The Feather. Ford Ford Madox

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ about the lemon-flower; but my grand-aunt Thompson had a sister whose daughter had a servant who’d seen the dragon eat up the last man that ever tried to cross the mountains.’

      ‘But I don’t see how that is to help me to get back – do you?’

      ‘No, I don’t exactly; but perhaps something will turn up to help you. Won’t it, Abbonamento?’

      Abbonamento nodded.

      ‘But what shall I do in the meanwhile?’ said the Princess; ‘for, you see, I don’t want to be fried in lard, as you say the townsmen are in the habit of doing.’

      ‘You’d better stop with us,’ said Abbonamento. ‘Eh, wife, what do you say?’

      And his wife said:

      ‘Oh yes, certainly; it’s the only thing to do. Do stop.’

      ‘Well, I suppose I must,’ said the Princess. ‘Only, shan’t I be rather in the way?’

      But the King answered:

      ‘Oh, not at all, quite the other way. You’ll be very useful. You can milk the cows, and pluck the fowls, and feed the pigs, and all sorts of things.’

      ‘But what will the people of the town say if they see me?’ asked the Princess.

      ‘The people of the town – oh, they never come near me, although they are glad to buy butter and milk and eggs of me in the market. They think it seems grand to say they buy their things of a king; but they never trouble about me at all except for that.’

      Just at this moment the old lady, thinking it her turn to say something, said:

      ‘By the bye, you have not told us your name yet.’

      ‘Would you like it in full, or only what I’m generally called?’ asked the Princess.

      ‘Oh, say it in full, unless you’ve any objection.’

      ‘Well, you see, it’s rather long; it generally takes about a quarter of an hour to say, only if you want it particularly I’ll tell you.’

      But the Queen answered:

      ‘Ah! well, perhaps we’ll wait for a time, until we’ve got leisure to listen to it. Meanwhile you might tell us what the short of it is.’

      ‘They generally call me the Princess Ernalie. Now you might tell me your name, if you don’t mind.’

      ‘They generally call me Queen Araminta. If you like, and are not too tired, I’ll show you the farm, and then we’ll have dinner.’

      So the Princess went through the yard to the cows’ byre, and from the stalls to the pig-sties, and from the sties to the poultry-run, and thence to the orchard, and from the orchard to the flower-garden, and after that home again.

      So it was arranged that the Princess Ernalie was to stop with the King and Queen until something should turn up. But nothing ever did turn up, and the days lengthened into months, and the months into years, and still she stayed with the old couple; and as time went on she seemed to do almost all the work of the farm, for the old King and Queen were beginning to get too old and weak for hard work. And gradually she began to forget about her native land, and it seemed as if the farm were to be her home for ever. And every year she grew taller and more beautiful; but that’s a habit that princesses have pretty often. So five years passed quietly away, and nothing seemed likely to disturb the peace of the household.

      Every morning regularly she got up at five o’clock to drive the cows to the pasture, and then she fed the poultry, and, if it happened to be a Thursday or Saturday, she went with the Queen to take the butter and eggs to market; besides which she had to milk the cows and cook the dinner, and all sorts of things, so that she was gradually turning into a simple country maid.

      During all the five years no one from the town ever came near the house, and so you may imagine how surprised she was one morning when she got up and opened her bedroom window to see a man coming across the clover-field towards the house. She watched him come right up to the door, and then, when she heard him knock, ran down to tell the King and Queen that a man was knocking at the door.

      ‘Who on earth can it be?’ asked Abbonamento.

      ‘It’s not the tax-collector, is it?’ asked Araminta.

      ‘Oh no, it’s not him; he’s an old man, and this one is quite young,’ answered the Princess.

      ‘Nor the water-man?’

      ‘No, it’s not him either. There he is knocking again.’

      Indeed, the knocking was becoming quite furious.

      ‘He’s a very impatient young man, whoever he is,’ said Abbonamento. ‘You’d better go and tell him not to make such a noise. Let him in – be quick, or he’ll knock the door down!’

      And it seemed so likely, that Ernalie ran down as fast as she could and opened the door.

      ‘Why can’t you open the door faster?’ said an angry voice; and then Ernalie saw a young man looking at her in a state of great surprise. ‘Why, who are you?’ he asked. ‘Is this not the house of their Majesties King Abbonamento and Queen Araminta?’

      ‘They used to be King and Queen at one time,’ answered Ernalie.

      ‘They ought to be now,’ said the young man with a frown.

      ‘That’s quite another thing,’ retorted Ernalie.

      ‘Oh, is it?’ said he, with a smile this time. ‘But who on earth are you, if I may ask?’

      ‘I am Her Royal Highness Princess Ernalie of Aoland; and who on earth are you, if I may ask?’

      ‘I am Prince Treblo of this country,’ answered he.

      ‘I suppose you are the son of King Mumkie, then?’ said she.

      ‘Good gracious, no!’ said the Prince.

      The Princess was just about to say, ‘Then whose son are you?’ when the old King burst into the room. He had evidently got up in a hurry, and he was only attired in his flowered dressing-gown.

      ‘My long-lost chee-yld!’ he exclaimed, as he threw himself into the stranger’s arms. ‘Araminta! Araminta! come along, it’s Treblo.’

      And the Queen came rushing down in haste, as you may imagine. Over the rest of this affecting scene we will draw a curtain – that’s what they generally do with affecting scenes – in books, at least.

      The Princess Ernalie easily perceived that she was a little – as the French say —de trop; that is, finding that ‘three was company and four none.’ So she left the room and went upstairs to comb her hair and wash her face and hands, and make herself look smart generally; for she thought that would be only right on the day on which the eldest son of the house came home – especially as he was very handsome.

      Now it happened that as she was bending down to pick up her best shoes from under her toilet-table, one of them had gone a little far back, and as she drew it out she noticed that something lay behind the shoe, and she drew that out too. You may perhaps remember that she had picked up out of the road СКАЧАТЬ