THE PRINCESS
MAY BLOSSOM
ONCE upon a
time there lived a King and Queen whose children had all died, first one and
then another, until at last only one little daughter remained, and the Queen
was at her wits' end to know where to find a really good nurse who would take
care of her, and bring her up. A herald was sent who blew a trumpet at every
street corner, and commanded all the best nurses to appear before the Queen,
that she might choose one for the little Princess. So on the appointed day the
whole palace was crowded with nurses, who came from the four corners of the
world to offer themselves, until the Queen declared that if she was ever to see
the half of them, they must be brought out to her, one by one, as she sat in a
shady wood near the palace.
This was
accordingly done, and the nurses, after they had made their curtsey to the King
and Queen, ranged themselves in a line before her that she might choose. Most
of them were fair and fat and charming, but there was one who was dark-skinned
and ugly, and spoke a strange language which nobody could understand. The Queen
wondered how she dared offer herself, and she was told to go away, as she
certainly would not do. Upon which she muttered something and passed on, but
hid herself in a hollow tree, from which she could see all that happened. The
Queen, without giving her another thought, chose a pretty rosy-faced nurse, but
no sooner was her choice made than a snake, which was hidden in the grass, bit
that very nurse on her foot, so that she fell down as if dead. The Queen was
very much vexed by this accident, but she soon selected another, who was just
stepping forward when an eagle flew by and dropped a large tortoise upon her
head, which was cracked in pieces like an egg-shell. At this the Queen was much
horrified; nevertheless, she chose a third time, but with no better fortune,
for the nurse, moving quickly, ran into the branch of a tree and blinded
herself with a thorn. Then the Queen in dismay cried that there must be some
malignant influence at work, and that she would choose no more that day; and
she had just risen to return to the palace when she heard peals of malicious
laughter behind her, and turning round saw the ugly stranger whom she had
dismissed, who was making very merry over the disasters and mocking everyone,
but especially the Queen. This annoyed Her Majesty very much, and she was about
to order that she should be arrested, when the witch--for she was a witch--with
two blows from a wand summoned a chariot of fire drawn by winged dragons, and
was whirled off through the air uttering threats and cries. When the King saw
this he cried:
`Alas! now we
are ruined indeed, for that was no other than the Fairy Carabosse, who has had
a grudge against me ever since I was a boy and put sulphur into her porridge
one day for fun.'
Then the
Queen began to cry.
`If I had
only known who it was,' she said, `I would have done my best to make friends
with her; now I suppose all is lost.'
The King was
sorry to have frightened her so much, and proposed that they should go and hold
a council as to what was best to be done to avert the misfortunes which
Carabosse certainly meant to bring upon the little Princess.
So all the
counsellors were summoned to the palace, and when they had shut every door and
window, and stuffed up every keyhole that they might not be overheard, they
talked the affair over, and decided that every fairy for a thousand leagues
round should be invited to the christening of the Princess, and that the time
of the ceremony should be kept a profound secret, in case the Fairy Carabosse
should take it into her head to attend it.
The Queen and
her ladies set to work to prepare presents for the fairies who were invited:
for each one a blue velvet cloak, a petticoat of apricot satin, a pair of
high-heeled shoes, some sharp needles, and a pair of golden scissors. Of all
the fairies the Queen knew, only five were able to come on the day appointed,
but they began immediately to bestow gifts upon the Princess. One promised that
she should be perfectly beautiful, the second that she should understand
anything--no matter what--the first time it was explained to her, the third
that she should sing like a nightingale, the fourth that she should succeed in
everything she undertook, and the fifth was opening her mouth to speak when a
tremendous rumbling was heard in the chimney, and Carabosse, all covered with
soot, came rolling down, crying:
`I say that
she shall be the unluckiest of the unlucky until she is twenty years old.'
