Fretillon lying at her feet, not even stirring one of his paws. Rosette
slept soundly, but the wicked nurse kept awake, and went presently to
fetch the boatman. She took him into the Princess's room, and together
they lifted her up, feather bed, mattress, sheets, coverlet, and all,
and threw them into the sea, the Princess all the while so fast
asleep, that she never woke. But fortunately, her bed was made of
Phoenix-feathers, which are extremely rare, and have the property of
always floating on water; so that she was carried along in her bed as in
a boat. The water, however, began gradually first to wet her feather
bed, then her mattress, and Rosette began to feel uncomfortable, and
turned from side to side, and then Fretillon woke up. He had a capital
nose, and when he smelt the soles and cod-fish so near, he started
barking at them, and this awoke all the other fish, who began swimming
about. The bigger ones ran against the Princess's bed, which, not being
attached to anything, span round and round like a whirligig. Rosette
could not make out what was happening. "Is our boat having a dance on
the water?" she said. "I am not accustomed to feeling so uneasy as I am
to-night," and all the while Fretillon continued barking, and going on
as if he was out of his mind. The wicked nurse and the boatman heard him
from afar, and said: "There's that funny little beast drinking our
healths with his mistress. Let us make haste to land," for they were now
just opposite the town of the King of the Peacocks.
He had sent down a hundred chariots to the landing-place; they were
drawn by all kinds of rare animals, lions, bears, stags, wolves, horses,
oxen, asses, eagles, and peacocks: and the chariot which was intended
for the Princess was harnessed with six blue monkeys, that could jump,
dance on the tight rope, and do endless clever tricks; they had
beautiful trappings of crimson velvet, overlaid with plates of gold.
Sixty young maids of honour were also in attendance, who had been chosen
by the King for the amusement of the Princess; they were dressed in all
sorts of colours, and gold and silver were the least precious of their
adornments.
The nurse had taken great pains to dress her daughter finely; she had
put on her Rosette's best robe, and decked her all over from head to
foot with the Princess's diamonds; but with all this, she was still as
ugly as an ape, with greasy black hair, crooked eyes, bowed legs, and a
hump on her back; and, added to these deformities, she was besides of a
disagreeable and sulky temper, and was always grumbling.
When the people saw her get out of the boat, they were so taken aback by
her appearance, that they could not utter a sound. "What is the meaning
of this?" she said. "Are you all asleep? Be off, and bring me something
to eat! A nice set of beggars you are! I will have you all hanged." When
they heard this, they murmured, "What an ugly creature! and she is as
wicked as she is ugly! A nice wife for our King; well, we are not
surprised! but it was scarcely worth the trouble to bring her from the
other side of the world." Meanwhile she still behaved as if she were
already mistress of all and everything, and for no reason at all, boxed
their ears, or gave a blow with her fist to everybody in turn.
As her escort was a very large one, the procession moved slowly, and she
sat up in her chariot like a queen; but all the peacocks, who had
stationed themselves on the trees, so as to salute her as she passed,
and who had been prepared to shout, "Long live the beautiful Queen
Rosette!" could only call out, "Fie, fie, how ugly she is!" as soon as
they caught sight of her. She was so enraged at this, that she called to
her guards, "Kill those rascally peacocks who are insulting me." But the
peacocks quickly flew away, and only laughed at her.
The treacherous boatman, seeing and hearing all this, said in a low
voice to the nurse, "There is something wrong, good mother; your
daughter should have been better looking." She answered, "Hold your
tongue, stupid, or you will bring us into trouble."
The King had word brought him that the Princess was approaching. "Well,"
he said, "have her brothers, I wonder, told me the truth? Is she more
beautiful than her portrait?" "Sire," said those near him, "there will
be nothing to wish for, if she is as beautiful." "You are right,"
replied the King, "I shall be well content with that. Come, let us go
and see her," for he knew by the hubbub in the courtyard that she had
arrived. He could not distinguish anything that was said, except, "Fie,
fie, how ugly she is!" and he imagined that the people were calling out
about some little dwarf or animal that she had brought with her, for it
never entered his head that the words were applied to the Princess
herself.
