The Little Lame Prince

by Dinah Maria Mulock Craik

  CHAPTER VI.

  The fourth day it happened that the deaf mute paid his accustomed visit,after which Prince Dolor's spirits rose. They always did, when he gotthe new books, which the King of Nomansland regularly sent to hisnephew. He paid no attention to the toys which were brought, as heconsidered himself a big boy.

  Prince Dolor leaned over and looked at the mute's horse which wasfeeding at the foot of the tower and thought how grand it must be to getupon its back and ride away.

  "Suppose I was a knight," he said to himself; "then I should be obligedto ride out and see the world."

  But he kept all these thoughts to himself, and just sat still, devouringhis new books until he had come to end of them all.

  "I wonder," he would sometimes think,--"I wonder what it feels like tobe on the back of a horse, galloping away, or holding the reins in acarriage, and tearing across the country, or jumping a ditch, or runninga race, such as I read of or see in pictures. What a lot of things thereare that I should like to do! But first, I should like to go and see theworld. I'll try."

  Apparently it was his godmother's plan always to let him try, and tryhard, before he gained anything. This day the knots that tied up histraveling-cloak were more than usually troublesome, and it was a fullhalf hour before he got out into the open air, and found himselffloating merrily over the top of the tower.

  Hitherto, in all his journeys he had never let himself go out of sightof home, but now he felt sick of the very look of his tower with itsround smooth walls.

  "Off we go!" cried he, when the cloak stirred itself with a slight slowmotion, as if waiting his orders. "Anywhere--anywhere, so that I am awayfrom here, and out into the world."

  As he spoke, the cloak bounded forward and went skimming through theair, faster than the very fastest railway train.

  "Gee-up, gee-up!" cried Prince Dolor in great excitement. "This is asgood as riding a horse," and tossed his head back to meet the freshbreeze, and pulled his coat-collar up and his hat down, as he felt thewind grow keener and colder, colder than anything he had ever known.

  "What does it matter, though?" said he. "I'm a boy, and boys ought notto mind anything."

  Still, by-and-by he began to shiver, and, as he had come away withouthis dinner, grew frightfully hungry. The sunshine changed to rain, andhe got soaked through and through in a very few minutes.

  "Shall I turn back?" meditated he. "Suppose I say, 'Abracadabra?'"

  Here he stopped, for already the cloak gave a lurch as if it wereexpecting to be sent home.

  "No--I can't go back! I must go forward and see the world, but oh! if Ihad but the shabbiest old rug to shelter me from the rain, or the driestmorsel of bread and cheese, just to keep me from starving! Still, Idon't much mind, I'm a prince and ought to be able to stand anything.Hold on, cloak, we'll make the best of it."

  No sooner had he said this than he felt stealing over his kneessomething warm and soft; in fact, a most beautiful bearskin, whichfolded itself round him and cuddled him up as closely as if he had beenthe cub of the kind old mother-bear that once owned it. Then feeling inhis pocket, which suddenly stuck out in a marvelous way, he found, notexactly bread and cheese, nor even sandwiches, but a packet of the mostdelicious food he had ever tasted. He ate his dinner until he grew sothirsty he did not know what to do.

  "Couldn't I have just one drop of water, if it wouldn't trouble you toomuch, kindest of godmothers?"

  He considered this a difficult request to grant for he was so far fromthe ground that he could not expect to find a well. He forgot onething--the rain. While he spoke, it came on in another wild burst, as ifthe clouds had poured themselves out in a passion of crying, wetting himcertainly, but leaving behind in a large glass vessel which he had nevernoticed before, enough water to quench the thirst of two or three boysat least. And it was so fresh, so pure--as water from the clouds alwaysis, that he drank it with the greatest delight.

  Also, as soon as it was empty, the rain filled it again, so that he wasable to wash his face and hands. Then the sun came out and dried him inno time. After that he curled himself up under the bearskin rug and shuthis eyes just for one minute. The next minute he was sound asleep.

  When he awoke, he found himself floating over a country quite unlikeanything he had ever seen before.

  Yet it was nothing but what most of you children see every day and nevernotice--a pretty country landscape. It had nothing in it grand orlovely--was simply pretty, nothing more; yet to Prince Dolor who hadnever seen beyond the level plain, it appeared wonderful.

  First, there was a river, which came tumbling down the hillside.

  "It is so active, so alive! I like things active and alive!" cried he,and watched it shimmering and dancing, whirling and leaping.

  All this the boy saw, either with his own naked eye, or through his goldspectacles. He saw also as in a picture, beautiful but silent, manyother things which struck him with wonder, especially a grove of trees.

  Only think, to have lived to his age and never have seen trees! As hefloated over these oaks, they seemed to him the most curious sightimaginable.

  "If I could only get nearer, so as to touch them," said he, andimmediately the obedient cloak ducked down; Prince Dolor made a snatchat the topmost twig of the tallest tree, and caught a bunch of leaves inhis hand. Just a bunch of green leaves--such as we have seen many times,yet how wonderful they were to him, and he examined the leaves with thegreatest curiosity, and also a little caterpillar that he found walkingover one of them. He coaxed it to take a walk over his finger. It amusedhim for a long time; and when a sudden gust of wind blew it overboard,leaves and all, he felt quite disconsolate.

  "Still there must be many live creatures in the world besidescaterpillars. I should like to see a few of them."

