mother, went singing onward through the lovely fields, to kneel before
the King, who had thus drawn him onward, through sorrow and sadness, to
find his happiness at length in the land which we mortals call the
Kingdom of Shadows but which wise men know as the Kingdom of Eternal
Light.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE GOLDEN GOBLIN
I.
RING MAGIC.
KELCH was a handsome young man who lived in a little village which was
near a great black forest, and he thought himself the most miserable
being in the world. It was very curious that he should do so, for he was
young, good-looking, and healthy, but he did not value any of these
gifts, because he was in love with Filina, the prettiest girl in the
whole country, and her father wanted her to marry a very rich man called
Hocky, for whom she did not in the least care.
Now Filina was also in love with Kelch, and hated the idea of marrying
ugly old Hocky, but, as he was rich and Kelch poor, her father would not
let her wed as she wished. Kelch had a little cottage near the wood,
which had been left to him by his mother, and earned his livelihood by
cutting firewood, which, to be sure, was not a very aristocratic
occupation. Still, in those days people did not care much for rank, and
pretty Filina loved Kelch tenderly in spite of his humble calling. She
nearly wept her eyes out when her father said she was to become the
bride of Hocky. He was an avaricious old dwarf who only cared for gold,
and wanted to marry Filina, not for her beauty, but because he knew she
would some day be left money when her father died. When Kelch heard of
the proposed marriage, he went to Filina’s father and told of his love,
but the cruel parent laughed at his request.
[Illustration]
“You marry my daughter!” he said mockingly. “What an idea!—you can give
her no money.”
“But I can give her love,” said Kelch sturdily, “and that is much better
than money.”
“I don’t think so,” retorted Filina’s father. “Any one can make love,
but few can make money, so go back to your wood-cutting, and don’t come
to me with such silly requests.”
“Is there no chance for me?” cried Kelch in despair.
“Yes—one,” answered the old man mockingly. “Become as rich as Hocky, and
you shall marry my daughter.”
Poor Kelch went away with tears in his eyes, because old Hocky was known
to be very wealthy, and how could an unknown youth hope to become rich
when he had no one to help him? It was no good feeling sad, however, for
sorrow would not help him to win Filina, so Kelch determined to go to
the castle of the Wicked Baron who lived in the centre of the forest,
and ask him to make him a present of some gold.
The Wicked Baron was a famous miser, and his castle was said to be full
of gold, so, in spite of his bad character, Kelch thought he would not
refuse to give him a little out of his plenty. So early one morning,
after saying good-bye to Filina, he went into the forest to search for
the Wicked Baron’s castle, and ask its owner to give him some gold.
Kelch wandered deeper and deeper into the forest, which became wilder
and more savage as he advanced, but still he did not come across the
looked-for castle. Night was coming on, and the wood was full of sombre
shadows, while behind the trees flushed the fierce red light of the
setting sun. It was a faery forest, and all the ground was covered with
soft grass, and strange flowers which only bloomed at night-time; while
overhead the nightingales sang most deliciously in the trees, and at
intervals the wise owls hooted in the most unexpected manner.
As it was now quite dark, Kelch thought he would sleep under a great oak
tree until the morning, and then once more set out upon his travels; so
he ate some food he had brought with him, drank from a stream which
sparkled by, and after saying his prayers,—for he was a good lad,—rested
his head upon his knapsack and went fast asleep.
In the middle of the night, however, he woke suddenly under the
influence of enchantment, for the whole of the forest was flooded with
the silver moonlight, and on every side the faeries were holding their
revels. Having drank of the waters of the brook, Kelch had come under
the charm of faery power, and, to his surprise, was able to understand
the talk of two elves who sat chattering to one another on the broad
white cup of a lily.
“Who is this youth lying asleep?” asked the first elf, never thinking
for a moment Kelch was awake, and only kept his eyes closed in order to
hear what they had to say.
“He is called Kelch,” said the other elf, “and loves Filina, who is to
marry old Hocky. He is now searching for the castle of the Wicked Baron,
to ask for gold.”
“He’ll never find it,” observed the first faery, “unless he asks the Owl
who lives in the oak tree under which he sleeps.”
“Then I will ask the Owl,” cried Kelch, sitting up, whereupon both
faeries flew away in great alarm, much to his regret, as he wanted to
make inquiries about the Owl.
