Adventures of Prince Lazybones, and Other Stories

by Mrs. Molesworth

  CHAPTER VI

  THE FAIRY'S STORY

  "I promised you a story," said the little voice, to his ear again.

  "Yes, I know you did; can you tell it now?"

  "To be sure I can, if I only have time. I did not bring any of mypeople to-night; they are helping some of the herb elves. It is a littlelate in the season, and some blossoms have been slow in opening, so thatwe have to urge them."

  "How?" asked Phil.

  "By coaxing and persuasion for some of them; others we have to blow uponquite forcibly."

  "I am ready for the story when you are," said Phil.

  "It is a wild affair, and one that all children might not care to hear;but to you, I fancy, nothing comes amiss."

  "No, I like almost everything," said Phil.

  "I shall begin just as my grandmother used to. Once upon a time, in thedays of enchantment, there was a dreadful old ogre--"

  "Do not make him too dreadful, or I shall have bad dreams," interruptedPhil.

  The fairy laughed and flapped her little wings. "Now you must not beafraid; it will all come out right in the end. When I said the ogre wasdreadful, I meant he was ugly-looking; we fairies like everythingbeautiful. Shall I go on?"

  "Oh yes, and please forgive me for stopping you."

  THE APPROACH OF THE SWANLIKE BOAT]

  "This ogre was ugly, with a shaggy head, a shaggy beard, and fierceeyes, and he lived all by himself in a great stone castle on the shoreof a large lake. His principal pleasure consisted in tormentingeverything and everybody he came near; but if he had any preference, itwas for boys; to tease and ill-use them had the power of affording himgreat happiness. Lazy, loitering little fellows were in especial danger,for he would catch them quite easily by throwing over their head's thenets he used in fishing, drag them off to his castle, and keep them in adungeon until there would be no chance of discovery, and the boys'parents would think them lost forever. Thus he would gain a very useful,active set of laborers for a stone wall he was building, for so afraidwere they of his displeasure, and so fearful that they might be starved,since the only food they received was dried and salted fish, that theseboys worked like bees in a hive, only it was a sullen, painful sort ofworking, for they never sang or shouted, whistled or talked, and theywere thin and wretched, and more like machines than boys.

  "Now in this lake, on the shore of which was the ogre's castle, was anisland, where lived a Princess whom the ogre had bewitched, but who hadalso regained her liberty, and near whom the ogre could never againcome; even to land on her island or bathe in the water near would atonce change him into a shark.

  "This Princess, passing the ogre's castle in her beautiful swan-likesailing-boat, had seen the unhappy little boys at work on the stonewall; her sympathies had been aroused at so sad a sight, and shedetermined to wait her chance, and do what she could to relieve them.The chance came one day when the ogre had gone on a fishing excursion,from which he would not return till night. He had given the boys theirrations of salt fish, and had commanded them in the gruffest tones to besure and do an unusual amount of work in his absence, or they should allhave chains on again; for when they were first caught he always chainedthem for fear they might try to escape; but they so soon lost all spiritand all desire for freedom that their chains were removed to enable themto work more easily.

  "He had no sooner disappeared in his great clumsy craft, laden withseines and harpoons, and baskets and jugs, than a whispering beganamong the boys, a sad sort of sighing and crying, almost like thewhispering of wind in the tree-tops, which changed again to looks andglances of surprise as a beautiful vessel with silken sails floated upto the wharf, and a lovely, gracious-looking lady clothed in whitestepped from the boat, and came rapidly towards them.

  "'Boys,' said she, addressing them in a very soft, sweet voice, 'I havecome to release you from this cruel bondage; will you trust me, and gowith me?'

  "'Yes, yes,' came from more than a dozen little tongues.

  "'Come, then, at once. Drop your work, get into my boat, and we will beoff. We have no time to lose, for your cruel master might possiblychange his course and overtake us; then we should be in great danger.'

  "The boys crowded about her, and with a wild cry followed her to herlittle vessel, and almost tumbled into it in their delight. It was withsome difficulty that she kept them balanced, and prevented their fallingout; but once packed, there were so many of them that they could notmove. The vessel seemed to start of itself; its sails swelled out andspread themselves like wings, and away they dashed over the ripplingwaves, which rose and fell and hurried them on their way. The ogre'scastle was quickly left far behind, and the tired boys breathed morefreely as it disappeared entirely from their view. In another minutethey fell fast asleep, and did not waken till the motion of the boatceased, and they found themselves gliding into a quiet harbor, fringedon each side with lovely shrubs that dipped their beautiful flowers intothe calm water. Then the lady bade them follow her as she stepped fromthe boat on to the soft grass, and led them past fruits and flowers, andwinding walks and fountains, up to the dazzling crystal palace in whichshe lived. Here the boys were halted while she made them this littlespeech: 'Boys, this is my home, these are my gardens; for a while youwill have to remain here. We may have trouble with the ogre, but I wantyou to have no trouble among yourselves. Kindness, good-humor, pleasantlooks and words, must prevail. There must be no envy, no selfishness, nodesire to get the better of each other in any way. I demand obedience.If I receive it, all will be well; if I do not, you will have to sufferthe consequence. Now I have said all that I need. These flowers, thesefruits, are yours to enjoy in moderation.'

  "As she ceased speaking she clapped her hands, and a troop of servantsappeared. They led the boys to marble baths, where waters gushed andflowed in liquid beauty, and groves of orange-trees made a dense thicketabout them. Here each boy was made sweet and clean, and provided with asuit of white clothes. When they emerged from the baths, they saw beforethem on the lawn tables filled with tempting food--roasted meats,broiled birds, pitchers of milk and cream, biscuits and jellies andices.

