Andrew Lang_Fairy Book 03 (34 page)

'Then the Giant turned to me, saying,

'"So you are an idler! Ah! well, we must teach you to work. You
won't be the first we have cured of laziness. See how busy all my
guests are."

'I looked up as he spoke, and saw that an immense gallery ran all
round the hall, in which were tapestry frames, spindles, skeins of
wool, patterns, and all necessary things. Before each frame about
a dozen people were sitting, hard at work, at which terrible sight
I fainted away, and as soon as I recovered they began to ask me
what I could do.

'It was in vain that I replied as before, and with the strongest
desire to be taken at my word, "Nothing at all."

'The Giant only said,

'"Then you must learn to do something; in this world there is
enough work for everybody."

'It appeared that they were working into the tapestry all the
stories the Fairies liked best, and they began to try and teach me
to help them, but from the first class, where they tried me to
begin with, I sank lower and lower, and not even the most simple
stitches could I learn.

'In vain they punished me by all the usual methods. In vain the
Giant showed me his menagerie, which was entirely composed of
children who would not work! Nothing did me any good, and at last
I was reduced to drawing water for the dyeing of the wools, and
even over that I was so slow that this morning the Giant flew into
a rage and changed me into a gazelle. He was just putting me into
the menagerie when I happened to catch sight of a dog, and was
seized with such terror that I fled away at my utmost speed, and
escaped through the outer court of the castle. The Giant, fearing
that I should be lost altogether, sent his green lion after me,
with orders to bring me back, cost what it might, and I should
certainly have let myself be caught, or eaten up, or anything,
rather than run any further, if I had not luckily met you by the
fountain. And oh!' concluded the Princess, 'how delightful it is
once more to be able to sit still in peace. I was so tired of
trying to learn things.'

Prince Vivien said that, for his part, he had been kept a great
deal too still, and had not found it at all amusing, and then he
recounted all his adventures with breathless rapidity. How he had
taken shelter with Dame Patience, and consulted the Oracle, and
voyaged in the paper ship. Then they went hand in hand to release
all the prisoners in the castle, and all the Princes and
Princesses who were in cages in the menagerie, for the instant the
Green Giant was dead they had resumed their natural forms. As you
may imagine, they were all very grateful, and Princess Placida
entreated them never, never to do another stitch of work so long
as they lived, and they promptly made a great bonfire in the
courtyard, and solemnly burnt all the embroidery frames and
spinning wheels. Then the Princess gave them splendid presents, or
rather sat by while Prince Vivien gave them, and there were great
rejoicings in the Green Castle, and everyone did his best to
please the Prince and Princess. But with all their good
intentions, they often made mistakes, for Vivien and Placida were
never of one mind about their plans, so it was very confusing, and
they frequently found themselves obeying the Prince's orders,
very, very slowly, and rushing off with lightning speed to do
something that the Princess did not wish to have done at all,
until, by-and-by, the two cousins took to consulting with, and
consoling one another in all these little vexations, and at last
came to be so fond of each other that for Placida's sake Vivien
became quite patient, and for Vivien's sake Placida made the most
unheard-of exertions. But now the Fairies who had been watching
all these proceedings with interest, thought it was time to
interfere, and ascertain by further trials if this improvement was
likely to continue, and if they really loved one another. So they
caused Placida to seem to have a violent fever, and Vivien to
languish and grow dull, and made each of them very uneasy about
the other, and then, finding a moment when they were apart, the
Fairy Mirlifiche suddenly appeared to Placida, and said—

'I have just seen Prince Vivien, and he seemed to me to be very
ill.'

'Alas! yes, madam,' she answered, 'and if you will but cure him,
you may take me back to the farm, or bring the Green Giant to life
again, and you shall see how obedient I will be.'

'If you really wish him to recover,' said the Fairy, 'you have
only to catch the Trotting Mouse and the Chaffinch-on-the-Wing and
bring them to me. Only remember that time presses!'