He looked up at the tree, but could see nothing save the branches
interlaced against the clear sky, and now and then a gleam of moonlight
on the rough bark of the trunk. As Kelch had often heard that song was
the only way to invoke faeries, he thought he would try the same means
with the owl. So, springing to his feet, he began to sing, making up the
words as he went along:
“Fairy Owl,
Clever fowl,
Please tell me
Where to see
The castle old,
Where Baron bold
Hoards up his gold.”
The words were not very good, but they told exactly what he wanted to
know, and the Owl put her head out of a hole in the tree with a wild
hoot, her eyes glowing red like burning coals.
“Go away, boy,” croaked the Owl angrily, “and do not disturb me in my
grief. The Baron is dead, and I am in mourning for him.”
“The Baron dead!” cried Kelch in dismay. “Oh dear! then I won’t be able
to get any gold. I don’t know, though—he can’t have taken his gold with
him, so it must be there still. Owl!—Owl!—where’s the castle?”
The Owl hooted crossly, and then replied:
“Follow the brook
To open ground,
Then upward look,
And all around.
Jump water cold,
Then you will see
The castle old
Frown o’er the lea.”
The Owl drew back her head into the hole, and Kelch, taking her advice,
followed the windings of the brook through the forest. There never was
such a winding brook; first it twisted one way, then another, curled
round trees, hid under rocks, fell down precipices in sheets of foam,
and even flowed up a gentle incline. At last it began to grow
straighter, and finally led Kelch into a wide open glade girdled with
trees, but flowed directly in front of him, so that, in order to reach
the glade, he would have to cross it.
“I don’t see any castle,” said Kelch to himself; “but then the Owl said,
‘Jump water cold,’ so if I cross this brook, which evidently renders the
castle invisible, I will see it.”
As soon as he made up his mind to do this, he jumped over, and, on
landing safely on the opposite bank, saw before him a great castle, with
many towers all overgrown with ivy. So Kelch was right, the brook
rendered the castle invisible, and unless he had jumped across it he
would have seen nothing.
Kelch saw no lights in the castle, but, being a brave lad, he did not
mind that, so marched boldly forward, climbed up a broken-down flight of
steps leading to the front door, and, finding it open, entered. It was
all dark inside, but Kelch had a bit of candle in his pocket, and,
having lighted it, he set out to explore the castle, which was evidently
quite deserted.
He wandered through room after room, all of which were quite empty, and
inhabited by nothing but spiders, there not even being a rat. The
moonlight streamed into the lonely halls through the painted glass of
the windows, and filled them with strange shadows, but Kelch, knowing
that he had done no one harm, was not afraid, and began singing to keep
up his spirits:
“Thro’ lonely halls,
Wander, wander;
The moonlight falls
Yonder, yonder;
Tho’ dark appals,
Ponder, ponder.
Sad thoughts arise,
Weary, weary;
The night-wind sighs,
Dreary, dreary;
I hear strange cries,
Eerie, eerie.”
And indeed he did hear strange cries, sometimes like the roaring of wild
beasts, then shrill sounds like the piping of winds upon sandy beaches,
sometimes a cry of pain, and at time as burst of wild laughter. In order
to protect himself, he drew his hunting-knife from his girdle, and went
in the direction from whence the noises proceeded. When he did this, he
found himself descending the stairs, and thought he must now be going to
the cellars where the Wicked Baron kept his gold. The noises grew louder
and louder as he descended, and at last all dwindled down to one harsh
voice, which was singing this song:
“The Goblin Golden
Here you will find;
From ages olden
I’ve ruled mankind.
Another victim
I now will bind;
When I have tricked him
He’ll sorrow find.”
Kelch had by this time come to the end of a long dark passage, and was
stopped by an iron door, under which gleamed a line of bright yellow
light. He knocked, then suddenly with a loud crash the door flew open,
and he saw before him a circular room illuminated with the bright yellow
light. In the centre was a great pile of gold coins, on the top of which
was seated a funny little man.
[Illustration]
Such a queer figure he was, with a great fat body like a bag of money
tied round the top with a golden cord, so that it made a ruffle for his
neck, and above this was an enormous head with two fierce yellow eyes, a
great beak of a nose, and a wide mouth, which when open showed long
golden teeth. He had short little legs, with long peaked shoes of gold,
and in his hands held a golden sceptre, while on top of his great head
of yellow hair was a huge crown of heavy gold set with flashing
diamonds. He had a yellow skin and yellow clothes,—in fact, he was
yellow all over, and he sat cross-legged on the top of the heap of gold,
grinning and nodding at Kelch till the diamonds in his crown glittered
like great stars.
