head, and then he told the two children to run out of doors and play,
because he and Mr Tiger wanted to talk big talk together.
The little ones were very glad to do this, for it was bright and
pleasant outside, and they liked it better than staying in the house.
Little Tiger was very frisky and frolicsome, and Little Sheep was too.
At first they ran about and chased each other, and tried which could
jump highest, but after a while they grew rougher in their play. Little
Sheep butted Little Tiger with his forehead, and then Little Tiger
raised his paw and gave Little Sheep a blow on the side of the head.
Though the Tiger was young and small, he was also very strong, and his
blow sent Little Sheep tumbling heels over head. Little Sheep was not
angry however. He got up and laughed and laughed. When he laughed he
opened his mouth wide, and Little Tiger was very much surprised to see
what little teeth the sheep had. He did not say anything at the time,
however, but only went on with his play.
But when Little Tiger and his father were walking home together that
evening, Little Tiger said, “Papa, I saw Little Sheep’s teeth to-day,
and he only has little, little bits of teeth. They do not look as
though they could bite anyone.”
“Hush, hush,” cried the Tiger. “You mustn’t talk in that way. Some one
might hear you.”
“But it is true,” said Little Tiger. “Why, I wouldn’t be afraid of
Little Sheep now, even if he _did_ get angry.”
“Will you be quiet?” cried the Tiger angrily. “If you ever say such a
thing again I will box you so hard that you will forget whether you
ever saw his teeth or not.”
All the same Mr Tiger could not help wondering whether what Little
Tiger had said was true. How strange it would be if Little Sheep only
had little weak teeth, and stranger still if Papa Sheep’s teeth were
just the same!
That night, after all the Tiger family had gone to bed, Mr Tiger began
to talk to his wife in a low tone.
“Do you know what Little Tiger said to-day?”
“No; how should I know? Some nonsense, no doubt.”
“He said he saw Little Sheep’s teeth, and that they were so small and
weak he did not believe he could bite anybody.”
“Oh! oh! be quiet,” cried his wife. “Are you crazy to talk so? Suppose
some one heard you, and went and told Papa Sheep what you had been
saying. He certainly would come and tear us all to pieces.”
Mr Tiger said nothing in answer to this, but the less he said, the more
he thought. At last he made up his mind to find out for a certainty
whether Papa Sheep had biting teeth or no. For this purpose he in his
turn invited Papa Sheep and Little Sheep to come and spend the day with
him and his family.
Papa Sheep accepted the invitation, and on the day named he and Little
Sheep arrived bright and early at the tiger’s house.
As before, the little ones went out of doors to play, and the big
animals sat and talked inside the house.
Presently Mr Tiger brought out a bottle of wine and set it on the
table, and he and the sheep began to drink together. The more Papa
Sheep drank, the merrier he grew. He quite lost his solemn look. He
began to laugh loudly, and he threw back his head and opened his mouth
so wide that the tiger could see every tooth he had. And very poor
teeth they were too—so small and weak that they were not fit for biting
anything tougher than grass.
When Mr Tiger saw how small the sheep’s teeth were, he became very
angry. He was in a rage to think he had ever been afraid of Papa Sheep,
and had treated him with respect. With a roar he sprang at the old
sheep, and gave him such a blow with his paw that the sheep fell down
dead.
Little Tiger, outside, heard the noise, and he ran and looked in at the
window. As soon as he saw what had happened, he called to Little Sheep,
“Run, Little Sheep! Run away, quick! My papa is biting your papa, and
if you do not run away he will bite you next.”
When Little Sheep heard this he was very much frightened. He did not
stop to ask any questions. He took to his heels and ran home, crying
bitterly all the way.
Old Mother Sheep saw him coming and hurried out to meet him. “What is
the matter?” she cried. “Where is your father, and why are you crying
so bitterly?”
“Oh! oh!” wept Little Sheep. “The Tiger! He has bitten Papa to pieces,
and I’m afraid he’ll come and bite me too.”
When Mother Sheep heard this, she too began to weep and lament. “What
shall we do now?” she cried. “Where shall we go? The Tiger will
certainly come in search of us next, and tear us to pieces as he did
your father.”
