The Red Fairy Book by Andrew Lang (e novels for free .txt) 📖
- Author: Andrew Lang
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which pranced and caracoled to the sound of the trumpets. Nothing
could have been more splendid than the ambassador’s attire. His
coat was nearly hidden under an embroidery of pearls and diamonds,
his boots were solid gold, and from his helmet floated scarlet plumes.
At the sight of him the Princess lost her wits entirely, and determined
that Fanfaronade and nobody else would she marry.
`It is quite impossible,’ she said, `that his master should be half
as handsome and delightful. I am not ambitious, and having spent
all my life in this tedious tower, anything—even a house in the
country—will seem a delightful change. I am sure that bread and
water shared with Fanfaronade will please me far better than roast
chicken and sweetmeats with anybody else.’
And so she went on talk, talk, talking, until her waiting-women
wondered where she got it all from. But when they tried to stop
her, and represented that her high rank made it perfectly impossible
that she should do any such thing, she would not listen, and
ordered them to be silent.
As soon as the ambassador arrived at the palace, the Queen
started to fetch her daughter.
All the streets were spread with carpets, and the windows were
full of ladies who were waiting to see the Princess, and carried
baskets of flowers and sweetmeats to shower upon her as she
passed.
They had hardly begun to get the Princess ready when a dwarf
arrived, mounted upon an elephant. He came from the five fairies,
and brought for the Princess a crown, a sceptre, and a robe of golden
brocade, with a petticoat marvellously embroidered with butterflies’
wings. They also sent a casket of jewels, so splendid that no one
had ever seen anything like it before, and the Queen was perfectly
dazzled when she opened it. But the Princess scarcely gave a glance
to any of these treasures, for she thought of nothing but Fanfaronade.
The Dwarf was rewarded with a gold piece, and decorated with so
many ribbons that it was hardly possible to see him at all. The
Princess sent to each of the fairies a new spinning-wheel with a
distaff of cedar wood, and the Queen said she must look through
her treasures and find something very charming to send them
also.
When the Princess was arrayed in all the gorgeous things the
Dwarf had brought, she was more beautiful than ever, and as she
walked along the streets the people cried: `How pretty she is!
How pretty she is!’
The procession consisted of the Queen, the Princess, five dozen
other princesses her cousins, and ten dozen who came from the
neighbouring kingdoms; and as they proceeded at a stately pace the
sky began to grow dark, then suddenly the thunder growled, and
rain and hail fell in torrents. The Queen put her royal mantle
over her head, and all the princesses did the same with their trains.
Mayblossom was just about to follow their example when a terrific
croaking, as of an immense army of crows, rooks, ravens, screech-owls, and all birds of ill-omen was heard, and at the same instant a
huge owl skimmed up to the Princess, and threw over her a scarf
woven of spiders’ webs and embroidered with bats’ wings. And
then peals of mocking laughter rang through the air, and they
guessed that this was another of the Fairy Carabosse’s unpleasant
jokes.
The Queen was terrified at such an evil omen, and tried to pull
the black scarf from the Princess’s shoulders, but it really seemed
as if it must be nailed on, it clung so closely.
`Ah!’ cried the Queen, `can nothing appease this enemy of
ours? What good was it that I sent her more than fifty pounds of
sweetmeats, and as much again of the best sugar, not to mention
two Westphalia hams? She is as angry as ever.’
While she lamented in this way, and everybody was as wet as
if they had been dragged through a river, the Princess still thought
of nothing but the ambassador, and just at this moment he appeared
before her, with the King, and there was a great blowing of
trumpets, and all the people shouted louder than ever. Fanfaronade
was not generally at a loss for something to say, but when he saw
the Princess, she was so much more beautiful and majestic than he
had expected that he could only stammer out a few words, and
entirely forgot the harangue which he had been learning for
months, and knew well enough to have repeated it in his sleep. To
gain time to remember at least part of it, he made several low bows
to the Princess, who on her side dropped half-a-dozen curtseys without
stopping to think, and then said, to relieve his evident embarrassment:
`Sir Ambassador, I am sure that everything you intend to say
is charming, since it is you who mean to say it; but let us make
haste into the palace, as it is pouring cats and dogs, and the wicked
Fairy Carabosse will be amused to see us all stand dripping here.
When we are once under shelter we can laugh at her.’
Upon this the Ambassador found his tongue, and replied
gallantly that the Fairy had evidently foreseen the flames that
would be kindled by the bright eyes of the Princess, and had sent
this deluge to extinguish them. Then he offered his hand to conduct
the Princess, and she said softly:
`As you could not possibly guess how much I like you, Sir
Fanfaronade, I am obliged to tell you plainly that, since I saw you
enter the town on your beautiful prancing horse, I have been sorry
that you came to speak for another instead of for yourself. So, if
you think about it as I do, I will marry you instead of your master.