“I am the Golden Goblin,” he cried in a harsh voice, when he saw the
lad, “and I know what you come for, so take as much gold as you like and
go.”
“But where is the Wicked Baron?” asked Kelch.
“He has gone to my kingdom below,” said the Goblin, grinning; “he was my
servant, and had as much gold as he wanted, on condition he came with me
when he died, so he did die last year, and I’ve got him safe in my
kingdom.”
[Illustration: “I AM THE GOLDEN GOBLIN,” HE CRIED IN A HARSH VOICE]
Kelch’s hair arose on end at this, so wicked did the Goblin look, but as
he had done no harm, he was not afraid.
“Can I take some gold?” he asked; “I want some in order to marry
Filina.”
“You can take as much gold as you like,” replied the Goblin graciously,
“on condition that you put this ring on Filina’s finger as a present
from me.”
“Oh, I don’t mind that,” said Kelch, taking the gold ring held out to
him by the Goblin. “Thank you kindly; it will do for a wedding ring.”
“Exactly,” cried the Goblin, nodding his ugly head; “it will do for a
wedding ring. Now, fill your pockets with this gold, and it will do for
Filina’s dowry.”
“But then this gold belongs to the Baron.”
“No, it doesn’t; he’s dead, and it belongs to whomsoever I choose to
give it,” roared the little man, kicking several pieces across the
floor. “All the gold in the world is mine—take as much as you like, and
don’t say I’m not kind.”
You may be sure Kelch did not require a second invitation, and filled
all his pockets with money, so that he bulged out all over in the most
grotesque manner. While he did so, the Golden Goblin jumped off the heap
and danced about the room, singing the queerest songs Kelch had ever
heard. When his pockets were quite full, he thanked the Goblin and said
good-bye.
“Good-bye,” cried the Goblin, as Kelch went to the door, “till I see you
again.”
“You’ll never see me again,” returned Kelch, rather annoyed.
“Oh yes, I will,” grinned the yellow man, jumping up again on the golden
heap. “Don’t forget to marry Filina with my ring.”
“No, I won’t forget,” said Kelch; and then the Goblin burst out
laughing, while all the gold upon which he was seated commenced to whirl
round, until Kelch could not see the little man, but only a gleaming
column of gold, which was at first as high as the roof, then sank lower
and lower until it disappeared through the floor. Then the yellow light
commenced to fade, so Kelch, seeing there was no time to be lost, left
the chamber and hurried up-stairs as hard as ever he could.
Feeling very delighted that he had attained his object, he left the
castle of the Wicked Baron and jumped across the brook. When he did so,
the magic castle disappeared, and Kelch, with the gold in his pockets
and the ring upon his finger, followed the windings of the brook until
he arrived back at the oak tree.
“Oh, you’ve got back!” cried the Owl, putting out her head.
“Yes; and I’ve got the gold, thank you,” said Kelch cheerfully.
“Much good may it do you,” hooted the Owl, and withdrew her head again.
Kelch thought the Owl was very rude, but as she had done him a great
service, he said nothing, but walked through the forest, and on arriving
at the outskirts went straight home just as the red dawn was breaking in
the east.
During the day he went to Filina’s father and gave him all the gold he
had obtained from the castle of the Wicked Baron, upon which the old man
was so delighted that he at once gave his consent to the marriage, much
to the disgust of Hocky, who was very envious of Kelch’s good fortune.
In the evening Filina’s father gave a dance on the village green in
honour of his daughter’s marriage, and while the merrymaking was going
on, Kelch took the opportunity to slip the Goblin’s ring on Filina’s
finger. No sooner had he done so, than, to the dismay of every one, the
poor girl vanished out of their sight, and Kelch was in despair.
Filina’s father was very angry at the disappearance of his daughter, and
his rage was further increased by Hocky, who said that Kelch must have
promised to give Filina to the Goblin in exchange for the gold. All the
villagers believed this malicious story, and drove Kelch from his home
with sticks and stones. So the poor lad found himself at last seated
once more under the oak tree, having lost Filina, his gold, his home,
and his good name.
II.
THE REALM OF GOLD.
