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Once upon
a time...
There lived a queen who had been the mother of a great many
children, and of them all only one daughter was left. But then she
was worth at least a thousand.
Her mother, who, since the death of the King, her father, had
nothing in the world she cared for so much as this little Princess,
was so terribly afraid of losing her that she quite spoiled her, and
never tried to correct any of her faults. The consequence was that
this little person, who was as pretty as possible, and was one day
to wear a crown, grew up so proud and so much in love with her own
beauty that she despised everyone else in the world.
The Queen, her mother, by her caresses and flatteries, helped to
make her believe that there was nothing too good for her. She was
dressed almost always in the prettiest frocks, as a fairy, or as a
queen going out to hunt, and the ladies of the Court followed her
dressed as forest fairies.
And to make her more vain than ever the Queen caused her portrait to
be taken by the cleverest painters and sent it to several
neighbouring kings with whom she was very friendly.
When they saw this portrait they fell in love with the
Princess--every one of them, but upon each it had a different
effect. One fell ill, one went quite crazy, and a few of the
luckiest set off to see her as soon as possible, but these poor
princes became her slaves the moment they set eyes on her.
Never has there been a gayer Court. Twenty delightful kings did
everything they could think of to make themselves agreeable, and
after having spent ever so much money in giving a single
entertainment thought themselves very lucky if the Princess said
"That's pretty."
All this admiration vastly pleased the Queen. Not a day passed but
she received seven or eight thousand sonnets, and as many elegies,
madrigals, and songs, which were sent her by all the poets in the
world. All the prose and the poetry that was written just then was
about Bellissima--for that was the Princess's name--and all the
bonfires that they had were made of these verses, which crackled and
sparkled better than any other sort of wood.
Bellissima was already fifteen years old, and every one of the
Princes wished to marry her, but not one dared to say so. How could
they when they knew that any of them might have cut off his head
five or six times a day just to please her, and she would have
thought it a mere trifle, so little did she care? You may imagine
how hard- hearted her lovers thought her; and the Queen, who wished
to see her married, did not know how to persuade her to think of it
seriously.
"Bellissima," she said, "I do wish you would not be so proud. What
makes you despise all these nice kings? I wish you to marry one of
them, and you do not try to please me."
"I am so happy," Bellissima answered: "do leave me in peace, madam.
I don't want to care for anyone."
"But you would be very happy with any of these Princes," said the
Queen, "and I shall be very angry if you fall in love with anyone
who is not worthy of you."
But the Princess thought so much of herself that she did not
consider any one of her lovers clever or handsome enough for her;
and her mother, who was getting really angry at her determination
not to be married, began to wish that she had not allowed her to
have her own way so much.
At last, not knowing what else to do, she resolved to consult a
certain witch who was called "The Fairy of the Desert." Now this was
very difficult to do, as she was guarded by some terrible lions; but
happily the Queen had heard a long time before that whoever wanted
to pass these lions safely must throw to them a cake made of millet
flour, sugar-candy, and crocodile's eggs. This cake she prepared
with her own hands, and putting it in a little basket, she set out
to seek the Fairy. But as she was not used to walking far, she soon
felt very tired and sat down at the foot of a tree to rest, and
presently fell fast asleep. When she awoke she was dismayed to find
her basket empty. The cake was all gone! and, to make matters worse,
at that moment she heard the roaring of the great lions, who had
found out that she was near and were coming to look for her
"What shall I do?" she cried; "I shall be eaten up," and being too
frightened to run a single step, she began to cry, and leaned
against the tree under which she had been asleep.
Just then she heard some one say: "H'm, h'm!"
She looked all round her, and then up the tree, and there she saw a
little tiny man, who was eating oranges.
"Oh! Queen," said he, "I know you very well, and I know how much
afraid you are of the lions; and you are quite right too, for they
have eaten many other people: and what can you expect, as you have
not any cake to give them?"
"I must make up my mind to die," said the poor Queen. "Alas! I
should not care so much if only my dear daughter were married."
"Oh! you have a daughter," cried the Yellow Dwarf (who was so called
because he WAS a dwarf and had such a yellow face, and lived in the
orange tree). "I'm really glad to hear that, for I've been looking
for a wife all over the world. Now, if you will promise that she
shall marry me, not one of the lions, tigers, or bears shall touch
you."
The Queen looked at him and was almost as much afraid of his ugly
little face as she had been of the lions before, so that she could
not speak a word.
