Please 
 
 handle this volume 
 
 with care. 
 
 The University of Connecticut 
 Libraries, Storrs 
 
 3 9155 00124333 8 
 
ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 "With tnaiice toward none, with charity for ail, with 
 hrmness in the rio:ht, as God gives us to see the right." 
 —Second Inaugural Address, March 4th, 1865. 
 
 
 Hi 
 
HEROES AND FAIRIESi^^ 
 
 Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 A SELECTION OF THE BEST HERO 
 TALES AND FAIRY TALES OF ALL TIMES 
 
 :IN TWO PARTS: 
 
 EDITED BY 
 
 HAMILTON WRIGHT MABIE 
 
 DECORATED BY 
 BLANCHE OSTERTAG 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 The Christian Herald 
 
 Louis Klopsch, Proprietor 
 
 Bible House 
 
 1907 
 
Copyright, 1Q05, roo6. IQ07. by Doubleday Page & Company 
 
 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, INCLUDING THAT OP TRANSLATION 
 INTO PORBIGN LANGUAGES, INCLUDING THB SCANDINAVIAN 
 
PART I-HEROES 
 
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 
 
 TO 
 
 "HEROES EVERY CHILD SHOULD KNOW" 
 
 The editor and publishers wish to extend their 
 thanks and acknowledgment to the firms who have 
 kindly permitted the use of material in this volume: 
 
 To The Macmillan Co. for selections from ''Heroes 
 of Chivalry and Romance," ''Stories of Charlemagne 
 and the Peers of France," "Old English History," 
 "The Crusaders," "Father Damien: A Journey from 
 Cashmere to His Home in Hawaii"; to Thomas Nel- 
 son & Son for material from "Martyrs and Saints of 
 the First Twelve Centuries"; to J. M. Dent & Co. 
 for selections from "Stories from Le Morte d' Arthur 
 and The Mabinogion" in the Temple Classics for 
 Young People; to E. P. Button & Co. for material 
 from "Chronicle of the Cid"; to Longmans, Green & 
 Co. for material from "The Book of Romance"; to 
 John C. Winston Co. for material from "Stories from 
 History"; to Lothrop, Lee & Shepard for material 
 from "The True Story of Abraham Lincoln." 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 TO 
 
 "HEROES EVERY CHILD SHOULD KNOW" 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 Introduction ..... xi 
 I. Perseus. Adapted from ' The Heroes," 
 
 by Charles Kingsley ... 3 
 II. Hercules. By Kate Stephens . .26 
 
 III. Daniel. From Book of Daniel, Chapter 
 
 vi., Verses i to 24 . . . -43 
 
 IV. David. From I. Book of Samuel, Chap- 
 
 ter xvii ...... 46 
 
 V. St. George. Adapted from " Martyrs 
 and Saints of the First Twelve Cen- 
 turies," by Mrs. E. Rundle Charles 52 
 
 VI. King Arthur. Adapted from " Stories 
 from Le Morte d 'Arthur and the 
 Mabinogion," by Beatrice Clay . 59 
 VII. Sir Galahad. Adapted from " Stories 
 from Le Morte d'Arthur and the 
 Mabinogion," by Beatrice Clay; foi- * 
 lowed by '' Sir Galahad," by Alfred 
 Tennyson . . . . "77 
 VIII. Siegfried. Adapted from " Heroes of 
 Chivalry and Romance," by A. J. 
 Church ...... 89 
 
 IX. Roland. Adapted from " Stories of 
 Charlemagne and the Peers of 
 France," by A. J. Church. . . 109 
 X. King Alfred. Adapted from " Old 
 
 English History," by E. A. Freeman 127 
 
XII. 
 
 X Contents 
 
 CHAPTER PAGB 
 
 XL The Cid. Adapted from " Chronicle of 
 the Cid," from the Spanish, by Rob- 
 ert Southey ..... 144 
 
 Robin Hood. Adapted from " Book of 
 Romance," edited by Andrew Lang; 
 including a version of the popular 
 ballad, "Robin Hood and the 
 Butcher" . . . . .170 
 
 Richard the Lion-Hearted. Adapted 
 from "The Crusaders," by A. J. 
 Church ...... 189 
 
 Saint Louis. Adapted from " The Cru- 
 saders," by A. J. Church. . . 208 
 
 William Tell. Adapted from " Stories 
 
 from History," by Agnes Strickland 227 
 
 Robert Bruce. Adapted from "Tales 
 of a Grandfather from Scottish His- 
 tory," by Sir Walter Scott . -250 
 
 George Washington. Adapted from 
 " Recollections and Private Memoirs 
 of Washington," by G. W. Parke 
 Custis ...... 274 
 
 Robert E. Lee. From "Letters and 
 Recollections of General Lee," by 
 Captain Robert E. Lee . . . 289 
 
 Abraham Lincoln. Adapted from "The 
 True Story of Abraham Lincoln," 
 by Elbridge S. Brooks , . . 309 
 
 Father Damien. Adapted from "Fatlier 
 Damien : A Journey from Cashmere 
 to His Home in Hawaii," by Edward 
 Clifford .^20 
 
 See Part II, followine; page 332, for contents of Fairies Every Child Should Know 
 
 XIII. 
 
 xrv\ 
 
 X\'. 
 XVL 
 
 XVII. 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 XIX. 
 
 XX. 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 TO 
 
 HEROES EVERY CHILD SHOULD KNOW 
 
 IF THERE had been no real heroes there would have 
 been created imaginary ones, for men cannot live 
 without them. The hero is just as necessary as 
 the farmer, the sailor, the caq^enter and the doctor; 
 society could not get on without him. There have been a 
 great many different kinds of heroes, for in every age and 
 among every people the hero has stood for the qualities 
 that were most admired and sought after by the bravest 
 and best ; and all ages and peoples have imagined or pro- 
 duced heroes as inevitably as they have made ploughs for 
 turning the soil or ships for getting through the water or 
 weapons with which to fight their enemies. To be some 
 kind of a hero has been the ambition of spirited boys 
 from the beginning of history; and if you want to know 
 what the men and women of a country care for most, you 
 must study their heroes. To the boy the hero stands for 
 the highest success: to the grown man and woman he 
 stands for the deepest and richest life. 
 
 Men have always worked with their hands, but they 
 have never been content with that kind of work; they 
 have looked up from the fields and watched the sun and 
 
 xi 
 
xii Introduction 
 
 stars; they have cut wood for their fires in the forest, 
 but they have noticed the life which goes on among the 
 trees and they have heard the mysterious sounds which 
 often fill the air in the remotest places. From the begin- 
 ning men have not only used their hands but their in- 
 tellect and their imagination; they have had to work or 
 starve, but they have seen the world, thought about it and 
 dreamed about it. 
 
 They had worked and thought and dreamed only a 
 little time before they began to explain the marvelous 
 earth on which they found themselves and the strange 
 things that happened in it ; the vastness and beauty of the 
 fields, woods, sky and sea, the force of the wind, the com- 
 ing and going of the day and night, the warmth of sum- 
 mer when everything grew, and the cold of winter when 
 everything died, the rush of the storm and the terrible 
 brightness of the lightning. They had no idea of what 
 we call law or force; they could not think of anything 
 being moved or any noise being made unless there was 
 some one like themselves to move things and make 
 sounds; and so they made stories of gods and giants and 
 heroes and nymphs and fawns; and the myths, which are 
 poetic explanations of the world and of the life of men in 
 it, came into being. 
 
 But they did not stop with these great matters; they 
 began to tell stories about themselves and the things they 
 
Introduction xiii 
 
 wanted to do and the kind of life they wanted to lead. 
 They wanted ease, power, wealth, happiness, freedom; 
 so they created genii, built palaces, made magic carpets 
 which carried them to the ends of the earth and horses 
 with wings which bore them through the air, peopled the 
 woods and fields with friendly, frolicsome or mischievous 
 little people, who made fires for them if they were friendly, 
 or milked cows, overturned bowls, broke dishes and 
 played all kinds of antics and made all sorts of trouble if 
 they were mischievous or unfriendly. Beside the great 
 myths, like wild flowers in the shade of great trees, there 
 sprang up among the people of almost all countries a 
 host of poetic, satirical, humorous or homely stories of 
 fairies, genii, trolls, giants, dwarfs, imps, and queer 
 creatures of all kinds ; so that to the children of two hun- 
 dred years ago the woods, the fields, the solitary and quiet 
 places everywhere, were full of folk who kept out of 
 sight, but who had a great deal to do with the fortunes 
 and fates of men and women. 
 
 From very early times great honor was paid to courage 
 and strength ; qualities which won success and impressed 
 the imagination in primitive not less than in highly de- 
 veloped societies. The first heroes were gods or demi- 
 gods, or men of immense strength who did difficult things. 
 When men first began to live in the world they were in 
 constant peril and faced hardships of every kind; and 
 
XIV 
 
 Introduction 
 
 from the start they had very hard work to do. There 
 were fields to be cultivated, houses to be built, woods to 
 be explored, beasts to be killed and other beasts to be 
 tamed and set to work. There were many things to be 
 done and no tools to work with; there were great 
 storms to be faced and no houses for protection; there 
 was terrible cold and no fire or clothing; there were di- 
 seases and no medicine ; there were perils on land, in the 
 water and in the air, and no knowledge of the ways of 
 meeting them. 
 
 At the very start courage and strength were necessary 
 if life was to be preserved and men were to live together 
 in safety and with comfort. When a strong man ap- 
 peared he helped his fellows to make themselves more at 
 ease in the world. Sometimes he did this by simply mak- 
 ing himself more comfortable and thus showing others 
 how to do it; sometimes he did it by working for his 
 fellows. No matter how selfish a man may be, if he does 
 any real work in the world he works not only for himself 
 but for others. In this way a selfish man like Napoleon 
 does the work of a hero without meaning to do it: for the 
 world is so made that no capable man or woman can be 
 entirely selfish, no matter how hard they try to get and 
 keep everything for themselves. 
 
 It was not long before men saw that strong men could 
 not work for themselves without working for others, and 
 
Introduction xv 
 
 there came in very early the idea of service as part of the 
 idea of heroism, and the demi-gods, who were among the 
 earliest heroes, were servants as well as masters. Her- 
 cules, the most powerful of the heroes to Greek and 
 Roman boys was set to do the most difficult things not 
 for himself but for others. He destroyed lions, hydras, 
 wild boars, birds with brazen beaks and wings, mad 
 bulls, many-headed monsters, horses which fed on 
 human flesh, dragons, he mastered the three-headed dog 
 Cerberus, he tore asunder the rocks at the Strait of 
 Gibraltar which bear his name to open a channel be- 
 tween the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. He fought 
 the Centaur and brought back Alcestis, the wife of 
 Admetus, from the pale regions of death where she had 
 gone to save her husband's life. In all these labors, 
 which were so great that works of extraordinary mag- 
 nitude have since been called Herculean, the brave, 
 patient, suffering hero, was helping other people rather 
 than helping himself. 
 
 And this was true of Thor, the strong god of the Norse- 
 men whose hammer was the most terrible weapon in the 
 world, the roll and crash of thunder being the sound of 
 it and the blinding lightning the flash of it. The gods 
 were the friends of men, giving the light and warmth and 
 fertility of the summer that the fields might bear food 
 for them and the long, bright days might bring them 
 
xvi Introduction 
 
 peace and happiness. And the giants were the enemies 
 of dien, tirelessly trying to make the fields desolate and 
 stop the singing of birds and shroud the sky in darkness 
 by driving away summer with the icy breath of winter. 
 In this perpetual conflict Thor was the hero of strength 
 and courage, beating back the giants, defeating their 
 schemes and fighting the battle for gods and men with 
 tireless zeal; counting no penl,x>i^jiaidshig toogreat 
 if the2:e_ wa^jieroic_workj;(^ 
 
 Courage and achievement are the two signs of the hero ; 
 he may possess or lack many other qualities, but he must 
 be daring and he mu st do th ings and Qgt-dreaJ»r-er-taik,, 
 about them. 
 
 From the days of Hercules to those of Washington and 
 Livingston, men of heroic spirit have not stopped to 
 count the cost when a deed must be done but have done 
 it, usually with very little talk or noise; for heroes, as a 
 rule, are much more interested in getting their work done 
 than in making themselves conspicuous or winning a 
 reputation. Heroes have often been harsh and even 
 brutal, especially in the earliest times when humane feel- 
 ing and a compassionate spirit had not been developed; 
 Siegfried, Jason, Gustavas Adolphus and Von Tromp 
 were often arbitrary and oppressive in their attitude to- 
 ward men; and, in later times, Alfred the Great, William 
 the Silent and Nelson were not without serious defects 
 
Ifitroduction xvii 
 
 of temper and sometimes of character. Men are not 
 great or heroic because they are faultless; they are great 
 and heroic because they dare, suffer, achieve and serve. 
 
 And men love their heroes not because they have been 
 perfect characters under all conditions, but because they 
 have been brave, true, able, and unselfish. A man may 
 have few faults and count for very little in the world, 
 because he lacks force, daring, the greatness of soul 
 which moves before a generation like a flaming torch; a 
 man may lead a stainless life, not because he is really 
 virtuous but because he has very few temptations within 
 or without. Some of the most heroic men have put 
 forth more strength in jresisting,iu^ingl£j£mpla^iofi4lm 
 men of theo^ if^^ fin<^ mnrp commonplace natures put forth 
 in a lifetime. The serious faults of heroes are not over- 
 looked or forgotten, the great man is as much the servant 
 of the moral law as the little man, and pays the same 
 price for disobedience; but generosity of spirit, devotion 
 to high aims and capacity for self-sacrifice often outweigh 
 serious offence^. Nelson is less a hero because he 
 yielded to a great temptation; but he remains a hero in 
 spite of the stain on his fame. In judging the hero one 
 must take into account the age in which he lived, the 
 differences in moral standards between the past and the 
 present, and the force of the temptations which come 
 with strength of body, passion, imagination, great 
 
 J 
 
xviii Introduction 
 
 position, colossal enterprises; these do not conceal or 
 excuse the faults of heroes but they explain those faults- 
 The men whose bravery and great deeds are described 
 in these pages have been selected not because they are 
 faultless in character and life, but because they were 
 brave, generous, self-forgetful, self-sacrificing and capable 
 of splendid deeds. Men love and honour them not only 
 because they owe them a great deal of gratitude, but 
 because they see in their heroes the kind of men they 
 would like to be; for the possibilities of the heroic are in 
 almost all men. Stones of the heroes haVe often made 
 other men sfrong and brave and true in the face of great 
 perils and tasks, and this book is put forth in the faith 
 that it will not only pass on the fame of the heroes of the 
 past but help make heroes in the present. 
 
 H. W. M. 
 
Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
CHAPTER I 
 
 PERSEUS 
 
 ONCE upon a time there were two princes who 
 were twins. Their names were Acrisius and 
 Proetus, and they lived in the pleasant vale 
 of Argos, far away in Hellas. They had fruitful mead- 
 ows and vineyards, sheep and oxen, great herds of 
 horses feeding down in Lerna Fen, and all that men 
 could need to make them blest: and yet they were 
 wretched, because they were jealous of each other. 
 From the moment they were born they began to quarrel ; 
 and when they grew up each tried to take away the 
 other's share of the kingdom, and keep all for himself. 
 
 But there came a prophet to Acrisius and prophesied 
 against him, and said, ''Because you have risen up 
 against your own blood, your own blood shall rise up 
 against you; because you have sinned against your 
 kindred, by your kindred you shall be punished. 
 Your daugher Danae shall have a son, and by that 
 son's hands you shall die. So the gods have ordained, 
 and it will surely come to pass." 
 
 And at that Acrisius was very much afraid; but he 
 did not mend his ways. He had been cruel to his own 
 family, and, instead of repenting and being kind to them, 
 he went on to be more cruel than ever: for he shut up 
 his fair daughter Danae in a cavern underground, lined 
 with brass, that no one might come near her. So he 
 fancied himself more cunning than the gods: but you 
 
 3 
 
4 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 will see presently whether he was able to escape 
 them. 
 
 Now it came to pass that in time a son came to Danae : 
 so beautiful a babe that any but King Acrisius would 
 have had pity on it. But he had no pity; for he took 
 Danae and her babe down to the seashore, and put them 
 into a great chest and thrust them out to sea, for the 
 winds and the waves to carry them whithersoever they 
 would. 
 
 The northwest wind blew freshly out of the blue 
 mountains, and down the pleasant vale of Argos, and 
 away and out to sea. And away and out to sea before 
 it floated the mother and her babe, while all who watched 
 them wept, save that cruel father, King Acrisius. 
 
 So they floated on and on, and the chest danced up 
 and down upon the billows, and the baby slept upon its 
 mother's breast: but the poor mother could not sleep, 
 but watched and wept, and she sang to her baby as they 
 floated; and the song which she sang you shall learn 
 yourselves some day. 
 
 And now they are past the last blue headland, and in 
 the open sea; and there is nothing round them but the 
 waves, and the sky, and the wind. But the waves are 
 gentle, and the sky is clear, and the breeze is tender and 
 low. 
 
 So a night passed, and a day, and a long day it was for 
 Danae; and another night and day beside, till Danae 
 was faint with hunger and weeping, and yet no land ap- 
 peared. And all the while the babe slept quietly; and 
 at last poor Danae drooped her head and fell asleep like- 
 wise with her cheek against the babe's. 
 
 After a while she was awakened suddenly; for the 
 chest was jarring and grinding, and the air was full of 
 
Perseus 5 
 
 sound. She looked up, and over her head were mighty 
 cliffs, all red in the setting sun, and around her rocks and 
 breakers, and flying flakes of foam. She clasped her 
 hands together, and shrieked aloud for help. And 
 when she cried, help met her: for now there came over 
 the rocks a tall and stately man, and looked down wonder- 
 ingly upon poor Danae tossing about in the chest among 
 the waves. 
 
 He wore a rough cloak of frieze, and on his head a 
 broad hat to shade his face; in his hand he carried a 
 trident for spearing fish, and over his shoulder was a 
 casting-net ; but Danae could see that he was no common 
 man by his stature, and his walk, and his flowing golden 
 hair and beard; and by the two servants who came be- 
 hind him, carrying baskets for his fish. But she had 
 hardly time to look at him before he had laid aside his 
 trident and leapt down the rocks, and thrown his casting- 
 net so surely over Danae and the chest, that he drew it, 
 and her, and the baby, safe upon a ledge of rock. 
 
 Then the fisherman took Danae by the hand, and 
 lifted her out of the chest, and said: 
 
 ''O beautiful damsel, what strange chance has brought 
 you to this island in so frail a ship? Who are you, and 
 whence? Surely you are some King's daughter and 
 this boy has somewhat more than mortal." 
 
 And as he spoke he pointed to the babe ; for its face 
 shone like the morning star. 
 
 But Danae only held down her head, and sobbed 
 out: 
 
 ''Tell me to what land I have come, unhappy that I 
 am; and among what men I have fallen!" 
 
 And he said, "This isle is called Seriphos, and I am 
 a Hellen, and dwell in it. I am the brother of Polydectes 
 
6 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 the King ; and men call me Dictys the netter, because 
 I catch the fish of the shore." 
 
 Then Danae fell down at his feet, and embraced his 
 knees and cried: 
 
 "Oh, sir, have pity upon a stranger, whom a cruel 
 doom has driven to your land; and let me live in your 
 house as a servant; but treat me honourably, for I was 
 once a king's daughter, and this my boy (as you have 
 truly said) is of no common race. I will not be a 
 charge to you, or eat the bread of idleness; for I am 
 more skilful in weaving and embroidery than all the 
 maidens of my land." 
 
 And she was going on; but Dictys stopped her, and 
 raised her up, and said: 
 
 "My daughter, I am old, and my hairs are growing 
 grey; while I have no children to make my home cheerful. 
 Come with me then, and you shall be a daughter to me 
 and to my wife, and this babe shall be our grandchild. 
 For I fear the gods, and show hospitality to all strangers; 
 knowing that good deeds, like evil ones, always return 
 to those who do them." 
 
 So Danae was comforted, and went home with Dictys 
 the good fisherman, and was a daughter to him and to 
 his wife. 
 
 Fifteen years were passed and gone and the babe was 
 now grown to a tall lad and a sailor, and went many 
 voyages after merchandise to the islands round. His 
 mother called him Perseus; but all the people in Seriphos 
 said that he was not the son of mortal man, and called 
 him Zeus, the son of the king of the Immortals. For 
 though he was but fifteen, he was taller by a head than 
 any man in the island; and he was the most skilful of all 
 in running and wrestling and boxing, and in throwing the 
 
Perseus 7 
 
 quoit and the javelin, and in rowing with the oar, and in 
 playing on the harp, and in all which befits a man. And 
 he was brave and truthful, gentle and courteous, for good 
 old Dictys had trained him well; and well it was for 
 Perseus that he had done so. 
 
 Now one day at Samos, while the ship was lading, 
 Perseus wandered into a pleasant wood to get out of the 
 sun, and sat down on the turf and fell asleep. And as 
 he slept a strange dream came to him — the strangest 
 dream which he had ever had in his life. 
 
 There came a lady to him through the wood, taller 
 than he, or any mortal man; but beautiful exceedingly, 
 with grey eyes, clear and piercing, but strangely soft 
 and mild. On her head was a helmet, and in her hand 
 a spear. And over her shoulder, above her long blue 
 robes, hung a goat-skin, which bore up a mighty shield 
 of brass, polished like a mirror. She stood and looked 
 at him with her clear grey eyes; and Perseus saw that 
 her eyelids never moved, nor her eyeballs, but looked 
 straight through and through him, and into his very 
 heart, as if she could see all the secrets of his soul, and 
 knew all that he had ever thought or longed for since 
 the day that he was born. And Perseus dropped his 
 eyes, trembling and blushing, as the wonderful lady 
 spoke. 
 
 "Perseus, you must do an errand for me." 
 
 ''Who are you, lady? And how do you know my 
 name?" 
 
 "I am Pallas Athene; and I know the thoughts of all 
 men's hearts, and discern their manhood or their baseness. 
 And from the souls of clay I turn away, and they are 
 blest, but not by me. They fatten at ease, like sheep in 
 the pasture, and eat what they did not sow, like oxen in 
 
'8 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 the stall. They grow and spread, like the gourd along 
 the ground; but, like the gourd, they give no shade to 
 the traveller, and when they are ripe death gathers them, 
 and they go down unloved into hell, and their name 
 vanishes out of the land. 
 
 ''But to the souls of fire I give more fire, and to 
 those who are manful I give a might more than man's. 
 These are the heroes, the sons of the Immortals who are 
 blest, but not like the souls of clay. For I drive them 
 forth by strange paths, Perseus, that they may fight the 
 Titans and the monsters, the enemies of gods and men. 
 Through doubt and need, danger and battle, I drive 
 them; and some of them are slain in the flower of youth, 
 no man knows when or where; and some of them win 
 noble names, and a fair and green old age; but what will 
 be their latter end I know not, and none, save Zeus, the 
 father of gods and men. Tell me now, Perseus, which 
 of these two sorts of men seem to you more blest .^" 
 
 Then Perseus answered boldly: "Better to die in the 
 flower of youth, on the chance of winning a noble name, 
 than to live at ease like the sheep, and die unloved and 
 unrenowned." 
 
 Then that strange lady laughed, and held up her 
 brazen shield, and cried: "See here, Perseus; dare you 
 face such a monster as this, and slay it, that I may 
 place its head upon this shield?" 
 
 And in the mirror of the shield there appeared a face 
 and as Perseus looked on it his blood ran cold. It was 
 the face of a beautiful woman ; but her cheeks were pale 
 as death, and her brows were knit with everlasting pain, 
 and her lips were thin and bitter like a snake's; and, 
 instead of hair, vipers wreathed about her temples, and 
 shot out their forked tongues; while round her head 
 
Perseus 9 
 
 were folded wings like an eagle's, and upon her bosom 
 claws of brass. 
 
 And Perseus looked awhile, and then said: ''If there 
 is anything so fierce and foul on earth, it were a noble 
 deed to kill it. Where can I find the monster ?" 
 
 Then the strange lady smiled again, and said: "Not 
 yet; you are too young, and too unskilled; for this is 
 Medusa the Gorgon, the mother of a monstrous brood." 
 
 And Perseus said, ''Try me; for since you spoke to 
 me a new soul has come into my breast, and I should be 
 ashamed not to dare anything which I can do. Show 
 me, then, how I can do this!" 
 
 "Perseus," said Athene, "think well before you at- 
 tempt; for this deed requires a seven years' journey, in 
 which you cannot repent or turn back nor escape; but 
 if your heart fails you, you must die in the Unshapen 
 Land, where no man will ever find your bones." 
 
 "Better so than live despised," said Perseus. "Tell 
 me, then, oh tell me, fair and wise Goddess, how I can 
 do but this one thing, and then, if need be, die!" 
 
 Then Athen^ smiled and said: 
 
 "Be patient, and listen; for if you forget my words, 
 you will indeed die. You must go northward to the 
 country of the Hyperboreans, who live beyond the pole, 
 at the sources of the cold north wind, till you find the 
 three Grey Sisters, who have but one eye and one tooth 
 between them. You must ask them the way to the 
 Nymphs, the daughters of the Evening Star, who dance 
 about the golden tree, in the Atlantic island of the west. 
 They will tell you the way to the Gorgon, that you may 
 slay her, my enemy, the mother of monstrous beasts. 
 Once she was a maiden as beautiful as morn, till in her 
 pride she sinned a sin at which the sun hid his face; and 
 
lo Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 from that day her hair was turned to vipers, and her 
 hands to eagle's daws; and her heart was filled with 
 shame and rage, and her lips with bitter venom; and her 
 eyes became so terrible that whosover looks on them is 
 turned to stone; and her children are the winged horse 
 and the giant of the golden sword; and her grandchildren 
 are Echidna the witch -adder, and Geryon the three- 
 headed tyrant, who feeds his herds beside the herds of 
 hell. So she became the sister of the Gorgons, the 
 daughters of the Queen of the Sea. Touch them not, 
 for they are immortal; but bring me only Medusa's 
 head." 
 
 "And I will bring it!" said Perseus; "but how am I 
 to escape her eyes? Will she not freeze me too into 
 stone?" 
 
 "You shall take this polished shield," said Athene, 
 " and w^hen you come near her look not at her yourself , 
 but at her image in the brass, so you may strike her 
 safely. And when you have struck off her head, wrap 
 it, with your face turned away, in the folds of the goat- 
 skin on which the shield hangs. So you will bring it 
 safely back to me, and win to yourself renown, and a 
 place among the heroes who feast with the Immortals 
 upon the peak where no winds blow." 
 
 Then Perseus said, "I will go, though I die in going. 
 But how shall I cross the seas without a ship? And 
 who will show me my way ? And when I find her, how 
 shall I slay her, if her scales be iron and brass?" 
 
 Now beside Athene appeared a young man more 
 light-limbed than the stag, whose eyes were like sparks 
 of fire. By his side was a scimitar of diamond, all of 
 one clear precious stone, and on his feet were golden san- 
 dals, from the heels of which grew living wings. 
 
Perseus ii 
 
 Then the young man spoke: "These sandals of mine 
 will bear you across the seas, and over hill and dale like 
 a bird, as they bear me all day long; for I am Hermes,, 
 the far-famed Argus-slayer, the messenger of the Im- 
 mortals who dwell on Olympus." 
 
 Then Perseus fell down and worshipped, while the 
 young man spoke again: 
 
 "The sandals themselves will guide you on the road, 
 for they are divine and cannot stray ; and this sword itself 
 the Argus-slayer, will kill her, for it is divine, and needs 
 no second stroke. Arise, and gird them on, and go 
 forth." 
 
 So Peresus arose, and girded on the sandals and the 
 sword. 
 
 And Athend cried, "Now leap from the cliff and be 
 gone." 
 
 But Perseus lingered. 
 
 "May I not bid farewell to my mother and to Dictys ? 
 And may I not offer burnt offerings to you, and to Hermes 
 the far-famed Argus-slayer, and to Father Zeus above?" 
 
 "You shall not bid farewell to your mother, lest your 
 heart relent at her weeping. I will comfort her and 
 Dictys until you return in peace. Nor shall you offer 
 burnt offerings to the Olympians; for your offering shall 
 be Medusa's head. Leap, and trust in the armour of 
 the Immortals." 
 
 Then Perseus looked down the cliff and shuddered; 
 but he was ashamed to show his dread. Then he 
 thought of Medusa and the renown before him, and he 
 leapt into the empty air. 
 
 And behold, instead of falling he floated, and stood, 
 and ran along the sky. He looked back, but Athen^ 
 had vanished, and Hermes; and the sandals led him on 
 
12 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 northward ever, like a crane who follows the spring 
 toward the Ister fens. 
 
 So Perseus started on his journey, going dry-shod over 
 land and sea ; and his heart was high and joyful, for the 
 winged sandals bore him each day a seven days' journey. 
 And he turned neither to the right hand nor the left, till 
 he came to the Unshapen Land, and the place which has 
 no name. 
 
 And seven days he walked through it on a path which 
 few can tell, till he came to the edge of the everlasting 
 night, where the air was full of feathers, and the soil was 
 hard with ice; and there at last he found the three Grey 
 Sisters, by the shore of the freezing sea, nodding upon a 
 white log of driftwood, beneath the cold white winter 
 moon; and they chanted a low song together, "Why the 
 old times were better than the new." 
 
 There was no living thing around them, not a fly, not 
 a moss upon the rocks. Neither seal nor sea gull dare 
 come near, lest the ice should clutch them in its claws. 
 The surge broke up in foam, but it fell again in flakes of 
 snow; and it frosted the hair of the three Grey Sisters, 
 and the bones in the ice cliff above their heads. They 
 passed the eye from one to the other, but for all that they 
 could not see; and they passed the tooth from one to 
 the other, but for all that they could not eat; and they 
 sat in the full glare of the moon, but they were none the 
 warmer for her beams. And Perseus pitied the three 
 Grey Sisters; but they did not pity themselves. 
 
 So he said, "Oh, venerable mothers, wisdom is the 
 daughter of old age. You therefore should know 
 many things. Tell me, if you can, the path to the 
 Gorgon." 
 
 Then one cried, "Who is this who reproaches us with 
 
Perseus 13 
 
 old age?" And another, **This is the voice of one of the 
 children of men." 
 
 Then one cried, '' Give me the eye, that I may see him"; 
 and another, "Give me the tooth, that I may bite him." 
 But Perseus, when he saw that they were foolish and 
 proud, and did not love the children of men, left off 
 pitying them. Then he stepped close to them, and 
 watched till they passed the eye from hand to hand. And 
 as they groped about between themselves, he held out 
 his own hand gently, till one of them put the eye into it, 
 fancying that it was the hand of her sister. Then he 
 sprang back, and laughed, and cried : 
 
 "Cruel and proud old women, I have your eye; and 
 I will throw it into the sea, unless you tell me the path to 
 the Gorgon, and swear to me that you tell me right." 
 
 Then they wept, and chattered, and scolded; but in 
 vain. They were forced to tell the truth, though, when 
 they told it, Perseus could hardly make out the road. 
 
 "You must go," they said, "foolish boy, to the south- 
 ward, into the ugly glare of the sun, till you come to 
 Atlas the Giant, who holds the heaven and the earth 
 apart. And you must ask his daughters, the Hesperides, 
 who are young and foolish like yourself. And now give 
 us back our eye, for we have forgotten all the rest." 
 
 So Perseus gave them back their eye. And he leaped 
 away to the southward, leaving the snow and the ice 
 behind. And the terns and the sea gulls swept laughing 
 round his head, and called to him to stop and play, and 
 the dolphins gambolled up as he passed, and offered to 
 carry him on their back. And all night long the sea 
 nymphs sang sweetly. Day by day the sun rose higher 
 and leaped more swiftly into the sea at night, and more 
 swiftly out of the sea at davvn; while Perseus skimmed 
 
14 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 over the billows like a sea gull, and his feet were never 
 wetted; and leapt on from wave to wave, and his limbs 
 were never weary, till he saw far away a mighty mountain, 
 all rose-red in the setting sun. Perseus knew that it 
 was Atlas, who holds the heavens and the earth apart. 
 
 He leapt on shore, and wandered upward, among 
 pleasant valleys and waterfalls. At last he heard sweet 
 voices singing; and he guessed that he was come to the 
 garden of the Nymphs, the daughters of the Evening 
 Star. They sang like nightingales among the thickets, 
 and Perseus stopped to hear their song; but the words 
 which they spoke he could not understand. So he 
 stepped forward and saw them dancing, hand in hand 
 around the charmed tree, which bent under its golden 
 fruit; and round the tree foot was coiled the dragon, old 
 Ladon the sleepless snake, who lies there for ever, listen- 
 ing to the song of the maidens, blinking and watching 
 with dry bright eyes. 
 
 Then Perseus stopped, not because he feared the dra- 
 gon, but because he was bashful before those fair maids ; 
 but when they saw him, they too stopped, and called to 
 him with trembling voices: 
 
 "Who are you, fair boy ? Come dance with us around 
 the tree in the garden which knows no winter, the home 
 of the south wind and the sun. Come hither and play 
 with us awhile; we have danced alone here for a thou- 
 sand years, and our hearts are weary with longing for a 
 playfellow." 
 
 *'I cannot dance with you, fair maidens; for I must 
 do the errand of the Immortals. So tell me the way to 
 the Gorgon, lest I wander and perish in the waves." 
 
 Then they sighed and wept ; and answered : 
 
 "The Gorgon! she will freeze you into stone." 
 
Perseus 1 5 
 
 **It is better to die like a hero than to live like an ox 
 in a stall. The Immortals have lent me weapons, and 
 they will give me wit to use them." 
 
 Then they sighed again and answered: ''Fair boy, if 
 you are bent on your own ruin, be it so. We know not 
 the way to the Gorgon; but we will ask the giant Atlas 
 above upon the mountain peak.'^ So they went up the 
 mountain to Atlas their uncle, and Perseus went up with 
 them. And they found the giant kneeling, as he held the 
 heavens and the earth apart. 
 
 They asked him, and he answered mildly, pointing 
 to the sea board with his mightly hand, ''I can see 
 the Gorgons lying on an island far away, but this youth 
 can never come near them, unless he has the hat of dark- 
 ness, which whosoever wears cannot be seen." 
 
 Then cried Perseus, ''Where is that hat, that I may 
 find it?" 
 
 But the giant smiled. "No living mortal can find 
 that hat, for it lies in the depths of Hades, in the regions 
 of the dead. But my nieces are immortal, and they shall 
 fetch it for you, if you will promise me one thing and keep 
 your faith." 
 
 Then Perseus promised; and the giant said, "When 
 you come back with the head of Medusa, you shall show 
 me the beautiful horror, that I may lose my feeling and 
 my breathing, and become a stone for ever; for it is 
 weary labour for me to hold the heavens and the earth 
 apart." 
 
 Then Perseus promised, and the eldest of the Nymphs 
 went down, and into a dark cavern among the cliffs, out 
 of which came smoke and thunder, for it was one of the 
 mouths of hell. 
 
 And Perseus and the Nymphs sat down seven days, 
 
1 6 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 and waited trembling, till the Nymph came up again; 
 and her face was pale, and her eyes dazzled with the light 
 for she had been long in the dreary darkness ; but in her 
 hand was the magic hat. 
 
 Then all the Nymphs kissed Perseus, and wept over 
 him a long while; but he was only impatient to be gone. 
 And at last they put the hat upon his head, and he van- 
 ished out of their sight. 
 
 But Perseus went on boldly, past many an ugly sight, 
 far away into the heart of the Unshapen Land, till he 
 heard the rustle of the Gorgons' wings and saw the glitter 
 of their brazen talons; and then he knew that it was 
 time to halt, lest Medusa should freeze him into stone. 
 
 He thought awhile with himself, and remembered 
 Athene's words. He arose aloft into the air, and held 
 the mirror of the shield above his head, and looked up 
 into it that he might see all that was below him. 
 
 And he saw the three Gorgons sleeping. He knew that 
 they could not see him, because the hat of darkness hid 
 him ; and yet he trembled as he sank down near them, so 
 terrible were those brazen claws. 
 
 Two of the Gorgons were foul as swine, and lay sleep- 
 ing heavily, with their mighty wings outspread; but 
 Medusa tossed to and fro restlessly, and as she tossed 
 Perseus pitied her. But as he looked, from among her 
 tresses the vipers' heads awoke, and peeped up with their 
 bright dry eyes, and showed their fangs, and hissed; and 
 Medusa, as she tossed, threw back her wings and showed 
 her brazen claws. 
 
 Then Perseus came down and stepped to her boldly, 
 and looked steadfastly on his mirror, and struck with 
 Herpd stoutly once ; and he did not need to strike again. 
 
 Then he wrapped the head in the goat-skin, turning 
 
Perseus 
 
 17 
 
 away his eyes, and sprang into the air aloft, faster than 
 he ever sprang before. 
 
 For Medusa's wings and talons rattled as she sank 
 dead upon the rocks ; and her two foul sisters woke, and 
 saw her lying dead. 
 
 Into the air they sprang yelling, and looked for him who 
 had done the deed. They rushed, sweeping and flapping, 
 like eagles after a hare; and Perseus 's blood ran cold as 
 he saw them come howling on his track; and he cried, 
 ''Bear me well now, brave sandals, for the hounds of 
 Death are at my heels!" 
 
 And well the brave sandals bore him, aloft through 
 cloud and sunshine, across the shoreless sea; and fast 
 followed the hounds of Death. But the sandals were too 
 swift, even for Gorgons, and by nightfall they were far 
 behind, two black specks in the southern sky, till the sun 
 sank and he saw them no more. 
 
 Then he came again to Atlas, and the garden of the 
 Nymphs; and when the giant heard him coming he 
 groaned, and said, "Fulfil thy promise to me." Then 
 Perseus held up to him the Gorgon's head, and he had 
 rest from all his toil; for he became a crag of stone, which 
 sleeps forever far above the clouds. 
 
 Perseus thanked the Nymphs, and asked them, "By 
 what road shall I go homeward again, for I have wandered 
 far in coming hither?" 
 
 And they wept and cried, " Go home no more, but stay 
 and play with us, the lonely maidens, who dwell for ever 
 far away from gods and men." 
 
 But he refused, and they told him his road. And he 
 leapt down the mountain, and went on, lessening and 
 lessening like a sea gull, away and out to sea. 
 
 So Perseus flitted onward to the northeast, over many 
 
i8 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 a league of sea, till he came to the rolling sand hills and 
 the dreary Lybian shore. 
 
 And he flitted on across the desert: over rock ledges, 
 and banks of shingle, and level wastes of sand, and shell 
 drifts bleaching in the sunshine, and the skeletons of 
 great sea monsters, and dead bones of ancient giants, 
 strewn up and down upon the old sea floor. And as he 
 went the blood drops fell to the earth from the Gorgon's 
 head, and became poisonous asps and adders, which 
 breed in the desert to this day. 
 
 Over the sands he went, till he saw the Dwarfs who 
 fought with cranes. Their spears were of reeds and 
 rushes, and their houses of the eggshells of the cranes; 
 and Perseus laughed, and went his way to the northeast, 
 hoping all day long to see the blue Mediterranean spark- 
 ling, that he might fly across it to his home. 
 
 But now came down a mighty wind, and swept him. 
 back southward toward the desert. All day long he 
 strove against it; but even the winged sandals could 
 not prevail. So he was forced to float down the wind all 
 night ; and when the morning dawned there was nothing 
 but the blinding sun in the blinding blue; and round 
 him there was nothing but the blinding sand. 
 
 And Perseus said, "Surely I am not here without the 
 will of the Immortals, for Athene will not lie. Were not 
 these sandals to lead me in the right road? Then the 
 road in which I have tried to go must be a wrong road." 
 
 Then suddenly his ears were opened, and he heard the 
 sound of running water. And at that his heart was 
 lifted up, though he scarcely dare believe his ears; and 
 within a bowshot of him was a glen in the sand, and 
 marble rocks, and date trees, and a lawn of gay green 
 grass. And through the lawn a streamlet sparkled and 
 
Perseus 19 
 
 wandered out beyond the trees, and vanished in the sand. 
 And Perseus laughed for joy, and leapt down the cliff 
 and drank of the cool water, and ate of the dates, and 
 slept upon the turf, and leapt up and went forward. 
 
 Then he towered in the air like an eagle, for his limbs 
 were strong again; and he flew all night across the moun- 
 tain till the day began to dawn, and rosy-fingered Eos 
 came blushing up the sky. And then, behold, beneath 
 him was the long green garden of Egypt and the shining 
 stream of Nile. 
 
 And he saw cities walled up to heaven, and temples, 
 and obelisks, and pyramids, and giant gods of stone. 
 And he came down amid fields of barley and flax, and 
 millet, and clambering gourds; and saw the people 
 coming out of the gates of a great city, and setting to 
 work, each in his place, among the water courses, parting 
 the streams among the plants cunningly with their feet, 
 according to the wisdom of the Egyptians. But when 
 they saw him they all stopped their work, and gathered 
 round him, and cried: 
 
 "Who art thou, fair youth? and what Dearest thou 
 beneath they goat-skin there ? Surely thou art one of 
 the Immortals; for thy skin is white like ivory, and ours 
 is red like clay. Thy hair is like threads of gold, and 
 ours is black and curled. Surely thou art one of the 
 Immortals"; and they would have worshipped him then 
 and there; but Perseus said: 
 
 ''I am not one of the Immortals ; but I am a hero of 
 the Hellens. And I have slain the Gorgon in the wilder- 
 ness, and bear her head with me. Give me food, there- 
 fore, that I may go forward and finish my work." 
 
 Then they gave him food, and fruit, but they would 
 not let him go. And when the news came into the city 
 
20 Heroes Every Child Shotdd Know 
 
 that the Gorgon was slain, the priests came out to meet 
 him, and the maidens, with songs and dances, and tim- 
 brels and harps; and they would have brought him to 
 their temple and to their King ; but Perseus put on the 
 hat of darkness, and vanished away out of their sight. 
 
 And Perseus flew along the shore above the sea; and 
 he went on all the day; and he went on all the night. 
 
 And at the dawn of day he looked toward the cliffs; 
 and at the water's edge, under a black rock, he saw a 
 white image stand. 
 
 ''This," thought he, "must surely be the statue of 
 some sea god; I will go near and see what kind of gods 
 these barbarians worship." 
 
 But when he came near, it was no statue, but a maiden 
 of flesh and blood; for he could see her tresses streaming 
 in the breeze; and as he came closer still, he could see 
 how she shrank and shivered when the waves sprinkled 
 her with cold salt spray. Her arms were spread above 
 her head, and fastened to the rock with chains of brass; 
 and her head drooped on her bosom, either with sleep, 
 or weariness, or grief. But now and then she looked up 
 and wailed, and called her mother; yet she did not see 
 Perseus, for the cap of darkness was on his head. 
 
 Full of pity and indignation, Perseus drew near and 
 looked upon the maid. And, lifting the hat from his 
 head, he flashed into her sight. She shrieked with terror, 
 and tried to hide her face with her hair, for she could 
 not with her hands; but Perseus cried: 
 
 ''Do not fear me, fair one; I am a Hellen, and no 
 barbarian. What cruel men have bound you? But 
 first I will set you free." 
 
 And he tore at the fetters, but they were too strong for 
 him; while the maiden cried: 
 
Perseus 21 
 
 ''Touch me not; I am accursed, devoted as a victim 
 to the sea gods. They will slay you, if you dare to set 
 me free." 
 
 "Let them try," said Perseus; and drawing Herpe 
 from his thigh, he cut through the brass as if it had been 
 flax. 
 
 "Now," he said, "you belong to me, and not to these 
 sea gods, whosoever they may be!" But she only 
 called the more on her mother. 
 
 "Why call on your mother? She can be no mother 
 to have left you here." 
 
 And she answered, weeping: 
 
 "I am the daughter of Cepheus, King of lopa, and my 
 mother is Cassiopoeia of the beautiful tresses, and they 
 called me Andromeda, as long as life was mine. And I 
 stand bound here, hapless that I am, for the sea monster's 
 food, to atone for my mother's sin. For she boasted 
 of me once that I was fairer than the Queen of the Fishes ; 
 so she in her wrath sent the sea floods, and her brother 
 the Fire King sent the earthquakes, and wasted all the 
 land, and after the floods a monster bred of the slime who 
 devours all living things. And now he must devour me, 
 guiltless though I am — me who never harmed a living 
 thing, nor saw a fish upon the shore but I gave it life, and 
 threw it back into the sea ; for in our land we eat no fish, 
 for fear of their queen. Yet the priests say that nothing 
 but my blood can atone for a sin which I never com- 
 mitted." 
 
 But Perseus laughed, and said, "A sea monster? I 
 have fought with worse than him: I would have faced 
 Immortals for your sake : how much more a beast of the 
 sea?" 
 
 Then Andromeda looked up at him, and new hope 
 
22 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 was kindled in her breast, so proud and fair did he stand 
 with one hand round her, and in the other the ghttering 
 sword. But she only sighed, and wept the more, and 
 cried : 
 
 ''Why will you die, young as you are? Is there not 
 death and sorrow enough in the world already? It is 
 noble for me to die, that I may save the lives of a whole 
 people; but you, better than them all, why should I slay 
 you too? Go you your way; I must go mine." And 
 then, suddenly looking up, she pointed to the sea, and 
 shrieked : 
 
 ''There he comes, with the sunrise, as they promised. 
 I must die now. How shall I endure it ? Oh, go! Is it 
 not dreadful enough to be torn piecemeal, without hav- 
 ing you to look on?" And she tried to thrust him away. 
 
 But he said: '*I go; yet promise me one thing ere I go: 
 that if I slay this beast you will be my wife, and come 
 back with me to my kingdom in fruitful Argos. Promise 
 me, and seal it with a kiss." 
 
 Then she lifted up her face, and kissed him; and 
 Perseus laughed for joy, and flew upward, while Androm- 
 eda crouched trembling on the rock. 
 
 On came the great sea monster, coasting along like 
 a huge black galley. His great sides were fringed with 
 clustering shells and seaweeds, and the water gurgled 
 in and out of his wide jaws. 
 
 At last he saw Andromeda, and shot forward to take 
 his prey, while the waves foamed white behind him, and 
 before him the fish fled leaping. 
 
 Then down from the height of the air fell Perseus like 
 a shooting star; down to the crests of the waves, while 
 Andromeda hid her face as he shouted; and then there 
 was silence for a while. 
 
Perseus 23 
 
 At last she looked up trembling, and saw Perseus 
 springing toward her; and instead of the monster a long 
 black rock, with the sea rippling quietly round it. 
 
 Who then so proud as Perseus, as he leapt back to 
 the rock, and lifted his fair Andromeda in his arms, and 
 flew with her to the cliff top, as a falcon carries a dove ? 
 
 Who so proud as Perseus, and who so joyful as all the 
 i^thiop people ? For they had stood watching the mon- 
 ster from the cliffs, wailing for the maiden's fate. And 
 already a messenger had gone to Cepheus and Cassio- 
 poeia, where they sat in sackcloth and ashes on the ground, 
 in the innermost palace chambers, awaiting their 
 daughter's end. And they came, and all the city with 
 them, to see the wonder, with songs and with dances, 
 with cymbals and harps, and received their daughter 
 back again, as one alive from the dead. 
 
 Then Cepheus said, "Hero of the Hellens, stay here 
 with me and be my son-in-law, and I will give you the 
 half of my kingdom." 
 
 "I will be your son-in-law," said Perseus, ''but of 
 your kingdom I will have none, for I long after the pleas- 
 ant land of Greece, and my mother who waits for me at 
 home." 
 
 Then Cepheus said, "You must not take my daughter 
 away at once, for she is to us like one alive from the 
 dead. Stay with us here a year, and after that you shall 
 return with honour." And Perseus consented. So 
 they went up to the palace; and when they came in, 
 there stood in the hall Phineua, the brother of Cepheus, 
 chafing like a bear robbed of her whelps, and with him 
 his sons, and his servants, and many an armed man, 
 and he cried to Cepheus: 
 
 "You shall not marry your daughter to this stranger 
 
24 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 of whom no one knows even the name. Was not An- 
 dromeda betrothed to my son? And now she is safe 
 again, has he not a right to claim her?" 
 
 But Perseus laughed, and answered: ''If your son 
 is in want of a bride, let him save a maiden for himself." 
 
 Then he unveiled the Gorgon's head, and said, ''This 
 has delivered my bride from one wild beast; it shall deliver 
 her from many." And as he spoke Phineus and all his 
 men-at-arms stopped short, and stiffened each man as 
 he stood; and before Perseus had drawn the goat-skin 
 over the face again, they were all turned into stone. 
 Then Perseus bade the people bring levers and roll them 
 out. 
 
 So they made a great wedding feast, which lasted 
 seven whole days, and who so happy as Perseus and 
 Andromeda ? 
 
 And when a year was ended Perseus hired Phoenicians 
 from Tyre, and cut down cedars, and built himself a 
 a noble galley; and painted its cheeks with vermilion 
 and pitched its sides with pitch; and in it he put An- 
 dromeda, and all her dowry of jewels, and rich shawls, 
 and spices from the East; and great was the weeping 
 when they rowed away. But the remembrance of his 
 brave deed was left behind; and Andromeda's rock was 
 shown at lopa in Palestine till more than a thousand 
 years were past. 
 
 So Perseus and the Phoenicians rowed to the westward, 
 across the sea, till they came to the pleasant Isles of 
 Hellas, and Seriphos, his ancient home. 
 
 Then he left his galley on the beach, and went up as of 
 old; and he embraced his mother, and Dictys his good 
 foster-father, and they wept over each other a long while, 
 for it was seven years and more since they had met. 
 
Perseus 25 
 
 Then he went home to Argos, and reigned there well 
 with fair Andromeda. But the will of the gods was 
 accomplished towards Acrisius, his grandfather, for he 
 died from the falling of a quoit which Perseus had 
 thrown in a game. 
 
 Perseus and Andromeda had four sons and three 
 daughters, and died in a good old age. And 
 when they died, the ancients say, Athene took them 
 up into the sky, with Cepheus and Cassiopoeia. 
 And there on starlight nights you may see them shining 
 still; Cepheus with his kingly crown, and Cassiopoeia 
 in her ivory chair, plaiting her star-spangled tresses, 
 and Perseus with the Gorgon's head, and fair Andromeda 
 beside him, spreading her long white arms across the 
 heavens, as she stood when chained to the stone for the 
 monster. All night long they shine, for a beacon to 
 wandering sailors; but all day they feast with the gods, 
 on the still blue peaks of Olympus. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 HERCULES 
 
 MANY, many years ago in the far-off land of Hellas, 
 which we call Greece, lived a happy young 
 couple whose names were Alcmene and Amphitryon. 
 Now Amphitryon, the husband, owned many herds of 
 cattle. So also the father of Alcmene, who was King of 
 Mycenae, owned many. 
 
 All these cattle grazing together and watering at the 
 same springs became united in one herd. And this was 
 the cause of much trouble, for Amphitryon fell to quarrel- 
 ing with the father of his wife about his portion of the 
 herd. At last he slew his father-in-law, and from that 
 day he fled his old home at Mycenae. 
 
 Alcmene went with her husband and the young couple 
 settled at Thebes, where were born to them two boys — 
 twins — which were later named Hercules and Iphicles. 
 
 From the child's very birth Zeus, the King of all heaven 
 that is the air and clouds, and the father of gods and 
 men — from the boy's very birth Zeus loved Hercules. 
 But when Hera, wife of Zeus, who shared his honours, saw 
 this love she was angry. Especially she was angry be- 
 cause Zeus foretold that Hercules should become the 
 greatest of men. 
 
 Therefore one night, when the two babies were but 
 eight months old, Hera sent two huge serpents to destroy 
 them. The children were asleep in the great shield of 
 brass which Amphitryon carried in battle for his defence. 
 
 26 
 
Hercules 27 
 
 It was a good bed, for it was round and curved toward 
 the centre, and filled with soft blankets which Alcmene 
 and the maids of the house had woven at their looms. 
 Forward toward this shield the huge snakes were creeping, 
 and just as they lifted their open mouths above the rim, 
 and were making ready to seize them, the twins opened 
 their eyes. Iphicles screamed with fright. His cries 
 wakened their mother, Alcmene, who called in a loud 
 voice for help. But before Amphitryon and the men of 
 the household could draw their swords and rush to the 
 rescue, the baby Hercules, sitting up in the shield un- 
 terrified and seizing a serpent in each hand, had choked 
 and strangled them till they died. 
 
 From his early years Hercules was instructed in the 
 learning of his time. Castor, the most experienced 
 charioteer of his day, taught him, Eurytus also, how to 
 shoot with a bow and arrows; Linus how to play upon the 
 lyre; and Eumolpus, grandson of the North Wind, drilled 
 him in singing. Thus time passed to his eighteenth 
 year when, so great already had become his strength and 
 knowledge, he killed a fierce lion which had preyed upon 
 the flocks of Amphitryon while they were grazing on 
 Mount Cithaeron,and which had in fact laid waste many 
 a fat farm of the surrounding country. 
 
 But the anger of Hera still followed Hercules, and the 
 goddess sent upon him a madness. In this craze the 
 hero did many unhappy deeds. For punishment and in 
 expiation he condemned himself to exile, and at last he 
 went to the great shrine of the god Apollo at Delphi to 
 ask whither he should go and where settle. The Pythia, 
 or priestess in the temple, desired him to settle at Tiryns, 
 to serve as bondman to Eurystheus, who ruled at My- 
 cenae as King, and to perform the great labours which 
 
28 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 Eurystheus should impose upon him. When these tasks 
 were all accomplished, the inspired priestess added, 
 Hercules should be numbered among the immortal 
 gods. 
 
 THE FIRST LABOUR — WRESTLING WITH THE NEMEAN 
 LION 
 
 The first task which Eurystheus required of Hercules 
 was to bring him the skin of a lion which no arrow nor 
 other weapon could wound, and which had long been a 
 terror to the good people who lived in Nemea. Hercules 
 set forth armed with bow and quiver, but paused in the 
 outer wood of Nemea long enough to cut himself his 
 famous club. There too he fell in with an honest 
 countryman who pledged him to make a sacrifice to Zeus, 
 the saviour, if he, Hercules, should return victorious; but 
 if he were slain by the monstrous lion, then the country- 
 man should make the sacrifice a funeral offering to 
 himself as a hero. 
 
 So Hercules proceeded, far into a dense wood, deserted 
 because all people feared the fierce beast it protected. 
 On he went till after many days he sighted the lion at rest 
 near the cave which was its den. Standing behind a 
 tree of great girth, Hercules fitted and let fly an arrow. 
 It struck and glanced, leaving the animal unharmed. 
 Then he tried another shot, aiming at the heart. Again 
 the arrow failed. But the lion was by this time roused, 
 and his eyes shot fiery glances, and the heavy roar from 
 his throat made the woods most horribly resound. Then 
 the devoted Hercules seized his heavy wooden club, and 
 rushing forward drove the lion by the suddenness and 
 fierceness of his assault into his den. But the den had 
 two entrances. Against one Hercules rolled huge stones. 
 
Hercules 29 
 
 and entering the cave by the other he grasped the lion's 
 throat with both hands, and thus held him struggling and 
 gasping for breath till he lay at his feet dead. 
 
 Hercules swung the mighty bulk upon his shoulders 
 and proceeded to seek the countryman with whom his 
 pledge stood. So great had been his journey, and so 
 hard his search, that he did not find the good man till the 
 last of the thirty days. There he stood just on the point 
 of offering a sheep to Hercules, supposing him dead. To- 
 gether they sacrificed the sheep to Zeus instead, and Her- 
 cules, vigorous and victorious, bore the mighty lion's 
 body to Eurystheus at Mycenae. 
 
 Entering the place and throwing the carcass down be- 
 fore the king, Hercules so terrified Eurystheus by this 
 token of his wonderful strength that the King forbade him 
 ever again to enter the city. Indeed some say that the 
 terror of Eurystheus was so great that he had a jar or 
 vessel of brass secretly constructed underground which 
 he might use as a safe retreat in case of danger. This 
 *'jar" was probably a chamber and its walls covered 
 within with plates of brass. For now in our own day is 
 seen there at Mycenae a room under the earth, and the 
 nails which fastened the brass plates to the wall still re- 
 main. Ever after the conquest of this lion Hercules 
 clothed himself with the skin. 
 
 THE SECOND LABOUR DESTROYING THE LERNEAN 
 
 HYDRA 
 
 The second task of Hercules was to destroy a hydra or 
 water snake which dwelt in the marsh of Lerna, a small 
 lake near Mycenae. The body of this snake was large 
 and from its body sprang nine heads. Eight of these 
 heads were mortal, but the ninth head was undying. 
 
30 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 Hercules stepped into his chariot and his dear nephew 
 lolaus, who was permitted by the Delphic priestess to 
 drive for him, took up the reins. The way to Lerna was 
 pleasant. In spring-time crocuses and hyacinths sprang 
 by the roadside, and in early summer the nightingales 
 sang in the olive groves, vineyard and forest. That so 
 great and horrible a monster could be near! 
 
 When Hercules and lolaus came to Lerna they drew 
 close to ground rising near a spring, and Hercules dis- 
 mounting and searching found the very hole into which 
 the hydra had retired. Into this he shot fiery arrows. 
 The arrows discomforting the snake it crawled forth and, 
 darting at him furiously, endeavoured to twine itself 
 about his legs. The hero began then to wield his 
 mighty club. He crushed head after head upon the 
 snake's body, but for every one crushed two sprang in its 
 place. 
 
 At length the hydra had coiled so firmly round 
 one leg, that Hercules could not move an inch from the 
 spot. And now an enormous crab came from the water 
 out of friendship for the hydra, and that too crept up to 
 Hercules and, seizing his foot, painfully wounded him. 
 
 Swinging his club with heroic vigor Hercules beat the 
 crab to death. Then he called to lolaus to fire a little 
 grove of trees near by. lolaus at once set the fire, and 
 when the saplings were well aflame he seized them and, 
 standing by the hero, as fast as Hercules cut off a head 
 of the hydra he seared the neck with a flaming brand. 
 The searing prevented the heads from growing again. 
 When all the eight mortal heads had thus been dispatched 
 Hercules struck off the one said to be immortal and 
 buried it in the roadway, setting a heavy stone above. 
 The body of the hydra he cut up and dipped his arrows 
 
Hercules 3 1 
 
 in the gall, which was so full of poison that the least 
 scratch from such an arrow would bring certain death. 
 
 Eurystheus received the news of the destruction of the 
 water snake with bad grace. He claimed that Hercules 
 had not destroyed the monster alone, but only with the 
 assistance of lolaus. All the people, however, rejoiced 
 greatly, and they hastened to drain the marsh where the 
 hydra had dwelt so that never again could such an enemy 
 abide upon their lands. 
 
 THE THIRD LABOUR — CAPTURING THE ARCADIAN HIND 
 
 In the days in which Hercules lived, Arcadia was a 
 beautiful country of cool, sweet-scented woods, clear 
 mountain streams, and sloping meadow-sides from which 
 rose every now and then the roof of a hunter's cottage or 
 a shepherd's hutch. It was a country' also peculiarly 
 pleasing to Artemis, the goddess of the chase, and pecu- 
 liarly also it was the haunt of all animals especially dear 
 to the goddess. 
 
 A hind was there of such loveliness and grace 
 that Artemis had marked her for her own, and given 
 her a pair of golden horns so that she might be 
 known from all other deer a-nd her life thus preserved. 
 For no good Hellen, or Greek, would slay for food any 
 animal sacred to a god. This beautiful golden-horned 
 hind Eurystheus ordered Hercules to bring to him alive, 
 for the irreverence of the King did not go so far as to de- 
 mand her dead. 
 
 So Hercules went forth for the hunting and, not 
 wishing to wound the hind, pursued her for one en- 
 tire year. Up hill he went, down many a mountain 
 dale, across many a gleaming river, through deep forest 
 and open tieid, and always dancing before him were the 
 
32 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 golden tips of horns of the hind — near enough to be seen, 
 too fax to be seized. At last tired with the pursuit the 
 lovely beast one day took refuge upon a mountain side, 
 and there as she sought the water of a river, Hercules 
 struck her with an arrow. The wound was slight, but 
 it helped the hero to catch the creature, and to lift her 
 to his shoulders. Thereupon, he started for the 
 court of Eurystheus. 
 
 But the way was long, and it lay through a part of Ar- 
 cadia where the bush was heavy, and forests were deep, and 
 mountains were high, and while Hercules was pursuing 
 his way and bearing his meek-eyed burden, he one day 
 met the fair goddess to whom the hind was sacred. 
 Her brother, the beautiful god Apollo, was with her. 
 
 Artemis seeing her captured deer cried to the hero, 
 "Mortal, oho! thus wilt thou violate a creature set aside 
 by the gods?" ** Mighty Artemis and huntress," an- 
 swered Hercules, "this hind I know is thine. A twelve- 
 month have I chased and at last caught her. But the 
 god Necessity forced me! Oh, immortal one, I am not 
 impious. Eurystheus commanded me to catch the 
 hind and the priestess of Apollo enjoined me to observe 
 the King's command." 
 
 When Artemis understood how Hercules was bond- 
 man she dismissed her anger, and sent him forward with 
 kind words, and thus he brought the golden-homed hind 
 to Mycenae and sent it in to the King. 
 
 THE FOURTH LABOUR — CAPTURING THE BOAR OF 
 ERYMANTHUS 
 
 In the northwestern part of the famed Arcadia where 
 the golden-homed hind roamed was a range of mountains 
 called Erymanthus. Over the high tops of this range 
 
Hercules 
 
 ZZ 
 
 wandered also a wild beast, but unlike the lovely hind he 
 was fierce and terrible of aspect and deadly in encounter. 
 He was known as the boar of Erymanthus. This tusked 
 and terrible being the King of Mycenae, Eurystheus, 
 commanded the mighty Hercules, his bondman, to bring 
 alive to him. 
 
 Again Hercules set out, and again he fared over hill 
 and across bright waters, and as he went the birds sang 
 spring songs to him from vine and tree shade, and yellow 
 crocuses carpeted the earth. In his journey he came 
 one day to the home of Pholus, a centaur, who dwelt 
 with other centaurs upon the side of a mountain. Now 
 the centaurs were, of all the dwellers of that distant land, 
 most unlike us modern folks. For report has it that they 
 were half that noble creature man, and half that noble 
 creature horse : that is to say, they were men as far as the 
 waist, and then came the body of the horse with its swift 
 four feet. There are those, indeed, who claim that the 
 centaurs were men and rode their mountain ponies so 
 deftly that man and horse seemed one whole creature. 
 Be that as it may, upon this mountain side the centaur 
 Pholus dwelt with others of his kind, and there to visit 
 with him came Hercules. 
 
 The centaur with his hospitable heart and own hands 
 prepared a dinner of roast meat for the hungry traveller, 
 and as they sat at the board in genial converse they had 
 much enjoyment. But Hercules was also thirsty, and 
 the sparkling water from the mountain spring seemed 
 not to satisfy him. He asked the centaur for wine. 
 "Ah, wine, my guest-friend Hercules," answered Pholus, 
 "I have none of my own. Yonder is a jar of old vintage, 
 but it belongs to all the centaurs of our mountain and I 
 cannot open it." "But friend Pholus," said Hercules 
 
34 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 pressingly, "I would I had a little for my stomach's 
 sake." 
 
 Now the centaur had a kind heart as we have said, and 
 he rejoiced that Hercules had come, and to give the hero 
 his desires he opened the jar. The wine was made from 
 grapes that grew under the fair skies of Arcadia and its 
 fragrance was like a scent of lilies or of roses, and when 
 the soft winds entered the door, near which Hercules sat 
 drinking, it seized the perfume and bore it over the moun- 
 tain side. Now hear of all the mischief a little wine may 
 make. 
 
 The fragrance in the air told the centaurs, wherever 
 each happened to be, that their wine jar had been opened, 
 and they rushed to its resting place perhaps to defend it 
 from any wayfaring thief, perhaps to help drink it, we do 
 not know. But each came angrily to the mouth of the 
 cave of Pholus and all were armed with stones and staves 
 which they had seized as they hastened onward. When 
 they first entered with raging cries and threatening gesture 
 Hercules grasped the brands burning on the hospitable 
 hearth and drove them back. As others pressed behind 
 them the hero drew forth his arrows poisoned with the 
 gall of the Lernean hydra, and sent among them many a 
 shaft. Thus they fought retreating and, they fleeing 
 and Hercules pursuing, came finally to the dwelling of 
 Chiron, most famed of all the centaurs and a teacher of 
 Hercules in his youth, teacher of his great art of surgery. 
 
 The wine raging in the veins of Hercules made him 
 for the moment forgetful of all the good Chiron had 
 bestowed upon him, and still letting fly his poisonous 
 arrows he, aiming at another, hit the noblest of the cen- 
 taurs. Grief seized Hercules when he saw what he had 
 done and he ran and drew out the arrow and applied a 
 
Hercules 35 
 
 soft ointment which Chiron himself had taught him to 
 make. But it was in vain, for the centaur, inspiring 
 teacher and famed for his love of justice as he was, soon 
 gave up the ghost. 
 
 Saddened at his own madness Hercules now returned 
 to the cave of his guest-friend Pholus. There among 
 others his host lay, and stark dead. He had drawn an 
 arrow from the body of one who had died from its wound, 
 and, while examining it and wondering how so slight a 
 shaft could be so fatal, had accidentally dropped it out of 
 his hand. It struck his foot and he expired that very 
 moment. 
 
 Hercules paid all funeral honour to his friends and 
 afterward departing from the unhappy neighbourhood 
 took up his search of the boar. 
 
 Heavy snows were lying on the crests of Erymanthus 
 when Hercules came upon the tracks of the wild creature, 
 and following patiently finally reached his lair. There 
 the boar stood, his tusks pointed outward ready for at- 
 tack, his eyes snapping vindictively. He was indeed a 
 terrible thing to see. 
 
 Hercules, instead of shooting at the animal, began to 
 call, and shouting with loud cries he so confused the 
 boar that he ran into the vast snowdrift standing near 
 by. Thereupon the hero seized and bound him with 
 a wild grapevine he had brought for the purpose. 
 And so swinging him over his shoulder he took his way 
 toward Mycenae. 
 
 The King Eurystheus was terribly frightened at the 
 very prospect of having the boar to keep, and when 
 he heard Hercules was coming to town with the animal 
 on his shoulders he took to the brazen underground 
 chamber, which he had built, when Hercules came in 
 
36 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 with the body of the Nemean lion. There he stayed 
 for several days, according to a good old historian, 
 Diodorus, who in writing of the King told that he 
 was so great a coward. 
 
 THE FIFTH LABOUR — CLEANSING THE STABLES OF 
 AUGEAS 
 
 Although Eurystheus was siezed with tremor at the 
 coming of Hercules with the Erymanthian boar, still he 
 continued relentless, and demanded the performance 
 of the next task, which was nothing less than the cleaning 
 out in one day of stables where numerous cattle had been 
 confined for many years. These noisome stalls belonged 
 to Augeas, a King of Elis and a man rich in herds — so 
 rich indeed that as the years passed and his cattle in- 
 creased he could not find men enough to care for his 
 kine and their house. Thus the animals had continued, 
 and had so littered their abiding place that it had become 
 well nigh intolerable and a source of disease and even of 
 pestilence to the people. 
 
 When Hercules came to King Augeas he said nothing 
 to him of the command Eurystheus had laid upon him, 
 but looking through the stables which covered a space of 
 many meadows he spoke of the cattle and the evil con- 
 dition of their housing. "The moon-eyed kine will do 
 better in clean stables," said the wise Hercules, ''and if 
 thou wilt pledge me a tenth of thy herds I will clean out 
 thy stalls in a day." To this Augeas delightedly agreed 
 and, speaking as they were in the presence of the young 
 son of the King, Hercules called upon the prince to 
 witness the pact. 
 
 Now Hercules in going about the great stables had 
 noticed that at the upper end of their building flowed 
 
Hercules 
 
 37 
 
 a swift river, and at the lower end was a second swift 
 stream. When therefore Angeas had pledged himself 
 to the work, Hercules, beginning early next day, took 
 down the walls at the upper end of the stalls and the walls 
 at the lower end. Then with his own mighty hands he 
 dug channels and canals and led the waters of the upper 
 swift-flowing river into the heavily littered floor of the 
 stalls. And the waters rose and pushed the litter before 
 them and made one channel into the lower river, and 
 then another and another and so, working through the 
 hours of the day, the upper river scoured the stables 
 clean and carried the refuse to the lower river. And 
 the lower river took the burden and carried it out to the 
 salt sea, which is ever and always cleaning and purifying 
 whatever comes to its waters. And when night fell 
 there stood the hero Hercules looking at his work — the 
 filthy stables of Augeas cleaned. 
 
 When next day Hercules asked for the tenth of the 
 herds which the King had pledged, Augeas refused ta 
 stand by his agreement. He had learned that this labour 
 of cleaning his stables had been imposed upon Hercules, 
 and he claimed he should pay nothing for it; in fact, he 
 denied he had promised anything, and offered to lay the 
 matter before judges. The cause therefore was tried, 
 and at the trial the young son of the King, who had 
 witnessed the pact, testified to the truth of Hercules'" 
 claim. This so enraged his father that in most high- 
 handed manner he banished both his son and 
 the hero from Elis without waiting for the judg- 
 ment of the court. Hercules returned to Mycenae. 
 But again the cowardly and contemptible Eurystheus 
 refused to count this labour, saying Hercules had done 
 it for hire. 
 
^S Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 THE SIXTH LABOUR — SHOOTING THE STYMPHALIAN 
 BIRDS 
 
 Far in the famed land of Arcadia is a beautiful lake 
 known so many years ago, as in the time of Hercules, and 
 even by us in our day, as Lake Stymphalus. It is a lake 
 of pure sweet water and it lies, as such waters lie in our 
 own country, high up in mountains and amid hillsides 
 covered with firs and poplars and clinging vines and wild 
 blossoms. 
 
 In our day the lake is a resort for gentle singing birds, 
 but in the time of Hercules other birds were there also. 
 The other birds were water fowls, and they had gathered 
 at Lake Stymphalus because they had been driven out of 
 their old home by wolves, who alone were hungrier and 
 more destructive than they. These fowls had claws of 
 iron, and every feather of theirs was sharper than a 
 barbed arrow, and so strong and fierce and ravenous they 
 were that they would dart from the air and attack hunters, 
 yea, and pecking them down would tear and strip their 
 flesh till but a bony skeleton remained of that which a few 
 minutes before had been a strong, active, buoyant man 
 seeking in the chase food for his hearthside. 
 
 To make way with this horrid tribe of the air was the 
 sixth command Eurystheus laid upon Hercules. To- 
 ward Lake Symphalus therefore turned our hero. Again 
 he walked Arcadian waysides, and again as he fared the 
 spring sun shone above, and the birds sang welcome, and 
 the narcissus lifted its golden cup, and as he went his heart 
 rejoiced in his life, whatever the difficulty of his labour, 
 and in the beauty of the world before his eyes. And as 
 he walked also he thought of how he should accomplish 
 the great undertaking upon which he was bent. 
 
Hercules 39 
 
 While thus deliberating the grey-eyed goddess of wisdom, 
 Atheii^, came to him — just as this goddess even in our 
 day comes to those who think — and she suggested to his 
 mind that he should scare the fowl from their retreat by 
 brazen rattles. The goddess did even more than put 
 the notion of using a rattle in the mind of Hercules. It 
 is said she actually brought him one, a huge, bronze 
 clapper made for him by the forger of the gods, limping 
 Hephaestus. 
 
 Hercules took this rattle and mounting a neighbouring 
 height shook it in his great hands till every hill echoed 
 and the very trees quivered with the horrid sound. And 
 the man-eating birds ? Not one remained hidden. Each 
 and every one rose terrified in the air, croaking and work- 
 ing its steely talons and sharp-pointed feathers in dire 
 fear. 
 
 Now from his quiver the hero fast picked his barbed 
 arrows, and fast he shot and every shot brought to his 
 feet one of the terrible man-eaters, till at last he had slain 
 every one. Or, if indeed, any of the tribe had escaped, 
 they had flown far away, for never after, in all the long 
 history of Lake Stymphalus, have such creatures ap- 
 peared again above its fair waters. 
 
 So ended the sixth labour of Hercules. 
 
 THE SEVENTH LABOUR — CAPTURING THE CRETAN BULL 
 
 Just as Zeus who, as we said in the beginning, was King 
 of all heaven that is the air and clouds, so Posidon was 
 King of the sea. With his queen, Amphitrite, he lived 
 far down underneath the waves, and dwelt in a palace 
 splendid with all the beautiful things of the deep. 
 
 In the midst of the blue waters of the Mediterranean 
 where Posidon had his home, lies an island called Crete, 
 
40 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 and long ago in the days when Hercules laboured, a King, 
 whose name was Minos, ruled over this land. The 
 island is long and narrow and has much sea coast, and 
 because of this fact King Minos stood in intimate relations 
 with the god of the sea. 
 
 Now one day in an especial burst of friendliness, Minos 
 vowed to sacrifice to Posidon whatever should come out of 
 the salt waters. The god in pleasure at the vow, and to 
 test mayhap the devotion of Minos, sent at once a beauti- 
 ful bull leaping and swimming through the waves. When 
 the creature had come to the rocky coast and made land, 
 its side shone with such beauty, and its ivory-white horns 
 garlanded with lilies set so like a crown above its graceful 
 head that Minos and all the people who saw it mar- 
 velled that anywhere could have grown such a bull. 
 And a sort of greed and deceit seized Minos as he gazed, 
 and for his sacrifice to Posidon he resolved to use another 
 bull. And so he ordered his herdsman to take this fair 
 creature that had come from the sea and to put it among 
 his herd, and also to bring forth another for the offering. 
 
 Because of this avarice of Minos the god below the 
 waves was angry and he made the bull wild and furious, 
 so that no herdsman dared approach to feed or care for it. 
 For his seventh task Eurystheus commanded Hercules to 
 fetch him this mad bull of Crete. 
 
 Hercules accordingly boarded one of the ships that 
 plied in that far-off day, as well as in this time of ours, 
 between the rocky coast of Crete and the fair land of 
 Hellas, and in due time the hero came to Minos' court. 
 ''I have come, sire," said Hercules, ''for the mad bull 
 that terrifies thy herdsmen and is rumoured beyond 
 capture." ''Ay, young man," cried the king, "thou hast 
 come for my bull and my bull shalt thou have. When 
 
Hercules 41 
 
 thou hast taken it, it is thine," and the King laughed 
 grimly, for the strength and fury of the creature he deemed 
 beyond any man's control. 
 
 Hercules sought the grove where Posidon's gift had 
 strayed from its fellows, and there deftly seizing it by 
 the horns, he bound its feet with stout straps of bull's 
 hide and its horns he padded with moss of the sea from 
 which it came, and so having made it powerless he lifted 
 it to his shoulders and carried it to the shore. A swift 
 black ship was just spreading sail from Crete, and enter- 
 ing upon it the hero soon ended his journey and laid his 
 capture before Eurystheus. 
 
 A day or two later Hercules loosed the bull, which, 
 after wandering through the woodlands of Arcadia, 
 crossed the isthmus and came to the plains of Marathon, 
 whence, after doing much damage, it swam off to sea and 
 was never heard of after. 
 
 So far we have told how Hercules accomplished seven 
 of the tasks laid upon him. Space does not permit us to 
 recount in detail the other five. The eighth task was to 
 bring to Eurystheus the man-eating mares of the King of 
 Windy Thrace. The ninth task was to fetch a girdle 
 which Ares, god of war, had given the Queen of the 
 Amazons — an exceedingly difficult labour, for the Ama- 
 zons were a nation of women-warriors renowned for 
 valour. For the tenth task Eurystheus demanded the 
 purple oxen of a famous giant who dwelt on an island far 
 out in the ocean. The eleventh task was to bring apples 
 from the garden of the Hesperides — golden apples 
 guarded by a dragon with a hundred heads, no one of 
 which ever closed its eyes in sleep. And the twelfth and 
 last task, which was to free the mighty Hercules from his 
 
42 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 bondage to cowardly Eurystheus, was to fetch Cerberus, 
 the three-headed dog, who guarded the entrance to 
 Hades, the unseen abode of departed spirits. 
 
 Each and every one of these labours the strong hero 
 accomplished. Having won his freedom and gained the 
 honours promised by the priestess at Delphi many years 
 before, Hercules worked many a noble deed and finally 
 in reward for his much enduring and his aid to mortals, he 
 was carried upon a thunder cloud to the upper air, and 
 entered into the very gates of heaven. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 DANIEL 
 
 IT PLEASED Darius to set over the kingdom an 
 hundred and twenty princes, which should be over 
 the whole kingdom. 
 
 And over these three presidents; of whom Daniel was 
 first: that the princes might give accounts unto them, and 
 the King should have no damage. 
 
 Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents- 
 and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him ; and 
 the King thought to set him over the whole realm. 
 
 Then the presidents and princes sought to find oc- 
 casion against Daniel concerning the kingdom ; but they 
 could find none occasion nor fault ; forasmuch as he was 
 faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him. 
 
 Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion 
 against this Daniel, except we find it against him con- 
 cerning the law of his God. 
 
 Then these presidents and princes assembled together 
 to the King, and said thus unto him, King Darius, live 
 for ever. 
 
 All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, and 
 the princes, the counsellors, and the captains, have con- 
 sulted together to establish a royal statute, and to make 
 a firm decree, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any 
 god or man for thirty days, save of thee, O King, he shall 
 be cast into the den of lions. 
 
 Now, O King, establish the decree, and sign the writ- 
 43 
 
44 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 itig, that it be not changed, according to the law of the 
 Medes and Persians, which altereth not. 
 
 Wherefore King Darius signed the writing and the 
 decree. 
 
 Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, 
 he went into his house; and his windows being open in 
 his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his 
 knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks 
 before his God, as he did aforetime. 
 
 Then these men assembled, and found Daniel praying 
 and making supplication before his God. 
 
 Then they came near, and spake before the King con- 
 cerning the King's decree; Hast thou not signed a decree, 
 that every man that shall ask a petition of any god or 
 man within thirty days, save of thee, O King, shall be cast 
 into the den of lions? The King answered and said, 
 The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and 
 Persians, which altereth not. 
 
 Then answered they and said before the King, 
 That Daniel, which is of the children of the cap- 
 tivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, O King, nor the 
 decree that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition 
 three times a day. 
 
 Then the King, when he heard these words, was sore 
 displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to 
 deliver him: and he laboured till the going down of the 
 sun to deliver him. 
 
 Then these men assembled unto the King, and said unto 
 the King, Know, O King, that the law of the Medes and 
 Persians is, That no decree nor statute which the King 
 establisheth may be changed. 
 
 Then the King commanded, and they brought Daniel, 
 and cast him into the den of lions. Now the King spake 
 
 1 
 
Daniel 45 
 
 and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest con- 
 tinually, he will deliver thee. 
 
 And a stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of 
 the den; and the King sealed it with his own signet, and 
 with the signet of his lords; that the purpose might not 
 be changed concerning Daniel. 
 
 Then the King went to his palace, and passed the 
 night fasting: neither were instruments of music brought 
 before him: and his sleep went from him. 
 
 Then the King arose very early in the morning, and 
 went in haste unto the den of lions. 
 
 And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamen- 
 table voice unto Daniel; and the King spake and said to 
 Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, 
 whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from 
 the lie is? 
 
 Then said Daniel unto the King, O King, live for ever. 
 
 My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' 
 mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as be- 
 fore him innocency was found in me: and also before 
 thee, O King, have I done no hurt. 
 
 Then was the King exceeding glad for him, and com- 
 manded that they, should take Daniel up out of the den. 
 So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner 
 of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his 
 God. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 DAVID 
 
 NOW the Philistines gathered together their 
 armies to battle, and were gathered together 
 at Shochoh, which belongeth to Judah, and pitched 
 between Shochoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim. 
 
 And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, 
 and pitched by the valley of Elah, and set the battle in 
 array against the Philistines. 
 
 And the Philistines stood on a mountain on the one 
 side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side; 
 and there was a valley between them. 
 
 And there went out a champion out of the camp of 
 the Phihstines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height 
 was six cubits and a span. 
 
 And he had an helmet of brass upon his head, and he 
 was armed with a coat of mail; and the weight of the 
 coat was five thousand shekels of brass. 
 
 And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a target 
 of brass between his shoulders. 
 
 And the staff of his spear was like a weaver's beam; 
 and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of 
 iron; and one bearing a shield went before him. 
 
 And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, and 
 said unto them, Why are ye come out to set your battle 
 in array .f* am not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? 
 choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me. 
 
 If he be able to fight with me, and to kill me, then will 
 46 
 
David 47 
 
 we be your servants: but if I prevail against him, and 
 kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us. 
 
 And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel 
 this day; give me a man, that we may fight together. 
 
 When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the 
 Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid. 
 
 Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Beth- 
 lehem-judah, whose name was Jesse; and he had eight 
 sons: and the man went among men for an old man in 
 the days of Saul. 
 
 And the three eldest sons of Jesse went and followed 
 Saul to the battle: and the names of his three sons that 
 went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next unto 
 him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. 
 
 And David was the youngest: and the three eldest 
 followed Saul. 
 
 But David went and returned from Saul to feed his 
 father's sheep at Bethlehem. 
 
 And the Philistine drew near morning and evening, 
 and presented himself forty days. 
 
 And Jesse said unto David his son. Take now for thy 
 brethren an ephah of this parched corn, and these ten 
 loaves, and run to the camp to thy brethren; 
 
 And carry these ten cheeses unto the captain of their 
 thousand, and look how thy brethren fare, and take their 
 pledge. 
 
 Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were in 
 the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines. 
 
 And David rose up early in the morning, and left the 
 sheep with a keeper, and took, and went, as Jesse had 
 commanded him ; and he came to the trench, as the host 
 was going forth to the fight, and shouted for the 
 battle. 
 
48 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 For Israel and the Philistines had put the battle in 
 array army against army. 
 
 And David left his carriage in the hand of the keeper of 
 the carriage, and ran into the army, and came and saluted 
 his brethren. 
 
 And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the 
 champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out 
 of the armies of the Philistines, and spake according to 
 the same words; and David heard them. 
 
 And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled 
 from him, and were sore afraid. 
 
 And the men of Israel said. Have ye seen this man 
 that is come up? surely to defy Israel is he come up; 
 and it shall be, that the man who killeth him, the King 
 will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his 
 daughter, and make his father's house free in Israel. 
 
 And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, 
 What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, 
 and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is 
 this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the 
 armies of the living God? 
 
 And the people answered him after this manner, 
 saying, So shall it be done to the man that killeth 
 him. 
 
 And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto 
 the men; and Eliab's anger was kindled against David, 
 and he said, Why camest thou down hither? and with 
 whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? 
 I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; 
 for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle. 
 
 And David said. What have I now done? Is there 
 not a cause? 
 
 And he turned from him toward another, and spake 
 
David 49 
 
 after the same manner: and the people answered him 
 again after the former manner. 
 
 And when the words were heard which David spake, 
 they rehearsed them before Saul: and he sent for him. 
 
 And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail be- 
 cause of him; thy servant will go and fight with this 
 Philistine. 
 
 And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against 
 this Philistine to fight with him : for thou art but a youth, 
 and he a man of war from his youth. 
 
 And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father's 
 sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a 
 lamb out of the flock: 
 
 And I went out after him, and smote him, and de- 
 livered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against 
 me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew 
 him. 
 
 Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this 
 uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing 
 he hath defied the armies of the living God. 
 
 David said moreover. The Lord that delivered me out 
 of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, 
 he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And 
 Saul said unto David, Go, and the Lord be with thee. 
 
 And Saul armed David with his armour, and he put 
 an helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him 
 with a coat of mail. 
 
 And David girded his sword upon his armour, and he 
 essayed to go; for he had not proved it. And David 
 said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not 
 proved them. And David put them off him. 
 
 And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five 
 smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shep- 
 
50 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 herd's bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling 
 was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine. 
 
 And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David; 
 and the man that bore the shield went before him. 
 
 And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, 
 he disdained him: for he was but a youth, and ruddy, 
 and of a fair countenance. 
 
 And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog, that 
 thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine 
 cursed David by his gods. 
 
 And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I 
 will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the 
 beasts of the field. 
 
 Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me 
 with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but 
 I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God 
 of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. 
 
 This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand; 
 and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; 
 and I will give the carcasses of the host of the Philistines 
 this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts 
 of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a 
 God in Israel. 
 
 And all this assembly shall know that the Lord 
 saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the 
 Lord's and He will give you into our hands. 
 
 And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and 
 came and drew nigh to meet David, that David hasted, 
 and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. 
 
 And David put his hand to his bag, and took thence 
 a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his fore- 
 head, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell 
 upon his face to the earth. 
 
Ddvid <i 
 
 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and 
 ^ith a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; 
 but there was no sword in the hand of David. 
 
 Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, 
 and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, 
 and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when 
 the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled. 
 
 And the men of Israel and of Judah arose, and shouted, 
 and pursued the Philistines, until thou comest to the val- 
 ley, and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of 
 the Philistines fell down by the way to Shaaraim, even 
 unto Gath, and unto Ekron. 
 
 And the children of Irsael returned from chasing after 
 the Philistines, and they spoiled their tents. 
 
 And David took the head of the Philistine, and brought 
 it to Jerusalem ; but he put his armour in his tent. 
 
 And when Saul saw David go forth against the Philis- 
 tine, he said unto Abner, the captain of the host, Abner, 
 whose son is this youth? And Abner said, As thy soul 
 liveth, O King, I cannot tell. 
 
 And the King said, Enquire thou whose son the strip- 
 ling is. 
 
 And as David returned from the slaughter of the Philis- 
 tine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul with 
 the head of the Philistine in his hand. 
 
 And Saul said to him, Whose son art thou, thou young 
 man ? And David answered, I am the son of thy servant 
 Jesse the Bethlehemite. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 ST. GEORGE 
 
 IN THE year 280, in a town in Cappadocia, was 
 born that great soldier and champion of the op- 
 pressed whom we call St. George. His parents were 
 Christians, and by them, and especially by his mother, 
 he was most carefully instructed and trained. 
 
 When the youth came to the age of seventeen years he 
 took up the profession of arms, and since he was gifted 
 with beauty of person, intelligence, and an exquisite 
 courtesy, he rose rapidly to a considerable military rank. 
 Especially he pleased his imperial master, Diocletian. 
 
 One day while the Emperor, who was devoted to the 
 worship of Apollo, was consulting at a shrine of that god 
 upon an affair of much importance, from the dark depths 
 of the cavern came forth a voice saying, "The just who 
 are on the earth keep me from telling the truth. By them 
 the inspiration of the Sacred Tripod is made a lie." At 
 once the Emperor was stricken with consternation and 
 asked who these just people were. "Master," answered 
 one of the priests of Apollo, "they are the Christians." 
 This answer so enraged Diocletian that he rekindled his 
 persecutions. 
 
 Now from the first the young soldier George had 
 burned with indignation because of the unspeakable 
 cruelties put upon Christians, and he had spoken out 
 boldly in defence of his brethren. His friends had 
 counselled silence and prudence. But George would 
 
^L George 53 
 
 have none. He knew, however, that he might be called 
 upon to sufifer at any tune, and he hoped to do better 
 work for the world and to die after braver effort. He 
 therefore distributed his money and his fine apparel 
 among the poor and needy, set free all the slaves he 
 possessed, and went forth upon knightly travel. 
 
 While pricking one day through the plains of Libya he 
 came to a certain city called Silene, the people of which 
 were bewailing a dire misfortune that had come upon them. 
 An enormous dragon had issued from a marsh neighbour- 
 ing the town and had devoured all their flocks and herds. 
 Already the monster had taken dwelling near the city 
 walls, and at such distance the people had been able to 
 keep him only by granting him two sheep every day for 
 his food and drink. If they had failed in this he would 
 have come within their walls and poisoned every man, 
 woman, and child with his plague-like breath. 
 
 But now already all the flocks and herds had been eaten. 
 Nothing remained to fill the insatiable maw of the dragon 
 but the little people of the homes and hearths of all the 
 town. Every day two children were now given him. 
 Each child taken was under the age of fifteen, and was 
 chosen by lot. Thus it happened that every house 
 and every street and all the public squares echoed with 
 the wailing of unhappy parents and the cries of the in- 
 nocents who were soon to be offered. 
 
 Now it chanced that the King of the city had one 
 daughter, an exceeding fair girl both in mind and body, 
 and after many days of the choosing of lots for the sacri- 
 fice, and after many a blooming girl and boy had met an 
 unhappy death, the lot fell to this maiden, Cleodolinda. 
 When her father, the King, heard his misfortune, in his 
 despair he offered all the gold in the state treasury and 
 
$4 Heroes Every Child ShoaM Kn&w 
 
 even half his kingdom, to redeem the maiden. But at 
 this many fathers and mothers who had lost their children 
 murmured greatly and said, ^'OKing, art thou just? 
 By thy edict thou hast made us desolate. And now be- 
 hold thou wouldst withhold thine own child!" 
 
 Thus the people spake, and speaking they waxed 
 wroth greatly, and so joining together they marched 
 threatening to burn the King in his palace unless he de- 
 livered the maiden to fulfil her lot. To such demands 
 the King perforce submitted, and at last he asked only a 
 delay of eight days which he might spend with the lovely 
 girl and bewail her fate. This the people granted. 
 
 At the end of the time agreed to the fair victim was led 
 forth. She fell at her father's feet asking his blessing 
 and protesting she was ready to die for her people. Then 
 amid tears and lamentations she was led to the walls and 
 put without. The gates were shut and barred against 
 her. 
 
 She walked towards the dwelling of the dragon, slowly 
 and painfully, for the road was strewn with the bones of 
 her playmates, and she wept as she went on her way. 
 
 It was this very morning that George, courageously 
 seeking to help the weak, and strong to serve the truth, 
 was passing by in his knightly journeying. He saw 
 stretched before him the noisome path, and, moved to 
 see so beautiful a maiden in tears, he checked his charger 
 and asked her why she wept. The w^hole pitiful story 
 she recounted, to which the valiant one answered, "Fear 
 not; I will deliver you." 
 
 "Oh noble youth," cried the fair victim, "tarry not 
 here lest you perish with me. Fly, I beseech you." 
 
 "God forbid that I should fly," said George in answer; 
 "I will lift my hand against this loathly thing, and I 
 
St. George 55 
 
 will deliver you through the power that lives in all true 
 followers of Christ." 
 
 At that moment the dragon was seen coming forth from 
 his lair half flying and half crawling towards them. " Fly, 
 I beseech you, brave knight," cried the fair girl trembling, 
 "Leave me here to die." 
 
 But George answered not. Rather he put spurs to 
 his horse and, calling upon his Lord, rushed towards the 
 monster, and, after a terrible and prolonged combat, 
 pinned the mighty hulk to the earth with his lance. 
 Then he called to the maiden to bring him her girdle. 
 With this be bound the dragon fast, and gave the end 
 of the girdle into her hand, and the subdued monster 
 crawled after them like a dog. 
 
 Walking in this way they approached the city. All the 
 onlooking people were stricken with terror, but George 
 called out to them saying, "Fear nothing. Only believe in 
 Christ, through whose help I have conquered this ad- 
 versary, and live in accord with His teachings, and I will 
 destroy him before your eyes." 
 
 So the King and the people believed and such a life they 
 endeavoured to live. 
 
 Then St. George slew the dragon and cut off his head, 
 and the King gave great treasure to the knight. But all 
 the rewards George distributed among the sick and 
 necessitous and kept nothing for himself, and then he 
 went further on his way of helpfulness. 
 
 About this time the Emperor Diocletian issued an 
 edict which was published the length and breadth of his 
 empire. This edict was nailed to the doors of temples, 
 upon the walls of public markets, in all places people 
 frequented, and those who read it read it with terror and 
 hid their faces in despair. For it condemned all Chris- 
 
56 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 tians. But St. George when he saw the wTiting was filled 
 with indignation. That spirit and courage which comes 
 to all of us from communion with the eternal powers 
 heartened and strengthened him, and he tore down the 
 unhappy utterance and trampled it under foot. 
 
 Thus prepared for death George approached the 
 Emperor. "What wouldst thou?" cried Diocletian 
 angrily, having heard from his proconsul Dacian that this 
 young man deserved torture. "Liberty, sir, for the in- 
 nocent Chirstians," answered the martyr. "At the least 
 liberty, since their liberty can hurt no one." 
 
 "Young man," returned Diocletian with threatening 
 looks, "think of thine own liberty and thy future." 
 
 Before George could make answer the ill-will of the 
 tyrant waxed to ardent hatred and he summoned guards 
 to take the martyr to prison. Once within the dungeon 
 the keepers threw him to the ground, put his feet in stocks 
 and placed a stone of great weight upon his chest. But 
 even so, in the midst of torture, the blessed one ceased 
 not to give thanks to God for this opportunity to bear 
 witness to Christ's teachings. 
 
 The next day they stretched the martyr on a wheel full 
 of sharp spokes. But a voice from heaven came to com- 
 fort him and said, George, fear not; so it is with those 
 who witness to the truth." And there appeared to him 
 an angel brighter than the sun, clothed in a white robe, 
 who stretched out a hand to embrace and encourage him 
 in his pain. Two of the officers of the prison who saw 
 this beautiful vision became Christians and from that day 
 endeavoured to live after the teachings of Christ. 
 
 There is still another tale that after George had been 
 comforted by the angel who descended from heaven, his 
 tormentors flung him into a cauldron of boiling lead, and 
 
Si. George 57 
 
 when they believed they had subdued him by the force of 
 his agonies, they brought him to a temple to assist in 
 their worship, and the people ran in crowds to behold his 
 humiliation, and the priests mocked him. 
 
 The Emperor, seeing the constancy of George, once 
 more sought to move him by entreaties. But the great 
 soldier refused to be judged by words, only by deeds. He 
 even demanded to go to see the gods Diocletian himself 
 worshipped. 
 
 The Emperor, believing that at length George was 
 coming to his right mind, and was about to yield, ordered 
 the Roman Senate and people to assemble in order that 
 all might be witnesses of George's acknowledgement of 
 his own, Diocletian's, gods. 
 
 When they were thus gathered together in the Em- 
 peror's temple, and the eyes of all the people were fixed 
 upon the weak and tortured saint to see what he would 
 do, he drew near a statue of the sun-god Apollo, and 
 stretching out his hand toward the image he said slowly, 
 "Wouldst thou that I should offer thee sacrifices as to a 
 god?" The demon who was in the statue made an- 
 swer, 'T am not God. There is but one God and 
 Christ is his greatest prophet." At that very hour were 
 heard horrible wailing sounds coming from the mouths 
 of idols the world over, and the statues of the old gods 
 either all fell over or crumbled to dust. One account 
 says that St. George knelt down and prayed, and thunder 
 and lightning from heaven fell upon the idols and de- 
 stroyed them. 
 
 Angry at the breaking of their power, the priests of the 
 gods cried to the Emperor that he must rid himself of 
 so potent a magician and cut off his head. The priests 
 also incited the people to lay hands on the martyr. 
 
58 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 So it was commanded that George, the Christian 
 knight, should be beheaded. He was dragged to the 
 place of execution, and there, bending his neck to the 
 sword of the executioner and absorbed in prayer, he 
 received bravely and thankfully the stroke of death in 
 April, 303. 
 
 So stands St. George ever before the youth of the 
 world, one of the champions of Christendom, a model of 
 courage, a brave interceder for the oppressed, an ex- 
 ample of pure, firm and enduring doing for others, a true 
 soldier of Christ. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 KING ARTHUR 
 
 LONG years ago, there ruled over Britain a King 
 called Uther Pendragon. A mighty prince was he, 
 and feared by all men; yet, when he sought the love of 
 the fair Igraine of Cornwall, she would have naught to 
 do with him, so that, from grief and disappointment, 
 Uther fell sick, and at last seemed like to die. 
 
 Now in those days, there lived a famous magician 
 named Merlin, so powerful that he could change his form 
 at will, or even make himself invisible; nor was there any 
 place so remote but that he could reach it at once, merely 
 by wishing himself there. One day, suddenly he stood 
 at Uther's bedside, and said: ''Sir King, I know thy 
 grief, and am ready to help thee. Only promise to give 
 me, at his birth, the son that shall be born to thee, and 
 thou shalt have thy heart's desire." To this the King 
 agreed joyfully, and Merlin kept his word: for he gave 
 Uther the form of one whom Igraine had loved dearly, 
 and so she took him willingly for her husband. 
 
 When the time had come that a child should be born to 
 the King and Queen, Merlin appeared before Uther to 
 remind him of his promise; and Uther swore it should 
 be as he had said. Three days later, a prince was born 
 and, with pomp and ceremony, was christened by the 
 name of Arthur; but immediately thereafter, the King 
 commanded that the child should be carried to the postern- 
 gate, there to be given to the old man who would be found 
 waiting without. 
 
 59 
 
6o Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 Not long after, Uther fell sick, and he knew that his 
 end was come; so, by Merlin's advice, he called together 
 his knights and barons, and said to them: "My death 
 draws near. I charge you, therefore, that ye obey my 
 son even as ye have obeyed me ; and my curse upon him 
 if he claim not the crown when he is a man grown. '^ 
 Then the King turned his face to the wall and died. 
 
 Scarcely was Uther laid in his grave before disputes 
 arose. Few of the nobles had seen Arthur or even heard 
 of him, and not one of them would have been willing to 
 be ruled by a child; rather, each thought himself fitted 
 to be King, and, strengthening his own castle, made war 
 on his neighbours until confusion alone was supreme 
 and the poor groaned because there was none to help 
 them. 
 
 Now when Merlin carried away Arthur — for Merlin 
 was the old man who had stood at the postern-gate — he 
 had known all that would happen, and had taken the 
 child to keep him safe from the fierce barons until he 
 should be of age to rule wisely and well, and perform all 
 the wonders prophesied of him. He gave the child to the 
 care of the good knight Sir Ector to bring up with his 
 son Kay, but revealed not to him that it was the son of 
 Uther Pendragon that was given into his charge. 
 
 At last, when years had passed and Arthur was grown 
 a tall youth well skilled in knightly exercises. Merlin went 
 to the Archbishop of Canterbury and advised him that 
 he should call together at Christmas-time all the chief 
 men of the realm to the great cathedral in London; 
 ''For," said Merlin, ''there shall be seen a great marvel 
 by which it shall be made clear to all men who is the 
 lawful King of this land." The Archbishop did as Merlin 
 counselled. Under pain of a fearful curse, he bade 
 
King Arthur 6i 
 
 barons and knights come to London to keep the feast, 
 and to pray heaven to send peace to the realm. 
 
 The people hastened to obey the Archbishop's com- 
 mands, and, from all sides, barons and knights came 
 riding in to keep the birth-feast of our Lord. And when 
 they had prayed, and were coming forth from the ca- 
 thedral, they saw a strange sight. There, in the open space 
 before the church, stood, on a great stone, an anvil thrust 
 through with a sword; and on the stone were written 
 these words: ''Whoso can draw forth this sword, is 
 rightful King of Britain born." 
 
 At once there were fierce quarrels, each man clamour- 
 ing to be the first to try his fortune, none doubting his 
 own success. Then the Archbishop decreed that each 
 should make the venture in turn, from the greatest baron 
 to the least knight, and each in turn, having put forth 
 his utmost strength, failed to move the sword one inch, 
 and drew back ashamed. So the Archbishop dismissed 
 the company, and having appointed guards to watch 
 over the stone, sent messengers through all the land to 
 give word of great jousts to be held in London at Easter, 
 when each knight could give proof of his skill and courage, 
 and try whether the adventure of the sword was for him. 
 
 Among those who rode to London at Easter was the 
 good Sir Ector, and with him his son. Sir Kay, newly 
 made a knight, and the young Arthur. When the morn- 
 ing came that the jousts should begin. Sir Kay and Arthur 
 mounted their horses and set out for the lists ; but before 
 they reached the field, Kay looked and saw that he had 
 left his sword behind. Immediately Arthur turned back 
 to fetch it for him, only to find the house fast shut, for all 
 were gone to view the tournament. Sore vexed was 
 Arthur, fearing lest his brother Kay should lose his 
 
62 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 chance of gaining glory, till, of a sudden, he bethought 
 him of the sword in the great anvil before the cathedral. 
 Thither he rode with all speed, and the guards having 
 deserted their post to view the tournament, there was 
 none to forbid him the adventure. He leapt from his 
 horse, seized the hilt, and instantly drew forth the 
 sword as easily as from a scabbard; then, mount- 
 ing his horse and thinking no marvel of what he 
 had done, he rode after his brother and handed him 
 the weapon. 
 
 When Kay looked at it, he saw at once that it was the 
 wondrous sword from the stone. In great joy he sought 
 his father, and showing it to him, said: ''Then must I 
 be King of Britain." But Sir Ector bade him say how 
 he came by the sword, and when Sir Kay told how Arthur 
 had brought it to him. Sir Ector bent his knee to the boy, 
 and said: " Sir, I perceive that ye are my King, and here 
 I tender you my homage"; and Kay did as his father. 
 Then the three sought the Archbishop, to whom they 
 related all that had happened ; and he, much marvelling, 
 called the people together to the great stone, and bade 
 Arthur thrust back the sword and draw it forth again in 
 the presence of all, which he did with ease. But an 
 angry murmur arose from the barons, who cried that 
 what a boy could do, a man could do; so, at the Arch- 
 bishop's word, the sword was put back, and each man, 
 whether baron or knight, tried in his turn to draw it 
 forth, and failed. Then, for the third time, Arthur drew 
 forth the sword. Immediately there arose from the 
 people a great shout: ''Arthur is Kingl Arthur is 
 King! We will have no King but Arthur"; and, though 
 the great barons scowled and threatened, they fell on 
 their knees before him while the Archbishop placed the 
 
King Arthur 63 
 
 crown upon his head, and swore to obey him faithfully 
 as their lord and sovereign. 
 
 Thus Arthur was made King; and to all he did justice, 
 righting wrongs and giving to all their dues. Nor was 
 he forgetful of those that had been his friends ; for Kay, 
 whom he loved as a brother, he made Seneschal and 
 chief of his household, and to Sir Ector, his foster father, 
 he gave broad lands. 
 
 Thus Arthur was made King, but he had to fight for 
 his own; for eleven great King sdrew together and re- 
 fused to acknowledge him as their lord, and chief amongst 
 the rebels was King Lot of Orknev who had married 
 Arthur's sister, Bellicent. 
 
 By Merlin's advice, Arthur sent for help overseas, to 
 Ban and Bors, the two great Kings who ruled in Gaul. 
 With their aid,- he overthrew his foes in a great battle 
 near the river Trent ; and then he passed with them into 
 their own lands and helped them drive out their enemies. 
 So there was ever great friendship between Arthur and 
 the Kings Ban and Bors, and all their kindred; and 
 afterward some of the most famous Knights of the 
 Round Table were of that kin. 
 
 Then King Arthur set himself to restore order through- 
 out his kingdom. To all who would submit and amend 
 their evil ways, he showed kindness; but those who per- 
 sisted in oppression and wrong he removed, putting in 
 their places others who would deal justly with the people. 
 And because the land had become overrun with forest 
 during the days of misrule, he cut roads through the 
 thickets, that no longer wild beasts and men, fiercer than 
 the beasts, should lurk in their gloom, to the harm of the 
 weak and defenceless. Thus it came to pass that soon 
 the peasant ploughed his fields in safety, and where 
 
64 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 had been wastes, men dwelt again in peace and pros- 
 perity. 
 
 Amongst the lesser Kings whom Arthur helped to re- 
 build their towns and restore order, was King Leode- 
 grance of Cameliard. Now Leodegrance had one fair 
 child, his daughter Guenevere; and from the time that 
 first he saw her, Arthur gave her all his love. So he 
 sought counsel of Merlin, his chief adviser. Merlin 
 heard the King sorrowfully, and he said: ''Sir King, 
 when a man's heart is set, he may not change. Yet had 
 it been well if ye had loved another." 
 
 So the King sent his knights to Leodegrance, to ask of 
 him his daughter; and Leodegrance consented, rejoicing 
 to wed her to so good and knightly a King. With great 
 pomp, the princess was conducted to Canterbury, and 
 there the King met her, and they two were wed by the 
 Archbishop in the great Cathedral, amid the rejoicings 
 of the people. 
 
 On that same day did Arthur found his Order of the 
 Round Table, the fame of which was to spread through- 
 out Christendom and endure through all time. Now 
 the Round Table had been made for King Uther Pen- 
 dragon by Merlin, who had meant thereby to set forth 
 plainly to all men the roundness of the earth. After 
 Uther died, King Leodegrance had possessed it; but 
 when Arthur was wed, he sent it to him as a gift, and 
 great was the King's joy at receiving it. One hundred 
 and fifty knights might take their places about it, and 
 for them Merlin made sieges, or seats. One hundred 
 and twenty-eight did Arthur knight at that great feast; 
 thereafter, if any sieges were empty, at the high festival 
 of Pentecost new knights were ordained to fill them, and 
 by magic was the name of each knight found inscribed, 
 
King Arthur 65 
 
 in letters of gold, in his proper siege. One seat only 
 long remained unoccupied, and that was the Siege Peri- 
 lous. No knight might occupy it until the coming of 
 Sir Galahad; for, without danger to his life, none might 
 sit there who was not free from all stain of sin. 
 
 With pomp and ceremony did each knight take upon 
 him the vows of true knighthood: to obey the King; 
 to show mercy to all who asked it; to defend the weak; 
 and for no worldly gain to fight in a wrongful cause : and 
 all the knights rejoiced together, doing honour to Arthur 
 and to his Queen. Then they rode forth to right the 
 wrong and help the oppressed, and by their aid the 
 King held his realm in peace, doing justice to all. 
 
 Now, as time passed. King Arthur gathered into his 
 Order of the Round Table knights whose peers shall 
 never be found in any age; and foremost amongst them 
 all was Sir Launcelot du Lac. Such was his strength that 
 none against whom he laid lance in rest could keep the 
 saddle, and no shield was proof against his sword dint; 
 but for his courtesy even more than for his courage and 
 strength. Sir Launcelot was famed far and near. Gentle 
 he was and ever the first to rejoice in the renown of an- 
 other; and in the jousts, he would avoid encounter with 
 the young and untried knight, letting him pass to gain 
 glory if he might. 
 
 It would take a great book to record all the famous 
 deeds of Sir Launcelot, and all his adventures. He was 
 of Gaul, for his father. King Ban, ruled over Benwick; 
 he was named Launcelot du Lac by the Lady of the Lake 
 who reared him when his mother died. Early he won 
 renown; then, when there was peace in his own land, he 
 passed into Britain, to Arthur's Court, where the King 
 received him gladly, and made him Knight of the Round 
 
66 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 Table and took him for his trustiest friend. And so 
 it was that, when Guenevere was to be brought to Canter- 
 bury, to be married to the King, Launcelot was chief of 
 the knights sent to wait upon her, and of this came the 
 sorrow of later days. For, from the moment he saw her, 
 Sir Launcelot loved Guenevere, for her sake remaining 
 wifeless all his days, and in all things being her faithful 
 knight. But busy-bodies and mischief-makers spoke 
 evil of Sir Launcelot and the Queen, and from their talk 
 came the undoing of the King and the downfall of his 
 great work. But that was after long years, and after 
 many true knights had lived their lives, honouring the 
 King and Queen, and doing great deeds. 
 
 Before Merlin passed from the world of men, he had 
 uttered many marvellous prophesies, and one that boded 
 ill to King Arthur; for he foretold that, in the days to 
 come, a son of Arthur's sister should stir up bitter war 
 against the King, and at last a great battle should be 
 fought, when many a brave knight should find his doom. 
 
 Now, among the nephews of Arthur, was one most dis- 
 honourable; his name was Mordred. No knightly deed 
 had he ever done, and he hated to hear the good report 
 of others because he himself was a coward and envious. 
 But of all the Round Table there was none that Mordred 
 hated more than Sir Launcelot du Lac, whom all true 
 knights held in most honour; and not the less did Mor- 
 dred hate Launcelot that he was the knight whom Queen 
 Guenevere had in most esteem. So, at last, his jealous 
 rage passing all bounds, he spoke evil of the Queen and 
 of Launcelot, saying that they were traitors to the King. 
 Now Sir Gawain and Sir Gareth, Mordred's brothers, 
 refused to give ear to these slanders, holding that Sir 
 Launcelot, in his knightly service of the Queen, did 
 
King Arthur 6> 
 
 honour to King Arthur also; but by ill-fortune another 
 brother, Sir Agravaine, had ill-will to the Queen, and 
 professed to believe Mordred's evil tales. So the two 
 went to King Arthur with their ill stories. 
 
 Now when Arthur had heard them, he was wroth ; for 
 never would he lightly believe evil of any, and Sir Laun- 
 celot was the knight whom he loved above all others. 
 Sternly then he bade them begone and come no more to 
 him with unproven tales against any, and, least of all, 
 against Sir Launcelot and their lady, the Queen. 
 
 The two departed, but in their hearts was hatred 
 against Launcelot and the Queen, more bitter than ever 
 for the rebuke they had called down upon themselves. 
 
 Great was the King's grief. Despite all that Mordred 
 could say, he was slow to doubt Sir Launcelot, whom he 
 loved, but his mind was filled with forebodings ; and well 
 he knew that their kin would seek vengeance on Sir 
 Launcelot, and the noble fellowship of the Round Table 
 be utterly destroyed. 
 
 All too soon it proved even as the King had feared. 
 Many were found to hold with Sir Mordred; some from 
 envy of the honour and worship of the noble Sir Launce- 
 lot ; and among them even were those who dared to raise 
 their voice against the Queen herself, calling for judgment 
 upon her as leagued with a traitor against the King, and 
 as having caused the death of so many good knights. 
 Now in those days the law was that if any one were 
 accused of treason by witnesses, or taken in the act, that 
 one should die the deaih by burning, be it man or woman, 
 knight or churl. So then the murmurs grew to a loud 
 clamour that the law should have its course, and that 
 King Arthur should pass sentence on the Queen. Then 
 was the King's woe doubled; ''For," said he, ''I sit as 
 
68 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 King to be a rightful judge and keep all the law; where- 
 fore I may not do battle for my own Queen, and now 
 there is none other to help her." So a decree was issued 
 that Queen Guenevere should be burnt at the stake out- 
 side the walls of Carlisle. 
 
 Forthwith, King Arthur sent for his nephew. Sir Ga- 
 wain, and said to him: " Fair nephew, I give it in charge 
 to you to see that all is done as has been decreed." But 
 Sir Gawain answered boldly: ''Sir King, never will I be 
 present to see my lady the Queen die. It is of ill counsel 
 that ye have consented to her death." Then the King 
 bade Gawain send his two young brothers, Sir Gareth 
 and Sir Gaheris, to receive his commands, and these he 
 desired to attend the Queen to the place of execution. 
 So Gareth made answer for both: "My Lord the King, 
 we owe you obedience in all things, but know that it is 
 sore against our wills that we obey you in this; nor will 
 we appear in arms in the place where that noble lady 
 shall die"; then sorrowfully they mounted their horses 
 and rode to Carlisle. 
 
 When the day appointed had come, the Queen was led 
 forth to a place without the walls of Carlisle, and there 
 she was bound to the stake to be burnt to death. Loud 
 were her ladies' lamentations, and many a lord was found 
 to weep at that grievous sight of a Queen brought so low ; 
 yet was there none who dared come forward as her cham- 
 pion, lest he should be suspected of treason. As for 
 Gareth and Gaheris, they could not bear the sight and 
 stood with their faces covered in their antles. Then, 
 just as the torch was to be applied to the faggots, there 
 was a sound as of many horses galloping, and the next 
 instant a band of knights rushed upon the astonished 
 throng, their leader cutting down all who crossed his path 
 
King Arthur 69 
 
 until he had reached the Queen, whom he lifted to his 
 saddle and bore from the press. Then all men knew that 
 it was Sir Launcelot, come knightly to rescue the Queen, 
 and in their hearts they rejoiced. So with little hindrance 
 they rode away. Sir Launcelot and all his kin with the 
 Queen in their midst, till they came to the castle of the 
 Joyous Garde where they held the Queen in safety and 
 all reverence. 
 
 At last Sir Launcelot desired of King Arthur assurance 
 of liberty for the Queen, as also safe conduct for him- 
 self and his knights, that he might bring Dame Guen- 
 evere, with due honour, to the King at Carlisle; and 
 thereto the King pledged his word. 
 
 So Launcelot set forth with the Queen, and behind 
 them rode a hundred knights arrayed in green velvet, 
 the housings of the horses of the same all studded with 
 precious stones; thus they passed through the city of 
 Carlisle, openly, in the sight of all, and there were 
 many who rejoiced that the Queen was come again and 
 Sir Launcelot with her, though they of Gawain's party 
 scowled upon him. 
 
 When they were come into the great hall where Arthur 
 sat, with Sir Gawain and other great lords about him. Sir 
 Launcelot led Guenevere to the throne and both knelt be- 
 fore the King; then, rising. Sir Launcelot lifted the 
 Queen to her feet, and thus he spoke to King Arthur, 
 boldly and well before the whole court: "My lord. Sir 
 Arthur, I bring you here your Queen, than whom no 
 truer nor nobler lady ever lived; and here stand I, Sir 
 Launcelot du Lac, ready to do battle with any that 
 dare gainsay it"; and with these words Sir Launcelot 
 turned and looked upon the lords and knights present 
 in their places, but none would challenge him in that 
 
70 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 cause, not even Sir Gawain, for he had ever affirmed 
 that Dame Guenevere was a true and honourable lady. 
 
 Then Sir Launcelot spoke again; "Now, my Lord 
 Arthur, in my own defence it behooves me to say that 
 never in aught have I been false to you." 
 
 "Peace,'* said the King to Sir Launcelot: "We give 
 you fifteen days in which to leave this kingdom." Then 
 Sir Launcelot sighed heavily and said: "Full well I see 
 that nothing availeth me." Then he went to the Queen 
 where she sat, and said: "Madam, the time is come when 
 I must leave this fair realm that I have loved. Think 
 well of me, I pray you, and send for me if ever there be 
 aught in which a true knight may serve lady." There- 
 with he turned him about and, without greeting to any, 
 passed through the hall, and with his faithful knights rode 
 to the Joyous Garde, though ever thereafter, in memory 
 of that sad day, he called it the Dolorous Garde. 
 
 In after times when the King had passed overseas to 
 France, leaving Sir Mordred to rule Britain in his stead, 
 there came messengers from Britain bearing letters for 
 King Arthur; and more evil news than they brought 
 might not well be, for they told how Sir Mordred had 
 usurped his uncle's realm. First, he had caused it to be 
 noised abroad that King Arthur was slain in battle with 
 Sir Launcelot, and, since there be many ever ready to 
 believe any idle rumour and eager for any change, it 
 had been no hard task for Sir Mordred to call the lords 
 to a Parliament and persuade them to make him King. 
 But the Queen could not be brought to believe that her 
 lord was dead, so she took refuge in the Tower of London 
 from Sir Mordred's violence, nor was she to be induced 
 to leave her strong refuge for aught that Mordred could 
 promise or threaten. 
 
King Arthur 71 
 
 Forthwith, King Arthur bade his host make ready to 
 move, and when they had reached the coast, they em- 
 barked and made sail to reach Britain with all possible 
 speed. 
 
 Sir Mordred, on his part, had heard of their sailing, 
 and hasted to get together a great army. It was grievous 
 to see how many a stout knight held by Mordred, ay, 
 even many whom Arthur himself had raised to honour and 
 fortune; for it is the nature of men to be fickle. Thus 
 is was that, when Arthur drew near to Dover, he found 
 Mordred with a mighty host, waiting to oppose his land- 
 ing. Then there was a great sea-fight, those of Mordred's 
 party going out in boats, to board King Arthur's ships 
 and slay him and his men or ever they should come to 
 land. Right valiantly did King Arthur bear him, as was 
 his wont, and boldly his followers fought in his cause, so 
 that at last they drove off their enemies and landed at 
 Dover in spite of Mordred and his array. 
 
 Now, by this time, many that Mordred had cheated 
 by his lying reports, had drawn unto King Arthur, to 
 whom at heart they had ever been loyal, knowing him 
 for a true and noble King and hating themselves for 
 having been deceived by such a false usurper as Sir 
 Mordred. 
 
 One night, as King Arthur slept, he thought that 
 Sir Gawain stood before him, looking just as he did 
 in life, and said to him: ''My uncle and my King, 
 God in his great love has suffered me to come unto 
 you, to warn you that in no wise ye fight on the 
 morrow ; for if ye do, ye shall be slain, and with you the 
 most part of the people on both sides. Make ye, there- 
 fore, a treaty." Immediately, the King awoke and called 
 to him the best and wisest of his knights. Then all were 
 
72 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 agreed that, on any terms whatsoever, a treaty should be 
 made with Sir Mordred, even as Sir Gawain had said; 
 and, with the dawn, messengers went to the camp of the 
 enemy, to call Sir Mordred to a conference. So it was 
 determined that the meeting should take place in the sight 
 of ^both armies, in an open space between the two camps, 
 and that King Arthur and Mordred should each be 
 accompanied by fourteen knights. Little enough faith 
 had either in the other, so when they set forth to the meet- 
 ing, they bade their hosts join battle if ever they saw a 
 sword drawn. 
 
 Now as they talked, it befell that an adder, coming out 
 of a bush hard by, stung a knight in the foot; and he, 
 seeing the snake, drew his sword to kill it and thought 
 no harm thereby. But on the instant that the sword 
 flashed, the trumpets blared on both sides and the two 
 hosts rushed to battle. Never was there fought a fight 
 of such enmity; for brother fought with brother, and 
 comrade with comrade, and fiercely they cut and thrust, 
 with many a bitter word between; while King Arthur 
 himself, his heart hot within him, rode through and 
 through the battle, seeking the traitor Mordred. So 
 they fought all day, till at last the evening fell. Then 
 Arthur, looking round him, saw of his valiant knights but 
 two left. Sir Lucan and Sir Bedivere, and these sore 
 wounded; and there, over against him, by a great heap 
 of the dead, stood Sir Mordred, the cause of all this ruin. 
 Thereupon the King, his heart nigh broken with grief for 
 the loss of his true knights, cried with a loud voice, 
 *' Traitor! now is thy doom upon thee!" and with his 
 spear gripped in both hands, he rushed upon Sir Mordred 
 and smote him that the weapon stood out a fathom behind. 
 And Sir Mordred knew that he had his death wound. 
 
King Arthur 73 
 
 With all the might that he had, he thrust him up the 
 spear to the haft and, with his sword, struck King Arthur 
 upon the head, that the steel pierced the helmet and bit 
 into the head; then Mordred fell back, stark and dead. 
 
 Sir Lucan and Sir Bedivere went to the King where he 
 lay, swooning from the blow, and bore him to a little 
 chapel on the seashore. As they laid him on the ground, 
 Sir Lucan fell dead beside the King, and Arthur, coming 
 to himself, found but Sir Bedivere alive beside him. 
 
 So King Arthur lay wounded to the death, grieving, 
 not that his end was come, but for the desolation of his 
 kingdom and the loss of his good knights. And looking 
 upon the body of Sir Lucan, he sighed and said: '^ Alas! 
 true knight, dead for my sake! If I lived, I should ever 
 grieve for thy death, but now mine own end draws nigh." 
 Then, turning to Sir Bedivere, who stood sorrowing 
 beside him, he said: ''Leave weeping now, for the time 
 is short and much to do. Hereafter shalt thou weep if 
 thou wilt. But take now my sword Excalibur, hasten 
 to the water side, and fling it into the deep. Then, 
 watch what happens and bring me word thereof." ''My 
 Lord," said Sir Bedivere, "your command shall be 
 obeyed"; and, taking the sword, he departed. But as 
 he went on his way, he looked on the sword, how won- 
 drously it was formed and the hilt all studded with 
 precious stones; and, as he looked, he called to mind the 
 marvel by which it had come into the King's keeping. 
 For on a certain day, as Arthur walked on the shore of 
 a great lake, there had appeared above the surface of 
 the water a hand brandishing a sword. On the instant, 
 the King had leaped into a boat, and, rowing into the 
 lake, had got the sword and brought it back to land. 
 Then he had seen how, on one side the blade, was written. 
 
74 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 ''Keep me," but on the other, "Throw me away," and, 
 sore perplexed, he had shown it to MerHn, the great 
 wizard, who said: ''Keep it now. The time for casting 
 away has not yet come." Thinking on this, it seemed 
 to Bedivere that no good, but harm, must come of obey- 
 ing the King's word; so hiding the sword under a tree, he 
 hastened back to the Kttle chapel. Then said the King: 
 "What saw'st thou?" "Sir," answered Bedivere, "I 
 saw naught but the waves, heard naught but the wind." 
 "That is untrue," said King Arthur; "I charge thee, as 
 thou art true knight, go again and spare not to throw 
 away the sword." 
 
 Sir Bedivere departed a second time, and his mind 
 was to obey his lord; but when he took the sword in his 
 hand, he thought: "Sin it is and shameful, to throw 
 away so glorious a sword." Then, hiding it again, he 
 hastened back to the King. "What saw'st thou?" said 
 Sir Arthur. "Sir, I saw the water lap on the crags." 
 Then spoke the King in great wrath: "Traitor and 
 unkind! Twice hast thou betrayed me! Art dazzled 
 by the splendour of the jewels, thou that, till now, 
 hast ever been dear and true to me? Go yet again, but 
 if thou fail me this time, I will arise and, with mine own 
 hands, slay thee." 
 
 Then Sir Bedivere left the King and, that time, he 
 took the sword quickly from the place where he had 
 hidden it and, forbearing even to look upon it, he twisted 
 the belt about it and flung it with all his force into the 
 water. A wondrous sight he saw for, as the sword 
 touched the water, a hand rose from out the deep, caught 
 it, brandished it thrice, and drew it beneath the sur- 
 face. 
 
 Sir Bedivere hastened back to the King and told him 
 
King Arthur 75 
 
 what he had seen. "It is well," said Arthur; "now, 
 bear me to the water's edge; and hasten, I pray thee, for 
 I have tarried overlong and my wound has taken cold." 
 So Sir Bedivere raised the King on his back and bore 
 him tenderly to the lonely shore, where the lapping waves 
 floated many an empty helmet and the fitful moonlight 
 fell on the upturned faces of the dead. Scarce had they 
 reached the shore when there hove in sight a barge, and 
 on its deck stood three tall women, robed all in black and 
 wearing crowns on their heads. "Place me in the barge," 
 said the King, and softly Sir Bedivere lifted the King 
 into it. And these three Queens wept sore over Arthur, 
 and one took his head in her lap and chafed his hands, 
 crying: "Alas! my brother, thou hast been overlong in 
 coming and, I fear me, thy wound has taken cold." 
 Then the barge began to move slowly from the land. 
 When Sir Bedivere saw this, he lifted up his voice and 
 cried with a bitter cry: "Ah! my Lord Arthur, thou 
 art taken from me! And I, whither shall I go?" 
 "Comfort thyself," said the King, "for in me is no com- 
 fort more. I pass to the Valley of Avilion, to heal me of 
 my grievous wound. If thou seest me never again, pray 
 for me." 
 
 So the barge floated away out of sight, and Sir Bedivere 
 stood straining his eyes after it till it had vanished utterly. 
 Then he turned him about and journeyed through the 
 forest until, at daybreak, he reached a hermitage. Enter- 
 ing it, he prayed the holy hermit that he might abide with 
 him, and there he spent the rest of his life in prayer and 
 holy excercise. 
 
 But of King Arthur is no more known. Some men, 
 indeed, say that he is not dead, but abides in the happy 
 Valley of Avilion until such time as his country's need is 
 
76 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 sorest, when he shall come again and deliver it. Others 
 say that, of a truth, he is dead, and that, in the far West, 
 his tomb may be seen, and written on it these words: 
 
 **i^erc lieiB artljiiV, once King 
 anH Bins to be/* 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 SIR GALAHAD 
 
 MANY times had the Feast of Pentecost come 
 round, and many were the knights that Arthur 
 had made after he founded the Order of the Round 
 Table; yet no knight had appeared who dared claim 
 the seat named by Merlin the Siege Perilous. At 
 last, one vigil of the great feast, a lady came to Arthur's 
 court at Camelot and asked Sir Launcelot to ride with 
 her into the forest hard by, for a purpose not then to be 
 revealed. Launcelot consenting, they rode together 
 until they came to a nunnery hidden deep in the forest ; 
 and there the lady bade Launcelot dismount, and led 
 him into a great and stately room. Presently there 
 entered twelve nuns and with them a youth, the fairest 
 that Launcelot had ever seen. ''Sir," said the nuns, 
 "we have brought up this child in our midst, and now 
 that he is grown to manhood, we pray you make him 
 knight, for of none worthier could he receive the honour." 
 "Is this thy own desire?" asked Launcelot of the young 
 squire; and when he said that so it was, Launcelot 
 promised to make him knight after the great festival had 
 been celebrated in the church next day. 
 
 So on the morrow, after they had worshipped, Launce- 
 lot knighted Galahad — for that was the youth's name — 
 and asked him if he would ride at once with him to the 
 King's court; but the young knight excusing himself. 
 Sir Launcelot rode back alone to Camelot, where all re- 
 
 77 
 
78 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 joiced that he was returned in time to keep the feast with 
 the whole Order of the Round Table. 
 
 Now, according to his custom, King Arthur was wait- 
 ing for some marvel to befall before he and his knights 
 sat down to the banquet. Presently a squire entered 
 the hall and said: "Sir King, a great wonder has ap- 
 peared. There floats on the river a mighty stone, as it 
 were a block of red marble, and it is thrust through by a 
 sword, the hilt of which is set thick with precious stones." 
 On hearing this, the King and all his knights went forth 
 to view the stone and found it as the squire had said; 
 moreover, looking closer, they read these words: '*None 
 shall draw me hence, but only he by whose side I must 
 hang; and he shall be the best knight in all the world." 
 Immediately, all bade Launcelot draw forth the sword, 
 but he refused, saying that the sword was not for him. 
 Then, at the King's command. Sir Gawain made the 
 attempt and failed, as did Sir Percivale after him. So 
 the knights knew the adventure was not for them, and 
 returning to the hall, took their places about the Round 
 Table. 
 
 No sooner were they seated than an aged man, clothed 
 all in white, entered the hall, followed by a young knight 
 in red armour, by whose side hung an empty scabbard. 
 The old man approached King Arthur and bowing low 
 before him, said: "Sir, I bring you a young knight of 
 the house and lineage of Joseph of Arimathea, and 
 through him shall great glory be won for all the land of 
 Britain." Greatly did King Arthur rejoice to hear this, 
 and welcomed the two right royally. Then when the 
 young knight had saluted the King, the old man led him 
 to the Siege Perilous and drew off its silken cover; and 
 all the knights were amazed, for they saw that where had 
 
Sir Galahad 79 
 
 been engraved the words, "The Siege Perilous," was 
 written now in shining gold: ''This is the Siege of the 
 noble prince. Sir Galahad." Straightway the young 
 man seated himself there where none other had ever sat 
 without danger to his life; and all who saw it said, one 
 to another: "Surely this is he that shall achieve the 
 Holy Grail." Now the Holy Grail was the blessed dish 
 from which our Lord had eaten the Last Supper, and 
 it had been brought to the land of Britain by Joseph of 
 Arimathea; but because of men's sinfulness, it had been 
 withdrawn from human sight, only that, from time to 
 to time, it appeared to the pure in heart. 
 
 When all had partaken of the royal banquet. King 
 Arthur bade Sir Galahad come with him to the river's 
 brink ; and showing him the floating stone with the sword 
 thrust through it, told him how his knights had failed 
 to draw forth the sword. "Sir," said Galahad, "it is no 
 marvel that they failed, for the adventure was meant 
 for me, as my empty scabbard shows." So saying, 
 lightly he drew the sword from the heart of the stone, and 
 lightly he slid it into the scabbard at his side. While 
 all yet wondered at this adventure of the sword, there 
 came riding to them a lady on a white palfrey who, saluting 
 King Arthur, said: "Sir King, Nacien the hermit sends 
 thee word that this day shall great honour be shown to 
 thee and all thine house; for the Holy Grail shall 
 appear in thy hall, and thou and all thy fellowship 
 shall be fed therefrom." And so to Launcelot she 
 said: "Sir Knight, thou hast ever been the best 
 knight of all the world; but another has come to 
 whom thou must yield precedence." Then Launcelot 
 answered humbly: "I know well I was never the 
 best." "Ay, of a truth thou wast and art still, of sinful 
 
8o Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 men," said 'she, and rode away before any could ques- 
 tion her further. 
 
 So, that evening, when all were gathered about the 
 Round Table, each knight in his own siege, suddenly 
 there was heard a crash of thunder, so mighty that the hall 
 trembled, and there flashed into the hall a sunbeam, 
 brighter far than any that had ever before been seen; 
 and then, draped all in white samite, there glided through 
 the air what none might see, yet what all knew to be the 
 Holy Grail. And all the air was filled with sweet odours, 
 and on every one was shed a light in which he looked 
 fairer and nobler than ever before. So they sat in an 
 amazed silence, till presently King Arthur rose and gave 
 thanks to God for the grace given to him and to his 
 court. Then up sprang Sir Gawain and made his avow 
 to follow for a year and a day the Quest of the Holy Grail, 
 if perchance he might be granted the vision of it. Im- 
 mediately other of the knights followed his example, 
 binding themselves to the Quest of the Holy Grail until, 
 in all, one hundred and fifty had vowed themselves to the 
 adventure. 
 
 Then was King Arthur grieved, for he foresaw the 
 ruin of his noble Order. And turning to Sir Gawain, 
 he said: ''Nephew, ye have done ill, for through you 
 I am bereft of the noblest company of knights that ever 
 brought honour to any realm in Christendom. Well I 
 know that never again shall all of you gather in this hall, 
 and it grieves me to lose men I have loved as my life and 
 through whom I have won peace and righteousness for 
 all my realm." So the King mourned and his knights 
 with him, but their oaths they could not recall. 
 
 Great woe was there in Camelot next day when, after 
 worship in the cathedral, the knights who had vowed 
 
Sir Galahad 8i 
 
 themselves to the Quest of the Holy Grail got to horse 
 and rode away. A goodly company it was that passed 
 through the streets, the townfolk weeping to see them go ; 
 Sir Launcelot du Lac and his kin, Sir Galahad of whom 
 all expected great deeds, Sir Bors and Sir Percivale, and 
 many another scarcely less famed than they. So they 
 rode together that day to the Castle of Vagon, where 
 they were entertained right hospitably, and the next day 
 they separated, each to ride his own way and see what 
 adventures should befall him. 
 
 So it came to pass that, after four days' ride. Sir Gala- 
 had reached an abbey. Now Sir Galahad was still clothed 
 in red armour as when he came to the King's court, and 
 by his side hung the wondrous sword; but he was without 
 a shield. They of the abbey received him right heartily, 
 as also did the brave King Bagdemagus, Knight of the 
 Round Table, who was resting there. When they 
 greeted each other, Sir Galahad asked King Bagdema- 
 gus what adventure had brought him there. ''Sir," said 
 Bagdemagus, "I was told that in this abbey was pre- 
 served a wondrous shield which none but the best knight 
 in the world might bear without grievous harm to him- 
 self. And though I know well that there are better 
 knights than I, to-morrow I purpose to make the attempt. 
 But, I pray you, bide at this monastery a while until you 
 hear from me ; and if I fail, do ye take the adventure upon 
 you." ''So be it," said Sir Galahad. 
 
 The iVext day, at their request, Sir Galahad and King 
 Bagdemagus were led into the church by a monk and 
 shown where, behind the altar, hung the wondrous shield, 
 whiter than snow save for the blood-red cross in its midst. 
 Then the monk warned them of the danger to any who, 
 being unworthy, should dare to bear the shield. But 
 
82 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 King Bagdemagus made answer: "I know well that I 
 am not the best knight in the world, yet will I try if I may 
 bear it." So he hung it about his neck, and, bidding 
 farewell, rode away with his squire. 
 
 The two had not journeyed far before they saw a knight 
 approach, armed all in white mail and mounted upon a 
 white horse. Immediately he laid his spear in rest and^ 
 charging King Bagdemagus, pierced him through the 
 shoulder and bore him from his horse ; and standing over 
 the wounded knight, he said: ''Knight, thou hast shown 
 great folly, for none shall bear this shield save the peerless 
 knight, Sir Galahad." Then, taking the shield, he gave 
 it to the squire and said: ''Bear this shield to the good 
 Knight Galahad and greet him well from me." "What 
 is your name ? " asked the squire. "That is not for thee 
 or any other to know." "One thing, I pray you," 
 said the squire; "why may this shield be borne by 
 none but Sir Galahad without danger?" "Because it 
 belongs to him only," answered the stranger knight, and 
 vanished. 
 
