, nearly sending Duldy to sleep.\nHowever, he pinched himself to keep awake, and attended to his fire,\nwhich was now glowing red-hot, while the King and the courtiers all\nlooked on with great curiosity, being much astonished at the change of\nthe Fountain of Jewels.\n\nThe Princess was brought in, sleeping on her couch of purple, with a\ncloth of gold coverlet thrown over her, and she looked truly beautiful,\nwith her black hair falling in disorder over the couch, and her\nrose-tinted cheek supported by one hand, while the other was pressed on\nher faintly beating heart. Duldy fell more in love with her than ever,\nbut, suppressing all outward signs of his passion, he ordered her couch\nto be placed midway between the fire and the throne.\n\nThe pine cones were now a small heap of red-hot embers, so Duldy took\nout the golden box given to him by Salamander, and began to sing, while\nhe sprinkled some of the powder from the box upon the fire,\u2014\n\n \u201cO my lovely Princess sleeping,\n By the spells of evil chained,\n At thy side I\u2019m vigil keeping,\n Longing, hoping, smiling, weeping,\n While the day hath slowly waned.\n\n In thy sleep are visions gleaming,\n Faery visions from above,\n Yet tho\u2019 lovely be thy dreaming,\n All these visions are but seeming,\n Wake once more to life and love.\n\n Lovely Princess, I have found thee\n Sleeping like a night-closed flower,\n Of my heart I queen have crowned thee,\n So tho\u2019 evil spells have bound thee,\n Laugh to scorn all magic power.\u201d\n\nDuldy now emptied all the powder on the fire, and a thick violet mist\narose, which, trailing along the floor like a sinuous serpent, writhed\nacross to the fountain and commenced to coil around it. Coil after coil\nit curled around, till it reached the topmost basin, so that the whole\nfountain could not be seen, but only the slender jet of water which shot\nout of the violet mist like the yellow horn of a trumpet lily. Duldy,\nwaving his arms towards the fountain, began to sing again,\u2014\n\n \u201cI have found her\u2014long I\u2019ve sought her,\n To my heart this maid I take.\n Cease thy spells, O river-daughter,\n Vanish, fountain\u2014vanish, water,\n Let my Princess fair awake.\u201d\n\nAt this the yellow jet shot up as high as the fretted ceiling of the\nhall, and then sank down till it vanished in the violet mist, which\nbegan to whirl round and round, growing smaller and smaller, sinking at\nevery whirl till it vanished altogether, and with it the fountain,\nleaving nothing but the bare white gleaming marble floor. But the\nPrincess still slept on, although Duldy could see a faint flutter of her\neyelids, which showed she was awaking, so, bending forward, he kissed\nher red lips three times, and sang once more,\u2014\n\n \u201cNow the end of all things this is,\n Thou art free from magic snare.\n Life for thee hath many blisses,\n Words of love and endless kisses.\n Ope thine eyes, O maiden fair.\u201d\n\nAt this the beautiful Princess opened her eyes, and looked long and\nsteadily at Duldy, then, rising to her feet, she smiled, and flung her\nwhite arms round his neck.\n\n\u201cIt is the face of my dreams,\u201d she sighed. \u201cOh, my love, I have waited\nfor thee long years!\u201d\n\nSo the spell was broken, for the Princess had awakened, to the delight\nof King Arago, who descended from his throne and joined her hand to that\nof Duldy.\n\n\u201cI will keep my word,\u201d he said gaily. \u201cYou have released not only the\nPrincess, but all of us, from the power of Foamina, so you will be\nmarried at once, and to-night I\u2019ll give a great ball in honour of you\nboth.\u201d\n\nOh, how everybody cheered, and the courtiers ran hither and thither,\ntelling the good news to one another. The city was in a great state of\nexcitement, and all the poor people were given plenty of food to eat.\nDuldy led his Princess to her room, and then retired in order to dress\nhimself in his wedding clothes, while the people cheered in the city,\nthe joy bells rang out, and even Foamina in her mountain solitude heard\nthe cry, \u201cLong live Prince Duldy!\u201d\n\n\n III.\n\n THE SECRET OF DULDY\u2019S BIRTH.\n\nYOU may be sure Foamina was very angry when she heard the rejoicings in\nthe city of Aurea, for by her magic power she knew that in spite of all\nher enchantments Duldy was going to marry the Princess. She was sitting\non a couch of snow high up on the mountain of Kel, and the moon was\nshining down on her as she looked far across the plain to the\nilluminated city, where Duldy was being married to Elsa. As she thought\nof this, Foamina arose quickly, stamping her foot with rage, so that a\ngreat mass of snow came thundering down the side of the mountain and\ncrashed through the green trees.\n\n\u201cI won\u2019t let him be happy!\u201d cried Foamina in a rage, \u201che still has the\nfoam bracelet on his wrist, so I\u2019ll part him from his Princess yet, in\nspite of Salamander and his threats.\u201d\n\nSo she flung herself off the snow bed and poured down the valley in a\ntorrent of angry foam. First she went to the faery of one stream, and\nthen to the faery of another\u2014making them promise that they would roar\nlike torrents down the mountain, through the plain, and make the great\nriver round the rock upon which Aurea was built rise higher and higher\ntill it flooded the whole city. They all promised gladly, for they were\nvery much afraid of offending Foamina, who was a very malignant faery,\nand could do them all harm.\n\nThen the Water-witch flowed away through the plain to the great river,\nand, rising up in the principal fountain of the city, she spoke to all\nthe streams and fountains of the city, in order to make them pour out as\nmuch water as they could to drown the city, and this they promised to\ndo, so Foamina was now quite satisfied she would be revenged upon Duldy\nand Salamander for destroying the Fountain of Jewels and awaking the\nPrincess Elsa.\n\nAt the palace all was festivity and rejoicing, and the King was giving a\ngreat ball in honour of the marriage; for Duldy and the Princess were\nnow married, and sat on two golden thrones, looking wonderfully handsome\nand happy. Below them on the marble floor all the lords and ladies were\ndancing the most graceful dances in the world, and the musicians placed\nup in a high gallery sang and played the most delightful music, while\ntables covered with nice tarts and cakes and other beautiful things ran\ndown on each side of the hall.\n\nBut notwithstanding that Duldy had married the Princess, and was going\nto be king when Arago died, he felt quite unhappy, as the foam bracelet\nstill clasped his wrist.\n\n\u201cWhat is the matter, Prince?\u201d asked Elsa, putting her beautiful white\narms round his neck; \u201cyou look so sad.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019m afraid of Foamina,\u201d said Duldy, showing Elsa his wrist. \u201cLook at\nthe foam bracelet chaining my wrist; I cannot get it off. Look, you can\nsee it quite plainly.\u201d\n\nAnd indeed they could, a slender ring of white foam which clasped his\nwrist so tightly that Duldy felt as though it were the hand of the\nenchantress grasping him, to drag him away from his lovely bride to the\ndepths of her cold pool.\n\n\u201cIs it cold?\u201d asked Elsa.\n\n\u201cYes, very cold,\u201d replied Duldy disconsolately. \u201cI wish I could take it\noff.\u201d\n\n\u201cI think I can do that,\u201d said the Princess, laughing. \u201cIf it\u2019s cold, it\nwill soon melt away under my warm kisses;\u201d and so saying, she bent down\nand kissed his wrist three times with her red lips. Much to Duldy\u2019s\nsurprise, at the first kiss the foam bracelet seemed to grow loose, at\nthe second it fell off his wrist and lay on the floor like a white ring,\nand at the third it vanished with a loud noise.\n\nDuldy was overjoyed that he was now free from the power of the\nenchantress, and led the Princess out on to the balcony which overlooked\nthe river. It was a beautiful night, and Duldy saw the great white peak\nof Kel shining against the dark blue sky, and the heaving waters of the\nriver at his feet. Just as he kissed the lips of his Princess, a\nconfused noise sounded from the city below. The river, lashing itself\ninto angry waves, began to rise, and as Duldy and the Princess, full of\ndismay, retreated to the hall, a crowd of people rushed in and stopped\nthe dancing.\n\n\u201cSire! sire!\u201d they called out to the King, \u201cthe river is rising round\nthe city, and all the fountains are spouting foam! We are lost! we are\nlost!\u201d\n\nEverything was in confusion, people rushing here and there shrieking and\ncrying, while the lights of the city died out, and the cruel, dark\nwaters kept on rising, until every one thought the whole city would sink\nbeneath the flood.\n\nDuldy knew it was the work of Foamina, and his mind was quite satisfied\non that point when a great white wave of foam rolled into the hall over\nthe balcony. On this the Water-witch was riding, singing loudly,\u2014\n\n \u201cGive me my lover,\n King\u2019s daughter, king\u2019s daughter,\n Or I will cover\n Your city with water.\u201d\n\nThe Princess shrieked and hid her face on Duldy\u2019s shoulder, while Arago\nand all the people around looked at the witch in dismay. Suddenly Duldy\nrecollected how Salamander had promised to help him, so he called out,\u2014\n\n \u201cSalamander,\n O, withstand her!\n She has brought her\n Cruel water.\n Drive from land her,\n Salamander!\u201d\n\nThe witch laughed loudly, and the wave rolled on, amid the lamentations\nsounding from the city below, when suddenly, in the place where the\nFountain of Jewels had been, a tall flame shot up, and out of it flashed\nSalamander, glowing like a beautiful crimson star.\n\n\u201cFoamina, beware!\u201d he cried, shaking a torch which he held in his hand;\n\u201cor I will burn up your springs, scorch your forests, and crush you for\never.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, you won\u2019t,\u201d said Foamina, flinging her white arms aloft. \u201cThis\nshepherd is mine\u2014mine! and you can do nothing.\u201d\n\n\u201cCan\u2019t I?\u201d cried Salamander, waving his torch. \u201cBehold!\u201d\n\nThere was a great roar, like the report of a thousand cannons, and every\none looked through the open window with a cry of alarm.\n\nFar away, from the snowy peak of Kel shot a tall column of red flame,\nwith a black cloud above it spreading over the midnight sky, and vividly\nbright streams of burning lava began to run down the white snow like\nveins of fire.\n\n\u201cOh, my springs, my springs!\u201d shrieked Foamina wildly; \u201cthey will all be\nburned up, and I\u2019ll die\u2014I can\u2019t put that fire out.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, you cannot,\u201d said Salamander sternly; \u201cnor will I till you give up\nall claim to Duldy.\u201d\n\n\u201cI do! I do!\u201d shrieked the Water-witch, listening with terror to the\nroar of the fire mountain.\n\n\u201cAnd tell Duldy who he really is?\u201d said Salamander relentlessly.\n\n\u201cYes! yes!\u201d cried Foamina, who was now getting thinner and thinner as\nthe hot lava scorched her springs in the distant mountain. \u201cOnly stop\nthat cruel, cruel fire!\u201d\n\n\u201cWho am I?\u201d asked Duldy. \u201cQuick! tell me, and Salamander will stop the\nfire.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are the son of the old King,\u201d cried Foamina wildly. \u201cI drowned your\nmother and carried you off. I surrender all claim to you now, only stop\nthe fire\u2014stop the fire!\u201d\n\n\u201cYou will never do cruel things again?\u201d said Salamander.\n\n\u201cNever!\u2014never!\u201d said the Water-witch, who was now writhing on the floor.\n\n\u201cThen make the waters leave the city,\u201d cried Duldy.\n\nThe Water-witch flew to the window and muttered some words, whereupon\nthe river sank down to its usual level, all the fountains stopped\npouring out jets of foam, and in a short time the city was as dry and\nclean as if no waters had been there at all.\n\n\u201cNow go!\u201d cried Salamander, and stretched out his torch towards the\nmountain. Immediately the column of fire sank back again, the smoke\nvanished and nothing could be seen but the snow-white peak, the dark\nblue sky, and the serene moon. As soon as Foamina saw this, she gave a\ncry of joy, and, flinging herself in a foaming torrent from the window,\nvanished in the river, and was never seen again.\n\nThen Salamander turned to Duldy and Arago, who stood near, delighted\nwith the defeat of the Water-witch.\n\n\u201cYou heard what Foamina said,\u201d he observed to Duldy; \u201cyou are the son of\nthe old king, and ought to reign now.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd so he shall,\u201d cried Arago, taking off his beautiful silver crown\nand placing it on Duldy\u2019s head. \u201cI will give up the throne to Duldy and\nmy daughter, and become prime minister once more. Hail, King Duldy!\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, he must not be called Duldy,\u201d said Salamander, smiling, \u201cbut by his\nfather\u2019s name. So, Hail, King Sama!\u201d\n\nThen all present, including Arago, kneeled down before Duldy, who\nascended the throne with his silver crown, and his beautiful Queen Elsa\nby his side.\n\n\u201cBe happy,\u201d cried Salamander; \u201cyou have a kind heart, and that always\nbrings happiness.\u201d\n\nWhereupon he vanished, and was never more seen again, nor did he allow\nthe mountain of Kel to breathe fire any more. So King Sama and Queen\nElsa ruled over the land of Metella, and were very, very happy, and were\nguided by the advice of Arago, who once more became prime minister.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nDuldy brought Dull and Day from the forest, and gave them a beautiful\npalace to live in, but they did not like the city life, and went back\nagain to their cottage, where they died after many years.\n\nSo Duldy became king after all, but while his people hailed him as King\nSama, his beautiful wife called him nothing but Duldy, the shepherd lad\nwho had released her from the enchantment of the Water-witch.\n\n\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n MOON FANCIES\n\n\nTHERE was once a girl called Lurina, who dwelt with her parents in a\ncottage on the edge of a great forest, which was said to be enchanted.\nShe was an only child, and her parents, whose names were Panus and Cora,\nwere very fond of her, although she certainly gave them a great deal of\ntrouble. Not that she was naughty in any way, for no one could have been\nbetter or more obedient; but she was generally very dull and sleepy all\nthe day, and only woke up at night-time, when she liked to wander\noutside in the moonlight, instead of going to bed. This habit led her\nparents to think she had faery blood in her veins, and, although Panus\nwas a dull, stupid man, he nevertheless remembered how very peculiar his\nold grandmother had been in her actions.\n\nAnother curious thing was that Lurina had been born just at full moon,\nwhich is the time when all the faeries hold their great monthly\nfestival, and Cora remembered hearing them singing a birth-song about\nlittle Lurina, who lay by her side. So there was no doubt but that the\nfaery blood which flowed in the veins of the old grandmother had missed\na generation, and once more came out in Lurina. Panus and Cora therefore\nlet her do just as she liked, which was the best thing they could do, as\nthey had been told by a Wise Woman who lived near them.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nLurina was a most beautiful girl, with golden hair, a delicate white\nskin, and dark, dark eyes, which had a somewhat mournful look in their\ndepths. When she arrived at the age of eighteen, a young woodman called\nBerl fell in love with her, and, after some hesitation, Lurina promised\nto become his wife, provided he let her do exactly as she pleased, and\ndid not stop her night wanderings.\n\n\u201cYou can go into the forest whenever you like,\u201d said Berl, kissing her;\n\u201cbut why do you not come when the sun is bright, instead of the feeble\nmoonlight?\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t like the sun,\u201d said Lurina, pouting, \u201cit makes everything so\nhot and disagreeable; but the moonlight is so soft and beautiful that I\nlove it. Besides, you don\u2019t know what strange fancies come to me when\nthe moon is shining.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat kind of fancies?\u201d asked Berl, who was a somewhat dull youth.\n\n\u201cOh, all sorts of beautiful things,\u201d replied Lurina dreamily; \u201clovely\nlittle men and women dressed in green, who dance lightly on the emerald\nturf, and strange, sweet songs which sound like rushing water and the\nwhispering of leaves. I dream about them when I\u2019m in the wood, but\nnowhere else.\u201d\n\nBerl was now convinced that Lurina had faery blood in her veins, and\nattended the festivals of the faeries, which she called moon fancies;\nbut, being a very cautious man, he said nothing to Lurina; nevertheless,\nbefore he got married he consulted the Wise Woman.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nShe was really a very wonderful old woman, with snow-white hair and a\nform nearly bent double with age. She listened to Berl\u2019s story about\nLurina\u2019s moon fancies, and then spoke in a harsh, determined voice.\n\n\u201cYour future wife has dealings with the faeries,\u201d she said, looking at\nBerl from under her bushy white eyebrows; \u201cbut what she sees at night in\nthe forest are real truths, and not fancies as she thinks. My advice to\nyou is not to marry her, lest evil befall you.\u201d\n\nBut Berl was too much in love with the beautiful Lurina to take this\nadvice, so he said nothing, but asked Panus and Cora to let him marry\ntheir daughter at once, which they were very pleased to do, for he was\nquite a rich man among the woodmen and, moreover, very good-natured.\n\nThe wedding-day arrived at last, and Lurina was married to Berl by the\nvillage pastor. Those who thought she had faery blood in her veins said\nshe would never be able to enter the church; but, much to their\nsurprise, nothing unusual occurred at the ceremony, so they began to\nthink Lurina was only a dull, stupid girl after all. This was a mistake,\nhowever, as you will soon hear.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nBerl and Lurina took up their abode in a pretty cottage under the shade\nof a great oak, and lived very happily for a long time. Lurina was still\ndreamy and quiet all the day, but as Berl was generally at work in the\nwood, he did not notice it much. At night-time, however, she still\nwandered into the forest, especially when the moon was very bright, and\nthis habit began to annoy Berl very much, but as he had given his word\nnot to interfere with Lurina, he said nothing.\n\nOne night, however, when the moon was full, and the whole of the forest\nwas bathed in the pale, cold light, he woke up, and, missing his wife\nfrom his side, knew that she had gone into the forest to indulge in her\nmoon fancies. Berl sprang out of bed, and just caught a glimpse of her\nshadow disappearing among the trunks of the trees; so he rapidly slipped\non his clothes and hurried after her, being determined to find out why\nshe was so fond of these midnight wanderings.\n\n\u201cShe\u2019s going to a meeting of the faeries,\u201d thought Berl, as he ran\nacross the lawn. \u201cI hope the little people won\u2019t be angry if they see\nme; but my wife will protect me.\u201d\n\nFor you must know that the faeries never like their revels gazed upon by\nmortal eye, and if they catch any one looking they pinch him black and\nblue; so Berl had good reason to be afraid of venturing into the\nenchanted wood at night.