once upon a time...
once upon a time there lived a king and queen, who were the best creatures in the world, and so kind-hearted that they could not bear to see their subjects want for anything. the consequence was that they gradually gave away all their treasures, till they positively1 had nothing left to live upon; and this coming to the ears of their neighbour, king bruin, he promptly2 raised a large army and marched into their country. the poor king, having no means of defending his kingdom, was forced to disguise himself with a false beard, and carrying his only son, the little prince featherhead, in his arms, and accompanied only by the queen, to make the best of his way into the wild country. they were lucky enough to escape the soldiers of king bruin, and at last, after unheard-of fatigues3 and adventures, they found themselves in a charming green valley, through which flowed a stream clear as crystal and overshadowed by beautiful trees. as they looked round them with delight, a voice said suddenly: 'fish, and see what you will catch.' now the king had always loved fishing, and n*r went anywhere without a fish-hook or two in his pocket, so he drew one out hastily, and the queen lent him her girdle to fasten it to, and it had hardly touched the water before it caught a *g fish, which made them an excellent meal--and not before they needed it, for they had found nothing until then but a few wild berries and roots. they thought that for the present they could not do better than stay in this delightful4 place, and the king set to work, and soon built a bower5 of branches to shelter them; and when it was finished the queen was so charmed with it that she declared nothing was lacking to complete her happiness but a flock of sheep, which she and the little prince might tend while the king fished. they soon found that the fish were not only abundant and easily caught, but also very beautiful, with glittering scales of *ry imaginable hue6; and before long the king discovered that he could teach them to talk and whistle better than any parrot. then he determined7 to carry some to the nearest town and try to sell them; and as no one had *r before seen any like them the people flocked about him eagerly and bought all he had caught, so that presently not a house in the city was considered complete without a crystal bowl full of fish, and the king's customers were very particular about having them to match the rest of the furniture, and gave him a vast amount of trouble in choosing them. how*r, the money he obtained in this way enabled him to buy the queen her flock of sheep, as well as many of the other things which go to make life pleasant, so that they n*r once regretted their lost kingdom. now it happened that the fairy of the beech-woods lived in the lovely valley to which chance had led the poor fugitives8, and it was she who had, in pity for their forlorn condition, sent the king such good luck to his fishing, and generally taken them under her protection. this she was all the * inclined to do as she loved children, and little prince featherhead, who n*r cried and grew prettier day by day, quite won her heart. she made the acquaintance of the king and the queen without at first letting them know that she was a fairy, and they soon took a great fancy to her, and *n trusted her with the precious prince, whom she carried off to her palace, where she regaled him with cakes and tarts9 and *ry other good thing. this was the way she chose of * him fond of her; but afterwards, as he grew older, she spared no pains in educating and training him as a prince should be trained. but unfortunately, in spite of all her care, he grew so vain and frivolous10 that he quitted his peaceful country life in disgust, and rushed eagerly after all the foolish gaieties of the neighbouring town, where his handsome face and charming manners speedily made him popular. the king and queen deeply regretted this alteration11 in their son, but did not know how to mend matters, since the good old fairy had made him so self-willed.
just at this time the fairy of the beech-woods received a visit from an old friend of hers called saradine, who rushed into her house so breathless with rage that she could hardly speak.
'dear, dear! what is the matter?' said the fairy of the beech- woods soothingly12.
'the matter!' cried saradine. 'you shall soon hear all about it. you know that, not content with endowing celandine, princess of the summer islands, with *rything she could desire to make her charming, i actually took the trouble to bring her up myself; and now what does she do but come to me with * coaxings and caresses13 than usual to beg a favour. and what do you suppose this favour turns out to be--when i have been cajoled into promising14 to grant it? nothing * nor less than a request that i will take back all my gifts--"since," says my young madam, "if i have the good fortune to please you, how am i to know that it is really i, myself? and that's how it will be all my life long, when*r i meet anybody. you see what a weariness my life will be to me under these circumstances, and yet i assure you i am not ungrateful to you for all your kindness!" i did all i could,' continued saradine, 'to make her think better of it, but in vain; so after going through the usual ceremony for taking back my gifts, i'm come to you for a little peace and quietness. but, after all, i have not taken anything of consequence from this provoking celandine. nature had already made her so pretty, and given her such a ready wit of her own, that she will do perfectly15 well without me. how*r, i thought she deserved a little lesson, so to begin with i have whisked her off into the desert, and there left her!'
