[Illustration: “_I will return soon, sweet mother._”
(Page 18)]
[Illustration: Title Page]
The Moon Princess
A FAIRY TALE
BY
EDITH OGDEN HARRISON
Author of
_PRINCE SILVERWINGS &
THE STAR FAIRIES_
_With Illustrations in
Color & Other Drawings
by
Lucy Fitch Perkins_
CHICAGO
A. C. M^cClurg & Co.
1905
Copyright
A. C. McCLURG & CO.
1905
Published October 7, 1905
The Lakeside Press
R. R. DONNELLEY & SONS COMPANY
CHICAGO
[Illustration: Fairy]
_TO C. H. H._
MY MOST APPRECIATIVE READER
CONTENTS
[Illustration: (unlabelled)]
PAGE
CHAPTER I
How the Moon Princess Came to the Earth 13
CHAPTER II
How the Wedding Guests Visited the Caves of Ocean 23
CHAPTER III
How the Fairies Were Changed into Mocking-birds 30
CHAPTER IV
The Little Dwellers in the Marsh 45
CHAPTER V
The Rainbow Sisters 51
CHAPTER VI
How the Sun Princess Came to the Earth 74
CHAPTER VII
The Story of the Jewelled Beach 91
CHAPTER VIII
The Lost Ocean 112
CHAPTER IX
The Story of Princess Sunset 128
CHAPTER X
How the Moon Princess was Taken Captive by the Black Dwarf 147
CHAPTER XI
How the Sun Prince Rescued the Moon Princess 154
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
[Illustration: (unlabelled)]
PAGE
“I will return soon, sweet mother” _Frontispiece_
The Ocean Queen came forth, with her younger children, to greet
them 25
“They threw themselves at her feet, begging for pardon” 41
“They circled together, dressed in the vivid colors of the
rainbow” 57
“A glimmering figure sitting on a high cliff” 106
“Turning around, he saw a radiantly beautiful woman near him” 130
_Also eleven drawings in black and white introducing the chapters._
THE MOON PRINCESS
CHAPTER I
HOW THE MOON PRINCESS CAME TO THE EARTH
[Illustration: (unlabelled)]
The heavens were a stainless blue, and the Moon shone out of them
arrayed in silvery garments. One by one the sky’s matchless jewels, the
stars, peeped out, studding that great ceiling with flashing
diamond-points, until the whole dome was a glittering mass of blue and
silver. The Ocean below seemed a big mirror, made to catch and reflect
the bewildering beauty above, for, shimmering softly, he carried in his
shining depths all those myriad lights.
Calm and majestic the Moon glided over her star-studded pathway; but, in
spite of her glorious beauty and brilliancy, she was really sad and sick
at heart. Ethelda, her best beloved, the youngest and dearest of her
children, had just made a request the granting of which caused her that
night bitterest sorrow.
There was an old custom among the Moon maidens that on her marriage each
one of them might ask whatever she most desired, and the thing which she
asked could not be denied her. Now, Ethelda of the starry eyes and the
shining spun-gold hair had asked a fearful gift at her mother’s hands.
She was betrothed to the Sun Prince Dorion, a handsome youth, strong of
limb, and a goodly sight to look upon, and he had long loved her. He had
seen this dainty maiden in all her varying moods, so he knew her well.
Sometimes, with her Moon maidens merrily engaged at play, she romped
happy as a child; or later, with the stately tread of a young princess,
she came and went in her big white palace. She often wore a pale blue
gown with silver trimmings, and a crown of flashing stars upon her head,
and then it was the brilliantly beautiful girl looked the daughter of
the skies.
Prince Dorion had watched the slender maiden until every strand of her
glittering hair was dear to his heart. Later his father’s golden chariot
brought him daily to her palace.
How Ethelda loved to watch him as he drove the fiery steeds with a
master’s hands, guiding them surely and steadily to her palace gates! He
was the finest of the Sun God’s sons, and Ethelda’s heart beat proudly
as she looked upon her chosen one. The Moon Mother was happy too, in her
daughter’s choice, and all would have been well in the wedding
festivities save for Ethelda’s unheard-of request. How the Moon hated to
grant it! But she had reasoned with Ethelda long and patiently without
effect. For the wilful little Princess was bent upon this mad whim.
“Alas! no good can come of it,” sighed the Moon heavily, and she gazed
down sadly upon the Earth as she spoke. “No good can come of it,” she
repeated. “What could have possessed the child to want it?”
For Ethelda had asked no less than this: to visit the Earth and spend
her honeymoon there!
The young Sun Prince, though at first reluctant to take his beautiful
bride upon such a wild trip, had finally yielded to her persuasions, and
now, being won by her tender pleadings, was as anxious to go as she.
But the Moon Mother had no such faith in the foolish journey. Her mind
misgave her, and as she swung around the great circle in celestial
glory, her heart grew tremulous with fear for her daughter’s safety. The
request must be granted: that she knew; but she was devoutly thankful
for a wise law requiring a Moon maiden to revisit her own home yearly.
At most, then, they could stay but a twelvemonth upon the Earth. Reason
as she would, however, the Queen Mother’s heart was heavy, for with the
daughter upon the Earth the mother’s happiness would be gone. But the
maiden’s joy at the consent consoled her somewhat, and with an unselfish
mother’s love the Queen determined to hide her own grief and make the
wedding trip a brilliant and a joyous one.
Prince Dorion came with a great retinue of knights, all dressed in
shining gold wrought in the Sun’s fiery furnace, and bringing wonderful
jewels to his bride. The Moon Queen, not to be outdone in magnificence,
showered silver in plenty upon them both, and bade one hundred of her
loveliest maidens accompany the bridal pair upon their journey.
