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“RUMPTY-DUDGET, WHOSE ONLY PLEASURE WAS IN DOING MISCHIEF, LIVED IN A GRAY TOWER.”

IN 1877, when I was living in Twickenham, near London, my sister Una happened to be describing a queer character she had met that day: she had a gift for making swift and vivid portraits in words. “He was a little Rumpty-Dudget of a man,” she said, concluding her description. She may have meant to say, “Rumpelstiltskin,” the name of a dwarf immortalised in the Grimm fairy-tales, with which we had been familiar in our childhood. But her variation struck me soundly, and I said to myself, I’ll write a story about him!

But, in truth, the story, upon that inspiration, wrote itself. I had a fine time with it, and my own children, to whom it was read in manuscript, heartily approved it. Then Alexander Strahan, the publisher, and the first editor of the famous Contemporary Review, saw it and xproclaimed, with many a Scottish burr, that it was “a varra fine piece of worrk, my boy, and does ye credit,” and he carried it off and published it in his new magazine for children. Afterward, the eminent firm of Longmans, Green and Longmans, of Paternoster Row, hard by Saint Paul’s, in London, considered it and said, “If you can collect half a dozen others of the same sort, we would be glad to issue them in a volume.” It was easy for me, in the late ’70’s, to do that, though now that I am in the late seventies myself, I should beg off.

So a little green-and-gold book was printed. It was called “Yellow-Cap, and Other Fairy Tales,” and bore the great Longmans’ imprint. And they sold, I believe, a great many of them; but the only story in the collection about which readers afterward wrote to me, was “Rumpty-Dudget’s Tower”; and today, after nearly five and forty years, I still receive occasional kind words on the subject. My mischievous little dwarf manifested vitality.

Of course, the Longmans volume has long xibeen out of print. But in the latter part of 1878, I came back to America, after a twelve-year stay abroad, and found my friend Richard Watson Gilder riding high as editor of The Century, and subordinate to him a delightful young fellow named Clark, who was conducting a magazine for young people. They had seen Rumpty-Dudget and wanted to republish it in the latter periodical. So I sold them the American copyright, and thought I was doing well. Could I not write a dozen as good or better tales whenever I had a mind to? Such is the self-confidence of an author whose years are but thirty-six!

Soon, letters began to come from children and from their mothers, saying pleasant things about the story, and asking for more like it. But things which I thought of more importance occupied me, and I postponed complying with their requests: besides, my sister Una had gone to Heaven, and could no longer inspire me with her word. Letters continued to come, however, and presently they were from mothers who had xiibeen children when the story first appeared, and now wanted the old story for children of their own, and asked me to publish it in book form. I began to regret not having kept my American copyright, because when I suggested its return to me by the Century people, they would reply that they intended, when they could get down to it, to reprint the story themselves. So I was fain to wait, and to bid my correspondents to do likewise.

But editors die in the course of time, and properties change hands, and I myself lost track of the matter, though those letters still kept on arriving from time to time. I wish I had kept them; there must have been hundreds. The children who had become mothers were grandmothers now and wanted the story for their grandchildren: but nothing could be done. Poor Rumpty-Dudget was buried beyond digging-up again—so it seemed. Would a tribe of great-grandchildren arise, once more miraculously knowing about the story, and demanding its resurrection?

xiiiAt all events, about the first of the New Year, I got a letter from Frederick A. Stokes Company of New York, in consequence of which negotiations took place, leading up to the publication of the present little volume. Rumpty-Dudget Redivivus! He bears a bad character in the tale, but there must really be something good in him. And now he makes his bow to little persons who were not born into this world until nearly half a century after he left it. When I look at the list of the year’s books, it strikes me that he appears in strange and alien company. But that is not my affair: I choose to feel complimented on his account, and I hope he will make new friends.

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LONG ago, before the sun caught fire, before the moon froze up, and before you were born, a Queen had three children, whose names were Princess Hilda, Prince Frank, and Prince Henry. Princess Hilda, who was the eldest, had blue eyes and golden hair; Prince Henry, who was the youngest, had black eyes and black hair; and Prince Frank, who was neither the youngest nor the eldest, had hazel eyes and brown hair. They were the best children in the world, and the prettiest, and the cleverest of their age; they lived in the most beautiful palace ever built, and 4the garden they played in was the loveliest that ever was seen.

This palace stood on the borders of a great forest, on the other side of which was Fairy Land. But there was only one window in the palace that looked out upon the forest, and that was the round window of the room in which Princess Hilda, Prince Frank, and Prince Henry slept. And since this window was never open except at night, after the three children had been put to bed, they knew very little about how the forest looked, or what kind of flowers grew there, or what kind of birds sang in the branches of the trees. Sometimes, however, as they lay with their heads on their little pillows, and their eyes open, waiting for sleep to come and fasten down their eyelids, they saw stars, white, blue, and red, twinkling in the sky overhead; and below amongst the tree-trunks, other yellow stars, which danced about, and flitted to and fro. These flitting stars were called, by grown-up people, will-o’-the-wisps, jack-o’-lanterns, fire-flies, and such like names; but the 5children knew them to be the torches carried by the elves, as they ran hither and thither about their affairs. They often wished that one of these elves would come through the round window of their chamber, and make them a visit; but if this ever happened, it was not until after the children had fallen asleep, and could know nothing of it.

