Fairy Tales From all Nations Part 4

"We wore a garb of simple green; but they were ever to be seen in jackets with ribbons all gay bedight, and in every idle fashion light,--so that we sometimes laughed to see their folly and their vanity.

"That is evident enough if you only look at their patch-work clothing put together without the slightest taste. The foolish fellow with the swallow-tails thought he had done a vastly clever thing when he appended to each wing a tail like that the swallows have; and after all, this monstrous affectation is but a trumpery imitation of that which nature to the swallows gave. Then, that insufferable a.s.s, the Peac.o.c.k's Eye, must copy him in his folly, and wear great spectacles of coloured gla.s.s, which are so far from helping him to see that his own clear eyes look dim, owing to that fantastic whim. Thou thinkest, perhaps, the one who wears a mantle grave like a funeral pall is far above such senseless airs,--but he's the greatest fool of all! That garb of sorrow is but worn wonder and pity to excite, to seem as if condemned to mourn--a sorrow-stricken wight. Others there are who on their jackets gay, cause numbers to be traced; no doubt, you'll say, to mind them that the years unheeded go and teach them how to value time. But no! Those youths are your Don Juans, and the numbers show in pride how many flowers by them brought low have pined and died.

"The king who then did o'er us reign thought of a method somewhat strange, by which their licence to restrain and work a beneficial change. He caused to be enforced throughout the nation, a most peculiar kind of education. He shut the youthful b.u.t.terflies within a narrow case of skin, wherein they were so tightly bound they could not turn their bodies round--and there close prisoners they remained till they a certain age attained. I must confess, the principle to me seemed very wrong,--and so it proved to be; for so far from the matter being mended, we had just the reverse of what the king intended. The closer they were mewed in prison, the more they longed for liberty,--and only waited to be free, to plunge in deepest revelry.

"But angry thoughts are leading me astray,--I've wandered from my theme too far away. To speak of many things I am beguiled which must be meaningless to such a child.

"Thou now shalt hear the sequel of my tale. There was one set amongst the b.u.t.terflies more worthless than all the rest. These were the confirmed old topers, who had imbibed so much of the ambrosial dew that their bodies had grown fat and unwieldy, and had very large stomachs. Such clumsy b.u.t.terflies as these had little chance the flowers to please; and so whenever one approached, each bent aside its calyx bright in mockery of the uncouth wight. Or if by chance one clambered up to reach the blossom's nectar-cup, its stem would bend beneath his weight, and down the awkward creature straight would go, and all its members dislocate. So then their evil deeds they did under the cover of the night. When every flower was soundly sleeping, they came like midnight robbers creeping,--then drew them softly to the ground, and sucked from their lips their nectar breath; so that many a flower at morn was found, lying pale in death and sinfully robbed of all its wealth, that had closed its leaves in rosy health.

"Now, my child, thou may'st be sure, full little could those elves endure that we, on our holy mission bound, the silence and darkness should chase away by our song, and our prayer, and our emerald ray,--hoping by that solemn sound to give the dead repose.

"Those who had drunk deep by day, roused by it could not sleep away the ill effects of their carouse, so they with aches and fevers rose.

But those deceitful spoilers of the flowers, who trusted by night's shade protected to work their purpose undetected, had now to fast,--for as we pa.s.sed, the flowers who loved to hear our song saw by our light, that pierced the night, their foes come creeping stealthily along. This with the jealousy within their hearts that glowed, because the star had not on them, too, been bestowed, between our tribes raised feud and jar,--whence bitter grief has grown. They had a king, to whom was known full many a spell of gramarye; 'twas said, that he a league had made with spirits lost, and by their aid could read the scroll of destiny. And there he found this dread decree, which told our coming misery:--

"'When the star-adorned race, shall fall from innocence and grace,--when their first murder shall be done,--when their monarch's first-born son by the waves of the sea shall swallowed be;--then vain shall be rendered their song and their prayer,--from amongst them the white cross shall disappear,--and to insects transformed they shall flutter and creep, doomed far from their own land to wander and weep.

The fatal spell may be undone only by their king's lost son; but ere even he can set them free, he must their chosen sovereign be.'

"The king of the b.u.t.terflies, when he heard this, began to consider how he might contrive to bring us to endless wretchedness; and as by magic he could appear in any form he chose to wear, an angel's guise he took one day, and neared the spot where our king lay deep sleeping in a tulip's cup. He by the rustling wakened up, was struck with wonder and pious awe, when he the angel near him saw; who thus in wicked words began:--

"'Thy loving wife shall bear a son to thee, of whom 'tis written in the Book of Fate, that if he be not whelmed beneath the sea, the elfin nation shall be desolate, and from their native country driven:--such is the mysterious will of Heaven. Therefore must thou this offering make for the elfin nation's sake; else thy people's love for thee, will turn to hatred when they see thou wilt not save them from their misery; and thou thyself a shameful death shalt die.'

