Once upon a time, in a pleasant country of meadows sweeping seaward
from wooded inland heights, there were two millers and two mills. If
you came to the country in a ship, you saw the windmill first, for it
was built upon a tongue of land rising above the wide salt meadows and
the washing midnight-tides; but if you came to the country by the land,
it was the water mill you saw, for it stood beside the highway in the
valley of a brooklet rushing to the sea.
Now the wind-miller, who was a great tall man with blue eyes and fair
hair, had a daughter named Cecily, whilst the water-miller, who was a
little nimble man with a red face and crisp, black curls, had a son
named Valentine. And because both the millers were merry men, and there
was a plenty of grain for both the mills to grind, these millers were
excellent cronies, and the maiden Cecily had been betrothed to the
young man Valentine.
Every eve, when the day’s task at the water mill had been brought to an
end, the gates lowered, and the brooklet turned free to rush unhindered
down the glen, Valentine would walk from his wooded hills to the
headland by the sea, and call at the mill for Cecily. The nights were
often still, and the golden shield of the moon, rising over the hilly
woods, gleamed upon the curling foam of the little long waves, and
filled their glassy hollows with her light.
Now it befell that as Valentine and Cecily walked by the shore on such
a night, they heard from the hollow of the hills a faint and far-off
rumble like the echoing of thunder. Such mysterious sounds were forever
rising in the hills, and because no one could tell whence they came, a
legend had grown up that somewhere in the forest depths there dwelt a
hidden someone, known as the Husbandman of the Hills.
“Listen, Valentine,” said Cecily, “the Husbandman of the Hills is
closing the door of his barn. Think you that some day a mortal may find
him in his hiding-place in the hills?”
“But suppose it were naught but an idle tale?” said the merry youth,
with a smile.
“Oh no, Valentine,” said the maiden seriously. “All my life long have
I dwelt here on the shore, and heard the mysterious echoes from the
hills. Sometimes the sound is of the lowing of cattle, sometimes of
the threshing of grain, sometimes ’tis the creaking of a hay wain in a
field. And always the old and wise tell of the Husbandman of the Hills.
Some day a mortal will find the hidden Husbandman--do you but wait and
see.”
It was the early summer now, and all went merry as a marriage bell.
The heavy water-wheel turned with a rolling thunder and a sound of
endless splashing; and the four arms of the windmill spun with a windy
thrum and a clock-like clack from the rising of the wind to the calm of
sundown and the eve.
And now, alas, events were at hand which were to shatter the plans of
the two millers and wreck the hopes of Cecily and Valentine!
At the close of the harvest-tide, the Princess Celestia, only daughter
of the King and Queen of the country, was going to be married. Now it
chanced that the Queen, her mother, was famous in the land as a maker
of cake, and presently this good lady promised her daughter a wedding
cake so splendid and delicious that painters would beg to be allowed
to paint its portrait, and poets to praise it in glorious and immortal
song.
Yes, the Queen would make the cake with her own white hands, the batter
should be mixed in a golden bowl with a golden spoon, the two best hens
in the kingdom should be summoned to lay the eggs, the oven should have
a door of diamonds, and as for the flour, that should come from the
finest fields and the best mill in all the land.
“I know what I’ll do; I’ll offer a rich reward for the best flour,”
said the good Queen. And calling the royal herald to her presence, she
bade him summon all good millers to strive for the prize, and to bring
of their new flour to the palace at the close of the harvest yield.
Now it chanced that the Queen’s herald, all dressed in blue-and-white
and sounding a silver horn, came cantering first to the water-miller’s
door.
“I should like to win that treasure,” said the water-miller to himself,
musing in the doorway.
“After all, my flour _is_ better than the wind-miller’s meal. That
treasure should be mine, must be mine. Yes, mine, mine, mine!”