The garden was on the opposite side of the palace to the forest, and was full of flowers, and birds, and fountains, in the basins of which gold-fishes swam. In the center of the garden, was a broad green lawn for the children to play on; and on the further edge of this lawn was a high hedge, with only one round opening in the middle of it. But through this opening no one was allowed to pass; for the land on the other side belonged to a dwarf, whose name was Rumpty-Dudget, and whose only pleasure was in doing mischief. He was an ugly little dwarf, about as high as your knee, and all gray from head to foot. He had a gray beard and wore a broad-brimmed gray hat, and a gray cloak, that 6was so much too long for him that it dragged on the ground as he walked; and on his back was a small gray hump, that made him look even shorter than he was. He lived in a gray tower, whose battlements could be seen from the palace windows. In this tower was a room with a thousand and one corners in it. In each of these corners stood a little child, with its face to the wall, and its hands behind its back. They were children that Rumpty-Dudget had caught trespassing on his grounds, and had carried off with him to his tower. In this way he had filled up one corner after another, until only one corner was left unfilled; and if he could catch a child to put in that corner, then Rumpty-Dudget would become master of the whole country, and the beautiful palace would disappear, and the lovely garden would be changed into a desert, covered over with gray stones and brambles. You may be sure, therefore, that Rumpty-Dudget tried very hard to get hold of a child to put in the thousand and first corner; but all the mothers 7were so careful, and all the children so obedient, that for a long time that thousand and first corner had remained empty.

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WHEN Princess Hilda and her two little brothers, Prince Frank and Prince Henry, were still very little indeed, the Queen, their mother, was obliged to make a long journey to a distant country, and to leave the children behind her. They were not entirely alone, however; for there was their fairy aunt to keep guard over them at night, and a large cat, with yellow eyes and a thick tail, to see that no harm came to them during the day. The cat was named Tom, and was with them from the time they got up in the morning until they went to bed again; but from the time they went to bed until they got up, the cat disappeared and the fairy aunt took his place. The children had never seen their fairy aunt except in dreams, because she only came after sleep had fastened 12down their eyelids for the night. Then she would fly in through the round window, and sit on the edge of their bed, and whisper in their ears all manner of charming stories about Fairy Land, and the wonderful things that were seen and done there. Then, just before they awoke, she would kiss their eyelids and fly out of the round window again; and the cat, with his yellow eyes and his thick tail, would come purring in at the window.

One day, the unluckiest day in the whole year, Princess Hilda, Prince Frank and Prince Henry were playing together on the broad lawn in the center of the garden. It was Rumpty-Dudget’s birthday, and the only day in which he had power to creep through the round hole in the hedge and prowl about the Queen’s grounds. As ill-fortune would have it, moreover, the cat was forced to be away on this day from sunrise to sunset; so that during all that time the three children had no one to take care of them. But they did not know there was any danger, for they had never yet heard of Rumpty-Dudget; and 13they went on playing together very affectionately, for up to this time they had never quarreled. The only thing that troubled them was that Tom, the cat, was not there to play with them; he had been away ever since sunrise, and they all longed to see his yellow eyes and his thick tail, and to stroke his smooth back, and to hear his comfortable purr. However, it was now very near sunset, so he must soon be back. The sun, like a great red ball, hung a little way above the edge of the world, and was taking a parting look at the children before bidding them good night.

All at once, Princess Hilda looked up and saw a strange little dwarf standing close beside her, all gray from head to foot. He had a gray beard, a gray hat, and a long gray cloak that dragged on the ground, and on his back was a little gray hump that made him seem even shorter than he was, though, after all, he was no taller than your knee. Princess Hilda was not frightened, for nobody had ever done her any harm; and besides, this strange little gray man, though he was very ugly, 14smiled at her from ear to ear, and seemed to be the most good-natured dwarf in the world. So she called to Prince Frank and Prince Henry, and they looked up too, and were no more frightened than Hilda; and as the dwarf kept smiling from ear to ear, the three children smiled back at him. Meanwhile, the great red ball of the sun was slowly going down, and now his lower edge was just resting on the edge of the world.

Now, you have heard of Rumpty-Dudget before, and therefore you know that this strange little gray dwarf was none other than he, and that, although he smiled so good-naturedly from ear to ear, he was really wishing to do the children harm, and even to carry one of them off to his tower, to stand in the thousand and first corner. But he had no power to do this so long as the children stayed on their side of the hedge; he must first tempt them to creep through the round opening, and then he could carry them whither he pleased. So he held out his hand and said:

15“Come with me, Princess Hilda, Prince Frank and Prince Henry. I am very fond of little children; and if you will creep through that round opening in the hedge, I will show you something you never saw before.”

