LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO.
89 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON
NEW YORK AND BOMBAY
1906
_All rights reserved_
_TO
STELLA MARGARET ALLEYNE
THE
GREEN FAIRY BOOK
IS DEDICATED_
_TO THE FRIENDLY READER_
This is the third, and probably the last, of the Fairy Books of many
colours. First there was the _Blue Fairy Book_; then, children, you
asked for more, and we made up the _Red Fairy Book_; and, when you
wanted more still, the _Green Fairy Book_ was put together. The stories
in all the books are borrowed from many countries; some are French, some
German, some Russian, some Italian, some Scottish, some English, one
Chinese. However much these nations differ about trifles, they all agree
in liking fairy tales. The reason, no doubt, is that men were much like
children in their minds long ago, long, long ago, and so before they
took to writing newspapers, and sermons, and novels, and long poems,
they told each other stories, such as you read in the fairy books. They
believed that witches could turn people into beasts, that beasts could
speak, that magic rings could make their owners invisible, and all the
other wonders in the stories. Then, as the world became grown-up, the
fairy tales which were not written down would have been quite forgotten
but that the old grannies remembered them, and told them to the little
grandchildren: and when they, in their turn, became grannies, they
remembered them, and told them also. In this way these tales are older
than reading and writing, far older than printing. The oldest fairy
tales ever written down were written down in Egypt, about Joseph's time,
nearly three thousand five hundred years ago. Other fairy stories Homer
knew, in Greece, nearly three thousand years ago, and he made them all
up into a poem, the _Odyssey_, which I hope you will read some day. Here
you will find the witch who turns men into swine, and the man who bores
out the big foolish giant's eye, and the cap of darkness, and the shoes
of swiftness, that were worn later by Jack the Giant-Killer. These fairy
tales are the oldest stories in the world, and as they were first made
by men who were childlike for their own amusement, so they amuse
children still, and also grown-up people who have not forgotten how they
once were children.
Some of the stories were made, no doubt, not only to amuse, but to teach
goodness. You see, in the tales, how the boy who is kind to beasts, and
polite, and generous, and brave, always comes best through his trials,
and no doubt these tales were meant to make their hearers kind,
unselfish, courteous, and courageous. This is the moral of them. But,
after all, we think more as we read them of the diversion than of the
lesson. There are grown-up people now who say that the stories are not
good for children, because they are not true, because there are no
witches, nor talking beasts, and because people are killed in them,
especially wicked giants. But probably you who read the tales know very
well how much is true and how much is only make-believe, and I never yet
heard of a child who killed a very tall man merely because Jack killed
the giants, or who was unkind to his stepmother, if he had one, because,
in fairy tales, the stepmother is often disagreeable. If there are
frightful monsters in fairy tales, they do not frighten you now, because
that kind of monster is no longer going about the world, whatever he may
have done long, long ago. He has been turned into stone, and you may see
his remains in museums. Therefore, I am not afraid that you will be
afraid of the magicians and dragons; besides, you see that a really
brave boy or girl was always their master, even in the height of their
power.
Some of the tales here, like _The Half-Chick_, are for very little
children; others for older ones. The longest tales, like _Heart of Ice_,
were not invented when the others were, but were written in French, by
clever men and women, such as Madame d'Aulnoy, and the Count de Caylus,
about two hundred years ago. There are not many people now, perhaps
there are none, who can write really good fairy tales, because they do
not believe enough in their own stories, and because they want to be
wittier than it has pleased Heaven to make them.
So here we give you the last of the old stories, for the present, and
hope you will like them, and feel grateful to the Brothers Grimm, who
took them down from the telling of old women, and to M. Sebillot and M.
Charles Marelles, who have lent us some tales from their own French
people, and to Mr. Ford, who drew the pictures, and to the ladies, Miss
Blackley, Miss Alma Alleyne, Miss Eleanor Sellar, Miss May Sellar, Miss
Wright, and Mrs. Lang, who translated many of the tales out of French,
German, and other languages.
If we have a book for you next year, it shall not be a fairy book. What
it is to be is a secret, but we hope that it will not be dull. So
good-bye, and when you have read a fairy book, lend it to other children
who have none, or tell them the stories in your own way, which is a very
pleasant mode of passing the time.
