red fairy book

Chapter 22 The Kind Little Mouse (2)
The queen's heart was broken when she heard the dreadful news.She begged the fairy to save the little princess no matter what.

At this time, the prison guard came and found that the little princess was missing, so he immediately reported to the king.The king came running in a rage, and asked the queen what she had done.She replied that a fairy whose name she did not know had come and taken the child away.

The king stomped his feet angrily, and his voice became terrible: "You should be hanged! I have told you!" Then he dragged the queen to the nearest tree, and climbed up to see which branch Can hang people.

But when he climbed to a high place, the invisible fairy suddenly pushed him, and he stumbled and fell, and lost four teeth.While he was looking for his teeth, the fairy took the queen to a beautiful castle in a chariot.She is so good to the queen, if her daughter hadn't been lost, the queen's life would be perfect.But the little mouse tried his best, but couldn't find the little princess.

15 years have passed.The queen's sorrow faded.She heard that the king's son was going to marry a turkey girl who refused his marriage proposal. The wedding dress was ready, and the celebration was very grand, and people from neighboring friendly countries would also come to celebrate.

The queen was so curious about the little turkey girl that she didn't want to be queen.So the little mouse lurks in the poultry garden to see who she really is.

The little turkey girl was sitting on a big rock, barefooted and dressed in sackcloth, and all her feet were gold and silver gowns, ribbons, lace, diamonds, and pearls, and the turkeys walked up and down beside her.The king's ugly son stood opposite her and declared that if she did not marry him, she would die.

The little turkey girl replied proudly, "I won't marry you, you are so ugly and cruel like your cruel father. You go, let me and the turkey be quiet for a while, I like the turkey Much more than liking these gifts from you."

The little mouse looked at her admiringly, she was as beautiful as spring.

When the prince was gone, the fairy changed into a peasant woman and said, "Pretty little girl. Your turkey looks so good!"

The little girl looked at the old woman, and said, "Someone wants me to leave Turkey and be a poor queen! What do you think I should do?"

"My child," said the Fairy, "the crown is beautiful, and you know not its value and its weight."

"I know it too well to refuse," said the little girl. "Even if I don't know who my father is and who my mother is, and I don't have a single friend in the world, I know that too."

"You have kindness and beauty, and these are worth more than ten kingdoms," said the Fairy. "But tell me, child, why are you here? Why have you no father and mother, and no friends?"

"I lived with a fairy named Kakaline," answered the little girl, "and with her I was scolded or beaten. Then I couldn't stand it anymore, and ran away. I walked through the woods , met the prince, and he asked me to watch over the turkey. I was so happy, so I came, I didn't know I had to see him every day. Now, he wants to marry me again, and I never will."

Hearing this, the fairy understood that the little girl raising turkeys was Princess Theresa.

"What's your name? My little girl," she asked.

"My name is Theresa," said the little girl.

The Fairy put her arms around the Princess's neck, kissed her almost smothered, and said, "Oh, Theresa! I am your old friend. I am so glad to have found you! These are only for kitchen girls, come wear these Beautiful clothes, let me see the difference."

Theresa took off her ugly hat, shook her shiny hair, and washed her hands and face.Her cheeks were like roses, and she was the most beautiful princess in the world after she wore the diamonds the fairy gave her and the clothes the fairy gave her.

The fairy said happily: "This is you, Theresa, what do you think?"

Theresa said: "I feel like a king's daughter!"

"If yes, would you be happy?" asked the Fairy.

"I'm sure happy!" she replied.

"Very well then," said the Fairy, "I will bring you good news tomorrow."

The Fairy hurried back to the castle, and the Queen was embroidering, and she cried:

"Oh ma'am! Are you ready? I have some amazing news for you!"

"Ah," said the queen, "since the king is dead and my dear Theresa has disappeared, I am not surprised by any news."

"Oh, don't be so pessimistic!" said the Fairy. "I assure you, the Princess is very well. I have never seen anyone as beautiful as her. She could be Queen to-morrow if she wanted to."

