Madame d'Aulnoy

“ Shall I always remain here? I pass my days more agreeably than I could have ventured to hope; yet something is wanting to my heart. I know not what it is; but I begin to feel that this round of pleasures, unvaried by a single event, is rather insipid." "Ah Princess," said a voice, as in answer to her thoughts, "is it not your own fault? If you would consent to love, you would soon know that it is possible to remain with a beloved object, not only in a palace, but in a frightful wilderness, for ages without wishing to leave it." ”

“ Consider that I have the power to make you a great king, to prolong your life, to make you still more amiable, to give you mines full of diamonds and houses full of gold. I can make you an excellent orator, poet, musician and painter, the idol of the women; render your nature more ethereal, make you a spirit of air, water and earth."—Leander interrupted her at this point. "Permit me, Madam, to ask you," said he, "what advantage should I derive from becoming a spirit?" "It would enable you to do a thousand useful and agreeable things," replied the fairy. ”

“ THE YELLOW DWARF.
Once upon a time there was a Queen who had only one daughter left out of a very large family, but that one was worth a thousand. Finding herself a widow, and having nothing in the world so dear to her as the young Princess, she was so much afraid of losing her that she never corrected any of her faults; so that this marvellous creature, perceiving that her beauty was celestial rather than mortal, and knowing that she was born to a crown, became so proud and so vain of her nascent charms that she despised everybody. ”

“ She had put on the blue velvet girdle, and when the Queen saw her gathering flowers as calmly as if she had only a thread round her waist; nothing had ever equalled her vexation. "What mysterious power interests itself for this shepherdess!" cried she; "she bewitches my son by her beauty, and restores him to health by the application of innocent simples. Snakes and asps crawl at her feet without stinging her. The wild elephants become gentle and kind at her sight. The fairy-girdle, which should have reduced her to ashes, serves but to adorn her. ”

“ The Princess Joliette followed, distinguished by her marvellous beauty and modesty. They curtsied to all whom they met, gentle and simple. They were followed by crowds, anxious to know who these fine ladies could be. When the hall was quite full, the good Fairy told the wicked King's subjects that she would give them for a queen King Joyeux's daughter, whom they saw before them; that they would live very happy under her government; that, if they accepted her, she would find her a husband as perfect as herself, who would be always cheerful, and banish melancholy from every heart. ”

“ The queen fixed her eyes upon Florine, with a penetrating look, endeavouring to see what was passing in the very core of her heart. "We are not your dupes," she cried; "you think you can deceive us: but, Princess, we are aware of what you do from morning till night. These jewels have been given to you with the sole object of inducing you to sell your father's kingdom." "I am in a good position to deliver it up," replied Florine, with a disdainful smile; "an unfortunate princess, who has so long languished in captivity, can be of great service, certainly, in a conspiracy of such a nature." ”

“ Heaven, who has restored her to me, wills that she should be your wife. I desire it also with all my heart. Will you be the only one to object to it?" "Ah, my father," cried the Prince, throwing himself at his feet, "dare I flatter myself with what I hear? Am I so happy, that your choice falls upon me? or do you merely wish to discover my sentiments with respect to this lovely shepherdess?" "No, my dear son," said the King, "do not hesitate between hope and fear; I am resolved in a few days to celebrate your nuptials." ”

“ Queen!—Ho! ho! Princess! Do you fancy you can break with impunity your promises to my friend the Yellow Dwarf! I am the Fairy of the Desert! But for him and his orange-tree know you not that my great lions would have devoured ye? We do not put up with such insults in Fairy Land. Consider quickly what you are about to do; for I swear by my coif, that you shall marry him, or I will burn my crutch."
"Ah! Princess," exclaimed the Queen, bursting into tears, "what do I hear!—what promise have you made?" "Ah! Mother," cried Toute-belle, sorrowfully, "What promise have you, yourself, made?" ”

“ When they heard the tinkle, tinkle, they all looked up; they saw the hood of roses, shining like the sun, and the Frog as beautiful as Aurora. The Queen advanced towards her, and took one of her little paws; instantly the wise Frog transformed herself, and appeared as a noble Queen, with the most agreeable countenance in the world. "I come," said she, "to crown Princess Moufette's constancy. She preferred sacrificing her life to being unfaithful; this is a rare example in the age in which we live, but it will be much more so in future times." ”

“ I knew this secret too late, my charms had already faded; profit by my misfortune, my dear child, it will be a consolation to me, for I feel a most extraordinary affection for you." "But where shall I find this dancing water?" replied Belle-Etoile. "It is in the luminous forest," said Feintise; "you have three brothers; does not any one of them love you sufficiently to go and fetch some? truly they must have very little affection for you—in fact, it is a matter of no less consequence to you, than the preservation of your beauty for ever." ”

