himself obliged to undertake the dreadful task; and the cat
continuing to press him with the greatest eagerness, with a trembling
hand he drew his sword, cut off her head and tail, and threw them into
the fire. No sooner was this done, than the most beautiful lady his
eyes had ever seen stood before him: and ere he had sufficiently
recovered from his surprise to speak to her, a long train of
attendants, who, at the same moment as their mistress, were changed to
their natural shapes, came to offer their congratulations to the
queen, and inquire her commands. She received them with the greatest
kindness, and ordering them to withdraw, thus addressed the astonished
prince:
"Do not imagine, dear prince, that I have always been a cat, or that I
am of obscure birth. My father was the monarch of six kingdoms; he
tenderly loved my mother, and left her always at liberty to follow her
own inclinations. Her prevailing passion was to travel; and a short
time before my birth, having heard of some fairies who were in
possession of the largest gardens filled with the most delicious
fruits, she had so strong a desire to eat some of them, that she set
out for the country where they lived. She arrived at their abode,
which she found to be a magnificent palace, on all sides glittering
with gold and precious stones. She knocked a long time at the gates;
but no one came, nor could she perceive the least sign that it had any
inhabitant. The difficulty, however, did but increase the violence of
my mother's longing; for she saw the tops of the trees above the
garden-walls, loaded with the most luscious fruits. The queen, in
despair, ordered her attendants to place tents close to the door of
the palace; but, having waited six weeks without seeing any one pass
the gates, she fell sick of vexation, and her life was despaired of.
"One night, as she lay half asleep, she turned herself about, and,
opening her eyes, perceived a little old woman, very ugly and
deformed, seated in the easy-chair by her bedside. 'I and my sister
fairies,' said she, 'take it very ill that your majesty should so
obstinately persist in getting some of our fruit; but since so
precious a life is at stake, we consent to give you as much as you can
carry away, provided you will give us in return what we shall ask.'
'Ah! kind fairy,' cried the queen, 'I will give you anything that I
possess, even my very kingdoms, on condition that I eat of your
fruit.' The old fairy then informed the queen that what they required
was, that she should give them the child she was going to have, as
soon as it should be born; adding, that every possible care should be
taken of it, and that it should become the most accomplished princess.
The queen replied that, however cruel the conditions, she must accept
them, since nothing but the fruit could save her life. In short, dear
prince," continued the lady, "my mother instantly got out of bed, was
dressed by her attendants, entered the palace, and satisfied her
longing. Having eaten her fill, she ordered four thousand mules to be
procured and loaded with the fruit, which had the virtue of continuing
all the year round in a state of perfection. Thus provided, she
returned to the king my father, who, with the whole court, received
her with rejoicings, as it was before imagined she would die of
disappointment. All this time the queen said nothing to my father of
the promise she had made to give her daughter to the fairies; so that
when the time was come that she expected my birth, she grew very
melancholy; till at length, being pressed by the king, she declared to
him the truth. Nothing could exceed his affliction when he heard that
his only child, when born, was to be given to the fairies. He bore it,
however, as well as he could, for fear of adding to my mother's grief;
and also believing he should find some means of keeping me in a place
of safety, which the fairies would not be able to approach. As soon,
therefore, as I was born, he had me conveyed to a tower in the palace,
to which there were twenty flights of stairs, and a door to each, of
which my father kept the key, so that none came near me without his
consent. When the fairies heard of what had been done, they sent first
to demand me; and on my father's refusal, they let loose a monstrous
dragon, which devoured men, women, and children, and which, by the
breath of its nostrils, destroyed everything it came near, so that
even the trees and plants began to die. The grief of the king was
excessive; and, finding that his whole kingdom would in a short time
be reduced to famine, he consented to give me into their hands. I was
accordingly laid in a cradle of mother-o'-pearl, ornamented with gold
and jewels, and carried to their palace, when the dragon immediately
disappeared. The fairies placed me in a tower, elegantly furnished,
but to which there was no door, so that whoever approached was obliged
to come by the windows, which were a great height from the ground:
from these I had the liberty of getting out into a delightful garden,
in which were baths, and every sort of cooling fruit. In this place
was I educated by the fairies, who behaved to me with the greatest
kindness; my clothes were splendid, and I was instructed in every kind
of accomplishment; in short, prince, if I had never seen anyone but
themselves, I should have remained very happy. One day, however, as I
was talking at the window with my parrot, I perceived a young
gentleman who was listening to our conversation. As I had never seen a
man but in pictures, I was not sorry for the opportunity of gratifying
my curiosity. I thought him a very pleasing object, and he at length
bowed in the most respectful manner, without daring to speak, for he
knew that I was in the palace of the fairies. When it began to grow
dark, he went away, and I vainly endeavoured to see which road he
took. The next morning, as soon as it was light, I again placed myself
at the window, and had the pleasure of seeing that the gentleman had
returned to the same place. He now spoke to me through a
speaking-trumpet, and informed me he thought me a most charming lady,
and that he should be very unhappy if he did not pass his life in my
company.