Now it was the custom of the country for millers to visit the farms
in midsummer, view the growing, green grain, and bargain with
the husbandmen for the yield of the tossing fields. Suddenly the
water-miller, coveting the treasure, determined to purchase all the
standing grain, so that the wind-miller should not have any good grain
to grind! And this he did, forgetting the while that the deed was
sharp and unfriendly.
A day or two passed, and presently the wind-miller climbed to the
saddle of his fat white steed, and rode away to buy his customary
grain. Alas, there was none to be had. Every turn of the road disclosed
new fields of grain, but every single ear was pledged to the miller by
the brook!
At first--I must tell you--the wind-miller was more hurt than angry at
his old crony’s trickery; but the more he thought of it the angrier he
grew. Storming about the windmill in a rage, he gave a great roar for
Cecily, and when the frightened maiden appeared before him, he bade her
dismiss all thoughts of Valentine from her heart, and consider herself
fortunate to be rid of the son of such a father.
The water-miller, however, was not to be outdone. The moment he heard
of the wind-miller’s wrath, he too fell into a rage, and presently
forbade Valentine, on pain of dismissal, so much as to look at the
maiden Cecily.
And now the youth and the maiden were very sad indeed, for in spite of
the strife between their fathers, they continued to love each other
very much. Presently Valentine could endure it all no more, and stole
away one night to have a word with Cecily.
The mill brook was babbling in the dark when Valentine returned to the
mill, and a single light was burning in a window by the door. Opening
the portal gently, the youth presently discovered his father seated on
the stair clad in a flowered nightcap and a long white dressing-gown.
“Valentine,” said the water-miller in a voice deep as the bottom of a
well, “where have you been?”
“I’ve been to the windmill to see Cecily,” said Valentine truthfully
and bravely.
“Sirrah!” cried the water-miller, shaking with such temper that his
flowered nightcap trembled on his head. “Did I not forbid you to go to
the windmill, on pain of being turned away from this my house? Go!” And
the angry water-miller pointed a level finger out into the night.
“But, father,” protested Valentine.
“But me no buts,” thundered the miller. “Go, sirrah, for this house is
yours no more.”
“But whither, father?” asked bewildered Valentine.
“That, sirrah, is your affair,” replied the angry miller. “Go anywhere
you please; go find the Husbandman of the Hills!”
And with this last bit of advice, the wrathful water-miller pushed his
son out of the mill and drew the long, grinding bolt across the door. A
moment later the single light went out, and the mill was dark.
And now Valentine, in search of shelter for the night, sought out a
farm in the gloom of the wooded hills. Leaving the broad white road, he
followed first a country lane, then a pathway winding through a great
woodsy mire, and then another lane, softly carpeted with moss and last
year’s fallen leaves.
A star fell from the twinkling heavens; a hunting owl hooted in a tree.
Ever so far away a silver bell struck the midnight hour.
Suddenly Valentine knew that he had followed a strange path, and was
lost in the heart of the hills. It was a very strange path indeed, for
the trees and the brambles along it seemed to have grown together in
the dark, and pressed forward to form a thick imprisoning wall.
Uneasy at heart, the youth now turned to retrace his steps, only to see
that the same mysterious trees had risen up behind!
Hours passed. Stars that were high in the heavens vanished over
treetops in the east, a silvery dawn began to pale, and there were
chirps and stirs and peeps and feathery noises in the wood. At the
rising of the sun, Valentine arrived at the farm of the Husbandman of
the Hills.
Now the Husbandman of the Hills--I must tell you--was the farmer of
the fairies. It was from this farm in the hills that the goblins of the
mountain-tops, the elves of the silver river, and the peoples of the
fairy kingdoms of the world had their apples and clotted cream, their
cherries and plums, and their butter-pats stamped with a crown.
The fairy farm lay in a green vale, magically walled about with briery
trees. Only at the midnight minute could the wall be passed, and
Valentine had chanced to cross it at the sixth stroke of the bell.
