Andrew Lang_Fairy Book 01 (28 page)

"You see I have not forgotten the good turn you did me
in killing the eagle. To-day I think I have fulfilled my
promise of repaying you."

"Indeed, I owe you more gratitude than you ever owed
me," replied Charming.

And then he mounted his horse and rode off with
Galifron's head.

When he reached the city the people ran after him in
crowds, crying:

"Behold the brave Charming, who has killed the giant!"
And their shouts reached the Princess's ear, but she dared
not ask what was happening, for fear she should hear that
Charming had been killed. But very soon he arrived at
the palace with the giant's head, of which she was still
terrified, though it could no longer do her any harm.

"Princess," said Charming, "I have killed your enemy;
I hope you will now consent to marry the King my master."

"Oh dear! no," said the Princess, "not until you have
brought me some water from the Gloomy Cavern.

"Not far from here there is a deep cave, the entrance to
which is guarded by two dragons with fiery eyes, who will
not allow anyone to pass them. When you get into the
cavern you will find an immense hole, which you must go
down, and it is full of toads and snakes; at the bottom of
this hole there is another little cave, in which rises the
Fountain of Health and Beauty. It is some of this water
that I really must have: everything it touches becomes
wonderful. The beautiful things will always remain
beautiful, and the ugly things become lovely. If one is
young one never grows old, and if one is old one becomes
young. You see, Charming, I could not leave my kingdom
without taking some of it with me."

"Princess," said he, "you at least can never need this
water, but I am an unhappy ambassador, whose death
you desire. Where you send me I will go, though I know
I shall never return."

And, as the Princess Goldilocks showed no sign of
relenting, he started with his little dog for the Gloomy
Cavern. Everyone he met on the way said:

"What a pity that a handsome young man should
throw away his life so carelessly! He is going to the cavern
alone, though if he had a hundred men with him he could
not succeed. Why does the Princess ask impossibilities?"
Charming said nothing, but he was very sad. When
he was near the top of a hill he dismounted to let his horse
graze, while Frisk amused himself by chasing flies.
Charming knew he could not be far from the Gloomy
Cavern, and on looking about him he saw a black hideous
rock from which came a thick smoke, followed in a moment
by one of the dragons with fire blazing from his
mouth and eyes. His body was yellow and green, and his
claws scarlet, and his tail was so long that it lay in a
hundred coils. Frisk was so terrified at the sight of it that
he did not know where to hide. Charming, quite determined
to get the water or die, now drew his sword, and,
taking the crystal flask which Pretty Goldilocks had
given him to fill, said to Frisk:

"I feel sure that I shall never come back from this
expedition; when I am dead, go to the Princess and tell
her that her errand has cost me my life. Then find the
King my master, and relate all my adventures to him."

As he spoke he heard a voice calling: "Charming,
Charming!"

"Who calls me?" said he; then he saw an owl sitting in
a hollow tree, who said to him:

"You saved my life when I was caught in the net, now
I can repay you. Trust me with the flask, for I know all
the ways of the Gloomy Cavern, and can fill it from the
Fountain of Beauty." Charming was only too glad to
give her the flask, and she flitted into the cavern quite
unnoticed by the dragon, and after some time returned
with the flask, filled to the very brim with sparkling water.
Charming thanked her with all his heart, and joyfully
hastened back to the town.

He went straight to the palace and gave the flask to the
Princess, who had no further objection to make. So she
thanked Charming, and ordered that preparations should
be made for her departure, and they soon set out together.
The Princess found Charming such an agreeable companion
that she sometimes said to him: "Why didn't we stay
where we were? I could have made you king, and we
should have been so happy!"

But Charming only answered:

"I could not have done anything that would have
vexed my master so much, even for a kingdom, or to
please you, though I think you are as beautiful as the
sun."

At last they reached the King's great city, and he came
out to meet the Princess, bringing magnificent presents,
and the marriage was celebrated with great rejoicings.
But Goldilocks was so fond of Charming that she could
not be happy unless he was near her, and she was always
singing his praises.

"If it hadn't been for Charming," she said to the King,
"I should never have come here; you ought to be very
much obliged to him, for he did the most impossible things
and got me water from the Fountain of Beauty, so I can
never grow old, and shall get prettier every year."

Then Charming's enemies said to the King:

"It is a wonder that you are not jealous, the Queen
thinks there is nobody in the world like Charming. As if
anybody you had sent could not have done just as much!"

"It is quite true, now I come to think of it," said the
King. "Let him be chained hand and foot, and thrown
into the tower."

So they took Charming, and as a reward for having
served the King so faithfully he was shut up in the tower,
where he only saw the jailer, who brought him a piece of
black bread and a pitcher of water every day.

However, little Frisk came to console him, and told
him all the news.

When Pretty Goldilocks heard what had happened she
threw herself at the King's feet and begged him to set
Charming free, but the more she cried, the more angry he
was, and at last she saw that it was useless to say any
more; but it made her very sad. Then the King took it
into his head that perhaps he was not handsome enough
to please the Princess Goldilocks, and he thought he
would bathe his face with the water from the Fountain
of Beauty, which was in the flask on a shelf in the Princess's
room, where she had placed it that she might see it often.
Now it happened that one of the Princess's ladies in chasing
a spider had knocked the flask off the shelf and broken
it, and every drop of the water had been spilt. Not knowing
what to do, she had hastily swept away the pieces of
crystal, and then remembered that in the King's room
she had seen a flask of exactly the same shape, also filled
with sparkling water. So, without saying a word, she
fetched it and stood it upon the Queen's shelf.

