The Red Fairy Book - Andrew Lang (best novels for beginners TXT) 📗

neither the price nor the weight of it.’

 

`I know so well that I have refused to wear one,’ said the little

maiden, `though I don’t know who was my father, or who was my

mother, and I have not a friend in the world.’

 

`You have goodness and beauty, which are of more value than

ten kingdoms,’ said the wise Fairy. `But tell me, child, how came

you here, and how is it you have neither father, nor mother, nor

friend?’

 

`A Fairy called Cancaline is the cause of my being here,’ answered

she, `for while I lived with her I got nothing but blows and harsh

words, until at last I could bear it no longer, and ran away from

her without knowing where I was going, and as I came through a

wood the wicked Prince met me, and offered to give me charge of

the poultry-yard. I accepted gladly, not knowing that I should

have to see him day by day. And now he wants to marry me, but

that I will never consent to.’

 

Upon hearing this the Fairy became convinced that the little

Turkey-maiden was none other than the Princess Delicia.

 

`What is your name, my little one?’ said she.

 

`I am called Delicia, if it please you,’ she answered.

 

Then the Fairy threw her arms round the Princess’s neck, and

nearly smothered her with kisses, saying:

 

`Ah, Delicia! I am a very old friend of yours, and I am truly

glad to find you at last; but you might look nicer than you do in

that old gown, which is only fit for a kitchen-maid. Take this pretty

dress and let us see the difference it will make.’

 

So Delicia took off the ugly cap, and shook out all her fair shining

hair, and bathed her hands and face in clear water from the nearest

spring till her cheeks were like roses, and when she was adorned

with the diamonds and the splendid robe the Fairy had given her,

she looked the most beautiful Princess in the world, and the Fairy

with great delight cried:

 

`Now you look as you ought to look, Delicia: what do you

think about it yourself?’

 

And Delicia answered:

 

`I feel as if I were the daughter of some great king.’

 

`And would you be glad if you were?’ said the Fairy.

 

`Indeed I should,’ answered she.

 

`Ah, well,’ said the Fairy, `to-morrow I may have some pleasant

news for you.’

 

So she hurried back to her castle, where the Queen sat busy with

her embroidery, and cried:

 

`Well, madam! will you wager your thimble and your golden

needle that I am bringing you the best news you could possibly hear?’

 

`Alas!’ sighed the Queen, `since the death of the Jolly King

and the loss of my Delicia, all the news in the world is not worth a

pin to me.

 

`There, there, don’t be melancholy,’ said the Fairy. `I assure

you the Princess is quite well, and I have never seen her equal for

beauty. She might be a Queen to-morrow if she chose; `and then

she told all that had happened, and the Queen first rejoiced over the

thought of Delicia’s beauty, and then wept at the idea of her being

a Turkey-maiden.

 

`I will not hear of her being made to marry the wicked King’s

son,’ she said. `Let us go at once and bring her here.’

 

In the meantime the wicked Prince, who was very angry with

Delicia, had sat himself down under a tree, and cried and howled

with rage and spite until the King heard him, and cried out from

the window:

 

`What is the matter with you, that you are making all this

disturbance?’

 

The Prince replied:

 

`It is all because our Turkey-maiden will not love me!’

 

`Won’t love you? eh!’ said the King. `We’ll very soon see

about that!’ So he called his guards and told them to go and

fetch Delicia. `See if I don’t make her change her mind pretty

soon!’ said the wicked King with a chuckle.

 

Then the guards began to search the poultry-yard, and could

find nobody there but Delicia, who, with her splendid dress and

her crown of diamonds, looked such a lovely Princess that they

hardly dared to speak to her. But she said to them very politely:

 

`Pray tell me what you are looking for here?’

 

`Madam,’ they answered, `we are sent for an insignificant little

person called Delicia.’

 

`Alas!’ said she, `that is my name. What can you want with me?’

 

So the guards tied her hands and feet with thick ropes, for fear

she might run away, and brought her to the King, who was waiting

with his son.

 

When he saw her he was very much astonished at her beauty,

which would have made anyone less hard-hearted sorry for her.

But the wicked King only laughed and mocked at her, and

cried: `Well, little fright, little toad! why don’t you love my

son, who is far too handsome and too good for you? Make haste

and begin to love him this instant, or you shall be tarred and

feathered.’

 

Then the poor little Princess, shaking with terror, went down

on her knees, crying:

 

`Oh, don’t tar and feather me, please! It would be so

uncomfortable. Let me have two or three days to make up my mind,

and then you shall do as you like with me.’

