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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/496-0.txt b/496-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..fff5ea3 --- /dev/null +++ b/496-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,5185 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Little Lame Prince, by +Miss Mulock--Pseudonym of Maria Dinah Craik + +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: The Little Lame Prince + And: The Invisible Prince; Prince Cherry; The Prince With The Nose + The Frog-Prince; Clever Alice + +Author: Miss Mulock--Pseudonym of Maria Dinah Craik + +Release Date: January 16, 2006 [EBook #496] +Last Updated: March 6, 2018 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LITTLE LAME PRINCE *** + + + + +Produced by Charles Keller and David Widger + + + + + +THE LITTLE LAME PRINCE + +By Miss Mulock [Pseudonym of Maria Dinah Craik] + + +CONTENTS + + THE LITTLE LAME PRINCE + THE INVISIBLE PRINCE + PRINCE CHERRY + THE PRINCE WITH THE NOSE + THE FROG-PRINCE + CLEVER ALICE + + + + + +THE LITTLE LAME PRINCE + + + +CHAPTER I + +Yes, he was the most beautiful Prince that ever was born. + +Of course, being a prince, people said this; but it was true besides. +When he looked at the candle, his eyes had an expression of earnest +inquiry quite startling in a new born baby. His nose--there was not +much of it certainly, but what there was seemed an aquiline shape; +his complexion was a charming, healthy purple; he was round and fat, +straight-limbed and long--in fact, a splendid baby, and everybody was +exceedingly proud of him, especially his father and mother, the King and +Queen of Nomansland, who had waited for him during their happy reign of +ten years--now made happier than ever, to themselves and their subjects, +by the appearance of a son and heir. + +The only person who was not quite happy was the King's brother, the +heir presumptive, who would have been king one day had the baby not been +born. But as his majesty was very kind to him, and even rather sorry for +him--insomuch that at the Queen's request he gave him a dukedom almost +as big as a county--the Crown-Prince, as he was called, tried to seem +pleased also; and let us hope he succeeded. + +The Prince's christening was to be a grand affair. According to the +custom of the country, there were chosen for him four-and-twenty +god-fathers and godmothers, who each had to give him a name, and promise +to do their utmost for him. When he came of age, he himself had to +choose the name--and the godfather or god-mother--that he liked the +best, for the rest of his days. + +Meantime all was rejoicing. Subscriptions were made among the rich to +give pleasure to the poor; dinners in town-halls for the workingmen; +tea-parties in the streets for their wives; and milk-and-bun feasts for +the children in the schoolrooms. For Nomansland, though I cannot point +it out in any map, or read of it in any history, was, I believe, much +like our own or many another country. + +As for the palace--which was no different from other palaces--it was +clean “turned out of the windows,” as people say, with the preparations +going on. The only quiet place in it was the room which, though the +Prince was six weeks old, his mother the Queen had never quitted. Nobody +said she was ill, however--it would have been so inconvenient; and as +she said nothing about it herself, but lay pale and placid, giving no +trouble to anybody, nobody thought much about her. All the world was +absorbed in admiring the baby. + +The christening-day came at last, and it was as lovely as the Prince +himself. All the people in the palace were lovely too--or thought +themselves so--in the elegant new clothes which the Queen, who thought +of everybody, had taken care to give them, from the ladies-in-waiting +down to the poor little kitchen-maid, who looked at herself in her pink +cotton gown, and thought, doubtless, that there never was such a pretty +girl as she. + +By six in the morning all the royal household had dressed itself in +its very best; and then the little Prince was dressed in his best--his +magnificent christening robe; which proceeding his Royal Highness did +not like at all, but kicked and screamed like any common baby. When he +had a little calmed down, they carried him to be looked at by the Queen +his mother, who, though her royal robes had been brought and laid upon +the bed, was, as everybody well knew, quite unable to rise and put them +on. + +She admired her baby very much; kissed and blessed him, and lay looking +at him, as she did for hours sometimes, when he was placed beside her +fast asleep; then she gave him up with a gentle smile, and, saying she +hoped he would be very good, that it would be a very nice christening, +and all the guests would enjoy themselves, turned peacefully over on +her bed, saying nothing more to anybody. She was a very uncomplaining +person, the Queen--and her name was Dolorez. + +Everything went on exactly as if she had been present. All, even the +king himself, had grown used to her absence; for she was not strong, +and for years had not joined in any gayeties. She always did her royal +duties, but as to pleasures, they could go on quite well without her, or +it seemed so. The company arrived: great and notable persons in this +and neighboring countries; also the four-and-twenty godfathers and +godmothers, who had been chosen with care, as the people who would be +most useful to his royal highness should he ever want friends, which did +not seem likely. What such want could possibly happen to the heir of the +powerful monarch of Nomansland? + +They came, walking two and two, with their coronets on their +heads--being dukes and duchesses, princes and princesses, or the like; +they all kissed the child and pronounced the name each had given him. +Then the four-and-twenty names were shouted out with great energy by +six heralds, one after the other, and afterward written down, to be +preserved in the state records, in readiness for the next time they were +wanted, which would be either on his Royal Highness' coronation or his +funeral. + +Soon the ceremony was over, and everybody satisfied; except, perhaps, +the little Prince himself, who moaned faintly under his christening +robes, which nearly smothered him. + +In truth, though very few knew, the Prince in coming to the chapel had +met with a slight disaster. His nurse,--not his ordinary one, but the +state nurse-maid,--an elegant and fashionable young lady of rank, whose +duty it was to carry him to and from the chapel, had been so occupied +in arranging her train with one hand, while she held the baby with +the other, that she stumbled and let him fall, just at the foot of the +marble staircase. + +To be sure, she contrived to pick him up again the next minute; and the +accident was so slight it seemed hardly worth speaking of. Consequently +nobody did speak of it. The baby had turned deadly pale, but did not +cry, so no person a step or two behind could discover anything wrong; +afterward, even if he had moaned, the silver trumpets were loud enough +to drown his voice. It would have been a pity to let anything trouble +such a day of felicity. + +So, after a minute's pause, the procession had moved on. Such a +procession t Heralds in blue and silver; pages in crimson and gold; and +a troop of little girls in dazzling white, carrying baskets of flowers, +which they strewed all the way before the nurse and child--finally the +four-and-twenty godfathers and godmothers, as proud as possible, and so +splendid to look at that they would have quite extinguished their small +godson--merely a heap of lace and muslin with a baby face inside--had it +not been for a canopy of white satin and ostrich feathers which was held +over him wherever he was carried. + +Thus, with the sun shining on them through the painted windows, they +stood; the king and his train on one side, the Prince and his attendants +on the other, as pretty a sight as ever was seen out of fairyland. + +“It's just like fairyland,” whispered the eldest little girl to the next +eldest, as she shook the last rose out of her basket; “and I think the +only thing the Prince wants now is a fairy god-mother.” + +“Does he?” said a shrill but soft and not unpleasant voice behind; and +there was seen among the group of children somebody,--not a child, yet +no bigger than a child,--somebody whom nobody had seen before, and who +certainly had not been invited, for she had no christening clothes on. + +She was a little old woman dressed all in gray: gray gown; gray +hooded cloak, of a material excessively fine, and a tint that seemed +perpetually changing, like the gray of an evening sky. Her hair was +gray, and her eyes also--even her complexion had a soft gray shadow over +it. But there was nothing unpleasantly old about her, and her smile was +as sweet and childlike as the Prince's own, which stole over his pale +little face the instant she came near enough to touch him. + +“Take care! Don't let the baby fall again.” + +The grand young lady nurse started, flushing angrily. + +“Who spoke to me? How did anybody know?--I mean, what business has +anybody----” Then frightened, but still speaking in a much sharper tone +than I hope young ladies of rank are in the habit of speaking--“Old +woman, you will be kind enough not to say 'the baby,' but 'the Prince.' +Keep away; his Royal Highness is just going to sleep.” + +“Nevertheless I must kiss him. I am his god-mother.” + +“You!” cried the elegant lady nurse. + +“You!” repeated all the gentlemen and ladies-in-waiting. + +“You!” echoed the heralds and pages--and they began to blow the silver +trumpets in order to stop all further conversation. + +The Prince's procession formed itself for returning,--the King and his +train having already moved off toward the palace,--but on the top-most +step of the marble stairs stood, right in front of all, the little old +woman clothed in gray. + +She stretched herself on tiptoe by the help of her stick, and gave the +little Prince three kisses. + +“This is intolerable!” cried the young lady nurse, wiping the kisses +off rapidly with her lace handkerchief. “Such an insult to his Royal +Highness! Take yourself out of the way, old woman, or the King shall be +informed immediately.” + +“The King knows nothing of me, more's the pity,” replied the old woman, +with an indifferent air, as if she thought the loss was more on his +Majesty's side than hers. “My friend in the palace is the King's wife.” + +“King's have not wives, but queens,” said the lady nurse, with a +contemptuous air. + +“You are right,” replied the old woman. “Nevertheless I know her Majesty +well, and I love her and her child. And--since you dropped him on the +marble stairs (this she said in a mysterious whisper, which made the +young lady tremble in spite of her anger)--I choose to take him for my +own, and be his godmother, ready to help him whenever he wants me.” + +“You help him!” cried all the group breaking into shouts of laughter, +to which the little old woman paid not the slightest attention. Her soft +gray eyes were fixed on the Prince, who seemed to answer to the look, +smiling again and again in the causeless, aimless fashion that babies do +smile. + +“His Majesty must hear of this,” said a gentleman-in-waiting. + +“His Majesty will hear quite enough news in a minute or two,” said +the old woman sadly. And again stretching up to the little Prince, she +kissed him on the forehead solemnly. + +“Be called by a new name which nobody has ever thought of. Be Prince +Dolor, in memory of your mother Dolorez.” + +“In memory of!” Everybody started at the ominous phrase, and also at a +most terrible breach of etiquette which the old woman had committed. +In Nomansland, neither the king nor the queen was supposed to have any +Christian name at all. They dropped it on their coronation day, and it +never was mentioned again till it was engraved on their coffins when +they died. + +“Old woman, you are exceedingly ill-bred,” cried the eldest +lady-in-waiting, much horrified. “How you could know the fact passes +my comprehension. But even if you did know it, how dared you presume to +hint that her most gracious Majesty is called Dolorez?” + +“WAS called Dolorez,” said the old woman, with a tender solemnity. + +The first gentleman, called the Gold-stick-in-waiting, raised it to +strike her, and all the rest stretched out their hands to seize her; but +the gray mantle melted from between their fingers like air; and, before +anybody had time to do anything more, there came a heavy, muffled, +startling sound. + +The great bell of the palace the bell which was only heard on the death +of some one of the royal family, and for as many times as he or she was +years old--began to toll. They listened, mute and horror-stricken. Some +one counted: one--two--three--four--up to nine-and-twenty--just the +Queen's age. + +It was, indeed, the Queen. Her Majesty was dead! In the midst of the +festivities she had slipped away out of her new happiness and her old +sufferings, not few nor small. Sending away all her women to see the +grand sight,--at least they said afterward, in excuse, that she had done +so, and it was very like her to do it,--she had turned with her face +to the window, whence one could just see the tops of the distant +mountains--the Beautiful Mountains, as they were called--where she was +born. So gazing, she had quietly died. + +When the little Prince was carried back to his mother's room, there was +no mother to kiss him. And, though he did not know it, there would be +for him no mother's kiss any more. As for his godmother,--the little old +woman in gray who called herself so,--whether she melted into air, like +her gown when they touched it, or whether she flew out of the chapel +window, or slipped through the doorway among the bewildered crowd, +nobody knew--nobody ever thought about her. + +Only the nurse, the ordinary homely one, coming out of the Prince's +nursery in the middle of the night in search of a cordial to quiet his +continual moans, saw, sitting in the doorway, something which she would +have thought a mere shadow, had she not seen shining out of it two eyes, +gray and soft and sweet. She put her hand before her own, screaming +loudly. When she took them away the old woman was gone. + + + +CHAPTER II + +Everybody was very kind to the poor little prince. I think people +generally are kind to motherless children, whether princes or peasants. +He had a magnificent nursery and a regular suite of attendants, and was +treated with the greatest respect and state. Nobody was allowed to talk +to him in silly baby language, or dandle him, or, above all to kiss him, +though perhaps some people did it surreptitiously, for he was such a +sweet baby that it was difficult to help it. + +It could not be said that the Prince missed his mother--children of his +age cannot do that; but somehow after she died everything seemed to go +wrong with him. From a beautiful baby he became sickly and pale, seeming +to have almost ceased growing, especially in his legs, which had been so +fat and strong. + +But after the day of his christening they withered and shrank; he no +longer kicked them out either in passion or play, and when, as he got +to be nearly a year old, his nurse tried to make him stand upon them, he +only tumbled down. + +This happened so many times that at last people began to talk about it. +A prince, and not able to stand on his own legs! What a dreadful thing! +What a misfortune for the country! + +Rather a misfortune to him also, poor little boy! but nobody seemed to +think of that. And when, after a while, his health revived, and the old +bright look came back to his sweet little face, and his body grew larger +and stronger, though still his legs remained the same, people continued +to speak of him in whispers, and with grave shakes of the head. +Everybody knew, though nobody said it, that something, it was impossible +to guess what, was not quite right with the poor little Prince. + +Of course, nobody hinted this to the King his father: it does not do +to tell great people anything unpleasant. And besides, his Majesty +took very little notice of his son, or of his other affairs, beyond the +necessary duties of his kingdom. + +People had said he would not miss the Queen at all, she having been +so long an invalid, but he did. After her death he never was quite the +same. He established himself in her empty rooms, the only rooms in +the palace whence one could see the Beautiful Mountains, and was often +observed looking at them as if he thought she had flown away thither, +and that his longing could bring her back again. And by a curious +coincidence, which nobody dared inquire into, he desired that the Prince +might be called, not by any of the four-and-twenty grand names given him +by his godfathers and godmothers, but by the identical name mentioned by +the little old woman in gray--Dolor, after his mother Dolorez. + +Once a week, according to established state custom, the Prince, dressed +in his very best, was brought to the King his father for half an hour, +but his Majesty was generally too ill and too melancholy to pay much +heed to the child. + +Only once, when he and the Crown-Prince, who was exceedingly attentive +to his royal brother, were sitting together, with Prince Dolor playing +in a corner of the room, dragging himself about with his arms rather +than his legs, and sometimes trying feebly to crawl from one chair to +another, it seemed to strike the father that all was not right with his +son. + +“How old is his Royal Highness?” said he suddenly to the nurse. + +“Two years, three months, and five days, please your Majesty.” + +“It does not please me,” said the King, with a sigh. “He ought to be far +more forward than he is now ought he not, brother? You, who have so many +children, must know. Is there not something wrong about him?” + +“Oh, no,” said the Crown-Prince, exchanging meaning looks with the +nurse, who did not understand at all, but stood frightened and trembling +with the tears in her eyes. “Nothing to make your Majesty at all uneasy. +No doubt his Royal Highness will outgrow it in time.” + +“Outgrow--what?” + +“A slight delicacy--ahem!--in the spine; something inherited, perhaps, +from his dear mother.” + +“Ah, she was always delicate; but she was the sweetest woman that ever +lived. Come here, my little son.” + +And as the Prince turned round upon his father a small, sweet, grave +face,--so like his mother's,--his Majesty the King smiled and held out +his arms. But when the boy came to him, not running like a boy, but +wriggling awkwardly along the floor, the royal countenance clouded over. + +“I ought to have been told of this. It is terrible--terrible! And for a +prince too. Send for all the doctors in my kingdom immediately.” + +They came, and each gave a different opinion and ordered a different +mode of treatment. The only thing they agreed in was what had been +pretty well known before, that the Prince must have been hurt when he +was an infant--let fall, perhaps, so as to injure his spine and lower +limbs. Did nobody remember? + +No, nobody. Indignantly, all the nurses denied that any such accident +had happened, was possible to have happened, until the faithful +country nurse recollected that it really had happened on the day of the +christening. For which unluckily good memory all the others scolded her +so severely that she had no peace of her life, and soon after, by the +influence of the young lady nurse who had carried the baby that fatal +day, and who was a sort of connection of the Crown-Prince--being his +wife's second cousin once removed--the poor woman was pensioned off and +sent to the Beautiful Mountains from whence she came, with orders to +remain there for the rest of her days. + +But of all this the King knew nothing, for, indeed, after the first +shock of finding out that his son could not walk, and seemed never +likely to he interfered very little concerning him. The whole thing was +too painful, and his Majesty never liked painful things. Sometimes he +inquired after Prince Dolor, and they told him his Royal Highness was +going on as well as could be expected, which really was the case. For, +after worrying the poor child and perplexing themselves with one remedy +after another, the Crown-Prince, not wishing to offend any of the +differing doctors, had proposed leaving him to Nature; and Nature, the +safest doctor of all, had come to his help and done her best. + +He could not walk, it is true; his limbs were mere useless appendages to +his body; but the body itself was strong and sound. And his face was the +same as ever--just his mother's face, one of the sweetest in the world. + +Even the King, indifferent as he was, sometimes looked at the little +fellow with sad tenderness, noticing how cleverly he learned to crawl +and swing himself about by his arms, so that in his own awkward way he +was as active in motion as most children of his age. + +“Poor little man! he does his best, and he is not unhappy--not half +so unhappy as I, brother,” addressing the Crown-Prince, who was more +constant than ever in his attendance upon the sick monarch. “If anything +should befall me, I have appointed you Regent. In case of my death, you +will take care of my poor little boy?” + +“Certainly, certainly; but do not let us imagine any such misfortune. +I assure your Majesty--everybody will assure you--that it is not in the +least likely.” + +He knew, however, and everybody knew, that it was likely, and soon after +it actually did happen. The King died as suddenly and quietly as the +Queen had done--indeed, in her very room and bed; and Prince Dolor was +left without either father or mother--as sad a thing as could happen, +even to a prince. + +He was more than that now, though. He was a king. In Nomansland, as in +other countries, the people were struck with grief one day and revived +the next. “The king is dead--long live the king!” was the cry that rang +through the nation, and almost before his late Majesty had been laid +beside the Queen in their splendid mausoleum, crowds came thronging from +all parts to the royal palace, eager to see the new monarch. + +They did see him,--the Prince Regent took care they should,--sitting on +the floor of the council chamber, sucking his thumb! And when one of +the gentlemen-in-waiting lifted him up and carried him--fancy carrying a +king!--to the chair of state, and put the crown on his head, he shook it +off again, it was so heavy and uncomfortable. Sliding down to the foot +of the throne he began playing with the golden lions that supported it, +stroking their paws and putting his tiny fingers into their eyes, and +laughing--laughing as if he had at last found something to amuse him. + +“There's a fine king for you!” said the first lord-in-waiting, a friend +of the Prince Regent's (the Crown-Prince that used to be, who, in the +deepest mourning, stood silently beside the throne of his young nephew. +He was a handsome man, very grand and clever-looking). “What a king! who +can never stand to receive his subjects, never walk in processions, who +to the last day of his life will have to be carried about like a baby. +Very unfortunate!” + +“Exceedingly unfortunate,” repeated the second lord. “It is always bad +for a nation when its king is a child; but such a child--a permanent +cripple, if not worse.” + +“Let us hope not worse,” said the first lord in a very hopeless tone, +and looking toward the Regent, who stood erect and pretended to hear +nothing. “I have heard that these sort of children with very large +heads, and great broad fore-heads and staring eyes, are--well, well, let +us hope for the best and be prepared for the worst. In the meantime----” + +“I swear,” said the Crown-Prince, coming forward and kissing the hilt of +his sword--“I swear to perform my duties as Regent, to take all care of +his Royal Highness--his Majesty, I mean,” with a grand bow to the little +child, who laughed innocently back again. “And I will do my humble +best to govern the country. Still, if the country has the slightest +objection----” + +But the Crown-Prince being generalissimo, having the whole army at his +beck and call, so that he could have begun a civil war in no time, the +country had, of course, not the slightest objection. + +So the King and Queen slept together in peace, and Prince Dolor reigned +over the land--that is, his uncle did; and everybody said what a +fortunate thing it was for the poor little Prince to have such a clever +uncle to take care of him. + +All things went on as usual; indeed, after the Regent had brought his +wife and her seven sons, and established them in the palace, rather +better than usual. For they gave such splendid entertainments and made +the capital so lively that trade revived, and the country was said to be +more flourishing than it had been for a century. Whenever the Regent +and his sons appeared, they were received with shouts: “Long live the +Crown-Prince!” “Long live the royal family!” And, in truth, they were +very fine children, the whole seven of them, and made a great show +when they rode out together on seven beautiful horses, one height above +another, down to the youngest, on his tiny black pony, no bigger than a +large dog. + +As for the other child, his Royal Highness Prince Dolor,--for somehow +people soon ceased to call him his Majesty, which seemed such a +ridiculous title for a poor little fellow, a helpless cripple,--with +only head and trunk, and no legs to speak of,--he was seen very seldom +by anybody. + +Sometimes people daring enough to peer over the high wall of the palace +garden noticed there, carried in a footman's arms, or drawn in a chair, +or left to play on the grass, often with nobody to mind him, a pretty +little boy, with a bright, intelligent face and large, melancholy +eyes--no, not exactly melancholy, for they were his mother's, and she +was by no means sad-minded, but thoughtful and dreamy. They rather +perplexed people, those childish eyes; they were so exceedingly innocent +and yet so penetrating. If anybody did a wrong thing--told a lie, for +instance they would turn round with such a grave, silent surprise the +child never talked much--that every naughty person in the palace was +rather afraid of Prince Dolor. + +He could not help it, and perhaps he did not even know it, being no +better a child than many other children, but there was something +about him which made bad people sorry, and grumbling people ashamed of +themselves, and ill-natured people gentle and kind. + +I suppose because they were touched to see a poor little fellow who +did not in the least know what had befallen him or what lay before him, +living his baby life as happy as the day is long. Thus, whether or not +he was good himself, the sight of him and his affliction made other +people good, and, above all, made everybody love him--so much so, that +his uncle the Regent began to feel a little uncomfortable. + +Now, I have nothing to say against uncles in general. They are usually +very excellent people, and very convenient to little boys and girls. +Even the “cruel uncle” of the “Babes in the Wood” I believe to be quite +an exceptional character. And this “cruel uncle” of whom I am telling +was, I hope, an exception, too. + +He did not mean to be cruel. If anybody had called him so, he would +have resented it extremely: he would have said that what he did was done +entirely for the good of the country. But he was a man who had always +been accustomed to consider himself first and foremost, believing that +whatever he wanted was sure to be right, and therefore he ought to have +it. So he tried to get it, and got it too, as people like him very often +do. Whether they enjoy it when they have it is another question. + +Therefore he went one day to the council chamber, determined on making +a speech, and informing the ministers and the country at large that the +young King was in failing health, and that it would be advisable to send +him for a time to the Beautiful Mountains. Whether he really meant to +do this, or whether it occurred to him afterward that there would be an +easier way of attaining his great desire, the crown of Nomansland, is a +point which I cannot decide. + +But soon after, when he had obtained an order in council to send the +King away, which was done in great state, with a guard of honor composed +of two whole regiments of soldiers,--the nation learned, without much +surprise, that the poor little Prince--nobody ever called him king +now--had gone a much longer journey than to the Beautiful Mountains. + +He had fallen ill on the road and died within a few hours; at least so +declared the physician in attendance and the nurse who had been sent +to take care of him. They brought his coffin back in great state, and +buried it in the mausoleum with his parents. + +So Prince Dolor was seen no more. The country went into deep mourning +for him, and then forgot him, and his uncle reigned in his stead. That +illustrious personage accepted his crown with great decorum, and wore it +with great dignity to the last. But whether he enjoyed it or not there +is no evidence to show. + + + +CHAPTER III + +And what of the little lame Prince, whom everybody seemed so easily to +have forgotten? + +Not everybody. There were a few kind souls, mothers of families, who had +heard his sad story, and some servants about the palace, who had been +familiar with his sweet ways--these many a time sighed and said, “Poor +Prince Dolor!” Or, looking at the Beautiful Mountains, which were +visible all over Nomansland, though few people ever visited them, “Well, +perhaps his Royal Highness is better where he is than even there.” + +They did not know--indeed, hardly anybody did know--that beyond the +mountains, between them and the sea, lay a tract of country, barren, +level, bare, except for short, stunted grass, and here and there a patch +of tiny flowers. Not a bush--not a tree not a resting place for bird or +beast was in that dreary plain. In summer the sunshine fell upon it hour +after hour with a blinding glare; in winter the winds and rains swept +over it unhindered, and the snow came down steadily, noiselessly, +covering it from end to end in one great white sheet, which lay for days +and weeks unmarked by a single footprint. + +Not a pleasant place to live in--and nobody did live there, apparently. +The only sign that human creatures had ever been near the spot was one +large round tower which rose up in the center of the plain, and might +be seen all over it--if there had been anybody to see, which there never +was. Rose right up out of the ground, as if it had grown of itself, like +a mushroom. But it was not at all mushroom-like; on the contrary, it was +very solidly built. In form it resembled the Irish round towers, which +have puzzled people for so long, nobody being able to find out when, +or by whom, or for what purpose they were made; seemingly for no use +at all, like this tower. It was circular, of very firm brickwork, with +neither doors nor windows, until near the top, when you could perceive +some slits in the wall through which one might possibly creep in or look +out. Its height was nearly a hundred feet, and it had a battlemented +parapet showing sharp against the sky. + +As the plain was quite desolate--almost like a desert, only without +sand, and led to nowhere except the still more desolate seacoast--nobody +ever crossed it. Whatever mystery there was about the tower, it and the +sky and the plain kept their secret to themselves. + +It was a very great secret indeed,--a state secret,--which none but so +clever a man as the present King of Nomansland would ever have thought +of. How he carried it out, undiscovered, I cannot tell. People said, +long afterward, that it was by means of a gang of condemned criminals, +who were set to work, and executed immediately after they had done, so +that nobody knew anything, or in the least suspected the real fact. + +And what was the fact? Why, that this tower, which seemed a mere mass +of masonry, utterly forsaken and uninhabited, was not so at all. Within +twenty feet of the top some ingenious architect had planned a perfect +little house, divided into four rooms--as by drawing a cross within a +circle you will see might easily be done. By making skylights, and a +few slits in the walls for windows, and raising a peaked roof which was +hidden by the parapet, here was a dwelling complete, eighty feet from +the ground, and as inaccessible as a rook's nest on the top of a tree. + +A charming place to live in! if you once got up there,--and never wanted +to come down again. + +Inside--though nobody could have looked inside except a bird, and hardly +even a bird flew past that lonely tower--inside it was furnished with +all the comfort and elegance imaginable; with lots of books and toys, +and everything that the heart of a child could desire. For its only +inhabitant, except a nurse of course, was a poor solitary child. + +One winter night, when all the plain was white with moonlight, there was +seen crossing it a great tall black horse, ridden by a man also big and +equally black, carrying before him on the saddle a woman and a child. +The woman--she had a sad, fierce look, and no wonder, for she was a +criminal under sentence of death, but her sentence had been changed to +almost as severe a punishment. She was to inhabit the lonely tower +with the child, and was allowed to live as long as the child lived--no +longer. This in order that she might take the utmost care of him; for +those who put him there were equally afraid of his dying and of his +living. + +Yet he was only a little gentle boy, with a sweet, sleepy smile--he had +been very tired with his long journey--and clinging arms, which held +tight to the man's neck, for he was rather frightened, and the face, +black as it was, looked kindly at him. And he was very helpless, with +his poor, small shriveled legs, which could neither stand nor run +away--for the little forlorn boy was Prince Dolor. + +He had not been dead at all--or buried either. His grand funeral had +been a mere pretense: a wax figure having been put in his place, while +he himself was spirited away under charge of these two, the condemned +woman and the black man. The latter was deaf and dumb, so could neither +tell nor repeat anything. + +When they reached the foot of the tower, there was light enough to see +a huge chain dangling from the parapet, but dangling only halfway. The +deaf-mute took from his saddle-wallet a sort of ladder, arranged in +pieces like a puzzle, fitted it together, and lifted it up to meet the +chain. Then he mounted to the top of the tower, and slung from it a sort +of chair, in which the woman and the child placed themselves and were +drawn up, never to come down again as long as they lived. Leaving them +there, the man descended the ladder, took it to pieces again and packed +it in his pack, mounted the horse and disappeared across the plain. + +Every month they used to watch for him, appearing like a speck in the +distance. He fastened his horse to the foot of the tower, and climbed +it, as before, laden with provisions and many other things. He always +saw the Prince, so as to make sure that the child was alive and well, +and then went away until the following month. + +While his first childhood lasted Prince Dolor was happy enough. He +had every luxury that even a prince could need, and the one thing +wanting,--love,--never having known, he did not miss. His nurse was very +kind to him though she was a wicked woman. But either she had not been +quite so wicked as people said, or she grew better through being shut up +continually with a little innocent child who was dependent upon her for +every comfort and pleasure of his life. + +It was not an unhappy life. There was nobody to tease or ill-use him, +and he was never ill. He played about from room to room--there were four +rooms, parlor, kitchen, his nurse's bedroom, and his own; learned to +crawl like a fly, and to jump like a frog, and to run about on all-fours +almost as fast as a puppy. In fact, he was very much like a puppy or +a kitten, as thoughtless and as merry--scarcely ever cross, though +sometimes a little weary. + +As he grew older, he occasionally liked to be quiet for a while, and +then he would sit at the slits of windows--which were, however, much +bigger than they looked from the bottom of the tower--and watch the +sky above and the ground below, with the storms sweeping over and the +sunshine coming and going, and the shadows of the clouds running races +across the blank plain. + +By and by he began to learn lessons--not that his nurse had been ordered +to teach him, but she did it partly to amuse herself. She was not a +stupid woman, and Prince Dolor was by no means a stupid boy; so they got +on very well, and his continual entreaty, “What can I do? what can you +find me to do?” was stopped, at least for an hour or two in the day. + +It was a dull life, but he had never known any other; anyhow, he +remembered no other, and he did not pity himself at all. Not for a long +time, till he grew quite a big little boy, and could read quite easily. +Then he suddenly took to books, which the deaf-mute brought him from +time to time--books which, not being acquainted with the literature of +Nomansland, I cannot describe, but no doubt they were very interesting; +and they informed him of everything in the outside world, and filled him +with an intense longing to see it. + +From this time a change came over the boy. He began to look sad and +thin, and to shut himself up for hours without speaking. For his nurse +hardly spoke, and whatever questions he asked beyond their ordinary +daily life she never answered. She had, indeed, been forbidden, on pain +of death, to tell him anything about himself, who he was, or what he +might have been. + +He knew he was Prince Dolor, because she always addressed him as “My +Prince” and “Your Royal Highness,” but what a prince was he had not +the least idea. He had no idea of anything in the world, except what he +found in his books. + +He sat one day surrounded by them, having built them up round him like +a little castle wall. He had been reading them half the day, but feeling +all the while that to read about things which you never can see is like +hearing about a beautiful dinner while you are starving. For almost the +first time in his life he grew melancholy; his hands fell on his lap; he +sat gazing out of the window-slit upon the view outside--the view he +had looked at every day of his life, and might look at for endless days +more. + +Not a very cheerful view,--just the plain and the sky,--but he liked it. +He used to think, if he could only fly out of that window, up to the sky +or down to the plain, how nice it would be! Perhaps when he died--his +nurse had told him once in anger that he would never leave the tower +till he died--he might be able to do this. Not that he understood much +what dying meant, but it must be a change, and any change seemed to him +a blessing. + +“And I wish I had somebody to tell me all about it--about that and many +other things; somebody that would be fond of me, like my poor white +kitten.” + +Here the tears came into his eyes, for the boy's one friend, the +one interest of his life, had been a little white kitten, which the +deaf-mute, kindly smiling, once took out of his pocket and gave him--the +only living creature Prince Dolor had ever seen. + +For four weeks it was his constant plaything and companion, till one +moonlight night it took a fancy for wandering, climbed on to the parapet +of the tower, dropped over and disappeared. It was not killed, he +hoped, for cats have nine lives; indeed, he almost fancied he saw it +pick itself up and scamper away; but he never caught sight of it more. + +“Yes, I wish I had something better than a kitten--a person, a real +live person, who would be fond of me and kind to me. Oh, I want +somebody--dreadfully, dreadfully!” + +As he spoke, there sounded behind him a slight tap-tap-tap, as of a +stick or a cane, and twisting himself round, he saw--what do you think +he saw? + +Nothing either frightening or ugly, but still exceedingly curious. A +little woman, no bigger than he might himself have been had his legs +grown like those of other children; but she was not a child--she was an +old woman. Her hair was gray, and her dress was gray, and there was a +gray shadow over her wherever she moved. But she had the sweetest smile, +the prettiest hands, and when she spoke it was in the softest voice +imaginable. + +“My dear little boy,”--and dropping her cane, the only bright and rich +thing about her, she laid those two tiny hands on his shoulders,--“my +own little boy, I could not come to you until you had said you wanted +me; but now you do want me, here I am.” + +“And you are very welcome, madam,” replied the Prince, trying to speak +politely, as princes always did in books; “and I am exceedingly obliged +to you. May I ask who you are? Perhaps my mother?” For he knew that +little boys usually had a mother, and had occasionally wondered what had +become of his own. + +“No,” said the visitor, with a tender, half-sad smile, putting back the +hair from his forehead, and looking right into his eyes--“no, I am not +your mother, though she was a dear friend of mine; and you are as like +her as ever you can be.” + +“Will you tell her to come and see me, then?” + +“She cannot; but I dare say she knows all about you. And she loves you +very much--and so do I; and I want to help you all I can, my poor little +boy.” + +“Why do you call me poor?” asked Prince Dolor, in surprise. + +The little old woman glanced down on his legs and feet, which he did not +know were different from those of other children, and then at his sweet, +bright face, which, though he knew not that either, was exceedingly +different from many children's faces, which are often so fretful, cross, +sullen. Looking at him, instead of sighing, she smiled. “I beg your +pardon, my Prince,” said she. + +“Yes, I am a prince, and my name is Dolor; will you tell me yours, +madam?” + +The little old woman laughed like a chime of silver bells. + +“I have not got a name--or, rather, I have so many names that I don't +know which to choose. However, it was I who gave you yours, and you will +belong to me all your days. I am your godmother.” + +“Hurrah!” cried the little Prince; “I am glad I belong to you, for I +like you very much. Will you come and play with me?” + +So they sat down together and played. By and by they began to talk. + +“Are you very dull here?” asked the little old woman. + +“Not particularly, thank you, godmother. I have plenty to eat and drink, +and my lessons to do, and my books to read--lots of books.” + +“And you want nothing?” + +“Nothing. Yes--perhaps----If you please, godmother, could you bring me +just one more thing?” + +“What sort of thing!” + +“A little boy to play with.” + +The old woman looked very sad. “Just the thing, alas I which I cannot +give you. My child, I cannot alter your lot in any way, but I can help +you to bear it.” + +“Thank you. But why do you talk of bearing it? I have nothing to bear.” + +“My poor little man!” said the old woman in the very tenderest tone of +her tender voice. “Kiss me!” + +“What is kissing?” asked the wondering child. + +His godmother took him in her arms and embraced him many times. By and +by he kissed her back again--at first awkwardly and shyly, then with all +the strength of his warm little heart. + +“You are better to cuddle than even my white kitten, I think. Promise me +that you will never go away.” + +“I must; but I will leave a present behind me,--something as good as +myself to amuse you,--something that will take you wherever you want to +go, and show you all that you wish to see.” + +“What is it?” + +“A traveling-cloak.” + +The Prince's countenance fell. “I don't want a cloak, for I never go +out. Sometimes nurse hoists me on to the roof, and carries me round by +the parapet; but that is all. I can't walk, you know, as she does.” + +“The more reason why you should ride; and besides, this +traveling-cloak----” + +“Hush!--she's coming.” + +There sounded outside the room door a heavy step and a grumpy voice, and +a rattle of plates and dishes. + +“It's my nurse, and she is bringing my dinner; but I don't want dinner +at all--I only want you. Will her coming drive you away, godmother?” + +“Perhaps; but only for a little while. Never mind; all the bolts and +bars in the world couldn't keep me out. I'd fly in at the window, or +down through the chimney. Only wish for me, and I come.” + +“Thank you,” said Prince Dolor, but almost in a whisper, for he was +very uneasy at what might happen next. His nurse and his godmother--what +would they say to one another? how would they look at one another?--two +such different faces: one harsh-lined, sullen, cross, and sad; the other +sweet and bright and calm as a summer evening before the dark begins. + +When the door was flung open, Prince Dolor shut his eyes, trembling all +over; opening them again, he saw he need fear nothing--his lovely old +godmother had melted away just like the rainbow out of the sky, as he +had watched it many a time. Nobody but his nurse was in the room. + +“What a muddle your Royal Highness is sitting in,” said she sharply. +“Such a heap of untidy books; and what's this rubbish?” knocking a +little bundle that lay beside them. + +“Oh, nothing, nothing--give it me!” cried the Prince, and, darting after +it, he hid it under his pinafore, and then pushed it quickly into his +pocket. Rubbish as it was, it was left in the place where she sat, and +might be something belonging to her--his dear, kind godmother, whom +already he loved with all his lonely, tender, passionate heart. + +It was, though he did not know this, his wonderful traveling-cloak. + + + +CHAPTER IV + +And what of the traveling-cloak? What sort of cloak was it, and what A +good did it do the Prince? + +Stay, and I'll tell you all about it. Outside it was the +commonest-looking bundle imaginable--shabby and small; and the instant +Prince Dolor touched it, it grew smaller still, dwindling down till he +could put it in his trousers pocket, like a handkerchief rolled up into +a ball. He did this at once, for fear his nurse should see it, and kept +it there all day--all night, too. Till after his next morning's lessons +he had no opportunity of examining his treasure. + +When he did, it seemed no treasure at all; but a mere piece of +cloth--circular in form, dark green in color--that is, if it had any +color at all, being so worn and shabby, though not dirty. It had a split +cut to the center, forming a round hole for the neck--and that was all +its shape; the shape, in fact, of those cloaks which in South America +are called ponchos--very simple, but most graceful and convenient. + +Prince Dolor had never seen anything like it. In spite of his +disappointment, he examined it curiously; spread it out on the door, +then arranged it on his shoulders. It felt very warm and comfortable; +but it was so exceedingly shabby--the only shabby thing that the Prince +had ever seen in his life. + +“And what use will it be to me?” said he sadly. “I have no need of +outdoor clothes, as I never go out. Why was this given me, I wonder? and +what in the world am I to do with it? She must be a rather funny person, +this dear godmother of mine.” + +Nevertheless, because she was his godmother, and had given him the +cloak, he folded it carefully and put it away, poor and shabby as it +was, hiding it in a safe corner of his top cupboard, which his nurse +never meddled with. He did not want her to find it, or to laugh at it or +at his godmother--as he felt sure she would, if she knew all. + +There it lay, and by and by he forgot all about it; nay, I am sorry to +say that, being but a child, and not seeing her again, he almost forgot +his sweet old godmother, or thought of her only as he did of the angels +or fairies that he read of in his books, and of her visit as if it had +been a mere dream of the night. + +There were times, certainly, when he recalled her: of early mornings, +like that morning when she appeared beside him, and late evenings, when +the gray twilight reminded him of the color of her hair and her pretty +soft garments; above all, when, waking in the middle of the night, with +the stars peering in at his window, or the moonlight shining across his +little bed, he would not have been surprised to see her standing beside +it, looking at him with those beautiful tender eyes, which seemed to +have a pleasantness and comfort in them different from anything he had +ever known. + +But she never came, and gradually she slipped out of his memory--only +a boy's memory, after all; until something happened which made him +remember her, and want her as he had never wanted anything before. + +Prince Dolor fell ill. He caught--his nurse could not tell how--a +complaint common to the people of Nomansland, called the doldrums, as +unpleasant as measles or any other of our complaints; and it made him +restless, cross, and disagreeable. Even when a little better, he was too +weak to enjoy anything, but lay all day long on his sofa, fidgeting his +nurse extremely--while, in her intense terror lest he might die, she +fidgeted him still more. At last, seeing he really was getting well, she +left him to himself--which he was most glad of, in spite of his dullness +and dreariness. There he lay, alone, quite alone. + +Now and then an irritable fit came over him, in which he longed to get +up and do something, or to go somewhere--would have liked to imitate his +white kitten--jump down from the tower and run away, taking the chance +of whatever might happen. + +Only one thing, alas! was likely to happen; for the kitten, he +remembered, had four active legs, while he---- + +“I wonder what my godmother meant when she looked at my legs and sighed +so bitterly? I wonder why I can't walk straight and steady like my nurse +only I wouldn't like to have her great, noisy, clumping shoes. Still it +would be very nice to move about quickly--perhaps to fly, like a bird, +like that string of birds I saw the other day skimming across the sky, +one after the other.” + +These were the passage-birds--the only living creatures that ever +crossed the lonely plain; and he had been much interested in them, +wonder-ing whence they came and whither they were going. + +“How nice it must be to be a bird! If legs are no good, why cannot one +have wings? People have wings when they die--perhaps; I wish I were +dead, that I do. I am so tired, so tired; and nobody cares for me. +Nobody ever did care for me, except perhaps my godmother. Godmother, +dear, have you quite forsaken me?” + +He stretched himself wearily, gathered himself up, and dropped his head +upon his hands; as he did so, he felt somebody kiss him at the back +of his neck, and, turning, found that he was resting, not on the sofa +pillows, but on a warm shoulder--that of the little old woman clothed in +gray. + +How glad he was to see her! How he looked into her kind eyes and felt +her hands, to see if she were all real and alive! then put both his arms +round her neck, and kissed her as if he would never have done kissing. + +“Stop, stop!” cried she, pretending to be smothered. “I see you have +not forgotten my teachings. Kissing is a good thing--in moderation. Only +just let me have breath to speak one word.” + +“A dozen!” he said. + +“Well, then, tell me all that has happened to you since I saw you--or, +rather, since you saw me, which is quite a different thing.” + +“Nothing has happened--nothing ever does happen to me,” answered the +Prince dolefully. + +“And are you very dull, my boy?” + +“So dull that I was just thinking whether I could not jump down to the +bottom of the tower, like my white kitten.” + +“Don't do that, not being a white kitten.” + +“I wish I were--I wish I were anything but what I am.” + +“And you can't make yourself any different, nor can I do it either. You +must be content to stay just what you are.” + +The little old woman said this--very firmly, but gently, too--with her +arms round his neck and her lips on his forehead. It was the first +time the boy had ever heard any one talk like this, and he looked up in +surprise--but not in pain, for her sweet manner softened the hardness of +her words. + +“Now, my Prince,--for you are a prince, and must behave as such,--let us +see what we can do; how much I can do for you, or show you how to do for +yourself. Where is your traveling-cloak?” + +Prince Dolor blushed extremely. “I--I put it away in the cupboard; I +suppose it is there still.” + +“You have never used it; you dislike it?” + +He hesitated, no; wishing to be impolite. “Don't you think it's--just a +little old and shabby for a prince?” + +The old woman laughed--long and loud, though very sweetly. + +“Prince, indeed! Why, if all the princes in the world craved for it, +they couldn't get it, unless I gave it them. Old and shabby! It's the +most valuable thing imaginable! Very few ever have it; but I thought +I would give it to you, because--because you are different from other +people.” + +“Am I?” said the Prince, and looked first with curiosity, then with a +sort of anxiety, into his godmother's face, which was sad and grave, +with slow tears beginning to steal down. + +She touched his poor little legs. “These are not like those of other +little boys.” + +“Indeed!--my nurse never told me that.” + +“Very likely not. But it is time you were told; and I tell you, because +I love you.” + +“Tell me what, dear godmother?” + +“That you will never be able to walk or run or jump or play--that your +life will be quite different from most people's lives; but it may be a +very happy life for all that. Do not be afraid.” + +“I am not afraid,” said the boy; but he turned very pale, and his lips +began to quiver, though he did not actually cry--he was too old for +that, and, perhaps, too proud. + +Though not wholly comprehending, he began dimly to guess what his +godmother meant. He had never seen any real live boys, but he had seen +pictures of them running and jumping; which he had admired and tried +hard to imitate but always failed. Now he began to understand why he +failed, and that he always should fail--that, in fact, he was not like +other little boys; and it was of no use his wishing to do as they did, +and play as they played, even if he had had them to play with. His was a +separate life, in which he must find out new work and new pleasures for +himself. + +The sense of THE INEVITABLE, as grown-up people call it--that we cannot +have things as we want them to be, but as they are, and that we must +learn to bear them and make the best of them--this lesson, which +everybody has to learn soon or late--came, alas! sadly soon, to the poor +boy. He fought against it for a while, and then, quite overcome, turned +and sobbed bitterly in his godmother's arms. + +She comforted him--I do not know how, except that love always comforts; +and then she whispered to him, in her sweet, strong, cheerful voice: +“Never mind!” + +“No, I don't think I do mind--that is, I WON'T mind,” replied he, +catching the courage of her tone and speaking like a man, though he was +still such a mere boy. + +“That is right, my Prince!--that is being like a prince. Now we know +exactly where we are; let us put our shoulders to the wheel and----” + +“We are in Hopeless Tower” (this was its name, if it had a name), “and +there is no wheel to put our shoulders to,” said the child sadly. + +“You little matter-of-fact goose! Well for you that you have a godmother +called----” + +“What?” he eagerly asked. + +“Stuff-and-nonsense.” + +“Stuff-and-nonsense! What a funny name!” + +“Some people give it me, but they are not my most intimate friends. +These call me--never mind what,” added the old woman, with a soft +twinkle in her eyes. “So as you know me, and know me well, you may give +me any name you please; it doesn't matter. But I am your godmother, +child. I have few godchildren; those I have love me dearly, and find me +the greatest blessing in all the world.” + +“I can well believe it,” cried the little lame Prince, and forgot +his troubles in looking at her--as her figure dilated, her eyes grew +lustrous as stars, her very raiment brightened, and the whole room +seemed filled with her beautiful and beneficent presence like light. + +He could have looked at her forever--half in love, half in awe; but she +suddenly dwindled down into the little old woman all in gray, and, with +a malicious twinkle in her eyes, asked for the traveling-cloak. + +“Bring it out of the rubbish cupboard, and shake the dust off it, +quick!” said she to Prince Dolor, who hung his head, rather ashamed. +“Spread it out on the floor, and wait till the split closes and +the edges turn up like a rim all round. Then go and open the +skylight,--mind, I say OPEN THE SKYLIGHT,--set yourself down in the +middle of it, like a frog on a water-lily leaf; say 'Abracadabra, dum +dum dum,' and--see what will happen!” + +The Prince burst into a fit of laughing. It all seemed so exceedingly +silly; he wondered that a wise old woman like his godmother should talk +such nonsense. + +“Stuff-and-nonsense, you mean,” said she, answering, to his great alarm, +his unspoken thoughts. “Did I not tell you some people called me by that +name? Never mind; it doesn't harm me.” + +And she laughed--her merry laugh--as child-like as if she were the +Prince's age instead of her own, whatever that might be. She certainly +was a most extraordinary old woman. + +“Believe me or not, it doesn't matter,” said she. “Here is the cloak: +when you want to go traveling on it, say 'Abracadabra, dum, dum, dum'; +when you want to come back again, say 'Abracadabra, tum tum ti.' That's +all; good-by.” + +A puff of most pleasant air passing by him, and making him feel for the +moment quite strong and well, was all the Prince was conscious of. His +most extraordinary godmother was gone. + +“Really now, how rosy your Royal Highness' cheeks have grown! You seem +to have got well already,” said the nurse, entering the room. + +“I think I have,” replied the Prince very gently--he felt gently and +kindly even to his grim nurse. “And now let me have my dinner, and go +you to your sewing as usual.” + +The instant she was gone, however, taking with her the plates and +dishes, which for the first time since his illness he had satisfactorily +cleared, Prince Dolor sprang down from his sofa, and with one or two +of his frog-like jumps reached the cupboard where he kept his toys, and +looked everywhere for his traveling-cloak. + +Alas! it was not there. + +While he was ill of the doldrums, his nurse, thinking it a good +opportunity for putting things to rights, had made a grand clearance of +all his “rubbish”--as she considered it: his beloved headless horses, +broken carts, sheep without feet, and birds without wings--all the +treasures of his baby days, which he could not bear to part with. Though +he seldom played with them now, he liked just to feel they were there. + +They were all gone and with them the traveling-cloak. He sat down on the +floor, looking at the empty shelves, so beautifully clean and tidy, then +burst out sobbing as if his heart would break. + +But quietly--always quietly. He never let his nurse hear him cry. She +only laughed at him, as he felt she would laugh now. + +“And it is all my own fault!” he cried. “I ought to have taken better +care of my godmother's gift. Oh, godmother, forgive me! I'll never be so +careless again. I don't know what the cloak is exactly, but I am sure +it is something precious. Help me to find it again. Oh, don't let it be +stolen from me--don't, please!” + +“Ha, ha, ha!” laughed a silvery voice. “Why, that traveling-cloak is +the one thing in the world which nobody can steal. It is of no use to +anybody except the owner. Open your eyes, my Prince, and see what you +shall see.” + +His dear old godmother, he thought, and turned eagerly round. But no; +he only beheld, lying in a corner of the room, all dust and cobwebs, his +precious traveling-cloak. + +Prince Dolor darted toward it, tumbling several times on the way, as +he often did tumble, poor boy! and pick himself up again, never +complaining. Snatching it to his breast, he hugged and kissed it, +cobwebs and all, as if it had been something alive. Then he began +unrolling it, wondering each minute what would happen. What did happen +was so curious that I must leave it for another chapter. + + + +CHAPTER V + +If any reader, big or little, should wonder whether there is a meaning +in this story deeper than that of an ordinary fairy tale, I will own +that there is. But I have hidden it so carefully that the smaller +people, and many larger folk, will never find it out, and meantime the +book may be read straight on, like “Cinderella,” or “Blue-Beard,” or +“Hop-o'my-Thumb,” for what interest it has, or what amusement it may +bring. + +Having said this, I return to Prince Dolor, that little lame boy whom +many may think so exceedingly to be pitied. But if you had seen him as +he sat patiently untying his wonderful cloak, which was done up in +a very tight and perplexing parcel, using skillfully his deft little +hands, and knitting his brows with firm determination, while his eyes +glistened with pleasure and energy and eager anticipation--if you had +beheld him thus, you might have changed your opinion. + +When we see people suffering or unfortunate, we feel very sorry for +them; but when we see them bravely bearing their sufferings and making +the best of their misfortunes, it is quite a different feeling. We +respect, we admire them. One can respect and admire even a little child. + +When Prince Dolor had patiently untied all the knots, a remarkable thing +happened. The cloak began to undo itself. Slowly unfolding, it laid +itself down on the carpet, as flat as if it had been ironed; the split +joined with a little sharp crick-crack, and the rim turned up all round +till it was breast-high; for meantime the cloak had grown and grown, and +become quite large enough for one person to sit in it as comfortable as +if in a boat. + +The Prince watched it rather anxiously; it was such an extraordinary, +not to say a frightening, thing. However, he was no coward, but a +thorough boy, who, if he had been like other boys, would doubtless have +grown up daring and adventurous--a soldier, a sailor, or the like. As +it was, he could only show his courage morally, not physically, by being +afraid of nothing, and by doing boldly all that it was in his narrow +powers to do. And I am not sure but that in this way he showed more real +valor than if he had had six pairs of proper legs. + +He said to himself: “What a goose I am! As if my dear godmother would +ever have given me anything to hurt me. Here goes!” + +So, with one of his active leaps, he sprang right into the middle of the +cloak, where he squatted down, wrapping his arms tight round his knees, +for they shook a little and his heart beat fast. But there he sat, +steady and silent, waiting for what might happen next. + +Nothing did happen, and he began to think nothing would, and to feel +rather disappointed, when he recollected the words he had been told to +repeat--“Abracadabra, dum dum dum!” + +He repeated them, laughing all the while, they seemed such nonsense. And +then--and then---- + +Now I don't expect anybody to believe what I am going to relate, though +a good many wise people have believed a good many sillier things. And as +seeing's believing, and I never saw it, I cannot be expected implicitly +to believe it myself, except in a sort of a way; and yet there is truth +in it--for some people. + +The cloak rose, slowly and steadily, at first only a few inches, then +gradually higher and higher, till it nearly touched the skylight. Prince +Dolor's head actually bumped against the glass, or would have done so +had he not crouched down, crying “Oh, please don't hurt me!” in a most +melancholy voice. + +Then he suddenly remembered his godmother's express command--“Open the +skylight!” + +Regaining his courage at once, without a moment's delay he lifted up +his head and began searching for the bolt--the cloak meanwhile remaining +perfectly still, balanced in the air. But the minute the window was +opened, out it sailed--right out into the clear, fresh air, with nothing +between it and the cloudless blue. + +Prince Dolor had never felt any such delicious sensation before. I can +understand it. Cannot you? Did you never think, in watching the rooks +going home singly or in pairs, soaring their way across the calm evening +sky till they vanish like black dots in the misty gray, how pleasant it +must feel to be up there, quite out of the noise and din of the world, +able to hear and see everything down below, yet troubled by nothing and +teased by no one--all alone, but perfectly content? + +Something like this was the happiness of the little lame Prince when he +got out of Hopeless Tower, and found himself for the first time in the +pure open air, with the sky above him and the earth below. + +True, there was nothing but earth and sky; no houses, no trees, no +rivers, mountains, seas--not a beast on the ground, or a bird in the +air. But to him even the level plain looked beautiful; and then there +was the glorious arch of the sky, with a little young moon sitting in +the west like a baby queen. And the evening breeze was so sweet and +fresh--it kissed him like his godmother's kisses; and by and by a few +stars came out--first two or three, and then quantities--quantities! so +that when he began to count them he was utterly bewildered. + +By this time, however, the cool breeze had become cold; the mist +gathered; and as he had, as he said, no outdoor clothes, poor Prince +Dolor was not very comfortable. The dews fell damp on his curls--he +began to shiver. + +“Perhaps I had better go home,” thought he. + +But how? For in his excitement the other words which his godmother +had told him to use had slipped his memory. They were only a little +different from the first, but in that slight difference all the +importance lay. As he repeated his “Abracadabra,” trying ever so +many other syllables after it, the cloak only went faster and faster, +skimming on through the dusky, empty air. + +The poor little Prince began to feel frightened. What if his wonderful +traveling-cloak should keep on thus traveling, perhaps to the world's +end, carrying with it a poor, tired, hungry boy, who, after all, was +beginning to think there was something very pleasant in supper and bed! + +“Dear godmother,” he cried pitifully, “do help me! Tell me just this +once and I'll never forget again.” + +Instantly the words came rushing into his head--“Abracadabra, tum +tum ti!” Was that it? Ah! yes--for the cloak began to turn slowly. He +repeated the charm again, more distinctly and firmly, when it gave a +gentle dip, like a nod of satisfaction, and immediately started back, as +fast as ever, in the direction of the tower. + +He reached the skylight, which he found exactly as he had left it, and +slipped in, cloak and all, as easily as he had got out. He had +scarcely reached the floor, and was still sitting in the middle of his +traveling-cloak,--like a frog on a water-lily leaf, as his godmother had +expressed it,--when he heard his nurse's voice outside. + +“Bless us! what has become of your Royal Highness all this time? To +sit stupidly here at the window till it is quite dark, and leave the +skylight open, too. Prince! what can you be thinking of? You are the +silliest boy I ever knew.” + +“Am I?” said he absently, and never heeding her crossness; for his only +anxiety was lest she might find out anything. + +She would have been a very clever person to have done so. The instant +Prince Dolor got off it, the cloak folded itself up into the tiniest +possible parcel, tied all its own knots, and rolled itself of its own +accord into the farthest and darkest corner of the room. If the nurse +had seen it, which she didn't, she would have taken it for a mere bundle +of rubbish not worth noticing. + +Shutting the skylight with an angry bang, she brought in the supper and +lit the candles with her usual unhappy expression of countenance. But +Prince Dolor hardly saw it; he only saw, hid in the corner where nobody +else would see it, his wonderful traveling-cloak. And though his supper +was not particularly nice, he ate it heartily, scarcely hearing a word +of his nurse's grumbling, which to-night seemed to have taken the place +of her sullen silence. + +“Poor woman!” he thought, when he paused a minute to listen and look at +her with those quiet, happy eyes, so like his mother's. “Poor woman! she +hasn't got a traveling-cloak!” + +And when he was left alone at last, and crept into his little bed, where +he lay awake a good while, watching what he called his “sky-garden,” all +planted with stars, like flowers, his chief thought was--“I must be up +very early to-morrow morning, and get my lessons done, and then I'll go +traveling all over the world on my beautiful cloak.” + +So next day he opened his eyes with the sun, and went with a good heart +to his lessons. They had hitherto been the chief amusement of his dull +life; now, I am afraid, he found them also a little dull. But he tried +to be good,--I don't say Prince Dolor always was good, but he generally +tried to be,--and when his mind went wandering after the dark, dusty +corner where lay his precious treasure, he resolutely called it back +again. + +“For,” he said, “how ashamed my godmother would be of me if I grew up a +stupid boy!” + +But the instant lessons were done, and he was alone in the empty room, +he crept across the floor, undid the shabby little bundle, his fingers +trembling with eagerness, climbed on the chair, and thence to the table, +so as to unbar the skylight,--he forgot nothing now,--said his magic +charm, and was away out of the window, as children say, “in a few +minutes less than no time.” + +Nobody missed him. He was accustomed to sit so quietly always that +his nurse, though only in the next room, perceived no difference. And +besides, she might have gone in and out a dozen times, and it would have +been just the same; she never could have found out his absence. + +For what do you think the clever godmother did? She took a quantity of +moonshine, or some equally convenient material, and made an image, which +she set on the window-sill reading, or by the table drawing, where it +looked so like Prince Dolor that any common observer would never have +guessed the deception; and even the boy would have been puzzled to know +which was the image and which was himself. + +And all this while the happy little fellow was away, floating in the air +on his magic cloak, and seeing all sorts of wonderful things--or they +seemed wonderful to him, who had hitherto seen nothing at all. + +First, there were the flowers that grew on the plain, which, whenever +the cloak came near enough, he strained his eyes to look at; they were +very tiny, but very beautiful--white saxifrage, and yellow lotus, and +ground-thistles, purple and bright, with many others the names of which +I do not know. No more did Prince Dolor, though he tried to find them +out by recalling any pictures he had seen of them. But he was too far +off; and though it was pleasant enough to admire them as brilliant +patches of color, still he would have liked to examine them all. He was, +as a little girl I know once said of a playfellow, “a very examining +boy.” + +“I wonder,” he thought, “whether I could see better through a pair of +glasses like those my nurse reads with, and takes such care of. How I +would take care of them, too, if I only had a pair!” + +Immediately he felt something queer and hard fixing itself to the bridge +of his nose. It was a pair of the prettiest gold spectacles ever seen; +and looking downward, he found that, though ever so high above the +ground, he could see every minute blade of grass, every tiny bud and +flower--nay, even the insects that walked over them. + +“Thank you, thank you!” he cried, in a gush of gratitude--to anybody or +everybody, but especially to his dear godmother, who he felt sure had +given him this new present. He amused himself with it for ever so long, +with his chin pressed on the rim of the cloak, gazing down upon the +grass, every square foot of which was a mine of wonders. + +Then, just to rest his eyes, he turned them up to the sky--the blue, +bright, empty sky, which he had looked at so often and seen nothing. + +Now surely there was something. A long, black, wavy line, moving on +in the distance, not by chance, as the clouds move apparently, but +deliberately, as if it were alive. He might have seen it before--he +almost thought he had; but then he could not tell what it was. Looking +at it through his spectacles, he discovered that it really was alive; +being a long string of birds, flying one after the other, their wings +moving steadily and their heads pointed in one direction, as steadily as +if each were a little ship, guided invisibly by an unerring helm. + +“They must be the passage-birds flying seaward!” cried the boy, who had +read a little about them, and had a great talent for putting two and +two together and finding out all he could. “Oh, how I should like to see +them quite close, and to know where they come from and whither they are +going! How I wish I knew everything in all the world!” + +A silly speech for even an “examining” little boy to make; because, as +we grow older, the more we know the more we find out there is to know. +And Prince Dolor blushed when he had said it, and hoped nobody had heard +him. + +Apparently somebody had, however; for the cloak gave a sudden bound +forward, and presently he found himself high in the air, in the very +middle of that band of aerial travelers, who had mo magic cloak to +travel on--nothing except their wings. Yet there they were, making their +fearless way through the sky. + +Prince Dolor looked at them as one after the other they glided past him; +and they looked at him--those pretty swallows, with their changing +necks and bright eyes--as if wondering to meet in mid-air such an +extraordinary sort of bird. + +“Oh, I wish I were going with you, you lovely creatures! I'm getting so +tired of this dull plain, and the dreary and lonely tower. I do so want +to see the world! Pretty swallows, dear swallows! tell me what it looks +like--the beautiful, wonderful world!” + +But the swallows flew past him--steadily, slowly pursuing their course +as if inside each little head had been a mariner's compass, to guide +them safe over land and sea, direct to the place where they wished to +go. + +The boy looked after them with envy. For a long time he followed with +his eyes the faint, wavy black line as it floated away, sometimes +changing its curves a little, but never deviating from its settled +course, till it vanished entirely out of sight. + +Then he settled himself down in the center of the cloak, feeling quite +sad and lonely. + +“I think I'll go home,” said he, and repeated his “Abracadabra, tum tum +ti!” with a rather heavy heart. The more he had, the more he wanted; +and it is not always one can have everything one wants--at least, at the +exact minute one craves for it; not even though one is a prince, and has +a powerful and beneficent godmother. + +He did not like to vex her by calling for her and telling her how +unhappy he was, in spite of all her goodness; so he just kept his +trouble to himself, went back to his lonely tower, and spent three days +in silent melancholy, without even attempting another journey on his +traveling-cloak. + + + +CHAPTER VI + +The fourth day it happened that the deaf-mute paid his accustomed visit, +after which Prince Dolor's spirits rose. They always did when he got the +new books which, just to relieve his conscience, the King of Nomansland +regularly sent to his nephew; with many new toys also, though the latter +were disregarded now. + +“Toys, indeed! when I'm a big boy,” said the Prince, with disdain, +and would scarcely condescend to mount a rocking-horse which had +come, somehow or other,--I can't be expected to explain things very +exactly,--packed on the back of the other, the great black horse, which +stood and fed contentedly at the bottom of the tower. + +Prince Dolor leaned over and looked at it, and thought how grand it must +be to get upon its back--this grand live steed--and ride away, like the +pictures of knights. + +“Suppose I was a knight,” he said to himself; “then I should be obliged +to ride out and see the world.” + +But he kept all these thoughts to himself, and just sat still, devouring +his new books till he had come to the end of them all. It was a repast +not unlike the Barmecide's feast which you read of in the “Arabian +Nights,” which consisted of very elegant but empty dishes, or that +supper of Sancho Panza in “Don Quixote,” where, the minute the smoking +dishes came on the table, the physician waved his hand and they were all +taken away. + +Thus almost all the ordinary delights of boy-life had been taken away +from, or rather never given to this poor little prince. + +“I wonder,” he would sometimes think--“I wonder what it feels like to +be on the back of a horse, galloping away, or holding the reins in a +carriage, and tearing across the country, or jumping a ditch, or running +a race, such as I read of or see in pictures. What a lot of things there +are that I should like to do! But first I should like to go and see the +world. I'll try.” + +Apparently it was his godmother's plan always to let him try, and try +hard, before he gained anything. This day the knots that tied up his +traveling-cloak were more than usually troublesome, and he was a +full half-hour before he got out into the open air, and found himself +floating merrily over the top of the tower. + +Hitherto, in all his journeys, he had never let himself go out of sight +of home, for the dreary building, after all, was home--he remembered +no other; but now he felt sick of the very look of his tower, with its +round smooth walls and level battlements. + +“Off we go!” cried he, when the cloak stirred itself with a slight, slow +motion, as if waiting his orders. “Anywhere anywhere, so that I am away +from here, and out into the world.” + +As he spoke, the cloak, as if seized suddenly with a new idea, bounded +forward and went skimming through the air, faster than the very fastest +railway train. + +“Gee-up! gee-up!” cried Prince Dolor in great excitement. “This is as +good as riding a race.” + +And he patted the cloak as if it had been a horse--that is, in the way +he supposed horses ought to be patted--and tossed his head back to meet +the fresh breeze, and pulled his coat collar up and his hat down as he +felt the wind grow keener and colder--colder than anything he had ever +known. + +“What does it matter, though?” said he. “I'm a boy, and boys ought not +to mind anything.” + +Still, for all his good-will, by and by, he began to shiver exceedingly; +also, he had come away without his dinner, and he grew frightfully +hungry. And to add to everything, the sunshiny day changed into rain, +and being high up, in the very midst of the clouds, he got soaked +through and through in a very few minutes. + +“Shall I turn back?” meditated he. “Suppose I say 'Abracadabra?'” + +Here he stopped, for already the cloak gave an obedient lurch, as if it +were expecting to be sent home immediately. + +“No--I can't--I can't go back! I must go forward and see the world. But +oh! if I had but the shabbiest old rug to shelter me from the rain, or +the driest morsel of bread and cheese, just to keep me from starving! +Still, I don't much mind; I'm a prince, and ought to be able to stand +anything. Hold on, cloak, we'll make the best of it.” + +It was a most curious circumstance, but no sooner had he said this than +he felt stealing over his knees something warm and soft; in fact, a most +beautiful bearskin, which folded itself round him quite naturally, and +cuddled him up as closely as if he had been the cub of the kind old +mother-bear that once owned it. Then feeling in his pocket, which +suddenly stuck out in a marvelous way, he found, not exactly bread and +cheese, nor even sandwiches, but a packet of the most delicious food +he had ever tasted. It was not meat, nor pudding, but a combination of +both, and it served him excellently for both. He ate his dinner with the +greatest gusto imaginable, till he grew so thirsty he did not know what +to do. + +“Couldn't I have just one drop of water, if it didn't trouble you too +much, kindest of godmothers?” + +For he really thought this want was beyond her power to supply. All the +water which supplied Hopeless Tower was pumped up with difficulty from +a deep artesian well--there were such things known in Nomansland--which +had been made at the foot of it. But around, for miles upon miles, the +desolate plain was perfectly dry. And above it, high in the air, how +could he expect to find a well, or to get even a drop of water? + +He forgot one thing--the rain. While he spoke, it came on in another +wild burst, as if the clouds had poured themselves out in a passion +of crying, wetting him certainly, but leaving behind, in a large glass +vessel which he had never noticed before, enough water to quench the +thirst of two or three boys at least. And it was so fresh, so pure--as +water from the clouds always is when it does not catch the soot from +city chimneys and other defilements--that he drank it, every drop, with +the greatest delight and content. + +Also, as soon as it was empty the rain filled it again, so that he was +able to wash his face and hands and refresh himself exceedingly. Then +the sun came out and dried him in no time. After that he curled himself +up under the bear-skin rug, and though he determined to be the most +wide-awake boy imaginable, being so exceedingly snug and warm and +comfortable, Prince Dolor condescended to shut his eyes just for one +minute. The next minute he was sound asleep. + +When he awoke, he found himself floating over a country quite unlike +anything he had ever seen before. + +Yet it was nothing but what most of you children see every day and never +notice it--a pretty country landscape, like England, Scotland, +France, or any other land you choose to name. It had no particular +features--nothing in it grand or lovely--was simply pretty, nothing +more; yet to Prince Dolor, who had never gone beyond his lonely tower +and level plain, it appeared the most charming sight imaginable. + +First, there was a river. It came tumbling down the hillside, frothing +and foaming, playing at hide-and-seek among the rocks, then bursting +out in noisy fun like a child, to bury itself in deep, still pools. +Afterward it went steadily on for a while, like a good grown-up person, +till it came to another big rock, where it misbehaved itself extremely. +It turned into a cataract, and went tumbling over and over, after a +fashion that made the prince--who had never seen water before, except in +his bath or his drinking-cup--clap his hands with delight. + +“It is so active, so alive! I like things active and alive!” cried he, +and watched it shimmering and dancing, whirling and leaping, till, after +a few windings and vagaries, it settled into a respectable stream. After +that it went along, deep and quiet, but flowing steadily on, till it +reached a large lake, into which it slipped and so ended its course. + +All this the boy saw, either with his own naked eye or through his gold +spectacles. He saw also as in a picture, beautiful but silent, many +other things which struck him with wonder, especially a grove of trees. + +Only think, to have lived to his age (which he himself did not know, as +he did not know his own birthday) and never to have seen trees! As +he floated over these oaks, they seemed to him--trunk, branches, and +leaves--the most curious sight imaginable. + +“If I could only get nearer, so as to touch them,” said he, and +immediately the obedient cloak ducked down; Prince Dolor made a snatch +at the topmost twig of the tallest tree, and caught a bunch of leaves in +his hand. + +Just a bunch of green leaves--such as we see in myriads; watching them +bud, grow, fall, and then kicking them along on the ground as if they +were worth nothing. Yet how wonderful they are--every one of them a +little different. I don't suppose you could ever find two leaves exactly +alike in form, color, and size--no more than you could find two faces +alike, or two characters exactly the same. The plan of this world is +infinite similarity and yet infinite variety. + +Prince Dolor examined his leaves with the greatest curiosity--and also a +little caterpillar that he found walking over one of them. He coaxed +it to take an additional walk over his finger, which it did with the +greatest dignity and decorum, as if it, Mr. Caterpillar, were the most +important individual in existence. It amused him for a long time; and +when a sudden gust of wind blew it overboard, leaves and all, he felt +quite disconsolate. + +“Still there must be many live creatures in the world besides +caterpillars. I should like to see a few of them.” + +The cloak gave a little dip down, as if to say “All right, my Prince,” + and bore him across the oak forest to a long fertile valley--called in +Scotland a strath and in England a weald, but what they call it in +the tongue of Nomansland I do not know. It was made up of cornfields, +pasturefields, lanes, hedges, brooks, and ponds. Also, in it were what +the prince desired to see--a quantity of living creatures, wild and +tame. Cows and horses, lambs and sheep, fed in the meadows; pigs and +fowls walked about the farm-yards; and in lonelier places hares scudded, +rabbits burrowed, and pheasants and partridges, with many other smaller +birds, inhabited the fields and woods. + +Through his wonderful spectacles the Prince could see everything; but, +as I said, it was a silent picture; he was too high up to catch anything +except a faint murmur, which only aroused his anxiety to hear more. + +“I have as good as two pairs of eyes,” he thought. “I wonder if my +godmother would give me a second pair of ears.” + +Scarcely had he spoken than he found lying on his lap the most curious +little parcel, all done up in silvery paper. And it contained--what do +you think? Actually a pair of silver ears, which, when he tried them on, +fitted so exactly over his own that he hardly felt them, except for the +difference they made in his hearing. + +There is something which we listen to daily and never notice. I mean +the sounds of the visible world, animate and inanimate. Winds blowing, +waters flowing, trees stirring, insects whirring (dear me! I am quite +unconsciously writing rhyme), with the various cries of birds and +beasts,--lowing cattle, bleating sheep, grunting pigs, and cackling +hens,--all the infinite discords that somehow or other make a beautiful +harmony. + +We hear this, and are so accustomed to it that we think nothing of it; +but Prince Dolor, who had lived all his days in the dead silence of +Hopeless Tower, heard it for the first time. And oh! if you had seen his +face. + +He listened, listened, as if he could never have done listening. And he +looked and looked, as if he could not gaze enough. Above all, the motion +of the animals delighted him: cows walking, horses galloping, little +lambs and calves running races across the meadows, were such a treat for +him to watch--he that was always so quiet. But, these creatures having +four legs, and he only two, the difference did not strike him painfully. + +Still, by and by, after the fashion of children,--and I fear, of many +big people too,--he began to want something more than he had, something +fresh and new. + +“Godmother,” he said, having now begun to believe that, whether he saw +her or not, he could always speak to her with full confidence that she +would hear him--“Godmother, all these creatures I like exceedingly; but +I should like better to see a creature like myself. Couldn't you show me +just one little boy?” + +There was a sigh behind him,--it might have been only the wind,--and +the cloak remained so long balanced motionless in air that he was half +afraid his godmother had forgotten him, or was offended with him for +asking too much. Suddenly a shrill whistle startled him, even through +his silver ears, and looking downward, he saw start up from behind a +bush on a common, something---- + +Neither a sheep nor a horse nor a cow--nothing upon four legs. This +creature had only two; but they were long, straight, and strong. And it +had a lithe, active body, and a curly head of black hair set upon +its shoulders. It was a boy, a shepherd-boy, about the Prince's own +age--but, oh! so different. + +Not that he was an ugly boy--though his face was almost as red as his +hands, and his shaggy hair matted like the backs of his own sheep. He +was rather a nice-looking lad; and seemed so bright and healthy and +good-tempered--“jolly” would be the word, only I am not sure if they +have such a one in the elegant language of Nomansland--that the little +Prince watched him with great admiration. + +“Might he come and play with me? I would drop down to the ground to him, +or fetch him up to me here. Oh, how nice it would be if I only had a +little boy to play with me.” + +But the cloak, usually so obedient to his wishes, disobeyed him now. +There were evidently some things which his godmother either could +not or would not give. The cloak hung stationary, high in air, never +attempting to descend. The shepherd-lad evidently took it for a large +bird, and, shading his eyes, looked up at it, making the Prince's heart +beat fast. + +However, nothing ensued. The boy turned round, with a long, loud +whistle--seemingly his usual and only way of expressing his feelings. He +could not make the thing out exactly--it was a rather mysterious affair, +but it did not trouble him much--he was not an “examining” boy. + +Then, stretching himself, for he had been evidently half asleep, he +began flopping his shoulders with his arms to wake and warm himself; +while his dog, a rough collie, who had been guarding the sheep +meanwhile, began to jump upon him, barking with delight. + +“Down, Snap, down: Stop that, or I'll thrash you,” the Prince heard him +say; though with such a rough, hard voice and queer pronunciation that +it was difficult to make the words out. “Hollo! Let's warm ourselves by +a race.” + +They started off together, boy and dog--barking and shouting, till it +was doubtful which made the more noise or ran the faster. A regular +steeplechase it was: first across the level common, greatly disturbing +the quiet sheep; and then tearing away across country, scrambling +through hedges and leaping ditches, and tumbling up and down over plowed +fields. They did not seem to have anything to run for--but as if they +did it, both of them, for the mere pleasure of motion. + +And what a pleasure that seemed! To the dog of course, but scarcely less +so to the boy. How he skimmed along over the ground--his cheeks glowing, +and his hair flying, and his legs--oh, what a pair of legs he had! + +Prince Dolor watched him with great intentness, and in a state of +excitement almost equal to that of the runner himself--for a while. Then +the sweet, pale face grew a trifle paler, the lips began to quiver, and +the eyes to fill. + +“How nice it must be to run like that!” he said softly, thinking that +never--no, never in this world--would he be able to do the same. + +Now he understood what his godmother had meant when she gave him his +traveling-cloak, and why he had heard that sigh--he was sure it was +hers--when he had asked to see “just one little boy.” + +“I think I had rather not look at him again,” said the poor little +Prince, drawing himself back into the center of his cloak, and resuming +his favorite posture, sitting like a Turk, with his arms wrapped round +his feeble, useless legs. + +“You're no good to me,” he said, patting them mournfully. “You never +will be any good to me. I wonder why I had you at all. I wonder why I +was born at all, since I was not to grow up like other boys. Why not?” + +A question so strange, so sad, yet so often occurring in some form +or other in this world--as you will find, my children, when you are +older--that even if he had put it to his mother she could only have +answered it, as we have to answer many as difficult things, by simply +saying, “I don't know.” There is much that we do not know and cannot +understand--we big folks no more than you little ones. We have to accept +it all just as you have to accept anything which your parents may +tell you, even though you don't as yet see the reason of it. You may +sometime, if you do exactly as they tell you, and are content to wait. + +Prince Dolor sat a good while thus, or it appeared to him a good while, +so many thoughts came and went through his poor young mind--thoughts of +great bitterness, which, little though he was, seemed to make him grow +years older in a few minutes. + +Then he fancied the cloak began to rock gently to and fro, with a +soothing kind of motion, as if he were in somebody's arms: somebody who +did not speak, but loved him and comforted him without need of words; +not by deceiving him with false encouragement or hope, but by making +him see the plain, hard truth in all its hardness, and thus letting him +quietly face it, till it grew softened down, and did not seem nearly so +dreadful after all. + +Through the dreary silence and blankness, for he had placed himself so +that he could see nothing but the sky, and had taken off his silver ears +as well as his gold spectacles--what was the use of either when he had +no legs with which to walk or run?--up from below there rose a delicious +sound. + +You have heard it hundreds of times, my children, and so have I. When I +was a child I thought there was nothing so sweet; and I think so still. +It was just the song of a skylark, mounting higher and higher from the +ground, till it came so close that Prince Dolor could distinguish his +quivering wings and tiny body, almost too tiny to contain such a gush of +music. + +“Oh, you beautiful, beautiful bird!” cried he; “I should dearly like to +take you in and cuddle you. That is, if I could--if I dared.” + +But he hesitated. The little brown creature with its loud heavenly voice +almost made him afraid. Nevertheless, it also made him happy; and he +watched and listened--so absorbed that he forgot all regret and pain, +forgot everything in the world except the little lark. + +It soared and soared, and he was just wondering if it would soar out +of sight, and what in the world he should do when it was gone, when it +suddenly closed its wings, as larks do when they mean to drop to the +ground. But, instead of dropping to the ground, it dropped right into +the little boy's breast. + +What felicity! If it would only stay! A tiny, soft thing to fondle and +kiss, to sing to him all day long, and be his playfellow and companion, +tame and tender, while to the rest of the world it was a wild bird of +the air. What a pride, what a delight! To have something that nobody +else had--something all his own. As the traveling-cloak traveled on, +he little heeded where, and the lark still stayed, nestled down in his +bosom, hopped from his hand to his shoulder, and kissed him with its +dainty beak, as if it loved him, Prince Dolor forgot all his grief, and +was entirely happy. + +But when he got in sight of Hopeless Tower a painful thought struck him. + +“My pretty bird, what am I to do with you? If I take you into my room +and shut you up there, you, a wild skylark of the air, what will become +of you? I am used to this, but you are not. You will be so miserable; +and suppose my nurse should find you--she who can't bear the sound of +singing? Besides, I remember her once telling me that the nicest thing +she ever ate in her life was lark pie!” + +The little boy shivered all over at the thought. And, though the merry +lark immediately broke into the loudest carol, as if saying derisively +that he defied anybody to eat him, still, Prince Dolor was very uneasy. +In another minute he had made up his mind. + +“No, my bird, nothing so dreadful shall happen to you if I can help it; +I would rather do without you altogether. Yes, I'll try. Fly away, my +darling, my beautiful! Good-by, my merry, merry bird.” + +Opening his two caressing hands, in which, as if for protection, he had +folded it, he let the lark go. It lingered a minute, perching on the rim +of the cloak, and looking at him with eyes of almost human tenderness; +then away it flew, far up into the blue sky. It was only a bird. + +But some time after, when Prince Dolor had eaten his supper--somewhat +drearily, except for the thought that he could not possibly sup off lark +pie now--and gone quietly to bed, the old familiar little bed, where he +was accustomed to sleep, or lie awake contentedly thinking--suddenly +he heard outside the window a little faint carol--faint but +cheerful--cheerful even though it was the middle of the night. + +The dear little lark! it had not flown away, after all. And it was +truly the most extraordinary bird, for, unlike ordinary larks, it kept +hovering about the tower in the silence and darkness of the night, +outside the window or over the roof. Whenever he listened for a moment, +he heard it singing still. + +He went to sleep as happy as a king. + + + +CHAPTER VII + +“Happy as a king.” How far kings are happy I cannot say, no more than +could Prince Dolor, though he had once been a king himself. But he +remembered nothing about it, and there was nobody to tell him, except +his nurse, who had been forbidden upon pain of death to let him know +anything about his dead parents, or the king his uncle, or indeed any +part of his own history. + +Sometimes he speculated about himself, whether he had had a father and +mother as other little boys had what they had been like, and why he +had never seen them. But, knowing nothing about them, he did not miss +them--only once or twice, reading pretty stories about little children +and their mothers, who helped them when they were in difficulty and +comforted them when they were sick, he feeling ill and dull and lonely, +wondered what had become of his mother and why she never came to see +him. + +Then, in his history lessons, of course he read about kings and princes, +and the governments of different countries, and the events that happened +there. And though he but faintly took in all this, still he did take +it in a little, and worried his young brain about it, and perplexed +his nurse with questions, to which she returned sharp and mysterious +answers, which only set him thinking the more. + +He had plenty of time for thinking. After his last journey in the +traveling-cloak, the journey which had given him so much pain, his +desire to see the world somehow faded away. He contented himself with +reading his books, and looking out of the tower windows, and listening +to his beloved little lark, which had come home with him that day, and +never left him again. + +True, it kept out of the way; and though his nurse sometimes dimly heard +it, and said “What is that horrid noise outside?” she never got the +faintest chance of making it into a lark pie. Prince Dolor had his pet +all to himself, and though he seldom saw it, he knew it was near him, +and he caught continually, at odd hours of the day, and even in the +night, fragments of its delicious song. + +All during the winter--so far as there ever was any difference between +summer and winter in Hopeless Tower--the little bird cheered and amused +him. He scarcely needed anything more--not even his traveling-cloak, +which lay bundled up unnoticed in a corner, tied up in its innumerable +knots. + +Nor did his godmother come near him. It seemed as if she had given these +treasures and left him alone--to use them or lose them, apply them or +misapply them, according to his own choice. That is all we can do with +children when they grow into big children old enough to distinguish +between right and wrong, and too old to be forced to do either. + +Prince Dolor was now quite a big boy. Not tall--alas! he never could be +that, with his poor little shrunken legs, which were of no use, only an +encumbrance. But he was stout and strong, with great sturdy shoulders, +and muscular arms, upon which he could swing himself about almost like +a monkey. As if in compensation for his useless lower limbs, Nature +had given to these extra strength and activity. His face, too, was very +handsome; thinner, firmer, more manly; but still the sweet face of his +childhood--his mother's own face. + +How his mother would have liked to look at him! Perhaps she did--who +knows? + +The boy was not a stupid boy either. He could learn almost anything he +chose--and he did choose, which was more than half the battle. He never +gave up his lessons till he had learned them all--never thought it a +punishment that he had to work at them, and that they cost him a deal of +trouble sometimes. + +“But,” thought he, “men work, and it must be so grand to be a man--a +prince too; and I fancy princes work harder than anybody--except kings. +The princes I read about generally turn into kings. I wonder”--the +boy was always wondering--“Nurse,”--and one day he startled her with a +sudden question,--“tell me--shall I ever be a king?” + +The woman stood, perplexed beyond expression. So long a time had passed +by since her crime--if it were a crime--and her sentence, that she now +seldom thought of either. Even her punishment--to be shut up for life in +Hopeless Tower--she had gradually got used to. Used also to the little +lame Prince, her charge--whom at first she had hated, though she +carefully did everything to keep him alive, since upon him her own life +hung. + +But latterly she had ceased to hate him, and, in a sort of way, almost +loved him--at least, enough to be sorry for him--an innocent child, +imprisoned here till he grew into an old man, and became a dull, +worn-out creature like herself. Sometimes, watching him, she felt more +sorry for him than even for herself; and then, seeing she looked a less +miserable and ugly woman, he did not shrink from her as usual. + +He did not now. “Nurse--dear nurse,” said he, “I don't mean to vex you, +but tell me what is a king? shall I ever be one?” + +When she began to think less of herself and more of the child, the +woman's courage increased. The idea came to her--what harm would it be, +even if he did know his own history? Perhaps he ought to know it--for +there had been various ups and downs, usurpations, revolutions, and +restorations in Nomansland, as in most other countries. Something might +happen--who could tell? Changes might occur. Possibly a crown would +even yet be set upon those pretty, fair curls--which she began to think +prettier than ever when she saw the imaginary coronet upon them. + +She sat down, considering whether her oath, never to “say a word” to +Prince Dolor about himself, would be broken if she were to take a +pencil and write what was to be told. A mere quibble--a mean, miserable +quibble. But then she was a miserable woman, more to be pitied than +scorned. + +After long doubt, and with great trepidation, she put her fingers to her +lips, and taking the Prince's slate--with the sponge tied to it, ready +to rub out the writing in a minute--she wrote: + +“You are a king.” + +Prince Dolor started. His face grew pale, and then flushed all over; he +held himself erect. Lame as he was, anybody could see he was born to be +a king. + +“Hush!” said the nurse, as he was beginning to speak. And then, terribly +frightened all the while,--people who have done wrong always are +frightened,--she wrote down in a few hurried sentences his history. How +his parents had died--his uncle had usurped his throne, and sent him to +end his days in this lonely tower. + +“I, too,” added she, bursting into tears. “Unless, indeed, you could get +out into the world, and fight for your rights like a man. And fight for +me also, my Prince, that I may not die in this desolate place.” + +“Poor old nurse!” said the boy compassionately. For somehow, boy as he +was, when he heard he was born to be a king, he felt like a man--like a +king--who could afford to be tender because he was strong. + +He scarcely slept that night, and even though he heard his little lark +singing in the sunrise, he barely listened to it. Things more serious +and important had taken possession of his mind. + +“Suppose,” thought he, “I were to do as she says, and go out in the +world, no matter how it hurts me--the world of people, active people, as +that boy I saw. They might only laugh at me--poor helpless creature that +I am; but still I might show them I could do something. At any rate, I +might go and see if there were anything for me to do. Godmother, help +me!” + +It was so long since he had asked her help that he was hardly surprised +when he got no answer--only the little lark outside the window sang +louder and louder, and the sun rose, flooding the room with light. + +Prince Dolor sprang out of bed, and began dressing himself, which was +hard work, for he was not used to it--he had always been accustomed to +depend upon his nurse for everything. + +“But I must now learn to be independent,” thought he. “Fancy a king +being dressed like a baby!” + +So he did the best he could,--awkwardly but cheerily,--and then he +leaped to the corner where lay his traveling-cloak, untied it as before, +and watched it unrolling itself--which it did rapidly, with a hearty +good-will, as if quite tired of idleness. So was Prince Dolor--or felt +as if he were. He jumped into the middle of it, said his charm, and was +out through the skylight immediately. + +“Good-by, pretty lark!” he shouted, as he passed it on the wing, still +warbling its carol to the newly risen sun. “You have been my pleasure, +my delight; now I must go and work. Sing to old nurse till I come back +again. Perhaps she'll hear you--perhaps she won't--but it will do her +good all the same. Good-by!” + +But, as the cloak hung irresolute in air, he suddenly remembered that he +had not determined where to go--indeed, he did not know, and there was +nobody to tell him. + +“Godmother,” he cried, in much perplexity, “you know what I want,--at +least, I hope you do, for I hardly do myself--take me where I ought to +go; show me whatever I ought to see--never mind what I like to see,” + as a sudden idea came into his mind that he might see many painful and +disagreeable things. But this journey was not for pleasure as before. He +was not a baby now, to do nothing but play--big boys do not always play. +Nor men neither--they work. Thus much Prince Dolor knew--though very +little more. + +As the cloak started off, traveling faster than he had ever known it to +do,--through sky-land and cloud land, over freezing mountain-tops, and +desolate stretches of forest, and smiling cultivated plains, and great +lakes that seemed to him almost as shoreless as the sea,--he was often +rather frightened. But he crouched down, silent and quiet; what was the +use of making a fuss? and, wrapping himself up in his bear-skin, waited +for what was to happen. + +After some time he heard a murmur in the distance, increasing more +and more till it grew like the hum of a gigantic hive of bees. And, +stretching his chin over the rim of his cloak, Prince Dolor saw--far, +far below him, yet, with his gold spectacles and silver ears on, he +could distinctly hear and see--what? + +Most of us have some time or other visited a great metropolis--have +wandered through its network of streets--lost ourselves in its crowds +of people--looked up at its tall rows of houses, its grand public +buildings, churches, and squares. Also, perhaps, we have peeped into its +miserable little back alleys, where dirty children play in gutters all +day and half the night--even young boys go about picking pockets, with +nobody to tell them it is wrong except the policeman, and he simply +takes them off to prison. And all this wretchedness is close behind the +grandeur--like the two sides of the leaf of a book. + +An awful sight is a large city, seen any how from any where. But, +suppose you were to see it from the upper air, where, with your eyes +and ears open, you could take in everything at once? What would it look +like? How would you feel about it? I hardly know myself. Do you? + +Prince Dolor had need to be a king--that is, a boy with a kingly +nature--to be able to stand such a sight without being utterly overcome. +But he was very much bewildered--as bewildered as a blind person who is +suddenly made to see. + +He gazed down on the city below him, and then put his hand over his +eyes. + +“I can't bear to look at it, it is so beautiful--so dreadful. And I +don't understand it--not one bit. There is nobody to tell me about it. I +wish I had somebody to speak to.” + +“Do you? Then pray speak to me. I was always considered good at +conversation.” + +The voice that squeaked out this reply was an excellent imitation of the +human one, though it came only from a bird. No lark this time, however, +but a great black and white creature that flew into the cloak, and began +walking round and round on the edge of it with a dignified stride, one +foot before the other, like any unfeathered biped you could name. + +“I haven't the honor of your acquaintance, sir,” said the boy politely. + +“Ma'am, if you please. I am a mother bird, and my name is Mag, and I +shall be happy to tell you everything you want to know. For I know a +great deal; and I enjoy talking. My family is of great antiquity; we +have built in this palace for hundreds--that is to say, dozens of years. +I am intimately acquainted with the king, the queen, and the little +princes and princesses--also the maids of honor, and all the inhabitants +of the city. I talk a good deal, but I always talk sense, and I daresay +I should be exceedingly useful to a poor little ignorant boy like you.” + +“I am a prince,” said the other gently. + +“All right. And I am a magpie. You will find me a most respectable +bird.” + +“I have no doubt of it,” was the polite answer--though he thought in his +own mind that Mag must have a very good opinion of herself. But she was +a lady and a stranger, so of course he was civil to her. + +She settled herself at his elbow, and began to chatter away, pointing +out with one skinny claw, while she balanced herself on the other, every +object of interest, evidently believing, as no doubt all its inhabitants +did, that there was no capital in the world like the great metropolis of +Nomansland. + +I have not seen it, and therefore cannot describe it, so we will just +take it upon trust, and suppose it to be, like every other fine city, +the finest city that ever was built. Mag said so--and of course she +knew. + +Nevertheless, there were a few things in it which surprised Prince +Dolor--and, as he had said, he could not understand them at all. One +half the people seemed so happy and busy--hurrying up and down the full +streets, or driving lazily along the parks in their grand carriages, +while the other half were so wretched and miserable. + +“Can't the world be made a little more level? I would try to do it if I +were a king.” + +“But you're not the king: only a little goose of a boy,” returned the +magpie loftily. “And I'm here not to explain things, only to show them. +Shall I show you the royal palace?” + +It was a very magnificent palace. It had terraces and gardens, +battlements and towers. It extended over acres of ground, and had in +it rooms enough to accommodate half the city. Its windows looked in all +directions, but none of them had any particular view--except a small +one, high up toward the roof, which looked out on the Beautiful +Mountains. But since the queen died there it had been closed, boarded +up, indeed, the magpie said. It was so little and inconvenient that +nobody cared to live in it. Besides, the lower apartments, which had no +view, were magnificent--worthy of being inhabited by the king. + +“I should like to see the king,” said Prince Dolor. + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +What, I wonder, would be people's idea of a king? What was Prince +Dolor's? + +Perhaps a very splendid personage, with a crown on his head and a +scepter in his hand, sitting on a throne and judging the people. Always +doing right, and never wrong--“The king can do no wrong” was a law +laid down in olden times. Never cross, or tired, or sick, or suffering; +perfectly handsome and well dressed, calm and good-tempered, ready to +see and hear everybody, and discourteous to nobody; all things always +going well with him, and nothing unpleasant ever happening. + +This, probably, was what Prince Dolor expected to see. And what did he +see? But I must tell you how he saw it. + +“Ah,” said the magpie, “no levee to-day. The King is ill, though his +Majesty does not wish it to be generally known--it would be so very +inconvenient. He can't see you, but perhaps you might like to go and +take a look at him in a way I often do? It is so very amusing.” + +Amusing, indeed! + +The prince was just now too much excited to talk much. Was he not going +to see the king his uncle, who had succeeded his father and dethroned +himself; had stepped into all the pleasant things that he, Prince Dolor, +ought to have had, and shut him up in a desolate tower? What was he +like, this great, bad, clever man? Had he got all the things he wanted, +which another ought to have had? And did he enjoy them? + +“Nobody knows,” answered the magpie, just as if she had been sitting +inside the prince's heart, instead of on the top of his shoulder. “He is +a king, and that's enough. For the rest nobody knows.” + +As she spoke, Mag flew down on to the palace roof, where the cloak +had rested, settling down between the great stacks of chimneys as +comfortably as if on the ground. She pecked at the tiles with her +beak--truly she was a wonderful bird--and immediately a little hole +opened, a sort of door, through which could be seen distinctly the +chamber below. + +“Now look in, my Prince. Make haste, for I must soon shut it up again.” + +But the boy hesitated. “Isn't it rude?--won't they think us intruding?” + +“Oh, dear no! there's a hole like this in every palace; dozens of holes, +indeed. Everybody knows it, but nobody speaks of it. Intrusion! Why, +though the royal family are supposed to live shut up behind stone walls +ever so thick, all the world knows that they live in a glass house where +everybody can see them and throw a stone at them. Now pop down on your +knees, and take a peep at his Majesty.” + +His Majesty! + +The Prince gazed eagerly down into a large room, the largest room he had +ever beheld, with furniture and hangings grander than anything he could +have ever imagined. A stray sunbeam, coming through a crevice of the +darkened windows, struck across the carpet, and it was the loveliest +carpet ever woven--just like a bed of flowers to walk over; only nobody +walked over it, the room being perfectly empty and silent. + +“Where is the King?” asked the puzzled boy. + +“There,” said Mag, pointing with one wrinkled claw to a magnificent bed, +large enough to contain six people. In the center of it, just visible +under the silken counterpane,--quite straight and still,--with its head +on the lace pillow, lay a small figure, something like wax-work, fast +asleep--very fast asleep! There was a number of sparkling rings on the +tiny yellow hands, that were curled a little, helplessly, like a baby's, +outside the coverlet; the eyes were shut, the nose looked sharp and +thin, and the long gray beard hid the mouth and lay over the breast. +A sight not ugly nor frightening, only solemn and quiet. And so very +silent--two little flies buzzing about the curtains of the bed being the +only audible sound. + +“Is that the King?” whispered Prince Dolor. + +“Yes,” replied the bird. + +He had been angry--furiously angry--ever since he knew how his uncle had +taken the crown, and sent him, a poor little helpless child, to be shut +up for life, just as if he had been dead. Many times the boy had felt +as if, king as he was, he should like to strike him, this great, strong, +wicked man. + +Why, you might as well have struck a baby! How helpless he lay, with his +eyes shut, and his idle hands folded: they had no more work to do, bad +or good. + +“What is the matter with him?” asked the Prince. + +“He is dead,” said the Magpie, with a croak. + +No, there was not the least use in being angry with him now. On the +contrary, the Prince felt almost sorry for him, except that he looked +so peaceful with all his cares at rest. And this was being dead? So even +kings died? + +“Well, well, he hadn't an easy life, folk say, for all his grandeur. +Perhaps he is glad it is over. Good-by, your Majesty.” + +With another cheerful tap of her beak, Mistress Mag shut down the little +door in the tiles, and Prince Dolor's first and last sight of his uncle +was ended. + +He sat in the center of his traveling-cloak, silent and thoughtful. + +“What shall we do now?” said the magpie. “There's nothing much more to +be done with his majesty, except a fine funeral, which I shall certainly +go and see. All the world will. He interested the world exceedingly when +he was alive, and he ought to do it now he's dead--just once more. +And since he can't hear me, I may as well say that, on the whole, his +majesty is much better dead than alive--if we can only get somebody +in his place. There'll be such a row in the city presently. Suppose we +float up again and see it all--at a safe distance, though. It will be +such fun!” + +“What will be fun?” + +“A revolution.” + +Whether anybody except a magpie would have called it “fun” I don't know, +but it certainly was a remarkable scene. + +As soon as the cathedral bell began to toll and the minute-guns to +fire, announcing to the kingdom that it was without a king, the people +gathered in crowds, stopping at street corners to talk together. The +murmur now and then rose into a shout, and the shout into a roar. When +Prince Dolor, quietly floating in upper air, caught the sound of their +different and opposite cries, it seemed to him as if the whole city had +gone mad together. + +“Long live the king!” “The king is dead--down with the king!” “Down with +the crown, and the king too!” “Hurrah for the republic!” “Hurrah for no +government at all!” + +Such were the shouts which traveled up to the traveling-cloak. And then +began--oh, what a scene! + +When you children are grown men and women--or before--you will hear and +read in books about what are called revolutions--earnestly I trust that +neither I nor you may ever see one. But they have happened, and may +happen again, in other countries besides Nomansland, when wicked kings +have helped to make their people wicked too, or out of an unrighteous +nation have sprung rulers equally bad; or, without either of these +causes, when a restless country has fancied any change better than no +change at all. + +For me, I don't like changes, unless pretty sure that they are for good. +And how good can come out of absolute evil--the horrible evil that went +on this night under Prince Dolor's very eyes--soldiers shooting down +people by hundreds in the streets, scaffolds erected, and heads dropping +off--houses burned, and women and children murdered--this is more than I +can understand. + +But all these things you will find in history, my children, and must +by and by judge for yourselves the right and wrong of them, as far as +anybody ever can judge. + +Prince Dolor saw it all. Things happened so fast one after another that +they quite confused his faculties. + +“Oh, let me go home,” he cried at last, stopping his ears and shutting +his eyes; “only let me go home!” for even his lonely tower seemed home, +and its dreariness and silence absolute paradise after all this. + +“Good-by, then,” said the magpie, flapping her wings. She had been +chatting incessantly all day and all night, for it was actually thus +long that Prince Dolor had been hovering over the city, neither eating +nor sleeping, with all these terrible things happening under his very +eyes. “You've had enough, I suppose, of seeing the world?” + +“Oh, I have--I have!” cried the prince, with a shudder. + +“That is, till next time. All right, your royal highness. You don't know +me, but I know you. We may meet again some time.” + +She looked at him with her clear, piercing eyes, sharp enough to see +through everything, and it seemed as if they changed from bird's eyes +to human eyes--the very eyes of his godmother, whom he had not seen for +ever so long. But the minute afterward she became only a bird, and with +a screech and a chatter, spread her wings and flew away. + +Prince Dolor fell into a kind of swoon of utter misery, bewilderment, +and exhaustion, and when he awoke he found himself in his own +room--alone and quiet--with the dawn just breaking, and the long rim of +yellow light in the horizon glimmering through the window-panes. + + + +CHAPTER IX + +When Prince Dolor sat up in bed, trying to remember where he was, +whither he had been, and what he had seen the day before, he perceived +that his room was empty. + +Generally his nurse rather worried him by breaking his slumbers, coming +in and “setting things to rights,” as she called it. Now the dust lay +thick upon chairs and tables; there was no harsh voice heard to scold +him for not getting up immediately, which, I am sorry to say, this boy +did not always do. For he so enjoyed lying still, and thinking lazily +about everything or nothing, that, if he had not tried hard against it, +he would certainly have become like those celebrated + + “Two little men + Who lay in their bed till the clock struck ten.” + +It was striking ten now, and still no nurse was to be seen. He was +rather relieved at first, for he felt so tired; and besides, when he +stretched out his arm, he found to his dismay that he had gone to bed in +his clothes. + +Very uncomfortable he felt, of course; and just a little frightened. +Especially when he began to call and call again, but nobody answered. +Often he used to think how nice it would be to get rid of his nurse and +live in this tower all by himself--like a sort of monarch able to do +everything he liked, and leave undone all that he did not want to do; +but now that this seemed really to have happened, he did not like it at +all. + +“Nurse,--dear nurse,--please come back!” he called out. “Come back, and +I will be the best boy in all the land.” + +And when she did not come back, and nothing but silence answered his +lamentable call, he very nearly began to cry. + +“This won't do,” he said at last, dashing the tears from his eyes. “It's +just like a baby, and I'm a big boy--shall be a man some day. What has +happened, I wonder? I'll go and see.” + +He sprang out of bed,--not to his feet, alas! but to his poor little +weak knees, and crawled on them from room to room. All the four chambers +were deserted--not forlorn or untidy, for everything seemed to have been +done for his comfort--the breakfast and dinner things were laid, the +food spread in order. He might live “like a prince,” as the proverb +is, for several days. But the place was entirely forsaken--there was +evidently not a creature but himself in the solitary tower. + +A great fear came upon the poor boy. Lonely as his life had been, he had +never known what it was to be absolutely alone. A kind of despair seized +him--no violent anger or terror, but a sort of patient desolation. + +“What in the world am I to do?” thought he, and sat down in the middle +of the floor, half inclined to believe that it would be better to give +up entirely, lay himself down, and die. + +This feeling, however, did not last long, for he was young and strong, +and, I said before, by nature a very courageous boy. There came into +his head, somehow or other, a proverb that his nurse had taught him--the +people of Nomansland were very fond of proverbs: + + “For every evil under the sun + There is a remedy, or there's none; + If there is one, try to find it-- + If there isn't, never mind it.” + +“I wonder is there a remedy now, and could I find it?” cried the Prince, +jumping up and looking out of the window. + +No help there. He only saw the broad, bleak, sunshiny plain--that is, at +first. But by and by, in the circle of mud that surrounded the base of +the tower, he perceived distinctly the marks of a horse's feet, and just +in the spot where the deaf-mute was accustomed to tie up his great black +charger, while he himself ascended, there lay the remains of a bundle of +hay and a feed of corn. + +“Yes, that's it. He has come and gone, taking nurse away with him. Poor +nurse! how glad she would be to go!” + +That was Prince Dolor's first thought. His second--wasn't it +natural?--was a passionate indignation at her cruelty--at the cruelty +of all the world toward him, a poor little helpless boy. Then he +determined, forsaken as he was, to try and hold on to the last, and not +to die as long as he could possibly help it. + +Anyhow, it would be easier to die here than out in the world, among the +terrible doings which he had just beheld--from the midst of which, it +suddenly struck him, the deaf-mute had come, contriving somehow to make +the nurse understand that the king was dead, and she need have no fear +in going back to the capital, where there was a grand revolution, and +everything turned upside down. So, of course, she had gone. “I hope +she'll enjoy it, miserable woman--if they don't cut off her head too.” + +And then a kind of remorse smote him for feeling so bitterly toward her, +after all the years she had taken care of him--grudgingly, perhaps, and +coldly; still she had taken care of him, and that even to the last: for, +as I have said, all his four rooms were as tidy as possible, and his +meals laid out, that he might have no more trouble than could be helped. + +“Possibly she did not mean to be cruel. I won't judge her,” said he. And +afterward he was very glad that he had so determined. + +For the second time he tried to dress himself, and then to do everything +he could for himself--even to sweeping up the hearth and putting on +more coals. “It's a funny thing for a prince to have to do,” said he, +laughing. “But my godmother once said princes need never mind doing +anything.” + +And then he thought a little of his godmother. Not of summoning her, or +asking her to help him,--she had evidently left him to help himself, +and he was determined to try his best to do it, being a very proud and +independent boy,--but he remembered her tenderly and regret-fully, as if +even she had been a little hard upon him--poor, forlorn boy that he was. +But he seemed to have seen and learned so much within the last few days +that he scarcely felt like a boy, but a man--until he went to bed at +night. + +When I was a child, I used often to think how nice it would be to live +in a little house all by my own self--a house built high up in a tree, +or far away in a forest, or halfway up a hillside so deliciously alone +and independent. Not a lesson to learn--but no! I always liked learning +my lessons. Anyhow, to choose the lessons I liked best, to have as many +books to read and dolls to play with as ever I wanted: above all, to be +free and at rest, with nobody to tease or trouble or scold me, would be +charming. For I was a lonely little thing, who liked quietness--as many +children do; which other children, and sometimes grown-up people even, +cannot understand. And so I can understand Prince Dolor. + +After his first despair, he was not merely comfortable, but actually +happy in his solitude, doing everything for himself, and enjoying +everything by himself--until bedtime. Then he did not like it at all. +No more, I suppose, than other children would have liked my imaginary +house in a tree when they had had sufficient of their own company. + +But the Prince had to bear it--and he did bear it, like a prince--for +fully five days. All that time he got up in the morning and went to bed +at night without having spoken to a creature, or, indeed, heard a +single sound. For even his little lark was silent; and as for his +traveling-cloak, either he never thought about it, or else it had been +spirited away--for he made no use of it, nor attempted to do so. + +A very strange existence it was, those five lonely days. He never +entirely forgot it. It threw him back upon himself, and into himself--in +a way that all of us have to learn when we grow up, and are the better +for it; but it is somewhat hard learning. + +On the sixth day Prince Dolor had a strange composure in his look, but +he was very grave and thin and white. He had nearly come to the end of +his provisions--and what was to happen next? Get out of the tower he +could not: the ladder the deaf-mute used was always carried away again; +and if it had not been, how could the poor boy have used it? And even if +he slung or flung himself down, and by miraculous chance came alive to +the foot of the tower, how could he run away? + +Fate had been very hard to him, or so it seemed. + +He made up his mind to die. Not that he wished to die; on the contrary, +there was a great deal that he wished to live to do; but if he must die, +he must. Dying did not seem so very dreadful; not even to lie quiet like +his uncle, whom he had entirely forgiven now, and neither be miserable +nor naughty any more, and escape all those horrible things that he had +seen going on outside the palace, in that awful place which was called +“the world.” + +“It's a great deal nicer here,” said the poor little Prince, and +collected all his pretty things round him: his favorite pictures, which +he thought he should like to have near him when he died; his books and +toys--no, he had ceased to care for toys now; he only liked them because +he had done so as a child. And there he sat very calm and patient, like +a king in his castle, waiting for the end. + +“Still, I wish I had done something first--something worth doing, that +somebody might remember me by,” thought he. “Suppose I had grown a man, +and had had work to do, and people to care for, and was so useful and +busy that they liked me, and perhaps even forgot I was lame? Then it +would have been nice to live, I think.” + +A tear came into the little fellow's eyes, and he listened intently +through the dead silence for some hopeful sound. + +Was there one?