The Happy Prince and Other Tales by Oscar Wilde

The Happy Prince and Other Tales
by Oscar Wilde
Contents
The Happy Prince
The Nightingale and the Rose
The Selfish Giant
The Devoted Friend
The Remarkable Rocket
THE HAPPY PRINCE
High above the city, on a tall column, stood the statue of the
Happy Prince. He was gilded all over with thin leaves of fine
gold, for eyes he had two bright sapphires, and a large red ruby
glowed on his sword-hilt.
He was very much admired indeed. "He is as beautiful as a
weathercock," remarked one of the Town Councillors who wished to
gain a reputation for having artistic tastes; "only not quite so
useful," he added, fearing lest people should think him
unpractical, which he really was not.
"Why can't you be like the Happy Prince?" asked a sensible mother
of her little boy who was crying for the moon. "The Happy Prince
never dreams of crying for anything."
"I am glad there is some one in the world who is quite happy,"
muttered a disappointed man as he gazed at the wonderful statue.
"He looks just like an angel," said the Charity Children as they
came out of the cathedral in their bright scarlet cloaks and their
clean white pinafores.
"How do you know?" said the Mathematical Master, "you have never
seen one."
"Ah! but we have, in our dreams," answered the children; and the
Mathematical Master frowned and looked very severe, for he did not
approve of children dreaming.
One night there flew over the city a little Swallow. His friends
had gone away to Egypt six weeks before, but he had stayed behind,
for he was in love with the most beautiful Reed. He had met her
early in the spring as he was flying down the river after a big
yellow moth, and had been so attracted by her slender waist that he
had stopped to talk to her.
"Shall I love you?" said the Swallow, who liked to come to the
point at once, and the Reed made him a low bow. So he flew round
and round her, touching the water with his wings, and making silver
ripples. This was his courtship, and it lasted all through the
summer.
"It is a ridiculous attachment," twittered the other Swallows; "she
has no money, and far too many relations"; and indeed the river was
quite full of Reeds. Then, when the autumn came they all flew
away.
After they had gone he felt lonely, and began to tire of his ladylove.
"She has no conversation," he said, "and I am afraid that
she is a coquette, for she is always flirting with the wind." And
certainly, whenever the wind blew, the Reed made the most graceful
curtseys. "I admit that she is domestic," he continued, "but I
love travelling, and my wife, consequently, should love travelling
also."
"Will you come away with me?" he said finally to her; but the Reed
shook her head, she was so attached to her home.
"You have been trifling with me," he cried. "I am off to the
Pyramids. Good-bye!" and he flew away.
All day long he flew, and at night-time he arrived at the city.
"Where shall I put up?" he said; "I hope the town has made
preparations."
Then he saw the statue on the tall column.
"I will put up there," he cried; "it is a fine position, with
plenty of fresh air." So he alighted just between the feet of the
Happy Prince.
"I have a golden bedroom," he said softly to himself as he looked
round, and he prepared to go to sleep; but just as he was putting
his head under his wing a large drop of water fell on him. "What a
curious thing!" he cried; "there is not a single cloud in the sky,
the stars are quite clear and bright, and yet it is raining. The
climate in the north of Europe is really dreadful. The Reed used
to like the rain, but that was merely her selfishness."
Then another drop fell.
"What is the use of a statue if it cannot keep the rain off?" he
said; "I must look for a good chimney-pot," and he determined to
fly away.
But before he had opened his wings, a third drop fell, and he
looked up, and saw - Ah! what did he see?
The eyes of the Happy Prince were filled with tears, and tears were
running down his golden cheeks. His face was so beautiful in the
moonlight that the little Swallow was filled with pity.
"Who are you?" he said.
"I am the Happy Prince."
"Why are you weeping then?" asked the Swallow; "you have quite
drenched me."
"When I was alive and had a human heart," answered the statue, "I
did not know what tears were, for I lived in the Palace of Sans-
Souci, where sorrow is not allowed to enter. In the daytime I
played with my companions in the garden, and in the evening I led
the dance in the Great Hall. Round the garden ran a very lofty
wall, but I never cared to ask what lay beyond it, everything about
me was so beautiful. My courtiers called me the Happy Prince, and
happy indeed I was, if pleasure be happiness. So I lived, and so I
died. And now that I am dead they have set me up here so high that
I can see all the ugliness and all the misery of my city, and
though my heart is made of lead yet I cannot chose but weep."
"What! is he not solid gold?" said the Swallow to himself. He was
too polite to make any personal remarks out loud.
"Far away," continued the statue in a low musical voice, "far away
in a little street there is a poor house. One of the windows is
open, and through it I can see a woman seated at a table. Her face
is thin and worn, and she has coarse, red hands, all pricked by the
needle, for she is a seamstress. She is embroidering passionflowers
on a satin gown for the loveliest of the Queen's maids-ofhonour
to wear at the next Court-ball. In a bed in the corner of
the room her little boy is lying ill. He has a fever, and is
asking for oranges. His mother has nothing to give him but river
water, so he is crying. Swallow, Swallow, little Swallow, will you
not bring her the ruby out of my sword-hilt? My feet are fastened
to this pedestal and I cannot move."
"I am waited for in Egypt," said the Swallow. "My friends are
flying up and down the Nile, and talking to the large lotusflowers.
Soon they will go to sleep in the tomb of the great King.
The King is there himself in his painted coffin. He is wrapped in
yellow linen, and embalmed with spices. Round his neck is a chain
of pale green jade, and his hands are like withered leaves."
"Swallow, Swallow, little Swallow," said the Prince, "will you not
stay with me for one night, and be my messenger? The boy is so
thirsty, and the mother so sad."
"I don't think I like boys," answered the Swallow. "Last summer,
when I was staying on the river, there were two rude boys, the
miller's sons, who were always throwing stones at me. They never
hit me, of course; we swallows fly far too well for that, and
besides, I come of a family famous for its agility; but still, it
was a mark of disrespect."
But the Happy Prince looked so sad that the little Swallow was
sorry. "It is very cold here," he said; "but I will stay with you
for one night, and be your messenger."
"Thank you, little Swallow," said the Prince.
So the Swallow picked out the great ruby from the Prince's sword,
and flew away with it in his beak over the roofs of the town.
He passed by the cathedral tower, where the white marble angels
were sculptured. He passed by the palace and heard the sound of
dancing. A beautiful girl came out on the balcony with her lover.
"How wonderful the stars are," he said to her, "and how wonderful
is the power of love!"
"I hope my dress will be ready in time for the State-ball," she
answered; "I have ordered passion-flowers to be embroidered on it;
but the seamstresses are so lazy."
He passed over the river, and saw the lanterns hanging to the masts
of the ships. He passed over the Ghetto, and saw the old Jews
bargaining with each other, and weighing out money in copper
scales. At last he came to the poor house and looked in. The boy
was tossing feverishly on his bed, and the mother had fallen
asleep, she was so tired. In he hopped, and laid the great ruby on
the table beside the woman's thimble. Then he flew gently round
the bed, fanning the boy's forehead with his wings. "How cool I
feel," said the boy, "I must be getting better"; and he sank into a
delicious slumber.
Then the Swallow flew back to the Happy Prince, and told him what
he had done. "It is curious," he remarked, "but I feel quite warm
now, although it is so cold."
"That is because you have done a good action," said the Prince.
And the little Swallow began to think, and then he fell asleep.
Thinking always made him sleepy.
When day broke he flew down to the river and had a bath. "What a
remarkable phenomenon," said the Professor of Ornithology as he was
passing over the bridge. "A swallow in winter!" And he wrote a
long letter about it to the local newspaper. Every one quoted it,
it was full of so many words that they could not understand.
"To-night I go to Egypt," said the Swallow, and he was in high
spirits at the prospect. He visited all the public monuments, and
sat a long time on top of the church steeple. Wherever he went the
Sparrows chirruped, and said to each other, "What a distinguished
stranger!" so he enjoyed himself very much.
When the moon rose he flew back to the Happy Prince. "Have you any
commissions for Egypt?" he cried; "I am just starting."
"Swallow, Swallow, little Swallow," said the Prince, "will you not
stay with me one night longer?"
"I am waited for in Egypt," answered the Swallow. "To-morrow my
friends will fly up to the Second Cataract. The river-horse
couches there among the bulrushes, and on a great granite throne
sits the God Memnon. All night long he watches the stars, and when
the morning star shines he utters one cry of joy, and then he is
silent. At noon the yellow lions come down to the water's edge to
drink. They have eyes like green beryls, and their roar is louder
than the roar of the cataract.
"Swallow, Swallow, little Swallow," said the Prince, "far away
across the city I see a young man in a garret. He is leaning over
a desk covered with papers, and in a tumbler by his side there is a
bunch of withered violets. His hair is brown and crisp, and his
lips are red as a pomegranate, and he has large and dreamy eyes.
He is trying to finish a play for the Director of the Theatre, but
he is too cold to write any more. There is no fire in the grate,
and hunger has made him faint."
"I will wait with you one night longer," said the Swallow, who
really had a good heart. "Shall I take him another ruby?"
"Alas! I have no ruby now," said the Prince; "my eyes are all that
I have left. They are made of rare sapphires, which were brought
out of India a thousand years ago. Pluck out one of them and take
it to him. He will sell it to the jeweller, and buy food and
firewood, and finish his play."
