by E. Nesbit
CHAPTER I
THERE were three of them--Jerry, Jimmy, and Kathleen. Of course, Jerry'sname was Gerald, and not Jeremiah, whatever you may think; and Jimmy'sname was James; and Kathleen was never called by her name at all, butCathy, or Catty, or Puss Cat, when her brothers were pleased with her,and Scratch Cat when they were not pleased. And they were at school in alittle town in the West of England--the boys at one school, of course,and the girl at another, because the sensible habit of having boys andgirls at the same school is not yet as common as I hope it will be someday. They used to see each other on Saturdays and Sundays at the houseof a kind maiden lady; but it was one of those houses where it isimpossible to play. You know the kind of house, don't you? There is asort of a something about that kind of house that makes you hardly ableeven to talk to each other when you are left alone, and playing seemsunnatural and affected. So they looked forward to the holidays, whenthey should all go home and be together all day long, in a house whereplaying was natural and conversation possible, and where the Hampshireforests and fields were full of interesting things to do and see. TheirCousin Betty was to be there too, and there were plans. Betty's schoolbroke up before theirs, and so she got to the Hampshire home first, andthe moment she got there she began to have measles, so that my threecouldn't go home at all. You may imagine their feelings. The thought ofseven weeks at Miss Hervey's was not to be borne, and all three wrotehome and said so. This astonished their parents very much, because theyhad always thought it was so nice for the children to have dear MissHervey's to go to. However, they were "jolly decent about it," as Jerrysaid, and after a lot of letters and telegrams, it was arranged that theboys should go and stay at Kathleen's school, where there were now nogirls left and no mistresses except the French one.
"It'll be better than being at Miss Hervey's," said Kathleen, when theboys came round to ask Mademoiselle when it would be convenient for themto come; "and, besides, our school's not half so ugly as yours. We dohave tablecloths on the tables and curtains at the windows, and yours isall deal boards, and desks, and inkiness."
When they had gone to pack their boxes Kathleen made all the rooms aspretty as she could with flowers in jam jars, marigolds chiefly,because there was nothing much else in the back garden. There weregeraniums in the front garden, and calceolarias and lobelias; of course,the children were not allowed to pick these.
"We ought to have some sort of play to keep us going through theholidays," said Kathleen, when tea was over, and she had unpacked andarranged the boys' clothes in the painted chests of drawers, feelingvery grown-up and careful as she neatly laid the different sorts ofclothes in tidy little heaps in the drawers. "Suppose we write a book."
"You couldn't," said Jimmy.
"I didn't mean me, of course," said Kathleen, a little injured; "I meantus."
"Too much fag," said Gerald briefly.
"If we wrote a book," Kathleen persisted, "about what the insides ofschools really _are_ like, people would read it and say how clever wewere."
"More likely expel us," said Gerald. "No; we'll have an out-of-doorsgame--bandits, or something like that. It wouldn't be bad if we couldget a cave and keep stores in it, and have our meals there."
"There aren't any caves," said Jimmy, who was fond of contradictingevery one. "And, besides, your precious Mamselle won't let us go outalone, as likely as not."
"Oh, we'll see about that," said Gerald. "I'll go and talk to her like afather."
"Like that?" Kathleen pointed the thumb of scorn at him, and he lookedin the glass.
"To brush his hair and his clothes and to wash his face and hands was toour hero but the work of a moment," said Gerald, and went to suit theaction to the word.
It was a very sleek boy, brown and thin and interesting-looking, thatknocked at the door of the parlour where Mademoiselle sat reading ayellow-covered book and wishing vain wishes. Gerald could always makehimself look interesting at a moment's notice, a very usefulaccomplishment in dealing with strange grown-ups. It was done by openinghis grey eyes rather wide, allowing the corners of his mouth to droop,and assuming a gentle, pleading expression, resembling that of the latelittle Lord Fauntleroy--who must, by the way, be quite old now, and anawful prig.
"Entrez!" said Mademoiselle, in shrill French accents. So he entered.
"Eh bien?" she said rather impatiently.
"I hope I am not disturbing you," said Gerald, in whose mouth, itseemed, butter would not have melted.
"But no," she said, somewhat softened. "What is it that you desire?"
