mermaid who will undertake the quest of the redrose on which depends the Queen's recovery," he thought, and the idearaised his hopes. And as he stooped over the sleeping Queen, she smiledand whispered something as if she were dreaming.
"The gift of love," were the only words he could distinguish. But hetook the smile as a good omen.
The next morning there was great excitement amongst the fair youngmermaids. For it was announced that whoever of them should succeed inbringing, blooming and fragrant, a red rose to the suffering Queen,should be rewarded by the gift of a pearl necklace, which was consideredone of the most precious of the crown jewels, and that furthermore thefortunate mermaid should take the highest rank of all the sea-ladiesnext to the Queen herself.
Ila and Orona were both beautiful and courageous, and before the day wasmany hours older they had offered themselves for the task. The King wasdelighted, and as Ila was the elder of the two it was decided that shemust be the first to try. She received many compliments on her daring,and the King thanked her most warmly. She accepted all that was said toher, but to Orona, who was her chosen confidante, she owned that shewould never have dreamt of making the attempt but for her intense wishto possess the necklace, which she had often admired on the youngQueen's fair skin.
"I would do anything to win it," she said. "There is nothing in theworld I admire so much as pearls, but if I gain it, Orona, I promise tolend it to you sometimes."
"Many thanks," Orona replied, "but I do not care for jewels as you do.If _I_ have the chance of seeking the rose--that is to say if you fail--my motive will not be to gain the necklace, but to win the position ofthe highest rank next to the Queen. _That_ I should care far more for."
Both mermaids, however, kept their ambitions secret from every one else,and calmly accepted the praises showered upon them.
And the very next day Ila started on her upward journey.
CHAPTER ELEVEN.
THE MAGIC ROSE--CONTINUED.
Ila found it trying and toilsome, for she was not accustomed to swimmingupwards so long together, and she did not like to lose time by restingon the way. But when at last she reached the surface, her surprise atall she saw there took away her fatigue. It was a lovely summer day,the sunshine was deliciously warm, and as the mermaid lay on some smoothrocks a little way from the shore she could see the green fields, andtrees, and houses, and gardens bordering the coast, quite plainly. Shecould even perceive some people walking along, and she thought their wayof moving most extremely awkward and ungraceful.
"Thank goodness I am a mermaid and not a woman," she thought. "I cannotbelieve that anything to be found on land is as beautiful as oursea-treasures. How splendid the great pearls in the centre of thenecklace would look in this brilliant light! When they are mine I mustcarry them up here some day for the sake of seeing them glisten on myneck in the sunshine."
And her thoughts were so full of the jewels that she almost forgot whatshe had come for. Suddenly the sight of some red blossoms on a treegrowing close to the water's edge reminded her of what she was there todo, and she looked about her wondering how best to set to work. Thewise men had described roses to her; they had even found a picture ofone in a book about the plants of the land, so she knew very fairly wellwhat it should be like and that it must have a delicious scent. Butthat was all, and though she saw fields and gardens not far off, sheknew not how to get to them. Suddenly glancing in another direction shecaught sight of a barge, its white sails gleaming like the wings of agreat bird, at anchor some little way from the shore. To and from thisbarge little boats were coming and going, laden with baskets and cases.Ila swam quietly towards it, taking care to keep almost entirely underwater, so that she should not be seen.
When she got quite close to the barge she saw that one of the littleboats was approaching it, and this boat was filled with flowers androwed by but one boy. The little vessel was in fact preparing for apleasure trip, and the boats were employed in bringing all that could bewanted of decorations and provisions. The boy rowed quite close to thebarge, and then throwing a rope on deck from his boat, he himself sprangon board to call some one to help him to unload his flowers.
