Produced by Delphine Lettau, Emmy and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
[Illustration: ALL THE COURT CROWDED OUT TO SEE
_See page 13_]
_GRANNY'S
WONDERFUL
CHAIR_
_From the Story by
FRANCES BROWNE_
_BLACKIE & SON LTD._
_London_ _Glasgow_ _Bombay_
_Printed and bound in Great Britain_
_STORIES OLD AND NEW_
_A small chosen library is like a walled garden where a child may safely
play. In that charmed seclusion the love of books, like the love of
flowers, grows of itself. If the reading habit is to be acquired, the
child ought from the first to be given real books, which may be handled
with pleasure and kept with pride--books containing literature suited to
its own age._
_This volume belongs to a series of "Stories Old and New" which has been
prepared specially for children. The books have been carefully chosen so
as to include, along with many charming stories by the best children's
authors of to-day, a due proportion of those older tales which never
grow old._
_To secure simplicity and right gradation, the text has been prepared
to suit the different ages of readers. Care has been given to the
illustration, print, and binding of the series, for it is believed that
this is the best way to secure from the children that careful handling
of the volumes which is the mark of the true book-lover._
CONTENTS
I INTRODUCTORY 6
II THE CHRISTMAS CUCKOO 18
III LADY GREENSLEEVES 51
IV CHILDE CHARITY 76
V SOUR AND CIVIL 92
VI PRINCE WISEWIT'S RETURN 118
GRANNY'S WONDERFUL CHAIR
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTORY
In an old time, long ago, when the fairies were in the world, there
lived a little girl so very fair and pleasant of look, that they called
her Snowflower. This girl was good as well as pretty. No one had ever
seen her frown or heard her say a cross word, and young and old were
glad when they saw her coming.
Snowflower had no relation in the world but a very old grandmother,
called Dame Frostyface. People did not like her quite so well as her
granddaughter, for she was cross enough at times, though always kind to
Snowflower. They lived together in a little cottage built of peat and
thatched with reeds, on the edge of a great forest. Tall trees sheltered
its back from the north wind, and the midday sun made its front warm and
cheerful. Swallows built in the eaves, and daisies grew thick at the
door.
But there were none in all that country poorer than Snowflower and her
grandmother. A cat and two hens were all their live stock. Their bed was
dry grass, and the only good piece of furniture in the cottage was a
great armchair with wheels on its feet, a black velvet cushion, and many
strange carvings of flowers and fairies on its dark oaken back.
On that chair Dame Frostyface sat spinning from morning till night, to
keep herself and her granddaughter, while Snowflower gathered sticks for
the fire, looked after the hens and the cat, and did whatever else her
grandmother bade her. There was nobody in that part of the country could
spin such fine yarn as Dame Frostyface, but she spun very slowly. Her
wheel was as old as herself, and far more worn-out. Indeed, the wonder
was that it did not fall to pieces. So what the dame earned was very
little, and their living was scanty. Snowflower, however, felt no want
of good dinners or fine clothes.
Every evening, when the fire was heaped with the sticks she had gathered
till it blazed and crackled up the cottage chimney, Dame Frostyface set
aside her wheel and told her a new story. Often did the little girl
wonder where her grandmother had gathered so many stories, but she soon
learned that.
One sunny morning, at the time of the coming of the swallows, the dame
rose up, put on the grey hood and cloak in which she carried her yarn to
the fairs, and said: "My child, I am going a long journey to visit an
aunt of mine, who lives far in the north country. I cannot take you with
me, because my aunt is the crossest woman alive, and never liked young
people. But the hens will lay eggs for you, and there is barley meal in
the barrel. And, as you have been a good girl, I'll tell you what to do
when you feel lonely. Lay your head gently down on the cushion of the
armchair and say, 'Chair of my grandmother, tell me a story'.
"The chair was made by a clever fairy, who lived in the forest when I
was young, and she gave it to me because she knew nobody could keep what
they got hold of better than I could. Remember, you must never ask a
story more than once in the day. If there is any need to travel, you
have only to seat yourself in it and say, 'Chair of my grandmother, take
me such a way'. It will carry you wherever you wish. But mind to oil the
wheels before you set out, for I have sat on it these forty years in
that same corner."
Having said this, Dame Frostyface set forth to see her aunt in the north
country. Snowflower gathered wood for the fire, and looked after the
hens and cat, as she had always done. She baked herself a cake or two of
the barley meal; but, when the evening came, the cottage looked lonely.
Then Snowflower remembered her grandmother's words, and, laying her head
gently down, she said: "Chair of my grandmother, tell me a story".
