try to cross the borders of fairyland."
"I promise that, with all my heart," said the giant. "But hurry on, my
little man, for there are pins and needles in my legs."
The page plucked a cowslip, and picking out the five little crimson
spots in the cup of it, he flung one to the north, and one to the south,
and one to the east, and one to the west, and one up into the sky, and
the spell was broken, and the giant's limbs were free. Then Sharvan
and the fairy page set off for Dooros Wood, and it was not long until
they came within view of the fairy tree. When Sharvan saw the berries
glistening in the sun, he gave a shout so loud and strong that the wind
of it blew the little fairy back to fairyland. But he had to return to
the wood to tell the giant that he was to stay all day at the foot of
the tree ready to do battle with anyone who might come to steal the
berries, and that during the night he was to sleep amongst the branches.
"All right," said the giant, who could scarcely speak, as his mouth was
full of berries.
Well, the fame of the fairy-tree spread far and wide, and every day some
adventurer came to try if he could carry away some of the berries; but
the giant, true to his word, was always on the watch, and not a single
day passed on which he did not fight and slay a daring champion, and the
giant never received a wound, for fire could not burn him, nor water
drown him, nor weapon wound him.
Now, at this time, when Sharvan was keeping watch and ward over the
tree, a cruel king was reigning over the lands that looked towards
the rising sun. He had slain the rightful king by foul means, and his
subjects, loving their murdered sovereign, hated the usurper; but much
as they hated him they feared him more, for he was brave and masterful,
and he was armed with a helmet and shield which no weapon made by mortal
hands could pierce, and he carried always with him two javelins that
never missed their mark, and were so fatal that they were called "the
shafts of death." The murdered king had two children--a boy, whose name
was Niall, and a girl, who was called Rosaleen--that is, little Rose;
but no rose that ever bloomed was half as sweet or fresh or fair as she.
Cruel as the tyrant king was, he was too afraid of the people to kill
the children. He sent the boy adrift on the sea in an open boat, hoping
the waves would swallow it; and he got an old witch to cast the spell of
deformity over Rosaleen, and under the spell her beauty faded, until at
last she became so ugly and wasted that scarcely anyone would speak to
her. And, shunned by everyone, she spent her days in the out-houses with
the cattle, and every night she cried herself to sleep.
One day, when she was very lonely, a little robin came to pick the
crumbs that had fallen about her feet. He appeared so tame that she
offered him the bread from her hand, and when he took it she cried with
joy at finding that there was one living thing that did not shun her.
After this the robin came every day, and he sang so sweetly for her that
she almost forgot her loneliness and misery. But once while the robin
was with her the tyrant king's daughter, who was very beautiful, passed
with her maids of honor, and, seeing Rosaleen, the princess said:
"Oh, there is that horrid ugly thing."
The maids laughed and giggled, and said they had never seen such a
fright.
Poor Rosaleen felt as if her heart would break, and when the princess
and her maids were out of sight she almost cried her eyes out. When the
robin saw her crying he perched on her shoulder and rubbed his little
head against her neck and chirruped softly in her ear, and Rosaleen
was comforted, for she felt she had at least one friend in the world,
although it was only a little robin. But the robin could do more for
her than she could dream of. He heard the remark made by the princess,
and he saw Rosaleen's tears, and he knew now why she was shunned by
everybody, and why she was so unhappy. And that very evening he flew off
to Dooros Wood, and called on a cousin of his and told him all about
Rosaleen.
"And you want some of the fairy berries, I suppose," said his cousin,
Robin of the Wood.
"I do," said Rosaleen's little friend.
"Ah," said Robin of the Wood, "times have changed since you were here
last. The tree is guarded now all the day long by a surly giant. He
sleeps in the branches during the night, and he breathes upon them and
around them every morning, and his breath is poison to bird and bee.
There is only one chance open, and if you try that it may cost you
your life."
"Then tell me what it is, for I would give a hundred lives for
Rosaleen," said her own little robin.
