Jean Ingelow

“ She is a fairy, as we have just found out, and all fairies have two forms.”
“Oh!” said Jack; but he had no time for more questions.
The screaming, and fighting, and tossing about of little bits of cloth and cotton ceased; a black lump heaved itself up from the ground among the parrots; and as they flew aside, an ugly great condor, with a bare neck, spread out its wings, and, skimming the ground, sailed slowly away.
“They have pecked her so that she can hardly rise,” exclaimed the parrot fairy. “Set me on your shoulder, Jack, and let me see the end of it.” ”

“ Jack had just decided to dream of something else, when, with a noise greater than fifty trumpets, the elephants, having shaken out all the dust, 139 came thundering down to the water to bathe in the liquid mud. They shook the whole country as they plunged; but that was not all. The awful river-horses rose up, and, with shrill screams, fell upon them, and gave them battle; while up from every rill peeped above the rushes frogs as large as oxen, and with blue and green eyes that gleamed like the eyes of cats. ”

“ It was a very beautiful sight; the sheep and lambs were still fast asleep on the green hills, and 15 the sea-birds were asleep in long rows upon the ledges of the cliffs, with their heads under their wings.
“Are those young fairies awake yet?” asked the albatross.
“As sound asleep as ever,” answered Jack; “but, Albatross, is not that the sea which lies under us? You are a sea-bird, I know, but I am not a sea boy, and I cannot live in the water.” ”

“ When Jack heard this, he pulled off the beautiful stockings, and laid them on the old woman’s 86 lap. Upon this she burst out crying, as if her heart would break.
“If my fairies that I have in my pocket would only wake,” said Jack, “I would fight your master; for if he is no bigger than you are, perhaps I could beat him, and get you away.”
“No, Jack,” said the little woman; “that would be of no use. The only thing you could do would be to buy me; for my cruel master has said that if ever I am late again he shall sell me in the slave market to the brown people, who work underground. ”

“ Now I have one thing more to say to you, and that is, are you hungry?”
“Rather,” said Jack.
“Then,” replied the albatross, “as soon as you feel very hungry, lie down in the bottom of the boat and go to sleep. You will dream that you see before you a roasted fowl, some new potatoes, and an apple-pie. Mind you don’t eat too much in your dream, or you will be sorry for it when you wake. That is all. Good-bye! I must go.”
Jack put his arms round the neck of the bird, and hugged her; then she spread her magnificent wings and sailed slowly away. ”

“ Jack felt sure that this carpet had been made for Mopsa, and he went along the gallery upon it till he reached a grand staircase of oak that was almost black with age, and he stole gently down it, for he began to feel rather shy, more especially as he could now see the great hall under the dome, and that it had a beautiful lady in it, and many other people, but no deer at all.
These fairy people were something like the one-foot-one fairies, but much larger and more like children; and they had very gentle, happy faces, and seemed to be extremely glad and gay. ”

“ Thereupon Mopsa whistled softly, and in a minute or two he saw, almost spanning the river, a hundred yards off, a thing like a rainbow, or a slender bridge, or still more, like one ring or coil of an enormous serpent; and presently the creature’s head shot up like a fountain, close to the boat, almost as high as a ship’s mast. It was the Craken; and when Mopsa saw it, she began to cry, and said, “We are caught in this crowd of creatures, and we cannot get away from the land of dreams. ”

“ You’ve been here a very little while as yet, and you’ve no notion what goes on when the leaves begin to drop.”
“Tell us,” said Jack.
“Well, you must know,” answered the apple-woman, “that fairies cannot abide cold weather; so, when the first rime frost comes, they bury themselves.”
“Bury themselves?” repeated Jack.
“Yes, I tell you, they bury themselves. You’ve seen fairy rings, of course, even in your own country; and here the fields are full of them. Well, when it gets cold, a company of fairies forms itself into a circle, and every one digs a little hole. ”

“ It is not often that we win anything so precious. Here, master, let her sit on your knee sometimes, and take care of her, for she cannot now take the same care of herself that others of her race are capable of.”
So Jack let little Mopsa sit on his knee; and when he was tired of admiring his slave, and wondering at the respect with which the other two fairies treated her, and at their cleverness in getting water-lilies for her, and fanning her with feathers, he curled himself up in the bottom of the boat with his own little favourite, and taught her how to play at cat’s-cradle. ”

“ She looked so sweet tempered that Jack asked her if she knew anything about his stockings.
“It will be time enough to ask for them when you have had your breakfast,” said she. “Sit down. Welcome to our town. How do you like it?”
“I should like it very much indeed,” said Jack, “if there was anybody in it.”
“I’m glad of that,” said the woman. “You’ve seen a good deal of it; but it pleases me to find that you are a very honest boy. You did not take anything at all. I am honest too.”
“Yes,” said Jack, “of course you are.” ”

“ Jack blushed; but the hound whispering again, “Master, whatever you can do you may do,” he came slowly up the table towards the Queen, who was saying, as he drew near, “Where is our trusty and well-beloved, the apple-woman?” And she took no notice of Jack; so, though he could not help feeling rather red and ashamed, he went and sat in the chair beside her with Mopsa still on his shoulder. Mopsa laughed for joy when she saw the feast. The Queen said, “O Jack, I am so glad to see you!” and some of the one-foot-one fairies cried out, “What a delightful little creature that is! She can laugh! ”

“ Then she glanced at Jack, who was still sitting in the boat, and said, “Can you strike?”
“I can if I choose,” replied Jack, a little astonished at this speech. And the red and blue washer-women wrung out the clothes, put them again into the panniers, and taking the old horse by the bridle, began gently to lead him away.
“I have a great mind to land,” thought Jack. “I should not wonder at all if this is Fairyland. So as the boat came here to please me, I shall ask it to stay where it is, in case I should want it again.” ”