\n\nHe followed his wife cautiously, always keeping her in sight, but taking\ncare she should not see him, when suddenly she crossed an open glade and\nvanished. Berl ran after her, but could find no trace of Lurina at all,\nand was quite disconsolate, when all at once he espied her sitting at\nthe foot of a great beech tree, leaning against the trunk, with her\nbeautiful face looking pale and white in the moonshine. Having watched\nher for a long time, he ventured to approach and call her by name, but,\nto his astonishment, she did not answer nor express surprise at seeing\nhim, but simply stared across the glade with vague, unseeing eyes.\n\nEmboldened by her silence, Berl ran up and fell on his knees with a\nlittle laugh, thinking she would scold him for having dared to follow\nher. He was perplexed, however, to see that she still did not seem to\nnotice him, and when at last he took one of her hands, it was as cold as\nice. Starting up in alarm, he looked closely at her, and found that she\ndid not breathe\u2014placed his hand on her heart, and discovered that it did\nnot beat.\n\n\u201cWhy, she\u2019s dead!\u201d he cried in alarm. \u201cLurina, it is I, your husband,\nBerl.\u201d\n\nStill Lurina did not answer. So, convinced she was dead, Berl threw her\nbody over his shoulder and hurried home. When he got inside, he did\neverything he could to revive her, but it was no use; the beautiful\nLurina was dead, and Berl sat all night beside her body, weeping\nbitterly.\n\nAt the first red flush of dawn, he went from house to house, telling\nLurina\u2019s parents and all the neighbours that his wife had died the\npreceding night in the forest. Every one came to Berl\u2019s house to see if\nit was true, and offer advice, which one\u2019s neighbours are very fond of\ndoing. Among those who came was the Wise Woman, who surveyed the\nbeautiful Lurina for some time in silence, then laughed loudly.\n\n\u201cWhy do you laugh?\u201d asked Berl, angry with her for doing so.\n\n\u201cI laugh at your folly,\u201d said the Wise Woman, looking oddly at him.\n\u201cLurina is no more dead than I am.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut her heart is not beating, and she does not breathe,\u201d said Panus\nquickly.\n\n\u201cNevertheless, she is not dead,\u201d replied the Wise Woman quietly. \u201cHave\nyou ever seen her like this before?\u201d she added, turning to Cora.\n\n\u201cNo, never,\u201d answered Cora, who was weeping bitterly.\n\n\u201cAh! that is because you never followed her to the forest as Berl did,\u201d\nsaid the Wise Woman thoughtfully. \u201cI told you, Berl, that your wife had\nfaery blood in her veins, and you should have taken my advice about the\nmarriage.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, it\u2019s too late now to blame me,\u201d said Berl roughly, for he did not\nlike to be reproached. \u201cWhat am I to do?\u201d\n\n\u201cI will tell you,\u201d observed the Wise Woman. \u201cCome to my cottage at\nonce.\u201d\n\nSo Berl left the body of his beautiful Lurina with her parents, and\nwalked with the Wise Woman to her cottage, which was just on the verge\nof the wood, but protected from the entry of the faeries by a rusty\nhorse-shoe fastened on the door.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nWhen Berl entered, the Wise Woman drew a circle on the ground with her\nmagic staff, whereupon a ring of pale flickering fire appeared; then she\npulled seven hairs out of the tail of her black cat, and threw them into\nthe midst of the circle, where they began to twist about in a most\nsurprising manner. While they were doing this, the Wise Woman waved her\nstaff seven times in the air, muttering strange words, and a white smoke\narose from the centre of the fire circle where the hairs were jumping\nabout. This white smoke went up like a white cloud, then suddenly\nvanished, and Berl saw a little man, all dressed in red, sitting in the\ncentre of the circle.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\u201cWell, what do you want?\u201d he said graciously to the Wise Woman, whose\nbright eyes sparkled when she saw him.\n\n\u201cWhy did Lurina die?\u201d asked the Wise Woman. \u201cTell me, Pop.\u201d\n\n\u201cShe\u2019s not dead at all,\u201d answered Pop quickly; \u201cshe is a faery, and went\ninto the woods to attend the festival. As she could not join the revels\nof Oberon in her human body, which would be too big, she left it behind,\nleaning against the trunk of a beech tree, and her faery body went to\ndance with the faeries. Of course, when Berl took her body away, she\ncould not find it again when she returned, and she never will find it\ntill it\u2019s brought back to the same place.\u201d\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\u201cWhat is to be done, then?\u201d asked the Wise Woman.\n\n\u201cBerl must take Lurina\u2019s body back again from where he brought it,\u201d said\nPop; \u201cbut before Lurina\u2019s faery body can come back to it, Berl will have\nto get permission for it to do so from Oberon.\u2014Now let me go, I\u2019ve told\nyou all I know.\u201d\n\nThe Wise Woman waved her staff again, the white smoke came down on the\nlittle red man like an extinguisher, then everything vanished, and Berl\nfound himself standing outside the door of the cottage, with the Wise\nWoman smiling at him.\n\n\u201cYou heard what Pop said,\u201d she observed kindly; \u201cyou will have to go to\nthe court of King Oberon, and ask him to let your wife come back.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut will he do so?\u201d asked Berl doubtfully.\n\n\u201cAh, that I do not know,\u201d said the Wise Woman; \u201cbut as the faeries may\ntreat you badly for looking at their festival, take this sprig of the\nrowan tree, and it will protect you. Don\u2019t forget to take Lurina\u2019s body\nback to the beech tree.\u201d\n\nBerl took the sprig of rowan with its red berries that she handed to\nhim, and walked away to his own cottage. He did not tell any one what\nthe Wise Woman had said, but managed to put off all their questions by\npretending to be too grieved to speak. So one after another the\nneighbours departed, until only Panus and Cora were left, and they, too,\nafter kissing the pale lips of Lurina, went away, leaving Berl alone.\n\nBerl waited impatiently for night to come, and as soon as the moon was\nglowing like glittering silver in the starry sky, he took Lurina up in\nhis arms, and, carrying her into the forest, placed her in the same\nposition as he had found her, leaning against the trunk of the beech\ntree.\n\nWhen he had done this, he looked round perplexed, for he did not know\nhow to find the faery court, but, taking out the rowan twig, he looked\nat it earnestly, wondering if it would by some magic means show him the\nway. But the rowan twig made no sign, and Berl put up the hand in which\nhe held it to take off his cap and fasten it in it, when the twig\nhappened to strike his ear, and immediately the silent forest became\nfull of sounds.\n\nHe heard the most delightful music, then a burst of gay laughter, and,\nfollowing the direction from whence they proceeded, he came upon a wide\nopen glade, with a smooth green sward upon which the moon was shining.\nStill, though he looked very hard, he could not see a faery; then,\nsuddenly remembering how the rowan twig had bewitched his ears, he took\nit out of his hat, and pressed the red berries against his eyes. To his\ndelight, he now saw that all the sward was covered with thousands of\nlittle men and women all dressed in pale green, and at the end was a\nthrone of great white lilies, upon which sat the King and Queen of\nFaeryland. All round the glade were a circle of glow-worms, whose pale\nlights illuminated the festival, and the bright moonlight pouring down\nthrough the boughs of the trees made everything as bright as day.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nAs soon as the faeries discovered that Berl could really see them at\ntheir revels, they shrieked with rage, and hundreds of the little green\ncreatures swarmed up on his body to pinch him black and blue. Berl was\nin a great fright at first, till he suddenly remembered what the Wise\nWoman had said about the rowan sprig, so immediately called out\u2014\n\n \u201cMagic branch of rowan tree,\n Work the charm and set me free.\u201d\n\nAt once there was a dead silence, and all the faeries fell to the ground\nlike withered leaves in autumn. Some of them ran to the throne of\nlilies, and spoke to the King, upon which Oberon stepped down, and,\nfollowed by a long train, walked up to Berl and commanded him to sit\ndown. Berl did so, and then Oberon struck the ground with his wand,\nwhereupon a great red rose sprang up, in which he took his seat with\nQueen Titania, while the other faeries gathered round and prepared to\nlisten.\n\n\u201cNow, mortal,\u201d said Oberon in a dignified manner, \u201chow is it that with\nan earthly eye you have beheld the unseen revels of the faeries?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt was by this rowan twig, your Majesty,\u201d said Berl, showing Oberon the\nsprig; \u201cthe Wise Woman gave it to me as a protection, in case the\nfaeries should be angry.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe are only angry with evil-disposed people,\u201d said Oberon gently; \u201cand\nif you come here with a pure heart, no one will harm you. What do you\nwant with us?\u201d\n\n\u201cI want my wife Lurina,\u201d said Berl boldly.\n\nThere was a cry of astonishment at this. Suddenly a faery flew forward\non emerald wings, and, as she stood before Oberon, Berl saw that it was\nLurina.\n\n\u201cYes, your Majesty,\u201d said the faery Lurina, \u201cI am his wife, but he lost\nme through his curiosity, as your Majesty knows. I was exiled from\nFaeryland many years ago, and condemned to dwell in a human body. I\nlived in Lurina\u2019s body, but was allowed by the Queen to join in the\nfaery revels at night. I told my husband not to follow me, but he did\nso, and found my human body lying as if dead under the beech tree,\nbecause I had left it to attend the festival. When I went back, I could\nnot find it, so had to stay in the forest all day as a faery.\u201d\n\n\u201cIs this true?\u201d asked Oberon, turning to Titania.\n\n\u201cPerfectly true,\u201d answered Titania. \u201cIt was I who punished Lurina by\nexiling her from Faeryland, but now I think she is punished enough, and,\nas she has lost her human body through no fault of her own, she is\npardoned.\u201d\n\nOn hearing these words, the faery Lurina dropped on her knees and kissed\nthe Queen\u2019s hand, then flew off to be congratulated on her good luck by\nher faery friends. But Berl was not at all pleased to think he had lost\nhis wife for ever, and spoke to the King.\n\n\u201cBut what am I to do, your Majesty?\u201d he said, with tears in his eyes. \u201cI\nlove Lurina very much, and don\u2019t want to lose her.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere is only one thing to be done,\u201d said Oberon. \u201cHave you brought\nback the human body of Lurina?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, your Majesty; it\u2019s under the beech tree,\u201d replied Berl eagerly.\n\n\u201cThen I\u2019ll tell you what I\u2019ll do,\u201d said the King. \u201cAs the Queen has\npardoned Lurina, of course she can\u2019t go back, as no faery likes to live\nin your world; but the faery Mala has been very naughty of late, so I\nwill condemn her to inhabit your wife\u2019s body, and stay in exile until\nshe is good enough to come back to court.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut that won\u2019t be Lurina,\u201d said Berl.\n\n\u201cShe will wear Lurina\u2019s body,\u201d replied Oberon, laughing; \u201cand no one but\nyourself will be the wiser. Leave the forest at once, and to-morrow\nmorning you will see your wife come to the cottage door. Strike up,\nmusic!\u201d\n\nWhereupon the faery music began to play loudly\u2014the blue bells rang merry\nchimes, the grasshoppers creaked gaily, and the wind commenced to sigh\namong the forest leaves.\n\nBerl dare not disobey the King\u2019s command, and, after seeing Oberon\nreturn to the throne of white lilies, and all the faeries commence their\ndance again, he arose to his feet. As he did so, he accidentally dropped\nthe rowan twig, which was snatched up by a faery at once, and then the\nwhole of the faery revel vanished. Berl could see nothing of the\ndancing, nor hear anything of the music, but only beheld the smooth\ngreen lawn, the myriad trees around, and the round orb of the moon.\n\nThere was nothing left to do but to return home, which he did at once,\nand you may be sure he got very little sleep that night. At early dawn\nhe was standing at his cottage door, looking towards the wood, when he\nbeheld Lurina tripping gaily towards him, singing merrily. When she saw\nBerl, she flung herself into his arms.\n\n\u201cDear Berl, here I am at last!\u201d she cried, kissing him.\n\n\u201cBut you are the faery Mala,\u201d said Berl, looking at her in perplexity.\n\n\u201cWho is the faery Mala?\u201d asked Lurina, who had forgotten all about her\nfaery existence now she was in a human body. \u201cI never heard of her. I\nwent into the forest and fell asleep, I suppose. When I awoke I came\nstraight back to you.\u201d\n\nBerl was a wise man, and said no more, but kissed his newly-recovered\nwife heartily, then called all the neighbours to congratulate him, which\nthey did loudly.\n\nWhen they told Lurina she had been dead, she declared it was nonsense,\nas it was only a sleep, and soon every one believed it except Berl and\nthe Wise Woman, to whom Berl told all about his reception by Oberon.\n\nLurina became bright and gay all day, and never more wandered into the\nforest to indulge in moon fancies, so Berl thought the faery Mala must\nhave been exiled altogether from Faeryland.\n\nShe was very good indeed, so good that Berl was quite afraid lest she\nshould be called back to Faeryland, but as yet that has not happened.\n\n\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n THE ROSE-PRINCESS\n\n\n I.\n\n THE QUEEN WHO DID NOT BELIEVE IN FAERIES.\n\nONCE upon a time there was a King and Queen who reigned over a most\nbeautiful country. They were very rich and very happy, and lived in a\nmost gorgeous palace, the grand gardens of which sloped down to the blue\nsea, on which sailed many richly-laden ships, carrying merchandise to\nthe capital city of the kingdom.\n\nThe palace was built of silver and ivory, and adorned with pale blue\nvelvet hangings, upon which were painted the most exquisite pictures in\nthe world. It stood on a high green hill, and far below lay the immense\ncity of Buss, with its wide streets, many towers, and glittering\nfountains. As the King and Queen looked down from their beautiful castle\non to the mighty city and great green plains which surrounded it, they\nought to have been happy, but, curious to say, they were not. They had\neverything in the world to make them happy except one thing, and that\none thing they longed for ardently, the more so because they did not see\nany chance of obtaining it.\n\n\u201cAh, if I only had a child!\u201d sighed the Queen.\n\n\u201cYes; a little boy,\u201d said the King.\n\n\u201cOr a little girl,\u201d retorted the Queen. \u201cDon\u2019t you know any faeries, my\ndear, who would gratify our one desire?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d replied the King, shaking his head sadly. \u201cMy great-grandfather\nwas the last person who ever saw a faery; no one has ever seen one\nsince.\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t believe they exist,\u201d said the Queen angrily.\n\n\u201cOh yes, they do,\u201d observed her husband. \u201cThis palace is said to have\nbeen built by faery hands.\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t believe they exist,\u201d declared the Queen again. \u201cIf they did,\nthey would surely help me by giving me a little girl or boy. What\u2019s the\ngood of faeries if they don\u2019t help you?\u201d\n\n\u201cI wish they would help me,\u201d sighed his Majesty; \u201call my subjects are\ngetting so unruly that I don\u2019t know but what there will be a revolution,\nand they\u2019ll put some one else on the throne.\u201d\n\n\u201cWho else could they find?\u201d asked the Queen curiously.\n\n\u201cOh, I\u2019m not certain of that,\u201d replied the King. \u201cYou see, my\ngrandfather, who was the first of our dynasty, ascended the throne by\nthe help of the faeries, and the king who was deposed vanished, but they\nsay some of his descendants live there;\u201d and he pointed downward to the\ncity.\n\n\u201cAnd there they will stay,\u201d said the Queen angrily. \u201cI don\u2019t believe a\nword of it. Faeries indeed! they don\u2019t exist.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut they do,\u201d persisted the King.\n\n\u201cPooh!\u201d replied her Majesty. \u201cPooh!\u201d\n\nNow, when the Queen said \u201cPooh!\u201d her husband knew it was no use talking\nany more, so he retired to his cabinet to look over some petitions from\nstarving people, while the Queen went down with the ladies-in-waiting to\nwalk in the garden.\n\nIt was really a delightful garden, filled with the most wonderful\nflowers. There were great beds of scented carnations, glowing with\nbright colours, red and white foxgloves, in whose deep bells the faeries\nwere said to hide, masses of snowy white lilies, and a great mixture of\nmarigolds, hollyhocks, sweet-williams, daisies, buttercups, and dahlias,\nwhich made the whole ground look like a brightly-coloured carpet. And as\nfor the roses\u2014oh, what a quantity of charming roses there were growing\nthere! Red roses, varying in colour from a deep scarlet to a pale pink;\nwhite roses looking like snowflakes; yellow roses that glittered like\ngold, and faintly-tinted tea-roses that perfumed the still air with\ntheir sweet odours. Oh, it was really a famous garden, and bloomed all\nthe year round, for the kingdom was situated in the region of perpetual\nsummer, where snow never fell and frost never came.\n\nThe Queen, whose name was Flora, wandered disconsolately about the\ngarden, quite discontented with the beautiful flowers, because she could\nnot obtain the wish of her heart. The ladies-in-waiting began to pluck\nflowers in order to adorn the royal dinner-table, and Queen Flora walked\non alone towards a great white rose tree that was covered with blossoms.\nAs she stood looking at it, she suddenly heard a tiny laugh, and a great\nwhite rose unfolded its petals, showing a golden heart, and also a\ndainty little faery dressed in delicate green leaves, with a crown of\nlittle white rosebuds, and a wand made of a blade of grass. When the\nQueen saw her, she was much astonished, because she did not believe in\nfaeries, but, now she really saw one, she had to believe her own eyes.\n\n\u201cI am called Rosina,\u201d said the faery in a sweet, low voice, \u201cand I heard\nyou say you did not believe faeries existed; now you see they do,\nbecause I am a faery.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, you must be a faery,\u201d replied the Queen, clasping her hands,\n\u201cbecause no human being could be so small.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, I can be any size I please,\u201d said the Faery Rosina, with a laugh,\nand, stepping down from the rose, she alighted on the ground, and\ninstantly grew as tall as the Queen herself.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\u201cOh, you are a real, real faery!\u201d cried Flora in delight. \u201cBut why do\nthe faeries not appear now?