  "The utmost order prevailed. Starved as the poor boys were, the graceand beauty of their surroundings made them gentle and patient. At eachplate was a tiny nose-gay held in the beak of a crystal bird, the bodyof which was a finger-bowl. Every plate was of exquisite workmanship.Some had birds of gay plumage; some had fierce tigers' heads orshaggy-maned lions; others bore designs of tools or curious instruments;but that which most delighted the boys was a dish of crystal, an exactimitation of the _Swan_--the _Fairy Swan_--in which they had sailedto this lovely island. It was laden with choice fruits. While theboys feasted as they had never before, strains of sweet music becameaudible; they could also hear the soft splash of the waves on the shore,or the dripping of fountains, as the waters sparkled and fell in theirmarble basins.

  "After they had feasted, the boys wandered off in most delightfulidleness to all parts of the island. They climbed the trees, which boreblossoms, fruits, and nuts, all at the same time; they fished in thelittle coves; they waded in the shallow basins; and nothing would havemarred their happiness had not one tall boy, with unnaturally strong andkeen vision, declared that he saw the ogre's sail coming in thedirection of the island.

  "This was terrible, and had the effect of bringing all the boys togetherfrom their various amusements, just as chickens run from a hoveringhawk. Together they crowded for a moment in mute dismay, unable tospeak, to even hide, waiting the approach of their cruel foe.

  "Nearer came the sail, and now they could all discern it. Its greatclumsy shape, its heavy lumbering action, were not to be mistaken.

  "What should they do?

  "'Run for the Princess,' said one.

  "'Too cowardly, that,' said another; and indeed their good, abundantmeal had begun to put strange courage in their little hearts.

  "'Let's meet him, and fight him,' said one.

  "'Let's upset his boat,' said another.

>   "'How?'

  "'By pelting him with stones when he comes near enough.'

  "'Good!' cried they all; and they began gathering all the bits of rockand pebbles they could find.

  "Now came a roar of ogreish rage from the boat as it neared them.

  "'I'll have ye again!' screamed the ogre.

  "Then began the attack--a volley of small stones, nuts, fruits, anythingthey had in their pockets.

  "One of the ogre's eyes was closed, so certain had been the aim of thetall boy who acted as leader.

  "But the boat came nearer, and they were very much afraid the ogrewould leap from it, when one of the boys whispered, 'I'll go out totempt him. Once get him in the water, and he's a goner. He'll bebewitched.'

  "So he off with his jacket, and out he waded, while the others looked onin breathless admiration.

  "The ogre looked with his one eye in eager derision; then forgetting hisdanger, and regarding the boy much as he might do an unwary fish that hewould gobble up, he sprang from his boat into the shallow water,preparing not only to snatch the one boy, but to seize them all in agreat seine he dragged after him, when suddenly the waves from thecentre of the lake began hissing and seething, a tremendous swell set intowards the shore, driving the brave little fellow who had gone out totempt the enemy completely off his legs, and obliging him to swim to theland, which he had no sooner reached than a great shout from all theboys made him look back, when, lo and behold! there was no ogre, only agreat shark, with open jaws and a shining row of teeth, flounderingabout, and dashing himself in angry transports against the sides of theogre boat, which he vainly attempted to board. And now could be seenswarms of little fish attacking the great one, darting hither andthither, now at his head, now at his tail, but keeping well away fromhis open jaws. And the waves began to be colored with the shark's blood.At last, wearied and wounded, with an angry snap of his jaws he diveddown, and was seen no more.

  "Then the boys gave another loud huzza, when, like a broad flash ofsunshine, the lovely Princess came among them.

  "'Boys,' said she, 'you have proved yourselves brave youngsters. Theogre can never again trouble you. He will be a shark for three thousandyears, and he will not care to stay in these waters, with so manyenemies about him. Now, when you have regained your good looks andstrength, I will take you all home. Here is the key to my sweetmeatcloset. Run off, now, and have a good time.'

  "The sweetmeat closet was a large enclosure where grew sugar-almondtrees, candied pears, candied plums, and where even the bark and twigsof trees and bushes were of chocolate. In the centre was a pond ofquivering jelly. Mounds and pyramids of jumbles and iced cakesabounded. They were too tempting to be long looked at without tasting,and the boys helped themselves gladly.

  "A long, sweet strain from a bugle called them away from this delightfulspot, and on a broad, smooth field they found bats and balls, tenpinsand velocipedes--in short, everything a boy could want to play with.

  "After this they supped in simple fashion, each boy with only a greatbowl of bread and milk. Then to more music they were marched to theirbeds--downy white nests, in a great room arched with glass, throughwhich they could see the moon and stars shining, and where the dawncould awaken them with its early light.

  "Such was their life for two of the most happy weeks of their lives, andnever did boys thrive better. They grew fat and rosy; they sang, theydanced, they played. Every time the Princess came among them theyshouted with glee, and nearly cracked their young throats in doing herhonor. But all fine things come to an end some time. Once more they werepacked in the _Fairy Swan_, and away they sailed for the land of realityand for home. The Princess gave them each a beautiful portrait ofherself, of the island, and of the _Swan_. And each boy promised thatwhenever he had a chance to perform a kind action he would do it inremembrance of the gentle courtesy of the Princess. And so ends my fairystory. Good-night, Phil."

  "Good-night. Oh, how nice it was! I thank you so much!" and sleepy Philturned to see the little white butterfly wings skimming out of thewindow, while a long, sweet sigh came from his wind harp, sounding like,"Good-night--good-night," again.