PRINCE
DARLING
ONCE
upon a time there lived a king who was so just and kind that his subjects
called him "the Good King." It happened one day, when he was out
hunting, that a little white rabbit, which his dogs were chasing, sprang into
his arms for shelter. The King stroked it gently, and said to it:
"Well,
bunny, as you have come to me for protection I will see that nobody hurts
you."
And
he took it home to his palace and had it put in a pretty little house, with all
sorts of nice things to eat.
That
night, when he was alone in his room, a beautiful lady suddenly appeared before
him; her long dress was as white as snow, and she had a crown of white roses
upon her head. The good King was very much surprised to see her, for he knew
his door had been tightly shut, and he could not think how she had got in. But
she said to him:
"I
am the Fairy Truth. I was passing through the wood when you were out hunting,
and I wished to find out if you were really good, as everybody said you were,
so I took the shape of a little rabbit and came to your arms for shelter, for I
know that those who are merciful to animals will be still kinder to their
fellow-men. If you had refused to help me I should have been certain that you
were wicked. I thank you for the kindness you have shown me, which has made me
your friend for ever. You have only to ask me for anything you want and I
promise that I will give it to you."
"Madam,"
said the good King, "since you are a fairy you no doubt know all my
wishes. I have but one son whom I love very dearly, that is why he is called
Prince Darling. If you are really good enough to wish to do me a favor, I beg
that you will become his friend."
"With
all my heart," answered the Fairy. "I can make your son the
handsomest prince in the world, or the richest, or the most powerful; choose
whichever you like for him."
"I
do not ask either of these things for my son," replied the good King;
"but if you will make him the best of princes, I shall indeed be grateful
to you. What good would it do him to be rich, or handsome, or to possess all
the kingdoms of the world if he were wicked? You know well he would still be
unhappy. Only a good man can be really contented."
"You
are quite right," answered the Fairy; "but it is not in my power to
make Prince Darling a good man unless he will help me; he must himself try hard
to become good, I can only promise to give him good advice, to scold him for
his faults, and to punish him if he will not correct and punish himself."
The
good King was quite satisfied with this promise; and very soon afterward he
died.
Prince
Darling was very sorry, for he loved his father with all his heart, and he
would willingly have given all his kingdoms and all his treasures of gold and
silver if they could have kept the good King with him. Two days afterward, when the Prince had gone
to bed, the Fairy suddenly appeared to him and said:
"I
promised your father that I would be your friend, and to keep my word I have
come to bring you a present." At the same time she put a little gold ring
upon his finger.
"Take
great care of this ring," she said: "it is more precious than
diamonds; every time you do a bad deed it will prick your finger, but if, in
spite of its pricking, you go on in your own evil way, you will lose my
friendship, and I shall become your enemy."
So
saying, the Fairy disappeared, leaving Prince Darling very much astonished.
For
some time he behaved so well that the ring never pricked him, and that made him
so contented that his subjects called him Prince Darling the Happy.
One
day, however, he went out hunting, but could get no sport, which put him in a
very bad temper; it seemed to him as he rode along that his ring was pressing
into his finger, but as it did not prick him he did not heed it. When he got
home and went to his own room, his little dog Bibi ran to meet him, jumping
round him with pleasure. "Get away!" said the Prince, quite gruffly.
"I don't want you, you are in the way."
The
poor little dog, who didn't understand this at all, pulled at his coat to make
him at least look at her, and this made Prince Darling so cross that he gave
her quite a hard kick.
Instantly
his ring pricked him sharply, as if it had been a pin. He was very much
surprised, and sat down in a corner of his room feeling quite ashamed of
himself.
"I
believe the Fairy is laughing at me," he thought. "Surely I can have
done no great wrong in just kicking a tiresome animal! What is the good of my
being ruler of a great kingdom if I am not even allowed to beat my own
dog?"