'what! all alone, and without any means of existence?' cried the kind-hearted old fairy. 'you had better hand her over to me. i don't think so very badly of her after all. i'll just cure her vanity by * her love someone better than herself. really, when i come to consider of it, i declare the little minx has shown * spirit and originality16 in the matter than one expects of a princess.'
saradine willingly consented to this arrangement, and the old fairy's first care was to smooth away all the difficulties which surrounded the princess, and lead her by the mossy path overhung with trees to the bower of the king and queen, who still pursued their peaceful life in the valley.
they were immensely surprised at her appearance, but her charming face, and the deplorably ragged17 condition to which the thorns and briers had reduced her once elegant attire18, speedily won their compassion19; they recognised her as a companion in mi*ortune, and the queen welcomed her heartily20, and begged her to share their * repast. celandine gracefully22 accepted their hospitality, and soon told them what had happened to her. the king was charmed with her spirit, while the queen thought she had indeed been daring thus to go against the fairy's wishes.
'since it has ended in my meeting you,' said the princess, 'i cannot regret the step i have taken, and if you will let me stay with you, i shall be perfectly happy.'
the king and queen were only too delighted to have this charming princess to supply the place of prince featherhead, whom they saw but seldom, since the fairy had provided him with a palace in the neighbouring town, where he lived in the greatest luxury, and did nothing but amuse himself from morning to night. so celandine stayed, and *ed the queen to keep house, and very soon they loved her dearly. when the fairy of the beech-woods came to them, they presented the princess to her, and told her story, little thinking that the fairy knew * about celandine than they did. the old fairy was equally delighted with her, and often invited her to visit her leafy palace, which was the most enchanting23 place that could be imagined, and full of treasures. often she would say to the princess, when showing her some wonderful thing:
'this will do for a wedding gift some day.' and celandine could not * thinking that it was to her that the fairy meant to give the two blue wax-torches which burned without *r getting smaller, or the diamond from which * diamonds were continually growing, or the boat that sailed under water, or what*r beautiful or wonderful thing they might happen to be looking at. it is true that she n*r said so positively, but she certainly allowed the princess to beli* it, because she thought a little disappointment would be good for her. but the person she really relied upon for curing celandine of her vanity was prince featherhead. the old fairy was not at all pleased with the way he had been going on for some time, but her heart was so soft towards him that she was unwilling24 to take him away from the pleasures he loved, except by offering him something better, which is not the most effectual mode of correction, though it is without doubt the most agreeable.
how*r, she did not *n hint to the princess that featherhead was anything but absolutely perfect, and talked of him so much that when at last she announced that he was coming to visit her, celandine made up her mind that this delightful prince would be certain to fall in love with her at once, and was quite pleased at the idea. the old fairy thought so too, but as this was not at all what she wished, she took care to throw such an enchantment25 over the princess that she appeared to featherhead quite ugly and awkward, though to *ry one else she looked just as usual. so when he arrived at the leafy palace, * handsome and fascinating *n than *r she had been led to expect, he hardly so much as glanced at the princess, but bestowed26 all his attention upon the old fairy, to whom he seemed to have a hundred things to say. the princess was immensely astonished at his indifference27, and put on a cold and offended air, which, how*r, he did not seem to observe. then as a last resource she exerted all her wit and gaiety to amuse him, but with no better success, for he was of an age to be * attracted by beauty than by anything else, and though he responded politely enough, it was evident that his thoughts were elsewhere. celandine was deeply mortified28, since for her part the prince pleased her very well, and for the first time she *tterly regretted the fairy gifts she had been anxious to get rid of. prince featherhead was almost equally puzzled, for he had heard nothing from the king and queen but the praises of this charming princess, and the fact that they had spoken of her as so very beautiful only confirmed his opinion that people who live in the country have no taste. he talked to them of his charming acquaintances in the town, the beauties he had ad*ed, did ad*e, or thought he was going to ad*e, until celandine, who heard it all, was ready to cry with vexation. the fairy too was quite shocked at his conceit29, and hit upon a plan for curing him of it. she sent to him by an unknown messenger a portrait of princess celandine as she really was, with this inscription30: 'all this beauty and sweetness, with a loving heart and a great kingdom, might have been yours but for your well-known fickleness32.'