She had hardly finished speaking before the Princess was rushing
headlong out of the castle gate, and the Fairy after watching her
till she was lost to sight, gave a little chuckle and went in
search of the Prince, who begged her earnestly to send him back to
the Black Castle, or to the paper boat if she would but save
Placida's life. The Fairy shook her head, and looked very grave.
She quite agreed with him, the Princess was in a bad way—'But,'
said she, 'if you can find the Rosy Mole, and give him to her she
will recover.' So now it was the Prince's turn to set off in a
vast hurry, only as soon as he left the Castle he happened to go
in exactly the opposite direction to the one Placida had taken.
Now you can imagine these two devoted lovers hunting night and
day. The Princess in the woods, always running, always listening,
pursuing hotly after two creatures which seemed to her very hard
to catch, which she yet never ceased from pursuing. The Prince on
the other hand wandering continually across the meadows, his eyes
fixed upon the ground, attentive to every movement among the
moles. He was forced to walk slowly—slowly upon tip-toe, hardly
venturing to breathe. Often he stood for hours motionless as a
statue, and if the desire to succeed could have helped him he
would soon have possessed the Rosy Mole. But alas! all that he
caught were black and ordinary, though strange to say he never
grew impatient, but always seemed ready to begin the tedious hunt
again. But this changing of character is one of the most ordinary
miracles which love works. Neither the Prince nor the Princess
gave a thought to anything but their quest. It never even occurred
to them to wonder what country they had reached. So you may guess
how astonished they were one day, when having at last been
successful after their long and weary chase, they cried aloud at
the same instant: 'At last I have saved my beloved,' and then
recognising each other's voice looked up, and rushed to meet one
another with the wildest joy. Surprise kept them silent while for
one delicious moment they gazed into each other's eyes, and just
then who should come up but King Gridelin, for it was into his
kingdom they had accidentally strayed. He recognized them in his
turn and greeted them joyfully, but when they turned afterwards to
look for the Rosy Mole, the Chaffinch, and the Trotting-Mouse,
they had vanished, and in their places stood a lovely lady whom
they did not know, the Black Bird, and the Green Giant. King
Gridelin had no sooner set eyes upon the lady than with a cry of
joy he clasped her in his arms, for it was no other than his long-
lost wife, Santorina, about whose imprisonment in Fairyland you
may perhaps read some day.

Then the Black Bird and the Green Giant resumed their natural
form, for they were enchanters, and up flew Lolotte and Mirlifiche
in their chariots, and then there was a great kissing and
congratulating, for everybody had regained someone he loved,
including the enchanters, who loved their natural forms dearly.
After this they repaired to the Palace, and the wedding of Prince
Vivien and Princess Placida was held at once with all the
splendour imaginable.

King Gridelin and Queen Santorina, after all their experiences had
no further desire to reign, so they retired happily to a peaceful
place, leaving their kingdom to the Prince and Princess, who were
beloved by all their subjects, and found their greatest happiness
all their lives long in making other people happy.

Nonchalante et Papillon

There was once a woman who had three daughters, of whom the eldest
was called Little One-eye, because she had only one eye in the
middle of her forehead; and the second, Little Two-eyes, because
she had two eyes like other people; and the youngest, Little
Three-eyes, because she had three eyes, and
her
third eye
was also in the middle of her forehead. But because Little Two-
eyes did not look any different from other children, her sisters
and mother could not bear her. They would say to her, 'You with
your two eyes are no better than common folk; you don't belong to
us.' They pushed her here, and threw her wretched clothes there,
and gave her to eat only what they left, and they were as unkind
to her as ever they could be.

