III.
THE PRINCESS AND THE ROSE.
On a green island in the Pacific Ocean, that has never been put down onany map, lived a king called Obezon, who married a very beautiful woman,the queen of a country lying away to the northward. She was attendedwhen she came from her home by a nurse, who was a fairy. The warmclimate did not agree with her, and she died shortly after, leaving adaughter in the care of the fairy, of whom, at her birth, it wasforetold that she should live only till she was separated from her firstlove. She was very fair, with golden curls, eyes of azure, and delicaterose-tinted cheeks. The fairy nursed her faithfully, and never trustedher out of her sight, for she, as well as Obezon, was ambitious thatGulna should make a splendid match; and remembering the prophecy thatshe would die if separated from her first love, they kept her verystrictly out of the way of all the youth, the sons of the petty princesnear them, to whom a young maiden would be likely to give her heart. Butthe fame of her beauty had so gone abroad, many of them sought theisland in disguise, on purpose to see her and win her love; but none ofthem were able to escape the vigilance of Obezon and the fairy. So Gulnahad reached her seventeenth year with her heart untouched, and spent herhours in roaming with the fairy about the island.
Now there was in the employ of Obezon a poor boy, who tended the sheep.He wandered every day with his flock over the meadows, and played sweetlittle tunes upon pipes made of the hollow reeds. He was so modest, hehardly ever raised his head, and had never seen the beautifulcountenance of the Princess, although they encountered each other daily;nor had she noticed the young lad, who, too humble to cause the fairyany misgivings, was permitted to come before her. One day a favoritelamb had broken its leg, and the fairy, who was setting it, summonedthe boy to her assistance, while Gulna held it in her arms, and, bendingtogether over the little moaning thing, their eyes met, and he neverafter forgot the sweet glance of the Princess, nor she the dark,flashing orbs of the shepherd-boy. Day after day they met each other,and though no word had been spoken, they contrived by looks and glancesto become better acquainted, till they at last interchanged a few words,and planned a stolen interview at night, when all the household was atrest, in a little grove not far away. They succeeded in deceiving thefairy while she was sleeping soundly, and thought that the Princess waslikewise revelling in golden dreams beside her. This continued for along while without discovery, and Gulna and Azor grew more and moreattached to each other, and swore eternal fidelity. One night the fairyawoke, and feeling the cool breeze blow upon her (for Gulna hadforgotten to close the window through which she had stolen out, as shehad always done before), she started up in affright. The moon wasshining through the open shutters, and showed the bed of the Princesswithout an occupant. “Surely the Princess had been stolen away.” Shedared not alarm Obezon. She flung herself from the window, in hopes offinding some traces to aid her in her search, but could find not even afootstep. On passing the little grove at the foot of the garden, withthe fountain beside it, she heard a sound of voices mingling with thefalling waters, and, stealing up softly, what was her dismay at therebeholding Gulna and Azor together, she seated on a mound of turf, and hekneeling at her side, placing a white rose in her belt; and oh! horrors!Gulna threw her white arms round his neck, and said, “You are, indeed,my first love, from whom I cannot be separated till death.” But theywere startled from this loving embrace by the fairy, who in a fury stoodbefore them. “Foolish maiden,” cried she, fiercely, “thus to fling fromyou rank, honor, wealth, and all for a miserable little wretch likethis;” “and you,” said she, turning white in her anger, as she looked atAzor, “who have had the presumption to raise your eyes upon the mostbeautiful Princess in the world, knowing that she cannot be severed fromhim whom she has first loved, and live, I can by my power at once punishyou for your audacity, and save the Princess from the consequences ofher indiscretion. Henceforth be invisible, and take for yourdwelling-place this rose, which shall ever cling to the heart of thePrincess, by which your hand has placed it.” And touching him with herwand, he dissolved, as it were, into air; but the rose at Gulna’s side,which had been pure white, grew red, as if dyed by human blood. Gulna’sgrief, when she saw her lover thus inthralled, was boundless. Her tearsand entreaties made no impression on the fairy, or Obezon, when he hadlearned the truth. Great indeed was his rage when he found what hadtaken place; and Gulna could only tremble, and be silent. He heartilyapproved of the summary manner in which the fairy had disposed of poorAzor, and had got him out of the way of the Princess, leaving her stillfree to marry whom they should choose for her.
