by G. A. Henty
X
THE STORY OF THE PRINCE, THE BLUE-BIRD, AND THE CAGE
The Princess Fantosina had a very beautiful voice, and whilst walking inthe palace gardens one day in spring, she began to sing. She was aboutto leave off singing and to re-enter the palace when she saw astrange-looking, little, old woman.
'My dear,' said the little old woman, hobbling towards the PrincessFantosina, 'I have not heard that song for two hundred years, and Ishould like you to sing it again.'
'I will sing it again with pleasure,' answered the princess, and shesang the song again from beginning to end.
'Now,' said the strange-looking little old woman, 'you have gratified mevery much by singing without being asked twice, and I should like to dosomething to please you in return. Tell me what you would like to havedone.'
'I don't think there is anything, thank you,' said the PrincessFantosina.
'There must be something,' was the answer, 'because the most contentedperson in the world always wants something else. Now,' said the oldwoman, 'how about a prince?'
'Oh!' cried Fantosina, smiling very brightly, 'my prince is on his way.He lives a long distance off, but he has set forth on his journey tofetch me. And though I have never seen him, I know he is very good andvery handsome, and that I shall love him very dearly.' Whilst Fantosinawas speaking a dove flew by. 'Oh!' she cried, 'how delightful it must beto fly!'
'So you shall,' said the little old woman. 'How should you like to beable to turn into a dove whenever you wished.'
'I should like it very much,' answered Fantosina, 'only a dove cannotsing--it can only coo, you know.'
'Then,' said the old woman, 'you shall have the power to take the formof a bird that sings more sweetly than the nightingale. It shall have abright blue body and scarlet wings, and the loveliest song in the world.Now,' the little old woman continued, 'you must listen carefully to whatI am going to say. If you pluck a primrose and hold the petals to yourlips you will at once change into this bird, and a bird you will remainuntil you fly to a cowslip field and take a portion of the flower inyour beak, then you will become a princess again just as you are now.'
With this the old woman hobbled away, and although the PrincessFantosina called to her several times she did not even glance back. Sothe princess returned to the palace wondering whether she should everfind the courage to pluck a primrose. Ever since she had been a smallchild she had thought how delightful it must be to fly through the air;to rest on the topmost branch of a tree in the sunshine and sing andsing to her heart's content.
And yet now Fantosina had the power to do what she had always longed todo, she did not feel at all sure she should do it. The reason was, thatshe feared lest any accident should prevent her from reaching a cowslipfield and so becoming a princess again. For although she thought itwould be very nice to be a bird for a few hours now and then, she wouldhave been sorry to remain a bird always, especially as the prince was onhis way to make her his bride.
But presently Fantosina went into the gardens again, and then she walkedto a meadow where the grass beside the hedges was yellow with primroses.She looked around to make sure that nobody was in sight, and stoopingshe plucked a primrose. She did not put it at once to her lips, butcarried it in her hand until she had crossed three fields and come to astandstill by a cowslip bank.
Even now she felt a little afraid to put the primrose to her lips, butthe sun shone so brightly and the cloudless sky looked so blue, and shethought how delightful it must be to soar in the air on such a gloriousday, and she told herself she would just change for a few minutes to seehow the charm acted.
So the Princess Fantosina held the primrose to her lips and breathedupon its petals, and then there was no one standing on the cowslip bankbut only a small bird with a blue body and scarlet wings hopping aboutthe grass.
Fantosina could hardly believe at first that the bird was herself,although she was able to think of things just the same as before. Butthe first thing she thought of was, that it would be very pleasant tofly from the ground to the top of the tall acacia tree which stood a fewyards from the bank. Only she might fly up there and be unable to comedown again, or she might become giddy and tumble before she reached abough. Still she began to move her wings, and then she felt the mostdelightful sensation you can imagine. She did not seem to be doinganything at all, and yet she was rising quickly through the air. Itseemed so enjoyable that, when she got to the tree, she did not like toleave off flying, and instead of settling at once, she circled round andround several times before she came to rest on the highest branch.
She was not in the least frightened or giddy now; she could see fartherthan she had ever seen before, and everything looked very clear anddistinct. She looked in the direction from which her prince was to come,but she could not see any sign of his arrival yet. Presently Fantosinabegan to sing, and that seemed even pleasanter than flying. She sang soloudly and so fast and enjoyed it so much, that it was later than shehad intended before she thought of descending from the acacia tree. Butat last she spread her scarlet wings, and dropped slowly to the grass;then she hopped to the nearest cowslip, and no sooner touched it withher beak than she became a princess again, just as she had been before.
From that day she never spent a morning without becoming a bird; shewould leave the palace when nobody saw her, pluck a primrose, and walkor run to the cowslip bank. And gradually she grew bolder, and insteadof waiting until she reached the cowslips, she would hold the primroseto her mouth at once, because she could fly to the other field much morequickly than she could walk. She amused herself by flying to the palaceand singing outside her mother's window, and one day, after Fantosinahad become a princess again, the queen spoke about the wonderful bird.
'I have never listened to such a beautiful song,' she said. 'I hear itevery morning at the same hour. Have you heard it, Fantosina?'