"Well," said Robin of the Wood, "every day a champion comes to battle
with the giant, and the giant, before he begins the fight, puts a branch
of berries in the iron belt that's around his waist, so that when he
feels tired or thirsty he can refresh himself, and there is just a bare
chance, while he is fighting, of picking one of the berries from the
branch; but if his breath fall on you it is certain death."
"I will take the chance," said Rosaleen's robin.
"Very well," said the other. And the two birds flew through the wood
until they came within sight of the fairy tree. The giant was lying
stretched at the foot of it, eating the berries; but it was not long
until a warrior came, who challenged him to battle. The giant jumped up,
and plucking a branch from the tree stuck it in his belt, and swinging
his iron club above his head strode towards the warrior, and the fight
began. The robin perched on a tree behind the giant, and watched and
waited for his chance; but it was a long time coming, for the berries
were in front of the giant's belt. At last the giant, with one great
blow, struck the warrior down, but as he did so he stumbled and fell
upon him, and before he had time to recover himself the little robin
darted towards him like a flash and picked off one of the berries, and
then, as fast as wings could carry him, he flew towards home, and on his
way he passed over a troop of warriors on snow-white steeds. All the
horsemen except one wore silver helmets and shining mantles of green
silk, fastened by brooches of red gold, but the chief, who rode at the
head of the troop, wore a golden helmet, and his mantle was of yellow
silk, and he looked by far the noblest of them all. When the robin had
left the horsemen far behind him he spied Rosaleen sitting outside the
palace gates bemoaning her fate. The robin perched upon her shoulder,
and almost before she knew he was there he put the berry between her
lips, and the taste was so delicious that Rosaleen ate it at once, and
that very moment the witch's withering spell passed away from her, and
she became as lovely as the flower of beauty. Just then the warriors on
the snow-white steeds came up, and the chief with the mantle of yellow
silk and the golden helmet leaped from his horse, and bending his knee
before her, said:
"Fairest of all fair maidens, you are surely the daughter of the king of
these realms, even though you are without the palace gates, unattended,
and wear not royal robes. I am the Prince of the Sunny Valleys."
"Daughter of a king I am," said Rosaleen, "but not of the king who rules
these realms."
And saying this she fled, leaving the prince wondering who she could be.
The prince then ordered his trumpeters to give notice of his presence
outside the palace, and in a few moments the king and all his nobles
came out to greet the prince and his warriors, and give them welcome.
That night a great feast was spread in the banquet hall, and the Prince
of the Sunny Valleys sat by the king, and beside the prince sat the
king's beautiful daughter, and then in due order sat the nobles of the
court and the warriors who had come with the prince, and on the wall
behind each noble and warrior his shield and helmet were suspended,
flashing radiance through the room. During the feast the prince spoke
most graciously to the lovely lady at his side, but all the time he was
thinking of the unknown beauty he had met outside the palace gates, and
his heart longed for another glimpse of her. When the feast was ended,
and the jeweled drinking-cups had gone merrily around the table, the
bards sang, to the accompaniment of harps, the "Courtship of the Lady
Eimer," and as they pictured her radiant beauty outshining that of all
her maidens, the prince thought that fair as Lady Eimer was there was
one still fairer.
When the feast was ended the king asked the prince what brought him into
his realms.
"I come," said the prince, "to look for a bride, for it was foretold
to me in my own country that here only I should find the lady who is
destined to share my throne, and fame reported that in your kingdom are
to be found the loveliest maidens in all the world, and I can well
believe that," added the prince, "after what I have seen to-day."
When the king's daughter heard this she hung down her head and blushed
like a rose, for, of course, she thought the prince was alluding only to
herself, as she did not know that he had seen Rosaleen, and she had not
heard of the restoration of her beauty.
Before another word could be spoken a great noise and the clang of arms
were heard outside the palace. The king and his guests started from
their seats and drew their swords, and the bards raised the song of
battle; but their voices were stilled and their harps silenced when they
saw at the threshold of the banquet hall a battle champion, in whose
face they recognized the features of their murdered king.
"'Tis Niall come back to claim his father's throne," said the chief
bard. "Long live Niall!"
"Long live Niall!" answered all the others.
The king, white with rage and amazement, turned to the chiefs and nobles
of his court, and cried out:
"Is there none loyal enough to drive that intruder from the banquet
hall?"