It happened one day that Little Two-eyes had to go out into the
fields to take care of the goat, but she was still quite hungry
because her sisters had given her so little to eat. So she sat
down in the meadow and began to cry, and she cried so much that
two little brooks ran out of her eyes. But when she looked up once
in her grief there stood a woman beside her who asked, 'Little
Two-eyes, what are you crying for?' Little Two-eyes answered,
'Have I not reason to cry? Because I have two eyes like other
people, my sisters and my mother cannot bear me; they push me out
of one corner into another, and give me nothing to eat except what
they leave. To-day they have given me so little that I am still
quite hungry.' Then the wise woman said, 'Little Two-eyes, dry
your eyes, and I will tell you something so that you need never be
hungry again. Only say to your goat,

"Little goat, bleat, Little table, appear,"

and a beautifully spread table will stand before you, with the
most delicious food on it, so that you can eat as much as you
want. And when you have had enough and don't want the little table
any more, you have only to say,

"Little goat, bleat, Little table, away,"

and then it will vanish.' Then the wise woman went away.

But Little Two-eyes thought, 'I must try at once if what she has
told me is true, for I am more hungry than ever'; and she said,

'Little goat, bleat, Little table appear,'

and scarcely had she uttered the words, when there stood a little
table before her covered with a white cloth, on which were
arranged a plate, with a knife and fork and a silver spoon, and
the most beautiful dishes, which were smoking hot, as if they had
just come out of the kitchen. Then Little Two-eyes said the
shortest grace she knew, and set to work and made a good dinner.
And when she had had enough, she said, as the wise woman had told
her,

'Little goat, bleat, Little table, away,'

and immediately the table and all that was on it disappeared
again. 'That is a splendid way of housekeeping,' thought Little
Two-eyes, and she was quite happy and contented.

In the evening, when she went home with her goat, she found a
little earthenware dish with the food that her sisters had thrown
to her, but she did not touch it. The next day she went out again
with her goat, and left the few scraps which were given her. The
first and second times her sisters did not notice this, but when
it happened continually, they remarked it and said, 'Something is
the matter with Little Two-eyes, for she always leaves her food
now, and she used to gobble up all that was given her. She must
have found other means of getting food.' So in order to get at the
truth, Little One-eye was told to go out with Little Two-eyes when
she drove the goat to pasture, and to notice particularly what she
got there, and whether anyone brought her food and drink.

Now when Little Two-eyes was setting out, Little One-eye came up
to her and said, 'I will go into the field with you and see if you
take good care of the goat, and if you drive him properly to get
grass.' But Little Two-eyes saw what Little One-eye had in her
mind, and she drove the goat into the long grass and said, 'Come,
Little One-eye, we will sit down here, and I will sing you
something.'

Little One-eye sat down, and as she was very much tired by the
long walk to which she was not used, and by the hot day, and as
Little Two-eyes went on singing.

'Little One-eye, are you awake? Little One-eye, are you asleep?'

she shut her one eye and fell asleep. When Little Two-eyes saw
that Little One-eye was asleep and could find out nothing, she
said,

'Little goat, bleat, Little table, appear,'

and sat down at her table and ate and drank as much as she wanted.
Then she said again,

'Little goat, bleat, Little table, away.'

and in the twinkling of an eye all had vanished.

Little Two-eyes then woke Little One-eye and said, 'Little One-
eye, you meant to watch, and, instead, you went to sleep; in the
meantime the goat might have run far and wide. Come, we will go
home.' So they went home, and Little Two-eyes again left her
little dish untouched, and Little One-eye could not tell her
mother why she would not eat, and said as an excuse, 'I was so
sleepy out-of-doors.'

The next day the mother said to Little Three-eyes, 'This time you
shall go with Little Two-eyes and watch whether she eats anything
out in the fields, and whether anyone brings her food and drink,
for eat and drink she must secretly.' So Little Three-eyes went to
Little Two-eyes and said, 'I will go with you and see if you take
good care of the goat, and if you drive him properly to get
grass.' But little Two-eyes knew what Little Three-eyes had in her
mind, and she drove the goat out into the tall grass and said, 'We
will sit down here, Little Three-eyes, and I will sing you
something.' Little Three-eyes sat down; she was tired by the walk
and the hot day, and Little Two-eyes sang the same little song
again: