HEART OF ICE

Edition and rights: Original English text from Project Gutenberg ebook #7277, marked public domain in the USA. The literary text below is reproduced without AI rewriting.

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Once upon a time there lived a King and Queen who were foolish beyond all
telling, but nevertheless they were vastly fond of one another. It is true
that certain spiteful people were heard to say that this was only one
proof the more of their exceeding foolishness, but of course you will
understand that these were not their own courtiers, since, after all, they
were a King and Queen, and up to this time all things had prospered with
them. For in those days the one thing to be thought of in governing a
kingdom was to keep well with all the Fairies and Enchanters, and on no
account to stint them of the cakes, the ells of ribbon, and similar
trifles which were their due, and, above all things, when there was a
christening, to remember to invite every single one, good, bad, or
indifferent, to the ceremony. Now, the foolish Queen had one little son
who was just going to be christened, and for several months she had been
hard at work preparing an enormous list of the names of those who were to
be invited, but she quite forgot that it would take nearly as long to read
it over as it had taken to write it out. So, when the moment of the
christening arrived the King—to whom the task had been entrusted—had
barely reached the end of the second page and his tongue was tripping with
fatigue and haste as he repeated the usual formula: ‘I conjure and pray
you, Fairy so-and-so’—or ‘Enchanter such-a-one’—‘to honour me
with a visit, and graciously bestow your gifts upon my son.’

To make matters worse, word was brought to him that the Fairies asked on
the first page had already arrived and were waiting impatiently in the
Great Hall, and grumbling that nobody was there to receive them. Thereupon
he gave up the list in despair and hurried to greet those whom he had
succeeded in asking, imploring their goodwill so humbly that most of them
were touched, and promised that they would do his son no harm. But there
happened to be among them a Fairy from a far country about whom they knew
nothing, though her name had been written on the first page of the list.
This Fairy was annoyed that after having taken the trouble to come so
quickly, there had been no one to receive her, or help her to alight from
the great ostrich on which she had travelled from her distant home, and
now she began to mutter to herself in the most alarming way.

‘Oh! prate away,’ said she, ‘your son will never be anything to boast of.
Say what you will, he will be nothing but a Mannikin—’

No doubt she would have gone on longer in this strain, and given the
unhappy little Prince half-a-dozen undesirable gifts, if it had not been
for the good Fairy Genesta, who held the kingdom under her special
protection, and who luckily hurried in just in time to prevent further
mischief. When she had by compliments and entreaties pacified the unknown
Fairy, and persuaded her to say no more, she gave the King a hint that now
was the time to distribute the presents, after which ceremony they all
took their departure, excepting the Fairy Genesta, who then went to see
the Queen, and said to her:

‘A nice mass you seem to have made of this business, madam. Why did you
not condescend to consult me? But foolish people like you always think
they can do without help or advice, and I observe that, in spite of all my
goodness to you, you had not even the civility to invite me!’

‘Ah! dear madam,’ cried the King, throwing himself at her feet; ‘did I
ever have time to get as far as your name? See where I put in this mark
when I abandoned the hopeless undertaking which I had but just begun!’

‘There! there!’ said the Fairy, ‘I am not offended. I don’t allow myself
to be put out by trifles like that with people I really am fond of. But
now about your son: I have saved him from a great many disagreeable
things, but you must let me take him away and take care of him, and you
will not see him again until he is all covered with fur!’

At these mysterious words the King and Queen burst into tears, for they
lived in such a hot climate themselves that how or why the Prince should
come to be covered with fur they could not imagine, and thought it must
portend some great misfortune to him.

However, Genesta told them not to disquiet themselves.

‘If I left him to you to bring up,’ said she, ‘you would be certain to
make him as foolish as yourselves. I do not even intend to let him know
that he is your son. As for you, you had better give your minds to
governing your kingdom properly.’ So saying, she opened the window, and
catching up the little Prince, cradle and all, she glided away in the air
as if she were skating upon ice, leaving the King and Queen in the
greatest affliction. They consulted everyone who came near them as to what
the Fairy could possibly have meant by saying that when they saw their son
again he would be covered with fur. But nobody could offer any solution of
the mystery, only they all seemed to agree that it must be something
frightful, and the King and Queen made themselves more miserable than
ever, and wandered about their palace in a way to make anyone pity them.
Meantime the Fairy had carried off the little Prince to her own castle,
and placed him under the care of a young peasant woman, whom she bewitched
so as to make her think that this new baby was one of her own children. So
the Prince grew up healthy and strong, leading the simple life of a young
peasant, for the Fairy thought that he could have no better training; only
as he grew older she kept him more and more with herself, that his mind
might be cultivated and exercised as well as his body. But her care did
not cease there: she resolved that he should be tried by hardships and
disappointments and the knowledge of his fellowmen; for indeed she knew
the Prince would need every advantage that she could give him, since,
though he increased in years, he did not increase in height, but remained
the tiniest of Princes. However, in spite of this he was exceedingly
active and well formed, and altogether so handsome and agreeable that the
smallness of his stature was of no real consequence. The Prince was
perfectly aware that he was called by the ridiculous name of ‘Mannikin,’
but he consoled himself by vowing that, happen what might, he would make
it illustrious.

In order to carry out her plans for his welfare the Fairy now began to
send Prince Mannikin the most wonderful dreams of adventure by sea and
land, and of these adventures he himself was always the hero. Sometimes he
rescued a lovely Princess from some terrible danger, again he earned a
kingdom by some brave deed, until at last he longed to go away and seek
his fortune in a far country where his humble birth would not prevent his
gaining honour and riches by his courage, and it was with a heart full of
ambitious projects that he rode one day into a great city not far from the
Fairy’s castle. As he had set out intending to hunt in the surrounding
forest he was quite simply dressed, and carried only a bow and arrows and
a light spear; but even thus arrayed he looked graceful and distinguished.
As he entered the city he saw that the inhabitants were all racing with
one accord towards the market-place, and he also turned his horse in the
same direction, curious to know what was going forward. When he reached
the spot he found that certain foreigners of strange and outlandish
appearance were about to make a proclamation to the assembled citizens,
and he hastily pushed his way into the crowd until he was near enough to
hear the words of the venerable old man who was their spokesman:

‘Let the whole world know that he who can reach the summit of the Ice
Mountain shall receive as his reward, not only the incomparable Sabella,
fairest of the fair, but also all the realms of which she is Queen!’
‘Here,’ continued the old man after he had made this proclamation—‘here
is the list of all those Princes who, struck by the beauty of the
Princess, have perished in the attempt to win her; and here is the list of
these who have just entered upon the high emprise.’

Prince Mannikin was seized with a violent desire to inscribe his name
among the others, but the remembrance of his dependent position and his
lack of wealth held him back. But while he hesitated the old man, with
many respectful ceremonies, unveiled a portrait of the lovely Sabella,
which was carried by some of the attendants, and after one glance at it
the Prince delayed no longer, but, rushing forward, demanded permission to
add his name to the list. When they saw his tiny stature anti simple
attire the strangers looked at each other doubtfully, not knowing whether
to accept or refuse him. But the Prince said haughtily:

‘Give me the paper that I may sign it,’ and they obeyed. What between
admiration for the Princess and annoyance at the hesitation shown by her
ambassadors the Prince was too much agitated to choose any other name than
the one by which he was always known. But when, after all the grand titles
of the other Princes, he simply wrote ‘Mannikin,’ the ambassadors broke
into shouts of laughter.

‘Miserable wretches!’ cried the Prince; ‘but for the presence of that
lovely portrait I would cut off your heads.’

But he suddenly remembered that, after all, it was a funny name, and that
he had not yet had time to make it famous; so he was calm, and enquired
the way to the Princess Sabella’s country.

Though his heart did not fail him in the least, still he felt there were
many difficulties before him, and he resolved to set out at once, without
even taking leave of the Fairy, for fear she might try to stop him.
Everybody in the town who knew him made great fun of the idea of
Mannikin’s undertaking such an expedition, and it even came to the ears of
the foolish King and Queen, who laughed over it more than any of the
others, without having an idea that the presumptuous Mannikin was their
only son!

Meantime the Prince was travelling on, though the direction he had
received for his journey were none of the clearest.

‘Four hundred leagues north of Mount Caucasus you will receive your orders
and instructions for the conquest of the Ice Mountain.’

Fine marching orders, those, for a man starting from a country near where
Japan is nowadays!

However, he fared eastward, avoiding all towns, lest the people should
laugh at his name, for, you see, he was not a very experienced traveller,
and had not yet learned to enjoy a joke even if it were against himself.
At night he slept in the woods, and at first he lived upon wild fruits;
but the Fairy, who was keeping a benevolent eye upon him, thought that it
would never do to let him be half-starved in that way, so she took to
feeding him with all sorts of good things while he was asleep, and the
Prince wondered very much that when he was awake he never felt hungry!
True to her plan the Fairy sent him various adventures to prove his
courage, and he came successfully through them all, only in his last fight
with a furious monster rather like a tiger he had the ill luck to lose his
horse. However, nothing daunted, he struggled on on foot, and at last
reached a seaport. Here he found a boat sailing for the coast which he
desired to reach, and, having just enough money to pay his passage, he
went on board and they started. But after some days a fearful storm came
on, which completely wrecked the little ship, and the Prince only saved
his life by swimming a long, long way to the only land that was in sight,
and which proved to be a desert island. Here he lived by fishing and
hunting, always hoping that the good Fairy would presently rescue him. One
day, as he was looking sadly out to sea, he became aware of a curious
looking boat which was drifting slowly towards the shore, and which
presently ran into a little creek and there stuck fast in the sand. Prince
Mannikin rushed down eagerly to examine it, and saw with amazement that
the masts and spars were all branched, and covered thickly with leaves
until it looked like a little wood. Thinking from the stillness that there
could be no one on board, the Prince pushed aside the branches and sprang
over the side, and found himself surrounded by the crew, who lay
motionless as dead men and in a most deplorable condition. They, too, had
become almost like trees, and were growing to the deck, or to the masts,
or to the sides of the vessel, or to whatever they had happened to be
touching when the enchantment fell upon them. Mannikin was struck with
pity for their miserable plight, and set to work with might and main to
release them. With the sharp point of one of his arrows he gently detached
their hands and feet from the wood which held them fast, and carried them
on shore, one after another, where he rubbed their rigid limbs, and bathed
them with infusions of various herbs with such success, that, after a few
days, they recovered perfectly and were as fit to manage a boat as ever.
You may be sure that the good Fairy Genesta had something to do with this
marvellous cure, and she also put it into the Prince’s head to rub the
boat itself with the same magic herbs, which cleared it entirely, and not
before it was time, for, at the rate at which it was growing before, it
would very soon have become a forest! The gratitude of the sailors was
extreme, and they willingly promised to land the Prince upon any coast he
pleased; but, when he questioned them about the extraordinary thing that
had happened to them and to their ship, they could in no way explain it,
except that they said that, as they were passing along a thickly wooded
coast, a sudden gust of wind had reached them from the land and enveloped
them in a dense cloud of dust, after which everything in the boat that was
not metal had sprouted and blossomed, as the Prince had seen, and that
they themselves had grown gradually numb and heavy, and had finally lost
all consciousness. Prince Mannikin was deeply interested in this curious story,
and collected a quantity of the dust from the bottom of the boat, which he
carefully preserved, thinking that its strange property might one day
stand him in good stead.

Then they joyfully left the desert island, and after a long and prosperous
voyage over calm seas they at length came in sight of land, and resolved
to go on shore, not only to take in a fresh stock of water and provisions,
but also to find out, if possible, where they were and in what direction
to proceed.

As they neared the coast they wondered if this could be another
uninhabited land, for no human beings could be distinguished, and yet that
something was stirring became evident, for in the dust-clouds that moved
near the ground small dark forms were dimly visible. These appeared to be
assembling at the exact spot where they were preparing to run ashore, and
what was their surprise to find they were nothing more nor less than large
and beautiful spaniels, some mounted as sentries, others grouped in
companies and regiments, all eagerly watching their disembarkation. When
they found that Prince Mannikin, instead of saying, ‘Shoot them,’ as they
had feared, said ‘Hi, good dog!’ in a thoroughly friendly and ingratiating
way, they crowded round him with a great wagging of tails and giving of
paws, and very soon made him understand that they wanted him to leave his
men with the boat and follow them. The Prince was so curious to know more
about them that he agreed willingly; so, after arranging with the sailors
to wait for him fifteen days, and then, if he had not come back, to go on
their way without him, he set out with his new friends. Their way lay
inland, and Mannikin noticed with great surprise that the fields were well
cultivated and that the carts and ploughs were drawn by horses or oxen,
just as they might have been in any other country, and when they passed
any village the cottages were trim and pretty, and an air of prosperity
was everywhere. At one of the villages a dainty little repast was set
before the Prince, and while he was eating, a chariot was brought, drawn
by two splendid horses, which were driven with great skill by a large
spaniel. In this carriage he continued his journey very comfortably,
passing many similar equipages upon the road, and being always most
courteously saluted by the spaniels who occupied them. At last they drove
rapidly into a large town, which Prince Mannikin had no doubt was the
capital of the kingdom. News of his approach had evidently been received,
for all the inhabitants were at their doors and windows, and all the
little spaniels had climbed upon the wall and gates to see him arrive. The
Prince was delighted with the hearty welcome they gave him, and looked
round him with the deepest interest. After passing through a few wide
streets, well paved, and adorned with avenues of fine trees, they drove
into the courtyard of a grand palace, which was full of spaniels who were
evidently soldiers. ‘The King’s body-guard,’ thought the Prince to himself
as he returned their salutations, and then the carriage stopped, and he
was shown into the presence of the King, who lay upon a rich Persian
carpet surrounded by several little spaniels, who were occupied in chasing
away the flies lest they should disturb his Majesty. He was the most
beautiful of all spaniels, with a look of sadness in his large eyes,
which, however, quite disappeared as he sprang up to welcome Prince
Mannikin with every demonstration of delight; after which he made a sign
to his courtiers, who came one by one to pay their respects to the
visitor. The Prince thought that he would find himself puzzled as to how
he should carry on a conversation, but as soon as he and the King were
once more left alone, a Secretary of State was sent for, who wrote from
his Majesty’s dictation a most polite speech, in which he regretted much
that they were unable to converse, except in writing, the language of dogs
being difficult to understand. As for the writing, it had remained the
same as the Prince’s own.

Mannikin thereupon wrote a suitable reply, and then begged the King to
satisfy his curiosity about all the strange things he had seen and heard
since his landing. This appeared to awaken sad recollections in the King’s
mind, but he informed the Prince that he was called King Bayard, and that
a Fairy, whose kingdom was next his own, had fallen violently in love with
him, and had done all she could to persuade him to marry her; but that he
could not do so as he himself was the devoted lover of the Queen of the
Spice Islands. Finally, the Fairy, furious at the indifference with which
her love was treated, had reduced him to the state in which the Prince
found him, leaving him unchanged in mind, but deprived of the power of
speech; and, not content with wreaking her vengeance upon the King alone,
she had condemned all his subjects to a similar fate, saying:

‘Bark, and run upon four feet, until the time comes when virtue shall be
rewarded by love and fortune.’

Which, as the poor King remarked, was very much the same thing as if she
had said, ‘Remain a spaniel for ever and ever.’

Prince Mannikin was quite of the same opinion; nevertheless he said what
we should all have said in the same circumstances:

‘Your Majesty must have patience.’

He was indeed deeply sorry for poor King Bayard, and said all the
consoling things he could think of, promising to aid him with all his
might if there was anything to be done. In short they became firm friends,
and the King proudly displayed to Mannikin the portrait of the Queen of
the Spice Islands, and he quite agreed that it was worth while to go
through anything for the sake of a creature so lovely. Prince Mannikin in
his turn told his own history, and the great undertaking upon which he had
set out, and King Bayard was able to give him some valuable instructions
as to which would be the best way for him to proceed, and then they went
together to the place where the boat had been left. The sailors were
delighted to see the Prince again, though they had known that he was safe,
and when they had taken on board all the supplies which the King had sent
for them, they started once more. The King and Prince parted with much
regret, and the former insisted that Mannikin should take with him one of
his own pages, named Mousta, who was charged to attend to him everywhere,
and serve him faithfully, which he promised to do.

The wind being favourable they were soon out of hearing of the general
howl of regret from the whole army, which had been given by order of the
King, as a great compliment, and it was not long before the land was
entirely lost to view. They met with no further adventures worth speaking
of, and presently found themselves within two leagues of the harbour for
which they were making. The Prince, however, thought it would suit him
better to land where he was, so as to avoid the town, since he had no
money left and was very doubtful as to what he should do next. So the
sailors set him and Mousta on shore, and then went back sorrowfully to
their ship, while the Prince and his attendant walked off in what looked
to them the most promising direction. They soon reached a lovely green
meadow on the border of a wood, which seemed to them so pleasant after
their long voyage that they sat down to rest in the shade and amused
themselves by watching the gambols and antics of a pretty tiny monkey in
the trees close by. The Prince presently became so fascinated by it that
he sprang up and tried to catch it, but it eluded his grasp and kept just
out of arm’s reach, until it had made him promise to follow wherever it
led him, and then it sprang upon his shoulder and whispered in his ear:

‘We have no money, my poor Mannikin, and we are altogether badly off, and
at a loss to know what to do next.’

