news of the courts where they had been in different parts of the world.
People plotting for war, others seeking for peace; wives who were
unfaithful, old widowers who married wives a thousand times more
unsuitable than those they had lost; discovered treasures; favourites at
court, and out of it, who had fallen from the coveted seat they
occupied; jealous wives, to say nothing at all about husbands; women who
flirted, and naughty children;--in fact they told her everything that
was going on, to make her happy and to help to pass the time away.
Now one night it happened that the Princess could not sleep, and she lay
awake, thinking. At last she said: 'What is going to happen to me? Shall
I always be here? My life is passed more happily than I ever could wish;
but, all the same, there is a feeling in my heart that there is
something missing.'
'Ah! Princess,' said a voice, 'is it not your own fault? If you would
only love me, you would recognise at once that it would be possible to
remain in this palace for ever, alone with the one you loved, without
ever wishing to leave it.'
'Which little pagoda is speaking to me now?' she asked. 'What dreadful
counsel to give me, contrary to all I have been taught in my life!'
'It is not a pagoda who is talking to you; it is the unhappy King who
loves you, madam.'
'A King who loves me!' replied the Princess. 'Has this King eyes, or
does he need glasses? Has he not seen that I am the ugliest person in
the world?'
'Yes, I have seen you, madam. All that you are, and all that you may
have been, make not the least difference to me. I repeat, I love you.'
The Princess did not speak again, but she spent the rest of the night
thinking over this adventure.
Every day on getting up she found new clothes and fresh jewels; it was
too much homage, considering she was so ugly.
One night--it must have been the darkest night of the whole
year--Laideronnette was asleep, and, on awakening, she felt that some
one sat near her bed. The Princess put out her hand to feel, but
somebody took her hand and kissed it, and in so doing let teardrops fall
upon it. She knew full well that it must be the invisible King.
'What do you want with me?' she said. 'Can I love somebody I have never
seen and do not know?'
'Ah! madam,' replied he, 'what pleasure it would give me to be able to
fulfil your wish! But the wicked Magotine, who played you such a cruel
trick, has done the same to me, for I am condemned to remain thus for
seven years; five have already gone by and there remain another two
years. You could, if you would, lessen the time and make it pass quickly
for me if you would marry me; you will think that what I ask is
impossible; but, madam, if you only knew how deep my love is for you,
you would never refuse me the favour I ask of you.'
Laideronnette, as I have already said, thought that this invisible King
was very sweet, and the love he offered was without a doubt genuine.
And, in a moment of pity, she replied that she would like a few days to
think over his proposal. So the days passed, and all the time the music
went on and the pagodas danced and new presents arrived for her, better
than those she had received before. And in the end the Princess made up
her mind to marry the invisible King, and she promised to wait to see
him until his time of punishment was over and he could take visible
shape again.
Then the voice said: 'The consequences will be terrible for you and for
me if your curiosity should overcome you, and I shall have to commence
my punishment all over again; but, should you, on the other hand, stay
your desire to see me, you will receive that beauty that the wicked
Magotine took away from you.'
The Princess, full of this new hope, promised to keep her word to him.
But after a while she had a deep desire to see her father and mother
again; also her sister and her husband. The pagodas, who knew the road
well, conducted the royal family to the castle of Laideronnette's father
and mother; and when she saw them she nearly died of joy.
Her mother and her sister questioned Laideronnette about her husband,
and Laideronnette remembered what her husband had told her; she did not
like to tell her people the truth, so she told them that he was at the
war fighting, and that he did not like seeing people. But her mother and
sister chaffed her about him, and at last Laideronnette said that the
wicked Magotine had punished him for seven years, that two remained to
be finished, and that she had married him without ever having seen him;
but that he was a charming person and his conversation proved the fact,
and that if she held her curiosity until the two years were up, she
would regain all the beauty that the fairy Magotine had taken from her.
'Ah!' replied her mother, 'is it possible that you are such a simpleton
as to believe all those tales? Your husband is a huge monster; he is the
King of monkeys truly.'
'I know full well,' replied Laideronnette, 'that he is the god of Love
himself.'
'What a terrible mistake!' screamed the Queen Bellote.
The poor Princess was so confused and upset that, after giving them the
presents, she resolved to go and see her husband. Ah, fatal curiosity!
