The Blue Bird

THE BLUE BIRD

Once upon a time there lived a King who was immensely rich. He had broad

lands, and sacks overflowing with gold and silver; but he did not care a

bit for all his riches, because the Queen, his wife, was dead. He shut

himself up in a little room and knocked his head against the walls for

grief, until his courtiers were really afraid that he would hurt

himself. So they hung feather-beds between the tapestry and the walls,

and then he could go on knocking his head as long as it was any

consolation to him without coming to much harm. All his subjects came to

see him, and said whatever they thought would comfort him: some were

grave, even gloomy with him; and some agreeable, even gay; but not one

could make the least impression upon him. Indeed, he hardly seemed to

hear what they said. At last came a lady who was wrapped in a black

mantle, and seemed to be in the deepest grief. She wept and sobbed until

even the King's attention was attracted; and when she said that, far

from coming to try and diminish his grief, she, who had just lost a good

husband, was come to add her tears to his, since she knew what he must

be feeling, the King redoubled his lamentations. Then he told the

sorrowful lady long stories about the good qualities of his departed

Queen, and she in her turn recounted all the virtues of her departed

husband; and this passed the time so agreeably that the King quite

forgot to thump his head against the feather-beds, and the lady did not

need to wipe the tears from her great blue eyes as often as before. By

degrees they came to talking about other things in which the King took

an interest, and in a wonderfully short time the whole kingdom was

astonished by the news that the King was married again--to the sorrowful

lady.

[Illustration]

Now the King had one daughter, who was just fifteen years old. Her name

was Fiordelisa, and she was the prettiest and most charming Princess

imaginable, always gay end merry. The new Queen, who also had a

daughter, very soon sent for her to come to the Palace. Turritella, for

that was her name, had been brought up by her godmother, the Fairy

Mazilla, but in spite of all the care bestowed upon her, she was

neither beautiful nor gracious. Indeed, when the Queen saw how

ill-tempered and ugly she appeared beside Fiordelisa she was in despair,

and did everything in her power to turn the King against his own

daughter, in the hope that he might take a fancy to Turritella. One day

the King said that it was time Fiordelisa and Turritella were married,

so he would give one of them to the first suitable Prince who visited

his Court. The Queen answered:

'My daughter certainly ought to be the first to be married; she is older

than yours, and a thousand times more charming!'

The King, who hated disputes, said, 'Very well, it's no affair of mine,

settle it your own way.'

Very soon after came the news that King Charming, who was the most

handsome and magnificent Prince in all the country round, was on his way

to visit the King. As soon as the Queen heard this, she set all her

jewellers, tailors, weavers, and embroiderers to work upon splendid

dresses and ornaments for Turritella, but she told the King that

Fiordelisa had no need of anything new, and the night before the King

was to arrive, she bribed her waiting woman to steal away all the

Princess's own dresses and jewels, so that when the day came, and

Fiordelisa wished to adorn herself as became her high rank, not even a

ribbon could she find.

However, as she easily guessed who had played her such a trick, she made

no complaint, but sent to the merchants for some rich stuffs. But they

said that the Queen had expressly forbidden them to supply her with any,

and they dared not disobey. So the Princess had nothing left to put on

but the little white frock she had been wearing the clay before; and

dressed in that, she went down when the time of the King's arrival came,

and sat in a corner hoping to escape notice. The Queen received her

guest with great ceremony, and presented him to her daughter, who was

gorgeously attired, but so much splendour only made her ugliness more

noticeable, and the King, after one glance at her, looked the other way.

The Queen, however, only thought that he was bashful, and took pains to

keep Turritella in full view. King Charming then asked if there was not

another Princess, called Fiordelisa.

'Yes,' said Turritella, pointing with her finger, 'there she is, trying

to keep out of sight because she is not smart.'

At this Fiordelisa blushed, and looked so shy and so lovely, that the

King was fairly astonished. He rose, and bowing low before her, said--

'Madam, your incomparable beauty needs no adornment.'

'Sire,' answered the Princess, 'I assure you that I am not in the habit

of wearing dresses as crumpled and untidy as this one, so I should have

been better pleased if you had not seen me at all.'

'Impossible!' cried King Charming. 'Wherever such a marvellously

beautiful Princess appears I can look at nothing else.'

Here the Queen broke in, saying sharply--

[Illustration]

'I assure you, Sire, that Fiordelisa is vain enough already. Pray make

her no more flattering speeches.'

The King quite understood that she was not pleased, but that did not

matter to him, so he admired Fiordelisa to his heart's content, and

talked to her for three hours without stopping.

The Queen was in despair, and so was Turritella, when they saw how much

the King preferred Fiordelisa. They complained bitterly to the King, and

begged and teased him, until he at last consented to have the Princess

shut up somewhere out of sight while King Charming's visit lasted. So

that night, as she went to her room, she was seized by four masked

figures, and carried up into the topmost room of a high tower, where

they left her in the deepest dejection. She easily guessed that she was

to be kept out of sight for fear the King should fall in love with her;

but then, how disappointing that was, for she already liked him very

much, and would have been quite willing to be chosen for his bride! As

King Charming did not know what had happened to the Princess, he looked

forward impatiently to meeting her again, and he tried to talk about her

with the courtiers who were placed in attendance on him. But by the

Queen's orders they would say nothing good of her, but declared that she

was vain, capricious, and bad-tempered; that she tormented her

waiting-maids, and that, in spite of all the money that the King gave

her, she was so mean that she preferred to go about dressed like a poor

shepherdess, rather than spend any of it. All these things vexed the

King very much, and he was silent.

