THE THREE BOXES.
Dorothy climbed on the Talking Chair and sat with her back to the
quaintly carved face. She turned her head and whispered:
“Please tell me another story, like a good chair.”
“Which shall it be to-day?” asked the chair.
“O, tell me about ‘The Three Boxes’!” exclaimed Dorothy, “I have been
thinking about them.”
“Listen, I’ll begin,” said the chair:--
Once upon a time in a beautiful castle lived a prince. He was honest,
brave and as wise as he was handsome. His name was Prince Charming, and
everybody loved him. There was only one thing that his people desired
him to do, and that was to give them a queen. But although beautiful
maidens lived in his country and many a lovely princess had visited
his castle, he had never seen one that he cared to make queen.
One day at a grand fête his greatest captain said to him:
“Ah! Prince Charming, your people love you, but they are disappointed
because there is no queen to welcome them.”
“I must have a queen,” replied the prince, “and to-morrow I shall start
on a long journey. I will visit all the kingdoms on the earth to find a
queen that I can truly love.”
The next morning he started out alone on his long journey. Taking the
path that led to the woods he walked quickly. He had gone but a short
distance when he was surprised by loud voices, and through an opening
in the trees he beheld two men about to rush on each other with drawn
swords. Prince Charming stepped out and stood before the angry men.
“Halt! I command you,” he said, and the men seeing their Prince
dropped back and put up their swords.
[Illustration: “Halt! I command you,” he said, and the men, seeing
their Prince, dropped back and put up their swords.--Page 161. _Little
Miss Dorothy._]
“Tell me why you quarrel?” asked the Prince.
“We were walking through the woods,” said one of the men, “and I spied
a purse of gold in the mud of yonder thicket. I told my companion and
we started to run for the purse. On the way my foot got caught in a
trap and I could not move. My friend here got the purse and then came
back and helped me out of the trap, but he will not give up the purse
to me.”
“Nor should he do so,” said the Prince. “It is true that you saw the
purse, but it was your friend who dug it out of the mud. You must both
go to my captain and tell him about the purse. He will try to find the
owner, but if no one appears to claim the purse, you shall divide the
gold between you, and each have an equal share.”
The men promised to obey their Prince and they went on their way in
friendship, well satisfied.
A little farther on in the woods Prince Charming came suddenly on two
old women who were quarreling about a young goat. They stopped when
they saw the Prince approach and one of them said, “O Prince, the kid
is mine, and I must have it.”
“Nay, good Prince,” said the other, “the kid is mine and I need it
much.”
The Prince turned to the old woman who had spoken first and said:
“Prove to me that the kid is thine.”
“I live in yonder cottage,” said the old woman, “with a pig and a cow
and a brood of little chicks. This kid gives me milk and it is mine.”
“Now,” said the Prince to the other old woman, “how canst thou prove
the kid is thine?”
“Alas!” said the poor old woman, “I can only say that it is mine. I
live in the cottage beside this dame. I have neither pig nor cow, but a
little garden and this good kid. It feeds from my hand and comes to me
when I call its name.”
“I shall buy the kid and carry it far away with me,” said the Prince.
“How much will you ask for it?”
“O,” said the first old woman, rubbing her hands, “I will sell it to
thee for a piece of gold.”
“How much do _you_ ask for it?” said Prince Charming to the second old
woman.
She took the corner of her apron and wiped the tears from her kind
eyes. “I will not sell my kid,” she said. “It is all I have. I love the
gentle creature and rather than have it go far away I will let this
dame keep it.”
“I see that the kid is yours and you shall have it,” said the Prince.
“Take it and go thy way.”
“As for you, wicked old woman, tell me the truth at once.”
Whereupon the greedy old woman began to mumble excuses, but the Prince
was very angry and said:
“You have a pig and a cow and yet are so grasping that you would take
the kid of your neighbor; now if you are not more honest I will put
thee in my great prison.”
The Prince continued his way and deep in the woods he met a boy
gathering fagots. He was working very hard and would not stop a second.
“Why do you work so fast?” said the Prince.
“Because my master is waiting,” answered the boy, “and if I am not back
at a certain time he will be angry and beat me.”
The Prince helped the boy gather the fagots and when the basket was
filled he carried it through the woods. As they approached the cruel
master’s house the Prince said to the boy:
“Go thou and hide behind that woodpile and I will see thy master.”
Prince Charming knocked on the door and the cruel master appeared.
“I want a boy,” said the Prince. “Dost thou know of one to travel with
me?”
“No, Prince,” was the answer. “I have one, but he is lazy and does not
earn his bread and butter.”
“Then I will take him,” said the Prince. “If he were a help I would not
rob thee of his good service, but as he is lazy I will take him off thy
hands.”
The cruel master began to stammer and stutter.
“Alas! Prince, I beg you to forgive me. He is a most worthy boy and
helps me very much. You would not take him away from me?”
“Thou art a cruel master,” said the Prince, “and thou hast spoken an
untruth of the boy.”
The master trembled when he saw the Prince angry and he begged for
mercy.
“This much mercy I will have for thee,” said the Prince, “from this day
thou shalt treat the boy with all kindness. I will leave him here and
he will help thee fairly, but on my return I will come and if thou hast
been cruel or neglectful I will put thee in my great prison.”
The Prince then continued his journey and was soon in the heart of the
forest. When night came he spread his cloak on the ground and slept
under a great oak, and the fairies watched over him because he was good
and they loved him. The next morning he was awakened by the joyous
singing of the birds. He took some bread and cheese from his wallet,
and when he had eaten, he arose to go on his way. Suddenly there
appeared before him a beautiful fairy. The Prince made a low courtesy
to the fairy, who smiled at him and held three small boxes in her hand.
