Not far from the Land of the Fire Fairies there is another wonderland.
It is called the Kingdom of Light. Here, though the people are fairies,
their magic is different from the magic of the fairies of fire and
flame. But it is not less marvelous and beautiful.
The ruler of this country had a son whose name was Prince Radiance. The
Prince was tall and strong and handsome. His soft red suit of velvet,
his scarlet cap with long red feather that tossed and floated above his
yellow hair became him well. So very bright with hope and courage were
his eyes, so very friendly was his smile, that wherever he appeared the
fairies cried to one another, “Ah, here comes Prince Radiance, bringing
happiness and cheer!”
The young Prince was now of an age to seek a bride, but the King was
too fond of his son to wish him to marry anyone whom he did not love
with all his heart. Many princesses and beautiful ladies would have
been glad to be chosen by him, but the young Prince cared for none of
them. And although the wise men of the country came often to their King
to urge the Prince to take a wife, the old King always replied, “Not
yet, not yet. My son must make his own choice, and in his own way.”
So time passed, until one day Prince Radiance asked his father’s
permission to visit the Land of the Fire Fairies. He had heard of their
strange magic, and wished to behold it with his own eyes.
The King gave him leave, and bidding his father farewell, the Prince
set out, quite alone, as was his wish.
By traveling swiftly, he soon reached the boundary of his father’s
kingdom, and crossed into the Land of the Fire Fairies. Now the Fire
Fairies have always been friendly to the Fairies of Light, so the
Prince was made welcome wherever he went.
The magic of the Fire Fairies charmed and delighted him. He stood and
watched them rear their shining palaces, saw them deck the walls with
glittering jewels, or wreathe them with flaming vines by the mere wave
of a wand. He wandered from place to place, learning many new and
wonderful things.
And all the time he drew nearer and nearer to the Palace of Burning
Coals, but as yet he had heard nothing, had seen nothing of the
Princess White Flame.
At last he came to a garden, whose open gate showed him bright trees
rustling in the breeze and bushes thick-set with flame-colored
blossoms, showed him paths that wound away into stretches of still
greater loveliness and bloom. He had come to the garden of the Princess.
He entered, and stood a moment, to see if any would come to stop his
progress; but all was still in the garden, and not a living creature
was anywhere in sight. He chose the path of greatest beauty, but had
not gone far upon it when he became aware of a voice singing in the
distance, a voice that drew nearer and more near, until the air around
him was filled with its exquisite music. Entranced, rooted to the spot,
Prince Radiance listened. Never had he heard so wondrous a voice. It
was as though it drew his very heart from his breast to follow it.
So spellbound was he, that at first he thought only of the voice, but
presently he was filled with an ardent desire to know from whom it
came. But even as he looked eagerly about him for the singer, the voice
began to recede from him, and to fade away among the tree-tops. Then
it was, that glancing upward, he saw a pure and pearl-white flame, and
from the flame came the magic voice that had so stirred his heart.
Awaking from his trance of wonder and delight, the Prince sought to
follow it; even as he did so the flame was lost to sight. He pursued it
in the direction in which he had seen it pass, but in vain.
Still the Prince went on in haste, seeking someone who could tell him
where it might be found. The faint cracking of boughs struck on his
ear, and going to the place from whence it came, he saw a Fire Fairy,
pruning a glittering shrub.
“Tell me,” he cried, “where shall I find the flame that was singing
yonder, the flame with the wonderful voice?”
The fairy paused in his work, and regarded the Prince curiously. “Can
it be,” inquired he slowly, “that you have not heard of the Princess
White Flame?”
“I saw no Princess,” answered Radiance, “but I heard a voice of
magical beauty that seemed to come from a pure white flame.”
“Ah,” replied the Fire Fairy, “that is indeed our dear Princess. A
flame she is, and a flame she must remain, until that prince comes at
last who alone can set her free.” Then he told Prince Radiance the
story of the spell that had been cast upon her in her cradle; told him
of the wondrous Veil that lay hidden in the Wise One’s ancient chest;
told him also of the many princes who had vainly sought to see it, that
they might deliver the Princess.