'It is true,' thought he, 'that she was very poorly dressed, but then

she was so ashamed that it proves that she was not accustomed to be so.

I cannot believe that with that lovely face she can be as ill-tempered

and contemptible as they say. No, no, the Queen must be jealous of her

for the sake of that ugly daughter of hers, and so these evil reports

are spread.'

The courtiers could not help seeing that what they had told the King did

not please him, and one of them cunningly began to praise Fiordelisa,

when he could talk to the King without being heard by the others.

King Charming thereupon became so cheerful, and interested in all he

said, that it was easy to guess how much he admired the Princess. So

when the Queen sent for the courtiers and questioned them about all they

had found out, their report confirmed her worst fears. As to the poor

Princess Fiordelisa, she cried all night without stopping.

'It would have been quite bad enough to be shut up in this gloomy tower

before I had ever seen King Charming,' she said; 'but now when he is

here, and they are all enjoying themselves with him, it is too unkind.'

The next day the Queen sent King Charming splendid presents of jewels

and rich stuffs, and among other things an ornament made expressly in

honour of the approaching wedding. It was a heart cut out of one huge

ruby, and was surrounded by several diamond arrows, and pierced by one.

A golden true-lover's knot above the heart bore the motto, 'But one can

wound me,' and the whole jewel was hung upon a chain of immense pearls.

Never, since the world has been a world, had such a thing been made, and

the King was quite amazed when it was presented to him. The page who

brought it begged him to accept it from the Princess, who chose him to

be her knight.

'What!' cried he, 'does the lovely Princess Fiordelisa deign to think of

me in this amiable and encouraging way?'

'You confuse the names, Sire,' said the page hastily. 'I come on behalf

of the Princess Turritella.'

'Oh, it is Turritella who wishes me to be her knight,' said the King

coldly. 'I am sorry that I cannot accept the honour.' And he sent the

splendid gifts back to the Queen and Turritella, who were furiously

angry at the contempt with which they were treated. As soon as he

possibly could, King Charming went to see the King and Queen, and as he

entered the hall he looked for Fiordelisa, and every time anyone came in

he started round to see who it was, and was altogether so uneasy and

dissatisfied that the Queen saw it plainly. But she would not take any

notice, and talked of nothing but the entertainments she was planning.

The Prince answered at random, and presently asked if he was not to have

the pleasure of seeing the Princess Fiordelisa.

'Sire,' answered the Queen haughtily, 'her father has ordered that she

shall not leave her own apartments until my daughter is married.'

'What can be the reason for keeping that lovely Princess a prisoner?'

cried the King in great indignation.

'That I do not know,' answered the Queen; 'and even if I did, I might

not feel bound to tell you.'

The King was terribly angry at being thwarted like this. He felt certain

that Turritella was to blame for it, so casting a furious glance at her

he abruptly took leave of the Queen, and returned to his own apartments.

There he said to a young squire whom he had brought with him: 'I would

give all I have in the world to gain the good will of one of the

Princess's waiting-women, and obtain a moment's speech with Fiordelisa.'

'Nothing could be easier,' said the young squire; and he very soon made

friends with one of the ladies, who told him that in the evening

Fiordelisa would be at a little window which looked into the garden,

where he could come and talk to her. Only, she said, he must take very

great care not to be seen, as it would be as much as her place was worth

to be caught helping King Charming to see the Princess. The squire was

delighted, and promised all she asked; but the moment he had run off to

announce his success to the King, the false waiting-woman went and told

the Queen all that had passed. She at once determined that her own

daughter should be at the little window; and she taught her so well all

she was to say and do, that even the stupid Turritella could make no

mistake.

The night was so dark that the King had not a chance of finding out the

trick that was being played upon him, so he approached the window with

the greatest delight, and said everything that he had been longing to

say to Fiordelisa to persuade her of his love for her. Turritella

answered as she had been taught, that she was very unhappy, and that

there was no chance of her being better treated by the Queen until her

daughter was married. And then the King entreated her to marry him; and

thereupon he drew his ring from his finger and put it upon Turritella's,

and she answered him as well as she could. The King could not help

thinking that she did not say exactly what he would have expected from

his darling Fiordelisa, but he persuaded himself that the fear of being

surprised by the Queen was making her awkward and unnatural. He would

not leave her until she had promised to see him again the next night,

which Turritella did willingly enough. The Queen was overjoyed at the

success of her stratagem, and promised herself that all would now be as

she wished; and sure enough, as soon as it was dark the following night

the King came, bringing with him a chariot which had been given him by

an Enchanter who was his friend. This chariot was drawn by flying frogs,

and the King easily persuaded Turritella to come out and let him put her

into it, then mounting beside her he cried triumphantly--

'Now, my Princess, you are free; where will it please you that we shall

hold our wedding?'