Then the
Queen and all the fairies began to beg and beseech her to think better of it,
and not be so unkind to the poor little Princess, who had never done her any
harm. But the ugly old Fairy only grunted and made no answer. So the last
Fairy, who had not yet given her gift, tried to mend matters by promising the
Princess a long and happy life after the fatal time was over. At this Carabosse
laughed maliciously, and climbed away up the chimney, leaving them all in great
consternation, and especially the Queen. However, she entertained the fairies
splendidly, and gave them beautiful ribbons, of which they are very fond, in
addition to the other presents.
When they
were going away the oldest Fairy said that they were of opinion that it would
be best to shut the Princess up in some place, with her waiting-women, so that
she might not see anyone else until she was twenty years old. So the King had a
tower built on purpose. It had no windows, so it was lighted with wax candles,
and the only way into it was by an underground passage, which had iron doors
only twenty feet apart, and guards were posted everywhere.
The Princess
had been named Mayblossom, because she was as fresh and blooming as Spring
itself, and she grew up tall and beautiful, and everything she did and said was
charming. Every time the King and Queen came to see her they were more
delighted with her than before, but though she was weary of the tower, and
often begged them to take her away from it, they always refused. The Princess's
nurse, who had never left her, sometimes told her about the world outside the
tower, and though the Princess had never seen anything for herself, yet she
always understood exactly, thanks to the second Fairy's gift. Often the King
said to the Queen:
`We were cleverer
than Carabosse after all. Our Mayblossom will be happy in spite of her
predictions.'
And the Queen
laughed until she was tired at the idea of having outwitted the old Fairy. They
had caused the Princess's portrait to be painted and sent to all the
neighbouring Courts, for in four days she would have completed her twentieth
year, and it was time to decide whom she should marry. All the town was
rejoicing at the thought of the Princess's approaching freedom, and when the
news came that King Merlin was sending his ambassador to ask her in marriage
for his son, they were still more delighted. The nurse, who kept the Princess
informed of everything that went forward in the town, did not fail to repeat
the news that so nearly concerned her, and gave such a description of the
splendour in which the ambassador Fanfaronade would enter the town, that the
Princess was wild to see the procession for herself.
`What an
unhappy creature I am,' she cried, `to be shut up in this dismal tower as if I
had committed some crime! I have never seen the sun, or the stars, or a horse,
or a monkey, or a lion, except in pictures, and though the King and Queen tell
me I am to be set free when I am twenty, I believe they only say it to keep me
amused, when they never mean to let me out at all.'
And then she
began to cry, and her nurse, and the nurse's daughter, and the cradle-rocker,
and the nursery-maid, who all loved her dearly, cried too for company, so that
nothing could be heard but sobs and sighs. It was a scene of woe. When the
Princess saw that they all pitied her she made up her mind to have her own way.
So she declared that she would starve herself to death if they did not find
some means of letting her see Fanfaronade's grand entry into the town.
`If you
really love me,' she said, `you will manage it, somehow or other, and the King
and Queen need never know anything about it.'
Then the
nurse and all the others cried harder than ever, and said everything they could
think of to turn the Princess from her idea. But the more they said the more
determined she was, and at last they consented to make a tiny hole in the tower
on the side that looked towards the city gates.
After
scratching and scraping all day and all night, they presently made a hole
through which they could, with great difficulty, push a very slender needle,
and out of this the Princess looked at the daylight for the first time. She was
so dazzled and delighted by what she saw, that there she stayed, never taking
her eyes away from the peep-hole for a single minute, until presently the
ambassador's procession appeared in sight.
At the head
of it rode Fanfaronade himself upon a white horse, 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 sea-shore. 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 in the
world to take away the cause of your sorrow, but this seems to be another of
the tricks of the Fairy Carabosse. The Princess's twenty unlucky years were not
quite over, and really, if the truth must be told, I noticed that Fanfaronade
and the Princess appeared to admire one another greatly. Perhaps this may give
some clue to the mystery of their disappearance.'