“I, too, must go,” exclaimed Prince Radiance. “Who knows but I may be
more fortunate than they. Tell me at once where this Wise One is to be
found.”
Filled with the hope that this at last might be the true prince, the
fairy told him exactly how to find the Wise One’s hut, and the Prince
hurried away.
He had not gone far, however, when what was his joy to hear once more,
soft and faint at first, but clearer and stronger as he proceeded, that
voice that had so charmed him a little while before.
Eagerly, scarce daring to breathe, lest he should startle the Princess,
and drive her from him, the Prince hastened toward her.
She was poised at the foot of a great fire-oak, her flame seeming to
wax or wane as the music rose or fell.
So silently the Prince advanced that he stood beside her before she was
aware.
“Princess! Princess White Flame!” he cried low, “Here am I, Prince
Radiance, come to serve you. Say that you are willing that it should be
so.”
At the sound of his voice, the singing of the Princess ceased suddenly.
Flashing and trembling at the unexpected appearance of this stranger,
she seemed about to take flight.
“Nay, do not leave me,” he besought her. “Tell me, rather, that I too
may seek to deliver you from the cruel spell that binds you thus.”
So did his face glow with the love that her voice had awakened in his
heart, so did his own voice thrill with tenderness, that a soft and
roseate flush passed over the whiteness of the flame, as if in answer.
Yet she spoke no word.
“I know what I must do,” pursued the Prince. “A fairy has told me.
Even now I was on my way to seek the Wise One, and happily to bring
forth the mystic Veil. Do you bid me go?” He paused, and waited for the
Princess to speak.
[Illustration: “Here am I, Prince Radiance, come to serve you.”]
“Yes,” she whispered softly, “go. But ah--if you should not see this
Veil--what then?”
“Then--ah then,” he answered quickly, “I will return to you, and gaze
upon your pure and beauteous flame, and listen to your magic voice,
till love shall make keen the eyes that were too dull before. Say that
you will await me here!”
Again a rosy flush overspread the whiteness of the Princess. “I promise
you,” she said. “When you return, you will find me waiting.”
Overjoyed at so gracious an answer, Prince Radiance drew still nearer
to the glowing flame. “Ah, my beloved Princess,” he cried, “something
tells me that I shall not fail. I shall return indeed, and in my hand
shall be the Veil that will set you free. Farewell, then, till I come
again.”
Then he left her, a gleaming whiteness at the foot of the great
fire-oak, and went his way as the fairy had directed him.
It was not long until he arrived at the house of the Wise One. A queer
little scarlet hut, it was, set in the midst of a thicket of flaming
bushes, with a bright red path that led straight to the door. The path
was worn and hollowed out by many feet. From the pointed chimney, and
the quaintly peaked roof, down all the walls to the very ground, the
hut was covered with magic signs that no one but the Wise One himself
understood.
Boldly the Prince approached the door, and knocked. A voice bade him
enter. The Prince obeyed, and found himself in the presence of an old,
old fairy, who was sitting before a table, poring over a great Book of
Wisdom.
It was the Wise One. He wore a long white beard, that swept down his
scarlet robe almost to his feet. A curious border of fairy letters ran
about the hem of his robe, and as he rose slowly to greet his guest,
they flashed and moved as if with life. A wave of magic flowed from
them toward the Prince.
“Welcome, Prince Radiance,” said the Wise One, “I know your errand.
Come, let us see if you will be able to succeed where others have
failed.”
“Ah, that it may be so!” exclaimed the Prince, following the Wise
One, who led him to a chest that stood in a corner of the hut. A very
ancient chest it was, carved deeply with magic inscriptions that age
had had no power to dim. Huge hinges held it firm; a huge lock fastened
it.