“‘COME WITH ME, PRINCESS HILDA, PRINCE FRANK AND PRINCE HENRY’”

The three children thought it would be very pleasant to see something they never saw before; for if that part of the world which they had already seen was so beautiful, it was likely that the part they had not seen would be more beautiful still. So they stood up, and Rumpty-Dudget took Prince Frank by one hand, and Prince Henry by the other, and Princess Hilda followed behind, and thus they all set off across the lawn toward the round opening in the hedge. But they could not go very fast, because Prince Henry was hardly old enough to walk fast yet; and meanwhile, the great red ball of the sun kept going down very slowly, and now his lower half was out of sight beneath the edge of the world. However, at last they came to the round opening, and Rumpty-Dudget took hold of Prince Henry to lift him through it.

16But just at that moment the last bit of the sun disappeared beneath the edge of the world, and instantly there was a great sound of meowing and spitting, and Tom, the cat, came springing across the lawn, his great yellow eyes flashing, and his back bristling, and every hair upon his tail standing straight out, until it was as big round as your leg. And he flew at Rumpty-Dudget, and jumped upon his hump, and bit and scratched him soundly. At that Rumpty-Dudget screamed with pain, and dropped little Prince Henry, and vanished through the opening of the hedge in the twinkling of an eye.

But from the other side of the hedge he threw a handful of black mud at the three children; a drop of it fell upon the forehead of Princess Hilda, and another upon Prince Frank’s nose, and a third upon little Prince Henry’s chin; and each drop made a little black spot, which all the washing and scrubbing in the world would not take away. And immediately Princess Hilda, who had till then been the best little girl in the world, began to wish to order everybody 17about, and make them do what she pleased, whether they liked it or not; and Prince Frank, who till then had been one of the two best little boys in the world, began to want all the good and pretty things that belonged to other people, in addition to what already belonged to him; and Prince Henry, who till then had been the other of the two best little boys in the world, began to wish to do what he was told not to do, and not to do what he was told to do. Such was the effect of the three black drops of mud.

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ALTHOUGH the Princess Hilda and her two little brothers were no longer the best children in the world, they were pretty good children as the world goes, and got along tolerably well together on the whole. But whenever the wind blew from the north, where Rumpty-Dudget’s tower stood, Princess Hilda ordered her brothers about, and tried to make them do what she pleased, whether they liked it or not; and Prince Frank wanted some of the good and pretty things that belonged to his brother and sister, in addition to what were already his; and Prince Henry would not do what he was told to do, and would do what he was told not to do. And then, too, the spot on Princess Hilda’s forehead, and on Prince Frank’s nose, and on Prince Henry’s chin, became blacker and blacker, and 22hotter and hotter, until at last the children were ready to cry from pain and vexation. But as soon as the wind blew from the south, where Fairy Land was, the spots began to grow dim, and the heat to lessen, until at last the children hardly felt or noticed them any more. Yet they never disappeared altogether; and neither the cat nor the fairy aunt could do anything to drive them away. But the cat used to warn Princess Hilda and her two brothers that unless they could make the wind blow always from the south, the thousand and first corner in Rumpty-Dudget’s tower would be filled at last. And when, at night, their fairy aunt flew in through the round window and sat on their bedside, and whispered stories about Fairy Land into their ears, and they would ask her in their sleep to take them all three in her arms and carry them over the tops of the forest trees to her beautiful home far away on the other side, she would shake her head and say:

“As long as those spots are on your faces, I cannot carry you to my home, for a part of each 23of you belongs to Rumpty-Dudget, and he will hold on to it in spite of all I can do. But when Hilda becomes a horse, and Frank a stick of fire-wood, and Henry a violin, then Rumpty-Dudget will lose his power over you, and the spots will vanish, and I will take you all three in my arms, and fly with you over the tops of the trees to Fairy Land, where we will live happily forever after.”

When the three children heard this, they were puzzled to know what to do; for how could a little princess become a horse, or two little princes a stick of fire-wood and a violin? But that their fairy aunt would not tell them.

“It can only happen when the wind blows always from the south, as the cat told you,” said she.

“But how can we make the wind blow always from the south?” asked they.

At that, the fairy aunt touched each of them on the heart, and smiled, and shook her head; and no other answer would she give; so they were no wiser than before.

24Thus time went steadily on, to-morrow going before to-day, and yesterday following behind, until a year was past, and Rumpty-Dudget’s birthday came round once more.

“I must leave you alone to-morrow,” said the cat the day before, “from sunrise to sunset; but if you are careful to do as I tell you, all will be well. Do not go into the garden; do not touch the black ball that lies on the table in the nursery; and do not jump against the north wind.”

Just as he finished saying these things, he sprang out of the room and disappeared.