But no one stirred, and no answer was given. Then the king rushed
forward alone, but before he could reach the spot where Niall was
standing he was seized by a dozen chiefs and at once disarmed.
During this scene the king's daughter had fled frightened; but Rosaleen,
attracted by the noise, and hearing her brother's name and the cheers
which greeted it, had entered the banquet hall unperceived by anyone.
But when her presence was discovered every eye was dazzled with her
beauty. Niall looked at her for a second, wondering if the radiant
maiden before him could be the little sister he had been separated from
for so many years. In another second she was clasped in his arms.
Then the feast was spread again, and Niall told the story of his
adventures; and when the Prince of the Sunny Valley asked for the hand
of Rosaleen, Niall told his lovely sister to speak for herself. With
downcast eyes and smiling lips she said, "yes," and that very day was
the gayest and brightest wedding that ever took place, and Rosaleen
became the prince's bride.
In her happiness she did not forget the little robin, who was her friend
in sorrow. She took him home with her to Sunny Valleys, and every day
she fed him with her own hands, and every day he sang for her the
sweetest songs that were ever heard in lady's bower.
THE LITTLE WHITE CAT
A long, long time ago, in a valley far away, the giant Trencoss lived in
a great castle, surrounded by trees that were always green. The castle
had a hundred doors, and every door was guarded by a huge, shaggy hound,
with tongue of fire and claws of iron, who tore to pieces anyone who
went to the castle without the giant's leave. Trencoss had made war on
the King of the Torrents, and, having killed the king, and slain his
people, and burned his palace, he carried off his only daughter, the
Princess Eileen, to the castle in the valley. Here he provided her with
beautiful rooms, and appointed a hundred dwarfs, dressed in blue and
yellow satin, to wait upon her, and harpers to play sweet music for her,
and he gave her diamonds without number, brighter than the sun; but he
would not allow her to go outside the castle, and told her if she went
one step beyond its doors, the hounds, with tongues of fire and claws of
iron, would tear her to pieces. A week after her arrival, war broke out
between the giant and the King of the Islands, and before he set out for
battle, the giant sent for the princess, and informed her that on his
return he would make her his wife. When the princess heard this she
began to cry, for she would rather die than marry the giant who had
slain her father.
"Crying will only spoil your bright eyes, my little princess," said
Trencoss, "and you will have to marry me whether you like it or no."
He then bade her go back to her room, and he ordered the dwarfs to give
her everything she asked for while he was away, and the harpers to play
the sweetest music for her. When the princess gained her room she cried
as if her heart would break. The long day passed slowly, and the night
came, but brought no sleep to Eileen, and in the gray light of the
morning she rose and opened the window, and looked about in every
direction to see if there were any chance of escape. But the window was
ever so high above the ground, and below were the hungry and ever
watchful hounds. With a heavy heart she was about to close the window
when she thought she saw the branches of the tree that was nearest to
it moving. She looked again, and she saw a little white cat creeping
along one of the branches.
"Mew!" cried the cat.
"Poor little pussy," said the princess. "Come to me, pussy."
"Stand back from the window," said the cat, "and I will."
The princess stepped back, and the little white cat jumped into the
room. The princess took the little cat on her lap and stroked him with
her hand, and the cat raised up its back and began to purr.
"Where do you come from, and what is your name?" asked the princess.
"No matter where I come from or what's my name," said the cat. "I am a
friend of yours, and I come to help you."
"I never wanted help worse," said the princess.
"I know that," said the cat; "and now listen to me. When the giant comes
back from battle and asks you to marry him, say to him you will marry
him."
"But I will never marry him," said the princess.
"Do what I tell you," said the cat. "When he asks you to marry him, say
to him you will if his dwarfs will wind for you three balls from the
fairy dew that lies on the bushes on a misty morning as big as these,"
said the cat, putting his right forefoot into his ear and taking out
three balls--one yellow, one red, and one blue.
"They are very small," said the princess. "They are not much bigger than
peas, and the dwarfs will not be long at their work."