"What! you hesitate, madam," cried the Dwarf. "You must be very fond
of being eaten up alive."
And, as he spoke, the Queen saw the lions, which were running down a
hill toward them.
Each one had two heads, eight feet, and four rows of teeth, and
their skins were as hard as turtle shells, and were bright red.
At this dreadful sight, the poor Queen, who was trembling like a
dove when it sees a hawk, cried out as loud as she could, "Oh! dear
Mr. Dwarf, Bellissima shall marry you."
"Oh, indeed!" said he disdainfully. "Bellissima is pretty enough,
but I don't particularly want to marry her--you can keep her."
"Oh! noble sir," said the Queen in great distress, ado not refuse
her. She is the most charming Princess in the world."
"Oh! well," he replied, "out of charity I will take her; but be sure
and don't forget that she is mine."
As he spoke a little door opened in the trunk of the orange tree, in
rushed the Queen, only just in time, and the door shut with a bang
in the faces of the lions.
The Queen was so confused that at first she did not notice another
little door in the orange tree, but presently it opened and she
found herself in a field of thistles and nettles. It was encircled
by a muddy ditch, and a little further on was a tiny thatched
cottage, out of which came the Yellow Dwarf with a very jaunty air.
He wore wooden shoes and a little yellow coat, and as he had no hair
and very long ears he looked altogether a shocking little object.
"I am delighted," said he to the Queen, "that, as you are to be my
mother-in-law, you should see the little house in which your
Bellissima will live with me. With these thistles and nettles she
can feed a donkey which she can ride whenever she likes; under this
humble roof no weather can hurt her; she will drink the water of
this brook and eat frogs--which grow very fat about here; and then
she will have me always with her, handsome, agreeable, and gay as
you see me now. For if her shadow stays by her more closely than I
do I shall be surprised."
The unhappy Queen. seeing all at once what a miserable life her
daughter would have with this Dwarf could not bear the idea, and
fell down insensible without saying a word.
When she revived she found to her great surprise that she was lying
in her own bed at home, and, what was more, that she had on the
loveliest lace night cap that she had ever seen in her life. At
first she thought that all her adventures, the terrible lions, and
her promise to the Yellow Dwarf that he should marry Bellissima,
must have been a dream, but there was the new cap with its beautiful
ribbon and lace to remind her that it was all true, which made her
so unhappy that she could neither eat, drink, nor sleep for thinking
of it.
The Princess, who, in spite of her wilfulness, really loved her
mother with all her heart, was much grieved when she saw her looking
so sad, and often asked her what was the matter; but the Queen, who
didn't want her to find out the truth, only said that she was ill,
or that one of her neighbours was threatening to make war against
her. Bellissima knew quite well that something was being hidden from
her--and that neither of these was the real reason of the Queen's
uneasiness. So she made up her mind that she would go and consult
the Fairy of the Desert about it, especially as she had often heard
how wise she was, and she thought that at the same time she might
ask her advice as to whether it would be as well to be married, or
not.
So, with great care, she made some of the proper cake to pacify the
lions, and one night went up to her room very early, pretending that
she was going to bed; but instead of that, she wrapped herself in a
long white veil, and went down a secret staircase, and set off all
by herself to find the Witch.
But when she got as far as the same fatal orange tree, and saw it
covered with flowers and fruit, she stopped and began to gather some
of the oranges--and then, putting down her basket, she sat down to
eat them. But when it was time to go on again the basket had
disappeared and, though she looked everywhere, not a trace of it
could she find. The more she hunted for it, the more frightened she
got, and at last she began to cry. Then all at once she saw before
her the Yellow Dwarf.
"What's the matter with you, my pretty one?" said he. "What are you
crying about?"
"Alas!" she answered; "no wonder that I am crying, seeing that I
have lost the basket of cake that was to help me to get safely to
the cave of the Fairy of the Desert."
"And what do you want with her, pretty one?" said the little
monster, "for I am a friend of hers, and, for the matter of that, I
am quite as clever as she is."
"The Queen, my mother," replied the Princess, "has lately fallen
into such deep sadness that I fear that she will die; and I am
afraid that perhaps I am the cause of it, for she very much wishes
me to be married, and I must tell you truly that as yet I have not
found anyone I consider worthy to be my husband. So for all these
reasons I wished to talk to the Fairy."
"Do not give yourself any further trouble, Princess," answered the
Dwarf. "I can tell you all you want to know better than she could.