"Dear Prince," said the Swallow, "I cannot do that"; and he began
to weep.
"Swallow, Swallow, little Swallow," said the Prince, "do as I
command you."
So the Swallow plucked out the Prince's eye, and flew away to the
student's garret. It was easy enough to get in, as there was a
hole in the roof. Through this he darted, and came into the room.
The young man had his head buried in his hands, so he did not hear
the flutter of the bird's wings, and when he looked up he found the
beautiful sapphire lying on the withered violets.
"I am beginning to be appreciated," he cried; "this is from some
great admirer. Now I can finish my play," and he looked quite
happy.
The next day the Swallow flew down to the harbour. He sat on the
mast of a large vessel and watched the sailors hauling big chests
out of the hold with ropes. "Heave a-hoy!" they shouted as each
chest came up. "I am going to Egypt"! cried the Swallow, but
nobody minded, and when the moon rose he flew back to the Happy
Prince.
"I am come to bid you good-bye," he cried.
"Swallow, Swallow, little Swallow," said the Prince, "will you not
stay with me one night longer?"
"It is winter," answered the Swallow, "and the chill snow will soon
be here. In Egypt the sun is warm on the green palm-trees, and the
crocodiles lie in the mud and look lazily about them. My
companions are building a nest in the Temple of Baalbec, and the
pink and white doves are watching them, and cooing to each other.
Dear Prince, I must leave you, but I will never forget you, and
next spring I will bring you back two beautiful jewels in place of
those you have given away. The ruby shall be redder than a red
rose, and the sapphire shall be as blue as the great sea."
"In the square below," said the Happy Prince, "there stands a
little match-girl. She has let her matches fall in the gutter, and
they are all spoiled. Her father will beat her if she does not
bring home some money, and she is crying. She has no shoes or
stockings, and her little head is bare. Pluck out my other eye,
and give it to her, and her father will not beat her."
"I will stay with you one night longer," said the Swallow, "but I
cannot pluck out your eye. You would be quite blind then."
"Swallow, Swallow, little Swallow," said the Prince, "do as I
command you."
So he plucked out the Prince's other eye, and darted down with it.
He swooped past the match-girl, and slipped the jewel into the palm
of her hand. "What a lovely bit of glass," cried the little girl;
and she ran home, laughing.
Then the Swallow came back to the Prince. "You are blind now," he
said, "so I will stay with you always."
"No, little Swallow," said the poor Prince, "you must go away to
Egypt."
"I will stay with you always," said the Swallow, and he slept at
the Prince's feet.
All the next day he sat on the Prince's shoulder, and told him
stories of what he had seen in strange lands. He told him of the
red ibises, who stand in long rows on the banks of the Nile, and
catch gold-fish in their beaks; of the Sphinx, who is as old as the
world itself, and lives in the desert, and knows everything; of the
merchants, who walk slowly by the side of their camels, and carry
amber beads in their hands; of the King of the Mountains of the
Moon, who is as black as ebony, and worships a large crystal; of
the great green snake that sleeps in a palm-tree, and has twenty
priests to feed it with honey-cakes; and of the pygmies who sail
over a big lake on large flat leaves, and are always at war with
the butterflies.
"Dear little Swallow," said the Prince, "you tell me of marvellous
things, but more marvellous than anything is the suffering of men
and of women. There is no Mystery so great as Misery. Fly over my
city, little Swallow, and tell me what you see there."
So the Swallow flew over the great city, and saw the rich making
merry in their beautiful houses, while the beggars were sitting at
the gates. He flew into dark lanes, and saw the white faces of
starving children looking out listlessly at the black streets.
Under the archway of a bridge two little boys were lying in one
another's arms to try and keep themselves warm. "How hungry we
are!" they said. "You must not lie here," shouted the Watchman,
and they wandered out into the rain.
Then he flew back and told the Prince what he had seen.
"I am covered with fine gold," said the Prince, "you must take it
off, leaf by leaf, and give it to my poor; the living always think
that gold can make them happy."
Leaf after leaf of the fine gold the Swallow picked off, till the
Happy Prince looked quite dull and grey. Leaf after leaf of the
fine gold he brought to the poor, and the children's faces grew
rosier, and they laughed and played games in the street. "We have
bread now!" they cried.
Then the snow came, and after the snow came the frost. The streets
looked as if they were made of silver, they were so bright and
glistening; long icicles like crystal daggers hung down from the
eaves of the houses, everybody went about in furs, and the little
boys wore scarlet caps and skated on the ice.
The poor little Swallow grew colder and colder, but he would not
leave the Prince, he loved him too well. He picked up crumbs
outside the baker's door when the baker was not looking and tried
to keep himself warm by flapping his wings.
But at last he knew that he was going to die. He had just strength
to fly up to the Prince's shoulder once more. "Good-bye, dear
Prince!" he murmured, "will you let me kiss your hand?"
"I am glad that you are going to Egypt at last, little Swallow,"
said the Prince, "you have stayed too long here; but you must kiss
me on the lips, for I love you."
"It is not to Egypt that I am going," said the Swallow. "I am
going to the House of Death. Death is the brother of Sleep, is he
not?"
And he kissed the Happy Prince on the lips, and fell down dead at
his feet.
At that moment a curious crack sounded inside the statue, as if
something had broken. The fact is that the leaden heart had
snapped right in two. It certainly was a dreadfully hard frost.
Early the next morning the Mayor was walking in the square below in
company with the Town Councillors. As they passed the column he
looked up at the statue: "Dear me! how shabby the Happy Prince
looks!" he said.
"How shabby indeed!" cried the Town Councillors, who always agreed
with the Mayor; and they went up to look at it.
"The ruby has fallen out of his sword, his eyes are gone, and he is
golden no longer," said the Mayor in fact, "he is litttle beter
than a beggar!"
"Little better than a beggar," said the Town Councillors.
"And here is actually a dead bird at his feet!" continued the
Mayor. "We must really issue a proclamation that birds are not to
be allowed to die here." And the Town Clerk made a note of the
suggestion.
So they pulled down the statue of the Happy Prince. "As he is no
longer beautiful he is no longer useful," said the Art Professor at
the University.
Then they melted the statue in a furnace, and the Mayor held a
meeting of the Corporation to decide what was to be done with the
metal. "We must have another statue, of course," he said, "and it
shall be a statue of myself."
"Of myself," said each of the Town Councillors, and they
quarrelled. When I last heard of them they were quarrelling still.
"What a strange thing!" said the overseer of the workmen at the
foundry. "This broken lead heart will not melt in the furnace. We
must throw it away." So they threw it on a dust-heap where the
dead Swallow was also lying.
"Bring me the two most precious things in the city," said God to
one of His Angels; and the Angel brought Him the leaden heart and
the dead bird.
"You have rightly chosen," said God, "for in my garden of Paradise
this little bird shall sing for evermore, and in my city of gold
the Happy Prince shall praise me."
THE NIGHTINGALE AND THE ROSE
"She said that she would dance with me if I brought her red roses,"
cried the young Student; "but in all my garden there is no red
rose."
From her nest in the holm-oak tree the Nightingale heard him, and
she looked out through the leaves, and wondered.
"No red rose in all my garden!" he cried, and his beautiful eyes
filled with tears. "Ah, on what little things does happiness
depend! I have read all that the wise men have written, and all
the secrets of philosophy are mine, yet for want of a red rose is
my life made wretched."
"Here at last is a true lover," said the Nightingale. "Night after
night have I sung of him, though I knew him not: night after night
have I told his story to the stars, and now I see him. His hair is
dark as the hyacinth-blossom, and his lips are red as the rose of
his desire; but passion has made his face like pale ivory, and
sorrow has set her seal upon his brow."
"The Prince gives a ball to-morrow night," murmured the young
Student, "and my love will be of the company. If I bring her a red
rose she will dance with me till dawn. If I bring her a red rose,
I shall hold her in my arms, and she will lean her head upon my
shoulder, and her hand will be clasped in mine. But there is no
red rose in my garden, so I shall sit lonely, and she will pass me
by. She will have no heed of me, and my heart will break."
"Here indeed is the true lover," said the Nightingale. "What I
sing of, he suffers - what is joy to me, to him is pain. Surely
Love is a wonderful thing. It is more precious than emeralds, and
dearer than fine opals. Pearls and pomegranates cannot buy it, nor
is it set forth in the marketplace. It may not be purchased of the
merchants, nor can it be weighed out in the balance for gold."
"The musicians will sit in their gallery," said the young Student,
"and play upon their stringed instruments, and my love will dance
to the sound of the harp and the violin. She will dance so lightly
that her feet will not touch the floor, and the courtiers in their
gay dresses will throng round her. But with me she will not dance,
for I have no red rose to give her"; and he flung himself down on
the grass, and buried his face in his hands, and wept.
"Why is he weeping?" asked a little Green Lizard, as he ran past
him with his tail in the air.
"Why, indeed?" said a Butterfly, who was fluttering about after a
sunbeam.
"Why, indeed?" whispered a Daisy to his neighbour, in a soft, low
voice.
"He is weeping for a red rose," said the Nightingale.
