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diff --git a/14916-8.txt b/14916-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..04d84ba --- /dev/null +++ b/14916-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,10685 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know, by +Various, Edited by Hamilton Wright Mabie + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know + +Author: Various + +Release Date: February 5, 2005 [eBook #14916] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FAIRY TALES EVERY CHILD SHOULD +KNOW*** + + +E-text prepared by Juliet Sutherland, Eric Betts, and the Project +Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team + + + +FAIRY TALES EVERY CHILD SHOULD KNOW + +Edited by + +HAMILTON WRIGHT MABIE + +The What-Every-Child-Should-Know-Library + +Doubleday, Doran & Co., Inc., for The Parents' Institute, Inc. +Publishers of "The Parents' Magazine" + +1905 + + + + + + + +[Illustration: "A thousand fantasies begin to throng"] + + + + +INTRODUCTION TO + +"FAIRIES EVERY CHILD SHOULD KNOW" + + +The fairy tale is a poetic recording of the facts of life, an +interpretation by the imagination of its hard conditions, an effort to +reconcile the spirit which loves freedom and goodness and beauty with +its harsh, bare and disappointing conditions. It is, in its earliest +form, a spontaneous and instinctive endeavor to shape the facts of the +world to meet the needs of the imagination, the cravings of the heart. +It involves a free, poetic dealing with realities in accordance with the +law of mental growth; it is the naïve activity of the young imagination +of the race, untrammelled by the necessity of rigid adherence to the +fact. + +The myths record the earliest attempt at an explanation of the world and +its life; the fairy tale records the free and joyful play of the +imagination, opening doors through hard conditions to the spirit, which +craves power, freedom, happiness; righting wrongs and redressing +injuries; defeating base designs; rewarding patience and virtue; +crowning true love with happiness; placing the powers of darkness under +control of man and making their ministers his servants. In the fairy +story, men are not set entirely free from their limitations, but, by the +aid of fairies, genii, giants and demons, they are put in command of +unusual powers and make themselves masters of the forces of nature. + +The oldest fairy stories constitute a fascinating introduction to the +book of modern science, curiously predicting its discoveries, its +uncovering of the resources of the earth and air, its growing control of +the tremendous forces which work in earth and air. And it is significant +that the recent progress of science is steadily toward what our +ancestors would have considered fairy land; for in all the imaginings of +the childhood of the race there was nothing more marvellous or more +audaciously improbable than the transmission of the accents and +modulations of familiar voices through long distances, and the power of +communication across leagues of sea without mechanical connections of +any kind. + +The faculty which created the fairy tale is the same faculty which, +supplemented by a broader observation and based on more accurate +knowledge, has broadened the range and activities of modern man, made +the world accessible to him, enabled him to live in one place but to +speak and act in places thousands of miles distant, given him command of +colossal forces, and is fast making him rich on a scale which would have +seemed incredible to men of a half-century ago. There is nothing in any +fairy tale more marvellous and inherently improbable than many of the +achievements of scientific observation and invention, and we are only at +the beginning of the wonders that lie within the reach of the human +spirit! + +No one can understand the modern world without the aid of the +imagination, and as the frontiers of knowledge are pushed still further +away from the obvious and familiar, there will be an increasing tax on +the imagination. The world of dead matter which our fathers thought they +understood has become a world of subtle forces moving with inconceivable +velocity; nothing is inert, all things are transformed into other and +more elusive shapes precisely as the makers of the fairy tales foresaw +and predicted; the world lives in every atom just as their world lived; +forces lie just outside the range of physical sight, but entirely within +the range of spiritual vision, precisely as the tellers of these old +stories divined; mystery and wonder enfold all things, and not only +evoke the full play of the mind, but flood it with intimations and +suggestions of the presence of more elusive and subtle forces, of finer +and more obedient powers, as the world of fairies, magi and demons +enfolded the ancient earth of daily toil and danger. + +In a word, the fairy stories have come true; they are historical in the +sense that they faithfully report a stage of spiritual growth and +predict a higher order of realities through a deeper knowledge of +actualities. They were poetic renderings of facts which science is fast +verifying, chiefly by the use of the same faculty which enriched early +literature with the myth and the fairy tale. The scientist has turned +poet in these later days, and the imagination which once expressed +itself in a free handling of facts so as to make them answer the needs +and demands of the human spirit, now expresses itself in that breadth of +vision which reconstructs an extinct animal from a bone and analyzes the +light of a sun flaming on the outermost boundaries of space. + +This collection of tales, gathered from the rich literature of the +childhood of the world, or from the books of the few modern men who have +found the key of that wonderful world, is put forth not only without +apology, but with the hope that it may widen the demand for these +charming reports of a world in which the truths of our working world are +loyally upheld, while its hard facts are quietly but authoritatively +dismissed from attention. The widest interpretation has been given to +the fairy tale, so as to include many of those classic romances of +childhood in which no fairy appears, but which are invested with the air +and are permeated with the glorious freedom of fairy land. + +No sane man or woman undervalues the immense gains of the modern world +in the knowledge of facts and the application of ideas to things in +order to secure comfort, health, access to the treasure in the earth and +on its surface, the means of education and greater freedom from the +tyranny of toil by the accumulation of the fruits of toil; but no sane +man or woman believes that a mechanical age is other than a transitional +age, that the possession of things is the final achievement of society, +and that in multiplication of conveniences civilization will reach its +point of culmination. + +We are so engrossed in getting rich that we forget that by and by, when +we have become rich, we shall have to learn how to live; for work can +never be an end in itself; it is a "means of grace" when it is not +drudgery; and it must, in the long run, be a preparation for play. For +play is not organized idleness, frivolity set in a fanciful order; it is +the normal, spontaneous exercise of physical activity, the wholesome +gayety of the mind, the natural expression of the spirit, without +self-consciousness, constraint, or the tyranny of hours and tasks. It is +the highest form of energy, because it is free and creative; a joy in +itself, and therefore a joy in the world. This is the explanation of the +sense of freedom and elation which come from a great work of art; it is +the instinctive perception of the fact that while immense toil lies +behind the artist's skill, the soul of the creation came from beyond the +world of work and the making of it was a bit of play. The man of +creative spirit is often a tireless worker, but in his happiest hours he +is at play; for all work, when it rises into freedom and power, is play. +"We work," wrote a Greek thinker of the most creative people who have +yet appeared, "in order that we may have leisure." The note of that life +was freedom; its activity was not "evoked by external needs, but was +free, spontaneous and delightful; an ordered energy which stimulates all +the vital and mental powers." + +Robert Louis Stevenson, who knew well how to touch work with the spirit +and charm of play, reports of certain evenings spent at a clubhouse near +Brussels, that the men who gathered there "were employed over the +frivolous mercantile concerns of Belgium during the day; but in the +evening they found some hours for the serious concerns of life." They +gave their days to commerce, but their evenings were devoted to more +important interests! + +These words are written for those older people who have made the mistake +of straying away from childhood; children do not read introductions, +because they know that the valuable part of the book is to be found in +the later pages. They read the stories; their elders read the +introduction as well. They both need the stuff of imagination, of which +myths, legends, and fairy tales are made. So much may be said of these +old stories that it is a serious question where to begin, and a still +more difficult question where to end. For these tales are the first +outpourings of that spring of imagination whence flow the most +illuminating, inspiring, refreshing and captivating thoughts and ideas +about life. No philosophy is deeper than that which underlies these +stories; no psychology is more important than that which finds its +choicest illustration in them; no chapter in the history of thought is +more suggestive and engrossing than that which records their growth and +divines their meaning. Fairy tales and myths are so much akin that they +are easily transformed and exchange costumes without changing character; +while the legend, which belongs to a later period, often reflects the +large meaning of the myth and the free fancy of the fairy tale. + +As a class, children not only possess the faculty of imagination, but +are very largely occupied with it during the most sensitive and +formative years, and those who lack it are brought under its spell by +their fellows. They do not accurately distinguish between the actual and +the imaginary, and they live at ease in a world out of which paths run +in every direction into wonderland. They begin their education when they +begin to play; for play not only affords an outlet for their energy, and +so supplies one great means of growth and training, but places them in +social relations with their mates and in conscious contact with the +world about them. The old games that have been played by generations of +children not only precede the training of the school and supplement it, +but accomplish some results in the nature of the child which are beyond +the reach of the school. When a crowd of boys are rushing across country +in "hounds and deer," they are giving lungs, heart and muscles the best +possible exercise; they are sharing certain rules of honor with one +another, expressed in that significant phrase, "fair play"; and they are +giving rein to their imaginations in the very name of their occupation. +Body, spirit and imagination have their part in every good game; for the +interest of a game lies in its appeal to the imagination, as in "hounds +and deer," or in its stimulus to activity, as in "tag" and +"hide-and-seek." + +There are few chapters in the biography of the childhood of men of +genius more significant than those which describe imaginary worlds which +were, for a time, as real as the actual world in which the boy lived. +Goethe entertained and mystified his playmates with accounts of a +certain garden in which he wandered at will, but which they could not +find; and De Quincey created a kingdom, with all its complex relations +and varied activities, which he ruled with beneficence and affection +until, in an unlucky hour, he revealed his secret to his brother, who +straightway usurped his authority, and governed his subjects with such +tyranny and cruelty that De Quincey was compelled to save his people by +destroying them. + +These elaborate and highly organized efforts of the young imagination, +of which boys and girls of unusual inventiveness are capable, are +imitated on a smaller scale by all normal children. They endow inanimate +things with life, and play and suffer with them as with their real +playmates. The little girl not only talks with her dolls, but weeps with +and for them when disaster overtakes them. The boy faces foes of his own +making in the woods, or at lonely places in the road, who are quite as +real to him as the people with whom he lives. By common agreement a +locality often becomes a historic spot to a whole group of boys; enemies +are met and overcome there; grave perils are bravely faced; and the +magic sometimes lingers long after the dream has been dissolved in the +dawning light of definite knowledge. Childhood is one long day of +discovery; first, to the unfolding spirit, there is revealed a +wonderland partly actual and partly created by the action of the mind; +then follows the slow awakening, when the growing boy or girl learns to +distinguish between fact and fancy, and to separate the real from the +imaginary. + +This process of learning to "see things as they are" is often regarded +as the substance of education, and to be able to distinguish sharply and +accurately between reality and vision, actual and imaginary image is +accepted as the test of thorough training of the intelligence. What +really takes place is the readjustment of the work of the faculties so +as to secure harmonious action; and in the happy and sound development +of the nature the imagination does not give place to observation, but +deals with principles, forces and laws instead of with things. The loss +of vision is never compensated for by the gain of sight; to see a thing +one must use his mind quite as much as his eye. It too often happens, as +the result of our educational methods, that in training the observer we +blight the poet; and the poet is, after all, the most important person +in society. He keeps the soul of his fellows alive. Without him the +modern world would become one vast, dreary, soul-destroying Coketown, +and man would sink to the level of Gradgrind. The practical man develops +the resources of the country, the man of vision discerns, formulates and +directs its spiritual policy and growth; the mechanic builds the house, +but the architect creates it; the artisan makes the tools, but the +artist uses them; the observer sees and records the fact, but the +scientist discovers the law; the man of affairs manages the practical +concerns of the world from day to day, but the poet makes it spiritual, +significant, interesting, worth living in. + +The modern child passes through the same stages as did the children of +four thousand years ago. He, too, is a poet. He believes that the world +about him throbs with life and is peopled with all manner of strange, +beautiful, powerful folk, who live just outside the range of his sight; +he, too, personifies light and heat and storm and wind and cold as his +remote ancestors did. He, too, lives in and through his imagination; and +if, in later life, he grows in power and becomes a creative man, his +achievements are the fruits of the free and vigorous life of his +imagination. The higher kinds of power, the higher opportunities of +mind, the richer resources, the springs of the deeper happiness, are +open to him in the exact degree in which he is able to use his +imagination with individual freedom and intelligence. Formal education +makes small provision for this great need of his nature; it trains his +eye, his hand, his faculty of observation, his ability to reason, his +capacity for resolute action; but it takes little account of that higher +faculty which, cooperating with the other faculties, makes him an +architect instead of a builder, an artist instead of an artisan, a poet +instead of a drudge. + +The fairy tale belongs to the child and ought always to be within his +reach, not only because it is his special literary form and his nature +craves it, but because it is one of the most vital of the textbooks +offered to him in the school of life. In ultimate importance it outranks +the arithmetic, the grammar, the geography, the manuals of science; for +without the aid of the imagination none of these books is really +comprehensible. + +HAMILTON WRIGHT MABIE, + +March, 1905. + + + + +FAIRY TALES + + +CONTENTS + +INTRODUCTION + +ONE EYE, TWO EYES, THREE EYES +(Grimm's Fairy Tales) + +THE MAGIC MIRROR +(Grimm's Fairy Tales) + +THE ENCHANTED STAG +(Grimm's Fairy Tales) + +HANSEL AND GRETHEL +(Grimm's Fairy Tales) + +THE STORY OF ALADDIN; OR, THE WONDERFUL LAMP +("Arabian Nights' Entertainments") + +THE HISTORY OF ALI BABA, AND OF THE FORTY + ROBBERS KILLED BY ONE SLAVE +("Arabian Nights' Entertainments") + +THE SECOND VOYAGE OF SINDBAD THE SAILOR +("Arabian Nights' Entertainments") + +THE WHITE CAT +(From the tale by the Comtesse d'Aulnoy) + +THE GOLDEN GOOSE +(Grimm's Fairy Tales) + +THE TWELVE BROTHERS +(Grimm's Fairy Tales) + +THE FAIR ONE WITH THE GOLDEN LOCKS +(From the tale by the Comtesse d'Aulnoy) + +TOM THUMB +(First written in prose in 1621 by Richard Johnson) + +BLUE BEARD +(From the French tale by Charles Perrault) + +CINDERELLA; OR, THE LITTLE GLASS SLIPPER +(From the French tale by Charles Perrault) + +PUSS IN BOOTS +(From the French tale by Charles Perrault) + +THE SLEEPING BEAUTY IN THE WOOD +(From the French tale by Charles Perrault) + +JACK AND THE BEAN-STALK +(Said to be an allegory of the Teutonic + Al-fader, The tale written in French + by Charles Perrault) + +JACK THE GIANT KILLER +(From the old British legend told by Geoffrey + of Monmouth, of Corineus the Trojan) + +LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD +(From the French tale by Charles Perrault) + +THE THREE BEARS +(Robert Southey) + +THE PRINCESS ON THE PEA +(From the tale by Hans Christian Andersen) + +THE UGLY DUCKLING +(From the tale by Hans Christian Andersen) + +THE LIGHT PRINCESS +(George MacDonald) + +BEAUTY AND THE BEAST +(From the French tale by Madame Gabrielle + de Villeneuve) + + + + +FAIRY TALES EVERY CHILD + +SHOULD KNOW + + + +CHAPTER I + +ONE EYE, TWO EYES, THREE EYES + + +There was once a woman who had three daughters, of whom the eldest was +named "One Eye," because she had only one eye in the middle of her +forehead. The second had two eyes, like other people, and she was called +"Two Eyes." The youngest had three eyes, two like her second sister, and +one in the middle of her forehead, like the eldest, and she bore the +name of "Three Eyes." + +Now because little Two Eyes looked just like other people, her mother +and sisters could not endure her. They said to her, "You are not better +than common folks, with your two eyes; you don't belong to us." + +So they pushed her about, and threw all their old clothes to her for her +to wear, and gave her only the pieces that were left to eat, and did +everything that they could to make her miserable. It so happened that +little Two Eyes was sent into the fields to take care of the goats, and +she was often very hungry, although her sisters had as much as they +liked to eat. So one day she seated herself on a mound in the field, and +began to weep and cry so bitterly that two little rivulets flowed from +her eyes. Once, in the midst of her sorrow she looked up, and saw a +woman standing near her who said, "What are you weeping for, little Two +Eyes?" + +"I cannot help weeping," she replied; "for because I have two eyes, like +other people, my mother and sisters cannot bear me; they push me about +from one corner to another and make we wear their old clothes, and give +me nothing to eat but what is left, so that I am always hungry. To-day +they gave me so little that I am nearly starved." + +"Dry up your tears, little Two Eyes," said the wise woman; "I will tell +you something to do which will prevent you from ever being hungry again. +You have only to say to your own goat: + + "'Little goat, if you're able, + Pray deck out my table,' + +"and immediately there will be a pretty little table before you full of +all sorts of good things for you to eat, as much as you like. And when +you have had enough, and you do not want the table any more, you need +only say: + + "'Little goat, when you're able, + Remove my nice table,' + +"and it will vanish from your eyes." + +Then the wise woman went away. "Now," thought little Two Eyes, "I will +try if what she says is true, for I am very hungry," so she said: + + "Little goat, if you're able, + Pray deck out my table." + +The words were scarcely spoken, when a beautiful little table stood +really before her; it had a white cloth and plates, and knives and +forks, and silver spoons, and such a delicious dinner, smoking hot as if +it had just come from the kitchen. Then little Two Eyes sat down and +said the shortest grace she knew--"Pray God be our guest for all time. +Amen"--before she allowed herself to taste anything. But oh, how she did +enjoy her dinner! and when she had finished, she said, as the wise woman +had taught her: + + "Little goat, when you're able, + Remove my nice table." + +In a moment, the table and everything upon it had disappeared. "That is +a pleasant way to keep house," said little Two Eyes, and felt quite +contented and happy. In the evening, when she went home with the goat, +she found an earthenware dish with some scraps which her sisters had +left for her, but she did not touch them. The next morning she went away +with the goat, leaving them behind where they had been placed for her. +The first and second times that she did so, the sisters did not notice +it; but when they found it happened every day, they said one to the +other, "There is something strange about little Two Eyes, she leaves her +supper every day, and all that has been put for her has been wasted; she +must get food somewhere else." + +So they determined to find out the truth, and they arranged that when +Two Eyes took her goat to the field, One Eye should go with her to take +particular notice of what she did, and discover if anything was brought +for her to eat and drink. + +So when Two Eyes started with her goat, One Eye said to her, "I am going +with you to-day to see if the goat gets her food properly while you are +watching the rest." + +But Two Eyes knew what she had in her mind. So she drove the goat into +the long grass, and said, "Come, One Eye, let us sit down here and rest, +and I will sing to you." + +One Eye seated herself, and, not being accustomed to walk so far, or to +be out in the heat of the sun, she began to feel tired, and as little +Two Eyes kept on singing, she closed her one eye and fell fast asleep. + +When Two Eyes saw this, she knew that One Eye could not betray her, so +she said: + + "Little goat, if you are able, + Come and deck my pretty table." + +She seated herself when it appeared, and ate and drank very quickly, and +when she had finished she said: + + "Little goat, when you are able, + Come and clear away my table." + +It vanished in the twinkling of an eye; and then Two Eyes woke up One +Eye, and said, "Little One Eye, you are a clever one to watch goats; +for, while you are asleep, they might be running all over the world. +Come, let us go home!" + +So they went to the house, and little Two Eyes again left the scraps on +the dish untouched, and One Eye could not tell her mother whether little +Two Eyes had eaten anything in the field; for she said to excuse +herself, "I was asleep." + +The next day the mother said to Three Eyes, "You must go to the field +this time, and find out whether there is anyone who brings food to +little Two Eyes; for she must eat and drink secretly." + +So when little Two Eyes started with her goat, Three Eyes followed, and +said, "I am going with you to-day, to see if the goats are properly fed +and watched." + +But Two Eyes knew her thoughts; so she led the goat through the long +grass to tire Three Eyes, and at last she said, "Let us sit down here +and rest, and I will sing to you, Three Eyes." + +She was glad to sit down, for the walk and the heat of the sun had +really tired her; and, as her sister continued her song, she was obliged +to close two of her eyes, and they slept, but not the third. In fact, +Three Eyes was wide awake with one eye, and heard and saw all that Two +Eyes did; for poor little Two Eyes, thinking she was asleep, said her +speech to the goat, and the table came with all the good things on it, +and was carried away when Two Eyes had eaten enough; and the cunning +Three Eyes saw it all with her one eye. But she pretended to be asleep +when her sister came to wake her and told her she was going home. + +That evening, when little Two Eyes again left the supper they placed +aside for her, Three Eyes said to her mother, "I know where the proud +thing gets her good eating and drinking;" and then she described all she +had seen in the field. "I saw it all with one eye," she said; "for she +had made my other two eyes close with her fine singing, but luckily the +one in my forehead remained open." + +Then the envious mother cried out to poor little Two Eyes, "You wish to +have better food than we, do you? You shall lose your wish!" She took up +a butcher's knife, went out, and stuck the good little goat in the +heart, and it fell dead. + +When little Two Eyes saw this, she went out into the field, seated +herself on a mound, and wept most bitter tears. + +Presently the wise woman stood again before her, and said, "Little Two +Eyes, why do you weep?" + +"Ah!" she replied, "I must weep. The goat, who every day spread my table +so beautifully, has been killed by my mother, and I shall have again to +suffer from hunger and sorrow." + +"Little Two Eyes," said the wise woman, "I will give you some good +advice. Go home, and ask your sister to give you the inside of the +slaughtered goat, and then go and bury it in the ground in front of the +house-door." + +On saying this the wise woman vanished. + +Little Two Eyes went home quickly, and said to her sister, "Dear sister, +give me some part of my poor goat. I don't want anything valuable; only +give me the inside." + +Her sister laughed, and said, "Of course you can have that, if you don't +want anything else." + +So little Two Eyes took the inside; and in the evening, when all was +quiet, buried it in the ground outside the house-door, as the wise woman +had told her to do. + +The next morning, when they all rose and looked out of the window, there +stood a most wonderful tree, with leaves of silver and apples of gold +hanging between them. Nothing in the wide world could be more beautiful +or more costly. They none of them knew how the tree could come there in +one night, excepting little Two Eyes. She supposed it had grown up from +the inside of the goat; for it stood over where she had buried it in the +earth. + +Then said the mother to little One Eye, "Climb up, my child, and break +off some of the fruit from the tree." + +One Eye climbed up, but when she tried to catch a branch and pluck one +of the apples, it escaped from her hand, and so it happened every time +she made the attempt, and, do what she would, she could not reach one. + +"Three Eyes," said the mother, "climb up, and try what you can do; +perhaps you will be able to see better with your three eyes than One Eye +can." + +One Eye slid down from the tree, and Three Eyes climbed up. But Three +Eyes was not more skilful; with all her efforts she could not draw the +branches, nor the fruit, near enough to pluck even a leaf, for they +sprang back as she put out her hand. + +At last the mother was impatient, and climbed up herself, but with no +more success, for, as she appeared to grasp a branch, or fruit, her hand +closed upon thin air. + +"May I try?" said little Two Eyes; "perhaps I may succeed." + +"You, indeed!" cried her sisters; "you, with your two eyes, what can you +do?" + +But Two Eyes climbed up, and the golden apples did not fly back from her +when she touched them, but almost laid themselves on her hand, and she +plucked them one after another, till she carried down her own little +apron full. + +The mother took them from her, and gave them to her sisters, as she said +little Two Eyes did not handle them properly; but this was only from +jealousy, because little Two Eyes was the only one who could reach the +fruit, and she went into the house feeling more spiteful to her than +ever. + +It happened that while all three sisters were standing under the tree +together a young knight rode by. "Run away, quick, and hide yourself, +little Two Eyes; hide yourself somewhere, for we shall be quite ashamed +for you to be seen." Then they pushed the poor girl, in great haste, +under an empty cask, which stood near the tree, and several of the +golden apples that she had plucked along with her. + +As the knight came nearer they saw he was a handsome man; and presently +he halted, and looked with wonder and pleasure at the beautiful tree +with its silver leaves and golden fruit. + +At last he spoke to the sisters, and asked: "To whom does this beautiful +tree belong? If a man possessed only one branch he might obtain all he +wished for in the world." + +"This tree belongs to us," said the two sisters, "and we will break off +a branch for you if you like." They gave themselves a great deal of +trouble in trying to do as they offered; but all to no purpose, for the +branches and the fruit evaded their efforts, and sprung back at every +touch. + +"This is wonderful," exclaimed the knight, "that the tree should belong +to you, and yet you are not able to gather even a branch." + +They persisted, however, in declaring that the tree was their own +property. At this moment little Two Eyes, who was angry because her +sisters had not told the truth, caused two of the golden apples to slip +out from under the cask, and they rolled on till they reached the feet +of the knight's horse. When he saw them, he asked in astonishment where +they came from. + +The two ugly maidens replied that they had another sister, but they +dared not let him see her, for she had only two eyes, like common +people, and was named little Two Eyes. + +But the knight felt very anxious to see her, and called out, "Little Two +Eyes, come here." Then came Two Eyes, quite comforted, from the empty +cask, and the knight was astonished to find her so beautiful. + +Then he said, "Little Two Eyes, can you break off a branch of the tree +for me?" + +"Oh yes," she replied, "I can, very easily, for the tree belongs to me." +And she climbed up, and, without any trouble, broke off a branch with +its silver leaves and golden fruit and gave it to the knight. + +He looked down at her as she stood by his horse, and said: "Little Two +Eyes, what shall I give you for this?" + +"Ah!" she answered, "I suffer from hunger and thirst, and sorrow, and +trouble, from early morning till late at night; if you would only take +me with you, and release me, I should be so happy." + +Then the knight lifted the little maiden on his horse, and rode home +with her to his father's castle. There she was given beautiful clothes +to wear, and as much to eat and drink as she wished, and as she grew up +the young knight loved her so dearly that they were married with great +rejoicings. + +Now, when the two sisters saw little Two Eyes carried away by the +handsome young knight, they were overjoyed at their good fortune. "The +wonderful tree belongs to us now," they said; "even if we cannot break +off a branch, yet everybody who passes will stop to admire it, and make +acquaintance with us, and, who knows? we may get husbands after all." + +But when they rose the next morning, lo! the tree had vanished, and with +it all their hopes. And on this very morning, when little Two Eyes +looked out of her chamber window of the castle, she saw, to her great +joy, that the tree had followed her. + +Little Two Eyes lived for a long time in great happiness; but she heard +nothing of her sisters, till one day two poor women came to the castle, +to beg for alms. Little Two Eyes saw them, and, looking earnestly in +their faces, she recognised her two sisters, who had become so poor that +they were obliged to beg their bread from door to door. + +But the good sister received them most kindly, and promised to take care +of them and give them all they wanted. And then they did indeed repent +and feel sorry for having treated her so badly in their youthful days. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +THE MAGIC MIRROR + + +One day in the middle of winter, when the snowflakes fell from the sky +like feathers, a queen sat at a window netting. Her netting-needle was +of black ebony, and as she worked, and the snow glittered, she pricked +her finger, and three drops of blood fell into the snow. The red spots +looked so beautiful in the white snow that the queen thought to herself: +"Oh, if I only had a little child, I should like it to be as fair as +snow, as rosy as the red blood, and with hair and eyes as black as +ebony." + +Very soon after this the queen had a little daughter who was very fair, +had rosy cheeks, and hair as black as ebony; and they gave her the name +of Snow-white. But at the birth of the little child the queen died. + +When Snow-white was a year old, the king took another wife. She was very +handsome, but so proud and vain that she could not endure that anyone +should surpass her in beauty. She possessed a wonderful mirror, and when +she stood before it to look at herself she would say: + + "Mirror, mirror on the wall, + Am I most beautiful of all?" + +Then the mirror would reply: + + "Young queen, thou are so wondrous fair, + None can with thee at all compare." + +Then she would go away quite contented, for she knew the magic mirror +could speak only the truth. + +Years went by, and as Snow-white grew up, she became day after day more +beautiful, till she reached the age of seven years, and then people +began to talk about her, and say that she would be more lovely even than +the queen herself. So the proud woman went to her magic looking-glass, +and asked: + + "Mirror, mirror on the wall, + Am I most beautiful of all?" + +But the mirror answered: + + "Queen, thou are lovely still to see, + But Snow-white will be + A thousand times more beautiful than thee." + +Then the queen was terrified, and turned green and yellow with jealousy. +If she had caught sight of Snow-white at that moment, she would have +been ready to tear her heart out of her body, she hated the maiden so +fiercely. + +And this jealousy and envy grew every day stronger and stronger in her +heart, like a disease, till she had no rest day or night. + +At last she sent for a hunter, who lived near a forest, and said to him, +"Hunter, I want to get rid of that child. Take her out into the wood, +and if you bring me some proofs that she is dead, I will reward you +handsomely. Never let her appear before my eyes again." + +So the hunter enticed the child into the wood; but when he took out his +hunting-knife to thrust into Snow-white's innocent heart, she fell on +her knees and wept, and said, "Ah, dear hunter, leave me my life; I will +run away into the wild wood, and never, never come home any more." + +She looked so innocent and beautiful as she knelt, that the hunter's +heart was moved with compassion: "Run away, then, thou poor child," he +cried; "I cannot harm thee." + +Snow-white thanked him so sweetly, and was out of sight in a few +moments. + +"She will be devoured by wild beasts," he said to himself. But the +thought that he had not killed her was as if a stone-weight had been +lifted from his heart. + +To satisfy the queen, he took part of the inside of a young fawn, which +the wicked woman thought was poor little Snow-white, and was overjoyed +to think she was dead. + +But the poor little motherless child, when she found herself alone in +the wood, and saw nothing but trees and leaves, was dreadfully +frightened, and knew not what to do. At last she began to run over the +sharp stones and through the thorns, and though the wild beasts sprang +out before her, they did her no harm. She ran on as long as she could +till her little feet became quite sore; and towards evening she saw, to +her great joy, a pretty little house. So she went up to it, and found +the door open and no one at home. + +It was a tiny little house, but everything in it was so clean and neat +and elegant that it is beyond description. In the middle of the room +stood a small table, covered with a snow-white table-cloth, ready for +supper. On it were arranged seven little plates, seven little spoons, +seven little knives and forks, and seven mugs. By the wall stood seven +little beds, near each other, covered with white quilts. + +Poor Snow-white, who was hungry and thirsty, ate a few vegetables and a +little bread from each plate, and drank a little drop of wine from each +cup, for she did not like to take all she wanted from one alone. After +this, feeling very tired, she thought she would lie down and rest on one +of the beds, but she found it difficult to choose one to suit her. One +was too long, another too short; so she tried them all till she came to +the seventh, and that was so comfortable that she laid herself down, and +was soon fast asleep. + +When it was quite dark the masters of the house came home. They were +seven little dwarfs, who dug and searched in the mountains for minerals. +First they lighted seven little lamps, and as soon as the room was full +of light they saw that some one had been there, for everything did not +stand in the order in which they had left it. + +Then said the first, "Who has been sitting in my little chair?" + +The second exclaimed, "Who has been eating from my little plate?" + +The third cried, "Some one has taken part of my bread." + +"Who has been eating my vegetables?" said the fourth. + +Then said the fifth, "Some one has used my fork." + +The sixth cried, "And who has been cutting with my knife?" + +"And some one has been drinking out of my cup," said the seventh. + +Then the eldest looked at his bed, and, seeing that it looked tumbled, +cried out that some one had been upon it. The others came running +forward, and found all their beds in the same condition. But when the +seventh approached his bed, and saw Snow-white lying there fast asleep, +he called the others, who came quickly, and holding their lights over +their heads, cried out in wonder as they beheld the sleeping child. "Oh, +what a beautiful little child!" they said to each other, and were so +delighted that they would not awaken her, but left her to sleep as long +as she liked in the little bed, while its owner slept with one of his +companions, and so the night passed away. + +In the morning, when Snow-white awoke, and saw all the dwarfs, she was +terribly frightened. But they spoke kindly to her, till she lost all +fear, and they asked her name. + +"I am called Snow-white," she replied. + +"But how came you to our house?" asked one. + +Then she related to them all that had happened; how her stepmother had +sent her into the wood with the hunter, who had spared her life, and +that, after wandering about for a whole day, she had found their house. + +The dwarfs talked a little while together, and then one said, "Do you +think you could be our little housekeeper, to make the beds, cook the +dinner, and wash and sew and knit for us, and keep everything neat and +clean and orderly? If you can, then you shall stay here with us, and +nobody shall hurt you." + +"Oh yes, I will try," said Snow-white. So they let her stay, and she was +a clever little thing. She managed very well, and kept the house quite +clean and in order. And while they were gone to the mountains to find +gold, she got their supper ready, and they were very happy together. + +But every morning when they left her, the kind little dwarfs warned +Snow-white to be careful. While the maiden was alone they knew she was +in danger, and told her not to show herself, for her stepmother would +soon find out where she was, and said, "Whatever you do, let nobody into +the house while we are gone." + +After the wicked queen had proved, as she thought, that Snow-white was +dead, she felt quite satisfied there was no one in the world now likely +to become so beautiful as herself, so she stepped up to her mirror and +asked: + + "Mirror, mirror on the wall, + Who is most beautiful of all?" + +To her vexation the mirror replied: + + "Fair queen, at home there is none like thee, + But over the mountains is Snow-white free, + With seven little dwarfs, who are strange to see; + A thousand times fairer than thou is she." + +The queen was furious when she heard this, for she knew the mirror was +truthful, and that the hunter must have deceived her, and that +Snow-white still lived. So she sat and pondered over these facts, +thinking what would be best to do, for as long as she was not the most +beautiful woman in the land, her jealousy gave her no peace. After a +time, she decided what to do. First, she painted her face, and whitened +her hair; then she dressed herself in old woman's clothes, and was so +disguised that no one could have recognised her. + +Watching an opportunity, she left the castle, and took her way to the +wood near the mountains, where the seven little dwarfs lived. When she +reached the door, she knocked, and cried, "Beautiful goods to sell; +beautiful goods to sell." + +Snow-white, when she heard it, peeped through the window, and said, +"Good-day, old lady. What have you in your basket for me to buy?" + +"Everything that is pretty," she replied; "laces, and pearls, and +earrings, and bracelets of every colour;" and she held up her basket, +which was lined with glittering silk. + +"I can let in this respectable old woman," thought Snow-white; "she will +not harm me." So she unbolted the door, and told her to come in. Oh, how +delighted Snow-white was with the pretty things; she bought several +trinkets, and a beautiful silk lace for her stays, but she did not see +the evil eye of the old woman who was watching her. Presently she said, +"Child, come here; I will show you how to lace your stays properly." +Snow-white had no suspicion, so she placed herself before the old woman +that she might lace her stays. But no sooner was the lace in the holes +than she began to lace so fast and pull so tight that Snow-white could +not breathe, and presently fell down at her feet as if dead. + +"Now you are beautiful indeed," said the woman, and, fancying she heard +footsteps, she rushed away as quickly as she could. + +Not long after, the seven dwarfs came home, and they were terribly +frightened to see dear little Snow-white lying on the ground without +motion, as if she were dead. They lifted her up, and saw in a moment +that her stays had been laced too tight. Quickly they cut the stay-lace +in two, till Snow-white began to breathe a little, and after a time was +restored to life. But when the dwarfs heard what had happened, they +said: "That old market-woman was no other than your wicked stepmother. +Snow-white, you must never again let anyone in while we are not with +you." + +The wicked queen when she returned home, after, as she thought, killing +Snow-white, went to her looking-glass and asked: + + "Mirror, mirror on the wall, + Am I most beautiful of all?" + +Then answered the mirror: + + "Queen, thou art not the fairest now; + Snow-white over the mountain's brow + A thousand times fairer is than thou." + +When she heard this she was so terrified that the blood rushed to her +heart, for she knew that after all she had done Snow-white was still +alive. "I must think of something else," she said to herself, "to get +rid of that odious child." + +Now this wicked queen had some knowledge of witchcraft, and she knew how +to poison a comb, so that whoever used it would fall dead. This the +wicked stepmother soon got ready, and dressing herself again like an old +woman, but quite different from the last, she started off to travel over +the mountains to the dwarfs' cottage. + +When Snow-white heard the old cry, "Goods to sell, fine goods to sell," +she looked out of the window and said: + +"Go away, go away; I must not let you in." + +"Look at this, then," said the woman; "you shall have it for your own if +you like," and she held up before the child's eyes the bright +tortoise-shell comb which she had poisoned. + +Poor Snow-white could not refuse such a present, so she opened the door +and let the woman in, quite forgetting the advice of the dwarfs. After +she had bought a few things, the old woman said, "Let me try this comb +in your hair; it is so fine it will make it beautifully smooth and +glossy." + +So Snow-white, thinking no wrong, stood before the woman to have her +hair dressed; but no sooner had the comb touched the roots of her hair +than the poison took effect, and the maiden fell to the ground lifeless. + +"You paragon of beauty," said the wicked woman, "all has just happened +as I expected," and then she went away quickly. + +Fortunately evening soon arrived, and the seven dwarfs returned home. +When they saw Snow-white lying dead on the ground, they knew at once +that the stepmother had been there again; but on seeing the poisoned +comb in her hair they pulled it out quickly, and Snow-white very soon +came to herself, and related all that had passed. + +Again they warned her not to let anyone enter the house during their +absence, and on no account to open the door; but Snow-white was not +clever enough to resist her clever wicked stepmother, and she forgot to +obey. + +The wicked queen felt sure now that she had really killed Snow-white; so +as soon as she returned home she went to her looking-glass, and +inquired: + + "Mirror, mirror on the wall, + Who is most beautiful of all?" + +But the mirror replied: + + "Queen, thou art the fairest here, + But not when Snow-white is near; + Over the mountains still is she, + Fairer a thousand times than thee." + +As the looking-glass thus replied, the queen trembled and quaked with +rage. "Snow-white shall die," cried she, "if it costs me my own life!" + +Then she went into a lonely forbidden chamber where no one was allowed +to come, and poisoned a beautiful apple. Outwardly it looked ripe and +tempting, of a pale green with rosy cheeks, so that it made everyone's +mouth water to look at it, but whoever ate even a small piece must die. + +As soon as this apple was ready, the wicked queen painted her face, +disguised her hair, dressed herself as a farmer's wife, and went again +over the mountains to the dwarfs' cottage. + +When she knocked at the door, Snow-white stretched her head out of the +window, and said, "I dare not let you in; the seven dwarfs have +forbidden me." + +"But I am all right," said the farmer's wife. "Stay, I will show you my +apples. Are they not beautiful? let me make you a present of one." + +"No, thank you," cried Snow-white; "I dare not take it." + +"What!" cried the woman, "are you afraid it is poisoned? Look here now, +I will cut the apple in halves; you shall have the rosy-cheek side, and +I will eat the other." + +The apple was so cleverly made that the red side alone was poisonous. +Snow-white longed so much for the beautiful fruit as she saw the +farmer's wife eat one half that she could not any longer resist, but +stretched out her hand from the window and took the poisoned half. But +no sooner had she taken one mouthful than she fell on the ground dead. + +Then the wicked queen glanced in at the window with a horrible look in +her eye, and laughed aloud as she exclaimed: + +"White as snow, red as blood, and black as ebony; this time the dwarfs +will not be able to awake thee." + +And as soon as she arrived at home, and asked her mirror who was the +most beautiful in the land, it replied: + + "Fair queen, there is none in all the land + So beautiful as thou." + +Then had her envious heart rest, at least such rest as a heart full of +envy and malice ever can have. + +The little dwarfs, when they came home in the evening, found poor +Snow-white on the ground; but though they lifted her up, there were no +signs of breath from her mouth, and they found she was really dead. Yet +they tried in every way to restore her; they tried to extract the poison +from her lips, they combed her hair, and washed it with wine and water, +but all to no purpose: the dear child gave no signs of life, and at last +they knew she was dead. Then they laid her on a bier, and the seven +dwarfs seated themselves round her, and wept and mourned for three days. +They would have buried her then, but there was no change in her +appearance; her face was as fresh, and her cheeks and lips had their +usual colour. Then said one, "We cannot lay this beautiful child in the +dark, cold earth." + +So they agreed to have a coffin made entirely of glass, transparent all +over, that they might watch for any signs of decay, and they wrote in +letters of gold her name on the lid, and that she was the daughter of a +king. The coffin was placed on the side of the mountain, and each of +them watched it by turns, so that it was never left alone. And the birds +of the air came near and mourned for Snow-white; first the owl, then the +raven, and at last the dove. Snow-white lay for a long, long time in the +glass coffin, but showed not the least signs of decay. It seemed as if +she slept; for her skin was snow white, her cheeks rosy red, and her +hair black as ebony. + +It happened one day that the son of a king, while riding in the forest, +came by chance upon the dwarfs' house and asked for a night's lodging. +As he left the next morning he saw the coffin on the mountain-side, with +beautiful Snow-white lying in it, and read what was written upon the lid +in letters of gold. + +Then he said to the dwarfs, "Let me have this coffin, and I will give +you for it whatever you ask." + +But the elder dwarf answered, "We would not give it thee for all the +gold in the world." + +But the prince answered, "Let me have it as a gift, then. I know not +why, but my heart is drawn towards this beautiful child, and I feel I +cannot live without her. If you will let me have her, she shall be +treated with the greatest honour and respect as one dearly beloved." + +As he thus spoke the good little dwarfs were full of sympathy for him, +and gave him the coffin. Then the prince called his servants, and the +coffin was placed on their shoulders, and they carried it away, followed +by the king's son, who watched it carefully. Now it happened that one of +them made a false step and stumbled. This shook the coffin, and caused +the poisoned piece of apple which Snow-white had bitten to roll out of +her mouth. A little while after she suddenly opened her eyes, lifted up +the coffin-lid, raised herself and was again alive. + +"Oh! where am I?" she cried. + +Full of joy, the king's son approached her, and said, "Dear Snow-white, +you are safe; you are with me." + +Then he related to her all that had happened, and what the little dwarfs +had told him about her, and said at last, "I love you better than all in +the world besides, dear little Snow-white, and you must come with me to +my father's castle and be my wife." + +Then was Snow-white taken out of the coffin and placed in a carriage to +travel with the prince, and the king was so pleased with his son's +choice that the marriage was soon after celebrated with great pomp and +magnificence. + +Now it happened that the stepmother of Snow-white was invited, among +other guests, to the wedding-feast. Before she left her house she stood +in all her rich dress before the magic mirror to admire her own +appearance, but she could not help saying; + + "Mirror, mirror on the wall, + Am I most beautiful of all?" + +Then to her surprise the mirror replied: + + "Fair queen, thou art the fairest here, + But at the palace, now, + The bride will prove a thousand times + More beautiful than thou." + +Then the wicked woman uttered a curse, and was so dreadfully alarmed +that she knew not what to do. At first she declared she would not go to +this wedding at all, but she felt it impossible to rest until she had +seen the bride, so she determined to go. But what was her astonishment +and vexation when she recognised in the young bride Snow-white herself, +now grown a charming young woman, and richly dressed in royal robes! Her +rage and terror were so great that she stood still and could not move +for some minutes. At last she went into the ballroom, but the slippers +she wore were to her as iron bands full of coals of fire, in which she +was obliged to dance. And so in the red, glowing shoes she continued to +dance till she fell dead on the floor, a sad example of envy and +jealousy. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +THE ENCHANTED STAG + + +There were once a brother and sister who loved each other dearly; their +mother was dead, and their father had married again a woman who was most +unkind and cruel to them. One day the boy took his sister's hand, and +said to her, "Dear little sister, since our mother died we have not had +one happy hour. Our stepmother gives us dry hard crusts for dinner and +supper; she often knocks us about, and threatens to kick us out of the +house. Even the little dogs under the table fare better than we do, for +she often throws them nice pieces to eat. Heaven pity us! Oh, if our +dear mother knew! Come, let us go out into the wide world!" + +So they went out, and wandered over fields and meadows the whole day +till evening. At last they found themselves in a large forest; it began +to rain, and the little sister said, "See, brother, heaven and our +hearts weep together." At last, tired out with hunger and sorrow, and +the long journey, they crept into a hollow tree, laid themselves down, +and slept till morning. + +When they awoke the sun was high in the heavens, and shone brightly into +the hollow tree, so they left their place of shelter and wandered away +in search of water. + +"Oh, I am so thirsty!" said the boy. "If we could only find a brook or a +stream." He stopped to listen, and said, "Stay, I think I hear a running +stream." So he took his sister by the hand, and they ran together to +find it. + +Now, the stepmother of these poor children was a wicked witch. She had +seen the children go away, and, following them cautiously like a snake, +had bewitched all the springs and streams in the forest. The pleasant +trickling of a brook over the pebbles was heard by the children as they +reached it, and the boy was just stooping to drink, when the sister +heard in the babbling of the brook: + + "Whoever drinks of me, a tiger soon will be." + +Then she cried quickly, "Stay, brother, stay! do not drink, or you will +become a wild beast, and tear me to pieces." + +Thirsty as he was, the brother conquered his desire to drink at her +words, and said, "Dear sister, I will wait till we come to a spring." So +they wandered farther, but as they approached, she heard in the bubbling +spring the words-- + + "Who drinks of me, a wolf will be." + +"Brother, I pray you, do not drink of this brook; you will be changed +into a wolf, and devour me." + +Again the brother denied himself and promised to wait; but he said, "At +the next stream I must drink, say what you will, my thirst is so great." + +Not far off ran a pretty streamlet, looking clear and bright; but here +also in its murmuring waters, the sister heard the words-- + + "Who dares to drink of me, + Turned to a stag will be." + +"Dear brother, do not drink," she began; but she was too late, for her +brother had already knelt by the stream to drink, and as the first drop +of water touched his lips he became a fawn. How the little sister wept +over the enchanted brother, and the fawn wept also. + +He did not run away, but stayed close to her; and at last she said, +"Stand still, dear fawn; don't fear, I must take care of you, but I will +never leave you." So she untied her little golden garter and fastened it +round the neck of the fawn; then she gathered some soft green rushes, +and braided them into a soft string, which she fastened to the fawn's +golden collar, and then led him away into the depths of the forest. + +After wandering about for some time, they at last found a little +deserted hut, and the sister was overjoyed, for she thought it would +form a nice shelter for them both. So she led the fawn in, and then went +out alone, to gather moss and dried leaves, to make him a soft bed. + +Every morning she went out to gather dried roots, nuts, and berries, for +her own food, and sweet fresh grass for the fawn, which he ate out of +her hand, and the poor little animal went out with her, and played about +as happy as the day was long. + +When evening came, and the poor sister felt tired, she would kneel down +and say her prayers, and then lay her delicate head on the fawn's back, +which was a soft warm pillow, on which she could sleep peacefully. Had +this dear brother only kept his own proper form, how happy they would +have been together! After they had been alone in the forest for some +time, and the little sister had grown a lovely maiden, and the fawn a +large stag, a numerous hunting party came to the forest, and amongst +them the king of the country. + +The sounding horn, the barking of the dogs, the holloa of the huntsmen, +resounded through the forest, and were heard by the stag, who became +eager to join his companions. + +"Oh dear," he said, "do let me go and see the hunt; I cannot restrain +myself." And he begged so hard that at last she reluctantly consented. + +"But remember," she said, "I must lock the cottage door against those +huntsmen, so when you come back in the evening, and knock, I shall not +admit you, unless you say, 'Dear little sister let me in.'" + +He bounded off as she spoke, scarcely stopping to listen, for it was so +delightful for him to breathe the fresh air and be free again. + +He had not run far when the king's chief hunter caught sight of the +beautiful animal, and started off in chase of him; but it was no easy +matter to overtake such rapid footsteps. Once, when he thought he had +him safe, the fawn sprang over the bushes and disappeared. + +As it was now nearly dark, he ran up to the little cottage, knocked at +the door, and cried, "Dear little sister, let me in." The door was +instantly opened, and oh, how glad his sister was to see him safely +resting on his soft pleasant bed! + +A few days after this, the huntsmen were again in the forest; and when +the fawn heard the holloa, he could not rest in peace, but begged his +sister again to let him go. + +She opened the door, and said, "I will let you go this time; but pray do +not forget to say what I told you, when you return this evening." + +The chief hunter very soon espied the beautiful fawn with the golden +collar, pointed it out to the king, and they determined to hunt it. + +They chased him with all their skill till the evening; but he was too +light and nimble for them to catch, till a shot wounded him slightly in +the foot, so that he was obliged to hide himself in the bushes, and, +after the huntsmen were gone, limp slowly home. + +One of them, however, determined to follow him at a distance, and +discover where he went. What was his surprise at seeing him go up to a +door and knock, and to hear him say, "Dear little sister, let me in." +The door was only opened a little way, and quickly shut; but the +huntsman had seen enough to make him full of wonder, when he returned +and described to the king what he had seen. + +"We will have one more chase to-morrow," said the king, "and discover +this mystery." + +In the meantime the loving sister was terribly alarmed at finding the +stag's foot wounded and bleeding. She quickly washed off the blood, and, +after bathing the wound, placed healing herbs on it, and said, "Lie down +on your bed, dear fawn, and the wound will soon heal, if you rest your +foot." + +In the morning the wound was so much better that the fawn felt the foot +almost as strong as ever, and so, when he again heard the holloa of the +hunters, he could not rest. "Oh, dear sister, I must go once more; it +will be easy for me to avoid the hunters now, and my foot feels quite +well; they will not hunt me unless they see me running, and I don't mean +to do that." + +But his sister wept, and begged him not to go: "If they kill you, dear +fawn, I shall be here alone in the forest, forsaken by the whole world." + +"And I shall die of grief," he said, "if I remain here listening to the +hunter's horn." + +So at length his sister, with a heavy heart, set him free, and he +bounded away joyfully into the forest. + +As soon as the king caught sight of him, he said to the huntsmen, +"Follow that stag about, but don't hurt him." So they hunted him all +day, but at the approach of sunset the king said to the hunter who had +followed the fawn the day before, "Come and show me the little cottage." + +So they went together, and when the king saw it he sent his companion +home, and went on alone so quickly that he arrived there before the +fawn; and, going up to the little door, knocked and said softly, "Dear +little sister, let me in." + +As the door opened, the king stepped in, and in great astonishment saw a +maiden more beautiful than he had ever seen in his life standing before +him. But how frightened she felt to see instead of her dear little fawn +a noble gentleman walk in with a gold crown on his head. + +However, he appeared very friendly, and after a little talk he held out +his hand to her, and said, "Wilt thou go with me to my castle and be my +dear wife?" + +"Ah yes," replied the maiden, "I would willingly; but I cannot leave my +dear fawn: he must go with me wherever I am." + +"He shall remain with you as long as you live," replied the king, "and I +will never ask you to forsake him." + +While they were talking, the fawn came bounding in, looking quite well +and happy. Then his sister fastened the string of rushes to his collar, +took it in her hand, and led him away from the cottage in the wood to +where the king's beautiful horse waited for him. + +The king placed the maiden before him on his horse and rode away to his +castle, the fawn following by their side. Soon after, their marriage was +celebrated with great splendour, and the fawn was taken the greatest +care of, and played where he pleased, or roamed about the castle grounds +in happiness and safety. + +In the meantime the wicked stepmother, who had caused these two young +people such misery, supposed that the sister had been devoured by wild +beasts, and that the fawn had been hunted to death. Therefore when she +heard of their happiness, such envy and malice arose in her heart that +she could find no rest till she had tried to destroy it. + +She and her ugly daughter came to the castle when the queen had a little +baby, and one of them pretended to be a nurse, and at last got the +mother and child into their power. + +They shut the queen up in the bath, and tried to suffocate her, and the +old woman put her own ugly daughter in the queen's bed that the king +might not know she was away. + +She would not, however, let him speak to her, but pretended that she +must be kept quite quiet. + +The queen escaped from the bath-room, where the wicked old woman had +locked her up, but she did not go far, as she wanted to watch over her +child and the little fawn. + +For two nights the baby's nurse saw a figure of the queen come into the +room and take up her baby and nurse it. Then she told the king, and he +determined to watch himself. The old stepmother, who acted as nurse to +her ugly daughter, whom she tried to make the king believe was his wife, +had said that the queen was too weak to see him, and never left her +room. "There cannot be two queens," said the king to himself, "so +to-night I will watch in the nursery." As soon as the figure came in and +took up her baby, he saw it was his real wife, and caught her in his +arms, saying, "You are my own beloved wife, as beautiful as ever." + +The wicked witch had thrown her into a trance, hoping she would die, and +that the king would then marry her daughter; but on the king speaking to +her, the spell was broken. The queen told the king how cruelly she had +been treated by her stepmother, and on hearing this he became very +angry, and had the witch and her daughter brought to justice. They were +both sentenced to die--the daughter to be devoured by wild beasts, and +the mother to be burnt alive. + +No sooner, however, was she reduced to ashes than the charm which held +the queen's brother in the form of a stag was broken; he recovered his +own natural shape, and appeared before them a tall, handsome young man. + +After this, the brother and sister lived happily and peacefully for the +rest of their lives. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +HANSEL AND GRETHEL + + +Near the borders of a large forest dwelt in olden times a poor +wood-cutter, who had two children--a boy named Hansel, and his sister, +Grethel. They had very little to live upon, and once when there was a +dreadful season of scarcity in the land, the poor wood-cutter could not +earn sufficient to supply their daily food. + +One evening, after the children were gone to bed, the parents sat +talking together over their sorrow, and the poor husband sighed, and +said to his wife, who was not the mother of his children, but their +stepmother, "What will become of us, for I cannot earn enough to support +myself and you, much less the children? what shall we do with them, for +they must not starve?" + +"I know what to do, husband," she replied; "early to-morrow morning we +will take the children for a walk across the forest and leave them in +the thickest part; they will never find the way home again, you may +depend, and then we shall only have to work for ourselves." + +"No, wife," said the man, "that I will never do. How could I have the +heart to leave my children all alone in the wood, where the wild beasts +would come quickly and devour them?" + +"Oh, you fool," replied the stepmother, "if you refuse to do this, you +know we must all four perish with hunger; you may as well go and cut the +wood for our coffins." And after this she let him have no peace till he +became quite worn out, and could not sleep for hours, but lay thinking +in sorrow about his children. + +The two children, who also were too hungry to sleep, heard all that +their stepmother had said to their father. Poor little Grethel wept +bitter tears as she listened, and said to her brother, "What is going to +happen to us, Hansel?" + +"Hush, Grethel," he whispered, "don't be so unhappy; I know what to do." + +Then they lay quite still till their parents were asleep. + +As soon as it was quiet, Hansel got up, put on his little coat, +unfastened the door, and slipped out The moon shone brightly, and the +white pebble stones which lay before the cottage door glistened like new +silver money. Hansel stooped and picked up as many of the pebbles as he +could stuff in his little coat pockets. He then went back to Grethel and +said, "Be comforted, dear little sister, and sleep in peace; heaven will +take care of us." Then he laid himself down again in bed, and slept till +the day broke. + +As soon as the sun was risen, the stepmother came and woke the two +children, and said, "Get up, you lazy bones, and come into the wood with +me to gather wood for the fire." Then she gave each of them a piece of +bread, and said, "You must keep that to eat for your dinner, and don't +quarrel over it, for you will get nothing more." + +Grethel took the bread under her charge, for Hansel's pockets were full +of pebbles. Then the stepmother led them a long way into the forest. +They had gone but a very short distance when Hansel looked back at the +house, and this he did again and again. + +At last his stepmother said, "Why do you keep staying behind and looking +back so?" + +"Oh, mother," said the boy, "I can see my little white cat sitting on +the roof of the house, and I am sure she is crying for me." + +"Nonsense," she replied; "that is not your cat; it is the morning sun +shining on the chimney-pot." + +Hansel had seen no cat, but he stayed behind every time to drop a white +pebble from his pocket on the ground as they walked. + +As soon as they reached a thick part of the wood, their stepmother said: + +"Come, children, gather some wood, and I will make a fire, for it is +very cold here." + +Then Hansel and Grethel raised quite a high heap of brushwood and +faggots, which soon blazed up into a bright fire, and the woman said to +them: + +"Sit down here, children, and rest, while I go and find your father, who +is cutting wood in the forest; when we have finished our work, we will +come again and fetch you." + +Hansel and Grethel seated themselves by the fire, and when noon arrived +they each ate the piece of bread which their stepmother had given them +for their dinner; and as long as they heard the strokes of the axe they +felt safe, for they believed that their father was working near them. +But it was not an axe they heard--only a branch which still hung on a +withered tree, and was moved up and down by the wind. At last, when they +had been sitting there a long time, the children's eyes became heavy +with fatigue, and they fell fast asleep. When they awoke it was dark +night, and poor Grethel began to cry, and said, "Oh, how shall we get +out of the wood?" + +But Hansel comforted her. "Don't fear," he said; "let us wait a little +while till the moon rises, and then we shall easily find our way home." + +Very soon the full moon rose, and then Hansel took his little sister by +the hand, and the white pebble stones, which glittered like newly-coined +money in the moonlight, and which Hansel had dropped as he walked, +pointed out the way. They walked all the night through, and did not +reach their father's house till break of day. + +They knocked at the door, and when their stepmother opened it, she +exclaimed: "You naughty children, why have you been staying so long in +the forest? we thought you were never coming back," But their father was +overjoyed to see them, for it grieved him to the heart to think that +they had been left alone in the wood. + +Not long after this there came another time of scarcity and want in +every house, and the children heard their stepmother talking after they +were in bed. "The times are as bad as ever," she said; "we have just +half a loaf left, and when that is gone all love will be at an end. The +children must go away; we will take them deeper into the forest this +time, and they will not be able to find their way home as they did +before; it is the only plan to save ourselves from starvation." But the +husband felt heavy at heart, for he thought it was better to share the +last morsel with his children. + +His wife would listen to nothing he said, but continued to reproach him, +and as he had given way to her the first time, he could not refuse to do +so now. The children were awake, and heard all the conversation; so, as +soon as their parents slept, Hansel got up, intending to go out and +gather some more of the bright pebbles to let fall as he walked, that +they might point out the way home; but his stepmother had locked the +door, and he could not open it. When he went back to his bed he told his +little sister not to fret, but to go to sleep in peace, for he was sure +they would be taken care of. + +Early the next morning the stepmother came and pulled the children out +of bed, and, when they were dressed, gave them each a piece of bread for +their dinners, smaller than they had had before, and then they started +on their way to the wood. + +As they walked, Hansel, who had the bread in his pocket, broke off +little crumbs, and stopped every now and then to drop one, turning round +as if he was looking back at his home. + +"Hansel," said the woman, "what are you stopping for in that way? Come +along directly." + +"I saw my pigeon sitting on the roof, and he wants to say good-bye to +me," replied the boy. + +"Nonsense," she said; "that is not your pigeon; it is only the morning +sun shining on the chimney-top." + +But Hansel did not look back any more; he only dropped pieces of bread +behind him, as they walked through the wood. This time they went on till +they reached the thickest and densest part of the forest, where they had +never been before in all their lives. Again they gathered faggots and +brushwood, of which the stepmother made up a large fire. Then she said, +"Remain here, children, and rest, while I go to help your father, who is +cutting wood in the forest; when you feel tired, you can lie down and +sleep for a little while, and we will come and fetch you in the evening, +when your father has finished his work." + +So the children remained alone till mid-day, and then Grethel shared her +piece of bread with Hansel, for he had scattered his own all along the +road as they walked. After this they slept for awhile, and the evening +drew on; but no one came to fetch the poor children. When they awoke it +was quite dark, and poor little Grethel was afraid; but Hansel comforted +her, as he had done before, by telling her they need only wait till the +moon rose. "You know, little sister," he said, "that I have thrown +breadcrumbs all along the road we came, and they will easily point out +the way home." + +But when they went out of the thicket into the moonlight they found no +breadcrumbs, for the numerous birds which inhabited the trees of the +forest had picked them all up. + +Hansel tried to hide his fear when he made this sad discovery, and said +to his sister, "Cheer up, Grethel; I dare say we shall find our way home +without the crumbs. Let us try." But this they found impossible. They +wandered about the whole night, and the next day from morning till +evening; but they could not get out of the wood, and were so hungry that +had it not been for a few berries which they picked they must have +starved. + +At last they were so tired that their poor little legs could carry them +no farther; so they laid themselves down under a tree and went to sleep. +When they awoke it was the third morning since they had left their +father's house, and they determined to try once more to find their way +home; but it was no use, they only went still deeper into the wood, and +knew that if no help came they must starve. + +About noon, they saw a beautiful snow-white bird sitting on the branch +of a tree, and singing so beautifully that they stood still to listen. +When he had finished his song, he spread out his wings and flew on +before them. The children followed him, till at last they saw at a +distance a small house; and the bird flew and perched on the roof. + +But how surprised were the boy and girl, when they came nearer, to find +that the house was built of gingerbread, and ornamented with sweet cakes +and tarts, while the window was formed of barley-sugar. "Oh!" exclaimed +Hansel, "let us stop here and have a splendid feast. I will have a piece +from the roof first, Grethel; and you can eat some of the barley-sugar +window, it tastes so nice." Hansel reached up on tiptoe, and breaking +off a piece of the gingerbread, he began to eat with all his might, for +he was very hungry. Grethel seated herself on the doorstep, and began +munching away at the cakes of which it was made. Presently a voice came +out of the cottage: + + "Munching, crunching, munching, + Who's eating up my house?" + +Then answered the children: + + "The wind, the wind, + Only the wind," + +and went on eating as if they never meant to leave off, without a +suspicion of wrong. Hansel, who found the cake on the roof taste very +good, broke off another large piece, and Grethel had just taken out a +whole pane of barley-sugar from the window, and seated herself to eat +it, when the door opened, and a strange-looking old woman came out +leaning on a stick. + +Hansel and Grethel were so frightened that they let fall what they held +in their hands. The old woman shook her head at them, and said, "Ah, you +dear children, who has brought you here? Come in, and stay with me for a +little while, and there shall no harm happen to you." She seized them +both by the hands as she spoke, and led them into the house. She gave +them for supper plenty to eat and drink--milk and pancakes and sugar, +apples and nuts; and when evening came, Hansel and Grethel were shown +two beautiful little beds with white curtains, and they lay down in them +and thought they were in heaven. + +But although the old woman pretended to be friendly, she was a wicked +witch, who had her house built of gingerbread on purpose to entrap +children. When once they were in her power, she would feed them well +till they got fat, and then kill them and cook them for her dinner; and +this she called her feast-day. Fortunately the witch had weak eyes, and +could not see very well; but she had a very keen scent, as wild animals +have, and could easily discover when human beings were near. As Hansel +and Grethel had approached her cottage, she laughed to herself +maliciously, and said, with a sneer: "I have them now; they shall not +escape from me again!" + +Early in the morning, before the children were awake, she was up, +standing by their beds; and when she saw how beautiful they looked in +their sleep, with their round rosy cheeks, she muttered to herself, +"What nice tit-bits they will be!" Then she laid hold of Hansel with her +rough hand, dragged him out of bed, and led him to a little cage which +had a lattice-door, and shut him in; he might scream as much as he +would, but it was all useless. + +After this she went back to Grethel, and, shaking her roughly till she +woke, cried: "Get up, you lazy hussy, and draw some water, that I may +boil something good for your brother, who is shut up in a cage outside +till he gets fat; and then I shall cook him and eat him!" When Grethel +heard this she began to cry bitterly; but it was all useless, she was +obliged to do as the wicked witch told her. + +For poor Hansel's breakfast the best of everything was cooked; but +Grethel had nothing for herself but a crab's claw. Every morning the old +woman would go out to the little cage, and say: "Hansel, stick out your +finger, that I may feel if you are fat enough for eating." But Hansel, +who knew how dim her old eyes were, always stuck a bone through the bars +of his cage, which she thought was his finger, for she could not see; +and when she felt how thin it was, she wondered very much why he did not +get fat. + +However, as the weeks went on, and Hansel seemed not to get any fatter, +she became impatient, and said she could not wait any longer. "Go, +Grethel," she cried to the maiden, "be quick and draw water; Hansel may +be fat or lean, I don't care, to-morrow morning I mean to kill him, and +cook him!" + +Oh! how the poor little sister grieved when she was forced to draw the +water; and, as the tears rolled down her cheeks, she exclaimed: "It +would have been better to be eaten by wild beasts, or to have been +starved to death in the woods; then we should have died together!" + +"Stop your crying!" cried the old woman; "it is not of the least use, no +one will come to help you." + +Early in the morning Grethel was obliged to go out and fill the great +pot with water, and hang it over the fire to boil. As soon as this was +done, the old woman said, "We will bake some bread first; I have made +the oven hot, and the dough is already kneaded." Then she dragged poor +little Grethel up to the oven door, under which the flames were burning +fiercely, and said: "Creep in there, and see if it is hot enough yet to +bake the bread." But if Grethel had obeyed her, she would have shut the +poor child in and baked her for dinner, instead of boiling Hansel. + +Grethel, however, guessed what she wanted to do, and said, "I don't know +how to get in through that narrow door." + +"Stupid goose," said the old woman, "why, the oven door is quite large +enough for me; just look, I could get in myself." As she spoke she +stepped forward and pretended to put her head in the oven. + +A sudden thought gave Grethel unusual strength; she started forward, +gave the old woman a push which sent her right into the oven, then she +shut the iron door and fastened the bolt. + +Oh! how the old witch did howl, it was quite horrible to hear her. But +Grethel ran away, and therefore she was left to burn, just as she had +left many poor little children to burn. And how quickly Grethel ran to +Hansel, opened the door of his cage, and cried, "Hansel, Hansel, we are +free; the old witch is dead." He flew like a bird out of his cage at +these words as soon as the door was opened, and the children were so +overjoyed that they ran into each other's arms, and kissed each other +with the greatest love. + +And now that there was nothing to be afraid of, they went back into the +house, and while looking round the old witch's room, they saw an old oak +chest, which they opened, and found it full of pearls and precious +stones. "These are better than pebbles," said Hansel; and he filled his +pockets as full as they would hold. + +"I will carry some home too," said Grethel, and she held out her apron, +which held quite as much as Hansel's pockets. + +"We will go now," he said, "and get away as soon as we can from this +enchanted forest." + +They had been walking for nearly two hours when they came to a large +sheet of water. + +"What shall we do now?" said the boy. "We cannot get across, and there +is no bridge of any sort." + +"Oh! here comes a boat," cried Grethel, but she was mistaken; it was +only a white duck which came swimming towards the children. "Perhaps she +will help us across if we ask her," said the child; and she sung, +"Little duck, do help poor Hansel and Grethel; there is not a bridge, +nor a boat--will you let us sail across on your white back?" + +The good-natured duck came near the bank as Grethel spoke, so close +indeed that Hansel could seat himself and wanted to take his little +sister on his lap, but she said, "No, we shall be too heavy for the kind +duck; let her take us over one at a time." + +The good creature did as the children wished; she carried Grethel over +first, and then came back for Hansel. And then how happy the children +were to find themselves in a part of the wood which they remembered +quite well, and as they walked on, the more familiar it became, till at +last they caught sight of their father's house. Then they began to run, +and, bursting into the room, threw themselves into their father's arms. + +Poor man, he had not had a moment's peace since the children had been +left alone in the forest; he was full of joy at finding them safe and +well again, and now they had nothing to fear, for their wicked +stepmother was dead. + +But how surprised the poor wood-cutter was when Grethel opened and shook +her little apron to see the glittering pearls and precious stones +scattered about the room, while Hansel drew handful after handful from +his pockets. From this moment all his care and sorrow was at an end, and +the father lived in happiness with his children till his death. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +THE STORY OF ALADDIN; OR, THE WONDERFUL LAMP + + +In one of the large and rich cities of China, there once lived a tailor +named Mustapha. He was very poor. He could hardly, by his daily labour, +maintain himself and his family, which consisted only of his wife and a +son. + +His son, who was called Aladdin, was a very careless and idle fellow. He +was disobedient to his father and mother, and would go out early in the +morning and stay out all day, playing in the streets and public places +with idle children of his own age. + +When he was old enough to learn a trade, his father took him into his +own shop, and taught him how to use his needle; but all his father's +endeavours to keep him to his work were vain, for no sooner was his back +turned, than he was gone for that day, Mustapha chastised him, but +Aladdin was incorrigible, and his father, to his great grief, was forced +to abandon him to his idleness; and was so much troubled about him, that +he fell sick and died in a few months. + +Aladdin, who was now no longer restrained by the fear of a father, gave +himself entirely over to his idle habits, and was never out of the +streets from his companions. This course he followed till he was fifteen +years old, without giving his mind to any useful pursuit, or the least +reflection on what would become of him. As he was one day playing, +according to custom, in the street, with his evil associates, a stranger +passing by stood to observe him. + +This stranger was a sorcerer, known as the African magician, as he had +been but two days arrived from Africa, his native country. + +The African magician, observing in Aladdin's countenance something which +assured him that he was a fit boy for his purpose, inquired his name and +history of some of his companions, and when he had learnt all he desired +to know, went up to him, and taking him aside from his comrades, said, +"Child, was not your father called Mustapha the tailor?" "Yes, sir," +answered the boy, "but he has been dead a long time." + +At these words the African magician threw his arms about Aladdin's neck, +and kissed him several times, with tears in his eyes, and said, "I am +your uncle. Your worthy father was my own brother. I knew you at first +sight, you are so like him." Then he gave Aladdin a handful of small +money, saying, "Go, my son, to your mother, give my love to her, and +tell her that I will visit her to-morrow, that I may see where my good +brother lived so long, and ended his days." + +Aladdin ran to his mother, overjoyed at the money his uncle had given +him. "Mother," said he, "have I an uncle?" "No, child," replied his +mother, "you have no uncle by your father's side or mine." "I am just +now come," said Aladdin, "from a man who says he is my uncle and my +father's brother. He cried and kissed me when I told him my father was +dead, and gave me money, sending his love to you, and promising to come +and pay you a visit, that he may see the house my father lived and died +in." "Indeed, child," replied the mother, "your father had no brother, +nor have you an uncle." + +The next day the magician found Aladdin playing in another part of the +town, and embracing him as before, put two pieces of gold into his hand, +and said to him, "Carry this, child, to your mother; tell her that I +will come and see her to-night, and bid her get us something for supper; +but first show ms the house where you live." + +Aladdin showed the African magician the house, and carried the two +pieces of gold to his mother, who went out and bought provisions; and +considering she wanted various utensils, borrowed them of her +neighbours. She spent the whole day in preparing the supper; and at +night, when it was ready, said to her son, "Perhaps the stranger knows +not how to find our house; go and bring him, if you meet with him." + +Aladdin was just ready to go, when the magician knocked at the door, and +came in loaded with wine and all sorts of fruits, which he brought for a +dessert. After he had given what he brought into Aladdin's hands, he +saluted his mother, and desired her to show him the place where his +brother Mustapha used to sit on the sofa; and when she had so done, he +fell down and kissed it several times, crying out, with tears in his +eyes, "My poor brother! how unhappy am I, not to have come soon enough +to give you one last embrace." Aladdin's mother desired him to sit down +in the same place, but he declined. "No," said he, "I shall not do that; +but give me leave to sit opposite to it, that although I see not the +master of a family so dear to me, I may at least behold the place where +he used to sit." + +When the magician had made choice of a place, and sat down, he began to +enter into discourse with Aladdin's mother. "My good sister," said he, +"do not be surprised at your never having seen me all the time you have +been married to my brother Mustapha of happy memory. I have been forty +years absent from this country, which is my native place, as well as my +late brother's; and during that time have travelled into the Indies, +Persia, Arabia, Syria, and Egypt, and afterward crossed over into +Africa, where I took up my abode. At last, as it is natural for a man, I +was desirous to see my native country again, and to embrace my dear +brother; and finding I had strength enough to undertake so long a +journey, I made the necessary preparations, and set out. Nothing ever +afflicted me so much as hearing of my brother's death. But God be +praised for all things! It is a comfort for me to find, as it were, my +brother in a son, who has his most remarkable features." + +The African magician perceiving that the widow wept at the remembrance +of her husband, changed the conversation, and turning toward her son, +asked him, "What business do you follow? Are you of any trade?" + +At this question the youth hung down his head, and was not a little +abashed when his mother answered "Aladdin is an idle fellow. His father, +when alive, strove all he could to teach him his trade, but could not +succeed; and since his death, notwithstanding all I can say to him, he +does nothing but idle away his time in the streets, as you saw him, +without considering he is no longer a child; and if you do not make him +ashamed of it, I despair of his ever coming to any good. For my part, I +am resolved, one of these days, to turn him out of doors, and let him +provide for himself." + +After these words, Aladdin's mother burst into tears; and the magician +said, "This is not well, nephew; you must think of helping yourself, and +getting your livelihood. There are many sorts of trades; perhaps you do +not like your father's, and would prefer another; I will endeavour to +help you. If you have no mind to learn any handicraft, I will take a +shop for you, furnish it with all sorts of fine stuffs and linens; and +then with the money you make of them you can lay in fresh goods, and +live in an honourable way. Tell me freely what you think of my proposal; +you shall always find me ready to keep my word." + +This plan just suited Aladdin, who hated work. He told the magician he +had a greater inclination to that business than to any other, and that +he should be much obliged to him for his kindness. "Well then," said the +African magician, "I will carry you with me to-morrow, clothe you as +handsomely as the best merchants in the city, and afterward we will open +a shop as I mentioned." + +The widow, after his promises of kindness to her son, no longer doubted +that the magician was her husband's brother. She thanked him for his +good intentions; and after having exhorted Aladdin to render himself +worthy of his uncle's favour, served up supper, at which they talked of +several indifferent matters; and then the magician took his leave and +retired. + +He came again the next day, as he had promised, and took Aladdin with +him to a merchant, who sold all sorts of clothes for different ages and +ranks, ready made, and a variety of fine stuffs, and bade Aladdin choose +those he preferred, which he paid for. + +When Aladdin found himself so handsomely equipped, he returned his uncle +thanks, who thus addressed him: "As you are soon to be a merchant, it is +proper you should frequent these shops, and be acquainted with them." He +then showed him the largest and finest mosques, carried him to the khans +or inns where the merchants and travellers lodged, and afterward to the +sultan's palace, where he had free access; and at last brought him to +his own khan, where, meeting with some merchants he had become +acquainted with since his arrival, he gave them a treat, to bring them +and his pretended nephew acquainted. + +This entertainment lasted till night, when Aladdin would have taken +leave of his uncle to go home; the magician would not let him go by +himself, but conducted him to his mother, who, as soon as she saw him so +well dressed, was transported with joy, and bestowed a thousand +blessings upon the magician. + +Early the next morning the magician called again for Aladdin, and said +he would take him to spend that day in the country, and on the next he +would purchase the shop. He then led him out at one of the gates of the +city, to some magnificent palaces, to each of which belonged beautiful +gardens, into which anybody might enter. At every building he came to, +he asked Aladdin if he did not think it fine; and the youth was ready to +answer when any one presented itself, crying out, "Here is a finer +house, uncle, than any we have yet seen," By this artifice, the cunning +magician led Aladdin some way into the country; and as he meant to carry +him farther, to execute his design, he took an opportunity to sit down +in one of the gardens, on the brink of a fountain of clear water, which +discharged itself by a lion's mouth of bronze into a basin, pretending +to be tired: "Come, nephew," said he, "you must be weary as well as I; +let us rest ourselves, and we shall be better able to pursue our walk." + + + + +The magician next pulled from his girdle a handkerchief with cakes and +fruit, and during this short repast he exhorted his nephew to leave off +bad company, and to seek that of wise and prudent men, to improve by +their conversation; "for," said he, "you will soon be at man's estate, +and you cannot too early begin to imitate their example." When they had +eaten as much as they liked, they got up, and pursued their walk through +gardens separated from one another only by small ditches, which marked +out the limits without interrupting the communication; so great was the +confidence the inhabitants reposed in each other. By this means the +African magician drew Aladdin insensibly beyond the gardens, and crossed +the country, till they nearly reached the mountains. + +At last they arrived between two mountains of moderate height and equal +size, divided by a narrow valley, which was the place where the magician +intended to execute the design that had brought him from Africa to +China. "We will go no farther now," said he to Aladdin; "I will show you +here some extraordinary things, which, when you have seen, you will +thank me for: but while I strike a light, gather up all the loose dry +sticks you can see, to kindle a fire with." + +Aladdin found so many dried sticks, that he soon collected a great heap. +The magician presently set them on fire; and when they were in a blaze, +threw in some incense, pronouncing several magical words, which Aladdin +did not understand. + +He had scarcely done so when the earth opened just before the magician, +and discovered a stone with a brass ring fixed in it. Aladdin was so +frightened that he would have run away, but the magician caught hold of +him, and gave him such a box on the ear that he knocked him down. +Aladdin got up trembling, and with tears in his eyes said to the +magician, "What have I done, uncle, to be treated in this severe +manner?" "I am your uncle," answered the magician; "I supply the place +of your father, and you ought to make no reply. But child," added he, +softening, "do not be afraid; for I shall not ask anything of you, but +that you obey me punctually, if you would reap the advantages which I +intend you. Know, then, that under this stone there is hidden a +treasure, destined to be yours, and which will make you richer than the +greatest monarch in the world. No person but yourself is permitted to +lift this stone, or enter the cave; so you must punctually execute what +I may command, for it is a matter of great consequence both to you and +me." + +Aladdin, amazed at all he saw and heard, forgot what was past, and +rising said, "Well, uncle, what is to be done? Command me, I am ready to +obey." "I am overjoyed, child," said the African magician, embracing +him, "Take hold of the ring, and lift up that stone." "Indeed, uncle," +replied Aladdin, "I am not strong enough; you must help me." "You have +no occasion for my assistance," answered the magician; "if I help you, +we shall be able to do nothing. Take hold of the ring, and lift it up; +you will find it will come easily." Aladdin did as the magician bade +him, raised the stone with ease, and laid it on one side. + +When the stone was pulled up, there appeared a staircase about three or +four feet deep, leading to a door. "Descend, my son," said the African +magician, "those steps, and open that door. It will lead you into a +palace, divided into three great halls. In each of these you will see +four large brass cisterns placed on each side, full of gold and silver; +but take care you do not meddle with them. Before you enter the first +hall, be sure to tuck up your robe, wrap it about you, and then pass +through the second into the third without stopping. Above all things, +have a care that you do not touch the walls so much as with your +clothes; for if you do, you will die instantly. At the end of the third +hall, you will find a door which opens into a garden, planted with fine +trees loaded with fruit. Walk directly across the garden to a terrace, +where you will see a niche before you, and in that niche a lighted lamp. +Take the lamp down and put it out. When you have thrown away the wick +and poured out the liquor, put it in your waistband and bring it to me. +Do not be afraid that the liquor will spoil your clothes, for it is not +oil, and the lamp will be dry as soon as it is thrown out." + +After these words the magician drew a ring off his finger, and put it on +one of Aladdin's, saying, "It is a talisman against all evil, so long as +you obey me. Go, therefore, boldly, and we shall both be rich all our +lives." + +Aladdin descended the steps, and, opening the door, found the three +halls just as the African magician had described. He went through them +with all the precaution the fear of death could inspire, crossed the +garden without stopping, took down the lamp from the niche, threw out +the wick and the liquor, and, as the magician had desired, put it in his +waistband. But as he came down from the terrace, seeing it was perfectly +dry, he stopped in the garden to observe the trees, which were loaded +with extraordinary fruit of different colours on each tree. Some bore +fruit entirely white, and some clear and transparent as crystal; some +pale red, and others deeper; some green, blue, and purple, and others +yellow; in short, there was fruit of all colours. The white were pearls; +the clear and transparent, diamonds; the deep red, rubies; the paler, +balas rubies; the green, emeralds; the blue, turquoises; the purple, +amethysts; and the yellow, sapphires. Aladdin, ignorant of their value, +would have preferred figs, or grapes, or pomegranates; but as he had his +uncle's permission, he resolved to gather some of every sort. Having +filled the two new purses his uncle had bought for him with his clothes, +he wrapped some up in the skirts of his vest, and crammed his bosom as +full as it could hold. + +Aladdin, having thus loaded himself with riches of which he knew not the +value, returned through the three halls with the utmost precaution, and +soon arrived at the mouth of the cave, where the African magician +awaited him with the utmost impatience. As soon as Aladdin saw him, he +cried out, "Pray, uncle, lend me your hand, to help me out." "Give me +the lamp first," replied the magician; "it will be troublesome to you," +"Indeed, uncle," answered Aladdin, "I cannot now, but I will as soon as +I am up." The African magician was determined that he would have the +lamp before he would help him up; and Aladdin, who had encumbered +himself so much with his fruit that he could not well get at it, refused +to give it to him till he was out of the cave. The African magician, +provoked at this obstinate refusal, flew into a passion, threw a little +of his incense into the fire, and pronounced two magical words, when the +stone which had closed the mouth of the staircase moved into its place, +with the earth over it in the same manner as it lay at the arrival of +the magician and Aladdin. + +This action of the magician plainly revealed to Aladdin that he was no +uncle of his, but one who designed him evil. The truth was that he had +learnt from his magic books the secret and the value of this wonderful +lamp, the owner of which would be made richer than any earthly ruler, +and hence his journey to China. His art had also told him that he was +not permitted to take it himself, but must receive it as a voluntary +gift from the hands of another person. Hence he employed young Aladdin, +and hoped by a mixture of kindness and authority to make him obedient to +his word and will. When he found that his attempt had failed, he set out +to return to Africa, but avoided the town, lest any person who had seen +him leave in company with Aladdin should make inquiries after the youth. +Aladdin being suddenly enveloped in darkness, cried, and called out to +his uncle to tell him he was ready to give him the lamp; but in vain, +since his cries could not be heard. He descended to the bottom of the +steps, with a design to get into the palace, but the door, which was +opened before by enchantment, was now shut by the same means. He then +redoubled his cries and tears, sat down on the steps without any hopes +of ever seeing light again, and in an expectation of passing from the +present darkness to a speedy death. In this great emergency he said, +"There is no strength or power but in the great and high God"; and in +joining his hands to pray he rubbed the ring which the magician had put +on his finger. Immediately a genie of frightful aspect appeared, and +said, "What wouldst thou have? I am ready to obey thee. I serve him who +possesses the ring on thy finger; I, and the other slaves of that ring." + + + + +At another time Aladdin would have been frightened at the sight of so +extraordinary a figure, but the danger he was in made him answer without +hesitation, "Whoever thou art, deliver me from this place." He had no +sooner spoken these words, than he found himself on the very spot where +the magician had last left him, and no sign of cave or opening, nor +disturbance of the earth. Returning God thanks to find himself once more +in the world, he made the best of his way home. When he got within his +mother's door, the joy to see her and his weakness for want of +sustenance made him so faint that he remained for a long time as dead. +As soon as he recovered, he related to his mother all that had happened +to him, and they were both very vehement in their complaints of the +cruel magician. Aladdin slept very soundly till late the next morning, +when the first thing he said to his mother was, that he wanted something +to eat, and wished she would give him his breakfast. "Alas! child," said +she, "I have not a bit of bread to give you; you ate up all the +provisions I had in the house yesterday; but I have a little cotton +which I have spun; I will go and sell it, and buy bread and something +for our dinner." "Mother," replied Aladdin, "keep your cotton for +another time, and give me the lamp I brought home with me yesterday; I +will go and sell it, and the money I shall get for it will serve both +for breakfast and dinner, and perhaps supper too." + +Aladdin's mother took the lamp and said to her son, "Here it is, but it +is very dirty; if it were a little cleaner I believe it would bring +something more." She took some fine sand and water to clean it; but had +no sooner begun to rub it, than in an instant a hideous genie of +gigantic size appeared before her, and said to her in a voice of +thunder, "What wouldst thou have? I am ready to obey thee as thy slave, +and the slave of all those who have that lamp in their hands; I and the +other slaves of the lamp." + +Aladdin's mother, terrified at the sight of the genie, fainted; when +Aladdin, who had seen such a phantom in the cavern, snatched the lamp +out of his mother's hand, and said to the genie boldly, "I am hungry, +bring me something to eat." The genie disappeared immediately, and in an +instant returned with a large silver tray, holding twelve covered dishes +of the same metal, which contained the most delicious viands; six large +white bread cakes on two plates, two flagons of wine, and two silver +cups. All these he placed upon a carpet and disappeared; this was done +before Aladdin's mother recovered from her swoon. + +Aladdin had fetched some water, and sprinkled it in her face to recover +her. Whether that or the smell of the meat effected her cure, it was not +long before she came to herself. "Mother," said Aladdin, "be not afraid: +get up and eat; here is what will put you in heart, and at the same time +satisfy my extreme hunger." + +His mother was much surprised to see the great tray, twelve dishes, six +loaves, the two flagons and cups, and to smell the savoury odour which +exhaled from the dishes. "Child," said she, "to whom are we obliged for +this great plenty and liberality? Has the sultan been made acquainted +with our poverty, and had compassion on us?" "It is no matter, mother," +said Aladdin, "let us sit down and eat; for you have almost as much need +of a good breakfast as myself; when we have done, I will tell you." +Accordingly, both mother and son sat down and ate with the better relish +as the table was so well furnished. But all the time Aladdin's mother +could not forbear looking at and admiring the tray and dishes, though +she could not judge whether they were silver or any other metal, and the +novelty more than the value attracted her attention. + +The mother and son sat at breakfast till it was dinner-time, and then +they thought it would be best to put the two meals together; yet, after +this they found they should have enough left for supper, and two meals +for the next day. + +When Aladdin's mother had taken away and set by what was left, she went +and sat down by her son on the sofa, saying, "I expect now that you +should satisfy my impatience, and tell me exactly what passed between +the genie and you while I was in a swoon"; which he readily complied +with. + +She was in as great amazement at what her son told her, as at the +appearance of the genie; and said to him, "But, son, what have we to do +with genies? I never heard that any of my acquaintance had ever seen +one. How came that vile genie to address himself to me, and not to you, +to whom he had appeared before in the cave?" "Mother," answered Aladdin, +"the genie you saw is not the one who appeared to me. If you remember, +he that I first saw called himself the slave of the ring on my finger; +and this you saw, called himself the slave of the lamp you had in your +hand; but I believe you did not hear him, for I think you fainted as +soon as he began to speak." + +"What!" cried the mother, "was your lamp then the occasion of that +cursed genie's addressing himself rather to me than to you? Ah! my son, +take it out of my sight, and put it where you please. I had rather you +would sell it than run the hazard of being frightened to death again by +touching it; and if you would take my advice, you would part also with +the ring, and not have anything to do with genies, who, as our prophet +has told us, are only devils." + +"With your leave, mother," replied Aladdin, "I shall now take care how I +sell a lamp which may be so serviceable both to you and me. That false +and wicked magician would not have undertaken so long a journey to +secure this wonderful lamp if he had not known its value to exceed that +of gold and silver. And since we have honestly come by it, let us make a +profitable use of it, without making any great show, and exciting the +envy and jealousy of our neighbours. However, since the genies frighten +you so much, I will take it out of your sight, and put it where I may +find it when I want it. The ring I cannot resolve to part with; for +without that you had never seen me again; and though I am alive now, +perhaps, if it were gone, I might not be so some moments hence; +therefore, I hope you will give me leave to keep it, and to wear it +always on my finger." Aladdin's mother replied that he might do what he +pleased; for her part, she would have nothing to do with genies, and +never say anything more about them. + +By the next night they had eaten all the provisions the genie had +brought; and the next day Aladdin, who could not bear the thoughts of +hunger, putting one of the silver dishes tinder his vest, went out early +to sell it, and addressing himself to a Jew whom he met in the streets, +took him aside, and pulling out the plate, asked him if he would buy it. +The cunning Jew took the dish, examined it, and as soon as he found that +it was good silver, asked Aladdin at how much he valued it. Aladdin, who +had never been used to such traffic, told him he would trust to his +judgment and honour. The Jew was somewhat confounded at this plain +dealing; and doubting whether Aladdin understood the material or the +full value of what he offered to sell, took a piece of gold out of his +purse and gave it him, though it was but the sixtieth part of the worth +of the plate. Aladdin, taking the money very eagerly, retired with so +much haste, that the Jew, not content with the exorbitancy of his +profit, was vexed he had not penetrated into his ignorance, and was +going to run after him, to endeavour to get some change out of the piece +of gold; but he ran so fast, and had got so far, that it would have been +impossible for him to overtake him. + +Before Aladdin went home, he called at a baker's, bought some cakes of +bread, changed his money, and on his return gave the rest to his mother, +who went and purchased provisions enough to last them some time. After +this manner they lived, till Aladdin had sold the twelve dishes singly, +as necessity pressed, to the Jew, for the same money; who, after the +first time, durst not offer him less, for fear of losing so good a +bargain. When he had sold the last dish, he had recourse to the tray, +which weighed ten times as much as the dishes, and would have carried it +to his old purchaser, but that it was too large and cumbersome; +therefore he was obliged to bring him home with him to his mother's, +where, after the Jew had examined the weight of the tray, he laid down +ten pieces of gold, with which Aladdin was very well satisfied. + +When all the money was spent, Aladdin had recourse again to the lamp. He +took it in his hands, looked for the part where his mother had rubbed it +with the sand, rubbed it also, when the genie immediately appeared, and +said, "What wouldst thou have? I am ready to obey thee as thy slave, and +the slave of all those who have that lamp in their hands; I, and the +other slaves of the lamp." "I am hungry," said Aladdin, "bring me +something to eat." The genie disappeared, and presently returned with a +tray, the same number of covered dishes as before, set them down, and +vanished. + +As soon as Aladdin found that their provisions were again expended, he +took one of the dishes, and went to look for his Jew chapman; but +passing by a goldsmith's shop, the goldsmith perceiving him, called to +him, and said, "My lad, I imagine that you have something to sell to the +Jew, whom I often see you visit; but perhaps you do not know that he is +the greatest rogue even among the Jews. I will give you the full worth +of what you have to sell, or I will direct you to other merchants who +will not cheat you." + +This offer induced Aladdin to pull his plate from tinder his vest and +show it to the goldsmith; who at first sight saw that it was made of the +finest silver, and asked him if he had sold such as that to the Jew; +when Aladdin told him that he had sold him twelve such, for a piece of +gold each. "What a villain!" cried the goldsmith. "But," added he, "my +son, what is past cannot be recalled. By showing you the value of this +plate, which is of the finest silver we use in our shops, I will let you +see how much the Jew has cheated you." + +The goldsmith took a pair of scales, weighed the dish, and assured him +that his plate would fetch by weight sixty pieces of gold, which he +offered to pay down immediately. + +Aladdin thanked him for his fair dealing, and never after went to any +other person. + +Though Aladdin and his mother had an inexhaustible treasure in their +lamp, and might have had whatever they wished for, yet they lived with +the same frugality as before, and it may easily be supposed that the +money for which Aladdin had sold the dishes and tray was sufficient to +maintain them some time. + +During this interval, Aladdin frequented the shops of the principal +merchants, where they sold cloth of gold and silver, linens, silk +stuffs, and jewellery, and, oftentimes joining in their conversation, +acquired a knowledge of the world, and a desire to improve himself. By +his acquaintance among the jewellers, he came to know that the fruits +which he had gathered when he took the lamp were, instead of coloured +glass, stones of inestimable value; but he had the prudence not to +mention this to any one, not even to his mother. + +One day as Aladdin was walking about the town, he heard an order +proclaimed, commanding the people to shut up their shops and houses, and +keep within doors while the Princess Buddir al Buddoor, the sultan's +daughter, went to the bath and returned. + +This proclamation inspired Aladdin with eager desire to see the +princess's face, which he determined to gratify, by placing himself +behind the door of the bath, so that he could not fail to see her face. + +Aladdin had not long concealed himself before the princess came. She was +attended by a great crowd of ladies, slaves, and mutes, who walked on +each side and behind her. When she came within three or four paces of +the door of the bath, she took off her veil, and gave Aladdin an +opportunity of a full view of her face. + +The princess was a noted beauty: her eyes were large, lively, and +sparkling; her smile bewitching; her nose faultless; her mouth small; +her lips vermilion. It is not therefore surprising that Aladdin, who had +never before seen such a blaze of charms, was dazzled and enchanted. + +After the princess had passed by, and entered the bath, Aladdin quitted +his hiding-place, and went home. His mother perceived him to be more +thoughtful and melancholy than usual; and asked what had happened to +make him so, or if he was ill. He then told his mother all his +adventure, and concluded by declaring, "I love the princess more than I +can express, and am resolved that I will ask her in marriage of the +sultan." + +Aladdin's mother listened with surprise to what her son told her; but +when he talked of asking the princess in marriage, she laughed aloud. +"Alas! child," said she, "what are you thinking of? You must be mad to +talk thus." + +"I assure you, mother," replied Aladdin, "that I am not mad, but in my +right senses. I foresaw that you would reproach me with folly and +extravagance; but I must tell you once more, that I am resolved to +demand the princess of the sultan in marriage; nor do I despair of +success. I have the slaves of the lamp and of the ring to help me, and +you know how powerful their aid is. And I have another secret to tell +you: those pieces of glass, which I got from the trees in the garden of +the subterranean palace, are jewels of inestimable value, and fit fit +for the greatest monarchs. All the precious stones the jewellers have in +Bagdad are not to be compared to mine for size or beauty; and I am sure +that the offer of them will secure the favour of the sultan. You have a +large porcelain dish fit to hold them; fetch it, and let us see how they +will look, when we have arranged them according to their different +colours." + +Aladdin's mother brought the china dish, when he took the jewels out of +the two purses in which he had kept them, and placed them in order, +according to his fancy. But the brightness and lustre they emitted in +the daytime, and the variety of the colours, so dazzled the eyes both of +mother and son, that they were astonished beyond measure. Aladdin's +mother, emboldened by the sight of these rich jewels, and fearful lest +her son should be guilty of greater extravagance, complied with his +request, and promised to go early in the next morning to the palace of +the sultan. Aladdin rose before daybreak, awakened his mother, pressing +her to go to the sultan's palace, and to get admittance, if possible, +before the grand vizier, the other viziers, and the great officers of +state went in to take their seats in the divan, where the sultan always +attended in person. + +Aladdin's mother took the china dish, in which they had put the jewels +the day before, wrapped it in two fine napkins, and set forward for the +sultan's palace. When she came to the gates, the grand vizier, the other +viziers, and most distinguished lords of the court were just gone in; +but notwithstanding the crowd of people was great, she got into the +divan, a spacious hall, the entrance into which was very magnificent. +She placed herself just before the sultan, grand vizier, and the great +lords, who sat in council, on his right and left hand. Several causes +were called, according to their order, pleaded and adjudged, until the +time the divan generally broke up, when the sultan, rising, returned to +his apartment, attended by the grand vizier; the other viziers and +ministers of state then retired, as also did all those whose business +had called them thither. + +Aladdin's mother, seeing the sultan retire, and all the people depart, +judged rightly that he would not sit again that day, and resolved to go +home; and on her arrival said, with much simplicity, "Son, I have seen +the sultan, and am very well persuaded he has seen me, too, for I placed +myself just before him; but he was so much taken up with those who +attended on all sides of him that I pitied him, and wondered at his +patience. At last I believe he was heartily tired, for he rose up +suddenly, and would not hear a great many who were ready prepared to +speak to him, but went away, at which I was well pleased, for indeed I +began to lose all patience, and was extremely fatigued with staying so +long. But there is no harm done; I will go again to-morrow; perhaps the +sultan may not be so busy." + +The next morning she repaired to the sultan's palace with the present, +as early as the day before; but when she came there, she found the gates +of the divan shut. She went six times afterward on the days appointed, +placed herself always directly before the sultan, but with as little +success as the first morning. + +On the sixth day, however, after the divan was broken up, when the +sultan returned to his own apartment, he said to his grand vizier; "I +have for some time observed a certain woman, who attends constantly +every day that I give audience, with something wrapped up in a napkin; +she always stands up from the beginning to the breaking up of the +audience, and affects to place herself just before me. If this woman +comes to our next audience, do not fail to call her, that I may hear +what she has to say." The grand vizier made answer by lowering his hand, +and then lifting it up above his head, signifying his willingness to +lose it if he failed. + +On the next audience day, when Aladdin's mother went to the divan, and +placed herself in front of the sultan as usual, the grand vizier +immediately called the chief of the mace-bearers, and pointing to her +bade him bring her before the sultan. The old woman at once followed the +mace-bearer, and when she reached the sultan bowed her head down to the +carpet which covered the platform of the throne, and remained in that +posture until he bade her rise, which she had no sooner done, than he +said to her, "Good woman, I have observed you to stand many days from +the beginning to the rising of the divan; what business brings you +here?" + +After these words, Aladdin's mother prostrated herself a second time; +and when she arose, said, "Monarch of monarchs, I beg of you to pardon +the boldness of my petition, and to assure me of your pardon and +forgiveness." "Well," replied the sultan, "I will forgive you, be it +what it may, and no hurt shall come to you; speak boldly." + +When Aladdin's mother had taken all these precautions, for fear of the +sultan's anger, she told him faithfully the errand on which her son had +sent her, and the event which led to his making so bold a request in +spite of all her remonstrances. + +The sultan hearkened to this discourse without showing the least anger; +but before he gave her any answer, asked her what she had brought tied +up in the napkin. She took the china dish which she had set down at the +foot of the throne, untied it, and presented it to the sultan. + +The sultan's amazement and surprise were inexpressible, when he saw so +many large, beautiful and valuable jewels collected in the dish. He +remained for some time lost in admiration. At last, when he had +recovered himself, he received the present from Aladdin's mother's hand; +saying, "How rich, how beautiful!" After he had admired and handled all +the jewels one after another, he turned to his grand vizier, and showing +him the dish, said, "Behold, admire, wonder! and confess that your eyes +never beheld jewels so rich and beautiful before." The vizier was +charmed. "Well," continued the sultan, "what sayest thou to such a +present? Is it not worthy of the princess my daughter? And ought I not +to bestow her on one who values her at so great a price?" "I cannot but +own," replied the grand vizier, "that the present is worthy of the +princess; but I beg of your majesty to grant me three months before you +come to a final resolution. I hope, before that time, my son, whom you +have regarded with your favour, will be able to make a nobler present +than this Aladdin, who is an entire stranger to your majesty." + +The sultan granted his request, and he said to the old woman, "Good +woman, go home, and tell your son that I agree to the proposal you have +made me; but I cannot marry the princess my daughter for three months; +at the expiration of that time come again." + +Aladdin's mother returned home much more gratified than she had +expected, and told her son with much joy the condescending answer she +had received from the sultan's own mouth; and that she was to come to +the divan again that day three months. + +Aladdin thought himself the most happy of all men at hearing this news, +and thanked his mother for the pains she had taken in the affair, the +good success of which was of so great importance to his peace, that he +counted every day, week, and even hour as it passed. When two of the +three months were passed, his mother one evening, having no oil in the +house, went out to buy some, and found a general rejoicing--the houses +dressed with foliage, silks, and carpeting, and every one striving to +show their joy according to their ability. The streets were crowded with +officers in habits of ceremony, mounted on horses richly caparisoned, +each attended by a great many footmen. Aladdin's mother asked the oil +merchant what was the meaning of all this preparation of public +festivity. "Whence came you, good woman," said he, "that you don't know +that the grand vizier's son is to marry the Princess Buddir al Buddoor, +the sultan's daughter, to-night? She will presently return from the +bath; and these officers whom you see are to assist at the cavalcade to +the palace, where the ceremony is to be solemnised." + +Aladdin's mother, on hearing these news, ran home very quickly. "Child," +cried she, "you are undone! the sultan's fine promises will come to +nought. This night the grand vizier's son is to marry the Princess +Buddir al Buddoor." + +At this account, Aladdin was thunderstruck, and he bethought himself of +the lamp, and of the genie who had promised to obey him; and without +indulging in idle words against the sultan, the vizier, or his son, he +determined, if possible, to prevent the marriage. + +When Aladdin had got into his chamber, he took the lamp, rubbed it in +the same place as before, when immediately the genie appeared, and said +to him, "What wouldst thou have? I am ready to obey thee as thy slave; +I, and the other slaves of the lamp." "Hear me," said Aladdin; "thou +hast hitherto obeyed me, but now I am about to impose on thee a harder +task. The sultan's daughter, who was promised me as my bride, is this +night married to the son of the grand vizier. Bring them both hither to +me immediately they retire to their bedchamber." + +"Master," replied the genie, "I obey you." + +Aladdin supped with his mother as was their wont, and then went to his +own apartment, and sat up to await the return of the genie, according to +his commands. + +In the mean time the festivities in honour of the princess's marriage +were conducted in the sultan's palace with great magnificence. The +ceremonies were at last brought to a conclusion, and the princess and +the son of the vizier retired to the bedchamber prepared for them. No +sooner had they entered it, and dismissed their attendants, than the +genie, the faithful slave of the lamp, to the great amazement and alarm +of the bride and bridegroom, took up the bed, and by an agency invisible +to them, transported it in an instant into Aladdin's chamber, where he +set it down. "Remove the bridegroom," said Aladdin to the genie, "and +keep him a prisoner till to-morrow dawn, and then return with him here." +On Aladdin being left alone with the princess, he endeavoured to assuage +her fears, and explained to her the treachery practiced upon him by the +sultan her father. He then laid himself down beside her, putting a drawn +scimitar between them, to show that he was determined to secure her +safety, and to treat her with the utmost possible respect. At break of +day, the genie appeared at the appointed hour, bringing back the +bridegroom, whom by breathing upon he had left motionless and entranced +at the door of Aladdin's chamber during the night, and at Aladdin's +command transported the couch with the bride and bridegroom on it, by +the same invisible agency, into the palace of the sultan. + +At the instant that the genie had set down the couch with the bride and +bridegroom in their own chamber, the sultan came to the door to offer +his good wishes to his daughter. The grand vizier's son, who was almost +perished with cold, by standing in his thin under-garment all night, no +sooner heard the knocking at the door than he got out of bed, and ran +into the robing-chamber, where he had undressed himself the night +before. + +The sultan having opened the door, went to the bedside, kissed the +princess on the forehead, but was extremely surprised to see her look so +melancholy. She only cast at him a sorrowful look, expressive of great +affliction. He suspected there was something extraordinary in this +silence, and thereupon went immediately to the sultaness's apartment, +told her in what a state he found the princess, and how she had received +him. "Sire," said the sultaness, "I will go and see her; she will not +receive me in the same manner." + +The princess received her mother with sighs and tears, and signs of deep +dejection. At last, upon her pressing on her the duty of telling her all +her thoughts, she gave to the sultaness a precise description of all +that happened to her during the night; on which the sultaness enjoined +on her the necessity of silence and discretion, as no one would give +credence to so strange a tale. The grand vizier's son, elated with the +honour of being the sultan's son-in-law, kept silence on his part, and +the events of the night were not allowed to cast the least gloom on the +festivities on the following day, in continued celebration of the royal +marriage. + +When night came, the bride and bridegroom were again attended to their +chamber with the same ceremonies as on the preceding evening. Aladdin, +knowing that this would be so, had already given his commands to the +genie of the lamp; and no sooner were they alone than their bed was +removed in the same mysterious manner as on the preceding evening; and +having passed the night in the same unpleasant way, they were in the +morning conveyed to the palace of the sultan. Scarcely had they been +replaced in their apartment, when the sultan came to make his +compliments to his daughter, when the princess could no longer conceal +from him the unhappy treatment she had been subject to, and told him all +that had happened as she had already related it to her mother. The +sultan, on hearing these strange tidings, consulted with the grand +vizier; and finding from him that his son had been subjected to even +worse treatment by an invisible agency, he determined to declare the +marriage to be cancelled, and all the festivities, which were yet to +last for several days, to be countermanded and terminated. + +This sudden change in the mind of the sultan gave rise to various +speculations and reports. Nobody but Aladdin knew the secret, and he +kept it with the most scrupulous silence; and neither the sultan nor the +grand vizier, who had forgotten Aladdin and his request, had the least +thought that he had any hand in the strange adventures that befell the +bride and bridegroom. + +On the very day that the three months contained in the sultan's promise +expired, the mother of Aladdin again went to the palace, and stood in +the same place in the divan. The sultan knew her again, and directed his +vizier to have her brought before him. + +After having prostrated herself, she made answer, in reply to the +sultan: "Sire, I come at the end of three months to ask of you the +fulfillment of the promise you made to my son." The sultan little +thought the request of Aladdin's mother was made to him in earnest, or +that he would hear any more of the matter. He therefore took counsel +with his vizier, who suggested that the sultan should attach such +conditions to the marriage that no one of the humble condition of +Aladdin could possibly fulfill. In accordance with this suggestion of +the vizier, the sultan replied to the mother of Aladdin: "Good woman, it +is true sultans ought to abide by their word, and I am ready to keep +mine, by making your son happy in marriage with the princess my +daughter. But as I cannot marry her without some further proof of your +son being able to support her in royal state, you may tell him I will +fulfill my promise as soon as he shall send me forty trays of massy +gold, full of the same sort of jewels you have already made me a present +of, and carried by the like number of black slaves, who shall be led by +as many young and handsome white slaves, all dressed magnificently. On +these conditions I am ready to bestow the princess my daughter upon him; +therefore, good woman, go and tell him so, and I will wait till you +bring me his answer." + +Aladdin's mother prostrated herself a second time before the sultan's +throne, and retired. On her way home, she laughed within herself at her +son's foolish imagination. "Where," said she, "can he get so many large +gold trays, and such precious stones to fill them? It is altogether out +of his power, and I believe he will not be much pleased with my embassy +this time." When she came home, full of these thoughts, she told Aladdin +all the circumstances of her interview with the sultan, and the +conditions on which he consented to the marriage. "The sultan expects +your answer immediately," said she; and then added, laughing, "I believe +he may wait long enough!" + +"Not so long, mother, as you imagine," replied Aladdin, "This demand is +a mere trifle, and will prove no bar to my marriage with the princess. I +will prepare at once to satisfy his request." + +Aladdin retired to his own apartment and summoned the genie of the lamp, +and required him to prepare and present the gift immediately, before the +sultan closed his morning audience, according to the terms in which it +had been prescribed. The genie professed his obedience to the owner of +the lamp, and disappeared. Within a very short time, a train of forty +black slaves, led by the same number of white slaves, appeared opposite +the house in which Aladdin lived. Each black slave carried on his head a +basin of massy gold, full of pearls, diamonds, rubies, and emeralds. +Aladdin then addressed his mother: "Madam, pray lose no time; before the +sultan and the divan rise, I would have you return to the palace with +this present as the dowry demanded for the princess, that he may judge +by my diligence and exactness of the ardent and sincere desire I have to +procure myself the honour of this alliance." + +As soon as this magnificent procession, with Aladdin's mother at its +head, had begun to march from Aladdin's house, the whole city was filled +with the crowds of people desirous to see so grand a sight. The graceful +bearing, elegant form, and wonderful likeness of each slave; their grave +walk at an equal distance from each other, the lustre of their jewelled +girdles, and the brilliancy of the aigrettes of precious stones in their +turbans, excited the greatest admiration in the spectators. As they had +to pass through several streets to the palace, the whole length of the +way was lined with files of spectators. Nothing, indeed, was ever seen +so beautiful and brilliant in the sultan's palace, and the richest robes +of the emirs of his court were not to be compared to the costly dresses +of these slaves, whom they supposed to be kings. + +As the sultan, who had been informed of their approach, had given orders +for them to be admitted, they met with no obstacle, but went into the +divan in regular order, one part turning to the right and the other to +the left. After they were all entered, and had formed a semicircle +before the sultan's throne, the black slaves laid the golden trays on +the carpet, prostrated themselves, touching the carpet with their +foreheads, and at the same time the white slaves did the same. When they +rose, the black slaves uncovered the trays, and then all stood with +their arms crossed over their breasts. + +In the mean time, Aladdin's mother advanced to the foot of the throne, +and having prostrated herself, said to the sultan, "Sire, my son knows +this present is much below the notice of Princess Buddir al Buddoor; but +hopes, nevertheless, that your majesty will accept of it, and make it +agreeable to the princess, and with the greater confidence since he has +endeavoured to conform to the conditions you were pleased to impose." + +The sultan, overpowered at the sight of such more than royal +magnificence, replied without hesitation to the words of Aladdin's +mother: "Go and tell your son that I wait with open arms to embrace him; +and the more haste he makes to come and receive the princess my daughter +from my hands, the greater pleasure he will do me." As soon as Aladdin's +mother had retired, the sultan put an end to the audience; and rising +from his throne ordered that the princess's attendants should come and +carry the trays into their mistress's apartment, whither he went himself +to examine them with her at his leisure. The fourscore slaves were +conducted into the palace; and the sultan, telling the princess of their +magnificent apparel, ordered them to be brought before her apartment, +that she might see through the lattices he had not exaggerated in his +account of them. + +In the meantime Aladdin's mother reached home, and showed in her air and +countenance the good news she brought to her son. "My son," said she, +"you may rejoice you are arrived at the height of your desires. The +sultan has declared that you shall marry the Princess Buddir al Buddoor. +He waits for you with impatience." + +Aladdin, enraptured with this news, made his mother very little reply, +but retired to his chamber. There he rubbed his lamp, and the obedient +genie appeared. "Genie," said Aladdin, "convey me at once to a bath, and +supply me with the richest and most magnificent robe ever worn by a +monarch." No sooner were the words out of his mouth than the genie +rendered him, as well as himself, invisible, and transported him into a +bath of the finest marble of all sorts of colours; where he was +undressed, without seeing by whom, in a magnificent and spacious hall. +He was then well rubbed and washed with various scented waters. After he +had passed through several degrees of heat, he came out quite a +different man from what he was before. His skin was clear as that of a +child, his body lightsome and free; and when he returned into the hall, +he found, instead of his own poor raiment, a robe, the magnificence of +which astonished him. The genie helped him to dress, and when he had +done, transported him back to his own chamber, where he asked him if he +had any other commands. "Yes," answered Aladdin, "bring me a charger +that surpasses in beauty and goodness the best in the sultan's stables; +with a saddle, bridle, and other caparisons to correspond with his +value. Furnish also twenty slaves, as richly clothed as those who +carried the present to the sultan, to walk by my side and follow me, and +twenty more to go before me in two ranks. Besides these, bring my mother +six women slaves to attend her, as richly dressed at least as any of the +Princess Buddir al Buddoor's, each carrying a complete dress fit for any +sultaness. I want also ten thousand pieces of gold in ten purses; go, +and make haste." + +As soon as Aladdin had given these orders, the genie disappeared, but +presently returned with the horse, the forty slaves, ten of whom carried +each a purse containing ten thousand pieces of gold, and six women +slaves, each carrying on her head a different dress for Aladdin's +mother, wrapt up in a piece of silver tissue, and presented them all to +Aladdin. + +He presented the six women slaves to his mother, telling her they were +her slaves, and that the dresses they had brought were for her use. Of +the ten purses Aladdin took four, which he gave to his mother, telling +her, those were to supply her with necessaries; the other six he left in +the hands of the slaves who brought them, with an order to throw them by +handfuls among the people as they went to the sultan's palace. The six +slaves who carried the purses he ordered likewise to march before him, +three on the right hand and three on the left. + +When Aladdin had thus prepared himself for his first interview with the +sultan, he dismissed the genie, and immediately mounting his charger, +began his march, and though he never was on horseback before, appeared +with a grace the most experienced horseman might envy. The innumerable +concourse of people through whom he passed made the air echo with their +acclamations, especially every time the six slaves who carried the +purses threw handfuls of gold among the populace. + +On Aladdin's arrival at the palace, the sultan was surprised to find him +more richly and magnificently robed than he had ever been himself, and +was impressed with his good looks and dignity of manner, which were so +different from what he expected in the son of one so humble as Aladdin's +mother. He embraced him with all the demonstrations of joy, and when he +would have fallen at his feet, held him by the hand, and made him sit +near his throne. He shortly after led him amidst the sounds of trumpets, +hautboys, and all kinds of music, to a magnificent entertainment, at +which the sultan and Aladdin ate by themselves, and the great lords of +the court, according to their rank and dignity, sat at different tables. +After the feast, the sultan sent for the chief cadi, and commanded him +to draw up a contract of marriage between the Princess Buddir al Buddoor +and Aladdin. When the contract had been drawn, the sultan asked Aladdin +if he would stay in the palace and complete the ceremonies of the +marriage that day. "Sire," said Aladdin, "though great is my impatience +to enter on the honour granted me by your majesty, yet I beg you to +permit me first to build a palace worthy to receive the princess your +daughter. I pray you to grant me sufficient ground near your palace, and +I will have it completed with the utmost expedition." The sultan granted +Aladdin his request, and again embraced him. After which he took his +leave with as much politeness as if he had been bred up and had always +lived at court. + +Aladdin returned home in the order he had come, amidst the acclamations +of the people, who wished him all happiness and prosperity. As soon as +he dismounted, he retired to his own chamber, took the lamp, and +summoned the genie as usual, who professed his allegiance. "Genie," said +Aladdin, "build me a palace fit to receive the Princess Buddir al +Buddoor. Let its materials be made of nothing less than porphyry, +jasper, agate, lapis lazuli, and the finest marble. Let its walls be +massive gold and silver bricks laid alternately. Let each front contain +six windows, and let the lattices of these (except one, which must be +left unfinished) be enriched with diamonds, rubies, and emeralds, so +that they shall exceed everything of the kind ever seen in the world. +Let there be an inner and outer court in front of the palace, and a +spacious garden; but above all things, provide a safe treasure-house, +and fill it with gold and silver. Let there be also kitchens and +storehouses, stables full of the finest horses, with their equerries and +grooms, and hunting equipage, officers, attendants, and slaves, both men +and women, to form a retinue for the princess and myself. Go and execute +my wishes." + +When Aladdin gave these commands to the genie, the sun was set. The next +morning at daybreak the genie presented himself, and, having obtained +Aladdin's consent, transported him in a moment to the palace he had +made. The genie led him through all the apartments, where he found +officers and slaves, habited according to their rank and the services to +which they were appointed. The genie then showed him the treasury, which +was opened by a treasurer, where Aladdin saw large vases of different +sizes, piled up to the top with money, ranged all round the chamber. The +genie thence led him to the stables, where were some of the finest +horses in the world, and the grooms busy in dressing them; from thence +they went to the storehouses, which were filled with all things +necessary, both for food and ornament. + +When Aladdin had examined every portion of the palace, and particularly +the hall with the four-and-twenty windows, and found it far to exceed +his fondest expectations, he said, "Genie, there is one thing wanting, a +fine carpet for the princess to walk upon from the sultan's palace to +mine. Lay one down immediately." The genie disappeared, and Aladdin saw +what he desired executed in an instant. The genie then returned, and +carried him to his own home. + +When the sultan's porters came to open the gates, they were amazed to +find what had been an unoccupied garden filled up with a magnificent +palace, and a splendid