English Fairy Tales Page 4

There was no time to waste words; so the farmer mounted his horse and rode off after Jack Hannaford. The old soldier heard the horse's hoofs clattering on the road behind him, so he knew it must be the farmer pursuing him. He lay down on the ground, and shading his eyes with one hand, looked up into the sky, and pointed heavenwards with the other hand.

  "What are you about there?" asked the farmer, pulling up.

  "Lord save you!" exclaimed Jack: "I've seen a rare sight."

  "What was that?"

  "A man going straight up into the sky, as if he were walking on a road."

  "Can you see him still?"

  "Yes, I can."

  "Where?"

  "Get off your horse and lie down."

  "If you will hold the horse."

  Jack did so readily.

  "I cannot see him," said the farmer.

  "Shade your eyes with your hand, and you'll soon see a man flying away from you."

  Sure enough he did so, for Jack leaped on the horse, and rode away with it. The farmer walked home without his horse.

  "You are a bigger fool than I am," said the wife; "for I did only one foolish thing, and you have done two."

  Binnorie

  *

  Once upon a time there were two king's daughters lived in a bower near the bonny mill-dams of Binnorie. And Sir William came wooing the eldest and won her love and plighted troth with glove and with ring. But after a time he looked upon the youngest, with her cherry cheeks and golden hair, and his love grew towards her till he cared no longer for the eldest one. So she hated her sister for taking away Sir William's love, and day by day her hate grew upon her, and she plotted and she planned how to get rid of her.

  So one fine morning, fair and clear, she said to her sister, "Let us go and see our father's boats come in at the bonny mill-stream of Binnorie." So they went there hand in hand. And when they got to the river's bank the youngest got upon a stone to watch for the coming of the boats. And her sister, coming behind her, caught her round the waist and dashed her into the rushing mill-stream of Binnorie.

  "O sister, sister, reach me your hand!" she cried, as she floated away, "and you shall have half of all I've got or shall get."

  "No, sister, I'll reach you no hand of mine, for I am the heir to all your land. Shame on me if I touch the hand that has come 'twixt me and my own heart's love."

  "O sister, O sister, then reach me your glove!" she cried, as she floated further away, "and you shall have your William again."

  "Sink on," cried the cruel princess, "no hand or glove of mine you'll touch. Sweet William will be all mine when you are sunk beneath the bonny mill-stream of Binnorie." And she turned and went home to the king's castle.

  And the princess floated down the mill-stream, sometimes swimming and sometimes sinking, till she came near the mill. Now the miller's daughter was cooking that day, and needed water for her cooking. And as she went to draw it from the stream, she saw something floating towards the mill-dam, and she called out, "Father! father! draw your dam. There's something white—a merry maid or a milk-white swan— coming down the stream." So the miller hastened to the dam and stopped the heavy cruel mill-wheels. And then they took out the princess and laid her on the bank.

  Fair and beautiful she looked as she lay there. In her golden hair were pearls and precious stones; you could not see her waist for her golden girdle; and the golden fringe of her white dress came down over her lily feet. But she was drowned, drowned!

  And as she lay there in her beauty a famous harper passed by the mill- dam of Binnorie, and saw her sweet pale face. And though he travelled on far away he never forgot that face, and after many days he came back to the bonny mill-stream of Binnorie. But then all he could find of her where they had put her to rest were her bones and her golden hair. So he made a harp out of her breast-bone and her hair, and travelled on up the hill from the mill-dam of Binnorie, till he came to the castle of the king her father.

  That night they were all gathered in the castle hall to hear the great harper—king and queen, their daughter and son, Sir William and all their Court. And first the harper sang to his old harp, making them joy and be glad or sorrow and weep just as he liked. But while he sang he put the harp he had made that day on a stone in the hall. And presently it began to sing by itself, low and clear, and the harper stopped and all were hushed.

  And this was what the harp sung:

  "O yonder sits my father, the king,

  Binnorie, O Binnorie;

  And yonder sits my mother, the queen;

  By the bonny mill-dams o' Binnorie,

  "And yonder stands my brother Hugh,

  Binnorie, O Binnorie;

  And by him, my William, false and true;

  By the bonny mill-dams o' Binnorie."