She took a little lamp with her that she might be able to see him the
better. What was her surprise when, instead of Love, she saw the Green
Serpent! He drew himself up in rage and sorrow:
'O wicked one!' cried he; 'is this the return for all my love for you?'
Now Magotine, knowing that Laideronnette and the Green Serpent were in
trouble, came to add to their sorrow and taunt them. She took away, with
one wave of her wand, all the lovely castles and fountains and gardens.
And Laideronnette, seeing all that she had done, was very troubled. So,
during the night, Laideronnette deplored her sad fate. Then, high up
near the stars, she saw coming towards her the Green Serpent.
'I always make you afraid,' he cried; 'but you are infinitely dear to
me.'
'Is it you, Serpent, dear lover; is it you?' cried Laideronnette. 'Can
you forgive me for my fatal curiosity?'
'Ah! how the sorrow of absence troubles this loving heart!' replied the
Serpent, with never a word of reproach to Laideronnette for her broken
promise.
Magotine, now, was one of those fairies who never slept at all: the wish
to do harm and never to miss the chance kept her awake; and she did not
fail to hear the conversation between the King Serpent and his spouse;
and she came down upon them in a fury.
'Now then, Green Serpent,' said she, 'I order you for your punishment to
go right to the good Proserpine, and give her my compliments.'
The poor Green Serpent went at once with great sighs, leaving the Queen
in sorrow. And Laideronnette cried out:
'What crime have we committed now, you wicked Magotine? I am certain
that the poor King, whom you have sent to the bottomless pit of hell,
was as innocent as I myself am; but let me die: it is the least you can
do.'
'You would be too happy,' said Magotine, 'were I to listen and grant you
your wish. I will send you to the bottom of the sea.' So saying, she
took the poor Princess to the top of the highest mountain and tied a
mill-stone about her neck, telling her that she was to go down and bring
enough Water of Discretion to fill up her great big glass. The Princess
said that it was absolutely impossible to carry all that water.
'If you do not,' said Magotine, 'you may rest assured that your Green
Serpent will suffer more.'
This threat caused the Queen to think of her utter feebleness. She began
to walk, but, alas! it was useless. Oh! if the Fairy Protectress would
only help her! Loudly she called, and lo! there stood the good fairy by
her side.
'See,' said she, 'to what a pass your fatal curiosity has brought you!'
So saying, she took her to the top of the mountain; she gave her a
little carriage drawn by two white mice and told them to descend the
mountain. Then she gave the little mice a vessel to fill up with the
Water of Discretion for Magotine, and produced a little pair of iron
shoes for Laideronnette to put on. She counselled her not to remain on
the mountain and not to stay by the fountain, but to go into a little
wood and to remain there three years, for then Magotine would think that
she was getting the water or that she had perished in the awful perils
of the voyage.
Laideronnette kissed and embraced the good Fairy Protectress, and
thanked her a thousand times for her great favours. 'But, madam,' said
Laideronnette, 'all the joys that you have given me will not lessen the
sorrow of not having my Green Serpent.'
'He will come to you after you have been three years in the wood in the
mountain,' said the fairy; 'and on your return you can give the water to
Magotine.'
Laideronnette promised the fairy not to forget anything she had told
her. So, when she got into her carriage, the mice took her to get the
water, and afterwards they went to the wood that the fairy had told them
about. There never was a more lovely place. Fruit hung on all the
branches; and there were long avenues where the sun could not pierce;
thousands of little fountains splashed, but the most wonderful thing of
all was, that all the animals could speak.
Three years passed, and the time had now arrived for her departure with
the water for Magotine. So Laideronnette told all the animals that she
was sorry to leave them, and tears fell from her eyes, because she was
so touched with the kindness they all had shown her.
She did not forget the vessel full of the Water of Discretion, nor the
little shoes of iron that the good fairy had given her; and, just when
Magotine thought her dead, she presented herself all of a sudden before
her, the stones around her neck, the shoes of iron on her feet, and the
vessel full of water in her hand.
Magotine on seeing her cried out in surprise. Where had she come from?
'Madam,' said Laideronnette, 'I passed three years in trying to get this
water for you.'
