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

himself upon a white horse,

which pranced and caracoled to the sound of the trumpets. Nothing

could have been more splendid than the ambassador’s attire. His

coat was nearly hidden under an embroidery of pearls and diamonds,

his boots were solid gold, and from his helmet floated scarlet plumes.

At the sight of him the Princess lost her wits entirely, and determined

that Fanfaronade and nobody else would she marry.

 

`It is quite impossible,’ she said, `that his master should be half

as handsome and delightful. I am not ambitious, and having spent

all my life in this tedious tower, anything—even a house in the

country—will seem a delightful change. I am sure that bread and

water shared with Fanfaronade will please me far better than roast

chicken and sweetmeats with anybody else.’

 

And so she went on talk, talk, talking, until her waiting-women

wondered where she got it all from. But when they tried to stop

her, and represented that her high rank made it perfectly impossible

that she should do any such thing, she would not listen, and

ordered them to be silent.

 

As soon as the ambassador arrived at the palace, the Queen

started to fetch her daughter.

 

All the streets were spread with carpets, and the windows were

full of ladies who were waiting to see the Princess, and carried

baskets of flowers and sweetmeats to shower upon her as she

passed.

 

They had hardly begun to get the Princess ready when a dwarf

arrived, mounted upon an elephant. He came from the five fairies,

and brought for the Princess a crown, a sceptre, and a robe of golden

brocade, with a petticoat marvellously embroidered with butterflies’

wings. They also sent a casket of jewels, so splendid that no one

had ever seen anything like it before, and the Queen was perfectly

dazzled when she opened it. But the Princess scarcely gave a glance

to any of these treasures, for she thought of nothing but Fanfaronade.

The Dwarf was rewarded with a gold piece, and decorated with so

many ribbons that it was hardly possible to see him at all. The

Princess sent to each of the fairies a new spinning-wheel with a

distaff of cedar wood, and the Queen said she must look through

her treasures and find something very charming to send them

also.

 

When the Princess was arrayed in all the gorgeous things the

Dwarf had brought, she was more beautiful than ever, and as she

walked along the streets the people cried: `How pretty she is!

How pretty she is!’

 

The procession consisted of the Queen, the Princess, five dozen

other princesses her cousins, and ten dozen who came from the

neighbouring kingdoms; and as they proceeded at a stately pace the

sky began to grow dark, then suddenly the thunder growled, and

rain and hail fell in torrents. The Queen put her royal mantle

over her head, and all the princesses did the same with their trains.

Mayblossom was just about to follow their example when a terrific

croaking, as of an immense army of crows, rooks, ravens, screech-owls, and all birds of ill-omen was heard, and at the same instant a

huge owl skimmed up to the Princess, and threw over her a scarf

woven of spiders’ webs and embroidered with bats’ wings. And

then peals of mocking laughter rang through the air, and they

guessed that this was another of the Fairy Carabosse’s unpleasant

jokes.

 

The Queen was terrified at such an evil omen, and tried to pull

the black scarf from the Princess’s shoulders, but it really seemed

as if it must be nailed on, it clung so closely.

 

`Ah!’ cried the Queen, `can nothing appease this enemy of

ours? What good was it that I sent her more than fifty pounds of

sweetmeats, and as much again of the best sugar, not to mention

two Westphalia hams? She is as angry as ever.’

 

While she lamented in this way, and everybody was as wet as

if they had been dragged through a river, the Princess still thought

of nothing but the ambassador, and just at this moment he appeared

before her, with the King, and there was a great blowing of

trumpets, and all the people shouted louder than ever. Fanfaronade

was not generally at a loss for something to say, but when he saw

the Princess, she was so much more beautiful and majestic than he

had expected that he could only stammer out a few words, and

entirely forgot the harangue which he had been learning for

months, and knew well enough to have repeated it in his sleep. To

gain time to remember at least part of it, he made several low bows

to the Princess, who on her side dropped half-a-dozen curtseys without

stopping to think, and then said, to relieve his evident embarrassment:

 

`Sir Ambassador, I am sure that everything you intend to say

is charming, since it is you who mean to say it; but let us make

haste into the palace, as it is pouring cats and dogs, and the wicked

Fairy Carabosse will be amused to see us all stand dripping here.

When we are once under shelter we can laugh at her.’

 

Upon this the Ambassador found his tongue, and replied

gallantly that the Fairy had evidently foreseen the flames that

would be kindled by the bright eyes of the Princess, and had sent

this deluge to extinguish them. Then he offered his hand to conduct

the Princess, and she said softly:

 

`As you could not possibly guess how much I like you, Sir

Fanfaronade, I am obliged to tell you plainly that, since I saw you

enter the town on your beautiful prancing horse, I have been sorry

that you came to speak for another instead of for yourself. So, if

you think about it as I do, I will marry you instead of your master.

