The Violet Fairy Book (34 page)

She would try once more she said, and her son must lead his
visitor into the armoury, where hung every kind of weapon used
all over the world—some plain and bare, others ornamented with
precious stones—and beg her to make choice of one of them. The
princess looked at them closely, and felt the edges and points of
their blades, then she hung at her belt an old sword with a
curved blade, that would have done credit to an ancient warrior.
After this she informed the genius that she would start early
next day and take Sunlight with her.

And there was nothing for the mother to do but to submit, though
she still stuck to her own opinion.

The princess mounted Sunlight, and touched him with her spur,
when the old horse, who was galloping at her side, suddenly said:

'Up to this time, mistress, you have obeyed my counsels and all
has gone well. Listen to me once more, and do what I tell you.
I am old, and—now that there is someone to take my place, I will
confess it—I am afraid that my strength is not equal to the task
that lies before me. Give me leave, therefore, to return home,
and do you continue your journey under the care of my brother.
Put your faith in him as you put it in me, and you will never
repent. Wisdom has come early to Sunlight.'

'Yes, my old comrade, you have served me well; and it is only
through your help that up to now I have been victorious. So
grieved though I am to say farewell, I will obey you yet once
more, and will listen to your brother as I would to yourself.
Only, I must have a proof that he loves me as well as you do.'

'How should I not love you?' answered Sunlight; 'how should I not
be proud to serve a warrior such as you? Trust me, mistress,
and you shall never regret the absence of my brother. I know
there will be difficulties in our path, but we will face them
together.'

Then, with tears in her eyes, the princess took leave of her old
horse, who galloped back to her father.

She had ridden only a few miles further, when she saw a golden
curl lying on the road before her. Checking her horse, she asked
whether it would be better to take it or let it lie.

'If you take it,' said Sunlight, 'you will repent, and if you
don't, you will repent too: so take it.' On this the girl
dismounted, and picking up the curl, wound it round her neck for
safety.

They passed by hills, they passed by mountains, they passed
through valleys, leaving behind them thick forests, and fields
covered with flowers; and at length they reached the court of the
over-lord.

He was sitting on his throne, surrounded by the sons of the other
emperors, who served him as pages. These youths came forward to
greet their new companion, and wondered why they felt so
attracted towards him.

However, there was no time for talking and concealing her fright.

The princess was led straight up to the throne, and explained, in
a low voice, the reason of her coming. The emperor received her
kindly, and declared himself fortunate at finding a vassal so
brave and so charming, and begged the princess to remain in
attendance on his person.

She was, however, very careful in her behaviour towards the other
pages, whose way of life did not please her. One day, however,
she had been amusing herself by making sweetmeats, when two of
the young princes looked in to pay her a visit. She offered them
some of the food which was already on the table, and they thought
it so delicious that they even licked their fingers so as not to
lose a morsel. Of course they did not keep the news of their
discovery to themselves, but told all their companions that they
had just been enjoying the best supper they had had since they
were born. And from that moment the princess was left no peace,
till she had promised to cook them all a dinner.

Now it happened that, on the very day fixed, all the cooks in the
palace became intoxicated, and there was no one to make up the
fire.

When the pages heard of this shocking state of things, they went
to their companion and implored her to come to the rescue.

The princess was fond of cooking, and was, besides, very
good-natured; so she put on an apron and went down to the kitchen
without delay. When the dinner was placed before the emperor he
found it so nice that he ate much more than was good for him.
The next morning, as soon as he woke, he sent for his head cook,
and told him to send up the same dishes as before. The cook,
seized with fright at this command, which he knew he could not
fulfil, fell on his knees, and confessed the truth.

The emperor was so astonished that he forgot to scold, and while
he was thinking over the matter, some of his pages came in and
said that their new companion had been heard to boast that he
knew where Iliane was to be found—the celebrated Iliane of the
song which begins:

'Golden Hair
The fields are green,'

and that to their certain knowledge he had a curl of her hair in
his possession.