\u201d\n\n\u201cBecause the land is so badly governed,\u201d said Rosina in a severe tone.\n\u201cYourself and the King only think of luxury, and never of assisting the\npoor people; but I am going to cure you both of such neglect.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut how?\u201d asked the Queen, trembling.\n\n\u201cBy giving you your wish,\u201d said the faery, plucking a white rosebud off\nthe tree. \u201cLay this bud beside your bed to-night, and at the dawn of day\nit will change into a beautiful little baby Princess, which is what you\nwant.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh yes, yes!\u201d cried the Queen; \u201cI do want a Princess.\u201d\n\n\u201cEvery night at sundown,\u201d said the faery slowly, \u201cthe Princess will once\nmore change into a flower, and become a human being again at sunrise.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut will she change like this all her life?\u201d asked the Queen, in great\ndismay, for she did not like to have such a curious baby.\n\n\u201cShe will be a Princess by day and a rosebud by night,\u201d said Rosina,\nsmiling, \u201cuntil she marries the great-grandson of the King whom your\nhusband\u2019s grandfather deposed from the throne.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd where is this Prince to be found?\u201d demanded the Queen breathlessly.\n\u201cI\u2019ll marry my Princess to him at once.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou can\u2019t do that,\u201d said the faery, shaking her head. \u201cThe exiled\nPrince does not know who he is, and the Princess herself will have to\ntell him he is of the royal blood. When she does that, and you marry\nthem to one another, the spell will be removed, and she will be a\nPrincess both by day and by night.\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t see how she\u2019s ever going to find this lost Prince!\u201d said the\nQueen angrily. \u201cI shall certainly not let my child run about the world\nlooking for him.\u201d\n\n\u201cFate is stronger than you are,\u201d replied the faery, \u201cand you will see\nwhat you will see.\u201d So saying, she suddenly disappeared, and, as the\nwhite rose slowly curled up its petals, the Queen knew the Faery Rosina\nwas inside.\n\nThe ladies-in-waiting, who had seen the Queen talking to a strange lady,\ndared not approach before, but now they saw their royal mistress was\nalone, they ventured to come near, and one of them offered to take the\nwhite rosebud which the Queen held.\n\n\u201cOh no!\u201d cried Flora, hastily drawing back her hand; \u201cI am going to keep\nthis rosebud. It is my\u201d\u2014\n\nShe was going to say Princess, but, thinking it wiser to keep her own\ncounsel, she held her tongue, and, on returning to the palace, told no\none but the King about the faery\u2019s promise. The King laughed at her, and\nsaid he did not believe her story\u2014that she must be dreaming; but the\nQueen persisted in her tale, that the rosebud would become a Princess,\nand placed it on a velvet cushion by the side of her bed.\n\nNext morning, at the first break of day, she sprang up out of bed and\nhurried to look at the cushion, but there lay the rosebud a rosebud\nstill, and not a Princess, as she thought it would be.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nQueen Flora was very much disappointed, particularly as the King laughed\nat her folly for believing she had seen a faery, when suddenly a shaft\nof golden sunlight shone through the window right on to the cushion, and\nin an instant, instead of the flower there appeared a beautiful naked\nbaby, who laughed and crowed gaily.\n\nThe Queen was nearly mad with joy, and took the baby up in her arms to\nshow the King, who was equally delighted.\n\n\u201cYou see there are faeries after all,\u201d he said to the Queen.\n\n\u201cI always thought so,\u201d replied the Queen.\n\n\u201cOh, my dear!\u201d said the King, who was quite shocked at such a story.\n\n\u201cPooh!\u201d answered Queen Flora, tossing the baby up in her arms, and this\nended the conversation.\n\n\n II.\n\n THE ROSE-PRINCESS IS LOST.\n\nOF course there was great joy when it came to be known that Queen Flora\nwas the mother of a lovely Princess, and all the bells in the city were\nset ringing, while the poor people, for once, had as much food as they\ncould eat. The ladies of the Queen admired the beautiful baby very much\nindeed, and there was no doubt the little Princess was really a charming\nchild. By the advice of the King, however, Queen Flora told nobody about\nthe transformation which took place at sundown, and always put the\nPrincess to bed herself every night. Then, as the sunlight died out of\nthe western skies, the pretty baby would change into a delicate white\nrosebud, and rested on a velvet cushion beside the Queen\u2019s bed every\nnight. At the first golden ray of the sun the bud changed to a beautiful\nPrincess once more, and no one ever knew that she was only a flower\ntransformed for the day into a human being.\n\nAs the years rolled on, the Rose-Princess grew into a tall, slender\ngirl, with golden hair, blue eyes, and the most beautiful complexion,\nwhite and pink, flushed like a delicate rose. When she walked she swayed\nlike a graceful lily, and always dressed in a green gown with a girdle\nof white roses, which were her favourite flowers.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nShe also wore a silver circlet on her golden hair, upon which were\nfastened diamond roses and leaves made out of bright green emeralds,\nwhich made her look so beautiful that all who beheld her fell in love on\nthe spot. Many princes heard of her beauty and wanted to marry her, but\nshe did not care for any of her suitors, which pleased Queen Flora very\nmuch, for she was anxious her Princess should marry the great-grandson\nof the exiled King, and cease to change into a rosebud.\n\nThe King made a proclamation that if the descendant of the old dynasty\ncame to the palace, he would marry his daughter and be heir to the\nthrone; but no one ever came forward to claim the hand of the Princess,\nwhich showed that the Faery Rosina spoke truly when she said the exiled\nPrince knew nothing about his royal blood.\n\nThe Princess was christened Rose by the Queen, because she really was\nthe offspring of the white rose tree, but her complexion was so\ndelicate, and her love for roses so great, that every one called her the\nRose-Princess instead of the Princess Rose.\n\nNow, on the seventeenth birthday of the Rose-Princess, there was a\nmighty revolution in the city of Buss, and a great multitude of men and\nwomen marched to the palace in order to dethrone the King. He was not a\nbad King as kings go, but, not knowing how to govern, he did nothing but\namuse himself with balls and f\u00eates, letting his courtiers govern as they\npleased. As the courtiers were all very greedy, and wanted money, they\nput such heavy taxes on the people, that at last the King\u2019s subjects\ncould stand it no longer, and while a ball was taking place in the great\nhall of the palace, in honour of the Rose-Princess\u2019s birthday, the doors\nwere burst open, and the mob rushed in. The ball was being given in the\nday-time, so that the Rose-Princess could attend, because, of course,\nshe could not dance when changed into a flower. The music was sounding\nmost beautifully, the King and Queen sat on their thrones with golden\ncrowns, and the Rose-Princess was dancing gaily, when the noisy crowd of\nragged men and women rushed into the beautiful palace.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nOh, it was really a terrible scene! All the gaily dressed lords and\nladies were seized by the dirty hands of the people, and stripped of\ntheir beautiful jewels. The great mirrors were all smashed, the lovely\nblue hangings torn down and trampled on by the mob, the gorgeous gardens\nwere all destroyed, and these rioters, breaking into the King\u2019s\nwine-cellars, began to drink the fine wine of which he was so proud.\n\nAll the women of the city collected a lot of velvet couches, gorgeous\ndresses, and rich curtains into a heap in the garden, and, setting fire\nto it, danced about in a ring, singing loudly\u2014\n\n \u201cHigh to low\n Down must go;\n Low to high\n Now must fly.\n All the lords and ladies dead,\n Let us eat their costly bread,\n While beneath our feet we tread\n Every proud and haughty head.\u201d\n\nYou may be sure the King and Queen did not wait to face these terrible\npeople, but, disguising themselves in mean garments, fled from the\npalace, leaving all their beautiful things to be destroyed by the mob,\nwho chose a President, and proclaimed a Republic, then began to kill all\nthe lords and ladies they could find. The whole nation seemed to go mad,\nand there was no law or order anywhere, but every one did exactly as\nthey pleased, so that the entire kingdom was brought to the verge of\nruin.\n\nAnd the Rose-Princess?\u2014ah, poor lady! she also fled in dismay from the\nterrible people, and sought refuge in her own room. It was still early\nin the afternoon, so she could not change into a rose, and thus escape\nthe fury of the mob; and, as her parents had deserted her, she stood\ntrembling in her beautiful chamber, thinking she would be found and torn\nto pieces. Besides, being ignorant of her nightly transformation, she\nwas afraid to go to bed, lest she should be killed while asleep.\n\nAs she stood weeping and wringing her hands in despair, she suddenly saw\na tall handsome lady standing before her, looking at her kindly. This\nwas the Faery Rosina, who had come to save the Rose-Princess from the\npeople, as it was not her fault that they had rebelled against the King.\n\n\u201cDo not weep, Rose-Princess,\u201d she said in a kind tone; \u201cthough things\nseem to be going wrong just now, they will all come right.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut my dear parents!\u201d cried the Rose-Princess, weeping.\n\n\u201cThey have left the palace,\u201d said the faery in a severe tone, \u201cand will\nnow endure hardship, to punish them for the way in which they have\nneglected their office; but when they have learnt a lesson, they will\ncome back again.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut what will become of me?\u201d cried the Rose-Princess, as the noise of\nthe mob came nearer and nearer.\n\n\u201cYou will be quite safe,\u201d replied the faery; \u201cand the people who are now\ncrying out to kill you, will soon be cheering you on your wedding-day,\nwhen you are married.\u201d\n\n\u201cMarried to whom?\u201d asked the trembling Princess.\n\n\u201cAh, that you must find out!\u201d answered the Faery Rosina, as the crowd\ncommenced to batter at the door of the room. \u201cBut now I must save you\nfrom the people, or they will certainly kill you.\u201d\n\nAs she said this, she touched the Princess, who immediately changed into\na white rosebud, and lay on the dark green carpet like a snowflake. Then\nthe Faery Rosina vanished, and the door was burst open, as the mob\nrushed in.\n\nOf course they now saw nothing, and never for a moment dreamt that the\nwhite rose lying on the carpet was their beautiful Princess, so they\ncommenced to pull down all the costly things in the room, and would have\ntrampled the rosebud under their feet, only a young student picked it\nup.\n\nHe was a handsome fellow of twenty, this young student, with a slender\nfigure and a dark, splendid-looking face. His name was Ardram, and he\nwas one of the leaders of the revolt, although he did not wish the\npeople to destroy everything as they were doing. Ardram was a very\nlearned youth, and the son of a poor sick woman, of whom he was very\nfond. He had seen all the misery of the poor people who were in want of\nbread, and the sinful luxury of the court, so thought it but right that\na change should be made. Therefore he led the people to the palace, to\nask justice of the King, but they had become too strong for him, and he\nwas already regretting that he had not let them stay where they were.\nHowever, it was too late now for regrets, but he determined not to take\nany part in the follies of the mob, so walked home to his own little\nroom in the city, with the white rosebud in his button-hole.\n\nAll night long he saw the flames rising from burning dwellings, and\nheard the shrieks of people being killed, so he felt very sad to think\nthat he was the original cause of it all, though he certainly had no\nintention of letting such things be done. Then he determined on the\nmorrow to talk to the people, and try and persuade them to stop their\nplundering and cruelty, but, in the meantime, went to bed and slept for\nan hour in an uneasy manner.\n\nHe forgot all about the white rosebud, which had fallen on the floor, as\nhe flung himself, dressed as he was, on his bed, but when he awoke in\nthe morning, he was much surprised to find seated beside him a beautiful\nwoman, who was weeping bitterly.\n\n\u201cWho are you?\u201d asked Ardram, springing to his feet; \u201cand how did you\ncome here?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am the Rose-Princess,\u201d she replied sadly; \u201cbut I do not know how I\ncame here. You will let me stay, will you not? I am so afraid of those\nterrible people who broke into the palace.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, I won\u2019t let them harm you, Princess,\u201d said Ardram, who had fallen\nin love with her beautiful face; \u201cbut you must not leave this room, or\nelse I cannot protect you.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll stay here,\u201d said the Rose-Princess obediently; \u201cbut will you\nplease give me something to eat?\u2014I feel rather hungry.\u201d\n\nSo Ardram brought out some bread and wine, off which the Princess made a\nhearty meal, talking to her host all the time she was eating.\n\n\u201cI saw you in the palace yesterday,\u201d she said, looking straight at\nArdram.\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d replied the student, blushing; \u201cI was with the people. We only\nwanted justice, and I did not think they would go on like they did. The\npeople were too strong for me, so I left them.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd will you put my father on the throne again?\u201d asked the\nRose-Princess eagerly.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m afraid that will be impossible, Princess,\u201d said Ardram quietly,\n\u201cunless he promises to govern better. You see, many years ago, a king\nwas deposed for governing badly, and your grandfather was put on the\nthrone\u2014now they\u2019ll offer the crown to some one else.\u201d\n\n\u201cPerhaps they\u2019ll offer it to you?\u201d suggested the Rose-Princess.\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t think so,\u201d said Ardram, laughing, as he arose to his feet; \u201cbut\nif I did become king, I would take care that all my subjects were well\noff. Now I\u2019ll go out, Princess, and you stay here.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d answered the Rose-Princess; \u201cand do look for my parents.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will\u2014though I daresay they\u2019ve left the city,\u201d said Ardram, and he\nwent away more in love with the Princess than ever.\n\nMeanwhile the Rose-Princess was left alone, and thought how noble and\nbrave Ardram was.\n\n\u201cIf he was only the Prince I was to marry!\u201d she sighed; \u201cbut then the\nfaery said everything would come right, so, perhaps, he is to be my\nhusband after all.\u201d\n\nShe waited all through the long day for the return of Ardram, but he did\nnot return till sundown, and just as his hand was on the door, the\nPrincess changed into a white rosebud, so, when he entered, he found the\nroom empty.\n\n\u201cPrincess, Princess, where are you?\u201d he called out in alarm; but of\ncourse no Princess answered him, and Ardram asked every one in the house\nif they had seen a beautiful lady go out, but no one had done so.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll go and see my mother,\u201d said Ardram in perplexity, for his mother\nwas a very wise woman, although at present she was lying on a bed of\nsickness. As soon as Ardram made up his mind to ask his mother\u2019s advice,\nhe put on his cap to go, when he spied the white rosebud on the floor.\n\n\u201cHullo!\u201d he cried, picking it up; \u201cthis is the rose I found in the\npalace yesterday\u2014my mother is fond of flowers, so I\u2019ll take it to her;\u201d\nand he went away.\n\nThe streets were quite full of people, all in a great state of\nexcitement, for the King, Queen, and Princess had vanished, and, as all\nthe ministers were beheaded, there was no one to rule, so the whole\nkingdom was in a dreadful state.\n\nArdram reached his mother\u2019s house, and found her in bed, very ill, but\nwhen she saw him she was much delighted.\n\n\u201cHow are things going?\u201d she asked, after he had kissed her.\n\n\u201cVery badly,\u201d replied Ardram; \u201cno one is able to rule, and I\u2019m afraid we\nwill have a civil war.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh no, we won\u2019t,\u201d said his mother quickly. \u201cIf the people won\u2019t have\ntheir present King, perhaps the exiled Prince of the old royal family\nwill be found.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019m afraid not,\u201d replied her son, smiling; \u201cbut if he is, I hope he\u2019ll\nrule wisely.\u201d\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\u201cI hope so too,\u201d said his mother pointedly. \u201cWho gave you that beautiful\nrose, Ardram?\u201d\n\n\u201cI picked it up in the palace, mother,\u201d he answered, and, taking it out\nof his button-hole, he gave it to her to smell. Then he told her all\nabout the beautiful Princess, and his mother was very much astonished\nthat the poor lady had left the safe shelter of his room, and perhaps\nbeen torn to pieces by the angry people in the street.\n\nAt last Ardram went away, leaving the rosebud with his mother, who laid\nit on her pillow and went to sleep. Next morning, when the beams of the\nsun were shining into her chamber, she awoke, and found the\nRose-Princess sleeping beside her.\n\n\u201cAre you not the Rose-Princess?\u201d she asked, for of course she recognised\nthe King\u2019s daughter at once by her crown.\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d answered the Rose-Princess quickly; \u201cbut how did I get here? The\nlast thing I remember before I went to sleep, was standing in Ardram\u2019s\nroom.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou must have walked here in your sleep, then,\u201d said the sick woman,\nlooking at her, \u201cbecause he has been searching for you everywhere.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, I\u2019m so sorry!\u201d said the Rose-Princess, rising. \u201cI would not like\nhim to think I\u2019d run away, because I am so fond of him.\u201d\n\n\u201cAre you fond enough of him to marry him?\u201d asked the mother sadly.\n\n\u201cYes, I am,\u201d answered the Princess, blushing; \u201cbut I\u2019m afraid he would\nnot marry me. Besides, you know, I am to marry the exiled Prince of the\nold royal family, as soon as he is found.\u201d\n\n\u201cHe is found,\u201d said the sick woman quietly. \u201cArdram is my son, and the\ngreat-grandson of the King who was driven from the throne, so, if you\nmarry him, he will be able to regain his throne again.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd my father and mother?\u201d asked the Princess in a faltering voice.