Now was the mermaid's chance--she swam up to the boat and stretching outher hand drew from a basket, filled with roses of all shades, the mostbeautiful red one she could see. She had no doubt of its being a rose,for the perfume had reached her even some little way off. The boyturned round at that moment and gave a cry of terror as he caught sightof a shining white arm and hand taking a flower from the basket ofroses, and for long after, a story went about that the spirit of someone shipwrecked off that coast haunted that part of the bay.
But Ila only laughed at the boy's fright, and swam off as fast as shecould, delighted to have succeeded. She hid the rose carefully in thefolds of the gauzy robe she wore, and after one breath of its fragranceprepared to hasten home as fast as she could go.
"The pearls are mine," she thought with exultation, giving no thought tothe poor Queen. "I can fancy already that I feel their smooth touchagainst my skin--so adorned I shall certainly be the most beautifulmermaid that has ever been seen."
But alas for vain Ila's hopes!
No sooner had she reached the bottom of the sea than she hastened to thepalace, and sought at once for an audience of the King. Eager pastwords for her return, he hurried out to the hall where she stood.
"I have got it," she exclaimed, and she slid her hand into the folds ofher dress and drew out--a little crumpled rag--a few miserable leaves,sodden and colourless, with no scent or fragrance--the poor wretchedghost of what had once been a magnificent rose!
The King's face fell. Ila gave a cry of despair.
"I brought it so carefully," she said.
"Your care was in vain," replied the King. "It is evident that somecondition has not been complied with. How did you get the rose?"
She told him all, and Orona, who had followed her, listened eagerly.
"It may be," said the King, "that you took it without paying for it. Iwish I had thought of that."
But his hopes revived when he remembered that the "first effort was notto succeed." And too anxious to give much thought to Ila'sdisappointment, he turned to Orona.
"Now," he said, "it is for you to try. But you must take with youpayment."
"Yes," said Orona calmly, "I have thought of that. I will select two orthree of our most valuable shells, for I have been told that rare shellsare greatly esteemed by the land-folk. I am not surprised that Ila hasbeen punished for taking what was not hers without paying for it."
She looked so calm and confident that the King felt as if she mustsucceed. It was too late to set off that day; but the next morningOrona started. She was far more business-like than Ila; when shereached the surface, instead of wasting time in dreaming about the pearlnecklace, she swam round the bay as near the shore as she dared venture,peering about in all directions. And at last she came to a littlecreek, which worked its way into the land till it became a small stream,whose banks were bordered by trees. This the mermaid followed for somedistance; till, tasting the water, she found it had almost lost itsbriny flavour altogether. This startled her, for no sea-folk could livemany hours in fresh water, and she began to think she must turn back.But just then she saw that a few yards farther on the stream turnedsuddenly; and swimming still a little way, she discovered that here itentered a beautiful park, through which it wound its way till lost toview.
And close to where Orona now was, stood a pretty cottage, whose gardenat the back sloped down to the water, and here were growing in profusionflowers of many kinds; among them roses, red, white, and all shadesbetween. For this was the cottage of the gardener of the great house,and he liked to have choice specimens of the flowers he tended near hisown home.
It was easy for the mermaid to choose and gather a beautiful rose, forno one was about, it being still what human beings call very early inthe morning. Orona did so, selecting carefully a rose not too fullyb
lown, and wrapping it in some large cool green leaves which she foundgrowing on the bank. And there, just where she had plucked the flower,she laid down two magnificent shells, which she had brought, as payment.
In her calm way, quite as triumphant as her sister mermaid had been,Orona swam back with all possible swiftness. She reached her owncountry without misadventure, and, smiling confidently, entered thegreat hall of the palace, where the King was awaiting her with intenseeagerness.
"Success!" she exclaimed, as she drew out her leafy parcel. The outsidelooked green and fresh enough, but, alas! inside there was only the samemiserable little bundle of colourless rags as Ila had brought back theday before--nay, of the two, to-day's withered flower looked even lesslike a rose than the former one!
Orona clenched her hands in rage; the King's face sank into
An Enchanted Garden: Fairy Stories Page 18