The Queen, your mother, has promised you in marriage----"
"Has promised ME!" interrupted the Princess. "Oh! no. I'm sure she
has not. She would have told me if she had. I am too much interested
in the matter for her to promise anything without my consent--you
must be mistaken."
"Beautiful Princess," cried the Dwarf suddenly, throwing himself on
his knees before her, "I flatter myself that you will not be
displeased at her choice when I tell you that it is to ME she has
promised the happiness of marrying you."
"You!" cried Bellissima, starting back. "My mother wishes me to
marry you! How can you be so silly as to think of such a thing?"
"Oh! it isn't that I care much to have that honor," cried the Dwarf
angrily; "but here are the lions coming; they'll eat you up in three
mouthfuls, and there will be an end of you and your pride."
And, indeed, at that moment the poor Princess heard their dreadful
howls coming nearer and nearer.
"What shall I do?" she cried. "Must all my happy days come to an end
like this?"
The malicious Dwarf looked at her and began to laugh spitefully. "At
least," said he, "you have the satisfaction of dying unmarried. A
lovely Princess like you must surely prefer to die rather than be
the wife of a poor little dwarf like myself."
"Oh, don't be angry with me," cried the Princess, clasping her
hands. "I'd rather marry all the dwarfs in the world than die in
this horrible way."
"Look at me well, Princess, before you give me your word," said he.
"I don't want you to promise me in a hurry."
"Oh!" cried she, "the lions are coming. I have looked at you enough.
I am so frightened. Save me this minute, or I shall die of terror.
Indeed, as she spoke she fell down insensible, and when she
recovered she found herself in her own little bed at home; how she
got there she could not tell, but she was dressed in the most
beautiful lace and ribbons, and on her finger was a little ring,
made of a single red hair, which fitted so tightly that, try as she
might, she could not get it off.
When the Princess saw all these things, and remembered what had
happened, she, too, fell into the deepest sadness, which surprised
and alarmed the whole Court, and the Queen more than anyone else. A
hundred times she asked Bellissima if anything was the matter with
her; but she always said that there was nothing
At last the chief men of the kingdom, anxious to see their Princess
married, sent to the Queen to beg her to choose a husband for her as
soon as possible. She replied that nothing would please her better,
but that her daughter seemed so unwilling to marry, and she
recommended them to go and talk to the Princess about it themselves
so this they at once did. Now Bellissima was much less proud since
her adventure with the Yellow Dwarf, and she could not think of a
better way of getting rid of the little monster than to marry some
powerful king, therefore she replied to their request much more
favourably than they had hoped, saying that, though she was very
happy as she was, still, to please them, she would consent to marry
the King of the Gold Mines. Now he was a very handsome and powerful
Prince, who had been in love with the Princess for years, but had
not thought that she would ever care about him at all. You can
easily imagine how delighted he was when he heard the news, and how
angry it made all the other kings to lose for ever the hope of
marrying the Princess; but, after all, Bellissima could not have
married twenty kings--indeed, she had found it quite difficult
enough to choose one, for her vanity made her believe that there was
nobody in the world who was worthy of her.
Preparations were begun at once for the grandest wedding that had
ever been held at the palace. The King of the Gold Mines sent such
immense sums of money that the whole sea was covered with the ships
that brought it. Messengers were sent to all the gayest and most
refined Courts, particularly to the Court of France, to seek out
everything rare and precious to adorn the Princess, although her
beauty was so perfect that nothing she wore could make her look
prettier. At least that is what the King of the Gold Mines thought,
and he was never happy unless he was with her.
As for the Princess, the more she saw of the King the more she liked
him; he was so generous, so handsome and clever, that at last she
was almost as much in love with him as he was with her. How happy
they were as they wandered about in the beautiful gardens together,
sometimes listening to sweet music! And the King used to write songs
for Bellissima. This is one that she liked very much:
In the forest all is gay When my Princess walks that way. All the
blossoms then are found Downward fluttering to the ground, Hoping
she may tread on them. And bright flowers on slender stem Gaze up at
her as she passes Brushing lightly through the grasses. Oh! my
Princess, birds above Echo back our songs of love, As through this
enchanted land Blithe we wander, hand in hand.
They really were as happy as the day was long. All the King's
unsuccessful rivals had gone home in despair. They said good-by to
the Princess so sadly that she could not help being sorry for them.
"Ah! madam," the King of the Gold Mines said to her "how is this?
Why do you waste your pity on these princes, who love you so much
that all their trouble would be well repaid by a single smile from
you?"