Of course I know you are not a prince, but I shall be just as fond of

you as if you were, and we can go and live in some cosy little

corner of the world, and be as happy as the days are long.’

 

The Ambassador thought he must be dreaming, and could hardly

believe what the lovely Princess said. He dared not answer, but

only squeezed the Princess’s hand until he really hurt her little

finger, but she did not cry out. When they reached the palace the

King kissed his daughter on both cheeks, and said:

 

`My little lambkin, are you willing to marry the great King

Merlin’s son, for this Ambassador has come on his behalf to fetch

you?’

 

`If you please, sire,’ said the Princess, dropping a curtsey.

 

`I consent also,’ said the Queen; `so let the banquet be prepared.’

 

This was done with all speed, and everybody feasted except

Mayblossom and Fanfaronade, who looked at one another and forgot

everything else.

 

After the banquet came a ball, and after that again a ballet, and

at last they were all so tired that everyone fell asleep just where

he sat. Only the lovers were as wide-awake as mice, and the

Princess, seeing that there was nothing to fear, said to Fanfaronade:

 

`Let us be quick and run away, for we shall never have a better

chance than this.’

 

Then she took the King’s dagger, which was in a diamond

sheath, and the Queen’s neck-handkerchief, and gave her hand to

Fanfaronade, who carried a lantern, and they ran out together into

the muddy street and down to the seashore. Here they got into

a little boat in which the poor old boatman was sleeping, and when

he woke up and saw the lovely Princess, with all her diamonds and

her spiders’—web scarf, he did not know what to think, and obeyed

her instantly when she commanded him to set out. They could see

neither moon nor stars, but in the Queen’s neck-handkerchief there

was a carbuncle which glowed like fifty torches. Fanfaronade

asked the Princess where she would like to go, but she only

answered that she did not care where she went as long as he was

with her.

 

`But, Princess,’ said he, `I dare not take you back to King

Merlin’s court. He would think hanging too good for me.’

 

`Oh, in that case,’ she answered, `we had better go to Squirrel

Island; it is lonely enough, and too far off for anyone to follow us

there.’

 

So she ordered the old boatman to steer for Squirrel Island.

 

Meanwhile the day was breaking, and the King and Queen and

all the courtiers began to wake up and rub their eyes, and think

it was time to finish the preparations for the wedding. And the

Queen asked for her neck-handkerchief, that she might look smart.

Then there was a scurrying hither and thither, and a hunting everywhere:

they looked into every place, from the wardrobes to the

stoves, and the Queen herself ran about from the garret to the

cellar, but the handkerchief was nowhere to be found.

 

By this time the King had missed his dagger, and the

search began all over again. They opened boxes and chests of

which the keys had been lost for a hundred years, and found

numbers of curious things, but not the dagger, and the King tore

his beard, and the Queen tore her hair, for the handkerchief and

the dagger were the most valuable things in the kingdom.

 

When the King saw that the search was hopeless he said:

 

`Never mind, let us make haste and get the wedding over before

anything else is lost.’ And then he asked where the Princess was.

Upon this her nurse came forward and said:

 

`Sire, I have been seeking her these two hours, but she is

nowhere to be found.’ This was more than the Queen could bear.

She gave a shriek of alarm and fainted away, and they had to pour

two barrels of eau-de-cologne over her before she recovered. When

she came to herself everybody was looking for the Princess in the

greatest terror and confusion, but as she did not appear, the King

said to his page:

 

`Go and find the Ambassador Fanfaronade, who is doubtless

asleep in some corner, and tell him the sad news.’

 

So the page hunted hither and thither, but Fanfaronade was

no more to be found than the Princess, the dagger, or the neck-handkerchief!

 

Then the King summoned his counsellors and his guards, and,

accompanied by the Queen, went into his great hall. As he had not

had time to prepare his speech beforehand, the King ordered that

silence should be kept for three hours, and at the end of that time

he spoke as follows:

 

`Listen, great and ! My dear daughter Mayblossom is

lost: whether she has been stolen away or has simply disappeared

I cannot tell. The Queen’s neck-handkerchief and my sword,

which are worth their weight in gold, are also missing, and, what

is worst of all, the Ambassador Fanfaronade is nowhere to be

found. I greatly fear that the King, his master, when he receives

no tidings from him, will come to seek him among us, and will

accuse us of having made mince-meat of him. Perhaps I could

bear even that if I had any money, but I assure you that the

expenses of the wedding have completely ruined me. Advise me,

then, my dear subjects, what had I better do to recover my daughter,

Fanfaronade, and the other things.’

 

This was the most eloquent speech the King had been known

to make, and when everybody had done admiring it the Prime

Minister made answer:

 

`Sire, we are all very sorry to see you so sorry. We would

give everything we value