high.
This noble giant was generally beloved and esteemed, for in spite of his
capricious and brusque character, he was ever ready to exert his
superhuman strength in the defence of the weak. He rebuked the powerful,
exterminated brigands and robbers, and cleared the roads of highwaymen.
From the tower of his castle, which he had built on high ground, he had
a commanding view of the surrounding country.
He never left his castle except to inflict punishment on the wicked, or
in order to protect the weak.
He consecrated all his leisure to his dear and beautiful daughter Helen.
She was his only child by his beloved wife, who died in giving her
birth.
From her childhood Helen was accustomed to a secluded life and had never
left the castle grounds. In summer she amused herself with her sewing on
the top of the tower.
[Illustration: HE NEVER LEFT HIS CASTLE EXCEPT TO INFLICT PUNISHMENT ON
THE WICKED]
One day, when her father was scouring the country, she ventured to take
a little walk in the Valley of the Brook. She had only taken a few steps
outside the castle grounds when, on turning the corner of a little path,
she found herself face to face with a knight in armour, of comely
appearance.
[Illustration: SHE VENTURED TO TAKE A LITTLE WALK]
As soon as the latter saw Helen, he stood still, spellbound by the youth
and beauty of the young girl. He loved her at first sight, and bewitched
by her shy, maidenly demeanour, flung himself at her feet. Helen, for
her part, stood bewildered at these demonstrations of respect and
adoration.
Suddenly her father appeared, followed by four prisoners he had
captured. He was leading them by a cord. He took in the situation at a
glance, and said to the knight, who was lost in contemplation of the
young maiden, “How dare you kneel at my daughter’s feet?”
“Sire,” replied the knight, “pardon me, I pray you. I love your
daughter, and love has drawn me to her feet.”
Helen trembled, for she had also fallen in love.
“Who are you?” asked the giant.
He questioned the knight in such a severe manner that the maiden
shivered, and blushing with shame took her father’s hand, murmuring
words only intelligible to him.
“I am Harry of Housestone,” replied the young man; “I was knighted by
Lothario.”
“That is sufficient; be quite frank with me.”
“I see your gentle daughter for the first time. The sight of her fills
me with a happiness which radiates through all my being. I feel that
without her life is not worth living. If, sire, I am fortunate enough to
have won her favour, I pray you to give me her hand.”
“You are worthy to be my son-in-law,” replied the giant. “However, I
have sworn that I will only give her in marriage to whoever shall be
able to construct a paved roadway in a single night. The next day at
dawn he must be able to take her on horseback down the Causeway bordered
by columns to St. George’s Chapel.”
After this speech he glanced ironically at the knight, and taking Helen
by the hand led her home. As she was about to cross the threshold the
young maiden cast a sad and tender glance at the Knight of Housestone,
who was completely disheartened by the giant’s impossible demands.
[Illustration: TOOK HER FATHER’S HAND]
“Let me consider,” said the young lover, suddenly raising his head, “if
there is a way to perform this task.”
But by the time he had estimated the length of the ground and the depth
of the ravine on which he had to construct a paved way in a single
night, and had realized the impossibility of carting the necessary
stones for the colonnade, he groaned and sighed in dire despair.
“Night is falling,” he cried; “I will try my last resource. I will go
and see if the miners who work in my uncle’s copper-mines could do this
work before dawn.”
He at once started off to the Sunny Wood; he summoned the overseers and
asked them if they could build a paved roadway from the Giant’s Castle
to the town gates in a single night.
The overseers answered him that it would take at least a year, employing
a thousand workmen a day, to execute such a work.
Harry, in deep dismay, took his homeward road, completely overwhelmed by
his misfortunes. On the way he saw a little black-haired man, with a
tall green hat and white pointed beard, leaning against a tree. He was
not more than three feet high. He looked at the young knight with
flaming eyes.
[Illustration: HE WAS NO MORE THAN THREE FEET HIGH]
“You look sorrowful, Knight of Housestone; no mortal power can help you
in your distress ... but if you like I can overcome your difficulties.”
“Oh, whoever you may be, you are very welcome,” replied the knight,
holding out his hand. “But who are you?”
