have had a message from that city, and my agent has been drawing his
salary without doing any work. What possibly can have happened
there?"
When he read that the Princess had ridden alone from the city that
morning, and was travelling to the south, he was truly amazed.
"What on earth can it mean?" he exclaimed. "If the city of the Prince
were to the south of that of the Princess, then I might understand
it; for they would be going to see each other, and that would be
natural enough. But as his city is to the north of her city, they are
travelling in opposite directions. And what is the meaning of this? I
most certainly must find out."
The Inquisitive Dwarf had three servants whom he employed to attend
to his most important business. These were a Gryphoness, a Water
Sprite, and an Absolute Fool. This last one was very valuable; for
there were some things he would do which no one else would think of
attempting. The Dwarf called to him the Gryphoness, the oldest and
most discreet of the three, and told her of the departure of the
Princess.
"Hasten southward," he said, "as fast as you can, and follow her, and
do not return to me until you have found out why she left her city,
where she is going, and what she expects to do when she gets there.
Your appearance may frighten her; and, therefore, you must take with
you the Absolute Fool, to whom she will probably be willing to talk;
but you must see that every thing is managed properly."
Having despatched these two, the Inquisitive Dwarf then called the
Water Sprite, who was singing to herself at the edge of a fountain,
and telling her of the departure of the Prince, ordered her to follow
him, and not to return until she had found out why he left his city,
where he was going, and what he intended to do when he got there.
"The road to the north," he said, "lies along the river bank;
therefore, you can easily keep him company."
The Water Sprite bowed, and dancing over the dewy grass to the river,
threw herself into it. Sometimes she swam beneath the clear water;
sometimes she rose partly in the air, where she seemed like a little
cloud of sparkling mist borne onward by the wind; and sometimes she
floated upon the surface, her pale blue robes undulating with the
gentle waves, while her white hands and feet shone in the sun like
tiny crests of foam. Thus, singing to herself, she went joyously and
rapidly on, aided by a full, strong wind from the south. She did not
forget to glance every now and then upon the road which ran along the
river bank; and, in the course of the morning, she perceived the
Prince. He was sitting in the shade of a tree near the water's edge,
while his white horse was grazing near by.
The Water Sprite came very gently out of the river, and seating
herself upon the edge of the grassy bank, she spoke to him. The
Prince looked up in astonishment, but there was nothing in her
appearance to frighten him.
"I came," said the Water Sprite, "at the command of my master, to ask
you why you left your city, where you are going, and what you intend
to do when you get there."
The Prince then told her why he had left his city, and what he
intended to do when he had found the Princess.
"But where I am going," he said, "I do not know, myself. I must
travel and travel until I succeed in the object of my search."
The Water Sprite reflected for a moment, and then she said:
"If I were you, I would not travel to the north. It is cold and
dreary there, and your Princess would not dwell in such a region. A
little above us, on the other side of this river, there is a stream
which runs sometimes to the east and sometimes to the south, and
which leads to the Land of the Lovely Lakes. This is the most
beautiful country in the world, and you will be much more likely to
find your Princess there than among the desolate mountains of the
north."
"I dare say you are right," said the Prince; "and I will go there, if
you will show me the way."
"The road runs along the bank of the river," said the Water Sprite;
"and we shall soon reach the Land of the Lovely Lakes."
The Prince then mounted his horse, forded the river, and was soon
riding along the bank of the stream, while the Water Sprite gayly
floated upon its dancing ripples.
* * * * *
When the Gryphoness started southward, in pursuit of the Princess,
she kept out of sight among the bushes by the roadside; but sped
swiftly along. The Absolute Fool, however, mounted upon a fine horse,
rode boldly along upon the open road. He was a good-looking youth,
with rosy cheeks, bright eyes, and a handsome figure. As he cantered
gayly along, he felt himself capable of every noble action which the
human mind has ever conceived. The Gryphoness kept near him, and in
the course of the morning they overtook the Princess, who was
allowing her horse to walk in the shade by the roadside. The Absolute
Fool dashed up to her, and, taking off his hat, asked her why she had
left her city, where she was going, and what she intended to do when
she got there.