At this the Little Sheep raised his voice and wept more bitterly than
ever.
Now it so chanced that when Mother Sheep ran out to meet Little Sheep
she met him under a tall tree, and in this tree the Queen of the Birds
was sitting. The Queen heard everything the two below her said, and
she felt very sorry for them because they were in such distress and
terror. She flew down to a branch just over their heads and spoke to
them in a soothing manner.
“I have overheard all that you have been saying. This Tiger that you
speak of is indeed a very wicked animal. You are in great danger, but
do not be afraid. I will help you. I have a plan that may rid us of
him for ever. Do you go back to your home. Shut yourself in and remain
there quietly until I send you further word.”
When Mother Sheep heard this she was comforted, for she saw at once
that it was a queen that was speaking to her. She promised to do as she
was told, and with Little Sheep at her side she returned quickly to
the house. There they shut themselves in and sat down to wait for what
might happen.
Meanwhile the Queen flew away to the forest where she lived, and called
all the birds together. “Listen now,” she said to them. “Do you know
what the wicked Tiger has done? He has killed poor old Papa Sheep, who
never did harm to anyone. We all know how cruel the Tiger is, but this
is the worst thing he has done yet. It is time for us to rid the forest
of him.”
The Queen then told them that she was going to give a grand ball. To
this ball she intended to invite the Tiger. And not only should he be
invited, but he should be her own partner for the dance. “When the
music begins, you also must take partners,” said she. “We will all
stand up to dance, and then I will give a sign, and all the herons must
clap their wings together. When they do this, the rest of you must
instantly hide your heads under your wings. When I make another sign,
they will again clap their wings, and then you must take your heads out
again. If the plan I have in my mind only works out well, we will soon
put an end to this Tiger.”
The birds promised to obey their Queen exactly in everything, and then
she sent several of them away to the Tiger’s house to invite him to the
ball.
The Tiger was at home when the birds arrived, and he was very much
flattered when he heard that the Queen wished him to come to her ball.
He was even more delighted when he found that he was to be the Queen’s
own partner in the dance.
He at once began to make himself ready, smoothing his whiskers, and
brushing his coat until it shone.
The Tiger’s wife, however, was not at all pleased. “What nonsense is
this?” cried she. “Why should you want to go to a ball? You have never
been to court before, and you will not know how to act. You will be
sure to do something foolish, and then every one will laugh at you.”
The Tiger became very angry when she said this. “Of course I shall go,”
he cried. “I know how to behave as well as anyone. You only talk this
way because you are jealous at not being asked. If you had been invited
too, you would have been eager enough to go. But you cannot dissuade
me, whatever you say.” The Tiger then hurried away through the forest
to the place where the ball was to be held.
As soon as the Queen of the Birds saw him coming, she made haste to
welcome him. A fine feast was already spread, and the Queen made the
Tiger sit down at her right hand, and she offered him so many delicious
things that he ate and drank a great deal more than was good for him.
She also flattered him until he hardly knew what he was doing.
After the feast was ended the music began to play, and the birds all
stood up to dance. Each one had a partner, but the Queen’s partner was
the Tiger himself, as she had promised him. When all were in position,
the Queen gave a sign, and the great herons clapped their wings
together with a loud noise. The noise was so very loud and so very
sudden that it made the Tiger blink, and in that moment that the Tiger
blinked all the birds hid their heads under their wings.
When the Tiger looked about him again he was very much surprised to see
all the birds standing there apparently without any heads. The Queen
alone held her head high, and she looked at him with an angry air.
“How is this?” said she. “Are these your court manners? Do you not know
that at court no one except the Queen ever dances without removing his
head? Look about you. Do you see even a single one of the birds with
his head on?”
“But—but—” stammered the Tiger, “after the dance is over, what will
they do without their heads? Your Majesty, how could I take care of my
wife and family without a head?”
“Oh,” said the Queen smiling, “after the dance is over they will have
their heads again. It is only while they dance that they are without
them. I will show you.”
With these words the Queen again gave a sign. At once all the herons
clapped their wings, and in the instant when the Tiger blinked the
birds drew their heads from under their wings. The Tiger looked about
him. There the birds all stood just as before, only now their heads
were in their proper places, and they were all looking at him with a
scornful air.