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ALL the next morning the children remembered what Tom, the cat, had told them; they played quietly in the palace, and did not touch the black ball that lay on their nursery table. But when the afternoon came, Princess Hilda began to be tired of staying shut up so long, when out in the garden it was warm and pleasant, and the wind blew from the south. And Prince Frank began to be tired of his own playthings, and to wish that he might have the pretty, black ball, to toss up in the air and catch again. And Prince Henry began to be tired of doing what he was told, and wished the wind would blow from the north, so that he might jump against it. At last they could bear it no longer; so Princess Hilda stood up and said:

“Frank and Henry, I order you to come out 28with me into the garden!” And out they went; and as they passed through the nursery, Prince Henry knocked the black ball off the table, and Prince Frank picked it up and put it in his pocket. But by the time they got to the broad lawn in the center of the garden, the three spots on their faces were blacker than ink and hotter than pepper; and, strange to say, the wind, which hitherto had blown from the south, now changed about and came from the north, where Rumpty-Dudget’s tower stood. Nevertheless, the children ran about the grass, tossing the black ball from one to another, and did not notice that every time it fell to the ground, it struck a little nearer the hedge which divided Rumpty-Dudget’s land from the Queen’s garden. At last Prince Frank got the ball, and kept tossing it up in the air, and catching it again all by himself, without letting the others take their turns. But they ran after him to get it away, and all three raced to and fro, without noticing that at every turn they were nearer and nearer to the high hedge, and to the round 29opening that led into Rumpty-Dudget’s ground. After a long chase, Princess Hilda and Prince Henry caught up with Prince Frank, and would have taken the black ball away from him; but he gave it a great toss upward, and it flew clear over the high hedge and came down bounce upon the other side. Just then the great red ball of the sun dropped out of a gray cloud, and rested on the edge of the world. It wanted three minutes to sunset.

The three children were a good deal frightened when they saw where the ball had gone, and well they might be; for it was Rumpty-Dudget’s ball, and Rumpty-Dudget himself was hiding on the other side of the hedge.

“It is your fault,” said Princess Hilda to Prince Frank; “you threw it over.”

“No, it’s your fault,” answered Prince Frank; “I shouldn’t have thrown it over if you and Henry had not chased me.”

“You will be punished when Tom the cat comes home,” said Princess Hilda, “and that will be in one minute, when the sun sets.” For 30they had spent one minute in being frightened, and another minute in disputing.

Now, all this time, Prince Henry had been standing directly in front of the round opening in the hedge, looking through it to the other side, where he thought he could see the black ball lying beside a bush. The north wind blew so strongly as almost to take his breath away, and the spot on his chin burnt him so that he was ready to cry with pain and vexation. Still for all that, he longed so much to do what he had been told not to do, that by and by he could stand it no longer; but, just as the last bit of the sun sank out of sight beneath the edge of the world, he jumped through the round opening against the north wind, and ran to pick up the ball. At the same moment, Tom the cat came springing across the lawn, his yellow eyes flashing, his back bristling, and the hairs sticking straight out on his tail until it was as big round as your leg. But this time he came too late. For, as soon as Prince Henry jumped through the hedge against the north wind and 31ran to pick up the black ball, out rushed Rumpty-Dudget from behind the bush, and caught him by the chin, and carried him away to the thousand and first corner in the gray tower. As soon as the corner was filled, the north wind rose to a hurricane and blew away the beautiful palace and the lovely garden, and nothing was left but a desert covered with gray stones and brambles. The mischievous Rumpty-Dudget was now master of the whole country.

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MEANWHILE, Princess Hilda and Prince Frank were sitting on a heap of rubbish, crying as if their hearts would break, and the cat stood beside them wiping its great yellow eyes with its paw and looking very sorrowful.

“Crying will do no good, however,” said the cat at last; “we must try to get poor little Henry back again.”

“Oh, where is our fairy aunt?” cried Princess Hilda and Prince Frank. “She will tell us how to find him.”

“You will not see your fairy aunt,” replied Tom, “until you have taken Henry out of the gray tower, where he is standing in the thousand and first corner with his face to the wall and his hands behind his back.”

36“But how are we to do it,” said Princess Hilda and Prince Frank, beginning to cry again, “without our fairy aunt to help us?”

“Listen to me,” replied the cat, “and do what I tell you, and all may yet be well. But first take hold of my tail, and follow me out of this desert to the borders of the great forest; there we can lay our plans without being disturbed.”

With these words, Tom arose and held his tail straight out like the handle of a saucepan; the two children took hold of it, off they all went, and in less time than it takes to tell it, they were on the borders of the great forest, at the foot of an immensely tall pine-tree. The cat made Princess Hilda and Prince Frank sit down on the moss that covered the ground, and sat down in front of them with his tail curled round his toes.

“THE TWO CHILDREN TOOK HOLD OF IT, AND OFF THEY ALL WENT”

“The first thing to be done,” said he, “is to get the Golden Ivy-seed and the Diamond Water-drop. After that, the rest is easy.”