‘Yes, indeed,’ answered the Prince ruefully, ‘and I have nothing to give
you, no sugar or biscuits, or anything that you like, my pretty one.’

‘Since you are so thoughtful for me, and so patient about your own
affairs,’ said the little monkey, ‘I will show you the way to the Golden
Rock, only you must leave Mousta to wait for you here.’

Prince Mannikin agreed willingly, and then the little monkey sprang from
his shoulder to the nearest tree, and began to run through the wood from
branch to branch, crying, ‘Follow me.’

This the Prince did not find quite so easy, but the little monkey waited
for him and showed him the easiest places, until presently the wood grew
thinner and they came out into a little clear grassy space at the foot of
a mountain, in the midst of which stood a single rock, about ten feet
high. When they were quite close to it the little monkey said:

‘This stone looks pretty hard, but give it a blow with your spear and let
us see what will happen.’

So the Prince took his spear and gave the rock a vigorous dig, which split
off several pieces, and showed that, though the surface was thinly coated
with stone, inside it was one solid mass of pure gold.

Thereupon the little monkey said, laughing at his astonishment:

‘I make you a present of what you have broken off; take as much of it as
you think proper.’

The Prince thanked her gratefully, and picked up one of the smallest of
the lumps of gold; as he did so the little monkey was suddenly transformed
into a tall and gracious lady, who said to him:

‘If you are always as kind and persevering and easily contented as you are
now you may hope to accomplish the most difficult tasks; go on your way
and have no fear that you will be troubled any more for lack of gold, for
that little piece which you modestly chose shall never grow less, use it
as much as you will. But that you may see the danger you have escaped by
your moderation, come with me.’ So saying she led him back into the wood
by a different path, and he saw that it was full of men and women; their
faces were pale and haggard, and they ran hither and thither seeking madly
upon the ground, or in the air, starting at every sound, pushing and
trampling upon one another in their frantic eagerness to find the way to
the Golden Rock.

‘You see how they toil,’ said the Fairy; ‘but it is all of no avail: they
will end by dying of despair, as hundreds have done before them.’

As soon as they had got back to the place where they had left Mousta the
Fairy disappeared, and the Prince and his faithful Squire, who had greeted
him with every demonstration of joy, took the nearest way to the city.
Here they stayed several days, while the Prince provided himself with
horses and attendants, and made many enquiries about the Princess Sabella,
and the way to her kingdom, which was still so far away that he could hear
but little, and that of the vaguest description, but when he presently
reached Mount Caucasus it was quite a different matter. Here they seemed
to talk of nothing but the Princess Sabella, and strangers from all parts
of the world were travelling towards her father’s Court.

The Prince heard plenty of assurances as to her beauty and her riches, but
he also heard of the immense number of his rivals and their power. One
brought an army at his back, another had vast treasures, a third was as
handsome and accomplished as it was possible to be; while, as to poor
Mannikin, he had nothing but his determination to succeed, his faithful
spaniel, and his ridiculous name—which last was hardly likely to
help him, but as he could not alter it he wisely determined not to think
of it any more. After journeying for two whole months they came at last to
Trelintin, the capital of the Princess Sabella’s kingdom, and here he
heard dismal stories about the Ice Mountain, and how none of those who had
attempted to climb it had ever come back. He heard also the story of King
Farda-Kinbras, Sabella’s father. It appeared that he, being a rich and
powerful monarch, had married a lovely Princess named Birbantine, and they
were as happy as the day was long—so happy that as they were out
sledging one day they were foolish enough to defy fate to spoil their
happiness.

‘We shall see about that,’ grumbled an old hag who sat by the wayside
blowing her fingers to keep them warm. The King thereupon was very angry,
and wanted to punish the woman; but the Queen prevented him, saying:

‘Alas! sire, do not let us make bad worse; no doubt this is a Fairy!’

‘You are right there,’ said the old woman, and immediately she stood up,
and as they gazed at her in horror she grew gigantic and terrible, her
staff turned to a fiery dragon with outstretched wings, her ragged cloak
to a golden mantle, and her wooden shoes to two bundles of rockets. ‘You
are right there, and you will see what will come of your fine goings on,
and remember the Fairy Gorgonzola!’ So saying she mounted the dragon and
flew off, the rockets shooting in all directions and leaving long trails
of sparks.

In vain did Farda-Kinbras and Birbantine beg her to return, and endeavour
by their humble apologies to pacify her; she never so much as looked at
them, and was very soon out of sight, leaving them a prey to all kinds of
dismal forebodings. Very soon after this the Queen had a little daughter,
who was the most beautiful creature ever seen; all the Fairies of the
North were invited to her christening, and warned against the malicious
Gorgonzola. She also was invited, but she neither came to the banquet nor
received her present; but as soon as all the others were seated at table,
after bestowing their gifts upon the little Princess, she stole into the
Palace, disguised as a black cat, and hid herself under the cradle until
the nurses and the cradle-rockers had all turned their backs, and then she
sprang out, and in an instant had stolen the little Princess’s heart and
made her escape, only being chased by a few dogs and scullions on her way
across the courtyard. Once outside she mounted her chariot and flew
straight away to the North Pole, where she shut up her stolen treasure on
the summit of the Ice Mountain, and surrounded it with so many
difficulties that she felt quite easy about its remaining there as long as
the Princess lived, and then she went home, chuckling at her success. As
to the other Fairies, they went home after the banquet without discovering
that anything was amiss, and so the King and Queen were quite happy.
Sabella grew prettier day by day. She learnt everything a Princess ought
to know without the slightest trouble, and yet something always seemed
lacking to make her perfectly charming. She had an exquisite voice, but
whether her songs were grave or gay it did not matter, she did not seem to
know what they meant; and everyone who heard her said:

‘She certainly sings perfectly; but there is no tenderness, no heart in
her voice.’ Poor Sabella! how could there be when her heart was far away
on the Ice Mountains? And it was just the same with all the other things
that she did. As time went on, in spite of the admiration of the whole
Court and the blind fondness of the King and Queen, it became more and
more evident that something was fatally wrong: for those who love no one
cannot long be loved; and at last the King called a general assembly, and
invited the Fairies to attend, that they might, if possible, find out what
was the matter. After explaining their grief as well as he could, he ended
by begging them to see the Princess for themselves. ‘It is certain,’ said
he, ‘that something is wrong—what it is I don’t know how to tell
you, but in some way your work is imperfect.’

They all assured him that, so far as they knew, everything had been done
for the Princess, and they had forgotten nothing that they could bestow on
so good a neighbour as the King had been to them. After this they went to
see Sabella; but they had no sooner entered her presence than they cried
out with one accord:

‘Oh! horror!—she has no heart!’

On hearing this frightful announcement, the King and Queen gave a cry of
despair, and entreated the Fairies to find some remedy for such an
unheard-of misfortune. Thereupon the eldest Fairy consulted her Book of
Magic, which she always carried about with her, hung to her girdle by a
thick silver chain, and there she found out at once that it was Gorgonzola
who had stolen the Princess’s heart, and also discovered what the wicked
old Fairy had done with it.

‘What shall we do? What shall we do?’ cried the King and Queen in one
breath.

‘You must certainly suffer much annoyance from seeing and loving Sabella,
who is nothing but a beautiful image,’ replied the Fairy, ‘and this must
go on for a long time; but I think I see that, in the end, she will once
more regain her heart. My advice is that you shall at once cause her
portrait to be sent all over the world, and promise her hand and all her
possessions to the Prince who is successful in reaching her heart. Her
beauty alone is sufficient to engage all the Princes of the world in the
quest.’

This was accordingly done, and Prince Mannikin heard that already five
hundred Princes had perished in the snow and ice, not to mention their
squires and pages, and that more continued to arrive daily, eager to try
their fortune. After some consideration he determined to present himself
at Court; but his arrival made no stir, as his retinue was as
inconsiderable as his stature, and the splendour of his rivals was great
enough to throw even Farda-Kinbras himself into the shade. However, he
paid his respects to the King very gracefully, and asked permission to
kiss the hand of the Princess in the usual manner; but when he said he was
called ‘Mannikin,’ the King could hardly repress a smile, and the Princes
who stood by openly shouted with laughter.

Turning to the King, Prince Mannikin said with great dignity:

‘Pray laugh if it pleases your Majesty, I am glad that it is in my power
to afford you any amusement; but I am not a plaything for these gentlemen,
and I must beg them to dismiss any ideas of that kind from their minds at
once,’ and with that he turned upon the one who had laughed the loudest
and proudly challenged him to a single combat. This Prince, who was called
Fadasse, accepted the challenge very scornfully, mocking at Mannikin, whom
he felt sure had no chance against himself; but the meeting was arranged
for the next day. When Prince Mannikin quitted the King’s presence he was
conducted to the audience hall of the Princess Sabella. The sight of so
much beauty and magnificence almost took his breath away for an instant,
but, recovering himself with an effort, he said:

‘Lovely Princess, irresistibly drawn by the beauty of your portrait, I
come from the other end of the world to offer my services to you. My
devotion knows no bounds, but my absurd name has already involved me in a
quarrel with one of your courtiers. Tomorrow I am to fight this ugly,
overgrown Prince, and I beg you to honour the combat with your presence,
and prove to the world that there is nothing in a name, and that you deign
to accept Mannikin as your knight.’

When it came to this the Princess could not help being amused, for, though
she had no heart, she was not without humour. However, she answered
graciously that she accepted with pleasure, which encouraged the Prince to
entreat further that she would not show any favour to his adversary.

‘Alas!’ said she, ‘I favour none of these foolish people, who weary me
with their sentiment and their folly. I do very well as I am, and yet from
one year’s end to another they talk of nothing but delivering me from some
imaginary affliction. Not a word do I understand of all their pratings
about love, and who knows what dull things besides, which, I declare to
you, I cannot even remember.’

Mannikin was quick enough to gather from this speech that to amuse and
interest the Princess would be a far surer way of gaining her favour than
to add himself to the list of those who continually teased her about that
mysterious thing called ‘love’ which she was so incapable of
comprehending. So he began to talk of his rivals, and found in each of
them something to make merry over, in which diversion the Princess joined
him heartily, and so well did he succeed in his attempt to amuse her that
before very long she declared that of all the people at Court he was the
one to whom she preferred to talk.

The following day, at the time appointed for the combat, when the King,
the Queen, and the Princess had taken their places, and the whole Court
and the whole town were assembled to see the show, Prince Fadasse rode
into the lists magnificently armed and accoutred, followed by twenty-four
squires and a hundred men-at-arms, each one leading, a splendid horse,
while Prince Mannikin entered from the other side armed only with his
spear and followed by the faithful Mousta. The contrast between the two
champions was so great that there was a shout of laughter from the whole
assembly; but when at the sounding of a trumpet the combatants rushed upon
each other, and Mannikin, eluding the blow aimed at him, succeeded in
thrusting Prince Fadasse from his horse and pinning him to the sand with
his spear, it changed to a murmur of admiration.

So soon as he had him at his mercy, however, Mannikin, turning to the
Princess, assured her that he had no desire to kill anyone who called
himself her courtier, and then he bade the furious and humiliated Fadasse
rise and thank the Princess to whom he owed his life. Then, amid the
sounding of the trumpets and the shoutings of the people, he and Mousta
retired gravely from the lists.

