(14) From Les fees illustres.
In very ancient times there lived a King, whose power lay not only in
the vast extent of his dominions, but also in the magic secrets of which
he was master. After spending the greater part of his early youth in
pleasure, he met a Princess of such remarkable beauty that he at once
asked her hand in marriage, and, having obtained it, considered himself
the happiest of men.
After a year’s time a son was born, worthy in every way of such
distinguished parents, and much admired by the whole Court. As soon as
the Queen thought him strong enough for a journey she set out with him
secretly to visit her Fairy godmother. I said secretly, because the
Fairy had warned the Queen that the King was a magician; and as from
time immemorial there had been a standing feud between the Fairies and
the Wizards, he might not have approved of his wife’s visit.
The Fairy godmother, who took the deepest interest in all the Queen’s
concerns, and who was much pleased with the little Prince, endowed him
with the power of pleasing everybody from his cradle, as well as with
a wonderful ease in learning everything which could help to make him
a perfectly accomplished Prince. Accordingly, to the delight of his
teachers, he made the most rapid progress in his education, constantly
surpassing everyone’s expectations. Before he was many years old,
however, he had the great sorrow of losing his mother, whose last words
were to advise him never to undertake anything of importance without
consulting the Fairy under whose protection she had placed him.
The Prince’s grief at the death of his mother was great, but it
was nothing compared to that of the King, his father, who was quite
inconsolable for the loss of his dear wife. Neither time nor reason
seemed to lighten his sorrow, and the sight of all the familiar faces
and things about him only served to remind him of his loss. He therefore
resolved to travel for change, and by means of his magic art was able
to visit every country he came to see under different shapes, returning
every few weeks to the place where he had left a few followers.
Having travelled from land to land in this fashion without finding
anything to rivet his attention, it occurred to him to take the form of
an eagle, and in this shape he flew across many countries and arrived
at length in a new and lovely spot, where the air seemed filled with the
scent of jessamine and orange flowers with which the ground was thickly
planted. Attracted by the sweet perfume he flew lower, and perceived
some large and beautiful gardens filled with the rarest flowers, and
with fountains throwing up their clear waters into the air in a hundred
different shapes. A wide stream flowed through the garden, and on it
floated richly ornamented barges and gondolas filled with people dressed
in the most elegant manner and covered with jewels.
In one of these barges sat the Queen of that country with her only
daughter, a maiden more beautiful than the Day Star, and attended by
the ladies of the Court. No more exquisitely lovely mortal was ever seen
than this Princess, and it needed all an eagle’s strength of sight to
prevent the King being hopelessly dazzled. He perched on the top of a
large orange tree, whence he was able to survey the scene and to gaze at
pleasure on the Princess’s charms.
Now, an eagle with a King’s heart in his breast is apt to be bold,
and accordingly he instantly made up his mind to carry off the lovely
damsel, feeling sure that having once seen her he could not live without
her.
He waited till he saw her in the act of stepping ashore, when, suddenly
swooping down, he carried her off before her equerry in attendance had
advanced to offer her his hand. The Princess, on finding herself in an
eagle’s talons, uttered the most heart-breaking shrieks and cries; but
her captor, though touched by her distress, would not abandon his lovely
prey, and continued to fly through the air too fast to allow of his
saying anything to comfort her.
At length, when he thought they had reached a safe distance, he began
to lower his flight, and gradually descending to earth, deposited
his burden in a flowery meadow. He then entreated her pardon for his
violence, and told her that he was about to carry her to a great kingdom
over which he ruled, and where he desired she should rule with him,
adding many tender and consoling expressions.
For some time the Princess remained speechless; but recovering herself
a little, she burst into a flood of tears. The King, much moved, said,
‘Adorable Princess, dry your tears. I implore you. My only wish is to
make you the happiest person in the world.’