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m afraid they\u2019re not fit to reign, if all I have heard is true,\u201d said\nthe mother in a melancholy tone; \u201cand if you and my son, Prince Ardram,\nascend the throne, I hope you will govern more wisely. Now, to prove the\ntruth of what I say, pull out that wooden box from under my bed.\u201d\n\nThe Rose-Princess did as she was told, and, on lifting up the lid, saw a\nmost beautiful crown, all over diamonds, and rubies, and great blue\nsapphires, sparkling like the stars.\n\n\u201cThat is the old royal crown,\u201d said the sick woman, as the Princess put\nit on her head, \u201cand Ardram will be crowned with it.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut if your son is the Prince, why did you not send him to the palace\nto marry me?\u201d asked the Rose-Princess, who looked truly royal, as she\nstood in the room with the great crown on her golden head.\n\n\u201cBecause I wanted him to see the misery of the people, before ruling\nover them,\u201d said the mother quickly. \u201cNow he knows what poor people\nendure, he will be a wise king, and govern well. Now, I will sleep until\nmy son comes back, then we will see about getting you married.\u201d\n\nSo she turned her face away, in order to sleep, and the Princess put\naway the royal crown, and began to sing to the sick woman in a low,\nsweet voice. This is what she sang:\n\n \u201cRoses red, in the red, red dawn,\n Open your hearts to the sun, I pray;\n The dew lies heavy upon the lawn,\n Westward rises the golden day.\n\n Roses, droop in the hot noon-tide,\n Scatter your petals of red and white,\n Far in the depths of your green leaves hide,\n Till to the eastward the sun takes flight.\n\n Roses white, at the shut of day,\n Close your blossoms thro\u2019 sunless hours;\n The moon rides high in the sky so grey.\n Night brings sleep to the weary flowers.\u201d\n\nThen she also fell asleep, and, as night came on, she was once more\nchanged into the white rosebud, and lay on the pillow beside the grey\nhead of Ardram\u2019s mother. When the doctor, a gruff old man called Mux,\ncame in, the sick woman awoke, and asked at once for the Princess.\n\n\u201cWhat princess?\u201d asked Mux gruffly. \u201cThere\u2019s no princess here. So much\nthe better, as I\u2019d cut her head off if I saw her.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut she was here when I went to sleep,\u201d said Ardram\u2019s mother angrily.\n\n\u201cWell, she isn\u2019t here now,\u201d retorted the doctor. \u201cI expect she\u2019s left\nyou to look for the King and Queen. But never mind about her\u2014how do you\nfeel yourself?\u201d\n\nBut the sick woman was much agitated over the loss of the Rose-Princess,\nand when her son entered, she told him how the Princess had been with\nher all day, and again vanished; whereupon Ardram rushed out into the\nstreets, to see if he could find the poor Rose-Princess again.\n\nWhen Mux was taking his leave, Ardram\u2019s mother said she had no money to\npay him.\n\n\u201cNever mind,\u201d said the doctor gruffly, for he was really very\nkind-hearted; \u201cI\u2019ll take this rose as payment;\u201d and he picked up the\nwhite rose off the pillow.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s very kind of you, doctor,\u201d said the sick woman gratefully. \u201cTake\nthe rose by all means\u2014my son gave it to me. But, doctor, do try and find\nthe Princess; if you do, I will reward you better than you think.\u201d\n\n\u201cStuff!\u201d said the gruff Mux; and he went away home with the white\nrosebud fastened in his coat.\n\n\n III.\n\n THE ROSE-PRINCESS FULFILLS HER DESTINY.\n\nGRUFF Dr. Mux took the white rosebud home with him, little thinking it\nwas the lost Princess, which was perhaps just as well, seeing that he\nwas such an enemy to the royal family. At least every one thought he\nwas, but everybody was wrong to think so, as, in spite of the names he\ncalled them, he was really a great upholder of the throne, and in his\nhumble house the exiled King and Queen had been hidden all the time of\nthe revolution. No one thought of looking for them in the house of such\na red republican as Dr. Mux, so they were as safe there as though they\nwere guarded by stone walls and faithful soldiers.\n\nWhen Dr. Mux arrived home, he went straight to bed, but arose very early\nin the morning, before the sun was up, and called the King and Queen.\n\n\u201cSire and madam,\u201d he said, bowing before them, \u201cas I came through the\nstreets, I noticed that the people were talking about re-establishing\nthe throne.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, then we will go back to our palace,\u201d said the Queen joyfully.\n\n\u201cAnd make an example of all traitors,\u201d observed the King sternly.\n\n\u201cNothing of the sort, sire and madam,\u201d said the doctor, bowing again.\n\u201cFrom what I heard, I think the people want to put your daughter on the\nthrone.\u201d\n\n\u201cNonsense!\u201d said the King.\n\n\u201cPooh!\u201d said the Queen.\n\n\u201cYou think so?\u201d observed the doctor severely. \u201cListen.\u201d\n\nThey did listen, and heard a roar in the distance coming nearer and\nnearer, then a great mass of people came sweeping up the street, crying\nout, \u201cLong live Queen Rose!\u201d \u201cLet us see our new Queen!\u201d \u201cWhere is the\nRose-Princess?\u201d\n\n\u201cAh, where indeed?\u201d cried the Queen, weeping. \u201cI have not seen our\nbeautiful daughter since the mob attacked the palace.\u201d\n\n\u201cShe would easily be recognised,\u201d said the doctor.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m not so sure of that,\u201d replied the King, looking at the Queen. \u201cYou\nknow our Princess is enchanted by the faeries.\u201d\n\n\u201cFaeries?\u201d echoed the doctor; \u201cI never saw one.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut I did,\u201d said the Queen.\n\n\u201cExcuse me, my dear madam\u2014dyspepsia,\u201d returned the doctor gravely, for\nyou see he did not know how the Princess changed to a rosebud every\nnight.\n\nThe Queen was very angry, but dared not say anything, lest the doctor\nshould deliver her up to the mob, who were now surging in the wide\nstreet, listening to a man who was speaking.\n\n\u201cThat is Ardram the student,\u201d said the doctor. \u201cI saw his sick mother\nlast night\u2014she gave me this rosebud.\u201d\n\n\u201cAh,\u201d sighed the Queen, as she took the rosebud from the doctor, \u201chow\nlike my poor lost daughter!\u201d\n\n\u201cI do not see the resemblance, sire and madam,\u201d said the doctor; \u201cbut\nlisten to Ardram;\u201d and he went out of the room, leaving the King and\nQueen to hearken to the man who had taken their throne from them. He was\ntalking in a loud tone to the mob, and telling them they ought to elect\nthe Rose-Princess for their Queen, as she would know how to govern\nbetter than her parents. The sun was just rising, and the golden beams\nwere shining on his face, so that he looked truly noble.\n\n\u201cA seditious traitor!\u201d cried the King.\n\n\u201cCut his head off!\u201d said the Queen.\n\nBut they had not the power to do so, and, amid cries of \u201cLong live Queen\nRose!\u201d Ardram leaped from his standing-place, and all the mob swept down\nthe street to look for the lost Princess.\n\nThe King and Queen turned from the window in great anger, when they saw\nto their surprise that the Rose-Princess was standing in the room.\n\n\u201cMy child, my child!\u201d said the King, kissing her.\n\n\u201cIt was your rosebud, then?\u201d said the Queen, folding the beautiful girl\nin her arms.\n\n\u201cWhat rosebud?\u201d asked the Rose-Princess in surprise; \u201cand how did I come\nhere?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe doctor brought you,\u201d said the King.\n\n\u201cDid he carry me through the streets?\u201d asked the Princess, very much\nastonished. \u201cI wonder I was not recognised.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo one could recognise you as you were then,\u201d said the Queen, and\nnodded wisely, but she did not tell the Princess that she had been a\nrosebud when she was carried by the doctor.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ve had such a lot of adventures,\u201d said the Rose-Princess; \u201cbut I\ndon\u2019t know how I came from one place to the other. First, I was in the\npalace, then in Ardram\u2019s room, then by his sick mother\u2019s bedside, and\nnow here. It must be the faeries.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is the faeries,\u201d observed the Queen, kissing her daughter again.\n\u201cYou\u2019ll know all about it when you marry the exiled Prince, and break\nthe spell.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, I can break whatever spell there is when I marry Ardram,\u201d said the\nRose-Princess; \u201che is the exiled Prince.\u201d\n\n\u201cNonsense!\u201d said the King, frowning.\n\n\u201cPooh!\u201d said the Queen in an angry tone.\n\n\u201cOh, but he is,\u201d cried the Rose-Princess gaily. \u201cI saw his crown, for\nhis mother showed it to me.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen, if he is the real Prince,\u201d said the King, \u201cyou had better marry\nhim, and break the enchantment.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat enchantment?\u201d asked the Rose-Princess.\n\n\u201cYou will find it all out,\u201d began the Queen, \u201cwhen\u201d\u2014\n\n\u201cWhen you marry Prince Ardram,\u201d finished the King.\n\nAll day the three royal people sat in the humble room of the doctor, and\ntalked about their troubles. Rose-Princess told her parents all about\nthe misery of the people, and how they ought to govern, but the King and\nQueen only laughed, which showed that the severe lesson of exile was\nlost on them. Gruff Dr. Mux was very much astonished to see the\nRose-Princess, and told her how she had been proclaimed Queen by Ardram.\n\n\u201cThen I\u2019ll marry him,\u201d said the Rose-Princess promptly, \u201cfor I love him\nvery much. Where is he?\u201d\n\n\u201cComing up the street,\u201d said the doctor. Then all four went to the\nwindow, and saw that the crowd of people were coming back, looking very\ndisappointed because they had not found the Princess.\n\nArdram mounted on a great stone in front of the church door, for the\ncathedral of the city was just opposite the doctor\u2019s house. When the\nRose-Princess saw him, she ran out of the room, down the stairs, and\nacross to where the student was standing.\n\n\u201cArdram, Ardram, I am here!\u201d she cried, and climbed up beside him.\n\nThe people recognised their beautiful Princess at once, and cried out,\u2014\n\n\u201cLong live Queen Rose!\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd King Ardram,\u201d said the Princess loudly; \u201cif you make me Queen, you\nmust make him King, and we will both rule wisely.\u201d\n\n\u201cShe never thinks of us,\u201d said her father.\n\n\u201cUngrateful child!\u201d cried the Queen.\n\nBut no one heard them, for the mob began to roar, \u201cLong live King Ardram\nand Queen Rose!\u201d and the red light of the setting sun shone on the\nhandsome couple as they stood on the stone. Ardram was beside himself\nwith joy, not at being made King, but because the beautiful\nRose-Princess had her white arms round his neck, and was saying how much\nshe loved him.\n\nSuddenly the red light in the sky vanished and the sun set, leaving\nArdram standing alone on the stone with a white rose in his hand.\n\n\u201cWhere is the Queen?\u201d roared the mob.\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d cried Ardram, looking at the white rosebud in a\nbewildered manner; \u201cshe is gone.\u201d\n\n\u201cHe wants to be King alone,\u201d cried the people, \u201cand has made the Queen\ndisappear by magic.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, no,\u201d said Ardram. \u201cI love her too much for that.\u201d\n\n\u201cKill him! kill him! he\u2019s a magician!\u201d yelled the people, and they all\npressed forward to tear Ardram off the stone, but, seeing his danger, he\njumped down and ran into the church, closing the great doors after him.\nThere he was safe, for the mob dared not to break into the church, but\nall night roared round it like a stormy sea round a little boat.\n\nThe King and Queen left the window, and told the gruff doctor all about\nthe enchantment of the Rose-Princess, which he was now inclined to\nbelieve, as he had seen her disappear so suddenly before his eyes. He\nrecommended the Queen to call on the Faery Rosina, which she did, and in\na moment the faery, a tall, beautiful woman, in a robe of shining green,\nwas standing before them. Then the doctor did believe in faeries,\nbecause he now really saw one for the first time, and was much\nastonished.\n\n\u201cWell, are you sorry you lost your throne?\u201d asked the faery severely.\n\n\u201cVery,\u201d said the King and Queen together.\n\n\u201cIf you go back, will you rule wisely?\u201d she said, looking at them.\n\n\u201cWe will rule just as we ruled before,\u201d they replied.\n\n\u201cThen you are not fit to go back,\u201d said Rosina sadly. \u201cI see I have not\ncured you after all.\u201d\n\n\u201cNonsense!\u201d said the King.\n\n\u201cPooh!\u201d said the Queen, and they both thought the faery was very rude.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll settle everything to-morrow morning,\u201d said the faery, quite angry\nat their folly. \u201cI can do nothing till the Rose-Princess becomes a woman\nagain\u2014she will of course marry the Prince Ardram to break the spell.\u201d\n\n\u201cIs he really the Prince?\u201d asked the King and Queen together.\n\n\u201cYes, he is,\u201d retorted the faery shortly, and then vanished, leaving\nthem quite disconsolate, as they thought they would never get back their\nthrone.\n\nMeanwhile Ardram walked up and down the dark church all night, listening\nto the roaring of the crowd outside, and wondering how the Princess kept\nvanishing and appearing so strangely. He was more in love with her than\never, and at last went fast asleep on the altar steps, dreaming about\nhis lovely bride, who said he would rule as King with her. The rosebud\nlay on the steps beside him, but Ardram never thought for a moment that\nhis charming Princess was so near him.\n\nNext morning he awoke in the early grey dawn, before the sun was up, and\nfound himself surrounded by the King, the Queen, Dr. Mux, his mother,\nnow looking strong and well, and a beautiful tall woman, in a green\nrobe, with a wand made of white roses.\n\n\u201cI am the Faery Rosina,\u201d she said to him in a low, sweet voice, \u201cand I\nam come to put things to rights, Prince Ardram.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy do you call me \u2018Prince\u2019 Ardram?\u201d asked the student, looking\npuzzled.\n\n\u201cThe Rose-Princess will tell you,\u201d said the faery, smiling.\n\n\u201cBut where is she?\u201d asked Ardram, looking around.\n\n\u201cThere,\u201d said the faery, pointing with her wand to the white rosebud,\nwhich lay on the floor where Ardram had flung it the previous night.\n\n\u201cImpossible!\u201d he said in astonishment.\n\n\u201cNot at all,\u201d cried the King, coming forward; \u201cnothing is impossible to\na royal princess. That rosebud is my daughter.\u201d\n\n\u201cGiven to the King and Queen by me,\u201d said Rosina sweetly. \u201cThey did not\nknow how to rule, and as I knew this revolution would take place, I\nwanted to provide an heir to the throne.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut the white rose cannot reign,\u201d said Ardram, rather bewildered.\n\n\u201cNot now, but wait till the sun rises,\u201d cried the fairy. \u201cAh, here is\nthe first yellow beam! Now look.\u201d\n\nEvery one looked at the white rosebud lying on the floor, and then a\nyellow beam which struck through a painted window, creeping nearer and\nnearer till it shone on the white bud. In an instant that vanished, and\nin its place stood the Rose-Princess, looking tall and beautiful. On\nseeing Ardram, she bounded towards him and put her arms round his neck.\n\n[Illustration: ON SEEING ARDRAM SHE BOUNDED TOWARD HIM AND PUT HER ARMS\nROUND HIS NECK]\n\n\u201cGood morning, my Prince,\u201d she said sweetly.\n\n\u201cBut I am no prince,\u201d cried Ardram, clasping her to his breast.\n\n\u201cYes, you are,\u201d said the Rose-Princess merrily; \u201cyou are the\ngreat-grandson of the King who was deposed.\u201d\n\n\u201cIs this true, mother?\u201d asked Ardram.\n\n\u201cPerfectly true,\u201d she replied, producing the crown. \u201cHere is the royal\ncrown; you are the real King, but I did not dare to tell you till the\nFaery Rosina gave me permission.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd I waited till now because I wanted you to marry the Princess Rose,\u201d\nsaid the faery, as Ardram placed the crown on his head. \u201cThe Princess is\nenchanted, and turns into a rose every night, so in order to break the\nspell she must marry you.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhen?\u201d asked both lovers together.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d said the faery, and, touching Ardram\u2019s dress, it changed into\nbeautiful royal robes all of gold, and at the same moment the\nRose-Princess appeared dressed in wedding garments, with her crown of\nsilver and diamonds on her head. The organ rolled out a bridal march,\nand the priests came forth in a long procession. In a few minutes the\nPrincess Rose was married to Ardram, and then her silver crown rolled\noff.\n\n\u201cYou must not wear silver any more,\u201d said the faery, \u201cbecause the spell\nis now broken, and you will never change to a rosebud again.\u201d\n\nSo saying, she touched the Rose-Princess\u2019s head with her wand, and\nimmediately there appeared a beautiful golden crown, as gorgeous as that\nworn by Ardram.\n\n\u201cNow you are King and Queen,\u201d said Rosina graciously, \u201cso you will go to\nthe palace and govern wisely.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh yes, we will,\u201d cried the new King and Queen joyfully and then they\nkissed one another as they stood in their royal crowns and splendid\ngarments before the great altar.\n\n\u201cBut what is to become of us?\u201d said the old King and Queen.\n\n\u201cYou are not fit to govern,\u201d said the faery severely, \u201cand only care for\npleasure, so you will go away to the other end of the kingdom, to a city\nof your own, where the people are as fond of pleasure as you are, and\nthere you will be happy.\u201d\n\n\u201cNonsense!\u201d said the King.\n\n\u201cPooh!\u201d replied the Queen.\n\nNevertheless, both of them were secretly very delighted, as they would\nnow be able to enjoy themselves as they pleased. Then the faery ordered\nthe doors of the cathedral to be thrown wide open, the organ played a\ntriumphal march, and the new King and Queen walked slowly down the\nchurch, looking the handsomest couple in the world. The gruff doctor and\nthe old mother followed, but the deposed King and Queen had vanished\nwith the Faery Rosina, who transported them to their own city, where\nthey ruled and enjoyed themselves for many years.\n\nThen all the people in the city saw the new King and Queen standing\nbefore them with their royal crowns, and the bells rang, the streets\nwere made clear again, and as the young couple moved through the crowd,\nwhich strewed flowers before them, the people cried,\u2014\n\n\u201cLong live King Ardram and Queen Rose!\u201d\n\nAnd the Rose-Princess never changed into a flower again, but became a\ntrue, loving wife to the King, who ruled well and wisely, for he had\nseen the hardships of his subjects when he was a poor student. They\nreigned long and happily, and had many children, but in all their\nprosperity the Queen never forgot how she had been an enchanted\nRose-Princess.