"I thought I ought to come and say how do you do," said Gerald, "becauseof you being the lady of the house."
He held out the newly-washed hand, still damp and red. She took it.
"You are a very polite little boy," she said.
"Not at all," said Gerald, more polite than ever. "I am so sorry foryou. It must be dreadful to have us to look after in the holidays."
"But not at all," said Mademoiselle in her turn. "I am sure you will bevery good childrens."
Gerald's look assured her that he and the others would be as near angelsas children could be without ceasing to be human.
"We'll try," he said earnestly.
"Can one do anything for you?" asked the French governess kindly.
"Oh, no, thank you," said Gerald. "We don't want to give you any troubleat all. And I was thinking it would be less trouble for you if we wereto go out into the woods all day to-morrow and take our dinner withus--something cold, you know--so as not to be a trouble to the cook."
"You are very considerate," said Mademoiselle coldly. Then Gerald's eyessmiled; they had a trick of doing this when his lips were quite serious.Mademoiselle caught the twinkle, and she laughed and Gerald laughed too.
"Little deceiver!" she said. "Why not say at once you want to be free of_surveillance_, how you say--overwatching--without pretending it is meyou wish to please?"
"You have to be careful with grown-ups," said Gerald, "but it isn't allpretence either. We _don't_ want to trouble you--and we don't want youto----"
"LITTLE DECEIVER!" SHE SAID.]
"To trouble you. Eh bien! Your parents, they permit these days atwoods?"
"Oh, yes," said Gerald truthfully.
"Then I will not be more a dragon than the parents. I will forewarn thecook. Are you content?"
"Rather!" said Gerald. "Mademoiselle, you are a dear."
"A deer?" she repeated--"a stag?"
"No, a--a _cherie_," said Gerald--"a regular A1 _cherie_. And you shan'trepent it. Is there anything we can do for you--wind your wool, or findyour spectacles, or----?"
"He thinks me a grandmother!" said Mademoiselle, laughing more thanever. "Go then, and be not more naughty than you must."
* * * * *
"Well, what luck?" the others asked.
"It's all right," said Gerald indifferently. "I told you it would be.The ingenuous youth won the regard of the foreign governess, who in heryouth had been the beauty of her humble village."
"I don't believe she ever was. She's too stern," said Kathleen.
"Ah!" said Gerald, "that's only because you don't know how to manageher. She wasn't stern with _me_."
"I say, what a humbug you are though, aren't you?" said Jimmy.
"No, I'm a dip--what's-its-name? Something like an ambassador.Dipsoplomatist--that's what I am. Anyhow, we've got our day, and if wedon't find a cave in it my name's not Jack Robinson."
Mademoiselle, less stern than Kathleen had ever seen her, presided atsupper, which was bread and treacle spread several hours before, and nowharder and drier than any other food you can think of. Gerald was verypolite in handing her butter and cheese, and pressing her to taste thebread and treacle.
"Bah! it is like sand in the mouth--of a dryness! Is it possible thispleases you?"
"No," said Gerald, "it is not possible, but it is not polite for boys tomake remarks about their food!"
She laughed, but there was no more dried
bread and treacle for supperafter that.
"How _do_ you do it?" Kathleen whispered admiringly as they saidgood-night.
"Oh, it's quite easy when you've once got a grown-up to see what you'reafter. You'll see, I shall drive her with a rein of darning cotton afterthis."
Next morning Gerald got up early and gathered a little bunch of pinkcarnations from a plant which he found hidden among the marigolds. Hetied it up with black cotton and laid it on Mademoiselle's plate. Shesmiled and looked quite handsome as she stuck the flowers in her belt.
"Do you think it's quite decent," Jimmy asked later--"sort of bribingpeople to let you do as you like with flowers and things and passingthem the salt?"
"It's not that," said Kathleen suddenly. "_I_ know what Gerald means,only I never think of the things in time myself. You see, if you wantgrown-ups to be nice to you the least you can do is to be nice to themand think of little things to please them. I never think of any myself.Jerry does; that's why all the old ladies like him. It's not bribery.It's a sort of honesty--like paying for things."
