Agatha was there no longer. There was nothing to be seen of her except a
little heap of yellow curls, which the Wise Man kept to give to the next
person who asked him for gold.
But out of the cave there flew a happy bird. It flew far, far up into
the sky, singing with a beautiful voice. It flew higher up into the sky
than any nightingale ever flew.
For the Wise Man had done more than he had promised. The bird's
beautiful voice was not the voice of the nightingale, the Bird of
Shadows; but the voice of the lark, the Sun-Bird, who is never sad.
_THE SEA-FAIRY AND THE LAND-FAIRY, AND HOW THEY QUARRELLED_
The sea-fairy's name was Laughing Sapphire, and he lived in a
nautilus-shell: the land-fairy was called Sweet-of-the-Mountain, and his
home was a tuft of heather. One day Sweet-of-the-Mountain went for a
stroll on the sea-shore, and there he met Laughing Sapphire, just at the
edge of the ripples. It was then that the quarrel began.
"I am really sorry for you," said the sea-fairy. "It must be very
unpleasant to live up on that cliff. It is so dangerous too. You might
be blown down at any moment!"
"Ha-ha, how very amusing!" laughed the land-fairy. "Unpleasant, did you
say? Dangerous? Not at all, not at all. Now, _your_ life is something
too horrible to think of. I am glad it is not my fate to wander for ever
on the sea. And as for danger--well, every one knows that the sea is
full of dangers."
"I never heard such nonsense," said Laughing Sapphire indignantly. "The
sea is perfectly safe if you know how to manage your shell."
"But think of the discomfort of it," said Sweet-of-the-Mountain. "You
never have any peace."
"And _you_ never have any change," answered Laughing Sapphire.
"There's not much change in always looking at the sea--a great dull
stretch of water!"
"Dull!" cried Laughing Sapphire angrily. "Dull, did you say? Not half so
dull as being mewed up on a rock!"
"Why," said Sweet-of-the-Mountain, "you've no flowers, and no bees, and
no----"
"And you," interrupted Laughing Sapphire, "have no glittering spray, and
no forests of seaweed, and no creamy foam."
"You've no heather," said the land-fairy, as if that settled the matter.
"As for you," cried the sea-fairy, "I can't think of anything you _have_
got! So there!"
They went on quarrelling in this way for some time, getting more and
more angry. At last they agreed upon a very good way of settling the
dispute. And this was their plan. Each of them was to go away for a
certain length of time. On a particular day they were to meet again on
the shore, at the edge of the ripples. Laughing Sapphire was to bring
with him three treasures of the sea; and Sweet-of-the-Mountain was to
bring three treasures of the land. The fairy whose treasures were the
best would be the winner in the quarrel.
"But who will decide which are the best treasures?" asked the
land-fairy.
"My friend the sea-anemone lives near here," said Laughing Sapphire. "As
he is partly on land and partly in the sea, he will be able to judge
fairly between us. He shall decide."
[Illustration: HE HELD OUT THE LITTLE SHELL IN THE BEAM OF COLOURED
LIGHT]
Then the sea-fairy sailed away in his nautilus-shell, and the land-fairy
flew home to the heather on the cliff.
Hardly had Laughing Sapphire left the shore when he saw a huge curling
wave rolling towards him. The hollow of the wave was like a great green
cavern, lit up with magic light; the top of it was sparkling spray. A
sunbeam was shining straight down through the spray, and gleaming with
every colour you can think of, so that it seemed as if a piece of
rainbow had fallen from the sky.
The fairy laughed happily, and steered right into the hollow of the
wave, for he knew that his nautilus-boat was safe. In his hand was a
little shell. As his boat rode smoothly over the crest of the wave and
through the rainbow, he held out the little shell in the beam of
coloured light. There was a wonderful change in the shell after it had
passed through the rainbow; it was lined with mother-o'-pearl!
The fairy laughed again for joy when he saw the rainbow colours of the
little shell.
"They've nothing like that on shore!" he said.
Then the nautilus-boat sailed on and on across the sea.
The next thing that Laughing Sapphire found was a glowing piece of red
seaweed. As he pulled it, dripping, out of the sea, it looked like a bit
of broad crimson ribbon; except that no ribbon ever had so much colour
and so much light in it. It was so transparent that you could see the
sunlight through it, and yet it was as strong as a rope.
As the fairy coiled it round and round he smiled.
"That should please them, I think," he muttered.
The third thing that Laughing Sapphire found was the best of all. To
find it he was obliged to leave his nautilus-boat and dive down to the
bottom of the sea. I must not tell you now of all the wonders he saw
there, for it would take me too long, and it would be very difficult for
me to stop. But when he came to the surface again he was clasping a
splendid pearl tightly in his hand.
"If this doesn't persuade them," he said, chuckling, "that the sea is
the best place in the world, _nothing_ will!"
Meanwhile the land-fairy had been busy too.
