Andrew Lang_Fairy Book 01 (7 page)

Without seeming to have noticed anything, he said, in
a confidential way:

"Not that I have any dislike to the Fairy of the Desert,
but I really cannot endure the way in which she protects
the Yellow Dwarf and keeps me chained here like a
criminal. It is true that I love a charming princess, but
if the Fairy should set me free my gratitude would oblige
me to love her only."

"Do you really mean what you say, Prince?" said the
Fairy, quite deceived.

"Surely," replied the Prince; "how could I deceive you?
You see it is so much more flattering to my vanity to be
loved by a fairy than by a simple princess. But, even if
I am dying of love for her, I shall pretend to hate her until
I am set free."

The Fairy of the Desert, quite taken in by these words,
resolved at once to transport the Prince to a pleasanter
place. So, making him mount her chariot, to which she
had harnessed swans instead of the bats which generally
drew it, away she flew with him. But imagine the distress
of the Prince when, from the giddy height at which they
were rushing through the air, he saw his beloved Princess
in a castle built of polished steel, the walls of which
reflected the sun's rays so hotly that no one could approach
it without being burnt to a cinder! Bellissima was sitting
in a little thicket by a brook, leaning her head upon her
hand and weeping bitterly, but just as they passed she
looked up and saw the King and the Fairy of the Desert.
Now, the Fairy was so clever that she could not only seem
beautiful to the King, but even the poor Princess thought
her the most lovely being she had ever seen.

"What!" she cried; "was I not unhappy enough in this
lonely castle to which that frightful Yellow Dwarf
brought me? Must I also be made to know that the King
of the Gold Mines ceased to love me as soon as he lost
sight of me? But who can my rival be, whose fatal beauty
is greater than mine?"

While she was saying this, the King, who really loved
her as much as ever, was feeling terribly sad at being so
rapidly torn away from his beloved Princess, but he knew
too well how powerful the Fairy was to have any hope of
escaping from her except by great patience and cunning.

The Fairy of the Desert had also seen Bellissima, and
she tried to read in the King's eyes the effect that this
unexpected sight had had upon him.

"No one can tell you what you wish to know better than
I can," said he. "This chance meeting with an unhappy
princess for whom I once had a passing fancy, before I
was lucky enough to meet you, has affected me a little, I
admit, but you are so much more to me than she is that
I would rather die than leave you."

"Ah, Prince," she said, "can I believe that you really
love me so much?"

"Time will show, madam," replied the King; "but if you
wish to convince me that you have some regard for me, do
not, I beg of you, refuse to aid Bellissima."

"Do you know what you are asking?" said the Fairy of
the Desert, frowning, and looking at him suspiciously.
"Do you want me to employ my art against the Yellow
Dwarf, who is my best friend, and take away from him a
proud princess whom I can but look upon as my rival?"

The King sighed, but made no answer—indeed, what
was there to be said to such a clear-sighted person? At
last they reached a vast meadow, gay with all sorts of
flowers; a deep river surrounded it, and many little brooks
murmured softly under the shady trees, where it was
always cool and fresh. A little way off stood a splendid
palace, the walls of which were of transparent emeralds.
As soon as the swans which drew the Fairy's chariot had
alighted under a porch, which was paved with diamonds
and had arches of rubies, they were greeted on all sides by
thousands of beautiful beings, who came to meet them
joyfully, singing these words:

"When Love within a heart would reign,
Useless to strive against him 'tis.
The proud but feel a sharper pain,
And make a greater triumph his."

The Fairy of the Desert was delighted to hear them
sing of her triumphs; she led the King into the most
splendid room that can be imagined, and left him alone
for a little while, just that he might not feel that he was
a prisoner; but he felt sure that she had not really gone
quite away, but was watching him from some hiding-place.
So walking up to a great mirror, he said to it,
"Trusty counsellor, let me see what I can do to make
myself agreeable to the charming Fairy of the Desert; for I
can think of nothing but how to please her."