Now the water in this flask was what was used in the
kingdom for getting rid of troublesome people. Instead
of having their heads cut off in the usual way, their faces
were bathed with the water, and they instantly fell asleep
and never woke up any more. So, when the King, thinking
to improve his beauty, took the flask and sprinkled
the water upon his face,
he
fell asleep, and nobody could
wake him.

Little Frisk was the first to hear the news, and he ran
to tell Charming, who sent him to beg the Princess not to
forget the poor prisoner. All the palace was in confusion
on account of the King's death, but tiny Frisk made his
way through the crowd to the Princess's side, and said:

"Madam, do not forget poor Charming."

Then she remembered all he had done for her, and without
saying a word to anyone went straight to the tower,
and with her own hands took off Charming's chains.
Then, putting a golden crown upon his head, and the royal
mantle upon his shoulders, she said:

"Come, faithful Charming, I make you king, and will
take you for my husband."

Charming, once more free and happy, fell at her feet
and thanked her for her gracious words.

Everybody was delighted that he should be king, and
the wedding, which took place at once, was the prettiest
that can be imagined, and Prince Charming and Princess
Goldilocks lived happily ever after.
[15]

Dick Whittington was a very little boy when his
father and mother died; so little, indeed, that he never
knew them, nor the place where he was born. He
strolled about the country as ragged as a colt, till he met
with a wagoner who was going to London, and who gave
him leave to walk all the way by the side of his wagon
without paying anything for his passage. This pleased
little Whittington very much, as he wanted to see London
sadly, for he had heard that the streets were paved with
gold, and he was willing to get a bushel of it; but how
great was his disappointment, poor boy! when he saw
the streets covered with dirt instead of gold, and found
himself in a strange place, without a friend, without food,
and without money.

Though the wagoner was so charitable as to let him
walk up by the side of the wagon for nothing, he took
care not to know him when he came to town, and the
poor boy was, in a little time, so cold and hungry that
he wished himself in a good kitchen and by a warm fire
in the country.

In his distress he asked charity of several people, and
one of them bid him "Go to work for an idle rogue."
"That I will," said Whittington, "with all my heart; I
will work for you if you will let me."

The man, who thought this savored of wit and impertinence
(though the poor lad intended only to show his
readiness to work), gave him a blow with a stick which
broke his head so that the blood ran down. In this situation,
and fainting for want of food, he laid himself down
at the door of one Mr. Fitzwarren, a merchant, where the
cook saw him, and, being an ill-natured hussy, ordered
him to go about his business or she would scald him.
At this time Mr. Fitzwarren came from the Exchange,
and began also to scold at the poor boy, bidding him to
go to work.

Whittington answered that he should be glad to work
if anybody would employ him, and that he should be
able if he could get some victuals to eat, for he had had
nothing for three days, and he was a poor country boy,
and knew nobody, and nobody would employ him.

He then endeavored to get up, but he was so very weak
that he fell down again, which excited so much compassion
in the merchant that he ordered the servants to
take him in and give him some meat and drink, and let
him help the cook to do any dirty work that she had to
set him about. People are too apt to reproach those who
beg with being idle, but give themselves no concern to
put them in the way of getting business to do, or
considering whether they are able to do it, which is not
charity.

But we return to Whittington, who could have lived
happy in this worthy family had he not been bumped
about by the cross cook, who must be always roasting
and basting, or when the spit was idle employed her
hands upon poor Whittington! At last Miss Alice, his
master's daughter, was informed of it, and then she took
compassion on the poor boy, and made the servants treat
him kindly.

Besides the crossness of the cook, Whittington had
another difficulty to get over before he could be happy.
He had, by order of his master, a flock-bed placed for
him in a garret, where there was a number of rats and
mice that often ran over the poor boy's nose and
disturbed him in his sleep. After some time, however,
a gentleman who came to his master's house gave
Whittington a penny for brushing his shoes. This he put
into his pocket, being determined to lay it out to the
best advantage; and the next day, seeing a woman in
the street with a cat under her arm, he ran up to know
the price of it. The woman (as the cat was a good
mouser) asked a deal of money for it, but on Whittington's
telling her he had but a penny in the world, and
that he wanted a cat sadly, she let him have it.

This cat Whittington concealed in the garret, for fear
she should be beat about by his mortal enemy the cook,
and here she soon killed or frightened away the rats and
mice, so that the poor boy could now sleep as sound as a
top.

Soon after this the merchant, who had a ship ready
to sail, called for his servants, as his custom was, in
order that each of them might venture something to try
their luck; and whatever they sent was to pay neither
freight nor custom, for he thought justly that God
Almighty would bless him the more for his readiness to let
the poor partake of his fortune.

All the servants appeared but poor Whittington, who,
having neither money nor goods, could not think of sending
anything to try his luck; but his good friend Miss
Alice, thinking his poverty kept him away, ordered him
to be called.

She then offered to lay down something for him, but
the merchant told his daughter that would not do, it
must be something of his own. Upon which poor Whittington
said he had nothing but a cat which he bought
for a penny that was given him. "Fetch thy cat, boy,"
said the merchant, "and send her." Whittington brought
poor puss and delivered her to the captain, with tears in
his eyes, for he said he should now be disturbed by the
rats and mice as much as ever. All the company laughed
at the adventure but Miss Alice, who pitied the poor
boy, and gave him something to buy another cat.

While puss was beating the billows at sea, poor
Whittington was severely beaten at home by his tyrannical
mistress the cook, who used him so cruelly, and made
such game of him for sending his cat to sea, that at last
the poor boy determined to run away from his place, and
having packed up the few things he had, he set out very
early in the morning on All-Hallows day. He traveled
as far as Holloway, and there sat down on a stone to
consider what course he should take; but while he was thus
ruminating, Bow bells, of which there were only six,
began to ring; and he thought their sounds addressed
him in this manner: