PART TWO

FAIRY STORIES

FAIRY GODMOTHERS AND WONDERFUL GIFTS

“RAP! RAP! RAP!” 220

CINDERELLA, _Charles Perrault_ 221

SLEEPING BEAUTY IN THE WOOD, _Charles Perrault_ 231

PRINCE CHÉRI, _Madame Le Prince de Beaumont_ 239

TOADS AND DIAMONDS, _Charles Perrault_ 254

BLANCHE AND ROSE, _Madame Le Prince de Beaumont_ 258

THE ENCHANTED WATCH, _Jean Macé_ 264

QUEEN MAB, _Thomas Hood_ 276

FAIRY ADVENTURES

“A LITTLE KNIGHT AND LITTLE MAID,” _Lucy Larcom_ 280

FAIRY DO-NOTHING AND GIANT SNAP-’EM-UP, _Catherine Sinclair_ 281

TIMOTHY TUTTLE AND THE LITTLE IMPS, _Dr. John Todd_ 290

BUTTERFLY’S DIAMOND, _Lydia Maria Child_ 304

LITTLE NIEBLA, _W. H. Hudson_ 312

LITTLE TINY, _Hans Christian Andersen_ 319

THE IMMORTAL FOUNTAIN, _Lydia Maria Child_ 337

THE STORY OF CHILDE CHARITY, _Frances Browne_ 348

THE SHINING CHILD AND THE WICKED MOUCHE, _Adapted_ 361

MABEL ON MIDSUMMER DAY, _Mary Howitt_ 400

FAREWELL! FAREWELL! DEAR FAIRIES

“OH! WHERE DO FAIRIES HIDE THEIR HEADS?” _Thomas Haynes Bayly_ 412

THE FAIRIES’ PASSAGE, _James Clarence Mangan_ 413

OLD WINTER’S FAIRYLAND, _Anonymous_ 418

SUBJECT INDEX FOR STORY-TELLERS 423

ILLUSTRATIONS

“THIS IS MAB, THE MISTRESS FAIRY” _Frontispiece_

“DERMOD GAZED AT THEM IN WONDER” 18

“SHE SAW A WHOLE TROOP OF SPRIGGANS HOLDING AN ELFIN FAIR” 118

“CHILDE CHARITY CAME OUT AND ASKED THE OLD WOMAN TO TAKE HER SHARE OF THE SUPPER” 350

THE FAIRIES’ STORY HOUR

“_’Tis the hour of Fairy ban and spell; The wood-tick has kept the minutes well; He has counted them all with click and stroke, Deep in the heart of the mountain oak, And he has awakened the sentry Elve Who sleeps with him in the haunted tree, To bid him ring the hour of twelve, And call the Fays to their revelry; Twelve small strokes on his tinkling bell-- (’Twas made of the white snail’s pearly shell:--) Midnight comes, and all is well! Hither, hither, wing your way! ’Tis the dawn of the Fairy day_.”

JOSEPH RODMAN DRAKE

COME! COME! TO THE FAIRIES’ STORY HOUR!

IN THE MOONLIT MEADOW

Fairies! Fairies everywhere! Hear them come! See them come in the pale moonlight to this lovely meadow! They rush through the air; they throng from the wood; they spring up from the ground; they peep from the flowers and leaves. They are all hastening to the Fairies’ Story Hour. The Midsummer moon is shining, shining; while the Midsummer breeze is swaying, swaying the harebells, lilies, and grasses.

Laughter! whisper! Laughter! whisper! See, through the air comes gliding a whole host of radiant little Fairies. They poise lightly on their silvery wings, and float down to the harebells and lilies. They flicker over the meadow like gay butterflies. Laughter! whisper!

Hum! whirr! Hum! whirr! What is that noise in the tree-tops? From among the dark leaves fly hundreds and hundreds of broad-backed beetles, bumping and thumping each other. They are followed by a silent cloud of bats, that wheel and whirl, and flap their leathery wings. And to the back of every beetle and every bat clings a tiny roguish Elf peeping down at the meadow below.

Rap! tack! tack! Rap! tack! tack! From behind each tree-trunk steps a little Leprechaun as big as your thumb. They are the Fairy Shoemakers. Their long beards and red caps wag in the moonlight; and the little men smile and chuckle to themselves, for well they know where the pots of Fairy Gold are hidden. Near them, peering from behind stones and bushes, are the Curmudgeons, rolling their mischievous eyes.

Skip! skip! Knock! knock! What have we here? From out of the earth pours a swarm of little Spriggans and Pixies gaily dressed, and Knockers with their tiny hammers in their tiny hands. They have left the meadows and moors; they have left the mines of tin and copper, and the diamond caves, to come to the Fairies’ Story Hour. How they hustle, how they bustle, out of the earth!

Gallop-a-trot! Gallop-a-trot! What comes from the wood? A long line of prancing goats and house-cats! And on the back of each is a House-Elf, to be sure! The Brownies, the Boggarts, the Tomts, the Piskeys, are all there. They have left their snug corners in human homes; they have left cellars, barns, and threshing-floors; they have left bowls of clubbered cream on warm hearthstones, to come to the Fairies’ Story Hour. And who is this that lights their way with a Will-o’-the-Wisp lantern? ’Tis Robin Goodfellow, freakish Elf! Ho! Ho! Ho!

Sing! cling! Sing! cling! What are these that come sailing through the air? Mother-of-pearl boats with coral masts and sails of sea-lace! Each little boat is crowded with Sea-Queens and Water-Fairies. Their green hair is long and flowing, and their robes are of rainbow spray. And near them, astride frisky sea-horses, are the Kelpies, blowing loudly on their conch-shell trumpets. And each Kelpie is armed with a shield of pearl and a sword-fish weapon. They have all left the foaming green waves and the pink coral palaces to come to the Fairies’ Story Hour.

Now! Listen! Listen! The harebells and lilies are ringing sweet music, while from meadow flowers and acorn-cups and forest nuts tumble lazy, sleepy Elves rubbing their eyes, and hastening to join the others at the Fairies’ Story Hour.

The harebells and lilies ring louder and louder. And from out the cool wood step King Oberon and Queen Mab, with all their Fairy train that glitters in the moonshine like a long string of jewels.

The royal train advances into the middle of the meadow. The King and Queen seat themselves on a throne of moss. At their left is capering Puck mowing and mouthing; at their right, Ariel the sweetest singer. All present bow themselves before the throne.

See! Queen Mab raises her wand, and each little Elf and Fairy scurries and hurries to make himself comfortable. Some sway on the blades of grass; others climb the flower stalks and curl up inside the fragrant blossoms; while still others swing and rock in the trees, or nestle among the ferns and under toadstool umbrellas.

Every wee Elf, and every tiny Fairy, and every little Imp, from all the world over, is here. Indeed, all the members of the entire Fairy Family are present except the human-sized ones. They are too busy to come. The Elfin Princes are searching cottages and palaces for mortal brides to carry off to Fairyland. The Elfin nurses are leaving Changelings in babies’ cradles; while the Fairy Godmothers are far away bestowing wonderful gifts on good children, and punishing bad ones.

Look! Look! Queen Mab waves her wand! The Fairies’ Story Hour is beginning. All is hushed.

Listen now to the Fairy tales.