The Princess looked at him in surprise. "I left my city because I
wanted to," she said. "I am going about my business, and when I get
to the proper place, I shall attend to it."
"Oh," said the Absolute Fool, "you refuse me your confidence, do you?
But allow me to remark that I have a Gryphoness with me who is very
frightful to look at, and whom it was my intention to keep in the
bushes; but if you will not give fair answers to my questions, she
must come out and talk to you, and that is all there is about it."
"If there is a Gryphoness in the bushes," said the Princess, "let her
come out. No matter how frightful she is, I would rather she should
come where I can see her, than to have her hiding near me."
The Gryphoness, who had heard these words, now came out into the
road. The horse of the Princess reared in affright, but his young
rider patted him on the neck, and quieted his fears.
"What do you and this young man want?" said the Princess to the
Gryphoness, "and why do you question me?"
"It is not of our own will that we do it," said the Gryphoness, very
respectfully; "but our master, the Inquisitive Dwarf, has sent us to
obtain information about the points on which the young man questioned
you; and until we have found out these things, it is impossible for
us to return."
"I am opposed to answering impertinent questions," replied the
Princess; "but in order to rid myself of you, I will tell you the
reason of my journey." And she then stated briefly the facts of the
case.
"Ah, me!" said the Gryphoness. "I am very sorry; but you cannot tell
us where you are going, and we cannot return until we know that. But
you need not desire to be rid of us, for it may be that we can assist
you in the object of your journey. This young man is sometimes very
useful, and I shall be glad to do any thing that I can to help you.
If you should think that I would injure you, or willingly annoy you
by my presence, it would grieve me to the heart." And as she spoke, a
tear bedimmed her eye.
The Princess was touched by the emotion of the Gryphoness.
"You may accompany me," she said, "and I will trust you both. You
must know this country better than I do. Have you any advice to give
me in regard to my journey?"
"One thing I would strongly advise," said the Gryphoness, "and that
is, that you do not travel any farther until we know in what
direction it will be best to go. There is an inn close by, kept by a
worthy woman. If you will stop there until to-morrow, this young man
and I will scour the country round about, and try to find some news
of your Prince. The young man will return and report to you to-morrow
morning. And if you should need help, or escort, he will aid and obey
you as your servant. As for me, unless we have found the Prince, I
shall continue searching for him. There is a prince in the city to
the north of my master's tower, and it is not unlikely that it is he
whom you seek."
"You can find out if it is he," answered the Princess, "by asking
about the philopena."
"That will I do," said the Gryphoness, "and I will return hither as
speedily as possible." And, with a respectful salutation, the
Gryphoness and the Absolute Fool departed by different ways.
The Princess then repaired to the inn, where she took lodgings.
The next morning, the Absolute Fool came back to the inn, and seeing
the Princess, said: "I rode until after night-fall, searching for the
Prince, before it occurred to me that, even if I should find him, I
would not know him in the dark. As soon as I thought of that, I rode
straight to the nearest house, and slept until daybreak, when I
remembered that I was to report to you this morning. But as I have
heard no news of the Prince, and as this is a beautiful, clear day, I
think it would be extremely foolish to remain idly here, where there
is nothing of interest going on, and when a single hour's delay may
cause you to miss the object of your search. The Prince may be in one
place this morning, and there is no knowing where he will be in the
afternoon. While the Gryphoness is searching, we should search also.
We can return before sunset, and we will leave word here as to the
direction we have taken, so that when she returns, she can quickly
overtake us. It is my opinion that not a moment should be lost. I
will be your guide. I know this country well."
The Princess thought this sounded like good reasoning, and consented
to set out. There were some beautiful mountains to the south-east;
and among these, the Absolute Fool declared, a prince of good taste
would be very apt to dwell. They, therefore, took this direction. But
when they had travelled an hour or more, the mountains began to look
bare and bleak, and the Absolute Fool declared that he did not
believe any prince would live there. He therefore advised that they
turn into a road that led to the north-east. It was a good road; and
therefore he thought it led to a good place, where a person of good
sense would be likely to reside. Along this road they therefore
travelled. They had ridden but a few miles when they met three men,
well armed and mounted. These men drew up their horses, and
respectfully saluted the Princess.
"High-born Lady," they said, "for by your aspect we know you to be
such, we would inform you that we are the soldiers of the King, the
outskirts of whose dominions you have reached. It is our duty to
question all travellers, and, if their object in coming to our
country is a good one, to give them whatever assistance and
information they may require. Will you tell us why you are come?"
"Impertinent vassals!" cried the Absolute Fool, riding up in a great
passion. "How dare you interfere with a princess who has left her
city because it was so dull and stupid, and is endeavoring to find a
prince, with whom she has eaten a philopena, in order that she may
marry him. Out of my way, or I will draw my sword and cleave you to
the earth, and thus punish your unwarrantable curiosity!"
The soldiers could not repress a smile.
"In order to prevent mischief," they said to the Absolute Fool, "we
shall be obliged to take you into custody."
This they immediately did, and then requested the Princess to
accompany them to the palace of their King, where she would receive
hospitality and aid.
The King welcomed the Princess with great cordiality. He had no son,
and he much wished he had one; for in that case it might be his
Prince for whom the young lady was looking. But there was a prince,
he said, who lived in a city to the north, who was probably the very
man; and he would send and make inquiries. In the mean time, the
Princess would be entertained by himself and his Queen; and, if her
servant would make a suitable apology, his violent language would be
pardoned. But the Absolute Fool positively refused to do this.
"I never apologize," he cried. "No man of spirit would do such a
thing. What I say, I stand by."
"Very well," said the King; "then you shall fight a wild beast." And
he gave orders that the affair should be arranged for the following
day.
In a short time, however, some of his officers came to him and told
him that there were no wild beasts; those on hand having been kept so
long that they had become tame.
"To be sure, there's the old lion, Sardon," they said; "but he is so
dreadfully cross and has had so much experience in these fights, that
for a long time it has not been considered fair to allow any one to
enter the ring with him."
"It is a pity," said the King, "to make the young man fight a tame
beast; but, under the circumstances, the best thing to do will be to
represent the case to him, just as it is. Tell him we are sorry we
have not an ordinary wild beast; but that he can take his choice
between a tame one and the lion Sardon, whose disposition and
experience you will explain to him."
When the matter was stated to the Absolute Fool, he refused with
great scorn to fight a tame beast.
"I will not be degraded in the eyes of the public," he said; "I will
take the old lion."
The next day, the court and the public assembled to see the fight;
but the Queen and our Princess took a ride into the country, not
wishing to witness a combat of this kind, especially one which was so
unequal. The King ordered that every advantage should be given to the
young man, in order that he might have every possible chance of
success in fighting an animal which had been a victor on so many
similar occasions. A large iron cage, furnished with a turnstile,
into which the Absolute Fool could retire for rest and refreshment,
but where the lion could not follow him, was placed in the middle of
the arena, and the youth was supplied with all the weapons he
desired. When every thing was ready, the Absolute Fool took his stand
in the centre of the arena, and the door of the lion's den was
opened. The great beast came out, he looked about for an instant, and
then, with majestic step, advanced toward the young man. When he was
within a few paces of him, he crouched for a spring.
The Absolute Fool had never seen so magnificent a creature, and he
could not restrain his admiration. With folded arms and sparkling
eyes, he gazed with delight upon the lion's massive head, his long
and flowing mane, his magnificent muscles, and his powerful feet and
legs. There was an air of grandeur and strength about him which
completely enraptured the youth. Approaching the lion, he knelt
before him, and gazed with wondering ecstasy into his great, glowing
eyes. "What glorious orbs!" he inwardly exclaimed. "What unfathomable
expression! What possibilities! What reminiscences! And everywhere,
what majesty of curve!"
The lion was a good deal astonished at the conduct of the young man;
and he soon began to suppose that this was not the person he was to
fight, but probably a keeper, who was examining into his condition.