this message made a great impression upon the prince, but not so much as the portrait. he positively could not tear his eyes away from it, and exclaimed aloud that n*r, n*r had he seen anything so lovely and so graceful21. then he began to think that it was too absurd that he, the fascinating featherhead, should fall in love with a portrait; and, to drive away the recollections of its haunting eyes, he rushed back to the town; but somehow *rything seemed changed. the beauties no longer pleased him, their witty33 speeches had ceased to amuse; and indeed, for their parts, they found the prince far less amiable34 than of yore, and were not sorry when he declared that, after all, a country life suited him best, and went back to the leafy palace. meanwhile, the princess celandine had been finding the time pass but slowly with the king and queen, and was only too pleased when featherhead reappeared. she at once noticed the change in him, and was deeply curious to find the reason of it. far from avoiding her, he now sought her company and seemed to take pleasure in talking to her, and yet the princess did not for a moment flatter herself with the idea that he was in love with her, though it did not take her long to decide that he certainly loved someone. but one day the princess, wandering sadly by the river, spied prince featherhead fast asleep in the shade of a tree, and stole nearer to enjoy the delight of gazing at his dear face unobserved. judge of her astonishment35 when she saw that he was holding in his hand a portrait of herself! in vain did she puzzle over the apparent contradictoriness36 of his behaviour. why did he cherish her portrait while he was so fatally indifferent to herself? at last she found an opportunity of asking him the name of the princess whose picture he carried about with him always.
'alas37! how can i tell you?' replied he.
'why should you not?' said the princess timidly. 'surely there is nothing to pr*nt you.'
'nothing to pr*nt me!' repeated he, 'when my utmost efforts have failed to discover the lovely original. should i be so sad if i could but find her? but i do not *n know her name.'
* surprised than *r, the princess asked to be allowed to see the portrait, and after examining it for a few minutes returned it, remarking shyly that at least the original had *ry cause to be sati*ied with it.
'that means that you consider it flattered,' said the prince s*rely38. 'really, celandine, i thought better of you, and should have expected you to be above such contemptible39 jealousy40. but all women are alike!'
'indeed, i meant only that it was a good likeness,' said the princess meekly41.
'then you know the original,' cried the prince, throwing himself on his knees beside her. 'pray tell me at once who it is, and don't keep me in suspense42!'
'oh! don't you see that it is meant for me?' cried celandine.
the prince sprang to his feet, hardly able to refrain from telling her that she must be blinded by vanity to suppose she resembled the lovely portrait *n in the slightest degree; and after gazing at her for an instant with icy surprise, turned and left her without another word, and in a few hours quitted the leafy palace altogether.
now the princess was indeed unhappy, and could no longer bear to stay in a place where she had been so cruelly disdained43. so, without *n *dding farewell to the king and queen, she left the valley behind her, and wandered sadly away, not caring whither. after walking until she was weary, she saw before her a tiny house, and turned her slow steps towards it. the nearer she approached the * miserable44 it appeared, and at length she saw a little old woman sitting upon the door-step, who said grimly:
'here comes one of these fine beggars who are too idle to do anything but run about the country!'
'alas! madam,' said celandine, with tears in her pretty eyes, 'a sad fate forces me to ask you for shelter.'
'didn't i tell you what it would be?' growled45 the old hag. 'from shelter we shall proceed to demand supper, and from supper money to take us on our way. upon my word, if i could be sure of finding some one *ry day whose head was as soft as his heart, i wouldn't wish for a * agreeable life myself! but i have worked hard to build my house and secure a morsel46 to eat, and i suppose you think that i am to give away *rything to the first passer-by who chooses to ask for it. not at all! i wager47 that a fine lady like you has * money than i have. i must search her, and see if it is not so,' she added, hobbling towards celandine with the aid of her stick.
'alas! madam,' replied the princess, 'i only wish i had. i would give it to you with all the pleasure in life.'
'but you are very smartly dressed for the kind of life you lead,' continued the old woman.
'what!' cried the princess, 'do you think i am come to beg of you?'
'i don't know about that,' answered she; 'but at any rate you don't seem to have come to bring me anything. but what is it that you do want? shelter? well, that does not cost much; but after that comes supper, and that i can't hear of. oh dear no! why, at your age one is always ready to eat; and now you have been walking, and i suppose you are ravenous48?'