“ There were grand towers and terraces, wharves, too, and a large market, but there was nobody anywhere to be seen. Jack thought that might be because it was so early in the morning; and when the boat ran itself up against a wooden wharf and stopped, he jumped ashore, for he thought this must be the end of his journey. A delightful town it was, if only there had been any people in it! The market-place was full of stalls, on which were spread toys, baskets, fruit, butter, vegetables, and all the other things that are usually sold in a market. ”

“ The bell in the tower sounded again more sweetly than ever, and the instant Mopsa was inside there came from behind the fluted columns, which rose up on every side, the brown doe, followed by troops of deer and fawns!
“Mopsa! Mopsa!” cried Jack, “come away! come back!” But Mopsa was too much astonished to stir, and something seemed to hold Jack from following; but he looked and looked, till, as the brown doe advanced, the door of the castle closed—Mopsa was shut in, and Jack was left outside. ”

“ All the trees are quite still, no leaf rustles, and the flowers lie on the ground exactly where they fall.
After this Jack told the hound to watch his boat, and went himself in search of the apple-woman. Not one fairy was to be seen, any more than if he had been in his own country, and he wandered down the green margin of the river till he saw the apple-woman sitting at a small stall with apples on it, and cherries tied to sticks, and some dry-looking nuts. ”

“ A lovely country indeed! It sloped gently down to the water’s edge, and beautiful trees were scattered over it, soft mossy grass grew everywhere, great old laburnum trees stretched their boughs down in patches over the water, and higher up camellias, almost as large as hawthorns, grew together and mingled their red and white flowers.
The country was not so open as a park, it was more like a half-cleared woodland; but there was a wide space just where the boat was steering for, that had no trees, only a few flowering shrubs. ”

“ Then Mopsa rose and walked towards the beautiful staircase, the dame and all the fairies following. Jack was going too, but the other Jack held him.
“Where is Mopsa going? and why am I not to follow?” inquired Jack.
“They are going to put on her robes, of course,” answered the other Jack.
“I am so tired of always hearing you say ‘of course,’” answered Jack; “and I wonder how it is that you always seem to know what is going to be done without being told. However, I suppose you can’t help being odd people.” ”

“ Here the boat stopped, and the Queen rose and got out.
Jack watched her. A whole crowd of one-foot-one fairies came down a garden to meet her, and he saw them conduct her to a beautiful tent with golden poles and a silken covering; but nobody took the slightest notice of him, or of little Mopsa, or of the hound, and after a long silence the hound said, “Well, master, don’t you feel hungry? Why don’t you go with the others and have some breakfast?” ”

“ You are so much grown, even since the morning, that you come up nearly to Jack’s shoulder. In four days you will be as tall as I am; and it is quite impossible that any one of fairy birth should be as tall as a queen in her own country.”
“But I don’t see what stags and does can want with a queen,” said Jack.
“They were obliged to turn into deer,” said the Queen, “when they crossed their own border; but they are fairies when they are at home, and they want Mopsa, because they are always obliged to have a queen of alien birth.” ”

“ Then the woman answered Jack, “Why not? Why, because it’s full moon to-night at midnight, and the moment the moon is past the full your Queen, whose country you have just left, will be able to cross over the little stream, and she will want to take you and that other mortal back. She can do it, of course, if she pleases; and we can afford you no protection, for by that time we shall be stones again. We are only people two hours out of the twenty-four.” ”

“ Jack knew that he never had tasted anything half so nice, and he was quite sorry when he could not eat any more. So, when every one had finished, the Queen leaned her arm on the edge of the boat, and, turning her lovely face towards Mopsa, said, “I want to whisper to you, sister.”
“Oh!” said Mopsa, “I wish I was in Jack’s waistcoat pocket again; but I’m so big now.” And she took hold of the two sides of his velvet jacket, and hid her face between them.
“My old mother sent a message last night,” continued the Queen, in a soft, sorrowful voice. “She is much more powerful than we are.” ”

“ All the people stood gravely looking on. So did Jack, but he could not see much for the fluttering of the parrots, nor hear anything for their screaming voices; but at last he made one of the cross people hear when he shouted to her, “What are they going to do to the poor gypsy?”
“Make her take her other form,” she replied; “and then she cannot hurt us while she stays in our country. She is a fairy, as we have just found out, and all fairies have two forms.” ”

“ They say in that country that they wish to enjoy their day quietly, because it is so short.
“Can you tell us anything of the land beyond the mountains?” asked Jack.
“Yes,” said the woman. “Of all fairy lands it is the best; the people are the gentlest and kindest.”
“Then I had better take Mopsa there than down the river?” said Jack.
“You can’t take her down the river,” replied the woman; and Jack thought she laughed and was glad of that.
“Why not?” asked Jack. “I have a boat.” ”

“ Presently troops of fairies came down to the landing-place, jumped into Jack’s boat without asking leave, and so got on to the carpet, while at the same time a great tree which grew on the bank began to push out fresh leaves, as large as fans, and shoot out long branches, which again shot out others, till very soon there was shade all over the carpet—a thick shadow as good as a tent, which was very pleasant, for the sun was already hot. ”

“ The old horse was so comforted by this kind speech, that he pricked up his ears and quickened his pace considerably.
“He was shamefully used,” observed one washerwoman. “Look at him, how lean he is! You can see all his ribs.”
“Yes,” said the other, as if apologising for the poor old horse. “He gets low-spirited when he thinks of all he has gone through; but he is a vast deal better already than he was. He used to live in London; his master always carried a long whip to beat him with, and never spoke civilly to him.”
“London!” exclaimed Jack; “why that is in my country. ”