The Prince looked down upon it with eager hope. He trembled a little
as the Wise One drew from his breast a key, and fitted it in the lock.
Slowly the key turned. Slowly the lid rose of itself.
“Look within,” commanded the Wise One, “and tell me what you see.”
In breathless suspense, Prince Radiance bent over the chest,
hoping--fearing--so much hung upon his power to behold what lay
therein. The light was dim, and the chest deep. For a moment he saw no
more than what looked like a film of ash upon the bottom of the chest,
and through his heart went a stab of pain and disappointment.
Then, suddenly, his sight seemed to clear. “The Veil! The mystic Veil!”
he cried. “There! There it lies! I see it! Oh, I see!”
“Look again,” said the Wise One. “Do you see nothing more?”
Again Prince Radiance bent above the chest; again he peered earnestly
into its depths. Dimly discerned beside the Veil lay a sword in its
scabbard, and close beside it a soft grey pouch.
“A sword is there, and a curious pouch,” he answered.
“You have seen what none have seen before,” replied the Wise One. “The
Veil is for the Princess, the Sword and the Pouch for you. Take them,
for the time will come, before your task is done, when you will need
them all. Take out the Veil.”
Gently the Prince lifted the magic Veil from out the chest. As it
rose, it floated out and out, and seemed to fill the hut, like a mist
for fineness, like a web for strength.
The Wise One went to a cabinet, and drew from it a tiny golden casket.
He returned to the Prince, and said, “Place the Veil inside.”
“How is that possible?” inquired Prince Radiance.
“You have but to press the corner of the Veil, and it will become small
enough to fit into the tiniest box. You have but to lift it from the
box, and shake it out, and it will become as you behold it now. Do as I
have said, and you will see.”
The Prince obeyed, and presently the Veil lay in the golden casket. The
Wise One handed him a golden key. “Lock it, and fasten it securely
within your robe where none can rob you of it,” he told him. “On its
safety all your hopes depend.”
Gravely Prince Radiance did as the ancient fairy bade him.
“Lift out the Sword,” directed the Wise One, “and draw it from its
scabbard.”
Again the Prince obeyed. As he laid his hand upon the hilt it was as
if the Sword answered to his touch, and leapt from its scabbard, a
flashing flame of blue, that shed a dazzling light on all around it.
“It is the Sword of Flames,” the Wise One told him, “a powerful
weapon--potent in your hands alone. It will serve you well. See that
you do not lose it. See that you do not use it until its day comes.”
Prince Radiance looked at him in wonder. “How shall I know the day?”
asked he.
“When the day comes you will need none to tell you,” was the answer.
“And now take the Pouch--the third and last gift.”
The Prince replaced the Sword of Flames in its sheath, and bound it on.
Then stooping he took out the Pouch.
“Open it,” said the Wise One.
Prince Radiance did so, and saw that it was divided within into two
compartments.
“This is a magic pouch,” the Wise One instructed him. “Whatever you
place in it will never fail of its supply. It will help you out of many
a danger, out of many a difficulty.”
The Prince thought deeply. “What shall I place within it that will have
such power?” he asked at last.
The Wise One smiled. “That is easy enough to choose,” he answered. “In
the one side place a burning coal; put in the other a handful of ash.
Nothing else could possibly be so unfailingly useful wherever you may
go.”
Surprised at such an answer, Prince Radiance gazed at him without
obeying.
“It is as I have told you,” the ancient one assured him. “You will find
it so.”
Then the Prince stooped to the fire that was burning on the hearth, and
filled the Pouch as he had been directed, and fastened it to his side,
the Wise One watching him meanwhile with a kindly smile.
When Prince Radiance would have thanked him for the fairy gifts, he
dismissed him with a wave of the hand. “Go,” he said, “and all good
fortune attend you. If you but do your part, the magic of the Veil will
be potent to break the Earth Fairy’s spell, and restore the Princess
White Flame to her fairy form.”
[Illustration]