“But where are the Golden Ivy-seed and the 37Diamond Water-drop to be found?” asked the two children.

“One of you will have to go down to the kingdom of the Gnomes, in the center of the earth, to find out where the Golden Ivy-seed is,” replied the cat “and up to the kingdom of the Air-Spirits, above the clouds, to find out where the Diamond Water-drop is.”

“But how are we to get up to the Air-Spirits, or down to the Gnomes?” asked the children, disconsolately.

“I may be able to help you about that,” answered the cat. “But while one of you is gone, the other must stay here and mind the magic fire which I shall kindle before we start; for if the fire goes out, Rumpty-Dudget will take the burnt logs and blacken Henry’s face all over with them, and then we should never be able to get him back. Do you two children run about and pick up all the dried sticks you can find, and pile them up in a heap, while I get the touch-wood ready.”

In a very few minutes, a large heap of fagots 38had been gathered together, as high as the top of Princess Hilda’s head. Meanwhile, the cat had drawn a large circle on the ground with the tip of his tail, and in the center of the circle was the heap of fagots. It had now become quite dark, but the cat’s eyes burned as brightly as if two yellow lamps had been set in his head.

“Come inside the circle, children,” said he, “while I light the touch-wood.”

In they came accordingly, and the cat put the touch-wood on the ground and sat down in front of it with his nose resting against it, and stared at it with his flaming yellow eyes and by and by it began to smoke and smolder, and at last it caught fire and burned famously.

“That will do nicely,” said the cat; “now put some sticks upon it.” So this was done, and the fire was fairly started, and burned blue, red and yellow.

“And now there is no time to be lost,” said the cat. “Prince Frank, you will stay beside this fire and keep it burning, until I come back with Princess Hilda from the kingdoms of the 39Gnomes and Air-Spirits. Remember, that if you let it go out, all will be lost; nevertheless, you must on no account go outside the circle to gather more fagots, if those that are already here get used up. You may, perhaps, be tempted to do otherwise; but if you yield to the temptation, all will go wrong; and the only way your brother Henry can be saved will be for you to get into the fire yourself, in place of the fagots.”

Though Prince Frank did not much like the idea of being left alone in the woods all night, still, since it was for his brother’s sake, he consented; but he made up his mind to be very careful not to use up the fagots too fast, or to go outside the ring. So Princess Hilda and Tom the cat bade him farewell, and then the cat stretched out his tail as straight as the handle of a saucepan. Princess Hilda took hold of it, and away! right up the tall pine-tree they went, and were out of sight in the twinkling of an eye.

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AFTER climbing upward for a long time, they came at last to the tip-top of the pine-tree, which was on a level with the clouds. The cat waited until a large cloud sailed along pretty near them, and then, bidding Princess Hilda hold on tight, they made a spring together, and alighted very cleverly on the cloud’s edge. Off sailed the cloud with them on its back, and soon brought them to the kingdom of the Air-Spirits.

“Now, Princess Hilda,” said the cat, “you must go the rest of the way alone. Ask the first Spirit you meet to show you the way to the place where the Queen sits; and when you have found her, ask her where the Diamond Water-drop is. But be careful not to sit down, however much you may be tempted to do so; for if you do, your brother Henry never can be saved.”

44Though Princess Hilda did not much like the idea of going on alone, still, since it was for her brother’s sake, she consented; only she made up her mind on no account to sit down, no matter what happened. So she bade the cat farewell, and walked off. Pretty soon, she met an Air-Spirit, carrying its nose in the air, as all Air-Spirits do.

“Can you tell me the way to the place where the Queen sits?” asked Princess Hilda.

“What do you want of her?” asked the Air-Spirit.

“I want to ask her where the Diamond Water-drop is,” answered Princess Hilda.

“She sits on the top of that large star up yonder,” said the Air-Spirit; “but unless you can carry your nose more in the air than you do, I don’t believe you will get her to tell you anything.”

Princess Hilda, however, did not feel so much like carrying her nose in the air as she had felt at any time since the black spot came upon her forehead; and she set out to climb toward the 45Queen’s star very sorrowfully; and all the Spirits who met her said:

“See how she hangs her head? She will never come to anything.”

But at last she arrived at the gates of the star, and walked in; and there was the Queen of the Air-Spirits sitting in the midst of it. As soon as she saw Princess Hilda, she said:

“You have come a long way, and you look very tired. Come here and sit down beside me.”

“No, your Majesty,” replied Princess Hilda, though she was really so tired that she could hardly stand, “there is no time to be lost; where is the Diamond Water-drop?”

“That is a foolish thing to come after,” said the Queen. “However, sit down here and let us talk about it. I have been expecting you.”

But Princess Hilda shook her head.

“Listen to me,” said the Queen. “I know that you like to order people around, and to make them do what you please, whether they like it or not. Now, if you will sit down here, I will let you be Queen of the Air-Spirits instead 46of me; you shall carry your nose in the air, and everybody shall do what you please, whether they like it or not.”