  The cloak gave a little slip down, as if to say, "All right, My Prince,"and bore him across the oak forest to a long fertile valley. It was madeup of cornfields, pasture fields, brooks, and ponds, and in it were aquantity of living creatures, wild and tame. Cows, horses, lambs andsheep fed in the meadows, pigs and fowls walked about the barnyards. Inlonelier places were rabbits, wild birds inhabited the fields and woods.

  Through his wonderful spectacles the Prince could see everything, but hewas too high up to hear anything except a faint murmur, which onlyaroused his anxiety to hear more.

  "I wonder if my godmother would give me a second pair of ears?" he said.

  Scarcely had he spoken, than he found lying on his lap the most curiouslittle parcel, all done up in silver paper. And it contained a pair ofsilver ears, which, when he tried them on, fitted so exactly over hisown, that he hardly felt them, except for the difference they made inhis hearing.

  THE PRINCE GAZED EAGERLY DOWN INTO THE LARGEST ROOM HEHAD EVER BEHELD. [PAGE 40.]]

  The sound which greeted his ears is one which we have heard many times,but Prince Dolor, who had lived all his days in the dead silence ofHopeless Tower, heard it for the first time. And oh! If you had seen hisface.

  He listened, and listened, and looked and looked. The motion of theanimals delighted him; cows walking, horses galloping, little lambs andcalves running races across the meadows, were a great treat for him towatch.

  "Godmother," he said, having now begun to believe that, whether he sawher or not, she could hear him--"Godmother, I should like better to seea creature like myself. Couldn't you show me just one little boy?"

  Suddenly, a shrill whistle startled him, even through his silver ears,and looking downwards, he saw start up from behind a bush on a common,something--

  Neither a sheep, nor a horse, nor a cow--nothing upon four legs. Thiscreature had only two; but they were long, straight and strong. And ithad a lithe active body, and a curly head of black hair. It was a boyabout the Prince's own age--but, oh! so different. His face was almostas red as his hands, and his shaggy hair was matted like the backs ofthe sheep he was tending. But he was a rather nice-looking lad; andseemed so bright and healthy and "jolly," that the little Prin
ce watchedhim with great admiration.

  "Might he come and play with me? I would drop down to the ground to him,or fetch him up to me."

  But the cloak, usually so obedient, disobeyed him now. There wasevidently some things which his godmother could or would not give. Thecloak hung high in air, never attempting to descend. The shepherd ladtook it for a large bird, and shading his eyes, looked up at it, thenturned round and stretched himself, for he had been half asleep, and hisdog had been guarding the sheep.

  The boy called to the dog and they started off together for a raceacross the fields. Prince Dolor watched them with great excitement, fora while, then the sweet, pale face grew a trifle paler, the lips beganto quiver and the eyes to fill.

  "How nice it must be to run like that!" he said softly, thinking thatnever--no, never in this world--would he be able to do the same.

  "I think I had rather not look at him again," said the poor littlePrince, drawing himself back into the centre of his cloak, and resuminghis favorite posture, sitting like a Turk, with his arms wrapped aroundhis feeble useless legs.

  "You're no good to me," he said, patting them mournfully. "You neverwill be any good to me. I wonder why I have you at all; I wonder why Iwas born at all, since I was not to grow up like other little boys."

  Prince Dolor sat a good while thus, and seemed to grow years older in afew minutes.

  Then he fancied the cloak began to rock gently to and fro, with asoothing kind of motion, as if he were in somebody's arms; somebody whodid not speak, but loved and comforted him without need of words.

  He had placed himself so he could see nothing but the sky, and had takenoff his silver ears, as well as his gold spectacles--what was the use ofeither when he had no legs to walk or run?--Up from below there rose adelicious sound.

  You have heard it hundreds of times, my children, and so have I. When Iwas a child I thought there was nothing so sweet; and I think so still.It was just the song of a lark, mounting higher and higher, until itcame so close that Prince Dolor could distinguish its quivering wingsand tiny body, almost too tiny to contain such a gush of music.

  "Oh, you beautiful, beautiful bird!" cried he; "I should dearly like totake you in and cuddle you. That is, if I might--if I dared."

  He was so absorbed that he forget all regret and pain, forgot everythingin the world except the little lark, and he was just wondering if itwould soar out of sight, when it suddenly closed its wings, as larks dowhen they mean to drop to the ground. But, instead of dropping to theground, it dropped right into the little boy's breast.

  When he came in sight of Hopeless Tower, a painful thought struck him.

  "My pretty bird, what am I to do with you? If I take you into my roomand shut you up there, you will surely die for I heard my nurse once saythat the nicest thing she ever ate in her life was lark pie!"

  The little boy shivered all over at the thought, and in another minutehe had made up his mind.

  "No, my bird, nothing so dreadful shall happen to you if I can help it;I would rather do without you altogether. Fly away, my darling! Good-byemy merry, merry bird."

  Opening his two caressing hands, in which, as for protection, he hadfolded it, he let the lark go. It lingered a minute, perched on the rimof the cloak, and looked at him with eyes of almost human tenderness;then away it flew.

  But, sometime after, when Prince Dolor had eaten his supper, and gone tobed, suddenly he heard outside the window a little faint carol--faintbut cheerful--even though it was the middle of the night.

  The dear little lark, it had not flown away after all, but had remainedabout the tower and he listened to its singing and went to sleep veryhappy.