Once upon a time there was a Widow, a very worthy woman, who had
two daughters, both of whom were very amiable; the eldest was named
Blanche, the second Vermeille. They had been given these names because
the first had the fairest complexion in the world, and the second
cheeks and lips as red as vermilion or the finest coral. One day the
good Widow, sitting at her door spinning, saw a poor old woman, who
could with difficulty walk, even with the aid of a stick. "You seem
very tired," said the good Widow to the old creature; "sit down a
moment and rest," and immediately desired her daughter to place a chair
for her. They both rose directly, but Vermeille ran quicker than her
sister and brought the chair. "Will you take something to drink?" said
the good woman to the old one. "With all my heart," replied she; "I
could even eat something, if you could give me a morsel to refresh me."
"I will give you all in my power," said the good Widow: "but I am poor,
and it will not be much." At the same time she told her daughters to
attend on the old woman, who placed herself at the table; and the good
Widow told her eldest daughter to go and gather some plums from a tree
which the young girl had planted herself, and of which she was very
fond.
Blanche, instead of obeying her mother cheerfully, murmured against
this order, and said to herself, "It was not for this old greedy
creature that I have taken so much care of my plum-tree." She dared not
refuse, however, to gather some of the plums; but she did so with an
ill grace, and unwillingly.
[Illustration: The Widow and her Two Daughters.--P. 495.]
"And you, Vermeille," said the good woman to her second daughter, "you
have no fruit to give this good lady, for your grapes are not yet
ripe." "True," said Vermeille, "but I hear my hen cluck; she has just
laid an egg, and if madame will like to eat it warm I will give it her
with all my heart." At the same time, without awaiting the reply of
the old woman, she ran to fetch her egg; but at the same moment that
she presented it to the stranger she disappeared, and they saw in her
place a beautiful lady, who said to the mother, "I am about to reward
your two daughters according to their deserts. The eldest shall become
a great Queen, the second a farmer's wife." At the same time striking
the cottage with her stick, it disappeared, and they saw in its place a
pretty farm. "There is your lot," said she to Vermeille. "I know that I
have given to each that which she will like best."
The Fairy departed as she uttered these words, and the mother, as well
as her two daughters, remained struck with astonishment. They entered
the farmhouse, and were charmed with the style of the furniture. The
chairs were only of wood, but they were so polished that they could see
themselves reflected in them as in a mirror. The bed-linen was white as
snow. In the farmyard there were twenty rams and as many sheep, four
oxen, four cows, and in the poultry-yard all kinds of fowls, hens,
ducks, pigeons, &c. There was also a pretty garden, filled with fruits
and flowers. Blanche saw without envy the present which had been made
to her sister, and revelled in the delightful anticipations of being
a Queen. Suddenly she heard hunters passing, and going to the door to
see them, she appeared so beautiful in the eyes of the King, who was
returning from the chase, that he resolved immediately to marry her.
Blanche having become Queen, said to her sister Vermeille, "I will not
have you remain a farmer; come with me, sister, and I will give you
in marriage to a great lord." "I am much obliged, sister," replied
Vermeille, "but I am accustomed to the country, and wish to remain
there." For the first few months Queen Blanche was so much occupied
with balls, fine clothes, and plays, that she thought of nothing else.
But she soon became accustomed to such things, and they amused her no
longer; on the contrary, she became very miserable. All the ladies of
the Court paid her great respect in her presence, but she knew that
they did not like her, and that they said amongst themselves, "Look at
this little peasant, how she assumes the fine lady: the King had a very
low taste to choose such a wife." This kind of conversation made the
King reflect. He began to think he had done wrong in marrying Blanche,
and as his love for her declined he neglected her, and passed his time
with the handsomest ladies of his Court.
When it was perceived that the King no longer loved his wife, the
courtiers ceased to pay her any respect. She was very unhappy, for
she had not a single real friend to whom she could relate her griefs.
She saw that it was the fashion at Court to betray friends for
interested motives, to appear to love those whom they hated, and to
tell falsehoods every moment. She was obliged to look serious, because
they said a Queen ought to have a grave and majestic air. She had
several children, and during all this time she had a doctor continually
attending her, who examined everything she ate, and took from her
everything she liked. They put no salt in her soup; they forbade her to
walk when she was inclined to do so; in a word, she was contradicted
from morning till night. They gave governesses to her children, who
brought them up very improperly, without her having the liberty to
find fault. Poor Blanche was near dying of grief, and she became so
thin that she excited the commiseration of everybody. She had not seen
her sister during the three years that she had been Queen, because
she thought that a person of her rank would be degraded by visiting a
farmer; but being overcome with melancholy, she resolved at length to
go and pass some days in the country to amuse herself a little. She
asked permission of the King, who willingly granted it, because he
thought it would be a good riddance.
On her road she came to the farm of Vermeille, and at a distance she
saw before the door a troop of shepherds and shepherdesses, dancing
and amusing themselves with all their hearts. "Alas!" said the Queen,
sighing, "when shall I ever divert myself like these poor people, with
no one to find fault with me?" As soon as she appeared her sister
ran to her to embrace her. She had such a contented air, she was
grown so stout, that the Queen could not help crying at seeing her.
Vermeille had married a young peasant who had no fortune, but he always
remembered that he was indebted to his wife for all that he possessed,
and he sought, by his indulgent manner, to mark his gratitude for her.
Vermeille had not many servants, but they were as fond of her as if
they had been her children, because she treated them as such. All her
neighbours also loved her, and all sought to give her proof of it. She
had not much money, but she had no need of it, for she obtained from
her land corn, wine, and oil in sufficiency. Her flocks furnished her
with milk, with which she made butter and cheese. She spun the wool of
her sheep to make clothes for herself, as well as for her husband, and
for two children which she had. They were in wonderfully good health;
and in the evenings, when their work was done, they amused themselves
with all kinds of games. "Alas!" cried the Queen, "the Fairy has made
me an unlucky present in bestowing on me a crown. Happiness is not to
be found in magnificent palaces, but in the innocent occupations of the
country."
Hardly had she uttered these words when the Fairy appeared. "I intended
not to reward you but to punish you by making you a Queen," said the
Fairy, "because you begrudged giving me your plums. In order to be
happy, you must, like your sister, only possess such things as are
necessary, and wish for no more." "Ah! Madam," cried Blanche, "you are
sufficiently revenged. Terminate my misery." "It is ended," replied the
Fairy; "the King, who loves you no longer, has just repudiated you to
marry another wife, and to-morrow his officers will come to order you,
in his name, not to return to the palace." This occurred as the Fairy
had predicted. Blanche passed the rest of her days with her sister
Vermeille in peace and happiness, and never thought of the court but to
thank the Fairy for having brought her back to the village.