Magotine roared with laughter when she thought of the awful job this
poor Queen must have had to get it; but she regarded her attentively.
'What is it that I see?' she cried to Laideronnette, who had changed
greatly. 'How did you become so beautiful?'
Laideronnette told her that she had washed in the Water of Discretion,
and that was how she had become beautiful.
Magotine, on hearing this, threw the water on the ground. 'I will be
avenged,' said she. 'Go down to the bottomless pit and ask Proserpine to
give you the Essence of Long Life for me; I am always afraid of falling
ill and dying. When you have done this you will be free. But mind you do
not upset any; neither may you drink the tiniest drop.
The poor Queen, on hearing this new order, was terribly cut up. She
began to cry; and Magotine, seeing this, was delighted. 'Go on, get
away!' said she. 'Do not lose one moment.'
Laideronnette walked for a long time without finding the right path,
turning first one way and then the other; then suddenly she saw the
Fairy Protectress, who said to her:
'Do you know, beautiful Queen, that by the orders of Magotine your
husband is to remain as he is until you take the Essence of Life to that
wicked fairy?'
'I am yet a long way away,' said Laideronnette.
'Here,' said the Fairy Protectress, 'see, here is a branch of a tree:
touch the earth and repeat this verse distinctly.'
The Queen once again kissed the knees of this really good and generous
fairy, and at the same time repeated after her:
_'Thou who all malice canst disarm,
Protect me as I rove!
Deliver me from all who harm,
But not from him I love.
For, if devoured I am to be,
He is my monster--none but he!'_
And immediately, in answer to her prayer, a little boy more beautiful
than any in heaven or earth came up to her. On his head was a garland of
flowers, and in his hand a bow and arrow. The Queen knew at once that it
was Love. He said to her:
'You appeal to me so tenderly that I deserted the heavens.'
Love, who sang beautifully in verse, gave three knocks while singing
this song:
_'Earth, listen and my voice obey.
It is Love who speaks: reveal the way!'_
The earth obeyed: a path opened up, and Love took Laideronnette under
his protection; and so they arrived at the mouth of hell. She expected
to see her husband in the form of a serpent, but he had just finished
his terrible punishment. The first thing that Laideronnette saw was
indeed her husband; but she had never seen such a charming figure, nor
any one so handsome; and neither had he seen any one so beautiful as
she had become. Then the Queen said with extreme tenderness:
_'Destiny! I bend the knee
To thee and thy decree:
If he must dwell in deepest hell
He dwelleth there with me,
For e'en in hell I'll love him well
For all eternity.'_
The King was full of joy and love, and showed it by the way he kissed
her. Love, however, never did believe in wasting time, so he took the
Queen to Proserpine. The Queen gave the compliments of the fairy
Magotine, and begged her to give her the Essence of Long Life. Love took
it and handed it to her, telling her not to forget the penalty that she
had paid for her curiosity, and to take every care this time. He would
never leave them again. He conducted them to the fairy Magotine, and
then, so that Magotine should not see him, he hid in their hearts.
During this time the fairy Magotine was so impressed with the beauty of
human feelings, that she received the poor unfortunate King and Queen
with some feeling of generosity. She gave them back the lovely palace
with all the good things that they had before, and made the King head of
the pagodas again. So they went home, and all the great sorrows that
they had passed through they soon forgot in the greater joy of each
other.
[Illustration: THE GREEN SERPENT
Laideronnette kissed and embraced the good Fairy Protectress.
_See page 141_]
URASHIMA TARO
A JAPANESE FAIRY TALE
A very long time ago there lived in Japan a young fisherman named
Urashima Taro. His father before him had been a very expert fisherman,
but Urashima's skill in the art so far exceeded that of his father, that
his name as a fisher was known far and wide beyond his own little
village. It was a common saying that he could catch more fish in a day
than a dozen others could in a whole week.
But it was not only as a fisher that Urashima excelled. Wherever he was
known, he was loved for his kindly heart. Never had he hurt even the
meanest creature. Indeed, had it not been necessary to catch fish for
his living, he would always have fished with a straight hook, so as to
catch only such fish as wished to be caught. And as for teasing and
tormenting animals, when he was a boy, his tenderness towards all the
dumb creation was a matter for laughter with his companions; but nothing
would ever induce him to join in the cruel sport in which some boys
delight.