“ But how shall I describe to you the melancholy state of that poor princess? She lay stretched on the floor in the keep of that terrible tower to which the masked ruffians had carried her. "I should be less to be pitied," said she, "if I had been immured here before I had seen that amiable monarch. The recollection of him I cherish only serves to increase my distress. I cannot doubt, but that it is to prevent my seeing him again that the queen has treated me thus cruelly. Alas, how fatal to my peace has been the little beauty it has pleased Heaven to bestow on me!" ”

“ The Queen had not recovered from her astonishment, when her eyes were struck by the unequalled lustre of a palace of diamonds,—the walls, the roofs, the platforms, the floors, the stairs, the balconies, even the terraces, were all diamonds. In the excitement of her admiration, she could not help uttering a loud cry; and asked the fine old lady who accompanied her, if what she saw was a dream, or reality. "Nothing can be more real, Madam," replied she. Immediately the gates of the palace opened, six fairies issued forth,—but what fairies! ”

“ Grabugeon then stepped forward, and said, "You have reason, Princess, to love so faithful a slave as Patypata; she can be of much more use to you than I. I offer you my tongue and heart with joy, wishing to immortalize myself in the annals of the Empire of Monkeys." "Ah, my darling Grabugeon," replied Merveilleuse, "I cannot bear the idea of taking thy life!" "It would be insupportable to me," exclaimed Tintin, "good little dog as I am, should any one but myself lay down their life for my mistress. Either I will die, or nobody shall die." ”

“ At length the Queen, hardly daring to look at her, recognised her to be the same Fairy who came to see her with the wicked King, and who was so kind to her. The Fairy said to her, "I wished to try your heart; I have discovered it to be good, and that you are susceptible of friendship. We Fairies, who possess immense wealth and treasures, seek only for friendship to sweeten life, and we rarely find it." "Is it possible, beautiful lady," said the Queen, embracing her, "that you have any trouble in finding friends, being so rich and powerful?" ”

“ I spoke falsely when I boasted of my skill; and my desire to see Constancio was too unreasonable to secure me the protection of the gods." She hung her head, and her tears flowed down her cheeks in silence.
The standers-by admired her greatly. She appeared to them more like an angel from Heaven than a mortal maiden. "What are you afraid of, lovely shepherdess?" said they to her. "Your eyes have in them the power of life and death; one glance of them may preserve our young Prince. Come to his apartment, dry your tears, and administer your remedy without alarm." ”

“ The princess, who was very obedient, went immediately to her dressing-room. Her nurse saw tears in her eyes—"What is the matter, my little darling?" she asked, "you are crying?" "Alas! my dear nurse," answered Gracieuse, "who would not weep? The king is going to give me a step-mother, and to complete my misfortune, she is my most cruel enemy,—in one word, the hideous Grognon! How shall I ever bear to see her in the beautiful beds which the queen, my dear mother, so delicately embroidered with her own hands! How can I ever caress a malicious old ape who would have put me to death!" ”

“ Mirtain failed not to find an opportunity to speak to Constancia. "What ails you, fair shepherdess?" said he to her; "you appear melancholy, notwithstanding all the reasons you have to be more joyous than any other." "And what reasons do you consider I have for being joyous?" she inquired. "I am reduced to tend sheep, far from my own land, hearing nothing of my relations: is all this so very agreeable?" "No," replied Mirtain; "but you are the most charming person in the world: you have much wit, you sing exquisitely, and nothing can be compared to your beauty." ”

“ She quickly returned to her splendid castle, where the Queen was busy spinning silk; the little Mouse cried out to her, "Will your Majesty bet your distaff and spindle that I do not bring you the best news you have ever had." "Alas!" replied the Queen, "since the death of King Joyeux, and the loss of my Joliette, I would not give a pin for all the news in the world." "There, there! do not grieve yourself any more," said the Fairy, "the Princess is wonderfully well; I have just seen her; she is so beautiful, so very beautiful, that it only depends upon herself to be a queen." ”

“ I would remain a simple shepherdess. I love my flock and my dog. Solitude has charms for me, and I desire none other." "How! young shepherdess, you have come hither with the design of concealing yourself from the mortals who inhabit these lands? Is it possible," continued he, "that you would do us so much injury?—at least, make me an exception, as I am the first who has offered his service to you!" "No," replied Brilliante, "I will not see you more frequently than the rest, notwithstanding that I already feel a particular esteem for you. ”