And Turritella, with her head muffled in her mantle, answered that the

Fairy Mazilla was her godmother, and that she would like it to be at her

castle. So the King told the Frogs, who had the map of the whole world

in their heads, and very soon he and Turritella were set down at the

castle of the Fairy Mazilla. The King would certainly have found out his

mistake the moment they stepped into the brilliantly lighted castle, but

Turritella held her mantle more closely round her, and asked to see the

Fairy by herself, and quickly told her all that had happened, and how

she had succeeded in deceiving King Charming.

'Oho! my daughter,' said the Fairy, 'I see we have no easy task before

us. He loves Fiordelisa so much that he will not be easily pacified. I

feel sure he will defy us!' Meanwhile the King was waiting in a splendid

room with diamond walls, so clear that he could see the Fairy and

Turritella as they stood whispering together, and he was very much

puzzled.

'Who can have betrayed us?' he said to himself. 'How comes our enemy

here? She must be plotting to prevent our marriage. Why doesn't my

lovely Fiordelisa make haste and come back to me?'

But it was worse than anything he had imagined when the Fairy Mazilla

entered, leading Turritella by the hand, and said to him--

'King Charming, here is the Princess Turritella to whom you have

plighted your faith. Let us have the wedding at once.'

'I!' cried the King. 'I marry that little creature! What do you take me

for? I have promised her nothing!'

'Say no more. Have you no respect for a Fairy?' cried she angrily.

'Yes, madam,' answered the King, 'I am prepared to respect you as much

as a Fairy can be respected, if you will give me back my Princess.'

'Am I not here?' interrupted Turritella. 'Here is the ring you gave me.

With whom did you talk at the little window, if it was not with me?'

'What!' cried the King angrily, 'have I been altogether deceived and

deluded? Where is my chariot? Not another moment will I stay here.'

'Oho,' said the Fairy, 'not so fast.' And she touched his feet, which

instantly became as firmly fixed to the floor as if they had been nailed

there.

'Oh! do whatever you like with me,' said the King; 'you may turn me to

stone, but I will marry no one but Fiordelisa.'

And not another word would he say, though the Fairy scolded and

threatened, and Turritella wept and raged for twenty days and twenty

nights. At last the Fairy Mazilla said furiously (for she was quite

tired out by his obstinacy), 'Choose whether you will marry my

goddaughter, or do penance seven years for breaking your word to her.'

And then the King cried gaily: 'Pray do whatever you like with me, as

long as you deliver me from this ugly scold!'

'Scold!' cried Turritella angrily. 'Who are you, I should like to know,

that you dare to call me a scold? A miserable King who breaks his word,

and goes about in a chariot drawn by croaking frogs out of a marsh!'

'Let us have no more of these insults,' cried the Fairy. 'Fly from that

window, ungrateful King, and for seven years be a Blue Bird.' As she

spoke the King's face altered, his arms turned to wings, his feet to

little crooked black claws. In a moment he had a slender body like a

bird, covered with shining blue feathers, his beak was like ivory, his

eyes were bright as stars, and a crown of white feathers adorned his

head.

As soon as the transformation was complete the King uttered a dolorous

cry and fled through the open window, pursued by the mocking laughter of

Turritella and the Fairy Mazilla. He flew on until he reached the

thickest part of the wood, and there, perched upon a cypress tree, he

bewailed his miserable fate. 'Alas! in seven years who knows what may

happen to my darling Fiordelisa!' he said. 'Her cruel stepmother may

have married her to someone else before I am myself again, and then what

good will life be to me?'

In the meantime the Fairy Mazilla had sent Turritella back to the Queen,

who was all anxiety to know how the wedding had gone off. But when her

daughter arrived and told her all that had happened she was terribly

angry, and of course all her wrath fell upon Fiordelisa. 'She shall have

cause to repent that the King admires her,' said the Queen, nodding her

head meaningly, and then she and Turritella went up to the little room

in the tower where the Princess was imprisoned. Fiordelisa was immensely

surprised to see that Turritella was wearing a royal mantle and a

diamond crown, and her heart sank when the Queen said: 'My daughter is

come to show you some of her wedding presents, for she is King

Charming's bride, and they are the happiest pair in the world, he loves

her to distraction.' All this time Turritella was spreading out lace,

and jewels, and rich brocades, and ribbons before Fiordelisa's unwilling

eyes, and taking good care to display King Charming's ring, which she

wore upon her thumb. The Princess recognised it as soon as her eyes fell

upon it, and after that she could no longer doubt that he had indeed

married Turritella. In despair she cried, 'Take away these miserable

gauds! what pleasure has a wretched captive in the sight of them?' and

then she fell insensible upon the floor, and the cruel Queen laughed

maliciously, and went away with Turritella, leaving her there without

comfort or aid. That night the Queen said to the King, that his daughter

was so infatuated with King Charming, in spite of his never having shown

any preference for her, that it was just as well she should stay in the

tower until she came to her senses. To which he answered that it was her

affair, and she could give what orders she pleased about the Princess.

When the unhappy Fiordelisa recovered, and remembered all she had just

heard, she began to cry bitterly, believing that King Charming was lost

to her for ever, and all night long she sat at her open window sighing

and lamenting; but when it was dawn she crept away into the darkest

corner of her little room and sat there, too unhappy to care about

anything. As soon as night came again she once more leaned out into the

darkness and bewailed her miserable lot.

