NOT far from the Land of the Fire Fairies there is another wonderland. It is called the Kingdom of Light. Here, though the people are fairies, their magic is different from the magic of the fairies of fire and flame. But it is not less marvelous and beautiful.
The ruler of this country had a son whose name was Prince Radiance. The Prince was tall and strong and handsome. His soft red suit of velvet,[57] his scarlet cap with long red feather that tossed and floated above his yellow hair became him well. So very bright with hope and courage were his eyes, so very friendly was his smile, that wherever he appeared the fairies cried to one another, “Ah, here comes Prince Radiance, bringing happiness and cheer!”
The young Prince was now of an age to seek a bride, but the King was too fond of his son to wish him to marry anyone whom he did not love with all his heart. Many princesses and beautiful ladies would have been glad to be chosen by him, but the young Prince cared for none of them. And although the wise men of the country came often to their King to urge the Prince to take a wife, the old King always replied, “Not yet, not yet. My son must make his own choice, and in his own way.”
[58]So time passed, until one day Prince Radiance asked his father’s permission to visit the Land of the Fire Fairies. He had heard of their strange magic, and wished to behold it with his own eyes.
The King gave him leave, and bidding his father farewell, the Prince set out, quite alone, as was his wish.
By traveling swiftly, he soon reached the boundary of his father’s kingdom, and crossed into the Land of the Fire Fairies. Now the Fire Fairies have always been friendly to the Fairies of Light, so the Prince was made welcome wherever he went.
The magic of the Fire Fairies charmed and delighted him. He stood and watched them rear their shining palaces, saw them deck the walls with glittering jewels, or wreathe them with flaming vines by the mere wave of a[59] wand. He wandered from place to place, learning many new and wonderful things.
And all the time he drew nearer and nearer to the Palace of Burning Coals, but as yet he had heard nothing, had seen nothing of the Princess White Flame.
At last he came to a garden, whose open gate showed him bright trees rustling in the breeze and bushes thick-set with flame-colored blossoms, showed him paths that wound away into stretches of still greater loveliness and bloom. He had come to the garden of the Princess.
He entered, and stood a moment, to see if any would come to stop his progress; but all was still in the garden, and not a living creature was anywhere in sight. He chose the path of greatest[60] beauty, but had not gone far upon it when he became aware of a voice singing in the distance, a voice that drew nearer and more near, until the air around him was filled with its exquisite music. Entranced, rooted to the spot, Prince Radiance listened. Never had he heard so wondrous a voice. It was as though it drew his very heart from his breast to follow it.
So spellbound was he, that at first he thought only of the voice, but presently he was filled with an ardent desire to know from whom it came. But even as he looked eagerly about him for the singer, the voice began to recede from him, and to fade away among the tree-tops. Then it was, that glancing upward, he saw a pure and pearl-white flame, and from the flame came the magic voice that had so stirred his heart.
[61]Awaking from his trance of wonder and delight, the Prince sought to follow it; even as he did so the flame was lost to sight. He pursued it in the direction in which he had seen it pass, but in vain.
Still the Prince went on in haste, seeking someone who could tell him where it might be found. The faint cracking of boughs struck on his ear, and going to the place from whence it came, he saw a Fire Fairy, pruning a glittering shrub.
“Tell me,” he cried, “where shall I find the flame that was singing yonder, the flame with the wonderful voice?”
The fairy paused in his work, and regarded the Prince curiously. “Can it be,” inquired he slowly, “that you have not heard of the Princess White Flame?”
“I saw no Princess,” answered Radiance, “but I heard a voice of magical[62] beauty that seemed to come from a pure white flame.”
“Ah,” replied the Fire Fairy, “that is indeed our dear Princess. A flame she is, and a flame she must remain, until that prince comes at last who alone can set her free.” Then he told Prince Radiance the story of the spell that had been cast upon her in her cradle; told him of the wondrous Veil that lay hidden in the Wise One’s ancient chest; told him also of the many princes who had vainly sought to see it, that they might deliver the Princess.
“I, too, must go,” exclaimed Prince Radiance. “Who knows but I may be more fortunate than they. Tell me at once where this Wise One is to be found.”
Filled with the hope that this at last might be the true prince, the fairy told[63] him exactly how to find the Wise One’s hut, and the Prince hurried away.
He had not gone far, however, when what was his joy to hear once more, soft and faint at first, but clearer and stronger as he proceeded, that voice that had so charmed him a little while before.
Eagerly, scarce daring to breathe, lest he should startle the Princess, and drive her from him, the Prince hastened toward her.
She was poised at the foot of a great fire-oak, her flame seeming to wax or wane as the music rose or fell.
So silently the Prince advanced that he stood beside her before she was aware.
“Princess! Princess White Flame!” he cried low, “Here am I, Prince Radiance,[64] come to serve you. Say that you are willing that it should be so.”
At the sound of his voice, the singing of the Princess ceased suddenly. Flashing and trembling at the unexpected appearance of this stranger, she seemed about to take flight.
“Nay, do not leave me,” he besought her. “Tell me, rather, that I too may seek to deliver you from the cruel spell that binds you thus.”
So did his face glow with the love that her voice had awakened in his heart, so did his own voice thrill with tenderness, that a soft and roseate flush passed over the whiteness of the flame, as if in answer. Yet she spoke no word.
“I know what I must do,” pursued the Prince. “A fairy has told me. Even now I was on my way to seek the Wise One, and happily to bring forth the mystic Veil. Do you bid me go?” He paused, and waited for the Princess to speak.
[65]
Here am I, Prince Radiance, come to serve you
“Here am I, Prince Radiance, come to serve you.”
[66]
[67]“Yes,” she whispered softly, “go. But ah—if you should not see this Veil—what then?”