She was now allowed to go at large, and the King made it known that hewas in readiness, when a proper offer was made, to betroth her. Suitorscame from all quarters, but were, one after another, rejected by Obezon,as not being worthy of her, Gulna all the while remaining quiteinsensible to all that was taking place around her, rarely raising hereyelids; her eyes were ever fixed upon a deep red rose at her side,which never withered, but grew brighter in its hue from day to day. Thissingular flower was noticed by all who came to visit the island, and the“blood-red rose” became as celebrated as the beautiful Princess herself.Her lovers rallied her on her attachment to it, but no one was everallowed to take it from her for a moment, or even to touch it. The Kingand the fairy, who were the only ones who knew about it, were wiseenough to keep their own counsel, so it remained still a mystery thatnone could solve. After very many suitors had been rejected, one came atlast, richer than all the rest. He brought the most costly gifts, andhis long train of attendants, their waving plumes, the glitteringchariots and prancing horses, and the reports that came before him ofhis wealth, so prejudiced Obezon in his favor, he determined that hewould bestow the hand of the Princess upon this great Prince, if sheshould please him; so he caused Gulna to be dressed in her robes ofsilver and blue, and to be brought before him. The Prince had neverbefore seen one that would in any wise compare with her in beauty, so hedeclared himself at once her suitor, and spread before her the mostcostly jewels, and magnificent gifts; but these, and the noble form andcountenance of the Prince, made no impression upon the heart of Gulna,for that was already given to Azor. But her father commanded her to getherself in readiness to depart with the Prince, and she dared notdisobey. The marriage was accordingly celebrated with great pomp andceremony; the King bestowing upon her a splendid dower; but before thishe had taken the Prince aside, and secured a promise from him that hewould never deprive the Princess of her rose, on account of her greatattachment to it; and “so much,” said he, “was her heart upon it, if heshould insist upon her giving it up, a terrible calamity would happen toher.” The Prince thought it a slight thing that a young maiden beindulged in a foolish whim, and readily promised that she should not becrossed in her fancy; and, all things being now in readiness, the Princedeparted, with his newly-wedded Princess, and her fairy nurse, to hisown dominions.
When he reached his kingdom with his bride, great crowds came out to seeher, and all praised her exceeding fairness; and the Princess Gulna’sbeauty became so famous that many Princes from neighbouring States cameto convince themselves of the truth of what was told, and the poets andminstrels made songs about her, and the Prince thought himself at firstthe happiest husband in the world.
After all this novelty was over, the Princes had returned to their ownhomes, and Gulna and himself were left alone together, he began to seethat her eyes, instead of looking into his with loving glances, wereever cast down upon the rose at her side--that her hand, instead ofclasping his own, was lightly shielding it from harm, and contact withthe rough air, or from a rude touch that might ruffle its leaves. Hegrew more unquiet, and his thoughts were seldom turned from the rose andthe Princess, who seemed more and more to cherish it, till at last, madwith jealousy, he demanded of her that she keep it for ever from hissight, and would have torn it from her, had not the fairy interposed,and warned him of what the King had told him, that a terrible calamitywould befall him if he persisted in depriving her o
f it; and also thathis promise to the King was binding. This quieted him at first; but thethorn still rankled in his breast. The fairy now wove for the Princess ascarf of silver, which, hanging from her left shoulder, entirelyconcealed the rose, and, being out of his sight, the Prince for awhileforgot his cause of jealousy. One day, going into the apartments of thePrincess unannounced, he found her asleep upon a couch; the zephyr stolein through the lattice, and gently stirred the silken hair that fellaround; her long lashes lay quiet upon her transparent cheek. He pausedawhile in admiration, when a stronger breath of the zephyr blew asidethe scarf, and showed the rose, pressed beneath her snowy hand. Like aspark from the lightning, the fire of jealousy entered his soul. Inmadness he tore the rose from her side; a red stream followed thedisembedded stalk in a swift, rushing tide; it had rooted in her heart,and the distracted Prince saw the pride of his being, the pricelessGulna, sink lifeless as the fairy entered, who shrieked forth, “RashPrince! behold your work! had you heeded my warning, your Princess wouldstill have been yours; but here” (and touching the rose with her wand,Azor stood before them), “is the secret of the rose: this youth, and notthyself, was the first love of the Princess, from whom, it was longsince foretold, she could not be severed, unless by _her_ death. ‘Go,’said she to Azor, ‘and be free again.’” But when the youth saw Gulnalying in her blood at his feet, his own heart burst, and, as he fellbeside her, he said with his dying lips, “Even death shall not separateus.” The generous Prince wept over the unfortunate lovers; he causedthem to be buried together, and erected a magnificent monument overthem, on which was inscribed, in letters of gold, “Let all true loversdrop a tear upon the grave of Gulna and Azor.”