Here the
Queen interrupted him, saying, `Take care what you say, sir. Believe me, the
Princess Mayblossom was far too well brought up to think of falling in love
with an Ambassador.'
At this the
nurse came forward, and, falling on her knees, confessed how they had made the
little needle-hole in the tower, and how the Princess had declared when she saw
the Ambassador that she would marry him and nobody else. Then the Queen was
very angry, and gave the nurse, and the cradle-rocker, and the nursery-maid
such a scolding that they shook in their shoes. But the Admiral Cocked-Hat
interrupted her, crying:
`Let us be
off after this good-for-nothing Fanfaronade, for with out a doubt he has run
away with our Princess.'
Then there
was a great clapping of hands, and everybody shouted, `By all means let us be
after him.'
So while some
embarked upon the sea, the others ran from kingdom to kingdom beating drums and
blowing trumpets, and wherever a crowd collected they cried:
`Whoever
wants a beautiful doll, sweetmeats of all kinds, a little pair of scissors, a
golden robe, and a satin cap has only to say where Fanfaronade has hidden the
Princess Mayblossom.'
But the
answer everywhere was, `You must go farther, we have not seen them.'
However, those who went by sea were more
fortunate, for after sailing about for some time they noticed a light before
them which burned at night like a great fire. At first they dared not go near
it, not knowing what it might be, but by-and-by it remained stationary over
Squirrel Island, for, as you have guessed already, the light was the glowing of
the carbuncle. The Princess and Fanfaronade on landing upon the island had
given the boatman a hundred gold pieces, and made him promise solemnly to tell
no one where he had taken them; but the first thing that happened was that, as
he rowed away, he got into the midst of the fleet, and before he could escape
the Admiral had seen him and sent a boat after him.
When he was searched they found the gold
pieces in his pocket, and as they were quite new coins, struck in honour of the
Princess's wedding, the Admiral felt certain that the boatman must have been
paid by the Princess to aid her in her flight. But he would not answer any
questions, and pretended to be deaf and dumb
Then the
Admiral said: `Oh! deaf and dumb is he? Lash him to the mast and give him a
taste of the cat-o'-nine-tails. I don't know anything better than that for
curing the deaf and dumb!'
And when the
old boatman saw that he was in earnest, he told all he knew about the cavalier
and the lady whom he had landed upon Squirrel Island, and the Admiral knew it
must be the Princess and Fanfaronade; so he gave the order for the fleet to
surround the island.
Meanwhile the
Princess Mayblossom, who was by this time terribly sleepy, had found a grassy
bank in the shade, and throwing herself down had already fallen into a profound
slumber, when Fanfaronade, who happened to be hungry and not sleepy, came and
woke her up, saying, very crossly:
`Pray, madam,
how long do you mean to stay here? I see nothing to eat, and though you may be
very charming, the sight of you does not prevent me from famishing.'
`What!
Fanfaronade,' said the Princess, sitting up and rubbing her eyes, `is it
possible that when I am here with you you can want anything else? You ought to
be thinking all the time how happy you are.'
`Happy!'
cried he; `say rather unhappy. I wish with all my heart that you were back in
your dark tower again.'
`Darling,
don't be cross,' said the Princess. `I will go and see if I can find some wild
fruit for you.'
`I wish you
might find a wolf to eat you up,' growled Fanfaronade.
The Princess,
in great dismay, ran hither and thither all about the wood, tearing her dress,
and hurting her pretty white hands with the thorns and brambles, but she could
find nothing good to eat, and at last she had to go back sorrowfully to
Fanfaronade. When he saw that she came empty-handed he got up and left her,
grumbling to himself.
The next day
they searched again, but with no better success.
`Alas!' said
the Princess, `if only I could find something for you to eat, I should not mind
being hungry myself.'
`No, I should
not mind that either,' answered Fanfaronade.
`Is it
possible,' said she, `that you would not care if I died of hunger? Oh,
Fanfaronade, you said you loved me!'