"For a red rose?" they cried; "how very ridiculous!" and the little
Lizard, who was something of a cynic, laughed outright.
But the Nightingale understood the secret of the Student's sorrow,
and she sat silent in the oak-tree, and thought about the mystery
of Love.
Suddenly she spread her brown wings for flight, and soared into the
air. She passed through the grove like a shadow, and like a shadow
she sailed across the garden.
In the centre of the grass-plot was standing a beautiful Rose-tree,
and when she saw it she flew over to it, and lit upon a spray.
"Give me a red rose," she cried, "and I will sing you my sweetest
song."
But the Tree shook its head.
"My roses are white," it answered; "as white as the foam of the
sea, and whiter than the snow upon the mountain. But go to my
brother who grows round the old sun-dial, and perhaps he will give
you what you want."
So the Nightingale flew over to the Rose-tree that was growing
round the old sun-dial.
"Give me a red rose," she cried, "and I will sing you my sweetest
song."
But the Tree shook its head.
"My roses are yellow," it answered; "as yellow as the hair of the
mermaiden who sits upon an amber throne, and yellower than the
daffodil that blooms in the meadow before the mower comes with his
scythe. But go to my brother who grows beneath the Student's
window, and perhaps he will give you what you want."
So the Nightingale flew over to the Rose-tree that was growing
beneath the Student's window.
"Give me a red rose," she cried, "and I will sing you my sweetest
song."
But the Tree shook its head.
"My roses are red," it answered, "as red as the feet of the dove,
and redder than the great fans of coral that wave and wave in the
ocean-cavern. But the winter has chilled my veins, and the frost
has nipped my buds, and the storm has broken my branches, and I
shall have no roses at all this year."
"One red rose is all I want," cried the Nightingale, "only one red
rose! Is there no way by which I can get it?"
"There is away," answered the Tree; "but it is so terrible that I
dare not tell it to you."
"Tell it to me," said the Nightingale, "I am not afraid."
"If you want a red rose," said the Tree, "you must build it out of
music by moonlight, and stain it with your own heart's-blood. You
must sing to me with your breast against a thorn. All night long
you must sing to me, and the thorn must pierce your heart, and your
life-blood must flow into my veins, and become mine."
"Death is a great price to pay for a red rose," cried the
Nightingale, "and Life is very dear to all. It is pleasant to sit
in the green wood, and to watch the Sun in his chariot of gold, and
the Moon in her chariot of pearl. Sweet is the scent of the
hawthorn, and sweet are the bluebells that hide in the valley, and
the heather that blows on the hill. Yet Love is better than Life,
and what is the heart of a bird compared to the heart of a man?"
So she spread her brown wings for flight, and soared into the air.
She swept over the garden like a shadow, and like a shadow she
sailed through the grove.
The young Student was still lying on the grass, where she had left
him, and the tears were not yet dry in his beautiful eyes.
"Be happy," cried the Nightingale, "be happy; you shall have your
red rose. I will build it out of music by moonlight, and stain it
with my own heart's-blood. All that I ask of you in return is that
you will be a true lover, for Love is wiser than Philosophy, though
she is wise, and mightier than Power, though he is mighty. Flamecoloured
are his wings, and coloured like flame is his body. His
lips are sweet as honey, and his breath is like frankincense."
The Student looked up from the grass, and listened, but he could
not understand what the Nightingale was saying to him, for he only
knew the things that are written down in books.
But the Oak-tree understood, and felt sad, for he was very fond of
the little Nightingale who had built her nest in his branches.
"Sing me one last song," he whispered; "I shall feel very lonely
when you are gone."
So the Nightingale sang to the Oak-tree, and her voice was like
water bubbling from a silver jar.
When she had finished her song the Student got up, and pulled a
note-book and a lead-pencil out of his pocket.
"She has form," he said to himself, as he walked away through the
grove - "that cannot be denied to her; but has she got feeling? I
am afraid not. In fact, she is like most artists; she is all
style, without any sincerity. She would not sacrifice herself for
others. She thinks merely of music, and everybody knows that the
arts are selfish. Still, it must be admitted that she has some
beautiful notes in her voice. What a pity it is that they do not
mean anything, or do any practical good." And he went into his
room, and lay down on his little pallet-bed, and began to think of
his love; and, after a time, he fell asleep.
And when the Moon shone in the heavens the Nightingale flew to the
Rose-tree, and set her breast against the thorn. All night long
she sang with her breast against the thorn, and the cold crystal
Moon leaned down and listened. All night long she sang, and the
thorn went deeper and deeper into her breast, and her life-blood
ebbed away from her.
She sang first of the birth of love in the heart of a boy and a
girl. And on the top-most spray of the Rose-tree there blossomed a
marvellous rose, petal following petal, as song followed song.
Pale was it, at first, as the mist that hangs over the river - pale
as the feet of the morning, and silver as the wings of the dawn.
As the shadow of a rose in a mirror of silver, as the shadow of a
rose in a water-pool, so was the rose that blossomed on the topmost
spray of the Tree.
But the Tree cried to the Nightingale to press closer against the
thorn. "Press closer, little Nightingale," cried the Tree, "or the
Day will come before the rose is finished."
So the Nightingale pressed closer against the thorn, and louder and
louder grew her song, for she sang of the birth of passion in the
soul of a man and a maid.
And a delicate flush of pink came into the leaves of the rose, like
the flush in the face of the bridegroom when he kisses the lips of
the bride. But the thorn had not yet reached her heart, so the
rose's heart remained white, for only a Nightingale's heart's-blood
can crimson the heart of a rose.
And the Tree cried to the Nightingale to press closer against the
thorn. "Press closer, little Nightingale," cried the Tree, "or the
Day will come before the rose is finished."
So the Nightingale pressed closer against the thorn, and the thorn
touched her heart, and a fierce pang of pain shot through her.
Bitter, bitter was the pain, and wilder and wilder grew her song,
for she sang of the Love that is perfected by Death, of the Love
that dies not in the tomb.
And the marvellous rose became crimson, like the rose of the
eastern sky. Crimson was the girdle of petals, and crimson as a
ruby was the heart.
But the Nightingale's voice grew fainter, and her little wings
began to beat, and a film came over her eyes. Fainter and fainter
grew her song, and she felt something choking her in her throat.
Then she gave one last burst of music. The white Moon heard it,
and she forgot the dawn, and lingered on in the sky. The red rose
heard it, and it trembled all over with ecstasy, and opened its
petals to the cold morning air. Echo bore it to her purple cavern
in the hills, and woke the sleeping shepherds from their dreams.
It floated through the reeds of the river, and they carried its
message to the sea.
"Look, look!" cried the Tree, "the rose is finished now"; but the
Nightingale made no answer, for she was lying dead in the long
grass, with the thorn in her heart.
And at noon the Student opened his window and looked out.
"Why, what a wonderful piece of luck!" he cried; "here is a red
rose! I have never seen any rose like it in all my life. It is so
beautiful that I am sure it has a long Latin name"; and he leaned
down and plucked it.
Then he put on his hat, and ran up to the Professor's house with
the rose in his hand.
The daughter of the Professor was sitting in the doorway winding
blue silk on a reel, and her little dog was lying at her feet.
"You said that you would dance with me if I brought you a red
rose," cried the Student. "Here is the reddest rose in all the
world. You will wear it to-night next your heart, and as we dance
together it will tell you how I love you."
But the girl frowned.
"I am afraid it will not go with my dress," she answered; "and,
besides, the Chamberlain's nephew has sent me some real jewels, and
everybody knows that jewels cost far more than flowers."
"Well, upon my word, you are very ungrateful," said the Student
angrily; and he threw the rose into the street, where it fell into
the gutter, and a cart-wheel went over it.
"Ungrateful!" said the girl. "I tell you what, you are very rude;
and, after all, who are you? Only a Student. Why, I don't believe
you have even got silver buckles to your shoes as the Chamberlain's
nephew has"; and she got up from her chair and went into the house.
"What I a silly thing Love is," said the Student as he walked away.
"It is not half as useful as Logic, for it does not prove anything,
and it is always telling one of things that are not going to
happen, and making one believe things that are not true. In fact,
it is quite unpractical, and, as in this age to be practical is
everything, I shall go back to Philosophy and study Metaphysics."
So he returned to his room and pulled out a great dusty book, and
began to read.
THE SELFISH GIANT
Every afternoon, as they were coming from school, the children used
to go and play in the Giant's garden.
It was a large lovely garden, with soft green grass. Here and
there over the grass stood beautiful flowers like stars, and there
were twelve peach-trees that in the spring-time broke out into
delicate blossoms of pink and pearl, and in the autumn bore rich
fruit. The birds sat on the trees and sang so sweetly that the
children used to stop their games in order to listen to them. "How
happy we are here!" they cried to each other.
One day the Giant came back. He had been to visit his friend the
Cornish ogre, and had stayed with him for seven years. After the
seven years were over he had said all that he had to say, for his
conversation was limited, and he determined to return to his own
castle. When he arrived he saw the children playing in the garden.
"What are you doing here?" he cried in a very gruff voice, and the
children ran away.
"My own garden is my own garden," said the Giant; "any one can
understand that, and I will allow nobody to play in it but myself."