--was it his little lark, whom he had almost forgotten? +No, nothing half so sweet. But it really was something--something which +came nearer and nearer, so that there was no mistaking it. It was the +sound of a trumpet, one of the great silver trumpets so admired in +Nomansland. Not pleasant music, but very bold, grand, and inspiring. + +As he listened to it the boy seemed to recall many things which had +slipped his memory for years, and to nerve himself for whatever might be +going to happen. + +What had happened was this. + +The poor condemned woman had not been such a wicked woman after all. +Perhaps her courage was not wholly disinterested, but she had done a +very heroic thing. As soon as she heard of the death and burial of the +King and of the changes that were taking place in the country, a daring +idea came into her head--to set upon the throne of Nomansland its +rightful heir. Thereupon she persuaded the deaf-mute to take her away +with him, and they galloped like the wind from city to city, spreading +everywhere the news that Prince Dolor's death and burial had been an +invention concocted by his wicked uncle that he was alive and well, and +the noblest young prince that ever was born. + +It was a bold stroke, but it succeeded. The country, weary perhaps of +the late King's harsh rule, and yet glad to save itself from the horrors +of the last few days, and the still further horrors of no rule at all, +and having no particular interest in the other young princes, jumped at +the idea of this Prince, who was the son of their late good King and the +beloved Queen Dolorez. + +“Hurrah for Prince Dolor! Let Prince Dolor be our sovereign!” rang from +end to end of the kingdom. Everybody tried to remember what a dear baby +he once was--how like his mother, who had been so sweet and kind, and +his father, the finest-looking king that ever reigned. Nobody remembered +his lameness--or, if they did, they passed it over as a matter of no +consequence. They were determined to have him reign over them, boy as +he was--perhaps just because he was a boy, since in that case the great +nobles thought they should be able to do as they liked with the country. + +Accordingly, with a fickleness not confined to the people of Nomansland, +no sooner was the late King laid in his grave than they pronounced him +to have been a usurper; turned all his family out of the palace, and +left it empty for the reception of the new sovereign, whom they went +to fetch with great rejoicing, a select body of lords, gentlemen, +and soldiers traveling night and day in solemn procession through the +country until they reached Hopeless Tower. + +There they found the Prince, sitting calmly on the floor--deadly +pale, indeed, for he expected a quite different end from this, and was +resolved, if he had to die, to die courageously, like a Prince and a +King. + +But when they hailed him as Prince and King, and explained to him how +matters stood, and went down on their knees before him, offering the +crown (on a velvet cushion, with four golden tassels, each nearly as +big as his head),--small though he was and lame, which lameness the +courtiers pretended not to notice,--there came such a glow into his +face, such a dignity into his demeanor, that he became beautiful, +king-like. + +“Yes,” he said, “if you desire it, I will be your king. And I will do my +best to make my people happy.” + +Then there arose, from inside and outside the tower, such a shout as +never yet was heard across the lonely plain. + +Prince Dolor shrank a little from the deafening sound. “How shall I be +able to rule all this great people? You forget, my lords, that I am only +a little boy still.” + +“Not so very little,” was the respectful answer. “We have searched +in the records, and found that your Royal Highness--your Majesty, I +mean--is fifteen years old.” + +“Am I?” said Prince Dolor; and his first thought was a thoroughly +childish pleasure that he should now have a birthday, with a whole +nation to keep it. Then he remembered that his childish days were done. +He was a monarch now. Even his nurse, to whom, the moment he saw her, +he had held out his hand, kissed it reverently, and called him +ceremoniously “his Majesty the King.” + +“A king must be always a king, I suppose,” said he half-sadly, when, the +ceremonies over, he had been left to himself for just ten minutes, to +put off his boy's clothes and be reattired in magnificent robes, before +he was conveyed away from his tower to the royal palace. + +He could take nothing with him; indeed, he soon saw that, however +politely they spoke, they would not allow him to take anything. If he +was to be their king, he must give up his old life forever. So he looked +with tender farewell on his old books, old toys, the furniture he knew +so well, and the familiar plain in all its levelness--ugly yet pleasant, +simply because it was familiar. + +“It will be a new life in a new world,” said he to himself; “but I'll +remember the old things still. And, oh! if before I go I could but once +see my dear old godmother.” + +While he spoke he had laid himself down on the bed for a minute or +two, rather tired with his grandeur, and confused by the noise of the +trumpets which kept playing incessantly down below. He gazed, half +sadly, up to the skylight, whence there came pouring a stream of +sunrays, with innumerable motes floating there, like a bridge thrown +between heaven and earth. Sliding down it, as if she had been made of +air, came the little old woman in gray. + +So beautiful looked she--old as she was--that Prince Dolor was at first +quite startled by the apparition. Then he held out his arms in eager +delight. + +“Oh, godmother, you have not forsaken me!” + +“Not at all, my son. You may not have seen me, but I have seen you many +a time.” + +“How?” + +“Oh, never mind. I can turn into anything I please, you know. And I have +been a bearskin rug, and a crystal goblet--and sometimes I have changed +from inanimate to animate nature, put on feathers, and made myself very +comfortable as a bird.” + +“Ha!” laughed the prince, a new light breaking in upon him as he caught +the infection of her tone, lively and mischievous. “Ha! ha! a lark, +for instance?” + +“Or a magpie,” answered she, with a capital imitation of Mistress Mag's +croaky voice. “Do you suppose I am always sentimental, and never funny? +If anything makes you happy, gay, or grave, don't you think it is more +than likely to come through your old godmother?” + +“I believe that,” said the boy tenderly, holding out his arms. They +clasped one another in a close embrace. + +Suddenly Prince Dolor looked very anxious. “You will not leave me now +that I am a king? Otherwise I had rather not be a king at all. Promise +never to forsake me!” + +The little old woman laughed gayly. “Forsake you? that is impossible. +But it is just possible you may forsake me. Not probable though. Your +mother never did, and she was a queen. The sweetest queen in all the +world was the Lady Dolorez.” + +“Tell me about her,” said the boy eagerly. “As I get older I think I can +understand more. Do tell me.” + +“Not now. You couldn't hear me for the trumpets and the shouting. But +when you are come to the palace, ask for a long-closed upper room, which +looks out upon the Beautiful Mountains; open it and take it for your +own. Whenever you go there you will always find me, and we will talk +together about all sorts of things.” + +“And about my mother?” + +The little old woman nodded--and kept nodding and smiling to herself +many times, as the boy repeated over and over again the sweet words he +had never known or understood--“my mother--my mother.” + +“Now I must go,” said she, as the trumpets blared louder and louder, and +the shouts of the people showed that they would not endure any delay. +“Good-by, good-by! Open the window and out I fly.” + +Prince Dolor repeated gayly the musical rhyme--but all the while tried +to hold his godmother fast. + +Vain, vain! for the moment that a knocking was heard at his door the sun +went behind a cloud, the bright stream of dancing motes vanished, and +the little old woman with them--he knew not where. + +So Prince Dolor quitted his tower--which he had entered so mournfully +and ignominiously as a little helpless baby carried in the deaf-mute's +arms--quitted it as the great King of Nomansland. + +The only thing he took away with him was something so insignificant that +none of the lords, gentlemen, and soldiers who escorted him with such +triumphant splendor could possibly notice it--a tiny bundle, which +he had found lying on the floor just where the bridge of sunbeams had +rested. At once he had pounced upon it, and thrust it secretly into his +bosom, where it dwindled into such small proportions that it might +have been taken for a mere chest-comforter, a bit of flannel, or an old +pocket-handkerchief. It was his traveling-cloak! + + + +CHAPTER X + +Did Prince Dolar become a great king? Was he, though little more than a +boy, “the father of his people,” as all kings ought to be? Did his reign +last long--long and happy? and what were the principal events of it, as +chronicled in the history of Nomansland? + +Why, if I were to answer all these questions I should have to write +another book. And I'm tired, children, tired--as grown-up people +sometimes are, though not always with play. (Besides, I have a small +person belonging to me, who, though she likes extremely to listen to the +word-of-mouth story of this book, grumbles much at the writing of it, +and has run about the house clapping her hands with joy when mamma told +her that it was nearly finished. But that is neither here nor there.) + +I have related as well as I could the history of Prince Dolor, but with +the history of Nomansland I am as yet unacquainted. If anybody knows +it, perhaps he or she will kindly write it all down in another book. But +mine is done. + +However, of this I am sure, that Prince Dolor made an excellent king. +Nobody ever does anything less well, not even the commonest duty of +common daily life, for having such a godmother as the little old woman +clothed in gray, whose name is--well, I leave you to guess. Nor, I +think, is anybody less good, less capable of both work and enjoyment in +after-life, for having been a little unhappy in his youth, as the prince +had been. + +I cannot take upon myself to say that he was always happy now--who +is?--or that he had no cares; just show me the person who is quite free +from them! But whenever people worried and bothered him--as they did +sometimes, with state etiquette, state squabbles, and the like, setting +up themselves and pulling down their neighbors--he would take refuge in +that upper room which looked out on the Beautiful Mountains, and, laying +his head on his godmother's shoulder, become calmed and at rest. + +Also, she helped him out of any difficulty which now and then +occurred--for there never was such a wise old woman. When the people of +Nomansland raised the alarm--as sometimes they did--for what people can +exist without a little fault-finding?--and began to cry out, “Un-happy +is the nation whose king is a child,” she would say to him gently, “You +are a child. Accept the fact. Be humble--be teachable. Lean upon the +wisdom of others till you have gained your own.” + +He did so. He learned how to take advice before attempting to give it, +to obey before he could righteously command. He assembled round him all +the good and wise of his kingdom--laid all its affairs before them, and +was guided by their opinions until he had maturely formed his own. + +This he did sooner than anybody would have imagined who did not know +of his godmother and his traveling-cloak--two secret blessings, which, +though many guessed at, nobody quite understood. Nor did they understand +why he loved so the little upper room, except that it had been his +mother's room, from the window of which, as people remembered now, she +had used to sit for hours watching the Beautiful Mountains. + +Out of that window he used to fly--not very often; as he grew older, the +labors of state prevented the frequent use of his traveling-cloak; still +he did use it sometimes. Only now it was less for his own pleasure and +amusement than to see something or investigate something for the good +of the country. But he prized his godmother's gift as dearly as ever. +It was a comfort to him in all his vexations, an enhancement of all his +joys. It made him almost forget his lameness--which was never cured. + +However, the cruel things which had been once foreboded of him did not +happen. His misfortune was not such a heavy one, after all. It proved to +be of much less inconvenience, even to himself, than had been feared. +A council of eminent surgeons and mechanicians invented for him a +wonderful pair of crutches, with the help of which, though he never +walked easily or gracefully, he did manage to walk so as to be quite +independent. And such was the love his people bore him that they never +heard the sound of his crutches on the marble palace floors without a +leap of the heart, for they knew that good was coming to them whenever +he approached. + +Thus, though he never walked in processions, never reviewed his troops +mounted on a magnificent charger, nor did any of the things which make +a show monarch so much appreciated, he was able for all the duties and +a great many of the pleasures of his rank. When he held his levees, +not standing, but seated on a throne ingeniously contrived to hide his +infirmity, the people thronged to greet him; when he drove out +through the city streets, shouts followed him wherever he went--every +countenance brightened as he passed, and his own, perhaps, was the +brightest of all. + +First, because, accepting his affliction as inevitable, he took it +patiently; second, because, being a brave man, he bore it bravely, +trying to forget himself, and live out of himself, and in and for other +people. Therefore other people grew to love him so well that I think +hundreds of his subjects might have been found who were almost ready to +die for their poor lame king. + +He never gave them a queen. When they implored him to choose one, he +replied that his country was his bride, and he desired no other. But +perhaps the real reason was that he shrank from any change; and that no +wife in all the world would have been found so perfect, so lovable, so +tender to him in all his weaknesses as his beautiful old godmother. + +His twenty-four other godfathers and godmothers, or as many of them as +were still alive, crowded round him as soon as he ascended the throne. +He was very civil to them all, but adopted none of the names they had +given him, keeping to the one by which he had been always known, though +it had now almost lost its meaning; for King Dolor was one of the +happiest and cheerfulest men alive. + +He did a good many things, however, unlike most men and most kings, +which a little astonished his subjects. First, he pardoned the condemned +woman who had been his nurse, and ordained that from henceforth there +should be no such thing as the punishment of death in Nomansland. All +capital criminals were to be sent to perpetual imprisonment in Hopeless +Tower and the plain round about it, where they could do no harm to +anybody, and might in time do a little good, as the woman had done. + +Another surprise he shortly afterward gave the nation. He recalled his +uncle's family, who had fled away in terror to another country, and +restored them to all their honors in their own. By and by he chose the +eldest son of his eldest cousin (who had been dead a year), and had him +educated in the royal palace, as the heir to the throne. This little +prince was a quiet, unobtrusive boy, so that everybody wondered at the +King's choosing him when there were so many more; but as he grew into a +fine young fellow, good and brave, they agreed that the King judged more +wisely than they. + +“Not a lame prince, either,” his Majesty observed one day, watching +him affectionately; for he was the best runner, the highest leaper, the +keenest and most active sportsman in the country. “One cannot make one's +self, but one can sometimes help a little in the making of somebody +else. It is well.” + +This was said, not to any of his great lords and ladies, but to a good +old woman--his first homely nurse whom he had sought for far and wide, +and at last found in her cottage among the Beautiful Mountains. He sent +for her to visit him once a year, and treated her with great honor until +she died. He was equally kind, though somewhat less tender, to his other +nurse, who, after receiving her pardon, returned to her native town and +grew into a great lady, and I hope a good one. But as she was so grand a +personage now, any little faults she had did not show. + +Thus King Dolor's reign passed year after year, long and prosperous. +Whether he were happy--“as happy as a king”--is a question no human +being can decide. But I think he was, because he had the power of making +everybody about him happy, and did it too; also because he was his +godmother's godson, and could shut himself up with her whenever he +liked, in that quiet little room in view of the Beautiful Mountains, +which nobody else ever saw or cared to see. They were too far off, and +the city lay so low. But there they were, all the time. No change ever +came to them; and I think, at any day throughout his long reign, the +King would sooner have lost his crown than have lost sight of the +Beautiful Mountains. + +In course of time, when the little Prince, his cousin, was grown into a +tall young man, capable of all the duties of a man, his Majesty did one +of the most extraordinary acts ever known in a sovereign beloved by +his people and prosperous in his reign. He announced that he wished to +invest his heir with the royal purple--at any rate, for a time--while he +himself went away on a distant journey, whither he had long desired to +go. + +Everybody marveled, but nobody opposed him. Who could oppose the good +King, who was not a young king now? And besides, the nation had a great +admiration for the young regent--and possibly a lurking pleasure in +change. + +So there was a fixed day when all the people whom it would hold +assembled in the great square of the capital, to see the young prince +installed solemnly in his new duties, and undertaking his new vows. He +was a very fine young fellow; tall and straight as a poplar tree, with a +frank, handsome face--a great deal handsomer than the king, some people +said, but others thought differently. However, as his Majesty sat on his +throne, with his gray hair falling from underneath his crown, and a few +wrinkles showing in spite of his smile, there was something about his +countenance which made his people, even while they shouted, regard him +with a tenderness mixed with awe. + +He lifted up his thin, slender hand, and there came a silence over the +vast crowd immediately. Then he spoke, in his own accustomed way, using +no grand words, but saying what he had to say in the simplest fashion, +though with a clearness that struck their ears like the first song of a +bird in the dusk of the morning. + +“My people, I am tired: I want to rest. I have had a long reign, and +done much work--at least, as much as I was able to do. Many might have +done it better than I--but none with a better will. Now I leave it to +others; I am tired, very tired. Let me go home.” + +There arose a murmur--of content or discontent none could well tell; +then it died down again, and the assembly listened silently once more. + +“I am not anxious about you, my people--my children,” continued the +King. “You are prosperous and at peace. I leave you in good hands. The +Prince Regent will be a fitter king for you than I.” + +“No, no, no!” rose the universal shout--and those who had sometimes +found fault with him shouted louder than anybody. But he seemed as if he +heard them not. + +“Yes, yes,” said he, as soon as the tumult had a little subsided: and +his voice sounded firm and clear; and some very old people, who boasted +of having seen him as a child, declared that his face took a sudden +change, and grew as young and sweet as that of the little Prince Dolor. +“Yes, I must go. It is time for me to go. Remember me sometimes, my +people, for I have loved you well. And I am going a long way, and I do +not think I shall come back any more.” + +He drew a little bundle out of his breast pocket--a bundle that nobody +had ever seen before. It was small and shabby-looking, and tied up +with many knots, which untied themselves in an instant. With a joyful +countenance, he muttered over it a few half-intelligible words. Then, +so suddenly that even those nearest to his Majesty could not tell how it +came about, the King was away--away--floating right up in the air--upon +something, they knew not what, except that it appeared to be as safe and +pleasant as the wings of a bird. + +And after him sprang a bird--a dear little lark, rising from whence +no one could say, since larks do not usually build their nests in the +pavement of city squares. But there it was, a real lark, singing far +over their heads, louder and clearer and more joyful as it vanished +further into the blue sky. + +Shading their eyes, and straining their ears, the astonished people +stood until the whole vision disappeared like a speck in the clouds--the +rosy clouds that overhung the Beautiful Mountains. + +King Dolor was never again beheld or heard of in his own country. But +the good he had done there lasted for years and years; he was long +missed and deeply mourned--at least, so far as anybody could mourn one +who was gone on such a happy journey. + +Whither he went, or who went with him, it is impossible to say. But I +myself believe that his godmother took him on his traveling-cloak to +the Beautiful Mountains. What he did there, or where he is now, who can +tell? I cannot. But one thing I am quite sure of, that, wherever he is, +he is perfectly happy. + +And so, when I think of him, am I. + + + + +THE INVISIBLE PRINCE + +THERE were a king and queen who were dotingly fond of their only son, +notwithstanding that he was equally deformed in mind and person. The +king was quite sensible of the evil disposition of his son, but the +queen in her excessive fondness saw no fault whatever in her dear +Furibon, as he was named. The surest way to win her favor was to praise +Furibon for charms he did not possess. When he came of age to have a +governor, the king made choice of a prince who had an ancient right to +the crown, but was not able to support it. This prince had a son, named +Leander, handsome, accomplished, amiable--in every respect the opposite +of Prince Furibon. The two were frequently together, which only made the +deformed prince more repulsive. + +One day, certain ambassadors having arrived from a far country, the +prince stood in a gallery to see them; when, taking Leander for the +king's son, they made their obeisance to him, treating Furibon as a mere +dwarf, at which the latter was so offended that he drew his sword, and +would have done them a mischief had not the king just then appeared. As +it was, the affair produced a quarrel, which ended in Leander's being +sent to a far-away castle belonging to his father. + +There, however, he was quite happy, for he was a great lover of hunting, +fishing, and walking: he understood painting, read much, and played upon +several instruments, so that he was glad to be freed from the fantastic +humors of Furibon. One day as he was walking in the garden, finding the +heat increase, he retired into a shady grove and began to play upon the +flute to amuse himself. As he played, he felt something wind about his +leg, and looking down saw a great adder: he took his handkerchief, and +catching it by the head was going to kill it. But the adder, looking +steadfastly in his face, seemed to beg his pardon. At this instant one +of the gardeners happened to come to the place where Leander was, and +spying the snake, cried out to his master: “Hold him fast, sir; it +is but an hour since we ran after him to kill him: it is the most +mischievous creature in the world.” + +Leander, casting his eyes a second time upon the snake, which was +speckled with a thousand extraordinary colors, perceived the poor +creature still looked upon him with an aspect that seemed to implore +compassion, and never tried in the least to defend itself. + +“Though thou hast such a mind to kill it,” said he to the gardener, +“yet, as it came to me for refuge, I forbid thee to do it any harm; for +I will keep it, and when it has cast its beautiful skin I will let it +go.” He then returned home, and carrying the snake with him, put it into +a large chamber, the key of which he kept himself, and ordered bran, +milk, and flowers to be given to it, for its delight and sustenance; +so that never was snake so happy. Leander went sometimes to see it, and +when it perceived him it made haste to meet him, showing him all the +little marks of love and gratitude of which a poor snake was capable, +which did not a little surprise him, though he took no further notice of +it. + +In the meantime all the court ladies were extremely troubled at his +absence, and he was the subject of all their discourse. “Alas!” cried +they, “there is no pleasure at court since Leander is gone, of +whose absence the wicked Furibon is the cause!” Furibon also had his +parasites, for his power over the queen made him feared; they told him +what the ladies said, which enraged him to such a degree that in his +passion he flew to the queen's chamber, and vowed he would kill himself +before her face if she did not find means to destroy Leander. The queen, +who also hated Leander, because he was handsomer than her son, replied +that she had long looked upon him as a traitor, and therefore would +willingly consent to his death. To which purpose she advised Furibon +to go a-hunting with some of his confidants, and contrive it so that +Leander should make one of the party. + +“Then,” said she, “you may find some way to punish him for pleasing +everybody.” + +Furibon understood her, and accordingly went a-hunting; and Leander, +when he heard the horns and the hounds, mounted his horse and rode to +see who it was. But he was surprised to meet the prince so unexpectedly; +he alighted immediately and saluted him with respect; and Furibon +received him more graciously than usual and bade follow him. All of a +sudden he turned his horse and rode another way, making a sign to the +ruffians to take the first opportunity to kill him; but before he had +got quite out of sight, a lion of prodigious size, coming out of his +den, leaped upon Furibon; all his followers fled, and only Leander +remained; who, attacking the animal sword in hand, by his valor and +agility saved the life of his most cruel enemy, who had fallen in a +swoon from fear. When he recovered, Leander presented him his horse to +remount. Now, any other than such a wretch would have been grateful, but +Furibon did not even look upon him; nay, mounting the horse, he rode in +quest of the ruffians, to whom he repeated his orders to kill him. They +accordingly surrounded Leander, who, setting his back to a tree, behaved +with so much bravery that he laid them all dead at his feet. Furibon, +believing him by this time slain, rode eagerly up to the spot. When +Leander saw him he advanced to meet him. “Sir,” said he, “if it was by +your order that these assassins came to kill me, I am sorry I made any +defense.” + +“You are an insolent villain!” replied Furibon, “and if ever you come +into my presence again, you shall surely die.” + +Leander made no answer, but retired sad and pensive to his own home, +where he spent the night in pondering what was best for him to do; for +there was no likelihood he should be able to defend himself against +the power of the king's son; therefore he at length concluded he would +travel abroad and see the world. Being ready to depart, he recollected +his snake, and, calling for some milk and fruits, carried them to the +poor creature for the last time; but on opening the door he perceived an +extraordinary luster in one corner of the room, and casting his eye on +the place he was surprised to see a lady, whose noble and majestic air +made him immediately conclude she was a princess of royal birth. Her +habit was of purple satin, embroidered with pearls and diamonds; she +advanced toward him with a gracious smile. + +“Young prince,” said she, “you find no longer your pet snake, but me, +the fairy Gentilla, ready to requite your generosity. For know that we +fairies live a hundred years in flourishing youth, without diseases, +without trouble or pain; and this term being expired, we become snakes +for eight days. During that time it is not in our power to prevent any +misfortune that may befall us; and if we happen to be killed, we never +revive again. But these eight days being expired, we resume our usual +form and recover our beauty, our power, and our riches. Now you know +how much I am obliged to your goodness, and it is but just that I should +repay my debt of gratitude; think how I can serve you and depend on me.” + +The young prince, who had never conversed with a fairy till now, was so +surprised that it was a long time before he could speak. But at length, +making a profound reverence, “Madam,” said he, “since I have had the +honor to serve you, I know not any other happiness that I can wish for.” + +“I should be sorry,” replied she, “not to be of service to you in +something; consider, it is in my power to bestow on you long life, +kingdoms, riches; to give you mines of diamonds and houses full of gold; +I can make you an excellent orator, poet, musician, and painter; or, if +you desire it, a spirit of the air, the water, or the earth.” + +Here Leander interrupted her. “Permit me, madam,” said he, “to ask you +what benefit it would be to me to be a spirit?” + +“Much,” replied the fairy, “you would be invisible when you pleased, and +might in an instant traverse the whole earth; you would be able to fly +without wings, to descend into the abyss of the earth without dying, +and walk at the bottom of the sea without being drowned; nor doors, nor +windows, though fast shut and locked, could hinder you from entering +anywhere; and whenever you had a mind, you might resume your natural +form.” + +“Oh, madam!” cried Leander, “then let me be a spirit; I am going to +travel, and should prefer it above all those other advantages you have +so generously offered me.” + +Gentilla thereupon stroking his face three times, “Be a spirit,” said +she; and then, embracing him, she gave him a little red cap with a plume +of feathers. “When you put on this cap you shall be invisible; but when +you take it off you shall again become visible.” + +Leander, overjoyed, put his little red cap upon his head and wished +himself in the forest, that he might gather some wild roses which he had +observed there: his body immediately became as light as thought; he flew +through the window like a bird; though, in flying over the river, he was +not without fear lest he should fall into it, and the power of the fairy +not be able to save him. But he arrived in safety at the rose-bushes, +plucked the three roses, and returned immediately to his chamber; +presented his roses to the fairy, overjoyed that his first experiments +had succeeded so well. She bade him keep the roses, for that one of them +would supply him with money whenever he wanted it; that if he put the +other into his mistress' bosom, he would know whether she was faithful +or not; and that the third would keep him always in good health. Then, +without staying to receive his thanks, she wished him success in his +travels and disappeared. + +Leander, infinitely pleased, settled his affairs, mounted the finest +horse in the stable, called Gris-de-line, and attended by some of his +servants in livery, made his return to court. Now you must know Furibon +had given out that had it not been for his courage Leander would have +murdered him when they were a-hunting; so the king, being importuned by +the queen, gave orders that Leander should be apprehended. But when he +came, he showed so much courage and resolution that Furibon ran to the +queen's chamber and prayed her to order him to be seized. The queen, +who was extremely diligent in everything that her son desired, went +immediately to the king. Furibon, being impatient to know what would be +resolved, followed her; but stopped at the door and laid his ear to the +keyhole, putting his hair aside that he might the better hear what was +said. At the same time, Leander entered the court-hall of the palace +with his red cap upon his head, and perceiving Furibon listening at the +door of the king's chamber, he took a nail and a hammer and nailed his +ear to the door. Furibon began to roar, so that the queen, hearing her +son's voice, ran and opened the door, and, pulling it hastily, tore her +son's ear from his head. Half out of her wits, she set him in her lap, +took up his ear, kissed it, and clapped it again upon its place; but +the invisible Leander, seizing upon a handful of twigs, with which they +corrected the king's little dogs, gave the queen several lashes upon her +hands, and her son as many on the nose: upon which the queen cried out, +“Murder! murder!” and the king looked about, and the people came running +in; but nothing was to be seen. Some cried that the queen was mad, and +that her madness proceeded from her grief to see that her son had lost +one ear; and the king was as ready as any to believe it, so that when +she came near him he avoided her, which made a very ridiculous scene. +Leander, then leaving the chamber, went into the garden, and there, +assuming his own shape, he boldly began to pluck the queen's cherries, +apricots, strawberries, and flowers, though he knew she set such a high +value on them that it was as much as a man's life was worth to touch +one. The gardeners, all amazed, came and told their majesties that +Prince Leander was making havoc of all the fruits and flowers in the +queen's gardens. + +“What insolence!” said the queen: then turning to Furibon, “my pretty +child, forget the pain of thy ear but for a moment, and fetch that vile +wretch hither; take our guards, both horse and foot, seize him, and +punish him as he deserves.” + +Furibon, encouraged by his mother, and attended by a great number of +armed soldiers, entered the garden and saw Leander; who, taking refuge +under a tree, pelted them all with oranges. But when they came running +toward him, thinking to have seized him, he was not to be seen; he had +slipped behind Furibon, who was in a bad condition already. But Leander +played him one trick more; for he pushed him down upon the gravel walk, +and frightened him so that the soldiers had to take him up, carry him +away, and put him to bed. + +Satisfied with this revenge, he returned to his servants, who waited +for him, and giving them money, sent them back to his castle, that +none might know the secret of his red cap and roses. As yet he had +not determined whither to go; however, he mounted his fine horse +Gris-de-line, and, laying the reins upon his neck, let him take his +own road: at length he arrived in a forest, where he stopped to shelter +himself from the heat. He had not been above a minute there before he +heard a lamentable noise of sighing and sobbing; and looking about +him, beheld a man, who ran, stopped, then ran again, sometimes crying, +sometimes silent, then tearing his hair, then thumping his breast like +some unfortunate madman. Yet he seemed to be both handsome and young: +his garments had been magnificent, but he had torn them all to tatters. +The prince, moved with compassion, made toward him, and mildly accosted +him. “Sir,” said he, “your condition appears so deplorable that I must +ask the cause of your sorrow, assuring you of every assistance in my +power.” + +“Oh, sir,” answered the young man, “nothing can cure my grief; this day +my dear mistress is to be sacrificed to a rich old ruffian of a husband +who will make her miserable.” + +“Does she love you, then?” asked Leander. + +“I flatter myself so,” answered the young man. + +“Where is she?” continued Leander. + +“In the castle at the end of this forest,” replied the lover. + +“Very well,” said Leander; “stay you here till I come again, and in a +little while I will bring you good news.” + +He then put on his little red cap and wished himself in the castle. He +had hardly got thither before he heard all sorts of music; he entered +into a great room, where the friends and kindred of the old man and the +young lady were assembled. No one could look more amiable than she; +but the paleness of her complexion, the melancholy that appeared in +her countenance, and the tears that now and then dropped, as it were by +stealth from her eyes, betrayed the trouble of her mind. + +Leander now became invisible, and placed himself in a corner of the +room. He soon perceived the father and mother of the bride; and coming +behind the mother's chair, whispered in her ear, “If you marry your +daughter to that old dotard, before eight days are over you shall +certainly die.” The woman, frightened to hear such a terrible sentence +pronounced upon her, and yet not know from whence it came, gave a loud +shriek and dropped upon the floor. Her husband asked what ailed her: +she cried that she was a dead woman if the marriage of her daughter went +forward, and therefore she would not consent to it for all the world. +Her husband laughed at her and called her a fool. But the invisible +Leander accosting the man, threatened him in the same way, which +frightened him so terribly that he also insisted on the marriage being +broken off. When the lover complained, Leander trod hard upon his gouty +toes and rang such an alarm in his ears that, not being able any longer +to hear himself speak, away he limped, glad enough to go. The real +lover soon appeared, and he and his fair mistress fell joyfully into one +another's arms, the parents consenting to their union. Leander, assuming +his own shape, appeared at the hall door, as if he were a stranger drawn +thither by the report of this extraordinary wedding. + +From hence he traveled on, and came to a great city, where, upon his +arrival, he understood there was a great and solemn procession, in order +to shut up a young woman against her will among the vestal-nuns. The +prince was touched with compassion; and thinking the best use he could +make of his cap was to redress public wrongs and relieve the oppressed, +he flew to the temple, where he saw the young woman, crowned with +flowers, clad in white, and with her disheveled hair flowing about her +shoulders. Two of her brothers led her by each hand, and her mother +followed her with a great crowd of men and women. Leander, being +invisible, cried out, “Stop, stop, wicked brethren: stop, rash and +inconsiderate mother; if you proceed any further, you shall be squeezed +to death like so many frogs.” They looked about, but could not conceive +from whence these terrible menaces came. The brothers said it was +only their sister's lover, who had hid himself in some hole; at which +Leander, in wrath, took a long cudgel, and they had no reason to say the +blows were not well laid on. The multitude fled, the vestals ran away, +and Leander was left alone with the victim; immediately he pulled off +his red cap and asked her wherein he might serve her. She answered him +that there was a certain gentleman whom she would be glad to marry, but +that he wanted an estate. Leander then shook his rose so long that he +supplied them with ten millions; after which they were married and lived +happily together. + +But his last adventure was the most agreeable. Entering into a wide +forest, he heard lamentable cries. Looking about him every way, at +length he spied four men well armed, who were carrying away by force a +young lady, thirteen or fourteen years of age; upon which, making up to +them as fast as he could, “What harm has that girl done?” said he. + +“Ha! ha! my little master,” cried he who seemed to be the ringleader of +the rest, “who bade you inquire?” + +“Let her alone,” said Leander, “and go about your business.” + +“Oh, yes, to be sure,” cried they, laughing; whereupon the prince, +alighting, put on his red cap, not thinking it otherwise prudent to +attack four who seemed strong enough to fight a dozen. One of them +stayed to take care of the young lady, while the three others went after +Gris-de-line, who gave them a great deal of unwelcome exercise. + +Meantime the young lady continued her cries and complaints. “Oh, my dear +princess,” said she, “how happy was I in your palace! Did you but +know my sad misfortune, you would send your Amazons to rescue poor +Abricotina.” + +Leander, having listened to what she said, without delay seized the +ruffian that held her, and bound him fast to a tree before he had time +or strength to defend himself. He then went to the second, and taking +him by both arms, bound him in the same manner to another tree. In the +meantime Abricotina made the best of her good fortune and betook herself +to her heels, not knowing which way she went. But Leander, missing her, +called out to his horse Gris-de-line; who, by two kicks with his hoof, +rid himself of the two ruffians who had pursued him: one of them had his +head broken and the other three of his ribs. And now Leander only wanted +to overtake Abricotina; for he thought her so handsome that he wished +to see her again. He found her leaning against a tree. When she saw +Gris-de-line coming toward her, “How lucky am I!” cried she; “this +pretty little horse will carry me to the palace of pleasure.” Leander +heard her, though she saw him not: he rode up to her; Gris-de-line +stopped, and when Abricotina mounted him, Leander clasped her in his +arms and placed her gently before him. Oh, how great was Abricotina's +fear to feel herself fast embraced, and yet see nobody! She durst not +stir, and shut her eyes for fear of seeing a spirit. But Leander took +off his little cap. “How comes it, fair Abricotina,” said he, “that you +are afraid of me, who delivered you out of the hands of the ruffians?” + +With that she opened her eyes, and knowing him again, “Oh, sir,” said +she, “I am infinitely obliged to you; but I was afraid, for I felt +myself held fast and could see no one.” + +“Surely,” replied Leander, “the danger you have been in has disturbed +you and cast a mist before your eyes.” + +Abricotina would not seem to doubt him, though she was otherwise +extremely sensible. And after they had talked for some time of +indifferent things, Leander requested her to tell him her age, her +country, and by what accident she fell into the hands of the ruffians. + +“Know then, sir,” said she, “there was a certain very great fairy +married to a prince who wearied of her: she therefore banished him from +her presence, and established herself and daughter in the Island of Calm +Delights. The princess, who is my mistress, being very fair, has many +lovers--among others, one named Furibon, whom she detests; he it was +whose ruffians seized me to-day when I was wandering in search of a +stray parrot. Accept, noble prince, my best thanks for your valor, which +I shall never forget.” + +Leander said how happy he was to have served her, and asked if he could +not obtain admission into the island. Abricotina assured him this was +impossible, and therefore he had better forget all about it. While they +were thus conversing, they came to the bank of a large river. Abricotina +alighted with a nimble jump from the horse. + +“Farewell, sir,” said she to the prince, making a profound reverence; “I +wish you every happiness.” + +“And I,” said Leander, “wish that I may now and then have a small share +in your remembrance.” + +So saying, he galloped away and soon entered into the thickest part of +the wood, near a river, where he unbridled and unsaddled Gris-de-line; +then, putting on his little cap, wished himself in the Island of Calm +Delights, and his wish was immediately accomplished. + +The palace was of pure gold, and stood upon pillars of crystal and +precious stones, which represented the zodiac and all the wonders of +nature; all the arts and sciences; the sea, with all the variety of fish +therein contained; the earth, with all the various creatures which it +produces; the chases of Diana and her nymphs; the noble exercises of the +Amazons; the amusements of a country life; flocks of sheep with their +shepherds and dogs; the toils of agriculture, harvesting, gardening. And +among all this variety of representations there was neither man nor +boy to be seen--not so much as a little winged Cupid; so highly had the +princess been incensed against her inconstant husband as not to show the +least favor to his fickle sex. + +“Abricotina did not deceive me,” said Leander to himself; “they have +banished from hence the very idea of men; now let us see what they have +lost by it.” With that he entered into the palaces and at every step he +took he met with objects so wonderful that when he had once fixed his +eyes upon them he had much ado to take them off again. He viewed a +vast number of these apartments, some full of china, no less fine than +curious; others lined with porcelain, so delicate that the walls were +quite transparent. Coral, jasper, agates, and cornelians adorned the +rooms of state, and the presence-chamber was one entire mirror. The +throne was one great pearl, hollowed like a shell; the princess sat, +surrounded by her maidens, none of whom could compare with herself. In +her was all the innocent sweetness of youth, joined to the dignity of +maturity; in truth, she was perfection; and so thought the invisible +Leander. + +Not seeing Abricotina, she asked where she was. Upon that, Leander, +being very desirous to speak, assumed the tone of a parrot, for there +were many in the room, and addressed himself invisibly to the princess. + +“Most charming princess,” said he, “Abricotina will return immediately. +She was in great danger of being carried away from this place but for a +young prince who rescued her.” + +The princess was surprised at the parrot, his answer was so extremely +pertinent. + +“You are very rude, little parrot,” said the princess; “and Abricotina, +when she comes, shall chastise you for it.” + +“I shall not be chastised,” answered Leander, still counterfeiting the +parrot's voice; “moreover, she will let you know the great desire that +stranger had to be admitted into this palace, that he might convince +you of the falsehood of those ideas which you have conceived against his +sex.” + +“In truth, pretty parrot,” cried the princess, “it is a pity you are not +every day so diverting; I should love you dearly.” + +“Ah! if prattling will please you, princess,” replied Leander, “I will +prate from morning till night.” + +“But,” continued the princess, “how shall I be sure my parrot is not a +sorcerer?” + +“He is more in love than any sorcerer can be,” replied the prince. + +At this moment Abricotina entered the room, and falling at her lovely +mistress' feet, gave her a full account of what had befallen her, and +described the prince in the most glowing colors. + +“I should have hated all men,” added she, “had I not seen him! Oh, +madam, how charming he is! His air and all his behavior have something +in them so noble; and though whatever he spoke was infinitely pleasing, +yet I think I did well in not bringing him hither.” + +To this the princess said nothing, but she asked Abricotina a hundred +other questions concerning the prince; whether she knew his name, his +country, his birth, from whence he came, and whither he was going; and +after this she fell into a profound thoughtfulness. + +Leander observed everything, and continued to chatter as he had begun. + +“Abricotina is ungrateful, madam,” said he; “that poor stranger will die +for grief if he sees you not.” + +“Well, parrot, let him die,” answered the princess with a sigh; “and +since thou undertakest to reason like a person of wit, and not a little +bird, I forbid thee to talk to me any more of this unknown person.” + +Leander was overjoyed to find that Abricotina's and the parrot's +discourse had made such an impression on the princess. He looked upon +her with pleasure and delight. “Can it be,” said he to himself, “that +the masterpiece of nature, that the wonder of our age, should be +confined eternally in an island, and no mortal dare to approach her? +But,” continued he, “wherefore am I concerned that others are banished +hence, since I have the happiness to be with her, to hear and to admire +her; nay, more, to love her above all the women in the universe?” + +It was late, and the princess retired into a large room of marble and +porphyry, where several bubbling fountains, refreshed the air with an +agreeable coolness. As soon as she entered the music began, a sumptuous +supper was served up, and the birds from several aviaries on each side +of the room, of which Abricotina had the chief care, opened their little +throats in the most agreeable manner. + +Leander had traveled a journey long enough to give him a good appetite, +which made him draw near the table, where the very smell of such viands +was agreeable and refreshing. The princess had a curious tabby-cat, for +which she had a great kindness. This cat one of the maids of honor held +in her arms, saying, “Madam, Bluet is hungry!” With that a chair was +presently brought for the cat; for he was a cat of quality, and had a +necklace of pearl about his neck. He was served on a golden plate with +a laced napkin before him; and the plate being supplied with meat, Bluet +sat with the solemn importance of an alderman. + +“Ho! ho!” cried Leander to himself; “an idle tabby malkin, that perhaps +never caught a mouse in his life, and I dare say is not descended from +a better family than myself, has the honor to sit at table with my +mistress: I would fain know whether he loves her so well as I do.” + +Saying this, he placed himself in the chair with the cat upon his +knee, for nobody saw him, because he had his little red cap on; finding +Bluet's plate well supplied with partridge, quails, and pheasants, +he made so free with them that whatever was set before Master Puss +disappeared in a trice. The whole court said no cat ever ate with +a better appetite. There were excellent ragouts, and the prince made +use of the cat's paw to taste them; but he sometimes pulled his paw +too roughly, and Bluet, not understanding raillery, began to mew and be +quite out of patience. The princess observing it, “Bring that fricassee +and that tart to poor Bluet,” said she; “see how he cries to have them.” + +Leander laughed to himself at the pleasantness of this adventure; but he +was very thirsty, not being accustomed to make such large meals without +drinking. By the help of the cat's paw he got a melon, with which he +somewhat quenched his thirst; and when supper was quite over, he went to +the buffet and took two bottles of delicious wine. + +The princess now retired into her boudoir, ordering Abricotina to follow +her and make fast the door; but they could not keep out Leander, who was +there as soon as they. However, the princess, believing herself alone +with her confidante: + +“Abricotina,” said she, “tell me truly, did you exaggerate in your +description of the unknown prince, for methinks it is impossible he +should be as amiable as you say?” + +“Madam,” replied the damsel, “if I have failed in anything, it was in +coming short of what was due to him.” + +The princess sighed and was silent for a time; then resuming her speech: +“I am glad,” said she, “thou didst not bring him with thee.” + +“But, madam,” answered Abricotina, who was a cunning girl, and already +penetrated her mistress' thoughts, “suppose he had come to admire the +wonders of these beautiful mansions, what harm could he have done us? +Will you live eternally unknown in a corner of the world, concealed +from the rest of human kind? Of what use is all your grandeur, pomp, +magnificence, if nobody sees it?” + +“Hold thy peace, prattler,” replied the princess, “and do not disturb +that happy repose which I have enjoyed so long.” + +Abricotina durst make no reply; and the princess, having waited her +answer for some time, asked her whether she had anything to say. +Abricotina then said she thought it was to very little purpose her +mistress having sent her picture to the courts of several princes, where +it only served to make those who saw it miserable; that every one would +be desirous to marry her, and as she could not marry them all, indeed +none of them, it would make them desperate. + +“Yet, for all that,” said the princess, “I could wish my picture were in +the hands of this same stranger.” + +“Oh, madam,” answered Abricotina, “is not his desire to see you violent +enough already? Would you augment it?” + +“Yes,” cried the princess; “a certain impulse of vanity, which I was +never sensible of till now, has bred this foolish fancy in me.” + +Leander heard all this discourse, and lost not a tittle of what she +said; some of her expressions gave him hope, others absolutely destroyed +it. The princess presently asked Abricotina whether she had seen +anything extraordinary during her short travels. + +“Madam,” said she, “I passed through one forest where I saw certain +creatures that resembled little children: they skip and dance upon the +trees like squirrels; they are very ugly, but have wonderful agility and +address.” + +“I wish I had one of them,” said the princess; “but if they are so +nimble as you say they are, it is impossible to catch one.” + +Leander, who passed through the same forest, knew what Abricotina meant, +and presently wished himself in the place. He caught a dozen of little +monkeys, some bigger, some less, and all of different colors, and with +much ado put them into a large sack; then, wishing himself at Paris, +where, he had heard, a man might have everything for money, he went and +bought a little gold chariot. He taught six green monkeys to draw it; +they were harnessed with fine traces of flame-colored morocco leather. +He went to another place, where he met with two monkeys of merit, +the most pleasant of which was called Briscambril, the other +Pierceforest--both very spruce and well educated. He dressed Briscambril +like a king and placed him in the coach; Pierceforest he made the +coachman; the others were dressed like pages; all which he put into his +sack, coach and all. + +The princess not being gone to bed, heard a rumbling of a little coach +in the long gallery; at the same time, her ladies came to tell her that +the king of the dwarfs was arrived, and the chariot immediately entered +her chamber with all the monkey train. The country monkeys began to +show a thousand tricks, which far surpassed those of Briscambril and +Pierceforest. To say the truth, Leander conducted the whole machine. He +drew the chariot where Briscambril sat arrayed as a king, and making +him hold a box of diamonds in his hand, he presented it with a becoming +grace to the princess. The princess' surprise may be easily imagined. +Moreover, Briscambril made a sign for Pierceforest to come and dance +with him. The most celebrated dancers were not to be compared with them +in activity. But the princess, troubled that she could not guess from +whence this curious present came, dismissed the dancers sooner than she +would otherwise have done, though she was extremely pleased with them. + +Leander, satisfied with having seen the delight the princess had taken +in beholding the monkeys, thought of nothing now but to get a little +repose, which he greatly wanted. He stayed sometime in the great +gallery; afterward, going down a pair of stairs, and finding a door +open, he entered into an apartment the most delightful that ever was +seen. There was in it a bed of cloth-of-gold, enriched with pearls, +intermixed with rubies and emeralds: for by this time there appeared +daylight sufficient for him to view and admire the magnificence of this +sumptuous furniture. Having made fast the door, he composed himself to +sleep. Next day he rose very early, and looking about on every side, +he spied a painter's pallet, with colors ready prepared and pencils. +Remembering what the princess had said to Abricotina touching her +own portrait, he immediately (for he could paint as well as the most +excellent masters) seated himself before a mirror and drew his own +picture first; then, in an oval, that of the princess. He had all her +features so strong in his imagination that he had no occasion for her +sitting; and as his desire to please her had set him to work, never did +portrait bear a stronger resemblance. He had painted himself upon one +knee, holding the princess' picture in one hand, and in the other a +label with this inscription, “She is better in my heart.” When the +princess went into her cabinet, she was amazed to see the portrait of +a man; and she fixed her eyes upon it with so much the more surprise, +because she also saw her own with it, and because the words which +were written upon the label afforded her ample room for curiosity. She +persuaded herself that it was Abricotina's doing; and all she desired +to know was whether the portrait was real or imaginary. Rising in haste, +she called Abricotina, while the invisible Leander, with his little +red cap, slipped into the cabinet, impatient to know what passed. The +princess bade Abricotina look upon the picture and tell her what she +thought of it. + +After she had viewed it, “I protest!” said she, “'tis the picture of +that generous stranger to whom I am indebted for my life. Yes, yes, I am +sure it is he; his very features, shape, and hair.” + +“Thou pretendest surprise,” said the princess, “but I know it was thou +thyself who put it there.” + +“Who! I, madam?” replied Abricotina. “I protest I never saw the picture +before in my life. Should I be so bold as to conceal from your knowledge +a thing that so nearly concerns you? And by what miracle could I come by +it? I never could paint, nor did any man ever enter this place; yet here +he is painted with you?” + +“Some spirit, then, must have brought it hither,” cried the princess. + +“How I tremble for fear, madam!” said Abricotina. “Was it not rather +some lover? And therefore, if you will take my advice, let us burn it +immediately.” + +“'Twere a pity to burn it,” cried the princess, sighing; “a finer piece, +methinks, cannot adorn my cabinet.” And saying these words, she cast her +eyes upon it. But Abricotina continued obstinate in her opinion that +it ought to be burned, as a thing that could not come there but by the +power of magic. + +“And these words--'She is better in my heart,'” said the princess; +“must we burn them too?” + +“No favor must be shown to anything,” said Abricotina, “not even to your +own portrait.” + +Abricotina ran away immediately for some fire, while the princess went +to look out at the window. Leander, unwilling to let his performance be +burned, took this opportunity to convey it away without being perceived. +He had hardly quitted the cabinet, when the princess turned about to +look once more upon that enchanting picture, which had so delighted her. +But how was she surprised to find it gone! She sought for it all the +room over; and Abricotina, returning, was no less surprised than her +mistress; so that this last adventure put them both in the most terrible +fright. + +Leander took great delight in hearing and seeing his incomparable +mistress; even though he had to eat every day at her table with the +tabby-cat, who fared never the worse for that; but his satisfaction was +far from being complete, seeing he durst neither speak nor show himself; +and he knew it was not a common thing for ladies to fall in love with +persons invisible. + +The princess had a universal taste for amusement. One day, she was +saying to her attend-ants that it would give her great pleasure to know +how the ladies were dressed in all the courts of the universe. There +needed no more words to send Leander all over the world. He wished +himself in China, where he bought the richest stuffs he could lay his +hands on, and got patterns of all the court fashions. From thence he +flew to Siam, where he did the same; in three days he traveled over +all the four parts of the world, and from time to time brought what +he bought to the Palace of Calm Delights, and hid it all in a chamber, +which he kept always locked. When he had thus collected together all the +rarities he could meet with--for he never wanted money, his rose always +supplying him--he went and bought five or six dozen of dolls, which he +caused to be dressed at Paris, the place in the world where most +regard is paid to fashions. They were all dressed differently, and as +magnificent as could be, and Leander placed them all in the princess' +closet. When she entered it, she was agreeably surprised to see such +company of little mutes, every one decked with watches bracelets, +diamond buckles, or necklaces; and the most remarkable of them held a +picture box in its hand, which the princess opening, found it contained +Leander's portrait. She gave a loud shriek, and looking upon Abricotina, +“There have appeared of late,” said she, “so many wonders in this place, +that I know not what to think of them: my birds are all grown witty; I +cannot so much as wish, but presently I have my desires; twice have I +now seen the portrait of him who rescued thee from the ruffians; and +here are silks of all sorts, diamonds, embroideries, laces, and an +infinite number of other rarities. What fairy is it that takes such care +to pay me these agreeable civilities?” + +Leander was overjoyed to hear and see her so much interested about his +picture, and calling to mind that there was in a grotto which she often +frequented a certain pedestal, on which a Diana, not yet finished, was +to be erected, on this pedestal he resolved to place himself, crowned +with laurel, and holding a lyre in his hand, on which he played like +another Apollo. He most anxiously waited the princess' retiring to the +grotto, which she did every day since her thoughts had taken up with +this unknown person; for what Abricotina had said, joined to the sight +of the picture, had almost destroyed her repose: her lively humor +changed into a pensive melancholy, and she grew a great lover of +solitude. When she entered the grotto, she made a sign that nobody +should follow her, so that her young damsels dispersed themselves into +the neighboring walks. The princess threw herself upon a bank of green +turf, sighed, wept, and even talked, but so softly that Leander could +not hear what she said. He had put his red cap on, that she might not +see him at first; but having taken it off, she beheld him standing on +the pedestal. At first she took him for a real statue, for he observed +exactly the attitude in which he had placed himself, without moving so +much as a finger. She beheld with a kind of pleasure intermixed with +fear, but pleasure soon dispelled her fear, and she continued to view +the pleasing figure, which so exactly resembled life. The prince having +tuned his lyre, began to play; at which the princess, greatly surprised, +could not resist the fear that seized her; she grew pale and fell into +a swoon. Leander leaped from the pedestal, and putting on his little red +cap, that he might not be perceived, took the princess in his arms and +gave her all the assistance that his zeal and tenderness could inspire. +At length she opened her charming eyes and looked about in search of +him, but she could perceive nobody; yet she felt somebody who held her +hands, kissed them, and bedewed them with his tears. It was a long time +before she durst speak, and her spirits were in a confused agitation +between fear and hope. She was afraid of the spirit, but loved the +figure of the unknown. At length she said: “Courtly invisible, why are +you not the person I desire you should be?” At these words Leander was +going to declare himself, but durst not do it yet. “For,” thought he, +“if I again affright the object I adore and make her fear me, she will +not love me.” This consideration caused him to keep silence. + +The princess, then, believing herself alone, called Abricotina and told +her all the wonders of the animated statue; that it had played divinely, +and that the invisible person had given her great assistance when she +lay in a swoon. + +“What pity 'tis,” said she, “that this person should be so frightful, +for nothing can be more amiable or acceptable than his behavior!” + +“Who told you, madam,” answered Abricotina, “that he is frightful? If he +is the youth who saved me, he is beautiful as Cupid himself.” + +“If Cupid and the unknown are the same,” replied the princess, blushing, +“I could be content to love Cupid; but alas! how far am I from such a +happiness! I love a mere shadow; and this fatal picture, joined to what +thou hast told me, have inspired me with inclinations so contrary to the +precepts which I received from my mother that I am daily afraid of being +punished for them.” + +“Oh! madam,” said Abricotina, interrupting her, “have you not troubles +enough already? Why should you anticipate afflictions which may never +come to pass?” + +It is easy to imagine what pleasure Leander took in this conversation. + +In the meantime the little Furibon, still enamored of the princess +whom he had never seen, expected with impatience the return of the four +servants whom he had sent to the Island of Calm Delights. One of them at +last came back, and after he had given the prince a particular account +of what had passed, told him that the island was defended by Amazons, +and that unless he sent a very powerful army, it would be impossible to +get into it. The king his father was dead, and Furibon was now lord +of all: disdaining, therefore, any repulse, he raised an army of four +hundred thousand men, and put himself at the head of them, appearing +like another Tom Thumb upon a war-horse. Now, when the Amazons perceived +his mighty host, they gave the princess notice of its who immediately +dispatched away her trusty Abricotina to the kingdom of the fairies, +to beg her mother's instructions as to what she should do to drive the +little Furibon from her territories. But Abricotina found the fairy in +an angry humor. + +“Nothing that my daughter does,” said she, “escapes my knowledge. +The Prince Leander is now in her palace; he loves her, and she has a +tenderness for him. All my cares and precepts have not been able to +guard her from the tyranny of love, and she is now under its fatal +dominion. But it is the decree of destiny, and I must submit; therefore, +Abricotina, begone! nor let me hear a word more of a daughter whose +behavior has so much displeased me.” + +Abricotina returned with these ill tidings, whereat the princess was +almost distracted; and this was soon perceived by Leander, who was near +her, though she did not see him. He beheld her grief with the greatest +pain. However, he durst not then open his lips; but recollecting that +Furibon was exceedingly covetous, he thought that, by giving him a sum +of money, he might perhaps prevail with him to retire. Thereupon, he +dressed himself like an Amazon, and wished himself in the forest, to +catch his horse. He had no sooner called him than Gris-de-line came +leaping, prancing, and neighing for joy, for he was grown quite weary +of being so long absent from his dear master; but when he beheld him +dressed as a woman he hardly knew him. However, at the sound of his +voice, he suffered the prince to mount, and they soon arrived in the +camp at Furibon, where they gave notice that a lady was come to speak +with him from the Princess of Calm Delights. Immediately the little +fellow put on his royal robes, and having placed himself upon his +throne, he looked like a great toad counterfeiting a king. + +Leander harangued him, and told him that the princess, preferring a +quiet and peaceable life to the fatigues of war, had sent to offer his +majesty as much money as he pleased to demand, provided he would suffer +her to continue in peace; but if he refused her proposal, she would omit +no means that might serve for her defense. Furibon replied that he took +pity on her, and would grant her the honor of his protection; but that +he demanded a hundred thousand millions of pounds, and without which he +would not return to his kingdom. Leander answered that such a vast sum +would be too long a-counting, and therefore, if he would say how many +rooms full he desired to have, the princess was generous and rich enough +to satisfy him. Furibon was astonished to hear that, instead of +entreating, she would rather offer more; and it came into his wicked +mind to take all the money he could get, and then seize the Amazon and +kill her, that she might never return to her mistress. He told Leander, +therefore, that he would have thirty chambers of gold, all full to the +ceiling. Leander, being conducted into the chambers, took his rose and +shook it, till every room was filled with all sorts of coin. Furibon was +in an ecstasy, and the more gold he saw the greater was his desire +to get hold of the Amazon; so that when all the rooms were full, +he commanded his guards to seize her, alleging she had brought him +counterfeit money. Immediately Leander put on his little red cap and +disappeared. The guards, believing that the lady had escaped, ran +out and left Furibon alone; when Leander, availing himself of the +opportunity, took the tyrant by the hair, and twisted his head off with +the same ease he would a pullet's; nor did the little wretch of a king +see that hand that killed him. + +Leander having got his enemy's head, wished himself in the Palace of +Calm Delights, where he found the princess walking, and with grief +considering the message which her mother had sent her, and on the means +to repel Furibon. + +Suddenly she beheld a head hanging in the air, with nobody to hold it. +This prodigy astonished her so that she could not tell what to think of +it; but her amazement was increased when she saw the head laid at her +feet, and heard a voice utter these words: + + “Charming Princess, cease your fear + Of Furibon; whose head see here.” + +Abricotina, knowing Leander's voice, cried: + +“I protest, madam, the invisible person who speaks is the very stranger +that rescued me.” + +The princess seemed astonished, but yet pleased. + +“Oh,” said she, “if it be true that the invisible and the stranger +are the same person, I confess I shall be glad to make him my +acknowledgments.” + +Leander, still invisible, replied, “I will yet do more to deserve them;” + and so saying he returned to Furibon's army, where the report of the +king's death was already spread throughout the camp. As soon as Leander +appeared there in his usual habit, everybody knew him; all the officers +and soldiers surrounded him, uttering the loudest acclamations of joy. +In short, they acknowledged him for their king, and that the crown of +right belonged to him, for which he thanked them, and, as the first +mark of his royal bounty, divided the thirty rooms of gold among the +soldiers. This done he returned to his princess, ordering his army to +march back into his kingdom. + +The princess was gone to bed. Leander, therefore, retired into his own +apartment, for he was very sleepy--so sleepy that he forgot to bolt his +door; and so it happened that the princess, rising early to taste the +morning air, chanced to enter into this very chamber, and was astonished +to find a young prince asleep upon the bed. She took a full view of him, +and was convinced that he was the person whose picture she had in +her diamond box. “It is impossible,” said she, “that this should be a +spirit; for can spirits sleep? Is this a body composed of air and fire, +without substance, as Abricotina told me?” She softly touched his hair, +and heard him breathe, and looked at him as if she could have looked +forever. While she was thus occupied, her mother, the fairy entered with +such a noise that Leander started out of his sleep. But how deeply +was he afflicted to behold his beloved princess in the most deplorable +condition! Her mother dragged her by the hair and loaded her with a +thousand bitter reproaches. In what grief and consternation were the two +young lovers, who saw themselves now upon the point of being separated +forever! The princess durst not open her lips, but cast her eyes upon +Leander, as if to beg his assistance. He judged rightly that he ought +not to deal rudely with a power superior to his own, and therefore he +sought, by his eloquence and submission, to move the incensed fairy. +He ran to her, threw himself at her feet, and besought her to have pity +upon a young prince who would never change in his affection for her +daughter. The princess, encouraged, also embraced her mother's knees, +and declared that without Leander she should never be happy. + +“Happy!” cried the fairy; “you know not the miseries of love nor the +treacheries of which lovers are capable. They bewitch us only to poison +our lives; I have known it by experience; and will you suffer the same?” + +“Is there no exception, madam?” replied Leander, and his countenance +showed him to be one. + +But neither tears nor entreaties could move the implacable fairy; and +it is very probable that she would have never pardoned them, had not the +lovely Gentilla appeared at that instant in the chamber, more brilliant +than the sun. Embracing the old fairy: + +“Dear sister,” said she, “I am persuaded you cannot have forgotten the +good office I did you when, after your unhappy marriage, you besought +a readmittance into Fairyland; since then I never desired any favor +at your hands, but now the time is come. Pardon, then, this lovely +princess; consent to her nuptials with this young prince. I will engage +he shall be ever constant to her; the thread of their days shall be spun +of gold and silk; they shall live to complete your happiness; and I will +never forget the obligation you lay upon me.” + +“Charming Gentilla,” cried the fairy, “I consent to whatever you desire. +Come, my dear children, and receive my love.” So saying, she embraced +them both. + +Abricotina, just then entering, cast her eyes upon Leander; she knew +him again, and saw he was perfectly happy, at which she, too, was quite +satisfied. + +“Prince,” condescendingly said the fairy-mother, “I will remove the +Island of Calm Delights into your own kingdom, live with you myself, and +do you great services.” + +Whether or not Prince Leander appreciated this offer, he bowed low, and +assured his mother-in-law that no favor could be equal to the one he +had that day received from her hands. This short compliment pleased the +fairy exceedingly, for she belonged to those ancient days when people +used to stand a whole day upon one leg complimenting one another. The +nuptials were performed in a most splendid manner, and the young prince +and princess lived together happily many years, beloved by all around +them. + + + + +PRINCE CHERRY + +LONG ago there lived a monarch, who was such a very, honest man that his +subjects entitled him the Good King. One day, when he was out hunting, +a little white rabbit, which had been half-killed by his hounds, +leaped right into his majesty's arms. Said he, caressing it: “This poor +creature has put itself under my protection, and I will allow no one to +injure it.” So he carried it to his palace, had prepared for it a neat +little rabbit-hutch, with abundance of the daintiest food, such as +rabbits love, and there he left it. + +The same night, when he was alone in his chamber, there appeared to +him a beautiful lady. She was dressed neither in gold, nor silver, +nor brocade; but her flowing robes were white as snow, and she wore a +garland of white roses on her head. The Good King was greatly astonished +at the sight; for his door was locked, and he wondered how so dazzling a +lady could possibly enter; but she soon removed his doubts. + +“I am the fairy Candide,” said she, with a smiling and gracious air. +“Passing through the wood where you were hunting, I took a desire to +know if you were as good as men say you are I therefore changed myself +into a white rabbit and took refuge in your arms. You saved me and now I +know that those who are merciful to dum beasts will be ten times more so +to human beings. You merit the name your subjects give you: you are the +Good King. I thank you for your protection, and shall be always one +of your best friends. You have but to say what you most desire, and I +promise you your wish shall be granted.” + +“Madam,” replied the king, “if you are a fairy, you must know, without +my telling you, the wish of my heart. I have one well-beloved son, +Prince Cherry: whatever kindly feeling you have toward me, extend it to +him.” + +“Willingly,” said Candide. “I will make him the handsomest, richest, or +most powerful prince in the world: choose whichever you desire for him.” + +“None of the three,” returned the father. “I only wish him to be +good--the best prince in the whole world. Of what use would riches, +power, or beauty be to him if he were a bad man?” + +“You are right,” said the fairy; “but I can not make him good: he +must do that himself. I can only change his external fortunes; for +his personal character, the utmost I can promise is to give him good +counsel, reprove him for his faults, and even punish him, if he will not +punish himself. You mortals can do the same with your children.” + +“Ah, yes!” said the king, sighing. Still, he felt that the kindness of a +fairy was something gained for his son, and died not long after, content +and at peace. + +Prince Cherry mourned deeply, for he dearly loved his father, and would +have gladly given all his kingdoms and treasures to keep him in life a +little longer. Two days after the Good King was no more, Prince Cherry +was sleeping in his chamber, when he saw the same dazzling vision of the +fairy Candide. + +“I promised your father,” said she, “to be your best friend, and in +pledge of this take what I now give you;” and she placed a small gold +ring upon his finger. “Poor as it looks, it is more precious than +diamonds; for whenever you do ill it will prick your finger. If, after +that warning, you still continue in evil, you will lose my friendship, +and I shall become your direst enemy.”' + +So saying, she disappeared, leaving Cherry in such amazement that he +would have believed it all a dream, save for the ring on his finger. + +He was for a long time so good that the ring never pricked him at all; +and this made him so cheerful and pleasant in his humor that everybody +called him “Happy Prince Cherry.” But one unlucky day he was out hunting +and found no sport, which vexed him so much that he showed his ill +temper by his looks and ways. He fancied his ring felt very tight and +uncomfortable, but as it did not prick him he took no heed of this: +until, re-entering his palace, his little pet dog, Bibi, jumped up +upon him and was sharply told to get away. The creature, accustomed to +nothing but caresses, tried to attract his attention by pulling at his +garments, when Prince Cherry turned and gave it a severe kick. At this +moment he felt in his finger a prick like a pin. + +“What nonsense!” said he to himself. “The fairy must be making game of +me. Why, what great evil have I done! I, the master of a great empire, +cannot I kick my own dog?” + +A voice replied, or else Prince Cherry imagined it, “No, sire; the +master of a great empire has a right to do good, but not evil. I--a +fairy--am as much above you as you are above your dog. I might punish +you, kill you, if I chose; but I prefer leaving you to amend your +ways. You have been guilty of three faults today--bad temper, passion, +cruelty: do better to-morrow.” + +The prince promised, and kept his word a while; but he had been brought +up by a foolish nurse, who indulged him in every way and was always +telling him that he would be a king one day, when he might do as he +liked in all things. He found out now that even a king cannot always do +that; it vexed him and made him angry. His ring began to prick him so +often that his little finger was continually bleeding. He disliked +this, as was natural, and soon began to consider whether it would not be +easier to throw the ring away altogether than to be constantly annoyed +by it. It was such a queer thing for a king to have a spot of blood on +his finger! At last, unable to put up with it any more, he took his ring +off and hid it where he would never see it; and believed himself the +happiest of men, for he could now do exactly what he liked. He did it, +and became every day more and more miserable. + +One day he saw a young girl, so beautiful that, being always accustomed +to have his own way, he immediately determined to espouse her. He never +doubted that she would be only too glad to be made a queen, for she +was very poor. But Zelia--that was her name--answered, to his great +astonishment, that she would rather not marry him. + +“Do I displease you?” asked the prince, into whose mind it had never +entered that he could displease anybody. + +“Not at all, my prince,” said the honest peasant maiden. “You are very +handsome, very charming; but you are not like your father the Good King. +I will not be your queen, for you would make me miserable.” + +At these words the prince's love seemed all to turn to hatred: he gave +orders to his guards to convey Zelia to a prison near the palace, +and then took counsel with his foster brother, the one of all his ill +companions who most incited him to do wrong. + +“Sir,” said this man, “if I were in your majesty's place, I would never +vex myself about a poor silly girl. Feed her on bread and water till +she comes to her senses; and if she still refuses you, let her die in +torment, as a warning to your other subjects should they venture to +dispute your will. You will be disgraced should you suffer yourself to +be conquered by a simple girl.” + +“But,” said Prince Cherry, “shall I not be disgraced if I harm a +creature so perfectly innocent?” + +“No one is innocent who disputes your majesty's authority,” said the +courtier, bowing; “and it is better to commit an injustice than allow it +to be supposed you can ever be contradicted with impunity.” + +This touched Cherry on his weak point--his good impulses faded; he +resolved once more to ask Zelia if she would marry him, and if she again +refused, to sell her as a slave. Arrived at the cell in which she was +confined, what was his astonishment to find her gone! He knew not whom +to accuse, for he had kept the key in his pocket the whole time. At +last, the foster-brother suggested that the escape of Zelia might have +been contrived by an old man, Suliman by name, the prince's former +tutor, who was the only one who now ventured to blame him for anything +that he did. Cherry sent immediately, and ordered his old friend to be +brought to him, loaded heavily with irons. Then, full of fury, he went +and shut himself up in his own chamber, where he went raging to and fro, +till startled by a noise like a clap of thunder. The fairy Candide stood +before him. + +“Prince,” said she, in a severe voice, “I promised your father to give +you good counsels and to punish you if you refused to follow them. My +counsels were forgotten, my punishment despised. Under the figure of a +man, you have been no better than the beasts you chase: like a lion in +fury, a wolf in gluttony, a serpent in revenge, and a bull in brutality. +Take, therefore, in your new form the likeness of all these animals.” + +Scarcely had Prince Cherry heard these words than to his horror he found +himself transformed into what the Fairy had named. He was a creature +with the head of a lion, the horns of a bull, the feet of a wolf, and +the tail of a serpent. At the same time he felt himself transported to +a distant forest, where, standing on the bank of a stream, he saw +reflected in the water his own frightful shape, and heard a voice +saying: + +“Look at thyself, and know thy soul has become a thousand times uglier +even than thy body.” + +Cherry recognized the voice of Candide, and in his rage would have +sprung upon her and devoured her; but he saw nothing and the same voice +said behind him: + +“Cease thy feeble fury, and learn to conquer thy pride by being in +submission to thine own subjects.” + +Hearing no more, he soon quitted the stream, hoping at least to get rid +of the sight of himself; but he had scarcely gone twenty paces when he +tumbled into a pitfall that was laid to catch bears; the bear-hunters, +descending from some trees hard by, caught him, chained him, and only +too delighted to get hold of such a curious-looking animal, led him +along with them to the capital of his own kingdom. + +There great rejoicings were taking place, and the bear-hunters, asking +what it was all about, were told that it was because Prince Cherry, +the torment of his subjects, had just been struck dead by a +thunderbolt--just punishment of all his crimes. Four courtiers, his +wicked companions, had wished to divide his throne between them; but the +people had risen up against them and offered the crown to Suliman, the +old tutor whom Cherry had ordered to be arrested. + +All this the poor monster heard. He even saw Suliman sitting upon his +own throne and trying to calm the populace by representing to them that +it was not certain Prince Cherry was dead; that he might return one day +to reassume with honor the crown which Suliman only consented to wear as +a sort of viceroy. + +“I know his heart,” said the honest and faithful old man; “it is +tainted, but not corrupt. If alive, he may reform yet, and be all his +father over again to you, his people, whom he has caused to suffer so +much.” + +These words touched the poor beast so deeply that he ceased to beat +himself against the iron bars of the cage in which the hunters carried +him about, became gentle as a lamb, and suffered himself to be taken +quietly to a menagerie, where were kept all sorts of strange and +ferocious animals a place which he had himself often visited as a boy, +but never thought he should be shut up there himself. + +However, he owned he had deserved it all, and began to make amends by +showing himself very obedient to his keeper. This man was almost as +great a brute as the animals he had charge of, and when he was in ill +humor he used to beat them without rhyme or reason. One day, while he +was sleeping, a tiger broke loose and leaped upon him, eager to devour +him. Cherry at first felt a thrill of pleasure at the thought of being +revenged; then, seeing how helpless the man was, he wished himself free, +that he might defend him. Immediately the doors of his cage opened. +The keeper, waking up, saw the strange beast leap out, and imagined, of +course, that he was going to be slain at once. Instead, he saw the tiger +lying dead, and the strange beast creeping up and laying itself at his +feet to be caressed. But as he lifted up his hand to stroke it, a voice +was heard saying, “Good actions never go unrewarded;” and instead of +the frightful monster, there crouched on the ground nothing but a pretty +little dog. + +Cherry, delighted to find himself thus metamorphosed, caressed the +keeper in every possible way, till at last the man took him up into +his arms and carried him to the king, to whom he related this wonderful +story, from beginning to end. The queen wished to have the charming +little dog; and Cherry would have been exceedingly happy could he have +forgotten that he was originally a man and a king. He was lodged most +elegantly, had the richest of collars to adorn his neck, and heard +himself praised continually. But his beauty rather brought him into +trouble, for the queen, afraid lest he might grow too large for a pet, +took advice of dog-doctors, who ordered that he should be fed entirely +upon bread, and that very sparingly; so poor Cherry was sometimes nearly +starved. + +One day, when they gave him his crust for breakfast, a fancy seized him +to go and eat it in the palace garden; so he took the bread in his mouth +and trotted away toward a stream which he knew, and where he sometimes +stopped to drink. But instead of the stream he saw a splendid palace, +glittering with gold and precious stones. Entering the doors was a crowd +of men and women, magnificently dressed; and within there was singing +and dancing and good cheer of all sorts. Yet, however grandly and gayly +the people went in, Cherry noticed that those who came out were pale, +thin, ragged, half-naked, covered with wounds and sores. Some of them +dropped dead at once; others dragged themselves on a little way and +then lay down, dying of hunger, and vainly begged a morsel of bread from +others who were entering in--who never took the least notice of them. + +Cherry perceived one woman, who was trying feebly to gather and eat some +green herbs. “Poor thing!” said he to himself; “I know what it is to be +hungry, and I want my breakfast badly enough; but still it will kill me +to wait till dinner time, and my crust may save the life of this poor +woman.” + +So the little dog ran up to her and dropped his bread at her feet; she +picked it up and ate it with avidity. Soon she looked quite recovered, +and Cherry, delighted, was trotting back again to his kennel, when he +heard loud cries, and saw a young girl dragged by four men to the door +of the palace, which they were trying to compel her to enter. Oh, how +he wished himself a monster again, as when he slew the tiger!--for the +young girl was no other than his beloved Zelia. Alas! what could a poor +little dog do to defend her? But he ran forward and barked at the men, +and bit their heels, until at last they chased him away with heavy +blows. And then he lay down outside the palace door, determined to watch +and see what had become of Zelia. + +Conscience pricked him now. “What!” thought he, “I am furious against +these wicked men, who are carrying her away; and did I not do the same +myself? Did I not cast her into prison, and intend to sell her as a +slave? Who knows how much more wickedness I might not have done to her +and others, if Heaven's justice had not stopped me in time?” + +While he lay thinking and repenting, he heard a window open and saw +Zelia throw out of it a bit of dainty meat. Cherry, who felt hungry +enough by this time, was just about to eat it, when the woman to whom he +had given his crust snatched him up in her arms. + +“Poor little beast!” cried she, patting him, “every bit of food in that +palace is poisoned: you shall not touch a morsel.” + +And at the same time the voice in the air repeated again, “Good actions +never go unrewarded;” and Cherry found himself changed into a beautiful +little white pigeon. He remembered with joy that white was the color of +the fairy Candide, and began to hope that she was taking him into favor +again. + +So he stretched his wings, delighted that he might now have a chance +of approaching his fair Zelia. He flew up to the palace windows, and, +finding one of them open, entered and sought everywhere, but he could +not find Zelia. Then, in despair, he flew out again, resolved to go over +the world until he beheld her once more. + +He took flight at once and traversed many countries, swiftly as a bird +can, but found no trace of his beloved. At length in a desert, sitting +beside an old hermit in his cave and par-taking with him his frugal +repast, Cherry saw a poor peasant girl and recognized Zelia. Transported +with joy, he flew in, perched on her shoulder, and expressed his delight +and affection by a thousand caresses. + +She, charmed with the pretty little pigeon, caressed it in her turn, and +promised it that if it would stay with her she would love it always. + +“What have you done, Zelia?” said the hermit, smiling; and while he +spoke the white pigeon vanished, and there stood Prince Cherry in his +own natural form. “Your enchantment ended, prince, when Zelia promised +to love you. Indeed, she has loved you always, but your many faults +constrained her to hide her love. These are now amended, and you may +both live happy if you will, because your union is founded upon mutual +esteem.” + +Cherry and Zelia threw themselves at the feet of the hermit, whose form +also began to change. His soiled garments became of dazzling whiteness, +and his long beard and withered face grew into the flowing hair and +lovely countenance of the fairy Candide. + +“Rise up, my children,” said she; “I must now transport you to your +palace and restore to Prince Cherry his father's crown, of which he is +now worthy.” + +She had scarcely ceased speaking when they found themselves in the +chamber of Suliman, who, delighted to find again his beloved pupil and +master, willingly resigned the throne, and became the most faithful of +his subjects. + +King Cherry and Queen Zelia reigned together for many years, and it is +said that the former was so blameless and strict in all his duties that +though he constantly wore the ring which Candide had restored to him, it +never once pricked his finger enough to make it bleed. + + + + +THE PRINCE WITH THE NOSE + +THERE was once a king who was passionately in love with a beautiful +princess, but she could not be married because a magician had +enchanted her. The king went to a good fairy to inquire what he should +do. Said the fairy, after receiving him graciously: “Sir, I will tell +you a great secret. The princess has a great cat whom she loves so well +that she cares for nothing and nobody else; but she will be obliged to +marry any person who is adroit enough to walk upon the cat's tail.” + +“That will not be very difficult,” thought the king to himself, and +departed, resolving to trample the cat's tail to pieces rather than not +succeed in walking upon it. He went immediately to the palace of his +fair mistress and the cat; the animal came in front of him, arching +its back in anger as it was wont to do. The king lifted up his foot, +thinking nothing would be so easy as to tread on the tail, but he found +himself mistaken. Minon--that was the creature's name--twisted itself +round so sharply that the king only hurt his own foot by stamping on the +floor. For eight days did he pursue the cat everywhere: up and down +the palace he was after it from morning till night, but with no better +success; the tail seemed made of quicksilver, so very lively was it. At +last the king had the good fortune to catch Minon sleeping, when tramp! +tramp! he trod on the tail with all his force. + +Minon woke up, mewed horribly, and immediately changed from a cat into a +large, fierce-looking man, who regarded the king with flashing eyes. + +“You must marry the princess,” cried he, “because you have broken the +enchantment in which I held her; but I will be revenged on you. You +shall have a son with a nose as long as--that;” he made in the air a +curve of half a foot; “yet he shall believe it is just like all other +noses, and shall be always unfortunate till he has found out it is not. +And if you ever tell anybody of this threat of mine, you shall die on +the spot.” So saying the magician disappeared. + +The king, who was at first much terrified, soon began to laugh at this +adventure. “My son might have a worse misfortune than too long a nose,” + thought he. “At least it will hinder him neither in seeing nor hearing. +I will go and find the princess and marry her at once.” + +He did so, but he only lived a few months after, and died before his +little son was born, so that nobody knew anything about the secret of +the nose. + +The little prince was so much wished for that when he came into the +world they agreed to call him Prince Wish. He had beautiful blue eyes +and a sweet little mouth, but his nose was so big that it covered half +his face. The queen, his mother, was inconsolable; but her ladies tried +to satisfy her by telling her that the nose was not nearly so large as +it seemed, that it would grow smaller as the prince grew bigger, and +that if it did not a large nose was indispensable to a hero. All great +soldiers, they said, had great noses, as everybody knew. The queen was +so very fond of her son that she listened eagerly to all this comfort. +Shortly she grew so used to the princes's nose that it did not seem to +her any larger than ordinary noses of the court; where, in process +of time, everybody with a long nose was very much admired, and the +unfortunate people who had only snubs were taken very little notice of. + +Great care was observed in the education of the prince; and as soon as +he could speak they told him all sorts of amusing tales, in which all +the bad people had short noses, and all the good people had long ones. +No person was suffered to come near him who had not a nose of more than +ordinary length; nay, to such an extent did the countries carry their +fancy, that the noses of all the little babies were ordered to be pulled +out as far as possible several times a day, in order to make them grow. +But grow as they would, they never could grow as long as that of Prince +Wish. When he was old enough his tutor taught him history; and whenever +any great king or lovely princess was referred to, the tutor always took +care to mention that he or she had a long nose. All the royal apartments +were filled with pictures and portraits having this peculiarity, so +that at last Prince Wish began to regard the length of his nose as his +greatest perfection, and would not have had it an inch less even to save +his crown. + +When he was twenty years old his mother and his people wished him to +marry. They procured for him the likenesses of many princesses, but the +one he preferred was Princess Darling, daughter of a powerful monarch +and heiress to several kingdoms. Alas! with all her beauty, this +princess had one great misfortune, a little turned-up nose, which, +every one else said made her only the more bewitching. But here, in the +kingdom of Prince Wish, the courtiers were thrown by it into the utmost +perplexity. They were in the habit of laughing at all small noses; but +how dared they make fun of the nose of Princess Darling? Two unfortunate +gentlemen, whom Prince Wish had overheard doing so, were ignominiously +banished from the court and capital. + +After this, the courtiers became alarmed, and tried to correct their +habit of speech; but they would have found themselves in constant +difficulties, had not one clever person struck out a bright idea. He +said that though it was indispensably necessary for a man to have +a great nose, women were very different; and that a learned man had +discovered in a very old manuscript that the celebrated Cleopatra, Queen +of Egypt, the beauty of the ancient world, had a turned-up nose. At this +information Prince Wish was so delighted that he made the courtier a +very handsome present, and immediately sent off ambassadors to demand +Princess Darling in marriage. + +She accepted his offer at once, and returned with the ambassadors. He +made all haste to meet and welcome her, but when she was only three +leagues distant from his capital, before he had time even to kiss her +hand, the magician who had once assumed the shape of his mother's cat, +Minon, appeared in the air and carried her off before the lover's very +eyes. + +Prince Wish, almost beside himself with grief, declared that nothing +should induce him to return to his throne and kingdom till he had found +Darling. He would suffer none of his courtiers or attendants to follow +him; but bidding them all adieu, mounted a good horse, laid the reins on +the animal's neck, and let him take him wherever he would. + +The horse entered a wide-extended plain, and trotted on steadily the +whole day without finding a single house. Master and beast began almost +to faint with hunger; and Prince Wish might have wished himself at home +again, had he not discovered, just at dusk, a cavern, where there sat, +beside a bright lantern, a little woman who might have been more than a +hundred years old. + +She put on her spectacles the better to look at the stranger, and he +noticed that her nose was so small that the spectacles would hardly +stay on; then the prince and the fairy--for she was a fairy--burst into +laughter. + +“What a funny nose!” cried the one. + +“Not so funny as yours, madam,” returned the other. “But pray let us +leave our noses alone, and be good enough to give me something to eat, +for I am dying with hunger, and so is my poor horse.” + +“With all my heart,” answered the fairy. “Although your nose is +ridiculously long, you are no less the son of one of my best friends. I +loved your father like a brother; he had a very handsome nose.” + +“What is wanting to my nose?” asked Wish rather savagely. + +“Oh! nothing at all. On the contrary, there is a great deal too much of +it; but never mind, one may be a very honest man, and yet have too big a +nose. As I said, I was a great friend of your father's; he came often to +see me. I was very pretty then, and oftentimes he used to say to me, 'My +sister----'” + +“I will hear the rest, madam, with pleasure, when I have supped; but +will you condescend to remember that I have tasted nothing all day?” + +“Poor boy,” said the fairy, “I will give you some supper directly; and +while you eat it I will tell you my history in six words, for I hate +much talking. A long tongue is as insupportable as a long nose; and I +remember when I was young how much I used to be admired because I was +not a talker; indeed, some one said to the queen my mother--for poor as +you see me now, I am the daughter of a great king, who always----” + +“Ate when he was hungry, I hope,” interrupted the prince, whose patience +was fast departing. + +“You are right,” said the imperturbable old fairy; “and I will bring +you your supper directly, only I wish first just to say that the king my +father----” + +“Hang the king your father!” Prince Wish was about to exclaim, but he +stopped himself, and only observed that however the pleasure of her +conversation might make him forget his hunger, it could not have the +same effect upon his horse, who was really starving. + +The fairy, pleased at his civility, called her servants and bade them +supply him at once with all he needed. “And,” added she, “I must say you +are very polite and very good-tempered, in spite of your nose.” + +“What has the old woman to do with my nose?” thought the prince. “If I +were not so very hungry, I would soon show her what she is--a regular +old gossip and chatterbox. She to fancy she talks little, indeed! One +must be very foolish not to know one's own defects. This comes of being +born a princess. Flatterers have spoiled her and persuaded her that she +talks little. Little, indeed! I never knew anybody chatter so much.” + +While the prince thus meditated, the servants were laying the table, +the fairy asking them a hundred unnecessary questions, simply for the +pleasure of hearing herself talk. “Well,” thought Wish, “I am delighted +that I came hither, if only to learn how wise I have been in never +listening to flatterers, who hide from us our faults, or make us believe +they are perfections. But they could never deceive me. I know all my own +weak points, I trust.” As truly he believed he did. + +So he went on eating contentedly, nor stopped till the old fairy began +to address him. + +“Prince,” said she, “will you be kind enough to turn a little? Your nose +casts such a shadow that I cannot see what is on my plate. And, as I was +saying, your father admired me and always made me welcome at court. What +is the court etiquette there now? Do the ladies still go to assemblies, +promenades, balls?--I beg your pardon for laughing, but how very long +your nose is.” + +“I wish you would cease to speak of my nose,” said the prince, becoming +annoyed. “It is what it is, and I do not desire it any shorter.” + +“Oh! I see that I have vexed you,” returned the fairy. “Nevertheless, +I am one of your best friends, and so I shall take the liberty of +always----” She would doubtless have gone on talking till midnight; but +the prince, unable to bear it any longer, here interrupted her, thanked +her for her hospitality, bade her a hasty adieu, and rode away. + +He traveled for a long time, half over the world, but he heard no news +of Princess Darling. However, in each place he went to, he heard one +remarkable fact--the great length of his own nose. The little boys in +the streets jeered at him, the peasants stared at him, and the more +polite ladies and gentlemen whom he met in society used to try in vain +to keep from laughing, and to get out of his way as soon as they could. +So the poor prince became gradually quite forlorn and solitary; he +thought all the world was mad, but still he never thought of there being +anything queer about his own nose. At last the old fairy, who, though +she was a chatterbox, was very good-natured; saw that he was almost +breaking his heart. She felt sorry for him and wished to help him in +spite of himself, for she knew the enchantment which hid from him the +Princess Darling could never be broken till he had discovered his own +defect. So she went in search of the princess, and being more powerful +than the magician, since she was a good fairy and he was an evil +magician, she got her away from him and shut her up in a palace of +crystal, which she placed on the road which Prince Wish had to pass. + +He was riding along, very melancholy, when he saw the palace; and at its +entrance was a room, made of the purest glass, in which sat his beloved +princess, smiling and beautiful as ever. He leaped from his horse and +ran toward her. She held out her hand for him to kiss, but he could +not get at it for the glass. Transported with eagerness and delight, he +dashed his sword through the crystal and succeeded in breaking a small +opening, to which she put up her beautiful rosy mouth. But it was in +vain; Prince Wish could not approach it. He twisted his neck about, and +turned his head on all sides, till at length, putting up his hand to his +face, he discovered the impediment. + +“It must be confessed,” exclaimed he, “that my nose is too long.” + +That moment the glass walls all split asunder, and the old fairy +appeared, leading Princess Darling. + +“Avow, prince,” said she, “that you are very much obliged to me, for now +the enchantment is ended. You may marry the object of your choice. But,” + added she, smiling, “I fear I might have talked to you forever on the +subject of your nose, and you would not have believed me in its length, +till it became an obstacle to your own inclinations. Now behold it!” and +she held up a crystal mirror. “Are you satisfied to be no different from +other people?” + +“Perfectly,” said Prince Wish, who found his nose had shrunk to an +ordinary length. And taking the Princess Darling by the hand, he kissed +her courteously, affectionately, and satisfactorily. Then they departed +to their own country, and lived very happily all their days. + + + + +THE FROG-PRINCE + +IN times of yore, when wishes were both heard and granted, lived a king +whose daughters were all beautiful but the youngest was so lovely that +the sun himself, who has seen so much, wondered at her beauty every +time he looked in her face. Now, near the king's castle was a large dark +forest; and in the forest, under an old linden tree, was a deep well. +When the day was very hot, the king's daughter used to go to the wood +and seat herself at the edge of the cool well; and when she became +wearied, she would take a golden ball, throw it up in the air, and catch +it again. This was her favorite amusement. Once it happened that her +golden ball, instead of falling back into the little hand that she +stretched out for it, dropped on the ground, and immediately rolled away +into the water. The king's daughter followed it with her eyes, but the +ball had vanished, and the well was so deep that no one could see down +to the bottom. Then she began to weep, wept louder and louder every +minute, and could not console herself at all. + +While she was thus lamenting some one called to her: “What is the matter +with you, king's daughter? You weep so that you would touch the heart of +a stone.” + +She looked around to see whence the voice came, and saw a frog +stretching his thick ugly head out of the water. + +“Ah! it is you, old water-paddler!” said she. “I am crying for my golden +ball, which has fallen into the well.” + +“Be content,” answered the frog; “I dare say I can give you some good +advice; but what will you give me if I bring back your plaything to +you?” + +“Whatever you like, dear frog,” said she, “my clothes, my pearls and +jewels, even the golden crown I wear.” + +The frog answered, “Your clothes, your pearls and jewels, even your +golden crown, I do not care for; but if you will love me, and let me be +your companion and play-fellow, sit near you at your little table, eat +from your little golden plate, drink from your little cup, and sleep in +your little bed--if you will promise me this, then I will bring you back +your golden ball from the bottom of the well.” + +“Oh, yes!” said she; “I promise you every-thing, if you will only bring +me back my golden ball.” + +She thought to herself, meanwhile: “What nonsense the silly frog talks! +He sits in the water with the other frogs, and croaks, and cannot be +anybody's playfellow!” + +But the frog, as soon as he had received the promise dipped his head +under the water and sank down. In a little while up he came again with +the ball in his mouth, and threw it on the grass. The king's daughter +was overjoyed when she beheld her pretty plaything again, picked it up, +and ran away with it. + +“Wait! wait!” cried the frog; “take me with you. I cannot run as fast as +you.” + +Alas! of what use was it that he croaked after her as loud as he could. +She would not listen to him, but hastened home, and soon forgot the poor +frog, who was obliged to plunge again to the bottom of his well. + +The next day, when she was sitting at dinner with the king and all the +courtiers, eating from her little gold plate, there came a sound of +something creeping up the marble staircase--splish, splash; and when it +had reached the top, it knocked at the door and cried, “Youngest king's +daughter, open to me.” + +She ran, wishing to see who was outside; but when she opened the door +and there sat the frog, she flung it hastily to again and sat down at +table, feeling very, very uncomfortable. The king saw that her heart was +beating violently, and said, “How, my child, why are you afraid? Is a +giant standing outside the door to carry you off?” + +“Oh, no!” answered she, “it is no giant, but a nasty frog, who +yesterday, when I was playing in the wood near the well, fetched my +golden ball out of the water. For this I promised him he should be my +companion, but I never thought he could come out of his well. Now he is +at the door, and wants to come in.” + +Again, the second time there was a knock, and a voice cried: + + “Youngest king's daughter, + Open to me; + Know you what yesterday + You promised me, + By the cool water? + Youngest king's daughter, + Open to me.” + +Then said the king, “What you promised you must perform. Go and open the +door.” + +She went and opened the door; the frog hopped in, always following and +following her till he came up to her chair. There he sat and cried out, +“Lift me up to you on the table.” + +She refused, till the king, her father, commanded her to do it. When +the frog was on the table, he said, “Now push your little golden plate +nearer to me, that we may eat together.” She did as he desired, but one +could easily see that she did it unwillingly. The frog seemed to enjoy +his dinner very much, but every morsel she ate stuck in the throat of +the poor little princess. + +Then said the frog, “I have eaten enough, and am tired; carry me to your +little room, and make your little silken bed smooth, and we will lay +ourselves down to sleep together.” + +At this the daughter of the king began to weep; for she was afraid of +the cold frog, who wanted to sleep in her pretty clean bed. + +But the king looked angrily at her, and said again: “What you have +promised you must perform. The frog is your companion.” + +It was no use to complain; whether she liked it or not, she was obliged +to take the frog with her up to her little bed. So she picked him +up with two fingers, hating him bitterly the while, and carried him +upstairs: but when she got into bed, instead of lifting him up to her, +she threw him with all her strength against the wall, saying, “Now you +nasty frog, there will be an end of you.” + +But what fell down from the wall was not a dead frog, but a living young +prince, with beautiful and loving eyes, who at once became, by her own +promise and her father's will, her dear companion and husband. He told +her how he had been cursed by a wicked sorceress, and that no one but +the king's youngest daughter could release him from his enchantment and +take him out of the well. + +The next day a carriage drove up to the palace gates with eight white +horses, having white feathers on their heads and golden reins. Behind it +stood the servant of the young prince, called the faithful Henry. This +faithful Henry had been so grieved when his master was changed into a +frog that he had been compelled to have three iron bands fastened round +his heart, lest it should break. Now the carriage came to convey the +prince to his kingdom, so the faithful Henry lifted in the bride and +bridegroom and mounted behind, full of joy at his lord's release. But +when they had gone a short distance, the prince heard behind him a noise +as if something was breaking. He cried out, “Henry, the carriage is +breaking!” + +But Henry replied: “No, sir, it is not the carriage but one of the bands +from my heart, with which I was forced to bind it up, or it would have +broken with grief while you sat as a frog at the bottom of the well.” + +Twice again this happened, and the prince always thought the carriage +was breaking; but it was only the bands breaking off from the heart of +the faithful Henry, out of joy that his lord, the frog-prince, was a +frog no more. + + + + +CLEVER ALICE + +ONCE upon a time there was a man who had a daughter who was called +“Clever Alice,” and when she was grown up, her father said, “We must see +about her marrying.” + +“Yes,” replied her mother, “whenever a young man shall appear who is +worthy of her.” + +At last a certain youth, by name Hans, came from a distance to make a +proposal of marriage; but he required one condition, that the clever +Alice should be very prudent. + +“Oh,” said her father, “no fear of that! she has got a head full of +brains;” and the mother added, “ah, she can see the wind blow up the +street, and hear the flies cough!” + +“Very well,” replied Hans; “but remember, if she is not very prudent, +I will not take her.” Soon afterward they sat down to dinner, and her +mother said, “Alice, go down into the cellar and draw some beer.” + +So Clever Alice took the jug down from the wall, and went into the +cellar, jerking the lid up and down on her way, to pass away the time. +As soon as she got downstairs she drew a stool and placed it before +the cask, in order that she might not have to stoop, for she thought +stooping might in some way injure her back and give it an undesirable +bend. Then she placed the can before her and turned the tap, and while +the beer was running, as she did not wish her eyes to be idle, she +looked about upon the wall above and below. Presently she perceived, +after much peeping into this corner and that corner, a hatchet, which +the bricklayers had left behind? sticking out of the ceiling right above +her head. At the sight of this Clever Alice began to cry, saying, “Oh! +if I marry Hans, and we have a child, and he grows up, and we send him +into the cellar to draw beer, the hatchet will fall upon his head and +kill him,” and so she sat there weeping with all her might over the +impending misfortune. + +Meanwhile the good folks upstairs were waiting for the beer, but as +Clever Alice did not come, her mother told the maid to go and see what +she was stopping for. The maid went down into the cellar and found Alice +sitting before the cask crying heartily, and she asked, “Alice, what are +you weeping about?” + +“Ah,” she replied, “have I not cause? If I marry Hans, and we have a +child, and he grows up, and we send him here to draw beer, that hatchet +will fall upon his head and kill him.” + +“Oh,” said the maid, “what a clever Alice we have!” And sitting down, +she began to weep, too, for the misfortune that was to happen. + +After a while, when the servant did not return, the good folks above +began to feel very thirsty; so the husband told the boy to go down into +the cellar and see what had become of Alice and the maid. The boy went +down, and there sat Clever Alice and the maid both crying, so he asked +the reason; and Alice told him the same tale, of the hatchet that was +to fall on her child, if she married Hans, and if they had a child. When +she had finished, the boy exclaimed, “What a clever Alice we have!” and +fell weeping and howling with the others. + +Upstairs they were still waiting, and the husband said, when the boy +did not return, “Do you go down, wife, into the cellar and see why Alice +stays so long.” So she went down, and finding all three sitting there +crying, asked the reason, and Alice told her about the hatchet which +must inevitably fall upon the head of her son. Then the mother likewise +exclaimed, “Oh, what a clever Alice we have!” and, sitting down, began +to weep as much as any of the rest. + +Meanwhile the husband waited for his wife's return; but at last he felt +so very thirsty that he said, “I must go myself down into the cellar and +see what is keeping our Alice.” As soon as he entered the cellar, there +he found the four sitting and crying together, and when he heard the +reason, he also exclaimed, “Oh, what a clever Alice we have!” and sat +down to cry with the whole strength of his lungs. + +All this time the bridegroom above sat waiting, but when nobody +returned, he thought they must be waiting for him, and so he went down +to see what was the matter. When he entered, there sat the five crying +and groaning, each one in a louder key than his neighbor. + +“What misfortune has happened?” he asked. + +“Ah, dear Hans!” cried Alice, “if you and I should marry one another, +and have a child, and he grew up, and we, perhaps, send him down to +this cellar to tap the beer, the hatchet which has been left sticking up +there may fall on his head, and so kill him; and do you not think this +is enough to weep about?” + +“Now,” said Hans, “more prudence than this is not necessary for my +housekeeping; because you are such a clever Alice, I will have you for +my wife.” And, taking her hand, he led her home, and celebrated the +wedding directly. + +After they had been married a little while, Hans, said one morning, +“Wife, I will go out to work and earn some money; do you go into the +field and gather some corn wherewith to make bread.” + +“Yes,” she answered, “I will do so, dear Hans.” And when he was gone, +she cooked herself a nice mess of pottage to take with her. As she came +to the field, she said to herself, “What shall I do? Shall I cut first, +or eat first? Aye, I will eat first!” Then she ate up the contents of +her pot, and when it was finished, she thought to herself, “Now, shall I +reap first or sleep first? Well, I think I will have a nap!” and so she +laid herself down among the corn, and went to sleep. + +Meanwhile Hans returned home, but Alice did not come, and so he said, +“Oh, what a prudent Alice I have! She is so industrious that she does +not even come home to eat anything.” By and by, however, evening came +on, and still she did not return; so Hans went out to see how much she +had reaped; but, behold, nothing at all, and there lay Alice fast asleep +among the corn! So home he ran very fast, and brought a net with little +bells hanging on it, which he threw over her head while she still slept +on. When he had done this, he went back again and shut to the +house door, and, seating himself on his stool, began working very +industriously. + +At last, when it was nearly dark, the clever Alice awoke, and as soon as +she stood up, the net fell all over her hair, and the bells jingled at +every step she took. This quite frightened her, and she began to doubt +whether she were really Clever Alice, and said to herself, “Am I she, or +am I not?” This was a question she could not answer, and she stood still +a long while considering about it. At last she thought she would go home +and ask whether she was really herself--supposing somebody would be able +to tell her. + +When she came up to the house door it was shut; so she tapped at the +window, and asked, “Hans, is Alice within?” “Yes,” he replied, “she +is.” At which answer she became really terrified, and exclaiming, “Ah, +heaven, then I am not Alice!” she ran up to another house, intending +to ask the same question. But as soon as the folks within heard the +jingling of the bells in her net, they refused to open their doors, and +nobody would receive her. So she ran straight away from the village, and +no one has ever seen her since. + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Little Lame Prince, by +Miss Mulock--Pseudonym of Maria Dinah Craik + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LITTLE LAME PRINCE *** + +***** This file should be named 496-0.txt or 496-0.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/4/9/496/ + +Produced by Charles Keller and David Widger + +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. 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Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + http://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/496-0.zip b/496-0.