First he flew to a beautiful garden, full of roses and verbena and
everything sweet. It was a garden he often visited, for many of the
flower-fairies there were friends of his. So he knew exactly where to
find the sweetest lilies. There were great clumps of them--tall, white
lilies with drooping heads and hearts of gold. Sweet-of-the-Mountain
crept into one of them, and came out with a big, heavy drop of honey.
The scent of it was so strong that all the fairies in the garden sniffed
joyfully. Then Sweet-of-the-Mountain flew over the wall, and away and
away till he came to a wood.
In the wood there was perfect silence. If you had walked there your
footsteps would have made no sound, for the ground was soft and springy
with moss. There was moss everywhere: moss on the tree-stems and on the
stones, and carpets and cushions of moss on the ground. The fairy picked
a piece of it--a piece like a soft green feather--and flew off with it
out of the wood.
Then he went back to his own hills, where the heather grew right up to
the edge of the cliff; for he knew that the best thing of all was to be
found there. He saw the hills far away, purple and blue, with here and
there a streak of crimson where the sun was shining on the heather. As
he came nearer and nearer he grew happier and happier, for a fairy is
always happiest in his own country. He picked a sprig from his own tuft
of heather; and then he flew down to the shore to meet the sea-fairy at
the edge of the ripples.
He found the nautilus-boat lying on the sand, and Laughing Sapphire
sitting on a rock talking to the sea-anemone. The fairies nodded to each
other.
"This," said Laughing Sapphire to the sea-anemone, "is the fairy I was
speaking of. He declares that it is better to live on land than on the
sea. Of course I know better than that! So we have each brought three
treasures to show you, that you may decide which of us is right."
The sea-anemone answered in a very sleepy, drawling voice: for when you
spend all your life fastened to the same rock your mind moves rather
slowly.
"Very well," he said, "go on."
Then Laughing Sapphire showed them his mother-o'-pearl shell.
"This shell," he said, "is lined with a bit of rainbow."
The sea-anemone waved all his arms about wildly to show that he was
pleased.
"And this," said Laughing Sapphire, unrolling the crimson seaweed, "is a
bit of the ribbon that mermaids use for tying their hair."
"Beautiful!" murmured the land-fairy.
"And this," went on the sea-fairy, showing them the pearl, "is one of
the lanterns that the moonlight-fairies use when they dance on the sea."
"Beautiful--beautiful!" said the sea-anemone and the land-fairy
together.
Then Laughing Sapphire turned to the land-fairy with an air of triumph.
"Let us see your treasures now," he said a little contemptuously.
Sweet-of-the-Mountain held out a flower-cup with the drop of honey in
it.
It was so sweet that the sea-fairy could not help exclaiming: "Oh, how
delicious!"
"That," said the land-fairy, "is the sweetness of the garden."
Then he showed them the little green feather of moss.
"That," he said, "is the quietness of the woods."
Then he threw down the sprig of heather.
"That," he said, smiling, "is the glory of the hills."
The two fairies looked at each other silently. Each felt certain that
his own treasures were the best.
The sea-anemone's arms were all waving furiously. He was very much
excited, because he knew that the time had come for him to decide which
of the two fairies had brought the most beautiful things; and as I told
you before, he was not very quick in making up his mind.
"Well?" said Laughing Sapphire impatiently. "What do you think? Is it
best to live on the sea or on the land?"
"I think," said the sea-anemone very slowly, "that the sea is the best
place for a sea-fairy."
"Yes, yes," said the sea-fairy, "of course it is!"
"But then, you know," the sea-anemone went on, "I can't help thinking
that the land is the best place for a land-fairy."
Then he drew in all his arms and became a little knob of red jelly.
"It is possible," said Sweet-of-the-Mountain thoughtfully, "that there
is some sense in what he says. And yet"--he sniffed happily at his cup
of honey--"and yet I don't believe you have anything at sea as sweet as
this."
"It is certainly a very nice scent," agreed Laughing Sapphire, "but I do
think it would be improved by a little salt."
_PRINCESS ORCHID'S PARTY_
A fairy whose name was Hedgeflower once lived in a wild rose at the
corner of a field. One day he went out to search for adventures, for
most fairies have a great wish for adventures.
He wandered on for a long time, sometimes walking and sometimes flying,
and sometimes stopping to talk to friends, for the wild-rose-fairies
have a great many friends. He crossed several fields in this way, and
then he came to a high hedge. He was just thinking of going home when he
heard a great buzzing of voices on the other side of the hedge, and as
the voices were fairy-voices he was interested at once. Perhaps, he
thought, he would find the adventure he was looking for on the other
side of the hedge. So he spread his pink-and-white wings and flew over.
It was not surprising that he had heard a great many fairy-voices, for
he found himself in a beautiful garden, and all beautiful gardens are,
as you know, full of fairies. In this garden there were not only the
sorts of fairies that one meets every day, such as rose-fairies and
lily-fairies and the quiet little ones that live in mignonette, but
there were also all kinds of smartly dressed fairies belonging to
strange and splendid flowers. They all seemed to be getting on very well
together, for they were all talking loudly about something that
interested them very much.