Fantosina felt very much amused. 'Yes,' she answered, 'I heard it thismorning.'
'I heard it too!' cried Abdullah, Fantosina's younger brother. 'Butthough I have looked for it I have not seen the bird yet.'
'It is the most beautiful bird in the world,' said Fantosina, trying notto laugh. 'It has a blue body and bright red wings. I don't believethere is another bird like it.'
Now Abdullah, being very fond of his sister, and seeing that she admiredthe strange bird, made up his mind to catch it for her, but he did notsay anything of his intention, because he wanted to give Fantosina apleasant surprise. But the next morning he hid himself in the shrubbery,and waited until he heard the bird's song; and peeping out he saw ascarlet wing flash in the sunshine. That afternoon Abdullah prepared anet, and the next morning again he hid in the same place. As soon as heheard the song he peeped forth and saw a spot of blue against the greenleaves of an oak tree which grew close to the house, then he waiteduntil Fantosina thought it was time to come back to her proper shape. Inorder to return to the cowslip bank she left the tree and flew alongjust above the ground, and she had spread her wings and was enjoyingherself very greatly when she saw Abdullah running after her. And shesaw too that her brother carried a long stick in his hands, and at theend of the stick was a large thin green net, the same as boys use tocatch butterflies.
Fantosina had never felt so frightened in her life. Suppose Abdullahcaught her before she could reach the cowslip bank! He might put her ina cage, or he might kill her and have her stuffed! She thought how sadit would be to have to spend her whole life in a cage, or to be putunder a glass case in the queen's drawing-room!
The worst of it was that she could not tell him who she really was. Whenshe tried to speak she could only sing, and it made her so nervous tosee Abdullah running just underneath her that she could not fly nearlyso fast as usual. But she did reach the sloping bank at last, and justas she was going to seize a cowslip, Abdullah held out his net. Thisalarmed her so much that she flew out of his reach to the top of theacacia tree, and made up her mind to stay there until Abdullah went hometo luncheon.
S
he did not think he would stay where he was very long, because the kingwas a punctual man and never liked any one to be late for meals; as itwas, he would be sure to miss his daughter, but he would never see heragain if once Abdullah got her into his net!
So Fantosina waited on the tree a long, long time, and at last shethought Abdullah must have gone home, so she dropped to a lower branch,and holding her little blue head on one side she looked carefullyaround. There was no sign of her brother. He had evidently given up hisattempt to capture her for to-day, and she would take care he did nothave a chance again. She saw no sign of Abdullah, who was standing closeto the trunk of the acacia tree; but in order to be quite safe Fantosinaflew to a still lower branch, and holding her little blue head on oneside again she once more looked around. Suddenly she felt confused;everything seemed to look dark and green as if she held a piece ofcoloured glass before her eyes, and when she tried to fly to a lighterplace she knocked against a thin green wall. She tried to tear it withher beak, she tried to scrape it with her claws, but it was of no use;she could not escape do what she would; she felt she was being drawnnearer and nearer to the grass, until at last she stood exactly on topof a cowslip. Oh, if only she could get one of its petals in her beak!the very tiniest morsel would do, but the horrid green net preventedher, and then Abdullah put his hand round her and carried her home; andFantosina knew she should never become a princess again as long as shelived.
'Look, look!' he cried, as he entered the palace. 'Look, Fantosina, I'vecaught the bird! Give me a cage!'
'I wish,' said the king, 'that instead of catching birds you wouldreturn in proper time for your meals.'
'I knew Fantosina wanted it,' answered Abdullah. 'Where is there acage?'
'I don't know what has become of your sister,' said the queen, littleimagining that Fantosina was held tightly in his hand, and listening toevery word she said.
'I never wait for anybody!' exclaimed the king; 'kindly sit down toluncheon.'
'I will just put the bird in a cage,' said Abdullah. 'I wish Fantosinawould come. How pleased she will be; won't she, mother?'
Abdullah left the room and soon found an empty bird-cage, then he putFantosina into it, and she sat down on its floor with all her feathersruffled, and feeling extremely miserable as you may imagine. Whenluncheon ended and still there was no sign of Fantosina, the king becameeven more alarmed than the queen; he sent men in all directions tosearch for her, but night came and no Fantosina. The king and queen didnot go to bed all night, and a light was kept burning in every window ofthe palace. They were both very tired at breakfast the next morning, andwhen Fantosina sat on a perch in her cage and sang her loudest in hereffort to make them know who she really was, the queen said the songmade her head ache, and ordered that the cage should be covered over.
How miserable Fantosina felt in the darkened cage! How she longed to beable to fly from tree to tree again even if she could not return to herproper shape! But all the longing in the world was of no use. Day afterday passed, the king's hair grew gray from grief, and the queen becamepale and thin, while Abdullah took no pleasure in anything but the bird.Everybody in the palace went into the deepest mourning because theythought Fantosina must be dead, and once she heard her father and mothertalking about the prince who was coming to marry their daughter.
'I wish we could prevent him from coming,' said the king; 'and if I knewwhich direction he had taken, I would send messengers to meet him.'