'indeed no, madam,' answered the poor princess, 'i am too sad to be hungry.'
'oh, well! if you will promise to go on being sad, you may stay for the night,' said the old woman mockingly.
thereupon she made the princess sit down beside her, and began fingering her silken robe, while she muttered 'lace on top, lace underneath49! this must have cost you a pretty penny! it would have been better to save enough to feed yourself, and not come begging to those who want all they have for themselves. pray, what may you have paid for these fine clothes?'
'alas! madam,' answered the princess, 'i did not buy them, and i know nothing about money.'
'what do you know, if i may ask?' said the old dame50.
'not much; but indeed i am very unhappy,' cried celandine, bursting into tears, 'and if my *s are any good to you--'
'*s!' interrupted the hag crossly. 'one has to pay for *s, and i am not above doing my own work.'
'madam, i will serve you for nothing,' said the poor princess, whose spirits were sinking lower and lower. 'i will do anything you please; all i wish is to live quietly in this lonely spot.'
'oh! i know you are only trying to take me in,' answered she; 'and if i do let you serve me, is it fitting that you should be so much better dressed i am? if i keep you, will you give me your clothes and wear some that i will provide you with? it is true that i am getting old and may want someone to take care of me some day.'
'oh! for pity's sake, do what you please with my clothes,' cried poor celandine miserably51.
and the old woman hobbled off with great alacrity52, and fetched a little bundle containing a wretched dress, such as the princess had n*r *n seen before, and nimbly skipped round, *ing53 her to put it on instead of her own rich robe, with many exc*tions54 of:
'saintswhich won't cost you anything--and remember that it is always * economical to buy fruit with stones on this account.'
celandine, absorbed in her own sad thoughts, did not *n hear this prudent57 counsel, and quite forgot to eat her share of the plum, which delighted the old woman, who put it by carefully for her breakfast, saying:
'i am very much pleased with you, and if you go on as you have begun, we shall do very well, and i can teach you many useful things which people don't generally know. for instance, look at my house! it is built entirely58 of the seeds of all the pears i have eaten in my life. now, most people throw them away, and that only shows what a number of things are wasted for want of a little patience and ingenuity59.'
but celandine did not find it possible to be interested in this and similar pieces of advice. and the old woman soon sent her to bed, for fear the night air might give her an appetite. she passed a sleepless60 night; but in the morning the old dame remarked:
'i heard how well you slept. after such a night you cannot want any breakfast; so while i do my household tasks you had better stay in bed, since the * one sleeps the less one need eat; and as it is *-day i will go to town and buy a pennyworth of bread for the week's eating.'
and so she chattered61 on, but poor celandine did not hear or heed62 her; she wandered out into the desolate63 country to think over her sad fate. how*r, the good fairy of the beech-woods did not want her to be starved, so she sent her an unlooked for relief in the shape of a beautiful white cow, which followed her back to the tiny house. when the old woman saw it her joy knew no bounds.
'now we can have milk and cheese and butter!' cried she. 'ah! how good milk is! what a pity it is so ruinously expensive!' so they made a little shelter of branches for the beautiful creature which was quite gentle, and followed celandine about like a dog when she took it out *ry day to graze. one morning as she sat by a little brook*, thinking sadly, she suddenly saw a young stranger approaching, and got up quickly, intending to avoid him. but prince featherhead, for it was he, perceiving her at the same moment, rushed towards her with *ry demonstration65 of joy: for he had recognised her, not as the celandine whom he had slighted, but as the lovely princess whom he had sought vainly for so long. the fact was that the fairy of the beech-woods, thinking she had been punished enough, had withdrawn66 the enchantment from her, and tran*erred it to featherhead, thereby67 in an instant depriving him of the good looks which had done so much towards * him the fickle31 creature he was. throwing himself down at the princess's feet, he implored68 her to stay, and at least speak to him, and she at last consented, but only because he seemed to wish it so very much. after that he came *ry day in the hope of meeting her again, and often expressed his delight at being with her. but one day, when he had been begging celandine to love him, she confided69 to him that it was quite impossible, since her heart was already entirely occupied by another.
'i have,' said she, 'the unhappiness of loving a prince who is fickle, frivolous, proud, incapable70 of caring for anyone but himself, who has been spoilt by flattery, and, to crown all, who does not love me.'
'but,' cried prince featherhead, 'surely you cannot care for so contemptible and worthless a creature as that.'
'alas! but i do care,' answered the princess, weeping.
'but where can his eyes be,' said the prince, 'that your beauty makes no impression upon him? as for me, since i have possessed71 your portrait i have wandered over the whole world to find you, and, now we have met, i see that you are ten times lovelier than i could have imagined, and i would give all i own to win your love.'
'my portrait?' cried celandine with sudden interest. 'is it possible that prince featherhead can have parted with it?'
'he would part with his life sooner, lovely princess,' answered he; 'i can assure you of that, for i am prince featherhead.'
at the same moment the fairy of the beech-woods took away the enchantment, and the happy princess recognised her lover, now truly hers, for the trials they had both undergone had so changed and improved them that they were capable of a real love for each other. you may imagine how perfectly happy they were, and how much they had to hear and to tell. but at length it was time to go back to the little house, and as they went along celandine remembered for the first time what a ragged old dress she was wearing, and what an odd appearance she must present. but the prince declared that it became her vastly, and that he thought it most picturesque72. when they reached the house the old woman received them very crossly.
'i declare,' said she, 'that it's perfectly true: wher*r there is a girl you may be sure that a young man will appear before long! but don't imagine that i'm going to have you here--not a *t of it, be off with you, my fine fellow!'
prince featherhead was inclined to be angry at this uncivil reception, but he was really too happy to care much, so he only demanded, on celandine's behalf, that the old dame should give her back her own attire, that she might go away suitably dressed.
this request roused her to fury, since she had counted upon the princess's fine robes to clothe her for the rest of her life, so that it was some time before the prince could make himself heard to explain that he was willing to pay for them. the sight of a handful of gold pieces somewhat mollified her, how*r, and after * them both promise faithfully that on no consideration would they ask for the gold back again, she took the princess into the house and grudgingly73 doled74 out to her just enough of her * attire to make her presentable, while the rest she pretended to have lost. after this they found that they were very hungry, for one cannot live on love, any * than on air, and then the old woman's lamentations were louder than before. 'what!' she cried, 'feed people who were as happy as all that! why, it was simply ruinous!'
but as the prince began to look angry, she, with many sighs and mutterings, brought out a morsel of bread, a bowl of milk, and six plums, with which the lovers were well content: for as long as they could look at one another they really did not know what they were eating. it seemed as if they would go on for *r with their reminiscences, the prince telling how he had wandered all over the world from beauty to beauty, always to be disappointed when he found that no one resembled the portrait; the princess wondering how it was he could have been so long with her and yet n*r have recognised her, and over and over again pardoning him for his cold and haughty75 behaviour to her.
'for,' she said, 'you see, featherhead, i love you, and love makes *rything right! but we cannot stay here,' she added; 'what are we to do?'
the prince thought they had better find their way to the fairy of the beech-woods and put themselves once * under her protection, and they had hardly agreed upon this course when two little chariots wreathed with jasmine and honeysuckle suddenly appeared, and, stepping into them, they were whirled away to the leafy palace. just before they lost sight of the little house they heard loud cries and lamentations from the miserly old dame, and, looking round, perceived that the beautiful cow was vanishing in spite of her frantic76 efforts to hold it fast. and they afterwards heard that she spent the rest of her life in trying to put the handful of gold the prince had thrown to her into her money-bag. for the fairy, as a punishment for her avarice77, caused it to slip out again as fast as she *ped it in.
the fairy of the beech-woods ran to welcome the prince and princess with open arms, only too delighted to find them so much improved that she could, with a clear conscience, begin to spoil them again. very soon the fairy saradine also arrived, bringing the king and queen with her. princess celandine implored her pardon, which she graciously gave; indeed the princess was so charming she could refuse her nothing. she also restored to her the summer islands, and promised her protection in all things. the fairy of the beech-woods then *rmed the king and queen that their subjects had chased king bruin from the throne, and were waiting to welcome them back again; but they at once abdicated78 in favour of prince featherhead, declaring that nothing could induce them to forsake79 their peaceful life, and the fairies undertook to see the prince and princess established in their beautiful kingdoms. their marriage took place the next day, and they lived happily *r afterwards, for celandine was n*r vain and featherhead was n*r fickle any *.
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