Andrew Lang

“ It is natural, you will say, that a man should like to call his wife by her name. But the Fairies would not allow it, and, what is more, there are still some nations who will not allow a woman to mention the name of her husband.{46}
Well, here was a sad state of things! The Princess was lost as much as ever, and Prince Charming was changed back into Prince Comical. The Black Beetle sighed day and night, and mingled his tears with those of the Prince. ”

“ What a Baby: how absurd
To be bullied by a Bird!
“Tell the King he is wanted,” said the Dwarf.
The Porter carried this rude message, and the King went trembling to the door.
“I have come to claim your promise; you give me NIENTE,” said the Dwarf, in his froggy voice.{18}
Now the King had spoken long ago about his foolish promise, to the Queen of the Water Fairies, a very powerful person, and Godmother of his child.
“The Dwarf must be one of my people, if he rides a Frog,” the Queen of the Water Fairies had said. “Just send him to me, if he is troublesome.” ”

“ But they only said, “Oh! its their fault for sleeping under a Mushroom. Anybody would know that is a stupid thing to do. Besides, we have no time to attend to them, as the sun will be up soon, and we must get these Babies dressed and be off before then.”
“Why, where are you going to?” said the Prince.
“Ah! nobody knows where we go to in the day time,” said the Elves.
And nobody does.
“Well, what am I to do now?” said the Prince to the Black Beetle.
{37}
“I don’t know where the Princess is,” said the Beetle; “but the Blue Bird is very wise, and he may know. ”

“ Here you see him by the river; how tired his Frog looks! He is talking to the Water Fairy. Well, he and the Water Fairy had a long talk, and the end of it was that the Fairy found only one way of{20} saving the Princess. She flew to the King, and said, “I can only help you by making the Princess vanish clean away. I have a bird here on whose back she can fly away in safety. The Dwarf will not get her, but you will never see her again, unless a brave Prince can find her where she is hidden, and guarded by my Water Fairies.” ”

“ The faithful Black Beetle often whispered to the Prince that it was time to turn homewards, but the Prince paid no more attention to his ally than if he had been an Ear-wig. So there, in the Valley Magical, the Prince and Princess might be wandering to this day but for a very sad accident. ”

“ Niente; the Princess Niente, your Majesty.”
When the King heard that, and remembered that he had promised to give NIENTE to the Dwarf, he hid his face in his hands and groaned. Nobody knew what he meant, or why he was sad, so he thought it best to keep it to himself. He went in and kissed the Queen, and comforted her, and looked at the BABY. Never was there a BABY so beautiful; she was like a Fairy’s child, and so light, she could sit on a flower and not crush it. She had little wings on her {15}back; and all the birds were fond of her. ”

“ It is impossible to say what would have happened; and probably the Prince would have died of sorrow and hunger (for he ate nothing) , if the Black Beetle had not one day met a Bat, which was the favourite charger of Puck. Now Puck, as all the world knows, is the Jester at the Court of Fairy Land. He can make Oberon and Titania—the{47} King and Queen—laugh at the tricks he plays, and therefore they love him so much that there is nothing they would not do for him. So the Black Beetle began to talk about his master, the Prince, to the Bat Puck commonly rode ”

“ Some Fairy Knights, too, came over the border, and they fought with spears, riding Beetles and Grasshoppers, instead of horses. Here is a picture of a “joust,” or tournament, between two sets of Fairy Knights. By all these warlike exercises, they increased their courage till they felt brave enough to fight all the Ghosts, and all the Giants, if only they could save the beautiful Princess.
{24}
Well, the tournaments were over, and off all the Princes went into Fairy Land. ”

“ IN MUSHROOM LAND. NOW all the Kingdom next Fairy Land was miserable, and All the people were murmuring, and the King and Queen were nearly melted in tears. They thought of all ways to recover their dear daughter, and at last the Queen hit on a plan.
“My dear,” she said to the King, “let us offer to give our daughter for a wife, to any Prince who will only find her and bring her home.”
“Who will want to marry a girl he can’t see?” said the King. “If they have not married pretty girls they can see, they won’t care for poor Niente.”{22}
“Never mind ”

“ Off they went, straight home, and the Black Beetle guided them, flying in a bee-line. Just on the further border of Mushroom Land, they came to all the Princes fast asleep. But when the Princess drew near, they all wakened, and jumped up,{53} and they slapped the fortunate Prince on the back, and wished him luck, and cried, “Hullo, Comical, old chap; we hardly knew you! Why, you’ve grown quite handsome!” ”