wore. She blushed. The prince she had recognized the very moment she
had seen him.
"I am the daughter of the king of Naples," she said.
The fisherman's daughter stared at her in amazement.
"She is no king's daughter!" she cried. "She is a poor abandoned maid
who came to us out of the sea. We found her upon these very rocks. It
is my own dress that she is wearing. A king's daughter, indeed! She
is no more the daughter of the king of Naples than I am!"
But the prince had taken the daughter of the king of Naples in his
arms. As soon as they returned to the palace their wedding was
celebrated with great joy and they lived together as God lives with the
angels.
[Illustration: Headpiece]
MARIA-OF-THE-FOREST
_The Story of a King and His Fate_
Once upon a time there was a young king who went into the deep forest
on a hunting expedition. He and his favorite page became separated
from the rest of the party and soon they realized that they were lost.
As night approached they found the rude hut of a charcoal burner and
begged for permission to pass the night there. They were received most
hospitably.
Just at the hour of midnight the king was awakened from his sleep by a
voice. This is what it said:
"Here in this hut is born to-night
The maiden of your fate:
You can't escape your lot, young king;
Your fate for you will wait.
'Tis fate--'tis fate--'tis fate."
The king turned over on his pillow and tried to sleep, but the strange
voice kept ringing in his ears. He rose early.
As soon as he saw the charcoal burner the man said: "A baby daughter
was born to me last night."
"At what time?" asked the king.
"It was just midnight," replied the charcoal burner.
The king awakened his page and told him what had happened.
"I refuse to wed any maid born in this poor hut," he said. "You must
help me to escape this fate."
"What can I do about it?" asked the page, yawning.
"You must steal this babe this very day and put it to death," said the
king sternly.
The page did not dare refuse, and easily obtained possession of the
baby when no one was looking. He carried her away into the deep
forest, but he did not have the heart to put an innocent babe to death.
He left her in a hollow tree, wrapped up in the bright red sash he wore.
When he had returned to the king he confessed that he had been too
tender-hearted to slay the baby. The king was angry.
"Take me to the baby," he said. "I'll do the deed myself."
Though they searched long and faithfully they were unable to find the
hollow tree where the baby had been left. They, of course, did not
wish to return to the hut of the charcoal burner, and at length they
found their way out of the deep forest.
"No one will ever discover that baby if I could not find it myself!
She will soon die without food," said the page.
The king agreed that it was quite impossible for the babe to escape
death, but he could not forget the strange voice which had said:
"Here in this hut is born to-night
The maiden of your fate:
You can't escape your lot, young king;
Your fate for you will wait.
'Tis fate--'tis fate--'tis fate."
Now it happened that very day that a woodcutter was working in the
forest. Suddenly he heard what sounded like the cry of a baby.
"There can't be a child here in the deep forest," he said to himself
and went on with his work.
The cry continued, however, and it sounded very near, almost under the
woodcutter's feet. He looked into the hollow log and there he found a
dimpled baby girl wrapped in a bright red sash.
"Poor little thing! Her own mother has abandoned her. My good wife
will be a mother to her," he said.
The woodcutter's wife had no children of her own and received the baby
gladly. She named her Maria-of-the-forest. As the days flew by and
the babe thrived under her care, she could not have loved her more had
she been her own child.
The weeks and months passed and soon the little Maria-of-the-forest had
grown into a lovely little girl five years old. Her kind foster mother
made a bonnet for her out of the bright red sash which she had found
wrapped about her the first time she saw her. It made Maria's dark
eyes look even brighter than before.
Now it happened that the king and his page were again hunting in the
forest and passed by the house of the wood cutter. The page noticed
the pretty little girl and the red bonnet she wore. He called her to
him and examined it carefully.
"There can be no doubt that material is from my own red sash," he
confessed to the king. "This woodcutter's daughter could have such a
bonnet as this in no other way."
The king bade him make inquiries about the child and soon the page
found out that the little maid was in truth the baby he had left in the
hollow tree. The king ordered him again to steal her. This time the
king plotted her death by drowning. He had a box made for her, put her
in it, and threw her into the sea with his own hand.
