The Blue Fairy Book
river-side, with his daughter, the most beautiful princess in the world,
he said to his master:
“If you will follow my advice your fortune is made. You have nothing
else to do but go and wash yourself in the river, in that part I shall
show you, and leave the rest to me.”
The Marquis of Carabas did what the Cat advised him to, without knowing
why or wherefore. While he was washing the King passed by, and the Cat
began to cry out:
“Help! help! My Lord Marquis of Carabas is going to be drowned.”
At this noise the King put his head out of the coach-window, and,
finding it was the Cat who had so often brought him such good game,
he commanded his guards to run immediately to the assistance of his
Lordship the Marquis of Carabas. While they were drawing the poor
Marquis out of the river, the Cat came up to the coach and told the King
that, while his master was washing, there came by some rogues, who
went off with his clothes, though he had cried out: “Thieves! thieves!”
several times, as loud as he could.
This cunning Cat had hidden them under a great stone. The King
immediately commanded the officers of his wardrobe to run and fetch one
of his best suits for the Lord Marquis of Carabas.
The King caressed him after a very extraordinary manner, and as the fine
clothes he had given him extremely set off his good mien (for he was
well made and very handsome in his person), the King’s daughter took a
secret inclination to him, and the Marquis of Carabas had no sooner cast
two or three respectful and somewhat tender glances but she fell in love
with him to distraction. The King would needs have him come into the
coach and take part of the airing. The Cat, quite overjoyed to see his
project begin to succeed, marched on before, and, meeting with some
countrymen, who were mowing a meadow, he said to them:
“Good people, you who are mowing, if you do not tell the King that
the meadow you mow belongs to my Lord Marquis of Carabas, you shall be
chopped as small as herbs for the pot.”
The King did not fail asking of the mowers to whom the meadow they were
mowing belonged.
“To my Lord Marquis of Carabas,” answered they altogether, for the Cat’s
threats had made them terribly afraid.
“You see, sir,” said the Marquis, “this is a meadow which never fails to
yield a plentiful harvest every year.”
The Master Cat, who went still on before, met with some reapers, and
said to them:
“Good people, you who are reaping, if you do not tell the King that all
this corn belongs to the Marquis of Carabas, you shall be chopped as
small as herbs for the pot.”
The King, who passed by a moment after, would needs know to whom all
that corn, which he then saw, did belong.
“To my Lord Marquis of Carabas,” replied the reapers, and the King was
very well pleased with it, as well as the Marquis, whom he congratulated
thereupon. The Master Cat, who went always before, said the same words
to all he met, and the King was astonished at the vast estates of my
Lord Marquis of Carabas.
Monsieur Puss came at last to a stately castle, the master of which was
an ogre, the richest had ever been known; for all the lands which the
King had then gone over belonged to this castle. The Cat, who had taken
care to inform himself who this ogre was and what he could do, asked
to speak with him, saying he could not pass so near his castle without
having the honor of paying his respects to him.
The ogre received him as civilly as an ogre could do, and made him sit
down.
“I have been assured,” said the Cat, “that you have the gift of being
able to change yourself into all sorts of creatures you have a mind to;
you can, for example, transform yourself into a lion, or elephant, and
the like.”
“That is true,” answered the ogre very briskly; “and to convince you,
you shall see me now become a lion.”
Puss was so sadly terrified at the sight of a lion so near him that he
immediately got into the gutter, not without abundance of trouble and
danger, because of his boots, which were of no use at all to him in
walking upon the tiles. A little while after, when Puss saw that the
ogre had resumed his natural form, he came down, and owned he had been
very much frightened.
“I have been, moreover, informed,” said the Cat, “but I know not how to
believe it, that you have also the power to take on you the shape of the
smallest animals; for example, to change yourself into a rat or a mouse;
but I must own to you I take this to be impossible.”
“Impossible!” cried the ogre; “you shall see that presently.”
And at the same time he changed himself into a mouse, and began to run
about the floor. Puss no sooner perceived this but he fell upon him and
ate him up.
Meanwhile the King, who saw, as he passed, this fine castle of the
ogre’s, had a mind to go into it. Puss, who heard the noise of his
Majesty’s coach running over the draw-bridge, ran out, and said to the
King:
“Your Majesty is welcome to this castle of my Lord Marquis of Carabas.”
“What! my Lord Marquis,” cried the King, “and does this castle also
belong to you? There can be nothing finer than this court and all the
stately buildings which surround it; let us go into it, if you please.”
The Marquis gave his hand to the Princess, and followed the King,
who went first. They passed into a spacious hall, where they found a
magnificent collation, which the ogre had prepared for his friends, who
were that very day to visit him, but dared not to enter, knowing
the King was there. His Majesty was perfectly charmed with the good
qualities of my Lord Marquis of Carabas, as was his daughter, who
had fallen violently in love with him, and, seeing the vast estate he
possessed, said to him, after having drunk five or six glasses:
“It will be owing to yourself only, my Lord Marquis, if you are not my
son-in-law.”
The Marquis, making several low bows, accepted the honor which his
Majesty conferred upon him, and forthwith, that very same day, married
the Princess.