And now Valentine found himself made welcome by the Husbandman and his
lady, the Goodwife of the Hills. The Husbandman was old; his face was
ruddy and his hair silvery white, and in a smock of blue with a white
collar was he clad. His spouse was elderly too, and wore a gown of
green with short old-fashioned sleeves, a white housekeeper’s-apron,
and a cap with ribbons and frills.
I wish I had time to tell you of how the long summer passed at the
farm of the fairies--of the brewing, the baking, and the churning; and
of how the green elves came to cut the grain with silver scythes no
longer than your arm; of how a very young giant, who had a pleasant
smile and was as tall as a tree, came to pitch the hay into the barn;
of how the orchard goblins came to gather the wonderful apples into
baskets of silver and gold; and of the enchanted bear who wore yellow
spectacles and turned the butter churn.
Presently the leaves, though green, began to rustle dryly on the trees,
and Valentine began to long for his own again.
“You have been a faithful laborer,” said the old Husbandman of the
Hills. “A reward is yours. What shall it be?”
“But I seek no reward,” said Valentine, “for you gave me shelter, when
shelter I had none.”
“A brave answer,” said the old Husbandman with a smile. “But you have
earned your wage, good friend. I’ll give you _a wish_. Be in no haste
to use it. And guard it well!”
And now Valentine turned from the vale, passed the magic bound at
midnight, and found himself once more in an old, familiar pathway of
the wood.
* * * * *
The autumn had been a rainless one, and the water-miller was having
forty fits.
The mill brook was running dry!
Already there was scarce water enough to stir the heavy wheel. Another
week without rain, and the bed of the brook would be naught but a
length of puddles and pools. And the fine golden grain he had purchased
was being threshed and winnowed, and would soon be arriving at the mill!
In and out of the door of the mill, a hundred times a day went the
water-miller, now to stare at the vanishing brook, now to sweep the sky
in hope of rain. But the dry leaves only rustled more dryly, and the
sun was bright.
Worse yet, the Princess Celestia’s wedding day was fast approaching,
and the Queen would soon be calling for her flour. And sure enough, the
Queen’s herald presently rode again through the land, summoning all
good millers to bring of their new flour to the palace before sundown
on the seventh day.
The following week was indeed an anxious one for the miller by the
brook. Alas for his fortunes--not a single drop of rain fell either in
the meadows or the hills, and the brook ran dry. You might as well have
tried to turn the wheel with a pitcher of water as to turn it with the
trickle which remained.
On the night of the sixth day, the water-miller, humbled in heart, rode
over to the windmill to make his peace and ask a boon. He would ask the
wind-miller to grind the wonderful golden grain, and offer him half of
the grain as a reward.
Now the wind-miller had not forgotten the water-miller’s trickery; so
he received his old crony with anything but a friendly air.
“Grind grain for you, sir?” said the wind-miller, standing with arms
akimbo and feet apart, “yes, sir; but only on one condition, sir, and
that is, sir, that you let me choose my half of the grain, sir.
“And hearken, sir, one thing more, sir. You must bring the grain to the
windmill this very night, sir.”
Now it came to pass that, as the water-miller, hanging his head, went
out into the night, Cecily saw him, and ran to ask him for news of
Valentine. But the water-miller was himself troubled because of the
absence of his son, and could give no new tidings to the maid.
Groaning many a regretful groan, the water-miller loaded his fine
two-wheeled scarlet cart with sacks of golden grain, and carried it to
the windmill door. It was a warm night. The water-miller unloaded the
sacks, mopped his brow with a red bandanna handkerchief, and sighed.
What a fool he had been not to play fair! What a fool to send away his
son!
When the water-miller had driven away, the triumphant wind-miller took
a great iron lantern, and went down to see the grain. For a moment or
two he stood motionless, chuckling at his unexpected victory. Presently
he called to Cecily to gather all the lights and candles she could
find, and place them round about.
And now, toiling in a great blaze of candlelight, the wind-miller
slowly and carefully sifted out for himself the better half of the
wonderful grain. The remaining half--which was good enough, but full of
husks and dust--he set apart for his rival.
