to doso, that he only hid it away in a lumber-room; and thither, as fatewould have it, came the younger Prince one day in search of a pet kittenof his sister's which had strayed away; for he was a Prince of a mostkind and amiable nature.
The moment he saw the picture he fell in love with it. He made inquiry,and heard all there was to tell. Then he arrayed himself for a journey,and came to bid his father farewell.
"I go," he said, "to woo the Princess Rose for my bride." And in spiteof all the king could say he kept firm.
"If she is a witch," he said, "I would rather perish by her hands thanlive with any other."
And amidst tears and lamentations he set out.
He was received with great delight at the court of Princess Rose'sparents, though he came without any pomp or display; for he lost no timein telling the King and Queen the reason of his visit. Knowing him tobe a Prince of most estimable character, they were overjoyed to hear ofhis resolve.
"I only trust," said the Queen, "that all may go well. But, as you havedoubtless heard, our darling child, despite her beauty and goodness, isunder a strange spell."
She then proceeded to tell him the whole matter, of which he had alreadyheard garbled accounts.
He was relieved to find that the enchantment was of no worse a nature,and declared that it made no difference in his intentions, but ratherincreased his love for the Princess. And when he first set eyes on her(more beautiful by far than even the beautiful portrait), he felt thathis whole life would not be too much to devote to her, even consideringher strange affliction.
"And who knows," he said to himself, "but that such love as mine mayfind out a way to release her from the spell?"
The Princess quickly learned to like him. She had never before had acompanion so near her own age, and the last days of the summer passedmost happily, till the time came when the Prince thought he mightventure to ask her to be his wife.
They were walking on the terrace in front of the castle when he did so.It had been a lovely day, but the afternoon had grown chilly; and as thePrincess listened to his words, a cold breath of wind passed near them.
The Princess started; and, aware of the Queen's anxiety about her, thePrince hastily proposed that they should return to the house; but Roselooked at him with a light in her eyes which he had never before seen,and a strange smile broke over her face.
"It is new life to me," she said.
"Can you not understand, you who are yourself a child of the north?Yes, Prince, I will marry you on one condition, that you will show methe snow--but on no other."
Then she turned, and, without another word, walked slowly back to thepalace.
Prince Orso, for so he was called, felt terribly distressed.
"The spell is upon her," he thought to himself. "She asks me to do whatwould probably kill her, or separate her for ever from all who loveher." And the King and Queen, when they heard his story, were nearly asdisappointed as he.
But that very night the Prince had a strange dream. He thought he waswalking in the wood near the castle, when again a chill blast, but stillmore icy, swept past him, and he heard a voice speaking to him. Itsounded hoarse and stern.
"Orso," it said, "you're as foolish as the rest. Have you no trust?See what came of rebellion against me, who, after all, love my manychildren as dearly as does my sister of the summer. Leave the Princessto the leadings of her own heart, and dare not to interfere."
Then with a crash as of thunder the spirit went on his way. And thePrince awoke to find that the window of his room had been dashed in bythe force of a sudden gale which had arisen.
But the next morning all was again calm. It almost seemed as if themilder weather was returning again; and the Queen looked brighter; butit was not so with the Princess, who was silent and almost sad. And sothings continued for some days.
At last the Prince could bear it no longer. One afternoon when he foundhimself alone with the Princess, he turned to her suddenly.
"Princess," he said, "can you not give me another answer? You must knowthat I would fain promise anything you wish; but I dare not bind myselfto what might perhaps do you some injury."
Rose turned towards him impatiently.
"That is just it," she said. "I am always met by excuses when I ask forthe one thing I really desire. What is there about me different fromothers? Why should I so often hear of what others seem to understand,and not have it explained to me? I am no longer a child; in my dreams Isee things I cannot put in words; and beautiful as the world is, I feelthat I only half know it. I long for what they call the winter, andwhat they call the snow, and they never come. Only the cold wind, whichI have felt once or twice, brings new life to me, and fills me withstrange joy."
The Prince hesitated. He understood her perfectly, for he was himselfof the same brave and hardy race. Yet the Queen's forebodings made himtremble. The Princess's words reminded him of his own dream; and againhe felt as if he heard the voice of the stern Winter Spirit. And as ifin answer to his uncertainty, at that moment the howl of the cold blastsounded near them among the trees, and lurid clouds began to gatheroverhead.
The Princess's face lighted up.
"Ah," she exclaimed, "it is coming again!"
"I fear so indeed," said Orso; and in his terror for her he caught herhand and would have hurried her back to the palace.
But at that moment a shrill little cry was heard overhead not far fromwhere they stood, and glancing up they saw a bird of prey clutching asmaller one in his claws. With a terrible effort the captive managed tofree himself, but he was sadly wounded; and as Rose gazed upwards ingreat concern, she saw him fall fluttering feebly to the ground. Allelse was forgotten in the sight.
"Poor bird," she cried. "Let me go, Prince; I must find him where hehas fallen, or a cruel death of slow suffering will be his."
The Prince loosed her hand; he dared not hold her back, though he couldhave done so.
"Leave her to the guidings of her own heart," resounded in his ears.
Almost at once she was lost to his sight among the trees which grew veryclosely; almost at the same moment, to his horror, something cold andsoft touched his face, and lifting his eyes, he saw that the snowflakeswere falling thickly. If harm was to betide, it was too late to saveher; but he pressed forward in unspeakable anxiety.
It was some little time before he found her; and no reply came to hiscalls; but at last he caught sight of something blue on the ground. Itwas the Princess's robe; and there, indeed, she lay motionless--her eyesclosed, a sweet smile on her face, the little wounded bird tenderlyclasped in her hands.
And now I may tell you that this wounded bird was the friend from whom Ihad the story; for, as you will hear, he had plenty of opportunity oflearning it all.
Orso threw himself on the ground beside the Princess.
"Ah," he exclaimed, "my carelessness has killed her. How can I everdare to face the King and Queen? Oh! Winter Spirit, you have indeeddeceived me."
But as he said the words the Princess opened her eyes.
"No, Prince," she said. "I am not dead. I am not even asleep. It wasthe strange gladness that seemed to take away my breath for a moment,and I must have sunk down without knowing. But now I feel stronger andhappier than ever in my life before, now that I have seen and felt thebeautiful snow of my own country, now that I have breathed the winterair I have been longing for always," and she sprang to her feet, herblue eyes sparkling with delight, looking lovelier than he had ever seenher.
"Orso," she went on, half shyly, "you have done what I asked you;through you I have seen the snow," and she held out her hand, which,white though it was, looked pink in comparison with the little flakeswhich were fluttering down on it.
The Prince was overjoyed, but he hesitated.
"I fear," he said, "that in reality you should rather thank the poorlittle bird, or most of all your own kind heart."
"Poor little bird," she replied, looking at it as it lay in her otherhand. "It is no
t dead. I will do all I can for it! Let us hastenhome, Prince, so that I may bind up its poor wing. My father and mothertoo will be anxious about me."
And together they returned to the palace. One glance at the Princess asshe came in sprinkled over with snow showed the Queen that the spell wasat last broken. And her joy was past all words.
My friend recovered slowly. He spent all the winter in the palace,tenderly cared for by the Princess Rose, only flying away when the warmsunny days returned. He pays them a visit still every summer to showhis gratitude, and tells me that in all his travels he seldom sees ahappier family than his friends in the old palace away up in the far,far northern land.
"Thank you," said the children, "Thank you, oh so much!" But whetherthe bird heard them or not they could not
An Enchanted Garden: Fairy Stories Page 12
