Prince Darling

PRINCE DARLING

ONCE upon a time there lived a king who was so just and kind that his

subjects called him “the Good King.” It happened one day, when he was

out hunting, that a little white rabbit, which his dogs were chasing,

sprang into his arms for shelter. The King stroked it gently, and said

to it:

“Well, bunny, as you have come to me for protection I will see that

nobody hurts you.”

And he took it home to his palace and had it put in a pretty little

house, with all sorts of nice things to eat.

That night, when he was alone in his room, a beautiful lady suddenly

appeared before him; her long dress was as white as snow, and she had

a crown of white roses upon her head. The good King was very much

surprised to see her, for he knew his door had been tightly shut, and he

could not think how she had got in. But she said to him:

“I am the Fairy Truth. I was passing through the wood when you were out

hunting, and I wished to find out if you were really good, as everybody

said you were, so I took the shape of a little rabbit and came to your

arms for shelter, for I know that those who are merciful to animals will

be still kinder to their fellow-men. If you had refused to help me

I should have been certain that you were wicked. I thank you for the

kindness you have shown me, which has made me your friend for ever. You

have only to ask me for anything you want and I promise that I will give

it to you.”

“Madam,” said the good King, “since you are a fairy you no doubt know

all my wishes. I have but one son whom I love very dearly, that is why

he is called Prince Darling. If you are really good enough to wish to do

me a favor, I beg that you will become his friend.”

“With all my heart,” answered the Fairy. “I can make your son the

handsomest prince in the world, or the richest, or the most powerful;

choose whichever you like for him.”

“I do not ask either of these things for my son,” replied the good

King; “but if you will make him the best of princes, I shall indeed be

grateful to you. What good would it do him to be rich, or handsome, or

to possess all the kingdoms of the world if he were wicked? You

know well he would still be unhappy. Only a good man can be really

contented.”

“You are quite right,” answered the Fairy; “but it is not in my power to

make Prince Darling a good man unless he will help me; he must himself

try hard to become good, I can only promise to give him good advice, to

scold him for his faults, and to punish him if he will not correct and

punish himself.”

The good King was quite satisfied with this promise; and very soon

afterward he died.

Prince Darling was very sorry, for he loved his father with all his

heart, and he would willingly have given all his kingdoms and all his

treasures of gold and silver if they could have kept the good King with

him.

Two days afterward, when the Prince had gone to bed, the Fairy suddenly

appeared to him and said:

“I promised your father that I would be your friend, and to keep my word

I have come to bring you a present.” At the same time she put a little

gold ring upon his finger.

“Take great care of this ring,” she said: “it is more precious than

diamonds; every time you do a bad deed it will prick your finger, but

if, in spite of its pricking, you go on in your own evil way, you will

lose my friendship, and I shall become your enemy.”

So saying, the Fairy disappeared, leaving Prince Darling very much

astonished.

For some time he behaved so well that the ring never pricked him, and

that made him so contented that his subjects called him Prince Darling

the Happy.

One day, however, he went out hunting, but could get no sport, which

put him in a very bad temper; it seemed to him as he rode along that his

ring was pressing into his finger, but as it did not prick him he did

not heed it. When he got home and went to his own room, his little dog

Bibi ran to meet him, jumping round him with pleasure. “Get away!” said

the Prince, quite gruffly. “I don’t want you, you are in the way.”

The poor little dog, who didn’t understand this at all, pulled at his

coat to make him at least look at her, and this made Prince Darling so

cross that he gave her quite a hard kick.

Instantly his ring pricked him sharply, as if it had been a pin. He was

very much surprised, and sat down in a corner of his room feeling quite

ashamed of himself.

“I believe the Fairy is laughing at me,” he thought. “Surely I can have

done no great wrong in just kicking a tiresome animal! What is the good

of my being ruler of a great kingdom if I am not even allowed to beat my

own dog?”

