HOW THE MOON PRINCESS WAS TAKEN CAPTIVE BY THE BLACK DWARF
[Illustration: (unlabelled)]
As the guide finished his story of the Sunset Princess, Ethelda noticed
they had passed through the forest, and it was with a little thrill of
terror she saw the black dwarf and his companions a short distance
ahead.
After thanking their kind messenger for his guidance and the delightful
stories he had told them, Prince Dorion and his party joined the dwarf.
He seemed more hideous than ever, but his manner was perfectly
respectful as he greeted his guests, and he hardly looked at the
Princess. Two days of travel followed,—days during which new beauties of
the earth were revealed; and because of her interest in these beauties
the lovely Moon Princess almost forgot her sad forebodings. She did not
see the black dwarf during that time, and the horror of his presence
almost passed. He kept out of her sight, and remaining in front with his
imps, led the way.
Gold and silver had been scattered as they travelled, and for each piece
that fell there formed later a splendid mine. The precious metal,
melting and filtering through the earth in slender veins, reached
finally the heart of the deepest mountains. There it spread and grew,
until to-day the earth is full of its treasures in gold and silver
mines.
One day, Ethelda, light-hearted and happy, had loitered behind for a
moment, to gather some tiny green ferns creeping between the rocks. She
was stooping to pluck one, when suddenly she felt herself rudely seized.
Looking up, she saw it was the black dwarf who had her within his grasp.
She tried to get away, but his grip was like iron on her delicate arm.
She could not move, and realizing her utter helplessness, she screamed
aloud. Her agonizing call reached her husband, but too late for him to
aid her. For the black dwarf stamped violently upon the ground, which
opened wide, and with her in his arms he sank into the opening, which
immediately closed over them. Then Ethelda fainted.
When she recovered, she found she was in a large vaulted chamber, in a
big cave. The light was very poor, but she could see the ugly black
dwarf watching her steadily. For a moment she thought she would die of
fright, and then she remembered that, as a Moon maiden, she had the
power to protect herself from harm. In that instant her courage returned
and strengthened her. Softly she repeated the words of the charm she had
learned in the nursery of the Moon palace, and had sung at her mother’s
knee. In a low, musical voice she chanted:—
Rays of the Moon, brilliant and bright,
Protect me by day, protect me by night.
Naught can harm me when in your embrace,
Protect me you must, as child of your race.
Send but the halo seen often about you,
And I promise, sweet mother, I never shall doubt you.
As she sang, a beautiful halo formed gradually about her, such as you
sometimes see about the moon, and in the centre of this great shining
space Ethelda stood alone.
When she moved, her white and silver dress flashed in long sparkling
rays, like the moonlight on the water. The black man covered his eyes to
shield them at first from the blinding light, for it was like the sudden
flashing of midday into the darkest night, and the cave became very
bright. He looked on surprised, not understanding Ethelda’s words, and
on finding what she had done he was completely astounded. He stepped
forward quickly to snatch her from the glowing circle, but found he
could not reach her side. Then he became furious and called his imps,
who swarmed to his assistance; but when they approached the maiden, a
barrier of iron seemed to stand before them. They could not break it
down at all, nor could they penetrate the beaming circle. Ethelda was
safe from any harm except imprisonment.
The dwarf soon abandoned all thought of reaching her, and in truth he
never really meant to harm her, but had stolen her to marry her. So he
determined to try kindness to win her love, and though he kept her a
prisoner, he was not otherwise unkind. In many ways he tried to please
her.
For years he had been fitting up a wonderful cave, hoping some day to
induce a lovely maiden to accept and marry him. But he was so ugly and
repulsive that all the Earth maidens shunned him. Still he had gone on
decorating the cave, determined to steal a wife if necessary.
He had gone to the Earth festival with the intention of finding a wife
there, but when his eyes fell on the Princess Ethelda he forgot all the
other maidens. He thought her gloriously beautiful, and determined to
steal her, although she was already married. Therefore, he made up his
mind that the Moon Princess should love him and forget her husband. On
that account he tried to be kind. Every morning he sent her a beautiful
gift, and then soon after paid her a visit and asked her to marry him.
Each day her reply was the same,—that she loved her husband and hated
him, but if he would restore her to her husband, and show her her home
in the starry skies, she would forgive his stealing her. At these words
the dwarf would go into a great rage and leave the room, but every day
he would return, hoping she had changed her mind.
At last he conceived a great idea by which he thought he could win her.
Day and night he worked over it, and one morning, when it was completed,
he invited her in to see a room he had fitted especially for her to
occupy. He thought she would be so pleased at what he had done for her
that she could no longer refuse him.
When he opened the door and bade her enter, she was amazed and delighted
in spite of herself. Round and beautiful in shape was the room. Great
stalactites and stalagmites hung from the ceiling and grew from the
floors,—all a mass of shining light, for they were of purest white
crystal, and shone like the sun. The room was richly furnished, and
every comfort seemed there; but all of this was not what she saw to
admire. It was a darker room beyond that absorbed and enchanted her. Her
eyes beheld what she thought at first was her own beautiful home again.
Quickly she passed into it. Blue as the heavens she had left was the
lofty ceiling she gazed into. She stared with fresh wonder at the
bejewelled stars, and with beating heart watched their brilliant rays.
She expected every moment to see the Moon sail past in silver glory. But
the radiant splendor of her mother’s Moon palace was absent, and then
Ethelda recognized with a great pang that it was not really the sky she
saw at all.
The countless clusters of stars overheard had been gathered only with
untold labor. The dwarf had stationed his numerous slaves to watch the
heavens all the night, and when a shooting star fell they seized and
brought it straight to him. Gradually, therefore, toiling and working in
this way, they built the famous Star Chamber in the great black cave for
the Moon Princess.
Ethelda’s disappointment was very keen when she learned the truth. Still
she loved the Star Chamber better than any other spot in her prison, and
she visited it often.