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..7c7985f --- /dev/null +++ b/496-0.zip diff --git a/496-h.zip b/496-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..ba80f41 --- /dev/null +++ b/496-h.zip diff --git a/496-h/496-h.htm b/496-h/496-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..4721f98 --- /dev/null +++ b/496-h/496-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,6151 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> + +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" > + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en"> + <head> + <title> + The Little Lame Prince, by Miss Mulock + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + + body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; } + blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .mynote {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;} + .toc { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;} + .toc2 { margin-left: 20%;} + div.fig { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; } + div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; } + .figleft {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;} + .figright {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;} + .pagenum {display:inline; font-size: 70%; font-style:normal; + margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%; + text-align: right;} + pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} + +</style> + </head> + <body> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Little Lame Prince, by +Miss Mulock--Pseudonym of Maria Dinah Craik + +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: The Little Lame Prince + +Author: Miss Mulock--Pseudonym of Maria Dinah Craik + +Release Date: January 16, 2006 [EBook #496] +Last Updated: March 6, 2018 + + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LITTLE LAME PRINCE *** + + + + +Produced by Charles Keller and David Widger + + + + + +</pre> + + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h1> + THE LITTLE LAME PRINCE + </h1> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h2> + By Miss Mulock + </h2> + <h4> + [Pseudonym of Maria Dinah Craik] + </h4> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <blockquote> + <p class="toc"> + <big><b>CONTENTS</b></big> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0001"> <b>THE LITTLE LAME PRINCE</b> </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0001"> CHAPTER I </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0002"> CHAPTER II </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0003"> CHAPTER III </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0004"> CHAPTER IV </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0005"> CHAPTER V </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0006"> CHAPTER VI </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0007"> CHAPTER VII </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0008"> CHAPTER VIII </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0009"> CHAPTER IX </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0010"> CHAPTER X </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0012"> <b>THE INVISIBLE PRINCE</b> </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0013"> <b>PRINCE CHERRY</b> </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0014"> <b>THE PRINCE WITH THE NOSE</b> </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0015"> <b>THE FROG-PRINCE</b> </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0016"> <b>CLEVER ALICE</b> </a> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0001" id="link2H_4_0001"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h2> + THE LITTLE LAME PRINCE + </h2> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0001" id="link2HCH0001"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER I + </h2> + <h3> + Yes, he was the most beautiful Prince that ever was born. + </h3> + <p> + Of course, being a prince, people said this; but it was true besides. When + he looked at the candle, his eyes had an expression of earnest inquiry + quite startling in a new born baby. His nose—there was not much of + it certainly, but what there was seemed an aquiline shape; his complexion + was a charming, healthy purple; he was round and fat, straight-limbed and + long—in fact, a splendid baby, and everybody was exceedingly proud + of him, especially his father and mother, the King and Queen of + Nomansland, who had waited for him during their happy reign of ten years—now + made happier than ever, to themselves and their subjects, by the + appearance of a son and heir. + </p> + <p> + The only person who was not quite happy was the King's brother, the heir + presumptive, who would have been king one day had the baby not been born. + But as his majesty was very kind to him, and even rather sorry for him—insomuch + that at the Queen's request he gave him a dukedom almost as big as a + county—the Crown-Prince, as he was called, tried to seem pleased + also; and let us hope he succeeded. + </p> + <p> + The Prince's christening was to be a grand affair. According to the custom + of the country, there were chosen for him four-and-twenty god-fathers and + godmothers, who each had to give him a name, and promise to do their + utmost for him. When he came of age, he himself had to choose the name—and + the godfather or god-mother—that he liked the best, for the rest of + his days. + </p> + <p> + Meantime all was rejoicing. Subscriptions were made among the rich to give + pleasure to the poor; dinners in town-halls for the workingmen; + tea-parties in the streets for their wives; and milk-and-bun feasts for + the children in the schoolrooms. For Nomansland, though I cannot point it + out in any map, or read of it in any history, was, I believe, much like + our own or many another country. + </p> + <p> + As for the palace—which was no different from other palaces—it + was clean “turned out of the windows,” as people say, with the + preparations going on. The only quiet place in it was the room which, + though the Prince was six weeks old, his mother the Queen had never + quitted. Nobody said she was ill, however—it would have been so + inconvenient; and as she said nothing about it herself, but lay pale and + placid, giving no trouble to anybody, nobody thought much about her. All + the world was absorbed in admiring the baby. + </p> + <p> + The christening-day came at last, and it was as lovely as the Prince + himself. All the people in the palace were lovely too—or thought + themselves so—in the elegant new clothes which the Queen, who + thought of everybody, had taken care to give them, from the + ladies-in-waiting down to the poor little kitchen-maid, who looked at + herself in her pink cotton gown, and thought, doubtless, that there never + was such a pretty girl as she. + </p> + <p> + By six in the morning all the royal household had dressed itself in its + very best; and then the little Prince was dressed in his best—his + magnificent christening robe; which proceeding his Royal Highness did not + like at all, but kicked and screamed like any common baby. When he had a + little calmed down, they carried him to be looked at by the Queen his + mother, who, though her royal robes had been brought and laid upon the + bed, was, as everybody well knew, quite unable to rise and put them on. + </p> + <p> + She admired her baby very much; kissed and blessed him, and lay looking at + him, as she did for hours sometimes, when he was placed beside her fast + asleep; then she gave him up with a gentle smile, and, saying she hoped he + would be very good, that it would be a very nice christening, and all the + guests would enjoy themselves, turned peacefully over on her bed, saying + nothing more to anybody. She was a very uncomplaining person, the Queen—and + her name was Dolorez. + </p> + <p> + Everything went on exactly as if she had been present. All, even the king + himself, had grown used to her absence; for she was not strong, and for + years had not joined in any gayeties. She always did her royal duties, but + as to pleasures, they could go on quite well without her, or it seemed so. + The company arrived: great and notable persons in this and neighboring + countries; also the four-and-twenty godfathers and godmothers, who had + been chosen with care, as the people who would be most useful to his royal + highness should he ever want friends, which did not seem likely. What such + want could possibly happen to the heir of the powerful monarch of + Nomansland? + </p> + <p> + They came, walking two and two, with their coronets on their heads—being + dukes and duchesses, princes and princesses, or the like; they all kissed + the child and pronounced the name each had given him. Then the + four-and-twenty names were shouted out with great energy by six heralds, + one after the other, and afterward written down, to be preserved in the + state records, in readiness for the next time they were wanted, which + would be either on his Royal Highness' coronation or his funeral. + </p> + <p> + Soon the ceremony was over, and everybody satisfied; except, perhaps, the + little Prince himself, who moaned faintly under his christening robes, + which nearly smothered him. + </p> + <p> + In truth, though very few knew, the Prince in coming to the chapel had met + with a slight disaster. His nurse,—not his ordinary one, but the + state nurse-maid,—an elegant and fashionable young lady of rank, + whose duty it was to carry him to and from the chapel, had been so + occupied in arranging her train with one hand, while she held the baby + with the other, that she stumbled and let him fall, just at the foot of + the marble staircase. + </p> + <p> + To be sure, she contrived to pick him up again the next minute; and the + accident was so slight it seemed hardly worth speaking of. Consequently + nobody did speak of it. The baby had turned deadly pale, but did not cry, + so no person a step or two behind could discover anything wrong; + afterward, even if he had moaned, the silver trumpets were loud enough to + drown his voice. It would have been a pity to let anything trouble such a + day of felicity. + </p> + <p> + So, after a minute's pause, the procession had moved on. Such a procession + t Heralds in blue and silver; pages in crimson and gold; and a troop of + little girls in dazzling white, carrying baskets of flowers, which they + strewed all the way before the nurse and child—finally the + four-and-twenty godfathers and godmothers, as proud as possible, and so + splendid to look at that they would have quite extinguished their small + godson—merely a heap of lace and muslin with a baby face inside—had + it not been for a canopy of white satin and ostrich feathers which was + held over him wherever he was carried. + </p> + <p> + Thus, with the sun shining on them through the painted windows, they + stood; the king and his train on one side, the Prince and his attendants + on the other, as pretty a sight as ever was seen out of fairyland. + </p> + <p> + “It's just like fairyland,” whispered the eldest little girl to the next + eldest, as she shook the last rose out of her basket; “and I think the + only thing the Prince wants now is a fairy god-mother.” + </p> + <p> + “Does he?” said a shrill but soft and not unpleasant voice behind; and + there was seen among the group of children somebody,—not a child, + yet no bigger than a child,—somebody whom nobody had seen before, + and who certainly had not been invited, for she had no christening clothes + on. + </p> + <p> + She was a little old woman dressed all in gray: gray gown; gray hooded + cloak, of a material excessively fine, and a tint that seemed perpetually + changing, like the gray of an evening sky. Her hair was gray, and her eyes + also—even her complexion had a soft gray shadow over it. But there + was nothing unpleasantly old about her, and her smile was as sweet and + childlike as the Prince's own, which stole over his pale little face the + instant she came near enough to touch him. + </p> + <p> + “Take care! Don't let the baby fall again.” + </p> + <p> + The grand young lady nurse started, flushing angrily. + </p> + <p> + “Who spoke to me? How did anybody know?—I mean, what business has + anybody——” Then frightened, but still speaking in a much + sharper tone than I hope young ladies of rank are in the habit of speaking—“Old + woman, you will be kind enough not to say 'the baby,' but 'the Prince.' + Keep away; his Royal Highness is just going to sleep.” + </p> + <p> + “Nevertheless I must kiss him. I am his god-mother.” + </p> + <p> + “You!” cried the elegant lady nurse. + </p> + <p> + “You!” repeated all the gentlemen and ladies-in-waiting. + </p> + <p> + “You!” echoed the heralds and pages—and they began to blow the + silver trumpets in order to stop all further conversation. + </p> + <p> + The Prince's procession formed itself for returning,—the King and + his train having already moved off toward the palace,—but on the + top-most step of the marble stairs stood, right in front of all, the + little old woman clothed in gray. + </p> + <p> + She stretched herself on tiptoe by the help of her stick, and gave the + little Prince three kisses. + </p> + <p> + “This is intolerable!” cried the young lady nurse, wiping the kisses off + rapidly with her lace handkerchief. “Such an insult to his Royal Highness! + Take yourself out of the way, old woman, or the King shall be informed + immediately.” + </p> + <p> + “The King knows nothing of me, more's the pity,” replied the old woman, + with an indifferent air, as if she thought the loss was more on his + Majesty's side than hers. “My friend in the palace is the King's wife.” + </p> + <p> + “King's have not wives, but queens,” said the lady nurse, with a + contemptuous air. + </p> + <p> + “You are right,” replied the old woman. “Nevertheless I know her Majesty + well, and I love her and her child. And—since you dropped him on the + marble stairs (this she said in a mysterious whisper, which made the young + lady tremble in spite of her anger)—I choose to take him for my own, + and be his godmother, ready to help him whenever he wants me.” + </p> + <p> + “You help him!” cried all the group breaking into shouts of laughter, to + which the little old woman paid not the slightest attention. Her soft gray + eyes were fixed on the Prince, who seemed to answer to the look, smiling + again and again in the causeless, aimless fashion that babies do smile. + </p> + <p> + “His Majesty must hear of this,” said a gentleman-in-waiting. + </p> + <p> + “His Majesty will hear quite enough news in a minute or two,” said the old + woman sadly. And again stretching up to the little Prince, she kissed him + on the forehead solemnly. + </p> + <p> + “Be called by a new name which nobody has ever thought of. Be Prince + Dolor, in memory of your mother Dolorez.” + </p> + <p> + “In memory of!” Everybody started at the ominous phrase, and also at a + most terrible breach of etiquette which the old woman had committed. In + Nomansland, neither the king nor the queen was supposed to have any + Christian name at all. They dropped it on their coronation day, and it + never was mentioned again till it was engraved on their coffins when they + died. + </p> + <p> + “Old woman, you are exceedingly ill-bred,” cried the eldest + lady-in-waiting, much horrified. “How you could know the fact passes my + comprehension. But even if you did know it, how dared you presume to hint + that her most gracious Majesty is called Dolorez?” + </p> + <p> + “WAS called Dolorez,” said the old woman, with a tender solemnity. + </p> + <p> + The first gentleman, called the Gold-stick-in-waiting, raised it to strike + her, and all the rest stretched out their hands to seize her; but the gray + mantle melted from between their fingers like air; and, before anybody had + time to do anything more, there came a heavy, muffled, startling sound. + </p> + <p> + The great bell of the palace the bell which was only heard on the death of + some one of the royal family, and for as many times as he or she was years + old—began to toll. They listened, mute and horror-stricken. Some one + counted: one—two—three—four—up to nine-and-twenty—just + the Queen's age. + </p> + <p> + It was, indeed, the Queen. Her Majesty was dead! In the midst of the + festivities she had slipped away out of her new happiness and her old + sufferings, not few nor small. Sending away all her women to see the grand + sight,—at least they said afterward, in excuse, that she had done + so, and it was very like her to do it,—she had turned with her face + to the window, whence one could just see the tops of the distant mountains—the + Beautiful Mountains, as they were called—where she was born. So + gazing, she had quietly died. + </p> + <p> + When the little Prince was carried back to his mother's room, there was no + mother to kiss him. And, though he did not know it, there would be for him + no mother's kiss any more. As for his godmother,—the little old + woman in gray who called herself so,—whether she melted into air, + like her gown when they touched it, or whether she flew out of the chapel + window, or slipped through the doorway among the bewildered crowd, nobody + knew—nobody ever thought about her. + </p> + <p> + Only the nurse, the ordinary homely one, coming out of the Prince's + nursery in the middle of the night in search of a cordial to quiet his + continual moans, saw, sitting in the doorway, something which she would + have thought a mere shadow, had she not seen shining out of it two eyes, + gray and soft and sweet. She put her hand before her own, screaming + loudly. When she took them away the old woman was gone. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0002" id="link2HCH0002"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER II + </h2> + <p> + Everybody was very kind to the poor little prince. I think people + generally are kind to motherless children, whether princes or peasants. He + had a magnificent nursery and a regular suite of attendants, and was + treated with the greatest respect and state. Nobody was allowed to talk to + him in silly baby language, or dandle him, or, above all to kiss him, + though perhaps some people did it surreptitiously, for he was such a sweet + baby that it was difficult to help it. + </p> + <p> + It could not be said that the Prince missed his mother—children of + his age cannot do that; but somehow after she died everything seemed to go + wrong with him. From a beautiful baby he became sickly and pale, seeming + to have almost ceased growing, especially in his legs, which had been so + fat and strong. + </p> + <p> + But after the day of his christening they withered and shrank; he no + longer kicked them out either in passion or play, and when, as he got to + be nearly a year old, his nurse tried to make him stand upon them, he only + tumbled down. + </p> + <p> + This happened so many times that at last people began to talk about it. A + prince, and not able to stand on his own legs! What a dreadful thing! What + a misfortune for the country! + </p> + <p> + Rather a misfortune to him also, poor little boy! but nobody seemed to + think of that. And when, after a while, his health revived, and the old + bright look came back to his sweet little face, and his body grew larger + and stronger, though still his legs remained the same, people continued to + speak of him in whispers, and with grave shakes of the head. Everybody + knew, though nobody said it, that something, it was impossible to guess + what, was not quite right with the poor little Prince. + </p> + <p> + Of course, nobody hinted this to the King his father: it does not do to + tell great people anything unpleasant. And besides, his Majesty took very + little notice of his son, or of his other affairs, beyond the necessary + duties of his kingdom. + </p> + <p> + People had said he would not miss the Queen at all, she having been so + long an invalid, but he did. After her death he never was quite the same. + He established himself in her empty rooms, the only rooms in the palace + whence one could see the Beautiful Mountains, and was often observed + looking at them as if he thought she had flown away thither, and that his + longing could bring her back again. And by a curious coincidence, which + nobody dared inquire into, he desired that the Prince might be called, not + by any of the four-and-twenty grand names given him by his godfathers and + godmothers, but by the identical name mentioned by the little old woman in + gray—Dolor, after his mother Dolorez. + </p> + <p> + Once a week, according to established state custom, the Prince, dressed in + his very best, was brought to the King his father for half an hour, but + his Majesty was generally too ill and too melancholy to pay much heed to + the child. + </p> + <p> + Only once, when he and the Crown-Prince, who was exceedingly attentive to + his royal brother, were sitting together, with Prince Dolor playing in a + corner of the room, dragging himself about with his arms rather than his + legs, and sometimes trying feebly to crawl from one chair to another, it + seemed to strike the father that all was not right with his son. + </p> + <p> + “How old is his Royal Highness?” said he suddenly to the nurse. + </p> + <p> + “Two years, three months, and five days, please your Majesty.” + </p> + <p> + “It does not please me,” said the King, with a sigh. “He ought to be far + more forward than he is now ought he not, brother? You, who have so many + children, must know. Is there not something wrong about him?” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, no,” said the Crown-Prince, exchanging meaning looks with the nurse, + who did not understand at all, but stood frightened and trembling with the + tears in her eyes. “Nothing to make your Majesty at all uneasy. No doubt + his Royal Highness will outgrow it in time.” + </p> + <p> + “Outgrow—what?” + </p> + <p> + “A slight delicacy—ahem!—in the spine; something inherited, + perhaps, from his dear mother.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah, she was always delicate; but she was the sweetest woman that ever + lived. Come here, my little son.” + </p> + <p> + And as the Prince turned round upon his father a small, sweet, grave face,—so + like his mother's,—his Majesty the King smiled and held out his + arms. But when the boy came to him, not running like a boy, but wriggling + awkwardly along the floor, the royal countenance clouded over. + </p> + <p> + “I ought to have been told of this. It is terrible—terrible! And for + a prince too. Send for all the doctors in my kingdom immediately.” + </p> + <p> + They came, and each gave a different opinion and ordered a different mode + of treatment. The only thing they agreed in was what had been pretty well + known before, that the Prince must have been hurt when he was an infant—let + fall, perhaps, so as to injure his spine and lower limbs. Did nobody + remember? + </p> + <p> + No, nobody. Indignantly, all the nurses denied that any such accident had + happened, was possible to have happened, until the faithful country nurse + recollected that it really had happened on the day of the christening. For + which unluckily good memory all the others scolded her so severely that + she had no peace of her life, and soon after, by the influence of the + young lady nurse who had carried the baby that fatal day, and who was a + sort of connection of the Crown-Prince—being his wife's second + cousin once removed—the poor woman was pensioned off and sent to the + Beautiful Mountains from whence she came, with orders to remain there for + the rest of her days. + </p> + <p> + But of all this the King knew nothing, for, indeed, after the first shock + of finding out that his son could not walk, and seemed never likely to he + interfered very little concerning him. The whole thing was too painful, + and his Majesty never liked painful things. Sometimes he inquired after + Prince Dolor, and they told him his Royal Highness was going on as well as + could be expected, which really was the case. For, after worrying the poor + child and perplexing themselves with one remedy after another, the + Crown-Prince, not wishing to offend any of the differing doctors, had + proposed leaving him to Nature; and Nature, the safest doctor of all, had + come to his help and done her best. + </p> + <p> + He could not walk, it is true; his limbs were mere useless appendages to + his body; but the body itself was strong and sound. And his face was the + same as ever—just his mother's face, one of the sweetest in the + world. + </p> + <p> + Even the King, indifferent as he was, sometimes looked at the little + fellow with sad tenderness, noticing how cleverly he learned to crawl and + swing himself about by his arms, so that in his own awkward way he was as + active in motion as most children of his age. + </p> + <p> + “Poor little man! he does his best, and he is not unhappy—not half + so unhappy as I, brother,” addressing the Crown-Prince, who was more + constant than ever in his attendance upon the sick monarch. “If anything + should befall me, I have appointed you Regent. In case of my death, you + will take care of my poor little boy?” + </p> + <p> + “Certainly, certainly; but do not let us imagine any such misfortune. I + assure your Majesty—everybody will assure you—that it is not + in the least likely.” + </p> + <p> + He knew, however, and everybody knew, that it was likely, and soon after + it actually did happen. The King died as suddenly and quietly as the Queen + had done—indeed, in her very room and bed; and Prince Dolor was left + without either father or mother—as sad a thing as could happen, even + to a prince. + </p> + <p> + He was more than that now, though. He was a king. In Nomansland, as in + other countries, the people were struck with grief one day and revived the + next. “The king is dead—long live the king!” was the cry that rang + through the nation, and almost before his late Majesty had been laid + beside the Queen in their splendid mausoleum, crowds came thronging from + all parts to the royal palace, eager to see the new monarch. + </p> + <p> + They did see him,—the Prince Regent took care they should,—sitting + on the floor of the council chamber, sucking his thumb! And when one of + the gentlemen-in-waiting lifted him up and carried him—fancy + carrying a king!—to the chair of state, and put the crown on his + head, he shook it off again, it was so heavy and uncomfortable. Sliding + down to the foot of the throne he began playing with the golden lions that + supported it, stroking their paws and putting his tiny fingers into their + eyes, and laughing—laughing as if he had at last found something to + amuse him. + </p> + <p> + “There's a fine king for you!” said the first lord-in-waiting, a friend of + the Prince Regent's (the Crown-Prince that used to be, who, in the deepest + mourning, stood silently beside the throne of his young nephew. He was a + handsome man, very grand and clever-looking). “What a king! who can never + stand to receive his subjects, never walk in processions, who to the last + day of his life will have to be carried about like a baby. Very + unfortunate!” + </p> + <p> + “Exceedingly unfortunate,” repeated the second lord. “It is always bad for + a nation when its king is a child; but such a child—a permanent + cripple, if not worse.” + </p> + <p> + “Let us hope not worse,” said the first lord in a very hopeless tone, and + looking toward the Regent, who stood erect and pretended to hear nothing. + “I have heard that these sort of children with very large heads, and great + broad fore-heads and staring eyes, are—well, well, let us hope for + the best and be prepared for the worst. In the meantime——” + </p> + <p> + “I swear,” said the Crown-Prince, coming forward and kissing the hilt of + his sword—“I swear to perform my duties as Regent, to take all care + of his Royal Highness—his Majesty, I mean,” with a grand bow to the + little child, who laughed innocently back again. “And I will do my humble + best to govern the country. Still, if the country has the slightest + objection——” + </p> + <p> + But the Crown-Prince being generalissimo, having the whole army at his + beck and call, so that he could have begun a civil war in no time, the + country had, of course, not the slightest objection. + </p> + <p> + So the King and Queen slept together in peace, and Prince Dolor reigned + over the land—that is, his uncle did; and everybody said what a + fortunate thing it was for the poor little Prince to have such a clever + uncle to take care of him. + </p> + <p> + All things went on as usual; indeed, after the Regent had brought his wife + and her seven sons, and established them in the palace, rather better than + usual. For they gave such splendid entertainments and made the capital so + lively that trade revived, and the country was said to be more flourishing + than it had been for a century. Whenever the Regent and his sons appeared, + they were received with shouts: “Long live the Crown-Prince!” “Long live + the royal family!” And, in truth, they were very fine children, the whole + seven of them, and made a great show when they rode out together on seven + beautiful horses, one height above another, down to the youngest, on his + tiny black pony, no bigger than a large dog. + </p> + <p> + As for the other child, his Royal Highness Prince Dolor,—for somehow + people soon ceased to call him his Majesty, which seemed such a ridiculous + title for a poor little fellow, a helpless cripple,—with only head + and trunk, and no legs to speak of,—he was seen very seldom by + anybody. + </p> + <p> + Sometimes people daring enough to peer over the high wall of the palace + garden noticed there, carried in a footman's arms, or drawn in a chair, or + left to play on the grass, often with nobody to mind him, a pretty little + boy, with a bright, intelligent face and large, melancholy eyes—no, + not exactly melancholy, for they were his mother's, and she was by no + means sad-minded, but thoughtful and dreamy. They rather perplexed people, + those childish eyes; they were so exceedingly innocent and yet so + penetrating. If anybody did a wrong thing—told a lie, for instance + they would turn round with such a grave, silent surprise the child never + talked much—that every naughty person in the palace was rather + afraid of Prince Dolor. + </p> + <p> + He could not help it, and perhaps he did not even know it, being no better + a child than many other children, but there was something about him which + made bad people sorry, and grumbling people ashamed of themselves, and + ill-natured people gentle and kind. + </p> + <p> + I suppose because they were touched to see a poor little fellow who did + not in the least know what had befallen him or what lay before him, living + his baby life as happy as the day is long. Thus, whether or not he was + good himself, the sight of him and his affliction made other people good, + and, above all, made everybody love him—so much so, that his uncle + the Regent began to feel a little uncomfortable. + </p> + <p> + Now, I have nothing to say against uncles in general. They are usually + very excellent people, and very convenient to little boys and girls. Even + the “cruel uncle” of the “Babes in the Wood” I believe to be quite an + exceptional character. And this “cruel uncle” of whom I am telling was, I + hope, an exception, too. + </p> + <p> + He did not mean to be cruel. If anybody had called him so, he would have + resented it extremely: he would have said that what he did was done + entirely for the good of the country. But he was a man who had always been + accustomed to consider himself first and foremost, believing that whatever + he wanted was sure to be right, and therefore he ought to have it. So he + tried to get it, and got it too, as people like him very often do. Whether + they enjoy it when they have it is another question. + </p> + <p> + Therefore he went one day to the council chamber, determined on making a + speech, and informing the ministers and the country at large that the + young King was in failing health, and that it would be advisable to send + him for a time to the Beautiful Mountains. Whether he really meant to do + this, or whether it occurred to him afterward that there would be an + easier way of attaining his great desire, the crown of Nomansland, is a + point which I cannot decide. + </p> + <p> + But soon after, when he had obtained an order in council to send the King + away, which was done in great state, with a guard of honor composed of two + whole regiments of soldiers,—the nation learned, without much + surprise, that the poor little Prince—nobody ever called him king + now—had gone a much longer journey than to the Beautiful Mountains. + </p> + <p> + He had fallen ill on the road and died within a few hours; at least so + declared the physician in attendance and the nurse who had been sent to + take care of him. They brought his coffin back in great state, and buried + it in the mausoleum with his parents. + </p> + <p> + So Prince Dolor was seen no more. The country went into deep mourning for + him, and then forgot him, and his uncle reigned in his stead. That + illustrious personage accepted his crown with great decorum, and wore it + with great dignity to the last. But whether he enjoyed it or not there is + no evidence to show. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0003" id="link2HCH0003"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER III + </h2> + <p> + And what of the little lame Prince, whom everybody seemed so easily to + have forgotten? + </p> + <p> + Not everybody. There were a few kind souls, mothers of families, who had + heard his sad story, and some servants about the palace, who had been + familiar with his sweet ways—these many a time sighed and said, + “Poor Prince Dolor!” Or, looking at the Beautiful Mountains, which were + visible all over Nomansland, though few people ever visited them, “Well, + perhaps his Royal Highness is better where he is than even there.” + </p> + <p> + They did not know—indeed, hardly anybody did know—that beyond + the mountains, between them and the sea, lay a tract of country, barren, + level, bare, except for short, stunted grass, and here and there a patch + of tiny flowers. Not a bush—not a tree not a resting place for bird + or beast was in that dreary plain. In summer the sunshine fell upon it + hour after hour with a blinding glare; in winter the winds and rains swept + over it unhindered, and the snow came down steadily, noiselessly, covering + it from end to end in one great white sheet, which lay for days and weeks + unmarked by a single footprint. + </p> + <p> + Not a pleasant place to live in—and nobody did live there, + apparently. The only sign that human creatures had ever been near the spot + was one large round tower which rose up in the center of the plain, and + might be seen all over it—if there had been anybody to see, which + there never was. Rose right up out of the ground, as if it had grown of + itself, like a mushroom. But it was not at all mushroom-like; on the + contrary, it was very solidly built. In form it resembled the Irish round + towers, which have puzzled people for so long, nobody being able to find + out when, or by whom, or for what purpose they were made; seemingly for no + use at all, like this tower. It was circular, of very firm brickwork, with + neither doors nor windows, until near the top, when you could perceive + some slits in the wall through which one might possibly creep in or look + out. Its height was nearly a hundred feet, and it had a battlemented + parapet showing sharp against the sky. + </p> + <p> + As the plain was quite desolate—almost like a desert, only without + sand, and led to nowhere except the still more desolate seacoast—nobody + ever crossed it. Whatever mystery there was about the tower, it and the + sky and the plain kept their secret to themselves. + </p> + <p> + It was a very great secret indeed,—a state secret,—which none + but so clever a man as the present King of Nomansland would ever have + thought of. How he carried it out, undiscovered, I cannot tell. People + said, long afterward, that it was by means of a gang of condemned + criminals, who were set to work, and executed immediately after they had + done, so that nobody knew anything, or in the least suspected the real + fact. + </p> + <p> + And what was the fact? Why, that this tower, which seemed a mere mass of + masonry, utterly forsaken and uninhabited, was not so at all. Within + twenty feet of the top some ingenious architect had planned a perfect + little house, divided into four rooms—as by drawing a cross within a + circle you will see might easily be done. By making skylights, and a few + slits in the walls for windows, and raising a peaked roof which was hidden + by the parapet, here was a dwelling complete, eighty feet from the ground, + and as inaccessible as a rook's nest on the top of a tree. + </p> + <p> + A charming place to live in! if you once got up there,—and never + wanted to come down again. + </p> + <p> + Inside—though nobody could have looked inside except a bird, and + hardly even a bird flew past that lonely tower—inside it was + furnished with all the comfort and elegance imaginable; with lots of books + and toys, and everything that the heart of a child could desire. For its + only inhabitant, except a nurse of course, was a poor solitary child. + </p> + <p> + One winter night, when all the plain was white with moonlight, there was + seen crossing it a great tall black horse, ridden by a man also big and + equally black, carrying before him on the saddle a woman and a child. The + woman—she had a sad, fierce look, and no wonder, for she was a + criminal under sentence of death, but her sentence had been changed to + almost as severe a punishment. She was to inhabit the lonely tower with + the child, and was allowed to live as long as the child lived—no + longer. This in order that she might take the utmost care of him; for + those who put him there were equally afraid of his dying and of his + living. + </p> + <p> + Yet he was only a little gentle boy, with a sweet, sleepy smile—he + had been very tired with his long journey—and clinging arms, which + held tight to the man's neck, for he was rather frightened, and the face, + black as it was, looked kindly at him. And he was very helpless, with his + poor, small shriveled legs, which could neither stand nor run away—for + the little forlorn boy was Prince Dolor. + </p> + <p> + He had not been dead at all—or buried either. His grand funeral had + been a mere pretense: a wax figure having been put in his place, while he + himself was spirited away under charge of these two, the condemned woman + and the black man. The latter was deaf and dumb, so could neither tell nor + repeat anything. + </p> + <p> + When they reached the foot of the tower, there was light enough to see a + huge chain dangling from the parapet, but dangling only halfway. The + deaf-mute took from his saddle-wallet a sort of ladder, arranged in pieces + like a puzzle, fitted it together, and lifted it up to meet the chain. + Then he mounted to the top of the tower, and slung from it a sort of + chair, in which the woman and the child placed themselves and were drawn + up, never to come down again as long as they lived. Leaving them there, + the man descended the ladder, took it to pieces again and packed it in his + pack, mounted the horse and disappeared across the plain. + </p> + <p> + Every month they used to watch for him, appearing like a speck in the + distance. He fastened his horse to the foot of the tower, and climbed it, + as before, laden with provisions and many other things. He always saw the + Prince, so as to make sure that the child was alive and well, and then + went away until the following month. + </p> + <p> + While his first childhood lasted Prince Dolor was happy enough. He had + every luxury that even a prince could need, and the one thing wanting,—love,—never + having known, he did not miss. His nurse was very kind to him though she + was a wicked woman. But either she had not been quite so wicked as people + said, or she grew better through being shut up continually with a little + innocent child who was dependent upon her for every comfort and pleasure + of his life. + </p> + <p> + It was not an unhappy life. There was nobody to tease or ill-use him, and + he was never ill. He played about from room to room—there were four + rooms, parlor, kitchen, his nurse's bedroom, and his own; learned to crawl + like a fly, and to jump like a frog, and to run about on all-fours almost + as fast as a puppy. In fact, he was very much like a puppy or a kitten, as + thoughtless and as merry—scarcely ever cross, though sometimes a + little weary. + </p> + <p> + As he grew older, he occasionally liked to be quiet for a while, and then + he would sit at the slits of windows—which were, however, much + bigger than they looked from the bottom of the tower—and watch the + sky above and the ground below, with the storms sweeping over and the + sunshine coming and going, and the shadows of the clouds running races + across the blank plain. + </p> + <p> + By and by he began to learn lessons—not that his nurse had been + ordered to teach him, but she did it partly to amuse herself. She was not + a stupid woman, and Prince Dolor was by no means a stupid boy; so they got + on very well, and his continual entreaty, “What can I do? what can you + find me to do?” was stopped, at least for an hour or two in the day. + </p> + <p> + It was a dull life, but he had never known any other; anyhow, he + remembered no other, and he did not pity himself at all. Not for a long + time, till he grew quite a big little boy, and could read quite easily. + Then he suddenly took to books, which the deaf-mute brought him from time + to time—books which, not being acquainted with the literature of + Nomansland, I cannot describe, but no doubt they were very interesting; + and they informed him of everything in the outside world, and filled him + with an intense longing to see it. + </p> + <p> + From this time a change came over the boy. He began to look sad and thin, + and to shut himself up for hours without speaking. For his nurse hardly + spoke, and whatever questions he asked beyond their ordinary daily life + she never answered. She had, indeed, been forbidden, on pain of death, to + tell him anything about himself, who he was, or what he might have been. + </p> + <p> + He knew he was Prince Dolor, because she always addressed him as “My + Prince” and “Your Royal Highness,” but what a prince was he had not the + least idea. He had no idea of anything in the world, except what he found + in his books. + </p> + <p> + He sat one day surrounded by them, having built them up round him like a + little castle wall. He had been reading them half the day, but feeling all + the while that to read about things which you never can see is like + hearing about a beautiful dinner while you are starving. For almost the + first time in his life he grew melancholy; his hands fell on his lap; he + sat gazing out of the window-slit upon the view outside—the view he + had looked at every day of his life, and might look at for endless days + more. + </p> + <p> + Not a very cheerful view,—just the plain and the sky,—but he + liked it. He used to think, if he could only fly out of that window, up to + the sky or down to the plain, how nice it would be! Perhaps when he died—his + nurse had told him once in anger that he would never leave the tower till + he died—he might be able to do this. Not that he understood much + what dying meant, but it must be a change, and any change seemed to him a + blessing. + </p> + <p> + “And I wish I had somebody to tell me all about it—about that and + many other things; somebody that would be fond of me, like my poor white + kitten.” + </p> + <p> + Here the tears came into his eyes, for the boy's one friend, the one + interest of his life, had been a little white kitten, which the deaf-mute, + kindly smiling, once took out of his pocket and gave him—the only + living creature Prince Dolor had ever seen. + </p> + <p> + For four weeks it was his constant plaything and companion, till one + moonlight night it took a fancy for wandering, climbed on to the parapet + of the tower, dropped over and disappeared. It was not killed, he hoped, + for cats have nine lives; indeed, he almost fancied he saw it pick itself + up and scamper away; but he never caught sight of it more. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, I wish I had something better than a kitten—a person, a real + live person, who would be fond of me and kind to me. Oh, I want somebody—dreadfully, + dreadfully!” + </p> + <p> + As he spoke, there sounded behind him a slight tap-tap-tap, as of a stick + or a cane, and twisting himself round, he saw—what do you think he + saw? + </p> + <p> + Nothing either frightening or ugly, but still exceedingly curious. A + little woman, no bigger than he might himself have been had his legs grown + like those of other children; but she was not a child—she was an old + woman. Her hair was gray, and her dress was gray, and there was a gray + shadow over her wherever she moved. But she had the sweetest smile, the + prettiest hands, and when she spoke it was in the softest voice + imaginable. + </p> + <p> + “My dear little boy,”—and dropping her cane, the only bright and + rich thing about her, she laid those two tiny hands on his shoulders,—“my + own little boy, I could not come to you until you had said you wanted me; + but now you do want me, here I am.” + </p> + <p> + “And you are very welcome, madam,” replied the Prince, trying to speak + politely, as princes always did in books; “and I am exceedingly obliged to + you. May I ask who you are? Perhaps my mother?” For he knew that little + boys usually had a mother, and had occasionally wondered what had become + of his own. + </p> + <p> + “No,” said the visitor, with a tender, half-sad smile, putting back the + hair from his forehead, and looking right into his eyes—“no, I am + not your mother, though she was a dear friend of mine; and you are as like + her as ever you can be.” + </p> + <p> + “Will you tell her to come and see me, then?” + </p> + <p> + “She cannot; but I dare say she knows all about you. And she loves you + very much—and so do I; and I want to help you all I can, my poor + little boy.” + </p> + <p> + “Why do you call me poor?” asked Prince Dolor, in surprise. + </p> + <p> + The little old woman glanced down on his legs and feet, which he did not + know were different from those of other children, and then at his sweet, + bright face, which, though he knew not that either, was exceedingly + different from many children's faces, which are often so fretful, cross, + sullen. Looking at him, instead of sighing, she smiled. “I beg your + pardon, my Prince,” said she. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, I am a prince, and my name is Dolor; will you tell me yours, madam?” + </p> + <p> + The little old woman laughed like a chime of silver bells. + </p> + <p> + “I have not got a name—or, rather, I have so many names that I don't + know which to choose. However, it was I who gave you yours, and you will + belong to me all your days. I am your godmother.” + </p> + <p> + “Hurrah!” cried the little Prince; “I am glad I belong to you, for I like + you very much. Will you come and play with me?” + </p> + <p> + So they sat down together and played. By and by they began to talk. + </p> + <p> + “Are you very dull here?” asked the little old woman. + </p> + <p> + “Not particularly, thank you, godmother. I have plenty to eat and drink, + and my lessons to do, and my books to read—lots of books.” + </p> + <p> + “And you want nothing?” + </p> + <p> + “Nothing. Yes—perhaps——If you please, godmother, could + you bring me just one more thing?” + </p> + <p> + “What sort of thing!” + </p> + <p> + “A little boy to play with.” + </p> + <p> + The old woman looked very sad. “Just the thing, alas I which I cannot give + you. My child, I cannot alter your lot in any way, but I can help you to + bear it.” + </p> + <p> + “Thank you. But why do you talk of bearing it? I have nothing to bear.” + </p> + <p> + “My poor little man!” said the old woman in the very tenderest tone of her + tender voice. “Kiss me!” + </p> + <p> + “What is kissing?” asked the wondering child. + </p> + <p> + His godmother took him in her arms and embraced him many times. By and by + he kissed her back again—at first awkwardly and shyly, then with all + the strength of his warm little heart. + </p> + <p> + “You are better to cuddle than even my white kitten, I think. Promise me + that you will never go away.” + </p> + <p> + “I must; but I will leave a present behind me,—something as good as + myself to amuse you,—something that will take you wherever you want + to go, and show you all that you wish to see.” + </p> + <p> + “What is it?” + </p> + <p> + “A traveling-cloak.” + </p> + <p> + The Prince's countenance fell. “I don't want a cloak, for I never go out. + Sometimes nurse hoists me on to the roof, and carries me round by the + parapet; but that is all. I can't walk, you know, as she does.” + </p> + <p> + “The more reason why you should ride; and besides, this traveling-cloak——” + </p> + <p> + “Hush!—she's coming.” + </p> + <p> + There sounded outside the room door a heavy step and a grumpy voice, and a + rattle of plates and dishes. + </p> + <p> + “It's my nurse, and she is bringing my dinner; but I don't want dinner at + all—I only want you. Will her coming drive you away, godmother?” + </p> + <p> + “Perhaps; but only for a little while. Never mind; all the bolts and bars + in the world couldn't keep me out. I'd fly in at the window, or down + through the chimney. Only wish for me, and I come.” + </p> + <p> + “Thank you,” said Prince Dolor, but almost in a whisper, for he was very + uneasy at what might happen next. His nurse and his godmother—what + would they say to one another? how would they look at one another?—two + such different faces: one harsh-lined, sullen, cross, and sad; the other + sweet and bright and calm as a summer evening before the dark begins. + </p> + <p> + When the door was flung open, Prince Dolor shut his eyes, trembling all + over; opening them again, he saw he need fear nothing—his lovely old + godmother had melted away just like the rainbow out of the sky, as he had + watched it many a time. Nobody but his nurse was in the room. + </p> + <p> + “What a muddle your Royal Highness is sitting in,” said she sharply. “Such + a heap of untidy books; and what's this rubbish?” knocking a little bundle + that lay beside them. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, nothing, nothing—give it me!” cried the Prince, and, darting + after it, he hid it under his pinafore, and then pushed it quickly into + his pocket. Rubbish as it was, it was left in the place where she sat, and + might be something belonging to her—his dear, kind godmother, whom + already he loved with all his lonely, tender, passionate heart. + </p> + <p> + It was, though he did not know this, his wonderful traveling-cloak. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0004" id="link2HCH0004"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER IV + </h2> + <p> + And what of the traveling-cloak? What sort of cloak was it, and what A + good did it do the Prince? + </p> + <p> + Stay, and I'll tell you all about it. Outside it was the commonest-looking + bundle imaginable—shabby and small; and the instant Prince Dolor + touched it, it grew smaller still, dwindling down till he could put it in + his trousers pocket, like a handkerchief rolled up into a ball. He did + this at once, for fear his nurse should see it, and kept it there all day—all + night, too. Till after his next morning's lessons he had no opportunity of + examining his treasure. + </p> + <p> + When he did, it seemed no treasure at all; but a mere piece of cloth—circular + in form, dark green in color—that is, if it had any color at all, + being so worn and shabby, though not dirty. It had a split cut to the + center, forming a round hole for the neck—and that was all its + shape; the shape, in fact, of those cloaks which in South America are + called ponchos—very simple, but most graceful and convenient. + </p> + <p> + Prince Dolor had never seen anything like it. In spite of his + disappointment, he examined it curiously; spread it out on the door, then + arranged it on his shoulders. It felt very warm and comfortable; but it + was so exceedingly shabby—the only shabby thing that the Prince had + ever seen in his life. + </p> + <p> + “And what use will it be to me?” said he sadly. “I have no need of outdoor + clothes, as I never go out. Why was this given me, I wonder? and what in + the world am I to do with it? She must be a rather funny person, this dear + godmother of mine.” + </p> + <p> + Nevertheless, because she was his godmother, and had given him the cloak, + he folded it carefully and put it away, poor and shabby as it was, hiding + it in a safe corner of his top cupboard, which his nurse never meddled + with. He did not want her to find it, or to laugh at it or at his + godmother—as he felt sure she would, if she knew all. + </p> + <p> + There it lay, and by and by he forgot all about it; nay, I am sorry to say + that, being but a child, and not seeing her again, he almost forgot his + sweet old godmother, or thought of her only as he did of the angels or + fairies that he read of in his books, and of her visit as if it had been a + mere dream of the night. + </p> + <p> + There were times, certainly, when he recalled her: of early mornings, like + that morning when she appeared beside him, and late evenings, when the + gray twilight reminded him of the color of her hair and her pretty soft + garments; above all, when, waking in the middle of the night, with the + stars peering in at his window, or the moonlight shining across his little + bed, he would not have been surprised to see her standing beside it, + looking at him with those beautiful tender eyes, which seemed to have a + pleasantness and comfort in them different from anything he had ever + known. + </p> + <p> + But she never came, and gradually she slipped out of his memory—only + a boy's memory, after all; until something happened which made him + remember her, and want her as he had never wanted anything before. + </p> + <p> + Prince Dolor fell ill. He caught—his nurse could not tell how—a + complaint common to the people of Nomansland, called the doldrums, as + unpleasant as measles or any other of our complaints; and it made him + restless, cross, and disagreeable. Even when a little better, he was too + weak to enjoy anything, but lay all day long on his sofa, fidgeting his + nurse extremely—while, in her intense terror lest he might die, she + fidgeted him still more. At last, seeing he really was getting well, she + left him to himself—which he was most glad of, in spite of his + dullness and dreariness. There he lay, alone, quite alone. + </p> + <p> + Now and then an irritable fit came over him, in which he longed to get up + and do something, or to go somewhere—would have liked to imitate his + white kitten—jump down from the tower and run away, taking the + chance of whatever might happen. + </p> + <p> + Only one thing, alas! was likely to happen; for the kitten, he remembered, + had four active legs, while he—— + </p> + <p> + “I wonder what my godmother meant when she looked at my legs and sighed so + bitterly? I wonder why I can't walk straight and steady like my nurse only + I wouldn't like to have her great, noisy, clumping shoes. Still it would + be very nice to move about quickly—perhaps to fly, like a bird, like + that string of birds I saw the other day skimming across the sky, one + after the other.” + </p> + <p> + These were the passage-birds—the only living creatures that ever + crossed the lonely plain; and he had been much interested in them, + wonder-ing whence they came and whither they were going. + </p> + <p> + “How nice it must be to be a bird! If legs are no good, why cannot one + have wings? People have wings when they die—perhaps; I wish I were + dead, that I do. I am so tired, so tired; and nobody cares for me. Nobody + ever did care for me, except perhaps my godmother. Godmother, dear, have + you quite forsaken me?” + </p> + <p> + He stretched himself wearily, gathered himself up, and dropped his head + upon his hands; as he did so, he felt somebody kiss him at the back of his + neck, and, turning, found that he was resting, not on the sofa pillows, + but on a warm shoulder—that of the little old woman clothed in gray. + </p> + <p> + How glad he was to see her! How he looked into her kind eyes and felt her + hands, to see if she were all real and alive! then put both his arms round + her neck, and kissed her as if he would never have done kissing. + </p> + <p> + “Stop, stop!” cried she, pretending to be smothered. “I see you have not + forgotten my teachings. Kissing is a good thing—in moderation. Only + just let me have breath to speak one word.” + </p> + <p> + “A dozen!” he said. + </p> + <p> + “Well, then, tell me all that has happened to you since I saw you—or, + rather, since you saw me, which is quite a different thing.” + </p> + <p> + “Nothing has happened—nothing ever does happen to me,” answered the + Prince dolefully. + </p> + <p> + “And are you very dull, my boy?” + </p> + <p> + “So dull that I was just thinking whether I could not jump down to the + bottom of the tower, like my white kitten.” + </p> + <p> + “Don't do that, not being a white kitten.” + </p> + <p> + “I wish I were—I wish I were anything but what I am.” + </p> + <p> + “And you can't make yourself any different, nor can I do it either. You + must be content to stay just what you are.” + </p> + <p> + The little old woman said this—very firmly, but gently, too—with + her arms round his neck and her lips on his forehead. It was the first + time the boy had ever heard any one talk like this, and he looked up in + surprise—but not in pain, for her sweet manner softened the hardness + of her words. + </p> + <p> + “Now, my Prince,—for you are a prince, and must behave as such,—let + us see what we can do; how much I can do for you, or show you how to do + for yourself. Where is your traveling-cloak?” + </p> + <p> + Prince Dolor blushed extremely. “I—I put it away in the cupboard; I + suppose it is there still.” + </p> + <p> + “You have never used it; you dislike it?” + </p> + <p> + He hesitated, no; wishing to be impolite. “Don't you think it's—just + a little old and shabby for a prince?” + </p> + <p> + The old woman laughed—long and loud, though very sweetly. + </p> + <p> + “Prince, indeed! Why, if all the princes in the world craved for it, they + couldn't get it, unless I gave it them. Old and shabby! It's the most + valuable thing imaginable! Very few ever have it; but I thought I would + give it to you, because—because you are different from other + people.” + </p> + <p> + “Am I?” said the Prince, and looked first with curiosity, then with a sort + of anxiety, into his godmother's face, which was sad and grave, with slow + tears beginning to steal down. + </p> + <p> + She touched his poor little legs. “These are not like those of other + little boys.” + </p> + <p> + “Indeed!—my nurse never told me that.” + </p> + <p> + “Very likely not. But it is time you were told; and I tell you, because I + love you.” + </p> + <p> + “Tell me what, dear godmother?” + </p> + <p> + “That you will never be able to walk or run or jump or play—that + your life will be quite different from most people's lives; but it may be + a very happy life for all that. Do not be afraid.” + </p> + <p> + “I am not afraid,” said the boy; but he turned very pale, and his lips + began to quiver, though he did not actually cry—he was too old for + that, and, perhaps, too proud. + </p> + <p> + Though not wholly comprehending, he began dimly to guess what his + godmother meant. He had never seen any real live boys, but he had seen + pictures of them running and jumping; which he had admired and tried hard + to imitate but always failed. Now he began to understand why he failed, + and that he always should fail—that, in fact, he was not like other + little boys; and it was of no use his wishing to do as they did, and play + as they played, even if he had had them to play with. His was a separate + life, in which he must find out new work and new pleasures for himself. + </p> + <p> + The sense of THE INEVITABLE, as grown-up people call it—that we + cannot have things as we want them to be, but as they are, and that we + must learn to bear them and make the best of them—this lesson, which + everybody has to learn soon or late—came, alas! sadly soon, to the + poor boy. He fought against it for a while, and then, quite overcome, + turned and sobbed bitterly in his godmother's arms. + </p> + <p> + She comforted him—I do not know how, except that love always + comforts; and then she whispered to him, in her sweet, strong, cheerful + voice: “Never mind!” + </p> + <p> + “No, I don't think I do mind—that is, I WON'T mind,” replied he, + catching the courage of her tone and speaking like a man, though he was + still such a mere boy. + </p> + <p> + “That is right, my Prince!—that is being like a prince. Now we know + exactly where we are; let us put our shoulders to the wheel and——” + </p> + <p> + “We are in Hopeless Tower” (this was its name, if it had a name), “and + there is no wheel to put our shoulders to,” said the child sadly. + </p> + <p> + “You little matter-of-fact goose! Well for you that you have a godmother + called——” + </p> + <p> + “What?” he eagerly asked. + </p> + <p> + “Stuff-and-nonsense.” + </p> + <p> + “Stuff-and-nonsense! What a funny name!” + </p> + <p> + “Some people give it me, but they are not my most intimate friends. These + call me—never mind what,” added the old woman, with a soft twinkle + in her eyes. “So as you know me, and know me well, you may give me any + name you please; it doesn't matter. But I am your godmother, child. I have + few godchildren; those I have love me dearly, and find me the greatest + blessing in all the world.” + </p> + <p> + “I can well believe it,” cried the little lame Prince, and forgot his + troubles in looking at her—as her figure dilated, her eyes grew + lustrous as stars, her very raiment brightened, and the whole room seemed + filled with her beautiful and beneficent presence like light. + </p> + <p> + He could have looked at her forever—half in love, half in awe; but + she suddenly dwindled down into the little old woman all in gray, and, + with a malicious twinkle in her eyes, asked for the traveling-cloak. + </p> + <p> + “Bring it out of the rubbish cupboard, and shake the dust off it, quick!” + said she to Prince Dolor, who hung his head, rather ashamed. “Spread it + out on the floor, and wait till the split closes and the edges turn up + like a rim all round. Then go and open the skylight,—mind, I say + OPEN THE SKYLIGHT,—set yourself down in the middle of it, like a + frog on a water-lily leaf; say 'Abracadabra, dum dum dum,' and—see + what will happen!” + </p> + <p> + The Prince burst into a fit of laughing. It all seemed so exceedingly + silly; he wondered that a wise old woman like his godmother should talk + such nonsense. + </p> + <p> + “Stuff-and-nonsense, you mean,” said she, answering, to his great alarm, + his unspoken thoughts. “Did I not tell you some people called me by that + name? Never mind; it doesn't harm me.” + </p> + <p> + And she laughed—her merry laugh—as child-like as if she were + the Prince's age instead of her own, whatever that might be. She certainly + was a most extraordinary old woman. + </p> + <p> + “Believe me or not, it doesn't matter,” said she. “Here is the cloak: when + you want to go traveling on it, say 'Abracadabra, dum, dum, dum'; when you + want to come back again, say 'Abracadabra, tum tum ti.' That's all; + good-by.” + </p> + <p> + A puff of most pleasant air passing by him, and making him feel for the + moment quite strong and well, was all the Prince was conscious of. His + most extraordinary godmother was gone. + </p> + <p> + “Really now, how rosy your Royal Highness' cheeks have grown! You seem to + have got well already,” said the nurse, entering the room. + </p> + <p> + “I think I have,” replied the Prince very gently—he felt gently and + kindly even to his grim nurse. “And now let me have my dinner, and go you + to your sewing as usual.” + </p> + <p> + The instant she was gone, however, taking with her the plates and dishes, + which for the first time since his illness he had satisfactorily cleared, + Prince Dolor sprang down from his sofa, and with one or two of his + frog-like jumps reached the cupboard where he kept his toys, and looked + everywhere for his traveling-cloak. + </p> + <p> + Alas! it was not there. + </p> + <p> + While he was ill of the doldrums, his nurse, thinking it a good + opportunity for putting things to rights, had made a grand clearance of + all his “rubbish”—as she considered it: his beloved headless horses, + broken carts, sheep without feet, and birds without wings—all the + treasures of his baby days, which he could not bear to part with. Though + he seldom played with them now, he liked just to feel they were there. + </p> + <p> + They were all gone and with them the traveling-cloak. He sat down on the + floor, looking at the empty shelves, so beautifully clean and tidy, then + burst out sobbing as if his heart would break. + </p> + <p> + But quietly—always quietly. He never let his nurse hear him cry. She + only laughed at him, as he felt she would laugh now. + </p> + <p> + “And it is all my own fault!” he cried. “I ought to have taken better care + of my godmother's gift. Oh, godmother, forgive me! I'll never be so + careless again. I don't know what the cloak is exactly, but I am sure it + is something precious. Help me to find it again. Oh, don't let it be + stolen from me—don't, please!” + </p> + <p> + “Ha, ha, ha!” laughed a silvery voice. “Why, that traveling-cloak is the + one thing in the world which nobody can steal. It is of no use to anybody + except the owner. Open your eyes, my Prince, and see what you shall see.” + </p> + <p> + His dear old godmother, he thought, and turned eagerly round. But no; he + only beheld, lying in a corner of the room, all dust and cobwebs, his + precious traveling-cloak. + </p> + <p> + Prince Dolor darted toward it, tumbling several times on the way, as he + often did tumble, poor boy! and pick himself up again, never complaining. + Snatching it to his breast, he hugged and kissed it, cobwebs and all, as + if it had been something alive. Then he began unrolling it, wondering each + minute what would happen. What did happen was so curious that I must leave + it for another chapter. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0005" id="link2HCH0005"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER V + </h2> + <p> + If any reader, big or little, should wonder whether there is a meaning in + this story deeper than that of an ordinary fairy tale, I will own that + there is. But I have hidden it so carefully that the smaller people, and + many larger folk, will never find it out, and meantime the book may be + read straight on, like “Cinderella,” or “Blue-Beard,” or “Hop-o'my-Thumb,” + for what interest it has, or what amusement it may bring. + </p> + <p> + Having said this, I return to Prince Dolor, that little lame boy whom many + may think so exceedingly to be pitied. But if you had seen him as he sat + patiently untying his wonderful cloak, which was done up in a very tight + and perplexing parcel, using skillfully his deft little hands, and + knitting his brows with firm determination, while his eyes glistened with + pleasure and energy and eager anticipation—if you had beheld him + thus, you might have changed your opinion. + </p> + <p> + When we see people suffering or unfortunate, we feel very sorry for them; + but when we see them bravely bearing their sufferings and making the best + of their misfortunes, it is quite a different feeling. We respect, we + admire them. One can respect and admire even a little child. + </p> + <p> + When Prince Dolor had patiently untied all the knots, a remarkable thing + happened. The cloak began to undo itself. Slowly unfolding, it laid itself + down on the carpet, as flat as if it had been ironed; the split joined + with a little sharp crick-crack, and the rim turned up all round till it + was breast-high; for meantime the cloak had grown and grown, and become + quite large enough for one person to sit in it as comfortable as if in a + boat. + </p> + <p> + The Prince watched it rather anxiously; it was such an extraordinary, not + to say a frightening, thing. However, he was no coward, but a thorough + boy, who, if he had been like other boys, would doubtless have grown up + daring and adventurous—a soldier, a sailor, or the like. As it was, + he could only show his courage morally, not physically, by being afraid of + nothing, and by doing boldly all that it was in his narrow powers to do. + And I am not sure but that in this way he showed more real valor than if + he had had six pairs of proper legs. + </p> + <p> + He said to himself: “What a goose I am! As if my dear godmother would ever + have given me anything to hurt me. Here goes!” + </p> + <p> + So, with one of his active leaps, he sprang right into the middle of the + cloak, where he squatted down, wrapping his arms tight round his knees, + for they shook a little and his heart beat fast. But there he sat, steady + and silent, waiting for what might happen next. + </p> + <p> + Nothing did happen, and he began to think nothing would, and to feel + rather disappointed, when he recollected the words he had been told to + repeat—“Abracadabra, dum dum dum!” + </p> + <p> + He repeated them, laughing all the while, they seemed such nonsense. And + then—and then—— + </p> + <p> + Now I don't expect anybody to believe what I am going to relate, though a + good many wise people have believed a good many sillier things. And as + seeing's believing, and I never saw it, I cannot be expected implicitly to + believe it myself, except in a sort of a way; and yet there is truth in it—for + some people. + </p> + <p> + The cloak rose, slowly and steadily, at first only a few inches, then + gradually higher and higher, till it nearly touched the skylight. Prince + Dolor's head actually bumped against the glass, or would have done so had + he not crouched down, crying “Oh, please don't hurt me!” in a most + melancholy voice. + </p> + <p> + Then he suddenly remembered his godmother's express command—“Open + the skylight!” + </p> + <p> + Regaining his courage at once, without a moment's delay he lifted up his + head and began searching for the bolt—the cloak meanwhile remaining + perfectly still, balanced in the air. But the minute the window was + opened, out it sailed—right out into the clear, fresh air, with + nothing between it and the cloudless blue. + </p> + <p> + Prince Dolor had never felt any such delicious sensation before. I can + understand it. Cannot you? Did you never think, in watching the rooks + going home singly or in pairs, soaring their way across the calm evening + sky till they vanish like black dots in the misty gray, how pleasant it + must feel to be up there, quite out of the noise and din of the world, + able to hear and see everything down below, yet troubled by nothing and + teased by no one—all alone, but perfectly content? + </p> + <p> + Something like this was the happiness of the little lame Prince when he + got out of Hopeless Tower, and found himself for the first time in the + pure open air, with the sky above him and the earth below. + </p> + <p> + True, there was nothing but earth and sky; no houses, no trees, no rivers, + mountains, seas—not a beast on the ground, or a bird in the air. But + to him even the level plain looked beautiful; and then there was the + glorious arch of the sky, with a little young moon sitting in the west + like a baby queen. And the evening breeze was so sweet and fresh—it + kissed him like his godmother's kisses; and by and by a few stars came out—first + two or three, and then quantities—quantities! so that when he began + to count them he was utterly bewildered. + </p> + <p> + By this time, however, the cool breeze had become cold; the mist gathered; + and as he had, as he said, no outdoor clothes, poor Prince Dolor was not + very comfortable. The dews fell damp on his curls—he began to + shiver. + </p> + <p> + “Perhaps I had better go home,” thought he. + </p> + <p> + But how? For in his excitement the other words which his godmother had + told him to use had slipped his memory. They were only a little different + from the first, but in that slight difference all the importance lay. As + he repeated his “Abracadabra,” trying ever so many other syllables after + it, the cloak only went faster and faster, skimming on through the dusky, + empty air. + </p> + <p> + The poor little Prince began to feel frightened. What if his wonderful + traveling-cloak should keep on thus traveling, perhaps to the world's end, + carrying with it a poor, tired, hungry boy, who, after all, was beginning + to think there was something very pleasant in supper and bed! + </p> + <p> + “Dear godmother,” he cried pitifully, “do help me! Tell me just this once + and I'll never forget again.” + </p> + <p> + Instantly the words came rushing into his head—“Abracadabra, tum tum + ti!” Was that it? Ah! yes—for the cloak began to turn slowly. He + repeated the charm again, more distinctly and firmly, when it gave a + gentle dip, like a nod of satisfaction, and immediately started back, as + fast as ever, in the direction of the tower. + </p> + <p> + He reached the skylight, which he found exactly as he had left it, and + slipped in, cloak and all, as easily as he had got out. He had scarcely + reached the floor, and was still sitting in the middle of his + traveling-cloak,—like a frog on a water-lily leaf, as his godmother + had expressed it,—when he heard his nurse's voice outside. + </p> + <p> + “Bless us! what has become of your Royal Highness all this time? To sit + stupidly here at the window till it is quite dark, and leave the skylight + open, too. Prince! what can you be thinking of? You are the silliest boy I + ever knew.” + </p> + <p> + “Am I?” said he absently, and never heeding her crossness; for his only + anxiety was lest she might find out anything. + </p> + <p> + She would have been a very clever person to have done so. The instant + Prince Dolor got off it, the cloak folded itself up into the tiniest + possible parcel, tied all its own knots, and rolled itself of its own + accord into the farthest and darkest corner of the room. If the nurse had + seen it, which she didn't, she would have taken it for a mere bundle of + rubbish not worth noticing. + </p> + <p> + Shutting the skylight with an angry bang, she brought in the supper and + lit the candles with her usual unhappy expression of countenance. But + Prince Dolor hardly saw it; he only saw, hid in the corner where nobody + else would see it, his wonderful traveling-cloak. And though his supper + was not particularly nice, he ate it heartily, scarcely hearing a word of + his nurse's grumbling, which to-night seemed to have taken the place of + her sullen silence. + </p> + <p> + “Poor woman!” he thought, when he paused a minute to listen and look at + her with those quiet, happy eyes, so like his mother's. “Poor woman! she + hasn't got a traveling-cloak!” + </p> + <p> + And when he was left alone at last, and crept into his little bed, where + he lay awake a good while, watching what he called his “sky-garden,” all + planted with stars, like flowers, his chief thought was—“I must be + up very early to-morrow morning, and get my lessons done, and then I'll go + traveling all over the world on my beautiful cloak.” + </p> + <p> + So next day he opened his eyes with the sun, and went with a good heart to + his lessons. They had hitherto been the chief amusement of his dull life; + now, I am afraid, he found them also a little dull. But he tried to be + good,—I don't say Prince Dolor always was good, but he generally + tried to be,—and when his mind went wandering after the dark, dusty + corner where lay his precious treasure, he resolutely called it back + again. + </p> + <p> + “For,” he said, “how ashamed my godmother would be of me if I grew up a + stupid boy!” + </p> + <p> + But the instant lessons were done, and he was alone in the empty room, he + crept across the floor, undid the shabby little bundle, his fingers + trembling with eagerness, climbed on the chair, and thence to the table, + so as to unbar the skylight,—he forgot nothing now,—said his + magic charm, and was away out of the window, as children say, “in a few + minutes less than no time.” + </p> + <p> + Nobody missed him. He was accustomed to sit so quietly always that his + nurse, though only in the next room, perceived no difference. And besides, + she might have gone in and out a dozen times, and it would have been just + the same; she never could have found out his absence. + </p> + <p> + For what do you think the clever godmother did? She took a quantity of + moonshine, or some equally convenient material, and made an image, which + she set on the window-sill reading, or by the table drawing, where it + looked so like Prince Dolor that any common observer would never have + guessed the deception; and even the boy would have been puzzled to know + which was the image and which was himself. + </p> + <p> + And all this while the happy little fellow was away, floating in the air + on his magic cloak, and seeing all sorts of wonderful things—or they + seemed wonderful to him, who had hitherto seen nothing at all. + </p> + <p> + First, there were the flowers that grew on the plain, which, whenever the + cloak came near enough, he strained his eyes to look at; they were very + tiny, but very beautiful—white saxifrage, and yellow lotus, and + ground-thistles, purple and bright, with many others the names of which I + do not know. No more did Prince Dolor, though he tried to find them out by + recalling any pictures he had seen of them. But he was too far off; and + though it was pleasant enough to admire them as brilliant patches of + color, still he would have liked to examine them all. He was, as a little + girl I know once said of a playfellow, “a very examining boy.” + </p> + <p> + “I wonder,” he thought, “whether I could see better through a pair of + glasses like those my nurse reads with, and takes such care of. How I + would take care of them, too, if I only had a pair!” + </p> + <p> + Immediately he felt something queer and hard fixing itself to the bridge + of his nose. It was a pair of the prettiest gold spectacles ever seen; and + looking downward, he found that, though ever so high above the ground, he + could see every minute blade of grass, every tiny bud and flower—nay, + even the insects that walked over them. + </p> + <p> + “Thank you, thank you!” he cried, in a gush of gratitude—to anybody + or everybody, but especially to his dear godmother, who he felt sure had + given him this new present. He amused himself with it for ever so long, + with his chin pressed on the rim of the cloak, gazing down upon the grass, + every square foot of which was a mine of wonders. + </p> + <p> + Then, just to rest his eyes, he turned them up to the sky—the blue, + bright, empty sky, which he had looked at so often and seen nothing. + </p> + <p> + Now surely there was something. A long, black, wavy line, moving on in the + distance, not by chance, as the clouds move apparently, but deliberately, + as if it were alive. He might have seen it before—he almost thought + he had; but then he could not tell what it was. Looking at it through his + spectacles, he discovered that it really was alive; being a long string of + birds, flying one after the other, their wings moving steadily and their + heads pointed in one direction, as steadily as if each were a little ship, + guided invisibly by an unerring helm. + </p> + <p> + “They must be the passage-birds flying seaward!” cried the boy, who had + read a little about them, and had a great talent for putting two and two + together and finding out all he could. “Oh, how I should like to see them + quite close, and to know where they come from and whither they are going! + How I wish I knew everything in all the world!” + </p> + <p> + A silly speech for even an “examining” little boy to make; because, as we + grow older, the more we know the more we find out there is to know. And + Prince Dolor blushed when he had said it, and hoped nobody had heard him. + </p> + <p> + Apparently somebody had, however; for the cloak gave a sudden bound + forward, and presently he found himself high in the air, in the very + middle of that band of aerial travelers, who had mo magic cloak to travel + on—nothing except their wings. Yet there they were, making their + fearless way through the sky. + </p> + <p> + Prince Dolor looked at them as one after the other they glided past him; + and they looked at him—those pretty swallows, with their changing + necks and bright eyes—as if wondering to meet in mid-air such an + extraordinary sort of bird. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, I wish I were going with you, you lovely creatures! I'm getting so + tired of this dull plain, and the dreary and lonely tower. I do so want to + see the world! Pretty swallows, dear swallows! tell me what it looks like—the + beautiful, wonderful world!” + </p> + <p> + But the swallows flew past him—steadily, slowly pursuing their + course as if inside each little head had been a mariner's compass, to + guide them safe over land and sea, direct to the place where they wished + to go. + </p> + <p> + The boy looked after them with envy. For a long time he followed with his + eyes the faint, wavy black line as it floated away, sometimes changing its + curves a little, but never deviating from its settled course, till it + vanished entirely out of sight. + </p> + <p> + Then he settled himself down in the center of the cloak, feeling quite sad + and lonely. + </p> + <p> + “I think I'll go home,” said he, and repeated his “Abracadabra, tum tum + ti!” with a rather heavy heart. The more he had, the more he wanted; and + it is not always one can have everything one wants—at least, at the + exact minute one craves for it; not even though one is a prince, and has a + powerful and beneficent godmother. + </p> + <p> + He did not like to vex her by calling for her and telling her how unhappy + he was, in spite of all her goodness; so he just kept his trouble to + himself, went back to his lonely tower, and spent three days in silent + melancholy, without even attempting another journey on his + traveling-cloak. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0006" id="link2HCH0006"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VI + </h2> + <p> + The fourth day it happened that the deaf-mute paid his accustomed visit, + after which Prince Dolor's spirits rose. They always did when he got the + new books which, just to relieve his conscience, the King of Nomansland + regularly sent to his nephew; with many new toys also, though the latter + were disregarded now. + </p> + <p> + “Toys, indeed! when I'm a big boy,” said the Prince, with disdain, and + would scarcely condescend to mount a rocking-horse which had come, somehow + or other,—I can't be expected to explain things very exactly,—packed + on the back of the other, the great black horse, which stood and fed + contentedly at the bottom of the tower. + </p> + <p> + Prince Dolor leaned over and looked at it, and thought how grand it must + be to get upon its back—this grand live steed—and ride away, + like the pictures of knights. + </p> + <p> + “Suppose I was a knight,” he said to himself; “then I should be obliged to + ride out and see the world.” + </p> + <p> + But he kept all these thoughts to himself, and just sat still, devouring + his new books till he had come to the end of them all. It was a repast not + unlike the Barmecide's feast which you read of in the “Arabian Nights,” + which consisted of very elegant but empty dishes, or that supper of Sancho + Panza in “Don Quixote,” where, the minute the smoking dishes came on the + table, the physician waved his hand and they were all taken away. + </p> + <p> + Thus almost all the ordinary delights of boy-life had been taken away + from, or rather never given to this poor little prince. + </p> + <p> + “I wonder,” he would sometimes think—“I wonder what it feels like to + be on the back of a horse, galloping away, or holding the reins in a + carriage, and tearing across the country, or jumping a ditch, or running a + race, such as I read of or see in pictures. What a lot of things there are + that I should like to do! But first I should like to go and see the world. + I'll try.” + </p> + <p> + Apparently it was his godmother's plan always to let him try, and try + hard, before he gained anything. This day the knots that tied up his + traveling-cloak were more than usually troublesome, and he was a full + half-hour before he got out into the open air, and found himself floating + merrily over the top of the tower. + </p> + <p> + Hitherto, in all his journeys, he had never let himself go out of sight of + home, for the dreary building, after all, was home—he remembered no + other; but now he felt sick of the very look of his tower, with its round + smooth walls and level battlements. + </p> + <p> + “Off we go!” cried he, when the cloak stirred itself with a slight, slow + motion, as if waiting his orders. “Anywhere anywhere, so that I am away + from here, and out into the world.” + </p> + <p> + As he spoke, the cloak, as if seized suddenly with a new idea, bounded + forward and went skimming through the air, faster than the very fastest + railway train. + </p> + <p> + “Gee-up! gee-up!” cried Prince Dolor in great excitement. “This is as good + as riding a race.” + </p> + <p> + And he patted the cloak as if it had been a horse—that is, in the + way he supposed horses ought to be patted—and tossed his head back + to meet the fresh breeze, and pulled his coat collar up and his hat down + as he felt the wind grow keener and colder—colder than anything he + had ever known. + </p> + <p> + “What does it matter, though?” said he. “I'm a boy, and boys ought not to + mind anything.” + </p> + <p> + Still, for all his good-will, by and by, he began to shiver exceedingly; + also, he had come away without his dinner, and he grew frightfully hungry. + And to add to everything, the sunshiny day changed into rain, and being + high up, in the very midst of the clouds, he got soaked through and + through in a very few minutes. + </p> + <p> + “Shall I turn back?” meditated he. “Suppose I say 'Abracadabra?'” + </p> + <p> + Here he stopped, for already the cloak gave an obedient lurch, as if it + were expecting to be sent home immediately. + </p> + <p> + “No—I can't—I can't go back! I must go forward and see the + world. But oh! if I had but the shabbiest old rug to shelter me from the + rain, or the driest morsel of bread and cheese, just to keep me from + starving! Still, I don't much mind; I'm a prince, and ought to be able to + stand anything. Hold on, cloak, we'll make the best of it.” + </p> + <p> + It was a most curious circumstance, but no sooner had he said this than he + felt stealing over his knees something warm and soft; in fact, a most + beautiful bearskin, which folded itself round him quite naturally, and + cuddled him up as closely as if he had been the cub of the kind old + mother-bear that once owned it. Then feeling in his pocket, which suddenly + stuck out in a marvelous way, he found, not exactly bread and cheese, nor + even sandwiches, but a packet of the most delicious food he had ever + tasted. It was not meat, nor pudding, but a combination of both, and it + served him excellently for both. He ate his dinner with the greatest gusto + imaginable, till he grew so thirsty he did not know what to do. + </p> + <p> + “Couldn't I have just one drop of water, if it didn't trouble you too + much, kindest of godmothers?” + </p> + <p> + For he really thought this want was beyond her power to supply. All the + water which supplied Hopeless Tower was pumped up with difficulty from a + deep artesian well—there were such things known in Nomansland—which + had been made at the foot of it. But around, for miles upon miles, the + desolate plain was perfectly dry. And above it, high in the air, how could + he expect to find a well, or to get even a drop of water? + </p> + <p> + He forgot one thing—the rain. While he spoke, it came on in another + wild burst, as if the clouds had poured themselves out in a passion of + crying, wetting him certainly, but leaving behind, in a large glass vessel + which he had never noticed before, enough water to quench the thirst of + two or three boys at least. And it was so fresh, so pure—as water + from the clouds always is when it does not catch the soot from city + chimneys and other defilements—that he drank it, every drop, with + the greatest delight and content. + </p> + <p> + Also, as soon as it was empty the rain filled it again, so that he was + able to wash his face and hands and refresh himself exceedingly. Then the + sun came out and dried him in no time. After that he curled himself up + under the bear-skin rug, and though he determined to be the most + wide-awake boy imaginable, being so exceedingly snug and warm and + comfortable, Prince Dolor condescended to shut his eyes just for one + minute. The next minute he was sound asleep. + </p> + <p> + When he awoke, he found himself floating over a country quite unlike + anything he had ever seen before. + </p> + <p> + Yet it was nothing but what most of you children see every day and never + notice it—a pretty country landscape, like England, Scotland, + France, or any other land you choose to name. It had no particular + features—nothing in it grand or lovely—was simply pretty, + nothing more; yet to Prince Dolor, who had never gone beyond his lonely + tower and level plain, it appeared the most charming sight imaginable. + </p> + <p> + First, there was a river. It came tumbling down the hillside, frothing and + foaming, playing at hide-and-seek among the rocks, then bursting out in + noisy fun like a child, to bury itself in deep, still pools. Afterward it + went steadily on for a while, like a good grown-up person, till it came to + another big rock, where it misbehaved itself extremely. It turned into a + cataract, and went tumbling over and over, after a fashion that made the + prince—who had never seen water before, except in his bath or his + drinking-cup—clap his hands with delight. + </p> + <p> + “It is so active, so alive! I like things active and alive!” cried he, and + watched it shimmering and dancing, whirling and leaping, till, after a few + windings and vagaries, it settled into a respectable stream. After that it + went along, deep and quiet, but flowing steadily on, till it reached a + large lake, into which it slipped and so ended its course. + </p> + <p> + All this the boy saw, either with his own naked eye or through his gold + spectacles. He saw also as in a picture, beautiful but silent, many other + things which struck him with wonder, especially a grove of trees. + </p> + <p> + Only think, to have lived to his age (which he himself did not know, as he + did not know his own birthday) and never to have seen trees! As he floated + over these oaks, they seemed to him—trunk, branches, and leaves—the + most curious sight imaginable. + </p> + <p> + “If I could only get nearer, so as to touch them,” said he, and + immediately the obedient cloak ducked down; Prince Dolor made a snatch at + the topmost twig of the tallest tree, and caught a bunch of leaves in his + hand. + </p> + <p> + Just a bunch of green leaves—such as we see in myriads; watching + them bud, grow, fall, and then kicking them along on the ground as if they + were worth nothing. Yet how wonderful they are—every one of them a + little different. I don't suppose you could ever find two leaves exactly + alike in form, color, and size—no more than you could find two faces + alike, or two characters exactly the same. The plan of this world is + infinite similarity and yet infinite variety. + </p> + <p> + Prince Dolor examined his leaves with the greatest curiosity—and + also a little caterpillar that he found walking over one of them. He + coaxed it to take an additional walk over his finger, which it did with + the greatest dignity and decorum, as if it, Mr. Caterpillar, were the most + important individual in existence. It amused him for a long time; and when + a sudden gust of wind blew it overboard, leaves and all, he felt quite + disconsolate. + </p> + <p> + “Still there must be many live creatures in the world besides + caterpillars. I should like to see a few of them.” + </p> + <p> + The cloak gave a little dip down, as if to say “All right, my Prince,” and + bore him across the oak forest to a long fertile valley—called in + Scotland a strath and in England a weald, but what they call it in the + tongue of Nomansland I do not know. It was made up of cornfields, + pasturefields, lanes, hedges, brooks, and ponds. Also, in it were what the + prince desired to see—a quantity of living creatures, wild and tame. + Cows and horses, lambs and sheep, fed in the meadows; pigs and fowls + walked about the farm-yards; and in lonelier places hares scudded, rabbits + burrowed, and pheasants and partridges, with many other smaller birds, + inhabited the fields and woods. + </p> + <p> + Through his wonderful spectacles the Prince could see everything; but, as + I said, it was a silent picture; he was too high up to catch anything + except a faint murmur, which only aroused his anxiety to hear more. + </p> + <p> + “I have as good as two pairs of eyes,” he thought. “I wonder if my + godmother would give me a second pair of ears.” + </p> + <p> + Scarcely had he spoken than he found lying on his lap the most curious + little parcel, all done up in silvery paper. And it contained—what + do you think? Actually a pair of silver ears, which, when he tried them + on, fitted so exactly over his own that he hardly felt them, except for + the difference they made in his hearing. + </p> + <p> + There is something which we listen to daily and never notice. I mean the + sounds of the visible world, animate and inanimate. Winds blowing, waters + flowing, trees stirring, insects whirring (dear me! I am quite + unconsciously writing rhyme), with the various cries of birds and beasts,—lowing + cattle, bleating sheep, grunting pigs, and cackling hens,—all the + infinite discords that somehow or other make a beautiful harmony. + </p> + <p> + We hear this, and are so accustomed to it that we think nothing of it; but + Prince Dolor, who had lived all his days in the dead silence of Hopeless + Tower, heard it for the first time. And oh! if you had seen his face. + </p> + <p> + He listened, listened, as if he could never have done listening. And he + looked and looked, as if he could not gaze enough. Above all, the motion + of the animals delighted him: cows walking, horses galloping, little lambs + and calves running races across the meadows, were such a treat for him to + watch—he that was always so quiet. But, these creatures having four + legs, and he only two, the difference did not strike him painfully. + </p> + <p> + Still, by and by, after the fashion of children,—and I fear, of many + big people too,—he began to want something more than he had, + something fresh and new. + </p> + <p> + “Godmother,” he said, having now begun to believe that, whether he saw her + or not, he could always speak to her with full confidence that she would + hear him—“Godmother, all these creatures I like exceedingly; but I + should like better to see a creature like myself. Couldn't you show me + just one little boy?” + </p> + <p> + There was a sigh behind him,—it might have been only the wind,—and + the cloak remained so long balanced motionless in air that he was half + afraid his godmother had forgotten him, or was offended with him for + asking too much. Suddenly a shrill whistle startled him, even through his + silver ears, and looking downward, he saw start up from behind a bush on a + common, something—— + </p> + <p> + Neither a sheep nor a horse nor a cow—nothing upon four legs. This + creature had only two; but they were long, straight, and strong. And it + had a lithe, active body, and a curly head of black hair set upon its + shoulders. It was a boy, a shepherd-boy, about the Prince's own age—but, + oh! so different. + </p> + <p> + Not that he was an ugly boy—though his face was almost as red as his + hands, and his shaggy hair matted like the backs of his own sheep. He was + rather a nice-looking lad; and seemed so bright and healthy and + good-tempered—“jolly” would be the word, only I am not sure if they + have such a one in the elegant language of Nomansland—that the + little Prince watched him with great admiration. + </p> + <p> + “Might he come and play with me? I would drop down to the ground to him, + or fetch him up to me here. Oh, how nice it would be if I only had a + little boy to play with me.” + </p> + <p> + But the cloak, usually so obedient to his wishes, disobeyed him now. There + were evidently some things which his godmother either could not or would + not give. The cloak hung stationary, high in air, never attempting to + descend. The shepherd-lad evidently took it for a large bird, and, shading + his eyes, looked up at it, making the Prince's heart beat fast. + </p> + <p> + However, nothing ensued. The boy turned round, with a long, loud whistle—seemingly + his usual and only way of expressing his feelings. He could not make the + thing out exactly—it was a rather mysterious affair, but it did not + trouble him much—he was not an “examining” boy. + </p> + <p> + Then, stretching himself, for he had been evidently half asleep, he began + flopping his shoulders with his arms to wake and warm himself; while his + dog, a rough collie, who had been guarding the sheep meanwhile, began to + jump upon him, barking with delight. + </p> + <p> + “Down, Snap, down: Stop that, or I'll thrash you,” the Prince heard him + say; though with such a rough, hard voice and queer pronunciation that it + was difficult to make the words out. “Hollo! Let's warm ourselves by a + race.” + </p> + <p> + They started off together, boy and dog—barking and shouting, till it + was doubtful which made the more noise or ran the faster. A regular + steeplechase it was: first across the level common, greatly disturbing the + quiet sheep; and then tearing away across country, scrambling through + hedges and leaping ditches, and tumbling up and down over plowed fields. + They did not seem to have anything to run for—but as if they did it, + both of them, for the mere pleasure of motion. + </p> + <p> + And what a pleasure that seemed! To the dog of course, but scarcely less + so to the boy. How he skimmed along over the ground—his cheeks + glowing, and his hair flying, and his legs—oh, what a pair of legs + he had! + </p> + <p> + Prince Dolor watched him with great intentness, and in a state of + excitement almost equal to that of the runner himself—for a while. + Then the sweet, pale face grew a trifle paler, the lips began to quiver, + and the eyes to fill. + </p> + <p> + “How nice it must be to run like that!” he said softly, thinking that + never—no, never in this world—would he be able to do the same. + </p> + <p> + Now he understood what his godmother had meant when she gave him his + traveling-cloak, and why he had heard that sigh—he was sure it was + hers—when he had asked to see “just one little boy.” + </p> + <p> + “I think I had rather not look at him again,” said the poor little Prince, + drawing himself back into the center of his cloak, and resuming his + favorite posture, sitting like a Turk, with his arms wrapped round his + feeble, useless legs. + </p> + <p> + “You're no good to me,” he said, patting them mournfully. “You never will + be any good to me. I wonder why I had you at all. I wonder why I was born + at all, since I was not to grow up like other boys. Why not?” + </p> + <p> + A question so strange, so sad, yet so often occurring in some form or + other in this world—as you will find, my children, when you are + older—that even if he had put it to his mother she could only have + answered it, as we have to answer many as difficult things, by simply + saying, “I don't know.” There is much that we do not know and cannot + understand—we big folks no more than you little ones. We have to + accept it all just as you have to accept anything which your parents may + tell you, even though you don't as yet see the reason of it. You may + sometime, if you do exactly as they tell you, and are content to wait. + </p> + <p> + Prince Dolor sat a good while thus, or it appeared to him a good while, so + many thoughts came and went through his poor young mind—thoughts of + great bitterness, which, little though he was, seemed to make him grow + years older in a few minutes. + </p> + <p> + Then he fancied the cloak began to rock gently to and fro, with a soothing + kind of motion, as if he were in somebody's arms: somebody who did not + speak, but loved him and comforted him without need of words; not by + deceiving him with false encouragement or hope, but by making him see the + plain, hard truth in all its hardness, and thus letting him quietly face + it, till it grew softened down, and did not seem nearly so dreadful after + all. + </p> + <p> + Through the dreary silence and blankness, for he had placed himself so + that he could see nothing but the sky, and had taken off his silver ears + as well as his gold spectacles—what was the use of either when he + had no legs with which to walk or run?—up from below there rose a + delicious sound. + </p> + <p> + You have heard it hundreds of times, my children, and so have I. When I + was a child I thought there was nothing so sweet; and I think so still. It + was just the song of a skylark, mounting higher and higher from the + ground, till it came so close that Prince Dolor could distinguish his + quivering wings and tiny body, almost too tiny to contain such a gush of + music. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, you beautiful, beautiful bird!” cried he; “I should dearly like to + take you in and cuddle you. That is, if I could—if I dared.” + </p> + <p> + But he hesitated. The little brown creature with its loud heavenly voice + almost made him afraid. Nevertheless, it also made him happy; and he + watched and listened—so absorbed that he forgot all regret and pain, + forgot everything in the world except the little lark. + </p> + <p> + It soared and soared, and he was just wondering if it would soar out of + sight, and what in the world he should do when it was gone, when it + suddenly closed its wings, as larks do when they mean to drop to the + ground. But, instead of dropping to the ground, it dropped right into the + little boy's breast. + </p> + <p> + What felicity! If it would only stay! A tiny, soft thing to fondle and + kiss, to sing to him all day long, and be his playfellow and companion, + tame and tender, while to the rest of the world it was a wild bird of the + air. What a pride, what a delight! To have something that nobody else had—something + all his own. As the traveling-cloak traveled on, he little heeded where, + and the lark still stayed, nestled down in his bosom, hopped from his hand + to his shoulder, and kissed him with its dainty beak, as if it loved him, + Prince Dolor forgot all his grief, and was entirely happy. + </p> + <p> + But when he got in sight of Hopeless Tower a painful thought struck him. + </p> + <p> + “My pretty bird, what am I to do with you? If I take you into my room and + shut you up there, you, a wild skylark of the air, what will become of + you? I am used to this, but you are not. You will be so miserable; and + suppose my nurse should find you—she who can't bear the sound of + singing? Besides, I remember her once telling me that the nicest thing she + ever ate in her life was lark pie!” + </p> + <p> + The little boy shivered all over at the thought. And, though the merry + lark immediately broke into the loudest carol, as if saying derisively + that he defied anybody to eat him, still, Prince Dolor was very uneasy. In + another minute he had made up his mind. + </p> + <p> + “No, my bird, nothing so dreadful shall happen to you if I can help it; I + would rather do without you altogether. Yes, I'll try. Fly away, my + darling, my beautiful! Good-by, my merry, merry bird.” + </p> + <p> + Opening his two caressing hands, in which, as if for protection, he had + folded it, he let the lark go. It lingered a minute, perching on the rim + of the cloak, and looking at him with eyes of almost human tenderness; + then away it flew, far up into the blue sky. It was only a bird. + </p> + <p> + But some time after, when Prince Dolor had eaten his supper—somewhat + drearily, except for the thought that he could not possibly sup off lark + pie now—and gone quietly to bed, the old familiar little bed, where + he was accustomed to sleep, or lie awake contentedly thinking—suddenly + he heard outside the window a little faint carol—faint but cheerful—cheerful + even though it was the middle of the night. + </p> + <p> + The dear little lark! it had not flown away, after all. And it was truly + the most extraordinary bird, for, unlike ordinary larks, it kept hovering + about the tower in the silence and darkness of the night, outside the + window or over the roof. Whenever he listened for a moment, he heard it + singing still. + </p> + <p> + He went to sleep as happy as a king. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0007" id="link2HCH0007"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VII + </h2> + <p> + “Happy as a king.” How far kings are happy I cannot say, no more than + could Prince Dolor, though he had once been a king himself. But he + remembered nothing about it, and there was nobody to tell him, except his + nurse, who had been forbidden upon pain of death to let him know anything + about his dead parents, or the king his uncle, or indeed any part of his + own history. + </p> + <p> + Sometimes he speculated about himself, whether he had had a father and + mother as other little boys had what they had been like, and why he had + never seen them. But, knowing nothing about them, he did not miss them—only + once or twice, reading pretty stories about little children and their + mothers, who helped them when they were in difficulty and comforted them + when they were sick, he feeling ill and dull and lonely, wondered what had + become of his mother and why she never came to see him. + </p> + <p> + Then, in his history lessons, of course he read about kings and princes, + and the governments of different countries, and the events that happened + there. And though he but faintly took in all this, still he did take it in + a little, and worried his young brain about it, and perplexed his nurse + with questions, to which she returned sharp and mysterious answers, which + only set him thinking the more. + </p> + <p> + He had plenty of time for thinking. After his last journey in the + traveling-cloak, the journey which had given him so much pain, his desire + to see the world somehow faded away. He contented himself with reading his + books, and looking out of the tower windows, and listening to his beloved + little lark, which had come home with him that day, and never left him + again. + </p> + <p> + True, it kept out of the way; and though his nurse sometimes dimly heard + it, and said “What is that horrid noise outside?” she never got the + faintest chance of making it into a lark pie. Prince Dolor had his pet all + to himself, and though he seldom saw it, he knew it was near him, and he + caught continually, at odd hours of the day, and even in the night, + fragments of its delicious song. + </p> + <p> + All during the winter—so far as there ever was any difference + between summer and winter in Hopeless Tower—the little bird cheered + and amused him. He scarcely needed anything more—not even his + traveling-cloak, which lay bundled up unnoticed in a corner, tied up in + its innumerable knots. + </p> + <p> + Nor did his godmother come near him. It seemed as if she had given these + treasures and left him alone—to use them or lose them, apply them or + misapply them, according to his own choice. That is all we can do with + children when they grow into big children old enough to distinguish + between right and wrong, and too old to be forced to do either. + </p> + <p> + Prince Dolor was now quite a big boy. Not tall—alas! he never could + be that, with his poor little shrunken legs, which were of no use, only an + encumbrance. But he was stout and strong, with great sturdy shoulders, and + muscular arms, upon which he could swing himself about almost like a + monkey. As if in compensation for his useless lower limbs, Nature had + given to these extra strength and activity. His face, too, was very + handsome; thinner, firmer, more manly; but still the sweet face of his + childhood—his mother's own face. + </p> + <p> + How his mother would have liked to look at him! Perhaps she did—who + knows? + </p> + <p> + The boy was not a stupid boy either. He could learn almost anything he + chose—and he did choose, which was more than half the battle. He + never gave up his lessons till he had learned them all—never thought + it a punishment that he had to work at them, and that they cost him a deal + of trouble sometimes. + </p> + <p> + “But,” thought he, “men work, and it must be so grand to be a man—a + prince too; and I fancy princes work harder than anybody—except + kings. The princes I read about generally turn into kings. I wonder”—the + boy was always wondering—“Nurse,”—and one day he startled her + with a sudden question,—“tell me—shall I ever be a king?” + </p> + <p> + The woman stood, perplexed beyond expression. So long a time had passed by + since her crime—if it were a crime—and her sentence, that she + now seldom thought of either. Even her punishment—to be shut up for + life in Hopeless Tower—she had gradually got used to. Used also to + the little lame Prince, her charge—whom at first she had hated, + though she carefully did everything to keep him alive, since upon him her + own life hung. + </p> + <p> + But latterly she had ceased to hate him, and, in a sort of way, almost + loved him—at least, enough to be sorry for him—an innocent + child, imprisoned here till he grew into an old man, and became a dull, + worn-out creature like herself. Sometimes, watching him, she felt more + sorry for him than even for herself; and then, seeing she looked a less + miserable and ugly woman, he did not shrink from her as usual. + </p> + <p> + He did not now. “Nurse—dear nurse,” said he, “I don't mean to vex + you, but tell me what is a king? shall I ever be one?” + </p> + <p> + When she began to think less of herself and more of the child, the woman's + courage increased. The idea came to her—what harm would it be, even + if he did know his own history? Perhaps he ought to know it—for + there had been various ups and downs, usurpations, revolutions, and + restorations in Nomansland, as in most other countries. Something might + happen—who could tell? Changes might occur. Possibly a crown would + even yet be set upon those pretty, fair curls—which she began to + think prettier than ever when she saw the imaginary coronet upon them. + </p> + <p> + She sat down, considering whether her oath, never to “say a word” to + Prince Dolor about himself, would be broken if she were to take a pencil + and write what was to be told. A mere quibble—a mean, miserable + quibble. But then she was a miserable woman, more to be pitied than + scorned. + </p> + <p> + After long doubt, and with great trepidation, she put her fingers to her + lips, and taking the Prince's slate—with the sponge tied to it, + ready to rub out the writing in a minute—she wrote: + </p> + <p> + “You are a king.” + </p> + <p> + Prince Dolor started. His face grew pale, and then flushed all over; he + held himself erect. Lame as he was, anybody could see he was born to be a + king. + </p> + <p> + “Hush!” said the nurse, as he was beginning to speak. And then, terribly + frightened all the while,—people who have done wrong always are + frightened,—she wrote down in a few hurried sentences his history. + How his parents had died—his uncle had usurped his throne, and sent + him to end his days in this lonely tower. + </p> + <p> + “I, too,” added she, bursting into tears. “Unless, indeed, you could get + out into the world, and fight for your rights like a man. And fight for me + also, my Prince, that I may not die in this desolate place.” + </p> + <p> + “Poor old nurse!” said the boy compassionately. For somehow, boy as he + was, when he heard he was born to be a king, he felt like a man—like + a king—who could afford to be tender because he was strong. + </p> + <p> + He scarcely slept that night, and even though he heard his little lark + singing in the sunrise, he barely listened to it. Things more serious and + important had taken possession of his mind. + </p> + <p> + “Suppose,” thought he, “I were to do as she says, and go out in the world, + no matter how it hurts me—the world of people, active people, as + that boy I saw. They might only laugh at me—poor helpless creature + that I am; but still I might show them I could do something. At any rate, + I might go and see if there were anything for me to do. Godmother, help + me!” + </p> + <p> + It was so long since he had asked her help that he was hardly surprised + when he got no answer—only the little lark outside the window sang + louder and louder, and the sun rose, flooding the room with light. + </p> + <p> + Prince Dolor sprang out of bed, and began dressing himself, which was hard + work, for he was not used to it—he had always been accustomed to + depend upon his nurse for everything. + </p> + <p> + “But I must now learn to be independent,” thought he. “Fancy a king being + dressed like a baby!” + </p> + <p> + So he did the best he could,—awkwardly but cheerily,—and then + he leaped to the corner where lay his traveling-cloak, untied it as + before, and watched it unrolling itself—which it did rapidly, with a + hearty good-will, as if quite tired of idleness. So was Prince Dolor—or + felt as if he were. He jumped into the middle of it, said his charm, and + was out through the skylight immediately. + </p> + <p> + “Good-by, pretty lark!” he shouted, as he passed it on the wing, still + warbling its carol to the newly risen sun. “You have been my pleasure, my + delight; now I must go and work. Sing to old nurse till I come back again. + Perhaps she'll hear you—perhaps she won't—but it will do her + good all the same. Good-by!” + </p> + <p> + But, as the cloak hung irresolute in air, he suddenly remembered that he + had not determined where to go—indeed, he did not know, and there + was nobody to tell him. + </p> + <p> + “Godmother,” he cried, in much perplexity, “you know what I want,—at + least, I hope you do, for I hardly do myself—take me where I ought + to go; show me whatever I ought to see—never mind what I like to + see,” as a sudden idea came into his mind that he might see many painful + and disagreeable things. But this journey was not for pleasure as before. + He was not a baby now, to do nothing but play—big boys do not always + play. Nor men neither—they work. Thus much Prince Dolor knew—though + very little more. + </p> + <p> + As the cloak started off, traveling faster than he had ever known it to + do,—through sky-land and cloud land, over freezing mountain-tops, + and desolate stretches of forest, and smiling cultivated plains, and great + lakes that seemed to him almost as shoreless as the sea,—he was + often rather frightened. But he crouched down, silent and quiet; what was + the use of making a fuss? and, wrapping himself up in his bear-skin, + waited for what was to happen. + </p> + <p> + After some time he heard a murmur in the distance, increasing more and + more till it grew like the hum of a gigantic hive of bees. And, stretching + his chin over the rim of his cloak, Prince Dolor saw—far, far below + him, yet, with his gold spectacles and silver ears on, he could distinctly + hear and see—what? + </p> + <p> + Most of us have some time or other visited a great metropolis—have + wandered through its network of streets—lost ourselves in its crowds + of people—looked up at its tall rows of houses, its grand public + buildings, churches, and squares. Also, perhaps, we have peeped into its + miserable little back alleys, where dirty children play in gutters all day + and half the night—even young boys go about picking pockets, with + nobody to tell them it is wrong except the policeman, and he simply takes + them off to prison. And all this wretchedness is close behind the grandeur—like + the two sides of the leaf of a book. + </p> + <p> + An awful sight is a large city, seen any how from any where. But, suppose + you were to see it from the upper air, where, with your eyes and ears + open, you could take in everything at once? What would it look like? How + would you feel about it? I hardly know myself. Do you? + </p> + <p> + Prince Dolor had need to be a king—that is, a boy with a kingly + nature—to be able to stand such a sight without being utterly + overcome. But he was very much bewildered—as bewildered as a blind + person who is suddenly made to see. + </p> + <p> + He gazed down on the city below him, and then put his hand over his eyes. + </p> + <p> + “I can't bear to look at it, it is so beautiful—so dreadful. And I + don't understand it—not one bit. There is nobody to tell me about + it. I wish I had somebody to speak to.” + </p> + <p> + “Do you? Then pray speak to me. I was always considered good at + conversation.” + </p> + <p> + The voice that squeaked out this reply was an excellent imitation of the + human one, though it came only from a bird. No lark this time, however, + but a great black and white creature that flew into the cloak, and began + walking round and round on the edge of it with a dignified stride, one + foot before the other, like any unfeathered biped you could name. + </p> + <p> + “I haven't the honor of your acquaintance, sir,” said the boy politely. + </p> + <p> + “Ma'am, if you please. I am a mother bird, and my name is Mag, and I shall + be happy to tell you everything you want to know. For I know a great deal; + and I enjoy talking. My family is of great antiquity; we have built in + this palace for hundreds—that is to say, dozens of years. I am + intimately acquainted with the king, the queen, and the little princes and + princesses—also the maids of honor, and all the inhabitants of the + city. I talk a good deal, but I always talk sense, and I daresay I should + be exceedingly useful to a poor little ignorant boy like you.” + </p> + <p> + “I am a prince,” said the other gently. + </p> + <p> + “All right. And I am a magpie. You will find me a most respectable bird.” + </p> + <p> + “I have no doubt of it,” was the polite answer—though he thought in + his own mind that Mag must have a very good opinion of herself. But she + was a lady and a stranger, so of course he was civil to her. + </p> + <p> + She settled herself at his elbow, and began to chatter away, pointing out + with one skinny claw, while she balanced herself on the other, every + object of interest, evidently believing, as no doubt all its inhabitants + did, that there was no capital in the world like the great metropolis of + Nomansland. + </p> + <p> + I have not seen it, and therefore cannot describe it, so we will just take + it upon trust, and suppose it to be, like every other fine city, the + finest city that ever was built. Mag said so—and of course she knew. + </p> + <p> + Nevertheless, there were a few things in it which surprised Prince Dolor—and, + as he had said, he could not understand them at all. One half the people + seemed so happy and busy—hurrying up and down the full streets, or + driving lazily along the parks in their grand carriages, while the other + half were so wretched and miserable. + </p> + <p> + “Can't the world be made a little more level? I would try to do it if I + were a king.” + </p> + <p> + “But you're not the king: only a little goose of a boy,” returned the + magpie loftily. “And I'm here not to explain things, only to show them. + Shall I show you the royal palace?” + </p> + <p> + It was a very magnificent palace. It had terraces and gardens, battlements + and towers. It extended over acres of ground, and had in it rooms enough + to accommodate half the city. Its windows looked in all directions, but + none of them had any particular view—except a small one, high up + toward the roof, which looked out on the Beautiful Mountains. But since + the queen died there it had been closed, boarded up, indeed, the magpie + said. It was so little and inconvenient that nobody cared to live in it. + Besides, the lower apartments, which had no view, were magnificent—worthy + of being inhabited by the king. + </p> + <p> + “I should like to see the king,” said Prince Dolor. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0008" id="link2HCH0008"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VIII + </h2> + <p> + What, I wonder, would be people's idea of a king? What was Prince Dolor's? + </p> + <p> + Perhaps a very splendid personage, with a crown on his head and a scepter + in his hand, sitting on a throne and judging the people. Always doing + right, and never wrong—“The king can do no wrong” was a law laid + down in olden times. Never cross, or tired, or sick, or suffering; + perfectly handsome and well dressed, calm and good-tempered, ready to see + and hear everybody, and discourteous to nobody; all things always going + well with him, and nothing unpleasant ever happening. + </p> + <p> + This, probably, was what Prince Dolor expected to see. And what did he + see? But I must tell you how he saw it. + </p> + <p> + “Ah,” said the magpie, “no levee to-day. The King is ill, though his + Majesty does not wish it to be generally known—it would be so very + inconvenient. He can't see you, but perhaps you might like to go and take + a look at him in a way I often do? It is so very amusing.” + </p> + <p> + Amusing, indeed! + </p> + <p> + The prince was just now too much excited to talk much. Was he not going to + see the king his uncle, who had succeeded his father and dethroned + himself; had stepped into all the pleasant things that he, Prince Dolor, + ought to have had, and shut him up in a desolate tower? What was he like, + this great, bad, clever man? Had he got all the things he wanted, which + another ought to have had? And did he enjoy them? + </p> + <p> + “Nobody knows,” answered the magpie, just as if she had been sitting + inside the prince's heart, instead of on the top of his shoulder. “He is a + king, and that's enough. For the rest nobody knows.” + </p> + <p> + As she spoke, Mag flew down on to the palace roof, where the cloak had + rested, settling down between the great stacks of chimneys as comfortably + as if on the ground. She pecked at the tiles with her beak—truly she + was a wonderful bird—and immediately a little hole opened, a sort of + door, through which could be seen distinctly the chamber below. + </p> + <p> + “Now look in, my Prince. Make haste, for I must soon shut it up again.” + </p> + <p> + But the boy hesitated. “Isn't it rude?—won't they think us + intruding?” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, dear no! there's a hole like this in every palace; dozens of holes, + indeed. Everybody knows it, but nobody speaks of it. Intrusion! Why, + though the royal family are supposed to live shut up behind stone walls + ever so thick, all the world knows that they live in a glass house where + everybody can see them and throw a stone at them. Now pop down on your + knees, and take a peep at his Majesty.” + </p> + <p> + His Majesty! + </p> + <p> + The Prince gazed eagerly down into a large room, the largest room he had + ever beheld, with furniture and hangings grander than anything he could + have ever imagined. A stray sunbeam, coming through a crevice of the + darkened windows, struck across the carpet, and it was the loveliest + carpet ever woven—just like a bed of flowers to walk over; only + nobody walked over it, the room being perfectly empty and silent. + </p> + <p> + “Where is the King?” asked the puzzled boy. + </p> + <p> + “There,” said Mag, pointing with one wrinkled claw to a magnificent bed, + large enough to contain six people. In the center of it, just visible + under the silken counterpane,—quite straight and still,—with + its head on the lace pillow, lay a small figure, something like wax-work, + fast asleep—very fast asleep! There was a number of sparkling rings + on the tiny yellow hands, that were curled a little, helplessly, like a + baby's, outside the coverlet; the eyes were shut, the nose looked sharp + and thin, and the long gray beard hid the mouth and lay over the breast. A + sight not ugly nor frightening, only solemn and quiet. And so very silent—two + little flies buzzing about the curtains of the bed being the only audible + sound. + </p> + <p> + “Is that the King?” whispered Prince Dolor. + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” replied the bird. + </p> + <p> + He had been angry—furiously angry—ever since he knew how his + uncle had taken the crown, and sent him, a poor little helpless child, to + be shut up for life, just as if he had been dead. Many times the boy had + felt as if, king as he was, he should like to strike him, this great, + strong, wicked man. + </p> + <p> + Why, you might as well have struck a baby! How helpless he lay, with his + eyes shut, and his idle hands folded: they had no more work to do, bad or + good. + </p> + <p> + “What is the matter with him?” asked the Prince. + </p> + <p> + “He is dead,” said the Magpie, with a croak. + </p> + <p> + No, there was not the least use in being angry with him now. On the + contrary, the Prince felt almost sorry for him, except that he looked so + peaceful with all his cares at rest. And this was being dead? So even + kings died? + </p> + <p> + “Well, well, he hadn't an easy life, folk say, for all his grandeur. + Perhaps he is glad it is over. Good-by, your Majesty.” + </p> + <p> + With another cheerful tap of her beak, Mistress Mag shut down the little + door in the tiles, and Prince Dolor's first and last sight of his uncle + was ended. + </p> + <p> + He sat in the center of his traveling-cloak, silent and thoughtful. + </p> + <p> + “What shall we do now?” said the magpie. “There's nothing much more to be + done with his majesty, except a fine funeral, which I shall certainly go + and see. All the world will. He interested the world exceedingly when he + was alive, and he ought to do it now he's dead—just once more. And + since he can't hear me, I may as well say that, on the whole, his majesty + is much better dead than alive—if we can only get somebody in his + place. There'll be such a row in the city presently. Suppose we float up + again and see it all—at a safe distance, though. It will be such + fun!” + </p> + <p> + “What will be fun?” + </p> + <p> + “A revolution.” + </p> + <p> + Whether anybody except a magpie would have called it “fun” I don't know, + but it certainly was a remarkable scene. + </p> + <p> + As soon as the cathedral bell began to toll and the minute-guns to fire, + announcing to the kingdom that it was without a king, the people gathered + in crowds, stopping at street corners to talk together. The murmur now and + then rose into a shout, and the shout into a roar. When Prince Dolor, + quietly floating in upper air, caught the sound of their different and + opposite cries, it seemed to him as if the whole city had gone mad + together. + </p> + <p> + “Long live the king!” “The king is dead—down with the king!” “Down + with the crown, and the king too!” “Hurrah for the republic!” “Hurrah for + no government at all!” + </p> + <p> + Such were the shouts which traveled up to the traveling-cloak. And then + began—oh, what a scene! + </p> + <p> + When you children are grown men and women—or before—you will + hear and read in books about what are called revolutions—earnestly I + trust that neither I nor you may ever see one. But they have happened, and + may happen again, in other countries besides Nomansland, when wicked kings + have helped to make their people wicked too, or out of an unrighteous + nation have sprung rulers equally bad; or, without either of these causes, + when a restless country has fancied any change better than no change at + all. + </p> + <p> + For me, I don't like changes, unless pretty sure that they are for good. + And how good can come out of absolute evil—the horrible evil that + went on this night under Prince Dolor's very eyes—soldiers shooting + down people by hundreds in the streets, scaffolds erected, and heads + dropping off—houses burned, and women and children murdered—this + is more than I can understand. + </p> + <p> + But all these things you will find in history, my children, and must by + and by judge for yourselves the right and wrong of them, as far as anybody + ever can judge. + </p> + <p> + Prince Dolor saw it all. Things happened so fast one after another that + they quite confused his faculties. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, let me go home,” he cried at last, stopping his ears and shutting his + eyes; “only let me go home!” for even his lonely tower seemed home, and + its dreariness and silence absolute paradise after all this. + </p> + <p> + “Good-by, then,” said the magpie, flapping her wings. She had been + chatting incessantly all day and all night, for it was actually thus long + that Prince Dolor had been hovering over the city, neither eating nor + sleeping, with all these terrible things happening under his very eyes. + “You've had enough, I suppose, of seeing the world?” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, I have—I have!” cried the prince, with a shudder. + </p> + <p> + “That is, till next time. All right, your royal highness. You don't know + me, but I know you. We may meet again some time.” + </p> + <p> + She looked at him with her clear, piercing eyes, sharp enough to see + through everything, and it seemed as if they changed from bird's eyes to + human eyes—the very eyes of his godmother, whom he had not seen for + ever so long. But the minute afterward she became only a bird, and with a + screech and a chatter, spread her wings and flew away. + </p> + <p> + Prince Dolor fell into a kind of swoon of utter misery, bewilderment, and + exhaustion, and when he awoke he found himself in his own room—alone + and quiet—with the dawn just breaking, and the long rim of yellow + light in the horizon glimmering through the window-panes. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0009" id="link2HCH0009"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER IX + </h2> + <p> + When Prince Dolor sat up in bed, trying to remember where he was, whither + he had been, and what he had seen the day before, he perceived that his + room was empty. + </p> + <p> + Generally his nurse rather worried him by breaking his slumbers, coming in + and “setting things to rights,” as she called it. Now the dust lay thick + upon chairs and tables; there was no harsh voice heard to scold him for + not getting up immediately, which, I am sorry to say, this boy did not + always do. For he so enjoyed lying still, and thinking lazily about + everything or nothing, that, if he had not tried hard against it, he would + certainly have become like those celebrated + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Two little men + Who lay in their bed till the clock struck ten.” + </pre> + <p> + It was striking ten now, and still no nurse was to be seen. He was rather + relieved at first, for he felt so tired; and besides, when he stretched + out his arm, he found to his dismay that he had gone to bed in his + clothes. + </p> + <p> + Very uncomfortable he felt, of course; and just a little frightened. + Especially when he began to call and call again, but nobody answered. + Often he used to think how nice it would be to get rid of his nurse and + live in this tower all by himself—like a sort of monarch able to do + everything he liked, and leave undone all that he did not want to do; but + now that this seemed really to have happened, he did not like it at all. + </p> + <p> + “Nurse,—dear nurse,—please come back!” he called out. “Come + back, and I will be the best boy in all the land.” + </p> + <p> + And when she did not come back, and nothing but silence answered his + lamentable call, he very nearly began to cry. + </p> + <p> + “This won't do,” he said at last, dashing the tears from his eyes. “It's + just like a baby, and I'm a big boy—shall be a man some day. What + has happened, I wonder? I'll go and see.” + </p> + <p> + He sprang out of bed,—not to his feet, alas! but to his poor little + weak knees, and crawled on them from room to room. All the four chambers + were deserted—not forlorn or untidy, for everything seemed to have + been done for his comfort—the breakfast and dinner things were laid, + the food spread in order. He might live “like a prince,” as the proverb + is, for several days. But the place was entirely forsaken—there was + evidently not a creature but himself in the solitary tower. + </p> + <p> + A great fear came upon the poor boy. Lonely as his life had been, he had + never known what it was to be absolutely alone. A kind of despair seized + him—no violent anger or terror, but a sort of patient desolation. + </p> + <p> + “What in the world am I to do?” thought he, and sat down in the middle of + the floor, half inclined to believe that it would be better to give up + entirely, lay himself down, and die. + </p> + <p> + This feeling, however, did not last long, for he was young and strong, + and, I said before, by nature a very courageous boy. There came into his + head, somehow or other, a proverb that his nurse had taught him—the + people of Nomansland were very fond of proverbs: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “For every evil under the sun + There is a remedy, or there's none; + If there is one, try to find it— + If there isn't, never mind it.” + </pre> + <p> + “I wonder is there a remedy now, and could I find it?” cried the Prince, + jumping up and looking out of the window. + </p> + <p> + No help there. He only saw the broad, bleak, sunshiny plain—that is, + at first. But by and by, in the circle of mud that surrounded the base of + the tower, he perceived distinctly the marks of a horse's feet, and just + in the spot where the deaf-mute was accustomed to tie up his great black + charger, while he himself ascended, there lay the remains of a bundle of + hay and a feed of corn. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, that's it. He has come and gone, taking nurse away with him. Poor + nurse! how glad she would be to go!” + </p> + <p> + That was Prince Dolor's first thought. His second—wasn't it natural?—was + a passionate indignation at her cruelty—at the cruelty of all the + world toward him, a poor little helpless boy. Then he determined, forsaken + as he was, to try and hold on to the last, and not to die as long as he + could possibly help it. + </p> + <p> + Anyhow, it would be easier to die here than out in the world, among the + terrible doings which he had just beheld—from the midst of which, it + suddenly struck him, the deaf-mute had come, contriving somehow to make + the nurse understand that the king was dead, and she need have no fear in + going back to the capital, where there was a grand revolution, and + everything turned upside down. So, of course, she had gone. “I hope she'll + enjoy it, miserable woman—if they don't cut off her head too.” + </p> + <p> + And then a kind of remorse smote him for feeling so bitterly toward her, + after all the years she had taken care of him—grudgingly, perhaps, + and coldly; still she had taken care of him, and that even to the last: + for, as I have said, all his four rooms were as tidy as possible, and his + meals laid out, that he might have no more trouble than could be helped. + </p> + <p> + “Possibly she did not mean to be cruel. I won't judge her,” said he. And + afterward he was very glad that he had so determined. + </p> + <p> + For the second time he tried to dress himself, and then to do everything + he could for himself—even to sweeping up the hearth and putting on + more coals. “It's a funny thing for a prince to have to do,” said he, + laughing. “But my godmother once said princes need never mind doing + anything.” + </p> + <p> + And then he thought a little of his godmother. Not of summoning her, or + asking her to help him,—she had evidently left him to help himself, + and he was determined to try his best to do it, being a very proud and + independent boy,—but he remembered her tenderly and regret-fully, as + if even she had been a little hard upon him—poor, forlorn boy that + he was. But he seemed to have seen and learned so much within the last few + days that he scarcely felt like a boy, but a man—until he went to + bed at night. + </p> + <p> + When I was a child, I used often to think how nice it would be to live in + a little house all by my own self—a house built high up in a tree, + or far away in a forest, or halfway up a hillside so deliciously alone and + independent. Not a lesson to learn—but no! I always liked learning + my lessons. Anyhow, to choose the lessons I liked best, to have as many + books to read and dolls to play with as ever I wanted: above all, to be + free and at rest, with nobody to tease or trouble or scold me, would be + charming. For I was a lonely little thing, who liked quietness—as + many children do; which other children, and sometimes grown-up people + even, cannot understand. And so I can understand Prince Dolor. + </p> + <p> + After his first despair, he was not merely comfortable, but actually happy + in his solitude, doing everything for himself, and enjoying everything by + himself—until bedtime. Then he did not like it at all. No more, I + suppose, than other children would have liked my imaginary house in a tree + when they had had sufficient of their own company. + </p> + <p> + But the Prince had to bear it—and he did bear it, like a prince—for + fully five days. All that time he got up in the morning and went to bed at + night without having spoken to a creature, or, indeed, heard a single + sound. For even his little lark was silent; and as for his + traveling-cloak, either he never thought about it, or else it had been + spirited away—for he made no use of it, nor attempted to do so. + </p> + <p> + A very strange existence it was, those five lonely days. He never entirely + forgot it. It threw him back upon himself, and into himself—in a way + that all of us have to learn when we grow up, and are the better for it; + but it is somewhat hard learning. + </p> + <p> + On the sixth day Prince Dolor had a strange composure in his look, but he + was very grave and thin and white. He had nearly come to the end of his + provisions—and what was to happen next? Get out of the tower he + could not: the ladder the deaf-mute used was always carried away again; + and if it had not been, how could the poor boy have used it? And even if + he slung or flung himself down, and by miraculous chance came alive to the + foot of the tower, how could he run away? + </p> + <p> + Fate had been very hard to him, or so it seemed. + </p> + <p> + He made up his mind to die. Not that he wished to die; on the contrary, + there was a great deal that he wished to live to do; but if he must die, + he must. Dying did not seem so very dreadful; not even to lie quiet like + his uncle, whom he had entirely forgiven now, and neither be miserable nor + naughty any more, and escape all those horrible things that he had seen + going on outside the palace, in that awful place which was called “the + world.” + </p> + <p> + “It's a great deal nicer here,” said the poor little Prince, and collected + all his pretty things round him: his favorite pictures, which he thought + he should like to have near him when he died; his books and toys—no, + he had ceased to care for toys now; he only liked them because he had done + so as a child. And there he sat very calm and patient, like a king in his + castle, waiting for the end. + </p> + <p> + “Still, I wish I had done something first—something worth doing, + that somebody might remember me by,” thought he. “Suppose I had grown a + man, and had had work to do, and people to care for, and was so useful and + busy that they liked me, and perhaps even forgot I was lame? Then it would + have been nice to live, I think.” + </p> + <p> + A tear came into the little fellow's eyes, and he listened intently + through the dead silence for some hopeful sound. + </p> + <p> + Was there one?—was it his little lark, whom he had almost forgotten? + No, nothing half so sweet. But it really was something—something + which came nearer and nearer, so that there was no mistaking it. It was + the sound of a trumpet, one of the great silver trumpets so admired in + Nomansland. Not pleasant music, but very bold, grand, and inspiring. + </p> + <p> + As he listened to it the boy seemed to recall many things which had + slipped his memory for years, and to nerve himself for whatever might be + going to happen. + </p> + <p> + What had happened was this. + </p> + <p> + The poor condemned woman had not been such a wicked woman after all. + Perhaps her courage was not wholly disinterested, but she had done a very + heroic thing. As soon as she heard of the death and burial of the King and + of the changes that were taking place in the country, a daring idea came + into her head—to set upon the throne of Nomansland its rightful + heir. Thereupon she persuaded the deaf-mute to take her away with him, and + they galloped like the wind from city to city, spreading everywhere the + news that Prince Dolor's death and burial had been an invention concocted + by his wicked uncle that he was alive and well, and the noblest young + prince that ever was born. + </p> + <p> + It was a bold stroke, but it succeeded. The country, weary perhaps of the + late King's harsh rule, and yet glad to save itself from the horrors of + the last few days, and the still further horrors of no rule at all, and + having no particular interest in the other young princes, jumped at the + idea of this Prince, who was the son of their late good King and the + beloved Queen Dolorez. + </p> + <p> + “Hurrah for Prince Dolor! Let Prince Dolor be our sovereign!” rang from + end to end of the kingdom. Everybody tried to remember what a dear baby he + once was—how like his mother, who had been so sweet and kind, and + his father, the finest-looking king that ever reigned. Nobody remembered + his lameness—or, if they did, they passed it over as a matter of no + consequence. They were determined to have him reign over them, boy as he + was—perhaps just because he was a boy, since in that case the great + nobles thought they should be able to do as they liked with the country. + </p> + <p> + Accordingly, with a fickleness not confined to the people of Nomansland, + no sooner was the late King laid in his grave than they pronounced him to + have been a usurper; turned all his family out of the palace, and left it + empty for the reception of the new sovereign, whom they went to fetch with + great rejoicing, a select body of lords, gentlemen, and soldiers traveling + night and day in solemn procession through the country until they reached + Hopeless Tower. + </p> + <p> + There they found the Prince, sitting calmly on the floor—deadly + pale, indeed, for he expected a quite different end from this, and was + resolved, if he had to die, to die courageously, like a Prince and a King. + </p> + <p> + But when they hailed him as Prince and King, and explained to him how + matters stood, and went down on their knees before him, offering the crown + (on a velvet cushion, with four golden tassels, each nearly as big as his + head),—small though he was and lame, which lameness the courtiers + pretended not to notice,—there came such a glow into his face, such + a dignity into his demeanor, that he became beautiful, king-like. + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” he said, “if you desire it, I will be your king. And I will do my + best to make my people happy.” + </p> + <p> + Then there arose, from inside and outside the tower, such a shout as never + yet was heard across the lonely plain. + </p> + <p> + Prince Dolor shrank a little from the deafening sound. “How shall I be + able to rule all this great people? You forget, my lords, that I am only a + little boy still.” + </p> + <p> + “Not so very little,” was the respectful answer. “We have searched in the + records, and found that your Royal Highness—your Majesty, I mean—is + fifteen years old.” + </p> + <p> + “Am I?” said Prince Dolor; and his first thought was a thoroughly childish + pleasure that he should now have a birthday, with a whole nation to keep + it. Then he remembered that his childish days were done. He was a monarch + now. Even his nurse, to whom, the moment he saw her, he had held out his + hand, kissed it reverently, and called him ceremoniously “his Majesty the + King.” + </p> + <p> + “A king must be always a king, I suppose,” said he half-sadly, when, the + ceremonies over, he had been left to himself for just ten minutes, to put + off his boy's clothes and be reattired in magnificent robes, before he was + conveyed away from his tower to the royal palace. + </p> + <p> + He could take nothing with him; indeed, he soon saw that, however politely + they spoke, they would not allow him to take anything. If he was to be + their king, he must give up his old life forever. So he looked with tender + farewell on his old books, old toys, the furniture he knew so well, and + the familiar plain in all its levelness—ugly yet pleasant, simply + because it was familiar. + </p> + <p> + “It will be a new life in a new world,” said he to himself; “but I'll + remember the old things still. And, oh! if before I go I could but once + see my dear old godmother.” + </p> + <p> + While he spoke he had laid himself down on the bed for a minute or two, + rather tired with his grandeur, and confused by the noise of the trumpets + which kept playing incessantly down below. He gazed, half sadly, up to the + skylight, whence there came pouring a stream of sunrays, with innumerable + motes floating there, like a bridge thrown between heaven and earth. + Sliding down it, as if she had been made of air, came the little old woman + in gray. + </p> + <p> + So beautiful looked she—old as she was—that Prince Dolor was + at first quite startled by the apparition. Then he held out his arms in + eager delight. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, godmother, you have not forsaken me!” + </p> + <p> + “Not at all, my son. You may not have seen me, but I have seen you many a + time.” + </p> + <p> + “How?” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, never mind. I can turn into anything I please, you know. And I have + been a bearskin rug, and a crystal goblet—and sometimes I have + changed from inanimate to animate nature, put on feathers, and made myself + very comfortable as a bird.” + </p> + <p> + “Ha!” laughed the prince, a new light breaking in upon him as he caught + the infection of her tone, lively and mischievous. “Ha! ha! a lark, for + instance?” + </p> + <p> + “Or a magpie,” answered she, with a capital imitation of Mistress Mag's + croaky voice. “Do you suppose I am always sentimental, and never funny? If + anything makes you happy, gay, or grave, don't you think it is more than + likely to come through your old godmother?” + </p> + <p> + “I believe that,” said the boy tenderly, holding out his arms. They + clasped one another in a close embrace. + </p> + <p> + Suddenly Prince Dolor looked very anxious. “You will not leave me now that + I am a king? Otherwise I had rather not be a king at all. Promise never to + forsake me!” + </p> + <p> + The little old woman laughed gayly. “Forsake you? that is impossible. But + it is just possible you may forsake me. Not probable though. Your mother + never did, and she was a queen. The sweetest queen in all the world was + the Lady Dolorez.” + </p> + <p> + “Tell me about her,” said the boy eagerly. “As I get older I think I can + understand more. Do tell me.” + </p> + <p> + “Not now. You couldn't hear me for the trumpets and the shouting. But when + you are come to the palace, ask for a long-closed upper room, which looks + out upon the Beautiful Mountains; open it and take it for your own. + Whenever you go there you will always find me, and we will talk together + about all sorts of things.” + </p> + <p> + “And about my mother?” + </p> + <p> + The little old woman nodded—and kept nodding and smiling to herself + many times, as the boy repeated over and over again the sweet words he had + never known or understood—“my mother—my mother.” + </p> + <p> + “Now I must go,” said she, as the trumpets blared louder and louder, and + the shouts of the people showed that they would not endure any delay. + “Good-by, good-by! Open the window and out I fly.” + </p> + <p> + Prince Dolor repeated gayly the musical rhyme—but all the while + tried to hold his godmother fast. + </p> + <p> + Vain, vain! for the moment that a knocking was heard at his door the sun + went behind a cloud, the bright stream of dancing motes vanished, and the + little old woman with them—he knew not where. + </p> + <p> + So Prince Dolor quitted his tower—which he had entered so mournfully + and ignominiously as a little helpless baby carried in the deaf-mute's + arms—quitted it as the great King of Nomansland. + </p> + <p> + The only thing he took away with him was something so insignificant that + none of the lords, gentlemen, and soldiers who escorted him with such + triumphant splendor could possibly notice it—a tiny bundle, which he + had found lying on the floor just where the bridge of sunbeams had rested. + At once he had pounced upon it, and thrust it secretly into his bosom, + where it dwindled into such small proportions that it might have been + taken for a mere chest-comforter, a bit of flannel, or an old + pocket-handkerchief. It was his traveling-cloak! + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0010" id="link2HCH0010"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER X + </h2> + <p> + Did Prince Dolar become a great king? Was he, though little more than a + boy, “the father of his people,” as all kings ought to be? Did his reign + last long—long and happy? and what were the principal events of it, + as chronicled in the history of Nomansland? + </p> + <p> + Why, if I were to answer all these questions I should have to write + another book. And I'm tired, children, tired—as grown-up people + sometimes are, though not always with play. (Besides, I have a small + person belonging to me, who, though she likes extremely to listen to the + word-of-mouth story of this book, grumbles much at the writing of it, and + has run about the house clapping her hands with joy when mamma told her + that it was nearly finished. But that is neither here nor there.) + </p> + <p> + I have related as well as I could the history of Prince Dolor, but with + the history of Nomansland I am as yet unacquainted. If anybody knows it, + perhaps he or she will kindly write it all down in another book. But mine + is done. + </p> + <p> + However, of this I am sure, that Prince Dolor made an excellent king. + Nobody ever does anything less well, not even the commonest duty of common + daily life, for having such a godmother as the little old woman clothed in + gray, whose name is—well, I leave you to guess. Nor, I think, is + anybody less good, less capable of both work and enjoyment in after-life, + for having been a little unhappy in his youth, as the prince had been. + </p> + <p> + I cannot take upon myself to say that he was always happy now—who + is?—or that he had no cares; just show me the person who is quite + free from them! But whenever people worried and bothered him—as they + did sometimes, with state etiquette, state squabbles, and the like, + setting up themselves and pulling down their neighbors—he would take + refuge in that upper room which looked out on the Beautiful Mountains, + and, laying his head on his godmother's shoulder, become calmed and at + rest. + </p> + <p> + Also, she helped him out of any difficulty which now and then occurred—for + there never was such a wise old woman. When the people of Nomansland + raised the alarm—as sometimes they did—for what people can + exist without a little fault-finding?—and began to cry out, + “Un-happy is the nation whose king is a child,” she would say to him + gently, “You are a child. Accept the fact. Be humble—be teachable. + Lean upon the wisdom of others till you have gained your own.” + </p> + <p> + He did so. He learned how to take advice before attempting to give it, to + obey before he could righteously command. He assembled round him all the + good and wise of his kingdom—laid all its affairs before them, and + was guided by their opinions until he had maturely formed his own. + </p> + <p> + This he did sooner than anybody would have imagined who did not know of + his godmother and his traveling-cloak—two secret blessings, which, + though many guessed at, nobody quite understood. Nor did they understand + why he loved so the little upper room, except that it had been his + mother's room, from the window of which, as people remembered now, she had + used to sit for hours watching the Beautiful Mountains. + </p> + <p> + Out of that window he used to fly—not very often; as he grew older, + the labors of state prevented the frequent use of his traveling-cloak; + still he did use it sometimes. Only now it was less for his own pleasure + and amusement than to see something or investigate something for the good + of the country. But he prized his godmother's gift as dearly as ever. It + was a comfort to him in all his vexations, an enhancement of all his joys. + It made him almost forget his lameness—which was never cured. + </p> + <p> + However, the cruel things which had been once foreboded of him did not + happen. His misfortune was not such a heavy one, after all. It proved to + be of much less inconvenience, even to himself, than had been feared. A + council of eminent surgeons and mechanicians invented for him a wonderful + pair of crutches, with the help of which, though he never walked easily or + gracefully, he did manage to walk so as to be quite independent. And such + was the love his people bore him that they never heard the sound of his + crutches on the marble palace floors without a leap of the heart, for they + knew that good was coming to them whenever he approached. + </p> + <p> + Thus, though he never walked in processions, never reviewed his troops + mounted on a magnificent charger, nor did any of the things which make a + show monarch so much appreciated, he was able for all the duties and a + great many of the pleasures of his rank. When he held his levees, not + standing, but seated on a throne ingeniously contrived to hide his + infirmity, the people thronged to greet him; when he drove out through the + city streets, shouts followed him wherever he went—every countenance + brightened as he passed, and his own, perhaps, was the brightest of all. + </p> + <p> + First, because, accepting his affliction as inevitable, he took it + patiently; second, because, being a brave man, he bore it bravely, trying + to forget himself, and live out of himself, and in and for other people. + Therefore other people grew to love him so well that I think hundreds of + his subjects might have been found who were almost ready to die for their + poor lame king. + </p> + <p> + He never gave them a queen. When they implored him to choose one, he + replied that his country was his bride, and he desired no other. But + perhaps the real reason was that he shrank from any change; and that no + wife in all the world would have been found so perfect, so lovable, so + tender to him in all his weaknesses as his beautiful old godmother. + </p> + <p> + His twenty-four other godfathers and godmothers, or as many of them as + were still alive, crowded round him as soon as he ascended the throne. He + was very civil to them all, but adopted none of the names they had given + him, keeping to the one by which he had been always known, though it had + now almost lost its meaning; for King Dolor was one of the happiest and + cheerfulest men alive. + </p> + <p> + He did a good many things, however, unlike most men and most kings, which + a little astonished his subjects. First, he pardoned the condemned woman + who had been his nurse, and ordained that from henceforth there should be + no such thing as the punishment of death in Nomansland. All capital + criminals were to be sent to perpetual imprisonment in Hopeless Tower and + the plain round about it, where they could do no harm to anybody, and + might in time do a little good, as the woman had done. + </p> + <p> + Another surprise he shortly afterward gave the nation. He recalled his + uncle's family, who had fled away in terror to another country, and + restored them to all their honors in their own. By and by he chose the + eldest son of his eldest cousin (who had been dead a year), and had him + educated in the royal palace, as the heir to the throne. This little + prince was a quiet, unobtrusive boy, so that everybody wondered at the + King's choosing him when there were so many more; but as he grew into a + fine young fellow, good and brave, they agreed that the King judged more + wisely than they. + </p> + <p> + “Not a lame prince, either,” his Majesty observed one day, watching him + affectionately; for he was the best runner, the highest leaper, the + keenest and most active sportsman in the country. “One cannot make one's + self, but one can sometimes help a little in the making of somebody else. + It is well.” + </p> + <p> + This was said, not to any of his great lords and ladies, but to a good old + woman—his first homely nurse whom he had sought for far and wide, + and at last found in her cottage among the Beautiful Mountains. He sent + for her to visit him once a year, and treated her with great honor until + she died. He was equally kind, though somewhat less tender, to his other + nurse, who, after receiving her pardon, returned to her native town and + grew into a great lady, and I hope a good one. But as she was so grand a + personage now, any little faults she had did not show. + </p> + <p> + Thus King Dolor's reign passed year after year, long and prosperous. + Whether he were happy—“as happy as a king”—is a question no + human being can decide. But I think he was, because he had the power of + making everybody about him happy, and did it too; also because he was his + godmother's godson, and could shut himself up with her whenever he liked, + in that quiet little room in view of the Beautiful Mountains, which nobody + else ever saw or cared to see. They were too far off, and the city lay so + low. But there they were, all the time. No change ever came to them; and I + think, at any day throughout his long reign, the King would sooner have + lost his crown than have lost sight of the Beautiful Mountains. + </p> + <p> + In course of time, when the little Prince, his cousin, was grown into a + tall young man, capable of all the duties of a man, his Majesty did one of + the most extraordinary acts ever known in a sovereign beloved by his + people and prosperous in his reign. He announced that he wished to invest + his heir with the royal purple—at any rate, for a time—while + he himself went away on a distant journey, whither he had long desired to + go. + </p> + <p> + Everybody marveled, but nobody opposed him. Who could oppose the good + King, who was not a young king now? And besides, the nation had a great + admiration for the young regent—and possibly a lurking pleasure in + change. + </p> + <p> + So there was a fixed day when all the people whom it would hold assembled + in the great square of the capital, to see the young prince installed + solemnly in his new duties, and undertaking his new vows. He was a very + fine young fellow; tall and straight as a poplar tree, with a frank, + handsome face—a great deal handsomer than the king, some people + said, but others thought differently. However, as his Majesty sat on his + throne, with his gray hair falling from underneath his crown, and a few + wrinkles showing in spite of his smile, there was something about his + countenance which made his people, even while they shouted, regard him + with a tenderness mixed with awe. + </p> + <p> + He lifted up his thin, slender hand, and there came a silence over the + vast crowd immediately. Then he spoke, in his own accustomed way, using no + grand words, but saying what he had to say in the simplest fashion, though + with a clearness that struck their ears like the first song of a bird in + the dusk of the morning. + </p> + <p> + “My people, I am tired: I want to rest. I have had a long reign, and done + much work—at least, as much as I was able to do. Many might have + done it better than I—but none with a better will. Now I leave it to + others; I am tired, very tired. Let me go home.” + </p> + <p> + There arose a murmur—of content or discontent none could well tell; + then it died down again, and the assembly listened silently once more. + </p> + <p> + “I am not anxious about you, my people—my children,” continued the + King. “You are prosperous and at peace. I leave you in good hands. The + Prince Regent will be a fitter king for you than I.” + </p> + <p> + “No, no, no!” rose the universal shout—and those who had sometimes + found fault with him shouted louder than anybody. But he seemed as if he + heard them not. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, yes,” said he, as soon as the tumult had a little subsided: and his + voice sounded firm and clear; and some very old people, who boasted of + having seen him as a child, declared that his face took a sudden change, + and grew as young and sweet as that of the little Prince Dolor. “Yes, I + must go. It is time for me to go. Remember me sometimes, my people, for I + have loved you well. And I am going a long way, and I do not think I shall + come back any more.” + </p> + <p> + He drew a little bundle out of his breast pocket—a bundle that + nobody had ever seen before. It was small and shabby-looking, and tied up + with many knots, which untied themselves in an instant. With a joyful + countenance, he muttered over it a few half-intelligible words. Then, so + suddenly that even those nearest to his Majesty could not tell how it came + about, the King was away—away—floating right up in the air—upon + something, they knew not what, except that it appeared to be as safe and + pleasant as the wings of a bird. + </p> + <p> + And after him sprang a bird—a dear little lark, rising from whence + no one could say, since larks do not usually build their nests in the + pavement of city squares. But there it was, a real lark, singing far over + their heads, louder and clearer and more joyful as it vanished further + into the blue sky. + </p> + <p> + Shading their eyes, and straining their ears, the astonished people stood + until the whole vision disappeared like a speck in the clouds—the + rosy clouds that overhung the Beautiful Mountains. + </p> + <p> + King Dolor was never again beheld or heard of in his own country. But the + good he had done there lasted for years and years; he was long missed and + deeply mourned—at least, so far as anybody could mourn one who was + gone on such a happy journey. + </p> + <p> + Whither he went, or who went with him, it is impossible to say. But I + myself believe that his godmother took him on his traveling-cloak to the + Beautiful Mountains. What he did there, or where he is now, who can tell? + I cannot. But one thing I am quite sure of, that, wherever he is, he is + perfectly happy. + </p> + <p> + And so, when I think of him, am I. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0012" id="link2H_4_0012"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE INVISIBLE PRINCE + </h2> + <p> + THERE were a king and queen who were dotingly fond of their only son, + notwithstanding that he was equally deformed in mind and person. The king + was quite sensible of the evil disposition of his son, but the queen in + her excessive fondness saw no fault whatever in her dear Furibon, as he + was named. The surest way to win her favor was to praise Furibon for + charms he did not possess. When he came of age to have a governor, the + king made choice of a prince who had an ancient right to the crown, but + was not able to support it. This prince had a son, named Leander, + handsome, accomplished, amiable—in every respect the opposite of + Prince Furibon. The two were frequently together, which only made the + deformed prince more repulsive. + </p> + <p> + One day, certain ambassadors having arrived from a far country, the prince + stood in a gallery to see them; when, taking Leander for the king's son, + they made their obeisance to him, treating Furibon as a mere dwarf, at + which the latter was so offended that he drew his sword, and would have + done them a mischief had not the king just then appeared. As it was, the + affair produced a quarrel, which ended in Leander's being sent to a + far-away castle belonging to his father. + </p> + <p> + There, however, he was quite happy, for he was a great lover of hunting, + fishing, and walking: he understood painting, read much, and played upon + several instruments, so that he was glad to be freed from the fantastic + humors of Furibon. One day as he was walking in the garden, finding the + heat increase, he retired into a shady grove and began to play upon the + flute to amuse himself. As he played, he felt something wind about his + leg, and looking down saw a great adder: he took his handkerchief, and + catching it by the head was going to kill it. But the adder, looking + steadfastly in his face, seemed to beg his pardon. At this instant one of + the gardeners happened to come to the place where Leander was, and spying + the snake, cried out to his master: “Hold him fast, sir; it is but an hour + since we ran after him to kill him: it is the most mischievous creature in + the world.” + </p> + <p> + Leander, casting his eyes a second time upon the snake, which was speckled + with a thousand extraordinary colors, perceived the poor creature still + looked upon him with an aspect that seemed to implore compassion, and + never tried in the least to defend itself. + </p> + <p> + “Though thou hast such a mind to kill it,” said he to the gardener, “yet, + as it came to me for refuge, I forbid thee to do it any harm; for I will + keep it, and when it has cast its beautiful skin I will let it go.” He + then returned home, and carrying the snake with him, put it into a large + chamber, the key of which he kept himself, and ordered bran, milk, and + flowers to be given to it, for its delight and sustenance; so that never + was snake so happy. Leander went sometimes to see it, and when it + perceived him it made haste to meet him, showing him all the little marks + of love and gratitude of which a poor snake was capable, which did not a + little surprise him, though he took no further notice of it. + </p> + <p> + In the meantime all the court ladies were extremely troubled at his + absence, and he was the subject of all their discourse. “Alas!” cried + they, “there is no pleasure at court since Leander is gone, of whose + absence the wicked Furibon is the cause!” Furibon also had his parasites, + for his power over the queen made him feared; they told him what the + ladies said, which enraged him to such a degree that in his passion he + flew to the queen's chamber, and vowed he would kill himself before her + face if she did not find means to destroy Leander. The queen, who also + hated Leander, because he was handsomer than her son, replied that she had + long looked upon him as a traitor, and therefore would willingly consent + to his death. To which purpose she advised Furibon to go a-hunting with + some of his confidants, and contrive it so that Leander should make one of + the party. + </p> + <p> + “Then,” said she, “you may find some way to punish him for pleasing + everybody.” + </p> + <p> + Furibon understood her, and accordingly went a-hunting; and Leander, when + he heard the horns and the hounds, mounted his horse and rode to see who + it was. But he was surprised to meet the prince so unexpectedly; he + alighted immediately and saluted him with respect; and Furibon received + him more graciously than usual and bade follow him. All of a sudden he + turned his horse and rode another way, making a sign to the ruffians to + take the first opportunity to kill him; but before he had got quite out of + sight, a lion of prodigious size, coming out of his den, leaped upon + Furibon; all his followers fled, and only Leander remained; who, attacking + the animal sword in hand, by his valor and agility saved the life of his + most cruel enemy, who had fallen in a swoon from fear. When he recovered, + Leander presented him his horse to remount. Now, any other than such a + wretch would have been grateful, but Furibon did not even look upon him; + nay, mounting the horse, he rode in quest of the ruffians, to whom he + repeated his orders to kill him. They accordingly surrounded Leander, who, + setting his back to a tree, behaved with so much bravery that he laid them + all dead at his feet. Furibon, believing him by this time slain, rode + eagerly up to the spot. When Leander saw him he advanced to meet him. + “Sir,” said he, “if it was by your order that these assassins came to kill + me, I am sorry I made any defense.” + </p> + <p> + “You are an insolent villain!” replied Furibon, “and if ever you come into + my presence again, you shall surely die.” + </p> + <p> + Leander made no answer, but retired sad and pensive to his own home, where + he spent the night in pondering what was best for him to do; for there was + no likelihood he should be able to defend himself against the power of the + king's son; therefore he at length concluded he would travel abroad and + see the world. Being ready to depart, he recollected his snake, and, + calling for some milk and fruits, carried them to the poor creature for + the last time; but on opening the door he perceived an extraordinary + luster in one corner of the room, and casting his eye on the place he was + surprised to see a lady, whose noble and majestic air made him immediately + conclude she was a princess of royal birth. Her habit was of purple satin, + embroidered with pearls and diamonds; she advanced toward him with a + gracious smile. + </p> + <p> + “Young prince,” said she, “you find no longer your pet snake, but me, the + fairy Gentilla, ready to requite your generosity. For know that we fairies + live a hundred years in flourishing youth, without diseases, without + trouble or pain; and this term being expired, we become snakes for eight + days. During that time it is not in our power to prevent any misfortune + that may befall us; and if we happen to be killed, we never revive again. + But these eight days being expired, we resume our usual form and recover + our beauty, our power, and our riches. Now you know how much I am obliged + to your goodness, and it is but just that I should repay my debt of + gratitude; think how I can serve you and depend on me.” + </p> + <p> + The young prince, who had never conversed with a fairy till now, was so + surprised that it was a long time before he could speak. But at length, + making a profound reverence, “Madam,” said he, “since I have had the honor + to serve you, I know not any other happiness that I can wish for.” + </p> + <p> + “I should be sorry,” replied she, “not to be of service to you in + something; consider, it is in my power to bestow on you long life, + kingdoms, riches; to give you mines of diamonds and houses full of gold; I + can make you an excellent orator, poet, musician, and painter; or, if you + desire it, a spirit of the air, the water, or the earth.” + </p> + <p> + Here Leander interrupted her. “Permit me, madam,” said he, “to ask you + what benefit it would be to me to be a spirit?” + </p> + <p> + “Much,” replied the fairy, “you would be invisible when you pleased, and + might in an instant traverse the whole earth; you would be able to fly + without wings, to descend into the abyss of the earth without dying, and + walk at the bottom of the sea without being drowned; nor doors, nor + windows, though fast shut and locked, could hinder you from entering + anywhere; and whenever you had a mind, you might resume your natural + form.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, madam!” cried Leander, “then let me be a spirit; I am going to + travel, and should prefer it above all those other advantages you have so + generously offered me.” + </p> + <p> + Gentilla thereupon stroking his face three times, “Be a spirit,” said she; + and then, embracing him, she gave him a little red cap with a plume of + feathers. “When you put on this cap you shall be invisible; but when you + take it off you shall again become visible.” + </p> + <p> + Leander, overjoyed, put his little red cap upon his head and wished + himself in the forest, that he might gather some wild roses which he had + observed there: his body immediately became as light as thought; he flew + through the window like a bird; though, in flying over the river, he was + not without fear lest he should fall into it, and the power of the fairy + not be able to save him. But he arrived in safety at the rose-bushes, + plucked the three roses, and returned immediately to his chamber; + presented his roses to the fairy, overjoyed that his first experiments had + succeeded so well. She bade him keep the roses, for that one of them would + supply him with money whenever he wanted it; that if he put the other into + his mistress' bosom, he would know whether she was faithful or not; and + that the third would keep him always in good health. Then, without staying + to receive his thanks, she wished him success in his travels and + disappeared. + </p> + <p> + Leander, infinitely pleased, settled his affairs, mounted the finest horse + in the stable, called Gris-de-line, and attended by some of his servants + in livery, made his return to court. Now you must know Furibon had given + out that had it not been for his courage Leander would have murdered him + when they were a-hunting; so the king, being importuned by the queen, gave + orders that Leander should be apprehended. But when he came, he showed so + much courage and resolution that Furibon ran to the queen's chamber and + prayed her to order him to be seized. The queen, who was extremely + diligent in everything that her son desired, went immediately to the king. + Furibon, being impatient to know what would be resolved, followed her; but + stopped at the door and laid his ear to the keyhole, putting his hair + aside that he might the better hear what was said. At the same time, + Leander entered the court-hall of the palace with his red cap upon his + head, and perceiving Furibon listening at the door of the king's chamber, + he took a nail and a hammer and nailed his ear to the door. Furibon began + to roar, so that the queen, hearing her son's voice, ran and opened the + door, and, pulling it hastily, tore her son's ear from his head. Half out + of her wits, she set him in her lap, took up his ear, kissed it, and + clapped it again upon its place; but the invisible Leander, seizing upon a + handful of twigs, with which they corrected the king's little dogs, gave + the queen several lashes upon her hands, and her son as many on the nose: + upon which the queen cried out, “Murder! murder!” and the king looked + about, and the people came running in; but nothing was to be seen. Some + cried that the queen was mad, and that her madness proceeded from her + grief to see that her son had lost one ear; and the king was as ready as + any to believe it, so that when she came near him he avoided her, which + made a very ridiculous scene. Leander, then leaving the chamber, went into + the garden, and there, assuming his own shape, he boldly began to pluck + the queen's cherries, apricots, strawberries, and flowers, though he knew + she set such a high value on them that it was as much as a man's life was + worth to touch one. The gardeners, all amazed, came and told their + majesties that Prince Leander was making havoc of all the fruits and + flowers in the queen's gardens. + </p> + <p> + “What insolence!” said the queen: then turning to Furibon, “my pretty + child, forget the pain of thy ear but for a moment, and fetch that vile + wretch hither; take our guards, both horse and foot, seize him, and punish + him as he deserves.” + </p> + <p> + Furibon, encouraged by his mother, and attended by a great number of armed + soldiers, entered the garden and saw Leander; who, taking refuge under a + tree, pelted them all with oranges. But when they came running toward him, + thinking to have seized him, he was not to be seen; he had slipped behind + Furibon, who was in a bad condition already. But Leander played him one + trick more; for he pushed him down upon the gravel walk, and frightened + him so that the soldiers had to take him up, carry him away, and put him + to bed. + </p> + <p> + Satisfied with this revenge, he returned to his servants, who waited for + him, and giving them money, sent them back to his castle, that none might + know the secret of his red cap and roses. As yet he had not determined + whither to go; however, he mounted his fine horse Gris-de-line, and, + laying the reins upon his neck, let him take his own road: at length he + arrived in a forest, where he stopped to shelter himself from the heat. He + had not been above a minute there before he heard a lamentable noise of + sighing and sobbing; and looking about him, beheld a man, who ran, + stopped, then ran again, sometimes crying, sometimes silent, then tearing + his hair, then thumping his breast like some unfortunate madman. Yet he + seemed to be both handsome and young: his garments had been magnificent, + but he had torn them all to tatters. The prince, moved with compassion, + made toward him, and mildly accosted him. “Sir,” said he, “your condition + appears so deplorable that I must ask the cause of your sorrow, assuring + you of every assistance in my power.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, sir,” answered the young man, “nothing can cure my grief; this day my + dear mistress is to be sacrificed to a rich old ruffian of a husband who + will make her miserable.” + </p> + <p> + “Does she love you, then?” asked Leander. + </p> + <p> + “I flatter myself so,” answered the young man. + </p> + <p> + “Where is she?” continued Leander. + </p> + <p> + “In the castle at the end of this forest,” replied the lover. + </p> + <p> + “Very well,” said Leander; “stay you here till I come again, and in a + little while I will bring you good news.” + </p> + <p> + He then put on his little red cap and wished himself in the castle. He had + hardly got thither before he heard all sorts of music; he entered into a + great room, where the friends and kindred of the old man and the young + lady were assembled. No one could look more amiable than she; but the + paleness of her complexion, the melancholy that appeared in her + countenance, and the tears that now and then dropped, as it were by + stealth from her eyes, betrayed the trouble of her mind. + </p> + <p> + Leander now became invisible, and placed himself in a corner of the room. + He soon perceived the father and mother of the bride; and coming behind + the mother's chair, whispered in her ear, “If you marry your daughter to + that old dotard, before eight days are over you shall certainly die.” The + woman, frightened to hear such a terrible sentence pronounced upon her, + and yet not know from whence it came, gave a loud shriek and dropped upon + the floor. Her husband asked what ailed her: she cried that she was a dead + woman if the marriage of her daughter went forward, and therefore she + would not consent to it for all the world. Her husband laughed at her and + called her a fool. But the invisible Leander accosting the man, threatened + him in the same way, which frightened him so terribly that he also + insisted on the marriage being broken off. When the lover complained, + Leander trod hard upon his gouty toes and rang such an alarm in his ears + that, not being able any longer to hear himself speak, away he limped, + glad enough to go. The real lover soon appeared, and he and his fair + mistress fell joyfully into one another's arms, the parents consenting to + their union. Leander, assuming his own shape, appeared at the hall door, + as if he were a stranger drawn thither by the report of this extraordinary + wedding. + </p> + <p> + From hence he traveled on, and came to a great city, where, upon his + arrival, he understood there was a great and solemn procession, in order + to shut up a young woman against her will among the vestal-nuns. The + prince was touched with compassion; and thinking the best use he could + make of his cap was to redress public wrongs and relieve the oppressed, he + flew to the temple, where he saw the young woman, crowned with flowers, + clad in white, and with her disheveled hair flowing about her shoulders. + Two of her brothers led her by each hand, and her mother followed her with + a great crowd of men and women. Leander, being invisible, cried out, + “Stop, stop, wicked brethren: stop, rash and inconsiderate mother; if you + proceed any further, you shall be squeezed to death like so many frogs.” + They looked about, but could not conceive from whence these terrible + menaces came. The brothers said it was only their sister's lover, who had + hid himself in some hole; at which Leander, in wrath, took a long cudgel, + and they had no reason to say the blows were not well laid on. The + multitude fled, the vestals ran away, and Leander was left alone with the + victim; immediately he pulled off his red cap and asked her wherein he + might serve her. She answered him that there was a certain gentleman whom + she would be glad to marry, but that he wanted an estate. Leander then + shook his rose so long that he supplied them with ten millions; after + which they were married and lived happily together. + </p> + <p> + But his last adventure was the most agreeable. Entering into a wide + forest, he heard lamentable cries. Looking about him every way, at length + he spied four men well armed, who were carrying away by force a young + lady, thirteen or fourteen years of age; upon which, making up to them as + fast as he could, “What harm has that girl done?” said he. + </p> + <p> + “Ha! ha! my little master,” cried he who seemed to be the ringleader of + the rest, “who bade you inquire?” + </p> + <p> + “Let her alone,” said Leander, “and go about your business.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, yes, to be sure,” cried they, laughing; whereupon the prince, + alighting, put on his red cap, not thinking it otherwise prudent to attack + four who seemed strong enough to fight a dozen. One of them stayed to take + care of the young lady, while the three others went after Gris-de-line, + who gave them a great deal of unwelcome exercise. + </p> + <p> + Meantime the young lady continued her cries and complaints. “Oh, my dear + princess,” said she, “how happy was I in your palace! Did you but know my + sad misfortune, you would send your Amazons to rescue poor Abricotina.” + </p> + <p> + Leander, having listened to what she said, without delay seized the + ruffian that held her, and bound him fast to a tree before he had time or + strength to defend himself. He then went to the second, and taking him by + both arms, bound him in the same manner to another tree. In the meantime + Abricotina made the best of her good fortune and betook herself to her + heels, not knowing which way she went. But Leander, missing her, called + out to his horse Gris-de-line; who, by two kicks with his hoof, rid + himself of the two ruffians who had pursued him: one of them had his head + broken and the other three of his ribs. And now Leander only wanted to + overtake Abricotina; for he thought her so handsome that he wished to see + her again. He found her leaning against a tree. When she saw Gris-de-line + coming toward her, “How lucky am I!” cried she; “this pretty little horse + will carry me to the palace of pleasure.” Leander heard her, though she + saw him not: he rode up to her; Gris-de-line stopped, and when Abricotina + mounted him, Leander clasped her in his arms and placed her gently before + him. Oh, how great was Abricotina's fear to feel herself fast embraced, + and yet see nobody! She durst not stir, and shut her eyes for fear of + seeing a spirit. But Leander took off his little cap. “How comes it, fair + Abricotina,” said he, “that you are afraid of me, who delivered you out of + the hands of the ruffians?” + </p> + <p> + With that she opened her eyes, and knowing him again, “Oh, sir,” said she, + “I am infinitely obliged to you; but I was afraid, for I felt myself held + fast and could see no one.” + </p> + <p> + “Surely,” replied Leander, “the danger you have been in has disturbed you + and cast a mist before your eyes.” + </p> + <p> + Abricotina would not seem to doubt him, though she was otherwise extremely + sensible. And after they had talked for some time of indifferent things, + Leander requested her to tell him her age, her country, and by what + accident she fell into the hands of the ruffians. + </p> + <p> + “Know then, sir,” said she, “there was a certain very great fairy married + to a prince who wearied of her: she therefore banished him from her + presence, and established herself and daughter in the Island of Calm + Delights. The princess, who is my mistress, being very fair, has many + lovers—among others, one named Furibon, whom she detests; he it was + whose ruffians seized me to-day when I was wandering in search of a stray + parrot. Accept, noble prince, my best thanks for your valor, which I shall + never forget.” + </p> + <p> + Leander said how happy he was to have served her, and asked if he could + not obtain admission into the island. Abricotina assured him this was + impossible, and therefore he had better forget all about it. While they + were thus conversing, they came to the bank of a large river. Abricotina + alighted with a nimble jump from the horse. + </p> + <p> + “Farewell, sir,” said she to the prince, making a profound reverence; “I + wish you every happiness.” + </p> + <p> + “And I,” said Leander, “wish that I may now and then have a small share in + your remembrance.” + </p> + <p> + So saying, he galloped away and soon entered into the thickest part of the + wood, near a river, where he unbridled and unsaddled Gris-de-line; then, + putting on his little cap, wished himself in the Island of Calm Delights, + and his wish was immediately accomplished. + </p> + <p> + The palace was of pure gold, and stood upon pillars of crystal and + precious stones, which represented the zodiac and all the wonders of + nature; all the arts and sciences; the sea, with all the variety of fish + therein contained; the earth, with all the various creatures which it + produces; the chases of Diana and her nymphs; the noble exercises of the + Amazons; the amusements of a country life; flocks of sheep with their + shepherds and dogs; the toils of agriculture, harvesting, gardening. And + among all this variety of representations there was neither man nor boy to + be seen—not so much as a little winged Cupid; so highly had the + princess been incensed against her inconstant husband as not to show the + least favor to his fickle sex. + </p> + <p> + “Abricotina did not deceive me,” said Leander to himself; “they have + banished from hence the very idea of men; now let us see what they have + lost by it.” With that he entered into the palaces and at every step he + took he met with objects so wonderful that when he had once fixed his eyes + upon them he had much ado to take them off again. He viewed a vast number + of these apartments, some full of china, no less fine than curious; others + lined with porcelain, so delicate that the walls were quite transparent. + Coral, jasper, agates, and cornelians adorned the rooms of state, and the + presence-chamber was one entire mirror. The throne was one great pearl, + hollowed like a shell; the princess sat, surrounded by her maidens, none + of whom could compare with herself. In her was all the innocent sweetness + of youth, joined to the dignity of maturity; in truth, she was perfection; + and so thought the invisible Leander. + </p> + <p> + Not seeing Abricotina, she asked where she was. Upon that, Leander, being + very desirous to speak, assumed the tone of a parrot, for there were many + in the room, and addressed himself invisibly to the princess. + </p> + <p> + “Most charming princess,” said he, “Abricotina will return immediately. + She was in great danger of being carried away from this place but for a + young prince who rescued her.” + </p> + <p> + The princess was surprised at the parrot, his answer was so extremely + pertinent. + </p> + <p> + “You are very rude, little parrot,” said the princess; “and Abricotina, + when she comes, shall chastise you for it.” + </p> + <p> + “I shall not be chastised,” answered Leander, still counterfeiting the + parrot's voice; “moreover, she will let you know the great desire that + stranger had to be admitted into this palace, that he might convince you + of the falsehood of those ideas which you have conceived against his sex.” + </p> + <p> + “In truth, pretty parrot,” cried the princess, “it is a pity you are not + every day so diverting; I should love you dearly.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah! if prattling will please you, princess,” replied Leander, “I will + prate from morning till night.” + </p> + <p> + “But,” continued the princess, “how shall I be sure my parrot is not a + sorcerer?” + </p> + <p> + “He is more in love than any sorcerer can be,” replied the prince. + </p> + <p> + At this moment Abricotina entered the room, and falling at her lovely + mistress' feet, gave her a full account of what had befallen her, and + described the prince in the most glowing colors. + </p> + <p> + “I should have hated all men,” added she, “had I not seen him! Oh, madam, + how charming he is! His air and all his behavior have something in them so + noble; and though whatever he spoke was infinitely pleasing, yet I think I + did well in not bringing him hither.” + </p> + <p> + To this the princess said nothing, but she asked Abricotina a hundred + other questions concerning the prince; whether she knew his name, his + country, his birth, from whence he came, and whither he was going; and + after this she fell into a profound thoughtfulness. + </p> + <p> + Leander observed everything, and continued to chatter as he had begun. + </p> + <p> + “Abricotina is ungrateful, madam,” said he; “that poor stranger will die + for grief if he sees you not.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, parrot, let him die,” answered the princess with a sigh; “and since + thou undertakest to reason like a person of wit, and not a little bird, I + forbid thee to talk to me any more of this unknown person.” + </p> + <p> + Leander was overjoyed to find that Abricotina's and the parrot's discourse + had made such an impression on the princess. He looked upon her with + pleasure and delight. “Can it be,” said he to himself, “that the + masterpiece of nature, that the wonder of our age, should be confined + eternally in an island, and no mortal dare to approach her? But,” + continued he, “wherefore am I concerned that others are banished hence, + since I have the happiness to be with her, to hear and to admire her; nay, + more, to love her above all the women in the universe?” + </p> + <p> + It was late, and the princess retired into a large room of marble and + porphyry, where several bubbling fountains, refreshed the air with an + agreeable coolness. As soon as she entered the music began, a sumptuous + supper was served up, and the birds from several aviaries on each side of + the room, of which Abricotina had the chief care, opened their little + throats in the most agreeable manner. + </p> + <p> + Leander had traveled a journey long enough to give him a good appetite, + which made him draw near the table, where the very smell of such viands + was agreeable and refreshing. The princess had a curious tabby-cat, for + which she had a great kindness. This cat one of the maids of honor held in + her arms, saying, “Madam, Bluet is hungry!” With that a chair was + presently brought for the cat; for he was a cat of quality, and had a + necklace of pearl about his neck. He was served on a golden plate with a + laced napkin before him; and the plate being supplied with meat, Bluet sat + with the solemn importance of an alderman. + </p> + <p> + “Ho! ho!” cried Leander to himself; “an idle tabby malkin, that perhaps + never caught a mouse in his life, and I dare say is not descended from a + better family than myself, has the honor to sit at table with my mistress: + I would fain know whether he loves her so well as I do.” + </p> + <p> + Saying this, he placed himself in the chair with the cat upon his knee, + for nobody saw him, because he had his little red cap on; finding Bluet's + plate well supplied with partridge, quails, and pheasants, he made so free + with them that whatever was set before Master Puss disappeared in a trice. + The whole court said no cat ever ate with a better appetite. There were + excellent ragouts, and the prince made use of the cat's paw to taste them; + but he sometimes pulled his paw too roughly, and Bluet, not understanding + raillery, began to mew and be quite out of patience. The princess + observing it, “Bring that fricassee and that tart to poor Bluet,” said + she; “see how he cries to have them.” + </p> + <p> + Leander laughed to himself at the pleasantness of this adventure; but he + was very thirsty, not being accustomed to make such large meals without + drinking. By the help of the cat's paw he got a melon, with which he + somewhat quenched his thirst; and when supper was quite over, he went to + the buffet and took two bottles of delicious wine. + </p> + <p> + The princess now retired into her boudoir, ordering Abricotina to follow + her and make fast the door; but they could not keep out Leander, who was + there as soon as they. However, the princess, believing herself alone with + her confidante: + </p> + <p> + “Abricotina,” said she, “tell me truly, did you exaggerate in your + description of the unknown prince, for methinks it is impossible he should + be as amiable as you say?” + </p> + <p> + “Madam,” replied the damsel, “if I have failed in anything, it was in + coming short of what was due to him.” + </p> + <p> + The princess sighed and was silent for a time; then resuming her speech: + “I am glad,” said she, “thou didst not bring him with thee.” + </p> + <p> + “But, madam,” answered Abricotina, who was a cunning girl, and already + penetrated her mistress' thoughts, “suppose he had come to admire the + wonders of these beautiful mansions, what harm could he have done us? Will + you live eternally unknown in a corner of the world, concealed from the + rest of human kind? Of what use is all your grandeur, pomp, magnificence, + if nobody sees it?” + </p> + <p> + “Hold thy peace, prattler,” replied the princess, “and do not disturb that + happy repose which I have enjoyed so long.” + </p> + <p> + Abricotina durst make no reply; and the princess, having waited her answer + for some time, asked her whether she had anything to say. Abricotina then + said she thought it was to very little purpose her mistress having sent + her picture to the courts of several princes, where it only served to make + those who saw it miserable; that every one would be desirous to marry her, + and as she could not marry them all, indeed none of them, it would make + them desperate. + </p> + <p> + “Yet, for all that,” said the princess, “I could wish my picture were in + the hands of this same stranger.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, madam,” answered Abricotina, “is not his desire to see you violent + enough already? Would you augment it?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” cried the princess; “a certain impulse of vanity, which I was never + sensible of till now, has bred this foolish fancy in me.” + </p> + <p> + Leander heard all this discourse, and lost not a tittle of what she said; + some of her expressions gave him hope, others absolutely destroyed it. The + princess presently asked Abricotina whether she had seen anything + extraordinary during her short travels. + </p> + <p> + “Madam,” said she, “I passed through one forest where I saw certain + creatures that resembled little children: they skip and dance upon the + trees like squirrels; they are very ugly, but have wonderful agility and + address.” + </p> + <p> + “I wish I had one of them,” said the princess; “but if they are so nimble + as you say they are, it is impossible to catch one.” + </p> + <p> + Leander, who passed through the same forest, knew what Abricotina meant, + and presently wished himself in the place. He caught a dozen of little + monkeys, some bigger, some less, and all of different colors, and with + much ado put them into a large sack; then, wishing himself at Paris, + where, he had heard, a man might have everything for money, he went and + bought a little gold chariot. He taught six green monkeys to draw it; they + were harnessed with fine traces of flame-colored morocco leather. He went + to another place, where he met with two monkeys of merit, the most + pleasant of which was called Briscambril, the other Pierceforest—both + very spruce and well educated. He dressed Briscambril like a king and + placed him in the coach; Pierceforest he made the coachman; the others + were dressed like pages; all which he put into his sack, coach and all. + </p> + <p> + The princess not being gone to bed, heard a rumbling of a little coach in + the long gallery; at the same time, her ladies came to tell her that the + king of the dwarfs was arrived, and the chariot immediately entered her + chamber with all the monkey train. The country monkeys began to show a + thousand tricks, which far surpassed those of Briscambril and + Pierceforest. To say the truth, Leander conducted the whole machine. He + drew the chariot where Briscambril sat arrayed as a king, and making him + hold a box of diamonds in his hand, he presented it with a becoming grace + to the princess. The princess' surprise may be easily imagined. Moreover, + Briscambril made a sign for Pierceforest to come and dance with him. The + most celebrated dancers were not to be compared with them in activity. But + the princess, troubled that she could not guess from whence this curious + present came, dismissed the dancers sooner than she would otherwise have + done, though she was extremely pleased with them. + </p> + <p> + Leander, satisfied with having seen the delight the princess had taken in + beholding the monkeys, thought of nothing now but to get a little repose, + which he greatly wanted. He stayed sometime in the great gallery; + afterward, going down a pair of stairs, and finding a door open, he + entered into an apartment the most delightful that ever was seen. There + was in it a bed of cloth-of-gold, enriched with pearls, intermixed with + rubies and emeralds: for by this time there appeared daylight sufficient + for him to view and admire the magnificence of this sumptuous furniture. + Having made fast the door, he composed himself to sleep. Next day he rose + very early, and looking about on every side, he spied a painter's pallet, + with colors ready prepared and pencils. Remembering what the princess had + said to Abricotina touching her own portrait, he immediately (for he could + paint as well as the most excellent masters) seated himself before a + mirror and drew his own picture first; then, in an oval, that of the + princess. He had all her features so strong in his imagination that he had + no occasion for her sitting; and as his desire to please her had set him + to work, never did portrait bear a stronger resemblance. He had painted + himself upon one knee, holding the princess' picture in one hand, and in + the other a label with this inscription, “She is better in my heart.” When + the princess went into her cabinet, she was amazed to see the portrait of + a man; and she fixed her eyes upon it with so much the more surprise, + because she also saw her own with it, and because the words which were + written upon the label afforded her ample room for curiosity. She + persuaded herself that it was Abricotina's doing; and all she desired to + know was whether the portrait was real or imaginary. Rising in haste, she + called Abricotina, while the invisible Leander, with his little red cap, + slipped into the cabinet, impatient to know what passed. The princess bade + Abricotina look upon the picture and tell her what she thought of it. + </p> + <p> + After she had viewed it, “I protest!” said she, “'tis the picture of that + generous stranger to whom I am indebted for my life. Yes, yes, I am sure + it is he; his very features, shape, and hair.” + </p> + <p> + “Thou pretendest surprise,” said the princess, “but I know it was thou + thyself who put it there.” + </p> + <p> + “Who! I, madam?” replied Abricotina. “I protest I never saw the picture + before in my life. Should I be so bold as to conceal from your knowledge a + thing that so nearly concerns you? And by what miracle could I come by it? + I never could paint, nor did any man ever enter this place; yet here he is + painted with you?” + </p> + <p> + “Some spirit, then, must have brought it hither,” cried the princess. + </p> + <p> + “How I tremble for fear, madam!” said Abricotina. “Was it not rather some + lover? And therefore, if you will take my advice, let us burn it + immediately.” + </p> + <p> + “'Twere a pity to burn it,” cried the princess, sighing; “a finer piece, + methinks, cannot adorn my cabinet.” And saying these words, she cast her + eyes upon it. But Abricotina continued obstinate in her opinion that it + ought to be burned, as a thing that could not come there but by the power + of magic. + </p> + <p> + “And these words—'She is better in my heart,'” said the princess; + “must we burn them too?” + </p> + <p> + “No favor must be shown to anything,” said Abricotina, “not even to your + own portrait.” + </p> + <p> + Abricotina ran away immediately for some fire, while the princess went to + look out at the window. Leander, unwilling to let his performance be + burned, took this opportunity to convey it away without being perceived. + He had hardly quitted the cabinet, when the princess turned about to look + once more upon that enchanting picture, which had so delighted her. But + how was she surprised to find it gone! She sought for it all the room + over; and Abricotina, returning, was no less surprised than her mistress; + so that this last adventure put them both in the most terrible fright. + </p> + <p> + Leander took great delight in hearing and seeing his incomparable + mistress; even though he had to eat every day at her table with the + tabby-cat, who fared never the worse for that; but his satisfaction was + far from being complete, seeing he durst neither speak nor show himself; + and he knew it was not a common thing for ladies to fall in love with + persons invisible. + </p> + <p> + The princess had a universal taste for amusement. One day, she was saying + to her attend-ants that it would give her great pleasure to know how the + ladies were dressed in all the courts of the universe. There needed no + more words to send Leander all over the world. He wished himself in China, + where he bought the richest stuffs he could lay his hands on, and got + patterns of all the court fashions. From thence he flew to Siam, where he + did the same; in three days he traveled over all the four parts of the + world, and from time to time brought what he bought to the Palace of Calm + Delights, and hid it all in a chamber, which he kept always locked. When + he had thus collected together all the rarities he could meet with—for + he never wanted money, his rose always supplying him—he went and + bought five or six dozen of dolls, which he caused to be dressed at Paris, + the place in the world where most regard is paid to fashions. They were + all dressed differently, and as magnificent as could be, and Leander + placed them all in the princess' closet. When she entered it, she was + agreeably surprised to see such company of little mutes, every one decked + with watches bracelets, diamond buckles, or necklaces; and the most + remarkable of them held a picture box in its hand, which the princess + opening, found it contained Leander's portrait. She gave a loud shriek, + and looking upon Abricotina, “There have appeared of late,” said she, “so + many wonders in this place, that I know not what to think of them: my + birds are all grown witty; I cannot so much as wish, but presently I have + my desires; twice have I now seen the portrait of him who rescued thee + from the ruffians; and here are silks of all sorts, diamonds, + embroideries, laces, and an infinite number of other rarities. What fairy + is it that takes such care to pay me these agreeable civilities?” + </p> + <p> + Leander was overjoyed to hear and see her so much interested about his + picture, and calling to mind that there was in a grotto which she often + frequented a certain pedestal, on which a Diana, not yet finished, was to + be erected, on this pedestal he resolved to place himself, crowned with + laurel, and holding a lyre in his hand, on which he played like another + Apollo. He most anxiously waited the princess' retiring to the grotto, + which she did every day since her thoughts had taken up with this unknown + person; for what Abricotina had said, joined to the sight of the picture, + had almost destroyed her repose: her lively humor changed into a pensive + melancholy, and she grew a great lover of solitude. When she entered the + grotto, she made a sign that nobody should follow her, so that her young + damsels dispersed themselves into the neighboring walks. The princess + threw herself upon a bank of green turf, sighed, wept, and even talked, + but so softly that Leander could not hear what she said. He had put his + red cap on, that she might not see him at first; but having taken it off, + she beheld him standing on the pedestal. At first she took him for a real + statue, for he observed exactly the attitude in which he had placed + himself, without moving so much as a finger. She beheld with a kind of + pleasure intermixed with fear, but pleasure soon dispelled her fear, and + she continued to view the pleasing figure, which so exactly resembled + life. The prince having tuned his lyre, began to play; at which the + princess, greatly surprised, could not resist the fear that seized her; + she grew pale and fell into a swoon. Leander leaped from the pedestal, and + putting on his little red cap, that he might not be perceived, took the + princess in his arms and gave her all the assistance that his zeal and + tenderness could inspire. At length she opened her charming eyes and + looked about in search of him, but she could perceive nobody; yet she felt + somebody who held her hands, kissed them, and bedewed them with his tears. + It was a long time before she durst speak, and her spirits were in a + confused agitation between fear and hope. She was afraid of the spirit, + but loved the figure of the unknown. At length she said: “Courtly + invisible, why are you not the person I desire you should be?” At these + words Leander was going to declare himself, but durst not do it yet. + “For,” thought he, “if I again affright the object I adore and make her + fear me, she will not love me.” This consideration caused him to keep + silence. + </p> + <p> + The princess, then, believing herself alone, called Abricotina and told + her all the wonders of the animated statue; that it had played divinely, + and that the invisible person had given her great assistance when she lay + in a swoon. + </p> + <p> + “What pity 'tis,” said she, “that this person should be so frightful, for + nothing can be more amiable or acceptable than his behavior!” + </p> + <p> + “Who told you, madam,” answered Abricotina, “that he is frightful? If he + is the youth who saved me, he is beautiful as Cupid himself.” + </p> + <p> + “If Cupid and the unknown are the same,” replied the princess, blushing, + “I could be content to love Cupid; but alas! how far am I from such a + happiness! I love a mere shadow; and this fatal picture, joined to what + thou hast told me, have inspired me with inclinations so contrary to the + precepts which I received from my mother that I am daily afraid of being + punished for them.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh! madam,” said Abricotina, interrupting her, “have you not troubles + enough already? Why should you anticipate afflictions which may never come + to pass?” + </p> + <p> + It is easy to imagine what pleasure Leander took in this conversation. + </p> + <p> + In the meantime the little Furibon, still enamored of the princess whom he + had never seen, expected with impatience the return of the four servants + whom he had sent to the Island of Calm Delights. One of them at last came + back, and after he had given the prince a particular account of what had + passed, told him that the island was defended by Amazons, and that unless + he sent a very powerful army, it would be impossible to get into it. The + king his father was dead, and Furibon was now lord of all: disdaining, + therefore, any repulse, he raised an army of four hundred thousand men, + and put himself at the head of them, appearing like another Tom Thumb upon + a war-horse. Now, when the Amazons perceived his mighty host, they gave + the princess notice of its who immediately dispatched away her trusty + Abricotina to the kingdom of the fairies, to beg her mother's instructions + as to what she should do to drive the little Furibon from her territories. + But Abricotina found the fairy in an angry humor. + </p> + <p> + “Nothing that my daughter does,” said she, “escapes my knowledge. The + Prince Leander is now in her palace; he loves her, and she has a + tenderness for him. All my cares and precepts have not been able to guard + her from the tyranny of love, and she is now under its fatal dominion. But + it is the decree of destiny, and I must submit; therefore, Abricotina, + begone! nor let me hear a word more of a daughter whose behavior has so + much displeased me.” + </p> + <p> + Abricotina returned with these ill tidings, whereat the princess was + almost distracted; and this was soon perceived by Leander, who was near + her, though she did not see him. He beheld her grief with the greatest + pain. However, he durst not then open his lips; but recollecting that + Furibon was exceedingly covetous, he thought that, by giving him a sum of + money, he might perhaps prevail with him to retire. Thereupon, he dressed + himself like an Amazon, and wished himself in the forest, to catch his + horse. He had no sooner called him than Gris-de-line came leaping, + prancing, and neighing for joy, for he was grown quite weary of being so + long absent from his dear master; but when he beheld him dressed as a + woman he hardly knew him. However, at the sound of his voice, he suffered + the prince to mount, and they soon arrived in the camp at Furibon, where + they gave notice that a lady was come to speak with him from the Princess + of Calm Delights. Immediately the little fellow put on his royal robes, + and having placed himself upon his throne, he looked like a great toad + counterfeiting a king. + </p> + <p> + Leander harangued him, and told him that the princess, preferring a quiet + and peaceable life to the fatigues of war, had sent to offer his majesty + as much money as he pleased to demand, provided he would suffer her to + continue in peace; but if he refused her proposal, she would omit no means + that might serve for her defense. Furibon replied that he took pity on + her, and would grant her the honor of his protection; but that he demanded + a hundred thousand millions of pounds, and without which he would not + return to his kingdom. Leander answered that such a vast sum would be too + long a-counting, and therefore, if he would say how many rooms full he + desired to have, the princess was generous and rich enough to satisfy him. + Furibon was astonished to hear that, instead of entreating, she would + rather offer more; and it came into his wicked mind to take all the money + he could get, and then seize the Amazon and kill her, that she might never + return to her mistress. He told Leander, therefore, that he would have + thirty chambers of gold, all full to the ceiling. Leander, being conducted + into the chambers, took his rose and shook it, till every room was filled + with all sorts of coin. Furibon was in an ecstasy, and the more gold he + saw the greater was his desire to get hold of the Amazon; so that when all + the rooms were full, he commanded his guards to seize her, alleging she + had brought him counterfeit money. Immediately Leander put on his little + red cap and disappeared. The guards, believing that the lady had escaped, + ran out and left Furibon alone; when Leander, availing himself of the + opportunity, took the tyrant by the hair, and twisted his head off with + the same ease he would a pullet's; nor did the little wretch of a king see + that hand that killed him. + </p> + <p> + Leander having got his enemy's head, wished himself in the Palace of Calm + Delights, where he found the princess walking, and with grief considering + the message which her mother had sent her, and on the means to repel + Furibon. + </p> + <p> + Suddenly she beheld a head hanging in the air, with nobody to hold it. + This prodigy astonished her so that she could not tell what to think of + it; but her amazement was increased when she saw the head laid at her + feet, and heard a voice utter these words: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Charming Princess, cease your fear + Of Furibon; whose head see here.” + </pre> + <p> + Abricotina, knowing Leander's voice, cried: + </p> + <p> + “I protest, madam, the invisible person who speaks is the very stranger + that rescued me.” + </p> + <p> + The princess seemed astonished, but yet pleased. + </p> + <p> + “Oh,” said she, “if it be true that the invisible and the stranger are the + same person, I confess I shall be glad to make him my acknowledgments.” + </p> + <p> + Leander, still invisible, replied, “I will yet do more to deserve them;” + and so saying he returned to Furibon's army, where the report of the + king's death was already spread throughout the camp. As soon as Leander + appeared there in his usual habit, everybody knew him; all the officers + and soldiers surrounded him, uttering the loudest acclamations of joy. In + short, they acknowledged him for their king, and that the crown of right + belonged to him, for which he thanked them, and, as the first mark of his + royal bounty, divided the thirty rooms of gold among the soldiers. This + done he returned to his princess, ordering his army to march back into his + kingdom. + </p> + <p> + The princess was gone to bed. Leander, therefore, retired into his own + apartment, for he was very sleepy—so sleepy that he forgot to bolt + his door; and so it happened that the princess, rising early to taste the + morning air, chanced to enter into this very chamber, and was astonished + to find a young prince asleep upon the bed. She took a full view of him, + and was convinced that he was the person whose picture she had in her + diamond box. “It is impossible,” said she, “that this should be a spirit; + for can spirits sleep? Is this a body composed of air and fire, without + substance, as Abricotina told me?” She softly touched his hair, and heard + him breathe, and looked at him as if she could have looked forever. While + she was thus occupied, her mother, the fairy entered with such a noise + that Leander started out of his sleep. But how deeply was he afflicted to + behold his beloved princess in the most deplorable condition! Her mother + dragged her by the hair and loaded her with a thousand bitter reproaches. + In what grief and consternation were the two young lovers, who saw + themselves now upon the point of being separated forever! The princess + durst not open her lips, but cast her eyes upon Leander, as if to beg his + assistance. He judged rightly that he ought not to deal rudely with a + power superior to his own, and therefore he sought, by his eloquence and + submission, to move the incensed fairy. He ran to her, threw himself at + her feet, and besought her to have pity upon a young prince who would + never change in his affection for her daughter. The princess, encouraged, + also embraced her mother's knees, and declared that without Leander she + should never be happy. + </p> + <p> + “Happy!” cried the fairy; “you know not the miseries of love nor the + treacheries of which lovers are capable. They bewitch us only to poison + our lives; I have known it by experience; and will you suffer the same?” + </p> + <p> + “Is there no exception, madam?” replied Leander, and his countenance + showed him to be one. + </p> + <p> + But neither tears nor entreaties could move the implacable fairy; and it + is very probable that she would have never pardoned them, had not the + lovely Gentilla appeared at that instant in the chamber, more brilliant + than the sun. Embracing the old fairy: + </p> + <p> + “Dear sister,” said she, “I am persuaded you cannot have forgotten the + good office I did you when, after your unhappy marriage, you besought a + readmittance into Fairyland; since then I never desired any favor at your + hands, but now the time is come. Pardon, then, this lovely princess; + consent to her nuptials with this young prince. I will engage he shall be + ever constant to her; the thread of their days shall be spun of gold and + silk; they shall live to complete your happiness; and I will never forget + the obligation you lay upon me.” + </p> + <p> + “Charming Gentilla,” cried the fairy, “I consent to whatever you desire. + Come, my dear children, and receive my love.” So saying, she embraced them + both. + </p> + <p> + Abricotina, just then entering, cast her eyes upon Leander; she knew him + again, and saw he was perfectly happy, at which she, too, was quite + satisfied. + </p> + <p> + “Prince,” condescendingly said the fairy-mother, “I will remove the Island + of Calm Delights into your own kingdom, live with you myself, and do you + great services.” + </p> + <p> + Whether or not Prince Leander appreciated this offer, he bowed low, and + assured his mother-in-law that no favor could be equal to the one he had + that day received from her hands. This short compliment pleased the fairy + exceedingly, for she belonged to those ancient days when people used to + stand a whole day upon one leg complimenting one another. The nuptials + were performed in a most splendid manner, and the young prince and + princess lived together happily many years, beloved by all around them. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0013" id="link2H_4_0013"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + PRINCE CHERRY + </h2> + <p> + LONG ago there lived a monarch, who was such a very, honest man that his + subjects entitled him the Good King. One day, when he was out hunting, a + little white rabbit, which had been half-killed by his hounds, leaped + right into his majesty's arms. Said he, caressing it: “This poor creature + has put itself under my protection, and I will allow no one to injure it.” + So he carried it to his palace, had prepared for it a neat little + rabbit-hutch, with abundance of the daintiest food, such as rabbits love, + and there he left it. + </p> + <p> + The same night, when he was alone in his chamber, there appeared to him a + beautiful lady. She was dressed neither in gold, nor silver, nor brocade; + but her flowing robes were white as snow, and she wore a garland of white + roses on her head. The Good King was greatly astonished at the sight; for + his door was locked, and he wondered how so dazzling a lady could possibly + enter; but she soon removed his doubts. + </p> + <p> + “I am the fairy Candide,” said she, with a smiling and gracious air. + “Passing through the wood where you were hunting, I took a desire to know + if you were as good as men say you are I therefore changed myself into a + white rabbit and took refuge in your arms. You saved me and now I know + that those who are merciful to dum beasts will be ten times more so to + human beings. You merit the name your subjects give you: you are the Good + King. I thank you for your protection, and shall be always one of your + best friends. You have but to say what you most desire, and I promise you + your wish shall be granted.” + </p> + <p> + “Madam,” replied the king, “if you are a fairy, you must know, without my + telling you, the wish of my heart. I have one well-beloved son, Prince + Cherry: whatever kindly feeling you have toward me, extend it to him.” + </p> + <p> + “Willingly,” said Candide. “I will make him the handsomest, richest, or + most powerful prince in the world: choose whichever you desire for him.” + </p> + <p> + “None of the three,” returned the father. “I only wish him to be good—the + best prince in the whole world. Of what use would riches, power, or beauty + be to him if he were a bad man?” + </p> + <p> + “You are right,” said the fairy; “but I can not make him good: he must do + that himself. I can only change his external fortunes; for his personal + character, the utmost I can promise is to give him good counsel, reprove + him for his faults, and even punish him, if he will not punish himself. + You mortals can do the same with your children.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah, yes!” said the king, sighing. Still, he felt that the kindness of a + fairy was something gained for his son, and died not long after, content + and at peace. + </p> + <p> + Prince Cherry mourned deeply, for he dearly loved his father, and would + have gladly given all his kingdoms and treasures to keep him in life a + little longer. Two days after the Good King was no more, Prince Cherry was + sleeping in his chamber, when he saw the same dazzling vision of the fairy + Candide. + </p> + <p> + “I promised your father,” said she, “to be your best friend, and in pledge + of this take what I now give you;” and she placed a small gold ring upon + his finger. “Poor as it looks, it is more precious than diamonds; for + whenever you do ill it will prick your finger. If, after that warning, you + still continue in evil, you will lose my friendship, and I shall become + your direst enemy.”' + </p> + <p> + So saying, she disappeared, leaving Cherry in such amazement that he would + have believed it all a dream, save for the ring on his finger. + </p> + <p> + He was for a long time so good that the ring never pricked him at all; and + this made him so cheerful and pleasant in his humor that everybody called + him “Happy Prince Cherry.” But one unlucky day he was out hunting and + found no sport, which vexed him so much that he showed his ill temper by + his looks and ways. He fancied his ring felt very tight and uncomfortable, + but as it did not prick him he took no heed of this: until, re-entering + his palace, his little pet dog, Bibi, jumped up upon him and was sharply + told to get away. The creature, accustomed to nothing but caresses, tried + to attract his attention by pulling at his garments, when Prince Cherry + turned and gave it a severe kick. At this moment he felt in his finger a + prick like a pin. + </p> + <p> + “What nonsense!” said he to himself. “The fairy must be making game of me. + Why, what great evil have I done! I, the master of a great empire, cannot + I kick my own dog?” + </p> + <p> + A voice replied, or else Prince Cherry imagined it, “No, sire; the master + of a great empire has a right to do good, but not evil. I—a fairy—am + as much above you as you are above your dog. I might punish you, kill you, + if I chose; but I prefer leaving you to amend your ways. You have been + guilty of three faults today—bad temper, passion, cruelty: do better + to-morrow.” + </p> + <p> + The prince promised, and kept his word a while; but he had been brought up + by a foolish nurse, who indulged him in every way and was always telling + him that he would be a king one day, when he might do as he liked in all + things. He found out now that even a king cannot always do that; it vexed + him and made him angry. His ring began to prick him so often that his + little finger was continually bleeding. He disliked this, as was natural, + and soon began to consider whether it would not be easier to throw the + ring away altogether than to be constantly annoyed by it. It was such a + queer thing for a king to have a spot of blood on his finger! At last, + unable to put up with it any more, he took his ring off and hid it where + he would never see it; and believed himself the happiest of men, for he + could now do exactly what he liked. He did it, and became every day more + and more miserable. + </p> + <p> + One day he saw a young girl, so beautiful that, being always accustomed to + have his own way, he immediately determined to espouse her. He never + doubted that she would be only too glad to be made a queen, for she was + very poor. But Zelia—that was her name—answered, to his great + astonishment, that she would rather not marry him. + </p> + <p> + “Do I displease you?” asked the prince, into whose mind it had never + entered that he could displease anybody. + </p> + <p> + “Not at all, my prince,” said the honest peasant maiden. “You are very + handsome, very charming; but you are not like your father the Good King. I + will not be your queen, for you would make me miserable.” + </p> + <p> + At these words the prince's love seemed all to turn to hatred: he gave + orders to his guards to convey Zelia to a prison near the palace, and then + took counsel with his foster brother, the one of all his ill companions + who most incited him to do wrong. + </p> + <p> + “Sir,” said this man, “if I were in your majesty's place, I would never + vex myself about a poor silly girl. Feed her on bread and water till she + comes to her senses; and if she still refuses you, let her die in torment, + as a warning to your other subjects should they venture to dispute your + will. You will be disgraced should you suffer yourself to be conquered by + a simple girl.” + </p> + <p> + “But,” said Prince Cherry, “shall I not be disgraced if I harm a creature + so perfectly innocent?” + </p> + <p> + “No one is innocent who disputes your majesty's authority,” said the + courtier, bowing; “and it is better to commit an injustice than allow it + to be supposed you can ever be contradicted with impunity.” + </p> + <p> + This touched Cherry on his weak point—his good impulses faded; he + resolved once more to ask Zelia if she would marry him, and if she again + refused, to sell her as a slave. Arrived at the cell in which she was + confined, what was his astonishment to find her gone! He knew not whom to + accuse, for he had kept the key in his pocket the whole time. At last, the + foster-brother suggested that the escape of Zelia might have been + contrived by an old man, Suliman by name, the prince's former tutor, who + was the only one who now ventured to blame him for anything that he did. + Cherry sent immediately, and ordered his old friend to be brought to him, + loaded heavily with irons. Then, full of fury, he went and shut himself up + in his own chamber, where he went raging to and fro, till startled by a + noise like a clap of thunder. The fairy Candide stood before him. + </p> + <p> + “Prince,” said she, in a severe voice, “I promised your father to give you + good counsels and to punish you if you refused to follow them. My counsels + were forgotten, my punishment despised. Under the figure of a man, you + have been no better than the beasts you chase: like a lion in fury, a wolf + in gluttony, a serpent in revenge, and a bull in brutality. Take, + therefore, in your new form the likeness of all these animals.” + </p> + <p> + Scarcely had Prince Cherry heard these words than to his horror he found + himself transformed into what the Fairy had named. He was a creature with + the head of a lion, the horns of a bull, the feet of a wolf, and the tail + of a serpent. At the same time he felt himself transported to a distant + forest, where, standing on the bank of a stream, he saw reflected in the + water his own frightful shape, and heard a voice saying: + </p> + <p> + “Look at thyself, and know thy soul has become a thousand times uglier + even than thy body.” + </p> + <p> + Cherry recognized the voice of Candide, and in his rage would have sprung + upon her and devoured her; but he saw nothing and the same voice said + behind him: + </p> + <p> + “Cease thy feeble fury, and learn to conquer thy pride by being in + submission to thine own subjects.” + </p> + <p> + Hearing no more, he soon quitted the stream, hoping at least to get rid of + the sight of himself; but he had scarcely gone twenty paces when he + tumbled into a pitfall that was laid to catch bears; the bear-hunters, + descending from some trees hard by, caught him, chained him, and only too + delighted to get hold of such a curious-looking animal, led him along with + them to the capital of his own kingdom. + </p> + <p> + There great rejoicings were taking place, and the bear-hunters, asking + what it was all about, were told that it was because Prince Cherry, the + torment of his subjects, had just been struck dead by a thunderbolt—just + punishment of all his crimes. Four courtiers, his wicked companions, had + wished to divide his throne between them; but the people had risen up + against them and offered the crown to Suliman, the old tutor whom Cherry + had ordered to be arrested. + </p> + <p> + All this the poor monster heard. He even saw Suliman sitting upon his own + throne and trying to calm the populace by representing to them that it was + not certain Prince Cherry was dead; that he might return one day to + reassume with honor the crown which Suliman only consented to wear as a + sort of viceroy. + </p> + <p> + “I know his heart,” said the honest and faithful old man; “it is tainted, + but not corrupt. If alive, he may reform yet, and be all his father over + again to you, his people, whom he has caused to suffer so much.” + </p> + <p> + These words touched the poor beast so deeply that he ceased to beat + himself against the iron bars of the cage in which the hunters carried him + about, became gentle as a lamb, and suffered himself to be taken quietly + to a menagerie, where were kept all sorts of strange and ferocious animals + a place which he had himself often visited as a boy, but never thought he + should be shut up there himself. + </p> + <p> + However, he owned he had deserved it all, and began to make amends by + showing himself very obedient to his keeper. This man was almost as great + a brute as the animals he had charge of, and when he was in ill humor he + used to beat them without rhyme or reason. One day, while he was sleeping, + a tiger broke loose and leaped upon him, eager to devour him. Cherry at + first felt a thrill of pleasure at the thought of being revenged; then, + seeing how helpless the man was, he wished himself free, that he might + defend him. Immediately the doors of his cage opened. The keeper, waking + up, saw the strange beast leap out, and imagined, of course, that he was + going to be slain at once. Instead, he saw the tiger lying dead, and the + strange beast creeping up and laying itself at his feet to be caressed. + But as he lifted up his hand to stroke it, a voice was heard saying, “Good + actions never go unrewarded;” and instead of the frightful monster, there + crouched on the ground nothing but a pretty little dog. + </p> + <p> + Cherry, delighted to find himself thus metamorphosed, caressed the keeper + in every possible way, till at last the man took him up into his arms and + carried him to the king, to whom he related this wonderful story, from + beginning to end. The queen wished to have the charming little dog; and + Cherry would have been exceedingly happy could he have forgotten that he + was originally a man and a king. He was lodged most elegantly, had the + richest of collars to adorn his neck, and heard himself praised + continually. But his beauty rather brought him into trouble, for the + queen, afraid lest he might grow too large for a pet, took advice of + dog-doctors, who ordered that he should be fed entirely upon bread, and + that very sparingly; so poor Cherry was sometimes nearly starved. + </p> + <p> + One day, when they gave him his crust for breakfast, a fancy seized him to + go and eat it in the palace garden; so he took the bread in his mouth and + trotted away toward a stream which he knew, and where he sometimes stopped + to drink. But instead of the stream he saw a splendid palace, glittering + with gold and precious stones. Entering the doors was a crowd of men and + women, magnificently dressed; and within there was singing and dancing and + good cheer of all sorts. Yet, however grandly and gayly the people went + in, Cherry noticed that those who came out were pale, thin, ragged, + half-naked, covered with wounds and sores. Some of them dropped dead at + once; others dragged themselves on a little way and then lay down, dying + of hunger, and vainly begged a morsel of bread from others who were + entering in—who never took the least notice of them. + </p> + <p> + Cherry perceived one woman, who was trying feebly to gather and eat some + green herbs. “Poor thing!” said he to himself; “I know what it is to be + hungry, and I want my breakfast badly enough; but still it will kill me to + wait till dinner time, and my crust may save the life of this poor woman.” + </p> + <p> + So the little dog ran up to her and dropped his bread at her feet; she + picked it up and ate it with avidity. Soon she looked quite recovered, and + Cherry, delighted, was trotting back again to his kennel, when he heard + loud cries, and saw a young girl dragged by four men to the door of the + palace, which they were trying to compel her to enter. Oh, how he wished + himself a monster again, as when he slew the tiger!—for the young + girl was no other than his beloved Zelia. Alas! what could a poor little + dog do to defend her? But he ran forward and barked at the men, and bit + their heels, until at last they chased him away with heavy blows. And then + he lay down outside the palace door, determined to watch and see what had + become of Zelia. + </p> + <p> + Conscience pricked him now. “What!” thought he, “I am furious against + these wicked men, who are carrying her away; and did I not do the same + myself? Did I not cast her into prison, and intend to sell her as a slave? + Who knows how much more wickedness I might not have done to her and + others, if Heaven's justice had not stopped me in time?” + </p> + <p> + While he lay thinking and repenting, he heard a window open and saw Zelia + throw out of it a bit of dainty meat. Cherry, who felt hungry enough by + this time, was just about to eat it, when the woman to whom he had given + his crust snatched him up in her arms. + </p> + <p> + “Poor little beast!” cried she, patting him, “every bit of food in that + palace is poisoned: you shall not touch a morsel.” + </p> + <p> + And at the same time the voice in the air repeated again, “Good actions + never go unrewarded;” and Cherry found himself changed into a beautiful + little white pigeon. He remembered with joy that white was the color of + the fairy Candide, and began to hope that she was taking him into favor + again. + </p> + <p> + So he stretched his wings, delighted that he might now have a chance of + approaching his fair Zelia. He flew up to the palace windows, and, finding + one of them open, entered and sought everywhere, but he could not find + Zelia. Then, in despair, he flew out again, resolved to go over the world + until he beheld her once more. + </p> + <p> + He took flight at once and traversed many countries, swiftly as a bird + can, but found no trace of his beloved. At length in a desert, sitting + beside an old hermit in his cave and par-taking with him his frugal + repast, Cherry saw a poor peasant girl and recognized Zelia. Transported + with joy, he flew in, perched on her shoulder, and expressed his delight + and affection by a thousand caresses. + </p> + <p> + She, charmed with the pretty little pigeon, caressed it in her turn, and + promised it that if it would stay with her she would love it always. + </p> + <p> + “What have you done, Zelia?” said the hermit, smiling; and while he spoke + the white pigeon vanished, and there stood Prince Cherry in his own + natural form. “Your enchantment ended, prince, when Zelia promised to love + you. Indeed, she has loved you always, but your many faults constrained + her to hide her love. These are now amended, and you may both live happy + if you will, because your union is founded upon mutual esteem.” + </p> + <p> + Cherry and Zelia threw themselves at the feet of the hermit, whose form + also began to change. His soiled garments became of dazzling whiteness, + and his long beard and withered face grew into the flowing hair and lovely + countenance of the fairy Candide. + </p> + <p> + “Rise up, my children,” said she; “I must now transport you to your palace + and restore to Prince Cherry his father's crown, of which he is now + worthy.” + </p> + <p> + She had scarcely ceased speaking when they found themselves in the chamber + of Suliman, who, delighted to find again his beloved pupil and master, + willingly resigned the throne, and became the most faithful of his + subjects. + </p> + <p> + King Cherry and Queen Zelia reigned together for many years, and it is + said that the former was so blameless and strict in all his duties that + though he constantly wore the ring which Candide had restored to him, it + never once pricked his finger enough to make it bleed. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0014" id="link2H_4_0014"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE PRINCE WITH THE NOSE + </h2> + <p> + THERE was once a king who was passionately in love with a beautiful + princess, but she could not be married because a magician had enchanted + her. The king went to a good fairy to inquire what he should do. Said the + fairy, after receiving him graciously: “Sir, I will tell you a great + secret. The princess has a great cat whom she loves so well that she cares + for nothing and nobody else; but she will be obliged to marry any person + who is adroit enough to walk upon the cat's tail.” + </p> + <p> + “That will not be very difficult,” thought the king to himself, and + departed, resolving to trample the cat's tail to pieces rather than not + succeed in walking upon it. He went immediately to the palace of his fair + mistress and the cat; the animal came in front of him, arching its back in + anger as it was wont to do. The king lifted up his foot, thinking nothing + would be so easy as to tread on the tail, but he found himself mistaken. + Minon—that was the creature's name—twisted itself round so + sharply that the king only hurt his own foot by stamping on the floor. For + eight days did he pursue the cat everywhere: up and down the palace he was + after it from morning till night, but with no better success; the tail + seemed made of quicksilver, so very lively was it. At last the king had + the good fortune to catch Minon sleeping, when tramp! tramp! he trod on + the tail with all his force. + </p> + <p> + Minon woke up, mewed horribly, and immediately changed from a cat into a + large, fierce-looking man, who regarded the king with flashing eyes. + </p> + <p> + “You must marry the princess,” cried he, “because you have broken the + enchantment in which I held her; but I will be revenged on you. You shall + have a son with a nose as long as—that;” he made in the air a curve + of half a foot; “yet he shall believe it is just like all other noses, and + shall be always unfortunate till he has found out it is not. And if you + ever tell anybody of this threat of mine, you shall die on the spot.” So + saying the magician disappeared. + </p> + <p> + The king, who was at first much terrified, soon began to laugh at this + adventure. “My son might have a worse misfortune than too long a nose,” + thought he. “At least it will hinder him neither in seeing nor hearing. I + will go and find the princess and marry her at once.” + </p> + <p> + He did so, but he only lived a few months after, and died before his + little son was born, so that nobody knew anything about the secret of the + nose. + </p> + <p> + The little prince was so much wished for that when he came into the world + they agreed to call him Prince Wish. He had beautiful blue eyes and a + sweet little mouth, but his nose was so big that it covered half his face. + The queen, his mother, was inconsolable; but her ladies tried to satisfy + her by telling her that the nose was not nearly so large as it seemed, + that it would grow smaller as the prince grew bigger, and that if it did + not a large nose was indispensable to a hero. All great soldiers, they + said, had great noses, as everybody knew. The queen was so very fond of + her son that she listened eagerly to all this comfort. Shortly she grew so + used to the princes's nose that it did not seem to her any larger than + ordinary noses of the court; where, in process of time, everybody with a + long nose was very much admired, and the unfortunate people who had only + snubs were taken very little notice of. + </p> + <p> + Great care was observed in the education of the prince; and as soon as he + could speak they told him all sorts of amusing tales, in which all the bad + people had short noses, and all the good people had long ones. No person + was suffered to come near him who had not a nose of more than ordinary + length; nay, to such an extent did the countries carry their fancy, that + the noses of all the little babies were ordered to be pulled out as far as + possible several times a day, in order to make them grow. But grow as they + would, they never could grow as long as that of Prince Wish. When he was + old enough his tutor taught him history; and whenever any great king or + lovely princess was referred to, the tutor always took care to mention + that he or she had a long nose. All the royal apartments were filled with + pictures and portraits having this peculiarity, so that at last Prince + Wish began to regard the length of his nose as his greatest perfection, + and would not have had it an inch less even to save his crown. + </p> + <p> + When he was twenty years old his mother and his people wished him to + marry. They procured for him the likenesses of many princesses, but the + one he preferred was Princess Darling, daughter of a powerful monarch and + heiress to several kingdoms. Alas! with all her beauty, this princess had + one great misfortune, a little turned-up nose, which, every one else said + made her only the more bewitching. But here, in the kingdom of Prince + Wish, the courtiers were thrown by it into the utmost perplexity. They + were in the habit of laughing at all small noses; but how dared they make + fun of the nose of Princess Darling? Two unfortunate gentlemen, whom + Prince Wish had overheard doing so, were ignominiously banished from the + court and capital. + </p> + <p> + After this, the courtiers became alarmed, and tried to correct their habit + of speech; but they would have found themselves in constant difficulties, + had not one clever person struck out a bright idea. He said that though it + was indispensably necessary for a man to have a great nose, women were + very different; and that a learned man had discovered in a very old + manuscript that the celebrated Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, the beauty of + the ancient world, had a turned-up nose. At this information Prince Wish + was so delighted that he made the courtier a very handsome present, and + immediately sent off ambassadors to demand Princess Darling in marriage. + </p> + <p> + She accepted his offer at once, and returned with the ambassadors. He made + all haste to meet and welcome her, but when she was only three leagues + distant from his capital, before he had time even to kiss her hand, the + magician who had once assumed the shape of his mother's cat, Minon, + appeared in the air and carried her off before the lover's very eyes. + </p> + <p> + Prince Wish, almost beside himself with grief, declared that nothing + should induce him to return to his throne and kingdom till he had found + Darling. He would suffer none of his courtiers or attendants to follow + him; but bidding them all adieu, mounted a good horse, laid the reins on + the animal's neck, and let him take him wherever he would. + </p> + <p> + The horse entered a wide-extended plain, and trotted on steadily the whole + day without finding a single house. Master and beast began almost to faint + with hunger; and Prince Wish might have wished himself at home again, had + he not discovered, just at dusk, a cavern, where there sat, beside a + bright lantern, a little woman who might have been more than a hundred + years old. + </p> + <p> + She put on her spectacles the better to look at the stranger, and he + noticed that her nose was so small that the spectacles would hardly stay + on; then the prince and the fairy—for she was a fairy—burst + into laughter. + </p> + <p> + “What a funny nose!” cried the one. + </p> + <p> + “Not so funny as yours, madam,” returned the other. “But pray let us leave + our noses alone, and be good enough to give me something to eat, for I am + dying with hunger, and so is my poor horse.” + </p> + <p> + “With all my heart,” answered the fairy. “Although your nose is + ridiculously long, you are no less the son of one of my best friends. I + loved your father like a brother; he had a very handsome nose.” + </p> + <p> + “What is wanting to my nose?” asked Wish rather savagely. + </p> + <p> + “Oh! nothing at all. On the contrary, there is a great deal too much of + it; but never mind, one may be a very honest man, and yet have too big a + nose. As I said, I was a great friend of your father's; he came often to + see me. I was very pretty then, and oftentimes he used to say to me, 'My + sister——'” + </p> + <p> + “I will hear the rest, madam, with pleasure, when I have supped; but will + you condescend to remember that I have tasted nothing all day?” + </p> + <p> + “Poor boy,” said the fairy, “I will give you some supper directly; and + while you eat it I will tell you my history in six words, for I hate much + talking. A long tongue is as insupportable as a long nose; and I remember + when I was young how much I used to be admired because I was not a talker; + indeed, some one said to the queen my mother—for poor as you see me + now, I am the daughter of a great king, who always——” + </p> + <p> + “Ate when he was hungry, I hope,” interrupted the prince, whose patience + was fast departing. + </p> + <p> + “You are right,” said the imperturbable old fairy; “and I will bring you + your supper directly, only I wish first just to say that the king my + father——” + </p> + <p> + “Hang the king your father!” Prince Wish was about to exclaim, but he + stopped himself, and only observed that however the pleasure of her + conversation might make him forget his hunger, it could not have the same + effect upon his horse, who was really starving. + </p> + <p> + The fairy, pleased at his civility, called her servants and bade them + supply him at once with all he needed. “And,” added she, “I must say you + are very polite and very good-tempered, in spite of your nose.” + </p> + <p> + “What has the old woman to do with my nose?” thought the prince. “If I + were not so very hungry, I would soon show her what she is—a regular + old gossip and chatterbox. She to fancy she talks little, indeed! One must + be very foolish not to know one's own defects. This comes of being born a + princess. Flatterers have spoiled her and persuaded her that she talks + little. Little, indeed! I never knew anybody chatter so much.” + </p> + <p> + While the prince thus meditated, the servants were laying the table, the + fairy asking them a hundred unnecessary questions, simply for the pleasure + of hearing herself talk. “Well,” thought Wish, “I am delighted that I came + hither, if only to learn how wise I have been in never listening to + flatterers, who hide from us our faults, or make us believe they are + perfections. But they could never deceive me. I know all my own weak + points, I trust.” As truly he believed he did. + </p> + <p> + So he went on eating contentedly, nor stopped till the old fairy began to + address him. + </p> + <p> + “Prince,” said she, “will you be kind enough to turn a little? Your nose + casts such a shadow that I cannot see what is on my plate. And, as I was + saying, your father admired me and always made me welcome at court. What + is the court etiquette there now? Do the ladies still go to assemblies, + promenades, balls?—I beg your pardon for laughing, but how very long + your nose is.” + </p> + <p> + “I wish you would cease to speak of my nose,” said the prince, becoming + annoyed. “It is what it is, and I do not desire it any shorter.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh! I see that I have vexed you,” returned the fairy. “Nevertheless, I am + one of your best friends, and so I shall take the liberty of always——” + She would doubtless have gone on talking till midnight; but the prince, + unable to bear it any longer, here interrupted her, thanked her for her + hospitality, bade her a hasty adieu, and rode away. + </p> + <p> + He traveled for a long time, half over the world, but he heard no news of + Princess Darling. However, in each place he went to, he heard one + remarkable fact—the great length of his own nose. The little boys in + the streets jeered at him, the peasants stared at him, and the more polite + ladies and gentlemen whom he met in society used to try in vain to keep + from laughing, and to get out of his way as soon as they could. So the + poor prince became gradually quite forlorn and solitary; he thought all + the world was mad, but still he never thought of there being anything + queer about his own nose. At last the old fairy, who, though she was a + chatterbox, was very good-natured; saw that he was almost breaking his + heart. She felt sorry for him and wished to help him in spite of himself, + for she knew the enchantment which hid from him the Princess Darling could + never be broken till he had discovered his own defect. So she went in + search of the princess, and being more powerful than the magician, since + she was a good fairy and he was an evil magician, she got her away from + him and shut her up in a palace of crystal, which she placed on the road + which Prince Wish had to pass. + </p> + <p> + He was riding along, very melancholy, when he saw the palace; and at its + entrance was a room, made of the purest glass, in which sat his beloved + princess, smiling and beautiful as ever. He leaped from his horse and ran + toward her. She held out her hand for him to kiss, but he could not get at + it for the glass. Transported with eagerness and delight, he dashed his + sword through the crystal and succeeded in breaking a small opening, to + which she put up her beautiful rosy mouth. But it was in vain; Prince Wish + could not approach it. He twisted his neck about, and turned his head on + all sides, till at length, putting up his hand to his face, he discovered + the impediment. + </p> + <p> + “It must be confessed,” exclaimed he, “that my nose is too long.” + </p> + <p> + That moment the glass walls all split asunder, and the old fairy appeared, + leading Princess Darling. + </p> + <p> + “Avow, prince,” said she, “that you are very much obliged to me, for now + the enchantment is ended. You may marry the object of your choice. But,” + added she, smiling, “I fear I might have talked to you forever on the + subject of your nose, and you would not have believed me in its length, + till it became an obstacle to your own inclinations. Now behold it!” and + she held up a crystal mirror. “Are you satisfied to be no different from + other people?” + </p> + <p> + “Perfectly,” said Prince Wish, who found his nose had shrunk to an + ordinary length. And taking the Princess Darling by the hand, he kissed + her courteously, affectionately, and satisfactorily. Then they departed to + their own country, and lived very happily all their days. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0015" id="link2H_4_0015"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE FROG-PRINCE + </h2> + <p> + IN times of yore, when wishes were both heard and granted, lived a king + whose daughters were all beautiful but the youngest was so lovely that the + sun himself, who has seen so much, wondered at her beauty every time he + looked in her face. Now, near the king's castle was a large dark forest; + and in the forest, under an old linden tree, was a deep well. When the day + was very hot, the king's daughter used to go to the wood and seat herself + at the edge of the cool well; and when she became wearied, she would take + a golden ball, throw it up in the air, and catch it again. This was her + favorite amusement. Once it happened that her golden ball, instead of + falling back into the little hand that she stretched out for it, dropped + on the ground, and immediately rolled away into the water. The king's + daughter followed it with her eyes, but the ball had vanished, and the + well was so deep that no one could see down to the bottom. Then she began + to weep, wept louder and louder every minute, and could not console + herself at all. + </p> + <p> + While she was thus lamenting some one called to her: “What is the matter + with you, king's daughter? You weep so that you would touch the heart of a + stone.” + </p> + <p> + She looked around to see whence the voice came, and saw a frog stretching + his thick ugly head out of the water. + </p> + <p> + “Ah! it is you, old water-paddler!” said she. “I am crying for my golden + ball, which has fallen into the well.” + </p> + <p> + “Be content,” answered the frog; “I dare say I can give you some good + advice; but what will you give me if I bring back your plaything to you?” + </p> + <p> + “Whatever you like, dear frog,” said she, “my clothes, my pearls and + jewels, even the golden crown I wear.” + </p> + <p> + The frog answered, “Your clothes, your pearls and jewels, even your golden + crown, I do not care for; but if you will love me, and let me be your + companion and play-fellow, sit near you at your little table, eat from + your little golden plate, drink from your little cup, and sleep in your + little bed—if you will promise me this, then I will bring you back + your golden ball from the bottom of the well.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, yes!” said she; “I promise you every-thing, if you will only bring me + back my golden ball.” + </p> + <p> + She thought to herself, meanwhile: “What nonsense the silly frog talks! He + sits in the water with the other frogs, and croaks, and cannot be + anybody's playfellow!” + </p> + <p> + But the frog, as soon as he had received the promise dipped his head under + the water and sank down. In a little while up he came again with the ball + in his mouth, and threw it on the grass. The king's daughter was overjoyed + when she beheld her pretty plaything again, picked it up, and ran away + with it. + </p> + <p> + “Wait! wait!” cried the frog; “take me with you. I cannot run as fast as + you.” + </p> + <p> + Alas! of what use was it that he croaked after her as loud as he could. + She would not listen to him, but hastened home, and soon forgot the poor + frog, who was obliged to plunge again to the bottom of his well. + </p> + <p> + The next day, when she was sitting at dinner with the king and all the + courtiers, eating from her little gold plate, there came a sound of + something creeping up the marble staircase—splish, splash; and when + it had reached the top, it knocked at the door and cried, “Youngest king's + daughter, open to me.” + </p> + <p> + She ran, wishing to see who was outside; but when she opened the door and + there sat the frog, she flung it hastily to again and sat down at table, + feeling very, very uncomfortable. The king saw that her heart was beating + violently, and said, “How, my child, why are you afraid? Is a giant + standing outside the door to carry you off?” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, no!” answered she, “it is no giant, but a nasty frog, who yesterday, + when I was playing in the wood near the well, fetched my golden ball out + of the water. For this I promised him he should be my companion, but I + never thought he could come out of his well. Now he is at the door, and + wants to come in.” + </p> + <p> + Again, the second time there was a knock, and a voice cried: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Youngest king's daughter, + Open to me; + Know you what yesterday + You promised me, + By the cool water? + Youngest king's daughter, + Open to me.” + </pre> + <p> + Then said the king, “What you promised you must perform. Go and open the + door.” + </p> + <p> + She went and opened the door; the frog hopped in, always following and + following her till he came up to her chair. There he sat and cried out, + “Lift me up to you on the table.” + </p> + <p> + She refused, till the king, her father, commanded her to do it. When the + frog was on the table, he said, “Now push your little golden plate nearer + to me, that we may eat together.” She did as he desired, but one could + easily see that she did it unwillingly. The frog seemed to enjoy his + dinner very much, but every morsel she ate stuck in the throat of the poor + little princess. + </p> + <p> + Then said the frog, “I have eaten enough, and am tired; carry me to your + little room, and make your little silken bed smooth, and we will lay + ourselves down to sleep together.” + </p> + <p> + At this the daughter of the king began to weep; for she was afraid of the + cold frog, who wanted to sleep in her pretty clean bed. + </p> + <p> + But the king looked angrily at her, and said again: “What you have + promised you must perform. The frog is your companion.” + </p> + <p> + It was no use to complain; whether she liked it or not, she was obliged to + take the frog with her up to her little bed. So she picked him up with two + fingers, hating him bitterly the while, and carried him upstairs: but when + she got into bed, instead of lifting him up to her, she threw him with all + her strength against the wall, saying, “Now you nasty frog, there will be + an end of you.” + </p> + <p> + But what fell down from the wall was not a dead frog, but a living young + prince, with beautiful and loving eyes, who at once became, by her own + promise and her father's will, her dear companion and husband. He told her + how he had been cursed by a wicked sorceress, and that no one but the + king's youngest daughter could release him from his enchantment and take + him out of the well. + </p> + <p> + The next day a carriage drove up to the palace gates with eight white + horses, having white feathers on their heads and golden reins. Behind it + stood the servant of the young prince, called the faithful Henry. This + faithful Henry had been so grieved when his master was changed into a frog + that he had been compelled to have three iron bands fastened round his + heart, lest it should break. Now the carriage came to convey the prince to + his kingdom, so the faithful Henry lifted in the bride and bridegroom and + mounted behind, full of joy at his lord's release. But when they had gone + a short distance, the prince heard behind him a noise as if something was + breaking. He cried out, “Henry, the carriage is breaking!” + </p> + <p> + But Henry replied: “No, sir, it is not the carriage but one of the bands + from my heart, with which I was forced to bind it up, or it would have + broken with grief while you sat as a frog at the bottom of the well.” + </p> + <p> + Twice again this happened, and the prince always thought the carriage was + breaking; but it was only the bands breaking off from the heart of the + faithful Henry, out of joy that his lord, the frog-prince, was a frog no + more. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0016" id="link2H_4_0016"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CLEVER ALICE + </h2> + <p> + ONCE upon a time there was a man who had a daughter who was called “Clever + Alice,” and when she was grown up, her father said, “We must see about her + marrying.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” replied her mother, “whenever a young man shall appear who is + worthy of her.” + </p> + <p> + At last a certain youth, by name Hans, came from a distance to make a + proposal of marriage; but he required one condition, that the clever Alice + should be very prudent. + </p> + <p> + “Oh,” said her father, “no fear of that! she has got a head full of + brains;” and the mother added, “ah, she can see the wind blow up the + street, and hear the flies cough!” + </p> + <p> + “Very well,” replied Hans; “but remember, if she is not very prudent, I + will not take her.” Soon afterward they sat down to dinner, and her mother + said, “Alice, go down into the cellar and draw some beer.” + </p> + <p> + So Clever Alice took the jug down from the wall, and went into the cellar, + jerking the lid up and down on her way, to pass away the time. As soon as + she got downstairs she drew a stool and placed it before the cask, in + order that she might not have to stoop, for she thought stooping might in + some way injure her back and give it an undesirable bend. Then she placed + the can before her and turned the tap, and while the beer was running, as + she did not wish her eyes to be idle, she looked about upon the wall above + and below. Presently she perceived, after much peeping into this corner + and that corner, a hatchet, which the bricklayers had left behind? + sticking out of the ceiling right above her head. At the sight of this + Clever Alice began to cry, saying, “Oh! if I marry Hans, and we have a + child, and he grows up, and we send him into the cellar to draw beer, the + hatchet will fall upon his head and kill him,” and so she sat there + weeping with all her might over the impending misfortune. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile the good folks upstairs were waiting for the beer, but as Clever + Alice did not come, her mother told the maid to go and see what she was + stopping for. The maid went down into the cellar and found Alice sitting + before the cask crying heartily, and she asked, “Alice, what are you + weeping about?” + </p> + <p> + “Ah,” she replied, “have I not cause? If I marry Hans, and we have a + child, and he grows up, and we send him here to draw beer, that hatchet + will fall upon his head and kill him.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh,” said the maid, “what a clever Alice we have!” And sitting down, she + began to weep, too, for the misfortune that was to happen. + </p> + <p> + After a while, when the servant did not return, the good folks above began + to feel very thirsty; so the husband told the boy to go down into the + cellar and see what had become of Alice and the maid. The boy went down, + and there sat Clever Alice and the maid both crying, so he asked the + reason; and Alice told him the same tale, of the hatchet that was to fall + on her child, if she married Hans, and if they had a child. When she had + finished, the boy exclaimed, “What a clever Alice we have!” and fell + weeping and howling with the others. + </p> + <p> + Upstairs they were still waiting, and the husband said, when the boy did + not return, “Do you go down, wife, into the cellar and see why Alice stays + so long.” So she went down, and finding all three sitting there crying, + asked the reason, and Alice told her about the hatchet which must + inevitably fall upon the head of her son. Then the mother likewise + exclaimed, “Oh, what a clever Alice we have!” and, sitting down, began to + weep as much as any of the rest. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile the husband waited for his wife's return; but at last he felt so + very thirsty that he said, “I must go myself down into the cellar and see + what is keeping our Alice.” As soon as he entered the cellar, there he + found the four sitting and crying together, and when he heard the reason, + he also exclaimed, “Oh, what a clever Alice we have!” and sat down to cry + with the whole strength of his lungs. + </p> + <p> + All this time the bridegroom above sat waiting, but when nobody returned, + he thought they must be waiting for him, and so he went down to see what + was the matter. When he entered, there sat the five crying and groaning, + each one in a louder key than his neighbor. + </p> + <p> + “What misfortune has happened?” he asked. + </p> + <p> + “Ah, dear Hans!” cried Alice, “if you and I should marry one another, and + have a child, and he grew up, and we, perhaps, send him down to this + cellar to tap the beer, the hatchet which has been left sticking up there + may fall on his head, and so kill him; and do you not think this is enough + to weep about?” + </p> + <p> + “Now,” said Hans, “more prudence than this is not necessary for my + housekeeping; because you are such a clever Alice, I will have you for my + wife.” And, taking her hand, he led her home, and celebrated the wedding + directly. + </p> + <p> + After they had been married a little while, Hans, said one morning, “Wife, + I will go out to work and earn some money; do you go into the field and + gather some corn wherewith to make bread.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” she answered, “I will do so, dear Hans.” And when he was gone, she + cooked herself a nice mess of pottage to take with her. As she came to the + field, she said to herself, “What shall I do? Shall I cut first, or eat + first? Aye, I will eat first!” Then she ate up the contents of her pot, + and when it was finished, she thought to herself, “Now, shall I reap first + or sleep first? Well, I think I will have a nap!” and so she laid herself + down among the corn, and went to sleep. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile Hans returned home, but Alice did not come, and so he said, “Oh, + what a prudent Alice I have! She is so industrious that she does not even + come home to eat anything.” By and by, however, evening came on, and still + she did not return; so Hans went out to see how much she had reaped; but, + behold, nothing at all, and there lay Alice fast asleep among the corn! So + home he ran very fast, and brought a net with little bells hanging on it, + which he threw over her head while she still slept on. When he had done + this, he went back again and shut to the house door, and, seating himself + on his stool, began working very industriously. + </p> + <p> + At last, when it was nearly dark, the clever Alice awoke, and as soon as + she stood up, the net fell all over her hair, and the bells jingled at + every step she took. This quite frightened her, and she began to doubt + whether she were really Clever Alice, and said to herself, “Am I she, or + am I not?” This was a question she could not answer, and she stood still a + long while considering about it. At last she thought she would go home and + ask whether she was really herself—supposing somebody would be able + to tell her. + </p> + <p> + When she came up to the house door it was shut; so she tapped at the + window, and asked, “Hans, is Alice within?” “Yes,” he replied, “she is.” + At which answer she became really terrified, and exclaiming, “Ah, heaven, + then I am not Alice!” she ran up to another house, intending to ask the + same question. But as soon as the folks within heard the jingling of the + bells in her net, they refused to open their doors, and nobody would + receive her. So she ran straight away from the village, and no one has + ever seen her since. + </p> + <div style="height: 6em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Little Lame Prince, by +Miss Mulock--Pseudonym of Maria Dinah Craik + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LITTLE LAME PRINCE *** + +***** This file should be named 496-h.htm or 496-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/4/9/496/ + +Produced by Charles Keller and David Widger + +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. 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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: The Little Lame Prince + And: The Invisible Prince; Prince Cherry; The Prince With The Nose + The Frog-Prince; Clever Alice + +Author: Miss Mulock--Pseudonym of Maria Dinah Craik + +Release Date: January 16, 2006 [EBook #496] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LITTLE LAME PRINCE *** + + + + +Produced by Charles Keller and David Widger + + + + + +THE LITTLE LAME PRINCE + +By Miss Mulock [Pseudonym of Maria Dinah Craik] + + +CONTENTS + + THE LITTLE LAME PRINCE + THE INVISIBLE PRINCE + PRINCE CHERRY + THE PRINCE WITH THE NOSE + THE FROG-PRINCE + CLEVER ALICE + + + + + +THE LITTLE LAME PRINCE + + + +CHAPTER I + +Yes, he was the most beautiful Prince that ever was born. + +Of course, being a prince, people said this; but it was true besides. +When he looked at the candle, his eyes had an expression of earnest +inquiry quite startling in a new born baby. His nose--there was not +much of it certainly, but what there was seemed an aquiline shape; +his complexion was a charming, healthy purple; he was round and fat, +straight-limbed and long--in fact, a splendid baby, and everybody was +exceedingly proud of him, especially his father and mother, the King and +Queen of Nomansland, who had waited for him during their happy reign of +ten years--now made happier than ever, to themselves and their subjects, +by the appearance of a son and heir. + +The only person who was not quite happy was the King's brother, the +heir presumptive, who would have been king one day had the baby not been +born. But as his majesty was very kind to him, and even rather sorry for +him--insomuch that at the Queen's request he gave him a dukedom almost +as big as a county--the Crown-Prince, as he was called, tried to seem +pleased also; and let us hope he succeeded. + +The Prince's christening was to be a grand affair. According to the +custom of the country, there were chosen for him four-and-twenty +god-fathers and godmothers, who each had to give him a name, and promise +to do their utmost for him. When he came of age, he himself had to +choose the name--and the godfather or god-mother--that he liked the +best, for the rest of his days. + +Meantime all was rejoicing. Subscriptions were made among the rich to +give pleasure to the poor; dinners in town-halls for the workingmen; +tea-parties in the streets for their wives; and milk-and-bun feasts for +the children in the schoolrooms. For Nomansland, though I cannot point +it out in any map, or read of it in any history, was, I believe, much +like our own or many another country. + +As for the palace--which was no different from other palaces--it was +clean "turned out of the windows," as people say, with the preparations +going on. The only quiet place in it was the room which, though the +Prince was six weeks old, his mother the Queen had never quitted. Nobody +said she was ill, however--it would have been so inconvenient; and as +she said nothing about it herself, but lay pale and placid, giving no +trouble to anybody, nobody thought much about her. All the world was +absorbed in admiring the baby. + +The christening-day came at last, and it was as lovely as the Prince +himself. All the people in the palace were lovely too--or thought +themselves so--in the elegant new clothes which the Queen, who thought +of everybody, had taken care to give them, from the ladies-in-waiting +down to the poor little kitchen-maid, who looked at herself in her pink +cotton gown, and thought, doubtless, that there never was such a pretty +girl as she. + +By six in the morning all the royal household had dressed itself in +its very best; and then the little Prince was dressed in his best--his +magnificent christening robe; which proceeding his Royal Highness did +not like at all, but kicked and screamed like any common baby. When he +had a little calmed down, they carried him to be looked at by the Queen +his mother, who, though her royal robes had been brought and laid upon +the bed, was, as everybody well knew, quite unable to rise and put them +on. + +She admired her baby very much; kissed and blessed him, and lay looking +at him, as she did for hours sometimes, when he was placed beside her +fast asleep; then she gave him up with a gentle smile, and, saying she +hoped he would be very good, that it would be a very nice christening, +and all the guests would enjoy themselves, turned peacefully over on +her bed, saying nothing more to anybody. She was a very uncomplaining +person, the Queen--and her name was Dolorez. + +Everything went on exactly as if she had been present. All, even the +king himself, had grown used to her absence; for she was not strong, +and for years had not joined in any gayeties. She always did her royal +duties, but as to pleasures, they could go on quite well without her, or +it seemed so. The company arrived: great and notable persons in this +and neighboring countries; also the four-and-twenty godfathers and +godmothers, who had been chosen with care, as the people who would be +most useful to his royal highness should he ever want friends, which did +not seem likely. What such want could possibly happen to the heir of the +powerful monarch of Nomansland? + +They came, walking two and two, with their coronets on their +heads--being dukes and duchesses, princes and princesses, or the like; +they all kissed the child and pronounced the name each had given him. +Then the four-and-twenty names were shouted out with great energy by +six heralds, one after the other, and afterward written down, to be +preserved in the state records, in readiness for the next time they were +wanted, which would be either on his Royal Highness' coronation or his +funeral. + +Soon the ceremony was over, and everybody satisfied; except, perhaps, +the little Prince himself, who moaned faintly under his christening +robes, which nearly smothered him. + +In truth, though very few knew, the Prince in coming to the chapel had +met with a slight disaster. His nurse,--not his ordinary one, but the +state nurse-maid,--an elegant and fashionable young lady of rank, whose +duty it was to carry him to and from the chapel, had been so occupied +in arranging her train with one hand, while she held the baby with +the other, that she stumbled and let him fall, just at the foot of the +marble staircase. + +To be sure, she contrived to pick him up again the next minute; and the +accident was so slight it seemed hardly worth speaking of. Consequently +nobody did speak of it. The baby had turned deadly pale, but did not +cry, so no person a step or two behind could discover anything wrong; +afterward, even if he had moaned, the silver trumpets were loud enough +to drown his voice. It would have been a pity to let anything trouble +such a day of felicity. + +So, after a minute's pause, the procession had moved on. Such a +procession t Heralds in blue and silver; pages in crimson and gold; and +a troop of little girls in dazzling white, carrying baskets of flowers, +which they strewed all the way before the nurse and child--finally the +four-and-twenty godfathers and godmothers, as proud as possible, and so +splendid to look at that they would have quite extinguished their small +godson--merely a heap of lace and muslin with a baby face inside--had it +not been for a canopy of white satin and ostrich feathers which was held +over him wherever he was carried. + +Thus, with the sun shining on them through the painted windows, they +stood; the king and his train on one side, the Prince and his attendants +on the other, as pretty a sight as ever was seen out of fairyland. + +"It's just like fairyland," whispered the eldest little girl to the next +eldest, as she shook the last rose out of her basket; "and I think the +only thing the Prince wants now is a fairy god-mother." + +"Does he?" said a shrill but soft and not unpleasant voice behind; and +there was seen among the group of children somebody,--not a child, yet +no bigger than a child,--somebody whom nobody had seen before, and who +certainly had not been invited, for she had no christening clothes on. + +She was a little old woman dressed all in gray: gray gown; gray +hooded cloak, of a material excessively fine, and a tint that seemed +perpetually changing, like the gray of an evening sky. Her hair was +gray, and her eyes also--even her complexion had a soft gray shadow over +it. But there was nothing unpleasantly old about her, and her smile was +as sweet and childlike as the Prince's own, which stole over his pale +little face the instant she came near enough to touch him. + +"Take care! Don't let the baby fall again." + +The grand young lady nurse started, flushing angrily. + +"Who spoke to me? How did anybody know?--I mean, what business has +anybody----" Then frightened, but still speaking in a much sharper tone +than I hope young ladies of rank are in the habit of speaking--"Old +woman, you will be kind enough not to say 'the baby,' but 'the Prince.' +Keep away; his Royal Highness is just going to sleep." + +"Nevertheless I must kiss him. I am his god-mother." + +"You!" cried the elegant lady nurse. + +"You!" repeated all the gentlemen and ladies-in-waiting. + +"You!" echoed the heralds and pages--and they began to blow the silver +trumpets in order to stop all further conversation. + +The Prince's procession formed itself for returning,--the King and his +train having already moved off toward the palace,--but on the top-most +step of the marble stairs stood, right in front of all, the little old +woman clothed in gray. + +She stretched herself on tiptoe by the help of her stick, and gave the +little Prince three kisses. + +"This is intolerable!" cried the young lady nurse, wiping the kisses +off rapidly with her lace handkerchief. "Such an insult to his Royal +Highness! Take yourself out of the way, old woman, or the King shall be +informed immediately." + +"The King knows nothing of me, more's the pity," replied the old woman, +with an indifferent air, as if she thought the loss was more on his +Majesty's side than hers. "My friend in the palace is the King's wife." + +"King's have not wives, but queens," said the lady nurse, with a +contemptuous air. + +"You are right," replied the old woman. "Nevertheless I know her Majesty +well, and I love her and her child. And--since you dropped him on the +marble stairs (this she said in a mysterious whisper, which made the +young lady tremble in spite of her anger)--I choose to take him for my +own, and be his godmother, ready to help him whenever he wants me." + +"You help him!" cried all the group breaking into shouts of laughter, +to which the little old woman paid not the slightest attention. Her soft +gray eyes were fixed on the Prince, who seemed to answer to the look, +smiling again and again in the causeless, aimless fashion that babies do +smile. + +"His Majesty must hear of this," said a gentleman-in-waiting. + +"His Majesty will hear quite enough news in a minute or two," said +the old woman sadly. And again stretching up to the little Prince, she +kissed him on the forehead solemnly. + +"Be called by a new name which nobody has ever thought of. Be Prince +Dolor, in memory of your mother Dolorez." + +"In memory of!" Everybody started at the ominous phrase, and also at a +most terrible breach of etiquette which the old woman had committed. +In Nomansland, neither the king nor the queen was supposed to have any +Christian name at all. They dropped it on their coronation day, and it +never was mentioned again till it was engraved on their coffins when +they died. + +"Old woman, you are exceedingly ill-bred," cried the eldest +lady-in-waiting, much horrified. "How you could know the fact passes +my comprehension. But even if you did know it, how dared you presume to +hint that her most gracious Majesty is called Dolorez?" + +"WAS called Dolorez," said the old woman, with a tender solemnity. + +The first gentleman, called the Gold-stick-in-waiting, raised it to +strike her, and all the rest stretched out their hands to seize her; but +the gray mantle melted from between their fingers like air; and, before +anybody had time to do anything more, there came a heavy, muffled, +startling sound. + +The great bell of the palace the bell which was only heard on the death +of some one of the royal family, and for as many times as he or she was +years old--began to toll. They listened, mute and horror-stricken. Some +one counted: one--two--three--four--up to nine-and-twenty--just the +Queen's age. + +It was, indeed, the Queen. Her Majesty was dead! In the midst of the +festivities she had slipped away out of her new happiness and her old +sufferings, not few nor small. Sending away all her women to see the +grand sight,--at least they said afterward, in excuse, that she had done +so, and it was very like her to do it,--she had turned with her face +to the window, whence one could just see the tops of the distant +mountains--the Beautiful Mountains, as they were called--where she was +born. So gazing, she had quietly died. + +When the little Prince was carried back to his mother's room, there was +no mother to kiss him. And, though he did not know it, there would be +for him no mother's kiss any more. As for his godmother,--the little old +woman in gray who called herself so,--whether she melted into air, like +her gown when they touched it, or whether she flew out of the chapel +window, or slipped through the doorway among the bewildered crowd, +nobody knew--nobody ever thought about her. + +Only the nurse, the ordinary homely one, coming out of the Prince's +nursery in the middle of the night in search of a cordial to quiet his +continual moans, saw, sitting in the doorway, something which she would +have thought a mere shadow, had she not seen shining out of it two eyes, +gray and soft and sweet. She put her hand before her own, screaming +loudly. When she took them away the old woman was gone. + + + +CHAPTER II + +Everybody was very kind to the poor little prince. I think people +generally are kind to motherless children, whether princes or peasants. +He had a magnificent nursery and a regular suite of attendants, and was +treated with the greatest respect and state. Nobody was allowed to talk +to him in silly baby language, or dandle him, or, above all to kiss him, +though perhaps some people did it surreptitiously, for he was such a +sweet baby that it was difficult to help it. + +It could not be said that the Prince missed his mother--children of his +age cannot do that; but somehow after she died everything seemed to go +wrong with him. From a beautiful baby he became sickly and pale, seeming +to have almost ceased growing, especially in his legs, which had been so +fat and strong. + +But after the day of his christening they withered and shrank; he no +longer kicked them out either in passion or play, and when, as he got +to be nearly a year old, his nurse tried to make him stand upon them, he +only tumbled down. + +This happened so many times that at last people began to talk about it. +A prince, and not able to stand on his own legs! What a dreadful thing! +What a misfortune for the country! + +Rather a misfortune to him also, poor little boy! but nobody seemed to +think of that. And when, after a while, his health revived, and the old +bright look came back to his sweet little face, and his body grew larger +and stronger, though still his legs remained the same, people continued +to speak of him in whispers, and with grave shakes of the head. +Everybody knew, though nobody said it, that something, it was impossible +to guess what, was not quite right with the poor little Prince. + +Of course, nobody hinted this to the King his father: it does not do +to tell great people anything unpleasant. And besides, his Majesty +took very little notice of his son, or of his other affairs, beyond the +necessary duties of his kingdom. + +People had said he would not miss the Queen at all, she having been +so long an invalid, but he did. After her death he never was quite the +same. He established himself in her empty rooms, the only rooms in +the palace whence one could see the Beautiful Mountains, and was often +observed looking at them as if he thought she had flown away thither, +and that his longing could bring her back again. And by a curious +coincidence, which nobody dared inquire into, he desired that the Prince +might be called, not by any of the four-and-twenty grand names given him +by his godfathers and godmothers, but by the identical name mentioned by +the little old woman in gray--Dolor, after his mother Dolorez. + +Once a week, according to established state custom, the Prince, dressed +in his very best, was brought to the King his father for half an hour, +but his Majesty was generally too ill and too melancholy to pay much +heed to the child. + +Only once, when he and the Crown-Prince, who was exceedingly attentive +to his royal brother, were sitting together, with Prince Dolor playing +in a corner of the room, dragging himself about with his arms rather +than his legs, and sometimes trying feebly to crawl from one chair to +another, it seemed to strike the father that all was not right with his +son. + +"How old is his Royal Highness?" said he suddenly to the nurse. + +"Two years, three months, and five days, please your Majesty." + +"It does not please me," said the King, with a sigh. "He ought to be far +more forward than he is now ought he not, brother? You, who have so many +children, must know. Is there not something wrong about him?" + +"Oh, no," said the Crown-Prince, exchanging meaning looks with the +nurse, who did not understand at all, but stood frightened and trembling +with the tears in her eyes. "Nothing to make your Majesty at all uneasy. +No doubt his Royal Highness will outgrow it in time." + +"Outgrow--what?" + +"A slight delicacy--ahem!--in the spine; something inherited, perhaps, +from his dear mother." + +"Ah, she was always delicate; but she was the sweetest woman that ever +lived. Come here, my little son." + +And as the Prince turned round upon his father a small, sweet, grave +face,--so like his mother's,--his Majesty the King smiled and held out +his arms. But when the boy came to him, not running like a boy, but +wriggling awkwardly along the floor, the royal countenance clouded over. + +"I ought to have been told of this. It is terrible--terrible! And for a +prince too. Send for all the doctors in my kingdom immediately." + +They came, and each gave a different opinion and ordered a different +mode of treatment. The only thing they agreed in was what had been +pretty well known before, that the Prince must have been hurt when he +was an infant--let fall, perhaps, so as to injure his spine and lower +limbs. Did nobody remember? + +No, nobody. Indignantly, all the nurses denied that any such accident +had happened, was possible to have happened, until the faithful +country nurse recollected that it really had happened on the day of the +christening. For which unluckily good memory all the others scolded her +so severely that she had no peace of her life, and soon after, by the +influence of the young lady nurse who had carried the baby that fatal +day, and who was a sort of connection of the Crown-Prince--being his +wife's second cousin once removed--the poor woman was pensioned off and +sent to the Beautiful Mountains from whence she came, with orders to +remain there for the rest of her days. + +But of all this the King knew nothing, for, indeed, after the first +shock of finding out that his son could not walk, and seemed never +likely to he interfered very little concerning him. The whole thing was +too painful, and his Majesty never liked painful things. Sometimes he +inquired after Prince Dolor, and they told him his Royal Highness was +going on as well as could be expected, which really was the case. For, +after worrying the poor child and perplexing themselves with one remedy +after another, the Crown-Prince, not wishing to offend any of the +differing doctors, had proposed leaving him to Nature; and Nature, the +safest doctor of all, had come to his help and done her best. + +He could not walk, it is true; his limbs were mere useless appendages to +his body; but the body itself was strong and sound. And his face was the +same as ever--just his mother's face, one of the sweetest in the world. + +Even the King, indifferent as he was, sometimes looked at the little +fellow with sad tenderness, noticing how cleverly he learned to crawl +and swing himself about by his arms, so that in his own awkward way he +was as active in motion as most children of his age. + +"Poor little man! he does his best, and he is not unhappy--not half +so unhappy as I, brother," addressing the Crown-Prince, who was more +constant than ever in his attendance upon the sick monarch. "If anything +should befall me, I have appointed you Regent. In case of my death, you +will take care of my poor little boy?" + +"Certainly, certainly; but do not let us imagine any such misfortune. +I assure your Majesty--everybody will assure you--that it is not in the +least likely." + +He knew, however, and everybody knew, that it was likely, and soon after +it actually did happen. The King died as suddenly and quietly as the +Queen had done--indeed, in her very room and bed; and Prince Dolor was +left without either father or mother--as sad a thing as could happen, +even to a prince. + +He was more than that now, though. He was a king. In Nomansland, as in +other countries, the people were struck with grief one day and revived +the next. "The king is dead--long live the king!" was the cry that rang +through the nation, and almost before his late Majesty had been laid +beside the Queen in their splendid mausoleum, crowds came thronging from +all parts to the royal palace, eager to see the new monarch. + +They did see him,--the Prince Regent took care they should,--sitting on +the floor of the council chamber, sucking his thumb! And when one of +the gentlemen-in-waiting lifted him up and carried him--fancy carrying a +king!--to the chair of state, and put the crown on his head, he shook it +off again, it was so heavy and uncomfortable. Sliding down to the foot +of the throne he began playing with the golden lions that supported it, +stroking their paws and putting his tiny fingers into their eyes, and +laughing--laughing as if he had at last found something to amuse him. + +"There's a fine king for you!" said the first lord-in-waiting, a friend +of the Prince Regent's (the Crown-Prince that used to be, who, in the +deepest mourning, stood silently beside the throne of his young nephew. +He was a handsome man, very grand and clever-looking). "What a king! who +can never stand to receive his subjects, never walk in processions, who +to the last day of his life will have to be carried about like a baby. +Very unfortunate!" + +"Exceedingly unfortunate," repeated the second lord. "It is always bad +for a nation when its king is a child; but such a child--a permanent +cripple, if not worse." + +"Let us hope not worse," said the first lord in a very hopeless tone, +and looking toward the Regent, who stood erect and pretended to hear +nothing. "I have heard that these sort of children with very large +heads, and great broad fore-heads and staring eyes, are--well, well, let +us hope for the best and be prepared for the worst. In the meantime----" + +"I swear," said the Crown-Prince, coming forward and kissing the hilt of +his sword--"I swear to perform my duties as Regent, to take all care of +his Royal Highness--his Majesty, I mean," with a grand bow to the little +child, who laughed innocently back again. "And I will do my humble +best to govern the country. Still, if the country has the slightest +objection----" + +But the Crown-Prince being generalissimo, having the whole army at his +beck and call, so that he could have begun a civil war in no time, the +country had, of course, not the slightest objection. + +So the King and Queen slept together in peace, and Prince Dolor reigned +over the land--that is, his uncle did; and everybody said what a +fortunate thing it was for the poor little Prince to have such a clever +uncle to take care of him. + +All things went on as usual; indeed, after the Regent had brought his +wife and her seven sons, and established them in the palace, rather +better than usual. For they gave such splendid entertainments and made +the capital so lively that trade revived, and the country was said to be +more flourishing than it had been for a century. Whenever the Regent +and his sons appeared, they were received with shouts: "Long live the +Crown-Prince!" "Long live the royal family!" And, in truth, they were +very fine children, the whole seven of them, and made a great show +when they rode out together on seven beautiful horses, one height above +another, down to the youngest, on his tiny black pony, no bigger than a +large dog. + +As for the other child, his Royal Highness Prince Dolor,--for somehow +people soon ceased to call him his Majesty, which seemed such a +ridiculous title for a poor little fellow, a helpless cripple,--with +only head and trunk, and no legs to speak of,--he was seen very seldom +by anybody. + +Sometimes people daring enough to peer over the high wall of the palace +garden noticed there, carried in a footman's arms, or drawn in a chair, +or left to play on the grass, often with nobody to mind him, a pretty +little boy, with a bright, intelligent face and large, melancholy +eyes--no, not exactly melancholy, for they were his mother's, and she +was by no means sad-minded, but thoughtful and dreamy. They rather +perplexed people, those childish eyes; they were so exceedingly innocent +and yet so penetrating. If anybody did a wrong thing--told a lie, for +instance they would turn round with such a grave, silent surprise the +child never talked much--that every naughty person in the palace was +rather afraid of Prince Dolor. + +He could not help it, and perhaps he did not even know it, being no +better a child than many other children, but there was something +about him which made bad people sorry, and grumbling people ashamed of +themselves, and ill-natured people gentle and kind. + +I suppose because they were touched to see a poor little fellow who +did not in the least know what had befallen him or what lay before him, +living his baby life as happy as the day is long. Thus, whether or not +he was good himself, the sight of him and his affliction made other +people good, and, above all, made everybody love him--so much so, that +his uncle the Regent began to feel a little uncomfortable. + +Now, I have nothing to say against uncles in general. They are usually +very excellent people, and very convenient to little boys and girls. +Even the "cruel uncle" of the "Babes in the Wood" I believe to be quite +an exceptional character. And this "cruel uncle" of whom I am telling +was, I hope, an exception, too. + +He did not mean to be cruel. If anybody had called him so, he would +have resented it extremely: he would have said that what he did was done +entirely for the good of the country. But he was a man who had always +been accustomed to consider himself first and foremost, believing that +whatever he wanted was sure to be right, and therefore he ought to have +it. So he tried to get it, and got it too, as people like him very often +do. Whether they enjoy it when they have it is another question. + +Therefore he went one day to the council chamber, determined on making +a speech, and informing the ministers and the country at large that the +young King was in failing health, and that it would be advisable to send +him for a time to the Beautiful Mountains. Whether he really meant to +do this, or whether it occurred to him afterward that there would be an +easier way of attaining his great desire, the crown of Nomansland, is a +point which I cannot decide. + +But soon after, when he had obtained an order in council to send the +King away, which was done in great state, with a guard of honor composed +of two whole regiments of soldiers,--the nation learned, without much +surprise, that the poor little Prince--nobody ever called him king +now--had gone a much longer journey than to the Beautiful Mountains. + +He had fallen ill on the road and died within a few hours; at least so +declared the physician in attendance and the nurse who had been sent +to take care of him. They brought his coffin back in great state, and +buried it in the mausoleum with his parents. + +So Prince Dolor was seen no more. The country went into deep mourning +for him, and then forgot him, and his uncle reigned in his stead. That +illustrious personage accepted his crown with great decorum, and wore it +with great dignity to the last. But whether he enjoyed it or not there +is no evidence to show. + + + +CHAPTER III + +And what of the little lame Prince, whom everybody seemed so easily to +have forgotten? + +Not everybody. There were a few kind souls, mothers of families, who had +heard his sad story, and some servants about the palace, who had been +familiar with his sweet ways--these many a time sighed and said, "Poor +Prince Dolor!" Or, looking at the Beautiful Mountains, which were +visible all over Nomansland, though few people ever visited them, "Well, +perhaps his Royal Highness is better where he is than even there." + +They did not know--indeed, hardly anybody did know--that beyond the +mountains, between them and the sea, lay a tract of country, barren, +level, bare, except for short, stunted grass, and here and there a patch +of tiny flowers. Not a bush--not a tree not a resting place for bird or +beast was in that dreary plain. In summer the sunshine fell upon it hour +after hour with a blinding glare; in winter the winds and rains swept +over it unhindered, and the snow came down steadily, noiselessly, +covering it from end to end in one great white sheet, which lay for days +and weeks unmarked by a single footprint. + +Not a pleasant place to live in--and nobody did live there, apparently. +The only sign that human creatures had ever been near the spot was one +large round tower which rose up in the center of the plain, and might +be seen all over it--if there had been anybody to see, which there never +was. Rose right up out of the ground, as if it had grown of itself, like +a mushroom. But it was not at all mushroom-like; on the contrary, it was +very solidly built. In form it resembled the Irish round towers, which +have puzzled people for so long, nobody being able to find out when, +or by whom, or for what purpose they were made; seemingly for no use +at all, like this tower. It was circular, of very firm brickwork, with +neither doors nor windows, until near the top, when you could perceive +some slits in the wall through which one might possibly creep in or look +out. Its height was nearly a hundred feet, and it had a battlemented +parapet showing sharp against the sky. + +As the plain was quite desolate--almost like a desert, only without +sand, and led to nowhere except the still more desolate seacoast--nobody +ever crossed it. Whatever mystery there was about the tower, it and the +sky and the plain kept their secret to themselves. + +It was a very great secret indeed,--a state secret,--which none but so +clever a man as the present King of Nomansland would ever have thought +of. How he carried it out, undiscovered, I cannot tell. People said, +long afterward, that it was by means of a gang of condemned criminals, +who were set to work, and executed immediately after they had done, so +that nobody knew anything, or in the least suspected the real fact. + +And what was the fact? Why, that this tower, which seemed a mere mass +of masonry, utterly forsaken and uninhabited, was not so at all. Within +twenty feet of the top some ingenious architect had planned a perfect +little house, divided into four rooms--as by drawing a cross within a +circle you will see might easily be done. By making skylights, and a +few slits in the walls for windows, and raising a peaked roof which was +hidden by the parapet, here was a dwelling complete, eighty feet from +the ground, and as inaccessible as a rook's nest on the top of a tree. + +A charming place to live in! if you once got up there,--and never wanted +to come down again. + +Inside--though nobody could have looked inside except a bird, and hardly +even a bird flew past that lonely tower--inside it was furnished with +all the comfort and elegance imaginable; with lots of books and toys, +and everything that the heart of a child could desire. For its only +inhabitant, except a nurse of course, was a poor solitary child. + +One winter night, when all the plain was white with moonlight, there was +seen crossing it a great tall black horse, ridden by a man also big and +equally black, carrying before him on the saddle a woman and a child. +The woman--she had a sad, fierce look, and no wonder, for she was a +criminal under sentence of death, but her sentence had been changed to +almost as severe a punishment. She was to inhabit the lonely tower +with the child, and was allowed to live as long as the child lived--no +longer. This in order that she might take the utmost care of him; for +those who put him there were equally afraid of his dying and of his +living. + +Yet he was only a little gentle boy, with a sweet, sleepy smile--he had +been very tired with his long journey--and clinging arms, which held +tight to the man's neck, for he was rather frightened, and the face, +black as it was, looked kindly at him. And he was very helpless, with +his poor, small shriveled legs, which could neither stand nor run +away--for the little forlorn boy was Prince Dolor. + +He had not been dead at all--or buried either. His grand funeral had +been a mere pretense: a wax figure having been put in his place, while +he himself was spirited away under charge of these two, the condemned +woman and the black man. The latter was deaf and dumb, so could neither +tell nor repeat anything. + +When they reached the foot of the tower, there was light enough to see +a huge chain dangling from the parapet, but dangling only halfway. The +deaf-mute took from his saddle-wallet a sort of ladder, arranged in +pieces like a puzzle, fitted it together, and lifted it up to meet the +chain. Then he mounted to the top of the tower, and slung from it a sort +of chair, in which the woman and the child placed themselves and were +drawn up, never to come down again as long as they lived. Leaving them +there, the man descended the ladder, took it to pieces again and packed +it in his pack, mounted the horse and disappeared across the plain. + +Every month they used to watch for him, appearing like a speck in the +distance. He fastened his horse to the foot of the tower, and climbed +it, as before, laden with provisions and many other things. He always +saw the Prince, so as to make sure that the child was alive and well, +and then went away until the following month. + +While his first childhood lasted Prince Dolor was happy enough. He +had every luxury that even a prince could need, and the one thing +wanting,--love,--never having known, he did not miss. His nurse was very +kind to him though she was a wicked woman. But either she had not been +quite so wicked as people said, or she grew better through being shut up +continually with a little innocent child who was dependent upon her for +every comfort and pleasure of his life. + +It was not an unhappy life. There was nobody to tease or ill-use him, +and he was never ill. He played about from room to room--there were four +rooms, parlor, kitchen, his nurse's bedroom, and his own; learned to +crawl like a fly, and to jump like a frog, and to run about on all-fours +almost as fast as a puppy. In fact, he was very much like a puppy or +a kitten, as thoughtless and as merry--scarcely ever cross, though +sometimes a little weary. + +As he grew older, he occasionally liked to be quiet for a while, and +then he would sit at the slits of windows--which were, however, much +bigger than they looked from the bottom of the tower--and watch the +sky above and the ground below, with the storms sweeping over and the +sunshine coming and going, and the shadows of the clouds running races +across the blank plain. + +By and by he began to learn lessons--not that his nurse had been ordered +to teach him, but she did it partly to amuse herself. She was not a +stupid woman, and Prince Dolor was by no means a stupid boy; so they got +on very well, and his continual entreaty, "What can I do? what can you +find me to do?" was stopped, at least for an hour or two in the day. + +It was a dull life, but he had never known any other; anyhow, he +remembered no other, and he did not pity himself at all. Not for a long +time, till he grew quite a big little boy, and could read quite easily. +Then he suddenly took to books, which the deaf-mute brought him from +time to time--books which, not being acquainted with the literature of +Nomansland, I cannot describe, but no doubt they were very interesting; +and they informed him of everything in the outside world, and filled him +with an intense longing to see it. + +From this time a change came over the boy. He began to look sad and +thin, and to shut himself up for hours without speaking. For his nurse +hardly spoke, and whatever questions he asked beyond their ordinary +daily life she never answered. She had, indeed, been forbidden, on pain +of death, to tell him anything about himself, who he was, or what he +might have been. + +He knew he was Prince Dolor, because she always addressed him as "My +Prince" and "Your Royal Highness," but what a prince was he had not +the least idea. He had no idea of anything in the world, except what he +found in his books. + +He sat one day surrounded by them, having built them up round him like +a little castle wall. He had been reading them half the day, but feeling +all the while that to read about things which you never can see is like +hearing about a beautiful dinner while you are starving. For almost the +first time in his life he grew melancholy; his hands fell on his lap; he +sat gazing out of the window-slit upon the view outside--the view he +had looked at every day of his life, and might look at for endless days +more. + +Not a very cheerful view,--just the plain and the sky,--but he liked it. +He used to think, if he could only fly out of that window, up to the sky +or down to the plain, how nice it would be! Perhaps when he died--his +nurse had told him once in anger that he would never leave the tower +till he died--he might be able to do this. Not that he understood much +what dying meant, but it must be a change, and any change seemed to him +a blessing. + +"And I wish I had somebody to tell me all about it--about that and many +other things; somebody that would be fond of me, like my poor white +kitten." + +Here the tears came into his eyes, for the boy's one friend, the +one interest of his life, had been a little white kitten, which the +deaf-mute, kindly smiling, once took out of his pocket and gave him--the +only living creature Prince Dolor had ever seen. + +For four weeks it was his constant plaything and companion, till one +moonlight night it took a fancy for wandering, climbed on to the parapet +of the tower, dropped over and disappeared. It was not killed, he +hoped, for cats have nine lives; indeed, he almost fancied he saw it +pick itself up and scamper away; but he never caught sight of it more. + +"Yes, I wish I had something better than a kitten--a person, a real +live person, who would be fond of me and kind to me. Oh, I want +somebody--dreadfully, dreadfully!" + +As he spoke, there sounded behind him a slight tap-tap-tap, as of a +stick or a cane, and twisting himself round, he saw--what do you think +he saw? + +Nothing either frightening or ugly, but still exceedingly curious. A +little woman, no bigger than he might himself have been had his legs +grown like those of other children; but she was not a child--she was an +old woman. Her hair was gray, and her dress was gray, and there was a +gray shadow over her wherever she moved. But she had the sweetest smile, +the prettiest hands, and when she spoke it was in the softest voice +imaginable. + +"My dear little boy,"--and dropping her cane, the only bright and rich +thing about her, she laid those two tiny hands on his shoulders,--"my +own little boy, I could not come to you until you had said you wanted +me; but now you do want me, here I am." + +"And you are very welcome, madam," replied the Prince, trying to speak +politely, as princes always did in books; "and I am exceedingly obliged +to you. May I ask who you are? Perhaps my mother?" For he knew that +little boys usually had a mother, and had occasionally wondered what had +become of his own. + +"No," said the visitor, with a tender, half-sad smile, putting back the +hair from his forehead, and looking right into his eyes--"no, I am not +your mother, though she was a dear friend of mine; and you are as like +her as ever you can be." + +"Will you tell her to come and see me, then?" + +"She cannot; but I dare say she knows all about you. And she loves you +very much--and so do I; and I want to help you all I can, my poor little +boy." + +"Why do you call me poor?" asked Prince Dolor, in surprise. + +The little old woman glanced down on his legs and feet, which he did not +know were different from those of other children, and then at his sweet, +bright face, which, though he knew not that either, was exceedingly +different from many children's faces, which are often so fretful, cross, +sullen. Looking at him, instead of sighing, she smiled. "I beg your +pardon, my Prince," said she. + +"Yes, I am a prince, and my name is Dolor; will you tell me yours, +madam?" + +The little old woman laughed like a chime of silver bells. + +"I have not got a name--or, rather, I have so many names that I don't +know which to choose. However, it was I who gave you yours, and you will +belong to me all your days. I am your godmother." + +"Hurrah!" cried the little Prince; "I am glad I belong to you, for I +like you very much. Will you come and play with me?" + +So they sat down together and played. By and by they began to talk. + +"Are you very dull here?" asked the little old woman. + +"Not particularly, thank you, godmother. I have plenty to eat and drink, +and my lessons to do, and my books to read--lots of books." + +"And you want nothing?" + +"Nothing. Yes--perhaps----If you please, godmother, could you bring me +just one more thing?" + +"What sort of thing!" + +"A little boy to play with." + +The old woman looked very sad. "Just the thing, alas I which I cannot +give you. My child, I cannot alter your lot in any way, but I can help +you to bear it." + +"Thank you. But why do you talk of bearing it? I have nothing to bear." + +"My poor little man!" said the old woman in the very tenderest tone of +her tender voice. "Kiss me!" + +"What is kissing?" asked the wondering child. + +His godmother took him in her arms and embraced him many times. By and +by he kissed her back again--at first awkwardly and shyly, then with all +the strength of his warm little heart. + +"You are better to cuddle than even my white kitten, I think. Promise me +that you will never go away." + +"I must; but I will leave a present behind me,--something as good as +myself to amuse you,--something that will take you wherever you want to +go, and show you all that you wish to see." + +"What is it?" + +"A traveling-cloak." + +The Prince's countenance fell. "I don't want a cloak, for I never go +out. Sometimes nurse hoists me on to the roof, and carries me round by +the parapet; but that is all. I can't walk, you know, as she does." + +"The more reason why you should ride; and besides, this +traveling-cloak----" + +"Hush!--she's coming." + +There sounded outside the room door a heavy step and a grumpy voice, and +a rattle of plates and dishes. + +"It's my nurse, and she is bringing my dinner; but I don't want dinner +at all--I only want you. Will her coming drive you away, godmother?" + +"Perhaps; but only for a little while. Never mind; all the bolts and +bars in the world couldn't keep me out. I'd fly in at the window, or +down through the chimney. Only wish for me, and I come." + +"Thank you," said Prince Dolor, but almost in a whisper, for he was +very uneasy at what might happen next. His nurse and his godmother--what +would they say to one another? how would they look at one another?--two +such different faces: one harsh-lined, sullen, cross, and sad; the other +sweet and bright and calm as a summer evening before the dark begins. + +When the door was flung open, Prince Dolor shut his eyes, trembling all +over; opening them again, he saw he need fear nothing--his lovely old +godmother had melted away just like the rainbow out of the sky, as he +had watched it many a time. Nobody but his nurse was in the room. + +"What a muddle your Royal Highness is sitting in," said she sharply. +"Such a heap of untidy books; and what's this rubbish?" knocking a +little bundle that lay beside them. + +"Oh, nothing, nothing--give it me!" cried the Prince, and, darting after +it, he hid it under his pinafore, and then pushed it quickly into his +pocket. Rubbish as it was, it was left in the place where she sat, and +might be something belonging to her--his dear, kind godmother, whom +already he loved with all his lonely, tender, passionate heart. + +It was, though he did not know this, his wonderful traveling-cloak. + + + +CHAPTER IV + +And what of the traveling-cloak? What sort of cloak was it, and what A +good did it do the Prince? + +Stay, and I'll tell you all about it. Outside it was the +commonest-looking bundle imaginable--shabby and small; and the instant +Prince Dolor touched it, it grew smaller still, dwindling down till he +could put it in his trousers pocket, like a handkerchief rolled up into +a ball. He did this at once, for fear his nurse should see it, and kept +it there all day--all night, too. Till after his next morning's lessons +he had no opportunity of examining his treasure. + +When he did, it seemed no treasure at all; but a mere piece of +cloth--circular in form, dark green in color--that is, if it had any +color at all, being so worn and shabby, though not dirty. It had a split +cut to the center, forming a round hole for the neck--and that was all +its shape; the shape, in fact, of those cloaks which in South America +are called ponchos--very simple, but most graceful and convenient. + +Prince Dolor had never seen anything like it. In spite of his +disappointment, he examined it curiously; spread it out on the door, +then arranged it on his shoulders. It felt very warm and comfortable; +but it was so exceedingly shabby--the only shabby thing that the Prince +had ever seen in his life. + +"And what use will it be to me?" said he sadly. "I have no need of +outdoor clothes, as I never go out. Why was this given me, I wonder? and +what in the world am I to do with it? She must be a rather funny person, +this dear godmother of mine." + +Nevertheless, because she was his godmother, and had given him the +cloak, he folded it carefully and put it away, poor and shabby as it +was, hiding it in a safe corner of his top cupboard, which his nurse +never meddled with. He did not want her to find it, or to laugh at it or +at his godmother--as he felt sure she would, if she knew all. + +There it lay, and by and by he forgot all about it; nay, I am sorry to +say that, being but a child, and not seeing her again, he almost forgot +his sweet old godmother, or thought of her only as he did of the angels +or fairies that he read of in his books, and of her visit as if it had +been a mere dream of the night. + +There were times, certainly, when he recalled her: of early mornings, +like that morning when she appeared beside him, and late evenings, when +the gray twilight reminded him of the color of her hair and her pretty +soft garments; above all, when, waking in the middle of the night, with +the stars peering in at his window, or the moonlight shining across his +little bed, he would not have been surprised to see her standing beside +it, looking at him with those beautiful tender eyes, which seemed to +have a pleasantness and comfort in them different from anything he had +ever known. + +But she never came, and gradually she slipped out of his memory--only +a boy's memory, after all; until something happened which made him +remember her, and want her as he had never wanted anything before. + +Prince Dolor fell ill. He caught--his nurse could not tell how--a +complaint common to the people of Nomansland, called the doldrums, as +unpleasant as measles or any other of our complaints; and it made him +restless, cross, and disagreeable. Even when a little better, he was too +weak to enjoy anything, but lay all day long on his sofa, fidgeting his +nurse extremely--while, in her intense terror lest he might die, she +fidgeted him still more. At last, seeing he really was getting well, she +left him to himself--which he was most glad of, in spite of his dullness +and dreariness. There he lay, alone, quite alone. + +Now and then an irritable fit came over him, in which he longed to get +up and do something, or to go somewhere--would have liked to imitate his +white kitten--jump down from the tower and run away, taking the chance +of whatever might happen. + +Only one thing, alas! was likely to happen; for the kitten, he +remembered, had four active legs, while he---- + +"I wonder what my godmother meant when she looked at my legs and sighed +so bitterly? I wonder why I can't walk straight and steady like my nurse +only I wouldn't like to have her great, noisy, clumping shoes. Still it +would be very nice to move about quickly--perhaps to fly, like a bird, +like that string of birds I saw the other day skimming across the sky, +one after the other." + +These were the passage-birds--the only living creatures that ever +crossed the lonely plain; and he had been much interested in them, +wonder-ing whence they came and whither they were going. + +"How nice it must be to be a bird! If legs are no good, why cannot one +have wings? People have wings when they die--perhaps; I wish I were +dead, that I do. I am so tired, so tired; and nobody cares for me. +Nobody ever did care for me, except perhaps my godmother. Godmother, +dear, have you quite forsaken me?" + +He stretched himself wearily, gathered himself up, and dropped his head +upon his hands; as he did so, he felt somebody kiss him at the back +of his neck, and, turning, found that he was resting, not on the sofa +pillows, but on a warm shoulder--that of the little old woman clothed in +gray. + +How glad he was to see her! How he looked into her kind eyes and felt +her hands, to see if she were all real and alive! then put both his arms +round her neck, and kissed her as if he would never have done kissing. + +"Stop, stop!" cried she, pretending to be smothered. "I see you have +not forgotten my teachings. Kissing is a good thing--in moderation. Only +just let me have breath to speak one word." + +"A dozen!" he said. + +"Well, then, tell me all that has happened to you since I saw you--or, +rather, since you saw me, which is quite a different thing." + +"Nothing has happened--nothing ever does happen to me," answered the +Prince dolefully. + +"And are you very dull, my boy?" + +"So dull that I was just thinking whether I could not jump down to the +bottom of the tower, like my white kitten." + +"Don't do that, not being a white kitten." + +"I wish I were--I wish I were anything but what I am." + +"And you can't make yourself any different, nor can I do it either. You +must be content to stay just what you are." + +The little old woman said this--very firmly, but gently, too--with her +arms round his neck and her lips on his forehead. It was the first +time the boy had ever heard any one talk like this, and he looked up in +surprise--but not in pain, for her sweet manner softened the hardness of +her words. + +"Now, my Prince,--for you are a prince, and must behave as such,--let us +see what we can do; how much I can do for you, or show you how to do for +yourself. Where is your traveling-cloak?" + +Prince Dolor blushed extremely. "I--I put it away in the cupboard; I +suppose it is there still." + +"You have never used it; you dislike it?" + +He hesitated, no; wishing to be impolite. "Don't you think it's--just a +little old and shabby for a prince?" + +The old woman laughed--long and loud, though very sweetly. + +"Prince, indeed! Why, if all the princes in the world craved for it, +they couldn't get it, unless I gave it them. Old and shabby! It's the +most valuable thing imaginable! Very few ever have it; but I thought +I would give it to you, because--because you are different from other +people." + +"Am I?" said the Prince, and looked first with curiosity, then with a +sort of anxiety, into his godmother's face, which was sad and grave, +with slow tears beginning to steal down. + +She touched his poor little legs. "These are not like those of other +little boys." + +"Indeed!--my nurse never told me that." + +"Very likely not. But it is time you were told; and I tell you, because +I love you." + +"Tell me what, dear godmother?" + +"That you will never be able to walk or run or jump or play--that your +life will be quite different from most people's lives; but it may be a +very happy life for all that. Do not be afraid." + +"I am not afraid," said the boy; but he turned very pale, and his lips +began to quiver, though he did not actually cry--he was too old for +that, and, perhaps, too proud. + +Though not wholly comprehending, he began dimly to guess what his +godmother meant. He had never seen any real live boys, but he had seen +pictures of them running and jumping; which he had admired and tried +hard to imitate but always failed. Now he began to understand why he +failed, and that he always should fail--that, in fact, he was not like +other little boys; and it was of no use his wishing to do as they did, +and play as they played, even if he had had them to play with. His was a +separate life, in which he must find out new work and new pleasures for +himself. + +The sense of THE INEVITABLE, as grown-up people call it--that we cannot +have things as we want them to be, but as they are, and that we must +learn to bear them and make the best of them--this lesson, which +everybody has to learn soon or late--came, alas! sadly soon, to the poor +boy. He fought against it for a while, and then, quite overcome, turned +and sobbed bitterly in his godmother's arms. + +She comforted him--I do not know how, except that love always comforts; +and then she whispered to him, in her sweet, strong, cheerful voice: +"Never mind!" + +"No, I don't think I do mind--that is, I WON'T mind," replied he, +catching the courage of her tone and speaking like a man, though he was +still such a mere boy. + +"That is right, my Prince!--that is being like a prince. Now we know +exactly where we are; let us put our shoulders to the wheel and----" + +"We are in Hopeless Tower" (this was its name, if it had a name), "and +there is no wheel to put our shoulders to," said the child sadly. + +"You little matter-of-fact goose! Well for you that you have a godmother +called----" + +"What?" he eagerly asked. + +"Stuff-and-nonsense." + +"Stuff-and-nonsense! What a funny name!" + +"Some people give it me, but they are not my most intimate friends. +These call me--never mind what," added the old woman, with a soft +twinkle in her eyes. "So as you know me, and know me well, you may give +me any name you please; it doesn't matter. But I am your godmother, +child. I have few godchildren; those I have love me dearly, and find me +the greatest blessing in all the world." + +"I can well believe it," cried the little lame Prince, and forgot +his troubles in looking at her--as her figure dilated, her eyes grew +lustrous as stars, her very raiment brightened, and the whole room +seemed filled with her beautiful and beneficent presence like light. + +He could have looked at her forever--half in love, half in awe; but she +suddenly dwindled down into the little old woman all in gray, and, with +a malicious twinkle in her eyes, asked for the traveling-cloak. + +"Bring it out of the rubbish cupboard, and shake the dust off it, +quick!" said she to Prince Dolor, who hung his head, rather ashamed. +"Spread it out on the floor, and wait till the split closes and +the edges turn up like a rim all round. Then go and open the +skylight,--mind, I say OPEN THE SKYLIGHT,--set yourself down in the +middle of it, like a frog on a water-lily leaf; say 'Abracadabra, dum +dum dum,' and--see what will happen!" + +The Prince burst into a fit of laughing. It all seemed so exceedingly +silly; he wondered that a wise old woman like his godmother should talk +such nonsense. + +"Stuff-and-nonsense, you mean," said she, answering, to his great alarm, +his unspoken thoughts. "Did I not tell you some people called me by that +name? Never mind; it doesn't harm me." + +And she laughed--her merry laugh--as child-like as if she were the +Prince's age instead of her own, whatever that might be. She certainly +was a most extraordinary old woman. + +"Believe me or not, it doesn't matter," said she. "Here is the cloak: +when you want to go traveling on it, say 'Abracadabra, dum, dum, dum'; +when you want to come back again, say 'Abracadabra, tum tum ti.' That's +all; good-by." + +A puff of most pleasant air passing by him, and making him feel for the +moment quite strong and well, was all the Prince was conscious of. His +most extraordinary godmother was gone. + +"Really now, how rosy your Royal Highness' cheeks have grown! You seem +to have got well already," said the nurse, entering the room. + +"I think I have," replied the Prince very gently--he felt gently and +kindly even to his grim nurse. "And now let me have my dinner, and go +you to your sewing as usual." + +The instant she was gone, however, taking with her the plates and +dishes, which for the first time since his illness he had satisfactorily +cleared, Prince Dolor sprang down from his sofa, and with one or two +of his frog-like jumps reached the cupboard where he kept his toys, and +looked everywhere for his traveling-cloak. + +Alas! it was not there. + +While he was ill of the doldrums, his nurse, thinking it a good +opportunity for putting things to rights, had made a grand clearance of +all his "rubbish"--as she considered it: his beloved headless horses, +broken carts, sheep without feet, and birds without wings--all the +treasures of his baby days, which he could not bear to part with. Though +he seldom played with them now, he liked just to feel they were there. + +They were all gone and with them the traveling-cloak. He sat down on the +floor, looking at the empty shelves, so beautifully clean and tidy, then +burst out sobbing as if his heart would break. + +But quietly--always quietly. He never let his nurse hear him cry. She +only laughed at him, as he felt she would laugh now. + +"And it is all my own fault!" he cried. "I ought to have taken better +care of my godmother's gift. Oh, godmother, forgive me! I'll never be so +careless again. I don't know what the cloak is exactly, but I am sure +it is something precious. Help me to find it again. Oh, don't let it be +stolen from me--don't, please!" + +"Ha, ha, ha!" laughed a silvery voice. "Why, that traveling-cloak is +the one thing in the world which nobody can steal. It is of no use to +anybody except the owner. Open your eyes, my Prince, and see what you +shall see." + +His dear old godmother, he thought, and turned eagerly round. But no; +he only beheld, lying in a corner of the room, all dust and cobwebs, his +precious traveling-cloak. + +Prince Dolor darted toward it, tumbling several times on the way, as +he often did tumble, poor boy! and pick himself up again, never +complaining. Snatching it to his breast, he hugged and kissed it, +cobwebs and all, as if it had been something alive. Then he began +unrolling it, wondering each minute what would happen. What did happen +was so curious that I must leave it for another chapter. + + + +CHAPTER V + +If any reader, big or little, should wonder whether there is a meaning +in this story deeper than that of an ordinary fairy tale, I will own +that there is. But I have hidden it so carefully that the smaller +people, and many larger folk, will never find it out, and meantime the +book may be read straight on, like "Cinderella," or "Blue-Beard," or +"Hop-o'my-Thumb," for what interest it has, or what amusement it may +bring. + +Having said this, I return to Prince Dolor, that little lame boy whom +many may think so exceedingly to be pitied. But if you had seen him as +he sat patiently untying his wonderful cloak, which was done up in +a very tight and perplexing parcel, using skillfully his deft little +hands, and knitting his brows with firm determination, while his eyes +glistened with pleasure and energy and eager anticipation--if you had +beheld him thus, you might have changed your opinion. + +When we see people suffering or unfortunate, we feel very sorry for +them; but when we see them bravely bearing their sufferings and making +the best of their misfortunes, it is quite a different feeling. We +respect, we admire them. One can respect and admire even a little child. + +When Prince Dolor had patiently untied all the knots, a remarkable thing +happened. The cloak began to undo itself. Slowly unfolding, it laid +itself down on the carpet, as flat as if it had been ironed; the split +joined with a little sharp crick-crack, and the rim turned up all round +till it was breast-high; for meantime the cloak had grown and grown, and +become quite large enough for one person to sit in it as comfortable as +if in a boat. + +The Prince watched it rather anxiously; it was such an extraordinary, +not to say a frightening, thing. However, he was no coward, but a +thorough boy, who, if he had been like other boys, would doubtless have +grown up daring and adventurous--a soldier, a sailor, or the like. As +it was, he could only show his courage morally, not physically, by being +afraid of nothing, and by doing boldly all that it was in his narrow +powers to do. And I am not sure but that in this way he showed more real +valor than if he had had six pairs of proper legs. + +He said to himself: "What a goose I am! As if my dear godmother would +ever have given me anything to hurt me. Here goes!" + +So, with one of his active leaps, he sprang right into the middle of the +cloak, where he squatted down, wrapping his arms tight round his knees, +for they shook a little and his heart beat fast. But there he sat, +steady and silent, waiting for what might happen next. + +Nothing did happen, and he began to think nothing would, and to feel +rather disappointed, when he recollected the words he had been told to +repeat--"Abracadabra, dum dum dum!" + +He repeated them, laughing all the while, they seemed such nonsense. And +then--and then---- + +Now I don't expect anybody to believe what I am going to relate, though +a good many wise people have believed a good many sillier things. And as +seeing's believing, and I never saw it, I cannot be expected implicitly +to believe it myself, except in a sort of a way; and yet there is truth +in it--for some people. + +The cloak rose, slowly and steadily, at first only a few inches, then +gradually higher and higher, till it nearly touched the skylight. Prince +Dolor's head actually bumped against the glass, or would have done so +had he not crouched down, crying "Oh, please don't hurt me!" in a most +melancholy voice. + +Then he suddenly remembered his godmother's express command--"Open the +skylight!" + +Regaining his courage at once, without a moment's delay he lifted up +his head and began searching for the bolt--the cloak meanwhile remaining +perfectly still, balanced in the air. But the minute the window was +opened, out it sailed--right out into the clear, fresh air, with nothing +between it and the cloudless blue. + +Prince Dolor had never felt any such delicious sensation before. I can +understand it. Cannot you? Did you never think, in watching the rooks +going home singly or in pairs, soaring their way across the calm evening +sky till they vanish like black dots in the misty gray, how pleasant it +must feel to be up there, quite out of the noise and din of the world, +able to hear and see everything down below, yet troubled by nothing and +teased by no one--all alone, but perfectly content? + +Something like this was the happiness of the little lame Prince when he +got out of Hopeless Tower, and found himself for the first time in the +pure open air, with the sky above him and the earth below. + +True, there was nothing but earth and sky; no houses, no trees, no +rivers, mountains, seas--not a beast on the ground, or a bird in the +air. But to him even the level plain looked beautiful; and then there +was the glorious arch of the sky, with a little young moon sitting in +the west like a baby queen. And the evening breeze was so sweet and +fresh--it kissed him like his godmother's kisses; and by and by a few +stars came out--first two or three, and then quantities--quantities! so +that when he began to count them he was utterly bewildered. + +By this time, however, the cool breeze had become cold; the mist +gathered; and as he had, as he said, no outdoor clothes, poor Prince +Dolor was not very comfortable. The dews fell damp on his curls--he +began to shiver. + +"Perhaps I had better go home," thought he. + +But how? For in his excitement the other words which his godmother +had told him to use had slipped his memory. They were only a little +different from the first, but in that slight difference all the +importance lay. As he repeated his "Abracadabra," trying ever so +many other syllables after it, the cloak only went faster and faster, +skimming on through the dusky, empty air. + +The poor little Prince began to feel frightened. What if his wonderful +traveling-cloak should keep on thus traveling, perhaps to the world's +end, carrying with it a poor, tired, hungry boy, who, after all, was +beginning to think there was something very pleasant in supper and bed! + +"Dear godmother," he cried pitifully, "do help me! Tell me just this +once and I'll never forget again." + +Instantly the words came rushing into his head--"Abracadabra, tum +tum ti!" Was that it? Ah! yes--for the cloak began to turn slowly. He +repeated the charm again, more distinctly and firmly, when it gave a +gentle dip, like a nod of satisfaction, and immediately started back, as +fast as ever, in the direction of the tower. + +He reached the skylight, which he found exactly as he had left it, and +slipped in, cloak and all, as easily as he had got out. He had +scarcely reached the floor, and was still sitting in the middle of his +traveling-cloak,--like a frog on a water-lily leaf, as his godmother had +expressed it,--when he heard his nurse's voice outside. + +"Bless us! what has become of your Royal Highness all this time? To +sit stupidly here at the window till it is quite dark, and leave the +skylight open, too. Prince! what can you be thinking of? You are the +silliest boy I ever knew." + +"Am I?" said he absently, and never heeding her crossness; for his only +anxiety was lest she might find out anything. + +She would have been a very clever person to have done so. The instant +Prince Dolor got off it, the cloak folded itself up into the tiniest +possible parcel, tied all its own knots, and rolled itself of its own +accord into the farthest and darkest corner of the room. If the nurse +had seen it, which she didn't, she would have taken it for a mere bundle +of rubbish not worth noticing. + +Shutting the skylight with an angry bang, she brought in the supper and +lit the candles with her usual unhappy expression of countenance. But +Prince Dolor hardly saw it; he only saw, hid in the corner where nobody +else would see it, his wonderful traveling-cloak. And though his supper +was not particularly nice, he ate it heartily, scarcely hearing a word +of his nurse's grumbling, which to-night seemed to have taken the place +of her sullen silence. + +"Poor woman!" he thought, when he paused a minute to listen and look at +her with those quiet, happy eyes, so like his mother's. "Poor woman! she +hasn't got a traveling-cloak!" + +And when he was left alone at last, and crept into his little bed, where +he lay awake a good while, watching what he called his "sky-garden," all +planted with stars, like flowers, his chief thought was--"I must be up +very early to-morrow morning, and get my lessons done, and then I'll go +traveling all over the world on my beautiful cloak." + +So next day he opened his eyes with the sun, and went with a good heart +to his lessons. They had hitherto been the chief amusement of his dull +life; now, I am afraid, he found them also a little dull. But he tried +to be good,--I don't say Prince Dolor always was good, but he generally +tried to be,--and when his mind went wandering after the dark, dusty +corner where lay his precious treasure, he resolutely called it back +again. + +"For," he said, "how ashamed my godmother would be of me if I grew up a +stupid boy!" + +But the instant lessons were done, and he was alone in the empty room, +he crept across the floor, undid the shabby little bundle, his fingers +trembling with eagerness, climbed on the chair, and thence to the table, +so as to unbar the skylight,--he forgot nothing now,--said his magic +charm, and was away out of the window, as children say, "in a few +minutes less than no time." + +Nobody missed him. He was accustomed to sit so quietly always that +his nurse, though only in the next room, perceived no difference. And +besides, she might have gone in and out a dozen times, and it would have +been just the same; she never could have found out his absence. + +For what do you think the clever godmother did? She took a quantity of +moonshine, or some equally convenient material, and made an image, which +she set on the window-sill reading, or by the table drawing, where it +looked so like Prince Dolor that any common observer would never have +guessed the deception; and even the boy would have been puzzled to know +which was the image and which was himself. + +And all this while the happy little fellow was away, floating in the air +on his magic cloak, and seeing all sorts of wonderful things--or they +seemed wonderful to him, who had hitherto seen nothing at all. + +First, there were the flowers that grew on the plain, which, whenever +the cloak came near enough, he strained his eyes to look at; they were +very tiny, but very beautiful--white saxifrage, and yellow lotus, and +ground-thistles, purple and bright, with many others the names of which +I do not know. No more did Prince Dolor, though he tried to find them +out by recalling any pictures he had seen of them. But he was too far +off; and though it was pleasant enough to admire them as brilliant +patches of color, still he would have liked to examine them all. He was, +as a little girl I know once said of a playfellow, "a very examining +boy." + +"I wonder," he thought, "whether I could see better through a pair of +glasses like those my nurse reads with, and takes such care of. How I +would take care of them, too, if I only had a pair!" + +Immediately he felt something queer and hard fixing itself to the bridge +of his nose. It was a pair of the prettiest gold spectacles ever seen; +and looking downward, he found that, though ever so high above the +ground, he could see every minute blade of grass, every tiny bud and +flower--nay, even the insects that walked over them. + +"Thank you, thank you!" he cried, in a gush of gratitude--to anybody or +everybody, but especially to his dear godmother, who he felt sure had +given him this new present. He amused himself with it for ever so long, +with his chin pressed on the rim of the cloak, gazing down upon the +grass, every square foot of which was a mine of wonders. + +Then, just to rest his eyes, he turned them up to the sky--the blue, +bright, empty sky, which he had looked at so often and seen nothing. + +Now surely there was something. A long, black, wavy line, moving on +in the distance, not by chance, as the clouds move apparently, but +deliberately, as if it were alive. He might have seen it before--he +almost thought he had; but then he could not tell what it was. Looking +at it through his spectacles, he discovered that it really was alive; +being a long string of birds, flying one after the other, their wings +moving steadily and their heads pointed in one direction, as steadily as +if each were a little ship, guided invisibly by an unerring helm. + +"They must be the passage-birds flying seaward!" cried the boy, who had +read a little about them, and had a great talent for putting two and +two together and finding out all he could. "Oh, how I should like to see +them quite close, and to know where they come from and whither they are +going! How I wish I knew everything in all the world!" + +A silly speech for even an "examining" little boy to make; because, as +we grow older, the more we know the more we find out there is to know. +And Prince Dolor blushed when he had said it, and hoped nobody had heard +him. + +Apparently somebody had, however; for the cloak gave a sudden bound +forward, and presently he found himself high in the air, in the very +middle of that band of aerial travelers, who had mo magic cloak to +travel on--nothing except their wings. Yet there they were, making their +fearless way through the sky. + +Prince Dolor looked at them as one after the other they glided past him; +and they looked at him--those pretty swallows, with their changing +necks and bright eyes--as if wondering to meet in mid-air such an +extraordinary sort of bird. + +"Oh, I wish I were going with you, you lovely creatures! I'm getting so +tired of this dull plain, and the dreary and lonely tower. I do so want +to see the world! Pretty swallows, dear swallows! tell me what it looks +like--the beautiful, wonderful world!" + +But the swallows flew past him--steadily, slowly pursuing their course +as if inside each little head had been a mariner's compass, to guide +them safe over land and sea, direct to the place where they wished to +go. + +The boy looked after them with envy. For a long time he followed with +his eyes the faint, wavy black line as it floated away, sometimes +changing its curves a little, but never deviating from its settled +course, till it vanished entirely out of sight. + +Then he settled himself down in the center of the cloak, feeling quite +sad and lonely. + +"I think I'll go home," said he, and repeated his "Abracadabra, tum tum +ti!" with a rather heavy heart. The more he had, the more he wanted; +and it is not always one can have everything one wants--at least, at the +exact minute one craves for it; not even though one is a prince, and has +a powerful and beneficent godmother. + +He did not like to vex her by calling for her and telling her how +unhappy he was, in spite of all her goodness; so he just kept his +trouble to himself, went back to his lonely tower, and spent three days +in silent melancholy, without even attempting another journey on his +traveling-cloak. + + + +CHAPTER VI + +The fourth day it happened that the deaf-mute paid his accustomed visit, +after which Prince Dolor's spirits rose. They always did when he got the +new books which, just to relieve his conscience, the King of Nomansland +regularly sent to his nephew; with many new toys also, though the latter +were disregarded now. + +"Toys, indeed! when I'm a big boy," said the Prince, with disdain, +and would scarcely condescend to mount a rocking-horse which had +come, somehow or other,--I can't be expected to explain things very +exactly,--packed on the back of the other, the great black horse, which +stood and fed contentedly at the bottom of the tower. + +Prince Dolor leaned over and looked at it, and thought how grand it must +be to get upon its back--this grand live steed--and ride away, like the +pictures of knights. + +"Suppose I was a knight," he said to himself; "then I should be obliged +to ride out and see the world." + +But he kept all these thoughts to himself, and just sat still, devouring +his new books till he had come to the end of them all. It was a repast +not unlike the Barmecide's feast which you read of in the "Arabian +Nights," which consisted of very elegant but empty dishes, or that +supper of Sancho Panza in "Don Quixote," where, the minute the smoking +dishes came on the table, the physician waved his hand and they were all +taken away. + +Thus almost all the ordinary delights of boy-life had been taken away +from, or rather never given to this poor little prince. + +"I wonder," he would sometimes think--"I wonder what it feels like to +be on the back of a horse, galloping away, or holding the reins in a +carriage, and tearing across the country, or jumping a ditch, or running +a race, such as I read of or see in pictures. What a lot of things there +are that I should like to do! But first I should like to go and see the +world. I'll try." + +Apparently it was his godmother's plan always to let him try, and try +hard, before he gained anything. This day the knots that tied up his +traveling-cloak were more than usually troublesome, and he was a +full half-hour before he got out into the open air, and found himself +floating merrily over the top of the tower. + +Hitherto, in all his journeys, he had never let himself go out of sight +of home, for the dreary building, after all, was home--he remembered +no other; but now he felt sick of the very look of his tower, with its +round smooth walls and level battlements. + +"Off we go!" cried he, when the cloak stirred itself with a slight, slow +motion, as if waiting his orders. "Anywhere anywhere, so that I am away +from here, and out into the world." + +As he spoke, the cloak, as if seized suddenly with a new idea, bounded +forward and went skimming through the air, faster than the very fastest +railway train. + +"Gee-up! gee-up!" cried Prince Dolor in great excitement. "This is as +good as riding a race." + +And he patted the cloak as if it had been a horse--that is, in the way +he supposed horses ought to be patted--and tossed his head back to meet +the fresh breeze, and pulled his coat collar up and his hat down as he +felt the wind grow keener and colder--colder than anything he had ever +known. + +"What does it matter, though?" said he. "I'm a boy, and boys ought not +to mind anything." + +Still, for all his good-will, by and by, he began to shiver exceedingly; +also, he had come away without his dinner, and he grew frightfully +hungry. And to add to everything, the sunshiny day changed into rain, +and being high up, in the very midst of the clouds, he got soaked +through and through in a very few minutes. + +"Shall I turn back?" meditated he. "Suppose I say 'Abracadabra?'" + +Here he stopped, for already the cloak gave an obedient lurch, as if it +were expecting to be sent home immediately. + +"No--I can't--I can't go back! I must go forward and see the world. But +oh! if I had but the shabbiest old rug to shelter me from the rain, or +the driest morsel of bread and cheese, just to keep me from starving! +Still, I don't much mind; I'm a prince, and ought to be able to stand +anything. Hold on, cloak, we'll make the best of it." + +It was a most curious circumstance, but no sooner had he said this than +he felt stealing over his knees something warm and soft; in fact, a most +beautiful bearskin, which folded itself round him quite naturally, and +cuddled him up as closely as if he had been the cub of the kind old +mother-bear that once owned it. Then feeling in his pocket, which +suddenly stuck out in a marvelous way, he found, not exactly bread and +cheese, nor even sandwiches, but a packet of the most delicious food +he had ever tasted. It was not meat, nor pudding, but a combination of +both, and it served him excellently for both. He ate his dinner with the +greatest gusto imaginable, till he grew so thirsty he did not know what +to do. + +"Couldn't I have just one drop of water, if it didn't trouble you too +much, kindest of godmothers?" + +For he really thought this want was beyond her power to supply. All the +water which supplied Hopeless Tower was pumped up with difficulty from +a deep artesian well--there were such things known in Nomansland--which +had been made at the foot of it. But around, for miles upon miles, the +desolate plain was perfectly dry. And above it, high in the air, how +could he expect to find a well, or to get even a drop of water? + +He forgot one thing--the rain. While he spoke, it came on in another +wild burst, as if the clouds had poured themselves out in a passion +of crying, wetting him certainly, but leaving behind, in a large glass +vessel which he had never noticed before, enough water to quench the +thirst of two or three boys at least. And it was so fresh, so pure--as +water from the clouds always is when it does not catch the soot from +city chimneys and other defilements--that he drank it, every drop, with +the greatest delight and content. + +Also, as soon as it was empty the rain filled it again, so that he was +able to wash his face and hands and refresh himself exceedingly. Then +the sun came out and dried him in no time. After that he curled himself +up under the bear-skin rug, and though he determined to be the most +wide-awake boy imaginable, being so exceedingly snug and warm and +comfortable, Prince Dolor condescended to shut his eyes just for one +minute. The next minute he was sound asleep. + +When he awoke, he found himself floating over a country quite unlike +anything he had ever seen before. + +Yet it was nothing but what most of you children see every day and never +notice it--a pretty country landscape, like England, Scotland, +France, or any other land you choose to name. It had no particular +features--nothing in it grand or lovely--was simply pretty, nothing +more; yet to Prince Dolor, who had never gone beyond his lonely tower +and level plain, it appeared the most charming sight imaginable. + +First, there was a river. It came tumbling down the hillside, frothing +and foaming, playing at hide-and-seek among the rocks, then bursting +out in noisy fun like a child, to bury itself in deep, still pools. +Afterward it went steadily on for a while, like a good grown-up person, +till it came to another big rock, where it misbehaved itself extremely. +It turned into a cataract, and went tumbling over and over, after a +fashion that made the prince--who had never seen water before, except in +his bath or his drinking-cup--clap his hands with delight. + +"It is so active, so alive! I like things active and alive!" cried he, +and watched it shimmering and dancing, whirling and leaping, till, after +a few windings and vagaries, it settled into a respectable stream. After +that it went along, deep and quiet, but flowing steadily on, till it +reached a large lake, into which it slipped and so ended its course. + +All this the boy saw, either with his own naked eye or through his gold +spectacles. He saw also as in a picture, beautiful but silent, many +other things which struck him with wonder, especially a grove of trees. + +Only think, to have lived to his age (which he himself did not know, as +he did not know his own birthday) and never to have seen trees! As +he floated over these oaks, they seemed to him--trunk, branches, and +leaves--the most curious sight imaginable. + +"If I could only get nearer, so as to touch them," said he, and +immediately the obedient cloak ducked down; Prince Dolor made a snatch +at the topmost twig of the tallest tree, and caught a bunch of leaves in +his hand. + +Just a bunch of green leaves--such as we see in myriads; watching them +bud, grow, fall, and then kicking them along on the ground as if they +were worth nothing. Yet how wonderful they are--every one of them a +little different. I don't suppose you could ever find two leaves exactly +alike in form, color, and size--no more than you could find two faces +alike, or two characters exactly the same. The plan of this world is +infinite similarity and yet infinite variety. + +Prince Dolor examined his leaves with the greatest curiosity--and also a +little caterpillar that he found walking over one of them. He coaxed +it to take an additional walk over his finger, which it did with the +greatest dignity and decorum, as if it, Mr. Caterpillar, were the most +important individual in existence. It amused him for a long time; and +when a sudden gust of wind blew it overboard, leaves and all, he felt +quite disconsolate. + +"Still there must be many live creatures in the world besides +caterpillars. I should like to see a few of them." + +The cloak gave a little dip down, as if to say "All right, my Prince," +and bore him across the oak forest to a long fertile valley--called in +Scotland a strath and in England a weald, but what they call it in +the tongue of Nomansland I do not know. It was made up of cornfields, +pasturefields, lanes, hedges, brooks, and ponds. Also, in it were what +the prince desired to see--a quantity of living creatures, wild and +tame. Cows and horses, lambs and sheep, fed in the meadows; pigs and +fowls walked about the farm-yards; and in lonelier places hares scudded, +rabbits burrowed, and pheasants and partridges, with many other smaller +birds, inhabited the fields and woods. + +Through his wonderful spectacles the Prince could see everything; but, +as I said, it was a silent picture; he was too high up to catch anything +except a faint murmur, which only aroused his anxiety to hear more. + +"I have as good as two pairs of eyes," he thought. "I wonder if my +godmother would give me a second pair of ears." + +Scarcely had he spoken than he found lying on his lap the most curious +little parcel, all done up in silvery paper. And it contained--what do +you think? Actually a pair of silver ears, which, when he tried them on, +fitted so exactly over his own that he hardly felt them, except for the +difference they made in his hearing. + +There is something which we listen to daily and never notice. I mean +the sounds of the visible world, animate and inanimate. Winds blowing, +waters flowing, trees stirring, insects whirring (dear me! I am quite +unconsciously writing rhyme), with the various cries of birds and +beasts,--lowing cattle, bleating sheep, grunting pigs, and cackling +hens,--all the infinite discords that somehow or other make a beautiful +harmony. + +We hear this, and are so accustomed to it that we think nothing of it; +but Prince Dolor, who had lived all his days in the dead silence of +Hopeless Tower, heard it for the first time. And oh! if you had seen his +face. + +He listened, listened, as if he could never have done listening. And he +looked and looked, as if he could not gaze enough. Above all, the motion +of the animals delighted him: cows walking, horses galloping, little +lambs and calves running races across the meadows, were such a treat for +him to watch--he that was always so quiet. But, these creatures having +four legs, and he only two, the difference did not strike him painfully. + +Still, by and by, after the fashion of children,--and I fear, of many +big people too,--he began to want something more than he had, something +fresh and new. + +"Godmother," he said, having now begun to believe that, whether he saw +her or not, he could always speak to her with full confidence that she +would hear him--"Godmother, all these creatures I like exceedingly; but +I should like better to see a creature like myself. Couldn't you show me +just one little boy?" + +There was a sigh behind him,--it might have been only the wind,--and +the cloak remained so long balanced motionless in air that he was half +afraid his godmother had forgotten him, or was offended with him for +asking too much. Suddenly a shrill whistle startled him, even through +his silver ears, and looking downward, he saw start up from behind a +bush on a common, something---- + +Neither a sheep nor a horse nor a cow--nothing upon four legs. This +creature had only two; but they were long, straight, and strong. And it +had a lithe, active body, and a curly head of black hair set upon +its shoulders. It was a boy, a shepherd-boy, about the Prince's own +age--but, oh! so different. + +Not that he was an ugly boy--though his face was almost as red as his +hands, and his shaggy hair matted like the backs of his own sheep. He +was rather a nice-looking lad; and seemed so bright and healthy and +good-tempered--"jolly" would be the word, only I am not sure if they +have such a one in the elegant language of Nomansland--that the little +Prince watched him with great admiration. + +"Might he come and play with me? I would drop down to the ground to him, +or fetch him up to me here. Oh, how nice it would be if I only had a +little boy to play with me." + +But the cloak, usually so obedient to his wishes, disobeyed him now. +There were evidently some things which his godmother either could +not or would not give. The cloak hung stationary, high in air, never +attempting to descend. The shepherd-lad evidently took it for a large +bird, and, shading his eyes, looked up at it, making the Prince's heart +beat fast. + +However, nothing ensued. The boy turned round, with a long, loud +whistle--seemingly his usual and only way of expressing his feelings. He +could not make the thing out exactly--it was a rather mysterious affair, +but it did not trouble him much--he was not an "examining" boy. + +Then, stretching himself, for he had been evidently half asleep, he +began flopping his shoulders with his arms to wake and warm himself; +while his dog, a rough collie, who had been guarding the sheep +meanwhile, began to jump upon him, barking with delight. + +"Down, Snap, down: Stop that, or I'll thrash you," the Prince heard him +say; though with such a rough, hard voice and queer pronunciation that +it was difficult to make the words out. "Hollo! Let's warm ourselves by +a race." + +They started off together, boy and dog--barking and shouting, till it +was doubtful which made the more noise or ran the faster. A regular +steeplechase it was: first across the level common, greatly disturbing +the quiet sheep; and then tearing away across country, scrambling +through hedges and leaping ditches, and tumbling up and down over plowed +fields. They did not seem to have anything to run for--but as if they +did it, both of them, for the mere pleasure of motion. + +And what a pleasure that seemed! To the dog of course, but scarcely less +so to the boy. How he skimmed along over the ground--his cheeks glowing, +and his hair flying, and his legs--oh, what a pair of legs he had! + +Prince Dolor watched him with great intentness, and in a state of +excitement almost equal to that of the runner himself--for a while. Then +the sweet, pale face grew a trifle paler, the lips began to quiver, and +the eyes to fill. + +"How nice it must be to run like that!" he said softly, thinking that +never--no, never in this world--would he be able to do the same. + +Now he understood what his godmother had meant when she gave him his +traveling-cloak, and why he had heard that sigh--he was sure it was +hers--when he had asked to see "just one little boy." + +"I think I had rather not look at him again," said the poor little +Prince, drawing himself back into the center of his cloak, and resuming +his favorite posture, sitting like a Turk, with his arms wrapped round +his feeble, useless legs. + +"You're no good to me," he said, patting them mournfully. "You never +will be any good to me. I wonder why I had you at all. I wonder why I +was born at all, since I was not to grow up like other boys. Why not?" + +A question so strange, so sad, yet so often occurring in some form +or other in this world--as you will find, my children, when you are +older--that even if he had put it to his mother she could only have +answered it, as we have to answer many as difficult things, by simply +saying, "I don't know." There is much that we do not know and cannot +understand--we big folks no more than you little ones. We have to accept +it all just as you have to accept anything which your parents may +tell you, even though you don't as yet see the reason of it. You may +sometime, if you do exactly as they tell you, and are content to wait. + +Prince Dolor sat a good while thus, or it appeared to him a good while, +so many thoughts came and went through his poor young mind--thoughts of +great bitterness, which, little though he was, seemed to make him grow +years older in a few minutes. + +Then he fancied the cloak began to rock gently to and fro, with a +soothing kind of motion, as if he were in somebody's arms: somebody who +did not speak, but loved him and comforted him without need of words; +not by deceiving him with false encouragement or hope, but by making +him see the plain, hard truth in all its hardness, and thus letting him +quietly face it, till it grew softened down, and did not seem nearly so +dreadful after all. + +Through the dreary silence and blankness, for he had placed himself so +that he could see nothing but the sky, and had taken off his silver ears +as well as his gold spectacles--what was the use of either when he had +no legs with which to walk or run?--up from below there rose a delicious +sound. + +You have heard it hundreds of times, my children, and so have I. When I +was a child I thought there was nothing so sweet; and I think so still. +It was just the song of a skylark, mounting higher and higher from the +ground, till it came so close that Prince Dolor could distinguish his +quivering wings and tiny body, almost too tiny to contain such a gush of +music. + +"Oh, you beautiful, beautiful bird!" cried he; "I should dearly like to +take you in and cuddle you. That is, if I could--if I dared." + +But he hesitated. The little brown creature with its loud heavenly voice +almost made him afraid. Nevertheless, it also made him happy; and he +watched and listened--so absorbed that he forgot all regret and pain, +forgot everything in the world except the little lark. + +It soared and soared, and he was just wondering if it would soar out +of sight, and what in the world he should do when it was gone, when it +suddenly closed its wings, as larks do when they mean to drop to the +ground. But, instead of dropping to the ground, it dropped right into +the little boy's breast. + +What felicity! If it would only stay! A tiny, soft thing to fondle and +kiss, to sing to him all day long, and be his playfellow and companion, +tame and tender, while to the rest of the world it was a wild bird of +the air. What a pride, what a delight! To have something that nobody +else had--something all his own. As the traveling-cloak traveled on, +he little heeded where, and the lark still stayed, nestled down in his +bosom, hopped from his hand to his shoulder, and kissed him with its +dainty beak, as if it loved him, Prince Dolor forgot all his grief, and +was entirely happy. + +But when he got in sight of Hopeless Tower a painful thought struck him. + +"My pretty bird, what am I to do with you? If I take you into my room +and shut you up there, you, a wild skylark of the air, what will become +of you? I am used to this, but you are not. You will be so miserable; +and suppose my nurse should find you--she who can't bear the sound of +singing? Besides, I remember her once telling me that the nicest thing +she ever ate in her life was lark pie!" + +The little boy shivered all over at the thought. And, though the merry +lark immediately broke into the loudest carol, as if saying derisively +that he defied anybody to eat him, still, Prince Dolor was very uneasy. +In another minute he had made up his mind. + +"No, my bird, nothing so dreadful shall happen to you if I can help it; +I would rather do without you altogether. Yes, I'll try. Fly away, my +darling, my beautiful! Good-by, my merry, merry bird." + +Opening his two caressing hands, in which, as if for protection, he had +folded it, he let the lark go. It lingered a minute, perching on the rim +of the cloak, and looking at him with eyes of almost human tenderness; +then away it flew, far up into the blue sky. It was only a bird. + +But some time after, when Prince Dolor had eaten his supper--somewhat +drearily, except for the thought that he could not possibly sup off lark +pie now--and gone quietly to bed, the old familiar little bed, where he +was accustomed to sleep, or lie awake contentedly thinking--suddenly +he heard outside the window a little faint carol--faint but +cheerful--cheerful even though it was the middle of the night. + +The dear little lark! it had not flown away, after all. And it was +truly the most extraordinary bird, for, unlike ordinary larks, it kept +hovering about the tower in the silence and darkness of the night, +outside the window or over the roof. Whenever he listened for a moment, +he heard it singing still. + +He went to sleep as happy as a king. + + + +CHAPTER VII + +"Happy as a king." How far kings are happy I cannot say, no more than +could Prince Dolor, though he had once been a king himself. But he +remembered nothing about it, and there was nobody to tell him, except +his nurse, who had been forbidden upon pain of death to let him know +anything about his dead parents, or the king his uncle, or indeed any +part of his own history. + +Sometimes he speculated about himself, whether he had had a father and +mother as other little boys had what they had been like, and why he +had never seen them. But, knowing nothing about them, he did not miss +them--only once or twice, reading pretty stories about little children +and their mothers, who helped them when they were in difficulty and +comforted them when they were sick, he feeling ill and dull and lonely, +wondered what had become of his mother and why she never came to see +him. + +Then, in his history lessons, of course he read about kings and princes, +and the governments of different countries, and the events that happened +there. And though he but faintly took in all this, still he did take +it in a little, and worried his young brain about it, and perplexed +his nurse with questions, to which she returned sharp and mysterious +answers, which only set him thinking the more. + +He had plenty of time for thinking. After his last journey in the +traveling-cloak, the journey which had given him so much pain, his +desire to see the world somehow faded away. He contented himself with +reading his books, and looking out of the tower windows, and listening +to his beloved little lark, which had come home with him that day, and +never left him again. + +True, it kept out of the way; and though his nurse sometimes dimly heard +it, and said "What is that horrid noise outside?" she never got the +faintest chance of making it into a lark pie. Prince Dolor had his pet +all to himself, and though he seldom saw it, he knew it was near him, +and he caught continually, at odd hours of the day, and even in the +night, fragments of its delicious song. + +All during the winter--so far as there ever was any difference between +summer and winter in Hopeless Tower--the little bird cheered and amused +him. He scarcely needed anything more--not even his traveling-cloak, +which lay bundled up unnoticed in a corner, tied up in its innumerable +knots. + +Nor did his godmother come near him. It seemed as if she had given these +treasures and left him alone--to use them or lose them, apply them or +misapply them, according to his own choice. That is all we can do with +children when they grow into big children old enough to distinguish +between right and wrong, and too old to be forced to do either. + +Prince Dolor was now quite a big boy. Not tall--alas! he never could be +that, with his poor little shrunken legs, which were of no use, only an +encumbrance. But he was stout and strong, with great sturdy shoulders, +and muscular arms, upon which he could swing himself about almost like +a monkey. As if in compensation for his useless lower limbs, Nature +had given to these extra strength and activity. His face, too, was very +handsome; thinner, firmer, more manly; but still the sweet face of his +childhood--his mother's own face. + +How his mother would have liked to look at him! Perhaps she did--who +knows? + +The boy was not a stupid boy either. He could learn almost anything he +chose--and he did choose, which was more than half the battle. He never +gave up his lessons till he had learned them all--never thought it a +punishment that he had to work at them, and that they cost him a deal of +trouble sometimes. + +"But," thought he, "men work, and it must be so grand to be a man--a +prince too; and I fancy princes work harder than anybody--except kings. +The princes I read about generally turn into kings. I wonder"--the +boy was always wondering--"Nurse,"--and one day he startled her with a +sudden question,--"tell me--shall I ever be a king?" + +The woman stood, perplexed beyond expression. So long a time had passed +by since her crime--if it were a crime--and her sentence, that she now +seldom thought of either. Even her punishment--to be shut up for life in +Hopeless Tower--she had gradually got used to. Used also to the little +lame Prince, her charge--whom at first she had hated, though she +carefully did everything to keep him alive, since upon him her own life +hung. + +But latterly she had ceased to hate him, and, in a sort of way, almost +loved him--at least, enough to be sorry for him--an innocent child, +imprisoned here till he grew into an old man, and became a dull, +worn-out creature like herself. Sometimes, watching him, she felt more +sorry for him than even for herself; and then, seeing she looked a less +miserable and ugly woman, he did not shrink from her as usual. + +He did not now. "Nurse--dear nurse," said he, "I don't mean to vex you, +but tell me what is a king? shall I ever be one?" + +When she began to think less of herself and more of the child, the +woman's courage increased. The idea came to her--what harm would it be, +even if he did know his own history? Perhaps he ought to know it--for +there had been various ups and downs, usurpations, revolutions, and +restorations in Nomansland, as in most other countries. Something might +happen--who could tell? Changes might occur. Possibly a crown would +even yet be set upon those pretty, fair curls--which she began to think +prettier than ever when she saw the imaginary coronet upon them. + +She sat down, considering whether her oath, never to "say a word" to +Prince Dolor about himself, would be broken if she were to take a +pencil and write what was to be told. A mere quibble--a mean, miserable +quibble. But then she was a miserable woman, more to be pitied than +scorned. + +After long doubt, and with great trepidation, she put her fingers to her +lips, and taking the Prince's slate--with the sponge tied to it, ready +to rub out the writing in a minute--she wrote: + +"You are a king." + +Prince Dolor started. His face grew pale, and then flushed all over; he +held himself erect. Lame as he was, anybody could see he was born to be +a king. + +"Hush!" said the nurse, as he was beginning to speak. And then, terribly +frightened all the while,--people who have done wrong always are +frightened,--she wrote down in a few hurried sentences his history. How +his parents had died--his uncle had usurped his throne, and sent him to +end his days in this lonely tower. + +"I, too," added she, bursting into tears. "Unless, indeed, you could get +out into the world, and fight for your rights like a man. And fight for +me also, my Prince, that I may not die in this desolate place." + +"Poor old nurse!" said the boy compassionately. For somehow, boy as he +was, when he heard he was born to be a king, he felt like a man--like a +king--who could afford to be tender because he was strong. + +He scarcely slept that night, and even though he heard his little lark +singing in the sunrise, he barely listened to it. Things more serious +and important had taken possession of his mind. + +"Suppose," thought he, "I were to do as she says, and go out in the +world, no matter how it hurts me--the world of people, active people, as +that boy I saw. They might only laugh at me--poor helpless creature that +I am; but still I might show them I could do something. At any rate, I +might go and see if there were anything for me to do. Godmother, help +me!" + +It was so long since he had asked her help that he was hardly surprised +when he got no answer--only the little lark outside the window sang +louder and louder, and the sun rose, flooding the room with light. + +Prince Dolor sprang out of bed, and began dressing himself, which was +hard work, for he was not used to it--he had always been accustomed to +depend upon his nurse for everything. + +"But I must now learn to be independent," thought he. "Fancy a king +being dressed like a baby!" + +So he did the best he could,--awkwardly but cheerily,--and then he +leaped to the corner where lay his traveling-cloak, untied it as before, +and watched it unrolling itself--which it did rapidly, with a hearty +good-will, as if quite tired of idleness. So was Prince Dolor--or felt +as if he were. He jumped into the middle of it, said his charm, and was +out through the skylight immediately. + +"Good-by, pretty lark!" he shouted, as he passed it on the wing, still +warbling its carol to the newly risen sun. "You have been my pleasure, +my delight; now I must go and work. Sing to old nurse till I come back +again. Perhaps she'll hear you--perhaps she won't--but it will do her +good all the same. Good-by!" + +But, as the cloak hung irresolute in air, he suddenly remembered that he +had not determined where to go--indeed, he did not know, and there was +nobody to tell him. + +"Godmother," he cried, in much perplexity, "you know what I want,--at +least, I hope you do, for I hardly do myself--take me where I ought to +go; show me whatever I ought to see--never mind what I like to see," +as a sudden idea came into his mind that he might see many painful and +disagreeable things. But this journey was not for pleasure as before. He +was not a baby now, to do nothing but play--big boys do not always play. +Nor men neither--they work. Thus much Prince Dolor knew--though very +little more. + +As the cloak started off, traveling faster than he had ever known it to +do,--through sky-land and cloud land, over freezing mountain-tops, and +desolate stretches of forest, and smiling cultivated plains, and great +lakes that seemed to him almost as shoreless as the sea,--he was often +rather frightened. But he crouched down, silent and quiet; what was the +use of making a fuss? and, wrapping himself up in his bear-skin, waited +for what was to happen. + +After some time he heard a murmur in the distance, increasing more +and more till it grew like the hum of a gigantic hive of bees. And, +stretching his chin over the rim of his cloak, Prince Dolor saw--far, +far below him, yet, with his gold spectacles and silver ears on, he +could distinctly hear and see--what? + +Most of us have some time or other visited a great metropolis--have +wandered through its network of streets--lost ourselves in its crowds +of people--looked up at its tall rows of houses, its grand public +buildings, churches, and squares. Also, perhaps, we have peeped into its +miserable little back alleys, where dirty children play in gutters all +day and half the night--even young boys go about picking pockets, with +nobody to tell them it is wrong except the policeman, and he simply +takes them off to prison. And all this wretchedness is close behind the +grandeur--like the two sides of the leaf of a book. + +An awful sight is a large city, seen any how from any where. But, +suppose you were to see it from the upper air, where, with your eyes +and ears open, you could take in everything at once? What would it look +like? How would you feel about it? I hardly know myself. Do you? + +Prince Dolor had need to be a king--that is, a boy with a kingly +nature--to be able to stand such a sight without being utterly overcome. +But he was very much bewildered--as bewildered as a blind person who is +suddenly made to see. + +He gazed down on the city below him, and then put his hand over his +eyes. + +"I can't bear to look at it, it is so beautiful--so dreadful. And I +don't understand it--not one bit. There is nobody to tell me about it. I +wish I had somebody to speak to." + +"Do you? Then pray speak to me. I was always considered good at +conversation." + +The voice that squeaked out this reply was an excellent imitation of the +human one, though it came only from a bird. No lark this time, however, +but a great black and white creature that flew into the cloak, and began +walking round and round on the edge of it with a dignified stride, one +foot before the other, like any unfeathered biped you could name. + +"I haven't the honor of your acquaintance, sir," said the boy politely. + +"Ma'am, if you please. I am a mother bird, and my name is Mag, and I +shall be happy to tell you everything you want to know. For I know a +great deal; and I enjoy talking. My family is of great antiquity; we +have built in this palace for hundreds--that is to say, dozens of years. +I am intimately acquainted with the king, the queen, and the little +princes and princesses--also the maids of honor, and all the inhabitants +of the city. I talk a good deal, but I always talk sense, and I daresay +I should be exceedingly useful to a poor little ignorant boy like you." + +"I am a prince," said the other gently. + +"All right. And I am a magpie. You will find me a most respectable +bird." + +"I have no doubt of it," was the polite answer--though he thought in his +own mind that Mag must have a very good opinion of herself. But she was +a lady and a stranger, so of course he was civil to her. + +She settled herself at his elbow, and began to chatter away, pointing +out with one skinny claw, while she balanced herself on the other, every +object of interest, evidently believing, as no doubt all its inhabitants +did, that there was no capital in the world like the great metropolis of +Nomansland. + +I have not seen it, and therefore cannot describe it, so we will just +take it upon trust, and suppose it to be, like every other fine city, +the finest city that ever was built. Mag said so--and of course she +knew. + +Nevertheless, there were a few things in it which surprised Prince +Dolor--and, as he had said, he could not understand them at all. One +half the people seemed so happy and busy--hurrying up and down the full +streets, or driving lazily along the parks in their grand carriages, +while the other half were so wretched and miserable. + +"Can't the world be made a little more level? I would try to do it if I +were a king." + +"But you're not the king: only a little goose of a boy," returned the +magpie loftily. "And I'm here not to explain things, only to show them. +Shall I show you the royal palace?" + +It was a very magnificent palace. It had terraces and gardens, +battlements and towers. It extended over acres of ground, and had in +it rooms enough to accommodate half the city. Its windows looked in all +directions, but none of them had any particular view--except a small +one, high up toward the roof, which looked out on the Beautiful +Mountains. But since the queen died there it had been closed, boarded +up, indeed, the magpie said. It was so little and inconvenient that +nobody cared to live in it. Besides, the lower apartments, which had no +view, were magnificent--worthy of being inhabited by the king. + +"I should like to see the king," said Prince Dolor. + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +What, I wonder, would be people's idea of a king? What was Prince +Dolor's? + +Perhaps a very splendid personage, with a crown on his head and a +scepter in his hand, sitting on a throne and judging the people. Always +doing right, and never wrong--"The king can do no wrong" was a law +laid down in olden times. Never cross, or tired, or sick, or suffering; +perfectly handsome and well dressed, calm and good-tempered, ready to +see and hear everybody, and discourteous to nobody; all things always +going well with him, and nothing unpleasant ever happening. + +This, probably, was what Prince Dolor expected to see. And what did he +see? But I must tell you how he saw it. + +"Ah," said the magpie, "no levee to-day. The King is ill, though his +Majesty does not wish it to be generally known--it would be so very +inconvenient. He can't see you, but perhaps you might like to go and +take a look at him in a way I often do? It is so very amusing." + +Amusing, indeed! + +The prince was just now too much excited to talk much. Was he not going +to see the king his uncle, who had succeeded his father and dethroned +himself; had stepped into all the pleasant things that he, Prince Dolor, +ought to have had, and shut him up in a desolate tower? What was he +like, this great, bad, clever man? Had he got all the things he wanted, +which another ought to have had? And did he enjoy them? + +"Nobody knows," answered the magpie, just as if she had been sitting +inside the prince's heart, instead of on the top of his shoulder. "He is +a king, and that's enough. For the rest nobody knows." + +As she spoke, Mag flew down on to the palace roof, where the cloak +had rested, settling down between the great stacks of chimneys as +comfortably as if on the ground. She pecked at the tiles with her +beak--truly she was a wonderful bird--and immediately a little hole +opened, a sort of door, through which could be seen distinctly the +chamber below. + +"Now look in, my Prince. Make haste, for I must soon shut it up again." + +But the boy hesitated. "Isn't it rude?--won't they think us intruding?" + +"Oh, dear no! there's a hole like this in every palace; dozens of holes, +indeed. Everybody knows it, but nobody speaks of it. Intrusion! Why, +though the royal family are supposed to live shut up behind stone walls +ever so thick, all the world knows that they live in a glass house where +everybody can see them and throw a stone at them. Now pop down on your +knees, and take a peep at his Majesty." + +His Majesty! + +The Prince gazed eagerly down into a large room, the largest room he had +ever beheld, with furniture and hangings grander than anything he could +have ever imagined. A stray sunbeam, coming through a crevice of the +darkened windows, struck across the carpet, and it was the loveliest +carpet ever woven--just like a bed of flowers to walk over; only nobody +walked over it, the room being perfectly empty and silent. + +"Where is the King?" asked the puzzled boy. + +"There," said Mag, pointing with one wrinkled claw to a magnificent bed, +large enough to contain six people. In the center of it, just visible +under the silken counterpane,--quite straight and still,--with its head +on the lace pillow, lay a small figure, something like wax-work, fast +asleep--very fast asleep! There was a number of sparkling rings on the +tiny yellow hands, that were curled a little, helplessly, like a baby's, +outside the coverlet; the eyes were shut, the nose looked sharp and +thin, and the long gray beard hid the mouth and lay over the breast. +A sight not ugly nor frightening, only solemn and quiet. And so very +silent--two little flies buzzing about the curtains of the bed being the +only audible sound. + +"Is that the King?" whispered Prince Dolor. + +"Yes," replied the bird. + +He had been angry--furiously angry--ever since he knew how his uncle had +taken the crown, and sent him, a poor little helpless child, to be shut +up for life, just as if he had been dead. Many times the boy had felt +as if, king as he was, he should like to strike him, this great, strong, +wicked man. + +Why, you might as well have struck a baby! How helpless he lay, with his +eyes shut, and his idle hands folded: they had no more work to do, bad +or good. + +"What is the matter with him?" asked the Prince. + +"He is dead," said the Magpie, with a croak. + +No, there was not the least use in being angry with him now. On the +contrary, the Prince felt almost sorry for him, except that he looked +so peaceful with all his cares at rest. And this was being dead? So even +kings died? + +"Well, well, he hadn't an easy life, folk say, for all his grandeur. +Perhaps he is glad it is over. Good-by, your Majesty." + +With another cheerful tap of her beak, Mistress Mag shut down the little +door in the tiles, and Prince Dolor's first and last sight of his uncle +was ended. + +He sat in the center of his traveling-cloak, silent and thoughtful. + +"What shall we do now?" said the magpie. "There's nothing much more to +be done with his majesty, except a fine funeral, which I shall certainly +go and see. All the world will. He interested the world exceedingly when +he was alive, and he ought to do it now he's dead--just once more. +And since he can't hear me, I may as well say that, on the whole, his +majesty is much better dead than alive--if we can only get somebody +in his place. There'll be such a row in the city presently. Suppose we +float up again and see it all--at a safe distance, though. It will be +such fun!" + +"What will be fun?" + +"A revolution." + +Whether anybody except a magpie would have called it "fun" I don't know, +but it certainly was a remarkable scene. + +As soon as the cathedral bell began to toll and the minute-guns to +fire, announcing to the kingdom that it was without a king, the people +gathered in crowds, stopping at street corners to talk together. The +murmur now and then rose into a shout, and the shout into a roar. When +Prince Dolor, quietly floating in upper air, caught the sound of their +different and opposite cries, it seemed to him as if the whole city had +gone mad together. + +"Long live the king!" "The king is dead--down with the king!" "Down with +the crown, and the king too!" "Hurrah for the republic!" "Hurrah for no +government at all!" + +Such were the shouts which traveled up to the traveling-cloak. And then +began--oh, what a scene! + +When you children are grown men and women--or before--you will hear and +read in books about what are called revolutions--earnestly I trust that +neither I nor you may ever see one. But they have happened, and may +happen again, in other countries besides Nomansland, when wicked kings +have helped to make their people wicked too, or out of an unrighteous +nation have sprung rulers equally bad; or, without either of these +causes, when a restless country has fancied any change better than no +change at all. + +For me, I don't like changes, unless pretty sure that they are for good. +And how good can come out of absolute evil--the horrible evil that went +on this night under Prince Dolor's very eyes--soldiers shooting down +people by hundreds in the streets, scaffolds erected, and heads dropping +off--houses burned, and women and children murdered--this is more than I +can understand. + +But all these things you will find in history, my children, and must +by and by judge for yourselves the right and wrong of them, as far as +anybody ever can judge. + +Prince Dolor saw it all. Things happened so fast one after another that +they quite confused his faculties. + +"Oh, let me go home," he cried at last, stopping his ears and shutting +his eyes; "only let me go home!" for even his lonely tower seemed home, +and its dreariness and silence absolute paradise after all this. + +"Good-by, then," said the magpie, flapping her wings. She had been +chatting incessantly all day and all night, for it was actually thus +long that Prince Dolor had been hovering over the city, neither eating +nor sleeping, with all these terrible things happening under his very +eyes. "You've had enough, I suppose, of seeing the world?" + +"Oh, I have--I have!" cried the prince, with a shudder. + +"That is, till next time. All right, your royal highness. You don't know +me, but I know you. We may meet again some time." + +She looked at him with her clear, piercing eyes, sharp enough to see +through everything, and it seemed as if they changed from bird's eyes +to human eyes--the very eyes of his godmother, whom he had not seen for +ever so long. But the minute afterward she became only a bird, and with +a screech and a chatter, spread her wings and flew away. + +Prince Dolor fell into a kind of swoon of utter misery, bewilderment, +and exhaustion, and when he awoke he found himself in his own +room--alone and quiet--with the dawn just breaking, and the long rim of +yellow light in the horizon glimmering through the window-panes. + + + +CHAPTER IX + +When Prince Dolor sat up in bed, trying to remember where he was, +whither he had been, and what he had seen the day before, he perceived +that his room was empty. + +Generally his nurse rather worried him by breaking his slumbers, coming +in and "setting things to rights," as she called it. Now the dust lay +thick upon chairs and tables; there was no harsh voice heard to scold +him for not getting up immediately, which, I am sorry to say, this boy +did not always do. For he so enjoyed lying still, and thinking lazily +about everything or nothing, that, if he had not tried hard against it, +he would certainly have become like those celebrated + + "Two little men + Who lay in their bed till the clock struck ten." + +It was striking ten now, and still no nurse was to be seen. He was +rather relieved at first, for he felt so tired; and besides, when he +stretched out his arm, he found to his dismay that he had gone to bed in +his clothes. + +Very uncomfortable he felt, of course; and just a little frightened. +Especially when he began to call and call again, but nobody answered. +Often he used to think how nice it would be to get rid of his nurse and +live in this tower all by himself--like a sort of monarch able to do +everything he liked, and leave undone all that he did not want to do; +but now that this seemed really to have happened, he did not like it at +all. + +"Nurse,--dear nurse,--please come back!" he called out. "Come back, and +I will be the best boy in all the land." + +And when she did not come back, and nothing but silence answered his +lamentable call, he very nearly began to cry. + +"This won't do," he said at last, dashing the tears from his eyes. "It's +just like a baby, and I'm a big boy--shall be a man some day. What has +happened, I wonder? I'll go and see." + +He sprang out of bed,--not to his feet, alas! but to his poor little +weak knees, and crawled on them from room to room. All the four chambers +were deserted--not forlorn or untidy, for everything seemed to have been +done for his comfort--the breakfast and dinner things were laid, the +food spread in order. He might live "like a prince," as the proverb +is, for several days. But the place was entirely forsaken--there was +evidently not a creature but himself in the solitary tower. + +A great fear came upon the poor boy. Lonely as his life had been, he had +never known what it was to be absolutely alone. A kind of despair seized +him--no violent anger or terror, but a sort of patient desolation. + +"What in the world am I to do?" thought he, and sat down in the middle +of the floor, half inclined to believe that it would be better to give +up entirely, lay himself down, and die. + +This feeling, however, did not last long, for he was young and strong, +and, I said before, by nature a very courageous boy. There came into +his head, somehow or other, a proverb that his nurse had taught him--the +people of Nomansland were very fond of proverbs: + + "For every evil under the sun + There is a remedy, or there's none; + If there is one, try to find it-- + If there isn't, never mind it." + +"I wonder is there a remedy now, and could I find it?" cried the Prince, +jumping up and looking out of the window. + +No help there. He only saw the broad, bleak, sunshiny plain--that is, at +first. But by and by, in the circle of mud that surrounded the base of +the tower, he perceived distinctly the marks of a horse's feet, and just +in the spot where the deaf-mute was accustomed to tie up his great black +charger, while he himself ascended, there lay the remains of a bundle of +hay and a feed of corn. + +"Yes, that's it. He has come and gone, taking nurse away with him. Poor +nurse! how glad she would be to go!" + +That was Prince Dolor's first thought. His second--wasn't it +natural?