"Won't they," said the cat. "It will take them a month and a day to make
one, so that it will take three months and three days before the balls
are wound; but the giant, like you, will think they can be made in a few
days, and so he will readily promise to do what you ask. He will soon
find out his mistake, but he will keep his word, and will not press you
to marry him until the balls are wound."
"When will the giant come back?" asked Eileen.
"He will return to-morrow afternoon," said the cat.
"Will you stay with me until then?" said the princess. "I am very
lonely."
"I cannot stay," said the cat. "I have to go away to my palace on the
island on which no man ever placed his foot, and where no man but one
shall ever come."
"And where is that island?" asked the princess, "and who is the man?"
"The island is in the far-off seas where vessel never sailed; the man
you will see before many days are over; and if all goes well, he will
one day slay the giant Trencoss, and free you from his power."
"Ah!" sighed the princess, "that can never be, for no weapon can wound
the hundred hounds that guard the castle, and no sword can kill the
giant Trencoss."
"There is a sword that will kill him," said the cat; "but I must go
now. Remember what you are to say to the giant when he comes home, and
every morning watch the tree on which you saw me, and if you see in the
branches anyone you like better than yourself," said the cat, winking
at the princess, "throw him these three balls and leave the rest to me;
but take care not to speak a single word to him, for if you do all will
be lost."
"Shall I ever see you again?" asked the princess.
"Time will tell," answered the cat, and, without saying so much as
good-by, he jumped through the window on to the tree, and in a second
was out of sight.
The morrow afternoon came, and the giant Trencoss returned from battle.
Eileen knew of his coming by the furious barking of the hounds, and her
heart sank, for she knew that in a few moments she would be summoned to
his presence. Indeed, he had hardly entered the castle when he sent for
her, and told her to get ready for the wedding. The princess tried to
look cheerful, as she answered:
"I will be ready as soon as you wish; but you must first promise me
something."
"Ask anything you like, little princess," said Trencoss.
"Well, then," said Eileen, "before I marry you, you must make your
dwarfs wind three balls as big as these from the fairy dew that lies on
the bushes on a misty morning in summer."
"Is that all?" said Trencoss, laughing. "I shall give the dwarfs orders
at once, and by this time to-morrow the balls will be wound, and our
wedding can take place in the evening."
"And will you leave me to myself until then?"
"I will," said Trencoss.
"On your honor as a giant?" said Eileen.
"On my honor as a giant," replied Trencoss.
The princess returned to her rooms, and the giant summoned all his
dwarfs, and he ordered them to go forth in the dawning of the morn
and to gather all the fairy dew lying on the bushes, and to wind three
balls--one yellow, one red, and one blue. The next morning, and the
next, and the next, the dwarfs went out into the fields and searched
all the hedgerows, but they could gather only as much fairy dew as would
make a thread as long as a wee girl's eyelash; and so they had to go out
morning after morning, and the giant fumed and threatened, but all to
no purpose. He was very angry with the princess, and he was vexed with
himself that she was so much cleverer than he was, and, moreover, he saw
now that the wedding could not take place as soon as he expected.
When the little white cat went away from the castle he ran as fast as
he could up hill and down dale, and never stopped until he came to the
Prince of the Silver River. The prince was alone, and very sad and
sorrowful he was, for he was thinking of the Princess Eileen, and
wondering where she could be.
"Mew," said the cat, as he sprang softly into the room; but the prince
did not heed him. "Mew," again said the cat; but again the prince did
not heed him. "Mew," said the cat the third time, and he jumped up on
the prince's knee.
"Where do you come from, and what do you want?" asked the prince.
"I come from where you would like to be," said the cat.
"And where is that?" said the prince.
"Oh, where is that, indeed! as if I didn't know what you are thinking
of, and of whom you are thinking," said the cat; "and it would be far
better for you to try and save her."
"I would give my life a thousand times over for her," said the prince.
"For whom?" said the cat, with a wink. "I named no name, your highness,"
said he.
"You know very well who she is," said the prince, "if you knew what I
was thinking of; but do you know where she is?"
"She is in danger," said the cat. "She is in the castle of the giant
Trencoss, in the valley beyond the mountains."
