"'You are no doubt wondering,' he said with a smile, 'who we are and
what manner of oasis this is, and I am going to tell you about
ourselves first.
"'To begin with, we are not fairies, but quite ordinary mortals, and we
live here alone. We have no children, and no pets but Bowser, but we
are never lonesome. Now Bowser is just a common toucan, and I found
him on the ground under a big tree one morning, where a bad storm the
night before had tossed him out of the nest. We brought him in and my
wife cared for him, and the only reason he is so big is that he has
such a voracious appetite and eats ten meals a day. In fact he is
eating practically all the time, and I believe is still growing. I
suppose his brothers and sisters might be as large as he if they could
get enough to satisfy their appetites the way Bowser does. He would
eat most families out of house and home, but as our store-room never
gives out it does not matter. But although we do our best to feed him
enough to satisfy his appetite we cannot cure him of stealing peaches.
We are very sorry for the poor farmers whose orchards he raids, but in
one sense it is rather a good thing, as it serves to keep people afraid
of him, and he is our only watchdog.
"This desert around us was not always here. The whole valley was once
much higher than now, and was a happy little kingdom where we all dwelt
in peace and prosperity until the unlucky day when the Evil Magician
came this way and swept the whole kingdom out to sea, drowning
everyone, including the king and queen and their little son and
daughter, and leaving nothing here but bare sand.
"'We were absent from home when it happened. I was a merchant, and had
gone to buy a new supply of goods, and my wife accompanied me,
otherwise we would have met the same fate as our friends and neighbors.
"'You can imagine the sight which met our eyes when on our return we
came out at the head of the pass on yonder mountain and looked over the
valley. At first we thought we must surely have lost our way and come
upon some strange barren place, but on looking about we saw certain
familiar landmarks which made it clear to us that a hurricane must have
swept our kingdom away, and of course all our possessions.
"'We rode on, trying to find some trace of our house, but nothing could
be seen on the bare sands but a clump of bushes and a few small trees
which had somehow escaped the force of wind and water.
"'On reaching this spot we thought it better to stay and camp for the
night, as the day was fast fading and we would have to wait until
daylight to go back through the mountains.
"'Fortunately we had plenty of food left, and after tying our horses
and giving them their supper I went to gather some dead twigs to make a
fire while my wife unpacked our camp outfit.
"'While we were thus engaged I thought I heard a sound of crying. We
both listened, and it came again. Leaving our tasks we followed the
sound and behind a scrubby willow tree came upon a most beautiful young
woman crouched on the ground weeping and moaning, and at the same time
digging into the earth with a small wand as if in search of something.
She did not appear to heed our approach.
"'"What have you lost, my dear? Is it money?" asked my wife, thinking
that she like ourselves was homeless on account of the storm. She
jumped and looked at us in a startled manner, then rising to her feet
answered sadly:
"'"No, it is not money, but something much more precious. It is a
little black seed, and I am afraid I shall not find it again."
"'"Oh, if that is all, perhaps you can get another," I said, thinking
that misfortune had probably affected their reason.
"'"Come," I continued, "we will have to remain here to-night, but in
the morning we will help you to find it if it can be found," and I left
my wife to comfort her while I went back to see to my fire. We soon
had our kettle boiling and supper laid out, and the strange young lady
seemed very grateful for our hospitality. After supper she sat and
looked into the flames for a long time in silence while we discussed
our plans for the future.
"'By and by we too became quiet, and then she spoke.
"'"I am not a mortal like yourselves," she said, "I am the fairy who is
called 'Peaceful,' and my home is in the island of Laurels, far from
here. Your good Queen was my very dear friend, and I was on my way to
pay her a visit and show her a precious seed which I had just brought
with me from a distant land when I came upon this scene of desolation.
"'"The seed I carried was a present from an owl who is over a thousand
years old, and wiser than any fairy I know. It was the seed of the
Wonderful Plant. Wherever it grows there it will remain for all time.
It cannot be dislodged, and the owner of it will be rich and
influential forever. Its flowers are of the purest gold, and can be
taken off and sold to the goldsmith. I was going to take the seed to
my home and plant it in my garden, so that I would have at least one
spot on earth where the Evil Magician could not endanger my good
influence. He is the terror of my life, and I see that he has been
even here, for it was he that swept your kingdom out to sea, and this
little clump of earth and bushes is only a fragment that broke off one
corner.