Of course I know you are not a prince, but I shall be just as fond of
you as if you were, and we can go and live in some cosy little
corner of the world, and be as happy as the days are long.’
The Ambassador thought he must be dreaming, and could hardly
believe what the lovely Princess said. He dared not answer, but
only squeezed the Princess’s hand until he really hurt her little
finger, but she did not cry out. When they reached the palace the
King kissed his daughter on both cheeks, and said:
`My little lambkin, are you willing to marry the great King
Merlin’s son, for this Ambassador has come on his behalf to fetch
you?’
`If you please, sire,’ said the Princess, dropping a curtsey.
`I consent also,’ said the Queen; `so let the banquet be prepared.’
This was done with all speed, and everybody feasted except
Mayblossom and Fanfaronade, who looked at one another and forgot
everything else.
After the banquet came a ball, and after that again a ballet, and
at last they were all so tired that everyone fell asleep just where
he sat. Only the lovers were as wide-awake as mice, and the
Princess, seeing that there was nothing to fear, said to Fanfaronade:
`Let us be quick and run away, for we shall never have a better
chance than this.’
Then she took the King’s dagger, which was in a diamond
sheath, and the Queen’s neck-handkerchief, and gave her hand to
Fanfaronade, who carried a lantern, and they ran out together into
the muddy street and down to the seashore. Here they got into
a little boat in which the poor old boatman was sleeping, and when
he woke up and saw the lovely Princess, with all her diamonds and
her spiders’—web scarf, he did not know what to think, and obeyed
her instantly when she commanded him to set out. They could see
neither moon nor stars, but in the Queen’s neck-handkerchief there
was a carbuncle which glowed like fifty torches. Fanfaronade
asked the Princess where she would like to go, but she only
answered that she did not care where she went as long as he was
with her.
`But, Princess,’ said he, `I dare not take you back to King
Merlin’s court. He would think hanging too good for me.’
`Oh, in that case,’ she answered, `we had better go to Squirrel
Island; it is lonely enough, and too far off for anyone to follow us
there.’
So she ordered the old boatman to steer for Squirrel Island.
Meanwhile the day was breaking, and the King and Queen and
all the courtiers began to wake up and rub their eyes, and think
it was time to finish the preparations for the wedding. And the
Queen asked for her neck-handkerchief, that she might look smart.
Then there was a scurrying hither and thither, and a hunting everywhere:
they looked into every place, from the wardrobes to the
stoves, and the Queen herself ran about from the garret to the
cellar, but the handkerchief was nowhere to be found.
By this time the King had missed his dagger, and the
search began all over again. They opened boxes and chests of
which the keys had been lost for a hundred years, and found
numbers of curious things, but not the dagger, and the King tore
his beard, and the Queen tore her hair, for the handkerchief and
the dagger were the most valuable things in the kingdom.
When the King saw that the search was hopeless he said:
`Never mind, let us make haste and get the wedding over before
anything else is lost.’ And then he asked where the Princess was.
Upon this her nurse came forward and said:
`Sire, I have been seeking her these two hours, but she is
nowhere to be found.’ This was more than the Queen could bear.
She gave a shriek of alarm and fainted away, and they had to pour
two barrels of eau-de-cologne over her before she recovered. When
she came to herself everybody was looking for the Princess in the
greatest terror and confusion, but as she did not appear, the King
said to his page:
`Go and find the Ambassador Fanfaronade, who is doubtless
asleep in some corner, and tell him the sad news.’
So the page hunted hither and thither, but Fanfaronade was
no more to be found than the Princess, the dagger, or the neck-handkerchief!
Then the King summoned his counsellors and his guards, and,
accompanied by the Queen, went into his great hall. As he had not
had time to prepare his speech beforehand, the King ordered that
silence should be kept for three hours, and at the end of that time
he spoke as follows:
`Listen, great and ! My dear daughter Mayblossom is
lost: whether she has been stolen away or has simply disappeared
I cannot tell. The Queen’s neck-handkerchief and my sword,
which are worth their weight in gold, are also missing, and, what
is worst of all, the Ambassador Fanfaronade is nowhere to be
found. I greatly fear that the King, his master, when he receives
no tidings from him, will come to seek him among us, and will
accuse us of having made mince-meat of him. Perhaps I could
bear even that if I had any money, but I assure you that the
expenses of the wedding have completely ruined me. Advise me,
then, my dear subjects, what had I better do to recover my daughter,
Fanfaronade, and the other things.’
This was the most eloquent speech the King had been known
to make, and when everybody had done admiring it the Prime
Minister made answer:
`Sire, we are all very sorry to see you so sorry. We would
give everything we value
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