Once upon a time there lived a king who was always at war with his neighbours, which was very strange, as he was a good and kind man, quite content with his own country, and not wanting to seize land belonging to other people.Perhaps he may have tried too much to please everybody, and that often ends in pleasing nobody; but, at any rate, he found himself, at the end of a hard struggle, defeated in battle, and obliged to fall back behind the walls of his capital city.
Once there, he began to make preparations for a long siege, and the first thing he did was to plan how best to send his wife to a place of security.
The queen, who loved her husband dearly, would gladly have remained with him to share his dangers, but he would not allow it.So they parted, with many tears, and the queen set out with a strong guard to a fortified castle on the outskirts of a great forest, some two hundred miles distant.She cried nearly all the way, and when she arrived she cried still more, for everything in the castle was dusty and old, and outside there was only a gravelled courtyard, and the king had forbidden her to go beyond the walls without at least two soldiers to take care of her.
Now the queen had only been married a few months, and in her own home she had been used to walk and ride all over the hills without any attendants at all; so she felt very dull at her being shut up in this way.However, she bore it for a long while because it was the king's wish, but when time passed and there were no signs of the war drifting in the direction of the castle, she grew bolder, and sometimes strayed outside the walls, in the direction of the forest.
Then came a dreadful period, when news from the king ceased entirely.
'He must surely be ill or dead,' thought the poor girl, who even now was only sixteen.'I can bear it no longer, and if I do not get a letter from him soon I shall leave this horrible place and go back to see what is the matter.Oh! I do wish I had never come away!'
So, without telling anyone what she intended to do, she ordered a little low carriage to be built, something like a sledge, only it was on two wheels--just big enough to hold one person.
'I am tired of being always in the castle,' she said to her attendants;'and I mean to hunt a little.Quite close by, of course,' she added, seeing the anxious look on their faces.'And there is no reason that you should not hunt too.'
All the faces brightened at that, for, to tell the truth, they were nearly as dull as their mistress; so the queen had her way, and two beautiful horses were brought from the stable to draw the little chariot.At first the queen took care to keep near the rest of the hunt, but gradually she stayed away longer and longer, and at last, one morning, she took advantage of the appearance of a wild boar, after which her whole court instantly galloped, to turn into a path in the opposite direction.
Unluckily, it did not happen to lead towards the king's palace, where she intended to go, but she was so afraid her flight would be noticed that she whipped up her horses till they ran away.
When she understood what was happening the poor young queen was terribly frightened, and, dropping the reins, clung to the side of the chariot.The horses, thus left without any control, dashed blindly against a tree, and the queen was flung out on the ground, where she lay for some minutes unconscious.
A rustling sound near her at length caused her to open her eyes; before her stood a huge woman, almost a giantess, without any clothes save a lion's skin, which was thrown over her shoulders, while a dried snake's skin was plaited into her hair.In one hand she held a club on which she leaned, and in the other a quiver full of arrows.
At the sight of this strange figure the queen thought she must be dead, and gazing on an inhabitant of another world.So she murmured softly to herself:
'I am not surprised that people are so loth to die when they know that they will see such horrible creatures.' But, low as she spoke, the giantess caught the words, and began to laugh.
'Oh, don't be afraid; you are still alive, and perhaps, after all, you may be sorry for it.I am the Lion Fairy, and you are going to spend the rest of your days with me in my palace, which is quite near this.
So come along.' But the queen shrank back in horror.
'Oh, Madam Lion, take me back, I pray you, to my castle; and fix what ransom you like, for my husband will pay it, whatever it is.But the giantess shook her head.
'I am rich enough already,' she answered, 'but I am often dull, and Ithink you may amuse me a little.' And, so saying, she changed her shape into that of a lion, and throwing the queen across her back, she went down the ten thousand steps that led to her palace.The lion had reached the centre of the earth before she stopped in front of a house, lighted with lamps, and built on the edge of a lake of quicksilver.In this lake various huge monsters might be seen playing or fighting--the queen did not know which-- and around flew rooks and ravens, uttering dismal croaks.In the distance was a mountain down whose sides waters slowly coursed--these were the tears of unhappy lovers--and nearer the gate were trees without either fruit of flowers, while nettles and brambles covered the ground.If the castle had been gloomy, what did the queen feel about this?
For some days the queen was so much shaken by all she had gone through that she lay with her eyes closed, unable either to move or speak.
When she got better, the Lion Fairy told her that if she liked she could build herself a cabin, as she would have to spend her life in that place.At these words the queen burst into tears, and implored her gaoler to put her to death rather than condemn her to such a life;but the Lion Fairy only laughed, and counselled her to try to make herself pleasant, as many worse things might befall her.
'Is there no way in which I can touch your heart?' asked the poor girl in despair.
'Well, if you really wish to please me you will make me a pasty out of the stings of bees, and be sure it is good.'
'But I don't see any bees,' answered the queen, looking round.