IT was now night-time once more, and the wood was again full of merry
faeries, but Kelch was too much taken up with his own sorrows to notice
them, although the pranks they played would have amused the saddest
person in the world. However, when things are at their worst they
generally begin to mend, as Kelch soon found out, for, while he was
lamenting his evil fortune, the Owl put her head out of the hole in the
oak tree and hooted loudly, “Tu-whit! tu-whoo!” Kelch looked up, and,
knowing owls to be wise birds, fond of word-twistings, made instant
reply.
“True wit I have not owing to my sorrow, and I go not to woo because
Filina has been taken from me.”
“Very neat indeed,” replied Mrs. Owl politely. “I see you have the real
court air.”
“It must be natural, then,” said Kelch, with a sigh, “because I’ve never
been to court.”
“Never mind,” observed the Owl, nodding her head sagely; “perhaps you
will go some day. But why do you sit under my tree and cry?”
“Because I’m so miserable,” said Kelch, and thereupon he told the Owl
all his troubles in connection with Filina. The Owl listened attentively
with her head on one side, and, when he came to the end of his story,
wiped her eyes with a dry leaf, for she was a very tender-hearted bird,
and felt very sorry for Kelch.
“Ah, that Goblin, I know him well!” she said, when she had recovered
from her emotion; “he has carried off my friend the Wicked Baron, who
was no more wicked than you, except that he was too fond of gold. Ah,
that was his ruin! for if it had not been for his love of money, the
Golden Goblin would never have carried him off.”
“Why did he carry him off?” asked Kelch.
“Because once a year the Golden Goblin has to make the offering of a
human being to the King of Fire, for if he did not, the King of Fire
would invade the Realm of Gold, and destroy the kingdom of the Golden
Goblin. He offered the Baron as the last victim, and the next will be
Filina.”
“Filina!” cried Kelch in a tone of despair. “Oh no, it can’t be true.”
“It is true—quite true,” replied the Owl in a dignified manner. “The
ring he gave you is a magic ring, and as soon as it was placed on
Filina’s finger, she vanished from the earth.”
“She did—she did! but where is she now?”
“Down below in the Realm of Gold. To-morrow she will be given up as the
bride of the King of Fire.”
“Cannot I save her?”
“I don’t know,” said the Owl reflectively. “If your heart is strong, and
you don’t feel afraid, perhaps you may.”
“Oh, I’m not afraid!” cried Kelch quickly. “Do help me to save her, dear
Mrs. Owl—please do!”
“I’ll help you to save Filina and punish wicked old Hocky on one
condition,” said the Owl slowly; “and that is that you never cut down my
oak tree yourself, or let any one else cut it down.”
“Oh, I’ll promise that,” answered Kelch earnestly. “Your oak tree will
always be safe.”
“Then you keep your promise and I’ll keep mine,” cried the Owl. “Now,
first you must get to the Realm of Gold.”
“But how?”
“Don’t be impatient, and I’ll tell you. The way to the Realm of Gold is
down the trunk of this oak tree, so if you climb up to my nest, I’ll
show you how to crawl down.”
“But I’m too big,” said Kelch, looking at his sturdy figure.
“Oh, that will be all right; climb up to my nest, and as you climb
you’ll grow smaller.”
Kelch lost no time in obeying Mrs. Owl, and started to climb up the
great trunk of the oak tree. As he did so, he found himself shrinking
every minute, and when he arrived at the nest he was only two feet high,
and able to enter the hole without bowing his head.
The Owl received him very graciously, and showed him her home, which was
beautifully furnished with dry grass, and curtains of green moss.
“These are my books,” said Mrs. Owl, showing him some dried leaves; “for
I read a great deal—it improves my mind. The Faery Minervetta gave me
these beautiful volumes.”
“They look like dried leaves,” observed Kelch.
“To you; yes, because you are a mortal, but I am a faery owl, and can
read faery books. However, there’s no time to be lost, or Filina will
become the bride of the King of Fire, and then I cannot help you. Now,
take this phial of water.”
“What good will it do?” asked Kelch, putting the phial in his pocket.
“A great deal of good,” replied the Owl severely; “all the subjects of
the Golden Goblin are mortals who are discontented with their lot, and
want gold to buy all sorts of bad things; that phial contains the water
of contentment, and if you sprinkle it over the men and women you find
in the Realm of Gold, they will grow satisfied with their station in
life, and not want any gold; therefore the Goblin will lose all his
subjects. When he sees that, he’ll soon make terms with you, and then
you can demand back Filina.”
“I understand,” said Kelch; “but how do the men and women get to the
Realm of Gold if they are mortal?”