“Oh, your Majesty,” cried the Tiger, “I am very much ashamed. I have
never been to court before, and I did not know what was expected of me.
If you will excuse me, I will run home and get rid of my head, and then
I will return at once to dance with you.”
“Very well,” answered the Queen, “only do not be gone long”; and she
smiled upon him sweetly.
At once the Tiger bounded away, but the Queen bade a little sparrow
follow him and bring her word of what happened to him.
The Tiger hurried on, leaping over logs and breaking through bushes,
while the sparrow fluttered overhead unnoticed.
He reached his home, and scarcely had he crossed the threshold before
he began to bawl for his wife. “Wife! Wife! Come here, quick! Bring an
axe and chop off my head.”
“Are you crazy?” cried his wife. “Chop off your head! Why should I do
that?”
“You do not understand. I am to dance with the Queen, and no one may do
that as long as he has a head on his shoulders.”
“All the better for you. Why should you dance with her? And I certainly
shall not kill you, Queen or no Queen.”
When his wife said this, Mr Tiger fell into a terrible rage. “Am I the
master of the house, or am I not?” he cried. “Do as I tell you, or I
will tear you to pieces, as I did the poor silly Sheep.” He looked
so fierce that his wife was terrified. She ran out and got the axe.
When she returned with it, however, she again began to argue with him.
“Think, husband—think well what you would have me do. If your head is
once off, there will be no putting it on again. That will be the end of
you.”
“You do not understand,” cried the Tiger. “The Queen will see to that.
She will see that my head is put back again after the dance.” Then, as
his wife still hesitated, he began to roar in such a terrible manner
that she almost lost her wits, and seizing the axe, she cut off his
head in a hurry. And that was the end of him, for even if the Queen
had been able to do it, she would not have restored the head of such a
wicked beast.
As soon as the sparrow had seen the end of the Tiger, he flew back to
carry the news to the Queen. Then there was the greatest rejoicing all
through the forest. Not a single bird or beast but was glad the Tiger
was dead. No one, however, rejoiced as heartily as Mother Sheep and
Little Sheep, for they were the ones who had been in most danger. Now
they could come out from their house again and go about their usual
business.
After a while, as time passed by, Little Sheep played so hard and ate
so much that he grew up to be Big Sheep. He was larger and stronger
than his father had ever been. His beard was longer, and his horns were
curlier, and yet nobody was afraid of him. Word had gone to all the
animals that the sheep’s teeth were too small and weak to hurt anyone.
And so it has been ever since. Not one of the animals has been afraid
of the sheep from that day to this.
PRINCESS ROSETTA
A FRENCH FAIRY TALE
THERE were once a King and Queen who had three of the most beautiful
children in the world. They loved all the children tenderly, one no
better than the others; but the youngest, who was a girl, was always
kept locked up in a strong tower. She was allowed to see no one but her
attendants, and her parents and her two brothers, who went every day to
visit her.
No one knew why she was kept shut up in this way except the King and
Queen. Even her brothers did not know, and they often grieved to think
that their sister Rosetta should be a prisoner all her life.
The fact was that when Rosetta was born a fairy had appeared to her
parents and had told them that some time the princess would bring a
great misfortune upon her brothers. Because of her they would be cast
into a dungeon and perhaps even lose their lives. These misfortunes
would happen when the Princess Rosetta was about to be married.
The royal parents were greatly troubled at hearing this, and they
immediately caused a high tower to be built, and in this they placed
the child. Every luxury was hers; the most beautiful clothes and
jewels, and the most delicious and delicately cooked food. Her
furniture was of gold and was carved in strange and wonderful shapes,
and the hangings were all woven of gold and silver thread and richly
embroidered.
No one, however, as was said, ever came to the tower, or saw her,
except her father and mother and her brothers and the ladies who waited
upon her.
The royal parents intended to tell their sons the reason for this
imprisonment when Rosetta should have reached the age of eighteen. Her
brothers would then understand that it was not through any cruelty that
their sister was kept prisoner, but to protect their own lives.