"Well, anyway," said Jimmy, putting away the moral question, "we've gota ripping day for the woods."
They had.
The wide High Street, even at the busy morning hour almost as quiet as adream-street, lay bathed in sunshine; the leaves shone fresh from lastnight's rain, but the road was dry, and in the sunshine the very dust ofit sparkled like diamonds. The beautiful old houses, standing stout andstrong, looked as though they were basking in the sunshine and enjoyingit.
"But _are_ there any woods?" asked Kathleen as they passed themarket-place.
"It doesn't much matter about woods," said Gerald dreamily, "we're sureto find _something_. One of the chaps told me his father said when hewas a boy there used to be a little cave under the bank in a lane nearthe Salisbury Road; but he said there was an enchanted castle there too,so perhaps the cave isn't true either."
"If we were to get horns," said Kathleen, "and to blow them very hardall the way, we might find a magic castle."
"If you've got the money to throw away on horns ..." said Jimmycontemptuously.
"Well, I have, as it happens, so there!" said Kathleen. And the hornswere bought in a tiny shop with a bulging window full of a tangle oftoys and sweets and cucumbers and sour apples.
And the quiet square at the end of the town where the church is, and thehouses of the most respectable people, echoed to the sound of hornsblown long and loud. But none of the houses turned into enchantedcastles.
So they went along the Salisbury Road, which was very hot and dusty, sothey agreed to drink one of the bottles of gingerbeer.
"We might as well carry the gingerbeer inside us as inside the bottle,"said Jimmy, "and we can hide the bottle and call for it as we comeback."
Presently they came to a place where the road, as Gerald said, went twoways at once.
"_That_ looks like adventures," said Kathleen; and they took theright-hand road, and the next time they took a turning it was aleft-hand one, so as to be quite fair, Jimmy said, and then a right-handone and then a left, and so on, till they were completely lost.
"_Com_pletely," said Kathleen; "how jolly!"
And now trees arched overhead, and the banks of the road were high andbushy. The adventurers had long since ceased to blow their horns. Itwas too tiring to go on doing that, when there was no one to be annoyedby it.
"Oh, kriky!" observed Jimmy suddenly, "let's sit down a bit and havesome of our dinner. We might call it lunch, you know," he addedpersuasively.
So they sat down in the hedge and ate the ripe red gooseberries thatwere to have been their dessert.
And as they sat and rested and wished that their boots did not feel sofull of feet, Gerald leaned back against the bushes, and the bushes gaveway so that he almost fell over backward. Something had yielded to thepressure of his back, and there was the sound of something heavy thatfell.
"O Jimminy!" he remarked, recovering himself suddenly; "there'ssomething hollow in there--the stone I was leaning against simply_went_!"
"I wish it was a cave," said Jimmy; "but of course it isn't."
"If we blow the horns perhaps it will be," said Kathleen, and hastilyblew her own.
Gerald reached his hand through the bushes. "I can't feel anything butair," he said; "it's just a hole full of emptiness." The other twopulled back the bushes. There certainly was a hole in the bank. "I'mgoing to go in," observed Gerald.
"Oh, don't!" said his sister. "I wish you wouldn't. Suppose there weresnakes!"
"Not likely," said Gerald, but he leaned forward and struck a match."It _is_ a cave!" he cried, and put his knee on the mossy stone he hadbeen sitting on, scrambled over it, and disappeared.
A breathless pause followed.
"You all right?" asked Jimmy.
"Yes; come on. You'd better come feet first--there's a bit of a drop."
"I'll go next," said Kathleen, and went--feet first, as advised. Thefeet waved wildly in the air.
"Look out!" said Gerald in the dark; "you'll have my eye out. Put yourfeet _down_, girl, not up. It's no use trying to fly here--there's noroom."
He helped her by pulling her feet forcibly down and then lifting herunder the arms. She felt rustling dry leaves under her boots, and stoodready to receive Jimmy, who came in head first, like one diving into anunknown sea.
"It _is_ a cave," said Kathleen.
"The young explorers," explained Gerald, blocking up the hole ofentrance with his shoulders, "dazzled at first by the darkness of thecave, could see nothing."
"Darkness doesn't dazzle," said Jimmy.
