A doughty hero was Relya, and he felt strange talking to children. But
the children did not feel in the least strange talking to a hero,
because they thought kindly of everybody, and there was no guile in
their hearts.
Primrose took hold of Relya’s hand and looked at his great sword. The
sword was twice as big as Primrose! Primrose reached up with his little
hand; he stood on tip-toe, and yet he could scarcely touch the hilt of
it. Relya looked, and never had he seen such tiny hands beside his own.
Relya was now in a sad quandary; he forgot all about the Girdle and
Cross as he thought: “What shall I say to these poor orphan babes? They
are little and foolish, and they do not understand.”
Just then Lavender asked Relya:
“And how shall we get out of the mountains, my lord?”
“Well, that is quite a sensible little girl,” considered Relya. “Here am
I, marvelling how small and foolish they are, and never thinking that,
after all, we have to get out of the mountains.”
Then Relya remembered what the Votaress had told him about the taper and
censer.
“Listen to me, little girl! The Votaress has gone to call her sisters to
help her, and I am going on to the Mountain to meet them. Please God, I
shall overcome the Votaress Fairies, return to you by the Holy Lake, and
lead you away from the Mountain. But if the fairies should overcome me,
if I perish on the Mountain, then do you start the fire that is not lit
with hands, light the taper and censer, and you will pass over the
Mountain as though it were a church.”
When Lavender heard this, she was sadly grieved, and said to Prince
Relya:
“You must not do that, my lord! What shall we poor orphans do if you
perish on the Mountain? You have only just come to be our protector, and
if you were to leave us straightway and get killed what should we do?
Let us rather set to at once and start the fire, so as to light taper
and censer, and do you, my lord, go forth with us over the Mountain.”
But at that Relya became very angry, and said:
“Don’t talk foolishness, you silly child! I was not born a hero for
taper and censer to lead me while yet I wear sword by my side.”
“Not taper and censer will lead you, but God’s will and commandment,”
replied Lavender.
“Don’t talk foolishness, you silly child! My sword would rust were I to
be led by taper and censer.”
“Your sword will not rust when you go a-mowing in field and meadow.”
Relya was troubled. It was not so much Lavender’s words as the sweet,
serious look in the little girl’s eyes that troubled him. He knew well
enough that he would scarcely overcome the fairies and monsters, and
that he would most probably perish if he were to go out to fight on the
Mountain.
Little Primrose flung his arms round Relya’s knees and looked at him
coaxingly. And Relya’s princely heart beat quick in his bosom, so that
he forgot about Cross and Girdle and fight and castle, and all he could
think was: “Well, I have to protect and save these faithful little
orphans.”
So he said:
“I will not throw away my life out of sheer wilfulness. Come, children,
start the fire, light taper and censer; your little hands shall lead
me.”