Unfortunately, just before Rosetta’s eighteenth birthday the King and
Queen both died, and so suddenly that they had no time to reveal to
anyone what the fairy had told them.
The keys of the tower were given to the elder prince, and one of his
first acts was to set Rosetta free.
The princess was delighted to be able to see at last what the world
outside of her tower was like. Everything was a wonder to her—the
trees, the grass, the flowers and fountains. She wished to know the
names of everything.
At one spot in the gardens a peacock sat sunning itself.
“What is that beautiful creature called?” she asked.
“That, dear sister, is a peacock,” answered the princes.
“A peacock!” cried Rosetta. “Never in my life did I dream that such a
beautiful thing existed. I am sure that in all the world there can be
nothing else that is quite so beautiful. Dear brothers, if you love me,
find the King of the Peacocks and bring him here, for he, and he alone,
shall be my husband. Moreover, unless you find him and bring him to me,
I shall certainly die of grief.”
The princes loved their sister so dearly that they could refuse nothing
that she asked of them. They at once began to make ready to set out
into the world in search of the country of the peacocks. Before
starting they caused a portrait of their sister to be painted. This
they intended to take with them to the Peacock country, for they were
sure that if the king of that country could only know how beautiful
Rosetta was, he would never be contented until he had her for his queen.
As soon as their preparations had been made and the portrait was
finished, the two princes set out upon their travels. They journeyed
on and on, over many seas and many mountains and through many strange
lands, until at last they came to a country where there were nothing
but peacocks. There were peacock bakers and peacock tradesmen. Peacocks
went in and out of the houses, and drove through the streets in
magnificent coaches shining with gold and precious stones. Everywhere
were only peacocks spreading their tails and parading in all their
magnificence. Strangely enough, however, the King who ruled over this
country was not a peacock at all, but a young man so handsome and
graceful that even the peacocks could not equal him in beauty.
The princes, who had not taken long in finding the castle, were brought
before the King by the peacocks who attended him. The brothers at
once told him that they too were sons of a king, and that they were
travelling through the world upon a secret errand of great importance.
They did not tell him what their errand was, but after they had been
talking with him for a short time, they began to speak of their sister,
and of her beauty and sweetness. The young King became quite eager to
see such a lovely creature, and the brothers sent for the portrait they
had brought with them and showed it to him.
The King of the Peacocks had no sooner seen it than he fell violently
in love with Rosetta, and begged them to promise her to him for a
bride. The brothers were the more ready to do this because they had
found that the Peacock King was not only singularly handsome, but that
he was one of the richest and most powerful kings in the whole world.
Messengers were appointed to go to the princes’ country and to bring
Rosetta back with them. They were urged to make all the speed they
could, for the young King was so eager to see the Beauty that he was
ready to die with impatience.
After they had gone, the King had the portrait put where he could see
it constantly, and feast his eyes upon it, and he was only happy when
he was with it. The more he looked at it, however, the more he doubted
whether any human being could be as beautiful as the painting. The
brothers were obliged to assure him every day that when he saw Rosetta
he would find her even more lovely than her portrait.
“Very well,” said the Peacock King at last, “if I find all that you
tell me is true, I will load you with wealth and honours, but if you
have deceived me, I will surely put you to death.”
The brothers were not dismayed at this threat, for they knew that it
was impossible that he should be disappointed in the beauty of their
sister.
Meanwhile the messengers, after many days, reached the country where
Rosetta lived. They at once were brought before her, and when she heard
that they had come to take her to the King of the Peacocks, she was
wild with joy. She determined to set out at once, and as the journey
was shorter by way of the sea, she made up her mind to go in a ship
rather than in a coach and by land. She took with her only an old nurse
and her foster-sister, and her little dog Fifine. This little dog was
very wonderful, and had been given to her by a fairy. He was of a
bright green colour and had only one ear, but he understood everything
the princess said to him, and he knew a hundred pretty tricks.
The old nurse and her daughter pretended to be very fond of Rosetta,
but in truth they hated her because she was so beautiful and beloved,
and would have been glad to injure her in any way.
After they had sailed along for several days, and were almost within
sight of the kingdom of the Peacocks, the old nurse brought to Rosetta
a drink that she had mixed, and in which she had put a sleeping potion.