"I should be sorry," answered Bellissima, "if you had not noticed
how much I pitied these princes who were leaving me for ever; but
for you, sire, it is very different: you have every reason to be
pleased with me, but they are going sorrowfully away, so you must
not grudge them my compassion."
The King of the Gold Mines was quite overcome by the Princess's
good-natured way of taking his interference, and, throwing himself
at her feet, he kissed her hand a thousand times and begged her to
forgive him.
At last the happy day came. Everything was ready for Bellissima's
wedding. The trumpets sounded, all the streets of the town were hung
with flags and strewn with flowers, and the people ran in crowds to
the great square before the palace. The Queen was so overjoyed that
she had hardly been able to sleep at all, and she got up before it
was light to give the necessary orders and to choose the jewels that
the Princess was to wear. These were nothing less than diamonds,
even to her shoes, which were covered with them, and her dress of
silver brocade was embroidered with a dozen of the sun's rays. You
may imagine how much these had cost; but then nothing could have
been more brilliant, except the beauty of the Princess! Upon her
head she wore a splendid crown, her lovely hair waved nearly to her
feet, and her stately figure could easily be distinguished among all
the ladies who attended her.
The King of the Gold Mines was not less noble and splendid; it was
easy to see by his face how happy he was, and everyone who went near
him returned loaded with presents, for all round the great
banqueting hall had been arranged a thousand barrels full of gold,
and numberless bags made of velvet embroidered with pearls and
filled with money, each one containing at least a hundred thousand
gold pieces, which were given away to everyone who liked to hold out
his hand, which numbers of people hastened to do, you may be
sure--indeed, some found this by far the most amusing part of the
wedding festivities.
The Queen and the Princess were just ready to set out with the King
when they saw, advancing toward them from the end of the long
gallery, two great basilisks, dragging after them a very badly made
box; behind them came a tall old woman, whose ugliness was even more
surprising than her extreme old age. She wore a ruff of black
taffeta, a red velvet hood, and a farthingale all in rags, and she
leaned heavily upon a crutch. This strange old woman, without saying
a single word, hobbled three times round the gallery, followed by
the basilisks, then stopping in the middle, and brandishing her
crutch threateningly, she cried:
"Ho, ho, Queen! Ho, ho, Princess! Do you think you are going to
break with impunity the promise that you made to my friend the
Yellow Dwarf? I am the Fairy of the Desert; without the Yellow Dwarf
and his orange tree my great lions would soon have eaten you up, I
can tell you, and in Fairyland we do not suffer ourselves to be
insulted like this. Make up your minds at once what you will do, for
I vow that you shall marry the Yellow Dwarf. If you don't, may I
burn my crutch!"
"Ah! Princess," said the Queen, weeping, "what is this that I hear?
What have you promised?"
"Ah! my mother," replied Bellissima sadly, "what did YOU promise,
yourself?"
The King of the Gold Mines, indignant at being kept from his
happiness by this wicked old woman, went up to her, and threatening
her with his sword, said:
"Get away out of my country at once, and for ever, miserable
creature, lest I take your life, and so rid myself of your malice."
He had hardly spoken these words when the lid of the box fell back
on the floor with a terrible noise, and to their horror out sprang
the Yellow Dwarf, mounted upon a great Spanish cat. "Rash youth!" he
cried, rushing between the Fairy of the Desert and the King. "Dare
to lay a finger upon this illustrious Fairy! Your quarrel is with me
only. I am your enemy and your rival. That faithless Princess who
would have married you is promised to me. See if she has not upon
her finger a ring made of one of my hairs. Just try to take it off,
and you will soon find out that I am more powerful than you are!"
"Wretched little monster!" said the King; "do you dare to call
yourself the Princess's lover, and to lay claim to such a treasure?
Do you know that you are a dwarf-- that you are so ugly that one
cannot bear to look at you --and that I should have killed you
myself long before this if you had been worthy of such a glorious
death?"