--was a passionate indignation at her cruelty--at the cruelty +of all the world toward him, a poor little helpless boy. Then he +determined, forsaken as he was, to try and hold on to the last, and not +to die as long as he could possibly help it. + +Anyhow, it would be easier to die here than out in the world, among the +terrible doings which he had just beheld--from the midst of which, it +suddenly struck him, the deaf-mute had come, contriving somehow to make +the nurse understand that the king was dead, and she need have no fear +in going back to the capital, where there was a grand revolution, and +everything turned upside down. So, of course, she had gone. "I hope +she'll enjoy it, miserable woman--if they don't cut off her head too." + +And then a kind of remorse smote him for feeling so bitterly toward her, +after all the years she had taken care of him--grudgingly, perhaps, and +coldly; still she had taken care of him, and that even to the last: for, +as I have said, all his four rooms were as tidy as possible, and his +meals laid out, that he might have no more trouble than could be helped. + +"Possibly she did not mean to be cruel. I won't judge her," said he. And +afterward he was very glad that he had so determined. + +For the second time he tried to dress himself, and then to do everything +he could for himself--even to sweeping up the hearth and putting on +more coals. "It's a funny thing for a prince to have to do," said he, +laughing. "But my godmother once said princes need never mind doing +anything." + +And then he thought a little of his godmother. Not of summoning her, or +asking her to help him,--she had evidently left him to help himself, +and he was determined to try his best to do it, being a very proud and +independent boy,--but he remembered her tenderly and regret-fully, as if +even she had been a little hard upon him--poor, forlorn boy that he was. +But he seemed to have seen and learned so much within the last few days +that he scarcely felt like a boy, but a man--until he went to bed at +night. + +When I was a child, I used often to think how nice it would be to live +in a little house all by my own self--a house built high up in a tree, +or far away in a forest, or halfway up a hillside so deliciously alone +and independent. Not a lesson to learn--but no! I always liked learning +my lessons. Anyhow, to choose the lessons I liked best, to have as many +books to read and dolls to play with as ever I wanted: above all, to be +free and at rest, with nobody to tease or trouble or scold me, would be +charming. For I was a lonely little thing, who liked quietness--as many +children do; which other children, and sometimes grown-up people even, +cannot understand. And so I can understand Prince Dolor. + +After his first despair, he was not merely comfortable, but actually +happy in his solitude, doing everything for himself, and enjoying +everything by himself--until bedtime. Then he did not like it at all. +No more, I suppose, than other children would have liked my imaginary +house in a tree when they had had sufficient of their own company. + +But the Prince had to bear it--and he did bear it, like a prince--for +fully five days. All that time he got up in the morning and went to bed +at night without having spoken to a creature, or, indeed, heard a +single sound. For even his little lark was silent; and as for his +traveling-cloak, either he never thought about it, or else it had been +spirited away--for he made no use of it, nor attempted to do so. + +A very strange existence it was, those five lonely days. He never +entirely forgot it. It threw him back upon himself, and into himself--in +a way that all of us have to learn when we grow up, and are the better +for it; but it is somewhat hard learning. + +On the sixth day Prince Dolor had a strange composure in his look, but +he was very grave and thin and white. He had nearly come to the end of +his provisions--and what was to happen next? Get out of the tower he +could not: the ladder the deaf-mute used was always carried away again; +and if it had not been, how could the poor boy have used it? And even if +he slung or flung himself down, and by miraculous chance came alive to +the foot of the tower, how could he run away? + +Fate had been very hard to him, or so it seemed. + +He made up his mind to die. Not that he wished to die; on the contrary, +there was a great deal that he wished to live to do; but if he must die, +he must. Dying did not seem so very dreadful; not even to lie quiet like +his uncle, whom he had entirely forgiven now, and neither be miserable +nor naughty any more, and escape all those horrible things that he had +seen going on outside the palace, in that awful place which was called +"the world." + +"It's a great deal nicer here," said the poor little Prince, and +collected all his pretty things round him: his favorite pictures, which +he thought he should like to have near him when he died; his books and +toys--no, he had ceased to care for toys now; he only liked them because +he had done so as a child. And there he sat very calm and patient, like +a king in his castle, waiting for the end. + +"Still, I wish I had done something first--something worth doing, that +somebody might remember me by," thought he. "Suppose I had grown a man, +and had had work to do, and people to care for, and was so useful and +busy that they liked me, and perhaps even forgot I was lame? Then it +would have been nice to live, I think." + +A tear came into the little fellow's eyes, and he listened intently +through the dead silence for some hopeful sound. + +Was there one?--was it his little lark, whom he had almost forgotten? +No, nothing half so sweet. But it really was something--something which +came nearer and nearer, so that there was no mistaking it. It was the +sound of a trumpet, one of the great silver trumpets so admired in +Nomansland. Not pleasant music, but very bold, grand, and inspiring. + +As he listened to it the boy seemed to recall many things which had +slipped his memory for years, and to nerve himself for whatever might be +going to happen. + +What had happened was this. + +The poor condemned woman had not been such a wicked woman after all. +Perhaps her courage was not wholly disinterested, but she had done a +very heroic thing. As soon as she heard of the death and burial of the +King and of the changes that were taking place in the country, a daring +idea came into her head--to set upon the throne of Nomansland its +rightful heir. Thereupon she persuaded the deaf-mute to take her away +with him, and they galloped like the wind from city to city, spreading +everywhere the news that Prince Dolor's death and burial had been an +invention concocted by his wicked uncle that he was alive and well, and +the noblest young prince that ever was born. + +It was a bold stroke, but it succeeded. The country, weary perhaps of +the late King's harsh rule, and yet glad to save itself from the horrors +of the last few days, and the still further horrors of no rule at all, +and having no particular interest in the other young princes, jumped at +the idea of this Prince, who was the son of their late good King and the +beloved Queen Dolorez. + +"Hurrah for Prince Dolor! Let Prince Dolor be our sovereign!" rang from +end to end of the kingdom. Everybody tried to remember what a dear baby +he once was--how like his mother, who had been so sweet and kind, and +his father, the finest-looking king that ever reigned. Nobody remembered +his lameness--or, if they did, they passed it over as a matter of no +consequence. They were determined to have him reign over them, boy as +he was--perhaps just because he was a boy, since in that case the great +nobles thought they should be able to do as they liked with the country. + +Accordingly, with a fickleness not confined to the people of Nomansland, +no sooner was the late King laid in his grave than they pronounced him +to have been a usurper; turned all his family out of the palace, and +left it empty for the reception of the new sovereign, whom they went +to fetch with great rejoicing, a select body of lords, gentlemen, +and soldiers traveling night and day in solemn procession through the +country until they reached Hopeless Tower. + +There they found the Prince, sitting calmly on the floor--deadly +pale, indeed, for he expected a quite different end from this, and was +resolved, if he had to die, to die courageously, like a Prince and a +King. + +But when they hailed him as Prince and King, and explained to him how +matters stood, and went down on their knees before him, offering the +crown (on a velvet cushion, with four golden tassels, each nearly as +big as his head),--small though he was and lame, which lameness the +courtiers pretended not to notice,--there came such a glow into his +face, such a dignity into his demeanor, that he became beautiful, +king-like. + +"Yes," he said, "if you desire it, I will be your king. And I will do my +best to make my people happy." + +Then there arose, from inside and outside the tower, such a shout as +never yet was heard across the lonely plain. + +Prince Dolor shrank a little from the deafening sound. "How shall I be +able to rule all this great people? You forget, my lords, that I am only +a little boy still." + +"Not so very little," was the respectful answer. "We have searched +in the records, and found that your Royal Highness--your Majesty, I +mean--is fifteen years old." + +"Am I?" said Prince Dolor; and his first thought was a thoroughly +childish pleasure that he should now have a birthday, with a whole +nation to keep it. Then he remembered that his childish days were done. +He was a monarch now. Even his nurse, to whom, the moment he saw her, +he had held out his hand, kissed it reverently, and called him +ceremoniously "his Majesty the King." + +"A king must be always a king, I suppose," said he half-sadly, when, the +ceremonies over, he had been left to himself for just ten minutes, to +put off his boy's clothes and be reattired in magnificent robes, before +he was conveyed away from his tower to the royal palace. + +He could take nothing with him; indeed, he soon saw that, however +politely they spoke, they would not allow him to take anything. If he +was to be their king, he must give up his old life forever. So he looked +with tender farewell on his old books, old toys, the furniture he knew +so well, and the familiar plain in all its levelness--ugly yet pleasant, +simply because it was familiar. + +"It will be a new life in a new world," said he to himself; "but I'll +remember the old things still. And, oh! if before I go I could but once +see my dear old godmother." + +While he spoke he had laid himself down on the bed for a minute or +two, rather tired with his grandeur, and confused by the noise of the +trumpets which kept playing incessantly down below. He gazed, half +sadly, up to the skylight, whence there came pouring a stream of +sunrays, with innumerable motes floating there, like a bridge thrown +between heaven and earth. Sliding down it, as if she had been made of +air, came the little old woman in gray. + +So beautiful looked she--old as she was--that Prince Dolor was at first +quite startled by the apparition. Then he held out his arms in eager +delight. + +"Oh, godmother, you have not forsaken me!" + +"Not at all, my son. You may not have seen me, but I have seen you many +a time." + +"How?" + +"Oh, never mind. I can turn into anything I please, you know. And I have +been a bearskin rug, and a crystal goblet--and sometimes I have changed +from inanimate to animate nature, put on feathers, and made myself very +comfortable as a bird." + +"Ha!" laughed the prince, a new light breaking in upon him as he caught +the infection of her tone, lively and mischievous. "Ha! ha! a lark, +for instance?" + +"Or a magpie," answered she, with a capital imitation of Mistress Mag's +croaky voice. "Do you suppose I am always sentimental, and never funny? +If anything makes you happy, gay, or grave, don't you think it is more +than likely to come through your old godmother?" + +"I believe that," said the boy tenderly, holding out his arms. They +clasped one another in a close embrace. + +Suddenly Prince Dolor looked very anxious. "You will not leave me now +that I am a king? Otherwise I had rather not be a king at all. Promise +never to forsake me!" + +The little old woman laughed gayly. "Forsake you? that is impossible. +But it is just possible you may forsake me. Not probable though. Your +mother never did, and she was a queen. The sweetest queen in all the +world was the Lady Dolorez." + +"Tell me about her," said the boy eagerly. "As I get older I think I can +understand more. Do tell me." + +"Not now. You couldn't hear me for the trumpets and the shouting. But +when you are come to the palace, ask for a long-closed upper room, which +looks out upon the Beautiful Mountains; open it and take it for your +own. Whenever you go there you will always find me, and we will talk +together about all sorts of things." + +"And about my mother?" + +The little old woman nodded--and kept nodding and smiling to herself +many times, as the boy repeated over and over again the sweet words he +had never known or understood--"my mother--my mother." + +"Now I must go," said she, as the trumpets blared louder and louder, and +the shouts of the people showed that they would not endure any delay. +"Good-by, good-by! Open the window and out I fly." + +Prince Dolor repeated gayly the musical rhyme--but all the while tried +to hold his godmother fast. + +Vain, vain! for the moment that a knocking was heard at his door the sun +went behind a cloud, the bright stream of dancing motes vanished, and +the little old woman with them--he knew not where. + +So Prince Dolor quitted his tower--which he had entered so mournfully +and ignominiously as a little helpless baby carried in the deaf-mute's +arms--quitted it as the great King of Nomansland. + +The only thing he took away with him was something so insignificant that +none of the lords, gentlemen, and soldiers who escorted him with such +triumphant splendor could possibly notice it--a tiny bundle, which +he had found lying on the floor just where the bridge of sunbeams had +rested. At once he had pounced upon it, and thrust it secretly into his +bosom, where it dwindled into such small proportions that it might +have been taken for a mere chest-comforter, a bit of flannel, or an old +pocket-handkerchief. It was his traveling-cloak! + + + +CHAPTER X + +Did Prince Dolar become a great king? Was he, though little more than a +boy, "the father of his people," as all kings ought to be? Did his reign +last long--long and happy? and what were the principal events of it, as +chronicled in the history of Nomansland? + +Why, if I were to answer all these questions I should have to write +another book. And I'm tired, children, tired--as grown-up people +sometimes are, though not always with play. (Besides, I have a small +person belonging to me, who, though she likes extremely to listen to the +word-of-mouth story of this book, grumbles much at the writing of it, +and has run about the house clapping her hands with joy when mamma told +her that it was nearly finished. But that is neither here nor there.) + +I have related as well as I could the history of Prince Dolor, but with +the history of Nomansland I am as yet unacquainted. If anybody knows +it, perhaps he or she will kindly write it all down in another book. But +mine is done. + +However, of this I am sure, that Prince Dolor made an excellent king. +Nobody ever does anything less well, not even the commonest duty of +common daily life, for having such a godmother as the little old woman +clothed in gray, whose name is--well, I leave you to guess. Nor, I +think, is anybody less good, less capable of both work and enjoyment in +after-life, for having been a little unhappy in his youth, as the prince +had been. + +I cannot take upon myself to say that he was always happy now--who +is?--or that he had no cares; just show me the person who is quite free +from them! But whenever people worried and bothered him--as they did +sometimes, with state etiquette, state squabbles, and the like, setting +up themselves and pulling down their neighbors--he would take refuge in +that upper room which looked out on the Beautiful Mountains, and, laying +his head on his godmother's shoulder, become calmed and at rest. + +Also, she helped him out of any difficulty which now and then +occurred--for there never was such a wise old woman. When the people of +Nomansland raised the alarm--as sometimes they did--for what people can +exist without a little fault-finding?--and began to cry out, "Un-happy +is the nation whose king is a child," she would say to him gently, "You +are a child. Accept the fact. Be humble--be teachable. Lean upon the +wisdom of others till you have gained your own." + +He did so. He learned how to take advice before attempting to give it, +to obey before he could righteously command. He assembled round him all +the good and wise of his kingdom--laid all its affairs before them, and +was guided by their opinions until he had maturely formed his own. + +This he did sooner than anybody would have imagined who did not know +of his godmother and his traveling-cloak--two secret blessings, which, +though many guessed at, nobody quite understood. Nor did they understand +why he loved so the little upper room, except that it had been his +mother's room, from the window of which, as people remembered now, she +had used to sit for hours watching the Beautiful Mountains. + +Out of that window he used to fly--not very often; as he grew older, the +labors of state prevented the frequent use of his traveling-cloak; still +he did use it sometimes. Only now it was less for his own pleasure and +amusement than to see something or investigate something for the good +of the country. But he prized his godmother's gift as dearly as ever. +It was a comfort to him in all his vexations, an enhancement of all his +joys. It made him almost forget his lameness--which was never cured. + +However, the cruel things which had been once foreboded of him did not +happen. His misfortune was not such a heavy one, after all. It proved to +be of much less inconvenience, even to himself, than had been feared. +A council of eminent surgeons and mechanicians invented for him a +wonderful pair of crutches, with the help of which, though he never +walked easily or gracefully, he did manage to walk so as to be quite +independent. And such was the love his people bore him that they never +heard the sound of his crutches on the marble palace floors without a +leap of the heart, for they knew that good was coming to them whenever +he approached. + +Thus, though he never walked in processions, never reviewed his troops +mounted on a magnificent charger, nor did any of the things which make +a show monarch so much appreciated, he was able for all the duties and +a great many of the pleasures of his rank. When he held his levees, +not standing, but seated on a throne ingeniously contrived to hide his +infirmity, the people thronged to greet him; when he drove out +through the city streets, shouts followed him wherever he went--every +countenance brightened as he passed, and his own, perhaps, was the +brightest of all. + +First, because, accepting his affliction as inevitable, he took it +patiently; second, because, being a brave man, he bore it bravely, +trying to forget himself, and live out of himself, and in and for other +people. Therefore other people grew to love him so well that I think +hundreds of his subjects might have been found who were almost ready to +die for their poor lame king. + +He never gave them a queen. When they implored him to choose one, he +replied that his country was his bride, and he desired no other. But +perhaps the real reason was that he shrank from any change; and that no +wife in all the world would have been found so perfect, so lovable, so +tender to him in all his weaknesses as his beautiful old godmother. + +His twenty-four other godfathers and godmothers, or as many of them as +were still alive, crowded round him as soon as he ascended the throne. +He was very civil to them all, but adopted none of the names they had +given him, keeping to the one by which he had been always known, though +it had now almost lost its meaning; for King Dolor was one of the +happiest and cheerfulest men alive. + +He did a good many things, however, unlike most men and most kings, +which a little astonished his subjects. First, he pardoned the condemned +woman who had been his nurse, and ordained that from henceforth there +should be no such thing as the punishment of death in Nomansland. All +capital criminals were to be sent to perpetual imprisonment in Hopeless +Tower and the plain round about it, where they could do no harm to +anybody, and might in time do a little good, as the woman had done. + +Another surprise he shortly afterward gave the nation. He recalled his +uncle's family, who had fled away in terror to another country, and +restored them to all their honors in their own. By and by he chose the +eldest son of his eldest cousin (who had been dead a year), and had him +educated in the royal palace, as the heir to the throne. This little +prince was a quiet, unobtrusive boy, so that everybody wondered at the +King's choosing him when there were so many more; but as he grew into a +fine young fellow, good and brave, they agreed that the King judged more +wisely than they. + +"Not a lame prince, either," his Majesty observed one day, watching +him affectionately; for he was the best runner, the highest leaper, the +keenest and most active sportsman in the country. "One cannot make one's +self, but one can sometimes help a little in the making of somebody +else. It is well." + +This was said, not to any of his great lords and ladies, but to a good +old woman--his first homely nurse whom he had sought for far and wide, +and at last found in her cottage among the Beautiful Mountains. He sent +for her to visit him once a year, and treated her with great honor until +she died. He was equally kind, though somewhat less tender, to his other +nurse, who, after receiving her pardon, returned to her native town and +grew into a great lady, and I hope a good one. But as she was so grand a +personage now, any little faults she had did not show. + +Thus King Dolor's reign passed year after year, long and prosperous. +Whether he were happy--"as happy as a king"--is a question no human +being can decide. But I think he was, because he had the power of making +everybody about him happy, and did it too; also because he was his +godmother's godson, and could shut himself up with her whenever he +liked, in that quiet little room in view of the Beautiful Mountains, +which nobody else ever saw or cared to see. They were too far off, and +the city lay so low. But there they were, all the time. No change ever +came to them; and I think, at any day throughout his long reign, the +King would sooner have lost his crown than have lost sight of the +Beautiful Mountains. + +In course of time, when the little Prince, his cousin, was grown into a +tall young man, capable of all the duties of a man, his Majesty did one +of the most extraordinary acts ever known in a sovereign beloved by +his people and prosperous in his reign. He announced that he wished to +invest his heir with the royal purple--at any rate, for a time--while he +himself went away on a distant journey, whither he had long desired to +go. + +Everybody marveled, but nobody opposed him. Who could oppose the good +King, who was not a young king now? And besides, the nation had a great +admiration for the young regent--and possibly a lurking pleasure in +change. + +So there was a fixed day when all the people whom it would hold +assembled in the great square of the capital, to see the young prince +installed solemnly in his new duties, and undertaking his new vows. He +was a very fine young fellow; tall and straight as a poplar tree, with a +frank, handsome face--a great deal handsomer than the king, some people +said, but others thought differently. However, as his Majesty sat on his +throne, with his gray hair falling from underneath his crown, and a few +wrinkles showing in spite of his smile, there was something about his +countenance which made his people, even while they shouted, regard him +with a tenderness mixed with awe. + +He lifted up his thin, slender hand, and there came a silence over the +vast crowd immediately. Then he spoke, in his own accustomed way, using +no grand words, but saying what he had to say in the simplest fashion, +though with a clearness that struck their ears like the first song of a +bird in the dusk of the morning. + +"My people, I am tired: I want to rest. I have had a long reign, and +done much work--at least, as much as I was able to do. Many might have +done it better than I--but none with a better will. Now I leave it to +others; I am tired, very tired. Let me go home." + +There arose a murmur--of content or discontent none could well tell; +then it died down again, and the assembly listened silently once more. + +"I am not anxious about you, my people--my children," continued the +King. "You are prosperous and at peace. I leave you in good hands. The +Prince Regent will be a fitter king for you than I." + +"No, no, no!" rose the universal shout--and those who had sometimes +found fault with him shouted louder than anybody. But he seemed as if he +heard them not. + +"Yes, yes," said he, as soon as the tumult had a little subsided: and +his voice sounded firm and clear; and some very old people, who boasted +of having seen him as a child, declared that his face took a sudden +change, and grew as young and sweet as that of the little Prince Dolor. +"Yes, I must go. It is time for me to go. Remember me sometimes, my +people, for I have loved you well. And I am going a long way, and I do +not think I shall come back any more." + +He drew a little bundle out of his breast pocket--a bundle that nobody +had ever seen before. It was small and shabby-looking, and tied up +with many knots, which untied themselves in an instant. With a joyful +countenance, he muttered over it a few half-intelligible words. Then, +so suddenly that even those nearest to his Majesty could not tell how it +came about, the King was away--away--floating right up in the air--upon +something, they knew not what, except that it appeared to be as safe and +pleasant as the wings of a bird. + +And after him sprang a bird--a dear little lark, rising from whence +no one could say, since larks do not usually build their nests in the +pavement of city squares. But there it was, a real lark, singing far +over their heads, louder and clearer and more joyful as it vanished +further into the blue sky. + +Shading their eyes, and straining their ears, the astonished people +stood until the whole vision disappeared like a speck in the clouds--the +rosy clouds that overhung the Beautiful Mountains. + +King Dolor was never again beheld or heard of in his own country. But +the good he had done there lasted for years and years; he was long +missed and deeply mourned--at least, so far as anybody could mourn one +who was gone on such a happy journey. + +Whither he went, or who went with him, it is impossible to say. But I +myself believe that his godmother took him on his traveling-cloak to +the Beautiful Mountains. What he did there, or where he is now, who can +tell? I cannot. But one thing I am quite sure of, that, wherever he is, +he is perfectly happy. + +And so, when I think of him, am I. + + + + +THE INVISIBLE PRINCE + +THERE were a king and queen who were dotingly fond of their only son, +notwithstanding that he was equally deformed in mind and person. The +king was quite sensible of the evil disposition of his son, but the +queen in her excessive fondness saw no fault whatever in her dear +Furibon, as he was named. The surest way to win her favor was to praise +Furibon for charms he did not possess. When he came of age to have a +governor, the king made choice of a prince who had an ancient right to +the crown, but was not able to support it. This prince had a son, named +Leander, handsome, accomplished, amiable--in every respect the opposite +of Prince Furibon. The two were frequently together, which only made the +deformed prince more repulsive. + +One day, certain ambassadors having arrived from a far country, the +prince stood in a gallery to see them; when, taking Leander for the +king's son, they made their obeisance to him, treating Furibon as a mere +dwarf, at which the latter was so offended that he drew his sword, and +would have done them a mischief had not the king just then appeared. As +it was, the affair produced a quarrel, which ended in Leander's being +sent to a far-away castle belonging to his father. + +There, however, he was quite happy, for he was a great lover of hunting, +fishing, and walking: he understood painting, read much, and played upon +several instruments, so that he was glad to be freed from the fantastic +humors of Furibon. One day as he was walking in the garden, finding the +heat increase, he retired into a shady grove and began to play upon the +flute to amuse himself. As he played, he felt something wind about his +leg, and looking down saw a great adder: he took his handkerchief, and +catching it by the head was going to kill it. But the adder, looking +steadfastly in his face, seemed to beg his pardon. At this instant one +of the gardeners happened to come to the place where Leander was, and +spying the snake, cried out to his master: "Hold him fast, sir; it +is but an hour since we ran after him to kill him: it is the most +mischievous creature in the world." + +Leander, casting his eyes a second time upon the snake, which was +speckled with a thousand extraordinary colors, perceived the poor +creature still looked upon him with an aspect that seemed to implore +compassion, and never tried in the least to defend itself. + +"Though thou hast such a mind to kill it," said he to the gardener, +"yet, as it came to me for refuge, I forbid thee to do it any harm; for +I will keep it, and when it has cast its beautiful skin I will let it +go." He then returned home, and carrying the snake with him, put it into +a large chamber, the key of which he kept himself, and ordered bran, +milk, and flowers to be given to it, for its delight and sustenance; +so that never was snake so happy. Leander went sometimes to see it, and +when it perceived him it made haste to meet him, showing him all the +little marks of love and gratitude of which a poor snake was capable, +which did not a little surprise him, though he took no further notice of +it. + +In the meantime all the court ladies were extremely troubled at his +absence, and he was the subject of all their discourse. "Alas!" cried +they, "there is no pleasure at court since Leander is gone, of +whose absence the wicked Furibon is the cause!" Furibon also had his +parasites, for his power over the queen made him feared; they told him +what the ladies said, which enraged him to such a degree that in his +passion he flew to the queen's chamber, and vowed he would kill himself +before her face if she did not find means to destroy Leander. The queen, +who also hated Leander, because he was handsomer than her son, replied +that she had long looked upon him as a traitor, and therefore would +willingly consent to his death. To which purpose she advised Furibon +to go a-hunting with some of his confidants, and contrive it so that +Leander should make one of the party. + +"Then," said she, "you may find some way to punish him for pleasing +everybody." + +Furibon understood her, and accordingly went a-hunting; and Leander, +when he heard the horns and the hounds, mounted his horse and rode to +see who it was. But he was surprised to meet the prince so unexpectedly; +he alighted immediately and saluted him with respect; and Furibon +received him more graciously than usual and bade follow him. All of a +sudden he turned his horse and rode another way, making a sign to the +ruffians to take the first opportunity to kill him; but before he had +got quite out of sight, a lion of prodigious size, coming out of his +den, leaped upon Furibon; all his followers fled, and only Leander +remained; who, attacking the animal sword in hand, by his valor and +agility saved the life of his most cruel enemy, who had fallen in a +swoon from fear. When he recovered, Leander presented him his horse to +remount. Now, any other than such a wretch would have been grateful, but +Furibon did not even look upon him; nay, mounting the horse, he rode in +quest of the ruffians, to whom he repeated his orders to kill him. They +accordingly surrounded Leander, who, setting his back to a tree, behaved +with so much bravery that he laid them all dead at his feet. Furibon, +believing him by this time slain, rode eagerly up to the spot. When +Leander saw him he advanced to meet him. "Sir," said he, "if it was by +your order that these assassins came to kill me, I am sorry I made any +defense." + +"You are an insolent villain!" replied Furibon, "and if ever you come +into my presence again, you shall surely die." + +Leander made no answer, but retired sad and pensive to his own home, +where he spent the night in pondering what was best for him to do; for +there was no likelihood he should be able to defend himself against +the power of the king's son; therefore he at length concluded he would +travel abroad and see the world. Being ready to depart, he recollected +his snake, and, calling for some milk and fruits, carried them to the +poor creature for the last time; but on opening the door he perceived an +extraordinary luster in one corner of the room, and casting his eye on +the place he was surprised to see a lady, whose noble and majestic air +made him immediately conclude she was a princess of royal birth. Her +habit was of purple satin, embroidered with pearls and diamonds; she +advanced toward him with a gracious smile. + +"Young prince," said she, "you find no longer your pet snake, but me, +the fairy Gentilla, ready to requite your generosity. For know that we +fairies live a hundred years in flourishing youth, without diseases, +without trouble or pain; and this term being expired, we become snakes +for eight days. During that time it is not in our power to prevent any +misfortune that may befall us; and if we happen to be killed, we never +revive again. But these eight days being expired, we resume our usual +form and recover our beauty, our power, and our riches. Now you know +how much I am obliged to your goodness, and it is but just that I should +repay my debt of gratitude; think how I can serve you and depend on me." + +The young prince, who had never conversed with a fairy till now, was so +surprised that it was a long time before he could speak. But at length, +making a profound reverence, "Madam," said he, "since I have had the +honor to serve you, I know not any other happiness that I can wish for." + +"I should be sorry," replied she, "not to be of service to you in +something; consider, it is in my power to bestow on you long life, +kingdoms, riches; to give you mines of diamonds and houses full of gold; +I can make you an excellent orator, poet, musician, and painter; or, if +you desire it, a spirit of the air, the water, or the earth." + +Here Leander interrupted her. "Permit me, madam," said he, "to ask you +what benefit it would be to me to be a spirit?" + +"Much," replied the fairy, "you would be invisible when you pleased, and +might in an instant traverse the whole earth; you would be able to fly +without wings, to descend into the abyss of the earth without dying, +and walk at the bottom of the sea without being drowned; nor doors, nor +windows, though fast shut and locked, could hinder you from entering +anywhere; and whenever you had a mind, you might resume your natural +form." + +"Oh, madam!" cried Leander, "then let me be a spirit; I am going to +travel, and should prefer it above all those other advantages you have +so generously offered me." + +Gentilla thereupon stroking his face three times, "Be a spirit," said +she; and then, embracing him, she gave him a little red cap with a plume +of feathers. "When you put on this cap you shall be invisible; but when +you take it off you shall again become visible." + +Leander, overjoyed, put his little red cap upon his head and wished +himself in the forest, that he might gather some wild roses which he had +observed there: his body immediately became as light as thought; he flew +through the window like a bird; though, in flying over the river, he was +not without fear lest he should fall into it, and the power of the fairy +not be able to save him. But he arrived in safety at the rose-bushes, +plucked the three roses, and returned immediately to his chamber; +presented his roses to the fairy, overjoyed that his first experiments +had succeeded so well. She bade him keep the roses, for that one of them +would supply him with money whenever he wanted it; that if he put the +other into his mistress' bosom, he would know whether she was faithful +or not; and that the third would keep him always in good health. Then, +without staying to receive his thanks, she wished him success in his +travels and disappeared. + +Leander, infinitely pleased, settled his affairs, mounted the finest +horse in the stable, called Gris-de-line, and attended by some of his +servants in livery, made his return to court. Now you must know Furibon +had given out that had it not been for his courage Leander would have +murdered him when they were a-hunting; so the king, being importuned by +the queen, gave orders that Leander should be apprehended. But when he +came, he showed so much courage and resolution that Furibon ran to the +queen's chamber and prayed her to order him to be seized. The queen, +who was extremely diligent in everything that her son desired, went +immediately to the king. Furibon, being impatient to know what would be +resolved, followed her; but stopped at the door and laid his ear to the +keyhole, putting his hair aside that he might the better hear what was +said. At the same time, Leander entered the court-hall of the palace +with his red cap upon his head, and perceiving Furibon listening at the +door of the king's chamber, he took a nail and a hammer and nailed his +ear to the door. Furibon began to roar, so that the queen, hearing her +son's voice, ran and opened the door, and, pulling it hastily, tore her +son's ear from his head. Half out of her wits, she set him in her lap, +took up his ear, kissed it, and clapped it again upon its place; but +the invisible Leander, seizing upon a handful of twigs, with which they +corrected the king's little dogs, gave the queen several lashes upon her +hands, and her son as many on the nose: upon which the queen cried out, +"Murder! murder!" and the king looked about, and the people came running +in; but nothing was to be seen. Some cried that the queen was mad, and +that her madness proceeded from her grief to see that her son had lost +one ear; and the king was as ready as any to believe it, so that when +she came near him he avoided her, which made a very ridiculous scene. +Leander, then leaving the chamber, went into the garden, and there, +assuming his own shape, he boldly began to pluck the queen's cherries, +apricots, strawberries, and flowers, though he knew she set such a high +value on them that it was as much as a man's life was worth to touch +one. The gardeners, all amazed, came and told their majesties that +Prince Leander was making havoc of all the fruits and flowers in the +queen's gardens. + +"What insolence!" said the queen: then turning to Furibon, "my pretty +child, forget the pain of thy ear but for a moment, and fetch that vile +wretch hither; take our guards, both horse and foot, seize him, and +punish him as he deserves." + +Furibon, encouraged by his mother, and attended by a great number of +armed soldiers, entered the garden and saw Leander; who, taking refuge +under a tree, pelted them all with oranges. But when they came running +toward him, thinking to have seized him, he was not to be seen; he had +slipped behind Furibon, who was in a bad condition already. But Leander +played him one trick more; for he pushed him down upon the gravel walk, +and frightened him so that the soldiers had to take him up, carry him +away, and put him to bed. + +Satisfied with this revenge, he returned to his servants, who waited +for him, and giving them money, sent them back to his castle, that +none might know the secret of his red cap and roses. As yet he had +not determined whither to go; however, he mounted his fine horse +Gris-de-line, and, laying the reins upon his neck, let him take his +own road: at length he arrived in a forest, where he stopped to shelter +himself from the heat. He had not been above a minute there before he +heard a lamentable noise of sighing and sobbing; and looking about +him, beheld a man, who ran, stopped, then ran again, sometimes crying, +sometimes silent, then tearing his hair, then thumping his breast like +some unfortunate madman. Yet he seemed to be both handsome and young: +his garments had been magnificent, but he had torn them all to tatters. +The prince, moved with compassion, made toward him, and mildly accosted +him. "Sir," said he, "your condition appears so deplorable that I must +ask the cause of your sorrow, assuring you of every assistance in my +power." + +"Oh, sir," answered the young man, "nothing can cure my grief; this day +my dear mistress is to be sacrificed to a rich old ruffian of a husband +who will make her miserable." + +"Does she love you, then?" asked Leander. + +"I flatter myself so," answered the young man. + +"Where is she?" continued Leander. + +"In the castle at the end of this forest," replied the lover. + +"Very well," said Leander; "stay you here till I come again, and in a +little while I will bring you good news." + +He then put on his little red cap and wished himself in the castle. He +had hardly got thither before he heard all sorts of music; he entered +into a great room, where the friends and kindred of the old man and the +young lady were assembled. No one could look more amiable than she; +but the paleness of her complexion, the melancholy that appeared in +her countenance, and the tears that now and then dropped, as it were by +stealth from her eyes, betrayed the trouble of her mind. + +Leander now became invisible, and placed himself in a corner of the +room. He soon perceived the father and mother of the bride; and coming +behind the mother's chair, whispered in her ear, "If you marry your +daughter to that old dotard, before eight days are over you shall +certainly die." The woman, frightened to hear such a terrible sentence +pronounced upon her, and yet not know from whence it came, gave a loud +shriek and dropped upon the floor. Her husband asked what ailed her: +she cried that she was a dead woman if the marriage of her daughter went +forward, and therefore she would not consent to it for all the world. +Her husband laughed at her and called her a fool. But the invisible +Leander accosting the man, threatened him in the same way, which +frightened him so terribly that he also insisted on the marriage being +broken off. When the lover complained, Leander trod hard upon his gouty +toes and rang such an alarm in his ears that, not being able any longer +to hear himself speak, away he limped, glad enough to go. The real +lover soon appeared, and he and his fair mistress fell joyfully into one +another's arms, the parents consenting to their union. Leander, assuming +his own shape, appeared at the hall door, as if he were a stranger drawn +thither by the report of this extraordinary wedding. + +From hence he traveled on, and came to a great city, where, upon his +arrival, he understood there was a great and solemn procession, in order +to shut up a young woman against her will among the vestal-nuns. The +prince was touched with compassion; and thinking the best use he could +make of his cap was to redress public wrongs and relieve the oppressed, +he flew to the temple, where he saw the young woman, crowned with +flowers, clad in white, and with her disheveled hair flowing about her +shoulders. Two of her brothers led her by each hand, and her mother +followed her with a great crowd of men and women. Leander, being +invisible, cried out, "Stop, stop, wicked brethren: stop, rash and +inconsiderate mother; if you proceed any further, you shall be squeezed +to death like so many frogs." They looked about, but could not conceive +from whence these terrible menaces came. The brothers said it was +only their sister's lover, who had hid himself in some hole; at which +Leander, in wrath, took a long cudgel, and they had no reason to say the +blows were not well laid on. The multitude fled, the vestals ran away, +and Leander was left alone with the victim; immediately he pulled off +his red cap and asked her wherein he might serve her. She answered him +that there was a certain gentleman whom she would be glad to marry, but +that he wanted an estate. Leander then shook his rose so long that he +supplied them with ten millions; after which they were married and lived +happily together. + +But his last adventure was the most agreeable. Entering into a wide +forest, he heard lamentable cries. Looking about him every way, at +length he spied four men well armed, who were carrying away by force a +young lady, thirteen or fourteen years of age; upon which, making up to +them as fast as he could, "What harm has that girl done?" said he. + +"Ha! ha! my little master," cried he who seemed to be the ringleader of +the rest, "who bade you inquire?" + +"Let her alone," said Leander, "and go about your business." + +"Oh, yes, to be sure," cried they, laughing; whereupon the prince, +alighting, put on his red cap, not thinking it otherwise prudent to +attack four who seemed strong enough to fight a dozen. One of them +stayed to take care of the young lady, while the three others went after +Gris-de-line, who gave them a great deal of unwelcome exercise. + +Meantime the young lady continued her cries and complaints. "Oh, my dear +princess," said she, "how happy was I in your palace! Did you but +know my sad misfortune, you would send your Amazons to rescue poor +Abricotina." + +Leander, having listened to what she said, without delay seized the +ruffian that held her, and bound him fast to a tree before he had time +or strength to defend himself. He then went to the second, and taking +him by both arms, bound him in the same manner to another tree. In the +meantime Abricotina made the best of her good fortune and betook herself +to her heels, not knowing which way she went. But Leander, missing her, +called out to his horse Gris-de-line; who, by two kicks with his hoof, +rid himself of the two ruffians who had pursued him: one of them had his +head broken and the other three of his ribs. And now Leander only wanted +to overtake Abricotina; for he thought her so handsome that he wished +to see her again. He found her leaning against a tree. When she saw +Gris-de-line coming toward her, "How lucky am I!" cried she; "this +pretty little horse will carry me to the palace of pleasure." Leander +heard her, though she saw him not: he rode up to her; Gris-de-line +stopped, and when Abricotina mounted him, Leander clasped her in his +arms and placed her gently before him. Oh, how great was Abricotina's +fear to feel herself fast embraced, and yet see nobody! She durst not +stir, and shut her eyes for fear of seeing a spirit. But Leander took +off his little cap. "How comes it, fair Abricotina," said he, "that you +are afraid of me, who delivered you out of the hands of the ruffians?" + +With that she opened her eyes, and knowing him again, "Oh, sir," said +she, "I am infinitely obliged to you; but I was afraid, for I felt +myself held fast and could see no one." + +"Surely," replied Leander, "the danger you have been in has disturbed +you and cast a mist before your eyes." + +Abricotina would not seem to doubt him, though she was otherwise +extremely sensible. And after they had talked for some time of +indifferent things, Leander requested her to tell him her age, her +country, and by what accident she fell into the hands of the ruffians. + +"Know then, sir," said she, "there was a certain very great fairy +married to a prince who wearied of her: she therefore banished him from +her presence, and established herself and daughter in the Island of Calm +Delights. The princess, who is my mistress, being very fair, has many +lovers--among others, one named Furibon, whom she detests; he it was +whose ruffians seized me to-day when I was wandering in search of a +stray parrot. Accept, noble prince, my best thanks for your valor, which +I shall never forget." + +Leander said how happy he was to have served her, and asked if he could +not obtain admission into the island. Abricotina assured him this was +impossible, and therefore he had better forget all about it. While they +were thus conversing, they came to the bank of a large river. Abricotina +alighted with a nimble jump from the horse. + +"Farewell, sir," said she to the prince, making a profound reverence; "I +wish you every happiness." + +"And I," said Leander, "wish that I may now and then have a small share +in your remembrance." + +So saying, he galloped away and soon entered into the thickest part of +the wood, near a river, where he unbridled and unsaddled Gris-de-line; +then, putting on his little cap, wished himself in the Island of Calm +Delights, and his wish was immediately accomplished. + +The palace was of pure gold, and stood upon pillars of crystal and +precious stones, which represented the zodiac and all the wonders of +nature; all the arts and sciences; the sea, with all the variety of fish +therein contained; the earth, with all the various creatures which it +produces; the chases of Diana and her nymphs; the noble exercises of the +Amazons; the amusements of a country life; flocks of sheep with their +shepherds and dogs; the toils of agriculture, harvesting, gardening. And +among all this variety of representations there was neither man nor +boy to be seen--not so much as a little winged Cupid; so highly had the +princess been incensed against her inconstant husband as not to show the +least favor to his fickle sex. + +"Abricotina did not deceive me," said Leander to himself; "they have +banished from hence the very idea of men; now let us see what they have +lost by it." With that he entered into the palaces and at every step he +took he met with objects so wonderful that when he had once fixed his +eyes upon them he had much ado to take them off again. He viewed a +vast number of these apartments, some full of china, no less fine than +curious; others lined with porcelain, so delicate that the walls were +quite transparent. Coral, jasper, agates, and cornelians adorned the +rooms of state, and the presence-chamber was one entire mirror. The +throne was one great pearl, hollowed like a shell; the princess sat, +surrounded by her maidens, none of whom could compare with herself. In +her was all the innocent sweetness of youth, joined to the dignity of +maturity; in truth, she was perfection; and so thought the invisible +Leander. + +Not seeing Abricotina, she asked where she was. Upon that, Leander, +being very desirous to speak, assumed the tone of a parrot, for there +were many in the room, and addressed himself invisibly to the princess. + +"Most charming princess," said he, "Abricotina will return immediately. +She was in great danger of being carried away from this place but for a +young prince who rescued her." + +The princess was surprised at the parrot, his answer was so extremely +pertinent. + +"You are very rude, little parrot," said the princess; "and Abricotina, +when she comes, shall chastise you for it." + +"I shall not be chastised," answered Leander, still counterfeiting the +parrot's voice; "moreover, she will let you know the great desire that +stranger had to be admitted into this palace, that he might convince +you of the falsehood of those ideas which you have conceived against his +sex." + +"In truth, pretty parrot," cried the princess, "it is a pity you are not +every day so diverting; I should love you dearly." + +"Ah! if prattling will please you, princess," replied Leander, "I will +prate from morning till night." + +"But," continued the princess, "how shall I be sure my parrot is not a +sorcerer?" + +"He is more in love than any sorcerer can be," replied the prince. + +At this moment Abricotina entered the room, and falling at her lovely +mistress' feet, gave her a full account of what had befallen her, and +described the prince in the most glowing colors. + +"I should have hated all men," added she, "had I not seen him! Oh, +madam, how charming he is! His air and all his behavior have something +in them so noble; and though whatever he spoke was infinitely pleasing, +yet I think I did well in not bringing him hither." + +To this the princess said nothing, but she asked Abricotina a hundred +other questions concerning the prince; whether she knew his name, his +country, his birth, from whence he came, and whither he was going; and +after this she fell into a profound thoughtfulness. + +Leander observed everything, and continued to chatter as he had begun. + +"Abricotina is ungrateful, madam," said he; "that poor stranger will die +for grief if he sees you not." + +"Well, parrot, let him die," answered the princess with a sigh; "and +since thou undertakest to reason like a person of wit, and not a little +bird, I forbid thee to talk to me any more of this unknown person." + +Leander was overjoyed to find that Abricotina's and the parrot's +discourse had made such an impression on the princess. He looked upon +her with pleasure and delight. "Can it be," said he to himself, "that +the masterpiece of nature, that the wonder of our age, should be +confined eternally in an island, and no mortal dare to approach her? +But," continued he, "wherefore am I concerned that others are banished +hence, since I have the happiness to be with her, to hear and to admire +her; nay, more, to love her above all the women in the universe?" + +It was late, and the princess retired into a large room of marble and +porphyry, where several bubbling fountains, refreshed the air with an +agreeable coolness. As soon as she entered the music began, a sumptuous +supper was served up, and the birds from several aviaries on each side +of the room, of which Abricotina had the chief care, opened their little +throats in the most agreeable manner. + +Leander had traveled a journey long enough to give him a good appetite, +which made him draw near the table, where the very smell of such viands +was agreeable and refreshing. The princess had a curious tabby-cat, for +which she had a great kindness. This cat one of the maids of honor held +in her arms, saying, "Madam, Bluet is hungry!" With that a chair was +presently brought for the cat; for he was a cat of quality, and had a +necklace of pearl about his neck. He was served on a golden plate with +a laced napkin before him; and the plate being supplied with meat, Bluet +sat with the solemn importance of an alderman. + +"Ho! ho!" cried Leander to himself; "an idle tabby malkin, that perhaps +never caught a mouse in his life, and I dare say is not descended from +a better family than myself, has the honor to sit at table with my +mistress: I would fain know whether he loves her so well as I do." + +Saying this, he placed himself in the chair with the cat upon his +knee, for nobody saw him, because he had his little red cap on; finding +Bluet's plate well supplied with partridge, quails, and pheasants, +he made so free with them that whatever was set before Master Puss +disappeared in a trice. The whole court said no cat ever ate with +a better appetite. There were excellent ragouts, and the prince made +use of the cat's paw to taste them; but he sometimes pulled his paw +too roughly, and Bluet, not understanding raillery, began to mew and be +quite out of patience. The princess observing it, "Bring that fricassee +and that tart to poor Bluet," said she; "see how he cries to have them." + +Leander laughed to himself at the pleasantness of this adventure; but he +was very thirsty, not being accustomed to make such large meals without +drinking. By the help of the cat's paw he got a melon, with which he +somewhat quenched his thirst; and when supper was quite over, he went to +the buffet and took two bottles of delicious wine. + +The princess now retired into her boudoir, ordering Abricotina to follow +her and make fast the door; but they could not keep out Leander, who was +there as soon as they. However, the princess, believing herself alone +with her confidante: + +"Abricotina," said she, "tell me truly, did you exaggerate in your +description of the unknown prince, for methinks it is impossible he +should be as amiable as you say?" + +"Madam," replied the damsel, "if I have failed in anything, it was in +coming short of what was due to him." + +The princess sighed and was silent for a time; then resuming her speech: +"I am glad," said she, "thou didst not bring him with thee." + +"But, madam," answered Abricotina, who was a cunning girl, and already +penetrated her mistress' thoughts, "suppose he had come to admire the +wonders of these beautiful mansions, what harm could he have done us? +Will you live eternally unknown in a corner of the world, concealed +from the rest of human kind? Of what use is all your grandeur, pomp, +magnificence, if nobody sees it?" + +"Hold thy peace, prattler," replied the princess, "and do not disturb +that happy repose which I have enjoyed so long." + +Abricotina durst make no reply; and the princess, having waited her +answer for some time, asked her whether she had anything to say. +Abricotina then said she thought it was to very little purpose her +mistress having sent her picture to the courts of several princes, where +it only served to make those who saw it miserable; that every one would +be desirous to marry her, and as she could not marry them all, indeed +none of them, it would make them desperate. + +"Yet, for all that," said the princess, "I could wish my picture were in +the hands of this same stranger." + +"Oh, madam," answered Abricotina, "is not his desire to see you violent +enough already? Would you augment it?" + +"Yes," cried the princess; "a certain impulse of vanity, which I was +never sensible of till now, has bred this foolish fancy in me." + +Leander heard all this discourse, and lost not a tittle of what she +said; some of her expressions gave him hope, others absolutely destroyed +it. The princess presently asked Abricotina whether she had seen +anything extraordinary during her short travels. + +"Madam," said she, "I passed through one forest where I saw certain +creatures that resembled little children: they skip and dance upon the +trees like squirrels; they are very ugly, but have wonderful agility and +address." + +"I wish I had one of them," said the princess; "but if they are so +nimble as you say they are, it is impossible to catch one." + +Leander, who passed through the same forest, knew what Abricotina meant, +and presently wished himself in the place. He caught a dozen of little +monkeys, some bigger, some less, and all of different colors, and with +much ado put them into a large sack; then, wishing himself at Paris, +where, he had heard, a man might have everything for money, he went and +bought a little gold chariot. He taught six green monkeys to draw it; +they were harnessed with fine traces of flame-colored morocco leather. +He went to another place, where he met with two monkeys of merit, +the most pleasant of which was called Briscambril, the other +Pierceforest--both very spruce and well educated. He dressed Briscambril +like a king and placed him in the coach; Pierceforest he made the +coachman; the others were dressed like pages; all which he put into his +sack, coach and all. + +The princess not being gone to bed, heard a rumbling of a little coach +in the long gallery; at the same time, her ladies came to tell her that +the king of the dwarfs was arrived, and the chariot immediately entered +her chamber with all the monkey train. The country monkeys began to +show a thousand tricks, which far surpassed those of Briscambril and +Pierceforest. To say the truth, Leander conducted the whole machine. He +drew the chariot where Briscambril sat arrayed as a king, and making +him hold a box of diamonds in his hand, he presented it with a becoming +grace to the princess. The princess' surprise may be easily imagined. +Moreover, Briscambril made a sign for Pierceforest to come and dance +with him. The most celebrated dancers were not to be compared with them +in activity. But the princess, troubled that she could not guess from +whence this curious present came, dismissed the dancers sooner than she +would otherwise have done, though she was extremely pleased with them. + +Leander, satisfied with having seen the delight the princess had taken +in beholding the monkeys, thought of nothing now but to get a little +repose, which he greatly wanted. He stayed sometime in the great +gallery; afterward, going down a pair of stairs, and finding a door +open, he entered into an apartment the most delightful that ever was +seen. There was in it a bed of cloth-of-gold, enriched with pearls, +intermixed with rubies and emeralds: for by this time there appeared +daylight sufficient for him to view and admire the magnificence of this +sumptuous furniture. Having made fast the door, he composed himself to +sleep. Next day he rose very early, and looking about on every side, +he spied a painter's pallet, with colors ready prepared and pencils. +Remembering what the princess had said to Abricotina touching her +own portrait, he immediately (for he could paint as well as the most +excellent masters) seated himself before a mirror and drew his own +picture first; then, in an oval, that of the princess. He had all her +features so strong in his imagination that he had no occasion for her +sitting; and as his desire to please her had set him to work, never did +portrait bear a stronger resemblance. He had painted himself upon one +knee, holding the princess' picture in one hand, and in the other a +label with this inscription, "She is better in my heart." When the +princess went into her cabinet, she was amazed to see the portrait of +a man; and she fixed her eyes upon it with so much the more surprise, +because she also saw her own with it, and because the words which +were written upon the label afforded her ample room for curiosity. She +persuaded herself that it was Abricotina's doing; and all she desired +to know was whether the portrait was real or imaginary. Rising in haste, +she called Abricotina, while the invisible Leander, with his little +red cap, slipped into the cabinet, impatient to know what passed. The +princess bade Abricotina look upon the picture and tell her what she +thought of it. + +After she had viewed it, "I protest!" said she, "'tis the picture of +that generous stranger to whom I am indebted for my life. Yes, yes, I am +sure it is he; his very features, shape, and hair." + +"Thou pretendest surprise," said the princess, "but I know it was thou +thyself who put it there." + +"Who! I, madam?" replied Abricotina. "I protest I never saw the picture +before in my life. Should I be so bold as to conceal from your knowledge +a thing that so nearly concerns you? And by what miracle could I come by +it? I never could paint, nor did any man ever enter this place; yet here +he is painted with you?" + +"Some spirit, then, must have brought it hither," cried the princess. + +"How I tremble for fear, madam!" said Abricotina. "Was it not rather +some lover? And therefore, if you will take my advice, let us burn it +immediately." + +"'Twere a pity to burn it," cried the princess, sighing; "a finer piece, +methinks, cannot adorn my cabinet." And saying these words, she cast her +eyes upon it. But Abricotina continued obstinate in her opinion that +it ought to be burned, as a thing that could not come there but by the +power of magic. + +"And these words--'She is better in my heart,'" said the princess; +"must we burn them too?" + +"No favor must be shown to anything," said Abricotina, "not even to your +own portrait." + +Abricotina ran away immediately for some fire, while the princess went +to look out at the window. Leander, unwilling to let his performance be +burned, took this opportunity to convey it away without being perceived. +He had hardly quitted the cabinet, when the princess turned about to +look once more upon that enchanting picture, which had so delighted her. +But how was she surprised to find it gone! She sought for it all the +room over; and Abricotina, returning, was no less surprised than her +mistress; so that this last adventure put them both in the most terrible +fright. + +Leander took great delight in hearing and seeing his incomparable +mistress; even though he had to eat every day at her table with the +tabby-cat, who fared never the worse for that; but his satisfaction was +far from being complete, seeing he durst neither speak nor show himself; +and he knew it was not a common thing for ladies to fall in love with +persons invisible. + +The princess had a universal taste for amusement. One day, she was +saying to her attend-ants that it would give her great pleasure to know +how the ladies were dressed in all the courts of the universe. There +needed no more words to send Leander all over the world. He wished +himself in China, where he bought the richest stuffs he could lay his +hands on, and got patterns of all the court fashions. From thence he +flew to Siam, where he did the same; in three days he traveled over +all the four parts of the world, and from time to time brought what +he bought to the Palace of Calm Delights, and hid it all in a chamber, +which he kept always locked. When he had thus collected together all the +rarities he could meet with--for he never wanted money, his rose always +supplying him--he went and bought five or six dozen of dolls, which he +caused to be dressed at Paris, the place in the world where most +regard is paid to fashions. They were all dressed differently, and as +magnificent as could be, and Leander placed them all in the princess' +closet. When she entered it, she was agreeably surprised to see such +company of little mutes, every one decked with watches bracelets, +diamond buckles, or necklaces; and the most remarkable of them held a +picture box in its hand, which the princess opening, found it contained +Leander's portrait. She gave a loud shriek, and looking upon Abricotina, +"There have appeared of late," said she, "so many wonders in this place, +that I know not what to think of them: my birds are all grown witty; I +cannot so much as wish, but presently I have my desires; twice have I +now seen the portrait of him who rescued thee from the ruffians; and +here are silks of all sorts, diamonds, embroideries, laces, and an +infinite number of other rarities. What fairy is it that takes such care +to pay me these agreeable civilities?" + +Leander was overjoyed to hear and see her so much interested about his +picture, and calling to mind that there was in a grotto which she often +frequented a certain pedestal, on which a Diana, not yet finished, was +to be erected, on this pedestal he resolved to place himself, crowned +with laurel, and holding a lyre in his hand, on which he played like +another Apollo. He most anxiously waited the princess' retiring to the +grotto, which she did every day since her thoughts had taken up with +this unknown person; for what Abricotina had said, joined to the sight +of the picture, had almost destroyed her repose: her lively humor +changed into a pensive melancholy, and she grew a great lover of +solitude. When she entered the grotto, she made a sign that nobody +should follow her, so that her young damsels dispersed themselves into +the neighboring walks. The princess threw herself upon a bank of green +turf, sighed, wept, and even talked, but so softly that Leander could +not hear what she said. He had put his red cap on, that she might not +see him at first; but having taken it off, she beheld him standing on +the pedestal. At first she took him for a real statue, for he observed +exactly the attitude in which he had placed himself, without moving so +much as a finger. She beheld with a kind of pleasure intermixed with +fear, but pleasure soon dispelled her fear, and she continued to view +the pleasing figure, which so exactly resembled life. The prince having +tuned his lyre, began to play; at which the princess, greatly surprised, +could not resist the fear that seized her; she grew pale and fell into +a swoon. Leander leaped from the pedestal, and putting on his little red +cap, that he might not be perceived, took the princess in his arms and +gave her all the assistance that his zeal and tenderness could inspire. +At length she opened her charming eyes and looked about in search of +him, but she could perceive nobody; yet she felt somebody who held her +hands, kissed them, and bedewed them with his tears. It was a long time +before she durst speak, and her spirits were in a confused agitation +between fear and hope. She was afraid of the spirit, but loved the +figure of the unknown. At length she said: "Courtly invisible, why are +you not the person I desire you should be?" At these words Leander was +going to declare himself, but durst not do it yet. "For," thought he, +"if I again affright the object I adore and make her fear me, she will +not love me." This consideration caused him to keep silence. + +The princess, then, believing herself alone, called Abricotina and told +her all the wonders of the animated statue; that it had played divinely, +and that the invisible person had given her great assistance when she +lay in a swoon. + +"What pity 'tis," said she, "that this person should be so frightful, +for nothing can be more amiable or acceptable than his behavior!" + +"Who told you, madam," answered Abricotina, "that he is frightful? If he +is the youth who saved me, he is beautiful as Cupid himself." + +"If Cupid and the unknown are the same," replied the princess, blushing, +"I could be content to love Cupid; but alas! how far am I from such a +happiness! I love a mere shadow; and this fatal picture, joined to what +thou hast told me, have inspired me with inclinations so contrary to the +precepts which I received from my mother that I am daily afraid of being +punished for them." + +"Oh! madam," said Abricotina, interrupting her, "have you not troubles +enough already? Why should you anticipate afflictions which may never +come to pass?" + +It is easy to imagine what pleasure Leander took in this conversation. + +In the meantime the little Furibon, still enamored of the princess +whom he had never seen, expected with impatience the return of the four +servants whom he had sent to the Island of Calm Delights. One of them at +last came back, and after he had given the prince a particular account +of what had passed, told him that the island was defended by Amazons, +and that unless he sent a very powerful army, it would be impossible to +get into it. The king his father was dead, and Furibon was now lord +of all: disdaining, therefore, any repulse, he raised an army of four +hundred thousand men, and put himself at the head of them, appearing +like another Tom Thumb upon a war-horse. Now, when the Amazons perceived +his mighty host, they gave the princess notice of its who immediately +dispatched away her trusty Abricotina to the kingdom of the fairies, +to beg her mother's instructions as to what she should do to drive the +little Furibon from her territories. But Abricotina found the fairy in +an angry humor. + +"Nothing that my daughter does," said she, "escapes my knowledge. +The Prince Leander is now in her palace; he loves her, and she has a +tenderness for him. All my cares and precepts have not been able to +guard her from the tyranny of love, and she is now under its fatal +dominion. But it is the decree of destiny, and I must submit; therefore, +Abricotina, begone! nor let me hear a word more of a daughter whose +behavior has so much displeased me." + +Abricotina returned with these ill tidings, whereat the princess was +almost distracted; and this was soon perceived by Leander, who was near +her, though she did not see him. He beheld her grief with the greatest +pain. However, he durst not then open his lips; but recollecting that +Furibon was exceedingly covetous, he thought that, by giving him a sum +of money, he might perhaps prevail with him to retire. Thereupon, he +dressed himself like an Amazon, and wished himself in the forest, to +catch his horse. He had no sooner called him than Gris-de-line came +leaping, prancing, and neighing for joy, for he was grown quite weary +of being so long absent from his dear master; but when he beheld him +dressed as a woman he hardly knew him. However, at the sound of his +voice, he suffered the prince to mount, and they soon arrived in the +camp at Furibon, where they gave notice that a lady was come to speak +with him from the Princess of Calm Delights. Immediately the little +fellow put on his royal robes, and having placed himself upon his +throne, he looked like a great toad counterfeiting a king. + +Leander harangued him, and told him that the princess, preferring a +quiet and peaceable life to the fatigues of war, had sent to offer his +majesty as much money as he pleased to demand, provided he would suffer +her to continue in peace; but if he refused her proposal, she would omit +no means that might serve for her defense. Furibon replied that he took +pity on her, and would grant her the honor of his protection; but that +he demanded a hundred thousand millions of pounds, and without which he +would not return to his kingdom. Leander answered that such a vast sum +would be too long a-counting, and therefore, if he would say how many +rooms full he desired to have, the princess was generous and rich enough +to satisfy him. Furibon was astonished to hear that, instead of +entreating, she would rather offer more; and it came into his wicked +mind to take all the money he could get, and then seize the Amazon and +kill her, that she might never return to her mistress. He told Leander, +therefore, that he would have thirty chambers of gold, all full to the +ceiling. Leander, being conducted into the chambers, took his rose and +shook it, till every room was filled with all sorts of coin. Furibon was +in an ecstasy, and the more gold he saw the greater was his desire +to get hold of the Amazon; so that when all the rooms were full, +he commanded his guards to seize her, alleging she had brought him +counterfeit money. Immediately Leander put on his little red cap and +disappeared. The guards, believing that the lady had escaped, ran +out and left Furibon alone; when Leander, availing himself of the +opportunity, took the tyrant by the hair, and twisted his head off with +the same ease he would a pullet's; nor did the little wretch of a king +see that hand that killed him. + +Leander having got his enemy's head, wished himself in the Palace of +Calm Delights, where he found the princess walking, and with grief +considering the message which her mother had sent her, and on the means +to repel Furibon. + +Suddenly she beheld a head hanging in the air, with nobody to hold it. +This prodigy astonished her so that she could not tell what to think of +it; but her amazement was increased when she saw the head laid at her +feet, and heard a voice utter these words: + + "Charming Princess, cease your fear + Of Furibon; whose head see here." + +Abricotina, knowing Leander's voice, cried: + +"I protest, madam, the invisible person who speaks is the very stranger +that rescued me." + +The princess seemed astonished, but yet pleased. + +"Oh," said she, "if it be true that the invisible and the stranger +are the same person, I confess I shall be glad to make him my +acknowledgments." + +Leander, still invisible, replied, "I will yet do more to deserve them;" +and so saying he returned to Furibon's army, where the report of the +king's death was already spread throughout the camp. As soon as Leander +appeared there in his usual habit, everybody knew him; all the officers +and soldiers surrounded him, uttering the loudest acclamations of joy. +In short, they acknowledged him for their king, and that the crown of +right belonged to him, for which he thanked them, and, as the first +mark of his royal bounty, divided the thirty rooms of gold among the +soldiers. This done he returned to his princess, ordering his army to +march back into his kingdom. + +The princess was gone to bed. Leander, therefore, retired into his own +apartment, for he was very sleepy--so sleepy that he forgot to bolt his +door; and so it happened that the princess, rising early to taste the +morning air, chanced to enter into this very chamber, and was astonished +to find a young prince asleep upon the bed. She took a full view of him, +and was convinced that he was the person whose picture she had in +her diamond box. "It is impossible," said she, "that this should be a +spirit; for can spirits sleep? Is this a body composed of air and fire, +without substance, as Abricotina told me?" She softly touched his hair, +and heard him breathe, and looked at him as if she could have looked +forever. While she was thus occupied, her mother, the fairy entered with +such a noise that Leander started out of his sleep. But how deeply +was he afflicted to behold his beloved princess in the most deplorable +condition! Her mother dragged her by the hair and loaded her with a +thousand bitter reproaches. In what grief and consternation were the two +young lovers, who saw themselves now upon the point of being separated +forever! The princess durst not open her lips, but cast her eyes upon +Leander, as if to beg his assistance. He judged rightly that he ought +not to deal rudely with a power superior to his own, and therefore he +sought, by his eloquence and submission, to move the incensed fairy. +He ran to her, threw himself at her feet, and besought her to have pity +upon a young prince who would never change in his affection for her +daughter. The princess, encouraged, also embraced her mother's knees, +and declared that without Leander she should never be happy. + +"Happy!" cried the fairy; "you know not the miseries of love nor the +treacheries of which lovers are capable. They bewitch us only to poison +our lives; I have known it by experience; and will you suffer the same?" + +"Is there no exception, madam?" replied Leander, and his countenance +showed him to be one. + +But neither tears nor entreaties could move the implacable fairy; and +it is very probable that she would have never pardoned them, had not the +lovely Gentilla appeared at that instant in the chamber, more brilliant +than the sun. Embracing the old fairy: + +"Dear sister," said she, "I am persuaded you cannot have forgotten the +good office I did you when, after your unhappy marriage, you besought +a readmittance into Fairyland; since then I never desired any favor +at your hands, but now the time is come. Pardon, then, this lovely +princess; consent to her nuptials with this young prince. I will engage +he shall be ever constant to her; the thread of their days shall be spun +of gold and silk; they shall live to complete your happiness; and I will +never forget the obligation you lay upon me." + +"Charming Gentilla," cried the fairy, "I consent to whatever you desire. +Come, my dear children, and receive my love." So saying, she embraced +them both. + +Abricotina, just then entering, cast her eyes upon Leander; she knew +him again, and saw he was perfectly happy, at which she, too, was quite +satisfied. + +"Prince," condescendingly said the fairy-mother, "I will remove the +Island of Calm Delights into your own kingdom, live with you myself, and +do you great services." + +Whether or not Prince Leander appreciated this offer, he bowed low, and +assured his mother-in-law that no favor could be equal to the one he +had that day received from her hands. This short compliment pleased the +fairy exceedingly, for she belonged to those ancient days when people +used to stand a whole day upon one leg complimenting one another. The +nuptials were performed in a most splendid manner, and the young prince +and princess lived together happily many years, beloved by all around +them. + + + + +PRINCE CHERRY + +LONG ago there lived a monarch, who was such a very, honest man that his +subjects entitled him the Good King. One day, when he was out hunting, +a little white rabbit, which had been half-killed by his hounds, +leaped right into his majesty's arms. Said he, caressing it: "This poor +creature has put itself under my protection, and I will allow no one to +injure it." So he carried it to his palace, had prepared for it a neat +little rabbit-hutch, with abundance of the daintiest food, such as +rabbits love, and there he left it. + +The same night, when he was alone in his chamber, there appeared to +him a beautiful lady. She was dressed neither in gold, nor silver, +nor brocade; but her flowing robes were white as snow, and she wore a +garland of white roses on her head. The Good King was greatly astonished +at the sight; for his door was locked, and he wondered how so dazzling a +lady could possibly enter; but she soon removed his doubts. + +"I am the fairy Candide," said she, with a smiling and gracious air. +"Passing through the wood where you were hunting, I took a desire to +know if you were as good as men say you are I therefore changed myself +into a white rabbit and took refuge in your arms. You saved me and now I +know that those who are merciful to dum beasts will be ten times more so +to human beings. You merit the name your subjects give you: you are the +Good King. I thank you for your protection, and shall be always one +of your best friends. You have but to say what you most desire, and I +promise you your wish shall be granted." + +"Madam," replied the king, "if you are a fairy, you must know, without +my telling you, the wish of my heart. I have one well-beloved son, +Prince Cherry: whatever kindly feeling you have toward me, extend it to +him." + +"Willingly," said Candide. "I will make him the handsomest, richest, or +most powerful prince in the world: choose whichever you desire for him." + +"None of the three," returned the father. "I only wish him to be +good--the best prince in the whole world. Of what use would riches, +power, or beauty be to him if he were a bad man?" + +"You are right," said the fairy; "but I can not make him good: he +must do that himself. I can only change his external fortunes; for +his personal character, the utmost I can promise is to give him good +counsel, reprove him for his faults, and even punish him, if he will not +punish himself. You mortals can do the same with your children." + +"Ah, yes!" said the king, sighing. Still, he felt that the kindness of a +fairy was something gained for his son, and died not long after, content +and at peace. + +Prince Cherry mourned deeply, for he dearly loved his father, and would +have gladly given all his kingdoms and treasures to keep him in life a +little longer. Two days after the Good King was no more, Prince Cherry +was sleeping in his chamber, when he saw the same dazzling vision of the +fairy Candide. + +"I promised your father," said she, "to be your best friend, and in +pledge of this take what I now give you;" and she placed a small gold +ring upon his finger. "Poor as it looks, it is more precious than +diamonds; for whenever you do ill it will prick your finger. If, after +that warning, you still continue in evil, you will lose my friendship, +and I shall become your direst enemy."' + +So saying, she disappeared, leaving Cherry in such amazement that he +would have believed it all a dream, save for the ring on his finger. + +He was for a long time so good that the ring never pricked him at all; +and this made him so cheerful and pleasant in his humor that everybody +called him "Happy Prince Cherry." But one unlucky day he was out hunting +and found no sport, which vexed him so much that he showed his ill +temper by his looks and ways. He fancied his ring felt very tight and +uncomfortable, but as it did not prick him he took no heed of this: +until, re-entering his palace, his little pet dog, Bibi, jumped up +upon him and was sharply told to get away. The creature, accustomed to +nothing but caresses, tried to attract his attention by pulling at his +garments, when Prince Cherry turned and gave it a severe kick. At this +moment he felt in his finger a prick like a pin. + +"What nonsense!" said he to himself. "The fairy must be making game of +me. Why, what great evil have I done! I, the master of a great empire, +cannot I kick my own dog?" + +A voice replied, or else Prince Cherry imagined it, "No, sire; the +master of a great empire has a right to do good, but not evil. I--a +fairy--am as much above you as you are above your dog. I might punish +you, kill you, if I chose; but I prefer leaving you to amend your +ways. You have been guilty of three faults today--bad temper, passion, +cruelty: do better to-morrow." + +The prince promised, and kept his word a while; but he had been brought +up by a foolish nurse, who indulged him in every way and was always +telling him that he would be a king one day, when he might do as he +liked in all things. He found out now that even a king cannot always do +that; it vexed him and made him angry. His ring began to prick him so +often that his little finger was continually bleeding. He disliked +this, as was natural, and soon began to consider whether it would not be +easier to throw the ring away altogether than to be constantly annoyed +by it. It was such a queer thing for a king to have a spot of blood on +his finger! At last, unable to put up with it any more, he took his ring +off and hid it where he would never see it; and believed himself the +happiest of men, for he could now do exactly what he liked. He did it, +and became every day more and more miserable. + +One day he saw a young girl, so beautiful that, being always accustomed +to have his own way, he immediately determined to espouse her. He never +doubted that she would be only too glad to be made a queen, for she +was very poor. But Zelia--that was her name--answered, to his great +astonishment, that she would rather not marry him. + +"Do I displease you?" asked the prince, into whose mind it had never +entered that he could displease anybody. + +"Not at all, my prince," said the honest peasant maiden. "You are very +handsome, very charming; but you are not like your father the Good King. +I will not be your queen, for you would make me miserable." + +At these words the prince's love seemed all to turn to hatred: he gave +orders to his guards to convey Zelia to a prison near the palace, +and then took counsel with his foster brother, the one of all his ill +companions who most incited him to do wrong. + +"Sir," said this man, "if I were in your majesty's place, I would never +vex myself about a poor silly girl. Feed her on bread and water till +she comes to her senses; and if she still refuses you, let her die in +torment, as a warning to your other subjects should they venture to +dispute your will. You will be disgraced should you suffer yourself to +be conquered by a simple girl." + +"But," said Prince Cherry, "shall I not be disgraced if I harm a +creature so perfectly innocent?" + +"No one is innocent who disputes your majesty's authority," said the +courtier, bowing; "and it is better to commit an injustice than allow it +to be supposed you can ever be contradicted with impunity." + +This touched Cherry on his weak point--his good impulses faded; he +resolved once more to ask Zelia if she would marry him, and if she again +refused, to sell her as a slave. Arrived at the cell in which she was +confined, what was his astonishment to find her gone! He knew not whom +to accuse, for he had kept the key in his pocket the whole time. At +last, the foster-brother suggested that the escape of Zelia might have +been contrived by an old man, Suliman by name, the prince's former +tutor, who was the only one who now ventured to blame him for anything +that he did. Cherry sent immediately, and ordered his old friend to be +brought to him, loaded heavily with irons. Then, full of fury, he went +and shut himself up in his own chamber, where he went raging to and fro, +till startled by a noise like a clap of thunder. The fairy Candide stood +before him. + +"Prince," said she, in a severe voice, "I promised your father to give +you good counsels and to punish you if you refused to follow them. My +counsels were forgotten, my punishment despised. Under the figure of a +man, you have been no better than the beasts you chase: like a lion in +fury, a wolf in gluttony, a serpent in revenge, and a bull in brutality. +Take, therefore, in your new form the likeness of all these animals." + +Scarcely had Prince Cherry heard these words than to his horror he found +himself transformed into what the Fairy had named. He was a creature +with the head of a lion, the horns of a bull, the feet of a wolf, and +the tail of a serpent. At the same time he felt himself transported to +a distant forest, where, standing on the bank of a stream, he saw +reflected in the water his own frightful shape, and heard a voice +saying: + +"Look at thyself, and know thy soul has become a thousand times uglier +even than thy body." + +Cherry recognized the voice of Candide, and in his rage would have +sprung upon her and devoured her; but he saw nothing and the same voice +said behind him: + +"Cease thy feeble fury, and learn to conquer thy pride by being in +submission to thine own subjects." + +Hearing no more, he soon quitted the stream, hoping at least to get rid +of the sight of himself; but he had scarcely gone twenty paces when he +tumbled into a pitfall that was laid to catch bears; the bear-hunters, +descending from some trees hard by, caught him, chained him, and only +too delighted to get hold of such a curious-looking animal, led him +along with them to the capital of his own kingdom. + +There great rejoicings were taking place, and the bear-hunters, asking +what it was all about, were told that it was because Prince Cherry, +the torment of his subjects, had just been struck dead by a +thunderbolt--just punishment of all his crimes. Four courtiers, his +wicked companions, had wished to divide his throne between them; but the +people had risen up against them and offered the crown to Suliman, the +old tutor whom Cherry had ordered to be arrested. + +All this the poor monster heard. He even saw Suliman sitting upon his +own throne and trying to calm the populace by representing to them that +it was not certain Prince Cherry was dead; that he might return one day +to reassume with honor the crown which Suliman only consented to wear as +a sort of viceroy. + +"I know his heart," said the honest and faithful old man; "it is +tainted, but not corrupt. If alive, he may reform yet, and be all his +father over again to you, his people, whom he has caused to suffer so +much." + +These words touched the poor beast so deeply that he ceased to beat +himself against the iron bars of the cage in which the hunters carried +him about, became gentle as a lamb, and suffered himself to be taken +quietly to a menagerie, where were kept all sorts of strange and +ferocious animals a place which he had himself often visited as a boy, +but never thought he should be shut up there himself. + +However, he owned he had deserved it all, and began to make amends by +showing himself very obedient to his keeper. This man was almost as +great a brute as the animals he had charge of, and when he was in ill +humor he used to beat them without rhyme or reason. One day, while he +was sleeping, a tiger broke loose and leaped upon him, eager to devour +him. Cherry at first felt a thrill of pleasure at the thought of being +revenged; then, seeing how helpless the man was, he wished himself free, +that he might defend him. Immediately the doors of his cage opened. +The keeper, waking up, saw the strange beast leap out, and imagined, of +course, that he was going to be slain at once. Instead, he saw the tiger +lying dead, and the strange beast creeping up and laying itself at his +feet to be caressed. But as he lifted up his hand to stroke it, a voice +was heard saying, "Good actions never go unrewarded;" and instead of +the frightful monster, there crouched on the ground nothing but a pretty +little dog. + +Cherry, delighted to find himself thus metamorphosed, caressed the +keeper in every possible way, till at last the man took him up into +his arms and carried him to the king, to whom he related this wonderful +story, from beginning to end. The queen wished to have the charming +little dog; and Cherry would have been exceedingly happy could he have +forgotten that he was originally a man and a king. He was lodged most +elegantly, had the richest of collars to adorn his neck, and heard +himself praised continually. But his beauty rather brought him into +trouble, for the queen, afraid lest he might grow too large for a pet, +took advice of dog-doctors, who ordered that he should be fed entirely +upon bread, and that very sparingly; so poor Cherry was sometimes nearly +starved. + +One day, when they gave him his crust for breakfast, a fancy seized him +to go and eat it in the palace garden; so he took the bread in his mouth +and trotted away toward a stream which he knew, and where he sometimes +stopped to drink. But instead of the stream he saw a splendid palace, +glittering with gold and precious stones. Entering the doors was a crowd +of men and women, magnificently dressed; and within there was singing +and dancing and good cheer of all sorts. Yet, however grandly and gayly +the people went in, Cherry noticed that those who came out were pale, +thin, ragged, half-naked, covered with wounds and sores. Some of them +dropped dead at once; others dragged themselves on a little way and +then lay down, dying of hunger, and vainly begged a morsel of bread from +others who were entering in--who never took the least notice of them. + +Cherry perceived one woman, who was trying feebly to gather and eat some +green herbs. "Poor thing!" said he to himself; "I know what it is to be +hungry, and I want my breakfast badly enough; but still it will kill me +to wait till dinner time, and my crust may save the life of this poor +woman." + +So the little dog ran up to her and dropped his bread at her feet; she +picked it up and ate it with avidity. Soon she looked quite recovered, +and Cherry, delighted, was trotting back again to his kennel, when he +heard loud cries, and saw a young girl dragged by four men to the door +of the palace, which they were trying to compel her to enter. Oh, how +he wished himself a monster again, as when he slew the tiger!--for the +young girl was no other than his beloved Zelia. Alas! what could a poor +little dog do to defend her? But he ran forward and barked at the men, +and bit their heels, until at last they chased him away with heavy +blows. And then he lay down outside the palace door, determined to watch +and see what had become of Zelia. + +Conscience pricked him now. "What!" thought he, "I am furious against +these wicked men, who are carrying her away; and did I not do the same +myself? Did I not cast her into prison, and intend to sell her as a +slave? Who knows how much more wickedness I might not have done to her +and others, if Heaven's justice had not stopped me in time?" + +While he lay thinking and repenting, he heard a window open and saw +Zelia throw out of it a bit of dainty meat. Cherry, who felt hungry +enough by this time, was just about to eat it, when the woman to whom he +had given his crust snatched him up in her arms. + +"Poor little beast!" cried she, patting him, "every bit of food in that +palace is poisoned: you shall not touch a morsel." + +And at the same time the voice in the air repeated again, "Good actions +never go unrewarded;" and Cherry found himself changed into a beautiful +little white pigeon. He remembered with joy that white was the color of +the fairy Candide, and began to hope that she was taking him into favor +again. + +So he stretched his wings, delighted that he might now have a chance +of approaching his fair Zelia. He flew up to the palace windows, and, +finding one of them open, entered and sought everywhere, but he could +not find Zelia. Then, in despair, he flew out again, resolved to go over +the world until he beheld her once more. + +He took flight at once and traversed many countries, swiftly as a bird +can, but found no trace of his beloved. At length in a desert, sitting +beside an old hermit in his cave and par-taking with him his frugal +repast, Cherry saw a poor peasant girl and recognized Zelia. Transported +with joy, he flew in, perched on her shoulder, and expressed his delight +and affection by a thousand caresses. + +She, charmed with the pretty little pigeon, caressed it in her turn, and +promised it that if it would stay with her she would love it always. + +"What have you done, Zelia?" said the hermit, smiling; and while he +spoke the white pigeon vanished, and there stood Prince Cherry in his +own natural form. "Your enchantment ended, prince, when Zelia promised +to love you. Indeed, she has loved you always, but your many faults +constrained her to hide her love. These are now amended, and you may +both live happy if you will, because your union is founded upon mutual +esteem." + +Cherry and Zelia threw themselves at the feet of the hermit, whose form +also began to change. His soiled garments became of dazzling whiteness, +and his long beard and withered face grew into the flowing hair and +lovely countenance of the fairy Candide. + +"Rise up, my children," said she; "I must now transport you to your +palace and restore to Prince Cherry his father's crown, of which he is +now worthy." + +She had scarcely ceased speaking when they found themselves in the +chamber of Suliman, who, delighted to find again his beloved pupil and +master, willingly resigned the throne, and became the most faithful of +his subjects. + +King Cherry and Queen Zelia reigned together for many years, and it is +said that the former was so blameless and strict in all his duties that +though he constantly wore the ring which Candide had restored to him, it +never once pricked his finger enough to make it bleed. + + + + +THE PRINCE WITH THE NOSE + +THERE was once a king who was passionately in love with a beautiful +princess, but she could not be married because a magician had +enchanted her. The king went to a good fairy to inquire what he should +do. Said the fairy, after receiving him graciously: "Sir, I will tell +you a great secret. The princess has a great cat whom she loves so well +that she cares for nothing and nobody else; but she will be obliged to +marry any person who is adroit enough to walk upon the cat's tail." + +"That will not be very difficult," thought the king to himself, and +departed, resolving to trample the cat's tail to pieces rather than not +succeed in walking upon it. He went immediately to the palace of his +fair mistress and the cat; the animal came in front of him, arching +its back in anger as it was wont to do. The king lifted up his foot, +thinking nothing would be so easy as to tread on the tail, but he found +himself mistaken. Minon--that was the creature's name--twisted itself +round so sharply that the king only hurt his own foot by stamping on the +floor. For eight days did he pursue the cat everywhere: up and down +the palace he was after it from morning till night, but with no better +success; the tail seemed made of quicksilver, so very lively was it. At +last the king had the good fortune to catch Minon sleeping, when tramp! +tramp! he trod on the tail with all his force. + +Minon woke up, mewed horribly, and immediately changed from a cat into a +large, fierce-looking man, who regarded the king with flashing eyes. + +"You must marry the princess," cried he, "because you have broken the +enchantment in which I held her; but I will be revenged on you. You +shall have a son with a nose as long as--that;" he made in the air a +curve of half a foot; "yet he shall believe it is just like all other +noses, and shall be always unfortunate till he has found out it is not. +And if you ever tell anybody of this threat of mine, you shall die on +the spot." So saying the magician disappeared. + +The king, who was at first much terrified, soon began to laugh at this +adventure. "My son might have a worse misfortune than too long a nose," +thought he. "At least it will hinder him neither in seeing nor hearing. +I will go and find the princess and marry her at once." + +He did so, but he only lived a few months after, and died before his +little son was born, so that nobody knew anything about the secret of +the nose. + +The little prince was so much wished for that when he came into the +world they agreed to call him Prince Wish. He had beautiful blue eyes +and a sweet little mouth, but his nose was so big that it covered half +his face. The queen, his mother, was inconsolable; but her ladies tried +to satisfy her by telling her that the nose was not nearly so large as +it seemed, that it would grow smaller as the prince grew bigger, and +that if it did not a large nose was indispensable to a hero. All great +soldiers, they said, had great noses, as everybody knew. The queen was +so very fond of her son that she listened eagerly to all this comfort. +Shortly she grew so used to the princes's nose that it did not seem to +her any larger than ordinary noses of the court; where, in process +of time, everybody with a long nose was very much admired, and the +unfortunate people who had only snubs were taken very little notice of. + +Great care was observed in the education of the prince; and as soon as +he could speak they told him all sorts of amusing tales, in which all +the bad people had short noses, and all the good people had long ones. +No person was suffered to come near him who had not a nose of more than +ordinary length; nay, to such an extent did the countries carry their +fancy, that the noses of all the little babies were ordered to be pulled +out as far as possible several times a day, in order to make them grow. +But grow as they would, they never could grow as long as that of Prince +Wish. When he was old enough his tutor taught him history; and whenever +any great king or lovely princess was referred to, the tutor always took +care to mention that he or she had a long nose. All the royal apartments +were filled with pictures and portraits having this peculiarity, so +that at last Prince Wish began to regard the length of his nose as his +greatest perfection, and would not have had it an inch less even to save +his crown. + +When he was twenty years old his mother and his people wished him to +marry. They procured for him the likenesses of many princesses, but the +one he preferred was Princess Darling, daughter of a powerful monarch +and heiress to several kingdoms. Alas! with all her beauty, this +princess had one great misfortune, a little turned-up nose, which, +every one else said made her only the more bewitching. But here, in the +kingdom of Prince Wish, the courtiers were thrown by it into the utmost +perplexity. They were in the habit of laughing at all small noses; but +how dared they make fun of the nose of Princess Darling? Two unfortunate +gentlemen, whom Prince Wish had overheard doing so, were ignominiously +banished from the court and capital. + +After this, the courtiers became alarmed, and tried to correct their +habit of speech; but they would have found themselves in constant +difficulties, had not one clever person struck out a bright idea. He +said that though it was indispensably necessary for a man to have +a great nose, women were very different; and that a learned man had +discovered in a very old manuscript that the celebrated Cleopatra, Queen +of Egypt, the beauty of the ancient world, had a turned-up nose. At this +information Prince Wish was so delighted that he made the courtier a +very handsome present, and immediately sent off ambassadors to demand +Princess Darling in marriage. + +She accepted his offer at once, and returned with the ambassadors. He +made all haste to meet and welcome her, but when she was only three +leagues distant from his capital, before he had time even to kiss her +hand, the magician who had once assumed the shape of his mother's cat, +Minon, appeared in the air and carried her off before the lover's very +eyes. + +Prince Wish, almost beside himself with grief, declared that nothing +should induce him to return to his throne and kingdom till he had found +Darling. He would suffer none of his courtiers or attendants to follow +him; but bidding them all adieu, mounted a good horse, laid the reins on +the animal's neck, and let him take him wherever he would. + +The horse entered a wide-extended plain, and trotted on steadily the +whole day without finding a single house. Master and beast began almost +to faint with hunger; and Prince Wish might have wished himself at home +again, had he not discovered, just at dusk, a cavern, where there sat, +beside a bright lantern, a little woman who might have been more than a +hundred years old. + +She put on her spectacles the better to look at the stranger, and he +noticed that her nose was so small that the spectacles would hardly +stay on; then the prince and the fairy--for she was a fairy--burst into +laughter. + +"What a funny nose!" cried the one. + +"Not so funny as yours, madam," returned the other. "But pray let us +leave our noses alone, and be good enough to give me something to eat, +for I am dying with hunger, and so is my poor horse." + +"With all my heart," answered the fairy. "Although your nose is +ridiculously long, you are no less the son of one of my best friends. I +loved your father like a brother; he had a very handsome nose." + +"What is wanting to my nose?" asked Wish rather savagely. + +"Oh! nothing at all. On the contrary, there is a great deal too much of +it; but never mind, one may be a very honest man, and yet have too big a +nose. As I said, I was a great friend of your father's; he came often to +see me. I was very pretty then, and oftentimes he used to say to me, 'My +sister----'" + +"I will hear the rest, madam, with pleasure, when I have supped; but +will you condescend to remember that I have tasted nothing all day?" + +"Poor boy," said the fairy, "I will give you some supper directly; and +while you eat it I will tell you my history in six words, for I hate +much talking. A long tongue is as insupportable as a long nose; and I +remember when I was young how much I used to be admired because I was +not a talker; indeed, some one said to the queen my mother--for poor as +you see me now, I am the daughter of a great king, who always----" + +"Ate when he was hungry, I hope," interrupted the prince, whose patience +was fast departing. + +"You are right," said the imperturbable old fairy; "and I will bring +you your supper directly, only I wish first just to say that the king my +father----" + +"Hang the king your father!" Prince Wish was about to exclaim, but he +stopped himself, and only observed that however the pleasure of her +conversation might make him forget his hunger, it could not have the +same effect upon his horse, who was really starving. + +The fairy, pleased at his civility, called her servants and bade them +supply him at once with all he needed. "And," added she, "I must say you +are very polite and very good-tempered, in spite of your nose." + +"What has the old woman to do with my nose?" thought the prince. "If I +were not so very hungry, I would soon show her what she is--a regular +old gossip and chatterbox. She to fancy she talks little, indeed! One +must be very foolish not to know one's own defects. This comes of being +born a princess. Flatterers have spoiled her and persuaded her that she +talks little. Little, indeed! I never knew anybody chatter so much." + +While the prince thus meditated, the servants were laying the table, +the fairy asking them a hundred unnecessary questions, simply for the +pleasure of hearing herself talk. "Well," thought Wish, "I am delighted +that I came hither, if only to learn how wise I have been in never +listening to flatterers, who hide from us our faults, or make us believe +they are perfections. But they could never deceive me. I know all my own +weak points, I trust." As truly he believed he did. + +So he went on eating contentedly, nor stopped till the old fairy began +to address him. + +"Prince," said she, "will you be kind enough to turn a little? Your nose +casts such a shadow that I cannot see what is on my plate. And, as I was +saying, your father admired me and always made me welcome at court. What +is the court etiquette there now? Do the ladies still go to assemblies, +promenades, balls?--I beg your pardon for laughing, but how very long +your nose is." + +"I wish you would cease to speak of my nose," said the prince, becoming +annoyed. "It is what it is, and I do not desire it any shorter." + +"Oh! I see that I have vexed you," returned the fairy. "Nevertheless, +I am one of your best friends, and so I shall take the liberty of +always----" She would doubtless have gone on talking till midnight; but +the prince, unable to bear it any longer, here interrupted her, thanked +her for her hospitality, bade her a hasty adieu, and rode away. + +He traveled for a long time, half over the world, but he heard no news +of Princess Darling. However, in each place he went to, he heard one +remarkable fact--the great length of his own nose. The little boys in +the streets jeered at him, the peasants stared at him, and the more +polite ladies and gentlemen whom he met in society used to try in vain +to keep from laughing, and to get out of his way as soon as they could. +So the poor prince became gradually quite forlorn and solitary; he +thought all the world was mad, but still he never thought of there being +anything queer about his own nose. At last the old fairy, who, though +she was a chatterbox, was very good-natured; saw that he was almost +breaking his heart. She felt sorry for him and wished to help him in +spite of himself, for she knew the enchantment which hid from him the +Princess Darling could never be broken till he had discovered his own +defect. So she went in search of the princess, and being more powerful +than the magician, since she was a good fairy and he was an evil +magician, she got her away from him and shut her up in a palace of +crystal, which she placed on the road which Prince Wish had to pass. + +He was riding along, very melancholy, when he saw the palace; and at its +entrance was a room, made of the purest glass, in which sat his beloved +princess, smiling and beautiful as ever. He leaped from his horse and +ran toward her. She held out her hand for him to kiss, but he could +not get at it for the glass. Transported with eagerness and delight, he +dashed his sword through the crystal and succeeded in breaking a small +opening, to which she put up her beautiful rosy mouth. But it was in +vain; Prince Wish could not approach it. He twisted his neck about, and +turned his head on all sides, till at length, putting up his hand to his +face, he discovered the impediment. + +"It must be confessed," exclaimed he, "that my nose is too long." + +That moment the glass walls all split asunder, and the old fairy +appeared, leading Princess Darling. + +"Avow, prince," said she, "that you are very much obliged to me, for now +the enchantment is ended. You may marry the object of your choice. But," +added she, smiling, "I fear I might have talked to you forever on the +subject of your nose, and you would not have believed me in its length, +till it became an obstacle to your own inclinations. Now behold it!" and +she held up a crystal mirror. "Are you satisfied to be no different from +other people?" + +"Perfectly," said Prince Wish, who found his nose had shrunk to an +ordinary length. And taking the Princess Darling by the hand, he kissed +her courteously, affectionately, and satisfactorily. Then they departed +to their own country, and lived very happily all their days. + + + + +THE FROG-PRINCE + +IN times of yore, when wishes were both heard and granted, lived a king +whose daughters were all beautiful but the youngest was so lovely that +the sun himself, who has seen so much, wondered at her beauty every +time he looked in her face. Now, near the king's castle was a large dark +forest; and in the forest, under an old linden tree, was a deep well. +When the day was very hot, the king's daughter used to go to the wood +and seat herself at the edge of the cool well; and when she became +wearied, she would take a golden ball, throw it up in the air, and catch +it again. This was her favorite amusement. Once it happened that her +golden ball, instead of falling back into the little hand that she +stretched out for it, dropped on the ground, and immediately rolled away +into the water. The king's daughter followed it with her eyes, but the +ball had vanished, and the well was so deep that no one could see down +to the bottom. Then she began to weep, wept louder and louder every +minute, and could not console herself at all. + +While she was thus lamenting some one called to her: "What is the matter +with you, king's daughter? You weep so that you would touch the heart of +a stone." + +She looked around to see whence the voice came, and saw a frog +stretching his thick ugly head out of the water. + +"Ah! it is you, old water-paddler!" said she. "I am crying for my golden +ball, which has fallen into the well." + +"Be content," answered the frog; "I dare say I can give you some good +advice; but what will you give me if I bring back your plaything to +you?" + +"Whatever you like, dear frog," said she, "my clothes, my pearls and +jewels, even the golden crown I wear." + +The frog answered, "Your clothes, your pearls and jewels, even your +golden crown, I do not care for; but if you will love me, and let me be +your companion and play-fellow, sit near you at your little table, eat +from your little golden plate, drink from your little cup, and sleep in +your little bed--if you will promise me this, then I will bring you back +your golden ball from the bottom of the well." + +"Oh, yes!" said she; "I promise you every-thing, if you will only bring +me back my golden ball." + +She thought to herself, meanwhile: "What nonsense the silly frog talks! +He sits in the water with the other frogs, and croaks, and cannot be +anybody's playfellow!" + +But the frog, as soon as he had received the promise dipped his head +under the water and sank down. In a little while up he came again with +the ball in his mouth, and threw it on the grass. The king's daughter +was overjoyed when she beheld her pretty plaything again, picked it up, +and ran away with it. + +"Wait! wait!" cried the frog; "take me with you. I cannot run as fast as +you." + +Alas! of what use was it that he croaked after her as loud as he could. +She would not listen to him, but hastened home, and soon forgot the poor +frog, who was obliged to plunge again to the bottom of his well. + +The next day, when she was sitting at dinner with the king and all the +courtiers, eating from her little gold plate, there came a sound of +something creeping up the marble staircase--splish, splash; and when it +had reached the top, it knocked at the door and cried, "Youngest king's +daughter, open to me." + +She ran, wishing to see who was outside; but when she opened the door +and there sat the frog, she flung it hastily to again and sat down at +table, feeling very, very uncomfortable. The king saw that her heart was +beating violently, and said, "How, my child, why are you afraid? Is a +giant standing outside the door to carry you off?" + +"Oh, no!" answered she, "it is no giant, but a nasty frog, who +yesterday, when I was playing in the wood near the well, fetched my +golden ball out of the water. For this I promised him he should be my +companion, but I never thought he could come out of his well. Now he is +at the door, and wants to come in." + +Again, the second time there was a knock, and a voice cried: + + "Youngest king's daughter, + Open to me; + Know you what yesterday + You promised me, + By the cool water? + Youngest king's daughter, + Open to me." + +Then said the king, "What you promised you must perform. Go and open the +door." + +She went and opened the door; the frog hopped in, always following and +following her till he came up to her chair. There he sat and cried out, +"Lift me up to you on the table." + +She refused, till the king, her father, commanded her to do it. When +the frog was on the table, he said, "Now push your little golden plate +nearer to me, that we may eat together." She did as he desired, but one +could easily see that she did it unwillingly. The frog seemed to enjoy +his dinner very much, but every morsel she ate stuck in the throat of +the poor little princess. + +Then said the frog, "I have eaten enough, and am tired; carry me to your +little room, and make your little silken bed smooth, and we will lay +ourselves down to sleep together." + +At this the daughter of the king began to weep; for she was afraid of +the cold frog, who wanted to sleep in her pretty clean bed. + +But the king looked angrily at her, and said again: "What you have +promised you must perform. The frog is your companion." + +It was no use to complain; whether she liked it or not, she was obliged +to take the frog with her up to her little bed. So she picked him +up with two fingers, hating him bitterly the while, and carried him +upstairs: but when she got into bed, instead of lifting him up to her, +she threw him with all her strength against the wall, saying, "Now you +nasty frog, there will be an end of you." + +But what fell down from the wall was not a dead frog, but a living young +prince, with beautiful and loving eyes, who at once became, by her own +promise and her father's will, her dear companion and husband. He told +her how he had been cursed by a wicked sorceress, and that no one but +the king's youngest daughter could release him from his enchantment and +take him out of the well. + +The next day a carriage drove up to the palace gates with eight white +horses, having white feathers on their heads and golden reins. Behind it +stood the servant of the young prince, called the faithful Henry. This +faithful Henry had been so grieved when his master was changed into a +frog that he had been compelled to have three iron bands fastened round +his heart, lest it should break. Now the carriage came to convey the +prince to his kingdom, so the faithful Henry lifted in the bride and +bridegroom and mounted behind, full of joy at his lord's release. But +when they had gone a short distance, the prince heard behind him a noise +as if something was breaking. He cried out, "Henry, the carriage is +breaking!" + +But Henry replied: "No, sir, it is not the carriage but one of the bands +from my heart, with which I was forced to bind it up, or it would have +broken with grief while you sat as a frog at the bottom of the well." + +Twice again this happened, and the prince always thought the carriage +was breaking; but it was only the bands breaking off from the heart of +the faithful Henry, out of joy that his lord, the frog-prince, was a +frog no more. + + + + +CLEVER ALICE + +ONCE upon a time there was a man who had a daughter who was called +"Clever Alice," and when she was grown up, her father said, "We must see +about her marrying." + +"Yes," replied her mother, "whenever a young man shall appear who is +worthy of her." + +At last a certain youth, by name Hans, came from a distance to make a +proposal of marriage; but he required one condition, that the clever +Alice should be very prudent. + +"Oh," said her father, "no fear of that! she has got a head full of +brains;" and the mother added, "ah, she can see the wind blow up the +street, and hear the flies cough!" + +"Very well," replied Hans; "but remember, if she is not very prudent, +I will not take her." Soon afterward they sat down to dinner, and her +mother said, "Alice, go down into the cellar and draw some beer." + +So Clever Alice took the jug down from the wall, and went into the +cellar, jerking the lid up and down on her way, to pass away the time. +As soon as she got downstairs she drew a stool and placed it before +the cask, in order that she might not have to stoop, for she thought +stooping might in some way injure her back and give it an undesirable +bend. Then she placed the can before her and turned the tap, and while +the beer was running, as she did not wish her eyes to be idle, she +looked about upon the wall above and below. Presently she perceived, +after much peeping into this corner and that corner, a hatchet, which +the bricklayers had left behind? sticking out of the ceiling right above +her head. At the sight of this Clever Alice began to cry, saying, "Oh! +if I marry Hans, and we have a child, and he grows up, and we send him +into the cellar to draw beer, the hatchet will fall upon his head and +kill him," and so she sat there weeping with all her might over the +impending misfortune. + +Meanwhile the good folks upstairs were waiting for the beer, but as +Clever Alice did not come, her mother told the maid to go and see what +she was stopping for. The maid went down into the cellar and found Alice +sitting before the cask crying heartily, and she asked, "Alice, what are +you weeping about?" + +"Ah," she replied, "have I not cause? If I marry Hans, and we have a +child, and he grows up, and we send him here to draw beer, that hatchet +will fall upon his head and kill him." + +"Oh," said the maid, "what a clever Alice we have!" And sitting down, +she began to weep, too, for the misfortune that was to happen. + +After a while, when the servant did not return, the good folks above +began to feel very thirsty; so the husband told the boy to go down into +the cellar and see what had become of Alice and the maid. The boy went +down, and there sat Clever Alice and the maid both crying, so he asked +the reason; and Alice told him the same tale, of the hatchet that was +to fall on her child, if she married Hans, and if they had a child. When +she had finished, the boy exclaimed, "What a clever Alice we have!" and +fell weeping and howling with the others. + +Upstairs they were still waiting, and the husband said, when the boy +did not return, "Do you go down, wife, into the cellar and see why Alice +stays so long." So she went down, and finding all three sitting there +crying, asked the reason, and Alice told her about the hatchet which +must inevitably fall upon the head of her son. Then the mother likewise +exclaimed, "Oh, what a clever Alice we have!" and, sitting down, began +to weep as much as any of the rest. + +Meanwhile the husband waited for his wife's return; but at last he felt +so very thirsty that he said, "I must go myself down into the cellar and +see what is keeping our Alice." As soon as he entered the cellar, there +he found the four sitting and crying together, and when he heard the +reason, he also exclaimed, "Oh, what a clever Alice we have!" and sat +down to cry with the whole strength of his lungs. + +All this time the bridegroom above sat waiting, but when nobody +returned, he thought they must be waiting for him, and so he went down +to see what was the matter. When he entered, there sat the five crying +and groaning, each one in a louder key than his neighbor. + +"What misfortune has happened?" he asked. + +"Ah, dear Hans!" cried Alice, "if you and I should marry one another, +and have a child, and he grew up, and we, perhaps, send him down to +this cellar to tap the beer, the hatchet which has been left sticking up +there may fall on his head, and so kill him; and do you not think this +is enough to weep about?" + +"Now," said Hans, "more prudence than this is not necessary for my +housekeeping; because you are such a clever Alice, I will have you for +my wife." And, taking her hand, he led her home, and celebrated the +wedding directly. + +After they had been married a little while, Hans, said one morning, +"Wife, I will go out to work and earn some money; do you go into the +field and gather some corn wherewith to make bread." + +"Yes," she answered, "I will do so, dear Hans." And when he was gone, +she cooked herself a nice mess of pottage to take with her. As she came +to the field, she said to herself, "What shall I do? Shall I cut first, +or eat first? Aye, I will eat first!" Then she ate up the contents of +her pot, and when it was finished, she thought to herself, "Now, shall I +reap first or sleep first? Well, I think I will have a nap!" and so she +laid herself down among the corn, and went to sleep. + +Meanwhile Hans returned home, but Alice did not come, and so he said, +"Oh, what a prudent Alice I have! She is so industrious that she does +not even come home to eat anything." By and by, however, evening came +on, and still she did not return; so Hans went out to see how much she +had reaped; but, behold, nothing at all, and there lay Alice fast asleep +among the corn! So home he ran very fast, and brought a net with little +bells hanging on it, which he threw over her head while she still slept +on. When he had done this, he went back again and shut to the +house door, and, seating himself on his stool, began working very +industriously. + +At last, when it was nearly dark, the clever Alice awoke, and as soon as +she stood up, the net fell all over her hair, and the bells jingled at +every step she took. This quite frightened her, and she began to doubt +whether she were really Clever Alice, and said to herself, "Am I she, or +am I not?" This was a question she could not answer, and she stood still +a long while considering about it. At last she thought she would go home +and ask whether she was really herself--supposing somebody would be able +to tell her. + +When she came up to the house door it was shut; so she tapped at the +window, and asked, "Hans, is Alice within?" "Yes," he replied, "she +is." At which answer she became really terrified, and exclaiming, "Ah, +heaven, then I am not Alice!" she ran up to another house, intending +to ask the same question. But as soon as the folks within heard the +jingling of the bells in her net, they refused to open their doors, and +nobody would receive her. So she ran straight away from the village, and +no one has ever seen her since. + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Little Lame Prince, by +Miss Mulock--Pseudonym of Maria Dinah Craik + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LITTLE LAME PRINCE *** + +***** This file should be named 496.txt or 496.