Then she told the queen everything.The queen was very happy at first, and then wept, for her daughter had become a turkey girl.

"I don't want her to be forced to marry that wicked king's son. Let's go and bring her back," she said.

The evil prince, annoyed by Theresa, sat under a tree and howled.The king heard it, and poked his head out of the window: "What's the matter with you? Why are you making such a fuss?"

The prince replied, "Because the turkey girl doesn't love me!"

"Don't love you? Ha!" said the king, "Let's see what's going on!" He told the guards to catch Theresa, and said with a chuckle, "Go and see if she will change her mind!"

The guards searched the poultry garden and found Theresa alone.She is wearing beautiful clothes and a diamond crown.

Seeing such a noble person, the guard didn't dare to speak, but she said, "What are you looking for here?"

"Ma'am," they replied, "let's catch a little insignificant person named Theresa."

"Oh, it's me. What are you arresting me for?"

Immediately the guards bound her hand and foot, and led her to the king.The king and his son were waiting for her.

When the king saw her, he was astonished, for she was so beautiful.Her beauty would make the hardest of hearts sympathize with her.But the king just sneered, and said, "Why don't you love my son, Toad? Is it because he is so much more beautiful than you? Love him quickly, or you will be tarred and plucked."

But the little princess shook her head, knelt down and said, "Don't put the tar on me, please. It's terrible! Let me think about it for two or three days, and then you can decide what to do with me."

The Prince would have liked to see her tarred and plucked.But the King said, "Shut her up in a hole in the ground."

Just then the Fairy and the Queen came.

The queen was very sad to see it turned out like this, and said how she was always so unlucky.But the Fairy advised her to take courage.

"They'll get their way!" she said, nodding her head emphatically, as if she had made up her mind.

That very night, when the wicked King went to sleep, the Fairy became a little mouse again, and crawled into his pillow and gnawed his ear.He screamed and rolled over to sleep.But it was no use, the little mouse bit the other ear harder than the previous one.

"Murderer! Thief!" cried the king.

All the guards came running to see what had happened to him.But no one was seen in the house, the little mouse had already gone to the prince's room, and repaired him too.

All that night the Fairy ran from room to room, and the King was so tortured that he couldn't stand it anymore, and ran out of the palace, screaming, "Help me! I'm being hunted by mice!"

The prince heard this, and got up too, and followed the king.They fell into the river within a short distance, and the sound died away.

Then the fairy ran to find the queen, and they went together to the dark dungeon.The Fairy touched the door with her wand, and the door swung open.They opened forty dungeon doors before they found the princess.

The princess sat on the ground, very depressed.The queen rushed in immediately and kissed her twenty times in one minute.Weeping and laughing, she told Theresa about her life, and the princess was overjoyed.Then the Fairy showed her the fine dress and jewels which she had brought, and said, "Don't waste time, we must go, and we must tell the people what is the matter."

The Fairy walked in front, very stately, and her skirts stretched ten ells long.After her came the Queen, in a blue velvet gown, embroidered with gold, and with a crown brighter than the sun.Theresa walked at the end, she was so beautiful, even if she had nothing, she was very noble.

They walked through the streets and greeted everyone they met, rich and poor alike.People turned and followed them, wondering who such noble ladies were.

There were more and more people, and the Fairy asked these wicked King's subjects if they would accept Theresa, daughter of the Happy King, as their queen.The Fairy said that she would be in charge of finding a husband for the princess, and that while they reigned, the country would be filled with joy, and all depressing things would disappear at once.

The people said in unison: "We will, we will! We have been sad for too long." They joined hands and danced around Theresa, the fairy and the queen, singing: "I will, I will! "

Then, fireworks were set off in the streets of the city, and a grand welcoming ceremony was held.The fairy traveled all over the world in one night, and brought back the most handsome prince with the best temper the next morning.He was so good-looking that Diresa fell in love with him the first time she saw him.And he also considers himself the luckiest man in the world.

The queen finally felt that her suffering had come to an end.From then on, they lived happily together.

(End of this chapter)