"I resolved to find some means of escaping from my tower, and was not
long in devising the means for the execution of my project: I begged
the fairies to bring me a netting-needle, a mesh, and some cord,
saying I wished to make some nets to amuse myself with catching birds
at my window. This they readily complied with, and in a short time I
completed a ladder long enough to reach to the ground. I now sent my
parrot to the prince, to beg he would come to the usual place, as I
wished to speak with him. He did not fail; and finding the ladder,
mounted it, and quickly entered my tower. This at first alarmed me,
but the charms of his conversation had restored me to tranquillity,
when all at once the window opened, and the Fairy Violent, mounted on
the dragon's back, rushed into the tower. My beloved prince thought of
nothing but how to defend me from their fury; for I had had time to
relate to him my story, previous to this cruel interruption; but their
numbers overpowered him, and the Fairy Violent had the barbarity to
command the dragon to devour my lover before my eyes. In my despair, I
would have thrown myself also into the mouth of the horrible monster;
but this they took care to prevent, saying, my life should be
preserved for greater punishment. The fairy then touched me with her
wand, and I instantly became a white cat. She next conducted me to
this palace, which belonged to my father, and gave me a train of cats
for my attendants, together with the twelve hands that waited on your
highness. She then informed me of my birth and the death of my
parents, and pronounced upon me what she imagined the greatest of
maledictions; that I should not be restored to my natural figure until
a young prince, the perfect resemblance of him I had lost, should cut
off my head and tail. You are that perfect resemblance; and
accordingly you ended the enchantment. I need not add, that I already
love you more than my life; let us therefore hasten to the palace of
the king your father, and obtain his approbation to our marriage."
The prince and princess accordingly set out side by side, in a car of
still greater splendour than before, and reached the palace just as
the two brothers had arrived with two beautiful princesses. The king,
hearing that each of his sons had succeeded in finding what he had
required, again began to think of some new expedient to delay the time
of his resigning the crown; but when the whole court were with the
king assembled to pass judgment, the princess who accompanied the
youngest, perceiving his thoughts by his countenance, stepped
majestically forward and thus addressed him:
"It is a pity that your majesty, who is so capable of governing,
should think of resigning the crown! I am fortunate enough to have six
kingdoms in my possession; permit me to bestow one on each of the
eldest princes, and to enjoy the remaining four in the society of the
youngest. And may it please your majesty to keep your own kingdom, and
make no decision concerning the beauty of three princesses, who,
without such a proof of your majesty's preference, will no doubt live
happily together!"
The air resounded with the applauses of the assembly: the young prince
and princess embraced the king, and next their brothers and sisters:
the three weddings immediately took place, and the kingdoms were
divided as the princess had proposed.
PRINCE CHERRY
Long ago there lived a monarch, who was such a very honest man that
his subjects entitled him the Good King. One day, when he was out
hunting, a little white rabbit, which had been half killed by his
hounds, leaped right into his majesty's arms. Said he, caressing it:
"This poor creature has put itself under my protection, and I will
allow no one to injure it." So he carried it to his palace, had
prepared for it a neat little rabbit-hutch, with abundance of the
daintiest food, such as rabbits love, and there he left it.
The same night, when he was alone in his chamber, there appeared to
him a beautiful lady. She was dressed neither in gold, nor silver, nor
brocade; but her flowing robes were white as snow, and she wore a
garland of white roses on her head. The Good King was greatly
astonished at the sight; for his door was locked, and he wondered how
so dazzling a lady could possibly enter; but she soon removed his
doubts.
"I am the Fairy Candide," said she, with a smiling and gracious air.
"Passing through the wood, where you were hunting, I took a desire to
know if you were as good as men say you are. I therefore changed
myself into a white rabbit, and took refuge in your arms. You saved
me, and now I know that those who are merciful to dumb beasts will be
ten times more so to human beings. You merit the name your subjects
give you: you are the Good King. I thank you for your protection, and
shall be always one of your best friends. You have but to say what you
most desire, and I promise you your wish shall be granted."
"Madam," replied the king, "if you are a fairy, you must know, without
my telling you, the wish of my heart. I have one well-beloved son,
Prince Cherry: whatever kindly feeling you have towards me, extend it
to him."
"Willingly," said Candide. "I will make him the handsomest, richest,
or most powerful prince in the world: choose whichever you desire for
him."
"None of the three," returned the father. "I only wish him to be
good--the best prince in the whole world. Of what use would riches,
power, or beauty be to him if he were a bad man?"
"You are right," said the fairy; "but I cannot make him good: he must
do that himself. I can only change his external fortunes; for his
personal character, the utmost I can promise is to give him good
counsel, reprove him for his faults, and even punish him, if he will
not punish himself. You mortals can do the same with your children."
"Ah, yes!" said the king, sighing. Still, he felt that the kindness of
a fairy was something gained for his son, and died not long after,
content and at peace.
Prince Cherry mourned deeply, for he dearly loved his father, and
would have gladly given all his kingdoms and treasures to keep him in
life a little longer. Two days after the Good King was no more, Prince
Cherry was sleeping in his chamber, when he saw the same dazzling
vision of the Fairy Candide.
"I promised your father," said she, "to be your best friend, and in
pledge of this take what I now give you;" and she placed a small gold
ring upon his finger. "Poor as it looks, it is more precious than
diamonds; for whenever you do ill it will prick your finger. If, after
that warning, you still continue in evil, you will lose my friendship,
and I shall become your direst enemy."
So saying, she disappeared, leaving Cherry in such amazement, that he
would have believed it all a dream, save for the ring on his finger.
He was for a long time so good that the ring never pricked him at all;
and this made him so cheerful and pleasant in his humour that
everybody called him, "Happy Prince Cherry." But, one unlucky day, he
was out hunting and found no sport, which vexed him so much that he
showed his ill temper by his looks and ways. He fancied his ring felt
very tight and uncomfortable, but as it did not prick him, he took no
heed of this: until, re-entering his palace, his little pet dog, Bibi,
jumped up upon him, and was sharply told to get away. The creature,
accustomed to nothing but caresses, tried to attract his attention by
pulling at his garments, when Prince Cherry turned and gave it a
severe kick. At this moment he felt in his finger a prick like a pin.
"What nonsense!" said he to himself. "The fairy must be making game of
me. Why, what great evil have I done! I, the master of a great empire,
cannot I kick my own dog?"
A voice replied, or else Prince Cherry imagined it, "No, sire; the
master of a great empire has a right to do good, but not evil. I--a
fairy--am as much above you as you are above your dog. I might punish
you, kill you, if I chose; but I prefer leaving you to amend your
ways. You have been guilty of three faults to-day--bad temper,
passion, cruelty: do better to-morrow."
The prince promised, and kept his word awhile; but he had been brought
up by a foolish nurse, who indulged him in every way, and was always
telling him that he would be a king one day, when he might do as he
liked in all things. He found out now that even a king cannot always
do that; it vexed him, and made him angry. His ring began to prick him
so often that his little finger was continually bleeding. He disliked
this, as was natural; and soon began to consider whether it would not
be easier to throw the ring away altogether than to be constantly
annoyed by it. It was such a queer thing for a king to have always a
spot of blood on his finger! At last, unable to put up with it any
more, he took his ring off, and hid it where he would never see it;
and believed himself the happiest of men, for he could now do exactly
what he liked. He did it, and became every day more and more
miserable.