After submitting to this scrutiny a few minutes, he gave a mighty
yawn, which startled the spectators, but which delighted the Absolute
Fool; for never before had he beheld such a depth of potentiality. He
knelt in silent delight at this exhibition of the beauty of strength.
Old Sardon soon became tired of all this, however, and he turned and
walked back to his den. "When their man is ready," he thought to
himself, "I will come out and fight him."
One tremendous shout now arose from the multitude. "The youth has
conquered!" they cried. "He has actually frightened the lion back
into his den!" Rushing into the arena, they raised the Absolute Fool
upon their shoulders and carried him in triumph to the open square in
front of the palace, that he might be rewarded for his bravery. Here
the King, followed by his court, quickly appeared; for he was as much
delighted as any one at the victory of the young man.
"Noble youth," he exclaimed, "you are the bravest of the brave. You
are the only man I know who is worthy of our royal daughter, and you
shall marry her forthwith. Long since, I vowed that only with the
bravest should she wed."
At this moment, the Queen and the Princess, returning from their
ride, heard with joy the result of the combat; and riding up to the
victor, the Queen declared that she would gladly join with her royal
husband in giving their daughter to so brave a man.
The Absolute Fool stood for a moment in silent thought; then,
addressing the King, he said:
"Was Your Majesty's father a king?"
"He was," was the answer.
"Was his father of royal blood?"
"No; he was not," replied the King. "My grandfather was a man of the
people; but his pre-eminent virtue, his great ability as a statesman,
and the dignity and nobility of his character made him the unanimous
choice of the nation as its sovereign."
"I am sorry to hear that," said the Absolute Fool; "for it makes it
necessary for me to decline the kind offer of your daughter in
marriage. If I marry a princess at all, she must be one who can trace
back her lineage through a long line of royal ancestors." And as he
spoke, his breast swelled with manly pride.
For a moment, the King was dumb with rage. Then loudly he shouted:
"Ho, guards! Annihilate him! Avenge this insult!"
At these words, the sword of every by-stander leaped from its
scabbard; but, before any one could take a step forward, the Princess
seized the Absolute Fool by his long and flowing locks, and put spurs
to her horse. The young man yelled with pain, and shouted to
her to let go; but she held firmly to his hair, and as he was
extraordinarily active and fleet of foot, he kept pace with the
galloping horse. A great crowd of people started in pursuit, but as
none of them were mounted, they were soon left behind.
"Let go my hair! Let go my hair!" shouted the Absolute Fool, as he
bounded along. "You don't know how it hurts. Let go! Let go!"
But the Princess never relinquished her hold until they were out of
the King's domain.
"A little more," cried the indignant youth, when she let him go, "and
you would have pulled out a handful of my hair."
"A little less," said the Princess, contemptuously, "and you would
have been cut to pieces; for you have not sense enough to take care
of yourself. I am sorry I listened to you, and left the inn to which
the Gryphoness took me. It would have been far better to wait there
for her as she told me to do."
"Yes," said the Absolute Fool; "it would have been much better."
"Now," said the Princess, "we will go back there, and see if she has
returned."
"If we can find it," said the other, "which I very much doubt."
There were several roads at this point and, of course, they took the
wrong one. As they went on, the Absolute Fool complained bitterly
that he had left his horse behind him, and was obliged to walk.
Sometimes he stopped, and said he would go back after it; but this
the Princess sternly forbade.
* * * * *
When the Gryphoness reached the city of the Prince, it was night; but
she was not sorry for this. She did not like to show herself much in
the daytime, because so many people were frightened by her. After a
good deal of trouble, she discovered that the Prince had certainly
left the city, although his guardians did not seem to be aware of it.
They were so busy with a new palace, in part of which they were
living, that they could not be expected to keep a constant eye upon
him. In the morning, she met an old man who knew her, and was not
afraid of her, and who told her that the day before, when he was up
the river, he had seen the Prince on his white horse, riding on the
bank of the stream; and that near him, in the water, was something
which now looked like a woman, and again like a puff of mist. The
Gryphoness reflected.