When he heard that, the emperor desired the page to be brought
before him, and, as soon as the princess obeyed his summons, he
said to her abruptly:

'Fet-Fruners, you have hidden from me the fact that you knew the
golden-haired Iliane! Why did you do this? for I have treated
you more kindly than all my other pages.'

Then, after making the princess show him the golden curl which
she wore round her neck, he added: 'Listen to me; unless by some
means or other you bring me the owner of this lock, I will have
your head cut off in the place where you stand. Now go!'

In vain the poor girl tried to explain how the lock of hair came
into her possession; the emperor would listen to nothing, and,
bowing low, she left his presence and went to consult Sunlight
what she was to do.

At his first words she brightened up. 'Do not be afraid,
mistress; only last night my brother appeared to me in a dream
and told me that a genius had carried off Iliane, whose hair you
picked up on the road. But Iliane declares that, before she
marries her captor, he must bring her, as a present, the whole
stud of mares which belong to her. The genius, half crazy with
love, thinks of nothing night and day but how this can be done,
and meanwhile she is quite safe in the island swamps of the sea.
Go back to the emperor and ask him for twenty ships filled with
precious merchandise. The rest you shall know by-and-by.'

On hearing this advice, the princess went at once into the
emperor's presence.

'May a long life be yours, O Sovereign all mighty!' said she. 'I
have come to tell you that I can do as you command if you will
give me twenty ships, and load them with the most precious wares
in your kingdom.'

'You shall have all that I possess if you will bring me the
golden-haired Iliane,' said the emperor.

The ships were soon ready, and the princess entered the largest
and finest, with Sunlight at her side. Then the sails were
spread and the voyage began.

For seven weeks the wind blew them straight towards the west, and
early one morning they caught sight of the island swamps of the
sea.

They cast anchor in a little bay, and the princess made haste to
disembark with Sunlight, but, before leaving the ship, she tied
to her belt a pair of tiny gold slippers, adorned with precious
stones. Then mounting Sunlight, she rode about till she came to
several palaces, built on hinges, so that they could always turn
towards the sun.

The most splendid of these was guarded by three slaves, whose
greedy eyes were caught by the glistening gold of the slippers.
They hastened up to the owner of these treasures, and inquired
who he was. 'A merchant,' replied the princess, 'who had somehow
missed his road, and lost himself among the island swamps of the
sea.'

Not knowing if it was proper to receive him or not, the slaves
returned to their mistress and told her all they had seen, but
not before she had caught sight of the merchant from the roof of
her palace. Luckily her gaoler was away, always trying to catch
the stud of mares, so for the moment she was free and alone.

The slaves told their tale so well that their mistress insisted
on going down to the shore and seeing the beautiful slippers for
herself. They were even lovelier than she expected, and when the
merchant besought her to come on board, and inspect some that he
thought were finer still, her curiosity was too great to refuse,
and she went.

Once on board ship, she was so busy turning over all the precious
things stored there, that she never knew that the sails were
spread, and that they were flying along with the wind behind
them; and when she did know, she rejoiced in her heart, though
she pretended to weep and lament at being carried captive a
second time. Thus they arrived at the court of the emperor.

They were just about to land, when the mother of the genius stood
before them. She had learnt that Iliane had fled from her prison
in company with a merchant, and, as her son was absent, had come
herself in pursuit. Striding over the blue waters, hopping from
wave to wave, one foot reaching to heaven, and the other planted
in the foam, she was close at their heels, breathing fire and
flame, when they stepped on shore from the ship. One glance told
Iliane who the horrible old woman was, and she whispered hastily
to her companion. Without saying a word, the princess swung her
into Sunlight's saddle, and leaping up behind her, they were off
like a flash.

It was not till they drew near the town that the princess stooped
and asked Sunlight what they should do. 'Put your hand into my
left ear,' said he, 'and take out a sharp stone, which you must
throw behind you.'