One day he saw a young girl, so beautiful that, being always
accustomed to have his own way, he immediately determined to espouse
her. He never doubted that she would be only too glad to be made a
queen, for she was very poor. But Zelia--that was her name--answered,
to his great astonishment, that she would rather not marry him.
"Do I displease you?" asked the prince, into whose mind it had never
entered that he could displease anybody.
"Not at all, my prince," said the honest peasant-maiden. "You are very
handsome, very charming; but you are not like your father the Good
King. I will not be your queen, for you would make me miserable."
At these words the prince's love seemed all to turn to hatred: he gave
orders to his guards to convey Zelia to a prison near the palace; and
then took counsel with his foster brother, the one of all his ill
companions who most incited him to do wrong.
"Sir," said this man, "if I were in your majesty's place, I would
never vex myself about a poor silly girl. Feed her on bread and water
till she comes to her senses; and if she still refuses you, let her
die in torment, as a warning to your other subjects should they
venture to dispute your will. You will be disgraced should you suffer
yourself to be conquered by a simple girl."
"But," said Prince Cherry, "shall I not be disgraced if I harm a
creature so perfectly innocent?"
"No one is innocent who disputes your majesty's authority," said the
courtier, bowing; "and it is better to commit an injustice than allow
it to be supposed you can ever be contradicted with impunity."
This touched Cherry on his weak point--his good impulses faded; he
resolved once more to ask Zelia if she would marry him, and, if she
again refused, to sell her as a slave. Arrived at the cell in which
she was confined, what was his astonishment to find her gone! He knew
not who to accuse, for he had kept the key in his pocket the whole
time. At last, the foster-brother suggested that the escape of Zelia
might have been contrived by an old man, Suliman by name, the prince's
former tutor, who was the only one who now ventured to blame him for
anything that he did. Cherry sent immediately, and ordered his old
friend to be brought to him, loaded heavily with irons. Then, full of
fury, he went and shut himself up in his own chamber, where he went
raging to and fro, till startled by a noise like a clap of thunder.
The Fairy Candide stood before him.
"Prince," said she, in a severe voice, "I promised your father to give
you good counsels, and to punish you if you refused to follow them. My
counsels were forgotten, my punishments despised. Under the figure of
a man, you have been no better than the beasts you chase: like a lion
in fury a wolf in gluttony, a serpent in revenge, and a bull in
brutality. Take, therefore, in your new form the likeness of all these
animals."
Scarcely had Prince Cherry heard these words, than to his horror he
found himself transformed into what the fairy had named. He was a
creature with the head of a lion, the horns of a bull the feet of a
wolf, and the tail of a serpent. At the same time he felt himself
transported to a distant forest, where, standing on the bank of a
stream, he saw reflected in the water his own frightful shape, and
heard a voice saying:
"Look at thyself, and know thy soul has become a thousand times uglier
even than thy body."
Cherry recognised the voice of Candide, and in his rage would have
sprung upon her and devoured her; but he saw nothing, and the same
voice said behind him:
"Cease thy feeble fury, and learn to conquer thy pride by being in
submission to thine own subjects."
Hearing no more, he soon quitted the stream, hoping at least to get
rid of the sight of himself; but he had scarcely gone twenty paces
when he tumbled into a pitfall that was laid to catch bears; the
bear-hunters, descending from some trees hard by, caught him, chained
him, and, only too delighted to get hold of such a curious-looking
animal, led him along with them to the capital of his own kingdom.
There great rejoicings were taking place, and the bear-hunters, asking
what it was all about, were told that it was because Prince Cherry,
the torment of his subjects, had just been struck dead by a
thunderbolt--just punishment of all his crimes. Four courtiers, his
wicked companions, had wished to divide his throne between them; but
the people had risen up against them, and offered the crown to
Suliman, the old tutor whom Cherry had ordered to be arrested.
All this the poor monster heard. He even saw Suliman sitting upon his
own throne, and trying to calm the populace by representing to them
that it was not certain Prince Cherry was dead, that he might return
one day to re-assume with honour the crown which Suliman only
consented to wear as a sort of viceroy.
