There was once upon a time a King and a Queen who had three daughters.
The eldest was called Elsa, the second Elfrida, and the third
Heartsease. All the fairies were invited to the christening of the two
eldest daughters, and not one was left out. They came and showered gifts
on the two babies, and promised them beauty, riches, prosperity,
happiness, and long life. But when Heartsease was born, the King
happened to be very busy drawing up a treaty with a neighbouring State,
about the rights of preserving gold-fish in a certain pond which lay
between the two kingdoms, so that when he invited the fairies to the
christening he left out one of them: the Fairy of the Yellow Mines, who
was wicked and powerful.
The other fairies came, and they said that Heartsease should be the
kindest and the cleverest princess ever seen: her eyes should be as
blue as forget-me-nots, her smile as bright as the morning, her hands as
delicate as snowdrops, and her heart of pure gold. Moreover, she should
sing like a lark, and ride wild horses, and do needlework better than
all other princesses. Towards the end of the feast, the Fairy of the
Yellow Mines arrived in a chariot drawn by two snorting dragons. She was
all yellow, and her face was dry as a piece of parchment, and pinched
and wrinkled with spite and envy.
"So it appears I am not worthy to be invited to this feast," she said.
"I know I am old-fashioned, but in my time kings used to take the
trouble to be civil to fairies. But since I have come unbidden I must
not depart without bestowing a gift. Heartsease, in spite of her eyes
the colour of forget-me-nots, in spite of her smile like the morning and
her hands like snowdrops, shall not be pretty to look at, for her skin
shall be marked with my special signature. And he who woos her will woo
her for herself and for her heart, and not for her face."
So saying, the Fairy of the Yellow Mines chuckled, and flew away in her
yellow chariot.
The King and the Queen were dreadfully vexed when this happened, and
they at once asked Heartsease's godmother, who was none other than the
Fairy of the Azure Lake, whether she could not do anything to help them.
"Alas! I cannot undo the mischief that has been done," she answered,
"but nevertheless Heartsease shall be wooed and won, and her bridegroom
shall be greater than that of her beautiful sisters." And when she had
said this, the Fairy of the Azure Lake drove away in her chariot, which
was made of honeysuckle, and driven by ten obedient bees.
Heartsease was the most beautiful little baby ever seen. Her hair was
curly, her skin as soft as that of a rose-leaf, with many dimples in it,
and her smile made those who looked at her happy the whole day long. Two
years passed, and the King and the Queen began to think that the wicked
fairy's words had only been a bad joke, when one day Heartsease began
to cry, and it became clear that she was not well. She was put to bed,
and the Court doctor was sent for. He looked at her, and said that the
case was a very serious one. During a whole month little Heartsease was
mortally sick, and she was given many nasty medicines which she drank
without complaining. The King and the Queen never left her bedside day
and night.
At last, at the end of the sixth week, the doctor said the turning-point
had come, and that little Heartsease would get well. From that day
onwards she began to recover, and in a month's time she was able to run
about. But alas! her lovely soft skin had disappeared. It was pitted all
over with deep marks, so that it appeared to be all shrivelled, and as
yellow as the face of the Fairy of the Yellow Mines; and nobody could
recognise in this dried-up, wizened face the lovely little child that
had once been Heartsease. And in spite of her eyes, which were still as
blue as forget-me-nots, and in spite of her smile, people could scarcely
bear to look at her, poor little thing, such a fright had she become.
And this, of course, was the doing of the Fairy of the Yellow Mines, who
had cast a spell on Heartsease's face.
The King ordered all the looking-glasses in the house to be broken, lest
Heartsease should catch sight of herself and be sad, and so she
continued to play with her toys and ride on her white pony and be happy.
But the King and the Queen were sad, because they loved Heartsease the
best of all their daughters.
One day, when Heartsease was eight years old, she went out for a walk
with her two sisters, and they met a vagabond in dark, tattered cloak
who was playing a hurdy-gurdy, which is a thing like a big violin, with
strings, and keys, and a handle at the end of it which you turn. The
vagabond looked very poor and miserable, and he took off his cap and
asked for a few pence, for he had not a penny to buy bread with.
Now Elsa and Elfrida, Heartsease's sisters, were very proud. They
scowled at the vagabond, and told him to go about his business quickly,
or else they would send for the soldiers and have him locked up in gaol.
But Heartsease was sorry for him and said: "I cannot give you any money,
because I have not got any, but take this: perhaps it will make you
happy, because I love it very much, and talk to it when I am alone." And
she took her favourite old doll which she always carried about with her,
and gave it to him. It was not a pretty doll, and she had played with it
so much that its clothes were frayed and torn; but it had a beautiful
crown made of gold paper, and a necklace of large blue beads. And
Heartsease loved it above all things, and it was her companion; because
Elsa and Elfrida never let her play with them, for they said she was too
small.
As soon as she had done this Elsa and Elfrida burst out laughing.
"Fancy giving a beggar a doll!" they said. "We should like to know what
he can do with it!"
"Thank you kindly, little Princess," said the vagabond. "I shall never
forget your kindness."
"A lot of good a beggar's kindness will do her," said Elsa.
"Perhaps he will bring her a bridegroom," said Elfrida.
"Perhaps he will wed her himself," said Elsa, and they both laughed.
"Nobody else will, for sure," said Elfrida.