Rosette's portrait was carried uncovered, at the top of a long pole,
and the King walked after it in solemn state, with all his nobles and
his peacocks, followed by ambassadors from various kingdoms. The King of
the Peacocks was very impatient to see his dear Rosette; but when he did
see her--well, he very nearly died on the spot. He flew into a violent
rage, he tore his clothes, he would not go near her, he felt quite
afraid of her. "What!" he cried, "have those two villains I have in
prison had the boldness and impudence to make a laughing-stock of me,
and to propose my marrying such a fright as that? They shall both be
killed; and let that insolent woman, and the nurse, and the man who is
with them, be immediately carried to the dungeon of my great tower, and
there kept." While this was going on, the King and his brother, who knew
that his sister was expected, had put on their bravest apparel ready to
receive her; but instead of seeing their prison door open and being set
at liberty, as they had hoped, the gaoler came with a body of soldiers
and made them go down into a dark cellar, full of horrible reptiles, and
where the water was up to their necks; no one was ever more surprised or
distressed than they were. "Alas!" they said to one another, "this is
indeed a melancholy marriage feast for us! What can have happened that
we should be so ill-treated?" They did not know what in the world to
think, except that they were to be killed, and they were very sorrowful
about this. Three days passed, and no news reached them of any kind. At
the end of that time, the King of the Peacocks came, and began calling
out insulting things to them through a hole in the wall. "You called
yourselves King and Prince, that I might fall into your trap, and engage
myself to marry your sister; but you are nothing better than two
beggars, who are not worth the water you drink. I am going to bring you
before the judges, who will soon pass their verdict upon you; the rope
to hang you with is already being made." "King of the Peacocks," replied
the King, angrily, "do not act too rashly in this matter, or you may
repent it. I am a King as well as you, and I have a fine kingdom, and
rich clothing, and crowns, to say nothing of good gold pieces. You must
be joking to talk like this of hanging us; have we stolen anything from
you?"
When the King heard him speak so boldly, he did not know what to think,
and he felt half inclined to let them and their sister go without
putting them to death; but his chief adviser, who was an arrant
flatterer, dissuaded him from this, telling him that if he did not
revenge the insult that had been put upon him, all the world would make
fun of him, and look upon him as nothing better than a miserable little
King worth a few coppers a day. The King thereupon swore that he would
never forgive them, and ordered them to be brought to trial at once.
This did not take long; the judges had only to look at the real
Rosette's portrait and then at the Princess who had arrived, and,
without hesitation, they ordered the prisoners' heads to be cut off as a
punishment for having lied to the King, since they had promised him a
beautiful Princess, and had only given him an ugly peasant girl. They
repaired with great ceremony to the prison to read this sentence to
them; but the prisoners declared that they had not lied, that their
sister was a Princess, and more beautiful than the day; that there must
be something under this which they did not understand, and they asked
for a respite of seven days, as before that time had expired their
innocence might have been established. The King of the Peacocks, who had
worked himself up to a high pitch of anger, could with great difficulty
be induced to accord them this grace, but at last he consented.
While these things were going on at the Court, we must say something
about poor Rosette. Both she and Fretillon were very much astonished,
when daylight came, to find themselves in the middle of the sea, without
a boat, and far from all help. She began to cry, and cried so piteously,
that even the fishes had compassion on her: she did not know what to do,
nor what would become of her. "There is no doubt," she said, "that the
King of the Peacocks ordered me to be thrown into the sea, having
repented his promise of marrying me, and to get rid of me quietly he has
had me drowned. What a strange man!" she continued, "for I should have
loved him so much! We should have been so happy together," and with that
she burst out crying afresh, for she could not help still loving him.
She remained floating about on the sea for two days, wet to the skin,
and almost dead with cold; she was so benumbed by it, that if it had not
been for little Fretillon, who lay beside her and kept a little warmth
in her, she could not have survived. She was famished with hunger, and
seeing the oysters in their shells, she took as many of these as she
wanted and ate them; Fretillon did the same, to keep himself alive,
although he did not like such food. Rosette became still more alarmed
when the night set in. "Fretillon," she said, "keep on barking, to
frighten away the soles, for fear they should eat us." So Fretillon
barked all night, and when the morning came, the Princess was floating
near the shore. Close to the sea at this spot, there lived a good old
man; he was poor, and did not care for the things of the world, and no
one ever visited him in his little hut. He was very much surprised when
heard Fretillon barking, for no dogs ever came in that direction; he
thought some travellers must have lost their way, and went out with the
kind intention of putting them on the right road again. All at once he
caught sight of the Princess and Fretillon floating on the sea, and the
Princess, seeing him, stretched out her arms to him, crying out, "Good
man, save me, or I shall perish; I have been in the water like this for
two days." When he heard her speak so sorrowfully, he had great pity on
her, and went back into his hut to fetch a long hook; he waded into the
water up to his neck, and once or twice narrowly escaped drowning. At
last, however, he succeeded in dragging the bed on to the shore. Rosette
and Fretillon were overjoyed to find themselves again on dry ground; and
were full of gratitude to the kind old man. Rosette wrapped herself in
her coverlet, and walked bare-footed into the hut, where the old man lit
a little fire of dry straw, and took one of his dead wife's best dresses
out of a trunk, with some stockings and shoes, and gave them to the
Princess. Dressed in her peasant's attire, she looked as beautiful as
the day, and Fretillon capered round her and made her laugh. The old man
guessed that Rosette was some great lady, for her bed was embroidered
with gold and silver, and her mattress was of satin. He begged her to
tell him her story, promising not to repeat what she told him if she so
wished. So she related to him all that had befallen her, crying bitterly
the while, for she still thought that it was the King of the Peacocks
who had ordered her to be drowned.