“I am the spirit of the copper-mines your uncle is working. I live in
the underground caves, and his excavations are a source of great
annoyance to me. If you will promise that the mining shall cease, that
the galleries and shafts shall be filled in, in order that I and my
companions may live in peace in the bowels
[Illustration: LED BY TWO PAGES]
of the earth, we will this night construct the road and the colonnade
demanded by the giant. To-morrow you will marry Helen.”
[Illustration: ABOUT MIDNIGHT A TERRIBLE STORM AROSE]
“I can promise no such thing, for my uncle has a son who is heir to all
he possesses.”
“His son, who was a good-for-nothing, was killed this morning by a
man-at-arms whom he had had flogged yesterday. You are now your uncle’s
sole heir.”
After saying a prayer for the repose of the soul of his cousin, Harry
placed his left hand on the hilt of his sword, and holding out the other
to the dwarf, he said, “I swear to do as you request immediately after
my uncle’s death.”
“Enough,” replied the dwarf, “to-morrow at dawn repair to the spot where
the road should begin, and all you will have to do is to fetch your
bride.”
About midnight a terrible storm arose, the wind rooted up the tall
trees, and the thunder rolled.
Helen, aroused by these alarming sounds, shaking with fear, got up and
sought protection in her father’s room.
[Illustration: THE GIANT, HIS DAUGHTER, AND THE KNIGHT]
“Do not be alarmed, my child,” the giant said softly, “it is the devil
chasing some wild beast of the forest.”
“But do you not hear the sound of hammers, the rumbling of wheelbarrows,
and confused noises, as though a crowd of men were at work?”
“It is possible,” replied the giant, looking out of the window; “but if
Housestone is attempting to perform the task I set him, he must be mad.”
As he shut the window again a puff of wind blew out the lamp. At the
same moment the storm abated, and all was calm and still as on other
nights.
Helen had not a moment’s rest. At daybreak she ran up to the tower. Her
surprise and joy were boundless when she saw a magnificent archway
glittering in front of the castle, and beyond it stretched a splendid
road, at the end of which she saw Harry of Housestone mounted on a black
horse, followed by a beautiful white ambling nag, led by two pages.
On hearing her joyous cries her father appeared. All the giant had
demanded was done. The Knight of Housestone was married to Helen the
same day, and on his uncle’s death he faithfully fulfilled his promise
to the dwarf of the underworld. He ordered the shafts and galleries to
be filled up in the copper-mines, and to this day no one has been able
to discover where they are.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
THE KEY-FLOWER
In Flanders the cowslip is called the key-flower. The story I am about
to tell you will explain why it is so named.
A little child died. Its little soul was as innocent and pure as freshly
fallen snow. As a dove freed after long captivity flies straight into
the blue sky, so the little soul flew into God’s Heaven and knocked at
the gate.
St. Peter with his large golden key drew back the heavy lock, half
opened the door and looked through the crack.
On seeing who was there, he opened the door wide and welcomed in the new
little angel.
But behold, when the Saint was about to close the door, he let fall the
bunch of keys with a thud on the golden threshold. Before he was able to
pick them up they had slipped from the threshold into the fathomless
blue.
They fell through space for two or three days and landed in a cemetery
at the entrance to a little village.
Scarcely had they touched the earth, where they sparkled amidst the
grass and the flowers, when a beautiful new flower sprang to life which
had never been seen on earth before and was therefore without a name.
Early next morning a little orphan girl went to the cemetery to put
flowers on her mother’s grave. She soon discovered this strange flower
poised so proudly on its stalk. She was very surprised to find the
pretty little bell flowers, which were certainly not growing there the
day before, and which she had never seen.
She stooped down to examine the plant more closely and was amazed to
find in the bushes a bunch of golden keys held together by a gold ring
on which she read the word “Heaven.”
The discovery of the new flower and the bunch of keys was fully
discussed in the village, and the news spread far and wide. Every one
came to see the new flower. They called it the Key of Heaven, by which
name it has been known ever since.
[Illustration: HE LET FALL THE BUNCH OF KEYS]
[Illustration: RIPE NUTS IN THEIR CUPS]
THE OGRE
This time I am going to talk about myself, to tell you something that
really happened to me. If you do not believe this you must not listen. I
can only tell this story to children who are quite sure that I speak the
truth.
I was between six and seven years old and still learning my letters at
school. One fine Sunday afternoon in September I went with five or six
of my schoolfellows into the Aulnes wood.