So he built a high wall all round it, and put up a notice-board.
TRESPASSERS
WILL BE
PROSECUTED
He was a very selfish Giant.
The poor children had now nowhere to play. They tried to play on
the road, but the road was very dusty and full of hard stones, and
they did not like it. They used to wander round the high wall when
their lessons were over, and talk about the beautiful garden
inside. "How happy we were there," they said to each other.
Then the Spring came, and all over the country there were little
blossoms and little birds. Only in the garden of the Selfish Giant
it was still winter. The birds did not care to sing in it as there
were no children, and the trees forgot to blossom. Once a
beautiful flower put its head out from the grass, but when it saw
the notice-board it was so sorry for the children that it slipped
back into the ground again, and went off to sleep. The only people
who were pleased were the Snow and the Frost. "Spring has
forgotten this garden," they cried, "so we will live here all the
year round." The Snow covered up the grass with her great white
cloak, and the Frost painted all the trees silver. Then they
invited the North Wind to stay with them, and he came. He was
wrapped in furs, and he roared all day about the garden, and blew
the chimney-pots down. "This is a delightful spot," he said, "we
must ask the Hail on a visit." So the Hail came. Every day for
three hours he rattled on the roof of the castle till he broke most
of the slates, and then he ran round and round the garden as fast
as he could go. He was dressed in grey, and his breath was like
ice.
"I cannot understand why the Spring is so late in coming," said the
Selfish Giant, as he sat at the window and looked out at his cold
white garden; "I hope there will be a change in the weather."
But the Spring never came, nor the Summer. The Autumn gave golden
fruit to every garden, but to the Giant's garden she gave none.
"He is too selfish," she said. So it was always Winter there, and
the North Wind, and the Hail, and the Frost, and the Snow danced
about through the trees.
One morning the Giant was lying awake in bed when he heard some
lovely music. It sounded so sweet to his ears that he thought it
must be the King's musicians passing by. It was really only a
little linnet singing outside his window, but it was so long since
he had heard a bird sing in his garden that it seemed to him to be
the most beautiful music in the world. Then the Hail stopped
dancing over his head, and the North Wind ceased roaring, and a
delicious perfume came to him through the open casement. "I
believe the Spring has come at last," said the Giant; and he jumped
out of bed and looked out.
What did he see?
He saw a most wonderful sight. Through a little hole in the wall
the children had crept in, and they were sitting in the branches of
the trees. In every tree that he could see there was a little
child. And the trees were so glad to have the children back again
that they had covered themselves with blossoms, and were waving
their arms gently above the children's heads. The birds were
flying about and twittering with delight, and the flowers were
looking up through the green grass and laughing. It was a lovely
scene, only in one corner it was still winter. It was the farthest
corner of the garden, and in it was standing a little boy. He was
so small that he could not reach up to the branches of the tree,
and he was wandering all round it, crying bitterly. The poor tree
was still quite covered with frost and snow, and the North Wind was
blowing and roaring above it. "Climb up! little boy," said the
Tree, and it bent its branches down as low as it could; but the boy
was too tiny.
And the Giant's heart melted as he looked out. "How selfish I have
been!" he said; "now I know why the Spring would not come here. I
will put that poor little boy on the top of the tree, and then I
will knock down the wall, and my garden shall be the children's
playground for ever and ever." He was really very sorry for what
he had done.
So he crept downstairs and opened the front door quite softly, and
went out into the garden. But when the children saw him they were
so frightened that they all ran away, and the garden became winter
again. Only the little boy did not run, for his eyes were so full
of tears that he did not see the Giant coming. And the Giant stole
up behind him and took him gently in his hand, and put him up into
the tree. And the tree broke at once into blossom, and the birds
came and sang on it, and the little boy stretched out his two arms
and flung them round the Giant's neck, and kissed him. And the
other children, when they saw that the Giant was not wicked any
longer, came running back, and with them came the Spring. "It is
your garden now, little children," said the Giant, and he took a
great axe and knocked down the wall. And when the people were
going to market at twelve o'clock they found the Giant playing with
the children in the most beautiful garden they had ever seen.
All day long they played, and in the evening they came to the Giant
to bid him good-bye.
"But where is your little companion?" he said: "the boy I put into
the tree." The Giant loved him the best because he had kissed him.
"We don't know," answered the children; "he has gone away."
"You must tell him to be sure and come here to-morrow," said the
Giant. But the children said that they did not know where he
lived, and had never seen him before; and the Giant felt very sad.
Every afternoon, when school was over, the children came and played
with the Giant. But the little boy whom the Giant loved was never
seen again. The Giant was very kind to all the children, yet he
longed for his first little friend, and often spoke of him. "How I
would like to see him!" he used to say.
Years went over, and the Giant grew very old and feeble. He could
not play about any more, so he sat in a huge armchair, and watched
the children at their games, and admired his garden. "I have many
beautiful flowers," he said; "but the children are the most
beautiful flowers of all."
One winter morning he looked out of his window as he was dressing.
He did not hate the Winter now, for he knew that it was merely the
Spring asleep, and that the flowers were resting.
Suddenly he rubbed his eyes in wonder, and looked and looked. It
certainly was a marvellous sight. In the farthest corner of the
garden was a tree quite covered with lovely white blossoms. Its
branches were all golden, and silver fruit hung down from them, and
underneath it stood the little boy he had loved.
Downstairs ran the Giant in great joy, and out into the garden. He
hastened across the grass, and came near to the child. And when he
came quite close his face grew red with anger, and he said, "Who
hath dared to wound thee?" For on the palms of the child's hands
were the prints of two nails, and the prints of two nails were on
the little feet.
"Who hath dared to wound thee?" cried the Giant; "tell me, that I
may take my big sword and slay him."
"Nay!" answered the child; "but these are the wounds of Love."
"Who art thou?" said the Giant, and a strange awe fell on him, and
he knelt before the little child.
And the child smiled on the Giant, and said to him, "You let me
play once in your garden, to-day you shall come with me to my
garden, which is Paradise."
And when the children ran in that afternoon, they found the Giant
lying dead under the tree, all covered with white blossoms.
THE DEVOTED FRIEND
One morning the old Water-rat put his head out of his hole. He had
bright beady eyes and stiff grey whiskers and his tail was like a
long bit of black india-rubber. The little ducks were swimming
about in the pond, looking just like a lot of yellow canaries, and
their mother, who was pure white with real red legs, was trying to
teach them how to stand on their heads in the water.
"You will never be in the best society unless you can stand on your
heads," she kept saying to them; and every now and then she showed
them how it was done. But the little ducks paid no attention to
her. They were so young that they did not know what an advantage
it is to be in society at all.
"What disobedient children!" cried the old Water-rat; "they really
deserve to be drowned."
"Nothing of the kind," answered the Duck, "every one must make a
beginning, and parents cannot be too patient."
"Ah! I know nothing about the feelings of parents," said the Waterrat;
"I am not a family man. In fact, I have never been married,
and I never intend to be. Love is all very well in its way, but
friendship is much higher. Indeed, I know of nothing in the world
that is either nobler or rarer than a devoted friendship."
"And what, pray, is your idea of the duties of a devoted friend?"
asked a Green Linnet, who was sitting in a willow-tree hard by, and
had overheard the conversation.
"Yes, that is just what I want to know," said the Duck; and she
swam away to the end of the pond, and stood upon her head, in order
to give her children a good example.
"What a silly question!" cried the Water-rat. "I should expect my
devoted friend to be devoted to me, of course."
"And what would you do in return?" said the little bird, swinging
upon a silver spray, and flapping his tiny wings.
"I don't understand you," answered the Water-rat.
"Let me tell you a story on the subject," said the Linnet.
"Is the story about me?" asked the Water-rat. "If so, I will
listen to it, for I am extremely fond of fiction."
"It is applicable to you," answered the Linnet; and he flew down,
and alighting upon the bank, he told the story of The Devoted
Friend.
"Once upon a time," said the Linnet, "there was an honest little
fellow named Hans."
"Was he very distinguished?" asked the Water-rat.
"No," answered the Linnet, "I don't think he was distinguished at
all, except for his kind heart, and his funny round good-humoured
face. He lived in a tiny cottage all by himself, and every day he
worked in his garden. In all the country-side there was no garden
so lovely as his. Sweet-william grew there, and Gilly-flowers, and
Shepherds'-purses, and Fair-maids of France. There were damask
Roses, and yellow Roses, lilac Crocuses, and gold, purple Violets
and white. Columbine and Ladysmock, Marjoram and Wild Basil, the
Cowslip and the Flower-de-luce, the Daffodil and the Clove-Pink
bloomed or blossomed in their proper order as the months went by,
one flower taking another flower's place, so that there were always
beautiful things to look at, and pleasant odours to smell.
"Little Hans had a great many friends, but the most devoted friend
of all was big Hugh the Miller. Indeed, so devoted was the rich
Miller to little Hans, that be would never go by his garden without
leaning over the wall and plucking a large nosegay, or a handful of
sweet herbs, or filling his pockets with plums and cherries if it
was the fruit season.
"'Real friends should have everything in common,' the Miller used
to say, and little Hans nodded and smiled, and felt very proud of
having a friend with such noble ideas.