And he at once set to work to curl his hair, and, seeing
upon a table a grander coat than his own, he put it on
carefully. The Fairy came back so delighted that she
could not conceal her joy.

"I am quite aware of the trouble you have taken to
please me," said she, "and I must tell you that you have
succeeded perfectly already. You see it is not difficult to
do if you really care for me."

The King, who had his own reasons for wishing to keep
the old Fairy in a good humor, did not spare pretty
speeches, and after a time he was allowed to walk by
himself upon the sea-shore. The Fairy of the Desert had
by her enchantments raised such a terrible storm that the
boldest pilot would not venture out in it, so she was not
afraid of her prisoner's being able to escape; and he found
it some relief to think sadly over his terrible situation
without being interrupted by his cruel captor.

Presently, after walking wildly up and down, he wrote
these verses upon the sand with his stick:

"At last may I upon this shore
Lighten my sorrow with soft tears.
Alas! alas! I see no more
My Love, who yet my sadness cheers.

"And thou, O raging, stormy Sea,
Stirred by wild winds, from depth to height,
Thou hold'st my loved one far from me,
And I am captive to thy might.

"My heart is still more wild than thine,
For Fate is cruel unto me.
Why must I thus in exile pine?
Why is my Princess snatched from me?

"O! lovely Nymphs, from ocean caves,
Who know how sweet true love may be,
Come up and calm the furious waves
And set a desperate lover free!"

While he was still writing he heard a voice which
attracted his attention in spite of himself. Seeing that the
waves were rolling in higher than ever, he looked all
round, and presently saw a lovely lady floating gently
toward him upon the crest of a huge billow, her long hair
spread all about her; in one hand she held a mirror, and in
the other a comb, and instead of feet she had a beautiful
tail like a fish, with which she swam.

The King was struck dumb with astonishment at this
unexpected sight; but as soon as she came within speaking
distance, she said to him, "I know how sad you are at
losing your Princess and being kept a prisoner by the Fairy
of the Desert; if you like I will help you to escape from
this fatal place, where you may otherwise have to drag on
a weary existence for thirty years or more."

The King of the Gold Mines hardly knew what answer
to make to this proposal. Not because he did not wish
very much to escape, but he was afraid that this might
be only another device by which the Fairy of the Desert
was trying to deceive him. As he hesitated the Mermaid,
who guessed his thoughts, said to him:

"You may trust me: I am not trying to entrap you. I
am so angry with the Yellow Dwarf and the Fairy of the
Desert that I am not likely to wish to help them,
especially since I constantly see your poor Princess, whose
beauty and goodness make me pity her so much; and I
tell you that if you will have confidence in me I will help
you to escape."

"I trust you absolutely," cried the King, "and I will do
whatever you tell me; but if you have seen my Princess I
beg of you to tell me how she is and what is happening to
her.

"We must not waste time in talking," said she. "Come
with me and I will carry you to the Castle of Steel, and
we will leave upon this shore a figure so like you that even
the Fairy herself will be deceived by it."

So saying, she quickly collected a bundle of sea-weed,
and, blowing it three times, she said:

"My friendly sea-weeds, I order you to stay here
stretched upon the sand until the Fairy of the Desert
comes to take you away." And at once the sea-weeds became
like the King, who stood looking at them in great
astonishment, for they were even dressed in a coat like
his, but they lay there pale and still as the King himself
might have lain if one of the great waves had overtaken
him and thrown him senseless upon the shore. And then
the Mermaid caught up the King, and away they swam
joyfully together.

"Now," said she, "I have time to tell you about the
Princess. In spite of the blow which the Fairy of the
Desert gave her, the Yellow Dwarf compelled her to
mount behind him upon his terrible Spanish cat; but she
soon fainted away with pain and terror, and did not recover
till they were within the walls of his frightful Castle
of Steel. Here she was received by the prettiest girls it
was possible to find, who had been carried there by the
Yellow Dwarf, who hastened to wait upon her and showed
her every possible attention. She was laid upon a couch
covered with cloth of gold, embroidered with pearls as big
as nuts."