The King soon sent for him to congratulate him upon his success, and to
offer him a lodging in the Palace, which he joyfully accepted. While the
Princess expressed a wish to have Mousta brought to her, and, when the
Prince sent for him, she was so delighted with his courtly manners and his
marvellous intelligence that she entreated Mannikin to give him to her for
her own. The Prince consented with alacrity, not only out of politeness,
but because he foresaw that to have a faithful friend always near the
Princess might some day be of great service to him. All these events made
Prince Mannikin a person of much more consequence at the Court. Very soon
after, there arrived upon the frontier the Ambassador of a very powerful
King, who sent to Farda-Kinbras the following letter, at the same time
demanding permission to enter the capital in state to receive the answer:

‘I, Brandatimor, to Farda-Kinbras send greeting. If I had before this time
seen the portrait of your beautiful daughter Sabella I should not have
permitted all these adventurers and petty Princes to be dancing attendance
and getting themselves frozen with the absurd idea of meriting her hand.
For myself I am not afraid of any rivals, and, now I have declared my
intention of marrying your daughter, no doubt they will at once withdraw
their pretensions. My Ambassador has orders, therefore, to make
arrangements for the Princess to come and be married to me without delay—for
I attach no importance at all to the farrago of nonsense which you have
caused to be published all over the world about this Ice Mountain. If the
Princess really has no heart, be assured that I shall not concern myself
about it, since, if anybody can help her to discover one, it is myself. My
worthy father-in-law, farewell!’

The reading of this letter embarrassed and displeased Farda-Kinbras and
Birbantine immensely, while the Princess was furious at the insolence of
the demand. They all three resolved that its contents must be kept a
profound secret until they could decide what reply should be sent, but
Mousta contrived to send word of all that had passed to Prince Mannikin.
He was naturally alarmed and indignant, and, after thinking it over a
little, he begged an audience of the Princess, and led the conversation so
cunningly up to the subject that was uppermost in her thoughts, as well as
his own, that she presently told him all about the matter and asked his
advice as to what it would be best to do. This was exactly what he had not
been able to decide for himself; however, he replied that he should advise
her to gain a little time by promising her answer after the grand entry of
the Ambassador, and this was accordingly done.

The Ambassador did not at all like being put off after that fashion, but
he was obliged to be content, and only said very arrogantly that so soon
as his equipages arrived, as he expected they would do very shortly, he
would give all the people of the city, and the stranger Princes with whom
it was inundated, an idea of the power and the magnificence of his master.
Mannikin, in despair, resolved that he would for once beg the assistance
of the kind Fairy Genesta. He often thought of her and always with
gratitude, but from the moment of his setting out he had determined to
seek her aid only on the greatest occasions. That very night, when he had
fallen asleep quite worn out with thinking over all the difficulties of
the situation, he dreamed that the Fairy stood beside him, and said:

‘Mannikin, you have done very well so far; continue to please me and you
shall always find good friends when you need them most. As for this affair
with the Ambassador, you can assure Sabella that she may look forward
tranquilly to his triumphal entry, since it will all turn out well for her
in the end.’

The Prince tried to throw himself at her feet to thank her, but woke to
find it was all a dream; nevertheless he took fresh courage, and went next
day to see the Princess, to whom he gave many mysterious assurances that
all would yet be well. He even went so far as to ask her if she would not
be very grateful to anyone who would rid her of the insolent Brandatimor.
To which she replied that her gratitude would know no bounds. Then he
wanted to know what would be her best wish for the person who was lucky
enough to accomplish it. To which she said that she would wish them to be
as insensible to the folly called ‘love’ as she was herself!

This was indeed a crushing speech to make to such a devoted lover as
Prince Mannikin, but he concealed the pain it caused him with great
courage.

And now the Ambassador sent to say that on the very next day he would come
in state to receive his answer, and from the earliest dawn the inhabitants
were astir, to secure the best places for the grand sight; but the good
Fairy Genesta was providing them an amount of amusement they were far from
expecting, for she so enchanted the eyes of all the spectators that when
the Ambassador’s gorgeous procession appeared, the splendid uniforms
seemed to them miserable rags that a beggar would have been ashamed to
wear, the prancing horses appeared as wretched skeletons hardly able to
drag one leg after the other, while their trappings, which really sparkled
with gold and jewels, looked like old sheepskins that would not have been
good enough for a plough horse. The pages resembled the ugliest sweeps.
The trumpets gave no more sound than whistles made of onion-stalks, or
combs wrapped in paper; while the train of fifty carriages looked no
better than fifty donkey carts. In the last of these sat the Ambassador
with the haughty and scornful air which he considered becoming in the
representative of so powerful a monarch: for this was the crowning point
of the absurdity of the whole procession, that all who took part in it
wore the expression of vanity and self-satisfaction and pride in their own
appearance and all their surroundings which they believed their splendour
amply justified.

The laughter and howls of derision from the whole crowd rose ever louder
and louder as the extraordinary cortege advanced, and at last reached the
ears of the King as he waited in the audience hall, and before the
procession reached the palace he had been informed of its nature, and,
supposing that it must be intended as an insult, he ordered the gates to
be closed. You may imagine the fury of the Ambassador when, after all his
pomp and pride, the King absolutely and unaccountably refused to receive
him. He raved wildly both against King and people, and the cortege retired
in great confusion, jeered at and pelted with stones and mud by the
enraged crowd. It is needless to say that he left the country as fast as
horses could carry him, but not before he had declared war, with the most
terrible menaces, threatening to devastate the country with fire and
sword.

Some days after this disastrous embassy King Bayard sent couriers to
Prince Mannikin with a most friendly letter, offering his services in any
difficulty, and enquiring with the deepest interest how he fared.

Mannikin at once replied, relating all that had happened since they
parted, not forgetting to mention the event which had just involved
Farda-Kinbras and Brandatimor in this deadly quarrel, and he ended by
entreating his faithful friend to despatch a few thousands of his veteran
spaniels to his assistance.