Now it happened that King Charming, or rather the Blue Bird, had been

flying round the palace in the hope of seeing his beloved Princess, but

had not dared to go too near the windows for fear of being seen and

recognised by Turritella. When night fell he had not succeeded in

discovering where Fiordelisa was imprisoned, and, weary and sad, he

perched upon a branch of a tall fir tree which grew close to the tower,

and began to sing himself to sleep. But soon the sound of a soft voice

lamenting attracted his attention, and listening intently he heard it

say--

'Ah! cruel Queen! what have I ever done to be imprisoned like this? And

was I not unhappy enough before, that you must needs come and taunt me

with the happiness your daughter is enjoying now she is King Charming's

bride?'

The Blue Bird, greatly surprised, waited impatiently for the dawn, and

the moment it was light flew off to see who it could have been who spoke

thus. But he found the window shut, and could see no one. The next

night, however, he was on the watch, and by the clear moonlight he saw

that the sorrowful lady at the window was Fiordelisa herself.

'My Princess! have I found you at last?' said he, alighting close to

her.

'Who is speaking to me?' cried the Princess in great surprise.

'Only a moment since you mentioned my name, and now you do not know me,

Fiordelisa,' said he sadly. 'But no wonder, since I am nothing but a

Blue Bird, and must remain one for seven years.'

'What! Little Blue Bird, are you really the powerful King Charming?'

said the Princess, caressing him.

'It is too true,' he answered. 'For being faithful to you I am thus

punished. But believe me, if it were for twice as long I would bear it

joyfully rather than give you up.'

'Oh! what are you telling me?' cried the Princess. 'Has not your bride,

Turritella, just visited me, wearing the royal mantle and the diamond

crown you gave her? I cannot be mistaken, for I saw your ring upon her

thumb.'

Then the Blue Bird was furiously angry, and told the Princess all that

had happened, how he had been deceived into carrying off Turritella, and

how, for refusing to marry her, the Fairy Mazilla had condemned him to

be a Blue Bird for seven years.

The Princess was very happy when she heard how faithful her lover was,

and would never have tired of hearing his loving speeches and

explanations, but too soon the sun rose, and they had to part lest the

Blue Bird should be discovered. After promising to come again to the

Princess's window as soon as it was dark, he flew away, and hid himself

in a little hole in the fir-tree, while Fiordelisa remained devoured by

anxiety lest he should be caught in a trap, or eaten up by an eagle.

But the Blue Bird did not long stay in his hiding-place. He flew away,

and away, until he came to his own palace, and got into it through a

broken window, and there he found the cabinet where his jewels were

kept, and chose out a splendid diamond ring as a present for the

Princess. By the time he got back, Fiordelisa was sitting waiting for

him by the open window, and when he gave her the ring, she scolded him

gently for having run such a risk to get it for her.

'Promise me that you will wear it always!' said the Blue Bird. And the

Princess promised on condition that he should come and see her in the

day as well as by night. They talked all night long, and the next

morning the Blue Bird flew off to his kingdom, and crept into his palace

through the broken window, and chose from his treasures two bracelets,

each cut out of a single emerald. When he presented them to the

Princess, she shook her head at him reproachfully, saying--

'Do you think I love you so little that I need all these gifts to remind

me of you?'

And he answered--

'No, my Princess; but I love you so much that I feel I cannot express

it, try as I may. I only bring you these worthless trifles to show that

I have not ceased to think of you, though I have been obliged to leave

you for a time.' The following night he gave Fiordelisa a watch set in a

single pearl. The Princess laughed a little when she saw it, and said--

[Illustration]

'You may well give me a watch, for since I have known you I have lost

the power of measuring time. The hours you spend with me pass like

minutes, and the hours that I drag through without you seem years to

me.'

'Ah, Princess, they cannot seem so long to you as they do to me!' he

answered. Day by day he brought more beautiful things for the

Princess--diamonds, and rubies, and opals; and at night she decked

herself with them to please him, but by day she hid them in her straw

mattress. When the sun shone the Blue Bird, hidden in the tall fir-tree,

sang to her so sweetly that all the passers-by wondered, and said that

the wood was inhabited by a spirit. And so two years slipped away, and

still the Princess was a prisoner, and Turritella was not married. The

Queen had offered her hand to all the neighbouring Princes, but they

always answered that they would marry Fiordelisa with pleasure, but not

Turritella on any account. This displeased the Queen terribly.

'Fiordelisa must be in league with them, to annoy me!' she said. 'Let us

go and accuse her of it.'

So she and Turritella went up into the tower. Now it happened that it

was nearly midnight, and Fiordelisa, all decked with jewels, was sitting

at the window with the Blue Bird, and as the Queen paused outside the

door to listen she heard the Princess and her lover singing together a

little song he had just taught her. These were the words:--

'Oh! what a luckless pair are we,

One in a prison, and one in a tree.

All our trouble and anguish came

From our faithfulness spoiling our enemies' game.

But vainly they practise their cruel arts,

For nought can sever our two fond hearts.'

They sound melancholy perhaps, but the two voices sang them gaily

enough, and the Queen burst open the door, crying, 'Ah! my Turritella,

there is some treachery going on here!'

As soon as she saw her, Fiordelisa, with great presence of mind, hastily

shut her little window, that the Blue Bird might have time to escape,

and then turned to meet the Queen, who overwhelmed her with a torrent of

reproaches.

'Your intrigues are discovered, Madam,' she said furiously; 'and you

need not hope that your high rank will save you from the punishment you

deserve.'