`That was
when we were in quite another place and I was not hungry,' said he. `It makes a
great difference in one's ideas to be dying of hunger and thirst on a desert
island.'
At this the
Princess was dreadfully vexed, and she sat down under a white rose bush and
began to cry bitterly.
`Happy
roses,' she thought to herself, `they have only to blossom in the sunshine and
be admired, and there is nobody to be unkind to them.' And the tears ran down
her cheeks and splashed on to the rose-tree roots. Presently she was surprised
to see the whole bush rustling and shaking, and a soft little voice from the
prettiest rosebud said:
`Poor
Princess! look in the trunk of that tree, and you will find a honeycomb, but
don't be foolish enough to share it with Fanfaronade.'
Mayblossom
ran to the tree, and sure enough there was the honey. Without losing a moment
she ran with it to Fanfaronade, crying gaily:
`See, here is
a honeycomb that I have found. I might have eaten it up all by myself, but I
had rather share it with you.'
But without
looking at her or thanking her he snatched the honey comb out of her hands and
ate it all up--every bit, without offering her a morsel. Indeed, when she
humbly asked for some he said mockingly that it was too sweet for her, and
would spoil her teeth.
Mayblossom,
more downcast than ever, went sadly away and sat down under an oak tree, and
her tears and sighs were so piteous that the oak fanned her with his rustling
leaves, and said:
`Take
courage, pretty Princess, all is not lost yet. Take this pitcher of milk and
drink it up, and whatever you do, don't leave a drop for Fanfaronade.'
The Princess, quite astonished, looked round,
and saw a big pitcher full of milk, but before she could raise it to her lips
the thought of how thirsty Fanfaronade must be, after eating at least fifteen
pounds of honey, made her run back to him and say:
`Here is a pitcher of milk; drink some, for
you must be thirsty I am sure; but pray save a little for me, as I am dying of
hunger and thirst.'
But he seized the pitcher and drank all it
contained at a single draught, and then broke it to atoms on the nearest stone,
saying with a malicious smile: `As you have not eaten anything you cannot be
thirsty.'
`Ah!' cried
the Princess, `I am well punished for disappointing the King and Queen, and
running away with this Ambassador about whom I knew nothing.'
And so saying she wandered away into the
thickest part of the wood, and sat down under a thorn tree, where a nightingale
was singing. Presently she heard him say: `Search under the bush Princess; you
will find some sugar, almonds, and some tarts there But don't be silly enough
to offer Fanfaronade any.' And this time the Princess, who was fainting with hunger,
took the nightingale's advice, and ate what she found all by herself. But
Fanfaronade, seeing that she had found something good, and was not going to
share it with him, ran after her in such a fury that she hastily drew out the
Queen's carbuncle, which had the property of rendering people invisible if they
were in danger, and when she was safely hidden from him she reproached him
gently for his unkindness.
Meanwhile Admiral Cocked-Hat had despatched
Jack-the-Chatterer-of-the-Straw-Boots, Courier in Ordinary to the Prime
Minister, to tell the King that the Princess and the Ambassador had landed on
Squirrel Island, but that not knowing the country he had not pursued them, for
fear of being captured by concealed enemies. Their Majesties were overjoyed at
the news, and the King sent for a great book, each leaf of which was eight ells
long. It was the work of a very clever Fairy, and contained a description of
the whole earth. He very soon found that Squirrel Island was uninhabited.
`Go,' said he, to Jack-the-Chatterer, `tell
the Admiral from me to land at once. I am surprised at his not having done so
sooner.' As soon as this message reached the fleet, every preparation was made
for war, and the noise was so great that it reached the ears of the Princess,
who at once flew to protect her lover. As he was not very brave he accepted her
aid gladly.