"I
am not making fun of you," said a voice, answering Prince Darling's
thoughts. "You have committed three faults. First of all, you were out of
temper because you could not have what you wanted, and you thought all men and
animals were only made to do your pleasure; then you were really angry, which
is very naughty indeed; and lastly, you were cruel to a poor little animal who
did not in the least deserve to be ill-treated.
"I
know you are far above a little dog, but if it were right and allowable that
great people should ill-treat all who are beneath them, I might at this moment
beat you, or kill you, for a fairy is greater than a man. The advantage of
possessing a great empire is not to be able to do the evil that one desires, but
to do all the good that one possibly can."
The
Prince saw how naughty he had been, and promised to try and do better in
future, but he did not keep his word. The fact was he had been brought up by a
foolish nurse, who had spoiled him when he was little. If he wanted anything he
only had to cry and fret and stamp his feet and she would give him whatever he
asked for, which had made him self-willed; also she had told him from morning
to night that he would one day be a king, and that kings were very happy,
because everyone was bound to obey and respect them, and no one could prevent
them from doing just as they liked.
When
the Prince grew old enough to understand, he soon learned that there could be
nothing worse than to be proud, obstinate, and conceited, and he had really
tried to cure himself of these defects, but by that time all his faults had
become habits; and a bad habit is very hard to get rid of. Not that he was
naturally of a bad disposition; he was truly sorry when he had been naughty, and
said:
"I
am very unhappy to have to struggle against my anger and pride every day; if I
had been punished for them when I was little they would not be such a trouble
to me now."
His
ring pricked him very often, and sometimes he left off what he was doing at
once; but at other times he would not attend to it. Strangely enough, it gave
him only a slight prick for a trifling fault, but when he was really naughty it
made his finger actually bleed. At last he got tired of being constantly
reminded, and wanted to be able to do as he liked, so he threw his ring aside,
and thought himself the happiest of men to have got rid of its teasing pricks.
He gave himself up to doing every foolish thing that occurred to him, until he
became quite wicked and nobody could like him any longer.
One
day, when the Prince was walking about, he saw a young girl who was so very
pretty that he made up his mind at once that he would marry her. Her name was
Celia, and she was as good as she was beautiful.
Prince
Darling fancied that Celia would think herself only too happy if he offered to
make her a great queen, but she said fearlessly:
"Sire,
I am only a shepherdess, and a poor girl, but, nevertheless, I will not marry
you."
"Do
you dislike me?" asked the Prince, who was very much vexed at this answer.
"No,
my Prince," replied Celia; "I cannot help thinking you very handsome;
but what good would riches be to me, and all the grand dresses and splendid
carriages that you would give me, if the bad deeds which I should see you do
every day made me hate and despise you?"
The
Prince was very angry at this speech, and commanded his officers to make Celia
a prisoner and carry her off to his palace. All day long the remembrance of
what she had said annoyed him, but as he loved her he could not make up his
mind to have her punished.
One
of the Prince's favorite companions was his foster-brother, whom he trusted
entirely; but he was not at all a good man, and gave Prince Darling very bad
advice, and encouraged him in all his evil ways. When he saw the Prince so
downcast he asked what was the matter, and when he explained that he could not
bear Celia's bad opinion of him, and was resolved to be a better man in order
to please her, this evil adviser said to him:
"You
are very kind to trouble yourself about this little girl; if I were you I would
soon make her obey me. Remember that you are a king, and that it would be
laughable to see you trying to please a shepherdess, who ought to be only too
glad to be one of your slaves. Keep her in prison, and feed her on bread and
water for a little while, and then, if she still says she will not marry you,
have her head cut off, to teach other people that you mean to be obeyed. Why,
if you cannot make a girl like that do as you wish, your subjects will soon
forget that they are only put into this world for our pleasure."
"But,"
said Prince Darling, "would it not be a shame if I had an innocent girl
put to death? For Celia has done nothing to deserve punishment."
"If
people will not do as you tell them they ought to suffer for it," answered
his foster-brother; "but even if it were unjust, you had better be accused
of that by your subjects than that they should find out that they may insult
and thwart you as often as they please."
