The Islands of Magic Part 15

The Wiseman smiled gently as he raised his hand. "Listen, my child,"

he said. "Your tears must be shed upon the bosom of the waters. If, perchance, one of them should fall upon your son's heart there in the palace of the water-nymph in the depths of the sea, the power of her philtre will be broken."

"I'll shed whole oceans of tears if I can break the power of that water-nymph and bring back my Francisco," said his mother.

The fact is that she began to shed tears then and there, even before she had thanked the Wiseman of the Sea for what he had told her.

Now it happened that Francisco had grown to love the beautiful palace of mother-of-pearl in the depths of the sea. He never tired of all its beauty. About the palace there were lovely gardens filled with flowers made of precious gems. Each tiny bud of that garden was worth a king's ransom, so rich were the jewels which composed it. The water-nymph often gathered her arms full of these rare blossoms and wove them into a garland to crown Francisco's golden curls. He never had a thought of the old life at home with his mother, so completely had the nymph's philtre done its work.

There was always a big fish swimming about the palace. On its back there was a cushion of seagreen satin embroidered with lovely pearls.

"This is your riding horse," said the water-nymph to Francisco the first day he had seen it. "If you should ever get tired of the palace and find the life here a bit monotonous, just mount this horse and ride about for a little."

The water-nymph had shaken out her long fair tresses so that they covered as much as possible of the fishtail she had instead of feet.

She was very sensitive about the fact that she had no feet upon which to wear pretty little slippers like those of the maidens she had seen so often as they called out gay greetings to the handsome fisher-lad.

Francisco had smiled into her eyes. "How absurd," he cried, "to think of such a thing as getting tired of this wonderful place!"

In fact the days had slipped by all too fast for the happy youth. Then it suddenly happened one day while the water-nymph was asleep that he thought of his mother, the little house which had been his home for sixteen years and more, the fishing boat which was his pride and joy, the moonlight night when he had gaily kissed his mother's cheek and gone away never to return. He did not stop to waken the sleeping nymph. He said no word to the servants of the palace. He thought only of the fish with the cushion of sea-green satin embroidered with rare pearls.

"Quick!" he cried to it. "Take me home as fast as you can! My mother's heart is breaking! She has shed so many tears for me, I know, that by this time she may be entirely blind."

[Ill.u.s.tration: "Take me home as fast as you can!"]

In another hour Francisco was safe at home with his mother's arms about him. She had shed so many tears that her eyes were swollen almost shut, but they were not closed so completely that they could not shine with the great joy which once more filled her heart.

"Promise me one thing," she said to him. "Give me your word that you'll never go fishing again. I don't trust that water-nymph even in the daytime."

Accordingly, Francisco gave up being a fisherman and became a hunter.

To make his spears, he gathered the young sapling which grew on the hillside even down to the edge of the water. He had grown still handsomer while he had lived in the palace of mother-of-pearl in the depths of the sea, and there were twice as many pretty maidens who cast smiling glances in his direction.

It was the daughter of the rich man of the village who at last won the heart of Francisco. When he went a-wooing, however, he had no gift to take except the birds he had killed with his own hand. The rich man laughed at him. These were his words:

"When my daughter marries it shall be only to a youth who can bring her rich gifts."

Francisco went away with a sad heart and sat upon the rocks at the edge of the sea, gazing out over the water with eyes so full of tears that they saw nothing.

The water-nymph was not far away from the sh.o.r.e those days. She was always seeking for a glimpse of the golden head which she had so often crowned with flowers. Her joy now at the sight of him was buried by her sorrow when she saw that his heart was full of woe. She knew at once the cause of his grief.

The next morning when Francisco went to get wood to make a new spear, he found a necklace of priceless pearls lying on the sh.o.r.e. It was the gift of the water-nymph, but since his heart had been touched by his mother's tears he had entirely forgotten her. He took the gift to the maid he loved with never a thought of the giver.

THE DAUGHTER OF THE KING OF NAPLES

_The Story of a Prince's Quest_

There was once a king who had an only son. The years pa.s.sed by and he did not marry, so one day his father called him before him and said:

"The time has come when you should marry, my son. You are now at the age when you should no longer wait to choose your bride. Why is it that you have not already done this?"

The prince replied:

"I will wed no one except the daughter of the king of Naples."

"Do you know that the king of Naples has a daughter?" asked the father.

"No," answered the son. "I do not know."

"I should advise you to find out whether or not the king of Naples happens to have a daughter before you decide to marry her," remarked the king dryly.

"That is good advice," replied the prince. "I thank you."

Accordingly, he asked everybody he met whether the king of Naples had a daughter. There was no person to be found who knew anything about it.

"You'll have to go to Naples to obtain this information," advised the king. "It is a long journey, but if you are determined to marry n.o.body except the daughter of the king of Naples there seems to be no way except to go there and learn whether or not he has a daughter."

Accordingly, a ship was prepared and the prince sailed for Naples. It was a difficult, stormy voyage, but finally they arrived safely. The moment they landed the beggars came crowding about them. The prince distributed alms among them most generously.

Then he asked: "Does any one know whether or not the king of Naples has a daughter?"

There was n.o.body who knew. Finally, however, an old woman said that once she pa.s.sed by the royal palace and there was a beautiful face at the window.

"I think that perhaps this was the daughter of the king of Naples, but I do not know," she added.

"Go at once and find out," ordered the prince. "You shall be richly rewarded."

The old woman hastened to the royal palace. She saw the same lovely face at the window which she had seen before.

"Lovely lady, I want to talk to you!" she called out.

Now it happened that day that the princess was feeling decidedly bored and out of tune with life. It looked like an interesting diversion to talk with the old woman. Thus it came to pa.s.s that she opened the window graciously.

"What do you wish, good mother?" she asked.

"Are you the daughter of the king of Naples?" questioned the old woman.

"I am," replied the princess.

"May I come some day to sell you pretty things?" asked the old woman.

The princess appointed an hour the next day when she might come with her wares. Then the old woman hurried back to the waiting prince.

"The king of Naples has a daughter!" she cried. "A very beautiful daughter, too!"

The prince showered the old woman with gold. He was so delighted that at last he had found this out that he could well afford to be generous.

The old woman thanked him. "I did something else for you, kind sir,"