The wedding was so brilliant that the skies grew bright as day, and the
splendor was reflected for many miles across the heavens. When the
ceremony was over, the bride, in shining white and silver garments, came
forth from the circle of her bridesmaids to bid her mother farewell.
Long-limbed and graceful was this daughter of the skies. Her finely cut
features showed her high-bred race. Her blond hair hung in yellow masses
to her knees, while her tender blue eyes, looking smilingly upon her
mother’s face, were radiant with happiness. Gliding swiftly forward she
reached the throne, and there, sinking on her knees, she begged her
mother’s blessing.
Very tenderly the Queen watched her graceful child approach and kneel,
and then leaning forward she raised her to her breast and showered
caresses upon her.
“Ethelda, best beloved,” she began, “stay not beyond your allotted time
upon the Earth. My heart misgives me when I think of your departure, and
will be heavy until you return. But see, my daughter, I have provided
for your safety as best I can, and you may come back to me whenever you
choose.” So saying, she drew the bride gently toward the window of her
white palace, and there, looking down, Ethelda saw a wonderful sight
indeed. A beautiful shimmering ladder of moonlight stretched in infinite
splendor down to the Earth. Whichever way she looked, the majestic sweep
of that brilliant ladder was before her. It reached the Ocean, whose
gigantic waves of foaming white rose to meet it, and it quivered in
dazzling glory upon the green-clad forests of the land.
Ethelda was amazed and delighted at the wonderful sight, and throwing
her arms around her mother’s neck, she poured forth her gratitude in
loving words. “We will return soon, sweet mother,” she whispered
tenderly; “those shining steps will lead us safely back to you.” Then,
as her husband joined them, she stepped forward smilingly to greet him,
saying she was ready.
One hundred of the Sun Prince’s knights, in trappings of gold made by
the Sun himself, and with bright shades of crimson trimmings, joined
them as she spoke. Ethelda’s maidens, in their glittering dresses of
whitest silver, followed; and joining hands with the knights, began
their magnificent wedding march to the Earth.
Never was there a more kingly sight. Preceding the bride and bridegroom,
the gay cavalcade descended the glorious ladder of silver beams. Step by
step they wandered down the moonglade toward the Earth, and the Moon,
smiling lovingly at them, sighed again heavily as she spread her bright
pathway of silver before them.
Now, the Earth knew of their coming, and she determined to give them a
welcome befitting their high and mighty rank. She already owed a great
debt to the Sun King, for it was his shining rays that warmed and
nourished her and made her fruitful. Most of her splendid fertility was
due to the warmth of the Sun. So she invited the whole world to meet the
bridal party, giving a grand ball in their honor.
Her invitations were taken by the winds and swiftly carried to the four
corners of the globe. Hundreds of noble personages were asked to meet
the distinguished strangers, and all came to do them honor, bringing
cordial greetings and invitations to visit the different parts of the
world.
The night of the ball had come. The Earth, resplendent in jewels,
awaited the arrival of her guests. The forest back of them was aglitter
with lights, for all the glow-worms and fireflies had been summoned for
the occasion, and for days they had been decorating the trees. An
orchestra of birds sang delicious music, and overhead the sky was
spangled with twinkling stars gazing in silent wonderment upon the
Earth’s splendor.
By the side of the Earth Queen stood Prince Dorion. His suit of pure
gold shone like the Sun himself, and next to him was his beautiful
bride, the Moon Princess. She was dressed in white garments embroidered
in silver, and she was certainly a charming vision. Her gleaming yellow
hair was caught back from her forehead with a crown of flashing stars.
Her clear blue eyes, with their deep sky tints, were dancing in lights
as brilliant as her star crown itself.
First came the Earth’s eldest son, the Ocean King, to greet them. The
Sea was a mass of fire with gleaming phosphorus, and King Ocean and his
mermaid daughters seemed to be floating in red flames as they
approached. The maidens’ long and wonderfully beautiful hair floated
behind them as they swam, and they sang the most entrancing songs. They
bore an invitation to Prince Dorion and his bride to visit them in their
marine home. And this invitation was at once accepted by the strangers.
Another invitation, accepted at once, came from Prince Dorion’s only
sister, Princess Kuldah, who lived upon the Earth with her husband. Many
more charming invitations were given them, but of course it was
impossible to accept them all.
At last one distinguished-looking person strode forward, small of
stature and ugly to look upon. His body was dwarfed, and he had a big
hump on his back. His face was dark and glowering, and he wore a suit of
yellow leaves. All the guests moved aside to let him pass, as though
they feared him. He lived in the vast depths of the forest, amidst huge
mountains; his daily work, with his thousands of imps, was to build
those mountains big and high. Stone by stone he raised them, bleak and
barren, to the clouds. He limped as he walked, and he glared angrily at
the shrinking faces avoiding him; but he gave his invitation to the fair
guests, as the others had done, and bowed low before them as he gave it.
An involuntary shudder ran through the lovely Princess as she heard his
words, and she clung suddenly to her husband in terror, as the black
dwarf’s eyes dwelt admiringly upon her. She felt a cold thrill of fear
at his bold glance.
But Prince Dorion, reassuring her with a tender smile, turned to the
ugly creature, and to the astonishment of the Earth Queen and her court,
replied: “Sir Dwarf, we accept your invitation, and will gladly ride
forth with you whenever our hostess wills. The Sun King, my father, and
her Majesty the Queen of the Moon, have each sent the Earth a gift as a
glad token of our visit here, and we must place our precious gold and
silver deep within the bosom of your great mountains. There will it best
thrive and grow, increasing and benefiting the world.”
The Moon Princess turned very pale when she heard her husband’s reply,
but the black dwarf limped away with a gratified smile upon his ugly
face.