Neither the King, the Queen, nor the Princess could in the least
understand the amazing conduct of Brandatimor’s Ambassador; nevertheless
the preparations for the war went forward briskly and all the Princes who
had not gone on towards the Ice Mountain offered their services, at the
same time demanding all the best appointments in the King’s army. Mannikin
was one of the first to volunteer, but he only asked to go as aide-de-camp
to the Commander-in chief, who was a gallant soldier and celebrated for
his victories. As soon as the army could be got together it was marched to
the frontier, where it met the opposing force headed by Brandatimor
himself, who was full of fury, determined to avenge the insult to his
Ambassador and to possess himself of the Princess Sabella. All the army of
Farda-Kinbras could do, being so heavily outnumbered, was to act upon the
defensive, and before long Mannikin won the esteem of the officers for his
ability, and of the soldiers for his courage, and care for their welfare,
and in all the skirmishes which he conducted he had the good fortune to
vanquish the enemy.

At last Brandatimor engaged the whole army in a terrific conflict, and
though the troops of Farda-Kinbras fought with desperate courage, their
general was killed, and they were defeated and forced to retreat with
immense loss. Mannikin did wonders, and half-a-dozen times turned the
retreating forces and beat back the enemy; and he afterwards collected
troops enough to keep them in check until, the severe winter setting in,
put an end to hostilities for a while.

He then returned to the Court, where consternation reigned. The King was
in despair at the death of his trusty general, and ended by imploring
Mannikin to take the command of the army, and his counsel was followed in
all the affairs of the Court. He followed up his former plan of amusing
the Princess, and on no account reminding her of that tedious thing called
‘love,’ so that she was always glad to see him, and the winter slipped by
gaily for both of them.

The Prince was all the while secretly making plans for the next campaign;
he received private intelligence of the arrival of a strong reinforcement
of Spaniels, to whom he sent orders to post themselves along the frontier
without attracting attention, and as soon as he possibly could he held a
consultation with their Commander, who was an old and experienced warrior.
Following his advice, he decided to have a pitched battle as soon as the
enemy advanced, and this Brandatimor lost not a moment in doing, as he was
perfectly persuaded that he was now going to make an end of the war and
utterly vanquish Farda-Kinbras. But no sooner had he given the order to
charge than the Spaniels, who had mingled with his troops unperceived,
leaped each upon the horse nearest to him, and not only threw the whole
squadron into confusion by the terror they caused, but, springing at the
throats of the riders, unhorsed many of them by the suddenness of their
attack; then turning the horses to the rear, they spread consternation
everywhere, and made it easy for Prince Mannikin to gain a complete
victory. He met Brandatimor in single combat, and succeeded in taking him
prisoner; but he did not live to reach the Court, to which Mannikin had
sent him: his pride killed him at the thought of appearing before Sabella
under these altered circumstances. In the meantime Prince Fadasse and all
the others who had remained behind were setting out with all speed for the
conquest of the Ice Mountain, being afraid that Prince Mannikin might
prove as successful in that as he seemed to be in everything else, and
when Mannikin returned he heard of it with great annoyance. True he had
been serving the Princess, but she only admired and praised him for his
gallant deeds, and seemed no whit nearer bestowing on him the love he so
ardently desired, and all the comfort Mousta could give him on the subject
was that at least she loved no one else, and with that he had to content
himself. But he determined that, come what might, he would delay no
longer, but attempt the great undertaking for which he had come so far.
When he went to take leave of the King and Queen they entreated him not to
go, as they had just heard that Prince Fadasse, and all who accompanied
him, had perished in the snow; but he persisted in his resolve. As for
Sabella, she gave him her hand to kiss with precisely the same gracious
indifference as she had given it to him the first time they met. It
happened that this farewell took place before the whole Court, and so
great a favourite had Prince Mannikin become that they were all indignant
at the coldness with which the Princess treated him.

Finally the King said to him:

‘Prince, you have constantly refilled all the gifts which, in my gratitude
for your invaluable services, I have offered to you, but I wish the
Princess to present you with her cloak of marten’s fur, and that I hope
you will not reject!’ Now this was a splendid fur mantle which the
Princess was very fond of wearing, not so much because she felt cold, as
that its richness set off to perfection the delicate tints of her
complexion and the brilliant gold of her hair. However, she took it off,
and with graceful politeness begged Prince Mannikin to accept it, which
you may be sure he was charmed to do, and, taking only this and a little
bundle of all kinds of wood, and accompanied only by two spaniels out of
the fifty who had stayed with him when the war was ended, he set forth,
receiving many tokens of love and favour from the people in every town he
passed through. At the last little village he left his horse behind him,
to begin his toilful march through the snow, which extended, blank and
terrible, in every direction as far as the eye could see. Here he had
appointed to meet the other forty-eight spaniels, who received him
joyfully, and assured him that, happen what might, they would follow and
serve him faithfully. And so they started, full of heart and hope. At
first there was a slight track, difficult, but not impossible to follow;
but this was soon lost, and the Pole Star was their only guide. When the
time came to call a halt, the Prince, who had after much consideration
decided on his plan of action, caused a few twigs from the faggot he had
brought with him to be planted in the snow, and then he sprinkled over
them a pinch of the magic powder he had collected from the enchanted boat.
To his great joy they instantly began to sprout and grow, and in a
marvellously short time the camp was surrounded by a perfect grove of
trees of all sorts, which blossomed and bore ripe fruit, so that all their
wants were easily supplied, and they were able to make huge fires to warm
themselves. The Prince then sent out several spaniels to reconnoitre, and
they had the good luck to discover a horse laden with provisions stuck
fast in the snow. They at once fetched their comrades, and brought the
spoil triumphantly into the camp, and, as it consisted principally of
biscuits, not a spaniel among them went supperless to sleep. In this way
they journeyed by day and encamped safely at night, always remembering to
take on a few branches to provide them with food and shelter. They passed
by the way armies of those who had set out upon the perilous enterprise,
who stood frozen stiffly, without sense or motion; but Prince Mannikin
strictly forbade that any attempt should be made to thaw them. So they
went on and on for more than three months, and day by day the Ice
Mountain, which they had seen for a long time, grew clearer, until at last
they stood close to it, and shuddered at its height and steepness. But by
patience and perseverance they crept up foot by foot, aided by their fires
of magic wood, without which they must have perished in the intense cold,
until presently they stood at the gates of the magnificent Ice Palace
which crowned the mountain, where, in deadly silence and icy sleep, lay
the heart of Sabella. Now the difficulty became immense, for if they
maintained enough heat to keep themselves alive they were in danger every
moment of melting the blocks of solid ice of which the palace was entirely
built, and bringing the whole structure down upon their heads; but
cautiously and quickly they traversed courtyards and halls, until they
found themselves at the foot of a vast throne, where, upon a cushion of
snow, lay an enormous and brilliantly sparkling diamond, which contained
the heart of the lovely Princess Sabella. Upon the lowest step of the
throne was inscribed in icy letters, ‘Whosoever thou art who by courage
and virtue canst win the heart of Sabella enjoy peacefully the good
fortune which thou hast richly deserved.’

