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

castle which they were passing.

 

This happened to be the Duchess Grumbly’s castle, and when

she heard that the King was coming she went out to meet him, and

said that the cellar was the coolest place in the whole castle if he

would condescend to come down into it. So down they went

together, and the King seeing about two hundred great casks ranged

side by side, asked if it was only for herself that she had this

immense store of wine.

 

`Yes, sire,’ answered she, `it is for myself alone, but I shall be

most happy to let you taste some of it. Which do you like, canary,

St. Julien, champagne, hermitage sack, raisin, or cider?’

 

`Well,’ said the King, `since you are so kind as to ask me, I

prefer champagne to anything else.’

 

Then Duchess Grumbly took up a little hammer and tapped

upon the cask twice, and out came at least a thousand crowns.

 

`What’s the meaning of this?’ said she smiling.

 

Then she tapped the next cask, and out came a bushel of gold pieces.

 

`I don’t understand this at all,’ said the Duchess, smiling more

than before.

 

Then she went on to the third cask, tap, tap, and out came such

a stream of diamonds and pearls that the ground was covered with them.

 

`Ah!’ she cried, `this is altogether beyond my comprehension,

sire. Someone must have stolen my good wine and put all this

rubbish in its place.’

 

`Rubbish, do you call it, Madam Grumbly?’ cried the King.

`Rubbish! why there is enough there to buy ten kingdoms.’

 

`Well,’ said she, `you must know that all those casks are full

of gold and jewels, and if you like to marry me it shall all be

yours.’

 

Now the King loved money more than anything else in the world,

so he cried joyfully:

 

`Marry you? why with all my heart! to-morrow if you like.’

 

`But I make one condition,’ said the Duchess; `I must have

entire control of your daughter to do as I please with her.’

 

`Oh certainly, you shall have your own way; let us shake hands

upon the bargain,’ said the King.

 

So they shook hands and went up out of the cellar of treasure together,

and the Duchess locked the door and gave the key to the King.

 

When he got back to his own palace Graciosa ran out to meet

him, and asked if he had had good sport.

 

`I have caught a dove,’ answered he.

 

`Oh! do give it to me,’ said the Princess, `and I will keep it and

take care of it.’

 

`I can hardly do that,’ said he, `for, to speak more plainly, I

mean that I met the Duchess Grumbly, and have promised to

marry her.’

 

`And you call her a dove?’ cried the Princess. `_I_ should have

called her a screech owl.’

 

`Hold your tongue,’ said the King, very crossly. `I intend you

to behave prettily to her. So now go and make yourself fit to be

seen, as I am going to take you to visit her.’

 

So the Princess went very sorrowfully to her own room, and her

nurse, seeing her tears, asked what was vexing her.

 

`Alas! who would not be vexed?’ answered she, `for the King

intends to marry again, and has chosen for his new bride my

enemy, the hideous Duchess Grumbly.’

 

`Oh, well!’ answered the nurse, `you must remember that you

are a Princess, and are expected to set a good example in making

the best of whatever happens. You must promise me not to let the

Duchess see how much you dislike her.’

 

At first the Princess would not promise, but the nurse showed

her so many good reasons for it that in the end she agreed to be

amiable to her stepmother.

 

Then the nurse dressed her in a robe of pale green and gold

brocade, and combed out her long fair hair till it floated round her

like a golden mantle, and put on her head a crown of roses and

jasmine with emerald leaves.

 

When she was ready nobody could have been prettier, but she

still could not help looking sad.

 

Meanwhile the Duchess Grumbly was also occupied in attiring

herself. She had one of her shoe heels made an inch or so higher

than the other, that she might not limp so much, and put in a

cunningly made glass eye in the place of the one she had lost. She

dyed her red hair black, and painted her face. Then she put on a

gorgeous robe of lilac satin lined with blue, and a yellow petticoat

trimmed with violet ribbons, and because she had heard that queens

always rode into their new dominions, she ordered a horse to be

made ready for her to ride.

 

While Graciosa was waiting until the King should be ready to

set out, she went down all alone through the garden into a little

wood, where she sat down upon a mossy bank and began to think.

And her thoughts were so doleful that very soon she began to cry,

and she cried, and cried, and forgot all about going back to the

palace, until she suddenly saw a handsome page standing before

her. He was dressed in green, and the cap which he held in his

hand was adorned with white plumes. When Graciosa looked at

him he went down on one knee, and said to her:

 

`Princess, the King awaits you.’