  Then they all wondered, and the harper told them how he had seen the princess lying drowned on the bank near the bonny mill-dams o' Binnorie, and how he had afterwards made this harp out of her hair and breast-bone. Just then the harp began singing again, and this was what it sang out loud and clear:

  "And there sits my sister who drownèd me By the bonny mill-dams o' Binnorie."

  And the harp snapped and broke, and never sang more.

  Mouse and Mouser

  *

  The Mouse went to visit the Cat, and found her sitting behind the hall door, spinning.

  MOUSE. What are you doing, my lady, my lady, What are you doing, my lady?

  CAT (sharply). I'm spinning old breeches, good body, good body I'm spinning old breeches, good body.

  MOUSE. Long may you wear them, my lady, my lady, Long may you wear them, my lady.

  CAT (gruffly). I'll wear' em and tear 'em, good body, good body. I'll wear 'em and tear 'em, good body.

  MOUSE. I was sweeping my room, my lady, my lady, I was sweeping my room, my lady.

  CAT. The cleaner you'd be, good body, good body, The cleaner you'd be, good body.

  MOUSE. I found a silver sixpence, my lady, my lady, I found a silver sixpence, my lady.

  CAT. The richer you were, good body, good body, The richer you were, good body.

  MOUSE. I went to the market, my lady, my lady, I went to the market, my lady.

  CAT. The further you went, good body, good body The further you went, good body.

  MOUSE. I bought me a pudding, my lady, my lady, I bought me a pudding, my lady.

  CAT (snarling). The more meat you had, good body, good body, The more meat you had, good body.

  MOUSE. I put it in the window to cool, my lady, I put it in the window to cool.

  CAT. (sharply). The faster you'd eat it, good body, good body, The faster you'd eat it, good body.

  MOUSE (timidly). The cat came and ate it, my lady, my lady, The cat came and ate it, my lady.

  CAT (pouncingly). And I'll eat you, good body, good body, And I'll eat you, good body.

  (Springs upon the mouse and kills it.)

  Cap O' Rushes

  *

  Well, there was once a very rich gentleman, and he'd three daughters, and he thought he'd see how fond they were of him. So he says to the first, "How much do you love me, my dear?"

  "Why," says she, "as I love my life."

  "That's good," says he.

  So he says to the second, "How much do you love me, my dear?"

  "Why," says she, "better nor all the world."

  "That's good," says he.

  So he says to the third, "How much do you love me, my dear?"

  "Why, I love you as fresh meat loves salt," says she.

  Well, he was that angry. "You don't love me at all," says he, "and in my house you stay no more." So he drove her out there and then, and shut the door in her face.

  Well, she went away on and on till she came to a fen, and there she gathered a lot of rushes and made them into a kind of a sort of a cloak with a hood, to cover her from head to foot, and to hide her fine clothes. And then she went on and on till she came to a great house.

  "Do you want a maid?" says she.

/>   "No, we don't," said they.

  "I haven't nowhere to go," says she; "and I ask no wages, and do any sort of work," says she.

  "Well," says they, "if you like to wash the pots and scrape the saucepans you may stay," said they.

  So she stayed there and washed the pots and scraped the saucepans and did all the dirty work. And because she gave no name they called her "Cap o' Rushes."

  Well, one day there was to be a great dance a little way off, and the servants were allowed to go and look on at the grand people. Cap o' Rushes said she was too tired to go, so she stayed at home.

  But when they were gone she offed with her cap o' rushes, and cleaned herself, and went to the dance. And no one there was so finely dressed as her.

  Well, who should be there but her master's son, and what should he do but fall in love with her the minute he set eyes on her. He wouldn't dance with any one else.

  But before the dance was done Cap o' Rushes slipt off, and away she went home. And when the other maids came back she was pretending to be asleep with her cap o' rushes on.

  Well, next morning they said to her, "You did miss a sight, Cap o' Rushes!"

  "What was that?" says she.