"I know his heart," said the honest and faithful old man; "it is
tainted, but not corrupt. If alive, he may reform yet, and be all his
father over again to you, his people, whom he has caused to suffer so
much."
These words touched the poor beast so deeply, that he ceased to beat
himself against the iron bars of the cage in which the hunters carried
him about, became gentle as a lamb, and suffered himself to be taken
quietly to a menagerie, where were kept all sorts of strange and
ferocious animals--a place which he had himself often visited as a
boy, but never thought he should be shut up there himself.
However, he owned he had deserved it all, and began to make amends by
showing himself very obedient to his keeper. This man was almost as
great a brute as the animals he had charge of, and when he was in ill
humour he used to beat them without rhyme or reason. One day, while he
was sleeping, a tiger broke loose, and leaped upon him, eager to
devour him. Cherry at first felt a thrill of pleasure at the thought
of being revenged; then, seeing how helpless the man was, he wished
himself free, that he might defend him. Immediately the doors of his
cage opened. The keeper, waking up, saw the strange beast leap out,
and imagined, of course, that he was going to be slain at once.
Instead, he saw the tiger lying dead, and the strange beast creeping
up, and laying itself at his feet to be caressed. But as he lifted up
his hand to stroke it, a voice was heard saying, "Good actions never
go unrewarded;" and, instead of the frightful monster, there crouched
on the ground nothing but a pretty little dog.
Cherry, delighted to find himself thus metamorphosed, caressed the
keeper in every possible way, till at last the man took him up into
his arms and carried him to the king, to whom he related this
wonderful story, from beginning to end. The queen wished to have the
charming little dog; and Cherry would have been exceedingly happy,
could he have forgotten that he was originally a man and a king. He
was lodged most elegantly, had the richest of collars to adorn his
neck, and heard himself praised continually. But his beauty rather
brought him into trouble, for the queen, afraid lest he might grow too
large for a pet, took advice of dog-doctors, who ordered that he
should be fed entirely upon bread, and that very sparingly; so poor
Cherry was sometimes nearly starved.
One day, when they gave him his crust for breakfast, a fancy seized
him to go and eat it in the palace-garden; so he took the bread in his
mouth, and trotted away towards a stream which he knew, and where he
sometimes stopped to drink. But instead of the stream he saw a
splendid palace, glittering with gold and precious stones. Entering
the doors was a crowd of men and women, magnificently dressed; and
within there was singing and dancing, and good cheer of all sorts.
Yet, however grandly and gaily the people went in, Cherry noticed that
those who came out were pale, thin, ragged, half-naked, covered with
wounds and sores. Some of them dropped dead at once; others dragged
themselves on a little way and then lay down, dying of hunger, and
vainly begged a morsel of bread from others who were entering in--who
never took the least notice of them.
Cherry perceived one woman, who was trying feebly to gather and eat
some green herbs. "Poor thing!" said he to himself; "I know what it is
to be hungry, and I want my breakfast badly enough; but still it will
not kill me to wait till dinner-time, and my crust may save the life
of this poor woman."
So the little dog ran up to her, and dropped his bread at her feet;
she picked it up, and ate it with avidity. Soon she looked quite
recovered, and Cherry, delighted, was trotting back again to his
kennel, when he heard loud cries, and saw a young girl dragged by
four men to the door of the palace, which they were trying to compel
her to enter. Oh, how he wished himself a monster again, as when he
slew the tiger!--for the young girl was no other than his beloved
Zelia. Alas! what could a poor little dog do to defend her? But he ran
forward and barked at the men, and bit their heels, until at last they
chased him away with heavy blows. And then he lay down outside the
palace-door, determined to watch and see what had become of Zelia.
Conscience pricked him now. "What!" thought he, "I am furious against
these wicked men, who are carrying her away; and did I not do the same
myself? Did I not cast her into prison, and intend to sell her as a
slave? Who knows how much more wickedness I might not have done to her
and others, if heaven's justice had not stopped me in time?"
While he lay thinking and repenting, he heard a window open, and saw
Zelia throw out of it a bit of dainty meat. Cherry, who felt hungry
enough by this time, was just about to eat it, when the woman to whom
he had given his crust snatched him up in her arms.