 

The Princess was surprised, and, if the truth must be told, very

much delighted at the appearance of this charming page, whom she

could not remember to have seen before. Thinking he might belong

to the household of the Duchess, she said:

 

`How long have you been one of the King’s pages?’

 

`I am not in the service of the King, madam,’ answered he, `but

in yours.’

 

`In mine?’ said the Princess with great surprise. `Then how

is it that I have never seen you before?’

 

`Ah, Princess!’ said he, `I have never before dared to present

myself to you, but now the King’s marriage threatens you with so

many dangers that I have resolved to tell you at once how much I

love you already, and I trust that in time I may win your regard. I

am Prince Percinet, of whose riches you may have heard, and whose

fairy gift will, I hope, be of use to you in all your difficulties, if you

will permit me to accompany you under this disguise.’

 

`Ah, Percinet!’ cried the Princess, `is it really you? I have

so often heard of you and wished to see you. If you will indeed be

my friend, I shall not be afraid of that wicked old Duchess any

more.’

 

So they went back to the palace together, and there Graciosa

found a beautiful horse which Percinet had brought for her to ride.

As it was very spirited he led it by the bridle, and this arrangement

enabled him to turn and look at the Princess often, which he did not

fail to do. Indeed, she was so pretty that it was a real pleasure to

look at her. When the horse which the Duchess was to ride appeared

beside Graciosa’s, it looked no better than an old cart horse, and as

to their trappings, there was simply no comparison between them,

as the Princess’s saddle and bridle were one glittering mass of

diamonds. The King had so many other things to think of that

he did not notice this, but all his courtiers were entirely taken up

with admiring the Princess and her charming Page in green, who

was more handsome and distinguished-looking than all the rest of

the court put together.

 

When they met the Duchess Grumbly she was seated in an

open carriage trying in vain to look dignified. The King and the

Princess saluted her, and her horse was brought forward for her to

mount. But when she saw Graciosa’s she cried angrily:

 

`If that child is to have a better horse than mine, I will go back

to my own castle this very minute. What is the good of being a

Queen if one is to be slighted like this?’

 

Upon this the King commanded Graciosa to dismount and to beg

the Duchess to honour her by mounting her horse. The Princess

obeyed in silence, and the Duchess, without looking at her or thanking

her, scrambled up upon the beautiful horse, where she sat looking

like a bundle of clothes, and eight officers had to hold her up for fear

she should fall off.

 

Even then she was not satisfied, and was still grumbling and

muttering, so they asked her what was the matter.

 

`I wish that Page in green to come and lead the horse, as he did

when Graciosa rode it,’ said she very sharply.

 

And the King ordered the Page to come and lead the Queen’s

horse. Percinet and the Princess looked at one another, but said

never a word, and then he did as the King commanded, and the

procession started in great pomp. The Duchess was greatly elated,

and as she sat there in state would not have wished to change places

even with Graciosa. But at the moment when it was least expected

the beautiful horse began to plunge and rear and kick, and

finally to run away at such a pace that it was impossible to stop

him.

 

At first the Duchess clung to the saddle, but she was very soon

thrown off and fell in a heap among the stones and thorns, and there

they found her, shaken to a jelly, and collected what was left of her

as if she had been a broken glass. Her bonnet was here and her

shoes there, her face was scratched, and her fine clothes were covered

with mud. Never was a bride seen in such a dismal plight. They

carried her back to the palace and put her to bed, but as soon as

she recovered enough to be able to speak, she began to scold and

rage, and declared that the whole affair was Graciosa’s fault, that

she had contrived it on purpose to try and get rid of her, and that

if the King would not have her punished, she would go back to her

castle and enjoy her riches by herself.

 

At this the King was terribly frightened, for he did not at all

want to lose all those barrels of gold and jewels. So he hastened

to appease the Duchess, and told her she might punish Graciosa in

any way she pleased.

 

Thereupon she sent for Graciosa, who turned pale and trembled

at the summons, for she guessed that it promised nothing agreeable

for her. She looked all about for Percinet, but he was nowhere to

be seen; so she had no choice but to go to the Duchess Grumbly’s

room. She had hardly got inside the door when she was seized by

four waiting women, who looked so tall and strong and cruel that

the Princess shuddered at the sight of them, and still more when she

saw them arming themselves with great bundles of rods, and heard

the Duchess call out to them from her bed to beat the Princess

without mercy. Poor Graciosa wished miserably that Percinet

could only know what was happening and come to rescue her. But

no sooner did they begin to beat her than she found, to her great

relief, that the rods had changed to bundles of peacock’s feathers,

and though the Duchess’s women went on till they were so tired

that they could no longer raise