 Then the squire took the shield and setting King Bagde- 
 magus on his horse, bore him back to the abbey where he 
 lay long, sick unto death. To Galahad the squire gave 
 the shield and told him all that had befallen. So Gala- 
 had hung the shield about his neck and rode the way that 
 Bagdemagus had gone the day before ; and presently he 
 met the White Knight, whom he greeted courteously, 
 begging that he would make known to him the marvels 
 of the red-cross shield. "That will I gladly," answered 
 the White Knight. '^ Ye must know. Sir Knight, that this 
 shield was made and given by Joseph of Arimathea to the 
 good King Evelake of Sarras, that, in the might of the 
 holy symbol, he should overthrow the heathen who 
 
Sir Galahad 83 
 
 threatened his kingdom. But afterwards, King Evelake 
 followed Joseph to this land of Britain where they taught 
 the true faith unto the people who before were heathen. 
 Then when Joseph lay dying, he bade King Evelake set 
 the shield in the monastery where ye lay last night, and 
 foretold that none should wear it without loss until that 
 day when it should be taken by the knight, ninth and last 
 in descent from him, who should come to that place the 
 fifteenth day after receiving the degree of knighthood. 
 Even so has it been with you, Sir Knight." So saying, 
 the unknown knight disappeared and Sir Galahad rode 
 on his way. 
 
 After Sir Launcelot had parted from his fellows at the 
 Castle of Vagon, he rode many days through the forest 
 without adventure, till he chanced upon a knight close 
 by a little hermitage in the wood. Immediately, as was 
 the wont of errant knights, they prepared to joust, and 
 Launcelot, whom none before had overthrown, was 
 borne down, man and horse, by the stranger knight. 
 Thereupon a nun, who dwelt in the hermitage, cried: 
 "God be with thee, best knight in all this world," for she 
 knew the victor for Sir Galahad. But Galahad, not wish- 
 ing to be known, rode swiftly away; and presently Sir 
 Launcelot got to horse again and rode slowly on his way, 
 shamed and doubting sorely in his heart whether this 
 quest were meant for him. 
 
 Afterward Sir Galahad rescued Sir Percivale from 
 twenty knights who beset him, and rode on his way till 
 night-fall, when he sought shelter at a little hermitage. 
 Thither there came in the night a damsel who desired to 
 speak with Sir Galahad; so he arose and went to her. 
 ''Galahad," said she, "arm you and mount your horse 
 and follow me, for I am come to guide you in your quest." 
 
84 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 So they rode together until they had come to the seashore 
 and there the damsel showed Galahad a great ship into 
 which he must enter. Then she bade him farewell, and 
 he, going on to the ship, found there already the good 
 knights Sir Bors and Sir Percivale, who made much joy 
 of the meeting. They abode in that ship until they had 
 come to the castle of King Pelles, who welcomed them 
 right gladly. Then, as they all sat at supper that night, 
 suddenly the hall was filled with a great light, and the 
 holy vessel appeared in their midst, covered all in white 
 samite. While they all rejoiced, there came a voice, 
 saying: ''My Knights whom I have chosen, ye have 
 seen the holy vessel dimly. Continue your journey 
 to the city of Sarras and there the perfect vision shall 
 be yours." 
 
 Now in the city of Sarras had dwelt a long time Joseph 
 of Arimathea, teaching its people the true faith, before 
 ever he came into the land of Britain; but when Sir 
 Galahad and his fellows came there after long voyage, 
 they found it ruled by a heathen King named Estorause, 
 who cast them into a deep dungeon. There they were 
 kept a year, but at the end of that time, the tyrant died. 
 Then the great men of the land gathered together to con- 
 sider who should be their King; and, while they were in 
 council, came a voice bidding them take as their King the 
 youngest of the three knights whom Estorause had thrown 
 into prison. So in fear and wonder they hastened to the 
 prison, and, releasing the three knights, made Galahad 
 King as the voice had bidden them. 
 
 Thus Sir Galahad became King of the famous city of 
 Sarras, in far Babylon. He had reigned a year when, one 
 morning early, he and the other two knights, his fellows, 
 went into the chapel, and there they saw, kneeling in 
 
Sir Galahad 85 
 
 prayer, an aged man, robed as a bishop, and round him 
 hovered many angels. The knights fell on their knees 
 in awe and reverence, whereupon he that seemed a bishop 
 turned to them and said: ''I am Joseph of Arimathea, 
 and I am come to show you the perfect vision of the Holy 
 Grail." On the instant there appeared before them, 
 without veil or cover, the holy vessel, in a radiance of 
 light such as almost blinded them. Sir Bors and Sir 
 Percivale, when at length they were recovered from the 
 brightness of that glory, looked up to find that the holy 
 Joseph and the wondrous vessel had passed from their 
 sight. Then they went to Sir Galahad where he still 
 knelt as in prayer, and behold, he was dead; for it had 
 been with him even as he had prayed; in the moment 
 when he had seen the vision, his soul had gone back to 
 God. 
 
 So the two knights buried him in that far city, them- 
 selves mourning and all the people with them. And 
 immediately after. Sir Percivale put off his arms and took 
 the habit of a monk, living a devout and holy life until, 
 a year and two months later, he also died and was buried 
 near Sir Galahad. Then Sir Bors armed him, and bid- 
 ding farewell to the city, sailed away until, after many 
 weeks, he came again to the land of Britain. There he 
 took horse, and stayed not till he had come to Camelot. 
 Great was the rejoicing of Arthur and all his knights when 
 Sir Bors was once more among them. When he had 
 told all the adventures which had befallen him and the 
 good knights, his companions, all who heard were filled 
 with amaze. But the King he caused the wisest clerks 
 in the land to write in great books of the Holy Grail, that 
 the fame of it should endure unto all time. 
 
86 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 Sir Galahad 
 
 by alfred lord tennyson 
 
 My good blade carves the casques of men, 
 
 My tough lance thrusteth sure, 
 My strength is as the strength of ten, 
 
 Because my heart is pure. 
 The shattering trumpet shrilleth high. 
 
 The hard brands shiver on the steel. 
 The splinter'd spear-shafts crack and fly, 
 
 The horse and rider reel: 
 They reel, they roll in clanging lists, 
 
 And when the tide of combat stands. 
 Perfume and flowers fall in showers 
 
 That lightly rain from ladies' hands. 
 
 How sweet are looks that ladies bend 
 
 On whom their favours fall! 
 For them I battle till the end. 
 
 To save from shame and thrall: 
 But all my heart is drawn above, 
 
 My knees are bow'd in crypt and shrine: 
 I never felt the kiss of love, 
 
 Nor maiden's hand in mine. 
 More bounteous aspects on me beam, 
 
 Me mightier transports move and thrill; 
 So keep I fair thro' faith and prayer 
 
 A virgin heart in work and will. 
 
 When down the stormy crescent goes, 
 
 A light before me swims, 
 Between dark stems the forest glows, 
 
 I hear a noise of h)mins: 
 
Sir Galahud 87 
 
 Then by some secret shrine I ride ; 
 
 I hear a voice, but none are there; 
 The stalls are void, the doors are wide, 
 
 The tapers burning fair. 
 Fair gleams the snowy altar-cloth, 
 
 The silver vessels sparkle clean. 
 The shrill bell rings, the censer swings. 
 
 And solemn chaunts resound between. 
 
 Sometimes on lonely mountain-meres 
 
 I find a magic bark; 
 I leap on board: no helmsman steers* 
 
 I float till all is dark. 
 A gentle sound, an awful light! 
 
 Three angels bear the Holy Grail: 
 With folded feet, in stoles of white, 
 
 On sleeping wings they sail. 
 Ah, blessed vision! blood of God! 
 
 My spirit beats her mortal bars, 
 As down dark tides the glory slides, 
 
 And star-like mingles with the stars. 
 
 When on my goodly charger borne 
 
 Thro' dreaming towns I go, 
 The cock crows ere the Christmas morn, 
 
 The streets are dumb with snow. 
 The tempest crackles on the leads, 
 
 And, ringing, spins from brand and mail; 
 But o'er the dark a glory spreads, 
 
 And gilds the driving hail. 
 I leave the plain, I climb the height; 
 
 No branchy thicket shelter yields; 
 
^8 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 But blessed forms in whistling storms 
 Fly o'er waste fens and windy fields. 
 
 A maiden knight — to me is given 
 
 Such hope, I know not fear; 
 I yearn to breathe the airs of heaven 
 
 That often meet me here. 
 I muse on joy that will not cease, 
 
 Pure spaces clothed in living beams, 
 Pure lilies of eternal peace. 
 
 Whose odours haunt my dreams; 
 And, stricken by an angel's hand. 
 
 This mortal armour that I wear, 
 This weight and size, this heart and eyes. 
 
 Are touch'd, are turn'd to finest air. 
 
 The clouds are broken in the sky, 
 
 And thro' the mountain-walls 
 A rolling organ-harmony 
 
 Swells up, and shakes and falls. 
 Then move the trees, the copses nod, 
 
 Wings flutter, voices hover clear: 
 ''O just and faithful knight of God! 
 
 Ride on! the prize is near." 
 So pass I hostel, hall, and grange; 
 
 By bridge and ford, by park and pale, 
 All-arm 'd I ride, whate'er betide, 
 
 Until I find the Holy Grail. 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 SIEGFRIED 
 
 NOW there dwelt in a castle in the Netherland a 
 certain King, Siegmund by name, who had to 
 wife a fair lady Sieglind. These two had a son 
 whom they called Siegfried, a very gallant prince. Very 
 carefully did they train and teach him, but the root of 
 the matter was in the lad himself, for he had an honest 
 and good heart, and was in all things a very perfect 
 knight. This Siegfried being come to man's estate, and 
 being well practised in arms, and having also as much of 
 wealth as he needed, turned his thoughts to marriage, 
 desiring to win a fair bride for himself. 
 
 It came to Prince Siegfried's ears that there was a very 
 fair maiden in the Rhineland, and that many noble 
 knights had come from far and wide to make their suits 
 to her, but that she wouid have none of them. Never 
 yet had she seen the man whom she would take for her 
 husband. All this the Prince heard, and he said, "This 
 Kriemhild will I have for my wife." But King Siegmund, 
 when he heard of his son's purpose, was not a little 
 troubled thereat; and Queen Sieglind wept, for she 
 knew the brother of Kriemhild, and she was aware of the 
 strength and valour of his warriors. So they said to the 
 Prince, "Son, this is not a wise wooing." But Siegfried 
 made answer, "My father, I will have none of wedlock, 
 if I may not marry where I love." Thereupon the King 
 said. "If thou canst not forego this maiden, then thou 
 shalt have all the help that I can give." 
 
 89 
 
po Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 Queen Sieglind said: ''If you are still minded to go, 
 then I will prepare for you and your companions the best 
 raiment that ever warrior wore." 
 
 Siegfried bowed low to his mother, saying: "So be 
 it; only remember that twelve comrades only will I take 
 with me." 
 
 So the Queen and her ladies sat stitching night and day, 
 taking no rest till the raiment was ready. King Sieg- 
 mund the while commanded that the men should polish 
 their war-gear, coats of mail, and helmets, and shields. 
 
 The thirteen comrades departed and, on the seventh 
 day, they rode into the town of Worms in Rhineland, a 
 gallant company, bravely arrayed, for their garments 
 flashed with gold, and their war-gear, over their coats 
 of mail and their helmets, were newly polished. Their 
 long swords hung down by their sides, even to their 
 spurs, and sharp were the javelins which they held 
 in their hands. The javelin of Siegfred was 
 two spans broad in the blade, and had a double 
 edge. Terrible were the wounds that it made. Their 
 bridles were gilded, and their horse-girths of silk. 
 A comely sight they were to see, and the people came 
 from all round to gaze upon them. 
 
 Tidings had been brought to King Gunther that cer- 
 tain warriors were come, very gallant to look upon and 
 richly clad, but that no one kenw who they were, and 
 whence they came. "Now," said the King, "this 
 troubles me much that no one can tell whence these war- 
 riors come." To him Ortwein, the High Server, made 
 answer, "Seeing, sire, that no man knows aught about 
 these strangers, let some one fetch Hagen, my uncle; 
 he knows all the kingdoms of the world, and the dwellers 
 therein." 
 
Siegfried 91 
 
 So Hagen went to the window and looked at the men. 
 Well pleased was he with their clothing and their gear 
 of war; but he had never seen their like in the Rhine- 
 land. So he said: ''Whencesoever these men have 
 come, my lord, that they are princes or of a prince's 
 company is clear. But stay ; Siegfried, the famous hero, 
 I have never seen with my eyes, but I verily believe that 
 is he. If it indeed be, there is no warrior in this land, 
 that is his match for strength and valour. 
 
 ''Once upon a time riding alone, with none to help 
 him, he came upon the treasure of the Nibelungs. It 
 had been newly taken out of the hollow of a mountain, 
 and the Nibelungs were making ready to share it. And 
 when they saw him, one cried aloud, 'Here comes 
 Siegfried, the great champion from the Netherland!' 
 So the two princes of the Nibelungs bade him welcome, 
 and would have him divide the treasure among them. 
 A mighty store it was, of jewels such plenty that scarce 
 five-score wagons could carry them away, and of red gold 
 yet more. All this they would have Siegfried divide 
 among them. And for his wages they gave him the Nibel- 
 ungs' sword. But little did they know what should be- 
 fall at his hand. For lol ere he had ended his dividing, 
 they stirred up strife against him. Twelve stout com- 
 rades had the princes, and with these the princes thought 
 to have slain Siegfried. But they availed nought; with 
 the very sword which they had given him for his reward 
 — Balmung was its name — he slew them all. The giants 
 he slew, and the Kings also, and when Albrich the dwarf 
 would have avenged his lords — for he was the keeper of 
 the treasure — Siegfried overcame him also, and wrested 
 from him the Hood of Darkness, which whoso dons, 
 straightway he vanishes from the sight of all men. , 
 
92 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 ''But the treasure he would not take for himself. 
 'Carry it back,' said he to Albrich the dwarf, 'to the hole 
 whence it was taken, and keep if for me. And you shall 
 swear a great oath to do me any service that I shall ask of 
 you, whensoever and wheresoever may seem good to 
 me.' 
 
 "Another story have I heard tell of Siegfried, how he 
 slew a dragon with his own hand and sword, and how 
 he bathed him in the dragon's blood, and made his skin 
 so hard and horny that no sword may pierce it. Let us 
 therefore receive him with all courtesy; for verily he is 
 a right strong and valiant knight, and 'tis better, I ween, 
 to be his friend than his enemy." 
 
 "Methinks thou art right," said King Gunther. "Let 
 us go down and greet him courteously." 
 
 Never were guests more honoured as, of a surety, 
 never guests had bolder mien. And as the days went by 
 the Kings and their guests gave themselves to sport and 
 pastime; but whatever they did, Siegfried was ever 
 the first; none could put the stone so far, or cast the 
 spear with so sure an aim. Sometimes the fair ladies of 
 the court looked on, and not a few looked on the young 
 Prince from the Netherland w^th favour. But he had 
 ever one only in his heart, ever the fair Kriemhild. 
 
 King Gunther purposed in his heart to marry a wife. 
 No daughter of his own land would he woo, though there 
 were many fair maidens in the Rhineland. But there 
 came to him tidings of a Queen that dwelt beyond the sea ; 
 not to be matched was she for beauty, nor had she any 
 peer for strength. Her love she proffered to any warrior 
 who could vanquish her at three games, hurling of the 
 spear, and putting the stone, and leaping. But if the 
 suitor himself should be vanquished, then must he lose 
 
Siegfried 93 
 
 his head. Such were the conditions of her wooing, and 
 many brave warriors had died for her. 
 
 On a certain day King Gunther and his chiefs sat in 
 council, and the matter was this — where shall the King 
 seek a wife who shall both be for a comfort to him and 
 for a glory to the land? Then spake the King, "I will 
 seek Queen Brunhild and no other. For her will I 
 hazard my life ; nor do I care to live if I may not win her 
 for my wife." To him spake Siegfried, "I would have 
 you give up this purpose. He who woos Brunhild plays for 
 too high a stake. Take my counsel, sire, and go not on 
 such a journey." "I should think it scorn," said he, 
 "to fear a woman, were she ever so bold and strong." 
 ''Ah, sire," Siegfried made answer, "you know not how 
 strong she is. Were you four men and not one only, you 
 could not prevail over her." 
 
 But King Gunther would not yield. "How strong 
 soever she be, and whatever the chances that befall me, 
 I will woo this fair Brunhild," he said. Then said 
 Hagen, the King's uncle, "Since you are resolved to take 
 in hand this enterprise, ask Prince Siegfried to help you." 
 Then said King Gunther to Siegfried, "Will you help me 
 to win this Brunhild for my wife ? Do this, and ask of 
 me what you will." Siegfried made answer, "Give me 
 your sister: I ask no other rew^ard but that I may have 
 the fair Kriemhild to wife." "That I promise," said 
 the King. " Of a surety, so soon as I shall have brought 
 the fair Brunhild to this realm, then will I give you my 
 sister to wife; and I pray from my heart that you may 
 live long and happily together." Then the two sware 
 to each other. 
 
 "Tell me now," said Gunther, "how shall we travel 
 to this land where Brunhild dwells? Shall we go in 
 
94 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 such state as befits a King ? If you think fit, I could well 
 bring together thirty thousand warriors." "Thirty 
 thousand would avail nothing." answered Siegfried, "so 
 strong she is and savage. We will take no army, but 
 go as simple knights, taking two companions with us, 
 and the two shall be Sir Hagen and Sir Dank wart." 
 "And wherewithal shall we be clothed?" said King 
 Gunther. "As richly as maybe," answered Siegfried. 
 "My mother has a great store of goodly raiment," said 
 the King. Then spake Hagen, "Nay, sire, go not to the 
 Queen, but rather to your sister. She will provide all 
 things that you need." 
 
 So they went to the Lady Kriemhild and told her all 
 their purpose, and how they should need goodly raiment, 
 three changes for the day, and that for four days. With 
 good will did the fair Kriemhild receive them, and 
 promised that she would give them what they needed. 
 As she promised, so she did; for she and her ladies, thirty 
 maids skilful in the work of the needle, laboured night 
 and day to furnish a rich store of apparel. The fair 
 Kriemhild planned them and cut them to just measure 
 with her own hand and her ladies sewed them. Silks 
 there were, some from Arabia, white as snow, and from 
 the Lesser Asia others, green as grass, and strange skins 
 of fishes from distant seas, and fur of the ermine, with 
 black spots on snowy white, and precious stones and 
 gold of Arabia. In seven weeks all was prepared, both 
 apparel and also arms and armour ; and there was nothing 
 that was either over-long or over-short, or that could be 
 surpassed for comeliness. Great thanks did the war- 
 riors give to each fair seamstress, and to Kriemhild the 
 beautiful the greatest thanks of all. 
 
 So the four companions embarked on their ship. 
 
Siegfried 95 
 
 with Siegfried for their helmsman, for he knew all the 
 tides and currents of Rhine. Well furnished were they 
 with food and wine and all things that they needed; and 
 prosperous was their voyage, both while they sailed down 
 the river and while they crossed the sea. 
 
 On the twelfth morning they came to the land of 
 Queen Brunhild. And when King Gunther saw how 
 the coast stretched far away, and how on every height 
 there stood a fair castle, he said to Siegfried, ''Tell me, 
 Siegfried, if you can, whose are those castles, and this 
 fair land. Never in all my life, I assure you, have I 
 seen castles so fairly planned and built so well." Siegfried 
 made answer, "These castles and this fair land are 
 Queen Brunhild's and this strong fortress that you see 
 is Isenstein. And now, my comrades, I have a counsel 
 for your ears. To-day we shall stand in Queen Brun- 
 hild's court, and we must be wise and wary when we 
 stand before her. Let therefore one and the same story 
 be found in the mouth of all — that Gunther is my master, 
 and that I am Gunther's man. If we would win our 
 purpose there is no surer plan than this." So spake 
 Siegfried to his comrades. And to the King he said, 
 ''Mark, I pray you, what I do for the love of your fair 
 sister." 
 
 While they talked one to the other the bark drifted so 
 near to the shore that they could see the maidens stand- 
 ing at the castle windows. "Who are these?" said 
 King Gunther to Siegfried. Said Siegfried, "Look with 
 all your eyes at these fair ladies, and tell me which of 
 them pleases you best, and which, could you win her, you 
 would choose for your wife." Gunther made answer, 
 "One that I see at yonder window in a snow-white vest 
 is surely the loveliest of all. She, if I can win her, shall 
 
96 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 surely be my wife." ''You have chosen well," said 
 Siegfried; "that maiden in the snow-white vest is Brun- 
 hild, the fairest and fiercest of women." 
 
 Meanwhile the Queen had bidden her maidens depart 
 from the windows. '' 'Tis a shame," said she, ''that you 
 should make yourselves a sight for strangers." 
 
 And now came the four comrades from their bark to 
 the castle. Siegfried led a noble charger by the bridle, 
 and stood by the stirrup till King Gunther had mounted, 
 serving him as a vassal serves his lord. This Brunhild 
 marked from where she stood. "A noble lord," thought 
 she in her heart, "whom such a vassal serves." Then 
 Siegfried mounted his own steed, and Hagen and Dank- 
 wart did the like. A fairer company never was seen. 
 The King and Siegfried were clothed in white, and white 
 were their horses, and their shields flashed far as they 
 moved. So, in lordly fashion, they rode to the hall of 
 Queen Brunhild, and the bells of gold that hung from 
 their saddles tinkled as they went. Hagen and Dank- 
 wart, on the other hand, wore black apparel, and their 
 chargers were black. 
 
 Meanwhile the fair Brunhild inquired of her nobles 
 who these strangers might be that had come across the 
 sea, and on what errand they had come. One of them 
 answered, "Fair lady, I have never seen these stout 
 warriors, save one only, who is greatly like to the noble 
 Siegfried. If this be he, I would have you give him a 
 hearty welcome. Next to him is a man of right royal 
 mien, a King, I trow, who rules with his sceptre mighty 
 lands and herd. The third has a lowering brow, but is 
 a stout warrior withal; the fourth is young and modest 
 of look, but for all his gentle bearing, we should all rue it, 
 I trow, if wrong were done to him." 
 
Siegfried 97 
 
 Then spake Queen Brunhild, ''Bring me now my 
 royal vesture; if Siegfried seeks to woo me for his wife, 
 he must risk his Hfe on the cast; I fear him not so much 
 as to yield to him without a struggle." So the Queen 
 arrayed her in her royal robes, and went to the hall of 
 audience, and a hundred maidens and more followed 
 her, fair of face and in fair array. And after the maidens 
 came five hundred warriors and more, each bearing his 
 sword in his hand, the very flower of Isenland. 
 
 Said Queen Brunhild to Siegfried, ''You are welcome, 
 good Sir Siegfried. Show me, if you will, for what cause 
 you have come hither." "I thank you a thousand times," 
 answered Siegfried, "that you have greeted me so courte- 
 ously, but know that I must give place to this noble hero. 
 He is my lord and master; I am his vassal. Let your 
 favour be for him. His kingdom is by the Rhine side, 
 and we have sailed all this way from thence that he may 
 woo you for his bride. That is his fixed intent, nor 
 will he yield whatever may befall. Gunther is his name; 
 a great King is he, and nothing will content him but to 
 carry you back with him to the Rhine." 
 
 Queen Brunhild answered, "If he is the master and 
 you the man, then let him know that he must match me 
 in my games and conquer me. If he prevail, then will 
 I be his wedded wife ; but if I prevail, then must he die, 
 he and you and all his comrades." Then spake Sir 
 Hagen, " Lady, tell us now the games at which my master 
 must contend; and know that you must strive full hard, 
 if you would conquer him, for he has a full trust that he 
 will win you for his bride." The Queen answered, "He 
 must cast the stone further than I, and also leap behind 
 it further than I leap; and also he must cast the spear 
 with me. It seems to me that you are over-hasty; let 
 
98 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 him count the cost, ere he lose both fame and Hfe." 
 Then Siegfried whispered to the King, "Have no fear 
 for what shall be, and cast away all your care. Let the 
 fair Brunhild do what she will, I will bear you harmless." 
 So the King spake aloud, "Fairest of the fair, tell me 
 your pleasure ; were it a greater task willingly would I 
 undertake it, for if I win you not for my bride, willingly 
 will I lose my head." 
 
 Then the fair Brunhild called for her battle gear, her 
 arms, and her breastplate of gold and her mighty shield; 
 and over all she drew a surcoat of silk, marvellously 
 made. Fierce and angry was her countenance as she 
 looked at the strangers, and Hagen and Dankwart 
 were troubled to see her, for they doubted how 
 it might go with their master. '"Tis a fatal journey," 
 said they, "and will bring us to trouble." 
 
 Meanwhile Siegfried hied him with nimble foot to the 
 bark, and there he took, from the secret corner where he 
 kept it, the Hood of Darkness, by which, at his will, he 
 could make himself invisible. Quickly did he go, and 
 quickly returned, and now no one could see him, for he 
 wore the hood. Through the crowd he went at his 
 pleasure, seeing all but seen of none. 
 
 Meanwhile men had marked out the ring for the fray, 
 and chiefs had been chosen as umpires, seven hundred 
 men in armour who should judge betwixt the combatants. 
 First of the two came the fair Brunhild. So mighty was 
 her presence, a man had thought her ready to match 
 herself in battle with all the Kings in the world. And 
 there was carried before her a mighty shield of ruddy 
 gold, very thick and broad and heavy, overlaid with 
 studs of steel. Four chamberlains could scarce bear the 
 weight. Sir Hagen, when he saw it, said, "How now, 
 
Siegfried 99 
 
 my lord King ? this fair one whom you would woo must 
 surely be the devil's wife." Next came three men who 
 scarce could carry the Queen's javelin, with its mighty 
 spear-head, heavy and great as though three had been 
 melted into one. And when King Gunther saw it, he said 
 to himself, "This is a danger from which the devil him- 
 self can scarce escape. I would that I were once more 
 by the banks of Rhine; he that would might woo and 
 win this fair maiden for me." After this there was 
 brought the mighty stone which Brunhild was to hurl. 
 Twelve knights could scarce support it, so big it was. 
 
 And now the Queen addressed her to the contest, roll- 
 ing her sleeves about her arms, and fitting her buckler, 
 and poising her mighty spear in her hand. And the 
 strangers, when they saw it, were sore afraid for all their 
 courage. 
 
 But now came Siegfried to King Gunther's side and 
 touched his hand. Greatly amazed was the King for 
 he did not understand his champion's device. "Who 
 was it that touched me?" he said, and looked round, but 
 saw no one. "'Tis I," answered the Prince, "your 
 trusty friend, Siegfried. Have no fear of the maiden. 
 Let me carry the buckler; you shall seem to do each deed, 
 but I will do it in truth. But be careful to hide the device. 
 Should the maiden discover it, she will not spare to bring 
 it to nought." Right glad was Gunther to know that his 
 strong ally was at hand. 
 
 And now the Queen threw the spear with all her 
 might against the shield Siegfried bore upon his arm. 
 New was the shield and stout of make, but the spear- 
 head passed clean through it, and rang on the hero's 
 coat of mail, dealing him so sore a blow that the blood 
 gushed forth from his mouth. Of a truth, but for the 
 
lOO Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 Hood of Darkness, that hour both the champions had 
 died. Then Siegfried caught the great spear in his 
 hand, and tore it from the shield, and hurled it back. 
 *'She is too fair to slay," said he to himself, and he turned 
 the spear point behind him, and smote the maiden with 
 the shaft on the silken vest that she wore. Loud rang 
 the blow, and the fire-sparks leapt from her armour. 
 Never could Gunther, for all his strength, have dealt such 
 a blow, for it felled the strong Brunhild to the ground. 
 Lightly did she leap up again, crying, "King Gunther, 
 I thank you for the blow; 'twas shrewdly given," for she 
 thought that the King had dealt it. 
 
 But great was the wrath in her heart to find that her 
 spear had sped in vain. And now she turned to the great 
 stone where it lay, and poised it in her hand, and hurled 
 it with all her might. And having hurled it, she herself 
 leapt after it. Twelve full arms' length hurtled the 
 great stone through the air, so mighty was the maiden, 
 and she herself overpassed it by a pace. Then came 
 Gunther to the place, with Siegfried unseen by his side. 
 And Siegfried caught the stone and poised it — but it 
 seemed to all as if Gunther did it — ^and threw it yet 
 another arm's length beyond the cast of the maid, and 
 passed the stone himself, aye, and carried King Gunther 
 along with him, so mighty was he! 
 
 But when the Queen saw that she was vanquished, 
 she flushed with shame and wrath, and turning to her 
 lords, she spake aloud, "Come hither, my kinsmen and 
 lieges. You must now be thralls of King Gunther of 
 Burgundy." 
 
 So the chiefs of Isenland laid their swords at Gunther's 
 feet and did him homage, for they thought that he had 
 vanquished by his own strength; and he, for he was a 
 
Siegfried loi 
 
 very gentle, courteous knight, greeted the maid right 
 pleasantly, and she, for her part, took him by the hand and 
 said, "Henceforth, Sir King, all the rule and power that 
 I have held is yours." 
 
 There is no need to tell how Gunther and Brunhild and 
 all their company travelled to Rhineland with great joy, 
 and how Queen Ute and her sons and the fair Kriemhild, 
 and all the people of the land, gave them a hearty wel- 
 come and how in due time King Gunther was married 
 to the fair Brunhild. Nor is there need of many words to 
 relate how Siegfried also took to wife the beautiful Kriem- 
 hild, as it had been promised him. Nor were there any 
 to gainsay save Brunhild only, for she grudged that her 
 husband's sister should be given to a vassal, for such in 
 truth she deemed him to be. Very ill content she was, 
 though the King would fain have satisfied her, saying that 
 he was a very noble knight, and was lord of many wood- 
 lands, and had great store of gold and treasure. 
 
 So Siegfried wedded the fair Kriemhild and took her 
 with him to his own land. A goodly welcome did the 
 Netherlands give her. And Siegmund gave up his king- 
 dom to his son, and the two lived in much peace and love 
 together; and when in the tenth year a son was born to 
 them, they called him by the name of his uncle Gunther. 
 
 Also Gunther and Brunhild lived together in much 
 happiness. They also had a son, and they called him 
 by the name of Siegfried. 
 
 But Brunhild was ill content that Siegfried being, 
 for so she deemed, her husband's vassal, should pay no 
 homage to his lord and do no service for his fee. And 
 she was very urgent with her husband that he should 
 suffer this no longer. But the King was fain to put her 
 off. *'Nay," said he, ''the journey is too long. Their 
 
102 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 land is far from ours; why should we trouble him to 
 come? Also he is a great prince and a powerful." 
 '' Be he as great as he will," she answered, " 'tis a vassal's 
 duty to pay homage to his lord." But Gunther laughed 
 to himself. Little thought had he of homage from Sieg- 
 fried. Then the Queen changed her voice. "Dear 
 lord," she said, ''how gladly would I see Siegfried and 
 your dear sister once more. Well do I remember how 
 fair she was and how kind, how gracious of speech when 
 we sat together, brides both of us." With such words 
 she persauded her husband. "There are no guests that 
 would be more welcome," said he; "I will find messen- 
 gers who shall bid them come to the Rhineland." 
 
 Great was the joy in Rhineland when the messengers 
 returned and told how they had been welcomed and 
 royally entertained and loaded with gifts, and how that 
 Siegfried and his Queen Kriemhild and a company of 
 gallant knights were coming to the festival. Great was 
 the joy and manifold the preparations. 
 
 No sooner did the King hear the news than he sought 
 out Queen Brunhild where she sat in her chamber. ' ' Bear 
 you in mind," said he, "how Kriemhild my sister wel- 
 comed you when you came hither from your own land. 
 Do you, therefore, dear wife, welcome her with the like 
 affection." "So shall it be," answered the Queen. 
 
 And indeed, when the guests came, right royal was the 
 welcome that they had. For Gunther and Brunhild rode 
 forth from the city to meet them, and greeted them most 
 heartily. All was mirth and jollity. By the day there 
 were tilts and tournaments and sports of every kind, and 
 at night there was feasting in the hall. And so they did 
 for twelve days. 
 
 But Brunhild ever cherished a thought of mischief in 
 
Siegfried 103 
 
 her heart. "Why," she said to herself, "why has Sieg- 
 fried stayed so long to do homage for that which he holds 
 of us in fee? I shall not be content till Kriemhild an- 
 swer me in this." 
 
 It fell out on a certain day, while sundry knights were 
 in the castle court, that the two Queens sat together. 
 The fair Kriemhild then began, "My husband is so 
 mighty a man that he should rule these kingdoms of 
 right." "Nay,." answered Brunhild, "that might be 
 were you and your husband only alive, and all others 
 dead, but so long as Gunther lives he must needs be 
 King." Then said fair Kriemhild, "See how he shines 
 among the knights, a very moon among the stars." 
 Brunhild answered, "However brave and strong he may 
 be, and stately to look upon, Gunther, your brother, is 
 better than he." "Nay," said Kriemhild, "better he 
 is not, nay, nor even his peer." "How say you?" an- 
 swered Brunhild in wrath; "I spake not without cause. 
 When I saw the two for the first time, then I heard with 
 my own ears how Siegfried confessed that he was Gun- 
 ther's man. Yea, I heard him say it, and I hold him to be 
 such." "This is folly," said Kriemhild; "think you 
 that my brothers could have given me to be bride to a 
 vassal? Away, Brunhild, with such idle talk, if we 
 would still be friends." "I will not away with it," 
 Brunhild made answer. "Shall I renounce the service 
 which he and all the vassals are bound to render to 
 their lord?" "Renounce it you must," cried Kriemhild 
 in great wrath. "The service of a vassal he will never 
 do; he is of higher degree than Gunther my brother, 
 though Gunther is a noble King." "You bear yourself 
 far too proudly," answered Brunhild. 
 
 But the deadliest cause of quarrel was yet to come. 
 
104 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 Said Queen Kriemhild to Queen Brunhild when next she 
 saw her: ''Think you that when you were vanquished 
 in your own land it was Gunther, my brother, that van- 
 quished you?" ''Yea," answered the Queen, "did I 
 not see it with my own eyes?" "Nay," said Kriemhild, 
 "it was not so. See you this ring?" And she took a 
 ling that she had upon her finger and held it forth. " Do 
 you know it?" And Brunhild looked and knew it for 
 her own. "That," said Kriemhild, "Siegfried, my hus- 
 band, took from you when you were smitten by his spear 
 and knew not what had befallen you, so sore was the blow. 
 You saw him not, for he had the Hood of Darkness on 
 him and was invisible. But it was he that smote you 
 with the spear, and put the stone further than you, and 
 passed you in the leap. And this ring he gave me for a 
 token, if ever you should boast yourself against me. 
 Talk, therefore, no more of lords and vassals. My hus- 
 band feigned this vassalage that he might deceive you the 
 more readily." 
 
 But Brunhild held her peace, for the ring was a proof 
 which she could not gainsay. She held her peace, but 
 she cherished her rage, keeping it in the depths of her 
 heart, and sware that she would be avenged on the man 
 that had so deceived her. 
 
 When Hagen saw that Queen Brunhild was in con- 
 tinual trouble and sadness he would fain know the 
 cause. " 'Tis of Siegfried's doing," she answered. 
 "He has wronged me beyond pardon." And she be- 
 sought him that he would avenge her and King 
 Gunther upon him. 
 
 So Hagan plotted evil, saying enemies were coming 
 against Gunther, and Siegfried and his knights made them 
 ready to go forth to the King's defence. And of the 
 
Siegfried 105 
 
 chiefs of Rhineland not a few offered themselves as com- 
 rades, knowing nothing of the treachery that Hagen and 
 his fellows were preparing against him. 
 
 But before they departed Hagen went to bid farewell 
 to Queen Kriemhild. Said she, ''I have good comfort 
 in my heart to think how valiant a husband I have, and 
 how zealous he is to help his friends, for I have loved my 
 kinsmen always, nor ever wished them ill." "Tell me, 
 dear lady," said Hagen, ''what service I can do to your 
 husband, for there is no one whom I love better than him." 
 The Queen made answer, ''I have no fear that my lord 
 will fall in battle by any man's sword, save only that he is 
 too ready to follow even to rashness his own warlike 
 spirit." ''Dear lady," said Hagen, ''if there is any dan- 
 ger which you hold in special fear, tell me that I may 
 defend him against it." Then Kriemhild, in the simple- 
 ness of her heart, told him the secret. "In years gone by," 
 said she, "my husband slew a dragon among the moun- 
 tains, and when he had slain the monster, he bathed him- 
 self in its blood. So mighty was the charm, that thence- 
 forth no steel had power to wound him. And yet, for all 
 this, I am ever in fear lest by some mischance a weapon 
 should pierce him. Hearken now, my cousin, for you 
 are of my kindred, hearken, and see how I put my trust 
 in your honour. While Siegfried washed his limbs in the 
 blood of the dragon, there fell a leaf from a linden tree 
 between his shoulders. There and there only can steel 
 harm him." "'Tis easy," said the false Hagen, "for me 
 to defend sosmall a spot. Only do you sew a little token 
 on his cloak, that I may the better know the spot that 
 most needs protection when we stand together in the 
 fight." "I will do so," said the Queen; "I will sew a 
 little cross with threads of silk on his cloak, and you will 
 
io6 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 guard him when he fights in the throng of his foes.* 
 "That will I do, dear lady," said the traitor. 
 
 Hagen went straightway to King Gunther and said, 
 "I have learnt that which I needed to know; put off this 
 march; let us go on a hunt. So that which we would do 
 will be easier done." 'T will order that," answered the 
 King. 
 
 Siegfried, before he set out for the hunting, bade fare- 
 well to his wife: ''God grant," said he, "that we may 
 soon meet happily again; meanwhile be merry among 
 your kinsfolk here." But Kriemhild thought of how she 
 had discovered the secret to Hagen, and was sore afraid, 
 yet dared not tell the truth. Only she said to her hus- 
 band, "I pray you to leave this hunting. Only this night 
 past I had an evil dream. I saw two wild boars pur- 
 suing you over the heath, and the flowers were red as with 
 blood. Greatly I fear some treason, my Siegfried." 
 ^'Nay," said he, "there is not one in Rhineland here that 
 bears me ill-will. Whom have I wronged?" "I know 
 not," answered the Queen," but yet my heart bodes evil. 
 For I had yet another dream. I seemed to see two 
 mountains fall with a terrible noise on your head. If 
 you go, you will break my heart." But he laughed at 
 her fears, and kissed her, and so departed. 
 
 Then Siegfried went on the hunting, and Gunther and 
 Hagen went with him, and a company of hunters and 
 hounds. When they came to the forest Siegfried said, 
 ^'Now who shall begin the hunting?" Hagen made 
 answer, "Let us divide into two companies ere we begin, 
 and each shall beat the coverts as he will ; so shall we see 
 who is the more skilful in the chase." "I need no pack," 
 said Siegfried; "give me one well-trained hound that can 
 track the game through the coverts. That will suffice for 
 
Siegfried 107 
 
 me." So a lime-hound was given to him. All that the 
 good hound started did Siegfried slay; no beast could 
 outrun him or escape him. A wild boar first he slew, 
 and next to the boar a lion ; he shot an arrow through the 
 beast from side to side. After the lion he slew a buffalo 
 and four elks, and a great store of game besides, so that 
 the huntsmen said, ''Leave us something in our woods, 
 Sir Siegfried. " 
 
 King Gunther bade blow the horn for breakfast. When 
 Siegfried's huntsman heard the blast he said: ''Our 
 hunting-time is over; we must back to our comrades." 
 So they went with all speed to the trysting-place. 
 
 The whole company sat down to their meal. There 
 was plenty of every kind, but wine was wanting. "How 
 is this?" said Siegfried: "the kitchen is plentiful; but 
 where is the wine?" Said Gunther the King, "'Tis 
 Hagen's fault, who makes us all go dry." "True, Sir 
 King," said Hagen, "my fault it is. But I know of a 
 runnel, cold and clear, that is hard by. Let us go thither 
 and quench our thirst." Then Siegfried rose from his 
 place, for his thirst was sore, and would have sought the 
 place. Said Hagen, when he saw him rise, "I have heard 
 say that there is no man in all the land so fleet of foot as 
 Siegfried. Will he deign to let us see his speed ?" " With 
 all my heart," cried the hero. "Let us race from hence 
 to the runnel." "'Tis agreed," said Hagen the traitor. 
 "Furthermore," said Siegfried, "I will carry all the equip- 
 ment that I bare in the chase." So Gunther and Hagen 
 stripped them to their shirts, but Siegfried carried sword 
 and spear, all his hunting-gear, and yet was far before 
 the two at the runnel. 
 
 Yet, such was his courtesy, that he would not drink 
 before the King had quenched his thirst. He was ill 
 
io8 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 repaid, I trow, for his grace. For when the King had 
 drunk, as Siegfried knelt plunging his head into the 
 stream. Sir Hagen took his spear and smote him on the 
 little crosslet mark that was worked on his cloak between 
 his shoulders. And when he had struck the blow he 
 fled in mortal fear. When Siegfried felt that he was 
 wounded, he rose with a great bound from his knees and 
 sought for his weapons. But these the false Hagen had 
 taken and laid far away. Only the shield was left. This 
 he took in his hand and hurled at Hagen with such might 
 that it felled the traitor to the ground, and was itself 
 broken to pieces. If the hero had but had his good sword 
 Balmung in his hand, the murderer had not escaped with 
 his life that day. 
 
 Then all the Rhineland warriors gathered about him. 
 Among them was King Gunther, making pretence to 
 lament. To him said Siegfried, "Little it profits to 
 bewail the man whose murder you have plotted. Did 
 I not save you from shame and defeat? Is this the re- 
 compense that you pay ? And yet even of you I would 
 ask one favour. Have some kindness for my wife. She 
 is your sister; if you have any knightly faith and honour 
 remaining, guard her well." Then there came upon 
 him the anguish of death. Yet one more word he spake, 
 "Be sure that in slaying me you have slain yourselves." 
 And when he had so spoken he died. 
 
 Then they laid his body on a shield and carried it back, 
 having agreed among themselves to tell this tale, that Sir 
 Siegfried having chosen to hunt by himself was slain by 
 robbers in the wood. 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 ROLAND 
 
 THE trumpets sounded and the army went on 
 its way to France. The next day King Charles 
 called his lords together. '*You see," said he, ''these 
 narrow passes. Whom shall I place to command the 
 rearguard? Choose you a man yourselves." Said 
 Ganelon, "Whom should we choose but my son-in-law, 
 Count Roiand? You have no man in your host so 
 valiant. Of a truth he will be the salvation of France. " 
 The King said when he heard these words, "What ails 
 you, Ganelon? You look like to one possessed." 
 
 When Count Roland knew what was proposed con- 
 cerning him, he spake out as a true knight should speak 
 "I am right thankful to you, my father-in-law, that you 
 have caused me to be put in this place. Of a truth the 
 King of France shall lose nothing by my means, 
 neither charger, nor mule, nor packhorse, nor beast of 
 burden. " 
 
 Then Roland turned to the King and said, "Give me 
 twenty thousand only, so they be men of valour, and I 
 will keep the passes in all safety. So long as I shall live, 
 you need fear no man. " 
 
 Then Roland mounted his horse. With him were 
 Oliver his comrade, and Otho and Berenger, and Gerard 
 of Roussillon, an aged warrior, and others, men of 
 renown. And Turpin the Archbishop cried, "By my 
 head, I will go also. " So they chose twenty thousand 
 warriors with whom to keep the passes. 
 
 109 
 
no Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 Meanwhile King Charles had entered the valley of 
 Roncesvalles. High were the mountains on either side 
 of the way, and the valleys were gloomy and dark. But 
 when the army had passed through the valley, they saw 
 the fair land of Gascony, and as they saw it they thought 
 of their homes and their wives and daughters. There 
 was not one of them but wept for very tenderness of 
 heart. But of all that company there was none sadder 
 than the King himself, when he thought how he had 
 left his nephew Count Roland behind him in the passes 
 of Spain. 
 
 And now the Saracen King Marsilas began to gather 
 his army. He laid a strict command on all his nobles 
 and chiefs that they should bring with them to Saragossa 
 as many men as they could gather together. And when 
 they were come to the city, it being the third day from 
 the issuing of the King's command, they saluted the 
 great image of Mahomet, the false prophet, that stood 
 on the topmost tower. This done they went forth from 
 the city gates. They made all haste, marching across 
 the mountains and valleys of Spain till they came in 
 sight of the standard of France, where Roland and 
 Oliver and the Twelve Peers were ranged in battle 
 array. 
 
 The Saracen champions donned their coats of mail, 
 of double substance most of them, and they set upon 
 their heads helmets of Saragossa of well-tempered metal, 
 and they girded themselves with swords of Vienna. Fair 
 were their shields to view, their lances were from Valentia, 
 their standards were of white, blue, and red. Their 
 mules they left with the servants, and, mounting their 
 chargers, so moved forwards. Fair was the day and 
 bright the sun, as their armour flashed in the light and 
 
Roland itt 
 
 the drums were beaten so loudly that the Frenchmen 
 heard the sound. 
 
 Said Oliver to Roland, ''Comrade, methinks we shall 
 soon do battle with the Saracens." "God grant it," 
 answered Roland. "'Tis our duty to hold the place for 
 the King, and we will do it, come what may. As for 
 me, I will not set an ill example. " 
 
 Oliver climbed to the top of a hill, and saw from thence 
 the whole army of the heathen. He cried to Roland his 
 companion, "I see the flashing of arms. We men of 
 France shall have no small trouble therefrom. This is 
 the doing of Ganelon the traitor." 
 
 "Be silent," answered Roland, "till you shall know; 
 say no more about him." 
 
 Oliver looked again from the hilltop, and saw how 
 the Saracens came on. So many there were that he could 
 not count their battalions. He descended to the plain 
 with all speed, and came to the array of the French, and 
 said, "I have seen more heathen than man ever yet saw 
 together upon the earth. There are a hundred thousand 
 at the least. We shall have such a battle with them as 
 has never before been fought. My brethren of France, 
 quit you like men, be strong; stand firm that you be not 
 conquered." And all the army shouted with one voice, 
 " Cursed be he that shall fly. " 
 
 Then Oliver turned to Roland, and said, "Sound your 
 horn; my friend, Charles will hear it, and will return." 
 "I were a fool," answered Roland, "so to do. Not so; 
 but I will deal these heathen some mighty blows with 
 Durendal my sword. They have been ill-advised to 
 venture into these passes. I swear that they are con- 
 demned to death, one and all." 
 
 After a while, Oliver said again, "Friend Roland, 
 
112 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 sound your horn of ivory. Then will the King return^ 
 and bring his army with him, to our help. " But Roland 
 answered again, *'I will not do dishonour to my kinsmen, 
 or to the fair land of France. I have my sword; that 
 shall suffice for me. These evil-minded heathen are 
 gathered together against us to their own hurt. Surely 
 not one of them shall escape from death. " ''As for me, " 
 said Oliver, "I see not where the dishonour would be. 
 I saw the valleys and the mountains covered with the 
 great multitude of Saracens. Theirs is, in truth, a mighty 
 array, and we are but few," "So much the better," 
 answered Roland. "It makes my courage grow. 'Tis 
 better to die than to be disgraced. And remember, the 
 harder our blows the more the King will love us. " 
 
 Roland was brave, but Oliver was wise. " Consider, " 
 he said, "comrade. These enemies are over-near to us, 
 and the King over-far. Were he here, we should not 
 be in danger; but there are some here to-day who will 
 never fight in another battle." 
 
 Then Turpin the Archbishop struck spurs into his 
 horse, and rode to a hilltop. Then he turned to the men 
 of France, and spake: "Lords of France, King Charles 
 has left us here; our King he is, and it is our 
 duty to die for him. To-day our Christian Faith 
 is in peril: do ye fight for it. Fight ye must; be 
 sure of that, for there under your eyes are the Saracens. 
 Confess, therefore, your sins, and pray to God that He 
 have mercy upon you. And now for your soul's health 
 I will give you all absolution. If you die, you will be 
 God's martyrs, every one of you, and your places are 
 ready for you in His Paradise." 
 
 Thereupon the men of France dismounted, and knelt 
 upon the ground, and the Archbishop blessed them in 
 
Roland 113 
 
 God's name. ''But look," said he, " I set you a 
 penance — smite these pagans." Then the men of 
 France rose to their feet. They had received absolu- 
 tion, and were set free from all their sins, and the Arch- 
 bishop had blessed them in the name of God. After this 
 they mounted their swift steeds, and clad themselves in 
 armour, and made themselves ready for the battle. 
 
 Said Roland to Oliver, "Brother, you know that it is 
 Ganelon who has betrayed us. Good store he has had 
 of gold and silver as a reward; 'tis the King Marsilas 
 that has made merchandise of us, but verily it is with our 
 swords that he shall be paid." So saying, he rode on 
 to the pass, mounted on his good steed Veillantif. His 
 spear he held with the point to the sky; a white flag it 
 bore with fringes of gold which fell down to his hands. 
 A stalwart man was he, and his countenance was fair and 
 smiling. Behind him followed Oliver, his friend; and 
 the men of France pointed to him, saying, "See our 
 champion!" Pride was in his eye when he looked 
 towards the Saracens ; but to the men of France his regard 
 was all sweetness and humility. Full courteously he 
 spake to them: "Ride not so fast, my lords," he said; 
 "verily these heathen are come hither, seeking martyr- 
 dom. 'Tis a fair spoil that we shall gather from them 
 to-day. Never has King of France gained any so rich. " 
 And as he spake, the two hosts came together. 
 
 Said Oliver, "You did not deem it fit, my lord, to 
 iound your horn. Therefore you lack the help which 
 the King would have sent. Not his the blame, for he 
 knows nothing of what has chanced. But do you, lords 
 of France, charge as fiercely as you may, and yield not 
 one whit to the enemy. Think upon these two things 
 only — how to deal a straight blow and to take it. And 
 
114 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 let us not forget King Charles's cry of battle. " Then 
 all the men of France with one voice cried out, 
 "Mountjoy!" He that heard them so cry had never 
 doubted that they were men of valour. Proud was their 
 array as they rode on to battle, spurring their horses that 
 they might speed the more. And the Saracens, on their 
 part, came forward with a good heart. Thus did the 
 Frenchmen and the heathen meet in the shock of battle. 
 Full many of the heathen warriors fell that day. Not 
 one of the Twelve Peers of France but slew his man. 
 But of all none bare himself so valiantly as Roland. 
 Many a blow did he deal to the enemy with his mighty 
 spear, and when the spear was shivered in his hand, 
 fifteen warriors having fallen before it, then he seized 
 his good sword Durendal, and smote man after man 
 to the ground. Red w^as he with the blood of his 
 enemies, red was his hauberk, red his arms, red his 
 shoulders, aye, and the neck of his horse. Not one of 
 the Twelve lingered in the rear, or was slow to strike, 
 but Count Roland was the bravest of the brave. ''Well 
 done. Sons of France!" cried Turpin the Archbishop, 
 when he saw them lay on in such sort. 
 
 Next to Roland for valour and hardihood came 
 Oliver, his companion. Many a heathen warrior did 
 he slay, till at last his spear was shivered in his hand. 
 "What are you doing, comrade?" cried Roland, when 
 he was aware of the mishap. ''A man wants no staff in 
 such a battle as this. 'Tis the steel and nothing else 
 that he must have. Where is your sword Hautclere, 
 with its hilt of gold and its pommel of crystal?" "On 
 my word," said Oliver, *'I have not had time to draw 
 it; I was so busy with striking." But as he spake he 
 drew the good sword from its scabbard, and smote a 
 
Roland 115 
 
 heathen knight, Justin of the Iron Valley. A mighty 
 blow it was, cleaving the man in twain down to his saddle 
 — aye, and the saddle itself with its adorning of gold and 
 jewels, and the very backbone also of the steed whereon 
 he rode, so that horse and man fell dead together on the 
 plains. "Well done!" cried Roland; "you are a true 
 brother of mine. *Tis such strokes as this that make the 
 King love us. " 
 
 Nevertheless, for all the valour of Roland and his 
 fellows the battle went hard with the men of France. 
 Many lances were shivered, many flags torn, and many 
 gallant youths cut ofif in their prime. Never more 
 would they see mother and wife. It was an ill deed that 
 the traitor Ganelon wrought when he sold his fellows to 
 King Marsilas ! 
 
 And now there befell a new trouble. King Almaris, 
 with a great host of heathen, coming by an unknown way, 
 fell upon the rear of the host where there was another 
 pass. Fiercely did the noble Walter that kept the same 
 charge the newcomers, but they overpowered him and 
 his followers. He was wounded with four several lances, 
 and four times did he swoon, so that at the last he 
 was constrained to leave the field of battle, that he might 
 call the Count Roland to his aid. But small was the 
 aid which Roland could give him or any one. Valiantly 
 he held up the battle, and with him Oliver, and Turpin 
 the Archbishop, and others also; but the lines of the men 
 of France were broken, and their armour thrust through'," 
 and their spears shivered, and their flags trodden in 
 the dust. For all this they made such slaughter among 
 the heathen that King Almaris, who led the armies of 
 the enemy, scarcely could win back his way to his own 
 people, wounded in four places and sorely spent. A 
 
ii6 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 right good warrior was he; had he but been a Christian 
 but few had matched him in battle. 
 
 Count Roland saw how grievously his people had 
 suffered and spake thus to Oliver his comrade: ''Dear 
 comrade, you see how many brave men lie dead upon the 
 ground. Well may we mourn for fair France, widowed 
 as she is of so many valiant champions. But why is our 
 King not here? O Oliver, my brother, what shall we 
 do to send him tidings of our state?" "I know not,'^ 
 answered Oliver. "Only this I know — that death is to 
 be chosen rather than dishonour." 
 
 After a while Roland said again, "I shall blow my 
 horn ; King Charles will hear it, where he has encamped 
 beyond the passes, and he and his host will come back." 
 "That would be ill done," answered Oliver, "and shame 
 both you and your race. When I gave you this counsel 
 you would have none of it. Now I like it not. 'Tis not 
 for a brave man to sound the horn and cry for help now 
 that we are in such case." "The battle is too hard for 
 us," said Roland again, "and I shall sound my horn, 
 that the King may hear." And Oliver answered again, 
 "When I gave you this counsel, you scorned it. Now I 
 myself like it not. 'Tis true that had the King been here, 
 we had not suffered this loss. But the blame is not his. 
 *Tis your folly. Count Roland, that has done to death all 
 these men of France. But for that we should have con- 
 quered in this battle, and have taken and slain King 
 Marsilas. But now we can do nothing for France and 
 the King. We can but die. Woe is me for our country, 
 aye, and for our friendship, which will come to a grievous 
 end this day." 
 
 The Archbishop perceived that the two friends were 
 at variance, and spurred his horse till he came where 
 
Roland 117 
 
 they stood. "Listen to me/' he said, "Sir Roland and 
 Sir Oliver. I implore you not to fall out with each other 
 in this fashion. We, sons of France, that are in this 
 place, are of a truth condemned to death, neither will 
 the sounding of your horn save us, for the King is far 
 away, and cannot come in time. Nevertheless, I hold it 
 to be well that you should sound it. When the King and 
 his army shall come, they will find us dead — that I know 
 full well. But they will avenge us, so that our enemies 
 shall not go away rejoicing. And they will also recover 
 our bodies, and will carry them away for burial in 
 holy places, so that the dogs and wolves shall not devour 
 them." 
 
 "You say well," cried Roland, and he put his horn to 
 his lips, and gave so mighty a blast upon it, that the sound 
 was heard thirty leagues away. King Charles and his 
 men heard it, and the King said, "Our countrymen are 
 fighting with the enemy." But Ganelon answered, 
 "Sire, had any but you so spoken, I had said that he 
 spoke falsely." 
 
 Then Roland blew his horn a second time; with great 
 pain and anguish of body he blew it, and the red blood 
 gushed from his lips; but the sound was heard yet further 
 than at first. Again the King heard it, and all his nobles, 
 and all his men. "That," said he, "is Roland's horn; 
 he never had sounded it were he not in battle with the 
 enemy." But Ganelon answered again: "Believe me. 
 Sire, there is no battle. You are an old man, and you 
 have the fancies of a child. You know what a mighty 
 man of valour is this Roland. Think you that any one 
 would dare to attack him? No one, of a truth. Ride 
 on, Sire, why halt you here? The fair land of France is » 
 yet far away." 
 
ii8 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 Roland blew his horn a third time, and when the King 
 heard it he said, "He that blew that horn drew a deep 
 breath." And Duke Naymes cried out, "Roland is in 
 trouble; on my conscience he is fighting with the enemy. 
 Some one has betrayed him; 'tis he, I doubt not, that 
 would deceive you now. To arms, Sire! utter your war- 
 cry, and help your own house and your country. You 
 have heard the cry of the noble Roland." 
 
 Then King Charles bade all the trumpets sound, and 
 forthwith all the men of France armed themselves, with 
 helmets, and hauberks, and swords with pummels of 
 gold. Mighty were their shields, and their lances strong, 
 and the flags that they carried were white and red and 
 blue. And when they made an end of their arm- 
 ing they rode back with all haste. There was not 
 one of them but said to his comrade, "If we find 
 Roland yet alive, what mighty strokes will we strike for 
 him!" 
 
 But Ganelon the King handed over to the knaves of 
 his kitchen. "Take this traitor," said he, "who has sold 
 his country." Ill did Ganelon fare among them. They 
 pulled out his hair and his beard and smote him with 
 their staves; then they put a great chain, such as that 
 with which a bear is bound, about his neck, and made 
 him fast to a pack-horse. 
 
 This done, the King and his army hastened with all 
 speed to the help of Roland. In the van and the rear 
 sounded the trumpets as though they would answer 
 Roland's horn. Full of wrath was King Charles as he 
 rode; full of wrath were all the men of France. There 
 was not one among them but wept and sobbed; there 
 was not one but prayed, "Now, may God keep Roland 
 alive till we come to the battlefield, so that we may strike 
 
Roland 
 
 119 
 
 a blow for him." Alas! it was all in vain; they could 
 not come in time for all their speed. 
 
 Count Roland looked round on the mountain-sides 
 and on the plains. Alas ! how many noble sons of France 
 he saw lying dead upon them! "Dear friends," he said, 
 weeping as he spoke, ''may God have mercy on you and 
 receive you into His Paradise! More loyal followers 
 have I never seen. How is the fair land of France 
 widowed of her bravest, and I can give you no help. 
 Oliver, dear comrade, we must not part. If the enemy 
 slay me not here, surely I shall be slain by sorrow. Come 
 then, let us smite these heathen." 
 
 Thus did Roland again charge the enemy, his good 
 sword Durendal in his hand; as the stag flies before the 
 hounds, so did the heathen fly before Roland. ''By my 
 faith," cried the Archbishop when he saw him, "that is 
 a right good knight! Such courage, and such a steed, 
 and such arms I love well to see. If a man be not brave 
 and a stout fighter, he had better by far be a monk 
 in some cloister where he may pray all day long for 
 our sins." 
 
 Now the heathen, when they saw how few the French- 
 men were, took fresh courage. And the Caliph, spurring 
 his horse, rode against Oliver and smote him in the middle 
 of his back, making his spear pass right through him 
 "That is a shrewd blow," he cried; "I have avenged my 
 friends and countrymen upon you." 
 
 Then Oliver knew he was stricken to death, but he 
 would not fall unavenged. With his great sword Haut- 
 clere he smote the Caliph on his head and cleft it to the 
 teeth. "Curse on you, pagan. Neither your wife nor 
 any woman in the land of your birth shall boast that you 
 have taken a penny's worth from King Charles!" But 
 
I20 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 to Roland he cried, ''Come, comrade, help me; well I 
 know that we two shall part in great sorrow this day,'' 
 
 Roland came with all speed, and saw his friend, how 
 he lay all pale and fainting on the ground and how the 
 blood gushed in great streams from his wound. '^^I 
 know not what to do," he cried. "This is an ill chance 
 that has befallen you. Truly France is bereaved of her 
 bravest son." So saying he went near to swoon in the 
 saddle as he sat. Then there befell a strange thing. 
 Oliver had lost so much of his blood that he could not any 
 more see clearly or know who it was that was near him. 
 So he raised up his arm and smote with all his strength 
 that yet remained to him on the helmet of Roland his 
 friend. The helmet he cleft in twain to the visor; but 
 by good fortune it wounded not the head. Roland 
 looked at him and said in a gentle voice, "Did you this 
 of set purpose ? I am Roland your friend, and have not 
 harmed you." "Ah!" said Oliver, "I hear you speak, 
 but I cannot see you. Pardon me that I struck you; 
 it was not done of set purpose." "It harmed me not," 
 answered Roland; "with all my heart and before God 
 I forgive you." And this was the way these two friends 
 parted at the last. 
 
 And now Oliver felt the pains of death come over him. 
 He could no longer see nor hear. Therefore he turned 
 his thoughts to making his peace with God, and clasping 
 his hands lifted them to heaven and made his confession. 
 "O Lord," he said, "take me into Paradise. And do 
 Thou bless King Charles and the sweet land of France." 
 And when he had said thus he died. And Roland looked 
 at him as he lay. There was not upon earth a more sor- 
 rowful man than he. "Dear comrade," he said, "this 
 is indeed an evil day. Many a year have we two been 
 
Roland 
 
 121 
 
 together. Never have I done wrong to you; never have 
 you done wrong to me. How shall I bear to live with- 
 out you.^" And he swooned where he sat on his horse. 
 But the stirrup held him up that he did not fall to the 
 ground. 
 
 When Roland came to himself he looked about him 
 and saw how great was the calamity that had befallen 
 his army. For now there were left alive to him two only, 
 Turpin the Archbishop and Walter of Hum. Walter 
 had but that moment come down from the hills where 
 he had been fighting so fiercely with the heathen that all 
 his men were dead; now he cried to Roland for help. 
 ''Noble Count, where are you? I am Walter of Hum, 
 and am not unworthy to be your friend. Help me 
 therefore. For see how my spear is broken and my 
 shield cleft in twain, my hauberk is in pieces, and my 
 body sorely wounded. I am about to die; but I have 
 sold my life at a great price." When Roland heard 
 him cry he set spurs to his horse and galloped to him. 
 "Walter," said he, "you are a brave warrior and a 
 trustworthy. Tell me now where are the thousand 
 valiant men whom you took from my army. They were 
 right good soldiers, and I am in sore need of them." 
 
 "They are dead," answered Walter; "you will see 
 them no more. A sore battle we had with the Saracens 
 yonder on the hills; they had the men of Canaan there 
 and the men of Armenia and the Giants; there were no 
 better men in their army than these. We dealt with 
 them so that they will not boast themselves of this day's 
 work. But it cost us dear; all the men of France lie 
 dead on the plain, and I am wounded to the death. And 
 now, Roland, blame me not that I fled; for you are 
 my lord, and all my trust is in. you." 
 
122 Heroes Every Child Should Know ^ 
 
 **I blame you not," said Roland, '' only as long as you 
 live help me against the heathen." And as he spake he 
 took his cloak and rent it into strips and bound up Wal- 
 ter's wounds therewith. This done he and Walter and 
 the Archbishop set fiercely on the enemy. Five-and- 
 twenty did Roland slay, and Walter slew six, and the 
 Archbishop five. Three valiant men of war they were; 
 fast and firm they stood one by the other; hundreds 
 there were of the heathen, but they dared not come near 
 to these three valiant champions of France. They stood 
 far off, and cast at the three spears and darts and javelins 
 and weapons of every kind. Walter of Hum was slain 
 forthwith; and the Archbishop's armour was broken, 
 and he wounded, and his horse slain under him. Never- 
 theless he lifted himself from the ground, still keeping 
 a good heart in his breast. ''They have not overcome 
 me yet"; said he, ''as long as a good soldier lives, he does 
 not yield." 
 
 Roland took his horn once more and sounded it, for 
 he would know whether King Charles were coming. 
 Ah me! it was a feeble blast that he blew. But the King 
 heard it, and he halted and listened. "My lords!" said 
 he, "things go ill for us, I doubt not. To-day we shall 
 lose, I fear me much, my brave nephew Roland. I know 
 by the sound of his horn that he has but a short time to 
 live. Put your horses to their full speed, if you would 
 come in time to help him, and let a blast be sounded by 
 every trumpet that there is in the army." So all the 
 trumpets in the host sounded a blast ; all the valleys and 
 hills re-echoed wuth the sound; sore discouraged were 
 the heathen when they heard it. "King Charles has 
 come again," they cried; "we are all as dead men. 
 When he comes he shall not find Roland alive." Then 
 
Roland 123 
 
 four hundred of them, the strongest and most valiant 
 knights that were in the army of the heathen, gathered 
 themselves into one company, and made a yet fiercer 
 assault on Roland. 
 
 Roland saw them coming, and waited for them without 
 fear. So long as he lived he would not yield himself to 
 the enemy or give place to them. "Better death than 
 flight," said he, as he mounted his good steed Veillantif, 
 and rode towards the enemy. And by his side went 
 Turpin the Archbishop on foot. Then said Roland to 
 Turpin, ''I am on horseback and you are on foot. But 
 let us keep together ; never will I leave you ; we two will 
 stand against these heathen dogs. They have not, I 
 warrant, among them such a sword as Durendal." 
 "Good," answered the Archbishop. "Shame to the 
 man who does not smite his hardest. And though this 
 be our last battle, I know well that King Charles will take 
 ample vengeance for us." 
 
 When the heathen saw these two stand together they 
 fell back in fear and hurled at them spears and darts and 
 javelins without number. Roland's shield they broke 
 and his hauberk; but him they hurt not; nevertheless 
 they did him a grievous injury, for they killed his good 
 steed Veillantif. Thirty wounds did Veillantif receive, 
 and he fell dead under his master. At last the Arch- 
 bishop was stricken and Roland stood alone, for the 
 heathen had fled from his presence. 
 
 When Roland saw that the Archbishop was dead, his 
 heart was sorely troubled in him. Never did he feel a 
 greater sorrow for comrade slain, save Oliver only. 
 "Charles of France," he said, "come as quickly as you 
 may, many a gallant knight have you lost in Roncesvalles. 
 But King Marsilas, on his part, has lost his army. For 
 
124 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 one that has fallen on this side there has fallen full forty 
 on that." So saying he turned to the Archbishop; he 
 crossed the dead man's hands upon his breast and said, 
 "I commit thee to the Father's mercy. Never has man 
 served his God with a better will, never since the begin- 
 ning of the world has there lived a sturdier champion of 
 the faith. May God be good to you and give you all 
 good things!" 
 
 Now Roland felt that his own death was near at hand. 
 In one hand he took his horn, and in the other his good 
 sword Durendal, and made his way the distance of a 
 furlong or so till he came to a plain, and in the midst of 
 the plain a little hill. On the top of the hill in the shade 
 of two fair trees were four marble steps. There Roland 
 fell in a swoon upon the grass. There a certain Saracen 
 spied him. The fellow had feigned death, and had laid 
 himself down among the slain, having covered his body 
 and his face with blood. When he saw Roland, he raised 
 himself from where he was lying among the slain and ran 
 to the place, and, being full of pride and fury, seized the 
 Count in his arms, crying aloud, ''He is conquered, he is 
 conquered, he is conquered, the famous nephew of King 
 Charles! See, here is his sword; 'tis a noble spoil that I 
 shall carry back with me to Arabia." Thereupon he 
 took the sword in one hand, with the other he laid hold of 
 Roland's beard. But as the man laid hold, Roland came 
 to himself, and knew that some one was taking his sword 
 from him. He opened his eyes but not a word did he 
 speak save this only, ''Fellow, you are none of ours," and 
 he smote him a mighty blow upon his helmet. The steel 
 he brake through and the head beneath, and laid the man 
 dead at his feet. "Coward," he said, "what made 
 you so bold that you dared lay hands on Roland? 
 
Roland 125 
 
 Whosoever knows him will think you a fool for your 
 deed." 
 
 And now Roland knew that death was near at hand. 
 He raised himself and gathered all his strength together 
 — ah me! how pale his face was! — and took in his hand 
 his good sword Durendal. Before him was a great rock and 
 on this in his rage and pain he smote ten mighty blows. 
 Loud rang the steel upon the stone; but it neither brake 
 nor splintered. ''Help me," he cried, ''O Mary, our 
 Lady. O my good sword, my Durendal, what an evil lot 
 is mine! In the day when I must part with you, my 
 power over you is lost. Many a battle I have won with 
 your help; and many a kingdom have I conquered, that 
 my Lord Charles possesses this day. Never has any one 
 possessed you that would fly before another. So 
 long as I live, you shall not be taken from me, so long 
 have you been in the hands of a loyal knight." 
 
 Then he smote a second time with the sword, this time 
 upon the marble steps. Loud rang the steel, but neither 
 brake nor splintered. Then Roland began to bemoan 
 himself, *'0 my good Durendal," he said, "how bright 
 and clear thou art, shining as shines the sun! Well I 
 mind me of the day when a voice that seemed to come from 
 heaven bade King Charles give thee to a valiant captain ; 
 and forthwith the good King girded it on my side. Many 
 a land have I conquered with thee for him, and now how 
 great is my grief! Can I die and leave thee to be handled 
 by some heathen?" And the third time he smote a rock 
 with it. Loud rang the steel, but it brake not, bounding 
 back as though it would rise to the sky. And when 
 Count Roland saw that he could not break the sword, he 
 spake again but with more content in his heart. ''O 
 Durendal," he said, "a fair sword art thou, and holy as 
 
126 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 fair. There are holy relics in thy hilt, relics of St. Peter 
 and St. Denis and St. Basil. These heathen shall never 
 possess thee; nor shalt thou be held but by a Christian 
 hand." 
 
 And now Roland knew that death was very near to 
 him. He laid himself down with his head upon the grass 
 putting under him his horn and his sword, with his face 
 turned towards the heathen foe. Ask you why he did so ? 
 To shew, forsooth, to Charlemagne and the men of 
 France that he died in the midst of victory. This done 
 he made a loud confession of his sins, stretching his hand 
 to heaven. "Forgive me. Lord," he cried, "my sins, little 
 and great, all that I have committed since the day of my 
 birth to this hour in which I am stricken to death." So 
 he prayed; and, as he lay, he thought of many things, 
 of the countries which he had conquered, and of his dear 
 Fatherland France, and of his kinsfolk, and of the good 
 King Charles. Nor, as he thought, could he keep him- 
 self from sighs and tears; yet one thing he remembered 
 beyond all others — to pray for forgiveness of his sins. 
 "O Lord," he said, "Who art the God of truth, and didst 
 save Daniel Thy prophet from the lions, do Thou save 
 my soul and defend it against all perils!" So speaking 
 he raised his right hand, with the gauntlet yet upon it, to 
 the sky, and his head fell back upon his arm and the 
 angels carried him to heaven. So died the great Count 
 '^ eland. 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 KING ALFRED 
 
 WE NOW come to the great King Alfred, the best 
 and greatest of all English Kings. We know- 
 quite enough of his history to be able to say that he 
 really deserves to be so called, though I must warn 
 you that, just because he left so great a name behind him, 
 people have been fond of attributing to him things which 
 really belonged to others. Thus you may sometimes see 
 nearly all English laws and customs attributed to Alfred, 
 as if he had invented them all for himself. You will 
 sometimes hear that Alfred founded Trial by Jury, 
 divided England into Counties, and did all kinds of other 
 things. Now the real truth is that the roots and be- 
 ginnings of most of these things are very much older than 
 the time of Alfred, while the particular forms in which 
 we have them now are very much later. But people have 
 a way of fancying that everything must have been in- 
 vented by some particular man, and as Alfred was more 
 famous than anybody else, they hit upon Alfred as the 
 most likely person to have invented them. 
 
 But, putting aside fables, there is quite enough to show 
 that there have been very few Kings, and very few men of 
 any sort, so great and good as King Alfred. Perhaps the 
 only equally good King we read of is Saint Louis of 
 France; and though he was quite as good, we cannot 
 set him down as being so great and wise as Alfred. Cer- 
 tainly no King ever gave himself up more thoroughly 
 127 
 
128 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 than Alfred did fully to do the duties of his office. His 
 whole life seems to have been spent in doing all that he 
 could for the good of his people in every way. And it is 
 wonderful in how many ways his powers showed them- 
 selves. That he was a brave warrior is in itself no par- 
 ticular praise in an age when almost every man was the 
 same. But it is a great thing for a prince so large a part 
 of whose time was spent in fighting to be able to say 
 that all his wars were waged to set free his country from 
 the most cruel enemies. 
 
 And we may admire too the wonderful way in which 
 he kept his mind always straight and firm, never either 
 giving way to bad luck or being puffed up by good luck. 
 We read of nothing like pride or cruelty or injustice of any 
 kind either towards his own people or towards his en- 
 emies. And if he was a brave warrior, he was many 
 other things besides. He was a lawgiver; at least he 
 collected and arranged the laws, and caused them to be 
 most carefully administered. He was a scholar, and 
 wrote and translated many books for the good of his 
 people. He encouraged trade and enterprise of all kinds, 
 and sent men to visit distant parts of the world, and bring 
 home accounts of what they saw. And he was a thor- 
 oughly good man and a devout Christian in all relations 
 of life. In short, one hardly knows any other character 
 in all history so perfect ; there is so much that is good in 
 so many different ways ; and though no doubt Alfred had 
 his faults like other people, yet he clearly had none, at 
 any rate in the greater part of his life, which took away at 
 all seriously from his general goodness. One wonders 
 that such a man was never canonized as a Saint; most 
 certainly many people have received that name who did 
 not deserve it nearly so well as he did. 
 
King Alfred 129 
 
 Alfred, or, as his name should really be spelled, ^^Ifred,* 
 was the youngest son of King ^Ethelwulf, and was born 
 at Wantage in Berkshire in 849. His mother was Osburh 
 daughter of Oslac the King's cup-bearer, who came of 
 the royal house of the Jutes in Wight. Up to the age of 
 twelve years Alfred was fond of hunting and other sports 
 but he had not been taught any sort of learning, not so 
 much as to read his own tongue. But he loved the old 
 English songs; and one day his mother had a beautiful 
 book of songs with rich pictures and fine painted initial 
 letters, such as you may often see in ancient books. 
 And she said to her children, "I will give this beautiful 
 book to the one of you who shall first be able to read 
 it." And Alfred said, ''Mother, will you really give 
 me the book when I have learned to read it?" And 
 Osburh said, "Yes, my son." So Alfred went and 
 found a master, and soon learned to read. Then he 
 came to his mother, and read the songs in the beautiful 
 book and took the book for his own. 
 
 In 868, when he was in his twentieth year, while his 
 brother i^thelred was King, Alfred married. His wife's 
 name was Ealhswyth ; she was the daughter of ^thelred 
 called the Mickle or Big, Alderman of the Gainas in 
 Lincolnshire, and her mother Eadburh was of the royal 
 house of the Mercians. It is said that on the very day 
 of his marriage he was smitten with a strange disease, 
 which for twenty years never quite left him, and fits of 
 which might come on at any time. If this be true, it 
 makes all the great things that he did even more wonder- 
 
 al. 
 
 Meanwhile the great Danish invasion had begun in 
 
 * That is, the rede or counsel of the eives. A great many Old-English 
 names are called after the elves or fairies. 
 
130 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 the northern parts of England. There are many stories 
 told in the old Northern Songs as to the cause of it. 
 Some tell how Ragnar Lodbrog, a great hero of these 
 Northern tales, was seized by ^lla, King of the Northum- 
 brians, and was thrown into a dungeon full of serpents, 
 and how, while he was dying of the bites of the serpents, 
 he sang a wonderful death-song, telling of all his old 
 fights, and calling on his sons to come and avenge him. 
 The year 871 the Danes for the first time entered 
 Wessex. Nine great battles, besides smaller skirmishes, 
 were fought this year, in some of which the English 
 won and in others the Danes. One famous battle was 
 at Ashdown, in Berkshire. We are told that the heathen 
 men were in two divisions ; one was commanded by their 
 two Kings Bagsecg and Halfdene, and the other by five 
 Earls, Sidroc the Old, Sidroc the Young, Osbeorn, 
 Fraena, and Harold. And King ^thelred was set against 
 the Kings and Alfred the ^Etheling against the Earls, 
 And the heathen men came on against them. But 
 King i^thelred heard mass in his tent. And men said, 
 ''Come forth, O King, to the fight, for the heathen men 
 press hard upon us." And King iEthelred said, ''I 
 will serve God first and man after, so I will not come 
 forth till all the words of the mass be ended. " So King 
 iEthelred abode praying, and the heathen men fought 
 against Alfred the ^theling. And Alfred said, "I cannot 
 abide till the King my brother comes forth ; I must either 
 flee, or fight alone with the heathen men. " So Alfred 
 the ^theling and his men fought against the five Earls. 
 Now the heathen men stood on the higher ground and 
 the Christians on the lower. Yet did Alfred go forth 
 trusting in God, and he made his men hold close together 
 with their shields, and they went forth like a wild boar 
 
King Alfred 131 
 
 against the hounds. And they fought against the heathen 
 men and smote them, and slew the five Earls, Sidroc the 
 Old, Sidroc the Young, Osbeorn, Fraena, and Harold. 
 Then the mass was over, and King ^thelred came forth 
 and fought against the two Kings, and slew Bagsecg 
 the King with his own hand and smote the heathen men 
 with a great slaughter and chased them even unto 
 Reading. 
 
 In 871, on ^thelred's death, Alfred became King of 
 the West-Saxons and Over-lord of all England, as his 
 father had appointed so long before with the consent of 
 his Wise Men. 
 
 The Danes did not come again into Wessex till 876. 
 But though the West-Saxons had no fighting by land 
 during these years, things were not quite quiet, for in 
 875 King Alfred had a fight at sea against some of the 
 Danish pirates. This sea-fight is worth remembering 
 as being, I suppose, the first victory won by the English- 
 men at sea, where Englishmen have since won so many 
 victories. King Alfred then fought against seven Danish 
 ships, of which he took one and put the rest to flight. 
 It is somewhat strange that we do not hear more than 
 we do of warfare by sea in these times, especially when 
 we remember how in earlier times the Angles and 
 Saxons had roved about in their ships, very much as 
 the Danes and other Northmen were doing now. It 
 would seem that the English, after they settled in Britain, 
 almost left off being a seafaring people. We find Alfred 
 and other Kings doing what they could to keep up a fleet 
 and to stir up a naval spirit among their people. And 
 in some degree they did so ; stiU we do not find the English, 
 for a long while after this time, doing nearly so much by 
 sea as they did by land. This was a pity; for ships might 
 
132 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 then, as in later times, have been wooden walls. It is 
 much better to meet an enemy at sea, and to keep him 
 from landing in your country, than to let him land, even 
 if you can beat him when he has landed. 
 
 But in 876 the Danes came again into Wessex; and 
 we thus come to the part of Alfred's life which is at once 
 the saddest and the brightest. It is the time when his 
 luck was lowest and when his spirit was highest. The 
 army under Guthorm or Guthrum, the Danish King 
 of East-Anglia, came suddenly to Wareham in Dorset- 
 shire. The Chronicle says that they *'bestole" — that is, 
 came secretly or escaped^from the West-Saxon army, 
 which seems to have been waiting for them. This time 
 Alfred made peace with the Danes, and they gave him 
 some of their chief men for hostages, and they swore to 
 go out of the land. They swore this on the holy bracelet, 
 which was the most solemn oath in use among the heathen 
 Northmen, and on which they had never before sworn 
 at any of the times when they had made peace with the 
 English. But they did not keep their oath any better 
 for taking it in this more solemn way. The part of the 
 host which had horses ''bestole away." King Alfred 
 rode after the Danish horse as far as Exeter, but he did 
 not overtake them till they had got there, and were safe 
 in the stronghold. Then they made peace, swearing 
 oaths, and giving as many hostages as the King asked for. 
 
 And now we come to the terrible year 878, the greatest 
 and saddest and most glorious in all Alfred's life. In the 
 very beginning of the year, just after Twelfth-night, the 
 Danish host again came suddenly — "bestole" as the 
 Chronicle says — to Chippenham. Then "they rode 
 through the West-Saxons' land, and there sat down, 
 and mickle of the folk over the sea they drove, and of 
 
King Alfred 133 
 
 the others the most deal they rode over ; all but the King 
 Alfred ; he with a little band hardly fared [went] after the 
 woods and on the moor-fastnesses." This time of 
 utter distress lasted only a very little while, for in a few 
 months Alfred was again at the head of an army and able 
 to fight against the Danes. 
 
 It was during this trouble that Alfred stayed in the 
 hut of a neatherd or swineherd of his, who knew who 
 he was, though his wife did not know him. One day 
 the woman set some cakes to bake, and bade the King, 
 who was sitting by the fire mending his bow and arrows, 
 to tend them. Alfred thought more of his bow and arrows 
 than he did of the cakes, and let them burn. Then the 
 woman ran in and cried out, " There, don't you see the 
 cakes on fire? Then wherefore turn them not? You 
 are glad enough to eat them when they are piping hot." 
 
 We are told that this swineherd or neatherd afterwards 
 became Bishop of Winchester. They say that his name 
 was Denewulf, and that the King saw that, though he 
 was in so lowly a rank, he was naturally a very wise man. 
 So he had him taught, and at last gave him the Bishop- 
 rick. 
 
 I do not think that I can do better than tell you the 
 next happening to Alfred, as it is in the Chronicle, only 
 changing those words which you might not understand. 
 
 " And that ilk [same] winter was Iwer's and Healf dene's 
 brother among the West-Saxons in Devonshire; and 
 him there men slew and eight hundred men with him 
 and forty men of his host. And there was the banner 
 taken which they the Raven hight [call]. And after 
 this Easter wrought King Alfred with his little band a 
 work [fortress] at Athelney, and out of that work was he 
 striving with the [Danish] host, and the army sold [gave] 
 
134 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 him hostages and mickle oaths, and eke they promised 
 him that their King should receive baptism. And 
 this they fulfilled. And three weeks after came 
 King Guthrum with thirty of the men that in the 
 host were worthiest, at Aller, that is near Athelney. 
 And him the King received at his baptism,* and his 
 chrisom-loosingf was at Wedmore. And he was 
 twelve nights with the King, and he honoured him 
 and his feres [companions] with mickle fee [money]." 
 
 Thus you see how soon King Alfred's good luck came 
 back to him again. The Raven was a famous banner 
 of the Danes, said to have been worked by the daughters 
 of Ragnar Lodbrog. It was thought to have wonderful 
 powers, so that they could tell by the way in which the 
 raven held his wings whether they would win or not in 
 battle. 
 
 You see the time of utter distress lasted only from 
 soon after Twelfth-night to Easter, and even during 
 that time the taking of the Raven must have cheered the 
 English a good deal. After Easter things began to mend, 
 when Alfred built his fort at Athelney and began to 
 skirmish with the Danes, and seven weeks later came 
 the great victory at Ethandun, which set Wessex free. 
 Some say that the white horse which is cut in the 
 side of the chalk hills near Edington was cut then, that 
 men might remember the great battle of Ethandun. 
 But it has been altered in modern times to make it look 
 more like a real horse. 
 
 All this time Alfred seems to have kept his headquar- 
 ters at Athelney. Thence they went to Wedmore. 
 
 * That IS, was his godfather. 
 
 t That IS, he laid aside the chrisom or white garment which a newly 
 baptisid person wore. 
 
King Alfred 135 
 
 There the Wise Men came together, and Alfred and Gu- 
 thorm (or, to give him the name by which he was baptised, 
 iEthelstan) made a treaty. This treaty was very much 
 better kept than any treaty with the Danes had 
 ever been kept before. The Danes got much the 
 larger part of England; still Alfred contrived to keep 
 London. Some accounts say that only those of the Danes 
 stayed in England who chose to become Christians, and 
 that the rest went away into Gaul under a famous leader 
 of theirs named Hasting. Anyhow, in 880 they went 
 quite away into what was now their own land of East- 
 Anglia, and divided it among themselves. Thus Alfred 
 had quite freed his own Kingdom from the Danes, though 
 he was obliged to leave so much of the island in their 
 hands. And even through all these misfortunes, the 
 Kingdom of Wessex did in some sort become greater. 
 Remember that in 880, when Alfred had done so many 
 great things, he was still only thirty-one years old. 
 
 We can see how much people always remembered and 
 thought of Alfred, by there being many more stories told 
 of him than of almost any other of the old Kings. One 
 story is that Alfred, wishing to know what the Danes were 
 about and how strong they were, set out one day from 
 Athelney in the disguise of a minstrel or juggler, and went 
 into the Danish camp, and stayed there several days, 
 amusing the Danes with his playing, till he had seen all 
 that he wanted, and then went back without any one 
 finding him out. This is what you may call a soldier's 
 story, while some of the others are rather what monks and 
 clergymen would like to tell. Thus there is a tale which 
 is told in a great many different ways, but of which the 
 following is the oldest shape. 
 
 "Now King Alfred was driven from his Kingdom by 
 
136 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 the Danes, and he lay hid for three years in the isle of 
 Glastonbury. And it came to pass on a day that all 
 his folk were gone out to fish, save only Alfred himself 
 and his wife and one servant whom he loved. And 
 there came a pilgrim to the King, and begged for food. 
 And the King said to his servant, 'What food have we 
 in the house ? ' And his servant answered, * My Lord, 
 we have in the house but one loaf and a little wine.' 
 Then the King gave thanks to God, and said, * Give half 
 of the loaf and half of the wine to this poor pilgrim. ' So 
 the servant did as his lord commanded him, and gave to 
 the pilgrim half of the loaf and half of the wine, and the 
 pilgrim gave great thanks to the King. And when the 
 servant returned, he found the loaf whole, and the wine 
 as much as there had been aforetime. And he greatly 
 wondered, and he wondered also how the pilgrim had 
 come into the isle, for that no man could come there 
 save by water, and the pilgrim had no boat. And the 
 King greatly wondered also. And at the ninth hour 
 came back the folk who had gone to fish. And they had 
 three boats full of fish, and they said, Xo, we have caught 
 more fish this day than in all the three years that we have 
 tarried in this island. ' And the King was glad, and he 
 and his folk were merry; yet he pondered much upon that 
 which had come to pass. And when night came, the King 
 went to his bed with Ealhswyth his wife. And the Lady 
 slept, but the King lay awake and thought of all that had 
 come to pass by day. And presently he saw a great light, 
 like the brightness of the sun, and he saw an old man 
 with black hair, clothed in priest's garments, and with 
 a mitre on his head, and holding in his right hand a book 
 of the Gospels adorned with gold and gems. And the 
 old man blessed the King, and the King said unto him, 
 
King Alfred 137 
 
 'Who art thou?' And he answered, 'Alfred, my son, 
 rejoice; for I am he to whom thou didst this day give 
 thine aims, and I am called Cuthberht the soldier of 
 Christ. Now be strong and very courageous, and be of 
 joyful heart, and hearken diligently to the things which 
 I say unto thee; for henceforth I will be thy shield and 
 thy friend, and I will watch o\er thee and over thy sons 
 after thee. And now I will tell thee what thou must do. 
 Rise up early in the morning, and blow thine horn thrice, 
 that thy enemies may hear it and fear, and by the ninth 
 hour thou shalt have around thee hve hundred men 
 harnassed for the battle. And this shall be a sign unto 
 thee that thou mayest believe. And after seven days 
 thou shalt have by God's gift and my help all the folk of 
 this land gathered unto thee upon the mount that is 
 called Assandun. And thus shalt thou hght against 
 thine enemies, and doubt not that thou shalt overcome 
 them. Be thou therefore glad of heart, and be strong 
 and very courageous, and fear not, for God hath given 
 thine enemies into thine hand. And He hath given thee 
 also all this land and the Kingdom of thy fathers, to thee 
 and to thy sons and to thy sons' sons after thee. Be thou 
 faithful to me and to my folk, because that unto thee is 
 given all the land of Albion. Be thou righteous, because 
 thou art chosen to be the King of all Britain. So may God 
 be merciful unto thee, and I will be thy friend, and none 
 of thine enemies shall ever be able to overcome thee. ' 
 Then was King Alfred glad at heart, and he was strong and 
 and very courageous, for that he knew that he would 
 overcome his enemies by the help of God and Saint 
 Cuthberht his patron. So in the morning he arose, and 
 sailed to the land, and blew his horn three times, and 
 when his friends heard it they were glad, and when his 
 
138 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 enemies heard it they feared. And by the ninth hour, 
 according to the word of the Lord, there were gathered 
 unto him five hundred men of the bravest and dearest 
 of his friends. And he spake unto them and told them 
 all that God had said unto him by the mouth of his servant 
 Cuthberht, and he told them that, by the gift of God and 
 by the help of Saint Cuthberht, they would overcome their 
 enemies and win back their own land. And he bade them 
 as Saint Cuthberht had taught him, to fear God alway 
 and to be alway righteous toward all men. And he bade 
 his son Edward who was by him to be faithful to God 
 and Saint Cuthberht, and so he should alway have the 
 victory over his enemies. So they went forth to battle 
 and smote their enemies and overcame them, and King 
 Alfred took the Kingdom of all Britain, and he ruled 
 well and wisely over the just and the unjust for the rest 
 of his days." 
 
 Now is there any truth in all this story? I think 
 there is thus much, that Alfred, for some reason or 
 other, thought he was under the special protection of 
 Saint Cuthberht. For several years after 880 there was 
 peace in the land, and for a good many more years still 
 there was much less fighting than there had been be- 
 fore. It was no doubt at this time that Alfred 
 was able to do all those things for the good 
 of his people of which we hear so much. He 
 had now more time than either before or after for 
 making his laws, wTiting his books, founding his monas- 
 teries, and doing all that he did. You may wonder how 
 he found time to do so much ; but it was by the only way 
 by which anybody can do anything, namely, by never 
 wasting his time, and by having fixed times of the day 
 for everything. Alfred did not, like most other writers 
 
King Alfred 139 
 
 of that time, write in Latin, so that hardly anybody but 
 the clergy could read or understand what he wrote. He 
 loved our own tongue, and was especially fond of the 
 Old-English songs, and all that he wrote he wrote in 
 English that all his people might understand. His 
 works were chiefly translations from Latin books; what 
 we should have valued most of all, his note-book or hand- 
 book, containing his remarks on various matters, is lost. 
 He translated into English the History of Baeda, the 
 History of Orosius, some of the works of Pope Gregory 
 the Great, and the Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius. 
 Perhaps you will ask why he did not rather translate 
 some of the great and famous Greek and Latin writers 
 of earlier times. Now we may be sure that King Alfred 
 did not understand Greek at all ; very few people in those 
 days in the West of Europe knew any Greek, except 
 those who needed to use the language for dealing with 
 the men in the Eastern Empire who still spoke it. In- 
 deed Alfred complains that, when he came to the Crown, 
 very few people, even among the clergy, understood even 
 Latin at all well. And as for Latin books, no doubt 
 Alfred thought that the writings of Christians would be 
 more edifying to his people than those of the old heathens. 
 He chose the History of Orosius, as a general history of 
 the world, and that of Baeda, as a particular history of 
 England. Boethius was a Roman Consul in the begin- 
 ning of the sixth century, who was put to death by the 
 great Theodoric, King of the East-Goths, who then ruled 
 over Italy. While he was in prison he wrote the book 
 which King Alfred translated. He seems not to have 
 been a Christian; at least there is not a single Christian 
 expression in his book. But people fancied that he was 
 not only a Christian, but a saint and a martyr, most likely 
 
I40 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 because Theodoric, who put him to death, was not an 
 orthodox Christian, but an Arian. Alfred, in translating 
 his books, did not always care to translate them quite 
 exactly, but he often altered and put in things of his own, 
 if he thought he could thus make them more improving. 
 So in translating Boethius, he altered a good deal, to 
 make the wise heathen speak like a Christian. So in 
 translating Orosius, where Orosius gives an account of 
 the world, Alfred greatly enlarged the account of all the 
 northern part of Europe, of which Alfred naturally knew 
 much more than Orosius did. 
 
 Alfred was also very careful in the government of his 
 Kingdom, especially in seeing that justice was properly 
 administered. So men said of him in their songs, much 
 as they had long before said of King Edwin in Northum- 
 berland, that he hung up golden bracelets by the road- 
 side, and that no man dared to steal them. In his collec- 
 tion of laws, he chiefly put in order the laws of the older 
 Kings, not adding many of his own, because he said that 
 he did not know how those who came after him might 
 like them. 
 
 King Alfred was very attentive to religious matters, 
 and gave great alms to the poor and gifts to churches. 
 He also founded two monasteries; one was for nuns, at 
 Shaftesbury in Dorsetshire, of which he made his own 
 daughter, ^Ethelgifu, abbess. The other was for monks 
 at Athelney; you can easily see why he should build it 
 there. He also sent several embassies to Rome, where 
 he got Pope Marinus to grant certain privileges to the 
 English School at Rome; the Pope also sent him what 
 was thought to be a piece of the wood of the True Cross, 
 that on which our Lord Jesus Christ died. He also sent 
 an embassy to Jerusalem, and had letters from Abel the 
 
King Alfred 141 
 
 Patriarch there. And what seems stranger than all, he 
 sent an embassy all the way to India, with alms for the 
 Christians there, called the Christians of Saint Thomas 
 and Saint Bartholomew. 
 
 Lastly, there seems some reason to think that the 
 Chronicle began to be put together in its preseflt shape 
 in Alfred's time, and that it was regularly gone on with 
 afterward, so that from the time of Alfred onward we 
 have a history which was regularly written down as 
 things happened. 
 
 All these things happened mainly in the middle years 
 of the reign of Alfred, when there was so much less fight- 
 ing than there was before and after, and when some 
 years seem to have been quite peaceable. Guthorm- 
 yEthelstan and his Danes in East-Anglia were for 
 some years true to the treaty of Wedmore, and the other 
 Danes seem just now to have been busy in invading Gaul 
 and other parts of the continent rather than England. 
 Also King Alfred had now got a fleet, so that he often met 
 them at sea and kept them from landing. This he did 
 in 882, and we do not find that any Danes landed again 
 in England till 885. In that year part of the army which 
 had been plundering along the coast of Flanders and 
 Holland came over to England, landed in Kent, and 
 besieged Rochester. But the citizens withstood them 
 bravely, and Alfred gathered an army and drove the 
 Danes to their ships. They seem then to have gone to 
 Essex and to have plundered there with their ships, 
 getting help from the Danes who were settled in 
 East-Anglia, or at least from such of them as still were 
 heathens. Alfred's fleet however quite overcame them 
 and took away their treasure, but his fleet was again 
 attacked and defeated by the East- Anglian Danes. It 
 
142 Heroes Every Child Should Kfiow 
 
 would seem that in some part of this war Guthorm- 
 ^thelstan was helped by Hrolf, otherwise called Rollo, 
 the great Northern chief. 
 
 The Danish wars began again in 893. For years 
 now there was a great deal of fighting. Two large 
 bodies of Danes, one of them under the famous chief 
 Hasting, landed in Kent in 893 and fixed themselves in 
 fortresses which they built. And the Danes who had 
 settled in Northumberland and East-Anglia helped them, 
 though they had all sworn oaths to King Alfred, and 
 those in East-Anglia had also given hostages. There 
 was fighting all over the south of England throughout 
 894, and the King had to go constantly backward and 
 forward to keep up with the Danes. One time Alfred 
 took a fort in Kent, in which were the wife and two sons 
 of Hasting. Now Hasting had not long before given 
 oaths and hostages to Alfred, and the two boys had been 
 baptised, the King being godfather to one of them and 
 Alderman ^thelred to the other. But Hasting did not 
 at all keep to his oath, but went on plundering all the 
 same. Still, when the boys and their mother were taken, 
 Alfred would not do them any harm, but gave them up 
 again to Hasting. 
 
 In 897 we read that Alfred made some improvements 
 in his ships. "They were full-nigh twice as long as the 
 others ; some had sixty oars, some more ; they were both 
 swifter and steadier and eke higher than the others; they 
 were neither on the Frisian shape nor on the Danish, but 
 as himself thought that they useful might be." These 
 new ships seem to have done good service, though one 
 time they got aground, seemingly because they were so 
 large, and the Danes were therefore able to sail out before 
 them. These sea-fights along the south coast were 
 
King Alfred 143 
 
 nearly the last things that we hear of in Alfred's reign. 
 The crews of two Danish ships were brought to Win- 
 chester to Alfred and there hanged. One cannot blame 
 him for this, as these Danes were mere pirates, not en- 
 gaged in any lawful war, and many of them had been 
 spared, and had made oaths to Alfred, and had broken 
 them, over and over again. 
 
 This was in 897; the rest of King Alfred's reign seems 
 to have been spent in peace. In 901 the great King died 
 himself. He was then only fifty-two years old. Alfred's 
 wife, the Lady Ealhswyth, lived a little while after her 
 husband, till 903 or 905. King Alfred was buried at 
 Winchester in the New Minster which he himself began 
 to found and which was finished by his son Edward. It 
 then stood close to the Old Minster, that is, the cathedral 
 church. Afterward it was moved out of the city and 
 was called Hyde Abbey. But you cannot see King 
 Alfred's grave there now, because everything has been 
 destroyed, and the bones of the great King have been 
 turned out, to make room for a prison. 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 THE CID 
 
 AFTERWARDS the Castillians arrived, and they 
 kissed his hands in homage, all, save only my 
 Cid. And when King Don Alfonso saw that the Cid 
 did not do homage and kiss his hand, as all the other 
 chief persons had done, he said, "Since now ye have all 
 received me for your Lord, and given me authority 
 over ye, I would know of the Cid Ruydiez w^hy he will 
 not kiss my hand and acknowledge me; for I would do 
 something for him, as I promised unto my father King 
 Don Ferrando, when he commended him to me and to 
 my brethren. And the Cid arose and said, "Sir, all whom 
 you see here present, suspect that by your counsel the 
 King Don Sancho your brother came to his death ; and 
 therefore I say unto you that, unless you clear yourself 
 of this, as by right you should do, I will never kiss your 
 hand, nor receive you for my lord." Then said the King, 
 "Cid, what you say pleases mewxll; and here I swear to 
 God and to St. Mary, that I never slew him, nor took 
 counsel for his death. And I beseech ye therefore all, 
 as friends and true vassals, that ye tell me how I may 
 clear myself." And the chiefs who were present said, 
 that he and twelve of the knights who came with him 
 from Toledo, should make this oath in the church at St. 
 Gadea at Burgos, and that so he should be cleared. 
 
 So the King and all his company took horse and went 
 to Burgos. And when the day appointed for the oath 
 
 144 
 
The Cid 
 
 145 
 
 was come, the King came forward upon a high stage that 
 all the people might see him, and my Cid came to him to 
 receive the oath; and my Cid took the book of the Gospels 
 and opened it, and laid it upon the altar, and the King 
 laid his hands upon it, and the Cid said unto him, ''King 
 Don Alfonso, you come here to swear concerning the 
 death of King Don Sancho your brother, that you neither 
 slew him nor took counsel for his death; say now you 
 and these hidalgos, if ye swear this." And the King and 
 the hidalgos answered and said, "Yea, we swear it." 
 And the Cid said, "If ye knew of this thing, or gave com- 
 mand that it should be done, may you die even such a 
 death as your brother the King Don Sancho, by the 
 hand of a villain whom you trust ; one who is not a 
 hiakilgo, from another land, not a Castillian"; and the 
 King and the knights who were with him said "Amen." 
 And the King's colour changed; and the Cid repeated 
 the oath unto him a second time, and the King and 
 the twelve knights said "Amen" to it in like manner, and 
 in like manner the countenance of the King was changed 
 again. And my Cid repeated the oath unto him a 
 third time, and the King and the knights said "Amen." 
 But the wrath of the Kin^ was exceedingly great, and 
 he said to the Cid, "Ruydiez, why dost thou thus press 
 me, man? To-day thou swearest me, and to-morrow 
 thou wilt kiss my hand." And from that day forward 
 there was no love toward my Cid in the heart of the 
 King. 
 
 After this King Don Alfonso assembled together all 
 his power and went against the Moors. And the Cid 
 should have gone with him, but he fell sick and perforce 
 therefore abode at home. And while the King was 
 going through Andalusia, having the land at his mercy, 
 
146 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 a great power of the Moors assembled together on the 
 other side, and entered the land, and did much evil. At 
 this time the Cid was gathering strength; and when he 
 heard that the Moors were in the country, laying waste 
 before them, he gathered together what force he could, 
 and went after them; and the Moors, when they heard 
 this, began to fly. And the Cid followed them as far as 
 Toledo, slaying and burning, and plundering and destroy- 
 ing, and laying hands on all whom he found, so that he 
 brought back seven thousand prisoners, men and women; 
 and he and all his people returned rich and with great 
 honour. But when the King of Toledo heard of the 
 hurt which he had received at the hands of the Cid, he 
 sent to King Don Alfonso to complain thereof. And 
 the King was greatly troubled. And he went with all 
 speed to Burgos, and sent from thence to bid the Cid 
 come unto him. 
 
 Now my Cid knew the evil disposition of the King 
 toward him, and when he received his bidding he made 
 answer that he would meet him between Burgos and 
 Bivar. And the King went out from Burgos and came 
 nigh unto Bivar; and the Cid came up to him and would 
 have kissed his hand, but the King withheld it, and said 
 angrily unto him, '' Ruydiez, quit my land." Then the 
 Cid clapt spurs to the mule upon which he rode, and 
 vaulted into a piece of ground which was his own in- 
 heritance, and answered, "Sir, I am not in your land, 
 but in my own." And the King replied full wrathfully, 
 ** Go out of my kingdoms without any delay." And the 
 Cid made answer, " Give me then thirty days' time, as is 
 the right of the hidalgos"; and the King said he would 
 not, but that if he were not gone in nine days' time he 
 would come and look for him. The counts were well 
 
The Cid 147 
 
 pleased at this; but all the people of the land were sor- 
 rowful. And then the King and the Cid parted. And 
 the Cid sent for all his friends and his kinsmen and vas- 
 sals, and told them how King Don Alfonso had banished 
 him from the land, and asked of them who would follow 
 him into banishment, and who would remain at home. 
 Then Alvar Fanez, who was his cousin-german, came 
 forward and said, "Cid, we will all go with you, through 
 desert and through peopled country, and never fail you. 
 In your service will we spend our mules and horses, our 
 wealth and our garments, and ever while we live be unto 
 you loyal friends and vassals." And they all confirmed 
 what Alvar Fanez had said; and the Cid thanked them 
 for their love, and said that there might come a time in 
 which he should guerdon them. 
 
 And as he was about to depart he looked back upon 
 his own home, and when he saw his hall deserted, the 
 household chests unfastened, the doors open, no cloaks 
 hanging up, no seats in the porch, no hawks upon the 
 perches, the tears came into his eyes, and he said, "My 
 enemies have done this. God be praised for all things." 
 And he turned toward the East and knelt and said, "Holy 
 Mary Mother, and all Saints, pray to God for me, that He 
 may give me strength to destroy all the Pagans, and to 
 win enough from them to requite my friends therewith, 
 and all those who follow and help me." Then he called 
 for Alvar Fanez and said unto him, "Cousin, the poor 
 have no part in the wrong which the King hath done us; 
 see now that no wrong be done unto them along our 
 road," and he called for his horse. 
 
 My Cid Ruydiez entered Burgos, having sixty stream- 
 ers in his company. And men and women went forth to 
 see him, and the men of Burgos and the women of Burgos 
 
148 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 were at their windows, weeping, so great was their sor- 
 row; and they said with one accord, ''God, how good a 
 vassal if he had but a good Lord!" and willingly would 
 each have bade him come in, but no one dared so to do. 
 For King Don Alfonso in his anger had sent letters to 
 Burgos, saying that no man should give the Cid a lodg' 
 ing; and that whosoever disobeyed should lose all that 
 he had, and moreover the eyes in his head. Great sor- 
 row had these Christian folk at this, and they hid them- 
 selves when he came near them because they did not 
 dare speak to him; and my Cid went to his Posada, and 
 when he came to the door he found it fastened, for fear 
 of the King. And his people called out with a loud 
 voice, but they within made no answer. And the Cid 
 rode up to the door, and took his foot out of the stirrup, 
 and gave it a kick, but the door did not open with it, for 
 it was well secured. A little girl of nine years old then 
 came out of one of the houses and said unto him, '' O Cid, 
 the King hath forbidden us to receive you. We dare not 
 open our doors to you, for we should lose our houses 
 and all that we have, and the eyes in our head. Cid, 
 our evil would not help you, but God and all His saints 
 be with you." And when she had said this she returned 
 into the house. And when the Cid knew what the King 
 had done he turned away from the door and rode up 
 to St. Mary's, and there he alighted and knelt down, 
 and prayed with all his heart; and then he mounted 
 again and rode out of the town and pitched his tent 
 near Arlanzon, upon the sands. My Cid Ruydiez, he 
 who in a happy hour first girt on his sword, took up 
 his lodging upon the sands, because there was none 
 who would receive him within their door. He had a 
 good company round about him, and there he lodged. 
 
The Cid 149 
 
 Moreover the King had given orders that no food 
 should be sold them in Burgos, so that they could not 
 buy even a pennyworth. But Martin Antolinez, who 
 was a good Burgalese, he supplied my Cid and all his 
 company with bread and wine abundantly. "Cam- 
 peador," said he to the Cid, "to-night we will rest here, 
 and to-morrow we will be gone: I shall be accused for 
 what I have done in serving you, and shall be in the 
 King's displeasure; but following your fortunes, sooner 
 or later, the King will have me for his friend, and if not, 
 I do not care a fig for what I leave behind." Now this 
 Martin Antolinez was nephew unto the Cid, being the 
 son of his brother, Ferrando Diaz. And the Cid said unto 
 him, "Martin Antolinez, you are a bold lancier; if I live 
 I will double you your pay. You see I have nothing 
 with me, and yet must provide for my companions. I 
 will take two chests and fill them with sand, and do you 
 go in secret to Rachel and Vidas, and tell them to come 
 hither privately ; for I cannot take my treasures with me 
 because of their weight, and will pledge them in their 
 hands. Let them come for the chests at night, that no 
 man may see them. God knows that I do this thing more 
 of necessity than of wilfulness; b\it by God's good help 
 I shall redeem all." Now Rachel and Vidas were rich 
 Jews, from whom the Cid used to receive money for his 
 spoils. And Martin Antolinez went in quest of them, 
 and he passed through Burgos and entered into the Castle ; 
 and when he saw them he said, "Ah Rachel and Vidas, 
 my dear friends! now let me speak with ye in secret." 
 And they three went apart. And he said to them, " Give 
 me your hands that you will not discover me, neither to 
 Moor nor Christian! I will make you rich men for ever. 
 The Campeador went for the tribute and he took great 
 
150 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 wealth, and some of it he has kept for himself. He has 
 two chests full of gold ; ye know that the King is in anger 
 against him, and he cannot carry these away with him 
 without their being seen. He will leave them therefore 
 in your hands, and you shall lend him money upon them, 
 swearing with great oaths and upon your faith, that ye 
 will not open them till a year be past.'' Rachel and 
 Vidas took counsel together and answered, "We well 
 knew he got something when he entered the land of the 
 Moors; he who has treasures does not sleep without 
 suspicion; we will take the chests, and place them where 
 they shall not be seen. But tell us with what will the 
 Cid be contented, and what gain will he give us for the 
 year?" Martin Antolinez answered hke a prudent man, 
 "My Cid requires what is reasonable; he will ask but 
 little to leave his treasures in safety. Men come to him 
 from all parts. He must have six hundred marks." 
 And the Jews said, "We will advance him so much." 
 "Well then," said Martin Antolinez, "ye see that the 
 night is advancing; the Cid is in haste, give us the marks." 
 " This is not the way of business," said they; "we must 
 take first, and then give." "Ye say well," replied the 
 Burgalese: "come then to the Campeador, and we will 
 help you to bring away the chests, so that neither Moors 
 nor Christians may see us." So they went to horse and 
 rode out together, and they did not cross the bridge, but 
 rode through the water that no man might see them, and 
 they came to the tent of the Cid. 
 
 Meantime the Cid had taken two chests, which were 
 covered with leather of red and gold, and the nails which 
 fastened down the leather were well gilt; they were 
 ribbed with bands of iron, and each fastened with three 
 locks; they were heavy, and he filled them with sand. 
 
The Cid 151 
 
 And when Rachel and Vidas entered his tent with Martin 
 Antolinez, they kissed his hand; and the Cid smiled and 
 said to them, "Ye see that I am going out of the land, be- 
 cause of the King's displeasure; but I shall leave some- 
 thing with ye." And they made answer, "Martin Anto- 
 linez has covenanted with us, that we shall give you six 
 hundred marks upon these chests, and keep them a full 
 year, swearing not to open them till that time be expired, 
 else shall we be perjured." "Take the chests," said Martin 
 Antolinez ; " I will go with you, and bring back the marks, 
 for my Cid must move before cock-crow." So they took 
 the chests, and though they were both strong men they 
 could not raise them from the ground; and they were full 
 glad of the bargain which they had made. And Rachel 
 then went to the Cid and kissed his hand and said, "Now, 
 Campeador, you are going from Castille among strange 
 nations, and your gain will be great, even as your fortune 
 is. I kiss your hand, Cid, and have a gift for you, a 
 red skin; it is Moorish and honourable." And the Cid 
 said, "It pleases me: give it me if ye have brought it; if 
 not, reckon it upon the chests." And they departed 
 with the chests, and Martin Antolinez and his people 
 helped them, and went with them. And when they 
 had placed the chests in safety, they spread a carpet in 
 the middle of the hall, and laid a sheet upon it, and they 
 threw down upon it three hundred marks of silver. Don 
 Martin counted them, and took them without weighing. 
 The other three hundred they paid in gold. 
 
 When Martin Antolinez came into the Cid's tent he 
 said unto him, "I have sped well, Campeador ! you have 
 gained six hundred marks. Now then strike your tent and 
 be gone. The time draws on, and you may be with your 
 Lady Wife at St. Pedro de Cardena, before the cock crows." 
 
152 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 The cocks were crowing amain, and the day began to 
 break, when the good Campeador reached St. Pedro's. 
 The Abbot Don Sisebuto was saying matins, and Dona 
 Ximena and five of her ladies of good lineage were with 
 him, praying to God and St. Peter to help my Cid. And 
 when he called at the gate and they knew his voice, God, 
 what a joyful man was the Abbot Don Sisebuto! Out 
 into the courtyard they went with torches and with tapers, 
 and the Abbot gave thanks to God that he now beheld 
 the face of my Cid. And the Cid told him all that had 
 befallen him, and how he was a banished man; and he 
 gave him fifty marks for himself, and a hundred for Dona 
 Ximena and her children. ''Abbot," said he, "I leave 
 two little girls behind me, whom I commend to your care. 
 Take you care of them and of my wife and of her ladies : 
 when this money be gone, if it be not enough, supply 
 them abundantly; for every mark which you spend upon 
 them I will give the monastery four." And the Abbot 
 promised to do this with a right good will. Then Dona 
 Ximena came up weeping bitterly, and she said to her 
 husband, '' Lo now you are banished from the land by 
 mischief-making men, and here am I with your daughters, 
 who are little ones and of tender years, and we and you 
 must be parted, even in your life-time. For the love of 
 St. Mary tell me now what we shall do." And the Cid 
 took the children in his arms, and held them to his 
 heart and wept, for he dearly loved them. ''Please God 
 and St. Mary," said he, "I shall yet live to give these 
 my daughters in marriage with my own hands, and to do 
 you service yet, my honoured wife, whom I have ever 
 loved, even as my own soul." 
 
 Now hath my Cid left the kingdom of King Don 
 Alfonso, and entered the country of the Moors. And at 
 
The Cid 
 
 153 
 
 day-break they were near the brow of the Sierra, and they 
 halted there upon the top of the mountains, and gave 
 barley to their horses, and remained there until evening. 
 And they set forward when the evening had closed, that 
 none might see them, and continued their way all night, 
 and before dawn they came near to Castrejon, which is 
 upon the Henares. And Alvar Fanez said unto the Cid, 
 that he would take with him two hundred horsemen, and 
 scour the country and lay hands on whatever he could 
 find, without fear either of King Alfonso or of the Moors. 
 And he couselled him to remain in ambush where he was, 
 and surprise the castle of Castrejon : and it seemed good 
 unto my Cid. Away went Alvar Fanez, and the two 
 hundred horsemen; and the Cid remained in ambush 
 with the rest of his company. And as soon as it was 
 morning, the Moors of Castrejon, knowing nothing of 
 these who were so near them, opened the castle gates, 
 and went out to their work as they were wont to do. And 
 the Cid rose from ambush and fell upon them, and took 
 all their flocks, and made straight for the gates, pursuing 
 them. And there was a cry within the castle that the 
 Christians were upon them, and they who were within 
 ran to the gates to defend them, but my Cid came up 
 sword in hand; eleven Moors did he slay with his own 
 hand, and they forsook the gate and fled before him to 
 hide themselves within, so that he won the castle presently, 
 and took gold and silver, and whatever else he would. 
 Alvar Fanez meantime scoured the country along the 
 Henares as far as Alcala, and he returned driving flocks 
 and herds before him, with great stores of wearing ap- 
 parel, and of other plunder. And when the Cid knew 
 that he was nigh at hand he went out to meet him, and 
 praised him greatly for what he had done, and gave 
 
154 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 thanks to God. And he gave order that all the spoils 
 should be heaped together, both what Alvar Fanez had 
 brought, and what had been taken in the castle; and 
 he said to him, ''Brother, of all this which God hath 
 given us, take you the fifth, for you well deserve it"; but 
 Minaya would not, saying, "You have need of it for our 
 support." And the Cid divided the spoil among the 
 knights and foot-soldiers, to each his due portion; to 
 every horseman a hundred marks of silver, and half as 
 much to the foot-soldiers: and because he could find 
 none to whom to sell his fifth, he spake to the Moors 
 telling them that they might come safely to purchase the 
 spoil, and the prisoners also whom he had taken, both 
 men prisoners and women. And they came, and valued 
 the spoil and the prisoners, and gave for them three thou- 
 sand marks of silver, which they paid within three days: 
 they bought also much of the spoil which had been 
 divided, making great gain, so that all who were in my 
 Cid's company were full rich. And the heart of my Cid 
 was joyous, and he sent to King Don Alfonso, telling him 
 that he and his companions would yet do him serv-ice 
 upon the Moors. 
 
 Then my Cid assembled together his good men and 
 said unto them, ''Friends, we cannot take up our abode 
 in this castle, for there is no water in it, and moreover the 
 King is at peace with these Moors, and I know that the 
 treaty between them hath been written; so that if we 
 should abide here he would come against us with all his 
 power, and with all the power of the Moors, and we could 
 not stand against him. If therefore it seem good unto 
 you, let us leave the rest of our piisoners here, that we 
 may be free from all encumbrance, like men who are to 
 live by war." And it pleased them well that it should 
 
The Cid 155 
 
 be so. And he said to them, ''Ye have all had your 
 shares, neither is there anything owing to any one among 
 ye. Now then let us be ready to take horse betimes on 
 the morrow, for I would not fight against my Lord the 
 King." So on the morrow they went to horse and de- 
 parted, being rich with the spoils which they had won: 
 and they left the castle to the Moors, who remained bless- 
 ing them for this bounty which they had received at their 
 hands. Then my Cid and his company went up the 
 Henares as fast as they could go; great were the spoils 
 which they collected as they went along. And on the 
 morrow they came against Alcocer. There my Cid 
 pitched his tents upon a round hill, which was a great 
 hill and a strong; and the river Salon ran near them, 
 so that the water could not be cut off. My Cid thought 
 to take Alcocer: so he pitched his tents securely, having 
 the Sierra on one side, and the river on the other, and he 
 made all his people dig a trench, that they might not be 
 alarmed, neither by day nor by night. 
 
 When my Cid had thus encamped, he went to look at 
 the Alcazar, and see if he could by any means enter it. 
 And the Moors offered tribute to him, if he would leave 
 them in peace; but this he would not do, and he lay 
 before the town. And news went through all the land 
 that the Cid was come among them. And my Cid lay 
 before Alcocer fifteen weeks; and when he saw that the 
 town did not surrender, he ordered his people to break 
 up their camp, as if they were flying, and they took their 
 way along the Salon, with their banners spread. And 
 when the Moors saw this they rejoiced greatly, and they 
 praised themselves for what they had done in withstand- 
 ing him, and said that the Cid's bread and barley had 
 failed him, and he had fled away, and left one of his 
 
156 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 tents behind him. And they said among themselves, 
 "Let us pursue them and spoil them." And they went 
 out after him, great and little, leaving the gates open and 
 shouting as they went ; and there was not left in the town 
 a man who could bear arms. And when my Cid saw 
 them coming he gave orders to quicken their speed, as 
 if he was in fear, and would not let his people turn till 
 the Moors were far from the town. But when he saw 
 that there was a good distance between them and the 
 gates, he bade his banner turn, and spurred toward them 
 crying, 'Xay on, knights, by God's mercy the spoil is 
 our own." God! what a good joy was theirs that morn- 
 ing! My Cid's vassals laid on without mercy; in one 
 hour, and in a little space, three hundred Moors were 
 slain, and my Cid won the place, and planted his banner 
 upon the highest point of the castle. And the Cid said, 
 "Blessed be God and all His saints, we have bettered 
 our quarters both for horses and men." And he said to 
 Alvar Fafiez and all his knights, "Hear me, we shall get 
 nothing by killing these Moors — let us take them and 
 they shall show us their treasures which they have hidden 
 in their houses, and we will dwell here and they shall 
 serve us." In this manner did my Cid win Alcocer, and 
 take up his abode therein. 
 
 In three weeks time after this returned Alvar Fanez 
 from Castille. And my Cid rode up to him, and em- 
 braced him without speaking, and kissed his mouth and 
 the eyes in his head. God, how joyful was that whole 
 host because Alvar Fanez was returned! for he brought 
 them greetings from their kinswomen and their brethren 
 and the fair comrades whom they had left behind. God, 
 how joyful was my Cid with the fleecy beard, that Minaya 
 had purchased the thousand masses, and had brought 
 
The Cid 157 
 
 him the biddings of his wife and daughters! God, what 
 a joyful man was he! 
 
 Now it came to pass that the days of King Almudafar 
 were fulfilled: and he left his two sons Zulema and 
 Abenalfange, and Zulema had the kingdom of Zaragoza, 
 and Abenalfange the kingdom of Denia. And Zulema 
 put his kingdom under my Cid's protection, and bade all 
 his people obey him even as they would himself. Now 
 there began to be great enmity between the two brethren, 
 and they made war upon each other. And the Count 
 Don Ramon Berenguer of Barcelona helped Abenal- 
 fange, and was enemy to the Cid because he defended 
 Zulema. And my Cid chose out two hundred horsemen 
 and went out by night, and fell upon the lands of Alcaniz 
 and brought away great booty. Great was the talk 
 among the Moors; how my Cid was over-running the 
 country. 
 
 When Don Ramon Berenguer the Count of Barcelona 
 heard this, it troubled him to the heart, and he held it 
 for a great dishonour, because that part of the land of the 
 Moors was in his keeping. And he spake boastfully say- 
 ing, "Great wrong doth that Cid of Bivar offer unto me; 
 he ravages the lands which are in my keeping, and I have 
 never renounced his friendship; but since he goes on in 
 this way I must take vengeance." So he and King 
 Abenalfange gathered together a great power both of 
 Moors and Christians, and went in pursuit of the Cid, 
 and after three days and two nights they came up with 
 him in the pine-forest of Tebar. And when the Cid 
 heard this he sent to Don Ramon saying, that the booty 
 which he had won was none of his, and bidding him let 
 him go on his way in peace : but the Count made answer, 
 that my Cid should now learn whom he had dis- 
 
158 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 honoured. Then my Cid sent the booty forward, and 
 bade his knights make ready. ^'They are coming upon 
 us," said he, ''with a great power both of Moors and 
 Christians, to take from us the spoils which we have so 
 hardly won, and without doing battle we cannot be quit 
 of them; for if we should proceed they would follow 
 till they overtook us : therefore let the battle be here, and 
 I trust in God that we shall win more honour, and some- 
 thing to boot. They come down the hill, drest in their 
 hose, with their gay saddles, and their girths wet. Be- 
 fore they get upon the plain -ground let us give them the 
 points of our lances; and Ramon Berenguer will then 
 see whom he has overtaken to-day in the pine-forest of 
 Tebar, thinking to despoil him of booty won from the 
 enemies of God and of the faith." 
 
 While my Cid was speaking, his knights had taken 
 their arms, and were ready on horseback for the charge. 
 Presently they saw the Frenchmen coming down the hill, 
 and when they had not yet set foot upon the plain ground, 
 my Cid bade his people charge, which they did with a 
 right good will, thrusting their spears so stiffly, that by 
 God's good pleasure not a man whom they encountered but 
 lost his seat. The Count's people stood firm round their 
 Lord ; but my Cid was in search of him, and when he saw 
 where he was, he made up to him, clearing the way as he 
 went, and gave him such a stroke with his lance that he 
 felled him. When the Frenchmen saw their Lord in this 
 plight they fled away and left him; and the pursuit lasted 
 three leagues, and would have been continued farther if 
 the conquerors had not had tired horses. Thus was 
 Count Ramon Berenguer made prisoner, and my Cid 
 won from him that day the good sword Colada, which 
 was worth more than a thousand marks of silver. That 
 
The Cid 159 
 
 night did my Cid and his men make merry, rejoicing 
 over their gains. And the Count was taken to my Cid's 
 tent, and a good supper was set before him; nevertheless 
 he would not eat, though my Cid besought him so to do. 
 And on the morrow my Cid ordered a feast to be made, 
 that he might do pleasure to the Count, but the Count 
 said that for all Spain he would not eat one mouthful, 
 but would rather die, since he had been beaten in battle 
 by such a set of ragged fellows. And Ruydiez said to 
 him, '*Eat and drink. Count, for this is the chance of war ; 
 if you do as I say you shall be free; and if not you will 
 never return again into your own lands." And Don 
 Ramond answered, "Eat you, Don Rodrigo, for your 
 fortune is fair and you deserve it ; take you your pleasure, 
 but leave me to die." And in this mood he continued 
 for three days, refusing all food. But then my Cid said 
 to him, "Take food. Count, and be sure that I will set 
 you free, you and any two of your knights, and give you 
 wherewith to return into your own country." And when 
 Don Ramond heard this, he took comfort and said, "If 
 you will indeed do this thing I shall marvel at you as 
 long as I live." "Eat then," said Ruydiez, "and I will 
 do it: but mark you, of the spoil which we have taken 
 from you I will give you nothing; for to that you have 
 no claim neither by right nor custom, and besides we 
 want it for ourselves, being banished men, who must 
 live by taking from you and from others as long as it 
 shall please God." Then was the Count full joyful, 
 being well pleased that what should be given him was not 
 of the spoils which he had lost; and he called for water 
 and washed his hands, and chose two of his kinsmen to be 
 set free with him. And my Cid sate at the table with 
 them, and said, "If you do not eat well. Count, you and 
 
i6o Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 I shall not part yet." Never since he was Count did he 
 eat with better will than that day I And when they had 
 done he said, ''Now, Cid, if it be your pleasure let us 
 depart." And my Cid clothed him and his kinsmen 
 well with goodly skins and mantles, and gave them each 
 a goodly palfrey, with rich caparisons, and he rode out 
 with them on their way. And when he took leave of the 
 Count he said to him, ''Now go freely, and I thank you 
 for what you have left behind; if you wish to play for it 
 again let me know, and you shall either have something 
 back in its stead, or leave what you bring to be added to 
 it." The Count answered, "Cid, you jest safely now, 
 for I have paid you and all your company for this 
 twelve-months, and shall not be coming to see you again 
 so soon." 
 
 Then Count Ramond pricked on more than apace, 
 and many times looked behind him, fearing that my Cid 
 would repent what he had done, and send to take him 
 back to prison, which the perfect one would not have done 
 for the whole world, for never did he do disloyal thing. 
 
 At last after long and pitiful fighting it was bruited 
 abroad throughout all lands, how the Cid Ruydiez had 
 won the noble city of Valencia. 
 
 And now the Cid bethought him of Dona Ximena his 
 wife, and of his daughters Dona Elvira and Dona Sol, 
 whom he had left in the monastery of St. Pedro de Car- 
 deiia and he called for Alvar Fanez and Martin Antolinez 
 of Burgos, and spake with them, and besought them 
 that they would go to Castille, to King Don Alfonso and 
 take him a present from the riches which God had given 
 them ; and the present should be a hundred horses, saddled 
 and bridled; and that they would kiss the King's hand 
 for him, and beseech him to send to him his wife Dona 
 
The Cid i6i 
 
 Ximena, and his daughters; and that they would tell the 
 King all the mercy which God had shown him, and how 
 he was at his service with Valencia and with all that he 
 had. Moreover he bade them take a thousand marks of 
 silver to the monastery of St. Pedro de Cardefia, and 
 give them to the Abbot, and thirty marks of gold for his 
 wife and daughters, that they might prepare themselves 
 and come in honourable guise. And he ordered three 
 hundred marks of gold to be given them, and three hun- 
 dred marks of silver, to redeem the chests full of sand 
 which he had pledged in Burgos to the Jews; and he 
 bade them ask Rachel and Vidas to forgive him the deceit 
 of the sand, for he had done it because of his great need. 
 Then Alvar Fafiez and Martin Antolinez dispeeded 
 themselves of the King, and took their way toward 
 Burgos. When they reached Burgos they sent for Rachel 
 and for Vidas, and demanded from them the chests, and 
 paid unto them the three hundred marks of gold and the 
 three hundred of silver as the Cid had commanded, and 
 they besought them to forgive the Cid the deceit of the 
 chests, for it was done because of his great necessity. 
 And they said they heartily forgave him, and held them- 
 selves well paid; and they prayed God to grant him long 
 life and good health, and to give him power to advance 
 Christendom, and put down Pagandom. And when 
 it was known through the city of Burgos the goodness 
 and the gentleness which the Cid had shown to these 
 merchants in redeeming from them the chests full of 
 sand and earth and stones, the people held it for a 
 great w^onder, and there was not a place in all Burgos 
 where they did not talk of the gentleness and loyalty of 
 the Cid; and they besought blessings upon him, and 
 prayed that he and his people might be advanced in 
 
1 62 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 honour. When they had done this, they went to the 
 monastery of St. Pedro de Cardena, and the porter of the 
 King went with them, and gave order everywhere that 
 everything which they wanted should be given them. If 
 they were well received, and if there was great joy in St. 
 Pedro de Cardena over them, it is not a thing to ask, for 
 Dofia Ximena and her daughters were like people beside 
 themselves with the great joy which they had, and 
 they came running out on foot to meet them, weeping 
 plenteously. 
 
 After a long life-time of adventure the Cid sickened 
 of a malady. And the day before his weakness waxed 
 great, he ordered the gates of Valencia to be shut, and 
 went to the Church of St. Peter; and there the Bishop 
 Don Hieronymo being present, and all the clergy who 
 were in Valencia, and the knights and honourable men 
 and honourable dames, as many as the church could 
 hold, the Cid Ruydiez stood up, and made a full noble 
 preaching, showing that no man, however honourable or 
 fortunate he may be in this world, can escape death, to 
 which, said he, "I am now full near; and since ye know 
 that this body of mine hath never yet been conquered, 
 nor put to shame, I beseech ye let not this befall it at the 
 end, for the good fortune of man is only accomplished 
 at his end." Then he took leave of the people, weeping 
 plenteously, and returned to the Alcazar, and betook him- 
 self to his bed, and never rose from it again; and every 
 day he waxed weaker and weaker. He called for the 
 caskets of gold in which was the balsam and the myrrh 
 which the Soldan of Persia had sent him; and when these 
 were put before him he bade them bring him the golden 
 cup, of which he was wont to drink ; and he took of that 
 balsam and of that myrrh as much as a little spoonful, 
 
The Cid 163 
 
 and mingled it in the cup with rose-water, and drank of 
 it; and for the seven days which he Kved he neither ate 
 nor drank aught else than a little of that myrrh and bal- 
 sam mingled with water. And every day after he did this, 
 his body and his countenance appeared fairer and fresher 
 than before, and his voice clearer, though he waxed 
 weaker and weaker daily, so that he could not move in 
 his bed. 
 
 On the twenty-ninth day, being the day before he de- 
 parted, he called for Dofia Ximena, and for the Bishop 
 Don Hieronymo, and Don Alvar Faiiez Minaya, and Pero 
 Bermudez, and his trusty Gil Diaz; and when they were 
 all five before him, he began to direct them what they 
 should do after his death; and he said to them, "Ye know 
 that King Bucar will presently be here to besiege this 
 city, with seven and thirty Kings whom he bringeth with 
 him, and with a mighty power of Moors. Now therefore 
 the first thing which ye do after I have departed, wash 
 my body with rose-water many times and well, and when 
 it has been well washed and made clean, ye shall dry it 
 well, and anoint it with this myrrh and balsam, from 
 these golden caskets, from head to foot, so that every 
 part shall be anointed. And you, my Dona Ximena, and 
 your women, see that ye utter no cries, neither make any 
 lamentation for me, that the Moors may not know of 
 my death. And when the day shall come in which King 
 Bucar arrives, order all the people of Valencia to go 
 upon the walls, and sound your trumpets and tambours 
 and make the greatest rejoicings that ye can. For certes 
 ye cannot keep the city, neither abide therein after they 
 know of my death. And see that sumpter beasts be 
 laden with all that there is in Valencia, so that nothing 
 which can profit may be left. And this I leave espe- 
 
164 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 cially to your charge, Gil Diaz. Then saddle ye my 
 horse Bavieca, aiKi arm him well; and apparel my body 
 full seemlily, and place me upon the horse, and fasten 
 and tie me thereon so that it cannot fall: and fasten my 
 sword Tizona in my hand. And let the Bishop Don 
 Hieronymo go on one side of me, and my trusty Gil Diaz 
 on the other, and he shall lead my horse. You, Pero 
 Bermudez, shall bear my banner, as you were wont to 
 bear it; and you, Alvar Fanez, my cousin, gather your 
 company together, and put the host in order as you are 
 wont to do. And go ye forth and fight with King Bucar: 
 for be ye certain and doubt not that ye shall win this 
 battle; God hath granted me this. And when ye have 
 won the fight, and the Moors are discomfited, ye may 
 spoil the field at pleasure. Ye will find great riches." 
 
 And this noble Baron yielded up his soul, which was 
 pure and without spot, to God, on that Sunday which is 
 called Quinquagesima, being the twenty and ninth of 
 May, in the year of our Lord one thousand and ninety 
 and nine, and in the seventy and third year of his life.. 
 After he had thus made his end they washed his body and 
 embalmed it as he had commanded. And then all the 
 honourable men, and all the clergy who were in Valencia, 
 assembled and carried it to the Church of St. Mary of 
 the Virtues, which is near the Alcazar, and there kept 
 their vigil, and said prayer and performed masses, as 
 was meet for so honourable a man. 
 
 Three days after the Cid had departed King Bucar came 
 into the port of Valencia, and landed with all his power. 
 And there came with him thirty and six Kings, and one 
 Moorish Queen, and she brought with her tw^o hundred 
 horsewomen, all negresses like herself, all having their 
 hair shorn save a tuft on the top, and they were all armed 
 
The Cid 165 
 
 in coats of mail and with Turkish bows. King Bucar 
 ordered his tents to be pitched round about Valencia. 
 And his people thought that the Cid dared not come 
 out against them, and they were the more encouraged, 
 and began to think of making engines wherewith to- 
 combat the city. 
 
 All this while the company of the Cid were preparing 
 all things to go into Castille, as he had commanded before 
 his death; and his trusty Gil Diaz did nothing else but 
 labour at this. And the body of the Cid was prepared 
 and the virtue of the balsam and myrrh was such that 
 the flesh remained firm and fair, having its natural colour 
 and his countenance as it was wont to be, and the eyes 
 open, and his long beard in order, so that there was not 
 a man who would have thought him dead if he had seen, 
 him. And on the second day after he had departed,. 
 Gil Diaz placed the body upon a right noble saddle. 
 And he took two boards and fitted them to the body, one 
 to the breast and the other to the shoulders; these were 
 so hollowed out and fitted that they met at the sides 
 and under the arms, and these boards were fastened into 
 the saddle, so that the body could not move. All this 
 was done by the morning of the twelfth day; and all that 
 day the people of the Cid WTre busied in making ready 
 their arms, and in loading beasts with all that they had. 
 When it was midnight they took the body of the Cid 
 fastened to the saddle as it was, and placed it upon his 
 horse Bavieca, and fastened the saddle well: and the 
 body sate so upright and well that it seemed as if he was 
 alive. And it had on painted hose of black and white, 
 so cunningly painted that no man who saw them would 
 have thought but that they were grieves, unless he had laid 
 his hand upon them; and they put on it a surcoat of green 
 
1 66 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 sendal, having his arms blazoned thereon, and a helmet 
 of parchment, which was cunningly painted that every 
 one might have believed it to be iron; and his shield was 
 hung around his neck, and they placed the sword Tizona 
 in his hand, and they raised his arm, and fastened it 
 up so subtly that it was a marvel to see how upright he 
 held the sword. And the Bishop Don Hieronymo went 
 on one side of him, and the trusty Gil Diaz on the 
 other, and he led the horse Bavieca, as the Cid had com- 
 manded him. And when all this had been made ready, 
 they went out from Valencia at midnight, through the 
 gate of Roseros, which is towards Castille. Pero Ber- 
 mudez went first with the banner of the Cid, and with him 
 five hundred knights who guarded it, all well appointed. 
 Then came the body of the Cid with an hundred knights, 
 all chosen men, and behind them Dona Ximena with all 
 her company, and six hundred knights in the rear. All 
 these went out so silently, and with such a measured 
 pace, that it seemed as if there were only a score. And by 
 the time that they had all gone out it was broad day. 
 