'And with whom do you accuse me of intriguing, Madam?' said the

Princess. 'Have I not been your prisoner these two years, and who have I

seen except the gaolers sent by you?'

While she spoke the Queen and Turritella were looking at her in the

greatest surprise, perfectly dazzled by her beauty and the splendour of

her jewels, and the Queen said:

'If one may ask, Madam, where did you get all these diamonds? Perhaps

you mean to tell me that you have discovered a mine of them in the

tower!'

'I certainly did find them here,' answered the Princess.

'And pray,' said the Queen, her wrath increasing every moment, 'for

whose admiration are you decked out like this, since I have often seen

you not half as fine on the most important occasions at Court?'

'For my own,' answered Fiordelisa. 'You must admit that I have had

plenty of time on my hands, so you cannot be surprised at my spending

some of it in making myself smart.'

'That's all very fine,' said the Queen suspiciously. 'I think I will

look about, and see for myself.'

So she and Turritella began to search every corner of the little room,

and when they came to the straw mattress out fell such a quantity of

pearls, diamonds, rubies, opals, emeralds, and sapphires, that they were

amazed, and could not tell what to think. But the Queen resolved to hide

somewhere a packet of false letters to prove that the Princess had been

conspiring with the King's enemies, and she chose the chimney as a good

place. Fortunately for Fiordelisa this was exactly where the Blue Bird

had perched himself, to keep an eye upon her proceedings, and try to

avert danger from his beloved Princess, and now he cried:

'Beware, Fiordelisa! Your false enemy is plotting against you.'

This strange voice so frightened the Queen that she took the letter and

went away hastily with Turritella, and they held a council to try and

devise some means of finding out what Fairy or Enchanter was favouring

the Princess. At last they sent one of the Queen's maids to wait upon

Fiordelisa, and told her to pretend to be quite stupid, and to see and

hear nothing, while she was really to watch the Princess day and night,

and keep the Queen informed of all her doings.

Poor Fiordelisa, who guessed she was sent as a spy, was in despair, and

cried bitterly that she dared not see her dear Blue Bird for fear that

some evil might happen to him if he were discovered.

The days were so long, and the nights so dull, but for a whole month she

never went near her little window, lest he should fly to her as he used

to do.

However, at last the spy, who had never taken her eyes off the Princess

day or night, was so overcome with weariness that she fell into a deep

sleep, and as soon as the Princess saw that, she flew to open her window

and cried softly:

'Blue Bird, blue as the sky,

Fly to me now, there's nobody by.'

And the Blue Bird, who had never ceased to flutter round within sight

and hearing of her prison, came in an instant. They had so much to say,

and were so overjoyed to meet once more, that it scarcely seemed to them

five minutes before the sun rose, and the Blue Bird had to fly away.

But the next night the spy slept as soundly as before, so that the Blue

Bird came, and he and the Princess began to think they were perfectly

safe, and to make all sorts of plans for being happy as they were before

the Queen's visit. But, alas! the third night the spy was not quite so

sleepy, and when the Princess opened her window and cried as usual:

'Blue Bird, blue as the sky,

Fly to me now, there's nobody nigh,'

she was wide awake in a moment, though she was sly enough to keep her

eyes shut at first. But presently she heard voices, and peeping

cautiously, she saw by the moonlight the most lovely blue bird in the

world, who was talking to the Princess, while she stroked and caressed

it fondly.

The spy did not lose a single word of the conversation, and as soon as

the day dawned, and the Blue Bird had reluctantly said good-bye to the

Princess, she rushed off to the Queen, and told her all she had seen and

heard.

Then the Queen sent for Turritella, and they talked it over, and very

soon came to the conclusion than this Blue Bird was no other than King

Charming himself.

'Ah! that insolent Princess!' cried the Queen. 'To think that when we

supposed her to be so miserable, she was all the while as happy as

possible with that false King. But I know how we can avenge ourselves!'

So the spy was ordered to go back and pretend to sleep as soundly as

ever, and indeed she went to bed earlier than usual, and snored as

naturally as possible, and the poor Princess ran to the window and

cried:

'Blue Bird, blue as the sky,

Fly to me now, there's nobody by!'

But no bird came. All night long she called, and waited, and listened,

but still there was no answer, for the cruel Queen had caused the fir

tree to be hung all over with knives, swords, razors, shears,

bill-hooks, and sickles, so that when the Blue Bird heard the Princess

call, and flew towards her, his wings were cut, and his little black

feet clipped off, and all pierced and stabbed in twenty places, he fell

back bleeding into his hiding place in the tree, and lay there groaning

and despairing, for he thought the Princess must have been persuaded to

betray him, to regain her liberty.

'Ah! Fiordelisa, can you indeed be so lovely and so faithless?' he

sighed, 'then I may as well die at once!' And he turned over on his side

and began to die. But it happened that his friend the Enchanter had been

very much alarmed at seeing the Frog chariot come back to him without

King Charming, and had been round the world eight times seeking him, but

without success. At the very moment when the King gave himself up to

despair, he was passing through the wood for the eighth time, and

called, as he had done all over the world:

'Charming! King Charming! Are you here?'

The King at once recognised his friend's voice, and answered very

faintly:

'I am here.'

