Part 1 (2/2)
”Art thou he that I have heard so much of in my hidden realm?”
”I don't know,” said Robin modestly.
”Art thou he that hast so much interest in my people?”
”I am,” replied Robin, feeling relieved.
”Art thou Robin of Castle Frank who lovest all animals?”
”I am, your Majesty,” answered Robin happily, and at last managing to address a queen as he ought.
”Wilt thou come with me, and I will show thee wonderful things?”
”I shall, your Gracious Majesty, with great pleasure.”
The Queen then raised a jewelled sceptre in her right hand, the captain of the s.h.i.+p saw it and flashed a signal inward towards the cavern, when by-and-bye a silver canoe shot out with an Indian chief at the stern, and halted underneath the branch upon which Robin rested. The boy was delighted, and without a moment's hesitation he clasped the branch firmly with both hands and let himself drop as gently as possible into the boat below. He was hardly seated, with the oars in his hands, when the white s.h.i.+p pa.s.sed by, all sails spread, and Queen Celeste sitting upon a golden throne on deck. Robin followed. There was darkness as he entered, and he felt bewildered and even eerie. But it was only for a moment, for the white s.h.i.+p ahead became aglow with many brilliant colored stars, and, with the silver boat behind, it glided into a land whose beauty and marvellousness no pen can describe.
The sky was of entrancing azure, lit up by twelve mellow suns, making perpetual day; the fields were like rich velvet carpets of green; and the rivers, winding in fantastic shapes, widening into blue lakes and forming das.h.i.+ng cascades, were pure as crystal. There were also plains of gold dust, fine as flour, where b.u.t.terflies enriched their tender wings; great forests, where birds of gay plumage built peculiar nests and sang in choirs most glorious songs; high hills, with rocks of red ruby and blue lazuli, on which gilded reptiles basked and whistled; lovely valleys full of fragrance and of luscious fruits; cool grottoes, and sombre ravines; picturesque villages; busy towns, and majestic castles.
All the animals could speak and sing and dance, and every one was a pet. Nay more, they were useful. Squirrels ran messages, and calculated like schoolboys; foxes drew out plans as architects; tigers drove waggons pulled by zebras; and lions built bridges, which pretty parrots wreathed with flowers.
Children played and laughed everywhere, dressed in the quaintest and prettiest styles. None ever quarrelled, except in fun, as kittens do.
There was no time to see all that could be seen, so Robin was wafted over a part of this wonderful land in a crimson silk balloon, with Queen Celeste at his side, pointing out what was most interesting, till his eyes were almost sore with gazing and gazing. Then they descended into a field of gorgeous flowers, among a number of animal pets that were leaping, racing, resting and talking. Robin was charmed and amazed.
”Oh,” said he, ”if I could only get mine to speak like that I should be happy, and what is it I would not teach them to do?”
The Queen was delighted because her guest was delighted.
Then Robin turned to her and said with a smile full of entreaty:
”Will your Majesty not aid me? Please help me, at least with my pretty black squirrels I love so much.”
”It shall be done,” said the Queen, with a gracious smile, and she raised her sceptre and touched his forehead.
”But thou art hungry,” she added, ”and thou must not leave my land without tasting of my delicacies.”
As Celeste said this she plucked a great flower full of nectar, and handed it to him to eat. Robin did so, and the effect and odor were so delightfully soothing that he fell into a deep sleep.
Queen Celeste then gave orders, through a glossy black squirrel, to have Robin conveyed with great gentleness to another part of her dominions. Six brownie giants appeared promptly with a flying machine shaped like a Bird of Paradise. They placed him inside its body, on a bed of down and softest silk, as if he had been a child again. Then the chief brownie, dressed like an admiral, mounted the neck of the machine, touched a spring, and the Bird of Paradise rose high into the blue sky, flew softly over lakes and forests and prairies, then over a high mountain of emerald, and at last down through a dense mist into a picturesque spot, the very image of that on which Castle Frank stood on the ridge of the great ravine. The machine descended gently into the castle enclosure amidst a crowd of pets. The brownie touched another spring, when the Bird of Paradise deposited Robin in the soft, green gra.s.s, as if a new-laid egg in a nest.
The brownie quietly arranged everything and then quickly left with the flying machine. He had scarcely gone when Robin was awakened by the sound of whispering, and, slightly opening his eyes, he saw his black squirrels around, warning each other not to disturb their master. He was overjoyed to hear that they had received the gift of speech, and in his heart he praised the Fairy Queen for her kindness and marvellous skill. But he could not understand how she managed to transfer him to where he was. It seemed only a moment before when he was talking to her among the flowers of Fairyland, and now he was among his pets in the garden of Castle Frank.
CHAPTER III.
THE STRANGE SCHOOL CLa.s.s.
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