  "Why, the beautifullest lady you ever see, dressed right gay and ga'. The young master, he never took his eyes off her."

  "Well, I should have liked to have seen her," says Cap o' Rushes.

  "Well, there's to be another dance this evening, and perhaps she'll be there."

  But, come the evening, Cap o' Rushes said she was too tired to go with them. Howsoever, when they were gone, she offed with her cap o' rushes and cleaned herself, and away she went to the dance.

  The master's son had been reckoning on seeing her, and he danced with no one else, and never took his eyes off her. But, before the dance was over, she slipt off, and home she went, and when the maids came back she, pretended to be asleep with her cap o' rushes on.

  Next day they said to her again, "Well, Cap o' Rushes, you should ha' been there to see the lady. There she was again, gay and ga', and the young master he never took his eyes off her."

  "Well, there," says she, "I should ha' liked to ha' seen her."

  "Well," says they, "there's a dance again this evening, and you must go with us, for she's sure to be there."

  Well, come this evening, Cap o' Rushes said she was too tired to go, and do what they would she stayed at home. But when they were gone she offed with her cap o' rushes and cleaned herself, and away she went to the dance.

  The master's son was rarely glad when he saw her. He danced with none but her and never took his eyes off her. When she wouldn't tell him her name, nor where she came from, he gave her a ring and told her if he didn't see her again he should die.

  Well, before the dance was over, off she slipped, and home she went, and when the maids came home she was pretending to be asleep with her cap o' rushes on.

  Well, next day they says to her, "There, Cap o' Rushes, you didn't come last night, and now you won't see the lady, for there's no more dances."

  "Well I should have rarely liked to have seen her," says she.

  The master's son he tried every way to find out where the lady was gone, but go where he might, and ask whom he might, he never heard anything about her. And he got worse and worse for the love of her till he had to keep his bed.

  "Make some gruel for the young master," they said to the cook. "He's dying for the love of the lady." The cook she set about making it when Cap o' Rushes came in.

  "What are you a-doing of?", says she.

  "I'm going to make some gruel for the young master," says the cook, "for he's dying for love of the lady."

  "Let me make it," says Cap o' Rushes.

  Well, the cook wouldn't at first, but at last she said yes, and Cap o' Rushes made the gruel. And when she had made it she slipped the ring into it on the sly before the cook took it upstairs.

  The young man he drank it and then he saw the ring at the bottom.

  "Send for the cook," says he.

  So up she comes.

  "Who made this gruel here?" says he.

  "I did," says the cook, for she was frightened.

  And he looked at her,

  "No, you didn't," says he. "Say who did it, and you shan't be harmed."

  "Well, then, 'twas Cap o' Rushes," says she.

  "Send Cap o' Rushes here," says he.

  So Cap o' Rushes came.

  "Did you make my gruel?" says he.

  "Yes, I did," says she.

  "Where did you get this ring?" says he.

  "From him that gave it me," says she.

  "Who are you, then?" says the young man.

  "I'll show you," says she. And she offed with her cap o' rushes, and there she was in her beautiful clothes.

  Well, the master's son he got well very soon, and they were to be married in a little time. It was to be a very grand wedding, and every one was asked far and near. And Cap o' Rushes' father was asked. But she never told anybody who she was.

  But before the wedding she went to the cook, and says she:

  "I want you to dress every dish without a mite o' salt."

  "That'll be rare nasty," says the cook.

  "That doesn't signify," says she.

  "Very well," says the cook.

  Well, the wedding-day came, and they were married. And after they were married all the company sat down to the dinner. When they began to eat the meat, that was so tasteless they couldn't eat it. But Cap o' Rushes' father he tried first one dish and then another, and then he burst out crying.

  "What is the matter?" said the master's son to him.

  "Oh!" says he, "I had a daughter. And I asked her how much she loved me. And she said 'As much as fresh meat loves salt.' And I turned her from my door, for I thought she didn't love me. And now I see she loved me best of all. And she may be dead for aught I know."

  "No, father, here she is!" says Cap o' Rushes. And she goes up to him and puts her arms round him.

  And so they were happy ever after.