When Princess Hilda heard this, she felt for a moment very much tempted to do as the Queen asked her. But the next moment she remembered her poor little brother Henry, standing in the thousand and first corner of Rumpty-Dudget’s tower, with his face to the wall and his hands behind his back. So she cried, and said:

“Oh, Queen of the Air-Spirits, I am so sorry for my little brother that I do not care any longer to carry my nose in the air, or to make people mind me, whether they like it or not; I only want the Diamond Water-drop, so that Henry may be saved from Rumpty-Dudget’s tower. Can you tell me where it is?”

Then the Queen smiled upon her, and said:

“It is on your own cheek!”

Princess Hilda was so astonished that she could only look at the Queen without speaking.

“Yes,” continued the Queen, kindly, “you might have searched throughout all the kingdoms 47of the earth and air, and yet never have found that precious Drop, had you not loved your little brother Henry more than to be Queen. That tear upon your cheek, which you shed for love of him, is the Diamond Water-drop, Hilda; keep it in this little crystal bottle; be prudent and resolute, and sooner or later Henry will be free again.”

As she spoke, she held out a little crystal bottle, and the tear from Princess Hilda’s cheek fell into it, and the Queen hung it about her neck by a coral chain, and kissed her, and bade her farewell. And as Princess Hilda went away, she fancied she had somewhere heard a voice like this Queen’s before; but where or when she could not tell.

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IT was not long before she arrived at the cloud which had brought her to the kingdom of the Air-Spirits, and there she found Tom the cat awaiting her. He got up and stretched himself as she approached, and when he saw the little crystal bottle hanging round her neck by its coral chain, he said:

“So far, all has gone well; but we have still to find the Golden Ivy-seed. There is no time to be lost, so catch hold of my tail and let us be off.”

With that, he stretched out his tail as straight as the handle of a saucepan. Princess Hilda took hold if it; they sprang off the cloud and away! down they went till it seemed to her as if they never would be done falling. At last, however, they alighted softly on the top of a hay-mow, 52and in another moment were safe on the earth again.

Close beside the hay-mow was a field-mouse’s hole, and the cat began scratching at it with his two fore-paws, throwing up the dirt in a great heap behind, till in a few minutes a great passage was made through to the center of the earth.

“Keep hold of my tail,” said the cat, and into the passage they went.

It was quite dark inside, and if it had not been for the cat’s eyes, which shone like two yellow lamps, they might have missed their way. As it was, however, they got along famously, and pretty soon arrived at the center of the earth, where was the kingdom of the Gnomes.

“Now, Princess Hilda,” said the cat, “you must go the rest of the way alone. Ask the first Gnome you meet to show you the place where the King works; and when you have found him, ask him where the Golden Ivy-seed is. But be careful to do everything he bids you, no matter how little you may like it; for, if you do not, your brother Henry never can be saved.”

53Though Princess Hilda did not much like the idea of going on alone, still, since it was for her brother’s sake, she consented; only she made up her mind to do everything the King bade her, whatever happened. Pretty soon she met a Gnome, who was running along on all-fours.

“Can you show me the place where the King works?” asked Princess Hilda.

“What do you want with him?” asked the Gnome.

“I want to ask him where the Golden Ivy-seed is,” answered Princess Hilda.

“He works in that great field over yonder,” said the Gnome; “but unless you can walk on all-fours better than you do, I don’t believe he will tell you anything.”

Princess Hilda had never walked on all-fours since the black spot came on her forehead; so she went onward just as she was, and all the Gnomes who met her said:

“See how upright she walks! She will never come to anything.”

But at last she arrived at the gate of the field, 54and walked in; and there was the King on all-fours in the midst of it. As soon as he saw Princess Hilda, he said:

“Get down on all-fours this instant! How dare you come into my kingdom walking upright?”

“Oh, your Majesty,” said Hilda, though she was a good deal frightened at the way the King spoke, “there is no time to be lost; where is the Golden Ivy-seed?”

“The Golden Ivy-seed is not given to people with stiff necks,” replied the King. “Get down on all-fours at once, or else go about your business!”

Then Princess Hilda remembered what the cat had told her, and got down on all-fours without a word.

“Now listen to me,” said the King. “I shall harness you to that plow in the place of my horse, and you must draw it up and down over this field until the whole is plowed, while I follow behind with the whip. Come! There is no time to lose.”

55When Princess Hilda heard this, she felt tempted for a moment to refuse; but the next moment she remembered her poor little brother Henry standing in the thousand and first corner of Rumpty-Dudget’s tower, with his face to the wall and his hands behind his back; so she said:

“O King of the Gnomes! I am so sorry for my little brother that I will do as you bid me, and all I ask in return is that you will give me the Golden Ivy-seed, so that Henry may be saved from Rumpty-Dudget’s tower.”

The King said nothing, but harnessed Hilda to the plow, and she drew it up and down over the field until the whole was plowed, while he followed behind with the whip. Then he freed her from her trappings, and told her to go about her business.