"I wish we'd got a candle," said Kathleen.
"Yes, it does," Gerald contradicted--"could see nothing. But theirdauntless leader, whose eyes had grown used to the dark while the clumsyforms of the others were bunging up the entrance, had made adiscovery."
JIMMY CAME IN HEAD FIRST, LIKE ONE DIVING INTO AN UNKNOWNSEA.]
"Oh, what!" Both the others were used to Gerald's way of telling a storywhile he acted it, but they did sometimes wish that he didn't talk quiteso long and so like a book in moments of excitement.
"He did not reveal the dread secret to his faithful followers till oneand all had given him their word of honour to be calm."
"We'll be calm all right," said Jimmy impatiently.
"Well, then," said Gerald, ceasing suddenly to be a book and becoming aboy, "there's a light over there--look behind you!"
They looked. And there was. A faint greyness on the brown walls of thecave, and a brighter greyness cut off sharply by a dark line, showedthat round a turning or angle of the cave there was daylight.
"Attention!" said Gerald; at least, that was what he meant, though whathe said was "'Shun!" as becomes the son of a soldier. The othersmechanically obeyed.
"You will remain at attention till I give the word 'Slow march!' onwhich you will advance cautiously in open order, following your heroleader, taking care not to tread on the dead and wounded."
"I wish you wouldn't!" said Kathleen.
"There aren't any," said Jimmy, feeling for her hand in the dark; "heonly means, take care not to tumble over stones and things."
Here he found her hand, and she screamed.
"It's only me," said Jimmy. "I thought you'd like me to hold it. Butyou're just like a girl."
Their eyes had now begun to get accustomed to the darkness, and allcould see that they were in a rough stone cave, that went straight onfor about three or four yards and then turned sharply to the right.
"Death or victory!" remarked Gerald. "Now, then--Slow march!"
He advanced carefully, picking his way among the loose earth and stonesthat were the floor of the cave. "A sail, a sail!" he cried, as heturned the corner.
"How splendid!" Kathleen drew a long breath as she came out into thesunshine.
"I don't see any sail," said Jimmy, following.
The narrow passage ended in a round arch all fringed with ferns andcreepers. They passed through the a
rch into a deep, narrow gully whosebanks were of stones, moss-covered; and in the crannies grew more fernsand long grasses. Trees growing on the top of the bank arched across,and the sunlight came through in changing patches of brightness, turningthe gully to a roofed corridor of goldy-green. The path, which was ofgreeny-grey flagstones where heaps of leaves had drifted, sloped steeplydown, and at the end of it was another round arch, quite dark inside,above which rose rocks and grass and bushes.
"It's like the outside of a railway tunnel," said James.
"It's the entrance to the enchanted castle," said Kathleen. "Let's blowthe horns."
"Dry up!" said Gerald. "The bold Captain, reproving the silly chatter ofhis subordinates----"
"I like that!" said Jimmy, indignant.
"I thought you would," resumed Gerald--"of his subordinates, bade themadvance with caution and in silence, because after all there might besomebody about, and the other arch might be an ice-house or somethingdangerous."
"What?" asked Kathleen anxiously.
"Bears, perhaps," said Gerald briefly.
"There aren't any bears without bars--in England, anyway," said Jimmy."They call bears bars in America," he added absently.
"Quick march!" was Gerald's only reply.
And they marched. Under the drifted damp leaves the path was firm andstony to their shuffling feet. At the dark arch they stopped.
"There are steps down," said Jimmy.
"It _is_ an ice-house," said Gerald.
"Don't let's," said Kathleen.
"Our hero," said Gerald, "who nothing could dismay, raised the falteringhopes of his abject minions by saying that he was jolly well going on,and they could do as they liked about it."
"If you call names," said Jimmy, "you can go on by yourself." He added,"So there!"
"IT'S THE ENTRANCE TO THE ENCHANTED CASTLE," SAIDKATHLEEN.]
"It's part of the game, silly," explained Gerald kindly. "You can beCaptain to-morrow, so you'd better hold your jaw now, and begin tothink about what names you'll call us when it's your turn."
Very slowly and carefully they went down the steps. A vaulted stonearched over their heads. Gerald struck a match when the last step wasfound to have no edge, and to be, in fact, the beginning of a passage,turning to the left.