"'"I heard about it from the eagle that dwells on that high mountain
top. When I reached this spot to-day my distress was so great that I
dropped my precious seed, and now I must leave it here for I know I
will not find it."
"'I tried to comfort her by saying we would help her to look for it as
soon as it was light, but she shook her head.
"'"No," she said, "it is of no use to look further. The seed sprouts
immediately if the ground is damp, as this is. It will be sprouted by
morning, and I must protect it here."
"'She said no more, and as our own troubles filled our minds we fell to
talking again and making plans and did not notice that she disappeared.
"'We must have fallen asleep shortly afterwards, as we were both
awakened by a sound of swishing and neighing. We jumped to our feet.
The blackness of the night surrounded us. Our fire had died down to
ashes. Suddenly the noise came again, and our two horses dashed past
us at a gallop as if being chased. "Horse thieves," we whispered, and
turned to follow, but after running for several minutes over the sand
we found ourselves entering what seemed to be a dense wood, as we came
into rather sharp contact with large trunks and heavy branches of trees.
"'How we had got there, we did not know, and visions of mountain
robbers filled our minds. We threaded our way between the trees as
well as we could and ran on over smooth turf until we came to an
avenue, down which a light shone brokenly through the trees. Here we
could run much faster, and turning a corner, saw our horses trotting
quietly some distance ahead. The light showed brighter, and then as we
emerged from the trees we found that it came from the windows of a long
low building. As we stood, dazzled by the brightness, and
wonderstruck, a voice beside us made us turn in alarm. It was the
fairy, who we now remembered, had not been with us since early in the
evening.
"'"Do not be afraid," said she, "I could not rest until I had safely
protected my Wonderful Plant, so I have built this house around it and
enclosed the grounds with a high brick wall. There is a good stable at
the back and I have just shut your horses in for the rest of the night.
Come now and I will show you the house."
"'She took us in at the front door and showed us through the house. It
was magnificently finished and beautifully furnished, as you shall see
for yourself presently, and my wife and I declared that we had never
seen anything to equal it. When she had finished she said:
"'"I have a proposition to make. I cannot remain in this country. I
must go home at once, as I am needed. You have lost your home and all
you possessed. Will you not stay in this beautiful house and tend my
Wonderful Plant? It must be watered and carefully pruned each day in
order to keep it at its best, and someone must remain here to gather
the seeds as they ripen and hide them, lest at any time the Evil
Magician or his emissaries come and steal one. The plant they cannot
touch, and only myself can pluck the blossoms, but the seeds, which are
so precious, may be taken by anyone.
"'"This oasis is now a pleasant place surrounded by fine lawns and
planted with beautiful trees, and I will give you plenty of servants, a
cellar full of provisions which will never run out, a library full of
books, and all sorts of amusements. You will have everything but human
companionship. No stranger must ever enter these gates, for I must
guard against any possibility of having a seed stolen. What do you
say, will you accept my offer?"
"'We considered a few moments. Our friends and possessions were gone,
and we stood indeed alone in the world and quite destitute. The
thought of seeing no human being did not affect us, as we had each
other, so we very gratefully accepted the good fairy's offer, and when
she had given us a few more instructions and told us that she would
visit us twice a year she departed. Here then we have lived ever since
in peace and comfort.'
"'But the Wonderful Plant, where is it? May I see it?' I asked, 'or am
I to meet with some misfortune for having dared to enter upon this
oasis?'
"The old gentleman laughed.
"'You are not to meet with anything here but good fortune, my dear
Prince,' said he, 'for the last time the fairy paid us a visit she told
us you were looking for a seed of the Wonderful Plant for your father,
and that if you succeeded in reaching this spot alone I was to give you
one. To tell you the truth we did not think much more about it, as we
did not believe anyone would ever reach here. Now you shall see the
plant itself.'
"He and the little old lady led the way into the great front hall and
through a long passage. Stopping at a heavily carved door he took a
small key from his pocket and unlocked it. The door swung open and we
stepped out."