The Yellow Dwarf, deeply enraged at these words, set spurs to his
cat, which yelled horribly, and leaped hither and
thither--terrifying everybody except the brave King, who pursued the
Dwarf closely, till he, drawing a great knife with which he was
armed, challenged the King to meet him in single combat, and rushed
down into the courtyard of the palace with a terrible clatter. The
King, quite provoked, followed him hastily, but they had hardly
taken their places facing one another, and the whole Court had only
just had time to rush out upon the balconies to watch what was going
on, when suddenly the sun became as red as blood, and it was so dark
that they could scarcely see at all. The thunder crashed, and the
lightning seemed as if it must burn up everything; the two basilisks
appeared, one on each side of the bad Dwarf, like giants, mountains
high, and fire flew from their mouths and ears, until they looked
like flaming furnaces. None of these things could terrify the noble
young King, and the boldness of his looks and actions reassured
those who were looking on, and perhaps even embarrassed the Yellow
Dwarf himself; but even HIS courage gave way when he saw what was
happening to his beloved Princess. For the Fairy of the Desert,
looking more terrible than before, mounted upon a winged griffin,
and with long snakes coiled round her neck, had given her such a
blow with the lance she carried that Bellissima fell into the
Queen's arms bleeding and senseless. Her fond mother, feeling as
much hurt by the blow as the Princess herself, uttered such piercing
cries and lamentations that the King, hearing them, entirely lost
his courage and presence of mind. Giving up the combat, he flew
toward the Princess, to rescue or to die with her; but the Yellow
Dwarf was too quick for him. Leaping with his Spanish cat upon the
balcony, he snatched Bellissima from the Queen's arms, and before
any of the ladies of the Court could stop him he had sprung upon the
roof of the palace and disappeared with his prize.
The King, motionless with horror, looked on despairingly at this
dreadful occurrence, which he was quite powerless to prevent, and to
make matters worse his sight failed him, everything became dark, and
he felt himself carried along through the air by a strong hand.
This new misfortune was the work of the wicked Fairy of the Desert,
who had come with the Yellow Dwarf to help him carry off the
Princess, and had fallen in love with the handsome young King of the
Gold Mines directly she saw him. She thought that if she carried him
off to some frightful cavern and chained him to a rock, then the
fear of death would make him forget Bellissima and become her slave.
So, as soon as they reached the place, she gave him back his sight,
but without releasing him from his chains, and by her magic power
she appeared before him as a young and beautiful fairy, and
pretended to have come there quite by chance.
"What do I see? she cried. "Is it you, dear Prince? What misfortune
has brought you to this dismal place?"
The King, who was quite deceived by her altered appearance, replied:
"Alas! beautiful Fairy, the fairy who brought me here first took
away my sight, but by her voice I recognized her as the Fairy of the
Desert, though what she should have carried me off for I cannot tell
you."
"Ah!" cried the pretended Fairy, "if you have fallen into her hands,
you won't get away until you have married her. She has carried off
more than one Prince like this, and she will certainly have anything
she takes a fancy to." While she was thus pretending to be sorry for
the King, he suddenly noticed her feet, which were like those of a
griffin, and knew in a moment that this must be the Fairy of the
Desert, for her feet were the one thing she could not change,
however pretty she might make her face.
Without seeming to have noticed anything, he said, in a confidential
way:
"Not that I have any dislike to the Fairy of the Desert, but I
really cannot endure the way in which she protects the Yellow Dwarf
and keeps me chained here like a criminal. It is true that I love a
charming princess, but if the Fairy should set me free my gratitude
would oblige me to love her only."
"Do you really mean what you say, Prince?" said the Fairy, quite
deceived.
"Surely," replied the Prince; "how could I deceive you? You see it
is so much more flattering to my vanity to be loved by a fairy than
by a simple princess. But, even if I am dying of love for her, I
shall pretend to hate her until I am set free."
The Fairy of the Desert, quite taken in by these words, resolved at
once to transport the Prince to a pleasanter place. So, making him
mount her chariot, to which she had harnessed swans instead of the
bats which generally drew it, away she flew with him. But imagine
the distress of the Prince when, from the giddy height at which they
were rushing through the air, he saw his beloved Princess in a
castle built of polished steel, the walls of which reflected the
sun's rays so hotly that no one could approach it without being
burnt to a cinder! Bellissima was sitting in a little thicket by a
brook, leaning her head upon her hand and weeping bitterly, but just
as they passed she looked up and saw the King and the Fairy of the
Desert. Now, the Fairy was so clever that she could not only seem
beautiful to the King, but even the poor Princess thought her the
most lovely being she had ever seen.
"What!" she cried; "was I not unhappy enough in this lonely castle
to which that frightful Yellow Dwarf brought me? Must I also be made
to know that the King of the Gold Mines ceased to love me as soon as
he lost sight of me? But who can my rival be, whose fatal beauty is
greater than mine?"
While she was saying this, the King, who really loved her as much as
ever, was feeling terribly sad at being so rapidly torn away from
his beloved Princess, but he knew too well how powerful the Fairy
was to have any hope of escaping from her except by great patience
and cunning.