“They go in their dreams,” replied the Owl. “When they are awake during
the day they live on earth, but at night in their sleep they go down to
the Realm of Gold to be the slaves of the Golden Goblin; and, indeed,
many of them are his slaves in the day as well as in the night. Now go
away at once, or you’ll be late.”
Kelch thanked the kind Owl, and, going through a little door at the back
of the nest, commenced to clamber down the inside of the oak tree trunk,
while the Owl resumed her studies.
“I’ve saved my tree,” said the Owl to herself sagaciously; “no one will
cut it down now. Ah, there’s no doubt I’m really a very wise owl!”
And indeed she was; for she had gained by kindness what she never would
have gained by force, which shows that it is best to be gentle in all
things if we want to be successful.
Meanwhile, Kelch, being completely in the dark, did not know his way,
and in spite of all his care suddenly slipped and fell right down the
centre of the tree trunk. However, as he was in Faeryland, he felt no
fear, for, indeed, he was falling quite gently, as the air was so heavy,
and he was so small and light. Down, down he fell through the darkness,
till at last he came bump upon a cushion of moss which was at the foot
of the tree. Here there was a faint glimmer of light, and he saw above
him the mighty roots of the oak stretching out in all directions like
the rafters of a huge hall. His eyes soon became accustomed to the
glimmering twilight in which he now found himself, and he looked around
to see where he would go next. Through the misty blue light he espied a
small hole which seemed to lead downward in a gentle slope, but it was
so dark that he felt rather afraid to enter into it. Suddenly he saw
that the misty blue light was caused by the radiance of some decayed
wood which lay about, so, catching up a piece, he advanced boldly into
the hole, and soon discovered that it gave him sufficient light to see a
short distance before him.
Kelch was now in a narrow tunnel, the sides, floor, and roof of which
were nothing but rough rock, but as he advanced these commenced to
glisten with jewels, until they reflected the light of his decayed wood
torch so brightly, that he walked in the centre of a brilliant blaze. At
last the passage ended suddenly at a deep hole, up which rushed a
current of warm air. There seemed no way of getting down, but Kelch,
remembering his experience in the oak tree, never hesitated for a
moment, but flung himself boldly into the hole. The warm air bore him
up, and he fell gently for a long time, seeing the sides of the hole
rushing past him one blaze of light, like a splendid jewel. The air grew
hotter and hotter as he fell, until at length he tumbled right into the
centre of a heap of gold dust, which made him sneeze dreadfully. All
around him was a soft golden light, such as he had seen in the treasure
vault of the Wicked Baron; so, throwing away his useless torch, he
jumped to his feet and looked about him.
He was now in the middle of a large plain, and could see neither the
sides nor the roof of what he thought must be a cavern, as it was below
the earth, but only a soft gold mist floating above him, and surrounding
him on all sides, while the ground was covered with fine glittering gold
dust, in which lay great rocks and stones of pure yellow gold, gleaming
dully in the subdued yellow twilight.
It was truly a wonderful place, and what was more wonderful was, that
Kelch now found he had grown again to his natural size; so, very
satisfied with everything, he marched along over the plain to look for
the Golden Goblin.
For a long time the plain was quite lonely, and then he saw one or two
people in the distance; shortly afterwards, some more, until at length
he found himself among a great crowd of shadows. Kelch knew they were
dream-shadows, although they looked like flesh and blood men and women,
and he moved through the dense mass quite unnoticed, so intent were they
on their occupations. These consisted in picking up nuggets of gold from
the ground and putting them in their pockets; but Kelch noticed that all
their pockets had the bottoms cut off, so that when the nuggets were put
in, they simply fell through to the ground once more. Some of the
shadows wore chains of gold, of which they seemed very proud, and not
one person paid any attention to another, but each bent eagerly down
gathering up the gold, and putting it into their bottomless pockets.
There were old white-headed men, palsied elderly women, men in the prime
of life, and beautiful maidens; but all their faces wore the same eager
expression, as they clutched the shining gold.
Kelch could not help pitying them as they worked at their fruitless
tasks, but he knew they did it of their own free will, so that the work
which appeared a pain to him was a pleasure to them.
Suddenly he recollected the phial given to him by the Owl, and, as he
did not see anything of the Goblin, pulled it out of his pocket and
began to sprinkle the water of contentment on the avaricious shadows.
Every time a drop fell on one of them, that shadow vanished, and Kelch
knew that it had returned to its sleeping body on earth, quite contented
with its station in life, and would look no more for gold.