In
saying this he was touching a weak point in his brother's character; for the
Prince's fear of losing any of his power made him at once abandon his first
idea of trying to be good, and resolve to try and frighten the shepherdess into
consenting to marry him.
His
foster-brother, who wanted him to keep this resolution, invited three young
courtiers, as wicked as himself to sup with the Prince, and they persuaded him
to drink a great deal of wine, and continued to excite his anger against Celia
by telling him that she had laughed at his love for her; until at last, in
quite a furious rage, he rushed off to find her, declaring that if she still
refused to marry him she should be sold as a slave the very next day.
But
when he reached the room in which Celia had been locked up, he was greatly
surprised to find that she was not in it, though he had the key in his own
pocket all the time. His anger was terrible, and he vowed vengeance against
whoever had helped her to escape. His bad friends, when they heard him,
resolved to turn his wrath upon an old nobleman who had formerly been his
tutor; and who still dared sometimes to tell the Prince of his faults, for he
loved him as if he had been his own son. At first Prince Darling had thanked
him, but after a time he grew impatient and thought it must be just mere love
of fault-finding that made his old tutor blame him when everyone else was
praising and flattering him. So he ordered him to retire from his Court, though
he still, from time to time, spoke of him as a worthy man whom he respected,
even if he no longer loved him. His unworthy friends feared that he might some
day take it into his head to recall his old tutor, so they thought they now had
a good opportunity of getting him banished for ever.
They
reported to the Prince that Suilman, for that was the tutor's name, had boasted
of having helped Celia to escape, and they bribed three men to say that Suilman
himself had told them about it. The Prince, in great anger, sent his
foster-brother with a number of soldiers to bring his tutor before him, in
chains, like a criminal. After giving this order he went to his own room, but
he had scarcely got into it when there was a clap of thunder which made the
ground shake, and the Fairy Truth appeared suddenly before him.
"I
promised your father," said she sternly, "to give you good advice,
and to punish you if you refused to follow it. You have despised my counsel,
and have gone your own evil way until you are only outwardly a man; really you
are a monster--the horror of everyone who knows you. It is time that I should
fulfil my promise, and begin your punishment. I condemn you to resemble the
animals whose ways you have imitated. You have made yourself like the lion by
your anger, and like the wolf by your greediness. Like a snake, you have
ungratefully turned upon one who was a second father to you; your churlishness
has made you like a bull. Therefore, in your new form, take the appearance of
all these animals."
The
Fairy had scarcely finished speaking when Prince Darling saw to his horror that
her words were fulfilled. He had a lion's head, a bull's horns, a wolf's feet,
and a snake's body. At the same instant he found himself in a great forest,
beside a clear lake, in which he could see plainly the horrible creature he had
become, and a voice said to him:
"Look
carefully at the state to which your wickedness has brought you; believe me,
your soul is a thousand times more hideous than your body."
Prince
Darling recognized the voice of the Fairy Truth and turned in a fury to catch
her and eat her up if he possibly could; but he saw no one, and the same voice
went on: "I laugh at your
powerlessness and anger, and I intend to punish your pride by letting you fall into
the hands of your own subjects."
The Prince
began to think that the best thing he could do would be to get as far away from
the lake as he could, then at least he would not be continually reminded of his
terrible ugliness. So he ran toward the wood, but before he had gone many yards
he fell into a deep pit which had been made to trap bears, and the hunters, who
were hiding in a tree, leaped down, and secured him with several chains, and
led him into the chief city of his own kingdom.
On
the way, instead of recognizing that his own faults had brought this punishment
upon him, he accused the Fairy of being the cause of all his misfortunes, and
bit and tore at his chains furiously.
As
they approached the town he saw that some great rejoicing was being held, and
when the hunters asked what had happened they were told that the Prince, whose
only pleasure it was to torment his people, had been found in his room, killed
by a thunder-bolt (for that was what was supposed to have become of him). Four
of his courtiers, those who had encouraged him in his wicked doings, had tried
to seize the kingdom and divide it between them, but the people, who knew it
was their bad counsels which had so changed the Prince, had cut off their
heads, and had offered the crown to Suilman, whom the Prince had left in prison.