The Fairy of the Desert had also seen Bellissima, and she tried to
read in the King's eyes the effect that this unexpected sight had
had upon him.
"No one can tell you what you wish to know better than I can," said
he. "This chance meeting with an unhappy princess for whom I once
had a passing fancy, before I was lucky enough to meet you, has
affected me a little, I admit, but you are so much more to me than
she is that I would rather die than leave you."
"Ah, Prince," she said, "can I believe that you really love me so
much?"
"Time will show, madam," replied the King; "but if you wish to
convince me that you have some regard for me, do not, I beg of you,
refuse to aid Bellissima."
"Do you know what you are asking?" said the Fairy of the Desert,
frowning, and looking at him suspiciously. "Do you want me to employ
my art against the Yellow Dwarf, who is my best friend, and take
away from him a proud princess whom I can but look upon as my
rival?"
The King sighed, but made no answer--indeed, what was there to be
said to such a clear-sighted person? At last they reached a vast
meadow, gay with all sorts of flowers; a deep river surrounded it,
and many little brooks murmured softly under the shady trees, where
it was always cool and fresh. A little way off stood a splendid
palace, the walls of which were of transparent emeralds. As soon as
the swans which drew the Fairy's chariot had alighted under a porch,
which was paved with diamonds and had arches of rubies, they were
greeted on all sides by thousands of beautiful beings, who came to
meet them joyfully, singing these words:
"When Love within a heart would reign, Useless to strive against him
'tis. The proud but feel a sharper pain, And make a greater triumph
his."
The Fairy of the Desert was delighted to hear them sing of her
triumphs; she led the King into the most splendid room that can be
imagined, and left him alone for a little while, just that he might
not feel that he was a prisoner; but he felt sure that she had not
really gone quite away, but was watching him from some hiding-
place. So walking up to a great mirror, he said to it, "Trusty
counsellor, let me see what I can do to make myself agreeable to the
charming Fairy of the Desert; for I can think of nothing but how to
please her."
And he at once set to work to curl his hair, and, seeing upon a
table a grander coat than his own, he put it on carefully. The Fairy
came back so delighted that she could not conceal her joy.
"I am quite aware of the trouble you have taken to please me," said
she, "and I must tell you that you have succeeded perfectly already.
You see it is not difficult to do if you really care for me."
The King, who had his own reasons for wishing to keep the old Fairy
in a good humor, did not spare pretty speeches, and after a time he
was allowed to walk by himself upon the sea-shore. The Fairy of the
Desert had by her enchantments raised such a terrible storm that the
boldest pilot would not venture out in it, so she was not afraid of
her prisoner's being able to escape; and he found it some relief to
think sadly over his terrible situation without being interrupted by
his cruel captor.
Presently, after walking wildly up and down, he wrote these verses
upon the sand with his stick:
"At last may I upon this shore Lighten my sorrow with soft tears.
Alas! alas! I see no more My Love, who yet my sadness cheers.
"And thou, O raging, stormy Sea, Stirred by wild winds, from depth
to height, Thou hold'st my loved one far from me, And I am captive
to thy might.
"My heart is still more wild than thine, For Fate is cruel unto me.
Why must I thus in exile pine? Why is my Princess snatched from me?
"O! lovely Nymphs, from ocean caves, Who know how sweet true love
may be, Come up and calm the furious waves And set a desperate lover
free!"
While he was still writing he heard a voice which attracted his
attention in spite of himself. Seeing that the waves were rolling in
higher than ever, he looked all round, and presently saw a lovely
lady floating gently toward him upon the crest of a huge billow, her
long hair spread all about her; in one hand she held a mirror, and
in the other a comb, and instead of feet she had a beautiful tail
like a fish, with which she swam.
The King was struck dumb with astonishment at this unexpected sight;
but as soon as she came within speaking distance, she said to him,
"I know how sad you are at losing your Princess and being kept a
prisoner by the Fairy of the Desert; if you like I will help you to
escape from this fatal place, where you may otherwise have to drag
on a weary existence for thirty years or more."
The King of the Gold Mines hardly knew what answer to make to this
proposal. Not because he did not wish very much to escape, but he
was afraid that this might be only another device by which the Fairy
of the Desert was trying to deceive him. As he hesitated the
Mermaid, who guessed his thoughts, said to him:
"You may trust me: I am not trying to entrap you. I am so angry with
the Yellow Dwarf and the Fairy of the Desert that I am not likely to
wish to help them, especially since I constantly see your poor
Princess, whose beauty and goodness make me pity her so much; and I
tell you that if you will have confidence in me I will help you to
escape."