`You stand behind me,' said she, `and I will
hold the carbuncle which will make us invisible, and with the King's dagger I
can protect you from the enemy.' So when the soldiers landed they could see
nothing, but the Princess touched them one after another with the dagger, and
they fell insensible upon the sand, so that at last the Admiral, seeing that
there was some enchantment, hastily gave orders for a retreat to be sounded,
and got his men back into their boats in great confusion.
Fanfaronade, being once more left with the
Princess, began to think that if he could get rid of her, and possess himself
of the carbuncle and the dagger, he would be able to make his escape. So as
they walked back over the cliffs he gave the Princess a great push, hoping she
would fall into the sea; but she stepped aside so quickly that he only
succeeded in overbalancing himself, and over he went, and sank to the bottom of
the sea like a lump of lead, and was never heard of any more. While the
Princess was still looking after him in horror, her attention was attracted by
a rushing noise over her head, and looking up she saw two chariots approaching
rapidly from opposite directions. One was bright and glittering, and drawn by
swans and peacocks, while the Fairy who sat in it was beautiful as a sunbeam;
but the other was drawn by bats and ravens, and contained a frightful little
Dwarf, who was dressed in a snake's skin, and wore a great toad upon her head
for a hood. The chariots met with a frightful crash in mid-air, and the
Princess looked on in breathless anxiety while a furious battle took place
between the lovely Fairy with her golden lance, and the hideous little Dwarf
and her rusty pike. But very soon it was evident that the Beauty had the best
of it, and the Dwarf turned her bats' heads and flickered away in great
confusion, while the Fairy came down to where the Princess stood, and said,
smiling, `You see Princess, I have completely routed that malicious old
Carabosse. Will you believe it! she actually wanted to claim authority over you
for ever, because you came out of the tower four days before the twenty years
were ended. However, I think I have settled her pretensions, and I hope you
will be very happy and enjoy the freedom I have won for you.'
The Princess thanked her heartily, and then
the Fairy despatched one of her peacocks to her palace to bring a gorgeous robe
for Mayblossom, who certainly needed it, for her own was torn to shreds by the
thorns and briars. Another peacock was sent to the Admiral to tell him that he
could now land in perfect safety, which he at once did, bringing all his men
with him, even to Jack-the-Chatterer, who, happening to pass the spit upon
which the Admiral's dinner was roasting, snatched it up and brought it with
him.
Admiral Cocked-Hat was immensely surprised
when he came upon the golden chariot, and still more so to see two lovely
ladies walking under the trees a little farther away. When he reached them, of
course he recognised the Princess, and he went down on his knees and kissed her
hand quite joyfully. Then she presented him to the Fairy, and told him how
Carabosse had been finally routed, and he thanked and congratulated the Fairy,
who was most gracious to him. While they were talking she cried suddenly:
I declare I smell a savoury dinner.'
Why yes, Madam, here it is,' said
Jack-the-Chatterer, holding up the spit, where all the pheasants and partridges
were frizzling. `Will your Highness please to taste any of them?'
By all means,' said the Fairy, `especially
as the Princess will certainly be glad of a good meal.'
So, the Admiral sent back to his ship for
everything that was needful, and they feasted merrily under the trees. By the
time they had finished the peacock had come back with a robe for the Princess,
in which the Fairy arrayed her. It was of green and gold brocade, embroidered
with pearls and rubies, and her long golden hair was tied back with strings of
diamonds and emeralds, and crowned with flowers. The Fairy made her mount
beside her in the golden chariot, and took her on board the Admiral's ship,
where she bade her farewell, sending many messages of friendship to the Queen,
and bidding the Princess tell her that she was the fifth Fairy who had attended
the christening. Then salutes were fired, the fleet weighed anchor, and very
soon they reached the port. Here the King and Queen were waiting, and they
received the Princess with such joy and kindness that she could not get a word
in edgewise, to say how sorry she was for having run away with such a very poor-spirited
Ambassador. But, after all, it must have been all Carabosse's fault. Just at
this lucky moment who should arrive but King Merlin's son, who had become
uneasy at not receiving any news from his ambassador, and so had started himself
with a magnificent escort of a thousand horsemen, and thirty body-guards in
gold and scarlet uniforms, to see what could have happened. As he was a hundred
times handsomer and braver than the Ambassador, the Princess found she could
like him very much. So the wedding was held at once, with so much splendour and
rejoicing that all the previous misfortunes were quite forgotten.