"I refuse to wed any girl brought up in a woodcutter's hut," he raged.
"I'll escape that fate."
Nevertheless he could not escape the memory of the strange voice which
had said:
"Here in this hut is born to-night
The maiden of your fate:
You can't escape your lot, young king;
Your fate for you will wait.
'Tis fate--'tis fate--'tis fate."
It was most annoying to remember it.
It happened soon after that a ship encountered the box floating upon
the sea. The sailors rescued it and opened it with interest. Inside
they were surprised to find a pretty little dark-eyed girl with a
bright red bonnet on her head. She could not tell them where she had
come from but she said her name was Maria-of-the-forest.
When the sailors arrived in their own country they told the story of
finding the child and the king asked to see her. He and the queen were
so pleased with her lovely face and gentle manners that they received
her into the royal palace. She was brought up as a lady-of-waiting to
their own little daughter of about the same age.
When, after a dozen years, the princess was wedded, all the kings of
near-by countries were invited to the marriage feast. The king who had
been lost in the forest came with the others. At the feast there was
no one more beautiful than Maria-of-the-forest. The king danced with
her.
"Who is the girl?" was his eager question.
"She has been reared in the royal palace as if she were in truth the
sister of the bride," was the reply.
The king fell in love with the beautiful maid and gave her a ring. The
page, however, was suspicious when he heard her name. He lost no time
in making inquiries about her. What he found out made him very sure
that she was in truth the daughter of the charcoal burner. He reported
his suspicions to the king.
"Never mind," said the king. "I'll wed the maid anyway. One can't
escape from one's fate."
THE SEVEN ENCHANTED PRINCES
_The Story of How Honoria Kept Her Promise_
Long ago there was a little maid who lived all alone with her
grandmother. They were very poor. The girl's name was Honoria.
One day the grandmother sent the girl out to sell some of the oranges
from their orange tree.
"You must bring home at least three vintens to me," she said. "Don't
dare return without at least that small amount of money."
Honoria went from door to door trying to sell the oranges. Every one
seemed to have plenty of them that day. There was nobody who would
purchase a single one.
She walked on and on through the town, everywhere obtaining the same
answer, "We do not wish to purchase any oranges to-day."
Finally she found herself outside the town and in the forest. There
was a house with the door wide open and on the table in front of the
door lay three vintens. There was no one in sight and nobody answered
Honoria's knock at the door.
"I'll take the money and leave some oranges in place of it," said
Honoria. "That will not be stealing."
Accordingly, she selected some of the largest and finest of her oranges
and placed them on the table. She put the money away carefully to take
to her grandmother. Then she turned to leave, but found that the door
was closed.
She tried her best to open it but could not. Neither could she open
any of the windows to climb out by that means. The windows were all
fastened just as securely as the door.
"What shall I do?" cried the girl, who was now thoroughly frightened.
She did not like the idea of remaining a prisoner in the house in the
forest. All day she tried to find some way of escape, but there seemed
nothing to do except to wait until somebody came to her aid.
"This house is not far from the city. Surely some one will be passing
this way and will come and help me get out," said Honoria. "I hope
they'll come before night."
There was nothing to eat in the house and she was thankful enough for
the big basket full of juicy oranges.
At last it grew dark. Then Honoria heard footsteps outside the house.
She could not see who was coming, but a key was turned in the lock and
some one entered. She was so frightened that she hid under the table.
A lighted candle showed that seven dwarfs had entered the house. They
had brought food with them, and they at once went to work to prepare
their evening meal.
"Who left us all these fine oranges?" asked one of the dwarfs.
"I do not know," replied another. "Some one has surely been here and
it must have been a kind friend."
Honoria was almost tempted to crawl from under the table and show
herself, but she decided that it would be better to stay where she was
and go home the next day when it was light.
When morning came, however, she found that she had been sleeping so
soundly that she had not heard the seven dwarfs when they left the
house. The door was fastened just as securely as before.
Honoria looked about the house and saw that there was enough work to
keep her busy all day. There were dishes to wash and floors to sweep
and beds to make. Fortunately the dwarfs had left plenty of food.