“I am not making fun of you,” said a voice, answering Prince Darling’s

thoughts. “You have committed three faults. First of all, you were out

of temper because you could not have what you wanted, and you thought

all men and animals were only made to do your pleasure; then you were

really angry, which is very naughty indeed; and lastly, you were

cruel to a poor little animal who did not in the least deserve to be

ill-treated.

“I know you are far above a little dog, but if it were right and

allowable that great people should ill-treat all who are beneath them, I

might at this moment beat you, or kill you, for a fairy is greater than

a man. The advantage of possessing a great empire is not to be able to

do the evil that one desires, but to do all the good that one possibly

can.”

The Prince saw how naughty he had been, and promised to try and do

better in future, but he did not keep his word. The fact was he had been

brought up by a foolish nurse, who had spoiled him when he was little.

If he wanted anything he only had to cry and fret and stamp his feet

and she would give him whatever he asked for, which had made him

self-willed; also she had told him from morning to night that he would

one day be a king, and that kings were very happy, because everyone was

bound to obey and respect them, and no one could prevent them from doing

just as they liked.

When the Prince grew old enough to understand, he soon learned that

there could be nothing worse than to be proud, obstinate, and conceited,

and he had really tried to cure himself of these defects, but by that

time all his faults had become habits; and a bad habit is very hard to

get rid of. Not that he was naturally of a bad disposition; he was truly

sorry when he had been naughty, and said:

“I am very unhappy to have to struggle against my anger and pride every

day; if I had been punished for them when I was little they would not be

such a trouble to me now.”

His ring pricked him very often, and sometimes he left off what he was

doing at once; but at other times he would not attend to it. Strangely

enough, it gave him only a slight prick for a trifling fault, but when

he was really naughty it made his finger actually bleed. At last he got

tired of being constantly reminded, and wanted to be able to do as he

liked, so he threw his ring aside, and thought himself the happiest of

men to have got rid of its teasing pricks. He gave himself up to doing

every foolish thing that occurred to him, until he became quite wicked

and nobody could like him any longer.

One day, when the Prince was walking about, he saw a young girl who was

so very pretty that he made up his mind at once that he would marry her.

Her name was Celia, and she was as good as she was beautiful.

Prince Darling fancied that Celia would think herself only too happy if

he offered to make her a great queen, but she said fearlessly:

“Sire, I am only a shepherdess, and a poor girl, but, nevertheless, I

will not marry you.”

“Do you dislike me?” asked the Prince, who was very much vexed at this

answer.

“No, my Prince,” replied Celia; “I cannot help thinking you very

handsome; but what good would riches be to me, and all the grand dresses

and splendid carriages that you would give me, if the bad deeds which I

should see you do every day made me hate and despise you?”

The Prince was very angry at this speech, and commanded his officers to

make Celia a prisoner and carry her off to his palace. All day long the

remembrance of what she had said annoyed him, but as he loved her he

could not make up his mind to have her punished.

One of the Prince’s favorite companions was his foster-brother, whom

he trusted entirely; but he was not at all a good man, and gave Prince

Darling very bad advice, and encouraged him in all his evil ways. When

he saw the Prince so downcast he asked what was the matter, and when

he explained that he could not bear Celia’s bad opinion of him, and was

resolved to be a better man in order to please her, this evil adviser

said to him:

“You are very kind to trouble yourself about this little girl; if I were

you I would soon make her obey me. Remember that you are a king, and

that it would be laughable to see you trying to please a shepherdess,

who ought to be only too glad to be one of your slaves. Keep her in

prison, and feed her on bread and water for a little while, and then, if

she still says she will not marry you, have her head cut off, to teach

other people that you mean to be obeyed. Why, if you cannot make a girl

like that do as you wish, your subjects will soon forget that they are

only put into this world for our pleasure.”

“But,” said Prince Darling, “would it not be a shame if I had an

innocent girl put to death? For Celia has done nothing to deserve

punishment.”

“If people will not do as you tell them they ought to suffer for it,”

answered his foster-brother; “but even if it were unjust, you had better

be accused of that by your subjects than that they should find out that

they may insult and thwart you as often as they please.”