मैं
तुम सब की आत्मा अनंत अंतर्यामी हूं।
मैं ही
सब में सर्व श्रेष्ठ हूं- Yjur-Veda
मैं गुरुओं
का भी गुरु हूं- Rig-Veda
मैं
वायु के समान संसार रूप शरीर में प्राण हूं- Rig-Veda
मैं
तुम सब का अमृत हूं- Rig -Veda
मैं ही
तुम सब का पिता हूं- Rig-Veda
मैं
तुम्हारा शासक हूं- Rig Veda
मैं तुम्हारे
समीप ही हूं- Rig Veda
मैं ही
अंगों का रस अङ्गिरस हूं-Rig Veda
मैं ही
सत्या का रक्षक हूं- Rig Veda
मैं ही सभी
ऐश्वर्यों का पर ऐश्वर्य रूप परम धन हूं Rigved
I Am Ancestor
of all Ancestors -Rigved - मैं
ऋषियों का पुर्वज हूं
6
Feet land A Hindi Story of Leo Tolstoy- Hindi दो बहनों कि कथा
श्रवण
और कालु किसान -story in Hindi
रीक्ष का शिकार story
of Leo-Tolstoy Hindi
परमेश्वर ने दर्शन देने का वादा किया
कृष्ण और पांडव के स्वर्गारोहण की कथा
सृष्टि के प्रारंभ में मानव एवं सृष्टि उत्पत्ति
अभिज्ञानशाकुन्तल संक्षिप्त कथावस्तु
महाकविकालिदासप्रणीतम् - अभिज्ञानशाकुन्तलम् `- भूमिका
वैराग्य
संदीपनी गोस्वामितुलसीदासकृत हिंदी
अग्नि
सुक्तम् - अग्निमीळे पुरोहितं यज्ञस्य देवमृत्विजम्
S’rimad
Devî Bhâgavatam THE FIRST BOOK
Chapter
XV-XVI-XVII-XVIII-XIX-XX-XXI-XII
S’rimad Devî
Bhâgavatam THE FIRST BOOK Chapter XIII-XIV
S’rimad Devî
Bhâgavatam THE FIRST BOOK Chapter XI-XII
S’rimad Devî
Bhâgavatam THE FIRST BOOK Chapter IX-X
S’rimad Devî
Bhâgavatam THE FIRST BOOK Chapter VII-VIII
S’rimad Devî
Bhâgavatam THE FIRST BOOK Chapter V-VI
S’rimad Devî
Bhâgavatam THE FIRST BOOK Chapter III-IV
S’rimad Devî
Bhâgavatam THE FIRST BOOK Chapter I-II
VISHNU PURANA. -
BOOK III. CHAP -16,17,18
VISHNU PURANA. -
BOOK III. CHAP. XV.
VISHNU PURANA. -
BOOK III. CHAP. XIV.
VISHNU PURANA. -
BOOK III. CHAP. XIII.
VISHNU PURANA. -
BOOK III. CHAP. XII.
VISHNU PURANA. -
BOOK III. CHAP. XI.
VISHNU PURANA. -
BOOK III. CHAP. X
VISHNU PURANA. -
BOOK III. CHAP. IX
VISHNU PURANA. - BOOK
III. CHAP. VIII
VISHNU PURANA. -
BOOK III. CHAP. VII.
VISHNU PURANA. -
BOOK III. CHAP. VI
VISHNU PURANA. -
BOOK III. CHAP. V
VISHNU PURANA. -
BOOK III. CHAP. IV
VISHNU PURANA. - BOOK
III.- CHAP. III
VISHNU PURANA. -
BOOK III.- CHAP. II.