The princess did as she was told, and a huge mountain sprang up
behind them. The mother of the genius began to climb up it, and
though they galloped quickly, she was quicker still.

They heard her coming, faster, faster; and again the princess
stooped to ask what was to be done now. 'Put your hand into my
right ear,' said the horse, 'and throw the brush you will find
there behind you.' The princess did so, and a great forest
sprang up behind them, and, so thick were its leaves, that even a
wren could not get through. But the old woman seized hold of the
branches and flung herself like a monkey from one to the others,
and always she drew nearer—always, always—till their hair was
singed by the flames of her mouth.

Then, in despair, the princess again bent down and asked if there
was nothing more to be done, and Sunlight replied 'Quick, quick,
take off the betrothal ring on the finger of Iliane and throw it
behind you.'

This time there sprang up a great tower of stone, smooth as
ivory, hard as steel, which reached up to heaven itself. And the
mother of the genius gave a howl of rage, knowing that she could
neither climb it nor get through it. But she was not beaten yet,
and gathering herself together, she made a prodigious leap, which
landed her on the top of the tower, right in the middle of
Iliane's ring which lay there, and held her tight. Only her
claws could be seen grasping the battlements.

All that could be done the old witch did; but the fire that
poured from her mouth never reached the fugitives, though it laid
waste the country a hundred miles round the tower, like the
flames of a volcano. Then, with one last effort to free herself,
her hands gave way, and, falling down to the bottom of the tower,
she was broken in pieces.

When the flying princess saw what had happened she rode back to
the spot, as Sunlight counselled her, and placed her finger on
the top of the tower, which was gradually shrinking into the
earth. In an instant the tower had vanished as if it had never
been, and in its place was the finger of the princess with a ring
round it.

The emperor received Iliane with all the respect that was due to
her, and fell in love at first sight besides.

But this did not seem to please Iliane, whose face was sad as she
walked about the palace or gardens, wondering how it was that,
while other girls did as they liked, she was always in the power
of someone whom she hated.

So when the emperor asked her to share his throne Iliane
answered:

'Noble Sovereign, I may not think of marriage till my stud of
horses has been brought me, with their trappings all complete.'

When he heard this, the emperor once more sent for Fet-Fruners,
and said:

'Fet-Fruners, fetch me instantly the stud of mares, with their
trappings all complete. If not, your head shall pay the
forfeit.'

'Mighty Emperor, I kiss your hands! I have but just returned
from doing your bidding, and, behold, you send me on another
mission, and stake my head on its fulfilment, when your court is
full of valiant young men, pining to win their spurs. They say
you are a just man; then why not entrust this quest to one of
them? Where am I to seek these mares that I am to bring you?'

'How do I know? They may be anywhere in heaven or earth; but,
wherever they are, you will have to find them.'

The princess bowed and went to consult Sunlight. He listened
while she told her tale, and then said:

'Fetch quickly nine buffalo skins; smear them well with tar, and
lay them on my back. Do not fear; you will succeed in this also;
but, in the end, the emperor's desires will be his undoing.'

The buffalo skins were soon got, and the princess started off
with Sunlight. The way was long and difficult, but at length
they reached the place where the mares were grazing. Here the
genius who had carried off Iliane was wandering about, trying to
discover how to capture them, all the while believing that Iliane
was safe in the palace where he had left her.

As soon as she caught sight of him, the princess went up and told
him that Iliane had escaped, and that his mother, in her efforts
to recapture her, had died of rage. At this news a blind fury
took possession of the genius, and he rushed madly upon the
princess, who awaited his onslaught with perfect calmness. As he
came on, with his sabre lifted high in the air, Sunlight bounded
right over his head, so that the sword fell harmless. And when
in her turn the princess prepared to strike, the horse sank upon
his knees, so that the blade pierced the genius's thigh.