 Now, while the Bishop Don Hieronymo and Gil Diaz 
 led away the body of the Cid, and Dona Ximena, and 
 the baggage, Alvar Fanez Minaya fell upon the Moors. 
 First he attacked the tents of that Moorish Queen the 
 Negress, who lay nearest to the city; and this onset was 
 so sudden, that they killed full a hundred and fifty Moors 
 before they had time to take arms or go to horse. But 
 that Moorish Negress, so skilful in drawing the Turkish 
 bow, that they called her the Star of the Archers, was the 
 first that got on horseback, and with some fifty that were 
 with her, did some hurt to the company of the Cid; but 
 in fine they slew her, and her people fled to the camp. 
 And so great was the uproar and confusion, that few 
 
The Cid 167 
 
 there were who took arms, but instead thereof they turned 
 their backs and fled toward the sea. And when King 
 Bucar and his Kings saw this they were astonished. 
 And it seemed 10 tnem that there came against them 
 on the part of the Christians full seventy thousand 
 knights, all as white as snow: and before them a knight 
 of great stature upon a white horse. And King Bucar 
 and the other Kings were so greatly dismayed that they 
 never checked the reins till they had ridden into the 
 sea; and the company of the Cid rode after them, 
 smiting and slaying and giving them no respite. 
 And when the Moors came to the sea, so great was the 
 press among them to get to the ships, that more than ten 
 thousand died in the water. And King Bucar and they 
 who escaped with him hoisted sails and went their way, 
 and never more turned their heads. 
 
 Then Alvar Fafiez and his people went after the 
 Bishop Don Hieronymo and Gil Diaz, who, with the 
 body of the Cid, and Dona Ximena, and the baggage, 
 had gone on till they were clear of the host, and then 
 waited for those who were gone against the Moors. And 
 so great was the spoil, gold, and silver, and other precious 
 things that the poorest man among the Christians, horse- 
 man or on foot, became rich with what he won that day. 
 And when they were all met together, they took the road 
 toward Castille; and they halted that night in a village 
 which is called Siete Aguas, that is to say, the Seven 
 Waters, which is nine leagues from Valencia. 
 
 When the company of the Cid departed from the Siete 
 Aguas, they held their way by short journeys. And the 
 Cid went alway upon his horse Bavieca, as they had 
 brought him out from Valencia, save only that he wore 
 30 arms, but was clad in right noble garments. Great 
 
1 68 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 was the concourse of people to see the Cid Ruydiez 
 coming in that guise. They came from all the country 
 round about, and when they saw him their wonder was 
 the greater, and hardly could they be persuaded that he 
 was dead. 
 
 At this time King Don Alfonso abode in Toledo, and when 
 the letters came unto him saying how the Cid Campeador 
 was departed, and after what manner he had discomfited 
 King Bucar, and how they brought him in this goodly 
 manner upon his horse Bavieca, he set out from Toledo, 
 taking long journeys till he came to San Pedro de Cardena 
 to do honour to the Cid at his funeral. And when the 
 King Don Alfonso saw so great a company and in such 
 goodly array, and the Cid Ruydiez so nobly clad and 
 upon his horse Bavieca, he was greatly astonished. And 
 the King beheld his countenance, and seeing it so fresh 
 and comely, and his eyes so bright and fair, and so even 
 and open that he seemed alive, he marvelled greatly. 
 
 On the third day after the coming of King Don Al- 
 fonso, they would have interred the body of the Cid, but 
 Y/hen the King heard what Dona Ximena had said, that 
 while it was so fair and comely it should not be laid in 
 a cofhn, he held that what she said was good. And he 
 sent for the ivory chair which had been carried to the 
 Cortes of Toledo, and gave order that it should be placed 
 on the right of the altar of St. Peter; and he laid a cloth 
 of gold upon it, and he ordered a graven tabernacle to 
 be made over the chair, richly wrought with azure and 
 gold. And he himself, and the King of Navarre and the 
 Infante of Aragon, and the Bishop Don Hieronymo, to do 
 honour to the Cid, helped to take his body from between 
 the two boards, in which it had been fastened at Valencia. 
 And when they had taken it out, the body was so firm 
 
The Cid 169 
 
 that it bent not on either side, and the flesh so firm and 
 comely, that it seemed as if he were yet ahve. And the 
 King thought that what they purported to do and had 
 thus begun, might full well be effected. And they clad 
 the body in cloth of purple, which the Soldan of Persia 
 had sent him, and put him on hose of the same, and set 
 him in his ivory chair; and in his left hand they placed 
 his sword Tizona in its scabbard, and the strings of his 
 mantle in his right. And in this fashion the body of the 
 Cid remained there ten years and more, till it was taken 
 thence and buried. 
 
 Gil Diaz took great delight in tending the horse Bavieca, 
 so that there were few days in which he did not lead him 
 to water, and bring him back with his own hand. And 
 from the day in which the dead body of the Cid was taken 
 off his back, never man was suffered to bestride that 
 horse, but he was alway led when they took him to water, 
 and when they brought him back. And this good horse 
 lived two years and a half after the death of his master 
 the Cid, and then he died also, having lived full forty 
 years. And Gil Diaz buried him before the gate of the 
 monastery, in the public place, on the right hand; and 
 he planted two elms upon the grave, the one at his head 
 and the other at his feet, and these elms grew and became 
 great trees, and are yet to be seen before the gate of the 
 monastery. 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 ROBIN HOOD 
 
 BECAUSE of the hardness towards the English 
 people of William the Conqueror, and of William's 
 successors to several generations, many an Englishman 
 exUed hi mself from town andtoass ejhjs lifp j^, thegrcen- 
 wood. _ These men were called '^ou^la^S-i! First they 
 went forth out of love for the ancient liberties of England. 
 Then in their living in the forest, they put themselves 
 wittoit=thfiia^2iy their ^a^ of gaining their livelihood. 
 Of such men none were more renowned than Robin 
 Hood and his company. ^ 
 
 We do not know anything about Robin Hood, who he 
 was, or where he lived, or what evil deed he had done. 
 Any man might kill him and never pay penalty for it. 
 But, outlaw or not, the poor people love d him [a nd looked 
 on him as their frienclTand many a stout fellow came 
 to join him, and led a merry life in the greenwood, with^ 
 mQ§s ajid--feQ^ f or ^gd^and for\meat the K ing's deer\w 
 which it was death to slay. Tillers of the land, yeomen, 
 and some say knights, went on their ways freely, for of^ 
 them Robin took no toll; but lordly churchmen witlr*^ 
 jn^Il£^:;ibags_well filled, or proud^ bisIiopswTlh their 
 richlyd ressed f olio wers , trembled aslKey drew near to 
 Sherwood Forest^who was to know whether behind 
 ever}' tree there did not lurk Robin Hood or one of his 
 men? 
 
 One day Robin was walking alone in the wood, and 
 170 
 
. Robin Hood 171 
 
 reached a river spanned by a very narrow bridge, over 
 which one man only could pass. In the midst stood a 
 stranger, and Robin bade him go back and let him go over. 
 "1 am no man of yours," was all the answer Robin got, 
 and in anger he drew his bow and fitted an arrow to it. 
 ''Would you shoot a man who has no arms but a staff?" 
 asked the stranger in scorn; and with shame Robin laid 
 down his bow, and unbuckled an oaken stick at his side. 
 ''We will fight till one of us falls into the water, " he said; 
 and fight they did, till the stranger planted a blow so well 
 that Robin rolled over into the river. "You are a braye^ 
 soul," said he, when he had waded to land, and he blew 
 a blast with his horn which brought fifty goodfellows, 
 clad in green, to the little bridge. "Have you fallen into 
 the river that your clothes are wet ? " asked one ; and Robin 
 made answer, "No, but this stranger, fighting on the 
 bridge, got the better of me, and tumbled me into the 
 stream. " 
 
 At this the foresters seized the stranger, and would 
 have ducked him had not their leader bade them stop, 
 and begged the stranger to stay with them and make 
 one of themselves. "Here is my hand," replied the stran- 
 ger, "and my heart with it. My name, if you would know 
 it, is John Little. " 
 
 "That must be altered," cried Will Scarlett; "we will 
 call a feast, and henceforth, because he is full seven feet 
 tall and round the waist at least an ell, he shall be called 
 Little John." 
 
 And thus it was done; but at the feast Little John, who 
 always liked to know exactly what w^ork he had to do, put 
 some questions to Robin Hood. "Before I join hands 
 with you, tell me first what sort of life is this you lead? 
 How am I to know whose goods I shall take, and whose 
 
172 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 I shall leave? Whom I shall beat, and whom I shall 
 refrain from beating?" 
 
 And Robin answered: ''Look that you harm not 
 any tiller of the ground, nor any yeoman of the greenwood 
 — no knight, no squire, unless you have heard him ill 
 spoken of. But if bishops or archbishops come your 
 way, see that you spoil them, and mark that you 
 always hold in your mind the High Sheriff of Notting- 
 ham." 
 
 This being settled, Robin Hood declared Little John 
 to be second in command to himself among the brother- 
 hood of the forest, and the new outlaw never forgot to 
 ''hold in his mind" the High Sheriff of Nottingham, 
 who was the bitterest enemy the foresters had. 
 
 THE BALLAD OF ROBIN HOOD, THE BUTCHER AND THE 
 SHERIFF. 
 
 Upon a time it chanced so, 
 
 Bold Robin in forest did spy 
 A jolly butcher, with a bonny fine mare, 
 
 With his flesh to the market did hie. 
 
 "Good morrow, good fellow," said jolly Robin, 
 "What food hast thou? tell unto me; 
 
 Thy trade to me tell, and where thou dost dwell, 
 For I like well thy company." 
 
 The butcher he answer'd jolly Robin, 
 
 "No matter where I dwell; 
 For a butcher I am, and to Nottingham 
 
 I am going, my flesh to sell. " 
 
Robin Hood 173 
 
 "What's the price of thy flesh?" said jolly Robin, 
 
 ''Come, tell it soon unto me; - 
 And the price of thy mare, be she never so dear, 
 
 For a butcher fain would I be. " 
 
 ''The price of my flesh," the butcher replied, 
 
 "I soon will tell unto thee; 
 With my bonny mare, and they are not dear. 
 
 Four marks thou must give unto me. " 
 
 "Four marks I will give thee," said jolly Robin 
 
 "Four marks shall be thy fee; 
 The money come count, and let me mount, 
 
 For a butcher I fain would be. " 
 
 Now Robin he is to Nottingham gone, 
 
 His butcher's trade to begin; 
 With good intent to the Sheriff he went, 
 
 And there he took up his inn. 
 
 When other butchers did open their meat, 
 
 Bold Robin got gold and fee. 
 For he sold more meat for one penny (^ 
 
 Than others did sell for three. ^ 
 
 Which made the butchers of Nottingham 
 
 To study as they did stand. 
 Saying, "Surely he is some prodigal 
 
 That has sold his father's land. " 
 
 "This is a mad blade," the butchers still said; 
 
 Said the Sheriff, "He is some prodigal, 
 That some land has sold for silver and gold, 
 
 And now he doth mean to spend all. 
 
174 Heroes Every Child Shoiild Know 
 
 "Hast thou any horn-beasts, " the Sherifif asked, 
 
 ''Good fellow, to sell to me?" 
 "Yes, that I have, good Master Sheriff, 
 
 I have hundreds, two or three. 
 
 "And a hundred acres of good free land, 
 
 If you please it to see : 
 And I'll make you as good assurance of it. 
 
 As ever my father made me. " 
 
 The Sheriff he saddled his good palfrey, 
 And with three hundred pounds of gold. 
 
 Away he went with bold Robin Hood, 
 His horned beasts to behold. 
 
 Away then the Sheriff and Robin did ride. 
 
 To the forest of merry Sherwood; 
 Then the Sheriff did say, "God keep us this day 
 
 From a man they call Robin Hood." 
 
 But when a little farther they came. 
 
 Bold Robin he chanced to spy 
 A hundred head of good red deer. 
 
 Come tripping the Sheriff full nigh. 
 
 "How like you my horn-beasts, good Master Sheriff? 
 
 They be fat and fair to see"; 
 "I tell thee, good fellow, I would I were gone, 
 
 For I like not thy company. " 
 
 Then Robin set his horn to his mouth. 
 
 And blew but blasts three; 
 Then quickly anon there came Little John, 
 
 And all his company. 
 
Robin Hood 175 
 
 "What is your will?" then said Little John, 
 **Good master, come tell unto me"; 
 
 "I have brought hither the Sheriff of Nottingham 
 This day to dine with thee." 
 
 Then Robin took his cloak from his back 
 
 And laid it upon the ground; 
 And out of the Sheriff's portmanteau 
 
 He took three hundred pound. 
 
 He then led the Sheriff through the wood. 
 
 And set him on his dapple grey ; 
 *' Commend Robin Hood to your wife at home," 
 
 He said, and went laughing away. 
 
 Now Robin Hood had/ no h j^iag-^o r ^ company o f_ 
 ^le men about hirrj. and sent off Little John and Will 
 Scarle1;t to the great road known as Watling Street, with 
 orders to hide among the trees and wait till some(a^veiX: 
 ture) might come to them ; and if they took captive earl 
 or baron, abbot or knight, he was to be brought unharmed 
 back to Robin Hood. 
 
 But all along Watling Street the road was bare; white 
 and hard it lay in the sun, without the tiniest cloud of 
 dust to show that a rich company might be coming: east 
 and west the land lay still. 
 
 At length, just where a side path turned into the broad 
 highway, there rode a knight, and a sorrier man than he 
 never sat a horse on summer day. One foot only was 
 in the stirrup, the other hung carelessly by his side; his 
 head was bowed, the reins dropped loose, and his horse 
 went on as he would. At so sad a sight the hearts of 
 he outlaws were nlled with pity, land Little John fell on 
 
 i 
 
176 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 his knees and bade the knight welcome in the name of 
 his master. 
 
 "Who is your master?" asked the knight. 
 
 "Robin Hood," answered Little John. 
 
 "I have heard much good of him, " repHed the knight, 
 "and will go with you gladly. " 
 
 Then they all set off together, tears running down the 
 knight's cheeks as he rode, but he said nothing, neither 
 was anything said to him. And in this wise they came 
 to Robin Hood. 
 
 "Welcome, Sir Knight," cried he, "and thrice wel- 
 come, for I waited to break my fast till you or some other 
 had come to me." 
 
 "God save you, good Robin," answered the knight, 
 and after they had washed themselves in the stream they 
 sat down to dine off bread, with flesh of the King's deer, 
 and swans and pheasants. "Such a dinner have I not 
 had for three weeks and more," said the knight. "And 
 if I ever come again this way, good Robin, I will give 
 you as fine a dinner as you have given me. " 
 
 "I thank you," replied Robin, "my dinner is always 
 welcome; still, I am none so greedy but I can wait for it. 
 But before you go, pay me, I pray you, for the food which 
 you have had. It was never the custom for a yeoman 
 to pay for a knight." 
 
 "My bag is empty," said the knight, "save for ten 
 shillings only. " 
 
 "Go, Little John, and look in his wallet," said Robin, 
 "and. Sir Knight, if in truth you have no more, not one 
 penny will I take; nay, I will give you all that you shall 
 need. " 
 
 So Little John spread out the knight's mantle, and opened 
 the bag, and therein lay ten shillings and naught besides. 
 
Rohin Hood 177 
 
 ''What tidings, Little John?" cried his master. 
 
 "Sir, the knight speaks truly," said Little John. 
 
 "Then tell me, Sir Knight, whether it is your own ill 
 doings which have brought you to this sorry pass. " 
 
 "For an hundred years my fathers have dwelt in the 
 forest," answered the knight, "and four hundred pounds 
 might they spend yearly. But within two years misfor- 
 tune has befallen me, and my wife and children also." 
 
 "How did this evil come to pass?" asked Robin. 
 
 "Through my own folly," answered the knight, "and 
 because of my great love I bore my son, who would never 
 be guided of my counsel, and slew, ere he was twenty 
 years old, a knight of Lancaster and his squire. For 
 their deaths I had to pay a large sum, which I could not 
 raise without giving my lands in pledge to the rich Abbot 
 of St. Mary's. If I cannot bring him the money by a 
 certain day they will be lost to me for ever. " 
 
 "What is the sum?" asked Robin. "Tell me truly." 
 
 ^'It is four hundred pounds," said the knight. 
 
 "And what will you do if you lose your lands?" asked 
 Robin again. 
 
 "Hide myself over the sea," said the knight, "and bid 
 farewell to my friends and country. There is no better 
 way open to me. " 
 
 At this tears fell from his eyes, and he turned him to 
 depart. "Good day, my friend," he said to Robin, "I 
 
 cannot pay you what I should " But Robin held 
 
 him fast. "Where are your friends?" asked he. 
 
 "Sir, they have all forsaken me since I became poor, 
 and they turn away their heads if we meet upon the road, 
 though when I was rich they were ever in my castle. " 
 
 When Little John and Will Scarlett and the rest heard 
 this they wept for very shame and fury. 
 
178 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 ''Little John," said Robin, "go to my treasure chest, 
 and bring me thence four hundred pounds. And be sure 
 you count it truly." 
 
 So Little John went, and Will Scarlett, and they brought 
 back the money. 
 
 ''Sir," said Little John, when Robin had counted it 
 and found it no more and no less, "look at his clothes, 
 how thin they are! You have stores of garments, green 
 and scarlet, in your coffers — no merchant in England 
 can boast the like. I will measure some out with my 
 bow. " And thus he did. 
 
 "Master, " spoke Little John again, "there is still some- 
 thing else. You must give him a horse, that he may go 
 as beseems his quahty to the Abbey. " 
 
 "Take the grey horse," said Robin, "and put a new 
 saddle on it, and take likewise a good palfrey and a pair 
 of boots, with gilt spurs on them. And as it were a 
 shame for a knight to ride by himself on this errand, I 
 will lend you Little John as squire — perchance he may 
 stand you in yeoman's stead.'- 
 
 "When shall we meet again?" asked the knight. 
 
 "This day twelve months," said Robin, "under the 
 greenwood tree. " 
 
 Then the knight rode on his way, with Little John 
 behind him, and as he went he thought of Robin Hood 
 and his men, and blessed them for the goodness they had 
 shown towards him. 
 
 "To-morrow," he said to Little John, "I must be at 
 the Abbey of St. Mary, which is in the city of York, for 
 if I am but so much as a day late my lands are lost for 
 ever, and though I were to bring the money I should not 
 be suffered to redeem them." 
 
 Now the Abbot had been counting the days as well as 
 
Robin Hood 179 
 
 the knight, and the next morning he said to his monks: 
 '' This day year there came a knight and borrowed of me 
 four hundred pounds, giving his lands in surety. And if 
 he come not to pay his debt ere midnight tolls they will 
 be ours forever." 
 
 "It is full early yet," answered the Prior, "he may 
 still be coming." 
 
 "He is far beyond the sea," said the Abbot, "and 
 suffers from hunger and cold. How is he to get here?" 
 
 "It were a shame," said the Prior, "for you to take his 
 lands. And you do him much wrong if you drive such a 
 hard bargain." 
 
 "He is dead or hanged," spake a fat-headed monk who 
 was the cellarer, "and we shall have his four hundred 
 pounds to spend on our gardens and our wines," and he 
 went with the Abbot to attend the court of justice whe rein 
 the knight's lands would he declared forfeited by the 
 High Justiciar. 
 
 "If he come not this day," cried the Abbot, rubbing 
 his hands, "if he come not this day, they will be 
 ours." 
 
 "He will not come yet," said the Justiciar, but he knew 
 not that the knight was already at the outer gate, and 
 Little John with him. 
 
 "Welcome, Sir Knight," said the porter. "The 
 horse that you ride is the noblest that ever I saw. Let 
 me lead them both to the stable, that they may have 
 food and rest." 
 
 "They shall not pass these gates," answered the 
 knight, sternly, and he entered the hall alone, where the 
 monks were sitting at meat, and knelt down and bowed 
 to them. 
 
 "I have come back, my lord," he said to the Abbot, 
 
i8o Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 who had just returned from the court. " I have come 
 back this day as I promised." 
 
 ''Have you brought my money? What do you here 
 v^ithout it?" cried the Abbot in angry tones. 
 
 "I have come to pray you for a longer day," answered 
 the knight, meekly. 
 
 ''The day was fixed and cannot be gainsaid," replied 
 the Justiciar; "I am with the Abbot." 
 
 "Good Sir Abbot, be my friend," prayed the knight 
 again, "and give me one chance more to get the money 
 and free my lands. I will serve you day and night till I 
 have four hundred pounds to redeem them." 
 
 But the Abbot only swore a great oath, and vowed 
 that the money must be paid that day or the lands be 
 forfeited. 
 
 The knight stood up straight and tall: "It is well," 
 said he, "to prove one's friends against the hour of need," 
 and he looked the Abbot full in the face, and the Abbot 
 felt uneasy, he did not know why, and hated the knight 
 more than ever. "Out of my hall, false knight!" cried 
 he, pretending to a courage which he did not feel. But 
 the knight stayed where he was, and answered him, 
 *'You lie, Abbot. Never was I false, and that I have 
 shown in jousts and in tourneys." 
 
 "Give him two hundred pounds more," said the 
 Justiciar to the Abbot, "and keep the lands yourself." 
 
 "No, by Heaven!" answered the knight, "not if you 
 offered me a thousand pounds would I do it! Neither 
 justiciar, abbot, nor monk shall be heir of mine." 
 Then he strode up to a table and emptied out four hun- 
 dred pounds. "Take your gold, Sir Abbot, which yoy 
 lent to me a year agone. Had you but received me 
 civilly, I would have paid you something more. 
 
Robin Hood i8i 
 
 " Sir Abbot, and ye men of law, 
 
 Now have I kept my day! 
 Now shall I have my land again, 
 
 For aught that you may say." 
 
 So he passed out of the hall singing merrily, leaving the 
 Abbot staring silently after him, and rode back to his 
 house in Verisdale, where his wife met him at the gate. 
 
 " Welcome, my lord," said his lady, 
 
 " Sir, lost is all your good." 
 " Be merry, dame," said the knight, 
 " And pray for Robin Hood. 
 
 But for his kindness, \ye woul d h n v^ b een heggars^^ ^ 
 
 After this the knight dwelt at home, looking after his' 
 lands and saving his mortey carefully till the four hundred 
 pounds lay ready for Robin Hood. Then he bought a 
 hundred bows and a hundred arrows, and every arrow 
 was an ell long, and had a head of silver and peacock's 
 feathers. And clothing himself in white and red, and 
 with a hundred men in his train, he set off to Sherwood 
 Forest. 
 
 On the way he passed an open space near a bridge 
 where there was a wrestling, and the knight stopped and 
 looked, for he himself had taken many a prize in that 
 sport. Here the prizes were such as to fill any man with 
 envy; a fine horse, saddled and bridled, a great white 
 bull, a pair of gloves, and a ring of bright red gold. There 
 was not a yeoman present who did not hope to win one 
 of them. . But when the wrestling was over, the yeoman 
 who had peaten them _al^was a man who kept npnrt from 
 his f ellows, and was s aid to thi n k m i irh -^f hiriT^flf 
 Therefore the men grudged him his skill, and set upon him 
 with blows, and would have killed him, had not the 
 
1 82 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 knight, for love of Robin Hood, taken pity on him, 
 while his followers fought with the crowd, and would not 
 suffer them to touch the prizes a better man had won. 
 
 When the wrestling was finished the knight rode on, 
 and there under the greenwood tree, in the place ap- 
 pointed, he found Robin Hood and his merry men waiting 
 for him, according to the tryst that they had fixed last 
 year: 
 
 t " God save thee, Robin Hood, 
 I And all this company." 
 1 " Welcome be thou, gentle knight, 
 And right welcome to me." 
 
 " Hast thou thy land again ? " said Robin, 
 
 ''Truth then thou tell me." 
 "Yea, for God," said the knight, 
 
 "And that thank I God and thee." 
 
 "\EIave here four hundred pounds," said the knight, 
 
 " The which you lent to me; 
 And here are also twenty marks 
 
 For your courtesie." 
 
 But Robin would not take the money. Then he noticed the 
 bows and arrows which the knight had brought, and 
 asked what they were. * ' A poor present to you , ' ' answered 
 the knight, and Robin, who would not be outdone, sent 
 Little John once more to his treasury, and bade him 
 bring forth foUr hundred pounds, which was given to the 
 knight. After that they parted, in much love, and Robin 
 prayed the knight if he were in any strait "to let him know 
 
 ^ 6. at the greenwood tree, and while there was__ any goia 
 
 ^"^ ihSlEE!iHould_haye~7r** 
 
 ^ Now the King had no mind that Robin Hood should 
 do as he willed, and called his knights to follow him to 
 Nottingham, where they would lay plans how best to 
 
Robin Hood 183 
 
 take captive the felon. Here they heard sad tales of 
 Robin's misdoings, and how of the many herds of wild 
 deer that had been wont to roam the forest in some places 
 scarce one remained. This was the work of Robin Hood 
 and his merry men, on whom the king swore vengeance 
 with a great oath. 
 
 ''I would I had this Robin Hood in my hands," cried 
 he, ''and an end should soon be put to his doings." So 
 spake the King; but an old knight, full of days and 
 wisdom, answered him and warned him that the task of 
 taking Robin Hood would be a sore one, and best let 
 alone. The King, who had seen the vanity of his hot 
 words the moment that he had uttered them, listened to 
 the old man, and resolved to bide his time, if perchance 
 some day Robin should fall into his power. 
 
 All this time and for six weeks later that he dwelt in 
 Nottingham the King could hear nothing of Robin, who 
 seemed to have vanished into the earth with his merry 
 men, though one by one the deer were vanishing tool 
 
 At last one day a forester came to the King, and told 
 him that if he would see Robin he must come with him 
 and take five of his best knights. The King eagerly 
 sprang up to do his bidding, and the six men clad in 
 monk's clothes mounted their palfreys and rode down to 
 the Abbey, the King wearing an Abbot's broad hat over 
 his crown and singing as he passed through the green- 
 wood. 
 
 Suddenly at the turn of the path Robin and his 
 archers appeared before them. 
 
 "By your leave, Sir Abbot," said Robin, seizing the 
 King's bridle, "you will stay a while with us. Know 
 that we are yeomen, who live upon the King's deer, and 
 other food have we none. Now vou have abbevs and 
 
184 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 churches, and gold in plenty; therefore give us some of it, 
 in the name ofii^l};^harit3V 
 
 ''I have no more than forty pounds with me," answered 
 the King, "but sorry I am it is not a hundred, for you 
 should have had it all." 
 
 So Robin took the forty pounds, and gave half to his 
 men, and then told the King he might go on his way. 
 "I thank you," said the King, *'but*I would have you 
 know that our liege lord has bid me bear you his seal, 
 and pray you to come to Nottingham." 
 
 At this message Robin bent his knee. 
 
 "I love no man in all the world 
 So well as I do my King," 
 
 he cried, ''and, Sir Abbot, for thy tidings, which fill my 
 heart with joy, to-day thou shalt dine with me, for love of 
 my King. " Then he led the King into an open place, and 
 Robin took a horn and blew it loud, and at its blast seven- 
 score of young men came speedily to do his will. 
 
 ''T hey are quicker to do his bidding th an my men are 
 to do minej^" said the King to himself. 
 
 Speedily the foresters set out the dinner, venison and 
 white bread, and Robin and Little John served the King. 
 ''Make good cheer. Abbot, for charity," said Robin, 
 "and then you shall see what sort of Hfe we lead, that so 
 you may tell our King. " 
 
 When he had finished eating the archers took their 
 bows, and hung rose-garlands up with a string, and every 
 man was to shoot through the garland. If he failed, he 
 should have a buffet on the head from Robin. 
 
 Good bowmen as they were, few managed to stand 
 the test. Little John and Will Scarlett, and Much, all 
 shot wide of the mark, and at length no one was left in 
 
/ 
 
 Robin Hood 185 
 
 tut Robin himself and Gilbert of the White Hand. 
 Then Robin fired his last bolt, and it fell three fingers 
 from the garland. "Master," said Gilbert, "you have 
 lost, stand forth and take your punishment. " 
 
 "I will take it," answered Robin, "but. Sir Abbot, I 
 pray you that I may suffer it at your hands. " 
 
 The King hesitated. "It did not become him," he 
 said, "to smite such a stout yeoman," but Robin bade 
 him smite on; so he turned up his sleeve, and gave Robin 
 such a buffet on the head that he rolled upon the ground. 
 
 "'There is pith in your arm," said Robin. "Come, 
 shoot a-main with me. " And the King took up a bow, 
 and in so doing his hat fell back and Robin saw his face. 
 
 "My lord the King of England, now I know you well, " 
 cried he, and he fell on his knees and all the outlaws 
 with him. " Mercy I ask, my lord the King, for my men 
 and me." 
 
 "Mercy I grant, " then said the King, "and therefore I 
 came hither, to bid you and your men leave the green- 
 wood and dwell in my court with me. " 
 
 ' So it shall be, " answered Robin, "I and my men will 
 coriTe-ttT your tnnrt, and see how your service liketh us. " 
 
 " Have you any green cloth, " asked the King, "that you 
 could sell to me?" and Robin brought out thirty yards 
 and more, and clad the King and his men in coats of 
 Lincoln green. "Now we will all ride to Nottingham," 
 said he, and they went merrily, shooting by the w^ay. 
 
 The people of Nottingham saw them coming, and 
 trembled as they watched the dark mass of Lincoln green 
 drawing near over the fields. "I fear lest our King be 
 slain," whispered one to another, "and if Robin Hood 
 gets into the town there is not one of us whose life is safe " ; 
 and every man, woman, and child made ready to fly. 
 
1 86 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 The King laughed out when he saw their fright, and 
 called them back. Right glad were they to hear his voice, 
 and they feasted and made merry. A few days later the 
 King returned to London, and Robin dwelt in his court 
 for twelve months. By that time he had spent a hundred 
 pounds, for he gave largely to the knights and squires he 
 met, and great renown he had for his openhandedness. 
 
 But his men who had been born under the shadow of 
 the forest, could not live amid streets and houses. One 
 by one they slipped away, till only little John and Will 
 Scarlett were left. Then Robin himself grew home-sick, 
 and at the sight of some young men shooting thought 
 upon the time when he was accounted the best archer in 
 all England, and went straightway to the King and 
 begged for leave to go on a pilgrimage to Bernisdale. 
 
 ''I may not say you nay," answered the King; *' seven 
 nights you may be gone and no more." And Robin 
 thanked him, and that evening set out for the greenwood. 
 
 It was early morning when he reached it at last, and 
 listened thirstily to the notes of singing birds, great and 
 small. 
 
 ''It seems long since I was here," he said to himself; 
 '' It would give me great joy if I could bring down a deer 
 once more," and he shot a great hart, and blew his horn, 
 and all the owtlaws of the forest came flocking round 
 him. J f'' Welcome," they said, "our dear master, back to 
 ^he greenwood tree," and they threw off their caps and 
 Jellon their knees before him in delight at his return. 
 
 For two and twenty years Robin Hood dwelt in Sher- 
 wood forest after he had run away from court, and 
 naught that the King could say would tempt him back 
 again. At the end of that time he fell ill; he neither 
 ate nor drank, and had no care for the things he loved. 
 
Robin Hood 187 
 
 "I must go to merry Kirkley, " said he, "and have my 
 blood let." 
 
 But Will Scarlett, who heard his words, spoke roundly 
 to him. "Not by my leave, nor without a hundred bow- 
 men at your back. For there abides an evil man, who is 
 sure to quarrel with you, and you will need us badly. " 
 
 *'If you are afraid. Will Scarlett, you may stay at 
 home, for me," said Robin, "and in truth no man will I 
 take with me, save Little John only, to carry my bow. " 
 
 " Bear your bow yourself, master, and I will bear mine." 
 
 "Very well, let it be so, " said Robin, and they went on 
 merrily enough till they came to some women weeping 
 sorely near a stream. 
 
 "What is the matter, good wives?" said Robin Hood. 
 
 "We w^ep for Robin Hood and his dear body, which 
 to-day must let blood, " was the answer. 
 
 "Pray why do you weep for me?" asked Robin; "the 
 Prioress is the daughter of my aunt, and well I know she 
 would not do me harm for all the world. " And he passed 
 on, with Little John at his side. 
 
 Soon they reached the Priory, where they were let in 
 by the Prioress herself, who bade them welcome heartily, ' 
 and not the less because Robin handed her twenty pounds 
 in gold as payment for his stay, and told her if he cost 
 her more, she was to let him know of it. Then she began 
 to bleed him, and for long Robin said nothing, giving her 
 credit for kindness and for knowing her art, but at length 
 so much blood came from him that he suspected treason. 
 He tried to open the door, for she had left him alone in 
 the room, but it was locked fast, and while the blood was 
 still flowing he could not escape from the casement. So 
 he lay down for many hours, and none came near him, 
 and at length the blood stopped. Slowly Robin uprose 
 
1 88 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 and staggered to the lattice-window, and blew thrice on 
 his horn; but the blast was so low, and so little like what 
 Robin was wont to give, that Little John, who was 
 watching for some sound, felt that his master must be 
 nigh to death. 
 
 At this thought he started to his feet, and ran swiftly 
 to the Priory. He broke the locks of all the doors that 
 stood between him and Robin Hood, and soon entered 
 the chamber where his master lay, white, with nigh all 
 his blood gone from him. 
 
 '' I crave a boon of you, dear master, " cried Little John. 
 
 "And w^hat is that boon," said Robin Hood, 'Svhich 
 Little John begs of me?" And Little John answered, 
 "It is to burn Kirkley Hall, and all the nunnery." 
 
 But Robin Hood, in spite of the wrong that had been 
 done him, would not listen to Little Jo hn's cry for re^ 
 venge. "I neygr huj:t _a woman in _a ll mv life," h e said. 
 *' nor a man that was in her company. But now my time 
 is done. That know I well. So give me my bow and a 
 broad arrow, and w^heresoever it falls there shall my 
 grave be digged. Lay a green sod under my head and 
 another at my feet, and put beside me my bow, w^hich 
 ever made sweetest music to my ears, and see that green 
 and gravel make my grave. And, Little John, take care 
 that I have length enough and breadth enough to 
 lie in. " So Robin he loosened his last arrow from the 
 string. He then died. And where the arrow fell Robin 
 was buried. 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 
 RICHARD THE LION-HEARTED 
 
 KING RICHARD, with his chief nobles, disem- 
 barked at Acre an hour before noon on the 8th 
 day of June, 1191. I had the good fortune to see him 
 without difficulty, by the favour of one who has a charge 
 in the ordering of the harbour. Nor was this a small 
 thing, for there was such a press and crowding of 
 men. 
 
 The King was as noble a warrior as ever I have seen. 
 Som"b that I have known were taller of stature, but never 
 one that bore himself more bravely and showed more 
 likelihood of strength and courage. They that are learned 
 in such things said that his arms were over-long for the 
 height of his body; but this is scarce a fault in a swords- 
 man, another inch of length adding I know not how 
 much of strength to a blow. He was of a ruddy com- 
 plexion, his eyes blue, with a most uncommon fire in 
 them, such as few could dare to look into if his wrath 
 was kindled, his countenance, such as befitted a ruler of 
 men, being of an aspect both generous and command- 
 ing. 
 
 Some ten days after his coming to the camp King 
 Richard was taken with sickness. This was never al- 
 together absent, but it grew worse, as might indeed be 
 looked for, in the heats of summer. The King sickened 
 on the day which the Christians celebrate as the Feast of 
 
1 9© Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 St. Barnabas.* I was called to see him, having, as I 
 have said, no small fame as a healer. Never have I 
 seen a sick man more intractable. My medicine he 
 swallowed readily, I may say, even greedily. Had I 
 suffered it, he would have taken it at intervals shorter by 
 far than I ordered. Doubtless he thought that the more 
 a man has of a good thing, the better it is for him. (So 
 indeed many believe, and of other things besides medi- 
 cine, but wholly without reason). But in this I hindered 
 him, leaving with those who ministered to him sufficient 
 for one dose only. 
 
 He was troubled about many things, about the siege, 
 which, as he justly thought, had already been too much 
 drawn out, about King Philip of France, whom he loved 
 not nor trusted, about his engines of war, of which the 
 greater part had not yet reached the camp; the ships 
 that bore them having been outsailed by the rest of the 
 fleet. His fever was of the intermittent sort, coming 
 upon him on alternate days. On the days when he was 
 whole, or as nearly whole as a man sick of this ague may 
 ever be, he was busy in the field, causing such engines 
 as he had to be set in convenient places for the assault 
 of the town, and in other cares such as fall to a general. 
 When he was perforce shut in his pavilion by access of 
 the fever, he suffered himself to take no rest. Messengers 
 were coming and going from morning to night with news 
 of the siege — he could never hear enough of the doings of 
 the French King — and there were always near him men 
 skilful in the working and making of engines. One 
 
 *The longest day according to the old calendar. So the old adage has 
 it: 
 
 " Barnaby bright, Bamaby bright; 
 Longest day and shortest night." 
 
Richard the Lion-Hearted 
 
 191 
 
 would show him some new thing pictured upon paper; 
 another would bring a little image, so to speak, of an 
 engine, made in wood or iron. Never was a child more 
 occupied with a toy than was King Richard with these 
 things. I am myself no judge of such matters, but I 
 have heard it said by men well acquainted with them, 
 that the King had a marvellous understanding of such 
 contrivances. But these cares were a great hindrance to 
 recovery. So at least I judged, and doubtless it had been 
 thus in the case of most men. But the King was not as 
 others, and, as it seemed to me, he drove away his dis- 
 ease by sheer force of will. 
 
 On a certain evening when King Richard was mending 
 apace of his fever one came to his tent — an English 
 knight, Hugh Brown by name — who brought the news 
 that the King of the French had commanded that a general 
 assault should be made on the town the very next day. 
 The King would fain know the cause of this sudden 
 resolve. "Well," said the English knight, '4t came 
 about, as I understand, in this fashion. The Turks 
 have this day destroyed two engines of King Philip on 
 which he had spent much time and gold." "Aye!" 
 said King Richard, "I know the two; the cat and the 
 mantlet. They are pretty contrivings the both of them, 
 but I set not such store on them as does my brother of 
 France." And here I should say that the cat was like 
 to a tent made of hides long and narrow and low upon the 
 ground, with a pointed end as it might be a plough- 
 share, which could be brought up to the walls by men 
 moving it from within, and so sheltered from the stones and 
 darts of the enemy. As for the mantlet, it was made 
 in somwhat the same fashfon, only it was less in size, 
 nor was it to be brought near to the wall. King Philip 
 
192 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 loved dearly to sit in it, cross-bow in hand — the French, 
 I noted, like rather the cross-bow, the English the 
 long-bow — and w^ould shoot his bolts at any Turk that 
 might show himself upon the walls. 
 
 But to come back to the knight's story. ''An hour or 
 so after noon, when the cat had been brought close to the 
 wall, and the mantlet was in its accustomed place, some 
 fifty yards distant, the Turks made an attack on both 
 at the same moment of time. On to the cat they dropped 
 a heavy beam ; and when this with its weight had broken 
 in the roof, or I should rather say the back of the cat, a 
 great quantity of brushwood, and after the brushwood 
 a whole pailful of Greek fire* — the machine was over near 
 to the wall, so that these things could be dropped on it 
 from above. At the mantlet they aimed bolts from a strong 
 engine which they had newly put in place, and by ill luck 
 broke it through. And verily before the nimblest- 
 tongued priest in the whole realm of England could say 
 a hunting-mass, both were in a blaze." 
 
 What the man might mean by the priest and the hunt- 
 ing-mass I knew not then, but heard after, that when a 
 noble wall go forth hunting, the service which they call 
 the mass is shortened to the utmost, and the priest that 
 can say it more speedily than his brethren is best esteemed. 
 
 "And my brother of France," cried the King, ''how 
 fared he ?" " He had as narrow an escape with his life," 
 answered the knight, "as ever had Christian king. His 
 mantle, nay his very hair was singed, and as for his cross- 
 bow, he was constrained to leave it behind." "And 
 he gave commands for the assault in his anger?" said 
 the King. " 'Tis even so," answered Sir Hugh. 
 
 * A composition, supposedly of asphalt, nitre and sulphur. It burnt 
 under water. 
 
Richard the Lion-Hearted 193 
 
 "My brother of France is, methinks, too greedy of 
 gain and glory ; if he had been willing to ask our help, he 
 had done better." But King Richard sorrowed for the 
 brave men, fellow-soldiers of the Cross with him, who 
 had fallen to no purpose. Nevertheless, in his secret 
 heart, he was not ill-pleased that the French King had not 
 taken the town of Acre. 
 
 On the second day after the failure of the French 
 assault upon the town, King Richard would make his 
 own essay. He was not yet wholly recovered of his 
 sickness; but it would have passed the wit of man to 
 devise means by which he could be kept within his 
 pavilion; nor must it be forgotten that such restraint 
 might have done him more of harm than of good. So 
 his physicians, for he had those who regularly waited on 
 him (though I make bold to say that he trusted in me 
 rather than in them), gave him the permission which he 
 had taken. He had caused a mantlet to be built for him 
 which was brought up to the edge of the ditch with which 
 the town was surrounded. In this he sat, with a cross- 
 bow in hand, and shot not a few of the enemy, being 
 skilful beyond the common in the use of this weapon. 
 But towns are not taken by the shooting of bolts, how- 
 soever well aimed they may be. This may not be done 
 save by coming to close quarters. 
 
 It was on the thirty-fourth day after the coming of 
 King Richard that the town was given up. Proclamation 
 was made throughout the camp that no one should tres- 
 pass by deed or word against the departing Turks. And, 
 indeed, he who would insult men so brave would be of a 
 poor and churlish spirit. To the last they bore them- 
 selves with great courage and dignity. On the morning 
 of the day of their departure they dressed themselves in 
 
194 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 their richest apparel, and being so drest showed them- 
 selves on the walls. This done, they laid aside their 
 garments, piling them in a great heap in the market-place, 
 and so marched forth from the town, each clad in his 
 shirt only, but with a most cheerful contenance. 
 
 When the last of the Turks had left the town the 
 Christian army entered. Half of it was given to the 
 French king, who had for his own abode the House of 
 the Templars, and half to King Richard, to whom was 
 assigned the palace of the Caliph. In like manner the 
 prisoners and all the treasure were equally divided. 
 
 For one shameful deed the English King must answer. 
 Of this deed I will now tell the story. When the army 
 had had sufficient rest — and the King knew well that 
 no army must have more than is sufficient, suffering 
 more from excess than from defect in this matter — and 
 it was now time to advance, there arose a great question 
 touching the agreement made when the town was given 
 up. There was much going to and fro of messengers 
 and embassies between the English King and the Caliph 
 Saladin, much debating, and many accusations bandied 
 to and fro. Even to this day no man can speak cer- 
 tainly of what was done or not done in this matter. 
 What I write, I write according to the best of my know- 
 ledge. First, then, it is beyond all doubt that the Caliph 
 did not send either the Holy Cross or the money which 
 had been covenanted, or the prisoners whom he had 
 promised to deliver up; but as to the cause wherefore 
 he did not send them there is no agreement, the Christians 
 affirming one thing, the followers of Mahomet another. 
 As to the Holy Cross, let that be put out of the account. 
 No man that I ever talked with — and I have talked with 
 many — ever saw it. 'Tis much to be doubted whether 
 
Richard the Lion- Hearted 
 
 195 
 
 it was in being. As to the money, that the Cahph had 
 it, or a great portion of it, at hand, is certainly true. It 
 was seen and counted by King Richard's own envoys. 
 As to the prisoners, it is hard to discover the truth. For 
 my part, I beheve that the Cahph was ready to dehver 
 up all that he had in his own hands or could find else- 
 where, but that he had promised more in respect of this 
 than he was able to perform. Many of those whom he 
 had covenanted to restore were dead, either of disease 
 or by violence. As for disease, it must be noted that a 
 sick man was likely to fare worse in the hands of Turks ; 
 as for violence, there was not much diversity between the 
 Christians and the followers of Mahomet. But this may 
 be said, that one who invades the land of others is like 
 to suffer worse injury should he come into their power 
 than he would have the disposition to inflict upon them. 
 Whatever, then, the cause, the Caliph had engaged in 
 this matter far more than he was able to perform. But 
 he did not fail from want of good faith. I take it that it 
 was from the matter of the money that there came the 
 breaking of the agreement. To put it very shortly, the 
 Caliph said, "Restore to me the hostages and you shall 
 receive the gold"; King Richard said, ''Send on the 
 gold and you shall receive the hostages." And neither 
 was the Caliph walling to trust the good faith of the King, 
 nor the King the good faith of the Caliph. 
 
 So there was delay after delay, much talk to no pur- 
 pose, and the hearts of men, both on one side and on the 
 other, growing more hot with anger from day to day. 
 And there was also the need which increased from day to 
 day, as, indeed, it needs must, for the Christians to be 
 about the business on which they came. They had taken 
 the town of Acre, but that was but the beginning of their 
 
196 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 enterprise, for they had to conquer the whole land. And 
 how could the army march with a whole mulitude of 
 prisoners in their hands ? It would need no small num- 
 ber of men to keep watch over them, lest they should 
 escape, or, what was more to be feared, do an injury to 
 the army. What could be worse in a doubtful battle 
 than that there should be these enemies in its very midst ? 
 r set these things down because I w^ould not do an in- 
 justice to the English King, whom I have always held as 
 one to be greatly admired. Nevertheless I say again, 
 that in the matter of the prisoners he did a shameful deed. 
 For on the 20th day of August he commanded that all the 
 prisoners that were in his hands, whether they had been 
 taken in battle, or delivered up as hostages for the ful- 
 filment of the covenant, should be led out of the city and 
 slain. These were in number between two and three 
 thousand. Some the King kept alive, for whom, as 
 being of high nobility and great wealth, he hoped to 
 receive a ransom; others were saved by private persons, 
 a few for compassion's sake; and others in the hope of 
 gain. But the greater part were slain without mercy, 
 the soldiers falling upon them, without arms and help- 
 less as they were. 
 
 It was soon made plain to all that the spirit of the 
 Caliph and his Turks was not broken by the losing of 
 Acre. Rather were they stirred up by it to more earnest- 
 ness and courage; nor did they forget how their country- 
 men had been cruelly slaughtered. For a time they 
 were content to watch the King's army as it went on its 
 way, taking such occasion as offered itself of plundering 
 or slaying. If any lagged behind, falling out of the line 
 of march by reason of weariness, or seeking refreshment 
 on the way, as when there was a spring of water near to 
 
Richard the Lion-Hearted 
 
 197 
 
 the road, or a vineyard with grapes — 'twas just the time 
 of the ripening of grapes — then the Turkish horsemen 
 would be upon him. Such loiterers escaped but seldom. 
 And for this business the Turks had a particular fitness, 
 so quickly did they come and depart. The Christian 
 knights were clad in armour, a great defense, indeed, 
 against arrows and stones, but a great hindrance if a 
 man would move quickly; the horses also had armour 
 on them. Why do they set men on horses but that 
 they may go speedily to and fro as occasion may call? 
 but these knights are like to fortresses rather than to 
 riders. A man on foot can easily outrun them; as for 
 the Turks who rode on horses from the desert — than 
 which there is no creature on earth lighter and speedier 
 — they flew from the Christian who would pursue them, 
 as a bird flies from a child who would catch it. 
 
 All this while the Turks were close at hand, and ready 
 to assault the King's army so soon as a convenient occa- 
 sion would arise. But they did not take King Richard 
 unaware, for indeed he was as watchful as he was brave. 
 
 I will now set forth as briefly as may be the order of 
 the army as it was set out for battle at Arsuf. On the 
 right hand of the army was the sea, its front being set 
 towards the south. In the van were the Templars, and 
 next to these the Frenchmen in two divisions, the second 
 being led by that Guy who called himself King of 
 Jerusalem, and after the Frenchmen King Richard 
 with his Englishmen; last of aU, holding the rear-guard, 
 were the Hospitallers. These are ever rivals of the 
 Templars, and it was the King's custom so to order his 
 disposition that this rivalry should work for the common 
 good. On one day the Templars would lead, and the 
 Hospitallers bring up the rear; on another each would 
 
igS Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 take the other's place; and there was ever a mighty 
 contention between the two companies which would bear 
 itself the better. These two posts, it should be said, 
 were the most full of peril; nor was any part of the army 
 save only these two companies suffered to hold either 
 the one or the other. Between the divisions there was 
 a small space, not more that sufficient to mark one from 
 the other: otherwise the soldiers stood and marched in 
 as close array as might be. Also they moved very slowly, 
 travelling less than a league in the space of two hours. 
 And even the King with some chosen knights rode up and 
 down the lines, watching at the same time the Turks, 
 so that whenever they might make assault the army 
 might be ready to meet them. 
 
 Now King Richard's commandment had been that 
 the Christians should on no account break their lines to 
 attack the enemy, but should only defend themselves as 
 best they could. There is nothing harder in the whole 
 duty of a soldier than so to stand; even they who have 
 been men of war from their youth grow greatly impatient ; 
 as for the younger sort they often fail to endure altogether. 
 Many a man will sooner throw himself upon almost sure 
 death than abide danger less by far standing still. And 
 so it could be seen that day in the Christian army. The 
 first to fail were the men that carried the cross-bows; 
 nor, indeed, is it to be wondered at that when they had 
 spent their store of bolts, they, having but short swords 
 wherewith to defend themselves, should be ill content 
 to hold their place. Many I did see throw away their 
 bows and fly, thrusting themselves by main force into 
 the ranks of the men-at-arms, who liked not to beat 
 them back, nor yet to suffer them to pass. And they 
 themselves had much ado to hold their ground, for it 
 
Richard the Lion-Hearted 199 
 
 was a very fierce assault that they had to endure. In the 
 first place there was such a shower of darts and stones 
 and arrows that the very light of the sun itself was dark- 
 ened, a thing which I had always before judged to be 
 a fable, but saw that day to be possible. The greater 
 part of them, it is true, fell without effect to the ground, 
 for of twenty missiles scarce one served its purpose, but 
 some were not cast in vain. As for the number, they 
 lay so thick upon the ground that a man might gather 
 twenty into his hand without moving from his place. 
 
 About noon the Knights Hospitallers themselves, 
 than whom, as I have said, there were no braver men in 
 the whole army, sent word to the King that they could 
 bear up no longer, unless they should be suffered to charge 
 the enemy. But they got small comfort from the King. 
 "Close up your lines," he said to the messenger, "and 
 be patient. Be sure that you shall not miss your reward. " 
 A second time did they send to him, the Master of the 
 Company himself going on the errand, but he also came 
 back with nothing done. Now the King's plan was this, 
 that when the Turks should have spent their strength, 
 and should also, through over-confidence and contempt 
 of their adversaries, have fallen into disorder, then the 
 trumpets should sound, and the whole army with one 
 consent and moving all together, so that the whole of 
 its strength should be put, as it were, into one blow, 
 should fall upon the enemy. 'Twas a wisely conceived 
 plan, save in this that there was needed for the full carry 
 ing out more than the King was like to find. He laid 
 upon his soldiers a greater burden of patience than they 
 could bear. 
 
 As for the King, he was, I can scarce doubt, glad at 
 heart that the season of waiting was over. Certain 
 
200 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 it is that not only did he not seek to call back his men 
 from the charge — doubtless he knew full well that to do 
 thit was beyond the power of mortal — but he himself joined 
 in it with the greatest vehemence; none that saw him 
 but must have believed that the affair was altogether to 
 his liking. If others were before him at the first, but a 
 short time had passed when he was to be seen in the 
 front rank, aye, and before it. Where he rode, it was 
 as if Azrael had passed, for the dead lay upon the ground 
 on either side. 
 
 Never had the Caliph Saladin suffered so great a defeat 
 as that which fell upon him in the battle of Arsuf; 
 never, indeed, after that day did he dare to meet King 
 Richard in the open field. Nevertheless, from that very 
 day did the hope of the Christians that they should ac- 
 complish the end of their warfare grow less and less. 
 But, if any one ask what was the cause of this falling, 
 and who should bear the blame, I, for one, know not 
 what answer should be made to him. There was not 
 one in the whole army more brave and more generous 
 in this matter than King Richard; yet even he, I hold, 
 had not a wholly single heart. He was ever thinking of 
 worldly things; he desired greatly to win the city of Jeru- 
 salem, yet he desired it as much for his own sake, for 
 his own glory and renown, and the increase of his royal 
 power, as for any other cause. 
 
 There is no need to tell of all the combats, skirmishes, 
 and the like that took place, how on one day a company 
 of the Templars fell into an ambush, how on another 
 the Hospitallers suffered some damage. For the most 
 part the Christians had the better in these things, and 
 this not a little because of the great skill and valour of 
 the English King. Nevertheless, the fortunes of the 
 
Richard the Lion-Hearted 201 
 
 army seemed to go backwards rather than for- 
 wards. 
 
 About this time the King began to have dealings for 
 peace with the Caliph Saladin, sending an embassage 
 to him, and receiving the Hke from him. But it was 
 ever thus that the King asked more than he looked for 
 the Caliph to give; and the Caliph promised more than 
 he had the purpose to fulfil. There were many courtesies 
 passed between them, and gifts also. King Richard 
 would send a set of hawks, and, indeed, he had not much 
 that he could give; but the presents that came from the 
 Caliph were of exceeding richness and splendour; there 
 was a tent made of cloth of gold, and horses such as Kings 
 only have in their stalls, and rare beasts and birds, and 
 snow from Lebanon, for the cooling of wines, and many 
 other things, both for show and for use, of which it were 
 long to tell. And these things, for all that they were 
 costly, served the Caliph's purpose well, and for this 
 reason, they seemed to show his good will, and all the 
 while he was busy destroying the towns and laying waste 
 the country. Of these things the King heard something, 
 but not all, for in the matter of news he was ill served. And 
 all the while the Turks ceased not to do all the mischief 
 that they could, slaying such as strayed from the camp, 
 yea, and coming into the camp itself, and doing 
 men to death in their very tents, and Saladin, or rather 
 Saphadin, his brother, for he it was who held con- 
 verse with King Richard, when complaints were 
 made of their deeds, affirmed that they were done 
 by robbers and others who were not subject to 
 him, and paid no reverence to his commands; of 
 which pretence there need be said this only, that 
 these robbers or murderers, whether they were the 
 
202 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 Caliph's men or no, never harmed any but such as were 
 his enemies. 
 
 For all this King Richard still strove by all means 
 that he could devise to come to a peaceful agreement 
 with his adversaries. Nor did he refuse any instrument 
 by which he might hope to compass this end. 
 
 When a whole moon had been wasted in parleying 
 and the sending of messengers to and' fro, the King, 
 seeing that he must accomplish his purpose by force 
 of arms or not at all, led his army towards the Holy City. 
 It would serve no profitable end to tell of the other places 
 where he pitched his camp, or of the days which he tarried 
 in this or that. Let it sufi&ce to say that in a month's 
 time he traversed so much space only as an army well 
 equipped might pass over in a single day's march; and 
 that about twenty-one days after the winter solstice 
 the army of the Christians came to a certain place which 
 is named the Casal of Beitenoble, and which in ancient 
 times was, if I err not, a city of the priests. There 
 it tarried some twelve days, being much troubled 
 by storms and rains, for the winds blew and the rains 
 fell during the whole of this time, in such a fashion as 
 I have never seen. As for the tents, only such as were 
 appointed with ropes and so forth could be kept in their 
 place, so violent were the blasts, so that the greater part 
 of the army lay under the open sky, not a little to the 
 damage of their health. The horses also were in evil 
 case. These creatures, all men know, suffer from much 
 sickness, and multitudes of them perished. Also there 
 was a great scarcity of victuals; for the corn and even 
 the biscuit were spoilt by the rain, and the hogs' flesh 
 grew corrupt. 
 
 Though not a few died of sickness, yet did the host 
 
Richard the Lion-Hearted 203 
 
 daily grow greater. Many who had stayed behind in 
 various cities, their zeal having grown stale, now came 
 back to the camp, judging that they would do well to 
 take part in an enterprise that was now near to success. 
 Also many that had tarried on the march for the cause 
 of sickness now made shift to come to the camp. Some 
 I saw carried in litters, and others that could scarce 
 set one foot before the other crawled painfully along the 
 road. Many of these were slain by the Turks, but not 
 the less did the rest brave the dangers of the journey. 
 And in the camp there was a great furbishing of arms 
 and armour, and trimming of the plumes of helmets, 
 for it was counted an unseemly thing that any man should 
 enter such a place as the Holy City save in his best array. 
 
 On a certain evening, some eleven days after the coming 
 of the army to Beitenoble, there was a council held in the 
 tent of King Richard, at which were present the Master 
 of the Templars and the Master of the Hospitallers, and 
 other chief men in the army. About an hour after 
 sunset the council came to an end; darkness had long 
 since fallen, but it chanced to be full moon, and the faces 
 of them that had been present at the council were plain 
 to be seen. Before ever a word was said, it was manifest 
 to all that a great misfotrune had befallen them. For 
 the faces of these men were clouded with discouragement. 
 And straightway all the multitude that had been gathered 
 together departed every man to his own place. There 
 needed no proclaiming that neither on the morrow nor 
 on any other day would there be a marching to the Holy 
 City. 
 
 On the 8th day of January the army departed from 
 Beitenoble, and on the 20th it came, after much toil and 
 suffering, for the rain and tempest scarcely abated for 
 
204 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 a single hour through the twelve days, to the city of 
 Ascalon. 
 
 For some little time, King Richard and his army dwelt 
 in peace in the city of Ascalon. Nor can it be denied 
 that they gathered strength; the sick, being duly handled 
 by their physicians, were restored to a sound body, and 
 they that were wearied with the labours of long-continued 
 warfare had rest and refreshment. Nevertheless it 
 it may be doubted whether the King was able to advance 
 the cause at all which he had in hand, namely, the taking 
 of the Holy City. And the chief cause was this, that the 
 Christians, not having for the present a common foe 
 with whom to contend, began to quarrel among them- 
 selves more grievously than ever. So the King and the 
 French, among whom, now that the French King had 
 departed to his own land, a certain Duke of Burgundy 
 was chief, fell out, and this with such heat, that the duke 
 departed from Ascalon to Acre in great haste, and all 
 the Frenchmen followed him. 
 
 Now about this same time there came a messenger 
 to King Richard bearing a letter from one that he had 
 set to rule in England in his stead while he should be 
 absent from his kingdom. In this letter there were 
 written many things about the doings of Prince John 
 the King's brother: how he had commerce with the 
 French to the King's damage, and was troubling all 
 loyal men, and had taken all the money that was in the 
 treasury. When the King heard these things he was 
 sore distraught. And indeed he was in a great strait. On 
 the one hand there was the purpose for which he had 
 come on his present journey, the taking again of the 
 Holy City; and, on the other, there was the loss of his 
 own kingdom at home. For in the letter it was plainly 
 
Richard the Lion-Hearted 205 
 
 * 
 written that if he was not speedy in returning, all the 
 
 realm of England would be lost to him. 
 
 At the first he made no doubt of departing with but 
 as little delay as might be. ''I must be gone," he said, 
 "or my kingdom will not be worth a silver penny. " But 
 before many days his purpose was changed. 'Twas 
 said that a holy man, a priest of the land of France, 
 took courage to speak to him and set before him his duty 
 in this matter. He said that the hearts of all were sorely 
 troubled by the King's purpose to depart — and this was 
 most certainly true, seeing that they who were most 
 jealous of the King and chafed most at his command 
 were not less dismayed by the news of his departure than 
 were his best friends. ''Think too, "he is reported to 
 have spoken, ''how that you will greatly dim your kingly 
 renown. You have done well, O King, and God has 
 manifestly bestowed His blessings on you. Will you 
 then be ungrateful, and, if your royal grace will suffer 
 me to say so much, unfaithful to Him? Verily there is 
 a great reward laid up for him that recovers the Holy 
 City out of the hands of the heathen, and will you give 
 this up on the bare rumour of mischief that may befall 
 your estate in this world?" So the holy man is reported 
 to have spoken. Such words may have had weight with 
 the King, who was ever greatly moved by eloquent words. 
 But I also believe that when he came to himself he judged 
 that there was no great need of haste in the matter; that 
 the Prince John his brother was not greatly loved, nor 
 was ever like to be; that when the people of England had 
 had a year's trial of his rule, if such should come to pass, 
 they would be the less likely to stand by him; and, more- 
 over, that if Richard should go back to his country in 
 high esteem among all men, as having set up yet again 
 a Christian Kingdom in the Holy City, his enemies would 
 
2o6 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 be brought nought by the mere rumour of his coming. 
 Certain it is that, let the cause be what it might, he caused 
 it to be made known throughout the army that they 
 would set out for the Holy City in three days' time. 
 
 Again there was great joy in the army; again the sick 
 rose from their beds, and the lame threw away there 
 crutches, that they might go without hindrance on this 
 great journey. Again did the army come almost in sight 
 of the Holy City; again were all things ready for the 
 assault. And then once more the more skilful and 
 prudent of the leaders hindered the matter. It was not 
 well, they said to run into such danger. It might well 
 be that if they should assail the city they would not take 
 it; it was well-nigh certain that even if they should take 
 it, they could not hold it to any good purpose. And so 
 it came to pass that King Richard and the army having 
 once more come to Beitenoble, once more departed, 
 leaving their task unaccomplished. 
 
 When the leaders had taken this resolve that they 
 would turn back and the army was now about to depart, 
 there came to King Richard a certain man-at-arms, 
 who was well acquainted with the country, for indeed, 
 he had travelled on foot as a pilgrim from the coast to 
 Jerusalem, and this not once only but twice or thrice. 
 This man said," My lord King, if you are minded to see 
 the Holy City, you can do so at little pains. If you will 
 ride a mile or so you will come to a hill from whence 
 you can see the walls, and the hill on which the temple 
 was built and other of the Holy places." But the King 
 answered, ''I thank you much, nor, indeed, is there any 
 sight in the whole world on which I would more gladly look 
 wath my eyes, but I am not worthy of so great a favour 
 If it had been the will of God that I should see His city 
 I do not doubt that I had done so, not as one who looks 
 
Richard the Lion-Hearted 207 
 
 upon some spectacle from far, but as the conqueror 
 in some great battle looks upon the thing that he has won. 
 But of this grace I, by reason I doubt not of my sins, 
 have been judged unworthy." And when he had so 
 spoken he turned his horse's head to the west, as being 
 minded to return yet again to the sea-coast. And this 
 he did. 
 
 I have spoken of the King's courage and skill in arms 
 and wisdom in leadership, nor need I say these things 
 again. But one thing I will add, namely, that of all the 
 men that came to this land from the West none left behind 
 him so great a fame as did King Richard. So if a mother 
 was minded to make a crying child hold his peace, she 
 would say, ''Hush, child, or King Richard shall have 
 thee"; or if a horse started unaware, his rider would say, 
 " Dost see King Richard in the bush?" V 
 
 On the 9th day of October, 1192, did King Richard 
 set sail to return to his own country. But it fared ill 
 with him on his journey. For it fell out that he was 
 separated from all his friends, and that when he was in 
 this case a certain duke, with whom he had had a strife, 
 laid hands upon him, and laid him in prison. There 
 he remained for the space of a year and more, fretting 
 much, I doubt not, against his condition, for never surely 
 was a man more impatient of bonds. But he could not 
 escape, nor did his friends so much as know where he 
 was. And when this was discovered by some strange 
 chance, there was yet much delay, nor indeed was he 
 set free till there had been paid for him a ransom of many 
 thousands of gold pieces. Not many years after he was 
 slain by a chance arrow shot from the walls of a certain 
 castle which he was besieging, being then in the forty- 
 second year of his age. 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 
 SAINT LOUIS 
 
 KING LOUIS sailing from Cyprus about the 24th 
 day of May, 1249, came with a fair wind to 
 Egypt in some four days, having a great fleet of ships, 
 numbering in all, it was said, some eighteen hun- 
 dred, great and small. And now there fell upon him 
 the first stroke of misfortune. There arose a strong 
 wind from the south which scattered the fleet, so that not 
 more than a third part remained with the King. As for 
 the others, they were blown far to the north, even to the 
 town of Acre, and, though none were cast away, it was 
 many days before they could return. Now the King's 
 purpose was to lay siege to the town of Damietta, a town 
 which is built on the midmost of the seven mouths of the 
 Nile. It was commonly agreed that whoever should hold 
 possession of this said town of Damietta might go whither- 
 soever he would in the whole land of Egypt, and further, 
 that whosoever should be master of Egypt could do what 
 he would in the land of Palestine. 
 
 When the King came with what was left to him over 
 against the city of Damietta there was much debate 
 between him and his counsellors as to what might best be 
 done. ''I have no mind," said he, "to turn back, having, 
 by the grace of God, come so far. Say you that I should 
 do well to wait for those who have been separated from 
 us ? That I would gladly do, for it grieves me much that 
 they lose, so far, their share in this great enterprise. But 
 
 208 
 
Saint Louis 209 
 
 two reasons constrain me to do otherwise. First, it 
 would put the infidel in great heart if they should see me 
 so delay to make trial of them; and, second, there is here 
 no harbour or safe anchorage where I might wait. Nay, 
 my lords, it is my purpose to attack the enemy without 
 delay, for the Lord our God can save by few or by many." 
 
 The King being thus steadfastly resolved to have no 
 more delay, his nobles and knights could not choose but 
 obey him. This being so, they strove among themselves 
 who should be the first to come to blows with the enemy. 
 There were small boats with the larger of the ships, and 
 these were filled with men and rowed to the shore. This 
 was not done wholly without loss, for some slipped as 
 they descended from the ships, or missed their feet, the 
 boat moving from under them with the motion of the 
 waves, so that some were drowned and others hardly 
 saved. 
 
 Meanwhile they took the great flag of Saint Denys, 
 from the ship in which it was, and carried it to the shore. 
 But when the King saw the flag on the shore he would 
 tarry no longer, but leapt into the sea, accoutred as he 
 was, and the water came up to his armpits. When he 
 saw the Saracens, he said to the knight that followed 
 him, ''Who are these?" And the knight answered, 
 ''These, sir, are the Saracens." When he heard this he 
 put his lance in rest, and held his shield before him, and 
 would have charged them, but his counsellors would 
 not suffer it. 
 
 When the enemy saw that the King and his men had 
 landed, they sent a message to the Sultan by carrier- 
 pigeons; this they did three times. But it so chanced 
 that the Sultan was in a fit of the fever which troubled 
 him in the summer time, and he sent no answer. Then 
 
2IO Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 his men, thinking that he was dead, for they knew al- 
 ready that he was sick, fled straightway from the town of 
 Damietta. When the King knew this for certain, the 
 bishops that were in the army sang the Te Deum with 
 great joy. The army which King Louis brought with 
 him numbered thirty thousand men. 
 
 The army being thus established in the town of Dam- 
 ietta, there w^as much debate as to what should be done. 
 The King w^as set upon assailing the enemy without 
 delay. *'It is by delay," he said, and said truly, ''that 
 these enterprises have been ruined heretofore, for not 
 only does an army grow less and less with every day by 
 sickness — keep it as carefully as you will, such loss must 
 needs happen — but the first fire of zeal begins to burn 
 low." To such purpose the King spoke to his coun- 
 sellors, nor could they gainsay his words. Yet they had 
 to urge on the other part reasons so weighty that they 
 could not be resisted. 
 
 The truth is that there could not have been chosen 
 a worse time for the waging of war in Egypt than that at 
 which the King arrived. Whereas other rivers overflow 
 their banks in the winter season, the Nile overflows 
 his in summer, and this he does because his stream is 
 swollen, not by rains that fall in the land of Egypt, for 
 such rains are more scanty than in any other country of 
 the world, but by those that fall in countries far inland 
 and, haply, by the melting of snows. So it is that in 
 that part of Egypt which is nearest to the sea the river 
 begins to rise in the month of June, and for a quarter of 
 a year or so thereafter an army must rest perforce. The 
 King was very ill served in his ministers when he was 
 suffered to remain in ignorance of these things. Never- 
 theless, the case being so, he had no choice but to accept 
 
Saint Louis 211 
 
 the counsel of delay. It was agreed, therefore, that the 
 army should tarry in Damietta till the floods of the river 
 should have ceased. 
 
 In the beginning of the month of December the King 
 set out for Cairo with his army. Now the Sultan had 
 sent five hundred of his knights, the bravest warriors 
 and the best mounted that he could find in his whole 
 army, to the end that they should harass the King's army 
 as much as might be. Now the King being very careful 
 of the lives of his men, as knowing that a soldier lost 
 could not be replaced, had given a strict commandment 
 that no one should presume to leave the line of march and 
 charge the enemy. When the Turks saw this, or, haply, 
 had learnt from their spies that the King had given this 
 commandment, they grew bolder and bolder, till one of 
 them, riding up to the line, overthrew one of the Knights 
 Templar. This was done under the very eyes of the 
 Master of the Temple, who, when he saw it, could no 
 longer endure to be quiet. So he cried to his brethren, 
 *' At them, good sirs, for this is more than can be borne." 
 So he spurred his horse, and the other Templars with him, 
 and charged the Turks. And because their horses were 
 fresh and the horses of the Turks weary, they bore them 
 down. It was said that not one of the five hundred es- 
 caped, many being ridden down, and the rest being 
 drowned in the river. 
 
 After this the King encamped between the two branches 
 of the Nile, that which flows by Damietta and that which 
 is the next to it toward the sunsetting. On the other 
 side of this branch was ranged the army of the Sultan, to 
 hinder the Christians from passing, an easy thing seeing 
 that there was no ford, nor any place where a man might 
 cross save by swimming. 
 
212 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 While they were in this strait there came a Bedouin 
 to the camp, who said that for five hundred pieces of 
 gold he would show them a good ford. When the Con- 
 stable Imbert, to whom the Bedouin had spoken of this 
 ford, told the matter to the King, the King said, '*I will 
 give the gold right willingly; only be sure that the man 
 perform his part of the bargain." So the constable 
 parleyed with the man; but the Bedouin would not 
 depart from his purpose. **Give me the gold," said 
 he, ''and I will show you the ford." And because 
 the King was in a strait, he consented; so the man 
 received the five hundred pieces, and he showed the ford 
 to certain that were sent with him. 
 
 It was agreed that the Duke of Burgundy and other 
 nobles who were not of France should keep guard in the 
 camp, and that the King with his brothers should ford 
 the river at the place which the Arab should show. So, 
 all being ready, at daybreak they came down to the water. 
 A ford there was, but not such as a man would choose 
 save in the greatest need. 
 
 The King, having with him the main body of the army, 
 crossed amidst a great sounding of horns and trumpets. 
 It was a noble sight to see, and nothing in it nobler and 
 more admirable than the King himself. A fairer knight 
 there never was, and he stood with a gilded helmet on 
 his head, and a long German sword in his hand, being by 
 his head and shoulders taller than the crowd. Then he 
 and his knights charged the Saracens, who by this time 
 had taken a stand again on the river bank. It was a 
 great feat of arms. No man drew long-bow that day 
 or plied cross-bow. The Crusaders and the Saracens 
 fought with mace and sword, neither keeping their ranks, 
 but all being confused together. 
 
Saint Louis 
 
 213 
 
 But the Crusaders, for all their valour, could scarce 
 hold their own, because the enemy outnumbered them 
 by much. Also there was a division of counsel among 
 them. Also there came a messenger from them that 
 were shut up in Mansoura, telling the King how hard 
 pressed they were, and in what instant need of suc- 
 cour. 
 
 And now the Sacarens grew more and more confident, 
 for they were greatly the better in numbers ; and if, man 
 for man and in the matter of arms and armour, they were 
 scarce equal to the Crusaders, yet the difference was not 
 so great. They pushed on, therefore, and drove the 
 Christians back to the river. These were very hard 
 pressed, and some w^re for swimming across the river to 
 the camp, but by this time their horses were weary, and 
 not a few perished by drowning. 
 
 Nevertheless as time passed the Crusaders fared some- 
 what better, for they drew more together, and the enemy, 
 seeing that they still held their ground, and being them- 
 selves not a little weary, drew back. In the end the 
 King and such of the chiefs as were left got back into 
 the camp. Right glad they were to rest, for the battle 
 had been long and fierce. 
 
 But they had but little peace, for that very night the 
 Saracens made an attack upon the camp. A great dis- 
 turbance they made, and most unwelcome to men w^ho 
 had been fighting all the day. But they did not work 
 much harm. Many valiant deeds were done by the 
 Christians. 
 
 But the Saracens were making ready for attacking 
 the camp with more force than before. And their leader 
 could be seen from the camp, taking account of the 
 Crusaders, and strengthening his battalions where he 
 
214 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 thought that the King's camp might be most conveniently 
 assailed. 
 
 The first attack was made on the Count of Anjou. 
 He held that part of the camp that was nearest to the 
 city of Cairo. Some of the enemy were on horseback 
 and some on foot ; there were some also that threw Greek 
 fire among the count's men. Between them they pressed 
 the count so sorely that he was fain to send to the King 
 for help. This the King gave without loss of time; he 
 led the men himself, and it was not long before they 
 chased the Saracens from this part of the field. 
 
 When the battle was over the King called the barons 
 to his tent, and thanked them for all that they had done, 
 and gave them great encouragement, saying that as they 
 had driven back the Saracens over and again, it would, 
 beyond doubt, go well with them in the end. 
 
 And now the army was sore distressed for want both 
 of food and of water. In Damietta, indeed, there were 
 yet stores of barley, rice, and other grains; but in the 
 camp scarce anything that could be eaten. Some small 
 fishes were caught in the river; but these were very ill 
 savoured, and all the more so — so, at least, it seemed 
 to such as eat them under constraint of hunger — because 
 they fed on dead bodies, of which many were thrown into 
 the river. For a while some portion of the stores that 
 were in the city were carried across the river to the camp. 
 But this the Saracens hindered, for by this time their 
 ships had the mastery over the ships of the Christians. 
 They kept, therefore, the river, suffering nothing to pass. 
 If anything was carried across, it was but a trifle. Some 
 things the country people brought into the camp, but 
 these were not to be purchased save for large sums of 
 money, and money was by this time scarce even among 
 
Saint Louis 215 
 
 the richer sort. And when it was judged expedient that 
 the King's army should cross the river again and return 
 to the camp, things were worse rather than better, so 
 far as victuals were concerned. It was well that the 
 army should be brought together, both for attack and 
 for defence, but with the greater multitude the famine 
 grew worse and worse. 
 
 After a while there was a treating for peace between 
 the King and the Saracens; and for a while it seemed as 
 if they might come to an agreement, and this not without 
 advantage to the King. But the matter came to naught, 
 because the Saracens would have the King himself as a 
 hostage for the due performance of the treaty. The 
 Christians would have given the King's brothers, and 
 these were willing to go; but the King they could not 
 give. *'It would be better," said one of the bravest 
 knights in the army, and in this matter he spake the mind 
 of all, ''that we should all be taken captive or slain, than 
 that we should leave the King in pledge." 
 
 The King, seeing that the condition of the army still 
 grew from bad to worse, and that if they tarried they 
 would all be dead men, commanded that they should 
 make their w^ay into the town of Damietta. And this 
 the army began to do the very next night. Now the 
 first thing to be cared for was the taking of the sick, of 
 whom there was a great multitude, on board the ships. 
 But while this was being done, the Saracens entered the 
 camp on the other side. When the sailors who were 
 busy in embarking the sick saw this, they loosed the 
 ■cables by which they were moored to the shore, and 
 made as if they would fly. Now the King was on the 
 bank of the river, and there was a galley in waiting for 
 him, whereon, if he had been so minded, he might easily 
 
2i6 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 have escaped. Nor could he have been blamed therefor, 
 because he was afflicted with the dysentery that pre- 
 vailed in the camp. But this he would not do; ''Nay," 
 he said, "I will stay with my people." But when there 
 was now no hope of safety, one of his officers took him, 
 mounted as he was on a pony, to a village hard by, defend- 
 ing him all the way from such as chanced ^o fall in with 
 him — but none knew that he was the King. When he 
 was come to the village they took him into a house that 
 there was, and laid him down almost dead. A good 
 woman of Paris that was there took his head upon her 
 lap, and there was no one but thought that he would die 
 before nightfall. Then one of the nobles coming in 
 asked the King whether he should not go to the chief of 
 the Saracens, and see whether a treaty might not yet be 
 made on such terms as they would. The King said yes; 
 so he went. Now there was a company of the Saracens 
 round the house, whither by this time not a few of the 
 Christians had assembled. And one of the King's 
 officers cried — whether from fear or with traitorous intent 
 cannot be said — "Sir knights, surrender yourselves! 
 The King will have it so; if you do not, the King will 
 perish." So the knights gave up their swords, and the 
 Saracens took them as prisoners. When the chief of the 
 Saracens, with whom the noble aforesaid was talking, 
 saw them, he said, "There can be no talk of truce and 
 agreement with these men; they are prisoners." 
 
 And now the question was not of a treaty but a ransom. 
 About this there was no little debate between the Sultan 
 and the King. First the Sultan required that the King 
 should surrender to him the castles of the Knights Tem- 
 <j)lars and of the Hospitallers of St. John. "Nay," said 
 ihe King, "that I cannot do, for they are not mine to 
 
Saint Louis 217 
 
 give." This answer greatly provoked the Sultan, and he 
 threatened to put the King to the torture, to which the 
 King answered this only, that he was a prisoner in their 
 hands, and that they could do with him as they would. 
 
 When they saw that they could not turn him from his 
 purpose by threats or by fear, they asked him how much 
 money he was willing to pay to the Sultan for his ransom, 
 such money being over and above the rendering up of the 
 town of Damietta. Then the King made answer: "If 
 the Sultan will take a reasonable sum in money for ran- 
 som, I will recommend it to the Queen that she should 
 pay the same." "Nay," said the envoy of the Sultan, 
 "why do you not say outright that you will have it so?" 
 "Because," answered the King, "in this matter it is for 
 the Queen to say yea or nay. I am a prisoner, and my 
 royal power is gone from me." So it was agreed that if 
 the Queen would pay a thousand thousand gold pieces by 
 vv^ay of ransom, the King should go free. Said the King, 
 "Will the Sultan swear to this bargain?" They said 
 that he would. So it was agreed that the King should 
 pay for the ransom of his army a thousand thousand gold 
 pieces, and for his own ransom the town of Damietta, 
 "for," said he, "a King cannot be bought and sold for 
 money." When the Sultan heard this, he said, "On my 
 word, this is a noble thing of the Frenchman that he 
 makes no bargaining concerning so great a thing. Tell 
 him that I give him as a free gift the fifth part of the sum 
 which he has covenanted to pay." 
 
 All things were now settled, and there were but four 
 days before the fulfilling of the treaty, when the King 
 should give up Damietta to the Sultan, and the Sultan, 
 on his part, should suffer the King and his people to go 
 free. But lo! there came to pass that which was like to 
 
2i8 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 bring the whole matter to nothing. The emirs of the 
 Sultan made a conspiracy against him. ''Know this," 
 they said one to another, ''that so soon as he shall find 
 himself master of Damietta, he will slay us. Let us 
 therefore be beforehand with him." And it was agreed 
 that this should be done. First, when the Sultan was 
 going to his chamber after a banquet which he had given 
 to the emirs, one, who was, indeed, his sword-bearer, 
 dealt him a blow and struck off his hand. But the Sultan, 
 being young and nimble, escaped into a strong tower that 
 was hard by his chamber, and three of his priests were 
 with him. The emirs called upon him to give himself 
 up. **That," said he, '*I will do, if you will give me a 
 promise of my life." "Nay," they answered, "we will 
 give you no promises. If you surrender not of your own 
 free will, then will we compel you." Then they threw 
 Greek fire at the tower, and the tower, which was built 
 of pine-wood, caught fire on the instant. When the 
 Sultan saw this he ran down with all the speed that he 
 could, seeking to reach the river, if so be he could find a 
 ship. But the emirs and their men were ranged along 
 the way, nor was it long before they slew him. And he 
 that dealt him the last blow came to the King, his hand 
 yet dripping with blood, and said, "What will you give 
 me? I have slain your enemy, who would assuredly 
 have done you to death had he lived." But the King 
 answered him not a w^ord. 
 
 Now the covenant between the King and the Saracen 
 chiefs was renewed, nor was any change made in the 
 conditions; only the payment was differently ordered; 
 that is to say, one-half of the ransom was to be paid before 
 the King left the place where he was, and the other half 
 in the town of Acre. , 
 
Saint Louis 219 
 
 Then the emirs on the one part and the King on the 
 other took the oaths that were held to be the most binding 
 on them. The King indeed held staunchly by his faith, 
 and when the emirs would have had him swear in a way 
 that he thought to be unseemly to him as a Christian 
 man he would not. And the emirs paid him the more 
 honour and reverence for this very cause. It was said, 
 indeed, that they would have made him Sultan of Cairo, 
 if he had been minded to receive that dignity at their 
 hands ; furthermore, some that knew the King affirmed 
 that he was not altogether set against it. But none knew 
 for certain the truth in the matter. Yet it was well 
 said by one of the emirs, "There surely never was better 
 or more steadfast Christian than this King Louis. Verily 
 if he had been made our sultan he would never have been 
 content till he had either made us all Christians, or, 
 failing this, had put us all to the sword." 
 
 And now there came a time of great peril to the pris- 
 oners. First the town of Damietta was given up to the 
 Saracens, the gates being opened and their flag hoisted 
 on the towers. 
 
 On the next day the paying of the ransom was begun. 
 When the money was counted it was found to be short by 
 some thirty thousand pieces. These were taken from 
 the treasury of the Templars much against their will, but 
 the necessities of the prisoners prevailed. 
 
 As for the King, there could not have been a man more 
 loyal in the fulfilling of his promise. When one of those 
 that counted the money said that the Saracens had 
 received less than their due by some ten thousand pieces, 
 the King would not suffer but that the whole matter 
 should be looked into, lest the Saracens should have 
 wrong. The counter, indeed, averred that this thing 
 
220 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 was said in jest; but the King answered that such a jest 
 was out of season, and that above all things it was neces- 
 sary that a Christian should show good faith. 
 
 Not many days after the paying of the ransom the 
 King sent for his chief counsellors and opened bis mind 
 to them in the matter of his return to France. He said, 
 "The Queen, my mother, begs me to come back to France, 
 saying that my kingdom is in great peril seeing, that I 
 have no peace, nor even a truce, with England. Tell me, 
 then, what you think. And because it is a great matter, 
 I give you eight days to consider it." 
 
 After this the King went to Acre, where he tarried 
 till what was left over of the ransom was paid. 
 
 On the day appointed the counsellors came before the 
 King, who said to them, ''What do you advise? Shall 
 I go, or shall I stay?" They said that they had chosen 
 one from among them, a certain Guy Malvoisin, to 
 speak for them. Thereupon this Guy said, "These 
 lords have taken counsel together, and are agreed that 
 you cannot tarry in this country without damage to your- 
 self and your kingdom. For think how that of all the 
 knights whom you had in Cyprus, two thousand eight 
 hundred in number, there remain with you here in Acre 
 scarce one hundred. Our counsel, therefore, is that you 
 return to France, and there gather another army, with 
 which you may come hither again and take vengeance 
 on your enemies for their trepasses against God and 
 against you." 
 
 Then the King turned to a certain John, who was 
 Count of Jaffa, and asked him for his judgment. Count 
 John answered: "Ask me not, sire; my domain is here, 
 and if I bid you stay, then it will be said that I did this 
 for my own profit." But when the King was urgent for 
 
Saint Louis 221 
 
 his advice he said, ''If you stay for a year it will be for 
 your honour." And one other of the counsellors gave 
 the same judgment; but all the rest were urgent for the 
 King's return. Then the King said, "I will tell you 
 eight days hence what it is my pleasure to do." 
 
 On the day appointed they all came together again, 
 and the King said, ''I thank you, my lords, for your 
 counsel — both those who have advised my going back 
 and those who have advised my staying. Now I hold 
 that if I stay, my kingdom of France will be in no peril, 
 seeing that the Queen, my mother, is well able to keep 
 it in charge; but that if I depart, then the kingdom of 
 Jerusalem will most certainly be lost, because no man 
 will be bold enough to stay after I am gone. Now, it 
 was for the sake of this same kingdom of Jerusalem that 
 I have come hither. My purpose, therefore, is to stay." 
 There was no little trouble among the barons when they 
 heard these words. There were some among them who 
 could not hold back their tears. But though the King 
 resolved himself to stay, yet he commanded his brothers 
 to depart. And this they did before many days. 
 
 While the King tarried at Acre there came to him 
 messengers from the Old Man of the Mountain. One 
 of the messengers was the spokesman, and had his place 
 in front; the second had in his hand three daggers, to 
 signify what danger threatened him who should not listen 
 to the message; the third carried a shroud of buckram 
 for him who should be smitten with the daggers. The 
 King said to the first envoy, "Speak on." Then the 
 envoy said, ''My master says, 'Know you me?' " The 
 King answered, "I know him not, for I have never seen 
 him; yet I have often heard others talk of him." "Why, 
 then," went on the envoy, "have you not sent him such 
 
222 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 gifts as would have gained his friendship, even as the 
 Emperor of Germany and the King of Hungary and other 
 princes have done, yea, and do now year after year, know- 
 ing well that they cannot live save by my lord's pleasure ?' 
 The King made no answer, but bade the envoys come 
 again in the afternoon. When they came they found 
 the King sitting with the Master of the Templars on one 
 side and the Master of the Hospitallers on the other. Now 
 the Old Man is in great awe of these two, for he knows that 
 if he slay them there will be put in their place other two 
 as good or better. The envoys were not a little dis- 
 turbed when they saw the two. And the Master of the 
 Templars said, "Your lord is over bold to send you with 
 such a message for the King. Now be sure that we would 
 have drowned you in the sea, but that so doing might be 
 a vnrong to him. Go now to your lord, and come again 
 in fourteen days with such a token and such gifts as may 
 suffice for the making of peace." 
 
 So the envoys departed, and came again in the time 
 appointed, and they brought with them the shirt of the 
 Old Man and his ring, which was of the finest gold, and 
 with these things this message: "As man wears no gar- 
 ment that is nearer to him than his shirt, so the Old 
 Man would have the King nearer to him than any other 
 King upon earth ; and as a ring is the sign of marriage by 
 which two are made one, so the Old Man would have 
 himself and the King to be one." Other gifts there 
 were, an elephant of crystal, very cunningly wrought, 
 and a monster which they call a giraffe, also of crystal, 
 and draughts and chessmen, all finely made. The 
 King, on his part, sent to the Old Man a great store of 
 jewels, and scarlet cloth, and dishes of gold and bridles 
 of silver. 
 
Saint Louis 223 
 
 While the King was at Jafifa it was told him that if 
 he desired to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem the Sultan 
 of Damascus would give him a safe-conduct. The 
 King consulted his nobles on the matter, and both he 
 and they were of one mind in the matter, to wit, that he 
 should not go. ''For," said they, "if the King should 
 go as a pilgrim, when he has not been able to take the 
 Holy City itself out of the hands of the infidel, then will 
 other Kings in time to come do the same. They will be 
 content to go as pilgrims, but will take no thought as to 
 the city, whether it be held by Christian or infidel. " 
 
 After these things the King went to the city of Sidon 
 and fortified it with strong walls, for he was greatly un- 
 willing to give up his hope of winning the whole land out 
 of the hands of the infidel. But when he had brought 
 this work to an end, there came news to him from his 
 own country that the Queen his mother, who was charged 
 with the government thereof, was dead. Then he took 
 counsel with his nobles what he should do, and it seemed 
 to them that he must of necessity return to France. 
 One among them put the case before the King as follows: 
 
 "Sire, we see that it will not profit the kingdom of 
 Jerusalem that you tarry longer here. You have done 
 what was in your power. You have fortified the city 
 of Sidon, and Cicsarea, and Jaffa, and you have made 
 the city of Acre much stronger than it was. And now 
 for your own kingdom's sake, you must needs depart. " 
 And to this the King gave his consent, though with an 
 unwilling heart. So he departed, and this, as it chanced, 
 on his birthday. As the ship went forth from the harbour 
 he said to the Lord of Joinville, who stood by him, 
 "On this day I was born." And the Lord of Joinville 
 said to him, " Truly, sire, I should say that you are begin- 
 
224 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 ning another life, now that you are safely quit of this 
 land of death. " 
 
 Some seventeen years after the things last recorded, 
 I took a journey to the Island of Sardinia, and made my 
 abode at a town on the west coast, called Neapolis. 
 When I had sojourned there two months there came in 
 sight on a certain day a great fleet of ships, which those 
 who were acquainted with such things declared to be 
 from the land of France. As for the crowd that came 
 ashore that day, it were best to say little. It is more to 
 the purpose to say that I met with one whom I knew, 
 having consorted with him in time past, and this the more 
 constantly because he followed the same occupation as 
 I. I asked him, ''How came you hither? If you are 
 bound for Palestine, this is but a short stage in your 
 journey." He answered me with something of a smile 
 in his eye, though his mouth was set, ''Where could we 
 more conveniently halt than here, for we are bound for 
 Tunis?" "For Tunis?" said I; "but how shall this 
 help you for the taking of Jerusalem?" "That," said 
 he, "you must ask of some one that has more wisdom 
 than I. But this I know that the King was told, by whom 
 I know not, that the Bey of Tunis desired to be baptised. 
 This, then, is cause sufficient for him. Are you minded 
 to come with me? If so, I can find you a place m the 
 King's ship, for it is in it that I sail. " 
 
 When I heard that, I consented without delay. So 
 that night I gave my friend the shelter of my lodging; 
 and the next day he took me with him, and commended 
 me to one of the chief officers of the ship, bearing witness 
 to my skill as a physician. On the fourth day we sailed, 
 and came in two days, the wind blowing from the north, 
 to the harbour of Tunis. As for the King, I saw him 
 
Saint Louis 225 
 
 but once. His valets carried him up on the deck; and, 
 to tell the truth, he looked as little fit for doing feats of 
 arms as man could look. But I thought that the sickness 
 which takes many men upon the sea might be the cause. 
 
 Scarce had the army landed than there began a most 
 grievous sickness. In truth the place for the camp 
 had been ill chosen, for there was a little stream into 
 which much of the filth of the city was wont to run. 
 From this there came a most evil smell. Many also, 
 for want of good water, would drink of the stream, 
 than which there could be no more deadly thing. 
 
 On the very day after he landed from his ship the King 
 fell sick. His physician being disabled by the same 
 malady, I was called in to the King's help; and from the 
 first I saw that, save by a miracle, he could not live. On 
 the fourth day he died, making as good and devout an end 
 as any that I have ever seen. He would know the truth, 
 for he was not one of those who buoy themselves up with 
 false hopes. And when he knew it, then first with the 
 help of the priests that attended him he prepared his 
 soul, and afterward he gave what time remained to 
 teaching the son who should be King after him how he 
 should best do his duty to God and man. 
 
 I heard much from him who had put it in my mind 
 to come from the island of Sardinia concerning King 
 Louis. Never, he told me, was a King more bent on 
 doing justice and judgment. These he maintained with 
 his whole heart and strength, not having any respect of 
 persons, or having regard to his own profit. Though he 
 held bishops and priests in great reverence, being most 
 careful of all the offices of religion, yet he would withstand 
 even these when they seemed to seek that which was not 
 fair and just. He was a lover of peace far beyond the 
 
226 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 wont of Kings, who indeed, for the most part, care but 
 little for it, so that men say in a proverb, "War is the 
 game of Kings. " Of the poor he was a great and con- 
 stant favourer. Every day he had a multitude of them 
 fed at his cost in his palace, and sometimes he would serve 
 himself, and it was his custom on a certain day to wash 
 the feet of poor men. In his eating and drinking he was 
 as temperate as man could be, drinking, for example, 
 but one cup of wine, and that largely mingled with water. 
 In all things wherein great men ofttimes offend he was 
 wholly blameless and beyond reproach. Of all men that 
 I had any knowledge of, whether by sight or by hearing, 
 in this business of the Crusades there was not one who 
 could be so much as named in comparison with King 
 Louis. To King Louis religion was as life itself. It 
 filled, as it were, his whole soul; he judged of all things 
 by it; he hungered and thirsted after it. And yet of all 
 who bore the cross this man, being, as he was, so much the 
 most faithful to his vow, by far the truest cross-bearer 
 of all, yet failed the most utterly. Of such things I have 
 not the wit to judge; yet this, raethinks, is manifest, 
 that the Kingdom of God is not set forward by the power 
 of armies. I do believe that if King Louis, being what 
 he was, a man after God's own heart, had come, not 
 with the sword, but preaching the truth by his life, he 
 had done more for the cause that he had at heart. As it 
 was, he furthered it not at all, so far as I can discern, but 
 rather set it back. That he did not gain for Christendom 
 so much as a single foot of earth is not so much to be 
 lamented, as that he made wider the breach between 
 Christian men and the followers of Mahomet. And this 
 he did, though he was in very truth the most Christlike 
 of all the men that I have ever seen. 
 
CHAPTER XV 
 
 WILLIAM TELL 
 
 WILLIAM TELL was born toward the close 
 of the thirteenth century. I cannot tell you 
 the precise year of his birth; but in the year 1307 he 
 was a married man, and lived with his wife and children, 
 in the village of Biirglen, near the great town of Altdorf, 
 in the canton of Uri. 
 
 Tell maintained his family chiefly by hunting the 
 chamois, and shooting other wild game. So skilful was 
 he in the use of the bow, that the fame of his exploits in 
 that way had obtained for him the name of * 'The Crossbow- 
 man of Biirglen." He was also very skilful in the man- 
 agement of boats upon the lakes. His father had fol- 
 lowed the profession of a pilot, and William Tell, though 
 he preferred the life of a hunter, understood the navi- 
 gation of the lakes better than almost any boatman in the 
 canton of Uri. It was a saying, "That William Tell 
 knew how to handle the rudder as expertly as the bow." 
 In short, he was a person of strong natural talents, who 
 observed on everything he saw, and acquired all the 
 knowledge he could. 
 
 Switzerland was at that time in a state of slavery to 
 Albert, Duke of Austria, who had recently been selected 
 Emperor of Germany. He had taken great offence 
 with the Swiss, because they wished Count Adolph of 
 Nassau to be elected Emperor of Germany instead of 
 him. The first use he made of his power was to punish 
 
228 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 the Swiss for having favoured the cause of his rival; and 
 he v/as so unwise as to declare publicly, ''that he would 
 no longer treat them as subjects, but as slaves " In 
 pursuance of this wicked resolution he deprived them 
 of many of their rights and privileges, and altered their 
 ancient laws and customs. 
 
 By these proceedings the Emperor rendered his gov- 
 ernment very unpopular, and when he found that the 
 people expressed dissatisfaction, he built castles and 
 fortresses all over the country, and filled them with soldiers 
 to awe the people into submission. In each of these 
 fortresses he placed a governor, who exercised despotic 
 power in the district over which his sway extended. The 
 inhabitants of the canton Uri, in particular, had to com- 
 plain of the oppression of their German governor, Gessler, 
 who had committed several murders, and acted in such 
 a manner as to excite general indignation, by his pride, 
 cruelty, and injustice. The whole country was indeed 
 ripe for a revolt, in case an opportunity should occur of 
 throwing off the German yoke. 
 
 One cold autumnal evening, the blaze of the cheerful 
 'fire which the wife of William Tell had kindled on the 
 hearth, against her husband's return, gleamed through 
 the rude latticed casements of their cottage window. 
 The earthern floor of the humble dwelling had been 
 freshly swept; a clean cloth of the matron's own 
 spinning, was spread on the homely board, which was 
 garnished with wooden bowls and spoons of the most 
 snowy whiteness; and a kettle of fish-soup, with herbs, 
 was stewing over the fire. Some flat oaten cakes, de- 
 signed to be eaten hot with butter, were baking on the 
 hearth. 
 
 The babe was sleeping peacefully in the cradle; two 
 
William Tell 229 
 
 or three of the other little ones, weary with their sportive 
 play, had been laid in their cribs. Henric and Lewis, 
 two lovely boys of five and six years old, having promised 
 to be very good, if allowed to sit up till their father's 
 return, were watching their mother, who was employed 
 in roasting a fine fat quail which their cousin, Lalotte, 
 who had arrived at the discreet age of fourteen, was 
 basting, and spinning the string by which it was sus- 
 pended before the fire. 
 
 "Mother," said Henric, "if my father does not come 
 home very soon, that quail will be done too much." 
 
 "What then?" asked Lalotte. 
 
 "I was thinking, cousin Lalotte, that it would be a 
 pity for it to be spoiled, after you and mother have taken 
 so much pains in cooking it; and it smells so very good." 
 
 "Oh, fie! you greedy child; you want to eat the bird 
 that is cooking for your father's supper," said Lalotte. 
 "If I were my aunt, I would send you to bed only for 
 thinking of such a thing." 
 
 "You are not the mistress — you are not the mistress!" 
 cried the sturdy rebel Henric; "and I shall not go to bed 
 at your desire." 
 
 "But you shall go to bed, young sir, if your cousin 
 Lalotte tells you so to do, " said his father, who had entered 
 during the dispute. 
 
 "Alack!" cried Henric turning to his little brother, 
 "if we had only been patient, Lewis, we should have 
 tasted the nice quail, and heard all our father's news into 
 the bargain." 
 
 "There now, see what you have lost by being naughty 
 children," cried Lalotte, as she led the offenders into 
 their little bedroom. 
 
 "Thy father's news is not for thy young ears, my boys," 
 
230 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 murmured William Tell, as the door closed after the 
 unconscious children. 
 
 "There is a sadness in thy voice and trouble on thy 
 brow," said the anxious wife of Tell, looking earnestly 
 in his face. ''Wilt thou not trust me with the cause of 
 thy care?" 
 
 "Annette," replied Tell, "thou hast been a good and 
 faithful wife to me — yea, and a prudent counsellor and 
 friend in the time of need. Why, then, should I do a 
 thing and conceal it from thee, my well-beloved?" 
 "What is it thou hast done, my husband?" 
 "That for which thou wilt blame me, perchance." 
 " Nay, say not so; thou art a good man." 
 "Thou knowest, my loving wife, the sad state of 
 slavery to which this unhappy country of Switzerland 
 is reduced by the unlawful oppression of our foreign 
 rulers," said Tell. 
 
 "I do," she replied; "but what have peasants to do 
 with matters so much above them?" 
 
 "Much!" returned Tell. "If the good laws made by 
 the worthies of the olden time, for the comfort and pro- 
 tection of all ranks of people, be set at naught by strangers, 
 and all the ancient institutions, which were the pride and 
 the glory of our land, be overthrown, by those to whom 
 we owe neither the love of children, nor the allegiance of 
 subjects, then, methinks, good wife, it becomes the duty 
 of peasants to stand forth in defence of their rights. I 
 have engaged myself, with three-and-thirty of my valiant 
 countrymen, who met this night on the little promontory 
 of land that juts into a lonely angle of the Lake, to con- 
 cert with them means for the deliverance of my coun- 
 try." 
 "But how can three-and-thirty men hope to oppose 
 
William Tell 
 
 ^3^ 
 
 the power of those who enthral Switzerland ?" asked the 
 wife of Tell. 
 
 " Great objects are often effected by small instruments," 
 replied he. **The whole population of Switzerland is 
 exasperated against the German tyrants, who have of 
 late abused their power so far as to rouse the indignation 
 even of women and of children against them. The 
 father of Arnold Melchthal, one of the 'Brothers of 
 Riitli,' as our band is called, was recently put to a cruel 
 death by the unjust sentence of Gessler, the governor 
 of our own canton of Uri ; and who knoweth, gentle wife, 
 whether his jealous caprice may not induce him to 
 single me out for his next victim?" 
 
 "Single thee out, my husband!" exclaimed Annette 
 turning pale. "Nay, what accusation could he bring 
 against thee ?" 
 
 "That of being the friend of my country, which is, of 
 course, a crime not to be forgiven by a person of Gessler 's 
 disposition." 
 
 "But Gessler is too much exalted above our humble 
 sphere of life, to be aware of a peasant's sentiments on 
 such matters," said Annette. 
 
 "Gessler will not permit us to indulge the thoughts of 
 our hearts in secret," said Tell; "for he hath recently 
 devised a shrewd test, whereby he is enabled to discern 
 the freeman from the slave throughout this province." 
 
 "And what is the test which the governor of Uri em- 
 ploy eth for that purpose ?" 
 
 " Thou hast heard our good pastor read in the Scrip- 
 ture of the prophet Daniel, of the golden image, which 
 the tyrant Nebuchadnezzar caused to be erected. 
 He made a decree that all nations and people of the world 
 should bow down and worship it, and that those who 
 
232 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 refused to do so should be cast into a burning fiery fur- 
 nace. Rememberest thou this, my beloved?" 
 
 "Certainly," Annette replied. "But what hath Ges- 
 sler to do with that presumptuous folly of the King of 
 Babylon?" 
 
 "Gessler," replied Tell, "imitates the presumption, 
 albeit it is not in his power to rival the grandeur, of 
 Nebuchadnezzar; for he hath set up an idol in the 
 market-place of Altdorf, to which he requireth blind 
 homage to be paid by fools and cowards. Now, the 
 King of Babylon's idol, the prophet tells us, was of 
 solid gold, a metal which the world is, I grieve to say, 
 too prone to worship; but Gessler's paltry Baal is but the 
 empty ducal bonnet of Austria, w^hich he hath exalted on 
 a pole ; and he commands the men of Uri to bow down 
 before it, under penalty of death. Wouldst thou wish 
 thy husband to degrade the name of a Swiss, by stooping 
 to such an action?" 
 
 "No," she replied, "I should blush for thee, if thou 
 wert capable of such baseness." 
 
 "Thou hast spoken like a free woman," he exclaimed. 
 "Yea, and thou shalt be the mother of free children: for 
 the first time I go to Altdorf I will resist the edict, which 
 enjoins me and my countrymen to pay homage to the 
 senseless bauble which the German governor hath ex- 
 alted in the market-place." 
 
 " But why go to Altdorf at all, my husband ?" said the 
 wife to Tell. 
 
 "My business calls me to Altdorf, and I shall go thither 
 like an honest man, in the performance of my duty," 
 replied Tell. "Thinkest thou that I am either to con- 
 fess myself a slave, by bending my body to an empty cap, 
 or to permit it to be a scarecrow, that shall fright me from 
 
William Tell 233 
 
 entering the capital city of my native province, lest I 
 should draw upon myself the penalty of refusing to per- 
 form a contemptible action, enjoined by a wicked man? 
 No, no, my sweet wife; I shall go to Altdorf, when oc- 
 casion may require, without considering myself bound 
 to observe Gessler's foolish edict." 
 
 The return of Lalotte put an end to this discourse; 
 and Annette began to assist her in taking up the supper. 
 
 Lalotte was the orphan of Tell's brother. Her par- 
 ents had both died when she and her brother Philip were 
 very young, and they had been adopted into the family 
 of her kind uncle soon after his marriage with Annette. 
 Lalotte was affectionate, sprightly, and industrious. 
 She assisted her aunt in the houshold work and the dairy; 
 and it was her business to take charge of the children, 
 whom she carefully instructed in such things as she knew, 
 and laboured to render them virtuous and obedient. 
 
 Philip, her brother, who was about a year older than 
 herself, had been unfortunately a spoiled child. He was 
 self-willed and intractable, and, though far from a bad 
 disposition, was always getting himself and others into 
 scrapes and difficulties. 
 
 That night his place at the board was vacant, which 
 his uncle observing, said, 
 
 "Lalotte, where is your brother Philip?" 
 
 "Absent, uncle, I am sorry to say," replied Lalotte. 
 
 "It is not usual for Philip to desert the supper meal," 
 observed Tell, "even if he be absent the rest of the day. 
 I am afraid he is after no good." 
 
 A hasty step was heard; and Lalotte exclaimed, "I 
 should not wonder if that were my scrapegrace brother!" 
 
 "It does not sound well of you to call him so, Lalotte, 
 though he is a sad plague to us all," said Tell. 
 
234 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 The door was hastily opened, and Philip bounced in 
 out of breath, and covered with mud. He flung himself 
 on a wooden settle beside the fire, and gave way to fits of 
 laughter. 
 
 "How now^, Philip! what is the cause of all this?" 
 asked Tell gravely. 
 
 "Hurrah!" shouted he, springing from his seat, and 
 capering about, "I have done such a deed!" 
 
 "Some notable piece of folly, no doubt," observed his 
 uncle; "what is it, boy?" 
 
 "A deed that will render my name famous throughout 
 the whole province of Uri, my good uncle. Everybody 
 is talking about it in Altdorf at this very moment," ex- 
 claimed Phihp, rubbing his hands. 
 
 "You have long been celebrated there as the ringleader 
 of mischief," observed Tell; "but I doubt whether you 
 will have much reason to exult in the evil reputation you 
 have acquired, Philip. Therefore go to bed, and when 
 you say your prayers, ask for grace to reform your evil 
 habits." 
 
 "My good uncle," replied Philip, "be content. This 
 night I have turned patriot, raised a rabble of boys, and 
 peked down the fool's cap which old Gessler had stuck 
 up in the market-place of Altdorf, for Switzers to pay 
 homage to. Is not that a glorious deed !" 
 
 " It is of a piece with the rest of your folly. Were you 
 called upon to pay homage to the cap ?" 
 
 "By no means, uncle, else must I perforce have made 
 my obeisance to the empty bonnet of the Emperor-Duke 
 of Austria. But this exploit of mine was after dark, 
 when one boy could not be distinguished from another; 
 and there were fully fifty of us engaged in pelting at the 
 mock majesty till down it came, feathers and all, souse 
 
Willmm Tell 235 
 
 into the mud. Then, oh stars! how we all ran! But it 
 was my stone that hit it, take notice: ha! ha! ha!" 
 
 "Your head must be as devoid of brains as the empty 
 cap you pelted, Philip, or you never would have engaged 
 in any such adventure." 
 
 "How, uncle!" cried Philip in amaze; " would you have 
 me pay homage to the ducal bonnet without a head in it ?" 
 
 "It seems you were not required to do so, Philip; 
 therefore you had no pretext for raising a riot to break 
 the peace." 
 
 "But, uncle, do you intend to yield obedience to the 
 governor's tyrannous edict?" 
 
 "Philip," replied Tell, "I am a man, and of age to 
 form a correct judgment of the things which it may be 
 expedient to do or proper to refuse. But it is not meet 
 for idle boys to breed riots and commit acts of open 
 violence, calculated to plunge a whole country into 
 confusion. " 
 
 Philip withdrew with an air of great mortification and 
 the family soon after retired to rest. 
 
 The next day William Tell took his thoughtless nephew 
 with him, on a hunting excursion, since it was necessary 
 he should find some better occupation than throwing 
 stones. After several days they returned, loaded with 
 the skins of the chamois that had been slain by the 
 unerring arrow of Tell. 
 
 His wife and children hastened to the cottage 
 door to welcome him, when they beheld him coming. 
 "Behold, my beloved," said Tell, "how well I have 
 sped in the chase! These skins will bring in a mine of 
 wealth against the winter season. To-morrow is Altdorf 
 fair and I shall go thither to sell them. " 
 
 "Hurrah!" shouted Philip. "Is Altdorf fair to- 
 
236 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 morrow? Oh, my faith, I had forgotten it. Well, I 
 shall go thither, and have some fun." 
 
 " And I mean to go too, cousin Philip, " said Henric. 
 
 "Not so fast, young men," cried Tell. "Altdorf fair 
 will be full of soldiers and turbulent people, and is not 
 a proper place for rash boys and children. " 
 
 "But you will take care of us, father, dear father,'* 
 said Henric, stroking his father's arm caressingly. 
 
 "I shall have enough to do to take care of myself, 
 Henric," replied Tell. ''So you must be a good boy, 
 and stay with your mother. " 
 
 " But I won't be a good boy, if you leave me at home, " 
 muttered the little rebel. 
 
 "Then you must be whipped, sir," said his father; 
 " for we love you too well to permit you to be naughty 
 without punishing you. " 
 
 On hearing this, Henric began to weep with anger. 
 So his father told Lalotte to put him to bed without his 
 supper. 
 
 Now Philip was a silly, good-natured fellow, and 
 fancied that his little cousin, Henric, of whom he 
 was very fond, was ill-treated by his father. So he took 
 an opportunity of slipping a sweet-cake into his pouch, 
 from the supper-board, with which he slily stole to 
 Henric 's crib. 
 
 "Never mind my cross uncle, sweet cousin," said he: 
 " see, I have brought you a nice cake. " 
 
 "Oh! I don't care about cakes," cried Henric. "I 
 want to go to Altdorf fair to-morrow. " 
 
 " And you shall go to Altdorf fair, " said Philip. 
 
 "But how can I go, when father says he won't take 
 me?" sobbed Henric. 
 
 "There, dry your eyes, and go to sleep," whispered 
 
William Tell 237 
 
 Philip; "as soon as my uncle is gone I will take you to 
 the fair with me; for I mean to go, in spite of all he has 
 said to the contrary. " 
 
 "But what will mother say?" asked Henric. 
 
 "We won't let her know anything about it," said 
 Philip. ' 
 
 "But Lalotte won't let us go; for Lalotte is very cross, 
 and wants to master me. " 
 
 "A fig for Lalotte!" cried the rude Philip; "do you 
 think I care for her?" 
 
 "I won't care for Lalotte when I grow a great big boy 
 like you, cousin Philip; but she makes me mind her now, '* 
 said Henric. 
 
 "Never fear; we will find some way of outwitting 
 Mademoiselle Lalotte to-morrow," said Philip. 
 
 The next morning William Tell rose at an early hour, 
 and proceeded to the fair at Altdorf, to sell his chamois 
 skins, 
 
 Philip instead of getting up, and offering to carry 
 them for his uncle, lay in bed till after he was gone. He 
 was pondering on his undutiful scheme of taking little 
 Henric to the fair, in defiance of Tell's express commands 
 that both should stay at home that day. 
 
 Henric could eat no breakfast that morning for think- 
 ing of the project in which Philip had tempted him to 
 engage. His kind mother patted his curly head, and 
 gave him a piece of honeycomb for not crying to go to 
 the fair. He blushed crimson-red at this commendation, 
 and was just going to tell his mother all about it, when 
 Philip, guessing his thoughts, held up his finger, and 
 shook his head at him. 
 
 When his mother and Lalotte went into the dairy to 
 churn the butter they begged Henric and Philip to 
 
238 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 take care of Lewis and the other Httle ones, so that 
 they should not get into any mischief. No sooner, 
 however, were they gone, than PhiHp said, 
 
 *'Now, Henric, is our time to make our escape, and go 
 to the fair." 
 
 "But," said Henric, "my mother gave me some sweet 
 and honeycomb just now, for being a good boy; and it 
 will be very naughty of me to disobey my father's com- 
 mands after that. So, dear Philip, I was thinking that 
 I would stay at home to-day, if you would stay too, and 
 make little boats for me to float on the lake. " 
 
 "I shall do no such thing, I promise you," replied 
 Philip; "for I mean to go to the fair, and see the fun. 
 You may stay at home, if you like — for I don't want to 
 be plagued with your company. " 
 
 "Oh, dear!" cried Henric, "but I want very much to 
 go to the fair, and see the fun too. " 
 
 "Come along then, "said Philip; "or we shall not get 
 there in time to see the tumblers, or the apes and dancing 
 bears, or the fire-eaters, or any other of the shows. " 
 
 It was nearly two hours before the truants were missed 
 by Henric's mother and Lalotte; for they were all that 
 time busy in the dairy. At length they heard the children 
 cry; on which, Lalotte ran into the room, and found no 
 one with them but Lewis. 
 
 "What a shame," cried Lalotte, "for that lazy boy 
 Philip, to leave all these little ones, with only you, Lewis. 
 Where is Henric, pray ? " 
 
 "Oh! Henric is gone to the fair with cousin Philip," 
 lisped little Lewis. 
 
 "Oh that wicked Philip!" cried Lalotte. "Aunt! 
 aunt! Philip has run off to Altdorf fair, and taken 
 Henric with himl" 
 
William Tell 239 
 
 "My dear Lalotte," said her aunt, "you must put on 
 your hood and sabots, and run after them. Perhaps, as 
 you are light-footed, you can overtake them, and bring 
 Henric back. I am sure, some mischief will befall him." 
 
 Lalotte hastily threw her gray serge cloak about her, 
 and drew the hood over her head. She slipped her little 
 feet into her sabots, or wooden shoes, and took the road 
 to Altdorf , hurrying along as fast as she could, in hope of 
 overtaking the truants before they reached the town. 
 
 More than once the little maiden thought of turning 
 back, but the remembrance of Philip's rash and inconsi- 
 derate temper filled her with alarm for the safety of the 
 child whom he had tempted away from home. She re- 
 flected that, as her uncle was at Altdorf, it would be her 
 wisest course to proceed thither to seek him out, and to 
 inform him of his little boy being then in the fair. 
 
 Lalotte entered the market-place of Altdorf, at the mom- 
 ent when her uncle, having disposed of his chamois-skins 
 to advantage, was crossing from the carriers' stalls to a 
 clothier's booth to purchase woollen cloths for winter 
 garments. Fairs were formerly marts, where merchants 
 and artisans brought their goods for sale; and persons 
 resorted thither, not for the purpose of riot and revelling, 
 but to purchase useful commodities, clothing, and house- 
 hold goods at the best advantage. 
 
 William Tell had been requested by his careful wife to 
 purchase a variety of articles for the use of the family. 
 He was so intent in performing all her biddings, to the 
 best of his ability, that he never once thought of the cap 
 which the insolent governor, Gessler, had erected in the 
 market-place, till he found himself opposite to the lofty 
 pole on which it was exalted. He would have passed it 
 unconsciously had he not been stopped by the German 
 
240 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 soldiers, who were under arms on either side the pole, 
 to enforce obedience to the insulting edict of the governor 
 of Uri. Tell then paused, and, raising his eyes to the object 
 to which the captain of the guard, with an authoritative 
 gesture, directed his attention, beheld the ducal cap of 
 Austria just above him. 
 
 The colour mounted to the cheek of the free-born hunter 
 of the Alps, at the sight of this badge of slavery of his 
 fallen country. Casting an indignant glance upon the 
 foreign soldiers who had impeded his progress, he moved 
 sternly forward, without offering the prescribed act of 
 homage to the cap. 
 
 ''Stop!" cried the captain of the guard; "you are in- 
 curring the penalty of death, rash man, by your disobe- 
 dience to the edict of his excellency the Governor of 
 Uri. " 
 
 ''Indeed!" replied Tell. "I was not aware that I 
 was doing anything unlawful. " 
 
 " You have insulted the majesty of our lord the Emperor 
 by passing that cap without bowing to it, " said the officer. 
 
 "I wist not that more respect were due to an empty 
 cap, than to a cloak and doublet, or a pair of hose," 
 replied Tell. 
 
 "Insolent traitor! dost thou presume to level thy rude 
 gibes at the badge of royalty?" cried the governor, 
 stepping forward from behind the soldiers, where he 
 had been listening to the dispute between Tell and the 
 officer. 
 
 Poor Lalotte, meantime, having caught a glimpse of 
 her uncle's tall, manly figure through the crowd, had 
 pressed near enough to hear the alarming dialogue in 
 which he had been engaged with the German soldiers. 
 While, pale with terror, she stood listening with breathless 
 
William Tell 241 
 
 attention, she recognised Philip at no great distance, with 
 little Henric in his arms, among the spectators. 
 
 The thoughtless Philip was evidently neither aware.how 
 near he was to his uncle, nor of tke peril in which he stood. 
 With foolish glee, he was pointing out the cap to little 
 Henric; and though Lalotte could not hear what he was 
 saying, she fancied he was rashly boasting to the child of 
 the share in the exploit of pelting it down a few nights 
 previous. 
 
 While her attention was thus painfully excited she 
 heard some of the people round her saying, 
 
 "Who is it that has ventured to resist the governor's 
 decree?" 
 
 "It is William Tell, the crossbow-man of Burglen," 
 replied many voices. 
 
 "William Tell!" said one of the soldiers; "why it was 
 his kinsman who raised a rabble to insult the ducal bonnet 
 the other night. " 
 
 "Ay, it was the scapegrace, Philip Tell, who assailed 
 the cap of our sovereign with stones, till he struck it 
 down," cried another. 
 
 "Behold where the young villain stands," exclaimed 
 a third, pointing to Philip. 
 
 "Hallo, hallo! seize the young traitor, in the name of 
 the Emperor and the governor !" shouted the Germans. 
 
 "Run, Philip, run — run for your life!" cried a party 
 of his youthful associates. 
 
 Philip hastily set his little cousin on his feet, and start- 
 ed off with the speed of the wild chamois of the Alpine 
 mountains; leaving little Henric to shift for himself. 
 
 "The child, the child! jthe precious boy! he will be 
 trampled to death!" shrieked Lalotte. 
 
 Henric had caught sight of his father among the crowd 
 
242 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 while Philip was holding him up to look at the ducal cap, 
 and he had been much alarmed lest his father should see 
 him. But the moment he found himself abandoned by 
 Philip, he lifted up his voice, and screamed with all his 
 might, '' Father, father!" 
 
 The helplessness, the distress, together with the un- 
 common beauty of the child, moved the heart of a peasant 
 near him, to compassion. " Who is your father, my fair 
 boy?" said he. " Point him out, and I will lead you to 
 him." 
 
 **My father is William Tell, the crossbow-man of 
 Biirglen," said the child. ** There he is. close to the 
 cap on the pole yonder. " 
 
 ''Is ^ your father, poor babe?" said the peasant. 
 ''Well, you will find him in rare trouble, and I hope you 
 may not be the means of adding to it, my little man. " 
 
 No sooner had the kind man cleared the way through 
 the crowd for his young companion, and conducted him 
 within a few yards of the spot where William Tell stood, 
 than the urchin drew his hand away from his new friend, 
 and running to his father, flung his little arms about his 
 knees, sobbing, "Father, dear father, pray forgive me 
 this once, and I will never disobey you again. " 
 
 Henric made his appearance at an unlucky moment 
 both for his father and himself; for the cruel governor of 
 Uri, exasperated at the manly courage of Tell, seized the 
 boy by the arm and sternly demanded if he were his 
 son. 
 
 "Harm not the child, I pray thee," cried Tell: "he is 
 my first born." 
 
 "It is not my intention to do him harm," replied the 
 governor. "If any mischief befall the child, it will be 
 by thy own hand, traitor. Here," cried he to one of his 
 
William Tell 243 
 
 soldiers, "take this boy, tie him beneath yon linden-tree, 
 in the centre of the market-place, and place an apple 
 on his head " 
 
 "What means this?" cried Tell. 
 
 "I am minded to see a specimen of your skill as an 
 archer," replied Gessler. "I am told that you are the 
 best marksman in all Uri; and, therefore, your life being 
 forfeited by your presumptuous act of disobedience, I 
 am inclined, out of the clemency of my nature, to allow 
 you a chance of saving it. This you may do, if you can 
 shoot an arrow so truly aimed as to cleave the apple upon 
 thy boy's head. But if thou either miss the apple, or 
 slay the child, then shall the sentence of death be in- 
 stantly executed. " 
 
 "Unfeeling tyrant!" exclaimed Tell; "dost thou think 
 that I could endeavour to preserve my own life by risking 
 that of my precious child?" 
 
 " Nay, " replied Gessler, " I thought I was doing thee a 
 great favour by offering thee an alternative, whereby thou 
 mightest preserve thy forfeited life by a lucky chance. " 
 
 "A lucky chance!" exclaimed Tell: "and dost thou 
 believe that I would stake my child's life on such a desper- 
 ate chance as the cast of an arrow launched by the agitated 
 hand of an anxious father, at such a mark as that ? Nay, 
 look at the child thyself, my lord. Though he be no kin 
 to thee, and thou knowest none of his pretty ways and 
 winning wiles, whereby he endeareth himself to a parent's 
 heart — yet consider his innocent countenance, the artless 
 beauty of his features, and the rosy freshness of his 
 rounded cheeks, which are dimpling with joy at the sight 
 of me, though the tears yet hang upon them — and then 
 say, whether thou couldst find in thine heart to aim an 
 arrow that perchance might harm him?" 
 
244 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 "I swear," replied Gessler, "that thou shalt either 
 shoot the arrow, or diel" 
 
 *'My choice is soon made," said Tell, dropping the 
 bow from his hand. *' Let me die! " 
 
 ''Ay, but the child shall be slain before thy face ere 
 thine own sentence be executed, traitor!" cried the 
 governor, ''if thou shoot not at him." 
 
 "Give me the bow once more!" exclaimed Tell, in a 
 hoarse, deep voice; "but in mercy let some one turn the 
 child's face away from me. If I meet the glance of those 
 sweet eyes of his, it will unnerve my hand; and then, 
 perchance, the shaft, on whose true aim his life and 
 mine depend, may err." 
 
 Lalotte, knowing that all depended on his remaining 
 quiet, as soon as the soldiers had placed him with his 
 face averted from his father, sprang forward, and whis- 
 pered in Henric's ear, " Stand firm, dear boy, without 
 moving, for five minutes, and you will be forgiven for 
 your fault of this morning. " 
 
 There w^as a sudden pause of awe and expectation 
 among the dense crowd that had gathered round the 
 group planted within a bow-shot of the linden-tree 
 beneath which the child was bound. Tell, whose arms 
 were now released, unbuckled the quiver that was slung 
 across his shoulder, and carefully examined his arrows, 
 one by one. He selected two: one of them he placed in 
 his girdle, the other he fitted to his bow-string; and then 
 he raised his eyes to Heaven, and his lips moved in prayer. 
 He relied not upon his own skill but he asked the assis- 
 tance of One in whose hands are the issues of life and 
 death; and he did not ask in vain. The trembHng, agit- 
 ated hand that a moment before shook with the strong 
 emotion of a parent's anxious fears, became suddenly 
 
William Tell 
 
 245 
 
 firm and steady; his swimming eyes resumed their keen, 
 clear sight, and his mind recovered its wonted energy 
 of purpose at the proper moment. 
 
 Lalotte's young voice w^as the first to proclaim, aloud, 
 "The arrow hath cleft the apple in twain! and the 
 child is safe. " 
 
 " God hath sped my shaft, and blessed be His name!'* 
 exclaimed the pious archer, on whose ear the thunders 
 of applause, with which the assembled multitude hailed 
 his successful shot, had fallen unheeded. 
 
 The soldiers now unbound the child; and Lalotte 
 fearlessly advanced, and led him to his father. But 
 before the fond parent could fold his darling to his 
 bosom, the t\Tant Gessler sternly demanded for what 
 purpose he had reserved the second arrow, which he had 
 seen him select and place in his belt. 
 
 "That arrow," replied Tell, giving way to a sudden 
 burst of passion, "that arrow was designed to avenge 
 the death of my child, if I had slain him with the other. " 
 
 "How to avenge?" exclaimed the governor, furiously. 
 "To avenge, saidst thou? and on whom didst thou 
 intend thy vengeance would fall?" 
 
 " On thee, tyrant 1" replied Tell, fixing his eyes sternly 
 on the governor. " My next mark would have been thy 
 bosom, had I failed in my first. Thou perceivest that 
 mine is not a shaft to miscarry." 
 
 "Well, thou hast spoken frankly," said Gessler; "and 
 since I have promised thee thy life I will not swerve from 
 my word. But as I have now reason for personal ap- 
 prehensions from thy malice, I shall closet thee hence- 
 forth so safely in the dungeons of Kiissnacht, that the 
 light of sun or moon shall never more visit thine eyes; 
 and thy fatal bow shall hereafter be harmless. " 
 
246 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 On this the guard once more laid hands on the intrepid 
 archer, whom they seized and bound, in spite of the entrea- 
 ties of Lalotte, and the cries and tears of little Hemic, 
 who hung weeping about his father. 
 
 "Take him home to his mother, Lalotte; and bear 
 my last fond greetings to her and the little ones, whom I, 
 peradventure, shall see no more," said Tell, bursting 
 into tears. The mighty heart which had remained firm 
 and unshaken in the midst of all his perils and trials, 
 now melted within him at the sight of his child's tears, 
 the remembrance of his home, and anticipations of the 
 sufferings of his tender wife. 
 
 The inhuman Gessler scarcely permitted his prisoner 
 the satisfaction of a parting embrace with Henric and 
 Lalotte, ere he ordered him to be hurried on board a 
 small vessel in which he embarked also with his armed 
 followers. He commanded the crew to row to Brunnen, 
 where it was his intention to land, and, passing through 
 the territory of Schwyz, to lodge the captive Tell in the 
 dungeon of Kiissnacht, and there to immure him for life. 
 
 The sails were hoisted and the vessel under weigh, 
 when suddenly one of those storms common on the lake 
 of Uri overtook them, accompanied with such violent 
 gusts of wind, that the terrified pilot forsook the helm; 
 and the bark, with the governor and his crew, was in dan- 
 ger of being ingulfed in the raging waters. Gessler, 
 like most wicked people, was in great terror at 
 the prospect of death, when one of his attendants re- 
 minded him that the prisoner, William Tell, was no less 
 skilful in the management of a boat than in the exercise 
 of the bow. So he ordered that Tell should be unbound, 
 and placed at the helm. 
 
 The boat, steered by the master-hand of the intrepid 
 
William Tell 247 
 
 Tell, now kept its course steadily through the mountain 
 surge; and Tell observed, *'that by the grace of God, 
 he trusted a deliverance was at hand." 
 
 As the prow of the vessel was driven inland. Tell 
 perceived a solitary table rock and called aloud the rowers 
 to redouble their efforts, till they should have passed the 
 precipice ahead. At the instant they came abreast this 
 point he snatched his bow from the plank, where it was 
 lying forgotten during the storm, and, turning the helm 
 suddenly toward the rock, he sprang lightly on shore, 
 scaled the mountain, and was out of sight and beyond 
 reach of pursuit, before any on board had recovered from 
 consternation. 
 
 Tell, meantime, entered Schwyz, and having reached 
 the heights which border the main road to Klissnacht, 
 concealed himself among the brushwood in a small hollow 
 of the road, where he knew Gessler would pass on his 
 way to his own castle, in case he and his followers escaped 
 and came safely to shore. This, it appeared they did, 
 and having effected a landing at Brunnen, they took 
 horse, and proceeded towards Klissnacht, in the direction 
 of the only road to the castle. 
 
 While they were passing the spot where Tell lay con- 
 cealed, he heard the cruel tyrant denouncing the most 
 deadly vengeance, not only on himself, but his helpless 
 family: " If I live to return to Altdorf," he exclaimed, 
 " I will destroy the whole brood of the traitor Tell, mother 
 and children, in the same hour. " 
 
 "Monster, thou shalt return to Altdorf no morel" 
 murmured Tell. So, raising himself up in his lair, and 
 fitting an arrow to his bow, he took deadly aim at the 
 relentless bosom that was planning the destruction oi all 
 his family. 
 
248 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 The arrow flew as truly to the mark as that which he 
 had shot in the market-place of Altdorf, and the tyrant 
 Gessler fell from his horse, pierced with a mortal wound. 
 
 The daring archer thought that he had taken his aim 
 unseen by human eye; but, to his surprise, a familiar 
 voice whispered in his ear, ''Bravo, uncle! that was the 
 best-aimed shaft you ever shot. Gessler is down, and 
 we are a free people now. " 
 
 ''Thou incorrigible varlet, what brings thee here?'* 
 replied Tell, in an undervoice, giving Philip a rough 
 grip of the arm. 
 
 "It is no time to answer questions, " returned Phihp. 
 " The Riitli band are waiting for thee, if so be thou 
 canst escape from this dangerous place ; and my business 
 here was to give thee notice of the same. " 
 
 On this. Tell softly crept from the thicket, and, followed 
 by his nephew, took the road to Stienen, which under 
 cover of darkness, they reached that night. 
 
 Philip, by the way, after expressing much contrition 
 for having seduced little Henric to go to the fair wuth 
 him, informed his uncle that Henric and Lalotte had 
 been safely conducted home by one of the band of the 
 Riitli who chanced to be at Altdorf fair. 
 
 When they reached Stienen Tell was received with open 
 arms by Stauffacher, the leader of the Rutli band; and 
 with him and the other confederates, he so well concerted 
 measures for the deliverance of Switzerland from the 
 German yoke, that, in the course of a few days, the whole 
 country was in arms. The -Emperor of Germany's 
 forces were ever)^vhere defeated; and on the first day 
 of the year, 1308, the independence of Switzerland was 
 declared. 
 
 His grateful countrymen would have chosen William 
 
William Tell 249 
 
 Tell for their sovereign, but he nobly rejected the offer, 
 declaring that he was perfectly contented with the station 
 of life in which he was born, and wished to be remembered 
 in history by no other title than that of the Deliverer of 
 Switzerland. 
 
 This true patriot lived happily in the bosom of his 
 family for many years, and had the satisfaction of seeing 
 his children grow up in the fear of God and the practice 
 of virtue. 
 
CHAPTER XVI 
 
 ROBERT BRUCE 
 
 I HOPE you have not forgotten, my dear child, 
 that all the cruel wars of Scotland arose out 
 of the debate between the great lords who claimed 
 the throne after King Alexander the Third's death. The 
 Scottish nobility rashly submitted the decision of that 
 matter to King Edward I of England, and thus opened 
 the way to his endeavouring to seize the kingdom of 
 Scotland to himself. It was natural that such of the 
 people as were still determined to fight for the deliverance 
 of their country from the English, should look round for 
 some other King, under whom they might unite themselves, 
 to combat the power of England. 
 
 Amongst these, the principal candidates, were two 
 powerful noblemen. The first was Robert Bruce, Earl 
 of Carrick; the other was John Comyn, or Cuming, 
 of Badenoch, usually called the Red Comyn, to distin- 
 guish him from his kinsman, the Black Comyn, so named 
 from his swarthy complexion. These two great and 
 powerful barons had taken part with Sir William Wal- 
 lace in the wars against England; but, after his defeat, 
 being careful of losing their great estates, and considering 
 the freedom of Scotland as beyond the possibility of 
 being recovered, both Bruce and Comyn had not only 
 submitted themselves to Edward, and acknowledged his 
 title as King of Scotland, but even borne arms, along 
 with the English, against such of their countrymen as still 
 
 250 
 
Robert Bruce 251 
 
 continued to resist the usurper. But the feelings of 
 Bruce concerning the baseness of this conduct, are said, by 
 the old tradition of Scotland, to have been awakened by 
 the following incident. In one of the numerous battles, or 
 skirmishes, which took place at the time between the 
 English and their adherents on the one side, and the in- 
 surgent or patriotic Scots upon the other, Robert the 
 Bruce was present, and assisted the English to gain the 
 victory. After the battle was over, he sat down to dinner 
 among his southern friends and allies, without washing 
 his hands, on which there still remained spots of the 
 blood which he had shed during the action. The English 
 lords, observing this whispered to each other in mockery, 
 ''Look at that Scotsman, who is eating his own blood!" 
 Bruce heard what they said, and began to reflect that the 
 blood upon his hands might be indeed called his own, 
 since it was that of his brave countrymen who were 
 fighting for the independence of Scotland, whilst he was 
 assisting its oppressors, who only laughed at and mocked 
 him for his unnatural conduct. He was so much shocked 
 and disgusted that he arose from table, and, going into 
 a neighbouring chapel, shed many tears, and, asking par- 
 don of God for the great crime he had been guilty of, 
 made a solemn vow that he would atone for it by doing 
 all in his power to deliver Scotland from the foreign yoke. 
 Accordingly, he left, it is said, the English army, and 
 never joined it again, but remained watching an oppor- 
 tunity for restoring the freedom of his country. 
 
 Now, this Robert the Bruce was held the best warrior 
 in Scotland. He was very wise and prudent, and an 
 excellent general; that is, he knew how to conduct an 
 army, and place them in order for battle, as well or better 
 than any great man of his time. He was generous, too, 
 
252 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 and courteous by nature; but he had some faults, which 
 perhaps belonged as much to the fierce period in which 
 he lived as to his own character. He was rash and pas- 
 sionate, and in his passion he was sometimes relentless 
 and cruel. 
 
 Robert the Bruce had fixed his purpose, as I told you, 
 to attempt once again to drive the English out of Scotland, 
 and he desired to prevail upon Sir John, the Red Comyn, 
 who was his rival in his pretensions to the throne, to join 
 with him in expelling the foreign enemy by their common 
 efforts. With this purpose, Bruce requested an inter- 
 view with John Comyn. They met in the Church of the 
 Minorites in Dunfries, before the high altar. What 
 passed betwixt them is not known with certainty; but 
 they quarrelled, either concerning their mutual preten- 
 sions to the Crown, or because Comyn refused to join 
 Bruce in the proposed insurrection against the English; 
 or, as many writers say, because Bruce charged Comyn 
 with having betrayed to the English his purpose of rising 
 up against King Edward. It is, however, certain, that 
 these two haughty barons came to high and abusive 
 words, until at length Bruce forgot the sacred character 
 of the place in which they stood, and struck Comyn a 
 blow w^ith his dagger. Having done this rash deed, he 
 instantly ran out of the church and called for his horse. 
 Two friends of Bruce were in attendance on him. See- 
 ing him pale, bloody, and in much agitation they eagerly 
 inquired what w^as the matter. 
 