“But where is the Golden Ivy-seed?” asked she, piteously.

“I have no Golden Ivy-seed,” answered the King; “ask yourself where it is!”

Then poor Princess Hilda’s heart was broken, 56and she sank down on the ground and sobbed out, quite in despair:

“Oh, what shall I do to save my little brother!”

But at that the King smiled upon her and said:

“Put your hand over your heart, Hilda, and see what you find there.”

Princess Hilda was so surprised that she could say nothing; but she put her hand over her heart, and felt something fall into the palm of her hand, and when she looked at it, behold! it was the Golden Ivy-seed.

“BEHOLD! IT WAS THE GOLDEN IVY-SEED”

“Yes,” said the King, kindly; “you might have searched through all the kingdoms of the earth and air, and yet never have found that precious seed, had you not loved your brother so much as to let yourself be driven like a horse in the plow for his sake. Keep the Golden Ivy-seed in this little pearl box; be humble, gentle and patient, and sooner or later your brother will be free.”

As he spoke, he fastened a little pearl box to her girdle with a jewelled clasp, and kissed her, and bade her farewell. And as Princess Hilda 57went away, she fancied she had somewhere heard a voice like this King’s before; but where or when she could not tell.

It was not long before she arrived at the mouth of the passage by which she had descended to the kingdom of the Gnomes, and there she found Tom the cat awaiting her. He got up and stretched himself as she approached, and when he saw the pearl box at her girdle, he said:

“So far, all goes well; but now we must see whether or not Prince Frank has kept the fire going: there is no time to be lost, so catch hold of my tail, and let us be off.”

With that, he stretched out his tail, as straight as the handle of a saucepan; Princess Hilda took hold of it, and away they went back through the passage again, and were out at the other end in the twinkling of an eye.

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NOW, after Prince Frank had seen Princess Hilda and the cat disappear up the trunk of the tall pine-tree, he had sat down rather disconsolately beside the fire, which blazed away famously, blue, red, and yellow. Every once in a while he took a fagot from the pile and put it in the flame, lest it should go out; but he was very careful not to step outside the circle which the cat had drawn with the tip of his tail. So things went on for a very long time, and Prince Frank began to get very sleepy, for never before had he sat up so late; but still Princess Hilda and the cat did not return, and he knew that if he were to lie down to take a nap, the fire might go out before he waked up again, and then Rumpty-Dudget would have blackened Henry’s face all over with one of the burnt logs, and he never could be saved. He kept on 62putting fresh fagots in the flame, therefore, though it was all he could do to keep his eyes open; and the fire kept on burning red, blue and yellow.

But after another very long time had gone by, and there were still no Princess Hilda and the cat, Prince Frank, when he went to take a fresh fagot from the pile, found that there was only that one fagot left of all that he and Hilda had gathered together. At this he was very much frightened, and knew not what to do; for when that fagot was burned up, as it soon would be, what was he to do to keep the fire going? There were no more sticks inside the ring, and the cat had told him that if he went outside of it, all would be lost.

In order to make the fagot last as long as possible, he broke it apart, and only put one stick in the flame at a time; but after a while, all but the last stick was gone, and when he had put that in, Prince Frank sat down quite in despair, and cried with all his might. Just then, however, he heard a voice calling him, and looking up, he 63saw a little gray man standing just outside the circle, with a great bundle of fagots in his arms. Prince Frank’s eyes were so full of tears that he did not see that the little gray man was Rumpty-Dudget.

“What are you crying for, my dear little boy?” asked the gray dwarf, smiling from ear to ear.

“Because I have used up all my fagots,” answered Prince Frank; “and if the fire goes out, my brother Henry cannot be saved.”

“That would be too bad, surely,” said the dwarf; “luckily, I have got an armful, and when these are gone, I will get you some more.”

“Oh, thank you—how kind you are!” cried Prince Frank, jumping up in great joy and going to the edge of the circle. “Give them to me, quick, for there is no time to be lost; the fire is just going out.”

“I can’t bring them in,” replied the dwarf; “I have carried them already from the other end of the forest, and that is far enough; surely you can come the rest of the way yourself.”

“Oh, but I must not come outside the circle,” 64said Prince Frank “for the cat told me that if I did, all would go wrong.”

“Pshaw! what does the cat know about it?” asked the dwarf. “At all events, your fire will not burn one minute longer; and you know what will happen then.”

When Prince Frank heard this, he knew not what to do; but anything seemed better than to let the fire go out; so he put one foot outside the circle and stretched out his hand for the fagots. But immediately the dwarf gave a loud laugh, and threw the fagots away as far as he could; and rushing into the circle, he began to stamp out with his feet the little of the fire that was left.

Then Prince Frank remembered what the cat had told him; he turned and rushed back also into the circle; and as the last bit of flame flickered at the end of the stick, he laid himself down upon it like a bit of fire-wood. And immediately Rumpty-Dudget gave a loud cry and disappeared; and the fire blazed up famously, yellow, blue and red, with poor little Prince Frank in the midst of it!