“Then—ah then,” he answered quickly, “I will return to you, and gaze upon your pure and beauteous flame, and listen to your magic voice, till love shall make keen the eyes that were too dull before. Say that you will await me here!”
Again a rosy flush overspread the whiteness of the Princess. “I promise you,” she said. “When you return, you will find me waiting.”
Overjoyed at so gracious an answer, Prince Radiance drew still nearer to the glowing flame. “Ah, my beloved Princess,” he cried, “something tells me[68] that I shall not fail. I shall return indeed, and in my hand shall be the Veil that will set you free. Farewell, then, till I come again.”
Then he left her, a gleaming whiteness at the foot of the great fire-oak, and went his way as the fairy had directed him.
It was not long until he arrived at the house of the Wise One. A queer little scarlet hut, it was, set in the midst of a thicket of flaming bushes, with a bright red path that led straight to the door. The path was worn and hollowed out by many feet. From the pointed chimney, and the quaintly peaked roof, down all the walls to the very ground, the hut was covered with magic signs that no one but the Wise One himself understood.
Boldly the Prince approached the[69] door, and knocked. A voice bade him enter. The Prince obeyed, and found himself in the presence of an old, old fairy, who was sitting before a table, poring over a great Book of Wisdom.
It was the Wise One. He wore a long white beard, that swept down his scarlet robe almost to his feet. A curious border of fairy letters ran about the hem of his robe, and as he rose slowly to greet his guest, they flashed and moved as if with life. A wave of magic flowed from them toward the Prince.
“Welcome, Prince Radiance,” said the Wise One, “I know your errand. Come, let us see if you will be able to succeed where others have failed.”
“Ah, that it may be so!” exclaimed the Prince, following the Wise One, who led him to a chest that stood in a corner of the hut. A very ancient chest[70] it was, carved deeply with magic inscriptions that age had had no power to dim. Huge hinges held it firm; a huge lock fastened it.
The Prince looked down upon it with eager hope. He trembled a little as the Wise One drew from his breast a key, and fitted it in the lock. Slowly the key turned. Slowly the lid rose of itself.
“Look within,” commanded the Wise One, “and tell me what you see.”
In breathless suspense, Prince Radiance bent over the chest, hoping—fearing—so much hung upon his power to behold what lay therein. The light was dim, and the chest deep. For a moment he saw no more than what looked like a film of ash upon the bottom of the chest, and through his heart went a stab of pain and disappointment.
[71]Then, suddenly, his sight seemed to clear. “The Veil! The mystic Veil!” he cried. “There! There it lies! I see it! Oh, I see!”
“Look again,” said the Wise One. “Do you see nothing more?”
Again Prince Radiance bent above the chest; again he peered earnestly into its depths. Dimly discerned beside the Veil lay a sword in its scabbard, and close beside it a soft grey pouch.
“A sword is there, and a curious pouch,” he answered.
“You have seen what none have seen before,” replied the Wise One. “The Veil is for the Princess, the Sword and the Pouch for you. Take them, for the time will come, before your task is done, when you will need them all. Take out the Veil.”
Gently the Prince lifted the magic[72] Veil from out the chest. As it rose, it floated out and out, and seemed to fill the hut, like a mist for fineness, like a web for strength.
The Wise One went to a cabinet, and drew from it a tiny golden casket. He returned to the Prince, and said, “Place the Veil inside.”
“How is that possible?” inquired Prince Radiance.
“You have but to press the corner of the Veil, and it will become small enough to fit into the tiniest box. You have but to lift it from the box, and shake it out, and it will become as you behold it now. Do as I have said, and you will see.”
The Prince obeyed, and presently the Veil lay in the golden casket. The Wise One handed him a golden key. “Lock it, and fasten it securely within your[73] robe where none can rob you of it,” he told him. “On its safety all your hopes depend.”
Gravely Prince Radiance did as the ancient fairy bade him.
“Lift out the Sword,” directed the Wise One, “and draw it from its scabbard.”
Again the Prince obeyed. As he laid his hand upon the hilt it was as if the Sword answered to his touch, and leapt from its scabbard, a flashing flame of blue, that shed a dazzling light on all around it.
“It is the Sword of Flames,” the Wise One told him, “a powerful weapon—potent in your hands alone. It will serve you well. See that you do not lose it. See that you do not use it until its day comes.”
Prince Radiance looked at him in[74] wonder. “How shall I know the day?” asked he.
“When the day comes you will need none to tell you,” was the answer. “And now take the Pouch—the third and last gift.”
The Prince replaced the Sword of Flames in its sheath, and bound it on. Then stooping he took out the Pouch.
“Open it,” said the Wise One.
Prince Radiance did so, and saw that it was divided within into two compartments.
“This is a magic pouch,” the Wise One instructed him. “Whatever you place in it will never fail of its supply. It will help you out of many a danger, out of many a difficulty.”
The Prince thought deeply. “What shall I place within it that will have such power?” he asked at last.
The Wise One smiled. “That is easy enough to choose,” he answered. “In the one side place a burning coal; put in the other a handful of ash. Nothing else could possibly be so unfailingly useful wherever you may go.”
Surprised at such an answer, Prince Radiance gazed at him without obeying.
“It is as I have told you,” the ancient one assured him. “You will find it so.”
Then the Prince stooped to the fire that was burning on the hearth, and filled the Pouch as he had been directed, and fastened it to his side, the Wise One watching him meanwhile with a kindly smile.
When Prince Radiance would have thanked him for the fairy gifts, he dismissed him with a wave of the hand. “Go,” he said, “and all good fortune attend you. If you but do your part, the magic of the Veil will be potent to break the Earth Fairy’s spell, and restore the Princess White Flame to her fairy form.”