When night came she heard the footsteps approaching and again hid under
the table. As soon as the seven dwarfs came into the house they saw
that it had been changed wonderfully during their absence.
"Our dishes are all washed!" cried one of the dwarfs. "Last night we
forgot to wash them after supper!"
"Our beds are all made!" cried another. "We left home so early this
morning we did not have time to make them!"
"Our floors are all swept and everything is in order!" cried another.
"We never have looked so neat and clean!"
[Illustration: "We never have looked so neat and clean"]
"Somebody must have been here," said one of the dwarfs.
"It is surely a kind friend," said another.
"Perhaps they are here yet!" cried another.
"If they are men we'll treat them like brothers and if they are women
we'll treat them like sisters," said the seventh dwarf who had not
spoken before. He had been looking around the house carefully, but he
had seen no one.
Honoria crawled out from under the table. The dwarfs joined hands and
danced around her in a circle.
"We have a big sister now!" they cried. "A big sister to take care of
us!"
Honoria knew that if she said anything about leaving the dwarfs they
would be heartbroken. She knew, too, that her grandmother would give
her a terrible beating for staying away from home so long. The easiest
thing seemed to be to remain in the forest and keep house for the seven
dwarfs.
Weeks and months went by and Honoria led a happy life in the forest.
The dwarfs brought home plenty of delicious food and they also brought
her the prettiest dresses she had ever seen. They were green like the
moss and the leaves of the forest and brown like the rich earth about
the house. There was a little hat with red berries upon it which
Honoria thought the most charming hat in the world. She tried it on
and ran to the brook to look at her reflection, for there was not a
single mirror in the house.
One day the king passed by with his gay hunting party. That day
Honoria had on her prettiest moss-green dress and the king thought her
the loveliest maiden he had ever seen. He stopped to chat with her.
"Do you live here in the forest all alone?" he asked.
"No, I keep house for my seven brothers," was Honoria's answer.
"What a lovely little housekeeper!" cried the king. "Marry me and come
to live in the royal palace!"
"I must ask my brothers first," responded Honoria. "I will tell you
to-morrow what they say."
That night when the seven dwarfs came home Honoria told them about her
visit from the king.
"How can we spare our big sister?" cried one of the dwarfs.
"Who will keep house for us when she goes away?" cried another.
"Who will make the beds so nicely?" asked another.
"Who will sweep our floors?"
"Who will wash our dishes?"
"Who will sew on our buttons?"
"I have known that our big sister would marry sometime," said the
seventh dwarf who had not spoken, but who had been thinking quietly.
"Why shouldn't she marry the king?"
"We must let her marry the king! We must not be selfish!" cried all
the dwarfs together.
They decided that Honoria should marry the king, but they asked her not
to let him kiss her until he had first said these words: "By permission
of the seven enchanted princes." He would have to remember it without
being reminded by Honoria.
Honoria told the king what her brothers had said and the wedding was
celebrated with great joy.
When the king tried to kiss Honoria she burst into tears. He had
forgotten all about saying: "By permission of the seven enchanted
princes."
Honoria would not let the king kiss her, and she cried so much and
struggled so hard that the king thought she had gone crazy. He ordered
her shut up in the dark cell underneath the palace. Then he married a
new queen.
Now it happened that there was a faithful servant who was quite sure
that Honoria was not crazy. When Honoria told her of the words which
the king must say before he kissed her this servant tried to think of
some way to help her. She was very angry at the fact that there was a
new queen.
One day she went to the queen and said: "Queen Honoria who is shut up
in the dark cell underneath the palace is much more clever than you
are."
"What does Queen Honoria do that is so clever?" asked the new queen.
"Queen Honoria will take a sword and cut off her head. Then she will
put it back on again so that it is as good as new. I don't believe you
are clever enough to do that."
"I never tried it," answered the new queen, "but just to show you that
I'm as clever as Queen Honoria I'll do it."
With these words she seized a sword and cut off her head. Of course
she fell dead immediately. The king married a new queen.
Then the servant went to the new queen and said: "Queen Honoria who is
shut up in the dark cell underneath the palace is more clever than you
are."