carpet extending to it all the way from the +sultan's palace. They told the strange tidings to the grand vizier, who +informed the sultan, who exclaimed, "It must be Aladdin's palace, which +I gave him leave to build for my daughter. He has wished to surprise us, +and let us see what wonders can be done in only one night." + +Aladdin, on his being conveyed by the genie to his own home, requested +his mother to go to the Princess Buddir al Buddoor, and tell her that +the palace would be ready for her reception in the evening. She went, +attended by her women slaves, in the same order as on the preceding day. +Shortly after her arrival at the princess's apartment, the sultan +himself came in, and was surprised to find her, whom he knew as his +suppliant at his divan in such humble guise, to be now more richly and +sumptuously attired than his own daughter. This gave him a higher +opinion of Aladdin, who took such care of his mother, and made her share +his wealth and honours. Shortly after her departure, Aladdin, mounting +his horse, and attended by his retinue of magnificent attendants, left +his paternal home forever, and went to the palace in the same pomp as on +the day before. Nor did he forget to take with him the Wonderful Lamp, +to which he owed all his good fortune, nor to wear the Ring which was +given him as a talisman. The sultan entertained Aladdin with the utmost +magnificence, and at night, on the conclusion of the marriage +ceremonies, the princess took leave of the sultan her father. Bands of +music led the procession, followed by a hundred state ushers, and the +like number of black mutes, in two files, with their officers at their +head. Four hundred of the sultan's young pages carried flambeaux on each +side, which, together with the illuminations of the sultan's and +Aladdin's palaces, made it as light as day. In this order the princess, +conveyed in her litter, and accompanied also by Aladdin's mother, +carried in a superb litter and attended by her women slaves, proceeded +on the carpet which was spread from the sultan's palace to that of +Aladdin. On her arrival Aladdin was ready to receive her at the +entrance, and led her into a large hall, illuminated with an infinite +number of wax candles, where a noble feast was served up. The dishes +were of massy gold, and contained the most delicate viands. The vases, +basins, and goblets were gold also, and of exquisite workmanship, and +all the other ornaments and embellishments of the hall were answerable +to this display. The princess, dazzled to see so much riches collected +in one place, said to Aladdin, "I thought, prince, that nothing in the +world was so beautiful as the sultan my father's palace, but the sight +of this hall alone is sufficient to show I was deceived." + +When the supper was ended, there entered a company of female dancers, +who performed, according to the custom of the country, singing at the +same time verses in praise of the bride and bridegroom. About midnight +Aladdin's mother conducted the bride to the nuptial apartment, and he +soon after retired. + +The next morning the attendants of Aladdin presented themselves to dress +him, and brought him another habit, as rich and magnificent as that worn +the day before. He then ordered one of the horses to be got ready, +mounted him, and went in the midst of a large troop of slaves to the +sultan's palace to entreat him to take a repast in the princess's +palace, attended by his grand vizier and all the lords of his court. The +sultan consented with pleasure, rose up immediately, and, preceded by +the principal officers of his palace, and followed by all the great +lords of his court, accompanied Aladdin. + +The nearer the sultan approached Aladdin's palace, the more he was +struck with its beauty; but when he entered it, came into the hall, and +saw the windows, enriched with diamonds, rubies, emeralds, all large +perfect stones, he was completely surprised, and said to his son-in-law, +"This palace is one of the wonders of the world; for where in all the +world besides shall we find walls built of massy gold and silver, and +diamonds, rubies, and emeralds composing the windows? But what most +surprises me is, that a hall of this magnificence should be left with +one of its windows incomplete and unfinished." "Sire," answered Aladdin, +"the omission was by design, since I wished that you should have the +glory of finishing this hall." "I take your intention kindly," said the +sultan, "and will give orders about it immediately." + +After the sultan had finished this magnificent entertainment, provided +for him and for his court by Aladdin, he was informed that the jewellers +and goldsmiths attended; upon which he returned to the hall, and showed +them the window which was unfinished. "I sent for you," said he, "to fit +up this window in as great perfection as the rest. Examine them well, +and make all the dispatch you can." + +The jewellers and goldsmiths examined the three-and-twenty windows with +great attention, and after they had consulted together, to know what +each could furnish, they returned, and presented themselves before the +sultan, whose principal jeweller undertaking to speak for the rest, +said, "Sire, we are all willing to exert our utmost care and industry to +obey you; but among us all we cannot furnish jewels enough for so great +a work." "I have more than are necessary," said the sultan; "come to my +palace, and you shall choose what may answer your purpose." + +When the sultan returned to his palace, he ordered his jewels to be +brought out, and the jewellers took a great quantity, particularly those +Aladdin had made him a present of, which they soon used, without making +any great advance in their work. They came again several times for more, +and in a month's time had not finished half their work. In short, they +used all the jewels the sultan had, and borrowed of the vizier, but yet +the work was not half done. + +Aladdin, who knew that all the sultan's endeavours to make this window +like the rest were in vain, sent for the jewellers and goldsmiths, and +not only commanded them to desist from their work, but ordered them to +undo what they had begun, and to carry all their jewels back to the +sultan and to the vizier. They undid in a few hours what they had been +six weeks about, and retired, leaving Aladdin alone in the hall. He took +the lamp, which he carried about him, rubbed it, and presently the genie +appeared. "Genie," said Aladdin, "I ordered thee to leave one of the +four-and-twenty windows of this hall imperfect, and thou hast executed +my commands punctually; now I would have thee make it like the rest." +The genie immediately disappeared. Aladdin went out of the hall, and +returning soon after, found the window, as he wished it to be, like the +others. + +In the mean time, the jewellers and goldsmiths repaired to the palace, +and were introduced into the sultan's presence; where the chief jeweller +presented the precious stones which he had brought back. The sultan +asked them if Aladdin had given them any reason for so doing, and they +answering that he had given them none, he ordered a horse to be brought, +which he mounted, and rode to his son-in-law's palace, with some few +attendants on foot, to inquire why he had ordered the completion of the +window to be stopped. Aladdin met him at the gate, and without giving +any reply to his inquiries conducted him to the grand saloon, where the +sultan, to his great surprise, found the window, which was left +imperfect, to correspond exactly with the others. He fancied at first +that he was mistaken, and examined the two windows on each side, and +afterward all the four-and-twenty; but when he was convinced that the +window which several workmen had been so long about was finished in so +short a time, he embraced Aladdin and kissed him between his eyes. "My +son," said he, "what a man you are to do such surprising things always +in the twinkling of an eye! there is not your fellow in the world; the +more I know, the more I admire you." + +The sultan returned to the palace, and after this went frequently to the +window to contemplate and admire the wonderful palace of his son-in-law. + +Aladdin did not confine himself in his palace, but went with much state, +sometimes to one mosque, and sometimes to another, to prayers, or to +visit the grand vizier or the principal lords of the court. Every time +he went out, he caused two slaves, who walked by the side of his horse, +to throw handfuls of money among the people as he passed through the +streets and squares. This generosity gained him the love and blessings +of the people, and it was common for them to swear by his head. Thus +Aladdin, while he paid all respect to the sultan, won by his affable +behaviour and liberality the affections of the people. + +Aladdin had conducted himself in this manner several years, when the +African magician, who had for some years dismissed him from his +recollection, determined to inform himself with certainty whether he +perished, as he supposed, in the subterranean cave or not. After he had +resorted to a long course of magic ceremonies, and had formed a +horoscope by which to ascertain Aladdin's fate, what was his surprise to +find the appearances to declare that Aladdin, instead of dying in the +cave, had made his escape, and was living in royal splendour, by the aid +of the genie of the wonderful lamp! + +On the very next day, the magician set out and travelled with the utmost +haste to the capital of China, where, on his arrival, he took up his +lodgings in a khan. + +He then quickly learnt about the wealth, charities, happiness, and +splendid palace of Prince Aladdin. Directly he saw the wonderful fabric, +he knew that none but the genies, the slaves of the lamp, could have +performed such wonders, and, piqued to the quick at Aladdin's high +estate, he returned to the khan. + +On his return he had recourse to an operation of geomancy to find out +where the lamp was--whether Aladdin carried it about with him, or where +he left it. The result of his consultation informed him, to his great +joy, that the lamp was in the palace. "Well," said he, rubbing his hands +in glee, "I shall have the lamp, and I shall make Aladdin return to his +original mean condition." + +The next day the magician learnt, from the chief superintendent of the +khan where he lodged, that Aladdin had gone on a hunting expedition, +which was to last for eight days, of which only three had expired. The +magician wanted to know no more, He resolved at once on his plans. He +went to a coppersmith, and asked for a dozen copper lamps: the master of +the shop told him he had not so many by him, but if he would have +patience till the next day, he would have them ready. The magician +appointed his time, and desired him to take care that they should be +handsome and well polished. + +The next day the magician called for the twelve lamps, paid the man his +full price, put them into a basket hanging on his arm, and went directly +to Aladdin's palace. As he approached, he began crying, "Who will +exchange old lamps for new ones?" As he went along, a crowd of children +collected, who hooted, and thought him, as did all who chanced to be +passing by, a madman or a fool, to offer to change new lamps for old +ones. + +The African magician regarded not their scoffs, hootings, or all they +could say to him, but still continued crying, "Who will change old lamps +for new ones?" He repeated this so often, walking backward and forward +in front of the palace, that the princess, who was then in the hall with +the four-and-twenty windows, hearing a man cry something, and seeing a +great mob crowding about him, sent one of her women slaves to know what +he cried. + +The slave returned, laughing so heartily that the princess rebuked her. +"Madam," answered the slave, laughing still, "who can forbear laughing, +to see an old man with a basket on his arm, full of fine new lamps, +asking to change them for old ones? the children and mob crowding about +him, so that he can hardly stir, make all the noise they can in derision +of him." + +Another female slave hearing this, said, "Now you speak of lamps, I know +not whether the princess may have observed it, but there is an old one +upon a shelf of the Prince Aladdin's robing room, and whoever owns it +will not be sorry to find a new one in its stead. If the princess +chooses, she may have the pleasure of trying if this old man is so silly +as to give a new lamp for an old one, without taking anything for the +exchange." + +The princess, who knew not the value of this lamp, and the interest that +Aladdin had to keep it safe, entered into the pleasantry, and commanded +a slave to take it and make the exchange. The slave obeyed, went out of +the hall, and no sooner got to the palace gates than he saw the African +magician, called to him, and showing him the old lamp, said, "Give me a +new lamp for this." + +The magician never doubted but this was the lamp he wanted. There could +be no other such in this palace, where every utensil was gold or silver. +He snatched it eagerly out of the slave's hand, and thrusting it as far +as he could into his breast, offered him his basket, and bade him choose +which he liked best. The slave picked out one and carried it to the +princess; but the change was no sooner made than the place rung with the +shouts of the children, deriding the magician's folly. + +The African magician stayed no longer near the palace, nor cried any +more, "New lamps for old ones," but made the best of his way to his +khan. His end was answered, and by his silence he got rid of the +children and the mob. + +As soon as he was out of sight of the two palaces, he hastened down the +least-frequented streets; and having no more occasion for his lamps or +basket, set all down in a spot where nobody saw him; then going down +another street or two, he walked till he came to one of the city gates, +and pursuing his way through the suburbs, which were very extensive, at +length reached a lonely spot, where he stopped till the darkness of the +night, as the most suitable time for the design he had in contemplation. +When it became quite dark, he pulled the lamp out of his breast and +rubbed it. At that summons the genie appeared, and said, "What wouldst +thou have? I am ready to obey thee as thy slave, and the slave of all +those who have that lamp in their hands, both I and the other slaves of +the lamp." "I command thee," replied the magician, "to transport me +immediately, and the palace which thou and the other slaves of the lamp +have built in this city, with all the people in it, to Africa." The +genie made no reply, but with the assistance of the other genies, the +slaves of the lamp, immediately transported him and the palace, entire, +to the spot whither he had been desired to convey it. + +Early the next morning, when the sultan, according to custom, went to +contemplate and admire Aladdin's place, his amazement was unbounded to +find that it could nowhere be seen. He could not comprehend how so large +a palace which he had seen plainly every day for some years, should +vanish so soon, and not leave the least remains behind. In his +perplexity he ordered the grand vizier to be sent for with expedition. + +The grand vizier, who, in secret, bore no good will to Aladdin, +intimated his suspicion that the palace was built by magic, and that +Aladdin had made his hunting excursion an excuse for the removal of his +palace with the same suddenness with which it had been erected. He +induced the sultan to send a detachment of his guard, and to have +Aladdin seized as a prisoner of state. On his son-in-law being brought +before him, he would not hear a word from him, but ordered him to be put +to death. The decree caused so much discontent among the people, whose +affection Aladdin had secured by his largesses and charities, that the +sultan, fearful of an insurrection, was obliged to grant him his life. +When Aladdin found himself at liberty, he again addressed the sultan: +"Sire, I pray you to let me know the crime by which I have thus lost the +favour of thy countenance." "Your crime!" answered the sultan, "wretched +man! do you not know it? Follow me, and I will show you." The sultan +then took Aladdin into the apartment from whence he was wont to look at +and admire his palace, and said, "You ought to know where your palace +stood; look, mind, and tell me what has become of it." Aladdin did so, +and being utterly amazed at the loss of his palace, was speechless. At +last recovering himself, he said, "It is true, I do not see the palace. +It is vanished; but I had no concern in its removal. I beg you to give +me forty days, and if in that time I cannot restore it, I will offer my +head to be disposed of at your pleasure." "I give you the time you ask, +but at the end of the forty days, forget not to present yourself before +me." + +Aladdin went out of the sultan's palace in a condition of exceeding +humiliation. The lords who had courted him in the days of his splendour, +now declined to have any communication with him. For three days he +wandered about the city, exciting the wonder and compassion of the +multitude by asking everybody he met if they had seen his palace, or +could tell him anything of it. On the third day he wandered into the +country, and as he was approaching a river, he fell down the bank with +so much violence that he rubbed the ring which the magician had given +him so hard by holding on the rock to save himself, that immediately the +same genie appeared whom he had seen in the cave where the magician had +left him. "What wouldst thou have?" said the genie, "I am ready to obey +thee as thy slave, and the slave of all those that have that ring on +their finger; both I and the other slaves of the ring." + +Aladdin, agreeably surprised at an offer of help so little expected, +replied, "Genie, show me where the palace I caused to be built now +stands, or transport it back where it first stood." "Your command," +answered the genie, "is not wholly in my power; I am only the slave of +the ring, and not of the lamp." "I command thee, then," replied Aladdin, +"by the power of the ring, to transport me to the spot where my palace +stands, in what part of the world soever it may be." These words were no +sooner out of his mouth, than the genie transported him into Africa, to +the midst of a large plain, where his palace stood, at no great distance +from a city, and placing him exactly under the window of the princess's +apartment, left him. + +Now it so happened that shortly after Aladdin had been transported by +the slave of the ring to the neighbourhood of his palace, that one of +the attendants of the Princess Buddir al Buddoor, looking through the +window, perceived him and instantly told her mistress. The princess, who +could not believe the joyful tidings, hastened herself to the window, +and seeing Aladdin, immediately opened it. The noise of opening the +window made Aladdin turn his head that way, and perceiving the princess, +he saluted her with an air that expressed his joy. "To lose no time," +said she to him, "I have sent to have the private door opened for you; +enter and come up." + +The private door, which was just under the princess's apartment, was +soon opened, and Aladdin conducted up into the chamber. It is impossible +to express the joy of both at seeing each other, after so cruel a +separation. After embracing and shedding tears of joy, they sat down, +and Aladdin said, "I beg of you, princess, to tell me what is become of +an old lamp which stood upon a shelf in my robing-chamber." + +"Alas!" answered the princess, "I was afraid our misfortune might be +owing to that lamp; and what grieves me most is, that I have been the +cause of it. I was foolish enough to change the old lamp for a new one, +and the next morning I found myself in this unknown country, which I am +told is Africa." + +"Princess," said Aladdin, interrupting her, "you have explained all by +telling me we are in Africa I desire you only to tell me if you know +where the old lamp now is." "The African magician carries it carefully +wrapt up in his bosom," said the princess; "and this I can assure you, +because he pulled it out before me, and showed it to me in triumph." + +"Princess," said Aladdin, "I think I have found the means to deliver you +and to regain possession of the lamp, on which all my prosperity +depends; to execute this design it is necessary for me to go to the +town. I shall return by noon, and will then tell you what must be done +by you to insure success. In the mean time, I shall disguise myself, and +beg that the private door may be opened at the first knock." + +When Aladdin was out of the palace, he looked round him on all sides, +and perceiving a peasant going into the country, hastened after him; and +when he had overtaken him, made a proposal to him to change clothes, +which the man agreed to. When they had made the exchange, the countryman +went about his business, and Aladdin entered the neighbouring city. +After traversing several streets, he came to that part of the town where +the merchants and artisans had their particular streets according to +their trades. He went into that of the druggists; and entering one of +the largest and best furnished shops, asked the druggist if he had a +certain powder, which he named. + +The druggist, judging Aladdin by his habit to be very poor, told him he +had it, but that it was very dear; upon which Aladdin, penetrating his +thoughts, pulled out his purse, and showing him some gold, asked for +half a dram of the powder; which the druggist weighed and gave him, +telling him the price was a piece of gold. Aladdin put the money into +his hand, and hastened to the palace, which he entered at once by the +private door. When he came into the princess's apartments, he said to +her, "Princess, you must take your part in the scheme which I propose +for our deliverance. You must overcome your aversion to the magician, +and assume a most friendly manner toward him, and ask him to oblige you +by partaking of an entertainment in your apartments. Before he leaves, +ask him to exchange cups with you, which he, gratified at the honour you +do him, will gladly do, when you must give him the cup containing this +powder. On drinking it he will instantly fall asleep, and we will obtain +the lamp, whose slaves will do all our bidding, and restore us and the +palace to the capital of China." + +The princess obeyed to the utmost her husband's instructions. She +assumed a look of pleasure on the next visit of the magician, and asked +him to an entertainment, which he most willingly accepted. At the close +of the evening, during which the princess had tried all she could to +please him, she asked him to exchange cups with her, and giving the +signal, had the drugged cup brought to her, which she gave to the +magician. He drank it out of compliment to the princess to the very last +drop, when he fell backward lifeless on the sofa. + +The princess, in anticipation of the success of her scheme, had so +placed her women from the great hall to the foot of the staircase, that +the word was no sooner given that the African magician was fallen +backward, than the door was opened, and Aladdin admitted to the hall. +The princess rose from her seat, and ran, overjoyed, to embrace him; but +he stopped her, and said, "Princess, retire to your apartment; and let +me be left alone, while I endeavour to transport you back to China as +speedily as you were brought from thence." + +When the princess, her women, and slaves were gone out of the hall, +Aladdin shut the door, and going directly to the dead body of the +magician, opened his vest, took out the lamp which was carefully wrapped +up, and rubbing it, the genie immediately appeared. "Genie," said +Aladdin, "I command thee to transport this palace instantly to the place +from whence it was brought hither." The genie bowed his head in token of +obedience, and disappeared. Immediately the palace was transported into +China, and its removal was only felt by two little shocks, the one when +it was lifted up, the other when it was set down, and both in a very +short interval of time. + +On the morning after the restoration of Aladdin's palace, the sultan was +looking out of his window, and mourning over the fate of his daughter, +when he thought that he saw the vacancy created by the disappearance of +the palace to be again filled up. + +On looking more attentively, he was convinced beyond the power of doubt +that it was his son-in-law's palace. Joy and gladness succeeded to +sorrow and grief. He at once ordered a horse to be saddled, which he +mounted that instant, thinking he could not make haste enough to the +place. + +Aladdin rose that morning by daybreak, put on one of the most +magnificent habits his wardrobe afforded, and went up into the hall of +twenty-four windows, from whence he perceived the sultan approaching, +and received him at the foot of the great staircase, helping him to +dismount. + +He led the sultan into the princess's apartment. The happy father +embraced her with tears of joy; and the princess, on her side, afforded +similar testimonies of her extreme pleasure. After a short interval, +devoted to mutual explanations of all that had happened, the sultan +restored Aladdin to his favour, and expressed his regret for the +apparent harshness with which he had treated him. "My son," said he, "be +not displeased at my proceedings against you; they arose from my +paternal love, and therefore you ought to forgive the excesses to which +it hurried me." "Sire," replied Aladdin, "I have not the least reason to +complain of your conduct, since you did nothing but what your duty +required. This infamous magician, the basest of men, was the sole cause +of my misfortune." + +The African magician, who was thus twice foiled in his endeavour to ruin +Aladdin, had a younger brother, who was as skilful a magician as +himself, and exceeded him in wickedness and hatred of mankind. By mutual +agreement they communicated with each other once a year, however widely +separate might be their place of residence from each other. The younger +brother not having received as usual his annual communication, prepared +to take a horoscope and ascertain his brother's proceedings. He, as well +as his brother, always carried a geomantic square instrument about him; +he prepared the sand, cast the points, and drew the figures. On +examining the planetary crystal, he found that his brother was no longer +living, but had been poisoned; and by another observation, that he was +in the capital of the kingdom of China; also, that the person who had +poisoned him was of mean birth, though married to a princess, a sultan's +daughter. + +When the magician had informed himself of his brother's fate, he +resolved immediately to revenge his death, and at once departed for +China; where, after crossing plains, rivers, mountains, deserts, and a +long tract of country without delay, he arrived after incredible +fatigues. When he came to the capital of China, he took a lodging at a +khan. His magic art soon revealed to him that Aladdin was the person who +had been the cause of the death of his brother. He had heard, too, all +the persons of repute in the city talking of a woman called Fatima, who +was retired from the world, and of the miracles she wrought. As he +fancied that this woman might be serviceable to him in the project he +had conceived, he made more minute inquiries, and requested to be +informed more particularly who that holy woman was, and what sort of +miracles she performed. + +"What!" said the person whom he addressed, "have you never seen or heard +of her? She is the admiration of the whole town, for her fasting, her +austerities, and her exemplary life. Except Mondays and Fridays, she +never stirs out of her little cell; and on those days on which she comes +into the town she does an infinite deal of good; for there is not a +person who is diseased but she puts her hand on them and cures them." + +Having ascertained the place where the hermitage of this holy woman was, +the magician went at night, and, plunging a poniard into her heart, +killed this good woman. In the morning he dyed his face of the same hue +as hers, and arraying himself in her garb, taking her veil, the large +necklace she wore round her waist, and her stick, went straight to the +palace of Aladdin. + +As soon as the people saw the holy woman, as they imagined him to be, +they presently gathered about him in a great crowd. Some begged his +blessing, others kissed his hand, and others, more reserved, only the +hem of his garment; while others, suffering from disease, stooped for +him to lay his hands upon them; which he did, muttering some words in +form of prayer, and, in short, counterfeiting so well, that everybody +took him for the holy woman. He came at last to the square before +Aladdin's palace. The crowd and the noise were so great that the +princess, who was in the hall of four-and-twenty windows, heard it, and +asked what was the matter. One of her women told her it was a great +crowd of people collected about the holy woman to be cured of diseases +by the imposition of her hands. + +The princess, who had long heard of this holy woman, but had never seen +her, was very desirous to have some conversation with her; which the +chief officer perceiving, told her it was an easy matter to bring her to +her, if she desired and commanded it; and the princess expressing her +wishes, he immediately sent four slaves for the pretended holy woman. + +As soon as the crowd saw the attendants from the palace, they made way; +and the magician, perceiving also that they were coming for him, +advanced to meet them, overjoyed to find his plot succeed so well. "Holy +woman," said one of the slaves, "the princess wants to see you, and has +sent us for you." "The princess does me too great an honour," replied +the false Fatima; "I am ready to obey her command," and at the same time +followed the slaves to the palace. + +When the pretended Fatima had made her obeisance, the princess said, "My +good mother, I have one thing to request, which you must not refuse me; +it is, to stay with me, that you may edify me with your way of living, +and that I may learn from your good example." "Princess," said the +counterfeit Fatima, "I beg of you not to ask what I cannot consent to +without neglecting my prayers and devotion." "That shall be no hindrance +to you," answered the princess; "I have a great many apartments +unoccupied; you shall choose which you like best, and have as much +liberty to perform your devotions as if you were in your own cell." + +The magician, who really desired nothing more than to introduce himself +into the palace, where it would be a much easier matter for him to +execute his designs, did not long excuse himself from accepting the +obliging offer which the princess made him. "Princess," said he, +"whatever resolution a poor wretched woman as I am may have made to +renounce the pomp and grandeur of this world, I dare not presume to +oppose the will and commands of so pious and charitable a princess." + +Upon this the princess, rising up, said, "Come with me, I will show you +what vacant apartments I have, that you may make choice of that you like +best." The magician followed the princess, and of all the apartments she +showed him, made choice of that which was the worst, saying that it was +too good for him, and that he only accepted it to please her. + +Afterward the princess would have brought him back into the great hall +to make him dine with her; but he, considering that he should then be +obliged to show his face, which he had always taken care to conceal with +Fatima's veil, and fearing that the princess should find out that he was +not Fatima, begged of her earnestly to excuse him, telling her that he +never ate anything but bread and dried fruits, and desiring to eat that +slight repast in his own apartment. The princess granted his request, +saying, "You may be as free here, good mother, as if you were in your +own cell: I will order you a dinner, but remember I expect you as soon +as you have finished your repast." + +After the princess had dined, and the false Fatima had been sent for by +one of the attendants, he again waited upon her. "My good mother," said +the princess, "I am overjoyed to see so holy a woman as yourself, who +will confer a blessing upon this palace. But now I am speaking of the +palace, pray how do you like it? And before I show it all to you, tell +me first what you think of this hall." + +Upon this question, the counterfeit Fatima surveyed the hall from one +end to the other. When he had examined it well, he said to the princess, +"As far as such a solitary being as I am, who am unacquainted with what +the world calls beautiful, can judge, this hall is truly admirable; +there wants but one thing." "What is that, good mother?" demanded the +princess; "tell me, I conjure you. For my part, I always believed, and +have heard say, it wanted nothing; but if it does, it shall be +supplied." + +"Princess," said the false Fatima, with great dissimulation, "forgive me +the liberty I have taken; but my opinion is, if it can be of any +importance, that if a roc's egg were hung up in the middle of the dome, +this hall would have no parallel in the four quarters of the world, and +your palace would be the wonder of the universe." + +"My good mother," said the princess, "what is a roc, and where may one +get an egg?" "Princess," replied the pretended Fatima, "it is a bird of +prodigious size, which inhabits the summit of Mount Caucasus; the +architect who built your palace can get you one." + +After the princess had thanked the false Fatima for what she believed +her good advice, she conversed with her upon other matters; but could +not forget the roc's egg, which she resolved to request of Aladdin when +next he should visit his apartments. He did so in the course of that +evening, and shortly after he entered, the princess thus addressed him: +"I always believed that our palace was the most superb, magnificent, and +complete in the world: but I will tell you now what it wants, and that +is a roc's egg hung up in the midst of the dome." "Princess," replied +Aladdin, "it is enough that you think it wants such an ornament; you +shall see by the diligence which I use in obtaining it, that there is +nothing which I would not do for your sake." + +Aladdin left the Princess Buddir al Buddoor that moment, and went up +into the hall of four-and-twenty windows, where, pulling out of his +bosom the lamp, which after the danger he had been exposed to be always +carried about him, he rubbed it; upon which the genie immediately +appeared. "Genie," said Aladdin, "I command thee, in the name of this +lamp, bring a roc's egg to be hung up in the middle of the dome of the +hall of the palace." Aladdin had no sooner pronounced these words, than +the hall shook as if ready to fall; and the genie said in a loud and +terrible voice, "Is it not enough that I and the other slaves of the +lamp have done everything for you, but you, by an unheard-of +ingratitude, must command me to bring my master, and hang him up in the +midst of this dome? This attempt deserves that you, the princess, and +the palace, should be immediately reduced to ashes; but you are spared +because this request does not come from yourself. Its true author is the +brother of the African magician, your enemy whom you have destroyed. He +is now in your palace, disguised in the habit of the holy woman Fatima, +whom he has murdered; at his suggestion your wife makes this pernicious +demand. His design is to kill you, therefore take care of yourself." +After these words the genie disappeared. + +Aladdin resolved at once what to do. He returned to the princess's +apartment, and without mentioning a word of what had happened, sat down, +and complained of a great pain which had suddenly seized his head. On +hearing this, the princess told him how she had invited the holy Fatima +to stay with her, and that she was now in the palace; and at the request +of the prince, ordered her to be summoned to her at once. + +When the pretended Fatima came, Aladdin said, "Come hither, good mother; +I am glad to see you here at so fortunate a time. I am tormented with a +violent pain in my head, and request your assistance, and hope you will +not refuse me that cure which you impart to afflicted persons." So +saying, he arose, but held down his head. The counterfeit Fatima +advanced toward him, with his hand all the time on a dagger concealed in +his girdle under his gown; which Aladdin, observing, he snatched the +weapon from his hand, pierced him to the heart with his own dagger, and +then pushed him down on the floor. + +"My dear prince, what have you done?" cried the princess, in surprise. +"You have killed the holy woman!" "No, my princess," answered Aladdin +with emotion, "I have not killed Fatima, but a villain, who would have +assassinated me, if I had not prevented him. This wicked man," added he, +uncovering his face, "is the brother of the magician who attempted our +ruin. He has strangled the true Fatima, and disguised himself in her +clothes with intent to murder me." Aladdin then informed her how the +genie had told him these facts, and how narrowly she and the palace had +escaped destruction through his treacherous suggestion which had led to +her request. + +Thus was Aladdin delivered from the persecution of the two brothers, who +were magicians. Within a few years afterward, the sultan died in a good +old age, and as he left no male children, the Princess Buddir al Buddoor +succeeded him, and she and Aladdin reigned together many years, and left +a numerous and illustrious posterity. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +THE HISTORY OF ALI BABA, AND OF THE FORTY ROBBERS KILLED BY ONE SLAVE + + +There once lived in a town of Persia two brothers, one named Cassim and +the other Ali Baba. Their father divided a small inheritance equally +between them. Cassim married a very rich wife, and became a wealthy +merchant. Ali Baba married a woman as poor as himself, and lived by +cutting wood, and bringing it upon three asses into the town, to sell. + +One day, when Ali Baba was in the forest, and had just cut wood enough +to load his asses, he saw at a distance a great cloud of dust, which +seemed to approach him. He observed it with attention, and distinguished +soon after a body of horsemen, who he suspected might be robbers. He +determined to leave his asses to save himself. He climbed up a large +tree, planted on a high rock, whose branches were thick enough to +conceal him, and yet enabled him to see all that passed without being +discovered. + +The troop, who were to the number of forty, all well mounted and armed, +came to the foot of the rock on which the tree stood, and there +dismounted Every man unbridled his horse, tied him to some shrub, and +hung about his neck a bag of corn which they brought behind them. Then +each of them took off his saddle-bag, which seemed to Ali Baba to be +full of gold and silver from its weight. One, whom he took to be their +captain, came under the tree in which Ali Baba was concealed; and making +his way through some shrubs, pronounced these words: "Open, Sesame!" +[Footnote: "Sesame" is a small grain.] As soon as the captain of the +robbers had thus spoken, a door opened in the rock; and after he had +made all his troop enter before him, he followed them, when the door +shut again of itself. + +The robbers stayed some time within the rock, during which Ali Baba, +fearful of being caught, remained in the tree. + +At last the door opened again, and as the captain went in last, so he +came out first, and stood to see them all pass by him; when Ali Baba +heard him make the door close by pronouncing these words, "Shut, +Sesame!" Every man at once went and bridled his horse, fastened his +wallet, and mounted again. When the captain saw them all ready, he put +himself at their head, and they returned the way they had come. + +Ali Baba followed them with his eyes as far as he could see them; and +afterward stayed a considerable time before he descended. Remembering +the words the captain of the robbers used to cause the door to open and +shut, he had the curiosity to try if his pronouncing them would have the +same effect. Accordingly, he went among the shrubs, and perceiving the +door concealed behind them, stood before it, and said, "Open, Sesame!" +The door instantly flew wide open. + +Ali Baba, who expected a dark, dismal cavern, was surprised to see a +well-lighted and spacious chamber, which received the light from an +opening at the top of the rock, and in which were all sorts of +provisions, rich bales of silk, stuff, brocade, and valuable carpeting, +piled upon one another; gold and silver ingots in great heaps, and money +in bags. The sight of all these riches made him suppose that this cave +must have been occupied for ages by robbers, who had succeeded one +another. + +Ali Baba went boldly into the cave, and collected as much of the gold +coin, which was in bags, as he thought his three asses could carry. When +he had loaded them with the bags, he laid wood over them in such a +manner that they could not be seen. When he had passed in and out as +often as he wished, he stood before the door, and pronouncing the words, +"Shut, Sesame!" the door closed of itself. He then made the best of his +way to town. + +When Ali Baba got home, he drove his asses into a little yard, shut the +gates very carefully, threw off the wood that covered the panniers, +carried the bags into his house, and ranged them in order before his +wife. He then emptied the bags, which raised such a great heap of gold +as dazzled his wife's eyes, and then he told her the whole adventure +from beginning to end, and, above all, recommended her to keep it +secret. + +The wife rejoiced greatly in their good fortune, and would count all the +gold piece by piece. "Wife," replied Ali Baba, "you do not know what you +undertake, when you pretend to count the money; you will never have +done. I will dig a hole, and bury it. There is no time to be lost." "You +are in the right, husband," replied she, "but let us know, as nigh as +possible, how much we have. I will borrow a small measure, and measure +it, while you dig the hole." + +Away the wife ran to her brother-in-law Cassim, who lived just by, and +addressing herself to his wife, desired her to lend her a measure for a +little while. Her sister-in-law asked her whether she would have a great +or a small one. The other asked for a small one. She bade her stay a +little, and she would readily fetch one, + +The sister-in-law did so, but as she knew Ali Baba's poverty, she was +curious to know what sort of grain his wife wanted to measure, and +artfully putting some suet at the bottom of the measure, brought it to +her, with an excuse that she was sorry that she had made her stay so +long, but that she could not find it sooner. + +Ali Baba's wife went home, set the measure upon the heap of gold, filled +it, and emptied it often upon the sofa, till she had done, when she was +very well satisfied to find the number of measures amounted to so many +as they did, and went to tell her husband, who had almost finished +digging the hole. While Ali Baba was burying the gold, his wife, to show +her exactness and diligence to her sister-in-law, carried the measure +back again, but without taking notice that a piece of gold had stuck to +the bottom. "Sister," said she, giving it to her again, "you see that I +have not kept your measure long. I am obliged to you for it, and return +it with thanks." + +As soon as Ali Baba's wife was gone, Cassim's looked at the bottom of +the measure, and was in inexpressible surprise to find a piece of gold +sticking to it. Envy immediately possessed her breast. "What!" said she, +"has Ali Baba gold so plentiful as to measure it? Whence has he all this +wealth?" + +Cassim, her husband, was at his counting-house. When he came home, his +wife said to him, "Cassim, I know you think yourself rich, but Ali Baba +is infinitely richer than you. He does not count his money, but measures +it." Cassim desired her to explain the riddle, which she did, by telling +him the stratagem she had used to make the discovery, and showed him the +piece of money, which was so old that they could not tell in what +prince's reign it was coined. + +Cassim, after he had married the rich widow, had never treated Ali Baba +as a brother, but neglected him; and now, instead of being pleased, he +conceived a base envy at his brother's prosperity. He could not sleep +all that night, and went to him in the morning before sunrise. "Ali +Baba," said he, "I am surprised at you; you pretend to be miserably +poor, and yet you measure gold. My wife found this at the bottom of the +measure you borrowed yesterday." + +By this discourse, Ali Baba perceived that Cassim and his wife, through +his own wife's folly, knew what they had so much reason to conceal; but +what was done, could not be undone. Therefore, without showing the least +surprise or trouble, he confessed all, and offered his brother part of +his treasure to keep the secret. + +"I expect as much," replied Cassim haughtily; "but I must know exactly +where this treasure is, and how I may visit it myself when I choose; +otherwise, I will go and inform against you, and then you will not only +get no more, but will lose all you have, and I shall have a share for my +information." + +Ali Baba told him all he desired, even to the very words he was to use +to gain admission into the cave. + +Cassim rose the next morning long before the sun, and set out for the +forest with ten mules bearing great chests, which he designed to fill, +and followed the road which Ali Baba had pointed out to him. He was not +long before he reached the rock, and found out the place, by the tree +and other marks which his brother had given him. When he reached the +entrance of the cavern, he pronounced the words, "Open, Sesame!" The +door immediately opened, and, when he was in, closed upon him. In +examining the cave, he was in great admiration to find much more riches +than he had expected from Ali Baba's relation. He quickly laid as many +bags of gold as he could carry at the door of the cavern; but his +thoughts were so full of the great riches he should possess, that he +could not think of the necessary word to make it open, but instead of +"Sesame," said, "Open, Barley!" and was much amazed to find that the +door remained fast shut. He named several sorts of grain, but still the +door would not open. + +Cassim had never expected such an incident, and was so alarmed at the +danger he was in, that the more he endeavoured to remember the word +"Sesame," the more his memory was confounded, and he had as much +forgotten it as if he had never heard it mentioned. He threw down the +bags he had loaded himself with, and walked distractedly up and down the +cave, without having the least regard to the riches that were around +him. + +About noon the robbers visited their cave. At some distance they saw +Cassim's mules straggling about the rock, with great chests on their +backs. Alarmed at this, they galloped full speed to the cave. They drove +away the mules, which strayed through the forest so far, that they were +soon out of sight, and went directly, with their naked sabres in their +hands, to the door, which, on their captain pronouncing the proper +words, immediately opened. + +Cassim, who heard the noise of the horses' feet, at once guessed the +arrival of the robbers, and resolved to make one effort for his life. He +rushed to the door, and no sooner saw the door open, than he ran out and +threw the leader down, but could not escape the other robbers, who with +their scimitars soon deprived him of life. + +The first care of the robbers after this was to examine the cave. They +found all the bags which Cassim had brought to the door, to be ready to +load his mules, and carried them again to their places, but they did not +miss what Ali Baba had taken away before. Then holding a council, and +deliberating upon this occurrence, they guessed that Cassim, when he was +in, could no get out again, but could not imagine how he had learned the +secret words by which alone he could enter. They could not deny the fact +of his being there; and to terrify any person or accomplice who should +attempt the same thing, they agreed to cut Cassim's body into four +quarters--to hang two on one side, and two on the other, within the door +of the cave. They had no sooner taken this resolution than they put it +in execution; and when they had nothing more to detain them, left the +place of their hoards well closed. They mounted their horses, went to +beat the roads again, and to attack the caravans they might meet. + +In the mean time, Cassim's wife was very uneasy when night came, and her +husband was not returned. She ran to Ali Baba in great alarm, and said, +"I believe, brother-in-law, that you know Cassim is gone to the forest, +and upon what account; it is now night, and he has not returned; I am +afraid some misfortune has happened to him." Ali Baba told her that she +need not frighten herself, for that certainly Cassim would not think it +proper to come into the town till the night should be pretty far +advanced. + +Cassim's wife, considering how much it concerned her husband to keep the +business secret, was the more easily persuaded to believe her +brother-in-law. She went home again, and waited patiently till midnight. +Then her fear redoubled, and her grief was the more sensible because she +was forced to keep it to herself. She repented of her foolish curiosity, +and cursed her desire of prying into the affairs of her brother and +sister-in-law. She spent all the night in weeping; and as soon as it was +day went to them, telling them, by her tears, the cause of her coming. + +Ali Baba did not wait for his sister-in-law to desire him to go to see +what was become of Cassim, but departed immediately with his three +asses, begging of her first to moderate her affliction. He went to the +forest, and when he came near the rock, having seen neither his brother +nor the mules in his way, was seriously alarmed at finding some blood +spilt near the door, which he took for an ill omen; but when he had +pronounced the word, and the door had opened, he was struck with horror +at the dismal sight of his brother's body. He was not long in +determining how he should pay the last dues to his brother; but without +adverting to the little fraternal affection he had shown for him, went +into the cave, to find something to enshroud his remains; and having +loaded one of his asses with them, covered them over with wood. The +other two asses he loaded with bags of gold, covering them with wood +also as before; and then bidding the door shut, came away; but was so +cautious as to stop some time at the end of the forest, that he might +not go into the town before night. When he came home, he drove the two +asses loaded with gold into his little yard, and left the care of +unloading them to his wife, while he led the other to his +sister-in-law's house. + +Ali Baba knocked at the door, which was opened by Morgiana, a clever, +intelligent slave, who was fruitful in inventions to meet the most +difficult circumstances. When he came into the court, he unloaded the +ass, and taking Morgiana aside, said to her, "You must observe an +inviolable secrecy. Your master's body is contained in these two +panniers. We must bury him as if he had died a natural death. Go now and +tell your mistress. I leave the matter to your wit and skilful devices." + + + + +Ali Baba helped to place the body in Cassim's house, again recommended +to Morgiana to act her part well, and then returned with his ass. + +Morgiana went out early the next morning to a druggist, and asked for a +sort of lozenge which was considered efficacious in the most dangerous +disorders. The apothecary inquired who was ill? She replied, with a +sigh, "Her good master Cassim himself: and that he could neither eat nor +speak." In the evening Morgiana went to the same druggist's again, and +with tears in her eyes, asked for an essence which they used to give to +sick people only when at the last extremity. "Alas!" said she, taking it +from the apothecary, "I am afraid that this remedy will have no better +effect than the lozenges; and that I shall lose my good master." + +On the other hand, as Ali Baba and his wife were often seen to go +between Cassim's and their own house all that day, and to seem +melancholy, nobody was surprised in the evening to hear the lamentable +shrieks and cries of Cassim's wife and Morgiana, who gave out everywhere +that her master was dead. The next morning at daybreak Morgiana went to +an old cobbler whom she knew to be always early at his stall, and +bidding him good-morrow, put a piece of gold into his hand, saying, +"Baba Mustapha, you must bring with you your sewing tackle, and come +with me; but I must tell you, I shall blindfold you when you come to +such a place." + +Baba Mustapha seemed to hesitate a little at these words. "Oh! oh!" +replied he, "you would have me do something against my conscience, or +against my honour?" "God forbid," said Morgiana, putting another piece +of gold into his hand, "that I should ask anything that is contrary to +your honour! only come along with me and fear nothing." + +Baba Mustapha went with Morgiana, who, after she had bound his eyes with +a handkerchief at the place she had mentioned, conveyed him to her +deceased master's house, and never unloosed his eyes till he had entered +the room where she had put the corpse together. "Baba Mustapha," said +she, "you must make haste and sew the parts of this body together; and +when you have done, I will give you another piece of gold." + +After Baba Mustapha had finished his task, she blindfolded him again, +gave him the third piece of gold as she had promised, and recommending +secrecy to him carried him back to the place where she first bound his +eyes, pulled off the bandage, and let him go home, but watched him that +he returned toward his stall, till he was quite out of sight, for fear +he should have the curiosity to return and dodge her; she then went +home. Morgiana, on her return, warmed some water to wash the body, and +at the same time Ali Baba perfumed it with incense, and wrapped it in +the burying clothes with the accustomed ceremonies. Not long after the +proper officer brought the bier, and when the attendants of the mosque, +whose business it was to wash the dead, offered to perform their duty, +she told them that it was done already. Shortly after this the imaun and +the other ministers of the mosque arrived. Four neighbours carried the +corpse to the burying-ground, following the imaun, who recited some +prayers. Ali Baba came after with some neighbours, who often relieved +the others in carrying the bier to the burying-ground. Morgiana, a slave +to the deceased, followed in the procession, weeping, beating her +breast, and tearing her hair. Cassim's wife stayed at home mourning, +uttering lamentable cries with the women of the neighbourhood, who came, +according to custom, during the funeral, and joining their lamentations +with hers filled the quarter far and near with sounds of sorrow. + +In this manner Cassim's melancholy death was concealed and hushed up +between Ali Baba, his widow, and Morgiana, his slave, with so much +contrivance that nobody in the city had the least knowledge or suspicion +of the cause of it. Three or four days after the funeral, Ali Baba +removed his few goods openly to his sister-in-law's house, in which it +was agreed that he should in future live; but the money he had taken +from the robbers he conveyed thither by night. As for Cassim's +warehouse, he entrusted it entirely to the management of his eldest son. + +While these things were being done, the forty robbers again visited +their retreat in the forest. Great, then, was their surprise to find +Cassim's body taken away, with some of their bags of gold. "We are +certainly discovered," said the captain. "The removal of the body, and +the loss of some of our money, plainly shows that the man whom we killed +had an accomplice: and for our own lives' sake we must try and find him. +What say you, my lads?" + +All the robbers unanimously approved of the captain's proposal. + +"Well," said the captain, "one of you, the boldest and most skilful +among you, must go into the town, disguised as a traveller and a +stranger, to try if he can hear any talk of the man whom we have killed, +and endeavour to find out who he was, and where he lived. This is a +matter of the first importance, and for fear of any treachery, I propose +that whoever undertakes this business without success, even though the +failure arises only from an error of judgment, shall suffer death." + +Without waiting for the sentiments of his companions, one of the robbers +started up, and said, "I submit to this condition, and think it an +honour to expose my life to serve the troop." + +After this robber had received great commendations from the captain and +his comrades, he disguised himself so that nobody would take him for +what he was; and taking his leave of the troop that night, went into the +town just at daybreak; and walked up and down, till accidentally he came +to Baba Mustapha's stall, which was always open before any of the shops. + +Baba Mustapha was seated with an awl in his hand, just going to work. +The robber saluted him, bidding him good-morrow; and perceiving that he +was old, said, "Honest man, you begin to work very early: is it possible +that one of your age can see so well? I question, even if it were +somewhat lighter, whether you could see to stitch." + +"You do not know me," replied Baba Mustapha; "for old as I am, I have +extraordinary good eyes; and you will not doubt it when I tell you that +I sewed the body of a dead man together in a place where I had not so +much light as I have now." + +"A dead body!" exclaimed the robber, with affected amazement. "Yes, +yes," answered Baba Mustapha, "I see you want to have me speak out, but +you shall know no more." + +The robber felt sure that he had discovered what he sought. He pulled +out a piece of gold, and putting it into Baba Mustapha's hand, said to +him, "I do not want to learn your secret, though I can assure you you +might safely trust me with it. The only thing I desire of you is to show +me the house where you stitched up the dead body." + +"If I were disposed to do you that favour," replied Baba Mustapha, "I +assure you I cannot. I was taken to a certain place, whence I was led +blindfold to the house, and afterward brought back again in the same +manner; you see, therefore, the impossibility of my doing what you +desire." + +"Well," replied the robber, "you may, however, remember a little of the +way that you were led blindfold. Come, let me blind your eyes at the +same place. We will walk together; perhaps you may recognise some part; +and as everybody ought to be paid for their trouble, there is another +piece of gold for you; gratify me in what I ask you." So saying, he put +another piece of gold into his hand. + +The two pieces of gold were great temptations to Baba Mustapha. He +looked at them a long time in his hand, without saying a word, but at +last he pulled out his purse and put them in. "I cannot promise," said +he to the robber, "that I can remember the way exactly; but since you +desire, I will try what I can do." At these words Baba Mustapha rose up, +to the great joy of the robber, and led him to the place where Morgiana +had bound his eyes. "It was here," said Baba Mustapha, "I was +blindfolded; and I turned this way." The robber tied his handkerchief +over his eyes, and walked by him till he stopped directly at Cassim's +house, where Ali Baba then lived. The thief, before he pulled off the +band, marked the door with a piece of chalk, which he had ready in his +hand, and then asked him if he knew whose house that was; to which Baba +Mustapha replied that as he did not live in that neighbourhood, he could +not tell. + +The robber, finding he could discover no more from Baba Mustapha, +thanked him for the trouble he had taken, and left him to go back to his +stall, while he returned to the forest, persuaded that he should be very +well received. + +A little after the robber and Baba Mustapha had parted, Morgiana went +out of Ali Baba's house upon some errand, and upon her return, seeing +the mark the robber had made, stopped to observe it. "What can be the +meaning of this mark?" said she to herself; "somebody intends my master +no good: however, with whatever intention it was done, it is advisable +to guard against the worst." Accordingly, she fetched a piece of chalk, +and marked two or three doors on each side, in the same manner, without +saying a word to her master or mistress. + +In the mean time, the robber rejoined his troop in the forest, and +recounted to them his success; expatiating upon his good fortune, in +meeting so soon with the only person who could inform him of what he +wanted to know. All the robbers listened to him with the utmost +satisfaction; when the captain, after commending his diligence, +addressing himself to them all, said, "Comrades, we have no time to +lose: let us set off well armed, without its appearing who we are; but +that we may not excite any suspicion, let only one or two go into the +town together, and join at our rendezvous, which shall be the great +square. In the mean time, our comrade who brought us the good news and I +will go and find out the house, that we may consult what had best be +done." + +This speech and plan was approved of by all, and they were soon ready. +They filed off in parties of two each, after some interval of time, and +got into the town without being in the least suspected. The captain, and +he who had visited the town in the morning as spy, came in the last. He +led the captain into the street where he had marked Ali Baba's +residence; and when they came to the first of the houses which Morgiana +had marked, he pointed it out. But the captain observed that the next +door was chalked in the same manner and in the same place; and showing +it to his guide, asked him which house it was, that, or the first. The +guide was so confounded, that he knew not what answer to make; but still +more puzzled, when he and the captain saw five or six houses similarly +marked. He assured the captain, with an oath, that he had marked but +one, and could not tell who had chalked the rest, so that he could not +distinguish the house which the cobbler had stopped at. + +The captain, finding that their design had proved abortive, went +directly to the place of meeting, and told his troop that they had lost +their labour, and must return to their cave. He himself set them the +example, and they all returned as they had come. + +When the troop was all got together, the captain told them the reason of +their returning; and presently the conductor was declared by all worthy +of death. He condemned himself, acknowledging that he ought to have +taken better precaution, and prepared to receive the stroke from him who +was appointed to cut off his head. + +But as the safety of the troop required the discovery of the second +intruder into the cave, another of the gang, who promised himself that +he should succeed better, presented himself, and his offer being +accepted, he went and corrupted Baba Mustapha, as the other had done; +and being shown the house, marked it in a place more remote from sight, +with red chalk. + +Not long after, Morgiana, whose eyes nothing could escape, went out, and +seeing the red chalk, and arguing with herself as she had done before, +marked the other neighbours' houses in the same place and manner. + +The robber, at his return to his company, valued himself much on the +precaution he had taken, which he looked upon as an infallible way of +distinguishing Ali Baba's house from the others; and the captain and all +of them thought it must succeed. They conveyed themselves into the town +with the same precaution as before; but when the robber and his captain +came to the street, they found the same difficulty; at which the captain +was enraged, and the robber in as great confusion as his predecessor. + +Thus the captain and his troop were forced to retire a second time, and +much more dissatisfied; while the robber who had been the author of the +mistake underwent the same punishment, to which he willingly submitted. + +The captain, having lost two brave fellows of his troop, was afraid of +diminishing it too much by pursuing this plan to get information of the +residence of their plunderer. He found by their example that their heads +were not so good as their hands on such occasions; and therefore +resolved to take upon himself the important commission. + +Accordingly, he went and addressed himself to Baba Mustapha, who did him +the same service he had done to the other robbers. He did not set any +particular mark on the house, but examined and observed it so carefully, +by passing often by it, that it was impossible for him to mistake it. + +The captain, well satisfied with his attempt, and informed of what he +wanted to know, returned to the forest; and when he came into the cave, +where the troop waited for him, said, "Now, comrades, nothing can +prevent our full revenge, as I am certain of the house; and in my way +hither I have thought how to put it into execution, but if any one can +form a better expedient, let him communicate it." He then told them his +contrivance; and as they approved of it, ordered them to go into the +villages about, and buy nineteen mules, with thirty-eight large leather +jars, one full of oil, and the others empty. + +In two or three days' time the robbers had purchased the mules and jars, +and as the mouths of the jars were rather too narrow for his purpose, +the captain caused them to be widened, and after having put one of his +men into each, with the weapons which he thought fit, leaving open the +seam which had been undone to leave them room to breathe, he rubbed the +jars on the outside with oil from the full vessel. + +Things being thus prepared, when the nineteen mules were loaded with +thirty-seven robbers in jars, and the jar of oil, the captain, as their +driver, set out with them, and reached the town by the dusk of the +evening, as he had intended. He led them through the streets, till he +came to Ali Baba's, at whose door he designed to have knocked; but was +prevented by his sitting there after supper to take a little fresh air. +He stopped his mules, addressed himself to him, and said, "I have +brought some oil a great way, to sell at tomorrow's market; and it is +now so late that I do not know where to lodge. If I should not be +troublesome to you, do me the favour to let me pass the night with you, +and I shall be very much obliged by your hospitality." + +Though Ali Baba had seen the captain of the robbers in the forest, and +had heard him speak, it was impossible to know him in the disguise of an +oil merchant. He told him he should be welcome, and immediately opened +his gates for the mules to go into the yard. At the same time he called +to a slave, and ordered him, when the mules were unloaded, to put them +into the stable, and to feed them; and then went to Morgiana, to bid her +get a good supper for his guest. After they had finished supper, Ali +Baba, charging Morgiana afresh to take care of his guest, said to her, +"To-morrow morning I design to go to the bath before day; take care my +bathing linen be ready, give them to Abdalla (which was the slave's +name), and make me some good broth against my return." After this he +went to bed. + +In the mean time the captain of the robbers went into the yard, and took +off the lid of each jar, and gave his people orders what to do. +Beginning at the first jar, and so on to the last, he said to each man: +"As soon as I throw some stones out of the chamber window where I lie, +do not fail to come out, and I will immediately join you." After this he +returned into the house, when Morgiana, taking up a light, conducted him +to his chamber, where she left him; and he, to avoid any suspicion, put +the light out soon after, and laid himself down in his clothes, that he +might be the more ready to rise. + +Morgiana, remembering Ali Baba's orders, got his bathing linen ready, +and ordered Abdalla to set on the pot for the broth; but while she was +preparing it the lamp went out, and there was no more oil in the house, +nor any candles. What to do she did not know, for the broth must be +made. Abdalla, seeing her very uneasy, said, "Do not fret and tease +yourself, but go into the yard, and take some oil out of one of the +jars." + +Morgiana thanked Abdalla for his advice, took the oil-pot, and went into +the yard; when, as she came nigh the first jar, the robber within said +softly, "Is it time?" + +Though naturally much surprised at finding a man in the jar instead of +the oil she wanted, she immediately felt the importance of keeping +silence, as Ali Baba, his family, and herself were in great danger; and +collecting herself, without showing the least emotion, she answered, +"Not yet, but presently." She went quietly in this manner to all the +jars, giving the same answer, till she came to the jar of oil. + +By this means Morgiana found that her master Ali Baba had admitted +thirty-eight robbers into his house, and that this pretended oil +merchant was their captain. She made what haste she could to fill her +oil-pot, and returned into her kitchen, where, as soon as she had +lighted her lamp, she took a great kettle, went again to the oil-jar, +filled the kettle, set it on a large wood fire, and as soon as it boiled +went and poured enough into every jar to stifle and destroy the robber +within. + +When this action, worthy of the courage of Morgiana, was executed +without any noise, as she had projected, she returned into the kitchen +with the empty kettle; and having put out the great fire she had made to +boil the oil, and leaving just enough to make the broth, put out the +lamp also, and remained silent, resolving not to go to rest till she had +observed what might follow through a window of the kitchen, which opened +into the yard. + +She had not waited long before the captain of the robbers got up, opened +the window, and finding no light, and hearing no noise, or any one +stirring in the house, gave the appointed signal, by throwing little +stones, several of which hit the jars, as he doubted not by the sound +they gave. He then listened, but not hearing or perceiving anything +whereby he could judge that his companions stirred, he began to grow +very uneasy, threw stones again a second and also a third time, and +could not comprehend the reason that none of them should answer his +signal. Much alarmed, he went softly down into the yard, and going to +the first jar, while asking the robber, whom he thought alive, if he was +in readiness, smelt the hot boiled oil, which sent forth a steam out of +the jar. Hence he suspected that his plot to murder Ali Baba, and +plunder his house, was discovered. Examining all the jars, one after +another, he found that all his gang were dead; and, enraged to despair +at having failed in his design, he forced the lock of a door that led +from the yard to the garden, and climbing over the walls made his +escape. + +When Morgiana saw him depart, she