Hardly were the words spoken, when a clear voice from under the velvet
cushion began a new and most wonderful tale, which surprised Snowflower
so much that she forgot to be afraid. After that the good girl was
lonely no more. Every morning she baked a barley cake, and every evening
the chair told her a new story. But she could never find out to whom the
voice belonged, though Snowflower showed her thanks by keeping bright
the oaken back and dusting the velvet cushion, till the chair looked as
good as new.
The swallows came and built in the eaves, and the daisies grew thicker
than ever at the door, but great troubles fell upon Snowflower. In spite
of all her care she forgot to clip the hens' wings, and they flew away
one morning to visit their friends the pheasants, who lived far in the
forest. The cat went away to see its friends. The barley meal was eaten
up, except two handfuls, and Snowflower had often looked out in hope of
seeing the grey cloak, but Dame Frostyface did not come back.
"My grandmother stays long," said Snowflower to herself; "and by and by
there will be nothing left to eat. If I could get to her, perhaps she
would tell me what to do. Surely there is good need for me to travel."
Next day, at sunrise, Snowflower oiled the wheels of the chair, baked a
cake out of the last of the meal, took it in her lap by way of food for
the journey, seated herself, and said: "Chair of my grandmother, take me
the way she went".
At once the chair gave a creak, and began to move out of the cottage,
and into the forest, the very way Dame Frostyface had taken, where it
rolled along at the rate of a coach and six. Snowflower was amazed at
this way of travelling, but the chair never stopped nor stayed the whole
summer day, till as the sun was setting they came upon an open space,
where a hundred men were cutting down the tall trees with their axes, a
hundred more were splitting them for firewood, and twenty men, with
horses and wagons, were carrying the wood away.
"Oh! chair of my grandmother, stop!" said Snowflower, for she was tired,
and also wished to know what this might mean. The chair at once stood
still, and Snowflower, seeing an old woodcutter, who looked kind,
stepped up to him and said: "Good father, tell me why you cut all this
wood?"
"Where do you live," replied the man, "that you have not heard of the
great feast which King Winwealth means to give on the birthday of his
only daughter, Princess Greedalind? It will last for seven days.
Everybody will be feasted, and this wood is to roast the oxen and the
sheep, the geese and the turkeys, amongst whom there is great sorrow
throughout the land."
When Snowflower heard that, she could not help wishing to see, and
perhaps to share in, such a noble feast, after living so long on barley
cakes. So, seating herself, she said: "Chair of my grandmother, take me
quickly to the palace of King Winwealth."
The words were hardly spoken, when off the chair started through the
trees and out of the forest, to the great surprise of the woodcutters,
who, never having seen such a sight before, threw down their axes, left
their wagons, and went after Snowflower to the gates of a great and
splendid city, having strong walls and high towers, and standing in the
midst of a wide plain covered with cornfields, fruit gardens, and
villages.
It was the richest city in all the land. People from every part of the
land came there to buy and sell, and there was a saying that they had
only to live seven years in it to make their fortunes. Rich as they
were, however, Snowflower had never seen so many discontented, greedy
faces as looked out from the great shops, grand houses, and fine
coaches, when her chair rattled along the streets. Indeed, the people of
that city were not much thought of for either good nature or honesty.
But it had not been so when King Winwealth was young, and he and his
brother, Prince Wisewit, governed the land. Prince Wisewit knew the
whole art of governing, the tempers of men, and the powers of the
stars. Moreover, he was a very clever man, and it was said of him that
he could never die or grow old.
In his time there was neither discontent nor sickness in the city.
Strangers were kindly treated without price or questions. Then no one
went to law against his neighbour, and no one locked his door at night.
The fairies used to come there at May Day and Michaelmas, for they were
Prince Wisewit's friends--all but one, called Fortunetta, a
short-sighted but very cunning fairy, who hated everybody wiser than
herself, and above all the prince, because she could never cheat him.
There was peace and pleasure for many a year in King Winwealth's city,
till one day at midsummer Prince Wisewit went alone to the forest, in
search of a strange plant for his garden, but he never came back. Though
the King, with all his guards, looked for him far and near, no news was
ever heard of him. When his brother was gone, King Winwealth grew lonely
in his great palace, so he married a princess called Wantall, and
brought her home to be his queen.