The new queen was indignant at this remark. "Why is she more clever
than I am?" she asked. "What can she do that I can't do?"
"She can take a sword and cut off her hand. Then she'll stick the hand
on again and it will be as good as new."
"I've never tried it, but I'll do it just to convince you that I am
clever too," said this new queen.
She took up a sword and cut off her right hand. Then she fainted away.
The arm grew full of poison and the queen soon died, but not until she
had told the king what the servant had said to her.
The king was very angry at the servant and called her to him.
"What do you mean," he thundered, "by telling such a story about Queen
Honoria's magic powers?"
"I wanted you to remember where you had found Queen Honoria," replied
the servant.
Then the king suddenly remembered how he had first seen Queen Honoria
when she was in the house in the forest. He thought of how pretty she
had been in the dress which looked like soft green moss. Then he
thought of how she had said that she must ask permission of her seven
brothers before she consented to become his queen.
"By permission of the seven enchanted princes!" he cried. "I forgot to
say these words before I kissed my dear Queen Honoria!"
He quickly ran to the dark cell underneath the palace where she was
confined. He said the magic words and kissed his fair queen who was
just as beautiful as before she had been shut up in the cell, though a
trifle paler.
In the house in the forest the seven dwarfs who were in truth seven
enchanted princes suddenly were disenchanted.
"Our dear sister Honoria did not forget us after all," they cried in
joy.
THE LISTENING KING
_The Story of the Trouble Which Came to Him_
Once upon a time there lived a king who liked to walk in disguise about
the streets of the city, listening at people's doors. It was, in fact,
his favorite amusement. Other kings of that land had been fond of war
or hunting or fishing or games, but there had never before been one who
liked to listen at doors. For this reason he was called "the listening
king."
"It is the greatest fun I have," he often said to his counsellors.
"Being a king would be a stupid life if one didn't have some diversion."
"Be careful that it does not get you into trouble," said the wise men.
"We have often heard that listening to other people's secrets is a
dangerous practice."
"I've had nothing but pleasure from it, anyway," the king would reply.
Then he would add, "So far, at least."
Sometimes he would take a friend or two with him, and sometimes he
would go alone. The habit of listening at doors became more and more a
favorite one to him as the months and years passed.
Now in that city there lived a man of humble station who had three
pretty daughters. One evening the king passed his house and stopped at
the door to listen.
"Whom would you like to marry?" one of the girls was asking. It
happened to be the youngest one.
"I'd like to marry the royal baker," the eldest sister replied.
"Why?" asked the youngest one.
"So that I might always eat fresh bread," was the reply.
"Whom would you like to marry?" the youngest sister asked the middle
one.
"I'd like to marry the royal meat cook so that I might always eat meat
roasted just to a turn," was her answer.
"Whom would you like to marry?" asked the eldest and the middle sister
together.
"I'd like to marry the listening king himself," was the reply which
their youngest sister made.
"Silly! Silly!" cried her two sisters. "We have perhaps a chance of
getting our wishes, but what chance have you?"
"If one wishes for nothing splendid one never gets anything splendid,"
replied the youngest sister with a blush which made her look very
charming to the king as he peeped through the keyhole.
The king went away with a shrewd smile upon his face. The next day he
sent for the three sisters to come to the palace. They were very much
frightened.
"Well," said the king to the eldest girl, "do you want to marry the
royal baker?"
"Yes, your majesty," she replied. "I have no objections."
The king turned to her sister.
"How is it with you?" he asked. "What do you say to marrying the royal
meatcook?"
"I'll be most happy to marry him, your majesty," she answered.
The youngest girl was blushing like a rose and her heart was thumping
so that she could scarcely breathe. The king smiled as he noticed her
fair head bowed upon her breast.
"Would you like to marry the listening king?" he asked her gently.
"Yes, your majesty," she responded, so low that the king could hardly
hear her.
"Very well," said the king. "I'll have all these weddings celebrated
at once."
Thus it happened that the two eldest sisters got their wishes and
married the royal baker and the royal meatcook, while the youngest one
wedded the listening king himself. The others were very angry at her
luck and their hearts were filled with envy.