 *'I doubt," said Bruce, ''that I have slain the Red 
 Comyn." 
 
 "Do you leave such a matter in doubt?" said one, 
 "I will make sicker!" — that is, I will make certain. 
 Accordingly, he and his companion rushed into the church 
 
Robert Bruce 253 
 
 and made the matter certain with a vengeance, by dis- 
 patching the wounded Comyn with their daggers. His 
 uncle, Sir Robert Comyn, was slain at the same time. 
 
 This slaughter of Comyn was a rash and cruel action. 
 It was followed by the displeasure of Heaven ; for no man 
 ever went through more misfortunes than Robert Bruce, 
 although he at length rose to great honour. After the 
 deed was done, Bruce might be called desperate. He 
 had committed an action which was sure to bring down 
 upon him the vengeance of all Comyn's relations, the 
 resentment of the King of England, and the displeasure 
 of the Church, on account of having slain his enemy 
 within consecrated ground. He determined, therefore, 
 to bid them all defiance at once, and to assert his pre- 
 tensions to the throne of Scotland. He drew his own 
 followers together, summoned to meet him such barons 
 as still entertained hopes of the freedom of the country, 
 and was crowned King at the Abbey of Scone, the usual 
 place where the Kings of Scotland assumed their authority. 
 
 Everything relating to the ceremony was hastily per- 
 formed. A small circlet of gold was hurriedly made, to 
 represent the ancient crown of Scotland, which Edward 
 had carried off to England. The Earl of Fife, descen- 
 dant of the brave Macduff, whose duty it was to have 
 placed the crown on the King's head, would not give his 
 attendance, but the ceremonial was performed by his 
 sister, Isabella, Countess of Buchan. 
 
 Edward was dreadfully incensed when he heard that, 
 after all the pains which he had taken, and all the blood 
 which had been spilled, the Scots were making this new 
 attempt to shake off his authority. Though now old, 
 feeble, and sickly, he made a solemn vow, in presence of 
 all his court, that he would take the most ample ven- 
 
2 54 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 geance upon Robert the Bruce and his adherents; after 
 which he would never again draw his sword upon a 
 Christian, but would only fight against the unbelieving 
 Saracens for the recovery of the Holy Land. He marched 
 against Bruce accordingly, at the head of a powerful 
 army. 
 
 The commencement of Bruce 's undertaking was most 
 disastrous. He was crowned on the twenty-ninth of 
 March, 1306. On the eighteenth of May he was ex- 
 communicated by the Pope, on account of the murder of 
 Comyn within consecrated ground, a sentence which ex- 
 cluded him from all benefits of religion, and authorized 
 any one to kill him. Finally, on the nineteenth of June, 
 the new King was completely defeated near Methven by 
 the English Earl of Pembroke. Robert's horse was 
 killed under him in the action, and he was for a moment 
 a prisoner. But he had fallen into the power of a Scottish 
 knight, who, though he served in the English army, did 
 not choose to be the instrument of putting Bruce into 
 their hands, and allowed him to escape. 
 
 Bruce, with a few brave adherents, among whom was 
 the young lord of Douglas, who was afterward called the 
 Good Lord James, retired into the Highland mountains. 
 The Bruce's wife, now Queen of Scotland, with several 
 other ladies, acompanied her husband and his few fol- 
 lowers during their wanderings. There was no way of 
 providing for them save by hunting and fishing. Driven 
 from one place in the Highlands to another, starved out 
 of some districts, and forced from others by the opposi- 
 tion of the inhabitants, Bruce attempted to force his way 
 into Lorn; but he found enemies everywhere. The 
 MacDougals, a powerful family, then called Lords of 
 Lorn, were friendly to the English, and attacked Bruce 
 
Robert Bruce 255 
 
 and his wandering companions as soon as they attempted 
 to enter their territory. The chief, called John of Lorn, 
 hated Bruce on account of his having slain the Red 
 Comyn, to whom this MacDougal was nearly related. 
 Bruce was again defeated by this chief. He directed his 
 men to retreat through a narrow pass, and, placing him- 
 self last of the party, he fought with and slew such of the 
 enemy as attempted to press hard on them. Three fol- 
 lowers of MacDougal, a father and two sons, called Mac- 
 Androsser, all very strong men, when they saw Bruce 
 thus protecting the retreat of his followers, rushed on the 
 King at once. Bruce was on horseback, in the strait 
 pass betwixt a precipitous rock and a deep lake. He 
 struck the first man a blow with his sword, as cut off 
 his hand and freed the bridle. The man bled to death. 
 The other brother had meantime grasped Bruce by the 
 leg, and was attempting to throw him from horseback. 
 The King, setting spurs to his horse, made the animal 
 suddenly spring forward, so that the Highlander fell under 
 the horse's feet, and, as he was endeavouring to rise again, 
 Bruce cleft his head in two with his sword. The father, 
 seeing his two sons thus slain, flew desperately at the 
 King, and grasped him hy the mantle so close to his 
 body, that he could not have room to wield his long sword. 
 But with the heavy pummel of that weapon the King 
 struck this third assailant so dreadful a blow, that he 
 dashed out his brains. Still, however, the Highlander 
 kept his dying grasp on the King's mantle; so that, to 
 be free of the dead body, Bruce was obliged to undo the 
 brooch, or clasp, by which it was fastened, and leave 
 that, and the mantle itself, behind him. The brooch, 
 which fell thus into the possession of MacDougal of Lorn, 
 is still preserved in that ancient family as a memorial. 
 
256 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 The King met with many such encounters amidst his 
 dangerous and dismal wanderings; yet, though almost 
 always defeated by the superior numbers of the English, 
 and of such Scots as sided with them, he still kept up his 
 own spirits and those of his followers. He was a better 
 scholar than w^as usual in those days, when, except 
 clergymen, few people learned to read and write. But 
 King Robert could do both very well ; and we are told that 
 he sometimes read aloud to his companions, to amuse 
 them, when they wxre crossing the great Highland lakes, 
 in such wretched leaky boats as they could find for that 
 purpose. Loch Lomond, in particular, is said to have 
 been the scene of such a lecture. You may see by this, 
 how useful it is to possess knowledge. 
 
 At last dangers increased so much around the brave 
 King Robert, that he was obliged to separate himself 
 from his Queen and her ladies. So Bruce left his Queen, 
 with the Countess of Buchan and others, in the only 
 castle which remained to him, which was called Kil- 
 drummie, and is situated near the head of the river Don 
 in Aberdeenshire. The King also left his brother, Nigel 
 Bruce, to defend the castle against the English; and he 
 himself, with his second brother Edward, who was a very 
 brave man, went over to an island called Rachrin, on the 
 coast of Ireland, where Bruce and the few men who 
 followed his fortunes passed the winter of 1306. In the 
 meantime the castle of Kildrummie was taken by the 
 English, and Nigel Bruce, a beautiful and brave youth, 
 was cruelly put to death by the victors. The ladies who 
 had attended on Robert's Queen, as well as the Queen 
 herself, and the Countess of Buchan, were thrown into 
 strict confinement. 
 
 The Countess of Buchan had given Edward great of- 
 
Robert Bruce 257 
 
 fence by being the person who placed the crown on the 
 head of Robert Bruce. She was imprisoned within the 
 Castle of Berwick, in a cage. The cage was a strong 
 wooden and iron piece of frame-work, placed within an 
 apartment, and resembling one of those places in which 
 wild-beasts are confined. There were such cages in 
 most old prisons to which captives were consigned, who 
 were to be confined with peculiar rigour. 
 
 The news of the taking of Kildrummie, the captivity 
 of his wife, and the execution of his brother, reached 
 Bruce while he was residing in a miserable dwelling at 
 Rachrin, and reduced him to the point of despair. After 
 receiving the intelligence from Scotland, Bruce was lying 
 one morning on his wretched bed, and deliberating with 
 himself whether he had not better resign all thoughts of 
 again attempting to make good his right to the Scottish 
 crown, and, dismissing his followers, transport himself 
 and his brothers to the Holy Land, and spend the rest of 
 his life in fighting against the Saracens. But then, on 
 the other hand, he thought it would be both criminal and 
 cowardly to give up his attempts to restore freedom to 
 Scotland while there yet remained the least chance of his 
 being successful in an undertaking, which, rightly con- 
 sidered, was much more his duty than to drive the infidels 
 out of Palestine. 
 
 While he was divided betwixt these reflections, and 
 doubtful of what he should do, Bruce was looking up- 
 ward to the roof of the cabin in which he lay ; and his eye 
 was attracted by a spider, which, hanging at the end of a 
 long thread of its own spinning, was endeavouring to 
 swing itself from one beam in the roof to another, for the 
 purpose of fixing the line on which it meant to stretch its 
 web. The insect made the attempt again and again with- 
 
258 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 out success ; at length Bruce counted that it had tried to 
 carry its point six times, and been as often unable to do so. 
 It came into his head tljat he had himself fought just six 
 battles against the English and their allies, and that the 
 poor persevering spider was exactly in the same situation 
 with himself, having made as many trials and been as 
 often disappointed in what it aimed at. " Now," thought 
 Bruce, ''as I have no means of knowing what is best to be 
 done, I will be guided by the luck which shall attend this 
 spider. If the insect shall make another effort to fix its 
 thread, and shall be successful, I will venture a seventh 
 time to try my fortune in Scotland ; but if the spider shall 
 fail, I will go to the wars in Palestine, and never return to 
 my native country more." 
 
 While Bruce w^as forming this resolution the spider 
 made another exertion with all the force it could muster, 
 and fairly succeeded in fastening its thread to the beam 
 which it had so often in vain attempted to reach. Bruce 
 seeing the success of the spider, resolved to try his own 
 fortune ; and as he had never before gained a victory, so 
 he never afterward sustained any considerable or de- 
 cisive check or defeat. I have often met with people of 
 the name of Bruce, so completely persuaded of the truth 
 of this story, that they would not on any account kill a 
 spider, because it was that insect which had shown the 
 example of perseverance, and given a signal of good luck 
 to their great namesake. 
 
 Having determined to renew his efforts to obtain pos- 
 session of Scotland, the Bruce removed himself and his 
 followers from Rachrin to the island of Arran, which lies 
 in the mouth of the Clyde. The King landed, and in- 
 quired of the first woman he met what armed men were 
 in the island. She returned for answer that there had 
 
Robert Bruce 
 
 259 
 
 arrived there very lately a body of armed strangers, who 
 had defeated an English governor of the castle, and were 
 now amusing themselves with hunting about the island. 
 The King, having caused himself to be guided to the 
 woods which these strangers most frequented, there 
 blew his horn repeatedly. Now, the chief of the stran- 
 gers who had taken the castle was James Douglas, one 
 of the best of Bruce's friends, and he was accompanied 
 by some of the bravest of that patriotic band. When he 
 heard Robert Bruce's horn, he knew the sound well, and 
 cried out, that yonder was the King, he knew by his man- 
 ner of blowing. So he and his companions hastened to 
 meet King Robert. They could not help weeping when 
 they considered their own forlorn condition, but they 
 were stout-hearted men, and yet looked forward to freeing 
 their country. 
 
 The Bruce was now where the people were most likely 
 to be attached to him. He continued to keep himself 
 concealed in his own earldom of Carrick, and in the 
 neighboring country of Galloway, until he should have 
 matters ready for a general attack upon the English. He 
 was obliged, in the meantime, to keep very few men with 
 him, both for the sake of secrecy, and from the difficulty 
 of finding provisions. 
 
 Now, many of the people of Galloway were unfriendly 
 to Bruce. They lived under the government of one 
 MacDougal, related to the Lord of Lorn, who had de- 
 feated Bruce. These Galloway men had heard that 
 Bruce was in their country, having no more than sixty 
 men with him ; so they resolved to attack him by surprise, 
 and for this purpose they got together and brought with 
 them two or three bloodhounds. At that time blood- 
 hounds, or sleuthhounds, were used for the purpose of 
 
26o Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 pursuing great criminals. The men of Galloway thought 
 that if they missed taking Bruce, or killing him at the 
 first onset, and if he should escape into the woods, they 
 would find him out by means of these bloodhounds. 
 
 The good King Robert Bruce, who was always watch- 
 ful and vigilant, received some information of the inten- 
 tion of the party to come upon him suddenly and by 
 night. Accordingly, he quartered his little troop of 
 sixty men on the side of a deep and swift-running river, 
 that had very steep and rocky banks. There was but 
 one ford by which this river could be crossed in that 
 neighbourhood, and that ford was deep and narrow, so 
 that two men could scarcely get through abreast; the 
 ground on which they were to land, on the side where the 
 King was, was steep, and the path which led upward 
 from the water's edge to the top of the bank, extremely 
 narrow and difficult. 
 
 Bruce caused his men to lie down to take some sleep, at 
 a place about half a mile distant from the river, while he 
 himself, with two attendants, went down to watch the 
 ford. He stood looking at the ford, and thinking how 
 easily the enemy might be kept from passing there, pro- 
 vided it was bravely defended, when he heard, always 
 coming nearer and nearer, the baying of a hound. This 
 was the bloodhound which was tracing the King's steps 
 to the ford where he had crossed, and two hundied Gal- 
 loway men were along with the animal, and guided by it. 
 Bruce at first thought of going back to awaken his men; 
 but then he reflected that it might be only some shep- 
 herd's dog. "My men," said he, "are sorely tired; I 
 will not disturb their sleep for the yelping of a cur, till I 
 know something more of the matter." So he stood and 
 listened; and by and by, as the cry of the hound came 
 
Robert Bruce 261 
 
 nearer, he began to hear a trampling of horses, and the 
 voices of men, and the ringing and clattering of armour, 
 and then he was sure the enemy were coming to the 
 river side. Then the King thought, '* If I go back to give 
 my men the alarm, these Galloway men will get through 
 the ford without opposition; and that would be a pity, 
 since it is a place so advantageous to make defence 
 against them." So he looked again at the steep path, 
 and the deep river, and he thought that they gave him so 
 much advantage, that he himself could defend the pas- 
 sage with his own hand, until his men came to assist him. 
 He therefore sent his followers to waken his men, and 
 remained alone by the river. 
 
 The noise and trampling of the horses increased, and 
 the moon being bright, Bruce beheld the glancing arms 
 of two hundred men, on the opposite bank. The men of 
 Galloway, on their part, saw but one solitary figure 
 guarding the ford, and the foremost of them plunged into 
 the river without minding him. But as they could only 
 pass the ford one by one, the Bruce, who stood high above 
 them on the bank where they were to land, killed the 
 foremost man with a thrust of his long spear, and with a 
 second thrust stabbed the horse, which fell down, kicking 
 and plunging in his agonies, on the narrow path, and so 
 prevented the others who were following from getting 
 out of the river. Bruce had thus an opportunity of deal- 
 ing his blows among them, while they could not strike at 
 him. In the confusion, five or six of the enemy were 
 slain, or, having been borne down with the current, were 
 drowned. The rest were terrified, and drew back. 
 
 But when the Galloway men looked again, and saw 
 they were opposed by only one man, they themselves 
 being so many, they cried out, that their honour would 
 
262 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 be lost forever if they did not force their way; and en- 
 couraged each other, with loud cries, to plunge through 
 and assault him. But by this time the King's soldiers 
 came up to his assistance, and the Galloway men gave 
 up their enterprise. 
 
 About the time when the Bruce was yet at the head of 
 but few men, Sir Aymer de Valence, who was Earl of 
 Pembroke, together with Sir John of Lorn, came into 
 Galloway, each of them being at the head of a large body 
 of men. John of Lorn had a bloodhound with him, 
 which it was said had formerly belonged to Robert Bruce 
 himself; and having been fed by the King with his own 
 hands, it became attached to him, and would follow his 
 footsteps anywhere, as dogs are well known to trace their 
 master's steps, whether they be bloodhounds or not. By 
 means of this hound, John of Lorn thought he should 
 certainly find out Bruce, and take revenge on him for the 
 death of his relation Comyn. 
 
 The King saw that he was followed by a large body, 
 and being determined to escape from them, he made all the 
 people who were with him disperse themselves different 
 ways, thinking thus that the enemy must needs lose trace 
 of him. He kept only one man along with him, and that 
 was his own foster-brother, or the son of his nurse. When 
 John of Lorn came to the place where Bruce 's com- 
 panions had dispersed themselves, the bloodhound, after it 
 had snuffed up and down for a little, quitted the footsteps 
 of all the other fugitives, and ran barking upon the track 
 of two men out of the whole number. Then John of 
 Lorn knew that one of these two must needs be King 
 Robert. Accordingly, he commanded five of his men 
 that were speedy of foot to chase after him, and either 
 make him prisoner or slay him. The Highlanders 
 
Robert Bruce 263 
 
 started off accordingly, and ran so fast, that they gained 
 sight of Robert and his foster-brother. The King asked 
 his companion what help he could give him, and his 
 foster-brother answered he was ready to do his best. So 
 these two turned on the five men of John of Lorn, and 
 killed them all. 
 
 But by this time Bruce very much fatigued, and yet 
 they dared not sit down to take any rest; for whenever 
 they stopped for an instant, they heard the cry of the 
 bloodhound behind them, and knew by that, that their 
 enemies were coming up fast after them. At length, they 
 came to a wood, through which ran a small river. Then 
 Bruce said to his foster-brother, " Let us wade down this 
 stream for a great way, instead of going straight across, and 
 so this unhappy hound will lose the scent; for if we were 
 once clear of him, I should not be afraid of getting away 
 from the pursuers." Accordingly, the King and his 
 attendant walked a great way down the stream, taking 
 care to keep their feet in the water, which could not retain 
 any scent where they had stepped. Then they came 
 ashore on the further side from the enemy, and went deep 
 into the wood before they stopped to rest themselves. In 
 the meanwhile, the hound led John of Lorn straight to 
 the place where the King went into the water, but there 
 the dog began to be puzzled, not knowing where to go 
 next. So, John of Lorn, seeing the dog had lost track, 
 gave up the chase, and returned to join with Aymer de 
 Valence. 
 
 But King Robert's adventures were not yet ended. 
 It was now near night, and he went boldy into a farm- 
 house, where he found the mistress, an old, true-hearted 
 Scotswoman, sitting alone. Upon seeing a stranger enter 
 she asked him who and what he was. The King an- 
 
264 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 swered that he was a traveller, who was journeying 
 through the country. 
 
 "All travellers," answered the good woman, "are 
 welcome here, for the sake of one." 
 
 ''And who is that one," said the King, "for whose 
 sake you make all welcome ?" 
 
 "It is our rightful King, Robert the Bruce," answered 
 the mistress, "and although he is now pursued and 
 hunted after with hounds and horns, I hope to live to see 
 him King over all Scotland." 
 
 "Since you love him so well, dame," said the King, 
 "know that you see him before you. I am Robert the 
 Bruce." 
 
 "You I" said the good woman, in great surprise; "and 
 wherefore are you thus alone ? — where are all your men ?" 
 
 "I have none with me at this moment," answered 
 Bruce, "and therefore I must travel alone." 
 
 "But that shall not be," said the brave old dame, "for 
 I have two stout sons, gallant and trusty men, who shall 
 be your servants for life and death." 
 
 So she brought her two sons, and though she well knew 
 the dangers to which she exposed them, she made them 
 swear fidelity to the King. 
 
 Now, the loyal woman was getting everything ready 
 for the King's supper, when suddenly there was a great 
 trampling of horses heard round the house. They 
 thought it must be some of the English, or John of Lom's 
 men, and the good wife called upon her sons to fight to 
 the last for King Robert. But shortly after, they heard 
 the voice of the good Lord James of Douglas, and of 
 Edward Bruce, the King's brother, who had come with 
 a hundred and fifty horsemen, according to the instruc- 
 tions that the King had left with them at parting. 
 
Robert Bruce 265 
 
 Robert the Bruce was right joyful to meet his brother, 
 and his faithful friend Lord James; and had no sooner 
 found himself once more at the head of such a consider- 
 able body of followers, than he forgot hunger and weari- 
 ness. There was nothing but mount and ride; and as 
 the Scots rushed suddenly into the village where the 
 English were quartered, they easily dispersed and cut 
 them to pieces. 
 
 The consequence of these successes of King Robert 
 was that soldiers came to join him on all sides, and that he 
 obtained several victories over English commanders; 
 until at length the English were afraid to venture into 
 the open country, as formerly, unless when they could 
 assemble themselves in considerable bodies. They 
 thought it safer to lie still in the towns and castles which 
 they had garrisoned. 
 
 Edward I would have entered Scotland at the head of 
 a large army, before he had left Bruce time to conquer 
 back the country. But very fortunately for the Scots, 
 that wise and skilful, though ambitious King, died when 
 he was on the point of marching into Scotland. His son 
 Edward II neglected the Scottish war, and thus lost the 
 opportunity of defeating Bruce, when his force was small. 
 But when Sir Philip Mowbray, the governor of Stirling, 
 came to London, to tell the King, that Stirling, the last 
 Scottish town of importance which remained in pos- 
 session of the English, was to be surrendered if it were 
 not relieved by force of arms before midsummer, then all 
 the English nobles called out, it would be a sin and shame 
 to permit the fair conquest which Edward I had made, 
 to be forfeited to the Scots for want of fighting. 
 
 King Edward II, therefore, assembled one of the great- 
 est armies which a King of England ever commanded. 
 
266 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 There were troops brought from all his dominions, many 
 brave soldiers from the French provinces, many Irish, 
 many Welsh, and all the great English nobles and barons, 
 with their followers. The number was not less than 
 one hundred thousand men. 
 
 King Robert the Bruce summoned all his nobles and 
 barons to join him, when he heard of the great prepara- 
 tions which the King of England was making. They 
 were not so numerous as the English by many thousand 
 men. In fact, his whole army did not very much exceed 
 thirty thousand, and they were much worse armed than 
 the wealthy Englishmen; but then, Robert was one of 
 the most expert generals of the time; and the officers he 
 had under him, were his brother Edward, his faithful 
 follower the Douglas, and other brave and experienced 
 leaders. His men had been accustomed to fight and 
 gain victories under every disadvantage of situation and 
 numbers. 
 
 The King, on his part, studied how he might supply, 
 by address and stratagem, what he wanted in numbers 
 and strength. He knew the superiority of the English in 
 their heavy-armed cavalry, and in their archers. Both 
 these advantages he resolved to provide against. With 
 this purpose, he led his army down into a plain near 
 Stirling. The English army must needs pass through a 
 boggy country, broken with water-courses, while the 
 Scots occupied hard dry ground. He then caused all the 
 ground upon the front of his line of battle, to be dug full 
 of holes, about as deep as a man's knee. They were 
 filled with light brushwood, and the turf was laid on the 
 top, so that it appeared a plain field, while in reality it 
 was as full of these pits as a honeycomb is of holes. He 
 also, it is sa-\d, caused steel spikes, called calthrops, to be 
 
Robert Bruce 267 
 
 scattered up and down in the plain, where the English 
 cavahry were most likely to advance, trusting in that man- 
 ner to lame and destroy their horses. 
 
 When the Scottish army was drawn up, the line 
 stretched north and south. On the south, it was ter- 
 minated by the banks of the brook called Bannockburn, 
 which are so rocky, that no troops could attack them there. 
 On the left, the Scottish line extended near to the town 
 of Stirling. Bruce reviewed his troops very carefully. 
 He then spoke to the soldiers, and expressed his deter- 
 mination to gain the victory, or to lose his life on the 
 field of battle. He desired that all those who did not pro- 
 pose to fight to the last, should leave the field before the 
 battle began, and that none should remain except those 
 who were determined to take the issue of victory or death, 
 as God should send it. When the main body of his army 
 was thus placed in order, the King dispatched James of 
 Douglas, and Sir Robert Keith, the Mareschal of the 
 Scottish army, in order that they might survey the 
 English force. They returned with information, that 
 the approach of that vast host was one of the most 
 beautiful and terrible sights which could be seen — that 
 the whole country seemed covered with men-at-arms on 
 horse and foot. 
 
 It was upon the twenty-third of June, 13 14, the King 
 of Scotland heard the news, that the English army was 
 approaching Stirling. The van now came in sight, and a 
 number of their bravest knights drew near to see what 
 the Scots were doing. They saw King Robert dressed 
 in his armour, and distinguished by a gold crown, which 
 he wore over his helmet. He was not mounted on his 
 great war-horse, because he did not expect to fight that 
 evening. But he rode on a little pony up and down the 
 
268 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 ranks of his army, putting his men in order, and carried 
 in his hand a sort of battle-axe made of steel. When the 
 King saw the English horsemen draw near, he advanced 
 a little before his own men, that he might look at them 
 more nearly. 
 
 There was a knight among the English, called Sir 
 Henry de Bohun, who thought this would be a good 
 opportunity to gain great fame to himself, and put an end 
 to the war, by killing King Robert. The King being 
 poorly mounted, and having no lance, Bohun galloped 
 on him suddenly and furiously, thinking, with his long 
 spear, and his tall, powerful horse, easily to bear him 
 down to the ground. King Robert saw him, and per- 
 mitted him to come very near, then suddenly turned his 
 pony a little to one side, so that Sir Henry missed him 
 with the lance-point, and was in the act of being carried 
 past him by the career of his horse. But as he passed, 
 King Robert rose up in his stirrups, and struck Sir Henry 
 on the head with his battle-axe so terrible a blow, that it 
 broke to pieces his iron helmet as if it had been a nut-shell, 
 and hurled him from his saddle. He was dead before 
 he reached the ground. This gallant action was blamed 
 by the Scottish leaders, who thought Bruce ought not to 
 have exposed himself to so much danger, when the safety 
 of the whole army depended on him. The King only 
 kept looking at his weapon, which was injured by the 
 force of the blow, and said, "I have broken my good 
 battle-axe. " 
 
 The next morning the English King ordered his men 
 to begin the battle. The archers then bent their bows, 
 and began to shoot so closely together, that the arrows 
 fell like flakes of snow on a Christmas day. They killed 
 many of the Scots, and might have decided the victory: 
 
Robert Bruce 269 
 
 but Bruce was prepared for them. A body of men-at- 
 arms, well mounted, rode at full gallop among them, 
 and as the archers had no weapons save their bows and 
 arrows, which they could not use when they were attacked 
 hand to hand, they were cut down in great numbers by 
 the Scottish horsemen, and thrown into total confusion. 
 The fine English cavalry then advanced to support their 
 archers. But coming over the ground which was dug 
 full of pits the horses fell into these holes and the riders 
 lay tumbling about, without any means of defence, and 
 unable to rise, from the weight of their armour. 
 
 While the battle was obstinately maintained on both 
 sides, an event happened which decided the victory. 
 The servants and attendants on the Scottish camp 
 had been sent behind the army to a place afterward 
 called the Gillies' hill. But when they saw that their 
 masters were likely to gain the day, they rushed from 
 their place of concealment with such weapons as they 
 could get, that they might have their share in the victory 
 and in the spoil. The English, seeing them come sud- 
 denly over the hill, mistook this disorderly rabble for a 
 new army coming up to sustain the Scots, and, losing all 
 heart, began to shift every man for himself. Edward 
 himself left the field as fast as he could ride. 
 
 The English, after this great defeat, were no longer 
 in a condition to support their pretensions to be masters 
 of Scotland, or to continue to send armies into that coun- 
 try to overcome it. On the contrary, they became for 
 a time scarce able to defend their own frontiers against 
 King Robert and his soldiers. 
 
 Thus did Robert Bruce arise from the condition of an 
 exile, hunted with bloodhounds like a stag or beast of 
 prey, to the rank of a« independent sovereign, universally 
 
270 Heroes Every Child Should Ktww 
 
 acknowledged to be one of the wisest and bravest Kings 
 who then lived. The nation of Scotland was also raised 
 once more from the situation of a distressed and conquered 
 province to that of a free and independent state, governed 
 by its own laws. 
 
 Robert Bruce continued to reign gloriously for several 
 years, and the Scots seemed, during his government, to 
 have acquired a complete superiority over theu- neighbours. 
 But then we must remember, that Edward II who then 
 reigned in England, was a foolish prince, and listened to 
 bad counsels; so that it is no wonder that he was beaten 
 by so wise and experienced a general as Robert Bruce, 
 who had fought his way to the crown through so many 
 disasters, and acquired in consequence so much renown. 
 
 In the last year of Robert the Bruce's reign, he became 
 extremely sickly and infirm, chiefly owing to a disorder 
 called the leprosy, which he had caught during the hard- 
 ships and misfortunes of his youth, when he was so fre- 
 quently obliged to hide himself in woods and morasses, 
 without a roof to shelter him. He lived at a castle called 
 Cardross, on the beautiful banks of the river Clyde, near 
 to where it joins the sea; and his chief amusement was 
 to go upon the river, and down to the sea in a ship, which 
 he kept for his pleasure. He was no longer able to sit 
 upon his war-horse, or to lead his army to the field. 
 
 While Bruce was in this feeble state, Edward II, King 
 of England, died, and was succeeded by his son Edward 
 III. He turned out afterward to be one of the wisest 
 and bravest Kings whom England ever had ; but when he 
 first mounted the throne he was very young. The war 
 between the English and the Scots still lasted at the time. 
 
 But finally a peace was concluded with Robert Bruce, 
 on terms highly honourable to Scotland; for the English 
 
Robert Bruce 271 
 
 King renounced all pretensions to the sovereignty of the 
 country. 
 
 Good King Robert did not long survive this joyful 
 event. He was not aged more than four-and-fifty years, 
 but his bad health was caused by the hardships which 
 he sustained during his youth, and at length he became 
 very ill. Finding that he could not recover, he assembled 
 round his bedside the nobles and counsellors in whom 
 he most trusted. He told them, t^hat now, being on his 
 death-bed, he sorely repented all his misdeeds, and partic- 
 ularly, that he had, in his passion, killed Comyn with 
 his own hand, in the church and before the altar. He 
 said that if he had lived, he had intended to go to Jerusalem 
 to make war upon the Saracens who held the Holy 
 Land, as some expiation for the evil deeds he had done. 
 But since he was about to die, he requested of his dearest 
 friend and bravest warrior, and that was the good 
 Lord James Douglas, that he should carry his heart to 
 the Holy Land. Douglas wept bitterly as he accepted 
 this office — the last mark of the Bruce 's confidence and 
 friendship. 
 
 The King soon afterward expired; and his heart 
 was taken out from his body and embalmed, that is, pre- 
 pared with spices and perfumes, that it might remain 
 a long time fresh and uncorrupted. Then the Douglas 
 caused a case of silver to be made, into which he put the 
 Bruce's heart, and wore it around his neck, by a string of 
 silk and gold. And he set forward for the Holy Land, 
 with a gallant train of the bravest men in Scotland, who, 
 to show their value of and sorrow for their brave King 
 Robert Bruce, resolved to attend his heart to the city of 
 Jerusalem. In going to Palestine Douglas landed in 
 Spain, where the Saracen King, or Sultan of Granada, 
 
272 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 called Osmyn, was invading the realms of Alphonso, the 
 Spanish King of Castile. King Alphonso received 
 Douglas with great honour and distinction, and easily 
 persuaded the Scottish Earl that he would do good service 
 to the Christian cause, by assisting him to drive back 
 the Saracens of Granada before proceeding on his voyage 
 to Jerusalem. Lord Douglas and his followers went 
 accordingly to a great battle against Osmyn, and had 
 little difficulty in defeating the Saracens. But being 
 ignorant of the mode of fighting among the cavalry of the 
 East, the Scots pursued the chase too far, and the Moors, 
 when they saw them scattered and separated from each 
 other, turned suddenly back, with a loud cry of Allah 
 illah Allah, which is their shout of battle, and surrounded 
 such of the Scottish knights and squires as were dispersed 
 from each other. 
 
 In this new skirmish, Douglas saw Sir William St. 
 Clair of Roslyn fighting desperately, surrounded by 
 many Moors, who were having at him with their sabres. 
 "Yonder worthy knight will be slain," Douglas said, 
 "unless he have instant help." With that he galloped 
 to his rescue, but presently was himself also surrounded 
 by many Moors. When he found the enemy press so 
 thick round him, as to leave him no chance of escaping, 
 the Earl took from his neck the Bruce's heart, and 
 speaking to it, as he would have done to the King, had 
 he been alive — "Pass first in fight," he said, "as thou 
 wert wont to do, and Douglas will follow thee, or die. " 
 
 He then threw the King's heart among the enemy, 
 and rushing forward to the place where it fell, was there 
 slain. His body was found lying above the silver case, 
 as if it had been his last object to defend the Bruce's 
 heart. 
 
Robert Bruce 273 
 
 Such of the Scottish knights as remained alive returned 
 to their own country. They brought back the heart of 
 the Bruce, and the bones of the good Lord James. The 
 Bruce 's heart was buried below the high altar in Melrose 
 Abbey. As for his body, it was laid in the sepulchre in 
 the midst of the church of Dunfermline, under a marble 
 stone. The church afterward becoming ruinous, and 
 the roof falling down with age, the monument was broken 
 to pieces, and nobody could tell where it stood. But 
 when they were repairing the church at Dunfermline, 
 and removing the rubbish, lo! they found fragments of 
 the marble tomb of Robert Bruce. Then they began 
 to dig farther, thinking to discover the body of this cele- 
 brated monarch ; and at length they came to the skeleton 
 of a tall man, and they knew it must be that of King 
 Robert, both as he was known to have been buried in a 
 winding sheet of cloth of gold, of which many fragments 
 were found about this skeleton, and also because the 
 breastbone appeared to have been sawed through, in 
 order to take the heart. A new tomb was prepared 
 into which the bones were laid with profound respect. 
 
CHAPTER XVII 
 
 GEORGE WASHINGTON 
 
 ON THE 4th of March, 1797, Washington went to 
 the inauguration of his successor as President 
 of the United States. The Federal Government 
 was sitting in Philadelphia at that time and Congress 
 held sessions in the courthouse on the corner of Sixth 
 and Chestnut Streets. 
 
 At the appointed hour Washington entered the hall 
 followed by John Adams, who was to take the oath of 
 ofl&ce. When they were seated Washington arose and 
 introduced Mr. Adams to the audience, and then pro- 
 ceeded to read in a firm clear voice his brief valedictory 
 — not his great ''Farewell Address," for that had already 
 been published. A lady who sat on "the front bench,'* 
 "immediately in front" of Washington describes the 
 scene in these words: 
 
 ''There was a narrow passage from the door of en- 
 trance to the room. General Washington stopped at the 
 end to let Mr. Adams pass to the chair. The latter al- 
 ways wore a full suit of bright drab, with loose cuffs to 
 his coat. General Washington's dress was a full suit of 
 black. His military hat had the black cockade. There 
 stood the 'Father of his Country' acknowledged by nations 
 the first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his 
 countrymen. No marshals with gold-coloured scarfs 
 attended him; there was no cheering, no noise; the most 
 
 274 
 
George Washington 275 
 
 profound silence greeted him as if the great assembly 
 desired to hear him breathe. Mr. Adams covered his 
 face with both his hands; the sleeves of his coat and his 
 hands were covered with tears. Every now and then 
 there was a suppressed sob. I cannot describe Washing- 
 ton's appearance as I felt it — perfectly composed and 
 self-possessed till the close of his address. Then when 
 strong, nervous sobs broke loose, when tears covered the 
 faces, then the great man was shaken. I never took my 
 eyes from his face. Large drops came from his eyes. 
 He looked as if his heart was with them, and would be to 
 the end." 
 
 On Washington's retirement from the Presidency one 
 of his first employments was to arrange his papers and 
 letters. Then on returning to his home the venerable 
 master found many things to repair. His landed estate 
 comprised eight thousand acres, and was divided into 
 farms, with enclosures and farm-buildings. And now 
 with body and mind alike sound and vigorous, 
 he bent his energies to directing the improve- 
 ments that marked his last days at Mount Vernon. 
 
 In his earlier as well as in later life, his tour of the farms 
 would average from eight to twelve or fourteen miles a 
 day. He rode upon his farms entirely unattended, 
 opening his gates, pulling down and putting up his fences 
 as he passed, visiting his labourers at their work, inspect- 
 ing aU the operations of his extensive establishment with 
 a careful eye, directing useful improvements and super- 
 intending them in their progress. 
 
 He usually rode at a moderate pace in passing through 
 his fields. But when behind time this most punctual of 
 men would display the horsemanship of his earlier days, 
 and a hard gallop would bring him up to time so that the 
 
276 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 sound of his horse's hoofs and the first dinner bell 
 would be heard together at a quarter before three. 
 
 A story is told that one day an elderly stranger meeting 
 a Revolutionary worthy out hunting, a long-tried and 
 valued friend of the chief, accosted him, and asked whether 
 Washington was to be found at the mansion house, or 
 whether he was off riding over his estate. The friend 
 answered that he was visiting his farms, and directed the 
 stranger the road to take, adding, ''You will meet, sir, 
 with an old gentleman riding alone in plain drab clothes, 
 a broad-brimmed white hat, a hickory switch in his hand, 
 and carrying an umbrella with a long staff, which is at- 
 tached to his saddle-bow — that person, sir, is General 
 Washington." 
 
 Precisely at a quarter before three the industrious 
 farmer returned, dressed, and dined at three o'clock. 
 At this meal he ate heartily, but was not particular in 
 his diet with the exception of fish, of which he was ex- 
 cessively fond. Touching his liking for fish, and illus- 
 trative of his practical economy and abhorrence of waste 
 and extravagance, an anecdote is told of the time he was 
 President and living in Philadelphia. It happened that 
 a single shad had been caught in the Delaware, and 
 brought to the city market. His steward, Sam Fraunces, 
 pounced upon the fish with the speed of an osprey, de- 
 lighted that he had secured a delicacy agreeable to the 
 palate of his chief, and careless of the expense, for which 
 the President had often rebuked him. 
 
 When the fish was served Washington suspected the 
 steward had forgotten his order about expenditure for the 
 table and said to Fraunces, who stood at his post at the 
 sideboard, "What fish is this?" ''A shad, sir, a very 
 fine shad," the steward answered. "I know your excel- 
 
George Washington 277 
 
 lency is particularly fond of this kind of fish, and was so 
 fortunate as to procure this one — the only one in market, 
 sir, the first of the season." ''The price, sir, the price?" 
 asked Washington sternly. " Three — three dollars, " stam- 
 mered the conscience-stricken steward. "Take it away," 
 thundered the chief, "take it away, sir! It shall never be 
 said that my table set such an example of luxury and 
 extravagance." Poor Fraunces tremblingly did as he 
 was told, and the first shad of the season was carried 
 away untouched to be speedily discussed in the servants' 
 dining room. 
 
 Although the Farmer of Mount Vernon was much 
 retired from the business world, he was by no means 
 inattentive to the progress of public affairs. When the 
 post bag arrived, he would select his letters and lay them 
 aside for reading in the seclusion of his library. The 
 newspapers he would peruse while taking his single 
 cup of tea (his only supper) and read aloud passages 
 of peculiar interest, remarking the matter as he went 
 along. He read with distinctness and precision. These 
 evenings with his family always ended at precisely nine 
 o'clock, when he bade everyone good night and retired 
 to rest, to rise again at four and renew the same routine 
 of labour and enjoyment. 
 
 Washington's last days, like those that preceded them 
 in the course of a long and well-spent life, were devoted 
 to constant and careful employment. His correspon- 
 dence both at home and abroad was immense. Yet no 
 letter was unanswered. One of the best-bred men of 
 his time, Washington deemed it a grave offence against 
 the rules of good manners and propriety to leave letters 
 unanswered. He wrote with great facility, and it would 
 be a difficult matter to find another who had written so 
 
278 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 much, who had written so well. General Harry Lee 
 once observed to him, "We are amazed, sir, at the vast 
 amount of work you get through." Washington ans- 
 wered, "Sir, I rise at four o'clock, and a great deal of 
 my work is done while others sleep. " 
 
 He was the most punctual of men, as we said. To 
 this admirable quality of rising at four and retiring to 
 rest at nine at all seasons, this great man owed his ability 
 to accomplish mighty labours during his long and illus- 
 trious life. He was punctual in everything and made 
 everyone about him punctual. So careful a man 
 delighted in always having about him a good timekeeper. 
 In Philadelphia, the first President regularly walked 
 up to his watchmaker's to compare his watch with the 
 regulator. At Mount Vernon the active yet punctual 
 farmer invariably consulted the dial when returning 
 from his morning ride, and before entering his house. 
 
 The affairs of the household took order from the 
 master's accurate and methodical arrangement of time. 
 Even the fisherman on the river watched for the cook's 
 signal when to pull in shore and deliver his catch in time 
 for dinner. 
 
 Among the picturesque objects on the Potomac, to 
 be seen from the eastern portion of the mansion house, 
 was the light canoe of the house's fisher. Father 
 Jack was an African, an hundred years of age, and 
 although enfeebled in body by weight of years, his mind 
 possessed uncommon vigour. And he would tell of days 
 long past when, under African suns, he was made 
 captive, and of the terrible battle in which his royal 
 sire was slain, the village burned, and himself sent to 
 the slave ship. 
 
 Father Jack had in a considerable degree a leading 
 
George Washington 279 
 
 quality of his race — somnolency. Many an hour could 
 the family of Washington see the canoe fastened to a 
 stake, with the old fisherman bent nearly double enjoy- 
 ing a nap, which was only disturbed by the jerking of 
 the white perch caught on his hook. But, as we just 
 said, the domestic duties of Mount Vernon were gov- 
 erned by clock time, and the slumbers of fisher Jack 
 might occasion inconvenience, for the cook required the 
 fish at a certain hour, so that they might be served 
 smoking hot precisely at three. At times he would 
 go to the river bank and make the accustomed signals, 
 and meet with no response. The old fisherman would 
 be quietly reposing in his canoe, rocked by the gentle 
 undulations of the stream, and dreaming, no doubt, of 
 events "long time ago." The importunate master of 
 the kitchen, grown ferocious by delay, would now rush 
 up and down the water's edge, and, by dint of loud 
 shouting, cause the canoe to turn its prow to the shore. 
 Father Jack, indignant at its being supposed he was 
 asleep at his post, would rate those present on his land- 
 ing, ''What you all meek such a debil of a noise for, 
 hey? I wa'nt sleep, only noddin'. " 
 
 The establishment of Mount Vernon employed a 
 perfect army of domestics ; yet to each one was assigned 
 special duties, and from each one strict performance 
 was required. There was no confusion where there was 
 order, and the affairs of this estate, embracing thousands 
 of acres and hundreds of dependents, were conducted 
 with as much ease, method and regularity as the affairs 
 of a homestead of average size. 
 
 Mrs. Washington was an accomplished house-wife of 
 the olden time, and she gave constant attention to all 
 matters of her household, and by her skill and manage- 
 
28o Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 ment greatly contributed to the comfort and entertain- 
 ment of the guests who enjoyed the hospitahty of 
 her home. 
 
 The best charities of Hfe were gathered round Wash- 
 ington in the last days at Mount Vernon. The love 
 and veneration of a whole people for his illustrious ser- 
 vices, his generous and untiring labours in the cause of 
 public utility; his kindly demeanour to his family circle, 
 his friends, and numerous dependents; his courteous and 
 cordial hospitality to his guests, many of them strangers 
 from far distant lands; these charities, all of which sprang 
 from the heart, were the ornament of his declining years 
 and granted the most sublime scene in nature, when 
 human greatness reposes upon human happiness. 
 
 On the morning of the 17th of December, 1799, the 
 General was engaged in making some improvements 
 in the front of Mount Vernon. As was usual with him, 
 he carried his own compass, noted his observations, and 
 marked out the ground. The day became rainy, with 
 sleet, and the improver remained so long exposed to the 
 inclemency of the weather as to be considerably wetted 
 before his return to the house. About one o'clock he 
 was seized with chilliness and nausea, but having changed 
 his clothes he sat down to his indoor work. At night, 
 on joining his family circle, he complained of a slight 
 indisposition. Upon the night of the following day, 
 having borne acute suffering with composure and 
 fortitude, he died. 
 
 In person Washington was unique. He looked like 
 no one else. To a stature lofty and commanding he 
 united a form of the manliest proportions, and a dignifed, 
 graceful, and imposing carriage. In the prime of life 
 he stood six feet, two inches. From the period of the 
 
George Washington 281 
 
 Revolution there was an evident bending in his frame 
 so passing straight before, but the stoop came from 
 the cares and toils of that arduous contest rather than 
 from years. For his step was firm, his appearance 
 noble and impressive long after the time when the phys- 
 ical properties of men are supposed to wane. 
 
 A majestic height was met by corresponding breadth 
 and firmness. His whole person was so cast in nature's 
 finest mould as to resemble an ancient statue, all of 
 whose parts unite to the perfection of the whole. But 
 with all its development of muscular power, Washington's 
 form had no look of bulkiness, and so harmonious were 
 its proportions that he did not appear so tall as his por- 
 traits have represented. He was rather spare than full 
 during his whole life. 
 
 The strength of Washington's arm was shown on several 
 occasions. He threw a stone from the bed of the stream 
 to the top of the Natural Bridge, Virginia, and another 
 stone across the Rappahannock at Fredericksburg. The 
 stone was said to be a piece of slate about the size of a 
 dollar with which he spanned the bold river, and it took 
 the ground at least thirty yards on the other side. Many 
 have since tried this feat, but none have cleared the 
 water. 
 
 In 1772 some young men were contending at Mount 
 Vernon in the exercise of pitching the bar. The Colonel 
 looked on for a time, then grasping the missile in his mas- 
 ter hand he whirled the iron through the air and it fell 
 far beyond any of its former limits. ''You see, young 
 gentlemen," said the chief with a smile, "that my arm 
 yet retains some portion of my early vigour." He was 
 then in his fortieth year and probably in the fullness of his 
 physical powers. Those powers became rather mellowed 
 
282 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 than decayed by time, for ''his age was hke lusty winter, 
 frosty yet kindly," and up to his sixty-eighth year he 
 mounted a horse with surprising agility and rode with 
 ease and grace. Rickets, the celebrated equestrian, 
 used to say, ''I delight to see the General ride and make it 
 a point to fall in with him when I hear he is out on horse- 
 back — his seat is so firm, his management so easy and 
 graceful that I who am an instructor in horsemanship 
 would go to him and learn to ride." 
 
 In his later days, the General, desirous of riding 
 pleasantly, procured from the North two horses of a 
 breed for bearing the saddle. They were well to look 
 at, and pleasantly gaited under the saddle, but also 
 scary and therefore unfitted for the service of one who 
 liked to ride quietly on his farm, occasionally dismounting 
 and walking in his fields to inspect improvements. From 
 one of these horses the General sustained a fall — probably 
 the only fall he ever had from a horse in his life. It was 
 upon a November evening, and he was returning from 
 Alexandria to Mount Vernon with three friends and a 
 groom. Having halted a few moments he dismounted, 
 and upon rising in his stirrup again, the horse, alarmed 
 at the glare from a fire near the road-side, sprang from 
 under his rider who came heavily to the ground. His 
 friends rushed to give him assistance, thinking him 
 hurt. But the vigorous old man was upon his feet 
 again, brushing the dust from his clothes, and after 
 thanking those who came to his aid said that he had had 
 a very complete tumble, and that it was owing to a 
 cause no horseman could well avoid or control — that he 
 was only poised in his stirrap, and had not yet gained 
 his saddle when the scary animal sprang from under him. 
 
 Bred in the vigorous school of frontier warfare, ''the 
 
George Washington 283 
 
 earth for his bed, his canopy the heavens," Washington 
 excelled the hunter and woodsman in their athletic 
 habits and in those trials of manhood which filled the 
 hardy days of his early life. He was amazingly swift of 
 foot, and could climb steep mountains seemingly without 
 effort. Indeed in all the tests of his great physical powers 
 he appeared to make little effort. When he overthrew 
 the strong man of Virginia in wrestling, upon a day when 
 many of the finest athletes were engaged in the contest, 
 he had retired to the shade of a tree intent upon the read- 
 ing of a book. It was only after the champion of the 
 games strode through the ring calling for nobler antago- 
 nists, and taunting the reader with the fear that he would 
 be thrown, that Washington closed his book. Without 
 taking off his coat he calmly observed that fear did not 
 enter his make-up ; then grappling with the champion he 
 hurled him to the ground. "In Washington's lion-like 
 grasp," said the vanquished wrestler, "I became power- 
 less, and went down with a force that seemed to jar the 
 very marrow in my bones." The victor, regardless of 
 shouts at his success, leisurely retired to his shade, and 
 again took up his book. 
 
 Washington's powers were chiefly in his limbs. His 
 frame was of equal breadth from the shoulders to the 
 hips. His chest was not prominent but rather hollowed 
 in the centre. He never entirely recovered from a pul- 
 monary affection from which he suffered in early life. 
 His frame showed an extraordinary development of bone 
 and muscle; his joints were large, as were his feet; and 
 could a cast of his hand have been preserved, it would be 
 ascribed to a being of a fabulous age. Lafayette said, 
 ''I never saw any human being with so large a hand as 
 the General's." 
 
284 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 Of the awe and reverence which the presence of Wash- 
 ington inspired we have many records. "I stood," says 
 one writer, ''before the door of the Hall of Congress in 
 Philadelphia when the carriage of the President drew up. 
 It was a white coach, or rather of a light cream colour, 
 painted on the panels with beautiful groups representing 
 the four seasons. As Washington alighted and, ascend- 
 ing the steps, paused on the platform, he was preceded 
 by two gentleman bearing large white wands, who kept 
 back the eager crowd that p'-essed on every side. At 
 that moment I stood so near I might have touched his 
 clothes; but I should as soon have thought of touching 
 an electric battery. I was penetrated with deepest awe. 
 Nor was this the feeling of the school-boy I then was. It 
 pervaded, I believe, every human being that approached 
 Washington ; and I have been told that even in his social 
 hours, this feeling in those who shared them never suf- 
 fered intermission. I saw him a hundred times after- 
 ward but never with any other than the same feeling. 
 The Almighty, who raised up for our hour of need a man 
 so peculiarly prepared for its whole dread responsibility, 
 seems to have put a stamp of sacredness upon his in- 
 strument. The first sight of the man struck the eye with 
 involuntary homage and prepared everything around him 
 to obey. 
 
 ''At the time I speak of he stood in profound silence 
 and had the statue-like air which mental greatness alone 
 can bestow. As he turned to enter the building, and was 
 ascending the staircase to the Congressional hall, I 
 glided along unseen, almost under the cover of the skirts 
 of his dress, and entered into the lobby of the House 
 which was in session to receive him. 
 
 "At Washington's entrance there was a most pro- 
 
George Washington 285 
 
 found silence. House, lobbies, gallery, all were wrapped 
 in deepest attention. And the souls of the entire assem- 
 blage seemed peering from their eyes as the noble figure 
 deliberately and unaffectedly advanced up the broad aisle 
 of the hall between ranks of standing senators and mem- 
 bers, and slowly ascended the steps leading to the 
 speaker's chair. 
 
 "The President having seated himself remained in 
 silence, and the members took their seats, waiting for the 
 speech. No house of worship was ever more profoundly 
 still than that large and crowded chamber. 
 
 "Washington was dressed precisely as Stuart has 
 painted him in full-length portrait — in a full suit of the 
 richest black velvet, with diamond knee-buckles and 
 square silver buckles set upon shoes japanned with most 
 scrupulous neatness; black silk stockings, his shirt 
 ruffled at the breast and waist, a light dress sword, his 
 hair profusely powdered, fully dressed, so as to project 
 at the sides, and gathered behind in a silk bag ornamented 
 with a large rose of black ribbon. He held his cocked 
 hat, which had a large black cockade on one side of it, in 
 his hand, as he advanced toward the chair, and when 
 seated, laid it on the table. 
 
 "At length thrusting his hand within the side of his 
 coat, he drew forth a roll of manuscript which he opened, 
 and rising read in a rich, deep, full, sonorous voice his 
 opening address to Congress. His enunciation was 
 deliberate, justly emphasised, very distinct, and accom- 
 panied with an air of deep solemnity as being the utter- 
 ance of a mind conscious of the whole responsibility of its 
 position, but not oppressed by it. There was ever about 
 the man something which impressed one with the con- 
 viction that he was exactly and fully equal to what he had 
 
286 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 to do. He was never hurried; never negligent; but 
 seemed ever prepared for the occasion, be it what it 
 might. In his study, in his parlour, at a levee, before 
 Congress, at the head of the army, he seemed ever 
 to be just what the situation required. He possessed, 
 in a degree never equalled by any human being I 
 ever saw, the strongest, most ever-present sense of pro- 
 priety." 
 
 In the early part of Washington's administration, 
 great complaints were made by political opponents of the 
 aristocratic and royal demeanour of the President. Par- 
 ticularly, these complaints were about the manner of 
 his receiving visitors. In a letter Washington gave ac- 
 count of the origin of his levees: "Before the custom was 
 established," he wrote, *' which now accomodates foreign 
 characters, strangers and others, who, from motives of 
 curiosity, respect for the chief magistrate, or other cause, 
 are induced to call upon me, I was unable to attend to 
 any business whatever; for gentlemen, consulting their 
 own convenience rather than mine, were calling after the 
 time I rose from breakfast, and often before, until I sat 
 down to dinner. This, as I resolved not to neglect my 
 public duties, reduced me to the choice of one of these 
 alternatives: either to refuse visits altogether, or to ap- 
 propiate a time for the reception of them. ... To 
 please everybody was impossible. I therefore, adopted 
 that line of conduct which combined public advantage 
 with private convenience. . . . These visits are op- 
 tional, they are made without invitation; between the 
 hours of three and four every Tuesday I am prepared to 
 receive them. Gentlemen, often in great numbers, come 
 and go, chat with each other, and act as they please. A 
 porter shows them into the room, and they retire from it 
 
George Washington 287 
 
 when they choose, without ceremony. At their first 
 entrance they salute me, and I them, and as many as I 
 can I talk to." 
 
 An English gentleman after visiting President Washing- 
 ton wrote, "There was a commanding air in his ap- 
 pearance which excited respect and forbade too great a 
 freedom toward him, independently of that species of 
 awe which is always felt in the moral influence 
 of a great character. In every movement, too, 
 there was a polite gracefulness equal to any met with 
 in the most polished individuals of Europe, and his 
 smile was extraordinarily attractive. ... It 
 struck me no man could be better formed for command. 
 A stature of six feet, a robust but well-proportioned frame 
 calculated to stand fatigue, without that heaviness which 
 generally attends great muscular strength and abates 
 active exertion, displayed bodily power of no mean stand- 
 ard. A light eye and full — the very eye of genius and 
 reflection. His nose appeared thick, and though it 
 befitted his other features was too coarsely and strongly 
 formed to be the handsomest of its class. His mouth 
 was like no other I ever saw : the lips firm, and the under- 
 jaw seeming to grasp the upper with force, as if its 
 muscles were in full action when he sat still." 
 
 Such Washington appeared to those who saw and knew 
 him. Such he remains to our vision. His memory is 
 held by us in undying honour. Not only his memory 
 alone but also the memory of his associates in the struggle 
 for American Independence. Homage we should have 
 in our hearts for those patriots and heroes and sages who 
 with humble means raised their native land — now our 
 native land — from the depths of dependence, and made 
 it a free nation. And especially for Washington, who 
 
288 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 presided over the nation's course at the beginning of the 
 great experiment in self-government and, after an unex- 
 ampled career in the service of freedom and our human- 
 kind, with no dimming of august fame, died calmly at 
 Mount Vernon — the Father of his Country. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 Robert E. Lee 
 
 A boy's impressions 
 
 THE first vivid recollection I have of my father is 
 his arrival in Arlington, after his return from 
 the Mexican War. I can remember some events 
 of which he seemed a part, when we lived at Fort 
 Hamilton, New York, about 1846, but they are more 
 like dre^.ms, very indistinct and disconnected — naturally 
 so, for I was at that time about three years old. But 
 the day of his return to Arlington, after an absence of 
 more than two years, I have always remembered. I had 
 a frock or blouse of some light wash material, probably 
 cotton, a blue ground dotted over with white diamond 
 figures. Of this I was very proud, and wanted to wear 
 it on this important occasion. Ehza, my ''mammy," 
 objecting, we had a contest and I won. Clothed in this, 
 my very best, and with my hair freshly curled in long 
 golden ringlets, I went down into the large hall where 
 the whole household was assembled, eagerly greeting 
 my father, who had just arrived on horseback from 
 Washington, having missed in some way the carriage 
 which had been sent for him. 
 
 There was visiting us at this time Mrs. Lippitt, a friend 
 of my mother's, with her little boy, Armistead, about my 
 age and size, also with long curls. Whether he wore 
 as handsome a suit as mine I cannot remember, but he 
 and I were left together in the background, feeling rather 
 
 289 
 
290 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 frightened and awed. After a moment's greeting to 
 those surrounding him, my father pushed through the 
 crowd, exclaiming: 
 
 "Where is my little boy?" 
 
 He then took up in his arms and kissed — not me, 
 his own child, in his best frock with clean face and well- 
 arranged curls — but my little playmate, Armistead. 
 I remember nothing more of any circumstances connected 
 with that time, save that I was shocked and humiliated. 
 I have no doubt that he was at once informed of his mis- 
 take and made ample amends to me. 
 
 A letter from my father to his brother. Captain S. S. 
 Lee, United States Navy, dated '^Arlington, June 30, 
 1848," tells of his coming home: 
 
 "Here I am once again, my dear Smith, perfectly sur- 
 rounded by Mary and her precious children, who seem 
 to devote themselves to staring at the furrows in my face 
 and the white hairs in my head. It is not surprising that 
 I am hardly recognisable to some of the young eyes 
 around me and perfectly unknown to the youngest. But 
 some of the older ones gaze with astonishment and wonder 
 at me, and seem at a loss to reconcile what they see and 
 what was pictured in their imaginations. I find them, 
 too, much grown, and all well, and I have much cause for 
 thankfulness, and gratitude to that good God who has 
 once more united us. " 
 
 My next recollection of my father is in Baltimore, 
 while we were on a visit to his sister, Mrs. Marshall, 
 the wife of Judge Marshall. I remember being down 
 on the wharves, where my father had taken me to see 
 the landing of a mustang pony which he had gotten for 
 me in Mexico, and which had been shipped from Vera 
 Cruz to Baltimore in a sailing vessel. I was all eyes 
 for the pony, and a very miserable, sad-looking object 
 
Robert E. Lee 291 
 
 he was. From his long voyage, cramped quarters, and 
 unavoidable lack of grooming, he was rather a disap- 
 pointment to me, but I soon got over all that. As I grew 
 older, and was able to ride and appreciate him, he became 
 the joy and pride of my life. I was taught to ride on him 
 by Jim Connally, the faithful Irish servant of my father, 
 who had been with him in Mexico. Jim used often to 
 tell me, in his quizzical way, that he and ^' Santa Anna" 
 (the pony's name) were the first men on the walls of 
 Chepultepec. This pony was pure white, five years 
 old, and about fourteen hands high. For his inches, he 
 was as good a horse as I ever have seen. While we 
 lived in Baltimore, he and ''Grace DarHng," my father's 
 favorite mare, were members of our family. 
 
 Grace Darling was a chestnut of fine size and of great 
 power, which he had bought in Texas on his way out to 
 Mexico, her owner having died on the march out. She 
 was with him during the entire campaign, and was shot 
 seven times; at least, as a little fellow I used to brag 
 about that number of bullets being in her, and since I 
 could point out the scars of each one, I presume it was 
 so. My father was very much attached to and proud 
 of her, always petting her and talking to her in a loving 
 way, when he rode her or went to see her in her stall. 
 Of her he wrote on his return home : 
 
 "I only arrived yesterday, after a long journey up the 
 Mississippi, which route I was induced to take, for the 
 better accommodation of my horse, as I wished to spare 
 her as much annoyance and fatigue as possible, she 
 already having undergone so much suffering in my ser- 
 vice. I landed her at Wheeling and left her to come over 
 with Jim." 
 
 Santa Anna was found lying cold and dead in the park 
 
292 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 of Arlington one morning in the winter of '6o-'6i. 
 Grace Darling was taken in the spring of '62 from the 
 White House* by some Federal quartermaster, when 
 McClellan occupied that place as his base of supplies 
 during his attack on Richmond. When we lived in 
 Baltimore, I was greatly struck one day by hearing two 
 ladies who were visiting us saying : 
 
 "Everybody and everything — his family, his friends, 
 his horse, and his dog — loves Colonel Lee. " 
 
 The dog referred to was a black-and-tan terrier named 
 "Spec," very bright and intelligent and really a member 
 of the family, respected and beloved by ourselves and 
 well known to all who knew us. My father picked up 
 its mother in the ''Narrows" while crossing from Fort 
 Hamilton to the fortifications opposite on Staten Island. 
 She had doubtless fallen overboard from some passing 
 vessel and had drifted out of sight before her absence 
 had been discovered. He rescued her and took her 
 home, where she was welcomed by his children and made 
 much of. She was a handsome little thing, with cropped 
 ears and a short tail. My father named her "Dart." 
 She was a fine ratter, and with the assistance of a Maltese 
 cat, also a member of the family, the many rats which 
 infested the house and stables were driven away or des- 
 troyed. She and the cat were fed out of the same plate, 
 but Dart was not allowed to begin the meal until the 
 cat had finished. 
 
 Spec was born at Fort Hamilton, and was the joy of 
 us children, our pet and companion. My father would 
 not allow his tail and ears to be cropped. When he 
 grew up, he accompanied us everywhere and was in the 
 
 * My brother's place on the Pamunkey River, where the mare had 
 been sent for safe keeping. 
 
Robert E. Lee 295 
 
 habit of going into church with the family. As some 
 of the Kttle ones allowed their devotions to be disturbed 
 by Spec's presence, my father determined to leave him 
 at home on those occasions. So the next Sunday morning 
 he was sent up to the front room of the second story. 
 After the family had left for church he contented himself 
 for a while looking out of the window, which was open,, 
 it being summer time. Presently impatience overcame 
 his judgment and he jumped to the ground, landed 
 safely notwithstanding the distance, joined the family 
 just as they reached the church, and went in with them 
 as usual, much to the joy of the children. After that 
 he was allowed to go to church whenever he wished. 
 My father was very fond of him, and loved to talk to him 
 and about him as if he were really one of us. In a letter 
 to my mother, dated Fort Hamilton, January 18, 1846,. 
 when she and her children were on a visit to Arlington,, 
 he thus speaks of him : 
 
 " ... I am very solitary, and my only company 
 is my dog and cats. But Spec has become so jealous 
 now that he will hardly let me look at the cats. He 
 seems to be afraid that I am going off from him, and 
 never lets me stir without him. Lies down in the office 
 from eight to four without moving, and turns himself 
 before the fire as the side from it becomes cold. I catch 
 him sometimes sitting up looking at me so intently that 
 I am for a moment startled. ..." 
 
 In a letter from Mexico written a year later — December 
 25, 1846, to my mother, he says: 
 
 "... Can't you cure poor Spec? Cheer him 
 up — take him to walk with you and tell the children to 
 cheer him up. ..." 
 
 In another letter from Mexico to his eldest boy, just 
 
294 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 after the capture of Vera Cruz, he sends this message to 
 Spec: 
 
 "... Tell him I wish he was here with me. He 
 would have been of great service in telling me when I was 
 coming upon the Mexicans. When I was reconnoitering 
 around Vera Cruz, their dogs frequently told me by bark- 
 ing when I was approaching them too nearly. . . . " 
 
 When he returned to Arlington from Mexico, Spec was 
 the first to recognise him, and the extravagance of his 
 demonstrations of delight left no doubt that he knew 
 at once his kind master and loving friend, though he had 
 been absent three years. Sometime during our residence 
 in Baltimore, Spec disappeared, and we never knew his 
 fate. 
 
 From that early time I began to be impressed with 
 my father's character, as compared with other men. 
 Every member of the household respected, revered, and 
 loved him as a matter of course, but it began to dawn on 
 me that every one else with whom I was thrown held him 
 high in their regard. At forty-five years of age he was 
 active, strong, and as handsome as he had ever been. 
 I never remember his being ill. I presume he was in- 
 disposed at times; but no impressions of that kind remain. 
 He was always bright and gay with us little folk — romping, 
 playing, and joking with us. With the older children, 
 he was just as companionable, and I have seen him join 
 my elder brothers and their friends when they would 
 try their powers at a high jump put up in our yard. The 
 two younger children he petted a great deal, and our 
 greatest treat was to get into his bed in the morning and 
 lie close to him, listening while he talked to us in his 
 bright, entertaining way. This custom we kept up until 
 I was ten years old and over. Although he was so joyous 
 
Robert E. Lee 295 
 
 and familiar with us, he was very firm on all proper oc- 
 casions, never indulged us in anything that was not good 
 for us, and exacted the most implicit obedience. I 
 always knew that it was impossible to disobey my father. 
 I felt it in me, I never thought why, but was perfectly 
 sure when he gave an order that it had to be obeyed. 
 My mother I could sometimes circumvent, and at times 
 took liberties with her orders, construing them to suit 
 myself; but exact obedience to every mandate of my 
 father was a part of my life and being at that time. 
 
 In January, 1849, Captain Lee was one of a board of 
 army officers appointed to examine the coasts of Florida 
 and its defences, and to recommend locations for new 
 fortifications. In April he was assigned to the duty of the 
 construction of Fort Carroll, in the Patapsco River, below 
 Baltimore. He was there, I think, for three years, and 
 lived in a house on Madison Street, three doors above 
 Biddle. I used to go down with him to the Fort quite 
 often. We went to the wharf in a ''bus," and there we 
 were met by a boat with two oarsmen, who rowed us 
 down to Sollers Point, where I was generally left under 
 the care of the people who lived there, while my father 
 went over to the Fort, a short distance out in the river. 
 These days were very happy ones for me. The wharves, 
 the shipping, the river, the boat and oarsmen, and the 
 country dinner we had at the house at Sollers Point, all 
 made a strong impression on me, but above all I re- 
 member my father; his gentle, loving care for me, his 
 bright talk, his stories, his maxims and teachings. I was 
 very proud of him and of the evident respect for and trust 
 in him every one showed. These impressions, obtained at 
 that time, have never left me. He was a great favourite in 
 
296 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 Baltimore, as he was everywhere, especially with ladies 
 and little children. When he and my mother went out in the 
 evening to some entertainment, we were often allowed 
 to sit up and see them off; my father, as I remember, 
 always in full uniform, always ready and waiting for my 
 mother, who was generally late. He would then chide her 
 gently, in a playful way and with a bright smile. He 
 would then bid us good-bye, and I would go to sleep 
 with this beautiful picture on my mind, the golden epau- 
 lets and all — chiefly the epaulets. 
 
 In Baltimore, I went to my first school, that of a Mr. 
 Rollins on Mulberry Street, and I remember how inter- 
 ested my father was in my studies, my failures, and my lit- 
 tle triumphs. Indeed, he was so always, as long as I was 
 at school and college, and I only wish that all of the kind, 
 sensible, useful letters he wrote me had been preserved. 
 
 My memory as to the move from Baltimore, which 
 occurred in 1852, is very dim. I think the family went 
 to Arlington to remain until my father had arranged for 
 our removal to the new home at West Point. 
 
 My recollection of my father as Superintendent of the 
 West Point Military Academy is much more distinct. 
 He lived in the house which is still occupied by the Super- 
 intendent. It was built of stone, large and roomy, with 
 gardens, stables, and pasture lots. We, the two youngest 
 children, enjoyed it all. Grace Darling and Santa 
 Anna" were with us, and many a fine ride did I have 
 with my father in the afternoons, when, released from 
 his ofl&ce, he would mount his old mare and, with Santa 
 Anna carrying me by his side, take a five or ten-mile trot. 
 Though the pony cantered delightfully, he would make 
 me keep him in a trot, saying playfully that the hammer- 
 ing I sustained was good for me. We rode the dragoon- 
 
Robert E. Lee 297 
 
 seat, no posting, and until I became accustomed to it I 
 used to be very tired by the time I got back. 
 
 My father was the most punctual man I ever knew. 
 He was always ready for family prayers, for meals, and 
 met every engagement, social or business, at the moment. 
 He expected all of us to be the same, and taught us the 
 use and necessity of forming such habits for the conven- 
 ience of all concerned. I never knew him late for Sunday 
 service at the Post Chapel. He used to appear some 
 minutes before the rest of us, in uniform, jokingly rallying 
 my mother for being late, and for forgetting something 
 at the last moment. When he could wait no longer for 
 her, he would say that he was off, and would march along 
 to church by himself or with any of the children who 
 were ready. There he sat very straight — well up the 
 middle aisle — and, as I remember, always became very 
 sleepy, and sometimes even took a little nap during the 
 sermon. At that time, this drowsiness of my father's 
 was something awful to me, inexplicable. I know it was 
 very hard for me to keep awake, and frequently I did not; 
 but why he, who to my mind could do everything that 
 was right without any effort, should sometimes be over- 
 come, I could not understand, and did not try to do so. 
 
 It was against the rules that the cadets should go be- 
 yond certain limits without permission. Of course they 
 did go sometimes, and when caught were given quite 
 a number of "demerits." My father was riding one 
 afternoon with me, and, while rounding a turn in the 
 mountain road with a deep woody ravine on one side, we 
 came suddenly upon three cadets far beyond the limits. 
 They immediately leaped over a low wall on the side of 
 the road, and disappeared from our view. We rode on 
 for a minute in silence; then my father said: ** Did you 
 
298 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 know those young men? But no; if you did, don't say 
 so. I wish boys would do what is right, it would be so 
 much easier for all parties!" 
 
 He knew he would have to report them, but, not being 
 sure of who they were, I presume he wished to give 
 them the benefit of the doubt. At any rate, I never 
 heard any more about it. One of the three asked me 
 next day if my father had recognised them, and I told 
 him what had occurred. 
 
 By this time I had become old enough to have a room 
 to myself, and, to encourage me in being useful and prac- 
 tical, my father made me attend to it, just as the cadets 
 had to do with their quarters in barracks and in camp. 
 He at first even went through the form of inspecting it, to 
 see if I had performed my duty properly, and I think I 
 enjoyed this until the novelty wore off. However, I was 
 kept at it, becoming in time very proficient, and the 
 knowledge so accquired has been of great use to me all 
 through life. 
 
 My father always encouraged me in every healthy out- 
 door exercise and sport. He taught me to ride, con- 
 stantly giving me minute instructions, with the reasons 
 for them. He gave me my first sled, and sometimes 
 used to come out where we boys were coasting to look on. 
 He gave me my first pair of skates, and placed me in the 
 care of a trustworthy person, inquiring regularly how I 
 progressed. It was the same with swimming, which he 
 was very anxious I should learn in a proper manner. 
 Professor Bailey had a son about my age, now himself a 
 professor of Brown University, Providence, Rhode 
 Island, who became my great chum. I took my first 
 lesson in the water with him, under the direction and 
 supervision of his father. My father inquired con- 
 
Robert E. Lee 299 
 
 stantly how I was getting along, and made me describe 
 exactly my method and stroke, explaining to me what he 
 considered the best way to swim, and the reasons therefor. 
 I went to a day school at West Point, and had always 
 a sympathetic helper in my father. Often he would come 
 into my room where I studied at night, and, sitting down 
 by me, would show me how to overcome a hard sentence 
 in my Latin reader or a difficult sum in arithmetic, not 
 by giving me the translation of the troublesome sentence 
 or the answer to the sum, but by showing me, step by 
 step, the way to the right solutions. He was very patient, 
 very loving, very good to me, and I remember trying my 
 best to please him in my studies. When I was able to 
 bring home a good report from my teacher, he was greatly 
 pleased, and showed it in his eye and voice, but he always 
 insisted that I should get the "maximum," that he would 
 never be perfectly satisfied with less. That I did some- 
 times win it, deservedly, I know was due to his judicious 
 and wise method of exciting my ambition and persever- 
 ance. I have endeavoured to show how fond my father 
 was of his children, and as the best picture I can offer of 
 his loving, tender devotion to us all, I give here a letter 
 from him written about this time to one of his daughters 
 who was staying with our grandmother, Mrs. Custis, at 
 Arlington: 
 
 "West Point, February 25, 1853. 
 "My precious Annie: I take advantage of your gra- 
 cious permission to write to you, and there is no telling how 
 far my feelings might carry me were I not limited by the 
 conveyance furnished by the Mim's* letter, which lies 
 before me, and which must, the Mim says so, go in this 
 morning's mail. But my limited time does not diminish 
 my affection for you, Annie, nor prevent my thinking of 
 
 * His pet name for my mother. 
 
300 Heroes Every Child Should Ktww 
 
 you and wishing for you. I long to see you through the 
 dilatory nights. At dawn when I rise, and all day, my 
 thoughts revert to you in expressions that you cannot hear 
 or I repeat. I hope you will always appear to me as you 
 are now painted on my heart, and that you will endeavour 
 to improve and so conduct yourself as to make you happy 
 and me joyful all our lives. Diligent and earnest atten- 
 tion to all your duties can only accomplish this. I am 
 told you are growing very tall, and I hope very straight. 
 I do not know what the cadets will say if the Superinten- 
 dent's children do not practice what he demands of them. 
 They will naturally say he had better attend to his own 
 before he corrects other people's children, and as he 
 permits his to stoop it is hard he will not allow them. 
 You and Agnes* must not, therefore, bring me into dis- 
 credit with my young friends, or give them reason to think 
 that I require more of them than of my own. I presume 
 your mother has told all about us, our neighbours and our 
 affairs. And indeed she may have done that and not said 
 much either, so far as I know. But we are all well and 
 have much to be grateful for. To-morrow we anticipate 
 the pleasure of your brother'sf company, which is always 
 a source of pleasure to us. It is the only time we see 
 him, except when the Corps come under my view at some 
 of their exercises, when my eye is sure to distinguish him 
 among his comrades and follow him over the plain. Give 
 much love to your dear grandmother, grandfather, Agnes, 
 Miss Sue, Lucretia, and all friends, including the servants. 
 Write sometimes, and think always of your 
 "Affectionate father, 
 
 "R. E. Lee." 
 
 In a letter to my mother, written many years previous 
 to this, he says: 
 
 *T pray God to watch over and direct our efforts in 
 guarding our dear little son. . . . Oh, what pleasure 
 I lose in being separated from my children! Nothing 
 can compensate me for that. ..." 
 
 * His third daughter. 
 t His son, Curtis. 
 
Robert E. Lee 301 
 
 In another letter of about the same time: 
 
 '*You do not know how much I have missed you and 
 the children, my dear Mary. To be alone in a crowd is 
 very solitary. In the woods, I feel sympathy with the 
 trees and birds, in whose company I take delight, but 
 experience no pleasure in a strange crowd. I hope you 
 are all well and will continue so, and, therefore, must 
 again urge you to be very prudent and careful of those 
 dear children. If I could only get a squeeze at that little 
 fellow, turning up his sweet mouth to 'keese baba ! ' You 
 must not let him run wild in my absence, and will have 
 to exercise firm authority over all of them. This will 
 not require severity or even strictness, but constant atten- 
 tion and an unwavering course. Mildness and forebear- 
 ance will strengthen their affection for you, while it will 
 maintain your control over them." 
 
 In a letter to one of his sons he writes as follows : 
 
 "I cannot go to bed, my dear son, without writing you 
 a few lines to thank you for your letter, which gave me 
 great pleasure . . . You and Custis must take great 
 care of your kind mother and dear sisters when your father 
 is dead. To do that you must learn to be good. Be true, 
 kind and generous, and pray earnestly to God to enable 
 you to keep His Commandments 'and walk in the same 
 all the days of your life.' I hope to come on soon to see 
 that little baby you have got to show me. You must give 
 her a kiss for me, and one to all the children, to your 
 mother, and grandmother. " 
 
 The expression of such sentiments as these was com- 
 mon to my father all through his life, and to show that it 
 was all children and not his own little folk alone that 
 charmed and fascinated him, I quote from a letter to my 
 mother: 
 
 '' ... I saw a number of little girls all dressed 
 vp in their white frocks and pantalets, their hair plaited 
 
302 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 and tied up with ribbons, running and chasing each other 
 in all directions. I counted twenty-three nearly the 
 same size. As I drew up my horse to admire the spec- 
 tacle, a man appeared at the door with the twenty-fourth 
 in his arms. 
 
 " 'My friend,' said I, 'are all these your children?' 
 
 *' * Yes,' he said, 'and there are nine more in the house, 
 and this is the youngest.' 
 
 " Upon further inquiry, however, I found that they were 
 only temporarily his, and that they were invited to a party 
 at his house. He said, however, he had been admiring 
 them before I came up, and just wished that he had a 
 million of dollars, and that they were all his in reality. 
 I do not think the eldest exceeded seven or eight years 
 old. It was the prettiest sight I have seen in the west, 
 and, perhaps, in my life. ..." 
 
 As Superintendent of the Military Academy at West 
 Point my father had to entertain a good deal, and I re- 
 member well how handsome and grand he looked in 
 uniform, how genial and bright, how considerate of 
 everybody's comfort of mind and body. He was always 
 a great favourite with the ladies, especially the young 
 ones. His fine presence, his gentle, courteous manners 
 and kindly smile put them at once at ease with him. 
 
 Among the cadets at this time were my eldest brother, 
 Custis, who graduated first in his class in 1854, and my 
 father's nephew, Fitz Lee, a third classman, besides 
 other relatives and friends. Saturday being a half- 
 holiday for the cadets, it was the custom for all social 
 events in which they were to take part to be placed on 
 that afternoon or evening. Nearly every Saturday a 
 number of these young men were invited to our house to 
 tea, or supper, for it was a good, substantial meal. The 
 misery of some of these lads, owing to embarrassment, 
 possibly from awe of the Superintendent, was pitiable and 
 evident even to me, a boy of ten or twelve years old. But 
 
Robert E. Lee 
 
 ZOZ 
 
 as soon as my father got command, as it were, of the 
 situation, one could see how quickly most of them were 
 put at their ease. He would address himself to the task 
 of making them feel comfortable and at home, and his 
 genial manner and pleasant ways at once succeeded. 
 
 In the spring of 1853 my grandmother, Mrs. Custis, 
 died. This was the first death in our immediate 
 family. She was very dear to us, and was admired, 
 esteemed, and loved by all who had ever known her. 
 Bishop Meade, of Virginia, writes of her: 
 
 ''Mrs. Mary Custis, of Arlington, the wife of Mr. Wash- 
 ington Custis, grandson of Mrs. General Washington, 
 was the daughter of Mr. William Fitzhugh, of Chatham. 
 Scarcely is there a Christian lady in our land more 
 honoured than she was, and none more loved and 
 esteemed. For good sense, prudence, sincerity, benevo- 
 lence, unaffected piety, disinterested zeal in every good 
 work, deep humanity and retiring modesty — for all the 
 virtues which adorn the wife, the mother, and the friend 
 — I never knew her superior." 
 
 In a letter written to my mother soon after this sad 
 event my father says: 
 
 "May God give you strength to enable you to bear and 
 say, 'His will be done.' She has gone from all trouble, 
 care and sorrow to a holy immortality, there to rejoice 
 and praise forever the God and Saviour she so long and 
 truly Served. Let that be our comfort and that our con- 
 solation. May our death be like hers, and may we meet 
 in happiness in Heaven." 
 
 In another letter about the same time he writes : 
 
 ''She was to me all that a mother could be, and I yield 
 to none in admiration for her character, love for her vir- 
 tues, and veneration for her memory." 
 
304 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 At this time, my father's family and friends persuaded 
 him to allow R. S. Weir, Professor of Painting and Draw- 
 ing at the Academy, to paint his portrait. As far as I 
 remember, there was only one sitting, and the artist had 
 to finish it from memory or from the glimpses he obtained 
 of his subject in the regular course of their daily lives at 
 ''The Point." This picture shows my father in the un- 
 dress uniform of a Colonel of Engineers,* and many 
 think it a very good likeness. To me, the expression of 
 strength peculiar to his face is wanting, and the mouth 
 fails to portray that sweetness of disposition so char- 
 acteristic of his countenance. Still, it was like him at 
 that time. My father r^ever could bear to have his pic- 
 ture taken, and there are no likenesses of him that really 
 give his sweet expression. Sitting for a picture was such 
 a serious business with him that he never could "look 
 pleasant." 
 
 In 1855 my father was appointed to the lieutenant- 
 colonelcy of the Second Cavalry, one of the two regiments 
 just raised. He left West Point to enter upon his new 
 duties, and his family went to Arlington to live. During 
 the fall and winter of 1855 and '56, the Second Cavalry 
 was recruited and organised at Jefferson Barracks, Mis- 
 souri, under the direction of Colonel Lee, and in the 
 following spring was marched to western Texas, where it 
 was assigned the duty of protecting the settlers in that 
 wild country. 
 
 I did not see my father again until he came to my 
 mother at Arlington after the death of her father, G. W. 
 P. Custis, in October, 1857. He took charge of my 
 mother's estate after her father's death, and commenced 
 
 * His appointment of Superintendent of the Military Academy carried 
 ^ith it the temporary rank of Colonel of Engineers. 
 
Robert E. Lee 305 
 
 at once to put it in order — not an easy task, as it con- 
 sisted of several plantations and many negroes. I was at 
 a boarding-school, after the family returned to Arlington, 
 and saw my father only during the holidays, if he hap- 
 pened to be at home. He was always fond of farming, 
 and took great interest in the improvements he imme- 
 diately began at Arlington relating to the cultivation of 
 the farm, to the buildings, roads, fences, fields, and stock, 
 so that in a very short time the appearance of everything 
 on the estate was improved. He often said that he 
 longed for the time when he could have a farm of his own, 
 where he could end his days in quiet and peace, inter- 
 ested in the care and improvement of his own land. 
 This idea was always with him. In a letter to his son, 
 written in July, 1865, referring to some proposed indict- 
 ments of prominent Confederates, he says : 
 
 "... As soon as I can ascertain their intention 
 toward me, if not prevented, I shall endeavour to procure 
 some humble, but quiet abode for your mother and sis- 
 ters, where I hope they can be happy. As I before said, 
 I want to get in some grass country where the natural 
 product of the land will do much for my subsistence. 
 
 Again in a letter to his son, dated October, 1865, after 
 he had accepted the presidency of Washington College, 
 Lexington, Virginia: 
 
 ''I should have selected a more quiet life and a more 
 retired abode than Lexington. I should have preferred 
 a small farm, where I could have earned my daily bread." 
 
 About this time I was given a gun of my own, and was 
 allowed to go shooting by myself. My father, to give me 
 an incentive, offered a reward for every crow-scalp I 
 could bring him, and, in order that I might get to work at 
 
3o6 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 .once, advanced a small sum with which to buy powder 
 and shot, this sum to be returned to him out of the first 
 scalps obtained. My industry and zeal were great, my 
 hopes high, and by good luck I did succeed in bagging 
 two crows about the second time I went out. I showed 
 them with great pride to my father, intimating that I 
 should shortly be able to return him his loan, and that 
 he must be prepared to hand over to me very soon further 
 rewards for my skill. His eyes twinkled, and his smile 
 showed that he had strong doubts of my making an in- 
 come by killing crows, and he was right, for I never 
 killed another, though I tried hard and long. 
 
 I saw but little of my father after we left West Point. 
 He went to Texas, as I have stated, in '55 and remained 
 until the fall of '57, the time of my grandfather's death. 
 He was then at Arlington about a year. Returning to 
 his regiment, he remained in Texas until the autumn of 
 '59, when he came again to Arlington, having applied for 
 leave in order to finish the settling of my grandfather's 
 estate. During this visit he was selected by the Secretary 
 of War to suppress the famous "■ John Brown Raid," and 
 was sent to Harper's Ferry in command of the United 
 States troops. 
 
 From his memorandum book the following entries are 
 taken : 
 
 "October 17, 1859. Received orders from the Secre- 
 tary of War, in person, to repair in evening train to Har- 
 per's Ferry. 
 
 " Reached Harper's Ferry at 1 1 p. M. . . . Posted 
 marines in the United States Armory. Waited until 
 daylight, as a number of citizens were held as hostages, 
 whose lives were threatened. Tuesday about sunrise, 
 with twelve marines, under Lieutenant Green, broke in 
 the door of the engine-house, secured the insurgents and 
 
Robert E. Lee 307 
 
 relieved the prisoners unhurt. All the insurgents killed 
 or mortally wounded, but four, John Brown, Stevens, 
 Coppie, and Shields." 
 
 Brown was tried and convicted, and sentenced to be 
 hanged on December 2, 1859. Colonel Lee writes as 
 follows to his wife: 
 
 ''Harper's Ferry, December i, 1859. 
 
 "I arrived here, dearest Mary, yesterday about noon, 
 with four companies from Fort Monroe, and was busy all 
 the evening and night getting accommodation for the 
 men, etc., and posting sentinels and pickets to insure 
 timely notice of the approach of the enemy. The night 
 has passed off quietly. The feelings of the community 
 seemed to be calmed down, and I have been received 
 with every kindness. Mr. Fry is among the officers from 
 Old Point. There are several young men, former ac- 
 quaintance of ours, as cadets, Mr. Bingham of Custis's 
 class, Sam Cooper, etc., but the senior officers I never 
 met before, except Captain Howe, the friend of our Cousin 
 Harriet R . 
 
 "I presume we are fixed here till after the i6th. To- 
 morrow will probably be the last of Captain Brown. 
 There will be less interest for the others, but still I think 
 the troops will not be withdrawn till they are similarly 
 disposed of. 
 
 "Custis will have informed you that I had to go to 
 Baltimore the evening that I left you, to make arrange- 
 ments for the transportation for the troops. . . . This 
 morning I was introduced to Mrs. Brown, who, with a 
 Mrs. Tyndall and a Mr. and Mrs. McKim, all from Phila- 
 delphia, had come on to have a last interview with her hus- 
 band. As it is a matter over which I have no control I 
 referred them to General Taliaferro.* 
 
 ''You must write to me at this place. I hope you are 
 all well. Give love to everybody. Tell Smithf that no 
 
 ♦General William B. Taliaferro, commanding Virginia troops at 
 Harper's Ferry. 
 t Sidney Smith Lee, of the United States Navy, his brother. 
 
3o8 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 charming women have insisted on taking care of me as 
 they are always doing of him — I am left to my own 
 resources. I will write you again soon, and will always 
 be truly and affectionately yours, 
 
 ^'R. E. Lee. 
 "Mrs. M.C.Lee." 
 
 In February, i860, he was ordered to take command 
 of the Department of Texas. There he remained a 
 year. The first months after his arrival were spent in 
 the vain pursuit of the famous brigand, Cortinez, who 
 was continually stealing across the Rio Grande, burning 
 the homes, driving off the stock of the ranchmen, and 
 then retreating into Mexico. The summer months he 
 spent in San Antonio, and while there interested himself 
 with the good people of that town in building an Episcopal 
 church, to which he contributed largely. 
 
CHAPTER XIX 
 
 THE YOUTH OF LINCOLN 
 
 HE WAS long; he was strong; he was wiry. He 
 was never sick, was always good-natured, never 
 a bully, always a friend of the weak, the small and 
 the unprotected. He must have been a funny-look- 
 ing boy. His skin was sallow, and his hair was black, 
 He wore a linsey-woolsey shirt, buckskin breeches, a coon- 
 skin cap, and heavy " clumps '* of shoes. He grew so fast 
 that his breeches never came down to the tops of his shoes, 
 and, instead of stockings, you could always see ''twelve 
 inches of shinbones," sharp, blue, and narrow. He 
 laughed much, was always ready to give and take jokes 
 and hard knocks, had a squeaky, changing voice, a small 
 head, big ears — and was always what Thackeray called 
 *'a gentle-man." Such was Abraham Lincoln at fifteen. 
 
 He was never cruel, mean, or unkind. His first compo- 
 sition was on cruelty to animals, written because he had 
 tried to make the other boys stop "teasin' tarrypins" — 
 that is, catching turtles and putting hot coals on their 
 backs just to make them move along lively. He had to 
 work hard at home; for his father would not, and things 
 needed to be attended to if 'Hhe place" was to be kept 
 from dropping to pieces. 
 
 He became a great reader. He read every book and 
 newspaper he could get hold of, and if he came across any- 
 thing in his reading that he wished to remember he 
 would copy it on a shingle, because writing paper was 
 309 
 
3IO Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 scarce, and either learn it by heart or hide the shingle 
 away until he could get some paper to copy it on. 
 His father thought he read too much. " It will spile 
 him for work," he said. ''He don't do half enough 
 about the place, as it is, now, and books and papers 
 ain't no good." But Abraham, with all his reading, did 
 more work than his father any day; his stepmother, too, 
 took his side and at last got her husband to let the boy 
 read and study at home. "Abe was a good son to me," 
 she said, many many years after, "and we took particular 
 care when he was reading not to disturb him. We would 
 just let him read on and on till he quit of his own ac- 
 cord." 
 
 The boy kept a sort of shingle scrap-book; he kept a 
 paper scrap-book, too. Into these he would put what- 
 ever he cared to keep — poetry, history, funny sayings, fine 
 passages. He had a scrap-book for his arithmetic 
 "sums," too, and one of these is still in existence with this 
 boyish rhyme in a boyish scrawl, underneath one of his 
 tables of weights and measures: 
 
 Abraham Lincoln 
 his hand and pen 
 he will be good but 
 god knows when. 
 
 God did know when; and that boy, all unconsciously, was 
 working toward the day when his hand and pen were to do 
 more for humanity than any other hand or pen of modern 
 times. 
 
 Lamps and candle.-^ were almost unknown in his home, 
 and Abraham, flat on his stomach, would often do his 
 reading, writing, and ciphering in the firelight, as it flashed 
 and flickered on the big hearth of his log-cabin home. An 
 older cousin, John Hanks, who lived for a while with the 
 
The Youth of Lincoln 311 
 
 Lincolns, says that when ''Abe," as he always called 
 the great President, would come home, as a boy, from his 
 work, he would go to the cupboard, take a piece of corn 
 bread for his supper, sit down on a chair, stretch out his 
 long legs until they were higher than his head — and read, 
 and read, and read. *'Abe and I," said John Hanks, 
 ''worked barefoot; grubbed it, ploughed it, mowed and 
 cradled it; ploughed corn, gathered corn, and shucked 
 corn, and Abe read constantly whenever he could get 
 a chance." 
 
 One day Abraham found that a man for whom he 
 sometimes worked owned a copy of Weems's "Life of 
 Washington." This was a famous book in its day. 
 Abraham borrowed it at once. When he was not reading 
 it, he put it away on a shelf — a clapboard resting on 
 wooden pins. There was a big crack between the logs, 
 behind the shelf, and one rainy day the "Life of Wash- 
 ington" fell into the crack and was soaked almost into 
 pulp. Old Mr. Crawford, from whom Abraham bor- 
 rowed the book, was a cross, cranky, and sour old fellow, 
 and when the boy told him of the accident he said Abra- 
 ham must "work the book out." 
 
 The boy agreed, and the old farmer kept him so strictly 
 to his promise that he made him "pull fodder" for the 
 cattle three days, as payment for the book! And that is 
 the way that Abraham Lincoln bought his first book. 
 For he dried the copy of Weems's "Life of Washington" 
 and put it in his "library." But what boy or girl of to- 
 day would like to buy books at such a price ? 
 
 This was the boy-life of Abraham Lincoln. It was a 
 life of poverty, privation, hard work, little play, and less 
 money. The boy did not love work. But he worked. 
 His father was rough and often harsh and hard to him, 
 
312 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 and what Abraham learned was by making the most of 
 his spare time. He was inquisitive, active, and hardy, 
 and, in his comfortless boyhood, he was learning lessons 
 of self-denial, independence, pluck, shrewdness, kindness, 
 and persistence. 
 
 In the spring of 1830, there was another "moving 
 time" for the Lincolns. The corn and the cattle, the 
 farm and its hogs were all sold at public "vandoo," or 
 auction, at low figures; and with all their household 
 goods on a big ''ironed" wagon drawn by four oxen, the 
 three related families of Hanks, Hall and Lincoln, thir- 
 teen in all, pushed on through the mud and across rivers, 
 high from the spring freshets, out of Indiana, into Illinois. 
 
 Abraham held the "gad" and guided the oxen. He 
 carried with him, also, a little stock of pins, needles, 
 thread, and buttons. These he peddled along the way; 
 and, at last, after fifteen days of slow travel, the emigrants 
 came to the spot picked out for a home. This time it was 
 on a small bluff on the north fork of the Sangamon River, 
 ten miles west of the town of Decatur. The usual log 
 house was built; the boys, with the oxen, "broke up," 
 or cleared, fifteen acres of land, and split enough rails to 
 fence it in. Abraham could swing his broad-axe better 
 than any man or boy in the West ; at one stroke he could 
 bury the axe-blade to the haft, in a log, and he was already 
 famous as an expert rail-splitter. 
 
 By this time his people were settled in their new home, 
 Abraham Lincoln was twenty-one. He was "of age" — 
 he was a man ! By the law of the land he was freed from 
 his father's control; he could shift for himself, and he 
 determined to do so. This did not mean that he disliked 
 his father. It simply meant that he had no intention of 
 following his father's example. Thomas Lincoln had 
 
The Youth of Lincoln 313 
 
 demanded all the work and all the wages his son could 
 earn or do, and Abraham felt that he could not have a fair 
 chance to accomplish anything or get ahead in the world 
 if he continued living with this shiftless, never-satisfied, 
 do-nothing man. 
 
 So he struck out for himself. In the summer of 1830, 
 Abraham left home and hired out on his own account, 
 wherever he could get a job in the new country into which 
 he had come. In that region of big farms and no fences, 
 these latter were needed, and Abraham Lincoln's stal- 
 wart arm and well-swung axe came well into play, cutting 
 up logs for fences. He was what was called in that 
 western country a "rail-splitter." Indeed, one of the 
 first things he did when he struck out for himself was to 
 split four hundred rails for every yard of "blue jeans" 
 necessary to make him a pair of trousers. From which it 
 will be seen that work was easier to get than clothes. 
 
 He soon became as much of a favourite in Illinois as 
 he had been in Indiana. Other work came to him, and, 
 in 1 83 1, he "hired out" with a man named Offutt to 
 help sail a flat-boat down the Mississippi to New Orleans. 
 Mr. Offutt had heard that "Abe Lincoln" was a good 
 river-hand, strong, steady, honest, reliable, accustomed 
 to boating, and that he had already made one trip down 
 the river. So he engaged young Lincoln at what seemed 
 to the young rail-splitter princely wages — fifty cents a 
 day, and a third share in the sixty dollars which was to 
 be divided among the three boatmen at the end of the 
 trip. 
 
 They built the flat-boat at a saw mill near a place 
 called Sangamon town, "Abe" serving as cook of the 
 camp while the boat was being built. Then, loading 
 the craft with barrel-pork, hogs, and corn, they started 
 
314 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 on their voyage south. At a place called New Salem 
 the flat-boat ran aground; but Lincoln's ingenuity got 
 it off. He rigged up a queer contrivance of his own 
 invention and lifted the boat off and over the obstruction, 
 while all New Salem stood on the bank, first to criticise 
 and then to applaud. 
 
 Just what this invention was I cannot explain. But 
 if you ever go into the patent office at Washington, ask 
 to see Abraham Lincoln's patent for transporting river 
 boats over snags and shoals. The wooden model is 
 there; for, so pleased was Lincoln with the success that 
 he thought seriously of becoming an inventor, and his first 
 design was the patent granted to him in 1849, the idea 
 for which grew out of this successful floating of 
 Offutt's flat-boat over the river snags at New Salem 
 nineteen years before. 
 
 Once again he visited New Orleans, returning home, 
 as before, by steamboat. That voyage is remarkable, 
 because it first opened young Lincoln's eyes to the 
 enormity of African slavery. Of course, he had seen 
 slaves before; but the sight of a slave sale in the old 
 market place of New Orleans seems to have aroused 
 his anger and given him an intense hatred of slave- 
 holding. He, himself, declared, years after, that it 
 was that visit to New Orleans, that had set him so 
 strongly against slavery. 
 
 There is a story told by one of his companions that 
 Lincoln looked for a while upon the dreadful scenes of 
 the slave market and then, turning away, said excitedly, 
 "Come away, boys! If I ever get a chance, some day, 
 to hit that thing" — and he flung his long arm toward 
 the dreadful auction block— ''I'll hit it hard." 
 
 Soon after he returned from his flat-boat trip to New 
 
The Youth of Lincoln 315 
 
 Orleans he had an opportunity to show that he could not 
 and would not stand what is termed "foul play." The 
 same Mr. Offutt who had hired Lincoln to be one of 
 his flat-boat "boys," gave him another opportunity 
 for work. Offutt was what is called in the West a 
 "hustler"; he had lots of "great ideas" and plans for 
 making money; and, among his numerous enterprises, 
 was one to open a country store and mill at New Salem — 
 the very same village on the Sangamon where, by his 
 "patent invention," Lincoln had lifted the flat-boat ofif 
 the snags. 
 
 Mr. Offutt had taken a great fancy to Lincoln, and 
 offered him a place as clerk in the New Salem store. The 
 young fellow jumped at the chance. It seemed to him 
 quite an improvement on being a farm-hand, a flat-boat- 
 man, or a rail-splitter. It was, indeed, a step upward; 
 for it gave him better opportunities for self-instruction 
 and more chances for getting ahead. 
 
 Offutt's store was a favourite "loafing place" for the 
 New Salem boys and young men. Among these, were 
 some of the roughest fellows in the settlement. They 
 were known as the "Clary Grove Boys," and they were 
 always ready for a fight, in which they would, sometimes, 
 prove themselves to be bullies and tormentors. When, 
 therefore, Offutt began to brag about his new clerk the 
 Clary Grove Boys made fun at him; whereupon the 
 storekeeper cried: "What's that? You can throw 
 him? Well, I reckon not; Abe Lincoln can out-run, 
 out-walk, out-rassle, knock out, and throw down any 
 man in Sangamon County." This was too much for 
 the Clary Grove Boys. They took up Offutt's chal- 
 lenge, and, against "Abe," set up, as their champion 
 and "best man," one Jack Armstrong. 
 
3i6 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 All this was done without Lincoln's knowledge. He 
 had no desire to get into a row with anyone — least of all 
 with the bullies who made up the Clary Grove Boys. 
 
 "I won't do it," he said, when Offutt told him of the 
 proposed wrestling match. ''I never tussle and scuffle, 
 and I will not. I don't like this wooHng and pulHng. " 
 
 ''Don't let them call you a coward, Abe," said Offutt. 
 
 Of course, you know what the end would be to such an 
 affair. Nobody likes to be called a coward — especially 
 when he knows he is not one. So, at last, Lincoln con- 
 sented to ''rassle" with Jack Armstrong. They met, 
 with all the boys as spectators. They wrestled, and 
 tugged, and clenched, but without result. Both young 
 fellows were equally matched in strength. ''It's no use, 
 Jack," Lincoln at last declared. "Let's quit. You 
 can't throw me, and I can't throw you. That's enough. " 
 
 With that, all Jack's backers began to cry "coward!" 
 and urged on the champion to another tussle. Jack 
 Armstrong was now determined to win, by fair means 
 or foul. He tried the latter, and, contrary to all rules 
 of wrestling began to kick and trip, while his supporters 
 stood ready to help, if need be, by breaking in with a 
 regular free fight. This "foul play" roused the Hon in 
 Lincoln. He hated unfairness, and at once resented it. 
 He suddenly put forth his Samson-like strength, grabbed 
 the champion of the Clary Grove Boys by the throat, and, 
 lifting him from the ground, held him at arm's length 
 and shook him as a dog shakes a rat. Then he flung him 
 to the ground, and, facing the amazed and yelling crowd, 
 he cried: "You cowards! You know I don't want to 
 fight; but if you try any such games, I'll tackle the 
 whole lot of you. I've won the fight." 
 
 He had. From that day, no man in all that region 
 
The YotUh of Lincoln 317 
 
 dared to ''tackle" young Lincoln, or to taunt him with 
 cowardice. And Jack Armstrong was his devoted 
 friend and admirer. 
 
 I have told you more, perhaps, of the famous fight 
 than I ought — not because it was a fight, but because it 
 gives you a glimpse of Abraham I/incoln's character. 
 He disliked rows; he was too kind-hearted and good- 
 natured to wish to quarrel with any one; but he hated 
 unfairness, and was enraged at anything like persecution 
 or bullying. If you will look up Shakespeare's play 
 of ''Hamlet" you will see that Lincoln was ready to act 
 upon the advice that old Polonius gave to his son Laertes : 
 
 " Beware 
 Of entrance to a quarrel; but, being in, 
 Bear it that the opposer may beware of thee." 
 
 He became quite a man in that little community. As 
 a clerk he was obliging and strictly honest. He was the 
 judge and the settler of all disputes, and none thought 
 of combating his decisions. He was the village peace- 
 maker. He hated profanity, drunkenness, and unkind- 
 ness to women. He was feared and respected by all, 
 and even the Clary Grove Boys declared, at last, that 
 he was "the cleverest feller that ever broke into the 
 settlement." 
 
 All the time, too, he was trying to improve himself. 
 He liked to sit around and talk and tell stories, just the 
 same as ever; but he saw this was not the way to get on 
 in the world. He worked, whenever he had the chance. 
 outside of his store duties; and once, when trade was 
 dull and hands were short in the clearing, he "turned to" 
 and split enough logs into rails to make a pen for a thou- 
 sand hogs. 
 
3i8 Heroes Every Child Should Kfww 
 
 When he was not at work he devoted himself to his 
 books. He could "read, write, and cipher" — this was 
 more education than most men about him possessed; 
 but he hoped, some day, to go before the public; to do this, 
 he knew he must speak and write correctly. He talked 
 to the village schoolmaster, who advised him to study 
 English grammar. 
 
 "Well, if I had a grammar," said Lincoln, "I'd begin 
 now. Have you got one?" 
 
 The schoolmaster had no grammar; but he told "Abe" 
 of a man, six miles off, who owned one. Thereupon, 
 Lincoln started upon the run to borrow that grammar. 
 He brought it back so quickly that the schoolmaster was 
 astonished. Then he set to work to learn the "rules 
 and exceptions." He studied that grammar, stretched 
 full length on the store-counter, or under a tree outside 
 the store, or at night before a blazing fire of shavings in 
 the cooper's shop. And soon, he had mastered it. He 
 borrowed every book in New Salem; he made the school- 
 master give him lessons in the store; he button-holed 
 every stranger that came into the place "who looked as 
 though he knew anything"; until, at last, every one in 
 New Salem was ready to echo Offutt's boast that "Abe 
 Lincoln" knew more than any man "in these United 
 States." One day, in the bottom of an old barrel of 
 trash, he made a splendid "find." It was two old 
 law books. He read and re-read them, got all the 
 sense and argument out of their dry pages, blos- 
 somed into a debater, began to dream of being 
 a lawyer, and became so skilled in seeing through 
 and settling knotty questions that, once again. New 
 Salem wondered at this clerk of Offutt's, who was 
 as long of head as of arms and legs, and declared 
 
The Youth of Lincoln 319 
 
 that ''Abe Lincoln could out-argue any ten men in 
 the settlement." 
 
 In all the history of America there has been no man 
 who started lower and climbed higher than Abraham 
 Lincoln, the backwoods boy. He never ''slipped back. " 
 He always kept going ahead. He broadened his mind, 
 enlarged his outlook, and led his companions rather 
 than let them lead him. He was jolly company, good- 
 natured, kind-hearted, fond of jokes and stories and a 
 good time generally; but he was the champion of the 
 weak, the friend of the friendless, as true a knight and 
 as full of chivalry as any one of the heroes in armour of 
 whom you read in "Ivanhoe" or "The Talisman." 
 He never cheated, never lied, never took an unfair ad- 
 vantage of anyone; but he was ambitious, strong-willed, 
 a bold fighter and a tough adversary — a fellow who 
 would never "say die"; and who, therefore, succeeded. 
 
CHAPTER XX 
 
 FATHER DAMIEN 
 
 AS WE approached Molokai I found that the slow 
 work of centuries had nearly covered its lava 
 with verdure. At dawn we were opposite Kalaupapa. 
 Two little spired churches, looking precisely alike, caught 
 my eye first, and around them were dotted the white 
 cottages of the lepers. But the sea was too rough for 
 us to land. The waves dashed against the rocks, and 
 the spray rose fifty feet into the air. 
 
 We went on to Kalawao, but were again disapponted; 
 it was too dangerous to disembark. Finally it was de- 
 cided to put off a boat for a rocky point about a mile and 
 a half distant from the town. Climbing down this point 
 we saw about twenty lepers, and ''There is Father 
 Damien!" said our purser; and, slowly moving along the 
 hillside, I saw a dark figure with a large straw hat. He 
 came rather painfully down, and sat near the water-side, 
 and we exchanged friendly signals across the waves while 
 my baggage was being got out of the hold — a long busi- 
 ness, owing to the violence of the sea. At last all was 
 ready, and we went swinging across the waves, and 
 finally chose a fit moment for leaping on shore. Father 
 Damien caught me by the hand, and a hearty welcome 
 shone from his kindly face as he helped me up the rock. 
 He immediately called me by my name, "Edward," and 
 said it was "like everything else, a providence," that he 
 
 320 
 
Father Datnien 321 
 
 had met me at that irregular landing-place, for he had 
 expected the ship to stop at Kalaupapa. 
 
 He was now forty-nine years old — a thick-set, strongly 
 built man, with black curly hair and short beard, turning 
 gray. His countenance must have been handsome, with 
 a full, well-curved mouth and a short, straight nose ; but 
 he was now a good deal disfigured by leprosy, though not 
 so badly as to make it anything but a pleasure to look at 
 his bright, sensible face. His forehead was swollen and 
 rigid, the eyebrows gone, the nose somewhat sunk, and 
 the ears greatly enlarged. His hands and face looked 
 uneven with a sort of incipient boils, and his body also 
 showed many signs of the disease, but he assured me that 
 he had felt little or no pain since he had tried Dr. Goto's 
 system of hot baths and Japanese medicine. The bath- 
 rooms that have been provided by the Government are 
 very nice. 
 
 A large wooden box of presents from English friends, 
 had been unshipped with the gurjun oil. It was, how- 
 ever, so large that Father Damien said it would be im- 
 possible for his lepers either to land it from the boat 
 or to carry it to Kalawao, and that it must be re- 
 turned to the steamer and landed on some voyage 
 when the sea was quieter. But I could not give up 
 the pleasure of his enjoyment in its contents, so after 
 some delay it was forced open in the boat, and the 
 things were handed out one by one across the waves. 
 The lepers all came round with their poor marred 
 faces, and the presents were carried home by them 
 and our two selves. 
 
 As we ascended the hill on which the village is built 
 Father Damien showed me on our left the chicken farm. 
 The lepers are justly proud of it, and before many days I 
 
322 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 had a fine fowl sent me for dinner, which, after a Httle 
 natural timidity, I ate with thankfulness. 
 
 On arriving at Kalawao we speedily found ourselves 
 inside the half-finished church which was the darling of 
 his heart. How he enjoyed planning the places where 
 the pictures which I had just brought him should be 
 placed! By the side of this church he showed me the 
 palm-tree under which he lived for some weeks when he 
 first arrived at the settlement, in 1873. His own little 
 four-roomed house almost joins the church. 
 
 After dinner we went up the little flight of steps which 
 led to Father Damien's balcony. This was shaded by a 
 honeysuckle in blossom. Some of my happiest times at 
 Molokai were spent in this little balcony, sketching him 
 and listening to what he said. The lepers came up to 
 watch my progress, and it was pleasant to see how happy 
 and at home they were. Their poor faces were often 
 swelled and drawn and distorted, with bloodshot goggle 
 eyes. 
 
 I offered to give a photograph of the picture to his 
 brother in Belgium, but he said perhaps it would be bet- 
 ter not to do so, as it might pain him to see how he was 
 disfigured. He looked mournfully at my work. "What 
 an ugly face!" he said; "I did not know the disease had 
 made such progress." Looking-glasses are not in great 
 request at Molokai! 
 
 While I sketched him he often read his breviary. At 
 other times we talked on subjects that interested us both, 
 especially about the work of the Church Army, and some- 
 times I sang hymns to him — among others, "Brief life is 
 here our portion," "Art thou weary, art thou languid?" 
 and "Safe home in port." At such times the expression of 
 his face was particularly sweet and tender. One day I 
 
Father Damien 323 
 
 asked him if he would Hke to send a message to Cardinal 
 Manning. He said that it was not for such as he to send 
 a message to so great a dignitary, but after a moment's 
 hesitation he added, "I send my humble respects and 
 thanks." 
 
 I need scarcely say that he gave himself no airs of 
 martyr, saint, or hero — a humbler man I never saw. He 
 smiled modestly and deprecatingly when I gave him the 
 Bishop of Peterborough's message — ''He won't accept 
 the blessing of a heretic bishop, but tell him that he has 
 my prayers, and ask him to give me his." "Does he call 
 himself a heretic bishop?" he asked doubtfully, and I had 
 to explain that the bishop had probably used the term 
 playfully. 
 
 One day he told me about his early history. He was 
 born on the 3rd of January, 1841 , near Louvain in Belgium. 
 On his nineteenth birthday his father took him to see his 
 brother, who was then preparing for the priesthood, and 
 he left him there to dine, while he himself went on to the 
 neighbouring town. Young Joseph (this was his baptis- 
 mal name) decided that there was the opportunity for 
 taking the step which he had long been desiring to take, 
 and when his father came back he told him that he wished 
 to return home no more, and that it would be better thus 
 to miss the pain of farewells. His father consented un- 
 willingly, but, as he was obliged to hurry to the con- 
 veyance which was to take him home, there was no time 
 for demur, and they parted at the station. Afterward, 
 when all was settled, Joseph revisited his home, and 
 received his mother's approval and blessing. 
 
 His brother was bent on going to the South Seas tor 
 mission work, and all was arranged accordingly; but at 
 the last he was laid low with fever, and, to his bitter disap- 
 
324 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 pointment, forbidden to go. The impetuous Joseph 
 asked if it would be a consolation to his brother if he 
 were to go instead, and, receiving an affirmative answer, 
 he wrote surreptitiously, offering himself, and begging 
 that he might be sent, though his education was not yet 
 finished. The students were not allowed to send out 
 letters till they had been submitted to the Superior, but 
 Joseph ventured to disobey. 
 
 One day, as he sat at his studies, the Superior came in, 
 and said, with a tender reproach, "Oh, you impatient 
 boy! you have written this letter, and you are to go." 
 
 Joseph jumped up, and ran out, and leaped about like 
 a young colt. 
 
 "Is he crazy?" said the other students. 
 
 He worked for some years on other islands in the 
 Pacific, but it happened that he was one day in 1873 
 present at the dedication of a chapel in the island of Maui, 
 when the bishop was lamenting that it was impossible 
 for him to send a missioner to the lepers at Molokai and 
 still less to provide them with a pastor. He had only 
 been able to send them occasional and temporary help. 
 Some young priests had just arrived in Hawaii for mis- 
 sion work, and Father Damien instantly spoke. 
 
 ''Monseigneur," said he, "here are your new missioners; 
 one of them could take my district, and if you will be kind 
 enough to allow it, I will go to Molokai and labour for 
 the poor lepers whose wretched state of bodily and spirit- 
 ual misfortune has often made my heart bleed within me." 
 
 His offer was accepted, and that very day, without any 
 farewells, he embarked on a boat that was taking some 
 cattle to the leper settlement. W^iii he first put his foot 
 on the island he said to himselt, "Now Joseph, my boy, 
 this is your life-work." 
 
Father Damien 325 
 
 I did not find one person in the Sandwich Islands who 
 had the least doubt as to leprosy being contagious, though 
 it is possible to be exposed to the disease for years without 
 contracting it. Father Damien told me that he had al- 
 ways expected that he should sooner or later become a 
 leper, though exactly how he caught it he does not know. 
 But it was not likely that he would escape, as he was con- 
 stantly living in a polluted atmosphere, dressing the suf- 
 ferers' sores, washing their bodies, visiting their death- 
 beds, and even digging their graves. In his own words 
 is a report of the state of things at Molokai sixteen years 
 ago, and I think a portion will be interesting: 
 
 ''By special providence of our Divine Lord, who dur- 
 ing His public life showed a particular sympathy for the 
 lepers, my way was traced toward Kalawao in May, 1873. 
 I was then thirty-three years of age, enjoying a robust 
 good health. 
 
 ''About eighty of the lepers were in the hospital; the 
 others, with a very few Kokuas (helpers), had taken 
 their abode farther up toward the valley. They had cut 
 down the old pandanus groves to build their houses, 
 though a great many had nothing but branches of castor- 
 oil trees with which to construct their small shelters. 
 These frail frames were covered with ki leaves or with 
 sugar-cane leaves, the best ones with pili grass. I, my- 
 self, v/as sheltered during several weeks under the single 
 pandanus-tree which is preserved up to the present in the 
 churchyard. Under such primitive roofs were living 
 without distinction of age or sex, old or new cases, all 
 more or less strangers one to another, those unfortunate 
 outcasts of society. They passed their time with play- 
 ing cards, hula (native dances), drinking fermented ki- 
 root beer, home-made alcohol, and with the sequels of 
 
326 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 all this. Their clothes were far from being clean and 
 decent, on account of the scarcity of water, which had to 
 be brought at that time from a great distance. Many a 
 time in fulfilling my priestly duty at their domiciles I 
 have been compelled to run outside to breathe fresh air. 
 To counteract the bad smell I made myself accustomed to 
 the use of tobacco, whereupon the smell of the pipe pre- 
 served me somewhat from carrying in my clothes the 
 noxious odour of the lepers. At that time the progress 
 of the disease was fearful, and the rate of mortality very 
 high. The miserable condition of the settlement gave 
 it the name of a living graveyard, which name, I am 
 happy to state, is to-day no longer applicable to our place." 
 
 In 1874 a *^cona" (south) wind blew down most of the 
 lepers' wretched, rotten abodes, and the poor sufferers lay 
 shivering in the wind and rain, with clothes and blankets 
 wet through. In a few days the grass beneath their 
 sleeping-mats began to emit a "very unpleasant vapour." 
 "I at once," says Father Damien, "called the attention of 
 our sympathising agent to the fact, and very soon there 
 arrived several schooner-loads of scantling to build solid 
 frames with, and all lepers in distress received, on appli- 
 cation, the necessary material for the erection of decent 
 houses." Friends sent them rough boards and shingles 
 and flooring. Some of the lepers had a little money, and 
 hired carpenters. For those without means the priest, 
 with his leper boys, did the work of erecting a good many 
 small houses. 
 
 "I remember well that when I arrived here," again 
 says Father Damien, " the poor people were without 
 any medicines, with the exception of a few physics 
 and their own native remedies. It was a common sight 
 to see people going round with fearful ulcers, which, for 
 
Father Damien 327 
 
 the want of a few rags or a piece of lint and a little salve, 
 were left exposed. Not only were their sores neglected 
 but any one getting a fever, or any of the numerous ail- 
 ments that lepers are heir to, was carried off for want of 
 some simple medicine. 
 
 "Previous to my arrival here it was acknowledged and 
 spoken of in the public papers as well as in private letters 
 that the greatest want at Kalawao was a spiritual leader. 
 It was owing in a great measure to this want that vice as 
 a general rule existed instead of virtue, and degradation 
 of the lowest type went ahead as a leader of the com- 
 munity. . . . When once the disease prostrated them 
 women and children were often cast out, and had to find 
 some other shelter. Sometimes they were laid behind 
 a stone wall, and left there to die, and at other times a 
 hired hand would carry them to the hospital. 
 
 "As there were so many dying people, my priestly duty 
 toward them often gave me the opportunity to visit them 
 at their domiciles, and although my exhortations were 
 especially addressed to the prostrated often they would 
 fall upon the ears of public sinners, who little by little 
 became conscious of the consequences of their wicked 
 lives, and began to reform, and thus, with the hope in a 
 merciful Saviour, gave up their bad habits. 
 
 "Kindness to all, charity to the needy, a sympathising 
 hand to the sufferers and the dying, in conjunction with a 
 solid religious instruction to my listeners, have been my 
 constant means to introduce moral habits among the 
 lepers. I am happy to say that, assisted by the local 
 administration, my labours here, which seemed to be 
 almost in vain at the beginning, have, thanks to a kind 
 Provideyce, been greatly crowned with success." 
 
 The water supply of Molokai was a pleasant subject 
 
328 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 with Father Damien. When he first arrived the lepers 
 could only obtain water by carrying it from the gulch on 
 their poor shoulders; they had also to take their clothes 
 to some distance when they required washing, and it was 
 no wonder that they lived in a very dirty state. He was 
 much exercised about the matter, and one day, to his 
 great joy, he was told that at the end of a valley called 
 Waihanau there was a natural reservoir. He set out with 
 two white men and some of his boys, and travelled up the 
 valley till he came with delight to a nearly circular basin 
 of most delicious ice-cold water. Its diameter was 
 seventy-two feet by fifty-five, and not far from the bank 
 they found, on sounding, that it was eighteen feet deep. 
 There it lay at the foot of a high cliff, and he was informed 
 by the natives that there had never been a drought in 
 which this basin had dried up. He did not rest till a 
 supply of waterpipes had been sent them, which he and 
 all the able lepers went to work and laid. Henceforth 
 clear sweet water has been available for all who desire to 
 drink, to wash, or to bathe. 
 
 It was after living at the leper settlement for about ten 
 years that Father Damien began to suspect that he was 
 a leper. The doctors assured him that this was not the 
 case. But he once scalded himself in 'lis foot, and to his 
 horror he felt no pain. Anaesthesia had begun, and soon 
 other fatal signs appeared. One day he asked Dr. 
 Arning, the great German doctor who was then resident 
 in Molokai, to examine him carefully. 
 
 "I cannot bear to tell you," said Dr. Arning, "but what 
 you say is true." 
 
 "It is no shock to me," said Damien, "for I have felt 
 sure of it." . 
 
 I may mention here that there are three kinds of 
 
Father Damien 329 
 
 leprosy. Father Damien suffered (as is often the case) 
 both from the anaesthetic and the tubercular forms of the 
 disease. ''Whenever I preach to my people," he said, 
 "I do not say 'my brethren,' as you do, but 'we lepers.' 
 People pity me and think me unfortunate, but I think 
 myself the happiest of missionaries." 
 
 Henceforth he came under the law of segregation, and 
 journeys to the other parts of the islands were forbidden. 
 But he worked on with the same sturdy, cheerful forti- 
 tude, accepting the will of God with gladness, undaunted 
 by the continual reminders of his coming fate, which met 
 him in the poor creatures around him. 
 
 "I would not be cured," he said to me, "if the price of 
 my cure was that I must leave the island and give up my 
 work." 
 
 A lady wrote to him, "You have given up all earthly 
 things to serve God here and to help others, and I believe 
 you must have now joy that nothing can take from you 
 and a great reward hereafter." 
 
 "Tell her," he said, with a quiet smile, "that it is 
 true. I do have that joy now." 
 
 He seldom talked of himself except in answer to ques- 
 tions, and he had always about him the simplicity of a 
 great man — "clothed with humihty." 
 
 My last letter from him is dated: 
 
 "Kalav^ao, 28th February, 1889. 
 "My DEAR Edward Clifford — Your sympathising 
 letter of 24th gives me some relief in my rather distressed 
 condition. I try my best to carry, without much com- 
 plaining and in a practical way, for my poor soul's sancti- 
 fication, the long-foreseen miseries of the disease, which, 
 after all, is a providential agent to detach the heart from 
 
330 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 all earthly affection, and prompts much the desire of a 
 Christian soul to be united — the sooner the better — with 
 Him who is her only life. 
 
 "During your long travelling road homeward please do 
 not forget the narrow road. We both have to walk care- 
 fully, so as to meet together at the home of our common 
 and eternal Father. My kind regards and prayers and 
 good wishes for all sympathising friends. Bon voyage^ 
 mon cher ami, et au revoir au ceil — Votus tuus, 
 
 "J. Damien." 
 
 About three weeks after writing this letter he felt sure 
 that his end was near, and on the 28th March he took to 
 his bed. 
 
 "You see my hands," he said. "All the wounds are 
 healing and the crust is becoming black. You know that 
 is a sign of death. Look at my eyes too. I have seen so 
 many lepers die that I cannot be mistaken. Death is 
 not far off. I should have liked to see the Bishop again, 
 but le bon Dieu is calling me to keep Easter with Him- 
 self. God be blessed! 
 
 "How good He is to have preserved me long enough to 
 have two priests by my side at my last moments, and also 
 to have the good Sisters of Charity at the Leproserie. 
 That has been my Nunc Dimittis. The work of the 
 lepers is assured, and I am no longer necessary, and so 
 will go up yonder." 
 
 Father Wendolen said, ''When you are up above, 
 father, you will not forget those you leave orphans behind 
 you?" 
 
 "Oh no! If I have any credit with God, I will inter- 
 cede for all in the Leproserie.'''' 
 
 "And will you, like Elijah, leave me your mantle, my 
 father, in order that I may have your great heart?" 
 
Father Damien 331 
 
 "Why, what would you do with it?" said the dying 
 martyr, "it is full of leprosy." 
 
 He rallied for a little while after this, and his watchers 
 even had a little hope that his days might be lengthened. 
 Father Conradi, Father Wendolen, and Brother Joseph 
 were much in his company. Brother James was his con- 
 stant nurse. The Sisters from Kalaupapa visited him 
 often, and it is good to think that the sweet placid face 
 and gentle voice of the Mother were near him in his last 
 days. Everybody admired his wonderful patience. He 
 who had been so ardent, so strong, and so playful, was 
 now powerless on his couch. He lay on the ground on 
 a wretched mattress like the poorest leper. They had the 
 greatest difficulty in getting him to accept a bed. "And 
 how poorly off he was ; he who had spent so much money 
 to relieve the lepers had so forgotten himself that he had 
 none of the comforts and scarcely the necessaries of life." 
 Sometimes he suffered intensely; sometimes he was 
 partly unconscious. He said that he was continually 
 conscious of two persons being present with him. One 
 was at the head of his bed and one at his feet. But who 
 they were he did not say. The terrible disease had con- 
 centrated itself in his mouth and throat. As he lay there 
 in his tiny domicile, with the roar of the sea getting 
 fainter to his poor diseased ears, and the kind face of 
 Brother James becoming gradually indistinct before his 
 failing eyes, did the thought come to him that after all 
 his work was poor, and his life half a failure? Many 
 whom he had hoped much of had disappointed him. Not 
 much praise had reached him. The tide of affection 
 and sympathy from England had cheered him, but 
 England was so far off that it seemed almost like sym- 
 pathy and affection from a star. Churches were built, 
 
332 Heroes Every Child Should Know 
 
 schools and hospitals were in working order, but there was 
 still much to be done. He was only forty-nine, and he 
 was dying. 
 
 "Well! God's will be done. He knows best. My 
 work, with all its faults and failures, is in His hands, and 
 before Easter I shall see my Saviour." 
 
 The breathing grew more laboured, the leprous eyes 
 were clouded, the once stalwart frame was fast becoming 
 rigid. The sound of the passing bell was heard, and the 
 wail of the wretched lepers pierced the air. . . . The 
 last flickering breath was breathed, and the soul of 
 Joseph Damien de Veuster arose like a lark to God. 
 
ONCE UPON A TIME 
 
PART II— FAIRIES 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 TO 
 
 "FAIRIES EVERY CHILD SHOULD KNOW" 
 
 PAGB 
 
 Introduction v 
 
 One Eye, Two Eyes, Three Eyes . , . . i 
 
 (Grimm s Fairy Tales) 
 
 The Magic Mirror ii 
 
 (Grimm's Fairy Tales) 
 
 The Enchanted Stag 26 
 
 (Grimm's Fairy Tales) 
 
 Hansel and Grethel 35 
 
 (Grimm's Fairy Tales) 
 
 The Story of Aladdin ; or, The Wonderful Lamp 48 
 
 ("Arabian Nights' Entertainments") 
 
 The History of Ali Baba, and of the Forty Rob- 
 
 biers Killed by One Slave 109 
 
 ("Arabian Nights' Entertainments") 
 
 The Second Voyage of Sindbad the Sailor . . 140 
 
 ("Arabian Nights' Entertainments") 
 
 The White Cat 147 
 
 (From the tale by the Comtesse d'Aulnoy) 
 
 The Golden Goose 166 
 
 (Grimm's Fairy Tales) 
 
 The Twelve Brothers 173 
 
 (Grimm's Fairy Tales) 
 
 The Fair One with the Golden Locks . . .180 
 
 (From the tale by Comtesse d'Aulnoy) 
 
 Tom Thumb 195 
 
 (First written in prose in 162 1 by Richard Johnson) 
 
 Blue Beard 204 
 
 (From the French tale by Charles Perrault) 
 
CONTENTS— Continued 
 
 Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper . 212 
 
 (From the French tale by Charles Perrault) 
 
 Puss IN Boots 222 
 
 ( From the French tale by Charles Perrault) 
 
 The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood .... 229 
 
 (From the French tale by Charles Perrault) 
 
 Jack and the Bean-Stalk 236 
 
 (Said to be an allegory of the Teutonic Al-fader. The tale is also 
 written in French by Charles Perrault) 
 
 Jack the Giant Killer 254 
 
 (From the old British legend told by Geoffrey of Monmouth, of 
 Corineus the Trojan) 
 
 Little Red Riding Hood 273 
 
 (From the French tale by Charles Perrault) 
 
 The Three Bears 276 
 
 (Robert Southey) 
 
 The Princess on the Pea 279 
 
 ( From the tale by Hans Christian Andersen) 
 
 The Ugly Duckling 281 
 
 (From the tale by Hans Christian Andersen) 
 
 The Light Princess 294 
 
 (George MacDonald) 
 
 Beauty and the Beast 352 
 
 (From the French tale by Madame Gabrielle de Villeneuve) 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 TO 
 
 "FAIRIES EVERY CHILD SHOULD KNOW" 
 
 The fairy tale is a poetic recording of the facts of 
 Hfe, an interpretation by the imagination of its hard 
 conditions, an effort to reconcile the spirit which 
 loves freedom and goodness and beauty with its 
 harsh, bare and disappointing conditions. It is, in 
 its earliest form, a spontaneous and instinctive en- 
 deavor to shape the facts of the world to meet the 
 needs of the imagination, the cravings of the heart. 
 It involves a free, poetic dealing with realities in 
 accordance with the law of mental growth ; it is the 
 naive activity of the young imagination of the race, 
 untrammelled by the necessity of rigid adherence 
 to the fact. 
 
 The myths record the earliest attempt at an expla- 
 nation of the world and its life ; the fairy tale records 
 the free and joyful play of the imagination, opening 
 doors through hard conditions to the spirit, which 
 craves power, freedom, happiness ; righting wrongs 
 and redressing injuries; defeating base designs; re- 
 warding patience and virtue ; crowning true love 
 with happiness ; placing the powers of darkness 
 under the control of man and making their ministers 
 his servants. In the fairy story, men are not set 
 entirely free from their limitations, but, by the aid 
 of fairies, genii, giants and demons, they are put 
 
 V 
 
vi Introduction 
 
 in command of unusual powers and make themselves 
 masters of the forces of nature. 
 
 The oldest fairy stories constitute a fascinating 
 introduction to the book of modern science, curi- 
 ously predicting its discoveries, its uncovering of the 
 resources of the earth and air, its growing control of 
 the tremendous forces which work in earth and air. 
 And it is significant that the recent progress of 
 science is steadily toward what our ancestors would 
 have considered fairy land ; for in all the imaginings 
 of the childhood of the race there was nothing more 
 marvellous or more audaciously improbable than the 
 transmission of the accents and modulations of 
 familiar voices through long distances, and the 
 power of communication across leagues of sea with- 
 out mechanical connections of any kind. 
 
 The faculty which created the fairy tale is the 
 same faculty which, supplemented by a broader ob- 
 servation and based on more accurate knowledge, 
 has broadened the range and activities of modern 
 man, made the world accessible to him, enabled him 
 to live in one place but to speak and act in places 
 thousands of miles distant, given him command of 
 colossal forces, and is fast making him rich on a 
 scale which would have seemed incredible to men 
 of a half-century ago. There is nothing in any 
 fairy tale more marvellous and inherently improba- 
 ble than many of the achievements of scientific 
 observation and invention, and we are only at the 
 beginning of the wonders that lie within the reach 
 of the human spirit ! 
 
 No one can understand the modern world with- 
 
Introduction vii 
 
 out the aid of the imagination, and as the frontiers 
 of knowledge are pushed still further away from 
 the obvious and familiar, there will be an increasing 
 tax on the imagination. The world of dead matter 
 which our fathers thought they understood has be- 
 come a world of subtle forces moving with incon- 
 ceivable velocity; nothing is inert, all things are 
 transformed into other and more elusive shapes pre- 
 cisely as the makers of the fairy tales foresaw and 
 predicted; the world lives in every atom just as 
 their world lived; forces lie just outside the range 
 of physical sight, but entirely within the range of 
 spiritual vision, precisely as the tellers of these old 
 stories divined; mystery and wonder enfold all 
 things, and not only evoke the full play of the mind, 
 but flood it with intimations and suggestions of the 
 presence of more elusive and subtle forces, of finer 
 and more obedient powers, as the world of fairies, 
 magi and demons enfolded the ancient earth of 
 daily toil and danger. 
 
 In a word, the fairy stories have come true ; they 
 are historical in the sense that they faithfully report 
 a stage of spiritual growth and predict a higher 
 order of realities through a deeper knowledge of 
 actualities. They were poetic renderings of facts 
 which science is fast verifying, chiefly by the use of 
 the same faculty which enriched early literature with 
 the myth and the fairy tale. The scientist has turned 
 poet in these later days, and the imagination which 
 once expressed itself in a free handling of facts so 
 as to make them answer the needs and demands of 
 the human spirit, now expresses itself in that 
 
viii Introduction 
 
 breadth of vision which reconstructs an extinct 
 animal from a bone and analyzes the Hght of a sun 
 flaming on the outermost boundaries of space. 
 
 This collection of tales, gathered from the rich 
 literature of the childhood of the world, or from the 
 books of the few modern men who have found the 
 key of that wonderful world, is put forth not only 
 without apology, but with the hope that it may 
 widen the demand for these charming reports of a 
 world in which the truths of our working world 
 are loyally upheld, while its hard facts are quietly 
 but authoritatively dismissed from attention. The 
 widest interpretation has been given to the fairy 
 tale, so as to include many of those classic romances 
 of childhood in which no fairy appears, but which 
 are invested with the air and are permeated with 
 the glorious freedom of fairy land. 
 
 No sane man or woman undervalues the immense 
 gains of the modern world in the knowledge of facts 
 and the application of ideas to things in order to 
 secure comfort, health, access to the treasure in the 
 earth and on its surface, the means of education 
 and greater freedom from the tyranny of toil by the 
 accumulation of the fruits of toil ; but no sane man 
 or woman believes that a mechanical age is other 
 than a transitional age, that the possession of things 
 is the final achievement of society, and that in multi- 
 plication of conveniences civilization will reach its 
 point of culmination. 
 
 We are so engrossed in getting rich that we for- 
 get that by and by, when we have become rich, we 
 shall have to learn how to live ; for work can never 
 
Introduction ix 
 
 be an end in itself ; it is a '* means of grace " when 
 it is not drudgery ; and it must, in the long run, be 
 a preparation for play. For play is not organized 
 idleness, frivolity set in a fanciful order; it is the 
 normal, spontaneous exercise of physical activity, 
 the wholesome gayety of the mind, the natu- 
 ral expression of the spirit, without self-con- 
 sciousness, constraint, or the tyranny of hours and 
 tasks. It is the highest form of energy, because 
 it is free and creative ; a joy in itself, and therefore 
 a joy in the world. This is the explanation of the 
 sense of freedom and elation which come from a 
 great work of art ; it is the instinctive perception of 
 the fact that while immense toil lies behind the 
 artist's skill, the soul of the creation came from be- 
 yond the world of work and the making of it was a 
 bit of play. The man of creative spirit is often a 
 tireless worker, but in his happiest hours he is at 
 play; for all work, when it rises into freedom and 
 power, is play. " We work," wrote a Greek thinker 
 of the most creative people who have yet appeared, 
 " in order that we may have leisure." The note of 
 that life was freedom ; its activity was not " evoked 
 by external needs, but was free, spontaneous and de- 
 lightful ; an ordered energy which stimulates all the 
 vital and mental powers." 
 
 Robert Louis Stevenson^ who knew well how to 
 touch work with the spirit and charm of play, re- 
 ports of certain evenings spent at a clubhouse near 
 Brussels, that the men who gathered there '* were 
 employed over the frivolous mercantile concerns of 
 Belgium during the day; but in the evening they 
 
X Introduction 
 
 found some hours for the serious concerns of Ufe." 
 They gave their days to commerce, but their even- 
 ings were devoted to more important interests ! 
 
 These words are written for those older pyeople 
 who have made the mistake of straying away from 
 childhood ; children do not read introductions, be- 
 cause they know that the valuable part of the book 
 is to be found in the later pages. They read the 
 stories; their elders read the introduction as well. 
 They both need the stuff of imagination, of which 
 myths, legends, and fairy tales are made. So much 
 may be said of these old stories that it is a serious 
 question where to begin, and a still more difficult 
 question where to end. For these tales are the first 
 outpourings of that spring of imagination whence 
 flow the most illuminating, inspiring, refreshing and 
 captivating thoughts and ideas about life. No 
 philosophy is deeper than that which underlies 
 these stories ; no psychology is more important than 
 that which finds its choicest illustration in them; 
 no chapter in the history of thought is more sug- 
 gestive and engrossing than that which records 
 their growth and divines their meaning. Fairy tales 
 and myths are so much akin that they are easily 
 transformed and exchange costumes without chang- 
 ing character ; while the legend, which belongs to a 
 later period, often reflects the large meaning of the 
 myth and the free fancy of the fairy tale. 
 
