A JOURNAL OF INSTRUCTION FOR THE FAMILY AND THE SCHOOL 2nd Week. MONDAY. Moral Lesson. A FAIRY TALE. CHAPTER III.-THE VISIT TO FAIRY-LAND. L. How surprised the people must have been, papa, when they heard what the fairies had said about the wealth of their prince! P. No doubt they were. Many, I dare say, thought they were joking, for really they knew no one else who had so much money as he had. However, the evening of the next day soon arrived, and the people went forth again. The poet also went, with all his family, who thought it a great treat to see the fairies. and the poet said they had made a mistake. It was of no use for the poet to speak of the smallness of his income: the fairies declared that they knew what they were about; and they invited the poet and the prince to come with them to fairy-land. There, they said, they would try whether the prince was really richer than the poet, and they would all come back together the next night, when the people should hear their decision. The people all agreed to this When the poet reached the proposal, and the prince made part of the city where the no objection; indeed he wanted fairies were expected, he found to see where the fairies dwelt; that they had arrived before" and of course," he added to him. He had scarcely time himself, "my poor cousin will to notice the prince, and all have no chance against me." his servants, and the crowds of people who were waiting for Oberon to speak, when a new event happened. The fairy king spied him immediately, and, to his great astonishment, came forward and called him by his name. The poet came forth, and then Oberon declared to the people that this was the proper man to be king. He said that he was far richer than the prince, or any one else in the kingdom. It was in vain that the prince remonstrated, So in the course of a few minutes both parties had bid good-bye to their families and friends and were quickly out of sight. L. And where did they go to, papa? P. To some strange place beyond the sea. On a dolphin's back they follow the track which the mermaids make, as their course they take, through crystal caves, where restless waves are as merry as waves can be. Through ocean deep, it; he only laughed, and said he past rocks so steep, close along-would be happy to be weighed side they swiftly glide to the transparent sand which forms the strand of the beautiful region called "Fairy-land." And so on; but to describe fairy-land aright it must be written in rhymes, and you know that I cannot do thatindeed, I have never been so far as the borders of that country. So you must be content with the adventures of the prince and the poet. The poet was certainly delighted with the home of the fairies, so also was the prince; yet when he saw it he wondered to Oberon that they should have laughed at his own magnificent possessions, which were almost as grand. "But therein, O prince," said Oberon, "you are mistaken, for we do not despise the beautiful works of God, nor the splendours of wealth, but we do not call them riches. Riches are those things which a man hath within himself. You only possess riches when you can take them with you, wherever you go, even from this world to the world beyond. True riches are those which belong to thy soul and have become a part of thee. Thou and the poet are here alone, and all your riches are with you. Here we will weigh your souls and see what each man is worth." The poet said not a word, but looked on the ground: he knew the meaning of the fairy king's speech. The prince, however, did not seem to heed as soon as they pleased; but when he looked round, lo! the fairies were gone; at least they were invisible. No, there seemed to be no one near them: they were evidently alone in the fairy-land. "Well," said the prince to the poet, "this is very strange treatment. I would like to weigh Oberon's soul after this, if he has got one. Never mind! this is a famous place for a walk. I suppose they'll come back when we want them—it is to be hoped they will not play us any tricks." Ah, the prince little knew how much depended on that walk! The two mortals had not gone very far, when near the edge of a dark wood they saw many sparkling lights flitting round and round the trees. "Here they are again," said the prince; "they are dancing!" "What a strange dance that is!" the poet remarked as he saw the rapid motions; "the step of those dancing fairies is different from anything I have ever seen;" and they both watched the dancers for a long time. "I think it must be a very difficult dance to learn," the poet remarked again. "Pooh!" replied his companion, "I have often seen that dance before; once I danced it myself. Come along!" And while his cousin stopped to look at some moss growing on one of the trees, he ran on before a long way. On he ran until he was stopped. "Can't pass this gate," ," said a queer-looking porter, who seemed to be neither a fairy nor a demon, but something else. "Yes I can, you shall see me do it," said the prince, who was in great spirits, but, as he was going to push through, some invisible power stopped him, and he found himself fixed to the ground. "Ah, mortal!" said the porter, “now you are stopped. Tell me how you came on fairy grounds ?" "I am a friend of Oberon," said the prince; "he brought me here and gave me permission to wander over his estates; so just loose my feet from this sticky soil, will you?" "No, that I will not; you can't pass without the password. Why, here comes another mortal! Pray who are you?" he said as the poet came up. The poet related how he came to be there, but he added that he did not know whether or not he was trespassing, for Oberon and the fairies had suddenly left them without telling them where they might go. "That's true!" said the porter, "it is the exact truth, for I was there myself. I like to hear the truth." Then a distant sound was heard. "THE TRUTH! TRUTH!" was echoed through the hills, as though a thousand invisible fairies spoke. The sounds lasted a long time, for they came again and again, and all the mountains seemed to sing and to echo "the Truth" in beautiful chords. "That," said the porter, "is the watch-word by which you pass this gate. Enter!" And the prince was only admitted because his cousin earnestly begged for him, and explained that, though Oberon did not say they might wander over the