  Teeny-Tiny

  *

  Once upon a time there was a teeny-tiny woman lived in a teeny-tiny house in a teeny-tiny village. Now, one day this teeny-tiny woman put on her teeny-tiny bonnet, and went out of her teeny-tiny house to take a teeny-tiny walk. And when this teeny-tiny woman had gone a teeny- tiny way she came to a teeny-tiny gate; so the teeny-tiny woman opened the teeny-tiny gate, and went into a teeny-tiny churchyard. And when this teeny-tiny woman had got into the teeny-tiny churchyard, she saw a teeny-tiny bone on a teeny-tiny grave, and the teeny-tiny woman said to her teeny-tiny self, "This teeny-tiny bone will make me some teeny- tiny soup for my teeny-tiny supper." So the teeny-tiny woman put the teeny-tiny bone into her teeny-tiny pocket, and went home to her teeny-tiny house.

  Now when the teeny-tiny woman got home to her teeny-tiny house she was a teeny-tiny bit tired; so she went up her teeny-tiny stairs to her teeny-tiny bed, and put the teeny-tiny bone into a teeny-tiny cupboard. And when this teeny-tiny woman had been to sleep a teeny- tiny time, she was awakened by a teeny-tiny voice from the teeny-tiny cupboard, which said:

  "Give me my bone!"

  And this teeny-tiny woman was a teeny-tiny frightened, so she hid her teeny-tiny head under the teeny-tiny clothes and went to sleep again. And when she had been to sleep again a teeny-tiny time, the teeny-tiny voice again cried out from the teeny-tiny cupboard a teeny-tiny louder, "Give me my bone!"

  This made the teeny-tiny woman a teeny-tiny more frightened, so she hid her teeny-tiny head a teeny-tiny further under the teeny-tiny clothes. And when the teeny-tiny woman had been to sleep again a teeny-tiny time, the teeny-tiny voice from the teeny-tiny cupboard said again a teeny-tiny louder,

  "Give me my bone!"

  And this teeny-tiny woman was a teeny-tiny bit more frightened, but she put her teeny-tiny head out of the teeny-tiny clothes, and said in her loudest teeny-tiny voice, "TAKE IT!"

  Jack and the Beanstalk

  *


  There was once upon a time a poor widow who had an only son named Jack, and a cow named Milky-white. And all they had to live on was the milk the cow gave every morning which they carried to the market and sold. But one morning Milky-white gave no milk and they didn't know what to do.

  "What shall we do, what shall we do?" said the widow, wringing her hands.

  "Cheer up, mother, I'll go and get work somewhere," said Jack.

  "We've tried that before, and nobody would take you," said his mother; "we must sell Milky-white and with the money do something, start shop, or something."

  "All right, mother," says Jack; "it's market-day today, and I'll soon sell Milky-white, and then we'll see what we can do."

  So he took the cow's halter in his hand, and off he starts. He hadn't gone far when he met a funny-looking old man who said to him: "Good morning, Jack."

  "Good morning to you," said Jack, and wondered how he knew his name.

  "Well, Jack, and where are you off to?" said the man.

  "I'm going to market to sell our cow here."

  "Oh, you look the proper sort of chap to sell cows," said the man; "I wonder if you know how many beans make five."

  "Two in each hand and one in your mouth," says Jack, as sharp as a needle.

  "Right you are," said the man, "and here they are the very beans themselves," he went on pulling out of his pocket a number of strange- looking beans. "As you are so sharp," says he, "I don't mind doing a swop with you—your cow for these beans."

  "Walker!" says Jack; "wouldn't you like it?"

  "Ah! you don't know what these beans are," said the man; "if you plant them over-night, by morning they grow right up to the sky."

  "Really?" says Jack; "you don't say so."

  "Yes, that is so, and if it doesn't turn out to be true you can have your cow back."

  "Right," says Jack, and hands him over Milky-white's halter and pockets the beans.

  Back goes Jack home, and as he hadn't gone very far it wasn't dusk by the time he got to his door.

  "What back, Jack?" said his mother; "I see you haven't got Milky- white, so you've sold her. How much did you get for her?"