The Princess and the Goblin
Presently, however, they were reinforced from above by the king and his
party, with the redoubtable queen at their head. Finding Curdie again
busy amongst her unfortunate subjects, she rushed at him once more with
the rage of despair, and this time gave him a bad bruise on the foot.
Then a regular stamping fight got up between them, Curdie, with the
point of his hunting-knife, keeping her from clasping her mighty arms
about him, as he watched his opportunity of getting once more a good
stamp at her skin-shod foot. But the queen was more wary as well as
more agile than hitherto.
The rest meantime, finding their adversary thus matched for the moment,
paused in their headlong hurry, and turned to the shivering group of
women in the corner. As if determined to emulate his father and have a
sun-woman of some sort to share his future throne, Harelip rushed at
them, caught up Lootie, and sped with her to the hole. She gave a
great shriek, and Curdie heard her, and saw the plight she was in.
Gathering all his strength, he gave the queen a sudden cut across the
face with his weapon, came down, as she started back, with all his
weight on the proper foot, and sprung to Lootie's rescue. The prince
had two defenceless feet, and on both of them Curdie stamped just as he
reached the hole. He dropped his burden and rolled shrieking into the
earth. Curdie made one stab at him as he disappeared, caught hold of
the senseless Lootie, and having dragged her back to the corner, there
mounted guard over her, preparing once more to encounter the queen.
Her face streaming with blood, and her eyes flashing green lightning
through it, she came on with her mouth open and her teeth grinning like
a tiger's, followed by the king and her bodyguard of the thickest
goblins. But the same moment in rushed the captain and his men, and
ran at them stamping furiously. They dared not encounter such an
onset. Away they scurried, the queen foremost. Of course, the right
thing would have been to take the king and queen prisoners, and hold
them hostages for the princess, but they were so anxious to find her
that no one thought of detaining them until it was too late.
Having thus rescued the servants, they set about searching the house
once more. None of them could give the least information concerning
the princess. Lootie was almost silly with terror, and, although
scarcely able to walk would not leave Curdie's side for a single
moment. Again he allowed the others to search the rest of the
house--where, except a dismayed goblin lurking here and there, they
found no one--while he requested Lootie to take him to the princess's
room. She was as submissive and obedient as if he had been the king.
He found the bedclothes tossed about, and most of them on the floor,
while the princess's garments were scattered all over the room, which
was in the greatest confusion. It was only too evident that the
goblins had been there, and Curdie had no longer any doubt that she had
been carried off at the very first of the inroad. With a pang of
despair he saw how wrong they had been in not securing the king and
queen and prince; but he determined to find and rescue the princess as
she had found and rescued him, or meet the worst fate to which the
goblins could doom him.
CHAPTER 28
Curdie's Guide
Just as the consolation of this resolve dawned upon his mind and he was
turning away for the cellar to follow the goblins into their hole,
something touched his hand. It was the slightest touch, and when he
looked he could see nothing. Feeling and peering about in the grey of
the dawn, his fingers came upon a tight thread. He looked again, and
narrowly, but still could see nothing. It flashed upon him that this
must be the princess's thread. Without saying a word, for he knew no
one would believe him any more than he had believed the princess, he
followed the thread with his finger, contrived to give Lootie the slip,
and was soon out of the house and on the mountainside--surprised that,
if the thread were indeed the grandmother's messenger, it should have
led the princess, as he supposed it must, into the mountain, where she
would be certain to meet the goblins rushing back enraged from their
defeat. But he hurried on in the hope of overtaking her first. When
he arrived, however, at the place where the path turned off for the
mine, he found that the thread did not turn with it, but went straight
up the mountain. Could it be that the thread was leading him home to
his mother's cottage? Could the princess be there? He bounded up the
mountain like one of its own goats, and before the sun was up the
thread had brought him indeed to his mother's door. There it vanished
from his fingers, and he could not find it, search as he might.
The door was on the latch, and he entered. There sat his mother by the
fire, and in her arms lay the princess, fast asleep.
'Hush, Curdie!' said his mother. 'Do not wake her. I'm so glad you're
come! I thought the cobs must have got you again!'
With a heart full of delight, Curdie sat down at a corner of the
hearth, on a stool opposite his mother's chair, and gazed at the
princess, who slept as peacefully as if she had been in her own bed.
All at once she opened her eyes and fixed them on him.
'Oh, Curdie! you're come!' she said quietly. 'I thought you would!'
Curdie rose and stood before her with downcast eyes.
'Irene,' he said, 'I am very sorry I did not believe you.'
'Oh, never mind, Curdie!' answered the princess. 'You couldn't, you
know. You do believe me now, don't you?'
'I can't help it now. I ought to have helped it before.'
'Why can't you help it now?'
'Because, just as I was going into the mountain to look for you, I got
hold of your thread, and it brought me here.'
'Then you've come from my house, have you?'
'Yes, I have.'
'I didn't know you were there.'
'I've been there two or three days, I believe.'