"Sometimes, indeed, the neighbours thought it strange that the rich
Miller never gave little Hans anything in return, though he had a
hundred sacks of flour stored away in his mill, and six milch cows,
and a large flock of woolly sheep; but Hans never troubled his head
about these things, and nothing gave him greater pleasure than to
listen to all the wonderful things the Miller used to say about the
unselfishness of true friendship.
"So little Hans worked away in his garden. During the spring, the
summer, and the autumn he was very happy, but when the winter came,
and he had no fruit or flowers to bring to the market, he suffered
a good deal from cold and hunger, and often had to go to bed
without any supper but a few dried pears or some hard nuts. In the
winter, also, he was extremely lonely, as the Miller never came to
see him then.
"'There is no good in my going to see little Hans as long as the
snow lasts,' the Miller used to say to his wife, 'for when people
are in trouble they should be left alone, and not be bothered by
visitors. That at least is my idea about friendship, and I am sure
I am right. So I shall wait till the spring comes, and then I
shall pay him a visit, and he will be able to give me a large
basket of primroses and that will make him so happy.'
"'You are certainly very thoughtful about others,' answered the
Wife, as she sat in her comfortable armchair by the big pinewood
fire; 'very thoughtful indeed. It is quite a treat to hear you
talk about friendship. I am sure the clergyman himself could not
say such beautiful things as you do, though he does live in a
three-storied house, and wear a gold ring on his little finger.'
"'But could we not ask little Hans up here?' said the Miller's
youngest son. 'If poor Hans is in trouble I will give him half my
porridge, and show him my white rabbits.'
"'What a silly boy you are'! cried the Miller; 'I really don't know
what is the use of sending you to school. You seem not to learn
anything. Why, if little Hans came up here, and saw our warm fire,
and our good supper, and our great cask of red wine, he might get
envious, and envy is a most terrible thing, and would spoil
anybody's nature. I certainly will not allow Hans' nature to be
spoiled. I am his best friend, and I will always watch over him,
and see that he is not led into any temptations. Besides, if Hans
came here, he might ask me to let him have some flour on credit,
and that I could not do. Flour is one thing, and friendship is
another, and they should not be confused. Why, the words are spelt
differently, and mean quite different things. Everybody can see
that.'
"'How well you talk'! said the Miller's Wife, pouring herself out a
large glass of warm ale; 'really I feel quite drowsy. It is just
like being in church.'
"'Lots of people act well,' answered the Miller; 'but very few
people talk well, which shows that talking is much the more
difficult thing of the two, and much the finer thing also'; and he
looked sternly across the table at his little son, who felt so
ashamed of himself that he hung his head down, and grew quite
scarlet, and began to cry into his tea. However, he was so young
that you must excuse him."
"Is that the end of the story?" asked the Water-rat.
"Certainly not," answered the Linnet, "that is the beginning."
"Then you are quite behind the age," said the Water-rat. "Every
good story-teller nowadays starts with the end, and then goes on to
the beginning, and concludes with the middle. That is the new
method. I heard all about it the other day from a critic who was
walking round the pond with a young man. He spoke of the matter at
great length, and I am sure he must have been right, for he had
blue spectacles and a bald head, and whenever the young man made
any remark, he always answered 'Pooh!' But pray go on with your
story. I like the Miller immensely. I have all kinds of beautiful
sentiments myself, so there is a great sympathy between us."
"Well," said the Linnet, hopping now on one leg and now on the
other, "as soon as the winter was over, and the primroses began to
open their pale yellow stars, the Miller said to his wife that he
would go down and see little Hans.
"'Why, what a good heart you have'! cried his Wife; 'you are always
thinking of others. And mind you take the big basket with you for
the flowers.'
"So the Miller tied the sails of the windmill together with a
strong iron chain, and went down the hill with the basket on his
arm.
"'Good morning, little Hans,' said the Miller.
"'Good morning,' said Hans, leaning on his spade, and smiling from
ear to ear.
"'And how have you been all the winter?' said the Miller.
"'Well, really,' cried Hans, 'it is very good of you to ask, very
good indeed. I am afraid I had rather a hard time of it, but now
the spring has come, and I am quite happy, and all my flowers are
doing well.'
"'We often talked of you during the winter, Hans,' said the Miller,
'and wondered how you were getting on.'
"'That was kind of you,' said Hans; 'I was half afraid you had
forgotten me.'
"'Hans, I am surprised at you,' said the Miller; 'friendship never
forgets. That is the wonderful thing about it, but I am afraid you
don't understand the poetry of life. How lovely your primroses are
looking, by-the-bye"!
"'They are certainly very lovely,' said Hans, 'and it is a most
lucky thing for me that I have so many. I am going to bring them
into the market and sell them to the Burgomaster's daughter, and
buy back my wheelbarrow with the money.'
"'Buy back your wheelbarrow? You don't mean to say you have sold
it? What a very stupid thing to do'!
"'Well, the fact is,' said Hans, 'that I was obliged to. You see
the winter was a very bad time for me, and I really had no money at
all to buy bread with. So I first sold the silver buttons off my
Sunday coat, and then I sold my silver chain, and then I sold my
big pipe, and at last I sold my wheelbarrow. But I am going to buy
them all back again now.'
"'Hans,' said the Miller, 'I will give you my wheelbarrow. It is
not in very good repair; indeed, one side is gone, and there is
something wrong with the wheel-spokes; but in spite of that I will
give it to you. I know it is very generous of me, and a great many
people would think me extremely foolish for parting with it, but I
am not like the rest of the world. I think that generosity is the
essence of friendship, and, besides, I have got a new wheelbarrow
for myself. Yes, you may set your mind at ease, I will give you my
wheelbarrow.'
"'Well, really, that is generous of you,' said little Hans, and his
funny round face glowed all over with pleasure. 'I can easily put
it in repair, as I have a plank of wood in the house.'
"'A plank of wood'! said the Miller; 'why, that is just what I want
for the roof of my barn. There is a very large hole in it, and the
corn will all get damp if I don't stop it up. How lucky you
mentioned it! It is quite remarkable how one good action always
breeds another. I have given you my wheelbarrow, and now you are
going to give me your plank. Of course, the wheelbarrow is worth
far more than the plank, but true, friendship never notices things
like that. Pray get it at once, and I will set to work at my barn
this very day.'
"'Certainly,' cried little Hans, and he ran into the shed and
dragged the plank out.
"'It is not a very big plank,' said the Miller, looking at it, 'and
I am afraid that after I have mended my barn-roof there won't be
any left for you to mend the wheelbarrow with; but, of course, that
is not my fault. And now, as I have given you my wheelbarrow, I am
sure you would like to give me some flowers in return. Here is the
basket, and mind you fill it quite full.'
"'Quite full?' said little Hans, rather sorrowfully, for it was
really a very big basket, and he knew that if he filled it he would
have no flowers left for the market and he was very anxious to get
his silver buttons back.
"'Well, really,' answered the Miller, 'as I have given you my
wheelbarrow, I don't think that it is much to ask you for a few
flowers. I may be wrong, but I should have thought that
friendship, true friendship, was quite free from selfishness of any
kind.'
"'My dear friend, my best friend,' cried little Hans, 'you are
welcome to all the flowers in my garden. I would much sooner have
your good opinion than my silver buttons, any day'; and he ran and
plucked all his pretty primroses, and filled the Miller's basket.
"'Good-bye, little Hans,' said the Miller, as he went up the hill
with the plank on his shoulder, and the big basket in his hand.
"'Good-bye,' said little Hans, and he began to dig away quite
merrily, he was so pleased about the wheelbarrow.
"The next day he was nailing up some honeysuckle against the porch,
when he heard the Miller's voice calling to him from the road. So
he jumped off the ladder, and ran down the garden, and looked over
the wall.
"There was the Miller with a large sack of flour on his back.
"'Dear little Hans,' said the Miller, 'would you mind carrying this
sack of flour for me to market?'
"'Oh, I am so sorry,' said Hans, 'but I am really very busy to-day.
I have got all my creepers to nail up, and all my flowers to water,
and all my grass to roll.'
"'Well, really,' said the Miller, 'I think that, considering that I
am going to give you my wheelbarrow, it is rather unfriendly of you
to refuse.'
"'Oh, don't say that,' cried little Hans, 'I wouldn't be unfriendly
for the whole world'; and he ran in for his cap, and trudged off
with the big sack on his shoulders.
"It was a very hot day, and the road was terribly dusty, and before
Hans had reached the sixth milestone he was so tired that he had to
sit down and rest. However, he went on bravely, and as last he
reached the market. After he had waited there some time, he sold
the sack of flour for a very good price, and then he returned home
at once, for he was afraid that if he stopped too late he might
meet some robbers on the way.
"'It has certainly been a hard day,' said little Hans to himself as
he was going to bed, 'but I am glad I did not refuse the Miller,
for he is my best friend, and, besides, he is going to give me his
wheelbarrow.'
"Early the next morning the Miller came down to get the money for
his sack of flour, but little Hans was so tired that he was still
in bed.