As Hedgeflower dropped down into the middle of the group he felt a
little shy. But fairies are as a rule kind and friendly, so a good many
voices called out Good-morning to him as he sat down under the shade of
a large purple pansy. Then a butterfly whom he had met once or twice
before came rustling up to him and began to talk.
"I like this place," said the butterfly. "One meets so many different
kinds of fairies. But don't sit there. Come and let me introduce you to
some of my friends." Then as they moved away he lowered his voice and
went on--
"Those little pansy-fairies are good little things, but they are a bit
too thoughtful for me. I find them just a trifle dull, you know. But
here is a cousin of yours; I must introduce you."
Hedgeflower looked round and saw that a beautiful rose-fairy was
standing near. She wore flowing robes of two shades of pink, and her
appearance was full of dignity.
"Madame La France," said the butterfly, "may I introduce to you a cousin
of your own?"
"A very distant cousin, I am afraid, Madame," said Hedgeflower, bowing
low.
Madame La France smiled kindly and asked Hedgeflower if he had often
been in the garden before. He told her that this was his first visit.
"Then," she cried, "you must come to the party--you must certainly come
to Princess Orchid's party. She lives over there in the glass house, and
she has asked all the fairies in the garden to a party this afternoon.
We have been talking about it all day. You must come with me; the
Princess will be glad to see any cousin of mine."
Hedgeflower was delighted. He thought it would be great fun to tell the
fairies at home all about it: Meadowsweet, and that cheeky little
Eyebright, and Buttercup who stared at everything one said, and all the
honeysuckle-fairies, who were such friends with the wild-rose-fairies
because their families had lived close together for so long. Hedgeflower
thought that to go to a Princess's party with his beautiful cousin was a
nicer adventure than anything he had expected when he set out for his
walk.
Meanwhile all the fairies in the garden were making their way towards
the glass house.
"You must keep close to me," said Madame La France kindly. "The flower
in which the Princess lives is some way from the door, and you might be
lost in the crowd."
In another moment Hedgeflower found himself in a scene of the greatest
splendour. The glass house was full of flowers, and every flower had of
course its own special fairy, and nearly all of them were magnificently
dressed and were quite different to any fairies that Hedgeflower knew.
The greatest crowd was of course round the beautiful flower in which the
Princess Orchid lived, and Hedgeflower and his cousin found it quite
difficult to get near the Princess without crushing their wings. They
were obliged to walk so slowly that Hedgeflower had plenty of time to
look about him. He saw numbers of his cousins the rose-fairies, and tall
lily-fairies, and fern-fairies dressed all in green. The pansy-fairies
were there too, with their sad little faces and their splendid
purple-and-gold dresses. Quite close to him there was a fuchsia-fairy,
dressed in a stiff white petticoat with a pointed overskirt of scarlet;
and standing beside her were several fairies whose crimson tunics were
so fine that Hedgeflower asked who they were.
"They are the young Prince Begonias," said Madame La France. "The
Princess, being a foreigner herself, has a great many foreign friends.
The Begonias think a good deal of themselves, but I think myself that
our own family has more reason to be proud. But come, we can speak to
the Princess now."
Princess Orchid was standing on a drooping petal of the beautiful flower
in which she lived. Her long robes of mauve and white swept over the
flower as if they were themselves petals. Her hair was golden, and her
face was the loveliest that Hedgeflower had ever seen. She smiled at him
very graciously when he was introduced to her, and after he had seen
that smile he took no interest in anything else that was going on. He
never glanced again at any of the fairies who had seemed to him so
splendid a short time before: he just sat down in a nice shady clump of
ferns and watched Princess Orchid. He had been to a great many parties
in his own hedge where the wild-roses grew, but he had never seen a
fairy or even a butterfly receive her guests with so much sweetness and
graciousness. He sat there for a long time and wished it could be for
ever. Then he remembered that perhaps he would never see Princess Orchid
again, and that made him sad.
A fairy party is never dull. Fairies are full of fun and enjoy
everything very much. There was a great deal of talking and laughing and
sipping of dew flavoured with sunshine, which is the drink fairies like
instead of tea. The fairies of the Canterbury Bells had brought their
music too, and gave a great deal of pleasure. It seemed as if the party
were going to be a great success, when unfortunately a disaster
happened which was talked about for many a day afterwards.
[Illustration: SHE SMILED AT HIM VERY GRACIOUSLY WHEN HE WAS INTRODUCED
TO HER]
On the roof of the glass house, just above the Princess's head, there
was a large spider who was very busy spinning his web. He was so busy
that he did not look where he was going, and when people forget to look
where they are going it is a very common thing for accidents to happen.
The spider came lower and lower, spinning all the time, while Princess
Orchid was talking very kindly to a shy little violet-fairy and was not
noticing anything else. Lower and lower, nearer and nearer, came the
spider.