In saying this he was touching a weak point in his brother’s character;

for the Prince’s fear of losing any of his power made him at once

abandon his first idea of trying to be good, and resolve to try and

frighten the shepherdess into consenting to marry him.

His foster-brother, who wanted him to keep this resolution, invited

three young courtiers, as wicked as himself to sup with the Prince,

and they persuaded him to drink a great deal of wine, and continued to

excite his anger against Celia by telling him that she had laughed at

his love for her; until at last, in quite a furious rage, he rushed off

to find her, declaring that if she still refused to marry him she should

be sold as a slave the very next day.

But when he reached the room in which Celia had been locked up, he was

greatly surprised to find that she was not in it, though he had the key

in his own pocket all the time. His anger was terrible, and he vowed

vengeance against whoever had helped her to escape. His bad friends,

when they heard him, resolved to turn his wrath upon an old nobleman who

had formerly been his tutor; and who still dared sometimes to tell the

Prince of his faults, for he loved him as if he had been his own son. At

first Prince Darling had thanked him, but after a time he grew impatient

and thought it must be just mere love of fault-finding that made his old

tutor blame him when everyone else was praising and flattering him. So

he ordered him to retire from his Court, though he still, from time

to time, spoke of him as a worthy man whom he respected, even if he no

longer loved him. His unworthy friends feared that he might some day

take it into his head to recall his old tutor, so they thought they now

had a good opportunity of getting him banished for ever.

They reported to the Prince that Suliman, for that was the tutor’s name,

had boasted of having helped Celia to escape, and they bribed three men

to say that Suliman himself had told them about it. The Prince, in great

anger, sent his foster-brother with a number of soldiers to bring his

tutor before him, in chains, like a criminal. After giving this order he

went to his own room, but he had scarcely got into it when there was

a clap of thunder which made the ground shake, and the Fairy Truth

appeared suddenly before him.

“I promised your father,” said she sternly, “to give you good advice,

and to punish you if you refused to follow it. You have despised my

counsel, and have gone your own evil way until you are only outwardly a

man; really you are a monster--the horror of everyone who knows you. It

is time that I should fulfil my promise, and begin your punishment. I

condemn you to resemble the animals whose ways you have imitated. You

have made yourself like the lion by your anger, and like the wolf by

your greediness. Like a snake, you have ungratefully turned upon one who

was a second father to you; your churlishness has made you like a bull.

Therefore, in your new form, take the appearance of all these animals.”

The Fairy had scarcely finished speaking when Prince Darling saw to his

horror that her words were fulfilled. He had a lion’s head, a bull’s

horns, a wolf’s feet, and a snake’s body. At the same instant he found

himself in a great forest, beside a clear lake, in which he could see

plainly the horrible creature he had become, and a voice said to him:

“Look carefully at the state to which your wickedness has brought you;

believe me, your soul is a thousand times more hideous than your body.”

Prince Darling recognized the voice of the Fairy Truth and turned in

a fury to catch her and eat her up if he possibly could; but he saw no

one, and the same voice went on:

“I laugh at your powerlessness and anger, and I intend to punish your

pride by letting you fall into the hands of your own subjects.”

The Prince began to think that the best thing he could do would be to

get as far away from the lake as he could, then at least he would not

be continually reminded of his terrible ugliness. So he ran toward the

wood, but before he had gone many yards he fell into a deep pit which

had been made to trap bears, and the hunters, who were hiding in a tree,

leaped down, and secured him with several chains, and led him into the

chief city of his own kingdom.

On the way, instead of recognizing that his own faults had brought this

punishment upon him, he accused the Fairy of being the cause of all his

misfortunes, and bit and tore at his chains furiously.

As they approached the town he saw that some great rejoicing was being

held, and when the hunters asked what had happened they were told that

the Prince, whose only pleasure it was to torment his people, had been

found in his room, killed by a thunder-bolt (for that was what was

supposed to have become of him). Four of his courtiers, those who had

encouraged him in his wicked doings, had tried to seize the kingdom

and divide it between them, but the people, who knew it was their bad

counsels which had so changed the Prince, had cut off their heads, and

had offered the crown to Suliman, whom the Prince had left in prison.