Rosetta suspected nothing, and she drank all the old woman had brought
her, except for a small part that she gave to Fifine.
Rosetta had scarcely swallowed the potion before she became very
drowsy. Her eyelids weighed like lead, and before long she fell into
a deep sleep. Fifine also became very sleepy. He crawled in under the
silken covering that the princess had drawn over her, and lay there as
though dead.
As soon as the old nurse saw that Rosetta was asleep, and that nothing
could awaken her, she went to the sailors, and by means of bribes and
threats she obliged them to do exactly as she bade them. Under her
directions they carried the mattress upon which Rosetta lay up to the
deck. The nurse looked about for Fifine, but could not find the little
dog anywhere, for it was hidden under the coverlet. “No matter,” said
she. “I wished to keep the little animal for my daughter, but it is
probably hiding somewhere about the ship, and I will find it later.”
She then made the sailors take up the mattress and throw it overboard
into the sea. This they did without awakening either Rosetta or Fifine.
They then set all sail and sped on toward the shores of the Peacock
country, which could already be seen before them. The wicked nurse
felt sure that it would not be long before the mattress would become
heavy with water and would sink, so she and her daughter need trouble
themselves no more about the hated Rosetta.
Meanwhile the King of the Peacocks was growing more and more impatient
to see his bride. Watchers had been placed upon the seashore to bring
him news the moment the sails of the returning ship were seen.
It was on the twenty-first day after the messengers had departed that
these watchers hastened to the palace, all out of breath, and told the
King that the ship was approaching.
The King called his attendants about him, and hurried down to the
seashore.
The vessel had already come to land. The wicked nurse had dressed her
daughter in the most magnificent of Rosetta’s clothes, which she wore
as a toad might wear the dress of a fairy. The nurse had also bedecked
her with the jewels belonging to the princess, and last of all she had
thrown a silver veil over her, as though to guard her beauty from the
sun.
As the prince saw this magnificently dressed person approaching him, he
assumed it must be his bride. He hastened to meet her, and threw back
the veil that covered her face, but when he saw the ugliness beneath
the veil he almost fainted. He at once decided that the two princes had
deceived him; that they had tricked him into sending for their sister
and promising to marry her because no other king had been willing to
take such a hideous creature for his wife.
Filled with rage, he sent his guards to take the princes and throw
them into the deepest and darkest of the palace dungeons. He had given
his word that he would marry their sister, and this word he could not
break, but he promised himself that upon the day when he was married to
this creature the two brothers should die.
The princes, meanwhile, had also heard that the ship had returned. They
had no doubt that their sister was on board, and they had at once made
ready to appear before the King, to be loaded with wealth and honours
as he had promised them.
[Illustration: THE MATTRESS UPON WHICH SHE LAY HAD FLOATED ON AND ON]
It was not long, indeed, before they heard a loud knock on their door,
but instead of smiling courtiers coming to congratulate them, a guard
of soldiers had arrived, and the two brothers were carried away, not to
a grateful king, but to a horrible dungeon where their only companions
were snakes and toads and slimy crawling things. The princes could
not understand it. They could not imagine what had happened, nor why
they were treated in this way. The soldiers would not answer their
questions, and after they were shut in the dungeon no living soul came
near them except the jailer, who unlocked the door to throw in to them
a few vile crusts, and he was both deaf and dumb.
While the princes were lying thus imprisoned, preparations for the
wedding were being made. A magnificent apartment had been set apart
for the bride. Everything she asked for was given her, jewels and
dresses of every kind, but the King she never saw. He had fallen ill
with rage and disappointment, and no one could come near him except his
attendants and the doctors.
The old nurse and her daughter were well content, however. The ugly
girl was to become a queen, and one of the greatest queens in all
the world, and that was enough for them. As for Rosetta, they were
sure that she had been drowned, and that there was no need to trouble
themselves about her.
The princess had not been drowned however. She was alive and well, and
even more beautiful than ever, and she was at that very moment living
in a poor hut in the outskirts of the city, and within sight of the
very castle itself.
After the ship had sailed away and left her, the mattress upon which
she lay had floated on and on until at last it had stranded upon a rock
not far out from the shore.