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/4/9/496/ + +Produced by Charles Keller and David Widger + +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. 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FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.04.29.93*END* + + + + + + + + + +Scanned by Charles Keller for Tina with +OmniPage Professional OCR software +donated by Caere Corporation, 1-800-535-7226. +Contact Mike Lough <Mikel@caere.com> + + + + + +The Little Lame Prince + +By MISS MULOCK +[Pseudonym of Maria Dinah Craik] + + +CONTENTS + +THE LITTLE LAME PRINCE +THE INVISIBLE PRINCE +PRINCE CHERRY +THE PRINCE WITH THE NOSE +THE FROG-PRINCE +CLEVER ALICE + + + +THE +LITTLE LAME PRINCE + +CHAPTER I + +Yes, he was the most beautiful Prince +that ever was born. + +Of course, being a prince, people +said this; but it was true besides. +When he looked at the candle, his eyes had an +expression of earnest inquiry quite startling in +a new born baby. His nose--there was not much +of it certainly, but what there was seemed an +aquiline shape; his complexion was a charming, +healthy purple; he was round and fat, straight- +limbed and long--in fact, a splendid baby, and +everybody was exceedingly proud of him, +especially his father and mother, the King and Queen +of Nomansland, who had waited for him during +their happy reign of ten years--now made happier +than ever, to themselves and their subjects, +by the appearance of a son and heir. + +The only person who was not quite happy was +the King's brother, the heir presumptive, who +would have been king one day had the baby not +been born. But as his majesty was very kind to +him, and even rather sorry for him--insomuch +that at the Queen's request he gave him a dukedom +almost as big as a county--the Crown- +Prince, as he was called, tried to seem pleased +also; and let us hope he succeeded. + +The Prince's christening was to be a grand +affair. According to the custom of the country, +there were chosen for him four-and-twenty god- +fathers and godmothers, who each had to give +him a name, and promise to do their utmost for +him. When he came of age, he himself had to +choose the name--and the godfather or god- +mother--that he liked the best, for the rest of his +days. + +Meantime all was rejoicing. Subscriptions +were made among the rich to give pleasure to the +poor; dinners in town-halls for the workingmen; +tea-parties in the streets for their wives; and +milk-and-bun feasts for the children in the +schoolrooms. For Nomansland, though I cannot +point it out in any map, or read of it in any +history, was, I believe, much like our own or many +another country. + +As for the palace--which was no different +from other palaces--it was clean "turned out of +the windows," as people say, with the preparations +going on. The only quiet place in it was the +room which, though the Prince was six weeks +old, his mother the Queen had never quitted. +Nobody said she was ill, however--it would have +been so inconvenient; and as she said nothing +about it herself, but lay pale and placid, giving +no trouble to anybody, nobody thought much +about her. All the world was absorbed in +admiring the baby. + +The christening-day came at last, and it was +as lovely as the Prince himself. All the people +in the palace were lovely too--or thought themselves +so--in the elegant new clothes which the +Queen, who thought of everybody, had taken +care to give them, from the ladies-in-waiting +down to the poor little kitchen-maid, who looked +at herself in her pink cotton gown, and thought, +doubtless, that there never was such a pretty +girl as she. + +By six in the morning all the royal household +had dressed itself in its very best; and then the +little Prince was dressed in his best--his +magnificent christening robe; which proceeding his +Royal Highness did not like at all, but kicked +and screamed like any common baby. When he +had a little calmed down, they carried him to be +looked at by the Queen his mother, who, though +her royal robes had been brought and laid upon +the bed, was, as everybody well knew, quite +unable to rise and put them on. + +She admired her baby very much; kissed and +blessed him, and lay looking at him, as she did for +hours sometimes, when he was placed beside her +fast asleep; then she gave him up with a gentle +smile, and, saying she hoped he would be very +good, that it would be a very nice christening, +and all the guests would enjoy themselves, +turned peacefully over on her bed, saying nothing +more to anybody. She was a very uncomplaining +person, the Queen--and her name was +Dolorez. + +Everything went on exactly as if she had been +present. All, even the king himself, had grown +used to her absence; for she was not strong, and +for years had not joined in any gayeties. She +always did her royal duties, but as to pleasures, +they could go on quite well without her, or it +seemed so. The company arrived: great and +notable persons in this and neighboring countries; +also the four-and-twenty godfathers and +godmothers, who had been chosen with care, as +the people who would be most useful to his royal +highness should he ever want friends, which did +not seem likely. What such want could possibly +happen to the heir of the powerful monarch of +Nomansland? + +They came, walking two and two, with their +coronets on their heads--being dukes and duchesses, +princes and princesses, or the like; they +all kissed the child and pronounced the name +each had given him. Then the four-and-twenty +names were shouted out with great energy by six +heralds, one after the other, and afterward written +down, to be preserved in the state records, +in readiness for the next time they were wanted, +which would be either on his Royal Highness' +coronation or his funeral. + +Soon the ceremony was over, and everybody +satisfied; except, perhaps, the little Prince +himself, who moaned faintly under his christening +robes, which nearly smothered him. + +In truth, though very few knew, the Prince in +coming to the chapel had met with a slight +disaster. His nurse,--not his ordinary one, but the +state nurse-maid,--an elegant and fashionable +young lady of rank, whose duty it was to carry +him to and from the chapel, had been so occupied +in arranging her train with one hand, while she +held the baby with the other, that she stumbled +and let him fall, just at the foot of the marble +staircase. + +To be sure, she contrived to pick him up again +the next minute; and the accident was so slight +it seemed hardly worth speaking of. Consequently +nobody did speak of it. The baby had +turned deadly pale, but did not cry, so no person +a step or two behind could discover anything +wrong; afterward, even if he had moaned, the +silver trumpets were loud enough to drown his +voice. It would have been a pity to let anything +trouble such a day of felicity. + +So, after a minute's pause, the procession had +moved on. Such a procession t Heralds in blue +and silver; pages in crimson and gold; and a +troop of little girls in dazzling white, carrying +baskets of flowers, which they strewed all the +way before the nurse and child--finally the four- +and-twenty godfathers and godmothers, as +proud as possible, and so splendid to look at +that they would have quite extinguished their +small godson--merely a heap of lace and muslin +with a baby face inside--had it not been for a +canopy of white satin and ostrich feathers which +was held over him wherever he was carried. + +Thus, with the sun shining on them through +the painted windows, they stood; the king and +his train on one side, the Prince and his attendants +on the other, as pretty a sight as ever was +seen out of fairyland. + +"It's just like fairyland," whispered the +eldest little girl to the next eldest, as she shook +the last rose out of her basket; "and I think the +only thing the Prince wants now is a fairy god- +mother." + +"Does he?" said a shrill but soft and not +unpleasant voice behind; and there was seen among +the group of children somebody,--not a child, +yet no bigger than a child,--somebody whom nobody +had seen before, and who certainly had not +been invited, for she had no christening clothes +on. + +She was a little old woman dressed all in gray: +gray gown; gray hooded cloak, of a material +excessively fine, and a tint that seemed perpetually +changing, like the gray of an evening sky. Her +hair was gray, and her eyes also--even her +complexion had a soft gray shadow over it. But +there was nothing unpleasantly old about her, +and her smile was as sweet and childlike as the +Prince's own, which stole over his pale little +face the instant she came near enough to touch +him. + +"Take care! Don't let the baby fall again." + +The grand young lady nurse started, flushing +angrily. + +"Who spoke to me? How did anybody know? +--I mean, what business has anybody----" +Then frightened, but still speaking in a much +sharper tone than I hope young ladies of rank +are in the habit of speaking--"Old woman, you +will be kind enough not to say `the baby,' but +`the Prince.' Keep away; his Royal Highness +is just going to sleep." + +"Nevertheless I must kiss him. I am his god- +mother." + +"You!" cried the elegant lady nurse. + +"You!" repeated all the gentlemen and +ladies-in-waiting. + +"You!" echoed the heralds and pages--and +they began to blow the silver trumpets in order +to stop all further conversation. + +The Prince's procession formed itself for +returning,--the King and his train having already +moved off toward the palace,--but on the top- +most step of the marble stairs stood, right in +front of all, the little old woman clothed in gray. + +She stretched herself on tiptoe by the help of +her stick, and gave the little Prince three kisses. + +"This is intolerable!" cried the young lady +nurse, wiping the kisses off rapidly with her +lace handkerchief. "Such an insult to his Royal +Highness! Take yourself out of the way, old +woman, or the King shall be informed immediately." + +"The King knows nothing of me, more's the +pity," replied the old woman, with an indifferent +air, as if she thought the loss was more on his +Majesty's side than hers. "My friend in the +palace is the King's wife." + +"King's have not wives, but queens," said the +lady nurse, with a contemptuous air. + +"You are right," replied the old woman. +"Nevertheless I know her Majesty well, and I +love her and her child. And--since you dropped +him on the marble stairs (this she said in a +mysterious whisper, which made the young lady +tremble in spite of her anger)--I choose to take +him for my own, and be his godmother, ready to +help him whenever he wants me." + +"You help him!" cried all the group breaking +into shouts of laughter, to which the little old +woman paid not the slightest attention. Her soft +gray eyes were fixed on the Prince, who seemed +to answer to the look, smiling again and again +in the causeless, aimless fashion that babies do +smile. + +"His Majesty must hear of this," said a +gentleman-in-waiting. + +"His Majesty will hear quite enough news in +a minute or two," said the old woman sadly. +And again stretching up to the little Prince, she +kissed him on the forehead solemnly. + +"Be called by a new name which nobody has +ever thought of. Be Prince Dolor, in memory +of your mother Dolorez." + +"In memory of!" Everybody started at the +ominous phrase, and also at a most terrible +breach of etiquette which the old woman had +committed. In Nomansland, neither the king +nor the queen was supposed to have any Christian +name at all. They dropped it on their coronation +day, and it never was mentioned again till +it was engraved on their coffins when they died. + +"Old woman, you are exceedingly ill-bred," +cried the eldest lady-in-waiting, much horrified. +"How you could know the fact passes my +comprehension. But even if you did know it, how +dared you presume to hint that her most gracious +Majesty is called Dolorez?" + +"WAS called Dolorez," said the old woman, +with a tender solemnity. + +The first gentleman, called the Gold-stick-in- +waiting, raised it to strike her, and all the rest +stretched out their hands to seize her; but the +gray mantle melted from between their fingers +like air; and, before anybody had time to do +anything more, there came a heavy, muffled, +startling sound. + +The great bell of the palace the bell which +was only heard on the death of some one of the +royal family, and for as many times as he or she +was years old--began to toll. They listened, +mute and horror-stricken. Some one counted: +one--two--three--four--up to nine-and-twenty +--just the Queen's age. + +It was, indeed, the Queen. Her Majesty was +dead! In the midst of the festivities she had +slipped away out of her new happiness and her +old sufferings, not few nor small. Sending away +all her women to see the grand sight,--at least +they said afterward, in excuse, that she had done +so, and it was very like her to do it,--she had +turned with her face to the window, whence one +could just see the tops of the distant mountains +--the Beautiful Mountains, as they were called +--where she was born. So gazing, she had +quietly died. + +When the little Prince was carried back to +his mother's room, there was no mother to kiss +him. And, though he did not know it, there +would be for him no mother's kiss any more. +As for his godmother,--the little old woman +in gray who called herself so,--whether she +melted into air, like her gown when they touched +it, or whether she flew out of the chapel window, +or slipped through the doorway among the +bewildered crowd, nobody knew--nobody ever +thought about her. + +Only the nurse, the ordinary homely one, +coming out of the Prince's nursery in the middle +of the night in search of a cordial to quiet his +continual moans, saw, sitting in the doorway, +something which she would have thought a mere +shadow, had she not seen shining out of it two +eyes, gray and soft and sweet. She put her +hand before her own, screaming loudly. When +she took them away the old woman was gone. + + + +CHAPTER II + +Everybody was very kind to the poor +little prince. I think people generally +are kind to motherless children, +whether princes or peasants. He had a +magnificent nursery and a regular suite of +attendants, and was treated with the greatest +respect and state. Nobody was allowed to talk to +him in silly baby language, or dandle him, or, +above all to kiss him, though perhaps some +people did it surreptitiously, for he was such a +sweet baby that it was difficult to help it. + +It could not be said that the Prince missed +his mother--children of his age cannot do that; +but somehow after she died everything seemed to +go wrong with him. From a beautiful baby he +became sickly and pale, seeming to have almost +ceased growing, especially in his legs, which had +been so fat and strong. + +But after the day of his christening they +withered and shrank; he no longer kicked them out +either in passion or play, and when, as he got to +be nearly a year old, his nurse tried to make him +stand upon them, he only tumbled down. + +This happened so many times that at last +people began to talk about it. A prince, and not +able to stand on his own legs! What a dreadful +thing! What a misfortune for the country! + +Rather a misfortune to him also, poor little +boy! but nobody seemed to think of that. And +when, after a while, his health revived, and the +old bright look came back to his sweet little face, +and his body grew larger and stronger, though +still his legs remained the same, people continued +to speak of him in whispers, and with grave +shakes of the head. Everybody knew, though +nobody said it, that something, it was impossible +to guess what, was not quite right with the poor +little Prince. + +Of course, nobody hinted this to the King his +father: it does not do to tell great people +anything unpleasant. And besides, his Majesty +took very little notice of his son, or of his other +affairs, beyond the necessary duties of his kingdom. + +People had said he would not miss the Queen +at all, she having been so long an invalid, but he +did. After her death he never was quite the +same. He established himself in her empty +rooms, the only rooms in the palace whence one +could see the Beautiful Mountains, and was +often observed looking at them as if he thought +she had flown away thither, and that his longing +could bring her back again. And by a curious +coincidence, which nobody dared inquire into, +he desired that the Prince might be called, not +by any of the four-and-twenty grand names +given him by his godfathers and godmothers, but +by the identical name mentioned by the little old +woman in gray--Dolor, after his mother Dolorez. + +Once a week, according to established state +custom, the Prince, dressed in his very best, was +brought to the King his father for half an hour, +but his Majesty was generally too ill and too +melancholy to pay much heed to the child. + +Only once, when he and the Crown-Prince, +who was exceedingly attentive to his royal +brother, were sitting together, with Prince +Dolor playing in a corner of the room, dragging +himself about with his arms rather than his legs, +and sometimes trying feebly to crawl from one +chair to another, it seemed to strike the father +that all was not right with his son. + +"How old is his Royal Highness?" said he +suddenly to the nurse. + +"Two years, three months, and five days, +please your Majesty." + +"It does not please me," said the King, with +a sigh. "He ought to be far more forward than +he is now ought he not, brother? You, who +have so many children, must know. Is there not +something wrong about him?" + +"Oh, no," said the Crown-Prince, exchanging +meaning looks with the nurse, who did not +understand at all, but stood frightened and +trembling with the tears in her eyes. "Nothing to +make your Majesty at all uneasy. No doubt his +Royal Highness will outgrow it in time." + +"Outgrow--what?" + +"A slight delicacy--ahem!--in the spine; +something inherited, perhaps, from his dear +mother." + +"Ah, she was always delicate; but she was the +sweetest woman that ever lived. Come here, my +little son." + +And as the Prince turned round upon his +father a small, sweet, grave face,--so like his +mother's,--his Majesty the King smiled and +held out his arms. But when the boy came to +him, not running like a boy, but wriggling +awkwardly along the floor, the royal countenance +clouded over. + +"I ought to have been told of this. It is +terrible--terrible! And for a prince too. Send for +all the doctors in my kingdom immediately." + +They came, and each gave a different opinion +and ordered a different mode of treatment. The +only thing they agreed in was what had been +pretty well known before, that the Prince must +have been hurt when he was an infant--let fall, +perhaps, so as to injure his spine and lower +limbs. Did nobody remember? + +No, nobody. Indignantly, all the nurses +denied that any such accident had happened, was +possible to have happened, until the faithful +country nurse recollected that it really had +happened on the day of the christening. For which +unluckily good memory all the others scolded her +so severely that she had no peace of her life, and +soon after, by the influence of the young lady +nurse who had carried the baby that fatal day, +and who was a sort of connection of the Crown- +Prince--being his wife's second cousin once +removed--the poor woman was pensioned off +and sent to the Beautiful Mountains from +whence she came, with orders to remain there +for the rest of her days. + +But of all this the King knew nothing, for, +indeed, after the first shock of finding out that +his son could not walk, and seemed never likely +to he interfered very little concerning him. +The whole thing was too painful, and his Majesty +never liked painful things. Sometimes he +inquired after Prince Dolor, and they told him his +Royal Highness was going on as well as could be +expected, which really was the case. For, after +worrying the poor child and perplexing themselves +with one remedy after another, the Crown- +Prince, not wishing to offend any of the +differing doctors, had proposed leaving him to +Nature; and Nature, the safest doctor of all, had +come to his help and done her best. + +He could not walk, it is true; his limbs were +mere useless appendages to his body; but the +body itself was strong and sound. And his face +was the same as ever--just his mother's face, +one of the sweetest in the world. + +Even the King, indifferent as he was, +sometimes looked at the little fellow with sad +tenderness, noticing how cleverly he learned to crawl +and swing himself about by his arms, so that in +his own awkward way he was as active in motion +as most children of his age. + +"Poor little man! he does his best, and he is +not unhappy--not half so unhappy as I, +brother," addressing the Crown-Prince, who +was more constant than ever in his attendance +upon the sick monarch. "If anything should +befall me, I have appointed you Regent. In case +of my death, you will take care of my poor little +boy?" + +"Certainly, certainly; but do not let us +imagine any such misfortune. I assure your Majesty +--everybody will assure you--that it is not in the +least likely." + +He knew, however, and everybody knew, that +it was likely, and soon after it actually did +happen. The King died as suddenly and quietly as +the Queen had done--indeed, in her very room +and bed; and Prince Dolor was left without +either father or mother--as sad a thing as could +happen, even to a prince. + +He was more than that now, though. He was +a king. In Nomansland, as in other countries, +the people were struck with grief one day and +revived the next. "The king is dead--long live +the king!" was the cry that rang through the +nation, and almost before his late Majesty had +been laid beside the Queen in their splendid +mausoleum, crowds came thronging from all parts +to the royal palace, eager to see the new monarch. + +They did see him,--the Prince Regent took +care they should,--sitting on the floor of the +council chamber, sucking his thumb! And when +one of the gentlemen-in-waiting lifted him up +and carried him--fancy carrying a king!--to the +chair of state, and put the crown on his head, he +shook it off again, it was so heavy and +uncomfortable. Sliding down to the foot of the throne +he began playing with the golden lions that +supported it, stroking their paws and putting his +tiny fingers into their eyes, and laughing-- +laughing as if he had at last found something to amuse +him. + +"There's a fine king for you!" said the first +lord-in-waiting, a friend of the Prince Regent's +(the Crown-Prince that used to be, who, in the +deepest mourning, stood silently beside the +throne of his young nephew. He was a handsome +man, very grand and clever-looking). +"What a king! who can never stand to receive +his subjects, never walk in processions, who to +the last day of his life will have to be carried +about like a baby. Very unfortunate!" + +"Exceedingly unfortunate," repeated the +second lord. "It is always bad for a nation when +its king is a child; but such a child--a permanent +cripple, if not worse." + +"Let us hope not worse," said the first lord +in a very hopeless tone, and looking toward the +Regent, who stood erect and pretended to hear +nothing. "I have heard that these sort of children +with very large heads, and great broad fore- +heads and staring eyes, are--well, well, let us +hope for the best and be prepared for the worst. +In the meantime----" + +"I swear," said the Crown-Prince, coming +forward and kissing the hilt of his sword--"I +swear to perform my duties as Regent, to take +all care of his Royal Highness--his Majesty, I +mean," with a grand bow to the little child, who +laughed innocently back again. "And I will do +my humble best to govern the country. Still, if +the country has the slightest objection----" + +But the Crown-Prince being generalissimo, +having the whole army at his beck and call, so +that he could have begun a civil war in no time, +the country had, of course, not the slightest objection. + +So the King and Queen slept together in peace, +and Prince Dolor reigned over the land--that is, +his uncle did; and everybody said what a +fortunate thing it was for the poor little Prince to +have such a clever uncle to take care of him. + +All things went on as usual; indeed, after the +Regent had brought his wife and her seven sons, +and established them in the palace, rather better +than usual. For they gave such splendid +entertainments and made the capital so lively that +trade revived, and the country was said to be +more flourishing than it had been for a century. +Whenever the Regent and his sons appeared, +they were received with shouts: "Long live the +Crown-Prince!" "Long live the royal family!" +And, in truth, they were very fine children, the +whole seven of them, and made a great show +when they rode out together on seven beautiful +horses, one height above another, down to the +youngest, on his tiny black pony, no bigger than +a large dog. + +As for the other child, his Royal Highness +Prince Dolor,--for somehow people soon ceased +to call him his Majesty, which seemed such a +ridiculous title for a poor little fellow, a helpless +cripple,--with only head and trunk, and no +legs to speak of,--he was seen very seldom by +anybody. + +Sometimes people daring enough to peer over +the high wall of the palace garden noticed there, +carried in a footman's arms, or drawn in a chair, +or left to play on the grass, often with nobody to +mind him, a pretty little boy, with a bright, +intelligent face and large, melancholy eyes--no, +not exactly melancholy, for they were his +mother's, and she was by no means sad-minded, +but thoughtful and dreamy. They rather +perplexed people, those childish eyes; they were so +exceedingly innocent and yet so penetrating. +If anybody did a wrong thing--told a lie, for +instance they would turn round with such a +grave, silent surprise the child never talked +much--that every naughty person in the palace +was rather afraid of Prince Dolor. + +He could not help it, and perhaps he did not +even know it, being no better a child than many +other children, but there was something about +him which made bad people sorry, and grumbling +people ashamed of themselves, and ill- +natured people gentle and kind. + +I suppose because they were touched to see a +poor little fellow who did not in the least know +what had befallen him or what lay before him, +living his baby life as happy as the day is long. +Thus, whether or not he was good himself, the +sight of him and his affliction made other people +good, and, above all, made everybody love him +--so much so, that his uncle the Regent began +to feel a little uncomfortable. + +Now, I have nothing to say against uncles in +general. They are usually very excellent +people, and very convenient to little boys and +girls. Even the "cruel uncle" of the "Babes in +the Wood" I believe to be quite an exceptional +character. And this "cruel uncle" of whom I +am telling was, I hope, an exception, too. + +He did not mean to be cruel. If anybody had +called him so, he would have resented it +extremely: he would have said that what he did +was done entirely for the good of the country. +But he was a man who had always been +accustomed to consider himself first and foremost, +believing that whatever he wanted was sure to +be right, and therefore he ought to have it. So +he tried to get it, and got it too, as people like +him very often do. Whether they enjoy it when +they have it is another question. + +Therefore he went one day to the council +chamber, determined on making a speech, and +informing the ministers and the country at +large that the young King was in failing health, +and that it would be advisable to send him for a +time to the Beautiful Mountains. Whether he +really meant to do this, or whether it occurred +to him afterward that there would be an easier +way of attaining his great desire, the crown of +Nomansland, is a point which I cannot decide. + +But soon after, when he had obtained an +order in council to send the King away, which +was done in great state, with a guard of honor +composed of two whole regiments of soldiers,-- +the nation learned, without much surprise, that +the poor little Prince--nobody ever called him +king now--had gone a much longer journey +than to the Beautiful Mountains. + +He had fallen ill on the road and died within +a few hours; at least so declared the physician +in attendance and the nurse who had been sent +to take care of him. They brought his coffin +back in great state, and buried it in the +mausoleum with his parents. + +So Prince Dolor was seen no more. The +country went into deep mourning for him, and +then forgot him, and his uncle reigned in his +stead. That illustrious personage accepted his +crown with great decorum, and wore it with +great dignity to the last. But whether he +enjoyed it or not there is no evidence to show. + + + +CHAPTER III + +And what of the little lame Prince, +whom everybody seemed so easily to +have forgotten? + +Not everybody. There were a few +kind souls, mothers of families, who had heard +his sad story, and some servants about the palace, +who had been familiar with his sweet ways-- +these many a time sighed and said, "Poor +Prince Dolor!" Or, looking at the Beautiful +Mountains, which were visible all over Nomansland, +though few people ever visited them, +"Well, perhaps his Royal Highness is better +where he is than even there." + +They did not know--indeed, hardly anybody +did know--that beyond the mountains, between +them and the sea, lay a tract of country, barren, +level, bare, except for short, stunted grass, and +here and there a patch of tiny flowers. Not a +bush--not a tree not a resting place for bird +or beast was in that dreary plain. In summer +the sunshine fell upon it hour after hour with a +blinding glare; in winter the winds and rains +swept over it unhindered, and the snow came +down steadily, noiselessly, covering it from end +to end in one great white sheet, which lay for +days and weeks unmarked by a single footprint. + +Not a pleasant place to live in--and nobody +did live there, apparently. The only sign that +human creatures had ever been near the spot +was one large round tower which rose up in the +center of the plain, and might be seen all over +it--if there had been anybody to see, which there +never was. Rose right up out of the ground, as +if it had grown of itself, like a mushroom. But +it was not at all mushroom-like; on the contrary, +it was very solidly built. In form it resembled +the Irish round towers, which have puzzled +people for so long, nobody being able to find out +when, or by whom, or for what purpose they +were made; seemingly for no use at all, like this +tower. It was circular, of very firm brickwork, +with neither doors nor windows, until near the +top, when you could perceive some slits in the +wall through which one might possibly creep in +or look out. Its height was nearly a hundred +feet, and it had a battlemented parapet showing +sharp against the sky. + +As the plain was quite desolate--almost like +a desert, only without sand, and led to nowhere +except the still more desolate seacoast--nobody +ever crossed it. Whatever mystery there was +about the tower, it and the sky and the plain +kept their secret to themselves. + +It was a very great secret indeed,--a state +secret,--which none but so clever a man as the +present King of Nomansland would ever have +thought of. How he carried it out, undiscovered, +I cannot tell. People said, long afterward, +that it was by means of a gang of +condemned criminals, who were set to work, and +executed immediately after they had done, so +that nobody knew anything, or in the least +suspected the real fact. + +And what was the fact? Why, that this +tower, which seemed a mere mass of masonry, +utterly forsaken and uninhabited, was not so at +all. Within twenty feet of the top some +ingenious architect had planned a perfect little +house, divided into four rooms--as by drawing +a cross within a circle you will see might easily +be done. By making skylights, and a few slits +in the walls for windows, and raising a peaked +roof which was hidden by the parapet, here was +a dwelling complete, eighty feet from the +ground, and as inaccessible as a rook's nest on +the top of a tree. + +A charming place to live in! if you once got +up there,--and never wanted to come down +again. + +Inside--though nobody could have looked +inside except a bird, and hardly even a bird flew +past that lonely tower--inside it was furnished +with all the comfort and elegance imaginable; +with lots of books and toys, and everything that +the heart of a child could desire. For its only +inhabitant, except a nurse of course, was a poor +solitary child. + +One winter night, when all the plain was +white with moonlight, there was seen crossing +it a great tall black horse, ridden by a man also +big and equally black, carrying before him on +the saddle a woman and a child. The woman-- +she had a sad, fierce look, and no wonder, for +she was a criminal under sentence of death, but +her sentence had been changed to almost as +severe a punishment. She was to inhabit the +lonely tower with the child, and was allowed to +live as long as the child lived--no longer. This +in order that she might take the utmost care of +him; for those who put him there were equally +afraid of his dying and of his living. + +Yet he was only a little gentle boy, with a +sweet, sleepy smile--he had been very tired with +his long journey--and clinging arms, which +held tight to the man's neck, for he was rather +frightened, and the face, black as it was, looked +kindly at him. And he was very helpless, with +his poor, small shriveled legs, which could +neither stand nor run away--for the little +forlorn boy was Prince Dolor. + +He had not been dead at all--or buried either. +His grand funeral had been a mere pretense: a +wax figure having been put in his place, while +he himself was spirited away under charge of +these two, the condemned woman and the black +man. The latter was deaf and dumb, so could +neither tell nor repeat anything. + +When they reached the foot of the tower, +there was light enough to see a huge chain +dangling from the parapet, but dangling only +halfway. The deaf-mute took from his saddle- +wallet a sort of ladder, arranged in pieces like +a puzzle, fitted it together, and lifted it up to +meet the chain. Then he mounted to the top of +the tower, and slung from it a sort of chair, in +which the woman and the child placed themselves +and were drawn up, never to come down +again as long as they lived. Leaving them there, +the man descended the ladder, took it to pieces +again and packed it in his pack, mounted the +horse and disappeared across the plain. + +Every month they used to watch for him, +appearing like a speck in the distance. He +fastened his horse to the foot of the tower, and +climbed it, as before, laden with provisions and +many other things. He always saw the Prince, +so as to make sure that the child was alive and +well, and then went away until the following +month. + +While his first childhood lasted Prince Dolor +was happy enough. He had every luxury that +even a prince could need, and the one thing +wanting,--love,--never having known, he did +not miss. His nurse was very kind to him +though she was a wicked woman. But either +she had not been quite so wicked as people said, +or she grew better through being shut up +continually with a little innocent child who was +dependent upon her for every comfort and +pleasure of his life. + +It was not an unhappy life. There was nobody +to tease or ill-use him, and he was never ill. +He played about from room to room--there +were four rooms, parlor, kitchen, his nurse's +bedroom, and his own; learned to crawl like a +fly, and to jump like a frog, and to run about on +all-fours almost as fast as a puppy. In fact, he +was very much like a puppy or a kitten, as +thoughtless and as merry--scarcely ever cross, +though sometimes a little weary. + +As he grew older, he occasionally liked to be +quiet for a while, and then he would sit at the +slits of windows--which were, however, much +bigger than they looked from the bottom of the +tower--and watch the sky above and the ground +below, with the storms sweeping over and the +sunshine coming and going, and the shadows of +the clouds running races across the blank plain. + +By and by he began to learn lessons--not that +his nurse had been ordered to teach him, but she +did it partly to amuse herself. She was not a +stupid woman, and Prince Dolor was by no +means a stupid boy; so they got on very well, +and his continual entreaty, "What can I do? +what can you find me to do?" was stopped, at +least for an hour or two in the day. + +It was a dull life, but he had never known any +other; anyhow, he remembered no other, and he +did not pity himself at all. Not for a long time, +till he grew quite a big little boy, and could read +quite easily. Then he suddenly took to books, +which the deaf-mute brought him from time to +time--books which, not being acquainted with +the literature of Nomansland, I cannot describe, +but no doubt they were very interesting; and +they informed him of everything in the outside +world, and filled him with an intense longing to +see it. + +From this time a change came over the boy. +He began to look sad and thin, and to shut himself +up for hours without speaking. For his +nurse hardly spoke, and whatever questions he +asked beyond their ordinary daily life she never +answered. She had, indeed, been forbidden, on +pain of death, to tell him anything about himself, +who he was, or what he might have been. + +He knew he was Prince Dolor, because she +always addressed him as "My Prince" and +"Your Royal Highness," but what a prince was +he had not the least idea. He had no idea of +anything in the world, except what he found in +his books. + +He sat one day surrounded by them, having +built them up round him like a little castle wall. +He had been reading them half the day, but +feeling all the while that to read about things +which you never can see is like hearing about a +beautiful dinner while you are starving. For +almost the first time in his life he grew +melancholy; his hands fell on his lap; he sat gazing +out of the window-slit upon the view outside-- +the view he had looked at every day of his life, +and might look at for endless days more. + +Not a very cheerful view,--just the plain and +the sky,--but he liked it. He used to think, if +he could only fly out of that window, up to the +sky or down to the plain, how nice it would be! +Perhaps when he died--his nurse had told him +once in anger that he would never leave the +tower till he died--he might be able to do this. +Not that he understood much what dying meant, +but it must be a change, and any change seemed +to him a blessing. + +"And I wish I had somebody to tell me all +about it--about that and many other things; +somebody that would be fond of me, like my +poor white kitten." + +Here the tears came into his eyes, for the +boy's one friend, the one interest of his life, had +been a little white kitten, which the deaf-mute, +kindly smiling, once took out of his pocket and +gave him--the only living creature Prince +Dolor had ever seen. + +For four weeks it was his constant plaything +and companion, till one moonlight night it took +a fancy for wandering, climbed on to the parapet +of the tower, dropped over and disap- +peared. It was not killed, he hoped, for cats +have nine lives; indeed, he almost fancied he +saw it pick itself up and scamper away; but he +never caught sight of it more. + +"Yes, I wish I had something better than a +kitten--a person, a real live person, who would +be fond of me and kind to me. Oh, I want somebody-- +dreadfully, dreadfully!" + +As he spoke, there sounded behind him a +slight tap-tap-tap, as of a stick or a cane, and +twisting himself round, he saw--what do you +think he saw? + +Nothing either frightening or ugly, but still +exceedingly curious. A little woman, no bigger +than he might himself have been had his legs +grown like those of other children; but she was +not a child--she was an old woman. Her hair +was gray, and her dress was gray, and there +was a gray shadow over her wherever she +moved. But she had the sweetest smile, the +prettiest hands, and when she spoke it was in +the softest voice imaginable. + +"My dear little boy,"--and dropping her +cane, the only bright and rich thing about her, +she laid those two tiny hands on his shoulders, +--"my own little boy, I could not come to you +until you had said you wanted me; but now you +do want me, here I am." + +"And you are very welcome, madam," replied +the Prince, trying to speak politely, as princes +always did in books; "and I am exceedingly +obliged to you. May I ask who you are? Perhaps +my mother?" For he knew that little boys +usually had a mother, and had occasionally wondered +what had become of his own. + +"No," said the visitor, with a tender, half- +sad smile, putting back the hair from his forehead, +and looking right into his eyes--"no, I am +not your mother, though she was a dear friend +of mine; and you are as like her as ever you can +be." + +"Will you tell her to come and see me, then?" + +"She cannot; but I dare say she knows all +about you. And she loves you very much--and +so do I; and I want to help you all I can, +my poor little boy." + +"Why do you call me poor?" asked Prince +Dolor, in surprise. + +The little old woman glanced down on his legs +and feet, which he did not know were different +from those of other children, and then at his +sweet, bright face, which, though he knew not +that either, was exceedingly different from +many children's faces, which are often so fretful, +cross, sullen. Looking at him, instead of +sighing, she smiled. "I beg your pardon, my +Prince," said she. + +"Yes, I am a prince, and my name is Dolor; +will you tell me yours, madam?" + +The little old woman laughed like a chime of +silver bells. + +"I have not got a name--or, rather, I have so +many names that I don't know which to choose. +However, it was I who gave you yours, and you +will belong to me all your days. I am your godmother." + +"Hurrah!" cried the little Prince; "I am +glad I belong to you, for I like you very much. +Will you come and play with me?" + +So they sat down together and played. By +and by they began to talk. + +"Are you very dull here?" asked the little old +woman. + +"Not particularly, thank you, godmother. I +have plenty to eat and drink, and my lessons to +do, and my books to read--lots of books." + +"And you want nothing?" + +"Nothing. Yes--perhaps---- If you please, +godmother, could you bring me just one more +thing?" + +"What sort of thing!" + +"A little boy to play with." + +The old woman looked very sad. "Just the +thing, alas I which I cannot give you. My child, +I cannot alter your lot in any way, but I can help +you to bear it." + +"Thank you. But why do you talk of bearing +it? I have nothing to bear." + +"My poor little man!" said the old woman in +the very tenderest tone of her tender voice. +"Kiss me!" + +"What is kissing?" asked the wondering +child. + +His godmother took him in her arms and +embraced him many times. By and by he kissed +her back again--at first awkwardly and shyly, +then with all the strength of his warm little +heart. + +"You are better to cuddle than even my white +kitten, I think. Promise me that you will never +go away," + +"I must; but I will leave a present behind +me,--something as good as myself to amuse you, +--something that will take you wherever you +want to go, and show you all that you wish to +see." + +"What is it?" + +"A traveling-cloak." + +The Prince's countenance fell. "I don't want +a cloak, for I never go out. Sometimes nurse +hoists me on to the roof, and carries me round +by the parapet; but that is all. I can't walk, +you know, as she does." + +"The more reason why you should ride; and +besides, this traveling-cloak----" + +"Hush!--she's coming." + +There sounded outside the room door a heavy +step and a grumpy voice, and a rattle of plates +and dishes. + +"It's my nurse, and she is bringing my +dinner; but I don't want dinner at all--I only want +you. Will her coming drive you away, godmother?" + +"Perhaps; but only for a little while. Never +mind; all the bolts and bars in the world couldn't +keep me out. I'd fly in at the window, or down +through the chimney. Only wish for me, and I +come." + +"Thank you," said Prince Dolor, but almost +in a whisper, for he was very uneasy at what +might happen next. His nurse and his godmother-- +what would they say to one another? +how would they look at one another?--two such +different faces: one harsh-lined, sullen, cross, +and sad; the other sweet and bright and calm +as a summer evening before the dark begins. + +When the door was flung open, Prince Dolor +shut his eyes, trembling all over; opening them +again, he saw he need fear nothing--his lovely +old godmother had melted away just like the +rainbow out of the sky, as he had watched it +many a time. Nobody but his nurse was in the +room. + +"What a muddle your Royal Highness is sitting +in," said she sharply. "Such a heap of untidy +books; and what's this rubbish?" knocking +a little bundle that lay beside them. + +"Oh, nothing, nothing--give it me!" cried +the Prince, and, darting after it, he hid it under +his pinafore, and then pushed it quickly into his +pocket. Rubbish as it was, it was left in the +place where she sat, and might be something +belonging to her--his dear, kind godmother, +whom already he loved with all his lonely, +tender, passionate heart. + +It was, though he did not know this, his +wonderful traveling-cloak. + + + +CHAPTER IV + +And what of the traveling-cloak? +What sort of cloak was it, and what +A good did it do the Prince? + +Stay, and I'll tell you all about it. +Outside it was the commonest-looking bundle +imaginable--shabby and small; and the instant +Prince Dolor touched it, it grew smaller still, +dwindling down till he could put it in his trousers +pocket, like a handkerchief rolled up into +a ball. He did this at once, for fear his nurse +should see it, and kept it there all day--all +night, too. Till after his next morning's lessons +he had no opportunity of examining his treasure. + +When he did, it seemed no treasure at all; but +a mere piece of cloth--circular in form, dark +green in color--that is, if it had any color at all, +being so worn and shabby, though not dirty. It +had a split cut to the center, forming a round +hole for the neck--and that was all its shape; the +shape, in fact, of those cloaks which in South +America are called ponchos--very simple, but +most graceful and convenient. + +Prince Dolor had never seen anything like it. +In spite of his disappointment, he examined it +curiously; spread it out on the door, then +arranged it on his shoulders. It felt very warm +and comfortable; but it was so exceedingly +shabby--the only shabby thing that the Prince +had ever seen in his life. + +"And what use will it be to me?" said he +sadly. "I have no need of outdoor clothes, as I +never go out. Why was this given me, I wonder? +and what in the world am I to do with it? She +must be a rather funny person, this dear godmother +of mine." + +Nevertheless, because she was his godmother, +and had given him the cloak, he folded it carefully +and put it away, poor and shabby as it was, +hiding it in a safe corner of his top cupboard, +which his nurse never meddled with. He did +not want her to find it, or to laugh at it or at his +godmother--as he felt sure she would, if she +knew all. + +There it lay, and by and by he forgot all about +it; nay, I am sorry to say that, being but a child, +and not seeing her again, he almost forgot his +sweet old godmother, or thought of her only as +he did of the angels or fairies that he read of in +his books, and of her visit as if it had been a +mere dream of the night. + +There were times, certainly, when he recalled +her: of early mornings, like that morning when +she appeared beside him, and late evenings, +when the gray twilight reminded him of the +color of her hair and her pretty soft garments; +above all, when, waking in the middle of the +night, with the stars peering in at his window, +or the moonlight shining across his little bed, +he would not have been surprised to see her +standing beside it, looking at him with those +beautiful tender eyes, which seemed to have a +pleasantness and comfort in them different +from anything he had ever known. + +But she never came, and gradually she slipped +out of his memory--only a boy's memory, after +all; until something happened which made him +remember her, and want her as he had never +wanted anything before. + +Prince Dolor fell ill. He caught--his nurse +could not tell how--a complaint common to the +people of Nomansland, called the doldrums, as +unpleasant as measles or any other of our +complaints; and it made him restless, cross, and +disagreeable. Even when a little better, he was +too weak to enjoy anything, but lay all day long +on his sofa, fidgeting his nurse extremely-- +while, in her intense terror lest he might die, she +fidgeted him still more. At last, seeing he really +was getting well, she left him to himself--which +he was most glad of, in spite of his dullness and +dreariness. There he lay, alone, quite alone. + +Now and then an irritable fit came over him, +in which he longed to get up and do something, +or to go somewhere--would have liked to imitate +his white kitten--jump down from the tower +and run away, taking the chance of whatever +might happen. + +Only one thing, alas! was likely to happen; +for the kitten, he remembered, had four active +legs, while he---- + +"I wonder what my godmother meant when +she looked at my legs and sighed so bitterly? I +wonder why I can't walk straight and steady +like my nurse only I wouldn't like to have her +great, noisy, clumping shoes. Still it would be +very nice to move about quickly--perhaps to +fly, like a bird, like that string of birds I saw +the other day skimming across the sky, one after +the other." + +These were the passage-birds--the only living +creatures that ever crossed the lonely plain; and +he had been much interested in them, wonder- +ing whence they came and whither they were +going. + +"How nice it must be to be a bird! If legs are +no good, why cannot one have wings? People +have wings when they die--perhaps; I wish I +were dead, that I do. I am so tired, so tired; +and nobody cares for me. Nobody ever did care +for me, except perhaps my godmother. Godmother, +dear, have you quite forsaken me?" + +He stretched himself wearily, gathered +himself up, and dropped his head upon his hands; +as he did so, he felt somebody kiss him at the +back of his neck, and, turning, found that he +was resting, not on the sofa pillows, but on a +warm shoulder--that of the little old woman +clothed in gray. + +How glad he was to see her! How he looked +into her kind eyes and felt her hands, to see if +she were all real and alive! then put both his +arms round her neck, and kissed her as if he +would never have done kissing. + +"Stop, stop!" cried she, pretending to be +smothered. "I see you have not forgotten my +teachings. Kissing is a good thing--in moderation. +Only just let me have breath to speak one +word." + +"A dozen!" he said. + +"Well, then, tell me all that has happened to +you since I saw you--or, rather, since you saw +me, which is quite a different thing." + +"Nothing has happened--nothing ever does +happen to me," answered the Prince dolefully. + +"And are you very dull, my boy?" + +"So dull that I was just thinking whether I +could not jump down to the bottom of the tower, +like my white kitten." + +"Don't do that, not being a white kitten." + +"I wish I were--I wish I were anything but +what I am." + +"And you can't make yourself any different, +nor can I do it either. You must be content to +stay just what you are." + +The little old woman said this--very firmly, +but gently, too--with her arms round his neck +and her lips on his forehead. It was the first +time the boy had ever heard any one talk like +this, and he looked up in surprise--but not in +pain, for her sweet manner softened the hardness +of her words. + +"Now, my Prince,--for you are a prince, +and must behave as such,--let us see what we +can do; how much I can do for you, or show you +how to do for yourself. Where is your +traveling-cloak?" + +Prince Dolor blushed extremely. "I--I put +it away in the cupboard; I suppose it is there +still." + +"You have never used it; you dislike it?" + +He hesitated, no; wishing to be impolite. +"Don't you think it's--just a little old and +shabby for a prince?" + +The old woman laughed--long and loud, +though very sweetly. + +"Prince, indeed! Why, if all the princes in +the world craved for it, they couldn't get it, +unless I gave it them. Old and shabby! It's the +most valuable thing imaginable! Very few ever +have it; but I thought I would give it to you, +because--because you are different from other +people." + +"Am I?" said the Prince, and looked first +with curiosity, then with a sort of anxiety, into +his godmother's face, which was sad and grave, +with slow tears beginning to steal down. + +She touched his poor little legs. "These are +not like those of other little boys." + +"Indeed!--my nurse never told me that." + +"Very likely not. But it is time you were +told; and I tell you, because I love you." + +"Tell me what, dear godmother?" + +"That you will never be able to walk or run +or jump or play--that your life will be quite +different from most people's lives; but it may +be a very happy life for all that. Do not be +afraid." + +"I am not afraid," said the boy; but he +turned very pale, and his lips began to quiver, +though he did not actually cry--he was too old +for that, and, perhaps, too proud. + +Though not wholly comprehending, he began +dimly to guess what his godmother meant. He +had never seen any real live boys, but he had +seen pictures of them running and jumping; +which he had admired and tried hard to imitate +but always failed. Now he began to understand +why he failed, and that he always should fail-- +that, in fact, he was not like other little boys; +and it was of no use his wishing to do as they +did, and play as they played, even if he had had +them to play with. His was a separate life, in +which he must find out new work and new pleasures +for himself. + +The sense of THE INEVITABLE, as grown-up +people call it--that we cannot have things as we +want them to be, but as they are, and that we +must learn to bear them and make the best of +them--this lesson, which everybody has to learn +soon or late--came, alas! sadly soon, to the poor +boy. He fought against it for a while, and then, +quite overcome, turned and sobbed bitterly in +his godmother's arms. + +She comforted him--I do not know how, +except that love always comforts; and then she +whispered to him, in her sweet, strong, cheerful +voice: "Never mind!" + +"No, I don't think I do mind--that is, I WON'T +mind," replied he, catching the courage of her +tone and speaking like a man, though he was +still such a mere boy. + +"That is right, my Prince!--that is being like +a prince. Now we know exactly where we are; +let us put our shoulders to the wheel and----" + +"We are in Hopeless Tower" (this was its +name, if it had a name), "and there is no wheel +to put our shoulders to," said the child sadly. + +"You little matter-of-fact goose! Well for +you that you have a godmother called----" + +"What?" he eagerly asked. + +"Stuff-and-nonsense." + +"Stuff-and-nonsense! What a funny name!" + +"Some people give it me, but they are not my +most intimate friends. These call me--never +mind what," added the old woman, with a soft +twinkle in her eyes. "So as you know me, and +know me well, you may give me any name you +please; it doesn't matter. But I am your +godmother, child. I have few godchildren; those I +have love me dearly, and find me the greatest +blessing in all the world." + +"I can well believe it," cried the little lame +Prince, and forgot his troubles in looking at +her--as her figure dilated, her eyes grew lustrous +as stars, her very raiment brightened, and +the whole room seemed filled with her beautiful +and beneficent presence like light. + +He could have looked at her forever--half in +love, half in awe; but she suddenly dwindled +down into the little old woman all in gray, and, +with a malicious twinkle in her eyes, asked for +the traveling-cloak. + +"Bring it out of the rubbish cupboard, and +shake the dust off it, quick!" said she to Prince +Dolor, who hung his head, rather ashamed. +"Spread it out on the floor, and wait till the +split closes and the edges turn up like a rim all +round. Then go and open the skylight,--mind, +I say OPEN THE SKYLIGHT,--set yourself down in +the middle of it, like a frog on a water-lily leaf; +say `Abracadabra, dum dum dum,' and--see +what will happen!" + +The Prince burst into a fit of laughing. It +all seemed so exceedingly silly; he wondered +that a wise old woman like his godmother should +talk such nonsense. + +"Stuff-and-nonsense, you mean," said she, +answering, to his great alarm, his unspoken +thoughts. "Did I not tell you some people +called me by that name? Never mind; it +doesn't harm me." + +And she laughed--her merry laugh--as child- +like as if she were the Prince's age instead of +her own, whatever that might be. She +certainly was a most extraordinary old woman. + +"Believe me or not, it doesn't matter," said +she. "Here is the cloak: when you want to go +traveling on it, say `Abracadabra, dum, dum, +dum'; when you want to come back again, say +`Abracadabra, tum tum ti.' That's all; good-by." + +A puff of most pleasant air passing by him. +and making him feel for the moment quite +strong and well, was all the Prince was conscious +of. His most extraordinary godmother +was gone. + +"Really now, how rosy your Royal Highness' +cheeks have grown! You seem to have got well +already," said the nurse, entering the room. + +"I think I have," replied the Prince very +gently--he felt gently and kindly even to his +grim nurse. "And now let me have my dinner, +and go you to your sewing as usual." + +The instant she was gone, however, taking +with her the plates and dishes, which for the first +time since his illness he had satisfactorily +cleared, Prince Dolor sprang down from his +sofa, and with one or two of his frog-like jumps +reached the cupboard where he kept his toys, +and looked everywhere for his traveling-cloak. + +Alas! it was not there. + +While he was ill of the doldrums, his nurse, +thinking it a good opportunity for putting +things to rights, had made a grand clearance of +all his "rubbish"--as she considered it: his +beloved headless horses, broken carts, sheep +without feet, and birds without wings--all the +treasures of his baby days, which he could not +bear to part with. Though he seldom played +with them now, he liked just to feel they were +there. + +They were all gone and with them the +traveling-cloak. He sat down on the floor, looking +at the empty shelves, so beautifully clean +and tidy, then burst out sobbing as if his heart +would break. + +But quietly--always quietly. He never let +his nurse hear him cry. She only laughed at +him, as he felt she would laugh now. + +"And it is all my own fault!" he cried. "I +ought to have taken better care of my godmother's +gift. Oh, godmother, forgive me! I'll +never be so careless again. I don't know what +the cloak is exactly, but I am sure it is something +precious. Help me to find it again. Oh, +don't let it be stolen from me--don't, please!" + +"Ha, ha, ha!" laughed a silvery voice. "Why, +that traveling-cloak is the one thing in the world +which nobody can steal. It is of no use to +anybody except the owner. Open your eyes, my +Prince, and see what you shall see." + +His dear old godmother, he thought, and +turned eagerly round. But no; he only beheld, +lying in a corner of the room, all dust and +cobwebs, his precious traveling-cloak. + +Prince Dolor darted toward it, tumbling +several times on the way, as he often did tumble, +poor boy! and pick himself up again, never +complaining. Snatching it to his breast, he +hugged and kissed it, cobwebs and all, as if it +had been something alive. Then he began +unrolling it, wondering each minute what would +happen. What did happen was so curious that +I must leave it for another chapter. + + + +CHAPTER V + +If any reader, big or little, should wonder +whether there is a meaning in this story +deeper than that of an ordinary fairy tale, +I will own that there is. But I have hidden +it so carefully that the smaller people, and +many larger folk, will never find it out, and +meantime the book may be read straight on, like +"Cinderella," or "Blue-Beard," or "Hop-o'- +my-Thumb," for what interest it has, or what +amusement it may bring. + +Having said this, I return to Prince Dolor, +that little lame boy whom many may think so +exceedingly to be pitied. But if you had seen +him as he sat patiently untying his wonderful +cloak, which was done up in a very tight and +perplexing parcel, using skillfully his deft little +hands, and knitting his brows with firm +determination, while his eyes glistened with pleasure +and energy and eager anticipation--if you had +beheld him thus, you might have changed your +opinion. + +When we see people suffering or unfortunate, +we feel very sorry for them; but when we see +them bravely bearing their sufferings and making +the best of their misfortunes, it is quite a +different feeling. We respect, we admire them. +One can respect and admire even a little child. + +When Prince Dolor had patiently untied all +the knots, a remarkable thing happened. The +cloak began to undo itself. Slowly unfolding, +it laid itself down on the carpet, as flat as if it +had been ironed; the split joined with a little +sharp crick-crack, and the rim turned up all +round till it was breast-high; for meantime the +cloak had grown and grown, and become quite +large enough for one person to sit in it as +comfortable as if in a boat. + +The Prince watched it rather anxiously; it +was such an extraordinary, not to say a frightening, +thing. However, he was no coward, but +a thorough boy, who, if he had been like other +boys, would doubtless have grown up daring and +adventurous--a soldier, a sailor, or the like. As +it was, he could only show his courage morally, +not physically, by being afraid of nothing, and +by doing boldly all that it was in his narrow +powers to do. And I am not sure but that in +this way he showed more real valor than if he +had had six pairs of proper legs. + +He said to himself: "What a goose I am ! As +if my dear godmother would ever have given me +anything to hurt me. Here goes!" + +So, with one of his active leaps, he sprang +right into the middle of the cloak, where he +squatted down, wrapping his arms tight round +his knees, for they shook a little and his heart +beat fast. But there he sat, steady and silent, +waiting for what might happen next. + +Nothing did happen, and he began to think +nothing would, and to feel rather disappointed, +when he recollected the words he had been told +to repeat--"Abracadabra, dum dum dum!" + +He repeated them, laughing all the while, they +seemed such nonsense. And then--and +then---- + +Now I don't expect anybody to believe what +I am going to relate, though a good many wise +people have believed a good many sillier things. +And as seeing's believing, and I never saw it, I +cannot be expected implicitly to believe it +myself, except in a sort of a way; and yet there is +truth in it--for some people. + +The cloak rose, slowly and steadily, at first +only a few inches, then gradually higher and +higher, till it nearly touched the skylight. +Prince Dolor's head actually bumped against +the glass, or would have done so had he not +crouched down, crying "Oh, please don't hurt +me!" in a most melancholy voice. + +Then he suddenly remembered his godmother's +express command--"Open the skylight!" + +Regaining his courage at once, without a +moment's delay he lifted up his head and began +searching for the bolt--the cloak meanwhile +remaining perfectly still, balanced in the air. +But the minute the window was opened, out it +sailed--right out into the clear, fresh air, with +nothing between it and the cloudless blue. + +Prince Dolor had never felt any such +delicious sensation before. I can understand it. +Cannot you? Did you never think, in watching +the rooks going home singly or in pairs, soaring +their way across the calm evening sky till they +vanish like black dots in the misty gray, how +pleasant it must feel to be up there, quite out of +the noise and din of the world, able to hear and +see everything down below, yet troubled by +nothing and teased by no one--all alone, but +perfectly content? + +Something like this was the happiness of the +little lame Prince when he got out of Hopeless +Tower, and found himself for the first time in +the pure open air, with the sky above him and +the earth below. + +True, there was nothing but earth and sky; no +houses, no trees, no rivers, mountains, seas-- +not a beast on the ground, or a bird in the air. +But to him even the level plain looked beautiful; +and then there was the glorious arch of the sky, +with a little young moon sitting in the west like +a baby queen. And the evening breeze was so +sweet and fresh--it kissed him like his +godmother's kisses; and by and by a few stars came +out--first two or three, and then quantities-- +quantities! so that when he began to count them +he was utterly bewildered. + +By this time, however, the cool breeze had +become cold; the mist gathered; and as he had, as +he said, no outdoor clothes, poor Prince Dolor +was not very comfortable. The dews fell damp +on his curls--he began to shiver. + +"Perhaps I had better go home," thought he. + +But how? For in his excitement the other +words which his godmother had told him to use +had slipped his memory. They were only a little +different from the first, but in that slight +difference all the importance lay. As he repeated +his "Abracadabra," trying ever so many other +syllables after it, the cloak only went faster +and faster, skimming on through the dusky, +empty air. + +The poor little Prince began to feel +frightened. What if his wonderful traveling-cloak +should keep on thus traveling, perhaps to the +world's end, carrying with it a poor, tired, +hungry boy, who, after all, was beginning to +think there was something very pleasant in +supper and bed! + +"Dear godmother," he cried pitifully, "do +help me! Tell me just this once and I'll never +forget again." + +Instantly the words came rushing into his +head--"Abracadabra, tum tum ti!" Was that +it? Ah! yes--for the cloak began to turn slowly. +He repeated the charm again, more distinctly +and firmly, when it gave a gentle dip, like a nod +of satisfaction, and immediately started back, +as fast as ever, in the direction of the tower. + +He reached the skylight, which he found +exactly as he had left it, and slipped in, cloak and +all, as easily as he had got out. He had scarcely +reached the floor, and was still sitting in the +middle of his traveling-cloak,--like a frog on a +water-lily leaf, as his godmother had expressed +it,--when he heard his nurse's voice outside. + +"Bless us! what has become of your Royal +Highness all this time? To sit stupidly here at +the window till it is quite dark, and leave the +skylight open, too. Prince! what can you be +thinking of? You are the silliest boy I ever +knew." + +"Am I?" said he absently, and never heeding +her crossness; for his only anxiety was lest she +might find out anything. + +She would have been a very clever person to +have done so. The instant Prince Dolor got off +it, the cloak folded itself up into the tiniest +possible parcel, tied all its own knots, and rolled +itself of its own accord into the farthest and +darkest corner of the room. If the nurse had +seen it, which she didn't, she would have taken +it for a mere bundle of rubbish not worth noticing. + +Shutting the skylight with an angry bang, she +brought in the supper and lit the candles with +her usual unhappy expression of countenance. +But Prince Dolor hardly saw it; he only saw, +hid in the corner where nobody else would see it, +his wonderful traveling-cloak. And though his +supper was not particularly nice, he ate it +heartily, scarcely hearing a word of his nurse's +grumbling, which to-night seemed to have taken +the place of her sullen silence. + +"Poor woman!" he thought, when he paused +a minute to listen and look at her with those +quiet, happy eyes, so like his mother's. "Poor +woman! she hasn't got a traveling-cloak!" + +And when he was left alone at last, and crept +into his little bed, where he lay awake a good +while, watching what he called his "sky- +garden," all planted with stars, like flowers, his +chief thought was--"I must be up very early +to-morrow morning, and get my lessons done, +and then I'll go traveling all over the world on +my beautiful cloak." + +So next day he opened his eyes with the sun, +and went with a good heart to his lessons. They +had hitherto been the chief amusement of his +dull life; now, I am afraid, he found them also +a little dull. But he tried to be good,--I don't +say Prince Dolor always was good, but he +generally tried to be,--and when his mind went +wandering after the dark, dusty corner where +lay his precious treasure, he resolutely called it +back again. + +"For," he said, "how ashamed my godmother +would be of me if I grew up a stupid +boy!" + +But the instant lessons were done, and he was +alone in the empty room, he crept across the +floor, undid the shabby little bundle, his fingers +trembling with eagerness, climbed on the chair, +and thence to the table, so as to unbar the +skylight,--he forgot nothing now,--said his magic +charm, and was away out of the window, as children +say, "in a few minutes less than no time." + +Nobody missed him. He was accustomed to +sit so quietly always that his nurse, though only +in the next room, perceived no difference. And +besides, she might have gone in and out a dozen +times, and it would have been just the same; +she never could have found out his absence. + +For what do you think the clever godmother +did? She took a quantity of moonshine, or some +equally convenient material, and made an image, +which she set on the window-sill reading, or +by the table drawing, where it looked so like +Prince Dolor that any common observer would +never have guessed the deception; and even the +boy would have been puzzled to know which was +the image and which was himself. + +And all this while the happy little fellow was +away, floating in the air on his magic cloak, and +seeing all sorts of wonderful things--or they +seemed wonderful to him, who had hitherto seen +nothing at all. + +First, there were the flowers that grew on the +plain, which, whenever the cloak came near +enough, he strained his eyes to look at; they +were very tiny, but very beautiful--white +saxifrage, and yellow lotus, and ground-thistles, +purple and bright, with many others the names +of which I do not know. No more did Prince +Dolor, though he tried to find them out by +recalling any pictures he had seen of them. But +he was too far off; and though it was pleasant +enough to admire them as brilliant patches of +color, still he would have liked to examine them +all. He was, as a little girl I know once said of +a playfellow, "a very examining boy." + +"I wonder," he thought, "whether I could see +better through a pair of glasses like those my +nurse reads with, and takes such care of. How +I would take care of them, too, if I only had +a pair!" + +Immediately he felt something queer and +hard fixing itself to the bridge of his nose. It +was a pair of the prettiest gold spectacles ever +seen; and looking downward, he found that, +though ever so high above the ground, he could +see every minute blade of grass, every tiny bud +and flower--nay, even the insects that walked +over them. + +"Thank you, thank you!" he cried, in a gush +of gratitude--to anybody or everybody, but +especially to his dear godmother, who he felt +sure had given him this new present. He +amused himself with it for ever so long, with +his chin pressed on the rim of the cloak, gazing +down upon the grass, every square foot of which +was a mine of wonders. + +Then, just to rest his eyes, he turned them up +to the sky--the blue, bright, empty sky, which +he had looked at so often and seen nothing. + +Now surely there was something. A long, +black, wavy line, moving on in the distance, not +by chance, as the clouds move apparently, but +deliberately, as if it were alive. He might have +seen it before--he almost thought he had; but +then he could not tell what it was. Looking at +it through his spectacles, he discovered that +it really was alive; being a long string of birds, +flying one after the other, their wings moving +steadily and their heads pointed in one direction, +as steadily as if each were a little ship, +guided invisibly by an unerring helm. + +"They must be the passage-birds flying +seaward!" cried the boy, who had read a little +about them, and had a great talent for putting +two and two together and finding out all he +could. "Oh, how I should like to see them quite +close, and to know where they come from and +whither they are going! How I wish I knew +everything in all the world!" + +A silly speech for even an "examining" little +boy to make; because, as we grow older, the +more we know the more we find out there is to +know. And Prince Dolor blushed when he had +said it, and hoped nobody had heard him. + +Apparently somebody had, however; for the +cloak gave a sudden bound forward, and presently +he found himself high in the air, in the +very middle of that band of aerial travelers, who +had mo magic cloak to travel on--nothing except +their wings. Yet there they were, making their +fearless way through the sky. + +Prince Dolor looked at them as one after the +other they glided past him; and they looked at +him--those pretty swallows, with their changing +necks and bright eyes--as if wondering to meet +in mid-air such an extraordinary sort of bird. + +"Oh, I wish I were going with you, you lovely +creatures! I'm getting so tired of this dull +plain, and the dreary and lonely tower. I do +so want to see the world! Pretty swallows, +dear swallows! tell me what it looks like--the +beautiful, wonderful world!" + +But the swallows flew past him--steadily, +slowly pursuing their course as if inside each +little head had been a mariner's compass, to +guide them safe over land and sea, direct to the +place where they wished to go. + +The boy looked after them with envy. For a +long time he followed with his eyes the faint, +wavy black line as it floated away, sometimes +changing its curves a little, but never deviating +from its settled course, till it vanished entirely +out of sight. + +Then he settled himself down in the center of +the cloak, feeling quite sad and lonely. + +"I think I'll go home," said he, and repeated +his "Abracadabra, tum tum ti!" with a rather +heavy heart. The more he had, the more he +wanted; and it is not always one can have everything +one wants--at least, at the exact minute +one craves for it; not even though one is a +prince, and has a powerful and beneficent godmother. + +He did not like to vex her by calling for her +and telling her how unhappy he was, in spite of +all her goodness; so he just kept his trouble to +himself, went back to his lonely tower, and +spent three days in silent melancholy, without +even attempting another journey on his +traveling-cloak. + + + +CHAPTER VI + +The fourth day it happened that the +deaf-mute paid his accustomed visit, +after which Prince Dolor's spirits +rose. They always did when he got +the new books which, just to relieve his +conscience, the King of Nomansland regularly sent +to his nephew; with many new toys also, though +the latter were disregarded now. + +"Toys, indeed! when I'm a big boy," said +the Prince, with disdain, and would scarcely +condescend to mount a rocking-horse which had +come, somehow or other,--I can't be expected +to explain things very exactly,--packed on the +back of the other, the great black horse, which +stood and fed contentedly at the bottom of the +tower. + +Prince Dolor leaned over and looked at it, and +thought how grand it must be to get upon its +back--this grand live steed--and ride away, +like the pictures of knights. + +"Suppose I was a knight," he said to himself; +"then I should be obliged to ride out and see the +world." + +But he kept all these thoughts to himself, and +just sat still, devouring his new books till he +had come to the end of them all. It was a repast +not unlike the Barmecide's feast which you +read of in the "Arabian Nights," which +consisted of very elegant but empty dishes, or that +supper of Sancho Panza in "Don Quixote," +where, the minute the smoking dishes came on +the table, the physician waved his hand and they +were all taken away. + +Thus almost all the ordinary delights of boy- +life had been taken away from, or rather never +given to this poor little prince. + +"I wonder," he would sometimes think--"I +wonder what it feels like to be on the back of a +horse, galloping away, or holding the reins in a +carriage, and tearing across the country, or +jumping a ditch, or running a race, such as I +read of or see in pictures. What a lot of things +there are that I should like to do! But first I +should like to go and see the world. I'll try." + +Apparently it was his godmother's plan +always to let him try, and try hard, before he +gained anything. This day the knots that tied +up his traveling-cloak were more than usually +troublesome, and he was a full half-hour before +he got out into the open air, and found himself +floating merrily over the top of the tower. + +Hitherto, in all his journeys, he had never +let himself go out of sight of home, for the +dreary building, after all, was home--he remembered +no other; but now he felt sick of the very +look of his tower, with its round smooth walls +and level battlements. + +"Off we go!" cried he, when the cloak stirred +itself with a slight, slow motion, as if waiting his +orders. "Anywhere anywhere, so that I am +away from here, and out into the world." + +As he spoke, the cloak, as if seized suddenly +with a new idea, bounded forward and went +skimming through the air, faster than the very +fastest railway train. + +"Gee-up! gee-up!" cried Prince Dolor in +great excitement. "This is as good as riding a +race." + +And he patted the cloak as if it had been a +horse--that is, in the way he supposed horses +ought to be patted--and tossed his head back +to meet the fresh breeze, and pulled his coat +collar up and his hat down as he felt the wind +grow keener and colder--colder than anything he +had ever known. + +"What does it matter, though?" said he. +"I'm a boy, and boys ought not to mind anything." + +Still, for all his good-will, by and by, he began +to shiver exceedingly; also, he had come away +without his dinner, and he grew frightfully +hungry. And to add to everything, the sunshiny +day changed into rain, and being high +up, in the very midst of the clouds, he got soaked +through and through in a very few minutes. + +"Shall I turn back?" meditated he. +"Suppose I say `Abracadabra?' " + +Here he stopped, for already the cloak gave +an obedient lurch, as if it were expecting to be +sent home immediately. + +"No--I can't--I can't go back! I must go +forward and see the world. But oh! if I had +but the shabbiest old rug to shelter me from the +rain, or the driest morsel of bread and cheese, +just to keep me from starving! Still, I don't +much mind; I'm a prince, and ought to be able +to stand anything. Hold on, cloak, we'll make +the best of it." + +It was a most curious circumstance, but no +sooner had he said this than he felt stealing over +his knees something warm and soft; in fact, a +most beautiful bearskin, which folded itself +round him quite naturally, and cuddled him up +as closely as if he had been the cub of the kind +old mother-bear that once owned it. Then feeling +in his pocket, which suddenly stuck out in +a marvelous way, he found, not exactly bread +and cheese, nor even sandwiches, but a packet +of the most delicious food he had ever tasted. +It was not meat, nor pudding, but a combination +of both, and it served him excellently for +both. He ate his dinner with the greatest +gusto imaginable, till he grew so thirsty he did +not know what to do. + +"Couldn't I have just one drop of water, if +it didn't trouble you too much, kindest of godmothers?" + +For he really thought this want was beyond +her power to supply. All the water which supplied +Hopeless Tower was pumped up with difficulty +from a deep artesian well--there were +such things known in Nomansland--which had +been made at the foot of it. But around, for +miles upon miles, the desolate plain was perfectly +dry. And above it, high in the air, how +could he expect to find a well, or to get even +a drop of water? + +He forgot one thing--the rain. While he +spoke, it came on in another wild burst, as if +the clouds had poured themselves out in a +passion of crying, wetting him certainly, but +leaving behind, in a large glass vessel which he +had never noticed before, enough water to +quench the thirst of two or three boys at least. +And it was so fresh, so pure--as water from the +clouds always is when it does not catch the soot +from city chimneys and other defilements--that +he drank it, every drop, with the greatest +delight and content. + +Also, as soon as it was empty the rain filled it +again, so that he was able to wash his face and +hands and refresh himself exceedingly. Then +the sun came out and dried him in no time. +After that he curled himself up under the bear- +skin rug, and though he determined to be the +most wide-awake boy imaginable, being so +exceedingly snug and warm and comfortable, +Prince Dolor condescended to shut his eyes just +for one minute. The next minute he was sound +asleep. + +When he awoke, he found himself floating +over a country quite unlike anything he had +ever seen before. + +Yet it was nothing but what most of you +children see every day and never notice it--a pretty +country landscape, like England, Scotland, +France, or any other land you choose to name. +It had no particular features--nothing in it +grand or lovely--was simply pretty, nothing +more; yet to Prince Dolor, who had never gone +beyond his lonely tower and level plain, it +appeared the most charming sight imaginable. + +First, there was a river. It came tumbling +down the hillside, frothing and foaming, playing +at hide-and-seek among the rocks, then +bursting out in noisy fun like a child, to bury +itself in deep, still pools. Afterward it went +steadily on for a while, like a good grown-up +person, till it came to another big rock, where it +misbehaved itself extremely. It turned into a +cataract, and went tumbling over and over, +after a fashion that made the prince--who had +never seen water before, except in his bath or +his drinking-cup--clap his hands with delight. + +"It is so active, so alive! I like things active +and alive!" cried he, and watched it shimmering +and dancing, whirling and leaping, till, after +a few windings and vagaries, it settled into a +respectable stream. After that it went along, +deep and quiet, but flowing steadily on, till it +reached a large lake, into which it slipped and +so ended its course. + +All this the boy saw, either with his own +naked eye or through his gold spectacles. He +saw also as in a picture, beautiful but silent, +many other things which struck him with +wonder, especially a grove of trees. + +Only think, to have lived to his age (which +he himself did not know, as he did not know his +own birthday) and never to have seen trees! +As he floated over these oaks, they seemed to +him--trunk, branches, and leaves--the most +curious sight imaginable. + +"If I could only get nearer, so as to touch +them," said he, and immediately the obedient +cloak ducked down; Prince Dolor made a +snatch at the topmost twig of the tallest tree, +and caught a bunch of leaves in his hand. + +Just a bunch of green leaves--such as we see +in myriads; watching them bud, grow, fall, and +then kicking them along on the ground as if +they were worth nothing. Yet how wonderful +they are--every one of them a little different. +I don't suppose you could ever find two leaves +exactly alike in form, color, and size--no more +than you could find two faces alike, or two +characters exactly the same. The plan of this world +is infinite similarity and yet infinite variety. + +Prince Dolor examined his leaves with the +greatest curiosity--and also a little caterpillar +that he found walking over one of them. He +coaxed it to take an additional walk over his +finger, which it did with the greatest dignity +and decorum, as if it, Mr. Caterpillar, were the +most important individual in existence. It +amused him for a long time; and when a sudden +gust of wind blew it overboard, leaves and all, +he felt quite disconsolate. + +"Still there must be many live creatures in +the world besides caterpillars. I should like to +see a few of them." + +The cloak gave a little dip down, as if to say +"All right, my Prince," and bore him across the +oak forest to a long fertile valley--called in +Scotland a strath and in England a weald, but +what they call it in the tongue of Nomansland +I do not know. It was made up of cornfields, +pasturefields, lanes, hedges, brooks, and ponds. +Also, in it were what the prince desired to see +--a quantity of living creatures, wild and tame. +Cows and horses, lambs and sheep, fed in the +meadows; pigs and fowls walked about the +farm-yards; and in lonelier places hares +scudded, rabbits burrowed, and pheasants and +partridges, with many other smaller birds, +inhabited the fields and woods. + +Through his wonderful spectacles the Prince +could see everything; but, as I said, it was a +silent picture; he was too high up to catch +anything except a faint murmur, which only +aroused his anxiety to hear more. + +"I have as good as two pairs of eyes," he +thought. "I wonder if my godmother would +give me a second pair of ears." + +Scarcely had he spoken than he found lying +on his lap the most curious little parcel, all done +up in silvery paper. And it contained--what +do you think? Actually a pair of silver ears, +which, when he tried them on, fitted so exactly +over his own that he hardly felt them, except +for the difference they made in his hearing. + +There is something which we listen to daily +and never notice. I mean the sounds of the +visible world, animate and inanimate. Winds +blowing, waters flowing, trees stirring, insects +whirring (dear me! I am quite unconsciously +writing rhyme), with the various cries of birds +and beasts,--lowing cattle, bleating sheep, +grunting pigs, and cackling hens,--all the +infinite discords that somehow or other make a +beautiful harmony. + +We hear this, and are so accustomed to it that +we think nothing of it; but Prince Dolor, who +had lived all his days in the dead silence of +Hopeless Tower, heard it for the first time. +And oh! if you had seen his face. + +He listened, listened, as if he could never have +done listening. And he looked and looked, as if +he could not gaze enough. Above all, the motion +of the animals delighted him: cows walking, +horses galloping, little lambs and calves +running races across the meadows, were such a +treat for him to watch--he that was always so +quiet. But, these creatures having four legs, +and he only two, the difference did not strike +him painfully. + +Still, by and by, after the fashion of children, +--and I fear, of many big people too,--he began +to want something more than he had, something +fresh and new. + +"Godmother," he said, having now begun to +believe that, whether he saw her or not, he could +always speak to her with full confidence that +she would hear him--"Godmother, all these +creatures I like exceedingly; but I should like +better to see a creature like myself. Couldn't +you show me just one little boy?" + +There was a sigh behind him,--it might have +been only the wind,--and the cloak remained +so long balanced motionless in air that he was +half afraid his godmother had forgotten him, +or was offended with him for asking too much. +Suddenly a shrill whistle startled him, even +through his silver ears, and looking downward, +he saw start up from behind a bush on a common, +something---- + +Neither a sheep nor a horse nor a cow--nothing +upon four legs. This creature had only +two; but they were long, straight, and strong. +And it had a lithe, active body, and a curly head +of black hair set upon its shoulders. It was a +boy, a shepherd-boy, about the Prince's own +age--but, oh! so different. + +Not that he was an ugly boy--though his face +was almost as red as his hands, and his shaggy +hair matted like the backs of his own sheep. +He was rather a nice-looking lad; and seemed +so bright and healthy and good-tempered-- +"jolly" would be the word, only I am not sure +if they have such a one in the elegant language +of Nomansland--that the little Prince watched +him with great admiration. + +"Might he come and play with me? I would +drop down to the ground to him, or fetch him up +to me here. Oh, how nice it would be if I only +had a little boy to play with me." + +But the cloak, usually so obedient to his +wishes, disobeyed him now. There were evi- +dently some things which his godmother either +could not or would not give. The cloak hung +stationary, high in air, never attempting to +descend. The shepherd-lad evidently took it for +a large bird, and, shading his eyes, looked up at +it, making the Prince's heart beat fast. + +However, nothing ensued. The boy turned +round, with a long, loud whistle--seemingly his +usual and only way of expressing his feelings. +He could not make the thing out exactly--it was +a rather mysterious affair, but it did not trouble +him much--he was not an "examining" boy. + +Then, stretching himself, for he had been +evidently half asleep, he began flopping his +shoulders with his arms to wake and warm himself; +while his dog, a rough collie, who had been +guarding the sheep meanwhile, began to jump +upon him, barking with delight. + +"Down, Snap, down: Stop that, or I'll thrash +you," the Prince heard him say; though with +such a rough, hard voice and queer pronunciation +that it was difficult to make the words out. +"Hollo! Let's warm ourselves by a race." + +They started off together, boy and dog--barking +and shouting, till it was doubtful which +made the more noise or ran the faster. A +regular steeplechase it was: first across the level +common, greatly disturbing the quiet sheep; and +then tearing away across country, scrambling +through hedges and leaping ditches, and tumbling +up and down over plowed fields. They did +not seem to have anything to run for--but as if +they did it, both of them, for the mere pleasure +of motion. + +And what a pleasure that seemed! To the +dog of course, but scarcely less so to the boy. +How he skimmed along over the ground--his +cheeks glowing, and his hair flying, and his legs +--oh, what a pair of legs he had! + +Prince Dolor watched him with great intentness, +and in a state of excitement almost equal +to that of the runner himself--for a while. +Then the sweet, pale face grew a trifle paler, the +lips began to quiver, and the eyes to fill. + +"How nice it must be to run like that!" he +said softly, thinking that never--no, never in +this world--would he be able to do the same. + +Now he understood what his godmother had +meant when she gave him his traveling-cloak, +and why he had heard that sigh--he was sure it +was hers--when he had asked to see "just one +little boy." + +"I think I had rather not look at him again," +said the poor little Prince, drawing himself +back into the center of his cloak, and resuming +his favorite posture, sitting like a Turk, with +his arms wrapped round his feeble, useless legs. + +"You're no good to me," he said, patting +them mournfully. "You never will be any good +to me. I wonder why I had you at all. I +wonder why I was born at all, since I was not +to grow up like other boys. Why not?" + +A question so strange, so sad, yet so often +occurring in some form or other in this world +--as you will find, my children, when you are +older--that even if he had put it to his mother +she could only have answered it, as we have to +answer many as difficult things, by simply saying, +"I don't know." There is much that we do +not know and cannot understand--we big folks +no more than you little ones. We have to accept +it all just as you have to accept anything which +your parents may tell you, even though you +don't as yet see the reason of it. You may sometime, +if you do exactly as they tell you, and are +content to wait. + +Prince Dolor sat a good while thus, or it +appeared to him a good while, so many thoughts +came and went through his poor young mind-- +thoughts of great bitterness, which, little though +he was, seemed to make him grow years older +in a few minutes. + +Then he fancied the cloak began to rock +gently to and fro, with a soothing kind of motion, +as if he were in somebody's arms: somebody +who did not speak, but loved him and comforted +him without need of words; not by deceiving +him with false encouragement or hope, +but by making him see the plain, hard truth in +all its hardness, and thus letting him quietly +face it, till it grew softened down, and did not +seem nearly so dreadful after all. + +Through the dreary silence and blankness, +for he had placed himself so that he could see +nothing but the sky, and had taken off his silver +ears as well as his gold spectacles--what was the +use of either when he had no legs with which to +walk or run?--up from below there rose a +delicious sound. + +You have heard it hundreds of times, my +children, and so have I. When I was a child I +thought there was nothing so sweet; and I think +so still. It was just the song of a skylark, +mounting higher and higher from the ground, +till it came so close that Prince Dolor could +distinguish his quivering wings and tiny body, +almost too tiny to contain such a gush of music. + +"Oh, you beautiful, beautiful bird!" cried he; +"I should dearly like to take you in and cuddle +you. That is, if I could--if I dared." + +But he hesitated. The little brown creature +with its loud heavenly voice almost made him +afraid. Nevertheless, it also made him happy; +and he watched and listened--so absorbed that +he forgot all regret and pain, forgot everything +in the world except the little lark. + +It soared and soared, and he was just +wondering if it would soar out of sight, and what in +the world he should do when it was gone, when +it suddenly closed its wings, as larks do when +they mean to drop to the ground. But, instead +of dropping to the ground, it dropped right into +the little boy's breast. + +What felicity! If it would only stay! A +tiny, soft thing to fondle and kiss, to sing to +him all day long, and be his playfellow and +companion, tame and tender, while to the rest of the +world it was a wild bird of the air. What a +pride, what a delight! To have something that +nobody else had--something all his own. As the +traveling-cloak traveled on, he little heeded +where, and the lark still stayed, nestled down +in his bosom, hopped from his hand to his +shoulder, and kissed him with its dainty beak, +as if it loved him, Prince Dolor forgot all his +grief, and was entirely happy. + +But when he got in sight of Hopeless Tower +a painful thought struck him. + +"My pretty bird, what am I to do with you? +If I take you into my room and shut you up +there, you, a wild skylark of the air, what will +become of you? I am used to this, but you are +not. You will be so miserable; and suppose +my nurse should find you--she who can't bear +the sound of singing? Besides, I remember her +once telling me that the nicest thing she ever +ate in her life was lark pie!" + +The little boy shivered all over at the thought. +And, though the merry lark immediately broke +into the loudest carol, as if saying derisively +that he defied anybody to eat him, still, Prince +Dolor was very uneasy. In another minute he +had made up his mind. + +"No, my bird, nothing so dreadful shall +happen to you if I can help it; I would rather +do without you altogether. Yes, I'll try. Fly +away, my darling, my beautiful! Good-by, my +merry, merry bird." + +Opening his two caressing hands, in which, +as if for protection, he had folded it, he let the +lark go. It lingered a minute, perching on the +rim of the cloak, and looking at him with eyes +of almost human tenderness; then away it flew, +far up into the blue sky. It was only a bird. + +But some time after, when Prince Dolor had +eaten his supper--somewhat drearily, except +for the thought that he could not possibly sup +off lark pie now--and gone quietly to bed, the +old familiar little bed, where he was accustomed +to sleep, or lie awake contentedly thinking-- +suddenly he heard outside the window a little +faint carol--faint but cheerful--cheerful even +though it was the middle of the night. + +The dear little lark! it had not flown away, +after all. And it was truly the most extraordinary +bird, for, unlike ordinary larks, it +kept hovering about the tower in the silence and +darkness of the night, outside the window or +over the roof. Whenever he listened for a +moment, he heard it singing still. + +He went to sleep as happy as a king. + + + +CHAPTER VII + +Happy as a king." How far kings +are happy I cannot say, no more +than could Prince Dolor, though he +had once been a king himself. But +he remembered nothing about it, and there was +nobody to tell him, except his nurse, who had +been forbidden upon pain of death to let him +know anything about his dead parents, or the +king his uncle, or indeed any part of his own +history. + +Sometimes he speculated about himself, +whether he had had a father and mother as other +little boys had what they had been like, and +why he had never seen them. But, knowing +nothing about them, he did not miss them--only +once or twice, reading pretty stories about little +children and their mothers, who helped them +when they were in difficulty and comforted +them when they were sick, he feeling ill and dull +and lonely, wondered what had become of his +mother and why she never came to see him. + +Then, in his history lessons, of course he read +about kings and princes, and the governments +of different countries, and the events that +happened there. And though he but faintly took in +all this, still he did take it in a little, and worried +his young brain about it, and perplexed his +nurse with questions, to which she returned +sharp and mysterious answers, which only set +him thinking the more. + +He had plenty of time for thinking. After +his last journey in the traveling-cloak, the +journey which had given him so much pain, his +desire to see the world somehow faded away. +He contented himself with reading his books, +and looking out of the tower windows, and +listening to his beloved little lark, which had come +home with him that day, and never left him +again. + +True, it kept out of the way; and though his +nurse sometimes dimly heard it, and said +"What is that horrid noise outside?" she never +got the faintest chance of making it into a lark +pie. Prince Dolor had his pet all to himself, +and though he seldom saw it, he knew it was near +him, and he caught continually, at odd hours of +the day, and even in the night, fragments of its +delicious song. + +All during the winter--so far as there ever +was any difference between summer and winter +in Hopeless Tower--the little bird cheered and +amused him. He scarcely needed anything +more--not even his traveling-cloak, which lay +bundled up unnoticed in a corner, tied up in its +innumerable knots. + +Nor did his godmother come near him. It +seemed as if she had given these treasures and +left him alone--to use them or lose them, apply +them or misapply them, according to his own +choice. That is all we can do with children +when they grow into big children old enough to +distinguish between right and wrong, and too +old to be forced to do either. + +Prince Dolor was now quite a big boy. Not +tall--alas! he never could be that, with his poor +little shrunken legs, which were of no use, only +an encumbrance. But he was stout and strong, +with great sturdy shoulders, and muscular +arms, upon which he could swing himself about +almost like a monkey. As if in compensation +for his useless lower limbs, Nature had given +to these extra strength and activity. His face, +too, was very handsome; thinner, firmer, more +manly; but still the sweet face of his childhood +--his mother's own face. + +How his mother would have liked to look at +him! Perhaps she did--who knows? + +The boy was not a stupid boy either. He +could learn almost anything he chose--and he +did choose, which was more than half the battle. +He never gave up his lessons till he had learned +them all--never thought it a punishment that +he had to work at them, and that they cost him a +deal of trouble sometimes. + +"But," thought he, "men work, and it must +be so grand to be a man--a prince too; and I +fancy princes work harder than anybody-- +except kings. The princes I read about generally +turn into kings. I wonder"--the boy was always +wondering--"Nurse,"--and one day he +startled her with a sudden question,--"tell me-- +shall I ever be a king?" + +The woman stood, perplexed beyond expression. +So long a time had passed by since her +crime--if it were a crime--and her sentence, +that she now seldom thought of either. Even +her punishment--to be shut up for life in Hopeless +Tower--she had gradually got used to. +Used also to the little lame Prince, her charge +--whom at first she had hated, though she carefully +did everything to keep him alive, since +upon him her own life hung. + +But latterly she had ceased to hate him, and, +in a sort of way, almost loved him--at least, +enough to be sorry for him--an innocent child, +imprisoned here till he grew into an old man, +and became a dull, worn-out creature like +herself. Sometimes, watching him, she felt more +sorry for him than even for herself; and then, +seeing she looked a less miserable and ugly +woman, he did not shrink from her as usual. + +He did not now. "Nurse--dear nurse," said +he, "I don't mean to vex you, but tell me what +is a king? shall I ever be one?" + +When she began to think less of herself and +more of the child, the woman's courage +increased. The idea came to her--what harm +would it be, even if he did know his own history? +Perhaps he ought to know it--for there had +been various ups and downs, usurpations, +revolutions, and restorations in Nomansland, as in +most other countries. Something might happen +--who could tell? Changes might occur. Possibly +a crown would even yet be set upon those +pretty, fair curls--which she began to think +prettier than ever when she saw the imaginary +coronet upon them. + +She sat down, considering whether her oath, +never to "say a word" to Prince Dolor about +himself, would be broken if she were to take a +pencil and write what was to be told. A mere +quibble--a mean, miserable quibble. But then +she was a miserable woman, more to be pitied +than scorned. + +After long doubt, and with great trepidation, +she put her fingers to her lips, and taking the +Prince's slate--with the sponge tied to it, ready +to rub out the writing in a minute--she wrote: + +"You are a king." + +Prince Dolor started. His face grew pale, +and then flushed all over; he held himself erect. +Lame as he was, anybody could see he was born +to be a king. + +"Hush!" said the nurse, as he was beginning +to speak. And then, terribly frightened all the +while,--people who have done wrong always +are frightened,--she wrote down in a few +hurried sentences his history. How his parents +had died--his uncle had usurped his throne, and +sent him to end his days in this lonely tower. + +"I, too," added she, bursting into tears. +"Unless, indeed, you could get out into the world, +and fight for your rights like a man. And +fight for me also, my Prince, that I may not die +in this desolate place." + +"Poor old nurse!" said the boy compassion- +ately. For somehow, boy as he was, when he +heard he was born to be a king, he felt like a man +--like a king--who could afford to be tender +because he was strong. + +He scarcely slept that night, and even though +he heard his little lark singing in the sunrise, +he barely listened to it. Things more serious +and important had taken possession of his mind. + +"Suppose," thought he, "I were to do as she +says, and go out in the world, no matter how it +hurts me--the world of people, active people, as +that boy I saw. They might only laugh at me-- +poor helpless creature that I am; but still I +might show them I could do something. At any +rate, I might go and see if there were anything +for me to do. Godmother, help me!" + +It was so long since he had asked her help +that he was hardly surprised when he got no +answer--only the little lark outside the window +sang louder and louder, and the sun rose, +flooding the room with light. + +Prince Dolor sprang out of bed, and began +dressing himself, which was hard work, for he +was not used to it--he had always been accustomed +to depend upon his nurse for everything. + +"But I must now learn to be independent," +thought he. "Fancy a king being dressed like a +baby!" + +So he did the best he could,--awkwardly but +cheerily,--and then he leaped to the corner +where lay his traveling-cloak, untied it as +before, and watched it unrolling itself--which +it did rapidly, with a hearty good-will, as if +quite tired of idleness. So was Prince Dolor--or +felt as if he were. He jumped into the middle +of it, said his charm, and was out through the +skylight immediately. + +"Good-by, pretty lark!" he shouted, as he +passed it on the wing, still warbling its carol +to the newly risen sun. "You have been my +pleasure, my delight; now I must go and work. +Sing to old nurse till I come back again. Perhaps +she'll hear you--perhaps she won't--but +it will do her good all the same. Good-by!" + +But, as the cloak hung irresolute in air, he +suddenly remembered that he had not determined +where to go--indeed, he did not know, +and there was nobody to tell him. + +"Godmother," he cried, in much perplexity, +"you know what I want,--at least, I hope you +do, for I hardly do myself--take me where I +ought to go; show me whatever I ought to see-- +never mind what I like to see," as a sudden idea +came into his mind that he might see many painful +and disagreeable things. But this journey +was not for pleasure as before. He was not +a baby now, to do nothing but play--big boys +do not always play. Nor men neither--they +work. Thus much Prince Dolor knew--though +very little more. + +As the cloak started off, traveling faster than +he had ever known it to do,--through sky-land +and cloud land, over freezing mountain-tops, +and desolate stretches of forest, and smiling +cultivated plains, and great lakes that seemed +to him almost as shoreless as the sea,--he was +often rather frightened. But he crouched down, +silent and quiet; what was the use of making a +fuss? and, wrapping himself up in his bear-skin, +waited for what was to happen. + +After some time he heard a murmur in the +distance, increasing more and more till it grew +like the hum of a gigantic hive of bees. And, +stretching his chin over the rim of his cloak, +Prince Dolor saw--far, far below him, yet, with +his gold spectacles and silver ears on, he could +distinctly hear and see--what? + +Most of us have some time or other visited a +great metropolis--have wandered through its +network of streets--lost ourselves in its crowds +of people--looked up at its tall rows of houses, +its grand public buildings, churches, and +squares. Also, perhaps, we have peeped into its +miserable little back alleys, where dirty +children play in gutters all day and half the night-- +even young boys go about picking pockets, with +nobody to tell them it is wrong except the policeman, +and he simply takes them off to prison. +And all this wretchedness is close behind the +grandeur--like the two sides of the leaf of a +book. + +An awful sight is a large city, seen any how +from any where. But, suppose you were to see +it from the upper air, where, with your eyes +and ears open, you could take in everything at +once? What would it look like? How would +you feel about it? I hardly know myself. Do +you? + +Prince Dolor had need to be a king--that is, +a boy with a kingly nature--to be able to stand +such a sight without being utterly overcome. +But he was very much bewildered--as bewildered +as a blind person who is suddenly made to +see. + +He gazed down on the city below him, and +then put his hand over his eyes. + +"I can't bear to look at it, it is so beautiful-- +so dreadful. And I don't understand it--not +one bit. There is nobody to tell me about it. +I wish I had somebody to speak to." + +"Do you? Then pray speak to me. I was +always considered good at conversation." + +The voice that squeaked out this reply was an +excellent imitation of the human one, though it +came only from a bird. No lark this time, however, +but a great black and white creature that +flew into the cloak, and began walking round +and round on the edge of it with a dignified +stride, one foot before the other, like any +unfeathered biped you could name. + +"I haven't the honor of your acquaintance, +sir," said the boy politely. + +"Ma'am, if you please. I am a mother bird, +and my name is Mag, and I shall be happy to +tell you everything you want to know. For I +know a great deal; and I enjoy talking. My +family is of great antiquity; we have built in +this palace for hundreds--that is to say, dozens +of years. I am intimately acquainted with the +king, the queen, and the little princes and +princesses--also the maids of honor, and all the +inhabitants of the city. I talk a good deal, but I +always talk sense, and I daresay I should be ex- +ceedingly useful to a poor little ignorant boy +like you." + +"I am a prince," said the other gently. + +"All right. And I am a magpie. You will +find me a most respectable bird." + +"I have no doubt of it," was the polite answer +--though he thought in his own mind that Mag +must have a very good opinion of herself. But +she was a lady and a stranger, so of course +he was civil to her. + +She settled herself at his elbow, and began +to chatter away, pointing out with one skinny +claw, while she balanced herself on the other, +every object of interest, evidently believing, as +no doubt all its inhabitants did, that there was +no capital in the world like the great metropolis +of Nomansland. + +I have not seen it, and therefore cannot +describe it, so we will just take it upon trust, and +suppose it to be, like every other fine city, the +finest city that ever was built. Mag said so-- +and of course she knew. + +Nevertheless, there were a few things in it +which surprised Prince Dolor--and, as he had +said, he could not understand them at all. One +half the people seemed so happy and busy-- +hurrying up and down the full streets, or driv- +ing lazily along the parks in their grand +carriages, while the other half were so wretched +and miserable. + +"Can't the world be made a little more level? +I would try to do it if I were a king." + +"But you're not the king: only a little goose +of a boy," returned the magpie loftily. "And +I'm here not to explain things, only to show +them. Shall I show you the royal palace?" + +It was a very magnificent palace. It had +terraces and gardens, battlements and towers. It +extended over acres of ground, and had in it +rooms enough to accommodate half the city. Its +windows looked in all directions, but none of +them had any particular view--except a small +one, high up toward the roof, which looked out +on the Beautiful Mountains. But since the +queen died there it had been closed, boarded up, +indeed, the magpie said. It was so little and +inconvenient that nobody cared to live in it. +Besides, the lower apartments, which had no view, +were magnificent--worthy of being inhabited +by the king. + +"I should like to see the king," said Prince +Dolor. + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +What, I wonder, would be +people's idea of a king? What was +Prince Dolor's? + +Perhaps a very splendid personage, +with a crown on his head and a scepter in +his hand, sitting on a throne and judging the +people. Always doing right, and never wrong +--"The king can do no wrong" was a law laid +down in olden times. Never cross, or tired, or +sick, or suffering; perfectly handsome and well +dressed, calm and good-tempered, ready to see +and hear everybody, and discourteous to nobody; +all things always going well with him, and +nothing unpleasant ever happening. + +This, probably, was what Prince Dolor +expected to see. And what did he see? But I +must tell you how he saw it. + +"Ah," said the magpie, "no levee to-day. +The King is ill, though his Majesty does not +wish it to be generally known--it would be so +very inconvenient. He can't see you, but perhaps +you might like to go and take a look at him +in a way I often do? It is so very amusing." + +Amusing, indeed! + +The prince was just now too much excited to +talk much. Was he not going to see the king his +uncle, who had succeeded his father and +dethroned himself; had stepped into all the pleasant +things that he, Prince Dolor, ought to have +had, and shut him up in a desolate tower? What +was he like, this great, bad, clever man? Had +he got all the things he wanted, which another +ought to have had? And did he enjoy them? + +"Nobody knows," answered the magpie, just +as if she had been sitting inside the prince's +heart, instead of on the top of his shoulder. "He +is a king, and that's enough. For the rest nobody +knows." + +As she spoke, Mag flew down on to the palace +roof, where the cloak had rested, settling down +between the great stacks of chimneys as +comfortably as if on the ground. She pecked at the +tiles with her beak--truly she was a wonderful +bird--and immediately a little hole opened, a +sort of door, through which could be seen +distinctly the chamber below. + +"Now look in, my Prince. Make haste, for I +must soon shut it up again." + +But the boy hesitated. "Isn't it rude?-- +won't they think us intruding?" + +"Oh, dear no! there's a hole like this in every +palace; dozens of holes, indeed. Everybody +knows it, but nobody speaks of it. Intrusion! +Why, though the royal family are supposed to +live shut up behind stone walls ever so thick, all +the world knows that they live in a glass house +where everybody can see them and throw a stone +at them. Now pop down on your knees, and +take a peep at his Majesty + +His Majesty! + +The Prince gazed eagerly down into a large +room, the largest room he had ever beheld, with +furniture and hangings grander than anything +he could have ever imagined. A stray sunbeam, +coming through a crevice of the darkened windows, +struck across the carpet, and it was the +loveliest carpet ever woven--just like a bed of +flowers to walk over; only nobody walked over +it, the room being perfectly empty and silent. + +"Where is the King?" asked the puzzled boy. + +"There," said Mag, pointing with one wrinkled +claw to a magnificent bed, large enough to +contain six people. In the center of it, just +visible under the silken counterpane,--quite +straight and still,--with its head on the lace +pillow, lay a small figure, something like wax- +work, fast asleep--very fast asleep! There was +a number of sparkling rings on the tiny yellow +hands, that were curled a little, helplessly, like +a baby's, outside the coverlet; the eyes were +shut, the nose looked sharp and thin, and the +long gray beard hid the mouth and lay over the +breast. A sight not ugly nor frightening, only +solemn and quiet. And so very silent--two little +flies buzzing about the curtains of the bed being +the only audible sound. + +"Is that the King?" whispered Prince Dolor. + +"Yes," replied the bird. + +He had been angry--furiously angry-- +ever since he knew how his uncle had taken the +crown, and sent him, a poor little helpless child, +to be shut up for life, just as if he had been dead. +Many times the boy had felt as if, king as he +was, he should like to strike him, this great, +strong, wicked man. + +Why, you might as well have struck a baby! +How helpless he lay, with his eyes shut, and his +idle hands folded: they had no more work to do, +bad or good. + +"What is the matter with him?" asked the +Prince. + +"He is dead," said the Magpie, with a croak. + +No, there was not the least use in being angry +with him now. On the contrary, the Prince felt +almost sorry for him, except that he looked so +peaceful with all his cares at rest. And this was +being dead? So even kings died? + +"Well, well, he hadn't an easy life, folk say, +for all his grandeur. Perhaps he is glad it is +over. Good-by, your Majesty." + +With another cheerful tap of her beak, Mistress +Mag shut down the little door in the tiles, +and Prince Dolor's first and last sight of his +uncle was ended. + +He sat in the center of his traveling-cloak, +silent and thoughtful. + +"What shall we do now?" said the magpie. +"There's nothing much more to be done with +his majesty, except a fine funeral, which I shall +certainly go and see. All the world will. He +interested the world exceedingly when he was +alive, and he ought to do it now he's dead--just +once more. And since he can't hear me, I may +as well say that, on the whole, his majesty is +much better dead than alive--if we can only get +somebody in his place. There'll be such a row +in the city presently. Suppose we float up again +and see it all--at a safe distance, though. It +will be such fun!" + +"What will be fun?" + +"A revolution." + +Whether anybody except a magpie would have +called it "fun" I don't know, but it certainly +was a remarkable scene. + +As soon as the cathedral bell began to toll and +the minute-guns to fire, announcing to the kingdom +that it was without a king, the people +gathered in crowds, stopping at street corners +to talk together. The murmur now and then +rose into a shout, and the shout into a roar. +When Prince Dolor, quietly floating in upper air, +caught the sound of their different and opposite +cries, it seemed to him as if the whole city had +gone mad together. + +"Long live the king!" "The king is dead-- +down with the king!" "Down with the crown, +and the king too!" "Hurrah for the republic!" +"Hurrah for no government at all!" + +Such were the shouts which traveled up to the +traveling-cloak. And then began--oh, what a +scene! + +When you children are grown men and women +--or before--you will hear and read in books +about what are called revolutions--earnestly I +trust that neither I nor you may ever see one. +But they have happened, and may happen again, +in other countries besides Nomansland, when +wicked kings have helped to make their people +wicked too, or out of an unrighteous nation have +sprung rulers equally bad; or, without either of +these causes, when a restless country has fancied +any change better than no change at all. + +For me, I don't like changes, unless pretty +sure that they are for good. And how good can +come out of absolute evil--the horrible evil that +went on this night under Prince Dolor's very +eyes--soldiers shooting down people by hundreds +in the streets, scaffolds erected, and heads +dropping off--houses burned, and women and +children murdered--this is more than I can +understand. + +But all these things you will find in history, +my children, and must by and by judge for yourselves +the right and wrong of them, as far as +anybody ever can judge. + +Prince Dolor saw it all. Things happened +so fast one after another that they quite +confused his faculties. + +"Oh, let me go home," he cried at last, +stopping his ears and shutting his eyes; "only let me +go home!" for even his lonely tower seemed +home, and its dreariness and silence absolute +paradise after all this. + +"Good-by, then," said the magpie, flapping +her wings. She had been chatting incessantly +all day and all night, for it was actually thus +long that Prince Dolor had been hovering over +the city, neither eating nor sleeping, with all +these terrible things happening under his very +eyes. "You've had enough, I suppose, of seeing +the world?" + +"Oh, I have--I have!" cried the prince, with +a shudder. + +"That is, till next time. All right, your royal +highness. You don't know me, but I know you. +We may meet again some time." + +She looked at him with her clear, piercing +eyes, sharp enough to see through everything, +and it seemed as if they changed from bird's +eyes to human eyes--the very eyes of his godmother, +whom he had not seen for ever so long. +But the minute afterward she became only a +bird, and with a screech and a chatter, spread +her wings and flew away. + +Prince Dolor fell into a kind of swoon of +utter misery, bewilderment, and exhaustion, and +when he awoke he found himself in his own room +--alone and quiet--with the dawn just breaking, +and the long rim of yellow light in the horizon +glimmering through the window-panes. + + + +CHAPTER IX + +When Prince Dolor sat up in bed, +trying to remember where he was, +whither he had been, and what he +had seen the day before, he +perceived that his room was empty. + +Generally his nurse rather worried him by +breaking his slumbers, coming in and "setting +things to rights," as she called it. Now the dust +lay thick upon chairs and tables; there was no +harsh voice heard to scold him for not getting +up immediately, which, I am sorry to say, this +boy did not always do. For he so enjoyed lying +still, and thinking lazily about everything or +nothing, that, if he had not tried hard against it, +he would certainly have become like those celebrated + + "Two little men + Who lay in their bed till the clock struck ten." + +It was striking ten now, and still no nurse was +to be seen. He was rather relieved at first, for +he felt so tired; and besides, when he stretched +out his arm, he found to his dismay that he had +gone to bed in his clothes. + +Very uncomfortable he felt, of course; and +just a little frightened. Especially when he +began to call and call again, but nobody +answered. Often he used to think how nice it +would be to get rid of his nurse and live in this +tower all by himself--like a sort of monarch +able to do everything he liked, and leave undone +all that he did not want to do; but now that this +seemed really to have happened, he did not like +it at all. + +"Nurse,--dear nurse,--please come back!" he +called out. "Come back, and I will be the best +boy in all the land." + +And when she did not come back, and nothing +but silence answered his lamentable call, he very +nearly began to cry. + +"This won't do," he said at last, dashing the +tears from his eyes. "It's just like a baby, and +I'm a big boy--shall be a man some day. What +has happened, I wonder? I'll go and see." + +He sprang out of bed,--not to his feet, alas! +but to his poor little weak knees, and crawled on +them from room to room. All the four chambers +were deserted--not forlorn or untidy, for everything +seemed to have been done for his comfort +--the breakfast and dinner things were laid, the +food spread in order. He might live "like a +prince," as the proverb is, for several days. +But the place was entirely forsaken--there was +evidently not a creature but himself in the +solitary tower. + +A great fear came upon the poor boy. Lonely +as his life had been, he had never known what it +was to be absolutely alone. A kind of despair +seized him--no violent anger or terror, but a +sort of patient desolation. + +"What in the world am I to do?" thought he, +and sat down in the middle of the floor, half +inclined to believe that it would be better to give +up entirely, lay himself down, and die. + +This feeling, however, did not last long, for +he was young and strong, and, I said before, by +nature a very courageous boy. There came into +his head, somehow or other, a proverb that his +nurse had taught him--the people of Nomansland +were very fond of proverbs: + + "For every evil under the sun + There is a remedy, or there's none; + If there is one, try to find it-- + If there isn't, never mind it." + + +"I wonder is there a remedy now, and could I +find it?" cried the Prince, jumping up and +looking out of the window. + +No help there. He only saw the broad, bleak, +sunshiny plain--that is, at first. But by and by, +in the circle of mud that surrounded the base +of the tower, he perceived distinctly the marks +of a horse's feet, and just in the spot where the +deaf-mute was accustomed to tie up his great +black charger, while he himself ascended, there +lay the remains of a bundle of hay and a feed of +corn. + +"Yes, that's it. He has come and gone, taking +nurse away with him. Poor nurse! how glad +she would be to go!" + +That was Prince Dolor's first thought. His +second--wasn't it natural?