'It will be a great disappointment to him,' answered the queen; 'butwhen he sees we are in sorrow, he will not stay long.'
One day Fantosina heard that he had arrived, and she saw him through thebars of her cage that evening at dinner. He was very tall and handsome,just the kind of prince she had hoped he might be, but all she could dowas to sing her best in his honour.
'What a charming song!' exclaimed the prince, 'and what beautifulplumage! I have never seen a bird like that before.'
'Abdullah caught it the day poor Fantosina disappeared,' said the queen,and she became so deeply distressed that she apologised to the princeand left the table.
'It was a pity to catch the bird,' answered the prince; 'its plumagewill fade in the cage and its song will die away.'
'I caught it to please my sister,' said Abdullah, 'for I knew she wouldbe delighted with it.' Fantosina's wings felt redder than ever, for sheblushed to remember that it was quite true she had often kept birds incages, though she was sure she should never do so again even if she hadthe opportunity.
'As I have found you all in such distress,' said the prince presently,'I shall of course not stay so long as I intended. I think I shall askyou to let me depart to-morrow.'
The king offered no objection to this, for to tell you the truth, hefelt pleased to get rid of the prince now he had lost Fantosina; it wasnot a time for visitors. After breakfast the next morning, the princeordered a large parcel to be carried in, and when it had been unfastenedhe took out the costly presents he had brought from his father'skingdom. These consisted of embroideries and jewels and swords andvarious other things which the king and queen and Abdullah admiredexceedingly. Then the king said--
'I do not know what to offer you in return for all these treasures,because I had intended to give you the most valuable of all mypossessions, and that was my poor Fantosina. Now, alas! I have nodaughter, and I do not know what to offer you.'
'There is one thing I should like, if you will graciously present it tome,' said the prince.
'I beg you will do me the honour to choose whatever in my kingdompleases you the best,' answered the king.
'Then,' said the prince, 'I choose this beautiful bird.'
As the prince spoke Fantosina began to sing, for although she had madeup her mind she could never be other than a bird as long as she lived,she had already grown to love the prince so dearly that she felt pleasedat the idea of going away with him. The prince was to set forth at fouro'clock the same afternoon, and from the window where her cage hungFantosina could see the people making ready for his departure. When thefour white horses were put into his carriage, she began to fear lest sheshould be forgotten, and to remind the prince, she began to sing herloudest. Presently Abdullah came to the room and climbed on to a chairto take down the cage, which he carried outside the palace. The king andqueen and several courtiers stood around the prince to bid him farewell,and when Abdullah joined the group with the cage in his hand, the kingfelt ashamed of the smallness of his gift.
'I fear,' he said, as Abdullah handed the cage to the prince, 'you willfind the bird troublesome on your journey.'
'No,' answered the prince, 'I shall not find it in the leasttroublesome, because I do not intend to take it on my journey.' AndFantosina felt deeply disappointed to think she was going to be leftbehind after all. But the next moment the prince held the cage above hishead and opened the door. The instant the door was opened Fantosina flewout of the cage, but Abdullah, thinking she had escaped by an accidentand that the prince would be disappointed to lose the bird, ran afterher, followed by the prince, who vainly called to him to come back. Theking followed his guest, from politeness, but at a slower pace, and eventhe queen and the courtiers walked in the same direction.
Fantosina felt almost too much excited to fly; after her confinement inthe cage, her wings were a little stiff too, so that long before shereached the cowslip bank, she feared she might fall exhausted to theground and be caught again. Then she wondered whether she find all thecowslips dead, and this idea alarmed her so much that she flew slowerand slower, though she tried to fly faster and faster. Abdullah wasclose to her tail, the prince a little behind him, the king was in thenext field, and the queen and the courtiers in the next but one.
As Fantosina drew near to the bank, she could not see one cowslip; atlast she was exactly over the bank, and just as she felt she could notfly another yard, she saw a single cowslip under her claws. In aninstant she dropped to the ground, and at the same moment Abdullahseized her tail. But Fantosina put forth he
r beak as far as it would goand just succeeded in touching the pale yellow petal of the one cowslipwhich was left.
To the astonishment of Abdullah and of the prince, the blue bird withthe scarlet wings disappeared and in its place stood the most beautifulprincess the prince had ever seen.
'Fantosina!' exclaimed Abdullah.
'Fantosina!' cried the king, almost out of breath.
'Fantosina!' cried the queen in the next field. But the prince saidnothing until Fantosina held out her hand to him.
'If you had not been so good to me,' she said, 'I should have lived in acage all my life.'
'I had no idea I was serving the Princess Fantosina,' he answered with asmile.
'No,' she said, 'but a kind action is never quite wasted,' and then thequeen came up with her hand on her heart, for she had begun to run assoon as she saw her daughter, and she took Fantosina in her arms, andthey all seemed very pleased to see her again, and presently they walkedback to the palace. The prince's horses were sent to the stables, for ofcourse he did not go away that day, and all the people retired toexchange their mourning garments for the very gayest they could find. Afew weeks later the prince and Fantosina were married, and she went withhim to his own country. But although a great many primroses grow thereeach spring-time, Fantosina has never changed into a bird again.