It was the nut season, and we knew there were a number of nut-trees in
the wood.
After gathering nuts for some time on the edge of the wood, it happened
that in going from tree to tree we gradually separated from each other.
Before I became aware of it, I was deep in the wood. There I discovered
a sort of hedge where the nuts grew so plentifully that I could hardly
believe my eyes.
The spreading branches were weighed down with nuts in bunches of four,
five, or even six ripe nuts in their yellow cups, hanging so temptingly.
At first I ate a good many and had a regular feast. I had never eaten
such nuts! There were no bad ones and no empty shells. When I had eaten
as many as I wanted, I filled my pockets, all my pockets. First the
pockets of my Sunday coat, then my trouser pockets. I then filled my cap
and tied some up in my handkerchief. Just as I was thinking that I could
put in a few more I noticed that it was very still and lonely in the
wood and that the nuts did not show up so plainly among the leaves.
[Illustration: I FILLED MY POCKETS]
High above my head the last rays of the sunset shone among the branches
of the huge elms, oaks, and poplars. Here and there a bird chirped on
its nest, and far away towards the sunset I heard the sound of wheels on
the road.
I could not hear my companions, but no doubt they were within call, they
could not be far off. I put my hands to my mouth and shouted: “Hallo!
John! Peter Little Carrots! George!”
I called them all and shouted their names one after the other, shouting
louder and louder in all directions. But only the echo answered me. When
I shouted John, the echo mockingly replied “Ohn,” and when I shouted
George, it replied “Orge.”
Suddenly my heart sank within me, the last rays of light disappeared
above my head and with startling rapidity darkness fell among the trees
and bushes. The darkness seemed to grow out of the ground. The birds
were silent. A cold breeze shook the branches, and far, far away a
little bell rang out the Angelus.
I recognized the bell, it was our village bell. I knew that the carriage
I had heard was the post-cart which was returning from Ternath to
Lennick.
It was in the direction of these two sounds that I had to find a road,
however. I could not imagine how far I was from the edge of the wood,
and it was imperative that I should reach the fields before darkness
overtook me.
I started off with my cap full of nuts in one hand and my handkerchief
full in the other.
After going a few steps, I shouted again, “John! Peter!” but this time
even the echo made no reply and my voice sounded so strangely in my ears
that I did not recognize it.
I ran for about an hour and a half, when all at once I felt as though I
was bound with ropes and I fell. I was held fast by the long tendrils of
a blackberry-bush which I had not noticed in the gathering darkness.
I dropped my handkerchief and could barely distinguish it in the
darkness.
I then shouted again as loudly as ever I could until I lost courage and
could shout no more. I dared not, I dared not, because of the terrible
silence which seemed to close round me. The silence was so uncanny that
I distinctly heard the blood coursing through my veins.
I was alone, alone in the vast never-ending forest, lost, strayed, and
far from the road when night fell. I thought of home, of my gentle
mother and my good father. I thought of the terrible anxiety they would
be in when I did not return. Feeling my way I sat down on the roots of a
tree and began to cry....
I then closed my eyes as tightly as ever I could in order to see
nothing. I meant to sit there and see what would happen, but when I
raised my eyes to say a short prayer, I saw a soft light piercing
through the roof of branches above my head, which seemed to me like a
smiling face trying to throw its silver rays upon me.
It was the moon; she was rising in the opposite direction to which I had
seen the last rays of the sinking sun. As my eyes grew accustomed to the
light I began to distinguish things around me. At first the tree-trunks,
some as thick as my body, others as thick as my head, others as thick as
my legs and arms. Then I saw the shrubs and bushes, the flowers in the
grass, and the ferns.
[Illustration: I SAW SOMETHING WHITE]
Suddenly I saw something white--a little weasel--which approached very
cautiously. Had I moved a little twig? Quick as lightning the little
fellow darted off. I saw him disappearing like a white arrow.
Now I could see I was not so frightened. I got up, emptied my cap and
put it on my head, determined to try once again to find a path. I
started off in the same direction as the weasel had disappeared. I had
walked for about a quarter of an hour when, my heart beating violently,
I stopped--something like a star shone very low, low among the
foliage--no, so low that it could not be a star--it must be either a
light from a lantern or a window. Certainly some one must be passing
with a light or living in a little house.