‘If you speak truth, my lord,’ replied the Princess, ‘restore to me the
liberty you have deprived me of. Otherwise I can only look on you as my
worst enemy.’
The King retorted that her opposition filled him with despair, but that
he hoped to carry her to a place where all around would respect her, and
where every pleasure would surround her. So saying, he seized her once
more, and in spite of all her cries he rapidly bore her off to the
neighbourhood of his capital. Here he gently placed her on a lawn, and
as he did so she saw a magnificent palace spring up at her feet. The
architecture was imposing, and in the interior the rooms were handsome
and furnished in the best possible taste.
The Princess, who expected to be quite alone, was pleased at finding
herself surrounded by a number of pretty girls, all anxious to wait on
her, whilst a brilliantly-coloured parrot said the most agreeable things
in the world.
On arriving at this palace the King had resumed his own form, and
though no longer young, he might well have pleased any other than this
Princess, who had been so prejudiced against him by his violence that
she could only regard him with feelings of hatred, which she was at
no pains to conceal. The King hoped, however, that time might not only
soften her anger, but accustom her to his sight. He took the precaution
of surrounding the palace with a dense cloud, and then hastened to his
Court, where his prolonged absence was causing much anxiety.
The Prince and all the courtiers were delighted to see their beloved
King again, but they had to submit themselves to more frequent absences
than ever on his part. He made business a pretext for shutting himself
up in his study, but it was really in order to spend the time with the
Princess, who remained inflexible.
Not being able to imagine what could be the cause of so much obstinacy
the King began to fear, lest, in spite of all his precautions, she might
have heard of the charms of the Prince his son, whose goodness, youth
and beauty, made him adored at Court. This idea made him horribly
uneasy, and he resolved to remove the cause of his fears by sending the
Prince on his travels escorted by a magnificent retinue.
The Prince, after visiting several Courts, arrived at the one where the
lost Princess was still deeply mourned. The King and Queen received him
most graciously, and some festivities were revived to do him honour.
One day when the Prince was visiting the Queen in her own apartments he
was much struck by a most beautiful portrait. He eagerly inquired whose
it was, and the Queen, with many tears, told him it was all that was
left her of her beloved daughter, who had suddenly been carried off, she
knew neither where nor how.
The Prince was deeply moved, and vowed that he would search the world
for the Princess, and take no rest till he had found and restored her to
her mother’s arms. The Queen assured him of her eternal gratitude,
and promised, should he succeed, to give him her daughter in marriage,
together with all the estates she herself owned.
The Prince, far more attracted by the thoughts of possessing the
Princess than her promised dower, set forth in his quest after taking
leave of the King and Queen, the latter giving him a miniature of her
daughter which she was in the habit of wearing. His first act was
to seek the Fairy under whose protection he had been placed, and he
implored her to give him all the assistance of her art and counsel in
this important matter.
After listening attentively to the whole adventure, the Fairy asked
for time to consult her books. After due consideration she informed the
Prince that the object of his search was not far distant, but that it
was too difficult for him to attempt to enter the enchanted palace where
she was, as the King his father had surrounded it with a thick cloud,
and that the only expedient she could think of would be to gain
possession of the Princess’s parrot. This, she added, did not
appear impossible, as it often flew about to some distance in the
neighbourhood.
Having told the Prince all this, the Fairy went out in hopes of seeing
the parrot, and soon returned with the bird in her hand. She promptly
shut it up in a cage, and, touching the Prince with her wand,
transformed him into an exactly similar parrot; after which, she
instructed him how to reach the Princess.
The Prince reached the palace in safety, but was so dazzled at first by
the Princess’s beauty, which far surpassed his expectations, that he
was quite dumb for a time. The Princess was surprised and anxious, and
fearing the parrot, who was her greatest comfort, had fallen ill, she
took him in her hand and caressed him. This soon reassured the Prince,
and encouraged him to play his part well, and he began to say a thousand
agreeable things which charmed the Princess.