 As a class, children not only possess the faculty 
 of imagination, but are very largely occupied with 
 it during the most sensitive and formative years, 
 and those who lack it are brought under its spell by 
 
Introduction 
 
 XI 
 
 their fellows. They do not accurately distinguish 
 between the actual and the imaginary, and they live 
 at ease in a world out of which paths run in every 
 direction into wonderland. They begin their educa- 
 tion when they begin to play; for play not only 
 affords an outlet for their energy, and so supplies 
 one great means of growth and training, but places 
 them in social relations with their mates and in con- 
 scious contact with the world about them. The old 
 games that have been played by generations of chil- 
 dren not only precede the training of the school 
 and supplement it, but accomplish some results in 
 the nature of the child which are beyond the reach 
 of the school. When a crowd of boys are rushing 
 across country in " hounds and deer," they are 
 giving lungs, heart and muscles the best possible 
 exercise ; they are sharing certain rules of honor 
 with one another, expressed in that significant 
 phrase, '' fair play " ; and they are giving rein to 
 their imaginations in the very name of their occu- 
 pation. Body, spirit and imagination have their part 
 in every good game ; for the interest of a game lies 
 in its appeal to the imagination, as in '' hounds and 
 deer," or in its stimulus to activity, as in " tag " and 
 " hide-and-seek." 
 
 There are few chapters in the biography of the 
 childhood of men of genius more significant than 
 those which describe imaginary worlds which were, 
 for a time, as real as the actual world in which the 
 boy lived. Goethe entertained and mystified his 
 playmates with accounts of a certain garden in 
 which he wandered at will, but which they could 
 
xii Introduction 
 
 not find ; and De Quincey created a kingdom, with 
 all its complex relations and varied activities, which 
 he ruled with beneficence and affection until, in an 
 unlucky hour, he revealed his secret to his brother, 
 who straightway usurped his authority, and gov- 
 erned his subjects with such tyranny and cruelty 
 that De Quincey was compelled to save his people 
 by destroying them. 
 
 These elaborate and highly organized efforts of 
 the young imagination, of which boys and girls of 
 unusual inventiveness are capable, are imitated on 
 a smaller scale by all normal children. They endow 
 inanimate things with life, and play and suffer with 
 them as with their real playmates. The little girl 
 not only talks with her dolls, but weeps with and for 
 them when disaster overtakes them. The boy faces 
 foes of his own making in the woods, or at lonely 
 places in the road, who are quite as real to him as the 
 people with whom he lives. By common agreement 
 a locality often becomes a historic spot to a whole 
 group of boys ; enemies are met and overcome there ; 
 grave perils are bravely faced ; and the magic some- 
 times lingers long after the dream has been dis- 
 solved in the dawning light of definite knowledge. 
 Childhood is one long day of discovery ; first, to the 
 unfolding spirit, there is revealed a wonderland 
 partly actual and partly created by the action of the 
 mind; then follows the slow awakening, when the 
 growing boy or girl learns to distinguish between 
 fact and fancy, and to separate the real from the 
 imaginary. 
 
 This process of learning to " see things as they 
 
Introduction xiii 
 
 are " is often regarded as the substance of education, 
 and to be able to distinguish sharply and accurately 
 between reality and vision, actual and imaginary 
 image is accepted as the test of thorough training 
 of the intelligence. What really takes place is the 
 readjustment of the work of the faculties so as to 
 secure harmonious action ; and in the happy and 
 sound development of the nature the imagination 
 does not give place to observation, but deals with 
 principles, forces and laws instead of with things. 
 The loss of vision is never compensated for by the 
 gain of sight ; to see a thing one must use his mind 
 quite as much as his eye. It too often happens, as 
 the result of our educational methods, that in train- 
 ing the observer we blight the poet; and the poet 
 is, after all, the most important person in society. 
 He keeps the soul of his fellows alive. Without him 
 the modern world would become one vast, dreary, 
 soul-destroying Coketown, and man would sink to 
 the level of Gradgrind. The practical man de- 
 velops the resources of the country, the man of 
 vision discerns, formulates and directs its spiritual 
 policy and growth ; the mechanic builds the house, 
 but the architect creates it; the artisan makes the 
 tools, but the artist uses them ; the observer sees and 
 records the fact, but the scientist discovers the law ; 
 the man of affairs manages the practical concerns 
 of the world from day to day, but the poet makes it 
 spiritual, significant, interesting, worth living in. 
 
 The modern child passes through the same stages 
 as did the children of four thousand years ago. He, 
 too, is a poet. He believes that the world about him 
 
XIV Introduction 
 
 throbs with Hfe and is peopled with all manner of 
 strange, beautiful, powerful folk, who live just out- 
 side the range of his sight ; he, too, personifies light 
 and heat and storm and wind and cold as his re- 
 mote ancestors did. He, too, lives in and through 
 his imagination; and if, in later life, he grows in 
 power and becomes a creative man, his achievements 
 are the fruits of the free and vigorous life of his 
 imagination. The higher kinds of power, the higher 
 opportunities of mind, the richer resources, the 
 springs of the deeper happiness, are open to him in 
 the exact degree in which he is able to use his im- 
 agination with individual freedom and intelligence. 
 Formal education makes small provision for this 
 great need of his nature ; it trains his eye, his hand, 
 his faculty of observation, his ability to reason, his 
 capacity for resolute action; but it takes little ac- 
 count of that higher faculty which, cooperating with 
 the other faculties, makes him an architect instead of 
 a builder, an artist instead of an artisan, a poet in- 
 stead of a drudge. 
 
 The fairy tale belongs to the child and ought al- 
 ways to be within his reach, not only because it is his 
 special literary form and his nature craves it, but 
 because it is one of the most vital of the textbooks 
 offered to him in the school of life. In ultimate im- 
 portance it outranks the arithmetic, the grammar, 
 the geography, the manuals of science ; for without 
 the aid of the imagination none of these books is 
 really comprehensible. 
 
 Hamilton Wright Mabie. 
 
 March, 1905. 
 
Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
FAIRY TALES EVERY CHILD 
 SHOULD KNOW 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 ONE EYE, TWO EYES, THREE EYES 
 
 There was once a woman who had three daugh- 
 ters, of whom the eldest was named '' One Eye," be- 
 cause she had only one eye in the middle of her fore- 
 head. The second had two eyes, like other people, 
 and she was called '' Two Eyes." The youngest had 
 three eyes, two like her second sister, and one in the 
 middle of her forehead, like the eldest, and she bore 
 the name of " Three Eyes." 
 
 Now because little Two Eyes looked just like 
 other people, her mother and sisters could not en- 
 dure her. They said to her, '' You are not better 
 than common folks, with your two eyes ; you don't 
 belong to us." 
 
 So they pushed her about, and threw all their old 
 clothes to her for her to wear, and gave her only 
 the pieces that were left to eat, and did everything 
 that they could to make her miserable. It so hap- 
 pened that little Two Eyes was sent into the fields 
 to take care of the goats, and she was often very 
 hungry, although her sisters had as much as they 
 liked to eat. So one day she seated herself on a 
 mound in the field, and began to weep and cry so 
 bitterly that two little rivulets flowed from her eyes. 
 
2 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 Once, in the midst of her sorrow she looked up, and 
 saw a woman standing near her who said, " What 
 are you weeping for, little Two Eyes ? " 
 
 " I cannot help weeping," she replied ; " for be- 
 cause I have two eyes, like other people, my mother 
 and sisters cannot bear me ; they push me about 
 from one corner to another and make we wear their 
 old clothes, and give me nothing to eat but what is 
 left, so that I am always hungry. To-day they gave 
 me so little that I am nearly starved." 
 
 " Dry up your tears, little Two Eyes," said the 
 wise woman ; " I will tell you something to do 
 which will prevent you from ever being hungry 
 again. You have only to say to your own goat : 
 
 '' ' Little goat, if you're able, 
 Pray deck out my table,' 
 
 and immediately there will be a pretty little table 
 before you full of all sorts of good things for you 
 to eat, as much as you like. And when you have 
 had enough, and you do not want the table any 
 more, you need only say: 
 
 *' ' Little goat, when you're able, 
 Remove my nice table,' 
 
 and it will vanish from your eyes." 
 
 Then the wise woman went away. " Now," 
 thought little Two Eyes, '' I will try if what she 
 says is true, for I am very hungry," so she said: 
 
 " Little goat, if you're able, 
 Pray deck out my table." 
 
 The words were scarcely spoken, when a beauti- 
 
One Eye, Two Eyes, Three Eyes 3 
 
 ful little table stood really before her ; it had a white 
 cloth and plates, and knives and forks, and silver 
 spoons, and such a delicious dinner, smoking hot 
 as if it had just come from the kitchen. Then little 
 Two Eyes sat down and said the shortest grace she 
 knew — " Pray God be our guest for all time. 
 Amen " — before she allowed herself to taste any- 
 thing. But oh, how she did enjoy her dinner! and 
 when she had finished, she said, as the wise woman 
 had taught her: 
 
 " Little goat, when you're able, 
 Remove my nice table." 
 
 In a moment, the table and everything upon it had 
 disappeared. " That is a pleasant way to keep 
 house," said little Two Eyes, and felt quite con- 
 tented and happy. In the evening, when she went 
 home with the goat, she found an earthenware dish 
 with some scraps which her sisters had left for her, 
 but she did not touch them. The next morning she 
 went away with the goat, leaving them behind 
 where they had been placed for her. The first and 
 second times that she did so, the sisters did not 
 notice it; but when they found it happened every 
 day, they said one to the other, " There is something 
 strange about little Two Eyes, she leaves her sup- 
 per every day, and all that has been put for her has 
 been wasted ; she must get food somewhere else." 
 
 So they determined to find out the truth, and they 
 arranged that when Two Eyes took her goat to the 
 field. One Eye should go with her to take particular 
 notice of what she did, and discover if anything 
 was brought for her to eat and drink. 
 
4 Fairy Talcs Every Child Should Know 
 
 So when Two Eyes started with her goat, One 
 Eye said to her, " I am going with you to-day to 
 see if the goat gets her food properly while you are 
 watching the rest." 
 
 But Two Eyes knew what she had in her mind. 
 So she drove the goat into the long grass, and said, 
 '' Come, One Eye, let us sit down here and rest, and 
 I will sing to you." 
 
 One Eye seated herself, and, not being accus- 
 tomed to walk so far, or to be out in the heat of 
 the sun, she began to feel tired, and as little Two 
 Eyes kept on singing, she closed her one eye and 
 fell fast asleep. 
 
 When Two Eyes saw this, she knew that One 
 Eye could not betray her, so she said : 
 
 " Little goat, if you are able. 
 Come and deck my pretty table." 
 
 She seated herself when it appeared, and ate and 
 drank very quickly, and when she had finished she 
 said: 
 
 " Little goat, when you are able, 
 Come and clear away my table." 
 
 It vanished in the twinkling of an eye; and then 
 Two Eyes woke up One Eye, and said, " Little One 
 Eye, you are a clever one to watch goats ; for, while 
 you are asleep, they might be running all over the 
 world. Come, let us go home ! " 
 
 So they went to the house, and little Two Eyes 
 again left the scraps on the dish untouched, and 
 One Eye could not tell her mother whether little 
 Two Eyes had eaten anything in the field; for she 
 said to excuse herself, '' I was asleep." 
 
One Eye, Two Eyes, Three Eyes 5 
 
 The next day the mother said to Three Eyes, 
 *' You must go to the field this time, and find out 
 whether there is anyone who brings food to Httle 
 Two Eyes ; for she must eat and drink secretly." 
 
 So when little Two Eyes started with her goat, 
 Three Eyes followed, and said, '' I am going with 
 you to-day, to see if the goats are properly fed and 
 watched." 
 
 But Two Eyes knew her thoughts ; so she led the 
 goat through the long grass to tire Three Eyes, and 
 at last she said, " Let us sit down here and rest, 
 and I will sing to you. Three Eyes." 
 
 She was glad to sit down, for the walk and the 
 heat of the sun had really tired her; and, as her 
 sister continued her song, she was obliged to close 
 two of her eyes, and they slept, but not the third. 
 In fact. Three Eyes was wide awake with one eye, 
 and heard and saw all that Two Eyes did ; for poor 
 little Two Eyes, thinking she was asleep, said her 
 speech to the goat, and the table came with all the 
 good things on it, and was carried away when Two 
 Eyes had eaten enough; and the cunning Three 
 Eyes saw it all with her one eye. But she pre- 
 tended to be asleep when her sister came to wake 
 her and told her she was going home. 
 
 That evening, when little Two Eyes again left 
 the supper they placed aside for her. Three Eyes 
 said to her mother, " I know where the proud thing 
 gets her good eating and drinking ; " and then she 
 described all she had seen in the field. " I saw it 
 all with one eye," she said ; " for she had made my 
 other two eyes close with her fine singing, but 
 luckily the one in my forehead remained open." 
 
6 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 Then the envious mother cried out to poor Httle 
 Two Eyes, " You wish to have better food than we, 
 do you ? You shall lose your wish ! " She took up 
 a butcher's knife, went out, and stuck the good 
 little goat in the heart, and it fell dead. 
 
 When little Two Eyes saw this, she went out into 
 the field, seated herself on a mound, and wept most 
 bitter tears. 
 
 Presently the wise woman stood again before her, 
 and said, ''Little Two Eyes, why do you weep?" 
 
 *' Ah ! " she replied, " I must weep. The goat, 
 who every day spread my table so beautifully, has 
 been killed by my mother, and I shall have again to 
 suffer from hunger and sorrow." 
 
 " Little Two Eyes," said the wise woman, " I 
 will give you some good advice. Go home, and ask 
 your sister to give you the inside of the slaughtered 
 goat, and then go and bury it in the ground in front 
 of the house-door." 
 
 On saying this the wise woman vanished. 
 
 Little Two Eyes went home quickly, and said to 
 her sister, " Dear sister, give me some part of my 
 poor goat. I don't want anything valuable; only 
 give me the inside." 
 
 Her sister laughed, and said, ** Of course you can 
 have that, if you don't want anything else." 
 
 So little Two Eyes took the inside ; and in the 
 evening, when all was quiet, buried it in the ground 
 outside the house-door, as the wise woman had told 
 her to do. 
 
 The next morning, when they all rose and looked 
 out of the window, there stood a most wonderful 
 tree, with leaves of silver and apples of gold hang- 
 
One Eye, Tzvo Eyes, Three Eyes 7 
 
 ing between them. Nothing in the wide world 
 could be more beautiful or more costly. They none 
 of them knew how the tree could come there in one 
 night, excepting little Two Eyes. She supposed it 
 had grown up from the inside of the goat; for it 
 stood over where she had buried it in the earth. 
 
 Then said the mother to little One Eye, " Climb 
 up, my child, and break off some of the fruit from 
 the tree." 
 
 One Eye climbed up, but when she tried to catch 
 a branch and pluck one of the apples, it escaped 
 from her hand, and so it happened every time she 
 made the attempt, and, do what she would, she 
 could not reach one. 
 
 " Three Eyes," said the mother, " climb up, and 
 try what you can do ; perhaps you will be able to 
 see better with your three eyes than One Eye can." 
 
 One Eye slid down from the tree, and Three Eyes 
 climbed up. But Three Eyes was not more skilful ; 
 with all her efforts she could not draw the branches, 
 nor the fruit, near enough to pluck even a leaf, for 
 they sprang back as she put out her hand. 
 
 At last the mother was impatient, and climbed up 
 herself, but with no more success, for, as she ap- 
 peared to grasp a branch, or fruit, her hand closed 
 upon thin air. 
 
 " May I try ? " said little Two Eyes ; " perhaps I 
 may succeed." 
 
 " You, indeed ! " cried her sisters ; " you, with 
 your two eyes, what can you do ? " 
 
 But Two Eyes climbed up, and the golden apples 
 did not fly back from her when she touched them, 
 but almost laid themselves on her hand, and she 
 
8 Fairy Talcs Every Child Should Know 
 
 plucked them one after another, till she carried 
 down her own little apron full. 
 
 The mother took them from her, and gave them 
 to her sisters, as she said little Two Eyes did not 
 handle them properly; but this was only from jeal- 
 ousy, because little Two Eyes was the only one who 
 could reach the fruit, and she went into the house 
 feeling more spiteful to her than ever. 
 
 It happened that while all three sisters were 
 standing under the tree together a young knight 
 rode by. " Run away, quick, and hide yourself, 
 little Two Eyes; hide yourself somewhere, for we 
 shall be quite ashamed for you to be seen." Then 
 they pushed the poor girl, in great haste, under an 
 empty cask, which stood near the tree, and several 
 of the golden apples that she had plucked along 
 with her. 
 
 As the knight came nearer they saw he was a 
 handsome man ; and presently he halted, and looked 
 with wonder and pleasure at the beautiful tree with 
 its silver leaves and golden fruit. 
 
 At last he spoke to the sisters, and asked : '' To 
 whom does this beautiful tree belong? If a man 
 possessed only one branch he might obtain all he 
 wished for in the world." 
 
 *' This tree belongs to us," said the two sisters, 
 '* and we will break off a branch for you if you 
 like." They gave themselves a great deal of trouble 
 in trying to do as they offered; but all to no pur- 
 pose, for the branches and the fruit evaded their 
 efforts, and sprung back at every touch. 
 
 '' This is wonderful," exclaimed the knight, 
 
One Eye, Two Eyes, Three Eyes g 
 
 " that the tree should belong to you, and yet you are 
 not able to gather even a branch." 
 
 They persisted, however, in declaring that the 
 tree was their own property. At this moment little 
 Two Eyes, who was angry because her sisters had 
 not told the truth, caused two of the golden apples 
 to slip out from under the cask, and they rolled on 
 till they reached the feet of the knight's horse. 
 When he saw them, he asked in astonishment where 
 they came from. 
 
 The two ugly maidens replied that they had an- 
 other sister, but they dared not let him see her, for 
 she had only two eyes, like common people, and was 
 named little Two Eyes. 
 
 But the knight felt very anxious to see her, and 
 called out, *' Little Two Eyes, come here.'' Then 
 came Two Eyes, quite comforted, from the empty 
 cask, and the knight was astonished to find her so 
 beautiful. 
 
 Then he said, '' Little Two Eyes, can you break 
 off a branch of the tree for me ? " 
 
 " Oh yes," she replied, " I can, very easily, for 
 the tree belongs to me." And she climbed up, and, 
 without any trouble, broke off a branch with its 
 silver leaves and golden fruit and gave it to the 
 knight. 
 
 He looked down at her as she stood by his horse, 
 and said : " Little Two Eyes, what shall I give you 
 for this?" 
 
 " Ah ! " she answered, " I suffer from hunger 
 and thirst, and sorrow, and trouble, from early 
 morning till late at night; if you would only take 
 me with you, and release me, I should be so happy." 
 
lo Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 Then the knight Hfted the Httle maiden on his 
 horse, and rode home with her to his father's castle. 
 There she was given beautiful clothes to wear, and 
 as much to eat and drink as she wished, and as she 
 grew up the young knight loved her so dearly that 
 they were married with great rejoicings. 
 
 Now, when the two sisters saw little Two Eyes 
 carried away by the handsome young knight, they 
 were overjoyed at their good fortune. ** The won- 
 derful tree belongs to us now," they said ; " even if 
 we cannot break off a branch, yet everybody who 
 passes will stop to admire it, and make acquaintance 
 with us, and, who knows? we may get husbands 
 after all." 
 
 But when they rose the next morning, lo! the 
 tree had vanished, and with it all their hopes. And 
 on this very morning, when little Two Eyes looked 
 out of her chamber window of the castle, she saw, 
 to her great joy, that the tree had followed her. 
 
 Little Two Eyes lived for a long time in great 
 happiness ; but she heard nothing of her sisters, till 
 one day two poor women came to the castle, to beg 
 for alms. Little Two Eyes saw them, and, looking 
 earnestly in their faces, she recognised her two 
 sisters, who had become so poor that they were 
 obliged to beg their bread from door to door. 
 
 But the good sister received them most kindly, 
 and promised to take care of them and give them 
 all they wanted. And then they did indeed repent 
 and feel sorry for having treated her- so badly in 
 their youthful days. ^^^^ 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 THE MAGIC MIRROR 
 
 One day in the middle of winter, when the snow- 
 flakes fell from the sky like feathers, a queen sat at 
 a window netting. Her netting-needle was of black 
 ebony, and as she worked, and the snow glittered, 
 she pricked her finger, and three drops of blood fell 
 into the snow. The red spots looked so beautiful 
 in the white snow that the queen thought to herself : 
 
 " Oh, if I only had a little child, I should like it 
 to be as fair as snow, as rosy as the red blood, and 
 with hair and eyes as black as ebony." 
 
 Very soon after this the queen had a little 
 daughter who was very fair, had rosy cheeks, and 
 hair as black as ebony ; and they gave her the name 
 of Snow-white. But at the birth of the little child 
 the queen died. 
 
 When Snow-white was a year old, the king took 
 another wife. She was very handsome, but so 
 proud and vain that she could not endure that any- 
 one should surpass her in beauty. She possessed a 
 wonderful mirror, and when she stood before it to 
 look at herself she would say: 
 
 " Mirror, mirror on the wall, 
 Am I most beautiful of all ? " 
 
12 Fairy Talcs Every Child Should Know 
 
 Then the mirror would reply: 
 
 " Young queen, thou art so wondrous fair. 
 None can with thee at all compare." 
 
 Then she would go away quite contented, for 
 she knew the magic mirror could speak only the 
 truth. 
 
 Years went by, and as Snow-white grew up, she 
 became day after day more beautiful, till she 
 reached the age of seven years, and then people 
 began to talk about her, and say that she would be 
 more lovely even than the queen herself. So the 
 proud woman went to her magic looking-glass, and 
 asked : 
 
 " Mirror, mirror on the wall. 
 Am I most beautiful of all? " 
 
 But the mirror answered: 
 
 " Queen, thou are lovely still to see. 
 But Snow-white w^ill be 
 A thousand times more beautiful than thee." 
 
 Then the queen was terrified, and turned green 
 and yellow with jealousy. If she had caught sight 
 of Snow-white at that moment, she would have been 
 ready to tear her heart out of her body, she hated 
 the maiden so fiercely. 
 
 And this jealousy and envy grew every day 
 stronger and stronger in her heart, like a disease, 
 till she had no rest day or night. 
 
 At last she sent for a hunter, who lived near a 
 forest, and said to him, " Hunter, I want to get rid 
 of that child. Take her out into the wood, and if 
 you bring me some proofs that she is dead, I will 
 
The Magic Mirror 13 
 
 reward you handsomely. Never let her appear be- 
 fore my eyes again." 
 
 So the hunter enticed the child into the wood ; but 
 when he took out his hunting-knife to thrust into 
 Snow-white's innocent heart, she fell on her knees 
 and wept, and said, " Ah, dear hunter, leave me my 
 life ; I will run away into the wild wood, and never, 
 never come home any more." 
 
 She looked so innocent and beautiful as she knelt, 
 that the hunter's heart was moved with compas- 
 sion : " Run away, then, thou poor child," he cried ; 
 " I cannot harm thee." 
 
 Snow-white thanked him so sweetly, and was out 
 of sight in a few moments. 
 
 " She will be devoured by wild beasts," he said 
 to himself. But the thought that he had not killed 
 her was as if a stone-weight had been lifted from 
 his heart. 
 
 To satisfy the queen, he took part of the inside of 
 a young fawn, which the wicked woman thought 
 was poor little Snow-white, and was overjoyed to 
 think she was dead. 
 
 But the poor little motherless child, when she 
 found herself alone in the wood, and saw nothing 
 but trees and leaves, was dreadfully frightened, and 
 knew not what to do. At last she began to run 
 over the sharp stones and through the thorns, and 
 though the wild beasts sprang out before her, they 
 did her no harm. She ran on as long as she could, 
 till her little feet became quite sore; and towards 
 evening she saw, to her great joy, a pretty little 
 house. So she went up to it, and found the door 
 open aTid no one at home. 
 
14 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 It was a tiny little house, but everything in it was 
 so clean and neat and elegant that it is beyond de- 
 scription. In the middle of the room stood a small 
 table, covered with a snow-white table-cloth, ready 
 for supper. On it were arranged seven little plates, 
 seven little spoons, seven little knives and forks, 
 and seven mugs. By the wall stood seven little 
 beds, near each other, covered with white quilts. 
 
 Poor Snow-white, who was hungry and thirsty, 
 ate a few vegetables and a little bread from each 
 plate, and drank a little drop of wine from each cup, 
 for she did not like to take all she wanted from one 
 alone. After this, feeling very tired, she thought 
 she would lie down and rest on one of the beds, but 
 she found it difficult to choose one to suit her. One 
 was too long, another too short; so she tried them 
 all till she came to the seventh, and that was so com- 
 fortable that she laid herself down, and was soon 
 fast asleep. 
 
 When it was quite dark the masters of the house 
 came home. They were seven little dwarfs, who 
 dug and searched in the mountains for minerals. 
 First they lighted seven little lamps, and as soon as 
 the room was full of light they saw that some one 
 had been there, for everything did not stand in the 
 order in which they had left it. 
 
 Then said the first, '' Who has been sitting in my 
 little chair?" 
 
 The second exclaimed, " Who has been eating 
 from my little plate ? " 
 
 The third cried, " Some one has taken part of 
 my bread." 
 
The Magic Mirror 15 
 
 " Who has been eating my vegetables ? " said the 
 fourth. 
 
 Then said the fifth, " Some one has used my 
 fork." 
 
 The sixth cried, " And who has been cutting with 
 my knife? " 
 
 " And some one has been drinking out of my 
 cup," said the seventh. 
 
 Then the eldest looked at his bed, and, seeing that 
 it looked tumbled, cried out that some one had been 
 upon it. The others came running forward, and 
 found all their beds in the same condition. But 
 when the seventh approached his bed, and saw 
 Snow-white lying there fast asleep, he called the 
 others, who came quickly, and holding their lights 
 over their heads, cried out in wonder as they beheld 
 the sleeping child. " Oh, what a beautiful little 
 child ! " they said to each other, and were so de- 
 lighted that they would not awaken her, but left her 
 to sleep as long as she liked in the little bed, while 
 its owner slept with one of his companions, and so 
 the night passed away. 
 
 In the morning, when Snow-white awoke, and 
 saw all the dwarfs, she was terribly frightened. 
 But they spoke kindly to her, till she lost all fear, 
 and they asked her name. 
 
 " I am called Snow-white," she replied. 
 
 " But how came you to our house? " asked one. 
 
 Then she related to them all that had happened; 
 how her stepmother had sent her into the wood with 
 the hunter, who had spared her life, and that, after 
 wandering about for a whole day, she had found 
 *heir house. 
 
1 6 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 The dwarfs talked a little while together, and 
 then one said, '* Do you think you could be our little 
 housekeeper, to make the beds, cook the dinner, and 
 wash and sew and knit for us, and keep everything 
 neat and clean and orderly? If you can, then you 
 shall stay here with us, and nobody shall hurt you." 
 
 '' Oh yes, I will try," said Snow-white. So they 
 let her stay, and she was a clever little thing. She 
 managed very well, and kept the house quite clean 
 and in order. And while they were gone to the 
 mountains to find gold, she got their supper ready, 
 and they were very happy together. 
 
 But every morning when they left her, the kind 
 little dwarfs warned Snow-white to be careful. 
 While the maiden was alone they knew she was in 
 danger, and told her not to show herself, for her 
 stepmother would soon find out where she was, and 
 said, '' Whatever you do, let nobody into the house 
 while we are gone." 
 
 After the wicked queen had proved, as she 
 thought, that Snow-white was dead, she felt quite 
 satisfied there was no one in the world now likely 
 to become so beautiful as herself, so she stepped up 
 to her mirror and asked : 
 
 " Mirror, mirror on the wall. 
 Who is most beautiful of all?" 
 
 To her vexation the mirror replied: 
 
 " Fair queen, at home there is none like thee, 
 But over the mountains is Snow-white free. 
 With seven little dwarfs, who are strange to see; 
 A thousand times fairer than thou is she." 
 
The Magic Mirror 17 
 
 The queen was furious when she heard this, for 
 she knew the mirror was truthful, and that the 
 hunter must have deceived her, and that Snow- 
 white still lived. So she sat and pondered over 
 these facts, thinking what would be best to do, for 
 as long as she was not the most beautiful woman 
 in the land, her jealousy gave her no peace. After 
 a time, she decided what to do. First, she painted 
 her face, and whitened her hair ; then she dressed 
 herself in old woman's clothes, and was so dis- 
 guised that no one could have recognised her. 
 
 Watching an opportunity, she left the castle, and 
 took her way to the wood near the mountains, 
 where the seven little dwarfs lived. When she 
 reached the door, she knocked, and cried, " Beauti- 
 ful goods to sell ; beautiful goods to sell." 
 
 Snow-white, when she heard it, peeped through 
 the window, and said, *' Good-day, old lady. What 
 have you in your basket for me to, buy? " 
 
 " Everything that is pretty," she replied ; " laces, 
 and pearls, and earrings, and bracelets of every 
 colour ; " and she held up her basket, which was 
 lined with glittering silk. 
 
 " I can let in this respectable old woman," 
 thought Snow-white ; " she will not harm me." So 
 she unbolted the door, and told her to come in. Oh, 
 how delighted Snow-white was with the pretty 
 things ; she bought several trinkets, and a beautiful 
 silk lace for her stays, but she did not see the evil 
 eye of the old woman who was watching her. Pres- 
 ently she said, " Child, come here ; I will show you 
 how to lace your stays proj>erly." Snow-white had 
 no suspicion, so she placed herself before the old 
 
1 8 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 woman that she might lace her stays. But no sooner 
 was the lace in the holes than she began to lace so 
 fast and pull so tight that Snow-white could not 
 breathe, and presently fell down at her feet as if 
 dead. 
 
 '' Now you are beautiful indeed," said the woman, 
 and, fancying she heard footsteps, she rushed away 
 as quickly as she could. 
 
 Not long after, the seven dwarfs came home, and 
 they were terribly frightened to see dear little 
 Snow-white lying on the ground without motion, 
 as if she were dead. They lifted her up, and saw 
 in a moment that her stays had been laced too tight. 
 Quickly they cut the stay-lace in two, till Snow- 
 white began to breathe a little, and after a time was 
 restored to life. But when the dwarfs heard what 
 had happened, they said : " That old market-woman 
 was no other than your wicked stepmother. Snow- 
 white, you must never again let anyone in while we 
 are not with you." 
 
 The wicked queen when she returned home, after, 
 as she thought, killing Snow-white, went to her 
 looking-glass and asked : 
 
 " Mirror, mirror on the wall, 
 Am I most beautiful of all ? " 
 
 Then answered the mirror: 
 
 '* Queen, thou art not the fairest now ; 
 Snow-white over the mountain's brow 
 A thousand times fairer is than thou." 
 
 When she heard this she was so terrified that the 
 blood rushed to her heart, for she knew that after 
 
The Magic Mirror 19 
 
 all she had done Snow-white was still alive. " I 
 must think of something else," she said to herself, 
 " to get rid of that odious child." 
 
 Now this wicked queen had some knowledge of 
 witchcraft, and she knew how to poison a comb, so 
 that whoever used it would fall dead. This the 
 wicked stepmother soon got ready, and dressing 
 herself again like an old woman, but quite different 
 from the last, she started off to travel over the 
 mountains to the dwarfs' cottage. 
 
 When Snow-white heard the old cry, " Goods to 
 sell, fine goods to sell," she looked out of the window 
 and said : 
 
 " Go away, go away ; I must not let you in." 
 
 " Look at this, then," said the woman ; " you 
 shall have it for your own if you like," and she held 
 yp before the child's eyes the bright tortoise-shell 
 comb which she had poisoned. 
 
 Poor Snow-white could not refuse such a present, 
 so she opened the door and let the woman in, quite 
 forgetting the advice of the dwarfs. After she had 
 bought a few things, the old woman said, " Let me 
 try this comb in your hair ; it is so fine it will make 
 it beautifully smooth and glossy." 
 
 So Snow-white, thinking no wrong, stood before 
 the woman to have her hair dressed ; but no sooner 
 had the comb touched the roots of her hair than the 
 poison took effect, and the maiden fell to the ground 
 lifeless. 
 
 " You paragon of beauty," said the wicked 
 woman, ** all has just happened as I expected," and 
 then she went away quickly. 
 
 Fortunately evening soon arrived, and the seven 
 
20 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 dwarfs returned home. When they saw Snow- 
 white lying dead on the ground, they knew at once 
 that the stepmother had been there again; but on 
 seeing the poisoned comb in her hair they pulled it 
 out quickly, and Snow-white very soon came to her- 
 self, and related all that had passed. 
 
 Again they warned her not to let anyone enter 
 the house during their absence, and on no account 
 to open the door; but Snow-white was not clever 
 enough to resist her clever wicked stepmother, and 
 she forgot to obey. 
 
 The wicked queen felt sure now that she had 
 really killed Snow-white ; so as soon as she returned 
 home she went to her looking-glass, and inquired : 
 
 " Mirror, mirror on the wall. 
 Who is most beautiful of all? " 
 
 But the mirror replied: 
 
 " Queen, thou art the fairest here. 
 But not when Snow-white is near ; 
 Over the mountains still is she, 
 
 ' Fairer a thousand times than thee." 
 
 As the looking-glass thus replied, the queen 
 trembled and quaked with rage. " Snow-white shall 
 die," cried she, " if it costs me my own life ! " 
 
 Then she went into a lonely forbidden chamber 
 where no one was allowed to come, and poisoned a 
 beautiful apple. Outwardly it looked ripe and 
 tempting, of a pale green with rosy cheeks, so that 
 it made everyone's mouth water to look at it, but 
 whoever ate even a small piece must die. 
 
 As soon as this apple was ready, the wicked queen 
 
The Magic Mirror 21 
 
 painted her face, disguised her hair, dressed herself 
 as a farmer's wife, and went again over the mount- 
 ains to the dwarfs' cottage. 
 
 When she knocked at the door. Snow-white 
 stretched her head out of the window, and said, '' I 
 dare not let you in ; the seven dwarfs have for- 
 bidden me." 
 
 '' But I am all right," said the farmer's wife. 
 " Stay, I will show you my apples. Are they not 
 beautiful? let me make you a present of one." 
 
 " No, thank you," cried Snow-white ; " I dare not 
 take it." 
 
 '* What ! " cried the woman, " are you afraid it 
 is poisoned? Look here now, I will cut the apple 
 in halves; you shall have the rosy-cheek side, and 
 I will eat the other." 
 
 The apple was so cleverly made that the red 
 side alone was poisonous. Snow-white longed so 
 much for the beautiful fruit as she saw the farmer's 
 wife eat one half that she could not any longer 
 resist, but stretched out her hand from the window 
 and took the poisoned half. But no sooner had she 
 taken one mouthful than she fell on the ground 
 dead. 
 
 Then the wicked queen glanced in at the window 
 with a horrible look in her eye, and laughed aloud 
 as she exclaimed: 
 
 " White as snow, red as blood, and black as 
 ebony ; this time the dwarfs will not be able to 
 awake thee." 
 
 And as soon as she arrived at home, and asked 
 her mirror who was the most beautiful in the land, 
 it replied : 
 
2 2 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 " Fair queen, there is none in all the land 
 So beautiful as thou." 
 
 Then had her envious heart rest, at least such rest 
 as a heart full of envy and malice ever can have. 
 
 The little dwarfs, when they came home in the 
 evening, found poor Snow-white on the ground; 
 but though they lifted her up, there were no signs 
 of breath from her mouth, and they found she was 
 really dead. Yet they tried in every way to restore 
 her; they tried to extract the poison from her lips, 
 they combed her hair, and washed it with wine and 
 water, but all to no purpose : the dear child gave no 
 signs of life, and at last they knew she was dead. 
 Then they laid her on a bier, and the seven dwarfs 
 seated themselves round her, and wept and mourned 
 for three days. They would have buried her then, 
 but there was no change in her appearance ; her face 
 was as fresh, and her cheeks and lips had their usual 
 colour. Then said one, " We cannot lay this beauti- 
 ful child in the dark, cold earth." 
 
 So they agreed to have a coffin made entirely of 
 glass, transparent all over, that they might watch 
 for any signs of decay, and they wrote in letters of 
 gold her name on the lid, and that she was the 
 daughter of a king. The coffin was placed on the 
 side of the mountain, and each of them watched it 
 by turns, so that it was never left alone. And the 
 birds of the air came near and mourned for Snow- 
 white; first the owl, then the raven, and at last the 
 dove. Snow-white lay for a long, long time in the 
 glass coffin, but showed not the least signs of decay. 
 It seemed as if she slept; for her skin was snow 
 
The Magic Mirror 23 
 
 white, her cheeks rosy red, and her hair black as 
 ebony. 
 
 It happened one day that the son of a king, while 
 riding in the forest, came by chance upon the 
 dwarfs' house and asked for a night's lodging. As 
 he left the next morning he saw the coffin on the 
 mountain-side, with beautiful Snow-white lying in 
 it, and read what was written upon the lid in letters 
 of gold. 
 
 Then he said to the dwarfs, '' Let me have this 
 coffin, and I will give you for it whatever you ask." 
 
 But the elder dwarf answered, " We would not 
 give it thee for all the gold in the world." 
 
 But the prince answered, " Let me have it as a 
 gift, then. I know not why, but my heart is drawn 
 towards this beautiful child, and I feel I cannot live 
 without her. If you will let me have her, she shall 
 be treated with the greatest honour and respect as 
 one dearly beloved." 
 
 As he thus spoke the good little dwarfs were full 
 of sympathy for him, and gave him the coffin. Then 
 the prince called his servants, and the coffin was 
 placed on their shoulders, and they carried it away, 
 followed by the king's son, who watched it care- 
 fully. Now it happened that one of them made a 
 false step and stumbled. This shook the coffin, and 
 caused the poisoned piece of apple which Snow- 
 white had bitten to roll out of her mouth. A little 
 while after she suddenly opened her eyes, lifted up 
 the coffin-lid, raised herself and was again alive. 
 
 " Oh ! where am I ? " she cried. 
 
 Full of joy, the king's son approached her, and 
 
24 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 said, '' Dear Snow-white, you are safe ; you are with 
 me." 
 
 Then he related to her all that had happened, and 
 what the little dwarfs had told him about her, and 
 said at last, '' I love you better than all in the world 
 besides, dear little Snow-white, and you must come 
 with me to my father's castle and be my wife." 
 
 Then was Snow-white taken out of the coffin and 
 placed in a carriage to travel with the prince, and 
 the king was so pleased with his son's choice that 
 the marriage was soon after celebrated with great 
 pomp and magnificence. 
 
 Now it happened that the stepmother of Snow- 
 white was invited, among other guests, to the wed- 
 ding-feast. Before she left her house she stood in 
 all her rich dress before the magic mirror to admire 
 her own appearance, but she could not help saying : 
 
 " Mirror, mirror on the wall. 
 Am I most beautiful of all? " 
 
 Then to her surprise the mirror replied: 
 
 " Fair queen, thou art the fairest here, 
 But at the palace, now. 
 The bride will prove a thousand times 
 More beautiful than thou." 
 
 Then the wicked woman uttered a curse, and was 
 so dreadfully alarmed that she knew not what to do. 
 At first she declared she would not go to. this wed- 
 ding at all, but she felt it impossible to rest until 
 she had seen the bride, so she determined to go. 
 But what was her astonishment and vexation when 
 
The Magic Mirror 25 
 
 she recognised in the young bride Snow-white her- 
 self, now grown a charming young woman, and 
 richly dressed in royal robes ! Her rage and terror 
 were so great that she stood still and could not move 
 for some minutes. At last she went into the ball- 
 room, but the slippers she wore were to her as iron 
 bands full of coals of fire, in which she was obliged 
 to dance. And so in the red, glowing shoes she 
 continued to dance till she fell dead on the floor, a 
 sad example of envy and jealousy. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 THE ENCHANTED STAG 
 
 There were once a brother and sister who loved 
 each other dearly ; their mother was dead, and their 
 father had married again a woman who was most 
 unkind and cruel to them. One day the boy took 
 his sister's hand, and said to her, " Dear little sister, 
 since our mother died we have not had one happy 
 hour. Our stepmother gives us dry hard crusts 
 for dinner and supper; she often knocks us about, 
 and threatens to kick us out of the house. Even 
 the little dogs under the table fare better than we do, 
 for she often throws them nice pieces to eat. 
 Heaven pity us ! Oh, if our dear mother knew ! 
 Come, let us go out into the wide world ! " 
 
 So they went out, and wandered over fields and 
 meadows the whole day till evening. At last they 
 found themselves in a large forest ; it began to rain, 
 and the little sister said, " See, brother, heaven and 
 our hearts weep together." At last, tired out with 
 hunger and sorrow, and the long journey, they 
 crept into a hollow tree, laid themselves down, and 
 slept till morning. 
 
 When they awoke the sun was high in the 
 heavens, and shone brightly into the hollow tree, so 
 they left their place of shelter and wandered away 
 in search of water. 
 
The Enchanted Stag 27 
 
 *' Oh, I am so thirsty ! " said the boy. " If we 
 could only find a brook or a stream." He stopped 
 to listen, and said, '' Stay, I think I hear a running 
 stream." So he took his sister by the hand, and 
 they ran together to find it. 
 
 Now, the stepmother of these poor children was 
 a wicked witch. She had seen the children go away, 
 and, following them cautiously like a snake, had be- 
 witched all the springs and streams in the forest. 
 The pleasant trickling of a brook over the pebbles 
 was heard by the children as they reached it, and 
 the boy was just stooping to drink, when the sister 
 heard in the babbling of the brook: 
 
 " Whoever drinks of me, a tiger soon will be." 
 
 Then she cried quickly, " Stay, brother, stay ! do 
 not drink, or you will become a wild beast, and tear 
 me to pieces." 
 
 Thirsty as he was, the brother conquered his 
 desire to drink at her words, and said, " Dear sister, 
 I will wait till we come to a spring." So they 
 wandered farther, but as they approached, she heard 
 in the bubbling spring the words — 
 
 " Who drinks of me, a wolf will be." 
 
 " Brother, I pray you, do not drink of this brook ; 
 you will be changed into a wolf, and devour me." 
 
 Again the brother denied himself and promised to 
 wait ; but he said, " At the next stream I must drink, 
 say what you will, my thirst is so great." 
 
 Not far off ran a pretty streamlet, looking clear 
 
28 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 and bright; but here also in its murmuring waters, 
 the sister heard the words — 
 
 " Who dares to drink of me, 
 Turned to a stag will be." 
 
 " Dear brother, do not drink," she began ; but 
 she was too late, for her brother had already knelt 
 by the stream to drink, and as the first drop of water 
 touched his lips he became a fawn. How the little 
 sister wept over the enchanted brother, and the 
 fawn wept also. 
 
 He did not run away, but stayed close to her; 
 and at last she said, " Stand still, dear fawn ; don't 
 fear, I must take care of you, but I will never leave 
 you." So she untied her little golden garter and 
 fastened it round the neck of the fawn; then she 
 gathered some soft green rushes, and braided them 
 into a soft string, which she fastened to the fawn's 
 golden collar, and then led him away into the depths 
 of the forest. 
 
 After wandering about for some time, they at 
 last found a little deserted hut, and the sister was 
 overjoyed, for she thought it would form a nice 
 shelter for them both. So she led the fawn in, and 
 then went out alone, to gather moss and dried leaves, 
 to make him a soft bed. 
 
 Every morning she went out to gather dried 
 roots, nuts, and berries, for her own food, and 
 sweet fresh grass for the fawn, which he ate out of 
 her hand, and the poor little animal went out with 
 her, and played about as happy as the day was long. 
 
 When evening came, and the poor sister felt tired, 
 
The Enchanted Stag 29 
 
 she would kneel down and say her prayers, and then 
 lay her delicate head on the fawn's back, which was 
 a soft warm pillow, on which she could sleep peace- 
 fully. Had this dear brother only kept his own 
 proper form, how happy they would have been to- 
 gether ! After they had been alone in the forest for 
 some time, and the little sister had grown a lovely 
 maiden, and the fawn a large stag, a numerous hunt- 
 ing party came to the forest, and amongst them the 
 king of the country. 
 
 The sounding horn, the barking of the dogs, the 
 holloa of the huntsmen, resounded through the for- 
 est, and were heard by the stag, who became eager 
 to join his companions. 
 
 " Oh dear," he said, " do let me go and see the 
 hunt; I cannot restrain myself." And he begged 
 so hard that at last she reluctantly consented. 
 
 " But remember," she said, " I must lock the cot- 
 tage door against those huntsmen, so when you 
 come back in the evening, and knock, I shall not 
 admit you, unless you say, '' Dear little sister let me 
 in." 
 
 He bounded off as she spoke, scarcely stopping to 
 listen, for it was so delightful for him to breathe 
 the fresh air and be free again. 
 
 He had not run far when the king's chief hunter 
 caught sight of the beautiful animal, and started off 
 in chase of him ; but it was no easy matter to over- 
 take such rapid footsteps. Once, when he thought 
 he had him safe, the fawn sprang over the bushes 
 and disappeared. 
 
 As it was now nearly dark, he ran up to the little 
 cottage, knocked at the door, and cried, '^ Dear little 
 
30 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 sister, let me in." The door was instantly opened, 
 and oh, how glad his sister was to see him safely 
 resting on his soft pleasant bed! 
 
 A few days after this, the huntsmen were again 
 in the forest; and when the fawn heard the holloa, 
 he could not rest in peace, but begged his sister 
 again to let him go. 
 
 She opened the door, and said, " I will let you go 
 this time ; but pray do not forget to say what I told 
 you, when you return this evening." 
 
 The chief hunter very soon espied the beautiful 
 fawn with the golden collar, pointed it out to the 
 king, and they determined to hunt it. 
 
 They chased him with all their skill till the even- 
 ing; but he was too light and nimble for them to 
 catch, till a shot wounded him slightly in the foot, 
 so that he was obliged to hide himself in the bushes, 
 and, after the huntsmen were gone, limp slowly 
 home. 
 
 One of them, however, determined to follow him 
 at a distance, and discover where he went. What 
 was his surprise at seeing him go up to a door and 
 knock, and to hear him say, " Dear little sister, let 
 me in." The door was only opened a little way, 
 and quickly shut ; but the huntsman had seen enough 
 to make him full of wonder, when he returned and 
 described to the king what he had seen. 
 
 " We will have one more chase to-morrow," said 
 the king, " and discover this mystery." 
 
 In the meantime the loving sister was terribly 
 alarmed at finding the stag's foot wounded and 
 bleeding. She quickly washed off the blood, and, 
 after bathing the wound, placed healing herbs on it, 
 
The Enchanted Stag 31 
 
 and said, " Lie down on your bed, dear fawn, and 
 the wound will soon heal, if you rest your foot." 
 
 In the morning the wound was so much better 
 that the fawn felt the foot almost as strong as ever, 
 and so, when he again heard the holloa of the 
 hunters, he could not rest. " Oh, dear sister, I must 
 go once more; it will be easy for me to avoid the 
 hunters now, and my foot feels quite well; they 
 will not hunt me unless they see me running, and I 
 don't mean to do that." 
 
 But his sister wept, and begged him not to go: 
 " If they kill you, dear fawn, I shall be here alone 
 in the forest, forsaken by the whole world." 
 
 " And I shall die of grief," he said, " if I remain 
 here listening to the hunter's horn." 
 
 So at length his sister, with a heavy heart, set 
 him free, and he bounded away joyfully into the 
 forest. 
 
 As soon as the king caught sight of him, he said 
 to the huntsmen, " Follow that stag about, but don't 
 hurt him." So they hunted him all day, but at the 
 approach of sunset the king said to the hunter who 
 had followed the fawn the day before, ** Come and 
 show me the little cottage." 
 
 So they went together, and when the king saw 
 it he sent his companion home, and went on alone 
 so quickly that he arrived there before the fawn ; 
 and, going up to the little door, knocked and said 
 softly, " Dear little sister, let me in." 
 
 As the door opened, the king stepped in, and in 
 great astonishment saw a maiden more beautiful 
 than he had ever seen in his life standing before 
 him. But how frightened she felt to see instead of 
 
32 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 her dear little fawn a noble gentleman walk in with 
 a gold crown on his head. 
 
 However, he appeared very friendly, and after a 
 little talk he held out his hand to her, and said, 
 " Wilt thou go with me to my castle and be my dear 
 wife? " 
 
 " Ah yes," replied the maiden, " I would will- 
 ingly ; but I cannot leave my dear fawn : he must 
 go with me wherever I am." 
 
 " He shall remain with you as long as you live," 
 replied the king, ** and I will never ask you to for- 
 sake him." 
 
 While they were talking, the fawn came bound- 
 ing in, looking quite well and happy. Then his 
 sister fastened the string of rushes to his collar, 
 took it in her hand, and led him away from the cot- 
 tage in the wood to where the king's beautiful horse 
 waited for him. 
 
 The king placed the maiden before him on his 
 horse and rode away to his castle, the fawn follow- 
 ing by their side. Soon after, their marriage was 
 celebrated with great splendour, and the fawn was 
 taken the greatest care of, and played where he 
 pleased, or roamed about the castle grounds in hap- 
 piness and safety. 
 
 In the meantime the wicked stepmother, who had 
 caused these two young people such misery, sup- 
 posed that the sister had been devoured by wild 
 beasts, and that the fawn had been hunted to death. 
 Therefore when she heard of their happiness, such 
 envy and malice arose in her heart that she could 
 find no rest till she had tried to destroy it. 
 
 She and her ugly daughter came to the castle 
 
The Enchanted Stag 33 
 
 when the queen had a little baby, and one of them 
 pretended to be a nurse, and at last got the mother 
 and child into their power. 
 
 They shut the queen up in the bath, and tried to 
 suffocate her, and the old woman put her own ugly 
 daughter in the queen's bed that the king might not 
 know she was away. 
 
 She would not, however, let him speak to her, 
 but pretended that she must be kept quite quiet. 
 
 The queen escaped from the bath-room, where 
 the wicked old woman had locked her up, but she 
 did not go far, as she wanted to watch over her 
 child and the little fawn. 
 
 For two nights the baby's nurse saw a figure of 
 the queen come into the room and take up her baby 
 and nurse it. Then she told the king, and he deter- 
 mined to watch himself. The old stepmother, who 
 acted as nurse to her ugly daughter, whom she tried 
 to make the king believe was his wife, had said that 
 the queen was too weak to see him, and never left 
 her room. '' There cannot be two queens," said the 
 king to himself, " so to-night I will watch in the 
 nursery." As soon as the figure came in and took 
 up her baby, he saw it was his real wife, and caught 
 her in his arms, saying, " You are my own beloved 
 wife, as beautiful as ever." 
 
 The wicked witch had thrown her into a trance, 
 hoping she would die, and that the king would then 
 marry her daughter; but on the king speaking to 
 her, the spell was broken. The queen told the king 
 how cruelly she had been treated by her stepmother, 
 and on hearing this he became very angry, and had 
 the witch and her daughter brought to justice. 
 3 
 
34 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 They were both sentenced to die — the daughter to 
 be devoured by wild beasts, and the mother to be 
 burnt aUve. 
 
 No sooner, however, was she reduced to ashes 
 than the charm which held the queen's brother in 
 the form of a stag was broken; he recovered his 
 own natural shape, and appeared before them a tall, 
 handsome young man. 
 
 After this, the brother and sister lived happily 
 and peacefully for the rest of their lives. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 HANSEL AND GRETHEL 
 
 Near the borders of a large forest dwelt in olden 
 times a poor wood-cutter, who had two children — a 
 boy named Hansel, and his sister, Grethel. They 
 had very little to live upon, and once when there 
 was a dreadful season of scarcity in the land, the 
 poor woodcutter could not earn sufficient to supply 
 their daily food. 
 
 One evening, after the children were gone to bed, 
 the parents sat talking together over their sorrow, 
 and the poor husband sighed, and said to his wife, 
 who was not the mother of his children, but their 
 stepmother, '' What will become of us, for I can- 
 not earn enough to support myself and you, much 
 less the children? what shall we do with them, for 
 they must not starve ? " 
 
 " I know what to do, husband," she replied ; 
 " early to-morrow morning we will take the chil- 
 dren for a walk across the forest and leave them 
 in the thickest part; they will never find the way 
 home again, you may depend, and then we shall 
 only have to work for ourselves." 
 
 *' No, wife," said the man, " that I will never do. 
 How could I have the heart to leave my children all 
 alone in the wood, where the wild beasts would 
 come quickly and devour them ? " 
 
36 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 " Oh, you fool," replied the stepmother, ** if you 
 refuse to do this, you know we must all four perish 
 with hunger ; you may as well go and cut the wood 
 for our coffins." And after this she let him harv^e 
 no peace till he became quite worn out, and could 
 not sleep for hours, but lay thinking in sorrow about 
 his children. 
 
 The two children, who also were too hungry to 
 sleep, heard all that their stepmother had said to 
 their father. Poor little Grethel wept bitter tears 
 as she listened, and said to her brother, ** What is 
 going to happen to us. Hansel ? " 
 
 *' Hush, Grethel," he whispered ; " don't be so 
 unhappy; I know what to do." 
 
 Then they lay quite still till their parents were 
 asleep. 
 
 As soon as it was quiet. Hansel got up, put on his 
 little coat, unfastened the door, and slipped out. 
 The moon shone brightly, and the white pebble 
 stones which lay before the cottage door glistened 
 like new silver money. Hansel stooped and picked 
 up as many of the pebbles as he could stuff in his 
 little coat pockets. He then went back to Grethel 
 and said, " Be comforted, dear little sister, and sleep 
 in peace; heaven will take care of us." Then he 
 laid himself down again in bed, and slept till the 
 day broke. 
 
 As soon as the sun was risen, the stepmother 
 came and woke the two children, and said, " Get up, 
 you lazy bones, and come into the wood with me to 
 gather wood for the fire." Then she gave each of 
 them a piece of bread, and said, " You must keep 
 
Hansel and Grethel 37 
 
 that to eat for your dinner, and don't quarrel over 
 it, for you will get nothing more." 
 
 Grethel took the bread under her charge, for 
 Hansel's pockets were full of pebbles. Then the 
 stepmother led them a long way into the forest. 
 They had gone but a very short distance when Han- 
 sel looked back at the house, and this he did again 
 and again. 
 
 At last his stepmother said, " Why do you keep 
 staying behind and looking back so ? " 
 
 " Oh, mother," said the boy, " I can see my little 
 white cat sitting on the roof of the house, and I am 
 sure she is crying for me." 
 
 " Nonsense," she replied ; " that is not your cat ; 
 it is the morning sun shining on the chimney-pot." 
 
 Hansel had seen no cat, but he stayed behind 
 every time to drop a white pebble from his pocket 
 on the ground as they walked. 
 
 As soon as they reached a thick part of the wood, 
 their stepmother said : 
 
 " Come, children, gather some wood, and I will 
 make a fire, for it is very cold here." 
 
 Then Hansel and Grethel raised quite a high heap 
 of brushwood and faggots, which soon blazed up 
 into a bright fire, and the woman said to them : 
 
 " Sit down here, children, and rest, while I go 
 and find your father, who is cutting wood in the 
 forest; when we have finished our work, we will 
 come again and fetch you." 
 
 Hansel and Grethel seated themselves by the fire, 
 and when noon arrived they each ate the piece of 
 bread which their stepmother had given them for 
 their dinner ; and as long as they heard the strokes 
 
^S Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 of the axe they felt safe, for they believed that their 
 father was working near them. But it was not an 
 axe they heard — only a branch which still hung on 
 a withered tree, and was moved up and down by the 
 wind. At last, when they had been sitting there a 
 long time, the children's eyes became heavy with 
 fatigue, and they fell fast asleep. When they awoke 
 it was dark night, and poor Grethel began to cry, 
 and said, *' Oh, how shall we get out of the wood? " 
 
 But Hansel comforted her. '' Don't fear," he 
 said ; *' let us wait a little while till the moon rises, 
 and then we shall easily find our way home." 
 
 Very soon the full moon rose, and then Hansel 
 took his little sister by the hand, and the white 
 pebble stones, which glittered like newly-coined 
 money in the moonlight, and which Hansel had 
 dropped as he walked, pointed out the way. They 
 walked all the night through, and did not reach 
 their father's house till break of day. 
 
 They knocked at the door, and when their step- 
 mother opened it, she exclaimed : '' You naughty 
 children, why have you been staying so long in the 
 forest? we thought you were never coming back." 
 But their father was overjoyed to see them, for it 
 grieved him to the heart to think that they had been 
 left alone in the wood. 
 
 Not long after this there came another time of 
 scarcity and want in every house, and the children 
 heard their stepmother talking after they were in 
 bed. "The times are as bad as ever," she said; 
 " we have just half a loaf left, and when that is 
 gone all love will be at an end. The children must 
 go away; we will take them deeper into the forest 
 
Hansel and Grethel 39 
 
 this time, and they will not be able to find their way 
 home as they did before ; it is the only plan to save 
 ourselves from starvation. But the husband felt 
 heavy at heart, for he thought it was better to share 
 the last morsel with his children. 
 
 His wife would listen to nothing he said, but con- 
 tinued to reproach him, and as he had given way to 
 her the first time, he could not refuse to do so now. 
 The children were awake, and heard all the con- 
 versation ; so, as soon as their parents slept. Han- 
 sel got up, intending to go out and gather some 
 more of the bright pebbles to let fall as he walked, 
 that they might point out the way home; but his 
 stepmother had locked the door, and he could not 
 open it. When he went back to his bed he told his 
 little sister not to fret, but to go to sleep in peace, 
 for he was sure they would be taken care of. 
 
 Early the next morning the stepmother came and 
 pulled the children out of bed, and, when they were 
 dressed, gave them each a piece of bread for their 
 dinners, smaller than they had had before, and then 
 they started on their way to the wood. 
 
 As they walked, Hansel, who had the bread in 
 his pocket, broke oflf little crumbs, and stopped every 
 now and then to drop one, turning round as if he 
 was looking back at his home. 
 
 '' Hansel/' said the woman, " what are you stop- 
 ping for in that way? Come along directly." 
 
 " I saw my pigeon sitting on the roof, and he 
 wants to say good-bye to me," replied the boy. 
 
 " Nonsense," she said ; " that is not your pigeon ; 
 it is only the morning sun shining on the chimney- 
 top." 
 
40 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 But Hansel did not look back any more ; he only 
 dropped pieces of bread behind him, as they walked 
 through the wood. This time they went on till they 
 reached the thickest and densest part of the forest, 
 where they had never been before in all their lives. 
 Again they gathered faggots and brushwood, of 
 which the stepmother made up a large fire. Then 
 she said, '' Remain here, children, and rest, while I 
 go to help your father, who is cutting wood in the 
 forest; when you feel tired, you can lie down and 
 sleep for a little while, and we will come and fetch 
 you in the evening, when your father has finished 
 his work." 
 
 So the children remained alone till mid-day, and 
 then Grethel shared her piece of bread with Hansel, 
 for he had scattered his own all along the road as 
 they walked. After this they slept for awhile, and 
 the evening drew on; but no one came to fetch the 
 poor children. When they awoke it was quite dark, 
 and poor little Grethel was afraid ; but Hansel com- 
 forted her, as he had done before, by telling her they 
 need only wait till the moon rose. " You know, little 
 sister," he said, " that I have thrown breadcrumbs 
 all along the road we came, and they will easily point 
 out the way home." 
 
 But when they went out of the thicket into the 
 moonlight they found no breadcrumbs, for the nu- 
 merous birds which inhabited the trees of the forest 
 had picked them all up. 
 
 Hansel tried to hide his fear when he made this 
 sad discovery, and said to his sister, " Cheer up, 
 Grethel ; I dare say we shall find our way home with- 
 out the crumbs. Let us try." But this they found 
 
Hansel and Grethel 41 
 
 impossible. They wandered about the whole night, 
 and the next day from morning till evening ; but they 
 could not get out of the wood, and were so hungry 
 that had it not been for a few berries which they 
 picked they must have starved. 
 
 At last they were so tired that their poor little 
 legs could carry them no farther ; so they laid them- 
 selves down under a tree and went to sleep. When 
 they ?,woke it was the third morning since they had 
 left their father's house, and they determined to try 
 once more to find their way home ; but it was no use, 
 they only went still deeper into the wood, and knew 
 that if no help came they must starve. 
 
 About noon, they saw a beautiful snow-white bird 
 sitting on the branch of a tree, and singing so beauti- 
 fully that they stood still to listen. When he had 
 finished his song, he spread out his wings and flew 
 on before them. The children followed him, till 
 at last they saw at a distance a small house; and 
 the bird flew and perched on the roof. 
 
 But how surprised were the boy and girl, when 
 they came nearer, to find that the house was built of 
 gingerbread, and ornamented with sweet cakes and 
 tarts, while the window was formed of barley-sugar. 
 ''Oh!" exclaimed Hansel, "let us stop here and 
 have a splendid feast. I will have a piece from the 
 roof first, Grethel; and you can eat some of the 
 barley-sugar window, it tastes so nice." Hansel 
 reached up on tiptoe, and breaking off a piece of the 
 gingerbread, he began to eat with all his might, for 
 he was very hungry. Grethel seated herself on the 
 doorstep, and began munching away at the cakes 
 
42 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 of which it was made. Presently a voice came out 
 of the cottage : 
 
 " Munchi*ng, crunching, munching, 
 Who's eating up my house ? " 
 
 Then answered the children: 
 
 " The wind, the wind. 
 Only the wind," 
 
 and went on eating as if they never meant to leave 
 off, without a suspicion of wrong. Hansel, who 
 found the cake on the roof taste very good, broke 
 off another large piece, and Grethel had just taken 
 out a whole pane of barley-sugar from the window, 
 and seated herself to eat it, when the door opened, 
 and a strange-looking old woman came out leaning 
 on a stick. 
 
 Hansel and Grethel were so frightened that they 
 let fall what they held in their hands. The old 
 woman shook her head at them, and said, " Ah, you 
 dear children, who has brought you here? Come 
 in, and stay with me for a little while, and there 
 shall no harm happen to you." She seized them both 
 by the hands as she spoke, and led them into the 
 house. She gave them for supper plenty to eat and 
 drink — milk and pancakes and sugar, apples and 
 nuts; and when evening came. Hansel and Grethel 
 v/ere shown two beautiful little beds with white cur- 
 tains, and they lay down in them and thought they 
 were in heaven. 
 
 But although the old woman pretended to be 
 
Hansel and Grethel 43 
 
 friendly, she was a wicked witch, who had her house 
 built of gingerbread on purpose to entrap children. 
 When once they were in her power, she would feed 
 them well till they got fat, and then kill them and 
 cook them for her dinner; and this she called her 
 feast-day. Fortunately the witch had weak eyes, 
 and could not see very well ; but she had a very keen 
 scent, as wild animals have, and could easily discover 
 when human beings were near. As Hansel and 
 Grethel had approached her cottage, she laughed to 
 herself maliciously, and said, with a sneer : " I have 
 them now ; they shall not escape from me again ! " 
 
 Early in the morning, before the children were 
 awake, she was up, standing by their beds ; and when 
 she saw how beautiful they looked in their sleep, 
 with their round rosy cheeks, she muttered to her- 
 self, " What nice tit-bits they will be ! " Then she 
 laid hold of Hansel with her rough hand, dragged 
 him out of bed, and led him to a little cage which 
 had a lattice-door, and shut him in ; he might scream 
 as much as he would, but it was all useless. 
 
 After this she went back to Grethel, and, shaking 
 her roughly till she woke, cried : " Get up, you lazy 
 hussy, and draw some water, that I may boil some- 
 thing good for your brother, who is shut up in a 
 cage outside till he gets fat; and then I shall cook 
 him and eat him ! " When Grethel heard this she 
 began to cry bitterly ; but it was all useless, she was 
 obliged to do as the wicked witch told her. 
 
 For poor Hansel's breakfast the best of everything 
 was cooked ; but Grethel had nothing for herself but 
 a crab's claw. Every morning the old woman would 
 go out to the little cage, and say : " Hansel, stick out 
 
44 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 your finger, that I may feel if you are fat enough 
 for eating." But Hansel, who knew how dim her 
 old eyes were, always stuck a bone through the bars 
 of his cage, which she thought was his finger, for 
 she could not see ; and when she felt how thin it was, 
 she wondered very much why he did not get fat. 
 
 However, as the weeks went on, and Hansel 
 seemed not to get any fatter, she became impatient, 
 and said she could not wait any longer. " Go, 
 Grethel," she cried to the maiden, '' be quick and 
 draw water ; Hansel may be fat or lean, I don't care, 
 to-morrow morning I mean to kill him, and cook 
 him ! " 
 
 Oh! how the poor little sister grieved when she 
 was forced to draw the water; and, as the tears 
 rolled down her cheeks, she exclaimed : " It would 
 have been better to be eaten by wild beasts, or to 
 have been starved to death in the woods; then we 
 should have died together ! " 
 
 " Stop your crying ! " cried the old woman ; " it is 
 not of the least use, no one will come to help you." 
 
 Early in the morning Grethel was obliged to go 
 out and fill the great pot with water, and hang it 
 over the fire to boil. As soon as this was done, the 
 old woman said, '' We will bake some bread first ; I 
 have made the oven hot, and the dough is already 
 kneaded." Then she dragged poor little Grethel up 
 to the oven door, under which the flames were burn- 
 ing fiercely, and said : '' Creep in there, and see if 
 it is hot enough yet to bake the bread." But if 
 Grethel had obeyed her, she would have shut the 
 poor child in and baked her for dinner, instead of 
 boiling Hansel. 
 
Hansel and Grethel 45 
 
 Grethel, however, guessed what she wanted to do, 
 and said, '' I don't know how to get in through that 
 narrow door." 
 
 " Stupid goose," said the old woman, " why, the 
 oven door is quite large enough for me; just look, 
 I could get in myself." As she spoke she stepped 
 forward and pretended to put her head in the oven. 
 
 A sudden thought gave Grethel unusual strength ; 
 she started forward, gave the old woman a push 
 which sent her right into the oven, then she shut the 
 iron door and fastened the bolt. 
 
 Oh ! how the old witch did howl, it was quite hor- 
 rible to hear her. But Grethel ran away, and there- 
 fore she was left to burn, just as she had left many 
 poor little children to burn. And how quickly 
 Grethel ran to Hansel, opened the door of his cage, 
 and cried, " Hansel, Hansel, we are free ; the old 
 witch is dead." He flew like a bird out of his cage 
 at these words as soon as the door was opened, and 
 the children were so overjoyed that they ran into 
 each other's arms, and kissed each other with the 
 greatest love. 
 
 And now that there was nothing to be afraid of, 
 they went back into the house, and while looking 
 round the old witch's room, they saw an old oak 
 chest, which they opened, and found it full of pearls 
 and precious stones. '* These are better than peb- 
 bles," said Hansel ; and he filled his pockets as full 
 as they would hold. 
 
 " I will carry some home too," said Grethel, and 
 she held out her apron, which held quite as much as 
 Hansel's pockets. 
 
46 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 " We will go now," he said, " and get away as 
 soon as we can from this enchanted forest." 
 
 They had been walking for nearly two hours when 
 they came to a large sheet of water. 
 
 '' What shall we do now ? " said the boy. ** We 
 cannot get across, and there is no bridge of any 
 sort." 
 
 " Oh ! here comes a boat," cried Grethel, but she 
 was mistaken ; it was only a white duck which came 
 swimming towards the children. " Perhaps she will 
 help us across if we ask her," said the child ; and 
 she sung, '' Little duck, do help poor Hansel and 
 Grethel ; there is not a bridge, nor a boat — will you 
 let us sail across on your white back? " 
 
 The good-natured duck came near the bank as 
 Grethel spoke, so close indeed that Hansel could seat 
 himself and wanted to take his little sister on his 
 lap, but she said, " No, we shall be too heavy for the 
 kind duck ; let her take us over one at a time." 
 
 The good creature did as the children wished; 
 she carried Grethel over first, and then came back 
 for Hansel. And then how happy the children were 
 to find themselves in a part of the wood which they 
 remembered quite well, and as they walked on, the 
 more familiar it became, till at last they caught sight 
 of their father's house. Then they began to run, 
 and, bursting into the room, threw themselves into 
 their father's arms. 
 
 Poor man, he had not had a moment's peace since 
 the children had been left alone in the forest; he 
 was full of joy at finding them safe and well again, 
 and now they had nothing to fear, for their wicked 
 stepmother was dead. 
 
Hansel and Grcthel 47 
 
 But how surprised the poor wood-cutter was when 
 Grethel opened and shook her Httle apron to see the 
 gHttering pearls and precious stones scattered about 
 the room, while Hansel drew handful after handful 
 from his pockets. From this moment all his care 
 and sorrow wa^ at an end, and the father lived in 
 happiness with his children till his death. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 THE STORY OF ALADDIN; OR, THE WONDERFUL LAMP 
 
 In one of the large and rich cities of China, there 
 once lived a tailor named Mustapha. He was very 
 poor. He could hardly, by his daily labour, main- 
 tain himself and his fam.ily, which consisted only of 
 his wife and a son. 
 
 His son, who was called Aladdin, was a very care- 
 less and idle fellow. He was disobedient to his 
 father and mother, and would go out early in the 
 morning and stay out all day, playing in the streets 
 and public places with idle children of his own age. 
 
 When he was old enough to learn a trade, his 
 father took him into his own shop, and taught him 
 how to use his needle ; but all his father's endeavours 
 to keep him to his work were vain, for no sooner was 
 his back turned, than he was gone for that day. 
 Mustapha chastised him, but Aladdin was incor- 
 rigible, and his father, to his great grief, was forced 
 to abandon him to his idleness ; and was so much 
 troubled about him, that he fell sick and died in a 
 few months. 
 
 Aladdin, who was now no longer restrained by the 
 fear of a father, gave himself entirely over to his 
 idle habits, and was never out of the streets from 
 his companions. This course he followed till he was 
 
Story of Aladdin; or, The Wonderful Lamp 49 
 
 fifteen years old, without giving his mind to any 
 useful pursuit, or the least reflection on what would 
 become of him. As he was one day playing, accord- 
 ing to custom, in the street, with his evil associates, 
 a stranger passing by stood to observe him. 
 
 This stranger was a sorcerer, known as the 
 African magician, as he had been but two days 
 arrived from Africa, his native country. 
 
 The African magician, observing in Aladdin's 
 countenance something which assured him that he 
 was a fit boy for his purpose, inquired his name and 
 history of some of his companions, and when he had 
 learnt all he desired to know, went up to him, and 
 taking him aside from his comrades, said, " Child, 
 was not your father called Mustapha the tailor?" 
 " Yes, sir," answered the boy, " but he has been dead 
 a long time." 
 
 At these words the African magician threw his 
 arms about Aladdin's neck, and kissed him several 
 times, with tears in his eyes, and said, " I am your 
 uncle. Your worthy father was my own brother. 
 I knew you at first sight, you are so like him." Then 
 he gave Aladdin a handful of small money, saying, 
 " Go, my son, to your mother, give my love to her, 
 and tell her that I will visit her to-morrow, that I 
 may see where my good brother lived so long, and 
 ended his days." 
 
 Aladdin ran to his mother, overjoyed at the money 
 his uncle had given him. " Mother," said he, " have 
 I an uncle ? " " No, child," replied his mother, " you 
 have no uncle by your father's side or mine." " I 
 am just now come," said Aladdin, " from a man who 
 says he is my uncle and my father's brother. He 
 
50 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 cried and kissed me when I told him my father was 
 dead, and gave me money, sending his love to you, 
 and promising to come and pay you a visit, that he 
 may see the house my father lived and died in." 
 ** Indeed, child," replied the mother, *' your father 
 had no brother, nor have you an uncle." 
 
 The next day the magician found Aladdin playing 
 in another part of the town, and embracing him as 
 before, put two pieces of gold into his hand, and 
 said to him, " Carry this, child, to your mother ; tell 
 her that I will come and see her to-night, and bid 
 her get us something for supper ; but first show me 
 the house where you live." 
 
 Aladdin showed the African magician the house, 
 and carried the two pieces of gold to his mother, 
 who went out and bought provisions ; and consider- 
 ing she wanted various utensils, borrowed them of 
 her neighbours. She spent the whole day in prepar- 
 ing the supper ; and at night, when it was ready, said 
 to her son, " Perhaps the stranger knows not how 
 to find our house; go and bring him, if you meet 
 with him." 
 
 Aladdin was just ready to go, when the magician 
 knocked at the door, and came in loaded with wine 
 and all sorts of fruits, which he brought for a des- 
 sert. After he had given what he brought into 
 Aladdin's hands, he saluted his mother, and desired 
 her to show him the place where his brother Mus- 
 tapha used to sit on the sofa ; and when she had so 
 done, he fell down and kissed it several times, cry- 
 ing out, with tears in his eyes, *' My poor brother ! 
 how unhappy am I, not to have come soon enough 
 to give you one last embrace." Aladdin's mother 
 
Story of Aladdin; or, The Wonderful Lamp 51 
 
 desired him to sit down in the same place, but he 
 decHned. " No," said he, " I shall not do that ; but 
 give me leave to sit opposite to it, that although I 
 see not the master of a family so dear to me, I may 
 at least behold the place where he used to sit." 
 
 When the magician had made choice of a place,, 
 and sat down, he began to enter into discourse with 
 Aladdin's mother. '' My good sister," said he, '' do 
 not be surprised at your never having seen me all 
 the time you have been married to my brother Mus- 
 tapha of happy memory. I have been forty years 
 absent from this country, which is my native place,, 
 as well as my late brother's; and during that time 
 have travelled into the Indies, Persia, Arabia, Syria,, 
 and Egypt, and afterward crossed over into Africa,, 
 where I took up my abode. At last, as it is natural! 
 for a man, I was desirous to see my native country 
 again, and to embrace my dear brother ; and finding- 
 I had strength enough to undertake so long a jour- 
 ney, I made the necessary preparations, and set out. 
 Nothing ever afflicted me so much as hearing of 
 my brother's death. But God be praised for all 
 things! It is a comfort for me to find, as it were, 
 my brother in a son, who has his most remarkable 
 features." 
 
 The African magician perceiving that the widow 
 wept at the remembrance of her husband, changed 
 the conversation, and turning toward her son, asked 
 him, " What business do you follow ? Are you of 
 any trade ? " 
 
 At this question the youth hung down his head,, 
 and was not a little abashed when his mother 
 answered, " Aladdin is an idle fellow. His father,. 
 
52 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 when alive, strove all he could to teach him his 
 trade, but could not succeed; and since his death, 
 notwithstanding all I can say to him, he does noth- 
 ing but idle away his time in the streets, as you saw 
 him, without considering he is no longer a child; 
 and if you do not make him ashamed of it, I despair 
 of his ever coming to any good. For my part, I am 
 resolved, one of these days, to turn him out of doors, 
 and let him provide for himself." 
 
 After these words, Aladdin's mother burst into 
 tears ; and the magician said, '' This is not well, 
 nephew; you must think of helping yourself, and 
 getting your livelihood. There are many sorts of 
 trades; perhaps you do not like your father's, and 
 would prefer another ; I will endeavour to help you. 
 If you have no mind to learn any handicraft, I will 
 take a shop for you, furnish it with all sorts of fine 
 stuffs and linens; and then with the money you 
 make of them you can lay in fresh goods, and live 
 in an honourable way. Tell me freely what you 
 think of my proposal; you shall always find me 
 ready to keep my word." 
 
 This plan just suited Aladdin, who hated work. 
 He told the magician he had a greater inclination 
 to that business than to any other, and that he should 
 be much obliged to him for his kindness. '' Well 
 then," said the African magician, " I will carry you 
 with me to-morrow, clothe you as handsomely as 
 the best merchants in the city, and afterward we will 
 open a shop as I mentioned." 
 
 The widow, after his promises of kindness to her 
 son, no longer doubted that the magician was her 
 husband's brother. She thanked him for his good 
 
Story of Aladdin; or, The Wonderful Lamp 53 
 
 intentions; and after having exhorted Aladdin to 
 render himself worthy of his uncle's favour, served 
 up supper, at which they talked of several indifferent 
 matters; and then the magician took his leave and 
 retired. 
 
 He came again the next day, as he had promised, 
 and took Aladdin with him to a merchant, who sold 
 all sorts of clothes for different ages and ranks, 
 ready made, and a variety of fine stuffs, and bade 
 Aladdin choose those he preferred, which he paid 
 for. 
 
 When Aladdin found himself so handsomely 
 equipped, he returned his uncle thanks, who thus 
 addressed him : '* As you are soon to be a merchant, 
 it is proper you should frequent these shops, and be 
 acquainted with them." He then showed him the 
 largest and finest mosques, carried him to the khans 
 or inns where the merchants and travellers lodged, 
 and afterward to the sultan's palace, where he had 
 free access; and at last brought him to his own 
 khan, where, meeting with some merchants he had 
 become acquainted with since his arrival, he gave 
 them a treat, to bring them and his pretended 
 nephew acquainted. 
 
 This entertainment lasted till night, when Aladdin 
 would have taken leave of his uncle to go home; 
 the magician would not let him go by himself, but 
 conducted him to his mother, who, as soon as she 
 saw him so well dressed, was transported with joy, 
 and bestowed a thousand blessings upon the magi- 
 cian. 
 
 Early the next morning the magician called again 
 for Aladdin, and said he would take him to spend 
 
54 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 that day in the country, and on the next he would 
 purchase the shop. He then led him out at one of 
 the gates of the city, to some magnificent palaces, 
 to each of which belonged beautiful gardens, into 
 which anybody might enter. At every building he 
 came to, he asked Aladdin if he did not think it fine ; 
 and the youth was ready to answer when any one 
 presented itself, crying out, " Here is a finer house, 
 uncle, than any we have yet seen." By this artifice, 
 the cunning magician led Aladdin some way into the 
 country; and as he meant to carry him farther, to 
 execute his design, he took an opportunity to sit 
 down in one of the gardens, on the brink of a fount- 
 ain of clear water, which discharged itself by a 
 lion's mouth of bronze into a basin, pretending to 
 be tired : " Come, nephew," said he, " you must be 
 weary as well as I; let us rest ourselves, and we 
 shall be better able to pursue our walk." 
 
 The magician next pulled from his girdle a hand- 
 kerchief with cakes and fruit, and during this short 
 repast he exhorted his nephew to leave off bad com- 
 pany, and to seek that of wise and prudent men, to 
 improve by their conversation ; '' for," said he, " you 
 will soon be at man's estate, and you cannot too 
 early begin to imitate their example." When they 
 had eaten as much as they liked, they got up, and 
 pursued their walk through gardens separated from 
 one another only by small ditches, which marked out 
 the limits without interrupting the communication; 
 so great was the confidence the inhabitants reposed 
 in each other. By this means the African magician 
 drew Aladdin insensibly beyond the gardens, and 
 
Story of Aladdin; or, The Wonderful Lamp 55 
 
 crossed the country, till they nearly reached the 
 mountains. 
 
 At last they arrived between two mountains of 
 moderate height and equal size, divided by a narrow 
 valley, which was the place where the magician in- 
 tended to execute the design that had brought him 
 from Africa to China. '* We will go no farther 
 now," said he to Aladdin ; ** I will show you here 
 some extraordinary things, which, when you have 
 seen, you will thank me for: but while I strike a 
 light, gather up all the loose dry sticks you can see, 
 to kindle a fire with." 
 
 Aladdin found so many dried sticks, that he soon 
 collected a great heap. The magician presently set 
 them on fire ; and when they were in a blaze, threw 
 in some incense, pronouncing several magical words, 
 which Aladdin did not understand. 
 
 He had scarcely done so when the earth opened 
 just before the magician, and discovered a stone 
 with a brass ring fixed in it. Aladdin was so fright- 
 ened that he would have run away, but the magician 
 caught hold of him, and gave him such a box on the 
 ear that he knocked him down. Aladdin got up 
 trembling, and with tears in his eyes said to the 
 magician, " What have I done, uncle, to be treated 
 in this severe manner?" "I am your uncle," 
 answered the magician ; " I supply the place of your 
 father, and you ought to make no reply. But child," 
 added he, softening, '' do not be afraid ; for I shall 
 not ask anything of you, but that you obey me punc- 
 tually, if you would reap the advantages which I 
 intend you. Know, then, that under this stone there 
 is hidden a treasure, destined to be yours, and which 
 
56 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 will make you richer than the greatest monarch in 
 the world. No person but yourself is permitted to 
 lift this stone, or enter the cave ; so you must punc- 
 tually execute what I may command, for it is a 
 matter of great consequence both to you and me." 
 
 Aladdin, amazed at all he saw and heard, forgot 
 what was past, and rising said, '' Well, uncle, what 
 is to be done? Command me, I am ready to obey." 
 " I am overjoyed, child," said the African magician, 
 embracing him. " Take hold of the ring, and lift 
 up that stone." " Indeed, uncle," replied Aladdin, 
 '•' I am not strong enough ; you must help me." 
 " You have no occasion for my assistance," 
 answered the magician ; " if I help you, we shall be 
 able to do nothing. Take hold of the ring, and lift 
 it up ; you will find it will come easily." Aladdin did 
 as the magician bade him, raised the stone with ease, 
 and laid it on one side. 
 
 When the stone was pulled up, there appeared a 
 staircase about three or four feet deep, leading to a 
 door. " Descend, my son," said the African magi- 
 cian, " those steps, and open that door. It will lead 
 you into a palace, divided into three great halls. In 
 each of these you will see four large brass cisterns 
 placed on each side, full of gold and silver ; but take 
 care you do not meddle with them. Before you 
 enter the first hall, be sure to tuck up your robe, 
 wrap it about you, and then pass through the second 
 into the third without stopping. Above all things, 
 have a care that you do not touch the walls so much 
 as with your clothes; for if you do, you will die 
 instantly. At the end of the third hall, you will find 
 a door which opens into a garden, planted with fine 
 
Story of Aladdin; or, The Wonderful Lamp 57 
 
 trees loaded with fruit. Walk directly across the 
 garden to a terrace, where you will see a niche be- 
 fore you, and in that niche a lighted lamp. Take 
 the lamp down and put it out. When you have 
 thrown away the wick and poured out the liquor, 
 put it in your waistband and bring it to me. Do not 
 be afraid that the liquor will spoil your clothes, for 
 it is not oil, and the lamp will be dry as soon as it 
 is thrown out." 
 
 After these words the magician drew a ring off 
 his finger, and put it on one of Aladdin's, saying, 
 " It is a talisman against all evil, so long as you 
 obey me. Go, therefore, boldly, and we shall both 
 be rich all our lives." 
 
 Aladdin descended the steps, and, opening the 
 door, found the three halls just as the African ma- 
 gician had described. He went through them with 
 all the precaution the fear of death could inspire, 
 crossed the garden without stopping, took down the 
 lamp from the niche, threw out the wick and the 
 liquor, and, as the magician had desired, put it in 
 his waistband. But as he came down from the ter- 
 race, seeing it was perfectly dry, he stopped in the 
 garden to observe the trees, which were loaded with 
 extraordinary fruit of different colours on each tree. 
 Some bore fruit entirely white, and some clear and 
 transparent as crystal; some pale red, and others 
 deeper; some green, blue, and purple, and others 
 yellow ; in short, there was fruit of all colours. The 
 white were pearls ; the clear and transparent, 
 diamonds; the deep red, rubies; the paler, balas 
 rubies; the green, emeralds; the blue, turquoises; 
 the purple, amethysts; and the yellow, sapphires. 
 
58 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 Aladdin, ignorant of their value, would have pre- 
 ferred figs, or grapes, or pomegranates; but as he 
 had his uncle's permission, he resolved to gather 
 some of every sort. Having filled the two new 
 purses his uncle had bought for him with his clothes, 
 lie wrapped some up in the skirts of his vest, and 
 •crammed his bosom as full as it could hold. 
 
 Aladdin, having thus loaded himself with riches 
 of which he knew not the value, returned through 
 the three halls with the utmost precaution, and soon 
 arrived at the mouth of the cave, where the African 
 magician awaited him with the utmost impatience. 
 As soon as Aladdin saw him, he cried out, " Pray, 
 uncle, lend me your hand, to help me out." " Give 
 me the lamp first," replied the magician ; " it will be 
 troublesome to you." " Indeed, uncle," answered 
 Aladdin, *' I cannot now, but I will as soon as I am 
 up." The African magician was determined that he 
 would have the lamp before he would help him up ; 
 and Aladdin, who had encumbered himself so much 
 with his fruit that he could not well get at it, refused 
 to give it to him till he was out of the cave. The 
 African magician, provoked at this obstinate refusal, 
 flew into a passion, threw a little of his incense into 
 the fire, and pronounced two magical words, when 
 the stone which had closed the mouth of the stair- 
 case moved into its place, with the earth over it in 
 the same manner as it lay at the arrival of the 
 magician and Aladdin. 
 
 This action of the magician plainly revealed to 
 Aladdin that he was no uncle of his, but one who 
 designed him evil. The truth was that he had 
 learnt from his magic books the secret and the value 
 
Story of Aladdin; or, The Wonderful Lamp 59 
 
 of this wonderful lamp, the owner of which would 
 be made richer than any earthly ruler, and hence his 
 journey to China. His art had also told him that 
 he was not permitted to take it himself, but must 
 receive it as a voluntary gift from the hands of an- 
 other person. Hence he employed young Aladdin, 
 and hoped by a mixture of kindness and authority to 
 make him obedient to his word and will. When he 
 found that his attempt had failed, he set out to re- 
 turn to Africa, but avoided the town, lest any person 
 who had seen him leave in company with Aladdin 
 should make inquiries after the youth. Aladdin 
 being suddenly enveloped in darkness, cried, and 
 called out to his uncle to tell him he was ready to 
 give him the lamp ; but in vain, since his cries could 
 not be heard. He descended to the bottom of the 
 steps, with a design to get into the palace, but the 
 door, which was opvened before by enchantment, was 
 now shut by the same means. He then redoubled 
 his cries and tears, sat down on the steps without 
 any hopes of ever seeing light again, and in an ex- 
 pectation of passing from the present darkness to 
 a speedy death. In this great emergency he said, 
 " There is no strength or power but in the great 
 and high God " ; and in joining his hands to pray he 
 rubbed the ring which the magician had put on his 
 finger. Immediately a genie of frightful aspect ap- 
 peared, and said, " What wouldst thou have? I am 
 ready to obey thee. I serve him who possesses the 
 ring on thy finger; I, and the other slaves of that 
 ring." 
 
 At another time Aladdin would have been fright- 
 ened at the sight of so extraordinary a figure, but 
 
6o Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 the danger he was in made him answer without hesi- 
 tation, '* Whoever thou art, deliver me from this 
 place." He had no sooner spoken these words, than 
 he found himself on the very spot where the ma- 
 gician had last left him, and no sign of cave or 
 opening, nor disturbance of the earth. Returning 
 God thanks to find himself once more in the world, 
 he made the best of his way home. When he got 
 within his mother's door, the joy to see her and his 
 weakness for want of sustenance made him so faint 
 that he remained for a long time as dead. As soon 
 as he recovered, he related to his mother all that had 
 happened to him, and they were both very vehe- 
 ment in their complaints of the cruel magician. 
 Aladdin slept very soundly till late the next morning, 
 when the first thing he said to his mother was, that 
 he wanted something to eat, and wished she would 
 give him his breakfast. " Alas ! child," said she, " I 
 have not a bit of bread to give you ; you ate up all 
 the provisions I had in the house yesterday; but I 
 have a little cotton which I have spun ; I will go and 
 sell it, and buy bread and something for our dinner." 
 " Mother," replied Aladdin, '' keep your cotton for 
 another time, and give me the lamp I brought home 
 with me yesterday; I will go and sell it, and the 
 money I shall get for it will serve both for break- 
 fast and dinner, and perhaps supper too." 
 
 Aladdin's mother took the lamp and said to her 
 son, " Here it is, but it is very dirty ; if it were a 
 little cleaner I believe it would bring something 
 more." She took some fine sand and water to clean 
 it; but had no sooner begun to rub it, than in an 
 instant a hideous genie of gigantic size appeared 
 
Story of Aladdin; or, The Wonderful Lamp 6i 
 
 before her, and said to her in a voice of thunder, 
 " What wouldst thou have ? I am ready to obey 
 thee as thy slave, and the slave of all those who have 
 that lamp in their hands; I and the other slaves of 
 the lamp." 
 
 Aladdin's mother, terrified at the sight of the 
 genie, fainted ; when Aladdin, who had seen such a 
 phantom in the cavern, snatched the lamp out of 
 his mother's hand, and said to the genie boldly, '' I 
 am hungry, bring me something to eat." The genie 
 disappeared immediately, and in an instant returned 
 with a large silver tray, holding twelve covered 
 dishes of the same metal, which contained the most 
 delicious viands ; six large white bread cakes on two 
 plates, two flagons of wine, and two silver cups. 
 All these he placed upon a carpet and disappeared; 
 this was done before Aladdin's mother recovered 
 from her swoon. 
 
 Aladdin had fetched some water, and sprinkled it 
 in her face to recover her. Whether that or the 
 smell of the meat effected her cure, it was not long 
 before she came to herself. '' Mother," said Alad- 
 din, '' be not afraid : get up and eat ; here is what 
 will put you in heart, and at the same time satisfy 
 my extreme hunger." 
 
 His mother was much surprised to see the great 
 tray, twelve dishes, six loaves, the two flagons and 
 cups, and to smell the savoury odour which exhaled 
 from the dishes. " Child," said she, " to whom are 
 we obliged for this great plenty and liberality ? Has 
 the sultan been made acquainted with our poverty, 
 and had compassion on us?" '* It is no matter, 
 mother," said Aladdin, "let us sit down and eat; 
 
62 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 for you have almost as much need of a good break- 
 fast as myself ; when we have done, I will tell you." 
 Accordingly, both mother and son sat down and ate 
 with the better relish as the table was so well fur- 
 nished. But all the time Aladdin's mother could 
 not forbear looking at and admiring the tray and 
 dishes, though she could not judge whether they 
 were silver or any other metal, and the novelty more 
 than the value attracted her attention. 
 
 The mother and son sat at breakfast till it was 
 dinner-time, and then they thought it would be best 
 to put the two meals together; yet, after this they 
 found they should have enough left for supper, and 
 two meals for the next day. 
 
 When Aladdin's mother had taken away and set 
 by what was left, she went and sat down by her son 
 on the sofa, saying, " I expect now that you should 
 satisfy my impatience, and tell me exactly what 
 passed between the genie and you while I was in a 
 swoon " ; which he readily complied with. 
 
 She was in as great amazement at what her son 
 told her, as at the appearance of the genie ; and said 
 to him, " But, son, what have we to do with genies ? 
 I never heard that any of my acquaintance had ever 
 seen one. How came that vile genie to address him- 
 self to me, and not to you, to whom he had appeared 
 before in the cave ? " " Mother," answered Aladdin, 
 " the genie you saw is not the one who appeared to 
 me. If you remember, he that I first saw called him- 
 self the slave of the ring on my finger ; and this you 
 saw, called himself the slave of the lamp you had in 
 your hand; but I believe you did not hear hiir^ for 
 I think you fainted as soon as he began to speak." 
 
Story of Aladdin; or, The Wonderful Lamp 63 
 
 '' What ! " cried the mother, " was your lamp then 
 the occasion of that cursed genie's addressing him- 
 self rather to me than to you ? Ah ! my son, take it 
 out of my sight, and put it where you please. I had 
 rather you would sell it than run the hazard of being 
 frightened to death again by touching it; and if 
 you would take my advice, you would part also with 
 the ring, and not have anything to do with genies, 
 who, as our prophet has told us, are only devils." 
 
 " With your leave, mother," replied Aladdin, " I 
 shall now take care how I sell a lamp which may be 
 so serviceable both to you and me. That false and 
 wicked magician would not have undertaken so long 
 a journey to secure this wonderful lamp if he had 
 not known its value to exceed that of gold and 
 silver. And since we have honestly come by it, let 
 us make a profitable use of it, without making any 
 great show, and exciting the envy and jealousy of 
 our neighbours. However, since the genies frighten 
 you so much, I will take it out of your sight, and 
 put it where I may find it when I want it. The ring 
 I cannot resolve to part with ; for without that you 
 had never seen me again; and though I am alive 
 now, perhaps, if it were gone, I might not be so 
 some moments hence; therefore, I hope you will 
 give me leave to keep it, and to wear it always on 
 my finger." Aladdin's mother replied that he might 
 do what he pleased; for her part, she would have 
 nothing to do with genies, and never say anything 
 more about them. 
 
 By the next night they had eaten all the pro- 
 visions the genie had brought; and the next day 
 Aladdin, who could not bear the thoughts of hunger, 
 
64 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 putting one of the silver dishes under his vest, went 
 out early to sell it, and addressing himself to a Jew 
 whom he met in the streets, took him aside, and 
 pulling out the plate, asked him if he would buy it. 
 The cunning Jew took the dish, examined it, and 
 as soon as he found that it was good silver, asked 
 Aladdin at how much he valued it. Aladdin, who 
 had never been used to such traffic, told him he 
 would trust to his judgment and honour. The Jew 
 was somewhat confounded at this plain dealing; 
 and doubting whether Aladdin understood the 
 material or the full value of what he offered to sell, 
 took a piece of gold out of his purse and gave it 
 him, though it was but the sixtieth part of the worth 
 of the plate. Aladdin, taking the money very 
 eagerly, retired with so much haste, that the Jew, 
 not content with the exorbitancy of his profit, was 
 vexed he had not penetrated into his ignorance, and 
 was going to run after him, to endeavour to get 
 some change out of the piece of gold; but he ran 
 so fast, and had got so far, that it would have been 
 impossible for him to overtake him. 
 
 Before Aladdin went home, he called at a baker's, 
 bought some cakes of bread, changed his money, 
 and on his return gave the rest to his mother, who 
 went and purchased provisions enough to last them 
 some time. After this manner they lived, till Alad- 
 din had sold the twelve dishes singly, as necessity 
 pressed, to the Jew, for the same money ; who, after 
 the first time, durst not offer him less, for fear of 
 losing so good a bargain. When he had sold the 
 last dish, he had recourse to the tray, which weighed 
 ten times as much as the dishes, and would have 
 
Story of Aladdin; or, The Wonderful Lamp 65 
 
 carried it to his old purchaser, but that it was too 
 large and cumbersone; therefore he was obliged to 
 bring him home with him to his mother's, where, 
 after the Jew had examined the weight of the tray, 
 he laid down ten pieces of gold, with which Aladdin 
 was very well satisfied. 
 
 When all the money was spent, Aladdin had re- 
 course again to the lamp. He took it in his hands, 
 looked for the part where his mother had rubbed it 
 with the sand, rubbed it also, when the genie im- 
 mediately appeared, and said, '' What wouldst thou 
 have? I am ready to obey thee as thy slave, and 
 the slave of all those who have that lamp in their 
 hands ; I, and the other slaves of the lamp." *' I 
 am hungry," said Aladdin, '' bring me something 
 to eat." The genie disappeared, and presently re- 
 turned with a tray, the same number of covered 
 dishes as before, set them down, and vanished. 
 
 As soon as Aladdin found that their provisions 
 were again expended, he took one of the dishes, 
 and went to look for his Jew chapman ; but passing 
 by a goldsmith's shop, the goldsmith perceiving him, 
 called to him, and said, '' My lad, I imagine that you 
 have something to sell to the Jew, whom I often 
 see you visit ; but perhaps you do not know that he 
 is the greatest rogue even among the Jews. I will 
 give you the full worth of what you have to sell, or 
 I will direct you to other merchants who will not 
 cheat you." 
 
 This offer induced Aladdin to pull his plate from 
 under his vest and show it to the goldsmith ; who at 
 first sight saw that it was made of the finest silver, 
 and asked him if he had sold such as that to the 
 
66 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 Jew; when Aladdin told him that he had sold him 
 twelve such, for a piece of gold each. " What a vil- 
 lain ! " cried the goldsmith. " But/' added he, " my 
 son, what is past cannot be recalled. By showing 
 you the value of this plate, which is of the finest 
 silver we use in our shops, I will let you see how 
 much the Jew has cheated you." 
 
 The goldsmith took a pair of scales, weighed the 
 dish, and assured him that his plate would fetch by 
 weight sixty pieces of gold, which he offered to pay 
 down immediately. 
 
 Aladdin thanked him for his fair dealing, and 
 never after went to any other person. 
 
 Though Aladdin and his mother had an inex- 
 haustible treasure in their lamp, and might have had 
 whatever they wished for, yet they lived with the 
 same frugality as before, and it may easily be sup- 
 posed that the money for which Aladdin had sold 
 the dishes and tray was sufficient to maintain them 
 some time. 
 
 During this interval, Aladdin frequented the 
 shops of the principal merchants, where they sold 
 cloth of gold and silver, linens, silk stuffs, and 
 jewellery, and,»oftentimes joining in their conversa- 
 tion, acquired a knowledge of the world, and a 
 desire to improve himself. By his acquaintance 
 among the jewellers, he came to know that the fruits 
 which he had gathered when he took the lamp were, 
 instead of coloured glass, stones of inestimable value; 
 but he had the prudence not to mention this to any 
 one, not even to his mother. 
 
 One day as Aladdin was walking about the town, 
 he heard an order proclaimed, commanding the 
 
Story of Aladdin; or, The Wonderful Lamp 67 
 
 people to shut up their shops and houses, and keep 
 within doors while the Princess Buddir al Buddoor, 
 the sultan's daughter, went to the bath and returned. 
 
 This proclamation inspired Aladdin with eager 
 desire to see the princess's face, which he determined 
 to gratify, by placing himself behind the door of the 
 bath, so that he could not fail to see her face. 
 
 Aladdin had not long concealed himself before 
 the princess came. She was attended by a great 
 crowd of ladies, slaves, and mutes, who walked on 
 each side and behind her. When she came within 
 three or four paces of the door of the bath, she took 
 off her veil, and gave Aladdin an opportunity of a 
 full view of her face. 
 
 The princess was a noted beauty: her eyes were 
 large, lively, and sparkling; her smile bewitching; 
 her nose faultless ; her mouth small ; her lips ver- 
 milion. It is not therefore surprising that Aladdin, 
 who had never before seen such a blaze of charms, 
 was dazzled and enchanted. 
 
 After the princess had passed by, and entered the 
 bath, Aladdin quitted his hiding-place, and went 
 home. His mother perceived him to be more 
 thoughtful and melancholy than usual; and asked 
 what had happened to make him so, or if he was ill. 
 He then told his mother all his adventure, and con- 
 cluded by declaring, " I love the princess more than 
 I can express, and am resolved that I will ask her 
 in marriage of the sultan." 
 
 Aladdin's mother listened with surprise to what 
 her son told her; but when he talked of asking the 
 princess in marriage, she laughed aloud. " Alas ! 
 
68 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 child," said she, "what are you thinking of? You 
 must be mad to talk thus." 
 
 " I assure you, mother," replied Aladdin, " that I 
 am not mad, but in my right senses. I foresaw that 
 you would reproach me with folly and extrava- 
 gance ; but I must tell you once more, that I am re- 
 solved to demand the princess of the sultan in mar- 
 riage ; nor do I despair of success. I have the slaves 
 of the lamp and of the ring to help me, and you 
 know how powerful their aid is. And I have an- 
 other secret to tell you : those pieces of glass, which 
 I got from the trees in the garden of the subter- 
 ranean palace, are jewels of inestimable value, and 
 fit for the greatest monarchs. All the precious 
 stones the jewellers have in Bagdad are not to be 
 compared to mine for size or beauty ; and I am sure 
 that the offer of them will secure the favour of the 
 sultan. You have a large porcelain dish fit to hold 
 them; fetch it, and let us see how they will look, 
 when we have arranged them according to their dif- 
 ferent colours. 
 
 Aladdin's mother brought the china dish, when 
 he took the jewels out of the two purses in which 
 he had kept them, and placed them in order, accord- 
 ing to his fancy. But the brightness and lustre 
 they emitted in the daytime, and the variety of the 
 colours, so dazzled the eyes both of mother and son» 
 that they were astonished beyond measure. Alad- 
 din's mother, emboldened by the sight of these 
 rich jewels, and fearful lest her son should be guilty 
 of greater extravagance, complied with his request, 
 and promised to go early in the next morning to the 
 palace of the sultan. Aladdin rose before daybreak, 
 
Story of Aladdin; or, The Wonderful Lamp 69 
 
 awakened his mother, pressing her to go to the sul- 
 tan's palace, and to get admittance, if possible, before 
 the grand vizier, the other viziers, and the great 
 officers of state went in to take their seats in the 
 divan, where the sultan always attended in person. 
 
 Aladdin's mother took the china dish, in which 
 they had put the jewels the day before, wrapped it 
 in two fine napkins, and set forward for the sultan's 
 palace. When she came to the gates, the grand 
 vizier, the other viziers, and most distinguished lords 
 of the court were just gone in ; but notwithstanding 
 the crowd of people was great, she got into the 
 divan, a spacious hall, the entrance into which was 
 very magnificent. She placed herself just before the 
 sultan, grand vizier, and the great lords, who sat in 
 council, on his right and left hand. Several causes 
 were called, according to their order, pleaded and 
 adjudged, until the time the divan generally broke 
 up, when the sultan, rising, returned to his apart- 
 ment, attended by the grand vizier ; the other viziers 
 and ministers of state then retired, as also did all 
 those whose business had called them thither. 
 
 Aladdin's mother, seeing the sultan retire, and all 
 the people depart, judged rightly that he would not 
 sit again that day, and resolved to go home ; and on 
 her arrival said, with much simplicity, " Son, I have 
 seen the sultan, and am very well persuaded he has 
 seen me, too, for I placed myself just before him; 
 but he was so much taken up with those who at- 
 tended on all sides of him that I pitied him, and 
 wondered at his patience. At last I believe he was 
 heartily tired, for he rose up suddenly, and would 
 not hear a great many who were ready prepared to 
 
70 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 speak to him, but went away, at which I was well 
 pleased, for indeed I began to lose all patience, and 
 was extremely fatigued with staying so long. But 
 there is no harm done ; I will go again to-morrow ; 
 perhaps the sultan may not be so busy." 
 
 The next morning she repaired to the sultan's 
 palace with the present, as early as the day before ; 
 but when she came there, she found the gates of 
 the divan shut. She went six times afterward on 
 the days appointed, placed herself always directly 
 before th€ sultan, but with as little success as the 
 first morning. 
 
 On the sixth day, however, after the divan was 
 broken up, when the sultan returned to his own 
 apartment, he said to his grand vizier : " I have for 
 some time observed a certain woman, who attends 
 constantly every day that I give audience, with 
 som.ething wrapped up in a napkin; she always 
 stands up from the beginning to the breaking up of 
 the audience, and aifects to place herself just before 
 me. If this woman comes to our next audience, do 
 not fail to call her, that I may hear what she has to 
 say." The grand vizier made answer by lowering 
 his hand, and then lifting it up above his head, sig- 
 nifying his willingness to lose it if he failed. 
 
 On the next audience day, when Aladdin's mother 
 went to the divan, and placed herself in front of the 
 sultan as usual, the grand vizier immediately called 
 the chief of the mace-bearers, and pointing to her 
 bade him bring her before the sultan. The old 
 woman at once followed the mace-bearer, and when 
 she reached the sultan bowed her head down to the 
 carpet which covered the platform of the throne, 
 
Story of Aladdin; or, The Wonderful Lamp 71 
 
 and remained in that posture until he bade her rise, 
 which she had no sooner done, than he said to her, 
 " Good woman, I have observed you to stand many 
 days from the beginning to the rising of the divan ; 
 what business brings you here? " 
 
 After these words, Aladdin's mother prostrated 
 herself a second time ; and when she arose, said, 
 " Monarch of monarchs, I beg of you to pardon the 
 boldness of my petition, and to assure me of your 
 pardon and forgiveness." " Well," replied the sul- 
 tan, " I will forgive you, be it what it may, and no 
 hurt shall come to you ; speak boldly." 
 
 When Aladdin's mother had taken all these pre- 
 cautions, for fear of the sultan's anger, she told him 
 faithfully the errand on which her son had sent her, 
 and the event which led to his making so bold a 
 request in spite of all her remonstrances. 
 
 The sultan hearkened to this discourse without 
 showing the least anger ; but before he gave her any 
 answer, asked her what she had brought tied up in 
 the napkin. She took the china dish which she had 
 set down at the foot of the throne, untied it, and 
 presented it to the sultan. 
 
 The sultan's amazement and surprise were inex- 
 pressible, when he saw so many large, beautiful and 
 valuable jewels collected in the dish. He remained 
 for some time lost in admiration. At last, when he 
 had recovered himself, he received the present from 
 Aladdin's mother's hand ; saying, *' How rich, how 
 beautiful ! " After he had admired and handled all 
 the jewels one after another, he turned to his grand 
 vizier, and showing him the dish, said, " Behold, 
 admire, wonder! and confess that your tyes never 
 
72 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 beheld jewels so rich and beautiful before." The 
 vizier was charmed. " Well," continued the sultan, 
 "what sayest thou to such a present? Is it not 
 worthy of the princess my daughter? And ought 
 I not to bestow her on one who values her at so 
 great a price?" '* I cannot but own," replied the 
 grand vizier, " that the present is worthy of the 
 princess; but I beg of your majesty to grant me 
 three months before you come to a final resolution. 
 I hope, before that time, my son, whom you have 
 regarded with your favour, will be able to make a 
 nobler present than this Aladdin, who is an entire 
 stranger to your majesty." 
 
 The sultan granted his request, and he said to the 
 old woman, '' Good woman, go home, and tell your 
 son that I agree to the proposal you have made me ; 
 but I cannot marry the princess my daughter for 
 three months; at the expiration of that time come 
 again." 
 
 Aladdin's mother returned home much more grati- 
 fied than she had expected, and told her son with 
 much joy the condescending answer she had re- 
 ceived from the sultan's own mouth; and that she 
 was to come to the divan again that day three 
 months. 
 
 Aladdin thought himself the most happy of all 
 men at hearing this news, and thanked his mother 
 for the pains she had taken in the affair, the good 
 success of which was of so great importance to his 
 peace, that he counted every day, week, and even 
 hour as it passed. When two of the three months 
 were passed, his mother one evening, having no oil 
 in the house, went out to buy some, and found a 
 
Story of Aladdin; or, The Wonderful Lamp 73 
 
 general rejoicing — the houses dressed with foHage, 
 silks, and carpeting, and every one striving to show 
 their joy according to their ability. The streets were 
 crowded with officers in habits of ceremony, 
 mounted on horses richly caparisoned, each at- 
 tended by a great many footmen. Aladdin's mother 
 asked the oil merchant what was the meaning of all 
 this preparation of public festivity. '' Whence came 
 you, good woman," said he, " that you don't know 
 that the grand vizier's son is to marry the Princess 
 Buddir al Buddoor, the sultan's daughter, to-night? 
 She will presently return from the bath; and these 
 officers whom you see are to assist at the cavalcade 
 to the palace, where the ceremony is to be solem- 
 nised." 
 
 Aladdin's mother, on hearing these news, ran 
 home very quickly. " Child," cried she, " you are 
 undone ! the sultan's fine promises will come to 
 nought. This night the grand vizier's son is to 
 marry the Princess Buddir al Buddoor." 
 
 At this account, Aladdin was thunderstruck, and 
 he bethought himself of the lamp, and of the genie 
 who had promised to obey him ; and without indulg- 
 ing in idle words against the sultan, the vizier, or 
 his son, he determined, if possible, to prevent the 
 marriage. 
 
 When Aladdin had got into his chamber, he took 
 the lamp, rubbed it in the same place as before, when 
 immediately the genie appeared, and said to him, 
 " What wouldst thou have ? I am ready to obey 
 thee as thy slave; I, and the other slaves of the 
 lamp." " Hear me," said Aladdin ; " thou hast 
 hitherto obeyed me, but now I am about to impose 
 
74 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 on thee a harder task. The sultan's daughter, who 
 was promised me as my bride, is this night married 
 to the son of the grand vizier. Bring them both 
 hither to me immediately they retire to their bed- 
 chamber." 
 
 " Master," replied the genie, " I obey you." 
 Aladdin supped with his mother as was their 
 wont, and then went to his own apartment, and sat 
 up to await the return of the genie, according to his 
 commands. 
 
 In the mean time the festivities in honour of the 
 princess's marriage were conducted in the sultan's 
 palace with great magnificence. The ceremonies 
 were at last brought to a conclusion, and the princess 
 and the son of the vizier retired to the bedchamber 
 prepared for them. No sooner had they entered it, 
 and dismissed their attendants, than the genie, the 
 faithful slave of the lamp, to the great amazement 
 and alarm of the bride and bridegroom, took up the 
 bed, and by an agency invisible to them, transported 
 it in an instant into Aladdin's chamber, where he 
 set it down. '' Remove the bridegroom," said 
 Aladdin to the genie, " and keep him a prisoner till 
 to-morrow dawn, and then return with him here." 
 On Aladdin being left alone with the princess, he 
 endeavoured to assuage her fears, and explained to 
 her the treachery practiced upon him by the sultan 
 her father. He then laid himself down beside her, 
 putting a drawn scimitar between them, to show that 
 he was determined to secure her safety, and to treat 
 her with the utmost possible respect. At break of 
 day, the genie appeared at the appointed hour, 
 bringing back the bridegroom, whom by breathing 
 
Story of Aladdin; or, The Wonderful Lamp 75 
 
 upon he had left motionless and entranced at the 
 door of Aladdin's chamber during the night, and at 
 Aladdin's command transported the couch with the 
 bride and bridegroom on it, by the same invisible 
 agency, into the palace of the sultan. 
 
 At the instant that the genie had set down the 
 couch with the bride and bridegroom in their own 
 chamber, the sultan came to the door to offer his good 
 wishes to his daughter. The grand vizier's son, 
 who was almost perished with cold, by standing in 
 his thin under-garment all night, no sooner heard 
 the knocking at the door than he got out of bed, 
 and ran into the robing-chamber, where he had un- 
 dressed himself the night before. 
 
 The sultan having opened the door, went to the 
 bedside, kissed the princess on the forehead, but was 
 extremely surprised to see her look so melancholy. 
 She only cast at him a sorrowful look, expressive 
 of great affliction. He suspected there was some- 
 thing extraordinary in this silence, and thereupon 
 went immediately to the sultaness's apartment, told 
 her in what a state he found the princess, and how 
 she had received him. " Sire," said the sultaness, 
 '' I will go and see her ; she will not receive me in 
 the same manner." 
 
 The princess received her mother with sighs and 
 tears, and signs of deep dejection. At last, upon 
 her pressing on her the duty of telling her all her 
 thoughts, she gave to the sultaness a precise descrip- 
 tion of all that happened to her during the night ; on 
 which the sultaness enjoined on her the necessity of 
 silence and discretion, as no one would give credence 
 to so strange a tale. The grand vizier's son, elated 
 
76 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 Avith the honour of being the sultan's son-in-law, 
 kept silence on his part, and the events of the night 
 were not allowed to cast the least gloom on the fes- 
 tivities on the following day, in continued celebra- 
 tion of the royal marriage. 
 
 When night came, the bride and bridegroom were 
 again attended to their chamber with the same cere- 
 monies as on the preceding evening. Aladdin, know- 
 ing that this would be so, had already given his com- 
 mands to the genie of the lamp ; and no sooner were 
 they alone than their bed was removed in the same 
 mysterious manner as on the preceding evening ; and 
 having passed the night in the same unpleasant way, 
 they were in the morning conveyed to the palace of 
 the sultan. Scarcely had they been replaced in their 
 apartment, when the sultan came to make his com- 
 pliments to his daughter, when the princess could no 
 longer conceal from him the unhappy treatment she 
 had been subject to, and told him all that had hap- 
 pened as she had already related it to her mother. 
 The sultan, on hearing these strange tidings, con- 
 sulted with the grand vizier; and finding from him 
 that his son had been subjected to even worse treat- 
 ment by an invisible agency, he determined to de- 
 clare the marriage to be cancelled, and all the fes- 
 tivities, which were yet to last for several days, to 
 be countermanded and terminated. 
 
 This sudden change in the mind of the sultan gave 
 rise to various speculations and reports. Nobody 
 but Aladdin knew the secret, and he kept it with the 
 most scrupulous silence ; and neither the sultan nor 
 the grand vizier, who had forgotten Aladdin and his 
 request, had the least thought that he had any hand 
 
Story of Aladdin; or, The Wonderful Lamp 77 
 
 in the strange adventures that befell the bride and 
 bridegroom. 
 
 On the very day that the three months contained 
 in the sultan's promise expired, the mother of Alad- 
 din again went to the palace, and stood in the same 
 place in the divan. The sultan knew her again, and 
 directed his vizier to have her brought before him. 
 
 After having prostrated herself, she made answer, 
 in reply to the sultan : " Sire, I come at the end of 
 three months to ask of you the fulfillment of the 
 promise you made to my son." The sultan little 
 thought the request of Aladdin's mother was made to 
 him in earnest, or that he would hear any more of 
 the matter. He therefore took counsel with his 
 vizier, who suggested that the sultan should attach 
 such conditions to the marriage that no one of the 
 humble condition of Aladdin could possibly fulfill. 
 In accordance with this suggestion of the vizier, the 
 sultan replied to the mother of Aladdin : " Good 
 woman, it is true sultans ought to abide by their 
 word, and I am ready to keep mine, by making your 
 son happy in marriage with the princess my 
 daughter. But as I cannot marry her without some 
 further proof of your son being able to support her 
 in royal state, you may tell him I will fulfill my 
 promise as soon as he shall send me forty trays of 
 massy gold, full of the same sort of jewels you have 
 already made me a present of, and carried by the 
 like number of black slaves, who shall be led by as 
 many young and handsome white slaves, all dressed 
 magnificently. On these conditions I am ready to 
 bestow the princess my daughter upon him; there- 
 
78 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 fore, good woman, go and tell him so, and I will 
 wait till you bring me his answer." 
 
 Aladdin's mother prostrated herself a second time 
 before the sultan's throne, and retired. On her way 
 home, she laughed within herself at her son's foolish 
 imagination. *' Where," said she, " can he get so 
 many large gold trays, and such precious stones to 
 fill them? It is altogether out of his power, and I 
 believe he will not be much pleased with my em- 
 bassy this time." When she came home, full of 
 these thoughts, she told Aladdin all the circumr- 
 stances of her interview with the sultan, and the con- 
 ditions on which he consented to the marriage. 
 " The sultan expects your answer immediately," said 
 she ; and then added, laughing, " I believe he may 
 wait long enough ! " 
 
 " Not so long, mother, as you imagine," replied 
 Aladdin, " This demand is a mere trifle, and will 
 prove no bar to my marriage with the princess. I 
 will prepare at once to satisfy his request." 
 
 Aladdin retired to his own apartment and sum- 
 moned the genie of the lamp, and required him to 
 prepare and present the gift immediately, before the 
 sultan closed his morning audience, according to the 
 terms in which it had been prescribed. The genie 
 professed his obedience to the owner of the lamp, 
 and disappeared. Within a very short time, a train 
 of forty black slaves, led by the same number of 
 white slaves, appeared opposite the house in which 
 Aladdin lived. Each black slave carried on his head 
 a basin of massy gold, full of pearls, diamonds, 
 rubies, and emeralds. Aladdin then addressed his 
 mother : " Madam, pray lose no time ; before the sul- 
 
Story of Aladdin; or, The Wonderful Lamp 79 
 
 tan and the divan rise, I would have you return to 
 the palace with this present as the dowry demanded 
 for the princess, that he may judge by my diligence 
 and exactness of the ardent and sincere desire I 
 have to procure myself the honour of this alliance." 
 
 As soon as this magnificent procession, with Alad- 
 din's mother at its head, had begun to march from 
 Aladdin's house, the whole city was filled with the 
 crowds of people desirous to see so grand a sight. 
 The graceful bearing, elegant form, and wonderful 
 likeness of each slave ; their grave walk at an equal 
 distance from each other, the lustre of their jewelled 
 girdles, and the brilliancy of the aigrettes of precious 
 stones in their turbans, excited the greatest admira- 
 tion in the spectators. As they had to pass through 
 several streets to the palace, the whole length of the 
 way was lined with files of spectators. Nothing, in- 
 deed, was ever seen so beautiful and brilliant in the 
 sultan's palace, and the richest robes of the emirs of 
 his court were not to be compared to the costly 
 dresses of these slaves, whom they supposed to be 
 kings. 
 
 As the sultan, who had been informed of their ap- 
 proach, had given orders for them to be admitted, 
 they met with no obstacle, but went into the divan in 
 regular order, one part turning to the right and the 
 other to the left. After they were all entered, and 
 had formed a semicircle before the sultan's throne, 
 the black slaves laid the golden trays on the carpet, 
 prostrated themselves, touching the carpet with their 
 foreheads, and at the same time the white slaves 
 did the same. When they rose, the black slaves un- 
 
8o Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 covered the trays, and then all stood with their arms 
 crossed over their breasts. 
 
 In the mean time, Aladdin's mother advanced to 
 the foot of the throne, and having prostrated herself, 
 said to the sultan, " Sire, my son knows this pres- 
 ent is much below the notice of Princess Buddir al 
 Buddoor; but hopes, nevertheless, that your majesty 
 will accept of it, and make it agreeable to the prin- 
 cess, and with the greater confidence since he has 
 endeavoured to conform to the conditions you were 
 pleased to impose." 
 
 The sultan, overpowered at the sight of such more 
 than royal magnificence, replied without hesitation 
 to the words of Aladdin's mother : " Go and tell your 
 son that I wait with open arms to embrace him ; and 
 the more haste he makes to come and receive the 
 princess my daughter from my hands, the greater 
 pleasure he will do me." As soon as Aladdin's 
 mother had retired, the sultan put an end to the 
 audience; and rising from his throne ordered that 
 the princess's attendants should come and carry the 
 trays into their mistress's apartment, whither he 
 went himself to examine them with her at his leisure. 
 The fourscore slaves were conducted into the pal- 
 ace ; and the sultan, telling the princess of their mag- 
 nificent apparel, ordered them to be brought before 
 her apartment, that she might see through the lat- 
 tices he had not exaggerated in his account of them. 
 
 In the meantime Aladdin's mother reached home, 
 and showed in her air and countenance the good 
 news she brought to her son. " My son," said she, 
 " you may rejoice you are arrived at the height of 
 your desires. The sultan has declared that you shall 
 
Story of Aladdin; or, The Wonderful Lamp 8i 
 
 marry the Princess Buddir al Buddoor. He waits 
 for you with impatience." 
 
 Aladdin, enraptured with this news, made his 
 mother very Httle reply, but retired to his chamber. 
 There he rubbed his lamp, and the obedient genie 
 appeared. " Genie," said Aladdin, '' convey me at 
 once to a bath, and supply me with the richest and 
 most magnificent robe ever worn by a monarch." 
 No sooner were the words out of his mouth than the 
 genie rendered him, as well as himself, invisible, 
 and transported him into a bath of the finest marble 
 of all sorts of colours ; where he was undressed, 
 without seeing by whom, in a magnificent and spa- 
 cious hall. He was then well rubbed and washed 
 with various scented waters. After he had passed 
 through several degrees of heat, he came out quite 
 a different man from what he was before. His skin 
 was clear as that of a child, his body lightsome and 
 free; and when he returned into the hall, he found, 
 instead of his own poor raiment, a robe, the mag- 
 nificence of which astonished him. The genie helped 
 him to dress, and when he had done, transported him 
 back to his own chamber, where he asked him if 
 he had any other commands. " Yes," answered 
 Aladdin, " bring me a charger that surpasses in 
 beauty and goodness the best in the sultan's stables ; 
 with a saddle, bridle, and other caparisons to cor- 
 respond with his value. Furnish also twenty slaves, 
 as richly clothed as those who carried the present to 
 the sultan, to walk by my side and follow me, and 
 twenty more to go before me in two ranks. Besides 
 these, bring my mother six women slaves to attend 
 her, as richly dressed at least as any of the Princess 
 
82 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 Buddir al Buddoor's, each carrying a complete dress 
 fit for any sultaness. I want also ten thousand 
 pieces of gold in ten purses ; go, and make haste." 
 
 As soon as Aladdin had given these orders, the 
 genie disappeared, but presently returned with the 
 horse, the forty slaves, ten of whom carried each 
 a purse containing ten thousand pieces of gold, and 
 six women slaves, each carrying on her head a 
 different dress for Aladdin's mother, wrapt up in 
 a piece of silver tissue, and presented them all to 
 Aladdin. 
 
 He presented the six women slaves to his mother, 
 telling her they were her slaves, and that the dresses 
 they had brought were for her use. Of the ten 
 purses Aladdin took four, which he gave to his 
 mother, telling her, those were to supply her with 
 necessaries ; the other six he left in the hands of the 
 slaves who brought them, with an order to throw 
 them by handfuls among the people as they went to 
 the sultan's palace. The six slaves who carried the 
 purses he ordered likewise to march before him, 
 three on the right hand and three on the left. 
 
 When Aladdin had thus prepared himself for his 
 first interview with the sultan, he dismissed the 
 genie, and immediately mounting his charger, began 
 his march, and though he never was on horseback 
 before, appeared with a grace the most experienced 
 horseman might envy. The innumerable concourse 
 of people through whom he passed made the air echo 
 with their acclamations, especially every time the six 
 slaves who carried the purses threw handfuls of gold 
 among the populace. 
 
 On Aladdin's arrival at the palace, the sultan was 
 
Siory of Aloddin; or, The Wonderful Lamp 83 
 
 surprised to find him more richly and magnificently 
 robed than he had ever been himself, and was im- 
 pressed with his good looks and dignity of manner, 
 which were so dififerent from what he expected in 
 the son of one so humble as Aladdin's mother. He 
 embraced him with all the demonstrations of joy, 
 and when he would have fallen at his feet, held him 
 by the hand, and made him sit near his throne. He 
 shortly after led him amidst the sounds of trumpets, 
 hautboys, and all kinds of music, to a magnificent 
 entertainment, at which the sultan and Aladdin ate 
 by themselves, and the great lords of the court, 
 according to their rank and dignity, sat at different 
 tables. After the feast, the sultan sent for the chief 
 cadi, and commanded him to draw up a contract of 
 marriage between the Princess Buddir al Buddoor 
 and Aladdin. When the contract had been drawn, 
 the sultan asked Aladdin if he would stay in the pal- 
 ace and complete the ceremonies of the marriage 
 that day. '' Sire," said Aladdin, '' though great is 
 my impatience to enter on the honour granted me by 
 your majesty, yet I beg you to permit me first to 
 build a palace worthy to receive the princess your 
 daughter. I pray you to grant me sufficient ground 
 near your palace, and I will have it completed with 
 the utmost expedition." The sultan granted Alad- 
 din his request, and again embraced him. After 
 which he took his leave with as much politeness as if 
 he had been bred up and had always lived at court. 
 
 Aladdin returned home in the order he had come, 
 amidst the acclamations of the people, who wished 
 him all happiness and prosperity. As soon as he dis- 
 mounted, he retired to his own chamber, took the 
 
84 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 lamp, and summoned the genie as usual, who pro- 
 fessed his allegiance. " Genie," said Aladdin, " build 
 me a palace fit to receive the Princess Buddir al 
 Buddoor. Let its materials be made of nothing less 
 than porphyry, jasper, agate, lapis lazuli, and the fin- 
 est marble. Let its walls be massive gold and silver 
 bricks laid alternately. Let each front contain six 
 windows, and let the lattices of these (except one, 
 which must be left unfinished) be enriched with 
 diamonds, rubies, and emeralds, so that they shall 
 exceed everything of the kind ever seen in the 
 world. Let there be an inner and outer court in 
 front of the palace, and a spacious garden ; but above 
 all things, provide a safe treasure-house, and fill it 
 with gold and silver. Let there be also kitchens and 
 storehouses, stables full of the finest horses, with 
 their equerries and grooms, and hunting equipage, 
 officers, attendants, and slaves, both men and 
 women, to form a retinue for the princess and my- 
 self. Go and execute my wishes." 
 
 When Aladdin gave these commands to the genie, 
 the sun was set. The next morning at daybreak the 
 genie presented himself, and, having obtained Alad- 
 din's consent, transported him in a moment to the 
 palace he had made. The genie led him through all 
 the apartments, where he found officers and slaves, 
 habited according to their rank and the services to 
 which they were appointed. The genie then showed 
 him the treasury, which was opened by a treasurer, 
 where Aladdin saw large vases of dififerent sizes, 
 piled up to the top with money, ranged all round the 
 chamber. The genie thence led him to the stables, 
 where were some of the finest horses in the world, 
 
Story of Aladdin; or. The Wonderful Lamp 85 
 
 and the grooms busy in dressing them ; from thence 
 they went to the storehouses, which were filled with 
 all things necessary, both for food and ornament. 
 
 When Aladdin had examined every portion of the 
 palace, and particularly the hall with the four-and- 
 twenty windows, and found it far to exceed his 
 fondest expectations, he said, " Genie, there is one 
 thing wanting, a fine carpet for the princess to walk 
 upon from the sultan's palace to mine. Lay one 
 down immediately." The genie disappeared, and 
 Aladdin saw what he desired executed in an instant. 
 The genie then returned, and carried him to his own 
 home. 
 
 When the sultan's porters came to open the gates, 
 they were amazed to find what had been an un- 
 occupied garden filled up with a magnificent palace, 
 and a splendid carpet extending to it all the way 
 from the sultan's palace. They told the strange tid- 
 ings to the grand vizier, who informed the sultan, 
 who exclaimed, '' It must be Aladdin's palace, which 
 I gave him leave to build for my daughter. He has 
 wished to surprise us, and let us see what wonders 
 can be done in only one night." 
 
 Aladdin, on his being conveyed by the genie to his 
 own home, requested his mother to go to the 
 Princess Buddir al Buddoor, and tell her that the 
 palace would be ready for her reception in the 
 evening. She went, attended by her women slaves, 
 in the same order as on the preceding day. Shortly 
 after her arrival at the princess's apartment, the 
 sultan himself came in, and was surprised to find 
 her, whom he knew as his suppliant at his divan in 
 such humble guise, to be now more richly and 
 
86 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Knozv 
 
 sumptuously attired than his own daughter. This 
 gave him a higher opinion of Aladdin, who took 
 such care of his mother, and made her share his 
 wealth and honours. Shortly after her departure, 
 Aladdin, mounting his horse, and attended by his 
 retinue of magnificent attendants, left his paternal 
 home forever, and went to the palace in the same 
 pomp as on the day before. Nor did he forget to 
 take with him the Wonderful Lamp, to which he 
 owed all his good fortune, nor to wear the Ring 
 which was given him as a talisman. The sultan en- 
 tertained Aladdin with the utmost magnificence, and 
 at night, on the conclusion of the marriage cere- 
 monies, the princess took leave of the sultan her 
 father. Bands of music led the procession, followed 
 by a hundred state ushers, and the like number of 
 black mutes, in two files, with their officers at their 
 head. Four hundred of the sultan's young pages 
 carried flambeaux on each side, which, together with 
 the illuminations of the sultan's and Aladdin's pal- 
 aces, made it as light as day. In this order the 
 princess, conveyed in her litter, and accompanied 
 also by Aladdin's mother, carried in a superb litter 
 and attended by her women slaves, proceeded on the 
 carpet which was spread from the sultan's palace to 
 that of Aladdin. On her arrival Aladdin was ready 
 to receive her at the entrance, and led her into a 
 large hall, illuminated with an infinite number of 
 Avax candles, where a noble feast was served up. 
 The dishes were of massy gold, and contained the 
 most delicate viands. The vases, basins, and gob- 
 lets were gold also, and of exquisite workmanship, 
 and all the other ornaments and embellishments of 
 
Story of Aladdin; or, The Wonderful Lamp 87 
 
 the hall were answerable to this display. The 
 princess, dazzled to see so much riches collected in 
 one place, said to Aladdin, '' I thought, prince, that 
 nothing in the world was so beautiful as the sultan 
 my father's palace, but the sight of this hall alone 
 is sufficient to show I was deceived." 
 
 When the supper was ended, there entered a com- 
 pany of female dancers, who performed, according 
 to the custom of the country, singing at the same 
 time verses in praise of the bride and bridegroom. 
 About midnight Aladdin's mother conducted the 
 bride to the nuptial apartment, and he soon after 
 retired. 
 
 The next morning the attendants of Aladdin pre- 
 sented themselves to dress him, and brought him 
 another habit, as rich and magnificent as that worn 
 the day before. He then ordered one of the horses 
 to be got ready, mounted him, and went in the midst 
 of a large troop of slaves to the sultan's palace to 
 entreat him to take a repast in the princess's palace, 
 attended by his grand vizier and all the lords of his 
 court. The sultan consented with pleasure, rose up 
 immediately, and, preceded by the principal officers 
 of his palace, and followed by all the great lords of 
 his court, accompanied Aladdin. 
 
 The nearer the sultan approached Aladdin's pal- 
 ace, the more he was struck with its beauty ; but 
 when he entered it, came into the hall, and saw the 
 windows, enriched with diamonds, rubies, emeralds, 
 all large perfect stones, he was completely surprised, 
 and said to his son-in-law, " This palace is one of 
 the wonders of the world ; for where in all the world 
 besides shall we find walls built of massy gold and 
 
88 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 silver, and diamonds, rubies, and emeralds compos- 
 ing the windows? But what most surprises me is, 
 that a hall of this magnificence should be left with 
 one of its windows incomplete and unfinished.'* 
 " Sire," answered Aladdin, *' the omission was by 
 design, since I wished that you should have the 
 glory of finishing this hall." " I take your intention 
 kindly," said the sultan, " and will give orders about 
 it immediately." 
 
 After the sultan had finished this magnificent en- 
 tertainment, provided for him and for his court by 
 Aladdin, he was informed that the jewellers and 
 goldsmiths attended ; upon which he returned to the 
 hall, and showed them the window which was un- 
 finished. '' I sent for you," said he, '* to fit up this 
 window in as great perfection as the rest. Examine 
 them well, and make all the dispatch you can." 
 
 The jewellers and goldsmiths examined the three- 
 and-twenty windows with great attention, and after 
 they had consulted together, to know what each 
 could furnish, they returned, and presented them- 
 selves before the sultan, whose principal jeweller, 
 undertaking to speak for the rest, said, " Sire, we 
 are all willing to exert our utmost care and industry 
 to obey you; but among us all we cannot furnish 
 jewels enough for so great a work." *' I have more 
 than are necessary," said the sultan ; " come to my 
 palace, and you shall choose what may answer your 
 purpose." 
 
 When the sultan returned to his palace, he ordered 
 his jewels to be brought out, and the jewellers took 
 a great quantity, particularly those Aladdin had 
 made him a present of, which they soon used, with- 
 
Story of Aladdin; or, The Wonderful Lamp 89 
 
 out making any great advance in their work. They 
 came again several times for more, and in a month's 
 time had not finished half their work. In short, 
 they used all the jewels the sultan had, and bor- 
 rowed of the vizier, but yet the work was not half 
 done. 
 
 Aladdin, who knew that all the sultan's endeav- 
 ours to make this window like the rest were in vain, 
 sent for the jewellers and goldsmiths, and not only 
 commanded them to desist from their work, but 
 ordered them to undo what they had begun, and to 
 carry all their jewels back to the sultan and to the 
 vizier. They undid in a few hours what they had 
 been six weeks about, and retired, leaving Aladdin 
 alone in the hall. He took the lamp, which he car- 
 ried about him, rubbed it, and presently the genie 
 appeared. " Genie," said Aladdin, '' I ordered thee 
 to leave one of the four-and-twenty windows of this 
 hall imperfect, and thou hast executed my com- 
 mands punctually; now I would have thee make it 
 like the rest." The genie immediately disappeared. 
 Aladdin went out of the hall, and returning soon 
 after, found the window, as he wished it to be, like 
 the others. 
 
 In the mean time, the jewellers and goldsmiths 
 repaired to the palace, and were introduced into the 
 sultan's presence; where the chief jeweller presented 
 the precious stones which he had brought back. The 
 sultan asked them if Aladdin had given them any 
 reason for so doing, and they answering that he had 
 given them none, he ordered a horse to be brought, 
 which he mounted, and rode to his son-in-law's pal- 
 ace, with some few attendants on foot, to inquire 
 
go Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 why he had ordered the completion of the window 
 to be stopped. Aladdin met him at the gate, and 
 without giving any reply to his inquiries conducted 
 him to the grand saloon, where the sultan, to his 
 great surprise, found the window, which was left 
 imperfect, to correspond exactly with the others. 
 He fancied at first that he was mistaken, and ex- 
 amined the two windows on each side, and after- 
 ward all the four-and-twenty ; but when he was con- 
 vinced that the window which several workmen had 
 been so long about was finished in so short a time, 
 he embraced Aladdin and kissed him between his 
 eyes. " My son," said he, " what a man you are to 
 do such surprising things always in the twinkling 
 of an eye ! there is not your fellow in the world ; the 
 more I know, the more I admire you." 
 