'And I never knew it! Then perhaps you can tell me why my grandmother
has brought me here? I can't think. Something woke me--I didn't know
what, but I was frightened, and I felt for the thread, and there it
was! I was more frightened still when it brought me out on the
mountain, for I thought it was going to take me into it again, and I
like the outside of it best. I supposed you were in trouble again, and
I had to get you out. But it brought me here instead; and, oh, Curdie!
your mother has been so kind to me--just like my own grandmother!'
Here Curdie's mother gave the princess a hug, and the princess turned
and gave her a sweet smile, and held up her mouth to kiss her.
'Then you didn't see the cobs?' asked Curdie.
'No; I haven't been into the mountain, I told you, Curdie.'
'But the cobs have been into your house--all over it--and into your
bedroom, making such a row!'
'What did they want there? It was very rude of them.'
'They wanted you--to carry you off into the mountain with them, for a
wife to their prince Harelip.'
'Oh, how dreadful!' cried the princess, shuddering.
'But you needn't be afraid, you know. Your grandmother takes care of
you.'
'Ah! you do believe in my grandmother, then? I'm so glad! She made me
think you would some day.'
All at once Curdie remembered his dream, and was silent, thinking.
'But how did you come to be in my house, and me not know it?' asked the
princess.
Then Curdie had to explain everything--how he had watched for her sake,
how he had been wounded and shut up by the soldiers, how he heard the
noises and could not rise, and how the beautiful old lady had come to
him, and all that followed.
'Poor Curdie! to lie there hurt and ill, and me never to know it!'
exclaimed the princess, stroking his rough hand. 'I would have come
and nursed you, if they had told me.'
'I didn't see you were lame,' said his mother.
'Am I, mother? Oh--yes--I suppose I ought to be! I declare I've never
thought of it since I got up to go down amongst the cobs!'
'Let me see the wound,' said his mother.
He pulled down his stocking--when behold, except a great scar, his leg
was perfectly sound!
Curdie and his mother gazed in each other's eyes, full of wonder, but
Irene called out:
'I thought so, Curdie! I was sure it wasn't a dream. I was sure my
grandmother had been to see you. Don't you smell the roses? It was my
grandmother healed your leg, and sent you to help me.'
'No, Princess Irene,' said Curdie; 'I wasn't good enough to be allowed
to help you: I didn't believe you. Your grandmother took care of you
without me.'
'She sent you to help my people, anyhow. I wish my king-papa would
come. I do want so to tell him how good you have been!'
'But,' said the mother, 'we are forgetting how frightened your people
must be. You must take the princess home at once, Curdie--or at least
go and tell them where she is.'
'Yes, mother. Only I'm dreadfully hungry. Do let me have some
breakfast first. They ought to have listened to me, and then they
wouldn't have been taken by surprise as they were.'
'That is true, Curdie; but it is not for you to blame them much. You
remember?'
'Yes, mother, I do. Only I must really have something to eat.'
'You shall, my boy--as fast as I can get it,' said his mother, rising
and setting the princess on her chair.
But before his breakfast was ready, Curdie jumped up so suddenly as to
startle both his companions.
'Mother, mother!' he cried, 'I was forgetting. You must take the
princess home yourself. I must go and wake my father.'
Without a word of explanation, he rushed to the place where his father
was sleeping. Having thoroughly roused him with what he told him he
darted out of the cottage.
CHAPTER 29
Masonwork
He had all at once remembered the resolution of the goblins to carry
out their second plan upon the failure of the first. No doubt they
were already busy, and the mine was therefore in the greatest danger of
being flooded and rendered useless--not to speak of the lives of the
miners.
When he reached the mouth of the mine, after rousing all the miners
within reach, he found his father and a good many more just entering.
They all hurried to the gang by which he had found a way into the
goblin country. There the foresight of Peter had already collected a
great many blocks of stone, with cement, ready for building up the weak
place--well enough known to the goblins. Although there was not room
for more than two to be actually building at once, they managed, by
setting all the rest to work in preparing the cement and passing the
stones, to finish in the course of the day a huge buttress filling the
whole gang, and supported everywhere by the live rock. Before the hour
when they usually dropped work, they were satisfied the mine was secure.
They had heard goblin hammers and pickaxes busy all the time, and at
length fancied they heard sounds of water they had never heard before.
But that was otherwise accounted for when they left the mine, for they
stepped out into a tremendous storm which was raging all over the
mountain. The thunder was bellowing, and the lightning lancing out of
a huge black cloud which lay above it and hung down its edges of thick
mist over its sides. The lightning was breaking out of the mountain,
too, and flashing up into the cloud. From the state of the brooks, now
swollen into raging torrents, it was evident that the storm had been
storming all day.
The wind was blowing as if it would blow him off the mountain, but,
anxious about his mother and the princess, Curdie darted up through the
thick of the tempest. Even if they had not set out before the storm
came on, he did not judge them safe, for in such a storm even their