"I will set out there at once," said the prince, "and I will challenge
the giant to battle, and will slay him."
"Easier said than done," said the cat. "There is no sword made by the
hands of man can kill him, and even if you could kill him, his hundred
hounds, with tongues of fire and claws of iron, would tear you to
pieces."
"Then, what am I to do?" asked the prince.
"Be said by me," said the cat. "Go to the wood that surrounds the
giant's castle, and climb the high tree that's nearest to the window
that looks towards the sunset, and shake the branches, and you will see
what you will see. Then hold out your hat with the silver plumes, and
three balls--one yellow, one red, and one blue--will be thrown into it.
And then come back here as fast as you can; but speak no word, for if
you utter a single word the hounds will hear you, and you shall be torn
to pieces."
Well, the prince set off at once, and after two days' journey he came to
the wood around the castle, and he climbed the tree that was nearest to
the window that looked towards the sunset, and he shook the branches.
As soon as he did so, the window opened and he saw the Princess Eileen,
looking lovelier than ever. He was going to call out her name, but she
placed her fingers on her lips, and he remembered what the cat had told
him, that he was to speak no word. In silence he held out the hat with
the silver plumes, and the princess threw into it the three balls, one
after another, and, blowing him a kiss, she shut the window. And well
it was she did so, for at that very moment she heard the voice of the
giant, who was coming back from hunting.
The prince waited until the giant had entered the castle before he
descended the tree. He set off as fast as he could. He went up hill and
down dale, and never stopped until he arrived at his own palace, and
there waiting for him was the little white cat.
"Have you brought the three balls?" said he.
"I have," said the prince.
"Then follow me," said the cat.
On they went until they left the palace far behind and came to the edge
of the sea.
"Now," said the cat, "unravel a thread of the red ball, hold the thread
in your right hand, drop the ball into the water, and you shall see what
you shall see."
The prince did as he was told, and the ball floated out to sea,
unraveling as it went, and it went on until it was out of sight.
"Pull now," said the cat.
The prince pulled, and, as he did, he saw far away something on the sea
shining like silver. It came nearer and nearer, and he saw it was a
little silver boat. At last it touched the strand.
"Now," said the cat, "step into this boat and it will bear you to the
palace on the island on which no man has ever placed his foot--the
island in the unknown seas that were never sailed by vessels made of
human hands. In that palace there is a sword with a diamond hilt, and
by that sword alone the giant Trencoss can be killed. There also are
a hundred cakes, and it is only on eating these the hundred hounds can
die. But mind what I say to you: if you eat or drink until you reach the
palace of the little cat in the island in the unknown seas, you will
forget the Princess Eileen."
"I will forget myself first," said the prince, as he stepped into the
silver boat, which floated away so quickly that it was soon out of sight
of land.
The day passed and the night fell, and the stars shone down upon the
waters, but the boat never stopped. On she went for two whole days
and nights, and on the third morning the prince saw an island in the
distance, and very glad he was; for he thought it was his journey's end,
and he was almost fainting with thirst and hunger. But the day passed
and the island was still before him.
At long last, on the following day, he saw by the first light of the
morning that he was quite close to it, and that trees laden with fruit
of every kind were bending down over the water. The boat sailed round
and round the island, going closer and closer every round, until, at
last, the drooping branches almost touched it. The sight of the fruit
within his reach made the prince hungrier and thirstier than he was
before, and forgetting his promise to the little cat--not to eat
anything until he entered the palace in the unknown seas--he caught one
of the branches, and, in a moment, was in the tree eating the delicious
fruit. While he was doing so the boat floated out to sea and soon was
lost to sight; but the prince, having eaten, forgot all about it, and,
worse still, forgot all about the princess in the giant's castle. When
he had eaten enough he descended the tree, and, turning his back on the
sea, set out straight before him. He had not gone far when he heard the
sound of music, and soon after he saw a number of maidens playing on
silver harps coming towards him. When they saw him they ceased playing,
and cried out:
"Welcome! welcome! Prince of the Silver River, welcome to the island of
fruits and flowers. Our king and queen saw you coming over the sea, and
they sent us to bring you to the palace."