Presently the King appeared, and the parrot noticed with joy how much
he was disliked. As soon as the King left, the Princess retired to her
dressing-room, the parrot flew after her and overheard her lamentations
at the continued persecutions of the King, who had pressed her to
consent to their marriage. The parrot said so many clever and tender
things to comfort her that she began to doubt whether this could indeed
be her own parrot.
When he saw her well-disposed towards him, he exclaimed: ‘Madam, I
have a most important secret to confide to you, and I beg you not to be
alarmed by what I am about to say. I am here on behalf of the Queen your
mother, with the object of delivering your Highness; to prove which,
behold this portrait which she gave me herself.’ So saying he drew forth
the miniature from under his wing. The Princess’s surprise was great,
but after what she had seen and heard it was impossible not to indulge
in hope, for she had recognised the likeness of herself which her mother
always wore.
The parrot, finding she was not much alarmed, told her who he was, all
that her mother had promised him and the help he had already received
from a Fairy who had assured him that she would give him means to
transport the Princess to her mother’s arms.
When he found her listening attentively to him, he implored the Princess
to allow him to resume his natural shape. She did not speak, so he drew
a feather from his wing, and she beheld before her a Prince of such
surpassing beauty that it was impossible not to hope that she might owe
her liberty to so charming a person.
Meantime the Fairy had prepared a chariot, to which she harnessed two
powerful eagles; then placing the cage, with the parrot in it,
she charged the bird to conduct it to the window of the Princess’s
dressing-room. This was done in a few minutes, and the Princess,
stepping into the chariot with the Prince, was delighted to find her
parrot again.
As they rose through the air the Princess remarked a figure mounted on
an eagle’s back flying in front of the chariot. She was rather alarmed,
but the Prince reassured her, telling her it was the good Fairy to
whom she owed so much, and who was now conducting her in safety to her
mother.
That same morning the King woke suddenly from a troubled sleep. He
had dreamt that the Princess was being carried off from him, and,
transforming himself into an eagle, he flew to the palace. When he
failed to find her he flew into a terrible rage, and hastened home to
consult his books, by which means he discovered that it was his son
who had deprived him of this precious treasure. Immediately he took the
shape of a harpy, and, filled with rage, was determined to devour his
son, and even the Princess too, if only he could overtake them.
He set out at full speed; but he started too late, and was further
delayed by a strong wind which the Fairy raised behind the young couple
so as to baffle any pursuit.
You may imagine the rapture with which the Queen received the daughter
she had given up for lost, as well as the amiable Prince who had rescued
her. The Fairy entered with them, and warned the Queen that the Wizard
King would shortly arrive, infuriated by his loss, and that nothing
could preserve the Prince and Princess from his rage and magic unless
they were actually married.
The Queen hastened to inform the King her husband, and the wedding took
place on the spot.
As the ceremony was completed the Wizard King arrived. His despair at
being so late bewildered him so entirely that he appeared in his natural
form and attempted to sprinkle some black liquid over the bride and
bridegroom, which was intended to kill them, but the Fairy stretched out
her wand and the liquid dropped on the Magician himself. He fell down
senseless, and the Princess’s father, deeply offended at the cruel
revenge which had been attempted, ordered him to be removed and locked
up in prison.
Now as magicians lose all their power as soon as they are in prison, the
King felt himself much embarrassed at being thus at the mercy of
those he had so greatly offended. The Prince implored and obtained his
father’s pardon, and the prison doors were opened.
No sooner was this done than the Wizard King was seen in the air under
the form of some unknown bird, exclaiming as he flew off that he would
never forgive either his son or the Fairy the cruel wrong they had done
him.
Everyone entreated the Fairy to settle in the kingdom where she now was,
to which she consented. She built herself a magnificent palace, to which
she transported her books and fairy secrets, and where she enjoyed the
sight of the perfect happiness she had helped to bestow on the entire
royal family.