One evening, as Urashima was returning from a hard day's fishing, he met
a number of boys all shouting and laughing over something they were
worrying in the middle of the road. It was a tortoise they had caught
and were ill-treating. Between them all, what with sticks and stones and
other kinds of torture, the poor creature was hard beset and seemed
almost frightened to death.
Urashima could not bear to see a helpless thing treated in that way, so
he interfered.
'Boys!' he said, 'that's no way to treat a harmless dumb creature.
You'll kill the poor thing!'
But the boys merely laughed, and, taking no further notice, continued
their cruel sport.
'What's a tortoise?' cried one. 'Besides, it's great fun. Come on,
lads!' And they went on with their heartless game.
Urashima thought the matter over for a little, wondering how he could
persuade the boys to give the tortoise up to him. At last he said with a
smile, 'Come, boys! I know you're good-hearted young fellows: I'll make
a bargain with you. What I really wanted was to buy the tortoise,--that
is, if it is your own.'
'Of course it's our own. We caught it.' They had begun to gather round
him at the prospect of a sale, for they relished the money to buy
sweetmeats even more than the cruel sport of tormenting an innocent
creature.
'Very well,' replied Urashima, bringing a string of coins out of his
pocket and holding them up. 'See! you can buy a lot of nice things with
this. What do you say?'
He smiled at them so sweetly and spoke so gently that, with the cash
dangling before their eyes, they were soon won over. The biggest boy
then grabbed the tortoise, and held it out to him with one hand, while
he reached for the string of coins with the other. 'All right, uncle,'
he said, 'you can have the tortoise.'
Urashima handed over the money in exchange for the poor, frightened
creature, and the boys were soon making their way to the nearest
sweetmeat shop.
Meanwhile Urashima looked at the tortoise, which looked back at him with
wistful eyes full of meaning; and, though it could not speak, the young
fisherman understood it perfectly, and his tender heart went out to it.
'Poor little tortoise!' he said, holding it up and stroking it gently to
soothe its fears, 'you are all right with me. But remember, sweet little
one, you've had a narrow squeak of losing a very long life. How long is
it? Ten thousand years, they say;--that's ten times as long as a stork
can boast of. Now I'm going to take you right back to the sea, so that
you can swim away to your home and to your own people. But promise me
you will never let yourself be caught again.'
The tortoise promised with its eyes. So wistful and grateful were they,
that Urashima felt he could never forget them.
By this time he was down on the seashore, and there he placed the
tortoise in the sea and watched it swim away. Then he went home feeling
very happy about the whole thing.
Morning was breaking when Urashima pushed off his boat for his day's
fishing. The sea was calm, and the air was full of the soft, sweet
warmth of summer. Soon he was out skimming over the blue depths, and
when the tide began to ebb, he drifted far beyond the other fishermen's
boats, until his own was lost to their sight.
It was such a lovely morning when the sun rose and slanted across the
waters, that, when he thought of the short span of human life, he wished
that he had thousands of years to live, like the tortoise he had rescued
from the boys the day before.
As he was dreaming these thoughts, he was suddenly startled by a sweet
voice calling his name. It fell on his ears like the note of a silver
bell dropping from the skies. Again it came, nearer than before:
'Urashima! Urashima!'
He looked all around on the surface of the sea, thinking that some one
had hailed him from a boat, but there was no one there, as far as the
eye could reach.
And now he heard the voice again close at hand, and, looking over the
side of the boat, he saw a tortoise looking up at him, and he knew by
its eyes that it was the same tortoise he had restored to the sea the
previous day.
'So we meet again,' he said pleasantly. 'Fancy you finding me in the
middle of the ocean! What is it, you funny little tortoise? Do you want
to be caught again, eh?'
'I have looked for you,' replied the tortoise, 'ever since dawn, and
when I saw you in the boat I swam after you to thank you for saving my
life.'
'Well, that's very nice of you to say that. I haven't much to offer you,
but if you would like to come up into the boat and dry your back in the
sun we can have a chat.'
The tortoise was pleased to accept the invitation, and Urashima helped
it up over the side. Then, after talking of many things, the tortoise
remarked, 'I suppose you have never seen Rin Gin, the Dragon Sea-King's
palace, have you?'