"This," said Jimmy, "will take us back into the road."
"Or under it," said Gerald. "We've come down eleven steps."
They went on, following their leader, who went very slowly for fear, ashe explained, of steps. The passage was very dark.
"I don't half like it!" whispered Jimmy.
Then came a glimmer of daylight that grew and grew, and presently endedin another arch that looked out over a scene so like a picture out of abook about Italy that every one's breath was taken away, and they simplywalked forward silent and staring. A short avenue of cypresses led,widening as it went, to a marble terrace that lay broad and white in thesunlight. The children, blinking, leaned their arms on the broad, flatbalustrade and gazed. Immediately below them was a lake--just like alake in "The Beauties of Italy"--a lake with swans and an island andweeping willows; beyond it were green slopes dotted with groves oftrees, and amid the trees gleamed the white limbs of statues. Against alittle hill to the left was a round white building with pillars, and tothe right a waterfall came tumbling down among mossy stones to splashinto the lake. Steps led from the terrace to the water, and other stepsto the green lawns beside it. Away across the grassy slopes deer werefeeding, and in the distance where the groves of trees thickened intowhat looked almost a forest were enormous shapes of grey stone, likenothing that the children had ever seen before.
"That chap at school----" said Gerald.
"It _is_ an enchanted castle," said Kathleen.
"I don't see any castle," said Jimmy.
"What do you call that, then?" Gerald pointed to where, beyond a belt oflime-trees, white towers and turrets broke the blue of the sky.
"There doesn't seem to be any one about," said Kathleen, "and yet it'sall so tidy. I believe it is magic."
"Magic mowing machines," Jimmy suggested.
"If we were in a book it would be an enchanted castle--certain to be,"said Kathleen.
"It _is_ an enchanted castle," said Gerald in hollow tones.
"But there aren't any." Jimmy was quite positive.
"How do you know? Do you think there's nothing in the world but what_you've_ seen?" His scorn was crushing.
"I think magic went out when people began to have steam-engines," Jimmyinsisted, "and newspapers, and telephones and wireless telegraphing."
"Wireless is rather like magic when you come to think of it," saidGerald.
"Oh, _that_ sort!" Jimmy's contempt was deep.
"Perhaps there's given up being magic because people didn't believe init any more," said Kathleen.
"Well, don't let's spoil the show with any silly old not believing,"said Gerald with decision. "I'm going to believe in magic as hard as Ican. This is an enchanted garden, and that's an enchanted castle, andI'm jolly well going to explore. The dauntless knight then led the way,leaving his ignorant squires to follow or not, just as they jolly wellchose." He rolled off the balustrade and strode firmly down towards thelawn, his boots making, as they went, a clatter full of determination.
The others followed. There never was such a garden--out of a picture ora fairy tale. They passed quite close by the deer, who only raised theirpretty heads to look, and did not seem startled at all. And after a longstretch of turf they passed under the heaped-up heavy masses oflime-trees and came into a rose-garden, bordered with thick, close-cutyew hedges, and lying red and pink and green and white in the sun, likea giant's many-coloured, highly-scented pocket-handkerchief.
"I know we shall meet a gardener in a minute, and he'll ask what we'redoing here. And then what will you say?" Kathleen asked with her nose ina rose.
"THIS IS AN ENCHANTED GARDEN AND THAT'S AN ENCHANTEDCASTLE."]
"I shall say we've lost our way, and it will be quite true," saidGerald.
But they did not meet a gardener or anybody else, and the feeling ofmagic got thicker and thicker, till they were almost afraid of the soundof their feet in the great silent place. Beyond the rose garden was ayew hedge with an arch cut in it, and it was the beginning of a mazelike the one in Hampton Court.
"Now," said Gerald, "you mark my words. In the middle of this maze weshall find the secret enchantment. Draw your swords, my merry men all,and hark forward tallyho in the utmost silence."
Which they did.
It was very hot in the maze, between the close yew hedges, and the wayto the maze's heart was hidden well. Again and again they foundthemselves at the black yew arch that opened on the rose garden, andthey were all glad that they had brought large, clean pocket-handkerchiefswith them.