चंद्रकांता
(उपन्यास) पहला अध्याय : देवकीनन्दन खत्री
खूनी औरत का
सात खून (उपन्यास) : किशोरी लाल गोस्वामी
ब्राह्मण की
बेटी : शरतचंद्र चट्टोपाध्याय (बांग्ला उपन्यास)
SELF-SUGGESTION AND
THE NEW HUNA THEORY OF MESMERISM AND HYPNOSIS – chapter-1, BY- MAX FREEDOM LONG
VISHNU PURAN-BOOK I
- CHAPTER 11-22
VISHNU PURANA. -
BOOK I. CHAP. 1. to 10
THE ROLE OF PRAYER.
= THOUGHT: CREATIVE AND EXHAUSTIVE. MEDITATION EXERCISE.
HIGHER REASON AND
JUDGMENT= CONQUEST OF FEAR.
QUEEN CHUNDALAI, THE
GREAT YOGIN
THE POWER OF
DHARANA, DHIYANA, AND SAMYAMA YOGA.
THE POWER OF THE
PRANAYAMA YOGA.
KUNDALINI,
THE MOTHER OF THE UNIVERSE.
TO THE KUNDALINI—THE
MOTHER OF THE UNIVERSE.
Yoga Vashist part-1
-or- Heaven Found by Rishi Singh Gherwal
Shakti and Shâkta
-by Arthur Avalon (Sir John Woodroffe),
Mahanirvana Tantra-
All- Chapter -1 Questions relating to
the Liberation of Beings
Tantra
of the Great Liberation
श्वेतकेतु और
उद्दालक, उपनिषद की कहानी, छान्द्योग्यापनिषद,
GVB THE UNIVERSITY OF VEDA
यजुर्वेद
मंत्रा हिन्दी व्याख्या सहित, प्रथम अध्याय 1-10,
GVB THE UIVERSITY OF VEDA
उषस्ति की
कठिनाई, उपनिषद की कहानी, आपदकालेमर्यादानास्ति,
_4 -GVB the uiversity of veda
वैराग्यशतकम्, योगी
भर्तृहरिकृत, संस्कृत काव्य, हिन्दी
व्याख्या, भाग-1, gvb the university of Veda
G.V.B. THE
UNIVERSITY OF VEDA ON YOU TUBE
इसे भी पढ़े-
इन्द्र औ वृत्त युद्ध- भिष्म का युधिष्ठिर को उपदेश
इसे भी पढ़े
- भाग- ब्रह्मचर्य वैभव
Read Also Next
Article- A Harmony of Faiths and Religions
इसे भी पढ़े-
भाग -2, ब्रह्मचर्य की प्राचीनता
वैदिक इतिहास
संक्षीप्त रामायण की कहानीः-
वैदिक ऋषियों
का सामान्य परिचय-1
वैदिक इतिहास
महाभारत की सुक्ष्म कथाः-
वैदिक ऋषियों
का सामान्य परिचय-2 –वैदिक ऋषि अंगिरस
वैदिक
विद्वान वैज्ञानिक विश्वामित्र के द्वारा अन्तरिक्ष में स्वर्ग की स्थापना
राजकुमार और
उसके पुत्र के बलिदान की कहानीः-
पुरुषार्थ और विद्या- ब्रह्मज्ञान
संस्कृत के अद्भुत सार गर्भित विद्या श्लोक हिन्दी अर्थ सहित
श्रेष्ट
मनुष्य समझ बूझकर चलता है"
पंचतंत्र- कहानि क्षुद्रवुद्धि गिदण की
कनफ्यूशियस के शिष्य चीनी विद्वान के शब्द। लियोटालस्टा
कहानी माधो चमार की-लियोटलस्टाय
पर्मार्थ कि यात्रा के सुक्ष्म सोपान
जीवन संग्राम -1, मिर्जापुर का परिचय
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