Urashima shook his head.
'No,' he replied. 'They tell me it is a beautiful sight, but in all the
years that I have spent upon the sea I have never been invited to the
Dragon King's palace. It's some distance from here, isn't it?'
'I do not think you believe there is such a place,' replied the
tortoise, who had seen a twinkle in Urashima's eye. 'Yet I assure you it
exists, but a long way off--right down at the bottom of the sea. If you
would really like to see Rin Gin, I will take you there.'
'That is very kind of you,' said Urashima with a polite bow, which
pleased the tortoise greatly; 'but I am only a man, you know, and cannot
swim a long way under the sea like a tortoise.'
But the little creature hastened to reassure him.
'That's not at all necessary,' it said. 'I'll do the swimming and you
can ride on my back.'
Urashima laughed. The idea of his riding on the back of a tortoise that
he could hold in his hand was funny, and he said so.
'Never mind how funny it is,' said the tortoise; 'just get on and see.'
And then, as Urashima looked at it, the tortoise grew and grew and grew
until its back was big enough for two men to ride upon.
'What an extraordinary thing!' exclaimed Urashima. 'Right you are,
friend tortoise, I'll come with you.' And with that he jumped on.
'That's better,' said the tortoise; 'now we'll be off. Hold tight!'
The next moment the tortoise plunged into the sea, and dived down and
down until Urashima thought they would never be able to reach the
surface again in a thousand years. At last he caught sight of a land
below them, shining all green with the filtered sunlight; and now, as
they took a level course, he could make out the towns and villages
below, with beautiful gardens full of bright flowers and waving dreamy
trees. Then they passed over a vast green plain, at the further side of
which, in a village at the foot of high mountains, shone the splendid
portals of a magnificent palace.
'See!' said the tortoise, 'that is the entrance to Rin Gin. We shall
soon be there now. How do you feel?'
'Quite well, thank you!' And indeed, when Urashima felt his clothes he
found they were quite dry, which was really not so surprising because,
as he was borne swiftly through the water, there was all the time a
space of air around him, so that not only was he kept quite dry, but he
could breathe quite easily.
When they drew nearer to the great gate, Urashima could see beyond it,
half hidden by the trees, the shining domes of the palace. It was indeed
a magnificent place, unlike anything ever seen in the lands above the
sea.
Now they were at the great gate, and the tortoise stopped at the foot of
a flight of coral steps and asked him to dismount.
'You can walk now, Urashima'; and it led the way. Then the gatekeeper--a
royal sturgeon--challenged them, but the tortoise explained that
Urashima was a mortal from the great kingdom of Japan, who had come to
visit the Sea King, and the gatekeeper immediately showed them in.
As they advanced, they were met by the courtiers and officials. The
dolphin, the bonito, the great cuttle-fish, the bright-red bream; and
the mullet, the sole, the flounder, and a host of other fishes came
forward and bowed gracefully before the tortoise; indeed, such homage
did they pay that Urashima wondered what sway the tortoise held in this
kingdom beneath the sea. Then, when the visitor was introduced, they all
cried out a welcome. And the dolphin, who was a high official, remarked,
'We are delighted to see so distinguished a stranger from the great
kingdom of Japan. Welcome to the palace of the Dragon King of the Sea!'
Then all the fishes went in a procession before them to the interior of
the palace.
Now the humble fisherman had never been in such a magnificent place
before. He had never read _How to behave in a Palace_, but, though much
amazed, he did not feel at all shy. As he followed his guides, he
suddenly noticed that the tortoise had disappeared, but he soon forgot
this when he saw a lovely Princess, surrounded by her maidens, come
forward to greet him.
She was more beautiful than anything on earth, and her robes of pink and
green changed colour like the surface of the sea at sunset in some
sheltered cove. There were threads of pure gold in her long hair, and,
as she smiled, her teeth looked like little white pearls. She spoke soft
words to him, and her voice was as the murmur of the sea.
Urashima was so enchanted that he could not speak a word; but he had
heard that one must always bow low to a Princess, and he was about to do
so when the Princess tripped to his side, and, taking his hand in hers,
led him off into a splendid apartment, where she conducted him to the
place of honour and asked him to be seated.