It was when they found themselves there for the fourth time that Jimmysuddenly cried, "Oh, I wish----" and then stopped short very suddenly."Oh!" he added in quite a different voice, "where's the dinner?" Andthen in a stricken silence they all remembered that the basket with thedinner had been left at the entrance of the cave. Their thoughts dweltfondly on the slices of cold mutton, the six tomatoes, the bread andbutter, the screwed-up paper of salt, the apple turnovers, and thelittle thick glass that one drank the gingerbeer out of.
"Let's go back," said Jimmy, "now this minute, and get our things andhave our dinner."
"Let's have one more try at the maze. I hate giving things up," saidGerald.
"I _am_ so hungry!" said Jimmy.
"Why didn't you say so before?" asked Gerald bitterly.
"I wasn't before."
"Then you can't be now. You don't get hungry all in a minute. What'sthat?"
"That" was a gleam of red that lay at the foot of the yew hedge--a thinlittle line, that you would hardly have noticed unless you had beenstaring in a fixed and angry way at the roots of the hedge.
It was a thread of cotton. Gerald picked it up. One end of it was tiedto a thimble with holes
in it, and the other----
"There _is_ no other end," said Gerald, with firm triumph. "It's aclue--that's what it is. What price cold mutton now? I've always feltsomething magic would happen some day, and now it has."
"I expect the gardener put it there," said Jimmy.
"With a Princess's silver thimble on it? Look! there's a crown on thethimble."
There was.
"Come," said Gerald in low, urgent tones, "if you are adventurers _be_adventurers; and anyhow, I expect some one has gone along the road andbagged the mutton hours ago."
He walked forward, winding the red thread round his fingers as he went.And it _was_ a clue, and it led them right into the middle of the maze.And in the very middle of the maze they came upon the wonder.
The red clue led them up two stone steps to a round grass plot. Therewas a sun-dial in the middle, and all round against the yew hedge a low,wide marble seat. The red clue ran straight across the grass and by thesun-dial, and ended in a small brown hand with jewelled rings on everyfinger. The hand was, naturally, attached to an arm, and that had manybracelets on it, sparkling with red and blue and green stones. The armwore a sleeve of pink and gold brocaded silk, faded a little here andthere but still extremely imposing, and the sleeve was part of a dress,which was worn by a lady who lay on the stone seat asleep in the sun.The rosy gold dress fell open over an embroidered petticoat of a softgreen colour. There was old yellow lace the colour of scalded cream, anda thin white veil spangled with silver stars covered the face.
"It's the enchanted Princess," said Gerald, now really impressed. "Itold you so."
"It's the Sleeping Beauty," said Kathleen. "It is--look howold-fashioned her clothes are, like the pictures of Marie Antoinette'sladies in the history book. She has slept for a hundred years. Oh,Gerald, you're the eldest; you must be the Prince, and we never knewit."
THE RED CLUE RAN STRAIGHT ACROSS THE GRASS AND BY THESUN-DIAL, AND ENDED IN A SMALL BROWN HAND.]
"She isn't really a Princess," said Jimmy. But the others laughed athim, partly because his saying things like that was enough to spoil anygame, and partly because they really were not at all sure that it wasnot a Princess who lay there as still as the sunshine. Every stage ofthe adventure--the cave, the wonderful gardens, the maze, the clue, haddeepened the feeling of magic, till now Kathleen and Gerald were almostcompletely bewitched.
"Lift the veil up, Jerry," said Kathleen in a whisper; "if she isn'tbeautiful we shall know she can't be the Princess."
"Lift it yourself," said Gerald.
"I expect you're forbidden to touch the figures," said Jimmy.
"It's not wax, silly," said his brother.
"No," said his sister, "wax wouldn't be much good in this sun. And,besides, you can see her breathing. It's the Princess right enough." Shevery gently lifted the edge of the veil and turned it back. ThePrincess's face was small and white between long plaits of black hair.Her nose was straight and her brows finely traced. There were a fewfreckles on cheek-bones and nose.
"No wonder," whispered Kathleen, "sleeping all these years in all thissun!" Her mouth was not a rosebud. But all the same--
"Isn't she lovely!" Kathleen murmured.