went to bed, satisfied and pleased to +have succeeded so well in saving her master and family. + +Ali Baba rose before day, and, followed by his slave, went to the baths, +entirely ignorant of the important event which had happened at home. + +When he returned from the baths, he was very much surprised to see the +oil-jars, and that the merchant was not gone with the mules. He asked +Morgiana, who opened the door, the reason of it. "My good master," +answered she, "God preserve you and all your family. You will be better +informed of what you wish to know when you have seen what I have to show +you, if you will follow me." + +As soon as Morgiana had shut the door, Ali Baba followed her, when she +requested him to look into the first jar, and see if there was any oil. +Ali Baba did so, and seeing a man, started back in alarm, and cried out. +"Do not be afraid," said Morgiana "the man you see there can neither do +you nor anybody else any harm. He is dead." "Ah, Morgiana," said Ali +Baba, "what is it you show me? Explain yourself." "I will," replied +Morgiana. "Moderate your astonishment, and do not excite the curiosity +of your neighbours; for it is of great importance to keep this affair +secret. Look into all the other jars." + +Ali Baba examined all the other jars, one after another; and when he +came to that which had the oil in it, found it prodigiously sunk, and +stood for some time motionless, sometimes looking at the jars, and +sometimes at Morgiana, without saying a word, so great was his surprise. +At last, when he had recovered himself, he said, "And what is become of +the merchant?" + +"Merchant!" answered she; "he is as much one as I am. I will tell you +who he is, and what is become of him; but you had better hear the story +in your own chamber; for it is time for your health that you had your +broth after your bathing." + +Morgiana then told him all she had done, from the first observing the +mark upon the house, to the destruction of the robbers, and the flight +of their captain. + +On hearing of these brave deeds from the lips of Morgiana, Ali Baba said +to her--"God, by your means, has delivered me from the snares these +robbers laid for my destruction. I owe, therefore, my life to you; and, +for the first token of my acknowledgment, give you your liberty from +this moment, till I can complete your recompense as I intend." + +Ali Baba's garden was very long, and shaded at the further end by a +great number of large trees. Near these he and the slave Abdalla dug a +trench, long and wide enough to hold the bodies of the robbers; and as +the earth was light, they were not long in doing it. When this was done, +Ali Baba hid the jars and weapons; and as he had no occasion for the +mules, he sent them at different times to be sold in the market by his +slave. + +While Ali Baba took these measures, the captain of the forty robbers +returned to the forest with inconceivable mortification. He did not stay +long; the loneliness of the gloomy cavern became frightful to him. He +determined, however, to avenge the fate of his companions, and to +accomplish the death of Ali Baba. For this purpose he returned to the +town, and took a lodging in a khan, and disguised himself as a merchant +in silks. Under this assumed character, he gradually conveyed a great +many sorts of rich stuffs and fine linen to his lodging from the cavern, +but with all the necessary precautions to conceal the place whence he +brought them. In order to dispose of the merchandise, when he had thus +amassed them together, he took a warehouse, which happened to be +opposite to Cassim's, which Ali Baba's son had occupied since the death +of his uncle. + +He took the name of Cogia Houssain, and, as a new-comer, was, according +to custom, extremely civil and complaisant to all the merchants his +neighbours. Ali Baba's son was, from his vicinity, one of the first to +converse with Cogia Houssain, who strove to cultivate his friendship +more particularly. Two or three days after he was settled, Ali Baba came +to see his son, and the captain of the robbers recognised him at once, +and soon learned from his son who he was. After this he increased his +assiduities, caressed him in the most engaging manner, made him some +small presents, and often asked him to dine and sup with him, when he +treated him very handsomely. + +Ali Baba's son did not choose to lie under such obligation to Cogia +Houssain; but was so much straitened for want of room in his house, that +he could not entertain him. He therefore acquainted his father, Ali +Baba, with his wish to invite him in return. + +Ali Baba with great pleasure took the treat upon himself. "Son," said +he, "to-morrow being Friday, which is a day that the shops of such great +merchants as Cogia Houssain and yourself are shut, get him to accompany +you, and as you pass by my door, call in. I will go and order Morgiana +to provide a supper." + +The next day Ali Baba's son and Cogia Houssain met by appointment, took +their walk, and as they returned, Ali Baba's son led Cogia Houssain +through the street where his father lived, and when they came to the +house, stopped and knocked at the door. "This, sir," said he, "is my +father's house, who, from the account I have given him of your +friendship, charged me to procure him the honour of your acquaintance; +and I desire you to add this pleasure to those for which I am already +indebted to you." + +Though it was the sole aim of Cogia Houssain to introduce himself into +Ali Baba's house, that he might kill him, without hazarding his own life +or making any noise, yet he excused himself, and offered to take his +leave; but a slave having opened the door, Ali Baba's son took him +obligingly by the hand, and, in a manner, forced him in. + +Ali Baba received Cogia Houssain with a smiling countenance, and in the +most obliging manner he could wish. He thanked him for all the favours +he had done his son; adding withal, the obligation was the greater, as +he was a young man, not much acquainted with the world, and that he +might contribute to his information. + +Cogia Houssain returned the compliment by assuring Ali Baba that though +his son might not have acquired the experience of older men, he had good +sense equal to the experience of many others. After a little more +conversation on different subjects, he offered again to take his leave, +when Ali Baba, stopping him, said, "Where are you going, sir, in so much +haste? I beg you would do me the honour to sup with me, though my +entertainment may not be worthy your acceptance; such as it is, I +heartily offer it." "Sir," replied Cogia Houssain, "I am thoroughly +persuaded of your good-will; but the truth is, I can eat no victuals +that have any salt in them; therefore judge how I should feel at your +table." "If that is the only reason," said Ali Baba, "it ought not to +deprive me of the honour of your company; for, in the first place, there +is no salt ever put into my bread, and as to the meat we shall have +to-night, I promise you there shall be none in that. Therefore you must +do me the favour to stay. I will return immediately." + +Ali Baba went into the kitchen, and ordered Morgiana to put no salt to +the meat that was to be dressed that night; and to make quickly two or +three ragouts besides what he had ordered, but be sure to put no salt in +them. + +Morgiana, who was always ready to obey her master, could not help being +surprised at his strange order. "Who is this strange man," said she, +"who eats no salt with his meat? Your supper will be spoiled, if I keep +it back so long." "Do not be angry, Morgiana," replied Ali Baba; "he is +an honest man, therefore do as I bid you." + +Morgiana obeyed, though with no little reluctance, and had a curiosity +to see this man who ate no salt. To this end, when she had finished what +she had to do in the kitchen, she helped Abdalla to carry up the dishes; +and looking at Cogia Houssain, knew him at first sight, notwithstanding +his disguise, to be the captain of the robbers, and examining him very +carefully, perceived that he had a dagger under his garment. "I am not +in the least amazed," said she to herself, "that this wicked man, who is +my master's greatest enemy, would eat no salt with him, since he intends +to assassinate him; but I will prevent him." + +Morgiana, while they were at supper, determined in her own mind to +execute one of the boldest acts ever meditated. When Abdalla came for +the dessert of fruit, and had put it with the wine and glasses before +Ali Baba, Morgiana retired, dressed herself neatly, with a suitable +head-dress like a dancer, girded her waist with a silver-gilt girdle, to +which there hung a poniard with a hilt and guard of the same metal, and +put a handsome mask on her face. When she had thus disguised herself, +she said to Abdalla, "Take your tabour, and let us go and divert our +master and his son's friend, as we do sometimes when he is alone." + +Abdalla took his tabour and played all the way into the hall before +Morgiana, who, when she came to the door, made a low obeisance by way of +asking leave to exhibit her skill, while Abdalla left off playing. "Come +in, Morgiana," said Ali Baba, "and let Cogia Houssain see what you can +do, that he may tell us what he thinks of your performance." + +Cogia Houssain, who did not expect this diversion after supper, began to +fear he should not be able to take advantage of the opportunity he +thought he had found; but hoped, if he now missed his aim, to secure it +another time, by keeping up a friendly correspondence with the father +and son; therefore, though he could have wished Ali Baba would have +declined the dance, he pretended to be obliged to him for it, and had +the complaisance to express his satisfaction at what he said, which +pleased his host. + +As soon as Abdalla saw that Ali Baba and Cogia Houssain had done +talking, he began to play on the tabour, and accompanied it with an air, +to which Morgiana, who was an excellent performer, danced in such a +manner as would have created admiration in any company. + +After she had danced several dances with much grace, she drew the +poniard, and holding it in her hand, began a dance, in which she outdid +herself by the many different figures, light movements, and the +surprising leaps and wonderful exertions with which she accompanied it. +Sometimes she presented the poniard to one breast, sometimes to another, +and oftentimes seemed to strike her own. At last, she snatched the +tabour from Abdalla with her left hand, and holding the dagger in her +right presented the other side of the tabour, after the manner of those +who get a livelihood by dancing, and solicit the liberality of the +spectators. + +Ali Baba put a piece of gold into the tabour, as did also his son; and +Cogia Houssain seeing that she was coming to him, had pulled his purse +out of his bosom to make her a present; but while he was putting his +hand into it, Morgiana, with a courage and resolution worthy of herself, +plunged the poniard into his heart. + +Ali Baba and his son, shocked at this action, cried out aloud. "Unhappy +woman!" exclaimed Ali Baba, "what have you done to ruin me and my +family?" "It was to preserve, not to ruin you," answered Morgiana; "for +see here," continued she, opening the pretended Cogia Houssain's +garment, and showing the dagger, "what an enemy you had entertained? +Look well at him, and you will find him to be both the fictitious oil +merchant, and the captain of the gang of forty robbers. Remember, too, +that he would eat no salt with you; and what would you have more to +persuade you of his wicked design? Before I saw him, I suspected him as +soon as you told me you had such a guest. I knew him, and you now find +that my suspicion was not groundless." + +Ali Baba, who immediately felt the new obligation he had to Morgiana for +saving his life a second time, embraced her: "Morgiana," said he, "I +gave you your liberty, and then promised you that my gratitude should +not stop there, but that I would soon give you higher proofs of its +sincerity, which I now do by making you my daughter-in-law." Then +addressing himself to his son, he said, "I believe you, son, to be so +dutiful a child, that you will not refuse Morgiana for your wife. You +see that Cogia Houssain sought your friendship with a treacherous design +to take away my life; and if he had succeeded, there is no doubt but he +would have sacrificed you also to his revenge. Consider, that by +marrying Morgiana you marry the preserver of my family and your own," + +The son, far from showing any dislike, readily consented to the +marriage; not only because he would not disobey his father, but also +because it was agreeable to his inclination. After this they thought of +burying the captain of the robbers with his comrades, and did it so +privately that nobody discovered their bones till many years after, when +no one had any concern in the publication of this remarkable history. A +few days afterward, Ali Baba celebrated the nuptials of his son and +Morgiana with great solemnity, a sumptuous feast, and the usual dancing +and spectacles; and had the satisfaction to see that his friends and +neighbours, whom he invited, had no knowledge of the true motives of the +marriage; but that those who were not unacquainted with Morgiana's good +qualities commended his generosity and goodness of heart Ali Baba did +not visit the robbers' cave for a whole year, as he supposed the other +two, whom he could get no account of, might be alive. + +At the year's end, when he found they had not made any attempt to +disturb him, he had the curiosity to make another journey. He mounted +his horse, and when he came to the cave he alighted, tied his horse to a +tree, then approaching the entrance, and pronouncing the words, "Open, +Sesame!" the door opened. He entered the cavern, and by the condition he +found things in, judged that nobody had been there since the captain had +fetched the goods for his shop. From this time he believed he was the +only person in the world who had the secret of opening the cave, and +that all the treasure was at his sole disposal. He put as much gold into +his saddle-bag as his horse would carry, and returned to town. Some +years later he carried his son to the cave and taught him the secret, +which he handed down to his posterity, who, using their good fortune +with moderation, lived in great honour and splendour. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +THE SECOND VOYAGE OF SINDBAD THE SAILOR + + +I designed, after my first voyage, to spend the rest of my days at +Bagdad, but it was not long ere I grew weary of an indolent life, and I +put to sea a second time, with merchants of known probity. We embarked +on board a good ship, and, after recommending ourselves to God, set +sail. We traded from island to island, and exchanged commodities with +great profit. One day we landed on an island covered with several sorts +of fruit trees, but we could see neither man nor animal. We walked in +the meadows, along the streams that watered them. While some diverted +themselves with gathering flowers, and others fruits, I took my wine and +provisions, and sat down near a stream betwixt two high trees, which +formed a thick shade. I made a good meal, and afterward fell asleep. I +cannot tell how long I slept, but when I awoke the ship was gone. + +In this sad condition, I was ready to die with grief. I cried out in +agony, beat my head and breast, and threw myself upon the ground, where +I lay some time in despair. I upbraided myself a hundred times for not +being content with the produce of my first voyage, that might have +sufficed me all my life. But all this was in vain, and my repentance +came too late. At last I resigned myself to the will of God. Not knowing +what to do, I climbed up to the top of a lofty tree, from whence I +looked about on all sides, to see if I could discover anything that +could give me hopes. When I gazed toward the sea I could see nothing but +sky and water; but looking over the land, I beheld something white; and +coming down, I took what provision I had left and went toward it, the +distance being so great, that I could not distinguish what it was. + +As I approached, I thought it to be a white dome, of a prodigious height +and extent; and when I came up to it, I touched it, and found it to be +very smooth. I went round to see if it was open on any side, but saw it +was not, and that there was no climbing up to the top, as it was so +smooth. It was at least fifty paces round. + +By this time the sun was about to set, and all of a sudden the sky +became as dark as if it had been covered with a thick cloud. I was much +astonished at this sudden darkness, but much more when I found it +occasioned by a bird of a monstrous size, that came flying toward me. I +remembered that I had often heard mariners speak of a miraculous bird +called the Roc, and conceived that the great dome which I so much +admired must be its egg. In short, the bird alighted, and sat over the +egg. As I perceived her coming, I crept close to the egg, so that I had +before me one of the legs of the bird, which was as big as the trunk of +a tree. I tied myself strongly to it with my turban, in hopes that the +roc next morning would carry me with her out of this desert island. +After having passed the night in this condition, the bird flew away as +soon as it was daylight, and carried me so high, that I could not +discern the earth; she afterward descended with so much rapidity that I +lost my senses. But when I found myself on the ground, I speedily untied +the knot, and had scarcely done so, when the roc, having taken up a +serpent of a monstrous length in her bill, flew away. + +The spot where it left me was encompassed on all sides by mountains, +that seemed to reach above the clouds, and so steep that there was no +possibility of getting out of the valley. This was a new perplexity; so +that when I compared this place with the desert island from which the +roc had brought me, I found that I had gained nothing by the change. + +As I walked through this valley, I perceived it was strewed with +diamonds, some of which were of surprising bigness. I took pleasure in +looking upon them; but shortly saw at a distance such objects as greatly +diminished my satisfaction, and which I could not view without terror, +namely, a great number of serpents, so monstrous that the least of them +was capable of swallowing an elephant. They retired in the day-time to +their dens, where they hid themselves from the roc, their enemy, and +came out only in the night. + +I spent the day in walking about in the valley, resting myself at times +in such places as I thought most convenient. When night came on I went +into I cave, where I thought I might repose in safety. I secured the +entrance, which was low and narrow, with a great stone, to preserve me +from the serpents; but not so far as to exclude the light. I supped on +part of my provisions, but the serpents, which began hissing round me, +put me into such extreme fear that I did not sleep. When day appeared +the serpents retired, and I came out of the cave trembling. I can justly +say that I walked upon diamonds without feeling any inclination to touch +them. At last I sat down, and notwithstanding my apprehensions, not +having closed my eyes during the night, fell asleep, after having eaten +a little more of my provisions. But I had scarcely shut my eyes when +something that fell by me with a great noise awaked me. This was a large +piece of raw meat; and at the same time I saw several others fall down +from the rocks in different places. + +I had always regarded as fabulous what I had heard sailors and others +relate of the valley of diamonds, and of the stratagems employed by +merchants to obtain jewels from thence; but now I found that they had +stated nothing but the truth. For the fact is, that the merchants come +to the neighbourhood of this valley, when the eagles have young ones, +and throwing great joints of meat into the valley, the diamonds, upon +whose points they fall, stick to them; the eagles, which are stronger in +this country than anywhere else, pounce with great force upon those +pieces of meat, and carry them to their nests on the precipices of the +rocks to feed their young: the merchants at this time run to their +nests, disturb and drive off the eagles by their shouts, and take away +the diamonds that stick to the meat. + +I perceived in this device the means of my deliverance. + +Having collected together the largest diamonds I could find, I put them +into the leather bag in which I used to carry my provisions, I took the +largest of the pieces of meat, tied it close round me with the cloth of +my turban, and then laid myself upon the ground, with my face downward, +the bag of diamonds being made fast to my girdle. + +I had scarcely placed myself in this posture when one of the eagles, +having taken me up with the piece of meat to which I was fastened, +carried me to his nest on the top of the mountain. The merchants +immediately began their shouting to frighten the eagles; and when they +had obliged them to quit their prey, one of them came to the nest where +I was. He was much alarmed when he saw me; but recovering himself, +instead of inquiring how I came thither, began to quarrel with me, and +asked why I stole his goods? "You will treat me," replied I, "with more +civility, when you know me better. Do not be uneasy; I have diamonds +enough for you and myself, more than all the other merchants together. +Whatever they have they owe to chance; but I selected for myself, in the +bottom of the valley, those which you see in this bag," I had scarcely +done speaking, when the other merchants came crowding about us, much +astonished to see me; but they were much more surprised when I told them +my story. + +They conducted me to their encampment; and there having opened my bag, +they were surprised at the largeness of my diamonds, and confessed that +they had never seen any of such size and perfection. I prayed the +merchant who owned the nest to which I had been carried (for every +merchant had his own) to take as many for his share as he pleased. He +contented himself with one, and that, too, the least of them; and when I +pressed him to take more, without fear of doing me any injury, "No," +said he, "I am very well satisfied with this, which is valuable enough +to save me the trouble of making any more voyages, and will raise as +great a fortune as I desire." + +I spent the night with the merchants, to whom I related my story a +second time, for the satisfaction of those who had not heard it, I could +not moderate my joy when I found myself delivered from the danger I have +mentioned. I thought myself in a dream, and could scarcely believe +myself out of danger. + +The merchants had thrown their pieces of meat into the valley for +several days; and each of them being satisfied with the diamonds that +had fallen to his lot, we left the place the next morning, and travelled +near high mountains, where there were serpents of a prodigious length, +which we had the good fortune to escape. We took shipping at the first +port we reached, and touched at the isle of Roha, where the trees grow +that yield camphire. This tree is so large, and its branches so thick, +that one hundred men may easily sit under its shade. The juice, of which +the camphire is made, exudes from a hole bored in the upper part of the +tree, and is received in a vessel, where it thickens to a consistency, +and becomes what we call camphire. After the juice is thus drawn out, +the tree withers and dies. + +In this island is also found the rhinoceros, an animal less than the +elephant, but larger than the buffalo. It has a horn upon its nose, +about a cubit in length; this horn is solid, and cleft through the +middle. The rhinoceros fights with the elephant, runs his horn into his +belly, and carries him off upon his head; but the blood and the fat of +the elephant running into his eyes and making him blind, he falls to the +ground; and then, strange to relate, the roc comes and carries them both +away in her claws, for food for her young ones. + +I pass over many other things peculiar to this island, lest I should +weary you. Here I exchanged some of my diamonds for merchandise. From +hence we went to other islands, and at last, having touched at several +trading towns of the continent, we landed at Bussorah, from whence I +proceeded to Bagdad. There I immediately gave large presents to the +poor, and lived honourably upon the vast riches I had brought, and +gained with so much fatigue. + +Thus Sindbad ended the relation of the second voyage, gave Hindbad +another hundred sequins, and invited him to come the next day to hear +the account of the third. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +THE WHITE CAT + + +There was once a king who had three sons, all remarkably handsome in +their persons, and in their tempers brave and noble. Some wicked +courtiers made the king believe that the princes were impatient to wear +the crown, and that they were contriving a plot to deprive him of his +sceptre and his kingdom. The king felt he was growing old; but as he +found himself as capable of governing as he had ever been, he had no +inclination to resign his power; and therefore, that he might pass the +rest of his days peaceably, he determined to employ the princes in such +a manner, as at once to give each of them the hope of succeeding to the +crown, and fill up the time they might otherwise spend in so undutiful a +manner. He sent for them to his cabinet, and after conversing with them +kindly, he added: "You must be sensible, my dear children, that my great +age prevents me from attending so closely as I have hitherto done to +state affairs. I fear this may be injurious to my subjects; I therefore +desire to place my crown on the head of one of you, but it is no more +than just, that in return for such a present, you should procure me some +amusement in my retirement, before I leave the Capital for ever. I +cannot help thinking, that a little dog, that is handsome, faithful, and +engaging, would be the very thing to make me happy; so that without +bestowing a preference on either of you, I declare that he who brings me +the most perfect little dog shall be my successor." The princes were +much surprised at the fancy of their father to have a little dog, yet +they accepted the proposition with pleasure: and accordingly, after +taking leave of the king, who presented them with abundance of money and +jewels, and appointed that day twelvemonth for their return, they set +off on their travels. + +Before taking leave of each other, however, they took some refreshment +together, in an old palace about three miles out of town where they +agreed to meet in the same place on that day twelvemonth, and go all +together with their presents to court. They also agreed to change their +names, that they might be unknown to every one in their travels. + +Each took a different road; but it is intended to relate the adventures +of only the youngest, who was the handsomest, most amiable, and +accomplished prince that had ever been seen. No day passed, as he +travelled from town to town, that he did not buy all the handsome dogs +that fell in his way; and as soon as he saw one that was handsomer than +those he had before, he made a present of the last; for twenty servants +would have been scarcely sufficient to take care of all the dogs he was +continually buying. + +At length, wandering he knew not whither, he found himself in a forest; +night suddenly came on, and with it a violent storm of thunder, +lightning, and rain. To add to his perplexity, he lost his path, and +could find no way out of the forest. After he had groped about for a +long time, he perceived a light, which made him suppose that he was not +far from some house: he accordingly pursued his way towards it, and in a +short time found himself at the gates of the most magnificent palace he +ever beheld. The door that opened into it was made of gold, covered with +sapphire stones, which cast so resplendent a brightness over everything +around, that scarcely could the strongest eyesight bear to look at it. +This was the light the prince had seen from the forest. The walls of the +building were of transparent porcelain, variously coloured, and +represented the history of all the fairies that had existed from the +beginning of the world. The prince coming back to the golden door, +observed a deer's foot fastened to a chain of diamonds; he could not +help wondering at the magnificence he beheld, and the security in which +the inhabitants seemed to live; "for," said he to himself, "nothing can +be easier than for thieves to steal this chain, and as many of the +sapphire stones as would make their fortunes." He pulled the chain, and +heard a bell the sound of which was exquisite. In a few moments the door +was opened; but he perceived nothing but twelve hands in the air, each +holding a torch. The prince was so astonished that he durst not move a +step; when he felt himself gently pushed on by some other hands from +behind him. He walked on, in great perplexity, till he entered a +vestibule inlaid with porphyry and lapis-stone. There the most melodious +voice he had ever heard chanted the following words: + + "Welcome, prince, no danger fear, + Mirth and love attend you here; + You shall break the magic spell, + That on a beauteous lady fell. + + "Welcome, prince, no danger fear, + Mirth and love attend you here," + +The prince now advanced with confidence, wondering what these words +could mean; the hands moved him forward towards a large door of coral, +which opened of itself to give him admittance into a splendid apartment +built of mother-of-pearl, through which he passed into others so richly +adorned with paintings and jewels, and so resplendently lighted with +thousands of lamps, girandoles and lustres, that the prince imagined he +must be in an enchanted palace. When he had passed through sixty +apartments, all equally splendid, he was stopped by the hands, and a +large easy-chair advanced of itself towards the chimney; and the hands, +which he observed were extremely white and delicate, took off his wet +clothes, and supplied their place with the finest linen imaginable, and +then added a commodious wrapping-gown, embroidered with the brightest +gold, and all over enriched with pearls. The hands next brought him an +elegant dressing-table, and combed his hair so very gently that he +scarcely felt their touch. They held before him a beautiful basin, +filled with perfumes, for him to wash his face and hands, and afterwards +took off the wrapping-gown and dressed him in a suit of clothes of still +greater splendour. When his dress was complete, they conducted him to an +apartment he had not yet seen, and which also was magnificently +furnished. There was in it a table spread for a repast, and everything +upon it was of the purest gold adorned with jewels. The prince observed +there were two covers set, and was wondering who was to be his +companion, when his attention was suddenly caught by a small figure not +a foot high, which just then entered the room, and advanced towards him. +It had on a long black veil, and was supported by two cats dressed in +mourning, and with swords by their sides: they were followed by a +numerous retinue of cats, some carrying cages full of rats and others +mousetraps full of mice. + +The prince was at a loss what to think. The little figure now +approached, and throwing aside her veil, he beheld a most beautiful +white cat. She seemed young and melancholy, and addressing herself to +the prince, she said, "Young prince, you are welcome; your presence +affords me the greatest pleasure." "Madam," replied the prince, "I would +fain thank you for your generosity, nor can I help observing that you +must be an extraordinary creature to possess with your present form the +gift of speech and the magnificent palace I have seen." "All this is +very true," answered the beautiful cat, "but, prince, I am not fond of +talking, and least of all do I like compliments; let us therefore sit +down to supper." The trunkless hands then placed the dishes on the +table, and the prince and white cat seated themselves. The first dish +was a pie made of young pigeons, and the next was a fricassee of the +fattest mice. The view of the one made the prince almost afraid to taste +the other till the white cat, who guessed his thoughts, assured him that +there were certain dishes at table in which there was not a morsel of +either rat or mouse, which had been dressed on purpose for him. +Accordingly he ate heartily of such as she recommended. When supper was +over, the prince perceived that the white cat had a portrait set in gold +hanging to one of her feet. He begged her permission to look at it; +when, to his astonishment, he saw the portrait of a handsome young man, +that exactly resembled himself! He thought there was something very +extraordinary in all this: yet, as the white cat sighed and looked very +sorrowful, he did not venture to ask any questions. He conversed with +her on different subjects, and found her extremely well versed in every +thing that was passing in the world. When night was far advanced, the +white cat wished him a good night, and he was conducted by the hands to +his bedchamber, which was different still from any thing he had seen in +the palace, being hung with the wings of butterflies, mixed with the +most curious feathers. His bed was of gauze, festooned with bunches of +the gayest ribands, and the looking-glasses reached from the floor to +the ceiling. The prince was undressed and put into bed by the hands, +without speaking a word. He however slept little, and in the morning was +awaked by a confused noise. The hands took him out of bed, and put on +him a handsome hunting-jacket. He looked into the court-yard, and +perceived more than five hundred cats, busily employed in preparing for +the field, for this was a day of festival. Presently the white cat came +to his apartment; and having politely inquired after his health, she +invited him to partake of their amusement. The prince willingly +accepted, mounted a wooden horse, richly caparisoned, which had been +prepared for him, and which he was assured would gallop to admiration. +The beautiful white cat mounted a monkey, dressed in a dragoon's bonnet, +which made her look so fierce that all the rats and mice ran away in the +utmost terror. + +Every thing being ready, the horns sounded, and away they went; no +hunting was ever more agreeable; the cats ran faster than the hares and +rabbits; and when they caught any they were hunted in the presence of +the white cat, and a thousand cunning tricks were played. Nor were the +birds in safety; for the monkey made nothing of climbing up the trees, +with the white cat on his back, to the nest of the young eagles. When +the hunting was over, the whole retinue returned to the palace; and the +white cat immediately exchanged her dragoon's cap for the veil, and sat +down to supper with the prince, who, being very hungry, ate heartily, +and afterwards partook with her of the most delicious liqueurs, which +being often repeated made him forget that he was to procure a little dog +for the old king. He thought no longer of any thing but of pleasing the +sweet little creature who received him so courteously; accordingly every +day was spent in new amusements. The prince had almost forgotten his +country and relations, and sometimes even regretted that he was not a +cat, so great was his affection for his mewing companions. "Alas!" said +he to the white cat, "how will it afflict me to leave you whom I love so +much! Either make yourself a lady, or make me a cat." She smiled at the +prince's wish, but made him scarcely any reply. At length the +twelvemonth was nearly expired; the white cat, who knew the very day +when the prince was to reach his father's palace, reminded him that he +had but three days longer to look for a perfect little dog. The prince, +astonished at his own forgetfulness, began to afflict himself; when the +cat told him not to be so sorrowful, since she would not only provide +him with a little dog, but also with a wooden horse which should convey +him safely in less than twelve hours. "Look here," said she, showing him +an acorn, "this contains what you desire." The prince put the acorn to +his ear, and heard the barking of a little dog. Transported with joy, he +thanked the cat a thousand times, and the next day, bidding her tenderly +adieu, he set out on his return. + +The prince arrived first at the place of rendezvous, and was soon joined +by his brothers; they mutually embraced, and began to give an account of +their success; when the youngest showed them only a little mongrel cur, +telling them he thought it could not fail to please the king from its +extraordinary beauty, the brothers trod on each other's toes under the +table; as much as to say, we have not much to fear from this sorry +looking animal. The next day they went together to the palace. The dogs +of the two elder princes were lying on cushions, and so curiously +wrapped around with embroidered quilts, that one would scarcely venture +to touch them. The youngest produced his cur, dirty all over, and all +wondered how the prince could hope to receive a crown for such a +present. The king examined the two little dogs of the elder princes, and +declared he thought them so equally beautiful that he knew not to which, +with justice, he could give the preference. They accordingly began to +dispute; when the youngest prince, taking his acorn from his pocket, +soon ended their contention; for a little dog appeared which could with +ease go through the smallest ring, and was besides a miracle of beauty. +The king could not possibly hesitate in declaring his satisfaction; yet, +as he was not more inclined than the year before to part with his crown, +he could think of nothing more to his purpose than telling his sons that +he was extremely obliged to them for the pains they had taken; and that +since they had succeeded so well, he could not but wish they would make +a second attempt; he therefore begged they would take another year for +procuring him a piece of cambric, so fine as to be drawn through the eye +of a small needle. + +The three princes thought this very hard; yet they set out in obedience +to the king's command. The two eldest took different roads, and the +youngest remounted his wooden horse, and in a short time arrived at the +palace of his beloved white cat, who received him with the greatest joy, +while the trunkless hands helped him to dismount, and provided him with +immediate refreshments; after which the prince gave the white cat an +account of the admiration which had been bestowed on the beautiful +little dog, and informed her of his father's farther injunction. "Make +yourself perfectly easy, dear prince," said she, "I have in my palace +some cats that are perfectly clever in making such cambric as the king +requires; so you have nothing to do but to give me the pleasure of your +company while it is making; and I will procure you all the amusement +possible." She accordingly ordered the most curious fireworks to be +played off in sight of the window of the apartment in which they were +sitting; and nothing but festivity and rejoicing was heard throughout +the palace for the prince's return. As the white cat continually gave +proofs of an excellent understanding, the prince was by no means tired +of her company; she talked with him of state affairs, of theatres, of +fashions; in short, she was at a loss on no subject whatever; so that +when the prince was alone, he had plenty of amusement in thinking how it +could possibly be that a small white cat could be endowed with all the +powers of human creatures. + +The twelvemonth in this manner again passed insensibly away; but the cat +took care to remind the prince of his duty in proper time. "For once, my +prince," said she, "I will have the pleasure of equipping you as suits +your high rank;" when looking into the court-yard, he saw a superb car, +ornamented all over with gold, silver, pearls and diamonds, drawn by +twelve horses as white as snow, and harnessed in the most sumptuous +trappings; and behind the car a thousand guards richly apparelled were +in waiting to attend on the prince's person. She then presented him with +a nut: "You will find in it," said she, "the piece of cambric I promised +you. Do not break the shell till you are in the presence of the king +your father." Then, to prevent the acknowledgments which the prince was +about to offer, she hastily bade him adieu. Nothing could exceed the +speed with which the snow-white horses conveyed this fortunate prince to +his father's palace, where his brothers had just arrived before him. +They embraced each other, and demanded an immediate audience of the +king, who received them with the greatest kindness. The princes hastened +to place at the feet of his majesty the curious present he had required +them to procure. The eldest produced a piece of cambric that was so +extremely fine, that his friends had no doubt of its passing the eye of +the needle, which was now delivered to the king, having been kept locked +up in the custody of his majesty's treasurer all the time, Every one +supposed he would certainly obtain the crown. But when the king tried to +draw it through the eye of the needle, it would not pass, though it +failed but very little. Then came the second prince, who made as sure of +obtaining the crown as his brother had done; but, alas! with no better +success: for though his piece of cambric was exquisitely fine, yet it +could not be drawn through the eye of the needle. It was now the +youngest prince's turn, who accordingly advanced, and opening an elegant +little box inlaid with jewels, he took out a walnut, and cracked the +shell, imagining he should immediately perceive his piece of cambric; +but what was his astonishment to see nothing but a filbert! He did not +however lose his hopes; he cracked the filbert, and it presented him +with a cherry-stone. The lords of the court, who had assembled to +witness this extraordinary trial, could not, any more than the princes +his brothers, refrain from laughing, to think he should be so silly as +to claim with them the crown on no better pretensions. The prince +however cracked the cherry-stone, which was filled with a kernel: he +divided it, and found in the middle a grain of wheat, and in that grain +a millet seed. He was now absolutely confounded, and could not help +muttering between his teeth: "O white cat, white cat, thou hast deceived +me!" At this instant he felt his hand scratched by the claw of a cat: +upon which he again took courage, and opening the grain of millet seed, +to the astonishment of all present, he drew forth a piece of cambric +four hundred yards long, and fine enough to be drawn with perfect ease +through the eye of the needle. When the king found he had no pretext +left for refusing the crown to his youngest son, he sighed deeply, and +it was easy to be seen that he was sorry for the prince's success. "My +sons," said he, "it is so gratifying to the heart of a father to receive +proofs of his children's love and obedience, that I cannot refuse myself +the satisfaction of requiring of you one thing more. You must undertake +another expedition; and whichever, by the end of a year, brings me the +most beautiful lady, shall marry her, and obtain my crown." + +So they again took leave of the king and of each other, and set out +without delay, and in less than twelve hours our young prince arrived in +his splendid car at the palace of his dear white cat. Every thing went +on as before, till the end of another year. At length only one day +remained of the year, when the white cat thus addressed him: "To-morrow, +my prince, you must present yourself at the palace of your father, and +give him a proof of your obedience. It depends only on yourself to +conduct thither the most beautiful princess ever yet beheld, for the +time is come when the enchantment by which I am bound may be ended. You +must cut off my head and tail," continued she, "and throw them into the +fire." "I!" said the prince hastily, "I cut off your head and tail! You +surely mean to try my affection, which, believe me, beautiful cat, is +truly yours." "You mistake me, generous prince," said she, "I do not +doubt your regard; but if you wish to see me in any other form than that +of a cat, you must consent to do as I desire. Then you will have done me +a service I shall never be able sufficiently to repay." The prince's +eyes filled with tears as she spoke, yet he considered himself obliged +to undertake the dreadful task, and the cat continuing to press him with +greater eagerness, with a trembling hand he drew his sword, cut off her +head and tail, and threw them into the fire. No sooner was this done, +than the most beautiful lady his eyes had ever seen stood before him: +and before he had sufficiently recovered from his surprise to speak to +her, a long train of attendants, who, at the same moment as their +mistress, were changed to their natural shapes, came to offer their +congratulations to the queen, and inquire her commands. She received +them with the greatest kindness; and ordering them to withdraw, she thus +addressed the astonished prince. "Do not imagine, dear prince, that I +have always been a cat, or that I am of obscure birth. My father was the +monarch of six kingdoms; he tenderly loved my mother, leaving her always +at liberty to follow her own inclinations. Her prevailing passion was to +travel; and a short time before my birth, having heard of some fairies +who were in possession of the largest gardens filled with the most +delicious fruits, she had so strong a desire to eat some of them, that +she set out for the country in which they lived. She arrived at their +abode which she found to be a magnificent palace, on all sides +glittering with gold and precious stones. She knocked a long time at the +gates; but no one came, nor could she perceive the least sign that it +had any inhabitant. The difficulty, however, did but increase the +violence of my mother's longing; for she saw the tops of the trees above +the garden walls loaded with the most luscious fruits. The queen, in +despair, ordered her attendants to place tents close to the door of the +palace; but having waited six weeks, without seeing any one pass the +gates, she fell sick of vexation, and her life was despaired of. + +"One night, as she lay half asleep, she turned herself about, and +opening her eyes, perceived a little old woman, very ugly and deformed, +seated in the easy chair by her bedside. 'I, and my sister fairies,' +said she, 'take it very ill that your majesty should so obstinately +persist in getting some of our fruit; but since so precious a life is at +stake, we consent to give you as much as you can carry away, provided +you will give us in return what we shall ask.' 'Ah! kind fairy,' cried +the queen, 'I will give you anything I possess, even my very kingdoms, +on condition that I eat of your fruit.' The old fairy then informed the +queen that what they required was, that she would give them the child +she was going to have, as soon as she should be born; adding, that every +possible care should be taken of her, and that she should become the +most accomplished princess. The queen replied, that however cruel the +condition, she must accept it, since nothing but the fruit could save +her life. In short, dear prince," continued the lady, "my mother +instantly got out of bed, was dressed by her attendants, entered the +palace, and satisfied her longing. When the queen had eaten her fill, +she ordered four thousand mules to be procured, and loaded with the +fruit, which had the virtue of continuing all the year round in a state +of perfection. Thus provided, she returned to the king, my father, who +with the whole court, received her with rejoicings, as it was before +imagined she would die of disappointment. All this time the queen said +nothing to my father of the promise she had made, to give her daughter +to the fairies; so that, when the time was come that she expected my +birth, she grew very melancholy; till at length, being pressed by the +king, she declared to him the truth. Nothing could exceed his +affliction, when he heard that his only child, when born, was to be +given to the fairies. He bore it, however, as well as he could, for fear +of adding to my mother's grief; and also believing he should find some +means of keeping me in a place of safety, which the fairies would not be +able to approach. As soon therefore as I was born, he had me conveyed to +a tower in the palace, to which there were twenty flights of stairs, and +a door to each, of which my father kept the key, so that none came near +me without his consent. When the fairies heard of what had been done, +they sent first to demand me; and on my father's refusal, they let loose +a monstrous dragon, who devoured men, women and children, and the breath +of whose nostrils destroyed every thing it came near, so that the trees +and plants began to die in great abundance. The grief of the king, at +seeing this, could scarcely be equalled; and finding that his whole +kingdom would in a short time be reduced to famine, he consented to give +me into their hands. I was accordingly laid in a cradle of +mother-of-pearl, ornamented with gold and jewels, and carried to their +palace, when the dragon immediately disappeared. The fairies placed me +in a tower of their palace, elegantly furnished, but to which there was +no door, so that whoever approached was obliged to come by the windows, +which were a great height from the ground: from these I had the liberty +of getting out into a delightful garden, in which were baths, and every +sort of cooling fruit. In this place was I educated by the fairies, who +behaved to me with the greatest kindness; my clothes were splendid, and +I was instructed in every kind of accomplishment. In short, prince, if I +had never seen any one but themselves, I should have remained very +happy. One of the windows of my tower overlooked a long avenue shaded +with trees, so that I had never seen in it a human creature. One day, +however, as I was talking at this window with my parrot, I perceived a +young gentleman who was listening to our conversation. As I had never +seen a man, but in pictures, I was not sorry for the opportunity of +gratifying my curiosity. I thought him a very pleasing object, and he at +length bowed in the most respectful manner, without daring to speak, for +he knew that I was in the palace of the fairies. When it began to grow +dark he went away, and I vainly endeavoured to see which road he took. +The next morning, as soon as it was light, I again placed myself at the +window, and had the pleasure of seeing that the gentleman had returned +to the same place. He now spoke to me through a speaking-trumpet, and +informed me he thought me a most charming lady, and that he should be +very unhappy if he did not pass his life in my company. + +"I resolved to find some means of escaping from my tower with the +engaging prince I had seen. I was not long in devising a means for the +execution of my project. I begged the fairies to bring me a +netting-needle, a mesh and some cord, saying I wished to make some nets +to amuse myself with catching birds at my window. This they readily +complied with, and in a short time I completed a ladder long enough to +reach the ground. I now sent my parrot to the prince, to beg he would +come to his usual place, as I wished to speak with him. He did not fail, +and finding the ladder, mounted it, and quickly entered my tower. This +at first alarmed me; but the charms of his conversation had restored me +to tranquillity, when all at once the window opened, and the fairy +Violent, mounted on the dragon's back, rushed into the tower. My beloved +prince thought of nothing but how to defend me from their fury; for I +had had time to relate to him my story, previous to this cruel +interruption; but their numbers overpowered him, and the fairy Violent +had the barbarity to command the dragon to devour my prince before my +eyes. In my despair, I would have thrown myself also into the mouth of +the horrible monster, but this they took care to prevent, saying my life +should be preserved for greater punishment. The fairy then touched me +with her wand, and I instantly became a white cat. She next conducted me +to this palace, which belonged to my father, and gave me a train of cats +for my attendants, together with the twelve hands which waited on your +highness. She then informed me of my birth, and the death of my parents, +and pronounced upon me what she imagined the greatest of maledictions: +That I should not be restored to my natural figure till a young prince, +the perfect resemblance of him I had lost, should cut off my head and +tail. You are that perfect resemblance; and, accordingly, you have ended +the enchantment. I need not add, that I already love you more than my +life. Let us therefore hasten to the palace of the king your father, and +obtain his approbation to our marriage." + +The prince and princess accordingly set out side by side, in a car of +still greater splendour than before, and reached the palace just as the +two brothers had arrived with two beautiful princesses. The king, +hearing that each of his sons had succeeded in finding what he had +required, again began to think of some new expedient to delay the time +of his resigning his crown; but when the whole court were with the king +assembled to pass judgment, the princess who accompanied the youngest, +perceiving his thoughts by his countenance, stepped majestically +forward, and thus addressed him: "What pity that your majesty, who is so +capable of governing, should think of resigning the crown! I am +fortunate enough to have six kingdoms in my possession; permit me to +bestow one on each of the eldest princes, and to enjoy the remaining +four in the society of the youngest. And may it please your majesty to +keep your own kingdom, and make no decision concerning the beauty of +three princesses, who, without such a proof of your majesty's +preference, will no doubt live happily together!" The air resounded with +the applauses of the assembly. The young prince and princess embraced +the king, and next their brothers and sisters; the three weddings +immediately took place; and the kingdoms were divided as the princess +had proposed. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +THE GOLDEN GOOSE + + +There was a man who had three sons, the youngest of whom was considered +very silly, and everybody used to mock him and make fun of him. The +eldest son wanted to go and cut wood in the forest, and before he left +home his mother prepared beautiful pancakes and a bottle of wine for him +to take with him, so that he might not suffer from hunger or thirst. + +As he entered the forest he met a gray old man, who bade him +"Good-morning," and said: "Give me a little piece of cake out of your +basket and a drop of wine out of your bottle, for I am very hungry and +thirsty." + +But the clever son replied: "What, give you my cake and my wine! Why, if +I did, I should have none for myself. Not I, indeed, so take yourself +off!" and he left the man standing and went on. + +The young man began cutting down a tree, but it was not long before he +made a false stroke: the axe slipped and cut his arm so badly that he +was obliged to go home and have it bound up. Now, this false stroke was +caused by the little gray old man. + +Next day the second son went into the forest to cut wood, and his mother +gave him a cake and a bottle of wine. As he entered the wood the same +little old man met him, and begged for a piece of cake and a drop of +wine. But the second son answered rudely: "What I might give to you I +shall want myself, so be off." + +Then he left the little old man standing in the road, and walked on. His +punishment soon came; he had scarcely given two strokes on a tree with +his axe, when he hit his leg such a terrible blow that he was obliged to +limp home in great pain. + +Then the stupid son said to his father, "Let me go for once and cut wood +in the forest." + +But his father said: "No, your brothers have been hurt already, and it +would be worse for you, who don't understand wood-cutting." + +The boy, however, begged so hard to be allowed to go that his father +said: "There, get along with you; you will buy your experience very +dearly, I expect." + +His mother, however, gave him a cake which had been made with water and +baked in the ashes, and a bottle of sour beer. + +When he reached the wood the very same little old man met him, and after +greeting him kindly, said: "Give me a little of your cake and a drop +from your bottle, for I am very hungry and thirsty." + +"Oh," replied the simple youth, "I have only a cake, which has been +baked in the ashes, and some sour beer; but you are welcome to a share +of it. Let us sit down, and eat and drink together." + +So they seated themselves, and, lo and behold, when the youth opened his +basket, the cake had been turned into a beautiful cake, and the sour +beer into wine. After they had eaten and drank enough, the little old +man said: "Because you have been kind-hearted, and shared your dinner +with me, I will make you in future lucky in all you undertake. There +stands an old tree; cut it down, and you will find something good at the +root." + +Then the old man said "Farewell," and left him. + +The youth set to work, and very soon succeeded in felling the tree, when +he found sitting at the roots a goose, whose feathers were of pure gold. +He took it up, and, instead of going home, carried it with him to an inn +at a little distance, where he intended to pass the night. + +The landlord had three daughters, who looked at the goose with envious +eyes. They had never seen such a wonderful bird, and longed to have at +least one of its feathers. "Ah," thought the eldest, "I shall soon have +an opportunity to pluck one of them;" and so it happened, for not long +after the young man left the room. She instantly went up to the bird and +took hold of its wing, but as she did so, the finger and thumb remained +and stuck fast. In a short time after the second sister came in with the +full expectation of gaining a golden feather, but as she touched her +sister to move her from the bird, her hand stuck fast to her sister's +dress, and neither of them could free herself. At last, in came the +third sister with the same intention. "Keep away, keep away!" screamed +the other two; "in heaven's name keep away!" + +But she could not imagine why she should keep away. If they were near +the golden bird, why should not she be there? So she made a spring +forward and touched her second sister, and immediately she also was made +a prisoner, and in this position they were obliged to remain by the +goose all night. + +In the morning the young man came in, took the goose on his arm, and +went away without troubling himself about the three girls, who were +following close behind him. And as he walked quickly, they were obliged +to run one behind the other, left or right of him, just as he was +inclined to go. + +In the middle of a field they were met by the parson of the parish, who +looked with wonder at the procession as it came near him. "Shame on +you!" he cried out. "What are you about, you bold-faced hussies, running +after a young man in that way through the fields? Go home, all of you." + +He placed his hand on the youngest to pull her back, but the moment he +touched her he also became fixed, and was obliged to follow and run like +the rest. In a few minutes the clerk met them, and when he saw the +parson runing after the girls, he wondered greatly, and cried out, +"Halloa, master parson, where are you running in such haste? Have you +forgotten that there is a christening to-day?" And as the procession did +not stop, he ran after it, and seized the parson's gown. + +In a moment he found that his hand was fixed, and he also had to run +like the rest. And now there were five trotting along, one behind the +other. Presently two peasants came by with their sickles from the field. +The parson called out to them, and begged them to come and release him +and the clerk. Hardly had they touched the clerk when they also stuck +fast as the others, and the simpleton with his golden goose travelled +with the seven. + +After awhile they came to a city in which reigned a king who had a +daughter of such a melancholy disposition that no one could make her +laugh; therefore he issued a decree that whoever would make the princess +laugh should have her in marriage. + +Now, when the simple youth heard this, he ran before her, and the whole +seven trotted after him. The sight was so ridiculous that the moment the +princess saw it she burst into a violent fit of laughter and they +thought she would never leave off. + +After this, the youth went to the king, and demanded his daughter in +marriage, according to the king's decree; but his majesty did not quite +like to have the young man for a son-in-law, so he said that, before he +could consent to the marriage, the youth must bring him a man who could +drink all the wine in the king's cellar. + +The simpleton went into the forest, for he thought, "If anyone can help +me, it is the little gray man." When he arrived at the spot where he had +cut down the tree, there stood a man with a very miserable face. + +The youth asked him why he looked so sorrowful. + +"Oh," he exclaimed, "I suffer such dreadful thirst that nothing seems +able to quench it; and cold water I cannot endure. I have emptied a cask +of wine already, but it was just like a drop of water on a hot stone." + +"I can help you," cried the young man; "come with me, and you shall have +your fill, I promise you." + +Upon this he led the man into the king's cellar, where he opened the +casks one after another, and drank and drank till his back ached; and +before the day closed he had quite emptied the king's cellar. + +Again the young man asked for his bride, but the king was annoyed at the +thought of giving his daughter to such a common fellow, and to get rid +of him he made another condition. He said that no man should have his +daughter who could not find someone able to eat up a whole mountain of +bread. + +Away went the simpleton to the forest as before, and there in the same +place sat a man binding himself round tightly with a belt, and making +the most horrible faces. As the youth approached, he cried, "I have +eaten a whole ovenful of rolls, but it has not satisfied me a bit; I am +as hungry as ever, and my stomach feels so empty that I am obliged to +bind it round tightly, or I should die of hunger." + +The simpleton could hardly contain himself for joy when he heard this. +"Get up," he exclaimed, "and come with me, and I will give you plenty to +eat, I'll warrant." + +So he led him to the king's court, where his majesty had ordered all the +flour in the kingdom to be made into bread, and piled up in a huge +mountain. The hungry man placed himself before the bread, and began to +eat, and before evening the whole pile had disappeared. + +Then the simpleton went a third time to the king, and asked for his +bride, but the king made several excuses, and at last said that if he +could bring him a ship that would travel as well by land as by water, +then he should, without any further conditions, marry his daughter. + +The youth went at once straight to the forest, and saw the same old gray +man to whom he had given his cake. "Ah," he said, as the youth +approached, "it was I who sent the men to eat and drink, and I will also +give you a ship that can travel by land or by sea, because when you +thought I was poor you were kind-hearted, and gave me food and drink." + +The youth took the ship, and when the king saw it he was quite +surprised; but he could not any longer refuse to give him his daughter +in marriage. The wedding was celebrated with great pomp, and after the +king's death the simple wood-cutter inherited the whole kingdom, and +lived happily with his wife. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +THE TWELVE BROTHERS + + +There were once a king and queen who had twelve children--all boys. Now, +one day the king told his wife that if a daughter should be born, all +the sons must die--that their sister alone might inherit his kingdom and +riches. + +So the king had twelve coffins made, which were filled with shavings, +and in each was the little pillow for the dead. He had them locked up in +a private room, the key of which he gave to the queen, praying her not +to speak of it to anyone. But the poor mother was so unhappy that she +wept for a whole day, and looked so sad that her youngest son noticed +it. + +He had the Bible name of Benjamin, and was always with his mother. + +"Dear mother," he said, "why are you so sorrowful?" + +"My child, I may not tell you," she replied; but the boy allowed her no +rest till she unlocked the door of the private room, and showed him the +twelve coffins filled with shavings. + +"Dearest Benjamin," she said, "these coffins are for you and your +brothers; for if you should ever have a little sister, you will all die, +and be buried in them." + +She wept bitterly as she told him, but her son comforted her, and said, +"Do not weep, dear mother. We will take care of ourselves, and go far +away." + +Then she took courage, and said, "Yes, go away with your eleven +brothers, and remain in the forest; and let one climb a tree, from +whence he will be able to see the tower of the castle; If I should have +a son, a white flag shall be hoisted, and then you may return home; but +if you see a red flag, you will know it is a girl, and then hasten away +as fast as you can, and may Heaven protect you! Every night I will pray +for you, that you may not suffer from the cold in winter or the heat in +summer." + +Then she blessed all her sons, and they went away into the forest, while +each in turn mounted a high tree daily, to watch for the flag on the +tower. + +Eleven days passed, and it was Benjamin's turn to watch. He saw the flag +hoisted, and it was red--the signal that they must die. The brothers +were angry, and said, "Shall we suffer death on account of a maiden? +When we find one we will kill her, to avenge ourselves." + +They went still farther into the forest, and came upon a most pleasant +little cottage, which was uninhabited. "We will make this our home," +they said; "and Benjamin, as you are the youngest and weakest, you shall +stay at home and keep house, while we go out and procure food." + +So they wandered about the forest, shooting hares, wild rabbits, pigeons +and other birds, which they brought to Benjamin to prepare for food. In +this cottage they lived for ten years happily together, so that the time +passed quickly. + +Their little sister was growing a great girl. She had a sweet +disposition, and was very beautiful to look upon. She wore rich clothes, +and a golden star on her forehead. + +One day, when she was about ten years old, she discovered in her +mother's wardrobe twelve shirts. "Mother," she exclaimed, "whose shirts +are these? They are much too small for my father." + +The queen sighed as she replied, "Dear child, these shirts belong to +your twelve brothers." + +"Twelve brothers!" cried the little maiden. "Where are they? I have not +even heard of them." + +"Heaven knows where they are," was the reply; "but they are wandering +about the world somewhere." Then the queen took her little daughter to +the private room in the castle, and showed her the twelve coffins which +had been prepared for her brothers, and related to her, with many tears, +why they had left home. + +"Dear mother," said the child, "do not weep. I will go and seek my +brothers." So she took the twelve shirts with her, and wandered away +into the forest. + +She walked for a whole day, and in the evening came to a cottage, +stepped in, and found a young boy, who stared with astonishment at +seeing a beautiful little girl dressed in rich clothing and wearing a +golden star on her forehead. + +At last he said, "Who are you, and what do you want?" + +"I am a king's daughter," she said, "and I seek my twelve brothers, and +I intend to search for them till I find them;" and she showed him their +shirts. + +Then Benjamin knew that she was his sister, and said, "I am your +youngest brother, Benjamin." Then she wept for joy. They kissed each +other with deep affection, and were for a time very happy. + +At last Benjamin said, "Dear sister, we have made a vow that the first +young maiden we meet should die, because through a maiden we have lost +our kingly rights." + +"I would willingly die," she said, "if by so doing I could restore my +brothers to their rightful possessions." + +"No, you shall not die," he replied. "Hide yourself behind this tub +until our eleven brothers come home; then I will make an agreement with +them." + +At night the brothers returned from hunting, and the supper was ready. +While they sat at table, one of them said, "Well, Benjamin, have you any +news?" + +"Perhaps I have," he said, "although it seems strange that I, who stay +at home, should know more than you, who have been out." + +"Well, tell us your news," said one. So he said: + +"I will tell you if you will make one promise." + +"Yes, yes!" they all cried. "What is it?" + +"Well, then, promise me that the first maiden you meet with in the +forest shall _not_ die." + +"Yes, yes!" said they all; "she shall have mercy, but tell us." + +"Then," said the youngest brother, "our sister is here;" and, rising, he +lifted the tub, and the king's daughter came forth in her royal robes +and with a golden star on her forehead, and looking so fair and delicate +and beautiful that the brothers were full of joy, and kissed and +embraced her with the fondest affection. + +She stayed with Benjamin, and helped him in keeping the house clean and +cooking the game which the others brought home. Everything was so nicely +managed now and with so much order, the curtains and the quilts were +beautifully white, and the dinners cooked so well that the brothers were +always contented, and lived in great unity with their little sister. + +There was a pretty garden around the house in which they lived, and one +day, when they were all at home dining together, and enjoying +themselves, the maiden went out into the garden to gather them some +flowers. + +She had tended twelve lilies with great care, and they were now in such +splendid bloom that she determined to pluck them for her brothers, to +please them. + +But the moment she gathered the lilies, her twelve brothers were changed +into twelve ravens, and flew away over the trees of the forest, while +the charming house and garden vanished from her sight. Now was the poor +little maiden left all alone in the wild wood, and knew not what to do; +but on turning round she saw a curious old woman standing near, who said +to her, "My child, what hast thou done? Why didst thou not leave those +white flowers to grow on their stems? They were thy twelve brothers, and +now they will always remain ravens." + +"Is there no way to set them free?" asked the maiden, weeping. + +"No way in the world," she replied, "but one, and that is far too +difficult for thee to perform; yet it would break the spell and set them +free. Hast thou firmness enough to remain dumb seven years, and not +speak to anyone, or even laugh? for if ever you utter a single word, or +fail only once in the seven years, all you have done before will be +vain, and at this one word your brothers will die." + +"Yes," said the maiden, "I can do this to set my brothers free." + +Then the maiden climbed into a tree, and, seating herself in the +branches, began to knit. + +She remained here, living on the fruit that grew on the tree, and +without laughing or uttering a word. + +As she sat in her tree, the king, who was hunting, had a favourite +hound, who very soon discovered her, ran to the tree on which the maiden +sat, sprang up to it, and barked at her violently. + +The king came nearer, and saw the beautiful king's daughter with the +golden star on her forehead. He was so struck with her beauty that he +begged her to come down, and asked her to be his bride. She did not +speak a word, but merely nodded her head. Then the king himself climbed +up into the tree, and bringing her down, seated her on his own horse and +galloped away with her to his home. + +The marriage was soon after celebrated with great pomp, but the bride +neither spoke nor laughed. + +When they had lived happily together for some years, the king's mother, +a wicked woman, began to raise evil reports about the queen, and said to +the king, "It is some beggar girl you have picked up. Who can tell what +wicked tricks she practises. She can't help being dumb, but why does she +never laugh? unless she has a guilty conscience." The king at first +would listen to none of these suspicions, but she urged him so long, and +accused the queen of such wicked conduct, that at last he condemned her +to be burnt to death. + +Now in the court-yard a great fire was kindled, and the king stood +weeping at a window overlooking the court of the palace, for he still +loved her dearly. He saw her brought forth and tied to the stake; the +fire kindled, and the flames with their forked tongues were creeping +towards her, when at the last moment the seven years were past, and +suddenly a rustling noise of wings was heard in the air; twelve black +ravens alighted on the earth and instantly assumed their own forms--they +were the brothers of the queen. + +They tore down the pile and extinguished the fire, set their sister +free, and embraced her tenderly. The queen, who was now able to speak, +told the king why she had been dumb and had never laughed. + +The delight of the king was only equalled by his anger against the +wicked witch, who was brought to justice and ordered to be thrown into a +vat of oil full of poisonous snakes, where she died a dreadful death. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +THE FAIR ONE WITH THE GOLDEN LOCKS + + +There was once a most beautiful and amiable princess who was called "The +Fair One with Locks of Gold," for her hair shone brighter than gold, and +flowed in curls down to her feet, her head was always encircled by a +wreath of beautiful flowers, and pearls and diamonds. + +A handsome, rich, young prince, whose territories joined to hers, was +deeply in love with the reports he heard of her, and sent to demand her +in marriage. The ambassador sent with proposals was most sumptuously +attired, and surrounded by lackeys on beautiful horses, as well as +charged with every kind of compliment, from the anxious prince, who +hoped he would bring the princess back with him; but whether it was that +she was not that day in a good humour, or that she did not like the +speeches made by the ambassador, I don't know, but she returned thanks +to his master for the honour he intended her, and said she had no +inclination to marry. When the ambassador arrived at the king's chief +city, where he was expected with great impatience, the people were +extremely afflicted to see him return without the Fair One with the +Locks of Gold; and the king wept like a child. There was a youth at +court whose beauty outshone the sun, the gracefulness of whose person +was not to be equalled, and for his gracefulness and wit, he was called +Avenant: the king loved him, and indeed every body except the envious. +Avenant being one day in company with some persons, inconsiderately +said, "If the king had sent me to the Fair One with Locks of Gold, I +dare say I could have prevailed on her to return with me." These enviers +of Avenant's prosperity immediately ran open mouthed to the king, +saying, "Sir sir, what does your majesty think Avenant says? He boasts +that if you had sent him to the Fair One with the Golden Hair, he could +have brought her with him; which shows he is so vain as to think himself +handsomer than your majesty and that her love for him would have made +her follow him wherever he went." This put the king into a violent rage. +"What!" said he, "does this youngster make a jest at my misfortune, and +pretend to set himself above me? Go and put him immediately in my great +tower, and there let him starve to death." The king's guards went and +seized Avenant who thought no more of what he had said, dragged him to +prison, and used him in the most cruel manner. + +One day when he was almost quite spent, he said to himself, fetching a +deep sigh, "Wherein can I have offended the king? He has not a more +faithful subject than myself; nor have I ever done any thing to +displease him." The king happened at that time to pass by the tower; and +stopped to hear him, notwithstanding the persuasions of those that were +with him; "Hold your peace," replied the king, "and let me hear him +out." Which having done, and being greatly moved by his sufferings, he +opened the door of the tower, and called him by his name. Upon which +Avenant came forth in a sad condition, and, throwing himself at the +king's feet, "What have I done, sir," said he, "that your majesty should +use me thus severely?" "Thou hast ridiculed me and my ambassador," +replied the king; "and hast said, that if I had sent thee to the Fair +One with Locks of Gold, thou couldst have brought her with thee." "It is +true, sir," replied Avenant, "for I would have so thoroughly convinced +her of your transcending qualities, that it should not have been in her +power to have denied me; and this, surely, I said in the name of your +majesty." The king found in reality he had done no injury; so, he took +him away with him, repenting heartily of the wrong he had done him. +After having given him an excellent supper, the king sent for him into +his cabinet. "Avenant," said he, "I still love the Fair One with Locks +of Gold; I have a mind to send thee to her, to try whether thou canst +succeed," Avenant replied, he was ready to obey his majesty in all +things, and would depart the very next morning. "Hold," said the king, +"I will provide thee first with a most sumptuous equipage." "There is no +necessity for that," answered Avenant; "I need only a good horse and +your letters of credence." Upon this the king embraced him; being +overjoyed to see him so soon ready. + +It was upon a Monday morning that he took leave of the king and his +friends. Being on his journey by break of day, and entering into a +spacious meadow, a fine thought came into his head; he alighted +immediately, and seated himself by the bank of a little stream that +watered one side of the meadow, and wrote the sentiment down in his +pocket book. After he had done writing, he looked about him every way, +being charmed with the beauties of the place, and suddenly perceived a +large gilded carp, which stirred a little, and that was all it could do, +for having attempted to catch some little flies, it had leaped so far +out of the water, as to throw itself upon the grass, where it was almost +dead, not being able to recover its natural element. Avenant took pity +on the poor creature, and though it was a fish-day, and he might have +carried it away for his dinner, he took it up, and gently put it again +into the river, where the carp, feeling the refreshing coolness of the +water, began to rejoice, and sunk to the bottom; but soon rising up +again, brisk and gay, to the side of the river; "Avenant," said the +carp, "I thank you for the kindness you have done me; had it not been +for you, I had died; but you have saved my life, and I will reward you." +After this short compliment, the carp darted itself to the bottom of the +water, leaving Avenant not a little surprised at its wit and great +civility. + +Another day, as he was pursuing his journey, he saw a crow in great +distress: being pursued by a huge eagle, he took his bow, which he +always carried abroad with him, and aiming at the eagle, let fly an +arrow, which pierced him through the body, so that he fell down dead; +which the crow seeing, came in an ecstasy of joy, and perched upon a +tree. "Avenant," said the crow, "you have been extremely generous to +succour me, who am but a poor wretched crow; but I am not ungrateful and +will do you as good a turn." Avenant admired the wit of the crow, and +continuing his journey, he entered into a wood so early one morning, +that he could scarcely see his way, where he heard an owl crying out +like an owl in despair. So looking about every where, he at length came +to a place where certain fowlers had spread their nets in the night-time +to catch little birds. "What pity 'tis," said he, "men are only made to +torment one another, or else to persecute poor animals who never do them +any harm!" So saying, he drew his knife, cut the cords, and set the owl +at liberty; who, before he took wing, said, "Avenant, the fowlers are +coming, I should have been taken, and must have died, without your +assistance: I have a grateful heart, and will remember it." + +These were the three most remarkable adventures that befell Avenant in +his journey; and when he arrived at the end of it, he washed himself, +combed and powdered his hair, and put on a suit of cloth of gold: which +having done, he put a rich embroidered scarf about his neck, with a +small basket, wherein was a little dog which he was very fond of. And +Avenant was so amiable, and did every thing with so good a grace, that +when he presented himself at the gate of the palace, all the guards paid +him great respect, and every one strove who should first give notice to +the Fair One with Locks of Gold, that Avenant, the neighbouring king's +ambassador, demanded audience. The princess on hearing the name of +Avenant, said, "It has a pleasing sound, and I dare say he is agreeable +and pleases every body; and she said to her maids of honour, go fetch me +my rich embroidered gown of blue satin, dress my hair, and bring my +wreaths of fresh flowers: let me have my high shoes, and my fan, and let +my audience chamber and throne be clean, and richly adorned; for I would +have him every where with truth say, that I am really the Fair One with +Locks of Gold." Thus all her women were employed to dress her as a queen +should be. At length, she went to her great gallery of looking-glasses, +to see if any thing was wanting; after which she ascended her throne of +gold, ivory, and ebony, the fragrant smell of which was superior to the +choicest balm. She also commanded her maids of honour to take their +instruments, and play to their own singing so sweetly that none should +be disgusted. + +Avenant was conducted into the chamber of audience, were he stood so +transported with admiration, that, as he afterwards said, he had +scarcely power to open his lips. At length, however, he took courage, +and made his speech wonderfully well; wherein he prayed the princess not +to let him be so unfortunate as to return without her. "Gentle Avenant," +said she, "all the reasons you have laid before me, are very good, and I +assure you, I would rather favour you than any other; but you must know, +about a month since, I went to take the air by the side of a river, with +my maids of honour; as I was pulling off my glove, I pulled a ring from +my finger, which by accident fell into the river. This ring I valued +more than my whole kingdom; whence you may judge how much I am afflicted +by the loss of it. And I have made a vow never to hearken to any +proposals of marriage, unless the ambassador who makes them shall also +bring my ring. This is the present which you have to make me; otherwise +you may talk your heart out, for months and even years shall never +change my resolution." When he returned to his lodgings, he went to bed +supperless; and his little dog, who was called Cabriole, made a fasting +night of it too, and went and lay down by his master; who did nothing +all night but sigh and lament, saying, "How can I find a ring that fell +into a great river a month ago? It would be folly to attempt it. The +princess enjoined me this task, merely because she knew it was +impossible," he continued, greatly afflicted; which Cabriole observing, +said, "My dear master, pray do not despair of your good fortune; for you +are too good to be unhappy. Therefore, when it is day, let us go to the +river side." Avenant made no answer, but gave his dog two little cuffs +with his hand, and being overwhelmed with grief, fell asleep. + +But when Cabriole perceived it was broad day, he fell a barking so loud +that he waked his master. "Rise, sir," said he, "put on your clothes, +and let us go and try our fortune." Avenant took his little dog's +advice; got up, and dressed himself, went down into the garden, and out +of the garden he walked insensibly to the river side, with his hat over +his eyes, and his arms across, thinking of nothing but taking his leave; +when all on a sudden he heard a voice call, "Avenant, Avenant!" upon +which he looked around him, but seeing nothing, he concluded it was an +illusion, and was proceeding in his walk; but he presently heard himself +called again. "Who calls me?" said he; Cabriole, who was very little and +looked closely into the water, cried out, "Never believe me, if it is +not a gilded carp." Immediately the carp appeared, and with an audible +voice said, "Avenant, you saved my life in the poplar meadow, where I +must have died without your assistance; and now I am come to requite +your kindness. Here, my dear Avenant, here is the ring which the Fair +One with Locks of Gold dropped into the river." Upon which he stooped +and took it out of the carp's mouth; to whom he returned a thousand +thanks. And now, instead of returning home, he went directly to the +palace with little Cabriole, who skipped about, and wagged his tail for +joy, that he had persuaded his master to walk by the side of the river. +The princess being told that Avenant desired an audience: "Alas," said +she, "the poor youth has come to take his leave of me! He has considered +what I enjoined him as impossible, and is returning to his master." But +Avenant being admitted, presented her the ring, saying, "Madam, behold I +have executed your command; and now, I hope, you will receive my master +for your royal consort." When she saw her ring, and that it was noways +injured, she was so amazed that she could hardly believe her eyes. +"Surely, courteous Avenant," said she, "you must be favoured by some +fairy; for naturally this is impossible." "Madam," said he, "I am +acquainted with no fairy; but I was willing to obey your command." +"Well, then, seeing you have so good a will," continued she, "you must +do me another piece of service, without which I will never marry. There +is a certain prince who lives not far from hence, whose name is +Galifron, and whom nothing would serve but that he must needs marry me. +He declared his mind to me, with most terrible menaces, that if I denied +him, he would enter my kingdom with fire and sword; but you shall judge +whether I would accept his proposal: he is a giant, as high as a +steeple; he devours men as an ape eats chestnuts; when he goes into the +country, he carries cannons in his pocket, to use instead of pistols; +and when he speaks aloud he deafens the ears of those that stand near +him. I answered him, that I did not choose to marry, and desired him to +excuse me. Nevertheless, he has not ceased to persecute me, and has put +an infinite number of my subjects to the sword: therefore, before all +other things you must fight him, and bring me his head." + +Avenant was somewhat startled by this proposal; but, having considered +it awhile, "Well, madam," said he, "I will fight this Galifron; I +believe I shall be vanquished; but I will die like a man of courage." +The princess was astonished at his intrepidity, and said a thousand +things to dissuade him from it, but all in vain. At length he arrived at +Galifron's castle, the roads all the way being strewed with the bones +and carcasses of men which the giant had devoured, or cut in pieces. It +was not long before Avenant saw the monster approach, and he immediately +challenged him; but there was no occasion for this, for he lifted his +iron mace, and had certainly beat out the gentle Avenant's brains at the +first blow, had not a crow at that instant perched upon the giant's +head, and with his bill pecked out both his eyes. The blood trickled +down his face, whereat he grew desperate, and laid about him on every +side; but Avenant took care to avoid his blows, and gave him many great +wounds with his sword, which he pushed up to the very hilt; so that the +giant fainted, and fell down with loss of blood. Avenant immediately cut +off his head; and while he was in an ecstasy of joy, for his good +success, the crow perched upon a tree, and said, "Avenant, I did not +forget the kindnesses I received at your hands, when you killed the +eagle that pursued me; I promised to make you amends, and now I have +been as good as my word." "I acknowledge your kindness, Mr. Crow," +replied Avenant; "I am still your debtor, and your servant." So saying, +he mounted his courser, and rode away with the giant's horrid head. When +he arrived at the city, every body crowded after him, crying out, "Long +live the valiant Avenant, who has slain the cruel monster!" so that the +princess, who heard the noise, and trembling for fear she should have +heard of Avenant's death, durst not inquire what was the matter. But +presently after, she saw Avenant enter with the giant's head; at the +sight of which she trembled, though there was nothing to fear. "Madam," +said he, "behold your enemy is dead; and now, I hope, you will no longer +refuse the king my master." "Alas!" replied the Fair One with Locks of +Gold, "I must still refuse him, unless you can find means to bring me +some of the water of the gloomy cave. Not far from hence," continued +she, "there is a very deep cave, about six leagues in compass; the +entrance into which is guarded by two dragons. The dragons dart fire +from their mouths and eyes; and when you have got into this cave, you +will meet with a very deep hole, into which you must go down, and you +will find it full of toads, adders and serpents. At the bottom of this +hole there is a kind of cellar, through which runs the fountain of +beauty and health. This is the water I must have; its virtues are +wonderful; for the fair, by washing in it, preserve their beauty; and +the deformed it renders beautiful; if they are young, it preserves them +always youthful; and if old it makes them young again. Now judge you, +Avenant, whether I will ever leave my kingdom without carrying some of +this water along with me." "Madam," said he, "you are so beautiful, that +this water will be of no use to you; but I am an unfortunate ambassador, +whose death you seek. However, I will go in search of what you desire, +though I am certain never to return." + +At length he arrived at the top of a mountain, where he sat down to rest +himself; giving his horse liberty to feed, and Cabriole to run after the +flies. He knew that the gloomy cave was not far off, and looked about to +see whether he could discover it; and at length he perceived a horrid +rock as black as ink, whence issued a thick smoke; and immediately after +he spied one of the dragons casting forth fire from his jaws and eyes; +his skin all over yellow and green, with prodigious claws and a long +tail rolled up in an hundred folds. Avenant, with a resolution to die in +the attempt, drew his sword, and with the phial which the Fair One with +Locks of Gold had given him to fill with the water of beauty, went +towards the cave, saying to his little dog, "Cabriole, here is an end of +me; I never shall be able to get this water, it is so well guarded by +the dragons; therefore when I am dead, fill this phial with my blood, +and carry it to my princess, that she may see what her severity has cost +me: then go to the king my master and give him an account of my +misfortunes." While he was saying this, he heard a voice call "Avenant, +Avenant!" "Who calls me?" said he; and presently he espied an owl in the +hole of an old hollow tree, who, calling him again, said, "You rescued +me from the fowler's net, where I had been assuredly taken, had you not +delivered me. I promised to make you amends, and now the time is come; +give me your phial; I am acquainted with all the secret inlets into the +gloomy cave, and will go and fetch you the water of beauty." Avenant +most gladly gave the phial, and the owl, entering without any impediment +into the cave, filled it, and in less than a quarter of an hour returned +with it well stopped. Avenant was overjoyed at his good fortune, gave +the owl a thousand thanks, and returned with a merry heart to the city. +Being arrived at the palace, he presented the phial to the Fair One with +Locks of Gold, who had then nothing further to say. She returned Avenant +thanks, and gave orders for every thing that was requisite for her +departure: after which she set forward with him. The Fair One with Locks +of Gold thought Avenant very amiable, and said to him sometimes upon the +road, "If you had been willing, I could have made you a king; and then +we need not have left my kingdom." But Avenant replied, "I would not +have been guilty of such a piece of treachery to my master for all the +kingdoms of the earth; though I must acknowledge your beauties are more +resplendent than the sun." + +At length they arrived at the king's chief city, who understanding that +the Fair One with Locks of Gold was arrived, he went forth to meet her, +and made her the richest presents in the world. The nuptials were +solemnized with such demonstrations of joy, that nothing else was +discoursed of. But the Fair One with Locks of Gold, who loved Avenant in +her heart, was never pleased but when she was in his company, and would +be always speaking in his praise: "I had never come hither," said she to +the king, "had it not been for Avenant, who, to serve me, has conquered +impossibilities; you are infinitely obliged to him; he procured me the +water of beauty and health; by which I shall never grow old, and shall +always preserve my health and beauty." The enviers of Avenant's +happiness, who heard the queen's words, said to the king, "Were your +majesty inclined to be jealous, you have reason enough to be so, for the +queen is desperately in love with Avenant." "Indeed," said the king, "I +am sensible of the truth of what you tell me; let him be put in the +great tower, with fetters upon his feet and hands." Avenant was +immediately seized. However, his little dog Cabriole never forsook him, +but cheered him the best he could, and brought him all the news of the +court. When the Fair One with Locks of Gold was informed of his +misfortunes, she threw herself at the king's feet, and all in tears +besought him to release Avenant out of prison. But the more she besought +him the more he was incensed, believing it was her affection that made +her so zealous a suppliant in his behalf. Finding she could not prevail, +she said no more to him, but grew very pensive and melancholy. + +The king took it into his head that she did not think him handsome +enough; so he resolved to wash his face with the water of beauty, in +hopes that the queen would then conceive a greater affection for him +than she had. This water stood in a phial upon a table in the queen's +chamber, where she had put it, that it might not be out of her sight. +But one of the chambermaids going to kill a spider with her besom, by +accident threw down the phial, and broke it, so that the water was lost. +She dried it up with all the speed she could, and not knowing what to +do, she bethought herself that she had seen a phial of clear water in +the king's cabinet very like that she had broken. Without any more ado, +therefore, she went and fetched that phial, and set it upon the table in +place of the other. This water which was in the king's cabinet, was a +certain water which he made use of to poison the great lords and princes +of his court when they were convicted of any great crime; to which +purpose, instead of cutting off their heads, or hanging them, he caused +their faces to be rubbed with this water, which cast them into so +profound a sleep that they never waked again. Now the king one evening +took this phial, and rubbed his face well with the water, after which he +fell asleep and died. Cabriole was one of the first that came to a +knowledge of this accident, and immediately ran to inform Avenant of it +who bid him go to the Fair One with Locks of Gold, and remind her of the +poor prisoner. Cabriole slipped unperceived through the crowd, for there +was a great noise and hurry at court upon the king's death; and getting +to the queen, "Madam," said he, "remember poor Avenant." She presently +called to mind the afflictions he had suffered for her sake, and his +fidelity. Without speaking a word, she went directly to the great tower, +and took off the fetters from Avenant's feet and hands herself; after +which, putting the crown upon his head, and the royal mantle about his +shoulders, "Amiable Avenant," said she, "I will make you a sovereign +prince, and take you for my consort." Avenant threw himself at her feet, +and in terms the most passionate and respectful returned her thanks. +Every body was overjoyed to have him for their king: the nuptials were +the most splendid in the world; and the Fair One. with Locks of Gold +lived a long time with her beloved Avenant, both happy and contented in +the enjoyment of each other. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +TOM THUMB + + +In the days of King Arthur, Merlin, the most learned enchanter of his +time, was on a journey; and, being very weary, stopped one day at the +cottage of an honest ploughman to ask for refreshment. The ploughman's +wife, with great civility, immediately brought him some milk in a wooden +bowl, and some brown bread on a wooden platter. Merlin could not help +observing, that, although every thing within the cottage was +particularly neat and clean, and in good order, the ploughman and his +wife had the most sorrowful air imaginable. So he questioned them on the +cause of their melancholy, and learned that they were very miserable +because they had no children. The poor woman declared, with tears in her +eyes, that she should be the happiest creature in the world if she had a +son, although he were no bigger than his father's thumb. Merlin was much +amused with the thoughts of a boy no bigger than a man's thumb, and, as +soon as he returned home, he sent for the queen of the fairies (with +whom he was very intimate), and related to her the desire of the +ploughman and his wife to have a son the size of his father's thumb. The +queen of the fairies liked the plan exceedingly, and declared their wish +should speedily be granted. Accordingly the ploughman's wife had a son, +who in a few minutes grew as tall as his father's thumb. The queen of +the fairies came in at the window as the mother was sitting up in bed +admiring the child. The queen kissed the infant, and giving it the name +of Tom Thumb, immediately summoned several fairies from Fairy Land to +clothe her little new favourite: + + "An oak leaf hat he had for his crown, + His shirt it was by spiders spun; + With doublet wove of thistle's down, + His trousers up with points were done. + His stockings, of apple rind, they tie + With eye-lash plucked from his mother's eye, + His shoes were made of a mouse's skin, + Nicely tanned, with the hair within." + +Tom never was any bigger than his father's thumb, which was not a large +thumb either; but, as he grew older, he became very cunning and sly, for +which his mother did not sufficiently correct him, so that when he was +able to play with the boys for cherry stones, and had lost all his own, +he used to creep into the boys' bags, fill his pockets, and come out +again to play. But one day as he was getting out of a bag of cherry +stones, the boy to whom it belonged chanced to see him. "Ah ha, my +little Tom Thumb!" said the boy, "have I caught you at your bad tricks +at last? Now I will reward you for thieving." Then drawing the string +tight round his neck, and shaking the bag heartily, the cherry stones +bruised Tom's legs, thighs, and body sadly; which made him beg to be let +out, and promise never to be guilty of such things any more. Shortly +afterwards, Tom's mother was making a batter pudding, and, that he might +see how she mixed it, he climbed on the edge of the bowl; but his foot +happening to slip, he fell over head and ears into the batter, and his +mother not observing him, stirred him into the pudding, and popped him +into the pot to boil. The hot water made Tom kick and struggle; and his +mother, seeing the pudding jump up and down in such a furious manner, +thought it was bewitched; and a tinker coming by just at the time, she +quickly gave him the pudding, who put it into his budget and walked on. + +As soon as Tom could get the batter out of his mouth, he began to cry +aloud; which so frightened the poor tinker, that he flung the pudding +over the hedge, and ran away from it as fast as he could run. The +pudding being broken to pieces by the fall, Tom was released, and walked +home to his mother, who gave him a kiss and put him to bed. Tom Thumb's +mother once took him with her when she went to milk the cow; and it +being a very windy day, she tied him with a needleful of thread to a +thistle, that he might not be blown away. The cow liking his oak leaf +hat took him and the thistle up at one mouthful. While the cow chewed +the thistle, Tom, terrified at her great teeth, which seemed ready to +crush him to pieces, roared, "Mother, Mother!" as loud as he could bawl. +"Where are you, Tommy, my dear Tommy?" said the mother. "Here, mother, +here in the red cow's mouth." The mother began to cry and wring her +hands; but the cow surprised at such odd noises in her throat, opened +her mouth and let him drop out. His mother clapped him into her apron, +and ran home with him. Tom's father made him a whip of a barley straw to +drive the cattle with, and being one day in the field, he slipped into a +deep furrow. A raven flying over, picked him up with a grain of corn, +and flew with him to the top of a giant's castle, by the seaside, where +he left him; and old Grumbo the giant, coming soon after to walk upon +his terrace, swallowed Tom like a pill, clothes and all. Tom presently +made the giant very uncomfortable, and he threw him up into the sea. A +great fish then swallowed him. The fish was soon after caught, and sent +as a present to King Arthur. When it was cut open, every body was +delighted with little Tom Thumb. The king made him his dwarf; he was the +favourite of the whole court; and, by his merry pranks, often amused the +queen and the knights of the Round Table. The king, when he rode on +horseback, frequently took Tom in his hand; and, if a shower of rain +came on, he used to creep into the king's waist-coat pocket, and sleep +till the rain was over. The king also, sometimes questioned Tom +concerning his parents; and when Tom informed his majesty they were very +poor people, the king led him into his treasury, and told him he should +pay his friends a visit, and take with him as much money as he could +carry. Tom procured a little purse, and putting a threepenny piece into +it, with much labour and difficulty got it upon his back; and, after +travelling two days and nights, arrived at his father's house. + +His mother met him at the door, almost tired to death, having in +forty-eight hours travelled almost half a mile with a huge silver +threepence upon his back. His parents were glad to see him, especially +when he had brought such an amazing sum of money with him. They placed +him in a walnut shell by the fire side, and feasted him for three days +upon a hazel nut, which made him sick, for a whole nut usually served +him a month. Tom got well, but could not travel because it had rained; +therefore his mother took him in her hand, and with one puff blew him +into King Arthur's court; where Tom entertained the king, queen, and +nobility at tilts and tournaments, at which he exerted himself so much +that he brought on a fit of sickness, and his life was despaired of. At +this juncture the queen of the fairies came in a chariot drawn by flying +mice, placed Tom by her side, and drove through the air, without +stopping till they arrived at her palace; when, after restoring him to +health, and permitting him to enjoy all the gay diversions of Fairy +Land, the queen commanded a fair wind, and, placing Tom before it, blew +him straight to the court of King Arthur. But just as Tom should have +alighted in the court-yard of the palace, the cook happened to pass along +with the king's great bowl of firmity (King Arthur loved firmity), and +poor Tom Thumb fell plump into the middle of it and splashed the hot +firmity into the cook's eyes. Down went the bowl. "Oh dear; oh dear!" +cried Tom; "Murder! murder!" bellowed the cook! and away ran the king's +nice firmity into the kennel. The cook was a red-faced, cross fellow, +and swore to the king, that Tom had done it out of mere mischief; so he +was taken up, tried, and sentenced to be beheaded. Tom hearing this +dreadful sentence, and seeing a miller stand by with his mouth wide +open, he took a good spring, and jumped down the miller's throat, +unperceived by all, even by the miller himself. + +Tom being lost, the court broke up, and away went the miller to his +mill. But Tom did not leave him long at rest, he began to roll and +tumble about, so that the miller thought himself bewitched, and sent for +a doctor. When the doctor came, Tom began to dance and sing; the doctor +was as much frightened as the miller, and sent in great haste for five +more doctors, and twenty learned men. While all these were debating upon +the affair, the miller (for they were very tedious) happened to yawn, +and Tom, taking the opportunity, made another jump, and alighted on his +feet in the middle of the table. The miller, provoked to be thus +tormented by such a little creature, fell into a great passion, caught +hold of Tom, and threw him out of the window, into the river. A large +salmon swimming by, snapped him up in a minute. The salmon was soon +caught and sold in the market to the steward of a lord. The lord, +thinking it an uncommon fine fish, made a present of it to the king, who +ordered it to be dressed immediately. When the cook cut open the salmon, +he found poor Tom, and ran with him directly to the king; but the king +being busy with state affairs, desired that he might be brought another +day. The cook resolving to keep him safely this time, as he had so +lately given him the slip, clapped him into a mouse-trap, and left him +to amuse himself by peeping through the wires for a whole week; when the +king sent for him, he forgave him for throwing down the firmity, ordered +him new clothes and knighted him. + + "His shirt was made of butterflies' wings; + His boots were made of chicken skins; + His coat and breeches were made with pride; + A tailor's needle hung by his side; + A mouse for a horse he used to ride." + +Thus dressed and mounted, he rode a hunting with the king and nobility, +who all laughed heartily at Tom and his fine prancing steed. As they +rode by a farm house one day, a cat jumped from behind the door, seized +the mouse and little Tom, and began to devour the mouse. However, Tom +boldly drew his sword and attacked the cat, who then let him fall. The +king and his nobles seeing Tom falling, went to his assistance, and one +of the lords caught him in his hat; but poor Tom was sadly scratched, +and his clothes were torn by the claws of the cat. In this condition he +was carried home, when a bed of down was made for him in a little ivory +cabinet. The queen of the fairies came, and took him again to Fairy +Land, where she kept him for some years; and then, dressing him in +bright green, sent him flying once more through the air to the earth, in +the days of King Thunstone. The people flocked far and near to look at +him; and the king, before whom he was carried, asked him who he was, +whence he came, and where he lived? Tom answered: + + "My name is Tom Thumb, + From the Fairies I come; + When King Arthur shone, + This court was my home. + In me he delighted, + By him I was knighted, + Did you never hear of + Sir Thomas Thumb?" + +The king was so charmed with this address, that he ordered a little +chair to be made, in order that Tom might sit on his table, and also a +palace of gold a span high, with a door an inch wide, for little Tom to +live in. He also gave him a coach drawn by six small mice. This made the +queen angry, because she had not a new coach too. Therefore, resolving +to ruin Tom, she complained to the king that he had behaved very +insolently to her. The king sent for him in a rage. Tom, to escape his +fury, crept into an empty snail-shell, and there lay till he was almost +starved; when peeping out of the shell, he saw a fine butterfly settled +on the ground. He now ventured out, and getting astride, the butterfly +took wing, and mounted into the air with little Tom on his back. Away he +flew from field to field, from tree to tree, till at last he flew to the +king's court. The king, queen, and nobles, all strove to catch the +butterfly, but could not. At length poor Tom, having neither bridle nor +saddle, slipped from his seat, and fell into a white pot, where he was +found almost drowned. The queen vowed he should be guillotined: but +while the guillotine was getting ready, he was secured once more in a +mouse-trap; when the cat seeing something stir, and supposing it to be +the mouse, patted the trap about till she broke it, and set Tom at +liberty. Soon afterwards a spider, taking him for a fly, made at him. +Tom drew his sword and fought valiantly, but the spider's poisonous +breath overcame him: + + "He fell dead on the ground where late he had stood, + And the spider sucked up the last drop of his blood." + +King Thunstone and his whole court went into mourning for little Tom +Thumb. They buried him under a rosebush, and raised a nice white marble +monument over his grave, with the following epitaph: + + "Here lies Tom Thumb, King Arthur's knight, + Who died by spider's cruel bite. + He was well known in Arthur's court, + Where he afforded gallant sport; + He rode at tilt and tournament, + And on a mouse a hunting went; + Alive he filled the court with mirth, + His death to sorrow soon gave birth. + Wipe, wipe your eyes, and shake your head + And cry, 'Alas! Tom Thumb is dead.'" + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +BLUE BEARD + + +There was, some time ago, a gentleman who was very rich. He had fine +town and country houses, his dishes and plates were all of gold or +silver, his rooms were hung with damask, his chairs and sofas were +covered with the richest silks, and his carriages were all gilt with +gold in a grand style. But it happened that this gentleman had a blue +beard, which made him so very frightful and ugly, that none of the +ladies, in the parts where he lived, would venture to go into his +company. Now there was a certain lady of rank, who lived very near him, +and had two daughters, both of them of very great beauty. Blue Beard +asked her to bestow one of them upon him for a wife, and left it to +herself to choose which of the two it should be. But both the young +ladies again and again said they would never marry Blue Beard; yet, to +be as civil as they could, each of them said, the only reason why she +would not have him was, because she was loath to hinder her sister from +the match, which would be such a good one for her. Still the truth of +the matter was, they could neither of them bear the thoughts of having a +husband with a blue beard; and besides, they had heard of his having +been married to several wives before, and nobody could tell what had +ever become of any of them. As Blue Beard wished very much to gain their +favour, he asked the lady and her daughters, and some ladies who were on +a visit at their house, to go with him to one of his country seats, +where they spent a whole week, during which they passed all their time +in nothing but parties for hunting and fishing, music, dancing, and +feasts. No one even thought of going to bed, and the nights were passed +in merry-makings of all kinds. In short, the time rolled on in so much +pleasure, that the youngest of the two sisters began to think that the +beard which she had been so much afraid of, was not so very blue, and +that the gentleman who owned it was vastly civil and pleasing. Soon +after their return home, she told her mother that she had no longer any +dislike to accept of Blue Beard for her husband; and in a very short +time they were married. + +About a month after the marriage had taken place, Blue Beard told his +wife that he should be forced to leave her for a few weeks, as he had +some affairs to attend to in the country. He desired her to be sure to +indulge herself in every kind of pleasure, to invite as many of her +friends as she liked, and to treat them with all sorts of dainties, that +her time might pass pleasantly till he came back again. "Here," said he, +"are the keys of the two large wardrobes. This is the key of the great +box that contains the best plate, which we use for company, this belongs +to my strong box, where I keep my money, and this belongs to the casket, +in which are all my jewels. Here also is a master-key to all the rooms +in the house; but this small key belongs to the closet at the end of the +long gallery on the ground floor. I give you leave," said he, "to open, +or to do what you like with all the rest except this closet. This, my +dear, you must not enter, nor even put the key into the lock, for all +the world. If you do not obey me in this one thing, you must expect the +most dreadful punishments." She promised to obey his orders in the most +faithful manner; and Blue Beard, after kissing her tenderly, stepped +into his coach, and drove away. + +When Blue Beard was gone, the friends of his wife did not wait to be +asked, so eager were they to see all the riches and fine things she had +gained by marriage; for they had none of them gone to the wedding, on +account of their dislike to the blue beard of the bridegroom. As soon as +ever they came to the house, they ran about from room to room, from +closet to closet, and then from wardrobe to wardrobe, looking into each +with wonder and delight, and said, that every fresh one they came to, +was richer and finer than what they had seen the moment before. At last +they came to the drawing-rooms, where their surprise was made still +greater by the costly grandeur of the hangings, the sofas, the chairs, +carpets, tables, sideboards, and looking-glasses; the frames of these +last were silver-gilt, most richly adorned, and in the glasses they saw +themselves from head to foot. In short, nothing could exceed the +richness of what they saw; and they all did not fail to admire and envy +the good fortune of their friend. But all this time the bride herself +was far from thinking about the fine speeches they made to her, for she +was eager to see what was in the closet her husband had told her not to +open. So great, indeed, was her desire to do this, that, without once +thinking how rude it would be to leave her guests, she slipped away down +a private staircase that led to this forbidden closet, and in such a +hurry, that she was two or three times in danger of falling down stairs +and breaking her neck. + +When she reached the door of the closet, she stopped for a few moments +to think of the order her husband had given her, and how he had told her +that he would not fail to keep his word and punish her very severely, if +she did not obey him. But she was so very curious to know what was +inside, that she made up her mind to venture in spite of every thing. +She then, with a trembling hand, put the key into the lock, and the door +straight flew open. As the window shutters were closed, she at first +could see nothing; but in a short time she saw that the floor was +covered with clotted blood, on which the bodies of several dead women +were lying. + +These were all the wives whom Blue Beard had married, and killed one +after another. At this sight she was ready to sink with fear, and the +key of the closet door, which she held in her hand, fell on the floor. +When she had a little got the better of her fright, she took it up, +locked the door, and made haste back to her own room, that she might +have a little time to get into a humour to amuse her company; but this +she could not do, so great was her fright at what she had seen. As she +found that the key of the closet had got stained with blood in falling +on the floor, she wiped it two or three times over to clean it; yet +still the blood kept on it the same as before. She next washed it, but +the blood did not move at all. She then scoured it with brickdust, and +after with sand, but in spite of all she could do, the blood was still +there; for the key was a fairy who was Blue Beard's friend; so that as +fast as she got off the blood on one side, it came again on the other. +Early in the same evening Blue Beard came home, saying, that before he +had gone far on his journey he was met by a horseman, who was coming to +tell him that his affair in the country was settled without his being +present; upon which his wife said every thing she could think of, to +make him believe she was in a transport of joy at his sudden return. + +The next morning he asked her for the keys: she gave them to him; but as +she could not help showing her fright, Blue Beard easily guessed what +had been the matter. "How is it," said he, "that the key of the closet +upon the ground floor is not here?" "Is it not?" said the wife, "then I +must have left it on my dressing-table." "Be sure you give it me by and +by," replied Blue Beard. After going a good many times backwards and +forwards, as if she was looking for the key, she was at last forced to +give it to Blue Beard. He looked hard at it, and then said: "How came +this blood upon the key?" "I am sure I do not know," replied the poor +lady, at the same time turning as white as a sheet. "You do not know?" +said Blue Beard sternly, "but I know well enough. You have been in the +closet on the ground floor! Very well, madam: since you are so mighty +fond of this closet, you shall be sure to take your place among the +ladies you saw there." His wife, who was almost dead with fear, now fell +upon her knees, asked his pardon a thousand times for her fault, and +begged him to forgive her, looking all the time so very mournful and +lovely, that she would have melted any heart that was not harder than a +rock. But Blue Beard only said, "No, no, madam; you shall die this very +minute!" "Alas!" said the poor trembling creature, "if I must die, give +me, as least, a little time to say my prayers." "I give you," replied +the cruel Blue Beard, "half a quarter of an hour: not a moment longer." +When Blue Beard had left her to herself, she called her sister; and +after telling her, as well as she could for sobbing, that she had but +half a quarter of an hour to live; "Prithee," said she, "sister Anne," +(this was her sister's name), "run up to the top of the tower, and see +if my brothers are not in sight, for they said they would visit me +to-day, and if you see them, make a sign for them to gallop on as fast +as ever they can." Her sister straight did as she was desired; and the +poor trembling lady every minute cried out to her: "Anne! sister Anne! +do you see any one coming?" Her sister said, "I see nothing but the sun, +which makes a dust, and the grass, which looks green." + +In the meanwhile, Blue Beard, with a great cimeter in his hand, bawled +as loud as he could to his wife, "Come down at once, or I will fetch +you." "One moment longer, I beseech you," replied she, and again called +softly to her sister, "Sister Anne, do you see any one coming?" To which +she answered, "I see nothing but the sun, which makes a dust, and the +grass, which looks green." Blue Beard now again bawled out, "Come down, +I say, this very moment, or I shall come to fetch you." "I am coming; +indeed I will come in one minute," sobbed his wretched wife. Then she +once more cried out, "Anne! sister Anne! do you see any one coming?" "I +see," said her sister, "a cloud of dust a little to the left." "Do you +think it is my brothers?" said the wife. "Alas! no, dear sister," +replied she, "it is only a flock of sheep." "Will you come down, madam?" +said Blue Beard, in the greatest rage. "Only one single moment more," +said she. And then she called out for the last time, "Sister Anne! +sister Anne! do you see no one coming?" "I see," replied her sister, +"two men on horseback coming; but they are still a great way off." +"Thank God," cried she, "they are my brothers; beckon them to make +haste." Blue Beard now cried out so loud for her to come down, that his +voice shook the whole house. The poor lady, with her hair loose, and all +in tears, now came down, and fell on her knees, begging him to spare her +life; but he stopped her, saying, "All this is of no use, for you shall +die," and then, seizing her by the hair, raised his cimeter to strike +off her head. The poor woman now begged a single moment to say one +prayer. "No, no," said Blue Beard, "I will give you no more time. You +have had too much already." And again he raised his arm. Just at this +instant a loud knocking was heard at the gates, which made Blue Beard +wait for a moment to see who it was. The gates now flew open, and two +officers, dressed in their uniform, came in, and, with their swords in +their hands, ran straight to Blue Beard, who, seeing they were his +wife's brothers, tried to escape from their presence; but they pursued +and seized him before he had gone twenty steps, and plunging their +swords into his body he fell down dead at their feet. + +The poor wife, who was almost as dead as her husband, was not able at +first to rise and embrace her brothers; but she soon came to herself; +and, as Blue Beard had no heirs, she found herself the owner of his +great riches. She gave a part of his vast fortune as a marriage dowry to +her sister Anne, who soon after became the wife of a young gentleman who +had long loved her. Some of the money she laid out in buying captains' +commissions for her two brothers, and the rest she gave to a worthy +gentleman whom she married shortly after, and whose kind treatment soon +made her forget Blue Beard's cruelty. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +CINDERELLA; OR, THE LITTLE GLASS SLIPPER + + +There was once a very rich gentleman who lost his wife, and having loved +her exceedingly, he was very sorry when she died. Finding himself quite +unhappy for her loss, he resolved to marry a second time, thinking by +this means he should be as happy as before. Unfortunately, however, the +lady he chanced to fix upon was the proudest and most haughty woman ever +known; she was always out of humour with every one; nobody could please +her, and she returned the civilities of those about her with the most +affronting disdain. She had two daughters by a former husband. These she +brought up to be proud and idle. Indeed, in temper and behaviour they +perfectly resembled their mother; they did not love their books, and +would not learn to work; in short they were disliked by every body. The +gentleman on his side too had a daughter, who in sweetness of temper and +carriage was the exact likeness of her own mother, whose death he had so +much lamented, and whose tender care of the little girl he was in hopes +to see replaced by that of his new bride. But scarcely was the marriage +ceremony over, before his wife began to show her real temper. She could +not bear the pretty little girl, because her sweet obliging manners made +those of her own daughters appear a thousand times the more odious and +disagreeable. She therefore ordered her to live in the kitchen; and, if +ever she brought any thing into the parlour, always scolded her till she +was out of sight. She made her work with the servants in washing the +dishes, and rubbing the tables and chairs; it was her place to clean +madam's chamber, and that of the misses her daughters, which was all +inlaid, had beds of the newest fashion, and looking-glasses so long and +broad, that they saw themselves from head to foot in them; while the +little creature herself was forced to sleep up in a sorry garret, upon a +wretched straw bed, without curtains, or any thing to make her +comfortable. The poor child bore this with the greatest patience, not +daring to complain to her father, who, she feared, would only reprove +her, for she saw that his wife governed him entirely. When she had done +all her work she used to sit in the chimney-corner among the cinders; so +that in the house she went by the name of Cinderbreech. The youngest of +the two sisters, however, being rather more civil than the eldest, +called her Cinderella. And Cinderella, dirty and ragged as she was, as +often happens in such cases, was a thousand times prettier than her +sisters, drest out in all their splendour. It happened that the king's +son gave a ball, to which he invited all the persons of fashion in the +country. Our two misses were of the number, for the king's son did not +know how disagreeable they were, but supposed, as they were so much +indulged, that they were extremely amiable. He did not invite +Cinderella, for he had never seen or heard of her. + +The two sisters began immediately to be very busy in preparing for the +happy day. Nothing could exceed their joy. Every moment of their time +was spent in fancying such gowns, shoes, and head-dresses as would set +them off to the greatest advantage. All this was new vexation to poor +Cinderella, for it was she who ironed and plaited her sisters' linen. +They talked of nothing but how they should be dressed: "I," said the +eldest, "will wear my scarlet velvet with French trimming." "And I," +said the youngest, "shall wear the same petticoat I had made for the +last ball. But then, to make amends for that, I shall put on my gold +muslin train, and wear my diamonds in my hair; with these I must +certainly look well." They sent several miles for the best hair dresser +that was to be had, and all their ornaments were bought at the most +fashionable shops. On the morning of the ball, they called up Cinderella +to consult with her about their dress, for they knew she had a great +deal of taste. Cinderella gave them the best advice she could, and even +offered to assist in adjusting their head-dresses; which was exactly +what they wanted, and they accordingly accepted her proposal. While +Cinderella was busily engaged in dressing her sisters, they said to her, +"Should you not like, Cinderella, to go to the ball?" "Ah!" replied +Cinderella, "you are only laughing at me, it is not for such as I am to +think of going to balls." "You are in the right," said they, "folks +might laugh indeed, to see a Cinderbreech dancing in a ball room." Any +other than Cinderella would have tried to make the haughty creatures +look as ugly as she could; but the sweet tempered girl on the contrary, +did every thing she could think of to make them look well. The sisters +had scarcely eaten any thing for two days, so great was their joy as the +happy day drew near. More than a dozen laces were broken in endeavouring +to give them a fine slender shape, and they were always before the +looking glass. At length the much wished for moment arrived; the proud +misses stepped into a beautiful carriage, and, followed by servants in +rich liveries, drove towards the palace. Cinderella followed them with +her eyes as far as she could; and when they were out of sight, she sat +down in a corner and began to cry. Her godmother, who saw her in tears, +asked her what ailed her. "I wish----I w-i-s-h--" sobbed poor +Cinderella, without being able to say another word. The godmother, who +was a fairy, said to her, "You wish to go to the ball, Cinderella, is +not this the truth?" "Alas! yes," replied the poor child, sobbing still +more than before. "Well, well, be a good girl," said the godmother, "and +you shall go." She then led Cinderella to her bedchamber, and said to +her: "Run into the garden and bring me a pumpkin." Cinderella flew like +lightning, and brought the finest she could lay hold of. Her godmother +scooped out the inside, leaving nothing but the rind; she then struck it +with her wand, and the pumpkin instantly became a fine coach gilded all +over with gold. She then looked into her mouse-trap, where she found six +mice all alive and brisk. She told Cinderella to lift up the door of the +trap very gently; and as the mice passed out, she touched them one by +one with her wand, and each immediately became a beautiful horse of a +fine dapple gray mouse colour. "Here, my child," said the godmother, "is +a coach and horses too, as handsome as your sisters', but what shall we +do for a postillion?" "I will run," replied Cinderella, "and see if +there be not a rat in the trap. If I find one, he will do very well for +a postillion." "Well thought of, my child," said her godmother; "make +what haste you can." + +Cinderella brought the rat trap, which, to her great joy, contained +three of the largest rats ever seen. The fairy chose the one which had +the longest beard; and touching him with her wand, he was instantly +turned into a handsome postillion, with the finest pair of whiskers +imaginable. She next said to Cinderella: "Go again into the garden, and +you will find six lizards behind the watering-pot; bring them hither." +This was no sooner done, than with a stroke from the fairy's wand they +were changed into six footmen, who all jumped up behind the coach in +their laced liveries, and stood side by side as cleverly as if they had +been used to nothing else the whole of their lives. The fairy then said +to Cinderella: "Well, my dear, is not this such an equipage as you could +wish for to take you to the ball? Are you not delighted with it?" +"Y-e-s," replied Cinderella with hesitation, "but must I go thither in +these filthy rags?" Her godmother touched her with the wand, and her +rags instantly became the most magnificent apparel, ornamented with the +most costly jewels in the whole world. To these she added a beautiful +pair of glass slippers, and bade her set out for the palace. The fairy, +however, before she took leave of Cinderella, strictly charged her on no +account whatever to stay at the ball after the clock had struck twelve, +telling her that, should she stay but a single moment after that time, +her coach would again become a pumpkin, her horses mice, her footmen +lizards, and her fine clothes be changed to filthy rags. Cinderella did +not fail to promise all her godmother desired of her; and almost wild +with joy drove away to the palace. As soon as she arrived, the king's +son, who had been informed that a great princess, whom nobody knew, was +come to the ball, presented himself at the door of her carriage, helped +her out, and conducted her to the ball room. Cinderella no sooner +appeared than every one was silent; both the dancing and the music +stopped, and every body was employed in gazing at the uncommon beauty of +this unknown stranger. Nothing was heard but whispers of "How handsome +she is!" The king himself, old as he was, could not keep his eyes from +her, and continually repeated to the queen, that it was a long time +since he had seen so lovely a creature. The ladies endeavoured to find +out how her clothes were made, that they might get some of the same +pattern for themselves by the next day, should they be lucky enough to +meet with such handsome materials, and such good work-people to make +them. + +The king's son conducted her to the most honourable seat, and soon after +took her out to dance with him. She both moved and danced so gracefully, +that every one admired her still more than before, and she was thought +the most beautiful and accomplished lady they ever beheld. After some +time a delicious collation was served up; but the young prince was so +busily employed in looking at her, that he did not eat a morsel. +Cinderella seated herself near her sisters, paid them a thousand +attentions, and offered them a part of the oranges and sweetmeats with +which the prince had presented her, while they on their part were quite +astonished at these civilities from a lady whom they did not know. As +they were conversing together, Cinderella heard the clock strike eleven +and three quarters. She rose from her seat, curtesied to the company, +and hastened away as fast as she could. As soon as she got home she flew +to her godmother, and, after thanking her a thousand times, told her she +would give the world to be able to go again to the ball the next day, +for the king's son had entreated her to be there. While she was telling +her godmother every thing that had happened to her at the ball, the two +sisters knocked a loud rat-tat-tat at the door; which Cinderella opened. +"How late you have stayed!" said she, yawning, rubbing her eyes, and +stretching herself, as if just awakened out of her sleep, though she had +in truth felt no desire for sleep since they left her. "If you had been +at the ball," said one of her sisters, "let me tell you, you would not +have been sleepy. There came thither the handsomest, yes, the very +handsomest princess ever beheld! She paid us a thousand attentions, and +made us take a part of the oranges and sweetmeats the prince had given +her." Cinderella could scarcely contain herself for joy: she asked her +sisters the name of this princess, to which they replied, that nobody +had been able to discover who she was; that the king's son was extremely +grieved on that account, and had offered a large reward to any person +who could find out where she came from. Cinderella smiled, and said: +"How very beautiful she must be! How fortunate you are! Ah, could I but +see her for a single moment! Dear Miss Charlotte, lend me only the +yellow gown you wear every day, and let me go to see her." "Oh! yes, I +warrant you; lend my clothes to a Cinderbreech! Do you really suppose me +such a fool? No, no; pray, Miss Forward, mind your proper business, and +leave dress and balls to your betters." Cinderella expected some such +answer, and was by no means sorry, for she would have been sadly at a +loss what to do if her sister had lent her the clothes that she asked of +her. + +The next day the two sisters again appeared at the ball, and so did +Cinderella, but dressed much more magnificently than the night before. +The king's son was continually by her side, and said the most obliging +things imaginable to her. The charming young creature was far from being +tired of all the agreeable things she met with. On the contrary, she was +so delighted with them that she entirely forgot the charge her godmother +had given her. Cinderella at last heard the striking of a clock, and +counted one, two, three, on till she came to twelve, though she thought +that it could be but eleven at most. She got up and flew as nimbly as a +deer out of the ball-room. The prince tried to overtake her; but poor +Cinderella's fright made her run the faster. However, in her great +hurry, she dropped one of her glass slippers from her foot, which the +prince stooped down and picked up, and took the greatest care of it +possible. Cinderella got home tired and out of breath, in her old +clothes, without either coach or footmen, and having nothing left of her +magnificence but the fellow of the glass slipper which she had dropped. +In the mean while, the prince had inquired of all his guards at the +palace gates, if they had not seen a magnificent princess pass out, and +which way she went? The guards replied, that no princess had passed the +gates; and that they had not seen a creature but a little ragged girl, +who looked more like a beggar than a princess. When the two sisters +returned from the ball, Cinderella asked them if they had been as much +amused as the night before, and if the beautiful princess had been +there? They told her that she had; but that as soon as the clock struck +twelve, she hurried away from the ball room, and in the great haste she +had made, had dropped one of her glass slippers, which was the prettiest +shape that could be; that the king's son had picked it up, and had done +nothing but look at it all the rest of the evening; and that every body +believed he was violently in love with the handsome lady to whom it +belonged. + +This was very true; for a few days after, the prince had it proclaimed, +by sound of trumpet, that he would marry the lady whose foot should +exactly fit the slipper he had found. Accordingly the prince's +messengers took the slipper, and carried it first to all the princesses, +then to the duchesses, in short, to all the ladies of the court. But +without success. They then brought it to the two sisters, who each tried +all she could to squeeze her foot into the slipper, but saw at last that +this was quite impossible. Cinderella who was looking at them all the +while, and knew her slipper, could not help smiling, and ventured to +say, "Pray, sir, let me try to get on the slipper." The gentleman made +her sit down; and putting the slipper to her foot, it instantly slipped +in, and he saw that it fitted her like wax. The two sisters were amazed +to see that the slipper fitted Cinderella; but how much greater was +their astonishment when she drew out of her pocket the other slipper and +put it on! Just at this moment the fairy entered the room, and touching +Cinderella's clothes with her wand, made her all at once appear more +magnificently dressed than they had ever seen her before. + +The two sisters immediately perceived that she was the beautiful +princess they had seen at the ball. They threw themselves at her feet, +and asked her forgiveness for the ill treatment she had received from +them. Cinderella helped them to rise, and, tenderly embracing them, said +that she forgave them with all her heart, and begged them to bestow on +her their affection. Cinderella was then conducted, dressed as she was, +to the young prince, who finding her more beautiful than ever, instantly +desired her to accept of his hand. The marriage ceremony took place in a +few days; and Cinderella, who was as amiable as she was handsome, gave +her sisters magnificent apartments in the palace, and a short time after +married them to two great lords of the court. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +PUSS IN BOOTS + + +There was a miller who had three sons, and when he died he divided what +he possessed among them in the following manner: He gave his mill to the +eldest, his ass to the second, and his cat to the youngest. Each of the +brothers accordingly took what belonged to him, without the help of an +attorney, who would soon have brought their little fortune to nothing, +in law expenses. The poor young fellow who had nothing but the cat, +complained that he was hardly used: "My brothers," said he, "by joining +their stocks together, may do well in the world, but for me, when I have +eaten my cat, and made a fur cap of his skin, I may soon die of hunger!" +The cat, who all this time sat listening just inside the door of a +cupboard, now ventured to come out and addressed him as follows: "Do not +thus afflict yourself, my good master. You have only to give me a bag, +and get a pair of boots made for me, so that I may scamper through the +dirt and the brambles, and you shall see that you are not so ill +provided for as you imagine." Though the cat's master did not much +depend upon these promises, yet, as he had often observed the cunning +tricks puss used to catch the rats and mice, such as hanging upon his +hind legs, and hiding in the meal to make believe that he was dead, he +did not entirely despair of his being of some use to him in his unhappy +condition. + +When the cat had obtained what he asked for, he gayly began to equip +himself: he drew on his boots; and putting the bag about his neck, he +took hold of the strings with his fore paws, and bidding his master take +courage, immediately sallied forth. The first attempt Puss made was to +go into a warren in which there were a great number of rabbits. He put +some bran and some parsley into his bag; and then stretching himself out +at full length as if he was dead, he waited for some young rabbits, who +as yet knew nothing of the cunning tricks of the world, to come and get +into the bag, the better to feast upon the dainties he had put into it. +Scarcely had he lain down before he succeeded as well as could be +wished. A giddy young rabbit crept into the bag, and the cat immediately +drew the strings, and killed him without mercy. Puss, proud of his prey, +hastened directly to the palace, where he asked to speak to the king. On +being shown into the apartment of his majesty, he made a low bow, and +said, "I have brought you, sire, this rabbit from the warren of my lord +the marquis of Carabas, who commanded me to present it to your majesty +with the assurance of his respect." (This was the title the cat thought +proper to bestow upon his master.) "Tell my lord marquis of Carabas," +replied the king, "that I accept of his present with pleasure, and that +I am greatly obliged to him." Soon after, the cat laid himself down in +the same manner in a field of corn, and had as much good fortune as +before; for two fine partridges got into his bag, which he immediately +killed and carried to the palace: the king received them as he had done +the rabbit, and ordered his servants to give the messenger something to +drink. In this manner he continued to carry presents of game to the king +from my lord marquis of Carabas, once at least in every week. + +One day, the cat having heard that the king intended to take a ride that +morning by the river's side with his daughter, who was the most +beautiful princess in the world, he said to his master: "If you will but +follow my advice, your fortune is made. Take off your clothes, and bathe +yourself in the river, just in the place I shall show you, and leave the +rest to me," The marquis of Carabas did exactly as he was desired, +without being able to guess at what the cat intended. While he was +bathing the king passed by, and puss directly called out as loud as he +could bawl: "Help! help! My lord marquis of Carabas is in danger of +being drowned!" The king hearing the cries, put his head out at the +window of his carriage to see what was the matter: when, perceiving the +very cat who had brought him so many presents, he ordered his attendants +to go directly to the assistance of my lord marquis of Carabas. While +they were employed in taking the marquis out of the river, the cat ran +to the king's carriage, and told his majesty, that while his master was +bathing, some thieves had run off with his clothes as they lay by the +river's side; the cunning cat all the time having hid them under a large +stone. The king hearing this, commanded the officers of his wardrobe to +fetch one of the handsomest suits it contained, and present it to my +lord marquis of Carabas, at the same time loading him with a thousand +attentions. As the fine clothes they brought him made him look like a +gentleman, and set off his person, which was very comely, to the +greatest advantage, the king's daughter was mightily taken with his +appearance, and the marquis of Carabas had no sooner cast upon her two +or three respectful glances, then she became violently in love with him. + +The king insisted on his getting into the carriage and taking a ride +with them. The cat, enchanted to see how well his scheme was likely to +succeed, ran before to a meadow that was reaping, and said to the +reapers: "Good people, if you do not tell the king, who will soon pass +this way, that the meadow you are reaping belongs to my lord marquis of +Carabas, you shall be chopped as small as mince meat." The king did not +fail to ask the reapers to whom the meadow belonged? "To my lord marquis +of Carabas," said they all at once; for the threats of the cat had +terribly frighted them. "You have here a very fine piece of land, my +lord marquis," said the king. "Truly, sire," replied he, "it does not +fail to bring me every year a plentiful harvest." The cat who still went +on before, now came to a field where some other labourers were making +sheaves of the corn they had reaped, to whom he said as before: "Good +people, if you do not tell the king who will presently pass this way, +that the corn you have reaped in this field belongs to my lord marquis +of Carabas, you shall be chopped as small as mince meat." The king +accordingly passed a moment after, and inquired to whom the corn he saw +belonged? "To my lord marquis of Carabas," answered they very glibly; +upon which the king again complimented the marquis upon his noble +possessions. The cat still continued to go before, and gave the same +charge to all the people he met with; so that the king was greatly +astonished at the splendid fortune of my lord marquis of Carabas. Puss +at length arrived at a stately castle, which belonged to an Ogre, the +richest ever known; for all the lands the king had passed through and +admired were his. The cat took care to learn every particular about the +Ogre, and what he could do, and then asked to speak with him, saying, as +he entered the room in which he was, that he could not pass so near his +castle without doing himself the honour to inquire after his health. The +Ogre received him as civilly as an Ogre could do, and desired him to be +seated, "I have been informed," said the cat, "that you have the gift of +changing yourself to all sorts of animals; into a lion or an elephant +for example." "It is very true," replied the Ogre somewhat sternly; "and +to convince you I will directly take the form of a lion." The cat was so +much terrified at finding himself so near to a lion, that he sprang from +him, and climbed to the roof of the house; but not without much +difficulty, as his boots were not very fit to walk upon the tiles. + +Some minutes after, the cat perceiving that the Ogre had quitted the +form of a lion, ventured to come down from the tiles, and owned that he +had been a good deal frightened, "I have been further informed," +continued the cat, "but I know not how to believe it, that you have the +power of taking the form of the smallest animals also; for example of +changing yourself to a rat or a mouse: I confess I should think this +impossible." "Impossible! you shall see;" and at the same instant he +changed himself into a mouse, and began to frisk about the room. The cat +no sooner cast his eyes upon the Ogre in this form, than he sprang upon +him and devoured him in an instant. In the meantime the king, admiring +as he came near it, the magnificent castle of the Ogre, ordered his +attendants to drive up to the gates, as he wished to take a nearer view +of it. The cat, hearing the noise of the carriage on the drawbridge, +immediately came out, saying: "Your majesty is welcome to the castle of +my lord marquis of Carabas." "And is this splendid castle yours also, my +lord marquis of Carabas? I never saw anything more stately than the +building, or more beautiful than the park and pleasure grounds around +it; no doubt the castle is no less magnificent within than without: +pray, my lord marquis, indulge me with a sight of it." + +The marquis gave his hand to the young princess as she alighted, and +followed the king who went before; they entered a spacious hall, where +they found a splendid collation which the Ogre had prepared for some +friends he had that day expected to visit him; but who, hearing that the +king with the princess and a great gentleman of the court were within, +had not dared to enter. The king was so much charmed with the amiable +qualities and noble fortune of the marquis of Carabas, and the young +princess too had fallen so violently in love with him, that when the +king had partaken of the collation, and drunk a few glasses of wine, he +said to the marquis: "It will be you own fault, my lord marquis of +Carabas, if you do not soon become my son-in-law." The marquis received +the intelligence with a thousand respectful acknowledgments, accepted +the honour conferred upon him, and married the princess that very day. +The cat became a great lord, and never after ran after rats and mice but +for his amusement. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +THE SLEEPING BEAUTY IN THE WOOD + + +Once upon a time there was a king and a queen who grieved sorely that +they had no children. When at last the queen gave birth to a daughter +the king was so overjoyed that he gave a great christening feast, the +like of which had never before been known. He asked all the fairies in +the land--there were seven all told--to stand godmothers to the little +princess, hoping that each might give her a gift, and so she should have +all imaginable perfections. + +After the christening, all the company returned to the palace, where a +great feast had been spread for the fairy godmothers. Before each was +set a magnificent plate, with a gold knife and a gold fork studded with +diamonds and rubies. Just as they were seating themselves, however, +there entered an old fairy who had not been invited because more than +fifty years ago she had shut herself up in a tower and it was supposed +that she was either dead or enchanted. + +The king ordered a cover to be laid for her, but it could not be a +massive gold one like the others, for only seven had been ordered made. +The old fairy thought herself ill-used and muttered between her teeth. +One of the young fairies, overhearing her, and fancying she might work +some mischief to the little baby, went and hid herself behind the +hangings in the hall, so as to be able to have the last word and undo +any harm the old fairy might wish to work. The fairies now began to +endow the princess. The youngest, for her gift, decreed that she should +be the most beautiful person in the world; the next that she should have +the mind of an angel; the third that she should be perfectly graceful; +the fourth that she should dance admirably well; the fifth, that she +should sing like a nightingale; the sixth, that she should play +charmingly upon every musical instrument. The turn of the old fairy had +now come, and she declared, while her head shook with malice, that the +princess should pierce her hand with a spindle and die of the wound. +This dreadful fate threw all the company into tears of dismay, when the +young fairy who had hidden herself came forward and said: + +"Be of good cheer, king and queen; your daughter shall not so die. It is +true I cannot entirely undo what my elder has done. The princess will +pierce her hand with a spindle, but, instead of dying, she will only +fall into a deep sleep. The sleep will last a hundred years, and at the +end of that time a king's son will come to wake her." + +The king, in hopes of preventing what the old fairy had foretold, +immediately issued an edict by which he forbade all persons in his +dominion from spinning or even having spindles in their houses under +pain of instant death. + +Now fifteen years after the princess was born she was with the king and +queen at one of their castles, and as she was running about by herself +she came to a little chamber at the top of a tower, and there sat an +honest old woman spinning, for she had never heard of the king's edict. + +"What are you doing?" asked the princess. + +"I am spinning, my fair child," said the old woman, who did not know +her. + +"How pretty it is!" exclaimed the princess. "How do you do it? Give it +to me that I may see if I can do it." She had no sooner taken up the +spindle, than, being hasty and careless, she pierced her hand with the +point of it, and fainted away. The old woman, in great alarm, called for +help. People came running in from all sides; they threw water in the +princess's face and did all they could to restore her, but nothing would +bring her to. The king, who had heard the noise and confusion, came up +also, and remembering what the fairy had said, he had the princess +carried to the finest apartment and laid upon a richly embroidered bed. +She lay there in all her loveliness, for the swoon had not made her +pale; her lips were cherry-ripe and her cheeks ruddy and fair; her eyes +were closed, but they could hear her breathing quietly; she could not be +dead. The king looked sorrowfully upon her. He knew that she would not +awake for a hundred years. + +The good fairy who had saved her life and turned her death into sleep +was in the kingdom of Mataquin, twelve thousand leagues away, when this +happened, but she learned of it from a dwarf who had a pair of +seven-league boots, and instantly set out for the castle, where she +arrived in an hour, drawn by dragons in a fiery chariot. The king came +forward to receive her and showed his grief. The good fairy was very +wise and saw that the princess when she woke would find herself all +alone in that great castle and everything about her would be strange. So +this is what she did. She touched with her wand everybody that was in +the castle, except the king and queen. She touched the governesses, +maids of honour, women of the bedchamber, gentlemen, officers, +stewards, cooks, scullions, boys, guards, porters, pages, footmen; she +touched the horses in the stable with their grooms, the great mastiffs +in the court-yard, and even little Pouste, the tiny lap-dog of the +princess that was on the bed beside her. As soon as she had touched them +they all fell asleep, not to wake again until the time arrived for their +mistress to do so, when they would be ready to wait upon her. Even the +spits before the fire, laden with partridges and pheasants, went to +sleep, and the fire itself went to sleep also. + +It was the work of a moment. The king and queen kissed their daughter +farewell and left the castle, issuing a proclamation that no person +whatsoever was to approach it. That was needless, for in a quarter of an +hour there had grown up about it a wood so thick and filled with thorns +that nothing could get at the castle, and the castle top itself could +only be seen from a great distance. + +A hundred years went by, and the kingdom was in the hands of another +royal family. The son of the king was hunting one day when he discovered +the towers of the castle above the tops of the trees, and asked what +castle that was. All manner of answers were given to him. One said it +was an enchanted castle, another that witches lived there, but most +believed that it was occupied by a great ogre which carried thither all +the children he could catch and ate them up one at a time, for nobody +could get at him through the wood. The prince did not know what to +believe, when finally an old peasant said: + +"Prince, it is more than fifty years since I heard my father say that +there was in that castle the most beautiful princess that ever was seen; +that she was to sleep for a hundred years, and to be awakened at last by +the king's son, who was to marry her." + +The young prince at these words felt himself on fire. He had not a +moment's doubt that he was destined to this great adventure, and full of +ardour he determined at once to set out for the castle. Scarcely had he +come to the wood when all the trees and thorns which had made such an +impenetrable thicket opened on one side and the other to offer him a +path. He walked toward the castle, which appeared now at the end of a +long avenue, but when he turned to, look for his followers not one was +to be seen; the woods had closed instantly upon him as he had passed +through. He was entirely alone, and utter silence was about him. He +entered a large forecourt and stood still with amazement and awe. On +every side were stretched the bodies of men and animals apparently +lifeless. But the faces of the men were rosy, and the goblets by them +had a few drops of wine left. The men had plainly fallen asleep. His +steps resounded as he passed over the marble pavement and up the marble +staircase. He entered the guard-room; there the guards stood drawn up in +line with carbines at their shoulders, but they were sound asleep. He +passed through one apartment after another, where were ladies and +gentlemen asleep in their chairs or standing. He entered a chamber +covered with gold, and saw on a bed, the curtains of which were drawn, +the most lovely sight he had ever looked upon--a princess, who appeared +to be about fifteen or sixteen, and so fair that she seemed to belong to +another world. He drew near, trembling and wondering, and knelt beside +her. Her hand lay upon her breast, and he touched his lips to it. At +that moment, the enchantment being ended, the princess awoke, and, +looking drowsily and tenderly at the young man, said: + +"Have you come, my prince? I have waited long for you." The prince was +overjoyed at the words, and at the tender voice and look, and scarcely +knew how to speak. But he managed to assure her of his love, and they +soon forgot all else as they talked and talked. They talked for four +hours, and had not then said half that was in their heads to say. + +Meanwhile all the rest of the people in the castle had been wakened at +the same moment as the princess, and they were now extremely hungry. The +lady-in-waiting became very impatient, and at length announced to the +princess that they all waited for her. Then the prince took the princess +by the hand; she was dressed in great splendour, but he did not hint +that she looked as he had seen pictures of his great-grandmother look; +he thought her all the more charming for that. They passed into a hall +of mirrors, where they supped, attended by the officers of the princess. +The violins and haut-boys played old but excellent pieces of music, and +after supper, to lose no time, the grand almoner married the royal +lovers in the chapel of the castle. + +When they left the castle the next day to return to the prince's home, +they were followed by all the retinue of the princess. They marched down +the long avenue, and the wood opened again to let them pass. Outside +they met the prince's followers, who were overjoyed to see their master. +He turned to show them the castle, but behold! there was no castle to be +seen, and no wood; castle and wood had vanished, but the prince and +princess went gayly away, and when the old king and queen died they +reigned in their stead. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +JACK AND THE BEAN-STALK + + +In the days of King Alfred, there lived a poor woman whose cottage was +situated in a remote country village, a great many miles from London. +She had been a widow some years, and had an only child named Jack, whom +she indulged to a fault. The consequence of her blind partiality was, +that Jack did not pay the least attention to any thing she said, but was +indolent, careless, and extravagant. His follies were not owing to a bad +disposition, but that his mother had never checked him. By degrees she +disposed of all she possessed--scarcely any thing remained but a cow. +The poor woman one day met Jack with tears in her eyes; her distress was +great, and for the first time in her life she could not help reproaching +him, saying, "Oh! you wicked child, by your ungrateful course of life +you have at last brought me to beggary and ruin. Cruel, cruel boy! I +have not money enough to purchase even a bit of bread for another +day--nothing now remains to sell but my poor cow! I am sorry to part +with her; it grieves me sadly, but we must not starve." For a few +minutes, Jack felt a degree of remorse, but it was soon over, and he +began teasing his mother to let him sell the cow at the next village, so +much, that she at last consented. As he was going along, he met a +butcher, who inquired why he was driving the cow from home? Jack +replied, he was going to sell it. The butcher held some curious beans in +his hat; they were of various colours, and attracted Jack's attention. +This did not pass unnoticed by the butcher, who, knowing Jack's easy +temper, thought now was the time to take an advantage of it; and +determined not to let slip so good an opportunity, asked what was the +price of the cow, offering at the same time all the beans in his hat for +her. The silly boy could not conceal the pleasure he felt at what he +supposed so great an offer, the bargain was struck instantly, and the +cow exchanged for a few paltry beans. Jack made the best of his way +home, calling aloud to his mother before he reached home, thinking to +surprise her. + +When she saw the beans, and heard Jack's account, her patience quite +forsook her. She kicked the beans away in a passion--they flew in all +directions--some were scattered in the garden. Not having any thing to +eat, they both went supperless to bed. Jack woke early in the morning, +and seeing something uncommon from the window of his bedchamber, ran +down stairs into the garden, where he soon discovered that some of the +beans had taken root, and sprung up surprisingly: the stalks were of an +immense thickness, and had so entwined, that they formed a ladder nearly +like a chain in appearance. Looking upward, he could not discern the +top, it appeared to be lost in the clouds: he tried it, found it firm, +and not to be shaken. He quickly formed the resolution of endeavouring +to climb up to the top, in order to seek his fortune, and ran to +communicate his intention to his mother, not doubting but she would be +equally pleased with himself. She declared he should not go; said it +would break her heart if he did--entreated, and threatened--but all in +vain. Jack set out, and after climbing for some hours, reached the top +of the bean-stalk, fatigued and quite exhausted. Looking around, he +found himself in a strange country; it appeared to be a desert, quite +barren, not a tree, shrub, house, or living creature to be seen; here +and there were scattered fragments of stone; and at unequal distances, +small heaps of earth were loosely thrown together. + +Jack seated himself pensively upon a block of stone, and thought of his +mother--he reflected with sorrow upon his disobedience in climbing the +bean-stalk against her will; and concluded that he must die with hunger. +However he walked on, hoping to see a house where he might beg something +to eat and drink; presently a handsome young woman appeared at a +distance: as she approached, Jack could not help admiring how beautiful +and lively she looked; she was dressed in the most elegant manner, and +had a small white wand in her hand, on the top of which was a peacock of +pure gold. While Jack was looking with great surprise at this charming +female, she came up to him, and with a smile of the most bewitching +sweetness, inquired how he came there. Jack related the circumstance of +the bean-stalk. She asked him if he recollected his father; he replied +he did not; and added, there must be some mystery relating to him, +because if he asked his mother who his father was, she always burst into +tears, and appeared violently agitated, nor did she recover herself for +some days after; one thing, however, he could not avoid observing upon +these occasions, which was that she always carefully avoided answering +him, and even seemed afraid of speaking, as if there was some secret +connected with his father's history which she must not disclose. The +young woman replied, "I will reveal the whole story; your mother must +not. But, before I begin, I require a solemn promise on your part to do +what I command; I am a fairy, and if you do not perform exactly what I +desire, you will be destroyed," Jack was frightened at her menaces, but +promised to fulfil her injunctions exactly, and the fairy thus addressed +him: + +"Your father was a rich man, his disposition remarkably benevolent: he +was very good to the poor, and constantly relieving them. He made it a +rule never to let a day pass without doing good to some person. On one +particular day in the week, he kept open house, and invited only those +who were reduced and had lived well. He always presided himself, and did +all in his power to render his guests comfortable; the rich and the +great were not invited. The servants were all happy, and greatly +attached to their master and mistress. Your father, though only a +private gentleman, was as rich as a prince, and he deserved all he +possessed, for he only lived to do good. Such a man was soon known and +talked of. A giant lived a great many miles off: this man was altogether +as wicked as your father was good; he was in his heart envious, +covetous, and cruel; but he had the art of concealing those vices. He +was poor, and wished to enrich himself at any rate. Hearing your father +spoken of, he formed the design of becoming acquainted with him, hoping +to ingratiate himself into your father's favour. He removed quickly into +your neighbourhood, caused to be reported that he was a gentleman who +had just lost all he possessed by an earth-quake, and found it difficult +to escape with his life; his wife was with him. Your father gave credit +to his story, and pitied him, gave him handsome apartments in his own +house, and caused him and his wife to be treated like visitors of +consequence, little imagining that the giant was meditating a horrid +return for all his favours. + +"Things went on in this way for some time, the giant becoming daily more +impatient to put his plan into execution; at last a favourable +opportunity presented itself. Your father's house was at some distance +from the seashore, but with a glass the coast could be seen distinctly. +The giant was one day using the telescope; the wind was very high; he +saw a fleet of ships in distress off the rocks; he hastened to your +father, mentioned the circumstance, and eagerly requested he would send +all the servants he could spare to relieve the sufferers. Every one was +instantly despatched, except the porter and your nurse; the giant then +joined your father in the study, and appeared to be delighted--he really +was so. Your father recommended a favourite book, and was handing it +down: the giant took the opportunity, and stabbed him; he instantly fell +down dead. The giant left the body, found the porter and nurse, and +presently despatched them; being determined to have no living witnesses +of his crimes. You were then only three months old; your mother had you +in her arms in a remote part of the house, and was ignorant of what was +going on; she went into the study, but how was she shocked, on +discovering your father a corpse, and weltering in his blood! she was +stupefied with horror and grief, and was motionless. The giant, who was +seeking her, found her in that state, and hastened to serve her and you +as he had done her husband, but she fell at his feet, and in a pathetic +manner besought him to spare your life and hers. + +"Remorse, for a moment, seemed to touch the barbarian's heart: he +granted your lives; but first he made her take a most solemn oath, never +to inform you who your father was, or to answer any questions concerning +him: assuring her that if she did, he would certainly discover her, and +put both of you to death in the most cruel manner. Your mother took you +in her arms, and fled as quickly as possible; she was scarcely gone when +the giant repented that he had suffered her to escape. He would have +pursued her instantly; but he had to provide for his own safety; as it +was necessary he should be gone before the servants returned. Having +gained your father's confidence, he knew where to find all his treasure: +he soon loaded himself and his wife, set the house on fire in several +places, and when the servants returned, the house was burned quite down +to the ground. Your poor mother, forlorn, abandoned, and forsaken, +wandered with you a great many miles from this scene of desolation. Fear +added to her haste. She settled in the cottage where you were brought +up, and it was entirety owing to her fear of the giant that she never +mentioned your father to you. I became your father's guardian at his +birth; but fairies have laws to which they are subject as well as +mortals. A short time before the giant went to your father's, I +transgressed; my punishment was a suspension of power for a limited +time--an unfortunate circumstance, as it totally prevented my succouring +your father. + +"The day on which you met the butcher, as you went to sell your mother's +cow, my power was restored. It was I who secretly prompted you to take +the beans in exchange for the cow. By my power, the bean-stalk grew to +so great a height, and formed a ladder. I need not add that I inspired +you with a strong desire to ascend the ladder. The giant lives in this +country: you are the person appointed to punish him for all his +wickedness. You will have dangers and difficulties to encounter, but you +must persevere in avenging the death of your father, or you will not +prosper in any of your undertakings, but will always be miserable. As to +the giant's possessions, you may seize on all you can; for every thing +he has is yours, though now you are unjustly deprived of it. One thing I +desire--do not let your mother know you are acquainted with your +father's history, till you see me again. Go along the direct road, you +will soon see the house where your cruel enemy lives. While you do as I +order you, I will protect and guard you; but, remember, if you dare +disobey my commands, a most dreadful punishment awaits you." + +When the fairy had concluded, she disappeared, leaving Jack to pursue +his journey. He walked on till after sunset, when, to his great joy, he +espied a large mansion. This agreeable sight revived his drooping +spirits; he redoubled his speed, and soon reached it. A plain-looking +woman was at the door--he accosted her, begging she would give him a +morsel of bread and a night's lodging. She expressed the greatest +surprise at seeing him; and said it was quite uncommon to see a human +being near their house, for it was well known that her husband was a +large and very powerful giant, and that he would never eat any thing but +human flesh, if he could possibly get it; that he did not think any +thing of walking fifty miles to procure it, usually being out the whole +day for that purpose. + +This account greatly terrified Jack, but still he hoped to elude the +giant, and therefore he again entreated the woman to take him in for one +night only, and hide him where she thought proper. The good woman at +last suffered herself to be persuaded, for she was of a compassionate +and generous disposition, and took him into the house. First, they +entered a fine large hall, magnificently furnished; they then passed +through several spacious rooms, all in the same style of grandeur; but +they appeared to be quite forsaken and desolate. A long gallery was +next; it was very dark--just light enough to show that, instead of a +wall on one side, there was a grating of iron, which parted off a dismal +dungeon, from whence issued the groans of those poor victims whom the +cruel giant reserved in confinement for his own voracious appetite. Poor +Jack was half dead with fear, and would have given the world to have +been with his mother again, for he now began to fear that he should +never see her more, and gave himself up for lost; he even mistrusted the +good woman, and thought she had let him into the house for no other +purpose than to lock him up among the unfortunate people in the dungeon. +At the farther end of the gallery there was a spacious kitchen, and a +very excellent fire was burning in the grate. The good woman bid Jack +sit down, and gave him plenty to eat and drink. Jack, not seeing any +thing here to make him uncomfortable, soon forgot his fear, and was just +beginning to enjoy himself, when he was aroused by a loud knocking at +the street-door, which made the whole house shake: the giant's wife ran +to secure him in the oven, and then went to let her husband in. Jack +heard him accost her in a voice like thunder, saying: "Wife, I smell +fresh meat." "Oh! my dear," replied she, "it is nothing but the people +in the dungeon." The giant appeared to believe her, and walked into the +very kitchen where poor Jack was concealed, who shook, trembled, and was +more terrified than he had yet been. At last, the monster seated himself +quietly by the fire-side, whilst his wife prepared supper. By degrees +Jack recovered himself sufficiently to look at the giant through a small +crevice. He was quite astonished to see what an amazing quantity he +devoured, and thought he never would have done eating and drinking. When +supper was ended, the giant desired his wife to bring him his hen. A +very beautiful hen was then brought, and placed on the table before him. +Jack's curiosity was very great to see what would happen: he observed +that every time the giant said "Lay!" the hen laid an egg of solid gold. +The giant amused himself a long time with his hen; meanwhile his wife +went to bed. At length the giant fell asleep by the fire-side, and +snored like the roaring of a cannon. + +At daybreak, Jack, finding the giant still asleep, and not likely to +awaken soon, crept softly out of his hiding-place, seized the hen, and +ran off with her. He met with some difficulty in finding his way out of +the house, but at last he reached the road with safety. He easily found +the way to the bean-stalk, and descended it better and quicker than he +expected. His mother was overjoyed to see him; he found her crying +bitterly, and lamenting his hard fate, for she concluded he had come to +some shocking end through his rashness. Jack was impatient to show his +hen, and inform his mother how valuable it was. "And now, mother," said +Jack, "I have brought home that which will quickly make us rich; and I +hope to make you some amends for the affliction I have caused you +through my idleness, extravagance, and folly." The hen produced as many +golden eggs as they desired: they sold them, and in a little time became +possessed of as much riches as they wanted. For some months Jack and his +mother lived very happily together; but he being very desirous of +travelling, recollecting the fairy's commands, and fearing that if he +delayed, she would put her threats into execution, longed to climb the +bean-stalk, and pay the giant another visit, in order to carry away some +more of his treasures; for, during the time that Jack was in the giant's +mansion, whilst he lay concealed in the oven, he learned from the +conversation that took place between the giant and his wife, that he +possessed some wonderful curiosities. Jack thought of his journey again +and again, but still he could not summon resolution enough to break it +to his mother, being well assured that she would endeavour to prevent +his going. However, one day he told her boldly that he must take a +journey up the bean-stalk; she begged and prayed him not to think of it, +and tried all in her power to dissuade him: she told him that the +giant's wife would certainly know him again, and that the giant would +desire nothing better than to get him into his power, that he might put +him to a cruel death, in order to be revenged for the loss of his hen. +Jack, finding that all his arguments were useless, pretended to give up +the point, though resolved to go at all events. He had a dress prepared +which would disguise him, and something to colour his skin. He thought +it impossible for any one to recollect him in this dress. + +In a few mornings after this, he arose very early, changed his +complexion, and, unperceived by any one, climbed the bean-stalk a second +time. He was greatly fatigued when he reached the top, and very hungry. +Having rested some time on one of the stones, he pursued his journey to +the giant's mansion. He reached it late in the evening: the woman was at +the door as before. Jack addressed her, at the same time telling her a +pitiful tale, and requesting that she would give him some victuals and +drink, and also a night's lodging. + +She told him (what he knew before very well) about her husband being a +powerful and cruel giant; and also that she one night admitted a poor, +hungry, friendless boy, who was half dead with travelling; that the +little ungrateful fellow had stolen one of the giant's treasures; and, +ever since that, her husband had been worse than before, used her very +cruelly, and continually upbraided her with being the cause of his +misfortune. Jack was at no loss to discover that he was attending to the +account of a story in which he was the principal actor. He did his best +to persuade the good woman to admit him, but found it a very hard task. +At last she consented; and as she led the way, Jack observed that every +thing was just as he had found it before. She took him into the kitchen, +and after he had done eating and drinking, she hid him in an old +lumber-closet. The giant returned at the usual time, and walked in so +heavily, that the house was shaken to its foundation. He seated himself +by the fire, and soon after exclaimed: "Wife! I smell fresh meat!" The +wife replied, it was the crows, who had brought a piece of raw meat, and +left it on the top of the house. Whilst supper was preparing, the giant +was very ill-tempered and impatient, frequently lifting up his hand to +strike his wife, for not being quick enough; she, however, was always so +fortunate as to elude the blow. He was also continually up-braiding her +with the loss of his wonderful hen. The giant at last having ended his +voracious supper, and eaten till he was quite satisfied, said to his +wife: "I must have something to amuse me; either my bags of money or my +harp." After a great deal of ill-humour, and having teased his wife some +he commanded her to bring down his bags of gold and silver. Jack, as +before, peeped out of his hiding-place, and presently his wife brought +two bags into the room: they were of a very large size; one was filled +with new guineas, and the other with new shillings. They were both +placed before the giant, who began reprimanding his poor wife most +severely for staying so long; she replied, trembling with fear, that +they were so heavy, that she could scarcely lift them; and concluded, at +last, that she would never again bring them down stairs; adding, that +she had nearly fainted, owing to their weight This so exasperated the +giant, that he raised his hand to strike her; she, however, escaped, and +went to bed, leaving him to count over his treasure, by way of +amusement. The giant took his bags, and after turning them over and +over, to see that they were in the same state as he left them, began to +count their contents. First, the bag which contained the silver was +emptied, and the contents placed upon the table. Jack viewed the +glittering heaps with delight, and most heartily wished them in his own +possession. The giant (little thinking he was so narrowly watched) +reckoned the silver over several times; and then, having satisfied +himself that all was safe, put it into the bag again, which he made very +secure. The other bag was opened next, and the guineas placed upon the +table. If Jack was pleased at the sight of the silver, how much more +delighted he felt when he saw such a heap of glittering gold! He even +had the boldness to think of gaming both bags; but suddenly recollecting +himself, he began to fear that the giant would sham sleep, the better to +entrap any one who might be concealed. When the giant had counted over +the gold till he was tired, he put it up, if possible, more secure than +he had put up the silver before; he then fell back on his chair by the +fire-side, and fell asleep. He snored so loud, that Jack compared his +noise to the roaring of the sea in a high wind, when the tide is coming +in. At last, Jack concluded him to be asleep, and therefore secure, +stole out of his hiding-place, and approached the giant, in order to +carry off the two bags of money; but just as he laid his hand upon one +of the bags, a little dog, whom he had not perceived before, started +from under the giant's chair, and barked at Jack most furiously, who now +gave himself up for lost. Fear riveted him to the spot. Instead of +endeavouring to escape, he stood still, though expecting his enemy to +awake every instant. Contrary, however, to his expectation, the giant +continued in a sound sleep, and the dog grew weary of barking. Jack now +began to recollect himself, and on looking round, saw a large piece of +meat; this he threw to the dog, who instantly seized it, and took it +into the lumber-closet, which Jack had just left. Finding himself +delivered from a noisy and troublesome enemy, and seeing the giant did +not awake, Jack boldly seized the bags, and throwing them over his +shoulders, ran out of the kitchen. He reached the street door in safety, +and found it quite daylight. In his way to the top of the bean-stalk, he +found himself greatly incommoded with the weight of the money-bags; and +really they were so heavy that he could scarcely carry them. Jack was +overjoyed when he found himself near the bean-stalk; he soon reached the +bottom, and immediately ran to seek his mother; to his great surprise, +the cottage was deserted; he ran from one room to another, without being +able to find any one; he then hastened into the village, hoping to see +some of the neighbours, who could inform him where he could find his +mother. An old woman at last directed him to a neighbouring house, where +she was ill of a fever. He was greatly shocked on finding her apparently +dying, and could scarcely bear his own reflections, on knowing himself +to be the cause. On being informed of our hero's safe return, his +mother, by degrees, revived, and gradually recovered. Jack presented her +with his two valuable bags. They lived happily and comfortably; the +cottage was rebuilt, and well furnished. + +For three years Jack heard no more of the bean-stalk, but he could not +forget it; though he feared making his mother unhappy. She would not +mention the hated bean-stalk, lest it should remind him of taking +another journey. Notwithstanding the comforts Jack enjoyed at home, his +mind dwelt continually upon the bean-stalk; for the fairy's menaces, in +case of his disobedience, were ever present to his mind, and prevented +him from being happy; he could think of nothing else. It was in vain +endeavouring to amuse himself; he became thoughtful, and would arise at +the first dawn of day, and view the bean-stalk for hours together. His +mother saw that something preyed heavily upon his mind, and endeavoured +to discover the cause; but Jack knew too well what the consequence would +be, should she succeed. He did his utmost, therefore, to conquer the +great desire he had for another journey up the bean-stalk. Finding, +however, that his inclination grew too powerful for him, he began to +make secret preparations for his journey, and on the longest day, arose +as soon as it was light, ascended the bean-stalk, and reached the top +with some little trouble. He found the road, journey, etc., much as it +was on the two former times; he arrived at the giant's mansion in the +evening, and found his wife standing, as usual, at the door. Jack had +disguised himself so completely, that she did not appear to have the +least recollection of him; however, when he pleaded hunger and poverty, +in order to gain admittance, he found it very difficult to persuade her. +At last he prevailed, and was concealed in the copper. When the giant +returned, he said, "I smell fresh meat!" But Jack felt quite composed, +as he had said so before, and had been soon satisfied. However, the +giant started up suddenly, and, notwithstanding all his wife could say, +he searched all round the room. Whilst this was going forward, Jack was +exceedingly terrified, and ready to die with fear, wishing himself at +home a thousand times; but when the giant approached the copper, and put +his hand upon the lid, Jack thought his death was certain. The giant +ended his search there, without moving the lid, and seated himself +quietly by the fire-side. This fright nearly overcame poor Jack; he was +afraid of moving or even breathing, lest he should be discovered. The +giant at last ate a hearty supper. When he had finished, he commanded +his wife to fetch down his harp. Jack peeped under the copper-lid, and +soon saw the most beautiful harp that could be imagined: it was placed +by the giant on the table, who said, "Play!" and it instantly played of +its own accord, without being touched. The music was uncommonly fine. +Jack was delighted, and felt more anxious to get the harp into his +possession, than either of the former treasures. The giant's soul was +not attuned to harmony, and the music soon lulled him into a sound +sleep. Now, therefore, was the time to carry off the harp, as the giant +appeared to be in a more profound sleep than usual Jack soon determined, +got out of the copper, and seized the harp, The harp was enchanted by a +fairy: it called out loudly: "Master! master!" The giant awoke, stood +up, and tried to pursue Jack; but he had drank so much, that he could +hardly stand. Poor Jack ran as fast as he could. In a little time the +giant recovered sufficiently to walk slowly, or rather, to reel after +him. Had he been sober, he must have overtaken Jack instantly; but, as +he then was, Jack contrived to be first at the top of the bean-stalk. +The giant called after him in a voice like thunder, and sometimes was +very near him. The moment Jack got down the bean-stalk he called out for +a hatchet; one was brought him directly; just at that instant, the giant +was beginning to descend; but Jack, with his hatchet, cut the bean-stalk +close off at the root, which made the giant fall headlong into the +garden: the fall killed him, thereby releasing the world from a +barbarous enemy. Jack's mother was delighted when she saw the bean-stalk +destroyed. At this instant the fairy appeared: she first addressed +Jack's mother and explained every circumstance relating to the journeys +up the bean-stalk. The fairy charged Jack to be dutiful to his mother, +and to follow his father's good example, which was the only way to be +happy. She then disappeared. Jack heartily begged his mother's pardon +for all the sorrow and affliction he had caused her, promising most +faithfully to be very dutiful and obedient to her for the future. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +JACK THE GIANT KILLER + + +In the reign of the famous King Arthur, there lived near the Land's End +of England, in the county of Cornwall, a worthy farmer, who had an only +son named Jack. Jack was a boy of a bold temper; he took pleasure in +hearing or reading stories of wizards, conjurers, giants, and fairies, +and used to listen eagerly while his father talked of the great deeds of +the brave knights of King Arthur's Round Table. When Jack was sent to +take care of the sheep and oxen in the fields, he used to amuse himself +with planning battles, sieges, and the means to conquer or surprise a +foe. He was above the common sports of children; but hardly any one +could equal him at wrestling; or, if he met with a match for himself in +strength, his skill and address always made him the victor. In those +days there lived on St. Michael's Mount of Cornwall, which rises out of +the sea at some distance from the main land, a huge giant. He was +eighteen feet high, and three yards round; and his fierce and savage +looks were the terror of all his neighbours. He dwelt in a gloomy cavern +on the very top of the mountain, and used to wade over to the main land +in search of his prey. When he came near, the people left their houses; +and after he had glutted his appetite upon their cattle, he would throw +half-a-dozen oxen upon his back, and tie three times as many sheep and +hogs round his waist, and so march back to his own abode. The giant had +done this for many years, and the coast of Cornwall was greatly hurt by +his thefts, when Jack boldly resolved to destroy him. He therefore took +a horn, a shovel, pickaxe, and a dark lantern, and early in a long +winter's evening he swam to the mount. There he fell to work at once, +and before morning he had dug a pit twenty-two feet deep, and almost as +many broad. He covered it over with sticks and straw, and strewed some +of the earth over them, to make it look just like solid ground. He then +put his horn to his mouth, and blew such a loud and long tantivy, that +the giant awoke and came towards Jack, roaring like thunder: "You saucy +villain, you shall pay dearly for breaking my rest; I will broil you for +my breakfast." He had scarcely spoken these words, when he came +advancing one step farther; but then he tumbled headlong into the pit, +and his fall shook the very mountain. "O ho, Mr. Giant!" said Jack, +looking into the pit, "have you found your way so soon to the bottom? +How is your appetite now? Will nothing serve you for breakfast this cold +morning but broiling poor Jack?" The giant now tried to rise, but Jack +struck him a blow on the crown of the head with his pickaxe, which +killed him at once. Jack then made haste back to rejoice his friends +with the news of the giant's death. When the justices of Cornwall heard +of this valiant action, they sent for Jack, and declared that he should +always be called Jack the Giant Killer; and they also gave him a sword +and belt, upon which was written in letters of gold: + + "This is the valiant Cornishman + Who slew the Giant Cormoran." + +The news of Jack's exploits soon spread over the western parts of +England; and another giant, called Old Blunderbore, vowed to have +revenge on Jack, if it should ever be his fortune to get him into his +power. This giant kept an enchanted castle in the midst of a lonely +wood. About four months after the death of Cormoran, as Jack was taking +a journey into Wales, he passed through this wood; and as he was very +weary, he sat down to rest by the side of a pleasant fountain, and there +he fell into a deep sleep. The giant came to the fountain for water just +at this time, and found Jack there; and as the lines on Jack's belt +showed who he was, the giant lifted him up and laid him gently upon his +shoulder to carry him to his castle: but as he passed through the +thicket, the rustling of the leaves waked Jack; and he was sadly afraid +when he found himself in the clutches of Blunderbore. Yet this was +nothing to his fright soon after; for when they reached the castle, he +beheld the floor covered all over with the skulls and bones of men and +women. The giant took him into a large room where lay the hearts and +limbs of persons who had been lately killed; and he told Jack, with a +horrid grin, that men's hearts, eaten with pepper and vinegar, were his +nicest food; and also, that he thought he should make a dainty meal on +his heart. When he had said this, he locked Jack up in that room, while +he went to fetch another giant who lived in the same wood, to enjoy a +dinner off Jack's flesh with him. While he was away, Jack heard dreadful +shrieks, groans, and cries, from many parts of the castle; and soon +after he heard a mournful voice repeat these lines: + + "Haste, valiant stranger, haste away, + Lest you become the giant's prey. + On his return he'll bring another, + Still more savage than his brother: + A horrid, cruel monster, who, + Before he kills, will torture you. + Oh valiant stranger, haste away, + Or you'll become these giants' prey." + +This warning was so shocking to poor Jack, that he was ready to go mad. +He ran to the window, and saw the two giants coming along arm in arm. +This window was right over the gates of the castle. "Now," thought Jack, +"either my death or freedom is at hand." There were two strong cords in +the room: Jack made a large noose with a slip-knot at the ends of both +these, and as the giants were coming through the gates, he threw the +ropes over their heads. He then made the other ends fast to a beam in +the ceiling, and pulled with all his might till he had almost strangled +them. When he saw that they were both quite black in the face, and had +not the least strength left, he drew his sword, and slid down the ropes; +he then killed the giants, and thus saved himself from the cruel death +they meant to put him to. Jack next took a great bunch of keys from the +pocket of Blunderbore, and went into the castle again. He made a strict +search through all the rooms; and in them found three ladies tied up by +the hair of their heads, and almost starved to death. They told him that +their husbands had been killed by the giants, who had then condemned +them to be starved to death, because they would not eat the flesh of +their own dead husbands. "Ladies," said Jack, "I have put an end to the +monster and his wicked brother; and I give you this castle and all the +riches it contains, to make you some amends for the dreadful pains you +have felt." He then very politely gave them the keys of the castle, and +went further on his journey to Wales. As Jack had not taken any of the +giant's riches for himself, and so had very little money of his own, he +thought it best to travel as fast as he could. At length he lost his +way, and when night came on he was in a lonely valley between two lofty +mountains, where he walked about for some hours without seeing any +dwelling place, so he thought himself very lucky at last, in finding a +large and handsome house. + +He went up to it boldly, and knocked loudly at the gate, when, to his +great terror and surprise, there came forth a monstrous giant with two +heads. He spoke to Jack very civilly, for he was a Welsh giant, and all +the mischief he did was by private and secret malice, under the show of +friendship and kindness. Jack told him that he was a traveller who had +lost his way, on which the huge monster made him welcome, and led him +into a room, where there was a good bed to pass the night in. Jack took +off his clothes quickly; but though he was so weary he could not go to +sleep. Soon after this he heard the giant walking backward and forward +in the next room, and saying to himself: + + "Though here you lodge with me this night, + You shall not see the morning light; + My club shall dash your brains out quite." + +"Say you so?" thought Jack; "are these your tricks upon travellers? But +I hope to prove as cunning as you." Then getting out of bed, he groped +about the room, and at last found a large thick billet of wood; he laid +it in his own place in the bed, and then hid himself in a dark corner of +the room. In the middle of the night the giant came with his great club, +and struck many heavy blows on the bed, in the very place where Jack had +laid the billet, and then he went back to his own room, thinking he had +broken all his bones. Early in the morning, Jack put a bold face upon +the matter, and walked into the giant's room to thank him for his +lodgings. The giant started when he saw him, and he began to stammer +out, "Oh, dear me! Is it you? Pray, how did you sleep last night? Did +you hear or see any thing in the dead of the night?" "Nothing worth +speaking of," said Jack carelessly; "a rat, I believe, gave me three or +four slaps with his tail, and disturbed me a little; but I soon went to +sleep again." The giant wondered more and more at this; yet he did not +answer a word, but went to bring two great bowls of hasty-pudding for +their breakfast. Jack wished to make the giant believe that he could eat +as much as himself. So he contrived to button a leathern bag inside his +coat, and slipped the hasty-pudding into this bag, while he seemed to +put it into his mouth. When breakfast was over, he said to the giant: +"Now I will show you a fine trick; I can cure all wounds with a touch; I +could cut off my head one minute, and the next, put it sound again on my +shoulders: you shall see an example." He then took hold of the knife, +ripped up the leathern bag, and all the hasty-pudding tumbled out upon +the floor. "Ods splutter hur nails," cried the Welsh giant, who was +ashamed to be outdone by such a little fellow as Jack, "hur can do that +hurself." So he snatched up the knife, plunged it into his stomach, and +in a moment dropped down dead. + +As soon as Jack had thus tricked the Welsh monster, he went farther on +his journey; and a few days after he met with King Arthur's only son, +who had got his father's leave to travel into Wales, to deliver a +beautiful lady from the power of a wicked magician, who held her in his +enchantments. When Jack found that the young prince had no servants with +him, he begged leave to attend him; and the prince at once agreed to +this, and gave Jack many thanks for his kindness. The prince was a +handsome, polite, and brave knight, and so good-natured that he gave +money to every body he met. At length he gave his last penny to an old +woman, and then turned to Jack, and said: "How shall we be able to get +food for ourselves the rest of our journey?" "Leave that to me sir," +said Jack; "I will provide for my prince." Night now came on, and the +prince began to grow uneasy at thinking where they should lodge. "Sir," +said Jack, "be of good heart; two miles farther there lives a large +giant, whom I know well. He has three heads, and will fight five hundred +men, and make them fly before him." "Alas!" replied the king's son, "we +had better never have been born than meet with such a monster." "My +lord, leave me to manage him, and wait here in quiet till I return." The +prince now staid behind, while Jack rode on full speed. And when he came +to the gates of the castle, he gave a loud knock. The giant, with a +voice like thunder, roared out: "Who is there?" And Jack made answer, +and said: "No one but your poor cousin Jack." "Well," said the giant, +"what news, cousin Jack?" "Dear uncle," said Jack, "I have some heavy +news." "Pooh!" said the giant, "what heavy news can come to me? I am a +giant with three heads; and can fight five hundred men, and make them +fly before me." "Alas!" said Jack, "Here is the king's son, coming with +two thousand men, to kill you, and to destroy the castle and all that +you have." "Oh, cousin Jack," said the giant, "This is heavy news +indeed! But I have a large cellar under ground, where I will hide +myself, and you shall lock, and bar me in, and keep the keys till the +king's son is gone." + +Now when Jack had made the giant fast in the vault, he went back and +fetched the prince to the castle; they both made themselves merry with +the wine and other dainties that were in the house. So that night they +rested very pleasantly, while the poor giant lay trembling and shaking +with fear in the cellar under ground. Early in the morning, Jack gave +the king's son gold and silver out of the giant's treasure, and set him +three miles forward on his journey. He then went to let his uncle out of +the hole, who asked Jack what he should give him as a reward for saving +his castle. "Why, good uncle," said Jack, "I desire nothing but the old +coat and cap, with the old rusty sword and slippers, which are hanging +at your bed's head," Then said the giant: "You shall have them; and pray +keep them for my sake, for they are things of great use: the coat will +keep you invisible, the cap will give you knowledge, the sword cut +through anything, and the shoes are of vast swiftness; these may be +useful to you in all times of danger, so take them with all my heart." +Jack gave many thanks to the giant, and then set off to the prince. When +he had come up with the king's son, they soon arrived at the dwelling of +the beautiful lady, who was under the power of a wicked magician. She +received the prince very politely, and made a noble feast for him; and +when it was ended, she rose, and wiping her mouth with a fine +handkerchief, said: "My lord, you must submit to the custom of my +palace; to-morrow morning I command you to tell me on whom I bestow this +handkerchief or lose your head." She then went out of the room. The +young prince went to bed very mournful: but Jack put on his cap of +knowledge, which told him that the lady was forced, by the power of +enchantment, to meet the wicked magician every night in the middle of +the forest. Jack now put on his coat of darkness, and his shoes of +swiftness, and was there before her. When the lady came, she gave the +handkerchief to the magician. Jack with his sword of sharpness, at one +blow, cut off his head; the enchantment was then ended in a moment, and +the lady was restored to her former virtue and goodness. + +She was married to the prince on the next day, and soon after went back +with her royal husband, and a great company, to the court of King +Arthur, where they were received with loud and joyful welcomes; and the +valiant hero Jack, for the many great exploits he had done for the good +of his country, was made one of the Knights of the Round Table. As Jack +had been so lucky in all his adventures, he resolved not to be idle for +the future, but still to do what services he could for the honour of the +king and the nation. He therefore humbly begged his majesty to furnish +him with a horse and money, that he might travel in search of new and +strange exploits. "For," said he to the king, "there are many giants yet +living in the remote parts of Wales, to the great terror and distress of +your majesty's subjects; therefore if it please you, sire, to favour me +in my design, I will soon rid your kingdom of these giants and monsters +in human shape." Now when the king heard this offer, and began to think +of the cruel deeds of these blood-thirsty giants and savage monsters, he +gave Jack every thing proper for such a journey. After this Jack took +leave of the king, the prince, and all the knights, and set off; taking +with him his cap of knowledge, his sword of sharpness, his shoes of +swiftness, and his invisible coat, the better to perform the great +exploits that might fall in his way. He went along over high hills and +lofty mountains, and on the third day he came to a large wide forest, +through which his road led. He had hardly entered the forest, when on a +sudden he heard very dreadful shrieks and cries. He forced his way +through the trees, and saw a monstrous giant dragging along by the hair +of their heads a handsome knight and his beautiful lady. Their tears and +cries melted the heart of honest Jack to pity and compassion; he +alighted from his horse, and tying him to an oak tree he put on his +invisible coat, under which he carried his sword of sharpness. + +When he came up to the giant, he made several strokes at him, but could +not reach his body, on account of the enormous height of the terrible +creature, but he wounded his thighs in several places; and at length, +putting both hands to his sword, and aiming with all his might, he cut +off both the giant's legs just below the garter; and the trunk of his +body tumbling to the ground, made not only the trees shake, but the +earth itself tremble with the force of his fall. Then Jack, setting his +foot upon his neck, exclaimed, "Thou barbarous and savage wretch, behold +I come to execute upon thee the just reward for all thy crimes;" and +instantly plunged his sword into the giant's body. The huge monster gave +a hideous groan, and yielded up his life into the hands of the +victorious Jack the Giant Killer, whilst the noble knight and the +virtuous lady were both joyful spectators of his sudden death and their +deliverance. The courteous knight and his fair lady, not only returned +Jack hearty thanks for their deliverance, but also invited him to their +house, to refresh himself after his dreadful encounter, as likewise to +receive a reward for his good services. "No," said Jack, "I cannot be at +ease till I find out the den that was the monster's habitation." The +knight on hearing this grew very sorrowful, and replied, "Noble +stranger, it is too much to run a second hazard; this monster lived in a +den under yonder mountain, with a brother of his, more fierce and cruel +than himself; therefore, if you should go thither, and perish in the +attempt, it would be a heart-breaking thing to me and my lady; so let me +persuade you to go with us, and desist from any farther pursuit." "Nay," +answered Jack, "if there be another, even if there were twenty, I would +shed the last drop of blood in my body before one of them should escape +my fury. When I have finished this task, I will come and pay my respects +to you." So when they had told him where to find them again, he got on +his horse and went after the dead giant's brother. + +Jack had not rode a mile and a half, before he came in sight of the +mouth of the cavern; and nigh the entrance of it, he saw the other giant +sitting on a huge block of fine timber, with a knotted iron club lying +by his side, waiting for his brother. His eyes looked like flames of +fire, his face was grim and ugly, and his cheeks seemed like two +flitches of bacon; the bristles of his beard seemed to be thick rods of +iron wire; and his long locks of hair hung down upon his broad shoulders +like curling snakes. Jack got down from his horse, and turned him into a +thicket; then he put on his coat of darkness, and drew a little nearer +to behold this figure, and said softly: "Oh, monster! are you there? It +will not be long before I shall take you fast by the beard." The giant +all this while, could not see him, by reason of his invisible coat: so +Jack came quite close to him, and struck a blow at his head with his +sword of sharpness, but he missed his aim, and only cut off his nose, +which made him roar like loud claps of thunder. And though he rolled his +glaring eyes round on every side, he could not see who had given him the +blow; yet he took up his iron club, and began to lay about him like one +that was mad with pain and fury. + +"Nay," said Jack, "if this be the case I will kill you at once." So +saying, he slipped nimbly behind him, and jumping upon the block of +timber, as the giant rose from it, he stabbed him in the back; when, +after a few howls, he dropped down dead. Jack cut off his head, and sent +it with the head of his brother, whom he had killed before in the +forest, to King Arthur, by a wagon which he hired for that purpose, with +an account of all his exploits. When Jack had thus killed these two +monsters, he went into their cave in search of their treasure: he passed +through many turnings and windings, which led him to a room paved with +freestone; at the end of it was a boiling caldron, and on the right hand +stood a large table where the giants used to dine. He then came to a +window that was secured with iron bars, through which he saw a number of +wretched captives, who cried out when they saw Jack, "Alas! alas! young +man, you are come to be one among us in this horrid den." "I hope," said +Jack, "you will not stay here long; but pray tell me what is the meaning +of your being here at all?" "Alas!" said one poor old man, "I will tell +you, sir. We are persons that have been taken by the giants who hold +this cave, and are kept till they choose to have a feast, then one of us +is to be killed, and cooked to please their taste. It is not long since +they took three for the same purpose." "Well," said Jack, "I have given +them such a dinner that it will be long enough before they have any +more." The captives were amazed at his words. "You may believe me," said +Jack; "for I have killed them both with the edge of the sword, and have +sent their large heads to the court of King Arthur, as marks of my great +success." + +To show them that what he said was true, he unlocked the gate, and set +them all free. Then he led them to the great room, placed them round the +table, and set before them two quarters of beef, with bread and wine; +upon which they feasted to their fill. When supper was over, they +searched the giants' coffers, and Jack shared the store in them among +the captives, who thanked him for their escape. The next morning they +set off to their homes, and Jack to the knight's house, whom he had left +with his lady not long before. It was just at the time of sunrise that +Jack mounted his horse to proceed on his journey. + +He arrived at the knight's house, where he was received with the +greatest joy by the thankful knight and his lady, who, in honour of +Jack's exploits, gave a grand feast, to which all the nobles and gentry +were invited. When the company were assembled, the knight declared to +them the great actions of Jack, and gave him, as a mark of respect, a +fine ring, on which was engraved the picture of the giant dragging the +knight and the lady by the hair, with this motto round it: + + "Behold, in dire distress were we, + Under a giant's fierce command; + But gained our lives and liberty, + From valiant Jack's victorious hand." + +Among the guests then present were five aged gentlemen, who were fathers +to some of those captives who had been freed by Jack from the dungeon of +the giants. As soon as they heard that he was the person who had done +such wonders, they pressed round him with tears of joy, to return him +thanks for the happiness he had caused to them. After this the bowl went +round, and every one drank to the health and long life of the gallant +hero. Mirth increased, and the hall was filled with peals of laughter +and joyful cries. But, on a sudden, a herald, pale and breathless with +haste and terror, rushed into the midst of the company, and told them +that Thundel, a savage giant with two heads, had heard of the death of +his two kinsmen, and was come to take his revenge on Jack; and that he +was now within a mile of the house; the people flying before him like +chaff before the wind. At this news the very boldest of the guests +trembled; but Jack drew his sword, and said: "Let him come, I have a rod +for him also. Pray, ladies and gentlemen, do me the favour to walk into +the garden, and you shall soon behold the giant's defeat and death." To +this they all agreed, and heartily wished him success in his dangerous +attempt. The knight's house stood in the middle of a moat, thirty feet +deep and twenty wide, over which lay a drawbridge. Jack set men to work +to cut the bridge on both sides, almost to the middle; and then dressed +himself in his coat of darkness, and went against the giant with his +sword of sharpness. As he came close to him, though the giant could not +see him, for his invisible coat, yet he found some danger was near, +which made him cry out: + + "Fa, fe, fi, fo, fum, + I smell the blood of an Englishman; + Let him be alive, or let him be dead, + I'll grind his bones to make me bread." + +"Say you so my friend?" said Jack, "you are a monstrous miller indeed." +"Art thou," cried the giant, "the villain that killed my kinsmen? Then I +will tear thee with my teeth, and grind thy bones to powder." "You must +catch me first," said Jack; and throwing off his coat of darkness, and +putting on his shoes of swiftness, he began to run; the giant following +him like a walking castle, making the earth shake at every step. + +Jack led him round and round the walls of the house, that the company +might see the monster; and to finish the work Jack ran over the +drawbridge, the giant going after him with his club. But when the giant +came to the middle, where the bridge had been cut on both sides, the +great weight of his body made it break, and he tumbled into the water, +and rolled about like a large whale. Jack now stood by the side of the +moat, and laughed and jeered at him, saying: "I think you told me, you +would grind my bones to powder. When will you begin?" The giant foamed +at both his horrid mouths with fury, and plunged from side to side of +the moat; but he could not get out to have revenge on his little foe. At +last Jack ordered a cart rope to be brought to him. He then drew it over +his two heads, and by the help of a team of horses, dragged him to the +edge of the moat, where he cut off the monster's heads; and before he +either eat or drank, he sent them both to the court of King Arthur. He +then went back to the table with the company, and the rest of the day +was spent in mirth and good cheer. After staying with the knight for +some time, Jack grew weary of such an idle life, and set out again in +search of new adventures. He went over the hills and dales without +meeting any, till he came to the foot of a very high mountain. Here he +knocked at the door of a small and lonely house; and an old man, with a +head as white as snow, let him in. "Good father" said Jack, "can you +lodge a traveller who has lost his way?" "Yes," said the hermit, "I can, +if you will accept such fare as my poor house affords." Jack entered, +and the old man set before him some bread and fruit for his supper. When +Jack had eaten as much as he chose, the hermit said, "My son, I know you +are the famous conqueror of giants; now, on the top of this mountain is +an enchanted castle, kept by a giant named Galligantus, who, by the help +of a vile magician, gets many knights into his castle, where he changes +them into the shape of beasts. Above all I lament the hard fate of a +duke's daughter, whom they seized as she was walking in her father's +garden, and brought hither through the air in a chariot drawn by two +fiery dragons, and turned her into the shape of a deer. Many knights +have tried to destroy the enchantment, and deliver her; yet none have +been able to do it, by reason of two fiery griffins who guard the gate +of the castle, and destroy all who come nigh. But as you, my son, have +an invisible coat, you may pass by them without being seen; and on the +gates of the castle, you will find engraved, by what means the +enchantment may be broken." + +Jack promised, that in the morning, at the risk of his life he would +break the enchantment: and after a sound sleep he arose early, put on +his invisible coat, and got ready for the attempt. When he had climbed +to the top of the mountain, he saw the two fiery griffins; but he passed +between them without the least fear of danger; for they could not see +him because of his invisible coat. On the castle gate he found a golden +trumpet, under which were written these lines: + + "Whoever can this trumpet blow, + Shall cause the giant's overthrow." + +As soon as Jack had read this, he seized the trumpet, and blew a shrill +blast which made the gates fly open and the very castle itself tremble. +The giant and the conjurer now knew that their wicked course was at an +end, and they stood biting their thumbs and shaking with fear. Jack, +with his sword of sharpness, soon killed the giant. The magician was +then carried away by a whirlwind and every knight and beautiful lady, +who had been changed into birds and beasts, returned to their proper +shapes. The castle vanished away like smoke and the head of the giant +Galligantus was sent to King Arthur. The knights and ladies rested that +night at the old man's hermitage, and next day they set out for the +court. Jack then went up to the king, and gave his majesty an account of +all his fierce battles. Jack's fame had spread through the whole +country; and at the king's desire, the duke gave him his daughter in +marriage, to the joy of all the kingdom. After this the king gave him a +large estate; on which he and his lady lived the rest of their days, in +joy and content. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD + + +Once upon a time there lived in a village a country girl, who was the +sweetest little creature that ever was seen; her mother naturally loved +her with excessive fondness, and her grandmother doted on her still +more. The good woman had made for her a pretty little red-coloured hood, +which so much became the little girl, that every one called her Little +Red Riding Hood. + +One day her mother having made some cheesecakes, said to her, "Go, my +child, and see how your grandmother does, for I hear she is ill; carry +her some of these cakes, and a little pot of butter." Little Red Riding +Hood straight set out with a basket filled with the cakes and the pot of +butter, for her grandmother's house, which was in a village a little way +off the town that her mother lived in. As she was crossing a wood, which +lay in her road, she met a large wolf, which had a great mind to eat her +up, but dared not, for fear of some wood-cutters, who were at work near +them in the forest. Yet he spoke to her, and asked her whither she was +going. The little girl, who did not know the danger of talking to a +wolf, replied: "I am going to see my grandmamma, and carry these cakes +and a pot of butter." "Does she live far off?" said the wolf. "Oh yes!" +answered Little Red Riding Hood; "beyond the mill you see yonder, at the +first house in the village." "Well," said the wolf, "I will take this +way, and you take that, and see which will be there the soonest." + +The wolf set out full speed, running as fast as he could, and taking the +nearest way, while the little girl took the longest; and as she went +along began to gather nuts, run after butterflies, and make nose-gays of +such flowers as she found within her reach. The wolf got to the dwelling +of the grandmother first, and knocked at the door. "Who is there?" said +some voice in the house. "It is your grandchild, Little Red Riding +Hood," said the wolf, speaking like the little girl as well as he could. +"I have brought you some cheesecakes, and a little pot of butter, that +mamma has sent you." The good old woman, who was ill in bed, called out, +"Pull the bobbin, and the latch will go up." The wolf pulled the bobbin, +and the door went open. The wolf then jumped upon the poor old +grandmother, and ate her up in a moment, for it was three days since he +had tasted any food. The wolf then shut the door, and laid himself down +in the bed, and waited for Little Red Riding Hood, who very soon after +reached the house. Tap! tap! "Who is there?" cried he. She was at first +a little afraid at hearing the gruff voice of the wolf, but she thought +that perhaps her grandmother had got a cold, so she answered: "It is +your grandchild, Little Red Riding Hood. Mamma has sent you some +cheesecakes, and a little pot of butter." The wolf cried out in a softer +voice, "Pull the bobbin, and the latch will go up." Little Red Riding +Hood pulled the bobbin, and the door went open. When she came into the +room, the wolf hid himself under the bedclothes, and said to her, trying +all he could to speak in a feeble voice: "Put the basket on the stool, +my dear, and take off your clothes, and come into bed." Little Red +Riding Hood, who always used to do as she was told, straight undressed +herself, and stepped into bed; but she thought it strange to see how her +grandmother looked in her nightclothes, so she said to her: "Dear me, +grandmamma, what great arms you have got!" "They are so much the better +to hug you, my child," replied the wolf. "But grandmamma," said the +little girl, "what great ears you have got!" "They are so much the +better to hear you, my child," replied the wolf. "But then, grandmamma, +what great eyes you have got!" said the little girl. "They are so much +the better to see you, my child," replied the wolf. "And grandmamma, +what great teeth you have got!" said the little girl, who now began to +be rather afraid. "They are to eat you up," said the wolf; and saying +these words, the wicked creature fell upon Little Red Riding Hood, and +ate her up in a moment. + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +THE THREE BEARS + + +In a far-off country there was once a little girl who was called +Silver-hair, because her curly hair shone brightly. She was a sad romp, +and so restless that she could not be kept quiet at home, but must needs +run out and away, without leave. + +One day she started off into a wood to gather wild flowers, and into the +fields to chase butterflies. She ran here and she ran there, and went so +far, at last, that she found herself in a lonely place, where she saw a +snug little house, in which three bears lived; but they were not then at +home. + +The door was ajar, and Silver-hair pushed it open and found the place to +be quite empty, so she made up her mind to go in boldly, and look all +about the place, little thinking what sort of people lived there. + +Now the three bears had gone out to walk a little before this. They were +the Big Bear, and the Middle-sized Bear, and the Little Bear; but they +had left their porridge on the table to cool. So when Silver-hair came +into the kitchen, she saw the three bowls of porridge. She tasted the +largest bowl, which belonged to the Big Bear, and found it too cold; +then she tasted the middle-sized bowl, which belonged to the +Middle-sized Bear, and found it too hot; then she tasted the smallest +bowl, which belonged to the Little Bear, and it was just right, and she +ate it all. + +She went into the parlour, and there were three chairs. She tried the +biggest chair, which belonged to the Big Bear, and found it too high; +then she tried the middle-sized chair, which belonged to the +Middle-sized Bear, and she found it too broad; then she tried the little +chair, which belonged to the Little Bear, and found it just right, but +she sat in it so hard that she broke it. + +Now Silver-hair was by this time very tired, and she went upstairs to +the chamber, and there she found three beds. She tried the largest bed, +which belonged to the Big Bear, and found it too soft; then she tried +the middle-sized bed, which belonged to the Middle-sized Bear, and she +found it too hard; then she tried the smallest bed, which belonged to +the Little Bear, and found it just right, so she lay down upon it, and +fell fast asleep. + +While Silver-hair was lying fast asleep, the three bears came home from +their walk. They came into the kitchen, to get their porridge, but when +the Big Bear went to his, he growled out: + +"SOMEBODY HAS BEEN TASTING MY PORRIDGE!" + +and the Middle-sized Bear looked into his bowl, and said: + +"Somebody Has Been Tasting My Porridge!" + +and the Little Bear piped: + +"_Somebody has tasted my porridge and eaten it all up!_" + +Then they went into the parlour, and the Big Bear growled: + +"SOMEBODY HAS BEEN SITTING IN MY CHAIR!" + +and the Middle-sized Bear said: + +"Somebody Has Been Sitting In My Chair!" + +and the Little Bear piped: + +"_Somebody has been sitting in my chair, and has broken it all to +pieces!_" + +So they went upstairs into the chamber, and the Big Bear growled: + +"SOMEBODY HAS BEEN TUMBLING MY BED!" + +and the Middle-sized Bear said: + +"Somebody Has Been Tumbling My Bed!" + +and the little Bear piped: + +"_Somebody has been tumbling my bed, and here she is!_" + +At that, Silver-hair woke in a fright, and jumped out of the window and +ran away as fast as her legs could carry her, and never went near the +Three Bears' snug little house again. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI + +THE PRINCESS ON THE PEA + + +There was once a prince who wanted to marry a princess; but she was to +be a _real_ princess. So he travelled about, all through the world, to +find a real one, but everywhere there was something in the way. There +were princesses enough, but whether they were _real_ princesses he could +not quite make out: there was always something that did not seem quite +right. So he came home again, and was quite sad: for he wished so much +to have a real princess. One evening a terrible storm came on. It +lightened and thundered, the rain streamed down; it was quite fearful! +Then there was a knocking at the town gate, and the old king went out to +open it. + +It was a princess who stood outside the gate. But, mercy! how she +looked, from the rain and the rough weather! The water ran down from her +hair and her clothes; it ran in at the points of her shoes, and out at +the heels; and yet she declared that she was a real princess. + +"Yes, we will soon find that out," thought the old queen. But she said +nothing, only went into the bedchamber, took all the bedding off, and +put a pea on the flooring of the bedstead; then she took twenty +mattresses and laid them upon the pea, and then twenty eider-down beds +upon the mattresses. On this the princess had to lie all night. In the +morning she was asked how she had slept. + +"Oh, miserably!" said the princess. "I scarcely closed my eyes all night +long. Goodness knows what was in my bed. I lay upon something hard, so +that I am black and blue all over. It is quite dreadful!" + +Now they saw that she was a real princess, for through the twenty +mattresses and the twenty eider-down beds she had felt the pea. No one +but a real princess could be so delicate. + +So the prince took her for his wife, for now he knew that he had a true +princess; and the pea was put in the museum, and it is there now, unless +somebody has carried it off. + +Look you, this is a true story. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII + +THE UGLY DUCKLING + + +It was so glorious out in the country; it was summer; the cornfields +were yellow, the oats were green, the hay had been put up in stacks in +the green meadows, and the stork went about on his long red legs, and +chattered Egyptian, for this was the language he had learned from his +good mother. All around the fields and meadows were great forests, and +in the midst of these forests lay deep lakes. Yes, it was right glorious +out in the country. In the midst of the sunshine there lay an old farm, +with deep canals about it, and from the wall down to the water grew +great burdocks, so high that little children could stand upright under +the loftiest of them. It was just as wild there as in the deepest wood, +and here sat a Duck upon her nest; she had to hatch her ducklings; but +she was almost tired out before the little ones came and then she so +seldom had visitors. The other ducks liked better to swim about in the +canals than to run up to sit down under a burdock, and cackle with her. + +At last one egg-shell after another burst open. "Piep! piep!" it cried, +and in all the eggs there were little creatures that stuck out their +heads. + +"Quack! quack!" they said; and they all came quacking out as fast as +they could, looking all round them under the green leaves; and the +mother let them look as much as they chose, for green is good for the +eye. + +"How wide the world is!" said all the young ones, for they certainly had +much more room now than when they were in the eggs. + +"D'ye think this is all the world?" said the mother. "That stretches far +across the other side of the garden, quite into the parson's field; but +I have never been there yet. I hope you are all together," and she stood +up. "No, I have not all. The largest egg still lies there. How long is +that to last? I am really tired of it." And she sat down again. + +"Well, how goes it?" asked an old Duck who had come to pay her a visit. + +"It lasts a long time with that one egg," said the Duck who sat there. +"It will not burst. Now, only look at the others; are they not the +prettiest little ducks one could possibly see? They are all like their +father. The rogue, he never comes to see me." + +"Let me see the egg which will not burst," said the old visitor. "You +may be sure it is a turkey's egg. I was once cheated in that way, and +had much anxiety and trouble with the young ones, for they are afraid of +the water. Must I say it to you, I could not get them to venture in. I +quacked and I clacked, but it was no use. Let me see the egg. Yes, +that's a turkey's egg. Let it lie there, and teach the other children to +swim." + +"I think I will sit on it a little longer," said the Duck. "I've sat so +long now that I can sit a few days more." + +"Just as you please," said the old Duck; and she went away. + +At last the great egg burst. "Piep! piep!" said the little one, and +crept forth. It was very large and very ugly. The Duck looked at it. + +"It's a very large duckling," said she; "none of the others look like +that. Can it really be a turkey chick? Well, we shall soon find out. It +must go into the water, even if I have to thrust it in myself." + +The next day it was bright, beautiful weather; the sun shone on all the +green trees. The Mother-Duck went down to the canal with all her family. +Splash! she jumped into the water. "Quack! quack!" she said, and one +duckling after another plunged in. The water closed over their heads, +but they came up in an instant, and swam capitally; their legs went of +themselves, and they were all in the water. The ugly gray Duckling swam +with them. + +"No, it's not a turkey," said she; "look how well it can use its legs, +and how straight it holds itself. It is my own child! On the whole it's +quite pretty, if one looks at it rightly. Quack! quack! come with me, +and I'll lead you out into the great world, and present you in the +duck-yard; but keep close to me, so that no one may tread on you, and +take care of the cats!" + +And so they came into the duck-yard. There was a terrible riot going on +in there, for two families were quarrelling about an eel's head, and the +cat got it after all. + +"See, that's how it goes in the world!" said the Mother-Duck; and she +whetted her beak, for she too wanted the eel's head. "Only use your +legs," she said. "See that you can bustle about, and bow your heads +before the old Duck yonder. She's the grandest of all here; she's of +Spanish blood--that's why she's so fat; and d'ye see? she has a red rag +round her leg; that's something particularly fine, and the greatest +distinction a duck can enjoy; it signifies that one does not want to +lose her, and that she's to be known by the animals and by men too. +Shake yourselves--don't turn in your toes; a well brought-up duck turns +its toes quite out, just like father and mother--so! Now bend your necks +and say 'Quack!'" + +And they did so: but the other ducks round about looked at them, and +said quite boldly: + +"Look there! now we're to have these hanging on, as if there were not +enough of us already! And--fie!--how that duckling yonder looks; we +won't stand that!" And one duck flew up at it, and bit it in the neck. + +"Let it alone," said the mother; "it does no harm to any one." + +"Yes, but it's too large and peculiar," said the Duck who had bitten it; +"and therefore it must be put down." + +"Those are pretty children that the mother has there," said the old Duck +with the rag round her leg. "They're all pretty but that one; that was +rather unlucky. I wish she could bear it over again." + +"That cannot be done, my lady," replied the Mother-Duck. "It is not +pretty, but it has a really good disposition, and swims as well as any +other; yes, I may even say it, swims better. I think it will grow up +pretty, and become smaller in time; it has lain too long in the egg, and +therefore is not properly shaped." And then she pinched it in the neck, +and smoothed its feathers. "Moreover, it is a drake," she said, "and +therefore it is not of so much consequence. I think he will be very +strong. He makes his way already." + +"The other ducklings are graceful enough," said the old Duck. "Make +yourself at home; and if you find an eel's head, you may bring it me." + +And now they were at home. But the poor Duckling which had crept last +out of the egg, and looked so ugly, was bitten and pushed and jeered, as +much by the ducks as by the chickens. + +"It is too big!" they all said. And the turkey-cock, who had been born +with spurs, and therefore thought himself an emperor, blew himself up +like a ship in full sail, and bore straight down upon it; then he +gobbled and grew quite red in the face. The poor Duckling did not know +where it should stand or walk; it was quite melancholy because it looked +ugly, and was the butt of the whole duck-yard. + +So it went on the first day; and afterwards it became worse and worse. +The poor Duckling was hunted about by every one; even its brothers and +sisters were quite angry with it, and said, "If the cat would only catch +you, you ugly creature!" And the mother said, "If you were only far +away!" And the ducks bit it, and the chickens beat it, and the girl who +had to feed the poultry kicked at it with her foot. + +Then it ran and flew over the fence, and the little birds in the bushes +flew up in fear. + +"That is because I am so ugly!" thought the Duckling; and it shut its +eyes, but flew on farther, and so it came out into the great moor, where +the wild ducks lived. Here it lay the whole night long; and it was weary +and downcast. + +Towards morning the wild ducks flew up, and looked at their new +companion. + +"What sort of a one are you?" they asked; and the Duckling turned in +every direction, and bowed as well as it could. "You are remarkably +ugly!" said the Wild Ducks. "But that is nothing to us, so long as you +do not marry into our family." + +Poor thing! it certainly did not think of marrying, and only hoped to +obtain leave to lie among the reeds and drink some of the swamp water. + +Thus it lay two whole days; then came thither two wild geese, or, +properly speaking, two wild ganders. It was not long since each had +crept out of an egg, and that's why they were so saucy. + +"Listen, comrade," said one of them. "You're so ugly that I like you. +Will you go with us, and become a bird of passage? Near here, in another +moor, there are a few sweet lovely wild geese, all unmarried, and all +able to say 'Rap!' You've a chance of making your fortune, ugly as you +are." + +"Piff! paff!" resounded through the air; and the two ganders fell down +dead in the swamp, and the water became blood red. "Piff! paff!" it +sounded again, and the whole flock of wild geese rose up from the reeds. +And then there was another report. A great hunt was going on. The +sportsmen were lying in wait all round the moor, and some were even +sitting up in the branches of the trees, which spread far over the +reeds. The blue smoke rose up like clouds among the dark trees, and was +wafted far away across the water; and the hunting dogs came--splash, +splash!--into the swamp, and the rushes and the reeds bent down on every +side. That was a fright for the poor Duckling! It turned its head, and +put it under its wing; but at that moment a frightful great dog stood +close by the Duckling. His tongue hung far out of his mouth, and his +eyes gleamed horrible and ugly; he thrust out his nose close against the +Duckling, showed his sharp teeth, and--splash, splash!--on he went, +without seizing it. + +"Oh, Heaven be thanked!" sighed the Duckling. "I am so ugly that even +the dog does not like to bite me!" + +And so it lay quite quiet, while the shots rattled through the reeds and +gun after gun was fired. At last, late in the day, all was still; but +the poor Duckling did not dare to rise up; it waited several hours +before it looked round, and then hastened away out of the moor as fast +as it could. It ran on over field and meadow; there was such a storm +raging that it was difficult to get from one place to another. + +Towards evening the Duck came to a little miserable peasant's hut. This +hut was so dilapidated that it did not itself know on which side it +should fall; and that's why it remained standing. The storm whistled +round the Duckling in such a way that the poor creature was obliged to +sit down, to stand against it; and the wind blew worse and worse. Then +the Duckling noticed that one of the hinges of the door had given way, +and the door hung so slanting that the Duckling could slip through the +crack into the room; and that is what it did. + +Here lived a woman, with her Cat and her Hen. And the Cat, whom she +called Sonnie, could arch his back and purr, he could even give out +sparks; but to make him do it one had to stroke his fur the wrong way. +The Hen had quite little, short legs, and therefore she was called +Chickabiddy Short-shanks. She laid good eggs, and the woman loved her +like her own child. + +In the morning the strange Duckling was at once noticed, and the Cat +began to purr and the Hen to cluck. + +"What's this?" said the woman, and looked all round; but she could not +see well, and therefore she thought the Duckling was a fat duck that had +strayed. "This is a rare prize!" she said. "Now I shall have duck's +eggs. I hope it is not a drake. We must try that." + +And so the Duckling was admitted on trial for three weeks; but no eggs +came. And the Cat was master of the House, and the Hen was the lady, and +always said, "We and the world!" for she thought they were half the +world, and by far the better half. + +The Duckling thought one might have a different opinion, but the Hen +would not allow it. + +"Can you lay eggs?" she asked. + +"No." + +"Then will you hold your tongue!" + +And the Cat said, "Can you curve your back, and purr, and give out +sparks?" + +"No." + +"Then you will please have no opinion of your own when sensible folks +are speaking." + +And the Duckling sat in a corner and was melancholy; then the fresh air +and the sunshine streamed in; and it was seized with such a strange +longing to swim on the water, that it could not help telling the Hen of +it. + +"What are you thinking of?" cried the Hen. "You have nothing to do, +that's why you have these fancies. Lay eggs, or purr, and they will pass +over." + +"But it is so charming to swim on the water!" said the Duckling, "so +refreshing to let it close above one's head, and to dive down to the +bottom." + +"Yes, that must be a mighty pleasure, truly," quoth the Hen, "I fancy +you must have gone crazy. Ask the Cat about it--he's the cleverest +animal I know--ask him if he likes to swim on the water, or to dive +down--I won't speak about myself. Ask our mistress, the old woman; no +one in the world is cleverer than she. Do you think she has any desire +to swim, and to let the water close above her head?" + +"You don't understand me," said the Duckling. + +"We don't understand you? Then pray who is to understand you? You surely +don't pretend to be cleverer than the Cat and the woman--I won't say +anything of myself. Don't be conceited, child, and thank your Maker for +all the kindness you have received. Did you not get into a warm room, +and have you not fallen into company from which you may learn something? +But you are a chatterer, and it is not pleasant to associate with you. +You may believe me, I speak for your good. I tell you disagreeable +things, and by that one may always know one's true friends! Only take +care that you learn to lay eggs, or to purr, and give out sparks!" + +"I think I will go out into the wide world," said the Duckling. + +"Yes, do go," replied the Hen. + +And so the Duckling went away. It swam on the water, and dived, but it +was slighted by every creature because of its ugliness. + +Now came the autumn. The leaves in the forest turned yellow and brown; +the wind caught them so that they danced about, and up in the air it was +very cold. The clouds hung low, heavy with hail and snow-flakes, and on +the fence stood the raven, crying, "Croak! croak!" for mere cold; yes, +it was enough to make one feel cold to think of this. The poor little +Duckling certainly had not a good time. One evening--the sun was just +setting in his beauty--there came a whole flock of great, handsome birds +out of the bushes. They were dazzlingly white, with long, flexible +necks--they were swans. They uttered a very peculiar cry, spread forth +their glorious great wings, and flew away from that cold region to +warmer lands, to fair open lakes. They mounted so high, so high! and the +ugly Duckling felt quite strangely as it watched them. It turned round +and round in the water like a wheel, stretched out its neck towards +them, and uttered such a strange loud cry as frightened itself. Oh! it +could not forget those beautiful, happy birds; and so soon as it could +see them no longer, it dived down to the very bottom, and when it came +up again it was quite beside itself. It knew not the name of those +birds, and knew not whither they were flying; but it loved them more +than it had ever loved any one. It was not at all envious of them. How +could it think of wishing to possess such loveliness as they had? It +would have been glad if only the ducks would have endured its +company--the poor, ugly creature! + +And the winter grew cold, very cold! The Duckling was forced to swim +about in the water, to prevent the surface from freezing entirely; but +every night the hole in which it swam about became smaller and smaller. +It froze so hard that the icy covering crackled again; and the Duckling +was obliged to use its legs continually to prevent the hole from +freezing up. At last it became exhausted, and lay quite still, and thus +froze fast into the ice. + +Early in the morning a peasant came by, and when he saw what had +happened, he took his wooden shoe, broke the ice-crust to pieces, and +carried the Duckling home to his wife. Then it came to itself again. The +children wanted to play with it; but the Duckling thought they wanted to +hurt it, and in its terror fluttered up into the milk-pan, so that the +milk spurted down into the room. The woman clasped her hands, at which +the Duckling flew down into the butter-tub, and then into the +meal-barrel and out again. How it looked then! The woman screamed, and +struck at it with the fire-tongs; the children tumbled over one another +in their efforts to catch the Duckling; and they laughed and they +screamed!--well it was that the door stood open, and the poor creature +was able to slip out between the shrubs into the newly-fallen +snow--there it lay quite exhausted. + +But it would be too melancholy if I were to tell all the misery and care +which the Duckling had to endure in the hard winter. It lay out on the +moor among the reeds, when the sun began to shine again and the larks to +sing. It was a beautiful spring. + +Then all at once the Duckling could flap its wings. They beat the air +more strongly than before, and bore it strongly away; and before it well +knew how all this happened, it found itself in a great garden, where the +elder-trees smelt sweet, and bent their long green branches down to the +canal that wound through the region. Oh, here it was so beautiful, such +a gladness of spring! and from the thicket came three glorious white +swans; they rustled their wings, and swam lightly on the water. The +Duckling knew the splendid creatures, and felt oppressed by a peculiar +sadness. + +"I will fly away to them, to the royal birds, and they will beat me, +because I, that am so ugly, dare to come near them. But it is all the +same. Better to be killed by _them_ than to be pursued by ducks, and +beaten by fowls, and pushed about by the girl who takes care of the +poultry yard, and to suffer hunger in winter!" And it flew out into the +water, and swam towards the beautiful swans; these looked at it, and +came sailing down upon it with outspread wings. "Kill me!" said the poor +creature, and bent its head down upon the water, expecting nothing but +death. But what was this that it saw in the clear water? It beheld its +own image; and, lo! it was no longer a clumsy dark-gray bird, ugly and +hateful to look at, but a--swan! + +It matters nothing if one is born in a duck-yard if one has only lain in +a swan's egg. + +It felt quite glad at all the need and misfortune it had suffered, now +it realised its happiness in all the splendour that surrounded it. And +the great swans swam round it, and stroked it with their beaks. + +Into the garden came little children, who threw bread and corn into the +water; and the youngest cried, "There is a new one!" and the other +children shouted joyously, "Yes, a new one has arrived!" And they +clapped their hands and danced about, and ran to their father and +mother; and bread and cake were thrown into the water; and they all +said, "The new one is the most beautiful of all! so young and handsome!" +and the old swans bowed their heads before him. Then he felt quite +ashamed, and hid his head under his wings, for he did not know what to +do; he was so happy, and yet not at all proud. He thought how he had +been persecuted and despised; and now he heard them saying that he was +the most beautiful of all birds. Even the elder-tree bent its branches +straight down into the water before him, and the sun shone warm and +mild. Then his wings rustled, he lifted his slender neck, and cried +rejoicingly from the depths of his heart: + +"I never dreamed of so much happiness when I was the Ugly Duckling!" + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII + +THE LIGHT PRINCESS + + +I + +_What! No Children?_ + + +Once upon a time, so long ago that I have quite forgotten the date, +there lived a king and queen who had no children. + +And the king said to himself, "All the queens of my acquaintance have +children, some three, some seven, and some as many as twelve; and my +queen has not one. I feel ill-used." So he made up his mind to be cross +with his wife about it. But she bore it all like a good patient queen as +she was. Then the king grew very cross indeed. But the queen pretended +to take it all as a joke, and a very good one too. + +"Why don't you have any daughters, at least?" said he. "I don't say +_sons_; that might be too much to expect." + +"I am sure, dear king, I am very sorry," said the queen. + +"So you ought to be," retorted the king; "you are not going to make a +virtue of _that_, surely." + +But he was not an ill-tempered king, and in any matter of less moment +would have let the queen have her own way with all his heart. This, +however, was an affair of State. + +The queen smiled. + +"You must have patience with a lady, you know, dear king," said she. + +She was, indeed, a very nice queen, and heartily sorry that she could +not oblige the king immediately. + +The king tried to have patience, but he succeeded very badly. It was +more than he deserved, therefore, when, at last, the queen gave him a +daughter--as lovely a little princess as ever cried. + + +II + +_Won't I, Just?_ + +The day drew near when the infant must be christened. The king wrote all +the invitations with his own hand. Of course somebody was forgotten. + +Now it does not generally matter if somebody _is_ forgotten, only you +must mind who. Unfortunately, the king forgot without intending to +forget; and so the chance fell upon the Princess Makemnoit, which was +awkward. For the princess was the king's own sister; and he ought not to +have forgotten her. But she had made herself so disagreeable to the old +king, their father, that he had forgotten her in making his will; and so +it was no wonder that her brother forgot her in writing his invitations. +But poor relations don't do anything to keep you in mind of them. Why +don't they? The king could not see into the garret she lived in, could +he? + +She was a sour, spiteful creature. The wrinkles of contempt crossed the +wrinkles of peevishness, and made her face as full of wrinkles as a pat +of butter. If ever a king could be justified in forgetting anybody, this +king was justified in forgetting his sister, even at a christening. She +looked very odd, too. Her forehead was as large as all the rest of her +face, and projected over it like a precipice. When she was angry, her +little eyes flashed blue. When she hated anybody, they shone yellow and +green. What they looked like when she loved anybody, I do not know; for +I never heard of her loving anybody but herself, and I do not think she +could have managed that if she had not somehow got used to herself. But +what made it highly imprudent in the king to forget her was--that she +was awfully clever. In fact, she was a witch; and when she bewitched +anybody, he very soon had enough of it; for she beat all the wicked +fairies in wickedness, and all the clever ones in cleverness. She +despised all the modes we read of in history, in which offended fairies +and witches have taken their revenges; and therefore, after waiting and +waiting in vain for an invitation, she made up her mind at last to go +without one, and make the whole family miserable, like a princess as she +was. + +So she put on her best gown, went to the palace, was kindly received by +the happy monarch, who forgot that he had forgotten her, and took her +place in the procession to the royal chapel. When they were all gathered +about the font, she contrived to get next to it, and throw something +into the water; after which she maintained a very respectful demeanour +till the water was applied to the child's face. But at that moment she +turned round in her place three times, and muttered the following words, +loud enough for those beside her to hear: + + "Light of spirit, by my charms, + Light of body, every part, + Never weary human arms-- + Only crush thy parents' heart!" + +They all thought she had lost her wits, and was repeating some foolish +nursery rhyme; but a shudder went through the whole of them +notwithstanding. The baby, on the contrary, began to laugh and crow; +while the nurse gave a start and a smothered cry, for, she thought she +was struck with paralysis: she could not feel the baby in her arms. But +she clasped it tight and said nothing. + +The mischief was done. + + +III + +_She Can't Be Ours!_ + +Her atrocious aunt had deprived the child of all her gravity. If you ask +me how this was effected, I answer, "In the easiest way in the world. +She had only to destroy gravitation." For the princess was a +philosopher, and knew all the ins and outs of the laws of gravitation as +well as the ins and outs of her boot-lace. And being a witch as well, +she could abrogate those laws in a moment; or at least so clog their +wheels and rust their bearings that they would not work at all. But we +have more to do with what followed than with how it was done. + +The first awkwardness that resulted from this unhappy privation was, +that the moment the nurse began to float the baby up and down, she flew +from her arms towards the ceiling. Happily, the resistance of the air +brought her ascending career to a close within a foot of it. There she +remained, horizontal as when she left her nurse's arms, kicking and +laughing amazingly. The nurse in terror flew to the bell, and begged the +footman, who answered it, to bring up the house-steps directly. +Trembling in every limb, she climbed upon the steps, and had to stand +upon the very top, and reach up, before she could catch the floating +tail of the baby's long clothes. + +When the strange fact came to be known, there was a terrible commotion +in the palace. The occasion of its discovery by the king was naturally a +repetition of the nurse's experience. Astonished that he felt no weight +when the child was laid in his arms, he began to wave her up and--not +down; for she slowly ascended to the ceiling as before, and there +remained floating in perfect comfort and satisfaction, as was testified +by her peals of tiny laughter. The king stood staring up in speechless +amazement, and trembled so that his beard shook like grass in the wind. +At last, turning to the queen, who was just as horror-struck as himself, +he said, gasping, staring, and stammering: + +"She _can't_ be ours, queen!" + +Now the queen was much cleverer than the king, and had begun already to +suspect that "this effect defective came by cause." + +"I am sure she is ours," answered she. "But we ought to have taken +better care of her at the christening. People who were never invited +ought not to have been present." + +"Oh, ho!" said the king, tapping his forehead with his forefinger, "I +have it all. I've found her out. Don't you see it, queen? Princess +Makemnoit has bewitched her." + +"That's just what I say," answered the queen. + +"I beg your pardon, my love; I did not hear you. John! bring the steps I +get on my throne with." + +For he was a little king with a great throne, like many other kings. + +The throne-steps were brought, and set upon the dining-table, and John +got upon the top of them. But, he could not reach the little princess, +who lay like a baby-laughter-cloud in the air, exploding continuously. + +"Take the tongs, John," said his Majesty; and getting up on the table, +he handed them to him. + +John could reach the baby now, and the little princess was handed down +by the tongs. + + +IV + +_Where Is She?_ + +One fine summer day, a month after these her first adventures, during +which time she had been very carefully watched, the princess was lying +on the bed in the queen's own chamber, fast asleep. One of the windows +was open, for it was noon, and the day was so sultry that the little +girl was wrapped in nothing less ethereal than slumber itself. The queen +came into the room, and not observing that the baby was on the bed, +opened another window. A frolicsome fairy wind, which had been watching +for a chance of mischief, rushed in at the one window, and taking its +way over the bed where the child was lying, caught her up, and rolling +and floating her along like a piece of flue, or a dandelion seed, +carried her with it through the opposite window, and away. The queen +went down-stairs, quite ignorant of the loss she had herself occasioned. + + + + +When the nurse returned, she supposed that her Majesty had carried her +off, and, dreading a scolding, delayed making inquiry about her. But +hearing nothing, she grew uneasy, and went at length to the queen's +boudoir, where she found her Majesty. + +"Please, your Majesty, shall I take the baby?" said she. + +"Where is she?" asked the queen. + +"Please forgive me. I know it was wrong." + +"What do you mean?" said the queen, looking grave. + +"Oh! don't frighten me, your Majesty!" exclaimed the nurse, clasping her +hands. + +The queen saw that something was amiss, and fell down in a faint. The +nurse rushed about the palace, screaming, "My baby! my baby!" + +Every one ran to the queen's room. But the queen could give no orders. +They soon found out, however, that the princess was missing, and in a +moment the palace was like a beehive in a garden; and in one minute more +the queen was brought to herself by a great shout and a clapping of +hands. They had found the princess fast asleep under a rose-bush, to +which the elfish little wind-puff had carried her, finishing its +mischief by shaking a shower of red rose-leaves all over the little +white sleeper. Startled by the noise the servants made, she woke, and, +furious with glee, scattered the rose-leaves in all directions, like a +shower of spray in the sunset. + +She was watched more carefully after this, no doubt; yet it would be +endless to relate all the odd incidents resulting from this peculiarity +of the young princess. But there never was a baby in a house, not to say +a palace, that kept the household in such constant good humour, at least +below-stairs. If it was not easy for her nurses to hold her, at least +she made neither their arms nor their hearts ache. And she was so nice +to play at ball with! There was positively no danger of letting her +fall. They might throw her down, or knock her down, or push her down, +but they couldn't _let_ her down. It is true, they might let her fly +into the fire or the coal-hole, or through the window; but none of these +accidents had happened as yet. If you heard peals of laughter resounding +from some unknown region, you might be sure enough of the cause. Going +down into the kitchen, or _the room_, you would find Jane and Thomas, +and Robert and Susan, all and sum, playing at ball with the little +princess. She was the ball herself, and did not enjoy it the less for +that. Away she went, flying from one to another, screeching with +laughter. And the servants loved the ball itself better even than the +game. But they had to take some care how they threw her, for if she +received an upward direction, she would never come down again without +being fetched. + + +V + +_What Is to Be Done?_ + +But above-stairs it was different. One day, for instance, after +breakfast, the king went into his counting-house, and counted out his +money. + +The operation gave him no pleasure. + +"To think," said he to himself, "that every one of these gold sovereigns +weighs a quarter of an ounce, and my real, live, flesh-and-blood +princess weighs nothing at all!" + +And he hated his gold sovereigns, as they lay with a broad smile of +self-satisfaction all over their yellow faces. + +The queen was in the parlour, eating bread and honey. But at the second +mouthful she burst out crying, and could not swallow it. The king heard +her sobbing. Glad of anybody, but especially of his queen, to quarrel +with, he clashed his gold sovereigns into his money-box, clapped his +crown on his head, and rushed into the parlour. + +"What is all this about?" exclaimed he. "What are you crying for, +queen?" + +"I can't eat it," said the queen, looking ruefully at the honey-pot. + +"No wonder!" retorted the king. "You've just eaten your breakfast--two +turkey eggs, and three anchovies." + +"Oh, that's not it!" sobbed her Majesty. "It's my child, my child!" + +"Well, what's the matter with your child? She's neither up the chimney +nor down the draw-well. Just hear her laughing." + +Yet the king could not help a sigh, which he tried to turn into a cough, +saying: + +"It is a good thing to be light-hearted, I am sure, whether she be ours +or not." + +"It is a bad thing to be light-headed," answered the queen, looking with +prophetic soul far into the future. + +"'T is a good thing to be light-handed," said the king. + +"'T is a bad thing to be light-fingered," answered the queen. + +"'T is a good thing to be light-footed," said the king. + +"'T is a bad thing--" began the queen; but the king interrupted her. + +"In fact," said he, with the tone of one who concludes an argument in +which he has had only imaginary opponents, and in which, therefore, he +has come off triumphant--"in fact, it is a good thing altogether to be +light-bodied." + +"But it is a bad thing altogether to be light-minded," retorted the +queen, who was beginning to lose her temper. + +This last answer quite discomfited his Majesty, who turned on his heel, +and betook himself to his counting-house again. But he was not half-way +towards it, when the voice of his queen overtook him. + +"And it's a bad thing to be light-haired," screamed she, determined to +have more last words, now that her spirit was roused. + +The queen's hair was black as night; and the king's had been, and his +daughter's was, golden as morning. But it was not this reflection on his +hair that arrested him; it was the double use of the word _light_. For +the king hated all witticisms, and punning especially. And besides, he +could not tell whether the queen meant light-_haired_ or light-_heired_; +for why might she not aspirate her vowels when she was exasperated +herself? + +He turned upon his other heel, and rejoined her. She looked angry still, +because she knew that she was guilty, or, what was much the same, knew +that he thought so. + +"My dear queen," said he, "duplicity of any sort is exceedingly +objectionable between married people of any rank, not to say kings and +queens; and the most objectionable form duplicity can assume is that of +punning." + +"There!" said the queen, "I never made a jest, but I broke it in the +making. I am the most unfortunate woman in the world!" + +She looked so rueful that the king took her in his arms; and they sat +down to consult. + +"Can you bear this?" said the king. + +"No, I can't," said the queen. + +"Well, what's to be done?" said the king. + +"I'm sure I don't know," said the queen. "But might you not try an +apology?" + +"To my old sister, I suppose you mean?" said the king. + +"Yes," said the queen. + +"Well, I don't mind," said the king. + +So he went the next morning to the house of the princess, and, making a +very humble apology, begged her to undo the spell. But the princess +declared, with a grave face, that she knew nothing at all about it. Her +eyes, however, shone pink, which was a sign that she was happy. She +advised the king and queen to have patience, and to mend their ways. The +king returned disconsolate. The queen tried to comfort him. + +"We will wait till she is older. She may then be able to suggest +something herself. She will know at least how she feels, and explain +things to us." + +"But what if she should marry?" exclaimed the king, in sudden +consternation at the idea. + +"Well, what of that?" rejoined the queen. + +"Just think! If she were to have children! In the course of a hundred +years the air might be as full of floating children as of gossamers in +autumn." + +"That is no business of ours," replied the queen. "Besides, by that time +they will have learned to take care of themselves." + +A sigh was the king's only answer. + +He would have consulted the court physicians; but he was afraid they +would try experiments upon her. + + +VI + +_She Laughs Too Much_ + +Meantime, notwithstanding awkward occurrences, and griefs that she +brought upon her parents, the little princess laughed and grew--not fat, +but plump and tall. She reached the age of seventeen, without having +fallen into any worse scrape than a chimney; by rescuing her from which, +a little bird-nesting urchin got fame and a black face. Nor, thoughtless +as she was, had she committed anything worse than laughter at everybody +and everything that came in her way. When she was told, for the sake of +experiment, that General Clanrunfort was cut to pieces with all his +troops, she laughed; when she heard that the enemy was on his way to +besiege her father's capital, she laughed hugely; but when she was told +that the city would certainly be abandoned to the mercy of the enemy's +soldiery--why, then she laughed immoderately. She never could be brought +to see the serious side of anything. When her mother cried, she said: + +"What queer faces mamma makes! And she squeezes water out of her cheeks! +Funny mamma!" + +And when her papa stormed at her, she laughed, and danced round and +round him, clapping her hands, and crying: + +"Do it again, papa. Do it again! It's such fun! Dear, funny papa!" + +And if he tried to catch her, she glided from him in an instant, not in +the least afraid of him, but thinking it part of the game not to be +caught. With one push of her foot, she would be floating in the air +above his head; or she would go dancing backwards and forwards and +sideways, like a great butterfly. It happened several times, when her +father and mother were holding a consultation about her in private, that +they were interrupted by vainly repressed outbursts of laughter over +their heads; and looking up with indignation, saw her floating at full +length in the air above them, whence she regarded them with the most +comical appreciation of the position. + +One day an awkward accident happened. The princess had come out upon the +lawn with one of her attendants, who held her by the hand. Spying her +father at the other side of the lawn, she snatched her hand from the +maid's, and sped across to him. Now when she wanted to run alone, her +custom was to catch up a stone in each hand, so that she might come down +again after a bound. Whatever she wore as part of her attire had no +effect in this way. Even gold, when it thus became as it were a part of +herself, lost all its weight for the time. But whatever she only held in +her hands retained its downward tendency. On this occasion she could see +nothing to catch up but a huge toad, that was walking across the lawn as +if he had a hundred years to do it in. Not knowing what disgust meant, +for this was one of her peculiarities, she snatched up the toad and +bounded away. She had almost reached her father, and he was holding out +his arms to receive her, and take from her lips the kiss which hovered +on them like a butterfly on a rosebud, when a puff of wind blew her +aside into the arms of a young page, who had just been receiving a +message from his Majesty. Now it was no great peculiarity in the +princess that, once she was set agoing, it always cost her time and +trouble to check herself. On this occasion there was no time. She _must_ +kiss--and she kissed the page. She did not mind it much; for she had no +shyness in her composition; and she knew, besides, that she could not +help it. So she only laughed, like a musical box. The poor page fared +the worst. For the princess, trying to correct the unfortunate tendency +of the kiss, put out her hands to keep off the page; so that, along with +the kiss, he received, on the other cheek, a slap with the huge black +toad, which she poked right into his eye. He tried to laugh, too, but +the attempt resulted in such an odd contortion of countenance, as showed +that there was no danger of his pluming himself on the kiss. As for the +king, his dignity was greatly hurt, and he did not speak to the page for +a whole month. + +I may here remark that it was very amusing to see her run, if her mode +of progression could properly be called running. For first she would +make a bound; then, having alighted, she would run a few steps, and make +another bound. Sometimes she would fancy she had reached the ground +before she actually had, and her feet would go backwards and forwards, +running upon nothing at all, like those of a chicken on its back. Then +she would laugh like the very spirit of fun; only in her laugh there was +something missing. What it was, I find myself unable to describe. I +think it was a certain tone, depending upon the possibility of +sorrow--_morbidezza_, perhaps. She never smiled. + + +VII + +_Try Metaphysics_ + +After a long avoidance of the painful subject, the king and queen +resolved to hold a council of three upon it; and so they sent for the +princess. In she came, sliding and flitting and gliding from one piece +of furniture to another, and put herself at last in an arm-chair, in a +sitting posture. Whether she could be said _to sit_, seeing she received +no support from the seat of the chair, I do not pretend to determine. + +"My dear child," said the king, "you must be aware by this time that you +are not exactly like other people." + +"Oh, you dear funny papa! I have got a nose, and two eyes, and all the +rest. So have you. So has mamma." + +"Now be serious, my dear, for once," said the queen. + +"No, thank you, mamma; I had rather not." + +"Would you not like to be able to walk like other people?" said the +king. + +"No indeed, I should think not. You only crawl. You are such slow +coaches!" + +"How do you feel, my child?" he resumed, after a pause of discomfiture. + +"Quite well, thank you." + +"I mean, what do you feel like?" + +"Like nothing at all, that I know of." + +"You must feel like something." + +"I feel like a princess with such a funny papa, and such a dear pet of a +queen-mamma!" + +"Now really!" began the queen; but the princess interrupted her. + +"Oh, yes," she added, "I remember. I have a curious feeling sometimes, +as if I were the only person that had any sense in the whole world." + +She had been trying to behave herself with dignity; but now she burst +into a violent fit of laughter, threw herself backwards over the chair, +and went rolling about the floor in an ecstasy of enjoyment. The king +picked her up easier than one does a down quilt, and replaced her in her +former relation to the chair. The exact preposition expressing this +relation I do not happen to know. + +"Is there nothing you wish for?" resumed the king, who had learned by +this time that it was useless to be angry with her. + +"Oh, you dear papa!--yes," answered she. + +"What is it, my darling?" + +"I have been longing for it--oh, such a time!--ever since last night." + +"Tell me what it is." + +"Will you promise to let me have it?" + +The king was on the point of saying yes, but the wiser queen checked him +with a single motion of her head. + +"Tell me what it is first," said he. + +"No, no. Promise first." + +"I dare not. What is it?" + +"Mind, I hold you to your promise. It is--to be tied to the end of a +string--a very long string indeed, and be flown like a kite. Oh, such +fun! I would rain rose-water, and hail sugar-plums, and snow +whipped-cream, and--and--and--" + +A fit of laughing checked her; and she would have been off again over +the floor, had not the king started up and caught her just in time. +Seeing that nothing but talk could be got out of her, he rang the bell, +and sent her away with two of her ladies-in-waiting. + +"Now, queen," he said, turning to her Majesty, "what _is_ to be done?" + +"There is but one thing left," answered she. "Let us consult the college +of Metaphysicians." + +"Bravo!" cried the king; "we will." + +Now at the head of this college were two very wise Chinese +philosophers--by name Hum-Drum, and Kopy-Keck. For them the king sent; +and straightway they came. In a long speech he communicated to them what +they knew very well already--as who did not?--namely, the peculiar +condition of his daughter in relation to the globe on which she dwelt; +and requested them to consult together as to what might be the cause and +probable cure of her _infirmity_. The king laid stress upon the word, +but failed to discover his own pun. The queen laughed; but Hum-Drum and +Kopy-Keck heard with humility and retired in silence. + +Their consultation consisted chiefly in propounding and supporting, for +the thousandth time, each his favourite theories. For the condition of +the princess afforded delightful scope for the discussion of every +question arising from the division of thought--in fact, of all the +Metaphysics of the Chinese Empire. But it is only justice to say that +they did not altogether neglect the discussion of the practical +question, _what was to be done_. + +Hum-Drum was a Materialist, and Kopy-Keck was a Spiritualist. The former +was slow and sententious; the latter was quick and flighty; the latter +had generally the first word; the former the last. + +"I reassert my former assertion," began Kopy-Keck, with a plunge. "There +is not a fault in the princess, body or soul; only they are wrong put +together. Listen to me now, Hum-Drum, and I will tell you in brief what +I think. Don't speak. Don't answer me. I _won't_ hear you till I have +done. At that decisive moment, when souls seek their appointed +habitations, two eager souls met, struck, rebounded, lost their way, and +arrived each at the wrong place. The soul of the princess was one of +those, and she went far astray. She does not belong by rights to this +world at all, but to some other planet, probably Mercury. Her proclivity +to her true sphere destroys all the natural influence which this orb +would otherwise possess over her corporeal frame. She cares for nothing +here. There is no relation between her and this world. + +"She must therefore be taught, by the sternest compulsion, to take an +interest in the earth as the earth. She must study every department of +its history--its animal history, its vegetable history, its mineral +history, its social history, its moral history, its political history, +its scientific history, its literary history, its musical history, its +artistical history, above all, its metaphysical history. She must begin +with the Chinese dynasty and end with Japan. But first of all she must +study geology, and especially the history of the extinct races of +animals--their natures, their habits, their loves, their hates, their +revenges. She must--" + +"Hold, h-o-o-old!" roared Hum-Drum. "It is certainly my turn now. My +rooted and insubvertible conviction is, that the causes of the anomalies +evident in the princess's condition are strictly and solely physical. +But that is only tantamount to acknowledging that they exist. Hear my +opinion. From some cause or other, of no importance to our inquiry, the +motion of her heart has been reversed. That remarkable combination of +the suction and the force-pump works the wrong way--I mean in the case +of the unfortunate princess, it draws in where it should force out, and +forces out where it should draw in. The offices of the auricles and the +ventricles are subverted. The blood is sent forth by the veins, and +returns by the arteries. Consequently it is running the wrong way +through all her corporeal organism--lungs and all. Is it then at all +mysterious, seeing that such is the case, that on the other particular +of gravitation as well, she should differ from normal humanity? My +proposal for the cure is this: + +"Phlebotomise until she is reduced to the last point of safety. Let it +be effected, if necessary, in a warm bath. When she is reduced to a +state of perfect asphyxy, apply a ligature to the left ankle, drawing it +as tight as the bone will bear. Apply, at the same moment, another of +equal tension around the right wrist. By means of plates constructed for +the purpose, place the other foot and hand under the receivers of two +air-pumps. Exhaust the receivers. Exhibit a pint of French brandy, and +await the result." + +"Which would presently arrive in the form of grim Death," said +Kopy-Keck. + +"If it should, she would yet die in doing our duty," retorted Hum-Drum. + +But their Majesties had too much tenderness for their volatile offspring +to subject her to either of the schemes of the equally unscrupulous +philosophers. Indeed, the most complete knowledge of the laws of nature +would have been unserviceable in her case; for it was impossible to +classify her. She was a fifth imponderable body, sharing all the other +properties of the ponderable. + + +VIII + +_Try a Drop of Water_ + +Perhaps the best thing for the princess would have been to fall in love. +But how a princess who had no gravity could fall into anything is a +difficulty--perhaps _the_ difficulty. As for her own feelings on the +subject, she did not even know that there was such a beehive of honey +and stings to be fallen into. But now I come to mention another curious +fact about her. + +The palace was built on the shores of the loveliest lake in the world; +and the princess loved this lake more than father or mother. The root of +this preference no doubt, although the princess did not recognise it as +such, was, that the moment she got into it, she recovered the natural +right of which she had been so wickedly deprived--namely, gravity. +Whether this was owing to the fact that water had been employed as the +means of conveying the injury, I do not know. But it is certain that she +could swim and dive like the duck that her old nurse said she was. The +manner in which this alleviation of her misfortune was discovered was as +follows: + +One summer evening, during the carnival of the country, she had been +taken upon the lake by the king and queen, in the royal barge. They were +accompanied by many of the courtiers in a fleet of little boats. In the +middle of the lake she wanted to get into the lord chancellor's barge, +for his daughter, who was a great favourite with her, was in it with her +father. Now though the old king rarely condescended to make light of his +misfortune, yet, happening on this occasion to be in a particularly good +humour, as the barges approached each other, he caught up the princess +to throw her into the chancellor's barge. He lost his balance, however, +and, dropping into the bottom of the barge, lost his hold of his +daughter; not, however, before imparting to her the downward tendency of +his own person, though in a somewhat different direction, for, as the +king fell into the boat, she fell into the water. With a burst of +delighted laughter she disappeared into the lake. A cry of horror +ascended from the boats. They had never seen the princess go down +before. Half the men were under water in a moment; but they had all, one +after another, come up to the surface again for breath, when--tinkle, +tinkle, babble, and gush! came the princess's laugh over the water from +far away. There she was, swimming like a swan. Nor would she come out +for king or queen, chancellor or daughter. She was perfectly obstinate. + + + + +But at the same time she seemed more sedate than usual. Perhaps that was +because a great pleasure spoils laughing. At all events, after this, the +passion of her life was to get into the water, and she was always the +better behaved and the more beautiful the more she had of it. Summer and +winter it was quite the same; only she could not stay so long in the +water when they had to break the ice to let her in. Any day, from +morning to evening in summer, she might be descried--a streak of white +in the blue water--lying as still as the shadow of a cloud, or shooting +along like a dolphin; disappearing, and coming up again far off, just +where one did not expect her. She would have been in the lake of a night +too, if she could have had her way; for the balcony of her window +overhung a deep pool in it; and through a shallow reedy passage she +could have swum out into the wide wet water, and no one would have been +any the wiser. Indeed, when she happened to wake in the moonlight she +could hardly resist the temptation. But there was the sad difficulty of +getting into it. She had as great a dread of the air as some children +have of the water. For the slightest gust of wind would blow her away; +and a gust might arise in the stillest moment. And if she gave herself a +push towards the water and just failed of reaching it, her situation +would be dreadfully awkward, irrespective of the wind; for at best there +she would have to remain, suspended in her night-gown, till she was seen +and angled for by somebody from the window. + +"Oh! if I had my gravity," thought she, contemplating the water, "I +would flash off this balcony like a long white sea-bird, headlong into +the darling wetness. Heigh-ho!" + +This was the only consideration that made her wish to be like other +people. + +Another reason for her being fond of the water was that in it alone she +enjoyed any freedom. For she could not walk without a _cortège_, +consisting in part of a troop of light-horse, for fear of the liberties +which the wind might take with her. And the king grew more apprehensive +with increasing years, till at last he would not allow her to walk +abroad at all without some twenty silken cords fastened to as many parts +of her dress, and held by twenty noblemen. Of course horseback was out +of the question. But she bade good-bye to all this ceremony when she got +into the water. + +And so remarkable were its effects upon her, especially in restoring her +for the time to the ordinary human gravity, that Hum-Drum and Kopy-Keck +agreed in recommending the king to bury her alive for three years; in +the hope that, as the water did her so much good, the earth would do her +yet more. But the king had some vulgar prejudices against the +experiment, and would not give his consent. Foiled in this, they yet +agreed in another recommendation; which, seeing that one imported his +opinions from China and the other from Thibet, was very remarkable +indeed. They argued that, if water of external origin and application +could be so efficacious, water from a deeper source might work a perfect +cure; in short, that if the poor afflicted princess could by any means +be made to cry, she might recover her lost gravity. + +But how was this to be brought about? Therein lay all the difficulty--to +meet which the philosophers were not wise enough. To make the princess +cry was as impossible as to make her weigh. They sent for a professional +beggar, commanded him to prepare his most touching oracle of woe, helped +him out of the court charade box to whatever he wanted for dressing up, +and promised great rewards in the event of his success. But it was all +in vain. She listened to the mendicant artist's story, and gazed at his +marvellous make up, till she could contain herself no longer, and went +into the most undignified contortions for relief, shrieking, positively +screeching with laughter. + +When she had a little recovered herself, she ordered her attendants to +drive him away, and not give him a single copper; whereupon his look of +mortified discomfiture wrought her punishment and his revenge, for it +sent her into violent hysterics, from which she was with difficulty +recovered. + +But so anxious was the king that the suggestion should have a fair +trial, that he put himself in a rage one day, and, rushing up to her +room, gave her an awful whipping. Yet not a tear would flow. She looked +grave, and her laughing sounded uncommonly like screaming--that was all. +The good old tyrant, though he put on his best gold spectacles to look, +could not discover the smallest cloud in the serene blue of her eyes. + + +IX + +_Put Me in Again!