"This said, the guilty wretch departed. No longer slept the king; but heavy hearted, he musing lay, till break of day. And lo! just as the sun his radiance bright o'er earth began to shed, the queen gave birth unto a child, lovely and innocent and mild, and small as a pin's head!

"The king looked on it, but no pleasure glowed in his heart at this new treasure; and as he gazed, an icy chill through all his members seemed to thrill; for love of his people, and desire to save his own life, did inspire his thoughts with a ferocious plan.

"He had a faithful serving-man, to whom his secret he confided; and to him command he gave to plunge the child beneath the wave, there to find a watery grave. The boy, however, did not perish:--how he escaped I shall tell thee hereafter.

"Thus no murder yet had stained the nation; and the white cross still remained amongst us, and we dwelt unchanged in our accustomed spot.

But the servant, by remorse urged on, revealed the murder he had done.

Then, loyal as was. .h.i.therto the nation, the crime so raised our indignation, that our duty we forgot.

"In the first tumult of their ire some of our fiercest spirits did conspire their monarch's blood to spill. They tore the thorns from the stem of the rose, and the strongest and longest and sharpest they chose to work their wicked will. Beneath their mantles green they hid the spears; and sought their king, the curse-beladen one, who again in the tulip lay alone in sorrow and in tears. Wildly they the stem ascended, and in their rage they struck the deadly blow; they pierced him till his heart's blood forth did flow,--and with his life, his sorrow ended.

"Now the sinful deed was done,--now our innocence was gone! Heaven withdrew its sheltering hand. The white cross the old man had given, the token of our bond with heaven,--vanished from the land! And as we flocked together trembling, we heard a rushing through the air, as if fierce winds in conflict were. Devouring grief our hearts distracted; our delicate limbs all suddenly contracted, and into ugly worms we turned!

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE PRINCE OF THE GLOW WORMS. P. 56.]

"Yet as we were not guilty all of the vile crime that caused our fall, the fair light still upon our foreheads burned. And as we sat in fear and gloom, a shrill voice thus p.r.o.nounced our doom.

"Henceforth as homeless worms, away, away!--wander and stray, here and there, and up and down, until at length ye place the crown on the brow of the child who by your king's decree was sunk amid the waves of the foaming sea. Far, far from hence is his dwelling-place, and he seems like a child of the human race,--but him ye shall know by the star on his brow.

"'Your lost cross, too, ye must find once more, which he is destined to restore; when your king and your cross shall again be found, your penance shall end and the spell be unbound.'

"The gay-dressed elves who had their king deceived by treachery and lies, were, like ourselves, transformed, and became b.u.t.terflies.

"Soon as we heard our melancholy doom, we fled, and traversed many a distant land,--ever peering through the gloom, into each little sleeping-room; peeping about us all the night, in hope to see the twinkling light on the brow of some fair boy. And we looked on many a blessed child, who in his sleep so sweetly smiled, that we would have chosen him with joy,--but the star was wanting still."

"Poor worms!" said Julius; "and thus you still are seeking now, the boy with the star upon his brow?"

"Oh! no my child! by Heaven led, we have found the child with the light on his head; and now I will tell what him befel.

"In his death-struggle with the waves, unto a leaflet green he clung which floated on the tide, and with a lightsome bound he sprang upon its upturned side. Contented thus he lay at rest, swayed by the billows here and there, safely housed and free from care, in the leaflets' soft green breast. His only food was the radiance bright which the stars shed down on him by night, and by that delicate food sustained he made a voyage long.

"But why dost thou stare so fixedly?--why dreamily gaze before thee so?"

Then Julius said:--

"A dreamy sense is o'er me stealing, of moments long gone by:--when I in a green leaf thus was laid, gazing upwards on the sky, whilst the dancing waves around me played. I was rocked by the sea as it rippled lightly,--fed by the stars which shone o'er me brightly; and on I sailed right merrily! And feeding thus on the delicate light by the bright stars downward shed, my nature grew unfit to live by the grosser human bread."

[Ill.u.s.tration]

"Now that the light is o'er thee breaking, now that thy memory is awaking,--hear me further," said the glow-worm.--"For four long months the billows bore the child, until he reached the sh.o.r.e of a far and distant land, where they left him on the strand. A stork came proudly stalking by,--well pleased when he such prize did spy; for by the garment green deceived, a tree-frog he the child believed. And he resolved the morsel rare to carry home unto his wife, who loved almost as her life, such choice and tender fare. He took him in his fine long beak, and with him mounted in the air; but had not travelled far nor long, when he beheld an eagle strong flying towards him in might; and being somewhat of a coward, surprised at this event untoward, his bill he opened in a fright,--and down the elfin child from high fell to the earth again.

"Why dost thou start as if some pain shot through thee? Why on thy breast are thy small hands pressed?"

The boy replied:--

"I feel an icy chill through all my members thrill. It must have been a dream, but unto me doth seem that I had such a fall one day,--and such a piercing blast right through my breast then pa.s.sed, its very memory takes my breath away."