This noble lord had just been crowned, and the deliverance of the

kingdom was the cause of the rejoicing. “For,” they said, “he is a good

and just man, and we shall once more enjoy peace and prosperity.”

Prince Darling roared with anger when he heard this; but it was still

worse for him when he reached the great square before his own palace. He

saw Suliman seated upon a magnificent throne, and all the people crowded

round, wishing him a long life that he might undo all the mischief done

by his predecessor.

Presently Suliman made a sign with his hand that the people should be

silent, and said: “I have accepted the crown you have offered me, but

only that I may keep it for Prince Darling, who is not dead as you

suppose; the Fairy has assured me that there is still hope that you may

some day see him again, good and virtuous as he was when he first came

to the throne. Alas!” he continued, “he was led away by flatterers.

I knew his heart, and am certain that if it had not been for the bad

influence of those who surrounded him he would have been a good king and

a father to his people. We may hate his faults, but let us pity him and

hope for his restoration. As for me, I would die gladly if that could

bring back our Prince to reign justly and worthily once more.”

These words went to Prince Darling’s heart; he realized the true

affection and faithfulness of his old tutor, and for the first time

reproached himself for all his evil deeds; at the same instant he felt

all his anger melting away, and he began quickly to think over his

past life, and to admit that his punishment was not more than he had

deserved. He left off tearing at the iron bars of the cage in which he

was shut up, and became as gentle as a lamb.

The hunters who had caught him took him to a great menagerie, where he

was chained up among all the other wild beasts, and he determined to

show his sorrow for his past bad behavior by being gentle and obedient

to the man who had to take care of him. Unfortunately, this man was very

rough and unkind, and though the poor monster was quite quiet, he often

beat him without rhyme or reason when he happened to be in a bad temper.

One day when this keeper was asleep a tiger broke its chain, and flew at

him to eat him up. Prince Darling, who saw what was going on, at

first felt quite pleased to think that he should be delivered from his

persecutor, but soon thought better of it and wished that he were free.

“I would return good for evil,” he said to himself, “and save the

unhappy man’s life.” He had hardly wished this when his iron cage flew

open, and he rushed to the side of the keeper, who was awake and was

defending himself against the tiger. When he saw the monster had got out

he gave himself up for lost, but his fear was soon changed into joy, for

the kind monster threw itself upon the tiger and very soon killed it,

and then came and crouched at the feet of the man it had saved.

Overcome with gratitude, the keeper stooped to caress the strange

creature which had done him such a great service; but suddenly a voice

said in his ear:

“A good action should never go unrewarded,” and at the same instant the

monster disappeared, and he saw at his feet only a pretty little dog!

Prince Darling, delighted by the change, frisked about the keeper,

showing his joy in every way he could, and the man, taking him up in his

arms, carried him to the King, to whom he told the whole story.

The Queen said she would like to have this wonderful little dog, and

the Prince would have been very happy in his new home if he could have

forgotten that he was a man and a king. The Queen petted and took

care of him, but she was so afraid that he would get too fat that she

consulted the court physician, who said that he was to be fed only upon

bread, and was not to have much even of that. So poor Prince Darling was

terribly hungry all day long, but he was very patient about it.

One day, when they gave him his little loaf for breakfast, he thought

he would like to eat it out in the garden; so he took it up in his mouth

and trotted away toward a brook that he knew of a long way from the

palace. But he was surprised to find that the brook was gone, and where

it had been stood a great house that seemed to be built of gold and

precious stones. Numbers of people splendidly dressed were going into

it, and sounds of music and dancing and feasting could be heard from the

windows.

But what seemed very strange was that those people who came out of the

house were pale and thin, and their clothes were torn, and hanging in

rags about them. Some fell down dead as they came out before they had

time to get away; others crawled farther with great difficulty; while

others again lay on the ground, fainting with hunger, and begged a

morsel of bread from those who were going into the house, but they would

not so much as look at the poor creatures.