"Ah!" interrupted the King of the Gold Mines, "if
Bellissima forgets me, and consents to marry him, I shall
break my heart."

"You need not be afraid of that," answered the
Mermaid, "the Princess thinks of no one but you, and the
frightful Dwarf cannot persuade her to look at him."

"Pray go on with your story," said the King.

"What more is there to tell you?" replied the Mermaid.
"Bellissima was sitting in the wood when you passed, and
saw you with the Fairy of the Desert, who was so cleverly
disguised that the Princess took her to be prettier than
herself; you may imagine her despair, for she thought that
you had fallen in love with her."

"She believes that I love her!" cried the King. "What
a fatal mistake! What is to be done to undeceive her?"

"You know best," answered the Mermaid, smiling
kindly at him. "When people are as much in love with
one another as you two are, they don't need advice from
anyone else."

As she spoke they reached the Castle of Steel, the side
next the sea being the only one which the Yellow Dwarf
had left unprotected by the dreadful burning walls.

"I know quite well," said the Mermaid, "that the
Princess is sitting by the brook-side, just where you saw her
as you passed, but as you will have many enemies to fight
with before you can reach her, take this sword; armed with
it you may dare any danger, and overcome the greatest
difficulties, only beware of one thing—that is, never to let
it fall from your hand. Farewell; now I will wait by that
rock, and if you need my help in carrying off your beloved
Princess I will not fail you, for the Queen, her mother, is
my best friend, and it was for her sake that I went to
rescue you."

So saying, she gave to the King a sword made from a
single diamond, which was more brilliant than the sun.
He could not find words to express his gratitude, but he
begged her to believe that he fully appreciated the
importance of her gift, and would never forget her help and
kindness.

We must now go back to the Fairy of the Desert. When
she found that the King did not return, she hastened out
to look for him, and reached the shore, with a hundred of
the ladies of her train, loaded with splendid presents for
him. Some carried baskets full of diamonds, others
golden cups of wonderful workmanship, and amber, coral,
and pearls, others, again, balanced upon their heads bales
of the richest and most beautiful stuffs, while the rest
brought fruit and flowers, and even birds. But what was
the horror of the Fairy, who followed this gay troop, when
she saw, stretched upon the sands, the image of the King
which the Mermaid had made with the sea-weeds. Struck
with astonishment and sorrow, she uttered a terrible cry,
and threw herself down beside the pretended King, weeping,
and howling, and calling upon her eleven sisters, who
were also fairies, and who came to her assistance. But
they were all taken in by the image of the King, for,
clever as they were, the Mermaid was still cleverer, and
all they could do was to help the Fairy of the Desert to
make a wonderful monument over what they thought was
the grave of the King of the Gold Mines. But while they
were collecting jasper and porphyry, agate and marble,
gold and bronze, statues and devices, to immortalize the
King's memory, he was thanking the good Mermaid and
begging her still to help him, which she graciously promised
to do as she disappeared; and then he set out for the
Castle of Steel. He walked fast, looking anxiously round
him, and longing once more to see his darling Bellissima,
but he had not gone far before he was surrounded by four
terrible sphinxes who would very soon have torn him to
pieces with their sharp talons if it had not been for the
Mermaid's diamond sword. For, no sooner had he flashed
it before their eyes than down they fell at his feet quite
helpless, and he killed them with one blow. But he had
hardly turned to continue his search when he met six
dragons covered with scales that were harder than iron.
Frightful as this encounter was the King's courage was
unshaken, and by the aid of his wonderful sword he cut
them in pieces one after the other. Now he hoped his
difficulties were over, but at the next turning he was
met by one which he did not know how to overcome.
Four-and-twenty pretty and graceful nymphs advanced
toward him, holding garlands of flowers, with which they
barred the way.

"Where are you going, Prince?" they said; "it is our
duty to guard this place, and if we let you pass great
misfortunes will happen to you and to us. We beg you not
to insist upon going on. Do you want to kill four-and-twenty
girls who have never displeased you in any way?"