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THE YELLOW DWARF





Once upon a time there lived a queen who had been the

mother of a great many children; and of them all only one

daughter was left。 But then SHE was worth at least a thousand。



Her mother; who; since the death of the King; her

father; had nothing in the world she cared for so much as

this little Princess; was so terribly afraid of losing her that

she quite spoiled her; and never tried to correct any of her

faults。 The consequence was that this little person; who

was as pretty as possible; and was one day to wear a crown;

grew up so proud and so much in love with her own beauty

that she despised everyone else in the world。



The Queen; her mother; by her caresses and flatteries;

helped to make her believe that there was nothing too

good for her。 She was dressed almost always in the prettiest

frocks; as a fairy; or as a queen going out to hunt; and

the ladies of the Court followed her dressed as forest

fairies。



And to make her more vain than ever the Queen caused

her portrait to be taken by the cleverest painters and sent

it to several neighboring kings with whom she was very

friendly。



When they saw this portrait they fell in love with the

Princessevery one of them; but upon each it had a

different effect。 One fell ill; one went quite crazy; and a

few of the luckiest set off to see her as soon as possible;

but these poor princes became her slaves the moment they

set eyes on her。



Never has there been a gayer Court。 Twenty delightful

kings did everything they could think of to make

themselves agreeable; and after having spent ever so

much money in giving a single entertainment thought

themselves very lucky if the Princess said 〃That's pretty。〃



All this admiration vastly pleased the Queen。 Not a

day passed but she received seven or eight thousand

sonnets; and as many elegies; madrigals; and songs; which

were sent her by all the poets in the world。 All the prose

and the poetry that was written just then was about

Bellissimafor that was the Princess's nameand all the

bonfires that they had were made of these verses; which

crackled and sparkled better than any other sort of wood。



Bellissima was already fifteen years old; and every one

of the Princes wished to marry her; but not one dared to

say so。 How could they when they knew that any of

them might have cut off his head five or six times a day

just to please her; and she would have thought it a mere

trifle; so little did she care? You may imagine how hard…

hearted her lovers thought her; and the Queen; who

wished to see her married; did not know how to persuade

her to think of it seriously。



〃Bellissima;〃 she said; 〃I do wish you would not be so

proud。 What makes you despise all these nice kings? I

wish you to marry one of them; and you do not try to

please me。〃



〃I am so happy;〃 Bellissima answered: 〃do leave me in

peace; madam。 I don't want to care for anyone。〃



〃But you would be very happy with any of these

Princes;〃 said the Queen; 〃and I shall be very angry if you

fall in love with anyone who is not worthy of you。〃



But the Princess thought so much of herself that she

did not consider any one of her lovers clever or handsome

enough for her; and her mother; who was getting really

angry at her determination not to be married; began to

wish that she had not allowed her to have her own way so

much。



At last; not knowing what else to do; she resolved to

consult a certain witch who was called 〃The Fairy of the

Desert。〃 Now this was very difficult to do; as she was

guarded by some terrible lions; but happily the Queen

had heard a long time before that whoever wanted to pass

these lions safely must throw to them a cake made of

millet flour; sugar…candy; and crocodile's eggs。 This cake

she prepared with her own hands; and putting it in a

little basket; she set out to seek the Fairy。 But as she

was not used to walking far; she soon felt very tired and

sat down at the foot of a tree to rest; and presently fell

fast asleep。 When she awoke she was dismayed to find

her basket empty。 The cake was all gone! and; to make

matters worse; at that moment she heard the roaring of

the great lions; who had found out that she was near and

were coming to look for her



〃What shall I do?〃 she cried; 〃I shall be eaten up;〃 and

being too frightened to run a single step; she began to cry;

and leaned against the tree under which she had been

asleep。



Just then she heard some one say: 〃H'm; h'm!〃



She looked all round her; and then up the tree; and

there she saw a little tiny man; who was eating oranges。



〃Oh! Queen;〃 said he; 〃I know you very well; and I

know how much afraid you are of the lions; and you are

quite right too; for they have eaten many other people:

and what can you expect; as you have not any cake to

give them?〃



〃I must make up my mind to die;〃 said the poor Queen。

〃Alas! I should not care so much if only my dear daughter

were married。〃



〃Oh! you have a daughter;〃 cried the Yellow Dwarf

(who was so called because he WAS a dwarf and had such

a yellow face; and lived in the orange tree)。 〃I'm really

glad to hear that; for I've been looking for a wife all over

the world。 Now; if you will promise that she shall marry

me; not one of the lions; tigers; or bears shall touch you。〃



The Queen looked at him and was almost as much

afraid of his ugly little face as she had been of the lions

before; so that she could not speak a word。



〃What! you hesitate; madam;〃 cried the Dwarf。 〃You

must be very fond of being eaten up alive。〃



And; as he spoke; the Queen saw the lions; which were

running down a hill toward them。



Each one had two heads; eight feet; and four rows of

teeth; and their skins were as hard as turtle shells; and

were bright red。



At this dreadful sight; the poor Queen; who was

trembling like a dove when it sees a hawk; cried out as loud as

she could; 〃Oh! dear Mr。 Dwarf; Bellissima shall marry

you。〃



〃Oh; indeed!〃 said he disdainfully。 〃Bellissima is pretty

enough; but I don't particularly want to marry heryou

can keep her。〃



〃Oh! noble sir;〃 said the Queen in great distress; ado

not refuse her。 She is the most charming Princess in the

world。〃



〃Oh! well;〃 he replied; 〃out of charity I will take her;

but be sure and don't forget that she is mine。〃



As he spoke a little door opened in the trunk of the

orange tree; in rushed the Queen; only just in time; and

the door shut with a bang in the faces of the lions。



The Queen was so confused that at first she did not

notice another little door in the orange tree; but presently

it opened and she found herself in a field of thistles and

nettles。 It was encircled by a muddy ditch; and a little

further on was a tiny thatched cottage; out of which came

the Yellow Dwarf with a very jaunty air。 He wore wooden

shoes and a little yellow coat; and as he had no hair and

very long ears he looked altogether a shocking little

object。



〃I am delighted;〃 said he to the Queen; 〃that; as you

are to be my mother…in…law; you should see the little

house in which your Bellissima will live with me。 With

these thistles and nettles she can feed a donkey which she

can ride whenever she likes; under this humble roof no

weather can hurt her; she will drink the water of this

brook and eat frogswhich grow very fat about here; and

then she will have me always with her; handsome; agreeable;

and gay as you see me now。 For if her shadow stays

by her more closely than I do I shall be surprised。〃



The unhappy Queen。 seeing all at once what a mis…

erable life her daughter would have with this Dwarf

could not bear the idea; and fell down insensible without

saying a word。



When she revived she found to her great surprise that

she was lying in her own bed at home; and; what was

more; that she had on the loveliest lace night cap that she

had ever seen in her life。 At first she thought that all her

adventures; the terrible lions; and her promise to the

Yellow Dwarf that he should marry Bellissima; must

have been a dream; but there was the new cap with its

beautiful ribbon and lace to remind her that it was all

true; which made her so unhappy that she could neither

eat; drink; nor sleep for thinking of it。



The Princess; who; in spite of her wilfulness; really loved

her mother with all her heart; was much grieved when she

saw her looking so sad; and often asked her what was the

matter; but the Queen; who didn't want her to find out

the truth; only said that she was ill; or that one of her

neighbors was threatening to make war against her。

Bellissima knew quite well that something was being

hidden from herand that neither of these was the real

reason of the Queen's uneasiness。 So she made up her

mind that she would go and consult the Fairy of the

Desert about it; especially

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