In the Dwarf's Palace.
Now I knew that Germany was the very country for Dwarfs and Fairies,
and when I heard that this was where we were going next I determined to
be on the look out. I did not see them, though, for a long time after we
arrived, for I was so tremendously interested in everything else. Even
in the big cities where Father spent hours and hours in the hospitals,
watching the wonderful things that the German doctors did, most of the
children looked plump and rosy, and I didn't see any so thin and pale
as those we had left at home. One of the Herr Professors, with whom we
stayed, said that this was because the State made so kind a Grandmother,
but when I asked him what he meant, he only laughed.
I liked this professor best of all--he had such a nice way of talking,
and he loved Fairies as much as I do. He said "_Ach! So!_" when I told
him I was a Christmas Child, and smiled all over his kind old face. Then
he put his hand on my shoulder, and told me that I must remember to do
my part to make my birthday the gladdest day in the year for everyone
around me.
"It is different in your country," he went on, "but here, in the
Fatherland, there is scarcely a cottage home which has not its Christmas
tree, even if this is only a branch of fir stuck in a broken pot, and
hung with oranges and golden balls. No child is so poor but has his
Christmas presents of cakes and toys, for if his mother cannot provide
them, she tells his teacher in good time, and the teacher sees that he
is not forgotten."
I thought this was a ripping plan, for it is horrid when Santa Claus
forgets you, and your stockings hang all limp and flat, like mine did
last year. And I made up my mind, then and there, that next Christmas
there should be a tree for all the littlest and grubbiest children in my
old home.
While Father was at the hospitals with the Herr Professor, I stayed with
Rudolf and Gretchen, two of his grandchildren--fat little things with
big blue eyes, who stared at me as if I had seven heads when I told them
about the Korrigans. Gretchen believed in Fairies of all kinds, but
Rudolf only in Dwarfs and Giants. He even said that Santa Claus was
just his own father dressed up, and declared he had seen his old brown
pipe peeping out of Santa Claus' pocket the last time he paid them a
visit. Gretchen said that if so, Santa Claus had taken away the old
brown pipe to bring a lovely new one in its place, and Rudolf told her
girls knew too much. They were both angry by this time, and their faces
looked very red. So I thought we had better talk about Dwarfs and
Giants.
"Grandfather says there are no Giants now," Rudolph said seriously, "but
there are plenty of Dwarfs in the hill which looks down on the forest. I
saw one there myself last summer; he ran away and wouldn't speak to me,
as if he were afraid."
Without saying anything to Rudolf, who might have wanted to come too, I
started for the hill directly after dinner, while he and Gretchen were
arguing again over the pipe and Santa Claus. The Professor's house was
just at the end of the town, so I didn't have far to go; but the hill
took much longer to climb than I thought it would, and I was quite out
of breath when I reached the top and sat down on a flat white stone. As
I looked about me, I swung my foot, and it tapped against a biggish rock
that was just in front. The third time that I did this, a little brown
man hopped briskly out of a crevice and stood before me. He wore a
bright red coat trimmed with green buttons, and carried in his hand a
close-fitting cap of grey.
[Illustration: Fat little things, with big blue eyes.]
"Gently, gently, good child!" he cried. "One knock is enough, if we want
to hear it, for our ears are as keen as we could wish. Why did you call
me, and what would you have?"
"I would hear of you, and of your kinsmen, Master Dwarf!" I said. "I am
a Christmas Child, and the Fairies are all my friends."
At this he bowed, and said he was glad to meet me, nodding his head with
a sort of grunt as I told him where I had met Titania.
"If it be your pleasure," he said, looking round to see that no one was
near but me, "I will take you within the hill, and introduce you to my
wife. The ground whereon you stand is hollow, as you will soon perceive,
and we are less than a stone's throw from my palace."
I told him that nothing would please me more than to pay him a visit,
and muttering a word in some strange language, he rapped his knuckles on
a cleft in the rock. It widened sufficiently to let us both through, and
closed again with a thud.
The winding passage in which I found myself was lit by a soft red glow,
coming from hundreds of rubies set deep in the walls, which seemed to
be of oxidised silver. After several twists and turns, it ended in a
wide hall, where I could just stand upright under the jewelled dome! As
soon as my eyes grew accustomed to the blaze of light which came from
the diamond stars set round it, I saw a sweet little creature in a frock
of pale purple silk, cut short in the sleeves to show her pretty white
arms, on which she wore many bracelets.
"My wife!" said the Dwarf proudly, and he explained to her who I was and
what I wanted, and a great deal more about me that I was astonished he
should know. My surprise amused him a good deal, and as his wife led the
way to her boudoir he chuckled merrily.
"There are Kobolds, or House-Spirits in most old houses," he remarked,
"and it is more than two hundred years since the first stone was laid of
the Herr Professor's. I knew this noon that you were coming, and the
Kobold spoke well of you, and said that you were not above taking advice
from others wiser than yourself. Now, sir! What do you think of this?"