 The sultan returned to the palace, and after this 
 went frequently to the window to contemplate and 
 admire the wonderful palace of his son-in-law. 
 
 Aladdin did not confine himself in his palace, but 
 went with much state, sometimes to one mosque, 
 and sometimes to another, to prayers, or to visit the 
 grand vizier or the principal lords of the court. 
 Every time he went out, he caused two slaves, who 
 walked by the side of his horse, to throw handfuls 
 of money among the people as he passed through 
 the streets and squares. This generosity gained him 
 the love and blessings of the people, and it was com- 
 mon for them to swear by his head. Thus Aladdin, 
 while he paid all respect to the sultan, won by his 
 affable behaviour and liberality the afifections of the 
 people. 
 
 Aladdin had conducted himself in this manner 
 
Story of Aladdin; or, The Wonderful Lamp 91 
 
 several years, when the African magician, who had 
 for some years dismissed him from his recollection, 
 determined to inform himself with certainty whether 
 he perished, as he supposed, in the subterranean 
 cave or not. After he had resorted to a long course 
 of magic ceremonies, and had formed a horoscope 
 by which to ascertain Aladdin's fate, what was his 
 surprise to find the appearances to declare that 
 Aladdin, instead of dying in the cave, had made his 
 escape, and Vv^as living in royal splendour, by the aid 
 of the genie of the wonderful lamp ! 
 
 On the very next day, the magician set out and 
 travelled with the utmost haste to the capital of 
 China, where, on his arrival, he took up his lodgings 
 in a khan. 
 
 He then quickly learnt about the wealth, char- 
 ities, happiness, and splendid palace of Prince Alad- 
 din. Directly he saw the wonderful fabric, he knew 
 that none but the genies, the slaves of the lamp, 
 could have performed such wonders, and, piqued to 
 the quick at Aladdin's high estate, he returned to 
 the khan. 
 
 On his return he had recourse to an operation of 
 geomancy to find out where the lamp was — whether 
 Aladdin carried it about with him, or where he left 
 it. The result of his consultation informed him, to 
 his great joy, that the lamp was in the palace. 
 " Well," said he, rubbing his hands in glee, " I shall 
 have the lamp, and I shall make Aladdin return to 
 his original mean condition." 
 
 The next day the magician learnt, from the chief 
 superintendent of the khan where he lodged, that 
 Aladdin had gone on a hunting expedition, which 
 
92 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Knoiv 
 
 was to last for eight days, of which only three had 
 expired. The magician wanted to know no more. 
 He resolved at once on his plans. He went to a 
 coppersmith, and asked for a dozen copper lamps: 
 the master of the shop told him he had not so many 
 by him, but if he would have patience till the next 
 day, he would have them ready. The magician ap- 
 pointed his time, and desired him to take care that 
 they should be handsome and well polished. 
 
 The next day the magician called for the twelve 
 lamps, paid the man his full price, put them into a 
 basket hanging on his arm, and went directly to 
 Aladdin's palace. As he approached, he began cry- 
 ing, " Who will exchange old lamps for new ones ? " 
 As he went along, a crowd of children collected, 
 who hooted, and thought him, as did all who 
 chanced to be passing by, a madman or a fool, to 
 offer to change new lamps for old ones. 
 
 The African magician regarded not their scoffs, 
 hootings, or all they could say to him, but still con- 
 tinued crying, " Who will change old lamps for new 
 ones ? " He repeated this so often, walking back- 
 ward and forward in front of the palace, that the 
 princess, who was then in the hall with the four- 
 and-twenty windows, hearing a man cry something, 
 and seeing a great mob crowding about him, sent 
 one of her women slaves to know what he cried 
 
 The slave returned, laughing so heartily that the 
 princess rebuked her. '' Madam," answered the 
 slave, laughing still, " who can forbear laughing, to 
 see an old man with a basket on his arm, full of fine 
 new lamps, asking to change them for old ones ? the 
 children and mob crowding about him, so that he 
 
Story of Aladdin; or, The Wonderful Lamp 93 
 
 can hardly stir, make all the noise they can in deri- 
 sion of him." 
 
 Another female slave hearing this, said, '' Now 
 you speak of lamps, I know not whether the princess 
 may have observed it, but there is an old one upon 
 a shelf of the Prince Aladdin's robing room, and 
 whoever owns it will not be sorry to find a new 
 one in its stead. If the princess chooses, she may 
 have the pleasure of trying if this old man is so 
 silly as to give a new lamp for an old one, without 
 taking anything for the exchange." 
 
 The princess, who knew not the value of this 
 lamp, and the interest that Aladdin had to keep it 
 safe, entered into the pleasantry, and commanded a 
 slave to take it and make the exchange. The slave 
 obeyed, went out of the hall, and no sooner got to 
 the palace gates than he saw the African magician, 
 called to him, and showing him the old lamp, said, 
 " Give me a new lamp for this." 
 
 The magician never doubted but this was the 
 lamp he wanted. There could be no other such in 
 this palace, where every utensil was gold or silver. 
 He snatched it eagerly out of the slave's hand, and 
 thrusting it as far as he could into his breast, offered 
 him his basket, and bade him choose which he liked 
 best. The slave picked out one and carried it to the 
 princess; but the change was no sooner made than 
 the place rung with the shouts of the children, de- 
 riding the magician's folly. 
 
 The African magician stayed no longer near the 
 palace, nor cried any more, ''New lamps for old 
 ones," but made the best of his way to his khan. 
 
94 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 His end was answered, and by his silence he got rid 
 of the children and the mob. 
 
 As soon as he was out of sight of the two palaces, 
 he hastened down the least-frequented streets; and 
 having no more occasion for his lamps or basket, 
 set all down in a spot where nobody saw him ; then 
 going down another street or two, he walked till 
 he came to one of the city gates, and pursuing his 
 way through the suburbs, which were very exten- 
 sive, at length reached a lonely spot, where he 
 stopped till the darkness of the night, as the most 
 suitable time for the design he had in contemplation. 
 When it became quite dark, he pulled the lamp out 
 of his breast and rubbed it. At that summons the 
 genie appeared, and said, " What wouldst thou 
 have ? I am ready to obey thee as thy slave, and the 
 slave of all those who have that lamp in their hands ; 
 both I and the other slaves of the lamp." *' I com- 
 mand thee," replied the magician, " to transport me 
 immediately, and the palace which thou and the 
 other slaves of the lamp have built in this city, with 
 all the people in it, to Africa." The genie made no 
 reply, but with the assistance of the other genies, 
 the slaves of the lamp, immediately transported him 
 and the palace, entire, to the spot whither he had 
 been desired to convey it. 
 
 Early the next morning, when the sultan, accord- 
 ing to custom, went to contemplate and admire Alad- 
 din's place, his amazement was unbounded to find 
 that it could nowhere be seen. He could not com- 
 prehend how so large a palace which he had seen 
 plainly every day for some years, should vanish so 
 soon, and not leave the least remains behind. In 
 
Story of Aladdin; or, The Wonderful Lamp 95 
 
 his perplexity he ordered the grand vizier to be sent 
 for with expedition. 
 
 The grand vizier, who, in secret, bore no good 
 will to Aladdin, intimated his suspicion that the pal- 
 ace was built by magic, and that Aladdin had made 
 his hunting excursion an excuse for the removal of 
 his palace with the same suddenness with which it 
 had been erected. He induced the sultan to send 
 a detachment of his guard, and to have Aladdin 
 seized as a prisoner of state. On his son-in-law be- 
 ing brought before him, he would not hear a word 
 from him, but ordered him to be put to death. The 
 decree caused so much discontent among the people, 
 whose affection Aladdin had secured by his largesses 
 and charities, that the sultan, fearful of an insur- 
 rection, was obliged to grant him his life. When 
 Aladdin found himself at liberty, he again addressed 
 the sultan : '* Sire, I pray you to let me know the 
 crime by which I have thus lost the favour of thy 
 countenance." " Your crime ! " answered the sultan, 
 " wretched man ! do you not know it ? Follow me, 
 and I will show you." The sultan then took Aladdin 
 into the apartment from whence he was wont to look 
 at and admire his palace, and said, *' You ought to 
 know where your palace stood ; look, mind, and tell 
 me what^has become of it." Aladdin did so, and be- 
 ing utterly amazed at the loss of his palace, was 
 speechless. At last recovering himself, he said, " It 
 is true, I do not see the palace. It is vanished ; but 
 I had no concern in its removal. I beg you to give 
 me forty days, and if in that time I cannot restore it, 
 I will offer my head to be disposed of at your pleas- 
 ure." '' I give you the time you ask, but at the end 
 
96 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 of the forty days, forget not to present yourself be- 
 fore me." 
 
 Aladdin went out of the sultan's palace in a condi- 
 tion of exceeding humiliation. The lords who had 
 courted him in the days of his splendour, now de- 
 clined to have any communication with him. For 
 three days he wandered about the city, exciting the 
 wonder and compassion of the multitude by asking 
 everybody he met if they had seen his palace, or 
 could tell him anything of it. On the third day he 
 wandered into the country, and as he was approach- 
 ing a river, he fell down the bank with so much vio- 
 lence that he rubbed the ring which the magician 
 had given him so hard by holding on the rock to 
 save himself, that immediately the same genie ap- 
 peared whom he had seen in the cave where the ma- 
 gician had left him. " What wouldst thou have? " 
 said the genie, " I am ready to obey thee as thy 
 slave, and the slave of all those that have that ring 
 on their finger; both I and the other slaves of the 
 ring." 
 
 Aladdin, agreeably surprised at an offer of help 
 so little expected, replied, " Genie, show me where 
 the palace I caused to be built now stands, or trans- 
 port it back where it first stood." " Your com- 
 mand," answered the genie, '' is not wholly in my 
 power; I am only the slave of the ring, and not of 
 the lamp." " I command thee, then," replied Alad- 
 din, *' by the power of the ring, to transport me to 
 the spot where my palace stands, in what part of the 
 world soever it may be." These words were no 
 sooner out of his mouth, than the genie transported 
 him into Africa, to the midst of a large plain, where 
 
Story of Aladdin; or, The Wonderful Lamp 97 
 
 his palace stood, at no great distance from a city, 
 and placing him exactly under the window of the 
 princess's apartment, left him. 
 
 Now it so happened that shortly after Aladdin had 
 been transported by the slave of the ring to the 
 neighbourhood of his palace, that one of the attend- 
 ants of the Princess Buddir al Buddoor, looking 
 through the window, perceived him and instantly 
 told her mistress. The princess, who could not be- 
 lieve the joyful tidings, hastened herself to the win- 
 dow, and seeing Aladdin, immediately opened it. 
 The noise of opening the window made Aladdin turn 
 his head that way, and perceiving the princess, he 
 saluted her with an air that expressed his joy. '' To 
 lose no time," said she to him, " I have sent to have 
 the private door opened for you; enter and come 
 up." 
 
 The private door, which was just under the prin- 
 cess's apartment, was soon opened, and Aladdin con- 
 ducted up into the chamber. It is impossible to ex- 
 press the joy of both at seeing each other, after so 
 cruel a separation. After embracing and shedding 
 tears of joy, they sat down, and Aladdin said, " I 
 beg of you, princess, to tell me what is become of an 
 old lamp which stood upon a shelf in my robing- 
 chamber." 
 
 '' Alas ! " answered the princess, " I was afraid our 
 misfortune might be owing to that lamp ; and what 
 grieves me most is, that I have been the cause of it. 
 I was foolish enough to change the old lamp for a 
 new one, and the next morning I found myself in 
 this unknown country, which I am told is Africa." 
 
 '* Princess," said Aladdin, interrupting her, *' you 
 
98 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Knozv 
 
 have explained all by telling me we are in Africa. \ 
 I desire you only to tell me if you know where the 
 old lamp now is." " The African magician carries it 
 carefully wrapt up in his bosom," said the princes* ; 
 '' and this I can assure you, because he pulled it out 
 before me, and showed it to me in triumph." 
 
 " Princess," said Aladdin, " I think I have found 
 the means to deliver you and to regain possession of 
 the lamp, on which all my prosperity depends ; to 
 execute this design it is necessary for me to go to 
 the town. I shall return by noon, and will then tell 
 you what must be done by you to insure success. In 
 the mean time, I shall disguise myself, and beg that 
 the private door may be opened at the first knock." 
 
 When Aladdin was out of the palace, he looked 
 round him on all sides, and perceiving a peasant 
 going into the country, hastened after him ; and 
 when he had overtaken him, made a proposal to him 
 to change clothes, which the man agreed to. When 
 they had made the exchange, the countryman went 
 about his business, and Aladdin entered the neigh- 
 bouring city. After traversing several streets, he 
 came to that part of the town where the merchants 
 and artisans had their particular streets according 
 to their trades. He went into that of the druggists ; 
 and entering one of the largest and best furnished 
 shops, asked the druggist if he had a certain powder, 
 which he named. 
 
 The druggist, judging Aladdin by his habit to be 
 very poor, told him he had it, but that it was very 
 dear ; upon which Aladdin, penetrating his thoughts, 
 pulled out his purse, and showing him some gold, 
 asked for half a dram of the powder; which the 
 
Story of Aladdin; or, The Wonderful Lamp 99 
 
 druggist weighed and gave him, telHng him the 
 price was a piece of gold. Aladdin put the money 
 into his hand, and hastened to the palace, which he 
 entered at once by the private door. When he came 
 into the princess's apartments, he said to her, '' Prin- 
 cess, you must take your part in the scheme which 
 I propose for our deliverance. You must overcome 
 your aversion to the magician, and assume a most 
 friendly manner toward him, and ask him to oblige 
 you by partaking of an entertainment in your apart- 
 ments. Before he leaves, ask him to exchange cups 
 with you, which he, gratified at the honour you do 
 him, will gladly do, when you must give him the cup 
 containing this powder. On drinking it he will in- 
 stantly fall asleep, and we will obtain the lamp, 
 whose slaves will do all our bidding, and restore us 
 and the palace to the capital of China." 
 
 The princess obeyed to the utmost her husband's 
 instructions. She assumed a look of pleasure on 
 the next visit of the magician, and asked him to an 
 entertainment, which he most willingly accepted. At 
 the close of the evening, during which the princess 
 had tried all she could to please him, she asked him 
 to exchange cups with her, and giving the signal, 
 had the drugged cup brought to her, which she gave 
 to the magician. He drank it out of compliment to 
 the princess to the very last drop, when he fell back- 
 ward lifeless on the sofa. 
 
 The princess, in anticipation of the success of her 
 scheme, had so placed her women from the great 
 hall to the foot of the staircase, that the word was no 
 sooner given that the African magician was fallen 
 backward, than the door was opened, and Aladdin 
 
loo Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 admitted to the hall. The princess rose from her 
 seat, and ran, overjoyed, to embrace him ; but he 
 stopped her, and said, '' Princess, retire to your 
 apartment; and let me be left alone, while I en- 
 deavour to transport you back to China as speedily 
 as you were brought from thence." 
 
 When the princess, her women, and slaves were 
 gone out of the hall, Aladdin shut the door, and go- 
 ing directly to the dead body of the magician, opened 
 his vest, took out the lamp which was carefully 
 wrapped up, and rubbing it, the genie immediately 
 appeared. *' Genie," said Aladdin, " I command thee 
 to transport this palace instantly to the place from 
 whence it was brought hither." The genie bowed 
 his head in token of obedience, and disappeared. Im- 
 mediately the palace was transported into China, and 
 its removal was only felt by two little shocks, the one 
 when it was lifted up, the other when it was set 
 down, and both in a very short interval of time. 
 
 On the morning after the restoration of Aladdin's 
 palace, the sultan was looking out of his window, 
 and mourning over the fate of his daughter, when 
 he thought that he saw the vacancy created by the 
 disappearance of the palace to be again filled up. 
 
 On looking more attentively, he was convinced 
 beyond the power of doubt that it was his son-in- 
 law's palace. Joy and gladness succeeded to sorrow 
 and grief. He at once ordered a horse to be saddled, 
 which he mounted that instant, thinking he could 
 not make haste enough to the place. 
 
 Aladdin rose that morning by daybreak, put on 
 one of the most magnificent habits his wardrobe af- 
 forded, and went up into the hall of twenty- four 
 
Story of Aladdin; or, The Wonderful Lamp loi 
 
 windows, from whence he perceived the sultan ap- 
 proaching, and received him at the foot of the great 
 staircase, helping him to dismount. 
 
 He led the sultan into the princess's apartment. 
 The happy father embraced her with tears of joy; 
 and the princess, on her side, afforded similar testi- 
 monies of her extreme pleasure. After a short in- 
 terval, devoted to mutual explanations of all that 
 had happened, the sultan restored Aladdin to his 
 favour, and expressed his regret for the apparent 
 harshness with which he had treated him. " My 
 son," said he, " be not displeased at my proceedings 
 against you ; they arose from my paternal love, and 
 therefore you ought to forgive the excesses to which 
 it hurried me." " Sire," replied Aladdin, *' I have 
 not the least reason to complain of your conduct, 
 since you did nothing but what your duty required. 
 This infamous magician, the basest of men, was the 
 sole cause of my misfortune." 
 
 The African magician, who was thus twice foiled 
 in his endeavour to ruin Aladdin, had a younger 
 brother, who was as skilful a magician as himself, 
 and exceeded him in wickedness and hatred of man- 
 kind. By mutual agreement they communicated 
 with each other once a year, however widely sepa- 
 rate might be their place of residence from each 
 other. The younger brother not having received as 
 usual his annual communication, prepared to take a 
 horoscope and ascertain his brother's proceedings. 
 He, as well as his brother, always carried a geoman- 
 tic square instrument about him; he prepared the 
 sand, cast the points, and drew the figures. On ex- 
 amining the planetary crystal, he found that his 
 
I02 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Knozv 
 
 brother was no longer living, but had been poisoned ; 
 and by another observation, that he was in the capi- 
 tal of the kingdom of China ; also, that the person 
 who had poisoned him was of mean birth, though 
 married to a princess, a sultan's daughter. 
 
 When the magician had informed himself of his 
 brother's fate, he resolved immediately to revenge 
 his death, and at once departed for China; where, 
 after crossing plains, rivers, mountains, deserts, and 
 a long. tract of country without delay, he arrived 
 after incredible fatigues. When he came to the capi- 
 tal of China, he took a lodging at a khan. His magic 
 art soon revealed to him that Aladdin was the person 
 who had been the cause of the death of his brother. 
 He had heard, too, all the persons of repute in the 
 city talking of a woman called Fatima, who was re- 
 tired from the world, and of the miracles she 
 wrought. As he fancied that this woman might be 
 serviceable to him in the project he had conceived, 
 he made more minute inquiries, and requested to be 
 informed more particularly who that holy woman 
 was, and what sort of miracles she performed. 
 
 '' What ! " said the person whom he addressed, 
 " have you never seen or heard of her ? She is the 
 admiration of the whole town, for her fasting, her 
 austerities, and her exemplary life. Except Mon- 
 days and Fridays, she never stirs out of her little 
 cell ; and on those days on which she comes into the 
 town she does an infinite deal of good ; for there is 
 not a person who is diseased but she puts her hand 
 on them and cures them." 
 
 Having ascertained the place where the hermitage 
 of this holy woman was, the magician went at night, 
 
Story of Aladdin; or, The Wonderful Lamp 103 
 
 and, plunging a poniard into her heart, killed this 
 good woman. In the morning he dyed his face of 
 the same hue as hers, and arraying himself in her 
 garb, taking her veil, the large necklace she wore 
 round her waist, and her stick, went straight to the 
 palace of Aladdin. 
 
 As soon as the people saw the holy woman, as 
 they imagined him to be, they presently gathered 
 about him in a great crowd. Some begged his bless- 
 ing, others kissed his hand, and others, more re- 
 served, only the hem of his garment ; while others, 
 suffering from disease, stooped for him to lay his 
 hands upon them; which he did, muttering some 
 words in form of prayer, and, in short, counterfeiting 
 so well, that everybody took him for the holy woman. 
 He came at last to the square before Aladdin's pal- 
 ace. The crowd and the noise were so great that 
 the princess, who was in the hall of four-and-twenty 
 windows, heard it, and asked what was the matter. 
 One of her women told her it was a great crowd of 
 people collected about the holy woman to be cured 
 of diseases by the imposition of her hands. 
 
 The princess, who had long heard of this holy 
 woman, but had never seen her, was very desirous to 
 have some conversation with her; which the chief 
 officer perceiving, told her it was an easy matter to 
 bring her to her, if she desired and commanded it; 
 and the princess expressing her wishes, he immedi- 
 ately sent four slaves for the pretended holy woman. 
 
 As soon as the crowd saw the attendants from the 
 palace, they made way ; and the magician, perceiving 
 also that they were coming for him, advanced to 
 meet them, overjoyed to find his plot succeed so 
 
I04 Fairy Talcs Every Child Should Know 
 
 well. " Holy woman," said one of the slaves, " the 
 princess wants to see you, and has sent us for 
 ^you." '' The princess does me too great an honour," 
 replied the false Fatima ; " I am ready to obey her 
 command," and at the same time followed the slaves 
 to the palace. 
 
 When the pretended Fatima had made her obei- 
 sance, the princess said, " My good mother, I have 
 one thing to request, which you must not refuse me ; 
 it is, to stay with me, that you may edify me with 
 your way of living, and that I may learn from your 
 good example." " Princess," said the counterfeit 
 Fatima, " I beg of you not to ask what I cannot con- 
 sent to without neglecting my prayers and devotion." 
 " That shall be no hindrance to you," answered the 
 princess ; " I have a great many apartments unoccu- 
 pied ; you shall choose which you like best, and have 
 as much liberty to perform your devotions as if you 
 were in your own cell." 
 
 The magician, who really desired nothing more 
 than to introduce himself into the palace, where it 
 would be a much easier matter for him to execute 
 his designs, did not long excuse himself from ac- 
 cepting the obliging offer which the princess made 
 him. *' Princess," said he, '' whatever resolution a 
 poor wretched woman as I am may have made to re- 
 nounce the pomp and grandeur of this world, I dare 
 not presume to oppose the will and commands of so 
 pious and charitable a princess." 
 
 Upon this the princess, rising up, said, " Come 
 with me, I will show you what vacant apartments I 
 have, that you may make choice of that you like 
 best." The magician followed the princess, and of 
 
Story of Aladdin; or, The Wonderful Lamp 105 
 
 all the apartments she showed him, made choice of 
 that which was the worst, saying that it was too 
 good for him, and that he only accepted it to please 
 her. 
 
 Afterward the princess would have brought him 
 back into the great hall to make him dine with her ; 
 but he, considering that he should then be obliged to 
 show his face, which he had always taken care to con- 
 ceal with Fatima's veil, and fearing that the princess 
 should find out that he was not Fatima, begged of 
 her earnestly to excuse him, telling her that he never 
 ate anything but bread and dried fruits, and desir- 
 ing to eat that slight repast in his own apartment. 
 The princess granted his request, saying, '' You may 
 be as free here, good mother, as if you were in your 
 own cell : I will order you a dinner, but remember I 
 expect you as soon as you have finished your repast." 
 
 After the princess had dined, and the false Fa- 
 tima had been sent for by one of the attendants, he 
 again waited upon her. " My good mother," said 
 the princess, '' I am overjoyed to see so holy a 
 woman as yourself, who will confer a blessing upon 
 this palace. But now I am speaking of the palace, 
 pray how do you like it? And before I show it all 
 to you, tell me first what you think of this hall." 
 
 Upon this question, the counterfeit Fatima sur- 
 veyed the hall from one end to the other. When he 
 had examined it well, he said to the princess, " As far 
 as such a solitary being as I am, who am un- 
 acquainted with what the world calls beautiful, can 
 judge, this hall is truly admirable; there wants but 
 one thing." "What is that, good mother?" de- 
 manded the princess; '' tell me, I conjure you. For 
 
io6 Fairy Talcs Every Child Should Know 
 
 my part, I always believed, and have heard say, it 
 wanted nothing; but if it does, it shall be supplied." 
 
 '' Princess," said the false Fatima, with great dis- 
 simulation, " forgive me the liberty I have taken ; 
 but my opinion is, if it can be of any importance, 
 that if a roc's ^gg were hung up in the middle of the 
 dome, this hall would have no parallel in the four 
 quarters of the world, and your palace would be the 
 wonder of the universe." 
 
 " My good mother," said the princess, " what is a 
 roc, and where may one get an tgg"^ " '' Princess," 
 replied the pretended Fatima, " it is a bird of pro- 
 digious size, which inhabits the summit of Mount 
 Caucasus ; the architect who built your palace can 
 get you one." 
 
 After the princess had thanked the false Fatima 
 for what she believed her good advice, she con- 
 versed with her upon other matters; but could not 
 forget the roc's tgg, which she resolved to request 
 of Aladdin when next he should visit his apartments. 
 He did so in the course of that evening, and shortly 
 after he entered, the princess thus addressed him : 
 '' I always believed that our palace was the most 
 superb, magnificent, and complete in the world : but 
 I will tell you now what it wants, and that is a roc's 
 tgg hung up in the midst of the dome." " Princess," 
 replied Aladdin, " it is enough that you think it 
 wants such an ornament; you shall see by the dili- 
 gence which I use in obtaining it, that there is noth- 
 ing which I would not do for your sake." 
 
 Aladdin left the Princess Buddir al Buddoor that 
 moment, and went up into the hall of four-and- 
 twenty windows, where, pulling out of his bosom the 
 
Story of Aladdin; or, The Wonderful Lamp 107 
 
 lamp, which after the danger he had been exposed 
 to he always carried about him, he rubbed it; upon 
 which the genie immediately appeared. " Genie," 
 said Aladdin, '' I command thee, in the name of this 
 lamp, bring a roc's ^gg to be hung up in the middle 
 of the dome of the hall of the palace." Aladdin had 
 no sooner pronounced these words, than the hall 
 shook as if ready to fall; and the genie said in a 
 loud and terrible voice, '' Is it not enough that I 
 and the other slaves of the lamp have done every- 
 thing for you, but you, by an unheard-of ingratitude, 
 must command me to bring my master, and hang 
 him up in the midst of this dome ? This attempt de- 
 serves that you, the princess, and the palace, should 
 be immediately reduced to ashes ; but you are spared 
 because this request does not come from yourself. 
 Its, true author is the brother of the African magi- 
 cian, your enemy whom you have destroyed. He 
 is now in your palace, disguised in the habit of the 
 holy woman Fatima, whom he has murdered ; at his 
 suggestion your wife makes this pernicious demand. 
 His design is to kill you, therefore take care of your- 
 self." After these words the genie disappeared. 
 
 Aladdin resolved at once what to do. He re- 
 turned to the princess's apartment, and without men- 
 tioning a word of what had happened, sat down, and 
 complained of a great pain which had suddenly 
 seized his head. On hearing this, the princess told 
 him how she had invited the holy Fatima to stay 
 with her, and that she was now in the palace; and 
 at the request of the prince, ordered her to be sum- 
 moned to her at once. 
 
 When the pretended Fatima came, Aladdin said. 
 
io8 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 " Come hither, good mother ; I am glad to see you 
 here at so fortunate a time. I am tormented with 
 a violent pain in my head, and request your assist- 
 ance, and hope you will not refuse me that cure 
 which you impart to afflicted persons." So saying, 
 he arose, but held down his head. The counterfeit 
 Fatima advanced toward him, with his hand all the 
 time on a dagger concealed in his girdle under his 
 gown ; which Aladdin, observing, he snatched the 
 weapon from his hand, pierced him to the heart with 
 his own dagger, and then pushed him down on the 
 floor. 
 
 " My dear prince, what have you done ? " cried 
 the princess, in surprise. '' You have killed the holy 
 woman ! " " No, my princess," answered Aladdin 
 with emotion, " I have not killed Fatima, but a vil- 
 lain, who would have assassinated me, if I had not 
 prevented him. " This wicked man," added he, un- 
 covering his face, '' is the brother of the magician 
 who attempted our ruin. He has strangled the true 
 Fatima, and disguised himself in her clothes with in- 
 tent to murder me." Aladdin then informed her how 
 the genie had told him these facts, and how narrowly 
 she and the palace had escaped destruction through 
 his treacherous suggestion which had led to her re- 
 quest. 
 
 Thus was Aladdin delivered from the persecution 
 of the two brothers, who were magicians. Within a 
 few years afterward, the sultan died in a good old 
 age, and as he left no male children, the Princess 
 Buddir al Buddoor succeeded him, and she and 
 Aladdin reigned together many years, and left a 
 numerous and illustrious posterity. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 THE HISTORY OF ALI BAB A, AND OF THE FORTY 
 ROBBERS KILLED BY ONE SLAVE 
 
 There once lived in a town of Persia two broth- 
 ers, one named Cassim and the other Ali Baba. 
 Their father divided a small inheritance equally be- 
 tween them. Cassim married a very rich wife, and 
 became a wealthy merchant. Ali Baba married a 
 woman as poor as himself, and lived by cutting 
 wood, and bringing it upon three asses into the 
 town to sell. 
 
 One day, when Ali Baba was in the forest, and 
 had just cut wood enough to load his asses, he saw 
 at a distance a great cloud of dust, which seemed 
 to approach him. He observed it with attention, 
 and distinguished soon after a body of horsemen, 
 who he suspected might be robbers. He deter- 
 mined to leave his asses to save himself. He climbed 
 up a large tree, planted on a high rock, whose 
 branches were thick enough to conceal him, and 
 yet enabled him to see all that passed without being 
 discovered. 
 
 The troop, who were to the number of forty, all 
 well mounted and armed, came to the foot of the 
 rock on which the tree stood, and there dismounted. 
 Every man unbridled his horse, tied him to some 
 
no Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 shrub, and hung about his neck a bag of corn which 
 they brought behind them. Then each of them 
 took off his saddle-bag, which seemed to Ah Baba 
 to be full of gold and silver from its weight. One, 
 whom he took to be their captain, came under the 
 tree in which Ali Baba was concealed; and making 
 his way through some shrubs, pronounced these 
 words : " Open, Sesame ! " ^ As soon as the captain 
 of the robbers had thus spoken, a door opened in 
 the rock; and after he had made all his troop enter 
 before him, he followed them, when the door shut 
 again of itself. 
 
 The robbers stayed some time within the rock, 
 during which Ali Baba, fearful of being caught, re- 
 mained in the tree. 
 
 At last the door opened again, and as the captain 
 went in last, so he came out first, and stood to see 
 them all pass by him ; w^hen Ali Baba heard him 
 make the door close by pronouncing these words, 
 " Shut, Sesame ! " Every man at once went and 
 bridled his horse, fastened his wallet, and mounted 
 again. When the captain saw them all ready, he 
 put himself at their head, and they returned the 
 way they had come. 
 
 Ali Baba followed them with his eyes as far as 
 he could see them ; and afterward stayed a consid- 
 erable time before he descended. Remembering 
 the words the captain of the robbers used to cause 
 the door to open and shut, he had the curiosity to 
 try if his pronouncing them would have the same 
 effect. Accordingly, he went among the shrubs, and 
 perceiving the door concealed behind them, stood 
 ^ " Sesame " is a small grain. 
 
The History of AH Baba ' iii 
 
 before it, and said, " Open, Sesame ! " The door in- 
 stantly flew wide open. 
 
 AH Baba, who expected a dark, dismal cavern, 
 was surprised to see a well-lighted and spacious 
 chamber, which received the light from an opening 
 at the top of the rock, and in which were all sorts 
 of provisions, rich bales of silk, stuff, brocade, and 
 valuable carpeting, piled upon one another; gold 
 and silver ingots in great heaps, and money in bags. 
 The sight of all these riches made him suppose that 
 this cave must have been occupied for ages by rob- 
 bers, who had succeeded one another. 
 
 Ali Baba went boldly into the cave, and collected 
 as much of the gold coin, which was in bags, as 
 he thought his three asses could carry. When he 
 had loaded them with the bags, he laid wood over 
 them in such a manner that they could not be seen. 
 When he had passed in and out as often as he 
 wished, he stood before the door, and pronouncing 
 the words, '' Shut, Sesame ! " the door closed of it- 
 self. He then made the best of his way to town. 
 
 When Ali Baba got home, he drove his asses into 
 a little yard, shut the gates very carefully, threw off 
 the wood that covered the panniers, carried the bags 
 into his house, and ranged them in order before his 
 wife. He then emptied the bags, which raised such 
 a great heap of gold as dazzled his wife's eyes, and 
 then he told her the whole adventure from begin- 
 ning to end, and, above all, recommended her to 
 keep it secret. 
 
 The wife rejoiced greatly in their good fortune, 
 and would count all the gold piece by piece. " Wife," 
 *-eplied Ali Baba, " you do not know what you 
 
112 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 undertake, when you pretend to count the money; 
 you will never have done. I will dig a hole, and 
 bury it. There is no time to be lost." " You are in 
 the right, husband," replied she, '* but let us know, as 
 nigh as possible, how much we have. I will borrow 
 a small measure, and measure it, while you dig the 
 hole." 
 
 Away the wife ran to her brother-in-law Cassim, 
 who lived just by, and addressing herself to his 
 wife, desired her to lend her a measure for a little 
 while. Her sister-in-law asked her whether she 
 would have a great or a small one. The other asked 
 for a small one. She bade her stay a little, and she 
 would readily fetch one. 
 
 The sister-in-law did so, but as she knew Ali 
 Baba's poverty, she was curious to know what sort 
 of grain his wife wanted to measure, and artfully 
 putting some suet at the bottom of the measure, 
 brought it to her, with an excuse that she was sorry 
 that she had made her stay so long, but that she 
 could not find it sooner. 
 
 Ali Baba's wife went home, set the measure upon 
 the heap of gold, filled it, and emptied it often upon 
 the sofa, till she had done, when she was very well 
 satisfied to find the number of measures amounted to 
 so many as they did, and went to tell her husband, 
 who had almost finished digging the hole. While 
 Ali Baba was burying the gold, his wife, to show 
 her exactness and diligence to her sister-in-law, 
 carried the measure back again, but without taking 
 notice that a piece of gold had stuck to the bottom. 
 ^* Sister," said she, giving it to her again, '' you see 
 
The History of AH Baha 113 
 
 that I have not kept your measure long. I am 
 obliged to you for it, and return it with thanks." 
 
 As soon as AH Baba's wife was gone, Cassim's 
 looked at the bottom o^the measure, and was in 
 inexpressible surprise to find a piece of gold sticking 
 to it. Envy immediately possessed her breast. 
 " What ! " said she, " has Ali Baba gold so plentiful 
 as to measure it ? Whence has he all this wealth ? " 
 
 Cassim, her husband, was at his counting-house. 
 When he came home, his wife said to him, " Cas- 
 sim, I know you think yourself rich, but Ali Baba 
 is infinitely richer than you. He does not count 
 his money, but measures it." Cassim desired her to 
 explain the riddle, which she did, by telling him the 
 stratagem she had used to make the discovery, and 
 showed him the piece of money, which was so old 
 that they could not tell in what prince's reign it was 
 coined. 
 
 Cassim, after he had married the rich widow, had 
 never treated Ali Baba as a brother, but neglected 
 him ; and now, instead of being pleased, he conceived 
 a base envy at his brother's prosperity. He could 
 not sleep all that night, and went to him in the morn- 
 ing before sunrise. '' Ali Baba," said he, " I am sur- 
 prised at you ; you pretend to be miserably poor, and 
 yet you measure gold. My wife found this at the 
 bottom of the measure you borrowed yesterday." 
 
 By this discourse, Ali Baba perceived that Cas- 
 sim and his wife, through his own wife's folly, knew 
 what they had so riiiuch reason to conceal ; but what 
 was done, could not be undone. Therefore, without 
 showing the least surprise or trouble, he confessed 
 
114 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 all, and offered his brother part of his treasure to 
 keep the secret. 
 
 " I expect as much," replied Cassim haughtily ; 
 " but I must know exacfly where this treasure is, 
 and how I may visit it myself when I choose ; other- 
 wise, I will go and inform against you, and then you 
 will not only get no more, but will lose all you have, 
 and I shall have a share for my information." 
 
 Ali Baba told him all he desired, even to the very 
 words he was to use to gain admission into the 
 cave. 
 
 Cassim rose the next morning long before the 
 sun, and set out for the forest with ten mules bear- 
 ing great chests, which he designed to fill, and fol- 
 lowed the road which Ali Baba had pointed out to 
 him. He was not long before he reached the rock, 
 and found out the place, by the tree and other marks 
 which his brother had given him. When he reached 
 the entrance of the cavern, he pronounced the words, 
 *' Open, Sesame ! " The door immediately opened, 
 and, when he was in, closed upon him. In examin- 
 ing the cave, he was in great admiration to find 
 much more riches than he had expected from Ali 
 Baba's relation. He quickly laid as many bags of 
 gold as he could carry at the door of the cavern ; 
 but his thoughts were so full of the great riches he 
 should possess, that he could not think of the neces- 
 sary word to make it open, but instead of " Se- 
 same," said, " Open, Barley ! " and was much 
 amazed to find that the door remained fast shut. 
 He named several sorts of grain, but still the door 
 would not open. 
 
 Cassim had never expected such an incident, and 
 
The History of AH Baba 115 
 
 was so alarmed at the danger he was in, that the 
 more he endeavoured to remember the word '* Se- 
 same," the more his memory was confounded, and 
 he had as much forgotten it as if he had never 
 heard it mentioned. He threw down the bags he 
 had loaded himself with, and walked distractedly up 
 and down the cave, without having the least regard 
 to the riches that were around him. 
 
 About noon the robbers visited their cave. At 
 some distance they saw Cassim's mules straggling 
 about the rock, with great chests on their backs. 
 Alarmed at this, they galloped full speed to the 
 cave. They drove away the mules, which strayed 
 through the forest so far, that they were soon out 
 of sight, and went directly, with their naked sabres 
 in their hands, to the door, which, on their captain 
 pronouncing the proper words, immediately opened. 
 
 Cassim, who heard the noise of the horses' feet, 
 at once guessed the arrival of the robbers, and re- 
 solved to make one effort for his life. He rushed 
 to the door, and no sooner saw the door open, than 
 he ran out and threw the leader down, but could 
 not escape the other robbers, who with their scimi- 
 tars soon deprived him of life. 
 
 The first care of the robbers after this was to ex- 
 amine the cave. They found all the bags which 
 Cassim had brought to the door, to be ready to load 
 his mules, and carried them again to their places, 
 but they did not miss what Ali Baba had taken away 
 before. Then holding a council, and deliberating 
 upon this occurrence, they guessed that Cassim, 
 when he was in, could no get out again, but could 
 not imagine how he had learned the secret words 
 
ii6 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 by which alone he could enter. They could not deny 
 the fact of his being there ; and to terrify any per- 
 son or accomplice who should attempt the same 
 thing, they agreed to cut Cassim's body into four 
 quarters — to hang two on one side, and two on the 
 other, within the door of the cave. They had no 
 sooner taken this resolution than they put it in exe- 
 cution; and when they had nothing more to detain 
 them, left the place of their hoards well closed. 
 They mounted their horses, went to beat the roads 
 again, and to attack the caravans they might meet. 
 
 In the mean time, Cassim's wife was very uneasy 
 when night came, and her husband was not returned. 
 She ran to Ali Baba in great alarm, and said, " I 
 believe, brother-in-law, that you know Cassim is 
 gone to the forest, and upon what account ; it is now 
 night, and he has not returned ; I am afraid some 
 misfortune has happened to him." Ali Baba told 
 her that she need not frighten herself, for that cer- 
 tainly Cassim would not think it proper to come into 
 the town till the night should be pretty far advanced. 
 
 Cassim's wife, considering how much it concerned 
 her husband to keep the business secret, was the 
 more easily persuaded to believe her brother-in-law. 
 She went home again, and waited patiently till mid- 
 night. Then her fear redoubled, and her grief was 
 the more sensible because she was forced to keep it 
 to herself. She repented of her foolish curiosity, 
 and cursed her desire of prying into the affairs of 
 her brother and sister-in-law. She spent all the 
 night in weeping; and as soon as it was day went 
 to them, telling them, by her tears, the cause of her 
 coming. 
 
The History of AH Baba 117 
 
 AH Baba did not wait for his sister-in-law to de- 
 sire him to go to see what was become of Cassim, but 
 departed immediately with his three asses, begging 
 of her first to moderate her affliction. He went to 
 the forest, and when he came- near the rock, having 
 seen neither his brother nor the mules in his way, 
 was seriously alarmed at finding some blood spilt 
 near the door, which he took for an ill omen; but 
 when he had pronounced the word, and the door 
 had opened, he was struck with horror at the dismal 
 sight of his brother's body. He was not long in de- 
 termining how he should pay the last dues to his 
 brother ; but without adverting to the little fraternal 
 affection he had shown for him, went into the cave, 
 to find something to enshroud his remains ; and hav- 
 ing loaded one of his asses with them, covered them 
 over with wood. The other two asses he loaded 
 with bags of gold, covering them with wood also as 
 before ; and then bidding the door shut, came away ; 
 but was so cautious as to stop some time at the end 
 of the forest, that he might not go into the town be- 
 fore night. When he came home, he drove the two 
 asses loaded with gold into his little yard, and left 
 the care of unloading them to his wife, while he led 
 the other to his sister-in-law's house. 
 
 Ali Baba knocked at the dor, which was opened 
 by Morgiana, a clever, intelligent slave, who was 
 fruitful in inventions to meet the most difficult cir- 
 cumstances. When he came into the court, he un- 
 loaded the ass, and taking Morgiana aside, said to 
 her, " You must observe an inviolable secrecy. Your 
 master's body is contained in these two panniers. 
 We must bury him as if he had died a natural death. 
 
ii8 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 Go now and tell your mistress. I leave the matter 
 to your wit and skilful devices." 
 
 AH Baba helped to place the body in Cassim's 
 house, again recommended to Morgiana to act her 
 part well, and then returned with his ass. 
 
 Morgiana went out early the next morning to a 
 druggist, and asked for a sort of lozenge which was 
 considered efficacious in the most dangerous dis- 
 orders. The apothecary inquired who was ill ? She 
 replied, with a sigh, " Her good master Cassim him- 
 self : and that he could neither eat nor speak." In 
 the evening Morgiana went to the same druggist's 
 again, and with tears in her eyes, asked for an es- 
 sence which they used to give to sick people only 
 when at the last extremity. '' Alas ! " said she, tak- 
 ing it from the apothecary, '' I am afraid that this 
 remedy will have no better effect than the lozenges ; 
 and that I shall lose my good master." 
 
 On the other hand, as Ali Baba and his wife were 
 often seen to go between Cassim's and their own 
 house all that day, and to seem melancholy, nobody 
 was surprised in the evening to hear the lamentable 
 shrieks and cries of Cassim's wife and Morgiana, 
 who gave out everywhere that her master was dead. 
 The next morning at daybreak Morgiana went to an 
 old cobbler whom she knew to be always early at his 
 stall, and bidding him good-morrow, put a piece of 
 gold into his hand, saying, '' Baba Mustapha, you 
 must bring with you your sewing tackle, and come 
 with me; but I must tell you, I shall blindfold you 
 when you come to such a place." 
 
 Baba Mustapha seemed to hesitate a little at these 
 words. " Oh ! oh ! " replied he, " you would have 
 
The History of AH Baba 119 
 
 me do something against my conscience, or against 
 my honour ? " '' God forbid," said Morgiana, put- 
 ting another piece of gold into his hand, '* that I 
 should ask anything that is contrary to your hon- 
 our ! only come along with me and fear nothing." 
 
 Baba Mustapha went with Morgiana, who, after 
 she had bound his eyes with a handkerchief at the 
 place she had mentioned, conveyed him to her de- 
 ceased master's house, and never unloosed his eyes 
 till he had entered the room where she had put the 
 corpse together. " Baba Mustapha," said she, " you 
 must make haste and sew the parts of this body 
 together; and when you have done, I will give you 
 another piece of gold." 
 
 After Baba Mustapha had finished his task, she 
 blindfolded him again, gave him the third piece 
 of gold as she had promised, and recommending 
 secrecy to him carried him back to the place where 
 she first bound his eyes, pulled off the bandage, and 
 let him go home, but watched him that he returned 
 toward his stall, till he was quite out of sight, for 
 fear he should have the curiosity to return and 
 dodge her ; she then went home. Morgiana, on her 
 return, warmed some water to wash the body, and 
 at the same time Ali Baba perfumed it with incense, 
 and wrapped it in the burying clothes with the 
 accustomed ceremonies. Not long after the proper 
 officer brought the bier, and when the attendants of 
 the mosque, whose business it was to wash the dead, 
 offered to perform their duty, she told them that it 
 was done already. Shortly after this the imaun and 
 the other ministers of the mosque arrived. Four 
 neighbours carried the corpse to the burying- 
 
I20 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 ground, following the imaun, who recited some 
 prayers. Ali Baba came after with some neigh- 
 bours, who often relieved the others in carrying the 
 bier to the burying-ground. Morgiana, a slave to 
 the deceased, followed in the procession, weeping, 
 beating her breast, and tearing her hair. Cassim's 
 wife stayed at home mourning, uttering lamentable 
 cries with the women of the neighbourhood, who 
 came, according to custom, during the funeral, and 
 joining their lamentations with hers filled the quar- 
 ter far and near with sounds of sorrow. 
 
 In this manner Cassim's melancholy death was 
 concealed and hushed up between Ali Baba, his 
 widow, and Morgiana, his slave, with so much con- 
 trivance that nobody in the city had the least knowl- 
 edge or suspicion of the cause of it. Three or four 
 days after the funeral, Ali Baba removed his few 
 goods openly to his sister-in-law's house, in which 
 it was agreed that he should in future live ; but the 
 money he had taken from the robbers he conveyed 
 thither by night. As for Cassim's warehouse, he 
 entrusted it entirely to the management of his eldest 
 son. 
 
 While these things were being done, the forty 
 robbers again visited their retreat in the forest. 
 Great, then, was their surprise to find Cassim's body 
 taken away, with some of their bags of gold. " We 
 are certainly discovered," said the captain. " The 
 removal of the body, and the loss of some of our 
 money, plainly shows that the man whom we killed 
 had an accomplice : and for our own lives' sake we 
 must try and find him. What say you, my lads ? '* 
 
The History of All Baba 121 
 
 All the robbers unanimously approved of the cap- 
 tain's proposal. 
 
 " Well," said the captain, " one of you, the bold- 
 est and most skilful among you, must go into the 
 town, disguised as a traveller and a stranger, to try 
 if he can hear any talk of the man whom we h^ve 
 killed, and endeavour to find out who he was, and 
 where he lived. This is a matter of the first im- 
 portance, and for fear of any treachery, I propose 
 that whoever undertakes this business without suc- 
 cess, even though the failure arises only from an 
 error of judgment, shall suffer death." 
 
 Without waiting for the sentiments of his com- 
 panions, one of the robbers started up, and said, 
 " I submit to this condition, and think it an honour 
 to expose my life to serve the troop." 
 
 After this robber had received great commenda- 
 tions from the captain and his comrades, he dis- 
 guised himself so that nobody would take him for 
 what he was ; and taking his leave of the troop that 
 night, went into the town just at daybreak; and 
 walked up and down, till accidentally he came to 
 Baba Mustapha's stall, which was always open be- 
 fore any of the shops. 
 
 Baba Mustapha was seated with an awl in his 
 hand, just going to work. The robber saluted him, 
 bidding him good-morrow; and perceiving that he 
 was old, said, " Honest man, you begin to work 
 very early: is it possible that one of your age can 
 see so well? I question, even if it were somewhat 
 lighter, whether you could see to stitch." 
 
 '' You do not know me," replied Baba Mustapha ; 
 " for old as I am, I have extraordinary good eyes ; 
 
122 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 and you will not doubt it when I tell you that I 
 sewed the body of a dead man together in a place 
 where I had not so much light as I have now." 
 
 " A dead body ! " exclaimed the robber, with af- 
 fected amazement. '* Yes, yes," answered Baba 
 Mustapha, "I see you want to have me speak out, 
 but you shall know no more." 
 
 The robber felt sure that he had discovered what 
 he sought. He pulled out a piece of gold, and put- 
 ting it into Baba Mustapha's hand, said to him, " I 
 do not want to learn your secret, though I can 
 assure you you might safely trust me with it. The 
 only thing I desire of you is to show me the house 
 where you stitched up the dead body." 
 
 *' If I were disposed to do you that favour," re- 
 plied Baba Mustapha, '' I assure you I cannot. I 
 was taken to a certain place, whence I was led 
 blindfold to the house, and afterward brought back 
 again in the same manner ; you see, therefore, 
 the impossibility of my doing what you desire." 
 
 " Well," replied the robber, " you may, however, 
 remember a little of the way that you were led 
 blindfold. Come, let me blind your eyes at the 
 same place. We will walk together; perhaps you 
 may recognise some part ; and as everybody ought 
 to be paid for their trouble, there is another piece of 
 gold for you ; gratify me in what I ask you." So 
 saying, he put another piece of gold into his hand. 
 
 The two pieces of gold were great temptations 
 to Baba Mustapha. He looked at them a long time 
 in his hand, without saying a word, but at last he 
 pulled out his purse and put them in. '' I cannot 
 promise," said he to the robber, *' that I can remem- 
 
The History of AH Baba 123 
 
 ber the way exactly ; but since you desire, I will try 
 what I can do." At these words Baba Mustapha 
 rose up, to the great joy of the robber, and led him 
 to the place where Morgiana had bound his eyes. 
 ** It was here," said Baba Mustapha, " I was blind- 
 folded ; and I turned this way." The robber tied his 
 handkerchief over his eyes, and walked by him till 
 he stopped directly at Cassim's house, where Ali 
 Baba then lived. The thief, before he pulled off the 
 band, marked the door with a piece of chalk, which 
 he had ready in his hand, and then asked him if he 
 knew whose house that was; to which Baba Mus- 
 tapha replied that as he did not live in that neigh- 
 bourhood, he could not tell. 
 
 The robber, finding he could discover no more 
 from Baba Mustapha, thanked him for the trouble 
 he had taken, and left him to go back to his stall, 
 while he returned to the forest, persuaded that he 
 should be very well received. 
 
 A little after the robber and Baba Mustapha had 
 parted, Morgiana went out of Ali Baba's house upon 
 some errand, and upon her return, seeing the mark 
 the robber had made, stopped to observe it. " What 
 can be the meaning of this mark ? " said she to her- 
 self ; " somebody intends my master no good : how- 
 ever, with whatever intention it was done, it is ad- 
 visable to guard against the worst." Accordingly, 
 she fetched a piece of chalk, and marked two or three 
 doors on each side, in the same manner, without 
 saying a word to her master or mistress. 
 
 In the mean time, the robber rejoined his troop in 
 the forest, and recounted to them his success; ex- 
 patiating upon his good fortune, in meeting so soon 
 
124 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 with the pnly person who could inform him of what 
 he wanted to know. All the robbers listened to him 
 with the utmost satisfaction ; when the captain, after 
 commending his diligence, addressing himself to 
 them all, said, " Comrades, we have no time to lose : 
 let us set off well armed, without its appearing who 
 we are; but that we may not excite any suspicion, 
 let only one or two go into the town together, and 
 join at our rendezvous, which shall be the great 
 square. In the mean time, our comrade who brought 
 us the good news and I will go and find out the 
 house, that we may consult what had best be done." 
 
 This speech and plan was approved of by all, and 
 they were soon ready. They filed off in parties of 
 two each, after some interval of time, and got into 
 the town without being in the least suspected. The 
 captain, and he who had visited the town in the 
 morning as spy, came in the last. He led the cap- 
 tain into the street where he had marked Ali Baba's 
 residence ; and when they came to the first of the 
 houses which Morgiana had marked, he pointed it 
 out. But the captain observed that the next door 
 was chalked in the same manner and in the same 
 place ; and showing it to his guide, asked him which 
 house it was, that, or the first. The guide was so 
 confounded, that he knew not what answer to make ; 
 but still more puzzled, when he and the captain saw 
 five or six houses similarly marked. He assured 
 the captain, with an oath, that he had marked but 
 one, and could not tell who had chalked the rest, so 
 that he could not distinguish the house which the 
 cobbler had stopped at. 
 
 The captain, finding that their design had proved 
 
The History of AH Baha 125 
 
 abortive, went directly to the place of meeting, 
 and told his troop that they had lost their labour, 
 and must return to their cave. He himself set them 
 the example, and they all returned as they had 
 come. 
 
 When the troop was all got together, the captain 
 told them the reason of their returning; and pres- 
 ently the conductor was declared by all worthy of 
 death. He condemned himself, acknowledging that 
 he ought to have taken better precaution, and pre- 
 pared to receive the stroke from him who was ap- 
 pointed to cut off his head. 
 
 But as the safety of the troop required the discov- 
 ery of the second intruder into the cave, another of 
 the gang, who promised himself that he should suc- 
 ceed better, presented himself, and his offer being 
 accepted, he went and corrupted Baba Mustapha, 
 as the other had done ; and being shown the house, 
 marked it in a place more remote from sight, with 
 red chalk. 
 
 Not long after, Morgiana, whose eyes nothing 
 could escape, went out, and seeing the red chalk, and 
 arguing with herself as she had done before, marked 
 the other neighbours' houses in the same place and 
 manner. 
 
 The robber, at his return to his company, valued 
 himself much on the precaution he had taken, which 
 he looked upon as an infallible way of distinguish- 
 ing Ali Baba's house from the others ; and the cap- 
 tain and all, of them thought it must succeed. They 
 conveyed themselves into the town with the same 
 precaution as before ; but when the robber and his 
 captain came to the street, they found the same diffi- 
 
126 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 culty ; at which the captain was enraged, and the 
 robber in as great confusion as his predecessor. 
 
 Thus the captain and his troop were forced to re- 
 tire a second time, and much more dissatisfied ; while 
 the robber who had been the author of the mistake 
 underwent the same punishment, to which he will- 
 ingly submitted. 
 
 The captain, having lost two brave fellows of his 
 troop, was afraid of diminishing it too much by pur- 
 suing this plan to get information of the residence 
 of their plunderer. He found by their example that 
 their heads were not so good as their hands on such 
 occasions ; and therefore resolved to take upon him- 
 self the important commission. 
 
 Accordingly, he went and addressed himself to 
 Baba Mustapha, who did him the same service he 
 had done to the other robbers. He did not set any 
 particular mark on the house, but examined and ob- 
 served it so carefully, by passing often by it, that it 
 was impossible for him to mistake it. 
 
 The captain, well satisfied with his attempt, and 
 informed of what he wanted to know, returned to 
 the forest; and when he came into the cave, where 
 the troop waited for him, said, " Now, comrades, 
 nothing can prevent our full revenge, as I am cer- 
 tain of the house ; and in my way hither I have 
 thought how to put it into execution, but if any 
 one can form a better expedient, let him communi- 
 cate it." He then told them his contrivance; and 
 as they approved of it, ordered them to go into the 
 villages about, and buy nineteen mules, with thirty- 
 eight large leather jars, one full of oil, and the 
 others empty. 
 
The History of AH Baba 127 
 
 In two or three days' time the robbers had pur- 
 chased the mules and jars, and as the mouths of the 
 jars were rather too narrow for his purpose, the 
 captain caused them to be widened, and after having 
 put one of his men into each, with the weapons 
 which he thought fit, leaving open the seam which 
 had been undone to leave them room to breathe, 
 he rubbed the jars on the outside with oil from the 
 full vessel. 
 
 Things being thus prepared, when the nineteen 
 mules were loaded with thirty-seven robbers in jars, 
 and the jar of oil, the captain, as their driver, set 
 out with them, and reached the town by the dusk 
 of the evening, as he had intended. He led them 
 through the streets, till he came to Ali Baba's, at 
 whose door he designed to have knocked ; but was 
 prevented by his sitting there after supper to take a 
 little fresh air. He stopped his mules, addressed 
 himself to him, and said, " I have brought some oil 
 a great way, to sell at to-morrow's market ; and it is 
 now so late that I do not know where to lodge. If 
 I should not be troublesome to you, do me the fa- 
 vour to let me pass the night with you, and I shall 
 be very much obliged by your hospitality," 
 
 Though Ali Baba had seen the captain of the rob- 
 bers in the forest, and had heard him speak, it was 
 impossible to know him in the disguise of an oil 
 merchant. He told him he should be welcome, and 
 immediately opened his gates for the mules to go 
 into the yard. At the same time he called to a slave, 
 and ordered him, when the mules were unloaded, to 
 put them into the stable, and to feed them ; and 
 then went to Morgiana, to bid her get a good sup- 
 
128 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 per for his guest. After they had finished supper, 
 AH Baba, charging Morgiana afresh to take care of 
 his guest, said to her, " To-morrow morning I de- 
 sign to go to the bath before day ; take care my bath- 
 ing Hnen be ready, give them to Abdalla (which 
 was the slave's name), and make me some good 
 broth against my return." After this he went to bed. 
 
 In the mean time the captain of the robbers went 
 into the yard, and took off the Hd of each jar, and 
 gave his people orders what to do. Beginning at 
 the first jar, and so on to the last, he said to each 
 man : " As soon as I throw some stones out of the 
 chamber window where I lie, do not fail to come 
 out, and I will immediately join you." After this 
 he returned into the house, when Morgiana, taking 
 up a light, conducted him to his chamber, where she 
 left him ; and he, to avoid any suspicion, put the 
 light out soon after, and laid himself down in his 
 clothes, that he might be the more ready to rise. 
 
 Morgiana, remembering Ali Baba's orders, got 
 his bathing linen ready, and ordered Abdalla to set 
 on the pot for the broth ; but while she was preparing 
 it the lamp went out, and there was no more oil in 
 the house, nor any candles. What to do she did not 
 know, for the broth must be made. Abdalla, seeing 
 her very uneasy, said, " Do not fret and tease your- 
 self, but go into the yard, and take some oil out of 
 one of the jars." 
 
 Morgiana thanked Abdalla for his advice, took 
 the oil-pot, and went into the yard; when, as she 
 came nigh the first jar, the robber within said softly, 
 ■' Is it time ? " 
 
 Though naturally much surprised at finding a 
 
The History of Alt Baba 129 
 
 man in the jar instead of the oil she wanted, she 
 immediately felt the importance of keeping silence, 
 as Ali Baba, his family, and herself were in great 
 danger ; and collecting herself, without showing the 
 least emotion, she answered, " Not yet, but pres- 
 ently." She went quietly in this manner to all the 
 jars, giving the same answer, till she came to the jar 
 of oil. 
 
 By this means Morgiana found that her master 
 Ali Baba had admitted thirty-eight robbers into his 
 house, and that this pretended oil merchant was 
 their captain. She made what haste she could to fill 
 her oil-pot, and returned into her kitchen, where, as 
 soon as she had lighted her lamp, she took a great 
 kettle, went again to the oil- jar, filled the kettle, 
 set it on a large wood fire, and as soon as it boiled, 
 went and poured enough into every jar to stifle and 
 destroy the robber within. 
 
 When this action, worthy of the courage of Mor- 
 giana, was executed without any noise, as she had 
 projected, she returned into the kitchen with the 
 empty kettle ; and having put out the great fire she 
 had made to boil the oil, and leaving just enough to 
 make the broth, put out the lamp also, and remained 
 silent, resolving not to go to rest till she had ob- 
 served what might follow through a window of the 
 kitchen, which opened into the yard. 
 
 She had not waited long before the captain of the 
 robbers got up, opened the window, and finding no 
 light, and hearing no noise, or any one stirring in 
 the house, gave the appointed signal, by throwing 
 little stones, several of which hit the jars, as he 
 doubted not by the sound they gave. He then 
 
130 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 listened, but not hearing or perceiving anything 
 whereby he could judge that his companions stirred, 
 he began to grow very uneasy, threw stones again a 
 second and also a third time, and could not compre- 
 hend the reason that none of them should answer 
 his signal. Much alarmed, he went softly down into 
 the yard, and going to the first jar, while asking the 
 robber, whom he thought alive, if he was in readi- 
 ness, smelt the hot boiled oil, which sent forth a 
 steam out of the jar. Hence he suspected that his 
 plot to murder Ali Baba, and plunder his house, was 
 discovered. Examining all the jars, one after an- 
 other, he found that all his gang were dead ; and, 
 enraged to despair at having failed in his design, he 
 forced the lock of a door that led from the yard to 
 the garden, and climbing over the walls made his 
 escape. 
 
 When Morgiana saw him depart, she went to bed, 
 satisfied and pleased to have succeeded so well in 
 saving her master and family. 
 
 Ali Baba rose before day, and, followed by his 
 slave, went to the baths, entirely ignorant of the 
 important event which had happened at home. 
 
 When he returned from the baths, he was very 
 much surprised to see the oil- jars, and that the mer- 
 chant was not gone with the mules. He asked Mor- 
 giana, who opened the door, the reason of it. '* My 
 good master," answered she, " God preserve you 
 and all your family. You will be better informed 
 of what you wish to know when you have seen what 
 I have to show you, if you will follow me." 
 
 As soon as Morgiana had shut the door, Ali Baba 
 followed her, when she requested him to look into 
 
The History of AH Baba 131 
 
 the first jar, and see if there was any oil. Ali Baba 
 did so, and seeing a man, started back in alarm, and 
 cried out. " Do not be afraid," said Morgiana, 
 *' the man you see there can neither do you nor any- 
 body else any harm. He is dead." " Ah, Mor- 
 giana," said Ali Baba, " what is it you show me ? 
 Explain yourself." " I will," replied Morgiana. 
 " Moderate your astonishment, and do not excite 
 the curiosity of your neighbours ; for it is of great 
 importance to keep this affair secret. Look into all 
 the other jars." 
 
 Ali Baba examined all the other jars, one after 
 another ; and when he came to that which had the 
 oil in it, found it prodigiously sunk, and stood for 
 some time motionless, sometimes looking at the 
 jars, and sometimes at Morgiana, without saying a 
 word, so great was his surprise. At last, when he 
 had recovered himself, he said, " And what is be- 
 come of the merchant ? " 
 
 " Merchant ! " answered she ; " he is as much one 
 as I am. I will tell you who he is, and what is 
 become of him ; but you had better hear the story in 
 your own chamber; for it is time for your health 
 that you had your broth after your bathing." 
 
 Morgiana then told him all she had done, from the 
 first observing the mark upon the house, to the de- 
 struction of the robbers, and the flight of their cap- 
 tain. 
 
 On hearing of these brave deeds from the lips of 
 Morgiana, Ali Baba said to her — " God, by your 
 means, has delivered me from the snares these rob- 
 bers laid for my destruction. I owe, therefore, my 
 life to you ; and, for the first token of my acknowl- 
 
i3;2-: Fairy Tqles Every Child Should Know 
 
 edgment, give you your liberty from this moment, 
 till I can complete your recompense as I intend." 
 
 Ali Baba's garden was very long, and shaded at 
 the further end by a great number of large trees. 
 Near these he and the slave Abdalla dug a trench, 
 long and wide enough to hold the bodies of the rob- 
 bers ; and as the earth was light, they were not long 
 in doing it. When this was done, Ali Baba hid the 
 jars and weapons ; and as he had no occasion for the 
 mules, he sent them at different times to be sold in 
 the market by his slave. 
 
 While Ali Baba took these measures, the captain 
 of the forty robbers returned to the forest with in- 
 conceivable mortification. He did not stay long ; the 
 loneliness of the gloomy cavern became frightful to 
 him. He determined, however, to avenge the fate 
 of his companions, and to accomplish the death of 
 Ali Baba. For this purpose he returned to the town, 
 and took a lodging in a khan, and disguised himself 
 as a merchant in silks. Under this assumed charac- 
 ter, he gradually conveyed a great many sorts of 
 rich stuffs and fine linen to his lodging from the 
 cavern, but with all the necessary precautions to 
 conceal the place whence he brought them. In order 
 to dispose of the merchandise, when he had thus 
 amassed them together, he took a warehouse, which 
 happened to be opposite to Cassim's, which Ali 
 Baba's son had occupied since the death of his uncle. 
 
 He took the name of Cogia Houssain, and, as a 
 new-comer, was, according to custom, extremely 
 civil and complaisant to all the merchants his neigh- 
 bours. Ali Baba's son was, from his vicinity, one 
 of the first to converse with Cogia Houssain, who 
 
The History of AH Baha 133 
 
 strove to cultivate his friendship more particularly. 
 Two or three days after he was settled, Ali Baba 
 came to see his son, and the captain of the robbers 
 recognised him at once, and soon learned from his 
 son who he was. After this he increased his assidu- 
 ities, caressed him in the most engaging manner, 
 made him some small presents, and often asked him 
 to dine and sup with him, when he treated him very 
 handsomely. 
 
 Ali Baba's son did not choose to lie under such 
 obligation to Cogia Houssain ; but was so much 
 straitened for want of room in his house, that he 
 could not entertain him. He therefore acquainted 
 his father, Ali Baba, with his wish to invite him in 
 return. 
 
 Ali Baba with great pleasure. took the treat upon 
 himself. " Son," said he, " to-morrow being Friday, 
 which is a day that the shops of such great mer- 
 chants as Cogia Houssain and yourself are shut, get 
 him to accompany you, and as you pass by my door, 
 call in. I will go and order Morgiana to provide a 
 supper." 
 
 The next day Ali Baba's son and Cogia Houssain 
 met by appointment, took their walk, and as they re- 
 turned, Ali Baba's son led Cogia Houssain through 
 the street where his father lived, and when they 
 came to the house, stopped and knocked at the door. 
 '' This, sir," said he, '* is my father's house, who, 
 from the account I have given him of your friend- 
 ship, charged me to procure him the honour of your 
 acquaintance ; and I desire you to add this pleasure 
 to those for which I am already indebted to you." 
 
 Though it was the sole aim of Cogia Houssain to 
 
134 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 introduce himself into AH Baba's house, that he 
 might kill him, without hazarding his own life or 
 making any noise, yet he excused himself, and of- 
 fered to take his leave; but a slave having opened 
 the door, Ali Baba's son took him obligingly by the 
 hand, and, in a manner, forced him in. 
 
 Ali Baba received Cogia Houssain with a smiling 
 countenance, and in the most obliging manner he 
 could wish. He thanked him for all the favours he 
 had done his son ; adding withal, the obligation was 
 the greater, as he was a young man, not much ac- 
 quainted with the world, and that he might con- 
 tribute to his information. 
 
 Cogia Houssain returned the compliment by as- 
 suring Ali Baba that though his son might not have 
 acquired the experience of older men, he had good 
 sense equal to the experience of many others. After 
 a little more conversation on different subjects, he 
 offered again to take his leave, when Ali Baba, stop- 
 ping him, said, '' Where are you going, sir, in so 
 much haste? I beg you would do me the honour 
 to sup with me, though my entertainment may not 
 be worthy your acceptance ; such as it is, I heartily 
 offer it." '' Sir," replied Cogia Houssain, " I am 
 thoroughly persuaded of your good-will; but the 
 truth is, I can eat no victuals that have any salt in 
 them ; therefore judge how I should feel at your ta- 
 ble." '' If that is the only reason," said Ali Baba, 
 '' it ought not to deprive me of the honour of your 
 company ; for, in the first place, there is no salt ever 
 put into my bread, and as to the meat we shall have 
 to-night, I promise you there shall be none in that 
 
The History of AH Baba 135 
 
 Therefore you must do me the favour to stay. I 
 will return immediately." 
 
 Ali Baba went into the kitchen, and ordered Mor- 
 giana to put no salt to the meat that was to be 
 dressed that night ; and to make quickly two or three 
 ragouts besides what he had ordered, but be sure 
 to put no salt in them. 
 
 Morgiana, who was always ready to obey her mas- 
 ter, could not help being surprised at his strange 
 order. " Who is this strange man," said she, *' who 
 eats no salt with his meat? Your supper will be 
 spoiled, if I keep it back so long." " Do not be 
 angry, Morgiana," replied Ali Baba ; " he is an hon- 
 est man, therefore do as I bid you." 
 
 Morgiana obeyed, though with no little reluctance, 
 and had a curiosity to see this man who ate no salt. 
 To this end, when she had finished what she had to 
 do in the kitchen, she helped Abdalla to carry up 
 the dishes; and looking at Cogia Houssain, knew 
 him at first sight, notwithstanding his disguise, to 
 be the captain of the robbers, and examining him 
 very carefully, perceived that he had a dagger 
 under his garment. " I am not in the least amazed," 
 said she to herself, " that this wicked man, who is 
 my master's greatest enemy, would eat no salt with 
 him, since he intends to assassinate him; but I will 
 prevent him." 
 
 Morgiana, while they were at supper, determined 
 in her own mind to execute one of the boldest acts 
 ever meditated. When Abdalla came for the dessert 
 of fruit, and had put it with the wine and glasses 
 before Ali Baba, Morgiana retired, dressed herself 
 neatly, with a suitable head-dress like a dancer, 
 
136 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 girded her waist with a silver-gilt girdle, to which 
 there hung a poniard with a hilt and guard of the 
 same metal, and put a handsome mask on her face. 
 When she had thus disguised herself, she said to 
 Abdalla, " Take your tabour, and let us go and 
 divert our master and his son's friend, as we do 
 sometimes when he is alone." 
 
 Abdalla took his tabour and played all the way 
 into the hall before Morgiana, who, when she came 
 to the door, made a low obeisance by way of asking 
 leave to exhibit her skill, while Abdalla left off play- 
 ing. " Come in, Morgiana," said AH Baba, " and let 
 Cogia Houssain see what you can do, that he may tell 
 us what he thinks of your performance." 
 
 Cogia Houssain, who did not expect this diversion 
 after supper, began to fear he should not be able to 
 take advantage of the opportunity he thought he 
 had found ; but hoped, if he now missed his aim, to 
 secure it another time, by keeping up a friendly cor- 
 respondence with the father and son ; therefore, 
 though he could have wished Ali Baba would have 
 declined the dance, he pretended to be obliged to 
 him for it, and had the complaisance to express his 
 satisfaction at what he said, which pleased his host. 
 
 As soon as Abdalla saw that Ali Baba and Cogia 
 Houssain had done talking, he began to play on the 
 tabour, and accompanied it with an air, to which 
 Morgiana, who was an excellent performer, danced 
 in such a manner as would have created admiration 
 in any company. 
 
 After she had danced several dances with much 
 grace, she drew the poniard, and holding it in her 
 hand, began a dance, in which she outdid herself 
 
The History of AH Baba 137 
 
 by the many different figures, light movements, and 
 the surprising leaps and wonderful exertions with 
 which she accompanied it. Sometimes she presented 
 the poniard to one breast, sometimes to another, and 
 oftentimes seemed to strike her own. At last, she 
 snatched the tabour from Abdalla with her left 
 hand, and holding the dagger in her right presented 
 the other side of the tabour, after the manner of 
 those who get a livelihood by dancing, and solicit the 
 liberality of the spectators. 
 
 AH Baba put a piece of gold into the tabour, as 
 did also his son ; and Cogia Houssain seeing that she 
 was coming to him, had pulled his purse out of his 
 bosom to make her a present; but while he was 
 putting his hand into it, Morgiana, with a courage 
 and resolution worthy of herself, plunged the 
 poniard into his heart. 
 
 Ali Baba and his son, shocked at this action, cried 
 out aloud. '' Unhappy woman ! " exclaimed Ali 
 Baba, " what have you done to ruin me and my 
 family ? " '' It was to preserve, not to ruin you," 
 answered Morgiana ; " for see here," continued she, 
 opening the pretended Cogia Houssain's garment, 
 and showing the dagger, " what an enemy you had 
 entertained? Look well at him, and you will find 
 him to be both the fictitious oil merchant, and the 
 captain of the gang of forty robbers. Remember, 
 too, that he would eat no salt with you ; and what 
 would you have more to persuade you of his wicked 
 design ? Before I saw him, I suspected him as soon 
 as you told me you had such a guest. I knew 
 him, and you now find that my suspicion was not 
 groundless." 
 
138 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 Ali Baba, who immediately felt the new obliga- 
 tion he had to Morgiana for saving his life a second 
 time, embraced her : " Morgiana," said he, '' I gave 
 you your liberty, and then promised you that my 
 gratitude should not stop there, but that I would soon 
 give you higher proofs of its sincerity, which I now 
 do by making you my daughter-in-law." Then ad- 
 dressing himself to his son, he said, " I believe you, 
 son, to be so dutiful a child, that you will not refuse 
 Morgiana for your wife. You see that Cogia Hous- 
 sain sought your friendship with a treacherous de- 
 sign to take away my life ; and if he had succeeded, 
 there is no doubt but he would have sacrificed you 
 also to his revenge. Consider, that by marrying 
 Morgiana you marry the preserver of my family and 
 your own." 
 
 The son, far from showing any dislike, readily 
 consented to the marriage ; not only because he 
 would not disobey his father, but also because it was 
 agreeable to his inclination. After this they thought 
 of burying the captain of the robbers with his com- 
 rades, and did it so privately that nobody discovered 
 their bones till many years after, when no one had 
 any concern in the publication of this remarkable 
 history. A few days afterward, Ali Baba celebrated 
 the nuptials of his son and Morgiana with great 
 solemnity, a sumptuous feast, and the usual dancing 
 and spectacles; and had the satisfaction to see that 
 his friends and neighbours, whom he invited, had 
 no knowledge of the true motives of the marriage ; 
 but that those who were not unacquainted with Mor- 
 giana's good qualities commended his generosity and 
 goodness of heart. Ali Baba did not visit the rob- 
 
The History of AH Baba 139 
 
 bers' cave for a whole year, as he supposed the other 
 two, whom he could get no account of, might be 
 alive. 
 
 At the year's end, when he found they had not 
 made any attempt to disturb him, he had the curiosity 
 to make another journey. He mounted his horse, 
 and when he came to the cave he alighted, tied his 
 horse to a tree, then approaching the entrance, and 
 pronouncing the words, " Open, Sesame ! " the door 
 opened. He entered the cavern, and by the condi- 
 tion he found things in, judged that nobody had been 
 there since the captain had fetched the goods for his 
 shop. From this time he believed he was the only 
 person in the world who had the secret of opening 
 the cave, and that all the treasure was at his sole dis- 
 posal. He put as much gold into his saddle-bag as 
 his horse would carry, and returned to town. Some 
 years later he carried his son to the cave and taught 
 him the secret, which he handed down to his poster- 
 ity, who, using their good fortune with moderation, 
 lived in great honour and splendour. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 THE SECOND VOYAGE OF SINDBAD THE SAILOR 
 
 I DESIGNED, after my first voyage, to spend the rest 
 of my days at Bagdad, but it was not long ere I grew 
 weary of an indolent life, and I put to sea a second 
 time, with merchants of known probity. We em- 
 barked on board a good ship, and, after recommend- 
 ing ourselves to God, set sail. We traded from isl- 
 and to island, and exchanged commodities with great 
 profit. One day we landed on an island covered with 
 several sorts of fruit trees, but we could see neither 
 man nor animal. We walked in the meadows, along 
 the streams that watered them. While some diverted 
 themselves with gathering flowers, and others fruits, 
 I took my wine and provisions, and sat down near 
 a stream betwixt two high trees, which formed a 
 thick shade. I made a good meal, and afterward fell 
 asleep. I cannot tell how long I slept, but when 
 I awoke the ship was gone. 
 
 In this sad condition, I was ready to die with 
 grief. I cried out in agony, beat my head and breast, 
 and threw myself upon the ground, where I lay 
 some time in despair. I upbraided myself a hun- 
 dred times for not being content with the produce 
 of my first voyage, that might have sufliced me all 
 my life. But all this was in vain, and my repentance 
 
Second Voyage of Sindbad the Sailor 141 
 
 came too late. At last I resigned myself to the will 
 of God. Not knowing what to do, I climbed up to 
 the top of a lofty tree, from whence I looked about 
 on all sides, to see if I could discover anything that 
 could give me hopes. When I gazed toward the sea 
 I could see nothing but sky and water ; but looking 
 over the land, I beheld something white ; and com- 
 ing down, I took what provision I had left and went 
 toward it, the distance being so great, that I could 
 not distinguish what it was. 
 
 As I approached, I thought it to be a white dome, 
 of a prodigious height and extent ; and when I came 
 up to it, I touched it, and found it to be very smooth. 
 I went round to see if it was open on any side, but 
 saw it was not, and that there was no climbing up 
 to the top, as it was so smooth. It was at least fifty 
 paces round. 
 
 By this time the sun was about to set, and all of a 
 sudden the sky became as dark as if it had been 
 covered with a thick cloud. I was much astonished 
 at this sudden darkness, but much more when I 
 found it occasioned by a bird of a monstrous size, 
 that came flying toward me. I remembered that I 
 had often heard mariners speak of a miraculous bird 
 called the Roc, and conceived that the great dome 
 which I so much admired must be its tgg. In short, 
 the bird alighted, and sat over the egg. As I per- 
 ceived her coming, I crept close to the egg, so that 
 I had before me one of the legs of the bird, which 
 was as big as the trunk of a tree. I tied myself 
 strongly to it with my turban, in hopes that the roc 
 next morning would carry me with her out of this 
 desert island. After having passed the night in this 
 
142 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 condition, the bird flew away as soon as it was day- 
 light, and carried me so high, that I could not dis- 
 cern the earth ; she afterward descended with so 
 much rapidity that I lost my senses. But when I 
 found myself on the ground, I speedily untied the 
 knot, and had scarcely done so, when the roc, having 
 taken up a serpent of a monstrous length in her bill, 
 flew away. 
 
 The spot where it left me was encompassed on all 
 sides by mountains, that seemed to reach above the 
 clouds, and so steep that there was no possibiHty 
 of getting out of the valley. This was a new per- 
 plexity; so that when I compared this place with 
 the desert island from which the roc had brought 
 me, I found that I had gained nothing by the 
 change. 
 
 As I walked through this valley, I perceived it 
 was strewed with diamonds, some of which were 
 of surprising bigness. I took pleasure in looking 
 upon them; but shortly saw at a distance such ob- 
 jects as greatly diminished my satisfaction, and 
 which I could not view without terror, namely, a 
 great number of serpents, so monstrous that the 
 least of them was capable of swallowing an elephant. 
 They retired in the day-time to their dens, where 
 they hid themselves from the roc, their enemy, and 
 came out only in the night. 
 
 I spent the day in walking about in the valley, 
 resting myself at times in such places as I thought 
 most convenient. When night came on I went into 
 a cave, where I thought I might repose in safety. 
 I secured the entrance, which was low and narrow, 
 with a great stone, to preserve me from the ser- 
 
Second Voyage of Sindbad the Sailor 143 
 
 pents; but not so far as to exclude the light. I 
 supped on part of my provisions, but the serpents, 
 which began hissing round me, put me into such ex- 
 treme fear that I did not sleep. When day appeared 
 the serpents retired, and I came out of the cave 
 trembling. I can justly say that I walked upon dia- 
 monds without feeling any inclination to touch them. 
 At last I sat down, and notwithstanding my appre- 
 hensions, not having closed my eyes during the 
 night, fell asleep, after having eaten a Ijttle more of 
 my provisions. But I had scarcely shut my eyes 
 when something that fell by me with a great noise 
 awaked me. This was a large piece of raw meat; 
 and at the same time I saw several others fall down 
 from the rocks in different places. 
 
 I had always regarded as fabulous what I had 
 heard sailors and others relate of the valley of dia- 
 monds, and of the stratagems employed by mer- 
 chants to obtain jewels from thence ; but now I 
 found that they had stated nothing but the truth. 
 For the fact is, that the merchants come to the 
 neighbourhood of this valley, when the eagles have 
 young ones, and throwing great joints of meat into 
 the valley, the diamonds, upon whose points they 
 fall, stick to them ; the eagles, which are stronger in 
 this country than anywhere else, pounce with great 
 force upon those pieces of meat, and carry them to 
 their nests on the precipices of the rocks to feed their 
 young : the merchants at this time run to their nests, 
 disturb and drive off the eagles by their shouts,' and 
 take away the diamonds that stick to the meat. 
 
 I perceived in this device the means of my deliv- 
 erance. 
 
144 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 Having collected together the largest diamonds 
 I could find, I put them into the leather bag in which 
 I used to carry my provisions, I took the largest of 
 the pieces of meat, tied it close round me with the 
 cloth of my turban, and then laid myself upon the 
 ground, with my face downward, the bag of dia- 
 monds being made fast to my girdle. 
 
 I had scarcely placed myself in this posture when 
 one of the eagles, having taken me up with the 
 piece of meat to which I was fastened, carried me 
 to his nest on the top of the mountain. The mer- 
 chants immediately began their shouting to frighten 
 the eagles ; and when they had obliged them to quit 
 their prey, one of them came to the nest where I 
 was. He was much alarmed when he saw me; but 
 recovering himself, instead of inquiring how I came 
 thither, began to quarrel with me, and asked w^hy 
 I stole his goods ? " You will treat me," replied I, 
 *' with more civility, when you know me better. Do 
 not be uneasy ; I have diamonds enough for you and 
 myself, more than all the other merchants together. 
 Whatever they have they owe to chance; but I se- 
 lected for myself, in the bottom of the valley, those 
 which you see in this bag." I had scarcely done 
 speaking, when the other merchants came crowding 
 about us, much astonished to see me ; but they were 
 much more surprised when I told them my story. 
 
 They conducted me to their encampment; and 
 there having opened my bag, they were surprised at 
 the largeness of my diamonds, and confessed that 
 they had never seen any of such size and perfection. 
 I prayed the merchant who owned the nest to which 
 I had been carried (for every merchant had his 
 
Second Voyage of Sindhad the Sailor 145 
 
 own) to take as many for his share as he pleased. 
 He contented himself with one, and that, too, the 
 least of them ; and when I pressed him to take more, 
 without fear of doing me any injury, " No," said he, 
 '' I am very well satisfied with this, which is valuable 
 enough to save me the trouble of making any more 
 voyages, and will raise as great a fortune as I de- 
 sire." 
 
 ^ spent the night with the merchants, to whom I 
 /jlated my story a second time, for the satisfaction 
 of those who had not heard it. I could not moderate 
 my joy when I found myself delivered from the 
 danger I have mentioned. I thought myself in a 
 dream, and could scarcely believe myself out of dan- 
 ger. 
 
 The merchants had thrown their pieces of meat 
 into the valley for several days ; and each of them be- 
 ing satisfied with the diamonds that had fallen to his 
 lot, we left the place the next morning, and travelled 
 near high mountains, where there were serpents of 
 a prodigious length, which we had the good fortune 
 to escape. We took shipping at the first port we 
 reached, and touched at the isle of Roha, where the 
 trees grow that yield camphire. This tree is so large, 
 and its branches so thick, that one hundred men may 
 easily sit under its shade. The juice, of which the 
 camphire is made, exudes from a hole bored in the 
 upper part of the tree, and is received in a vessel, 
 where it thickens to a consistency, and becomes what 
 we call camphire. After the juice is thus drawn out, 
 the tree withers and dies. 
 
 In this island is also found the rhinoceros, an ani- 
 mal less than the elephant, but larger than the buf- 
 
146 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 falo. It has a horn upon its nose, about a cubit in 
 length ; this horn is solid, and cleft through the mid- 
 dle. The rhinoceros fights with the elephant, runs 
 his horn into his belly, and carries him off upon his 
 head ; but the blood and the fat of the elephant run- 
 ning into his eyes and making him blind, he falls to 
 the ground ; and then, strange to relate, the roc 
 comes and carries them both away in her claws, for 
 food for her young ones. 
 
 I pass over many other things peculiar to this 
 island, lest I should weary you. Here I exchanged 
 some of my diamonds for merchandise. From hence 
 we went to other islands, and at last, having touched 
 at several trading towns of the continent, we landed 
 at Bussorah, from whence I proceeded to Bagdad. 
 There I immediately gave large presents to the poor, 
 and lived honourably upon the vast riches I had 
 brought, and gained with so much fatigue. 
 
 Thus Sindbad ended the relation of the second 
 voyage, gave Hindbad another hundred sequins, and 
 invited him to come the next day to hear the account 
 of the third. 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 THE WHITE CAT 
 
 There was once a king who had three sons, all 
 remarkably handsome in their persons, and in their 
 tempers brave and noble. Some wicked courtiers 
 made the king believe that the princes were impa- 
 tient to wear the crown, and that they were contriv- 
 ing a plot to deprive him of his sceptre and his 
 kingdom. The king felt he was growing old ; but 
 as he found himself as capable of governing as he 
 had ever been, he had no inclination to resign his 
 power; and therefore, that he might pass the rest 
 of his days peaceably, he determined to employ the 
 princes in such a manner, as at once to give each of 
 them the hope of succeeding to the crown, and fill 
 up the time they might otherwise spend in so un- 
 dutiful a manner. He sent for them to his cabinet, 
 and after conversing with them kindly, he added : 
 " You must be sensible, my dear children, that my 
 great age prevents me from attending so closely as 
 I have hitherto done to state affairs. I fear this 
 may be injurious to my subjects; I therefore desire 
 to place my crown on the head of one of you, but it is 
 no more than just, that in return for such a present, 
 you should procure me some amusement in my re- 
 tirement, before I leave the Capital for ever. I can- 
 
148 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 not help thinking, that a Httle dog, that is handsome, 
 faithful, and engaging, would be the very thing to 
 make me happy ; so that without bestowing a prefer- 
 ence on either of you, I declare that he who brings 
 me the most perfect little dog shall be my successor. 
 The princes were much surprised at the fancy of 
 their father to have a little dog, yet they accepted 
 the proposition with pleasure : and accordingly, after 
 taking leave of the king, who presented them with 
 abundance of money and jewels, and appointed that 
 day twelvemonth for their return, they set off on 
 their travels. 
 
 Before taking leave of each other, however, they 
 took some refreshment together, in an old palace 
 about three miles out of town where they agreed to 
 meet in the same place on that day twelvemonth, 
 and go all together with their presents to court. 
 They also agreed to change their names, that they 
 might be unknown to every one in their travels. 
 
 Each took a different road; but it is intended to 
 relate the adventures of only the youngest, who was 
 the handsomest, most amiable, and accomplished 
 prince that had ever been seen. No day passed, as 
 he travelled from town to town, that he did not 
 buy all the handsome dogs that fell in his way ; and 
 as soon as he saw one that was handsomer than those 
 he had before, he made a present of the last; for 
 twenty servants would have been scarcely sufficient 
 to take care of all the dogs he was continually buy- 
 ing. 
 
 At length, wandering he knew not whither, he 
 found himself in a forest ; night suddenly came on, 
 and with it a violent storm of thunder, lightning, 
 
The White Cat 149 
 
 and rain. To add to his perplexity, he lost his path, 
 and could find no way out of the forest. After he 
 had groped about for a long time, he perceived a 
 light, which made him suppose that he was not far 
 from some house : he accordingly pursued his way 
 towards it, and in a short time found himself at the 
 gates of the most magnificent palace he ever beheld. 
 The door that opened into it was made of gold, cov- 
 ered with sapphire stones, which cast so resplendent 
 a brightness over everything around, that scarcely 
 could the strongest eyesight bear to look at it. This 
 was the light the prince had seen from the forest. 
 The walls of the building were of transparent porce- 
 lain, variously coloured, and represented the history 
 of all the fairies that had existed from the begin- 
 ning of the world. The prince coming back to the 
 golden door, observed a deer's foot fastened to a 
 chain of diamonds ; he could not help wondering at 
 the magnificence he beheld, and the security in which 
 the inhabitants seemed to live ; '* for," said he to him- 
 self, " nothing can be easier than for thieves to steal 
 this chain, and as many of the sapphire stones as 
 would make their fortunes." He pulled the chain, 
 and heard a bell the sound of which was exquisite. 
 In a few moments the door was opened ; but he per- 
 ceived nothing but twelve hands in the air, each hold- 
 ing a torch. The prince was so astonished that he 
 durst not move a step; when he felt himself gently 
 pushed on by some other hands from behind him. 
 He walked on, in great perplexity, till he entered a 
 vestibule inlaid with porphyry and lapis-stone. 
 There the most melodious voice he had ever heard 
 chanted the following words: 
 
150 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 " Welcome, prince, no danger fear, 
 Mirth and love attend you here ; 
 You shall break the magic spell, 
 That on a beauteous lady fell. 
 
 " Welcome, prince, no danger fear, 
 Mirth and love attend you here." 
 
 The prince now advanced v^^ith confidence, won- 
 dering what these words could mean ; the hands 
 moved him forward towards a large door of coral, 
 which opened of itself to give him admittance into a 
 splendid apartment built of mother-of-pearl, through 
 which he passed into others so richly adorned with 
 paintings and jewels, and so resplendently lighted 
 with thousands of lamps, girandoles and lustres, that 
 the prince imagined he must be in an enchanted pal- 
 ace. When he had passed through sixty apartments, 
 all equally splendid, he was stopped by the hands, 
 and a large easy-chair advanced of itself towards the 
 chimney; and the hands, which he observed were 
 extremely white and delicate, took off his wet 
 clothes, and supplied their place with the finest linen 
 imaginable, and then added a commodious wrap- 
 ping-gown, embroidered with the brightest gold, and 
 all over enriched with pearls. The hands next 
 brought him an elegant dressing-table, and combed 
 his hair so very gently that he scarcely felt their 
 touch. They held before him a beautiful basin, filled 
 with perfumes, for him to wash his face and hands, 
 and afterwards took off the wrapping-gown and 
 dressed him in a suit of clothes of still greater splen- 
 dour. When his dress was complete, they conducted 
 
The White Cat 151 
 
 him to an apartment he had not yet seen, and which 
 also was magnificently furnished. There was in it a 
 table spread for a repast, and everything upon it was 
 of the purest gold adorned with jewels. The prince 
 observed there were two covers set, and was won- 
 dering who was to be his companion, when his at- 
 tention was suddenly caught by a small figure not 
 a foot high, which just then entered the room, and 
 advanced towards him. It had on a long black veil, 
 and was supported by two cats dressed in mourning, 
 and with swords by their sides : they were followed 
 by a numerous retinue of cats, some carrying cages 
 full of rats and others mousetraps full of mice. 
 
 The prince was at a loss what to think. The little 
 figure now approached, and throwing aside her veil, 
 he beheld a most beautiful white cat. She seemed 
 young and melancholy, and addressing herself to the 
 prince, she said, " Young prince, you are welcome ; 
 your presence affords me the greatest pleasure." 
 " Madam," replied the prince, '* I would fain thank 
 you for your generosity, nor can I help observing 
 that you must be an extraordinary creature to pos- 
 sess with your present form the gift of speech and 
 the magnificent palace 1 have seen." " All this is 
 very true," answered the beautiful cat, '* but, prince, 
 I am not fond of talking, and least of all do I like 
 compliments ; let us therefore sit down to supper." 
 The trunkless hands then placed the dishes on the 
 table, and the prince and white cat seated them- 
 selves. The first dish was a pie made of young 
 pigeons, and the next was a fricassee of the fattest 
 mice. The view of the one made the prince almost 
 afraid to taste the other, till the white cat, who 
 
152 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Knozv 
 
 guessed his thoughts, assured him that there were 
 certain dishes at table in which there was not a mor- 
 sel of either rat or mouse, which had been dressed on 
 purpose for him. Accordingly he ate heartily of 
 such as she recommended. When supper was over, 
 the prince perceived that the white cat had a portrait 
 set in gold hanging to one of her feet. He begged 
 her permission to look at it; when, to his astonish- 
 ment, he saw the portrait of a handsome young man, 
 that exactly resembled himself! He thought there 
 was something very extraordinary in all this : yet, as 
 the white cat sighed and looked very sorrowful, he 
 did not venture to ask any questions. He con- 
 versed with her on different subjects, and found her 
 extremely well versed in every thing that was pass- 
 ing in the world. When night was far advanced, the 
 white cat w^ished him a good night, and he was con- 
 ducted by the hands to his bedchamber, which was 
 different still from any thing he had seen in the pal- 
 ace, being hung with the wings of butterflies, mixed 
 with the most curious feathers. His bed was of 
 gauze, festooned with bunches of the gayest ribands, 
 and the looking-glasses reached from the floor to the 
 ceiling. The prince was undressed and put into bed 
 by the hands, without speaking a word. He how- 
 ever slept little, and in the morning was awaked by a 
 confused noise. The hands took him out of bed, and 
 put on him a handsome hunting-jacket. He looked 
 into the court-yard, and perceived more than five 
 hundred cats, busily employed in preparing for the 
 field, for this was a day of festival. Presently the 
 white cat came to his apartment ; and having politely 
 inquired after his health, she invited him to partake 
 
The White Cat 153 
 
 of their amusement. The prince willingly accepted, 
 mounted a wooden horse, richly caparisoned, which 
 had been prepared for him, and which he was as- 
 sured would gallop to admiration. The beautiful 
 white cat mounted a monkey, dressed in a dragoon's 
 bonnet, which made her look so fierce that all the 
 rats and mice ran away in the utmost terror. 
 
 Every thing being ready, the horns sounded, and 
 away they went; no hunting was ever more agree- 
 able; the cats ran faster than the hares and rab- 
 bits; and when they caught any they were hunted 
 in the presence of the white cat, and a thousand 
 cunning tricks were played. Nor were the birds in 
 safety ; for the monkey made nothing of climbing up 
 the trees, with the white cat on his back, to the nest 
 of the young eagles. When the hunting was over, 
 the whole retinue returned to the palace; and the 
 white cat immediately exchanged her dragoon's cap 
 for the veil, and sat down to supper with the prince, 
 who, being very hungry, ate heartily, and afterwards 
 partook with her of the most delicious liqueurs, which 
 being often repeated made him forget that he was to 
 procure a little dog for the old king. He thought 
 no longer of any thing but of pleasing the sweet lit- 
 tle creature who received him so courteously ; ac- 
 cordingly every day was spent in new amusements. 
 The prince had almost forgotten his country and re- 
 lations, and sometimes even regretted that he was 
 not a cat, so great was his affection for his mewing 
 companions. '* Alas ! " said he to the white cat, 
 " how will it afflict me to leave you whom I love so 
 much ! Either make yourself a lady, or make me a 
 cat." She smiled at the prince's wish, but made him 
 
154 Fairy Talcs Every Child Should Know 
 
 scarcely any reply. At length the twelvemonth was 
 nearly expired; the white cat, who knew the very 
 day when the prince was to reach his father's palace, 
 reminded him that he had but three days longer to 
 look for a perfect little dog. The prince, astonished 
 at his own forgetfulness, began to afflict himself; 
 when the cat told him not to be so sorrowful, since 
 she would not only provide him with a little dog, 
 but also with a wooden horse which should convey 
 him safely in less than twelve hours. " Look here," 
 said she, showing him an acorn, " this contains what 
 you desire." The prince put the acorn to his ear, and 
 heard the barking of a little dog. Transported with 
 joy, he thanked the cat a thousand times, and the 
 next day, bidding her tenderly adieu, he set out on 
 his return. 
 
 The prince arrived first at the place of rendezvous, 
 and was soon joined by his brothers ; they mutually 
 embraced, and began to give an account of their 
 success ; when the youngest showed them only a little 
 mongrel cur, telling them he thought it could not 
 fail to please the king from its extraordinary beauty, 
 the brothers trod on each other's toes under the ta- 
 ble ; as much as to say, we have not much to fear 
 from this sorry looking animal. The next day 
 they went together to the palace. The dogs of the 
 two elder princes were lying on cushions, and so 
 curiously wrapped around with embroidered quilts, 
 that one would scarcely venture to touch them. The 
 youngest produced his cur, dirty all over, and all 
 wondered how the prince could hope to receive a 
 crown for such a present. The king examined the 
 two little dogs of the elder princes, and declared he 
 
The White Cat 155 
 
 thought them so equally beautiful that he knew not 
 to which, with justice, he could give the preference. 
 They accordingly began to dispute ; when the young- 
 est prince, taking his acorn from his pocket, soon 
 ended their contention ; for a little dog appeared 
 which could with ease go through the smallest ring, 
 and was besides a miracle of beauty. The king 
 could not possibly hesitate in declaring his satis- 
 faction ; yet, as he was not more inclined than the 
 year before to part with his crown, he could think 
 of nothing more to his purpose than telling his 
 sons that he was extremely obliged to them for the 
 pains they had taken ; and that since they had suc- 
 ceeded so well, he could not but wish they would 
 make a second attempt; he therefore begged they 
 would take another year for procuring him a piece 
 of cambric, so fine as to be drawn through the eye of 
 a small needle. 
 
 The three princes thought this very hard ; yet they 
 set out in obedience to the king's command. The 
 two eldest took different roads, and the youngest re- 
 mounted his wooden horse, and in a short time ar- 
 rived at the palace of his beloved white cat, who re- 
 ceived him with the greatest joy, while the trunkless 
 hands helped him to dismount, and provided him 
 with immediate refreshments ; after which the prince 
 gave the white cat an account of the admiration 
 which had been bestowed on the beautiful little dog, 
 and informed her of his father's farther injunction. 
 *' Make yourself perfectly easy, dear prince," said 
 she, " I have in my palace some cats that are per- 
 fectly clever in making such cambric as the king 
 requires ; so you have nothing to do but to give me 
 
156 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 the pleasure of your company while it is making; 
 and I will procure you all the amusement possible." 
 She accordingly ordered the most curious fireworks 
 to be played off in sight of the window of the apart- 
 ment in which they were sitting; and nothing but 
 festivity and rejoicing was heard throughout the 
 palace for the prince's return. As the white cat 
 continually gave proofs of an excellent understand- 
 ing, the prince was by no means tired of her com- 
 pany ; she talked with him of state affairs, of thea- 
 tres, of fashions; in short, she was at a loss on no 
 subject whatever; so that when the prince was 
 alone, he had plenty of amusement in thinking how 
 it could possibly be that a small white cat could 
 be endowed with all the powers of human creatures. 
 The twelvemonth in this manner again passed in- 
 sensibly away ; but the cat took care to remind the 
 prince of his duty in proper time. '' For once, my 
 prince," said she, " I will have the pleasure of equip- 
 ping you as suits your high rank ; " when looking 
 into the courtyard, he saw a superb car, ornamented 
 all over with gold, silver, pearls and diamonds, drawn 
 by twelve horses as white as snow, and harnessed in 
 the most sumptuous trappings ; and behind the car a 
 thousand guards richly apparelled were in waiting to 
 attend on the prince's person. She then presented 
 him with a nut : '' You will find in it," said she, '' the 
 piece of cambric I promised you. Do not break the 
 shell till you are in the presence of the king your 
 father." Then, to prevent the acknowledgments 
 which the prince was about to offer, she hastily bade 
 him adieu. Nothing could exceed the speed with 
 which the snow-white horses conveyed this fortunate 
 
The White Cat 157 
 
 prince to his father's palace, where his brothers had 
 just arrived before him. They embraced each other, 
 and demanded an immediate audience of the king, 
 who received them with the greatest kindness. The 
 princes hastened to place at the feet of his majesty 
 the curious present he had required them to procure. 
 The eldest produced a piece of cambric that was so 
 extremely fine, that his friends had no doubt of its 
 passing the eye of the needle, which was now deliv- 
 ered to the king, having been kept locked up in the 
 custody of his majesty's treasurer all the time. 
 Every one supposed he would certainly obtain the 
 crown. But when the king tried to draw it through 
 the eye of the needle, it would not pass, though it 
 failed but very little. Then came the second prince, 
 who made as sure of obtaining the crown as his 
 brother had done ; but, alas ! with no better success : 
 for though his piece of cambric was exquisitely fine, 
 yet it could not be drawn through the eye of the 
 needle. It was now the youngest prince's turn, who 
 accordingly advanced, and opening an elegant little 
 box inlaid with jewels, he took out a walnut, and 
 cracked the shell, imagining he should immediately 
 perceive his piece of cambric; but what was his as- 
 tonishment to see nothing but a filbert ! He did not 
 however lose his hopes ; he cracked the filbert, and it 
 presented him with a cherry-stone. The lords of the 
 court, who had assembled to witness this extraordi- 
 nary trial, could not, any more than the princes his 
 brothers, refrain from laughing, to think he should 
 be so silly as to claim with them the crown on no bet- 
 ter pretensions. The prince however cracked the 
 cherry-stone, which was filled with a kernel : he 
 
158 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 divided it, and found in the middle a grain of wheat, 
 and in that grain a millet seed. He was now abso- 
 lutely confounded, and could not help muttering be- 
 tween his teeth : " O white cat, white cat, thou hast 
 deceived me ! " At this instant he felt his hand 
 scratched by the claw of a cat : upon which he again 
 took courage, and opening the grain of millet seed, 
 to the astonishment of all present, he drew forth a 
 piece of cambric four hundred yards long, and fine 
 enough to be drawn with perfect ease through the 
 eye of the needle. When the king found he had no 
 pretext left for refusing the crown to his youngest 
 son, he sighed deeply, and it was easy to be seen that 
 he was sorry for the prince's success. *' My sons," 
 said he, '' it is so gratifying to the heart of a father 
 to receive proofs of his children's love and obedi- 
 ence, that I cannot refuse myself the satisfaction of 
 requiring of you one thing more. You must under- 
 take another expedition; and whichever, by the end 
 of a year, brings me the most beautiful lady, shall 
 marry her, and obtain my crown." 
 
 So they again took leave of the king and of each 
 other, and set out without delay, and in less than 
 twelve hours our young prince arrived in his splen- 
 did car at the palace of his dear white cat. Every 
 thing went on as before, till the end of another year. 
 At length only one day remained of the year, when 
 the white cat thus addressed him : '' To-morrow, my 
 prince, you must present yourself at the palace of 
 your father, and give him a proof of your obedience. 
 It depends only on yourself to conduct thither the 
 most beautiful princess ever yet beheld, for the time 
 is come when the enchantment by which I am bound 
 
The White Cat 159 
 
 may be ended. You must cut off my head and tail," 
 continued she, ** and throw them into the fire." 
 ** I ! " said the prince hastily, *' I cut off your head 
 and tail ! You surely mean to try my affection, 
 which, believe me, beautiful cat, is truly yours." 
 ** You mistake me, generous prince," said she, *' I 
 do not doubt your regard ; but if you wish to see me 
 in any other form than that of a cat, you must con- 
 sent to do as I desire. Then you will have done me a 
 service I shall never be able sufficiently to repay." 
 The prince's eyes filled with tears as she spoke, yet 
 he considered himself obliged to undertake the 
 dreadful task, and the cat continuing to press him 
 with greater eagerness, with a trembling hand he 
 drew his sword, cut off her head and tail, and threw 
 them into the fire. No sooner was this done, than 
 the most beautiful lady his eyes had ever seen stood 
 before him : and before he had sufficiently recovered 
 from his surprise to speak to her, a long train of at- 
 tendants, who, at the same moment as their mistress, 
 were changed to their natural shapes, came to offer 
 their congratulations to the queen, and inquire her 
 commands. She received them with the greatest kind- 
 ness ; and ordering them to withdraw, she thus ad- 
 dressed the astonished prince. *' Do not imagine, 
 dear prince, that I have always been a cat, or that I 
 am of obscure birth. My father was the monarch of 
 six kingdoms ; he tenderly loved my mother, leaving 
 her always at liberty to follow her own inclinations. 
 Her prevailing passion was to travel ; and a short 
 time before my birth, having heard of some fairies 
 who were in possession of the largest gardens filled 
 with the most delicious fruits, she had so strong a 
 
i6o Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 desire to eat some of them, that she set out for the 
 country in which they Hved. She arrived at their 
 abode which she found to be a ma^ificent palace, 
 on all sides glittering with gold and precious stones. 
 She knocked a long time at the gates; but no one 
 came, nor could she perceive the least sign that it had 
 any inhabitant. The difficulty, however, did but in- 
 crease the violence of my mother's longing ; for she 
 saw the tops of the trees above the garden walls 
 loaded with the most luscious fruits. The queen, 
 in despair, ordered her attendants to place tents 
 close to the door of the palace ; but having waited six 
 weeks, without seeing any one pass the gates, she 
 fell sick of vexation, and her life was despaired of. 
 " One night, as she lay half asleep, she turned her- 
 self about, and opening her eyes, perceived a little 
 old woman, very ugly and deformed, seated in the 
 easy chair by her bedside. ' I, and my sister fairies,' 
 said she, 'take it very ill that your majesty should so 
 obstinately persist in getting some of our fruit ; but 
 since so precious a life is at stake, we consent to give 
 you as much as you can carry away, provided you 
 will give us in return what we shall ask.' ' Ah ! kind 
 fairy,' cried the queen, ' I will give you anything I 
 possess, even my very kingdoms, on condition that I 
 eat of your fruit.' The old fairy then informed the 
 queen that what they required was, that she would 
 give them the child she was going to have, as soon 
 as she should be born ; adding, that every possible 
 care should be taken of her, and that she should be- 
 come the most accomplished princess. The queen 
 replied, that however cruel the condition, she must 
 accept it, since nothing but the fruit could save her 
 
The White Cat i6i 
 
 life. In short, dear prince," continued the lady, '' my 
 mother instantly got out of bed, was dressed by her 
 attendants, entered the palace, and satisfied her long- 
 ing. When the queen had eaten her fill, she ordered 
 four thousand mules to be procured, and loaded with 
 the fruit, which had the virtue of continuing all the 
 year round in a state of perfection. Thus provided, 
 she returned to the king, my father, who with the 
 whole court, received her with rejoicings, as it was 
 before imagined she would die of disappointment. 
 All this time the queen said nothing to my father of 
 the promise she had made, to give her daughter to the 
 fairies ; so that, when the time was come that she 
 expected my birth, she grew very melancholy ; till at 
 length, being pressed by the king, she declared to him 
 the truth. Nothing could exceed his affliction, when 
 he heard that his only child, when born, was to be 
 given to the fairies. He bore it, however, as well as 
 he could, for fear of adding to my mother's grief; 
 and also believing he should find some means of 
 keeping me in a place of safety, which the fairies 
 would not be able to approach. As soon therefore as 
 I was born, he had me conveyed to a tower in the 
 palace, to which there were twenty flights of stairs, 
 and a door to each, of which my father kept the key, 
 so that none came near me without his consent. 
 When the fairies heard of what had been done, they 
 sent first to demand me ; and on my father's refusal, 
 they let loose a monstrous dragon, who devoured 
 men, women and children, and the breath of whose 
 nostrils destroyed every thing it came near, so that 
 the trees and plants began to die in great abundance. 
 The grief of the king, at seeing this, could scarcely 
 
1 62 Fairy Talcs Every Child Should Know 
 
 be equalled; and finding that his whole kingdom 
 would in a short time be reduced to famine, he con- 
 sented to give me into their hands. I was accord- 
 ingly laid in a cradle of mother-of-pearl, ornamented 
 with gold and jewels, and carried to their palace, 
 when the dragon immediately disappeared. The 
 fairies placed me in a tower of their palace, ele- 
 gantly furnished, but to which there was no door, so 
 that whoever approached was obliged to come by the 
 windows, which were a great height from the 
 ground : from these I had the liberty of getting out 
 into a delightful garden, in which were baths, and 
 every sort of cooling fruit. In this place was I edu- 
 cated by the fairies, who behaved to me with the 
 greatest kindness ; my clothes were splendid, and I 
 was instructed in every kind of accomplishment. In 
 short, prince, if I had never seen any one but them- 
 selves, I should have remained very happy. One of 
 the windows of my tower overlooked a long avenue 
 shaded with trees, so that I had never seen in it a 
 human creature. One day, however, as I was talk- 
 ing at this v/indow with my parrot, I perceived a 
 young gentleman who was listening to our conversa- 
 tion. As I had never seen a man, but in pictures, I 
 was not sorry for the opportunity of gratifying my 
 curiosity. I thought him a very pleasing object, and 
 he at length bowed in the most respectful manner, 
 without daring to speak, for he knew that I was in 
 the palace of the fairies. When it began to grow 
 dark he went away, and I vainly endeavoured to see 
 which road he took. The next morning, as soon as it 
 was light, I again placed myself at the window, 
 and had the pleasure of seeing that the gentleman 
 
The White Cat 163 
 
 had returned to the same place. He now spoke to 
 me through a speaking-trumpet, and informed me he 
 thought me a most charming lady, and that he 
 should be very unhappy if he did not pass his life in 
 my company. 
 
 I resolved to find some means of escaping from 
 my tower with the engaging prince I had seen. I 
 was not long in devising a means for the execution 
 of my project. I begged the fairies to bring me a 
 netting-needle, a mesh and some cord, saying I 
 wished to make some nets to amuse myself with 
 catching birds at my window. This they readily 
 complied with, and in a short time I completed a lad- 
 der long enough to reach the ground. I now sent my 
 parrot to the prince, to beg he would come to his 
 usual place, as I wished to speak with him. He did 
 not fail, and finding the ladder, mounted it, and 
 quickly entered my tower. This at first alarmed me ; 
 but the charms of his conversation had restored me 
 to tranquillity, when all at once the window opened, 
 and the fairy Violent, mounted on the dragon's back, 
 rushed into the tower. ' My beloved prince thought 
 of nothing but how to defend me from their fury; 
 for I had had time to relate to him my story, previ- 
 ous to this cruel interruption ; but their numbers 
 overpowered him, and the fairy Violent had the bar- 
 barity to command the dragon to devour my prince 
 before my eyes. In my despair, I would have thrown 
 myself also into the mouth of the horrible monster, 
 but this they took care to prevent, saying my life 
 should be preserved for greater punishment. The 
 fairy then touched me with her wand, and I instantly 
 became a white cat. She next conducted me to this 
 
164 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 palace, which belonged to my father, and gave me a 
 train of cats for my attendants, together with the 
 twelve hands which waited on your highness. She 
 then informed me of my birth, and the death of my 
 parents, and pronounced upon me what she imag- 
 ined the greatest of maledictions : That I should not 
 be restored to my natural figure till a young prince, 
 the perfect resemblance of him I had lost, should cut 
 off my head and tail. You are that perfect resem- 
 blance ; and, accordingly, you have ended the en- 
 chantment. I need not add, that I already love you 
 more than my life. Let us therefore hasten to the 
 palace of the king your father, and obtain his appro- 
 bation to our marriage." 
 
 The prince and princess accordingly set out side 
 by side, in a car of still greater splendour than be- 
 fore, and reached the palace just as the two brothers 
 had arrived with two beautiful princesses. The 
 king, hearing that each of his sons had succeeded in 
 finding what he had required, again began to think 
 of some new expedient to delay the time of his 
 resigning his crown ; but when the whole court were 
 with the king assembled to pass judgment, the 
 princess who accompanied the youngest, perceiving 
 his thoughts by his countenance, stepped majestically 
 forward, and thus addressed him : " What pity that 
 your majesty, who is so capable of governing, 
 should think of resigning the crown ! I am fortu- 
 nate enough to have six kingdoms in my possession ; 
 permit me to bestow one on each of the eldest 
 princes, and to enjoy the remaining four in the so- 
 ciety of the youngest. And may it please your ma- 
 jesty to keep your own kingdom, and make no de- 
 
The White Cat 165 
 
 cision concerning the beauty of three princesses, who, 
 without such a proof of your majesty's preference, 
 will no doubt live happily together ! " The air re- 
 sounded with the applauses of the assembly. The 
 young prince and princess embraced the king, and 
 next their brothers and sisters; the three weddings 
 immediately took place ; and the kingdoms were di- 
 vided as the princess had proposed. 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 THE GOLDEN GOOSE 
 
 There was a man who had three sons, the young- 
 est of whom was considered very silly, and every- 
 body used to mock him and make fun of him. The 
 eldest son wanted to go and cut wood in the forest, 
 and before he left home his mother prepared beauti- 
 ful pancakes and a bottle of wine for him to take 
 with him, so that he might not suffer from hunger 
 or thirst. 
 
 As he entered the forest he met a gray old man, 
 who bade him " Good-morning," and said : ** Give 
 me a little piece of cake out of your basket and a 
 drop of wine out of your bottle, for I am very 
 hungry and thirsty." 
 
 But the clever son replied : *' What, give you my 
 cake and my wine! Why, if I did, I should have 
 none for myself. Not I, indeed, so take yourself 
 off ! " and he left the man standing and went on. 
 
 The young man began cutting down a tree, but it 
 was not long before he made a false stroke : the axe 
 slipped and cut his arm so badly that he was obliged 
 to go home and have it bound up. Now, this false 
 stroke was caused by the little gray old man. 
 
 Next day the second son went into the forest to 
 cut wood, and his mother gave him a cake and a 
 
The Golden Goose idj 
 
 bottle of wine. As he entered the wood the same 
 little old man met him, and begged for a piece of 
 cake and a drop of wine. But the second son 
 answered rudely : " What I might give to you I shall 
 want myself, so be off." 
 
 Then he left the little old man standing in the 
 road, and walked on. His punishment soon came; 
 he had scarcely given two strokes on a tree with his 
 axe, when he hit his leg such a terrible blow that 
 he was obliged to limp home in great pain. 
 
 Then the stupid son said to his father, '' Let me 
 go for once and cut wood in the forest." 
 
 But his father said : " No, your brothers have 
 been hurt already, and it would be worse for you, 
 who don't understand wood-cutting." 
 
 The boy, however, begged so hard to be allowed 
 to go that his father said : " There, get along with 
 you ; you will buy your experience very dearly, I 
 expect." 
 
 His mother, however, gave him a cake which had 
 been made with water and baked in the ashes, and a 
 bottle of sour beer. 
 
 When he reached the wood the very same little 
 old man met him, and after greeting him kindly, 
 said : " Give me a little of your cake and a drop 
 from your bottle, for I am very hungry and thirsty." 
 
 " Oh," replied the simple youth, " I have onlv a 
 cake, which has been baked in the ashes, and some 
 sour beer; but you are welcome to a share of it. 
 Let us sit down, and eat and drink together." 
 
 So they seated themselves, and, lo and behold, 
 when the youth opened his basket, the cake had been 
 turned into a beautiful cake, and the sour beer into 
 
1 68 Fairy Talcs Every Child Should Know 
 
 wine. After they had eaten and drank enough, the 
 httle old man said : ** Because you have been kind- 
 hearted, and shared your dinner with me, I will 
 make you in future lucky in all you undertake. 
 There stands an old tree ; cut it down, and you will 
 find something good at the root." 
 
 Then the old man said '' Farewell," and left him. 
 
 The youth set to work, and very soon succeeded 
 in felling the tree, when he found sitting at the roots 
 a goose, whose feathers were of pure gold. He took 
 it up, and, instead of going home, carried it with 
 him to an inn at a little distance, where he intended 
 to pass the night. 
 
 The landlord had three daughters, who looked at 
 the goose with envious eyes. They had never seen 
 such a wonderful bird, and longed to have at least 
 one of its feathers. " Ah," thought the eldest, '' I 
 shall soon have an opportunity to pluck one of them ;" 
 and so it happened, for not long after the young man 
 left the room. She instantly went up to the bird 
 and took hold of its wing, but as she did so, the 
 finger and thumb remained and stuck fast. In a 
 short time after the second sister came in with the 
 full expectation of gaining a golden feather, but as 
 she touched her sister to move her from the bird, 
 her hand stuck fast to her sister's dress, and neither 
 of them could free herself. At last, in came the 
 third sister with the same intention. " Keep away, 
 keep away ! " screamed the other two ; " in heaven's 
 name keep away ! " 
 
 But she could not imagine why she should keep 
 away. If they were near the golden bird, why 
 should not she be there ? So she made a spring for- 
 
The Golden Goose 169 
 
 ward and touched her second sister, and immedi- 
 ately she also was made a prisoner, and in this posi- 
 tion they were obliged to remain by the goose all 
 night. 
 
 In the morning the young man came in, took the 
 goose on his arm, and went away without troubling 
 himself about the three girls, who were following 
 close behind him. And as he walked quickly, they 
 were obliged to run one behind the other, left or 
 right of him, just as he was inclined to go. 
 
 In the middle of a field they were met by the par- 
 son of the parish, who looked with wonder at the 
 procession as it came near him. " Shame on you ! " 
 he cried out. " What are you about, you bold-faced 
 hussies, running after a young man in that way 
 through the fields ? Go home, all of you." 
 
 He placed his hand on the youngest to pull her 
 back, but the moment he touched her he also became 
 fixed, and was obliged to follow and run like the 
 rest. In a few minutes the clerk met them, and 
 when he saw the parson runing after the girls, he 
 wondered greatly, and cried out, " Halloa, master 
 parson, wdiere are you running in such haste ? Have 
 you forgotten that there is a christening to-day ? " 
 And as the procession did not stop, he ran after it, 
 and seized the parson's gown. 
 
 In a moment he found that his hand was fixed, 
 and he also had to run like the rest. And now there 
 w^ere five trotting along, one behind the other. 
 Presently two peasants came by with their sickles 
 from the field. The parson called out to them, and 
 begged them to come and release him and the clerk. 
 Hardly had they touched the clerk w^hen they also 
 
170 Fairy Talcs Every Child Should Knozu 
 
 stuck fast as the others, and the simpleton with his 
 golden goose travelled with the seven. 
 
 After awhile they came to a city in which reigned 
 a king who had a daughter of such a melancholy 
 disposition that no one could make her laugh ; there- 
 fore he issued a decree that whoever would make 
 the princess laugh should have her in marriage. 
 
 Now, when the simple youth heard this, he ran 
 before her, and the whole seven trotted after him. 
 The sight was so ridiculous that the moment the 
 princess saw it she burst into a violent fit of laughter 
 and they thought she would never leave off. 
 
 After this, the youth went to the king, and de- 
 manded his daughter in marriage, according to the 
 king's decree; but his majesty did not quite like to 
 have the young man for a son-in-law, so he said that, 
 before he could consent to the marriage, the youth 
 must bring him a man who could drink all the wine 
 in the king's cellar. 
 
 The simpleton went into the forest, for he thought, 
 " If anyone can help me, it is the little gray man." 
 When he arrived at the spot where he had cut down 
 the tree, there stood a man with a very miserable 
 face. 
 
 The youth asked him why he looked so sorrowful. 
 
 *' Oh," he exclaimed, " I suffer such dreadful 
 thirst that nothing seems able to quench it ; and cold 
 water I cannot endure. I have emptied a cask of 
 wine already, but it was just like a drop of water on 
 a hot stone." 
 
 " I can help you," cried the young man ; " come 
 with me, and you shall have your fill, I promise 
 you." 
 
The Golden Goose 171 
 
 Upon this he led the man into the king's cellar, 
 where he opened the casks one after another, and 
 drank and drank till his back ached ; and before the 
 day closed he had quite emptied the king's cellar. 
 
 Again the young mian asked for his bride, but the 
 king was annoyed at the thought of giving his 
 daughter to such a common fellow, and to get rid 
 of him he made another condition. He said that no 
 man should have his daughter who could not find 
 someone able to eat up a whole mountain of bread. 
 
 Away went the simpleton to the forest as before, 
 and there in the same place sat a man binding him- 
 self round tightly with a belt, and making the most 
 horrible faces. As the youth approached, he cried, 
 " I have eaten a whole ovenful of rolls, but it has 
 not satisfied me a bit; I am as hungry as ever, and 
 my stomach feels so empty that I am obliged to 
 bind it round tightly, or I should die of hunger." 
 
 The simpleton could hardly contain himself for 
 joy when he heard this. " Get up," he exclaimed, 
 " and come with me, and I will give you plenty to 
 eat, I'll warrant." 
 
 So he led him to the king's court, where his 
 majesty had ordered all the flour in the kingdom to 
 be made into bread, and piled up in a huge mountain. 
 The hungry man placed himself before the bread, 
 and began to eat, and before evening the whole pile 
 had disappeared. 
 
 Then the simpleton went a third time to the king, 
 and asked for his bride, but the king made several 
 excuses, and at last said that if he could bring him 
 a ship that would travel as well by land as by water, 
 
172 Fairy Talcs Every Child Should Know 
 
 then he should, without any further conditions, 
 marry his daughter. 
 
 The youth went at once straight to the forest, and 
 saw the same old gray man to whom he had given 
 his cake. ** Ah," he said, as the youth approached, 
 '' it was I who sent the men to eat and drink, and I 
 will also give you a ship that can travel by land or 
 by sea, because when you thought I was poor you 
 were kind-hearted, and gave me food and drink." 
 
 The youth took the ship, and when the king saw 
 it he was quite surprised ; but he could not any 
 longer refuse to give him his daughter in marriage. 
 The wedding was celebrated with great pomp, and 
 after the king's death the simple woodcutter inher- 
 ited the whole kingdom, and lived happily with his 
 wife. 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 THE TWELVE BROTHERS 
 
 There were once a king and queen who had 
 twelve children — all boys. Now, one day the king 
 told his wife that if a daughter should be born, all 
 the sons must die — that their sister alone might in- 
 herit his kingdom and riches. 
 
 So the king had twelve coffins made, which were 
 filled with shavings, and in each was the little pil- 
 low for the dead. He had them locked up in a 
 private room, the key of which he gave to the queen, 
 praying her not to speak of it to anyone. But the 
 poor mother was so unhappy that she wept for a 
 whole day, and looked so sad that her youngest son 
 noticed it. 
 
 He had the Bible name of Benjamin, and was al- 
 ways with his mother. 
 
 " Dear mother," he said, '' why are you so sorrow- 
 ful?" 
 
 " My child, I may not tell you," she replied ; but 
 the boy allowed her no rest till she unlocked the 
 door of the private room, and showed him the twelve 
 coffins filled with shavings. 
 
 " Dearest Benjamin," she said, " these coffins are 
 for you and your brothers ; for if you should ever 
 have a little sister, you will all die, and be buried in 
 them. 
 
174 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 She wept bitterly as she told him, but her son 
 comforted her, and said, '' Do not weep, dear mother. 
 We will take care of ourselves, and go far away." 
 
 Then she took courage, and said, " Yes, go away 
 with your eleven brothers, and remain in the forest ; 
 and let one climb a tree, from whence he will be 
 able to see the tower of the castle. If I should have 
 a son, a white flag shall be hoisted, and then you 
 may return home ; but if you see a red flag, you will 
 know it is a girl, and then hasten away as fast as 
 you can, and may Heaven protect you ! Every night 
 I will pray for you, that you may not suffer from the 
 cold in winter or the heat in summer." 
 
 Then she blessed all her sons, and they went away 
 into the forest, while each in turn mounted a high 
 tree daily, to watch for the flag on the tower. 
 
 Eleven days passed, and it was Benjamin's turn 
 to watch. He saw the flag hoisted, and it was red — 
 the signal that they must die. The brothers were 
 'ingry, and said, " Shall we suffer death on account 
 ;f a maiden ? When we find one we will kill her, to 
 avenge ourselves." 
 
 They went still farther into the forest, and came 
 upon a most pleasant little cottage, which was un- 
 inhabited. " We will make this our home," they 
 said ; " and Benjamin, as you are the youngest and 
 weakest, you shall stay at home and keep house, 
 Avhile we go out and procure food." 
 
 So they wandered about the forest, shooting 
 hares, wild rabbits, pigeons and other birds, which 
 they brought to Benjamin to prepare for food. In 
 this cottage they lived for ten years happily together, 
 so that the time passed quickly. 
 
The Tivelve Brothers 175 
 
 Their little sister was growing a great girl. She 
 had a sweet disposition, and was very beautiful to 
 look upon. She wore rich clothes, and a golden 
 star on her forehead. 
 
 One day, when she was about ten years old, she 
 discovered in her mother's wardrobe twelve shirts. 
 *' Mother," she exclaimed, " whose shirts are these? 
 They are much too small for my father." 
 
 The queen sighed as she replied, " Dear child, 
 these shirts belong to your twelve brothers." 
 
 " Twelve brothers ! " cried the little maiden. 
 '' Where are they ? I have not even heard of them." 
 
 " Heaven knows where they are," was the reply ; 
 '' but they are wandering about the world some- 
 where." Then the queen took her little daughter to 
 the private room in the castle, and showed her the 
 twelve coffins which had been prepared for her 
 brothers, and related to her, with many tears, why 
 they had left home. 
 
 *' Dear mother," said the child, " do not weep. I 
 will go and seek my brothers." So she took the 
 twelve shirts with her, and wandered away into the 
 forest. 
 
 She walked for a whole day, and in the evening 
 came to a cottage, stepped in, and found a young 
 boy, who stared with astonishment at seeing a 
 beautiful little girl dressed in rich clothing and 
 wearing a golden star on her forehead. 
 
 At last he said, " Who are you, and what do you 
 want? " 
 
 " I am a king's daughter," she said, " and I seek 
 my twelve brothers, and I intend to search for them 
 till I find them ; " and she showed him their shirts. 
 
176 Fairy Talcs Every Child Should Know 
 
 Then Benjamin knew that she was his sister, and 
 said, *' I am your youngest brother, Benjamin." 
 Then she wept for joy. They kissed each other with 
 deep affection, and were for a time very happy. 
 
 At last Benjamin said, '' Dear sister, we have 
 made a vow that the first young maiden we meet 
 should die, because through a maiden we have lost 
 our kingly rights." 
 
 '* I would willingly die," she said, '' if by so doing 
 I could restore my brothers to their rightful posses- 
 sions." 
 
 " No, you shall not die," he replied. " Hide your- 
 self behind this tub until our eleven brothers come 
 home ; then I will make an agreement with them." 
 
 At night the brothers returned from hunting, and 
 the supper was ready. While they sat at table, one 
 of them said, '' Well, Benjamin, have you any 
 news? " 
 
 " Perhaps I have," he said, " although it seems 
 strange that I, who stay at home, should know more 
 than you, who have been out." 
 
 " Well, tell us your news," said one. So he said : 
 
 " I will tell you if you will make one promise." 
 
 " Yes, yes ! " they all cried. '' What is it? " 
 
 " Well, then, promise me that the first maiden you 
 meet with in the forest shall not die." 
 
 " Yes, yes ! " said they all ; " she shall have mercy; 
 but tell us." 
 
 '' Then," said the youngest brother, " our sister is 
 here ; " and, rising, he lifted the tub, and the king's 
 daughter came forth in her royal robes and with a 
 golden star on her forehead, and looking so fair and 
 delicate and beautiful that the brothers were full 
 
The Tzvelve Brothers 177 
 
 of joy, and kissed and embraced her with the fond- 
 est affection. 
 
 She stayed with Benjamin, and helped him in 
 keeping the house clean and cooking the game which 
 the others brought home. Ever3'thing was so nicely 
 managed now and with so much order, the curtains 
 and the quilts were beautifully white, and the din- 
 ners cooked so well that the brothers were always 
 contented, and lived in great unity with their little 
 sister. 
 
 There was a pretty garden around the house in 
 which they lived, and one day, when they were all 
 at home dining together, and enjoying themselves, 
 the maiden went out into the garden to gather them 
 some flowers. 
 
 She had tended twelve lilies with great care, and 
 they were now in such splendid bloom that she 
 determined to pluck them for her brothers, to please 
 them. 
 
 But the moment she gathered the lilies, her twelve 
 brothers were changed into twelve ravens, and flew 
 away over the trees of the forest, while the charm- 
 ing house and garden vanished from her sight. Now 
 was the poor little maiden left all alone in the wild 
 wood, and knew not what to do ; but on turning 
 round she saw a curious old woman standing near, 
 who said to her, " My child, what hast thou done? 
 Why didst thou not leave those white flowers to 
 grow on their stems? They were thy twelve 
 brothers, and now they will always remain ravens." 
 
 " Is there no way to set them free ? " asked the 
 maiden, weeping. 
 
 " No way in the world," she replied, " but one, and 
 
178 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 that is far too difficult for thee to perform; yet it 
 would break the spell and set them free. Hast thou 
 firmness enough to remain dumb seven years, and 
 not speak to anyone, or even laugh? for if ever you 
 utter a single word, or fail only once in the seven 
 years, all you have done before will be vain, and at 
 this one word your brothers will die." 
 
 '' Yes," said the maiden, '' I can do this to set 
 my brothers free." 
 
 Then the maiden climbed into a tree, and, seating 
 herself in the branches, began to knit. 
 
 She remained here, living on the fruit that grew 
 on the tree, and without laughing or uttering a 
 word. 
 
 As she sat in her tree, the king, who was hunting, 
 had a favourite hound, who very soon discovered 
 her, ran to the tree on which the maiden sat, sprang 
 up to it, and barked at her violently. 
 
 The king came nearer, and saw the beautiful 
 king's daughter with the golden star on her fore- 
 head. He was so struck with her beauty that he 
 begged her to come down, and asked her to be his 
 bride. She did not speak a word, but merely nodded 
 her head. Then the king himself climbed up into 
 the tree, and bringing her down, seated her on his 
 own horse and galloped away with her to his home. 
 
 The marriage was soon after celebrated with great 
 pomp, but the bride neither spoke nor laughed. 
 
 When they had lived happily together for some 
 years, the king's mother, a wicked woman, began to 
 raise evil reports about the queen, and said to the 
 king, " It is some beggar girl you have picked up. 
 Who can tell what wicked tricks she practises. She 
 
The Tivclve Brothers 179 
 
 can't help being dumb, but why does she never 
 laugh? unless she has a guilty conscience." The 
 king at first would listen to none of these suspicions, 
 but she urged him so long, and accused the queen 
 of such wicked conduct, that at last he condemned 
 her to be burnt to death. 
 
 Now in the court-yard a great fire was kindled, 
 and the king stood weeping at a window overlooking 
 the court of the palace, for he still loved her dearly. 
 He saw her brought forth and tied to the stake ; the 
 fire kindled, and the flames with their forked tongues 
 were creeping towards her, when at the last moment 
 the seven years were past, and suddenly a rustling 
 noise of wings was heard in the air; twelve black 
 ravens alighted on the earth and instantly assumed 
 their own forms — they were the brothers of the 
 queen. 
 
 They tore down the pile and extinguished the fire, 
 set their sister free, and embraced her tenderly. The 
 queen, who was now able to speak, told the king 
 why she had been dumb and had never laughed. 
 
 The delight of the king was only equalled by his 
 anger against the wicked witch, who was brought 
 to justice and ordered to be thrown into a vat of oil 
 full of poisonous snakes, where she died a dreadful 
 death. 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 THE FAIR ONE WITH THE GOLDEN LOCKS 
 
 There was once a most beautiful and amiable 
 princess who was called *' The Fair One with 
 Locks of Gold," for her hair shone brighter than 
 gold, and flowed in curls down to her feet, her head 
 was always encircled by a wreath of beautiful flow- 
 ers, and pearls and diamonds. 
 
 A handsome, rich, young prince, whose territories 
 joined to hers, was deeply in love with the reports 
 he heard of her, and sent to demand her in mar- , 
 riage. The ambassador sent with proposals was most 
 sumptuously attired, and surrounded by lackeys on 
 beautiful horses, as well as charged with every kind 
 of compliment, from the anxious prince, who hoped 
 he would bring the princess back with him ; but 
 whether it was that she was not that day in a good 
 humour, or that she did not like the speeches made 
 by the ambassador, I don't know, but she returned 
 thanks to his master for the honour he intended her, 
 and said she had no inclination to marry. When 
 the ambassador arrived at the king's chief city, where 
 he was expected with great impatience, the people 
 were extremely afflicted to see him return without 
 the Fair One with the Locks of Gold ; and the king 
 wept like a child. There was a youth at court whose 
 
The Fair One with the Golden Locks i8i 
 
 beauty outshone the sun, the gracefulness of whose 
 person was not to be equalled, and for his graceful- 
 ness and wit, he was called Avenant : the king loved 
 him, and indeed every body except the envious. 
 Avenant being one day in company with some per- 
 sons, inconsiderately said, '' If the king had sent 
 me to the Fair One with Locks of Gold, I dare say 
 I could have prevailed on her to return with me." 
 These enviers of Avenant's prosperity immediately 
 ran open mouthed to the king, saying, '' Sir, sir, 
 what does your majesty think Avenant says? He 
 boasts that if you had sent him to the Fair One 
 with the Golden Hair, he could have brought her 
 with him; which shows he is so vain as to think 
 himself handsomer than your majesty, and that her 
 love for him would have made her follow him wher- 
 ever he went." This put the king into a violent 
 rage. " What ! " said he, " does this youngster make 
 a jest at my misfortune, and pretend to set himself 
 above me ? Go and put him immediately in my great 
 tower, and there let him starve to death." The 
 king's guards went and seized Avenant, who 
 thought no more of what he had said, dragged him 
 to prison, and used him in the most cruel manner. 
 
 One day when he was almost quite spent, he said 
 to himself, fetching a deep sigh, '' Wherein can I 
 have offended the king? He has not a more faith- 
 ful subject than myself; nor have I ever done any 
 thing to displease him." The king happened at that 
 time to pass by the tower ; and stopped to hear him, 
 notwithstanding the persuasions of those that were 
 with him ; " Hold your peace," replied the king, 
 *' and let me hear him out." Which having done, 
 
1 82 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Knozv 
 
 and being greatly moved by his sufferings, he 
 opened the door of the tower, and called him by his 
 name. Upon which Avenant came forth in a sad 
 condition, and, throwing himself at the king's feet, 
 " What have I done, sir,'' said he, " that your 
 majesty should use me thus severely? " " Thou hast 
 ridiculed me and my ambassador," replied the king; 
 '' and hast said, that if I had sent thee to the Fair 
 One with Locks of Gold, thou couldst have brought 
 her with thee." '' It is true, sir," replied Avenant, 
 " for I would have so thoroughly convinced her of 
 your transcending qualities, that it should not have 
 been in her power to have denied me ; and this, 
 surely, I said in the name of your majesty." The 
 king found in reality he had done no injury; so, 
 he took him away with him, repenting heartily of 
 the wrong he had done him. After having given 
 him an excellent supper, the king sent for him into 
 his cabinet. *' Avenant," said he, " I still love the 
 Fair One with Locks of Gold ; I have a mind to send 
 thee to her, to try whether thou canst succeed." 
 Avenant replied, he was ready to obey his majesty 
 in all things, and would depart the very next morn- 
 ing. " Hold," said the king, " I will provide thee 
 first with a most sumptuous equipage." '' There is 
 no necessity for that," answered Avenant ; " I need 
 only a good horse and your letters of credence." 
 Upon this the king embraced him; being overjoyed 
 to see him so soon ready. 
 