"I trust you absolutely," cried the King, "and I will do whatever
you tell me; but if you have seen my Princess I beg of you to tell
me how she is and what is happening to her.
"We must not waste time in talking," said she. "Come with me and I
will carry you to the Castle of Steel, and we will leave upon this
shore a figure so like you that even the Fairy herself will be
deceived by it."
So saying, she quickly collected a bundle of sea-weed, and, blowing
it three times, she said:
"My friendly sea-weeds, I order you to stay here stretched upon the
sand until the Fairy of the Desert comes to take you away." And at
once the sea-weeds became like the King, who stood looking at them
in great astonishment, for they were even dressed in a coat like
his, but they lay there pale and still as the King himself might
have lain if one of the great waves had overtaken him and thrown him
senseless upon the shore. And then the Mermaid caught up the King,
and away they swam joyfully together.
"Now," said she, "I have time to tell you about the Princess. In
spite of the blow which the Fairy of the Desert gave her, the Yellow
Dwarf compelled her to mount behind him upon his terrible Spanish
cat; but she soon fainted away with pain and terror, and did not
recover till they were within the walls of his frightful Castle of
Steel. Here she was received by the prettiest girls it was possible
to find, who had been carried there by the Yellow Dwarf, who
hastened to wait upon her and showed her every possible attention.
She was laid upon a couch covered with cloth of gold, embroidered
with pearls as big as nuts."
"Ah!" interrupted the King of the Gold Mines, "if Bellissima forgets
me, and consents to marry him, I shall break my heart."
"You need not be afraid of that," answered the Mermaid, "the
Princess thinks of no one but you, and the frightful Dwarf cannot
persuade her to look at him."
"Pray go on with your story," said the King.
"What more is there to tell you?" replied the Mermaid. "Bellissima
was sitting in the wood when you passed, and saw you with the Fairy
of the Desert, who was so cleverly disguised that the Princess took
her to be prettier than herself; you may imagine her despair, for
she thought that you had fallen in love with her."
"She believes that I love her!" cried the King. "What a fatal
mistake! What is to be done to undeceive her?"
"You know best," answered the Mermaid, smiling kindly at him. "When
people are as much in love with one another as you two are, they
don't need advice from anyone else."
As she spoke they reached the Castle of Steel, the side next the sea
being the only one which the Yellow Dwarf had left unprotected by
the dreadful burning walls.
"I know quite well," said the Mermaid, "that the Princess is sitting
by the brook-side, just where you saw her as you passed, but as you
will have many enemies to fight with before you can reach her, take
this sword; armed with it you may dare any danger, and overcome the
greatest difficulties, only beware of one thing--that is, never to
let it fall from your hand. Farewell; now I will wait by that rock,
and if you need my help in carrying off your beloved Princess I will
not fail you, for the Queen, her mother, is my best friend, and it
was for her sake that I went to rescue you."
So saying, she gave to the King a sword made from a single diamond,
which was more brilliant than the sun. He could not find words to
express his gratitude, but he begged her to believe that he fully
appreciated the importance of her gift, and would never forget her
help and kindness.
We must now go back to the Fairy of the Desert. When she found that
the King did not return, she hastened out to look for him, and
reached the shore, with a hundred of the ladies of her train, loaded
with splendid presents for him. Some carried baskets full of
diamonds, others golden cups of wonderful workmanship, and amber,
coral, and pearls, others, again, balanced upon their heads bales of
the richest and most beautiful stuffs, while the rest brought fruit
and flowers, and even birds. But what was the horror of the Fairy,
who followed this gay troop, when she saw, stretched upon the sands,
the image of the King which the Mermaid had made with the sea-weeds.