And he opened a door with a great flourish, holding it back for me to
enter.
"It's grand!" I said, for so it was. The silver floor was inlaid with
a gold scroll; the walls, of tinted mother-o'-pearl, were adorned with
wreaths of forget-me-nots, each tiny turquoise flower having an amber
centre. The furniture was of filigree silver, so fragile to look at
that I was afraid to touch it, much less to sit down on one of the tiny
chairs, even if I could have fitted myself in. The Dwarf invited me to
be seated, and his small wife gave me a roguish smile as she brought a
velvet cushion from an inner room, and placed this on the ground. I
found afterwards that it was the Dwarfs own bed, and that his pillow was
made of spun spider silk, filled with scented roseleaves and wild thyme.
[Illustration: The Dwarf invited me to be seated.]
[Illustration]
"When you are rested and refreshed," said the Dwarf kindly, as his
little spouse offered me a sip of nectar from a crystal goblet, "I will
show you my palace. There is not much to see, for we are humble folk,
and this hill comparatively a small one. The estates of some of our
nobles extend for miles, and that of our Emperor runs through a range
of mountains. In times gone by we welcomed mortals as our guests, for
we were anxious to be their friends. But they grudged us even a handful
of peas in return, and met our advances with jeers. Now we keep to our
hills as far as possible, and when we desire to walk abroad, we are
careful to wear our mist caps, which render us quite invisible."
He sighed so deeply that the dainty lace cap poised on his wee wife's
hair was almost blown away, and then, straightening his bent shoulders,
he took me to see his Banquet Hall. The curtains were all of filigree
silver, fine as lace, and on the walls of the kitchen, where silent
little men in big white aprons kneaded cakes on crystal slabs, shone
ruby and sapphire butterflies.
But this was nothing to what I saw in the long low vault where the Dwarf
kept his treasures. At one end was a shimmering heap of pearls, some
larger than pigeons' eggs; at another, a conical mound of diamonds,
which threw out marvellous lights as the Dwarf stirred them gently with
one small hand.
"We know the properties of each stone," he said; "how some give
strength, and some wisdom and power to rule, while others still stir
up strife and envy, and make men merciless as beasts of prey. That
ruby you see has an evil history; a woman gave her soul for it, and
thousands were slain in her cause."
I picked up the beautiful, glowing gem, and fancied I saw the face of an
evil demon grinning at me from its depths. Dropping it quickly, I looked
instead at a pile of rings at the other side of the vault. One in
particular drew my attention; it was of beaten gold, with a curious
stone set deep in its centre. As I held it aloof and stared at it, I
caught a glimpse of a waving meadow, with a tiny path leading past a
brook.
"That is the ring which the Queen of Lombardy gave to her son, Otnit,"
said the Dwarf. "Come with me to the Court of Rest, and you shall hear
the story."
This was the loveliest place which I had yet seen in the palace. A
circle of orange trees in full bloom enclosed a space round a rippling
fountain, where from the gleaming beak of an opal bird a stream of water
splashed into an emerald basin. The invisible wind that stirred the
petals of the orange blossom brought with it the swish of the sea, and
somewhere, far off, a nightingale was singing.
The Dwarf seated himself on one of the velvet cushions strewn on the
ground, and motioning me to take another, began his tale.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
Dwarf Elberich and the Emperor.
"Otnit, Emperor of Lombardy, was one of the greatest kings that ever
lived. By force of wisdom more than by might, he subdued the surrounding
nations, and his people looked up to him as to a god. When the time came
for him to wed, no maid in his wide dominions pleased his fancy, for
the wife he pictured in his dreams was sweet and simple, though of royal
birth, and quite unspoiled by praise and flattery. He told his ministers
this, and they shrugged their shoulders.
'His Majesty desires the impossible!' they whispered amongst themselves,
and so it seemed until the Emperor's Uncle Elias, the wild-bearded King
of the Russians, told him of a highborn maid who was as good as she was
beautiful, and had never yet been wooed by man.
'She shines o'er other women as bright roses do!' he cried, and Otnit
vowed to win her.
On the eve of his departure for Syria, where she dwelt with her father
the Soldan, Otnit's mother gave him the ring you held, bidding him take
his horse and ride toward Rome while gazing at the gem in the ring, that
what he saw there might direct his path. The Emperor smiled, but wishing
to humour her, did as she requested, and rode through the silver
starlight thinking of his fair maid. At early dawn, when the welkin rang
with the song of birds, he saw mirrored in the ring a narrow pathway
trodden in the green grass. Making his way by this fragrant road, he
reached a linden tree by a lake. Here he stayed his courser, and sprang
to the ground, peering beneath its boughs.
'Never yet from tree came so sweet-breathing a wind,' he laughed; for
lo! an infant lay on the grass, his fair white frock fringed with many
gems. Otnit found it all he could do to lift him, in spite of his
strength, but placing the little creature on the saddle, declared his
intention of taking him to the palace, and putting him in his mother's
care.