However far it might be, I decided to walk towards it. I groped on hands
and knees, keeping out of the way of brambles and bushes. Then it was
easier walking among the trunks of the tall trees. I was always trying
to reach the light. Oh, dear! what a long way it was. The moon was
already far behind me above the trees. It was a beautiful starlit night.
Far, far away a church clock struck. I could not tell this time if it
were our village clock; it struck nine and still I had not reached the
light. Sometimes it grew larger, then it disappeared for some time. I
was very frightened. Would it never appear again? Thank heavens! the
little star twinkled once more ... suddenly it was so near that I could
see it growing. Now it was as large as an egg--then as large as an
orange--and finally I saw it as large as the face of the moon high among
the bushes. Now I could see how the light showed up in a disc on a dark
surface. A few steps farther and I found myself outside a little house.
A light shone through a round opening in the shutter. Under the window
was an old broken barrel. There was no sound to be heard in the house.
Could I dare to knock? Did robbers, a witch, or, worse still, an ogre
live there?
[Illustration: COULD I DARE TO KNOCK?]
To stay out all night was equally dangerous; there might be wolves or
savage dogs in the wood, and witches and ogres could soon scent me out.
I tapped on the shutter, and very soon heard footsteps approaching.
“Who knocks so late?” asked an anxious voice.
“I am a little boy from a neighbouring village, I have lost my
companions and have been wandering for three hours in the wood. Please
open the door and let me come in.”
I heard the sound of a heavy sigh behind the door and then the voice
said more gently than before:
“Oh, my child, do not ask to come in here! Get away as fast as your legs
can carry you. I would willingly give you shelter! But my husband is an
ogre. He devours without pity all who fall into his hands.”
However, I felt so weary, I was chilled by the cold night air, and the
loneliness of the wood so terrified me that to be under cover of a roof
with human beings I was willing to run all risks.
To be eaten alive by an ogre was not a very agreeable prospect! But if I
continued to wander about in the woods at night, I ran the danger of
coming face to face with this awful man. Perhaps under his own roof I
should be in less danger of being eaten.
I begged and implored so earnestly that the woman gave in and opened the
door.
“Little friend,” the good soul said to me, “you have not a moment to
lose. It is nearly ten o’clock, it is at that hour that my husband
returns from his first round. Here is a little bread and milk. If you
are hungry and thirsty, eat and drink! Take good heed of what I am going
to say to you! Directly you hear a knock at the door, hide yourself in
the dark corner by the cupboard behind those two large tubs. If you
value your life do not move a muscle. If my husband finds you, he will
eat you, skin, bones, and all. If you are as quiet as a mouse I may save
you, God helping me.”
The words were scarcely out of her mouth when “bang, bang, bang,” the
door shook under the blows of a heavy fist. A rough voice, at the sound
of which my blood ran cold, shook the little house.
“Great heavens! woman! How much longer must I wait before you open the
door?”
Before the wife had lifted the latch, I was crouching behind the two
tubs. I made myself as small as possible. I was so terrified that I
shrank with fear. I shrank more and more, sometimes I felt as small as a
little dog, then as small as a cat, and then as small as a frog!
[Illustration: BEHIND THOSE TWO LARGE TUBS]
Do you know why I was so frightened? While the woman was going towards
the door I very quickly lifted the lid of each tub. Oh, horror! what did
I see inside? One tub was filled with milk, but the other was filled to
the brim with human flesh! Hands, feet, heads of little boys about my
own age, and all were sprinkled with a quantity of coarse salt.
A tread like that of a giant sounded on the hard earth floor of the
house. From between the two tubs I saw the Ogre stop in the middle of
the room. His nostrils suddenly dilated as he sniffed around him like a
hound. His eyes sparkled--he smacked his lips.
“Wife,” he burst forth in thunderous tones, “wife, I smell it! There is
young and tender human flesh in the house! Speak! Where is it? My mouth
waters.”
[Illustration: I SMELL HUMAN FLESH]
He took a heavy axe from his belt and brandished it in the air in a
threatening manner. His wife denied this. “You certainly smell human
flesh,” she answered, “but you smell the three little boys you put in
the brine-tub last Friday. I have not seen a living soul all the blessed
day.”
“What!” replied the Ogre, and he began to swear. “Thunder and lightning,
do you call me a liar? I tell you that I smell a child’s fresh and
living flesh.”