 

The wicked Prince would have liked very much to see her

tarred and feathered, but the King ordered that she should be shut

up in a dark dungeon. It was just at this moment that the Queen

and the Fairy arrived in the flying chariot, and the Queen was

dreadfully distressed at the turn affairs had taken, and said

miserably that she was destined to be unfortunate all her days.

But the Fairy bade her take courage.

 

`I’ll pay them out yet,’ said she, nodding her head with an air

of great determination.

 

That very same night, as soon as the wicked King had gone to

bed, the Fairy changed herself into the little mouse, and creeping

up on to his pillow nibbled his ear, so that he squealed out quite

loudly and turned over on his other side; but that was no good, for

the little mouse only set to work and gnawed away at the second

ear until it hurt more than the first one.

 

Then the King cried `Murder!’ and `Thieves!’ and all his

guards ran to see what was the matter, but they could find nothing

and nobody, for the little mouse had run off to the Prince’s room

and was serving him in exactly the same way. All night long she

ran from one to the other, until at last, driven quite frantic by

terror and want of sleep, the King rushed out of the palace crying:

 

`Help! help! I am pursued by rats.’

 

The Prince when he heard this got up also, and ran after the

King, and they had not gone far when they both fell into the river

and were never heard of again.

 

Then the good Fairy ran to tell the Queen, and they went

together to the black dungeon where Delicia was imprisoned. The

Fairy touched each door with her wand, and it sprang open

instantly, but they had to go through forty before they came to the

Princess, who was sitting on the floor looking very dejected. But

when the Queen rushed in, and kissed her twenty times in a

minute, and laughed, and cried, and told Delicia all her history,

the Princess was wild with delight. Then the Fairy showed her all

the wonderful dresses and jewels she had brought for her, and said:

 

`Don’t let us waste time; we must go and harangue the people.’

 

So she walked first, looking very serious and dignified, and

wearing a dress the train of which was at least ten ells long.

Behind her came the Queen wearing a blue velvet robe embroidered

with gold, and a diamond crown that was brighter than the sun

itself. Last of all walked Delicia, who was so beautiful that it was

nothing short of marvellous.

 

They proceeded through the streets, returning the salutations of

all they met, great or small, and all the people turned and followed

them, wondering who these noble ladies could be.

 

When the audience hall was quite full, the Fairy said to the

subjects of the Wicked King that if they would accept Delicia, who

was the daughter of the Jolly King, as their Queen, she would

undertake to find a suitable husband for her, and would promise

that during their reign there should be nothing but rejoicing and

merry-making, and all dismal things should be entirely banished.

Upon this the people cried with one accord, `We will, we will! we

have been gloomy and miserable too long already.’ And they all

took hands and danced round the Queen, and Delicia, and the good

Fairy, singing: `Yes, yes; we will, we will!’

 

Then there were feasts and fireworks in every street in the

town, and early the next morning the Fairy, who had been all over

the world in the night, brought back with her, in her flying chariot,

the most handsome and good-tempered Prince she could find

anywhere. He was so charming that Delicia loved him from the

moment their eyes met, and as for him, of course he could not help

thinking himself the luckiest Prince in the world. The Queen felt

that she had really come to the end of her misfortunes at last, and

they all lived happily ever after.[10]

 

[10] La bonne vetite Souris’ par Madame d’Aulnoy.

GRACIOSA AND PERCINET

ONCE upon a time there lived a King and Queen who had one

charming daughter. She was so graceful and pretty and

clever that she was called Graciosa, and the Queen was so fond of

her that she could think of nothing else.

 

Everyday she gave the Princess a lovely new frock of gold brocade,

or satin, or velvet, and when she was hungry she had bowls full of

sugar-plums, and at least twenty pots of jam. Everybody said she

was the happiest Princess in the world. Now there lived at this

same court a very rich old duchess whose name was Grumbly.

She was more frightful than tongue can tell; her hair was red as

fire, and she had but one eye, and that not a pretty one! Her face

was as broad as a full moon, and her mouth was so large that

everybody who met her would have been afraid they were going to be

eaten up, only she had no teeth. As she was as cross as she was

ugly, she could not bear to hear everyone saying how pretty and

how charming Graciosa was; so she presently went away from the

court to her own castle, which was not far off. But if anybody who

went to see her happened to mention the charming Princess, she

would cry angrily:

 

`It’s not true that she is lovely. I have more beauty in my little

finger than she has in her whole body.’

 

Soon after this, to the great grief of the Princess, the Queen was

taken ill and died, and the King became so melancholy that for a

whole year he shut himself up in his palace. At last his physicians,

fearing that he would fall ill, ordered that he should go out and

amuse himself; so a hunting party was arranged, but as it was very

hot weather the King soon got tired, and said he would dismount

and rest at a