Prince Darling went up to a young girl who was trying to eat a few

blades of grass, she was so hungry. Touched with compassion, he said to

himself:

“I am very hungry, but I shall not die of starvation before I get my

dinner; if I give my breakfast to this poor creature perhaps I may save

her life.”

So he laid his piece of bread in the girl’s hand, and saw her eat it up

eagerly.

She soon seemed to be quite well again, and the Prince, delighted to

have been able to help her, was thinking of going home to the palace,

when he heard a great outcry, and, turning round, saw Celia, who was

being carried against her will into the great house.

For the first time the Prince regretted that he was no longer the

monster, then he would have been able to rescue Celia; now he could only

bark feebly at the people who were carrying her off, and try to follow

them, but they chased and kicked him away.

He determined not to quit the place till he knew what had become of

Celia, and blamed himself for what had befallen her.

“Alas!” he said to himself, “I am furious with the people who are

carrying Celia off, but isn’t that exactly what I did myself, and if I

had not been prevented did I not intend to be still more cruel to her?”

Here he was interrupted by a noise above his head--someone was opening

a window, and he saw with delight that it was Celia herself, who came

forward and threw out a plate of most delicious-looking food, then the

window was shut again, and Prince Darling, who had not had anything to

eat all day, thought he might as well take the opportunity of getting

something. He ran forward to begin, but the young girl to whom he

had given his bread gave a cry of terror and took him up in her arms,

saying:

“Don’t touch it, my poor little dog--that house is the palace of

pleasure, and everything that comes out of it is poisoned!”

At the same moment a voice said:

“You see a good action always brings its reward,” and the Prince found

himself changed into a beautiful white dove. He remembered that white

was the favorite color of the Fairy Truth, and began to hope that he

might at last win back her favor. But just now his first care was for

Celia, and rising into the air he flew round and round the house, until

he saw an open window; but he searched through every room in vain. No

trace of Celia was to be seen, and the Prince, in despair, determined

to search through the world till he found her. He flew on and on for

several days, till he came to a great desert, where he saw a cavern,

and, to his delight, there sat Celia, sharing the simple breakfast of an

old hermit.

Overjoyed to have found her, Prince Darling perched upon her shoulder,

trying to express by his caresses how glad he was to see her again,

and Celia, surprised and delighted by the tameness of this pretty white

dove, stroked it softly, and said, though she never thought of its

understanding her:

“I accept the gift that you make me of yourself, and I will love you

always.”

“Take care what you are saying, Celia,” said the old hermit; “are you

prepared to keep that promise?”

“Indeed, I hope so, my sweet shepherdess,” cried the Prince, who was

at that moment restored to his natural shape. “You promised to love me

always; tell me that you really mean what you said, or I shall have to

ask the Fairy to give me back the form of the dove which pleased you so

much.”

“You need not be afraid that she will change her mind,” said the Fairy,

throwing off the hermit’s robe in which she had been disguised and

appearing before them.

“Celia has loved you ever since she first saw you, only she would not

tell you while you were so obstinate and naughty. Now you have repented

and mean to be good you deserve to be happy, and so she may love you as

much as she likes.”

Celia and Prince Darling threw themselves at the Fairy’s feet, and

the Prince was never tired of thanking her for her kindness. Celia

was delighted to hear how sorry he was for all his past follies and

misdeeds, and promised to love him as long as she lived.

“Rise, my children,” said the Fairy, “and I will transport you to the

palace, and Prince Darling shall have back again the crown he forfeited

by his bad behavior.”

While she was speaking, they found themselves in Suliman’s hall, and his

delight was great at seeing his dear master once more. He gave up the

throne joyfully to the Prince, and remained always the most faithful of

his subjects.

Celia and Prince Darling reigned for many years, but he was so

determined to govern worthily and to do his duty that his ring, which he

took to wearing again, never once pricked him severely.(1)

(1) Cabinet des Fees.