\n\n\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n SORROW-SINGING\n\n\n[Illustration: ONE BRIGHT SUMMER\u2019S NIGHT A NUMBER OF FAERIES FLEW INTO\nTHE ROOM]\n\nTHERE was once a poor woman who lived in a little village many, many\nyears ago, when the world was much younger than it is now, and when the\ndestinies of mortals were often controlled by the faeries. This woman,\nwhose name was Eldina, had lost her husband, who had fallen in a great\nbattle while fighting the enemies of his king, and a month after she\nheard of his death, Eldina became the mother of a beautiful little son,\nwhich event was a great comfort to her.\n\nThe truth was that, seeing she was so miserable and lonely since the\ndeath of her husband, the kind faeries had given her this little baby to\ncheer her heart, and when it was born they took it under their own\nspecial protection. It was necessary to inform Eldina of this, so one\nbright summer\u2019s night a number of faeries flew into the room where the\nchild was lying and stood in a circle round the cradle.\n\nEldina was engaged in some household work, but having faery blood in her\nveins, she had a very delicate sense of hearing, and immediately knew by\nthe rustle of the faeries\u2019 wings that they had arrived. She made herself\nneat and clean to do honour to her illustrious visitors, and went into\nthe room to hear what they had to say about the child.\n\nThe cradle was quite covered with the most lovely flowers, which the\nenchantments of the faeries had caused to bloom on the brick floor of\nthe cottage, and in the centre of the exquisite blossoms slept the\nsmiling baby, on whose face shone a bright moonbeam.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\u201cEldina,\u201d said the Faery Titania, who is Queen of the Faeries, \u201cwe have\ncome to bestow our gifts upon your child, whom we have taken under our\nspecial protection\u2014is there any gift you would like him to possess?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, your Majesty,\u201d cried Eldina eagerly; \u201cthe gift of happiness.\u201d\n\nAll the faeries looked grave at this request, and a sigh sounded through\nthe room, while Titania gazed sadly on the child.\n\n\u201cWe cannot give happiness,\u201d she said sorrowfully. \u201cEvery mortal can only\nfind happiness in his own actions, but we will do the best we can\u2014I will\ngive the child the gift of song, which is the greatest of all gifts.\u201d\n\nSo saying, she touched the child\u2019s lips with her wand, and retired,\nwhile the Faery Laurina stepped forward with a wreath of laurel leaves.\n\n\u201cI give this child the gift of fame,\u201d she said, placing the laurel\nwreath on the baby\u2019s head; \u201chis songs will make him famous throughout\nthe world.\u201d\n\n\u201cFrom me he receives the gift of beauty,\u201d cried another faery, whose\nname was Venusina.\n\n\u201cFrom me the gift of wisdom,\u201d said the Faery Minervetta.\n\n\u201cFrom me the gift of a kind heart,\u201d observed a smiling fay, who had kind\nblue eyes.\n\nThen all the other faeries bestowed their gifts in turn\u2014wealth, honour,\ngrandeur, cleverness, strength. Everything that human beings most desire\nwas given to this lucky baby, on whom the name of Lanis was now bestowed\nby the universal voice of all the faeries present.\n\n\u201cAll these are beautiful gifts,\u201d said Eldina, weeping, although she half\nsmiled through her tears, \u201cbut they do not bring happiness.\u201d\n\n\u201cThey bring happiness if wisely used,\u201d cried Titania.\n\n\u201cThen give him the power to use them wisely,\u201d pleaded the poor mother.\n\n\u201cWe cannot\u2014we cannot,\u201d sighed the faeries; \u201cthe power rests with\nhimself.\u201d\n\n\u201cWill he never find happiness?\u201d cried Eldina in despair.\n\n\u201cYes, when he arrives at the Kingdom of Shadows, and enters it through\nthe golden gate.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut how will he find the golden gate?\u201d\n\n\u201cBy being a good man. If he misuses his gifts and becomes wicked, he\nwill go through the iron gate into the Kingdom of Fire.\u201d\n\nThen the beams of the moon grew brighter, until the whole chamber glowed\nwith silver light, and the faeries commenced to dance gracefully round\nthe cradle, singing this song, while the baby Lanis slept peacefully,\nwith the crown of green laurel leaves on his head:\n\n \u201cGreat blessings on thy head will fall,\n In this thy natal hour;\n But ah! the greatest gift of all,\n We have not in our power.\n\n We give thee wealth, we give thee fame,\n We give thee hate of wrong,\n The splendour of an honoured name,\n The mighty power of song.\n\n These gifts are idle as the wind,\n Tho\u2019 by them thou art blest,\n Unless thro\u2019 seeking thou canst find\n The gift we deem the best.\u201d\n\nThen all the faeries melted away in the thin moonshine, the blooming\nflowers vanished through the floor, the laurel wreath disappeared from\nthe baby\u2019s head, and Eldina almost thought that she had been dreaming.\n\nShe had not been dreaming, however, as she soon found out, for, as the\nyears rolled by, and Lanis grew up into a tall, handsome boy, he became\nthe wonder of the countryside, owing to his beautiful voice and his\nmarvellous songs. Eldina had found a golden lyre left by the faeries\nwhen Lanis grew old enough to play it, and with this in his hand he was\naccustomed to wander about the country singing his lovely melodies. All\nthe country folk used to make Lanis sing to them at their merrymakings,\nbut when he lifted up his voice, the dancers would cease to dance, the\ntalkers to chatter, and they would sit with awestruck faces listening to\nthe wonderful stories he told them.\n\nIt was a curious thing that, in spite of what the faeries had said about\nnot giving him the gift of happiness, the lad\u2019s songs were of the most\njoyous description, and made the hearts of all rejoice. Eldina was\ndelighted at this, as she thought Lanis would now be happy, in spite of\nthe prophecy of the faeries, when at one merrymaking she heard an old\nman say,\u2014\n\n\u201cAh, he sings fine, no doubt; but he\u2019ll sing better when his heart is\nbroken.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d she asked in great dread.\n\n\u201cJoy-singing is beautiful,\u201d replied the old man, \u201cbut sorrow-singing is\nbetter; your lad knows nothing of the bitterness of life, and sings like\na delighted child. Wait till he breaks his heart, and he will be a\nfamous singer indeed.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut will he be happy?\u201d she asked quickly, as the old man turned to go.\n\n\u201cNo: genius is the gift of heaven, but it always brings sorrow to its\npossessor; the laurel wreath is a sign of honour, but the leaves are\nbitter.\u201d\n\nEldina looked steadily into the eyes of the old man, and saw that he was\na faery who had come to warn her of approaching sorrow. She strove to\ndetain him and learn more, but the faery had vanished, and her hands\nonly grasped the rags of a scarecrow which stood in the fields.\n\nThat night she died, and Lanis, who was deeply attached to her, wept\nbitterly as they buried her under the cool green turf. Before she died,\nEldina called him to her bedside, and told him all about the faeries,\nbidding him wander through the world and seek the one gift which they\ncould not bestow. Lanis wept, and although he could not understand what\nshe meant, still a vague idea of her real meaning came to him as he sat\nby her grave under the silent stars and sang a farewell. There was a\nnote in his voice which had not been there before, and the simple people\nin the village awoke at midnight to hear his sad voice float through the\nstill air of the summer\u2019s night.\n\n\u201cIt is sorrow-singing,\u201d they said to one another. \u201cLanis will never be\nhappy again.\u201d\n\nAnd they were right, for Lanis now started to wander through the world\nand find out how cruel and hard it can be to those who have sensitive\nsouls and childlike faith. He was full of belief in human goodness and\nkindness of heart, for he had received nothing else but kindness in his\ncountry home; but now his mother was dead, the spell was broken, and he\nset forth to find the gift of happiness.\n\nMany months he wandered, singing his songs, sometimes sad, sometimes\njoyful, but in all there sounded the weary note of longing for what he\nwas seeking.\n\n\u201cWhere can I find happiness?\u201d he asked an old beggar who lay by the\nwayside.\n\n\u201cIn the Kingdom of Shadows,\u201d replied the old man, without raising his\neyes.\n\nSo Lanis pursued his weary way over mountains, plains, and seas, always\nasking his one question, and always receiving the same answer.\n\nOnce he came to a great city, and sang in the streets so beautifully of\nthe green country and silver moonlight, that all the tired citizens\ncrowded around to hear. A man who was among the crowd came up to him as\nhe ceased his song and touched him on the sleeve.\n\n\u201cCome with me,\u201d he said eagerly, \u201cand I will make you rich.\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t want to be rich,\u201d replied Lanis.\n\n\u201cThat is a foolish thing to say,\u201d said the man, who had a crafty face;\n\u201cgold is the finest thing in the world.\u201d\n\nSo oily was his speech that he persuaded Lanis to come with him, and\ntook him to a great hall to sing, where he stood at the door himself,\nmaking the people pay broad gold pieces to hear this wonderful poet who\nsang about such noble things. Lanis felt a longing for wealth in his\nheart, and sang about the power of gold to make or mar life, of the good\nit could do, of the evil that arose through its misuse; and all the\npeople in the hall, mostly fat, wealthy merchants, chuckled with\ndelight.\n\n\u201cAh! this is a sensible fellow,\u201d they said to each other; \u201che sings\nabout sensible things.\u201d\n\n\u201cI think his song about the beautiful green woods was finer,\u201d sighed a\npoor boy who listened outside, but then no one took any notice of such a\nsilly observation.\n\nWhen Lanis had done singing, he came out of the hall, and found the man\nwho had tempted him with wealth sitting before a table heaped high with\ngold.\n\n\u201cIs all that mine?\u201d asked Lanis in a breathless tone.\n\n\u201cAll that yours!\u201d echoed the man in an indignant voice; \u201cno, indeed\u2014it\u2019s\nmy money\u2014here is your share,\u201d and he pushed two pieces of gold towards\nLanis out of the great heap.\n\n\u201cBut I earned it,\u201d said Lanis indignantly; \u201cI earned it with my voice.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd did I do nothing?\u201d cried the man angrily. \u201cDo you think I can give\nmy time and services to you for nothing? I should think not. If I hadn\u2019t\nput you into this hall to sing, and charged for people to hear you, why,\nyou would have been singing for nothing in the streets, instead of\ngetting two gold pieces.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut you have a hundred gold pieces.\u201d\n\n\u201cOf course\u2014that\u2019s my share.\u201d\n\n\u201cI did half the work, and I ought to have half the money.\u201d\n\n\u201cNot at all,\u201d replied the man, putting the gold in his pocket; \u201cif you\nwanted half you should have said so before you sang.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut I trusted you,\u201d cried Lanis.\n\n\u201cMore fool you,\u201d retorted the man carelessly; \u201cbut I saw you were a fool\nwhen you sang.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are doing a wicked thing.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s only business,\u201d shrieked the man; \u201cyou ought to be pleased at my\ngiving a beggarly poet like you anything, instead of trying to steal the\nmoney I\u2019ve worked for so hard.\u201d\n\nThen the man ran about the city telling all the people that he had done\na great kindness to Lanis, and been shamefully treated for doing so. All\nthe citizens, who quite agreed with the man\u2019s way of doing business,\nfell upon Lanis, and, driving him out of the city, shut their gates\nagainst him.\n\nIn this way, therefore, did Lanis gain his first experience of the\nworld\u2019s unkindness when there is any question between right and might.\nPicking up his lyre, he walked on, leaving the city wherein he had been\nso cruelly deceived far behind him, and as he went he sang sadly:\n\n \u201cIn the school of life\n Is the lesson taught,\n That with harshest strife\n Is our knowledge bought.\n\n We are bought and sold\n In our joy and grief;\n I have lost my gold,\n I have lost belief.\n\n Ah, by cruel Fate\n We are onward led;\n I have learned to hate,\n And my faith is dead.\u201d\n\nLanis certainly should not have sung so bitterly when such a beautiful\nworld bloomed around him; after all, being deceived by one man does not\nmean that every one else is as cruel; but then Lanis was very sensitive,\nand the unjust way in which he had been treated made him very sad, so\nthat all his songs now spoke but of the sorrows of life and the sadness\nof despair.\n\nAs he wandered on for many months in this dismal mood, he met with many\nadventures, but, alas! nothing which could give him back his former\nchildlike belief in human kindness, and he was very anxious to get to\nthe Kingdom of Shadows and find once more his lost happiness.\n\nOnce he came to a great city which was the capital of a very rich\nkingdom, and here found the citizens in a state of great dismay, for\ntheir King, whom every one loved, had gone out of his mind. No one could\ncure him of his madness, so it had been proclaimed that whomsoever\nshould do so would become the husband of the lovely Princess Iris, who\nwas the King\u2019s daughter. Lanis saw the Princess, and she was so\nbeautiful that he at once fell deeply in love with her, and, forgetting\nall his former experience of ingratitude, he thought that if he cured\nher father, she would grow to love him, and he would thus discover his\nhappiness without looking any more for the Kingdom of Shadows.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nWith this idea he went to the royal palace of the King, and there told\nthe Lord High Chamberlain that he would cure the mad monarch by the\npower of song. The Lord High Chamberlain did not believe much in what\nLanis said, still he was anxious that every means should be tried to\ncure the King, so let Lanis go into the dark room where he was sitting.\n\nThe King was a noble-looking old man, who looked very sad and sorrowful,\nbut Lanis saw at once that he was not really mad, but sad and\ndespondent, owing to the treachery and unkindness he had found upon\nevery hand. His dearest friends had betrayed him, his subjects were\nrebellious, and the poor King so despaired of ever making his people\nwise and noble that he had thus fallen into this deeply sorrowful state\nwhich the Lord High Chamberlain mistook for madness.\n\nLanis ordered the curtains of the great window to be drawn aside, and,\nwhen the bright sunlight streamed in through the painted glass, he sat\ndown in the centre of all the gorgeous colours, and, taking his lyre,\nbegan to sing of noble deeds in order to rouse the despairing King from\nhis lethargy:\n\n \u201cThe world is fair\n With beauty rare,\n Then why despair,\n Oh monarch great?\n He is not wise\n Who never tries\n Sublime to rise\n O\u2019er adverse Fate.\n\n The summer flowers\n Re-bloom in bowers,\n Tho\u2019 winter\u2019s hours\n May kill with frost.\n Beneath the sun\n As quick years run;\n All thou hast done\n Is never lost.\u201d\n\nThe King lifted up his head as he heard these comforting words, and\nlooked at the noble face of the minstrel, for the silvery song bade him\nnot despair, although no good appeared to come of all his work; and\nLanis, seeing a ray of hope beam in the King\u2019s eyes, went on singing\njoyfully:\n\n \u201cPut on thy crown,\n And boldly frown\n Thy sadness down,\n Tho\u2019 keen the smart.\n\n Thy burden take\n Of office great,\n And rule the State\n With dauntless heart.\n\n A coward he\n Who thus would flee\n Despairingly,\n In time of need.\n Tho\u2019 evils lurk\n In darkness murk,\n Resume thy work\u2014\n Thou wilt succeed.\u201d\n\nThen the King, whose face now was shining with hope and strong resolve,\nput on his royal crown, took his golden sceptre in his hand, and went\nforth to take his seat upon the throne to do justice to his subjects.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\u201cThou art a wise youth,\u201d said he to Lanis, \u201cand thy words are noble. It\nis foolish to desert one\u2019s post when there is work to be done, and I\nwill not forget thy rebuke. Now, thou wilt stay with me and marry my\ndaughter.\u201d\n\nLanis was only too glad to do so, for he now loved the Princess with all\nhis might, but, seeing her leave the great feast which the King had\ngiven in honour of his recovery, he followed her secretly, and found her\nweeping.\n\n\u201cWhy do you weep, beautiful Princess?\u201d he asked.\n\n\u201cBecause I have to marry you,\u201d said Iris sadly, \u201cand I love another.\u201d\n\nLanis felt a pang at his heart as she said this, and on turning round\nsaw a handsome young man holding the beautiful Princess in his arms.\n\n\u201cDo you love one another?\u201d asked Lanis, with tears in his eyes.\n\n\u201cYes; it would be death for us to part,\u201d they both replied.\n\nThen Lanis saw that once more he had failed to find happiness, but still\nit was in his power to bestow it upon others, so he took the Princess\nand her lover to the old King, and obtained his consent to their\nmarriage. The lovers thanked him heartily, and after Lanis saw them\nmarried, he once more started away to wander through the world. The King\noffered him gold and jewels to stay, but Lanis refused.\n\n\u201cGold and jewels are good things,\u201d he said sadly; \u201cbut happiness is\nbetter, therefore I go to find it.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd where will you find it?\u201d asked the King.\n\n\u201cIn the Kingdom of Shadows,\u201d answered Lanis, and he departed, singing\nhis sorrow-song:\n\n \u201cAh me, what treasure\n To taste the pleasure\n Of love\u2019s caress.\n Oh, idle lover,\n Wilt thou discover\n Heart\u2019s happiness.\n\n Nay! folly this is;\n I gain no kisses\n From sweet Princess.\n Of him she\u2019s fonder,\n So forth I wander\n In sad distress.\u201d\n\nIt would take a long time to tell how many adventures Lanis met with in\nhis wanderings through the world. The years rolled by, and he travelled\nonward, never pausing, always hoping to find happiness, but, alas! no\none could tell him where to look for the Kingdom of Shadows, and he\nseemed farther off his object than when he set forth. He freed many\nprincesses from the durance of cruel magicians, but though they all\nthanked him for his kindness, they loved some one else, and he found no\none in the world who cared at all about him. He was honoured far and\nwide for his gift of song, and did much good in all lands, but no one\nloved him for himself, and although he was the cause of happiness to\nothers, he never felt happiness in his own heart.\n\nAt last, after many years of weary travel, when he had grown a\nwhite-haired old man, with bent form and sad heart, he found himself on\nthe shore of a great sea, beyond which he knew lay the most wonderful\ncountries. A boat was rocking on the waves near the shore, so Lanis\ndetermined to sail over this mysterious ocean, and thought that perhaps\nfar away in the darkness he might find the Kingdom of Shadows, for which\nhe had sought so long and ardently. He knew that if he once sailed over\nthis ocean, he would never be able to return to earth again, so he sang\na last farewell to the beautiful world wherein he had done so much good,\nand then stepped into the boat.