Struck with astonishment and sorrow, she uttered a terrible cry, and
threw herself down beside the pretended King, weeping, and howling,
and calling upon her eleven sisters, who were also fairies, and who
came to her assistance. But they were all taken in by the image of
the King, for, clever as they were, the Mermaid was still cleverer,
and all they could do was to help the Fairy of the Desert to make a
wonderful monument over what they thought was the grave of the King
of the Gold Mines. But while they were collecting jasper and
porphyry, agate and marble, gold and bronze, statues and devices, to
immortalize the King's memory, he was thanking the good Mermaid and
begging her still to help him, which she graciously promised to do
as she disappeared; and then he set out for the Castle of Steel. He
walked fast, looking anxiously round him, and longing once more to
see his darling Bellissima, but he had not gone far before he was
surrounded by four terrible sphinxes who would very soon have torn
him to pieces with their sharp talons if it had not been for the
Mermaid's diamond sword. For, no sooner had he flashed it before
their eyes than down they fell at his feet quite helpless, and he
killed them with one blow. But he had hardly turned to continue his
search when he met six dragons covered with scales that were harder
than iron. Frightful as this encounter was the King's courage was
unshaken, and by the aid of his wonderful sword he cut them in
pieces one after the other. Now he hoped his difficulties were over,
but at the next turning he was met by one which he did not know how
to overcome. Four- and-twenty pretty and graceful nymphs advanced
toward him, holding garlands of flowers, with which they barred the
way.
"Where are you going, Prince?" they said; "it is our duty to guard
this place, and if we let you pass great misfortunes will happen to
you and to us. We beg you not to insist upon going on. Do you want
to kill four-and- twenty girls who have never displeased you in any
way?"
The King did not know what to do or to say. It went against all his
ideas as a knight to do anything a lady begged him not to do; but,
as he hesitated, a voice in his ear said:
"Strike! strike! and do not spare, or your Princess is lost for
ever!"
So, without reply to the nymphs, he rushed forward instantly,
breaking their garlands, and scattering them in all directions; and
then went on without further hindrance to the little wood where he
had seen Bellissima. She was seated by the brook looking pale and
weary when he reached her, and he would have thrown himself down at
her feet, but she drew herself away from him with as much
indignation as if he had been the Yellow Dwarf
"Ah! Princess," he cried, "do not be angry with me. Let me explain
everything. I am not faithless or to blame for what has happened. I
am a miserable wretch who has displeased you without being able to
help himself."
"Ah!" cried Bellissima, "did I not see you flying through the air
with the loveliest being imaginable? Was that against your will?"
"Indeed it was, Princess," he answered; "the wicked Fairy of the
Desert, not content with chaining me to a rock, carried me off in
her chariot to the other end of the earth, where I should even now
be a captive but for the unexpected help of a friendly mermaid, who
brought me here to rescue you, my Princess, from the unworthy hands
that hold you. Do not refuse the aid of your most faithful lover."
So saying, he threw himself at her feet and held her by her robe.
But, alas! in so doing he let fall the magic sword, and the Yellow
Dwarf, who was crouching behind a lettuce, no sooner saw it than he
sprang out and seized it, well knowing its wonderful power.
The Princess gave a cry of terror on seeing the Dwarf, but this only
irritated the little monster; muttering a few magical words he
summoned two giants, who bound the King with great chains of iron.
"Now," said the Dwarf, "I am master of my rival's fate, but I will
give him his life and permission to depart unharmed if you,
Princess, will consent to marry me."
"Let me die a thousand times rather," cried the unhappy King.
"Alas!" cried the Princess, "must you die? Could anything be more
terrible?"
"That you should marry that little wretch would be far more
terrible," answered the King.
"At least," continued she, "let us die together."
"Let me have the satisfaction of dying for you, my Princess," said
he.
"Oh, no, no!" she cried, turning to the Dwarf; "rather than that I
will do as you wish."
"Cruel Princess!" said the King, "would you make my life horrible to
me by marrying another before my eyes?"
"Not so," replied the Yellow Dwarf; "you are a rival of whom I am
too much afraid; you shall not see our marriage." So saying, in
spite of Bellissima's tears and cries, he stabbed the King to the
heart with the diamond sword.
The poor Princess, seeing her lover lying dead at her feet, could no
longer live without him; she sank down by him and died of a broken
heart.
So ended these unfortunate lovers, whom not even the Mermaid could
help, because all the magic power had been lost with the diamond
sword.
As to the wicked Dwarf, he preferred to see the Princess dead rather
than married to the King of the Gold Mines; and the Fairy of the
Desert, when she heard of the King's adventures, pulled down the
grand monument which she had built, and was so angry at the trick
that had been played her that she hated him as much as she had loved
him before.
The kind Mermaid, grieved at the sad fate of the lovers, caused them
to be changed into two tall palm trees, which stand always side by
side, whispering together of their faithful love and caressing one
another with their interlacing branches.
The Yellow Dwarf
from the Blue Fairy Book
Story Edited
by Andrew Lang |