This noble lord had just been crowned, and the deliverance of the kingdom was
the cause of the rejoicing "For," they said, "he is a good and
just man, and we shall once more enjoy peace and prosperity."
Prince
Darling roared with anger when he heard this; but it was still worse for him
when he reached the great square before his own palace. He saw Suilman seated
upon a magnificent throne, and all the people crowded round, wishing him a long
life that he might undo all the mischief done by his predecessor.
Presently
Suilman made a sign with his hand that the people should be silent, and said:
"I have accepted the crown you have offered me, but only that I may keep
it for Prince Darling, who is not dead as you suppose; the Fairy has assured me
that there is still hope that you may some day see him again, good and virtuous
as he was when he first came to the throne. Alas!" he continued, "he
was led away by flatterers. I knew his heart, and am certain that if it had not
been for the bad influence of those who surrounded him he would have been a
good king and a father to his people. We may hate his faults, but let us pity
him and hope for his restoration. As for me, I would die gladly if that could
bring back our Prince to reign justly and worthily once more."
These
words went to Prince Darling's heart; he realized the true affection and
faithfulness of his old tutor, and for the first time reproached himself for
all his evil deeds; at the same instant he felt all his anger melting away, and
he began quickly to think over his past life, and to admit that his punishment
was not more than he had deserved. He left off tearing at the iron bars of the
cage in which he was shut up, and became as gentle as a lamb.
The
hunters who had caught him took him to a great menagerie, where he was chained
up among all the other wild beasts, and he determined to show his sorrow for
his past bad behavior by being gentle and obedient to the man who had to take
care of him. Unfortunately, this man was very rough and unkind, and though the
poor monster was quite quiet, he often beat him without rhyme or reason when he
happened to be in a bad temper. One day when this keeper was asleep a tiger
broke its chain, and flew at him to eat him up. Prince Darling, who saw what was
going on, at first felt quite pleased to think that he should be delivered from
his persecutor, but soon thought better of it and wished that he were free.
"I
would return good for evil," he said to himself, "and save the
unhappy man's life." He had hardly wished this when his iron cage flew
open, and he rushed to the side of the keeper, who was awake and was defending
himself against the tiger. When he saw the monster had got out he gave himself
up for lost, but his fear was soon changed into joy, for the kind monster threw
itself upon the tiger and very soon killed it, and then came and crouched at
the feet of the man it had saved.
Overcome
with gratitude, the keeper stooped to caress the strange creature which had
done him such a great service; but suddenly a voice said in his ear:
"A
good action should never go unrewarded," and at the same instant the
monster disappeared, and he saw at his feet only a pretty little dog!
Prince
Darling, delighted by the change, frisked about the keeper, showing his joy in
every way he could, and the man, taking him up in his arms, carried him to the
King, to whom he told the whole story.
The
Queen said she would like to have this wonderful little dog, and the Prince
would have been very happy in his new home if he could have forgotten that he
was a man and a king. The Queen petted and took care of him, but she was so
afraid that he would get too fat that she consulted the court physician, who
said that he was to be fed only upon bread, and was not to have much even of
that. So poor Prince Darling was terribly hungry all day long, but he was very
patient about it.
One
day, when they gave him his little loaf for breakfast, he thought he would like
to eat it out in the garden; so he took it up in his mouth and trotted away
toward a brook that he knew of a long way from the palace. But he was surprised
to find that the brook was gone, and where it had been stood a great house that
seemed to be built of gold and precious stones. Numbers of people splendidly
dressed were going into it, and sounds of music and dancing and feasting could
be heard from the windows.
But
what seemed very strange was that those people who came out of the house were
pale and thin, and their clothes were torn, and hanging in rags about them.
Some fell down dead as they came out before they had time to get away; others
crawled farther with great difficulty; while others again lay on the ground,
fainting with hunger, and begged a morsel of bread from those who were going
into the house, but they would not so much as look at the poor creatures.