“Prince Charming,” said the fairy, “these boxes are a gift from
the fairies, continue thy journey until you reach a great castle
surrounded by a high wall. Stop at this high wall and open these boxes,
they will help you find your queen.”
“Thank you, beautiful fairy,” said Prince Charming, and he took the
three boxes and carefully placed them in his pocket.
The fairy disappeared, and the Prince walked on his way. All that day
he traveled over hill and dale, and when night came he slept in the
cottage of an old woman. The next morning he gave the old woman a piece
of gold and started out again. He had gone a long distance when he saw
before him a great castle surrounded by a wall of stone.
The wall was so high that you could only see the top of the castle. The
Prince walked all around the stone wall, but there was no gate, and he
wondered how he was going to climb it. Suddenly he remembered the fairy
boxes and he took one out of his pocket. On opening the box he found a
tiny brown seed and under it was written in very small letters the word
“_plant_.”
The Prince took the brown seed and put it in the ground close to the
stone wall, covering it lightly with the soft earth. All at once a
small sprout appeared, which began to grow larger and larger, coiling
itself against the stone wall and spreading like a great vine, thick
and strong. In a few minutes it had grown to the top of the great wall
and its stalk was so large that the Prince could easily climb it.
It did not take him very long to get over the high wall by means of
the fairy vine. When he was safe on the other side he found himself in
the pathway of a beautiful garden. He walked along till he came to the
great door of the castle, where he knocked loudly, but no one came. He
knocked again and again, and still nobody opened the door. Just then
he thought of the fairy boxes, and he took the second one out of his
pocket. He opened it and found a tiny key and under it read the word
“_unlock_.”
He immediately tried the key, and in a second the castle door flew open
and he walked in. A powerful king was sitting on the throne in a large
hall and he welcomed Prince Charming, who told his errand.
“I have three daughters,” said the King, “and you can choose for
yourself. It would be a great honor to have you make one of them your
queen.”
“May I see your daughters?” asked the Prince.
“Yes,” said the King; “they are somewhere about the castle, but I
will have them here at once.” The king blew a trumpet and suddenly a
beautiful princess appeared and walked to her father’s throne.
“This is the Princess Vanity,” said the King, and Prince Charming bowed
low to the beautiful girl, who made a graceful courtesy.
“How lovely she is!” thought the Prince, but just then another princess
appeared and the King said, “This is the Princess Haughty.” She bowed
and held three fingers to the Prince, who was charmed with her stately
beauty. “And here is my third little daughter,” said the King, as a
beautiful golden-haired maiden tripped up to the throne, with a face as
smiling as a sunbeam, “the Princess Goodness.”
What a pleasant greeting she gave Prince Charming and how sweet and low
her voice!
“Now, Prince,” said the King, “I hope you will be our guest for a long
time and my daughters will entertain you.”
The Prince thanked the King, and was soon enjoying the company of the
three beautiful daughters. As the days went on it was hard to make up
his mind which was the most beautiful of the three girls, and one night
when the Prince was sitting in his chamber he thought he was in love
with all three of them. “But I cannot marry all of them. I can only
take one for my queen,” said he, and he was puzzled.
Suddenly he thought of the third box in his pocket, and he took it
out and quickly opened it. Inside there was a beautiful gold ring and
underneath was written
“She whose finger I fit right
Is your queen, your heart’s delight.”
Prince Charming smiled and placed the ring carefully in his pocket.
The next morning as he strolled through the castle he caught sight of
Princess Vanity in her parlor. The Prince tapped gently and entered,
but she was so intently admiring herself in the glass that she never
saw the Prince. She was bedecked and beribboned with jewels and laces,
and she smirked and smiled at her reflection in the mirror.
“Hem!” coughed Prince Charming to attract her attention, but she never
heard him. “Hem-em” coughed the Prince very loud, and Princess Vanity
turned quickly.
“Why, Prince, how you surprised me!” and she gave him one of the
smiles that she had been practising for several minutes.
“My beautiful Princess, I do not wish to disturb you, but will you let
me see your left hand.”
She smilingly held up her hand and he tried on the fairy ring, but it
would not fit and the Prince bowed and left her.
“How glad I am that it is not the Princess Vanity,” said Prince
Charming. “She is beautiful but that is all.”
Suddenly as he walked along he saw Princess Haughty. She was just going
up-stairs and never a pleasant good morning did she say to her women
who were standing about.
Prince Charming followed quickly and overtook Princess Haughty on the
stairs.
“Will you please try on this ring?” asked the handsome Prince.
She took it in her finger-tips and tried it on, but it would not fit
her at all, and she returned it to Prince Charming with a sneer on her
beautiful face.
The Prince thanked her and hurried off, knowing in his heart that he
was glad.
“Her heart is proud and she is cold; I do not want a queen like that,”
said the Prince to himself.
“Now to find Goodness, and if the ring does not fit her I must continue
my journey, for I am bound to bring a queen home to my people.”
He looked all over the castle, but could not find the Princess
Goodness. He went into the garden, and just as he turned into a path he
caught a glimpse of her. The Prince watched her through some bushes and
saw that she was helping an old woman to carry a heavy basket, and her
cheery voice was like sweet music to Prince Charming’s ear.
The Prince stepped out and took the basket, which he carried to the
castle. When he returned to the garden the Princess Goodness was
gathering flowers. She held a beautiful rose in her hand, and said to
the Prince: “Is it not lovely?” Then she gave it to him.
“It is not half as lovely as yourself,” whispered Prince Charming, and
he caught the little hand of the Princess. He slipped the ring out of
his pocket and on to her finger, which it fitted perfectly.
Prince Charming bent his handsome head and kissed Princess Goodness,
saying softly:--“My Queen.”