The Enchanter looked all round him, but could see nothing, and then the

King said again:

'I am a Blue Bird.'

Then the Enchanter found him in an instant, and seeing his pitiable

condition, ran hither and thither without a word, until he had collected

a handful of magic herbs, with which, and a few incantations, he

speedily made the King whole and sound again.

'Now,' said he, 'let me hear all about it. There must be a Princess at

the bottom of this.'

'There are two!' answered King Charming, with a wry smile.

And then he told the whole story, accusing Fiordelisa of having betrayed

the secret of his visits to make her peace with the Queen, and indeed

saying a great many hard things about her fickleness and her deceitful

beauty, and so on. The Enchanter quite agreed with him, and even went

further, declaring that all Princesses were alike, except perhaps in the

matter of beauty, and advised him to have done with Fiordelisa, and

forget all about her. But, somehow or other, this advice did not quite

please the King.

'What is to be done next?' said the Enchanter, 'since you still have

five years to remain a Blue Bird.'

'Take me to your palace,' answered the King; 'there you can at least

keep me in a cage safe from cats and swords.'

'Well, that will be the best thing to do for the present,' said his

friend. 'But I am not an Enchanter for nothing. I'm sure to have a

brilliant idea for you before long.'

[Illustration]

In the meantime Fiordelisa, quite in despair, sat at her window day and

night calling her dear Blue Bird in vain, and imagining over and over

again all the terrible things that could have happened to him, until she

grew quite pale and thin. As for the Queen and Turritella, they were

triumphant; but their triumph was short, for the King, Fiordelisa's

father, fell ill and died, and all the people rebelled against the Queen

and Turritella, and came in a body to the palace demanding Fiordelisa.

The Queen came out upon the balcony with threats and haughty

words, so that at last they lost their patience, and broke open the

doors of the palace, one of which fell back upon the Queen and

killed her. Turritella fled to the Fairy Mazilla, and all the nobles

of the kingdom fetched the Princess Fiordelisa from her prison in

the tower, and made her Queen. Very soon, with all the care and

attention they bestowed upon her, she recovered from the effects of

her long captivity and looked more beautiful than ever, and was able

to take counsel with her courtiers, and arrange for the governing of

her kingdom during her absence. And then, taking a bagful of

jewels, she set out all alone to look for the Blue Bird, without

telling anyone where she was going.

Meanwhile, the Enchanter was taking care of King Charming, but as his

power was not great enough to counteract the Fairy Mazilla's, he at last

resolved to go and see if he could make any kind of terms with her for

his friend; for you see, Fairies and Enchanters are cousins in a sort of

way, after all; and after knowing one another for five or six hundred

years and falling out, and making it up again pretty often, they

understand one another well enough. So the Fairy Mazilla received him

graciously. 'And what may you be wanting, Gossip?' said she.

'You can do a good turn for me if you will,' he answered. 'A King, who

is a friend of mine, was unlucky enough to offend you----'

'Aha! I know who you mean,' interrupted the Fairy. 'I am sorry not to

oblige you, Gossip, but he need expect no mercy from me unless he will

marry my goddaughter, whom you see yonder looking so pretty and

charming. Let him think over what I say.'

The Enchanter hadn't a word to say, for he thought Turritella really

frightful, but he could not go away without making one more effort for

his friend the King, who was really in great danger as long as he lived

in a cage. Indeed, already he had met with several alarming accidents.

Once the nail on which his cage was hung had given way, and his

feathered Majesty had suffered much from the fall, while Madam Puss, who

happened to be in the room at the time, had given him a scratch in the

eye which came very near blinding him. Another time they had forgotten

to give him any water to drink, so that he was nearly dead with thirst;

and the worst thing of all was that he was in danger of losing his

kingdom, for he had been absent so long that all his subjects believed

him to be dead. So considering all these things the Enchanter agreed

with the Fairy Mazilla that she should restore the King to his natural

form, and should take Turritella to stay in his palace for several

months, and if, after the time was over, he still could not make up his

mind to marry her, he should once more be changed into a Blue Bird.

Then the Fairy dressed Turritella in a magnificent gold and silver robe,

and they mounted together upon a flying Dragon, and very soon reached

King Charming's palace, where he, too, had just been brought by his

faithful friend the Enchanter.

Three strokes of the Fairy's wand restored his natural form, and he was

as handsome and delightful as ever, but he considered that he paid

dearly for his restoration when he caught sight of Turritella, and the

mere idea of marrying her made him shudder.

Meanwhile, Queen Fiordelisa, disguised as a poor peasant girl, wearing a

great straw hat that concealed her face, and carrying an old sack over

her shoulder, had set out upon her weary journey, and had travelled far,

sometimes by sea and sometimes by land; sometimes on foot, and sometimes

on horseback, but not knowing which way to go. She feared all the time

that every step she took was leading her farther from her lover. One day

as she sat, quite tired and sad, on the bank of a little brook, cooling

her white feet in the clear running water, and combing her long hair

that glittered like gold in the sunshine, a little bent old woman passed

by, leaning on a stick. She stopped, and said to Fiordelisa:

'What, my pretty child, are you all alone?'

'Indeed, good mother, I am too sad to care for company,' she answered;

and the tears ran down her cheeks.

'Don't cry,' said the old woman, 'but tell me truly what is the matter.

Perhaps I can help you.'