But this did not please Dwarf Elberich, who for his own purpose had
taken the form of an innocent babe. He offered Otnit such splendid
ransom of sword and shield to set him free, that the Emperor laid him
down again, and even allowed him to hold the magic ring, by the wearing
of which it had been possible for him to see what is usually hidden from
mortal sight.
Now it was Elberich's turn, and being once more invisible, he teased
the Emperor to his heart's content, dwelling on the anger of the
Queen-Mother should she find that her gift was lost. Not until the
Emperor was out of patience, and on the point of riding away did
Elberich restore the ring to him.
'And now, O Otnit,' he said, 'since I see you love well your mother,
whom I loved long ere you saw the light, I will help you to gain your
bride.'
And Otnit was glad, for he knew that the word of a Dwarf is ever as good
as his bond.
In the spring of the year, 'when all the birds were singing,' the
Emperor called his friends together and bade them embark their troops
with his in the ships at anchor in the harbour. The waters of the bay
gleamed as a field of gold as the stately vessels glided over them, and
for long the carols of the birds on shore went with them on the breeze.
Otnit's hopes were high as he paced the deck, though he grieved that the
Dwarf had not come to join him.
At length the fleet reached the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean,
and there King Otnit beheld a haven full of ships, far more in number
than his own. 'I would that Elberich were here, for he is skilled in
warfare,' he murmured uneasily, for his men looked askance at the fleet
before them. The words had barely left his lips when the sound of a
laugh came from aloft, and straightway the Dwarf displayed himself. He
had been in hiding amongst the rigging, and was now at hand to use his
Fairy powers in Otnit's service.
Elberich's gift of a small round stone, which he bade him thrust into
his cheek, conferred upon Otnit the gift of language, and enabled him
to impersonate a rich merchant with so much success that his ship was
allowed to drop anchor in the harbour. When dusk had fallen, and all
was quiet, the Emperor disembarked, encamping with his troops among the
rock-hewn burial places of the ancient Phoenicians, which abounded on
that coast. Here he abode for three whole days, while Elberich sought
the King of Syria, demanding his daughter's hand in marriage for his
royal master. It was refused point blank, and, more than this, the
Soldan ordered his unwelcome visitor to be put to death. But the
flashing blades of the guards cut the empty air, and Elberich jeered at
them finely.
[Illustration: Elberich had jeered him finely.]
[Illustration]
'Your daughter shall go to my lord of her own free will,' he cried to
the Soldan, 'and only so shall your skull be saved!' He then returned to
the Emperor, who bade his troops attack the city of Sidon.
A desperate battle with the heathen followed; for awhile the enemy's
numbers triumphed, but not for long. The Emperor's charge swept all
before him, and the Soldan's soldiers fell like corn before the scythe.
Then the Dwarf led the army to the Syrian capital; and red as had been
the field of Sidon, it was as nothing to that of Muntabur, where men's
blood flowed as a crimson river.
While yet the battle was at its height, Elberich made his way, unseen,
to an inner chamber of the Royal Palace, and though he had come to
rate the Princess for her father's obstinacy, words forsook him in her
presence. So fair a maid he had never seen; her mouth 'flamed like the
rose,' her flowing hair was the colour of rich red gold, and her lovely
eyes had the radiance of the moon. Elberich drew her to the window, and
by the aid of his power over space, showed her King Otnit in the thick
of the fight. The sun fell full on his upturned face, as, seated on his
white charger, he rallied his men for the final onslaught; he looked as
brave a knight as the Princess had ever seen, and she lowered her glance
as Elberich told her how she could save her father.
'Death alone can wean King Otnit's desire to wed you,' he said. 'His
love for you passes the love of man, and is withal as tender as that of
a woman for her child.'
Much more Elberich spake to her to the same purpose, and at close of day
she allowed him to lead her where he would. Together they passed through
a secret passage beneath the Palace, and so through the royal gardens,
to a path which wound down to the field of battle.
Fighting had ceased for awhile, for the heathen had been sore smitten;
and since his men had neither eaten nor slept for many long hours,
the Emperor must needs let them rest until dawn. Full of impatience at
the delay which kept him from storming the walls that held the lady of
his love, he paced his tent, and turned to find her standing before him.
Her mouth flamed red as the reddest rose; her eyes had the lustre of the
harvest moon, and her red-gold hair framed a snowy brow that was white
as the breast of a swan. Bending his knee, he touched with his lips the
hem of her gown, and when the Princess gave him her exquisite hand, he
could scarce breathe for rapture.
[Illustration: "'She is yours, O Otnit!' cried the Dwarf"]
'She is yours, O Otnit!' cried the Dwarf; and the Emperor lifted her on
to his charger, speaking to her with such tender and kindly words that
her fears were stilled. With Elberich perched on the horse's mane,
they straightway rode to the coast, where the sails of the Emperor's
vessel swelled roundly in the wind. On the summer seas of the blue
Mediterranean, they two were wed; and never had mortal man a sweeter
wife, or maid a more gallant husband."
[Illustration]
[Illustration]