 It was upon a Monday morning that he took leave 
 of the king and his friends. Being on his journey 
 by break of day, and entering into a spacious 
 meadow, a fine thought came into his head : he 
 
The Fair One with the Golden Locks 183 
 
 alighted immediately, and seated himself by the 
 bank of a little stream that watered one side of the 
 meadow, and wrote the sentiment down in his 
 pocket book. After he had done writing, he looked 
 about him every way, being charmed with the beau- 
 ties of the place, and suddenly perceived a large 
 gilded carp, which stirred a little, and that was all it 
 could do, for having attempted to catch some little 
 flies, it had leaped so far out of the water, as to 
 throw itself upon the grass, where it was almost 
 dead, not being able to recover its natural element. 
 Avenant took pity on the poor creature, and though 
 it was a fish-day, and he might have carried it away 
 for his dinner, he took it up, and gently put it again 
 into the river, where the carp, feeling the refreshing 
 coolness of the water, began to rejoice, and sunk to 
 the bottom ; but soon rising up again, brisk and gay, 
 to the side of the river ; '' Avenant," said the carp, 
 *' I thank you for the kindness you have done me ; 
 had it not been for you, I had died; but you have 
 saved my life, and I will reward you." After this 
 short compliment, the carp darted itself to the bot- 
 tom of the water, leaving Avenant not a little sur- 
 prised at its wit and great civility. 
 
 Another day, as he was pursuing his journey, he 
 saw a crow in great distress : being pursued by a 
 huge eagle, he took his bow, which he always carried 
 abroad with him, and aiming at the eagle, let fly an 
 arrow, which pierced him through the body, so that 
 he fell down dead ; which the crow seeing, came in 
 an ecstasy of joy, and perched upon a tree. " Ave- 
 nant," said the crow, " you have been extremely gen- 
 erous to succour me, who am but a poor wretched 
 
1 84 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Knozv 
 
 crow ; but I am not ungrateful and will do you as 
 good a turn." Avenant admired the wit of the crow, 
 and continuing his journey, he entered into a wood 
 so early one morning, that he could scarcely see his 
 way, where he heard an owl crying out like an owl 
 in despair. So looking about every where, he at 
 length came to a place where certain fowlers had 
 spread their nets in the night-time to catch little 
 birds. " What pity 'tis," said he, " men are only 
 made to torment one another, or else to persecute 
 poor animals who never do them any harm ! " So 
 saying, he drew his knife, cut the cords, and set the 
 owl at liberty ; who, before he took wing, said, 
 " Avenant, the fowlers are coming, I should have 
 been taken, and must have died, without your assist- 
 ance : I have a grateful heart, and will remember it." 
 These were the three most remarkable adventures 
 that befell Avenant in his journey ; and when he ar- 
 rived at the end of it, he washed himself, combed 
 and powdered his hair, and put on a suit of cloth of 
 gold : which having done, he put a rich embroidered 
 scarf about his neck, with a small basket, wherein 
 was a little dog which he was very fond of. And 
 Avenant was so amiable, and did every thing with 
 so good a grace, that when he presented himself at 
 the gate of the palace, all the guards paid him great 
 respect, and every one strove who should first give 
 notice to the Fair One with Locks of Gold, that 
 Avenant, the neighbouring king's ambassador, de- 
 manded audience. The princess on hearing the 
 name of Avenant, said, " It has a pleasing sound, 
 and I dare say he is agreeable and pleases every 
 body ; and she said to her maids of honour, " go 
 
The Fair One with the Golden Locks 185 
 
 fetch me my rich embroidered gown of blue satin, 
 dress my hair, and bring my wreaths of fresh flow- 
 ers : let me have my high shoes, and my fan, and let 
 my audience chamber and throne be clean, and richly 
 adorned ; for I would have him every where with 
 truth say, that I am really the Fair One with Locks 
 of Gold." Thus all her women were employed to 
 dress her as a queen should be. At length, she went 
 to her great gallery of looking-glasses, to see if any 
 thing was wanting; after which she ascended her 
 throne of gold, ivory, and ebony, the fragrant smell 
 of which was superior to the choicest balm. She 
 also commanded her maids of honour to take their 
 instruments, and play to their own singing so sweetly 
 that none should be disgusted. 
 
 Avenant was conducted into the chamber of audi- 
 ence, were he stood so transported with admiration, 
 that, as he afterwards said, he had scarcely power to 
 open his lips. At length, however, he took courage, 
 and made his speech wonderfully well ; wherein he 
 prayed the princess not to let him be so unfortunate 
 as to return without her. '' Gentle Avenant," said 
 she, " all the reasons you have laid before me, are 
 very good, and I assure you, I would rather favour 
 you than any other; but you must know, about a 
 month since, I went to take the air by the side of a 
 river, with my maids of honour; as I was pulling 
 off my glove, I pulled a ring from my finger, which 
 by accident fell into the river. This ring I valued 
 more than my whole kingdom ; whence you may 
 judge how much I am afflicted by the loss of it. And 
 I have made a vow never to hearken to any proposals 
 of marriage, unless the ambassador who makes them, 
 
1 86 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 shall also bring my ring. This is the present which 
 you have to make me ; otherwise you may talk your 
 heart out, for months and even years shall never 
 change my resolution." When he returned to his 
 lodgings, he went to bed supperless; and his little 
 dog, who was called Cabriole, made a fasting night 
 of it too, and went and lay down by his master ; who 
 did nothing all night but sigh and lament, saying, 
 " How can I find a ring that fell into a great river 
 a month ago ? It would be folly to attempt it. The 
 princess enjoined me this task, merely because she 
 knew it was impossible," he continued, greatly af- 
 flicted ; which Cabriole observing, said, '' My dear 
 master, pray do not despair of your good fortune; 
 for you are too good to be unhappy. Therefore, 
 when it is day, let us go to the river side. Avenanf 
 made no answer, but gave his dog two little cuffs 
 with his hand, and being overwhelmed with grief, 
 fell asleep. 
 
 But when Cabriole perceived it was broad day, 
 he fell a barking so loud that he waked his master. 
 '■ Rise, sir," said he, " put on your clothes, and let 
 us go and try our fortune." Avenant took his 
 little dog's advice ; got up, and dressed himself, went 
 down into the garden, and out of the garden he 
 walked insensibly to the river side, with his hat over 
 his eyes, and his arms across, thinking of nothing 
 but taking his leave ; when all on a sudden he heard 
 a voice call, " Avenant, Avenant ! " upon which he 
 looked around him, but seeing nothing, he concluded 
 it was an illusion, and was proceeding in his walk; 
 but he presently heard himself called again. " Who 
 calls me ? " said he ; Cabriole, who was very little, 
 
The Fair One with the Golden Locks 187 
 
 and looked closely into the water, cried out, " Never 
 believe me, if it is not a gilded carp." Immediately 
 the carp appeared, and with an audible voice said, 
 " Avenant, you saved my life in the poplar meadow, 
 where I must have died without your assistance; 
 and now I am come to requite your kindness. Here, 
 my dear Avenant, here is the ring which the Fair 
 One with Locks of Gold dropped into the river." 
 Upon which he stooped and took it out of the carp's 
 mouth ; to whom he returned a thousand thanks. 
 And now, instead of returning home, he went di- 
 rectly to the palace with little Cabriole, who skipped 
 about, and wagged his tail for joy, that he had per- 
 suaded his master to walk by the side of the river. 
 The princess being told that Avenant desired an 
 audience : '' Alas," said she, " the poor youth has 
 come to take his leave of me ! He has considered 
 what I enjoined him as impossible, and is returning 
 to his master." But Avenant being admitted, pre- 
 sented her the ring, saying, '' Madam, behold I have 
 executed your command ; and now, I hope, you will 
 receive my master for your royal consort." When 
 she saw her ring, and that it was noways injured, 
 she was so amazed that she could hardly believe her 
 eyes. " Surely, courteous Avenant," said she, " you 
 must be favoured by some fairy; for naturally this 
 is impossible." '' Madam," said he, " I am ac- 
 quainted with no fairy; but I was willing to obey 
 your command." " Well, then, seeing you have so 
 good a will," continued she, '' you must do me an- 
 other piece of service, without which I will never 
 marry. There is a certain prince who lives not far 
 from hence, whose name is Galifron, and whom 
 
1 88 Fairy Talcs Every Child Should Know 
 
 nothing would serve but that he must needs marry 
 me. He declared his mind to me, with most terrible 
 menaces, that if I denied him, he would enter my 
 kingdom with fire and sword ; but you shall judge 
 whether I would accept his proposal : he is a giant, as 
 high as a steeple ; he devours men as an ape eats 
 chestnuts ; when he goes into the country, he carries 
 cannons in his pocket, to use instead of pistols ; and 
 when he speaks aloud he deafens' the ears of those 
 that stand near him. I answered him, that I did not 
 choose to marry, and desired him to excuse me. 
 Nevertheless, he has not ceased to persecute me, and 
 has put an infinite number of my subjects to the 
 sword : therefore, before all other things you must 
 fight him, and bring me his head." 
 
 Avenant was somewhat startled by this proposal ; 
 but, having considered it awhile, " Well, madam," 
 said he, " I will fight this Galifron ; I believe I shall 
 be vanquished ; but I will die like a man of cour- 
 age." The princess was astonished at his intrepid- 
 ity, and said a thousand things to dissuade him from 
 it, but all in vain. At length he arrived at Gali- 
 fron's castle, the roads all the way being strewed 
 with the bones and carcasses of men which the giant 
 had devoured, or cut in pieces. It was not long be- 
 fore Avenant saw the monster approach, and he im- 
 mediately challenged him ; but there was no occasion 
 for this, for he lifted his iron mace, and had cer- 
 tainly beat out the gentle Avenant's brains at the 
 first blow, had not a crow at that instant perched 
 upon the giant's head, and with his bill pecked out 
 both his eyes. The blood trickled down his face, 
 whereat he grew desperate, and laid about him on 
 
The Fair One with the Golden Locks 189 
 
 every side ; but Avenant took care to avoid his blows, 
 and gave him many great wounds with his sword, 
 which he pushed up to the very hilt ; so that the giant 
 fainted, and fell down with loss of blood. Avenant 
 immediately cut off his head ; and while he was in an 
 ecstasy of joy, for his good success, the crow perched 
 upon a tree, and said, " Avenant, I did not forget the 
 kindnesses I received at your hands, when you killed 
 the eagle that pursued me ; I promised to make you 
 amends, and now I have been as good as my word." 
 '* I acknowledge your kindness, Mr. Crow," replied 
 Avenant ; '' I am still your debtor, and your servant." 
 So saying, he mounted his courser, and rode away 
 with the giant's horrid head. When he arrived at 
 the city, every body crowded after him, crying out, 
 " hong live the valiant Avenant, who has slain the 
 cruel monster ! " so that the princess, who heard the 
 noise, and trembling for fear she should have heard 
 of Avenant's death, durst not inquire what was the 
 matter. But presently after, she saw Avenant enter 
 with the giant's head; at the sight of which she 
 trembled, though there was nothing to fear. 
 " Madam," said he, " behold your enemy is dead ; 
 and now, I hope, you will no longer refuse the king 
 my master." " Alas ! " replied the Fair One with 
 Locks of Gold, ** I must still refuse him, unless you 
 can find means to bring me some of the water of the 
 gloomy cave. Not far from hence," continued she, 
 '' there is a very deep cave, about six leagues in com- 
 pass; the entrance into which is guarded by two 
 dragons. The dragons dart fire from their mouths 
 and eyes; and when you have got into this cave, 
 you will meet with a very deep hole, into which you 
 
190 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 must go down, and you will find it full of toads, 
 adders and serpents. At the bottom of this hole 
 there is a kind of cellar, through which runs the 
 fountain of beauty and health. This is the water 
 I must have ; its virtues are wonderful ; for the 
 fair, by washing in it, preserve their beauty ; and 
 the deformed it renders beautiful ; if they are young, 
 it preserves them always youthful ; and if old it 
 makes them young again. Now judge you, Avenant, 
 whether I will ever leave my kingdom without carry- 
 ing some of this water along with me." " Madam," 
 said he, '* you are so beautiful, that this water will 
 be of no use to you ; but I am an unfortunate am- 
 bassador, whose death you seek. However, I will 
 go in search of what you desire, though I am certain 
 never to return." 
 
 At length he arrived at the top of a mountain, 
 where he sat down to rest himself ; giving his horse 
 liberty to feed, and Cabriole to run after the flies. 
 He knew that the gloomy cave was not far off, and 
 looked about to see whether he could discover it ; 
 and at length he perceived a horrid rock as black 
 as ink, whence issued a thick smoke ; and immedi- 
 ately after he spied one of the dragons casting forth 
 fire from his jaws and eyes; his skin all over yellow 
 and green, with prodigious claws and a long tail 
 rolled up in an hundred folds. Avenant, with a 
 resolution to die in the attempt, drew his sword, and 
 with the phial which the Fair One with Locks of 
 Gold had given him to fill with the water of beauty, 
 went towards the cave, saying to his little dog, " Ca- 
 briole, here is an end of me ; I never shall be able to 
 get this water, it is so well guarded by the dragons ; 
 
The Fair One with the Golden Locks 191 
 
 therefore when I am dead, fill this phial with my 
 blood, and carry it to my princess, that she may 
 see what her severity has cost me : then go to the 
 king my master and give him an account of my mis- 
 fortunes." While he was saying this, he heard a 
 voice call " Avenant, Avenant ! " *' Who calls me ? " 
 said he ; and presently he espied an owl in the hole 
 of an old hollow tree, who, calling him again, said, 
 '* You rescued me from the fowler's net, where I 
 had been assuredly taken, had you not delivered me. 
 I promised to make you amends, and now the time 
 is come ; give me your phial ; I am acquainted with 
 all the secret inlets into the gloomy cave, and will 
 go and fetch you the water of beauty." Avenant 
 most gladly gave the phial, and the owl, entering 
 without any impediment into the cave, filled it, and 
 in less than a quarter of an hour returned with it 
 well stopped. Avenant was overjoyed at his good 
 fortune, gave the owl a thousand thanks, and re- 
 turned with a merry heart to the city. Being ar- 
 rived at the palace, he presented the phial to the 
 Fair One with Locks of Gold, who had then noth- 
 ing further to say. She returned Avenant thanks, 
 and gave orders for every thing that was requisite 
 for her departure : after which she set forward with 
 him. The Fair One with Locks of Gold thought 
 Avenant very amiable, and said to him sometimes 
 upon the road, " If you had been willing, I could 
 have made you a king; and then we need not have 
 left my kingdom." But Avenant replied, '' I would 
 not have been guilty of such a piece of treachery to 
 my master for all the kingdoms of the earth ; though 
 
192 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 I must acknowledge your beauties are more re- 
 splendent than the sun." 
 
 At length they arrived at the king's chief city, 
 who understanding that the Fair One with Locks 
 of Gold was arrived, he went forth to meet her, and 
 made her the richest presents in the world. The 
 nuptials were solemnized with such demonstrations 
 of joy, that nothing else was discoursed of. But 
 the Fair One with Locks of Gold, who loved Ave- 
 nant in her heart, was never pleased but when she 
 was in his company, and would be always speaking 
 in his praise : " I had never come hither," said she to 
 the king, '* had it not been for Avenant, who, to 
 serve me, has conquered impossibilities ; you are 
 infinitely obliged to him ; he procured me the water 
 of beauty and health ; by which I shall never grow 
 old, and shall always preserve my health and 
 beauty." The enviers of Avenant's happiness, who 
 heard the queen's words, said to the king, " Were 
 your majesty inclined to be jealous, you have reason 
 enough to be so, for the queen is desperately in love 
 with Avenant." '' Indeed," said the king, " I am 
 sensible of the truth of what you tell me ; let him be 
 put in the great tower, with fetters upon his feet 
 and hands." Avenant was immediately seized. 
 However, his little dog Cabriole never forsook him, 
 but cheered him the best he could, and brought him 
 all the news of the court. When the Fair One with 
 Locks of Gold was informed of his misfortunes, 
 she threw herself at the king's feet, and all in tears 
 besought him to release Avenant out of prison. But 
 the more she besought him the more he was in- 
 censed, believing it was her affection that made her 
 
The Fair One with the Golden Locks 193 
 
 so zealous a suppliant in his behalf. Finding she 
 could not prevail, she said no more to him, but 
 grew very pensive and melancholy. 
 
 The king took it into his head that she did not 
 think him handsome enough ; so he resolved to wash 
 his face with the water of beauty, in hopes that the 
 queen would then conceive a greater affection for 
 him than she had. This water stood in a phial upon 
 a table in the queen's chamber, where she had put 
 it, that it might not be out of her sight. But one 
 of the chambermaids going to kill a spider with 
 her besom, by accident threw down the phial, and 
 broke it, so that the water was lost. She dried it 
 up with all the speed she could, and not knowing 
 what to do, she bethought herself that she had seen 
 a phial of clear water in the king's cabinet very like 
 that she had broken. Without any more ado, there- 
 fore, she went and fetched that phial, and set it 
 upon the table in place of the other. This water 
 which was in the king's cabinet, was a certain water 
 which he made use of to poison the great lords and 
 princes of his court when they were convicted of any 
 great crime ; to which purpose, instead of cutting off 
 their heads, or hanging them, he caused their faces 
 to be rubbed with this water, which cast them into 
 so profound a sleep that they never waked again. 
 Now the king one evening took this phial, and 
 rubbed his face w^ll with the water, after which he 
 fell asleep and died. Cabriole was one of the first 
 that came to a knowledge of this accident, and im- 
 mediately ran to inform Avenant of it who bid 
 him go to the Fair One with Locks of Gold, and 
 remind her of the poor prisoner. Cabriole slipped 
 
194 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 unperceived through the crowd, for there was a 
 great noise and hurry at court upon the king's 
 death ; and getting to the queen, " Madam," said he, 
 " remember poor Avenant." She presently called 
 to mind the afflictions he had suffered for her sake, 
 and his fidelity. Without speaking a word, she went 
 directly to the great tower, and took off the fetters 
 from Avenant's feet and hands herself ; after which, 
 putting the crown upon his head, and the royal man- 
 tle about his shoulders, " Amiable Avenant," said 
 she, " I will make you a sovereign prince, and take 
 you for my consort." Avenant threw himself at her 
 feet, and in terms the most passionate and respect- 
 ful returned her thanks. Every body was overjoyed 
 to have him for their king: the nuptials were the 
 most splendid in the world; and the Fair One 
 with Locks of Gold lived a long time with her be- 
 loved Avenant, both happy and contented in the 
 enjoyment of each other. 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 TOM THUMB 
 
 In the days of King Arthur, Merlin, the most 
 learned enchanter of his time, was on a journey; 
 and, being very weary, stopped one day at the cot- 
 tage of an honest ploughman to ask for refresh- 
 ment. The ploughman's wife, with great civility, 
 immediately brought him some milk in a wooden 
 bowl, and some brown bread on a wooden platter. 
 Merlin could not help observing, that, although 
 every thing within the cottage was particularly neat 
 and clean, and in good order, the ploughman and 
 his wife had the most sorrowful air imaginable. So 
 he questioned them on the cause of their melancholy, 
 and learned that they were very miserable because 
 they had no children. The poor woman declared, 
 with tears in her eyes, that she should be the hap- 
 piest creature in the world if she had a son, al- 
 though he were no bigger than his father's thumb. 
 Merlin was much amused with the thoughts of a boy 
 no bigger than a man's thumb, and, as soon as he 
 returned home, he sent for the queen of the fairies 
 (with whom he was very intimate), and related to 
 her the desire of the ploughman and his wife to 
 have a son the size of his father's thumb. The 
 queen of the fairies liked the plan exceedingly, and 
 
iq6 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 declared their wish should speedily be granted. Ac- 
 cordingly the ploughman's wife had a son, who in 
 a few minutes grew as tall as his father's thumb. 
 The queen of the fairies came in at the window as 
 the mother was sitting up in be:l admiring the 
 child. The queen kissed the infant, and giving it 
 the name of Tom Thumb, immediately summoned 
 several fairies from Fairy Land to pJothe her little 
 new favourite : 
 
 ** An oak leaf hat he had for his crowh^ 
 His shirt it was by spiders spun ; 
 With doublet wove of thistle's down, 
 His trousers up with points were done. 
 His stockings, of apple rind, they tie 
 With eye-lash plucked from his mother's eye, 
 His shoes were made of a mouse's skin, 
 Nicely tanned, with the hair within." 
 
 Tom never was any bigger than his father's 
 thumb, which was not a large thumb either ; but, as 
 he grew older, he became very cunning and sly, for 
 which his mother did not sufficiently correct him, 
 so that when he was able to play with the boys for 
 cherry stones, and had lost all his own, he used to 
 creep into the boys' bags, fill his pockets, and come 
 out again to play. But one day as he was getting out 
 of a bag of cherry stones, the boy to whom it be- 
 longed chanced to see him. '' Ah ha, my little Tom 
 Thumb ! " said the boy, " have I caught you at your 
 bad tricks at last? Now I will reward you for 
 thieving." Then drawing the string tight round 
 his neck, and shaking the bag heartily, the 
 
Tom Thumb 197 
 
 cherry stones bruised Tom's legs, thighs, and 
 body sadly ; which made him beg to be let out, and 
 promise never to be guilty of such things any more. 
 Shortly afterwards, Tom's mother was making a 
 batter pudding, and, that he might see how she 
 mixed it, he climbed on the edge of the bowl ; but his 
 foot happening to slip, he fell over head and ears 
 into the batter, and his mother not observing him, 
 stirred him into the pudding, and popped him into 
 the pot to boil. The hot water made Tom kick and 
 struggle ; and his mother, seeing the pudding jump 
 up and down in such a furious manner, thought it 
 was bewitched; and a tinker coming by just at the 
 time, she quickly gave him the pudding, who put 
 it into his budget and walked on. 
 
 As soon as Tom could get the batter out of his 
 mouth, he began to cry aloud; which so frightened 
 the poor tinker, that he flung the pudding over the 
 hedge, and ran away from it as fast as he could run. 
 The pudding being broken to pieces by the fall, Tom 
 was released, and walked home to his mother, who 
 gave him a kiss and put him to bed. Tom Thumb's 
 mother once took him with her when she went to 
 milk the cow; and it being a very windy day, she 
 tied him with a needleful of thread to a thistle, that 
 he might not be blown away. The cow liking his 
 oak leaf hat took him and the thistle up at one 
 mouthful. While the cow chewed the thistle, Tom, 
 terrified at her great teeth, which seemed ready to 
 crush him to pieces, roared, ''Mother, Mother!" as 
 loud as he could bawl. " Where are you. Tommy, 
 my dear Tommy ? " said the mother. " Here, 
 mother, here in the red cow's mouth." The mother 
 
198 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 began to cry and wring her hands ; but the cow sur- 
 prised at such odd noises in her throat, opened her 
 mouth and let him drop out. His mother clapped 
 him into her apron, and ran home with him. Tom's 
 father made him a whip of a barley straw to drive 
 the cattle with, and being one day in the field, he 
 slipped into a deep furrow. A raven flying over, 
 picked him up with a grain of corn, and flew with 
 him to the top of a giant's castle, by the seaside, 
 where he left him ; and old Grumbo the giant, com- 
 ing soon after to walk upon his terrace, swallowed 
 Tom like a pill, clothes and all. Tom presently made 
 the giant very uncomfortable, and he threw him up 
 into the sea. A great fish then swallowed him. The 
 fish was soon after caught, and sent as a present to 
 King Arthur. When it was cut open, every body 
 was delighted with little Tom Thumb. The king 
 made him his dwarf; he was the favourite of the 
 whole court; and, by his merry pranks, often 
 amused the queen and the knights of the Round Ta- 
 ble. The king, when he rode on horseback, fre- 
 quently took Tom in his hand ; and, if a shower of 
 rain came on, he used to creep into the king's waist- 
 coat pocket, and sleep till the rain was over. The 
 king also, sometimes questioned Tom concerning his 
 parents ; and when Tom informed his majesty they 
 were very poor people, the king led him into his 
 treasury, and told him he should pay his friends a 
 visit, and take with him as much money as he could 
 carry. Tom procured a little purse, and putting a 
 threepenny piece into it, with much labour and diffi- 
 culty got it upon his back ; and, after travelling two 
 days and nights, arrived at his father's house. 
 
Tom Thumb 199 
 
 His mother met him at the door, ahiiost tired to 
 death, having in forty-eight hours travelled almost 
 half a mile with a huge silver threepence upon his 
 back. His parents were glad to see him, especially 
 when he had brought such an amazing sum of money 
 with him. They placed him in a walnut shell by the 
 fire side, and feasted him for three days upon a 
 hazel nut, which made him sick, for a whole nut 
 usually served him a month. Tom got well, but 
 could not travel because it had rained ; therefore 
 his mother took him in her hand, and with one puff 
 blew him into King Arthur's court ; where Tom en- 
 tertained the king, queen, and nobility at tilts and 
 tournaments, at which he exerted himself so much 
 that he brought on a fit of sickness, and his life was 
 despaired of. At this juncture the queen of the 
 fairies came in a chariot drawn by flying mice, 
 placed Tom by her side, and drove through the air, 
 without stopping till they arrived at her palace; 
 when, after restoring him to health, and permitting 
 him to enjoy all the gay diversions of Fairy Land, 
 the queen commanded a fair wind, and, placing Tom 
 before it, blew him straight to the court of King 
 Arthur. But just as Tom should have alighted in 
 the courtyard of the palace, the cook happened to 
 pass along with the king's great bowl of firmity 
 (King Arthur loved firmity), and poor Tom Thumb 
 fell plump into the middle of it and splashed the hot 
 firmity into the cook's eyes. Down went the bowl. 
 '' Oh dear ; oh dear ! " cried Tom ; " Murder ! mur- 
 der ! " bellowed the cook ! and away ran the king's 
 nice firmity into the kennel. The cook was a red- 
 faced, cross fellow, and swore to the king, that Tom 
 
200 Fairy Talcs Every Child Should Know 
 
 had done it out of mere mischief; so he was taken 
 up, tried, and sentenced to be beheaded. Tom hear- 
 ing this dreadful sentence, and seeing a miller 
 stand by with his mouth wide open, he took a good 
 spring, and jumped down the miller's throat, unper- 
 ceived by all, even by the miller himself. 
 
 Tom being lost, the court broke up, and away went 
 the miller to his mill. But Tom did not leave him 
 long at rest, he began to roll and tumble about, 
 so that the miller thought himself bewitched, and 
 sent for a doctor. When the doctor came, Tom be- 
 gan to dance and sing; the doctor was as much 
 frightened as the miller, and sent in great haste for 
 five more doctors, and twenty learned men. While 
 all these were debating upon the affair, the miller 
 (for they were very tedious) happened to yawn, 
 and Tom, taking the opportunity, made another 
 jump, and alighted on his feet in the middle of the 
 table. The miller, provoked to be thus tormented 
 by such a little creature, fell into a great passion, 
 caught hold of Tom, and threw him out of the win- 
 dow, into the river. A large salmon swimming by, 
 snapped him up in a minute. The salmon was soon 
 caught and sold in the market to the steward of a 
 lord. The lord, thinking it an uncommon fine fish, 
 made a present of it to the king, who ordered it to 
 be dressed immediately. When the cook cut open 
 the salmon, he found poor Tom, and ran with him 
 directly to the king; but the king being busy with 
 state affairs, desired that he might be brought an- 
 other day. The cook resolving to keep him safely 
 this time, as he had so lately given him the slip, 
 clapped him into a mouse-trap, and left him to amuse 
 
Tom Thumb 201 
 
 himself by peeping through the wires for a whole 
 week; when the king sent for him, he forgave him 
 for throwing down the firmity, ordered him new 
 clothes and knighted him. 
 
 " His shirt was made of butterflies' wings ; 
 His boots were made of chicken skins ; 
 His coat and breeches were made with pride ; 
 A tailor's needle hung by his side ; 
 A mouse for a horse he used to ride." 
 
 Thus dressed and mounted, he rode a hunting 
 with the king and nobility, who all laughed heartily 
 at Tom and his fine prancing steed. As they rode 
 by a farm house one day, a cat jumped from be- 
 hind the door, seized the mouse and little Tom, and 
 began to devour the mouse. However, Tom boldly 
 drew his sword and attacked the cat, who then let 
 him fall. The king and his nobles seeing Tom fall- 
 ing, went to his assistance, and one of the lords 
 caught him in his hat; but poor Tom was sadly 
 scratched, and his clothes were torn by the claws 
 of the cat. In this condition he was carried home, 
 when a bed of down was made for him in a little 
 ivory cabinet. The queen of the fairies came, and 
 took him again to Fairy Land, where she kept him 
 for some years; and then, dressing him in bright 
 green, sent him flying once more through the air 
 to the earth, in the days of King Thunstone. The 
 people flocked far and near to look at him ; and the 
 king, before whom he was carried, asked him who 
 he was, whence he came, and where he lived ? Tom 
 answered : 
 
202 Fairy Talcs Every Child Should Know 
 
 ** My name is Tom Thumb, 
 From the Fairies I come ; 
 When King Arthur shone, 
 This court was my home. 
 In me he deHghted, 
 By him I was knighted, 
 Did you never hear of 
 Sir Thomas Thumb ? " 
 
 The king was so charmed with this address, that 
 he ordered a Httle chair to be made, in order that 
 Tom might sit on his table, and also a palace of gold 
 a span high, with a door an inch wide, for little Tom 
 to live in. He also gave him a coach drawn by six 
 small mice. This made the queen angry, because she 
 had not a new coach too. Therefore, resolving to 
 ruin Tom, she complained to the king that he had 
 behaved very insolently to her. The king sent for 
 him in a rage. Tom, to escape his fury, crept into 
 an empty snail-shell, and there lay till he was al- 
 most starved ; when peeping out of the shell, he saw 
 a fine butterfly settled on the ground. He now ven- 
 tured out, and getting astride, the butterfly took 
 wing, and mounted into the air with little Tom on 
 his back. Away he flew from field to field, from 
 tree to tree, till at last he flew to the king's court. 
 The king, queen, and nobles, all strove to catch the 
 butterfly, but could not. At length poor Tom, hav- 
 ing neither bridle nor saddle, slipped from his seat, 
 and fell into a white pot, where he was found almost 
 drowned. The queen vowed he should be guillo- 
 tined : but while the guillotine was getting ready, 
 he was secured once more in a mouse-trap; when 
 
Tom Thumb 203 
 
 the cat seeing something stir, and supposing it to be 
 a mouse, patted the trap about till she broke it, and 
 set Tom at liberty. Soon afterwards a spider, tak- 
 ing him for a fly, made at him. Tom drew his 
 sword and fought valiantly, but the spider's poison- 
 ous breath overcame him : 
 
 *' He fell dead on the ground where late he had 
 
 stood, 
 And the spider sucked up the last drop of his blood." 
 
 King Thunstone and his whole court went into 
 mourning for little Tom Thumb. They buried him 
 under a rosebush, and raised a nice white marble 
 monument over his grave, with the following epi- 
 taph : 
 
 " Here lies Tom Thumb, King Arthur's knight. 
 Who died by spider's cruel bite. 
 He was well known in Arthur's court, 
 Where he afforded gallant sport ; 
 He rode at tilt and tournament. 
 And on a mouse a hunting went ; 
 Alive he filled the court with mirth. 
 His death to sorrow soon gave birth. 
 Wipe, wipe your eyes, and shake your head 
 And cry, ' Alas 1 Tom Thumb is dead.' " 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 
 BLUE BEARD 
 
 There was, some time ago, a gentleman who was 
 very rich. He had fine town and country houses, his 
 dishes and plates were all of gold or silver, his 
 rooms were hung with damask, his chairs and sofas 
 were covered with the richest silks, and his carriages 
 were all gilt with gold in a grand style. But it 
 happened that this gentleman had a blue beard, 
 which made him so very frightful and ugly, that 
 none of the ladies, in the parts where he lived, would 
 venture to go into his company. Now there was a 
 certain lady of rank, who lived very near him, and 
 had two daughters, both of them of very great 
 beauty. Blue Beard asked her to bestow one of 
 them upon him for a wife, and left it to herself to 
 choose which of the two it should be. But both 
 the young ladies again and again said they would 
 never marry Blue Beard ; yet, to be as civil as they 
 could, each of them said, the only reason why she 
 would not have him was, because she was loath to 
 hinder her sister from the match, which would be 
 such a good one for her. Still the truth of the 
 matter was, they could neither of them bear the 
 thoughts of having a husband with a blue beard ; 
 and besides, they had heard of his having been mar- 
 
Blue Beard 205 
 
 ried to several wives before, and nobody could tell 
 what had ever become of any of them. As Blue 
 Beard wished very much to gain their favour, he 
 asked the lady and her daughters, and some ladies 
 who were on a visit at their house, to go with him 
 to one of his country seats, where they spent a whole 
 week, during which they passed all their time in 
 nothing but parties for hunting and fishing, music, 
 dancing, and feasts. No one even thought of going 
 to bed, and the nights were passed in merry-makings 
 of all kinds. In short, the time rolled on in so much 
 pleasure, that the youngest of the two sisters began 
 to think that the beard which she had been so much 
 afraid of, was not so very blue, and that the gentle- 
 man who owned it was vastly civil and pleasing. 
 Soon after their return home, she told her mother 
 that she had no longer any dislike to accept of Blue 
 Beard for her husband ; and in a very short time 
 they were married. 
 
 About a month after the marriage had taken 
 place, Blue Beard told his wife that he should be 
 forced to leave her for a few weeks, as he had 
 some affairs to attend to in the country. He 
 desired her to be sure to indulge herself in every 
 kind of pleasure, to invite as many of her friends 
 as she liked, and to treat them with all sorts of 
 dainties, that her time might pass pleasantly till he 
 came back again. " Here," said he, '' are the keys 
 of the two large wardrobes. This is the key of the 
 great box that contains the best plate, which we use 
 for company, this belongs to my strong box, where 
 I keep my money, and this belongs to the casket, 
 in which are all my jewels. Here also is a master- 
 
2c6 Fairy Talcs Every Child Should Know 
 
 key to all the rooms in the house ; but this small key 
 belongs to the closet at the end of the long gallery 
 on the ground floor. I give you leave," said he, 
 " to open, or to do what you like with all the rest 
 except this closet. This, my dear, you must not 
 enter, nor even put the key into the lock, for all the 
 world. If you do not obey me in this one thing, 
 you must expect the most dreadful punishments." 
 She promised to obey his orders in the most faith- 
 ful manner ; and Blue Beard, after kissing her ten- 
 derly, stepped into his coach, and drove away. 
 
 When Blue Beard was gone, the friends of his 
 wife did not wait to be asked, so eager were they 
 to see all the riches and fine things she had gained 
 by marriage ; for they had none of them gone to 
 the wedding, on account of their dislike to the 
 blue beard of the bridegroom. As soon as ever 
 they came to the house, they ran about from room 
 to room, from closet to closet, and then from ward- 
 robe to wardrobe, looking into each with wonder 
 and delight, and said, that every fresh one they 
 came to, was richer and finer than what they had 
 seen the moment before. At last they came to the 
 drawing-rooms, where their surprise was made still 
 greater by the costly grandeur of the hangings, the 
 sofas, the chairs, carpets, tables, sideboards, and 
 looking-glasses ; the frames of these last were silver- 
 gilt, most richly adorned, and in the glasses they 
 saw themselves from head to foot. In short, noth- 
 ing could exceed the richness of what they saw ; and 
 they all did not fail to admire and envy the good 
 fortune of their friend. But all this time the bride 
 herself was far from thinking about the fine 
 
Blue Beard 207 
 
 speeches they made to her, for she was eager to see 
 what was in the closet her husband had told her not 
 to open. So great, indeed, was her desire to do this, 
 that, without once thinking how rude it would be to 
 leave her guests, she slipped away down a private 
 staircase that led to this forbidden closet, and in 
 such a hurry, that she was two or three times in 
 danger of falling down stairs and breaking her 
 neck. 
 
 When she reached the door of the closet, she 
 stopped for a few moments to think of the order 
 her husband had given her, and how he had told 
 her that he would not fail to keep his word and 
 punish her very severely, if she did not obey him. 
 But she was so very curious to know what was in- 
 side, that she made up her mind to venture in spite 
 of every thing. She then, with a trembling hand, 
 put the key into the lock, and the door straight flew 
 open. As the window shutters were closed, she at 
 first could see nothing ; but in a short time she saw 
 that the floor was covered with clotted blood, on 
 which the bodies of several dead women were lying. 
 
 These were all the wives whom Blue Beard had 
 married, and killed one after another. At this sight 
 she was ready to sink with fear, and the key of the 
 closet door, which she held in her hand, fell on the 
 floor. When she had a little got the better of her 
 fright, she took it up, locked the door, and made 
 haste back to her own room, that she might have a 
 little time to get into a humour to amuse her com- 
 pany ; but this she could not do, so great was her 
 fright at what she had seen. As she found that the 
 key of the closet had got stained with blood in fall- 
 
2o8 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 ing on the floor, she wiped it two or three times over 
 to clean it ; yet still the blood kept on it the same as 
 before. She next w^ashed it, but the blood did not 
 move at all. She then scoured it with brickdust, 
 and after with sand, but in spite of all she could do, 
 the blood was still there ; for the key was a fairy 
 who was Blue Beard's friend ; so that as fast as she 
 got off the blood on one side, it came again on the 
 other. Early in the same evening Blue Beard came 
 home, saying, that before he had gone far on his 
 journey he was met by a horseman, who was com- 
 ing to tell him that his affair in the country was 
 settled without his being present ; upon which his 
 wife said every thing she could think of, to make 
 him believe she was in a transport of joy at his 
 sudden return. 
 
 The next morning he asked her for the keys : 
 she gave them to him ; but as she could not help 
 showing her fright, Blue Beard easily guessed what 
 had been the matter. " How is it," said he, " that 
 the key of the closet upon the ground floor is not 
 here?'' ''Is it not?" said the wife, "then I must 
 have left it on my dressing-table. " Be sure you 
 give it me by and by," replied Blue Beard. After 
 going a good many times backwards and forwards, 
 as if she was looking for the key, she was at last 
 forced to give it to Blue Beard. He looked hard 
 at it, and then said : " How came this blood upon 
 the key? " ** I am sure I do not know," replied the 
 poor lady, at the same time turning as white as a 
 sheet. ''You do not know?" said Blue Beard 
 sternly, *' but I know well enough. You have been 
 in the closet on the ground floor! Very well, 
 
Bine Beard 209 
 
 madam : since you are so mighty fond of this closet, 
 you shall be sure to take your place among the ladies 
 you saw there." His wife, who was almost dead 
 with fear, now fell upon her knees, asked his pardon 
 a thousand times for her fault, and begged him to 
 forgive her, looking all the time so very mournful 
 and lovely, that she would have melted any heart 
 that was not harder than a rock. But Blue Beard 
 only said, " No, no, madam ; you shall die this very 
 minute ! " " Alas ! " said the poor trembling creat- 
 ure, " if I must die, give me, as least, a little time 
 to say my prayers." " I give you," replied the cruel 
 Blue Beard, '* half a quarter of an hour : not a 
 moment longer." When Blue Beard had left her to 
 herself, she called her sister; and after telling her, 
 as well as she could for sobbing, that she had but 
 half a quarter of an hour to live ; " Prithee," said 
 she, " sister Anne," (this was her sister's name), 
 run up to the top of the tower, and see if my 
 brothers are not in sight, for they said they would 
 visit me to-day, and if you see them, make a sign 
 for them to gallop on as fast as ever they can." Her 
 sister straight did as she was desired; and the poor 
 trembling lady every minute cried out to her: 
 " Anne! sister Anne! do you see any one coming? " 
 Her sister said, " I see nothing but the sun, which 
 makes a dust, and the grass, which looks green." 
 
 In the meanwhile. Blue Beard, with a great cim- 
 eter in his hand, bawled as loud as he could to his 
 wife, " Come down at once, or I will fetch you." 
 " One moment longer, I beseech you," replied she, 
 and again called softly to her sister, " Sister Anne, 
 do you see any one coming?" To which she 
 
2IO Fairy Talcs Every Child Should Know 
 
 answered, '' I see nothing but the sun, which makes 
 a dust, and the grass, which looks green." Blue 
 Beard now again bawled out, '' Come down, I say, 
 this very moment, or I shall come to fetch you." 
 " I am coming ; indeed I will come in one minute," 
 sobbed his wretched wife. Then she once more 
 cried out, " Anne ! sister Anne ! do you see any one 
 coming?" *' I see," said her sister, '* a cloud of 
 dust a little to the left." " Do you think it is my 
 brothers ? " said the wife. '' Alas ! no, dear sister," 
 replied she, '' it is only a flock of sheep." '' Will 
 you come down, madam ? " said Blue Beard, in the 
 greatest rage. " Only one single moment more," 
 said she. And then she called out for the last time, 
 " Sister Anne ! sister Anne ! do you see no one com- 
 ing? "I see," replied her sister, ''two men on 
 horseback coming; but they are still a great way, 
 off." " Thank God," cried she, " they are my 
 brothers ; beckon them to make haste." Blue Beard 
 now cried out so loud for her to come down, that 
 his voice shook the whole house. The poor lady, 
 with her hair loose, and all in tears, now came down, 
 and fell on her kness, begging him to spare her 
 life ; but he stopped her, saying, *' All this is of no 
 use, for you shall die : " and then, seizing her by 
 the hair, raised his cimeter to strike off her head. 
 The poor woman now begged a single moment to 
 say one prayer. " No, no," said Blue Beard, " I 
 will give you no more time. You have had too 
 much already." And again he raised his arm. Just 
 at this instant a loud knocking was heard at the 
 gates, which made Blue Beard wait for a moment to 
 see who it was. The gates now flew open, and two 
 
Bhie Beard 211 
 
 officers, dressed in their uniform, came in, and, with 
 their swords in their hands, ran straight to Bkie 
 Beard, who, seeing they were his wife's brothers, 
 tried to escape from their presence ; but they pur- 
 sued and seized him before he had gone twenty 
 steps, and plunging their swords into his body he 
 fell down dead at their feet. 
 
 The poor wife, who was almost as dead as her 
 husband, was not able at first to rise and embrace 
 her brothers ; but she soon came to herself ; and, as 
 Blue Beard had no heirs, she found herself the 
 owner of his great riches. She gave a part of his 
 vast fortune as a marriage dowry to her sister Anne, 
 who soon after became the wife of a young gentle- 
 man who had long loved her. Some of the money 
 she laid out in buying captains' commissions for her 
 two brothers, and the rest she gave to a worthy 
 gentleman whom she married shortly after, and 
 whose kind treatment soon made her forget Blue 
 Beard's cruelty. 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 
 CINDERELLA ; OR, THE LITTLE GLASS SLIPPER 
 
 There was once a very rich gentleman who lost 
 his wife, and having loved her exceedingly, he was 
 very sorry when she died. Finding himself quite 
 unhappy for her loss, he resolved to marry a second 
 time, thinking by this means he should be as happy 
 as before. Unfortunately, however, the lady he 
 chanced to fix upon was the proudest and most 
 haughty woman ever known ; she was always out 
 of humour with every one ; nobody could please her, 
 and she returned the civilities of those about her with 
 the most affronting disdain. She had two daugh- 
 ters by a former husband. These she brought up to 
 be proud and idle. Indeed, in temper and behaviour 
 they perfectly resembled their mother; they did not 
 love their books, and would not learn to work; in 
 short they were disliked by every body. The gentle- 
 man on his side too had a daughter, who in sweet- 
 ness of temper and carriage was the exact likeness 
 of her own mother, whose death he had so much 
 lamented, and whose tender care of the little girl he 
 was in hopes to see replaced by that of his new bride. 
 But scarcely was the marriage ceremony over, before 
 his wife began to show her real temper. She could 
 not bear the pretty little girl, because her sweet 
 obliging manners made those of her own daughters 
 
Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper 213 
 
 appear a thousand times the more odious and dis- 
 agreeable. She therefore ordered her to Hve in the 
 kitchen ; and, if ever she brought any thing into the 
 parlour, always scolded her till she was out of sight. 
 She made her work with the servants in washing 
 the dishes, and rubbing the tables and chairs ; it 
 was her place to clean madam's chamber, and that 
 of the misses her daughters, which was all inlaid, 
 had beds of the newest fashion, and looking-glasses 
 so long and broad, that they saw themselves from 
 head to loot in them ; while the little creature her- 
 self was forced to sleep up in a sorry garret, upon 
 a wretched straw bed, without curtains, or any thing 
 to make her comfortable. The poor child bore this 
 with the greatest patience, not daring to complain 
 to her father, who, she feared, would only reprove 
 her, for she saw that his wife governed him entirely. 
 When she had done all her work she used to sit in 
 the chimney-corner among the cinders ; so that in 
 the house she went by the name of Cinderbreech. 
 The youngest of the two sisters, however, being 
 rather more civil than the eldest, called her Cinder- 
 ella. And Cinderella, dirty and ragged as she was, 
 as often jiappens in such cases, was a thousand times 
 prettier than her sisters, drest out in all their splen- 
 dour. It happened that the king's son gave a ball, 
 to which he invited all the persons of fashion in the 
 country. Our two misses were of the number, for 
 the king's son did not know how disagreeable they 
 were, but supposed, as they were so much indulged, 
 that they were extremely amiable. He did not in- 
 vite Cinderella, for he had never seen or heard of 
 her. 
 
214 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Knozv 
 
 The two sisters began immediately to be very busy 
 in preparing for the happy day. Nothing could ex- 
 ceed their joy. Every moment of their time was 
 spent in fancying such gowns, shoes, and head- 
 dresses as would set them off to the greatest ad- 
 vantage. All this was new vexation to poor Cinder- 
 ella, for it was she who ironed and plaited her sisters' 
 linen. They talked of nothing but how they should 
 be dressed : " I," said the eldest, '' will wear my scar- 
 let velvet with French trimming." '* And I," said 
 the youngest, '' shall wear the same petticoat I had 
 made for the last ball. But then, to make amends 
 for that, I shall put on my gold muslin train, and 
 Avear my diamonds in my hair ; with these I must 
 certainly look well." They sent several miles for the 
 best hair dresser that was to be had, and all their 
 ornaments were bought at the most fashionable 
 shops. On the morning of the ball, they called up 
 Cinderella to consult with her about their dress, for 
 they knew she had a great deal of taste. Cinderella 
 gave them the best advice she could, and even 
 offered to assist in adjusting their head-dresses; 
 which was exactly what they wanted, and they ac- 
 cordingly accepted her proposal. While Cinderella 
 was busily engaged in dressing her sisters, they said 
 to her, *' Should you not like, Cinderella, to go to 
 the ball ? " '' Ah ! " replied Cinderella, " you are only 
 laughing at me, it is not for such as I am to think of 
 going to balls." '' You are in the right," said they, 
 *' folks might laugh indeed, to see a Cinderbreech 
 dancing in a ball room." Any other than Cinderella 
 would have tried to make the haughty creatures look 
 as ugly as she could; but the sweet tempered girl. 
 
Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper 215 
 
 on the contrary, did every thing she could think of to 
 make them look well. The sisters had scarcely eaten 
 any thing for two days, so great was their joy as 
 the happy day drew near. More than a dozen laces 
 were broken in endeavouring to give them a fine 
 slender shape, and they were always before the 
 looking glass. At length the much wished for mo- 
 ment arrived ; the proud misses stepped into a beauti- 
 ful carriage, and, followed by servants in rich liv- 
 eries, drove towards the palace. Cinderella followed 
 them with her eyes as far as she could ; and when 
 they were out of sight, she sat down in a corner and 
 began to cry. Her godmother, who saw her in tears, 
 
 asked her what ailed her. '* I wish 1 w-i-s-h — " 
 
 sobbed poor Cinderella, without being able to say 
 another word. The godmother, who was a fairy, 
 said to her, " You wish to go to the ball, Cinderella, 
 is not this the truth ? " " Alas ! yes," replied the 
 poor child, sobbing still more than before. " Well, 
 well, be a good girl," said the godmother, " and you 
 shall go." She then led Cinderella to her bedcham- 
 ber, and said to her : "Run into the garden and bring 
 me a pumpkin." Cinderella flew like lightning, and 
 brought the finest she could lay hold of. Her god- 
 mother scooped out the inside, leaving nothing but 
 the rind ; she then struck it with her wand, and the 
 pumpkin instantly became a fine coach gilded all 
 over with gold. She then looked into her mouse- 
 trap, where she found six mice all alive and brisk. 
 She told Cinderella to lift up the door of the trap 
 very gently ; and as the mice passed out, she touched 
 them one by one with her wand, and each immedi- 
 ately became a beautiful horse of a fine dapple gray 
 
2i6 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 mouse colour. " Here, my child," said the god- 
 mother, " is a coach and horses too, as handsome as 
 your sisters', but what shall we do for a postillion ? " 
 " I will run," replied Cinderella, " and see if there 
 be not a rat in the trap. If I find one, he will do very 
 well for a postillion." " Well thought of, my child," 
 said her godmother ; " make what haste you can." 
 
 Cinderella brought the rat trap, which, to her 
 great joy, contained three of the largest rats ever 
 seen. The fairy chose the one which had the longest 
 beard ; and touching him with her wand, he was in- 
 stantly turned into a handsome postillion, with the 
 finest pair of whiskers imaginable. She next said 
 to Cinderella : " Go again into the garden, and you 
 will find six lizards behind the watering-pot; bring 
 them hither." This was no sooner done, than with 
 a stroke from the fairy's wand they were changed 
 into six footmen, who all jumped up behind the 
 coach in their laced liveries, and stood side by side as 
 cleverly as if they had been used to nothing else the 
 whole of their lives. The fairy then said to Cin- 
 derella : " Well, my dear, is not this such an equip- 
 age as you could wish for to take you to the ball? 
 Are you not delighted with it?" '' Y-e-s," replied 
 Cinderella with hesitation, " but must I go thither 
 in these filthy rags ? " Her godmother touched her 
 with the wand, and her rags instantly became the 
 most magnificent apparel, ornamented with the most 
 costly jewels in the whole world. To these she 
 added a beautiful pair of glass sHppers, and bade 
 her set out for the palace. The fairy, however, be- 
 fore she took leave of Cinderella, strictly charged 
 her on no account whatever to stay at the ball after 
 
Cinderella; or. The Little Glass Slipper 217 
 
 the clock had struck twelve, telling her that, should 
 she stay but a single moment after that time, her 
 coach would again become a pumpkin, her horses 
 mice, her footmen lizards, and her fine clothes be 
 changed to filthy rags. Cinderella did not fail to 
 promise all her godmother desired of her; and al- 
 most wild with joy drove away to the palace. As 
 soon as she arrived, the king's son, who had been 
 informed that a great princess, whom nobody knew, 
 was come to the ball, presented himself at the door 
 of her carriage, helped her out, and conducted her to 
 the ball room. Cinderella no sooner appeared than 
 every one was silent ; both the dancing and the music 
 stopped, and every body was employed in gazing at 
 the uncommon beauty of this unknown stranger. 
 Nothing was heard but whispers of " How handsome 
 she is ! " The king himself, old as he was, could not 
 keep his eyes from her, and continually repeated to 
 the queen, that it was a long time since he had seen 
 so lovely a creature. The ladies endeavoured to find 
 out how her clothes were made, that they might get 
 some of the same pattern for themselves by the next 
 day, should they be lucky enough to meet with such 
 handsome materials, and such good work-people to 
 make them. 
 
 The king's son conducted her to the most honour- 
 able seat, and soon after took her out to dance with 
 him. She both moved and danced so gracefully, that 
 every one admired her still more than before, and 
 she was thought the most beautiful and accom- 
 plished lady they ever beheld. After some time a 
 delicious collation was served up ; but the young 
 prince was so busily employed in looking at her, 
 
2i8 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 that he did not eat a morsel. Cinderella seated her- 
 self near her sisters, paid them a thousand attentions, 
 and offered them a part of the oranges and sweet- 
 meats with which the prince had presented her, while 
 they on their part were quite astonished at these 
 civilities from a lady whom they did not know. As 
 they were conversing together, Cinderella heard the 
 clock strike eleven and three quarters. She rose 
 from her seat, curtesied to the company, and hast- 
 ened away as fast as she could. As soon as she got 
 home she flew to her godmother, and, after thank- 
 ing her a thousand times, told her she would give 
 the world to be able to go again to the ball the next 
 day, for the king's son had entreated her to be there. 
 While she was telling her godmother every thing 
 that had happened to her at the ball, the two sisters 
 knocked a loud rat-tat-tat at the door ; which Cinder- 
 ella opened. " How late you have stayed ! " said she, 
 yawning, rubbing her eyes, and stretching herself, 
 as if just awakened out of her sleep, though she 
 had in truth felt no desire for sleep since they left 
 her. '' If you had been at the ball," said one of her 
 sisters, '' let me tell you, you would not have been 
 sleepy. There came thither the handsomest, yes, 
 the very handsomest princess ever beheld ! She paid 
 us a thousand attentions, and made us take a part 
 of the oranges and sweetmeats the prince had given 
 her. Cinderella could scarcely contain herself for 
 joy : she asked her sisters the name of this princess, 
 to which they replied, that nobody had been able 
 to discover who she was ; that the king's son was 
 extremely grieved on that account, and had offered 
 a large reward to any person who could find out 
 
Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper 219 
 
 where she came from. Cinderella smiled, and said : 
 " How very beautiful she must be! How fortunate 
 you are ! Ah, could I but see her for a single mo- 
 ment! Dear Miss Charlotte, lend me only the yel- 
 low gown you wear every day, and let me go to see 
 her." *' Oh ! yes, I warrant you ; lend my clothes to 
 a Cinderbreech ! Do you really suppose me such a 
 fool? No, no; pray. Miss Forward, mind your 
 proper business, and leave dress and balls to your 
 betters." Cinderella expected some such answer, 
 and was by no means sorry, for she would have been 
 sadly at a loss what to do if her sister had lent her 
 the clothes that she asked of her. 
 
 The next day the two sisters again appeared at 
 the ball, and so did Cinderella, but dressed much 
 more magnificently than the night before. The 
 king's son was continually by her side, and said the 
 most obliging things imaginable to her. The charm- 
 ing young creature was far from being tired of all 
 the agreeable things she met with. On the con- 
 trary, she was so delighted with them that she en- 
 tirely forgot the charge her godmother had given 
 her. Cinderella at last heard the striking of a 
 clock, and counted one, two, three, on till she came 
 to twelve, though she thought that it could be but 
 eleven at most. She got up and flew as nimbly as 
 a deer out of the ball-room. The prince tried to 
 overtake her ; but poor Cinderella's fright made her 
 run the faster. However, in her great hurry, she 
 dropped one of her glass slippers from her foot, 
 which the prince stooped down and picked up, and 
 took the greatest care of it possible. Cinderella got 
 home tired and out of breath, in her old clothes, 
 
2 20 Fairy Talcs Every Child Should Know 
 
 without either coach or footmen, and having nothing 
 left of her magnificence but the fellow of the glass 
 slipper which she had dropped. In the mean while, 
 the prince had inquired of all his guards at the pal- 
 ace gates, if they had not seen a magnificent princess 
 pass out, and which way she went ? The guards re- 
 plied, that no princess had passed the gates ; and 
 that they had not seen a creature but a little ragged 
 girl, who looked more like a beggar than a princess. 
 When the two sisters returned from the ball, Cin- 
 derella asked them if they had been as much amused 
 as the night before, and if the beautiful princess had 
 been there ? They told her that she had ; but that 
 as soon as the clock struck twelve, she hurried away 
 from the ball room, and in the great haste she had 
 made, had dropped one of her glass slippers, which, 
 was the prettiest shape that could be ; that the king's 
 son had picked it up, and had done nothing but look 
 at it all the rest of the evening ; and that every body 
 believed he w^as violently in love with the handsome 
 lady to whom it belonged. 
 
 This was very true; for a few days after, the 
 prince had it proclaimed, by sound of trumpet, that 
 he would marry the lady whose foot should exactly 
 fit the slipper he had found. Accordingly the 
 prince's messengers took the slipper, and carried it 
 first to all the princesses, then to the duchesses, in 
 short, to all the ladies of the court. But without 
 success. They then brought it to the two sisters, 
 who each tried all she could to squeeze her foot into 
 the slipper, but saw at last that this was quite im- 
 possible. Cinderella who was looking at them all 
 the while, and knew her slipper, could not help smil- 
 
Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper 221 
 
 ing, and ventured to say, " Pray, sir, let me try to 
 get on the slipper." The gentleman made her sit 
 down ; and putting the slipper to her foot, it instantly 
 slipped in, and he saw that it fitted her like wax. 
 The two sisters were amazed to see that the slipper 
 fitted Cinderella; but how much greater was their 
 astonishment when she drew out of her pocket the 
 other slipper and put it on ! Just at this moment the 
 fairy entered the room, and touching Cinderella's 
 clothes with her wand, made her all at once appear 
 more magnificently dressed than they had ever seen 
 her before. 
 
 The two sisters immediately perceived that she 
 was the beautiful princess they had seen at the ball. 
 They threw themselves at her feet, and asked her 
 forgiveness for the ill treatment she had received 
 from them. Cinderella helped them to rise, and, ten- 
 derly embracing them, said that she forgave them 
 with all her heart, and begged them to bestow on 
 her their affection. Cinderella was then conducted, 
 dressed as she was, to the young prince, who find- 
 ing her more beautiful than ever, instantly desired 
 her to accept of his hand. The marriage ceremony 
 took place in a few days ; and Cinderella, who was 
 as amiable as she was handsome, gave her sisters 
 magnificent apartments in the palace, and a short 
 time after married them to two great lords of the 
 court. 
 
CHAPTER XV 
 
 PUSS IN BOOTS 
 
 There was a miller who had three sons, and when 
 he died he divided what he possessed among them 
 in the following manner: He gave his mill to the 
 eldest, his ass to the second, and his cat to the 
 youngest. Each of the brothers accordingly took 
 what belonged to him, without the help of an at- 
 torney, who would soon have brought their little 
 fortune to nothing, in law expenses. The poor 
 young fellow who had nothing but the cat, com- 
 plained that he was hardly used : " My brothers," 
 said he, " by joining their stocks together, may do 
 well in the world, but for me, when I have eaten 
 my cat, and made a fur cap of his skin, I may soon 
 die of hunger ! " The cat, who all this time sat 
 listening just inside the door of a cupboard, now 
 ventured to come out and addressed him as fol- 
 lows : " Do not thus afflict yourself, my good mas- 
 ter. You have only to give me a bag, and get a pair 
 of boots made for me, so that I may scamper 
 through the dirt and the brambles, and you shall 
 see that you are not so ill provided for as you 
 imagine." Though the cat's master did not much 
 depend upon these promises, yet, as he had often 
 observed the cunning tricks puss used to catch the 
 
Puss in Boots 223 
 
 rats and mice, such as hanging upon his hind legs, 
 and hiding in the meal to make believe that he was 
 dead, he did not entirely despair of his being of 
 some use to him in his unhappy condition. 
 
 When the cat had obtained what he asked for, he 
 gayly began to equip himself: he drew on his boots ; 
 and putting the bag about his neck, he took hold 
 of the strings with his fore paws, and bidding his 
 master take courage, immediately sallied forth. The 
 first attempt Puss made was to go into a warren 
 in which there were a great number of rabbits. He 
 put some bran and some parsley into his bag; and 
 then stretching himself out at full length as if he 
 was dead, he waited for some young rabbits, who 
 as yet knew nothing of the cunning tricks of the 
 world, to come and get into the bag, the better to 
 feast upon the dainties he had put into it. Scarcely 
 had he lain down before he succeeded as well as 
 could be wished. A giddy young rabbit crept into 
 the bag, and the cat immediately drew the strings, 
 and killed him without mercy. Puss, proud of his 
 prey, hastened directly to the palace, where he asked 
 to speak to the king. On being shown into the 
 apartment of his majesty, he made a low bow, and 
 said, " I have brought you, sire, this rabbit from 
 the warren of my lord the marquis of Carabas, who 
 commanded me to present it to your majesty with 
 the assurance of his respect." (This was the title 
 the cat thought proper to bestow upon his mas- 
 ter.) "Tell my lord marquis of Carabas," replied 
 the king, " that I accept of his present with pleas- 
 ure, and that I am greatly obliged to him." Soon 
 after, the cat laid himself down in the same manner 
 
2 24 Fairy Talcs Every Child Should Know 
 
 in a field of corn, and had as much good fortune as 
 before; for two fine partridges got into his bag, 
 which he immediately killed and carried to the pal- 
 ace : the king received them as he had done the rab- 
 bit, and ordered his servants to give the messenger 
 something to drink. In this manner he continued 
 to carry presents of game to the king from my lord 
 marquis of Carabas, once at least in every week. 
 
 One day, the cat having heard that the king in- 
 tended to take a ride that morning by the river's side 
 with his daughter, who was the most beautiful prin- 
 cess in the world, he said to his master : " If you 
 will but follow my advice, your fortune is made. 
 Take off your clothes, and bathe yourself in the 
 river, just in the place I shall show you, and leave 
 the rest to me." The marquis of Carabas did ex- 
 actly as he was desired, without being able to guess 
 at what the cat intended. While he was bathing the 
 king passed by, and puss directly called out as loud 
 as he could bawl : " Help ! help ! My lord marquis 
 of Carabas is in danger of being drowned ! " The 
 king hearing the cries, put his head out at the win- 
 dow of his carriage to see what was the matter : 
 when, perceiving the very cat who had brought him 
 so many presents, he ordered his attendants to go 
 directly to the assistance of my lord marquis of 
 Carabas. \Miile they were employed in taking the 
 marquis out of the river, the cat ran to the king's 
 carriage, and told his majesty, that while his master 
 was bathing, some thieves had run off with his 
 clothes as they lay by the river's side; the cunning 
 cat all the time having hid them under a large 
 stone. The king hearing this, commanded the offi- 
 
Puss in Boots 225 
 
 cers of his wardrobe to fetch one of the handsomest 
 suits it contained, and present it to my lord marquis 
 of Carabas, at the same time loading him with a 
 thousand attentions. As the fine clothes they 
 brought him made him look like a gentleman, and 
 set off his person, which was very comely, to the 
 greatest advantage, the king's daughter was mightily 
 taken with his appearance, and the marquis of 
 Carabas had no sooner cast upon her two or three 
 respectful glances, then she became violently in love 
 with him. 
 
 The king insisted on his getting into the carriage 
 and taking a ride with them. The cat, enchanted 
 to see how well his scheme was likely to succeed, 
 ran before to a meadow that was reaping, and said 
 to the reapers : " Good people, if you do not tell the 
 king, who will soon pass this way, that the meadow 
 you are reaping belongs to my lord marquis of 
 Carabas, you shall be chopped as small as mince 
 meat." The king did not fail to ask the reapers to 
 whom the meadow belonged ? ''To my lord mar- 
 quis of Carabas," said they all at once; for the 
 threats of the cat had terribly frighted them. " You 
 have here a very fine piece of land, my lord 
 marquis," said the king. " Truly, sire," replied he, 
 " it does not fail to bring me every year a plentiful 
 harvest." The cat who still went on before, now 
 came to a field where some other labourers were 
 making sheaves of the corn they had reaped, to 
 whom he said as before : '' Good people, if you do 
 not tell the king who will presently pass this way, 
 that the corn you have reaped in this field belongs 
 to my lord marquis of Carabas, you shall be chopped 
 
2 26 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 as small as mince meat." The king accordingly 
 passed a moment after, and inquired to whom the 
 corn he saw belonged ? '' To my lord maquis of 
 Carabas," answered they very glibly; upon which 
 the king again complimented the marquis upon his 
 noble possessions. The cat still continued to go be- 
 fore, and gave the same charge to all the people he 
 met with ; so that the king was greatly astonished 
 at the splendid fortune of my lord marquis of Car- 
 abas. Puss at length arrived at a stately castle, 
 which belonged to an Ogre, the richest ever known ; 
 for all the lands the king had passed through and ad- 
 mired were his. The cat took care to learn every 
 particular about the Ogre, and what he could do, 
 and then asked to speak with him, saying, as he 
 entered the room in which he was, that he could not 
 pass so near his castle without doing himself the 
 honour to inquire after his health. The Ogre re- 
 ceived him as civilly as an Ogre could do, and de- 
 sired him to be seated. " I have been informed," 
 said the cat, *' that you have the gift of changing 
 yourself to all sorts of animals ; into a lion or an 
 elephant for example." " It is very true," replied the 
 Ogre somewhat sternly ; " and to convince you I 
 will directly take the form of a lion." The cat was 
 so much terrified at finding himself so near to a lion, 
 that he sprang from him, and climbed to the roof of 
 the house ; but not without much difficulty, as his 
 boots were not very fit to walk upon the tiles. 
 
 Some minutes after, the cat perceiving that the 
 Ogre had quitted the form of a lion, ventured to 
 come down from the tiles, and owned that he had 
 been a good deal frightened. '' I have been further 
 
Puss in Boots 227 
 
 informed," continued the cat, "but I know not how to 
 beHeve it, that you have the power of taking the form 
 of the smallest animals also ; for example of chang- 
 ing yourself to a rat or a mouse : I confess I should 
 think this impossible." " Impossible ! you shall 
 see ; " and at the same instant he changed himself 
 into a mouse, and began to frisk about the room. 
 The cat no sooner cast his eyes upon the Ogre in- 
 this form, than he sprang upon him and devoured 
 him in an instant. In the meantime the king, ad- 
 miring as he came near it, the magnificent castle of 
 the Ogre, ordered his attendants to drive up to the 
 gates, as he wished to take a nearer view of it. The 
 cat, hearing the noise of the carriage on the draw- 
 bridge, immediately came out, saying : " Your 
 majesty is welcome to the castle of my lord marquis 
 of Carabas." " And is this splendid castle yours 
 also, my lord marquis of Carabas? I never saw 
 anything more stately than the building, or more 
 beautiful than the park and pleasure grounds 
 around it ; no doubt the castle is no less magnificent 
 within than without : pray, my lord marquis, indulge 
 me with a sight of it." 
 
 The marquis gave his hand to the young princess 
 as she alighted, and followed the king who went be- 
 fore ; they entered a spacious hall, where they found 
 a splendid collation which the Ogre had prepared for 
 some friends he had that day expected to visit him ; 
 but who, hearing that the king with the princess 
 and a great gentleman of the court were within, had 
 not dared to enter. The king was so much charmed 
 with the amiable qualities and noble fortune of the 
 marquis of Carabas, and the young princess too had 
 
228 Fairy Talcs Every Child Should Knozu 
 
 fallen so violently in love with him, that when the 
 king had partaken of the collation, and drunk a few 
 glasses of wine, he said to the marquis : " It will be 
 you own fault, my lord marquis of Carabas, if you 
 do not soon become my son-in-law." The marquis 
 received the intelligence with a thousand respectful 
 acknowledgments, accepted the honour conferred 
 upon him, and married the princess that very day. 
 The cat became a great lord, and never after ran 
 after rats and mice but for his amusement. 
 
CHAPTER XVI 
 
 THE SLEEPING BEAUTY IN THE WOOD 
 
 Once upon a time there was a king and a queen 
 who grieved sorely that they had no children. When 
 at last the queen gave birth to a daughter the king 
 was so overjoyed that he gave a great christening 
 feast, the like of which had never before been 
 known. He asked all the fairies in the land — there 
 were seven all told — to stand godmothers to the 
 little princess, hoping that each might give her a gift, 
 and so she should have all imaginable perfections. 
 
 After the christening, all the company returned to 
 the palace, where a great feast had been spread for 
 the fairy godmothers. Before each was set a mag- 
 nificent plate, with a gold knife and a gold fork 
 studded with diamonds and rubies. Just as they 
 were seating themselves, however, there entered an 
 old fairy who had not been invited because more 
 than fifty years ago she had shut herself up in a 
 tower and it was supposed that she was either dead 
 or enchanted. 
 
 The king ordered a. cover to be laid for her, but 
 it could not be a massive gold one like the others, 
 for only seven had been ordered made. The old 
 fairy thought herself ill-used and muttered between 
 her teeth. One of the young fairies, overhearing 
 
230 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 her, and fancying she might work some mischief to 
 the Httle baby, went and hid herself behind the hang- 
 ings in the hall, so as to be able to have the last 
 word and undo any harm the old fairy might wish to 
 work. The fairies now began to endow the princess. 
 The youngest, for her gift, decreed that she should 
 be the most beautiful person in the world ; the next 
 that she should have the mind of an angel ; the third 
 that she should be perfectly graceful ; the fourth 
 that she should dance admirably well ; the fifth, that 
 she should sing like a nightingale; the sixth, that 
 she should play charmingly upon every musical in- 
 strument. The turn of the old fairy had now come, 
 and she declared, while her head shook with malice, 
 that the princess should pierce her hand with a spin- 
 dle and die of the wound. This dreadful fate threw 
 all the company into tears of dismay, when the 
 young fairy who had hidden herself came forward 
 and said: 
 
 '' Be of good cheer, king and queen ; your daugh- 
 ter shall not so die. It is true I cannot entirely undo 
 what my elder has done. The princess will pierce 
 her hand with a spindle, but, instead of dying, she 
 will only fall into a deep sleep. The sleep will last 
 a hundred years, and at the end of that time a king's 
 son will come to wake her." 
 
 The king, in hopes of preventing what the old 
 fairy had foretold, immediately issued an edict by 
 which he forbade all persons in his dominion from 
 spinning or even having spindles in their houses 
 under pain of instant death. 
 
 Now fifteen years after the princess was born she 
 was with the king and queen at one of their castles. 
 
The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood 231 
 
 and as she was running about by herself she came 
 to a little chamber at the top of a tower, and there 
 sat an honest old woman spinning, for she had never 
 heard of the king's edict. 
 
 " What are you doing? " asked the princess. 
 
 " I am spinning, my fair child," said the old 
 woman, who did not know her. 
 
 " How pretty it is ! " exclaimed the princess. 
 " How do you do it ? Give it to me that I may see 
 if I can do it." She had no sooner taken up the 
 spindle, than, being hasty and careless, she pierced 
 her hand with the point of it, and fainted away. The 
 old woman, in great alarm, called for help. People 
 came running in from all sides ; they threw water 
 in the princess's face and did all they could to re- 
 store iier, but nothing would bring her to. The 
 king, who had heard the noise and confusion, came 
 up also, and remembering what the fairy had said, 
 he had the princess carried to the finest apartment 
 and laid upon a richly embroidered bed. She lay 
 there in all her loveliness, for the swoon had not 
 made her pale ; her lips were cherry-ripe and her 
 cheeks ruddy and fair; her eyes were closed, but 
 they could hear her breathing quietly ; she could not 
 be dead. The king looked sorrowfully upon her. 
 He knew that she would not awake for a hundred 
 years. 
 
 The good fairy who had saved her life and turned 
 her death into sleep was in the kingdom of Mata- 
 quin, twelve thousand leagues away, when this hap- 
 pened, but she learned of it from a dwarf who had 
 a pair of seven-league boots, and instantly set out 
 for the castle, where she arrived in an hour, drawn 
 
232 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 by dragons in a fiery chariot. The king came for- 
 ward to receive her and showed his grief. The good 
 fairy was very wise and saw that the princess when 
 she woke would find herself all alone in that great 
 castle and everything about her would be strange. So 
 this is what she did. She touched with her wand 
 everybody that was in the castle, except the king 
 and queen. She touched the governesses, maids of 
 honour, women of the bed-chamber, gentlemen, offi- 
 cers, stewards, cooks, scullions, boys, guards, por- 
 ters, pages, footmen; she touched the horses in the 
 stable with their grooms, the great mastiffs in the 
 court-yard, and even little Pouste, the tiny lap-dog 
 of the princess that was on the bed beside her. As 
 soon as she had touched them they all fell asleep, 
 not to wake again until the time arrived for their 
 mistress to do so, when they would be ready to wait 
 upon her. Even the spits before the fire, laden with 
 partridges and pheasants, went to sleep, and the 
 fire itself went to sleep also. 
 
 It was the work of a moment. The king and 
 queen kissed their daughter farewell and left the 
 castle, issuing a proclamation that no person what- 
 soever was to approach it. That was needless, for 
 in a quarter of an hour there had grown up about it 
 a wood so thick and filled with thorns that nothing 
 could get at the castle, and the castle top itself 
 could only be seen from a great distance. 
 
 A hundred years went by, and the kingdom was 
 in the hands of another royal family. The son of 
 the king was hunting one day when he discovered 
 the towers of the castle above the tops of the trees, 
 and asked what castle that was. All manner of 
 
The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood 233 
 
 answers were given to him. One said it was an en- 
 chanted castle, another that witches Hved there, but 
 most beHeved that it was occupied by a great ogre 
 which carried thither all the children he could catch 
 and ate them up one at a time, for nobody could get 
 at him through the wood. The prince did not know 
 what to believe, when finally an old peasant said : 
 
 *' Prince, it is more than fifty years since I heard 
 my father say that there was in that castle the most 
 beautiful princess that ever was seen; that she was 
 to sleep for a hundred years, and to be awakened at 
 last by the king's son, who was to marry her." 
 
 The young prince at these words felt himself on 
 fire. He had not a moment's doubt that he was des- 
 tined to this great adventure, and full of ardour he 
 determined at once to set out for the castle. Scarcely 
 had he come to the wood when all the trees and 
 thorns which had made such an impenetrable thicket 
 opened on one side and the other to offer him a path. 
 He walked toward the castle, which appeared now 
 at the end of a long avenue, but when he turned to 
 look for his followers not one was to be seen; the 
 woods had closed instantly upon him as he had 
 passed through. He was entirely alone, and utter 
 silence was about him. He entered a large fore- 
 court and stood still with amazement and awe. On 
 every side were stretched the bodies of men and ani- 
 mals apparently lifeless. But the faces of the men 
 were rosy, and the goblets by them had a few drops 
 of wine left. The men had plainly fallen asleep. 
 His steps resounded as he passed over the marble 
 pavement and up the marble staircase. He entered 
 the guard-room ; there the guards stood drawn up in 
 
2 34 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 line with carbines at their shoulders, but they were 
 sound asleep. He passed through one apartment 
 after another, where were ladies and gentlemen 
 asleep in their chairs or standing. He entered a 
 chamber covered with gold, and saw on a bed, the 
 curtains of which were drawn, the most lovely sight 
 he had ever looked upon — a princess, who appeared 
 to be about fifteen or sixteen, and so fair that she 
 seemed to belong to another world. He drew near, 
 trembling and wondering, and knelt beside her. 
 Her hand lay upon her breast, and he touched his 
 lips to it. At that moment, the enchantment being 
 ended, the princess awoke, and, looking drowsily 
 and tenderly at the young man, said : 
 
 " Have you come, my prince ? I have waited long 
 for you." The prince was overjoyed at the words, 
 and at the tender voice and look, and scarcely knew 
 how to speak. But he managed to assure her of his 
 love, and they soon forgot all else as they talked and 
 talked. They talked for four hours, and had not 
 then said half that was in their heads to say. 
 
 Meanwhile all the rest of the people in the castle 
 had been wakened at the same moment as the prin- 
 cess, and they were now extremely hungry. The 
 lady-in-waiting became very impatient, and at 
 length announced to the princess that they all waited 
 for her. Then the prince took the princess by the 
 hand ; she was dressed in great splendour, but he 
 did not hint that she looked as he had seen pictures 
 of his great-grandmother look ; he thought her all 
 the more charming for that. They passed into a 
 hall of mirrors, where they supped, attended by the 
 officers of the princess. The violins and haut-boys 
 
The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood 235 
 
 played old but excellent pieces of music, and after 
 supper, to lose no time, the grand almoner married 
 the royal lovers in the chapel of the castle. 
 
 When they left the castle the next day to return to 
 the prince's home, they were followed by all the 
 retinue of the princess. They marched down the 
 long avenue, and the wood opened again to let them 
 pass. Outside they met the prince's followers, who 
 were overjoyed to see their master. He turned to 
 show them the castle, but behold ! there was no cas- 
 tle to be seen, and no wood ; castle and wood had 
 vanished, but the prince and princess went gayly 
 away, and when the old king and queen died they 
 reigned in their stead. 
 
CHAPTER XVII 
 
 JACK AND THE BEAN-STALK 
 
 In the days of King Alfred, there lived a poor 
 woman whose cottage was situated in a remote 
 country village, a great many miles from London. 
 She had been a widow some years, and had an only 
 child named Jack, whom she indulged to a fault. 
 The consequence of her blind partiality was, that 
 Jack did not pay the least attention to any thing she 
 said, but was indolent, careless, and extravagant. 
 His follies were not owing to a bad disposition, but 
 that his mother had never checked him. By degrees 
 she disposed of all she possessed — scarcely any 
 thing remained but a cow. The poor woman one 
 day met Jack with tears in her eyes ; her distress 
 was great, and for the first time in her life she 
 could not help reproaching him, saying, " Oh ! you 
 wicked child, by your ungrateful course of life you 
 have at last brought me to beggary and ruin. 
 Cruel, cruel boy! I have not money enough to 
 purchase even a bit of bread for another day — 
 nothing now remains to sell but my poor cow! I 
 am sorry to part with her; it grieves me sadly, 
 but we must not starve." For a few minutes, Jack 
 felt a degree of remorse, but it was soon over, and 
 he began teasing his mother to let him sell the cow 
 at the next village, so much, that she at last con- 
 
Jack and the Bean-Stalk 237 
 
 sented. As he was going along, he met a butcher, 
 who inquired why he was driving the cow from 
 home? Jack repHed, he was going to sell it. The 
 butcher held some curious beans in his hat; they 
 were of various colours, and attracted Jack's atten- 
 tion. This did not pass unnoticed by the butcher, 
 who, knowing Jack's easy temper, thought now was 
 the time to take an advantage of it ; and determined 
 not to let slip so good an opportunity, asked what 
 was the price of the cow, offering at the same time 
 all the beans in his hat for her. The silly boy could 
 not conceal the pleasure he felt at what he supposed 
 so great an offer, the bargain was struck instantly, 
 and the cow exchanged for a few paltry beans. 
 Jack made the best of his way home, calling aloud 
 to his mother before he reached home, thinking to 
 surprise her. 
 
 When she saw the beans, and heard Jack's ac- 
 count, her patience quite forsook her. She kicked 
 the beans away in a passion — they flew in all direc- 
 tions — some were scattered in the garden. Not 
 having any thing to eat, they both went supper- 
 less to bed. Jack woke early in the morning, and 
 seeing something uncommon from the window of 
 his bed-chamber, ran down stairs into the garden, 
 where he soon discovered that some of the beans 
 had taken root, and sprung up surprisingly : the 
 stalks were of an immense thickness, and had so 
 entwined, that they formed a ladder nearly like a 
 chain in appearance. Looking upward, he could not 
 discern the top, it appeared to be lost in the clouds : 
 he tried it, found it firm, and not to be shaken. He 
 quickly formed the resolution of endeavouring to 
 
238 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 climb up to the top, in order to seek his fortune, and 
 ran to communicate his intention to his mother, not 
 doubting but she would be equally pleased with 
 himself. She declared he should not g-o ; said it 
 would break her heart if he did — entreated, and 
 threatened — but all in vain. Jack set out, and after 
 climbing for some hours, reached the top of the 
 bean-stalk, fatigued and quite exhausted. Looking 
 around, he found himself in a strange country; it 
 appeared to be a desert, quite barren, not a tree, 
 shrub, house, or living creature to be seen ; here and 
 there were scattered fragments of stone; and at 
 unequal distances, small heaps of earth were loosely 
 thrown together. 
 
 Jack seated himself pensively upon a block of 
 stone, and thought of his mother — he reflected with 
 sorrow upon his disobedience in climbing the bean- 
 stalk against her will ; and concluded that he must 
 die with hunger. However he walked on, hoping 
 to see a house where he might beg something to eat 
 and drink; presently a handsome young woman ap- 
 peared at a distance : as she approached, Jack could 
 not help admiring how beautiful and lively she 
 looked ; she was dressed in the most elegant manner, 
 and had a small white wand in her hand, on the top 
 of which was a peacock of pure gold. While Jack 
 was looking with great surprise at this charming 
 female, she came up to him, and with a smile of the 
 most bewitching sweetness, inquired how he came 
 there. Jack related the circumstance of the bean- 
 stalk. She asked him if he recollected his father; he 
 replied he did not; and added, there must be some 
 mystery relating to him, because if he asked his 
 
Jack and the Bean-Stalk 239 
 
 mother who his father was, she always burst Into 
 tears, and appeared violently agitated, nor did she re- 
 cover herself for some days after; one thing, how- 
 ever, he could not avoid observing upon these occa- 
 sions, which was that she always carefully avoided 
 answering him, and even seemed afraid of speaking, 
 as if there was some secret connected with his 
 father's history which she must not disclose. The 
 young woman replied, '' I will reveal the whole 
 story ; your mother must not. But, before I begin, 
 I require a solemn promise on your part to do what 
 I command ; I am a fairy, and if you do not per- 
 form exactly what I desire, you will be destroyed." 
 Jack was frightened at her menaces, but promised 
 to fulfil her injunctions exactly, and the fairy thus 
 addressed him : 
 
 '' Your father was a rich man, his disposition re- 
 markably benevolent : he was very good to the poor, 
 and constantly relieving them. He made it a rule 
 never to let a day pass without doing good to some 
 person. On one particular day in the week, he kept 
 open house, and invited only those who were re- 
 duced and had lived well. He always presided him- 
 self, and did all in his power to render his guests 
 comfortable ; the rich and the great were not in- 
 vited. The servants were all happy, and greatly at- 
 tached to their master and mistress. Your father, 
 though only a private gentleman, was as rich as a 
 prince, and he deserved all he possessed, for he 
 only lived to do good. Such a man was soon known 
 and talked of. A giant lived a great many miles 
 ofif: this man was altogether as wicked as your 
 father was good ; he was in his heart envious, cove- 
 
240 Fairy Talcs Every Child Should Know 
 
 tous, and cruel; but he had the art of concealing 
 those vices. He was poor, and wished to enrich 
 himself at any rate. Hearing your father spoken of, 
 he formed the design of becoming acquainted with 
 him, hoping to ingratiate himself into your father's 
 favour. He removed quickly into your neighbour- 
 hood, caused to be reported that he was a gentle- 
 man who had just lost all he possessed by an earth- 
 quake, and found it difficult to escape with his 
 life ; his wife was with him. Your father gave 
 credit to his story, and pitied him, gave him hand- 
 some apartments in his own house, and caused him 
 and his wife to be treated like visitors of conse- 
 quence, little imagining that the giant was meditat- 
 ing a horrid return for all his favours. 
 
 " Things went on in this way for some time, the 
 giant becoming daily more impatient to put his plan 
 into execution ; at last a favourable opportunity 
 presented itself. Your father's house was at some 
 distance from the seashore, but with a glass the 
 coast could be seen distinctly. The giant was one 
 day using the telescope ; the wind was very high ; 
 he saw a fleet of ships in distress off the rocks ; he 
 hastened to your father, mentioned the circum- 
 stance, and eagerly requested he would send all the 
 servants he could spare to relieve the sufferers. 
 Every one was instantly despatched, except the 
 porter and your nurse ; the giant then joined your 
 father in the study, and appeared to be delighted — 
 he really was so. Your father recommended a 
 favourite book, and was handing it down : the giant 
 took the opportunity, and stabbed him; he instantly 
 fell down dead. The giant left the body, found the 
 
Jack and the B can-Stalk 241 
 
 porter and nurse, and presently despatched them; 
 being determined to have no Hving witnesses of his 
 crimes. You were then only three months old ; 
 your mother had you in her arms in a remote part of 
 the house, and was ignorant of what was going on ; 
 she went into the study, but how was she shocked, 
 on discovering your father a corpse, and weltering 
 in his blood ! she was stupefied with horror and 
 grief, and was motionless. The giant, who was 
 seeking her, found her in that state, and hastened 
 to serve her and you as he had done her husband, 
 but she fell at his feet, and in a pathetic manner be- 
 sought him to spare your life and hers. 
 
 " Remorse, for a moment, seemed to touch the 
 barbarian's heart : he granted your lives ; but first 
 he made her take a most solemn oath, never to in- 
 form you who your father was, or to answer any 
 questions concerning him : assuring her that if she 
 did, he would certainly discover her, and put both 
 of you to death in the most cruel manner. Your 
 mother took you in her arms, and fled as quickly as 
 possible ; she was scarcely gone when the giant re- 
 pented that he had suffered her to escape. He 
 would have pursued her instantly; but he had to 
 provide for his own safety ; as it was necessary he 
 should be gone before the servants returned. Hav- 
 ing gained your father's confidence, he knew where 
 to find all his treasure : he soon loaded himself and 
 his wife, set the house on fire in several places, and 
 when the servants returned, the house was burned 
 quite down to the ground. Your poor mother, for- 
 lorn, abandoned, and forsaken, wandered with you 
 a great many miles from this scene of desolation. 
 
242 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 Fear added to her haste. She settled in the cottage 
 where you were brought up, and it was entirely 
 owing to her fear of the giant that she never men- 
 tioned your father to you. I became your father's 
 guardian at his birth ; but fairies have laws to which 
 they are subject as well as mortals. A short time 
 before the giant went to your father's, I trans- 
 gressed ; my punishment was a suspension of power 
 for a limited time — an unfortunate circumstance, as 
 it totally prevented my succouring your father. 
 
 '' The day on which you met the butcher, as you 
 went to sell your mother's cow, my power was 
 restored. It was I who secretly prompted you to 
 take the beans in exchange for the cow. By my 
 power, the bean-stalk grew to so great a height, and 
 formed a ladder. I need not add that I inspired you 
 with a strong desire to ascend the ladder. The 
 giant lives in this country: you are the person ap- 
 pointed to punish him for all his wickedness. You 
 will have dangers and difficulties to encounter, but 
 you must persevere in avenging the death of your 
 father, or you will not prosper in any of your under- 
 takings, but will always be miserable. As to the 
 giant's possessions, you may seize on all you can; 
 for every thing he has is yours, though now you 
 are unjustly deprived of it. One thing I desire — 
 do not let your mother know you are acquainted 
 with your father's history, till you see me again. 
 Go along the direct road, you will soon see the 
 house where your cruel enemy lives. While you 
 do as I order you, I will protect and guard you ; 
 but, remember, if you dare disobey my commands, 
 a most dreadful punishment awaits you." 
 
Jack and the Bean-Stalk 243: 
 
 When the fairy had concluded, she disappeared,, 
 leaving Jack to pursue his journey. He walked oni 
 till after sunset, when, to his great joy, he espied a 
 large mansion. This agreeable sight revived his. 
 drooping spirits ; he redoubled his speed, and soon 
 reached it. A plain-looking woman was at the door 
 — he accosted her, begging she would give him a 
 morsel of bread and a night's lodging. She ex- 
 pressed the greatest surprise at seeing him; and 
 said it was quite uncommon to see a human being 
 near their house, for it was well known that her 
 husband was a large and very powerful giant, and 
 that he would never eat any thing but human flesh, 
 if he could possibly get it; that he did not think 
 any thing of walking fifty miles to procure it, 
 usually being out the whole day for that purpose. 
 
 This account greatly terrified Jack, but still he 
 hoped to elude the giant, and therefore he again 
 entreated the woman to take him in for one night 
 only, and hide him where she thought proper. The 
 good woman at last suffered herself to be per- 
 suaded, for she was of a compassionate and gener- 
 ous disposition, and took him into the house. First, 
 they entered a fine large hall, magnificently fur- 
 nished; they then passed through several spacious 
 rooms, all in the same style of grandeur; but they 
 appeared to be quite forsaken and desolate. A long 
 gallery was next; it was very dark — just light 
 enough to show that, instead of a wall on one side, 
 there was a grating of iron, which parted off a 
 dismal dungeon, from whence issued the groans of 
 those poor victims whom the cruel giant reserved 
 in confinement for his own voracious appetite. Poor- 
 
244 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 Jack was half dead with fear, and would have given 
 the world to have been with his mother again, for 
 he now began to fear that he should never see her 
 more, and gave himself up for lost; he even mis- 
 trusted the good woman, and thought she had let 
 him into the house for no other purpose than to 
 lock him up among the unfortunate people in the 
 dungeon. At the farther end of the gallery there 
 was a spacious kitchen, and a very excellent fire 
 was burning in the grate. The good woman bid 
 Jack sit down, and gave him plenty to eat and 
 drink. Jack, not seeing any thing here to make him 
 uncomfortable, soon forgot his fear, and was just 
 beginning to enjoy himself, when he was aroused by 
 a loud knocking at the street-door, which made the 
 whole house shake : the giant's wife ran to secure 
 him in the oven, and then went to let her husband 
 in. Jack heard him accost her in a voice like 
 thunder, saying: "Wife, I smell fresh meat." 
 " Oh ! my dear," replied she, " it is nothing but the 
 people in the dungeon." The giant appeared to be- 
 lieve her, and walked into the very kitchen where 
 poor Jack was concealed, who shook, trembled, and 
 was more terrified than he had yet been. At last, 
 the monster seated himself quietly by the fireside, 
 whilst his wife prepared supper. By degrees Jack 
 recovered himself sufficiently to look at the giant 
 through a small crevice. He was quite astonished to 
 see what an amazing quantity he devoured, and 
 thought he never would have done eating and drink- 
 ing. When supper was ended, the giant desired his 
 wife to bring him his hen. A very beautiful hen 
 was then brought, and placed on the table before 
 
Jack and the Bean-Stalk 245 
 
 him. Jack's curiosity was very great to see what 
 would happen: he observed that every time the 
 giant said " Lay ! " the hen laid an egg of solid gold. 
 The giant amused himself a long time with his hen ; 
 meanwhile his wife went to bed. At length the 
 giant fell asleep by the fire-side, and snored like the 
 roaring of a cannon. 
 
 At daybreak, Jack, finding the giant still asleep, 
 and not likely to awaken soon, crept softly out 
 of his hiding-place, seized the hen, and ran off 
 with her. He met with some difficulty in finding 
 his way out of the house, but at last he reached 
 the road with safety. He easily found the way 
 to the bean-stalk, and descended it better and 
 quicker than he expected. His mother was over- 
 joyed to see him; he found her crying bitterly, and 
 lamenting his hard fate, for she concluded he had 
 come to some shocking end through his rashness. 
 Jack was impatient to show his hen, and inform his 
 mother how valuable it was, *' And now, mother," 
 said Jack, '' I have brought home that which will 
 quickly make us rich ; and I hope to make you some 
 amends for the affliction I have caused you through 
 my idleness, extravagance, and folly." The hen pro- 
 duced as many golden eggs as they desired: they 
 sold them, and in a little time became possessed of 
 as much riches as they wanted. For some months 
 Jack and his mother lived very happily together; 
 but he being very desirous of travelling, recollecting 
 the fairy's commands, and fearing that if he delayed, 
 she would put her threats into execution, longed to 
 climb the bean-stalk, and pay the giant another visit, 
 in order to carry away some more of his treasures ; 
 
246 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 for, during the time that Jack was in the giant's 
 mansion, whilst he lay concealed in the oven, he 
 learned from the conversation that took place be- 
 tween the giant and his wife, that he possessed some 
 wonderful curiosities. Jack thought of his jour- 
 ney again and again, but still he could not summon 
 resolution enough to break it to his mother, being 
 well assured that she would endeavour to prevent 
 his going. However, one day he told her boldly 
 that he must take a journey up the bean-stalk; she 
 begged and prayed him not to think of it, and tried 
 all in her power to dissuade him : she told him that 
 the giant's wife would certainly know^ him again, 
 and that the giant would desire nothing better than 
 to get him into his power, that he might put him to 
 a cruel death, in order to be revenged for the loss 
 of his hen. Jack, finding that all his arguments 
 were useless, pretended to give up the point, though 
 resolved to go at all events. He had a dress pre- 
 pared which would disguise him, and something to 
 colour his skin. He thought it impossible for any 
 one to recollect him in this dress. 
 
 In a few mornings after this, he arose very early, 
 changed his complexion, and, unperceived by any 
 one, climbed the bean-stalk a second time. He was 
 greatly fatigued when he reached the top, and very 
 hungry. Having rested some time on one of the 
 stones, he pursued his journey to the giant's man- 
 sion. He reached it late in the evening : the woman 
 was at the door as before. Jack addressed her, at 
 the same time telling her a pitiful tale, and request- 
 ing that she would give him some victuals and 
 drink, and also a night's lodging. 
 
Jack and the Bean-Stalk 247 
 
 She told him (what he knew before very well) 
 about her husband being a powerful and cruel giant ; 
 and also that she one night admitted a poor, hungry, 
 friendless boy, who was half dead with travelling; 
 that the little ungrateful fellow had stolen one of 
 the giant's treasures; and, ever since that, her hus- 
 band had been worse than before, used her very 
 cruelly, and continually upbraided her with being 
 the cause of his misfortune. Jack was at no loss to 
 discover that he was attending to the account of a 
 story in which he was the principal actor. He did 
 his best to persuade the good woman to admit him^ 
 but found it a very hard task. At last she con- 
 sented ; and as she led the way. Jack observed that 
 every thing was just as he had found it before. 
 She took him into the kitchen, and after he had done 
 eating and drinking, she hid him in an old lumber- 
 closet. The giant returned at the usual time, and 
 walked in so heavily, that the house was shaken to 
 its foundation. He seated himself by the fire, and 
 soon after exclaimed : " Wife ! I smell fresh meat ! '^ 
 The wife replied, it was the crows, who had brought 
 a piece of raw meat, and left it on the top of the 
 house. Whilst supper was preparing, the giant was 
 very ill-tempered and impatient, frequently lifting 
 up his hand to strike his wife, for not being quick 
 enough ; she, however, was always so fortunate as 
 to elude the blow. He was also continually up- 
 braiding her with the loss of his wonderful hen. 
 The giant at last having ended his voracious supper, 
 and eaten till he was quite satisfied, said to his wife : 
 " I must have something to amuse me ; either my 
 bags of money or my harp." After a great deal of 
 
248 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Knozv 
 
 ill-humour, and having teased his wife some time, 
 he commanded her to bring down his bags of gold 
 and silver. Jack, as before, peeped out of his hid- 
 ing-place, and presently his wife brought two bags 
 into the room : they were of a very large size ; one 
 was filled with new guineas, and the other with new 
 shillings. They were both placed before the giant, 
 who began reprimanding his poor wife most se- 
 verely for staying so long; she replied, trembling 
 with fear, that they were so heavy, that she could 
 scarcely lift them ; and concluded, at last, that she 
 would never again bring them down stairs ; adding, 
 that she had nearly fainted, owing to their weight. 
 This so exasperated the giant, that he raised his 
 hand to strike her ; she, however, escaped, and went 
 to bed, leaving him to count over his treasure, by 
 way of amusement. The giant took his bags, and 
 after turning them over and over, to see that they 
 were in the same state as he left them, began to 
 count their contents. First, the bag which con- 
 tained the silver was emptied, and the contents 
 placed upon the table. Jack viewed the glittering 
 heaps with delight, ^nd most heartily wished them 
 in his own possession. The giant (little thinking 
 he was so narrowly watched) reckoned the silver 
 over several times ; and then, having satisfied him- 
 self that all was safe, put it into the bag again, 
 which he made very secure. The other bag was 
 opened next, and the guineas placed upon the table. 
 If Jack was pleased at the sight of the silver, how 
 much more delighted he felt wlien he saw such a 
 heap of glittering gold ! He even had the boldness 
 to think of gaining both bags; but suddenly recol- 
 
Jack and the Bean-Stalk 249 
 
 Iccting himself, he began to fear that the giant 
 would sham sleep, the better to entrap any one who 
 might be concealed. When the giant had counted 
 over the gold till he was tired, he put it up, if pos- 
 sible, more secure than he had put up the silver be- 
 fore ; he then fell back on his chair by the fireside, 
 and fell asleep. He snored so loud, that Jack com- 
 pared his noise to the roaring of the sea in a high 
 wind, when the tide is coming in. At last. Jack con- 
 cluded him to be asleep, and therefore secure, stole 
 out of his hiding-place, and approached the giant, 
 in order to carry off the two bags of money; but 
 just as he laid his hand upon one of the bags, a 
 little dog, whom he had not perceived before, started 
 from under the giant's chair, and barked at Jack 
 most furiously, who now gave himself up for lost. 
 Fear riveted him to the spot. Instead of endeav- 
 ouring to escape, he stood still, though expecting 
 his enemy to awake every instant. Contrary, how- 
 ever, to his expectation, the giant continued in a 
 sound sleep, and the dog grew weary of barking. 
 Jack now began to recollect himself, and on looking 
 round, saw a large piece of meat ; this he threw to 
 the dog, who instantly seized it, and took it into the 
 lumber-closet, which Jack had just left. Finding 
 himself delivered from a noisy and troublesome 
 enemy, and seeing the giant did not awake. Jack 
 boldly seized the bags, and throwing them over his 
 shoulders, ran out of the kitchen. He reached the 
 street door in safety, and found it quite daylight. 
 In his way to the top of the bean-stalk, he found 
 himself greatly incommoded with the weight of the 
 money-bags ; and really thev were so heavy that he 
 
250 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 could scarcely carry them. Jack was overjoyed 
 when he found himself near the bean-stalk ; he soon 
 reached the bottom, and immediately ran to seek his 
 mother; to his great surprise, the cottage was de- 
 serted; he ran from one room to another, without 
 being able to find any one; he then hastened into 
 the village, hoping to see some of the neighbours, 
 who could inform him where he could find his 
 mother. An old woman at last directed him to a 
 neighbouring house, where she was ill of a fever. 
 He was greatly shocked on finding her apparently 
 dying, and could scarcely bear his own reflections, 
 on knowing himself to be the cause. On being in- 
 formed of our hero's safe return, his mother, by 
 ■degrees, revived, and gradually recovered. Jack 
 presented her with his two valuable bags. They 
 lived happily and comfortably ; the cottage was re- 
 .built, and well furnished. 
 
 For three years Jack heard no more of the bean- 
 stalk, but he could not forget it ; though he feared 
 making his mother unhappy. She would not men- 
 tion the hated bean-stalk, lest it should remind him 
 of taking another journey. Notwithstanding the 
 comforts Jack enjoyed at home, his mind dwelt con- 
 tinually upon the bean-stalk ; for the fairy's menaces, 
 in case of his disobedience, were ever present to his 
 mind, and prevented him from being happy ; he 
 could think of nothing else. It was in vain endeav- 
 ouring to amuse himself ; he became thoughtful, and 
 would arise at the first dawn of day, and view the 
 bean-stalk for hours together. His mother saw 
 that something preyed heavily upon his mind, and 
 endeavoured to discover the cause; but Jack knew 
 
Jack and the Bean-Stalk 251 
 
 too well what the consequence would be, should she 
 succeed. He did his utmost, therefore, to conquer 
 the great desire he had for another journey up the 
 bean-stalk. Finding, however, that his inclination 
 grew too powerful for him, he began to make secret 
 preparations for his journey, and on the longest 
 day, arose as soon as it was light, ascended the bean- 
 stalk, and reached the top with some little trouble. 
 He found the road, journey, etc., much as it was on 
 the two former times ; he arrived at the giant's man- 
 sion in the evening, and found his wife standing, as 
 usual, at the door. Jack had disguised himself so 
 completely, that she did. not appear to have the 
 least recollection of him ; however, when he pleaded 
 hunger and poverty, in order to gain admittance, he 
 found it very difficult to persuade her. At last he 
 prevailed, and was concealed in the copper. When 
 the giant returned, he said, " I smell fresh meat ! " 
 But Jack felt quite composed, as he had said so 
 before, and had been soon satisfied. However, the 
 giant started up suddenly, and, notwithstanding all 
 his wife could say, he searched all round the room. 
 Whilst this was going forward, Jack was exceed- 
 ingly terrified, and ready to die with fear, wishing 
 himself at home a thousand times ; but when the 
 giant approached the copper, and put his hand upon 
 the lid. Jack thought his death was certain. The 
 giant ended his search there, without moving the 
 lid, and seated himself quietly by the fireside. This 
 fright nearly overcame poor Jack ; he was afraid of 
 moving or even breathing, lest he should be dis- 
 covered. The giant at last ate a hearty supper. 
 When he had finished, he commanded his wife to 
 
252 Fairy Talcs Every Child Should Know 
 
 fetch down his harp. Jack peeped under the cop- 
 per-hd, and soon saw the most beautiful harp that 
 could be imagined: it was placed by the giant on 
 the table, who said, " Play ! " and it instantly played 
 of its own accord, without being touched. The 
 music was uncommonly fine. Jack was delighted, 
 and felt more anxious to get the harp into his pos- 
 session, than either of the former treasures. The 
 giant's soul was not attuned to harmony, and the 
 music son lulled him into a sound sleep. Now, 
 therefore, was the time to carry off the harp, as the 
 giant appeared to be in a more profound sleep than 
 usual. Jack soon determined, got out of the cop- 
 per, and seized the harp. The harp was enchanted 
 by a fairy : it called out loudly : " Master ! master ! " 
 The giant awoke, stood up, and tried to pursue 
 Jack; but he had drank so much, that he could 
 hardly stand. Poor Jack ran as fast as he could. 
 In a little time the giant recovered sufficiently to 
 walk slowly, or rather, to reel after him. Had he 
 been sober, he must have overtaken Jack instantly; 
 but, as he then was. Jack contrived to be first at the 
 top of the bean-stalk. The giant called after him 
 in a voice like thunder, and sometimes was very 
 near him. The moment Jack got down the bean- 
 stalk he called out for a hatchet; one was brought 
 him directly; just at that instant, the giant was be- 
 ginning to descend ; but Jack, with his hatchet, cut 
 the bean-stalk close off at the root, which made the 
 giant fall headlong into the garden: the fall killed 
 him, thereby releasing the world from a barbarous 
 enemy. Jack's mother was delighted when she saw 
 the bean-stalk destroved. At this instant the fairy 
 
Jack and the Bean-Stalk 253 
 
 appeared : she first addressed Jack's mother and ex- 
 plained every circumstance relating to the journeys 
 up the bean-stalk. The fairy charged Jack to be 
 dutiful to his mother, and to follow his father's good 
 example, which was the only way to be happy. She 
 then disappeared. Jack heartily begged his mother's 
 pardon for all the sorrow and affliction he had 
 caused her, promising most faithfully to be very 
 dutiful and obedient to her for the future. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 JACK THE GIANT KILLER 
 
 In the reign of the famous King Arthur, there 
 Hved near the Land's End of England, in the county 
 of Cornwall, a worthy farmer, who had an only 
 son named Jack. Jack was a boy of a bold temper ; 
 he took pleasure in hearing or reading stories of 
 wizards, conjurers, giants, and fairies, and used to 
 listen eagerly while his father talked of the great 
 deeds of the brave knights of King Arthur's Round 
 Table. When Jack was sent to take care of the 
 sheep and oxen in the fields, he used to amuse him- 
 self with planning battles, sieges, and the means to 
 conquer or surprise a foe. He was above the com- 
 mon sports of children ; but hardly any one could 
 equal him at wrestling; or, if he met with a match 
 for himself in strength, his skill and address always 
 made him the victor. In those days there lived on 
 St. Michael's Mount of Cornwall, which rises out 
 of the sea at some distance from the main land, a 
 huge giant. He was eighteen feet high, and three 
 yards round ; and his fierce and savage looks were 
 the terror of all his neighbours. He dwelt in a 
 gloomy cavern on the very top of the mountain, and 
 used to wade over to the main land in search of his 
 prey. When he came near, the people left their 
 
Jack the Giant Killer 255 
 
 houses; and after he had glutted his appetite upon 
 their cattle, he would throw half-a-dozen oxen upon 
 his back, and tie three times as many sheep and hogs 
 round his waist, and so march back to his own abode. 
 The giant had done this for many years, and the 
 coast of Cornwall was greatly hurt by his thefts, 
 when Jack boldly resolved to destroy him. He there- 
 fore took a horn, a shovel, pickaxe, and a dark lan- 
 tern, and early in a long winter's evening he swam 
 to the mount. There he fell to work at once, and 
 before morning he had dug a pit twenty-two feet 
 deep, and almost as many broad. He covered it 
 over with sticks and straw, and strewed some of the 
 earth over them, to make it look just like solid 
 ground. He then put his horn to his mouth, and 
 blew such a loud and long tantivy, that the giant 
 awoke and came towards Jack, roaring like thunder : 
 '' You saucy villain, you shall pay dearly for break- 
 ing my rest ; I will broil you for my breakfast." He 
 had scarcely spoken these words, when he came ad- 
 vancing one step farther ; but then he tumbled head- 
 long into the pit, and his fall shook the very moun- 
 tain. '' O ho, Mr. Giant ! " said Jack, looking into 
 the pit, '' have you found your way so soon to the 
 bottom ? How is your appetite now ? Will nothing 
 serve you for breakfast this cold morning but broil- 
 ing poor Jack ? " The giant now tried to rise, but 
 Jack struck him a blow on the crown of the head 
 with his pickaxe, which killed him at once. Jack 
 then made haste back to rejoice his friends with the 
 news of the giant's death. When the justices of 
 Cornwall heard of this valiant action, they sent for 
 Jack, and declared that he should always be called 
 
256 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Knoiv 
 
 Jack the Giant Killer; and they also gave him a 
 sword and belt, upon which was written in letters of 
 gold : 
 
 " This is the valiant Cornishman 
 Who slew the Giant Cormoran." 
 
 The news of Jack's exploits soon spread over the 
 western parts of England ; and another giant, called 
 Old Blunderbore, vowed to have revenge on Jack, 
 if it should ever be his fortune to get him into his 
 power. This giant kept an enchanted castle in the 
 midst of a lonely wood. About four months after 
 the death of Cormoran, as Jack was taking a journey 
 into Wales, he passed through this wood ; and as he 
 was very weary, he sat down to rest by the side of 
 a pleasant fountain, and there he fell into a deep 
 sleep. The giant came to the fountain for water 
 just at this time, and found Jack there; and as the 
 lines on Jack's belt showed who he was, the giant 
 lifted him up and laid him gently upon his shoulder 
 to carry him to his castle : but as he passed through 
 the thicket, the rustling of the leaves waked Jack; 
 and he was sadly afraid when he found himself in 
 the clutches of Blunderbore. Yet this was nothing 
 to his fright soon after ; for when they reached the 
 castle, he beheld the floor covered all over with the 
 skulls and bones of men and women. The giant 
 took him into a large room where lay the hearts and 
 limbs of persons who had been lately killed ; and he 
 told Jack, with a horrid grin, that men's hearts, 
 eaten with pepper and vinegar, were his nicest food ; 
 and also, that he thought he should make a dainty 
 meal on his heart. When he had said this, he locked 
 
Jack the Giant Killer 257 
 
 Jack up in that room, while he went to fetch an- 
 other giant who Hved in the same wood, to enjoy 
 a dinner off Jack's flesh with him. While he was 
 away. Jack heard dreadful shrieks, groans, and cries, 
 from many parts of the castle ; and soon after he 
 heard a mournful voice repeat these lines: 
 
 " Haste, valiant stranger, haste away, 
 Lest you become the giant's prey. 
 On his return he'll bring another. 
 Still more savage than his brother : 
 A horrid, cruel monster, who, 
 Before he kills, will torture you. 
 Oh valiant stranger, haste away, 
 Or you'll become these giants' prey." 
 
 This warning was so shocking to poor Jack, that 
 he was ready to go mad. He ran to the window, 
 and saw the two giants coming along arm in arm. 
 This window was right over the gates of the castle. 
 " Now," thought Jack, " either my death or free- 
 dom is at hand." There were two strong cords in 
 the room : Jack made a large noose with a slip-knot 
 at the ends of both these, and as the giants were 
 coming through the gates, he threw the ropes over 
 their heads. He then made the other ends fast to 
 a beam in the ceiling, and pulled with all his might 
 till he had almost strangled them. When he saw 
 that they were both quite black in the face, and had 
 not the least strength left, he drew his sword, and 
 slid down the ropes ; he then killed the giants, and 
 thus saved himself from the cruel death they meant 
 to put him to. Jack next took a great bunch of keys 
 
258 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 from the pocket of Blunderbore, and went into the 
 castle again. He made a strict search through all 
 the rooms ; and in them found three ladies tied up 
 by the hair of their heads, and almost starved to 
 death. They told him that their husbands had been 
 killed by the giants, who had then condemned them 
 to be starved to death, because they would not eat 
 the flesh of their own dead husbands. ** Ladies," 
 said Jack, " I have put an end to the monster and 
 his wicked brother ; and I give you this castle and 
 all the riches it contains, to make you some amends 
 for the dreadful pains you have felt." He then very 
 politely gave them the keys of the castle, and went 
 further on his journey to Wales. As Jack had not 
 taken any of the giant's riches for himself, and so 
 had very little money of his own, he thought it best 
 to travel as fast as he could. At length he lost 
 his way, and when night came on he was in a lonely 
 valley between two lofty mountains, where he 
 walked about for some hours without seeing any 
 dwelling place, so he thought himself very lucky at 
 last, in finding a large and handsome house. 
 
 He went up to it boldly, and knocked loudly at 
 the gate, when, to his great terror and surprise, there 
 came forth a monstrous giant with two heads. He 
 spoke to Jack very civilly, for he was a Welsh giant, 
 and all the mischief he did was by private and secret 
 malice, under the show of friendship and kindness. 
 Jack told him that he was a traveller who had lost 
 his way, on which the huge monster made him wel- 
 come, and led him into a room, where there was a 
 good bed to pass the night in. Jack took off bis 
 clothes quickly ; but though he was so weary he 
 
Jack the Giant Killer 259 
 
 could not go to sleep. Soon after this he heard the 
 giant walking backward and forward in the next 
 room, and saying to himself : 
 
 " Though here you lodge with me this night, 
 You shall not see the morning light ; 
 My club shall dash your brains out quite." 
 
 " Say you so ? " thought Jack ; *' are these your 
 tricks upon travellers ? But I hope to prove as cun- 
 ning as you." Then getting out of bed, he groped 
 about the room, and at last found a large thick billet 
 of wood ; he laid it in his own place in the bed, and 
 then hid himself in a dark corner of the room. In 
 the middle of the night the giant came with his 
 great club, and struck many heavy blows on the bed, 
 in the very place where Jack had laid the billet, and 
 then he went back to his own room, thinking he had 
 broken all his bones. Early in the morning. Jack 
 put a bold face upon the matter, and walked into 
 the giant's room to thank him for his lodgings. The 
 giant started when he saw him, and he began to 
 stammer out, " Oh, dear me ! Is it you ? Pray, how 
 did you sleep last night? Did you hear or see any 
 thing in the dead of the night ? " " Nothing worth 
 speaking of," said Jack carelessly ; '' a rat, I believe, 
 gave me three or four slaps with his tail, and dis- 
 turbed me a little ; but I soon went to sleep again." 
 The giant wondered more and more at this ; yet he 
 did not answer a word, but went to bring two great 
 bowls of hasty-pudding for their breakfast. Jack 
 wished to make the giant believe that he could eat 
 as much as himself. So he contrived to button a 
 
26o Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 leathern bag inside his coat, and slipped the hasty- 
 pudding into this bag, while he seemed to put it into 
 his mouth. When breakfast was over, he said to the 
 giant : '' Now I will show you a fine trick ; I can cure 
 all wounds with a touch ; I could cut off my head 
 one minute, and the next, put it sound again on my 
 shoulders : you shall see an example." He then took 
 hold of the knife, ripped up the leathern bag, and all 
 the hasty-pudding tumbled out upon the floor. 
 " Ods splutter hur nails," cried the Welsh giant, 
 who was ashamed to be outdone by such a little fel- 
 low as Jack, *' hur can do that hurself." So he 
 snatched up the knife, plunged it into his stomach, 
 and in a moment dropped down dead. 
 
 As soon as Jack had thus tricked the Welsh mon- 
 ster, he went farther on his journey ; and a few days 
 after he met with King Arthur's only son, who had 
 got his father's leave to travel into Wales, to deliver 
 a beautiful lady from the power of a wicked magi- 
 cian, who held her in his enchantments. When 
 Jack found that the young prince had no servants 
 with him, he begged leave to attend him ; and the 
 prince at once agreed to this, and gave Jack many 
 thanks for his kindness. The prince was a hand- 
 some, polite, and brave knight, and so good-natured 
 that he gave money to every body he met. At length 
 he gave his last penny to an old woman, and then 
 turned to Jack, and said : " How shall we be able 
 to get food for ourselves the rest of our journey? " 
 '' Leave that to me sir," said Jack ; *' I will provide 
 for my prince." Night now came on, and the prince 
 began to grow uneasy at thinking where they should 
 lodge. " Sir," said Jack, '' be of good heart ; two 
 
Jack the Giant Killer 261 
 
 miles farther there Hves a large giant, whom I know 
 well. He has three heads, and will fight five hundred 
 men, and make them fly before him." " Alas! " re- 
 plied the king's son, '' we had better never have been 
 born than meet with such a monster." '* My lord, 
 leave me to manage him, and wait here in quiet till I 
 return." The prince now staid behind, while Jack 
 rode on full speed. And when he came to the gates 
 of the castle, he gave a loud knock. The giant, with 
 a voice like thunder, roared out: " Who is there? " 
 And Jack made answer, and said : '' No one but 
 your poor cousin Jack." '' Well," said the giant, 
 "what news, cousin Jack?" "Dear uncle," said 
 Jack, '' I have some heavy news." " Pooh ! " said 
 the giant, *' what heavy news can come to me? I 
 am a giant with three heads ; and can fight five hun- 
 dred men, and make them fly before me." " Alas ! " 
 said Jack, " Here is the king's son, coming with two 
 thousand men, to kill you, and to destroy the castle 
 and all that you have." '' Oh, cousin Jack," said the 
 giant, '' This is heavy news indeed ! But I have a 
 large cellar under ground, where I will hide myself, 
 and you shall lock, and bar me in, and keep the keys 
 till the king's son is gone." 
 
 Now when Jack had made the giant fast in the 
 vault, he went back and fetched the prince to the 
 castle; they both made themselves merry with the 
 wine and other dainties that were in the house. So 
 that night they rested very pleasantly, while the 
 poor giant lay trembling and shaking with fear in 
 the cellar under ground. Early in the morning. Jack 
 gave the king's son gold and silver out of the giant's 
 treasure, and set him three miles forward on his 
 
262 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Knozv 
 
 journey. He then went to let his uncle out of the 
 hole, who asked Jack what he should give him as a 
 reward for saving his castle. " Why, good uncle," 
 said Jack, '' I desire nothing but the old coat and 
 cap, with the old rusty sword and slippers, which 
 are hanging at your bed's head." Then said the 
 giant : " You shall have them ; and pray keep them 
 for my sake, for they are things of great use : the 
 coat will keep you invisible, the cap will give you 
 knowledge, the sword cut through anything, and the 
 shoes are of vast swiftness ; these may be useful to 
 you in all times of danger, so take them with all my 
 heart." Jack gave many thanks to the giant, and 
 then set ofif to the prince. When he had come up 
 with the king's son, they soon arrived at the dwell- 
 ing of the beautiful lady, who was under the power 
 of a wicked magician. She received the prince very 
 politely, and made a noble feast for him ; and when it 
 was ended, she rose, and wiping her mouth with a 
 fine handkerchief, said : '' My lord, you must submit 
 to the custom of my palace; to-morrow morning I 
 command you to tell me on whom I bestow this 
 handkerchief or lose your head." She then went 
 out of the room. The young prince went to bed 
 very mournful : but Jack put on his cap of knowl- 
 edge, which told him that the lady was forced, by the 
 power of enchantment, to meet the wicked magician 
 every night in the middle of the forest. Jack now 
 put on his coat of darkness, and his shoes of swift- 
 ness, and was there before her. When the lady 
 came, she gave the handkerchief to the magician. 
 Jack with his sword of sharpness, at one blow, cut 
 off his head ; the enchantment was then ended in a 
 
Jack the Giant Killer 263 
 
 moment, and the lady was restored to her former 
 virtue and goodness. 
 
 She was married to the prince on the next day, 
 and soon after went back with her royal husband, 
 and a great company, to the court of King Arthur, 
 where they were received with loud and joyful wel- 
 comes ; and the valiant hero Jack, for the many great 
 exploits he had done for the good of his country, 
 was made one of the Knights of the Round Table. 
 As Jack had been so lucky in all his adventures, he 
 resolved not to be idle for the future, but still to 
 do what services he could for the honour of the king 
 and the nation. He therefore humbly begged his 
 majesty to furnish him with a horse and money, 
 that he might travel in search of new and strange 
 exploits. " For," said he to the king, '' there are 
 many giants yet living in the remote parts of Wales, 
 to the great terror and distress of your majesty's 
 subjects; therefore if it please you, sire, to favour 
 me in my design, I will soon rid your kingdom of 
 these giants and monsters in human shape." Now 
 when the king heard this offer, and began to think 
 of the cruel deeds of these blood-thirsty giants and 
 savage monsters, he gave Jack every thing proper 
 for such a journey. After this Jack took leave of the 
 king, the prince, and all the knights, and set off; 
 taking with him his cap of knowledge, his sword of 
 sharpness, his shoes of swiftness, and his invisible 
 coat, the better to perform the great exploits that 
 might fall in his way. He went along over high hills 
 and lofty mountains, and on the third day he came 
 to a large wide forest, through which his road led. 
 He had hardly entered the forest, when on a sudden 
 
264 Fairy Talcs Every Child Should Know 
 
 he heard very dreadful shrieks and cries. He forced 
 his way through the trees, and saw a monstrous 
 giant dragging along by the hair of their heads a 
 handsome knight and his beautiful lady. Their tears 
 and cries melted the heart of honest Jack to pity and 
 compassion ; he alighted from his horse, and tying 
 him to an oak tree he put on his invisible coat, under 
 which he carried his sword of sharpness. 
 
 When he came up to the giant, he made several 
 strokes at him, but could not reach his body, on ac- 
 count of the enormous height of the terrible creature, 
 but he wounded his thighs in several places ; and at 
 length, putting both hands to his sword, and aim- 
 ing with all his might, he cut off both the giant's legs 
 just below the garter; and the trunk of his body 
 tumbling to the ground, made not only the trees 
 shake, but the earth itself tremble with the force of 
 his fall. Then Jack, setting his foot upon his neck, 
 exclaimed, " Thou barbarous and savage wretch, 
 behold I come to execute upon thee the just reward 
 for all thy crimes ; " and instantly plunged his sword 
 into the giant's body. The huge monster gave a 
 hideous groan, and yielded up his life into the hands 
 of the victorious Jack the Giant Killer, whilst the 
 noble knight and the virtuous lady were both joyful 
 spectators of his sudden death and their deliverance. 
 The courteous knight and his fair lady, not only re- 
 turned Jack hearty thanks for their deliverance, but 
 also invited him to their house, to refresh himself 
 after his dreadful encounter, as likewise to receive a 
 reward for his good services. " No," said Jack, ** I 
 cannot be at ease till I find out the den that was the 
 monster's habitation." The knight on hearing this 
 
Jack the Giant Killer 265 
 
 grew very sorrowful, and replied, " Noble stranger, 
 it is too much to run a second hazard ; this monster 
 lived in a den under yonder mountain, with a brother 
 of his, more fierce and cruel than himself ; therefore, 
 if you should go thither, and perish in the attempt, 
 it would be a heart-breaking thing to me and my 
 lady ; so let me persuade you to go with us, and de- 
 sist from any farther pursuit." " Nay," answered 
 Jack, " if there be another, even if there were twenty, 
 I would shed the last drop of blood in my body be- 
 fore one of them should escape my fury. When I 
 have finished this task, I will come and pay my re- 
 spects to you." So when they had told him where to 
 find them again, he got on his horse and went after 
 the dead giant's brother. 
 
 Jack had not rode a mile and a half, before he 
 came in sight of the mouth of the cavern ; and nigh 
 the entrance of it, he saw the other giant sitting on a 
 huge block of fine timber, with a knotted iron club 
 lying by his side, waiting for his brother. His eyes 
 looked like flames of fire, his face was grim and ugly, 
 and his cheeks seemed like two flitches of bacon; 
 the bristles of his beard seemed to be thick rods of 
 iron wire ; and his long locks of hair hung down 
 upon his broad shoulders like curling snakes. Jack 
 got down from his horse, and turned him into a 
 thicket; then he put on his coat of darkness, and 
 drew a little nearer to behold this figure, and said 
 softly : '' Oh, monster ! are you there ? It will not be 
 long before I shall take you fast by the beard." The 
 giant all this while, could not see him, by reason of 
 his invisible coat : so Jack came quite close to him, 
 and struck a blow at his head with his sword of 
 
266 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 sharpness, but he missed his aim, and only cut off 
 his nose, which made him roar Hke loud claps of 
 thunder. And though he rolled his glaring eyes 
 round on every side, he could not see who had given 
 him the blow ; yet he took up his iron club, and be- 
 gan to lay about him like one that was mad with pain 
 and fury. 
 
 " Nay," said Jack, '' if this be the case I will kill 
 you at once." So saying, he slipped nimbly behind 
 him, and jumping upon the block of timber, as the 
 giant rose from it, he stabbed him in the back ; when, 
 after a few howls, he dropped down dead. Jack 
 cut off his head, and sent it with the head of his 
 brother, whom he had killed before in the forest, to 
 King Arthur, by a wagon which he hired for that 
 purpose, with an account of all his exploits. When 
 Jack had thus killed these two monsters, he went 
 into their cave in search of their treasure : he passed 
 through many turnings and windings, which led him 
 to a room paved with freestone ; at the end of it was 
 a boiling caldron, and on the right hand stood a 
 large table where the giants used to dine. He then 
 came to a window that was secured with iron bars, 
 through which he saw a number of wretched cap- 
 tives, who cried out when they saw Jack, " Alas ! 
 alas ! young man, you are come to be one among us 
 in this horrid den." '' I hope," said Jack, " you will 
 not stay here long; but pray tell me what is the 
 meaning of your being here at all ? " " Alas ! " said 
 one poor old man, " I will tell you, sir. We are 
 persons that have been taken by the giants who hold 
 this cave, and are kept till they choose to have a 
 feast, then one of us is to be killed, and cooked 
 
Jack the Giant Killer 267 
 
 to please their taste. It is not long since they took 
 three for the same purpose." " Well," said Jack, 
 *' I have given them such a dinner that it will be 
 long enough before they have any more." The 
 captives were amazed at his words. " You may be- 
 lieve me," said Jack ; *' for I have killed them both 
 with the edge of the sword, and have sent their large 
 heads to the court of King Arthur, as marks of my 
 great success." 
 
 To show them that what he said was true, he un- 
 locked the gate, and set them all free. Then he 
 led them to the great room, placed them round the 
 table, and set before them two quarters of beef, 
 with bread and wine ; upon which they feasted to 
 their fill. When supper was over, they searched the 
 giants' coffers, and Jack shared the store in them 
 among the captives, who thanked him for their es- 
 cape. The next morning they set off to their homes, 
 and Jack to the knight's house, whom he had left 
 with his lady not long before. It was just at the 
 time of sunrise that Jack mounted his horse to pro- 
 ceed on his journey. 
 
 He arrived at the knight's house, where he was 
 received with the greatest joy by the thankful knight 
 and his lady, who, in honour of Jack's exploits, gave 
 a grand feast, to which all the nobles and gentry 
 were invited. When the company were assembled, 
 the knight declared to them the great actions of 
 Jack, and gave him, as a mark of respect, a fine 
 ring, on which was engraved the picture of the giant 
 dragging the knight and the lady by the hair, with 
 this motto round it : 
 
268 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 " Behold, in dire distress were we, 
 Under a giant's fierce command ; 
 But gained our lives and liberty, 
 
 From valiant Jack's victorious hand." 
 
 Among the guests then present were five aged 
 gentlemen, who were fathers to some of those cap- 
 tives who had been freed by Jack from the dungeon 
 of the giants. As soon as they heard that he was the 
 person who had done such wonders, they pressed 
 round him with tears of joy, to return him thanks 
 for the happiness he had caused to them. After this 
 the bowl went round, and every one drank to the 
 health and long life of the gallant hero. Mirth in- 
 creased, and the hall was filled with peals of laugh- 
 ter and joyful cries. But, on a sudden, a herald, 
 pale and breathless with haste and terror, rushed 
 into the midst of the company, and told them that 
 Thundel, a savage giant with two heads, had heard 
 of the death of his two kinsmen, and was come to 
 take his revenge on Jack; and that he was now 
 within a mile of the house ; the people flying before 
 him like chaff before the wnnd. At this news the 
 very boldest of the guests trembled ; but Jack drew 
 his sword, and said : '' Let him come, I have a rod 
 for him also. Pray, ladies and gentlemen, do me the 
 favour to walk into the garden, and you shall soon 
 behold the giant's defeat and death." To this they 
 all agreed, and heartily wished him success in his 
 dangerous attempt. The knight's house stood in 
 the middle of a moat, thirty feet deep and twenty 
 wide, over which lay a drawbridge. Jack set men 
 to work, to cut the bridge on both sides, almost to 
 
Jack the Giant Killer 269 
 
 the middle ; and then dressed himself in his coat of 
 darkness, and went against the giant with his sword 
 of sharpness. As he came close to him, though the 
 giant could not see him, for his invisible coat, yet he 
 found some danger was near, which made him cry 
 out: 
 
 " Fa, fe, fi, fo, fum, 
 I smell the blood of an Englishman ; 
 Let him be alive, or let him be dead, 
 ril grind his bones to make me bread." 
 
 " Say you so my friend? " said Jack, *' you are a 
 monstrous miller indeed." " Art thou," cried the 
 giant, ''the villain that killed my kinsmen? Then 
 I will tear thee with my teeth, and grind thy bones 
 to powder." " You must catch me first," said Jack ; 
 and throwing off his coat of darkness, and putting 
 on his shoes of swiftness, he began to run ; the giant 
 following him like a walking castle, making the 
 earth shake at every step. 
 
 Jack led him round and round the walls of the 
 house, that the company might see the monster ; and 
 to finish the work Jack ran over the drawbridge, 
 the giant going after him with his club. But when 
 the giant came to the middle, where the bridge had 
 been cut on both sides, the great weight of his body 
 made it break, and he tumbled into the water, and 
 rolled about like a large whale. Jack now stood by 
 the side of the moat, and laughed and jeered at 
 him, saying: "I think you told me, you would 
 grind my bones to powder. When will you begin ? " 
 The giant foamed at both his horrid mouths with 
 fury, and plunged from side to side of the moat ; 
 
270 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 but he could not get out to have revenge on his little 
 foe. At last Jack ordered a cart rope to be brought 
 to him. He then drew it over his two heads, and by 
 the help of a team of horses, dragged him to the 
 edge of the moat, where he cut off the monster's 
 heads ; and before he either eat or drank, he sent 
 them both to the court of King Arthur. He then 
 went back to the table with the company, and the 
 rest of the day was spent in mirth and good cheer. 
 After staying with the knight for some time. Jack 
 grew weary of such an idle life, and set out again in 
 search of new adventures. He went over the hills 
 and dales without meeting any, till he came to the 
 foot of a very high mountain. Here he knocked 
 at the door of a small and lonely house ; and an old 
 man, with a head as white as snow, let him in. 
 '' Good father," said Jack, " can you lodge a traveller 
 who has lost his way ? " '' Yes," said the hermit, 
 " I can, if you will accept such fare as my poor 
 house affords." Jack entered, and the old man set 
 before him some bread and fruit for his supper. 
 When Jack had eaten as much as he chose, the her- 
 mit said, '' My son, I know you are the famous con- 
 queror of giants ; now, on the top of this mountain 
 is an enchanted castle, kept by a giant named Galli- 
 gantus, who, by the help of a vile magician, gets 
 many knights into his castle, where he changes them 
 into the shape of beasts. Above all I lament the 
 hard fate of a duke's daughter, whom they seized 
 as she was walking in her father's garden, and 
 brought hither through the air in a chariot drawn by 
 two fiery dragons, and turned her into the shape of a 
 deer. .Many knights have tried to destroy the en- 
 
Jack the Giant Killer 271 
 
 chantment, and deliver her ; yet none have been able 
 to do it, by reason of two fiery griffins who guard 
 the gate of the castle, and destroy all who come nigh. 
 But as you, my son, have an invisible coat, you may 
 pass by them without being seen ; and on the gates 
 of the castle, you will find engraved, by what means 
 the enchantment may be broken." 
 
 Jack promised, that in the morning, at the risk of 
 his life he would break the enchantment : and after 
 a sound sleep he arose early, put on his invisible 
 coat, and got ready for the attempt. When he had 
 climbed to the top of the mountain, he saw the two 
 fiery griffins; but he passed between them without 
 the least fear of danger ; for they could not see him 
 because of his invisible coat. On the castle gate he 
 found a golden trumpet, under which were written 
 these lines : 
 
 " Whoever can this trumpet blow, 
 Shall cause the giant's overthrow." 
 
 As soon as Jack had read this, he seized the trum- 
 pet, and blew a shrill blast which made the gates 
 fly open and the very castle itself tremble. The 
 giant and the conjurer now knew that their wicked 
 course was at an end, and they stood biting their 
 thumbs and shaking with fear. Jack, with his sword 
 of sharpness, soon killed the giant. The magician 
 was then carried away by a whirlwind and every 
 knight and beautiful lady, who had been changed 
 into birds and beasts, returned to their proper shapes. 
 The castle vanished away like smoke and the head 
 of the giant Galligantus was sent to King Arthur. 
 
272 Fairy Talcs Every Child Should Know 
 
 The knights and ladies rested that night at the old 
 man's hermitage, and next day they set out for the 
 court. Jack then went up to the king, and gave his 
 majesty an account of all his fierce battles. Jack's 
 fame had spread through the whole country ; and at 
 the king's desire, the duke gave him his daugh- 
 ter in marriage, to the joy of all the kingdom. After 
 this the king gave him a large estate ; on which he 
 and his lady lived the rest of their days, in joy and 
 content. 
 
CHAPTER XIX 
 
 LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD 
 
 Once upon a time there lived in a village a coun- 
 try girl, who was the sweetest little creature that 
 ever was seen ; her mother naturally loved her with 
 excessive fondness, and her grandmother doted on 
 her still more. The good woman had made for her 
 a pretty little red-coloured hood, which so much be- 
 came the little girl, that every one called her Little 
 Red Riding Hood. 
 
 One day her mother having made some cheese- 
 cakes, said to her, '' Go, my child, and see how your 
 grandmother does, for I hear she is ill; carry her 
 some of these cakes, and a little pot of butter." 
 Little Red Riding Hood straight set out with a bas- 
 ket filled with the cakes and the pot of butter, for 
 her grandmother's house, which was in a village a 
 little way off the town that her mother lived in. As 
 she was crossing a wood, which lay in her road, she 
 met a large wolf, which had a great mind to eat her 
 up, but dared not, for fear of some wood-cutters, who 
 were at work near them in the forest. Yet he spoke 
 to her, and asked her whither she was going. The 
 little girl, who did not know the danger of talking 
 to a wolf, replied : " I am going to see my grand- 
 mamma, and carry these cakes and a pot of butter." 
 
2 74 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 '' Does she live far off ? " said the wolf. *' Oh yes ! " 
 answered Little Red Riding Hood ; " beyond the mill 
 you see yonder, at the first house in the village." 
 '* Well," said the wolf, " I will take this way, and 
 you take that, and see which will be there the soon- 
 est." 
 
 The wolf set out full speed, running as fast as he 
 could, and taking the nearest way, while the little 
 girl took the longest; and as she went along began 
 to gather nuts, run after butterflies, and make nose- 
 gays of such flowers as she found within her reach. 
 The w^olf got to the dwelling of the grandmother 
 first, and knocked at the door. " Who is there ? " 
 said some voice in the house. ''It is your grand- 
 child, Little Red Riding Hood," said the wolf, speak- 
 ing like the little girl as well as he could. '' I have 
 brought you some cheesecakes, and a little pot of 
 butter, that mamma has sent you." The good old 
 woman, who was ill in bed, called out, '' Pull the 
 bobbin, and the latch will go up." The wolf pulled 
 the bobbin, and the door went open. The wolf then 
 jumped upon the poor old grandmother, and ate her 
 up in a moment, for it was three days since he had 
 tasted any food. The wolf then shut the door, and 
 laid himself down in the bed, and waited for Little 
 Red Riding Hood, who very soon after reached the 
 house. Tap ! tap ! '' Who is there ? " cried he. She 
 was at first a little afraid at hearing the gruff voice 
 of the wolf, but she thought that perhaps her grand- 
 mother had got a cold, so she answered : '' It is your 
 grandchild. Little Red Riding Hood. Mamma has 
 sent you some cheesecakes, and a little pot of but- 
 ter." The wolf cried out in a softer voice, " Pull 
 
Little Red Riding Hood 275 
 
 the bobbin, and the latch will go up." Little Red 
 Riding Hood pulled the bobbin, and the door went 
 open. When she came into the room, the wolf hid 
 himself under the bedclothes, and said to her, try- 
 ing all he could to speak in a feeble voice : " Put the 
 basket on the stool, my dear, and take off your 
 clothes, and come into bed." Little Red Riding 
 Hood, who always used to do as she was told, 
 straight undressed herself, and stepped into bed; 
 but she thought it strange to see how her grand- 
 mother looked in her nightclothes, so she said to her : 
 '* Dear me, grandmamma, what great arms you have 
 got ! " They are so much the better to hug you, my 
 child," replied the wolf. " But grandmamma," said 
 the little girl, '* what great ears you have got ! " 
 ** They are so much the better to hear you, my child," 
 replied the wolf. " But then, grandmamma, what 
 great eyes you have got ! " said the little girl. " They 
 are so much the better to see you, my child," replied 
 the wolf. " And grandmamma, what great teeth 
 you have got ! " said the little girl, who now began 
 to be rather afraid. '' They are to eat you up," said 
 the wolf; and saying these words, the wicked crea- 
 ture fell upon Little Red Riding Hood, and ate her 
 up in a moment. 
 
