PUT ME IN AGAIN.
It must have been about this time that the son of a king, who lived a
thousand miles from Lagobel, set out to look for the daughter of a
Queen. He travelled far and wide but as sure as he found a princess he
found some fault with her. Of course he could not marry a mere woman,
however beautiful; and there was no princess to be found worthy of him.
Whether the prince was so near perfection that he had a right to demand
perfection itself, I cannot pretend to say. All I know is, that he was
a fine, handsome, brave, generous, well-bred and well-behaved youth, as
all princes are.
"In his wanderings, he had come across some reports about our princess;
but, as everybody said she was bewitched, he never dreamed that she
could bewitch him. For what indeed could a prince do with a princess
that had lost her gravity? Who could tell what she might not lose next?
She might lose her visibility, or her tangibility; or, in short, the
power of making impressions upon the radical sensorium; so that he
should never be able to tell whether she was dead or alive. Of course,
he made no further inquiries about her.
"One day he lost sight of his retinue in a great forest. These forests
are very useful in delivering princes from their courtiers, like a
sieve that keeps back the bran. Then the princes get away to follow
their fortunes. In this, they have the advantage of the princesses, who
are forced to marry before they have had a bit of fun. I wish our
princesses got lost in a forest sometimes.
"One lovely evening, after wandering about for many days, he found that
he was approaching the outskirts of this forest; for the trees had got
so thin that he could see the sunset through them; and he soon came
upon a kind of heath. Next, he came upon signs of human neighborhood;
but, by this time it was getting late, and there was nobody in the
fields to direct him.
"After travelling for another hour, his horse, quite worn out with long
labor and lack of food, fell, and was unable to rise again. So he
continued his journey on foot. At length, he entered another wood,--not
a wild forest, but a civilized wood, through which a footpath led him
to the side of a lake. Along this path, the prince pursued his way
through the gathering darkness. Suddenly, he paused, and listened.
Strange sounds came across the water. It was, in fact, the princess
laughing. Now, there was something odd in her laugh, as I have already
hinted; for the hatching of a real hearty laugh requires the incubation
of gravity; and, perhaps, this was how the prince mistook the laughter
for screaming. Looking over the lake, he saw something white in the
water; and, in an instant, he had torn off his tunic, kicked off his
sandals, and plunged in. He soon reached the white object, and found
that it was a woman. There was not light enough to show that she was a
princess, but quite enough to show that she was a lady, for it does not
want much light to see that.
"Now, I cannot tell how it came about,--whether she pretended to be
drowning, or whether he frightened her, or caught her so as to embarass
her; but certainly he brought her to shore in a fashion ignominious to
a swimmer, and more nearly drowned than she ever expected to be; for
the water had got into her throat as often as she had tried to speak.
"At the place to which he bore her, the bank was only a foot or two
above the water, so he gave her a strong lift out of the water, to lay
her on the bank. But, her gravitation ceasing the moment she left the
water, away she went, up into the air, scolding and screaming:--
"'You naughty, _naughty_, NAUGHTY, NAUGHTY, man!'
"No one had ever succeeded in putting her into a passion before. When
the prince saw her ascend he thought he must have been bewitched, and
have mistaken a great swan for a lady. But the princess caught hold of
the topmost cone upon a lofty fir. This came off; but she caught at
another, and in fact, stopped herself by gathering cones, dropping them
as the stalks gave way. The prince, meantime, stood in the water,
forgetting to get out. But the princess disappearing, he scrambled on
shore, and went in the direction of the tree. He found her climbing
down one of the branches, towards the stem. But in the darkness of the
wood, the prince continued in some bewilderment as to what the
phenomenon could be; until, reaching the ground, and seeing him
standing there, she caught hold of him, and said:--
"'I'll tell papa.'
"'Oh, no, you won't!' rejoined the prince.
"'Yes, I will,' she persisted. 'What business had you to pull me down
out of the water, and throw me to the bottom of the air? I never did
you any harm.'
"'I am sure I did not mean to hurt you.'
"'I don't believe you have any brains; and that is a worse loss than
your wretched gravity. I pity you.'
"The prince now saw that he had come upon the bewitched princess, and
had already offended her. Before he could think what to say next, the
princess, giving a stamp with her foot that would have sent her aloft
again, but for the hold she had of his arm, said angrily:
"'Put me up directly.'
"'Put you up where, you beauty?' asked the prince.
"He had fallen in love with her, almost, already; for her anger made
her more charming than anyone else had ever beheld her; and, as far as
he could see, which certainly was not far, she had not a single fault
about her, except, of course, that she had no gravity. A prince,
however, must be incapable of judging of a princess by weight. The
loveliness of a foot, for instance, is hardly to be estimated by the
depth of the impression it can make in mud!