The dawn was breaking as he finished the task. Some of the candles
were burned out, and the lanterns were smoke-begrimed and dim. Wearily
rubbing the grain-dust from his eyes, the wind-miller trudged up the
circular stair and tumbled into bed. He would grind the grain into
flour as soon as he woke in the morn.
And on that same still, autumn dawn young Valentine came out of the
fairy wood.
When the wind-miller woke, he woke with a start, for he had slept
late, and the sun was high. How warm and misty-moisty it was! Good
heavens--there wasn’t a breath of wind!
A ship drifted becalmed upon the glassy sea; a blue haze of wavy summer
heat lay upon the meadows, and over the wooded hills hung a motionless
mass of bluish cloud with a rim of silvery white. There was not even
air enough to stir a dead leaf hanging by a thread.
In and out of the door of the mill, like one distracted ran the
miller; he stood upon the balcony and stared about at the sky, the
greeny-leaden sea, and the helpless ship; he lifted a moistened finger
to the air.
Oh, for a wind!
And now a ship’s bell in the mill struck the eight strokes of high
noon, and presently the water-miller came hurrying to the mill in his
scarlet cart. A moment’s glance at the two halves of golden grain told
him of the wind-miller’s counterstroke, and he ran upstairs into the
mill room full of wrath.
[Illustration: _He lifted a moistened finger to the air. Good
heavens--there wasn’t a breath of wind!_]
“I brought you my grain to grind,” he shouted at the wind-miller, “and
you have not done so. I shall take it all back again, do you hear?”
“Wait; you made a bargain with me,” answered the wind-miller.
“I tell you I am done with the bargain,” cried out the water-miller in
a passion.
“I tell you a bargain’s a bargain,” shouted the wind-miller. “Touch yon
grain if you dare!”
And now, I am sure, the old friends and cronies would have come to
blows, had not Valentine and Cecily suddenly hurried and rushed between
them.
“Good sirs,” said honest Valentine, “pray you stand apart and do each
other no wrong. The brook is dry; the wind is gone; of what use then is
this disputed grain? Were it not best, mayhap, to begin anew?”
“Dear father,” said pretty Cecily, “Will you give your share of the
grain to me?”
“With all my heart,” said the wind-miller, who hated brawling.
“And will you give your share to me, father?” asked Valentine.
“Yes, and gladly,” said the water-miller.
“Heart’s thanks to you both, good sirs,” said the youth with a bow and
the maid with a courtesy. “And now,” continued Valentine, “you shall
all behold a great wonder.
“O Husbandman of the Hills, you gave me a wish for a wage. Grant it to
me now! I wish for a fine windmill-wind to blow till sundown of this
day.”
Out of the hills came the wind. It swept up an inland dust, it sent
the leaves on the higher crests a-flying, it rushed over the hot
sea-scented meadows, it surged about the mill--and the great arms
gathered it, creaked, groaned, and began a-spinning.
Valentine poured a shower of grain down an oaken slide into the
grinding thunder of the heavy stones. The grain fell between the upper
and the nether wheel, and presently the finest of new flour was pouring
down below. And this new flour the three millers shook and sifted and
cleansed until it was worthy of the Queen’s own hands, the golden
batter-bowl, and the Princess Celestia’s cake. So wonderful indeed
was the flour, that it instantly gained the rich reward the Queen had
offered as a prize, and won for Valentine the appointment of miller to
the King.
Touched by the happiness of their children, I am glad to say, the two
millers agreed to forget their strife. And they shook hands, and became
cronies again.
On the day following the wedding of the Princess Celestia, Valentine
and Cecily were married. The little Princess sent them two thick slices
of her cake. It was as white as snow, and frosted with sugar, and there
were candied plums, and cherries, and citron nibbles in each slice.
And Valentine and Cecily rejoiced, and lived happily together all their
days.