This princess was neither handsome nor pleasant. People thought she must
have gained the King's love by the charms she worked, for her whole
dowry was a desert island, with a huge pit in it that could never be
filled, and she was so greedy that the more she got the greedier she
grew. In course of time the King and Queen had an only daughter, who was
to be the heiress of all the kingdom. Her name was the Princess
Greedalind, and the whole city were at that time preparing to keep her
birthday. Not that they cared much for the Princess, who was very like
her mother both in looks and temper; but being King Winwealth's only
daughter, people came from far and near to the feast, and among them
strangers and fairies who had not been there since the day of Prince
Wisewit.
There was great stir about the palace, a most noble building, so large
that it had a room for every day in the year. All the floors were of
beautiful dark wood, and all the roofs of silver; and there was such a
large number of golden dishes used by the household, that five hundred
men kept guard night and day lest any of them should be stolen.
When these guards saw Snowflower and her chair, they ran one after the
other to tell the King, for the like had never been seen nor heard of in
his kingdom, and all the Court crowded out to see the little maiden and
her chair that came of itself.
When Snowflower saw the lords and ladies in their fine robes and
splendid jewels, she began to feel ashamed of her own bare feet and
linen gown. But at length taking courage, she answered all their
questions, and told them everything about her wonderful chair. The Queen
and the Princess cared for nothing that was not gilt. The people of the
Court had learned to do the same, and all turned away in great scorn
except the old King, who, thinking the chair might amuse him sometimes
when he got into low spirits, allowed Snowflower to stay and feast in
his worst kitchen.
The poor girl was glad of any place, though nobody made her
welcome--even the servants looked down upon her bare feet and linen
gown. They would give her chair no room but in a dusty corner behind the
back door, where Snowflower was told that she might sleep at night, and
eat up the scraps the cook threw away.
That very day the feast began. It was fine to see the great crowds of
coaches and people on foot and on horseback who came to the palace, and
filled every room according to their rank. Never had Snowflower seen
such roasting and boiling. There was wine for the lords and ale for the
common people, music and dancing of all kinds, and the best of gay
dresses. But with all the good cheer there seemed little joy, and a
great deal of ill humour in the palace.
Some of the guests thought they should have been feasted in grander
rooms. Others were vexed to see many finer than themselves. All the
servants were very displeased because they did not get presents. There
was somebody caught every hour stealing the cups, and a great number of
people were always at the gates shouting for goods and lands, which
Queen Wantall had taken from them. The guards were always driving them
away, but they came back again, and could be heard plainly in the
highest hall. So it was not wonderful that the old King's spirits were
very low that evening after supper. His page, who always stood behind
him, seeing this, reminded His Majesty of the little girl and her chair.
"It is a good thought," said King Winwealth. "I have not heard a story
this many a year. Bring the child and the chair at once!"
The page sent someone to the first kitchen, who told the master-cook;
the master-cook told the kitchen-maid; the kitchen-maid told the
dust-boy, and he told Snowflower to wash her face, rub up her chair, and
go to the highest hall, for the great King Winwealth wished to hear a
story.
Nobody offered to help her; but when Snowflower had made herself as
smart as she could with soap and water, and rubbed the chair till it
looked as if dust had never fallen on it, she seated herself and said:
"Chair of my grandmother, take me to the highest hall."
At once the chair marched in a grave and courtly manner out of the
kitchen, up the grand staircase, and into the highest hall. The chief
lords and ladies of the land were feasting there, besides many fairies
and noble people from far-off countries. There had never been such
company in the palace since the time of Prince Wisewit. Nobody wore less
than the finest satin.
[Illustration: ALL CAME TO TALK WITH SPARE
_See page 32_]
King Winwealth sat on his ivory throne in a robe of purple velvet, stiff
with flowers of gold. The Queen sat by his side in a robe of silver
cloth clasped with pearls. But the Princess Greedalind was finer still,
the feast being in her honour. She wore a robe of cloth of gold clasped
with diamonds. Two waiting-ladies in white satin stood, one on either
side, to hold her fan and handkerchief, and two pages, in gold-lace
livery, stood behind her chair. With all that, Princess Greedalind
looked ugly and spiteful. She and her mother were angry to see a
barefooted girl and an old chair allowed to enter the highest hall.
The supper table was still covered with golden dishes, and the best of
good things, but no one offered Snowflower a morsel. So, having made a
humble bow to the King, the Queen, the Princess, and the good company,
most of whom hardly noticed her, the poor little girl sat down upon the
carpet, laid her head on the velvet cushion, as she used to do in the
old cottage, and said: "Chair of my grandmother, tell me a story."
Everybody was greatly surprised, even the angry Queen and the spiteful
Princess, when a clear voice from under the cushion said: "Listen to the
story of the Christmas Cuckoo."