CHAPTER XX 
 
 THE THREE BEARS 
 
 In a far-off country there was once a little g^rl 
 who was called Silver-hair, because her curly hair 
 shone brightly. She was a sad romp, and so rest- 
 less that she could not be kept quiet at home, but 
 must needs run out and away, without leave. 
 
 One day she started off into a wood to gather 
 wild flowers, and into the fields to chase butterflies. 
 She ran here and she ran there, and went so far, 
 at last, that she found herself in a lonely place, where 
 she saw a snug little house, in which three bears 
 lived ; but they were not then at home. 
 
 The door was ajar, and Silver-hair pushed it open 
 and found the place to be quite empty, so she made 
 up her mind to go in boldly, and look all about the 
 place, little thinking what sort of people lived there. 
 
 Now the three bears had gone out to walk a little 
 before this. They were the Big Bear, and the Mid- 
 dle-sized Bear, and the Little Bear; but they had 
 left their porridge on the table to cool. So when 
 Silver-hair came into the kitchen, she saw the three 
 bowls of porridge. She tasted the largest bowl, 
 which belonged to the Big Bear, and found it too 
 cold; then she tasted the middle-sized bowl, which 
 belonged to the Middle-sized Bear, and found it too 
 hot; then she tasted the smallest bowl, which be- 
 
The Three Bears 277 
 
 longed to the Little Bear, and it was just right, and 
 she ate it all. 
 
 She went into the parlour, and there were three 
 chairs. She tried the biggest chair, which belonged 
 to the Big Bear, and found it too high; then she 
 tried the middle-sized chair, which belonged to the 
 Middle-sized Bear, and she found it too broad ; then 
 she tried the little chair, which belonged to the Little 
 Bear, and found it just right, but she sat in it so 
 hard that she broke it. 
 
 Now Silver-hair was by this time very tired, 
 and she went upstairs to the chamber, and there she 
 found three beds. She tried the largest bed, which 
 belonged to the Big Bear, and found it too soft; 
 then she tried the middle-sized bed, which belonged 
 to the Middle-sized Bear, and she found it too hard ; 
 then she tried the smallest bed, which belonged to the 
 Little Bear, and found it just right, so she lay down 
 upon it, and fell fast asleep. 
 
 While Silver-hair was lying fast asleep, the three 
 bears came home from their walk. They came into 
 the kitchen, to get their porridge, but when the Big 
 Bear went to his, he growled out : 
 
 *' SOMEBODY HAS BEEN TASTING MY 
 PORRIDGE ! " 
 
 and the Middle-sized Bear looked into his bowl, and 
 said: 
 
 '' Somebody has been tasting my porridge ! " 
 and the Little Bear piped : 
 
 " Somebody has tasted my porridge and eaten it 
 all up!" 
 
 Then they went into the parlour, and the Big Bear 
 growled : 
 
278 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 " SOMEBODY HAS BEEN SITTING IN MY 
 CHAIR!" 
 and the Middle-sized Bear said: 
 
 ''Somebody has been sitting in my chair!" 
 and the Little Bear piped : 
 
 "Somebody has been sitting in my chair, and 
 has broken it all to pieces!'' 
 
 So they went up-stairs into the chamber, and the 
 Big Bear growled: 
 
 " SOMEBODY HAS BEEN TUMBLING MY 
 BED ! " 
 and the Middle-sized Bear said: 
 
 " Somebody has been tumbling my bed! " 
 and the little Bear piped : 
 
 '^Somebody has been tiimbling my bed, and here 
 she is! " 
 
 At that, Silver-hair woke in a fright, and jumped 
 out of the window and ran away as fast as her legs 
 could carry her, and never went near the Three 
 Bears' snug little house again. 
 
CHAPTER XXI 
 
 THE PRINCESS ON THE PEA 
 
 There was once a prince who wanted to marry 
 a princess ; but she was to be a real princess. So he 
 travelled about, all through the world, to find a real 
 one, but everywhere there was something in the 
 way. There were princesses enough, but whether 
 they were real princesses he could not quite make 
 out : there was always something that did not seem 
 quite right. So he came home again, and was quite 
 sad : for he wished so much to have a real princess. 
 One evening a terrible storm came on. It lightened 
 and thundered, the rain streamed down; it was 
 quite fearful ! Then there was a knocking at the 
 town gate, and the old king went out to open it. 
 
 It was a princess who stood outside the gate. 
 But, mercy ! how she looked, from the rain and the 
 rough weather ! The water ran down from her hair 
 and her clothes ; it ran in at the points of her shoes, 
 and out at the heels ; and yet she declared that she 
 was a real princess. 
 
 " Yes, we will soon find that out," thought the old 
 queen. But she said nothing, only went into the 
 bedchamber, took all the bedding ofif, and put a pea 
 on the flooring of the bedstead ; then she took twenty 
 mattresses and laid them upon the pea, and then 
 
28o Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 twenty eider-down beds upon the mattresses. On 
 this the princess had to He all night. In the morn- 
 ing she was asked how she had slept. 
 
 " Oh, miserably! " said the princess. '' I scarcely 
 closed my eyes all night long. Goodness knows what 
 w^as in my bed. I lay upon something hard, so that 
 I am black and blue all over. It is quite dreadful ! " 
 
 Now they saw that she was a real princess, for 
 through the twenty mattresses and the twenty eider- 
 down beds she had felt the pea. No one but a real 
 princess could be so delicate. 
 
 So the prince took her for his wife, for now he 
 knew that he had a true princess; and the pea was 
 put in the museum, and it is there now, unless some- 
 body has carried it off. 
 
 Look you, this is a true story. 
 
CHAPTER XXII 
 
 THE UGLY DUCKLING 
 
 It was so glorious out in the country ; it was sum- 
 mer ; the cornfields were yellow, the oats were green, 
 the hay had been put up in stacks in the green mead- 
 ows, and the stork went about on his long red legs, 
 and chattered Egyptian, for this was the language he 
 had learned from his good mother. All around the 
 fields and meadows were great forests, and in the 
 midst of these forests lay deep lakes. Yes, it was 
 right glorious out in the country. In the midst of 
 the sunshine there lay an old farm, with deep canals 
 about it, and from the wall down to the water grew 
 great burdocks, so high that little children could 
 stand upright under the loftiest of them. It was 
 just as wild there as in the deepest wood, and here 
 sat a Duck upon her nest ; she had to hatch her 
 ducklings ; but she was almost tired out before the 
 little ones came and then she so seldom had visitors. 
 The other ducks liked better to swim about in the 
 canals than to run up to sit down under a burdock, 
 and cackle with her. 
 
 At last one egg-shell after another burst open. 
 " Piep ! piep ! " it cried, and in all the eggs there 
 were little creatures that stuck out their heads. 
 
 '' Quack ! quack ! " they said ; and they all came 
 quacking out as fast as they could, looking all round 
 
282 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 them under the green leaves; and the mother let 
 them look as much as they chose, for green is good 
 for the eye. 
 
 " How wide the world is ! " said all the young 
 ones, for they certainly had much more room now 
 than when they were in the eggs. 
 
 "D'ye think this is all the world?" said the 
 mother. " That stretches far across the other side 
 of the garden, quite into the parson's field; but I 
 have never been there yet. I hope you are all to- 
 gether," and she stood up. " No, I have not all. 
 The largest tgg still lies there. How long is that to 
 last? I am really tired of it." And she sat down 
 again. 
 
 " Well, how goes it ? " asked an old Duck who 
 had come to pay her a visit. 
 
 '' It lasts a long time with that one &gg,'' said the 
 Duck who sat there. " It will not burst. Now, only 
 look at the others ; are they not the prettiest little 
 ducks one could possibly see ? They are all like their 
 father. The rogue, he never comes to see me." 
 
 '' Let me see the tgg which will not burst," said 
 the old visitor. " You may be sure it is a turkey's 
 Qgg. I was once cheated in that way, and had much 
 anxiety and trouble with the young ones, for they 
 are afraid of the water. Must I say it to you, I 
 could not get them to venture in. I quacked and I 
 clacked, but it was no use. Let me see the tgg. 
 Yes, that's a turkey's ^gg. Let it lie there, and 
 teach the other children to swim." 
 
 " I think I will sit on it a little longer," said the 
 Duck. " I've sat so long now that I can sit a few 
 days more." 
 
The Ugly Duckling 283 
 
 *' Just as you please," said the old Duck ; and she 
 went away. 
 
 At last the great egg burst. *' Piep ! piep ! " said 
 the little one, and crept forth. It was very large and 
 very ugly. The Duck looked at it. 
 
 ** It's a very large duckling," said she ; " none of 
 the others look like that. Can it really be a turkey 
 chick? Well, we shall soon find out. It must go 
 into the w^ater, even if I have to thrust it in my- 
 self." 
 
 The next day it was bright, beautiful weather; 
 the sun shone on all the green trees. The Mother- 
 Duck went down to the canal with all her family. 
 Splash ! she jumped into the water. " Quack ! 
 quack ! " she said, and one duckling after another 
 plunged in. The water closed over their heads, but 
 they came up in an instant, and swam capitally; 
 their legs went of themselves, and they were all in 
 the water. The ugly gray Duckling swam with 
 them. 
 
 " No, it's not a turkey," said she ; " look how well 
 it can use its legs, and how straight it holds itself. 
 It is my own child ! On the whole it's quite pretty, 
 if one looks at it rightly. Quack ! quack ! come with 
 me, and I'll lead you out into the great world, and 
 present you in the duck-yard ; but keep close to me, 
 so that no one may tread on you, and take care of 
 the cats ! " 
 
 And so they came into the duck-yard. There was 
 a terrible riot going on in there, for two families 
 were quarrelling about an eel's head, and the cat got 
 it after all. 
 
 ** See, that's how it goes in the world ! " said the 
 
284 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 Mother-Duck; and she whetted her beak, for she 
 too wanted the eel's head. " Only use your legs," 
 she said. " See that you can bustle about, and bow 
 your heads before the old Duck yonder. She's the 
 grandest of all here ; she's of Spanish blood — that's 
 why she's so fat ; and d'ye see ? she has a red rag 
 round her leg ; that's something particularly fine, and 
 the greatest distinction a duck can enjoy ; it signifies 
 that one does not want to lose her, and that she's 
 to be known by the animals and by men too. Shake 
 yourselves — don't turn in your toes ; a well brought- 
 up duck turns its toes quite out, just like father and 
 mother — so! Now bend your necks and say 
 ' Quack ! ' " 
 
 And they did so : but the other ducks round about 
 looked at them, and said quite boldly : 
 
 '' Look there ! now we're to have these hanging 
 on, as if there were not enough of us already ! And 
 — fie ! — how that duckling yonder looks ; we won't 
 stand that ! " And one duck flew up at it, and bit it 
 in the neck. 
 
 " Let it alone," said the mother ; '' it does no harm 
 to any one." 
 
 " Yes, but it's too large and peculiar," said the 
 Duck who had bitten it ; " and therefore it must be 
 put down." 
 
 " Those are pretty children that the mother has 
 there," said the old Duck with the rag round her 
 leg. " They're all pretty but that one ; that was 
 rather unlucky. I wish she could bear it over again." 
 
 " That cannot be done, my lady," replied the 
 Mother-Duck. '' It is not pretty, but it has a really 
 good disposition, and swims as well as any other; 
 
The Ugly Duckling 285 
 
 yes, I may even say it, swims better. I think it will 
 grow up pretty, and become smaller in time ; it has 
 lain too long in the egg, and therefore is not properly 
 shaped." And then she pinched it in the neck, and 
 smoothed its feathers. '' Moreover, it is a drake," 
 she said, '' and therefore it is not of so much conse- 
 quence. I think he will be very strong. He makes 
 his way already." 
 
 *' The other ducklings are graceful enough," said 
 the old Duck. *' Make yourself at home ; and if you 
 find an eel's head, you may bring it me." 
 
 And now they were at home. But the poor Duck- 
 ling which had crept last out of the egg, and looked 
 so ugly, was bitten and pushed and jeered, as much 
 by the ducks as by the chickens. 
 
 " It is too big ! " they all said. And the turkey- 
 cock, who had been born with spurs, and therefore 
 thought himself an emperor, blew himself up like a 
 ship in full sail, and bore straight down upon it ; then 
 he gobbled and grew quite red in the face. The poor 
 Duckling did not know where it should stand or 
 walk; it was quite melancholy because it looked 
 ugly, and was the butt of the whole duck-yard. 
 
 So it went on the first day ; and afterwards it be- 
 came worse and worse. The poor Duckling was 
 hunted about by every one ; even its brothers and 
 sisters were quite angry with it, and said, " If the 
 cat would only catch you, you ugly creature ! " And 
 the mother said, '' If you were only far away ! " 
 And the ducks bit it, and the chickens beat it, and the 
 girl who had to feed the poultry kicked at it with her 
 foot. 
 
2 86 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 Then it ran and flew over the fence, and the Httle 
 birds in the bushes flew up in fear. 
 
 " That is because I am so ugly ! " thought the 
 DuckHng; and it shut its eyes, but flew on farther, 
 and so it came out into the great moor, where the 
 wild ducks lived. Here it lay the whole night long ; 
 and it was weary and downcast. 
 
 Towards morning the wild ducks flew up, and 
 looked at their new companion. 
 
 " What sort of a one are you ? " they asked ; and 
 the Duckling turned in every direction, and bowed 
 as well as it could. " You are remarkably ugly ! " 
 said the Wild Ducks. " But that is nothing to us, 
 so long as you do not marry into our family." 
 
 Poor thing! it certainly did not think of marry- 
 ing, and only hoped to obtain leave to lie among the 
 reeds and drink some of the swamp water. 
 
 Thus it lay two whole days; then came thither 
 two wild geese, or, properly speaking, two wild 
 ganders. It was not long since each had crept out 
 of an Q^g, and that's why they were so saucy. 
 
 " Listen, comrade,'* said one of them. *' You're 
 so ugly that I like you. Will you go with us, and 
 become a bird of passage? Near here, in another 
 moor, there are a few sweet lovely wild geese, all 
 unmarried, and all able to say *Rap!' You've a 
 chance of making your fortune, ugly as you are." 
 
 " Piff ! paff ! " resounded through the air ; and the 
 two ganders fell down dead in the swamp, and the 
 water became blood red. " Piff ! paff ! " it sounded 
 again, and the whole flock of wild geese rose up 
 from the reeds. And then there was another report. 
 A great hunt was going on. The sportsmen were 
 
The Ugly Duckling 287 
 
 lying in wait all round the moor, and some were 
 even sitting up in the branches of the trees, which 
 spread far over the reeds. The blue smoke rose up 
 like clouds among the dark trees, and was wafted far 
 away across the water ; and the hunting dogs came — 
 splash, splash ! — into the swamp, and the rushes and 
 the reeds bent down on every side. That was a fright 
 for the poor Duckling! It turned its head, and put 
 it under its wing; but at that moment a frightful 
 great dog stood close by the Duckling. His tongue 
 hung far out of his mouth, and his eyes gleamed hor- 
 rible and ugly ; he thrust out his nose close against 
 the Duckling, showed his sharp teeth, and — splash, 
 splash ! — on he went, without seizing it. 
 
 " Oh, Heaven be thanked ! " sighed the Duckling. 
 ** I am so ugly that even the dog does not like to bite 
 me!" 
 
 And so it lay quite quiet, while the shots rattled 
 through the reeds and gun after gun was fired. At 
 last, late in the day, all was still ; but the poor Duck- 
 ling did not dare to rise up ; it waited several hours 
 before it looked round, and then hastened away out 
 of the moor as fast as it could. It ran on over field 
 and meadow; there was such a storm raging that 
 it was difficult to get from one place to another. 
 
 Towards evening the Duck came to a little misera- 
 ble peasant's hut. This hut was so dilapidated that 
 it did not itself know on which side it should fall; 
 and that's why it remained standing. The storm 
 whistled round the Duckling in such a way that the 
 poor creature was obliged to sit down, to stand 
 against it; and the wind blew worse and worse. 
 Then the Duckling noticed that one of the hinges 
 
288 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Knozv 
 
 of the door had given way, and the door hung so 
 slanting that the DuckHng could slip through the 
 crack into the room ; and that is what it did. 
 
 Here lived a woman, with her Cat and her Hen. 
 And the Cat, whom she called Sonnie, could arch 
 his back and purr, he could even give out sparks; 
 but to make him do it one had to stroke his fur the 
 wrong way. The Hen had quite little, short legs, 
 and therefore she was called Chickabiddy Short- 
 shanks. She laid good eggs, and the woman loved 
 her like her own child. 
 
 In the morning the strange Duckling was at once 
 noticed, and the Cat began to purr and the Hen to 
 cluck. 
 
 '' What's this ? " said the woman, and looked all 
 round ; but she could not see well, and therefore she 
 thought the Duckling was a fat duck that had 
 strayed. " This is a rare prize ! " she said. " Now 
 I shall have duck's eggs. I hope it is not a drake. 
 We must try that." 
 
 And so the Duckling was admitted on trial for 
 three weeks; but no eggs came. And the Cat was 
 master of the House, and the Hen was the lady, and 
 always said, " We and the world ! " for she thought 
 they were half the world, and by far the better half. 
 
 The Duckling thought one might have a different 
 opinion, but the Hen would not allow it. 
 
 " Can you lay eggs ? " she asked. 
 
 " No." 
 
 " Then will you hold your tongue ! " 
 
 And the Cat said, " Can you curve your back, and 
 purr, and give out sparks ? " 
 
 " No." 
 
The Ugly Duckling 289 
 
 " Then you will please have no opinion of your 
 own when sensible folks are speaking." 
 
 And the Duckling sat in a corner and was mel- 
 ancholy; then the fresh air and the sunshine 
 streamed in ; and it was seized with such a strange 
 longing to swim on the water, that it could not help 
 telling the Hen of it. 
 
 ''What are you thinking of?" cried the Hen. 
 " You have nothing to do, that's why you have these 
 fancies. Lay eggs, or purr, and they will pass over." 
 
 '' But it is so charming to swim on the water! " 
 said the Duckling, " so refreshing to let it close 
 above one's head, and to dive down to the bottom." 
 
 " Yes, that must be a mighty pleasure, truly," 
 quoth the Hen, " I fancy you must have gone crazy. 
 Ask the Cat about it — he^s the cleverest animal I 
 know — ask him if he likes to swim on the water, or 
 to dive down — I won't speak about myself. Ask 
 our mistress, the old woman ; no one in the world is 
 cleverer than she. Do you think she has any de- 
 sire to swim, and to let the water close above her 
 head?" 
 
 " You don't understand me," said the Duckling. 
 
 " We don't understand you ? Then pray who is to 
 understand you? You surely don't pretend to be 
 cleverer than the Cat and the woman — I won't say 
 anything of myself. Don't be conceited, child, and 
 thank your Maker for all the kindness you have re- 
 ceived. Did you not get into a warm room, and 
 have you not fallen into company from which you 
 may learn something ? But you are a chatterer, and 
 it is not pleasant to associate with you. You may 
 believe me, I speak for your good. I tell you dis- 
 
290 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 agreeable things, and by that one may always know 
 one's true friends ! Only take care that you learn to 
 lay eggs, or to purr, and give out sparks ! " 
 
 '' I think I will go out into the wide world," said 
 the Duckling. 
 
 " Yes, do go," replied the Hen. 
 
 And so the Duckling went away. It swam on the 
 water, and dived, but it was slighted by every 
 creature because of its ugliness. 
 
 Now came the autumn. The leaves in the forest 
 turned yellow and brown ; the wind caught them so 
 that they danced about, and up in the air it was very 
 cold. The clouds hung low, heavy with hail and 
 snow-flakes, and on the fence stood the raven, cry- 
 ing, " Croak ! croak ! " for mere cold ; yes, it was 
 enough to make one feel cold to think of this. The 
 poor little Duckling certainly had not a good time. 
 One evening — the sun was just setting in his beauty 
 — there came a whole flock of great, handsome birds 
 out of the bushes. They were dazzlingly white, with 
 long, flexible necks — they were swans. They ut- 
 tered a very peculiar cry, spread forth their glorious 
 great wings, and flew away from that cold region 
 to warmer lands, to fair open lakes. They mounted 
 so high, so high ! and the ugly Duckling felt quite 
 strangely as it watched them. It turned round and 
 round in the water like a wheel, stretched out its 
 neck towards them, and uttered such a strange loud 
 cry as frightened itself. Oh! it could not forget 
 those beautiful, happy birds ; and so soon as it could 
 see them no longer, it dived down to the very bottom, 
 and when it came up again it was quite beside itself. 
 It knew not the name of those birds^, and knew not 
 
The Ugly Duckling 291 
 
 whither they were flying; but it loved them more 
 than it had ever loved any one. It was not at all 
 envious of them. How could it think of wishing to 
 possess such loveliness as they had ? It would have 
 been glad if only the ducks would have endured its 
 company — the poor, ugly creature ! 
 
 And the winter grew cold, very cold ! The Duck- 
 ling was forced to swim about in the water, to pre- 
 vent the surface from freezing entirely; but every 
 night the hole in which it swam about became 
 smaller and smaller. It froze so hard that the icy 
 covering crackled again ; and the Duckling was 
 obliged to use its legs continually to prevent the 
 hole from freezing up. At last it became exhausted, 
 and lay quite still, and thus froze fast into the ice. 
 
 Early in the morning a peasant came by, and when 
 he saw what had happened, he took his wooden 
 shoe, broke the ice-crust to pieces, and carried the 
 Duckling home to his wife. Then it came to itself 
 again. The children wanted to play with it ; but the 
 Duckling thought they wanted to hurt it, and in its 
 terror fluttered up into the milk-pan, so that the 
 milk spurted down into the room. The woman 
 clasped her hands, at which the Duckling flew down 
 into the butter-tub, and then into the meal-barrel and 
 out again. How it looked then! The woman 
 screamed, and struck at it with the fire-tongs; the 
 children tumbled over one another in their eflforts to 
 catch the Duckling; and they laughed and they 
 screamed ! — well it was that the door stood open, and 
 the poor creature was able to slip out between the 
 shrubs into the newly-fallen snow — there it lay quite 
 exhausted. 
 
292 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 But it would be too melancholy if I were to tell all 
 the misery and care which the Duckling had to en- 
 dure in the hard winter. It lay out on the moor 
 among the reeds, when the sun began to shine again 
 and the larks to sing. It was a beautiful spring. 
 
 Then all at once the Duckling could flap its wings. 
 They beat the air more strongly than before, and 
 bore it strongly away ; and before it well knew how 
 all this happened, it found itself in a great garden, 
 where the elder-trees smelt sweet, and bent their 
 long green branches down to the canal that wound 
 through the region. Oh, here it was so beautiful, 
 such a gladness of spring ! and from the thicket came 
 three glorious white swans ; they rustled their wings, 
 and swam lightly on the water. The Duckling knew 
 the splendid creatures, and felt oppressed by a pe- 
 culiar sadness. 
 
 " I will fly away to them, to the royal birds, and 
 they will beat me, because I, that am so ugly, dare to 
 come near them. But it is all the same. Better to 
 be killed by them than to be pursued by ducks, and 
 beaten by fowls, and pushed about by the girl who 
 takes care of the poultry yard, and to suffer hunger 
 in winter ! " And it flew out into the water, and 
 swam towards the beautiful swans ; these looked at 
 it, and came sailing down upon it with outspread 
 wings. " Kill me ! " said the poor creature, and beiit 
 its head down upon the water, expecting nothing but 
 death. But what was this that it saw in the clear 
 water ? It beheld its own image ; and, lo ! it was no 
 longer a clumsy dark-gray bird, ugly and hateful 
 to look at, but a — swan ! 
 
The Ugly Duckling 293 
 
 It matters nothing if one is born in a duck-yard 
 if one has only lain in a swan's tgg. 
 
 It felt quite glad at all the need and misfortune 
 it had suffered, now it realised its happiness in all the 
 splendour that surrounded it. And the great swans 
 swam round it, and stroked it with their beaks. 
 
 Into the garden came little children, who threw 
 bread and corn into the water; and the youngest 
 cried, " There is a new one ! " and the other children 
 shouted joyously, ''Yes, a new one has arrived!" 
 And they clapped their hands and danced about, and 
 ran to their father and mother ; and bread and cake 
 were thrown into the water ; and they all said, *' The 
 new one is the most beautiful of all ! so young and 
 handsome ! " and the old swans bowed their heads 
 before him. Then he felt quite ashamed, and hid his 
 head under his wings, for he did not know what to 
 do ; he was so happy, and yet not at all proud. He 
 thought how he had been persecuted and despised; 
 and now he heard them saying that he was the most 
 beautiful of all birds. Even the elder-tree bent its 
 branches straight down into the water before him, 
 and the sun shone warm and mild. Then his wings 
 rustled, he lifted his slender neck, and cried rejoic- 
 ingly from the depths of his heart : 
 
 " I never dreamed of so much happiness when I 
 was the Ugly Duckling! " 
 
CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 THE LIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 What! No Children r 
 
 Once upon a time, so long ago that I have quite 
 forgotten the date, there lived a king and queen who 
 had no children. 
 
 And the king said to himself, " All the queens of 
 my acquaintance have children, some three, some 
 seven, and some as many as twelve; and my queen 
 has not one. I fell ill-used," So he made up his 
 mind to be cross with his wife about it. But she 
 bore it all like a good patient queen as she was. 
 Then the king grew very cross indeed. But the 
 queen pretended to take it all as a joke, and a very 
 good one too. 
 
 " Why don't you have any daughters, at least ? " 
 said he. '' I don't say sons; that might be too much 
 to expect." 
 
 " I am sure, dear king, I am very sorry," said the 
 queen. 
 
 ''So you ought to be," retorted the king; "you 
 are not going to make a virtue of that, surely." 
 
The Light Princess 295 
 
 But he was not an ill-tempered king, and in any 
 matter of less moment would have let the queen 
 have her own way with all his heart. This, however, 
 was an affair of State. 
 
 The queen smiled. 
 
 " You must have patience with a lady, you know, 
 dear king," said she. 
 
 She was, indeed, a very nice queen, and heartily 
 sorry that she could not oblige the king immediately. 
 
 The king tried to have patience, but he succeeded 
 very badly. It was more than he deserved, therefore, 
 when, at last, the queen gave him a daughter — as 
 lovely a little princess as ever cried. 
 
 n 
 
 Won't I, Just? 
 
 The day drew near when the infant must be 
 christened. The king wrote all the invitations with 
 his own hand. Of course somebody was forgotten. 
 
 Now it does not generally matter if somebody is 
 forgotten, only you must mind who. Unfortunately, 
 the king forgot without intending to forget ; and so 
 the chance fell upon the Princess Makemnoit, which 
 was awkward. For the princess was the king's own 
 sister ; and he ought not to have forgotten her. But 
 she had made herself so disagreeable to the old king, 
 their father, that he had forgotten her in making 
 his will; and so it was no wonder that her brother 
 forgot her in writing his invitations. But poor re- 
 lations don't do anything to keep you in mind of 
 
296 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 them. Why don't they? The king could not see 
 into the garret she Hved in, could he ? 
 
 She was a sour, spiteful creature. The wrinkles 
 of contempt crossed the wrinkles of peevishness, and 
 made her face as full of wrinkles as a pat of butter. 
 If ever a king could be justified in forgetting any- 
 body, this king was justified in forgetting his sister, 
 even at a christening. She looked very odd, too. 
 Her forehead was as large as all the rest of her face, 
 and projected over it like a precipice. When she 
 was angry, her little eyes flashed blue. When she 
 hated anybody, they shone yellow and green. What 
 they looked like when she loved anybody, I do not 
 know ; for I never heard of her loving anybody but 
 herself, and I do not think she could ha\^ man- 
 aged that if she had not somehow got used to herself. 
 But what made it highly imprudent in the king to 
 forget her was — that she was awfully clever. In 
 fact, she was a witch ; and when she bewitched any- 
 body, he very soon had enough of it ; for she beat 
 all the wicked fairies in wickedness, and all the 
 clever ones in cleverness. She despised all the modes 
 we read of in history, in which offended fairies and 
 witches have taken their revenges; and therefore, 
 after waiting and waiting in vain for an invitation, 
 she made up her mind at last to go without one, and 
 make the whole family miserable, like a princess as 
 she was. 
 
 So she put on her best gown, went to the palace, 
 was kindly received by the happy monarch, who for- 
 got that he had forgotten her, and took her place in 
 the procession to the royal chapel. When they were 
 all gathered about the font, she contrived to get next 
 
The Light Princess 297 
 
 to it, and throw something into the water; after 
 which she maintained a very respectful demeanour 
 till the water was applied to the child's face. But at 
 that moment she turned round in her place three 
 times, and muttered the following words, loud 
 enough for those beside her to hear : 
 
 " Light of spirit, by my charms, 
 Light of body, every part. 
 Never weary human arms — 
 Only crush thy parents' heart ! " 
 
 They all thought she had lost her wits, and was 
 repeating some foolish nursery rhyme ; but a shud- 
 der went through the whole of them notwithstand- 
 ing. The baby, on the contrary, began to laugh and 
 crow ; while the nurse gave a start and a smothered 
 cry, for, she thought she was struck with paralysis : 
 she could not feel the baby in her arms. But she 
 clasped it tight and said nothing. 
 
 The mischief was done. 
 
 Ill 
 
 She Can't Be Ours! 
 
 Her atrocious aunt had deprived the child of all 
 her gravity. If you ask me how this was effected, I 
 answer, " In the easiest way in the world. She 
 had only to destroy gravitation." For the princess 
 was a philosopher, and knew all the ins and outs of 
 the laws of gravitation as well as the ins and outs 
 of her boot-lace. And being a witch as well, she 
 
298 Fairy Talcs Every Child Should Know 
 
 could abrogate those laws in a moment; or at least 
 so clog their wheels and rust their bearings that 
 they would not work at all. But we have more to do 
 with what followed than with how it was done. 
 
 The first awkwardness that resulted from this un- 
 happy privation was, that the moment the nurse be- 
 gan to float the baby up and down, she flew from 
 her arms towards the ceiling. Happily, the resist- 
 ance of the air brought her ascending career to a 
 close within a foot of it. There she remained, hori- 
 zontal as when she left her nurse's arms, kicking and 
 laughing amazingly. The nurse in terror flew to the 
 bell, and begged the footman, who answered it, to 
 bring up the house-steps directly. Trembling in 
 every limb, she climbed upon the steps, and had to 
 stand upon the very top, and reach up, before she 
 could catch the floating tail of the baby's long 
 clothes. 
 
 When the strange fact came to be known, there 
 was a terrible commotion in the palace. The occa- 
 sion of its discovery by the king was naturally a 
 repetition of the nurse's experience. Astonished that 
 he felt no weight when the child was laid in his 
 arms, he began to wave her up and — not down ; for 
 she slowly ascended to the ceiling as before, and 
 there remained floating in perfect comfort and satis- 
 faction, as was testified by her peals of tiny laughter. 
 The king stood staring up in speechless amazement, 
 and trembled so that his beard shook like grass in the 
 wind. At last, turning to the queen, who was just as 
 horror-struck as himself, he said, gasping, staring, 
 and stammering : 
 
 *' She cant be ours, queen ! " , 
 
The Light Princess 299 
 
 Now the queen was much cleverer than the king, 
 and had begun already to suspect that " this effect 
 defective came by cause." 
 
 " I am sure she is ours," answered she. " But we 
 ought to have taken better care of her at the christ- 
 ening. People who were never invited ought not to 
 have been present." 
 
 " Oh, ho ! " said the king, tapping his forehead 
 with his forefinger, *' I have it all. I've found her 
 out. Don't you see it, queen ? Princess Makemnoit 
 has bewitched her." 
 
 " That's just what I say," answered the queen. 
 
 " I beg your pardon, my love ; I did not hear you. 
 John ! bring the steps I get on my throne with." 
 
 For he was a little king with a great throne, like 
 many other kings. 
 
 The throne-steps were brought, and set upon the 
 dining-table, and John got upon the top of them. 
 But he could not reach the little princess, who lay 
 like a baby-laughter-cloud in the air, exploding con- 
 tinuously. 
 
 " Take the tongs, John," said his Majesty ; and 
 getting up on the table, he handed them to him. 
 
 John could reach the baby now, and the little 
 princess was handed down by the tongs. 
 
 IV 
 
 Where Is She? 
 
 One fine summer day, a month after these her 
 first adventures, during which time she had been 
 
300 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 very carefully watched, the princess was lying on 
 the bed in the queen's own chamber, fast asleep. 
 One of the windows was open, for it was noon, and 
 the day was so sultry that the little girl was wrapped 
 in nothing less ethereal than slumber itself. The 
 queen came into the room, and not observing that 
 the baby was on the bed, opened another window. 
 A frolicsome fairy wind, which had been watching 
 for a chance of mischief, rushed in at the one win- 
 dow, and taking its way over the bed where the 
 child was lying, caught her up, and rolling and float- 
 ing her along like a piece of flue, or a dandelion seed, 
 carried her with it through the opposite window, and 
 away. The queen went down-stairs, quite ignorant 
 of the loss she had herself occasioned. 
 
 When the nurse returned, she supposed that her 
 Majesty had carried her oflf, and, dreading a scold- 
 ing, delayed making inquiry about her. But hearing 
 nothing, she grew uneasy, and went at length to the 
 queen's boudoir, where she found her Majesty. 
 
 ''Please, your Majesty, shall I take the baby?" 
 said she. 
 
 " Where is she? " asked the queen. 
 
 " Please forgive me. I know it was wrong." 
 
 " What do you mean ? " said the queen, looking 
 grave. 
 
 '* Oh ! don't frighten me, your Majesty ! " ex- 
 claimed the nurse, clasping her hands. 
 
 The queen saw that something was amiss, and fell 
 down in a faint. The nurse rushed about the palace, 
 screaming, ** My baby ! my baby ! " 
 
 Every one ran to the queen's room. But the queen 
 could give no orders. They soon found out, how- 
 
The Light Princess 301 
 
 ever, that the princess was missing-, and in a moment 
 the palace was like a beehive in a garden ; and in one 
 minute more the queen was brought to herself by a 
 great shout and a clapping of hands. They had 
 found the princess fast asleep under a rose-bush, to 
 which the elfish little wind-pufif had carried her, fin- 
 ishing its michief by shaking a shower of red rose- 
 leaves all over the little white sleeper. Startled by 
 the noise the servants made, she woke, and, furious 
 with glee, scattered the rose-leaves in all directions, 
 like a shower of spray in the sunset. 
 
 She was watched more carefully after this, no 
 doubt; yet it would be endless to relate all the odd 
 incidents resulting from this peculiarity of the young 
 princess. But there never was a baby in a house, 
 not to say a palace, that kept the household in such 
 constant good humour, at least below-stairs. If it 
 was not easy for her nurses to hold her, at least she 
 made neither their arms nor their hearts ache. And 
 she was so nice to play at ball with ! There was 
 positively no danger of letting her fall. They might 
 throw her down, or knock her down, or push her 
 down, but they couldn't let her down. It is true, 
 they might let her fly into the fire or the coal-hole, 
 or through the window ; but none of these accidents 
 had happened as yet. If you heard peals of laughter 
 resounding from some unknown region, you might 
 be sure enough of the cause. Going down into the 
 kitchen, or the room, you would find Jane and 
 Thomas, and Robert and Susan, all and sum, play- 
 ing at ball with the little princess. She was the 
 ball herself, and did not enjoy it the less for that. 
 Away she went, flying from one to another, screech- 
 
302 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 ing with laughter. And the servants loved the ball 
 itself better even than the game. But they had to 
 take some care how they threw her, for if she re- 
 ceived an upward direction, she would never come 
 down again without being fetched. 
 
 What Is to Be Done? 
 
 But above-stairs it was different. One day, for 
 instance, after breakfast, the king went into his 
 counting-house, and counted out his money. 
 
 The operation gave him no pleasure. 
 
 *' To think," said he to himself, '' that every one of 
 these gold sovereigns weighs a quarter of an ounce, 
 and my real, live, flesh-and-blood princess weighs 
 nothing at all ! " 
 
 And he hated his gold sovereigns, as they lay with 
 a broad smile of self-satisfaction all over their yel- 
 low faces. 
 
 The queen was in the parlour, eating bread and 
 honey. But at the second mouthful she burst out 
 crying, and could not swallow it. The king heard 
 her sobbing. Glad of anybody, but especially of his 
 queen, to quarrel with, he clashed his gold sovereigns 
 into his money-box, clapped his crown on his head, 
 and rushed into the parlour. 
 
 " What is all this about ? " exclaimed he. '' What 
 are you crying for, queen ? " 
 
 '* I can't eat it," said the queen, looking ruefully at 
 the honey-pot. 
 
The Light Princess 303 
 
 " No wonder ! " retorted the king. " YouVe just 
 eaten your breakfast — two turkey eggs, and three 
 anchovies." 
 
 '' Oh, that's not it ! " sobbed her Majesty. '' It's 
 my child, my child ! " 
 
 " Well, what's the matter with your child ? She's 
 neither up the chimney nor down the draw-well. 
 Just hear her laughing." 
 
 Yet the king could not help a sigh, which he tried 
 to turn into a cough, saying: 
 
 " It is a good thing to be light-hearted, I am sure, 
 whether she be ours or not." 
 
 " It is a bad thing to be light-headed," answered 
 the queen, looking with prophetic soul far into the 
 future. 
 
 " 'T is a good thing to be light-handed," said the 
 king. 
 
 " 'T is a bad thing to be light-fingered," answered 
 the queen. 
 
 " 'T is a good thing to be light-footed," said the 
 king. 
 
 " 'T is a bad thing — " began the queen ; but the 
 king interrupted her. 
 
 " In fact," said he, with the tone of one who con- 
 cludes an argument in which he has had only imag- 
 inary opponents, and in which, therefore, he has 
 come off triumphant — " in fact, it is a good thing 
 altogether to be light-bodied." 
 
 " But it is a bad thing altogether to be light- 
 minded," retorted the queen, who was beginning to 
 lose her temper. 
 
 This last answer quite discomfited his Majesty, 
 who turned on his heel, and betook himself to his 
 
304 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 counting-house again. But he was not half-way 
 towards it, when the voice of his queen overtook 
 him. 
 
 ** And it's a bad thing to be Hght-haired," 
 screamed she, determined to have more last words, 
 now that her spirit was roused. 
 
 The queen's hair was black as night; and the 
 king's had been, and his daughter's was, golden as 
 morning. But it was not this reflection on his hair 
 that arrested him ; it was the double use of the word 
 light. For the king hated all witticisms, and pun- 
 ning especially. And besides, he could not tell 
 whether the queen meant Wghi-haired or light- 
 heired; for why might she not aspirate her vowels 
 when she was exasperated herself ? 
 
 He turned upon his other heel, and rejoined her. 
 She looked angry still, because she knew that she 
 was guilty, or, what was much the same, knew that 
 he thought so. 
 
 '' My dear queen," said he, " duplicity of any sort 
 is exceedingly objectionable between married people 
 of any rank, not to say kings and queens ; and the 
 most objectionable form duplicity can assume is that 
 of punning." 
 
 ** There! " said the queen, '' I never made a jest, 
 but I broke it in the making. I am the most un- 
 fortunate woman in the world ! " 
 
 She looked so rueful that the king took her in his 
 arms ; and they sat down to consult. 
 
 " Can you bear this ? " said the king. 
 
 " No, I can't," said the queen. 
 
 " Well, what's to be done ? " said the king. 
 
The Light Princess 305 
 
 " Vm sure I don't know," said the queen. " But 
 might you not try an apolog>^ ? " 
 
 " To my old sister, I suppose you mean? " said the 
 king. 
 
 " Yes," said the queen. 
 
 " Well, I don't mind," said the king. 
 
 So he went the next morning to the house of the 
 princess, and, making a very humble apology, 
 begged her to undo the spell. But the princess de- 
 clared, with a grave face, that she knew nothing at 
 all about it. Her eyes, however, shone pink, which 
 was a sign that she was happy. She advised the 
 king and queen to have patience, and to mend their 
 ways. The king returned disconsolate. The queen 
 tried to comfort him. 
 
 '' We will wait till she is older. She may then 
 be able to suggest something herself. She will know 
 at least how she feels, and explain things to us." 
 
 " But what if she should marry ? " exclaimed the 
 king, in sudden consternation at the idea. 
 
 " Well, what of that? " rejoined the queen. 
 
 '' Just think ! If she were to have children ! In 
 the course of a hundred years the air might be as 
 full of floating children as of gossamers in autumn." 
 
 " That is no business of ours," replied the queen. 
 " Besides, by that time they will have learned to take 
 care of themselves." 
 
 A sigh was the king's only answer. 
 
 He would have consulted the court physicians; 
 but he was afraid they would try experiments upon 
 her. 
 
3o6 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 VI 
 
 She Laitghs Too Much 
 
 Meantime, notwithstanding awkward occurrences, 
 and griefs that she brought upon her parents, the 
 little princess laughed and grew — not fat, but plump 
 and tall. She reached the age of seventeen, without 
 having fallen into any worse scrape than a chimney ; 
 by rescuing her from which, a little bird-nesting 
 urchin got fame and a black face. Nor, thoughtless 
 as she was, had she committed anything worse than 
 laughter at everybody and everything that came in 
 her way. When she was told, for the sake of experi- 
 ment, that General Clanrunfort was cut to pieces with 
 all his troops, she laughed ; when she heard that the 
 enemy was on his way to besiege her father's capital, 
 she laughed hugely ; but when she was told that the 
 city would certainly be abandoned to the mercy of 
 the enemy's soldiery — why, then she laughed im- 
 moderately. She never could be brought to see the 
 serious side of anything. When her mother cried, 
 she said : 
 
 '' What queer faces mamma makes ! And she 
 squeezes water out of her cheeks ! Funny mamma ! '^ 
 
 And when her papa stormed at her, she laughed, 
 and danced round and round him, clapping her 
 hands, and crying: 
 
 *' Do it again, papa. Do it again ! It's such fun 1 
 Dear, funny papa ! " 
 
 And if he tried to catch her, she glided from him 
 in an instant, not in the least afraid of him, but 
 
 d 
 
The Light Princess 307 
 
 thinking it part of the game not to be caught. With 
 one push of her foot, she would be floating in the air 
 above his head ; or she would go dancing backwards 
 and forwards and sideways, like a great butterfly. 
 It happened several times, when her father and 
 mother were holding a consultation about her in pri- 
 vate, that they were interrupted by vainly repressed 
 outbursts of laughter over their heads; and look- 
 ing up with indignation, saw her floating at full 
 length in the air above them, whence she regarded 
 them with the most comical appreciation of the posi- 
 tion. 
 
 One day an awkward accident happened. The 
 princess had come out upon the lawn with one of 
 her attendants, who held her by the hand. Spying 
 her father at the other side of the lawn, she snatched 
 her hand from the maid's, and sped across to him. 
 Now when she wanted to run alone, her custom was 
 to catch up a stone in each hand, so that she might 
 come down again after a bound. Whatever she 
 wore as part of her attire had no eflfect in this way. 
 Even gold, when it thus became as it were a part 
 of herself, lost all its weight for the time. But 
 whatever she only held in her hands retained its 
 downward tendency. On this occasion she could 
 see nothing to catch up but a huge toad, that was 
 walking across the lawn as if he had a hundred 
 years to do it in. Not knowing what disgust meant, 
 for this was one of her peculiarities, she snatched 
 up the toad and bounded away. She had almost 
 reached her father, and he was holding out his arms 
 to receive her, and take from her lips the kiss which 
 hovered on them like a butterfly on a rosebud, when 
 
3o8 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 a puff of wind blew her aside into the arms of a 
 young page, who had just been receiving a message 
 from his Majesty. Now it was no great pecuHarity 
 in the princess that, once she was set agoing, it al- 
 ways cost her time and trouble to check herself. On 
 this occasion there was no time. She must kiss — 
 and she kissed the page. She did not mind it much ; 
 for she had no shyness in her composition ; and she 
 knew, besides, that she could not help it. So she 
 only laughed, like a musical box. The poor page 
 fared the worst. For the princess, trying to correct 
 the unfortunate tendency of the kiss, put out her 
 hands to keep off the page ; so that, along with the 
 kiss, he received, on the other cheek, a slap with the 
 huge black toad, which she poked right into his eye. 
 He tried to laugh, too, but the attempt resulted in 
 such an odd contortion of countenance, as showed 
 that there was no danger of his pluming himself 
 on the kiss. As for the king, his dignity was greatly 
 hurt, and he did not speak to the page for a whole 
 month. 
 
 I may here remark that it was very amusing to see 
 her run, if her mode of progression could properly 
 be called running. For first she would make a 
 bound ; then, having alighted, she would run a few 
 steps, and make another bound. Sometimes she 
 would fancy she had reached the ground before she 
 actually had, and her feet would go backwards and 
 forwards, running upon nothing at all, like those of 
 a chicken on its back. Then she would laugh like 
 the very spirit of fun ; only in her laugh there was 
 something missing. What it was, I find myself un- 
 able to describe. I think it was a certain tone, de- 
 
The Light Princess 309 
 
 pending upon the possibility of sorrow — morhide::za, 
 perhaps. She never smiled. 
 
 VII 
 
 Try Metaphysics 
 
 After a long avoidance of the painful subject, 
 the king and queen resolved to hold a council of 
 three upon it ; and so they sent for the princess. In 
 she came, sliding and flitting and gliding from one 
 piece of furniture to another, and put herself at 
 last in an arm-chair, in a sitting posture. Whether 
 she could be said to sit, seeing she received no sup- 
 port from the seat of the chair, I do not pretend to 
 determine. 
 
 '' My dear child," said the king, " you must be 
 aware by this time that you are not exactly like other 
 people." 
 
 " Oh, you dear funny papa ! I have got a nose, 
 and two eyes, and all the rest. So have you. So 
 has mamma." 
 
 '' Now be serious, my dear, for once," said the 
 queen. 
 
 *' No, thank you, mamma ; I had rather not." 
 
 '' Would you not like to be able to walk like 
 other people ? " said the king. 
 
 " No indeed, I should think not. You only crawl. 
 You are such slow coaches ! " 
 
 '' How do you feel, my child ? " he resumed, after 
 a pause of discomfiture. 
 
 " Quite well, thank you." 
 
3IO Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 " I mean, what do you feel like ? " 
 
 " Like nothing at all, that I know of." 
 
 *' You must feel like something." 
 
 " I feel like a princess with such a funny papa, 
 and such a dear pet of a queen-mamma ! " 
 
 " Now really! " began the queen; but the princess 
 interrupted her. 
 
 " Oh, yes," she added, '' I remember. I have a 
 curious feeling sometimes, as if I were the only 
 person that had any sense in the whole world." 
 
 She had been trying to behave herself with dig- 
 nity ; but now she burst into a violent fit of laughter, 
 threw herself backwards over the chair, and went 
 rolling about the floor in an ecstasy of enjoyment. 
 The king picked her up easier than one does a down 
 quilt, and replaced her in her former relation to the 
 chair. The exact preposition expressing this rela- 
 tion I do not happen to know. 
 
 " Is there nothing you wish for ? " resumed the 
 king, who had learned by this time that it was use- 
 less to be angry with her. 
 
 " Oh, you dear papa ! — yes," answered she. 
 
 " What is it, my darling? " 
 
 " I have been longing for it — oh, such a time ! — 
 ever since last night." 
 
 " Tell me what it is." 
 
 '' Will you promise to let me have it ? " 
 
 The king was on the point of saying yes, but the 
 wiser queen checked him with a single motion of her 
 head. 
 
 " Tell me what it is first," said he. 
 
 " No, no. Promise first." 
 
 '' I dare not. What is it ? " 
 
The Light Princess 311 
 
 " Mind, I hold you to your promise. It is — to be 
 tied to the end of a string — a very long string in- 
 deed, and be flown like a kite. Oh, such fun ! I 
 would rain rose-water, and hail sugar-plums, and 
 snow whipped-cream, and — and — and — " 
 
 A fit of laughing checked her; and she would 
 have been off again over the floor, had not the king 
 started up and caught her just in time. Seeing that 
 nothing but talk could be got out of her, he rang 
 the bell, and sent her away with two of her ladies-in- 
 waiting. 
 
 '' Now, queen," he said, turning to her Majesty, 
 " what is to be done ? " 
 
 " There is but one thing left," answered she. 
 *' Let us consult the college of Metaphysicians." 
 
 '* Bravo! " cried the king; *' we will." 
 
 Now at the head of this college were two very 
 wise Chinese philosophers — by name Hum-Drum, 
 and Kopy-Keck. For them the king sent; and 
 straightway they came. In a long speech he com- 
 municated to them what they knew very well al-* 
 ready — as who did not? — namely, the peculiar con- 
 dition of his daughter in relation to the globe on 
 which she dwelt ; and requested them to consult to- 
 gether as to what might be the cause and probable 
 cure of her infirmity. The king laid stress upon 
 the word, but failed to discover his own pun. The 
 queen laughed; but Hum-Drum and Kopy-Keck 
 heard with humility and retired in silence. 
 
 Their consultation consisted chiefly in propound- 
 ing and supporting, for the thousandth time, each 
 his favourite theories. For the condition of the 
 princess afforded delightful scope for the discussion 
 
312 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Knozv 
 
 of every question arising from the division of 
 thought — in fact, of all the Metaphysics of the Chi- 
 nese Empire. But it is only justice to say that they 
 did not altogether neglect the discussion of the 
 practical question, what zuas to be done. 
 
 Hum-Drum was a Materialist, and Kopy-Keck 
 was a Spiritualist. The former was slow and sen- 
 tentious ; the latter was quick and flighty ; the latter 
 had generally the first word ; the former the last. 
 
 " I reassert my former assertion," began Kopy- 
 Keck, with a plunge. '' There is not a fault in the 
 princess, body or soul ; only they are wrong put to- 
 gether. Listen to me now, Hum-Drum, and I will 
 tell you in brief what I think. Don't speak. Don't 
 answer me. I won't hear you till I have done. At 
 that decisive moment, when souls seek their ap- 
 pointed habitations, two eager souls met, struck, re- 
 bounded, lost their way, and arrived each at the 
 wrong place. The soul of the princess was one of 
 those, and she went far astray. She does not be- 
 long by rights to this world at all, but to some other 
 planet, probably Mercury. Her proclivity to her 
 true sphere destroys all the natural influence which 
 this orb would otherwise possess over her corporeal 
 frame. She cares for nothing here. There is no 
 relation between her and this world. 
 
 " She must therefore be taught, by the sternest 
 compulsion, to take an interest in the earth as the 
 earth. She must study every department of its his- 
 tory — its animal history, its vegetable history, its 
 mineral history, its social history, its moral history, 
 its political history, its scientific history, its literary 
 history, its musical history, its artistical history, 
 
The Light Princess 313 
 
 above all, its metaphysical history. She must begin 
 with the Chinese dynasty and end with Japan. But 
 first of all she must study geology, and especially 
 the history of the extinct races of animals — their 
 natures, their habits, their loves, their hates, their 
 revenges. She must " 
 
 ** Hold, h-o-o-old ! " roared Hum-Drum. " It is 
 certainly my turn now. My rooted and insubverti- 
 ble conviction is, that the causes of the anomalies 
 evident in the princess's condition are strictly and 
 solely physical. But that is only tantamount to ac- 
 knowledging that they exist. Hear my opinion. 
 From some cause or other, of no importance to our 
 inquiry, the motion of her heart has been reversed. 
 That remarkable combination of the suction and the 
 force-pump works the wrong way — I mean in the 
 case of the unfortunate princess, it draws in where 
 it should force out, and forces out where it should 
 draw in. The offices of the auricles and the ventri- 
 cles are subverted. The blood is sent forth by the 
 veins, and returns by the arteries. Consequently it 
 is running the wrong way through all her corporeal 
 organism — lungs and all. Is it then at all mysteri- 
 ous, seeing that such is the case, that on the other 
 particular of gravitation as well, she should differ 
 from normal humanity? My proposal for the cure 
 is this : 
 
 '' Phlebotomise until she is reduced to the last 
 point of safety. Let it be effected, if necessary, in 
 a warm bath. When she is reduced to a state of 
 perfect asphyxy, apply a ligature to the left ankle, 
 drawing it as tight as the bone will bear. Apply, 
 at the same moment, another of equal tension around 
 
314 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 the right wrist. By means of plates constructed for 
 the purpose, place the other foot and hand under 
 the receivers of two air-pumps. Exhaust the re- 
 ceivers. Exhibit a pint of French brandy, and await 
 the result." 
 
 " Which would presently arrive in the form of 
 grim Death," said Kopy-Keck. 
 
 " If it should, she would yet die in doing our 
 duty," retorted Hum-Dfum. 
 
 But their Majesties had too much tenderness for 
 their volatile offspring to subject her to either of the 
 schemes of the equally unscrupulous philosophers. 
 Indeed, the most complete knowledge of the laws 
 of nature would have been unserviceable in her case ; 
 for it was impossible to classify her. She was a 
 fifth imponderable body, sharing all the other prop- 
 erties of the ponderable. 
 
 VIII 
 Try a Drop of Water 
 
 Perhaps the best thing for the princess would 
 have been to fall in love. But how a princess who 
 had no gravity could fall into anything is a diffi- 
 culty — perhaps the difficulty. As for her own feel- 
 ings on the subject, she did not even know that there 
 was such a beehive of honey and stings to be fallen 
 into. But now I come to mention another curious 
 fact about her. 
 
 The palace was built on the shores of the loveliest 
 lake in the world; and the princess loved this lake 
 
 J 
 
The Light Princess 315 
 
 more than father or mother. The root of this prefer- 
 ence no doubt, although the princess did not recog- 
 nise it as such, was, that the moment she got into it, 
 she recovered the natural right of which she had been 
 so wickedly deprived — namely, gravity. Whether 
 this was owing to the fact that water had been em- 
 ployed as the means of conveying the injury, I do 
 not know. But it is certain that she could swim and 
 dive like the duck that her old nurse said she was. 
 The manner in which this alleviation of her misfor- 
 tune was discovered was as follows : 
 
 One summer evening, during the carnival of the 
 country, she had been taken upon the lake by the 
 king and queen, in the royal barge. They were ac- 
 companied by many of the courtiers in a fleet of lit- 
 tle boats. In the middle of the lake she wanted to 
 get into the lord chancellor's barge, for his daughter, 
 who was a great favourite with her, was in it with 
 her father. Now though the old king rarely con- 
 descended to make light of his misfortune, yet, hap- 
 pening on this occasion to be in a particularly good 
 humour, as the barges approached each other, he 
 caught up the princess to throw her into the chan- 
 cellor's barge. He lost his balance, however, and, 
 dropping into the bottom of the barge, lost his hold 
 of his daughter; not, however, before imparting to 
 her the downward tendency of his own person, 
 though in a somewhat different direction, for, as the 
 king fell into the boat, she fell into the water. With 
 a burst of delighted laughter she disappeared into 
 the lake. A cry of horror ascended from the boats. 
 They had never seen the princess go down before. 
 Half the men were under water in a moment; but 
 
3i6 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 they had all, one after another, come up to the sur- 
 face again for breath, when — tinkle, tinkle, babble, 
 and gnsh ! came the princess's laugh over the water 
 from far away. There she was, swimming like a 
 swan. Nor would she come out for king or queen, 
 chancellor or daughter. She was perfectly obstinate. 
 But at the same time she seemed more sedate than 
 usual. Perhaps that was because a great pleasure 
 spoils laughing. At all events, after this, the pas- 
 sion of her life was to get into the water, and she 
 was always the better behaved and the more beauti- 
 ful the more she had of it. Summer and winter it 
 was quite the same ; only she could not stay so long 
 in the water when they had to break the ice to let 
 her in. Any day, from morning to evening in sum- 
 mer, she might be descried — a streak of white in the 
 blue water — lying as still as the shadow of a cloud, 
 or shooting along like a dolphin ; disappearing, and 
 coming up again far off, just where one did not ex- 
 pect her. She would have been in the lake of a 
 night too, if she could have had her way; for the 
 balcony of her window overhung a deep pool in it ; 
 and through a shallow reedy passage she could have 
 swum out into the wide wet water, and no one would 
 have been any the wiser. Indeed, when she hap- 
 pened to wake in the moonlight she could hardly 
 resist the temptation. But there was the sad diffi- 
 culty of getting into it. She had as great a dread 
 of the air as some children have of the water. For 
 the slightest gust of wind would blow her away; 
 and a gust might arise in the stillest moment. And 
 if she gave herself a push towards the water and 
 just failed of reaching it, her situation would be 
 
The Light Princess 317 
 
 dreadfully awkward, irrespective of the wind ; for 
 at best there she would have to remain, suspended in 
 her night-gown, till she was seen and angled for by 
 somebody from the window. 
 
 '' Oh ! if I had my gravity," thought she, contem- 
 plating the water, " I would flash ofif this balcony 
 like a long white sea-bird, headlong into the darling 
 wetness. Heigh-ho ! " 
 
 This was the only consideration that made her 
 wish to be like other people. 
 
 Another reason for her being fond of the water 
 was that in it alone she enjoyed any freedom. For 
 she could not walk without a cortege, consisting in 
 part of a troop of light-horse, for fear of the liberties 
 which the wind might take with her. And the king 
 grew more apprehensive with increasing years, till 
 at last he would not allow her to walk abroad at 
 all without some twenty silken cords fastened to as 
 many parts of her dress, and held by twenty noble- 
 men. Of course horseback was out of the question. 
 But she bade good-bye to all this ceremony when 
 she got into the water. 
 
 And so remarkable were its effects upon her, es- 
 pecially in restoring her for the time to the ordinary 
 human gravity, that Hum-Drum and Kopy-Keck 
 agreed in recommending the king to bury her alive 
 for three years; in the hope that, as the water did 
 her so much good, the earth would do her yet more. 
 But the king had some vulgar prejudices against 
 the experiment, and would not give his consent. 
 Foiled in this, they yet agreed in another recommen- 
 dation ; which, seeing that one imported his opin- 
 ions from China and the other from Thibet, was 
 
3i8 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 very remarkable indeed. They argued that, if water 
 of external origin and application could be so effica- 
 cious, water from a deeper source might work a per- 
 fect cure ; in short, that if the poor afflicted princess 
 could by any means be made to cry, she might re- 
 cover her lost gravity. 
 
 But how was this to be brought about? Therein 
 lay all the difficulty — to meet which the philosophers 
 were not wise enough. To make the princess cry 
 was as impossible as to make her weigh. They sent 
 for a professional beggar, commanded him to pre- 
 pare his most touching oracle of woe, helped him 
 out of the court charade box to whatever he wanted 
 for dressing up, and promised great rewards in the 
 event of his success. But it was all in vain. She 
 listened to the mendicant artist's story, and gazed at 
 his marvellous make up, till she could contain herself 
 no longer, and went into the most undignified con- 
 tortions for relief, shrieking, positively screeching 
 with laughter. 
 
 When she had a little recovered herself, she or- 
 dered her attendants to drive him away, and not 
 give him a single copper; whereupon his look of 
 mortified discomfiture wrought her punishment and 
 his revenge, for it sent her into violent hysterics, 
 from which she was with difficulty recovered. 
 
 But so anxious was the king that the suggestion 
 should have a fair trial, that he put himself in a 
 rage one day, and, rushing up to her room, gave her 
 an awful whipping. Yet not a tear would flow. She 
 looked grave, and her laughing sounded uncom- 
 monly like screaming — that was all. The good old 
 tyrant, though he put on his best gold spectacles to 
 
The Light Princess 319 
 
 look, could not discover the smallest cloud in the 
 serene blue of her eyes. 
 
 IX 
 Put Me in Again! 
 
 It must have been about this time that the son of 
 a king, who lived a thousand miles from Lagobel, 
 set out to look for the daughter of a queen. He 
 travelled far and wide, but as sure as he found a 
 princess, he found some fault with her. Of course 
 he could not marry a mere woman, however beauti- 
 ful; and there was no princess to be found worthy 
 of him. Whether the prince was so near perfec- 
 tion that he had a right to demand perfection itself, 
 I cannot pretend to say. All I know is, that he was 
 a fine, handsome, brave, generous, well-bred, and 
 well-behaved youth, as all princes are. 
 
 In his wanderings he had come across some re- 
 ports about our princess ; but as everybody said she 
 was bewitched, he never dreamed that she could be- 
 witch him. For what indeed could a prince do with 
 a princess that had lost her gravity? Who could 
 tell what she might not lose next? She might lose 
 her visibility, or her tangibility ; or, in short, the 
 power of making impressions upon the radical senso- 
 rium ; so that he should never be able to tell whether 
 she was dead or alive. Of course he made no fur- 
 ther inquiries about her. 
 
 One day he lost sight of his retinue in a great for- 
 est. These forests are very useful in delivering 
 
320 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Knozv 
 
 princes from their courtiers, like a sieve that keeps 
 back the bran. Then the princes get away to follow 
 their fortunes. In this way they have the advantage 
 of the princesses, who are forced to marry before 
 they have had a bit of fun. I wish our princesses 
 got lost in a forest sometimes. 
 
 One lovely evening, after wandering about for 
 many days, he found that he was approaching the 
 outskirts of this forest ; for the trees had got so 
 thin that he could see the sunset through them ; and 
 he soon came upon a kind of heath. Next he came 
 upon signs of human neighbourhood; but by this 
 time it was getting late, and there was nobody in the 
 fields to direct him. 
 
 After travelling for another hour, his horse, quite 
 worn out with long labour and lack of food, fell, and 
 was unable to rise again. So he continued his jour- 
 ney on foot. A length he entered another wood — 
 not a wild forest, but a civilised wood, through 
 which a footpath led him to the side of a lake. 
 Along this path the prince pursued his way through 
 the gathering darkness. Suddenly he paused, and 
 listened. Strange sounds came across the water. 
 It was, in fact, the princess laughing. Now there 
 was something odd in her laugh, as I have already 
 hinted ; for the hatching of a real hearty laugh re- 
 quires the incubation of gravity; and perhaps this 
 was how the prince mistook the laughter for scream- 
 ing. Looking over the lake, he saw something 
 white in the water ; and, in an instant, he had torn 
 off his tunic, kicked off his sandals, and plunged in. 
 He soon reached the white object, and found that it 
 was a woman. There was not light enough to show 
 
The Light Princess 321 
 
 that she was a princess, but quite enough to show 
 that she was a lady, for it does not want much Hght 
 to see that. 
 
 Now I cannot tell how it came about — whether 
 she pretended to be drowning, or whether he fright- 
 ened her, or caught her so as to embarrass her — but 
 certainly he brought her to shore in a fashion igno- 
 minious to a swimmer, and more nearly drowned 
 than she had ever expected to be ; for the water had 
 got into her throat as often as she had tried to speak. 
 
 At the place to which he bore her, the bank was 
 only a foot or two above the water ; so he gave her 
 a strong lift out of the water, to lay her on the 
 bank. But, her gravitation ceasing the moment she 
 left the water, away she went up into the air, scold- 
 ing and screaming. 
 
 " You naughty, naughty, naughty, NAUGHTY 
 man ! " she cried. 
 
 No one had ever succeeded in putting her into 
 a passion before. When the prince saw her ascend, 
 he thought he must have been bewitched, and have 
 mistaken a great swan for a lady. But the princess 
 caught hold of the topmost cone upon a lofty fir. 
 This came ofif; but she caught at another; and, in 
 fact, stopped herself by gathering cones, dropping 
 them as the stalks gave way. The prince, mean- 
 time, stood in the water, staring, and forgetting to 
 get out. But the princess disappearing, he scram- 
 bled on shore, and went in the direction of the tree. 
 There he found her climbing down one of the 
 branches towards the stem. But in the darkness of 
 the wood, the prince continued in some bewilder- 
 ment as to what the phenomenon could be; until, 
 
322 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Knozv 
 
 reaching the ground, and seeing him standing there, 
 she caught hold of him, and said : 
 
 " I'll tell papa." 
 
 " Oh no, you won't ! " returned the prince. 
 
 " Yes, I will," she persisted. " What business 
 had you to pull me down out of the water, and 
 throw me to the bottom of the air ? I never did you 
 any harm." 
 
 " Pardon me. I did not mean to hurt you." 
 
 " I don't believe you have any brains ; and that is 
 a worse loss than your wretched gravity. I pity 
 you." 
 
 The prince now saw that he had come upon the 
 bewitched princess, and had already offended her. 
 But before he could think what to say next, she 
 burst out angrily, giving a stamp with her foot that 
 would have sent her aloft again but for the hold she 
 had of his arm : 
 
 " Put me up directly." 
 
 " Put you up where, you beauty ? " asked the 
 prince. 
 
 He had fallen in love with her almost, already; 
 for her anger made her more charming than any one 
 else had ever beheld her ; and, as far as he could see, 
 which certainly was not far, she had not a single 
 fault about her, except, of course, that she had not 
 any gravity. No prince, however, would judge of a 
 princess by weight. The loveliness of her foot he 
 would hardly estimate by the depth of the impres- 
 sion it could make in mud. 
 
 '' Put you up where, you beauty ? " asked the 
 prince. 
 
 " In the water, you stupid ! " answered the prin- 
 '.ess. 
 
The Light Princess 323 
 
 " Come, then," said the prince. 
 
 The condition of her dress, increasing her usual 
 difficulty in walking, compelled her to cling to him ; 
 and he could hardly persuade himself that he was 
 not in a delightful dream, notwithstanding the tor- 
 rent of musical abuse with which she overwhelmed 
 him. The prince being therefore in no hurry, they 
 came upon the lake at quite another part, where the 
 bank was twenty-five feet high at least; and when 
 they had reached the edge, he turned towards the 
 princess, and said : 
 
 " How am I to put you in ? '* 
 
 " That is your business," she answered, quite 
 snappishly. " You took me out — put me in again." 
 
 *' Very well," said the prince ; and, catching her 
 up in his arms, he sprang with her from the rock. 
 The princess had just time to give one delighted 
 shriek of laughter before the water closed over them. 
 When they came to the surface, she found that, for 
 a moment or two, she could not even laugh, for she 
 had gone down with such a rush, that it was with 
 difficulty she recovered her breath. The instant they 
 reached the surface — 
 
 " How do you like falling in ? " said the prince. 
 
 After some effort the princess panted out : 
 
 " Is that what you call falling in? " 
 
 " Yes," answered the prince, " I should think it a 
 very tolerable specimen." 
 
 *' It seemed to me like going up," rejoined she. 
 
 " My feeling was certainly one of elevation too," 
 the prince conceded. 
 
 The princess did not appear to understand him, 
 for she retorted his question : 
 
324 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Knozv 
 
 " How do you like falling in ? " said the princess. 
 
 '' Beyond everything," answered he ; '' for I have 
 fallen in with the only perfect creature I ever saw." 
 
 *' No more of that. I am tired of it," said the 
 princess. 
 
 Perhaps she shared her father's aversion to pun- 
 ning. 
 
 " Don't you like falling in, then? " said the prince. 
 
 " It is the most delightful fun I ever had in my 
 life," answered she. '' I never fell before. I wish 
 I could learn. To think I am the only person in 
 my father's kingdom that can't fall ! " 
 
 Here the poor princess looked almost sad. 
 
 " I shall be most happy to fall in with you any 
 time you like," said the prince, devotedly. 
 
 ** Thank you. I don't know. Perhaps it would 
 not be proper. But I don't care. At all events, as 
 we have fallen in, let us have a swim together." 
 
 *' With all my heart," responded the prince. 
 
 And away they went, swimming, and diving, and 
 floating, until at last they heard cries along the 
 shore, and saw lights glancing in all directions. It 
 was now quite late, and there was no moon. 
 
 '' I must go home," said the princess. " I am very 
 sorry, for this is delightful." 
 
 " So am I," returned the prince. " But I am glad 
 I haven't a home to go to — at least, I don't exactly 
 know where it is." 
 
 " I wish I hadn't one either," rejoined the prin- 
 cess ; '* it is so stupid ! I have a great mind," she 
 continued, '' to play them all a trick. Why couldn't 
 they leave me alone? They won't trust me in the 
 lake for a single night ! You see where that green 
 
The Light Princess 325 
 
 light is burning? That is the window of my room. 
 Now if you would just swim there with me very 
 quietly, and when we are all but under the balcony, 
 give me such a push — up you call it — as you did a 
 little while ago, I should be able to catch hold of the 
 balcony, and get in at the window ; and then they 
 may look for me till to-morrow morning ! " 
 
 '' With more obedience than pleasure," said the 
 prince, gallantly ; and away they swam, very gently. 
 
 " Will you be in the lake to-morrow night ? " the 
 prince ventured to ask. 
 
 " To be sure I will. I don't think so. Perhaps," 
 was the princess's somewhat strange answer. 
 
 But the prince was intelligent enough not to press 
 her further; and merely whispered, as he gave her 
 the parting lift, " Don't tell." The only answer the 
 princess returned was a roguish look. She was 
 already a yard above his head. The look seemed to 
 say, *' Never fear. It is too good fun to spoil that 
 way." 
 
 So perfectly like other people had she been in the 
 water, that even yet the prince could scarcely be- 
 lieve his eyes when he saw her ascend slowly, grasp 
 the balcony, and disappear through the window. He 
 turned, almost expecting to see her still by his side. 
 But he was alone in the water. So he swam away 
 quietly, and watched the lights roving about the 
 shore for hours after the princess was safe in her 
 chamber. As soon as they disappeared, he landed 
 in search of his tunic and sword, and, after some 
 trouble, found them again. Then he made the best 
 of his way round the lake to the other side. There 
 the wood was wilder, and the shore steeper — rising 
 
326 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 more immediately towards the mountains which sur- 
 rounded the lake on all sides, and kept sending it 
 messages of silvery streams from morning to night, 
 and all night long. He soon found a spot where 
 he could see the green light in the princess's room, 
 and where, even in the broad daylight, he would be 
 in no danger of being discovered from the opposite 
 shore. It was a sort of cave in the rock, where he 
 provided himself a bed of withered leaves, and lay 
 down too tired for hunger to keep him awake. All 
 night long he dreamed that he was swimming with 
 the princess. 
 
 X 
 
 Look at the Moon 
 
 Early the next morning the prince set out to look 
 for something to eat, which he soon found at a 
 forester's hut, where for many following days he 
 was supplied with all that a brave prince could con- 
 sider necessary. And having plenty to keep him 
 alive for the present, he would not think of wants 
 not yet in existence. Whenever Care intruded, this 
 prince always bowed him out in the most princely 
 manner. 
 
 When he returned from his breakfast to his 
 watch-cave, he saw the princess already floating 
 about in the lake, attended by the king and queen — 
 whom he knew by their crowns — and a great com- 
 pany in lovely little boats, with canopies of all the 
 colours of the rainbow, and flags and streamers of a 
 great many more. It was a very bright day, and 
 soon the prince, burned up with the heat, began to 
 
The Light Princess 327 
 
 long for the cold water and the cool princess. But 
 he had to endure till twilight; for the boats had 
 provisions on board, and it was not till the sun went 
 down that the gay party began to vanish. Boat after 
 boat drew away to the shore, following that of the 
 king and queen, till only one, apparently the prin- 
 cess's own boat, remained. But she did not want 
 to go home even yet, and the prince thought he saw 
 her order the boat to the shore without her. At all 
 events it rowed away; and now, of all the radiant 
 company, only one white speck remained. Then 
 the prince began to sing. 
 And this is what he sung : 
 
 " Lady fair. 
 Swan-white, 
 Lift thine eyes. 
 Banish night 
 By the might 
 Of thine eyes. 
 
 *' Snowy arms, 
 Oars of snow, 
 Oar her hither. 
 Plashing low. 
 Soft and slow, 
 Oar her hither. 
 
 *' Stream behind her 
 O'er the lake. 
 Radiant whiteness! 
 In her wake 
 
 Following, following, for her sake, 
 Radiant whiteness ! 
 
328 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 ** Cling about her, 
 Waters blue; 
 Part not from her, 
 But renew 
 Cold and true 
 Kisses round her. 
 
 ** Lap me round, 
 Waters sad 
 That have left her 
 Make me glad, 
 For ye had 
 Kissed her ere ye left her." 
 
 Before he had finished his song, the princess was 
 just under the place where he sat, and looking up to 
 find him. Her ears had led her truly. 
 
 " Would you like a fall, princess ? " said the 
 prince, looking down. 
 
 " Ah ! there you are ! Yes, if you please, prince," 
 said the princess, looking up. 
 
 '* How do you know I am a prince, princess ? " 
 said the prince. 
 
 '' Because you are a very nice young man, prince," 
 said the princess. 
 
 " Come up then, princess." 
 
 ** Fetch me, prince." 
 
 The prince took off his scarf, then his swordbelt, 
 then his tunic, and tied them all together, and let 
 them down. But the line was far too short. He 
 unwound his turban, and added it to the rest, when it 
 was all but long enough ; and his purse completed it. 
 The princess just managed to lay hold of the knot 
 
The Light Princess 329 
 
 of money, and was beside him in a moment. This 
 rock was much higher than the other, and the splash 
 and the dive were tremendous. The princess was 
 in ecstasies of deHght, and their swim was dehcious. 
 
 Night after night they met, and swam about in 
 the dark clear lake, where such was the prince's 
 gladness, that (whether the princess's way of look- 
 ing at things infected him, or he was actually getting 
 light-headed) he often fancied that he was swim- 
 ming in the sky instead of the lake. But when he 
 talked about being in heaven, the princess laughed 
 at him dreadfully. 
 
 When the moon came, she brought them fresh 
 pleasure. Everything looked strange and new in her 
 light, with an old, withered, yet unfading newness. 
 When the moon was nearly full, one of their great 
 delights was to dive deep in the water, and then, 
 turning round, look up through it at the great blot 
 of light close above them, shimmering and trembling 
 and wavering, spreading and contracting, seeming 
 to melt away, and again grow solid. Then they 
 would shoot up through the blot, and lo ! there was 
 the moon, far off, clear and steady and cold, and 
 very lovely, at the bottom of a deeper and bluer lake 
 than theirs, as the princess said. 
 
 The prince soon found out that while in the water 
 the princess was very like other people. And be- 
 sides this, she was not so forward in her questions 
 or pert in her replies at sea as on shore. Neither 
 did she laugh so much ; and when she did laugh, it 
 was more gently. She seemed altogether more 
 modest and maidenly in the water than out of it. 
 But when the prince, who had really fallen in love 
 
S^o Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 when he fell in the lake, began to talk to her about 
 love, she always turned her head towards him and 
 laughed. After a while she began to look puzzled, 
 as if she were trying to understand what he meant, 
 but could not — revealing a notion that he meant 
 something. But as soon as ever she left the lake, 
 she was so altered, that the prince said to himself, 
 " If I marry her, I see no help for it : we must turn 
 merman and mermaid, and go out to sea at once." 
 
 XI 
 
 Hiss! 
 
 The princess's pleasure in the lake had grown to 
 a passion, and she could scarcely bear to be out of it 
 for an hour. Imagine then her consternation, when, 
 diving with the prince one night, a sudden suspicion 
 seized her that the lake was not so deep as it used to 
 be. The prince could not imagine what had hap- 
 pened. She shot to the surface, and, without a word, 
 swam at full speed towards the higher side of the 
 lake. He followed, begging to know if she was ill, 
 or what was the matter. She never turned her head, 
 or took the smallest notice of his question. Ar- 
 rived at the shore, she coasted the rocks with minute 
 inspection. But she was not able to come to a con- 
 clusion, for the moon was very small, and so she 
 could not see well. She turned therefore and swam 
 home, without saying a word to explain her conduct 
 to the prince, of whose presence she seemed no 
 longer conscious. He withdrew to his cave, in great 
 perplexity and distress. 
 
The Light Princess 331 
 
 Next day she made many observations, which, 
 alas ! strengthened her fears. She saw that the 
 banks were too dry ; and that the grass on the shore, 
 and the traihng plants on the rocks, were withering 
 away. She caused marks to be made along the bor- 
 ders, and examined them, day after day, in all direc- 
 tions of the wind; till at last the horrible idea be- 
 came a certain fact — that the surface of the lake was 
 slowly sinking. 
 
 The poor princess nearly went out of the little 
 mind she had. It was awful to her to see the lake, 
 which she loved more than any living thing, lie 
 dying before her eyes. It sank away, slowly vanish- 
 ing. The tops of rocks that had never been seen till 
 now, began to appear far down in the clear water. 
 Before long they were dry in the sun. It was fearful 
 to think of the mud that would soon lie there baking 
 and festering, full of lovely creatures dying, and 
 ugly creatures coming to life, like the unmaking of 
 a world. And how hot the sun would be without 
 any lake ! She could not bear to swim in it any 
 more, and began to pine. away. Her life seemed 
 bound up with it ; and ever as the lake sank, she 
 pined. People said she would not live an hour after 
 the lake was gone. 
 
 But she never cried. ^ 
 
 Proclamation was made to all the kingdom, that 
 whosoever should discover the cause of the lake's 
 decrease, would be rewarded after a princely fash- 
 ion. Hum-Drum and Kopy-Keck applied them- 
 selves to their physics and metaphysics ; but in vain. 
 Not even they could suggest a cause. 
 
 Now the fact was that the old princess was at the 
 
S3 2 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Knozv 
 
 root of the mischief. When she heard that her 
 niece found more pleasure in the water than any one 
 else had out of it, she went into a rage, and cursed 
 herself for her want of foresight. 
 
 '' But," said she, " I will soon set all right. The 
 king and the people shall die of thirst ; their brains 
 shall boil and frizzle in their skulls before I will lose 
 my revenge." 
 
 And she laughed a ferocious laugh, that made the 
 hairs on the back of her black cat stand erect with 
 terror. 
 
 Then she went to an old chest in the room, and 
 opening it, took out what looked like a piece of dried 
 seaweed. This she threw into a tub of water. Then 
 she threw some powder into the water, and stirred 
 it with her bare arm, muttering over it words of 
 hideous sound, and yet more hideous import. Then 
 she set the tub aside, and took from the chest a huge 
 bunch of a hundred rusty keys, that clattered in her 
 shaking hands. Then she sat down and proceeded 
 to oil them all. Before she had finished, out from 
 the tub, the water of which had kept on a slow mo- 
 tion ever since she had ceased stirring it, came the 
 head and half the body of a huge gray snake. But 
 the witch did not look round. It grew out of the 
 tub, waving itself backwards and forwards with a 
 slow horizontal motion, till it reached the princess, 
 when it laid its head upon her shoulder, and gave a 
 low hiss in her ear. She started — but with joy ; and 
 seeing the head resting on her shoulder, drew it 
 towards her and kissed it. Then she drew it all out 
 of the tub, and wound it round her body. It was 
 
The Light Princess S33 
 
 one of those dreadful creatures which few have ever 
 beheld — the White Snakes of Darkness. 
 
 Then she took the keys and went down to her 
 cellar ; and as she unlocked the door she said to her- 
 self: 
 
 " This is worth living for ! " 
 
 Locking the door behind her, she descended a few 
 steps into the cellar, and crossing it, unlocked an- 
 other door into a dark, narrow passage. She locked 
 this also behind her, and descended a few more 
 steps. If any one had followed the witch-princess, 
 he would have heard her unlock exactly one hundred 
 doors, and descend a few steps after unlocking each. 
 When she had unlocked the last, she entered a vast 
 cave, the roof of which was supported by huge 
 natural pillars of rock. Now this roof w^as the 
 under side of the bottom of the lake. 
 
 She then untwined the snake from her body, and 
 held it by the tail high above her. The hideous 
 creature stretched up its head towards the roof of 
 the cavern, which it was just able to reach. It then 
 began to move its head backwards and forwards, 
 with a slow oscillating motion, as if looking for 
 something. At the same moment the witch began 
 to walk round and round the cavern, coming nearer 
 to the centre every circuit; while the head of the 
 snake described the same path over the roof that 
 she did over the floor, for she kept holding it up. 
 And still it kept slowly oscillating. Round and 
 round the cavern they went, ever lessening the cir- 
 cuit, till at last the snake made a sudden dart, and 
 clung to the roof with its mouth. 
 
334 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 '' That's right, my beauty ! " cried the princess ; 
 " drain it dry." 
 
 She let it go, left it hanging, and sat down on a 
 great stone, with her black cat, which had followed 
 her all round the cave, by her side. Then she began 
 to knit and mutter awful words. The snake hung 
 like a huge leech, sucking at the stone ; the cat stood 
 with his back arched, and his tail like a piece of 
 cable, looking up at the snake ; and the old woman 
 sat and knitted and muttered. Seven days and seven 
 nights they remained thus; when suddenly the ser- 
 pent dropped from the roof as if exhausted, and 
 shrivelled up till it was again like a piece of dried 
 seaweed. The witch started to her feet, picked it 
 up, put it in her pocket, and looked up at the roof. 
 One drop of water was trembling on the spot where 
 the snake had been sucking. As soon as she saw 
 that, she turned and fled, followed by her cat. Shut- 
 ting the door in a terrible hurry, she locked it, 
 and having muttered some frightful words, sped to 
 the next, which also she locked and muttered over ; 
 and so with all the hundred doors, till she arrived 
 in her own cellar. Then she sat down on the floor 
 ready to faint, but listening with malicious delight 
 to the rushing of the water, which she could hear 
 distinctly through all the hundred doors. 
 
 But this was not enough. Now that she had 
 tasted revenge, she lost her patience. Without fur- 
 ther measures, the lake would be too long in dis- 
 appearing. So the next night, with the last shred of 
 the dying old moon rising, she took some of the 
 water in which she had revived the snake, put it in 
 a bottle, and set out, accompanied by her cat. Be- 
 
The Light Princess 335 
 
 fore morning she had made the entire circuit of the 
 lake, muttering fearful words as she crossed every 
 stream, and casting into it some of the water out 
 of her bottle. When she had finished the circuit she 
 muttered yet again, and flung a handful of water 
 towards the moon. Thereupon every spring in the 
 country ceased to throb and bubble, dying away 
 like the pulse of a dying man. The next day there 
 was no sound of falling water to be heard along 
 the borders of the lake. The very courses were dry ; 
 and the mountains showed no silvery streaks down 
 their dark sides. And not alone had the fountains 
 of mother Earth ceased to flow ; for all the babies 
 throughout the country were crying dreadfully — 
 only without tears. 
 
 XII 
 
 Where Is the Prince? 
 
 Never since the night when the princess left him 
 so abruptly had the prince had a single interview 
 w^ith her. He had seen her once or twice in the 
 lake ; but as far as he could discover, she had not 
 been in it any more at night. He had sat and sung, 
 and looked in vain for his Nereid, while she, like a 
 true Nereid, was wasting away with her lake, sink- 
 ing as it sank, withering as it dried. When at 
 length he discovered the change that was taking 
 place in the level of the water, he was in great alarm 
 and perplexity. He could not tell whether the lake 
 was dying because the lady had forsaken it; or 
 
336 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 whether the lady would not come because the lake 
 had begun to sink. But he resolved to know so 
 much at least. 
 
 He disguised himself, and, going to the palace, 
 requested to see the lord chamberlain. His appear- 
 ance at once gained his request ; and the lord cham- 
 berlain, being a man of some insight, perceived that 
 there was more in the prince's solicitation than met 
 the ear. He felt likewise that no one could tell 
 whence a solution of the present difficulties might 
 arise. So he granted the prince's prayer to be made 
 shoeblack to the princess. It was rather cunning 
 in the prince to request such an easy post, for the 
 princess could not possibly soil as many shoes as 
 other princesses. 
 
 He soon learned all that could be told about the 
 princess. He went nearly distracted; but after 
 roaming about the lake for days, and diving in 
 every depth that remained, all that he could do was 
 to put an extra polish on the dainty pair of boots 
 that was never called for. 
 
 For the princess kept her room, with the curtains 
 drawn to shut out the dying lake, but could not 
 shut it out of her mind for a moment. It haunted 
 her imagination so that she felt as if the lake were 
 her soul, drying up within her, first to mud, then 
 to madness and death. She thus brooded over the 
 change, with all its dreadful accompaniments, till 
 she was nearly distracted. As for the prince, she 
 had forgotten him. However much she had enjoyed 
 his company in the water, she did not care for him 
 without it. But she seemed to have forgotten her 
 father and mother too. 
 
The Light Princess 337 
 
 The lake went on sinking. Small slimy spots be- 
 gan to appear, which glittered steadily amidst the 
 changeful shine of the water. These grew to broad 
 patches of mud, which widened and spread, with 
 rocks here and there, and floundering fishes and 
 crawling eels swarming. The people went every- 
 where catching these, and looking for anything that 
 might have dropped from the royal boats. 
 
 At length the lake was all but gone, only a few 
 of the deepest pools remaining unexhausted. 
 
 It happened one day that a party of youngsters 
 found themselves on the brink of one of these pools 
 in the very centre of the lake. It was a rocky 
 basin of considerable depth. Looking in, they saw 
 at the bottom something that shone yellow in the 
 sun. A little boy jumped in and dived for it. It 
 was a plate of gold covered with writing. They 
 carried it to the king. 
 
 On one side of it stood these words : 
 
 " Death alone from death can save. 
 Love is death, and so is brave. 
 Love can fill the deepest grave. 
 Love loves on beneath the wave." 
 
 Now this was enigmatical enough to the king and 
 courtiers. But the reverse of the plate explained it 
 a little. Its writing amounted to this : 
 
 " If the lake should disappear, they must find the 
 hole through which the water ran. But it would be 
 useless to try to stop it by any ordinary means. 
 There was but one effectual mode. The body of a 
 living man could alone staunch the flow. The man 
 
Ss^ Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 must give himself of his own will ; and the lake 
 must take his life as it filled. Otherwise the offer- 
 ing would be of no avail. If the nation could not 
 provide one hero, it was time it should perish." 
 
 XIII 
 Here I Am! 
 
 This was a very disheartening revelation to the 
 king — not that he was unwilling to sacrifice a sub- 
 ject, but that he was hopeless of finding a man will- 
 ing to sacrifice himself. No time was to be lost, 
 however, for the princess was lying motionless on 
 her bed, and taking no nourishment but lake-water, 
 which was now none of the best. Therefore the 
 king caused the contents of the wonderful plate of 
 gold to be published throughout the country. 
 
 No one, however, came forward. 
 
 The prince, having gone several days' journey 
 into the forest, to consult a hermit whom he had 
 met there on his way to Lagobel, knew nothing of 
 the oracle till his return. 
 
 When he had acquainted himself with all the 
 particulars, he sat down and thought: 
 
 '' She will die if I don't do it, and life would be 
 nothing to me without her; so I shall lose nothing 
 by doing it. And life will be as pleasant to her as 
 ever, for she will soon forget me. And there will 
 be so much more beauty and happiness in the world 1 
 To be sure, I shall not see it." (Here the poor 
 prince gave a sigh.) " How lovely the lake will be 
 in the moonlight, with that glorious creature sport- 
 
The Light Princess 339 
 
 ing in it like a wild goddess ! It is rather hard to be 
 drowned by inches, though. Let me see — that will 
 be seventy inches of me to drown." (Here he tried 
 to laugh, but could not.) '' The longer the better, 
 however," he resumed, *' for can I not bargain that 
 the princess shall be beside me all the time? So I 
 shall see her once more, kiss her perhaps — who 
 knows? and die looking in her eyes. It will be no 
 death. At least, I shall not feel it. And to see the 
 lake filling for the beauty again ! All right ! I am 
 ready." 
 
 He kissed the princess's boot, laid it down, and 
 hurried to the king's apartment. But feeling, as he 
 went, that anything sentimental would be disagree- 
 able, he resolved to carry off the whole affair with 
 nonchalance. So he knocked at the door of the 
 king's counting-house, where it was all but a capital 
 crime to disturb him. 
 
 When the king heard the knock, he started up, 
 and opened the door in a rage. Seeing only the 
 shoeblack, he drew his sword. This, I am sorry to 
 say, was his usual mode of asserting his regality 
 when he thought his dignity was in danger. But 
 the prince was not in the least alarmed. 
 
 '' Please your majesty, I'm your butler," said he. 
 
 '' My butler ! you lying rascal ! What do you 
 mean ? " 
 
 " I mean, I will cork your big bottle." 
 k " Is the fellow mad ? " bawled the king, raising 
 the point of his sword. 
 
 " I will put the stopper — plug — what you call it, in 
 your leaky lake, grand monarch," said the prince. 
 
 The king was in such a rage that before he could 
 
340 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 speak he had time to cool, and to reflect that it 
 would be great waste to kill the only man who was 
 willing to be useful in the present emergency, see- 
 ing that in the end the insolent fellow would be as 
 dead as if he had died by his majesty's own hand. 
 
 " Oh ! " said he at last, putting up his sword with 
 difficulty, it was so long ; '' I am obliged to you, you 
 young fool ! Take a glass of wine ? " 
 
 " No, thank you," replied the prince. 
 
 *' Very well," said the king. " Would you like to 
 run and see your parents before you make your 
 experiment ? " 
 
 '* No, thank you," said the prince. 
 
 " Then we will go and look for the hole at once," 
 said his majesty, and proceeded to call some at- 
 tendants. 
 
 " Stop, please your majesty, I have a condition to 
 make," interposed the prince. 
 
 " What ! " exclaimed the king, " a condition ! and 
 with me ! How dare you ? " 
 
 " As you please," returned the prince, coolly. " I 
 wish your majesty a good morning." 
 
 " You wretch ! I will have you put in a sack, and 
 stuck in the hole." 
 
 " Very well, your majesty," replied the prince, be- 
 coming a little more respectful, lest the wrath of the 
 king should deprive him of the pleasure of dying for 
 the princess. " But what good will that do your 
 majesty? Please to remember that the oracle says | 
 the victim must offer himself." 
 
 *' Well, you haz'e offered yourself," retorted the 
 king. 
 
 " Yes, upon one condition." 
 
The Light Princess 341 
 
 " Condition again ! " roared the king, once more 
 drawing his sword. '' Begone ! Somebody else will 
 be glad enough to take the honour ofif your shoul- 
 ders." 
 
 " Your majesty knows it will not be easy to get 
 another to take my place." 
 
 "Well, what is your condition?" growled the 
 king, feeling that the prince was right. 
 
 '* Only this," replied the prince ; " that, as I must 
 on no account die before I am fairly drowned, and 
 the waiting will be rather wearisome, the princess, 
 your daughter, shall go with me, feed me with her 
 own hands, and look at me now and then to comfort 
 me ; for you must confess it is rather hard. As 
 soon as the water is up to my eyes, she may go and 
 be happy, and forget her poor shoeblack." 
 
 Here the prince's voice faltered, and he very 
 nearly grew sentimental, in spite of his resolution. 
 
 " Why didn't you tell me before what your condi- 
 tion was ? Such a fuss about nothing ! " exclaimed 
 the king. 
 
 '' Do you grant it ? " persisted the prince. 
 
 " Of course I do," replied the king. 
 
 " Very well. I am ready." 
 
 " Go and have some dinner, then, while I set my 
 people to find the place." 
 
 The king ordered out his guards, and gave direc- 
 tions to the officers to find the hole in the lake at 
 once. So the bed of the lake was marked out in 
 divisions and thoroughly examined, and in an hour 
 or so the hole was discovered. It was in the middle 
 of a stone, near the centre of the lake, in the very 
 pool where the golden plate had been found. It was 
 
342 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 a three-cornered hole of no great size. There was 
 water all round the stone, but very little was flowing 
 through the hole. 
 
 XIV 
 
 This Is Very Kind of You 
 
 The prince went to dress for the occasion, for he 
 was resolved to die like a prince. 
 
 When the princess heard that a man had offered 
 to die for her, she was so transported that she 
 jumped off the bed, feeble as she was, and danced 
 about the room for joy. She did not care who the 
 man was ; that was nothing to her. The hole wanted 
 stopping; and if only a man would do, why, take 
 one. In an hour or two more everything was ready. 
 Her maid dressed her in haste, and they carried her 
 to the side of the lake. When she saw it she 
 shrieked, and covered her face with her hands. They 
 bore her across to the stone, where they had already 
 placed a little boat for her. The water was not 
 deep enough to float in, but they hoped it would be, 
 before long. They laid her on cushions, placed in 
 the boat wines and fruits and other nice things, and 
 stretched a canopy over all. 
 
 In a few minutes the prince appeared. The prin- 
 cess recognised him at once, but did not think it 
 worth while to acknowledge him. 
 
 " Here I am," said the prince. " Put me in." 
 
 " They told me it was a shoeblack," said the 
 princess. 
 
 ** So I am," said the prince. *' I blacked your 
 
The Light Princess 343 
 
 little boots three times a day, because they were all 
 I could get of you. Put me in." 
 
 The courtiers did not resent his bluntness, except 
 by saying to each other that he was taking it out 
 in impudence. 
 
 But how was he to be put in? The golden plate 
 contained no instructions on this point. The prince 
 looked at the hole, and saw but one way. He put 
 both his legs into it, sitting on the stone, and, stoop- 
 ing forward, covered the corner that remained open 
 with his two hands. In this uncomfortable position 
 he resolved to abide his fate, and turning to the 
 people, said : 
 
 '' Now you can go." 
 
 The king had already gone home to dinner. 
 
 " Now you can go," repeated the princess after 
 him, like a parrot. 
 
 The people obeyed her and went. 
 
 Presently a little wave flowed over the stone, and 
 wetted one of the prince's knees. But he did not 
 mind it much. He began to sing, and the song he 
 sang was this : 
 
 " As a world that has no well, 
 Darkly bright in forest dell ; 
 As a world without the gleam 
 Of the downward-going stream ; 
 As a world without the glance 
 Of the ocean's fair expanse ; 
 As a world where never rain 
 Glittered on the sunny plain ; — 
 Such, my heart, thy world would be. 
 If no love did flow in thee. 
 
344 Fairy Tales Ez'ery Child Should Know 
 
 ** As a world without the sound 
 Of the rivulets underground ; 
 Or the bubbling of the spring 
 Out of darkness wandering ; 
 Or the mighty rush and flowing 
 Of the river's downward going; 
 Or the music-showers that drop 
 On the outspread beech's top ; 
 Or the ocean's mighty voice, 
 When his lifted waves rejoice ; — 
 Such, my soul, thy world would be, 
 If no love did sing in thee. 
 
 " Lady, keep thy world's delight, 
 Keep the waters in thy sight. 
 Love hath made me strong to go, 
 For thy sake, to realms below, 
 Where the water's shine and hum 
 Through the darkness never come. 
 Let, I pray, one thought of me 
 Spring, a little well, in thee ; 
 Lest thy loveless soul be found 
 Like a dry and thirsty ground." 
 
 " Sing again, prince. It makes it less tedious," 
 said the princess. 
 
 But the prince was too much overcome to sing any 
 more, and a long pause followed. 
 
 " This is very kind of you, prince," said the prin- 
 cess at last, quite coolly, as she lay in the boat with 
 her eyes shut. 
 
 " I am sorry I can't return the compliment," 
 thought the prince, " but you are worth dying for, 
 after all." 
 
The Light Princess 345 
 
 Again a wavelet, and another, and another flowed 
 over the stone, and wetted both the prince's knees ; 
 but he did not speak or move. Two — three — four 
 hours passed in this way, the princess apparently 
 asleep, and the prince very patient. But he was 
 much disappointed in his position, for he had none 
 of the consolation he had hoped for. 
 
 At last he could bear it no longer. 
 
 " Princess ! " said he. 
 
 But at the moment up started the princess, cry- 
 ing: 
 
 " I'm afloat ! I'm afloat ! " 
 
 And the little boat bumped against the stone. 
 
 " Princess ! " repeated the prince, encouraged by 
 seeing her wide awake and looking eagerly at the 
 water. 
 
 " Well ? " said she, without looking round. 
 
 '' Your papa promised that you should look at me, 
 and you haven't looked at me once." 
 
 '* Did he ? Then I suppose I must. But I am so 
 sleepy ! " 
 
 '' Sleep, then, darling, and don't mind me," said 
 the poor prince. 
 
 '' Really, you are very good," replied the princess. 
 " I think I will go to sleep again." 
 
 '' Just give me a glass of wine and a biscuit first," 
 said the prince, very humbly. 
 
 " With all my heart," said the princess, and 
 yawned as she said it. 
 
 She got the wine and the biscuit, however, and 
 leaning over the side of the boat towards him, was 
 compelled to look at him. 
 
346 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 *' Why, prince," she said, '' you don't look well ! 
 Are you sure you don't mind it ? " 
 
 *' Not a bit," answered he, feeling very faint in- 
 deed. " Only I shall die before it is of any use to 
 you, unless I have something to eat." 
 
 " There, then," said she, holding out the wine to 
 him. 
 
 " Ah ! you must feed me. I dare not move my 
 hands. The water would run away directly." 
 
 " Good gracious ! " said the princess ; and she be- 
 gan at once to feed him with bits of biscuit and sips 
 of wine. 
 
 As she fed him, he contrived to kiss the tips of her 
 fingers now and then. She did not seem to mind it, 
 one way or the other. But the prince felt better. 
 
 " Now, for your own sake, princess," said he, '* I 
 cannot let you go to sleep. You must sit and look 
 at me, else I shall not be able to keep up." 
 
 *' Well, I will do anything to oblige you," answered 
 she, with condescension ; and, sitting down, she did 
 look at him, and kept looking at him with wonderful 
 steadiness, considering all things. 
 
 The sun went down, and the moon rose, and, gush 
 after gush, the waters were rising up the prince's 
 body. Tlrey were up to his waist now. 
 
 '' Why can't we go and have a swim?" said the 
 princess. '' There seems to be water enough just 
 about here." 
 
 '' I shall never swim more," said the prince. 
 
 " Oh, I forgot," said the princess, and was silent. 
 
 So the water grew and grew, and rose up and up 
 on the prince. And the princess sat and looked at 
 him. She fed him now and then. The night wore 
 
The Light Princess 347 
 
 on. The waters rose and rose. The moon rose Hke- 
 wise higher and higher, and shone full on the face 
 of the dying prince. The water was up to his neck. 
 
 " Will you kiss me, princess ? " said he, feebly. 
 The nonchalance was all gone now. 
 
 " Yes, I will," answered the princess, and kissed 
 him with a long, sweet, cold kiss. 
 
 ** Now," said he, with a sigh of content, '' I die 
 happy." 
 
 He did not speak again. The princess gave him 
 some wine for the last time : he was past eating. 
 Then she sat down again, and looked at him. The 
 water rose and rose. It touched his chin. It touched 
 his lower lip. It touched between his lips. He shut 
 them hard to keep it out. The princess began to feel 
 strange. It touched his upper lip. He breathed 
 through his nostrils. The princess looked wild. It 
 covered his nostrils. Her eyes looked scared, and 
 shone strange in the moonlight. His head fell back ; 
 the water closed over it, and the bubbles of his last 
 breath bubbled up through the water. The princess 
 gave a shriek, and sprang into the lake. 
 
 She laid hold first of one leg, and then of the 
 other, and pulled and tugged, but she could not move 
 either. She stopped to take breath, and that made 
 her think that he could not get any breath. She 
 was frantic. She got hold of him, and held his 
 head above the water, which was possible now his 
 hands were no longer on the hole. But it was of no 
 use, for he was past breathing. 
 
 Love and water brought back all her strength. 
 She got under the water, and pulled and pulled 
 with her whole might, till at last she got one leg out. 
 
348 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 The other easily followed. How she got him into 
 the boat she never could tell ; but when she did, she 
 fainted away. Coming to herself, she seized the 
 oars, kept herself steady as best she could, and 
 rowed and rowed, though she had never rowed be- 
 fore. Round rocks, and over shallows, and through 
 mud she rowed, till she got to the landing-stairs of 
 the palace. By this time her people were on the 
 shore, for they had heard her shriek. She made 
 them carry the prince to her own room, and lay 
 him in her bed, and light a fire, and send for the 
 doctors. 
 
 '' But the lake, your highness ! " said the cham- 
 berlain, who, roused by the noise^ came in, in his 
 nightcap. 
 
 " Go and drown yourself in it ! " she said. 
 
 This was the last rudeness of which the princess 
 was ever guilty; and one must allow that she had 
 good cause to feel provoked with the lord chamber- 
 lain. 
 
 Had it been the king himself, he would have fared 
 no better. But both he and the queen were fast 
 asleep. And the chamberlain went back to his bed. 
 Somehow, the doctors never came. So the princess 
 and her old nurse were left with the prince. But the 
 old nurse was a wise woman, and knew what to do. 
 
 They tried everything for a long time without suc- 
 cess. The princess was nearly distracted between 
 hope and fear, but she tried on and on, one thing 
 after another, and everything over and over again. 
 
 At last, when they had all but given it up, just 
 as the sun rose, the prince opened his eyes. 
 
The Light Princess 349 
 
 XV 
 Look at the Rain! 
 
 The princess burst into a passion of tears and fell 
 on the floor. There she lay for an hour, and her 
 tears never ceased. All the pent-up crying of her 
 life was spent now. And a rain came on, such as 
 had never been seen in that country. The sun shone 
 all the time, and the great drops, which fell straight 
 to the earth, shone likewise. The palace was in the 
 heart of a rainbow. It was a rain of rubies, and sap- 
 phires, and emeralds, and topazes. The torrents 
 poured from the mountains like molten gold ; and if 
 it had not been for its subterraneous outlet, the lake 
 would have overflowed and inundated the country. 
 It was full from shore to shore. 
 
 But the princess did not heed the lake. She lay 
 on the floor and wept. And this rain within doors 
 was far more wonderful than the rain out of doors. 
 For when it abated a little, and she proceeded to rise, 
 she found, to her astonishment, that she could not. 
 At length, after many efforts, she succeeded in get- 
 ting upon her feet. But she tumbled down again 
 directly. Hearing her fall, her old nurse uttered 
 a yell of delight, and ran to her, screaming : 
 
 " My darling child ! she's found her gravity ! " 
 
 " Oh, that's it ! is it ? " said the princess, rubbing 
 her shoulder and her knee alternately. " I consider 
 it very unpleasant. I feel as if I should be crushed 
 to pieces." 
 
 ** Hurrah ! " cried the prince from the bed. " If 
 
350 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 you've come round, princess, so have I. How's the 
 lake?" 
 
 *' Brimful," answered the nurse. 
 
 " Then we're all happy." 
 
 " That we are indeed ! " answered the princess, 
 sobbing. 
 
 And there was rejoicing all over the country that 
 rainy day. Even the babies forgot their past trou- 
 bles, and danced and crowed amazingly. And the 
 king told stories, and the queen listened to them. 
 And he divided the money in his box, and she the 
 honey in her pot, among all the children. And there 
 was such jubilation as was never heard of before. 
 
 Of course the prince and princess were betrothed 
 at once. But the princess had to learn to walk, 
 before they could be married with any propriety. 
 And this was not so easy at her time of life, for she 
 could walk no more than a baby. She was always 
 falling down and hurting herself. 
 
 '' Is this the gravity you used to make so much 
 of ? " said she one day to the prince, as he raised her 
 from the floor. '* For my part, I was a great deal 
 more comfortable without it." 
 
 " No, no, that's not it. This is it," replied the 
 prince, as he took her up, and carried her about like 
 a baby, kissing her all the time. '' This is gravity." 
 
 '* That's better," said she. " I don't mind that so 
 much." 
 
 And she smiled the sweetest, loveliest smile in the 
 prince's face. And she gave him one little kiss in 
 return for all his ; and he thought them overpaid, 
 for he was beside himself with delight. I fear she 
 
The Light Princess 351 
 
 complained of her gravity more than once after this, 
 notwithstanding. 
 
 It was a long time before she got reconciled to 
 walking. But the pain of learning it was quite 
 counterbalanced by two things, either of which 
 would have been sufficient consolation. The first 
 was, that the prince himself was her teacher; and 
 the second, that she could tumble into the lake as 
 often as she pleased. Still, she preferred to have 
 the prince jump in with her; and the splash they 
 made before was nothing to the splash they made 
 now. 
 
 The lake never sank again. In process of time 
 it wore the roof of the cavern quite through, and was 
 twice as deep as before. 
 
 The only revenge the princess took upon her aunt 
 was to tread pretty hard on her gouty toe the next 
 time she saw her. But she was sorry for it the very 
 next day, when she heard that the water had under- 
 mined her house, and that it had fallen in the night, 
 burying her in its ruins ; whence no one ever ven- 
 tured to dig up her body. There she lies to this day. 
 
 So the prince and princess lived and were happy ; 
 and had crowns of gold, and clothes of cloth, and 
 shoes of leather, and children of boys and girls, not 
 one of whom was ever known, on the most critical 
 occasion, to lose the smallest atom of his or her due 
 proportion of gravity. 
 
CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 BEAUTY AND THE BEAST 
 
 There was once a very rich merchant, who had 
 six children, three boys and three girls. As he was 
 himself a man of great sense, he spared no expense 
 for their education, but provided them with all sorts 
 of masters for their improvement. The three daugh- 
 ters were all handsome, but particularly the young- 
 est : indeed she was so very beautiful that in her 
 childhood every one called her the Little Beauty, 
 and being still the same when she was grown up, 
 nobody called her by any other name, which made 
 her sisters very jealous of her. This youngest 
 daughter was not only more handsome than her 
 sisters, but was also better tempered. The two eld- 
 est were vain of being rich, and spoke with pride 
 to those they thought below them. They gave 
 themselves a thousand airs, and would not visit other 
 merchants' daughters ; nor would they indeed be seen 
 with any but persons of quality. They went every 
 day to balls, plays, and public walks, and always 
 made game of their youngest sister for spending her 
 time in reading, or other useful employments. As 
 it was well known that these young ladies would 
 have large fortunes, many great merchants wished to 
 get them for wives; but the two eldest always 
 answered that, for their parts, they had no thoughts 
 
Beauty and the Beast 353 
 
 of marrying any one below a duke, or an earl at 
 least. Beauty had quite as many offers as her sis- 
 ters, but she always answered with the greatest civil- 
 ity, that she was much obliged to her lovers, but 
 would rather live some years longer with her father, 
 as she thought herself too young to marry. 
 
 It happened that by some unlucky accident the 
 merchant suddenly lost all his fortune, and had noth- 
 ing left but a small cottage in the country. Upon 
 this, he said to his daughters, while the tears ran 
 down his cheeks all the time, " My children, we 
 must now go and dwell in the cottage, and try to get 
 a living by labour, for we have no other means of 
 support." The two eldest replied that, for their 
 parts, they did not know how to work, and would 
 not leave town ; for they had lovers enough who 
 would be glad to marry them, though they had no 
 longer any fortune. But in this they were mistaken ; 
 for when the lovers heard what had happened, they 
 said, '' The girls were so proud and ill-tempered, 
 that all we wanted was their fortune; we are not 
 sorry at all to see their pride brought down. Let 
 them give themselves airs to their cows and sheep." 
 But every body pitied poor Beauty, because she was 
 so sweet-tempered and kind to all that knew her; 
 and several gentlemen offered to marry her, though 
 she had not a penny ; but Beauty still refused, and 
 said she could not think of leaving her poor father 
 in this trouble and would go and help him in his la- 
 bours in the country. At first Beauty could not help 
 sometimes crying in secret for the hardships she 
 was now obliged to suffer ; but in a very short time 
 she said to herself, "All the crying in the world will 
 
354 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 do me no good, so I will try to be happy without a 
 fortune." 
 
 When they had removed to their cottage, the mer- 
 chant and his three sons employed themselves in 
 ploughing and sowing the fields, and working in the 
 garden. Beauty also did her part, for she got up by 
 four o'clock every morning, lighted the fires, cleaned 
 the house, and got the breakfast for the whole fam- 
 ily. At first she found all this very hard; but she 
 soon grew quite used to it, and thought it no hard- 
 ship at all; and indeed the work greatly amended 
 her health. When she had done, she used to amuse 
 herself with reading, playing on her music, or sing- 
 ing while she spun. But her two sisters were at a 
 loss what to do to pass the time away : they had 
 their breakfast in bed, and did not rise till ten o'clock. 
 Then they commonly walked out ; but always found 
 themselves very soon tired ; when they would often 
 sit down under a shady tree, and grieve for the loss 
 of their carriage and fine clothes, and say to each 
 other, " What a mean-spirited poor stupid creature 
 our young sister is, to be so content with our low 
 way of life ! " But their father thought in quite an- 
 other way: he admired the patience of this sweet 
 young creature ; for her sisters not only left her to 
 do the whole work of the house, but made game of 
 her every moment. 
 
 After they had lived in this manner about a year, 
 the merchant received a letter, which informed him 
 that one of the richest ships, which he thought was 
 lost, had just come into port. This news made the 
 two eldest sisters almost mad with joy; for they 
 thought they should now leave the cottage, and have 
 
Beauty and the Beast 355 
 
 all their finery again. When they found that their 
 father must take a journey to the ship, the two eld- 
 est begged he would not fail to bring them back 
 some new gowns, caps, rings, and all sorts of trin- 
 kets. But Beauty asked for nothing ; for she thought 
 in herself that all the ship was worth would hardly 
 buy every thing her sisters wished for. " Beauty," 
 said the merchant, '' how comes it about that you 
 ask for nothing ; what can I bring you, my child ? " 
 *' Since you are so kind as to think of me, dear 
 father," she answered, " I should be glad if you 
 would bring me a rose, for we have none in our gar- 
 den." Now Beauty did not indeed wish for a rose, 
 nor any thing else, but she only said this, that she 
 might not affront her sisters, for else they would 
 have said she wanted her father to praise her for not 
 asking him for any thing. The merchant took his 
 leave of them and set out on his journey ; but when 
 he got to the ship, some persons went to law with 
 him about the cargo, and after a deal of trouble, he 
 came back to his cottage as poor as he had gone 
 away. When he was within thirty miles of his home, 
 and thinking of the joy he should have in again 
 meeting his children, his road lay through a thick 
 forest, and he quite lost himself. It rained and 
 snowed very hard, and besides, the wind was so 
 high as to throw him twice from his horse. Night 
 came on, and he thought to be sure he should die of 
 cold and hunger, or be torn to pieces by the wolves 
 that he heard howling round him. All at once, he 
 now cast his eyes towards a long row of trees, and 
 saw a light at the end of them, but it seemed a great 
 way off. He made the best of his way towards it, 
 
356 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 and found that it came from a fine palace, lighted 
 all over. He walked faster, and soon reached the 
 gates, which he opened, and was very much sur- 
 prised that he did not see a single person or creature 
 in any of the yards. His horse had followed him, 
 and finding a stable with the door open, went into it 
 at once ; and here the poor beast, being nearly 
 starved, helped himself to a good meal of oats and 
 hay. His master then tied him up, and walked 
 towards the house, which he entered, but still with- 
 out seeing a living creature. He went on to a large 
 hall, where he found a good fire, and a table cov- 
 ered with some very nice dishes, and only one plate 
 with a knife and fork. As the snow and rain had 
 wetted him to the skin, he went up to the fire to dry 
 himself. " I hope," said he, '' the master of the 
 house or his servants will excuse me, for to be sure 
 it will not be long now before I see them." He 
 waited a good time, but still nobody came : at last 
 the clock struck eleven, and the merchant, being 
 quite faint for the want of food, helped himself to a 
 chicken, which he made but two mouth fuls of, and 
 then to a few glasses of wine, yet all the time trem- 
 bling with fear. He sat till the clock struck twelve, 
 but did not see a single creature. He now took 
 courage, and began to think of looking a little more 
 about him ; so he opened a door at the end of the 
 hall, and went through it into a very grand room, 
 in which there was a fine bed ; and as he was quite 
 weak and tired, he shut the door, took off his clothes, 
 and got into it. 
 
 It was ten o'clock in the morning before he 
 thought of getting up, when he was amazed to see 
 
Beauty and the Beast ' 357 
 
 a handsome new suit of clothes laid ready for him, 
 instead of his own, which he had spoiled. " To be 
 sure," said he to himself, *' this place belongs to 
 some good fairy, who has taken pity on my ill luck." 
 He looked out of the window, and, instead of snow, 
 he saw the most charming arbours covered with all 
 kinds of flowers. He returned to the hall, where he 
 had supped, and found a breakfast table, with some 
 chocolate got ready for him. *' Indeed, my good 
 fairy," said the merchant aloud, " I am vastly obliged 
 to you for your kind care of me." He then made a 
 hearty breakfast, took his hat, and was going to the 
 stable to pay his horse a visit ; but as he passed 
 under one of the arbours, which was loaded with 
 roses, he thought of what Beauty had asked him 
 to bring back to her, and so he took a bunch of roses 
 to carry home. At the same moment he heard a 
 most shocking noise, and saw such a frightful beast 
 coming towards him, that he was ready to drop with 
 fear. '' Ungrateful man ! " said the beast, in a terri- 
 ble voice, '' I have saved your life b}^ letting you 
 into my palace, and in return you steal my roses, 
 which I value more than any thing else that belongs 
 to me. But you shall make amends for your fault 
 with your life. You shall die in a quarter of an hour." 
 The merchant fell on his knees to the beast, and, 
 clasping his hands, said, " My lord, I humbly beg 
 your pardon. I did not think it would offend you to 
 gather a rose for one of my daughters, who wished 
 to have one." " I am not a lord, but a beast," replied 
 the monster ; " I do not like false compliments, but 
 that people should say what they think : so do not 
 fancy that you can coax me by any such ways. You 
 
358 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 tell me that you have daughters ; now I will pardon 
 you, if one of them will agree to come and die in- 
 stead of you. Go; and if your daughters should re- 
 fuse, promise me that you yourself will return in 
 three months." 
 
 The tender-hearted merchant had no thought of 
 letting any one of his daughters die instead of him ; 
 but he knew that if he seemed to accept the beast's 
 terms, he should at least have the pleasure of seeing 
 them once again. So he gave the beast his promise ; 
 and the beast told him he might then set off as soon 
 as he liked. " But," said the beast, " I do not wish 
 you to go back empty-handed. Go to the room you 
 slept in, and you will find a chest there ; fill it with 
 just what you like best, and I will get it taken to 
 your own house for you." When the beast had said 
 this, he went away ; and the good merchant said to 
 himself, " If I must die, yet I shall now have the com- 
 fort of leaving my children some riches." He re- 
 turned to the room he had slept in, and found a 
 great many pieces of gold. He filled the chest with 
 them to the very brim, locked it, and mounting his 
 horse, left the palace as sorry as he had been glad 
 when he first found it. The horse took a path 
 across the forest of his own accord, and in a few 
 hours they reached the merchant's house. His chil- 
 dren came running round him as he got off his 
 horse; but the merchant, instead of kissing them 
 with joy, could not help crying as he looked at them. 
 He held in his hand the bunch of roses, which he 
 gave to Beauty, saying : '' Take these roses. Beauty ; 
 but little do you think how dear they have cost your 
 poor father ;" and then he gave them an account of 
 
Beauty and the Beast 359 
 
 all that he had seen or heard in the palace of the 
 beast. The two eldest sisters now began to shed 
 tears, and to lay the blame upon Beauty, who they 
 said would be the cause of her father's death. 
 " See," said they, ** what happens from the pride of 
 the little wretch. Why did not she ask for fine things 
 as we did? But, to be sure, miss must not be like 
 other people ; and though she will be the cause of 
 her father's death, yet she does not shed a tear." 
 '' It would be of no use," replied Beauty, " to weep 
 for the death of my father, for he shall not die now. 
 As the beast will accept of one of his daughters, I 
 will give myself up to him ; and think myself happy 
 in being able at once to save his life, and prove my 
 love for the best of fathers." " No, sister," said the 
 three brothers, '' you shall not die ; we will go in 
 search for this monster, and either he or we will per- 
 ish." '' Do not hope to kill him," said the mer- 
 chant, '' for his power is far too great for you to be 
 able to do any such thing. I am charmed with the 
 kindness of Beauty, but I will not suffer her life to be 
 lost. I myself am old, and cannot expect to live 
 much longer; so I shall but give up a few years of 
 my life, and shall only grieve for the sake of my 
 children." " Never, father," cried Beauty, " shall 
 you go to the palace without me ; for you cannot 
 hinder my going after you. Though young, I am not 
 over fond of life ; and I would much rather be eaten 
 up by the monster, than die of the grief your loss 
 would give me." The merchant tried in vain to 
 reason with Beauty, for she would go; which, in 
 truth, made her two sisters glad, for they were jeal- 
 ous of her, because everybody loved her. 
 
360 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 The merchant was so grieved at the thoughts of 
 losing his child, that he never once thought of the 
 chest filled with gold ; but at night, to his great sur- 
 prise, he found it standing by his bedside. He said 
 nothing about his riches to his eldest daughters, for 
 he knew very well it would at once make them want 
 to return to town ; but he told Beauty his secret, and 
 she then said, that while he was away, two gentle- 
 men had been on a visit to their cottage, who had 
 fallen in love with her two sisters. She then begged 
 her father to marry them without delay ; for she was 
 so sweet-tempered, that she loved them for all they 
 had used her so ill, and forgave them with all her 
 heart. When the three months were past, the mer- 
 chant and Beauty got ready to set out for the palace 
 of the beast. Upon this, the two sisters rubbed their 
 eyes with an onion, to make believe they shed a 
 great many tears; but both the merchant and his 
 sons cried in earnest. There was only Beauty who 
 did not, for she thought that this would only make 
 the matter worse. They reached the palace in a very 
 few hours, and the horse, without bidding, went 
 into the same stable as before. The merchant and 
 Beauty walked towards the large hall, where they 
 found a table covered with every dainty, and two 
 plates laid ready. The merchant had very little ap- 
 petite; but Beauty, that she might the better hide 
 her grief, placed herself at the table, and helped her 
 father ; she then began herself to eat, and thought all 
 the time that to be sure the beast had a mind to fat- 
 ten her before he eat her up, as he had got such good 
 cheer for her. When they had done their supper, 
 they heard a great noise, and the good old man be- 
 
Beauty and the Beast 361 
 
 gan to bid his poor child farewell, for he knew it 
 was the beast coming to them. When Beauty first 
 saw his frightful form, she could not help being 
 afraid ; but she tried to hide her fear as much as she 
 could. The beast asked her if she had come quite 
 of her own accord, and though she was now still 
 more afraid than before, she made shift to say, 
 " Y-e-s." '' You are a good girl, and I think my- 
 self very much obliged to you." He then turned 
 towards her father, and said to him, " Good man, 
 you may leave the palace to-morrow morning, and 
 take care never to come back to it again. Good 
 night. Beauty." *' Good night, beast," said she ; and 
 then the monster went out of the room. 
 
 " Ah ! my dear child," said the merchant, kissing 
 his daughter, " I am half dead already, at the 
 thoughts of leaving you with this dreadful beast; 
 you had better go back, and let me stay in your 
 place." '* No," said Beauty boldly, " I will never 
 agree to that ; you must go home to-morrow morn- 
 ing." They then wished each other good night, and 
 went to bed, both of them thinking they should not 
 be able to close their eyes ; but as soon as ever they 
 had laid down, they fell into a deep sleep, and did 
 not wake till morning. Beauty dreamed that a lady 
 came up to her, who said, " I am very much pleased. 
 Beauty, with the goodness you have shown, in being 
 willing to give your life to save that of your father : 
 and it shall not go without a reward." As soon as 
 Beauty awoke, she told her father this dream; but 
 though it gave him some comfort, he could not take 
 leave of his darling child without shedding many 
 tears. When the merchant got out of sight. Beauty 
 
362 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 sat down in the large hall, and began to cry also: 
 yet she had a great deal of courage, and so she soon 
 resolved not to make her sad case still worse by sor- 
 row, which she knew could not be of any use to her, 
 but to wait as well as she could till night, when she 
 thought the beast would not fail to come and eat her 
 up. She walked about to take a view of all the 
 palace, and the beauty of every part of it much 
 charmed her. 
 
 But what was her surprise, when she came to a 
 door on which was written. Beauty's room! She 
 opened it in haste, and her eyes were all at once daz- 
 zled at the grandeur of the inside of the room. 
 What made her wonder more than all the rest was, 
 a large library filled with books, a harpsichord, and 
 many other pieces of music. " The beast takes care I 
 shall not be at a loss how to amuse myself," said she. 
 She then thought that it was not likely such things 
 would have been got ready for her, if she had but 
 one day to live; and began to hope all would not 
 turn out so bad as she and her father had feared. 
 She opened the library, and saw these verses written 
 in letters of gold on the back of one of the books : 
 
 " Beauteous lady, dry your tears, 
 Here's no cause for sighs or fears ; 
 Command as freely as you may, 
 Enjoyment still shall mark your sway." 
 
 " Alas ! " said she, sighing, " there is nothing I 
 so much desire as to see my poor father and to know 
 what he is doing at this moment." She said this to 
 herself; but just then by chance, she cast her eyes 
 
Beauty and the Beast 363 
 
 on a looking-glass that stood near her, and in the 
 glass she saw her home, and her father riding up 
 to the cottage in the deepest sorrow. Her sisters 
 came out to meet him, but for all they tried to 
 look sorry, it was easy to see that in their hearts 
 they were very glad. In a short time all this picture 
 went away out of the glass : but Beauty began to 
 think that the beast was very kind to her, and that 
 she had no need to be afraid of him. About the 
 middle of the day, she found a table laid ready for 
 her; and a sweet concert of music played all the 
 time she was eating her dinner without her seeing 
 a single creature. But at supper, when she was go- 
 ing to seat herself at table, she heard the noise of the 
 beast, and could not help trembling with fear. 
 *' Beauty," said he, *' will you give me leave to see 
 you sup ? " " That is as you please," answered she, 
 very much afraid. " Not in the least," said the 
 beast ; '' you alone command in this place. If you 
 should not like my company, you need only to say 
 so, and I will leave you that moment. But tell me, 
 Beauty, do you not think me very ugly ? " " Why, 
 yes," said she, " for I cannot tell a story ; but then 
 I think you are very good." " You are right," re- 
 plied the beast ; " and, besides being ugly, I am also 
 very stupid : I know very well enough that I am but 
 a beast." 
 
 " I should think you cannot be very stupid," said 
 Beauty, " if you yourself know this." " Pray do not 
 let me hinder you from eating," said he ; " and be 
 sure you do not want for any thing; for all you see 
 is yours, and I shall be vastly grieved if you are not 
 happy." " You are very kind," said Beauty : '' I 
 
364 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 must needs own that I think very well of your good- 
 nature, and then I almost forget how ugly you are." 
 '' Yes, yes, I hope I am good-tempered," said he, 
 " but still I am a monster." " There are many men 
 who are worse monsters than you are," replied 
 Beauty ; *' and I am better pleased with you in that 
 form, though it is so ugly, than with those who 
 carry wicked hearts under the form of a man." " If 
 I had any sense," said the beast, " I would thank 
 you for what you have said ; but I am too stupid to 
 say any thing that would give you pleasure." Beauty 
 eat her supper with a very good appetite, and almost 
 lost all her dread of the monster ; but she was ready 
 to sink with fright, when he said to her, '' Beauty, 
 will you be my wife ? " For a few minutes she was 
 not able to speak a word, for she was afraid of put- 
 ting him in a passion, by refusing. At length she 
 said, *' No, beast." The beast made no reply, but 
 sighed deeply, and went away. When Beauty found 
 herself alone, she began to feel pity for the poor 
 beast. '* Dear ! " said she, " what a sad thing it is 
 that he should be so very frightful, since he is so 
 good-tempered ! " 
 
 Beauty lived three months in this palace, very 
 well pleased. The beast came to see her every 
 night, and talked with her while she supped ; and 
 though what he said was not very clever, yet as she 
 saw in him every day some new mark of his good- 
 ness, so instead of dreading the time of his coming, 
 she was always looking at her watch, to see if it was 
 almost nine o'clock ; for that was the time when he 
 never failed to visit her. There was but one thing 
 that vexed her; which was that every night, before 
 
Beauty and the Beast 365 
 
 the beast went away from her, he always made it a 
 rule to ask her if she would be his wife, and seemed 
 very much grieved at her saying no. At last, one 
 night, she said to him, '' You vex me greatly, beast, 
 by forcing me to refuse you so often ; I wish I could 
 take such a liking to you as to agree to marry you, 
 but I must tell you plainly, that I do not think it will 
 ever happen. I shall always be your friend ; so try 
 to let that make you easy." " I must needs do so 
 then," said the beast, " for I know well enough how 
 frightful I am; but I love you better than myself. 
 Yet I think I am very lucky in your being pleased to 
 stay with me ; now promise me, Beauty, that you 
 will never leave me." Beauty was quite struck when 
 he said this ; for that very day she had seen in her 
 glass that her father had fallen sick of grief for her 
 sake, and was very ill for the want of seeing her 
 again. " I would promise you, with all my heart," 
 said she, '' never to leave you quite ; but I long so 
 much to see my father, that if you do not give me 
 leave to visit him I shall die with grief." " I would 
 rather die myself, Beauty," answered the beast, 
 '' than make you fret ; I will send you to your 
 father's cottage, you shall stay there, and your poor 
 beast shall die of sorrow." '' No," said Beauty, cry- 
 ing, " I love you too well to be the cause of your 
 death; I promise to return in a week. You have 
 shown me that my sisters are married, and my broth- 
 ers are gone for soldiers, so that my father is left all 
 alone. Let me stay a week with him." " You shall 
 find yourself with him to-morrow morning," replied 
 the beast; ''but mind, do not forget your promise. 
 When you wish to return you have nothing to do but 
 
366 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 to put your ring on a table when you go to bed. 
 Good-bye, Beauty ! " The beast then sighed as he 
 said these words, and Beauty went to bed very sorry 
 to see him so much grieved. When she awoke in the 
 morning, she found herself in her father's cottage. 
 She rung a bell that was at her bedside, and a ser- 
 vant 'entered ; but as soon as she saw Beauty, the 
 woman gave a loud shriek ; upon which the mer- 
 chant ran up stairs, and when he beheld his daugh- 
 ter he was ready to die of joy. He ran to the bed- 
 side, and kissed her a hundred times. At last 
 Beauty began to remember that she had brought no 
 clothes with her to put on ; but the servant told her 
 she had just found in the next room a large chest 
 full of dresses, trimmed all over with gold, and 
 adorned with pearls and diamonds. 
 
 Beauty in her own mind thanked the beast for his 
 kindness, and put on the plainest gown she could 
 find among them all. She then told the servant to 
 put the rest away with a great deal of care, for she 
 intended to give them to her sisters ; but as soon as 
 she had spoken these words the chest was gone out 
 of sight in a moment. Her father then said, per- 
 haps the beast chose for her to keep them all for her- 
 self ; and as soon as he had said this, they saw the 
 chest standing again in the same place. While Beauty 
 was dressing herself, a servant brought word to 
 her that her sisters were come with their husbands to 
 pay her a visit. They both lived unhappily with the 
 gentlemen they had married. The husband of the 
 eldest was very handsome; but was so very proud 
 of this, that he thought of nothing else from morn- 
 ing till night, and did not attend to the beauty of his 
 
Beauty and the Beast 367 
 
 wife. The second had married a man of great learn- 
 ing ; but he made no use of it, only to torment and 
 affront all his friends, and his wife more than any 
 of them. The two sisters were ready to burst with 
 spite when they saw Beauty dressed like a princess, 
 and look so very charming. All the kindness that 
 she showed them was of no use; for they were 
 vexed more than ever, when she told them how 
 happy she lived at the palace of the beast. The 
 spiteful creatures went by themselves into the gar- 
 den, where they cried to think of her good fortune. 
 '' Why should the little wretch be better off than 
 we?" said they. ''We are much handsomer than 
 she is." " Sister," said the eldest, '' a thought has 
 just come into my head : let us try to keep her here 
 longer than the week that the beast gave her leave 
 for: and then he will be so angry, that perhaps he 
 will eat her up in a moment." *' That is well thought 
 of," answered the other, " but to do this we must 
 seem very kind to her." They then made up their 
 minds to be so, and went to join her in the cottage : 
 where they showed her so much false love, that 
 Beauty could not help crying for joy. 
 
 When the week was ended, the two sisters began 
 to pretend so much grief at the thoughts of her 
 leaving them, that she agreed to stay a week more ; 
 but all that time Beauty could not help fretting for 
 the sorrow that she knew her staying would give her 
 poor beast; for she tenderly loved him, and much 
 wished for his company again. The tenth night of 
 her being at the cottage she dreamed she was in the 
 garden of the palace, and that the beast lay dying 
 on a grass plot, and, with his last breath, put her 
 
368 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 in mind of her promise, and laid his death to her 
 keeping away from him. Beauty awoke in a great 
 fright, and burst into tears. " Am not I wicked," 
 said she, " to behave so ill to a beast who has shown 
 me so much kindness ; why will I not marry him ? 
 I am sure I should be more happy with him than my 
 sisters are with their husbands. He shall not be 
 wretched any longer on my account ; for I should 
 do nothing but blame myself all the rest of my life." 
 She then rose, put her ring on the table, got into 
 bed again, and soon fell asleep. In the morning she 
 with joy found herself in the palace of the beast. 
 She dressed herself very finely, that she might please 
 him the better, and thought she had never known a 
 day pass away so slow. At last the clock struck nine, 
 but the beast did not come. Beauty then thought to 
 be sure she had been the cause of his death in earnest. 
 She ran from room to room all over the palace, 
 calling out his name, but still she saw nothing of 
 him. After looking for him a long time, she thought 
 of her dream, and ran directly towards the grass 
 plot ; and there she found the poor beast lying sense- 
 less and seeming dead. She threw herself upon his 
 body, thinking nothing at all of his ugliness ; and 
 finding his heart still beat, she ran and fetched 
 some water from a pond in the garden, and threw it 
 on his face. The beast then opened his eyes, and 
 said : '' You have forgot your promise. Beauty. My 
 grief for the loss of you has made me resolve to 
 starve myself to death ; but I shall die content, since 
 I have had the pleasure of seeing you once more." 
 " No, dear beast," replied Beauty, '' you shall not 
 die ; you shall live to be my husband : from this mo- 
 
Beauty and the Beast 369 
 
 ment I offer to marry you, and will be only yours. 
 Oh ! I thought I felt only friendship for you ; but the 
 pain I now feel, shows me that I could not live with- 
 out seeing you." 
 
 The moment Beauty had spoken these words, the 
 palace was suddenly lighted up, and music, fire- 
 works, and all kinds of rejoicings, appeared round 
 about them. Yet Beauty took no notice of all this, 
 but watched over her dear beast with the greatest 
 tenderness. But now she was all at once amazed 
 to see at her feet, instead of her poor beast, the 
 handsomest prince that ever was seen, who thanked 
 her most warmly for having broken his enchant- 
 ment. Though this young prince deserved all her 
 notice, she could not help asking him what was be- 
 come of the beast. '' You see him at your feet. 
 Beauty," answered the prince, " for I am he. A 
 wicked fairy had condemned me to keep the form of 
 a beast till a beautiful young lady should agree to 
 marry me, and ordered me, on pain of death, not to 
 show that I had any sense. You, alone, dearest 
 Beauty, have kindly judged of me by the goodness 
 of my heart ; and in return I offer you my hand and 
 my crown, though I know the reward is much less 
 than what I owe you." Beauty, in the most pleasing 
 surprise, helped the prince to rise, and they walked 
 along to the palace, when her wonder was very 
 great to find her father and sisters there, who had 
 been brought by the lady Beauty had seen in her * 
 dream. '' Beauty," said the lady (for she was a 
 fairy), " receive the reward of the choice you have 
 made. You have chosen goodness of heart rather 
 than sense and beauty ; therefore you deserve to find 
 
J70 Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know 
 
 them all three joined in the same person. You are 
 going to be a great Queen : I hope a crown will not 
 destroy your virtue." 
 
 " As for you, ladies," said the fairy to the other 
 two sisters, ** I have long known the malice of your 
 hearts, and the wrongs you have done. You shall 
 become two statues; but under that form you shall 
 still keep your reason, and shall be fixed at the gates 
 of your sister's palace ; and I will not pass any worse 
 sentence on you than to see her happy. You will 
 never appear in your own persons again till you are 
 fully cured of your faults ; and to tell the truth, I am 
 very much afraid you will remain statues for ever." 
 
 At the same moment, the fairy, with a stroke of 
 her wand, removed all who were present to the 
 young prince's country, where he was received with 
 the greatest joy by his subjects. He married Beauty, 
 and passed a long and happy life with her, because 
 they still kept in the same course of goodness from 
 which they had never departed. 
 
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