\n\nIt was a fairy boat, and moved rapidly onward over the waves without\nsails or oars. The mists gathered thickly round him and hid the green\nshore from his view, so sitting in the boat he saw nothing but the grey\nsky above, the grey mists around, and beneath him the cruel black\nwaters. He was not afraid, however, for he knew he had done no harm,\nand, seizing his harp, sang his last sorrow-song:\n\n \u201cGrey mist around me,\n Grey sky above me;\n Sorrow hath crowned me\u2014\n No one will love me.\n\n Brave spirit, quail not;\n All will be bright yet.\n At thy fate rail not;\n God will make right yet.\n\n Still do thy duty,\n Tho\u2019 all deceive thee,\n Splendour and beauty\n Now will receive thee.\u201d\n\nAs he sang the last words, the strings of his lyre snapped with a loud\ncrash, and, leaping out of his nerveless hands, it fell into the grey\nwaves of the sea. Lanis did not grieve, for he now knew he was done with\nhis sorrow-singing for evermore, and as the boat sailed onward he saw a\nred glow to the left.\n\n\u201cThat is the gate of iron,\u201d he whispered to himself, \u201cit leads to the\nKingdom of Fire. Ah! I would never find any happiness there.\u201d\n\nThe waves were foaming angrily round the little boat, and the red glare\nfrom the open portals of the iron gate looked like an angry sunset, but\nstill Lanis felt no fear. After a time the red glare died away, and now\non every side of him was a soft golden light, while the waves beneath\nthe boat were of a delicate blue, and the sky above of the same soft\ntint. Lanis looked around, and saw a soft green shore, to which his boat\ndrifted gently, and he sprang out on to the yellow sand of the beach. As\nhe did so, his travel-worn clothes fell off him, and he found himself\narrayed in a long white robe.\n\nA tall man, also in a white robe, approached, and, smiling gently on\nLanis, gave him a golden harp.\n\n\u201cIs this my old harp?\u201d asked Lanis, taking it.\n\n\u201cNo; it is better than the old harp.\u201d\n\n\u201cIs it for sorrow-singing?\u201d\n\n\u201cNay; it is for songs of joy.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd is this Faeryland?\u201d\n\n\u201cNay; it is a nobler place than Faeryland.\u201d\n\n\u201cIs it The Kingdom of Shadows?\u201d\n\n\u201cSo we called it on earth, but now we know it as the Kingdom of Eternal\nLight.\u201d\n\nLanis looked at the tall man as he said this, and saw it was the old\nking he had helped\u2014now no longer old and frail, but in the prime of\nlife.\n\n\u201cYou are the King!\u201d he cried gladly.\n\n\u201cYes, I was the King. You pointed out my duty to me, and I did it;\notherwise I never would have reached here.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd the Princess?\u201d\n\n\u201cIs quite happy,\u201d replied the King. \u201cShe rules my realm with her\nhusband, and both are wise.\u201d\n\n\u201cHave you found happiness?\u201d asked Lanis.\n\n\u201cYes!\u2014and so will you, when you strike your harp,\u201d answered the King.\n\nLanis struck the golden strings of his harp, and immediately all his\nweariness and sorrow passed away, and he felt glad and joyful. At the\nsound of the music, he changed from an old man into a noble-looking\nyouth\u2014the same Lanis who had sung to the King.\n\n\u201cAh, I have indeed found happiness,\u201d he cried; \u201cbut still, I feel I want\nsomething more.\u201d\n\n\u201cI know what you want,\u201d said the King. \u201cLook!\u201d\n\nAnd Lanis, looking up, saw his mother, with a calm expression of joy\nupon her face, coming towards him, with outstretched arms. All the\nwhite-robed spirits around struck their golden harps and sang the most\nbeautiful songs that were ever heard, while mother and son embraced, and\nfar off the palace of the great King shone like a bright star.\n\nLanis also struck his harp, and, with the earthly monarch and his\nmother, went singing onward through the lovely fields, to kneel before\nthe King, who had thus drawn him onward, through sorrow and sadness, to\nfind his happiness at length in the land which we mortals call the\nKingdom of Shadows but which wise men know as the Kingdom of Eternal\nLight.\n\n\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n THE GOLDEN GOBLIN\n\n\n I.\n\n RING MAGIC.\n\nKELCH was a handsome young man who lived in a little village which was\nnear a great black forest, and he thought himself the most miserable\nbeing in the world. It was very curious that he should do so, for he was\nyoung, good-looking, and healthy, but he did not value any of these\ngifts, because he was in love with Filina, the prettiest girl in the\nwhole country, and her father wanted her to marry a very rich man called\nHocky, for whom she did not in the least care.\n\nNow Filina was also in love with Kelch, and hated the idea of marrying\nugly old Hocky, but, as he was rich and Kelch poor, her father would not\nlet her wed as she wished. Kelch had a little cottage near the wood,\nwhich had been left to him by his mother, and earned his livelihood by\ncutting firewood, which, to be sure, was not a very aristocratic\noccupation. Still, in those days people did not care much for rank, and\npretty Filina loved Kelch tenderly in spite of his humble calling. She\nnearly wept her eyes out when her father said she was to become the\nbride of Hocky. He was an avaricious old dwarf who only cared for gold,\nand wanted to marry Filina, not for her beauty, but because he knew she\nwould some day be left money when her father died. When Kelch heard of\nthe proposed marriage, he went to Filina\u2019s father and told of his love,\nbut the cruel parent laughed at his request.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\u201cYou marry my daughter!\u201d he said mockingly. \u201cWhat an idea!\u2014you can give\nher no money.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut I can give her love,\u201d said Kelch sturdily, \u201cand that is much better\nthan money.\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t think so,\u201d retorted Filina\u2019s father. \u201cAny one can make love,\nbut few can make money, so go back to your wood-cutting, and don\u2019t come\nto me with such silly requests.\u201d\n\n\u201cIs there no chance for me?\u201d cried Kelch in despair.\n\n\u201cYes\u2014one,\u201d answered the old man mockingly. \u201cBecome as rich as Hocky, and\nyou shall marry my daughter.\u201d\n\nPoor Kelch went away with tears in his eyes, because old Hocky was known\nto be very wealthy, and how could an unknown youth hope to become rich\nwhen he had no one to help him? It was no good feeling sad, however, for\nsorrow would not help him to win Filina, so Kelch determined to go to\nthe castle of the Wicked Baron who lived in the centre of the forest,\nand ask him to make him a present of some gold.\n\nThe Wicked Baron was a famous miser, and his castle was said to be full\nof gold, so, in spite of his bad character, Kelch thought he would not\nrefuse to give him a little out of his plenty. So early one morning,\nafter saying good-bye to Filina, he went into the forest to search for\nthe Wicked Baron\u2019s castle, and ask its owner to give him some gold.\n\nKelch wandered deeper and deeper into the forest, which became wilder\nand more savage as he advanced, but still he did not come across the\nlooked-for castle. Night was coming on, and the wood was full of sombre\nshadows, while behind the trees flushed the fierce red light of the\nsetting sun. It was a faery forest, and all the ground was covered with\nsoft grass, and strange flowers which only bloomed at night-time; while\noverhead the nightingales sang most deliciously in the trees, and at\nintervals the wise owls hooted in the most unexpected manner.\n\nAs it was now quite dark, Kelch thought he would sleep under a great oak\ntree until the morning, and then once more set out upon his travels; so\nhe ate some food he had brought with him, drank from a stream which\nsparkled by, and after saying his prayers,\u2014for he was a good lad,\u2014rested\nhis head upon his knapsack and went fast asleep.\n\nIn the middle of the night, however, he woke suddenly under the\ninfluence of enchantment, for the whole of the forest was flooded with\nthe silver moonlight, and on every side the faeries were holding their\nrevels. Having drank of the waters of the brook, Kelch had come under\nthe charm of faery power, and, to his surprise, was able to understand\nthe talk of two elves who sat chattering to one another on the broad\nwhite cup of a lily.\n\n\u201cWho is this youth lying asleep?\u201d asked the first elf, never thinking\nfor a moment Kelch was awake, and only kept his eyes closed in order to\nhear what they had to say.\n\n\u201cHe is called Kelch,\u201d said the other elf, \u201cand loves Filina, who is to\nmarry old Hocky. He is now searching for the castle of the Wicked Baron,\nto ask for gold.\u201d\n\n\u201cHe\u2019ll never find it,\u201d observed the first faery, \u201cunless he asks the Owl\nwho lives in the oak tree under which he sleeps.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen I will ask the Owl,\u201d cried Kelch, sitting up, whereupon both\nfaeries flew away in great alarm, much to his regret, as he wanted to\nmake inquiries about the Owl.\n\nHe looked up at the tree, but could see nothing save the branches\ninterlaced against the clear sky, and now and then a gleam of moonlight\non the rough bark of the trunk. As Kelch had often heard that song was\nthe only way to invoke faeries, he thought he would try the same means\nwith the owl. So, springing to his feet, he began to sing, making up the\nwords as he went along:\n\n \u201cFairy Owl,\n Clever fowl,\n Please tell me\n Where to see\n The castle old,\n Where Baron bold\n Hoards up his gold.\u201d\n\nThe words were not very good, but they told exactly what he wanted to\nknow, and the Owl put her head out of a hole in the tree with a wild\nhoot, her eyes glowing red like burning coals.\n\n\u201cGo away, boy,\u201d croaked the Owl angrily, \u201cand do not disturb me in my\ngrief. The Baron is dead, and I am in mourning for him.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe Baron dead!\u201d cried Kelch in dismay. \u201cOh dear! then I won\u2019t be able\nto get any gold. I don\u2019t know, though\u2014he can\u2019t have taken his gold with\nhim, so it must be there still. Owl!\u2014Owl!\u2014where\u2019s the castle?\u201d\n\nThe Owl hooted crossly, and then replied:\n\n \u201cFollow the brook\n To open ground,\n Then upward look,\n And all around.\n Jump water cold,\n Then you will see\n The castle old\n Frown o\u2019er the lea.\u201d\n\nThe Owl drew back her head into the hole, and Kelch, taking her advice,\nfollowed the windings of the brook through the forest. There never was\nsuch a winding brook; first it twisted one way, then another, curled\nround trees, hid under rocks, fell down precipices in sheets of foam,\nand even flowed up a gentle incline. At last it began to grow\nstraighter, and finally led Kelch into a wide open glade girdled with\ntrees, but flowed directly in front of him, so that, in order to reach\nthe glade, he would have to cross it.\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t see any castle,\u201d said Kelch to himself; \u201cbut then the Owl said,\n\u2018Jump water cold,\u2019 so if I cross this brook, which evidently renders the\ncastle invisible, I will see it.\u201d\n\nAs soon as he made up his mind to do this, he jumped over, and, on\nlanding safely on the opposite bank, saw before him a great castle, with\nmany towers all overgrown with ivy. So Kelch was right, the brook\nrendered the castle invisible, and unless he had jumped across it he\nwould have seen nothing.\n\nKelch saw no lights in the castle, but, being a brave lad, he did not\nmind that, so marched boldly forward, climbed up a broken-down flight of\nsteps leading to the front door, and, finding it open, entered. It was\nall dark inside, but Kelch had a bit of candle in his pocket, and,\nhaving lighted it, he set out to explore the castle, which was evidently\nquite deserted.\n\nHe wandered through room after room, all of which were quite empty, and\ninhabited by nothing but spiders, there not even being a rat. The\nmoonlight streamed into the lonely halls through the painted glass of\nthe windows, and filled them with strange shadows, but Kelch, knowing\nthat he had done no one harm, was not afraid, and began singing to keep\nup his spirits:\n\n \u201cThro\u2019 lonely halls,\n Wander, wander;\n The moonlight falls\n Yonder, yonder;\n Tho\u2019 dark appals,\n Ponder, ponder.\n\n Sad thoughts arise,\n Weary, weary;\n The night-wind sighs,\n Dreary, dreary;\n I hear strange cries,\n Eerie, eerie.\u201d\n\nAnd indeed he did hear strange cries, sometimes like the roaring of wild\nbeasts, then shrill sounds like the piping of winds upon sandy beaches,\nsometimes a cry of pain, and at time as burst of wild laughter. In order\nto protect himself, he drew his hunting-knife from his girdle, and went\nin the direction from whence the noises proceeded. When he did this, he\nfound himself descending the stairs, and thought he must now be going to\nthe cellars where the Wicked Baron kept his gold. The noises grew louder\nand louder as he descended, and at last all dwindled down to one harsh\nvoice, which was singing this song:\n\n \u201cThe Goblin Golden\n Here you will find;\n From ages olden\n I\u2019ve ruled mankind.\n\n Another victim\n I now will bind;\n When I have tricked him\n He\u2019ll sorrow find.\u201d\n\nKelch had by this time come to the end of a long dark passage, and was\nstopped by an iron door, under which gleamed a line of bright yellow\nlight. He knocked, then suddenly with a loud crash the door flew open,\nand he saw before him a circular room illuminated with the bright yellow\nlight. In the centre was a great pile of gold coins, on the top of which\nwas seated a funny little man.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nSuch a queer figure he was, with a great fat body like a bag of money\ntied round the top with a golden cord, so that it made a ruffle for his\nneck, and above this was an enormous head with two fierce yellow eyes, a\ngreat beak of a nose, and a wide mouth, which when open showed long\ngolden teeth. He had short little legs, with long peaked shoes of gold,\nand in his hands held a golden sceptre, while on top of his great head\nof yellow hair was a huge crown of heavy gold set with flashing\ndiamonds. He had a yellow skin and yellow clothes,\u2014in fact, he was\nyellow all over, and he sat cross-legged on the top of the heap of gold,\ngrinning and nodding at Kelch till the diamonds in his crown glittered\nlike great stars.\n\n\u201cI am the Golden Goblin,\u201d he cried in a harsh voice, when he saw the\nlad, \u201cand I know what you come for, so take as much gold as you like and\ngo.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut where is the Wicked Baron?\u201d asked Kelch.\n\n\u201cHe has gone to my kingdom below,\u201d said the Goblin, grinning; \u201che was my\nservant, and had as much gold as he wanted, on condition he came with me\nwhen he died, so he did die last year, and I\u2019ve got him safe in my\nkingdom.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: \u201cI AM THE GOLDEN GOBLIN,\u201d HE CRIED IN A HARSH VOICE]\n\nKelch\u2019s hair arose on end at this, so wicked did the Goblin look, but as\nhe had done no harm, he was not afraid.\n\n\u201cCan I take some gold?\u201d he asked; \u201cI want some in order to marry\nFilina.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou can take as much gold as you like,\u201d replied the Goblin graciously,\n\u201con condition that you put this ring on Filina\u2019s finger as a present\nfrom me.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, I don\u2019t mind that,\u201d said Kelch, taking the gold ring held out to\nhim by the Goblin. \u201cThank you kindly; it will do for a wedding ring.\u201d\n\n\u201cExactly,\u201d cried the Goblin, nodding his ugly head; \u201cit will do for a\nwedding ring. Now, fill your pockets with this gold, and it will do for\nFilina\u2019s dowry.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut then this gold belongs to the Baron.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, it doesn\u2019t; he\u2019s dead, and it belongs to whomsoever I choose to\ngive it,\u201d roared the little man, kicking several pieces across the\nfloor. \u201cAll the gold in the world is mine\u2014take as much as you like, and\ndon\u2019t say I\u2019m not kind.\u201d\n\nYou may be sure Kelch did not require a second invitation, and filled\nall his pockets with money, so that he bulged out all over in the most\ngrotesque manner. While he did so, the Golden Goblin jumped off the heap\nand danced about the room, singing the queerest songs Kelch had ever\nheard. When his pockets were quite full, he thanked the Goblin and said\ngood-bye.\n\n\u201cGood-bye,\u201d cried the Goblin, as Kelch went to the door, \u201ctill I see you\nagain.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou\u2019ll never see me again,\u201d returned Kelch, rather annoyed.\n\n\u201cOh yes, I will,\u201d grinned the yellow man, jumping up again on the golden\nheap. \u201cDon\u2019t forget to marry Filina with my ring.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, I won\u2019t forget,\u201d said Kelch; and then the Goblin burst out\nlaughing, while all the gold upon which he was seated commenced to whirl\nround, until Kelch could not see the little man, but only a gleaming\ncolumn of gold, which was at first as high as the roof, then sank lower\nand lower until it disappeared through the floor. Then the yellow light\ncommenced to fade, so Kelch, seeing there was no time to be lost, left\nthe chamber and hurried up-stairs as hard as ever he could.\n\nFeeling very delighted that he had attained his object, he left the\ncastle of the Wicked Baron and jumped across the brook. When he did so,\nthe magic castle disappeared, and Kelch, with the gold in his pockets\nand the ring upon his finger, followed the windings of the brook until\nhe arrived back at the oak tree.\n\n\u201cOh, you\u2019ve got back!\u201d cried the Owl, putting out her head.\n\n\u201cYes; and I\u2019ve got the gold, thank you,\u201d said Kelch cheerfully.\n\n\u201cMuch good may it do you,\u201d hooted the Owl, and withdrew her head again.\n\nKelch thought the Owl was very rude, but as she had done him a great\nservice, he said nothing, but walked through the forest, and on arriving\nat the outskirts went straight home just as the red dawn was breaking in\nthe east.\n\nDuring the day he went to Filina\u2019s father and gave him all the gold he\nhad obtained from the castle of the Wicked Baron, upon which the old man\nwas so delighted that he at once gave his consent to the marriage, much\nto the disgust of Hocky, who was very envious of Kelch\u2019s good fortune.\n\nIn the evening Filina\u2019s father gave a dance on the village green in\nhonour of his daughter\u2019s marriage, and while the merrymaking was going\non, Kelch took the opportunity to slip the Goblin\u2019s ring on Filina\u2019s\nfinger. No sooner had he done so, than, to the dismay of every one, the\npoor girl vanished out of their sight, and Kelch was in despair.\n\nFilina\u2019s father was very angry at the disappearance of his daughter, and\nhis rage was further increased by Hocky, who said that Kelch must have\npromised to give Filina to the Goblin in exchange for the gold. All the\nvillagers believed this malicious story, and drove Kelch from his home\nwith sticks and stones. So the poor lad found himself at last seated\nonce more under the oak tree, having lost Filina, his gold, his home,\nand his good name.