The Queen told her willingly all that had happened, and how she was

seeking the Blue Bird. Thereupon the little old woman suddenly stood up

straight, and grew tall, and young, and beautiful, and said with a smile

to the astonished Fiordelisa:

'Lovely Queen, the King whom you seek is no longer a bird. My sister

Mazilla has given his own form back to him, and he is in his own

kingdom. Do not be afraid, you will reach him, and will prosper. Take

these four eggs; if you break one when you are in any great difficulty,

you will find aid.'

[Illustration]

So saying, she disappeared, and Fiordelisa, feeling much encouraged, put

the eggs into her bag and turned her steps towards Charming's kingdom.

After walking on and on for eight days and eight nights, she came at

last to a tremendously high hill of polished ivory, so steep that it was

impossible to get a foothold upon it. Fiordelisa tried a thousand times,

and scrambled and slipped, but always in the end found herself exactly

where she started from. At last she sat down at the foot of it in

despair, and then suddenly bethought herself of the eggs. Breaking one

quickly, she found in it some little gold hooks, and with these fastened

to her feet and hands, she mounted the ivory hill without farther

trouble, for the little hooks saved her from slipping. As soon as she

reached the top a new difficulty presented itself, for all the other

side, and indeed the whole valley, was one polished mirror, in which

thousands and thousands of people were admiring their reflections. For

this was a magic mirror, in which people saw themselves just as they

wished to appear, and pilgrims came to it from the four corners of the

world. But nobody had ever been able to reach the top of the hill, and

when they saw Fiordelisa standing there, they raised a terrible outcry,

declaring that if she set foot upon their glass she would break it to

pieces. The Queen, not knowing what to do, for she saw it would be

dangerous to try to go down, broke the second egg, and out came a

chariot, drawn by two white doves, and Fiordelisa got into it, and was

floated softly away. After a night and a day the doves alighted outside

the gate of King Charming's kingdom. Here the Queen got out of the

chariot, and kissed the doves and thanked them, and then with a beating

heart she walked into the town, asking the people she met where she

could see the King. But they only laughed at her, crying:

'See the King? And pray, why do you want to see the King, my little

kitchen-maid? You had better go and wash your face first, your eyes are

not clear enough to see him!' For the Queen had disguised herself, and

pulled her hair down about her eyes, that no one might know her. As they

would not tell her, she went on farther, and presently asked again, and

this time the people answered that to-morrow she might see the King

driving through the streets with the Princess Turritella, as it was said

that at last he had consented to marry her. This was indeed terrible

news to Fiordelisa. Had she come all this weary way only to find

Turritella had succeeded in making King Charming forget her?

She was too tired and miserable to walk another step, so she sat down in

a doorway and cried bitterly all night long. As soon as it was light she

hastened to the palace, and after being sent away fifty times by the

guards, she got in at last, and saw the thrones set in the great hall

for the King and Turritella, who was already looked upon as Queen.

Fiordelisa hid herself behind a marble pillar, and very soon saw

Turritella make her appearance, richly dressed, but as ugly as ever, and

with her came the King, more handsome and splendid even than Fiordelisa

had remembered him. When Turritella had seated herself upon the throne,

the Queen approached her.

'Who are you, and how dare you come near my high-mightiness, upon my

golden throne?' said Turritella, frowning fiercely at her.

'They call me the little kitchen-maid,' she replied, 'and I come to

offer some precious things for sale,' and with that she searched in her

old sack, and drew out the emerald bracelets King Charming had given

her.

'Ho, ho!' said Turritella, 'those are pretty bits of glass. I suppose

you would like five silver pieces for them.'

'Show them to someone who understands such things, Madam,' answered the

Queen; 'after that we can decide upon the price.'

Turritella, who really loved King Charming as much as she could love

anybody, and was always delighted to get a chance of talking to him, now

showed him the bracelets, asking how much he considered them worth. As

soon as he saw them he remembered those he had given to Fiordelisa, and

turned very pale and sighed deeply, and fell into such sad thought that

he quite forgot to answer her. Presently she asked him again, and then

he said, with a great effort:

'I believe these bracelets are worth as much as my kingdom. I thought

there was only one such pair in the world; but here, it seems, is

another.'

Then Turritella went back to the Queen, and asked her what was the

lowest price she would take for them.

'More than you would find it easy to pay, Madam,' answered she; 'but if

you will manage for me to sleep one night in the Chamber of Echoes, I

will give you the emeralds.'

'By all means, my little kitchen-maid,' said Turritella, highly

delighted.

The King did not try to find out where the bracelets had come from, not

because he did not want to know, but because the only way would have

been to ask Turritella, and he disliked her so much that he never spoke

to her if he could possibly avoid it. It was he who had told Fiordelisa

about the Chamber of Echoes, when he was a Blue Bird. It was a little

room below the King's own bed-chamber, and was so ingeniously built that

the softest whisper in it was plainly heard in the King's room.

Fiordelisa wanted to reproach him for his faithlessness, and could not

imagine a better way than this. So when, by Turritella's orders, she was

left there she began to weep and lament, and never ceased until

daybreak.

The King's pages told Turritella, when she asked them, what a sobbing

and sighing they had heard, and she asked Fiordelisa what it was all

about. The Queen answered that she often dreamed and talked aloud.