"'Upon my word,' said the Miller, 'you are very lazy. Really,
considering that I am going to give you my wheelbarrow, I think you
might work harder. Idleness is a great sin, and I certainly don't
like any of my friends to be idle or sluggish. You must not mind
my speaking quite plainly to you. Of course I should not dream of
doing so if I were not your friend. But what is the good of
friendship if one cannot say exactly what one means? Anybody can
say charming things and try to please and to flatter, but a true
friend always says unpleasant things, and does not mind giving
pain. Indeed, if he is a really true friend he prefers it, for he
knows that then he is doing good.'
"'I am very sorry,' said little Hans, rubbing his eyes and pulling
off his night-cap, 'but I was so tired that I thought I would lie
in bed for a little time, and listen to the birds singing. Do you
know that I always work better after hearing the birds sing?'
"'Well, I am glad of that,' said the Miller, clapping little Hans
on the back, 'for I want you to come up to the mill as soon as you
are dressed, and mend my barn-roof for me.'
"Poor little Hans was very anxious to go and work in his garden,
for his flowers had not been watered for two days, but he did not
like to refuse the Miller, as he was such a good friend to him.
"'Do you think it would be unfriendly of me if I said I was busy?'
he inquired in a shy and timid voice.
"'Well, really,' answered the Miller, 'I do not think it is much to
ask of you, considering that I am going to give you my wheelbarrow;
but of course if you refuse I will go and do it myself.'
"'Oh! on no account,' cried little Hans and he jumped out of bed,
and dressed himself, and went up to the barn.
"He worked there all day long, till sunset, and at sunset the
Miller came to see how he was getting on.
"'Have you mended the hole in the roof yet, little Hans?' cried the
Miller in a cheery voice.
"'It is quite mended,' answered little Hans, coming down the
ladder.
"'Ah'! said the Miller, 'there is no work so delightful as the work
one does for others.'
"'It is certainly a great privilege to hear you talk,' answered
little Hans, sitting down, and wiping his forehead, 'a very great
privilege. But I am afraid I shall never have such beautiful ideas
as you have.'
"'Oh! they will come to you,' said the Miller, 'but you must take
more pains. At present you have only the practice of friendship;
some day you will have the theory also.'
"'Do you really think I shall?' asked little Hans.
"'I have no doubt of it,' answered the Miller, 'but now that you
have mended the roof, you had better go home and rest, for I want
you to drive my sheep to the mountain to-morrow.'
"Poor little Hans was afraid to say anything to this, and early the
next morning the Miller brought his sheep round to the cottage, and
Hans started off with them to the mountain. It took him the whole
day to get there and back; and when he returned he was so tired
that he went off to sleep in his chair, and did not wake up till it
was broad daylight.
"'What a delightful time I shall have in my garden,' he said, and
he went to work at once.
"But somehow he was never able to look after his flowers at all,
for his friend the Miller was always coming round and sending him
off on long errands, or getting him to help at the mill. Little
Hans was very much distressed at times, as he was afraid his
flowers would think he had forgotten them, but he consoled himself
by the reflection that the Miller was his best friend. 'Besides,'
he used to say, 'he is going to give me his wheelbarrow, and that
is an act of pure generosity.'
"So little Hans worked away for the Miller, and the Miller said all
kinds of beautiful things about friendship, which Hans took down in
a note-book, and used to read over at night, for he was a very good
scholar.
"Now it happened that one evening little Hans was sitting by his
fireside when a loud rap came at the door. It was a very wild
night, and the wind was blowing and roaring round the house so
terribly that at first he thought it was merely the storm. But a
second rap came, and then a third, louder than any of the others.
"'It is some poor traveller,' said little Hans to himself, and he
ran to the door.
"There stood the Miller with a lantern in one hand and a big stick
in the other.
"'Dear little Hans,' cried the Miller, 'I am in great trouble. My
little boy has fallen off a ladder and hurt himself, and I am going
for the Doctor. But he lives so far away, and it is such a bad
night, that it has just occurred to me that it would be much better
if you went instead of me. You know I am going to give you my
wheelbarrow, and so, it is only fair that you should do something
for me in return.'
"'Certainly,' cried little Hans, 'I take it quite as a compliment
your coming to me, and I will start off at once. But you must lend
me your lantern, as the night is so dark that I am afraid I might
fall into the ditch.'
"'I am very sorry,' answered the Miller, 'but it is my new lantern,
and it would be a great loss to me if anything happened to it.'
"'Well, never mind, I will do without it,' cried little Hans, and
he took down his great fur coat, and his warm scarlet cap, and tied
a muffler round his throat, and started off.
"What a dreadful storm it was! The night was so black that little
Hans could hardly see, and the wind was so strong that he could
scarcely stand. However, he was very courageous, and after he had
been walking about three hours, he arrived at the Doctor's house,
and knocked at the door.
"'Who is there?' cried the Doctor, putting his head out of his
bedroom window.
"'Little Hans, Doctor.'
"'What do you want, little Hans?'
"'The Miller's son has fallen from a ladder, and has hurt himself,
and the Miller wants you to come at once.'
"'All right!' said the Doctor; and he ordered his horse, and his
big boots, and his lantern, and came downstairs, and rode off in
the direction of the Miller's house, little Hans trudging behind
him.
"But the storm grew worse and worse, and the rain fell in torrents,
and little Hans could not see where he was going, or keep up with
the horse. At last he lost his way, and wandered off on the moor,
which was a very dangerous place, as it was full of deep holes, and
there poor little Hans was drowned. His body was found the next
day by some goatherds, floating in a great pool of water, and was
brought back by them to the cottage.
"Everybody went to little Hans' funeral, as he was so popular, and
the Miller was the chief mourner.
"'As I was his best friend,' said the Miller, 'it is only fair that
I should have the best place'; so he walked at the head of the
procession in a long black cloak, and every now and then he wiped
his eyes with a big pocket-handkerchief.
"'Little Hans is certainly a great loss to every one,' said the
Blacksmith, when the funeral was over, and they were all seated
comfortably in the inn, drinking spiced wine and eating sweet
cakes.
"'A great loss to me at any rate,' answered the Miller; 'why, I had
as good as given him my wheelbarrow, and now I really don't know
what to do with it. It is very much in my way at home, and it is
in such bad repair that I could not get anything for it if I sold
it. I will certainly take care not to give away anything again.
One always suffers for being generous.'"
"Well?" said the Water-rat, after a long pause.
"Well, that is the end," said the Linnet.
"But what became of the Miller?" asked the Water-rat.
"Oh! I really don't know," replied the Linnet; "and I am sure that
I don't care."
"It is quite evident then that you have no sympathy in your
nature," said the Water-rat.
"I am afraid you don't quite see the moral of the story," remarked
the Linnet.
"The what?" screamed the Water-rat.
"The moral."
"Do you mean to say that the story has a moral?"
"Certainly," said the Linnet.
"Well, really," said the Water-rat, in a very angry manner, "I
think you should have told me that before you began. If you had
done so, I certainly would not have listened to you; in fact, I
should have said 'Pooh,' like the critic. However, I can say it
now"; so he shouted out "Pooh" at the top of his voice, gave a
whisk with his tail, and went back into his hole.
"And how do you like the Water-rat?" asked the Duck, who came
paddling up some minutes afterwards. "He has a great many good
points, but for my own part I have a mother's feelings, and I can
never look at a confirmed bachelor without the tears coming into my
eyes."
"I am rather afraid that I have annoyed him," answered the Linnet.
"The fact is, that I told him a story with a moral."
"Ah! that is always a very dangerous thing to do," said the Duck.
And I quite agree with her.
THE REMARKABLE ROCKET
The King's son was going to be married, so there were general
rejoicings. He had waited a whole year for his bride, and at last
she had arrived. She was a Russian Princess, and had driven all
the way from Finland in a sledge drawn by six reindeer. The sledge
was shaped like a great golden swan, and between the swan's wings
lay the little Princess herself. Her long ermine-cloak reached
right down to her feet, on her head was a tiny cap of silver
tissue, and she was as pale as the Snow Palace in which she had
always lived. So pale was she that as she drove through the
streets all the people wondered. "She is like a white rose!" they
cried, and they threw down flowers on her from the balconies.
At the gate of the Castle the Prince was waiting to receive her.
He had dreamy violet eyes, and his hair was like fine gold. When
he saw her he sank upon one knee, and kissed her hand.
"Your picture was beautiful," he murmured, "but you are more
beautiful than your picture"; and the little Princess blushed.
"She was like a white rose before," said a young Page to his
neighbour, "but she is like a red rose now"; and the whole Court
was delighted.
For the next three days everybody went about saying, "White rose,
Red rose, Red rose, White rose"; and the King gave orders that the
Page's salary was to be doubled. As he received no salary at all
this was not of much use to him, but it was considered a great
honour, and was duly published in the Court Gazette.
When the three days were over the marriage was celebrated. It was
a magnificent ceremony, and the bride and bridegroom walked hand in
hand under a canopy of purple velvet embroidered with little
pearls. Then there was a State Banquet, which lasted for five
hours. The Prince and Princess sat at the top of the Great Hall
and drank out of a cup of clear crystal. Only true lovers could
drink out of this cup, for if false lips touched it, it grew grey
and dull and cloudy.
"It's quite clear that they love each other," said the little Page,
"as clear as crystal!" and the King doubled his salary a second
time. "What an honour!" cried all the courtiers.