\n\n\n II.\n\n THE REALM OF GOLD.\n\nIT was now night-time once more, and the wood was again full of merry\nfaeries, but Kelch was too much taken up with his own sorrows to notice\nthem, although the pranks they played would have amused the saddest\nperson in the world. However, when things are at their worst they\ngenerally begin to mend, as Kelch soon found out, for, while he was\nlamenting his evil fortune, the Owl put her head out of the hole in the\noak tree and hooted loudly, \u201cTu-whit! tu-whoo!\u201d Kelch looked up, and,\nknowing owls to be wise birds, fond of word-twistings, made instant\nreply.\n\n\u201cTrue wit I have not owing to my sorrow, and I go not to woo because\nFilina has been taken from me.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery neat indeed,\u201d replied Mrs. Owl politely. \u201cI see you have the real\ncourt air.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt must be natural, then,\u201d said Kelch, with a sigh, \u201cbecause I\u2019ve never\nbeen to court.\u201d\n\n\u201cNever mind,\u201d observed the Owl, nodding her head sagely; \u201cperhaps you\nwill go some day. But why do you sit under my tree and cry?\u201d\n\n\u201cBecause I\u2019m so miserable,\u201d said Kelch, and thereupon he told the Owl\nall his troubles in connection with Filina. The Owl listened attentively\nwith her head on one side, and, when he came to the end of his story,\nwiped her eyes with a dry leaf, for she was a very tender-hearted bird,\nand felt very sorry for Kelch.\n\n\u201cAh, that Goblin, I know him well!\u201d she said, when she had recovered\nfrom her emotion; \u201che has carried off my friend the Wicked Baron, who\nwas no more wicked than you, except that he was too fond of gold. Ah,\nthat was his ruin! for if it had not been for his love of money, the\nGolden Goblin would never have carried him off.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy did he carry him off?\u201d asked Kelch.\n\n\u201cBecause once a year the Golden Goblin has to make the offering of a\nhuman being to the King of Fire, for if he did not, the King of Fire\nwould invade the Realm of Gold, and destroy the kingdom of the Golden\nGoblin. He offered the Baron as the last victim, and the next will be\nFilina.\u201d\n\n\u201cFilina!\u201d cried Kelch in a tone of despair. \u201cOh no, it can\u2019t be true.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is true\u2014quite true,\u201d replied the Owl in a dignified manner. \u201cThe\nring he gave you is a magic ring, and as soon as it was placed on\nFilina\u2019s finger, she vanished from the earth.\u201d\n\n\u201cShe did\u2014she did! but where is she now?\u201d\n\n\u201cDown below in the Realm of Gold. To-morrow she will be given up as the\nbride of the King of Fire.\u201d\n\n\u201cCannot I save her?\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d said the Owl reflectively. \u201cIf your heart is strong, and\nyou don\u2019t feel afraid, perhaps you may.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, I\u2019m not afraid!\u201d cried Kelch quickly. \u201cDo help me to save her, dear\nMrs. Owl\u2014please do!\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll help you to save Filina and punish wicked old Hocky on one\ncondition,\u201d said the Owl slowly; \u201cand that is that you never cut down my\noak tree yourself, or let any one else cut it down.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, I\u2019ll promise that,\u201d answered Kelch earnestly. \u201cYour oak tree will\nalways be safe.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen you keep your promise and I\u2019ll keep mine,\u201d cried the Owl. \u201cNow,\nfirst you must get to the Realm of Gold.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut how?\u201d\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t be impatient, and I\u2019ll tell you. The way to the Realm of Gold is\ndown the trunk of this oak tree, so if you climb up to my nest, I\u2019ll\nshow you how to crawl down.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut I\u2019m too big,\u201d said Kelch, looking at his sturdy figure.\n\n\u201cOh, that will be all right; climb up to my nest, and as you climb\nyou\u2019ll grow smaller.\u201d\n\nKelch lost no time in obeying Mrs. Owl, and started to climb up the\ngreat trunk of the oak tree. As he did so, he found himself shrinking\nevery minute, and when he arrived at the nest he was only two feet high,\nand able to enter the hole without bowing his head.\n\nThe Owl received him very graciously, and showed him her home, which was\nbeautifully furnished with dry grass, and curtains of green moss.\n\n\u201cThese are my books,\u201d said Mrs. Owl, showing him some dried leaves; \u201cfor\nI read a great deal\u2014it improves my mind. The Faery Minervetta gave me\nthese beautiful volumes.\u201d\n\n\u201cThey look like dried leaves,\u201d observed Kelch.\n\n\u201cTo you; yes, because you are a mortal, but I am a faery owl, and can\nread faery books. However, there\u2019s no time to be lost, or Filina will\nbecome the bride of the King of Fire, and then I cannot help you. Now,\ntake this phial of water.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat good will it do?\u201d asked Kelch, putting the phial in his pocket.\n\n\u201cA great deal of good,\u201d replied the Owl severely; \u201call the subjects of\nthe Golden Goblin are mortals who are discontented with their lot, and\nwant gold to buy all sorts of bad things; that phial contains the water\nof contentment, and if you sprinkle it over the men and women you find\nin the Realm of Gold, they will grow satisfied with their station in\nlife, and not want any gold; therefore the Goblin will lose all his\nsubjects. When he sees that, he\u2019ll soon make terms with you, and then\nyou can demand back Filina.\u201d\n\n\u201cI understand,\u201d said Kelch; \u201cbut how do the men and women get to the\nRealm of Gold if they are mortal?\u201d\n\n\u201cThey go in their dreams,\u201d replied the Owl. \u201cWhen they are awake during\nthe day they live on earth, but at night in their sleep they go down to\nthe Realm of Gold to be the slaves of the Golden Goblin; and, indeed,\nmany of them are his slaves in the day as well as in the night. Now go\naway at once, or you\u2019ll be late.\u201d\n\nKelch thanked the kind Owl, and, going through a little door at the back\nof the nest, commenced to clamber down the inside of the oak tree trunk,\nwhile the Owl resumed her studies.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ve saved my tree,\u201d said the Owl to herself sagaciously; \u201cno one will\ncut it down now. Ah, there\u2019s no doubt I\u2019m really a very wise owl!\u201d\n\nAnd indeed she was; for she had gained by kindness what she never would\nhave gained by force, which shows that it is best to be gentle in all\nthings if we want to be successful.\n\nMeanwhile, Kelch, being completely in the dark, did not know his way,\nand in spite of all his care suddenly slipped and fell right down the\ncentre of the tree trunk. However, as he was in Faeryland, he felt no\nfear, for, indeed, he was falling quite gently, as the air was so heavy,\nand he was so small and light. Down, down he fell through the darkness,\ntill at last he came bump upon a cushion of moss which was at the foot\nof the tree. Here there was a faint glimmer of light, and he saw above\nhim the mighty roots of the oak stretching out in all directions like\nthe rafters of a huge hall. His eyes soon became accustomed to the\nglimmering twilight in which he now found himself, and he looked around\nto see where he would go next. Through the misty blue light he espied a\nsmall hole which seemed to lead downward in a gentle slope, but it was\nso dark that he felt rather afraid to enter into it. Suddenly he saw\nthat the misty blue light was caused by the radiance of some decayed\nwood which lay about, so, catching up a piece, he advanced boldly into\nthe hole, and soon discovered that it gave him sufficient light to see a\nshort distance before him.\n\nKelch was now in a narrow tunnel, the sides, floor, and roof of which\nwere nothing but rough rock, but as he advanced these commenced to\nglisten with jewels, until they reflected the light of his decayed wood\ntorch so brightly, that he walked in the centre of a brilliant blaze. At\nlast the passage ended suddenly at a deep hole, up which rushed a\ncurrent of warm air. There seemed no way of getting down, but Kelch,\nremembering his experience in the oak tree, never hesitated for a\nmoment, but flung himself boldly into the hole. The warm air bore him\nup, and he fell gently for a long time, seeing the sides of the hole\nrushing past him one blaze of light, like a splendid jewel. The air grew\nhotter and hotter as he fell, until at length he tumbled right into the\ncentre of a heap of gold dust, which made him sneeze dreadfully. All\naround him was a soft golden light, such as he had seen in the treasure\nvault of the Wicked Baron; so, throwing away his useless torch, he\njumped to his feet and looked about him.\n\nHe was now in the middle of a large plain, and could see neither the\nsides nor the roof of what he thought must be a cavern, as it was below\nthe earth, but only a soft gold mist floating above him, and surrounding\nhim on all sides, while the ground was covered with fine glittering gold\ndust, in which lay great rocks and stones of pure yellow gold, gleaming\ndully in the subdued yellow twilight.\n\nIt was truly a wonderful place, and what was more wonderful was, that\nKelch now found he had grown again to his natural size; so, very\nsatisfied with everything, he marched along over the plain to look for\nthe Golden Goblin.\n\nFor a long time the plain was quite lonely, and then he saw one or two\npeople in the distance; shortly afterwards, some more, until at length\nhe found himself among a great crowd of shadows. Kelch knew they were\ndream-shadows, although they looked like flesh and blood men and women,\nand he moved through the dense mass quite unnoticed, so intent were they\non their occupations. These consisted in picking up nuggets of gold from\nthe ground and putting them in their pockets; but Kelch noticed that all\ntheir pockets had the bottoms cut off, so that when the nuggets were put\nin, they simply fell through to the ground once more. Some of the\nshadows wore chains of gold, of which they seemed very proud, and not\none person paid any attention to another, but each bent eagerly down\ngathering up the gold, and putting it into their bottomless pockets.\nThere were old white-headed men, palsied elderly women, men in the prime\nof life, and beautiful maidens; but all their faces wore the same eager\nexpression, as they clutched the shining gold.\n\nKelch could not help pitying them as they worked at their fruitless\ntasks, but he knew they did it of their own free will, so that the work\nwhich appeared a pain to him was a pleasure to them.\n\nSuddenly he recollected the phial given to him by the Owl, and, as he\ndid not see anything of the Goblin, pulled it out of his pocket and\nbegan to sprinkle the water of contentment on the avaricious shadows.\n\nEvery time a drop fell on one of them, that shadow vanished, and Kelch\nknew that it had returned to its sleeping body on earth, quite contented\nwith its station in life, and would look no more for gold.\n\nHundreds of shadows vanished as he sprinkled them with the water of\ncontentment, when all at once a quiver passed through the crowd, and\nbefore Kelch had time to wink, the Golden Goblin, with his eyes blazing\nwith rage, stood before him, looking uglier than ever.\n\n\u201cHo! ho!\u201d cried the Goblin furiously; \u201cit is you who are trying to rob\nme of my subjects\u2014but I\u2019ll give you to the King of Fire. Seize him at\nonce!\u201d\n\nA crowd of grotesque goblins, all very like their master, rushed forward\nand tried to seize Kelch, but he sprinkled them with the magic water,\nwhich burnt like fire, and they all tumbled back in a confused mass. The\nGolden Goblin stamped with rage, but was afraid to come near Kelch, lest\nhe also should be sprinkled with the water of contentment.\n\n\u201cWhat do you want?\u201d he shouted, as Kelch paused for a moment. \u201cI told\nyou we would meet again\u2014but what do you want?\u201d\n\n\u201cYou know well enough,\u201d retorted Kelch coolly. \u201cI want Filina\u2014you stole\nmy Filina from me.\u201d\n\n\u201cShe\u2019s mine now,\u201d said the Goblin in a grumbling tone, \u201cand I\u2019m going to\ngive her as a bride to the King of Fire; besides, I paid you well for\nher\u2014you took a lot of gold.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, but that was a present,\u201d cried Kelch hotly. \u201cI never said I would\nlet you steal my future wife; I want Filina, not your gold.\u201d\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t want gold!\u201d said the Goblin in astonishment; \u201cyou are the first\nmortal I ever heard say that.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019ve got no time to talk,\u201d observed Kelch, raising the phial, \u201cso if\nyou don\u2019t give me back my Filina, I\u2019ll leave you without a single\nsubject.\u201d\n\n\u201cStop, stop!\u201d cried the Goblin in consternation; \u201cdon\u2019t do that. Come\nwith me to my palace, and I will give you back your Filina\u2014on\nconditions.\u201d\n\n\u201cI won\u2019t make any conditions,\u201d said Kelch, as they walked along; \u201cI want\nmy Filina, and nothing else.\u201d\n\nThe Golden Goblin grinned angrily at this, but as Kelch had the phial,\nand could make his subjects vanish, he was afraid to say anything as\nthey glided rapidly along to the palace. It was gliding and not walking,\nfor Kelch found that though his legs did not move, still he seemed to be\napproaching nearer to the great gold castle in which the Goblin held his\ncourt.\n\nIt was all built of shining gold, with innumerable towers, and huge\nwindows of diamond glass. There was a great flight of steps leading to\nthe front door, and the Goblin ran up these, followed by Kelch, until at\nlength they came to a great hall with many golden pillars, and an\nimmense domed roof all glittering with jewels.\n\nThe Goblin went to the end of this hall, and, having seated himself upon\nhis throne, which was cut out of one gigantic diamond, he offered Kelch\na goblet filled with liquid gold.\n\n\u201cI won\u2019t drink that,\u201d said Kelch, and dashed the goblet out of the\nlittle man\u2019s hand.\n\n\u201cJust as well you refused,\u201d replied the Goblin complacently, pointing to\na golden statue that stood near the throne, \u201cor you would have become\nlike that.\u201d\n\nKelch turned to examine the statue, and saw to his grief that it was\npretty Filina thus changed. Every hair of her head, every fold of her\ndress was there, but she was nothing but a stiff golden statue.\n\n\u201cI can\u2019t take my Filina back like this,\u201d he cried, turning to the\nGoblin, who sat on his throne grinning at Kelch\u2019s sorrow.\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t mean you to,\u201d retorted the Goblin; \u201cit\u2019s far too valuable a\nstatue to give to you.\u201d\n\n\u201cFilina is still more valuable.\u201d\n\n\u201cWould you rather have Filina than all that gold?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, a thousand times!\u201d said Kelch boldly.\n\nThe Goblin looked rather discomfited at this, and nodded several times\nas if puzzled.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019re too good for me,\u201d he observed at length; \u201cI can gain no power\nover you. But if I give you back Filina, how am I to pay my yearly\ntribute to the King of Fire? If I don\u2019t do it, he will burn all my\nkingdom to cinders.\u201d\n\n\u201cHe can\u2019t burn it to cinders when it\u2019s all gold,\u201d cried Kelch; \u201cbut\ncan\u2019t I find you a substitute for Filina?\u201d\n\n\u201cAh, that\u2019s a good idea!\u201d screamed the goblin, while all his ugly little\ncourtiers jumped with joy at this solution of the problem. \u201cBring me\nHocky, and I\u2019ll give you Filina.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut what will you do to Hocky?\u201d asked Kelch anxiously, for even to\nrescue Filina he was unwilling to bring harm to any one else.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll give him to the King of Fire.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut he\u2019ll be burnt up.\u201d\n\n\u201cOnly the bad part of him,\u201d said the Golden Goblin; \u201call that is good in\nhim will not be touched by the fire. When he is quite purified by the\nfire, he will be allowed to return to earth again, and instead of being\na bad man as he is now, he will be very good.\u201d\n\n\u201cIn that case I don\u2019t mind,\u201d replied Kelch, much relieved. \u201cBut how am I\nto give you Hocky in exchange for Filina?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, that\u2019s easily done,\u201d said the Goblin, holding out to Kelch a cup\nfilled with some liquor which sparkled like diamonds. \u201cDrink this, and\nyou will be immediately transported back to your cottage. There you will\nfind Filina, who will still be a statue of gold. Get Hocky to pull off\nthe ring that is on her finger and put it on one of his own, then Filina\nwill become flesh and blood once more, and Hocky will vanish.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhere to?\u201d asked Kelch, taking the cup of diamond water from the\nGoblin.\n\n\u201cDown here,\u201d replied the Goblin, grinning; \u201cthen I\u2019ll give him to the\nKing of Fire, and when all the bad is burnt out of him, he\u2019ll go back to\nearth again. Come, drink up.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo tricks,\u201d said Kelch, placing the goblet to his lips.\n\n\u201cOn the honour of a king,\u201d answered the Goblin, placing his yellow hand\non his yellow breast; \u201cbut be quick, for there\u2019s no time to be lost.\u201d\n\nSo Kelch drained the goblet to the dregs, and as he did so all the\ngolden palace seemed to spin round and round as he fell down on the\nground. He knew nothing more that happened till he woke up, feeling\nquite bright and gay, when he found himself lying on the floor of his\nown cottage, and the morning sun shining through the window.\n\n\n III.\n\n KELCH REGAINS FILINA.\n\nFINDING himself at home, Kelch jumped to his feet with a cry, for at the\nend of the room he saw the golden statue of Filina standing in the\nsunlight, with outstretched arms, as if she were imploring him to\nrelease her from the enchantment. Kelch hurried forward and saw the\nmagic ring was still on her finger, but it looked too firmly fixed to\npull off, and although he tried, he could not get it away. The only\nthing to be done was to bring Hocky to the cottage and let him try, and\nas the Goblin had fulfilled his promise of placing both Kelch and the\nstatue at home, the youth had no doubt that everything else would soon\ncome all right.\n\nHe hurried out into the open air, and found all the villagers returning\nfrom the fields for their noonday meal. They scowled at Kelch as he\npassed, and asked how a wicked magician like him dared to return to the\nvillage from whence he had been driven.\n\nKelch, however, never minded their anger, but ran to the village green,\nwhere he found Hocky talking to Filina\u2019s father.\n\n\u201cHere\u2019s that wicked magician!\u201d cried Hocky when he saw Kelch, for he\nhated the youth almost as much as the villagers hated himself. \u201cDrive\nhim away.\u201d\n\n\u201cHe robbed me of my daughter,\u201d said Filina\u2019s father, lifting up his\nstaff, as the men and women of the village broke into murmurs of anger.