--was a passionate +indignation at her cruelty--at the cruelty of all +the world toward him, a poor little helpless boy. +Then he determined, forsaken as he was, to try +and hold on to the last, and not to die as long as +he could possibly help it. + +Anyhow, it would be easier to die here than +out in the world, among the terrible doings +which he had just beheld--from the midst of +which, it suddenly struck him, the deaf-mute +had come, contriving somehow to make the nurse +understand that the king was dead, and she need +have no fear in going back to the capital, where +there was a grand revolution, and everything +turned upside down. So, of course, she had gone. +"I hope she'll enjoy it, miserable woman--if +they don't cut off her head too." + +And then a kind of remorse smote him for +feeling so bitterly toward her, after all the +years she had taken care of him--grudgingly, +perhaps, and coldly; still she had taken care +of him, and that even to the last: for, as I have +said, all his four rooms were as tidy as possible, +and his meals laid out, that he might have no +more trouble than could be helped. + +"Possibly she did not mean to be cruel. I +won't judge her," said he. And afterward he +was very glad that he had so determined. + +For the second time he tried to dress himself, +and then to do everything he could for himself-- +even to sweeping up the hearth and putting on +more coals. "It's a funny thing for a prince +to have to do," said he, laughing. "But my +godmother once said princes need never mind +doing anything." + +And then he thought a little of his godmother. +Not of summoning her, or asking her to help +him,--she had evidently left him to help himself, +and he was determined to try his best to +do it, being a very proud and independent boy, +--but he remembered her tenderly and regret- +fully, as if even she had been a little hard upon +him--poor, forlorn boy that he was. But he +seemed to have seen and learned so much within +the last few days that he scarcely felt like +a boy, but a man--until he went to bed at night. + +When I was a child, I used often to think +how nice it would be to live in a little house +all by my own self--a house built high up in +a tree, or far away in a forest, or halfway up +a hillside so deliciously alone and independent. +Not a lesson to learn--but no! I always +liked learning my lessons. Anyhow, to choose +the lessons I liked best, to have as many books +to read and dolls to play with as ever I wanted: +above all, to be free and at rest, with nobody to +tease or trouble or scold me, would be charming. +For I was a lonely little thing, who liked +quietness--as many children do; which other +children, and sometimes grown-up people even, +cannot understand. And so I can understand +Prince Dolor. + +After his first despair, he was not merely +comfortable, but actually happy in his solitude, +doing everything for himself, and enjoying +everything by himself--until bedtime. Then +he did not like it at all. No more, I suppose, +than other children would have liked my im- +aginary house in a tree when they had had +sufficient of their own company. + +But the Prince had to bear it--and he did +bear it, like a prince--for fully five days. All +that time he got up in the morning and went to +bed at night without having spoken to a +creature, or, indeed, heard a single sound. +For even his little lark was silent; and as for +his traveling-cloak, either he never thought +about it, or else it had been spirited away-- +for he made no use of it, nor attempted to do so. + +A very strange existence it was, those five +lonely days. He never entirely forgot it. It +threw him back upon himself, and into himself +--in a way that all of us have to learn when we +grow up, and are the better for it; but it is +somewhat hard learning. + +On the sixth day Prince Dolor had a strange +composure in his look, but he was very grave +and thin and white. He had nearly come to the +end of his provisions--and what was to happen +next? Get out of the tower he could not: the +ladder the deaf-mute used was always carried +away again; and if it had not been, how could +the poor boy have used it? And even if he +slung or flung himself down, and by miraculous +chance came alive to the foot of the tower, how +could he run away? + +Fate had been very hard to him, or so it +seemed. + +He made up his mind to die. Not that he +wished to die; on the contrary, there was a +great deal that he wished to live to do; but if +he must die, he must. Dying did not seem so +very dreadful; not even to lie quiet like his +uncle, whom he had entirely forgiven now, and +neither be miserable nor naughty any more, and +escape all those horrible things that he had seen +going on outside the palace, in that awful place +which was called "the world." + +"It's a great deal nicer here," said the poor +little Prince, and collected all his pretty things +round him: his favorite pictures, which he +thought he should like to have near him when +he died; his books and toys--no, he had ceased +to care for toys now; he only liked them because +he had done so as a child. And there he sat +very calm and patient, like a king in his castle, +waiting for the end. + +"Still, I wish I had done something first-- +something worth doing, that somebody might +remember me by," thought he. "Suppose I +had grown a man, and had had work to do, and +people to care for, and was so useful and busy +that they liked me, and perhaps even forgot I +was lame? Then it would have been nice to +live, I think." + +A tear came into the little fellow's eyes, and +he listened intently through the dead silence +for some hopeful sound. + +Was there one?--was it his little lark, whom +he had almost forgotten? No, nothing half so +sweet. But it really was something--something +which came nearer and nearer, so that there +was no mistaking it. It was the sound of a +trumpet, one of the great silver trumpets so +admired in Nomansland. Not pleasant music, +but very bold, grand, and inspiring. + +As he listened to it the boy seemed to recall +many things which had slipped his memory for +years, and to nerve himself for whatever might +be going to happen. + +What had happened was this. + +The poor condemned woman had not been +such a wicked woman after all. Perhaps her +courage was not wholly disinterested, but she +had done a very heroic thing. As soon as she +heard of the death and burial of the King and +of the changes that were taking place in the +country, a daring idea came into her head--to +set upon the throne of Nomansland its rightful +heir. Thereupon she persuaded the deaf-mute +to take her away with him, and they galloped +like the wind from city to city, spreading +everywhere the news that Prince Dolor's death and +burial had been an invention concocted by his +wicked uncle that he was alive and well, and +the noblest young prince that ever was born. + +It was a bold stroke, but it succeeded. The +country, weary perhaps of the late King's +harsh rule, and yet glad to save itself from the +horrors of the last few days, and the still +further horrors of no rule at all, and having no +particular interest in the other young princes, +jumped at the idea of this Prince, who was the +son of their late good King and the beloved +Queen Dolorez. + +"Hurrah for Prince Dolor! Let Prince +Dolor be our sovereign!" rang from end to end +of the kingdom. Everybody tried to remember +what a dear baby he once was--how like his +mother, who had been so sweet and kind, and +his father, the finest-looking king that ever +reigned. Nobody remembered his lameness-- +or, if they did, they passed it over as a matter +of no consequence. They were determined to +have him reign over them, boy as he was-- +perhaps just because he was a boy, since in that +case the great nobles thought they should be +able to do as they liked with the country. + +Accordingly, with a fickleness not confined to +the people of Nomansland, no sooner was the +late King laid in his grave than they +pronounced him to have been a usurper; turned +all his family out of the palace, and left it +empty for the reception of the new sovereign, +whom they went to fetch with great rejoicing, +a select body of lords, gentlemen, and soldiers +traveling night and day in solemn procession +through the country until they reached Hopeless +Tower. + +There they found the Prince, sitting calmly +on the floor--deadly pale, indeed, for he +expected a quite different end from this, and +was resolved, if he had to die, to die courageously, +like a Prince and a King. + +But when they hailed him as Prince and +King, and explained to him how matters stood, +and went down on their knees before him, +offering the crown (on a velvet cushion, with +four golden tassels, each nearly as big as his +head),--small though he was and lame, which +lameness the courtiers pretended not to notice, +--there came such a glow into his face, such a +dignity into his demeanor, that he became +beautiful, king-like. + +"Yes," he said, "if you desire it, I will be +your king. And I will do my best to make my +people happy." + +Then there arose, from inside and outside +the tower, such a shout as never yet was heard +across the lonely plain. + +Prince Dolor shrank a little from the deafening +sound. "How shall I be able to rule all this +great people? You forget, my lords, that I am +only a little boy still." + +"Not so very little," was the respectful +answer. "We have searched in the records, +and found that your Royal Highness--your +Majesty, I mean--is fifteen years old." + +"Am I?" said Prince Dolor; and his first +thought was a thoroughly childish pleasure +that he should now have a birthday, with a +whole nation to keep it. Then he remembered +that his childish days were done. He was a +monarch now. Even his nurse, to whom, the +moment he saw her, he had held out his hand, +kissed it reverently, and called him ceremoniously +"his Majesty the King." + +"A king must be always a king, I suppose," +said he half-sadly, when, the ceremonies over, +he had been left to himself for just ten minutes, +to put off his boy's clothes and be reattired in +magnificent robes, before he was conveyed away +from his tower to the royal palace. + +He could take nothing with him; indeed, he +soon saw that, however politely they spoke, they +would not allow him to take anything. If he +was to be their king, he must give up his old life +forever. So he looked with tender farewell on +his old books, old toys, the furniture he knew so +well, and the familiar plain in all its levelness-- +ugly yet pleasant, simply because it was +familiar. + +"It will be a new life in a new world," said he +to himself; "but I'll remember the old things +still. And, oh! if before I go I could but once +see my dear old godmother." + +While he spoke he had laid himself down on +the bed for a minute or two, rather tired with +his grandeur, and confused by the noise of the +trumpets which kept playing incessantly down +below. He gazed, half sadly, up to the skylight, +whence there came pouring a stream of sunrays, +with innumerable motes floating there, like a +bridge thrown between heaven and earth. Sliding +down it, as if she had been made of air, came +the little old woman in gray. + +So beautiful looked she--old as she was--that +Prince Dolor was at first quite startled by the +apparition. Then he held out his arms in eager +delight. + +"Oh, godmother, you have not forsaken me!" + +"Not at all, my son. You may not have seen +me, but I have seen you many a time." + +"How?" + +"Oh, never mind. I can turn into anything +I please, you know. And I have been a bearskin +rug, and a crystal goblet--and sometimes I have +changed from inanimate to animate nature, put +on feathers, and made myself very comfortable +as a bird." + +"Ha!" laughed the prince, a new light breaking +in upon him as he caught the infection{sic} of +her tone, lively and mischievous. "Ha! ha! a +lark, for instance?" + +"Or a magpie," answered she, with a capital +imitation of Mistress Mag's croaky voice. "Do +you suppose I am always sentimental, and never +funny? If anything makes you happy, gay, or +grave, don't you think it is more than likely to +come through your old godmother?" + +"I believe that," said the boy tenderly, holding +out his arms. They clasped one another in +a close embrace. + +Suddenly Prince Dolor looked very anxious. +"You will not leave me now that I am a king? +Otherwise I had rather not be a king at all. +Promise never to forsake me!" + +The little old woman laughed gayly. "Forsake +you? that is impossible. But it is just +possible you may forsake me. Not probable +though. Your mother never did, and she was +a queen. The sweetest queen in all the world +was the Lady Dolorez." + +"Tell me about her," said the boy eagerly. +"As I get older I think I can understand more. +Do tell me." + +"Not now. You couldn't hear me for the +trumpets and the shouting. But when you are +come to the palace, ask for a long-closed upper +room, which looks out upon the Beautiful +Mountains; open it and take it for your own. +Whenever you go there you will always find me, +and we will talk together about all sorts of +things." + +"And about my mother?" + +The little old woman nodded--and kept +nodding and smiling to herself many times, as +the boy repeated over and over again the sweet +words he had never known or understood--"my +mother--my mother." + +"Now I must go," said she, as the trumpets +blared louder and louder, and the shouts of the +people showed that they would not endure any +delay. "Good-by, good-by! Open the window +and out I fly." + +Prince Dolor repeated gayly the musical +rhyme--but all the while tried to hold his +godmother fast. + +Vain, vain! for the moment that a knocking +was heard at his door the sun went behind a +cloud, the bright stream of dancing motes +vanished, and the little old woman with them-- +he knew not where. + +So Prince Dolor quitted his tower--which he +had entered so mournfully and ignominiously as +a little helpless baby carried in the deaf-mute's +arms--quitted it as the great King of Nomansland. + +The only thing he took away with him was +something so insignificant that none of the lords, +gentlemen, and soldiers who escorted him with +such triumphant splendor could possibly notice +it--a tiny bundle, which he had found lying on +the floor just where the bridge of sunbeams had +rested. At once he had pounced upon it, and +thrust it secretly into his bosom, where it dwin- +dled into such small proportions that it might +have been taken for a mere chest-comforter, a +bit of flannel, or an old pocket-handkerchief. +It was his traveling-cloak! + + + +CHAPTER X + +Did Prince Dolar become a great king? +Was he, though little more than a +boy, "the father of his people," as all +kings ought to be? Did his reign +last long--long and happy? and what were the +principal events of it, as chronicled in the +history of Nomansland? + +Why, if I were to answer all these questions +I should have to write another book. And I'm +tired, children, tired--as grown-up people +sometimes are, though not always with play. +(Besides, I have a small person belonging to me, +who, though she likes extremely to listen to the +word-of-mouth story of this book, grumbles +much at the writing of it, and has run about the +house clapping her hands with joy when mamma +told her that it was nearly finished. But that +is neither here nor there.) + +I have related as well as I could the history of +Prince Dolor, but with the history of Nomansland +I am as yet unacquainted. If anybody +knows it, perhaps he or she will kindly write it +all down in another book. But mine is done. + +However, of this I am sure, that Prince Dolor +made an excellent king. Nobody ever does anything +less well, not even the commonest duty of +common daily life, for having such a godmother +as the little old woman clothed in gray, whose +name is--well, I leave you to guess. Nor, I +think, is anybody less good, less capable of both +work and enjoyment in after-life, for having +been a little unhappy in his youth, as the prince +had been. + +I cannot take upon myself to say that he was +always happy now--who is?--or that he had no +cares; just show me the person who is quite free +from them! But whenever people worried and +bothered him--as they did sometimes, with state +etiquette, state squabbles, and the like, setting +up themselves and pulling down their neighbors-- +he would take refuge in that upper room +which looked out on the Beautiful Mountains, +and, laying his head on his godmother's shoulder, +become calmed and at rest. + +Also, she helped him out of any difficulty +which now and then occurred--for there never +was such a wise old woman. When the people +of Nomansland raised the alarm--as sometimes +they did--for what people can exist without a +little fault-finding?--and began to cry out, "Un- +happy is the nation whose king is a child," she +would say to him gently, "You are a child. +Accept the fact. Be humble--be teachable. +Lean upon the wisdom of others till you have +gained your own." + +He did so. He learned how to take advice +before attempting to give it, to obey before he +could righteously command. He assembled +round him all the good and wise of his kingdom +--laid all its affairs before them, and was guided +by their opinions until he had maturely formed +his own. + +This he did sooner than anybody would have +imagined who did not know of his godmother +and his traveling-cloak--two secret blessings, +which, though many guessed at, nobody quite +understood. Nor did they understand why he +loved so the little upper room, except that it had +been his mother's room, from the window of +which, as people remembered now, she had used +to sit for hours watching the Beautiful Mountains. + +Out of that window he used to fly--not very +often; as he grew older, the labors of state +prevented the frequent use of his traveling-cloak; +still he did use it sometimes. Only now it was +less for his own pleasure and amusement than +to see something or investigate something for +the good of the country. But he prized his +godmother's gift as dearly as ever. It was a +comfort to him in all his vexations, an enhancement +of all his joys. It made him almost forget +his lameness--which was never cured. + +However, the cruel things which had been once +foreboded of him did not happen. His misfortune +was not such a heavy one, after all. It +proved to be of much less inconvenience, even to +himself, than had been feared. A council of +eminent surgeons and mechanicians invented +for him a wonderful pair of crutches, with the +help of which, though he never walked easily or +gracefully, he did manage to walk so as to be +quite independent. And such was the love his +people bore him that they never heard the sound +of his crutches on the marble palace floors without +a leap of the heart, for they knew that good +was coming to them whenever he approached. + +Thus, though he never walked in processions, +never reviewed his troops mounted on a magnificent +charger, nor did any of the things which +make a show monarch so much appreciated, he +was able for all the duties and a great many of +the pleasures of his rank. When he held his +levees, not standing, but seated on a throne in- +geniously contrived to hide his infirmity, the +people thronged to greet him; when he drove out +through the city streets, shouts followed him +wherever he went--every countenance brightened +as he passed, and his own, perhaps, was the +brightest of all. + +First, because, accepting his affliction as +inevitable, he took it patiently; second, because, +being a brave man, he bore it bravely, trying to +forget himself, and live out of himself, and in +and for other people. Therefore other people +grew to love him so well that I think hundreds +of his subjects might have been found who were +almost ready to die for their poor lame king. + +He never gave them a queen. When they +implored him to choose one, he replied that his +country was his bride, and he desired no other. +But perhaps the real reason was that he shrank +from any change; and that no wife in all the +world would have been found so perfect, so +lovable, so tender to him in all his weaknesses as +his beautiful old godmother. + +His twenty-four other godfathers and +godmothers, or as many of them as were still alive, +crowded round him as soon as he ascended the +throne. He was very civil to them all, but +adopted none of the names they had given him, +keeping to the one by which he had been always +known, though it had now almost lost its meaning; +for King Dolor was one of the happiest and +cheerfulest men alive. + +He did a good many things, however, unlike +most men and most kings, which a little +astonished his subjects. First, he pardoned the +condemned woman who had been his nurse, and +ordained that from henceforth there should be +no such thing as the punishment of death in +Nomansland. All capital criminals were to be +sent to perpetual imprisonment in Hopeless +Tower and the plain round about it, where they +could do no harm to anybody, and might in time +do a little good, as the woman had done. + +Another surprise he shortly afterward gave +the nation. He recalled his uncle's family, who +had fled away in terror to another country, and +restored them to all their honors in their own. +By and by he chose the eldest son of his eldest +cousin (who had been dead a year), and had him +educated in the royal palace, as the heir to the +throne. This little prince was a quiet, +unobtrusive boy, so that everybody wondered at +the King's choosing him when there were so +many more; but as he grew into a fine young +fellow, good and brave, they agreed that the +King judged more wisely than they. + +"Not a lame prince, either," his Majesty +observed one day, watching him affectionately; for +he was the best runner, the highest leaper, the +keenest and most active sportsman in the +country. "One cannot make one's self, but one +can sometimes help a little in the making of +somebody else. It is well." + +This was said, not to any of his great lords +and ladies, but to a good old woman--his first +homely nurse whom he had sought for far and +wide, and at last found in her cottage among +the Beautiful Mountains. He sent for her to +visit him once a year, and treated her with great +honor until she died. He was equally kind, +though somewhat less tender, to his other nurse, +who, after receiving her pardon, returned to +her native town and grew into a great lady, and +I hope a good one. But as she was so grand a +personage now, any little faults she had did not +show. + +Thus King Dolor's reign passed year after +year, long and prosperous. Whether he were +happy--"as happy as a king"--is a question no +human being can decide. But I think he was, +because he had the power of making everybody +about him happy, and did it too; also because he +was his godmother's godson, and could shut himself +up with her whenever he liked, in that quiet +little room in view of the Beautiful Mountains, +which nobody else ever saw or cared to see. They +were too far off, and the city lay so low. But +there they were, all the time. No change ever +came to them; and I think, at any day throughout +his long reign, the King would sooner have +lost his crown than have lost sight of the +Beautiful Mountains. + +In course of time, when the little Prince, his +cousin, was grown into a tall young man, capable +of all the duties of a man, his Majesty did one of +the most extraordinary acts ever known in a +sovereign beloved by his people and prosperous +in his reign. He announced that he wished to +invest his heir with the royal purple--at any +rate, for a time--while he himself went away on +a distant journey, whither he had long desired +to go. + +Everybody marveled, but nobody opposed +him. Who could oppose the good King, who +was not a young king now? And besides, the +nation had a great admiration for the young +regent--and possibly a lurking pleasure in +change. + +So there was a fixed day when all the people +whom it would hold assembled in the great +square of the capital, to see the young prince +installed solemnly in his new duties, and undertaking +his new vows. He was a very fine young +fellow; tall and straight as a poplar tree, with a +frank, handsome face--a great deal handsomer +than the king, some people said, but others +thought differently. However, as his Majesty +sat on his throne, with his gray hair falling from +underneath his crown, and a few wrinkles showing +in spite of his smile, there was something +about his countenance which made his people, +even while they shouted, regard him with a +tenderness mixed with awe. + +He lifted up his thin, slender hand, and there +came a silence over the vast crowd immediately. +Then he spoke, in his own accustomed way, using +no grand words, but saying what he had to say in +the simplest fashion, though with a clearness +that struck their ears like the first song of a bird +in the dusk of the morning. + +"My people, I am tired: I want to rest. I +have had a long reign, and done much work--at +least, as much as I was able to do. Many might +have done it better than I--but none with a +better will. Now I leave it to others; I am tired, +very tired. Let me go home." + +There arose a murmur--of content or +discontent none could well tell; then it died down +again, and the assembly listened silently once +more. + +"I am not anxious about you, my people--my +children," continued the King. "You are +prosperous and at peace. I leave you in good +hands. The Prince Regent will be a fitter king +for you than I." + +"No, no, no!" rose the universal shout--and +those who had sometimes found fault with him +shouted louder than anybody. But he seemed +as if he heard them not. + +"Yes, yes," said he, as soon as the tumult had +a little subsided: and his voice sounded firm and +clear; and some very old people, who boasted of +having seen him as a child, declared that his face +took a sudden change, and grew as young and +sweet as that of the little Prince Dolor. "Yes, +I must go. It is time for me to go. Remember +me sometimes, my people, for I have loved you +well. And I am going a long way, and I do not +think I shall come back any more." + +He drew a little bundle out of his breast +pocket--a bundle that nobody had ever seen +before. It was small and shabby-looking, and +tied up with many knots, which untied themselves +in an instant. With a joyful countenance, +he muttered over it a few half-intelligible words. +Then, so suddenly that even those nearest to his +Majesty could not tell how it came about, the +King was away--away--floating right up in the +air--upon something, they knew not what, +except that it appeared to be as safe and pleasant +as the wings of a bird. + +And after him sprang a bird--a dear little +lark, rising from whence no one could say, since +larks do not usually build their nests in the +pavement of city squares. But there it was, a +real lark, singing far over their heads, louder +and clearer and more joyful as it vanished +further into the blue sky. + +Shading their eyes, and straining their ears, +the astonished people stood until the whole +vision disappeared like a speck in the clouds-- +the rosy clouds that overhung the Beautiful +Mountains. + +King Dolor was never again beheld or heard +of in his own country. But the good he had done +there lasted for years and years; he was long +missed and deeply mourned--at least, so far as +anybody could mourn one who was gone on such +a happy journey. + +Whither he went, or who went with him, it is +impossible to say. But I myself believe that his +godmother took him on his traveling-cloak to the +Beautiful Mountains. What he did there, or +where he is now, who can tell? I cannot. But +one thing I am quite sure of, that, wherever he +is, he is perfectly happy. + +And so, when I think of him, am I. + + + +THE INVISIBLE PRINCE + +THERE were a king and queen who were +dotingly fond of their only son, +notwithstanding that he was equally deformed +in mind and person. The king was quite +sensible of the evil disposition of his son, but the +queen in her excessive fondness saw no fault +whatever in her dear Furibon, as he was named. +The surest way to win her favor was to praise +Furibon for charms he did not possess. When he +came of age to have a governor, the king made +choice of a prince who had an ancient right to the +crown, but was not able to support it. This +prince had a son, named Leander, handsome, +accomplished, amiable--in every respect the opposite +of Prince Furibon. The two were frequently +together, which only made the deformed prince +more repulsive. + +One day, certain ambassadors having arrived +from a far country, the prince stood in a gallery +to see them; when, taking Leander for the king's +son, they made their obeisance to him, treating +Furibon as a mere dwarf, at which the latter +was so offended that he drew his sword, and +would have done them a mischief had not the +king just then appeared. As it was, the affair +produced a quarrel, which ended in Leander's +being sent to a far-away castle belonging to his +father. + +There, however, he was quite happy, for he +was a great lover of hunting, fishing, and walking: +he understood painting, read much, and +played upon several instruments, so that he was +glad to be freed from the fantastic humors of +Furibon. One day as he was walking in the +garden, finding the heat increase, he retired +into a shady grove and began to play upon the +flute to amuse himself. As he played, he felt +something wind about his leg, and looking down +saw a great adder: he took his handkerchief, +and catching it by the head was going to kill it. +But the adder, looking steadfastly in his face, +seemed to beg his pardon. At this instant one +of the gardeners happened to come to the place +where Leander was, and spying the snake, cried +out to his master: "Hold him fast, sir; it is but +an hour since we ran after him to kill him: it is +the most mischievous creature in the world." + +Leander, casting his eyes a second time upon +the snake, which was speckled with a thousand +extraordinary colors, perceived the poor creature +still looked upon him with an aspect that +seemed to implore compassion, and never tried +in the least to defend itself. + +"Though thou hast such a mind to kill it," +said he to the gardener, "yet, as it came to me +for refuge, I forbid thee to do it any harm; for +I will keep it, and when it has cast its beautiful +skin I will let it go." He then returned home, +and carrying the snake with him, put it into a +large chamber, the key of which he kept himself, +and ordered bran, milk, and flowers to be given +to it, for its delight and sustenance; so that +never was snake so happy. Leander went sometimes +to see it, and when it perceived him it +made haste to meet him, showing him all the +little marks of love and gratitude of which a +poor snake was capable, which did not a little +surprise him, though he took no further notice +of it. + +In the meantime all the court ladies were +extremely troubled at his absence, and he was the +subject of all their discourse. "Alas!" cried +they, "there is no pleasure at court since +Leander is gone, of whose absence the wicked +Furibon is the cause!" Furibon also had his +parasites, for his power over the queen made +him feared; they told him what the ladies said, +which enraged him to such a degree that in his +passion he flew to the queen's chamber, and +vowed he would kill himself before her face if +she did not find means to destroy Leander. The +queen, who also hated Leander, because he was +handsomer than her son, replied that she had +long looked upon him as a traitor, and therefore +would willingly consent to his death. To which +purpose she advised Furibon to go a-hunting +with some of his confidants, and contrive it so +that Leander should make one of the party. + +"Then," said she, "you may find some way to +punish him for pleasing everybody." + +Furibon understood her, and accordingly +went a-hunting; and Leander, when he heard the +horns and the hounds, mounted his horse and +rode to see who it was. But he was surprised to +meet the prince so unexpectedly; he alighted +immediately and saluted him with respect; and +Furibon received him more graciously than +usual and bade follow him. All of a sudden +he turned his horse and rode another way, +making a sign to the ruffians to take the +first opportunity to kill him; but before he had +got quite out of sight, a lion of prodigious size, +coming out of his den, leaped upon Furibon; all +his followers fled, and only Leander remained; +who, attacking the animal sword in hand, by his +valor and agility saved the life of his most cruel +enemy, who had fallen in a swoon from fear. +When he recovered, Leander presented him his +horse to remount. Now, any other than such a +wretch would have been grateful, but Furibon +did not even look upon him; nay, mounting the +horse, he rode in quest of the ruffians, to whom +he repeated his orders to kill him. They +accordingly surrounded Leander, who, setting his +back to a tree, behaved with so much bravery +that he laid them all dead at his feet. Furibon, +believing him by this time slain, rode eagerly up +to the spot. When Leander saw him he +advanced to meet him. "Sir," said he, "if it was +by your order that these assassins came to kill +me, I am sorry I made any defense." + +"You are an insolent villain!" replied +Furibon, "and if ever you come into my presence +again, you shall surely die." + +Leander made no answer, but retired sad and +pensive to his own home, where he spent the +night in pondering what was best for him to do; +for there was no likelihood he should be able to +defend himself against the power of the king's +son; therefore he at length concluded he would +travel abroad and see the world. Being ready +to depart, he recollected his snake, and, calling +for some milk and fruits, carried them to the +poor creature for the last time; but on opening +the door he perceived an extraordinary luster in +one corner of the room, and casting his eye on +the place he was surprised to see a lady, whose +noble and majestic air made him immediately +conclude she was a princess of royal birth. Her +habit was of purple satin, embroidered with +pearls and diamonds; she advanced toward him +with a gracious smile. + +"Young prince," said she, "you find no longer +your pet snake, but me, the fairy Gentilla, ready +to requite your generosity. For know that we +fairies live a hundred years in flourishing youth, +without diseases, without trouble or pain; and +this term being expired, we become snakes for +eight days. During that time it is not in our +power to prevent any misfortune that may befall +us; and if we happen to be killed, we never +revive again. But these eight days being expired, +we resume our usual form and recover our +beauty, our power, and our riches. Now you +know how much I am obliged to your goodness, +and it is but just that I should repay my debt +of gratitude; think how I can serve you and +depend on me." + +The young prince, who had never conversed +with a fairy till now, was so surprised that it +was a long time before he could speak. But +at length, making a profound reverence, +"Madam," said he, "since I have had the honor +to serve you, I know not any other happiness +that I can wish for." + +"I should be sorry," replied she, "not to be +of service to you in something; consider, it is in +my power to bestow on you long life, kingdoms, +riches; to give you mines of diamonds and +houses full of gold; I can make you an excellent +orator, poet, musician, and painter; or, if you +desire it, a spirit of the air, the water, or the +earth." + +Here Leander interrupted her. "Permit me, +madam," said he, "to ask you what benefit it +would be to me to be a spirit?" + +"Much," replied the fairy, "you would be +invisible when you pleased, and might in an +instant traverse the whole earth; you would be +able to fly without wings, to descend into the +abyss of the earth without dying, and walk at +the bottom of the sea without being drowned; +nor doors, nor windows, though fast shut and +locked, could hinder you from entering anywhere; +and whenever you had a mind, you might +resume your natural form." + +"Oh, madam!" cried Leander, "then let me +be a spirit; I am going to travel, and should +prefer it above all those other advantages you have +so generously offered me." + +Gentilla thereupon stroking his face three +times, "Be a spirit," said she; and then, +embracing him, she gave him a little red cap with a +plume of feathers. "When you put on this cap +you shall be invisible; but when you take it off +you shall again become visible." + +Leander, overjoyed, put his little red cap +upon his head and wished himself in the forest, +that he might gather some wild roses which he +had observed there: his body immediately became +as light as thought; he flew through the +window like a bird; though, in flying over the +river, he was not without fear lest he should fall +into it, and the power of the fairy not be able to +save him. But he arrived in safety at the rose- +bushes, plucked the three roses, and returned +immediately to his chamber; presented his roses +to the fairy, overjoyed that his first experiments +had succeeded so well. She bade him keep +the roses, for that one of them would supply +him with money whenever he wanted it; that +if he put the other into his mistress' bosom, +he would know whether she was faithful or not; +and that the third would keep him always in +good health. Then, without staying to receive +his thanks, she wished him success in his travels +and disappeared. + +Leander, infinitely pleased, settled his affairs, +mounted the finest horse in the stable, called +Gris-de-line, and attended by some of his servants +in livery, made his return to court. Now +you must know Furibon had given out that had +it not been for his courage Leander would have +murdered him when they were a-hunting; so the +king, being importuned by the queen, gave orders +that Leander should be apprehended. But when +he came, he showed so much courage and resolution +that Furibon ran to the queen's chamber +and prayed her to order him to be seized. The +queen, who was extremely diligent in everything +that her son desired, went immediately to the +king. Furibon, being impatient to know what +would be resolved, followed her; but stopped at +the door and laid his ear to the keyhole, putting +his hair aside that he might the better hear what +was said. At the same time, Leander entered the +court-hall of the palace with his red cap upon +his head, and perceiving Furibon listening at +the door of the king's chamber, he took a nail and +a hammer and nailed his ear to the door. Furibon +began to roar, so that the queen, hearing +her son's voice, ran and opened the door, and, +pulling it hastily, tore her son's ear from his +head. Half out of her wits, she set him in her +lap, took up his ear, kissed it, and clapped it +again upon its place; but the invisible Leander, +seizing upon a handful of twigs, with which they +corrected the king's little dogs, gave the queen +several lashes upon her hands, and her son as +many on the nose: upon which the queen cried +out, "Murder! murder!" and the king looked +about, and the people came running in; but +nothing was to be seen. Some cried that the +queen was mad, and that her madness proceeded +from her grief to see that her son had lost one +ear; and the king was as ready as any to believe +it, so that when she came near him he avoided +her, which made a very ridiculous scene. Leander, +then leaving the chamber, went into the +garden, and there, assuming his own shape, he +boldly began to pluck the queen's cherries, +apricots, strawberries, and flowers, though he knew +she set such a high value on them that it was as +much as a man's life was worth to touch one. +The gardeners, all amazed, came and told their +majesties that Prince Leander was making +havoc of all the fruits and flowers in the queen's +gardens + +"What insolence!" said the queen: then +turning to Furibon, "my pretty child, forget the +pain of thy ear but for a moment, and fetch that +vile wretch hither; take our guards, both horse +and foot, seize him, and punish him as he +deserves." + +Furibon, encouraged by his mother, and +attended by a great number of armed soldiers, +entered the garden and saw Leander; who, taking +refuge under a tree, pelted them all with +oranges. But when they came running toward +him, thinking to have seized him, he was not to +be seen; he had slipped behind Furibon, who was +in a bad condition already. But Leander played +him one trick more; for he pushed him down +upon the gravel walk, and frightened him so +that the soldiers had to take him up, carry him +away, and put him to bed. + +Satisfied with this revenge, he returned to +his servants, who waited for him, and giving +them money, sent them back to his castle, that +none might know the secret of his red cap and +roses. As yet he had not determined whither +to go; however, he mounted his fine horse Gris- +de-line, and, laying the reins upon his neck, +let him take his own road: at length he arrived +in a forest, where he stopped to shelter himself +from the heat. He had not been above a minute +there before he heard a lamentable noise of +sighing and sobbing; and looking about him, +beheld a man, who ran, stopped, then ran again, +sometimes crying, sometimes silent, then tearing +his hair, then thumping his breast like some +unfortunate madman. Yet he seemed to be both +handsome and young: his garments had been +magnificent, but he had torn them all to tatters. +The prince, moved with compassion, made toward +him, and mildly accosted him. "Sir," said +he, "your condition appears so deplorable that I +must ask the cause of your sorrow, assuring you +of every assistance in my power." + +"Oh, sir," answered the young man, "nothing +can cure my grief; this day my dear mistress is +to be sacrificed to a rich old ruffian of a husband +who will make her miserable." + +"Does she love you, then?" asked Leander. + +"I flatter myself so," answered the young +man. + +"Where is she?" continued Leander. + +"In the castle at the end of this forest," +replied the lover. + +"Very well," said Leander; "stay you here +till I come again, and in a little while I will +bring you good news." + +He then put on his little red cap and wished +himself in the castle. He had hardly got thither +before he heard all sorts of music; he entered +into a great room, where the friends and kindred +of the old man and the young lady were +assembled. No one could look more amiable than +she; but the paleness of her complexion, the +melancholy that appeared in her countenance, +and the tears that now and then dropped, as it +were by stealth from her eyes, betrayed the +trouble of her mind. + +Leander now became invisible, and placed +himself in a corner of the room. He soon +perceived the father and mother of the bride; and +coming behind the mother's chair, whispered in +her ear, "If you marry your daughter to that +old dotard, before eight days are over you shall +certainly die." The woman, frightened to hear +such a terrible sentence pronounced upon her, +and yet not know from whence it came, gave a +loud shriek and dropped upon the floor. Her +husband asked what ailed her: she cried that she +was a dead woman if the marriage of her +daughter went forward, and therefore she would +not consent to it for all the world. Her husband +laughed at her and called her a fool. But the +invisible Leander accosting the man, threatened +him in the same way, which frightened him so +terribly that he also insisted on the marriage +being broken off. When the lover complained, +Leander trod hard upon his gouty toes and rang +such an alarm in his ears that, not being able +any longer to hear himself speak, away he +limped, glad enough to go. The real lover soon +appeared, and he and his fair mistress fell +joyfully into one another's arms, the parents +consenting to their union. Leander, assuming +his own shape, appeared at the hall door, as if +he were a stranger drawn thither by the report +of this extraordinary wedding. + +From hence he traveled on, and came to a +great city, where, upon his arrival, he understood +there was a great and solemn procession, +in order to shut up a young woman against her +will among the vestal-nuns. The prince was +touched with compassion; and thinking the best +use he could make of his cap was to redress +public wrongs and relieve the oppressed, he flew +to the temple, where he saw the young woman, +crowned with flowers, clad in white, and with her +disheveled hair flowing about her shoulders. +Two of her brothers led her by each hand, and +her mother followed her with a great crowd of +men and women. Leander, being invisible, cried +out, "Stop, stop, wicked brethren: stop, rash +and inconsiderate mother; if you proceed any +further, you shall be squeezed to death like so +many frogs." They looked about, but could +not conceive from whence these terrible menaces +came. The brothers said it was only their +sister's lover, who had hid himself in some hole; +at which Leander, in wrath, took a long cudgel, +and they had no reason to say the blows were not +well laid on. The multitude fled, the vestals +ran away, and Leander was left alone with the +victim; immediately he pulled off his red cap +and asked her wherein he might serve her. She +answered him that there was a certain gentleman +whom she would be glad to marry, but that +he wanted an estate. Leander then shook his +rose so long that he supplied them with ten +millions; after which they were married and +lived happily together. + +But his last adventure was the most agreeable. +Entering into a wide forest, he heard lamentable +cries. Looking about him every way, at length +he spied four men well armed, who were carrying +away by force a young lady, thirteen or +fourteen years of age; upon which, making up +to them as fast as he could, "What harm has +that girl done?" said he. + +"Ha! ha! my little master," cried he who +seemed to be the ringleader of the rest, "who +bade you inquire?" + +"Let her alone," said Leander, "and go +about your business." + +"Oh, yes, to be sure," cried they, laughing; +whereupon the prince, alighting, put on his red +cap, not thinking it otherwise prudent to attack +four who seemed strong enough to fight a +dozen. One of them stayed to take care of the +young lady, while the three others went after +Gris-de-line, who gave them a great deal of +unwelcome exercise. + +Meantime the young lady continued her cries +and complaints. "Oh, my dear princess," said +she, "how happy was I in your palace! Did you +but know my sad misfortune, you would send +your Amazons to rescue poor Abricotina." + +Leander, having listened to what she said, +without delay seized the ruffian that held her, +and bound him fast to a tree before he had time +or strength to defend himself. He then went to +the second, and taking him by both arms, bound +him in the same manner to another tree. In the +meantime Abricotina made the best of her good +fortune and betook herself to her heels, not +knowing which way she went. But Leander, +missing her, called out to his horse Gris-de-line; +who, by two kicks with his hoof, rid himself of +the two ruffians who had pursued him: one of +them had his head broken and the other three +of his ribs. And now Leander only wanted to +overtake Abricotina; for he thought her so handsome +that he wished to see her again. He found +her leaning against a tree. When she saw Gris- +de-line coming toward her, "How lucky am I!" +cried she; "this pretty little horse will carry me +to the palace of pleasure." Leander heard her, +though she saw him not: he rode up to her; +Gris-de-line stopped, and when Abricotina +mounted him, Leander clasped her in his arms +and placed her gently before him. Oh, how +great was Abricotina's fear to feel herself fast +embraced, and yet see nobody! She durst not +stir, and shut her eyes for fear of seeing a spirit. +But Leander took off his little cap. "How comes +it, fair Abricotina," said he, "that you are +afraid of me, who delivered you out of the hands +of the ruffians?" + +With that she opened her eyes, and knowing +him again, "Oh, sir," said she, "I am infinitely +obliged to you; but I was afraid, for I felt +myself held fast and could see no one." + +"Surely," replied Leander, "the danger you +have been in has disturbed you and cast a mist +before your eyes." + +Abricotina would not seem to doubt him, +though she was otherwise extremely sensible. +And after they had talked for some time of +indifferent things, Leander requested her to tell +him her age, her country, and by what accident +she fell into the hands of the ruffians. + +"Know then, sir," said she, "there was a +certain very great fairy married to a prince who +wearied of her: she therefore banished him from +her presence, and established herself and daughter +in the Island of Calm Delights. The princess, +who is my mistress, being very fair, has many +lovers--among others, one named Furibon, +whom she detests; he it was whose ruffians +seized me to-day when I was wandering in +search of a stray parrot. Accept, noble prince, +my best thanks for your valor, which I shall +never forget." + +Leander said how happy he was to have +served her, and asked if he could not obtain +admission into the island. Abricotina assured +him this was impossible, and therefore he had +better forget all about it. While they were thus +conversing, they came to the bank of a large +river. Abricotina alighted with a nimble jump +from the horse. + +"Farewell, sir," said she to the prince, +making a profound reverence; "I wish you every +happiness." + +"And I," said Leander, "wish that I may now +and then have a small share in your remembrance." + +So saying, he galloped away and soon entered +into the thickest part of the wood, near a river, +where he unbridled and unsaddled Gris-de-line; +then, putting on his little cap, wished himself +in the Island of Calm Delights, and his wish +was immediately accomplished. + +The palace was of pure gold, and stood upon +pillars of crystal and precious stones, which +represented the zodiac and all the wonders of +nature; all the arts and sciences; the sea, with +all the variety of fish therein contained; the +earth, with all the various creatures which it +produces; the chases of Diana and her nymphs; +the noble exercises of the Amazons; the amusements +of a country life; flocks of sheep with +their shepherds and dogs; the toils of agriculture, +harvesting, gardening. And among all +this variety of representations there was neither +man nor boy to be seen--not so much as a little +winged Cupid; so highly had the princess been +incensed against her inconstant husband as not +to show the least favor to his fickle sex. + +"Abricotina did not deceive me," said +Leander to himself; "they have banished from +hence the very idea of men; now let us see what +they have lost by it." With that he entered into +the palaces and at every step he took he met with +objects so wonderful that when he had once +fixed his eyes upon them he had much ado to +take them off again. He viewed a vast number +of these apartments, some full of china, no less +fine than curious; others lined with porcelain, so +delicate that the walls were quite transparent. +Coral, jasper, agates, and cornelians adorned the +rooms of state, and the presence-chamber was +one entire mirror. The throne was one great +pearl, hollowed like a shell; the princess sat, +surrounded by her maidens, none of whom could +compare with herself. In her was all the innocent +sweetness of youth, joined to the dignity of +maturity; in truth, she was perfection; and so +thought the invisible Leander. + +Not seeing Abricotina, she asked where she +was. Upon that, Leander, being very desirous +to speak, assumed the tone of a parrot, for there +were many in the room, and addressed himself +invisibly to the princess. + +"Most charming princess," said he, "Abricotina +will return immediately. She was in great +danger of being carried away from this place but +for a young prince who rescued her." + +The princess was surprised at the parrot, his +answer was so extremely pertinent. + +"You are very rude, little parrot," said the +princess;" and Abricotina, when she comes, +shall chastise you for it." + +"I shall not be chastised," answered Leander, +still counterfeiting the parrot's voice; "moreover, +she will let you know the great desire that +stranger had to be admitted into this palace, +that he might convince you of the falsehood of +those ideas which you have conceived against +his sex." + +"In truth, pretty parrot," cried the princess, +"it is a pity you are not every day so diverting; +I should love you dearly." + +"Ah! if prattling will please you, princess," +replied Leander, "I will prate from morning +till night." + +"But," continued the princess, "how shall I +be sure my parrot is not a sorcerer?" + +"He is more in love than any sorcerer can be," +replied the prince. + +At this moment Abricotina entered the room, +and falling at her lovely mistress' feet, gave her +a full account of what had befallen her, and +described the prince in the most glowing colors. + +"I should have hated all men," added she, +"had I not seen him! Oh, madam, how charming +he is! His air and all his behavior have +something in them so noble; and though whatever +he spoke was infinitely pleasing, yet I think +I did well in not bringing him hither." + +To this the princess said nothing, but she +asked Abricotina a hundred other questions +concerning the prince; whether she knew his name, +his country, his birth, from whence he came, and +whither he was going; and after this she fell +into a profound thoughtfulness. + +Leander observed everything, and continued +to chatter as he had begun. + +"Abricotina is ungrateful, madam," said he; +"that poor stranger will die for grief if he sees +you not." + +"Well, parrot, let him die," answered the +princess with a sigh; "and since thou under- +takest to reason like a person of wit, and not a +little bird, I forbid thee to talk to me any more +of this unknown person." + +Leander was overjoyed to find that Abricotina's +and the parrot's discourse had made such +an impression on the princess. He looked upon +her with pleasure and delight. "Can it be," +said he to himself, "that the masterpiece of +nature, that the wonder of our age, should be +confined eternally in an island, and no mortal +dare to approach her? But," continued he, +"wherefore am I concerned that others are +banished hence, since I have the happiness to be +with her, to hear and to admire her; nay, more, +to love her above all the women in the universe?" + +It was late, and the princess retired into a +large room of marble and porphyry, where +several bubbling fountains, refreshed the air +with an agreeable coolness. As soon as she +entered the music began, a sumptuous supper +was served up, and the birds from several +aviaries on each side of the room, of which +Abricotina had the chief care, opened their little +throats in the most agreeable manner. + +Leander had traveled a journey long enough +to give him a good appetite, which made him +draw near the table, where the very smell of such +viands was agreeable and refreshing. The princess +had a curious tabby-cat, for which she had +a great kindness. This cat one of the maids of +honor held in her arms, saying, "Madam, Bluet +is hungry!" With that a chair was presently +brought for the cat; for he was a cat of quality, +and had a necklace of pearl about his neck. He +was served on a golden plate with a laced napkin +before him; and the plate being supplied with +meat, Bluet sat with the solemn importance of +an alderman. + +"Ho! ho!" cried Leander to himself; "an +idle tabby malkin, that perhaps never caught a +mouse in his life, and I dare say is not descended +from a better family than myself, has the honor +to sit at table with my mistress: I would fain +know whether he loves her so well as I do." + +Saying this, he placed himself in the chair with +the cat upon his knee, for nobody saw him, because +he had his little red cap on; finding Bluet's +plate well supplied with partridge, quails, and +pheasants, he made so free with them that whatever +was set before Master Puss disappeared in +a trice. The whole court said no act{sic} ever ate with +a better appetite. There were excellent ragouts, +and the prince made use of the cat's paw to taste +them; but he sometimes pulled his paw too +roughly, and Bluet, not understanding raillery, +began to mew and be quite out of patience. The +princess observing it, "Bring that fricassee and +that tart to poor Bluet," said she; "see how he +cries to have them." + +Leander laughed to himself at the pleasantness +of this adventure; but he was very thirsty, +not being accustomed to make such large meals +without drinking. By the help of the cat's paw +he got a melon, with which he somewhat +quenched his thirst; and when supper was quite +over, he went to the buffet and took two bottles +of delicious wine. + +The princess now retired into her boudoir, +ordering Abricotina to follow her and make fast +the door; but they could not keep out Leander, +who was there as soon as they. However, the +princess, believing herself alone with her confidante: + +"Abricotina," said she, "tell me truly, did +you exaggerate in your description of the unknown +prince, for methinks it is impossible he +should be as amiable as you say?" + +"Madam," replied the damsel, "if I have +failed in anything, it was ln coming short of +what was due to him." + +The princess sighed and was silent for a time; +then resuming her speech: "I am glad," said +she, "thou didst not bring him with thee." + +"But, madam," answered Abricotina, who +was a cunning girl, and already penetrated her +mistress' thoughts, "suppose he had come to +admire the wonders of these beautiful mansions, +what harm could he have done us? Will you +live eternally unknown in a corner of the world, +concealed from the rest of human kind? Of +what use is all your grandeur, pomp, magnificence, +if nobody sees it?" + +"Hold thy peace, prattler," replied the +princess, "and do not disturb that happy repose +which I have enjoyed so long." + +Abricotina durst make no reply; and the +princess, having waited her answer for some time, +asked her whether she had anything to say. +Abricotina then said she thought it was to very +little purpose her mistress having sent her +picture to the courts of several princes, where +it only served to make those who saw it miserable; +that every one would be desirous to marry +her, and as she could not marry them all, indeed +none of them, it would make them desperate. + +"Yet, for all that," said the princess, I could +wish my picture were in the hands of this same +stranger." + +"Oh, madam," answered Abricotina, "is not +his desire to see you violent enough already? +Would you augment it?" + +"Yes," cried the princess; "a certain impulse +of vanity, which I was never sensible of till now, +has bred this foolish fancy in me." + +Leander heard all this discourse, and lost not +a tittle of what she said; some of her expressions +gave him hope, others absolutely destroyed +it. The princess presently asked Abricotina +whether she had seen anything extraordinary +during her short travels. + +"Madam," said she, "I passed through one +forest where I saw certain creatures that +resembled little children: they skip and dance +upon the trees like squirrels; they are very ugly, +but have wonderful agility and address." + +"I wish I had one of them," said the princess; +"but if they are so nimble as you say they are, +it is impossible to catch one." + +Leander, who passed through the same forest, +knew what Abricotina meant, and presently +wished himself in the place. He caught a dozen +of little monkeys, some bigger, some less, and all +of different colors, and with much ado put them +into a large sack; then, wishing himself at Paris, +where, he had heard, a man might have everything +for money, he went and bought a little gold +chariot. He taught six green monkeys to draw +it; they were harnessed with fine traces of flame- +colored morocco leather. He went to another +place, where he met with two monkeys of merit, +the most pleasant of which was called Briscambril, +the other Pierceforest--both very spruce +and well educated. He dressed Briscambril like +a king and placed him in the coach; Pierceforest +he made the coachman; the others were dressed +like pages; all which he put into his sack, coach +and all. + +The princess not being gone to bed, heard a +rumbling of a little coach in the long gallery; at +the same time, her ladies came to tell her that +the king of the dwarfs was arrived, and the +chariot immediately entered her chamber with +all the monkey train. The country monkeys began +to show a thousand tricks, which far +surpassed those of Briscambril and Pierceforest. +To say the truth, Leander conducted the +whole machine. He drew the chariot where +Briscambril sat arrayed as a king, and making +him hold a box of diamonds in his hand, he +presented it with a becoming grace to the princess. +The princess' surprise may be easily imagined. +Moreover, Briscambril made a sign for Pierceforest +to come and dance with him. The most +celebrated dancers were not to be compared with +them in activity. But the princess, troubled +that she could not guess from whence this +curious present came, dismissed the dancers +sooner than she would otherwise have done, +though she was extremely pleased with them. + +Leander, satisfied with having seen the +delight the princess had taken in beholding the +monkeys, thought of nothing now but to get a +little repose, which he greatly wanted. He +stayed sometime in the great gallery; afterward, +going down a pair of stairs, and finding a door +open, he entered into an apartment the most +delightful that ever was seen. There was in it a +bed of cloth-of-gold, enriched with pearls, +intermixed with rubies and emeralds: for by this +time there appeared daylight sufficient for him +to view and admire the magnificence of this +sumptuous furniture. Having made fast the +door, he composed himself to sleep. Next day +he rose very early, and looking about on every +side, he spied a painter's pallet, with colors ready +prepared and pencils. Remembering what the +princess had said to Abricotina touching her +own portrait, he immediately (for he could paint +as well as the most excellent masters) seated +himself before a mirror and drew his own picture +first; then, in an oval, that of the princess. +He had all her features so strong in his +imagination that he had no occasion for her sitting; +and as his desire to please her had set him to +work, never did portrait bear a stronger resemblance. +He had painted himself upon one knee, +holding the princess' picture in one hand, and +in the other a label with this inscription, "She +is better in my heart." When the princess went +into her cabinet, she was amazed to see the +portrait of a man; and she fixed her eyes upon it +with so much the more surprise, because she also +saw her own with it, and because the words +which were written upon the label afforded her +ample room for curiosity. She persuaded herself +that it was Abricotina's doing; and all she +desired to know was whether the portrait was +real or imaginary. Rising in haste, she called +Abricotina, while the invisible Leander, with +his little red cap, slipped into the cabinet, +impatient to know what passed. The princess bade +Abricotina look upon the picture and tell her +what she thought of it. + +After she had viewed it, "I protest!" said she, +"'tis the picture of that generous stranger to +whom I am indebted for my life. Yes, yes, I am +sure it is he; his very features, shape, and hair." + +"Thou pretendest surprise," said the +princess, "but I know it was thou thyself who put it +there." + +"Who! I, madam?" replied Abricotina. "I +protest I never saw the picture before in my life. +Should I be so bold as to conceal from your +knowledge a thing that so nearly concerns you? +And by what miracle could I come by it? I +never could paint, nor did any man ever enter +this place; yet here he is painted with you?" + +"Some spirit, then, must have brought it +hither," cried the princess. + +"How I tremble for fear, madam!" said +Abricotina. "Was it not rather some lover? +And therefore, if you will take my advice, let us +burn it immediately." + +"'Twere a pity to burn it," cried the princess, +sighing; "a finer piece, methinks, cannot adorn +my cabinet." And saying these words, she cast +her eyes upon it. But Abricotina continued +obstinate in her opinion that it ought to be +burned, as a thing that could not come there but +by the power of magic. + +"And these words--`She is better in my +heart,' " said the princess; "must we burn them +too?" + +"No favor must be shown to anything," said +Abricotina, "not even to your own portrait." + +Abricotina ran away immediately for some +fire, while the princess went to look out at the +window. Leander, unwilling to let his performance +be burned, took this opportunity to convey +it away without being perceived. He had hardly +quitted the cabinet, when the princess turned +about to look once more upon that enchanting +picture, which had so delighted her. But how +was she surprised to find it gone! She sought +for it all the room over; and Abricotina, +returning, was no less surprised than her mistress; so +that this last adventure put them both in the +most terrible fright. + +Leander took great delight in hearing and +seeing his incomparable mistress; even though +he had to eat every day at her table with the +tabby-cat, who fared never the worse for that; +but his satisfaction was far from being complete, +seeing he durst neither speak nor show himself; +and he knew it was not a common thing for +ladies to fall in love with persons invisible. + +The princess had a universal taste for amusement. +One day, she was saying to her attend- +ants that it would give her great pleasure to +know how the ladies were dressed in all the +courts of the universe. There needed no more +words to send Leander all over the world. He +wished himself in China, where he bought the +richest stuffs he could lay his hands on, and got +patterns of all the court fashions. From thence +he flew to Siam, where he did the same; in three +days he traveled over all the four parts of the +world, and from time to time brought what he +bought to the Palace of Calm Delights, and hid +it all in a chamber, which he kept always locked. +When he had thus collected together all the +rarities he could meet with--for he never wanted +money, his rose always supplying him--he went +and bought five or six dozen of dolls, which he +caused to be dressed at Paris, the place in the +world where most regard is paid to fashions. +They were all dressed differently, and as +magnificent as could be, and Leander placed them all +in the princess' closet. When she entered it, she +was agreeably surprised to see such company of +little mutes, every one decked with watches +bracelets, diamond buckles, or necklaces; and +the most remarkable of them held a picture box +in its hand, which the princess opening, found it +contained Leander's portrait. She gave a loud +shriek, and looking upon Abricotina, "There +have appeared of late," said she, "so many +wonders in this place, that I know not what to +think of them: my birds are all grown witty; I +cannot so much as wish, but presently I have +my desires; twice have I now seen the portrait +of him who rescued thee from the ruffians; and +here are silks of all sorts, diamonds, +embroideries, laces, and an infinite number of other +rarities. What fairy is it that takes such care to +pay me these agreeable civilities?" + +Leander was overjoyed to hear and see her so +much interested about his picture, and calling to +mind that there was in a grotto which she often +frequented a certain pedestal, on which a Diana, +not yet finished, was to be erected, on this pedestal +he resolved to place himself, crowned with +laurel, and holding a lyre in his hand, on which +he played like another Apollo. He most +anxiously waited the princess' retiring to the +grotto, which she did every day since her +thoughts had taken up with this unknown person; +for what Abricotina had said, joined to the +sight of the picture, had almost destroyed her +repose: her lively humor changed into a pensive +melancholy, and she grew a great lover of +solitude. When she entered the grotto, she made a +sign that nobody should follow her, so that her +young damsels dispersed themselves into the +neighboring walks. The princess threw herself +upon a bank of green turf, sighed, wept, and +even talked, but so softly that Leander could not +hear what she said. He had put his red cap on, +that she might not see him at first; but having +taken it off, she beheld him standing on the +pedestal. At first she took him for a real statue, +for he observed exactly the attitude in which he +had placed himself, without moving so much as +a finger. She beheld with a kind of pleasure +intermixed with fear, but pleasure soon dispelled +her fear, and she continued to view the +pleasing figure, which so exactly resembled life. +The prince having tuned his lyre, began to +play; at which the princess, greatly surprised, +could not resist the fear that seized her; she +grew pale and fell into a swoon. Leander +leaped from the pedestal, and putting on his +little red cap, that he might not be perceived, +took the princess in his arms and gave her all the +assistance that his zeal and tenderness could +inspire. At length she opened her charming eyes +and looked about in search of him, but she could +perceive nobody; yet she felt somebody who held +her hands, kissed them, and bedewed them with +his tears. It was a long time before she durst +speak, and her spirits were in a confused agitation +between fear and hope. She was afraid of +the spirit, but loved the figure of the unknown. +At length she said: "Courtly invisible, why are +you not the person I desire you should be?" At +these words Leander was going to declare himself, +but durst not do it yet. "For," thought he, +"if I again affright the object I adore and make +her fear me, she will not love me." This +consideration caused him to keep silence. + +The princess, then, believing herself alone, +called Abricotina and told her all the wonders +of the animated statue; that it had played +divinely, and that the invisible person had given +her great assistance when she lay in a swoon. + +"What pity 'tis," said she, "that this person +should be so frightful, for nothing can be more +amiable or acceptable than his behavior!" + +"Who told you, madam," answered Abricotina, +"that he is frightful? If he is the youth +who saved me, he is beautiful as Cupid himself." + +"If Cupid and the unknown are the same," +replied the princess, blushing, "I could be +content to love Cupid; but alas! how far am I from +such a happiness! I love a mere shadow; and +this fatal picture, joined to what thou hast told +me, have inspired me with inclinations so contrary +to the precepts which I received from my +mother that I am daily afraid of being punished +for them." + +"Oh! madam," said Abricotina, interrupting +her, "have you not troubles enough already? +Why should you anticipate afflictions which may +never come to pass?" + +It is easy to imagine what pleasure Leander +took in this conversation. + +In the meantime the little Furibon, still +enamored of the princess whom he had never +seen, expected with impatience the return of the +four servants whom he had sent to the Island of +Calm Delights. One of them at last came back, +and after he had given the prince a particular +account of what had passed, told him that the +island was defended by Amazons, and that unless +he sent a very powerful army, it would be +impossible to get into it. The king his father +was dead, and Furibon was now lord of all: +disdaining, therefore, any repulse, he raised an +army of four hundred thousand men, and put +himself at the head of them, appearing like +another Tom Thumb upon a war-horse. Now, +when the Amazons perceived his mighty host, +they gave the princess notice of its who +immediately dispatched away her trusty +Abricotina to the kingdom of the fairies, to beg her +mother's instructions as to what she should do +to drive the little Furibon from her territories. +But Abricotina found the fairy in an angry +humor. + +"Nothing that my daughter does," said she, +"escapes my knowledge. The Prince Leander is +now in her palace; he loves her, and she has a +tenderness for him. All my cares and precepts +have not been able to guard her from the +tyranny of love, and she is now under its fatal +dominion. But it is the decree of destiny, and I +must submit; therefore, Abricotina, begone! nor +let me hear a word more of a daughter whose +behavior has so much displeased me." + +Abricotina returned with these ill tidings, +whereat the princess was almost distracted; and +this was soon perceived by Leander, who was +near her, though she did not see him. He beheld +her grief with the greatest pain. However, he +durst not then open his lips; but recollecting +that Furibon was exceedingly covetous, he +thought that, by giving him a sum of money, he +might perhaps prevail with him to retire. Thereupon, +he dressed himself like an Amazon, and +wished himself in the forest, to catch his horse. +He had no sooner called him than Gris-de-line +came leaping, prancing, and neighing for joy, +for he was grown quite weary of being so long +absent from his dear master; but when he beheld +him dressed as a woman he hardly knew him. +However, at the sound of his voice, he suffered +the prince to mount, and they soon arrived in the +camp at Furibon, where they gave notice that a +lady was come to speak with him from the +Princess of Calm Delights. Immediately the +little fellow put on his royal robes, and having +placed himself upon his throne, he looked like a +great toad counterfeiting a king. + +Leander harangued him, and told him that the +princess, preferring a quiet and peaceable life +to the fatigues of war, had sent to offer his +majesty as much money as he pleased to demand, +provided he would suffer her to continue in +peace; but if he refused her proposal, she would +omit no means that might serve for her defense. +Furibon replied that he took pity on her, and +would grant her the honor of his protection; but +that he demanded a hundred thousand millions +of pounds, and without which he would not return +to his kingdom. Leander answered that +such a vast sum would be too long a-counting, +and therefore, if he would say how many rooms +full he desired to have, the princess was generous +and rich enoug hto{sic} satisfy him. Furibon was +astonished to hear that, instead of entreating, +she would rather offer more; and it came into +his wicked mind to take all the money he could +get, and then seize the Amazon and kill her, that +she might never return to her mistress. He told +Leander, therefore, that he would have thirty +chambers of gold, all full to the ceiling. +Leander, being conducted into the chambers, +took his rose and shook it, till every room was +filled with all sorts of coin. Furibon was in an +ecstasy, and the more gold he saw the greater +was his desire to get hold of the Amazon; so that +when all the rooms were full, he commanded his +guards to seize her, alleging she had brought +him counterfeit money. Immediately Leander +put on his little red cap and disappeared. The +guards, believing that the lady had escaped, ran +out and left Furibon alone; when Leander, +availing himself of the opportunity, took the +tyrant by the hair, and twisted his head off with +the same ease he would a pullet's; nor did the +little wretch of a king see that hand that killed +him. + +Leander having got his enemy's head, wished +himself in the Palace of Calm Delights, where +he found the princess walking, and with grief +considering the message which her mother had +sent her, and on the means to repel Furibon. + +Suddenly she beheld a head hanging in the +air, with nobody to hold it. This prodigy +astonished her so that she could not tell what to +think of it; but her amazement was increased +when she saw the head laid at her feet, and heard +a voice utter these words: + + "Charming Princess, cease your fear + Of Furibon; whose head see here." + + +Abricotina, knowing Leander's voice, cried: + +"I protest, madam, the invisible person who +speaks is the very stranger that rescued me." + +The princess seemed astonished, but yet +pleased. + +"Oh," said she, "if it be true that the invisible +and the stranger are the same person, I confess +I shall be glad to make him my acknowledgments." + +Leander, still invisible, replied, "I will yet do +more to deserve them;" and so saying he +returned to Furibon's army, where the report of +the king's death was already spread throughout +the camp. As soon as Leander appeared there +in his usual habit, everybody knew him; all the +officers and soldiers surrounded him, uttering +the loudest acclamations of joy. In short, they +acknowledged him for their king, and that the +crown of right belonged to him, for which he +thanked them, and, as the first mark of his royal +bounty, divided the thirty rooms of gold among +the soldiers. This done he returned to his +princess, ordering his army to march back into +his kingdom. + +The princess was gone to bed. Leander, +therefore, retired into his own apartment, for +he was very sleepy--so sleepy that he forgot to +bolt his door; and so it happened that the +princess, rising early to taste the morning air, +chanced to enter into this very chamber, and was +astonished to find a young prince asleep upon +the bed. She took a full view of him, and was +convinced that he was the person whose picture +she had in her diamond box. "It is impossible," +said she, "that this should be a spirit; for can +spirits sleep? Is this a body composed of air +and fire, without substance, as Abricotina told +me?" She softly touched his hair, and heard +him breathe, and looked at him as if she could +have looked forever. While she was thus +occupied, her mother, the fairy entered with such a +noise that Leander started out of his sleep. But +how deeply was he afflicted to behold his beloved +princess in the most deplorable condition! Her +mother dragged her by the hair and loaded her +with a thousand bitter reproaches. In what +grief and consternation were the two young +lovers, who saw themselves now upon the point +of being separated forever! The princess durst +not open her lips, but cast her eyes upon +Leander, as if to beg his assistance. He judged +rightly that he ought not to deal rudely with a +power superior to his own, and therefore he +sought, by his eloquence and submission, to +move the incensed fairy. He ran to her, threw +himself at her feet, and besought her to have +pity upon a young prince who would never +change in his affection for her daughter. +The princess, encouraged, also embraced her +mother's knees, and declared that without +Leander she should never be happy. + +"Happy!" cried the fairy; "you know not +the miseries of love nor the treacheries of which +lovers are capable. They bewitch us only to +poison our lives; I have known it by experience; +and will you suffer the same?" + +"Is there no exception, madam?" replied +Leander, and his countenance showed him to be +one. + +But neither tears nor entreaties could move +the implacable fairy; and it is very probable +that she would have never pardoned them, had +not the lovely Gentilla appeared at that instant +in the chamber, more brilliant than the sun. +Embracing the old fairy: + +"Dear sister," said she, "I am persuaded you +cannot have forgotten the good office I did you +when, after your unhappy marriage, you +besought a readmittance into Fairyland; since +then I never desired any favor at your hands, +but now the time is come. Pardon, then, this +lovely princess; consent to her nuptials with +this young prince. I will engage he shall be +ever constant to her; the thread of their days +shall be spun of gold and silk; they shall live to +complete your happiness; and I will never forget +the obligation you lay upon me." + +"Charming Gentilla," cried the fairy, "I +consent to whatever you desire. Come, my dear +children, and receive my love." So saying, she +embraced them both. + +Abricotina, just then entering, cast her eyes +upon Leander; she knew him again, and saw he +was perfectly happy, at which she, too, was quite +satisfied. + +"Prince," condescendingly said the fairy- +mother, "I will remove the Island of Calm +Delights into your own kingdom, live with you +myself, and do you great services." + +Whether or not Prince Leander appreciated +this offer, he bowed low, and assured his mother- +in-law that no favor could be equal to the one he +had that day received from her hands. This +short compliment pleased the fairy exceedingly, +for she belonged to those ancient days when +people used to stand a whole day upon one leg +complimenting one another. The nuptials were +performed in a most splendid manner, and the +young prince and princess lived together +happily many years, beloved by all around them. + + + +PRINCE CHERRY + + + +PRINCE CHERRY + +LONG ago there lived a monarch, who +was such a very, honest man that his +subjects entitled him the Good King. +One day, when he was out hunting, a +little white rabbit, which had been half-killed +by his hounds, leaped right into his majesty's +arms. Said he, caressing it: "This poor creature +has put itself under my protection, and I +will allow no one to injure it." So he carried it +to his palace, had prepared for it a neat little +rabbit-hutch, with abundance of the daintiest +food, such as rabbits love, and there he left it. + +The same night, when he was alone in his +chamber, there appeared to him a beautiful lady. +She was dressed neither in gold, nor silver, nor +brocade; but her flowing robes were white as +snow, and she wore a garland of white roses on +her head. The Good King was greatly astonished +at the sight; for his door was locked, and +he wondered how so dazzling a lady could +possibly enter; but she soon removed his doubts. + +"I am the fairy Candide," said she, with a +smiling and gracious air. "Passing through the +wood where you were hunting, I took a desire to +know if you were as good as men say you are I +therefore changed myself into a white rabbit +and took refuge in your arms. You saved me +and now I know that those who are merciful to +dum beasts will be ten times more so to human +beings. You merit the name your subjects give +you: you are the Good King. I thank you for +your protection, and shall be always one of your +best friends. You have but to say what you +most desire, and I promise you your wish shall +be granted." + +"Madam," replied the king, "if you are a +fairy, you must know, without my telling you, +the wish of my heart. I have one well-beloved +son, Prince Cherry: whatever kindly feeling +you have toward me, extend it to him." + +"Willingly," said Candide. "I will make him +the handsomest, richest, or most powerful prince +in the world: choose whichever you desire for +him." + +"None of the three," returned the father. "I +only wish him to be good--the best prince in the +whole world. Of what use would riches, power, +or beauty be to him if he were a bad man?" + +"You are right," said the fairy; "but I can +not make him good: he must do that himself. I +can only change his external fortunes; for his +personal character, the utmost I can promise is +to give him good counsel, reprove him for his +faults, and even punish him, if he will not +punish himself. You mortals can do the same +with your children." + +"Ah, yes!" said the king, sighing. Still, he +felt that the kindness of a fairy was something +gained for his son, and died not long after, content +and at peace. + +Prince Cherry mourned deeply, for he dearly +loved his father, and would have gladly given all +his kingdoms and treasures to keep him in life a +little longer. Two days after the Good King +was no more, Prince Cherry was sleeping in his +chamber, when he saw the same dazzling vision +of the fairy Candide. + +"I promised your father," said she, "to be +your best friend, and in pledge of this take what +I now give you;" and she placed a small gold +ring upon his finger. "Poor as it looks, it is +more precious than diamonds; for whenever you +do ill it will prick your finger. If, after that +warning, you still continue in evil, you will lose +my friendship, and I shall become your direst +enemy."' + +So saying, she disappeared, leaving Cherry +in such amazement that he would have believed +it all a dream, save for the ring on his finger. + +He was for a long time so good that the ring +never pricked him at all; and this made him so +cheerful and pleasant in his humor that everybody +called him "Happy Prince Cherry." But +one unlucky day he was out hunting and found +no sport, which vexed him so much that he +showed his ill temper by his looks and ways. He +fancied his ring felt very tight and uncomfortable, +but as it did not prick him he took no heed +of this: until, re-entering his palace, his little +pet dog, Bibi, jumped up upon him and was +sharply told to get away. The creature, accustomed +to nothing but caresses, tried to attract +his attention by pulling at his garments, when +Prince Cherry turned and gave it a severe kick. +At this moment he felt in his finger a prick like +a pin. + +"What nonsense!" said he to himself. "The +fairy must be making game of me. Why, what +great evil have I done! I, the master of a great +empire, cannot I kick my own dog?" + +A voice replied, or else Prince Cherry +imagined it, "No, sire; the master of a great +empire has a right to do good, but not evil. I--a +fairy--am as much above you as you are above +your dog. I might punish you, kill you, if +I chose; but I prefer leaving you to amend your +ways. You have been guilty of three faults +today--bad temper, passion, cruelty: do better +to-morrow." + +The prince promised, and kept his word a +while; but he had been brought up by a foolish +nurse, who indulged him in every way and was +always telling him that he would be a king one +day, when he might do as he liked in all things. +He found out now that even a king cannot always +do that; it vexed him and made him angry. +His ring began to prick him so often that his +little finger was continually bleeding. He +disliked this, as was natural, and soon began to +consider whether it would not be easier to throw +the ring away altogether than to be constantly +annoyed by it. It was such a queer thing for a +king to have a spot of blood on his finger! At +last, unable to put up with it any more, he took +his ring off and hid it where he would never see +it; and believed himself the happiest of men, for +he could now do exactly what he liked. He did +it, and became every day more and more miserable. + +One day he saw a young girl, so beautiful that, +being always accustomed to have his own way, +he immediately determined to espouse her. He +never doubted that she would be only too glad to +be made a queen, for she was very poor. But +Zelia--that was her name--answered, to his +great astonishment, that she would rather not +marry him. + +"Do I displease you?" asked the prince, into +whose mind it had never entered that he could +displease anybody. + +"Not at all, my prince," said the honest +peasant maiden. "You are very handsome, very +charming; but you are not like your father the +Good King. I will not be your queen, for you +would make me miserable." + +At these words the prince's love seemed all to +turn to hatred: he gave orders to his guards to +convey Zelia to a prison near the palace, and +then took counsel with his foster brother, the one +of all his ill companions who most incited him to +do wrong. + +"Sir," said this man, "if I were in your +majesty's place, I would never vex myself about a +poor silly girl. Feed her on bread and water till +she comes to her senses; and if she still refuses +you, let her die in torment, as a warning to your +other subjects should they venture to dispute +your will. You will be disgraced should you +suffer yourself to be conquered by a simple +girl." + +"But," said Prince Cherry, "shall I not be +disgraced if I harm a creature so perfectly +innocent?" + +"No one is innocent who disputes your +majesty's authority," said the courtier, bowing; +"and it is better to commit an injustice than +allow it to be supposed you can ever be contradicted +with impunity." + +This touched Cherry on his weak point--his +good impulses faded; he resolved once more to +ask Zelia if she would marry him, and if she +again refused, to sell her as a slave. Arrived at +the cell in which she was confined, what was his +astonishment to find her gone! He knew not +whom to accuse, for he had kept the key in his +pocket the whole time. At last, the foster- +brother suggested that the escape of Zelia might +have been contrived by an old man, Suliman by +name, the prince's former tutor, who was the +only one who now ventured to blame him for +anything that he did. Cherry sent immediately, +and ordered his old friend to be brought to him, +loaded heavily with irons. Then, full of fury, +he went and shut himself up in his own chamber, +where he went raging to and fro, till startled by +a noise like a clap of thunder. The fairy Candide +stood before him. + +"Prince," said she, in a severe voice, "I +promised your father to give you good counsels +and to punish you if you refused to follow them. +My counsels were forgotten, my punishment +despised. Under the figure of a man, you have +been no better than the beasts you chase: like a +lion in fury, a wolf in gluttony, a serpent in +revenge, and a bull in brutality. Take, therefore, +in your new form the likeness of all these +animals." + +Scarcely had Prince Cherry heard these +words than to his horror he found himself transformed +into what the Fairy had named. He +was a creature with the head of a lion, the horns +of a bull, the feet of a wolf, and the tail of a +serpent. At the same time he felt himself +transported to a distant forest, where, standing +on the bank of a stream, he saw reflected in the +water his own frightful shape, and heard a +voice saying: + +"Look at thyself, and know thy soul has +become a thousand times uglier even than thy +body." + +Cherry recognized the voice of Candide, and +in his rage would have sprung upon her and +devoured her; but he saw nothing and the same +voice said behind him: + +"Cease thy feeble fury, and learn to conquer +thy pride by being in submission to thine own +subjects." + +Hearing no more, he soon quitted the stream, +hoping at least to get rid of the sight of himself; +but he had scarcely gone twenty paces when he +tumbled into a pitfall that was laid to catch +bears; the bear-hunters, descending from some +trees hard by, caught him, chained him, and +only too delighted to get hold of such a curious- +looking animal, led him along with them to the +capital of his own kingdom. + +There great rejoicings were taking place, and +the bear-hunters, asking what it was all about, +were told that it was because Prince Cherry, the +torment of his subjects, had just been struck +dead by a thunderbolt--just punishment of all +his crimes. Four courtiers, his wicked companions, +had wished to divide his throne between +them; but the people had risen up against them +and offered the crown to Suliman, the old tutor +whom Cherry had ordered to be arrested. + +All this the poor monster heard. He even saw +Suliman sitting upon his own throne and trying +to calm the populace by representing to them +that it was not certain Prince Cherry was dead; +that he might return one day to reassume with +honor the crown which Suliman only consented +to wear as a sort of viceroy. + +"I know his heart," said the honest and +faithful old man; "it is tainted, but not corrupt. +If alive, he may reform yet, and be all his father +over again to you, his people, whom he has caused +to suffer so much." + +These words touched the poor beast so deeply +that he ceased to beat himself against the iron +bars of the cage in which the hunters carried him +about, became gentle as a lamb, and suffered +himself to be taken quietly to a menagerie, +where were kept all sorts of strange and +ferocious animals a place which he had himself +often visited as a boy, but never thought he +should be shut up there himself. + +However, he owned he had deserved it all, and +began to make amends by showing himself very +obedient to his keeper. This man was almost as +great a brute as the animals he had charge of, +and when he was in ill humor he used to beat +them without rhyme or reason. One day, while +he was sleeping, a tiger broke loose and leaped +upon him, eager to devour him. Cherry at first +felt a thrill of pleasure at the thought of being +revenged; then, seeing how helpless the man was, +he wished himself free, that he might defend +him. Immediately the doors of his cage opened. +The keeper, waking up, saw the strange beast +leap out, and imagined, of course, that he was +going to be slain at once. Instead, he saw the +tiger lying dead, and the strange beast creeping +up and laying itself at his feet to be caressed. +But as he lifted up his hand to stroke it, a voice +was heard saying, "Good actions never go +unrewarded;" and instead of the frightful monster, +there crouched on the ground nothing but a +pretty little dog. + +Cherry, delighted to find himself thus +metamorphosed, caressed the keeper in every possible +way, till at last the man took him up into his +arms and carried him to the king, to whom he +related this wonderful story, from beginning to +end. The queen wished to have the charming +little dog; and Cherry would have been exceedingly +happy could he have forgotten that he was +originally a man and a king. He was lodged +most elegantly, had the richest of collars to adorn +his neck, and heard himself praised continually. +But his beauty rather brought him into trouble, +for the queen, afraid lest he might grow too +large for a pet, took advice of dog-doctors, who +ordered that he should be fed entirely upon +bread, and that very sparingly; so poor Cherry +was sometimes nearly starved. + +One day, when they gave him his crust for +breakfast, a fancy seized him to go and eat it in +the palace garden; so he took the bread in his +mouth and trotted away toward a stream which +he knew, and where he sometimes stopped to +drink. But instead of the stream he saw a +splendid palace, glittering with gold and +precious stones. Entering the doors was a crowd of +men and women, magnificently dressed; and +within there was singing and dancing and good +cheer of all sorts. Yet, however grandly and +gayly the people went in, Cherry noticed that +those who came out were pale, thin, ragged, +half-naked, covered with wounds and sores. +Some of them dropped dead at once; others +dragged themselves on a little way and then lay +down, dying of hunger, and vainly begged a +morsel of bread from others who were entering +in--who never took the least notice of them. + +Cherry perceived one woman, who was trying +feebly to gather and eat some green herbs. +"Poor thing!" said he to himself; "I know what +it is to be hungry, and I want my breakfast +badly enough; but still it will kill me to wait +till dinner time, and my crust may save the life +of this poor woman." + +So the little dog ran up to her and dropped +his bread at her feet; she picked it up and ate it +with avidity. Soon she looked quite recovered, +and Cherry, delighted, was trotting back again +to his kennel, when he heard loud cries, and saw +a young girl dragged by four men to the door of +the palace, which they were trying to compel +her to enter. Oh, how he wished himself a monster +again, as when he slew the tiger!--for the +young girl was no other than his beloved Zelia. +Alas! what could a poor little dog do to defend +her? But he ran forward and barked at the +men, and bit their heels, until at last they chased +him away with heavy blows. And then he lay +down outside the palace door, determined to +watch and see what had become of Zelia. + +Conscience pricked him now. "What!" +thought he, "I am furious against these wicked +men, who are carrying her away; and did I not +do the same myself? Did I not cast her into +prison, and intend to sell her as a slave? Who +knows how much more wickedness I might not +have done to her and others, if Heaven's justice +had not stopped me in time?" + +While he lay thinking and repenting, he heard +a window open and saw Zelia throw out of it a +bit of dainty meat. Cherry, who felt hungry +enough by this time, was just about to eat it, +when the woman to whom he had given his crust +snatched him up in her arms + +"Poor little beast!" cried she, patting him, +"every bit of food in that palace is poisoned: +you shall not touch a morsel." + +And at the same time the voice in the air +repeated again, "Good actions never go +unrewarded;" and Cherry found himself changed +into a beautiful little white pigeon. He +remembered with joy that white was the color of the +fairy Candide, and began to hope that she was +taking him into favor again. + +So he stretched his wings, delighted that he +might now have a chance of approaching his +fair Zelia. He flew up to the palace windows, +and, finding one of them open, entered and +sought everywhere, but he could not find Zelia. +Then, in despair, he flew out again, resolved to +go over the world until he beheld her once more. + +He took flight at once and traversed many +countries, swiftly as a bird can, but found no +trace of his beloved. At length in a desert, +sitting beside an old hermit in his cave and par- +taking with him his frugal repast, Cherry saw +a poor peasant girl and recognized Zelia. Transported +with joy, he flew in, perched on her +shoulder, and expressed his delight and affection +by a thousand caresses. + +She, charmed with the pretty little pigeon, +caressed it in her turn, and promised it that if it +would stay with her she would love it always. + +"What have you done, Zelia?" said the +hermit, smiling; and while he spoke the white pigeon +vanished, and there stood Prince Cherry in his +own natural form. "Your enchantment ended, +prince, when Zelia promised to love you. Indeed, +she has loved you always, but your many +faults constrained her to hide her love. These +are now amended, and you may both live happy +if you will, because your union is founded upon +mutual esteem." + +Cherry and Zelia threw themselves at the feet +of the hermit, whose form also began to change. +His soiled garments became of dazzling whiteness, +and his long beard and withered face grew +into the flowing hair and lovely countenance of +the fairy Candide. + +"Rise up, my children," said she; "I must +now transport you to your palace and restore to +Prince Cherry his father's crown, of which he +is now worthy." + +She had scarcely ceased speaking when they +found themselves in the chamber of Suliman, +who, delighted to find again his beloved pupil +and master, willingly resigned the throne, and +became the most faithful of his subjects. + +King Cherry and Queen Zelia reigned +together for many years, and it is said that the +former was so blameless and strict in all his +duties that though he constantly wore the ring +which Candide had restored to him, it never +once pricked his finger enough to make it bleed. + + + +THE PRINCE WITH THE NOSE + + +THE PRINCE WITH THE NOSE + + +THERE was once a king who was +passionately in love with a beautiful +princess, but she could not be married +because a magican{sic} had enchanted her. +The king went to a good fairy to inquire what he +should do. Said the fairy, after receiving him +graciously: "Sir, I will tell you a great secret. +The princess has a great cat whom she loves so +well that she cares for nothing and nobody else; +but she will be obliged to marry any person who +is adroit enough to walk upon the cat's tail." + +"That will not be very difficult," thought the +king to himself, and departed, resolving to +trample the cat's tail to pieces rather than not +succeed in walking upon it. He went immediately +to the palace of his fair mistress and the +cat; the animal came in front of him, arching its +back in anger as it was wont to do. The king +lifted up his foot, thinking nothing would be so +easy as to tread on the tail, but he found +himself mistaken. Minon--that was the creature's +name--twisted itself round so sharply that the +king only hurt his own foot by stamping on the +floor. For eight days did he pursue the cat +everywhere: up and down the palace he was +after it from morning till night, but with no +better success; the tail seemed made of quicksilver, +so very lively was it. At last the king had the +good fortune to catch Minon sleeping, when +tramp! tramp! he trod on the tail with all his +force. + +Minon woke up, mewed horribly, and immediately +changed from a cat into a large, fierce- +looking man, who regarded the king with flashing +eyes. + +"You must marry the princess," cried he, +"because you have broken the enchantment in +which I held her; but I will be revenged on you. +You shall have a son with a nose as long as-- +that;" he made in the air a curve of half a foot; +"yet he shall believe it is just like all other noses, +and shall be always unfortunate till he has found +out it is not. And if you ever tell anybody of +this threat of mine, you shall die on the spot." +So saying the magician disappeared. + +The king, who was at first much terrified, soon +began to laugh at this adventure. "My son +might have a worse misfortune than too long a +nose," thought he. "At least it will hinder him +neither in seeing nor hearing. I will go and find +the princess and marry her at once." + +He did so, but he only lived a few months +after, and died before his little son was born, so +that nobody knew anything about the secret of +the nose. + +The little prince was so much wished for that +when he came into the world they agreed to +call him Prince Wish. He had beautiful blue +eyes and a sweet little mouth, but his nose was +so big that it covered half his face. The queen, +his mother, was inconsolable; but her ladies +tried to satisfy her by telling her that the nose +was not nearly so large as it seemed, that it would +grow smaller as the prince grew bigger, and that +if it did not a large nose was indispensable to a +hero. All great soldiers, they said, had great +noses, as everybody knew. The queen was so +very fond of her son that she listened eagerly to +all this comfort. Shortly she grew so used to +the princes's nose that it did not seem to her any +larger than ordinary noses of the court; where, +in process of time, everybody with a long nose +was very much admired, and the unfortunate +people who had only snubs were taken very little +notice of. + +Great care was observed in the education of +the prince; and as soon as he could speak they +told him all sorts of amusing tales, in which all +the bad people had short noses, and all the good +people had long ones. No person was suffered to +come near him who had not a nose of more than +ordinary length; nay, to such an extent did the +countries carry their fancy, that the noses of all +the little babies were ordered to be pulled out as +far as possible several times a day, in order to +make them grow. But grow as they would, they +never could grow as long as that of Prince Wish. +When he was old enough his tutor taught him +history; and whenever any great king or lovely +princess was referred to, the tutor always took +care to mention that he or she had a long nose. +All the royal apartments were filled with pictures +and portraits having this peculiarity, so +that at last Prince Wish began to regard the +length of his nose as his greatest perfection, and +would not have had it an inch less even to save +his crown. + +When he was twenty years old his mother and +his people wished him to marry. They procured +for him the likenesses of many princesses, but +the one he preferred was Princess Darling, +daughter of a powerful monarch and heiress to +several kingdoms. Alas! with all her beauty, +this princess had one great misfortune, a little +turned-up nose, which, every one else said made +her only the more bewitching. But here, in the +kingdom of Prince Wish, the courtiers were +thrown by it into the utmost perplexity. They +were in the habit of laughing at all small noses; +but how dared they make fun of the nose of +Princess Darling? Two unfortunate gentlemen, +whom Prince Wish had overheard doing so, +were ignominiously banished from the court and +capital. + +After this, the courtiers became alarmed, and +tried to correct their habit of speech; but they +would have found themselves in constant difficulties, +had not one clever person struck out a +bright idea. He said that though it was +indispensably necessary for a man to have a great +nose, women were very different; and that a +learned man had discovered in a very old manuscript +that the celebrated Cleopatra, Queen of +Egypt, the beauty of the ancient world, had a +turned-up nose. At this information Prince +Wish was so delighted that he made the courtier +a very handsome present, and immediately sent +off ambassadors to demand Princess Darling in +marriage. + +She accepted his offer at once, and returned +with the ambassadors. He made all haste to +meet and welcome her, but when she was only +three leagues distant from his capital, before he +had time even to kiss her hand, the magician +who had once assumed the shape of his mother's +cat, Minon, appeared in the air and carried her +off before the lover's very eyes. + +Prince Wish, almost beside himself with grief, +declared that nothing should induce him to return +to his throne and kingdom till he had found +Darling. He would suffer none of his courtiers +or attendants to follow him; but bidding them +all adieu, mounted a good horse, laid the reins on +the animal's neck, and let him take him wherever +he would. + +The horse entered a wide-extended plain, and +trotted on steadily the whole day without finding +a single house. Master and beast began almost +to faint with hunger; and Prince Wish might +have wished himself at home again, had he not +discovered, just at dusk, a cavern, where there +sat, beside a bright lantern, a little woman who +might have been more than a hundred years old. + +She put on her spectacles the better to look +at the stranger, and he noticed that her nose was +so small that the spectacles would hardly stay +on; then the prince and the fairy--for she was a +fairy--burst into laughter. + +"What a funny nose!" cried the one. + +"Not so funny as yours, madam," returned +the other. "But pray let us leave our noses +alone, and be good enough to give me something +to eat, for I am dying with hunger, and so is my +poor horse." + +"With all my heart," answered the fairy. +"Although your nose is ridiculously long, you +are no less the son of one of my best friends. I +loved your father like a brother; he had a very +handsome nose." + +"What is wanting to my nose?" asked Wish +rather savagely. + +"Oh! nothing at all. On the contrary, there is +a great deal too much of it; but never mind, one +may be a very honest man, and yet have too big +a nose. As I said, I was a great friend of your +father's; he came often to see me. I was very +pretty then, and oftentimes he used to say to me, +`My sister----' " + +"I will hear the rest, madam, with pleasure, +when I have supped; but will you condescend to +remember that I have tasted nothing all day?" + +"Poor boy," said the fairy, "I will give you +some supper directly; and while you eat it I will +tell you my history in six words, for I hate +much talking. A long tongue is as insupportable +as a long nose; and I remember when I was +young how much I used to be admired because I +was not a talker; indeed, some one said to the +queen my mother--for poor as you see me now, +I am the daughter of a great king, who +always----" + +"Ate when he was hungry, I hope," +interrupted the prince, whose patience was fast +departing. + +"You are right," said the imperturbable old +fairy; "and I will bring you your supper +directly, only I wish first just to say that the king +my father----" + +"Hang the king your father!" Prince Wish +was about to exclaim, but he stopped himself, +and only observed that however the pleasure of +her conversation might make him forget his +hunger, it could not have the same effect upon +his horse, who was really starving. + +The fairy, pleased at his civility, called her +servants and bade them supply him at once with +all he needed. "And," added she, "I must say +you are very polite and very good-tempered, in +spite of your nose." + +"What has the old woman to do with my +nose?" thought the prince. "If I were not so +very hungry, I would soon show her what she is +--a regular old gossip and chatterbox. She to +fancy she talks little, indeed! One must be very +foolish not to know one's own defects. This +comes of being born a princess. Flatterers have +spoiled her and persuaded her that she talks +little. Little, indeed! I never knew anybody +chatter so much." + +While the prince thus meditated, the servants +were laying the table, the fairy asking them a +hundred unnecessary questions, simply for the +pleasure of hearing herself talk. "Well," +thought Wish, "I am delighted that I came +hither, if only to learn how wise I have been in +never listening to flatterers, who hide from us +our faults, or make us believe they are perfections. +But they could never deceive me. I know +all my own weak points, I trust." As truly he +believed he did. + +So he went on eating contentedly, nor stopped +till the old fairy began to address him. + +"Prince," said she, "will you be kind enough +to turn a little? Your nose casts such a shadow +that I cannot see what is on my plate. And, as +I was saying, your father admired me and always +made me welcome at court. What is the +court etiquette there now? Do the ladies still +go to assemblies, promenades, balls?--I beg your +pardon for laughing, but how very long your +nose is." + +"I wish you would cease to speak of my nose," +said the prince, becoming annoyed. "It is what +it is, and I do not desire it any shorter." + +"Oh! I see that I have vexed you," returned +the fairy. "Nevertheless, I am one of your best +friends, and so I shall take the liberty of +always----" She would doubtless have gone on +talking till midnight; but the prince, unable to +bear it any longer, here interrupted her, thanked +her for her hospitality, bade her a hasty adieu, +and rode away. + +He traveled for a long time, half over the +world, but he heard no news of Princess Darling. +However, in each place he went to, he +heard one remarkable fact--the great length of +his own nose. The little boys in the streets +jeered at him, the peasants stared at him, and the +more polite ladies and gentlemen whom he met +in society used to try in vain to keep from +laughing, and to get out of his way as soon as they +could. So the poor prince became gradually +quite forlorn and solitary; he thought all the +world was mad, but still he never thought of +there being anything queer about his own nose. +At last the old fairy, who, though she was a +chatterbox, was very good-natured; saw that he +was almost breaking his heart. She felt sorry +for him and wished to help him in spite of +himself, for she knew the enchantment which hid +from him the Princess Darling could never be +broken till he had discovered his own defect. +So she went in search of the princess, and being +more powerful than the magician, since she was +a good fairy and he was an evil magician, she got +her away from him and shut her up in a palace +of crystal, which she placed on the road which +Prince Wish had to pass. + +He was riding along, very melancholy, when +he saw the palace; and at its entrance was a +room, made of the purest glass, in which sat his +beloved princess, smiling and beautiful as ever. +He leaped from his horse and ran toward her. +She held out her hand for him to kiss, but he +could not get at it for the glass. Transported +with eagerness and delight, he dashed his sword +through the crystal and succeeded in breaking a +small opening, to which she put up her beautiful +rosy mouth. But it was in vain; Prince Wish +could not approach it. He twisted his neck +about, and turned his head on all sides, till at +length, putting up his hand to his face, he +discovered the impediment. + +"It must be confessed,'t exclaimed he, "that +my nose is too long." + +That moment the glass walls all split asunder, +and the old fairy appeared, leading Princess +Darling. + +"Avow, prince," said she, "that you are very +much obliged to me, for now the enchantment is +ended. You may marry the object of your +choice. But," added she, smiling, "I fear I +might have talked to you forever on the subject +of your nose, and you would not have believed +me in its length, till it became an obstacle to your +own inclinations. Now behold it!" and she held +up a crystal mirror. "Are you satisfied to be +no different from other people?" + +"Perfectly," said Prince Wish, who found +his nose had shrunk to an ordinary length. And +taking the Princess Darling by the hand, he +kissed her courteously, affectionately, and +satisfactorily. Then they departed to their own +country, and lived very happily all their days. + + + +THE FROG-PRINCE + +IN times of yore, when wishes were both +heard and granted, lived a king whose +daughters were all beautiful but the youngest +was so lovely that the sun himself, who +has seen so much, wondered at her beauty every +time he looked in her face. Now, near the king's +castle was a large dark forest; and in the forest, +under an old linden tree, was a deep well. When +the day was very hot, the king's daughter used +to go to the wood and seat herself at the edge of +the cool well; and when she became wearied, she +would take a golden ball, throw it up in the air, +and catch it again. This was her favorite amusement. +Once it happened that her golden ball, +instead of falling back into the little hand that +she stretched out for it, dropped on the ground, +and immediately rolled away into the water. +The king's daughter followed it with her eyes, +but the ball had vanished, and the well was so +deep that no one could see down to the bottom. +Then she began to weep, wept louder and louder +every minute, and could not console herself at +all. + +While she was thus lamenting some one called +to her: "What is the matter with you, king's +daughter? You weep so that you would touch +the heart of a stone." + +She looked around to see whence the voice +came, and saw a frog stretching his thick ugly +head out of the water. + +"Ah! it is you, old water-paddler!" said she. +"I am crying for my golden ball, which has +fallen into the well." + +"Be content," answered the frog; "I dare say +I can give you some good advice; but what will +you give me if I bring back your plaything to +you?" + +"Whatever you like, dear frog," said she, +"my clothes, my pearls and jewels, even the +golden crown I wear." + +The frog answered, "Your clothes, your +pearls and jewels, even your golden crown, I do +not care for; but if you will love me, and let me +be your companion and play-fellow, sit near you +at your little table, eat from your little golden +plate, drink from your little cup, and sleep in +your little bed--if you will promise me this, +then I will bring you back your golden ball from +the bottom of the well." + +"Oh, yes!" said she; "I promise you every- +thing, if you will only bring me back my golden +ball." + +She thought to herself, meanwhile: "What +nonsense the silly frog talks! He sits in the +water with the other frogs, and croaks, and cannot +be anybody's playfellow!" + +But the frog, as soon as he had received the +promise dipped his head under the water and +sank down. In a little while up he came again +with the ball in his mouth, and threw it on the +grass. The king's daughter was overjoyed when +she beheld her pretty plaything again, picked it +up, and ran away with it. + +"Wait! wait!" cried the frog; "take me with +you. I cannot run as fast as you." + +Alas! of what use was it that he croaked after +her as loud as he could. She would not listen to +him, but hastened home, and soon forgot the poor +frog, who was obliged to plunge again to the +bottom of his well. + +The next day, when she was sitting at dinner +with the king and all the courtiers, eating from +her little gold plate, there came a sound of +something creeping up the marble staircase--splish, +splash; and when it had reached the top, it +knocked at the door and cried, "Youngest king's +daughter, open to me." + +She ran, wishing to see who was outside; but +when she opened the door and there sat the frog, +she flung it hastily to again and sat down at +table, feeling very, very uncomfortable. The +king saw that her heart was beating violently, +and said, "How, my child, why are you afraid? +Is a giant standing outside the door to carry you +off?" + +"Oh, no!" answered she, "it is no giant, but a +nasty frog, who yesterday, when I was playing +in the wood near the well, fetched my golden ball +out of the water. For this I promised him he +should be my companion, but I never thought he +could come out of his well. Now he is at the door, +and wants to come in." + +Again, the second time there was a knock, and +a voice cried: + + "Youngest king's daughter, + Open to me; + Know you what yesterday + You promised me, + By the cool water? + Youngest king's daughter, + Open to me." + + +Then said the king, "What you promised you +must perform. Go and open the door." + +She went and opened the door; the frog +hopped in, always following and following her +till he came up to her chair. There he sat and +cried out, "Lift me up to you on the table." + +She refused, till the king, her father, +commanded her to do it. When the frog was on the +table, he said, "Now push your little golden plate +nearer to me, that we may eat together." She +did as he desired, but one could easily see that +she did it unwillingly. The frog seemed to enjoy +his dinner very much, but every morsel she ate +stuck in the throat of the poor little princess. + +Then said the frog, "I have eaten enough, and +am tired; carry me to your little room, and make +your little silken bed smooth, and we will lay +ourselves down to sleep together." + +At this the daughter of the king began to +weep; for she was afraid of the cold frog, who +wanted to sleep in her pretty clean bed. + +But the king looked angrily at her, and said +again: "What you have promised you must perform. +The frog is your companion." + +It was no use to complain; whether she liked +it or not, she was obliged to take the frog with +her up to her little bed. So she picked him up +with two fingers, hating him bitterly the while, +and carried him upstairs: but when she got into +bed, instead of lifting him up to her, she threw +him with all her strength against the wall, saying, +"Now you nasty frog, there will be an end +of you." + +But what fell down from the wall was not a +dead frog, but a living young prince, with beautiful +and loving eyes, who at once became, by her +own promise and her father's will, her dear +companion and husband. He told her how he +had been cursed by a wicked sorceress, and that +no one but the king's youngest daughter could +release him from his enchantment and take him +out of the well. + +The next day a carriage drove up to the palace +gates with eight white horses, having white +feathers on their heads and golden reins. Behind +it stood the servant of the young prince, +called the faithful Henry. This faithful Henry +had been so grieved when his master was changed +into a frog that he had been compelled to have +three iron bands fastened round his heart, lest +it should break. Now the carriage came to convey +the prince to his kingdom, so the faithful +Henry lifted in the bride and bridegroom and +mounted behind, full of joy at his lord's release. +But when they had gone a short distance, the +prince heard behind him a noise as if something +was breaking. He cried out, "Henry, the carriage +is breaking!" + +But Henry replied: "No, sir, it is not the +carriage but one of the bands from my heart, with +which I was forced to bind it up, or it would have +broken with grief while you sat as a frog at the +bottom of the well." + +Twice again this happened, and the prince +always thought the carriage was breaking; but it +was only the bands breaking off from the heart +of the faithful Henry, out of joy that his lord, +the frog-prince, was a frog no more. + + + +CLEVER ALICE + +ONCE upon a time there was a man who +had a daughter who was called +"Clever Alice," and when she was +grown up, her father said, "We must +see about her marrying." + +"Yes," replied her mother, "whenever a +young man shall appear who is worthy of her." + +At last a certain youth, by name Hans, came +from a distance to make a proposal of marriage; +but he required one condition, that the clever +Alice should be very prudent. + +"Oh," said her father, "no fear of that! she +has got a head full of brains;" and the mother +added, "ah, she can see the wind blow up the +street, and hear the flies cough!" + +"Very well," replied Hans; "but remember, +if she is not very prudent, I will not take her." +Soon afterward they sat down to dinner, and her +mother said, "Alice, go down into the cellar and +draw some beer." + +So Clever Alice took the jug down from the +wall, and went into the cellar, jerking the lid +up and down on her way, to pass away the time. +As soon as she got downstairs she drew a stool +and placed it before the cask, in order that she +might not have to stoop, for she thought stooping +might in some way injure her back and give it +an undesirable bend. Then she placed the can +before her and turned the tap, and while the beer +was running, as she did not wish her eyes to be +idle, she looked about upon the wall above and +below. Presently she perceived, after much +peeping into this corner and that corner, a +hatchet, which the bricklayers had left behind? +sticking out of the ceiling right above her head. +At the sight of this Clever Alice began to cry, +saying, "Oh! if I marry Hans, and we have a +child, and he grows up, and we send him into the +cellar to draw beer, the hatchet will fall upon his +head and kill him," and so she sat there weeping +with all her might over the impending misfortune. + +Meanwhile the good folks upstairs were waiting +for the beer, but as Clever Alice did not +come, her mother told the maid to go and see +what she was stopping for. The maid went +down into the cellar and found Alice sitting before +the cask crying heartily, and she asked, +"Alice, what are you weeping about?" + +"Ah," she replied, "have I not cause? If I +marry Hans, and we have a child, and he grows +up, and we send him here to draw beer, that +hatchet will fall upon his head and kill him." + +"Oh," said the maid, "what a clever Alice we +have!" And sitting down, she began to weep, +too, for the misfortune that was to happen. + +After a while, when the servant did not +return, the good folks above began to feel very +thirsty; so the husband told the boy to go down +into the cellar and see what had become of Alice +and the maid. The boy went down, and there sat +Clever Alice and the maid both crying, so he +asked the reason; and Alice told him the same +tale, of the hatchet that was to fall on her child, +if she married Hans, and if they had a child. +When she had finished, the boy exclaimed, +"What a clever Alice we have!" and fell weeping +and howling with the others. + +Upstairs they were still waiting, and the +husband said, when the boy did not return, "Do you +go down, wife, into the cellar and see why Alice +stays so long." So she went down, and finding +all three sitting there crying, asked the reason, +and Alice told her about the hatchet which must +inevitably fall upon the head of her son. Then +the mother likewise exclaimed, "Oh, what a +clever Alice we have!" and, sitting down, began +to weep as much as any of the rest. + +Meanwhile the husband waited for his wife's +return; but at last he felt so very thirsty that he +said, "I must go myself down into the cellar and +see what is keeping our Alice." As soon as he +entered the cellar, there he found the four sitting +and crying together, and when he heard the +reason, he also exclaimed, "Oh, what a clever +Alice we have!" and sat down to cry with the +whole strength of his lungs. + +All this time the bridegroom above sat waiting, +but when nobody returned, he thought they +must be waiting for him, and so he went down to +see what was the matter. When he entered, +there sat the five crying and groaning, each one +in a louder key than his neighbor. + +"What misfortune has happened?" he asked. + +"Ah, dear Hans!" cried Alice, "if you and I +should marry one another, and have a child, +and he grew up, and we, perhaps, send him down +to this cellar to tap the beer, the hatchet which +has been left sticking up there may fall on his +head, and so kill him; and do you not think this +is enough to weep about?" + +"Now," said Hans, "more prudence than this +is not necessary for my housekeeping; because +you are such a clever Alice, I will have you for +my wife." And, taking her hand, he led her +home, and celebrated the wedding directly. + +After they had been married a little while, +Hans, said one morning, "Wife, I will go out to +work and earn some money; do you go into the +field and gather some corn wherewith to make +bread." + +"Yes," she answered, "I will do so, dear +Hans." And when he was gone, she cooked herself +a nice mess of pottage to take with her. As +she came to the field, she said to herself, "What +shall I do? Shall I cut first, or eat first? Aye, +I will eat first!" Then she ate up the contents of +her pot, and when it was finished, she thought to +herself, "Now, shall I reap first or sleep first? +Well, I think I will have a nap!" and so she laid +herself down among the corn, and went to sleep. + +Meanwhile Hans returned home, but Alice did +not come, and so he said, "Oh, what a prudent +Alice I have! She is so industrious that she does +not even come home to eat anything." By and +by, however, evening came on, and still she did +not return; so Hans went out to see how much +she had reaped; but, behold, nothing at all, and +there lay Alice fast asleep among the corn! So +home he ran very fast, and brought a net with +little bells hanging on it, which he threw over +her head while she still slept on. When he had +done this, he went back again and shut to the +house door, and, seating himself on his stool, +began working very industriously. + +At last, when it was nearly dark, the clever +Alice awoke, and as soon as she stood up, the net +fell all over her hair, and the bells jingled at +every step she took. This quite frightened her, +and she began to doubt whether she were really +Clever Alice, and said to herself, "Am I she, or +am I not?" This was a question she could not +answer, and she stood still a long while considering +about it. At last she thought she would go +home and ask whether she was really herself-- +supposing somebody would be able to tell her. + +When she came up to the house door it was +shut; so she tapped at the window, and asked, +"Hans, is Alice within?" "Yes," he replied, +"she is." At which answer she became really +terrified, and exclaiming, "Ah, heaven, then I +am not Alice!" she ran up to another house, +intending to ask the same question. But as soon as +the folks within heard the jingling of the bells +in her net, they refused to open their doors, and +nobody would receive her. So she ran straight +away from the village, and no one has ever seen +her since. + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg Etext of The Little Lame Prince + diff --git a/old/lamep10.zip b/old/lamep10.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..3514ceb --- /dev/null +++ b/old/lamep10.zip |