"What shall we do, my daughter?" said the old man. "You are a Princess
and accustomed to the best of everything, and I have but poor fare to
offer, black bread and radishes; but if you will let me, I will go and
tell the King of the Peacocks that you are here; if he had once seen
you, he would assuredly marry you." "Alas! he is a wicked man," said
Rosette; "he would only put me to death; but if you can lend me a little
basket, I will tie it round Fretillon's neck, and he will have very bad
luck, if he does not manage to bring back some food."
The old man gave her a basket, which she fastened to Fretillon's neck,
and then said, "Go to the best kitchen in the town, and bring me back
what you find in the saucepan." Fretillon ran off to the town, and as
there was no better kitchen than that of the King, he went in, uncovered
the saucepan, and cleverly carried off all that was in it; then he
returned to the hut. Rosette said to him, "Go back and take whatever you
can find of the best in the larder." Fretillon went back to the King's
larder, and took white bread, wine, and all sorts of fruits and
sweetmeats; he was so laden that he could only just manage to carry the
things home.
When the King of the Peacocks' dinner hour arrived, there was nothing
for him either in the saucepan or in the larder; his attendants looked
askance at one another, and the King was in a terrible rage. "It seems,
then, that I am to have no dinner; but see that the spit is put before
the fire, and let me have some good roast meat this evening." The
evening came, and the Princess said to Fretillon, "Go to the best
kitchen in the town and bring me a joint of good roast meat." Fretillon
obeyed, and knowing no better kitchen than that of the King, he went
softly in, while the cooks' backs were turned, took the meat, which was
of the best kind, from the spit, and carried it back in his basket to
the Princess. She sent him back without delay to the larder, and he
carried off all the preserves and sweetmeats that had been prepared for
the King.
The King, having had no dinner, was very hungry, and ordered supper to
be served early, but no supper was forthcoming; enraged beyond words, he
was forced to go supperless to bed.
The same thing happened the following day, both as to dinner and supper;
so that the King, for three days, was without meat or drink, for every
time he sat down to table, it was found that the meal that had been
prepared had been stolen. His chief adviser, fearing for the life of the
King, hid himself in the corner of the kitchen to watch; he kept his
eyes on the saucepan, that was boiling over the fire, and what was his
surprise to see enter a little green dog, with one ear, that uncovered
the pot, and put the meat in its basket. He followed it to see where it
would go; he saw it leave the town, and still following, came to the old
man's hut. Then he went and told the King that it was to a poor
peasant's home that the food was carried morning and evening. The King
was greatly astonished, and ordered more inquiries to be made. His chief
adviser, anxious for favour, decided to go himself, taking with him a
body of archers. They found the old man and Rosette at dinner, eating
the meat that had been stolen from the King's kitchen, and they seized
them, and bound them with cords, taking Fretillon prisoner at the same
time.
They brought word to the King that the delinquents had been captured,
and he replied, "To-morrow, the last day of reprieve for my two insolent
prisoners will expire; they and these thieves shall die together." He
then went into his court of justice. The old man threw himself on his
knees before him, and begged to be allowed to tell him everything. As he
was speaking, the King looked towards the beautiful Princess, and his
heart was touched when he saw her crying. When, therefore, the old man
said that she was the Princess Rosette who had been thrown into the
water, in spite of the weak condition he was in from having starved for
so long, he gave three bounds of joy, ran and embraced her, and untied
her cords, declaring the while that he loved her with all his heart.
They at once went to find the Princes, who thought they were going to
be put to death, and came forward in great dejection and hanging their
heads; the nurse and her daughter were brought in at the same time. The
brothers and sister recognised one another, as soon as they were brought
face to face, and Rosette threw herself on her brothers' necks. The
nurse and her daughter, and the boatman, begged on their knees for
mercy, and the universal rejoicing and their own joy were so great, that
the King and the Princess pardoned them, and gave the good old man a
handsome reward, and from that time he continued to live in the palace.
Finally, the King of the Peacocks did all in his power to atone for his
conduct to the King and his brother, expressing the deepest regret at
having treated them so badly. The nurse restored to Rosette all her
beautiful clothes and the bushel of golden crowns, and the wedding
festivities lasted a fortnight. Everyone was happy down to Fretillon,
who ate nothing but partridge wings for the rest of his life.
THE END
_Colston & Coy. Limited, Printers, Edinburgh._
Transcriber's Note:
Punctuation has been standardised. Changes to the original publication
have been made as follows:
Page 64
as he was entirly governed by _changed to_
as he was entirely governed by
Page 70
your are!" said she to them, _changed to_
you are!" said she to them,
Page 110
they would he obliged to go and _changed to_
they would be obliged to go and
Page 115
withdrew, and the merchant said ro _changed to_
withdrew, and the merchant said to
Page 124
reassurred, for the Beast, after _changed to_
reassured, for the Beast, after
Page 148
on a piece of rag; for she possesed _changed to_
on a piece of rag; for she possessed
Page 151
of the room. The The King and _changed to_
of the room. The King and
Page 163
windwill, and three rows of teeth _changed to_
windmill, and three rows of teeth
Page 191
said that she was the Prrincess Rosette _changed to_
said that she was the Princess Rosette
End of Project Gutenberg's Tales of Passed Times, by Charles Perrault