Andrew Lang - The Grey Fairy Book

Andrew Lang (March 31, 1844, Selkirk July 20, 1912, Banchory,Kincardineshire) was a prolific Scots man of letters. He was apoet, novelist, and literary critic, and contributor toanthropology. He now is best known as the collector of folk andfairy tales. The Andrew Lang lectures at St Andrews University arenamed for him. Source: Wikipedia

The tales in the Grey Fairy Book are derived from manycountriesLithuania, various parts of Africa, Germany, France,Greece, and other regions of the world. They have been translatedand adapted by Mrs. Dent, Mrs. Lang, Miss Eleanor Sellar, MissBlackley, and Miss hang. 'The Three Sons of Hali' is from the lastcentury 'Cabinet des Fees,' a very large collection. The Frenchauthor may have had some Oriental original before him in parts; atall events he copied the Eastern method of putting tale withintale, like the Eastern balls of carved ivory. The stories, asusual, illustrate the method of popular fiction. A certain numberof incidents are shaken into many varying combinations, like thefragments of coloured glass in the kaleidoscope. Probably thepossible combinations, like possible musical combinations, are notunlimited in number, but children may be less sensitive in thematter of fairies than Mr. John Stuart Mill was as regardsmusic.

There was once upon a time a king who was so much beloved by hissubjects that he thought himself the happiest monarch in the wholeworld, and he had everything his heart could desire. His palace wasfilled with the rarest of curiosities, and his gardens with thesweetest flowers, while in the marble stalls of his stables stood arow of milk-white Arabs, with big brown eyes.

Strangers who had heard of the marvels which the king hadcollected, and made long journeys to see them, were, however,surprised to find the most splendid stall of all occupied by adonkey, with particularly large and drooping ears. It was a veryfine donkey; but still, as far as they could tell, nothing so veryremarkable as to account for the care with which it was lodged; andthey went away wondering, for they could not know that every night,when it was asleep, bushels of gold pieces tumbled out of its ears,which were picked up each morning by the attendants.

After many years of prosperity a sudden blow fell upon the kingin the death of his wife, whom he loved dearly. But before shedied, the queen, who had always thought first of his happiness,gathered all her strength, and said to him:

'Promise me one thing: you must marry again, I know, for thegood of your people, as well as of yourself. But do not set aboutit in a hurry. Wait until you have found a woman more beautiful andbetter formed than myself.'

'Oh, do not speak to me of marrying,' sobbed the king; 'ratherlet me die with you!' But the queen only smiled faintly, and turnedover on her pillow and died.

For some months the king's grief was great; then gradually hebegan to forget a little, and, besides, his counsellors were alwaysurging him to seek another wife. At first he refused to listen tothem, but by-and-by he allowed himself to be persuaded to think ofit, only stipulating that the bride should be more beautiful andattractive than the late queen, according to the promise he hadmade her.

Overjoyed at having obtained what they wanted, the counsellorssent envoys far and wide to get portraits of all the most famousbeauties of every country. The artists were very busy and did theirbest, but, alas! nobody could even pretend that any of the ladiescould compare for a moment with the late queen.

At length, one day, when he had turned away discouraged from afresh collection of pictures, the king's eyes fell on his adopteddaughter, who had lived in the palace since she was a baby, and hesaw that, if a woman existed on the whole earth more lovely thanthe queen, this was she! He at once made known what his wisheswere, but the young girl, who was not at all ambitious, and had notthe faintest desire to marry him, was filled with dismay, andbegged for time to think about it. That night, when everyone wasasleep, she started in a little car drawn by a big sheep, and wentto consult her fairy godmother.

'I know what you have come to tell me,' said the fairy, when themaiden stepped out of the car; 'and if you don't wish to marry him,I will show you how to avoid it. Ask him to give you a dress thatexactly matches the sky. It will be impossible for him to get one,so you will be quite safe.' The girl thanked the fairy and returnedhome again.

The next morning, when her father (as she had always called him)came to see her, she told him that she could give him no answeruntil he had presented her with a dress the colour of the sky. Theking, overjoyed at this answer, sent for all the choicest weaversand dressmakers in the kingdom, and commanded them to make a robethe colour of the sky without an instant's delay, or he would cutoff their heads at once. Dreadfully frightened at this threat, theyall began to dye and cut and sew, and in two days they brought backthe dress, which looked as if it had been cut straight out of theheavens! The poor girl was thunderstruck, and did not know what todo; so in the night she harnessed her sheep again, and went insearch of her godmother.

'The king is cleverer than I thought,' said the fairy; 'but tellhim you must have a dress of moonbeams.'

And the next day, when the king summoned her into his presence,the girl told him what she wanted.

'Madam, I can refuse you nothing,' said he; and he ordered thedress to be ready in twenty-four hours, or every man should behanged.

They set to work with all their might, and by dawn next day, thedress of moonbeams was laid across her bed. The girl, though shecould not help admiring its beauty, began to cry, till the fairy,who heard her, came to her help.

'Well, I could not have believed it of him!' said she; 'but askfor a dress of sunshine, and I shall be surprised indeed if hemanages that!'

The goddaughter did not feel much faith in the fairy after hertwo previous failures; but not knowing what else to do, she toldher father what she was bid.

The king made no difficulties about it, and even gave his finestrubies and diamonds to ornament the dress, which was so dazzling,when finished, that it could not be looked at save through smokedglasses!

When the princess saw it, she pretended that the sight hurt hereyes, and retired to her room, where she found the fairy awaitingher, very much ashamed of herself.

'There is only one thing to be done now,' cried she; 'you mustdemand the skin of the ass he sets such store by. It is from thatdonkey he obtains all his vast riches, and I am sure he will nevergive it to you.'