But by an unlucky chance the King heard nothing of all this, for he took

a sleeping draught every night before he lay down, and did not wake up

until the sun was high.

The Queen passed the day in great disquietude.

'If he did hear me,' she said, 'could he remain so cruelly indifferent?

But if he did not hear me, what can I do to get another chance? I have

plenty of jewels, it is true, but nothing remarkable enough to catch

Turritella's fancy.'

Just then she thought of the eggs, and broke one, out of which came a

little carriage of polished steel ornamented with gold, drawn by six

green mice. The coachman was a rose-coloured rat, the postilion a grey

one, and the carriage was occupied by the tiniest and most charming

figures, who could dance and do wonderful tricks. Fiordelisa clapped her

hands and danced for joy when she saw this triumph of magic art, and as

soon as it was evening, went to a shady garden-path down which she knew

Turritella would pass, and then she made the mice galop, and the tiny

people show off their tricks, and sure enough Turritella came, and the

moment she saw it all cried:

'Little kitchen-maid, little kitchen-maid, what will you take for your

mouse-carriage?'

And the Queen answered:

'Let me sleep once more in the Chamber of Echoes.'

[Illustration]

'I won't refuse your request, poor creature,' said Turritella

condescendingly.

And then she turned to her ladies and whispered:

'The silly creature does not know how to profit by her chances; so much

the better for me.'

When night came Fiordelisa said all the loving words she could think of,

but alas! with no better success than before, for the King slept heavily

after his draught. One of the pages said:

'This peasant girl must be crazy;' but another answered:

'Yet what she says sounds very sad and touching.'

As for Fiordelisa, she thought the King must have a very hard heart if

he could hear how she grieved and yet pay her no attention. She had but

one more chance, and on breaking the last egg she found to her great

delight that it contained a more marvellous thing than ever. It was a

pie made of six birds, cooked to perfection, and yet they were all

alive, and singing and talking, and they answered questions and told

fortunes in the most amusing way. Taking this treasure Fiordelisa once

more set herself to wait in the great hall through which Turritella was

sure to pass, and as she sat there one of the King's pages came by, and

said to her:

'Well, little kitchen-maid, it is a good thing that the King always

takes a sleeping draught, for if not he would be kept awake all night by

your sighing and lamenting.'

Then Fiordelisa knew why the King had not heeded her, and taking a

handful of pearls and diamonds out of her sack, she said, 'If you can

promise me that to-night the King shall not have his sleeping draught, I

will give you all these jewels.'

'Oh! I promise that willingly,' said the page.

At this moment Turritella appeared, and at the first sight of the

savoury pie, with the pretty little birds all singing and chattering,

she cried:--

'That is an admirable pie, little kitchen-maid. Pray what will you take

for it?'

'The usual price,' she answered. 'To sleep once more in the Chamber of

Echoes.'

'By all means, only give me the pie,' said the greedy Turritella. And

when night was come, Queen Fiordelisa waited until she thought everybody

in the palace would be asleep, and then began to lament as before.

'Ah, Charming!' she said, 'what have I ever done that you should forsake

me and marry Turritella? If you could only know all I have suffered, and

what a weary way I have come to seek you.'

Now the page had faithfully kept his word, and given King Charming a

glass of water instead of his usual sleeping draught, so there he lay

wide awake, and heard every word Fiordelisa said, and even recognised

her voice, though he could not tell where it came from.

'Ah, Princess!' he said, 'how could you betray me to our cruel enemies

when I loved you so dearly?'

Fiordelisa heard him, and answered quickly:

'Find out the little kitchen-maid, and she will explain everything.'

Then the King in a great hurry sent for his pages and said:

'If you can find the little kitchen-maid, bring her to me at once.'

'Nothing could be easier, Sire,' they answered, 'for she is in the

Chamber of Echoes.'

[Illustration]

The King was very much puzzled when he heard this. How could the lovely

Princess Fiordelisa be a little kitchen-maid? or how could a little

kitchen-maid have Fiordelisa's own voice? So he dressed hastily, and ran

down a little secret staircase which led to the Chamber of Echoes.

There, upon a heap of soft cushions, sat his lovely Princess. She had

laid aside all her ugly disguises and wore a white silken robe, and her

golden hair shone in the soft lamp-light. The King was overjoyed at the

sight, and rushed to throw himself at her feet, and asked her a thousand

questions without giving her time to answer one. Fiordelisa was equally

happy to be with him once more, and nothing troubled them but the

remembrance of the Fairy Mazilla. But at this moment in came the

Enchanter, and with him a famous Fairy, the same in fact who had given

Fiordelisa the eggs. After greeting the King and Queen, they said that

as they were united in wishing to help King Charming, the Fairy Mazilla

had no longer any power against him, and he might marry Fiordelisa as

soon as he pleased. The King's joy may be imagined, and as soon as it

was day the news was spread through the palace, and everybody who saw

Fiordelisa loved her directly. When Turritella heard what had happened

she came running to the King, and when she saw Fiordelisa with him she

was terribly angry, but before she could say a word the Enchanter and

the Fairy changed her into a big brown owl, and she floated away out of

one of the palace windows, hooting dismally. Then the wedding was held

with great splendour, and King Charming and Queen Fiordelisa lived

happily ever after.

L'Oiseau Bleu. Par Mme. d'Auluoy.