I saw him brandish his axe in the air and fling it into the corner
where I was hiding ... oh, horror! the tub of milk was shattered to
atoms. I should certainly have been in his clutches if I had not become
as small as a frog from terror, and was thus carried down the drain,
which was hidden by the other tub, in the current of milk.
I found myself lying outside the house, my hair and eyes full of cream.
I was half dazed with alarm, but oh, so glad to be outside! I was much
colder now than when I knocked at the door. If only I could find a place
to rest my weary head. Just in front of me was the empty barrel which I
had seen on my arrival at the cottage. The outlet of the drain was
exactly under the only window. The moonlight enabled me to see inside
the barrel. To my great surprise I found it half full of hay. I soon
made up my mind. I crawled into the barrel through the bottom, which had
been staved in, drew the hay over me, and, after saying a short prayer,
tried to sleep.
I slept for some time. When I awoke, my clothes were dried. Very soon I
heard a strange growling sound not far from my hiding-place. It sounded
like the pattering of paws and a dog growling.
[Illustration: I SAW HIS BODY]
“A wolf,” was my first thought, after the Ogre, the wolf which ate
Little Red Riding Hood! How should I escape this time?
Suddenly the animal came near and licked the barrel, which had probably
contained lard, with its rough tongue.
Looking through the bung-hole, I saw by the light of the moon a large
and beautiful dog jumping about.
It suddenly struck me that if I could catch the dog by the tail I would
ask him very politely if he would draw me and my tub away--far, far away
from this terrible house.
The dog again approached, again I heard his tongue licking the staves. I
saw his body exactly opposite the bung-hole--then I spoke to him very
gently, as gently and as agreeably as I could. I asked him to do what I
wished. Oh, wonderful to relate, the dog turned round and offered me
his tail. I took hold of it and immediately felt myself being drawn
forward as though I were in a sledge or a boat.
At first he ran slowly without making a sound, but farther on, about
fifty or sixty yards from the little house, I was so enjoying this
midnight drive that I grew reckless.
I thought we were travelling too slowly. “Gee up,” I cried, “Gee up,
little fiery steed! Show me how you can gallop. Hallo! Gee up.”
I pulled his tail, and the animal not expecting this movement bolted off
like the wind.
He ran so wildly that the barrel bounded against the trees until, after
a violent blow, it was smashed to pieces. The dog ran off as fast as
ever he could.
Dear me! How the wood had changed! There was not a star in the sky and
the moon had vanished.
Everything was enveloped in a pale grey light. Birds’ song filled the
air. In the distance, far away outside the wood, a hundred cocks crowed
one after the other.
I again thought of my dear parents. I pictured their agony during the
long and terrible night, and my heart beat quickly at the thought of
being with them once more.
I would soon find the road. If only I could discover in which direction
lay the village.
I heard a bell ringing, “Ding, Ding, Ding, Dong.” Was it seven o’clock?
Unfortunately the wind whistled so loudly in the tree-tops that the
first “Ding” seemed to come from the north, while the last seemed to
come from the west. What was I to do?
Then I had a happy thought. I chose one of the highest trees, a poplar,
whose lower branches hung nearly to the ground. I climbed up like a cat
from bough to bough and reached the top--from there I could see right
over the wood. On one side I saw fields and meadows as far as the eye
could see, and on the other I saw my village, my dear little village.
The poplar I had climbed was only twenty yards from the edge of the
wood. It was so high that the topmost branches on which I was perched
were much higher than the surrounding trees.
My village lay there at the bottom, not far from the edge of the wood.
Not far from the wall of the churchyard was the white house, the white
house where my parents lived. Oh, if I could only be there, how I longed
to be at home.
But I was high up above all the other tree-tops, waving my cap so
vigorously in the air that the few remaining nuts fell out. While I was
perched there on the top of the tree, it began to sway gently from left
to right, then backwards and forwards. Then it swayed so violently that
it passed over the top of first two, then three, and then ten trees. The
morning breeze seemed to take pleasure in it, and blew stronger and
stronger--“whip, whip--whoop, whoop,” the tree-top swayed out beyond the
top of the trees on the edge of the wood.
[Illustration: I WAS PERCHED THERE ON THE TOP OF THE TREE]