After the banquet there was to be a Ball. The bride and bridegroom
were to dance the Rose-dance together, and the King had promised to
play the flute. He played very badly, but no one had ever dared to
tell him so, because he was the King. Indeed, he knew only two
airs, and was never quite certain which one he was playing; but it
made no matter, for, whatever he did, everybody cried out,
"Charming! charming!"
The last item on the programme was a grand display of fireworks, to
be let off exactly at midnight. The little Princess had never seen
a firework in her life, so the King had given orders that the Royal
Pyrotechnist should be in attendance on the day of her marriage.
"What are fireworks like?" she had asked the Prince, one morning,
as she was walking on the terrace.
"They are like the Aurora Borealis," said the King, who always
answered questions that were addressed to other people, "only much
more natural. I prefer them to stars myself, as you always know
when they are going to appear, and they are as delightful as my own
flute-playing. You must certainly see them."
So at the end of the King's garden a great stand had been set up,
and as soon as the Royal Pyrotechnist had put everything in its
proper place, the fireworks began to talk to each other.
"The world is certainly very beautiful," cried a little Squib.
"Just look at those yellow tulips. Why! if they were real crackers
they could not be lovelier. I am very glad I have travelled.
Travel improves the mind wonderfully, and does away with all one's
prejudices."
"The King's garden is not the world, you foolish squib," said a big
Roman Candle; "the world is an enormous place, and it would take
you three days to see it thoroughly."
"Any place you love is the world to you," exclaimed a pensive
Catherine Wheel, who had been attached to an old deal box in early
life, and prided herself on her broken heart; "but love is not
fashionable any more, the poets have killed it. They wrote so much
about it that nobody believed them, and I am not surprised. True
love suffers, and is silent. I remember myself once - But it is
no matter now. Romance is a thing of the past."
"Nonsense!" said the Roman Candle, "Romance never dies. It is like
the moon, and lives for ever. The bride and bridegroom, for
instance, love each other very dearly. I heard all about them this
morning from a brown-paper cartridge, who happened to be staying in
the same drawer as myself, and knew the latest Court news."
But the Catherine Wheel shook her head. "Romance is dead, Romance
is dead, Romance is dead," she murmured. She was one of those
people who think that, if you say the same thing over and over a
great many times, it becomes true in the end.
Suddenly, a sharp, dry cough was heard, and they all looked round.
It came from a tall, supercilious-looking Rocket, who was tied to
the end of a long stick. He always coughed before he made any
observation, so as to attract attention.
"Ahem! ahem!" he said, and everybody listened except the poor
Catherine Wheel, who was still shaking her head, and murmuring,
"Romance is dead."
"Order! order!" cried out a Cracker. He was something of a
politician, and had always taken a prominent part in the local
elections, so he knew the proper Parliamentary expressions to use.
"Quite dead," whispered the Catherine Wheel, and she went off to
sleep.
As soon as there was perfect silence, the Rocket coughed a third
time and began. He spoke with a very slow, distinct voice, as if
he was dictating his memoirs, and always looked over the shoulder
of the person to whom he was talking. In fact, he had a most
distinguished manner.
"How fortunate it is for the King's son," he remarked, "that he is
to be married on the very day on which I am to be let off. Really,
if it had been arranged beforehand, it could not have turned out
better for him; but, Princes are always lucky."
"Dear me!" said the little Squib, "I thought it was quite the other
way, and that we were to be let off in the Prince's honour."
"It may be so with you," he answered; "indeed, I have no doubt that
it is, but with me it is different. I am a very remarkable Rocket,
and come of remarkable parents. My mother was the most celebrated
Catherine Wheel of her day, and was renowned for her graceful
dancing. When she made her great public appearance she spun round
nineteen times before she went out, and each time that she did so
she threw into the air seven pink stars. She was three feet and a
half in diameter, and made of the very best gunpowder. My father
was a Rocket like myself, and of French extraction. He flew so
high that the people were afraid that he would never come down
again. He did, though, for he was of a kindly disposition, and he
made a most brilliant descent in a shower of golden rain. The
newspapers wrote about his performance in very flattering terms.
Indeed, the Court Gazette called him a triumph of Pylotechnic art."
"Pyrotechnic, Pyrotechnic, you mean," said a Bengal Light; "I know
it is Pyrotechnic, for I saw it written on my own canister."
"Well, I said Pylotechnic," answered the Rocket, in a severe tone
of voice, and the Bengal Light felt so crushed that he began at
once to bully the little squibs, in order to show that he was still
a person of some importance.
"I was saying," continued the Rocket, "I was saying - What was I
saying?"
"You were talking about yourself," replied the Roman Candle.
"Of course; I knew I was discussing some interesting subject when I
was so rudely interrupted. I hate rudeness and bad manners of
every kind, for I am extremely sensitive. No one in the whole
world is so sensitive as I am, I am quite sure of that."
"What is a sensitive person?" said the Cracker to the Roman Candle.
"A person who, because he has corns himself, always treads on other
people's toes," answered the Roman Candle in a low whisper; and the
Cracker nearly exploded with laughter.
"Pray, what are you laughing at?" inquired the Rocket; "I am not
laughing."
"I am laughing because I am happy," replied the Cracker.
"That is a very selfish reason," said the Rocket angrily. "What
right have you to be happy? You should be thinking about others.
In fact, you should be thinking about me. I am always thinking
about myself, and I expect everybody else to do the same. That is
what is called sympathy. It is a beautiful virtue, and I possess
it in a high degree. Suppose, for instance, anything happened to
me to-night, what a misfortune that would be for every one! The
Prince and Princess would never be happy again, their whole married
life would be spoiled; and as for the King, I know he would not get
over it. Really, when I begin to reflect on the importance of my
position, I am almost moved to tears."
"If you want to give pleasure to others," cried the Roman Candle,
"you had better keep yourself dry."
"Certainly," exclaimed the Bengal Light, who was now in better
spirits; "that is only common sense."
"Common sense, indeed!" said the Rocket indignantly; "you forget
that I am very uncommon, and very remarkable. Why, anybody can
have common sense, provided that they have no imagination. But I
have imagination, for I never think of things as they really are; I
always think of them as being quite different. As for keeping
myself dry, there is evidently no one here who can at all
appreciate an emotional nature. Fortunately for myself, I don't
care. The only thing that sustains one through life is the
consciousness of the immense inferiority of everybody else, and
this is a feeling that I have always cultivated. But none of you
have any hearts. Here you are laughing and making merry just as if
the Prince and Princess had not just been married."
"Well, really," exclaimed a small Fire-balloon, "why not? It is a
most joyful occasion, and when I soar up into the air I intend to
tell the stars all about it. You will see them twinkle when I talk
to them about the pretty bride."
"Ah! what a trivial view of life!" said the Rocket; "but it is only
what I expected. There is nothing in you; you are hollow and
empty. Why, perhaps the Prince and Princess may go to live in a
country where there is a deep river, and perhaps they may have one
only son, a little fair-haired boy with violet eyes like the Prince
himself; and perhaps some day he may go out to walk with his nurse;
and perhaps the nurse may go to sleep under a great elder-tree; and
perhaps the little boy may fall into the deep river and be drowned.
What a terrible misfortune! Poor people, to lose their only son!
It is really too dreadful! I shall never get over it."
"But they have not lost their only son," said the Roman Candle; "no
misfortune has happened to them at all."
"I never said that they had," replied the Rocket; "I said that they
might. If they had lost their only son there would be no use in
saying anything more about the matter. I hate people who cry over
spilt milk. But when I think that they might lose their only son,
I certainly am very much affected."
"You certainly are!" cried the Bengal Light. "In fact, you are the
most affected person I ever met."
"You are the rudest person I ever met," said the Rocket, "and you
cannot understand my friendship for the Prince."
"Why, you don't even know him," growled the Roman Candle.
"I never said I knew him," answered the Rocket. "I dare say that
if I knew him I should not be his friend at all. It is a very
dangerous thing to know one's friends."
"You had really better keep yourself dry," said the Fire-balloon.
"That is the important thing."
"Very important for you, I have no doubt," answered the Rocket,
"but I shall weep if I choose"; and he actually burst into real
tears, which flowed down his stick like rain-drops, and nearly
drowned two little beetles, who were just thinking of setting up
house together, and were looking for a nice dry spot to live in.
"He must have a truly romantic nature," said the Catherine Wheel,
"for he weeps when there is nothing at all to weep about"; and she
heaved a deep sigh, and thought about the deal box.
But the Roman Candle and the Bengal Light were quite indignant, and
kept saying, "Humbug! humbug!" at the top of their voices. They
were extremely practical, and whenever they objected to anything
they called it humbug.
Then the moon rose like a wonderful silver shield; and the stars
began to shine, and a sound of music came from the palace.
The Prince and Princess were leading the dance. They danced so
beautifully that the tall white lilies peeped in at the window and
watched them, and the great red poppies nodded their heads and beat
time.
Then ten o'clock struck, and then eleven, and then twelve, and at
the last stroke of midnight every one came out on the terrace, and
the King sent for the Royal Pyrotechnist.
"Let the fireworks begin," said the King; and the Royal
Pyrotechnist made a low bow, and marched down to the end of the
garden. He had six attendants with him, each of whom carried a
lighted torch at the end of a long pole.