“ Madam," replied Fortunée, "I have but a linen gown; what would they take from a poor shepherdess like me." "You are not rich, then?" said the Queen, smiling. "I am so poor," answered Fortunée, "that I only inherited from my father a pot of pinks and a silver ring."
"But you have a heart," said the Queen. "If any one wished to have that, would you give it them?" "I do not know what it is to give my heart, Madam," she replied; "I have always understood that without a heart we could not live, that if it is wounded we must die, and notwithstanding my poverty I am not sorry to live." ”

“ When they saw the Ogre they were both greatly alarmed. "My Aimée," said the Prince, "here is our enemy; I feel I have courage enough to fight with him; have you not sufficient to escape, by yourself?" "No," cried she, "I will never forsake you—unkind one; do you thus doubt my love for you? But let us not lose a moment; perhaps the wand may be of great service to us. I wish," cried she, "in the name of the royal fairy, Trufio, that the Prince should be changed into a picture, the camel into a pillar, and myself into a dwarf." The change was made; and the dwarf began to blow a horn. ”

“ The Pigeon and the Dove were as much delighted as surprised by this new event. "We place ourselves under your guidance," said Constancia to the Fairy. "Do not abandon us," said Constancio to Cupid. "Come, then," said the latter, "to Paphos; my mother is still honoured there—and they continue to love the birds that were consecrated to her." "No," said the Princess, "we desire not the society of mankind; happy are those who can renounce it! We ask but for a beautiful solitude." ”

“ The Queen remained sad and thoughtful. "Why should I wish," she said, "for a daughter who will cost me many tears and sighs? should I not be happier without any children?" The presence of the King, whom she loved dearly, a little dissipated her grief, and when she found that she should soon become a mother, all her care was to desire her friends, the moment the Princess should be born, to lay on her head the hawthorn flower, which she kept in a box of gold covered with diamonds, as the most valuable thing she possessed. ”

“ He frisked about her, he would eat nothing but the herbs she gathered for him, and would rather have died with thirst, than drink anywhere except out of the hollow of her hand. He would shut the door, beat time when she sang, and bleat in tune. Ruson was charming; Ruson was beloved; Constancia talked to him eternally, and lavished on him a thousand caresses.
Notwithstanding all this, a pretty ewe in the neighbourhood was not less agreeable to Ruson than his mistress. Sheep are but sheep, and the meanest ewe was, in Ruson's eyes, more beautiful than the mother of love. ”

“ If a breath of wind rustled through the bushes,—if a bird flew from its nest, or a hare started from its form, she thought thieves or wolves were about to attack her. She walked all night, and would have walked all day, but her cow stopped to feed in a meadow, and the Princess, fatigued with her thick wooden shoes, and the weight of her coarse grey cloth dress, sat down upon the grass by the side of a stream, where she took off her yellow linen cap, to arrange her fair hair, which had escaped from all sides, and fell in curls down to her feet. ”

“ The Sovereign Fairy carried him into her cabinet, shut the door, and said to him, "Prince, the sad condition in which I now see thee does not prevent my recognising and loving thee for the sake of my daughter Constancia, who fully returns thy affection. Blame no one but me for thy transformation. I caused thee to enter the furnace to try the truth of thy love; it is pure—it is ardent. I give thee full credit for an act that redounds to thine honour." The Pigeon bowed three times in token of his gratitude, and listened attentively to what the Fairy said to him. ”

“ The Princess was silent on the subject to her companions in general, but she could not keep the secret from her young shepherd. How can we refrain from trusting those we love? She had reproached herself a thousand times, for concealing from him her birth. "What obligations," said she, "would he not have felt under to me, had he known that, being born to a throne, I had humbled myself to him? Yet, alas! love makes little difference between the sceptre and the crook! Can the imaginary greatness, so much boasted of, actually possess the soul and satisfy it? ”

“ As for the Princess Trognon, she arrived in a little machine which was only a cubit in height, and carried in a litter. King Brun went to meet her. When he saw her so deformed, seated in a bowl, her skin covered with scales like that of a cod-fish, her eyebrows meeting, her nose large and flat, and her mouth reaching to her ears, he could not forbear saying, "Truly, Princess Trognon, it becomes you to despise my Torticoli. Know that he is very ugly; but to speak the truth, he is less so than you." ”

“ At that moment she heard a soft and sweet voice, which said to her, "Take courage, Princess; thy happiness depends upon this adventure." "Oh! what can I do?" replied she, trembling. "Thou must bear that hand to thy chamber," said the voice, "and hide it underneath thy bolster, and when thou seest an eagle, give it to him without losing an instant." Terrified as the Princess was, there was something in that voice so persuasive, that she did not hesitate to obey. She replaced the drawers and the curiosities as she had found them, without taking a single thing. ”