Puss became a great lord, and never ran after mice any more but only for
his diversion.(1)
(1) Charles Perrault.
FELICIA AND THE POT OF PINKS
Once upon a time there was a poor laborer who, feeling that he had not
much longer to live, wished to divide his possessions between his son
and daughter, whom he loved dearly.
So he called them to him, and said: “Your mother brought me as her dowry
two stools and a straw bed; I have, besides, a hen, a pot of pinks, and
a silver ring, which were given me by a noble lady who once lodged in my
poor cottage. When she went away she said to me:
“‘Be careful of my gifts, good man; see that you do not lose the ring or
forget to water the pinks. As for your daughter, I promise you that she
shall be more beautiful than anyone you ever saw in your life; call her
Felicia, and when she grows up give her the ring and the pot of pinks to
console her for her poverty.’ Take them both, then, my dear child,” he
added, “and your brother shall have everything else.”
The two children seemed quite contented, and when their father died they
wept for him, and divided his possessions as he had told them. Felicia
believed that her brother loved her, but when she sat down upon one of
the stools he said angrily:
“Keep your pot of pinks and your ring, but let my things alone. I like
order in my house.”
Felicia, who was very gentle, said nothing, but stood up crying quietly;
while Bruno, for that was her brother’s name, sat comfortably by the
fire. Presently, when supper-time came, Bruno had a delicious egg, and
he threw the shell to Felicia, saying:
“There, that is all I can give you; if you don’t like it, go out and
catch frogs; there are plenty of them in the marsh close by.” Felicia
did not answer, but she cried more bitterly than ever, and went away
to her own little room. She found it filled with the sweet scent of the
pinks, and, going up to them, she said sadly:
“Beautiful pinks, you are so sweet and so pretty, you are the only
comfort I have left. Be very sure that I will take care of you, and
water you well, and never allow any cruel hand to tear you from your
stems.”
As she leaned over them she noticed that they were very dry. So taking
her pitcher, she ran off in the clear moonlight to the fountain, which
was at some distance. When she reached it she sat down upon the brink
to rest, but she had hardly done so when she saw a stately lady coming
toward her, surrounded by numbers of attendants. Six maids of honor
carried her train, and she leaned upon the arm of another.
When they came near the fountain a canopy was spread for her, under
which was placed a sofa of cloth-of-gold, and presently a dainty supper
was served, upon a table covered with dishes of gold and crystal, while
the wind in the trees and the falling water of the fountain murmured the
softest music.
Felicia was hidden in the shade, too much astonished by all she saw to
venture to move; but in a few moments the Queen said:
“I fancy I see a shepherdess near that tree; bid her come hither.”
So Felicia came forward and saluted the Queen timidly, but with so much
grace that all were surprised.
“What are you doing here, my pretty child?” asked the Queen. “Are you
not afraid of robbers?”
“Ah! madam,” said Felicia, “a poor shepherdess who has nothing to lose
does not fear robbers.”
“You are not very rich, then?” said the Queen, smiling.
“I am so poor,” answered Felicia, “that a pot of pinks and a silver ring
are my only possessions in the world.”
“But you have a heart,” said the Queen. “What should you say if anybody
wanted to steal that?”
“I do not know what it is like to lose one’s heart, madam,” she replied;
“but I have always heard that without a heart one cannot live, and if it
is broken one must die; and in spite of my poverty I should be sorry not
to live.”
“You are quite right to take care of your heart, pretty one,” said the
Queen. “But tell me, have you supped?”
“No, madam,” answered Felicia; “my brother ate all the supper there
was.”
Then the Queen ordered that a place should be made for her at the table,
and herself loaded Felicia’s plate with good things; but she was too
much astonished to be hungry.
“I want to know what you were doing at the fountain so late?” said the
Queen presently.
“I came to fetch a pitcher of water for my pinks, madam,” she answered,
stooping to pick up the pitcher which stood beside her; but when she
showed it to the Queen she was amazed to see that it had turned to gold,
all sparkling with great diamonds, and the water, of which it was full,
was more fragrant than the sweetest roses. She was afraid to take it
until the Queen said:
“It is yours, Felicia; go and water your pinks with it, and let it
remind you that the Queen of the Woods is your friend.”
The shepherdess threw herself at the Queen’s feet, and thanked her
humbly for her gracious words.
“Ah! madam,” she cried, “if I might beg you to stay here a moment I
would run and fetch my pot of pinks for you--they could not fall into
better hands.”
“Go, Felicia,” said the Queen, stroking her cheek softly; “I will wait
here until you come back.”
So Felicia took up her pitcher and ran to her little room, but while she
had been away Bruno had gone in and taken the pot of pinks, leaving a
great cabbage in its place. When she saw the unlucky cabbage Felicia was
much distressed, and did not know what to do; but at last she ran back
to the fountain, and, kneeling before the Queen, said:
“Madam, Bruno has stolen my pot of pinks, so I have nothing but my
silver ring; but I beg you to accept it as a proof of my gratitude.”
“But if I take your ring, my pretty shepherdess,” said the Queen, “you
will have nothing left; and what will you do then?”