"Why didn't we wish to be queens or at least princesses?" one asked the
other. "It would have been just as easy to have had our wishes
granted!"
"Why didn't we! Why didn't we! How stupid we were!" cried the other.
They passed the time in plotting against their youngest sister, the
queen.
A year flew by and twin sons were born to the royal pair. They had
gold stars on their foreheads. The whole kingdom was filled with
rejoicing. As for the listening king, he was so happy that he forgot
to listen at people's doors.
The only persons in the whole country who were not happy were the two
jealous sisters. They stole the tiny babies out of the palace and
threw them into the river.
"Trouble has at last come to our listening king," said the wise men,
when the loss was discovered.
The basket in which the twins had been placed floated away down the
stream. It was found by a miller.
"What have we here?" he asked his wife as together they removed the
cover from the basket.
"I guess it is something good to eat," said his wife. "What do you
think it is?"
"I guess it is a poor little puppy which some one wanted to drown,"
replied the miller.
Then they took the cover off the basket. The two babies opened their
eyes and smiled just then. The miller and his wife were the most
surprised people in the whole country and also the happiest ones.
[Illustration: The miller and his wife were the most surprised people
in the whole country]
"What beautiful children!" cried the miller.
"Let's keep them!" cried his wife.
"Of course we'll keep them," replied the miller. "The good God himself
must have sent them to us in answer to our prayers."
Just then the miller's wife noticed the golden stars upon their
foreheads.
"What does this mean?" she asked.
"I don't know," answered her husband as he examined them carefully.
"Perhaps it is just a sign that they are truly the gift of God."
The miller and his wife cared for the two children as if they had been
their own. They lived such a long distance from the palace that they
never heard the news that the royal babes were missing.
As the two boys grew older they became the handsomest, cleverest lads
in the whole kingdom. The gold stars shone and twinkled upon their
foreheads. At last the miller's wife made little caps for them to wear
to hide the stars. They were altogether too conspicuous.
Then one sad summer a pestilence came upon the land and the good miller
and his wife died. The two children were left alone in the world. The
listening king had decreed all the orphaned children in the kingdom
should be brought to the royal city that they might be fed and cared
for. The miller's two orphans went with the others, and the king's
wicked sister-in-laws saw them. They recognized them at once because
of the golden stars upon their foreheads.
"We must make a new plot to destroy the royal children," said one
sister to the other. "And we must be quick about it or the king or
queen will see them and recognize them, too, by the golden stars."
"Are you quite sure these are the two royal babes we threw into the
river?" asked the other sister doubtfully. "It is a bit difficult for
me to believe that our sister's children can be so handsome."
"I'm entirely certain of it," assured her sister. "There is no one
except the royal babes who could have those golden stars."
While the wicked sisters plotted, the two children had approached the
royal gardens. Inside the garden there was a beautiful parrot with
feathers of green and gold.
"I'm going to catch that bird," said one of the brothers. "Wait here
while I go inside the gates."
He could not catch the parrot and he called his brother to come and
help him. Together they succeeded; and, with the beautiful
green-and-gold parrot tightly clutched, they tried to slip outside the
gate of the royal gardens.
Just as they were almost out, the great gates swiftly closed and caught
their garments.
"We're caught! We're caught!" cried the two children. "How can we
ever get the gates unfastened!"
At the sound of their cries, the royal gardeners, the courtiers and the
listening king himself came to the rescue.
When the king saw the golden stars upon their foreheads he leaned
against the nearest tree for support.
"What children are these?" he asked in a voice which shook.
"I never saw them before," replied the head gardener. "I think they
are some of the orphan children which the great mercy and clemency of
your royal majesty have caused to be rescued from the plague."
"Who are your parents, my children?" asked one of the courtiers.
"We are the children of the good miller and his wife," they replied.
"Our kind foster parents are now dead with the plague."
"Where did this miller and his wife find you?" asked the king eagerly.
Then the two children told the story of how the miller had found them
in a basket in the river. They knew it well, for it was their favorite
story of all the ones which the miller's wife had told them.
The courtiers looked at each other in amazement. Every one had noticed
the bright stars shining on the children's brows.