Prince
Darling went up to a young girl who was trying to eat a few blades of grass,
she was so hungry. Touched with compassion, he said to himself:
"I
am very hungry, but I shall not die of starvation before I get my dinner; if I
give my breakfast to this poor creature perhaps I may save her life."
So
he laid his piece of bread in the girl's hand, and saw her eat it up eagerly.
She
soon seemed to be quite well again, and the Prince, delighted to have been able
to help her, was thinking of going home to the palace, when he heard a great
outcry, and, turning round, saw Celia, who was being carried against her will
into the great house.
For
the first time the Prince regretted that he was no longer the monster, then he
would have been able to rescue Celia; now he could only bark feebly at the
people who were carrying her off, and try to follow them, but they chased and
kicked him away.
He
determined not to quit the place till he knew what had become of Celia, and
blamed himself for what had befallen her.
"Alas!"
he said to himself, "I am furious with the people who are carrying Celia
off, but isn't that exactly what I did myself, and if I had not been prevented
did I not intend to be still more cruel to her?"
Here
he was interrupted by a noise above his head--someone was opening a window, and
he saw with delight that it was Celia herself, who came forward and threw out a
plate of most delicious-looking food, then the window was shut again, and
Prince Darling, who had not had anything to eat all day, thought he might as
well take the opportunity of getting something. He ran forward to begin, but
the young girl to whom he had given his bread gave a cry of terror and took him
up in her arms, saying:
"Don't
touch it, my poor little dog--that house is the palace of pleasure, and
everything that comes out of it is poisoned!"
At
the same moment a voice said:
"You
see a good action always brings its reward," and the Prince found himself
changed into a beautiful white dove. He remembered that white was the favorite
color of the Fairy Truth, and began to hope that he might at last win back her
favor. But just now his first care was for Celia, and rising into the air he
flew round and round the house, until he saw an open window; but he searched
through every room in vain. No trace of Celia was to be seen, and the Prince,
in despair, determined to search through the world till he found her. He flew
on and on for several days, till he came to a great desert, where he saw a
cavern, and, to his delight, there sat Celia, sharing the simple breakfast of
an old hermit.
Overjoyed
to have found her, Prince Darling perched upon her shoulder, trying to express
by his caresses how glad he was to see her again, and Celia, surprised and
delighted by the tameness of this pretty white dove, stroked it softly, and
said, though she never thought of its understanding her:
"I
accept the gift that you make me of yourself, and I will love you always."
"Take
care what you are saying, Celia," said the old hermit; "are you
prepared to keep that promise?"
"Indeed,
I hope so, my sweet shepherdess," cried the Prince, who was at that moment
restored to his natural shape. "You promised to love me always; tell me that
you really mean what you said, or I shall have to ask the Fairy to give me back
the form of the dove which pleased you so much."
"You
need not be afraid that she will change her mind," said the Fairy,
throwing off the hermit's robe in which she had been disguised and appearing
before them.
"Celia
has loved you ever since she first saw you, only she would not tell you while
you were so obstinate and naughty. Now you have repented and mean to be good
you deserve to be happy, and so she may love you as much as she likes."
Celia
and Prince Darling threw themselves at the Fairy's feet, and the Prince was
never tired of thanking her for her kindness. Celia was delighted to hear how
sorry he was for all his past follies and misdeeds, and promised to love him as
long as she lived.
"Rise,
my children," said the Fairy, "and I will transport you to the
palace, and Prince Darling shall have back again the crown he forfeited by his
bad behavior."
While
she was speaking, they found themselves in Suilman's hall, and his delight was
great at seeing his dear master once more. He gave up the throne joyfully to
the Prince, and remained always the most faithful of his subjects.
Celia
and Prince Darling reigned for many years, but he was so determined to govern
worthily and to do his duty that his ring, which he took to wearing again,
never once pricked him severely.[1]
[1]
Cabinet des Fees.
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