\n\n\u201cI have come back to restore her,\u201d said Kelch boldly; \u201cand if you come\nwith me to my cottage, you will find her there.\u201d\n\nOn hearing this, Filina\u2019s father, followed by Hocky and all the\nvillagers, hastened to the cottage, and there they saw the golden\nstatue.\n\n\u201cIt is my daughter sure enough!\u201d cried Filina\u2019s father, with tears in\nhis eyes; \u201cbut she is changed into gold.\u201d\n\n\u201cWould you rather have your daughter living, or her golden statue?\u201d\nasked Kelch, looking at the old man.\n\n\u201cSay the golden statue,\u201d whispered Hocky, pulling the father\u2019s sleeve.\n\n\u201cNo, no!\u201d cried Filina\u2019s father, shaking his head; \u201cno gold would\nrecompense me for the loss of my daughter.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut your daughter is going to marry me,\u201d said Hocky.\n\n\u201cYes, that is true,\u201d replied the old man.\n\n\u201cThen I would rather have her as a golden statue,\u201d shrieked Hocky\navariciously, approaching Kelch.\n\n\u201cYou hear what he says!\u201d cried Kelch: \u201cI love Filina for herself, Hocky\nloves her because she is turned to gold, and would rather see the father\nunhappy than let her be alive again.\u201d\n\n\u201cShe\u2019s mine,\u201d said Hocky rudely, getting in front of the golden statue;\n\u201cI have her father\u2019s word, and all this gold is my own.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat will you do with her?\u201d asked Filina\u2019s father tremulously.\n\n\u201cMelt her down into broad gold pieces,\u201d roared Hocky, dancing; \u201cinto the\nfurnace she shall go.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat! melt my daughter!\u201d said the old man in a wrathful tone. \u201cNever!\nYou shall not have her\u2014sooner than that I\u2019ll give her to Kelch.\u201d\n\n\u201cKeep your promise, and I\u2019ll change her into a living woman once more,\u201d\ncried Kelch eagerly. \u201cI love your daughter for her own sake.\u201d\n\n\u201cGive me my daughter once more, and you will be her husband,\u201d said\nFilina\u2019s father quickly.\n\n\u201cNo\u2014no!\u201d yelled Hocky; \u201cthe statue is mine\u2014mine!\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat do you all say?\u201d said Kelch, turning to the villagers. \u201cYou drove\nme from my home because you said I was a magician; now I have brought\nback Filina, and can restore her to life, so you see I am not so bad as\nyou thought I was.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou shall be her husband!\u201d cried the villagers; \u201cwe believe you to be a\ngood lad.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf you give him the golden statue, I\u2019ll ruin the whole village!\u201d cried\nHocky in a rage. \u201cYou know I can do it.\u201d\n\nAnd indeed it was the truth, for Hocky had lent the villagers a lot of\nmoney, and in return they had given over their lands and houses to him,\nso he was really owner of the whole place. All the villagers were\ndismayed at this, and Filina\u2019s father began to weep, for he thought he\nwould never hear his daughter\u2019s merry voice again, when Kelch spoke.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll restore Filina to life and get rid of Hocky, if you withdraw your\naccusations of my being a magician.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, yes!\u201d they all cried; \u201cyou are no magician\u2014you are a good man, and\nshall marry Filina.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd how will you get rid of me?\u201d asked Hocky, angrily turning to Kelch.\n\n\u201cBy giving you more gold than you ever saw before in your life,\u201d replied\nKelch. \u201cWill you agree to that?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, I will,\u201d replied Hocky greedily, \u201cif you give me more gold than\nI\u2019ve got, and more gold than there is in this statue of Filina.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d observed Kelch; \u201cin order to see more gold than you ever\nsaw in your life, all you\u2019ve got to do is to pull that ring off Filina\u2019s\nfinger and place it on your own.\u201d\n\n\u201cHurrah!\u201d cried Hocky, turning to the statue. \u201cI\u2019ll do it at once.\u201d\n\n[Illustration]\n\nHe pulled the ring off the finger of the statue with the greatest ease,\nand slipped it on his own with a greedy laugh, when suddenly there was a\nloud crash like thunder, and Hocky vanished into air, while Filina, once\nmore a bright, laughing girl, hastened forward to kiss her father.\n\n\u201cWhere is Hocky?\u201d asked all the villagers, when they had congratulated\nFilina.\n\n\u201cGone where he\u2019ll never trouble you again,\u201d replied Kelch, with a laugh,\ntaking his sweetheart in his arms. \u201cNow, am I to marry Filina?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, yes! Hurrah!\u201d every one cried.\n\nThen Filina put on her bridal dress, all the village was decked with\nflags, the school children received a half-holiday, and Kelch married\nhis sweetheart that afternoon.\n\nThey lived long and happily together, and when Filina\u2019s father died, he\nleft them all his property, and the gold Kelch had brought from the\ncastle of the Wicked Baron. Hocky never came back again, which made\nKelch think that he must have had a lot of bad in him, as it took such a\nlong time to burn out.\n\nKelch paid a visit to the oak tree and thanked the kind Owl; when she,\nhearing that the Wicked Baron\u2019s castle was in ruins, left her oak tree\nand went to live there, where no doubt she is still.\n\nKelch and Filina lived happily ever afterwards, and had lots of\nchildren, to whom their father often told the story of his adventures\nwith the Golden Goblin.\n\n\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n THE ENCHANTED FOREST.\n\n\nI DO not know how long I was in King Oberon\u2019s library, as, being very\nmuch interested in the books, I took no notice of the flight of time.\nBut reading becomes wearisome even in Faeryland, so, feeling rather\ntired with study, I lay down beside the marble-encircled pool, and fell\nfast asleep on the soft green carpet. The delightful stories I had been\nreading still ran in my head, for my slumber was filled with the most\ncharming dreams. I seemed to see beautiful faces smiling at me from amid\nmasses of golden clouds, long ranges of marble colonnades stretching far\naway in dazzling whiteness against a dark blue sky, mighty ranges of\nmountains with snowy summits roseate with the flush of sunsets, and\nsombre Egyptian temples, wherein lovely priestesses danced their mystic\ndances before the unseen fane of the sacred Isis. All these wonderful\npictures passed through my visionary brain, blending one into the other\nin inextricable confusion, while strains of the most delicious music\nkept rising and falling at intervals during this strange phantasmagoria\nof dreamland.\n\nAt length the music grew louder and louder, until I slowly opened my\neyes to find myself once more in the enchanted forest, lying on the cool\ngreen grass, with the dark blue sky silvered with stars above me, and\nthe thin pale moonlight shining down on the solemn trees and glimmering\npool. The music had now words to its melody, for a choir of faery\nvoices, clear and distinct as the sound of tiny silver bells, sang as\nfollows:\n\n \u201cIn the moonshine cold and chill,\n Nightingale\n To the woods so calm and still\n Tells her tale.\n Dance the fairies one and all\n Lightly at the elfin ball,\n To her singing\u2019s dying fall.\n\n In the moonshine chill and cold,\n Oberon\n Will the fairy revels hold;\n So begone\n Mortal, who with daring eye\n Elfish dances would espy.\n Mocking our solemnity.\u201d\n\nAfter listening drowsily to this song for some time with half-closed\neyes, I sat up and saw that the whole glade was alive with faeries all\nrunning hither and thither, evidently preparing for the coming of King\nOberon. As I had been warned in this song to depart, I did not know very\nwell whether they meant it or not, when suddenly Phancie, now reduced to\nhis former size, appeared before me, and I put the question to him.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s not usual to allow any mortal to view our revels,\u201d he said\nthoughtfully; \u201cstill, as the King allowed you to see his library,\nperhaps he will let you stay a little while, so you can wait till he\nappears.\u201d\n\n\u201cHas no mortal ever beheld the faery revels?\u201d I asked, after thanking\nPhancie for his kindness.\n\n\u201cYes\u2014one Shakespeare,\u201d he answered, nodding his head: \u201clong, long ago\nthe King allowed him to see our solemnity; but he told all about it to\nthe world, which made the King very angry.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut he told it so beautifully,\u201d I pleaded.\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t know so much about that,\u201d responded Phancie saucily. \u201cHe said\nOberon and Titania quarrelled, which is quite a mistake, for they are\nvery fond of one another. Oh, I assure you the affair caused quite a\nscandal at court; since then the King mistrusts all mortals, and won\u2019t\nallow them to see anything.\u201d\n\n\u201cPerhaps, then, he\u2019ll send me away.\u201d\n\n\u201cI can\u2019t tell, but it\u2019s very probable he will; or perhaps he will let\nyou stay, and then cause you to forget all you have seen, except what he\nwishes you to remember.\u201d\n\n\u201cI hope he won\u2019t make me forget the stories I have read.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, he won\u2019t do that; he said you could remember seven, and he never\ngoes back from his word; but as to remembering our revels, I\u2019m afraid he\nwon\u2019t let you do that. But hush! the court is approaching. Go and sit on\nthat fallen tree again.\u201d\n\nI arose obediently, and, walking across the glade to the tree, sat down\non it; then, warned by Phancie, kept quite silent.\n\n\u201cYou mustn\u2019t speak unless the King asks you a question,\u201d said Phancie\npompously. \u201cIf he does, be sure to address him as \u2018Your Majesty.\u2019\u201d\n\n\u201cI won\u2019t forget,\u201d I replied, and then Phancie, having seen all was in\norder to receive the King, skipped off to meet the procession, which was\nnow approaching.\n\nBetween two great rose-bushes, which formed a triumphal arch of\nbeautiful red blossoms, came a company of merry little faeries, blowing\nthrough white trumpet-shaped lilies, followed by a number of crickets\ncreaking in the most lively manner; then came a band of elves ringing\nbunches of bluebells, which chimed silver music; next marched some fays\ndressed in thistle down, playing with blades of grass on drums made of\nempty acorn cups with rose leaves stretched tightly across them; a\ncompany of fierce-looking bumble-bees carrying thorns for swords came\nnext; and then a number of beautiful girl faeries in lily-white dresses\ndanced along, singing gaily. After these appeared Oberon and Titania,\nriding upon two purple-winged butterflies, and the rear of the\nprocession was guarded by a company of soldier elves, and lastly a\ndisorderly crowd of faeries, who played a thousand merry tricks upon one\nanother as they ran along.\n\nWhen the King and Queen of Faeryland arrived near the pool, Oberon\nstruck the ground with his magic wand, and immediately there bloomed a\ngreat white lily, on the golden cushions of whose heart the royal pair\ntook their seat, while all the faeries disposed themselves around\naccording to their rank, and the elfin band played merry music, which\nrang shrilly in the night air. From all sides of the glade now appeared\nbeautiful white rabbits with pink eyes, lithe brown hares, velvety\nmoles, spiky-looking hedgehogs, and many other strange animals, while\nthrushes, nightingales, linnets, cuckoos, and doves perched among the\nbranches of the trees.\n\nThe King and Queen were much taller than their subjects, and Oberon was\ndressed in a green hunting-suit, with a crown of dewdrops on his head\nand a silver wand in his hand; while Titania wore a delicate pink robe\nmade entirely of rose leaves, and her golden hair streamed from under a\nwreath of lilies of the valley, a spray of the same flowers being in her\ntiny hand.\n\nWhen the royal pair had taken their seats, a loud-voiced cricket chirped\nloudly to command silence, and then a wise-looking owl made a very long\nspeech, in which he bade the King and Queen welcome in the name of their\ndutiful subjects. The King was about to reply, when a grotesque figure\nwith a large head and pointed ears suddenly started up out of the earth,\nand rolled like a ball to the foot of the throne.\n\n\u201cAh, my merry Puck!\u201d said Oberon, laughing at the jester of Faeryland;\n\u201cwhere have you been?\u201d\n\n\u201cPlaguing mortals, please your Majesty!\u201d cried Puck, bounding on to the\ntop of a great mushroom, where he sat grinning at every one. \u201cI have\nplayed Will-o\u2019-the-Wisp on marshy ground to lead unwary wanderers\nastray; pinched the lazy maids who lie slug-a-bed; frightened those\nfoolish mortals who believe not in faeries; drank the milk, spoiled the\nbutter, teased the cows, and played merry jokes everywhere.\u201d\n\n\u201cAh, rogue!\u201d said Oberon, smiling; \u201cthou wert ever cruel in thy pranks.\nSome day mortals will punish thee.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, no,\u201d said Puck, shaking his head; \u201cwhy, they don\u2019t believe faeries\nexist.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou hear?\u201d sighed Oberon, looking at me gravely; \u201cyou mortals don\u2019t\nbelieve faeries exist.\u201d\n\n\u201cI do, your Majesty,\u201d I answered eagerly; \u201cand when I return to earth, I\nwill do my best to convince other people. Besides, sire, children always\nbelieve in faeries.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, the dear children!\u201d cried Titania brightly; \u201cthey are our best\nfriends. Ah, children will always believe in us, although they do not\nsee us.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf you would only show yourselves sometimes,\u201d I suggested, \u201cit would\nmake every one believe.\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t think so,\u201d said Oberon, smiling; \u201cyou see your wonderful\ngrown-up people have proved conclusively that there are no faeries, so\nit would be quite an impertinence for us to appear and upset all their\nfine theories.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt might make their hearts better, your Majesty,\u201d I ventured to remark.\n\n\u201cI doubt it,\u201d replied the King of Faery. \u201cWith you it is all greed of\nmoney, pursuit of pleasure, and desire of learning; there is no room in\nyour lives to believe that beings like us exist; we can be turned to no\npractical use, therefore you mortals regard us as unnecessary\nexistences. But while the world moves on, there will always be bright,\nhappy children who will keep our memories fresh and green in their\nhearts, and perhaps some day, when the world returns to its childlike\nfaith of old, we may once more appear to mortals.\u201d\n\n\u201cMeanwhile\u201d\u2014I began.\n\n\u201cMeanwhile,\u201d repeated Oberon a little sadly, \u201cyou will go back to earth\nand write down the seven stories you have read in my library; when good\nchildren read them they may perhaps find out their hidden meaning, and\nit will make them wiser and more obedient. Tell your child friends that\nfaeries do nothing without having some good end in view, and if they\nwant to please us, they must try and be noble and good, for there is\nnothing so hateful in the world as wickedness. And now, mortal, I will\npermit you to see a faery dance, and then you must leave us for ever.\u201d\n\n\u201cFor ever?\u201d\n\n\u201cUnless,\u201d said the King graciously, \u201cyou revisit us in your beautiful\ndreams. Good-bye, mortal, good-bye:\n\n \u201cThough years may bring thee pain and grief,\n In airy elves still have belief,\n While thou of earth art denizen.\n And may thou ever think as truth\n The lovely idle dreams of youth:\n This is the Faeries\u2019 benison.\u201d\n\nThen from the elfin band rang out sweet, wild music, and on the smooth\ngreensward the merry faeries danced lightly in the pale moonshine. They\nwhirled in and out, swayed into graceful circles, and melted away like\nfoam on the crest of an emerald wave, floated in long wreaths which\nwavered and broke as breaks the mist on snow-peaked mountains, blended\ntogether again in picturesque confusion, while sweet and shrill sounded\nthe weird music, blown through the warm air of the summer night. The\nperfume of a thousand flowers arose from the ground, strange blossoms\nbloomed suddenly under the flying feet of the elves, and round and round\nthe lily throne of gracious Oberon and airy Titania whirled the elfin\ncircle, singing their farewell song to the sweet voices of the birds:\n\n \u201cFlashing stars and silver moon\n Waning in the western skies;\n Crimson is the east, and soon\n Will the orb of day arise.\n\n Chilly blows the morning breeze,\n Dewdrops glitter on the lawn;\n Through the branches of the trees\n Flushes now the rosy dawn.\n\n Idle faery dreams have fled,\n Not a moment can they wait;\n Visions of the night are dead,\n Sleep has barred her ivory gate.\n\n But when silver moonlight gleams,\n Close your eyes, O poet true,\n Then from Faeryland of dreams\n We will come again to you.\u201d\n\nAnd through the branches of the trees shone the red glare of the dawn,\nwhich seemed to come nearer and nearer. The great boughs with their\nmyriad leaves faded into the angry scarlet, a veil of darkness enveloped\nme, and, awaking with a start, I found myself seated in my arm-chair in\nthe shadowy room, with the fire burning redly in the grate.\n\nEven the cricket had ceased to sing, and outside the white snowflakes\nstill fell, and the wind whistled shrilly round the house. Was it a\ndream? Maybe! for it is only in dreams, dear children, that we can ever\nhope to visit Faeryland, where dwell all those lovely fancies and\nbeautiful thoughts which form your enchanted world; but the child who\nhas once visited the wonderful realm of gracious Oberon must try never\nto forget what he has seen, so that, when he becomes a grown-up person,\nhe can remember his childish glimpse of the delightful Kingdom of\nFaeryland.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n[Illustration]\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n Transcriber\u2019s Notes\n\n Pg. 30 - Closing single quote changed to double to match opening quote.\n\n Pg. 30 - Added colon to paragraph end, seems to be a trace in the scan.\n\n Pg. 71 - Closing single quote changed to double to match opening quote.\n\n Pg. 76 - Corrected typo: \u201c... gold box from Salmander\u201d > \u201cSalamander\u201d\n\n Pg. 79 - Period added at end of paragraph instead of comma.\n\n Pg. 104 - Missing period added. Extra spaces in original but no period.\n\n Pg. 105 - Opening single quote changed to double to match opening\n quote.\n\n Pg. 130 & 131 - Rose Princess changed to Rose-Princess to match style.\n\n Pg. 141 - \u201cMirvenetta\u201d changed to \u201cMinervetta,\u201d as that conforms to the\n latter, more likely, mention.\n\n Pg. 155 - Closing single quote changed to double to match opening\n quote.\n\n Pg. 163 - Added opening quote to match end quote in poem.\n\n Aside from the above, archaic and non-standard spelling and\n inconsistent hyphenation have been retained.","title":"The chronicles of Fairy land","tradition":"folklore-oral-tradition","translated_text":null,"word_count":44950}