"'Put you up where, you beauty?' said the prince.
"'In the water, you stupid!' answered the princess. "'Come, then,' said
the prince.
"The condition of her dress, increasing her usual difficulty in
walking, compelled her to cling to him; and he could hardly persuade
himself that he was not in a delightful dream, notwithstanding the
torrent of musical abuse with which she overwhelmed him. The prince
being in no hurry, they reached the lake at quite another part, where
the bank was twenty-five feet high at least. When they stood at the
edge, the prince, turning towards the princess, said:--
"'How am I to put you in?'
"'That is your business,' she answered, quite snappishly. 'You took me
out,--put me in again.'
"'Very well,' said the prince; and, catching her up in his arms, he
sprang with her from the rock. The princess had just time to give one
delightful shriek of laughter before the water closed over them. When
they came to the surface, the princess, for a moment or two, could not
even laugh, for she had gone down with such a rush, that it was with
difficulty that she recovered her breath. The moment they reached the
surface:--
"'How do you like falling in?' said the prince.
"After a few efforts, the princess panted out:--
"'Is that what you call _falling in_?'
"'Yes,' answered the prince,'I should think it a very tolerable
specimen.'
"'It seemed to me like going up,' rejoined she.
"'My feeling was certainly one of elevation, too,' the prince conceded.
"The princess did not appear to understand him, for she retorted his
first question:--
"'How do _you_ like falling in?'
"'Beyond everything,' answered he; 'for I have fallen in with the only
perfect creature I ever saw.'
"'No more of that; I am tired of it,' said the princess.
"Perhaps she shared her father's aversion to punning.
"'Don't you like falling in, then?' said the prince.
"'It is the most delightful fun I ever had in my life,' answered she.
'I never fell before. I wish I could learn. To I think I am the only
person in my father's kingdom that can't fall!'
"Here the poor princess looked almost sad.
"'I shall be most happy to fall in with you any time you like,' said
the prince devotedly.
"'Thank you. I don't know. Perhaps it would not be proper. But I don't
care. At all events, as we have fallen in, let us have a swim
together.'
"' With all my heart,' said the prince.
"And away they went, swimming, and diving, and floating, until at last
they heard cries along the shore, and saw lights glancing in all
directions. It was now quite late, and there was no moon.
"'I must go home,' said the princess. 'I am very sorry, for this is
delightful.'
"'So am I,' responded the prince. 'But I am glad I haven't a home to go
to,--at least, I don't exactly know where it is.'
"'I wish I hadn't one either,' rejoined the princess: 'it is so stupid!
I have a great mind,' she continued, 'to play them all a trick. Why
couldn't they leave me alone? They won't trust me in the lake for a
single night! You see where that green light is burning? That is the
window of my room. Now if you would just swim there with me very
quietly, and when we are all but under the balcony, give me such a
push--_up_ you call it--as you did a little while ago, I should be
able to catch hold of the balcony, and get in at the window; and then
they may look for me till to-morrow morning!'
"With more obedience than pleasure," said the prince, gallantly; and
away they swam, very gently.
"'Will you be in the lake tomorrow night?' the prince ventured to ask.
"'To be sure I will. I don't think so. Perhaps,'--was the princess'
somewhat strange answer.
"But the prince was intelligent enough not to press her further; and
merely whispered, as he gave her the parting lift: 'Don't tell.' The
only answer the princess returned was a roguish look. She was already a
yard above his head. The look seemed to say: 'Never fear. It is too
good fun to spoil that way.'
"So perfectly like other people had she been in the water, that even
yet the prince could scarcely believe his eyes when he saw her ascend
slowly, grasp the balcony, and disappear through the window. He turned,
almost expecting to see her still by his side. But he was alone in the
water. So he swam away quietly, and watched the lights roving about the
shore for hours after the princess was safe in her chamber. As soon as
they disappeared he landed in search of his tunic and sword, and after
some trouble, found them again. Then he made the best of his way round
the lake to the other side. There the wood was wilder, and the shore
steeper,--rising more immediately towards the mountains which
surrounded the lake on all sides, and kept sending it messages of
silvery streams from morning to night, and all night long. He soon
found a spot whence he could see the green light in the princess' room,
and where, even in the broad daylight, he would be in no danger of
being discovered from the opposite shore. It was a sort of cave in the
rock, where he provided himself a bed of withered leaves, and lay down
too tired for hunger to keep him awake. All night long he dreamed that
he was swimming with the princess."