"If this Prince has gone off in that way," she said to herself, "I
believe that he is the very one whom the Princess is looking for, and
that he has set out in search of her; and that creature in the water
must be our Water Sprite, whom our master has probably sent out to
discover where the Prince is going. If he had told me about this, it
would have saved much trouble. From the direction in which they were
going, I feel sure that the Water Sprite was taking the Prince to the
Land of the Lovely Lakes. She never fails to go there, if she can
possibly get an excuse. I will follow them. I suppose the Princess
will be tired, waiting at the inn; but I must know where the Prince
is, and if he is really her Prince, before I go back to her."
When the Gryphoness reached the Land of the Lovely Lakes, she
wandered all that day and the next night; but she saw nothing of
those for whom she was looking.
The Princess and the Absolute Fool journeyed on until near the close
of the afternoon, when the sky began to be overcast, and it looked
like rain. They were then not far from a large piece of water; and at
a little distance, they saw a ship moored near the shore.
"I shall seek shelter on board that ship," said the Princess.
"It is going to storm," remarked the Absolute Fool. "I should prefer
to be on dry land."
"As the land is not likely to be very dry when it rains," said the
Princess, "I prefer a shelter, even if it is upon wet water."
"Women will always have their own way," muttered the Absolute Fool.
The ship belonged to a crew of Amazon sailors, who gave the Princess
a hearty welcome.
"You may go on board if you choose," said the Absolute Fool to the
Princess, "but I shall not risk my life in a ship manned by women."
"It is well that you are of that opinion," said the Captain of the
Amazons, who had heard this remark; "for you would not be allowed to
come on board if you wished to. But we will give you a tent to
protect you and the horse in case it should rain, and will send you
something to eat."
"While the Princess was taking tea with the Amazon Captain, she told
her about the Prince, and how she was trying to find him.
"Good!" cried the Captain. "I will join in the search, and take you
in my ship. Some of my crew told me that yesterday they saw a young
man, who looked like a prince, riding along the shore of a lake which
adjoins the one we are on. In the morning we will sail after him. We
shall keep near the shore, and your servant can mount your horse and
ride along the edge of the lake. From what I know of the speed of
this vessel, I think he can easily keep up with us."
Early in the morning, the Amazon Captain called her crew together.
"Hurrah, my brave girls!" she said. "We have an object. I never sail
without an object, and it lights me to get one. The purpose of our
present cruise is to find the Prince of whom this Princess is in
search; and we must spare no pains to bring him to her, dead or
alive."
Luckily for her peace of mind, the Princess did not hear this speech.
The day was a fine one, and before long the sun became very hot. The
ship was sailing quite near the land, when the Absolute Fool rode
down to the water's edge, and called out that he had something very
important to communicate to the Princess. As he was not allowed to
come on board, she was obliged to go on shore, to which she was rowed
in a small boat.
"I have been thinking," said the Absolute Fool, "that it is perfectly
ridiculous, and very uncomfortable, to continue this search any
longer. I would go back, but my master would not suffer me to return
without knowing where you are going. I have, therefore, a plan to
propose. Give up your useless search for this Prince, who is probably
not nearly so handsome and intellectual as I am, and marry me. We
will then return, and I will assume the reins of government in your
domain."
"Follow the vessel," said the Princess, "as you have been doing; for
I wish some one to take care of my horse." And without another word,
she returned to the ship.
"I should like to sail as far as possible from shore during the rest
of the trip," said she to the Captain.
"Put the helm bias!" shouted the Amazon Captain to the steers-woman;
"and keep him well out from land."
When they had sailed through a small stream into the lake adjoining,
the out-look, who was swinging in a hammock hung between the tops of
the two masts, sang out, "Prince ahead!" Instantly all was activity
on board the vessel. Story books were tucked under coils of rope,
hem-stitching and embroidery were laid aside, and every woman was at
her post.
"The Princess is taking a nap," said the Captain, "and we will not
awaken her. It will be so nice to surprise her by bringing the Prince
to her. We will run our vessel ashore, and then steal quietly upon
him. But do not let him get away. Cut him down, if he resists!"