_CONTENTS_
PAGE
_The Blue Bird_ 1
_The Half-Chick_ 27
_The Story of Caliph Stork_ 32
_The Enchanted Watch_ 43
_Rosanella_ 48
_Sylvain and Jocosa_ 56
_Fairy Gifts_ 64
_Prince Narcissus and the Princess Potentilla_ 68
_Prince Featherhead and the Princess Celandine_ 85
_The Three Little Pigs_ 100
_Heart of Ice_ 106
_The Enchanted Ring_ 137
_The Snuff-box_ 145
_The Golden Blackbird_ 151
_The Little Soldier_ 157
_The Magic Swan_ 175
_The Dirty Shepherdess_ 180
_The Enchanted Snake_ 186
_The Biter Bit_ 194
_King Kojata_ 202
_Prince Fickle and Fair Helena_ 216
_Puddocky_ 222
_The Story of Hok Lee and the Dwarfs_ 229
_The Story of the Three Bears_ 234
_Prince Vivien and the Princess Placida_ 238
_Little One-eye, Little Two-eyes, and Little Three-eyes_ 262
_Jorinde and Joringel_ 271
_Allerleirauh; or, the Many-furred Creature_ 276
_The Twelve Huntsmen_ 282
_Spindle, Shuttle, and Needle_ 286
_The Crystal Coffin_ 290
_The Three Snake-leaves_ 296
_The Riddle_ 300
_Jack my Hedgehog_ 304
_The Golden Lads_ 311
_The White Snake_ 319
_The Story of a Clever Tailor_ 324
_The Golden Mermaid_ 328
_The War of the Wolf and the Fox_ 339
_The Story of the Fisherman and his Wife_ 343
_The Three Musicians_ 353
_The Three Dogs_ 360
_THE BLUE BIRD_
Once upon a time there lived a King who was immensely rich. He had broad
lands, and sacks overflowing with gold and silver; but he did not care a
bit for all his riches, because the Queen, his wife, was dead. He shut
himself up in a little room and knocked his head against the walls for
grief, until his courtiers were really afraid that he would hurt
himself. So they hung feather-beds between the tapestry and the walls,
and then he could go on knocking his head as long as it was any
consolation to him without coming to much harm. All his subjects came to
see him, and said whatever they thought would comfort him: some were
grave, even gloomy with him; and some agreeable, even gay; but not one
could make the least impression upon him. Indeed, he hardly seemed to
hear what they said. At last came a lady who was wrapped in a black
mantle, and seemed to be in the deepest grief. She wept and sobbed until
even the King's attention was attracted; and when she said that, far
from coming to try and diminish his grief, she, who had just lost a good
husband, was come to add her tears to his, since she knew what he must
be feeling, the King redoubled his lamentations. Then he told the
sorrowful lady long stories about the good qualities of his departed
Queen, and she in her turn recounted all the virtues of her departed
husband; and this passed the time so agreeably that the King quite
forgot to thump his head against the feather-beds, and the lady did not
need to wipe the tears from her great blue eyes as often as before. By
degrees they came to talking about other things in which the King took
an interest, and in a wonderfully short time the whole kingdom was
astonished by the news that the King was married again--to the sorrowful
lady.
[Illustration]
Now the King had one daughter, who was just fifteen years old. Her name
was Fiordelisa, and she was the prettiest and most charming Princess
imaginable, always gay end merry. The new Queen, who also had a
daughter, very soon sent for her to come to the Palace. Turritella, for
that was her name, had been brought up by her godmother, the Fairy
Mazilla, but in spite of all the care bestowed upon her, she was
neither beautiful nor gracious. Indeed, when the Queen saw how
ill-tempered and ugly she appeared beside Fiordelisa she was in despair,
and did everything in her power to turn the King against his own
daughter, in the hope that he might take a fancy to Turritella. One day
the King said that it was time Fiordelisa and Turritella were married,
so he would give one of them to the first suitable Prince who visited
his Court. The Queen answered:
'My daughter certainly ought to be the first to be married; she is older
than yours, and a thousand times more charming!'
The King, who hated disputes, said, 'Very well, it's no affair of mine,
settle it your own way.'
Very soon after came the news that King Charming, who was the most
handsome and magnificent Prince in all the country round, was on his way
to visit the King. As soon as the Queen heard this, she set all her
jewellers, tailors, weavers, and embroiderers to work upon splendid
dresses and ornaments for Turritella, but she told the King that
Fiordelisa had no need of anything new, and the night before the King
was to arrive, she bribed her waiting woman to steal away all the
Princess's own dresses and jewels, so that when the day came, and
Fiordelisa wished to adorn herself as became her high rank, not even a
ribbon could she find.
However, as she easily guessed who had played her such a trick, she made
no complaint, but sent to the merchants for some rich stuffs. But they
said that the Queen had expressly forbidden them to supply her with any,
and they dared not disobey. So the Princess had nothing left to put on
but the little white frock she had been wearing the clay before; and
dressed in that, she went down when the time of the King's arrival came,
and sat in a corner hoping to escape notice. The Queen received her
guest with great ceremony, and presented him to her daughter, who was
gorgeously attired, but so much splendour only made her ugliness more
noticeable, and the King, after one glance at her, looked the other way.
The Queen, however, only thought that he was bashful, and took pains to
keep Turritella in full view. King Charming then asked if there was not
another Princess, called Fiordelisa.
'Yes,' said Turritella, pointing with her finger, 'there she is, trying
to keep out of sight because she is not smart.'
At this Fiordelisa blushed, and looked so shy and so lovely, that the
King was fairly astonished. He rose, and bowing low before her, said--
'Madam, your incomparable beauty needs no adornment.'
'Sire,' answered the Princess, 'I assure you that I am not in the habit
of wearing dresses as crumpled and untidy as this one, so I should have
been better pleased if you had not seen me at all.'
'Impossible!' cried King Charming. 'Wherever such a marvellously
beautiful Princess appears I can look at nothing else.'