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JUST then, and not one moment too soon, there was a noise of hurrying and scurrying, and along came Tom the cat through the forest, with Princess Hilda holding on to his tail. As soon as they were within the circle, Tom dug a little hole in the ground with his two fore-paws, throwing up the dirt behind, and then said: “Give me the Golden Ivy-seed, Princess Hilda; but make haste; for Frank is burning for Henry’s sake!”

So she made haste to give him the Seed; and he planted it quickly in the little hole, and covered the earth over it, and then said: “Give me the Diamond Water-drop; but make haste; for Frank is burning for Henry’s sake!”

So she made haste to give him the Drop; and he poured half of it on the fire, and the other half 68on the place where the Seed was planted. And immediately the fire was put out, and there lay Prince Frank all alive and well; but the mark of Rumpty-Dudget’s mud on his nose was burned away, and his hair and eyes, which before had been brown and hazel, were now quite black. So up he jumped, and he and Princess Hilda and Tom all kissed each other heartily; and then Prince Frank said:

“Why, Hilda! the black spot that you had on your forehead has gone away, too.”

“Yes,” said the cat, “that happened when the King of the Gnomes kissed her. But now make yourselves ready, children for we are going to take a ride to Rumpty-Dudget’s tower!”

The two children were very much surprised when they heard this, and looked about to see what they were to ride on. But behold! the Golden Ivy-seed, watered with the Diamond Water-drop, was already growing and sprouting, and a strong stem with bright golden leaves had pushed itself out of the earth, and was creeping along the ground in the direction 69of Rumpty-Dudget’s tower. The cat put Princess Hilda and Prince Frank on the two largest leaves, and got on the stem himself, and so away they went merrily, and in a very short time the Ivy had carried them to the tower gates.

“THE CAT PUT PRINCESS HILDA AND PRINCE FRANK ON THE TWO LARGEST LEAVES, AND GOT ON THE STEM HIMSELF”

“Now jump down,” said the cat.

Down they all jumped accordingly; but the Golden Ivy kept on, and climbed over the gate, and crept up the stairs, and along the narrow passageway, until, in less time than it takes to write it, the Ivy had reached the room, with the thousand and one corners, in the midst of which Rumpty-Dudget was standing; and all around were the poor little children whom he had caught, standing with their faces to the wall and their hands behind their backs. When Rumpty-Dudget saw the Golden Ivy-seed creeping toward him, he was very much frightened, as well he might be, and he tried to run away; but the Ivy caught him, and twined around him, and squeezed him tighter and tighter and tighter, until all the mischief was squeezed out of him; but since Rumpty-Dudget was made of mischief, 70of course when all the mischief was squeezed out of him, there was no Rumpty-Dudget left. He was gone forever.

Instantly, all the children that he had kept in the thousand and one corners were free, and came racing and shouting out of the gray tower, with Prince Henry. And when he saw his brother and sister, and they saw him, they all three hugged and kissed one another as if they were crazy. At last Princess Hilda said: “Why, Henry, the spot that was on your chin has gone away, too! And your hair and eyes are brown and hazel instead of being black.”

“Yes,” said a voice, which Hilda fancied she had heard before; “while he stood in the corner his chin rubbed against the wall, until the spot was gone; so now he no longer wishes to do what he is told not to do, or not to do what he is told to do; and when he is spoken to, he answers sweetly and obediently, as a violin answers to the bow when it touches the strings.”

Then the children looked around, and there stood a beautiful lady, with a golden crown on 71her head, and a loving smile in her eyes. It was their fairy aunt, whom they had never seen before except in their dreams.

“Oh,” said Princess Hilda, “you look like our mamma, who went away to a distant country, and left us behind. And your voice is like the voice of the Queen of the Air-Spirits; and of—”

“‘OH,’ SAID PRINCESS HILDA, ‘YOU LOOK LIKE OUR MAMMA’”

“Yes, my darlings,” said the beautiful lady, taking the three children in her arms; “I am the Queen, your mother, though, by Rumpty-Dudget’s enchantments, I was obliged to leave you, and only be seen by you at night in your dreams. And I was the Queen of the Air-Spirits, Hilda, whose voice you had heard before, and I was the King of the Gnomes, though I seemed so harsh and stern at first. But my love has been with you always, and has followed you everywhere. And now you shall come with me to our home in Fairy Land. Are you all ready?”

“Oh, but where is Tom the cat?” cried all the three children together. “We cannot go and be happy in Fairy Land without him!”

72Then the Queen laughed, and kissed them, and said: “I am Tom the cat, too!”

When the children heard this, they were perfectly contented; and they clung about her neck, and she folded her arms around them, and flew with them over the tops of the forest trees to their beautiful home in Fairy Land; and there they are all living happily to this very day. But Princess Hilda’s eyes are blue, and her hair is golden, still.