Prince Mannikin bounded forward, and had just strength left to grasp the
precious diamond which contained all he coveted in the world before he
fell insensible upon the snowy cushion. But his good spaniels lost no time
in rushing to the rescue, and between them they bore him hastily from the
hall, and not a moment too soon, for all around them they heard the clang
of the falling blocks of ice as the Fairy Palace slowly collapsed under
the unwonted heat. Not until they reached the foot of the mountain did
they pause to restore the Prince to consciousness, and then his joy to
find himself the possessor of Sabella’s heart knew no bounds.

With all speed they began to retrace their steps, but this time the happy
Prince could not bear the sight of his defeated and disappointed rivals,
whose frozen forms lined his triumphant way. He gave orders to his
spaniels to spare no pains to restore them to life, and so successful were
they that day by day his train increased, so that by the time he got back
to the little village where he had left his horse he was escorted by five
hundred sovereign Princes, and knights and squires without number, and he
was so courteous and unassuming that they all followed him willingly,
anxious to do him honour. But then he was so happy and blissful himself
that he found it easy to be at peace with all the world. It was not long
before he met the faithful Mousta, who was coming at the top of his speed
hoping to meet the Prince, that he might tell him of the sudden and
wonderful change that had come over the Princess, who had become gentle
and thoughtful and had talked to him of nothing but Prince Mannikin, of
the hardships she feared he might be suffering, and of her anxiety for
him, and all this with a hundred fonder expressions which put the
finishing stroke to the Prince’s delight. Then came a courier bearing the
congratulations of the King and Queen, who had just heard of his
successful return, and there was even a graceful compliment from Sabella
herself. The Prince sent Mousta back to her, and he was welcomed with joy,
for was he not her lover’s present?

At last the travellers reached the capital, and were received with regal
magnificence. Farda-Kinbras and Birbantine embraced Prince Mannikin,
declaring that they regarded him as their heir and the future husband of
the Princess, to which he replied that they did him too much honour. And
then he was admitted into the presence of the Princess, who for the first
time in her life blushed as he kissed her hand, and could not find a word
to say. But the Prince, throwing himself on his knees beside her, held out
the splendid diamond, saying:

‘Madam, this treasure is yours, since none of the dangers and difficulties
I have gone through have been sufficient to make me deserve it.’

‘Ah! Prince,’ said she, ‘if I take it, it is only that I may give it back
to you, since truly it belongs to you already.’

At this moment in came the King and Queen, and interrupted them by asking
all the questions imaginable, and not infrequently the same over and over
again. It seems that there is always one thing that is sure to be said
about an event by everybody, and Prince Mannikin found that the question
which he was asked by more than a thousand people on this particular
occasion was:

‘And didn’t you find it very cold?’

The King had come to request Prince Mannikin and the Princess to follow
him to the Council Chamber, which they did, not knowing that he meant to
present the Prince to all the nobles assembled there as his son-in-law and
successor. But when Mannikin perceived his intention, he begged permission
to speak first, and told his whole story, even to the fact that he
believed himself to be a peasant’s son. Scarcely had he finished speaking
when the sky grew black, the thunder growled, and the lightning flashed,
and in the blaze of light the good Fairy Genesta suddenly appeared.
Turning to Prince Mannikin, she said:

‘I am satisfied with you, since you have shown not only courage but a good
heart.’ Then she addressed King Farda-Kinbras, and informed him of the
real history of the Prince, and how she had determined to give him the
education she knew would be best for a man who was to command others. ‘You
have already found the advantage of having a faithful friend,’ she added
to the Prince ‘and now you will have the pleasure of seeing King Bayard
and his subjects regain their natural forms as a reward for his kindness
to you.’

Just then arrived a chariot drawn by eagles, which proved to contain the
foolish King and Queen, who embraced their long-lost son with great joy,
and were greatly struck with the fact that they did indeed find him
covered with fur! While they were caressing Sabella and wringing her hands
(which is a favourite form of endearment with foolish people) chariots
were seen approaching from all points of the compass, containing numbers
of Fairies.

‘Sire,’ said Genesta to Farda-Kinbras, ‘I have taken the liberty of
appointing your Court as a meeting-place for all the Fairies who could
spare the time to come; and I hope you can arrange to hold the great ball,
which we have once in a hundred years, on this occasion.’

The King having suitably acknowledged the honour done him, was next
reconciled to Gorgonzola, and they two presently opened the ball together.
The Fairy Marsontine restored their natural forms to King Bayard and all
his subjects, and he appeared once more as handsome a king as you could
wish to see. One of the Fairies immediately despatched her chariot for the
Queen of the Spice Islands, and their wedding took place at the same time
as that of Prince Mannikin and the lovely and gracious Sabella. They lived
happily ever afterwards, and their vast kingdoms were presently divided
between their children.

The Prince, out of grateful remembrance of the Princess Sabella’s first
gift to him bestowed the right of bearing her name upon the most beautiful
of the martens, and that is why they are called sables to this day.

Comte de Caylus.