grounds, they supposed that he meant them to do so. "Well, I am well pleased with you!" said the old porter to the poet, "and remember, young men, that He who acts with TRUTH doth best make his way through the world." "Come on!" said the prince, "how that impudent fellow held me fast to the ground;-but look!" "Yes, this is a splendid garden," replied his cousin, "and here is a plant which I have never seen; I think there are none of the kind upon our earth.” The prince thought, too, that it was a new species of plant, so he picked the flower that grew upon it, that he might take it back to earth with him. The poet was sorry at this, and begged the prince to carry it back to the porter, "for," said he, "we have no permission to take it." But the prince only laughed, and said that it was too trifling a matter to be worth noticing. The poet, however, declared that it had always been a rule with him, all his life, never to take the most insignificant thing belonging to any one else. The prince said that his picking the flower" did not matter," but it almost seemed, from the awkward way in which he car ried it, and from his looking down as though he did not want to meet any one, as if he felt some confusion. At this moment certain fairies. whom the poet could not see cried out from behind the trees, "He who acts with HONESTY holds up his head in the world." But the prince heard not, and they went on. "Look up!" said the prince to his cousin, "look at the beautiful palace on the other side of the lake." "That is surely Oberon's abode," said the poet. "But how are we to reach it?" "Very easily," said the prince. "We have only to cross this marshy ground, and to reach those stones in the middle of the shallows, and then-then, I dare say, there is some way of getting through the woods beyond." "But wait," said his cousin, "only wait while I see if there is not a better place; you may be sure there is a proper way." The prince, however, would not stop. While his cousin set off to examine the neighbourhood, he ran over the marshes, and was soon almost knee-deep in green mud; he persevered, however, until he reached the stones, but he could not cross the shallows to the woods, and was obliged to come back through the mud once more. On his return his cousin met him, and led him in a pitiable state to a boat which he had found at the shore of the lake, where a man whose business it was to row passengers across was waiting. "This, sir, is the proper way," said the boatman, touching his hat. Just as the prince stepped into the boat he was followed by his cousin, who again heard the fairy voices singing from within the woods, "He who acts with ORDER doth more quickly make his way through the world." But the prince heard them not. "Very fine day," said the prince to his fairy boatman, who was a rough-looking fellow. "What shall we give you as a reward for conveying us over this lake ?" The boatman explained that he could not receive any reward. "Oh, we cannot permit you to be unrewarded," said the poet; "it would not be just." "Nor would it be just for me to receive your gift, as I am the servant of Oberon, who pays me my wages." "Oberon's servant! A pretty tale!" said the prince, starting up in the boat; "you are my servant! Now I remember you well: you are the fellow who stole the jewels from-why, there is one of my amethysts hanging from your neck!” The poor servant turned very angry at this; he was an honest old man, who had been in Oberon's service a hundred years; and he proved by taking off his turban and showing his bald head, and the colour of a few scanty locks of hair, that he was quite a different person. And he added that he had never been spoken to so in his life, and could hardly bear it. The poet was much ashamed of his cousin's conduct, and expressed great sorrow for it to the man, but he would not be comforted; he said it was only fair and just that the prince should acknowledge he had done wrong. But the prince would nothe certainly felt ashamed, but he said he should be ashamed to confess to a servant that he had done wrong. "Then," said the old man, standing up with dignity, "I will row thee no further. Row thyself. I cannot serve thee; thy pride hinders thee from doing justice." And down he dived from the boat to the bottom of the lake. This sudden action caused such a splash that the fine dress of the prince was almost spoiled, and for the moment he was quite blind with the water in his eyes. What was worse still, one of the old man's oars fell on the poet's face and gave him a black eye. The prince when he recovered looked into the lake for the boatman, but he only heard the words bubbling up through the water, "None serve him faithfully who hath not justice." Then the boat which had been floating along was motionless, and the poet heard hidden fairies from the lake singing "He who acts with JUSTICE will not be hindered in his way through the world." But the prince heard not. 66 Well, what shall we do?" said the prince; "we are much nearer to the shore than the other side of the lake; let us land there, and try to make our way through the woods to the palace. I'll certainly inform Oberon of his servant's bad behaviour." The poet, however, did not agree with his cousin. "You see," he said, "we do not know whether there is any path through the woods; you have lost time already by trying to go the wrong way." 66 But," said the prince, "what hard work it will be to row to the other side of the lake! perhaps if we make a signal Oberon will see us from his window, and will". "Pray do not let us wait for any chances," said the poet, almost impatiently. "There is one straightforward way to get out of the difficulty, and that is to work; so if you don't like the labour give me both oars: I'll pull." The prince was not a lazy man by any means, so he was encouraged by his cousin's example, and worked with all his might. The boat was soon darting across the lake; and this time when the invisible fairies sang, the prince as well as the poet heard them. They were singing "He who hath INDUSTRY doth most surely make his way through the world." And they soon proved this to be true. Right heartily they made way to the opposite margin; and they climbed the steep path which led to Oberon's palace, with such industry that they were quite out of breath. Then Oberon came out to meet them. |