It was certainly a magnificent display.
Whizz! Whizz! went the Catherine Wheel, as she spun round and
round. Boom! Boom! went the Roman Candle. Then the Squibs danced
all over the place, and the Bengal Lights made everything look
scarlet. "Good-bye," cried the Fire-balloon, as he soared away,
dropping tiny blue sparks. Bang! Bang! answered the Crackers, who
were enjoying themselves immensely. Every one was a great success
except the Remarkable Rocket. He was so damp with crying that he
could not go off at all. The best thing in him was the gunpowder,
and that was so wet with tears that it was of no use. All his poor
relations, to whom he would never speak, except with a sneer, shot
up into the sky like wonderful golden flowers with blossoms of
fire. Huzza! Huzza! cried the Court; and the little Princess
laughed with pleasure.
"I suppose they are reserving me for some grand occasion," said the
Rocket; "no doubt that is what it means," and he looked more
supercilious than ever.
The next day the workmen came to put everything tidy. "This is
evidently a deputation," said the Rocket; "I will receive them with
becoming dignity" so he put his nose in the air, and began to frown
severely as if he were thinking about some very important subject.
But they took no notice of him at all till they were just going
away. Then one of them caught sight of him. "Hallo!" he cried,
"what a bad rocket!" and he threw him over the wall into the ditch.
"BAD Rocket? BAD Rocket?" he said, as he whirled through the air;
"impossible! GRAND Rocket, that is what the man said. BAD and
GRAND sound very much the same, indeed they often are the same";
and he fell into the mud.
"It is not comfortable here," he remarked, "but no doubt it is some
fashionable watering-place, and they have sent me away to recruit
my health. My nerves are certainly very much shattered, and I
require rest."
Then a little Frog, with bright jewelled eyes, and a green mottled
coat, swam up to him.
"A new arrival, I see!" said the Frog. "Well, after all there is
nothing like mud. Give me rainy weather and a ditch, and I am
quite happy. Do you think it will be a wet afternoon? I am sure I
hope so, but the sky is quite blue and cloudless. What a pity!"
"Ahem! ahem!" said the Rocket, and he began to cough.
"What a delightful voice you have!" cried the Frog. "Really it is
quite like a croak, and croaking is of course the most musical
sound in the world. You will hear our glee-club this evening. We
sit in the old duck pond close by the farmer's house, and as soon
as the moon rises we begin. It is so entrancing that everybody
lies awake to listen to us. In fact, it was only yesterday that I
heard the farmer's wife say to her mother that she could not get a
wink of sleep at night on account of us. It is most gratifying to
find oneself so popular."
"Ahem! ahem!" said the Rocket angrily. He was very much annoyed
that he could not get a word in.
"A delightful voice, certainly," continued the Frog; "I hope you
will come over to the duck-pond. I am off to look for my
daughters. I have six beautiful daughters, and I am so afraid the
Pike may meet them. He is a perfect monster, and would have no
hesitation in breakfasting off them. Well, good-bye: I have
enjoyed our conversation very much, I assure you."
"Conversation, indeed!" said the Rocket. "You have talked the
whole time yourself. That is not conversation."
"Somebody must listen," answered the Frog, "and I like to do all
the talking myself. It saves time, and prevents arguments."
"But I like arguments," said the Rocket.
"I hope not," said the Frog complacently. "Arguments are extremely
vulgar, for everybody in good society holds exactly the same
opinions. Good-bye a second time; I see my daughters in the
distance and the little Frog swam away.
"You are a very irritating person," said the Rocket, "and very illbred.
I hate people who talk about themselves, as you do, when one
wants to talk about oneself, as I do. It is what I call
selfishness, and selfishness is a most detestable thing, especially
to any one of my temperament, for I am well known for my
sympathetic nature. In fact, you should take example by me; you
could not possibly have a better model. Now that you have the
chance you had better avail yourself of it, for I am going back to
Court almost immediately. I am a great favourite at Court; in
fact, the Prince and Princess were married yesterday in my honour.
Of course you know nothing of these matters, for you are a
provincial."
"There is no good talking to him," said a Dragon-fly, who was
sitting on the top of a large brown bulrush; "no good at all, for
he has gone away."
"Well, that is his loss, not mine," answered the Rocket. "I am not
going to stop talking to him merely because he pays no attention.
I like hearing myself talk. It is one of my greatest pleasures. I
often have long conversations all by myself, and I am so clever
that sometimes I don't understand a single word of what I am
saying."
"Then you should certainly lecture on Philosophy," said the Dragonfly;
and he spread a pair of lovely gauze wings and soared away
into the sky.
"How very silly of him not to stay here!" said the Rocket. "I am
sure that he has not often got such a chance of improving his mind.
However, I don't care a bit. Genius like mine is sure to be
appreciated some day"; and he sank down a little deeper into the
mud.
After some time a large White Duck swam up to him. She had yellow
legs, and webbed feet, and was considered a great beauty on account
of her waddle.
"Quack, quack, quack," she said. "What a curious shape you are!
May I ask were you born like that, or is it the result of an
accident?"
"It is quite evident that you have always lived in the country,"
answered the Rocket, "otherwise you would know who I am. However,
I excuse your ignorance. It would be unfair to expect other people
to be as remarkable as oneself. You will no doubt be surprised to
hear that I can fly up into the sky, and come down in a shower of
golden rain."
"I don't think much of that," said the Duck, "as I cannot see what
use it is to any one. Now, if you could plough the fields like the
ox, or draw a cart like the horse, or look after the sheep like the
collie-dog, that would be something."
"My good creature," cried the Rocket in a very haughty tone of
voice, "I see that you belong to the lower orders. A person of my
position is never useful. We have certain accomplishments, and
that is more than sufficient. I have no sympathy myself with
industry of any kind, least of all with such industries as you seem
to recommend. Indeed, I have always been of opinion that hard work
is simply the refuge of people who have nothing whatever to do."
"Well, well," said the Duck, who was of a very peaceable
disposition, and never quarrelled with any one, "everybody has
different tastes. I hope, at any rate, that you are going to take
up your residence here."
"Oh! dear no," cried the Rocket. "I am merely a visitor, a
distinguished visitor. The fact is that I find this place rather
tedious. There is neither society here, nor solitude. In fact, it
is essentially suburban. I shall probably go back to Court, for I
know that I am destined to make a sensation in the world."
"I had thoughts of entering public life once myself," remarked the
Duck; "there are so many things that need reforming. Indeed, I
took the chair at a meeting some time ago, and we passed
resolutions condemning everything that we did not like. However,
they did not seem to have much effect. Now I go in for
domesticity, and look after my family."
"I am made for public life," said the Rocket, "and so are all my
relations, even the humblest of them. Whenever we appear we excite
great attention. I have not actually appeared myself, but when I
do so it will be a magnificent sight. As for domesticity, it ages
one rapidly, and distracts one's mind from higher things."
"Ah! the higher things of life, how fine they are!" said the Duck;
"and that reminds me how hungry I feel": and she swam away down
the stream, saying, "Quack, quack, quack."
"Come back! come back!" screamed the Rocket, "I have a great deal
to say to you"; but the Duck paid no attention to him. "I am glad
that she has gone," he said to himself, "she has a decidedly
middle-class mind"; and he sank a little deeper still into the mud,
and began to think about the loneliness of genius, when suddenly
two little boys in white smocks came running down the bank, with a
kettle and some faggots.
"This must be the deputation," said the Rocket, and he tried to
look very dignified.
"Hallo!" cried one of the boys, "look at this old stick! I wonder
how it came here"; and he picked the rocket out of the ditch.
"OLD Stick!" said the Rocket, "impossible! GOLD Stick, that is
what he said. Gold Stick is very complimentary. In fact, he
mistakes me for one of the Court dignitaries!"
"Let us put it into the fire!" said the other boy, "it will help to
boil the kettle."
So they piled the faggots together, and put the Rocket on top, and
lit the fire.
"This is magnificent," cried the Rocket, "they are going to let me
off in broad day-light, so that every one can see me."
"We will go to sleep now," they said, "and when we wake up the
kettle will be boiled"; and they lay down on the grass, and shut
their eyes.
The Rocket was very damp, so he took a long time to burn. At last,
however, the fire caught him.
"Now I am going off!" he cried, and he made himself very stiff and
straight. "I know I shall go much higher than the stars, much
higher than the moon, much higher than the sun. In fact, I shall
go so high that - "
Fizz! Fizz! Fizz! and he went straight up into the air.
"Delightful!" he cried, "I shall go on like this for ever. What a
success I am!"
But nobody saw him.
Then he began to feel a curious tingling sensation all over him.
"Now I am going to explode," he cried. "I shall set the whole
world on fire, and make such a noise that nobody will talk about
anything else for a whole year." And he certainly did explode.
Bang! Bang! Bang! went the gunpowder. There was no doubt about it.
But nobody heard him, not even the two little boys, for they were
sound asleep.
Then all that was left of him was the stick, and this fell down on
the back of a Goose who was taking a walk by the side of the ditch.
"Good heavens!" cried the Goose. "It is going to rain sticks"; and
she rushed into the water.
"I knew I should create a great sensation," gasped the Rocket, and
he went out.