Then the glow-worm said:--

"Oft we mistake some vision vain for life's reality,--and view the wild creations of our brain as things long past but true. But listen, now, while I conclude my tale. Thou think'st perhaps the child, in falling, his limbs would break or dislocate; but as a feather would descend, light fell that child on the foliage green, and not a tender leaf was seen beneath his weight to bend. Giddy with spinning through the air, and breathless for awhile he lay; but soon to sense he did awaken, and found that he no harm had taken. Above his head, full, bright, and red, a strawberry hung, green leaves among, and its fragrance o'er him shed. Whether the child was of wit bereft, or that, deprived of the starry spark, he had fasted so long in the stork's bill dark, that hunger did his sense betray, is more than I can think or say; but the berry to him seemed ruddy and bright, as if woven with a web of light. This when the foolish elf-child saw, he strove with all his might to draw the unwholesome earth-fruit to the ground, which he no easy labour found; then round his little arms he threw, and to his lips the fruit he drew and sucked its ruby juice. A weary task the boy did find, to penetrate the tough hard rind; then for a second's s.p.a.ce he drained the nectar which the fruit contained,--one hundredth part at least he drank,--and mastered by its potency, upon the earth he sank.

"But alas! all was now lost, that earthly food was unto him fell poison. Soon each little limb unseemly swelled and spread. His floating golden locks, as fine as the slight thread that spiders twine, became as coa.r.s.e as hay; and every nerve and sinew grew thick and unsightly to the view. The berry's power had changed him into a child of man; and he now began to scream and cry and make such direful noises, as would have drowned the united sound of a thousand elfin voices."

"Ah woe is me!" exclaimed Julius, sobbing; "if I had not so madly sucked the deadly juice of that coa.r.s.e berry, I still should feed on the perfumed air, and never have known vile human fare."

Then the glow-worm, greatly excited, whispered to him:--

"Know, child beloved, I am thy mother:--the elfin queen, entranced with joy at finding thee, dear human boy! Alas! that thou shouldst so gigantic be and I so very small, that we cannot rush into each other's arms to seal the charms of meeting by a kiss! Thou bearest the light upon thy brow that dull-eyed mortals cannot see; but we have found thee, child, and now from the magic thrall both we and those shall soon be free.

"List, and hear me, while I tell how thou may'st unbind the spell.

First, thou must the white cross find; which, when withdrawn from us by Heaven, was to a holy hermit given. Wandering in the north, he bore it,--toiling in the south, he wore it,--whilst many a wonder by its power he wrought: and when his pious mission the holy man had ended, he took it to a church where as a relic 'tis suspended. The church full often hast thou seen when wandering in the forest green; and thither must thou go this night, nor sound nor sight must thy heart affright, and nought must make thee in thy purpose falter,--but boldly take the cross from the high altar. Nought of evil shall come to thee--'tis only fear that can undo thee; for the b.u.t.terfly King will strive, from fright, to make thee turn again, and all thy hopes our race to right, by magic to render vain. The cross hangs to a rosary, and a lamp burns before it unceasingly. Now, off to thy work without delay, and to the chapel gate on thy steps we will wait, to light thee on thy way."

Then up sprang Julius joyously. "How light feels my bosom, my heart how strong!--'tis as if I had known this all along. Hurrah! I'm the Elfin King. Little care I for the false b.u.t.terfly. The white cross from the church I'll quickly bring. Come, light me, light me on the track!--triumphant soon you will see me back!"

Then his mother, attended by all the other glow-worms, lighted him on his way, and he followed with bounding steps. They drew up outside the church-door whilst he entered alone; cold blasts blowing down upon him from the lofty, pale, glimmering dome. Onward he went without fear. A great hideous bat fluttered round his head twittering: "Return; go not to the altar high, for if to spurn my threat thou dare, I will stick my claws into thy hair, and tear thy locks out one by one, until with pain thou shalt cry and moan, and thy curly head shall be bald as a stone."

"For this coa.r.s.e straw I little care, soon I shall have much finer hair," said Julius;--and on he went cheerfully.

Next came a great black owl, with very sharp beak and claws, and sparkling eyes. He also fluttered round Julius, till the tips of his frightful wings scratched the boy's forehead, whilst he screeched aloud: "Return, return, go quickly back, else thy blue eyes I will claw and hack till thou shalt cry in agony, and blinded thou shalt be."

"My eyes are not so very fine; I shall soon have some that will softer shine," answered Julius, as he approached the altar before which stood the undying lamp.

Then suddenly up rose a pale rattling skeleton, round whose scraggy neck hung the rosary with the white cross; and as the spectre glared at him from its eyeless sockets, it said with a hollow voice: "Forbear, forbear, audacious boy! Ere that cross thy prize can be, thou must conquer it from me. I am Death, the strong, the mighty; no mortal yet has vanquished me."

Julius shrank, and for a moment hesitated; but he heard his mother whisper from the church-door: "Away with fear, 'tis all delusion, magic art and vain illusion. Fearlessly upon him look--thy gaze the phantom cannot brook; by thy mild look and gentle eye, thou shalt win the victory. Seize the cross and banish fear, the spectre so shall disappear."