_ + +It must have been about this time that the son of a king, who lived a +thousand miles from Lagobel, set out to look for the daughter of a +queen. He travelled far and wide, but as sure as he found a princess, he +found some fault with her. Of course he could not marry a mere woman, +however beautiful; and there was no princess to be found worthy of him. +Whether the prince was so near perfection that he had a right to demand +perfection itself, I cannot pretend to say. All I know is, that he was a +fine, handsome, brave, generous, well-bred, and well-behaved youth, as +all princes are. + +In his wanderings he had come across some reports about our princess; +but as everybody said she was bewitched, he never dreamed that she could +bewitch him. For what indeed could a prince do with a princess that had +lost her gravity? Who could tell what she might not lose next? She might +lose her visibility, or her tangibility; or, in short, the power of +making impressions upon the radical sensorium; so that he should never +be able to tell whether she was dead or alive. Of course he made no +further inquiries about her. + +One day he lost sight of his retinue in a great forest. These forests +are very useful in delivering princes from their courtiers, like a sieve +that keeps back the bran. Then the princes get away to follow their +fortunes. In this way they have the advantage of the princesses, who are +forced to marry before they have had a bit of fun. I wish our princesses +got lost in a forest sometimes. + +One lovely evening, after wandering about for many days, he found that +he was approaching the outskirts of this forest; for the trees had got +so thin that he could see the sunset through them; and he soon came upon +a kind of heath. Next he came upon signs of human neighbourhood; but by +this time it was getting late, and there was nobody in the fields to +direct him. + +After travelling for another hour, his horse, quite worn out with long +labour and lack of food, fell, and was unable to rise again. So he +continued his journey on foot. A length he entered another wood--not a +wild forest, but a civilised wood, through which a footpath led him to +the side of a lake. Along this path the prince pursued his way through +the gathering darkness. Suddenly he paused, and listened. Strange sounds +came across the water. It was, in fact, the princess laughing. Now there +was something odd in her laugh, as I have already hinted; for the +hatching of a real hearty laugh requires the incubation of gravity; and +perhaps this was how the prince mistook the laughter for screaming. +Looking over the lake, he saw something white in the water; and, in an +instant, he had torn off his tunic, kicked off his sandals, and plunged +in. He soon reached the white object, and found that it was a woman. +There was not light enough to show that she was a princess, but quite +enough to show that she was a lady, for it does not want much light to +see that. + +Now I cannot tell how it came about--whether she pretended to be +drowning, or whether he frightened her, or caught her so as to embarrass +her--but certainly he brought her to shore in a fashion ignominious to a +swimmer, and more nearly drowned than she had ever expected to be; for +the water had got into her throat as often as she had tried to speak. + +At the place to which he bore her, the bank was only a foot or two above +the water; so he gave her a strong lift out of the water, to lay her on +the bank. But, her gravitation ceasing the moment she left the water, +away she went up into the air, scolding and screaming. + +"You naughty, _naughty_, Naughty, NAUGHTY man!" she cried. + +No one had ever succeeded in putting her into a passion before. When the +prince saw her ascend, he thought he must have been bewitched, and have +mistaken a great swan for a lady. But the princess caught hold of the +topmost cone upon a lofty fir. This came off; but she caught at another; +and, in fact, stopped herself by gathering cones, dropping them as the +stalks gave way. The prince, meantime, stood in the water, staring, and +forgetting to get out. But the princess disappearing, he scrambled on +shore, and went in the direction of the tree. There he found her +climbing down one of the branches towards the stem. But in the darkness +of the wood, the prince continued in some bewilderment as to what the +phenomenon could be; until, reaching the ground, and seeing him standing +there, she caught hold of him, and said: + +"I'll tell papa," + +"Oh no, you won't!" returned the prince. + +"Yes, I will," she persisted. "What business had you to pull me down out +of the water, and throw me to the bottom of the air? I never did you any +harm." + +"Pardon me. I did not mean to hurt you." + +"I don't believe you have any brains; and that is a worse loss than your +wretched gravity. I pity you." + +The prince now saw that he had come upon the bewitched princess, and had +already offended her. But before he could think what to say next, she +burst out angrily, giving a stamp with her foot that would have sent her +aloft again but for the hold she had of his arm: + +"Put me up directly." + +"Put you up where, you beauty?" asked the prince. + +He had fallen in love with her almost, already; for her anger made her +more charming than any one else had ever beheld her; and, as far as he +could see, which certainly was not far, she had not a single fault about +her, except, of course, that she had not any gravity. No prince, +however, would judge of a princess by weight. The loveliness of her foot +he would hardly estimate by the depth of the impression it could make in +mud. + +"Put you up where, you beauty?" asked the prince. + +"In the water, you stupid!" answered the princess. + +"Come, then," said the prince. + +The condition of her dress, increasing her usual difficulty in walking, +compelled her to cling to him; and he could hardly persuade himself that +he was not in a delightful dream, notwithstanding the torrent of musical +abuse with which she overwhelmed him. The prince being therefore in no +hurry, they came upon the lake at quite another part, where the bank was +twenty-five feet high at least; and when they had reached the edge, he +turned towards the princess, and said: + +"How am I to put you in?" + +"That is your business," she answered, quite snappishly. "You took me +out--put me in again." + +"Very well," said the prince; and, catching her up in his arms, he +sprang with her from the rock. The princess had just time to give one +delighted shriek of laughter before the water closed over them. When +they came to the surface, she found that, for a moment or two, she could +not even laugh, for she had gone down with such a rush, that it was with +difficulty she recovered her breath. The instant they reached the +surface-- + +"How do you like falling in?" said the prince. + +After some effort the princess panted out: + +"Is that what you call _falling in_?" + +"Yes," answered the prince, "I should think it a very tolerable +specimen." + +"It seemed to me like going up," rejoined she. + +"My feeling was certainly one of elevation too," the prince conceded. + +The princess did not appear to understand him, for she retorted his +question: + +"How do _you_ like falling in?" said the princess. + +"Beyond everything," answered he; "for I have fallen in with the only +perfect creature I ever saw." + +"No more of that. I am tired of it," said the princess. + +Perhaps she shared her father's aversion to punning. + +"Don't you like falling in, then?" said the prince. + +"It is the most delightful fun I ever had in my life," answered she. "I +never fell before. I wish I could learn. To think I am the only person +in my father's kingdom that can't fall!" + +Here the poor princess looked almost sad. + +"I shall be most happy to fall in with you any time you like," said the +prince, devotedly. + +"Thank you. I don't know. Perhaps it would not be proper. But I don't +care. At all events, as we have fallen in, let us have a swim together." + +"With all my heart," responded the prince. + +And away they went, swimming, and diving, and floating, until at last +they heard cries along the shore, and saw lights glancing in all +directions. It was now quite late, and there was no moon. + +"I must go home," said the princess. "I am very sorry, for this is +delightful." + +"So am I," returned the prince. "But I am glad I haven't a home to go +to--at least, I don't exactly know where it is." + +"I wish I hadn't one either," rejoined the princess; "it is so stupid! I +have a great mind," she continued, "to play them all a trick. Why +couldn't they leave me alone? They won't trust me in the lake for a +single night! You see where that green light is burning? That is the +window of my room. Now if you would just swim there with me very +quietly, and when we are all but under the balcony, give me such a +push--_up_ you call it--as you did a little while ago, I should be able +to catch hold of the balcony, and get in at the window; and then they +may look for me till to-morrow morning!" + +"With more obedience than pleasure," said the prince, gallantly; and +away they swam, very gently. + +"Will you be in the lake to-morrow night?" the prince ventured to ask. + +"To be sure I will. I don't think so. Perhaps," was the princess's +somewhat strange answer. + +But the prince was intelligent enough not to press her further; and +merely whispered, as he gave her the parting lift, "Don't tell." The +only answer the princess returned was a roguish look. She was already a +yard above his head. The look seemed to say, "Never fear. It is too good +fun to spoil that way." + +So perfectly like other people had she been in the water, that even yet +the prince could scarcely believe his eyes when he saw her ascend +slowly, grasp the balcony, and disappear through the window. He turned, +almost expecting to see her still by his side. But he was alone in the +water. So he swam away quietly, and watched the lights roving about the +shore for hours after the princess was safe in her chamber. As soon as +they disappeared, he landed in search of his tunic and sword, and, after +some trouble, found them again. Then he made the best of his way round +the lake to the other side. There the wood was wilder, and the shore +steeper--rising more immediately towards the mountains which surrounded +the lake on all sides, and kept sending it messages of silvery streams +from morning to night, and all night long. He soon found a spot where he +could see the green light in the princess's room, and where, even in the +broad daylight, he would be in no danger of being discovered from the +opposite shore. It was a sort of cave in the rock, where he provided +himself a bed of withered leaves, and lay down too tired for hunger to +keep him awake. All night long he dreamed that he was swimming with the +princess. + + +X + +_Look at the Moon_ + +Early the next morning the prince set out to look for something to eat, +which he soon found at a forester's hut, where for many following days +he was supplied with all that a brave prince could consider necessary. +And having plenty to keep him alive for the present, he would not think +of wants not yet in existence. Whenever Care intruded, this prince +always bowed him out in the most princely manner. + +When he returned from his breakfast to his watch-cave, he saw the +princess already floating about in the lake, attended by the king and +queen--whom he knew by their crowns--and a great company in lovely +little boats, with canopies of all the colours of the rainbow, and flags +and streamers of a great many more. It was a very bright day, and the +prince, burned up with the heat, began to long for the cold water and +the cool princess. But he had to endure till twilight; for the boats had +provisions on board, and it was not till the sun went down that the gay +party began to vanish. Boat after boat drew away to the shore, following +that of the king and queen, till only one, apparently the princess's own +boat, remained. But she did not want to go home even yet, and the prince +thought he saw her order the boat to the shore without her. At all +events it rowed away; and now, of all the radiant company, only one +white speck remained. Then the prince began to sing. + +And this is what he sung: + + "Lady fair, + Swan-white, + Lift thine eyes, + Banish night + By the might + Of thine eyes. + + "Snowy arms, + Oars of snow, + Oar her hither, + Plashing low. + Soft and slow, + Oar her hither. + + "Stream behind her + O'er the lake, + Radiant whiteness! + In her wake + Following, following, for her sake, + Radiant whiteness! + + "Cling about her, + Waters blue; + Part not from her, + But renew + Cold and true + Kisses round her. + + "Lap me round, + Waters sad + That have left her + Make me glad, + For ye had + Kissed her ere ye left her." + +Before he had finished his song, the princess was just under the place +where he sat, and looking up to find him. Her ears had led her truly. + +"Would you like a fall, princess?" said the prince, looking down. + +"Ah! there you are! Yes, if you please, prince," said the princess, +looking up. + +"How do you know I am a prince, princess?" said the prince. + +"Because you are a very nice young man, prince," said the princess. + +"Come up then, princess." + +"Fetch me, prince." + +The prince took off his scarf, then his swordbelt then his tunic, and +tied them all together, and let them down. But the line was far too +short. He unwound his turban, and added it to the rest, when it was all +but long enough; and his purse completed it. The princess just managed +to lay hold of the knot of money, and was beside him in a moment. This +rock was much higher than the other, and the splash and the dive were +tremendous. The princess was in ecstasies of delight, and their swim was +delicious. + +Night after night they met, and swam about in the dark clear lake, where +such was the prince's gladness, that (whether the princess's way of +looking at things infected him, or he was actually getting light-headed) +he often fancied that he was swimming in the sky instead of the lake. +But when he talked about being in heaven, the princess laughed at him +dreadfully. + +When the moon came, she brought them fresh pleasure. Everything looked +strange and new in her light, with an old, withered, yet unfading +newness. When the moon was nearly full, one of their great delights was +to dive deep in the water, and then, turning round, look up through it +at the great blot of light close above them, shimmering and trembling +and wavering, spreading and contracting, seeming to melt away, and again +grow solid. Then they would shoot up through the blot, and lo! there was +the moon, far off, clear and steady and cold, and very lovely, at the +bottom of a deeper and bluer lake than theirs, as the princess said. + +The prince soon found out that while in the water the princess was very +like other people. And besides this, she was not so forward in her +questions or pert in her replies at sea as on shore. Neither did she +laugh so much; and when she did laugh, it was more gently. She seemed +altogether more modest and maidenly in the water than out of it. But +when the prince, who had really fallen in love when he fell in the lake, +began to talk to her about love, she always turned her head towards him +and laughed. After a while she began to look puzzled, as if she were +trying to understand what he meant, but could not--revealing a notion +that he meant something. But as soon as ever she left the lake, she was +so altered, that the prince said to himself, "If I marry her, I see no +help for it: we must turn merman and mermaid, and go out to sea at +once," + + +XI + +_Hiss_! + +The princess's pleasure in the lake had grown to a passion, and she +could scarcely bear to be out of it for an hour. Imagine then her +consternation, when, diving with the prince one night, a sudden +suspicion seized her that the lake was not so deep as it used to be. The +prince could not imagine what had happened. She shot to the surface, +and, without a word, swam at full speed towards the higher side of the +lake. He followed, begging to know if she was ill, or what was the +matter. She never turned her head, or took the smallest notice of his +question. Arrived at the shore, she coasted the rocks with minute +inspection. But she was not able to come to a conclusion, for the moon +was very small, and so she could not see well. She turned therefore and +swam home, without saying a word to explain her conduct to the prince, +of whose presence she seemed no longer conscious. He withdrew to his +cave, in great perplexity and distress. + +Next day she made many observations, which, alas! strengthened her +fears. She saw that the banks were too dry; and that the grass on the +shore, and the trailing plants on the rocks, were withering away. She +caused marks to be made along the borders, and examined them, day after +day, in all directions of the wind; till at last the horrible idea +became a certain fact--that the surface of the lake was slowly sinking. + +The poor princess nearly went out of the little mind she had. It was +awful to her to see the lake, which she loved more than any living +thing, lie dying before her eyes. It sank away, slowly vanishing. The +tops of rocks that had never been seen till now, began to appear far +down in the clear water. Before long they were dry in the sun. It was +fearful to think of the mud that would soon lie there baking and +festering, full of lovely creatures dying, and ugly creatures coming to +life, like the unmaking of a world. And how hot the sun would be without +any lake! She could not bear to swim in it any more, and began to pine +away. Her life seemed bound up with it; and ever as the lake sank, she +pined. People said she would not live an hour after the lake was gone. + +But she never cried. + +Proclamation was made to all the kingdom, that whosoever should discover +the cause of the lake's decrease, would be rewarded after a princely +fashion. Hum-Drum and Kopy-Keck applied themselves to their physics and +metaphysics; but in vain. Not even they could suggest a cause. + +Now the fact was that the old princess was at the root of the mischief. +When she heard that her niece found more pleasure in the water than any +one else had out of it, she went into a rage, and cursed herself for her +want of foresight, + +"But," said she, "I will soon set all right. The king and the people +shall die of thirst; their brains shall boil and frizzle in their skulls +before I will lose my revenge." + +And she laughed a ferocious laugh, that made the hairs on the back of +her black cat stand erect with terror. + +Then she went to an old chest in the room, and opening it, took out what +looked like a piece of dried seaweed. This she threw into a tub of +water. Then she threw some powder into the water, and stirred it with +her bare arm, muttering over it words of hideous sound, and yet more +hideous import. Then she set the tub aside, and took from the chest a +huge bunch of a hundred rusty keys, that clattered in her shaking hands. +Then she sat down and proceeded to oil them all. Before she had +finished, out from the tub, the water of which had kept on a slow motion +ever since she had ceased stirring it, came the head and half the body +of a huge gray snake. But the witch did not look round. It grew out of +the tub, waving itself backwards and forwards with a slow horizontal +motion, till it reached the princess, when it laid its head upon her +shoulder, and gave a low hiss in her ear. She started--but with joy; and +seeing the head resting on her shoulder, drew it towards her and kissed +it. Then she drew it all out of the tub, and wound it round her body. It +was one of those dreadful creatures which few have ever beheld--the +White Snakes of Darkness. + +Then she took the keys and went down to her cellar; and as she unlocked +the door she said to herself: + +"This _is_ worth living for!" + +Locking the door behind her, she descended a few steps into the cellar, +and crossing it, unlocked another door into a dark, narrow passage. She +locked this also behind her, and descended a few more steps. If any one +had followed the witch-princess, he would have heard her unlock exactly +one hundred doors, and descend a few steps after unlocking each. When +she had unlocked the last, she entered a vast cave, the roof of which +was supported by huge natural pillars of rock. Now this roof was the +under side of the bottom of the lake. + +She then untwined the snake from her body, and held it by the tail high +above her. The hideous creature stretched up its head towards the roof +of the cavern, which it was just able to reach. It then began to move +its head backwards and forwards, with a slow oscillating motion, as if +looking for something. At the same moment the witch began to walk round +and round the cavern, coming nearer to the centre every circuit; while +the head of the snake described the same path over the roof that she did +over the floor, for she kept holding it up. And still it kept slowly +osculating. Round and round the cavern they went, ever lessening the +circuit, till at last the snake made a sudden dart, and clung to the +roof with its mouth. + +"That's right, my beauty!" cried the princess; "drain it dry." + +She let it go, left it hanging, and sat down on a great stone, with her +black cat, which had followed her all round the cave, by her side. Then +she began to knit and mutter awful words. The snake hung like a huge +leech, sucking at the stone; the cat stood with his back arched, and his +tail like a piece of cable, looking up at the snake; and the old woman +sat and knitted and muttered. Seven days and seven nights they remained +thus; when suddenly the serpent dropped from the roof as if exhausted, +and shrivelled up till it was again like a piece of dried seaweed. The +witch started to her feet, picked it up, put it in her pocket, and +looked up at the roof. One drop of water was trembling on the spot where +the snake had been sucking. As soon as she saw that, she turned and +fled, followed by her cat. Shutting the door in a terrible hurry, she +locked it, and having muttered some frightful words, sped to the next, +which also she locked and muttered over; and so with all the hundred +doors, till she arrived in her own cellar. Then she sat down on the +floor ready to faint, but listening with malicious delight to the +rushing of the water, which she could hear distinctly through all the +hundred doors. + +But this was not enough. Now that she had tasted revenge, she lost her +patience. Without further measures, the lake would be too long in +disappearing. So the next night, with the last shred of the dying old +moon rising, she took some of the water in which she had revived the +snake, put it in a bottle, and set out, accompanied by her cat. Before +morning she had made the entire circuit of the lake, muttering fearful +words as she crossed every stream, and casting into it some of the water +out of her bottle. When she had finished the circuit she muttered yet +again, and flung a handful of water towards the moon. Thereupon every +spring in the country ceased to throb and bubble, dying away like the +pulse of a dying man. The next day there was no sound of falling water +to be heard along the borders of the lake. The very courses were dry; +and the mountains showed no silvery streaks down their dark sides. And +not alone had the fountains of mother Earth ceased to flow; for all the +babies throughout the country were crying dreadfully--only without +tears. + + +XII + +_Where Is the Prince_? + +Never since the night when the princess left him so abruptly had the +prince had a single interview with her. He had seen her once or twice in +the lake; but as far as he could discover, she had not been in it any +more at night. He had sat and sung, and looked in vain for his Nereid, +while she, like a true Nereid, was wasting away with her lake, sinking +as it sank, withering as it dried. When at length he discovered the +change that was taking place in the level of the water, he was in great +alarm and perplexity. He could not tell whether the lake was dying +because the lady had forsaken it; or whether the lady would not come +because the lake had begun to sink. But he resolved to know so much at +least. + +He disguised himself, and, going to the palace, requested to see the +lord chamberlain. His appearance at once gained his request; and the +lord chamberlain, being a man of some insight, perceived that there was +more in the prince's solicitation than met the ear. He felt likewise +that no one could tell whence a solution of the present difficulties +might arise. So he granted the prince's prayer to be made shoeblack to +the princess. It was rather cunning in the prince to request such an +easy post, for the princess could not possibly soil as many shoes as +other princesses. + +He soon learned all that could be told about the princess. He went +nearly distracted; but after roaming about the lake for days, and diving +in every depth that remained, all that he could do was to put an extra +polish on the dainty pair of boots that was never called for. + +For the princess kept her room, with the curtains drawn to shut out the +dying lake, but could not shut it out of her mind for a moment. It +haunted her imagination so that she felt as if the lake were her soul, +drying up within her, first to mud, then to madness and death. She thus +brooded over the change, with all its dreadful accompaniments, till she +was nearly distracted. As for the prince, she had forgotten him. However +much she had enjoyed his company in the water, she did not care for him +without it. But she seemed to have forgotten her father and mother too. + +The lake went on sinking. Small slimy spots began to appear, which +glittered steadily amidst the changeful shine of the water. These grew +to broad patches of mud, which widened and spread, with rocks here and +there, and floundering fishes and crawling eels swarming. The people +went everywhere catching these, and looking for anything that might have +dropped from the royal boats. + +At length the lake was all but gone, only a few of the deepest pools +remaining unexhausted. + +It happened one day that a party of youngsters found themselves on the +brink of one of these pools in the very centre of the lake. It was a +rocky basin of considerable depth. Looking in, they saw at the bottom +something that shone yellow in the sun. A little boy jumped in and dived +for it. It was a plate of gold covered with writing. They carried it to +the king. + +On one side of it stood these words: + + "Death alone from death can save. + Love is death, and so is brave. + Love can fill the deepest grave. + Love loves on beneath the wave." + +Now this was enigmatical enough to the king and courtiers. But the +reverse of the plate explained it a little. Its writing amounted to +this: + +"If the lake should disappear, they must find the hole through which the +water ran. But it would be useless to try to stop it by any ordinary +means. There was but one effectual mode. The body of a living man could +alone staunch the flow. The man must give himself of his own will; and +the lake must take his life as it filled. Otherwise the offering would +be of no avail. If the nation could not provide one hero, it was time it +should perish," + + +XIII + +_Here I Am_! + +This was a very disheartening revelation to the king--not that he was +unwilling to sacrifice a subject, but that he was hopeless of finding a +man willing to sacrifice himself. No time was to be lost however, for +the princess was lying motionless on her bed, and taking no nourishment +but lake-water, which was now none of the best. Therefore the king +caused the contents of the wonderful plate of gold to be published +throughout the country. + +No one, however, came forward. + +The prince, having gone several days' journey into the forest, to +consult a hermit whom he had met there on his way to Lagobel, knew +nothing of the oracle till his return. + +When he had acquainted himself with all the particulars, he sat down and +thought: + +"She will die if I don't do it, and life would be nothing to me without +her; so I shall lose nothing by doing it. And life will be as pleasant +to her as ever, for she will soon forget me. And there will be so much +more beauty and happiness in the world! To be sure, I shall not see it." +(Here the poor prince gave a sigh.) "How lovely the lake will be in the +moonlight, with that glorious creature sporting in it like a wild +goddess! It is rather hard to be drowned by inches, though. Let me +see--that will be seventy inches of me to drown." (Here he tried to +laugh, but could not.) "The longer the better, however," he resumed, +"for can I not bargain that the princess shall be beside me all the +time? So I shall see her once more, kiss her perhaps--who knows? and die +looking in her eyes. It will be no death. At least, I shall not feel it. +And to see the lake filling for the beauty again! All right! I am +ready." + +He kissed the princess's boot, laid it down, and hurried to the king's +apartment. But feeling, as he went, that anything sentimental would be +disagreeable, he resolved to carry off the whole affair with +nonchalance. So he knocked at the door of the king's counting-house, +where it was all but a capital crime to disturb him. + +When the king heard the knock, he started up, and opened the door in a +rage. Seeing only the shoeblack, he drew his sword. This, I am sorry to +say, was his usual mode of asserting his regality when he thought his +dignity was in danger. But the prince was not in the least alarmed. + +"Please your majesty, I'm your butler," said he. + +"My butler! you lying rascal! What do you mean?" + +"I mean, I will cork your big bottle." + +"Is the fellow mad?" bawled the king, raising the point of his sword. + +"I will put the stopper--plug--what you call it, in your leaky lake, +grand monarch," said the prince. + +The king was in such a rage that before he could speak he had time to +cool, and to reflect that it would be great waste to kill the only man +who was willing to be useful in the present emergency, seeing that in +the end the insolent fellow would be as dead as if he had died by his +majesty's own hand. + +"Oh!" said he at last, putting up his sword with difficulty, it was so +long; "I am obliged to you, you young fool! Take a glass of wine?" + +"No, thank you," replied the prince. + +"Very well," said the king. "Would you like to run and see your parents +before you make your experiment?" + +"No, thank you," said the prince. + +"Then we will go and look for the hole at once," said his majesty, and +proceeded to call some attendants. + +"Stop, please your majesty, I have a condition to make," interposed the +prince. + +"What!" exclaimed the king, "a condition! and with me! How dare you?" + +"As you please," returned the prince, coolly. "I wish your majesty a +good morning," + +"You wretch! I will have you put in a sack, and stuck in the hole." + +"Very well, your majesty," replied the prince, becoming a little more +respectful, lest the wrath of the king should deprive him of the +pleasure of dying for the princess. "But what good will that do your +majesty? Please to remember that the oracle says the victim must offer +himself." + +"Well, you _have_ offered yourself," retorted the king. + +"Yes, upon one condition." + +"Condition again!" roared the king, once more drawing his sword. +"Begone! Somebody else will be glad enough to take the honour off your +shoulders." + +"Your majesty knows it will not be easy to get another to take my +place." + +"Well, what is your condition?" growled the king, feeling that the +prince was right. + +"Only this," replied the prince; "that, as I must on no account die +before I am fairly drowned, and the waiting will be rather wearisome, +the princess, your daughter, shall go with me, feed me with her own +hands, and look at me now and then to comfort me; for you must confess +it _is_ rather hard. As soon as the water is up to my eyes, she may go +and be happy, and forget her poor shoeblack." + +Here the prince's voice faltered, and he very nearly grew sentimental, +in spite of his resolution. + +"Why didn't you tell me before what your condition was? Such a fuss +about nothing!" exclaimed the king. + +"Do you grant it?" persisted the prince. + +"Of course I do," replied the king. + +"Very well. I am ready." + +"Go and have some dinner, then, while I set my people to find the +place." + +The king ordered out his guards, and gave directions to the officers to +find the hole in the lake at once. So the bed of the lake was marked out +in divisions and thoroughly examined, and in an hour or so the hole was +discovered. It was in the middle of a stone, near the centre of the +lake, in the very pool where the golden plate had been found. It was a +three-cornered hole of no great size. There was water all round the +stone, but very little was flowing through the hole. + + +XIV + +_This Is Very Kind of You_ + +The prince went to dress for the occasion, for he was resolved to die +like a prince. + +When the princess heard that a man had offered to die for her, she was +so transported that she jumped off the bed, feeble as she was, and +danced about the room for joy. She did not care who the man was; that +was nothing to her. The hole wanted stopping; and if only a man would +do, why, take one. In an hour or two more everything was ready. Her maid +dressed her in haste, and they carried her to the side of the lake. When +she saw it she shrieked, and covered her face with her hands. They bore +her across to the stone, where they had already placed a little boat for +her. The water was not deep enough to float in, but they hoped it would +be, before long. They laid her on cushions, placed in the boat wines and +fruits and other nice things, and stretched a canopy over all. + +In a few minutes the prince appeared. The princess recognised him at +once, but did not think it worth while to acknowledge him. + +"Here I am," said the prince. "Put me in." + +"They told me it was a shoeblack," said the princess. + +"So I am," said the prince. "I blacked your little boots three times a +day, because they were all I could get of you. Put me in." + +The courtiers did not resent his bluntness, except by saying to each +other that he was taking it out in impudence. + +But how was he to be put in? The golden plate contained no instructions +on this point. The prince looked at the hole, and saw but one way. He +put both his legs into it, sitting on the stone, and, stooping forward, +covered the corner that remained open with his two hands. In this +uncomfortable position he resolved to abide his fate, and turning to the +people, said: + +"Now you can go." + +The king had already gone home to dinner. + +"Now you can go," repeated the princess after him, like a parrot. + +The people obeyed her and went. + +Presently a little wave flowed over the stone, and wetted one of the +prince's knees. But he did not mind it much. He began to sing, and the +song he sang was this: + + "As a world that has no well, + Darkly bright in forest dell; + As a world without the gleam + Of the downward-going stream; + As a world without the glance + Of the ocean's fair expanse; + As a world where never rain + Glittered on the sunny plain;-- + Such, my heart, thy world would be, + If no love did flow in thee. + + "As a world without the sound + Of the rivulets underground; + Or the bubbling of the spring + Out of darkness wandering; + Or the mighty rush and flowing + Of the river's downward going; + Or the music-showers that drop + On the outspread beech's top; + Or the ocean's mighty voice, + When his lifted waves rejoice;--Such, + my soul, thy world would be, + If no love did sing in thee. + + "Lady, keep thy world's delight, + Keep the waters in thy sight + Love hath made me strong to go, + For thy sake, to realms below, + Where the water's shine and hum + Through the darkness never come. + Let, I pray, one thought of me + Spring, a little well, in thee; + Lest thy loveless soul be found + Like a dry and thirsty ground." + +"Sing again, prince. It makes it less tedious," said the princess. + +But the prince was too much overcome to sing any more, and a long pause +followed. + +"This is very kind of you, prince," said the princess at last, quite +coolly, as she lay in the boat with her eyes shut. + +"I am sorry I can't return the compliment," thought the prince, "but you +are worth dying for, after all." + +Again a wavelet, and another, and another flowed over the stone, and +wetted both the prince's knees; but he did not speak or move. +Two--three--four hours passed in this way, the princess apparently +asleep, and the prince very patient. But he was much disappointed in his +position, for he had none of the consolation he had hoped for. + +At last he could bear it no longer. + +"Princess!" said he. + +But at the moment up started the princess, crying: + +"I'm afloat! I'm afloat!" + +And the little boat bumped against the stone. + +"Princess!" repeated the prince, encouraged by seeing her wide awake and +looking eagerly at the water. + +"Well?" said she, without looking round. + +"Your papa promised that you should look at me, and you haven't looked +at me once." + +"Did he? Then I suppose I must. But I am so sleepy!" + +"Sleep, then, darling, and don't mind me," said the poor prince. + +"Really, you are very good," replied the princess. "I think I will go to +sleep again." + +"Just give me a glass of wine and a biscuit first," said the prince, +very humbly. + +"With all my heart," said the princess, and yawned as she said it. + +She got the wine and the biscuit, however, and leaning over the side of +the boat towards him, was compelled to look at him. + +"Why, prince," she said, "you don't look well! Are you sure you don't +mind it?" + +"Not a bit," answered he, feeling very faint indeed. "Only I shall die +before it is of any use to you, unless I have something to eat," + +"There, then," said she, holding out the wine to him. + +"Ah! you must feed me. I dare not move my hands. The water would run +away directly." + +"Good gracious!" said the princess; and she began at once to feed him +with bits of biscuit and sips of wine. + +As she fed him, he contrived to kiss the tips of her fingers now and +then. She did not seem to mind it, one way or the other. But the prince +felt better. + +"Now, for your own sake, princess," said he, "I cannot let you go to +sleep. You must sit and look at me, else I shall not be able to keep +up." + +"Well, I will do anything to oblige you," answered she, with +condescension; and, sitting down, she did look at him, and kept looking +at him with wonderful steadiness, considering all things. + +The sun went down, and the moon rose, and, gush after gush, the waters +were rising up the prince's body. They were up to his waist now. + +"Why can't we go and have a swim?" said the princess. "There seems to be +water enough just about here." + +"I shall never swim more," said the prince. + +"Oh, I forgot," said the princess, and was silent. + +So the water grew and grew, and rose up and up on the prince. And the +princess sat and looked at him. She fed him now and then. The night wore +on. The waters rose and rose. The moon rose likewise higher and higher, +and shone full on the face of the dying prince. The water was up to his +neck. + +"Will you kiss me, princess?" said he, feebly. The nonchalance was all +gone now. + +"Yes, I will," answered the princess, and kissed him with a long, sweet, +cold kiss. + +"Now," said he, with a sigh of content, "I die happy." + +He did not speak again. The princess gave him some wine for the last +time: he was past eating. Then she sat down again, and looked at him. +The water rose and rose. It touched his chin. It touched his lower lip. +It touched between his lips. He shut them hard to keep it out. The +princess began to feel strange. It touched his upper lip. He breathed +through his nostrils. The princess looked wild. It covered his nostrils. +Her eyes looked scared, and shone strange in the moonlight. His head +fell back; the water closed over it, and the bubbles of his last breath +bubbled up through the water. The princess gave a shriek, and sprang +into the lake. + +She laid hold first of one leg, and then of the other, and pulled and +tugged, but she could not move either. She stopped to take breath, and +that made her think that he could not get any breath. She was frantic. +She got hold of him, and held his head above the water, which was +possible now his hands were no longer on the hole. But it was of no use, +for he was past breathing. + +Love and water brought back all her strength. She got under the water, +and pulled and pulled with her whole might, till at last she got one leg +out. The other easily followed. How she got him into the boat she never +could tell; but when she did, she fainted away. Coming to herself, she +seized the oars, kept herself steady as best she could, and rowed and +rowed, though she had never rowed before. Round rocks, and over +shallows, and through mud she rowed, till she got to the landing-stairs +of the palace. By this time her people were on the shore, for they had +heard her shriek. She made them carry the prince to her own room, and +lay him in her bed, and light a fire, and send for the doctors. + +"But the lake, your highness!" said the chamberlain, who, roused by the +noise, came in, in his nightcap. + +"Go and drown yourself in it!" she said. + +This was the last rudeness of which the princess was ever guilty; and +one must allow that she had good cause to feel provoked with the lord +chamberlain. + +Had it been the king himself, he would have fared no better. But both he +and the queen were fast asleep. And the chamberlain went back to his +bed. Somehow, the doctors never came. So the princess and her old nurse +were left with the prince. But the old nurse was a wise woman, and knew +what to do. + +They tried everything for a long time without success. The princess was +nearly distracted between hope and fear, but she tried on and on, one +thing after another, and everything over and over again. + +At last, when they had all but given it up, just as the sun rose, the +prince opened his eyes. + + +XV + +_Look at the Rain_! + +The princess burst into a passion of tears and _fell_ on the floor. +There she lay for an hour, and her tears never ceased. All the pent-up +crying of her life was spent now. And a rain came on, such as had never +been seen in that country. The sun shone all the time, and the great +drops, which fell straight to the earth, shone likewise. The palace was +in the heart of a rainbow. It was a rain of rubies, and sapphires, and +emeralds, and topazes. The torrents poured from the mountains like +molten gold; and if it had not been for its subterraneous outlet, the +lake would have overflowed and inundated the country. It was full from +shore to shore. + +But the princess did not heed the lake. She lay on the floor and wept. +And this rain within doors was far more wonderful than the rain out of +doors. For when it abated a little, and she proceeded to rise, she +found, to her astonishment, that she could not. At length, after many +efforts, she succeeded in getting upon her feet. But she tumbled down +again directly. Hearing her fall, her old nurse uttered a yell of +delight, and ran to her, screaming: + +"My darling child! she's found her gravity!" + +"Oh, that's it! is it?" said the princess, rubbing her shoulder and her +knee alternately. "I consider it very unpleasant. I feel as if I should +be crushed to pieces." + +"Hurrah!" cried the prince from the bed. "If you've come round, +princess, so have I. How's the lake?" + +"Brimful," answered the nurse. + +"Then we're all happy." + +"That we are indeed!" answered the princess, sobbing. + +And there was rejoicing all over the country that rainy day. Even the +babies forgot their past troubles, and danced and crowed amazingly. And +the king told stories, and the queen listened to them. And he divided +the money in his box, and she the honey in her pot, among all the +children. And there was such jubilation as was never heard of before. + +Of course the prince and princess were betrothed at once. But the +princess had to learn to walk, before they could be married with any +propriety. And this was not so easy at her time of life, for she could +walk no more than a baby. She was always falling down and hurting +herself. + +"Is this the gravity you used to make so much of?" said she one day to +the prince, as he raised her from the floor. "For my part, I was a great +deal more comfortable without it." + +"No, no, that's not it. This is it," replied the prince, as he took her +up, and carried her about like a baby, kissing her all the time. "This +is gravity." + +"That's better," said she. "I don't mind that so much." + +And she smiled the sweetest, loveliest smile in the prince's face. And +she gave him one little kiss in return for all his; and he thought them +overpaid, for he was beside himself with delight. I fear she complained +of her gravity more than once after this, notwithstanding. + +It was a long time before she got reconciled to walking. But the pain of +learning it was quite counterbalanced by two things, either of which +would have been sufficient consolation. The first was, that the prince +himself was her teacher; and the second, that she could tumble into the +lake as often as she pleased. Still, she preferred to have the prince +jump in with her; and the splash they made before was nothing to the +splash they made now. + +The lake never sank again. In process of time it wore the roof of the +cavern quite through, and was twice as deep as before. + +The only revenge the princess took upon her aunt was to tread pretty +hard on her gouty toe the next time she saw her. But she was sorry for +it the very next day, when she heard that the water had undermined her +house, and that it had fallen in the night, burying her in its ruins; +whence no one ever ventured to dig up her body. There she lies to this +day. + +So the prince and princess lived and were happy; and had crowns of gold, +and clothes of cloth, and shoes of leather, and children of boys and +girls, not one of whom was ever known, on the most critical occasion, to +lose the smallest atom of his or her due proportion of gravity. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV + +BEAUTY AND THE BEAST + + +There was once a very rich merchant, who had six children, three boys +and three girls. As he was himself a man of great sense, he spared no +expense for their education, but provided them with all sorts of masters +for their improvement. The three daughters were all handsome, but +particularly the youngest: indeed she was so very beautiful that in her +childhood every one called her the Little Beauty, and being still the +same when she was grown up, nobody called her by any other name, which +made her sisters very jealous of her. This youngest daughter was not +only more handsome than her sisters, but was also better tempered. The +two eldest were vain of being rich, and spoke with pride to those they +thought below them. They gave themselves a thousand airs, and would not +visit other merchants' daughters; nor would they indeed be seen with any +but persons of quality. They went every day to balls, plays, and public +walks, and always made game of their youngest sister for spending her +time in reading, or other useful employments. As it was well known that +these young ladies would have large fortunes, many great merchants +wished to get them for wives; but the two eldest always answered that, +for their parts, they had no thoughts of marrying any one below a duke, +or an earl at least. Beauty had quite as many offers as her sisters, but +she always answered with the greatest civility, that she was much +obliged to her lovers, but would rather live some years longer with her +father, as she thought herself too young to marry. + +It happened that by some unlucky accident the merchant suddenly lost all +his fortune, and had nothing left but a small cottage in the country. +Upon this, he said to his daughters, while the tears ran down his cheeks +all the time, "My children, we must now go and dwell in the cottage, and +try to get a living by labour, for we have no other means of support." +The two eldest replied that, for their parts, they did not know how to +work, and would not leave town; for they had lovers enough who would be +glad to marry them, though they had no longer any fortune. But in this +they were mistaken; for when the lovers heard what had happened, they +said, "The girls were so proud and ill-tempered, that all we wanted was +their fortune; we are not sorry at all to see their pride brought down. +Let them give themselves airs to their cows and sheep." But every body +pitied poor Beauty, because she was so sweet-tempered and kind to all +that knew her; and several gentlemen offered to marry her, though she +had not a penny; but Beauty still refused, and said she could not think +of leaving her poor father in this trouble and would go and help him in +his labours in the country. At first Beauty could not help sometimes +crying in secret for the hardships she was now obliged to suffer; but in +a very short time she said to herself, "All the crying in the world will +do me no good, so I will try to be happy without a fortune." + +When they had removed to their cottage, the merchant and his three sons +employed themselves in ploughing and sowing the fields, and working in +the garden. Beauty also did her part, for she got up by four o'clock +every morning, lighted the fires, cleaned the house, and got the +breakfast for the whole family. At first she found all this very hard; +but she soon grew quite used to it, and thought it no hardship at all; +and indeed the work greatly amended her health. When she had done, she +used to amuse herself with reading, playing on her music, or singing +while she spun. But her two sisters were at a loss what to do to pass +the time away: they had their breakfast in bed, and did not rise till +ten o'clock. Then they commonly walked out; but always found themselves +very soon tired; when they would often sit down under a shady tree, and +grieve for the loss of their carriage and fine clothes, and say to each +other, "What a mean-spirited poor stupid creature our young sister is, +to be so content with our low way of life!" But their father thought in +quite another way: he admired the patience of this sweet young creature; +for her sisters not only left her to do the whole work of the house, but +made game of her every moment. + +After they had lived in this manner about a year, the merchant received +a letter, which informed him that one of the richest ships, which he +thought was lost, had just come into port. This news made the two eldest +sisters almost mad with joy; for they thought they should now leave the +cottage, and have all their finery again. When they found that their +father must take a journey to the ship, the two eldest begged he would +not fail to bring them back some new gowns, caps, rings, and all sorts +of trinkets. But Beauty asked for nothing; for she thought in herself +that all the ship was worth would hardly buy every thing her sisters +wished for. "Beauty," said the merchant, "how comes it about that you +ask for nothing; what can I bring you, my child?" "Since you are so kind +as to think of me, dear father," she answered, "I should be glad if you +would bring me a rose, for we have none in our garden." Now Beauty did +not indeed wish for a rose, nor any thing else, but she only said this, +that she might not affront her sisters, for else they would have said +she wanted her father to praise her for not asking him for any thing. +The merchant took his leave of them and set out on his journey; but when +he got to the ship, some persons went to law with him about the cargo, +and after a deal of trouble, he came back to his cottage as poor as he +had gone away. When he was within thirty miles of his home, and thinking +of the joy he should have in again meeting his children, his road lay +through a thick forest, and he quite lost himself. It rained and snowed +very hard, and besides, the wind was so high as to throw him twice from +his horse. Night came on, and he thought to be sure he should die of +cold and hunger, or be torn to pieces by the wolves that he heard +howling round him. All at once, he now cast his eyes towards a long row +of trees, and saw a light at the end of them, but it seemed a great way +off. He made the best of his way towards it, and found that it came from +a fine palace, lighted all over. He walked faster, and soon reached the +gates, which he opened, and was very much surprised that he did not see +a single person or creature in any of the yards. His horse had followed +him, and finding a stable with the door open, went into it at once; and +here the poor beast, being nearly starved, helped himself to a good meal +of oats and hay. His master then tied him up, and walked towards the +house, which he entered, but still without seeing a living creature. He +went on to a large hall, where he found a good fire, and a table covered +with some very nice dishes, and only one plate with a knife and fork. As +the snow and rain had wetted him to the skin, he went up to the fire to +dry himself. "I hope," said he, "the master of the house or his servants +will excuse me, for to be sure it will not be long now before I see +them." He waited a good time, but still nobody came: at last the clock +struck eleven, and the merchant, being quite faint for the want of food, +helped himself to a chicken, which he made but two mouthfuls of, and +then to a few glasses of wine, yet all the time trembling with fear. He +sat till the clock struck twelve, but did not see a single creature. He +now took courage, and began to think of looking a little more about him; +so he opened a door at the end of the hall, and went through it into a +very grand room, In which there was a fine bed; and as he was quite weak +and tired, he shut the door, took off his clothes, and got into it. + +It was ten o'clock in the morning before he thought of getting up, when +he was amazed to see a handsome new suit of clothes laid ready for him, +instead of his own, which he had spoiled. "To be sure," said he to +himself, "this place belongs to some good fairy, who has taken pity on +my ill luck." He looked out of the window, and, instead of snow, he saw +the most charming arbours covered with all kinds of flowers. He returned +to the hall, where he had supped, and found a breakfast table, with some +chocolate got ready for him. "Indeed, my good fairy," said the merchant +aloud, "I am vastly obliged to you for your kind care of me." He then +made a hearty breakfast, took his hat, and was going to the stable to +pay his horse a visit; but as he passed under one of the arbours, which +was loaded with roses, he thought of what Beauty had asked him to bring +back to her, and so he took a bunch of roses to carry home. At the same +moment he heard a most shocking noise, and saw such a frightful beast +coming towards him, that he was ready to drop with fear. "Ungrateful +man!" said the beast, in a terrible voice, "I have saved your life by +letting you into my palace, and in return you steal my roses, which I +value more than any thing else that belongs to me. But you shall make +amends for your fault with your life. You shall die in a quarter of an +hour." The merchant fell on his knees to the beast, and clasping his +hands, said, "My lord, I humbly beg your pardon. I did not think it +would offend you to gather a rose for one of my daughters, who wished to +have one." "I am not a lord, but a beast," replied the monster; "I do +not like false compliments, but that people should say what they think: +so do not fancy that you can coax me by any such ways. You tell me that +you have daughters; now I will pardon you, if one of them will agree to +come and die instead of you. Go; and if your daughters should refuse, +promise me that you yourself will return in three months." + +The tender-hearted merchant had no thought of letting any one of his +daughters die instead of him; but he knew that if he seemed to accept +the beast's terms, he should at least have the pleasure of seeing them +once again. So he gave the beast his promise; and the beast told him he +might then set off as soon as he liked. "But," said the beast, "I do not +wish you to go back empty-handed. Go to the room you slept in, and you +will find a chest there; fill it with just what you like best, and I +will get it taken to your own house for you," When the beast had said +this, he went away; and the good merchant said to himself, "If I must +die, yet I shall now have the comfort of leaving my children some +riches," He returned to the room he had slept in, and found a great many +pieces of gold. He filled the chest with them to the very brim, locked +it, and mounting his horse, left the palace as sorry as he had been glad +when he first found it. The horse took a path across the forest of his +own accord, and in a few hours they reached the merchant's house. His +children came running round him as he got off his horse; but the +merchant, instead of kissing them with joy, could not help crying as he +looked at them. He held in his hand the bunch of roses, which he gave to +Beauty, saying: "Take these roses, Beauty; but little do you think how +dear they have cost your poor father;" and then he gave them an account +of all that he had seen or heard in the palace of the beast. The two +eldest sisters now began to shed tears, and to lay the blame upon +Beauty, who they said would be the cause of her father's death "See," +said they, "what happens from the pride of the little wretch. Why did +not she ask for fine things as we did? But, to be sure, miss must not be +like other people; and though she will be the cause of her father's +death, yet she does not shed a tear." "It would be of no use," replied +Beauty, "to weep for the death of my father, for he shall not die now. +As the beast will accept of one of his daughters, I will give myself up +to him; and think myself happy in being able at once to save his life, +and prove my love for the best of fathers." "No, sister," said the three +brothers, "you shall not die; we will go in search for this monster, and +either he or we will perish." "Do not hope to kill him," said the +merchant, "for his power is far too great for you to be able to do any +such thing. I am charmed with the kindness of Beauty, but I will not +suffer her life to be lost. I myself am old, and cannot expect to live +much longer; so I shall but give up a few years of my life, and shall +only grieve for the sake of my children." "Never, father," cried Beauty, +"shall you go to the palace without me; for you cannot hinder my going +after you. Though young, I am not over fond of life; and I would much +rather be eaten up by the monster, than die of the grief your loss would +give me." The merchant tried in vain to reason with Beauty, for she +would go; which, in truth, made her two sisters glad, for they were +jealous of her, because everybody loved her. + +The merchant was so grieved at the thoughts of losing his child, that he +never once thought of the chest filled with gold; but at night, to his +great surprise, he found it standing by his bedside. He said nothing +about his riches to his eldest daughters, for he knew very well it would +at once make them want to return to town; but he told Beauty his secret, +and she then said, that while he was away, two gentlemen had been on a +visit to their cottage, who had fallen in love with her two sisters. She +then begged her father to marry them without delay; for she was so +sweet-tempered, that she loved them for all they had used her so ill, +and forgave them with all her heart. When the three months were past, +the merchant and Beauty got ready to set out for the palace of the +beast. Upon this, the two sisters rubbed their eyes with an onion, to +make believe they shed a great many tears; but both the merchant and his +sons cried in earnest. There was only Beauty who did not, for she +thought that this would only make the matter worse. They reached the +palace in a very few hours, and the horse, without bidding, went into +the same stable as before. The merchant and Beauty walked towards the +large hall, where they found a table covered with every dainty, and two +plates laid ready. The merchant had very little appetite; but Beauty, +that she might the better hide her grief, placed herself at the table, +and helped her father; she then began herself to eat, and thought all +the time that to be sure the beast had a mind to fatten her before he +eat her up, as he had got such good cheer for her. When they had done +their supper, they heard a great noise, and the good old man began to +bid his poor child farewell, for he knew it was the beast coming to +them. When Beauty first saw his frightful form, she could not help being +afraid; but she tried to hide her fear as much as she could. The beast +asked her if she had come quite of her own accord, and though she was +now still more afraid than before, she made shift to say, "Y-e-s." "You +are a good girl, and I think myself very much obliged to you." He then +turned towards her father, and said to him, "Good man, you may leave the +palace to-morrow morning, and take care never to come back to it again. +Good night, Beauty." "Good night, beast," said she; and then the monster +went out of the room. + +"Ah! my dear child," said the merchant, kissing his daughter, "I am half +dead already, at the thoughts of leaving you with this dreadful beast; +you had better go back, and let me stay in your place." "No," said +Beauty boldly, "I will never agree to that; you must go home to-morrow +morning." They then wished each other good night, and went to bed, both +of them thinking they should not be able to close their eyes; but as +soon as ever they had laid down, they fell into a deep sleep, and did +not wake till morning. Beauty dreamed that a lady came up to her, who +said, "I am very much pleased, Beauty, with the goodness you have shown, +in being willing to give your life to save that of your father; and it +shall not go without a reward." As soon as Beauty awoke, she told her +father this dream; but though it gave him some comfort, he could not +take leave of his darling child without shedding many tears. When the +merchant got out of sight, Beauty sat down in the large hall, and began +to cry also; yet she had a great deal of courage, and so she soon +resolved not to make her sad case still worse by sorrow, which she knew +could not be of any use to her, but to wait as well as she could till +night, when she thought the beast would not fail to come and eat her up. +She walked about to take a view of all the palace, and the beauty of +every part of it much charmed her. + +But what was her surprise, when she came to a door on which was written, +_Beauty's room_! She opened it in haste, and her eyes were all at once +dazzled at the grandeur of the inside of the room. What made her wonder +more than all the rest was a large library filled with books, a +harpsichord, and many other pieces of music. "The beast takes care I +shall not be at a loss how to amuse myself," said she. She then thought +that it was not likely such things would have been got ready for her, if +she had but one day to live; and began to hope all would not turn out so +bad as she and her father had feared. She opened the library, and saw +these verses written in letters of gold on the back of one of the books: + + "Beauteous lady, dry your tears, + Here's no cause for sighs or fears; + Command as freely as you may, + Enjoyment still shall mark your sway." + +"Alas!" said she, sighing, "there is nothing I so much desire as to see +my poor father and to know what he is doing at this moment," She said +this to herself; but just then by chance, she cast her eyes on a +looking-glass that stood near her, and in the glass she saw her home, +and her father riding up to the cottage in the deepest sorrow. Her +sisters came out to meet him, but for all they tried to look sorry, it +was easy to see that in their hearts they were very glad. In a short +time all this picture went away out of the glass: but Beauty began to +think that the beast was very kind to her, and that she had no need to +be afraid of him. About the middle of the day, she found a table laid +ready for her; and a sweet concert of music played all the time she was +eating her dinner without her seeing a single creature. But at supper, +when she was going to seat herself at table, she heard the noise of the +beast, and could not help trembling with fear. "Beauty," said he, "will +you give me leave to see you sup?" "That is as you please," answered +she, very much afraid. "Not in the least," said the beast; "you alone +command in this place. If you should not like my company, you need only +to say so, and I will leave you that moment. But tell me, Beauty, do you +not think me very ugly?" "Why, yes," said she, "for I cannot tell a +story; but then I think you are very good." "You are right," replied the +beast; "and, besides being ugly, I am also very stupid: I know very well +enough that I am but a beast." + +"I should think you cannot be very stupid," said Beauty, "if you +yourself know this." "Pray do not let me hinder you from eating," said +he; "and be sure you do not want for any thing; for all you see is +yours, and I shall be vastly grieved if you are not happy." "You are +very kind," said Beauty: "I must needs own that I think very well of +your good nature, and then I almost forget how ugly you are." "Yes, yes, +I hope I am good-tempered," said he, "but still I am a monster." "There +are many men who are worse monsters than you are," replied Beauty; "and +I am better pleased with you in that form, though it is so ugly, than +with those who carry wicked hearts under the form of a man." "If I had +any sense," said the beast, "I would thank you for what you have said; +but I am too stupid to say any thing that would give you pleasure." +Beauty ate her supper with a very good appetite, and almost lost all her +dread of the monster; but she was ready to sink with fright, when he +said to her, "Beauty, will you be my wife?" For a few minutes she was +not able to speak a word, for she was afraid of putting him in a +passion, by refusing. At length she said, "No, beast." The beast made no +reply, but sighed deeply, and went away. When Beauty found herself +alone, she began to feel pity for the poor beast. "Dear!" said she, +"what a sad thing it is that he should be so very frightful, since he is +so good-tempered!" + +Beauty lived three months in this palace, very well pleased. The beast +came to see her every night, and talked with her while she supped; and +though what he said was not very clever, yet as she saw in him every day +some new mark of his goodness, so instead of dreading the time of his +coming, she was always looking at her watch, to see if it was almost +nine o'clock; for that was the time when he never failed to visit her. +There was but one thing that vexed her; which was that every night, +before the beast went away from her, he always made it a rule to ask her +if she would be his wife, and seemed very much grieved at her saying no. +At last, one night, she said to him, "You vex me greatly, beast, by +forcing me to refuse you so often; I wish I could take such a liking to +you as to agree to marry you, but I must tell you plainly, that I do not +think it will ever happen. I shall always be your friend; so try to let +that make you easy." "I must needs do so then," said the beast, "for I +know well enough how frightful I am; but I love you better than myself. +Yet I think I am very lucky in your being pleased to stay with me; now +promise me, Beauty, that you will never leave me." Beauty was quite +struck when he said this, for that very day she had seen in her glass +that her father had fallen sick of grief for her sake, and was very ill +for the want of seeing her again. "I would promise you, with all my +heart," said she, "never to leave you quite; but I long so much to see +my father, that if you do not give me leave to visit him I shall die +with grief." "I would rather die myself, Beauty," answered the beast, +"than make you fret; I will send you to your father's cottage, you shall +stay there, and your poor beast shall die of sorrow." "No," said Beauty, +crying, "I love you too well to be the cause of your death; I promise to +return in a week. You have shown me that my sisters are married, and my +brothers are gone for soldiers, so that my father is left all alone. Let +me stay a week with him." "You shall find yourself with him to-morrow +morning," replied the beast; "but mind, do not forget your promise. When +you wish to return you have nothing to do but to put your ring on a +table when you go to bed. Good-bye, Beauty!" The beast then sighed as he +said these words, and Beauty went to bed very sorry to see him so much +grieved. When she awoke in the morning, she found herself in her +father's cottage. She rung a bell that was at her bedside, and a servant +entered; but as soon as she saw Beauty, the woman gave a loud shriek; +upon which the merchant ran up stairs, and when he beheld his daughter +he was ready to die of joy. He ran to the bedside, and kissed her a +hundred times. At last Beauty began to remember that she had brought no +clothes with her to put on; but the servant told her she had just found +in the next room a large chest full of dresses, trimmed all over with +gold, and adorned with pearls and diamonds. + +Beauty in her own mind thanked the beast for his kindness, and put on +the plainest gown she could find among them all. She then told the +servant to put the rest away with a great deal of care, for she intended +to give them to her sisters; but as soon as she had spoken these words +the chest was gone out of sight in a moment. Her father then said, +perhaps the beast chose for her to keep them all for herself; and as +soon as he had said this, they saw the chest standing again in the same +place. While Beauty was dressing herself, a servant brought word to her +that her sisters were come with their husbands to pay her a visit. They +both lived unhappily with the gentlemen they had married. The husband of +the eldest was very handsome; but was so very proud of this, that he +thought of nothing else from morning till night, and did not attend to +the beauty of his wife. The second had married a man of great learning; +but he made no use of it, only to torment and affront all his friends, +and his wife more than any of them. The two sisters were ready to burst +with spite when they saw Beauty dressed like a princess, and look so +very charming. All the kindness that she showed them was of no use; for +they were vexed more than ever, when she told them how happy she lived +at the palace of the beast. The spiteful creatures went by themselves +into the garden, where they cried to think of her good fortune. "Why +should the little wretch be better off than we?" said they. "We are much +handsomer than she is." "Sister," said the eldest, "a thought has just +come into my head: let us try to keep her here longer than the week that +the beast gave her leave for: and then he will be so angry, that perhaps +he will eat her up in a moment." "That is well thought of," answered the +other, "but to do this we must seem very kind to her." They then made up +their minds to be so, and went to join her in the cottage where they +showed her so much false love, that Beauty could not help crying for +joy. + +When the week was ended, the two sisters began to pretend so much grief +at the thoughts of her leaving them, that she agreed to stay a week +more; but all that time Beauty could not help fretting for the sorrow +that she knew her staying would give her poor beast; for she tenderly +loved him, and much wished for his company again. The tenth night of her +being at the cottage she dreamed she was in the garden of the palace, +and that the beast lay dying on a grass plot, and, with his last breath, +put her in mind of her promise, and laid his death to her keeping away +from him; Beauty awoke in a great fright, and burst into tears. "Am not +I wicked," said she, "to behave so ill to a beast who has shown me so +much kindness; why will I not marry him? I am sure I should be more +happy with him than my sisters are with their husbands. He shall not be +wretched any longer on my account; for I should do nothing but blame +myself all the rest of my life," + +She then rose, put her ring on the table, got into bed again, and soon +fell asleep. In the morning she with joy found herself in the palace of +the beast. She dressed herself very finely, that she might please him +the better, and thought she had never known a day pass away so slow. At +last the clock struck nine, but the beast did not come. Beauty then +thought to be sure she had been the cause of his death in earnest. She +ran from room to room all over the palace, calling out his name, but +still she saw nothing of him. After looking for him a long time, she +thought of her dream, and ran directly towards the grass plot; and there +she found the poor beast lying senseless and seeming dead. She threw +herself upon his body, thinking nothing at all of his ugliness; and +finding his heart still beat, she ran and fetched some water from a pond +in the garden, and threw it on his face. The beast then opened his eyes, +and said: "You have forgot your promise, Beauty. My grief for the loss +of you has made me resolve to starve myself to death; but I shall die +content, since I have had the pleasure of seeing you once more." "No, +dear beast," replied Beauty, "you shall not die; you shall live to be my +husband: from this moment I offer to marry you, and will be only yours. +Oh! I thought I felt only friendship for you; but the pain I now feel, +shows me that I could not live without seeing you." + +The moment Beauty had spoken these words, the palace was suddenly +lighted up, and music, fireworks, and all kinds of rejoicings, appeared +round about them. Yet Beauty took no notice of all this, but watched +over her dear beast with the greatest tenderness. But now she was all at +once amazed to see at her feet, instead of her poor beast, the +handsomest prince that ever was seen, who thanked her most warmly for +having broken his enchantment. Though this young prince deserved all her +notice, she could not help asking him what was become of the beast. "You +see him at your feet, Beauty," answered the prince, "for I am he. A +wicked fairy had condemned me to keep the form of a beast till a +beautiful young lady should agree to marry me, and ordered me, on pain +of death, not to show that I had any sense. You, alone, dearest Beauty, +have kindly judged of me by the goodness of my heart; and in return I +offer you my hand and my crown, though I know the reward is much less +than what I owe you." Beauty, in the most pleasing surprise, helped the +prince to rise, and they walked along to the palace, when her wonder was +very great to find her father and sisters there, who had been brought by +the lady Beauty had seen in her dream. "Beauty," said the lady (for she +was a fairy), "receive the reward of the choice you have made. You have +chosen goodness of heart rather than sense and beauty; therefore you +deserve to find them all three joined in the same person. You are going +to be a great Queen: I hope a crown will not destroy your virtue." + +"As for you, ladies," said the fairy to the other two sisters, "I have +long known the malice of your hearts, and the wrongs you have done. You +shall become two statues; but under that form you shall still keep your +reason, and shall be fixed at the gates of your sister's palace; and I +will not pass any worse sentence on you than to see her happy. You will +never appear in your own persons again till you are fully cured of your +faults; and to tell the truth, I am very much afraid you will remain +statues for ever." + +At the same moment, the fairy, with a stroke of her wand, removed all +who were present to the young prince's country, where he was received +with the greatest joy by his subjects. He married Beauty, and passed a +long and happy life with her, because they still kept in the same course +of goodness from which they had never departed. + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FAIRY TALES EVERY CHILD SHOULD +KNOW*** + + +******* This file should be named 14916-8.txt or 14916-8.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/4/9/1/14916 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. 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