"Not so dusty," Gerald was understood to reply.
"Now, Jerry," said Kathleen firmly, "you're the eldest."
"Of course I am," said Gerald uneasily.
"Well, you've got to wake the Princess."
"She's not a Princess," said Jimmy, with his hands in the pockets of hisknickerbockers; "she's only a little girl dressed up."
"But she's in long dresses," urged Kathleen.
"Yes, but look what a little way down her frock her feet come. Shewouldn't be any taller than Jerry if she was to stand up."
"Now then," urged Kathleen. "Jerry, don't be silly. You've got to doit."
"Do what?" asked Gerald, kicking his left boot with his right.
"Why, kiss her awake, of course."
"Not me!" was Gerald's unhesitating rejoinder.
"Well, some one's got to."
"She'd go for me as likely as not the minute she woke up," said Geraldanxiously.
"I'd do it like a shot," said Kathleen, "but I don't suppose it ud makeany difference me kissing her."
She did it; and it didn't. The Princess still lay in deep slumber.
"Then you must, Jimmy. I daresay you'll do. Jump back quickly before shecan hit you."
"She won't hit him, he's such a little chap," said Gerald.
"Little yourself!" said Jimmy. "_I_ don't mind kissing her. I'm not acoward, like Some People. Only if I do, I'm going to be the dauntlessleader for the rest of the day."
THE THREE STOOD BREATHLESS, AWAITING THE RESULT.]
"No, look here--hold on!" cried Gerald, "perhaps I'd better----" But,in the meantime, Jimmy had planted a loud, cheerful-sounding kiss on thePrincess's pale cheek, and now the three stood breathless, awaiting theresult.
And the result was that the Princess opened large, dark eyes, stretchedout her arms, yawned a little, covering her mouth with a small brownhand, and said, quite plainly and distinctly, and without any room atall for mistake:--
"Then the hundred years are over? How the yew hedges have grown! Whichof you is my Prince that aroused me from my deep sleep of so many longyears?"
"I did," said Jimmy fearlessly, for she did not look as though she weregoing to slap any one.
"My noble preserver!" said the Princess, and held out her hand. Jimmyshook it vigorously.
"But I say," said he, "you aren't really a Princess, are you?"
"Of course I am," she answered; "who else could I be? Look at my crown!"She pulled aside the spangled veil, and showed beneath it a coronet ofwhat even Jimmy could not help seeing to be diamonds.
"But----" said Jimmy.
"Why," she said, opening her eyes very wide, "you must have known aboutmy being here, or you'd never have come. How _did_ you get past thedragons?"
Gerald ignored the question. "I say," he said, "do you really believe inmagic, and all that?"
"I ought to," she said, "if anybody does. Look, here's the place where Ipricked my finger with the spindle." She showed a little scar on herwrist.
"Then this really _is_ an enchanted castle?"
"Of course it is," said the Princess. "How stupid you are!" She stoodup, and her pink brocaded dress lay in bright waves about her feet.
"I said her dress would be too long," said Jimmy.
"It was the right length when I went to sleep," said the Princess; "itmust have grown in the hundred years."
"I don't believe you're a Princess at all," said Jimmy; "at least----"
"Don't bother about believing it, if you don't like," said the Princess."It doesn't so much matter what you believe as what I am." She turned tothe others.
"Let's go back to the castle," she said, "and I'll show you all mylovely jewels and things. Wouldn't you like that?"
"Yes," said Gerald with very plain hesitation. "But----"
"But what?" The Princess's tone was impatient.
"But we're most awfully hungry."
"Oh, so am I!" cried the Princess.
"We've had nothing to eat since breakfast."
"And it's three now," said the Princess, looking at the sun-dial. "Why,you've had nothing to eat for hours and hours and hours. But think ofme! I haven't had anything to eat for a hundred years. Come along to thecastle."
"The mice will have eaten everything," said Jimmy sadly. He saw now thatshe really _was_ a Princess.
"Not they," cried the Princess joyously. "You forget everything'senchanted here. Time simply stood still for a hundred years. Come along,and one of you must carry my train, or I shan't be able to move now it'sgrown such a frightful length."